All posts filed under: Create.

seed paper.

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It’s Baby’s First Valentine’s Day so we put together a little something for all his baby friends. Since babies can’t indulge in your typical Valentine’s sweets, I picked a non-food Valentine’s treat: seed paper in heart confetti form so friends can watch love grow all year long. (Aww, sweetness.) I am a big fan of nature confetti – what I’m deeming as dried leaves or fallen flowers harvested from the same area where you will toss the confetti – so I am all over this biodegradable confetti! I found this seed paper from Botanical PaperWorks. It came in so many colors – I picked three colors to mix and packaged them up. Here’s how I put it all together — I gathered: Seed paper confetti (I picked hearts but you can choose other shapes or punch out different shapes from full sheets of seed paper instead) Bag/pouch (I had 4” x 6” plastic bags in my stash. You can also source something biodegradable if you want to keep with the earth-friendly theme) Tag design (I’m …

paper lanterns.

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Gearing up for Lunar New Year! I was recently asked to host a paper lantern workshop in celebration of Lunar New Year. I had never created a paper lantern before so I did some internetting to get design ideas. My friend Rebecca created a lantern template for me and you can download it here to create along. Gather materials and tools: Lantern template Printer access Red cardstock (8.5” x 11”) Gold cardstock Gold metallic marker Gold metallic embroidery floss, or similar Tassel maker (cardboard or other firm board works, too) Sewing needle with large eye Scissors (for paper and for fabric) Hot glue (can use tacky glue or other glue) Print the lantern template onto red cardstock. I like using 65lb cardstock. Cut out the lantern shapes. Use the gold metallic marker to outline each lantern. This can be done before cutting, too, if preferred. Use a craft needle to poke holes on each lantern “petal” (use the black dots on the template as a guide) and in the center of the lantern. The petal …

sunburst basket.

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I made the Flax and Twine / Modern Macrame sunburst basket project! My stitching isn’t the best (also, left hand problems ~ everything is backwards!), but I loved all aspects of this project. This project requires minimal materials: rope, twine, a tapestry needle, and scissors. I copied the sample colors because look how dreamy this brown rope is. The pattern comes with an accompanying video which I am a big fan of – it’s so much easier for me to follow a video versus written instructions when it’s my first time creating a project. When I shared my progress with my parents my Dad shared that my Great-Grandfather was a basket maker! OMG, it all makes sense now why I’m basket obsessed! It’s in my blood! My Great-Grandfather’s repertoire was vast with baskets ranging in size from tabletop baskets for displaying food to large works meant for storing rice. Goals! Here’s my finished piece. The sample was more of a plate-like shape; I went for more of a bowl since I like having containers for …

mala.

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Another Michaels workshop in the books. This time I created a mala necklace, or at least a necklace inspired by a mala necklace. Traditional mala necklaces have 108 beads, but I did the cheat way of creating this necklace and was a bit more freestyle with my beads. For the full tutorial and supply list see the online class and accompanying instructions. For my necklace I used: bipyramid beads 6mm beads (I chose blue coral) a pendant assorted seed beads silk bead cord big eye beading needles (I ended up not needing these because my bead cord had an attached needle) pliers bead tweezers scissors Most of my beads came from local bead shop Blue Door Beads (During shelter in place I sent them a list and they shopped the store for me and shipped!). The pendant was from Michaels. I also used beads I acquired from craft swaps. My how to: I decided on a pattern and repeated the pattern four times for one side of the necklace, then mirrored the pattern on the …

plant people.

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No more surface area for plants? Hang them! Here’s an easy macrame plant holder you can whip out in 30 minutes or less. This recipe creates a plant holder for 4-7 inch plant pot, up to 6-8 inches tall. For this project, you will need: 67 feet of 5mm rope, cut into: 6 10-foot pieces 1 3-foot piece 1 4-foot piece 2-3 inch hoop (metal, wood – your choice) Scissors S hook Somewhere to hang your project as you work Knots used (knot reference): Finishing knot Overhand knot Square knot How to: Hang your project using an S hook. Find the midpoint of the 6 10-foot pieces and hang on the ring. Using the 3-foot cord, create a finishing knot to gather the 6 10-foot pieces of rope. Working in cord pairs, create overhand knots approximately 4 inches from the bottom of the finishing knot. You will end up with 6 overhand knots. Working in groups of four, create 3 square knots approximately 3 inches from the bottom of the overhand knots. You will end …

macrame basics.

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Use these knots and techniques to create unique designs for your macrame pieces. Lark’s Head Knot The lark’s head knot is often used as an anchoring knot to start your piece. Fold rope cord in half. Place the midpoint underneath the dowel in a U fashion. Bring the top loose rope strands over the dowel and through the U. Pull loose rope strands all the way through to tighten the knot. Square Knot To create a square knot, work four cords at a time. Using the first four rope cords, place rope cord 1 over cords 2 and 3. Place rope cord 4 over rope cord 1, under rope cords 3 and 2, and through the loop made by rope cord 1. Pull rope cords 1 and 4 out and up to create the first half of the square knot. To complete the square knot, perform a similar but opposite pattern. Place the now rope cord 4 over cords 3 and 2. Place rope cord 1 over rope cord 4, under rope cord 2 and 3, and through the loop …

reindeer.

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Real talk – Santa scares me, but the reindeer are cool. Here’s a reindeer piñata idea for your Christmas celebrations. How cute would it be to create one for each of Santa’s reindeer? You will need: Cardboard Crepe streamers in reindeer colors (brown, creme, black, white) Paper in browns, black, and white Glue stick Scissors Pencil Paper scissors Masking tape or similar I used my burro template and reindeer-ified it with antlers and spots. Cut out two reindeer shapes plus strips of cardboard 2 inches in width for the perimeter. Make sure you can bend the cardboard into curvy shapes (corrugation should run across the 2 inch width). Decide where you want to place the piñata opening and start wrapping one of the shapes with the cardboard strips above the flap. Use tape to attach strips to shapes. Continue to work around the piñata until you reach the flap opening. Attach the second shape to the opposite side. Since we’re not popping this piñata open, I used packing tape to make it extra secure. Add …

christmas hello.

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Something I haven’t done in a few years because I pack my November/December with craft events and I wait until it’s too late to make it happen: creating and sending Christmas cards! I used to do it every year. These cards are four years in the making. I will now be sending Christmas cards every leap year…maybe. This year’s Christmas card timeline: Year 1: Buy the paper Year 2: Cut the paper Year 3: Assemble the paper Year 4: Write messages on the paper, address envelopes, and mail! Here’s what I used to make my cards: 12″ x 12″ double sided card stock 12″ x 12″ white card stock Twine Embellishments (I cut out reindeer images) Envelopes Paper cutter Scissors (for fabric and for paper) Bone folder Double sided foam adhesive Someone once described my cards as little booklets. I like to use 12″ x 12″ double sided cardstock (get the good heavyweight stuff!) for all of my handmade cards. They divide up into three 4″ x 6″ cards (cut two 8″ x 6″ pieces …

lavender.

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Here’s a cute, easy, and smelly in a good way DIY for the holiYAYs: lavender sachets with a Christmas twist. For this craft you will need: Lavender buds – I ordered lavender from San Francisco Herb Co (a local favorite!). Upon opening the bag I felt instant relaxation vibes. Cotton sachets – Find them at your local craft store. Spoon or funnel Letter stamps – I used Mine Stamp to label my sachets. This is a great labeler for all fabric items. There is room to include up to three lines of text and also a built-in ink pad! Alternatively, you can use individual letter stamps. Fabric ink Stamp a bunch of sachets, fill with lavender, and tie. To make it festive for Christmas I labeled sachets with “You’re Nice / Not Coal.” Don’t they look like little gift sacks? I originally wanted to create lavender sachets as a natural silverfish repellent (gross!), but then I found more uses for them! In general, they smell nice so having a sachet handy for smelly occasions (like …

we have a runner.

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This Christmas is going to be Hubby and my first Christmas in our home. Usually, we travel to visit family this time of year, but since we’re all still practicing social distancing and with a tiny babe on our hands we thought it would be best to celebrate at home. It makes for some excitement though because that means we can actually put up a tree to enjoy and start some new family traditions. One thing I really wanted to add to my Christmas decor this year was a macramé table runner to keep our dining room festive throughout the season. I picked a project from the Modern Macramé book. Side note: I’m really good at purchasing craft books because they are so beautiful and then forgetting about them, ultimately never using them. Whoops. Good thing I remembered there was a table runner project in this book! I purchased this dreamy 4mm cotton string in army green for the project. This project is no joke; it requires a time commitment but I was excited to …