LOVE IS IN THE AIR PROJECT AND TUTORIAL

I have a confession to make.  I love Christmas and making Christmas projects, but every year I fail to get them all completed.  I always think I am going to have so much more time than I actually do!  And, I fool myself into believing I can get ____ number of projects done, clean my house from top to bottom, plan activities with my family and friends, bake, wrap gifts, bake some more, put up decorations, bake a little more - whew!  Makes me tired just typing about it.  

This year I decided to get creative and re-purpose a few of those unfinished Christmas projects into, well, non-Christmas ones.  This is my first one.

I had an unused branch cut from one of the bushes in my yard that I spray painted white some time during the first week of December.  It has been sitting in my garage ever since (don't judge).  Christmas may be past but Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and I thought this white branch would be perfect to hang handmade Valentine's ornaments from.  

Of course, I needed Valentine's ornaments and, being the ambitious girl that I am, I created a few simple Silhouette cutting files so I could make 3-D hot air balloons and hearts.  The link to these free cutting files is available at the end of this post.

Three dimensional objects, like these balloons and hearts, are actually very easy to make.  And they look so cute!  I dug into my scrapbook supplies and used the last pieces of paper from one of my all-time favorite lines (seriously must have bought these papers 4 or 5 times when they came out) - PINK PAISLEE'S Daily Junque Collection (from back during their House of Three collaboration).  I also used a little bit of Pink Paislee's Parisian Anthology (also from their House of Three days).  And, just to keep things interesting, I used bits and pieces from the Hey Kid and Color Wash Collections.  They all blended together like they were made for each other!  This is how my project turned out.  Pretty cute, don't you think?

I am going to use this as a centerpiece on my table for the next 6 weeks.

(a little Color Wash mixed with Daily Junque)

(more Color Wash and Daily Junque)

(Parisian Anthology and Hey Kid)

(more Parisian Anthology and Hey Kid)

(Note: my clouds are not 3-D.  They were simply made with my cloud punch.  I glued two pieces together with a piece of twine in the middle.)

Want to see how I made these?  You do?!  Okay - here you go - a little video tutorial made by yours truly:

And here is the LINK to the Silhouette Cutting Files that I created for this project.  These files are free, so all you have to do is download them.

Let me know if you have any questions and, of course, comments are ALWAYS appreciated! 

Happy crafting!

A New Handmade Mini-Album!

Friday is almost here, and with it (hopefully) free time to get crafty!  A couple of weeks ago, I made this easy, simple little mini that I want to share with you.  It's up on the PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS BLOG today, complete with a VIDEO TUTORIAL that I would love for you to check out.

You know I love capturing everyday moments, and this mini was just the right size for a series of photos, and accompanying journaling, from a recent walk with my youngest.  It's only three pages, but each page holds three tags - so there is lots and lots of room for pictures, decorations, journaling - whatever you want to create!

My mini was simply made from folding and stiching 6x6 papers together to create pockets.  My cover is an old piece of cardboard that I painted, misted and decorated after cutting it down to size.  Here's how it turned out:

These are the tags pulled out of the front pocket and the side pocket. 

The next page...

The next page, where my child added her own journaling...

There's so much space for journaling and pictures with these wonderful tags!

And the last page...

That's it for today...but be sure to stay tuned.  I will be back this weekend with a Lori Whitlock project and more...

Now go forth and be crafty!

Video Tutorial - How to Make a File Folder Accordian Album

Good morning! I am getting ready to run out the door - got a crazy day ahead, but I wanted to show you my video tutorial on how to make a file folder accordian album, which I used to hold my Project Family tags. If the video seems a little disjointed, well...it is. I took a page out of my hubby's book and said, "I don't need no stinking instructions!" prior to making this accordian folder, and I just kind of made it up as I went along. The project turned out well, and the video seems to make sense. My husband even nodded along and said he understood it - but that may have simply meant that he didn't want to film and edit anymore!



For the fun Project Family journaling tags (and to read more about my Project Family), check out my previous entry!

Happy Crafting!

How to Make an Explosion Box - Video Tutorial

This is my first explosion box (using my BOAF December KIT), and it was such an incredibly fun project!!! There may have been a hiccup or two along the way, but everything was easily fixable and the result, I think, was fantastic!

First, here are a few pictures of the box. This is a gift for a friend so none of the tags have pictures or journaling on them.

And, without further ado, here is my video...or should I say videos. Yes, plural. There are two of them because I had to cut it up in two parts to upload to YouTube. Why? Well, YouTube has a ten minute limit per video and...apparently, I talked a lot (even after editing). And I said, "as you can see," waaaayyy to much. In fact, if you want to play a game, you can count how many times I said, "as you can see" and leave me a comment letting me know! But would you also let me know what you think about the project? And maybe whether you have any Christmas projects that you have had fun making?

Here is Part One:


And here is Part Two:

File Folder Mini-Album Tutorial and Blog-Hop News

So, this is my very first ever video tutorial that I did for BIRDS OF A FEATHER. I am sure my videos will get a little more polished, but I am pretty darned happy with this as a first effort! I would love to know what you think! (P.S. - stay tuned all the way through for a sneak peek at my favorite assistant who makes a brief appearance)

And....for my other fun news...I have a special treat for you this weekend! (insert drum roll here)

That's right, this weekend Lori Whitlock and her design team (that includes me!!!) is having our very first design team blog hop! Come join us for some inspiration and a chance to win a $25 gift card to purchase items from loriwhitlock.com. The hop starts at Lori's BLOG, so be sure to head there first. It’s gonna be FUN!