Whisker Graphics December DIY...a little late

Happy Thursday friends! I am back blogging today. Yesterday I took the day off to go on strike to protest the internet censorship bills SOPA and PIPA. Apparently it was a huge success and thousands of people got involved. What an awesome community! If you want to learn more and educate yourself on all the buzz check out the Stop American Censorship website.

This post is going up a bit late today. I have been glued to my computer watching the Twitter feed for Alt Summit. Alt is a design bloggers conference that they hold in Salt Lake City every year. I was glued to my computer last year too, trying to live vicariously through everyone's tweets. Sadly I've missed it this year and once again I'm at home, watching Twitter...hopefully 2013 will be different. If you're any kind of blogger looking for business and blogging advice, follow the stream. All kinds of great tidbits are popping up there.

Today I want to highlight my Whisker Graphics December DIY. I was a bad blogger in December and I just couldn't get the project done in time with all the work I had to do. But to make up for it, I've done two projects for January. I'll share the second project tomorrow but for today, let me show you how to make an easy paper pompom flower.

Yes, I know you can go out and buy gift toppers but what's the fun in that? This one is homemade and it's super easy. I made the flowers out of Whisker Graphics Bitty Bags which are a waxy, glassine material. I used one bag, some scissors, a pencil, and double stick tape to make the flower. That's all you need!

Cut four circles out of the Bitty Bags. My circles were about 3.5" in diameter but different sizes would work too. Mark a smaller circle in the middle, like what is shown above. Then fringe the edges. Cut little strips from the outer circle to the inner circle, leaving the center as is. 

Then just put double stick tape in the centers and press all four circles together. And finally, fluff up the fringe to give it volume and make it flower-like. Stick it to a present, add some twine, and then gift to a friend. Easiest ever gift wrapping...and it was all made by you!

I used a few of the Bitty Bag colors to demonstrate different looks for the pompom. I think I'll need to try this technique with tissue paper next and see how that looks. Maybe even wrapping paper? I like the look of patterned paper to give the pompom some variety and not just a single, solid color.

This might become a go-to wrapping technique for me simply because it is so easy. All you really need are a few adornments and you're good to go. Packaging doesn't need to be hard to be cute and special. What are your favorite packaging techniques? Are they quick and easy like this idea? What are your favorite materials? 

I'll post the link to the Whisker Graphics post when it goes live.

Lovely Package Gift Exchange

Happy Monday all! To start the week off right I have some more lovely packaging to share. At the end of last year I participated in Danni of Oh, Hello Friend's Lovely Package Gift Exchange. The gift exchange is such a fun idea (maybe I'll start a Crafted one this year...hmm, what do you think?) because it can connect creative bloggers from around the country. It helps introduce you to new friends and new blogs and it just helps foster this community of like-minded individuals. Now who doesn't want to be a part of a community like that? You don't need to be close in proximity to feel connected to people (thank you internet) and that's exactly why I wanted to participate myself. 

I was paired with the lovely France of Banana Fish Studio (check out her blog and say hi) and I was so happy to get to know her and send her pretty presents. She also spoiled me and sent a gift box full of treasures that I opened like a giddy school girl on Christmas Day. Thank you France so much for your thoughtful gifts. Before I sent off my presents I snapped some pictures (literally the last pictures before my camera went kaput) since the whole point of this gift exchange was to highlight the packaging. Here is what I wrapped up special for the exchange:

In emails France mentioned that she liked crochet. Now I can't actually crochet myself (hopefully I'll learn soon) but I found this beautiful vintage one in a local antique store. It was too pretty not to highlight.

When I utilize my striped bags from Whisker Graphics there isn't too much more I have to do. The bags are so cute on their own that all I need to add is some twine and a tag. Super simple packaging done right!

Fun details - stamps, gold paper clips, washi tape, glassine bags...

I found these vintage tart tins while antique shopping and filled one up with small goodies and sealed it with a clear plastic bag and some bakers twine. The tart tins would be perfect for holding small desk accessories, like paper clips or push pins. Hopefully France can repurpose it into something unique.

I found a mini mustard stapler while antiquing (on the right). Even the staples were mini. I thought it was so perfect, especially for a vintage paper lover like France. I hope she liked it.

Vintage postcard love.

I hope you enjoyed seeing these pretty packages today. I really enjoyed wrapping them up and sending them off to a new blog friend. Have a great week everyone! I have all kinds of great stuff to post in the next few days so check back in. 

DIY New Year's Good Luck Card

Hi everyone and happy Thursday! It's five days into the new year. Are we feeling good? Is 2012 treating us all nicely? So far I'm pretty pumped about it but it might have to do with all the nice weather we're having in Southern California lately. It has been in the mid-80s the last few days, no joke. I feel bad for my friend in New York who has had highs of 26. If I could I would send over some of our heat to the East Coast, we could spare a few degrees.

Today I'm excited to share the first DIY project of 2012! Yipee! I wanted the project to revolve around the new year and since I had good luck symbols on my brain because of my recent Houzz ideabook, I decided to make a little good luck card that you could send out to friends and family. This card is pretty simple and not too labor intensive. Pigs are known as lucky symbols so I incorporated a little gold pig into this card as a fun surprise for the recipients.

Sidenote + update on my Nikon d40x camera (you probably don't care but I'm including it anyway): I mentioned a few days ago that my dSLR was experiencing some technical difficulties and it is now packaged up (wrapped in layer upon layer of bubble wrap) ready to go back to Nikon for servicing. Without it I feel a bit lost but obviously this is a step that needs to be taken if I ever want to use it again. These pictures were taken with my Mom's Canon point and shoot, a nice camera but clearly not quite the quality I'm used to. Thanks Mom for letting me borrow it. So please bare with me while my baby gets fixed.

Alright so back to the DIY. Here are the materials that I used:

* white cardstock * glassine bag (4.5 x 7.25) * gold paper clip * label maker (I found mine on Etsy) + black dymo tape * plastic pig * letter stamp (mine is this one) + stamp pad * scissors * glitter tape (it's this stuff but I got it at Michaels, called Recollections Glitter Tape) * confetti if desired * paper edge rounder punch * small manila tag * jute twine * gold acrylic paint + brush

1. Cut a piece of white cardstock down to size so it fits into the glassine bag.

2. Round the corners with a punch if so desired.

3. Cut a piece of the glitter tape and then notch the ends to get a banner effect.

4. Use the label maker to spell out 'happy new year' on black dymo tape.

5. Notch the ends of the dymo tape as well and then stick to the cardstock, layering over the glitter tape.

6. Spell out 'for good luck' with the custom letter stamp and stamp the message onto the small manila tag.

7. On the back side of the cardstock, fill out your New Year's message to loved ones.

8. Paint the plastic pig with gold acrylic paint. I recommend two coats. Allow dry time between each coat.

9 & 10. Use jute twine to tie the manila tag to the gold pig. Place the pig into the glassine bag along with the cardstock and confetti (if desired).

All packaged up, your good luck card should look something like this:

The confetti makes the package fun and more like a surprise treat for the recipients although I understand the annoyances of cleaning it up. But how can you resist it?!

So what do you think? Would you send out New Year's cards? With the hustle and bustle of the holidays it can be hard to get cards out during those busy months. I like the idea of New Year's cards because they're sort of different and unexpected but also easier on you because you can put them together once the craziness ends. 

I hope you all enjoyed my first DIY of 2012. It felt good to get crafty again and back into the routine. My DIYs got pretty sparse towards the end of the year. I am definitely looking forward to making up some crafty creations to share here and out in the rest of the blogosphere. 

Have a great day!

Happy New Year + Happy Packaging

Hi blog friends! Happy New Year! Can you believe it's 2012 already? I had to write 1/1 yesterday and it felt so weird. But I am so excited for the new year and am happy to get back into the swing of things today with a blog post. I was oh, so neglectful in December (embarrassing) but we'll forget about that and move forward with a plethora of posts in January. Today I'm going to share with you some of my Christmas packaging and later in the week we'll be recapping my Twelve by 2012 goals (I did ok but definitely didn't accomplish all twelve). I want to set up a new mini goals list and share it with you here (you keep me motivated) so I'll be announcing that soon.

But first I have some sad news. My faithful and reliable old friend, my Nikon d40x camera, is currently experiencing some technical difficulties. I was taking some shots with it a few days ago and suddenly an error message popped up on the screen and the shutter will no longer fire. The message reads: 'Error. Press shutter release button again.' Based on some research I did, I don't think the camera is totally dead or anything but I'll need to send it into Nikon for fixing and have to pay some fee which I won't be happy about. Poor  camera! It is five years old and has taken a ton of pictures but still, I'm frustrated that I will be digital camera-less for awhile. I rely on it so much, especially with the blog. But I'll find a way to share pictures here...that's why Steve Jobs invented the iPhone I guess. Has anyone else experienced this problem with their Nikon cameras?

And now for the pretty packaging part of the post. This year wrapping mostly consisted of white paper and washi tape. Simple components yes, but I came up with a handful of different configurations to make each package feel unique and fun.

I think my favorite was this one to my brother. David has gotten into photography this year so I gave him a few different photo/camera goodies. I incorporated this old photograph into his packaging, using my label maker to write out our names. A pop of color with some washi and some bakers twine and this easy package was completed in no time.

The present on the left was for my Mom. I cut wahi tape into triangles and made garlands on her package. This is so easy to do but it has major wow factor. It would be perfect for birthday wrapping. The present on the right was for my brother. I bought the cute glasses tag at Renegade this year. It was designed by Invita Paper Studio. Find the tags here. I actually saw Adriana (the talented designer behind Invita) at two local shows and was so happy to chat with a local creative. She is super sweet and her designs are just so colorful and fun. I definitely recommend checking out her shop. 

This simple criss-cross washi was for my stepdad. 

I dug out these cute bike stamps and made a fun little package for my brother (side note: I can't believe I bought these stamps a year ago!). I'm digging the collage effect with the washi. I'll need to try that more often. 

And finally, another one for my Mom. I had to wrap it in kraft paper because of the size. I love that the design on the washi is actually illustrated buttons and then I added a few actual vintage buttons to keep up the theme. And a skeleton key with some lace is always the perfect feminine touch. 

How did your wrapping go this year? In the past I have saved wrapping until the end and then I just stick everything into bags, very uncreatively. So I was proud to actually wrap everything up this time around. And I even did it a few days ahead so the presents got to enjoy some time under the tree just looking pretty before getting ripped into. Christmas success!

Again, happy 2012 dear readers! I am so looking forward to this next year together. Cheers to pretty pictures, fun blog posts, and lovely inspiration and projects to come. 

Lovely Package Workshop Pictures

A few weeks ago I shared that Danni from Oh, Hello Friend was organizing a Lovely Package Workshop and that I was asked to be involved. I could not have been more excited to get crafty with our little group and get some ideas for my own holiday wrapping (which has yet to commence...remember, I have no presents yet). The workshop took place over Thanksgiving weekend and it was the perfect way to spend an afternoon, surrounded by friends and packaging. What more could a girl want! I have a handful of pictures to share today so I'll let the eye candy speak for itself. In a separate post I will share my own DIY that I demonstrated at the class which involves wrapping with a mason jar. Thank you to everyone who came out, I loved meeting you all. I felt so welcome. And most importantly thank you Danni for thinking of me and asking me to participate.

Our class would not have been nearly as successful if it weren't for the beautiful venue that hosted us. Beth, the lovely owner of Salvage Life, opened up her little shop/office space for us and how fun it was to see her collection of vintage curiosities. It is such an inspiring space. Beth is one lucky lady!

Danni filled these vintage muffin tins with all the craft ephemera that each guest would need. The guests were smart and brought their own presents so not only were they learning new packaging techniques but also getting some of their holiday wrapping out of the way. I gave each guest a little glassine bag filled with goodies like colored twine, fabric ribbon, and wooden tags. The mason jar on the top right is my DIY but I'll share more pictures of that in another post.

That would be glitter wrapping paper on the left...how fabulous! I believe Danni got it at Michaels. I think I must make a stop at Michaels now.

I love all of the layering in this present, such a great combination of fun elements. The paper is actually vintage wallpaper. Since it is thicker than normal paper, it is a little difficult to wrap with but such a beautiful effect it has. Search Etsy for all kinds of vintage patterns and add a new twist to your holiday packaging this year.

Here is Danni and Elizabeth working on the best way to wrap. Collectively everyone shared their secrets. I know I learned a few tips. Elizabeth claimed she got fired from a job where she had to wrap presents but we all doubted her because she was pretty pro at it.

The lovely Tristan from Besotted Brand demonstrated this bow DIY which was super easy to create but still perfect looking. That glitter ribbon is kind of the ultimate, don't you think? Tristan's shop is packaging heaven. I wouldn't mind having one of everything under my Christmas tree this year. Did you hear that Santa?

So that was our Lovely Package Workshop! I hope we'll have more in the future because packaging is fun no matter what time of year. Thanks again to Danni, Tristan, and Beth for all their hard work and for having me.

Happy Wednesday friends!