m is for make

Type and print out a large bold letter that is at least 4 in (10 cm) tall, trace the printout on card stock if you can't print out just an outlined letter, cut out random shapes—but be sure to leave a border so it won't fall apart. Done!

Great for:

- a card

- gift tag

- framed artwork

- practicing some cutting skills

I've seen comments about paper cutting projects that include phrases like:

- if only I had the patience

- if only I could do that

- if only I had the time

- if only... (you fill in the blank—I know some of you probably have something else to add here!)

Cutting doesn't have to be complex and no fancy tools are needed. See it as a relaxing thing to do and just go slow. Make something and you'll see it isn't as hard as you think. If you'd like to practice cutting out this M, download it here. It's in reverse so that any black borders you don't cut out won't show up in the final piece. Print it on card stock and use the reverse image as your final piece.

Happy Monday!

quick project: paper + thread

A little something that I made while watching some fluff TV. I hand drew the lines on the back (I like that they're crooked and not perfectly lined up) and then poked the holes with a pushpin placing the paper over a piece of cork. I used simple tape to hold down the ends of the threads on the back of the card and used another piece of white card stock to cover the back.

The bluish color has 6 threads, the green and pink have 3 and the orange has 4. I wanted to see what would happen with the variations of line widths. For this proportion and size of a card I prefer the lines made with 4 threads (orange). The varying thicknesses aren't too visible in this photo, but up close there is a marked difference.

Uses: bookmark, gift tag, framed artwork

Size of the embroidered area: 1" x 1.75" (2.5 cm x 4.5 cm)

Size of the card: 3" x 3.5" (7.5 cm x 9 cm)

Friday Tidbits

- Jenneca Leigh Davies - Love her paper jewelry and her To The Letter thesis. There is so much to say about repetition. (via Of Paper and Things)

- Shira Ganany - A fun pop-up card/book that makes me want to give pop-ups a try. I love the simple illustrations.

Thank you to those of you that shared your thoughts in yesterday's post. It's always so nice to know that we are definitely not alone. We know that. But it's always nice to confirm it.

Happy weekend everyone!

do what you love

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Do what you love. There is simply no other way to put it. When you're finally on the right path the work doesn't seem like work. It feels like it's what you're meant to do and it is reflected in the opportunities that start peeking around corners.

I can't give you details yet, but I feel like things are turning around for me. As much as I love what I do, I have to be honest and say that there have been times (even recently) where I just want to throw in the towel. Not because of what I do, but because of the results. And when I say results, I really mean to say financial gain, because part of me needs to stay tethered to the ground and face the facts. Loving what I do and contributing to our family funds are two things that, frankly, are many times at odds.

When I celebrated my 6th blog anniversary in May I thought that it would be a good time to give it up and walk away but I couldn't do it. I've been stubborn in staying because I feel like I still have more to share, more to do.

It's hard to see that there are people that have been more successful at this than me, in a shorter amount of time (or at least it appears that way). However, I keep reminding myself that I didn't push as hard as I could've on purpose. I wanted to focus on our family and didn't want to get sucked into work, work, work. I slammed the breaks on many times and the price I've had to pay is tangible. Regardless of that, I have no regrets and I'd do it the same way all over again.

You know me, I'm not that prone to write these types of posts often but sometimes things are more than pretty pictures and projects. The not-so-rosy is part of this creative life too. It's a choice whether to push through or not. I'm ready to plow forward and the balancing act will continue.

If you need some inspiration to move forward with your own ideas and dreams, here is a great article that may help you out. This one is great in regards to challenges.

Do what you love! Do it!

take two

Now that I have a hang of my binding tool I gave it another try. The first two pages have tree cut outs and the rest are plain white pages.

I cut out the trees with the cutting machine but I've made them many times using the method you can see in this video.

I'm much happier with this book!

Happy Wednesday!

the cinch binding tool

When I was in college and a design intern at a local firm, one of my jobs was to put together proposals that were bound with a wire-o machine. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the repetitive task—unless they were needed in the blink of an eye.

I've been wanting to put together a calendar or some other book type project using this binding but the machines always seemed out of my budget or too large. When I recently discovered The Cinch I was thrilled! Now I can tackle some ideas I had on hold and I can make little books for my C who loves writing on pads.

I put this sample book together with some scraps. I used an edited version of my Bubbles pattern for the cover (which is wrapped around towards the inside) and cut out dividers with tabs to separate pages in the book. It's not my favorite looking thing right now but it was a simple way to get my feet wet.

The machine itself is really well made and it punched holes like butter. The only complaint I have is that the holes are circles—I wish they were rectangles. The Zutter machine has rectangle holes but I wish it were wider (to finish larger projects with less punching). In any case, the Cinch is simply sturdier—I like that.

Lessons learned:

- Don't do what I did! Read the instructions or at a minimum watch this video before using this machine. I always have the tendency to jump right in and miss out on useful information. The video, for example, gave me a quick tip that would've helped me tremendously with lining up the pages.

- Next time I make tabbed dividers, I won't make them the same width of the covers. The width of the front and back covers need to be wider, so that the tabs don't stick out of the right side of the book.

If you had one of these machines what would you make?

• • •

FYI - the machine I have was a personal purchase that I made at Archiver's (w/a coupon!). It was not sent to me for review.

the exploration continues

As you can tell the paper cuff design got me started. As I kept going I ended up with three GeoBursts. They can be easily replicated with a circle ruler or by simply hand drawing triangles or rectangles that overlap each other. Handmade versions would have great character.

I've been asked many times about my process and frequently it works just like this. One idea leads into another. I started with a cuff and I'm going to end up who knows where. I'll post anything new that I may try with the cuff. Thank you for sharing your ideas!

I started using these patterns in different ways and I'm already thinking of new ideas. I've made a few cards for my stash, a couple of bookmarks (I'm making some headway with some reading—no titles worth mentioning—basically fun fluff) and a notebook.

I bound the notebook with a new toy I'll show you this week. I'm trying to come up with more excuses to use it. Love it.

If you'd like to work with these designs as cutting files they are now in the shop.

Check out how my tea light covers collection is growing! See the one in the middle? It's the same pattern I used on the yellow card above.

Patterns/cutouts + inexpensive glass hurricanes + tea lights + glue dots = no more than $8 in materials

Can't you see these used in a table setting at a wedding or an evening event?

paper cuff

Well... I didn't expect to be gone so long. It's been all about the family and trying to be a good hostess. Phew!

I finally got a chance to touch some paper with a simple idea that I just had to work on.

I'm not big on accessories. I prefer smaller earrings and simple rings, but I find cuffs are another thing. If I knew how to work with a material that would make this more durable, this is what I would want to make. Repetition of triangles—simple and abstract. It sort of reminds me of intertwined branches.

Can't you see this made out of some sort of felt or leather? Something in acrylic or wood also comes to mind—even several layers of paper with ModPodge might work. Any suggestions?

Here's to a great week! Happy Monday!

from paper quilt to framed artwork

I'm in the midst of getting the house ready for company and I always end up working on things that aren't really urgent but I get a whim for. My framed Bloom Box cover (part of my Paper Quilt) is an example of what is probably procrastinating on what really needs to get done. But seriously, isn't having fun with paper better than dusting, doing laundry and shopping for groceries?

Using the box cover as framed artwork is very simple to do. All I did was cut the outermost tabs shorter and used them to stick the cover to the blue card stock. I also added some green paper (barely visible here) behind the image to add some interest. You can't beat cheap but contemporary wall art!

Notice that I added some background color to the Just Leaves lattice? It dramatically changes the tone of the piece. If I keep it around longer than this summer, I'll definitely change the background color again.

Like I said on Friday, I may be a bit short on time to blog properly but I'll be popping in with photos. Sound good?

Happy Monday!

• • •

My Paper Quilt and individual boxes are for sale on my site or on Lettering Delights. By the way, thank you to the LD customers that reached out and emailed me over the weekend. I was very touched. Thank you!

soaking it in

I've been pouring over a stack of magazines and books for the past few days and now I'm ready for some sketching. I think this is one of my favorite things to do. After some mom/kids time I'll be ready for...

Quiet time

Coffee

Moleskine

Black pen

Friday Tidbits

- A personal one... the new A Little Hut site is chugging along. I thought we'd be done by now but summer is what it is—slow. In the meantime I decided that it was high time to organize my current site. I almost feel like it's new. It doesn't look different but it's all nicely organized. What a relief! Oh... and I'm slowly transitioning to a new logo (the one you've seen on photos)—now it's here on the blog. See it up there? I'll be changing the color of house periodically. It was high time for a change.

- In the photo—if you want to go down the rabbit hole!

Mollie Makes (newest favorite find), Wallpaper, Anthology, InsideOut, Handmade Weddings, and last but not least Decorate by the very awesome Holly Becker.

- Paper, paper, paper on Pinterest.

- This is by far the best idea I saw all week. The idea of a paper record player is amazing. I also love the typography, patterns and colors—pretty much everything. More photos and explanation of the project can be found here. (via strictlypaper)

Paper Record Player from kellianderson on Vimeo.

FYI - My in-laws are coming to stay with us for a bit so if I'm not around you'll know why!

Have a great weekend everyone!
¡Feliz fin de semana para todos!

news! - I'm on lettering delights

My Paper Quilt is now being sold on Lettering Delights as separate boxes (make up your paper quilt design set up) or as a set as the Intricate Designs Gift Box Collection (so you can make the paper quilt yourself!).

I'm thrilled to have my work on LD's site! It's the first time I license any of my work and to have this happen with my cutting files is really exciting for me. It's been so hard to keep quiet about it.

For those of you that are still not set up to work with cutting files they have some cute paper packs and images that you can print and use in a myriad of ways. They are having a huge super bundle sale!

Thank you to Lettering Delights for the warm introduction today and welcome to those of you that are new to my site and blog.

Happy Thursday everyone!

do what you love and it all comes together

One day, several weeks ago D wondered why I don't have a hobby. He was surprised to learn that my hobby is my work—my work is my hobby.

I know... I'm lucky. I hope that many of you feel the same about what you do every day.

There is nothing more rewarding than ending the day with satisfaction about your work and relief that ideas that you've had have come to life.

As rosy as that all sounds it also is best to get away every now and then.

That's what I did over the weekend. I went to San Antonio (3 hrs from here) for a couple of days to visit friends—all alone. I came back recharged, albeit a bit derailed and off track with my to-do list. But it was well worth it.

Seeing these new stationery sets makes me feel like I'm getting me back on track. They were a lot of fun to make. The Entwine and Motion stationery or party sets (for digital cutters) include a flat card (for notes or invites), a gift tag (or bookmark), a favor box with a matching wrap band and an envelope. The Entwine set can be used as is or ribbon can be added for an extra touch.

• • •

Other projects: the reading is going well. The scrapbooking—well, I'm a bit behind—already. And tomorrow I'll have some great news to share!

Until tomorrow!

july!

Can you believe that the year is half-way done? It has been going way too fast! To help you keep track of this month I've made this free desktop for you—download here.

We have a four day weekend ahead of us here in the States so its going to be a busy one. For starters, I'm going to be enjoying a hot afternoon watching Tangled with my little C. I'm a total sap—I love the lanterns scene. We all deserve bright lights in our lives—wherever they come from.

Have a wonderful weekend friends!

[Who says a card needs to be flat? I'm going to be giving this to a friend tomorrow. The flower is part of my Petal Collection, the leaf is part of the LD Hawaii collection and the box is a simple origami box. And yes, even if it looks like a gift box, I'm calling a card.]