Invitation 0005 (Baby Shower)

A friend and I decided to host a baby shower in April for our friend that is due in July.  I thought it would be cute to do a "April Rain Showers" theme. 

I tested my hand at creating a digital invitation.  I carried the rain theme through to the decorations at the baby shower.  

Birthday Card 0001

I love buttons!  I found this super cute patterned paper and I wanted to make birthday cards with it.  

The "Happy Birthday!" tag was hand stamped and hand punched.  The flower and paper button were hand punched and tied together with string.  

MATERIALS:

• Circle, oval, flower and button punches
• Stamp and ink 
• String

Tutorial: Diaper Cake

MATERIALS:

• 108 – Size 3 Diapers (LUVS)
• Wood board: 14" x 12" 
• Wrapping paper cardboard tube
• Curling ribbon
• Ribbon of various widths: 2″ and 2 1/2″
• Wrapping paper
• Safety pins

I had a wood board laying around in the garage.  It was the perfect size and sturdiness for a large diaper cake.  I used the wrapping paper that is incorporated with the baby shower theme to wrap the board.  

STEP 1:  I used the curling ribbon to create a circle with a 12" diameter.  I started to fill the circle with diapers in a circular pattern.  

I'm not fond of the rolled diaper cakes. It seems much more tedious to roll diapers individually.  I cannot even imagine what the new mother thinks when she has to undo each one.  

STEP 2:  Once I was almost done filling in the first layer, I placed the cardboard tube into the center of the diaper cake.  

STEP 3:  Repeat STEP 1 with a smaller circle of curling ribbon.  FILL! FILL! FILL!  

Repeat STEP 1 for each tier that you want to create.  I was happy with four tiers and I reached the top of my cardboard tube.  

STEP 4:  I wrapped each tier with 3" white ribbon and 2" and 2 1/2" colored ribbon.  I used a safety pin to keep the ribbons in place without pinning them to the diapers.  

STEP 5:  Decorate!  I had the yellow daffodils on hand and just created some bows. I created small clusters of daffodils and tucked them into the existing safety pins.  I pinned the bows to the ribbons to hide the existing safety pins.  I did not secure the diaper cake topper because I knew that it would not move around a lot.  

Upcycled Stamp Pad Storage

This is one of my favorite finds from a thrift store.  It is an all metal old cassette tape rack.  I thought it would be perfect to store my stamp pads.  

It is fairly wide, but not too deep. It goes on  the back of my shelf and leaves me plenty of workable space in front of it.  

I just won't know what to do when it gets filled up! 

Event: My First Craft Fair!

I found my first craft fair to be a success.  The high school that I send my junior high students off to has an annual craft fair to raise funds for a safe and sober grad night.  The event was called, "A Fair of the Heart" at Irvington High School in Fremont, California.  

I found out about the fair the week that the application was due!  I quickly sent out a text to my girlfriends to see if anyone was available to keep me company during the fair.  Luckily, I was able to find three friends to come cover different "shifts."  One friend was able to meet me at 7:30 AM and another two around 12:30 PM.  

I was able to unload my car on my own.  But I needed lots of help to set up the canopy.  I borrowed the canopy from my brother's friend.  It turned out to be Raiders canopy.  Although, I am a Raiders fan, I went to the thrift store to find a king sized sheet to cover the top.  I used clothespins to secure the sheet to the regular canopy cover.  

I received many compliments on my displays and products.  I wanted to have a welcoming appearance to invite people into my little shop. I tried to establish a layout that encouraged browsing and conversation.  My Card Making Kits were supposed to be my hot ticket item, so I placed them in the back closer to me.  Midday,  I moved a basket of the kits towards the front of my booth in my attempt to attract more customers.  

I used a very neutral color palette with pops of orange, which is my favorite color.  A majority of my display props and linens were thrifted or items that I found around the house.  Since it was my first show, I didn't want to spend a lot of money on the displays.  

I already have my ideas for improvement in future shows.  If I am outdoors again, I may rethink my large boards on the easels.  The wind was not too friendly to them.  I also think that the board in the front of my booth was not as effective as I hoped for.  I initially wanted that board to display some of my best pieces, but found that it made it less inviting since it was so large.  

All of my inventory fit into one large plastic storage bin.  I had a total of five other bins just for storing my display props and linens.  I need to work on finding more efficient ways to display more product.  That seemed excessive! 

Overall, I had a great time at my first craft fair!  I barely broke even for the booth fee. I met great people and hopefully, future customers.  More excitingly, I was invited to two upcoming local craft fairs.  

Thank You Card 0002

I like bold and bright patterned paper.  I found several colors of gingham patterned paper and wanted to make thank you cards.  I wanted to limited the colors that were incorporated.  I like cards with bold contrasts without a lot of fuss. 

The "thank you" sentiment was hand stamped in blue ink with khaki matting underneath.  I picked a coordinating khaki button to finish off the card.  

MATERIALS:

• patterned paper
• stamp and ink 
• button 

Invitation 0004 (Child's Birthday)

I hosted a card party in December (2012) and my cousin asked if I could help her create invitations for her daughter's birthday.  I was more than happy to help.  

She was planning a jungle theme since her daughter likes, "Go Diego! Go!"  

I had some animal stamps from a zoo set.  We stamped the animals and vines.  Super easy and cute invitation.  

Valentine's Day Cards 2013

I was lagging in setting up an Etsy Shop.  I decided to make Valentine's Day cards and sell them at work to see how well my cards do.  

I did fairly well and the sales boosted my confidence to open up my Etsy Shop.  

The best selling cards had this design.  I hand stamped and hand cut all of the bunting.  I used a small hole punch to thread the string through.  

The sentiments were printed on my color laser printer using coordinating colors.  

Tutorial: Upcycled Cardboard Boxes

I found a metal wire rack a long time ago to organize the bathroom counter.  I searched far and wide for bins or baskets that fit each section perfectly.  I never found them. I finally decided to make my own.  

After I collect some cardboard boxes, I cut them open along their seams.  I measured and cut them to fit the sections of the metal rack.  

I taped of the edges with painter's tape and formed the box.  I made four of the exact same boxes. 

I covered each box with white scrap paper since the boxes had bright prints on them.  I brushed on a thick layer of my modge podge then added the paper.  Then I brushed on another layer on the white paper.  I let it dry over night.  

Most online bloggers create their modge podge solution with 50% water and 50% white liquid glue.  I bought my glue from the dollar store, so it had more water than glue to begin with.  I think that's why my boxes look warped.  I add more glue to my solution to about 65% glue to 35% water.  

I picked a light teal colored pattern paper that matched the decor in my bathroom. I covered the boxes with the improved glue solution, added the paper and then brushed on the final sealing coat of glue.  

The final outcome wasn't too bad.  The boxes fit the rack perfectly.  Once I filled the containers, the warped edges weren't as noticeable.  

 

Ribbon Wrapped Gift

I recently made some hand poured soy candles as gifts for my cousin's birthday.  During Christmas time, I made lavender scented soy candles.  I felt that I was successful, so I ordered some more soy wax flakes and essential oils.  Sorry, no pictures! It has been hectic!

For my cousin, I made soy candles with the following scents: lavender (lavender ribbon), eucalyptus + peppermint (mint ribbon), and lemon + peppermint (yellow ribbon).   I wrapped each jar inside with the ribbons.  Then I weaved the ribbon around the kraft paper for a simple, but bright contrasting effect.