Paper Punch Collage

I have always loved making collages. Since I can remember I have cut images out of magazines and glued them together to make art out of my favorite things. I made my entire ceiling a collage in high school pinning and overlapping magazine photos of my favorite celebrities. It's the craft I have called my own since the beginning. Recently I have tried my hand at a different kind of collage. One more clean, simplistic, and modern. I created one for my niece, Maddisen and gave it to my sister-in-law as part of her shower gift. I chose paper in line with the theme of her nursery (pink and chocolate brown polka-dots) and punched a bunch of small hearts using my Martha Stewart paper punch.

I affixed the hearts with Zots adhesive dots so that they were 3-dimensional in a square pattern. I framed them in a white, square photo box frame so that it can be hung on a wall or placed on a shelf. I love photo box frames from IKEA because of their clean lines and all the space between the back and the glass allows me to give the collage depth and dimension.

I also personalized it by stenciling her name in the bottom right corner.

I have heart shaped paper punches in multiple sizes so I got a little paper heart crazy. I made two other smaller collages just for fun. In one I used the larger hearts in a cascading 3-dimensional pattern in various shades of aqua.

In the other I used the small heart punch with two different patterned papers.

The possibilities are truly endless. I love paper punches so I think I'll keep at it with different shapes, colors, sizes and patterns. Watch out for paper collage overload!

Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo

Up Next: Decoupage Madness

Text Block Bookbinding

Another new project I tried recently was a gift for my sister-in-law for Christmas. She asked for a scrapbook for her new baby and since my favorite store Paper Source has bookbinding supplies, I thought I'd try my hand at it. Once I had purchased all my materials, I started researching tutorials online. I found two that were extremely helpful - How to Make Books - Paper Source and Binding with Photo Album Insert - The Paper Studio.

At first, I was pretty intimidated by the whole process. It seemed a little complicated and out of my league. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I tend to choose techniques that are simple, straightforward and familiar. This was none of those things to me, but with my husband's encouragement, I went for it. I was primarily concerned because the materials I purchased for my sister-in-law's scrapbook were not cheap and it was going to be my first attempt. It was a gift and I didn't want to screw it up. But I jumped in feet first and after watching the demos many, many times I got to work.

There are many ways to bind a book, but we chose to purchase an extra large, photo album text block that comes with two already cut to size book boards. We chose a pink and cream, cherry blossom Japanese paper and cream colored book cloth. Once I figured out all of the measurements to cut the paper and book cloth, the hardest part about this process is the gluing. You have to get it on fast before it dries, but also not too thick and I had large surface areas to cover. It was a little stressful, but I think the end product was worth the effort.

My first go at this went so well, I am thoroughly confident that I can bind all sorts of custom books and albums. Next on my list are small journals/scrapbooks for me and my husband. Can't wait to share!

Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo

Coming Soon: Paper Punch Collage

Felt Wreath Success & Tutorial

In my last post, I shared what didn't go so right with my first try at making a felt rosette wreath. Here's a look at my second and much more successful attempt (and lovely wreaths thereafter) and what I learned in the process.

Ruby Red Valentine's Heart Wreath

To start I went to a supplier (namely JoAnn Fabrics) that sold lots of styrofoam wreath options and higher quality felt fabric in a variety of colors. To make a Felt Rosette Heart Wreath you will need the following:

1. Styrofoam Wreath
2. Approx. 3/4 yard of Felt
3. Straight Sewing Pins
4. Scissors
5. Cup
6. Pen (I used a sharpie pen)

Step 1: Trace your cup onto the felt fabric with your pen to create uniform circles.

Step 2: Cut just inside the circle so that the pen marks don't show on your rosette (lesson learned from my 1st attempt).

Step 3: Create Rosettes by folding the circle in half once and then in half again until you have a rounded triangle shape.

 Step 4: Stick a straight pin through all four layers of the felt at the bottom of the rosette.

Step 5: Start pinning the rosettes into the styrofoam wreath layering over one another to create a dense pattern of fluffy felt.

Step 6: Continue to trace, cut, fold and pin rosettes until your wreath is covered and to your liking. I leave the back empty so that you can lay the wreath flat on a surface or if you hang it on a door or wall it will lay flush.

Bright Magenta Valentine's Heart Wreath

Magenta Wreath Back

Step 7: Admire your handiwork!

Peacock Blue Wreath

Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo

Next Time: Bookbinding

Felt Rosette Wreath - 1st Attempt

I am always looking for new ideas and techniques for craft projects. I love learning new things and often gravitate towards simple techniques that deliver high impact designs. I found this simple, yet somewhat time-consuming project originally on The Idea Room and then saw it again recently on Craftily-Ever-After where she used the same technique to make a rosette ball. I fell in love with the fluffy texture of the felt rosettes and had to try it myself.

My first attempt at this felt rosette wreath did not turn out so great. I went to Michaels to purchase supplies for another project and decided to see what I could get there to make these felt wreaths. I ended up only finding a small, round, green styrofoam wreath and some sheets of craft felt. I bought the felt in light pink for Valentine's Day.

Not too bad from the front, but I ended up running out of felt during the project so the sides of the wreath are not covered.

I originally traced the circles in pencil and tried to cut them exact and was left with lead marks on the ends of my felt rosettes.Which just made the wreath look dirty.

Not my greatest success, but not a complete failure. I knew I could make this technique shine with the right materials. So I went to Joann's and bought heart shaped styrofoam wreaths, round styrofoam wreaths and yards of colorful felt. I started with the heart wreaths for the upcoming holiday... here's a sneak peak.

Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo

Stay Tuned: Fluffly Felt Wreath Success & Tutorial

Thank You Cards

Saying "thanks" is so important. Whether it's for the little everyday things or the big occasions, a hand-written thank you card can be really special for the recipient. It can be fun for the person writing it too when you create your own personalized cards.

I adore creating based on a theme (if you hadn't already noticed), so I created thank you cards for our wedding in our color scheme. I used a large "Thank You" stamp and stamped it in various colors from our theme on the front of a simple white folded card. I embossed the moss green "Thank You" in the center of the card to give it some extra definition.

I needed to create A LOT of cards for both my bridal shower and our wedding so I chose a simple design that was easy to reproduce, but still looked nice and festive.

If you are hosting or planning an event for someone, I love the idea of creating thank you cards in the designated theme and giving them to the guest of honor as a gift. I did this for my sister-in-law when I hosted her baby shower. I chose to do two different designs based on the pink and chocolate brown polka-dot theme. The first card I did was very simple. I used a large "Thanks" stamp and embossed it in pink in the center of a white folded card. I punched out chocolate brown circles of various sizes and added them to the front of the card to incorporate the polka-dots.

The second card I created for my sister-in-law was a variation on the baby shower invitation design. I started with a large circle punched out of pink paper. I used a "Thank You" stamp and embossed it in chocolate brown onto the pink circle. I affixed the pink circle to the bottom right hand corner of a white folded card. I then punched pink and chocolate circles of various sizes and added them to the card in a similar pattern as the invitation.

You can personalize these cards in so many ways, there are endless possibilities. So give Thanks!

Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo

Coming Soon: Home Decor Craft Projects Galore!

Shower Games - Who's That Baby?

So every shower has games to play and no matter how cheesy they may be, it's tradition, so its gotta be done. However, when planning this shower I attempted to make it as fun as possible while limiting the cheese factor. I think I succeeded.

I always love a good puzzle so everyone participated in a baby-themed word scramble and a "name that baby animal" quiz. We also did a baby trivia quiz which was a lot harder than you would imagine. Winners for these games received a gift card of their choice. We also played baby gift bingo to try to spice up the gift opening portion of the event. Everyone wrote items that they thought the Mom-to-be would receive in their bingo card squares. I punched out a million circles in brown cardstock for this game (ouch!). Then as gifts were opened, guests placed a circle on the squares they guessed right until somebody got "Bingo". The winner won a fabulous gift basket.

The final game we played took some preparation ahead of time by not only myself, but the guests as well. On the bottom of the invitation, we asked guests to bring a baby picture of themselves to the shower. As guests arrived, I assigned their picture a number and hung it from a clothesline with a small clothespin indicating that number. Once the game began, everyone had to write the corresponding number next to the name of the person who's baby picture they thought it matched. I used my favorite colored baker's twine in pink from Divine Twine for the "clothesline".

I chose to use clothespins and a "clothesline" instead of pinning the pictures straight to the board so I could avoid writing numbers on the photos themselves and sticking extra holes in them. Besides, doesn't it look cuter?

Since many people did not know each other prior to the shower, I created nametags so that guests could try to identify individuals based on the way they look today. I (of course) had to create the nametags to follow our theme, so I printed everyone's name onto pink cardstock and punched them into small circles. I then punched larger circles out of dark brown cardstock and layered the pink circle over it. I attached the two circles together with a white eyelet. I used an eyelet so I could thread pink embroidery floss through it to create a necklace of sorts. That way guests wore it around their necks and didn't have to deal with an adhesive back or pin in their clothes.

The winner of the baby picture game also received a fabulous gift basket. Shower games can be as simple or as complicated as you want them to be, use your creativity and everyone will have a good time.

Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo

Next time: Sticking to your theme with a Thank You

Decor Details - Congrats!

We held the baby shower at a restaurant so the decor we used was minimal due to the natural restrictions of decorating an event at a venue that was serving dinner that night. So we decorated with pink and brown balloons and created some faux floral centerpieces for the tables. My Mother-in-law found some adorable pink polka-dot containers that we lined with brown tissue paper and arranged pink flowers inside.



Also for the tables, I created placecards so everyone knew where they were sitting for lunch. I bought pre-folded placecards from Paper Source in the same pink as the other paper details (invitations, favor labels, etc.). I embossed each place card with the same chick in chocolate brown that I used on the invitation registry card . Instead of printing each person's name on the card, I stenciled their name in dark brown. I ended up using colored pencils because they came out the cleanest and didn't bleed like markers. I ended up having to trim the placecards as well because they are quite large out of the package.

The final decor detail was a "Congrats" banner that we hung over the space where the Mom-to-be opened her gifts. I found a template for a circle banner from Martha Stewart during my wedding research (Martha Stewart Weddings printable banner) and had wanted to use it ever since. I thought it worked perfectly with our circle/polka-dot theme, so I printed the templates onto pink cardstock. After cutting each letter I needed to spell the message, I punched two small holes at the top of each circle. I then threaded ribbon in our theme through the holes, spacing the circles as I saw fit. I made two strands so I could hang one word above the other.

From afar...

Up close...

Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo

Next: Shower Games