Christmas Craft: Yarn Wreath

I think is make be my all time favorite project. I know, I say that all the time but seriously I love it.  Anyone in the craft world knows Yarn Wreaths are all the rage. Just about everyone I know has either purchased one thru etsy or made there own. I, of course loving a challenged, decided to make my own. There are so many tutorials out there to choose from. I kinda did my own thing and I think it came out sooo stinking cute!

Yarn Wreath Tutorial

I picked a shimmery gold yarn to wrap my wreath. I did about 2 wraps to cover all the white space. Then I used a sparkly gray yarn to make the Y pattern. (I may have to do a tutorial on how to create it as I think is cooler than the X pattern which is so popular.)

Next, I adorned the wreath with shimmery twigs and beads which I purchased from Joanns. And used the remaining lace to create a bow at the top to loop on to the wreath hook.

Lastly, for the flowers, I used white felt, grey lace and silver silk fabric to create two different flower patterns. (There are so many different patterns out there but I really loved How Joyful tutorial on how to make felt flowers. I am able to edit her design to come up with a unique look.) I used extra long needles to attach the flowers to the wreath but you can use a glue  gun also.

 Now just hang it on your door! Sit back and enjoy the compliments from your neighbors.

Christmas Crafts: Picture in a Ball!!

With Christmas around the corner I wanted show you some of my own craft projects. It's not Christmas without ornaments and a little snow right!?! I made this little gem as part of the Trim the Tree Event at Brookfield Zoo, which my favorite natural light photographer Gina Cristine invited Little Ms PaperCuts and I too. For the tree, she asked us to use our favorite Gina Cristine photo to create an ornament to be hung at the celebration. This was hard because she took so many gorgeous photos of Little Ms PaperCuts. I settled on two of my all time favorites which I thought would compliment my ornament idea.  

 

  To create the ornament, I did the following:

1. Purchased a clear acrylic ornament, a bag fake snow, a glittered snowflake, and pink ribbon from Michaels.
2. Then simply cut out two photos to fit the center of the snowflake and then adhered the photos to each side of the snowflake.
3. I put a handful of snow into each halve of the ornament, placed the snowflake into the center and closed the ornament.
4. In order to ensure the ornament stays closed, I used double sided tape to apply pink ribbon along the opening of the ornament.
5. Tied a bow on the top and volia!

I would love to see any ornaments you have made for the holiday season, feel free to send them over!

Paper Crafting with PaperCuts

Tis the season!!! I love everything Holiday's; the trees, the snow, the cookies! But I especially love the crafts (obviously).  So to share my love of the Holidays, I have spent hours searching the internet to put together something special for my readers. Presenting PaperCuts: 25 Days of Paper Crafts.  

I thought these were some of the cutest ideas ever. I hope you like them too. So go get your paper, scissors, and glitter and get started! Be sure to send pictures, I would love to post any Holiday crafts you have created this season.

 

1. Star-Punched Paper Hurricanes  - Martha Stewart
2. Music Sheet Stars- Zakka Life
3. Gratitude Advent Calendar - Michaels
4. Count-down Calendar - Maya Made
5. JOY Paper Holiday Blocks  - Michaels
6. Paper Evergreens - Martha Stewart
7. Paper Snowflake Tutorial - Weaver Girl Guz
8. Toilet Paper Roll Wreath  - See You There !
9. Stocking Garland - Martha Stewart
10. Picture-Frame Ornaments  - Martha Stewart
11. Capiz Shell Christmas Garland - Home Stories A2Z
12. Paper Christmas Wreath Tutorial - The Red Thread
13. Paper Mache Snowman - Craft Elf
14. NOEL Letters - Better Homes and Gardens
15. Paper Christmas Trees - Elle's Studio
16. DIY Paper Village - Endlessly Inspired
17. Toilet Paper Roll Snowflake Craft - Muffin Tin Mom
18. Paper Christmas Tree - Jen-uninely Inspired
19. Crafty Christmas Wreath - Razzle Dazzle Crafting
20. Floating Ornaments - Martha Stewart
21. Christmas Tree Garland - Miss Bee's Christmas Tree
22. Homemade Cornucopia Christmas Ornament - Good House Keeping
23. Matchbox Gifts - Martha Stewart
24. Christmas Ball Ornaments - Homemade Gifts Made Easy
25. Popup Christmas Tree Card - Robert Sabuda

October not just for Halloween

For those of you who didn’t know, October is not just about Halloween (though kiddos in costume are pretty cute).  It is also Breast Cancer awareness month. Sadly, I don’t know anyone whose lives have not been touched in one way or another by Cancer. So I was happy to contribute when asked to create something for 20 Breast Cancer Survivors as part of Breast Cancer 2011: Love, Hope & Perseverance charity events.  They were looking for something unique to give 20 honored recipients and I wanted to makes sure it was extra special.

I thought long and hard as to what would be something to which these Honorees would treasure for years to come. One thing which was important to me was to make something which could be used to capture their story and their future. This small memoir book will not only allow them to journal their stories but serve as a reminder of their perseverance. The word chosen for this book signifies our inmost desire which rings in the heart of all who have been touched by this disease. Each page is colored in a shade of Pink as a show of support for the cause and adorned with small sections for writing out thoughts and feelings or to add a photo or memento. I hope each Breast Cancer Survivor Winner enjoy this small token of my love and respect.

Happy Halloween From My Gnome To Yours!

So I have MIA over here, since PaperCuts has its largest order yet!!  So excited to show you this project once I am finished. But in the interim, I thought I would show you some Halloween cuteness!  Here is Little Miss PaperCuts in her Gnome costume (excuse the corn dog, she didn't want to put it down).

I made most of this costume by hand. Maybe when I find time, I will post a DIY tutorial for the apron.  Till then HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Duck..Duck....GOOSE

Actually there is no goose, just more ducks :) But I did love that game as a kid.

So this is the last installment of our duck blogging. I know, how sad but we did have fun with the cute little guys. As a part of the Baby Duck shower, I was asked to create some small gift bags to be filled with candies. I had the perfect idea for little paper purses wrapped in pink bubble printed ribbon and adorned with a little girlie duck! I swear there is nothing cuter than a baby duck.

Can Duckies Be Chic?

That's what I asked myself when creating decor for a "surprise its a girl" duck themed shower. After much thought and discussion with my muse Mrs M, I had the perfect colors and design.

This adorable banner came out even cuter than I imagined. The fun playful fonts blended beautifully with the chic background pattern. And the little girl duck were so stinking cute. I almost kept this banner for myself :)

Another Edition: Stepping of out of the "paper" box

We haven't had a "Stepping of the Paper Box" in a while so I thought it was time for one! I am sure a few of you were eagerly waiting :)

For this edition, I will continue with the "gift giving" theme and use our Duck themed baby shower as the muse. The client throwing Mrs B's baby shower wanted a creative way to not only present her gifts to Mrs B, but also be used part of the showers decor. A diaper cake fits that bill perfectly!

How cute is this Yellow and Pink Duck diaper cake doing double duty as the main centerpiece and holding a treasure chest of goodies for the expectant mom. What kind of gifts you ask, well here is the list:

- 2 Hooded Towels
- 1 Large Blanket
- 2 Burp Clothes
- 2 Pacifiers
- 6 Pairs of Socks
- 3 Pairs of Hand Mittens
- 6 Head Bands
- 24 Hair Bands
- 1 Bottle Cleaner
- 1 Thermometer
- 1 Bottle of A&D Ointment
- 1 Bottle of Butt Cream
- 1 Box of Disposable Diaper Bags
- 1 Rubber Duck
- 130 Newborn Diapers

Whew that’s a lot in one little cake huh! I hope Mrs B loves it as much as I loved making it. There is more to come for this Duckie Chic Baby Shower so stay tuned.

Quack, Quack, Opps

So you remember those adorable ducks we showed you a week or so back for a baby boy shower. Wellllllll turns out one of those ducks fell out of line because Mrs B is having a GIRL!!! Yes, I know every expecting mother worries about a ultrasound oppsy because of this very reason. Poor Mrs B had to return a ton boy clothes and accessories. Luckily, my client caught me before I tossed those duckies into the mail. So after soothing the client in  over this little catastrophe, I made a couple of modifications and VOLA!!!!

Baby shower catastrophe adverted!

Ducks in a Row

Quack, Quack, it seems like everyone is expecting! I love babies so anytime I get asked to help with a baby shower, I jump at the chance.  A client contacted me to help design a baby shower for her friend who expecting a baby boy. After our conversation veered to getting everything ready for baby and the urge to nest, I thought why don’t we do baby ducks!   So I pitched the idea of a cute duck invite and the client was all over it.

How adorable are these little guys! 

I love the detail in these invite. They were so realistic that Little Miss PaperCuts even started to quack J What I also love is like so many of our products they are so versatile you can use them not only as invite but thank you cards!  Fun right!

Second Edition: Stepping out of the "paper" box

For the second edition of our "Stepping out of the paper box", I wanted to show a simple way to package a gift and personalize it.

A close friend of mine, Mrs SK, just welcomed her first child into the world, Little Mr John.  Let me tell you, he is just the cutest thing you will ever see.  We wanted to get something special to welcome this little bundle of joy, so we brainstormed and came up with the perfect theme.  In my circle of friends we are all about themes. So since Mrs S is all about travel, we thought airplanes would be the perfect theme.  Once we bought our gifts, we needed the perfect way to package it and a simple gift bag would not do. Instead we bought an adorable tiny suitcase to pack all his airplane-themed gifts into.

Although the suitcase was adorable by itself, it wasn’t perfect.  So I decided to step out of the paper box.  I embellished the front of the suitcase with his name and, of course, a little airplane. I think it was the perfect way finish off this cute gift. Mrs SK was pleasantly pleased and I think I saw Little Mr John crack a little smile.

So the lesson for the week is “Don’t be afraid to step out the paper box when packaging a gift”. Sometimes a little creativity can take a simple gift to a whole other level.


Congratulations K Family on your beautiful baby boy!

Flower Power!!

And the Flower saga has finally come to an end in an epic 1^st Birthday party! The party went off without a hitch.  Miss Sydney was just beautiful in her flower embellished dress. The food was delicious, décor impeccable (if I do say so myself) and the cake was incredible thanks to Elysia Roots an amazingly talented baker.  If you recall she also did the amazing Owl Cake for Little Miss PaperCuts 1^st birthday.

So as I promised here are some highlights of the Flower Powered celebrations.

HAPPY 1^st BIRTHDAY SYDNEY!

A Meadow Of Flowers

Yes, another flower post! I know you’re thinking “How many flowers will there be at this little one’s 1^st  Birthday?!?”.   Well to answer this question, just imagine a meadow of bright colors and patterns. The client wanted a ton of flowers in different sizes and styles. After looking high and low for the perfect flowers, with no success, PaperCuts was commissioned to design all the flower décor for the celebration. And let me tell you making over 50 flowers for this little tikes party was no small feat but I love the way these flowers came out.  Each flower was somewhat unique with so much color and texture.  This little ones party will surely be a meal for the senses.  

Here are the peek at the different types and size of flowers we made:

6” Flowers with grass and stems

12” Free floating flower

24” Oversized flower

Well we are off to setup this cool design at the party location.  I definitely try to take a ton of photos to show how our designs look at this one of a kind party!

It’s the biggest day of PaperCut's year, Little Miss PaperCuts 2nd Birthday!  We have a big non-business day planned for our little one. But first I wanted to continue our preview of the Flower-themed birthday decorations for Sydney's 1st Birthday Party.  Our client wanted a chic looking Happy Birthday Banner with a colorful pattern and of course FLOWERS! We decided on individual letters with a glimmer white silhouette for the banner.  We used large flowers as spacers with matching colorful paper.  We, also, sprinkled small flowers over a couple letters to complete the look.

In addition to the large birthday banner, the client wanted a small banner to hang from the birthday girl’s highchair.  We crafted this smaller version to be similar to the larger banner but with a bit more pop. For the smaller banner, we used a hot pink silhouette behind an adorable candy striped paper pattern with a couple of flowers to cap off the design. What fun right!

Well the little one is ready for a day at the zoo, so we are off. There are alot more flower powered decorations to come so stay tuned!

Flower Hat

This week is very special to PaperCuts because not only is it a client and good friend's little girl's 1st birthday but also Little Miss PaperCuts 2nd birthday! So this week is full of birthday festivities, which of course means Birthday Party Decorations!!! And let me tell you, we went all out.

Since today is Sydney's 1st Birthday, I wanted to show you the unique hat we created for her Flower-Themed birthday. Her mother wanted the flowers to be understated but the hat to be bold and pop. I hope we gave that with this adorable little hat.

Happy 1st Birthday Sydney !!!!!

Keep a look out for more creations for this flower powered party.

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner! July Giveaway

And the Winner of the July Giveaway is Sara Smith! Congratulations on winning a Reversible Birthday Banner valued at $25. 

July Free Giveaway: Reversible Birthday Banner

It’s time for PaperCuts second monthly giveaway!   Since July is Mr PaperCuts birthday, I thought I should giveaway something birthday related. 

This banner is awesome for parents with multiple kids who doesn’t want to re-purchase birthday banners several times a year. Our reusable banner is amazingly versatile, allowing you to customize the look for a boy, girl or even unisex in less than a minute! Just flip the letters, till you find look best for your party.

What you need to do to win your own Reversible Birthday Banner:
- "Like" Paper Cuts on Facebook.
- Leave a comment on facebook or our blog about your dream birthday gift.
- If you subscribe to PaperCuts Blog by becoming a Follower you will receive a extra vote!

Contest ends July 26th Midnight. Winner will be annouced July 27th.

More Birthday Hats

One way to gauge how well I created a product is by feedback. So I knew I did a good job on Jade's 1st birthday hat when I was contacted by one of the client's friends to create her daughter a birthday hat. 

Little Fiona was having a butterfly themed 2nd birthday and wanted something in teal and hot pink. I had the perfect Damask print paper in hot pink to highlight the butterfly theme.  I decided to decorate the #2 with multicolored dots to give the hat a little more texture.  These cute dots were also carried into little 3D butterflies perched on name and number. And of course no little girls hat is complete without korker ribbon. I hope Fiona loved her birthday hat. I sure did.

Form Of Diaper!

This has to be my new favorite product, Diaper Notecards! These little gems came to fruition when a client contacted me to create something as a new baby gift.  She had no idea what she wanted to send as a gift but wanted it to be cute and useful. 

 First thing that popped in my mind was diapers; nothing is more useful for a new baby than diapers. But since PaperCuts is not competing with Pampers, we needed to be a bit more creative than that.  My second thought was how was the new parents going to thank everyone for showering there new bundle of joy with gift. Obviously, they would need thank you cards...diapers..thank card...diapers..I got it!! Diaper Thank You cards.  

The client loved the idea, so we sent 4 sets of Diaper Notecards to the new parents. From what I hear they plan to put this gift to good use :)

Great Way To Say Thanks

PaperCuts was given a little challenge by a client in the form of a Thank You gift. The challenge was to create a 8 x 11 wordbook that also doubled as a scrapbook AND photo album. This is what we came up with:

Luckily, according to the client this is exactly what she imagined and more.  She was ecstatic to pass this around the office to be signed and decorated by students and colleagues for a colleague who was moving on. The book tiered out into 4 pages and also contained 6 albums inserts for pictures.  What a great way to move on but save the memories!

Another 1st! A 1st Birthday That Is!

A good friend and an amazing colorist contacted me in regards her beautiful daughter’s, Jade, first birthday. She wanted to incorporate one of my designs into her daughter's 1st birthday.  I was ecstatic to throw out some ideas for her.  The one thing she was having an issue finding was a birthday hat that matched her green and white theme.  So she asked if I could me a "one of a kind" hat for Jade. Her only stipulations were that it had Jade's name it and was green and white.  Making this hat was just too much fun, especially creating the korker ribbon. 

I was, also honored to be invited to this little shindig and caught a cute picture of the birthday girl wearing her birthday hat.  Happy Birthday Jade!

Happy Father's Day!

I hope everyone had a great Father's Day. I know Mr PaperCuts did.  I also know the winner of our Father's day giveaway did, since she sent us pictures of her finished project.  I love when customers send me pictures of their creative projects. Great work Anna!



Baby Blocks!

Who doesn't love little babies?!? There is nothing more exciting than anticipating the arrival of a little one. So, of course, when a good friend's baby shower came about I was eager to make something special for the shower. 

The first thing that popped in my head were baby blocks. How cool would it be to use oversized blocks as decor for the party.  So I set out to make these creative boxes to sit on the cake table!

So who guessed it?

Ok I have let the suspense go on for long enough.  The guess what mystery was a card holder purse!  I was pondering how to send business cards with my packages and what is cuter than a mini purse.  The fun thing about these little purses they can be used to hold gifts cards, thank you notes, even as tags for party favors. Plus they are crazy cute.

And the winner is!!!!!!!!!!

Drum roll please, the winner of PaperCuts first giveway is Anna Dieringer!!!!

Congrats Anna. You will recieve a DAD Wordbook giveway kit valued at $15. It includes: 3 x 8 plain white word book, die cuts of the letters DAD (color of your choice), "your kids name", paper tie & hearts, and a 3 x 5 paper frame.

Send me a message on Facebook with your address and we will send it right out.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our first giveway. Your words about the father's in your life were so moving.  Be sure to look out for me giveways.

Don't Forget to Enter the Father's Day Giveaway!

Today is the last day to post a win a "Dad" DIY Word Book! Make sure you go over to Facebook to enter.The giveway kit is valued at $15.

It includes: 3 x 8 plain white word book, die cuts of the letters DAD (color of your choice), "your kids name", paper tie & hearts, and a 3 x 5 paper frame.

What you need to do to win your own "DAD" DIY Word Book: - "Like" Paper Cuts on Facebook.
- Leave a comment on facebook about your father or your child's father.
- If you subscribe to PaperCuts Blog by becoming a Follower you will receive a extra vote!

Contest ends June 4th Midnight. Winner will be annouced June 5th.

Guess What I Am Making?

Hmm can you guess what I making based on the materials here?  Mr PaperCuts always looks confused by my craft projects. There are usually random shapes and patterns spread all over the table. Finally his curiosity gets the best of him and he ask "What are you making?".  So I thought I would let you try to guess what this may be. Any guesses?

Father's Day Giveway: DIY Dad Word Book

In honor of good ole Dad and to end our month of firsts, PaperCuts is hosting its first giveaway. When I think Father's Day, I think homemade cards with giant hearts, tie's and lots of kisses.  So to continue the tradition, we are giving away a "Dad" DIY Word Book to decorate with the kiddies.

The giveway kit is valued at $15. It includes: 3 x 8 plain white word book, die cuts of the letters DAD (color of your choice), "your kids name", paper tie & hearts, and a 3 x 5 paper frame.

This is Mr PaperCuts word book which my daughter and I have secretly been making sshhhhhhh......

What you need to do to win your own "DAD" DIY Word Book:

- "Like" Paper Cuts on Facebook.
- Leave a comment on facebook about your father or your child's father.
- If you subscribe to PaperCuts Blog by becoming a Follower you will  receive a extra vote!


Contest ends June 4th Midnight. Winner will be annouced June 5th.


If anyone is interested in purchasing a word book with the caption of your choice, send us a message thru our 'Contact Us'  page.

Lions, Elephants and Giraffes Oh My!

I know the saying is "Lions, tigers and bears oh my" but that wouldn't fit with these cute little animals I created for a jungle animals themed baby shower. The soon-to-be mommy wasn't sure what she was looking for, so she asked me to model a welcome sign around her invites. I love it when a client give me creative freedom.  I have so much flexibility to play around and find the perfect fit.

Besides her sign, I also created a unisex onesie banner with animal spacers. It was fun mixing and matching patterns to find the right flow. Remember everything doesn't have to be the same color to match, when you are creating something try to change it up a bit. You'll love what you come up with.

Stepping out of the "paper" box

So even here are PaperCuts from time to time we step out the preverbal box or for us paper box.  So I thought you would like to see a non-paper project done for a wonderful friend's bridal shower.  We didn't want to do traditional decor of flowers on the table. So to "chic" it up we decided to add bridal mannequins to each table.

Each mannequin stood 8" tall and were done in various bridal styles. They came out beautifully and were a huge hit. The best part is they made wonderful shower game prizes since most of the guest wanted to take them home for their daughter or niece.  Even the bride took home her own 12" mannequin as a shower memorabilia. So never think you are stuck with just what the big box store has to offer, be sure to stop out of the box.