It’s summer and the last thing I want to do is mess around with my hair (not that I mess with it that much in the winter LOL!) so here is a quick and easy everyday hair style you can try. All you need is a sock (try and find one that is similar in shade to your hair) and a barrette or hair pin. I’ll show you how to make the barrette I am wearing later this week! Happy crafting!
Month: June 2013
The Rainbow Pants Bookmarks!
Happy Saturday folks! Do you remember a couple of months ago I mentioned I was illustrating a children’s book? I just got the OK from the Author of The Rainbow Pants, Kelly Brooks Bay, to announce that it will be released in 2 weeks! You can check out the author’s blog here and please “like” The Rainbow Pants on Facebook so you don’t miss any of the upcoming events and release! Here is a quick and easy project I designed to go with the book:
If you are wondering about the dauber bottles I used I bought these empty ones from Oriental Trading and filled them with student grade watercolors and water to make watercolor stains.
Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Hot Pink & Rustic Favors!
Havin’ a party? Here is a fun idea for centerpieces and favor boxes that are quick to make, look great and won’t cost you a lot of money:
I used these inexpensive supplies from Papermart: Scrunch Roll With Glitter, Burlap Jute Mesh Ribbon, corsage ribbon, Frosted Flower Top Boxes, Glue Dots, bakers twine, large unstrung merchandise tags, homemade shimmer spray, a waterbased marker, stamp and stamping ink, and wood buttons. As always you can substitute supplies for what you have on hand or for items that match you’r theme. Make it your own! Here is a quick video to show you how easy it is, have a look:
Let me know if you have any questions! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and til next time happy crafting!
DIY Puffy Paper Stars!
Howdy folks! I am so glad to be back in Maine (although I think I left the hot sunny weather in Boston) but during my travels I bought a pack of origami star folding strips. I made a bunch of stars and turned some into earrings!
I was confused by the directions on the package so looked up the technique on Pinterest and understood how to make them. Then I thought this would be a good technique to video since it is a better “show me” technique, have a look:
Now you can stop throwing away all of those strips of paper left next to your paper cutter! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
WOYWW & a Winner!
Howdy and Happy What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday! Before I share my photo I want to announce the winner of last weeks About Art Accents stamp giveaway: jennyfer26 I have emailed you, be sure to check your spam folder if you don’t see the email I sent you, congrats!
OK, so on to my workdesk…well, my workdesk is quite dull today but I snapped a photo of my desk in the hostel in Boston while I was working on some watercolor cards and postcards using my “de-stressing” kit I showed you last week:
That photo was taken the day after my husbands surgery, all went well and I think my cheerful watercolor reflects my relief. Do you have a desk to share? What have you been working on? Do you want to see more creative workdesks? Well head on over to Julia’s blog for all of the WOYWW fun! I actually will get to snoop this week, yay! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Back from Bean-Town!
There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home…We got home last night after being in Boston since Wednesday. I want to thank everyone who sent good wishes to me and my family this month, my husband had surgery in Boston and it went well, I am so relived. I got a chance to explore a bit of the city while I was there. It was a last-minute trip (we only had a couple of days to plan) and most hotels were booked or crazy expensive so I tried something new, I stayed in a couple of hostels. I stayed at 40 Berkley the first 2 nights, they have private rooms but you share a bathroom, it was a fun friendly hip place in the artsy district of Boston. I think it would be a good place for families to stay. They have a huge free buffet breakfast too. They also offer discounted tickets to the aquarium, and other Boston attractions. It would save a family a lot of money. They were booked the next 2 nights so I got a bed at Boston Hostel which happened to be right across the street from the hospital and $50 a night! This is better for people traveling alone or with a group of friends because they have a lot of activities and guided tours, classes and outings free of charge! I was a bit unnerved by the “dorm style” rooms but everyone was very friendly and there weren’t any weirdos. I think whoever coined the phrase “Strangers are friends you haven’t met yet” did so while staying in a hostel. Unfortunately I did not take any photos of 40 Berkeley but I did at Boston Hostel:
I spent most of my time at the hospital but I think the nurses and my husband needed a break from my “helpfulness” so he encouraged me to safely explore the city. I have always wanted to visit a Chinatown and that neighborhood was right there.
The food was amazing! and cheap! I found a vegan Thai restaurant which is now my favorite, I could get anything off the menu, what a concept! You had to climb 2 flights of stairs in a very sketchy looking building to get to this place but it was worth it!
The smells of Chinatown are interesting, exotic spices, fish, moth balls, it is an experience! Sunday morning there was a street fair. I picked up souvenirs: Parasols for my daughters, a Red Sox cap for my sun (And Pat’s cap for hubby) and some sundresses for me. I also bought 2 kosheki dolls for my mom who collects dolls and who also watched my kids during this trip.
I found a fabric store tucked away in Chinatown too:
The next day however I found an even better one in the theater district, cotton was $3.50-$3.89 a yard and amazing! Hotels are pricey in Boston but fabric and food are cheap! I’ll show you what I bought an a day or two. I picked up a small packet of origami paper in one of the Chinatown shops and passed the time in the hospital room making various remedial origami projects. I had my Kindle fire which has a Pinterest app so finding patterns was a breeze, good thing because the directions on the paper pack were rubbish LOL!
I am so glad to be home with my family safe and sound. Its funny, I faced a lot of my fears in this trip (traveling, cites, strangers, crowds) and I didn’t even realize it because when you are faced with the illness of someone you love nothing else seems important or at the least worth worrying about. Thanks for all of your love and support and til next time happy crafting!
How to mount stamps for use with acrylic blocks
Someone asked me what I did to my rubber stamps I bought at the stamp show so I could use them with my clear blocks, so I flipped on my camera when I mounted some so you can see;)
Yep another semi informative video. I feel like I owe my readers an apology for the rambling (unplanned, spontaneous, un-practiced) videos of late. I’m just sharing when I can, if it takes a couple more minutes to get my point across, or I mumble I am sorry;) Thanks for understanding and as always happy crafting!
PS you can find a coupon code for 10% off your order at Stamper’s Best (the cheapest place to buy cling cushion and I use it!) on my friend Diane’s blog, it’s on the right sidebar, you need to scroll down a bit to find it. Thanks Diane for sharing!
Easy Gift Card Holder {baseball themed}
Here is an easy gift card holder that will fit a standard A2 envelope:
When you open it up it looks like this:
BTW the stamps I used are by Local King. Here is a video to show you how I made it:
For reference here is how I cut my 8.5″x11″ paper: Cut in half the long way (you get 2 11″x4.25″ panels), cut one of the panels at 5″ and set aside the 6″ long piece. Fold the long panel ink half to make an A2 size card. Score the 4.25″x5″ piece at 1″, 2.5″ & 4″ and fold it in half and fold the short sides up then punch or cut the slot for the gift card and assemble as shown in the video. any questions? Leave a comment! And til next time happy crafting!
Cheerful Cherry Jewelry! {video}
I had a few minutes the other day and I wanted to make something cheerful and fun:
I had some glass pearls that I got for 40 cents a strand at Micheal’s and I knew they were perfect!
I knew my daughters had leaf shaped beads because I helped them sort their beads last winter, found ‘um!
After experimenting with beads and making one big and one small cherry motif I turned on my camera so you can see how easy it is and sine I have no time to edit you can watch me drop stuff too!
I decided that the big cherries were too big and heavy for earrings so I used them on a necklace instead. Happy Crafting!
The Frugal Crafter Blog 