Tag Archives: paper

Friday Favorites–Foxes

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It’s funny that there are animal fads.  Really, I think if we were all watching from the outside, the idea of fads at all would be pretty hilarious.  We’re all little ants and one ant says “Hey, that bread crumb looks pretty good.”  Everybody runs to that crumb until someone else says “I like this one” and crumb A is abandoned for crumb B.  Mason jars are the new owl!  Or something like that.

Forgive my rant.  I’m just as guilty as anyone of succumbing to whatever is of the moment.  Before Christmas, I saw something adorable that had a fox on it.  I don’t remember what it was, but I do remember that I liked it and now want something with a fox on it.  Yep, I’m queen of the ants.

This DIY Fox Scarf from Prudent Baby looks warm.  I love the fox-colored plaid fabric.

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I love bookplates, but somehow I’ve never had any.  I might have to remedy that with these from By Wilma.

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If you’re a fox fan, but not a DIYer, check out this Fox Pillow Cover from maureencracknell on Etsy. 

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These Felt Fox Pockets from CathGrace are adorable on the coat she made, but could be added to a pre-made coat as well.

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Maybe you want to be a fox yourself?  Try these fox ears from Sew Wrong.  I won’t judge.

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These clever Fox Face Cookies from The Bearfoot Baker start out with a star.

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If you happen to be one of those lucky people with a Silhouette cutter, try out their Fox Sewing Pattern.

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Curious and Catcat used three different fabrics to give this Little Fox Rattle more textural interest for baby.

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This hand-stitched fox from How Did You Make This is impressive, but if you really want to be wowed watch the video showing the 10 hours it took to make compressed into 2 minutes.

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Don’t Eat the Paste shares a fox coloring page based on her Spoonflower fabric design.

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Valentine’s Day is coming, so it’s the perfect time for these Foxy Valentine Favors from P.S. Blog.

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We’ve been through owls, octopi, foxes…any guess what the new “It” animal will be?

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Illuminated Paper Trees

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I love making Christmas decorations from paper.  I can enjoy them for the one season, but not necessarily have to pack them away for years and years.  I’m picturing these little trees in the center of a buffet.  You don’t even have to worry about getting food on them.

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There are three different options here for these trees.  I have a plain, white version here so you can let the littles decorate them, a set of three in varying shades of green here and, my favorite, a set of three in colorful prints here.  You can even go crazy and display all of them together.

To make these, print out your trees on regular paper.

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Cut the V shapes on each tree.  I found this was easiest with a cutting mat and Xacto knife.  Cut around the tree.

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Clip in on each side of the star, but leaving the center attached to the tree.

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Roll the tree into a cone, matching up the edge and dotted line on the back.  Secure with tape.  This is easier if you have an extra set of hands so one person can hold the tree while the other applies the tape.

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To curl the branches up, lay a pencil on top of the V and hold the paper while twisting the pencil upward.  I gave up trying to curl the very top V under the star.

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Your tree is finished!

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To light these up, set them on top of a battery-operated tea light.  DO NOT use a tea light or other candle with an actual flame.  I didn’t really need to tell you that, did I?

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I actually really like them even when they aren’t lit up.

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These might get packed away and brought back out next year after all.

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Fire Starter Hostess Gift

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I’m starting to feel that anxiety of a busy week coming up.  I don’t mind the chaos.  In fact, I sometimes like a little crazy.  The part that makes me tense is the thought that I’ll forget something important.  When there’s so much to do, something is bound to slip through the cracks (FYI – as I was typing this I wrote “crafts” instead of “cracks” – psychoanalyze that!).

One of the things I want to make sure to remember is a hostess gift for Thanksgiving.  My husband is still away and my sister invited me and my kids to spend the holiday with her family.  Hosting Thanksgiving is no small task, so I want to thank her properly.  Before you think I’m giving away the surprise here, this isn’t the gift I decided on, but I love it and wanted to share it with you anyway.

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Everywhere we have lived has had either a fireplace or a woodstove.  I love being able to have a fire in the winter.  What I do not enjoy is wading up balls of newspaper to start it.  I decided instead to make something I could just grab out of a basket and throw in under some kindling.

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To make the fire starters, I used cardboard rolls.  Mine are toilet paper rolls, but you could also cut down a paper towel roll or the center from the wrapping paper.  Speaking of gift wrap, you’ll need some of that too.   You’ll also need some cotton string and something flammable to stuff inside, like shredded paper.  I’ve even seen these made with dryer lint.

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I used shredded paper for mine.  I also wadded up pieces of the instructions that come wrapped around interfacing and stuffed that in the ends of the tube so the shred wouldn’t fall out while I was working with it.

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Cut the gift wrap into pieces about 6” by 10”.  Starting from the larger side, roll it around the stuffed tube.  Secure with a small piece of tape.

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Squish the ends just above the tube and tie with a 6” piece of string at each end.

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To use, simply stick a couple under some small pieces of dry wood…

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…and light the ends.

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I normally use a butane lighter to start a fire, but I thought something prettier would make this a better gift.  The Burlap Bag had shared a match jar project that was exactly what I was looking for.  The only changes I made were to not cut a hole in the top and use the lid insert under the sandpaper.  I actually had a partial box of strike anywhere matches that I’m pretty sure has been around our house through most of our marriage.

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After I made the first batch of these using Christmas wrap, I happened to find some wood grain print paper at Target.  Now they’re perfect!

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Throw in a few dried pinecones and you have a gift that’s both functional and pretty – if your hostess can bring herself to actually burn it.  The wood grain starters will probably still be sitting on my hearth in April.

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Printables and Padding Compound

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I’m a list maker.  My memory is a little hit-and-miss, so it’s really the only way I can keep track of what I need to do.  I do it so often, it’s a family joke.  The funniest part is when my adult and nearly-adult kids come and ask me for a packing list when they’re about to go somewhere.  They’re broken.

Because I make so many lists, I go through a lot of paper.  I’ve tried cutting up scratch paper and just using it as I need it, or securing a stack with a binder clip, but something is missing.  I think I like the ripping sound it makes when I tear off a completed list and triumphantly throw it in the trash.

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A few months ago, I came across a project on Chica and Jo that had my name written all over it.  They were making notepads with something called padding compound.  Making my own notepads?  Out of whatever I want?  I was so in.

I finally got around to ordering the padding compound from Chica and Jo through Amazon.  It’s $7.99 for a bottle.  I waited, as I always do, until I had a large enough order for free shipping.  It took the tiniest amount to make the three pads, so this is a great value.  It seems like I could make a million of these before I run out, but Chica and Jo have kindly provided an estimation guide that says it’s more like 120.  I took this photo AFTER I made the pads shown.

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I’ve never been happy with the size of the grocery shopping list pads I’ve bought before, so getting to make my own in a larger size made me pretty happy.  You can download that printable here.

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I named my to-do list What To Do, because it sounds less bossy than To Do.  There are three pages to this printable, which you can download here.  That’s mostly because I like to play with fonts, and wanted to use all the graphics I drew for my blog.

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Making these couldn’t be easier.  Print out as many pages as you’d like on regular paper and cut them to size.  I went with about 40 pages per pad.  If you’d like the back solid, like a pad you’d buy, also cut a piece of cardboard the same size.

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Clamp the pages together with a couple of binder clips.  If you want to protect the top page from excess compound, you can put a piece of cardboard or popsicle sticks (which I read about in the comments on Chica and Jo’s blog) at the top edge.  I’m storing the sticks with the compound so I can just use the same ones every time.

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The next step is to brush the padding compound onto the top edge of the pad with a small brush.  My binder clips were very large, so I didn’t have any trouble getting the brush in there, but you may want to try clipping from the side if yours are smaller. 

I ended up leaving this overnight, but from what I understand it dries quickly.  I removed the clips and added a second coat.

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After that dried, it was just a matter of peeling off the popsicle sticks and the pads were finished!

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I’m anxious to make more, especially with the holidays coming up.  These could be personalized or make from scrapbooking paper, and combined with a cute pen, would make a useful teacher’s gift.  Actually, these would make a great, inexpensive gift for anyone.

Don’t make the mistake I did though.  I put one on my desk and one in my sewing room, so I had two lists going at the same time.  It was pure chaos.

Mousekeeping Tip Envelope

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I am extremely appreciative of the housekeeping staff whenever we travel.  One of my favorite things about leaving home is that I get a break from all my usual cleaning duties, so the people willing to do it for me are my heroes.  We always make sure to leave a tip when we check out, but I never thought to leave it in something cute.

My friend Erika sent me a link to a cute envelope someone had made to leave a tip for the housekeeping staff at Disneyland, otherwise known as Mousekeeping.  When we were planning for our recent trip, I decided to come up with one of my own.  I thought Mickey’s wizard hat from Fantasia was appropriate.  I was able to make this using only simple shapes in MS Publisher.  The font is Waltograph and can be found at Dafont.

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Just click on the image below to download the printable PDF.  Print out on white cardstock.

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Cut out, cutting around the two yellow tabs at the bottom and carefully cutting the two black slits just above the writing.  Cut around the top of the ears and hat only above the faint yellow line (do not cut the line).  I found the best way to do this was with an Exacto knife.

Fold in at the bottom of the red area and at the faint yellow line.  Tape or glue the sides of the red area closed.  Slip in the cash (I promise we left them more than $1 – this was for the photo)…

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…tuck the tabs into the slots and leave somewhere for Mousekeeping to find.

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I’m anxiously looking forward to the next time I can make use of one of these envelopes!

Friday Favorites–Red, White and Blue

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Here in the United States, our team colors are red, white and blue.  There’s no shortage of the stars and stripes this time of year, but you won’t see me complaining.  I once had a bathroom decorated in red, white and blue, so I’m all in.

I’m not usually much into wreaths, except at Christmas, but this Nautical Wreath from Etsy seller TheBakersDaughter is adorable, as is everything in her shop.

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I think this might be too much frosting to actually eat, but I’m not sure that would stop me from trying this Patriotic Rose Cake from I Am Baker.

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I love the whole ombre trend that’s going around right now.  Somehow, Eighteen25 managed to pull it off using red, white and blue in this Subway Art printable.

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I think the simplicity of these Victory Wine Crate Herb Gardens from Kaleidoscope of Colors is what makes them special.

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A Pumpkin and a Princess shares a round-up of her previous Patriotic Crafts.  This Paper Chain and the Mini Star Pies are my favorites.

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I love the waviness of this Bargello Flag Quilt Pattern from Country Woman.

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This No-Sew Table Runner from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom would be a great last-minute decoration for an Independence Day party.

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As I said, I’m not one to shy away from using a red, white and blue color scheme in decorating, although I’d probably tone it down a little more these days.  These Cubby Holes from Better Homes and Gardens would be cute in a kids room or maybe even a mud room.

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Need an activity to keep everyone busy while you’re waiting for the fireworks to start?  Try these printable 4th of July Bingo Cards from Makoodle.

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These Snow Cone Cupcakes are the cutest thing I’ve seen all day.  You just can’t go wrong with Bakerella.

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It’s going to be a little quiet around here next week because I’m going to be in…drumroll, please…DISNEYLAND!  It’s my daughter’s graduation present and we couldn’t be more excited to get there.  I’ve got a couple of Disney-inspired projects to share with you when I get back!

Graduation Cap Cash Box

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My husband and I have 24 nieces and nephews, with a large portion of them clustered in the middle school-high school-college range right now.  Needless to say, there’s always someone graduating.  This year, it’s one of our nephews who lives with us.  Like his cousins before him, he’s getting money, the universal “Welcome to the adult world” gift.

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To make this, you’ll need a square tissue box.  I’m sure my family has been wondering why I left a bunch of tissues in a wad in the bathroom, but I needed crafting materials.  You could also use a large yogurt container with a hole cut in the top if you prefer the round look.  In addition to the box, gather up some black tissue paper, black construction paper, a piece of cardboard a few inches larger than the tissue box, and some embroidery floss or yarn.  Oh, and of course you’ll need a stack of bills.

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My tissue box was gapping a bit on the sides, so I wrapped it with packaging tape.  Totally optional, but it made it easier to work with.  Pull the plastic out of the hole in the top.  Cut the piece of cardboard so it’s a square that extends beyond the tissue box about 2” on each side.  Draw a line, corner to corner, to make an X.  Draw a 2” square at the center of the X and carefully cut out.

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Cut a square of black tissue paper larger than the hole.  Tape to the back of the cardboard, covering the hole completely.

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Working carefully so as not to tear the tissue paper, cover the box and cardboard with the black construction paper, making sure to not cover the hole in the center.  I overlapped the edge around the hole slightly to hide the cardboard.  Also leave the hole on the top of the tissue box open.  I used a hot glue gun, but you could use regular glue if you have more patience than I do.

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You can add a tag or message of some kind to the side of the box at this point if you’d like. 

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Attach the bills end to end with tape or staples. 

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Feed the bills into the box, allowing them to stack over themselves, rather than stuffing them into the box in a glob. They’ll be less likely to catch or tear when they’re pulled out. Leave the last bill sticking out. Since money is very gross and germy (I used to work in banking), feel free to go wash your hands after this step. I’ll wait.

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Cut an 18” strand of embroidery floss.  Attach it to the top bill.  I stapled mine, then tied the floss around the staple.  Push the last bill into the box.

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Thread the other end of the floss onto a needle.  Push the needle carefully through the center of the tissue paper.  Glue the cardboard to the top of the box, centering the tissue paper over the opening on the box.  Make sure to avoid catching the bills or thread in the glue.

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Make a tassel by laying a couple of 6 – 8” lengths of floss on top of a 2 – 2 1/2” piece of cardboard.  Wrap floss around the cardboard over the center of the 6” floss until the tassel is the thickness you’d like. 

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Tie the 6” floss the the top edge. 

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Slide the floss off the cardboard and cut the bottom ends apart.  Tie the floss sticking out of the box around the tassel, leaving it long enough to just hang over the edge.

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Tie a small piece of floss around the whole tassel about one third of the way down to finish the shape.

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The fun part is giving it to your grad and telling them to pull the tassel until the tissue paper breaks and a string of money comes out.  I’d love to show you this one in action, but it’s still in hiding until our nephew actually graduates.  There’s three days of school left and he has to finish earning it, after all.

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Friday Favorites–Graduation

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My little girl, the blonde, screaming bundle I feel like I just brought home from the hospital, is graduating from high school in a couple of weeks.  As we expected, it’s been a bit of an emotional roller coaster lately.  Leaving behind childhood and heading into the adult world is big and scary.  I’ve been looking around for a few ideas to try and make that transition fun and maybe not so terrifying.

I love the haphazard-but-not style of this Graduation Board from Creations from my Heart.

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Cash is a very common, and usually welcome, gift for graduates.  This Graduation Lei from Your Homebased Parties probably had this kid running from his cash-plucking friends, but I’ll bet he didn’t mind.

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This Photo Monogram Letter from Sometimes Creative would be a sweet way to share photos of a child’s school years for graduation and would make a nice dorm room decoration later.

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What teenager doesn’t love candy?  Give them this Candy Pail from Fun Mom on the Go, then hide until the sugar rush is over.

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These Smarties Diploma Graduation Favors from Dollar Store Crafts are just simple and cute.  Sometimes that’s all you need.

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If you’ve had a kid in high school, you know every activity they get involved in comes with a t-shirt.  What better way to wrap up their school career than with this T-Shirt Quilt from CraftStylish?

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Back to the cash, this Grad Money Holder from Splendiferous Creations is fairly simple, but looks impressive.

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This Graduation Cap Money Holder Box from Extreme Cards and Papercrafting would be fun to give.

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I love reusing those little Altoids tins, so this Graduation Gift Card Holder from Plaid caught my eye.

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These Candy Cup Caps from Bakerella are on my list of possible graduation day food.

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I also have a few graduation gift ideas right here:  Graduation Cap Gift Check Holder, Fabric Fortune Teller and Fabric Fortune Cookies.  I’ll be sharing a new graduation gift idea with you next week.

Do you have a graduate this year?  Have you gone through as many boxes of Kleenex as I have so far?

Fabric Postcards

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Last month, I was in the middle of cleaning out my fabric when I stopped to catch up on some email.  I subscribe to a blog called Ninth Street Notions, which caught my eye a while back because she’s a fellow Oregonian.  She was organizing a Fat Quarter Swap and asked that interested readers sign up.  It seemed like good timing, what with me sitting in the middle of all that fabric.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term “fat quarter,” it just means a piece of fabric that measures 18 x 22”.  It’s a lengthwise half of a half yard.

I was assigned another crafter, who happened to be from New Zealand.  I sent this package her way.

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And received this fun little bundle.

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My daughter immediately spotted the chevron print, so I set that aside, along with the turquoise, for a project for her.  The black and white harlequin actually has little gold lines in it, which made it coordinate well with my favorite of the bunch, the brown and gold floral print.  I have projects to show you throughout the week made from each of those, but we’ll start with the blue and tan checkers in the corner.

I’ve been interested in trying to make fabric postcards for a while now, and since featuring them in my Friday Favorites recently, it’s been closer to the top of my list.  I signed up for Postcrossing, also from that round-up, and was been assigned a recipient from Spain.  It was time to get cracking and that print seemed perfect.

My postcard pal requested something that reflects where I live.  Good luck finding a “Boring, Oregon” postcard.  They might be out there somewhere, but I’ve never actually seen one.  This was about making a card anyway, so I decided to get a little creative.

I took a photo of my back yard, which is technically a valley with a river in the bottom.  I printed that on a piece of muslin using the freezer paper method.  I was concerned about the ink getting wet and smearing in transit, so I used some fusible vinyl to cover the photo.

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I also printed some postcard backs on cardstock.

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I used a bit of fusible adhesive to attach the fabric to the back of the postcard.  I cut strips of the print on the bias (diagonal) and sewed them together until I had enough to go around the outside of the card.  I folded that in half, then folded one edge into the fold and pressed, so I had something resembling half-finished bias tape.  I folded one end under, then stitched it to the card with the raw edge even with the edge of the card.

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I trimmed the edges of the card, rounding the corners, then rolled the fabric over the edge to the back.  I sewed around the edge through all the layers with a zigzag stitch.

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I’m pretty happy with the way they turned out, even though they do NOT want to lie flat.  The good news is, my recipient obviously collects the cards, as he requested I mail it in an envelope if possible.  I can’t imagine sending this through the mail as is, but I know others do. 

I really love the fabric on the edge.

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Stay tuned this week for more fat quarter projects!

Last-Minute Valentines

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Valentine’s Day is tomorrow.  Thanks to a pair of early dentist appointments and a full schedule for my husband on Tuesday, we’re celebrating today.  That consists of a trip to Costco, shopping for a television to replace the one that croaked over the weekend and probably lunch somewhere.  Your definition of a romantic date adapts to whatever life circumstances you happen to be in.

Before I go, I thought I’d share a couple of last-minute ideas I found via Pinterest, in case you’re scrambling to find a way to show your affection tomorrow.

Money is always great when you’re short on time, right?  Pretty it up by folding it into an origami heart, as shown on Instructables.

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All you need to do is print out these cute Valentines from Pumpkins and Posies and scribble a little note.

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I love this idea so much I can’t stand it, and found it from both Papervine and Craftster.  It’s a little more time consuming, but could still be finished before tomorrow.

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Maybe the way to your Valentine’s heart is through his or her stomach?  Try these cute kabobs from The Inspired Collection.  They’re really easy, but still look fancy.

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Happy Valentine’s Day! <3