My Crafty Valentine

Today, an easy craft that's also a gift.

  

blah: an empty egg carton

Inside, fill the cavities with mini paper baking cups.

Then tuck in some goodies like these mini craft stamps and ink pads.

Don't forget a thoughtful note.

Who wouldn't get excited over a surprise like this?

Wrap it up with a doily and a gift embellishment.

It's a sweet, sweet way to say, "Happy Valentine's Day!" TADA!

Chasing Away the Winter Blahs

How are you dear friends? Where I live, we've been getting a lot of snow. It's been snowing every week and there's more snow expected. Here are a few photos of our winter wonderland:

It's a really pretty sight. I'm grateful that we haven't had any power outages and the guys plowing the snow in our neighborhood have been doing a really good job.

It's been crazy cold and I'd like to share some of the things I've been doing to turn winter from blah to TADA!

I like going on winter walks and feeling the snow crunch under my shoes.

It was on one of those walks that I captured an awesome sunrise!

But winter also means being stuck indoors. So I decided to extend Christmas to March.

The garland that I put out for the holidays is still up. I turn on the fairy lights when the sun sets {that's as early as 4:30 pm}. The decorations are a collection from different travels and that ornament with a "C" on it is a new acquisition -- a handmade gift from a friend at work.  Looking at this garland makes me happy.

Because lighting a fire is not an option {we don't own a fireplace}, the flame on the stove is lit for a kettle so that I can brew some of this tea.

Then this record plays on the turn table. Christmas carols never fail to lift my spirits {I sometimes play them off season especially if I'm feeling the blues}. Snow outside, Christmas carols indoors...this ritual turns dreary days from blah to TADA! 

Here's something I received as a gift. It's an electric fragrance warmer.

The heat melts this wax, filling the home with such a soothing scent. And I like that the wax melts have seasonal scents -- florals for spring, ocean aromas for the summer, and things like pumpkin and apple for the the fall.

I also buy some flowers at the supermarket to add colorful cheer to my desk. A few more weeks and spring will be at our doorstep!

Please stop by on Wednesday so we can do a little crafting.

Oh by the way, a quick announcement:

The winner of my blog birthday giveaway is Jonnie L. of craftyprocratination. Congratulations! I'll be in touch with you so I can send this to you.

Have a nice day everyone!

From Paper to Porcelain

Happy Monday folks!

On Friday, I mentioned that there will be a few changes to my blog -- this includes the frequency of my posts. If you visit often, you know that I have an entry from Monday to Friday. Beginning today, I'll be posting once a week. 

Doing so will allow me to have a work-life balance and give me some extra time to pursue my other goals for the blog. I'll keep you updated on these milestones as they happen. And if there's a topic that merits posting twice or even five times a week, by all means, I'll be doing that.

I hope you continue to visit every so often {thanks by the way!} and find some inspiration in my crafts and stories.   

Now on to this week's post. 

In 2012, I wrote about Gwyneth Leech. She's an artist who turns blah to TADA! She draws on used paper cups to create one-of-a-kind pieces of art, which are eventually turned into installations.

But now, everyone can have one of her cup drawings because her designs were turned into porcelain cups! They're available at Anthropologie.

I first saw these in December at their Fifth Avenue store. 

I like that there's still a handmade look even if these were mass produced.

There's a small cup and a big one.

Each cup is signed by the artist, with the title of the piece.

I secretly wanted to get one of each design but controlled myself to my favorite.

It's called "Studio View - water towers and a hot drink NYC".

If you're in New York City and decide to look up, you'll see these water towers atop buildings.

They're pretty iconic.

I love the artist's perspective here and the calm, sunny, and ordinariness of the drawing. 

Indeed, I used the cup for my coffee. TADA!

You can read more about Gwyneth Leech here.

Have a great week and see you on Monday!

A Birthday and a Giveaway

Hello and Happy Friday! And to everyone who celebrate it -- Happy Chinese New Year. I'm feeling extra festive because this week, I'm marking my blog's birthday.

Dear friends, blah to TADA! is now five years old! I know that's just toddler years, but boy do I feel TADA! As many of you know, maintaining a blog is quite the commitment, so I'm pretty giddy that I made it this far. 

Even before I published my first post, I had a list of goals for the blog. Among them was to make writing a regular habit {"practice makes perfect"}, and to share unique crafty recycling ideas. In doing this, I hope the blah to TADA! way thinking {being responsible, resourceful, and thinking outside the box} has influenced other parts of my readers' lives. 

There are still more goals yet to be achieved and there will be a few changes to the blog. But more of that next time.       

For now, a little gratitude:

To all of you who have been with me since my very first post, thank you. 

To those who posted comments or wrote private e-mails sharing how one of my crafts inspired you, thank you.

For you guys who found me through other blogs, through Pinterest or Instagram, then decided to take a peek, thank you.

For your regular visits, for cheering me on, and for showing me some love, thank you.

And with that, I think a giveaway is in order:

This party crafting template is up for grabs! Use this tool to turn plain or scrap paper from blah to TADA!

It's perfect for making party or room decorations.

Here's how you can win it:

Just a post a comment below, anytime between now and Sunday (February 2, 2014, 12 midnight EST) telling me what you'd like to see more of on blah to TADA!

One lucky winner will be drawn randomly and announced in a future blog post.

Good luck and have a happy, Superbowl weekend!

Old Tag, New Life

He looked forlorn, helpless. He was at the end of his life and he knew it. Until I came along. 

Do those words sound like they came from a novel? Well, they're not. They're really a description for this:

A tag from one of my husband's new shirts. It was on its way to the trash bin until I took some pity. I had to give it a make-over.

So with some Washi tape magic and inspiration from here, that little shirt tag transformed from blah to...

TADA! It's now a gift tag!

Add a sweet message using a white pen...

And this will turn a plain old package into a rather cute gift.

A Few Hearts

I think wrapping gifts is a lot of fun. There are so many ways to get creative and throw in a little recycling.

Today, I'm turning this empty paper towel roll from blah to TADA!

I cut up the paper towel roll into circles, then carefully bent the top and bottom to form a heart shape.

I'm using yarn {scored at a garage sale} and hot glue to spruce up my cardboard hearts.

Here is a heart all wrapped up.

I pinched the bottom and kept the ends together with hot glue. I think this helps keep its shape.

I attached the hearts to a strip of yarn.

And used this to add life to a blah gift bag.

TADA! Another adorable embellishment for the next gift to be given away.

Cardboard Crafts

One of the ways I like to recycle cardboard is by making gift embellishments. I made some yesterday and also shared a tutorial a while back. Here are a few more that I made, just to show you the versatility of this craft:

This one's made with plain periwinkle yarn, sequins, and stickers, all with the help of hot glue.

These are assembled using multi-color yarn, brown paper bags, craft stamps and ribbon remnants. Cardboard has now been transformed from blah to TADA!

If you were to make your version, what would you use?