Child's Color Book Update

I finished the color book for my little little brother. The laminating sheet left little circle air pockets around the circles on the cover, but I think that it looks ok. I made the cover by using a standard hole punch to punch little "dots" out of glitter card stock. Have I mentioned yet that I love glitter? I know that a lot of people don't associate glitter with little boys, but all little kids like sparkles. When I worked at a kid's face painting booth, little boys would often ask for their Spiderman mask or scary serpent to have some glitter.

Extreme Cards and Papercrafting

I wanted to share with you guys this gem of a blog I found, called Extreme Cards and Papercrafting. The pop-up cards, movable cards, and 3-D paper crafts she does are amazing. She offers tons of tutorials and lessons, like this one on how to do pop-up words in your cards. She also offers downloadable patterns, templates, and various file types for your digital cutters.

One things that I really like about this particular blog is that the lessons are neatly organized and easy to find on the right side scroll bar. So many times, I will find a blog that is very informative or inspiring, but I will abandon reading it due to not being able to easily navigate through it.

If you are at all interested in paper crafts, or just feel like being wowed and amazed, I highly recommend checking out Extreme Cards and Papercrafting. I guarantee, money-back, that you will not be disappointed.

Child's Color Book

I was inspired to make my little little brother a color book after seeing a similar project in Craft & Home Projects. I didn't care much for their version, but I thought that it was a really cute concept. I thought theirs looked, I dunno, a little too handmade and boring.

I searched high and low on the internet for a template that had multiple large tags of the same shape and size. I found plenty of tag templates, but they were of various sizes and shapes. So, I took an index card, folded it in half, and cut the corners off. I then traced the tag onto sheets of white card stock and cut them out. So far, I have the red, blue, yellow, and green pages mostly done. You can't tell from the picture, but some of the paper on the green one is glittery. I love me some sparkle! I swear, if it will hold still long enough, I'll cover anything and everything in glitter. As long as these pages don't end up too thick, I may use some sticky laminate pages to laminate these, since it is meant for a three year old. Stay tuned for the completed project!

Patchwork Scrap Scarf: Tutorial Link

If you are at all like me, you just can't bear to throw those scraps of fabric away. You know the ones - they are just a few inches square, but you LOVE that fabric and can't seem to find it anywhere anymore! Or how about that three inch wide strip you cut off of that skirt when you hemmed it up? The fabric was just so pretty! All those scraps may have been sitting in your scrap box for two years, but you just know they will come in handy one day. How could you throw them away?!?

I am always in need of projects that use up those little scraps, I really cannot throw them away. I've found a lovely photo tutorial over at Javajem's blog for these adorable and thrifty scarves. I know that it isn't quite the season for scarves yet, but it never hurts to get started early on that holiday crafting. In my world, the week leading up to Christmas is filled with a mad dash to finish crafting, visit family, and a crap-ton of baking. It doesn't help that my birthday also happens to fall on December 25th. This year, I vow to actually have some time for myself, which is why I'm already looking into some winter crafts.

Head over here to see the step-by-step photo tutorial that Jody has been kind enough to share.

I plan on making a dinosaur scarf for my little little brother and a gray + black one for my big little brother. Maybe I'll have to make one for myself using all those different colored leopard print scraps I have in my scrap box.

Felt Chips + Sandwich: Free Pattern Link

I have always loved to make felt food, but I felt kind of silly doing so because I have no actual use for them. I live in very cramped quarters, so sometimes crafting just for the sake of crafting cute things makes these quarters even more cramped. Luckily, three and a half years ago, my mom gave me a second little brother. Now, making felt food has become practical!

Anyhow, I came across this wonderful free pattern for a totally cute bag of chips and sandwich with all the fixings over at Snazzle Craft.

You can find the pattern and instructions here. She even tells you how to put ridges on your chips so that they look like Ruffles. I think it would be really cute idea to monogram the label on the chip bag, don't you think?

First Post

I thought that I might make my first post an introduction. Makes sense, right?

I am 23 years old and have been crafting for as long as I can remember. My grandmother taught me how to crochet, my mother taught me how to embroider, my dad taught me how to draw, and I've gotten myself into just about everything else by utilizing the internet and local book stores. I dabble in a bit of everything - paper crafts, crochet, embroidery, polymer clay, sewing, jewelry making, resin casting, you name it and I'd love to try it!

I've also always enjoyed writing. For part of my high school career, I had the opportunity to have my curriculum based on my interests. Subsequently, I ended up accumulating fourteen different English classes! I also had the wonderful title of Co Editor for my high school newspaper, which was a wonderful (and stressful!) experience.

Because books can be so darn expensive, and because I can't read and craft at the same time, I enjoy listening to audio books while I craft. Recently, I have been on a massive Philip K. Dick binge. I've listened to A Scanner Darkly at least four times over the past couple months! I also love John Steinbeck, George Orwell, and Chuck Palahniuk, among others.

I love horror films, especially zombie movies, so a lot of my crafts are heavily influenced by this genre. I also enjoy watching films that are based on books, such as One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Stephen Kings movies rock my socks, especially The Stand.

I have one pet rat name Lucky. I generally call him Mr. Lucky Rat or Mr. Rat Man. I have had as many as eight rats at one time! I love animals of all sorts, but am definitely most fond of cats and rodents. I do love dogs, though, and am currently hoping to pursue a career as a pet hygienist and stylist (fancy talk for groomer and teeth cleaner!) and eventually become a veterinarian technician.


Well, that's all for now! I look forward to sharing my crafty finds with everybody.

Get inspired!