We Will Always Have Paris

Two For Tuesday: Chalkboard Cakes & Retro Bathing Suits

Love these:

  image source

1.  DIY Chalkboard Cakes.  I am kicking myself for selling off all of my 5 tier papier mache cakes.  My distributor went out of business (damn economy!) and now I cannot order any more.  My girls would just die if they could decorate the same cake over and over (and over!) again.  I'm going to have to dig through my craft storage area to see if I can find any more cakes.  How cute is this?

image source

2.  Retro Sailor Bathing Suits.  I LOVE the look of these suits by Etsy Seller TheRedDolly.  So cheery & perfect for summer.  They make me think that I need to buy a new treadmill.... (while you're drooling over the sailor suit, check out her Paris Maillot... PARIS... it was meant to be!).

Tutorial: Kinder Cone

 
I wish I had taken more pictures of Baby G.'s First Grade Kinder Cone as I was making it.  Hopefully you'll be able to get the general idea here and be able to make your own.

Step One:  Gather up your supplies.

  Materials Used On My Cone:
  Papier mache cone (from my Etsy store)
  Gift wrap (from Target) (Note:  make sure your gift wrap does not have a grid on the back side -- it will show through!)
  Roll of crepe paper (from Party City)
  Ribbon (from Offray)
  Chipboard monogram (I made it using a Sizzix die)
  Flash card (from Bazzill)
  Mod Podge (or similar liquid adhesive)
  Tissue paper
  Foam brush
  Terrifically Tacky Tape
  Hot glue gun

 
Step Two:  Apply Mod Podge (or other liquid adhesive) liberally all over your cone.  Don't make it too wet, or you run the risk of it bleeding through your thin gift wrap.  Carefully roll the gift wrap around the cone, starting at the tip.  Use your hands to smooth it down.  You may get a wrinkle here & there.  Make sure you seal the edges with Mod Podge.

Step Three:  Trim the top of your paper so that it reaches about two inches beyond the cone and you have a smooth finish.

Step Four:  Fold the edge of your gift wrap over into the cone, adhering it with Mod Podge.

Step Five:  Add a folded crepe paper fringe to the top.  This was pretty simple.  Just lay a line of Terrifically Tacky Tape around the top of your cone.  Unroll your crepe paper and fanfold it back and forth as you go around the cone.  The tape is so strong that it will grab it right away.  Do be careful not to catch your crepe paper in unwanted areas.

Step Six:  Glue a ribbon around the center of your fringe.  I used a nice thin striped ribbon.

Step Seven:  Make a big-ass bow for the front.  Here's a great tutorial from the genius behind PaperTrey Ink.  Attach it to the front using hot glue.

 

Step Eight:  Add your monogram/flash card. 

 
Step Nine:  Line the inside of your cone with tissue paper.  Add a line of Terrifically Tacky Tape to the inside lip of the top of your cone.  Gently adhere tissue paper so that it sticks out of your cone.  Make sure that there is plenty of tissue paper, as this is what holds the presents inside.

Step Ten:  Fill with presents.

Step Eleven:  Close up and tie with a ribbon.

Step Twelve:  Make a memory.

 
Hope this helps!

Ladybug Cake - Pink & Brown

Regular readers might remember the red/white/black ladybug paper cake I made for Baby A's first birthday.  It served as a centerpiece during the party and is now a time capsule for her to open on her 21st birthday (it is filled with all sorts of goodies from the year she was born):

My sister-in-law's baby shower was last month and I was thrilled to hear that she was decorating the nursery in ladybugs.  Another ladybug cake!!!:

I used the beautiful pink/brown papers from Basic Grey's beautiful "Bittersweet" collection.  

I struggled to find pink & brown ladybugs that would coordinate with the papers, so I made my own using a wooden shape from Michaels:

I pried the wooden wings off, painted the base and dots with dark brown acrylic paint, then punched and layered cardstock circles to make the wings.  A hand-drawn stitch line brought it all together.  The antennae was made using an old 7 Gyspies heart clip.  Perfect!

Baby K. was born early Monday morning this week, weighing in at a whopping 10 pounds, 9 ounces.  Seriously.  10 pounds, 9 ounces.  I've already warned my kids to be nice to their new cousin, because she will be able to kick their asses within the next year.

Welcome to the world sweet Baby K.  Your Aunt Korie can't wait to meet you!

Two For Tuesday: Carved Book Art and DIY Scrabble Tiles

I am loving these:

photo by HokeyStokes

1.  Julia Feld's Amazing Book Carvings.  I stumbled upon these the other day and I was absolutely bowled over by the intricacy of her work.  I am desperate to find the perfect book and do one myself.  I figure it would only take me a couple of years....  If you don't have that kind of time, she regularly sells her pieces on Etsy.  She's currently sold out, but assures that more are coming soon!

Be sure to check out her previous pieces North American Wildlife and Gran Enciclopedia Del Mundo.  Beautiful!

photo via remodelaholic

2.  DIY Scrabble Tile Wall Art.  My fellow enabler, Jennie G., sent me a link to this a few weeks ago and I'm dying to put one up in my hallway.  If you have an electronic die cutting machine, this is an easy peasy project.  I'd love to incorporate our family names (and maybe the cats too!).  Full instructions can be found here.  Amy J - I think I've found a project to work on when you're here this summer!!

I'm off to dig in the garden.  Hope you're having a wonderfully warm spring day!

Sneak Peek: Blossom Book Kit

I am so ready for Spring....

A new flower-themed chipboard book kit will be available in my Etsy store over the weekend!

Two For Tuesday: Gingham Gloves and Felt Wreaths

Pretty, pretty, pretty....

1.  Red Gingham Gloves.  I stumbled upon these the other day when searching for red gingham paper for my upcoming "Country Fair" 4th of July Party.  Years ago, Suni bought me aqua gloves with white & aqua polka dot trim.  I loved them to the point where they were unwearable.  I've been dying to find a new pair of pretty dish gloves.  Who wouldn't want to do dishes in these? 

 
2.  Handmade Felt Wreaths.  My friend Larcy has been making amazing felt wreaths for Valentine's Day.  I'm dying to make one myself!  If you're interested in whipping one up, follow Domestifluff's great tutorial.   According to Larcy, it takes about 4 hours to make one wreath if you're using a Sizzix to cut your felt.  I'm sure it takes much longer if you're having to cut all of those circles by hand.  Beautiful!!

Two For Tuesday: Holiday Movie Quote Cards & Scrabble Tile Ornaments

The first day of December is tomorrow!!  My tree is decorated & my halls are decked already!  Now... on to Christmas cards.  I haven't made cards in years.  Right now I'm focusing on spending the holidays with my girls while the magic is real, rather than slaving away watercoloring 100 cards.  That being said, I do appreciate a handmade card.  Maybe I'll have someone else make them for me this year. 

Here is a cute Christmas card that caught my eye:

1.  Holiday Movie Quote Cards by LaBelleVieDesign on Etsy:  I'm a huuuuuge "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" fan.  I saw this card & cracked up.  I think this would bring the right amount of holiday cheer to my friends.  Check it out here & while you're there, check out her other great cards. 

 
2.  Scrabble Tile Ornaments.  My friend Jennie G. passed this link on to me and I gasped when I opened it.  What a great idea!!  I am all about making these this weekend!   Click on the link and see how easy it is to make them yourself. 

I'm hoping to put the baby down for a nap & get started on my 2010 December Daily album.  I guess I should finish 2008's tonight.  Oops!  Anybody else joining Ali Edwards in her December Daily project?

Photos of the Week: A Week In The Life

I'm currently participating in Ali Edward's most recent "A Week In The Life" project.  Here are some of my favorite pics from this week:

 

 

I love the last two pics the most -- Target and 3 a.m. bottles.  That about sums up my life!  

I'm hoping to have time next week to print out some of the hundreds of photos I've taken this week & get them into an album.  Busy times....
 

Finish It Friday: 25 Days of December 2008 (Days 16 - 20)

This book is going to be the death of me.  However, I am feeling compelled to finish it so that I can cross JUST ONE THING off of my "Unfinished Projects" list.  I'm almost done!

 

Day 16:  I used jump rings to attach a swing out page.  The photos are of our old Christmas LPs (inherited from hubby's grandmother) and our record player.

Day 17:  I'm at the point now where some of these pages need to be plain & simple.  Otherwise they'll never get done.  One photo and some journaling.  Done.

 
Day 18:  It is easy to find DVD and music CD images on the internet.  Here I used the DVD front for the movie "Elf".  I trimmed it to fit on a clear CD (it came on top of a pile of blank DVD-Rs I had purchased).  I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch holes in the disc & placed it as a page in my book.

 
Day 19:  I used an old Jolee's Boutique wreath on the back of the CD.  I added a handmade tag. Done!

 

Day 20:  No Christmas would be complete without a picture of my Baby G. screaming hysterically at the sight of Santa.  Good times. 

So, I only need to complete 5 more days & I can check this one off the list!!  It feels good.  I'm thinking of making this a weekly challenge to my readers.  Who's in?? 
 
 
 
 

Two For Tuesday: Sand Paste & Felt Roses

I'm changing things up here at "We Will Always Have Paris".  In an effort to, oh, I don't know... actually do some paper crafting, I'm changing my "Friday's Favorite Five" posting to a "Finish It Friday" posting.  I have a lengthy laundry list (see the right column of my main page) of things that I have half-assed worked on over the past few years.  My goal is to focus on cranking out some of these projects this year.  I can free up the space being taken up by these half-completed works & actually feel good about finishing something!  Plus, my girlfriend Amy might actually get the graduation book I started for her when she received her doctorate in 2003.  2003, people.  Seriously.

Instead of my "Friday's Favorite Five" postings, I'm going to start writing a "Two For Tuesday" post.  Same idea, just fewer things on a different day.  So, without further ado, here are the two things I don't think you can live without this week:

1.  MudPuddles Sandcastle Book Kit:   I first heard about MudPuddles on the Paperclipping Roundtable podcast.  MudPuddles creates a sand paste that you can apply to most anything.  Once it dries, it feels just like sand.  Those of you who are familiar with embossing paste are gonna love this!  Unfortunately, the stuff is just plain hard to find.  You can find the paste at www.scrapbook.com (most of it is backordered) or you can buy a kit directly from MudPuddles via E-Bay.  The full $25 kit has a ClearScraps sand castle album, one applicator and five jars of your choice of paste.   

If this hasn't sold you, take a look at this:

This was made using the MudPuddles sand paste and a ClearScraps album.  I saw this & thought of you Larcy!  If you're interested, you can order custom made (up to 8 letters) chipboard books for $2.99/page.  Suni, I think we should order albums that say "Rohoboth" and make them together one weekend!

 
2.  Purlbee's Felt Rose Tutorial:  I stumbled upon this website a couple of weeks ago & I am obsessed with these little roses.  Her amazing tutorial includes step by step photos and a printable pattern.  I whipped up my first rose a week & a half ago and I even convinced my little tomboy, Baby G. to wear one in her hair:

 
Now, if you're going to invest the time in making these beauties, please invest the money in some decent felt.  Don't buy the craft felt you find at Michaels or Wal-Mart.  You'll want good quality felt.  I buy mine from Etsy seller FeltCraftStudio.  Once you order, it takes a while to get your stuff (the orders are shipped from Australia), but it is well worth the wait.  

Let me know if you've been inspired to use the sand paste or make one of these roses (I'm thinking of putting them on a nice sweater)!