Pretty Pinwheels

Dear Lizzy for American Crafts Neapolitan Pinwheels Embellishments; Pinwheels die by Silhouette; Pinwheel Bigz Die by Sizzix; Hip Hip Hooray Pinwheels Embellishments by Pebbles; Unity Stamp Co. Smile.Giggle.Laugh stamp set; Martha Stewart Crafts Modern Festive Pinwheel Kit

I’m starting to get that end-of-winter itch… you know, the itch for spring. I can’t wait for longer, sunny days, when I can step outside to a warm breeze and finally bring out the flip flops and tank tops.

One of the trends I’ve been seeing lately that’s getting me excited for those days are delightful pinwheels. Don’t they just exude spring? Pinwheels seem to be popping up in all sorts of embellishments, a new take on the ever-popular banners and paper rosettes. You can also find them in die-cut form (I’ve already purchased the $1 Silhouette digital die) or make your own (Martha Stewart has a good tutorial here).

These whimsical ‘wheels can be used in a variety of ways. Here are a few creative ideas I spotted on Pinterest…

Glamorous pinwheel cupcake toppers (love the sparkly paper!)…

Colorful and country-chic pinwheel drink straws…

Quirky yet girly pinwheel bows…

A dainty pinwheel baby mobile…

…and a full bouquet of pinwheels.

Whether or not the spring weather comes soon, I’m definitely looking forward to playing with pinwheels in my paper crafting! How about you?

Silhouette Bride Frame

Today’s project can be seen in the current March/April 2012 issue of Paper Crafts magazine for the Cameos & Silhouettes Brides & Babies feature. I think this would be a fun frame to hang from a chair at a wedding or shower, and you could make one for the groom, too! It’s an easy and inexpensive DIY wedding project. The beautiful frame was only about $10 at Michaels and came with the satin ribbon attached. The silhouette girl is an embossed image of a Studio Calico stamp on kraft cardstock and “BRIDE” is spelled out with American Crafts Thickers. My favorite part of making this project was playing with buttons and rhinestones. I used different shades and sizes of neutral buttons and flatback Swarovski crystals and pearls. Strong glue dots keep them in place on the outside of the glass. (The glue dots really do hold up well… I made this project, shipped it to Utah… it survived the photo shoot and handling by the magazine and was shipped back to me without a bead missing!)

The silhouette trend is one I have yet to grow tired of… I love the elegance of these timeless images. You can see some more of my favorite silhouette portrait-inspired products in my post here.

The latest Paper Crafts is, as always, full of so much paper crafting inspiration! I’m delighted to have a few projects inside the magazine. You won’t want to miss it! If you don’t already have your copy, you can buy one here.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Valentine’s Day Gift Bags and Cards featuring Martha Stewart Enchanted Woodland

Back again with some more Valentine’s Day items to share. While watching the Grammys I got busy wrapping up Valentine’s Day gifts with the Martha Stewart Enchanted Woodland collection. I made a few gift bags (plain white bags are from Michaels) and a pair of cards. Here’s a peek:

The sentiments on the last two cards are from Papertrey Ink’s Tiny Treats stamp set.

Handmade Valentine’s Day Heart Shaped Gift Box Using Silhouette

Hello all and happy Valentine’s weekend! Are you busy making last-minute cards and gifts? Here’s a box I made in minutes, thanks to the Silhouette. I’m really loving this machine. I used the 3d heart-shaped box template (available in the Silhouette online store) to make this pretty-in-pink package. The patterned paper and heart sticker is from an older Stampin’ Up! Simply Scrappin’ kit and I also used Stampin’ Up! cardstock for the box base. Shiny satin ribbon and bright pink tissue paper finish the gift… all it’s missing is the chocolate. :)

P.S. Some good news… As you may have seen on Twitter I am thrilled to be among those who received “happy mail” from Paper Crafts magazine today! I submitted 5 projects and they all got picked up for publication in the newest Stamp It! Cards magazine! Also this week the March/April issue came in the mail with three of my projects published inside. (I’ll be sharing one of my favs from the issue soon!) This is a great issue filled with so many beautiful projects by many other talented designers. I sometimes want to pinch myself when I think about how lucky I am to have my designs featured in PC. Hooray!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I’ll be back soon with some more Valentine’s Day projects. Feel free to leave a comment with any crafting projects you’re working on, as always, love to see what and how you’re creating.

xoxo

Papertrey Ink Get Well Soon Card

Quick post today, a simple get well soon card I made for a friend recently using Papertrey Ink stamps. I can’t take credit for the idea to make the holiday label a Band-Aid… I saw it awhile ago in an online gallery (I think PTI’s?) and thought it was such a cute way to repurpose a holiday stamp! Here’s a photo of the full card with a handmade lined envelope to match. Thanks for stopping by today!

Papertrey Ink stamps: Holiday Treats, Tea for Two, Friends ‘Til the End; BasicGrey chipboard heart; American Crafts patterned paper

Featured on The Cupcake Blog!

I just discovered my mini cupcakes and Valentine’s Day treat box were featured on
The Cupcake Blog today! How cool is that?! Check it out here.

CHA Winter 2012 Sneak Peeks: My Five Favorites

It’s the most wonderful time of the (paper crafting) year! Winter CHA is this weekend and while much of the paper crafting world gets to see the latest and greatest products in Anaheim, I will be here drooling over all the wonderful new spring and summer releases that I can find online. For those of you who may not know, CHA stands for Craft & Hobby Association and this weekend is one of their trade shows when manufacturers reveal their newest collections for the upcoming season (I like to think of it as kinda like Fashion Week for crafters). I’ve been having fun checking out all the manufacturers’ sneak peeks leading up to the show. Here are some of my favs so far.

I love beachy papers and my fiance and I were just dreaming out loud about a Florida Keys getaway, so I was immediately drawn to Webster’s Pages new Palm Beach line. This collection takes me to sunny shores with its creamy color palette and breezy palm trees. I cannot wait to make a vacation mini album with these papers.

BasicGrey departs from the typical baby/park/wedding themes for spring and shouts  “HELLO!” — or rather, Konnichiwa! — with a new Japanese-inspired collection of bright colors and geometric prints. Love it!

Oh Dear Lizzy I am so happy you are back. No one can quite welcome spring like Elizabeth Kartchner I’m convinced… her collaborations thus far with American Crafts have blown me away and I’m looking forward to scrapping with her latest, the Neapolitan collection. The pastels and watercolor elements give it a dreamy quality, don’t you think?

Crate Paper has this awesome way of making papers that are vintage-y while still being completely accessible for creating modern projects. The sentiment stickers in Pretty Party would work for both cards and albums (versatility is always a positive in my book) and I’m pretty sure that the seafoam green on the letter stickers is the perfect shade of green.

And finally… Pebbles Inc’s Hip Hip Hooray is everything a birthday collection should be: colorful, festive and FUN. And I am a sucker for mini clothespins. Those little guys stole my heart as soon as I spotted them on the Pebbles blog!

If these five favorite sneak peeks are any indication… CHA has lots of paper crafting goodness in store. Which of these collections are your favorite? Any others out there you’ve spotted that are missing from my round-up?