Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Ears to You

I want to share a little spring home decor project with y'all today.  I live in south Georgia, where we've been having massive amounts of rain, but I know that many places are still dealing with snow and ice and crazy cold temperatures.  So today, I'm going to share a little bit of spring with you (unfortunately, I can't share our 70-degree temperatures through the internet as well).

Lately, I've been so busy with work and homeschool and house stuff (we're in escrow to buy the house we've been leasing for a year-and-a-half), that my craft room has been neglected.  I haven't figured out a way to add more hours to the day, so my craft time has been scarce.  I know that there are a lot of folks just as busy (if not more so) than I am, and I'm hoping this quick - but quite adorable - project will inspire you to get crafting too.

I used just a few supplies:

-stampin' write markers from Stampin' Up!
-white cardstock
-a clear mount stamp, also from Stampin' Up! + acrylic block
-some patterned paper (I ended up only using 2 sheets, but pulled out several choices)
-a Virserum frame from Ikea (they're only $1.99 - I buy these in bulk!)



Here's a better picture of the stamp's image...how cute is that?


First, I got to work coloring the image.  I used the brush tip of the markers to color the bunnies and sentiment, but you could use ink pads (though you'd probably want to use post-it notes to mask the different portions of the image...I'm just not neat enough to master this).


After the image was thoroughly colored, I blew on it a couple times to re-moisten any ink that may have dried, and stamped it on the white cardstock (and it came out perfect the first time - I surprised myself!).


I then trimmed the cardstock to a 2 1/4" by 3 1/4" rectangle.  I cut a 1/4 inch mat with Jillibean Soup's Creme Fraiche patterned paper (from the Dutch Mustard line):


 Finally, I cut a sheet of October Afternoon's Gooseberry Falls paper (from their Woodland Park line) down to 5" x 7".  At first I was afraid the floral pattern would be too busy:


...so I also tried the chevron-print on the b-side of the paper:


But ultimately I went back to the floral.  I love the way it matches the colors in the stamped image.  Once it was matted, I think the busy-ness got toned down quite a bit too.

Now, this happy little spring frame is sitting on my fireplace mantle.  And I'll be honest, I smile every time I walk past it.  :)



Are you still in winter mode, or are you ready for spring?

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

A Little Valentine Banner

Today, I want to share a kid-friendly Valentine decor project with you. (And even if you don't have kids, this is still a fun little project!)



I cut patterned paper into 4 in. by 6 in. rectangles (this is thinner weight paper, from a My Mind's Eye paper pad). I then cut the hearts with a punch - though you could freehand them if you're so inclined.

This is where my boys come in the picture. I set out a stack of papers and a stack of hearts and had them mix and match the pieces. I then glued down the hearts (I'm very protective of my ATG).




The next step is to fold back about 1/2 inch of the top of each rectangle. I used a bone folder to keep my crease straight. My boys supervised.  



I then grabbed some baker's twine and adhered the flap over the twine. By this point, my boys were engrossed in Lego Batman on the Wii...it was fun while it lasted.  :)



Here is the finished product:



The entire project took about 30 minutes.  Quick and easy!

Have you been making any Valentine decor for your home? Or crafting any Valentine's Day cards? I'd love to see your projects - you can share them on our Facebook page!

Next week, I'll be back to share the Valentine's scavenger hunt/party that I'm planning for my boys. Until then, happy crafting!


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