Archive for Paper Crafts
How To: Tissue Paper Hydrangeas
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These are paper!
I love nothing more than fresh flowers greeting me at the door when I come home, but with the current heat wave they’re just not keeping. In fact, they’re dying at an alarming rate.
I’ve been dying (just like my flowers! ha!) to figure out how to make beautiful paper flowers to combat this problem. In fact, we posted a how-to on crepe paper flowers back in June. So, when I found this how-to on Just Something I Made about making paper hydrangea buttons I got excited. A starting point! The good news: expanding them to real-looking flowers looked really easy! The bad news: I had none of the supplies.
So I improvised with what I did have at home and it was a great success, if I don’t say so myself.
Reader Request: Find the Perfect Non-Scrapbook For a Special Present
Posted by: | CommentsA few weeks ago, YAY! DIY reader Kath reached out to us, asking us to help her with a very special project. Kath was looking for a special gift for her son’s high school graduation in June, who will be leaving for the Marines shortly after his birthday. Kath wanted to give her son a special gift to take with him that would remind him of home – something like a scrapbook, but not in the traditional sense. She wanted a format in which others could contribute messages and well wishes to her son as well. Kath asked us to help her brainstorm some creative ideas. Needless to say, we were excited to help Kath brainstorm ideas.
We learned a bit more about his son, and put our heads together. Heading to the Marines, we knew her son may not always have room for a ton of stuff, but would certainly want to have mementos of home and his loved ones with him. With that in mind, we sent the following three ideas to Kath:
Idea 1: A digital scrapbook:
- Have family and friends record short 1-2 minutes messages and well wishes to your son on their digital cameras or camcorders. Ask them to email you their short videos, and then save them all on a USB Flash drive, labeled by the person’s name so that they are clearly organized. (Purchase one here.) Read More→
Six-Pack Organization
Posted by: | CommentsGuest post by Lauren Begley…
Extend the usefulness of your six pack!
While I love living in Manhattan, one of the major drawbacks is a lack of space. Over the years I’ve learned to be creative with my organizational techniques. Yes, I’ll admit that I have stacks of books under the bed and winter coats tucked away in the pantry. But when it comes to the bathroom, I am more particular about where my day-to-day necessities are stored. Here is a little trick you can try after you finish your next six-pack. Simply cut off the top piece of cardboard so the pack is all one height. Place it into a drawer or decorative storage box and insert toiletries into the individual compartments. It keeps everything upright and easy to access. Simple and effective!
Read Lauren’s thoughts on pop culture, social media and more at her blog, Pop Culture 2 Point 0.
Making Your Own Cards and Rubber Stamps
Posted by: | CommentsFor a couple of months now I have been obsessed with the thought of making my own note cards, specifically thank you’s. There are a few people I know who always send a handwritten card in the mail for random occasions – my aunt Kathy and my friend Sonia – to name two, and every time I get one, they make me smile. I was thinking that if I made my own cards, maybe I could borrow a bit of that thoughtfulness and start sending more myself.
Needless to say, when I got an email from my favorite store in Jersey City – Kanibal Home – about a card making class, I was thrilled! The class would begin at 7 pm on a Friday night, and Kristen, Kanibal Home’s fabulous owner also promised adult beverages. What better way to spend a Friday night? Crafting AND drinking? To top it off, the class was only $25 – a bargain.
By James French
The class was taught James French, a local artist who sells his work, such as these great birdhouses, in Kanibal Home. James and his fiance Shauna Finn also have a blog about their art work called http://finchartsandcrafts.blogspot.com/.
I loved the class. We learned how to make your own rubber stamp – which is MUCH easier than I would have thought – and learned some tricks for personalized cards. For the cards, James talked quite a bit about collage and combining different papers and ribbons on a card to give it a unique look. I tried that technique here:
Origami paper, ribbon and stamping!
Paper Mache Easter Eggs
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Centsational Girl's Paper Mache Eggs. Amazing!
The lovely Leslie of The DIY Diaries recently introduced us to the crafty and amazing Centsational Girl. If you haven’t already discovered her, mosey on over – you’ll like what you see.
We especially loved her post today on creating these pretty little paper mache easter eggs, using nothing more than regular eggs, tissue paper and a bit of glue. The total cost of supplies was less than $3! I just love how this looks so much like Spring. (If only the weather outside would start looking like it, too, we’d be all set.) It would also be really cute paired with this Peeps Wreath that ReadyMade posted last week for Easter
Have you seen any other cute spring decorations? Or working on any yourself? If so, please share in the comments!
Cheap Valentine’s Day Gifts: Google Maps Envelopes
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Image courtesy of Craftzine.com
If you’re kinda freaking out (like me!) about what to get your significant other for Valentine’s Day, these Google Maps envelopes we saw on Craftzine are awfully cute.
In case you are wondering how these could possibly be romantic at all, consider printing out the map that corresponds to a favorite vacation destination or restaurant. Or the location of a place you have dreamed about visiting. To up the sap factor, you could even put a love letter inside.
In today’s digital world, a good old-fashioned letter in a personalized envelope is a vintage way to show you care. That will always be romantic!
Netflix Origami
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"Starched Shirt," via Netflix Origami
This almost makes me want to renew my Netflix subscription! This month’s Real Simple highlights the Web site “Netflix Origami,” which features some pretty ingenious ways to reuse Netflix DVD packages. My favorite was this little shirt, but the site also has instructions for a crab, a snack tray and paper airplane, just to name a few.
Pretty clever!
Thanks to loyal Yay! DIY reader (and logo designer) McKenna, and Alicia “Quill Out” Wells, for the tip!
It’s Almost Wedding Shower Season…
Posted by: | CommentsWe first saw this great idea for making gift bows out of magazine pages on one of our favorite crafting blogs, How About Orange.
“Quill” Out
Posted by: | CommentsGuest Post by Alicia Wells…
This past weekend, I wanted to make some quirky paper ornaments as a finishing touch for my family’s Christmas gifts. I’ve never done any sort of paper twirling, or “quilling” as I’ve heard it called, but I decided to give it a go and see what happened. I found these instructions and ideas on the Craftzine.com blog, which were taken from a book called “Twirled Paper.” I loved the expressions on the octopus and angelfish — and once I got the hang of it, they were really easy to make.
You’ll need:
- Cardstock. (Craftzine says you can use regular paper, but I think cardstock holds its shape better.)
- Poster board, as the bodies are made from 24″ long strips
- X-acto knife
- Hot glue gun
- Googly eyes
- String to hang ornaments
The step-by-step instructions at Craftzine are easy to follow and make for a perfect snowy afternoon activity. Older kids should find this project especially fun, too. I’m thinking of buying the “Twirled Paper” book as well, so stay tuned for future quill outs!
When she is not writing about crafting for Yay! DIY, you can find Alicia writing on her own blog, PRiscope.
