Happy 2019!

A new year comes with new crafting aspirations!

I have big plans for this blog this year including a resolution to post at least once a week. (Given my poor posting record these last few years, it is an ambitious but, I still believe, achievable goal.)

I have new interests to explore and new tools to play with. To start, I have been flirting with brush calligraphy for the last month with the aim of having a classy "Happy New Year" handlettered for this post. That was clearly abandoned for a more attainable "2019".

Much paper was used in striving for this goal. Not Instagram pretty yet but working on it!

Looking forward to a creative and productive year! Happy 2019!

Onward to a More Organized 2017!

Happy New Year!

I love starting a new planner - I get to indulge in these lovely delusions that somehow, I will be more organized and productive from here on out. This year I'm using a Brownline Daily planner since, sadly, I don't have the time any more to design, print and assemble my own from scratch. However, you can see that I'm trying to make up for the lack in brightly coloured tabs, stickies and pens. I also splurged on Black Friday and bought myself a pack of craft tape and have been extensively decorating my monthly spreads.

I finally understand why crafters like this stuff so much!

Will this result in a more productive year? I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

How Long Does It Take To Make A Chocolate Covered Pretzel?

Answer: Depends on who is making it.

And if it's Emily, Tim and me then the real answer is: a lot longer than it should.

After much debate about how to best melt the candy and some trial and error...we finally read the box. Things went much easier after that.

We eventually did get the knack of it though and produced thirteen beautifully festive pretzels.

Thanks to Emily for providing the ingredients and Tim for the photography. As for me, I just got sprinkles everywhere! :)

Happy New Year, everyone!

A New Year, A New Planner

Happy 2015! *Throws glitter and confetti into the air*

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with friends and family. Now that the Christmas decorations have been packed away, the turkey leftovers have been polished off and the guests have been waved home, it's time to get back to the daily grind. 

Do you remember the planner I made back in July? If you don't, that's it on the left in the picture above. Sadly, it wasn't quite up to the rigors of resident life and you will notice that the edges and corners look a little worse for wear. That's why, I really couldn't pass up the chance to make a new one for New Year.  

I decided I needed a better core for this one. Since my bookbinding skills weren't passing muster, I thought to start with a book and build from there. 

Conference swag is awesome for crafting because it is usually quality stuff that I don't mind altering and best of all, it's free.

I really like the clear plastic covers for the front and back - they will protect my designs nicely.

Even though the covers were laminated, I decided to reinforce them anyway to make sure that this one lasts the whole year. 

I designed the calendars again on Microsoft Word, keeping things simple. This time, I cut out each of the calendars and glued them to the pages of my notebook.

During one of Michael's open paperstock sales, I picked up some lovely floral patterns. I decided to do the same thing as my previous planner and picked two different patterns for the front and back covers.

The key to any professional-looking paper wrapping is in the corners.

So what earth-shattering organizational system am I using now? Well, I have developed a love of sticky notes and a realization that I do not need to keep a record of every minute thing in my day. My to-do lists are going to be written on stickies which are stuck to the first page of my agenda. As things are accomplished, I will have the satisfaction of ripping up said stickies. 

Major events will be laid out on my month-at-a-glance calendars. All the rest of the pages in the notebook will be for other lists, notes or even some impromptu journaling.

I have collected so many stickers over the years and never seem to know what to do with them. Time to add a little colour and fun to my agenda!

And that's it! Of course, an organizational system is only as good as the person who is using it and I am hit-or-miss at best. We shall see how this year goes. 

Allison and I want to wish everyone who has been following our blog a very happy new year. It's been a lot of fun sharing our hobbies with all of you - 2014 was an awesome year for crafting. As I glance back at my first post of last year, I am happy to note that during this last year I posted 'work in progress' shots, created a tutorial, and got Allison to post some of her creations - all things that I said I would do. I fell short of my goal of having a post up per week but I posted twice as much as I did in 2013 - progress!

So what are my crafting goals for 2015? I'm aiming for a total of 52 posts this year and a lot more crafting afternoons with friends. So get your scissors and glue ready - it's going to be another amazing year!

Happy New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Actually, it’s tomorrow but it is never too early to show off some Chinese New Year themed crafts!

2014 is the year of the horse:

I got the pattern from here. Sorry, not an original creation. : P

A search on google was very sparse in terms of good crafts. Most of the results were geared towards kids and were either a simple Chinese lantern or some form of a dragon craft painted red. Therefore, I decided to look back at traditional Chinese handicrafts.  Unfortunately, I did not have the materials for most of them (I say this as if having bamboo sticks, silk screens, or embroidered cloth would make up for my lack of skill). The one that I could do though was the paper cutting. There are some beautifully elaborate patterns out there but since I was also watching TV at the time I was making these, I decided to not risk my fingers with something too challenging.

All these patterns are variations on templates I found on the internet. 

They are all very simple but I think they are still cute. 

Next year, I plan on making many, many more to hang around my house.

Dimensions: varies

Materials:  Red gift wrapping paper, red thread, tape

Tools: scissors, pencil

Time to Make: 2 hours

Cutting out these designs really brought home to me that an artist is sometimes only as good as her tools. My scissors were not the double sharpened, needle tipped scissors that Chinese artists traditionally used and I found that limited how finely I could cut my lines without ripping them. Clearly, I need to do more shopping if I want to take this art further. ; D

Happy 2014!

Happy 2014! *Blows a party horn and throws confetti* I love New Year – so much potential, so many possibilities…so many potential crafting possibilities! My Pinterest boards are loaded with plans and my craft supply cupboard is bursting. I am all set!

Every year, I make a bunch of New Year’s resolutions and even if I rarely carry mine through the whole year (*blush* I am a bit ashamed to admit…), I still love making them. Hope springs eternal  ; )! This year, I fully intend to have at least one post up on this blog each week. They will be released every Thursday simply because Thursday has always been and still is my favorite day of the week. Everyone can also look forward to Allison finally posting up some of her creations. She knits the cutest things and I always feel like I am dragging an elephant up a hill trying to get her to show them off.

This year, I am also going to try taking some ‘work in progress’ photos and maybe even create a tutorial for something. All big plans!

I was really not sure what to post as my first crafting diversion of the year but I figured a winter theme was a must. This doodled coffee cup was completed thanks to a 3-hour church annual general meeting. My friend had bought a coffee from a local shop and the entirely blank paper cup was irresistible to my pen. This was definitely an impromptu craft and when life hands you an opportunity like that, you cannot pass it by. I would have preferred a sharpie but I suppose one cannot be too picky under the circumstances. As you can see, I am so productive at meetings ; D!

See that sparkly Christmas card on the right with the ornament and the snowmen? That is a handmade card from a friend of mine in Thunder Bay. I have craft-y friends : )

I am not a doodler by nature and I have not seriously drawn something since high school so I was feeling a bit rusty with my scribbles.  I am going to have to start decorating the margins of my notes more often.

My friend was kind enough to shoot a video of my rotating coffee cup because you really cannot appreciate the full effect of the wrap around doodles in the photos.

From both Allison and me, we want to thank all of our family and friends who have been reading our blog. Of course, if anyone else out there is also reading, thank you to you also. Onwards to a craft-y (crafting…?) New Year!