Happy Halloween

A spooky hello to all of you!

Do you celebrate Halloween? I enjoy dressing up, watching Halloween parades, and exploring the neighborhood for over-the-top Halloween decorations. One of the best places for decorations is New York City. Here, let me show you: 

There is a graveyard in front of this townhouse. I bet it looks even scarier at night!

If you move your eyes upwards, you'll see these spiders and the web that they're spinning.

Dungeon-like feels for this apartment.

How would you feel seeing these frightening characters right at your front door?

The skeletons are out of the closet and hanging out on the stoop. I think these black and white pumpkins are tres chic!

Here's another classy one using a black, white and red color combination.

Day of the Dead costumes on mannequins...they look so life-like!

Surely there will be a lot of tricks...

...as well as treats!

I hope you liked this tour of Manhattan during Halloween. You know where I'll be this Tuesday night -- checking out more homes and how the owners transform them from blah to TADA!

Have a fun and safe Halloween! If you'd like new crafty ideas delivered directly to your inbox, please subscribe here. 

Confetti Gift Tags

Hey, hey, I hope you're feeling swell today!

I've been repurposing different kinds of paper and making them into envelopes. Some of the materials I've used include a supermarket flyer, brown paper bags, empty chocolate boxes, tea packaging and scrapbook paper remnants. I use them to house greeting cards or to package little presents.

Let me add this to the list:

I found this at the Target Dollar Spot many years ago and I kept it with my gift wrapping supplies. It was unopened, of course, because I do that a lot. I stash things away to be used as craft inspiration. 

All they really are: glassine envelopes with confetti inside. The top section is punched with a cord detail to serve as closure and accent. Aren't they cute?

It's easy to tuck in a small card that can be personalized or you can write directly on the envelope and attach this to a gift.

I happened to have some white wrapping tissue that I rescued from a gift. Instead of tossing this, let's turn it from blah to TADA! 

I trimmed the paper into a rectangle measuring 7 inches by 5 inches. I eyeballed the shape of an envelope and trimmed the edges so that the paper looks like this.

Glue the two open edges of the paper to make the envelope, leaving the top side as the flap. Fold the top flap, find the center and punch a hole.

Make some confetti using paper scraps and a hole punch. Experiment with other shapes if you have other craft punches in your collection.

Put the confetti inside the envelope.

Since this paper isn't transparent like the glassine envelope, why not extend the confetti outside by gluing some on the envelope. We can even enclose a card with a power quote...TADA!

Thread cord or ribbon (this is a good way to use up any ribbon remnants you might have) through the hole as a finishing touch.

Look what we've made -- our own version of the confetti gift tag...TADA! Attach it on a gift so that even a plainly-wrapped package can transform from blah to TADA! 

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Cards with Windows

Hello and thank you for your visit today!

I regularly make birthday cards that I send out to the people I love. In previous posts, I made a greeting card with a food theme, a balloon theme, a butterfly theme, and floral theme. 

I crafted new birthday cards and let me share with you how I made them.

It all started with these plastic "windows" that I saved from various packages like make-up and sewing notions. I peeled off the cardboard backing and any loose paper on the sides.

I like how they are raised. Instantly I thought, "Let's put something inside!"

I took some cardstock.

I chose a spot on the cardstock and traced around the plastic "window." Then I cut that part of the cardstock to fit my "window."

With glue, I attached the "window" to the inner part of the card.

I found an excuse to bring out the chunky glitter!

I put about a teaspoon-worth of glitter.

Then I added some confetti hearts, made with a heart-shaped craft punch and cardstock.

I prepared this card that contains a greeting and also works to seal the "window."

I attached the cardboard backing to the cardstock with more glue.

Then I embellished the card with paint and more confetti.

The words *magically* disappear when you shake around the confetti. It's almost like a snow globe but without the liquid...TADA! 

Here's another version. I can't wait to write in them and send them out!

I didn't forget a stamp and signature to show it's handmade!

That is how I transformed discarded packaging and blank cards from blah to TADA! 

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Treasures from the Trash: A Low Bookshelf

In the past, I've written about furniture that I see on the curb like this chalkboard, these shelves, this door, this bar cart, and more shelves. If only I had room to hold them temporarily, I would have taken all of these home so I can turn them from blah to TADA!

But I found an exception with this low bookshelf:

It's not heavy, has a small footprint, and serendipitously, I do need more shelves for new books. 

I'm not a big fan of the gray sections, though.

But nothing that paint can't solve!

I covered my work space with newspaper.

And I painted the gray areas black, adding several more coats in between drying.

This salvaged shelf now looks more streamlined...TADA!

Here are a few ways I can use it at home:

via Pinterest

A bookshelf to house my growing collection and a place to display some art...TADA!

via Pinterest

A greenery shelf because plants make us happy and help purify the air...TADA!

via The Grey Edit

An accent table for the foyer...TADA!

via Pinterest

Or as a place to organize my husband's coffee-brewing accessories...TADA!

If you come across old furniture, find a way to turn them from blah to TADA! Otherwise, you can donate them to The Salvation Army, Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity ReStore or thrift store near you. Also, please subscribe here if you want to receive my newsletter. Have a good week!

DIY Die Cut Flowers

Hey everyone, so nice to see you today!

Crafty recycling is the heart of this blog and I try my best to turn what we consider "trash" from blah to TADA!

Take this empty box for example. It was once home to sticks of butter. 

The other side of the box is white cardboard. Just like scrapbook paper or card stock, this is a blank slate ideal for crafting...TADA! 

I used cling stamps, an ink pad and colored pencils to make these flowers. 

I cut them out with a sharp pair of precision scissors. They look like die-cut flowers, don't you think? No fancy machines required.

Here is how I used them:

As a finishing touch to a handmade greeting card.

To make a collage on a small brown paper bag (I'll use this to wrap a present).

To embellish a handmade notebook.

No one will know that some parts of these paper crafts were recycled! I encourage you to reuse and repurpose whenever you can. Save some cash and save the planet.

And that is how a turned food packaging from blah to TADA!

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Brown Paper Envelopes

How's it going, guys?

Over the past few months, I've been making my own envelopes. It's a challenge I put on myself: how I can turn paper that I no longer need from blah to TADA! So far, I've made envelopes using a grocery flyer, paper bags, chocolate boxes, tea sleeves, scrapbook paper and empty boxes.

Today, I'm using this brown packaging paper. They arrived inside the boxes when I ordered some items online, as cushioning so the products don't move around as much.   

To make the envelopes, I trimmed the paper to measure 7.5 inches (length) by 5.5 inches (height).

I folded the two sides of the paper so that the ends meet at the center with a little overlap. Crease at the folds. Unfold the paper and cut 1/4 inch by 2 inch strips on the bottom left and bottom right corners of the paper, leaving a tail at the center. Discard the small strips.

Fold the left and right panels so they meet at the center. Glue where the paper overlaps. Fold the tail upwards and glue this to close the bottom. We've now made a tiny paper bag...TADA!

At the top where the paper bag opens, find the center and draw a semi-circle (use a circular object like a paint bottle as a guide).

Cut the semi-circle so that it'll be easier to pull the items that you put inside.

This is a blank canvas ready to be embellished. Here's what I did:

I collaged pages from an old book, intentionally tearing the edges.

I used some cling stamps, an acrylic block, and ink pad to add another design layer. 

Here's what they look like now:

With very few materials, I transformed brown packaging paper from blah to TADA!

Use these envelopes to package crafts if you participate in craft fairs or have a shop. They can also be used for gift giving or pen pal exchanges...TADA!

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The Scary Blank Page

Hi there lovely people!

Sometimes, in the course of doing creative work, we get stuck and experience writer's block, artist's block or creator's block. 

Many times, we experience it at the very start of the project, just as we open our notebooks or sketchpads and face the very scary blank page. 

So what are we to do? Instead of lounging on the sofa flipping TV channels or walking away "to find inspiration," let's face that blank page head on and just make something.

Here are a few ideas that I hope will help:

1. Use Prompts

"Doodle-a-Day" is hosted by Rhianna Wurman, also known as @ellolovey on Instagram and Etsy. Every month, she comes up with a list of one word prompts -- one prompt for each day of the month -- to be used as inspiration for daily drawings as an art exercise. 

She suggests a color palette and she even has a version of the prompts in Spanish, French, and German. What a fun way to learn a new language!

I tried it out and my version is on a 5.5 inch x 8.5 inch sheet of watercolor paper. I made postage stamp-sized boxes for each day of the month. I made a teeny-tiny painting each day which was less intimidating than filling a full page but at the end of the month, this is what happened:

It was low commitment on a daily basis but I felt very accomplished for taking baby steps...TADA!  

2. Sketch the Mundane

Whether we doodle or create full artworks, we can always find our muse in our every day surroundings. On a rainy or frigid winter day, when going out isn't a possibility, I look for images on my computer. 

I love to paint flowers and I found this in the website of a pretty shop. 

I made a few more, fitting five little paintings in a page. It felt good after because I was able to practice light and shadow, suggestion and details.

Next time I'll try painting these subjects, too: food, tea and coffee, and people I meet everyday. 

3. Work on a limited palette

I got this idea from Lisa Congdon and Peggy Dean. There are times when too many options (ex. colors, art supplies) can be overwhelming so if we work on our limitations, it's easier to focus. 

For this painting and the one after it, I used just the color blue:

 

This is a single color but you're welcome to use up to three and see what story you can tell.

These are just a few ways I turned the blank page from blah to TADA! Let me know how YOU overcome writer's/artist's block (you may write them in the comments section).

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