A Little Hut - Patricia Zapata

just scraps: a couple of gift wrapping ideas

2012-02-02T14:51:00.006-06:00

Today I thought that instead of Inspired By I'd show you a couple more scraps ideas. They are simple ways to use scraps for wrapping goodies when you're short on supplies.

Strips card/tag (large box)
- Using double-sided tape wrap the gift with the seams on the top instead of the bottom of the gift.
- Cut out a strip about the width of a bookmark and cover it halfway with strips.
- Cut out a V shape at the bottom and slide it in through one of the side openings of the gift wrap (just make sure that there isn't tape there).
- Optional: Use the blank space on the strip of paper to stamp or write a sentiment

Strips ribbon (small box)
- Cut out a strip of paper that is long enough to wrap the visible three sides of a box.
- Randomly glue scraps of paper to the strip
- Trim the excess of scrap paper on the edges.
- Wrap the gift with the seams at the top of the box. Fold the edges over and make sure to leave a gap that is large enough for the strip of scraps to show through. Attach the strip to the underside of the edges of the wrapping paper with double sided tape.
- Finish wrapping the open ends of the gift and make sure to neatly crease the scraps where they meet the edge of the gift box.

Optional: Instead of tucking the strip of scraps under the wrapping paper place it over and around the gift like a decorative band. In this case, the strip would need to be long enough to wrap around the entire box.

As you can see making these strips is not hard at all and they do not have to be perfect. The one on the left looked like the one on the right before trimming off the edges—just like I showed you with the scraps artwork and the card.

That's it—Super easy!

Inspired By
If you're interested in knowing what inspires some of my more linear work visit the site that is my current browser home page: Dezeen Magazine. It always gives me a lot of food for thought. Love it!

I hope you aren't tired of scraps yet. There is more to come down the road.
(Remember that the cover of my book, Home, Paper, Scissors also shows a fun way to use scraps too!)

simple monday: quick and easy scraps card

2012-01-30T13:12:00.000-06:00

Here's a very simple card idea of how you can used the scraps project I posted a Saturday.
Simple is easy, quick and gives great results.

I simply used scraps, a Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper tool, basic kraft card stock and a glue stick—that's it! This idea can be used for so many other simple projects—embellishing a gift tag, for a scrapbooking layout, and as a gift topper—I'll show you that tomorrow.

I forgot to mention that you don't even need to worry about making the strips completely straight or at 90-degree angle to the bottom of strip that I added the scraps to—a little slant gives the pattern some personality.

By the way, I know many people use tape gliders but for whatever reason those things have never worked for me. They unravel like old-fashioned cassette tapes and end up frustrating me more than anything else.

The highlight of my weekend was helping my little C make her first scrapbook (I don't have a better photo because she wanted to take it to school to show it off- ha!). It was a simple project but I loved helping her. As a paper crafter I was thrilled, as a mom I was completely ecstatic! I love seeing her craftiness starting to bloom.

I love what I do but I never push it on the kids. I want them to take on their interests, whatever the may be, naturally.

Her comment about the fact that her brother had no interest in joining us:

"D doesn't know what he's missing! This is SO MUCH FUN!"

He-he. Love it!

We used:
- We R Memory Keepers Cinch Book Bindery tool (love it, love it! - very easy to use)
- Sweet Treats Cricut cartridge (bought last year when her pleading face and eyes got the best of me —it helped that it was on sale too)
- A few of my SVG flower files
- The bird tag is from Skinny laMinx (gorgeous in person!)

Now to tackle the good ol' to-do list for the week. Happy Monday!

just scraps: rotating strips

2012-01-28T10:48:00.001-06:00

As any paper crafter will tell you scraps are just something that goes along with the territory. So, what do we do with all those scraps? I'm going to periodically show you ideas that will help you use what you have and put all those little treasures to good use. Keep in mind that if you happen to have a magazine or other recyclable paper laying around they may work for these projects too.

Materials
- 2 - 5.5” squares of white card stock
- Paper trimmer or scissors (craft knife and metal ruler would work too)
- Three contrasting colors of scraps
- Glue
- Square frame (box frame is optional)

1. Cut a 5.5” square into 6 strips that are 5.5” wide and approximately 7/8” tall. The strips don’t need to have an exact height measurement.

2. Cut colored paper strips that are at least 1” tall and of varying widths (from 1/8” to ¼”).

3. Add a thin layer of glue to a strip of white card stock and randomly attach strips of paper. Repeat this process with all 6 strips of white card stock.

4. Place all strips with the color face down and cut the excess colored paper.

5. Glue all 6 strips to the second square of white card stock. Wait for the piece to dry completely before placing it in the frame.

Note: This project was made to fit into an Ikea Ribba 5 1/2" shadow box frame but it would look just as well in any flat frame.

So what do you think? Easy, right?
Have fun with your scraps!

thinking ahead

2012-01-27T14:16:00.000-06:00

- Spring cleaning is starting today. I can't wait to clear out so many things around here.
- Spring illustrations are coming along.
- Tutorials are forthcoming.
- And... I am now accepting advertisers. More about that below.

Friday Tidbits
- Dreamy! I want this to be my studio. You can all come over for drinks in the evenings!
- But my contemporary side would scream pick this one instead!
- Best article I read all week: The Truth: Creativity comes from blending dissonant goals into radical harmony

• • •

Advertising
I want to partner with companies that are truly a good fit for A Little Hut. I want us all to benefit from this opportunity. I had been resistant to this idea for a very long time but now I believe it's the right thing for me to do for the blog to be sustainable. This will by no means affect anything I've been doing so far. In fact, I believe it will improve things. I will try to maintain the clean format that you've all grown accustomed to while making the ads visible to those of you that are interested in visiting my sponsors. I hope you understand this new direction and if you have any questions or if you are interested in advertising please contact me for more detailed information.

Have a great weekend my friends!

taking stock

2012-01-26T21:43:00.000-06:00

My grandmother used to say something like:
"If you're in a hurry dress up slowly."

I've been reminding myself of that all week long. Go slower. Just think.

I feel like I want to run, run, run with all the ideas that I've been having. I'm so inspired and yet I haven't created anything tangible—rare for me. What I have done is taken steps towards what I really want right now and what I want to accomplish in the next few months.

For starters, there is no longer a Book #2 in progress. Today, I finally came to the conclusion that my proposal wasn't strong enough. Tweaking it wasn't going to get it further along. So it's completely off my plate. I want to be dancing around in anticipation when my proposal is done and I wasn't. A better and stronger idea will come. Surprisingly I don't feel defeated at all. I feel relieved. There's nothing worse than a half-cooked idea.

Remember my survey? I thought that it would give me some answers and it has, but only partially. As you can see the top three are almost equal contenders and this has given me more to think about. I'll be deciding how I'm moving forward with this information in the next couple of weeks. Thank you so much to those of you that have participated so far. You still can if you'd like to help me out.

Results
23.3% Paper crafts (general for beginners)
25.6% Paper crafts (specific - ie. parties, holidays, decorating)
23.3% Paper crafts (digital machine cutting)
16.3% Recycling crafts (paper only)
4.7% Recycling crafts (assorted materials)
0.0% Crafts for kids
7.0% Block printing

There are other decisions that I'm making in regards to this blog as well. No, it's not going anywhere! I just think it's time to take it to the next level. You'll see...

My sketchbook has taken a good beating this week. I have had so many ideas coming and going that if I didn't write them down I'd either a) completely forget them (very likely!) or b) my head would feel like it's going to explode.

So, yep, my brain is pretty much mush this week. Thinking a lot. It's all good... except I wish there were ten of me. Now the trick is to just start somewhere.

Here I go.
Slowly.

PS - My "Inspired By" posts will resume next week.
The photo is a peek at a project that was part of Book 2. Looking at it makes me wonder why I haven't worked with pop-ups. Now that would be fun book to work on!

how to make a paper pendant

2012-01-24T00:03:00.000-06:00

I made this specifically to wear to the paper craft class that I taught at ALT Summit. It was entirely a last minute thing. If I'm completely honest I think it was a procrastinating-on-other-last-minute-things kind of project. In any case, I love it and got many compliments on it. So, here are the instructions so you can make one for yourself.

Materials

- White cardstock paper (I used basic craft store scrapbooking paper - 65lb)

- Cutting machine or craft knife and cutting mat

- Glue (I prefer Tombo Mono Multi Liquid Glue)

- Silver finding

- Pliers

If you have a cutting machine
1. Import the SVG or DXF file to your cutting software. Use a 12" square piece of cardstock to cut out 12 pendants. Each one should be 2.75" wide.

2. Add glue to each layer and stack them neatly one on top of another. I cannot emphasize enough how important is that the shapes line up. If they don't the pendant will look messy and will, quite frankly, look cheap. Neatness counts big time here!

I like squeezing the glue bottle on a scrap piece of paper first—until the glue flows smoothly. That avoids the having a big blob of glue on a thin strip of your pendant. The rest of the gluing can be done using two methods—you pick your favorite. 

- Add strips of glue on to each section of the pendant or... 

- Add glue by using dots.

In either case, just make sure that you're not using too much glue. When the pieces are pressed to one another some glue may squeeze out from the sides—just clean it up as you go. If you keep the glue to a minimum this issue will be reduced significantly. Rub the piece that is added to the stack (to spread the glue a bit) and then line it up in the final position.

3. Once all the pieces are glued and dry you can add the finding. Use pliers to open it enough so that the pendant can slide in. Once the pendant is in place close the finding again. This can get tricky. Even though all the layers of paper will feel quite sturdy you still need to be careful to avoid tears.

4. Slide your new pendant onto a necklace and enjoy!

If you're cutting by hand

1. Print and cut out one of the pendant shapes.

2. Cut out 11 pieces of cardstock that are 2 1/4" x 3" and glue them all together. Add the glue in zig-zag fashion across and up-and-down each piece of paper until you have a neatly glued stack. Rub each sheet a bit against the stack before placing it in its final location—this allows the glue to spread evenly.

3. Glue the cut out pendant shape to the top of the stack.

4. Start cutting out the pendant with a really sharp craft knife and using the pendant cut out as a template. I thought I was going to use a ruler but it wasn't necessary. Using the first cut out as a template was enough.

Important! - Cutting the pendant will take some patience. Go slowly. It took me at least 7 strokes in each segment to get all the way through the stack of paper. The first couple of strokes should be done lightly (so that there are no mistakes with the others). The initials cuts will make a groove that will guide your blade the rest of the way down.

I cut the outer perimeter first and then the triangles inside the pendant but it doesn't necessarily need to be done that way. If you go slowly you'll be fine.

5. Follow steps 3 and 4 in the cutting machine section and you're done. Enjoy!

Downloads:
- The SVG, DXF and PDF files can be downloaded here.

• • •

ALT Design Summit - Paper craft class — an awesome group!
(see me wearing the pendant?)
Photo by: Brooke Dennis

alt design summit 2012

2012-01-22T23:29:00.001-06:00

I didn't take a camera with me—just my iphone. As expected my photos are scarce and not very good. There are only 2 with people in them. I guess I talked to much to be worried about shots. The reality is that it's what you don't see here that is what I will remember most about the summit.

• inspiration (most memorable: the keynote speech by Ben the founder of Pinterest—so genuine)
• connections (meeting new and old friends for the first time—what a group of awesome people)
• conversations (a lot of laughter too)
• exchange of information and advice (a lot of this—still sifting through it all)
• hugs and smiles (all around)
—those are the things that I'll remember.

I'm tired—but it's the good kind. I'm full of ideas to follow up on and business cards that need to be organized.

Winter Wonderland Party. I was among the 'cheaters' and was only dressed half-way white. I couldn't find anything that I felt good in! (I know... picky, picky me)
(L to R) Michelle Smith, me, Arianne Foulks and Nicole Balch. So, so glad I finally met these talented ladies after years of 'knowing' them online.
Eating breakfast alone to gather my thoughts before teaching my paper craft class on Saturday morning. I was a bit nervous but I think things went well—I hope my students feel the same. They were a lovely group!
The coolest dog I saw in the beautiful hotel toy store. It's made out of rolled newspaper!

View from the room I shared with the awesome and fellow Houstonian, Caroline.

Snow on the last day!

It's a small world mini-story
I met Carina on Friday afternoon. We exchanged business cards and she told me she was going to be one my students the next day. Awesome! About a couple of hours later we met again during the mini-parties:

Carina: You'll never guess what happened?
Me: What?
Carina: I spoke to my husband this afternoon and he told me that he had just taught one of your tutorials to his special education students. He asked me if I knew who who Patricia Zapata is?
Me: No way!!!

Or at least that's the way I remember it.
It was total coincidence. It is a small world, isn't it?

Carina—if you're reading I'd still love to know what project he taught—just curious.
(Edit - Got the skinny! - it was the magazine bowl)

• • •

If I can, I will definitely be at ALT Design Summit next year. Loved it!

Stay tuned for a little tutorial that I'm going to share on Tuesday.
Hint: It's something I made specifically to wear to my paper craft class.

Now all I can say is... thank goodness for being home and sleeping in my own bed. Ahhh!

(More and better photos from the summit can be found on Flickr)

headed to alt summit!

2012-01-17T23:38:00.000-06:00

I'm headed to Altitude Summit (check out the great list of speakers)! I'm still running around like a mad woman getting ready.

Something obviously had to fall through the cracks and unfortunately it was my business cards. I had to get them printed at one of those quickie places using not such great paper and I DIY-ed the top half with my Cameo among others. The happy accident was that the machine couldn't cut through the thick stock—so I left the scored outlines. It'll do.

Now that that problem is semi-solved I still have some packing to do. Most everyone will be traveling tomorrow but I will miss half of the first day while I fly there. Oh well—this where the balancing act of mother/wife and self-employed designer come to play. I'm just rolling with it.

I'm excited. Nervous. Excited. Mostly nervous about my class but excited to meet so many people that I've known online for so long. I will finally meet them as well as so many other people too.

If you're in my class, get ready for some cutting fun! If you're not, don't hesitate to come up and say hello.

For those of you that won't be there—I'll be posting photos and comments on Twitter (I've added my stream to the blog too).

Catch you all next Monday!

Random blog stuff-- Love it! I can now answer your questions directly. Blogger has added threading to the comments section. Wonderful!

• • •

Consider this my ahead of schedule Friday Tidbit...

Please see the video below (via Indie Fixx) to learn more about SOPA and why we need to stop it! Copyblogger also has a great article explaining the whole issue and why it should matter to ALL of us.

See you soon!

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

when you put your mind to it

2012-01-13T08:49:00.002-06:00

Fridays are going to be my Project Life days. I'm already into the second wee and I love it. The fact that I'm actually sticking to my guns is no small feat. I've been journaling on the grid cards and today I will develop the photos for the week (so I have nothing exciting to show right now). I'll be done as quickly as it takes to slip everything into the pocket sleeves. I like that—I need that.

It's been crazy around here. Between work and D's first experience with mid-term exams (oh he hated every minute of it!) I think we're all overdue a laid back weekend.

The biggest thing on my mind right now is getting ready for Altitude Summit I can't believe I'll be there next Thursday! Yikes! It has come so quickly. My class materials are almost done (I wish that were the case with my what I'll be wearing!) and I can't wait to see who my students will be. Not to mention the fact that there are so many people that I want to meet. It's going to be really exciting. I'll take lots of photos so be ready for those.

One of the fruits of this week's labor is my new set of Ripples Stationery and the matching Ripples lattice and border. I think adding some green is just my subconscious wanting to call spring here faster. I can certainly do without the cold mornings!

The lattice is a welcome addition to this collection. Love it! I used the Ripples card of the set to make one the cards for my Clean & Simple class assignment too. I need to be killing several birds with one stone or I'll never get anything done!

Friday Tidbit
I don't have a link per se but just a thought...
Stop postponing your personal projects (whether they are crafty or not).What is holding you back? Before you answer that, believe me when I say that I was the queen of excuses when it came to not working on something like Project Life—but this year I'm taking a different approach. I'm just going for it! How about you?

Thank you SO much to those of you that have responded to my little survey regarding a paper class I'm planning. I love reading all your comments and ideas! I'll post some general results next week. If you haven't answered and have a couple of minutes it's right here (only 3 questions!) and thanks again!

Have a great weekend everyone!

it is a good thing

2012-01-11T17:09:00.003-06:00

Sometimes I put so much on my plate that before I know it... boom! I crash. I'm getting close to that point right about now. At the same time I'm having one of those days where I think I'm so lucky to be doing what I do. Gratitude is a good thing—yes it is!

• • •

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."
—William Arthur Ward

• • •

The photo is a little preview of what I've been working on and so is the card that I made for OCC day 3 (layering).

friends forever

2012-01-10T16:39:00.000-06:00

Sometimes it's so nice to dig up treasures from your stock pile. That's what I did when I used this stamp, that I carved ages ago, for today's Online Card Classes flat card assignment (you can still sign up if you're interested). I hadn't worked on making a print in so long. I must do it more often.

Block printing and I will definitely be friends forever.

Materials:
- French Paper
- Linoblock
- Block printing ink

What crafty tool have you abandoned and would like to pick up again? I'm sure there's something...

• • •

By the way...

- My holiday items are still on sale (until the 16th!)

- Lettering Delights is have a huge dollar days sale that I keep forgetting to mention. Some of my flowers are on sale there too!

just saying hello

2012-01-09T13:41:00.000-06:00

It's raining. More like pouring! And I love it. There's nothing better than having a lot of work to do in weather like this. I focus more and I get more done. Soup is simmering on the stove and I worked on this card and a myriad of other things.

The card is based on a sketch given in the first assignment of the Clean & Simple class I started today. I used a lattice that I designed this weekend (coming to the shop soon), an All Occasion Messages stamp set from Hero Arts and an old EK Success flower punch (similar to this, but smaller). I'm thinking the flowers are overpowering the sentiment a bit—ah well.

Although I have a lot of work on my plate, it's so nice to have a side project (another one!) going on at the same time. I don't usually make cards so this is my way to exercise those muscles a bit.

So, far a good Monday!

projects

2012-01-06T18:03:00.000-06:00

So, here's a glimpse of the first week of Project Life. Super simple and straightforward. You know I'm not keen on showing family photos here so I'll only be posting glimpses or materials I've used.

My plan moving forward is to make some patterned journaling cards. Some may be printable and some will be cutouts. The flower image above is a heart 'flower' that I decided not to include the in the new Valentine's Day Kit—it's seems to be working well here.

For now I've decided that the color will be given by photos. My journaling and additional elements will be neutral with the occasional pop of color that goes with the photos on the pages—at least that's the plan.

As far as the photos are concerned—I'm going the pharmacy prints route. I don't have a particularly good printer (I rarely use it anyway) so I don't want to spend time on special paper, ink, etc. While I worked on my journaling I sent my photos to the store online and picked them up an hour later. Easy.

For this spread I used kraft paper, grid journaling cards and photo pocket pages (design A).

• • •

Another project in the works
I'm putting together ideas and sketches for an e-course that will be ready in a few months. It's going to be a big project but I'm so ready for it. Since it will be for you I'd love to hear what your thoughts are on the subject matter and materials. What type of e-course would you like from me?

I've set up a very short survey (3 questions) where you can speak your mind and only I will see it. If you'd like to post in the comments section below that would be perfectly fine to.

So how about it? What would you like to learn?

Please click here for the survey.

• • •

Friday Tidbit
Craftcation Conference: You know when you go from site to site and you don't how you landed at a certain page? That is what happened to me this week with this web site.

Delilah Snell and Nicole Stevenson are co-producers of this beachfront 3-day conference that will take place March 22-25, 2012 in Ventura California. The line up of speakers is pretty amazing. I wish I could be a fly on the wall there!

Dieline's Top 100 package design of 2011 - An amazing list full of eye candy!

• • •

Have a great weekend everyone!

[ahhh! sorry for the dual or even triple posting today!]

project life: day one

2012-01-05T10:02:00.001-06:00

"You're little boy is all grown up."

He said that and it hit me (he's going to be twelve in 7 days). He's right—and other than photos I don't have much else to remember this amazing adventure with him or his sister. What about all the stories and conversations that go along with those photos? (enter mom guilt—gulp) So, I'm going to remedy this situation this year.

I've been eyeing Project Life for a long time. For those of you that don't know what it is: in a nutshell it's scrapbooking in a minimalist way—or at least that's the way I see it. It's more about the stories and the photos, then it is about layouts and embellishments. As with any creative project, styles vary wildly. There is no surprise in the fact that I prefer the minimalist side of things and that's why I lean towards work by Ali and Liz.

I have journaling cards that I bought a long time ago and some photo pocket pages that I'll be putting to good use. Now that I think of it I may have mentioned this a while back. That effort obviously didn't take off. But now it will. I'm looking forward to designing some simple journaling cards for myself too (oopsie! another project I will have to make room for—but very worth it).

I know these photos don't relate but in a way they do. As cheesy as it sounds, Project Life will be my labor of love for me and for the family. I'm going to try to make it a creative outlet where I'm not as picky on the design of it all. I'm just going to dive in. Day one is all about getting organized and putting those first words to paper. Here I go...

Photos: New Valentine's Day kit in the shop!

• • •

Thank you so much to Kate Pruitt on DesignSponge for featuring my Etsy shop in her post 10 great etsy shops you need to know. So flattered to be included with such talent. I love every single one of those shops!

And thank you to those of you that have send in the kindest messages and emails about my new web site. I'm quite excited about it and it looks like it's all running smoothly.

a little hut has a new web site!

2012-01-02T22:01:00.000-06:00

We're starting off 2012 with an awesome completed project. The new site for A Little Hut is here! It has been a long time coming and I'm very excited about this big improvement.

It was a LOT of work. It was a total team effort—I don't know what I'd do without my Mr. Z who did all the programming. He's so patient with all my requests! So, so patient.

Improvements:
- You will no longer need to wait for an email from me. You will be able to download all files immediately after paying for them. Only freebie files will need to be approved internally by me—which only means you'll just need to wait a bit (like with orders on the old site).
- You will be able to see your order history. You will have a handy list to remind you what you have ordered in the past.
- Products will be easier to find. The navigation from one section to another is quite simple.
- More photos and views will be available for products that I upload in the future. For now they have about the same amount of photos that I've used previously.
- I've added the icons below to clearly describe files that are available for each product. Some of you like to use cutting files, some of you want to print and cut by hand, some of you want to print only. Now you will know what is included in each set. The Product Information page explains these symbols in more detail.

For previous customers:

For those of you that have registered and made purchases on A Little Hut in the past don't worry, your information (personal contact information - not previous order history) was transferred to the new site. The only thing you'll need to do is create a new password. Sign in with your email address, click on Forgot Password, you'll get an email with a temporary password. Use that password to sign in and in My Account you can change your password to whatever you prefer. That's it! If you have any questions just use our Contact Us page.

I think we accomplished what we wanted—a better experience for visitors and a more efficient and up-to-date site. I happen to like how it looks too! Hehe.

If you find any glitches, typos or anything that you think we can work on please feel free to let me know. I want to make the site the best that it can be.

Stop by and visit the A Little Hut to check it out. I hope you like it!

2011 - come and gone!

2011-12-31T20:29:00.000-06:00

I love seeing the past year like this. It's a great way to remember everything I've done and how what my focus has been on.

It seems this year was about flowers and patterns. I definitely like that—it all feels like me. If I had to pick one favorite project it would be my paper quilt (2nd row, middle photo). It inspired a few of my other ideas.

I can't wait what next year's mosaic will look like. Previous years are here: 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

We've been having a very quiet week and I've had time to focus on family and a huge project. A new web site! It has been an overwhelming amount of work and I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. If you visit in the next few days and you see a maintenance image up, you'll know what's going on. Exciting!

• • •

I hope that you all have enjoyed the end of year celebrations and that the new year brings us all wonderful experiences. As always, thank you so much for your continued support. I really appreciate your visits to my lil' old blog and hope that I will meet more of you in the coming months.

Here's to an awesome 2012! Cheers!

holiday sale

2011-12-28T16:48:00.000-06:00

I hope you're all enjoying the holiday season/break as much as we are. We've been in a completely relaxed and slow mode after Christmas—so nice!

I wanted to quickly pop in to say that I am having a sale on all my holiday items. The Holiday Paper Quilt, Holiday Kit, Ornaments and Holiday Boxes are all 50% off. Enjoy!

peace & light

2011-12-21T15:56:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from our family to yours! May you all enjoy time with your family and friends. Stay safe and see you soon!

I'll drop in some time next week.
Hugs all around!

project + testing

2011-12-16T04:21:00.000-06:00

Today is the final day of school of 2011. I can't wait for pick-up time. We're all ready for the break. The collection of gift tags are a little something that will be part of our teachers' gifts. We can all use extra gift tags right? I used a combination of different sets of my flowers, lattices and holiday kit.

I had both my Cricut and Cameo going at the same time (spoiled a bit!). All I can say is that I'm still not used to the Cameo mat. Still waaaay too sticky. A friend has heard of people that rub stick/unstick mats to carpet. While I'll never do that I did think that rubbing a piece of fabric over it several times would help and it did. Now if I can only figure out where the cutting starts/stops on the screen in comparison to the real paper on the mat—aka. learning curve!

Friday Tidbit
Water ballon luminaries: I want to try this! They look easy to make and they're really beautiful.

Have a great weekend everyone!

inspired by: you

2011-12-15T08:43:00.002-06:00

Yes, you inspire me. I say that in the most sincere and genuine way possible.

Next week many of us will be busy with holiday preparations so I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for sticking around. I know that there are so many other blogs that you could be reading at this very moment and for whatever reason you choose to stop by for a visit. Whether it's a daily visit, every few weeks or you're new to this space, I feel inspired by the fact that you are interested in what I do. That fuels my will to continue and I need you to know that it means a lot.

So... thank you, thank you, thank you.
xoxo
Patricia

• • •

Photo: I used my Mod Blooms for these ornaments. Remember what I said about symmetry and repetition? Why not try it with flowers? It's super easy and fun to do!

mod blooms - svg flowers

2011-12-14T14:41:00.002-06:00

There's just something about working with flowers. I could go on and on. This is my latest set—Mod Blooms. I'll be using these for my holiday gift tags this year—I need to start real soon!

For those of you that have more experience working with cutting files I suggest using these flowers to make intricate lattice patterns and backgrounds. The possibilities are truly endless.

I briefly mentioned my new Four Petals Lattice yesterday. Here it is again used as an embellishment for a greeting card. The flowers can be used the same way. I like putting off to one side the way I used my Valentine Hearts. A simple graphic image and contrasting paper can make a huge impact.

• • •

For those of you that have asked—before getting my Cameo I was using a Cricut Expression and Sure Cuts A Lot. That set up is not available because SCAL no longer supports the Cricut. I have an old copy of the software and haven't updated the firmware of my Cricut.

• • •

Have a great day!

review: silhouette cameo

2011-12-13T15:17:00.003-06:00

I ordered the Silhouette Cameo a few weeks ago and just had a chance to use it this week. So far I'm quite pleased with the results.

It is an electronic cutting tool that is simple to use. It hooks up to your computer and with the help of the Silhouette Studio (a free software provided by the machine maker) you can cut purchased files or make your own. I like that the machine is clean in design (not pink or girly) and that it's fairly small (smaller than a Cricut).

I tried using the instructional video to learn how to use the machine but it didn't work with my Mac. It kept skipping parts of the presentation. I used the instruction manual to fill in the gaps of information that I missed. I later discovered that I had to download the entire video on to my computer in order to see it. It never played directly from the CD but it played on my computer without problems.

The blade was easy to install. With the use of the software the cutting depth and speed can be easily adjusted. I've heard that there are people having trouble with the blade but I haven't had any yet—then again I just started.

The cutting mat holds up to 12" square sheet of whatever material you're cutting. So far I've only cut paper but vinyl and fabric are other materials that can be used. The width (12") is what finally made me go with the Cameo. The previous SD Silhouette option only cut paper up to 8.5" wide. The cutting mat is really sticky. I had a hard time detaching larger images. I'm assuming that will not be the case after I've used the mat a couple more times.

The control panel and buttons are very easy to use and understand. One particular feature that I like is the pause button. If you've cut the wrong size, the wrong color of paper or you changed your mind about anything, this button is key.

I cut my Four Petal Lattice at the 10" square size and it was difficult to remove from the mat without tearing the paper. I suppose that after a couple of uses the stickiness will be more manageable. What I really wanted to see was a smaller version of the file to see how the cutting would hold up with detail. It didn't disappoint. The shapes are crisp and the machine had no trouble at all. The bottom square is only 3" wide.

So...
Pros:
- I like the way the machine looks and works. I specially like the detail work it can cut.
- Good price point. I ordered my machine when it was $260-ish.
- Free software to use with the machine. I like that it has an easy way to sort and label all images in a library.

Cons:
- As far as I've seen the replacement blades and mats aren't sold anywhere near me. That means I'll be ordering online. Not a big deal, but if I happen to need something urgently, it will be an inconvenience.
- The mat is definitely too sticky but I'm sure that will change with time/use of the mat—it's not a deal breaker.
- When the machine cuts it seems louder than what I'm used to—again, not a big deal.

So far I'm very happy with this machine. The next thing I want to try (if I only had the time now) is the print and cut feature. That will be really interesting to see in action. I'll post my thoughts when I get to it.

Typically the Silhouette Cameo is sold for $299 but as I said, it can be found at a lower price on occasion. The replacement blade is $19.99 and the cutting mat is $14.99.

For those of you that have asked—all A Little Hut files can be cut with the Silhouette Cameo. If you have the free version of the software you can import DXF files. If you have the designer edition (additional cost involved) then SVGs can be used.

One last thing...
This was a personal purchase. I was not sent this machine for review, nor was I asked to comment on it. Only my personal opinions are part of this post.

• • •

EDIT —It's been a few days since this post. I just wanted to add a tip regarding the mat. I know I said it wasn't a deal breaker but it's getting frustrating. The mat is too sticky and the paper tears when I pull it up—and yes I'm carefully using a spatula. I rubbed a piece of fabric on and off of the mat to remove some of the stickiness and it worked.

Another thing... the setting for the depth of cut is something I'm still struggling with. The machine doesn't completely cut through my Paper Source card stock. The Cricut does it with no problem. I guess it's another learning curve.

gone & back

2011-12-12T09:30:00.001-06:00

Scheduling posts ahead of time can look a bit deceiving but I didn't want to leave you hanging yet again. The truth is that I've been out of town since last Thursday and I got back yesterday.

If you ever need to clear your mind and get away from it all just do it. We all plan for major vacation time but mini-vacations are also very smart to take.

My break wasn't the type you may be imagining. I was with 80 women on a retreat as a member of the organizing team. It was a lot of hard work but a lot of fun too.

This type of break may not be your particular brand of fun but you do deserve one. If you're like me and have kids, when you get back the laundry may not be exactly done, the kids will tell on their dad regarding the lax menu and you'll have work a bit piled up. But it's totally worth it. Do it!

Did I knit the cowl? No. Not one stitch. I don't know what I was thinking when I even considered having time for it. Craziness.

Now to tackle this business about Christmas being only two weeks away. Who sped up the calendar? Yikes!

weekend project

2011-12-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

This is a fun project I want to take on this weekend. Will it get done? Who knows. But I will give it a serious try. Those of you that have my Christmas Paper Quilt collection can easily do it by editing the box covers.

What will you be making?

• • •

Friday Tidbits
- Origami Christmas tree: my favorite paper find of the week!
- Geometric steel bracelets: yes, please!
- I desperately want to make this cowl! Maybe I should trade the coasters for this? Hmm...

Have a great weekend everyone!

inspired by: craftypod 2.0

2011-12-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

I honestly don't remember when I started listening to Diane Gilleland's CraftyPod podcast. She's been on the air since 2005. All I know is that I've been hooked ever since the beginning. I love the way she engages with her guests and the insightful interviews that she delivers. CraftyPod 2.0 is a bi-weekly 30 minute show where Diane interviews all sorts of people in the world of creativity and craft. A small-business angle is also part of some of the conversations. I was fortunate to finally meet Diane in person at the Houston Quilt Market in October and she is just as genuine and she sounds on the air.

I typically listen to the show when I'm working on a project because listening to other creatives that I can relate to, makes the process sweeter. You have no idea how many times I laugh out loud or just nod my head in agreement over something I'm hearing.

All of Diane's interviews are so thought provoking and entertaining. They make my wheels turn. I learn, I take new approaches to my businesses and I analyze what I do every time I hear one of her interviews. It doesn't matter if she's interviewing someone that is into paper (one of my all-time favorite shows!), stitchery or painting—the ideas and inspiration just flow—every time.

For this post I asked Diane...

What do you enjoy most about making this podcast and why do you do it?

The thing I enjoy most about making the podcast is looking for interesting stories happening in our crafty landscape - stories that have the potential to spark new ideas or change the way we think. I love finding just the right combination of idea, interview guest, and editing to bring these stories to life.

I make the show because, as crafters, we spend a lot of time crafting... and while our hands are busy, many of us listen to something or other. Back in 2005 I thought, "Wouldn't it be cool if we could listen to something crafty while we craft?" And that's when the show was born!

CraftyPod 2.0 is offered as a monthly subscription of $1.98 per month or shows can be ordered for .99 cents each. With a subscription, you get each new show automatically delivered to your iAmplify library page, where you can sync it with your iTunes account, stream it, or download it. This sounds techie/complicated but it really isn't. The sign-up and set up only took me a few minutes—really painless and totally worth it.

• • •

"Inspired by" is a new weekly post where I will feature something/someone that inspires me in some way. I am not compensated in any way for these posts. They are entirely my own words and personal opinions. I hope you enjoy each post and that you will feel inspired too!

Have a great day!

holiday kit - svg & dxf

2011-12-07T00:15:00.000-06:00

I love the geometric designs I used for my ornaments but there's always part of me that likes to explore a more whimsical side of things (like I did with Halloween). This is my new Holiday Kit. It includes the images you see plus a notecard, envelope and cube favor box.

My little C thinks the highlight of the set is the Christmas tree. She has laid claim to it and plans to decorate it soon. Homework has been in the way—to her complete disappointment (putting that mildly).

I'm going to use this set to make gift tag sets as teacher's gifts. I need to get started soon or I'll be rushing at the last minute. I never learn my lesson!

The Holiday Kit can be purchased at the A Little Hut shop.

Have a wonderful day!

review: martha stewart paper punch & glitter markers

2011-12-06T09:55:00.001-06:00

I received a package from Martha Stewart Crafts and to be honest the Martha Stewart Crafts Pine Needles Trim Double Edge Punch was the thing that got me the most excited. I've seen different designs at the craft store but I had never used one until now.

The cuts are really clean and making a trim only takes a few punches. It really couldn't be any easier to create this embellishment. Even my little C added some trim to an angel that I made for her to put on our tree. Can't you see this on all sorts of projects? Cards, scrapbooking, gift wrapping... the uses are endless.

Martha Stewart Glitter Markers were another lovely surprise. The ink is metallic and it has glitter in it. Very appropriate for this time of the year. Christmas decorations, cards and gift tags will be spiced up with these. This is a four pack of red, yellow, green and silver markers.

All I did was zig-zag the marker back and forth over the red paper. Then I cut the leaves out after the ink was dry. Very easy and I love the look. The kids have been using scraps of paper as bookmarkers (blasphemous in a crafty household—but they take after me!) so the striped version will definitely be for them.

I decided that this Christmas I am going to make a serious attempt at baking something other than the usual cookies I make—so when I saw these boxes I had to grin. They came just in time. For those of you that don't bake I think the Candy Cane Boxes or the Bakeable Trays would be a cute way to give someone some treats (maybe a gift card tucked in there too!). Little C has already claimed the Treat Wrappers—so there is some duo-baking coming my way.

My waistline? Ahem. Yes, I'm just going to pretend it doesn't worry me for now.

For US residents: The Martha Stewart Crafts products can be found at Michaels and JoAnn Fabric and Craft stores.

peace + joy

2011-12-05T23:12:00.001-06:00

I sure hope you're having some! I think I'm leaning towards joy rather than peace. It's been a bit chaotic around here—but all is good. I guess it's just the holiday season that has sprung upon us. There seems to be so much to do on all fronts.

As evident by my lack of posting lately I'm not very good about blogging when I'm working on projects I can't show anyone just yet. The proof of my work is too embarrassing to show. My desk and work table are disaster zones at this time. It's terrible!

At least the decorations are up and we're looking Christmassy! Do you see some paper ornaments in there?

If you're in the mood to create something super easy and want to see a bit of what I've been up to, check out the Holiday Stamped Stationery tutorial that I created for the FedEx Out of Office blog. Enjoy!

holiday paper ornaments

2011-11-22T15:20:00.001-06:00

We're are gearing up to pull out our Christmas decorations (probably tomorrow), so I'm very excited that I finished this set of paper ornaments just in time. We really need new decorations for our tree but I decided that we are going to make and not buy them. I can't wait for us to get around the kitchen table to put these together.

Two of them should be familiar to you if you were around last year. I never placed them in the shop because what I really wanted to do was to create a collection. I finally had time to work on it this year.

I decided to go with a combination of shapes. The house, mod icicle and globe are very geometric and are made up of the outlines of shapes. The lantern, drop and cube have either irregular or curvilinear shapes that give them a different feel. I think they all go well together—right?

These may be called ornaments but they would work perfectly for gift decorations or for table settings. I like them as is (you know me and white!) but I can see small pieces of color added like I did for last year's calendar.

I'm selling the ornaments as SVG, DXF and PDF files. They are available in my A Little Hut shop.

I don't think I'll be back until next week... so to my friends here in the States—Happy Thanksgiving!
Have a great week everyone!

• • •

I ordered a Silhouette Cameo! I keep staring at it in delight. I really wanted to get a new updated machine. I haven't used it yet but rest assured that I'll let you know what I think about it when I do. I'm going to have a lot of paper fun in the next few days!

paper ballerinas

2011-11-18T12:41:00.001-06:00

My parents went to Spain and Paris a couple of months ago (lucky them!). When they were in the Palais Garnier opera house gift shop they saw these lamps and took photos because they knew I'd love them. They were right!

I've been trying for weeks to find out who the artist is and even called the gift shop in Paris to find out. I called and my Mom called a couple of times (yes, we're determined women). The man that we talked to acted like we were asking for a state secret. In any case, I finally found the information I needed today. I wanted to give credit where credit is so very due.

Papier à êtres — So, today's link is the artists' web site. The work is incredible! Take a few moments to visit. Trust me it will be worth it.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

grateful about...

2011-11-15T23:53:00.001-06:00

Aside from the obvious (the Just Bits on the right side of this post)...

- I have a table of goodies at Poppytalk Handmade. I haven't sold anything that needs to be put in the mail in so long. It's fun to send goodies out vs. sending an email for a change. Visit my table and see the work of other great artists here.

- Saturday night was the school fundraiser and silent auction. My contribution to the decoration of the evening was inspired by this. My version was nowhere as beautiful. The painting that I made with little C's third grade class sold for $580—not too bad for someone that doesn't feel very confident about paint.

- I'm designing a very cool logo that has more illustration work to go along with it. It's a really interesting project.

- I'm very excited that I'll be teaching a class at the Altitude Summit! Sign ups for my class opened today. I hope to see some of you there. It's going be great to see so many online familiar faces.

- Rain. It's raining a little more frequently (about once every couple of weeks). It's seems unreal that I'm so grateful about that. But in typical Texas fashion when I say rain I really mean severe downpour. Texas weather can be best described as a feast or famine situation.

How about you? What are you grateful for?

comfort zone

2011-11-08T06:30:00.000-06:00

Paper will always have the number one spot when it comes to working by hand. But recently I've become increasingly interested in stretching the materials boundary—and thread is calling my name. It's time to expand.

This is a little experiment/study that I cooked up recently. In my head I'm already about 5 steps past this. The trick is to find the time to work on it some more. I want it to be a composition that is ten times bigger and in a custom-made shadow box. Hmmm...

• • •

Nobody ever died of discomfort, yet living in the name of comfort has killed more ideas, more opportunities, more actions, and more growth than everything else combined. Comfort kills!

- T. Harv Eker

back

2011-11-07T14:38:00.000-06:00

Well hello there! I had no idea I'd be gone for a couple of weeks. I've been so wrapped in projects here and there that I simply didn't have the time to put together anything decent to blog about. I think I may have also reached one of those "need to take a break moments"—it happens.

So... what have I been up to?
- Still working on my book proposal (rethinking some projects-but almost done!)
- Working on some projects for local clients
- Designing new patterns and projects for my shop
- Visiting with great friends at Houston Quilt Market. Some photo evidence via Diane here. It's always so much fun to get together with such driven and talented women.
- I went to paint a collaborative/fun raising project with my little C's 3rd grade class. A lot of fun!
- And basically just going on with our crazy life...

I've regrouped and today I start off with some limited edition goodies at Poppytalk Handmade. The collection includes assorted paper cutouts (for framing, scrapbooking or coaster making) and new graphic fairy tale art work. If you see something that you'd prefer in a different color just send me an email and maybe we can work something out.

This is a limited edition collection because I am actually making and putting these items in the mail to whoever orders them (I haven't done that in a while). I will only be doing this during the month of November.

For those of you that work with cutting machines you can take a look at the paper cutouts there to get some inspiration on what other things you can make with my Christmas Paper Quilt and Falling Leaves collections. I will be putting the digital files to the new items (like the Graphic Arches Tags) in my shop in the next couple of days.

Be sure to check out the other artists at Poppytalk Handmade. There are beautiful things that can help you get your holiday shopping started!

Happy Monday everyone!

holiday gift wrapping and decorating ideas

2011-10-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today I was going to show you my second ornament for the season and I just didn't have time to finish the tutorial in time. I will be posting it as soon as I get some breathing room. In the meantime, here is a list of some of my tutorials (new and old) that would work well for the holidays.

Top row: poppy flower, poinsettia flower, embroidered gift tag
Middle row: yarn gift tag (recycling), cardboard ring ornament (recycling), popsicle sticks gift tags
Bottom row: using paper punches to make gift tags, teardrop ornaments, stripes gift tags

Can you tell I'm not even thinking about Halloween at this point?

Here's to a great (busy, busy) week!

an open letter

2011-10-22T02:12:00.000-05:00

Dear creative colleague,

I want you to have your own journey.

I want you to enjoy the discovery of your own strengths and talents.

I want you to look forward to developing your next idea.

I want you to relish the start of a new project.

I want you to succumb to failure so that you can learn how to stand up again.

I want you to feel stuck and discover what it takes for you to get going once more.

I want you to feel accomplishment and pride after a job well done.

I want you to understand that the creative process can only start with your own hand and end with it as well.

I want you to realize that you are depriving the rest of us of your treasures when you only offer glimpses of your talent.
I really do want all this for you.

Be inspired by those around you. Absorb everything. Reinterpret what you see, hear, feel, taste and smell. Reinterpret. Do not reiterate. Experiment, explore and grow. Develop your own voice and delve into the creative path you are on. You won't regret the steps that take you forward. And not even those that take you backwards. Aside from shortcuts, they will all be valuable to you.

Just let us see what you can really do. More importantly, show yourself what you can really do.

Sincerely,

• • •

PS. Before you ask - This is not directed to anyone in particular at all. It isn't written because of any specific event or issue that has presented itself recently. It is simply something that I've thought about for a long, long time and just now, when I'm in a good place, do I feel that it is right to put it into words. It is my way to put some thoughts to rest—and yes that sounds totally vague, but just take it at face value. No mysteries here!

christmas paper quilt and boxes

2011-10-21T15:06:00.002-05:00

So here it is! You had to know this was coming, right? I've been planning it for weeks and weeks. I kept changing my mind about some of the designs. In the end I think I accomplished what I wanted—something fun, contemporary and versatile. I wanted to include some boxes that can be used even after the holidays have come and gone.

I want to use the houses for a house warming gift or the stripes for a birthday with contrasting ribbon or something like that.

I always show my designs to the kids while I'm working on them. I like to do that because they point out things that are so obvious and that I don't see because I've been so absorbed in the project. I was lucky that this time they saw exactly what I was hoping they'd see when I hung the Christmas Paper Quilt on the wall.

"Oh, you're working on Christmas!" = Perfect!

I have other holiday goodies coming but I really couldn't wait to unveil this one. I'm going to make small 3" box covers and putting them in this frame this weekend. I can't wait to see what it looks like!

You can find my Christmas Paper Quilt in the shop now!
[The shop is finally sporting my revised logo. I am my own worst client!]

• • •

Friday Tidbits
- More of my work is now on Lettering Delights. See it here!
- Mia Liu - I love, love this paper mural. Amazing. Her whole portfolio basically blows my mind.
- This project caught my eye this week. Vases, paint and rubber bands! So simple and stylish at the same time.

Have a great weekend everyone!

before the pretty

2011-10-20T15:03:00.002-05:00

...comes the hard work. I'll be showing you a little something new tomorrow. It's looking rather wonderful, if I do say so myself.

I've never made it a secret that sewing isn't my thing. It gets me nervous to sit in front of the sewing machine. It doesn't feel like a friendly place for me. Nothing like what I feel with paper and cutting tools in my hands.Regardless of that, I've always been surprised at how giddy I feel when I get some fabric (even in just swatches) with my designs on it.

The most recent package from Spoonflower was no different.This is called Segments and it was completely inspired by this box which evolved from this piece I made ages ago. I know it's a bright set for this time of the year but I just couldn't muster a muted palette. Another trio of colors is coming.

I also posted Slope (I have to reshoot the photo). It may appear a bit delicate at first, but I can see it being used for larger scaled items, like curtains, sheets or large cushions.

I got small swatches that I can use for sachets but I'm waiting for a larger piece of Segments in navy for cushions for our room. I'll show it to you when it's done—soon!

• • •

The difference between try and triumph is a little umph. ~Author Unknown

recycling project - holiday ornament

2011-10-17T12:22:00.004-05:00

There were so many ways they could've gone. The majority of you that voted wanted me to work in paper (such anguish -- haha!), so I did. I'm not quite sure how I ended up with this version, but it certainly wasn't my first attempt.

Surprisingly, the biggest challenge was making something that would be a compliment to the outer frame and not be overwhelmed by it. A couple of my initial designs were too delicate or small and seemed to disappear inside the ring.

Another challenge (one which I face with all tutorials) is that I wanted to create something that would be very easy to replicate and still look interesting. Incidentally, although I call this a challenge, it is one of my favorite parts of the process.

Materials
Cardboard ring (this one in particular is from a roll of painter's tape)
White paint
Brush
White card stock
Red card stock
Push pin
Red embroidery thread
Glue
Craft knife
Cutting mat
Metal Ruler
Paper trimmer (optional - if it is used, it will eliminate the need for the last three items on the list)

1. Paint the entire ring white. Set it aside to dry.

2. Cut white strips of card stock that are slightly narrower in width than the width of the cardboard ring.

3. Glue the strips to one another by overlapping 1/4" (5mm) of each end of the strips. You should end up with a strip that is at least 60" (152cm) long.

4. Fold the strips accordion style at 3/4" (2cm) intervals. Glue the opposite ends of the folded strip to form a full circle.

5. Using the push pin or something similar, make one hole in the center of the width of the ring. Thread a length of embroidery thread through the hole that is long enough to hang the ornament.

6. Tuck the ring of folded white strips inside the card board ring. Add dots of glue to the edges of some of the outer folds of the white paper and glue to them to the inside of the ring.

7. Cut six strips of red paper that are the same width of the white strip and twice as long as the height of the folds. Fold each red strip in half.

8. Tuck the red pieces inside the folds of the white paper to form a 6 point star. You may need to move the pieces around several times until you find the ones that make the star look symmetrical. Once they are in the right place glue the red paper to the inside of the accordion folds.

VARIATIONS:
- If you don't have a cardboard ring make your own ring by creating a circle with a strip of card stock that wraps around twice.
- To make a "greener" version of this ornament use old book pages or magazine pages instead of the white card stock. You wouldn't need to add the red paper simply because the magazine paper would already be colorful enough.

That's it! Simple and easy. Right?

Happy Monday!

and the winner is...

2011-10-14T08:44:00.000-05:00

The majority has spoken, so I will be doing a 3D paper shape for the ornament. As of this moment I have no idea what it will look like. Time constraints may limit what I can do but even I'm curious to see what I come up with.

Thank you so much to everyone that has participated in my ornament survey! It was so much fun to see the numbers start creeping up and the ideas that you were all sharing. I will keep the survey open until tonight as promised, but as of right now 132 of you responded and there were an additional 55 of you that left other comments and/or ideas in the 2nd question. I thought it would be fun for you to see the results (and you'll know I'm not cheating! ;))—so here is a graph that I downloaded from Survey Monkey (although I made it black and white because their colors were a bit horrid - hehe!)

I also want to share just some of the ideas that came pouring in with question 2. Maybe you could try some yourselves. So here you go:
encaustic painting, star in a halo (with instructions and all - thanks Jim!), LED lights, wire, beading, combination of fabric and yarn, pipe cleaners, combination of thread and paper, paper lace, tell a graphic story, a recycled element like a bottle cap, quilling, basic ink doodle (in black, red or green), something from nature (wood, beans, dried leaves), something transparent (acetate or glassine), use and angel, wreath or a tree image in the middle, polymer clay, using the ring as the top of a mobile, tinsel, a photo, silver leaf, something suspended in the middle that will twirl.

That was just some. Phew!

Since I can't show you anything I worked on this week (the suspense will kill me!), I'll just show you that our mantle is decked out for the holidays thanks to our little C. She took it upon herself to make a strand of snowflakes while I went out to dinner with some friends (the type of get together where we all end up in tears from laughing so hard = great group therapy!).

So this morning...
D: "Not to be rude or anything... but isn't it a bit early to be decorating for Christmas?"
Me: "I agree." (outside of C's presence of course) "Who are we to stop a blooming artist?" (wink).

Friday Tidbits
- Pia Wustenberg - She is taking recycling of paper to a whole new level.

- I love this video of Rob Ryan. Typically 'nice' isn't such a great word to describe someone, but that's what he seems like to me... just a really nice and genuine person (aside from the extremely talented man that he is!).

Enjoy and have a great weekend everyone!

Handmade Portraits: Rob Ryan from Etsy on Vimeo.

an ornament needs your help

2011-10-12T14:51:00.002-05:00

Ok, I need your help. When I finished using a roll of painter's tape, I was left with this cardboard ring. I decided that it should become a holiday ornament (no use denying that time of the year is nearly here!), but after painting it white (to have a nice place to start from) I got derailed.

I have several ideas that involve different materials, but I can't decide what direction I should take. The pressure is completely off on this project—it's for fun. So, I thought you may want to help me decide. Fear not, I will turn this into a tutorial, so I'll show you what I did next week.

I could easily leave it as is. It crudely reminds me of of this beautiful jewelry. But, I want to develop this further. In fact, this is the first of my ornament series for the end of the year. Fun!

Are you game? If so, click here to take my two question survey. I'll keep the survey open until Friday at midnight. Thank you for joining in!

book review: homemade by carol endler sterbenz

2011-10-11T13:50:00.000-05:00

I received a copy of Homemade: The Heart and Science of Handcrafts and I was quite surprised by the format and the size of the book. It is a thick volume, of almost 800 pages, rich in information and an incredible variety of projects from which to choose from.

The chapters cover crafts and techniques in: beading, floral arts, paper crafting, hand printing, decoupage, decorative embellishing and children's arts and crafts.

The beginning of each chapter includes a section in history, techniques and a glossary of terms and tools—everything you could possibly need to know before starting any of the projects.

I didn't count how many projects are in the book, but at a glance, I'm certain there are over 50+ projects. There are fun crafts for children that don't involve many materials. The introduction to that chapter in particular offers great advice about how to approach crafting with kids depending on their age. The back of the book has about 30 pages of patterns.

As you can see, the amount of material is incredible. The book has 7 chapters that just as easily could have been turned into 7 books.

Homemade stands out from any craft book because it is completely in black and white. There are no photographs. Before you take that as a negative, consider the fact that there are many, many illustrations in the book, which are incredibly detailed. I can't even imagine how long it took for the illustrator, Harry Bates, to complete this project.

I do miss having photographs in a craft book, but the illustrations are so well made that it's hard to argue against the 'old school' feel of the book. It's definitely part of what makes it attractive.

This is a great reference book to add to our craft books section. My little C has already thumbed through it and has added to our crafty to-do list—which keeps getting longer and longer!

Book: Homemade: The Heart and Science of Handcrafts
Author: Carol Endler Sterbenz
Illustrator: Harry Bates

the heart of the matter

2011-10-07T22:00:00.002-05:00

I went through my Flickr sets and decided to pick out my absolute favorite pieces and here they are. The fact that they are all white is no coincidence. I love white (surprise, right?). Interestingly our house and my wardrobe are anything but just white. I'm not afraid of color per se. I think that I just really like working with shapes and seeing how far I can take them. It's almost like color gets in the way of that—it's a distraction.

I've been thinking about the progress of my work and I feel like I've taken a bit of a detour. I need to get back on track. Taking stock and looking at what really interests me is the first step. If you notice some changes around here you'll know that this is why. I've been thinking about this so much that I even have had the urge to just delete my entire blog and start from scratch. Can you imagine that?! The scary thing... I'm still tempted. Very tempted.

Friday tidbits
The weather has finally cooled and I've started using my crocheted slippers. I just love them! They keep my feet so toasty and warm. I can't share that particular pattern with you, since it's copyrighted material, but maybe this one will work for you.

Spooky Halloween Silhouettes: Punch-Out Window Shadows for a Haunted Home - This book looks like it would be a fun and easy way to make something fun with the kids. I already showed my little C this and she begged me to do the same. The author, Jeff Rudell used to do some amazing work for Craftstylish.

Wendy Jung - My favorite find of the week. I absolutely love this shape–and yes, it doesn't hurt that it's white. Too bad she has nothing for sale at the moment.

Have a great weekend everyone!

• • •

Blog change —I've decided to stop using Disqus for the comments area. Disabling it means that I will unfortunately lose all the kind words that you've shared with me since I started using it. They will all be gone once the code is removed from the blog (it still is active as of this post). I regret the loss of your comments terribly, but I think that in the end it will be better for the blog. Please don't take it personally—I hope you understand.

EDIT - Ok... you can comment on my blog again! All I have to say is that I never should've used Disqus. Ugh.

reflection

2011-10-06T11:04:00.001-05:00

I sat here for a while trying to express what I feel about Steve Jobs passing away and the words wouldn't come (at least not coherently). I think my reaction, is stronger than I expected and is also tied into the "aha! moment" I had last month and what I'm doing about it. Much of what he said in this commencement address, has resonated so much with me.

My first experience with a Mac: the computer lab at the University of Houston graphic design department. We had a cot on one end of the room so that we could take turns on the computers (not enough for everyone) and sleeping. Fun times that also included floppy disks and SyQuest cartridges (anyone remember those?). That feels like a lifetime ago.

And yet, I'm still on a Mac.

Holly's post is the best I've read today. In her words...

Have a great day everyone and thank you Steve!

• • •

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." - Steve Jobs

a little something for you

2011-10-04T12:49:00.001-05:00

I have a little freebie for this month. The details are in October's newsletter. If you haven't subscribe you can do so by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page. I only send out newsletters once a month, so don't worry I won't be flooding your inbox.

Yes, I said I wasn't going to add any fall-ish items to my Falling Leaves set... but I couldn't resist a little acorn for this one. Enjoy!

• • •

Thank you so much to eHow for including me in their 100 Shift List! So honored!
The full list of inspiring women is here.

Have a great day everyone!

falling leaves

2011-10-03T14:31:00.001-05:00

I never can decided if October or March is my favorite month of the year. In any case, the mere fact that we can open all our windows and enjoy cool weather, without having to resort to the air conditioning, is wonderful—maybe more like awesome!

This is also my most productive time of the year. Coincidence? Probably not. I've always been the type to be affected by the weather. Which is a great thing because last week I was SO busy. I have several projects in the works—and yes, the book proposal is one of them (it's coming along—yay!).

And speaking of productivity here is a new set of cutting files that are now available in the shop. I didn't want to design a typical autumn set and I'm so happy how this little group turned out. They are available as SVG, DXG and PDF files.

Autumn may have inspired this Falling Leaves set, but it can be used throughout the year. Just changing the color of paper will make them look and feel completely different. As a bonus, and because the fall social season is starting, I added a wine tag so you can decorate it with any one of the images in this group. Any one of my flowers would be great for this too.

Happy Monday everyone!

• • •

For those of you that have asked:
I've been using only Paper Source paper in my projects during this year. I absolutely love their colors! I use both cover and text weight (depends on the project). If only they had larger sheets...

which cutting machine should I buy?

2011-09-27T09:00:00.001-05:00

Die cutting is a practice that is spreading throughout the paper craft industry. It is the best way to produce simple to intricate paper cut outs in a matter of minutes. Machines that work with dies and need to be activated manually with the help of a crank will not be covered here. I will only cover electronic cutting machines and give a short overview of what you should take into account before purchasing one.

For those of you that are new to this medium, an electronic cutting machine or tool is the cutting version of a printer. Instead of pressing Print you press Cut. The end result is a piece of paper that is cut to the size and design that you have indicated. It is a dream once you get the hang of it!

So back to the question—which one should you purchase? It is the question I get asked the most often and to answer it for yourself, you need to consider several factors. Here are the basic ones:

Features

- Maximum cutting width
Most of the new machines are now cutting up to 12 inches in width, but be aware that there are machines that cut on letter-sized sheets of paper only. I prefer the 12" width simply because I don't like being limited to a smaller working area.

- Materials that can be cut
This hasn't been a big factor for me since I only cut paper but it could be something to consider for those of you that would like to work with fabric, chipboard and vinyl among others.

- Cartridges
Some machines only allow the user to cut designs from cartridges that must be purchased separately. What that means is that you will be limited to the designs that are included in those cartridges. You will not be able to create your own designs—that's where software comes in handy.

- Software
Some machines come with software included and some do not. There are also differences in software—some are only used to store and work with cartridges or images that are purchased separately. Others such as Sure Cuts A Lot or Make the Cut give the user the flexibility to use and/or create their own designs. Still others allow for both the creation of your original files and the storage (in a library) of designs that are purchased through the manufacturer or third parties. Be aware of what the case is for the machine that you are considering.

- Accessories

Cutting mats are a must for most machines. To my knowledge there is only one machine on the market that doesn't require the use of one. In some cases, other accessories that allow the machines to draw, engrave or emboss, are also available at an additional cost.

Price

Prices for table top versions vary anywhere from the low $200s to $900 and above.

Customer Service and Support

It is important to know what company you will be ordering from. It wouldn't hurt to ask the manufacturers questions that you've been mulling over. Addressing them directly, will clear up any doubts you may have about their product and you will have first hand experience of how they treat their customers.

The machines that are on the market as of this post are (if I missed any please let me know):

Black Cat

Silhouette

Klik n Kut

Gazelle by Bosskut

eCraft by Craftwell

Pazzles

Eclips by Sizzix

Cricut Expression by Provo Craft

Please keep in mind that I've only mentioned very basic information here. This is just a place to get started. Researching video tutorials and reviews of the different machines will further help you to purchase the right machine to fulfill your needs. Like I said, contacting manufacturers directly, specially for technical questions, will keep you better informed.

My current setup (combination of machine and software) is no longer available so I can't offer any up-to-date reviews on any of the above products. I'm in the market for a new machine (still deciding). When I do order another one I'll post my thoughts and let you know how it's going.

Just to clarify - I do not endorse any of these machines and I am not an affiliate of any of these companies. This is a personal post that has not been requested by any manufacturer.

I hope this helps! Have a great day!

soaking it all in

2011-09-23T12:45:00.001-05:00

I've had a week of introspection. After last week's bout with hesitancy and doubt, it's really nice (read: HUGE relief!) to finally feel on track again. I've been reading, sketching, playing (see above - a collaboration with little C) reading some more and taking a lot of time thinking of where I'm headed with my work. I'm also in the middle of deciding something pretty major. I'll share when the time is right.

Among other things, I called on my cheerleaders to chat about what was going on. What I came to realize is that when I explain my feelings out loud I end up rattling off the solution as well. Just having a sounding board and facing the facts is enough—not always—but this week it was.

So here I am again, on a Friday (remember a week ago?), talking about my internal goings on, but this time I'm on the other side.

I really like this side!

Friday Tidbits
For thinking - An article about overcoming self-doubt on Zen Habits.

For fun - This is my favorite find of the week. Gorgeous! I have a huge thing for small boxes and drawers—it's almost a crazy-like fascination.

Eight projects - I love simple ideas like these.

• • •

On a side note: I will be posting answers to the questions I've been getting most frequently by email:

Where do I start with digital cutting and what cutter should I purchase?

Since, I've answered this several times in private emails, I thought it would be useful to post about this subject—so be on the lookout of the post on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

more my speed

2011-09-21T11:22:00.003-05:00

"Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new." — Brian Tracy

While the above is definitely true, I can't deny the warm fuzzies when I work on something that is more 'me'.

When was the last time you were out of your comfort zone?

wall art: tape + ink

2011-09-20T23:12:00.001-05:00

Stepping out of my comfort zone is not something I do easily. But I gave it a shot with this and I flopped—sort of. Ink pads and me—we're still working on maintaining an amiable relationship. However, I am surprised that I that this red square is growing on me. It isn't typical of me—maybe that's why?

I don't really show what didn't work, do I? I don't think it's because I don't want to, but simply because I either forget or I crumple up the evidence in frustration, before I realize that it would've been a good thing to show what not to do. Maybe it's the perfectionist in me, taking over on the sly.

In any case, here are the disasters that occurred after the framed piece above. Yes, I said after. It just got worse and worse...

1. Red background - The photos don't do it justice. The silver ink (which looks whitish) is quite striking but subtle.
2. My second attempt - It didn't go too badly (again, the texture looks much better in person), until pulling the tape messed up parts of it. I don't like that I only used one width of tape throughout. There's no contrast.
3. You can't tell but this one is really shiny. It looks metallic. The entire gray area is covered in silver embossing powder. The flaws are more than evident!
4. By this one, I'd given up on the tape design and just wanted to see what would happen with white embossing and ink with water. I couldn't find my watercolor paper which is what I really wanted to use. Ugh. Enough said.

The kicker of the story is that I wanted to make this a video tutorial and I started recording the process with version number 2. Awesome. The other failures are recorded too (reminder: delete! delete!). Don't worry I'm not going to waste your time with all that. The red piece was supposed to be the additional color option. As in... "Here is another piece that I worked on in colored paper. See the difference?" Yep. I sure do!

So, in case you are interested in trying this out (no guarantees on results!) here is what I used for the red background piece:

- Silver ink pad
- Brown ink pad
- Red Card stock - 5" (13cm) square
- Martha Stewart Patterning Tape
- Embossing heat gun (optional)
- Ranger Inkssentials Craft Sheet (see note below)

1. Place the tape on the paper in a diagram that forms a general idea of the map of where you live.
2. Rub the ink pad across the paper in a side-to-side direction direction only. Don't press too hard—so that some streaks show.
3. Let it dry (I used the embossing heat gun to speed the process up).
4. Turn the paper 90˚ and repeat step 2 with the brown ink.
5. I removed the tape and heat set the second layer of ink.

I worked on the Ranger Inkssentials Craft Sheet for the entire project. With all the ink involved, I typically would've gone through a bunch of scrap paper, to protect my work surface, or my cutting mats would've taken a dirty beating. I'm very picky about the latter since I work with white paper so much. It's the first time I use this craft sheet and I couldn't be more pleased. With a few wipes of a damp cloth it was ready to go again. It still looks like I just pulled it out of the box. Awesome product!
FYI: This is not a sponsored review. The sheet was a personal purchase.

I learned about this sheet through the Inspiration Showcase, a class that I'm currently taking. Jennifer McGuire is an excellent teacher and the amount of techniques that are included in the class are incredible. I'm not a card maker per se, but I decided to jump in to see what I could learn—boy I'm glad I did! I haven't had a chance to buy all the materials I need to complete the assignments (which makes this project even more embarrassing!) but I will definitely get there.

• • •

Lessons of the day?
- I never know when it will be right. In this case the first try was IT. That doesn't mean I shouldn't keep trying.
- I should leave the beaten path more often—it's liberating, even if I trip.

how to make a paper flower

2011-09-18T02:10:00.001-05:00

This flower is very easy to make and it's a great way to use scraps of paper. When I look at it, it reminds me of a stylized poinsettia. Who's ready to think about the holidays? (not me!)

Here are some ideas on how you can use this flower:
- As an embellishment for gifts, gift tags or a wreath
- Make several to frame and use as artwork
- Attach one to ribbon to use as a napkin ring
- On a special occasion, use it a place holder at the table

If you'd like to learn how to make it, visit Whip Up for my tutorial.
Enjoy!

remnants

2011-09-15T20:19:00.004-05:00

I was in a bad spot today. Very bad. One of those that freezes you up and nothing gets accomplished. The reason? My brain was working against me—completely.

It's scary when the very thing that lets me soar in creative moments, is also the one that sabotages me when the floodgates of self-doubts are open.

On the other hand, if I don't have doubts, I can't perfect my craft. I can't close the loopholes of my ideas. The trick is not to let the sabotage get to the point where I'm not moving—like today.

Instead of rambling about how awful that feels (you've read that before, if you've been here long enough) I thought I'd better come up with ways to get over this.

This is what I have so far:
1. Just assume the rest of the day is going to be out of wack. Take the day off.
2. Get out of the house—see other people. Working solo is great 90% of the time. This is part of the 10% when alone doesn't work.
3. If the above isn't possible call a good friend—those that are totally willing to hear your bla-bla-bla, not bat an eyelash and give you a wise word or phrase like: "snap out of it!"
4. Better yet, call your sweet and patient Mr.—who has heard you go through this many times.
5. Do homework with the kids. Nothing like the reminder of real life issues, like rounding to the nearest hundred.
6. Stay away from the internet, although some twitter chat is ok.
7. Indulge in a yummy dinner and go to bed early with a good book in hand.

Hopefully, what is left behind is a clear mind and enthusiasm for a fresh start.
Cheers to that!

• • •

Funny that this sheet of paper came out of the "nothing" that got done today! It's the leftover of a project—which looks 100 times better than what I was working on. Ha!

wall art: symmetry and repetition

2011-09-14T10:50:00.001-05:00

Remember what I said about repetition? If you pair it up with symmetry you have a winning combo and easy to make artwork. I used a pumpkin but you can use any shape. Fold each shape in half and glue them back to back. Done!

Tip: Anyone of these shapes can be used as table decor or hung from a mobile too!

Have a great day!

halloween kit - svg & dxf cutting files

2011-09-13T11:33:00.002-05:00

Typically, I'm not one to put a lot of effort in decorating for Halloween. I do it because the kids enjoy it, but that's about it. However, with my new designs and C's excitement about them, I'm feeling a bit different.

The pieces you see here are what I created for my shop, but I already promised my little C that we'd work on getting our own set of decorations ready for next month. My to-do list with her is getting longer and longer (decorations, Wee Wonderfuls doll, another doll outfit, a bigger paper doll house—ahhh!).

I suppose you can't tell, but I really had a great time designing this set. I think it's because I enjoy working with illustrations that are simple and graphic. I can imagine these being used for a fun whimsical party or for a more sophisticated event. The colors you use for the backgrounds will make all the difference.

Medallions
These would work really well as wine charms, gift tags, on cards, as coasters or cut them larger and make a Halloween mobile.

Bunting and 3D pumpkins
The bunting could decorate a doorway or a mantle and the pumpkins can be placed on tables, used for a mobile or as decorations on a wreath.

Graphic elements
These designs are very versatile too. I can see them on cupcakes, on any paper craft and wrapped around votive candle holders. I love this simple idea for a table setting.

Gift box
I had the idea that it would be fun to greet guests with a web paper quilt (spiders hanging and all!) and at the end of a party use them as covers for the party favors.

All these files are included in my Halloween Kit. If you would rather work on something smaller, I'm also selling the bunting and the spider web box as individual products—digital cutting files and as PDFs for those of you that would like a cutting project!

So that's it—Halloween 2011!

Now to work on getting the kids to tell me what they're going to dress up as. I need to start working on that now—or else!

Have a great day everyone!

strength in numbers

2011-09-09T08:46:00.005-05:00

Aside from being beautiful, these Anthropologie pieces I saw the other day (and remember this one?), prove a well known point. Even the simplest of shapes can have a strong impact when shown as a group. How easy is it to put together some string and paper circles or strips of knit fabric? Sometimes the best solutions are the simplest and easiest to execute.

Friday Tidbit
Lydia Hirte - Her paper jewelry is simply amazing. And yes, it's all about repetition—but in a very interesting way.

Have a great weekend everyone!

• • •

Ideas won't keep; something must be done about them. —Alfred North Whitehead

light

2011-09-08T17:52:00.003-05:00

I'm not that great at asking for help. Today I got some without asking.

I met with a friend that wants to start her own blog (you go J!) and although she wanted my advice, she ended up helping me. She gave me ideas to act upon and now I'm going to be held accountable to someone other than anyone under our own roof. That's lighting a fire under me!

So, today's lesson is...

If you're stuck—reach out to a friend or just talk about it with someone else. You'll be glad you did. Go do it!

• • •

It was time for a new tealight cover, right? I was in the mood for something that would require little to no thinking, so this is a redesign of the Pillar Tealight Cover found on page 60 of my Home, Paper, Scissors book. I added triangle cutouts and made a simpler base. Presto!

sunset flowers collection

2011-09-06T23:09:00.001-05:00

I am the first one to be surprised at the fact that my most recent project is another flower collection, because I've always described myself as the non-flower-y type.

Aside from the occasion natural flower arrangement, I don't really use flowers in our home decor and there are very limited instances in my clothing. I was thinking about this a bit more, while I worked on this latest set, when I realized that I don't work on these designs thinking of them as flowers. I find them to be more exercises in pretty geometry and I end up calling them flowers because that's what they look like.

About the geometry...

- My sketchbooks are full of geometric looking doodles.
- In college, my interior design teacher tried to convince me to change my major from graphic design to interior design, because I was doing so well in her 3D class.
- In high school, I loved geometry while many of my classmates couldn't stand it.
- If I go back even further, I would say that this all got started with wooden blocks and then Legos. Our kids benefit from the latter!

Funny how, in one way or another, you stick to what is familiar, comfortable and just plain fun.

What do you do today that is a reflection of a past interest?

• • •

This new set of cutting files, Sunset Flowers (named after the photo from my last post), is now available on my web site and my Etsy shop.

Have an awesome day!

happy accident

2011-09-01T00:00:00.001-05:00

In my head it was one thing. Once it was cut, it was completely another. It took me by surprise—a good surprise.

It is, once again, proven that stepping up to the plate is better than not doing so at all. A surprise, good or bad, is better than the lull of nothing.

New work is always so refreshing!

simple monday - embossing powder + tape

2011-08-29T08:06:00.004-05:00

Last week I was in a complete rut. I think it happens when I have too many ideas, I'm tired and I just don't know what to focus on. So, over the weekend I decided to make something simple—super duper simple.

Materials

- Cardstock

- Martha Stewart Crafts patterning tape in two different widths (looks and feels like painter's tape). It's such a new product that I couldn't find a link to include here.

- American Crafts Zing embossing powders in metallic finish (Silver and Red - The Red is more like a raspberry or plum color) and opaque finish (Leaf and Powder).

- Zap heat gun
- VersaMark watermark stamp pad

Step 1

I randomly placed pieces of tape across the flat cards and the bookmark I cut out.

Step 2

Add Versamark ink by rubbing the stamp pad only over the areas where a specific color is to be used. The bookmark was embossed one color at a time. The flat cards where only embossed once since they only have one color each.

I noticed that the embossed powder that was on the tape melted quicker than the powder on the card. Make sure to stop using the heat gun once the melting on the cardstock has been completed.

Step 3

Remove tape. Done!

As you can see the edges of the shapes are not exactly clean. It may be because I didn't press the ink pad against the paper enough times. However, I still like that bit of roughness to the shapes.

Here's hoping that this week is productive!

Happy Monday!

it's all in my head

2011-08-26T09:08:00.013-05:00

There's a fine line between taking a break and just not wanting to jump in and just swimming. That's where I'm at right now. Have I enjoyed my time away? Yes and no.

Yes, I loved having more time with the family and getting the school schedule going again. It's so nice to be back to our lovely routine! We're like a well oiled machine and I've also managed to work on a fun project I'll tell you about when the time comes.

No, I didn't enjoy having the scare of the year by taking my Mr. to the ER because of chest pains (thankfully nothing serious—but still!). We have had some emotional days around here and frankly I'm still in recovery mode.

But, back to my first thought. I've been wavering about when to get going again with blogging and just being online in general. I'm considering the idea of putting a summer digital sabbatical on the agenda for next year. Sadly, the unproductive air has slid into work as well.

So, this morning these are my thoughts...

What's with all the excuses?

Just move forward!

Let go and make.

Stop with the over-thinking.

The sketchbooks are there for a reason—pick something already!

More coffee won't help.

And making this list any longer won't either.

But posting this strangely does.

• • •

Oh and random thought... Have you seen the new Martha Stewart Crafts products? I'm not a paint and brush kind of person but the colors have seriously have me excited to come up with some excuse to use them. I couldn't resist and I bought some adhesive stencil film. I'm going to experiment!

[strange but cool looking berries I saw the other day—anyone recognize this plant?]

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

lots of petals

2011-08-10T15:40:00.010-05:00

I thought of posting the photo of a white flag at some point this week (nope, not kidding) but I decided you'd appreciate flowers a bit more. Take them as my "I'm giving up on my summer blogging" for the next few days image. I know if I don't do this now I'll regret not focusing on the kids while they're still on their break. We just have a few more days together. It's always a bitter-sweet time of the year.

So... for now I'm waving my white flowers.

This is my new Lots of Petals collection.

I've been designing and collecting the shapes for the last couple of months and I finally think it's ready. It includes 8 types of flowers that can be mixed and matched amongst themselves or with my Petals or Summer Blooms collections.

Oh yeah... and yesterday we celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary! Yeah for us!

Love my Mr. Z!

I hope that you're enjoying your week. See you in a few days!

• • •

EDIT :: My apologies to those of you that received my August newsletter without appropriate links!! Here is the link for the desktop for this month (has no calendar—so it can be used at any time of the year).

more than a building

2011-08-04T23:30:00.001-05:00

If you're stuck and need new geometric inspired ideas look no further than the architectural treasures in your area or the ones you find in cities you visit. This is a little study in form using the capitol photo as inspiration and more are coming.

Friday Tidbit

Today I don't have link to share. I just want to offer you a friendly reminder to use your cameras to collect patterns and shapes. I have a folder where I save photos that fall into this category and I use it for reference when working on new projects. Shoot without overanalyzing—but do shoot things that interest you.

Happy weekend!

moment

2011-08-03T17:38:00.002-05:00

Ribbon + balsa wood = twirling fun. It was her idea.

patterns

2011-08-01T20:20:00.009-05:00

We were in Austin for a few days and had a great time—even if we went from hot to hotter!

The change of scenery was very needed. Some things we saw are inspiring me and already affecting one of my current projects.

Above: Austin state capitol dome.

Layers + layers - so many possibilities.

Below: Senate room ceiling.

Love the hanging bowl shape.

Star fence around the capitol grounds.

There's always much to be said about repetition.

Music themed windmill.

Quirky and a great reminder to have fun with my work.

I've always loved the hills and trees all around Austin.

Natural elements will always call to me.

Now, we're back home, the laundry is done (seriously set a record—I'm a procrastinator with the unpacking), we're back to reality and new projects are waiting.

Can you believe it's August already?!

m is for make

2011-07-25T10:31:00.009-05:00

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

2011-07-22T11:55:00.008-05:00

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

2011-07-21T10:21:00.006-05:00

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

2011-07-20T09:57:00.010-05:00

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

2011-07-20T06:00:00.002-05:00

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

2011-07-19T06:00:00.011-05:00

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

2011-07-18T06:00:00.002-05:00

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

2011-07-11T14:54:00.008-05:00

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

2011-07-08T12:53:00.018-05:00

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

2011-07-07T14:33:00.008-05:00

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

2011-07-06T15:55:00.010-05:00

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!

2011-07-01T14:08:00.007-05:00

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.]

you never know when an idea will hit

2011-06-28T12:01:00.009-05:00

Last night we went to see Cars 2 and I'm happy to say that it was a lot of fun to watch. For some reason my expectations weren't very high. Once again, Pixar didn't disappoint. Aside from the obvious (story, characters, etc) I was particularly taken by the amazing detail in the backgrounds—specially the scenes in Italy. Wow.

At home, after we were done with our typical family review of the movie (a.k.a. everyone wants to talk at the same time discussing their favorite/funniest part of the movie) my mind took a huge jump. The buildings I had seen in the Lettering Delights European City (which is part of a bundle that is still on sale) came to mind. It definitely was the Italian scenes that influenced this project. In a couple of minutes, I knew what I wanted to make and got to it.

I used the same hurricane glasses I used for my recycling idea and Hexagon Candle Cover and made this new pair of designs. One has tracing paper completely covering the glass. The other has a tracing paper that I cut to the size of the buildings. I didn't think the paper would survive the cutter but it did. Vellum (or even parchment paper) would've been ideal but I didn't have any.

I think I must be the only person that goes outside to spray mount something in our yard at 11pm—and my understanding husband doesn't even bat an eye. He knows me so well! Ha!

This project would work just as well with any type of shape that has cut outs. My Summer Blooms would look really pretty and even some Mod Borders (wrapped around the glass) would work well too. I used Glue Dots to attach the paper to the glass. It holds the paper without being permanent, allowing me to change up the glasses whenever I want to.

I think what I really need to do is a table full of candles that are covered with all sorts of designs. Now that would be fun! Hmm...

This is what the covers look like in daylight—and I still like them. The one in the front is my favorite. Spontaneous for-fun projects are always the best!

Have a great day!

I'm trying

2011-06-27T17:39:00.003-05:00

This summer I feel so off. The whole work/kids schedule is still not really flowing. To-do lists are helping, but I wanted one that was really in front of me while I work. I'm using a standing work station that I love, but as you can see the top shelf is getting a bit crowded.

The minute I saw this frame at Ikea I grabbed it. All I did was place a printed piece of my Mod Stationery (the one intended to be a note card) in between the two acrylic pieces of the frame. I'll be writing on the outside with an erasable marker. Presto—a handy to-do list holder!

Cost of the frame: 99 cents!

• • •

As promised my printable Mod Stationery is now available in the shop!

lettering delights

2011-06-25T00:43:00.013-05:00

When it comes to cards for kids' birthdays I need to step outside my normal repertoire. Particularly when it's for one my daughter's friends. My little C is very determined and expects certain flair and look to the cards that she gives her friends (I wonder where she gets that from?). So, here is the result of something that we worked on for the weekend.

I have a hard time when it comes to finding 'cuter' graphics to use, so when I found Lettering Delights I killed two birds with one stone. I found alternatives that the kids will be happy with and I save time by using cutting files that already exist. Even though I love coming up with new designs, the truth is that sometimes it's really nice not have to start from scratch. Having said that, I rarely use the very few Cricut cartridges I have.

The flowers are from the Quirky Flowers set and the leaves below are from the Quirky Trees set. Yes, more gift tags. I can never have too many!

I don't usually post over the weekend, but I thought this would be worth it for those of you that work with digital cutting files. Lettering Delights is offering a $49 bundle of 50 sets with at least 15 single layer images each. Can you imagine all those files? The entire bundle is regularly $150 and will be on sale for the next 2 weeks only. Another newsworthy item is that all Lettering Delights images are now available in AI, DXF, EPS, GSD, JPG, PDF and SVG formats.

If you're interested in this bundle you can find it here.

Full disclosure: I want to let you know that I am now a Lettering Delights affiliate. It's a small way in which I can continue to maintain my blog ad free.

Making a blog sustainable could be a post all of it's own, right?

Have a wonderful weekend my friends!

never say never

2011-06-24T00:49:00.012-05:00

I don't scrapbook and most of you that visit regularly know that. When the kids where babies, I tried to resurrect my forgotten journaling skills. I didn't want to forget all the special moments in their lives—it didn't stick. [But boy oh boy did I take photos!]

I used to journal and keep what could be called scrapbooks when I was in high school. I had several really thick books of all sorts of collected memories. I saved concert or movie ticket stubs, notes from friends (passed around class with what we called "mano-mail"—for those of you that don't know mano means hand in Spanish), sketches and whatever else I could get my hands on to remember special dates. I was really into it.

Sadly, I don't have any of those scrapbooks because I willingly got rid of them in a single afternoon. I was 19 and I decided that I didn't want my boyfriend (who I foolishly assumed would be more than that one day) to ever find and read them. Silly. Silly. Silly me.

So, here I am several (ahem) years later inspired to give it another go.

Scrapbooking layouts are something that really don't appeal to me because I'd be thinking and rethinking them. I know myself to well to know that it would become more of a design exercise than a memory keeping exercise. Aside from that I live in a small house. Where in the world am I going to put a bunch of scrapbooking books (assuming this new phase does stick!)?

I like capturing moments in small snippets—like I do with the photos I take. I didn't think there would be a way to do that with scrapbooking and journaling until I started reading Ali's blog and saw the way she's working through her Project Life.

Yep, it's all your fault Ali!

I've ordered some grid journaling cards and photo pocket pages, even though I still have my doubts about liking the whole plastic thing. As far as the cards, I think that adding color to them will be a great way for me to use up some of my scraps stash.

I was also contemplating doing something similar (small cards) but scanning them in and turning a year of journaling into a Blurb book—but again, I'd be running into the designer side of me and I'd never get to actually journaling vs planning a layout. I want this to be something really simple but fun to do and that's why I think the pocket system would work better for me—for now.

What inspired me? - A mental snapshot I took (didn't have my camera with me—grrr!) of my bike against little C's at the entrance of a coffee shop. We stopped there midway through our ride. It's the furthest we've gone (she just learned how to ride last month) and it just felt like a special moment. The first time out of the neighborhood. The first time out of our comfort zone—and it dawned on me that I wanted to write about it. I don't want to forget it.

So, while I worked on all the paper goods and photos you see here, I used one of my own Mod Borders to create my first journaling card and I wrote about our ride.

It's a beginning. Let's see where this leads me.

My Mod Borders are now available in the shop—and fear not, I haven't forgotten those of you that don't have cutting machines! I will have PDF printables of these stationery sets available on Monday. All I have to add is that as I worked with these borders all I could think of was that it would be awesome to see these designs on ribbon—I'd love that!

Happy weekend everyone!

4th of july star place cards

2011-06-21T23:24:00.002-05:00

I don't know about you, but when I'm full of mental cobwebs, my creativity flies out the window. Instead of making anything new, I spent the last couple of days building my gift tags stash, using recently ordered stamps. It was very therapeutic.

Today, mental balance has returned (phew!) and I'm in a 'better give than receive' mood.

Seeing so many 4th of July projects has seeped through, so I worked on this simple place card project that you can either cut by hand or with a cutting machine. It's a new freebie for you!

If you don't celebrate the 4th of July, you can still use the cards to help decorate any occasion for the stars that brighten your life.

I called them place cards but they can also be used as gift tags or food labels (I've also heard them called food tents—right?).

Download files here (PDF, SVG & DXF files are included).

Enjoy!

s is for summer & s is for slow

2011-06-16T16:37:00.004-05:00

We're in slow mode around here. But you know what? I like it.

Summer makes me put the breaks on whether I want to or not. Reading, trips to the pool, riding bikes, board games, drag me away from the computer and anything related to work.

I have managed to work on some behind the scenes things and this new Bloom Tea Light Cover—which would also be a nice way to hold party favors.

It gives me a small sense of satisfaction to see something in paper again. I've been on my computer for other design work (web site!) for far too long at late hours of the night.

My thing for candle light is showing again, isn't it?

One other thing...

Remember my Just Leaves fabric? It is now available for sale at Spoonflower! I haven't been this addicted to a pattern in quite some time. It's time to crank up the heat on my next group of patterns. We'll see what I focus my sights on in the coming weeks.

Off to finally crack open my collection of Jane Austen books! I need some of that right now.

Is anyone willing to share a summer reading recommendation? I'm craving some new reading materials.

For now, happy afternoon!

martha stewart party supplies

2011-06-14T21:54:00.009-05:00

Thank you so much for all your thoughtful comments on my previous post. It's not the type of topic that I like to cover every day but it is a real part of creative life. Learning more and talking about copyright issues is better than hiding from it all. Don't you think?

So, now that that's covered, let's move on...

I had a semi-craft fail last night. I have an idea for a stationery box that I want to make for myself and it didn't quite work. I'm not giving up though, so starting prototype number 2 will be my next step. It's a recycling project, so I'll share when I have it all figured out.

In the meantime, we had some quick paper satisfaction putting together the Martha Stewart pom pom garland—part of the new party goods that I got in the mail for review. Little C has totally laid claim to it—ha!

They are now being sold at Joann's Fabric and Craft Stores. Click here for a coupon that is valid until June 30th.

The sets are really festive looking and they would be suitable for any type of event. Everything that you could possibly need is included in each set. I also noticed that the quality of paper and printing is quite good. I can see myself using some of these when I'm short on time. In a matter of minutes it would be easy to dress up any gathering.

Here are two more items that I got in my intro package: Cello Bag and Basket & Compartment Boxes (photos from Joann's).

the first one

2011-06-13T11:08:00.009-05:00

A lot of sun, playing and relaxing, that's what last week was all about. I'm so glad I decided to take the week off. Its feels so much easier to slide into our summer routine.

The new fabric I just got from Spoonflower has me totally entertained. I've been wanting to add some graphic looking cushions to our bedroom and I couldn't find anything I liked. So, I fell back on my leaves once again. I love how these new cushions are going to look in our room. This is the type of simple sewing I like to work on.

I'll be able to put this pattern up in my Spoonflower shop, as soon as I get a new sample of the fabric. I had to correct a couple of mistakes I made with the repeat of the pattern.

So here's to my first project of the summer—and involves sewing no less.

• • •

Thank you!

Last week the new Paper Dolls blog used my Mini Dollhouse as their challenge for the week. Check out all the work they put into their houses. Thank you so much for having me Tamara & Thienly!

Happy Monday everyone—while I head back to put away the remnants of yesterday's birthday get together for my Mr. Z. [Beans always taste better when they're in a traditional bowl + basket!]

clean slate

2011-06-03T09:13:00.005-05:00

Our summer officially starts when I pick up the kids from school at 11am. Woot! I'm ready.

The last day of school makes me almost feel like it's January 1st. Clean Slate Day. It helps that I now have a new work station and I'm reorganizing the studio. Hopefully that will be done within the next few days.

This brings me to the fact that, I've decided that I'm going to be taking a blogging break next week. I need it and we'll all be better for it in the end. I'll be puttering around on Twitter but there will be no updates here. I'll be back on June 13th with fresh ideas and things to show you.

Friday Tidbit

Paper mache teacups by Ann Wood - This looks like it would be a fun project to make. (via Decor8)

Have a wonderful start to June my friends!

leaves, rings and pods

2011-06-02T06:11:00.000-05:00

Here are more way to use the Just Leaves Lattice. I can't help it—I think this is such a fun one to use. I really like how the cards turned out. The pattern in now available in the shop, as are other goodies I've been slowly adding.

Rings Lattice - I can see this pattern on so many things—specially on cards on an angle and cropped—and in orange for some reason. This was a pattern that involved a lot of tweaking. At first the rings seemed too thick, then they were too thin. When I finally held this cut out in my hands, it felt right.

Pods Stationery - This is a fun set that I've used myself many times. The simplicity of the main graphic is what I've liked about this pattern. That's why it keeps popping up, like my leaves. Several of the bookmarks are staples next to my reading books.

I realize that my digital cutter projects have started dominating my posts lately. I don't want that to discourage any of you that don't own one. I'm still working on printables and DIYs that don't include any cutting machine steps—so please stick around. I haven't forgotten about you.

I have other goodies and news coming this month but that will have to wait for the right time. I don't mean to tease you, I'm just excited about everything that's been going on behind the scenes.

There are a couple of things that I can mention. The first is that I have a new web site in the works. I'm so happy about that! That's why my digital cutting section is a bit overcrowded and with no categories to make it easier to find things. I've been concentrating my efforts on uploading products to the new shop, while trying to keep the old one running. It's double the work, but it will pay off in the end.

The other thing is that for those of you that have been asking about the compatibility of my files with a Silhouette. My files are now available in DXF, which is a format that can be easily imported and recognized by the Studio software.

Well, happy Thursday! One more day and the kids will be all mine for the summer!

book reviews

2011-06-01T08:16:00.008-05:00

While I was working on my 26 Days of Making series last month I received several packages in the mail worth mentioning. You know that I usually like to review one thing at a time, but I'm doing it a bit differently today—or I'll never get to them. So here we go, with a little something for everyone.

Natural Patchwork: 26 Stylish Projects Inspired by Flowers, Fabric, and Home by Suzuko Koseki

This is a sweet book that belongs to the Make Good Books series that I've reviewed in the past. It is styled very nicely and the photos all make you want to jump in and enjoy that homemade feel. I'm not a person that sews, but I can see that the projects are fairly simple. So simple, in fact, that I'm going to give a couple a try over the summer. The projects range from tote bags, pillow covers, and kitchen items to more complex quilts (at least for me!) and zipper bags. You can download PDF instructions to a couple of projects in the book here.

Pulled: A Catalog of Screen Printing by Michael Perry

This book tugs at me because screen printing is something that I've worked with and have always wanted to try. There is a lot to be said about this handmade art form and this book doesn't disappoint. It's a thick book with many, many styles and artists to peruse over. I still am flipping through it every day finding something new each time. It's a good book to have on hand for reference.

Family Knits: 25 Handknits for All Seasons by Debbie Bliss

As soon as I saw the cover on this book (different than the one on Amazon) my hopes of flipping through gorgeous simple projects shot up. I wasn't disappointed. If the extreme heat of this city didn't exist, I'd be more inspired to knit every day. The good news is that this book will definitely help me get started. The projects are simple in design and so stylish.

I started to photograph sample spreads of each book and ended up making an impromptu short video instead.

I hope that you find something that you can try yourself. Summer vacation is officially going to start on the last day of school which is this coming Friday. I'm so ready for it. I want to do some knitting or crocheting and a lot of reading. Sewing will also be on the agenda since my little C has several projects on her mommy-please-make-this wish list.

Here's my wish list (hoping that by making it public will make things happen):

- Blanket for our bed (knitted or crocheted)

- Sweater

- Large tote bag

- New paper lamp for a small corner table

- Little C requests (doll and bag)

Do you have any making plans for the summer (or winter if that's your case)? If you don't, what's on your wish making list?

don't forget to use your scraps

2011-05-28T10:52:00.004-05:00

Just a little something with some leftovers of my number 6. It will be attached to the package I will be sending to the Paper Quilt giveaway winner. Congratulations Anat! You won!

I want to thank everyone that commented on yesterday's post. I know that it's a touchy subject and that there are many of points of view to explore. I just hope that this type of conversation doesn't end.

Have a great weekend everyone!

See you next week.

what do you think about knock-offs?

2011-05-27T13:14:00.016-05:00

[simple great idea - paper wall panel I saw at anthropologie yesterday - unrelated to post]

I'm not a controversial kind of person. I'm not one to rock the boat. But let me get on my soap box for just a moment. I've thought about this for a long time but I've never had the need to speak up until now—maybe because I can't take it anymore.

After reading this interesting conversation about knock-offs and differing opinions on why they are Ok and why they are not, I just had to write. I'm in the 'it depends' camp.

As is natural, the crafting community is made up of very capable people that handle all sorts of mediums and tools. So, it is very natural to see something like a $100 cushion and say "I can make that—and I can make it for $5".

I have nothing against you making it, if it's for personal use only. Make hundreds if you'd like. What I am against is broadcasting how you made it (with tutorials and such). I'm not an attorney, so I don't know what the legal ramifications are, but I do know that ethically I don't believe in it. It simply is not Ok in my book.

If, as a creative community we condone this behavior, what right do we have to complain when it happens to us? I don't care if you're copying a big chain store object or a small Etsy shop design. It's all the same to me. You're still bleeding that company or designer from their creative endeavors, diluting their brand and possible income. If you figured out how to make the knock-off, the very capable members of the creative community we belong to, will figure it out too. It's up to them to proceed or not.

We should work together, not against one another.

As a designer and crafter I have had people commit blatant copyright infringement of my work on several occasions. These acts have been committed by individuals and small to large companies alike. That's why I'm passionate about issues like these. That's why I know how it feels to have your ideas taken and disseminated in an unapproved fashion.

Legal or not, it simply is not Ok. I think it's more about ethics than anything else.

Instead of spending time on a tutorial of something that already exists, why not create a new tutorial that is inspired by someone else's work and includes your own unique twist? Isn't it better to stretch the boundaries of your own creativity as well as that of others?

Sigh.

Not the tone I wanted to end the week with. But there it is. Any thoughts?

EDIT: I just want to add one more thing. I don't understand why there seems to be an underlying thought that it is more acceptable to make a knock-off when the copied item comes from a large store vs copying one from an indie designer. Just because you're not making the slightest dent in the profit of a large company doesn't make it Ok. The standard should remain the same, shouldn't it?

Ahh well. This is just an opinion. We will probably have to agree to disagree on some of these points. The important thing is that the conversation is happening.

• • •

Thank you so, so much for all your lovely comments on yesterday's post. I was blushing all day. Remember that there is still time to enter the Paper Quilt giveaway. I will close the comments section of that post tonight at midnight.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

day 26 - 6 years of blogging

2011-05-26T09:58:00.009-05:00

Yay! I made it! Today could not come a moment too soon. When I started this series I knew it was going to be work keeping the making going every single day. It was harder than I thought. Not so much physically but mentally. But I do have to say that even though it was challenging I pushed myself like I haven't done in a while and that is definitely a good thing. I hope you enjoyed it!

So... 6 years. Wow. It doesn't seem real. I never imagined that I'd be here this long. I thought a lot of all the "profound" things I could possibly say today, but I've decided to just keep it simple.

Here are six things I've learned through my blog and still want to keep in mind.

I've learned to...

1. Always be me and stay true to my creative voice (self doubt: stay away!)

2. Work with something other than paper to stay on my toes (have slacked on this lately)

3. Stay away from the blog when an idea is weak (haven't always been successful with this)

4. Stay in touch with my online friends as much as possible (getting harder as I get busier but I do value everyone I've met through this blog sooo very much! you're all so inspiring!)

5. Make space for down time (recharging makes for better blogging)

6. Remember that above all else, I am a mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend and artist. As much as I love it, I am not my blog. It's just a part of me. If it fails or succeeds that does not change who I am.

Here is a little video I put together as a last minute idea. No planning. I just stuck the camera on the tripod and went for it. As you can see I seemed to forget that I needed to stay in the center of the screen. Oops. I may be getting better at working with paper every day but my video skills are sorely lacking! Another thing... play your own favorite music to entertain yourself with since this is completely silent. I didn't think you'd enjoy hearing some lame TV sounds in the background—ha!

So, what did you think of my 26 days of making? Which project did you like the best? Honestly, I thought I would get more ideas produced. I should've known better—you can't rush this sort of thing. It will all get done when it needs to get done. The process never ends—and that's a good thing.

For my third and final giveaway of the week I'm going to do a drawing. I'd love to send one white paper quilt (unassembled but cut and scored) and some other paper goodies to one of you. If you are interested in participating, just say hello (or answer the questions above) and give me your contact information in the comments section of this post. Wherever you may be, you are all welcome to participate. I will close the comments section on Friday at midnight. Good luck!

As always thank you, thank you, thank you for all your support. I wouldn't have made it this far without all of you.

Thank you!

• • •

This is the final day of a my 26 days of making series.

The End—for now!

day 25 - mini dollhouse tutorial

2011-05-25T14:19:00.016-05:00

I didn't want to finish my 26 days without making the beds I promised little C—so here they are!

I made a new house (also her request—"We need another house for friends!"). The house is the same design, with added window frames and a punch of color on the door.

She saw it this afternoon and literally squealed. The look on her face was all I needed as a thank you. She completely lit up.

And guess what?
You can make your own too. Today I have another download for you and it's here.

(PDF, DXF and SVG). Since I set up the PDF files on letter-sized paper the house will be a bit smaller than you see here.

Little C set up the photo below.

"Take a picture! Take a picture!"

Ok! Ok!

TIP - I forgot to mention something in the handout. The first house is much stronger because I cut and glued two houses one over the other (with Spray Mount before assembly). I completely forgot about that for the second one. The difference in strength is quite noticeable—so that may be something you consider doing.

Enjoy!

• • •

This is part of a my 26 days of making series.

day 24 - paper sconce tutorial

2011-05-24T16:15:00.009-05:00

As you can see, I apparently have a slight obsession with tea lights and candles at the moment. I made a Paper Sconce for my Pebbles pattern and the good news is that if you're interested, you can make one too. Making it by hand won't be a problem with this pattern. The random uneven shapes will be very forgiving.

I've made all the files available to those of you that would like to make this project by hand (PDF), with your Silhouette (DXF) or any other cutter (SVG). Download here.

I'd rather play it safe and emphasize the fact that I used LED tea lights for this project. DO NOT use candles under any circumstances—please! I do not want to be responsible for any fires. (scary!)

Can't you see these many of these along a wall at a big event? I'd love to see something like that.

Have fun and if you have any questions please let me know.

• • •

This is part of a my 26 days of making series.

Work a great deal with evening effects, a lamp, a candle, etc. The tantalizing thing is not always to who the source of light, but the effect of light.

- Edgar Degas

day 23 - just create

2011-05-23T22:50:00.000-05:00

Design work (a logo) took over my day. So, I did make something. I just can't show it. But my determination to actually show something today turned out fruitful. When flat, this may not be the most exciting pattern ever, but I'm very excited about the way I'm going to be using it. I'll be showing you tomorrow!

This brings me to something a bit different...

Inspired by a couple of comments on yesterday's post I was wondering how the rest of you feel before you start a project.

- Do you feel held back about the time, energy and materials you're going to use or do you just jump in with gusto?

- Are you a planner with projects or you more of a spontaneous type of maker?

I'm not one to hold back. If I'm completely honest sometimes my every day responsibilities (hello laundry?) are forgotten for the sake of making. As far as the second question, I'm a little bit of both. My sketches lead me to planning. But on nights like tonight I start something on a whim and end up with a great project idea (not always!).

So how about you? What kind of maker are you?

• • •

This is part of a my 26 days of making series.

day 22 - something out of nothing

2011-05-22T21:40:00.005-05:00

I was trying to come up with a new stationery folder design and I failed miserably. It was horrible.

Mayday! Mayday!

Somewhere along the line my math messed up the whole thing. It was a total loss. But, I wasn't about to toss away perfectly good paper—so, I went for something simple, handmade (I'm sure you've been wondering if I'd pick up an Xacto again) and small enough to rescue the sadly misused paper. I ended up with votive covers.

This couldn't be any easier.

- Cut out a rectangle that is as tall as a votive and wide enough to wrap around the container.

- Using a craft knife cut randomly placed V-shapes.

- Add glue to 1/4" of one end of the paper and attach it to the opposite end.

- Curl the cut Vs outward.

- Slide the cover over the votive.

Done! Hardly original but it does count as making something, right?

The highlight of my weekend? Buying a new bike! I haven't had one in years. We went out for a ride with my little C and it was wonderful (even if she did fall once and blamed it one me—apparently my chattiness distracted her).

I hope you had a wonderful weekend too!

• • •

This is part of a my 26 days of making series.

[Gratuitous photo — Some days I bomb but some days I don't. Every time I look at the corner and see this mobile, I like it more and more.]

day 21 - tweaking

2011-05-21T21:52:00.013-05:00

I don't know what it is about birthday parties but after today's celebration (little C's) I am completely wiped out.

The only thing I managed to play around with was my paper quilt—which doesn't look so "quiltish" now. But it does feel more like me. I'm more of a neutral palette kind of person and yesterday's photos are starting to look odd to me—too bright. Seeing these photos makes me think the solution is really in between.

I'm still undecided as to whether I should keep the blocks separate or together. I'll need to explore further.

The top photo is a day time shot, while the bottom is a night time shot. It's amazing how much the shadows change from one to another.

When I took the day time photo, I stood away from the wall a bit and noticed this other wall in my studio (no set up at all). If it looks familiar, it's my 2011 calendar.

It seems like I have a theme going here, doesn't it?

Oh one more thing... for those of you that have asked about the coaster patterns—I've added a Four Pack of designs that are sold for digital cutters and in PDF format to be cut by hand. Because of the latter, I picked the four designs that I think are easier to cut if you don't have a cutting machine.

I hope you're enjoying a great weekend!

Update :: If you'd like to make your own quilt the files (PDF, SVG, DXF) are now available in the shop.

• • •

This is part of a my 26 days of making series.

day 20 - paper quilt

2011-05-20T16:35:00.016-05:00

As I played with, what you know as box covers, I realized that I hadn't shared how the whole project really got started.

The first time I revealed these patterns you saw them in my coasters project. But my initial thoughts were really to make a hanging paper quilt.

Making a fabric quilt is completely out of the question for me. I entertained the idea at some point but I just know that I wouldn't have the patience for the sewing machine. So, paper popped into mind one day and I'm kicking myself for not thinking of it sooner.

Today I finally made my way towards making my quilt 'blocks' come together. I played around with the order in which I should place them. The background colors will not be staying—but I wanted to see all the color before getting rid of it. I really want to see what the 'quilt' would look like completely white. Another idea is to work minimally with color, the way I did here.

If you notice that the whole piece looks a bit crooked, it's because it is. It's being temporarily held with clothespins (see them on the left side of the piece?)—it's a complete work in progress.

Now it rests on the floor in my studio.

Where am I going to put everything?

In an ideal world I would have all the time I could possibly want to make something new every day. The thing is that creativity can be spontaneous (like my mini doll house) or it can be a process as with these patterns. You're seeing more of the same from me, because my daily making has been in fact part of the process. I still have other applications for the patterns coming up next week... but hang in there, new things are coming too.

Update :: If you'd like to make your own quilt the files (PDF, SVG, DXF) are now available in the shop.

• • •

This is part of a my 26 days of making series.

day 19 - summer blooms

2011-05-19T14:55:00.014-05:00

I love mobiles. They're fun to make. They're fun to look at.

Unfortunately, I haven't made one since making the one for my book. That means it's been at least (thinking...) 2 1/2 years. Wow! I didn't realize it had been that long.

But with these results, I think it was worth the wait. I love how it fills a once lonely corner. I killed two birds with one stone with this one.

After completing my SVG Summer Blooms collection, I wanted to work on a project that didn't go down the typical embellishment or card making route. That's how I ended up here.

I used 5 different flowers, a small wooden embroidery hoop, clear monofilament and transparent glass beads.

I would love to see the top blue flower cut out for place mats or something similar. The smaller ones can be combined to make 3D flowers and you'll recognize the orange flower as the one I used for these note cards.

The collection includes the seven petals you see here and it is now available in the shop.

Silhouette users! - I am now including files in all my packages that are compatible with the Silhouette digital cutter.

[Thanks for testing Elizabeth! :)]

• • •

This is part of a my 26 days of making series.

day 18 - making what you don't see

2011-05-18T20:29:00.016-05:00

Some days aren't made for specific tangible work. Days like today are more about being inspired by the work of others.

Part of what I did today was go through my Pinterest boards, my Flickr favorites (photo above — look for all credits here), and the books and magazines that are on my night table or in the bag that I carry everywhere. And I sketched and sketched a whole lot.

This is a list of some of the materials I'm into at the moment (I'll be posting some reviews at the end of the month):

- Decorate by Holly Becker: I love, love this book! This one needs a post all of its own.

- Family Knits by Debbie Bliss: I love the simplicity of all the designs.

- Pulled: A Catalog of Screen Printing: I should've taken screeprinting in college... grrr.
- Latest edition of InsideOut magazine: it always makes it to the US stores about 2 months late—but I don't care—always love it

- Natural Patchwork - I still don't sew with any frequency (probably never will) but books like this one make me wish I did.

While I'm on reading materials...

Someone once asked me if I subscribe to any paper craft magazines or if I could recommend any. I'll tell you what I told her: I don't and I can't. I try not to look at them too frequently in the book stores, because I want my work to stay fresh and different. However, sometimes I do wish that there was a paper craft magazine that had more of a contemporary feel to it. I feel like what is on shelves right now only speaks in one voice. There is so much more to explore.

If I 'm totally honest... I know what it would look like and what kind of projects it would feature. I feel like it's needed—where do the non-scrapbookers and card makers fit in today's publications?

Just some random thoughts...

• • •

This is part of a my 26 days of making series.

day 17 - new svg files for gift boxes

2011-05-17T22:20:00.005-05:00

A bit late today but it still counts, right?

I'm really excited at how these all turned out. I've been working with the patterns that I created for the coasters and more ideas are in the works. I wish I just had more time! I really could go on and on with these sort of projects. My mind doesn't stop, so my sketch book is getting a work out.

The boxes are great for small gifts and when cut out in smaller sizes, they would work for jewelry. I'm not offering them as PDFs simply because I'm not sure that anyone would be interested in cutting these out by hand—but if you are, just order the SVG and email me to let me know that you prefer the PDF.

Here's a look at what the production line looked like on our kitchen table.

I'm saving the tops of the boxes to work on a large art piece which I'll reveal in a few days.

The SVG files for 9 different patterns are now available in my shop.

• • •

This is part of a my 26 days of making series.

day 16 - coaster tutorial update

2011-05-16T13:35:00.010-05:00

I realize that the last thing you want is another coaster update but this is actually an important one. My coasters had their first real test yesterday and some of them didn't pass. I thought I had done a good enough test (prompted by your comment Jessie!) regarding the resistance to the effects of water condensation. It turns out that I hadn't.

The circle that forms when a glass is set down was marked on the coasters. The Mod Podge got a bit white and translucent. After they dried up they were ok again (maybe a slightly different opaque look to them) but I wasn't satisfied with that. I decided to hunt down a solution in the hardware store and I purchased clear spray paint, hoping it would work. I applied a generous coat to one of the tiles, and after it dried, I set a wet glass on on it for more than a couple of hours. The surface of the tile wasn't affected at all. So, the last step to the tile coaster tutorial is now added as step 4.

Now, I can move on to other things, with a lot of sketching and photography.

I'm really trying with the water—with lots, and lots of lemon added (no sugar)!

Happy Monday!

• • •

This is part of a my 26 days of making series.

day 15 - making memories

2011-05-15T21:02:00.010-05:00

That's what today was all about. Our precious little C celebrated her First Communion. She looked so, so beautiful and yes, the tears were hard to hold back.

My mother's godmother gave my mom a cross on her First Communion day.
My mom gave the same cross to me on my First Communion day.
I gave it to my little C today.

Then it came time to celebrate with family and friends—while I blew out some candles. Hello 41!

In the midst of all the craziness, before heading out to the church, I actually did make this jewelry box. Can you believe it? We needed it for today and I just hadn't had a chance to put it together. Can you tell this is a quick oh-my-God-we're-running-late iPhone photo? Phew.

It was a wonderful day and I'm wiped out (in a good way). See you tomorrow!

• • •

This is part of a my 26 days of making series.