An Ode to Candle Snuffers

Hi there! Today, let me tell you about something that I absolutely love. 

It's a candle snuffer...TADA! 

It's an object used for extinguishing a candle's flame. No need to blow the candle out and there is less smoke in the air.

This is how I like to style my candle tray on a coffee table or console table. It includes a small tray acquired from thrifting, a sweet-smelling candle, a box of matches (a restaurant souvenir), and my candle snuffer...TADA! 

Honestly, it's unnecessary, a little frivolous, but it's so pretty with its graceful architectural details. 

Here are some beautiful ones that I've come across:

via Anthropologie

via Anthropologie

via Anthropologie

via Anthropologie

via Anthropologie

via Zara Home 

via Magnolia Hand and Hearth at Target

via Magnolia

via Magnolia

A candle snuffer (and thoughtful styling) turns the everyday from blah to TADA!

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Painted Paper Projects

I'm pretty excited with today's craft because anyone can do it. Let's begin!  

We will turn a brown paper bag from blah to...

...TADA! Our very own gift wrap!

Simply paint the brown paper bag in any color you want. I used acrylic paint (orange with streaks of yellow) and a big paint brush. Cover the entire sheet and let the paint dry. Then paint on a motif that you like: robots, hats, fruits, hearts, or rainbows. Of course I chose flowers!

I painted different kinds of flowers and used different colors for variety.

I also experimented with using just white paint. Once I filled the paper with my design, I left the paper to dry.  

Here are some of the things I made using my gift wrap:

I made an envelope...TADA! I used this template kit or you can make your own using this tutorial. 

Here's a closer look.

Here's the flip side. Cute, right?

I made a smaller envelope, still using one of the templates in the kit. 

Two envelopes I can use for my letters and birthday cards...TADA!

I'm saving this sheet to wrap a small gift. 

I can also trim the flowers to use as fodder to decorate my art journal, scrapbook, and gift boxes...TADA!

For the paper remnants, I won't waste them! Using a paper punch, I made these confetti hearts...TADA!

And for even the smaller paper scraps, I used a hole punch to make more confetti...TADA!

That is how I turned a brown paper bag from blah to TADA!

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Rescued Paper Notebook

It's lovely to see you! 

Rescued Paper Notebook

I saw these Rescued Paper Notebooks at a museum shop and I just had to check them out. Inside are pages of discarded paper, each sheet is blank for writing on one side, and covered with printing on the other side, a peek-a-boo of its former life. I love the intentionality of it -- scrap paper bound together for jotting down ideas.

In the past, I've made something similar using packaging paper and paper collected from various notebooks that I bound together by hand. 

Let me show you a new one that I made:

I call it the Rescued Paper Collection inspired by the Rescued Paper Notebook. It's a book full of hand-painted pages. 

The pages all begin with this. Brown paper used to stuff boxes from online shopping. Time to turn it from blah to TADA!

After each page was painted, I bound them together with glue. I used binder clips to keep the spine in place as the glue dried.

Here is a flip through.

As you can see, the papers vary in size.

The colors and prints made from watercolor are pretty wild.

I also snuck in some printed tissue gift wrap and plain ones that I painted.

This can work as a scrapbook.

Or I can use the pages for my collage and scrapbooking needs (just cut the desired size of paper).

I also included an envelope filled with handmade fodder (fodder = anything you can use for collage).

Fodder samples include these hand-stamped quotes and hand-drawn flowers (use glue to attach them to a page).

Why buy when we can D.I.Y.?

And that is how I turned brown packaging paper from blah to TADA!

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Three Things for September

Oh hello September!

This month, I promise to: 

Go on one final beach trip! The shore is my happy place where I can just relax and be grounded. 

Squeeze in the last treats of summer like getting an ice cream cone, wearing shorts and sandals, and reading outdoors.

Collect free souvenirs like feathers and pressed flowers. It's a way to remember this season and also to use for my future craft projects.

Have a lively and lovely September everyone! Don't forget to turn blah to TADA!

Sketchbook Practice: Stamps and Pattern Creation

Howdy folks!

Today I am inspired by Jeanne McGee whose class I took virtually on Workshop Week. 

She carved her own stamps using a printing block, but an eraser is also a more accessible and affordable alternative. She carved simple designs, inked up the stamps, and created these patterns on her sketchbook...TADA!   

Here is another version. Making your own stamps is addicting -- you can find a tutorial here. Let your imagination run wild! 

But if you have some stamps that haven't seen the light of day, why not play with these?

I have these planner stamps that I hardly use. My bullet journals are quite straightforward with lists and notes, I really don't decorate it with stamps or stickers. 

Instead, I'll use the stamps on my sketchbook!

First, I painted a background using watercolor. With a few stamps (sun, cloud, palm tree, bicycle), an acrylic block, and ink pad, I brought this scene to life. 

It's a fun bike ride on a summer day...TADA!

For this one, I used the stars, palm frond, house, and car stamps. Add some hues to the houses and cars with colored pencils.

It's a peaceful neighborhood scene...TADA!

This one is a repeating pattern using the stamps (martini, beer, wine bottle and glass, happy hour, musical note, and asterisk).

Instantly, I painted a party scene...TADA! 

It's so relaxing just stamping away. It's like doodling with a result that turns a page from blah to TADA!

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