Fri-DIY: Valentines (A few days late)

Sweet Straw Download from Papermash

Sorry for the late posting, I hosted a party on Friday evening and ran out of time to finish this post up prior to going in to full-on party mode. I'm planning on posting pics of the party sometime this week.


Truth be told, I am not a big Valentine's Day fan. All that mushy nonsense sentiment doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Have you read a Valentine's card recently? Sheesh!

However, I do like pink and hearts, so here are a few DIY projects from around the web that aren't too mushy-mushy! Like the sweet straw download from Papermash. Which is free, so generous!

Heart Garland from How About Orange

How About Orange strikes gold again with this super sweet heart garland. The hearts would also be fun taped to walls and windows or covering a wrapped package.

Unraveling a letter from Paper N Stitch

Everything about this letter project from Paper N Stitch is adorable. She used wooden spools made for crafts, but these would be wonderful on recycled spools leftover from sewing. This project could also be adapted and use paper for the 'letter' part, which would eliminate the need to stamp the message.

Heart Garland from Oh So Crafty

Another example of a sewn paper garland from Oh So Crafty, because you know I am a sucker for a sewn paper garland. RECYCLING BONUS - she uses magazine pages for the hearts.

Blowing Kiss Flip Book from Color Me Katie

How much fun is this homemade flip book from Color me Katie? So sweet and clever.

Happy Valentine's Day crafting!

Freebie - Feed Your Soul Project

Just a quick post-Christmas note before I scoot out of town again. I am headed to a blissfully small town and a house with NO computer or internet! I wanted to share this link, though, just in case you didn't get everything on your wishlist from Santa. Cheer yourself up with a lovely and FREE print from the Feed Your Soul project. Gorgeous art to print at your convenience from some serious talent in the illustration world - Elsa Mora, Jessica Rose, and so many more. Happy Holidays indeed!

Freebie - Christmas Stickers

Tis the season of giving, so here are some cute Christmas stickers I designed. Stick them on presents, to close holiday cards, or on anything that needs some holiday cheer. I've made them in traditional colors and in brighter colors, if you prefer something more hip. Enjoy!

Freebie - Blue Bird To Do List

My to do list is long and never ending! I whipped up these cuties to make writing out all the tasks ahead a little more fun. Download the full size and print them out yourself! I sized them to fit 3 to a page on standard 8.5x11 paper. Just follow the cut marks and make a whole stack. Enjoy!

How To - Girly Coozies

I have a new friend who recently complained that I hadn't made something for her yet. BUT things have been busy, so I couldn't launch into a huge project. I came up with these cute felt coozies as a super quick solution. They don't have bottoms to them, but we didn't have a problem with the cans slipping through when gave them a test run.

Materials needed:
8.5" x 11" pieces of felt, assorted colors
fabric scraps
rotary cutter
pinking shears
sewing machine
thread

Cut the felt into strips 8.5" x 4" using the rotary cutter. Cut the fabric scraps into strips 3/4" x 8.5" using the pinking shears. Layout 2 fabric scrap strips on to the felt and sew down. Fold the felt strip in half with the fabric strips facing in. Sew together with 1/2" seam. Flip coozie right side out and enjoy a frosty beverage!

Freebie - Passive Aggressive Bookplates

Here's a quick freebie, for when a subtle reminder to return a book is due.

Holiday Freebie - St. Patty's stickers

St. Patty's stickers, originally uploaded by s_ripperton.

I have been a bad bad blogger. But this week produced both snow and a large pool of poo in my front yard, so it's been busy.

I made these stickers in honor of St. Patty's day. You can print a set yourself at home by going here to download the original size. We're having a party this year and I am planning on sticking them on all my guests who come within arm's length of me. If you're attending, consider yourself warned...

Also, look for another post soon for how to make a very adorable shamrock garland. That is, assuming the pool of poo situation reaches resolution soon.

Holidays - Holiday Letter Header

I'm in the midst of writing our annual holiday letter right now. I try and design a new cute little header for each one, so I thought I'd share this year's version. To download the original size click here.

I love getting holiday letters in the mail and finding out what people have been up to. My holiday letters tend to be pretty straightforward. As you might have noticed, I am NOT the world's greatest writer. I love to see the different formats people use for their letters, though. One friend always writes it as if he's trying to talk himself out of actually writing the letter. I have an uncle who writes a page and a half and then includes a whole page of pictures.

Does anyone else do a letter this time of year? If so, what do you include?

Holidays - Free Halloween Desktop Wallpapers

I found the cutest site for Halloween wallpapers. You have to have a yahoo ID, though, and I am sure they'll spam the heck out of me, but who can walk away from dogs dressed as ghosts?! Some of the other options were pretty cute, too. Below are a few of my other favorites.

All images from Yahoo Greetings

Freebie - August Calendar

My yearly calendar is a lovely lime green leather book, small enough to keep in my bag. However, I also like to keep the current month up on the fridge so the husband and I can see what we have going on at a glance. Sometime I hand draw the whole calendar and fill it in. Sometimes I just print a blank one from the internet. The death of my old computer (and my old copy of Photoshop) has forced me to use Illustrator recently, so this month I did a quick calendar in it for August. I also made it available for free download if you have a similar system.

Nothing too fancy, but it'll get the job done. Follow the link to flickr, hit the 'all sizes' tab above the image, and download it to print at home. Enjoy!