Oh my craft heart. How have seven (7? really 7?) months gone by and not one crafty blog post? I must admit, many crafty things have occurred and yet I have not documented one of them. Shame on me. I promise 2012, I will try harder and make this blog more of a priority. I had high hopes of updating you weekly with adorably creative projects and witty posts when I started you. My hopes are still high.
Here are the highlights of the latter part of 2011 and the beginnings of 2012:
- Decorated some blank notepads for gifts. So easy and functional, everyone needs a little notepad for writing grocery lists and to-dos. I used Basic Grey's Nook and Pantry paper and embellishments for these notepads. They have a little magnet on the top to close them. Sadly, my favorite place to obtain the blank notepads, The Paperzone closed. I will need to find a new place to source the blank notepads for future projects.
-I also made a Halloween home decor piece using a cheap wooden frame and Echo Park's Apothecary Emporium paper line. I especially like the picket fence detail. I used the tops of the pickets to make a banner for the top of the frame.
- In October I also took a Wilton cake decorating class at my local Michaels. I can't wait to take more classes. It was a lot of fun and my co-workers enjoyed all the cupcakes and cakes I brought to work. This cake was my final project. I made a spiced cake with caramel apple filling. The top is supposed to mimic an apple pie. Surprisingly the hardest part of making this cake was getting the frosting to be a true red color for the apple decorations. There are three more classes in the Wilton series. In the next class I will learn to make royal icing and flowers. Then I believe it is onto fondant and fondant flowers. - For Halloween co-worker treats I also made hand sanitizer holders. I got a great deal on Halloween mini hand sanitizers at Bath and Body works (I think it was 8 for $2). I will have to track down a photo to post along with easy directions.
- The best part of 2011 was selling my crafts for the first time. I was nervous at first when Holly asked me to be involved in her holiday home shopping event. Would my stuff measure up? Would anyone want my hand crafted paperstuffs? I worked furiously making wreaths (like the one on the left), notepads, gift card pop-up boxes, Christmas tags, and ornaments. All the late nights I stayed up working was all worth it though. Even if I didn't sell a thing, it was a big step for me to even put myself and my crafts out there. I ended up making some cash and bartering with other vendors for some delightful stuff. I hope to get my business license this year and start selling at local craft fairs. That is certainly one of my goals for 2012. I want to one day open my own crafty boutique. A girl can certainly dream.
- Finally, what I think it my greatest craft organization idea ever. I love ribbon. I hate trying to organize all those ribbon spools. I could never really figure out the best way to store my ribbon collection and also be able to visually see what colors, patterns, textures I had on hand. After combing Pinterest for a while (where I saw a number of amazing ideas) I came up with the best solution. I used three sheets of 8 1/2 x 11 photo paper, a 1"circle punch and the bottom of an old roller shade to create this ribbon organizer. I folded the paper in half width wise and then used permanent adhesive to glue the halves together. I was careful not to glue to the fold, because I knew I wanted to be able to slide the wooden piece through the top. I punched holes and threaded my many ribbons in rainbow order through the holes. My sweet husband mounted it to the wall and viola!
So my hopes for 2012 include updating this blog more frequently and taking more pictures of the projects I am working on.
I most bummed that I failed to take photos of the baby shower I threw for my dearest friend Melissa. It was adorably owl themed and the invitations and decorations all coordinated so well. Hopefully this is a lesson learned and I will take more care to remember to take photos.
