Papercrafting: More Cards For Box Of Balloons !

 

I wrote in May about an organization called Box Of Balloons that works to ensure that children get to be celebrated on their birthdays. They were then partnering with several of my local Starbucks locations to collect cards, wrapping, decorations etc. and as a Cardmaker and a Mom, it was right up my alley. I did it for the sheer joy of combining those two loves and because I want every child to know the feeling of being special on their birthday. 

I was honored and humbled to receive the following email from the local chapter President, Amy:

"I'm so impressed with your handmade cards and gift tags and wanted to say THANK YOU so much for your wonderful donation.

I've been putting a card and gift tag in each birthday box I've been creating and it adds such a personal touch to each box. Thank you so much for donating these as I'm sure they took a lot of time and energy to create. They're so beautiful and made so well and I'm just blown away and grateful :) "

I was thrilled they were happy and would be put to use and immediately planned on making more! As I've written about (probably ad nauseum!) June was a bust for creating between prepping for a planned move and spending an unplanned week in the hospital. So once things had settled ( somewhat...life is life!) in July, I wanted to get back to it and on Saturday dropped another three dozen cards in the mail! 

Supplies:

• Birthday Themed Papers (American Crafts, The Color of Memories Collection from JoAnn and Happy Cake Day stack by Recollections from Michaels)
• Cardstock
• Birthday Themed Washi Tape ( Park Lane, JoAnn) 
• Glitter Papers ( Recollections, Michaels) 

 This time around I used some American Crafts birthday themed papers I found at JoAnn along with some Park Lane birthday themed washi tape I scooped up on sale there. 

Like some of the sheets from the Recollections "Cake Day" stack, this sheet had panels I cut up to use as the focal for the cards, matting each with coordinating glitter papers. The washi tape coordinated perfectly with the colors (and it didn't hurt that it was an additional 50% off clearance). 

The Balloon background paper is from the same American Crafts collection. I kept things simple, matting the image on glitter paper, then another coordinating paper ( great way to use scraps) and attaching to the card with foam squares. 

Since I still had plenty of papers from the "Happy Cake Day" stack I previously used (and may or may not have bought another stack when Michaels had another buy one get two free Hot Buy sale which is my kryptonite) I made some more using those. 

Unintentionally, I usually make my cards in a portrait vs landscape orientation...no reason...just do...but since these panels didn't lend themselves to that, made some that way too. 

It's very fulfilling to feel like doing something you absolutely love can make a difference. Especially now. Especially in a child's life! 

DIY Jewelry: But First Coffee Earrings

 

As a Seattle girl originally, I am an "OG" Starbucks customer. I'm talking from the days when there wasn't one on every street corner, in every mall or grocery store or Target. And my drink has always been a Mocha. Hot, usually iced, always a Mocha. While I make my iced Mochas every morning at home and most evenings as well, Mr. Chocolate knows that if we're out...there's a stop involved. I live for the mobile app which has been my lifeline during this pandemic! So when I found some coffee themed charms at JoAnn, it was a no brainer that I was getting them! 

These instructions are the same for clip earrings or pierced with the only change being using an earwire instead of the clip bases. 

Supplies: 

• hildie & jo charms (JoAnn)
• Clip earring backs ( Michaels
• Clip earring "base" (eg something to cover the backs... had these in my stash)
• Jump rings (Michaels and Jo Ann)
• Connector Links 
• Jewelry Pliers
• Glue ( I use Loctite Gel Control Super Glue)

If you're making clips, the first step is to glue the clip back to the base with a good drop of the Loctite Glue. I like this because it's thicker and doesn't run. Use clamps or clothespins to secure and let dry while you assemble the other pieces. If you're making pierced earrings, see below for when to attach the earwire. 

I chose to go with these two charms and make a par of asymmetrical earrings. The bolder jump rings on the right (also hildie & jo) I had in my stash and used to connect the larger connector links shown at the bottom. I used three connector links for each earring. 

To connect the connector links, open one of the jump rings, thread all three onto it, close. Repeat for the other earring. Add another jump ring to each set of now joined links. 

Repeat the same process to attach the charms. 

If you're making pierced, at this point use one more jump ring to attach an earwire. For clip earrings, attach a jump ring to your completed clip base and use one more to attach the body of your earring. 

This is an easy process to whip up a pair of earrings that can be worn with anything! 

and Iced Mochas too ! 

Sharing At: 

Our Hopeful Home
The House On Silverado 

St. Patrick's Day: Acrylic Paint Poured Shamrock Sign

 

This week's BFF Open House Link Party continues here

I've been having fun with some St. Patrick's Day decor. In addition to my Layered Shamrock I had fun with this $1 wood sign from Dollar Tree. 

Supplies:

• Wood Shamrock Sign ( Dollar Tree)
• Acrylic Paints 
• Zinsser Paint Booster ( Lowes)
• Silicone ( Hardware Store )

Ignore the red hearts. I thought I was going to layer them onto the sign and changed my mind. I found this line of Top Notch paints at JoAnn. I'm not sure if it's an in house brand or not but they are another line of reasonably priced acrylic paints. They make a whole host of other products as well. The Zinsser paint booster is an alternative to Floetrol which is used in a lot of paint pour projects. The silicone you can get at any hardware store. 

I chose to go with a more muted green palette along with some white and a couple drops of gold. So first step was to mix the paints. My formula for small projects is about a capful of the paint booster to 1/3 cup of paint. It's not scientific, I just found it gives the right flow. If you're starting out with paint pouring play around to find the consistency YOU like for your projects. There's no absolute. I squeezed 2-3 drops of the Silicone in and mix well until your paint just looks like paint again. 

Re-using cups is great in practice but I didn't think about pictures. Note to self. Use new cups. But I didn't, so don't be confused by the other colors you see. 

For this project I did what's called a "dirty pour". What this means is layering  the paints in one cup vs pouring each color individually. You can see them start to interact in the cup which they'll do more as they flow once they're on the surface you're painting. 

For a "clean pour" you pour your paints from their respective containers onto the surface one by one. For a "dirty pour" there's the flip step. Place your surface atop your cup, then holding the cup, flip until your surface is on the bottom and the cup with your paints sits atop it. Some paint may leak out but that's OK! 

When you lift your cup you'll see your paints begin to spread and how they've blended and their magic is revealed. I love this part the most! From here, just tilt your surface to spread your paint until your surface is covered. I ended up having to add a little more paint to my pour cup which was fine. I was trying not to have too much and ended up with too little. It's a Goldilocks process!

I love paint pouring so much because no two pieces are alike and each takes on its own personality. If you want exact replication, this art is not for you! 

Once dry, I finished with some black and white check ribbon and kept it simple, just hanging it on a mirror in our entryway. 

I'm happy with it and it was $1! 

DIY Jewelry: Hildie and Jo Leather and Silver Earrings

 

Faux leather earrings are everywhere and I have made some and love them, but nothing beats the real thing! It can get expensive to buy leather though so naturally if you see real leather that's already pre-cut and designed for earrings you buy it right? Especially when it's 60% off which was the case with the Hildie and Jo Leather shapes I got from JoAnn. Hildie and Jo is JoAnn's in house brand of jewelry making supplies and if you're a new or experienced jewelry maker they're a great resource. I loved the simplicity of these shapes but me being me, couldnn't just leave them alone! 

Supplies: 

• Hildie and Jo Leather Shapes (JoAnn)
• Hildie and Jo Jump Rings ( JoAnn)
• Misc. Charms and Metal Beads ( Stash )
• Head Pins ( Stash )
• Jewelry Pliers

NOTE: I won't go into basic jewelry making how tos in this post but You Tube is filled with them for the following: 

How to open and close jump rings

How to make a wrapped loop on a head pin

I had the heart charms in my stash and thought they'd be perfect with the silver leather and just in time for Valentine's season but also universal enough to wear all year round. Since I don't have pierced ears, the earrings I make for myself ( or my mom ) are clips. I used to stress about not having enough different pieces to adhere the clip backs to thinking "they'll all look the same". Then it dawned on me that for pierced ears, ear wires all look the same so I got over it. 

The construction of these is pretty simple. Thread Heart Charm and two small silver beads on head pin and close with a wrapped loop. Replace the jump ring that came with the leather shape and use matching jump rings to attach the the threaded head pin. 

Use jump rings to attach base to earring clip. DONE!

The same process was used for the black earrings. The leather on this was more natural since it's not painted so the edges were a little rougher as you'll see in these pics but when I was all done I just went around the edges with my scissors to trim up. 

Using the same process as with the heart charms, thread the beads on the head pins and close with a wire wrapped loop. Attach to leather with jump rings and attach earring clips. 

And I still have one more pair of leather pieces to play with! 

Sharing At:

Our Hopeful Home

Why Yes I Do Still Make Things! RAK Thank You Cards Essential Workers

Followers of this blog must wonder "does she actually ever make anything anymore?" and the answer is "she does!"

Things have been crazy busy for a while between a lot of work things, real life things, and some things had to give. I make stuff all the time. What I haven't had or made as much time for is taking photos and editing them to put up here on the blog, or writing blog posts besides my weekly party.  I finally made sure I did. 

Regardless of what our Governor decides next week (which is when he's supposed to make his decision) about relaxing our shelter at home order, we will continue to practice social distancing based on the modeling that shows we haven't yet hit our peak. I'm in a high risk group and don't want to take any chances and I'm also an only child to my little Mommy. So that's that. 

We go out strategically. Grocery shopping and essentials and do some takeout dining to help support local businesses. I've been making it a point to thank the people working who are keeping us going and don't always have a choice whether to be there. I wanted to do something more and one glance at my scrap paper stash gave me the idea to make "Thank You" cards that I could give to them. Maybe it's silly but I'm appreciative of them doing the work to keep us all going and unfortunately I've witnessed some people whose manners are let's just say, absent. 

I bought this great Park Lane Paperie in a curbside order from JOANN's. I like heaving (110 lb) card stock for my cards and this is perfect plus tons of colors to work with. Then I grabbed my baggies of scrap paper leftover from other projects and played. 

I cut each sheet in half so they measure 4.25 x 5.5.  The focal sentiment I did in PrintShop and printed out in three different colors. Measured and cut panels 4 x 5.25 from the scraps and then just mixed and matched. 

Some I did with more than one paper. Others just one sheet. Some embellished w/ glitter tape. Others just simple with the sentiment matted on coordinating scraps. 

I'm trying to be mindful of all that people are going through and I think the world can always use a bit more kindness don't you? 

Black White and Antique Gold Birthday Card

Sharing an easy birthday card that requires no cutting machines or equipment besides a paper cutter and a punch. 

Supplies: 

• DCWV "Decor Noir" Stack ( I've had this one for a while so not sure if it's still around but I know I've seen similar stacks at JoAnn)
• Black Cardstock ( I used Recollections 110 lb, Michaels)
• Antique Gold foiled transparency ( Michaels)
• Cream and Antique Gold glitter scraps
• Recollections ( Michaels) Washi Tape
• Self adhesive 3D sticker embellishment strips ( stash)
• Star Punch
• Foam Tape
• Double sided tape ( I used my trusted tape gun)

The Deco Noir stack includes a couple sheets of different sentiments / sayings like the one I used for the focal. Cut from sheet, trim, add two strips of washi tape, add 3D embellishment strip,  mount to cream glitter scrap. Punch Antique Gold star from glitter scrap and mount with foam tape as shown.

Cut the black cardstock to 5x7 and trim a sheet of the "alphabet" paper from the stack to the same size. Adhere to front of card.  Cut  the transparency to 4.5 x 6.5, and layer the front panel to it, then adhere to card and voila. Done and done!