Where I've been & Where I'm going..

DIY: "Lace" Ribbon

I look forward to wrapping my gifts tonight, especially getting to use some of this lace ribbon to complete some special gifts!  Although this does take some time to complete (I did mine while vegging in front of the tv) it's totally re useable and because  the color choice is not very holiday specific,  it would be great to use for a birthday, house warming, or hostess gift too!  I'm loving the results and I hope you get a chance to paint a spool or two yourself :)  Happy wrapping!

Weekend Works

Hello Friday!  You're here and I'm so happy that you are :)  Joe and I have a jam packed weekend, starting with a trip to the pumpkin patch and corn maze with friends tomorrow.  As for the rest of the weekend I will more than likely be spending it behind the sewing machine creating a paper project for an upcoming event for Coach House Pictures (we are shooting are first wedding together in a few weeks, eep!) I'm so excited to be taking on this new photo adventure with my best friend by my side, none the less :) For now we still have lots to plan and will be working like bees up until the day!  I can't wait to share with you highlights of what we capture!  Until then, have an inspirational weekend!

Photography: evphotogal
Photo frame: Pugly Pixel
Font: Fling

Craft Product Review: Scissors & Punch

Crafting is one of my great loves! And to find products that are smart, help me to save time, and create great results? One of my goals is to find these products, test them and then share the results with my lovely readers! This weekend I tested out my newest Martha Stewart crafting products for an upcoming project and they are now an essential part of my craft closet.  The first product is fringe scissors, they have 5 scissor blades in one handle. A great time saving tool to create your own streamers and other fringe like projects, like my fringe backdrop.  And the second is an all over circle punch.  Unlike most paper punches, where you can only punch a shape on the border of the paper, this punch lets you punch anywhere on your paper. Which means you get more punches per paper and less waste, great! I used a medium weight card stock to create this paper garland. Thanks Martha for creating such handy tools for crafters like me :)  Oh, and the product design is easy on the eyes, so I don't mind displaying any of her craft products either because they just look so pretty.

Photography: evphotogal
Fabric Ribbon: evphotogal
Blog Template: Pugly Pixel

Guest Blogging Today...

Come check out this quick and crafty DIY I put together for blogger gal Courtney over at You Will Won't You? For those of you who don't know Courtney and I go way back. We went to the same grade school and even had a class together at Columbia College in Chicago...yep! Head on over to her blog to start crafting your own paper doily snowflakes!

Oh,Deer

Do you have friends and/or family members who call December their birthday month?
Another gift to add to the list, right? I of all people really understand the frustrations that come along with having a birthday during the busiest time of the year, but can you top being born on the day after Christmas? I sure can, because I am one of them! On the day when most people are recovering from holiday travel, overindulgence of all sorts and or just want to hit the stores to stock up on after holiday merch- it's hard to get people to come out and celebrate your birthday.
But for the past several years I've spent the most memorable birthdays with the people that know me the best. Last year we met up for breakfast and then went ice skating at Millennium Park. If there's enough snow this year, I'd like to go sledding!

Anyways, I digress. Like I've mentioned before I'm making all my gifts this year and birthday gifts are no exception ;) So I thought it would be fun for me to share a gift I completed recently for my awesome stylist/graphic designer friend Jill. She's not very internet crazy (I don't even think she knows I have a blog), so I know I will not spoil the surprise for her. I've been craving to make one of these deer head silhouettes that I've been eyeing all over blog land. But I also know that this would be right up Jill's alley too. They are so easy to make that I even made one for myself. So here is a quick tutorial on how to make your own.

Start out by finding an image of a deer head. Print and cut it out. Next select the paper you wish to cut it out on. For mine I used wood grain contact paper I had on hand but for Jill's I decided to go with something a bit more girly. I used a sheet of Martha Stewart craft paper.


With an exacto knife carefully cut around your template and use craft glue to adhere to your frame of choice.

To finish off my deer I mounted it onto a piece of light gray fabric and placed it in an old wood frame. I cleared out a good spot to hang it using these, next to some old black and whites from the good ol'college darkroom days.


For Jill's, I mounted her cutout onto the same light gray fabric and framed it in a faux wood sewing hoop I found at the local thrift shop. I hope she likes it almost as much as I enjoyed making it for her.

Happy winterful Friday to you! Stay tuned next week for more budget friendly DIY's and a guest post over at this awesome ladies blog :)

Pssst...

Hop on over to on the brink of something beautiful today to see what I created from all this crafty goodness! Thanks again Kel for inviting me to create this DIY post for you and your readers :) I had a blast putting it all together and hope you enjoy it too.

Inspired By: Digital Paper Packs

Inspiration for me can come from anywhere at any time. But lately I seem to be filling my virtual folders with these digital paper packs. With such a great mix of color, pattern, and textures it's not easy to choose a favorite. And that's okay, really because at these price points you can say yes to just more than one! Yay!! All you need to add is paper and ink to the printer of your choice to start adding pops of stylish color to anything that you can decorate paper with . Such as candle holders, frames, inspiration boards, the inside of cabinets, canisters, file folders, and even furniture. Oh, and may I suggest Modge Podge as a great adhesive tool. It's a great adhesive and sealer in one that will make any paper application to just about any surface virtually effortless. Happy printing :)

Fresh Label Freebies

My apologies for the lack of posts this week. Life/work has been kicking into high gear but I just wanted to stop by and share with you these fabulous little labels brought to you by little sightings blog. I love her color choices for these, so fresh and perfect to organize your workspace with.
Simply print on sticker paper, trim away the excess white and apply to your hearts delight!

Loving: Alphabet Letter Freebie

The lovely duo behind Two Brunettes have fun Alphabet banner letters for you to download over at the Ruffled blog. Simply download each letter, print, punch holes on each corner and hang with twine or ribbon. Oh, and it even includes a heart to us as a space! I plan on making one for my nieces 9th Birthday coming up in June, she'll love it almost as much as I'll enjoy putting it together for her. Enjoy!

Note Keeping

I don't know about you but I'm always writing notes/ lists for myself to remember what to pick up from the market or just for jotting down notes in a jiffy. I always keep a notepad in my purse for such occasions and printing out some of these free notepad sheets would just make me smile a little brighter. Thanks Yasmine for the lovely downloads :) Just click on each image and get to printing!

A Beautiful Start to the Weekend

Lovely blogger Becky wrote me a while back to see what she could do to help out for A Beautiful Idea project. We teamed up and I'm offering her first 5 readers one of my paper crafts (your choice) with any purchase from the donation shop. There is a great range of sweetly priced items to fit even the smallest of piggy banks :) Once you've made your purchase, email me at: evphotogal@me.com let me know your pick along with your address and I'll be smiling all the way to the post office! A beautiful idea for a truly worthy cause! Here are some of my favs available for purchase now....

Happy Weekend

As I run out the door for some weekend fun, here are some goodies for you first. I was unable to post free font friday because I was at a friends house crafting up one of these for craft night! I have yet to finish, but a group of us gals had a great time drinking wine and gossiping :) Thank you Jill for hosting the evening! Enjoy my font pick for this week, best enjoyed for large prints! Happy Weekend.

Earth Day Love

In honor of Earth Day's 40th celebration head over here for some eco-friendly crafts you can create using materials you might already have on hand!

Loving: Japanese craft books

While browsing online yesterday I came across a most lovely shop filled with paper goods, stationary, wrapping papers and much more. UGUISU SHOTEN is an online shop with goodies that are either made in Japan or designed in Japan. Simple beautiful designs that are within budget too! I couldn't stop looking at these craft book covers that are for sale. Even though I can't read the language, I sure know good inspiration when I see one :)

Clockwise from top left: Craft Making with Masking Tapes.
Masking Tape Ideas. Tokyo Handmade. and Scrapoholic.

L O V E is in the Air

This time of year usually brings the inner grade schooler out of me. I have fond memories of going to the store to pick out valentines to hand out to my friends in class. Fast forward a few years with a big box of craft paper, paints, markers, and stickers and I've got everything I need to create my own. I got started on these the other day for my nieces and nephews and turned my apartment upside down! These days there is nothing like the feeling of sending a little love in the mail!

{ Craft Night }

Happy Friday everyone! Tonight my stylist/design friend Jill is hosting craft night at her house. We are transforming these plain paper mache houses into a Christmas village. I've painted them using nickel and silvery copper spraypaint to give them a vintage lived-in feel and will be spending the rest of the night decoupaging, decorating, and gossiping over a bottle o wine. There is such a comfort in creating on a cold winter's night, don't you agree? I'll be sure to post the finishing touches next week. Be well ;)

{These house can be found at Hobby Lobby}

{ Amy Butler: Green Goods }

I am always delighted to hear when more and more green options become available to the everyday crafty consumer. It is definitely a sign of the times and I am thrilled to support it whenever I can! Behold the fab Amy Butler keeps turning out products to turn your crafts into beautiful pieces of work, while at the same time making only a finger print of impact on the environment. Her new paper crafts/stationary line are made out of recycled paper and are printed with soy based inks. Could it get any more delightful? Oh, but it does! Her modern spin on the new line will have you waiting outside your local Michaels store just to stock up! Hhhmmm... might she possibly be the next Martha?

{Photos by Amy Butler}

{DIY: Thank You Cards}

I've been all about the DIY lately and I'm excited to share my latest creation with you. The great merry go lucky Etsy shop is where I ordered my custom rubber stamp. And the paper I used to stamp these cards on are paint chips from my local Ace Hardware. We had a large collection of them in the studio, so instead of having them go into the trash I put them to good use. With name colors like chic blue & wishful thinking printed on the bottom corner how could I resist. ;)

Have fun creating your own custom printed cards!

{ Paper Banners }

My latest obsession for the past few weeks has included creating cute paper banners to express thoughts for any occasion. Made with premium textured cardstock and hand stamped with archival inks, they give anyone reason to display their sentiments freely! Present them to a loved one, friend or neighbor.

Stop by my Etsy shop to choose a paper banner for your very own!

An extra special "Thank You" to Den 10 Studio for featuring a few of my photographs as her favorite Etsy picks! {Photos by EV Photography }