March 3, 2014
March Pinterest Inspiration Board....Going Green
September 18, 2012
Assembling a crafty Autumn basket........
Below I have Dripping Doilies some leaves and old book paper that are all found in the Autumn Kraft Packaging Kit. The items from this collection will be suitable for all Fall and even Thanksgiving projects.
I have twine in all colors so I just selected the ones suitable for my Fall projects. I could easily add in some yellow and brown to the mix too.
More little items from the Striped Treat Sacks Kit plus a nice pile of the Vintage Halloween Button Assortment.
Next I took the smaller flat items like the book pages, small sacks, doilies and leaves and clipped them together with small clothespins. This is extremely helpful in keeping items nice and tidy.
For ribbons, laces and twines I like to wrap them around cardboard or old fashioned clothespins and secure with long stick pins. Having a bunch of loose ends just makes a mess.
For small items, you know I love my old jello molds. They're perfect for dumping stuff in and it makes all the tiny items very visible. Again, if you see it you will be more likely to use it.
Washi tapes. Wonderful Washi tapes. You might have a bazillion in your collection but each project doesn't need to show it. Just grab a few that fit the theme and call it good. The bottom left were from my Autumn Basket shop update and the two top ones on the right are new from the October Afternoon Witch Hazel collection.
Next up it's time to create a fun display of my Autumn items. I like to use woven baskets or woven/metal trays that have low sides for my displays. A deep basket will prevent you from seeing all the goodies inside. Today I'm using a sturdy woven tray with handles that I got from Nell Hill in Atchison, Kansas. It's a great home goods shop that promotes these types of baskets for all kinds of uses. Having a few good staple baskets/trays like this can be so helpful in your household organizing. I have several and use them for crafty storage, displaying holiday items, holding silverware & napkins for a party, carrying snacks to the Lounge for a tv night. All kinds of uses. Get you some good baskets.
And then I just neatly tucked all my Autumn goodies inside. I start with the tallest items in the back and then just add items in ending with my small items in the front. It's very organized, I've got a nice sized but not overwhelming collection of items and they're displayed in a fun way. If this doesn't tempt me to create something fun for Fall, nothing will.
Okay maybe these new October Afternoon goodies will. :) So many companies are now offering a wide array of crafty goodies for one particular line. October Afternoon always, always does a fantastic job of this. Even before I became a Design Team member I always purchased lots of the pieces and parts of a line. It's just that good. You can see the line of Witch Hazel products over at 2peas right here.
When I get a new collection of goodies, I do tend to keep them in the packaging for a while. I said before that I like to take everything out of the packaging....but while it's all still new and shiny, I like to keep items together. Then after a while I rip it all apart and store it all together. But for now I'll keep the Witch Hazel packages in something like this old sewing machine drawer.
And I couldn't forget about the patterned papers. Usually I will mix and match papers from my stash and will not purchase special themed papers. Those specific papers tend to never get used because the patterns might be too big or I just buy too much. But again, that's what I love about OA papers. There's a little something for everyone and I know that some of these papers will be used for many projects that aren't Fall or Halloween themed.
And that concludes my post for today. I hope you are excited to get to your crafty space and whip up a little Autumn Basket of your own. Have fun!
December 2, 2010
12 Days of Christmas..Day 4
You've seen me use my favorite jello mold tins for years here on the blog. Oh how I love them. I thought you might like to see my ever growing stash. Every time I see these I just have to snatch them up. My mom picks them up for me too. I fully intend to share them in my Etsy shop but then I just hoard them for myself. They come in so handy, I never want to be short handed. Hoarding problem?
But they're so dang cute full of buttons.......
On to my gift wrap station. This is something I do every year in the basement. I have a nice big table that I clear off that transforms into a Santa's workshop of sorts. It all starts with the wrapping paper. Each year I buy wrapping paper on sale for the next Christmas to come. It's always fun to open my wrapping paper box to see what's in there. Looks like this year we'll be using red, kraft and cream. Love.
A couple big bags of shiny bows also make it into the sale stash. Here, I've got lots of gold bows with a few brown ones in the mix. I think the tags that I make this year will have the reds and a touch of brown thrown in......and then I'll use some brown twine to tie it all together.
To fancy up packages I have an old wooden berry basket filled with all kinds of little embellishments, tinsel ribbons, tags and more. The key to easy and stress free gift wrapping is to have a plan....have everything that you need in one spot. And then keep it organized.
I found this muffin tin one day and fell in love. The beautiful, worn blue and brown splatter ware enamel is so pretty. It's a little rusty to actually use for baking but it's perfect for storing crafty embellishments. And it fits perfectly in my berry basket as it can slide back and forth. This would make a wonderful centerpiece too, using the muffin spaces for little tea light candles.
On the opposite end of my berry basket is a waffle textured bread tin. I use this all the time to store Etsy kits, little projects I want to work on in front of the tv, etc. Baking tins are so utilitarian and are perfect for all kinds of storage. Here, I'm using this one to hold my vintage tape dispenser and stapler.....scissors and pens, etc.
And for added fun, why not spray paint old baking tins that are a little rusty and past their baking prime? I pick these up at Goodwill, yard sales, and thrift shops for usually less than a $1.00. I use this Chartreuse green color for most of my tins. Krylon spray paint is abundant in lots of colors at Walmart. Just spread out a large piece of paper and spray outside where the ventilation is good. Here I've used two sizes of bread tins and a fluted jello mold to hold tags and cards I've made, smaller bows and an empty one to hold tags that I intend to make soon for packages.
I love how these tossed away items take on a whole new look when spray painted. They all match and look great in a little grouping.
And here's a little glimpse of a smaller spray painted bread tin that I keep in this basket. This is my *junk drawer* of sorts. It houses all the supplies I use almost daily at my desk. And don't just leave it at spray painting the baking tins. I have spray painted lots of old wicker baskets and my whole office area is now coordinated. Love that.Now. All I have to do is go shopping for gifts and I'm ready for some wrapping! How are you coming along on your shopping? The girls just informed me while waiting for the bus that they're exchanging gifts with all their friends this year. Now we have even more shopping to do. Fun times! :)Big League Brownies
“An out-of-the-park flavor combination”
Brownie:
1 pkg brownie mix (for 9 x 13 size)
½ cup oil
¼ cup water
2 eggs
Filling:
¾ cup peanut butter
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
2 eggs
Heat over to 350 degrees. Prepare brownie mix as directed on package, using oil, water and eggs. Set aside. In small bowl, combine peanut butter and butter; beat until smooth. Add sugar and flour; mix well. Add 2 eggs. Spread half of brownie mixture in greased 9 x 13 pan. Carefully spread peanut butter mixture evenly over chocolate mixture. Spread remaining chocolate mixture evenly over peanut butter mixture. Bake at 350 for 30-33 minutes. Cool. Enjoy!
February 26, 2010
Spring/Easter Inspiration Station
Fuzzy, little, yellow chicks are always adorable at Easter time. I love these vintage looking prints.
How about these beautiful, pastel, paper eggs? They usually hang on a fake tree but I like them nestled in this old bread pan too. Jordan made that Easter sign out of Popsicle sticks a few years ago.
Then there's Peter Cottontail and the little Mrs. They're delivering egg of all kinds. I prefer the Reese's kind. Just sayin'. I got these two vintage looking figurines at Nell Hill's.
I do not like green eggs and ham....but I sure like my green egg wreath! Sometimes I hang this, other times I use it as a centerpiece with a candle in the middle. Again, from Nell Hill's.
These delicate, vintage Easter postcards were given to me by my dad. They were in a stack full of letters from his grandmother, Cora. I will cherish them forever.
And now for the crafting goodies. Using a Papertrey color palette of Spring Moss, Sweet Blush, Lemon Tart and Lavender, I've created a beautiful array of pastel colors.
My Vintage Buttons are nestled into old jello tin molds and a glass jar from Anthropologie. I tied ribbon around an old set of measuring spoons to use as a button scoop. (Tin jello molds were collected from a variety of garage sales, flea markets, auctions,etc)
My pretty, assorted ribbons are all lined up. I use stick pins to keep the loose ends tucked in nice and tidy.
I've already got a head start on some Easter egg doodads. Stay tuned for a great idea using these egg embellishments very soon. And check out this post of my notepad I made using some of these doodads here..
And look at this. My crafting goodies are nestled into a removable wooden tray. So now when I want to use my goodies, I can just remove that part and take it to my work table. I could see that closer to Easter time, I might use the entire wooden basket as a centerpiece. I'll keep the goodies in my stamp room and fill the other side with decorated Easter eggs....or sugar cookies or Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs....oh my, I can't wait.
Well. Now that SPRING is here, whatcha gonna create? I can't wait to make more goodies.
January 31, 2010
Papertrey Favorites Scavenger Hunt
Below are my Copic colors that I used to color the strawberries
My inspiration: Using various colors of pinks and purples, I pulled Vintage Buttons, ribbons, embroidery floss, patterned papers and string from my collection. These colors are very soft and pretty...perfect for Valentine's Day, baby cards, girly cards or any projects that you want to have a soft feel.
Each of the design team members have been assigned a number in accordance with their scavenger hunt order. You'll notice according to the graphic at the top of this post I am stop number 9. Create your numbered list and head over to Nichole's blog to enter to win ALL ELEVEN of the team's favorite stamp sets! Be sure not to delay, because the contest ends on February 2nd at 7am EST. The winners will be announced by noon the same day on the February Release Winners page. Have fun and good luck!
Designer Favorites Scavenger Hunt (see Nichole's blog for links and more fun information)
1. Erin Lincoln
2. Maile Belles
3. Betsy Veldman
4. Dawn McVey
5. Debbie Olson
6. Heather Nichols
7. Lisa Johnson
8. Melissa Phillips
9. Michelle Wooderson
10. Niki Estes
11. Kim Hughes
January 11, 2010
2010 Valentine Inspiration Station
Hello friends. Here's what you've been waiting for...my Valentine Inspiration Station. Each holiday season, I try to have a color theme or special little items I want to use on my projects. This year, my Valentine Inspiration Station was inspired by the card below that you've seen in a previous blog post. The pinky purple tone of the button used on the doo dad sparked it all. I decided to add some purple ribbon to my card then the purple stamped hearts at the bottom. I liked the addition of purple so much that I pulled out a few items to use for my inspiration station. This year, I nestled all my goodies into an old baking sheet pan that I found at a junk shop. I put felt glides on the bottom so it can slide around on my wood table without scratching it up. All of my embellishments are nestled inside and I can easily see them and access them due to the narrow depth of the baking pan. Kinda reminds of when you go to the dentist or doctor for a procedure.....all of the tools are lined up in a little pan. Maybe I should sterilize all my little jars. :)