lately

So I took a week and a half or so off from the Interwebs. What was I up to? Well, I can't really share fully yet because it's not for me. But I can share that it has to do with:

Crepe paper roses


Kraft paper and stripes


Typography


Love

I am über excited and my brain is working overtime, mostly when I should be getting some much needed sleep, to figure out the best possible solution to each thing.

As fair warning, I might be a bit absent over the course of the next six to eight weeks due to this project. I promise to share big time when I can!

Be well everyone!

please sit at my table

At the beginning of August my sister and her boyfriend came from Italy to visit (it's been long enough that she has been living there for her to not say she is coming home when she comes here), and we had a little welcome party with the family at our house. I set the table for dinner in a soft colour scheme with a bit of a traditional feel to it.














Pretty linens in a beige colour with floral tone on tone embroideries set the foundations.
I used store bought paper doilies under the plates. I had wanted to use crochet ones but I didn't have any that were big enough. I think they work well enough, but had it been a fancy party I would have gone out of my way to find the real deal.
I made paper bows, following these instructions, from scrapbook paper from the Bella Bella collection by Carina Gardner.
I put silk roses in small vases with lace covers in the center of the table.
As it was in the middle of the summer I opted out of candles, it would only get too hot and we certainly didn't need them for light.

I generally like to keep the table fairly clutter free. Sure, it's pretty with lots of stuff on there, but it's totally not practical if you want bottles, salt & pepper shakers, condiments and so on ready available for the guests. This was especially true for this dinner, with wine lovers, beer drinkers, and coke addicts in the family.

I liked the outcome. It was simple and down to earth, calm, pretty, comforting, and it reminded me, in an updated 21st century kind of way, of the kind of table settings I saw when I was a child.

Real life card making

It's been a long time since I created a card the old fashioned way with papers and scissors and glue and all that. I think digi has made me lazy with the snazzy control clicks and the convenient do overs. Doing it the digi way is quick and easy and the results are always perfect - no glue smudges, no wrong cuts, no wonky placements.

But my fingers were itching to make some mess this morning and with beautiful inspiration the from Mouse, Paper, Scissors Mom class at Jessica Sprague.com, by Jessica and Heidi Swapp, I went to town on the papers and glues. It gave me a few of hours of mental therapy where nothing but cutting, folding, glueing, and glittering mattered. It was quite liberating and something I highly recommend.

I made a card for my goddaughter's birthday. It's very girly and pink, which is perfect for her as she is the epitome of a little princess. The more pink and glitter the better. So I think this card did the trick. I love the outcome.























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Supplies: The beautiful papers are from the Gabrielle line by Bo Bunny and they are included in the class.
I printed the card pages on heavy textured cardstock and all tags, flags, and butterflies on satin photo paper. I used Chandelier Glam glitter paint by Tattered Angels to get the sparkle. For the finishing effect I used adhesive stones and a glittery brad from my local craft store.  I used Sloop Script and VT Portable Remington fonts.
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Homemade Christmas decorations

Here I am, coming to you live and direct from a brand new computer! I only unpacked it yesterday so I am far away from ready with migrating everything from the old one to the new, but so far I am totally loving the experience. Superfast and super pretty. What else could a girl want? LOL!

So, with Christmas just over and done with, I want to hold on to it just a little longer by showing you some crafts I did, but never had the time to post about, before Christmas.

These balls were done with papers from the Frostbite Paper Pack




They were surprisingly easy to make with directions from Kaiserkraft (link will come once I have it on this computer) but if you ever decide to make them at one point or another do get a circle punch! I didn't have one in the right size so I hand cut all circles for six balls. That's 120 circles. It took me four hours and gave me a nice little aching hand. Ouch!

I strung some of mine from the light over the kitchen island and it was just the right amount of decoration for me. Not overwhelming and not too ostentatcious. Simple but pretty.

You can also see a small peak of the wreath I made at the bottom of the first photo. All I did was wrap some white organza ribbon and attach some tiny white balls and that was it. It matched the tree perfectly.

Now, I am so not a flower person. I kill flowers and plants with lightning speed. I swear, plants have died within hours of being in my house. But in spite of this I bought some hyacinths and tried to do something crafty and pretty with them. Here's one:


I put a few pebbles at the bottom of a vase from IKEA, wrapped the bulb with fresh moss (apparently from France as per the florist's info) and placed it on top of the stones. I rummaged through my scrap stash and found a sparkly snowflake, a bell, and some gem brads. Those, together with some ribbon finished off the creation. I cannot tell you how accomplished I felt once I put it in the window, lol. Now, it still hasn't bloomed, but at least it's not dead.

Apart from the tree and door wreath, the wrapped gifts, and white pillar candles everywhere, this is pretty much all of my Christmas decor. I guess one can safely say you won't find any santa figurines in my house, lol. At least it will be easy to take down!

I hope Christmas has been good to you all!

New free class from Jessica Sprague

Guys, Jessica Sprague is offering a new *free* class starting November 29!
You can register right now! Just click on the image below to go directly to the class info.



Don't miss it!