Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Cupcake-Liner Crafts: Part 2


Of all the cupcake-liner fun I had, this project is probably my favorite. It’s cupcake liner fortune cookies! They’d be great for baby showers, parties, weddings, or as a surprise in someone special’s lunch.



Fortune Cookies

They’re super easy to make!

  1. Fold a regular cupcake liner in half.
  2. Stitch (I used a sewing machine) around the outer edge of the liner.
  3. Leave about 1/4” unstitched at the end. This is your opening to insert candy. (I used after-dinner mints, as they’re small and dry.)
  4. With your finger, push the center up to create the fortune cookie shape.


Bottle Skirts

This is probably the easiest of my cupcake-liner projects. They’re bottle wraps. Simply remove the circle from the center of the liner and put the skirt around a bottle. Forget about marking your drinks at a party with a marker. This approach is cute and quick!


Quick Gift Wrap

Have a gift that needs wrapping? Use cupcake liners to dress up an ordinary gift box. Simply cut liners down so that the edges are short. Use the area you trimmed off to create a decorative center by twisting and gluing it into a spiral in the center.


Note: Cupcake liners are slick (so the cake won’t stick to them), so you’ll want to use a strong glue. I used Fabri-Tac by Beacon’s. Hot glue would work as well.



Liner Lanterns

These dangle-y delights are simply threaded cupcake liners. Used a needle and some baker’s twine to string them up. I started with a smaller liner and put a regular liner on top of it (with the edges cut down). You can string up one or add a bunch to a single string.


Cory calls these my mushrooms. I was going for lanterns, but, no matter what you choose to call them, they’ll make any room brighter! :)


I have one more project to share, a card, which I’ll post on Friday. In the meantime, you can watch my recent TV segment on these crafts here. And you can check out my past segments on the Creating Keepsakes website. Thanks!




Monday, September 27, 2010

Cupcake-Liner Crafts: Part 1



Ready for a little cupcake fun? And this one even comes without the calories--bonus! Plus, it’s super affordable--bonus #2!


Buy a pack or two of decorative cupcake liners. They come in lots of great styles and only cost around $2 for a pack of 75. With these liners, you can make party banners, flowers, lanterns (or mushrooms if you ask Cory), cards, drink wraps, decorative boxes, and even fortune cookies. With so many ideas to share, I’m going to limit this post to flowers and banners today, and I’ll bring you the rest on Wed. Deal? Deal!


Flowers


Making flowers is simple. You’ll want a few doilies large and small, which you can choose to color with spray ink (I used Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels), or you can leave them white. From there, stitch your liners to the centers of the doilies and glue your creation to sucker sticks.



For an added touch, tie on some tulle leaves.



In this example, I stuck the sucker stick through the center of the cup and glued a little tulle in the center.



Banners


I created three types of banners with my liners. This one was the easiest. Begin by cutting two liners (back to back) like a sun so that the liners will lie flat. Once cut, put the two liners back to back and run them through your sewing machine. Continue sewing them on until your banner is as long as you want it.



For this banner, I started by stitching on some crepe paper, which I pleated as I stitched (simply scrunch it together as it’s running through your machine). After a few inches of crepe, stitch on your liners and doilies (optional). I did large liners (cut like a sun) and smaller liners, which I folded in half and layered over spray-inked doilies.



To see the Halloween banner variation I created, complete with step-by-step instructions, check out the Creating Keepsakes blog today.



And if you’re in Utah, I hope you’ll watch Studio 5 this morning (channel 5 at 11:00). I’ll be sharing all of my cupcake liner crafts. If you’re not in my neck of the woods, I’ll post the segment and my remaining liner projects on Wed. See ya then!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Inspiring birthday party and a delicious cake recipe


You know you’re at an amazing birthday party when the first thing you see upon entering is a photo booth. That’s what I saw this summer when I attended my friend Kezia’s 40th birthday bash. Kezia is one of the happiest, most creative gals I know, so it came as no surprise to me that her birthday was a blast. There were so many impressive ideas at this party that I just couldn’t resist sharing a couple of them with you.


As I mentioned, the party got started with a stop at the photo booth, which was complete with stylin’ mustaches like this one.




Once your photos were printed (it printed two sets), you put a set in the guest book and left a message. What a cool keepsake!



My friend Jennafer was my date for the party. Here she is leaving her b-day salutations.




Kezia may have been the birthday girl, but that didn’t keep her from baking up a storm. She made every delectable cake in this amazing dessert buffet. I sampled several slices, with each being as good as the last!




My personal favorite was the old fashioned carrot cake. And guess what?!?! Kezia is passing that tasty love on to you. Check out her delicious website, The Distracted Homemaker, for this and other incredible recipes! Trust me, you'll be delighted you did.




Happy 40th birthday, sweet Kezia. You sexy mama, you!


Monday, September 20, 2010

A Quick Scrapbook Page and a Guest Spot with Studio Calico


What do you get one you combined one super terrific sheet of double-sided patterned paper with a piece of cardstock? The makings of a quick and simple scrapbook page. I had the pleasure of bring the September guest designer over at Studio Calico this month, which meant I received their Back 40 kit, an incredible assortment of products in the mail to play with. So fun!


From that big box o’ fun, I was instantly attracted to a vivid and cool piece of paper with an orange and white pattern on one side and a gray grid pattern on the other. From this pattern, I saw a frame just waiting to be created.



For the left side of the frame, I rolled the paper that I cut over and tied it with some jute.



I cut the paper where I wanted my frame, flipped a bit of the top edge of the frame over, and stitched, staggering the height of the folds. I love the dimension these simple tricks added to the page.


To see the other projects I created as the Studio Calico guest designer, please click here.


One more fun thing to share. Greg Foster, the Mr. behind Studio Calico, set his September project picks to a Rob Thomas song in honor of my month with them. I love MB20 and Rob Thomas, you see. Isn’t that awesome? You can watch his entertaining flick here. Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Support Breast Cancer and Bid!





Welcome to the Hop...the “Blog Hop for Boobies,” that is. This amazing charity effort, put together by the fine people over at Skipping Stones Designs, is all about raising money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. As you know, breast cancer has been a big part of my life the past two years, with my sweet mama just recently finishing up her treatments, so you bet I was on board when the fine folks at Skipping Stones asked me to participate in this valuable hop.

How does it work? Well, I’m joining a bunch of brilliant scrapbookers and paper crafters in making cards using Skipping Stones stamps. And the cards made will all be put in a silent auction, where you can bid on them. And your money goes towards breast cancer research. Pretty sweet, don’t ya think?

The cards in this post are the ones I’m auctioning (as a set). But my fun doesn’t stop at the cards. The winning bid will also receive a handmade fabric rosette bracelet like the one below (in the color(s) of your choice) along with your cards.

How to Bid

To bid, simply leave your bid amount in my comment section (suggested starting bid is $5.00) and keep an eye on the bidding to see if you remain in the lead. I will pay the shipping in the U.S., so 100% of the money will go the foundation.

The bidding will remain open until September 23rd, 8:00 pm MDT. Please pass the word onto your friends!

And please continue on in this happy hop by checking out the next fabulous blog on the list, by my sweet and talented friend Kim Kesti.

Also, in the spirit of helping and stamping (two delightful things), Skipping Stones is donating $2 from every stamp set sold this week to the fight against breast cancer, including some brand new releases. So you'll want to check out their website. If now isn’t a good time to buy stamps, I don’t know when is. Please, take some time to bid on cards (mine or any of the others in the impressive blog-hop line-up), and buy a stamp set or two while you’re at it. This is a positive and fun way to make a difference!

Cheers!

Take a Photo Field Trip (and a look at my youth)



Several months back, I was in a meeting at work, planning our September 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. At that time, we came up with an idea to do a feature on taking a photo field trip. At that time, I was so inspired by the idea that I decided to take a photo field trip of my own.


My longtime friend Julia and I went back to some of our childhood hot spots--our neighborhood, the schools we went to, and a few other regular hangouts. For example, what seems like a typical McDonald’s and Baskin Robbins is actually where we would go everyday after school to wait for the city bus to pick us up and take us home. I can’t begin count how many sweet ice cream treats I enjoyed, sitting on my big ol’ saxophone case, waiting for those buses to come. :)



Even though it was summertime when we took these shots, two of the three schools we went to happened to be opened (at least partially), so we were even able to go inside a get a few shots of the halls and classrooms that once seemed so big. In this hall of our jr. high was one of my best friend’s lockers, where I used to think I was SO funny because I’d smear cheese from my cheese-and-crackers snack on her lock everyday. Hahaha! I’m sure she loved having me as a pal.




If you look closely, you’ll see the name of one of my first high school crushes--Anthony Jones. He was a sr. on the football team when I was just a nerdy (and I mean nerdy) sophomore, and he never had any idea who I was, but I was well aware of him. LOL I had to snap this pick of his name in one of the school trophy cases for old time’s sake. (I promise I’m not a stalker.) ;)




I used to slide down this railing just about everyday after math class. Now they have a pointed edges on them, which means the days of sliding are no more. (Killjoys!)




We had so much fun remembering moments from our past. Many games of kissing tag were played on this playground. Of course, the playground itself looks much different today (probably a lot safer than the one we played on), but the fond memories of being out in there haven’t changed.




The area where we grew up in is rapidly changing. I love that I now have these photos to preserve how things were when I was young. No matter how things continue to change, I’ll have these images that will help me remember what my childhood looked like--images and stories I can pass on to my own children someday. And I love that Julia was able to go with me and help me remember. This is such a fun way to stay connected to what’s important to you.


Over at the Creating Keepsakes blog, Dream Team member Deena Wuest wrote a post that elaborates on the photo field trip concept, including awesome camera-setting advice. Check it out and find some helpful tips for taking a successful trip of your own. Have fun!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Fun with Felt: A Mini Album


When was the last time you felt like doing something a little different with your crafting? For me, it was back in July when Studio 5 asked me to create a mini album from felt. They saw the idea on scrapbooker Elizabeth Kartchner’s blog and fell in love with it, as did I, so I naturally jumped at the chance to play with this forgiving crafting medium. Since today is Grandparents Day, I thought I’d share the outcome of my felt adventures today.


I went with a generational theme, including photos of my great-grandma (Don’t you just love her attire?


My grandma...


My mama...



Me...



And a blank space, where I hope to eventually include pictures of my own little girl.



Plus a few shots of us together, again with a few blank pages that I hope to fill in as the generations continue to grow.


I originally created this book as a gift for my mom, but I fell in love with it and decided I want to be selfish and keep it just for me, so I’m in the process of making a second one for Schmom. It really is that easy to make. I don’t even mind making a duplicate. Hooray for felt!



Have you ever played with this textured medium? If so, I’d love to hear about what you created. If not, I hope you’ll give it a try. This Grandparents Day seems like as good a time as any. :)



Speaking of Grandparents Day, there’s a beautiful assortment of grandparent-themed scrapbook pages on the Creating Keepsakes blog today, including a generational one by me, which was inspired by this very book. I hope you have a minute to check them out.



A very happy day to all of the loving grandparents of the world! If you’re anything like my amazing grandparents were, you make the world a wonderfully imaginative, fun, and caring place. Thank you!



For more on how this little book is made, you can watch this television segment I did, which includes helpful felt pointers, shopping tips, and more! (And you can see more of my Studio 5 segments on the Creating Keepsakes website.)










Friday, September 10, 2010

Scrapbook Pages to Remember Grandma

Tomorrow marks what would have been my dear grandma’s 99th birthday. Sadly, she passed away in 2007, but she did have an incredible life. She was the best grandma a girl could ask for, an award-winning canner, a brilliant cook, a beloved teacher, an impressive gardener, and so much more. In honor of this beautiful woman’s special day, I want to share a few layouts I made about her.

This page is one of my all-time favorite scrapbook pages. It’s the story of my Gram’s aprons--she always wore pretty aprons.



I also have the image of the apron on the dress form hanging in my home. Do you have a special heirloom that’s important to you? Why not snap a photo of it and hang it on display in your home? It’s a beautiful reminder of what’s important to you.


This layout was created for my September 2009 editor’s note in Creating Keepsakes magazine. This picture of my Gram was taken in front of the school house where she used to teach. (Another pic that’s on display in my home.) The layout is about how the love of teaching is something she (and my dad’s mom) have passed on to me.

As seen in the September 2009 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.


In this weekend of remembrance, consider honoring those you love and miss with displayed photos and/or scrapbook pages.

Also in honor of this weekend, I'd like to say that my heart goes out to all who were impacted by September 11, 2001. I pray that you've found ways to find comfort and remember those you lost.