A 12-Pack of 6-Packs.

Ok, so just because I live in California does not mean that I surf all day.  Or that I'm super tan.  Or that I lounge around looking svelte, with 6-pack Abs.  My lack of 6-pack Abs may or may not have something to do with my love of 6-packs.

I made some pocket sized notebooks with old beer packaging and some random paper I had lying around.

Dillon has been doing a lot of small one minute sketches lately and I figured these would be perfect.  Plus, I always like to have paper to write on- you know me and my quotes.  

I like that they aren't too special.  That way we can doodle, be rough with them, lose them.  All of that good stuff and not feel like we are wasting our fancy schmancy journals that we've actually paid big bucks for.

Like I said, it was random paper.  Way random.  Some of them have pink pages, some have green.  I spruced up the inside covers just a wee bit so they aren't so ugly to look at.  Besides scrapbook paper, I used some of the marbleized paper that we made awhile back.

After I was sick of the pink and green, I used some white unlined index cards for a few of them. Perfect for ink washes and watercolors.  Who knows, even a bit of collage perhaps.  Maybe I'll turn one of those ones into a mini art journal.

Yeah, just another crazy craft I made with my trash.  Just doing my part to help Mother Earth.  Man, I love when garbage transforms into greatness.  Made anything "trashy" lately? 

Thanks for looking, go make something great!

A Few Thanks.

I mainly started making these cards for friends and family after the holidays.  Since I got such nice feedback on them I figured I would make some for my etsy. 

I have a lot of different color and font options to experiment with.  So far, I've liked working with this swirly font, probably because it's the most like handwriting.  Just another thing I've been up to lately.  

I've been putting a lot of thought into my shop and it's look, so I'll be sharing a lot of it in the weeks to come.  I hope that doesn't bother anyone, I'm not trying to pushing my wares on you.  Just looking for a little constructive criticism, so feel free to speak up about the things you're seeing.  I truly appreciate the feedback.

Speaking of thanks, a big thank you to all of you for taking the time to read and comment on my posts.  You guys are what keep it fun.  See you later.

P.S.  For some more awesome paper embroidery check out Schinders' Photostream and etsy.  Be warned- there's some risque material but her work is super fantastic.  (Plus, we both have great taste in scalloped edge card stock!)

My Crafty Man- Part 2

In addition to cleaning up the workspace this weekend, I also got a little bit of crafting done.  Dillon and I used this TUTORIAL from Craftster to make marbleized paper.  We did it a little bit differently than her instructions, but you get the gist of it.  It was a really fun, cheap project that yielded tons of finished product.  We stopped at 15 sheets, but I could have gone on for hours!  You know it's fun, when the boy will take a break from watching football to participate.  Be warned though, it's very messy!  But then again, getting messy is part of the fun.

Some advice if you try this project-

- Go easy with the food coloring, a little bit goes a long way.

- Don't mix it too much or you might end up blending it all together.  A little white throughout is good.

- Don't worry so much about what the foam looks like in the pan.  It will look totally different once you wipe it off.  It's crazy how different.

- When you wipe it off, use the same paper towel over as much as you can.  It's a little messier but it wont hurt the pattern as the dye is already set in.  Otherwise, you'll end up going through soooo many paper towels.  And that makes Mother Earth sad.

- Re-use the foam in the tray.  You'll get a different effect every time.  We did this and ended up liking the subtle ones towards the end of the foam even more!

- We used 8.5 x 11 sheets (bigger than her recommended greeting card size) so when we set the paper in the tray we started by holding up one side and slowly laid the paper down.  (As opposed to putting it in flat all at once.)  That way there were no pesky air bubbles.

Check it out!

Some of them came out very saturated.

However, we liked the subtler ones the best.  The wispy qualities of these ones are so much more intriguing.

Our favorites.

His.

Mine.

So, who wants to go make a big mess now?!

Thanks for looking.

Embroidered Card

I have a whole bunch of rub-on decals just wasting away in a drawer, lonely.  So this weekend I decided to show them some love.  I whipped up this card to send to my grandparents back East.

(Gratuitous kitten shot, just because she happened to be sleeping on the desk where I was working)

This was my first time making an embroidered greeting card.

I love the results, but I would certainly change a few things next time.  As always, I just launched right into it without thinking.  I wasn't really careful about where I was punching the holes, so it's a bit wonky in places.  My love of pretty fonts backfired here too.  I need to pick one that's easier to read.  Even if I think it's "ugly" for typing, I'm sure it'll translate nicer in stitches.  Oh and I did it straight onto the card, so I had to add paper inside to cover the stitching.  I did this by folding a piece in half and sewing it onto the center of the card.  I like this part but probably won't to again because it was really hard not to wrinkle the card when I was turning it all over the place for the lettering.

A great learning experience and I'm ready to make more!  I think I'll take advantage of the upcoming holiday season for that.  (And I do mean upcoming even though most stores think it's already Christmas time...assholes!)  Ok, Halloween is right around the corner but I'm already crafting for that, silly!

For those of you who already embroider on paper, any advice for the newbie?