Tag Archives: PaperCrafts

Feb12

I apologize for my absence. I have been hit hart by the flu bug. I knew it was bad when in my delusions I started creating haikus about the state of my illness. Want to hear one? No? You are wise, but you are also my captive audience (don’t you dare click that mouse!) so you get to hear one anyway.

The Stomach Bug Haiku

Violent ill erupts

Shiver under blanket mounds

Death would be welcome.

Don’t worry, since I am a former English major, I am not deluding myself–I know it is horrible. But it’s about all the blogging I can yet manage, so hopefully the horribleness of it will provide some entertainment value.

The good news i that I am back in the studio a little bit and will soon be able to show you the project that has consumed the last two weeks. I’m happy with the results, but I also learned that bigger projects make it diffidult to have consistent blog updates. Either i have to start working a lot faster, or I will have to have a stash of pre-prepared smaller projects set aside for emergency publication.

I’m going back to my mound of blankets. I will see you on the other side of this bug. Make sure you decontaminate your monitor before hopping to the next blog–I don’t want to be responsible for some virus spreading. (The illness hasn’t affected my puns, they are always this ~~bad~~ awesome).

Feb3

Escape to Paris–mixed-media Paris

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Betsy Skagen

Escape to Paris–mixed-media Paris

Ahhh Paris…the City of Love. Or so they say. I have to take people’s word on this since my love, The Husband™, has never wooed me with a romantic get-away to France. To be fair, I haven’t wooed him there either, but this is my blog, so it’s all about moi*.

My fifth and final tag of the Valentine series focuses on the City of Love. All of the elements of this tag are either a deep red, purple or silver color. I don’t think this is particularly Parisian, but of course I have no way of verifying that since someone has not taken me there. Just sayin’. Read the rest of this entry →

Jan30

Sadly, I have no problem whatsoever finding a logical explanation for this

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Betsy Skagen

Sadly, I have no problem whatsoever finding a logical explanation for this

Don’t worry. I’m still going to share my mixed media panic attack story with you. The last thing I want to do is add more anxiety to your life by creating undue anticipation. However, this simply could not wait.

That is a problem because I am trying to find the right balance between topics. Paper Calliope is mainly about the art of mixed media, altered art and paper crafting. However, at last count, there were one million and forty-seven crafting blogs. Trust me on this. I know. I counted.* We don’t need one million and forty-eight.

That’s why I want to bring a fresh approach by recognizing how both the act of creating and the beauty of finished art brings calm, joy and inspiration to our anxiety-ridden lives. As actress Stella Adler said, “Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one.” Read the rest of this entry →

Jan23

Valentine’s Day is the 14th

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Betsy Skagen

Valentine’s Day is the 14th

Valentine’s Day is the 14th

Although the techniques I used for this tag were similar to the Heart aMazing Tag, I was much happier with the results. To continue the chocolate box metaphor, I guess this one had the caramel filling. Nom Nom.

When all else fails, Coke is it.

To most closely replicate this tag, you will need some sort of red ring. I am lucky that my vintage stash contains a plethora of red, white and green plastic translucent rings. I have no idea what they were used for or where I got them. I suspect they came from a game, but that’s just a guess. In any case, scrounge around your supplies and see what you discover. If you come up empty, you can always use the plastic top from a Coca-Cola bottle.

Measure the width of the interior of the circle and using a computer and a sans serif font, print out the number 14 onto to tan or ivory paper. Choose a font size that will mostly fill your circle. If you wish, you can print several different sizes to see which one you like best. You can always use the leftover 14s in some other Valentine collage. Center the ring over your chosen number 14 and use a pencil to lightly trace the ring. Then cut out the circle and glue the number to the back or inside of the ring. Read the rest of this entry →

Jan18

Valentine’s tags are like a box of chocolates—sometimes you wrinkle your nose and just keep chewing

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Betsy Skagen

Valentine’s tags are like a box of chocolates—sometimes you wrinkle your nose and just keep chewing

You Heart aMazing

I’ll be honest, this tag is my least favorite of the five. I like each of the elements on their own, but somehow they just didn’t mesh together well. I guess it is kind of like that big ol’ box of Valentine chocolates. You always end up biting into one that you don’t like. By the time you realize it, you are half way through and then you are left with the quandary of deciding whether to go ahead and finish it or stick it back in the box to disgust some other member of your family.

I’m speaking from experience, as my daughter has been known to do that with just about anything. The other day I found a solitary doughnut left in the box with the topping completely gnawed away. Now that’s an enticing breakfast. Read the rest of this entry →

Jan14

Enter mixed media heaven with this Valentine

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Betsy Skagen

Enter mixed media heaven with this Valentine

Valentine’s Day is exactly one month away. So today I bring you the second tag in this series. I should mention that all of them use a basic alteration of a technique I learned from Tim Holtz’s 12 tags of Christmas sometimes around 2007 or 2008. Read the rest of this entry →

Jan10

Ahoy there–how to make this nautical explosion box

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Betsy Skagen

Ahoy there–how to make this nautical explosion box

Nautical Explosion Box Level of Difficulty: Advanced

I have to admit, this is one of my favorite projects. It’s also one of the most time consuming. For starters, while I love, love, love the outcome of this project, it’s not for beginners or for someone short on patience. In fact, there are a lot of much easier explosion boxes out on the web that are quite nice. If you want something easier, just Google “explosion box tutorial.” Read the rest of this entry →

Jan6

I am a greeting card hypocrite

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Betsy Skagen

I am a greeting card hypocrite

So you think someone who painstakingly handcrafts cards for a hobby would have the best holiday cards. Nope.

Last year I managed to send out one of those picture postcards of my kids in their Thanksgiving finery doing circus tricks. This year? Nada. I have not made cards, I have not ordered photo greeting cards, I have not run out to Target and bought 75% off Christmas cards. Nothing.

It’s one thing to not send a humble/show-off card/autobiography to all your friends, college roommates from a previous life, and second cousins thrice removed. It’s an entirely different matter when you postally neglect elderly relatives who have faithfully sent you Christmas and birthday cards your entire life. People! The guilt is eating me alive! Read the rest of this entry →

The Stomach Bug Haiku

Win a free Valentine–Life just doesn’t get much better than that