Make A Custom Journal

In preparation for my first show, I wanted to make a hand-made guest book. 

Check out the post over at A Blue House Blog for the full tut and pics along the way!

I Heart Trees & Your Paper Craft Can Too!

As you may or may not know, I am a contributor to the newly rolled out abluehouseblog. Head on over to  to read my post about how to make some custom gift packaging- green style.

A Handmade Valentines- Part 1

This year Valentines has been a great excuse to get crafty, and boy have I been (see here and here)! I went to a workshop at Blue House instructed by the very friendly and talented Ashley from Again Goods. While there, I managed to make three great felted gifts.

One for Ava, her B-day is on Valentines after all! She could use this as a tag on her backpack or craft bag, or for whatever her imagination desires.

One for Brian- I resisted putting on hearts. I figure if I am to have a chance that he will use it, it better not have hearts! He could use this as a luggage tag, key chain, etc...

The last tag I admit I intend to keep for myself (hehe). This tag could be used on one of my crafty bags, luggage, or a key chain. I admit I was a bit rushed when making this one. It shows...I should really re-sew these on by hand instead of using the machine.

While at Blue House I spotted these absolutely adorable robots made by deets. Siobhan (from Blue House) told me that the creator is an engineer, but now makes art for a living. Awesome! 

When I saw them I just had to get one for Brian, it was quirky and the kind of thing he would appreciate. I figured Valentines is as good of an excuse as any to give him a small trinket. 

Over the summer I went to the Shadow Art Fair, where I scored some hand illustrated cards. One of them I have been holding on to for Valentines to give to Bri;

Did you make something for Valentines? Or maybe you were the recipient of a handmade gift? Please share in the comments below!

Fabric Flowers for Ava

I decided I would use my nieces upcoming 4th birthday as an opportunity to try this tutorial on fabric flowers. My intention is to make headbands and/or hair clips out of them. 

It was a little harder than I anticipated to add 'dimension' by creasing the hearts...so instead I got out my curling iron. Yup, that's right! I used it to curl the peddles up and down on different layers. It gives it a sightly different look than the original flowers, but still cute.

More flowers...

...and this one...

last but not least...

I ended up making 5 total...one of which is a little sad looking (note to self- thin petals don't work so well), here is how that one turned out...

Plenty for both my nieces! Still need to get hair clips and/or head bands to attach them, but I'm thinking if nothing else works, a hot glue gun will!

DIY Heart Tutorial

I was asked to give a bit more detail on how to make these hanging hearts...so here I go! I only made 2 sizes of hearts, but if you wanted to make other sizes you'd just need to experiment. Also, I used what I had around, so I'm sure if you wanted to substitute something fancier than sewing thread that could be done too!

Supplies Needed:
Craft paper (12x12 sheet)
Scissors
Mod Podge (or any craft glue, not sure if a glue stick would work)
binder clips
Sewing thread
Sewing needle
Hole punch

Instructions:

1. For the larger hearts, cut strips of 12" long craft paper 1" wide. Smaller hearts are 6" long by 1"wide. Fold each strip in half.

2. To thread 3 hearts in a row, cut a piece of sewing thread about 3 ft in length, tie a loop at one end (this will be the top of the raining hearts).

3. Originally I either tied a bunch of knots over each other or taped thread between punch hole remnants. I think it's best to sew through a punch hole remnant (see photo) as it is less likely to go through the paper when you pull the thread taught. You could easily substitue a decorative bead or something else in place of the punch hole.

4. At the fold of the heart insert the threaded needle and pull the thread through so the loop and threaded hole punch is on top of the heart.

5. Apply craft glue to the insides of the bottom of the heart (the point), pull the thread taught to form the heart and secure the string and glued ends with a binder clip.

At this point I usually start another strand to give the the glue time to dry.

6. Once the craft glue has dried, remove the binder clip.

7. Re-thread the needle using the string under the first heart and repeat from step 3 above.

Double Heart Instructions are the same as above except you insert the needle through two strips of paper (one strip is 12" the other is 6") at once.
Enjoy!

Countdown to Valentines

It's not too late! You still have 1 week left until Valentines. Here is a list of great handmade gifts for your sweetheart this year. If your in the mood for some DIY, there is something here for you too!

Gifts For Him:

Why not a pair of quality hand made cufflinks?

He can even wear them out to the fancy Valentines dinner you will have!

Or maybe it's time for a new wallet? 

Brian treated himself to a wallet from this shop, and  I was really impressed with the quality workmanship. The detail from construction to packaging was top notch.

Want to support a local artist? Check out this shop, featuring this tee among many others.

You can find him on Etsy as well as Robot Shop and Vault Of Midnight.

For Her:

Ok, so I could just direct you to my shop, but you probably already know what I have to offer. Looking for something other than jewelry?

I have personally enjoyed these candles, they have a great fragrance and last a long time.

Brian bought me a pouch from one of my favorite Etsy shops for Christmas.

I just LOVE my pouch (it is blue with a jellyfish) and bonus- she makes her items with recycled materials!

I'm also a huge fan a loose teas (ok not EXACTLY hand made). I have had the pleasure of tasting few teas from Tea Haus in Ann Arbor. To my surprise I really loved Autumn Spice, which features fennel, anise, clove, and orange peel. This is a great option if you looking for something local and tasty that won't break the bank.

Feelin' Crafty:

From one of my favorite blogs, I found a number of DIY projects that could be used for Valentines. One is a fabric heart garland. If you didn't want to go all out and make a garland, a single heart would be great for a finishing touch on gift packaging, like this one that I made...

If your in the mood for some something sweet, these truffles are super easy and people always ask me for the recipe. I've topped them with crushed peppermint and coconut, both were great.

(photo from Real Simple)

Or maybe you don't have a valentine? In that case, why not treat yourself to some homemade infused vodka. Yum!

It's raining...hearts?

Over the weekend I managed to get my paper craft on AND take photos. These were inspired by some finds on Etsy and by these decorations I made around Christmas.

I sorta winged it and tried two different ways of making them. I learned two important things;
1. knots work better on top (pink heart, right) than double sided tape between two punch hole remnants (red heart w/blue & white interior, left).

2. use mod podge (and clips while they dry) instead of double sided tape to hold the bottom of the hearts together (or else risk the tension of the paper pulling on the sting, resulting in a malformed heart).

These are currently adorning our dining area, but I will be making a few more for my nieces 4th birthday (which happens to fall on Valentines day).

Etching Addict

For some time I've wanted to do some decorative glass etching and when I saw this project in the Oct/Nov issue I finally bought the supplies. Of course I didn't get around to using it until after the holidays, big surprise!

I had to buy the etching stuff on-line since it wasn't available in stores (at least near me).

I wanted to make some custom storage and organization dohicky's for my studio. This was a perfect opportunity to upcycle glass jars. In some instances, I didn't want to be restricted by labels so instead I used decorative shapes.

For others, I used labels. My local craft spots did not have vinyl letters specificly used for etching. I took a $5 gamble and bought some crafting stickers that looked like they might work. I lucked out!

I was immediately addicted to etching, so I decided I would decorate kitchen jars. We 'grind as you go' when it comes to coffee, but the grinder works best with more beans. I store the left overs in a small glass jar...now featuring the phrase 'wake up'.

Of course I also have a french press, the grinds for which are more course. To mix it up, I decorated with an organic design I found on one of my favorite blogs. This design convinced me that I need to buy a single hole punch. I was using an office hole punch that is for 3-ring binders and it was kinda a pain.

As you can see, my love for anything crafty seems to be ever expanding!

I Heart Holiday Paper Craft

This year has been a very busy holiday season. So busy in fact that Brian and I did not have time to get a tree! Which was a bit of a bummer to me...BUT I spent time making some great holiday paper crafts instead of time decorating a tree.

You can find directions for these here.

And as part of my hand-made pledge, I made more of these for my coworkers as gifts this year...

Easy Ornaments

Cold weather + snuggling under a blanket + cup of tea = feel like gettin' crafty.

This year I took a handmade pledge, meaning all gifts I give will be hand made either by me or another artist.  Ready Made's Nov/Oct issue featured little geometric balls made out of paint samples. When I first saw them I immediately thought it would make neat ornaments for a Christmas tree.

Blue House also used this idea to make ornaments at one of their workshops. I learned a few great tips there. One was cutting out an equilateral triangle out of card stock (instead of tracing triangles on every individual circle). Another was punching holes in them and using them as covers on a string of lights. So cute!

Building each side with 5 circles and adding the middle layer (left)...Top & Bottom portions (right)...

This ornament along with some super cute magnets I scored from Blue House were packaged together. I used them in a traditional $5 gift exchange at a family Christmas party. Perfect!

Full directions are here for detail on how to makes these guys.