happy new home!

My lovely sis-in-law recently moved into her first home – an amazing condo in an old furniture factory along the river. A lovely and simple cut paper card was in order. She really does live one floor beneath the top on the left side of the building too!

elegant invites with lovely lace

I had the honor and pleasure of designing invitations for my sister's August wedding. Her gown is creamy lace, which inspired both the lace pattern and the paper choice.

One of my favorite things to do as a designer is come up with the art I need in a unique and interesting way. In this case, I wedged a cardboard envelope inside a shirt with lace up near the collar, mashed it down in my scanner, and then went to town in Photoshop.

I am also quite happy with the typography. I think that is one of thing that sets apart a piece done by a graphic designer – a real attention to the type. Not only the font choice, but the size hierarchy and the arrangement. I used Bodoni, a dramatic and elegant classic.

And I really liked making everything a nice, matching set! Besides the invitations and enclosures, I designed the program and created table numbers and table tents and blank advice postcards to be used at the reception.

upcycled wrapping paper

A crazy messy art experiment with my older daughter (then just 2 years old):

Cleaning out and refreshing my art room (more on that soon) led to upcycling the giant painting into wrapping paper and a matching card for mother's day:

fabric fishies for a birthday

It's my new favorite method of greeting card making: gluing fabric scraps onto paper. There is something so appealing about the contrast in textures.

Fishies for a fisherman's birthday below.

my claim to (blog) fame!

I was honored to be included as a guest poster on The Artful Parent  which just happens to be one of my all-time favorite blogs. Jean is taking a bit of a sabbatical from her blog this month and asked if some of her readers would be willing to submit posts. How lovely of her to share her space.

Here's my post on our valentine cards – a current work in progress.

Spoiler alert: Grandmas and aunties might get a sneak peek of their future valentine mail if they check out this post!

sewing on paper – an experiment

I was crafting up a greeting card with fabric scraps. I was about to glue them together when I took a second look at my sewing machine, threaded with magenta thread and sitting idly. Why not? I scooted over there and ran my card through. It worked rather well!

 I do think a larger, more spaced apart stitch would have been better though. The small stitch my machine was set on basically ripped completely through the cardstock, as seen on the inside of the card. Everything seemed to be holding together well enough to finish it up and pop it in an envelope.

I almost feel as though I am free to sew any sort of thing now that the quilt is done. Can you believe it took me a year and a half?! Well, actually, I can believe it. I am very excited to start some new – small! – sewing projects. Hold me to it, blog friends.

paper craft greeting cards

This month I needed to send a birthday card and two anniversary cards. I used the blank cards that I swear by as one of my best craft purchases (they're colored paper on the outside and blank on the inside), some paper punches, and old greeting cards and scrapbook paper I whipped out these beautiful creations. Much cheaper than purchasing cards and, at least for me, more creatively satisfying!

recycled kid art & paper crafting

Recently I gave new life to a wrinkled, water-torn paint experiment created by my 3-year-old. I've read books about introducing your children to art and the proper way to encourage their creativity. "Destroying" their art in order to create something else is a big no-no. However, knowing this piece wasn't a keeper in my household anyway assuaged any guilt I might have had.

I used the abstract textures as the basis for some cut paper greeting card creations. I did flowers for mother's day cards and stars for graduation cards. The actual cards, a boxed set of solid colored cards with white envelopes, has been one of my most useful craft store purchases.

By the way, when my daughter emerged from her bath and saw what I had created by cutting apart her painting she was most intrigued and expressed a desire to try her hand at cutting (scissors are a new thrill). So much for being horrified at the destruction of her masterpiece!

paper flowers

I think this is the last post to be derived from my last visit to the Meijer Gardens!

I was very impressed by the paper flowers adorning these bare twigs. From a distance the blooms appeared real. Up close, one could see how much time and effort went into cutting and placing the petal layers, attaching the bead in the center, and then wiring the flower onto the branch. Wow! What a beautiful craft!

family crafting for a birthday

Every now and then I manage to get the whole family involved in my craft-fests. Here's my hubby and my daughter working on a birthday gift for a special someone who turns 80 today!

An up-cycled jar, a painted lid, and bits of paper containing memories, compliments, and original art creates a simple gift everyone in our family could be involved in creating!

ornamental balls for Thanksgiving

I was so enthused with my ornamental balls that I led a post-Thanksgiving dinner craft session. My husband's aunt and cousin, my mom-in-law, my father-in-law, and my sister-in-law all got involved. Good food and craft craziness – what more could you want out of a holiday?

crafting for the Library – ornamental balls

The Library hosted a series of craft programs after this year's Santa Claus Parade. I volunteered my time (I know, what was I thinking?) and pre-made some items and then was on hand to help with the actual event.

The Martha craft that I got quite obsessed with was making ornamental balls. The suggestion is to use old Christmas cards. I also did some using paint chip samples, Celebration of the Book brochures, invitations, and other miscellaneous cards I happened to have kept. It is a fabulous way to use scraps. I think any slightly heavy paper item will do.

I invested in a 2" paper punch for cutting out the circles. Each ornamental ball is made of 20 circles upon which you score an equilateral triangle and then fold up the flaps. There is no way I would have the patience to carefully cut out each circle!

After that, it's just a matter of gluing! There are 5 that point in towards each other to make a "helmet" shape. You do this once for the top and again for the bottom. With the remaining 10, you simply glue them in a row alternating pointing up and down. Glue that into a loop and then glue on the top and bottom and you have an ornamental ball!

Here is a finished product nestled in the Christmas tree:

bits, pieces, and a nest

Here is an interesting collage piece by Kate Rivers. It's rather large and it is made of paper scraps plus pieces of books – all from her own life. She discusses how the nest is a metaphor for home, which she has lost due to her frequent moves as an adult.

I can't fully explain what it is that attracted me to this. I like the texture. I like the use and re-use of items that would be mere trash independent from each other. I like the concept of "nest" and "home."