Category Archives: Tutorial

Stop those dreaded pen thieves in their tracks

Stop those dreaded pen thieves in their tracks


Paper-Calliope-pen-holder

 

“They walk among us, silently waiting for an opportunity to strike. People you would never suspect in a hundred years, capable of inflicting deep harm and intense personal suffering.
 
Every 38 seconds in the United States, they claim a new victim. At this very moment, they could be targeting your significant other, or your best friend, or maybe even you.”  –J. Mark Powell
 

The most treacherous criminal in existence is the dreaded Pen Thief. Unfortunately, in my house, there’s a young criminal in the making. No pen, pencil or marker is safe from The Daughter™. Read the rest of this entry

Make an altered art Halloween Book

Make an altered art Halloween Book

Paper-Calliope-Robins-Nest-Halloween-Book-Cover-3

Paper-Calliope-Robins-Nest-Halloween-Book-Cover-4

With the season of ghosts and goblins fast approaching, I am thrilled to share my tutorial for an altered art Halloween mini album. You can see the entire tutorial with lots of detailed pictures of creative pages on my Robin’s Nest Design Team post.

Altering books is one of my favorite activities. With so many options available from pre-made books found at craft stores to repurposed children’s books to making books from scratch, I find making altered books almost as irresistible as sneaking Reeses’ Peanut Butter Cups out of my kids’ trick or treat bags. Please note that emphasis on almost, because, well, I really like Reeses. Read the rest of this entry

Paper Calliope featured at Bella Crafts Quarterly

Paper Calliope featured at Bella Crafts Quarterly

Make easy peasy coasters from scrapbooking scraps. - Paper Calliope

Phew! School is back in session and after a crazy August I am finally going to have time to get posting again.

What better way to kick of the new season than with some exciting news. I am delighted to announce that I have been asked to be a writer for Bella Crafts Quarterly!

My first article was published today. It features an easy-peasy tutorial on creating your own coasters from paper crafting scraps. Please visit the Bella Crafts Quarterly Blog to check it out. If you have time to leave a comment on their site I will be eternally grateful.

Making an altered art circus mini album

Making an altered art circus mini album

Paper-Calliope-Mini-Circus-Book-Cover

As I wrap up my month as the guest blogger for the amazing company Whisker Graphics, I took advantage of all the stripes, dots and zig zags that their products offer to create a fun mini circus album.

Anyone who visits my blog regularly knows that I love anything with a vintage circus theme, and this mini album is chock full of circusy fun. I made the album for a friend of mine who has been especially kind this last year. She is the mom of a talented youth circus performer and I thought she could add ticket stubs, photos and other mementos of her daughter’s performaces to the mini album.

Paper-Calliope-Mini-Circus-Album-page-1

Read the rest of this entry

Launch your next dinner party with these adorable place cards

Launch your next dinner party with these adorable place cards
Boat-Place cards-by-Paper-Calliope

These place cards are featured on the Whisker Graphics blog!

Throwing your next get-together is sure to be smooth sailing with these adorable place cards. Cute all by themselves, they would also be perfect for your all-out nautical-themed bash. Score bonus hostess-with-the-mostest points by filling the boats with nautical themed treats such as Swedish Fish. 
 

Origami is not my thing. Trust me on this. I don’t know how someone who specializes in paper crafts can bungle origami so badly. I even have my own Tower-of-Failed-Origami that I am planning to show you sometime soon.

That’s why I picked the simplest origami boat possible for this project. Then, The Husband™ took the paper out for a test-fold before he would even let me make a single crease. Now, don’t go thinking he is some extra special crafty guy. He was just trying to protect our children’s innocence—because me + origami = a sure way for our kids to learn loud and in color exactly how sailors talk. Read the rest of this entry

Learn how to brighten someone’s day with this greeting card tutorial

Learn how to brighten someone’s day with this greeting card tutorial
Learn  how to brighten someone’s day with this greeting card tutorial

The Robin’s Nest recently gave a challenge to think outside the box when creating greeting cards. Since I don’t think a box exists that contains enough nooks, crannies, twists and turns to hold my little ol’ brain, this seemed like the perfect challenge.

I love creating three-dimensional and interactive cards such as explosion cards, pop-up cards and cards with secret compartments. (I also like creating irreverent cards with vintage images, but The Robin’s Nest might not want their upstanding name associated with that). At the same time, I think a lot of manufacturers would like designers to get back to the basics and offer tutorials that crafters can complete without an engineering degree, $47K in specialized tools and a tattoo of Tim Holtz’s autograph on their arse.*

With that in mind, I created a three-dimensional card that can be completed in one sitting, requires no special tools and remains flat enough to be mailed in a regular envelope. Read the rest of this entry

Making a mask with–can you guess?

Making a mask with–can you guess?
Making a mask with–can you guess?

In today’s Installment #3 of the Mask and Stencil Making Series, we will make a mask with–you guessed it–masking tape!

For this tutorial I decided to stick with the giraffe theme. (You do get it, don’t you? Stick = Masking tape? Okay, just had to make sure) Read the rest of this entry

Beach beautiful is wild

Beach beautiful is wild
Beach beautiful is wild
Bonus: Learn a fabulously frugal trick for using 
spray inks when you don’t have masks or stencils! 

 

Without going into the gory details, last summer was a tough time for our family. Truth be told, all of 2013 pretty much sucked. A short respite from the dismal came when we visited a small zoo south of Milwaukee. Normally, a zoo isn’t all that exciting to me, but this one turned out to be pretty fun–probably more so because it was such a relief from the worries. It was literally a stone’s throw from Lake Michigan, so it wasn’t long before we headed down to the beach to watch my son climb rocks and my daughter do handstands in the sand.

Read the rest of this entry

Make a spring planter with this Target Dollar Spot hack

Make a spring planter with this Target Dollar Spot hack
Make a spring planter with this Target Dollar Spot hack

The moms in my life have had a tough winter. Advanced age, more than one life-threatening surgery and a far-below-sub- zero polar vortex have taken a toll on them.

Unfortunately, they won’t be enjoying the warm sun of spring anytime soon. Even though it’s April, that other maternal figure–Mother-insert-expletive-here-Nature–dumped more than a foot of snow on us last night. That’s why a walk by the Target Dollar Spot inspired me to create inexpensive springtime gifts for my mom and step-mom.

Pssst this would be a perfect Mother’s Day gift

Paper Calliope Spring Planter Box

Read the rest of this entry