Paper Crafts Archives | Page 2 of 3

Entertaining Idea: Honeycomb Balls

April 21, 2016

When it comes to party decor, I’m one for big, bold design statements. My latest party decor obsession is honeycomb paper shapes. There is something about the honeycomb design that makes these decorative pieces more festive than party balloons and crepe paper streamers.

With so many festive occasions coming up like Cinco De Mayo, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and outdoor entertaining season, you have lots of opportunities to decorate with these festive shapes. Here’s a little inspiration for you…

♦♦♦

This honeycomb garland is just breathtaking and creates such a dramatic impact above a party table. The mix of shapes and colors adds so much dimension and visual pop.

100 Layer Cake

I love this arrangement of larger honeycomb balls and tassel garland as wall decor.

PnP Flowers Inc.

This centerpiece is simply beautiful and such a unique way to decorate a table. I can’t wait to give this look a try for myself.

Lovelyfest Event Design

How fun is this garland on a staircase? I would love to create a version this in traditional Christmas colors.

Canadian House and Home

And if you want to add a little fun to a flower arrangement, you can even use the balls to do that. Another DIY I’m going to try.

Not On The High Street

I’ve also been on the hunt for some mini honeycomb shapes to use for gift wrapping. Such an easy way to embellish a gift.

Studio DIY

There are several online stores and Etsy shops that sell honeycomb balls, but the Oh Happy Day shop has one of the best assortments out there. And I like the prices available from Oriental Trading Company.

The Parties That Pop–Etsy Shop

I hope you were inspired to great really creative with the decor for your next party. Let’s celebrate!

DIY Designer Notebooks {and getting a jump on handmade holiday gifts}

August 10, 2015

Hello there! I’m so giddy about my latest diy project and although it’s not revolutionary, it’s the kind of project that puts a big smile on my face.

After spending boat loads of money over the years buying fancy notebooks and journals, I finally decided to get crafty and make my own designer notebooks.

Since I have a deep love for beautiful paper, this project centered around some of my favorite patterns, colors and designs. I used geometric prints, damask patterns, leather and snakeskin designs and of course bright colors were part of the mix.

The snake skin and embossed croco embossed papers below are actually sheets of vinyl that I found on sale at Michaels for .75 cents.

These diy notebooks were super simple to make and required just a few supplies:

* Notebooks–most of the notebooks I covered I found at HomeGoods but I also covered Composition Notebooks which you can find at any office supply store, Wal-Mart or Target for around .50 cents. The mini notebooks came from Ikea (2/$1.00). This Etsy shop also has a great selection of plain kraft notebooks.

* Decorative paper–you can use scrapbook paper, thick wrapping paper, vinyl sheets and even pages from a book. Most of my decorative scrapbook paper came from Micheals.

* Permanent glue tape–I use my Glue Glider Pro which made applying the tape quick and easy–available from Amazon

* Exacto Knife and Scissors

* Blank Labels and Sticker Letters–available at Michaels

How to:

To cover each book, open the notebook, lay it flat and trace the outline of the notebook onto the backside of your paper. Cut the paper with your scissors.

Apply glue tape to the front of the notebook first and adhere your paper to the front cover. Next, apply glue tape to the spine of the notebook and wrap the paper around towards the back.

Apply glue tape to the back cover of the notebook and secure the paper in place. It’s that easy. You can also cover the inside of the front and back cover if you want.

Finally, apply a label to the front of each notebook and add a sticker monogram to personalize it.

As an added detail, I UpStyled the larger notebooks with metal corner protectors.

I’m on a notebook making marathon because halfway through making a few for myself I realized what great handmade Christmas gifts they’d make.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you’re inspired to make your own designer notebooks.

Product + Inspiration: Butcher Paper

July 30, 2015

I have had lots of fun sharing these Product + Inspiration post with you and I hope they’ve inspired you to look at products in a new way.
Today I’m sharing one of the most versatile products you can buy and decorate with. It doesn’t involve going to Goodwill or shopping at Ikea, but can be found in the paint aisle at your local hardware store or online from any craft supply shop.

Today I’m sharing decorating inspiration using butcher paper.

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Let’s Get Crafty–DIY Luggage Tags

August 28, 2014

Do you remember years ago when everyone had black luggage and how everyone tried to come up with a clever way to identify their bags?

Like many of you I tied ribbon to the handle in an effort to distinguish my bag from everyone else. Most of the time the ribbon would come back tattered or missing off my luggage.

I’ve also tried wrapping yarn around the handle (although it didn’t look as pretty as this) but that was a failure too.

How about identifying your bag with tape?. How many of you have tried that trick?

Adding washi tape to your bag would definitely give it some style but I don’t think it would stand up too well against those baggage carousels.

Since I’ve been doing a fair bit of traveling this year and will be heading out for my final trip of the summer, I decided it was time to come up with a stylish and effective way to identify my bags. In addition to the traditional luggage tag I have on my bags, I wanted to create a tag that would stand out and be easy to identify.

Here are the supplies you’ll need to make your own bag tags:

* Wood Shapes (about the size of a traditional luggage tag)

* Decorative Scrapbook Paper

* Gold Spray Paint

* Mod Podge

*Mod Podge Spray Sealer

* Grommets

* Large Jump Rings

How To:

1. Drill a hole into the top of each wood piece

2. Spray paint the front, back and sides of all your wood pieces

3. Cut your scrapbook paper to fit your wood pieces

4. Paste paper to each side of your wood piece using your Mod Podge.

After you have placed one side of paper, punch through it so that you know where the hole it. Attach the other piece of paper and punch through that so the hold is open on both sides of your tag.

5. Once your Mod Podge has dried, spray each side of the tag with your sealer and let dry

6. Add the grommets to the holes in your tag

7. Add large jump ring and attach your tag to your luggage.

If you’re looking for split rings in colors other than silver, I found this shop on Etsy that has a great selection.

I can’t wait to take my tags on the road. As you read this, I’m on my way to Washington, DC for a mini family vacation. It’s going to be a fun trip because my mom is coming in from Oklahoma and this will be the first time my hubby has ever visited DC. I’ll see you back here next week.

Have a safe holiday weekend!

Let’s Get Crafty–Stamped Gift Box

March 27, 2014

I’ve been in a crafting mood lately and this project is right up my alley. It combines my love of crafting with my love for gifting and giftwrap.

One of the items I love to gift (and get) most are candles. Often times I buy my candle gifts at HomeGoods or TJMaxx because they usually have a variety to select from and the price is right. The only downside is that many of their candles don’t come in boxes which means you have to come up with your own packaging.

I have several friends with birthdays in April so the other day I headed to HomeGoods in search of a candle and found this one. The glass jar was really pretty and classic but I knew to give it as a gift I would need to put it in to some kind of gift packaging.

I decided to make a pretty custom gift box. This is a pretty simple project and the box becomes an added gift that the recipient can use as décor in their home.

To create the gift box I used a few crafting supplies and clear stamps from CraffitiDirect, including one of the new sets from expert crafter Mark Montano .

Supplies Used:

Hinged Wood Box

Mark Montano Vintage Nature stamp set from Craffiti Direct

Thank You Flowers stamp set from Craffiti Direct

Sticker Paper

Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad in Walnut Stain

Prima Markers

American Crafts Glitter Tape

Drawer Knob from Hobby Lobby

I knew I wanted to add a handle to my box so before I got started with the paper design, I drilled a hole in the lid of the box to fit a decorative knob I picked up at Hobby Lobby.

To cover each side of my wood box, I stamped five sheets of 4″ x 6″ sticker paper using the Thank You Flowers Stamp and the Mark Montano Vintage Nature set. Once stamped and colored in using Prima markers, I placed the sticker paper to the top and sides of my box and then cut off the excess paper.

The box had a hinged lid so I used my exatco blade to cut the paper between the opening and around the back hinges.

To finish the edges and add more dimension I used glitter tape to frame each side of the box.

And as an extra touch I covered the front and back of a couple of small matchboxes with stamped sticker paper using one of the beautiful butterfly image from the Vintage Nature stamp set.

I’m addicted to decorative match books now!

Each side of the box has a different design layout so it is really unique.

Creating your own decorative gift wrap is an easy way to personalize any gift you give. I hope you enjoyed the project and hope that it inspired you to get crafty!

Paper Love: Creative Ways to UpStyle Your Envelope

February 6, 2014

I love paper products and one of my goals each year is to step away from the computer or cell phone and sends notes and cards to my friends the old fashion way. The cards I send are always decorative but rarely do I do anything special to the envelope.

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Sunny Days Ahead, Crafting and My Bucket List

January 9, 2014

IM. SO. EXCITED!

I’m on a plane to warm weather (80 degrees), I’m headed to a new adventure and I’m checking something off my bucket list!

Today’s the day when I’m headed to the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) show in Los Angeles. I will be representing Craffiti, a leading manufacturer of crafting stamps and embossing plates as their creative artist. The CHA show is the mega show where all things craft come together under one roof. All of the craft supply manufacturers as well as the industries leading crafters, bloggers and artist will be there and I am so honored and thrilled to be included in that group.

Over Christmas, while visiting my mom, I was busy getting my craft on. I was making projects that will be on display at the Craffiti booth, using the new and innovative embossing plates that Craffiti is manufacturing. While on site at the booth, I’ll be showing attendees at the show how the embossing plates work and creating make-n-take projects for them to take with them.

Here a just a few of the paper projects I created for Craffiti.

I’ll be in LA through the 14th and will be sharing my trip on Instagram and Facebook so follow along as I document this little adventure.

p.s. here’s a little write-up that Craffit has on their website announcing my attendance at the show.

Tools of the Trade

October 21, 2013

Happy Monday! I hope your weekend was a good one. Here in Atlanta we experienced the first fall chill which was perfect for a weekend for nesting and doing some crafting.

Since I do a lot of crafting, my crafting cabinet is filled with lots of tools of the trade like scissors, glue, paint, punches and glitter. I also have a paper-cutter which I use when I’m working on paper and card projects. A few weeks ago my trusty paper-cutter crashed and burned and I was left using scissors as my only method to cut paper.

My arsenal of scissors worked ok but I was in need of a paper-cutter for the many projects I’m working on. Well, you know how they saying goes…ask and you shall receive!

Just when I was about to go out and buy a paper-cutter, I was contacted by YescomUSA about trying one of their new home products. YescomUSA is an online superstore that sells a wide variety of products ranging from photo equipment and gardening tools to outdoor décor and toy & hobby equipment. I took YescomUSA up on their offer and they sent me their 15″ Guillotine Paper Cutter. Just what I needed!

Let me just tell you this is one amazing paper-cutter! Some of the features I like most about this paper-cutter are the steel base which makes the piece sturdy when cutting, the lockable cutting arm, the ruler and paper grid markings and the surface it will accommodate a 15″ paper size (which my old cutter would not).

The paper-cutter couldn’t have come at a better time because I’m in the process of creating new products for my Etsy shops, all of which involve lots of paper cutting.

I’m making cute banner gift tags

and have cut lots of paper to make holiday coasters.

The 15″ Guillotine Paper Cutter is the entry-level paper-cutter available from YescomUSA and sells for $39.99. If you do a major amount of cutting and or need an industrial strength paper-cutter, they offer those too, ranging in price from $175 to $320. You can see all the paper-cutter styles here.