Inspiration for Crafting

Here's the finished cradle from Saturday's post. It turned out way cuter than I envisioned it. I'm pretty happy about it! But when Sammi saw me cutting out the oatmeal container for the bed, we had an interesting conversation.
"Mommy, what's that?"
"It's a cradle for your baby."
"I want a crib."
"It is a crib. It's a bed for your baby."
"No, it's not. I want a crib!"

Hummm. So my mom and I brainstormed and came up with an idea for a crib. A box! Pretty obvious, I guess. Here's the masterpiece! Mom painted the inside and then we mod podged decorative paper on the sides and bottom.
But, I'm wondering what I can do to make it more crib-like. Any suggestions?
Phase 1 is complete and now on to Phase 2: Making bedding. This should be an interesting adventure. I'm calling on the sewing expertise of my mother-in-law to accomplish this phase!

Posted by Amber P. at 11:27 PM 1 comments    

Labels: gift ideas, paper crafts, toddler

Sammi is currently in LOVE with babies (although not always her baby sister!) and has to carry them with us everywhere. People will ask her if they can hold her baby (meaning her sister) and Sammi will squeeze her baby doll tightly and say NO! emphatically. Since she has accumulated a few, I have been thinking of Christmas presents for her in the form of accessories for her babies.

First, baby doll needs a bed! I ran across this idea for a doll cradle from the blog Chasing Cheerios. This doll cradle is cut from an oatmeal container. I was sold right there! We have saved oatmeal containers since Sammi was born. They are usually used as drums, but figured we have enough to spare one for a doll cradle! Then the container is cut to look like a cradle. Finally, the bed is decorated with paper. I have lots of cute girly paper that I'm excited to use for the cradle.

Posted by Amber P. at 3:03 PM 1 comments    

Labels: accessories, gift ideas, paper crafts, toddler

My mom recently participated in an art exchange where each person submitted a page to be included in a fat book. There were over 100 participants. That is one fat book!
Each person used an art form of their choosing to make a page for the book. This is the page my mom included. Pretty cool, huh? They also included instructions on the back. Now they have over a hundred ideas of cool things to do to make plain paper pretty.

Check out her post about it here.

Instructions:
Wet-on-Wet India Ink Method
Completely wet watercolor paper then drip India Ink onto paper in a random pattern.

Posted by Amber P. at 8:07 AM 0 comments    

Labels: paper crafts

Posted by Amber P. at 7:00 AM 0 comments    

Labels: paper crafts, service opportunities

Today is the last day to enter the giveaway!

Here are three more cards I made over the weekend to add to the Breast Cancer Awareness series I started for World Card Making Day.

In an effort to become more aware of breast cancer issues, I was perusing BreastCancer.org and came across an issue I never would have considered before: Ways to prepare for a natural disaster when you have breast cancer.

Emergency Preparedness is a topic I'm exposed to frequently so I know all about food storage, 72 hour kits, clean water supply and the like. But I never really thought about preparing for a natural disaster in the face of an illness such as breast cancer.

The site offers some insightful suggestions for what info to have handy and what to do in a medical emergency during a natural disaster.

• They suggest having all your doctors names and contact info, your personal medical records, your medications and your treatment regimen written down and stored in a waterproof freezer bag.
• They also provide a number to call in case you are unable to contact your doctor and need medical attention or have questions about missed surgeries or treatments: 1-800-4CANCER

Posted by Amber P. at 2:48 PM 0 comments    

Labels: Breast Cancer Awareness, paper crafts

The giveaway in two posts down.

In honor of World Card Making Day, I search through a lot of boxes and pulled out my collection of paper. I was inspired by another event in October. And, no, it wasn't Halloween!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women. So while my life hasn't directly been affected by breast cancer, my heart goes out to the millions of women whose lives have forever changed by the diagnosis.

I'm doing what I can to "go pink for October." So I thought I'd make a pink card. In fact, I think over the course of the month I'll complete a series of handmade cards to honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Here's the first:
It's raining today so this is as good a shot as I'm able to get in our dimly lit apartment with no sunshine to be seen!

Posted by Amber P. at 8:54 AM 0 comments    

Labels: Breast Cancer Awareness, paper crafts

This is a set of all-occasion cards I made from some fun paper I bought at JoAnn's. It was 50% off and it looks like that sale is on again! The paper inspires creativity! I love the textured pack, especially. I put this set of cards together for a gift. I thought they turned out so nicely and were so fast to make that I made several sets to have on hand for quick gifts in the future.

Posted by Amber P. at 11:03 PM 1 comments    

Labels: gift ideas, greeting cards, paper crafts