Category Archives: crafts & diy
Facet-Inspired Card
Date:
Nov 29, 2012
crafts & diy
My friend Amanda, from The Duo Studio, and I were recently discussing how we’ve been noticing a trend in geometric and faceted designs lately, so how about one in paper form?
Here’s an inspirational idea from Irene Loves Crafts for those of you making holiday cards this year: a facet-inspired card. Pop over to Irene’s blog for the full how-to and be sure to check out the myriad of other creative DIYs over on her blog, as well.
all photos by Irene Infante
Related Posts
DIY Leaves Cornucopia
Date:
Nov 21, 2012
crafts & diy, seasonal
Nothing says autumn like freshly fallen leaves, so I wanted to find a way to incorporate them into this month’s DIY wrapping project. This paper cone — made from a photocopy of leaves — is a fun way to dress up the Thanksgiving table. Fill with breadsticks or other treats and put one at each place setting.
What You’ll Need
- Leaves
- Printer paper
- Double-sided tape
- Coloured paper
- Spray adhesive (or other glue)
- Scissors
Instructions
1. Arrange several leaves on a piece of bond paper, attaching with double-sided tape. The leaves should be freshly fallen; no crunchy, brittle ones, as they need to have enough moisture left in them so that they won’t crack. When attaching to the paper, keep the leaves inside the edges of the paper and fill all gaps.
2. Photocopy, or scan and print, the sheet of leaves.
3. Glue the printout to the back of the coloured paper. I used spray adhesive but you could also use white glue or glue stick.
4. Once dry, cut out around the leaf arrangement. Cut the bottom straight across, and the bottom half of one side straight (this makes the next step easier).
5. Roll into a cone with the leaf-shaped edge overlapping the straight edge. Secure closed with double-sided tape or glue. Your cone is now ready to fill with goodies.
all photos by Corinna vanGerwen
Related Posts
DIY Advent Calendars
Date:
Nov 21, 2012
crafts & diy, roundups, seasonal
Figure 1: Printable advent calendar by Minieco link via Have a Lovely Day / Figure 2: Pinata advent calendar by A Subtle Revelry / Figure 3: Brown paper bag advent calendar by Lovely Things / Figure 4: Colorful advent boxes by You Are My Fave link via Studio DIY / Figure 5: Advent calendar with window punchouts by Daisy Janie / Figure 6: Advent calendar mobile by Donaville Herrick via the Discover Paper 2011 Holiday Guide / Figure 7: Falling stars advent calendar by Paper Ink for Design Sponge / Figure 8: Kraft + washi tape advent calendar by Omiyage
The countdown to Christmas has officially begun! Can you believe it’s but 34 days away? Our pal and regular contributor Heidi Gustad of Hands Occupied rounded up a number of fabulous advent calendars for our holiday guide this year and also found a couple DIY ones to include in this year’s roundup on the blog.
all photos via the sources mentioned above
Related Posts
Fall Foliage
Date:
Nov 12, 2012
crafts & diy, guest posts, roundups, seasonal
Editor’s Note: Throughout November and December, we’ll be presenting guest blog posts from various bloggers, stationers, and artists. Today’s featured guest blogger is Lauren Venell, who’s sharing a wonderful roundup of DIY and decorative fall foliage.
Figure 1: DIY autumn leaf bowls by Hello!Lucky / Figure 2: Fall leaves candle by Gingerbread Snowflakes / Figure 3: Sewn leaf garland via MAKE / Figure 4: Leaf carving by Nala Che / Figure 5: Ginkgo leaves family tree by evLien Designs
On the day after Halloween, when the conversation switches to gingerbread and snowflakes, I find myself yearning to stay focused on the beauty of the season we’re still in. If you’re not quite ready for winter either, stay grounded in autumn by reveling in the rich palette of nature’s own paper: leaves! Possible projects run the full paper-art gamut, from decoupage, to papercuts, to papier mache.
Bonus: most of these projects come with instructions so you can make them yourself!
all photos via their respective sources mentioned above
Date:
Oct 22, 2012
crafts & diy, roundups, seasonal
Figure 1: Paper bag animals by Wee Society via Design Mom / Figure 2: Safari costume (slide 4) via Real Simple for CNN Living / Figure 3: Clown costume via Oh Happy Day / Figure 4: Airplane costume via Oh Happy Day / Figure 5: Rock, paper, scissors costumes for my little ones (photos by me)
For any of you who are scrambling for Halloween costume ideas for your little ones, here’s a handful of Halloween ideas involving paper. Last year I got a little creative with a rock, paper, scissors theme (see figure 5 above).
This year, the I asked my oldest what she wanted to be for Halloween and she said, without hesitation, “a Viking princess”. When I asked her why, she said — again without hesitation — “I like their hats, their Viking dresses, their Viking hair, and their Viking faces.” In case you’re wondering, my oldest is four years old.
There might (or might not be, depending on time and a little thing called sleep that I like to partake in once in a while) be a paper dragon that will accompany my kids’ Viking costumes. We’ll see.
all photos via their respective sources mentioned above
Halloween Loot Bags
Date:
Oct 18, 2012
crafts & diy, seasonal
At some point when you were a kid, you probably made some artwork by blowing paint around on paper using a straw. These Halloween loot bags feature the same technique, but with a much more sophisticated result. Brown paper lunch bags are the very simple (and cheap!) base, and India ink creates the blackest black, spooky branches.
What You’ll Need
- Paper lunch bags (available at dollar stores and supermarkets)
- India ink (available for about $2 from art supply stores)
- A straw
- Hole punch (optional)
- Ribbon (optional)
Instructions
1. Before you start, lay down some newsprint or other scrap paper to protect your work surface.
2. Dip the end of the straw in India ink and use it to draw a line along the bottom of the paper bag (figure 1). Wipe off any excess ink from the straw, then blow through it at the ink, directing the ink across the bag. (Starting with a line up the side of the bag also looks cool.)
It takes some testing and practice to get a nice branching effect, so be sure to have extra bags or scrap paper to experiment with. (figure 2) And pace yourself — I got some serious head rushes from blowing through the straw so much!
3. Set aside to dry and repeat for each bag.
Once dry, fill the bags with candy or other spooky loot as desired.
4. To finish off each loot bag, fold over the top, punch two holes and thread through some ribbon, tying a bow. (figure 3)
Related Posts
Date:
Oct 17, 2012
crafts & diy, weddings
Figure 1: Piece of cake / Figure 2: Popcorn confetti (free printable) / Figure 3: Fairy tale paper flowers / Figure 4: / Figure 5: DIY lampshade
Everyone loves a good DIY, right? Here are 5 fantastic DIYs for weddings (and parties, too) from the endlessly talented folks from Wedding Friends. I’m kind of gaga over the simplicity and cleverness of the DIY lampshade. And the piece of cake that’s a piece of cake to make? Genius!
I’m itching to try one of these DIYs in the near future (tonight perhaps?), how about you? Pop over to Wedding Friends for even more DIYs and DIY wedding tips.
all photos via Wedding Friends
Related Posts
News
We're in issue 17 of Uppercase Magazine!Sponsors
-
Sponsors
-
