29 October 2023
Happy Halloween
22 October 2023
Confetti Gift Tags
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.
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!
If you'd like more blah to TADA! ideas, please subscribe here.
15 October 2023
Cards with Windows
08 October 2023
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:
via Pinterest |
via The Grey Edit |
via Pinterest |
01 October 2023
DIY Die Cut Flowers
24 September 2023
Brown Paper Envelopes
I collaged pages from an old book, intentionally tearing the edges.
Here's what they look like now:
With very few materials, I transformed brown packaging paper from blah to TADA!
17 September 2023
The Scary Blank Page
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:
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.