holdays handmade

Just a friendly reminder that this kicks off tomorrow at Balzer designs.  It goes from the 6th to the 12th and there will be updates all throughout the day.  Here is a little sneak peak of my guest spot which is tomorrow

handmade cd envelopes

My husband made Christmas cd's for his entire class (yes he is one of those people who decides to go to college in their 30's, and he still skateboards!).  He saw me making envelopes one day and asked if I could make envelopes for his cds with christmas paper, and of course I said yes.  I took an old envelope some software came in and disassembled it, then I used that to trace a template onto my papers and cut and glue and voila!

Coveting December

Dailys that is!!  I think maybe if I start today I could be ready by December 2011.  I just can't get it together and I really want to.  I saw a new twist on Diane Payne's blog called the 12 days of Christmas which seems more attainable for me and I have vowed to put my nose to the grindstone and finish one of these next year.  Until then here are some links to some DDs Ive been drooling over.
Nichol Magouirk
Nicole Harper 
Kinsey Wilson
Elizabeth Stumbo
And of course for all things DD related check out Ali Edwards website.

Its beginning to look a little like Christmas!

I have my first holiday decoration up, and almost all my shopping done!!! Thank you online shopping, seriously THANK YOU!  Moving to the top of my to do list is the picture(s) for my Christmas cards, any suggestions or new ideas for holiday card photos?

WAY outside inspiration!

I believe with an open mind anything can be inspiring.  So today I am posting pics of a recent layout and my inspiration. 
insp.

layout

egg carton flowers

I am just starting on my hand made Christmas presents and the first in line are the presents for my son's teachers.  He is in a special classroom for autistic children so he has a teacher and 3 aides.  This year I decided to whip an oldie but a goodie.  I made these egg carton flowers a few years ago for his preshcool staff and they were a big hit!  It took alot less time this year because instead of painting them by hand I used spray mist.  They are pretty self explanatory but if you have a question ask away!

From this

 To this

mini pinwheel tutorial

Hi all! I love pinwheels, who doesnt?  The smaller they are the cuter they are in my book, but they are also harder to make!  The smallest size that I can make without driving myself crazy is 1.5 inch x 1.5 inch.  I just cut the square with my trimmer

The next step is to fold the paper diagonally in one direction then in the other, it doesnt matter which side your paper is on because all you are doing here is creating your guidelines for cutting.

once your done with your folding it will look something like this

next cut along the guidelines youve made leaving about an 1/8th of an inch from the center, but no need to measure you should just be able to eyeball it.should look something like this.

I use the tombo mono multi glue for these because it dries really fast.  Choose to start on the left or right side of each triangle you have cut and put a dot of glue near the point.  Hole this point down until the glue dries. Continue on the same side you chose around all four triangles.

The next thing I do is put a piece of wax paper over the side of the pinwheel with glue on it and clamp it with a clothespin.  this will keep your hands free while it dries and nothing sticks to wax paper!



Now you need to choose what to make your center out of.  I usually use paper, but bling or buttons make great center too.  I punched the red dot of the same paper the pinwheel was made of. Then glued it on.

It is as simple as that.  Isn't that too cute!



A mini out of a moleskin

I love moleskin journals and I use them for everything, but when they are filled with nonsense that is no longer relevant what to do?  It is hard to throw something so pretty away.  One night in my sleep I dreamed of little moleskin mini, and hey sometimes dreams do come true!
first I gutted the paper, then I used my paper piercer to make a whole and used an old pony tail holder and a button to make a closure.

next I coated the inside with fabric glue and ruched some material I cut from a skirt I got at a yardsale for .50
and splatter with a little glimmer mist. I tore some strips from the hem of skirt and sewed them into the spine of the book.  I laminated my photos, memorbilia and journaling and punched holes in them and used the strips to tie them into the book.  I added some lace I also cut off of the skirt and a few stickers and voila!

Hello again!

new blog, I hope this will work better!