Tag Archives: PaperCrafts

A mixed media reflection on finding my tribe

A mixed media reflection on finding my tribe

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“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt from the heart.”  –Helen Keller

Each month the Robin’s Nest provides its International Design Team with a quote to inspire our art projects. This month’s quote got me thinking about focusing 2015 on the “things” that are important to me. One such beautiful thing–which cannot be seen or touched–is loyalty in friendship. Read the rest of this entry

Behind the scenes of Elfville

Behind the scenes of Elfville

 

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Now that the Robin’s Nest contest is over, I thought I would show you some of the things that went into making Elfville. It involved more than a solid month of work. Phew! Would I do such a large project again? Probably not…especially since I can’t find a place in my home big enough to display Elfville (without displacing all the other vintage collections I have).

I have to be honest, amidst the flurry of getting this project done, I didn’t take enough how-to-make photos. So instead of individual tutorials, which would become tedious to read, I am going to give you an overall glimpse of how things were made. Read the rest of this entry

The fabulous supplies of Elfville

The fabulous supplies of Elfville

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My Elfville post a few days back showed off some of the Robin’s Nest fabulous products. If any of it caught your eye, I wanted to make it easy for you to find, so I am providing a comprehensive list here.

Just to note, I’m not getting paid for this. Although I am on the design team, I bought the materials for Elfville myself since it fell outside the realm of my contractual obligation. (I also bought a whole lot more, but we won’t talk about that…) Read the rest of this entry

Alter a tin with silver and gold

Alter a tin with silver and gold

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“Silver and gold
Silver and gold
Mean so much more
When I see
Silver And gold decorations
On ev’ry Christmas tree
Silver, silver and gold”

Good ol’ Burl Ives. I still picture him as a claymation snowman strolling through 1970s Christmas specials.

As you guessed by now, silver and gold is the focus of today’s project. Two of my bestest, mostest, funnest and favoritest crafty activities are altering tins and books. As a result, I decided to turn an Altoid tin into a Silver and Gold ornament.

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A papercraft town in time for the holidays

A papercraft town in time for the holidays

Earlier this fall the folks over at The Robin’s Nest announced a Craft Engineering contest. My wheels soon started spinning and I began scheming up a little project.

Well, that little project morphed into a gigantic undertaking that took countless days and nights. It seems that the process of creating a village isn’t as simple as making one or two buildings. You can’t have a village without houses. Then of course, you need stores and at least one diner. Essential municipal services such as a water towers and ferris wheel cannot be neglected. Yes, ferris wheels are essential.

Paper-Calliope-Elfville-1 Read the rest of this entry

The perfect holiday craft tutorial

The perfect holiday craft tutorial


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Are you ready? Halloween is over and that means we crafty people are about to get hammered by holiday must dos. Before you hit the panic button, check out this holiday card tray tutorial I posted over at the Robin’s Nest.

Eye-catching and unique, it is certain to be a “must” for many crafters’ to do lists. However, even if you have no interest in making the tray, you won’t want to miss finding out how it relates to reindeer poop and being naked amidst 73 cats. It’s not every day that you can find a holiday craft with those kind of connections.

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Make a vintage Halloween wreath & fa la la all the way into the holidays

Make a vintage Halloween wreath & fa la la all the way into the holidays

 

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It is the end of October. Tomorrow is Halloween. Yet, my Pinterest feed is inundated with Christmas projects. When I head to Target, I make a beeline to see what’s new in the the Christmas section. The Daughter™ has even begun singing Christmas carols.

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Make a cutie pie pumpkin centerpiece from bags

Make a cutie pie pumpkin centerpiece from bags

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It is Day 11 of Paper Calliope’s 13 Days of October and today’s post offers a little treat for the center of your table. Remember the rosette party decorations we made way back in Day Two? Well, to make this pumpkin centerpiece, you are going to follow most of the same directions. Read the rest of this entry

An artist trading block–be careful when toying with Number 13

An artist trading block–be careful when toying with Number 13

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As you are probably aware by now, Paper Calliope has been hosting the 13 Days of October. For 13 days in October I am featuring different autumn and Halloween focused craft projects. I playfully chose the number 13 to toy with spooky superstitions. Read the rest of this entry