Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a great New Year. 


Made this stuffed felt ornament at a little stitch shop in Austin, TX. They had pre-printed felt designs that we were able to adorn with hand sewn sequins. I took my grandmother with me, to do a little family crafting. 

I think it looks like a mexican-flag. Loved this one the most, especially with the heart sequin where Austin would be. 

Hope everyone has fun creating this holiday season, and to all a good night. 


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Color Palette Creation

I saw this photo on Pinterest, originally Pastel Roses by fantazyme on DeviantArt. It gave me a chance to create my own color palette. I used several sites to get together just the right colors from the image. Most that I used would not give me that warm sage color in the upper right corner. So I put two different links together and was given more than enough to assemble the best colors out of all the choices.

I started with CSS Drive - Image to Color Palette creator, this gave me all of the choices. Then I narrowed down the most prevalent with Color Palette generator by DeGraeve.com. With a little PicMonkey Collage magic you have what you see before you. 

Wedding theme colors anyone? 

Also did one with this image, which try as I might I can't find any source information about... sorry.




Monday, August 13, 2012

Writing Process Pencil Chart


A teacher friend of mine saw a Writing Process Pencil Chart on Pinterest and asked if I would be able to make one for her classroom. 

Any chance to craft is good enough for me. I wanted to make it as much like a real pencil as possible. So off to Michael's I went...found some great supplies:

   - Veneer Craft Sheet
   - Black "Graphite" Craft Paper
   - Yellow Card Stock (poster size)
   - Silver Foil Craft Paper (with lines)
   - Red Foam Sheet (adhesive backed)
   - Label Templates
   - Black and White Striped Paper (Martha Stewart - Elegant Witch Collection)
   - Permanent Double Sided Tape, Scissors, etc...

I started out by stretching the templates to elongate them. I found a great free font online (My Own Topher). Nice format, big and readable. Put them together for a streamlined look. Although I thought the Free Write section just screamed for a start burst! 


The labels for each of the processes was printed out and I cut out the black and white paper just a tad larger in the same shape, that gives it a border to stand out from the all yellow back ground. 

I decided that cutting the poster paper to and 11' width, to match the width of all the other standard paper, would be easier than cutting down every other sheet. 


The sparkly lined foil paper, wood veneer sheet, graphite-esqe craft paper tip, foam "rubber eraser". Everything was all "pencil-y" and ready to be laminated. I didn't know how the foam sheet would react in the laminator, so I left it off and cut/attached a template in it's stead, so she could adhere it to the base later. 


Now put it all together and what have you got? An great looking writing process chart ready for her class room! (if I do say so myself :))

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Easy Social Media Button Tutorial


I stumbled upon this little post the other day from Something Swanky about a simple way of creating your own social media buttons for your blog. With simple instructions and screen shots I was on my way in no time.
Instead of using the silhouettes that she suggested I downloaded the SocialCo font from Fontfabric (there are tons of free fonts here too). This allowed me to skip the "addition of a shape" step, and kept all the circles the same size. But play around with it and find the look you like. 

I would also suggest that you get all the URLs (websites) all gathered up before you get started so that all you have to do is cut and paste into the Image Mapper, rather than finding them all while your doing it. 

So go take a look. Let me know what you think...and let me see your results. Post your site address in the comments! Enjoy :)

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Mural Mural on the Wall

I took on a big task recently. Painting a friend of a friends nursery for their upcoming baby girl. Really excited about the project, I put all my resources together, dusted off the cobwebs of my mind and put on my thinking cap. We were able to get together and work on some ideas. Ribbon, fabric samples, other murals she'd seen. Mom to be even had a look-book. Pregnancy can be so cute. We started off on the beachy theme.
This was the first idea I came up with, we were going with dots and tropical flowers, something uber-girly. 
Pardon the blurry iPhone photos.
A couple more embellishments and we really had a theme going, until inspiration hit...she wanted preppy/beachy. Here's what we came up with.
 Everything has to start somewhere, with crisp lines and just the right amount of tropical flourishes, we had a template. Now to the fun part, taking it from paper to product. Results... Let me know what you think! 
*Be prepared for some bold color choices*








Ta-Dah! After two weekends of hard work, measuring, painting and "fluffing". We had one cute nursery, one happy mommy-to-be, and one tuckered painter. But it was all worth it.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Mutant Strawberry!

Today I visited Whole Foods for a quick trip to pick up some of the essentials. While washing up my strawberries I came across this guy!

Holy humongous batman! Almost the size of my whole palm!
I just had to compare it to the average sized strawberry out of my basket. Organic and all, this guy takes the cake,  measuring out at almost the length of a business card. 
I was almost too attached to eat him...almost! Yum. I guess the bigger the better. :)
Have you seen bigger? Let me know in the comments section. Give me a link to a picture if you've got them.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Strike-A-Match Jar

Have you been looking for a classier, fresher way to transport your matches? I saw a similar tutorial floating around from the Burlap Bag, using sandpaper for the lid...it looked great, in theory. After testing it out I noticed that about 75% of the matches I tried to strike were not lighting, the sandpaper was just rubbing off the activator. Boo. So I've come up with an alternative, and you can use either Strike Anywhere or Strike-on-the-Box matches. Enjoy.

Using a mason jar gives it that cute look, also very practical for refills, and taking outdoors.
I started off by tracing the opening onto heavy cardstock, this will make the match striking surface more durable to pressure. You can use any cardboard you like - a cereal box would probably have worked just as well. Cut out the circle,  but don't cut out the hole quite yet. 

As for the sandpaper conundrum, my theory was - if it ain't broke, don't fix it -  Cutting the striking strips off the sides of the box work just as well as any old sandpaper, perhaps even better. Recycle! Align the strips on the circle. This is the part where it's ok to fudge a little, the jar rim will cover most of the curved edges so just get the straight edges of the strips lined up as best you can.   
Once you have all your pieces, use spray adhesive or double sided tape to attach your trimmed strips to the cardstock/cardboard circle. Use an X-acto or craft knife to cut out a small square about 1-2mm from the edge (1/4in). Make sure your rim doesn't cover it all up. 
Now fill your jar and screw your lid on tight, get ready for some summer BBQ fun.  The lid should last for a whole box of matches, if not grab a new one and refill.  The tops are easily changeable so your jar should last you a life time. 

Just in case you wanted to see it in action...here's my first attempt at making a GIF. Next time I'm just sticking with video. 

Sc8xaW on Make A Gif, Animated Gifs


Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Just Fob-ulous

I had been looking for a long time for a cute extendable fob to put my work key on. Something I could get to easily but still be able to wear on my apron without looking like I work in one of those hamster cage offices. 
Walking through the Roundtop Antique Sale and Flea Market I saw some of these large buttons attached to generic retractable key fobs and thought...I could do that! So I did. The following is a simple tutorial for making your own one of a kind fob. 
I started off with a size 60 (1.5" = 3.8cm) fabric covered button base, a retractable key fob (Office Max), some fabric for the button, and some knick knacks and beads for decoration.   

This set of buttons as with most come with a small metal attachment that would act as a latch to sew the button on with. You won't need this for this project. Pry the metal clasp out, the prongs on the top portion of the button are VERY sharp, so careful!

This shows the metal clasp once removed. It's like a spring, but I would suggest using pliers instead of fingers for this part. 

The buttons will come with a pre-sized pattern on the cardboard portion. Cut a square of fabric that will fit when doubled up on the pattern. Place the pattern on the fold and cut around. 

You will end up with a circle of fabric that should fit nicely over the top of the button  (the rounded portion).

Wrap the fabric tightly over the top of the button, pressing the fabric onto the prongs on the bottom side. This is the best time to work out any folds and creases that come up when gathering. It will be near impossible to fix them once the bottom portion is attached. 

Your top and edges should be smooth and flat. 

The larger buttons are much easier to assemble than smaller ones you might use for earrings or jewelry. Press the upper and lower portions together to fix the fabric into place. That small slit is where that clasp you removed would have come through. 

Attached the fob with glue to the back of the button. I would suggest something strong like E8000 (which you can easily get at Michaels).  More than likely you will be clipping this in a prime counter smacking area. So it can't hurt to have a strong glue. 

Now attach your decorations as you please. I did two straight strands of beads. Nothing fancy, but I think it would look cute with a charm or accent bead at the bottom. (Yeah...above is what happens when you don't work with a bead mat, or paper. Darn you berber carpet!)

And here is the final result! Quite fetching if you ask me. 

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Easter Bunny for Big Kids

Easter's Here! You know what that means right? BUNNIES, and puppies dressed as bunnies. 



After 25 dedicated years of being the Easter Bunny for me. I wanted to give back a little bunny love to my parents. That's where this sophisticated easter basket comes into play. After scouring World Market, through some of the best basket fillers out there, I was able to throw together this little number. 


No neon or plastic eggs, just pale, earthy, Eastery colors. 


Included:
Fat Tire Beer
• Pinot Grigio
• Tiramisu Dark Chocolate Bar 
• Glass Bead Wine Identifiers
• Southwest and Mediterranean Mixed Nuts
• Werthers's Originals Butterscotch Hard Candies
• Hazelnut and Peanut Butter
• Maple Syrup
• Indonesian Teak Scented Candle
• Asst. Ritter Chocolates




Easter baskets are cool just by themselves but to let the receiver really know you care, get those crafty juices flowing. I simply cut out a cute little bunny silhouette. Sized down from this. Right click and save the Pin Image, it's impossible to find if you follow their link.
Needless to say they enjoyed their basket of goodies. 
I also decided to flex my baking skills. Well sort of... baking from a mix counts right? I found this carrot spice scone mix from Sticky Fingers Bakery. They came out very soft, not what I'm used to for scones, but they tasted delicious. 
Carrot Spice Scone Mix from Sticky Fingers Bakery can be found at World Market. Lots of great seasonal options offered too. 
It's all about presentation, and you can't have scones without tea. I made a nice Jasmine green tea for this mornings delectables. Tea and scones were served on the back patio this Easter morning. Little birds and light breezes. Ahh this is my kind of Easter. 


 Don't they just look scrumptious! Who could resist these powered sugar dusted scones. Yum.
 It was a perfect Easter morning. Oh, and yes, even after 25 years, there were still chocolate eggs hidden around the house for me to find when I came over. Aren't my parents just the cutest. 
Happy Easter Everyone.