Valentine Pennant Banner

There's nothing like a trip to the craft store to get our Valentine creative juices flowing.

We took a stroll through the scrapbook department at Craft Warehouse and fell in love with a line of Valentine paper by My Mind's Eye.  It's called "Love Me". 

Once we saw the whimsical valentine pennant print, we knew we had to have one in "real life" size.

  We really don't need another pennant banner, ah...but the papers are so fun!

To make the banner, we picked up 3 x 2 1/2  inch chipboard pennants and chipboard hearts.

For the other pennant sizes, we used the paper cutter to slice squares, rectangles, 

 and a couple of larger pennants.

  

We used Mod Podge to glue the papers to the chipboard.

Then we used a small hole punch to make holes for the string. 

 It takes some muscle to punch through chipboard and a layer of paper!

It's so easy to make!

We might have to head back to the store to stock up on this cute paper before it's gone!

Beware....

We are guest posting over at My Yellow Sandbox!

Come see how we made our

 "BEWARE"

banner!

While you're over there...check out all of Abby's fabulous hairstyle tutorials...WOW!

If only I had her hair...I would be all over it! :)

Paper Doll by Michiko

I wish I could take credit for making this.  This paper doll was made by a lovely Japanese lady that goes to our church.  A few years ago, for Christmas, she made about 40 paper angels for the teen girls. 

Michiko said that each one takes 2 hours!

The angels were absolutely beautiful and amazing!

So, I cornered her a few weeks ago and ~begged~ her to teach me how to make them.  She was very hesitant at first and doesn't like her picture taken any more than I do. :)

I told her I would gather all supplies and then yesterday she shows up with one of these.

Look at the amazing detail.  She used wooden dowels and a Styrofoam ball.

How about that umbrella!? 

I know I'm crafty, but this is beyond crafty!

Wish me luck!  2 hours might be like 12 hours for me!

Michiko uses stiff wrapping paper.  She told me she always pokes a hole in the wrapping paper (said with a giggle) before she buys it to get the right texture!

I asked her if she would ever consider using a wooden ball instead of Styrofoam and paint it with a face. 

She frowned and said that it was not the way they did it in Japan. 

I guess you don't mess with perfection! :)

A Happy Birthday Banner

If you're your wondering what

we Crafty Sisters

have been up to,

or maybe

why we haven't been so

quick and current with posts.....

Candace has 4 very very very busy boys

she's been trying to wrangle and entertain this summer

and I have been busy busy working.
Phewwwww!
That about sounds it up!:)

I am actually surprised at how many comments we have received

about what I do, I guess I just figure y'all know.

I like to dabble with wood. 

I specialize in cutting out custom wood letters and other crafts.

I teach classes and sell my products at a local scrap booking store

and I'm trying to get better about making a go of my Etsy store.

I feel so blessed to be able to work with something I love

but even more that I get to do it from home

and be with my little girl.

You can see some of my projects here.

My sweet little girl has been so patient and so helpful to me!

I had to share one of my favorite projects I did lately.

I was asked to make up one of my birthday banners

to match the WISH letters I sell in my Etsy store.

I was so happy with how it turned out!

So bright and fun and my little girl helped me

pick out all the buttons, ribbons and directed

all the glitter glue that went on!

When Candace and I started making

birthday banners a few years ago

we made some for her craft group ladies.

Angela at Secrets of A Supper Mommy featured them here.

It just reminded me that although I would love to sew

I completely lack the patience for it.

Plus I dislike how fabric gets wrinkled when it's stored.

So endless are the possibilities with wood and paper

and this banner folds up like an accordion for easy storage.

And hey, you know me....is there such a thing as too much glitter?

I can hardly believe the summer is coming to an end

and I've got to get my head in gear for boutique season!!!:)

Candace and I are working on some more projects for her son's

room this week that we think will be really fun!

Stay tuned!

Snap! Crackle! Pop! Firecrackers!

We've got a few fun Patriotic Decor items coming up

here on Crafty Sisters and thought we start it off

with these EASY to Make Firecrackers!

I made a smaller set of these for my

America Wood letters

and they were so much fun I decided I needed more....

bigger and better to boot!

SO

Go grab the biggest dowel you can find (about 1 1/2")

I cut them in 7", 6" and 5" lengths (I got 2 sets per dowel!)

Some pre-cut Stars (the bigger the better)

some wire

and any scraps of red white and blue paper you can find!

(you don't need much for these!)

and some spray paint for the stars!

After you cut the dowel to desired lengths

make sure to drill holes in the top and into the stars

so you can attach the stars.

Don't forget to sand em' smooth!

Paint the ends of your dowels,

trim out your papers ready to go.

While your doing this you can coat the stars 

and the wire that you curled with some spray paint.

I used a really fun "copper penny" shade that had a hint of silver metallic to it.

I love love love how it turned out!

After much trial and error and some help from the nice ladies in my class last week,

we decided it was definitely easier to put the glue on the paper first

and then.....adhere it to the dowel.

Just sand off any excess on the edge with sanding tools.

I dipped the end of each wire into the end

of my glue gun and stuck them into the stars and dowels.

The great thing about the springy wire attaching them is that

they have some give to arrange them how you want.

I also ran a bead of glue to attach all the firecrackers together.

I finished them off with a bow of twine

and now they're all ready to put out!

Fun, Cheap & Easy!

Paper Trees

I've been meaning to make these for a long time.  I've had the picture below on my computer for a while and everytime I see the green paper trees, it makes me happy.  I used Martha Stewart's pretty papers from good old WAL-mart!  Some were not long enough, so I double wrapped them and actually glue guned them to stick.  I just turn the ugly side to the back where no one will see them! :)

(not sure where the original picture is from..does anyone know?)