Halloween Cards 2013

I love creating crafty things for Halloween.  This year I made a wreath for an auction at work  and last night I finally made my Halloween cards.  I get it, it is in fact October 29th and if I get them in the mail today, hopefully they will be received by Halloween.  Luckily they are mostly traveling locally and shouldn't take more than a day to be delivered.
For the cards I used Mambi card packs for the card bases, October Afternoon Witch Hazel papers and postcards, American Crafts ribbons and twine, and stamps from Impress.  Here is a sampling of the cards:

Halloween Paper Cone Wreath

Sorry for the delay in posting these instructions.  I did mean to get this post done by Friday the 13th, but somehow time got away from me and now it is Sunday the 15th and a little less spooky.  But there is still plenty of time to make one of these wreaths in time to decorate for Halloween. 

These are the items you will need to construct the Halloween Paper Cone Wreath:

• Book pages
• Chipboard
• Double Stick Tape
• Embellishments
• Foam Adhesive
• Glue Gun & Glue Sticks
• Large & Small Scallop Paper Punches
• Pencil
• Ribbon & Twine
• Scrapbook paper
• Wet Adhesive

Book Paper Cones 
Punch Large Scalloped Circles

Punch 28 large scalloped circles from the books pages.  I just use old paperbacks.  I find that you can punch 4-5 pages at once using the large paper punch.

Add Adhesive

Apply the wet adhesive to one side of the book page circle.  I like to use wet adhesive for the book page cones. I used Scotch brand quick drying wet adhesive for this project and it worked fantastically.

Roll Circle into Cone Shape

Using a sharpened pencil, I roll the scalloped circle into a cone shape.  I would work on a non-stick surface when doing this step.  Do not worry if some of the adhesive gets on the outside of the cone, it dries pretty quickly. Make 28 cones.

 Scrapbook Paper Cones
Punch Large Scalloped Circles

Punch 18 scalloped circles from scrapbook paper.  Make sure to use double sided paper, because you will be able to see the inside of the cones. 





Roll into Cones
For thick scrapbook paper, I use double stick tape to adhere the cones.  Place a strip of tape in the same position as the wet adhesive on the book pages and roll the circle into cone shapes using the pencil.  Heavily glittered paper may require the use of hot glue instead.  Make 18 cones.

Assembling the Wreath
The Base Layer

Using a CD as a template, cut a large circle out of lightweight chipboard.  Begin arranging the paper cones in a pattern.  I like to map out a pattern first, before hot gluing the cones to the chipboard.  For this wreath I use two book page cones in-between each scrapbook paper cone, so 20 book page cones and 10 scrapbook cones.

Hot Gluing the Wreath

I use a hot glue gun to adhere the paper cones to the chipboard base.  I start with a scrapbook paper cone and glue it in the 12 o'clock position and work my way around the chipboard circle.  I use the pencil inside the cone to position the cones right next other.  It keeps the cones tightly positioned and also protects your fingers from the hot glue.

The Second Layer

First, cut about a quarter from the tip of 8 book page cones and 8 scrapbook paper cones.  These will make up the second layer of the wreath.

Using hot glue, adhere the 16 cones in an alternating book page cone and scrapbook pattern on top of the base layer.  By using hot glue, you will create a wreath that is rather sturdy.

Embellishing The Wreath

To ensure the wreath stays together, I like to fill the center of the wreath with hot glue and glue a small scalloped circle in the middle.  This also provides a base to further embellish the middle of the wreath.

Adding a Ribbon Hanger

To add a ribbon hanger, first punch two small scalloped circles from chipboard and add hole punches in the middle of each circle.  Thread ribbon and knot through the holes.  Now hot glue these two circle to the back of the wreath. 

The Finished Wreath

To finish the wreath I added a number of additional embellishments to the center of the wreath using scrapbook paper, ribbon, and buttons.  I adhered the center scrapbook paper embellishments with double sided foam adhesive.  The foam adhesive provides the dimension you need to fill the center space of the wreath.  I hot glued the buttons on once I threaded them with ribbon and twine. 

Products I used

• My Minds Eye Lost & Found Halloween papers and accessories sheet
• Graphic 45 Staples Paper Buttons
• October Afternoon Witch Hazel Buttons
• American Crafts Twine
• May Arts Black Chevron Ribbon
• Scotch Quick Dry Wet Adhesive
• Scotch Double Sides Tape
• Adtec Two Temp Glue Gun
• Lifestyles Crafts non stick work mat
• Glue Arts glue gun tools and mat

September Crafts: Halloween Cards and Wreaths

Well since it is almost September I better get started on my Halloween cards. I love sending cards out at Halloween.  It gives me an opportunity to buy fun Halloween paper (or use the fun Halloween paper I bought last year?).  I think this year I will also make a few Halloween wreaths to give out as well.  I think I read somewhere it is the second most decorated for holiday after Christmas so maybe someone might want a Halloween wreath.

My next post will be instructional and detail how I make the paper cone wreaths I recently posted on Pinterest.  Honestly the Christmas Paper Cone wreath I pinned is the first pin that has been re-pinned by people I am not directly friends with.  It is kinda of exciting for me.

If you are interested in making your own paper cone Halloween wreath these are supplies that you will need:
- Book Pages (cheap books are always available at library book sales, yard sales, thrift shops, etc.)
- Chipboard
- Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
- Large Scallop Edged Circle Punch
- Patterned Scrapbook Paper
- Pencil
- Ribbon

So get your supplies together and come back on Friday September 13th!
Thanks for reading.

Craft Room Reorganization - Summer 2013

My pegboard holds my scissors (fancy and regular), some punches (I need to buy more loops to hang the others), my tape runners, my corner chompers, rules, markers, clipboard and the only scrapbook page I have ever made.



Let's talk about craft organization.  I am lucky enough to have a whole room dedicated to crafting space, but having a whole room just means more space to put stuff.  Organizing it in a useful way has taken some time.  I have been known to pile things on surfaces and work on crafts on a tv tray in front of the television in the living room.  There is nothing wrong with that, but I know I am so much more creative when I can work in my own craft space.  I recently got a peg board for my craft room.  My husband found it for less than $2 in the scrap bin at Home Depot. My brother-in-law spray painted it for me and they mounted it on the wall.  I bought the hooks and pegs on Amazon and the whole project cost less than $20.  I love it.  I hang the things I use the most from it and it honestly makes me really happy.  It is the anchor for my craft room.
I moved all my plastic storage bins below it. I keep all my stamping supplies, punches, paper trimmers and card making supplies in the larger bins. In the smaller bins I keep adhesives, twine, paper ribbons, washi tape, alphabet stickers, and embellishments. I organize all my scrap pieces of paper in open paper trays and sort them by color.  Under the trays of scraps I keep holiday related papers, sorted by holiday.

I sort all my ribbon by color and hang it on the wall.  This makes it easy for me to visually take inventory of what colors I have and it is simple to grab for any project I am working on.  This ribbon holder was made with three pieces of photo paper, a circle punch, and a yardstick.
The teal cart I purchased at Ikea and use it to hold all my letterpressing supplies,  It conveniently holds all my inks, cards, the L Letterpress, plates and cleaning supplies.   It also holds all the supplies for tissue paper flower making as well.
I have a small cart that holds canisters of buttons sorted by color and mason jars filled with paper flowers.  Below are various card kits, paper collections from American Crafts and containers of glitter tape. 
My work surface is a 4ft table from Costco with an Ottlite lamp.  The magnetic white board and bulletin board is perfect for ideas and to do lists.  I have American Craft paper boxes to sort my colored cardstock.  One box to hold 8.5"x11" paper, one to hold 12"x12" paper and one to hold plain chipboard and neutrals.  Below my table I store all my scrapbook paper in vertical Iris paper containers.  I store my paper alphabetically by brand and collection.  To the right of my work surface I have a gift wrap cart where I store wrapping paper, tissue paper and gift bags. 


I have a black storage unit from Ikea that I store all my other crafting items in.  Each compartment holds different supplies.  You can easily see my Cuttlebug, my 9" Xyron machine (which my husband spotted at Goodwill for $6 in perfect condition with a full roll of sticker adhesive!) and a ton of other crafting supplies stored in this unit.
On top of the unit I have a magazine organizer I purchased from Michaels and assembled myself.  I store back issues of Papercrafts magazine and other odds and ends like labels and notepads in it.  I have my Artbin full of Copic and Prismacolor markers and my crafting caddy on display as well.  My Clip-it-Up holds all my small embellishments like rhinestones, adhesive flowers and brads.  I was lucky enough to find one on Craigslist for $50 and it is so useful. I also keep my rolodex style address book and birthday/anniversary calendar on display as well. 
The room also has room for another small table so I have space if other people want to come over and craft. I try my best to keep it tidy, but when it gets cluttered I can always close the door.
All in all, the storage pieces and work space cost less than $400 to outfit. I did it over time and could not be happier with the results.  I love my craft space.

June Crafting Hiatus

I was doing so well.  I was keeping up with my twice a week posts, being inspired, making crafting a priority and then June came around and it was if I just hit a crafting block.
Sometimes I wish that crafting could be my day job.  Then I could create and blog day in and day out.  Right now, I craft when I have time and somehow the month of June flew by and very little crafting was done (with one exception: invitations to my sister-in-law's baby shower) and I neglected ihearthello. 
Well as summer is in full swing I have some summer crafting goals for July-

• Re-organizing my craft room.  I plan to paint my craft room and rearrange some things this weekend.  I will be sure to take photos. 
• Make my Sister-in-Law something crafty for niece's room.  She is due in August, but her shower is in two weeks so I better motor on making something,
• Make July special events cards.  Lots of birthdays, anniversaries and weddings this month!
• Start planning holiday crafts.  I really want to participate in Urban Shopping & Cocktails October event as a vendor.  This would be a HUGE thing for me, but would clearly require me to step up my crafting game and create some inventory.  I want to make bunch of holiday crafts and paper wreaths like these:

So all in all, July looks like a month that is sure to be filled with crafty goodness and reasons to blog.  Blogging every Monday and Friday was a little stressful, so I may reduce it once a week on Mondays and the occasional random post as well.
Readers - let me know if there is something you would like to see on the blog.  Ideas for crafts,  questions about crafting?  I would be happy to provide information and answers.
Thanks for reading!

stuff i ♥ - Impress & Fresh Ink

Let's talk stuff I am obsessed with: whimsical papercrafts, making cards, and writing this blog.  Additionally, I am absolutely in love with the store Impress.  It is mostly a stamp store (you can find physical stores in Tukwila, University Village and Bellevue Square and online at www.impressrubberstamps.com). 

It is so much more than your average stamp store though.  At their store in Tukwila, they offer thousands of stamps, a ton of lovely dies, inks and punches and ribbons galore.  Not to mention their stock of twine and brads.
Not only do they offer the most amazing wood mounted rubber stamps, their stores are chock full of inspiration and ideas.  The card above is from their website.   Their designers come up with the most darling designs for stamps, cards and decor.  If you look closely, that card is simply two stamps (the flower and the sentiment).  As simple as it seems, it is also perfectly elegant and divine in its simplicity.  Inspiration like this is all over their store. It is hard not to try and buy every new stamp I come across. 

I am always so inspired whenever I shop there.  Besides their stamps, the one item from Impress
I am most impressed with (ha!) is their Fresh Ink ink pads. I have always love stamping, and stamping and card making really go hand in hand. Once I tried Fresh Inks it was if I had never really stamped before. It was really a revelation in my stamping.

The pigments are so saturated and the colors really pop on paper. The ink coats stamps beautifully and images always come out super crisp and clean. I don't have to worry with large stamps that the color will be faded in some spots, the ink covers images perfectly every time.
Have I mentioned that they come in a myriad of colors. I believe they come in 44 different colors at this time.

I own at least ten of these ink pads and am always adding to my collection.  My absolute favorite color combination is the Pink Lemonade and Navy.  I am also very fond of the Mango and Grass together as well.

The Fresh Ink pad last a ridiculously long time as well, but if you find the need to re-ink your pads, Impress also sells the inks to do so.

If you live close, I encourage you to visit one of their stores in person.  If you live far away, definitely check out their website for unique stamps, Fresh Ink pads and loads of fun ideas to try at home.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

Door Hanger Organizer

i ♥ hello blog fans, I did not mean to ignore you this fine Monday.  In fact, I have all sorts of things I want to write about and share, but somehow my birthday weekend got in the way and there was no post on Friday.  Well I do have a project to post today, hooray!  I originally saw this idea for a great organizer that you can hang on your front door knob on the http://www.paperboutiquewithlinda.com/. 
Here is the link to her original project Door Organizer How-To Video .  I just think this is the perfect thing to hang on your front door. I used the Basic Grey "What's Up" line to make the organizer. I made a small notebook (2"x3") to include as well.  The notebook is ideal for to-do lists, grocery lists, etc.  The organizer has three pockets so you slip envelopes that you need to mail, bills, cards and whatever else you might need to remember to take with you before you head out the door.