Make Me

DIY Holiday - Calendars

Okay, okay. Calendars are fast going the way of the dinosaur, what with everyone (me included) carrying their calendar in their phone. But I still like a paper calendar. A pretty paper calendar. Or a funny one. Or one with quotes. Or ones that fold into books.

Last year I made little calendar cards. I think they came out nicely considering I couldn't source the little tear-off calendars I used to find all over the place - office supplies, stationers, those little promo pieces left on your door by realtors and funeral homes. I found a site where I could print the right sized calendars which I had to cut and assemble.  I still think they came out well, even though it was more fiddly work than I wanted to do.

Decor8 has a nice calendar round-up (parts 1-5) that I've been drooling over for some time. It's inpsired me to put together another Handmade Holiday post.

Earlier this year I ventured in to Paper Source and caught these cool little calendar cards that sit on an easel.

Then I got the brilliant idea to make these. Of course I searched for the easy way out first. Looked and looked and couldn't find a template. Ended up making mine on photoshop elements. They're in the raw state, pretty much, but I'll include the file. This way you can customize them for your own purposes. Since they're in the .psd format, I'm not sure if you will see them in the same font I've used, and so the formatting may be a bit off. Still, most of the fiddly work is done.  (I will attach the file at a later date. I printed my copy at home and it's not very nice looking. The text needs to be sharper.)

I'm going to make a few up for the upcoming craft shows. I've been wanting to offer more paper items and this fills the bill just right.

Here are links to calendar templates I found during my search.

• Calendars or items made from old calendars are here on Totally Tutorials. And excellent site for all things craft-related.
• This is a calendar that is stored in a CD case which also acts as an easel. The template link still works, but the link site has a different name. It goes to a pay site, so you have to pay to have your calendar made. But it's still a great idea for making quick use of your photos.
• Shutter Sisters has photoshop templates for use. Easy to download and use.
• Here is a Photoshop Elements blog that has great ideas and a link to a few calendar templates.
• A number of calendar templates here(but not the CD case card size.) that have great uses.

I've also found some lovely calendars on Etsy that would make a nice gift for that last minute rush or gift swap. 

'What Day is It? Year?' by Hilari

Beautiful calendars for 2011

SALE - 2011 Fine Art Ph... RetrospectPhot... $19.00	Polaroid 2011 Calendar ... jerseymaids $30.00	2011 Eco Calendar threesquare $24.00	Black and White 2011 4x... cisforcute $8.00
2011 Mini Calendar Flow... mandreacarreir... $5.00	Vintage Carnival themed... TheVintageEye $25.00	2011 Art Calendar Print... valeriatelier $19.00	Calendar 2011 Nature (p... LilyCards $5.00
18 month French Ink Pen... JosStudio $15.00	2011 Desk Calendar - Wh... sworleybird $18.00	pastel memories 2011 mi... lesleysico $30.00	2011 Calendar. Butterf... ColetteJohnson $14.00
SMALL 2011 CALENDAR jessgonacha $20.00	2011 Farm to Fork Wall ... TheHerbalGourm... $25.00	Nature - Year 2011 - Fi... mariakallin $24.90	2011 Calendar Magnet wi... antdesign $7.00

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Product Review: Fiskars Circle Punches

I bought two circle punches at Joann's when they were on sale last week. I'm planning to make some tags for one of my craft sales in December. I bought a 2-inch and a 2.5-inch. The smaller is the the scissor-type punch with handles. The larger is the push type.

Let's talk about the small one first. It's supposed to be ergonomic, easier to punch and release. What I found is that, while easier to punch, you really need to use the thicker papers. I initially tried it with text weight paper and all my circles came out with really rough edges. Some circles didn't even cut all the way through.  I tried again with a double thickness of text weight paper - that worked worse. The paper wouldn't release most times and ripped at a couple of points. Very frustrating. If I'd paid full price, this sucker would've gone back to the store that day.

I gave Fiskars a second chance. I used it on the thicker weight scrapbook papers and it worked like a charm. It punches easily and the circles are crisp and perfect.  I especially like that you can flip it over and punch bottom up - that way you don't waste a lot of paper. I punched about 80 circles in one night and the last circle was as good as the first.

I seem to have really bad luck with circle punches. I got a couple a few years ago and they worked for about one day. They stuck like glue, one punch I was never able to get apart! I've been using a circle cutter ever since, but that is a little more work than I want to do when I need a large number of circles.

The other punch is a lever punch. It's huge! It punches the 2.5" circle. The lever is large and fits well in your hand and gives you a nice surface for leverage. The circles are caught underneath - you just flip the lid of the catcher out and pluck your circles out. The circles are sharp and perfectly round.

The bad part is this a painful punch to use when you're making a lot of circles. I used this on Monday and my hands have been sore all week. I cut about 200 circles.

Most of the problems I had with this punch came after continued use. However, two design features make this not a great product for me. One is you can't really punch upside down because it's harder to work the lever. Therefore, when trying to conserve the paper ( I needed 10 punches out of each large sheet), I was constantly flipping the paper over to line it up then flipping again to push the lever.

The second thing I didn't like was the "confetti catcher". It would be nice if this was a detachable feature, because it would make the above task much easier. As it is now, I have to remove the punch out then set it up to punch again. And after about 50 punches, it was harder to make the punch go all the way through the thicker paper.

I guess neither of these products are made for repeated use. My final verdict is this is good enough for now, until something better comes along. If you're not planning on punching 200 circles a night, this is a good product. But for my production line, it is just as, if not more difficult than the circle cutter.  At a half-off price, it's okay.

 

 

How I Do Color

I like seemingly random combinations of colors. I thought I'd try to show a bit of the process. Here is the latest card I've added to my Etsy shop.

I admit my color sense is not to everyone's taste, but I love how this turns out. And even though I made it as something to sell, I cannot make things I don't like. I have to have a "build it and they will come" approach to keep myself happy. When I attempt items that have a more "traditional" color sense, they are very dull and boring. Maybe this is because I haven't been true to myself.

1. I start with the flower photo.  I see the color fuchsia, but also the color green. In the center of the flower I notice a hint of it and decided that is my accent color. I don't know yet how it will play out, but I grab the speckled lilac cardstock that is my favorite, the stripe and the green that is marbled with silver.  Imagine that the trim in purple is not there yet.

2. I cut the pieces to what I think is the appropriate size. I know the card will look better in landscape and plan accordingly.  I think of colors as having weight. The busier or darker it is, the heavier. Heavy pieces will weigh the card down if not used sparingly.  I cut the striped paper into a thin strip, knowing which way I want the stripes to go. I think east to west has the movement the card needs. The green marble is serving as the anchor. It is the most medium weight of the papers. I cut it larger so it frames the stripes and holds down the photo. I use deep purple to frame the photo because it contrasts the photo and is opposite the green on the color wheel. As secondary colors, they sort of make each other pop. Not to mention it is one of my favorite color combos ever.

3. I experiment with placement.  I don't feel this layout is stable enough. The stripe piece becomes weak and unimportant. The marble isn't really holding the whole thing together. It just isn't cohesive; it lacks balance. The individual pieces take too much attention away from the focal point.

4. This is better. The green now anchors the photo and shows off the lilac and the stripe without taking over. However, that movement from the stripe isn't as apparent. It is just there.  I want more motion and vitality. I also think cutting the green paper in two with the striped piece doesn't give the card that impact.

For the final card I use the two patterned papers side by side. I like the tiny bit of narrow stripe that carries your eye to the right side of the page even though most of the action is on the left.  Actually, I ended up adjusting it just a squidge more for the final final.

I think it looks more polished and balanced here.

The thing about working with color is that it solely dependent on your own aesthetic. There are colors you like working with more than others and that will show up in your work.  The more you work with them, the more possibilities you will see and you will grow more comfortable AND more adventurous, the more you allow yourself to play.   Don't allow your brain to tell you certain colors don't "match". Get inspired from nature, buy yourself the big box of crayons and have at it. You're only making fun.

Fuchsia Flower Note Card listed in the Lazy Lima Bean.

Make a Bow

Came across this cute tute on Craftster. Bows from recycled magazine pages.  If I had managed to wrap any Christmas packages at all, this would have come in handy.

Project: Gift Card Holder

Here's a little project I whipped up tonight. I was going to make gift card holders for my upcoming craft fairs, but didn't then with all the hoopla over which stores were closing and blah-blah-blah, I had decided against it. Then I re-thought the idea because iTunes cards are always a good. At least for now, right. Plus I had this 50s music paper.

This is really meant to be a basic guideline, but feel free to use, copy, abuse this project as you will. 

Materials Needed

• Folded Card, 5.5 x 8.5"
• One 5.5 x 4.25" piece of decorative paper (pink)
• One 5.5 x 4.25" piece of decorative paper (print)
• One (print) decorative paper approx 4-11/16 x 3.75"
• One (pink) decorative paper approx 2.5 x 5.5"
• One cardstock strip, approx 2" x 5.5"
• Deckle-edge scissors
• Corner round punch, scissors
• Pink and ivory ribbon
• Stick-on or rub-on letters (or computer print-out)
• Star stickers
• Double stick tape or glue stick

click on the photos for da biggy size

I prefer to use double-stick tape. It's faster and less fussy. But if you have glue stick - that works well too.  Stick the largest cut piece of pink decorative paper to the front of the folded card. Make sure to line it up carefully so it doesn't look all kinds of jacked up.

Do the same to the inside with the print decorative paper of the same size.

So now you should have your folded card with the outside front covered with the pink paper and the inside covered in the print paper.  The next largest size paper you have left is the print paper that is approximately 4-11/16 x 3-3/4. Why the weird size?  The pattern on the pink paper I used below was too covered up by anything larger. And anything smaller would make the words on the print paper truncate oddly. You will most likely be using different papers, so you don't have to use such exacting sizes - I just wanted to try to be accurate for a change.

Now, round those corners on the print paper and use double stick tape to adhere to the center of the front of your card.

Next we deckle. We deckle two strips. The pink 2.5" wide strip and the 2" wide cardstock strip.  If you want, you can bring out the deckle edges with markers, metallic or otherwise. I chose to leave mine plain here.

Adhere the wider, pink strip first - lining it up with the bottom of the card.

To attach the ribbon, I folded the ribbon under both ends of the 2" cardstock strip so the ends would be finished. I think it gives the card a nicer look.  I did one end, using the tape to keep everything in nplace as I attached it the strip to the card. Then I carefully stuck tape only to the BOTTOM of the strip and finally the remaining side and wrapped the ribbons around the edge tucking then into the tape. Keeping the tape along the bottom and the sides gives you the pocket to put in the gift card. I also used double stick tape to keep the ribbon in one place on the front of the strip.

Final touches.  To the front I used stickers to add "For You" but this could easily be computer-generated or handwritten.

And to the inside I used the stars from my letter stickers to embellish the ribbon. Tuck in the gift card and you're good to go!

Crafty Day

Last month I got together with friends to have a little crafty day.  My friend Laurie has the coolest Mission Hills apartment.  I'm jealously enviously covetous.  She overlooks a canyon.

Anyway, I just grabbed a random assortment of fanc-i-fied papers, some rubber stamps and the wee envelops I had made using Judikins mini envelope templates.  Glue stick + bits o paper = fun!  See for yourself:

click for bigger photos

I like mixing the papers together and seeing what happens.  In fact, I like mixing colors together - paper, yarn, fabric, whatev!  I think it's fascinating how dissimilar or contrasting things can find balance together.  Too bad it's not that easy with people, eh?

I'm thinking of putting these in my Etsy shop.  Still wondering how to package them.  I love all the circles I used - Laurie has this keen circle cutter from .... oh, what's that scrapbook company called - Family Treasures?  One of the first scrapbook home sales thingies.  Anyway - it allows for you to make concentric circles to the teensiest nth degree.

As you can see, I hardly throw away anything - that's why my house looks the way it does.  Such is the lament of the collager....

Lazy or Cheap?

Many, many moons ago I searched high and low for an address book.  I didn't have many requirements, just that it fit in my purse and have sufficient room to write in the addresses.  Sounds easy, doesn't it?  Well it wasn't.  Took forever.  Finally found one at *ahem* Crown Books, I believe before it went under (tells you how long ago this was!)

Years go by and I'm left with this:

Held together with a rubber band and leaving flecks of green paper at the bottom of my purse.  Sad, I know.

So.  Do I buy a new address book?  Nah!  I just recover this one!

I used a sample sheet of wallpaper, some Modge Podge and a bit of ribbon to cover the spot where I accidentally poked a hole in the spine.  The saying reads "try to keep the rebel artist alive in you no matter how attractive or exhausting the temptation may be" and it's a rubber stamp from Zettiology.

I coated the paper with a couple of layers of Modge Podge and taped it on with that pink sticks-like-crazy tape, so hopefully it will stay in one place.  Otherwise I may have to laminate it.

It took less time to re-cover the book than it would have to re-write all the information inside.

So what's the verdict?  Cheap?  Lazy?  Aha! trick question!  It's both!!

Magnet Card

I was going through some of my old cards and I found this one which I think is purty nifty:

The center image is on one of those business card magnets and covered with Modge Podge (glossy).  It's a Paula Best stamp that I particularly love.  I think I'll do more of these magnet cards as little gifts for the holidays.

You can get the magnets at the Evil Empire for pretty cheap.

A Load Off

I've cleaned off my desk! Yay!  Now I can play with my paper and stamps and stuff again.  Seems like its been so long since I've stamped. 

I've got to get all the stuff under control and weed out the chaff.  I've got too much stuff going on up in here.  Stamps, beads, paper, papermaking stuff, books, yarn, magazines, paint, sewing machines, fabric - you name it, it's here.

I think it would be easier to become a master of something if I weren't so diversified.

Cards, Cards, Cards

I seem to have made quite a few cards this year.  Not much stamping, but I love creating wacky text to go with these vintage photos.  I've scanned a few since I still haven't located my card reader....

Click on the pictures so you can read the text

Many apologies for their wonkiness, it's nearly 1am and I'm off to knit somewheres in LA tomorrow.