Fancy a Tassel?

Howdy friends! Today I am going to show you how to impress your friends and wow your family by making homemade tassels. OK, that might be a bit of an overstatement but they are cute and fun!

And they are very easy! You can use any string, floss or yarn you like (smoother fibers work best) and make these in minutes. I think they look nice on bookmarks.

But really, they are showing up everywhere from home décor and fashion so there has never been a better time to learn to make these beauties and I’ll show you how in today’s video:

Supplies:

• Clear cello bags 2 1/2″x8″
• White cardstock
• Stamps (Apple of my Eye-Stampin Up!)
• Ink (Memento)
• Baker’s Twine
• Or use premade tassels (only 20 cents each!)
• Eyelets
• Hole punch/eyelet setter (optional)

Directions:
1.Cut cardstock 2.5″x8″ to fit in sleeve.
2. Stamp on designs and place bookmark in sleeve.
3. Punch hole in bookmark and set eyelet (optional)
4. Use bakers twine to make tassel and insert in bookmark hole.

Thanks to Papermart for sponsoring this post and thanks to you for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

 

 

Pretty Fall Tags!

Hi friends! It is beautiful, sunny unseasonably warn September day in Maine and I have a cold. I have been lounging on the couch trying with no luck to sleep so I can get this illness over with. I feel so lazy, at least I got to be creative yesterday and make these tags:

They were a lot of fun to make and easy to batch out. Watch the video to see how!

Video!

Supplies:

• Large Shipping Tags
• Kraft Gift Tags
• Bakers Twine
• Washi Tape
• Glitter
• Waterproof ink (Ranger Archival)
• Stamps (Leaves-Stampendous, Background Impression Obsession)
• Dies (Stampendous, Darice, Simon Says Stamp)
• Watercolor powder (Ken Oliver Color Bursts)
• white glue
• Tutorial for DIY spray ink, I used gold in the tutorial but you can use any fall colors in lieu of the powder color

Recreate this project using the themes you like and the products you have but if you need a large quantity of really useful tags be sure to visit our sponsor Papermart! They have lots of other goodies too! Now it’s time for me to brew another pot of tea and try to steam away my head cold! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Cute as a Bunny!

Hi friends! despite the fact that I woke up to snow falling this morning I have been feeling a bit springy today. Before you know it baby shower season will be in full swing. I have an idea for a quick and easy thank you card that can be made in batches and would be a thoughtful gift for a baby shower host to give to the soon-to-be mom:

I always thought it was important to send thank you cards after a shower. But with a new baby things get busy. If a shower host, who has all the names and addresses of the guests because she invited them, made this set of cards for the new mom and included addresses for all the guests it would be so appreciated. Bonus points if you keep notes on all the gifts received;) You could even enclose a book of beautiful postage stamps and a pretty pen! (Of course I might just be an old fart and maybe people don’t do thank-yous anymore but you know what, it would make someones day to know they were appreciated and an email just does not show the same amount of care as a handwritten note.) That’s just my opinion, I welcome yours in the comments below:) Watch this video to see how easy it is:

Supplies

• Cardstock
• Washi Tape
• Baker’s Twine
• Envelopes (4 3/8″x5 3/4″ 250 pack)
• Happy Hoppers stamp
• Thanks a Bunch Stamp: Stampin Up!
• Archival Ink: Ranger
• Watercolor Pencils
• Blender pen: Tombow

Directions:
1. Cut 8.5″x11″ cardstock in half to make 2 invitation size cards.
2. Add strips of washi tape to the bottom.
3. Tie bakers twine to the fold.
4. Stamp Bunnies and sentiment.
5. Color.

I hope you enjoyed this project sponsored by Papermart. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

DIY Invitations for Weddings or Spring Parties!

Hi Friends! Today I will show you how to make an elegant shabby chic invitation for a wedding or spring party using supplies from our sponsor Papermart:

This is a single panel card wrapped in a doily. It is very affordable to make these cards because they use few supplies and it is frugal to mail because they are light and will not require extra postage. Perfect for a bride on a budget! They are quick to make too! Watch the video to see how:

Supplies:
8″x11″ Cardstock cut in quarters
6″ paper doilies
Vellum (and a computer and printer OR you can hand write on it)
Paper ribbon
“Silk” rose petals: (bag of 144)  (bag of 400)
Baker’s Twine
Washi Tape
Brads (if desired)
Straight and decorative scissors and a paper trimmer
A4 envelopes
10″ square doilies for lining envelopes

You will get 4 invitations from every sheet of vellum and cardstock. I recommend you work assembly line style when making these in a large batch (cut all your cardstock at once, attach vellum at once etc.) you can even enlist a friend to help! For this demonstration I am using a generic invitation wording but if you are making these for a specific event print all of those details on the vellum to save time and it will look really professional! I hope this project will make your next party a snap! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Christmas Sweets (quick card!)

Hi Friends! Today I want to share a quick card with you:

Watch how easy it is to make!

You can find mason jar stamps in any craft store it seems these days but if you don’t think you will use them often you can print a free one off the internet and get your fix that way! I think Mason jars and other images you can stamp other things in are always a good investment! I hope you enjoyed this quick Christmas card! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Quick Tip: Using scraps of baker’s Twine (or ribbon, yarn, twine….)

Hello Friends! I think as crafters and artists we can become…well..pack-rats if we are not careful. I finished up a set of cards the other day and could not bear to throw away the scraps of bakers twine trimmings. So rather than dump it into my big ribbon scrap jar never to be seen again I decided to make a quick gift tag with it, have a look at how easy it is:

This technique can be used with ribbon, yarn, string or even slivers of paper. Cuz let’s face it, some of this stuff is just too pretty to throw away, even the tiniest scrap! To make the tag I cut a heart out of white cardstock and punched it out with a large label punch. Then I applied adhesive (score-tape) to a scrap of cardstock slightly bigger than the heart and adhered my twine scraps to that. I covered a manila tag with rainbow paper and adhered my twine square to that then topped it with my heart window with foam tape. Easy peasy and I have a gift tag ready to go and no guilt over throwing anything away. You can find the baker’s twine I used at Papermart, they have awesome deals on bulk supplies but that doesn’t mean we should waste anything. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

 

A Festive Halloween (or Fall) Banner!

Howdy folks!  Lindsay here with another quick and easy Halloween project. If you were looking for my WOYWW and Ask a Crafter post it will be up later tonight or tomorrow. Luckily I have more Halloween ideas than I know what to do with LOL!

I used burlap ribbon, baker’s twine, mini clothespins and ribbon from Papermart for this project. Also I used cardstock and alphabet stamps and my trusty glue gun. If you don’t have time to whip one of these up before tomorrow simply change the stamping to “Happy Thanksgiving” or “Happy Fall” and you are all set! Happy crafting!

Party Craft: Pom-Pom Earrings & Tassel Necklaces!

Good evening crafty friends. Phew! What a day! I swear I spent all day baking and I have only 2 cakes and a dozen cupcakes to show for my trouble. I made such a mess I had to clean the kitchen 2 whole times! How do people do this on a regular basis? It’s awful! I made each of my girls (they are twins you see) their own cake for their birthday this year. They had let me get away with cupcakes the last few years but Maizy was looking through an old scrapbook (this is the downside of scrapbooking folks) and saw a picture of the horse cake I made for their second birthday and wanted a horse cake this year. Oh boy, I had borrowed the pan last time and there was no time to get it so I started with a sheet cake and some creative cutting and you can even tell it is a horse. I’m good with that!. Lila wanted one of those “Big Top Cupcake” cakes and when it was done it looked like a beehive so ta-da, it’s a beehive and I totally planned it that way LOL! I’ll share photos of the cake tomorrow but tonight I wanted to show you the party favor/craft I have planned for the guests of the all-girl birthday party:

I wanted to make something simple, that anyone could make with no crafting experience. Also it had to be quick because the kids will want to run around and play and I’m all for unstructured activities at a birthday party. This is a 10 minute craft that is easy for everyone! Grown-ups are needed for the hot gluing or give the kids tacky glue. I got my huge spools of bakers twine at Papermart, you get 240 yards per spool so you can afford to make a lot of these! Watch the video to see how:

The key to making this (or any) craft with kids to ABP: Always be prepared. Here are the kits I have prepared in advance so the kids can grab the color they like and go. Some have clip-on earrings and some have pierced earrings so I might have to swap finding but that is quick and easy. 

And the finished project it adorable. I will even wear mine with pride!  (pardon the cheesy “Senior Picture” pose hahahaha!)

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Spring is here and that means babies!

I don’t know if statistically there are more babies born in the spring or not but it does seem like I get invited to more baby showers in the spring. Next time I’ll be ready with this cute set using supplies from Papermart:

Here are the supplies I used: Plastic Baby Clothespins in white ($1.20 a dozen), Baker’s Twine in light orange, Large Ric-Rac trim in white (dyed with spray inks), a Shipping Tag, kraft and white cardstock, a scrap of green paper, watercolor paper, watercolor pencils (I prefer Inktense) a sponge dauber and scalloped punch (or you can cut a circle with scalloped scissors.) Watch this video to see how I made this!

Variations: Look at the stamps you have, you could stamp bibs, diapers, tiny tee’s and socks and other baby stuff! Or you could stamp some swimsuits for a “Bon Voyage” card. Have fun with this design. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!