Tag Archives: paper

Making & Baking Our Way into Fall | Pics & Links

3 Sep

Oh hi! Here’s what we’ve been up to (a meaty post with pictures & links!)…

Savoring summer, time with Kate’s dad & the best lobstah roll ever (PJ’s Family Restaurant in Wellfleet).

Making pickles! Refrigerator style using this recipe and farm fresh pickling cukes from a farm near Jess’s home town. We added cloves of garlic & black whole peppercorns to each jar. We also made a spicy batch for our neighbor by tossing in a sliced jalapeno from our container garden (YAY!). We’ve been eating them on EVERYTHING (pictured below on turkey sandwiches).

Salivating over a new issue of Bon Appetit and celebrating awesome neighbors with this delightful coffee cake. Toss blueberries in panko breadcrumbs? SURE!

Here’s what the blueberry coffee cake looked like sliced (just before it got hand delivered to our favorite neighbors). This Instagram filter makes it look straight out of my mom’s 1970 Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.

Catching up on crafty gifts, part I! Long overdue wedding card/art piece for friends Emily & Chris. Those are heart shaped bits I cut out of their save-the-date & invitations. I love sewing paper.

Catching up on crafty gifts, part II! Finally getting around to finishing this advent calendar project for 2 very special little boys (yes, that’s 48 little fabric bags). Promised last year that I’d make these & we’d fill them with goodies each year…literally the gift that keeps on giving! The first time I stumbled across this project on Lansdowne Life, I obsessed over the adorable vintage looking fabric…to die for, right?!? Can’t wait to fill the bags with goodies & send them off. Oh & those pinking shears were an amazing vintage find at a little consignment shop on the Cape. 

Officially launching Opal & Ollie on Etsy. YAY! A selection of my etched glass mason jars are also available at Magpie in Davis Square & On Centre in Jamaica Plain.

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Easy Peasy! | Stencil project

9 May

I’m sharing a quick & easy mid-week project because it’s perfect for a last minute Mother’s Day treat (who doesn’t keep some sort of project, to do, grocery, or inspiration list?!). My dad used to keep folded pieces of lined paper in his shirt pocket for on-the-job lists & notes but we’ve recently gotten him jazzed about these little gems (how cool that you can customize them, too?).

So…I wanted to make him my own version to put in his Easter basket. While I couldn’t find a notebook in the exact same size, Moleskine’s Cahier size notebook is close enough (and who doesn’t love Moleskine?!). I prefer the kraft brown but a word of caution: it can be a little tricky to stencil on if you’re using a sticky stencil because you might peel some of the kraft paper up when you lift the stencil. It’s possible, just be careful.

Supplies

Stencil (steps for making your own included below)

  • Pen or extra fine point permanent marker
  • Frisket (wide masking tape or contact paper, etc. – I used transfer paper commonly used with adhesive vinyl because it comes in a large roll & has a printed grid pattern that makes it easy to align)
  • Craft knife or tiny scissors

Sponge or piece of foam (I used a shoe shine sponge – hotel freebie!!!!)
Paint (I used liquid acrylic but regular acrylic or screen printing ink would be fine, too)
Notebook (or any object you’d like to stencil)

 Making the stencil

  1. If you don’t have anything sticky to use for your stencil, you could use a piece of heavy paper, freezer paper or card stock & just tape it down. I like using something sticky because I like knowing my edges are sealed, just in case.
  2. Draw the image of your stencil on the frisket (or whatever you’re using). The negative space will be what gets painted so keep that in mind as you create. Start with something simple.
  3. Using your craft knife cut out the parts of the image that you want to appear in paint.

Stencil time!

  1. Position & stick your stencil on the notebook – lightly but enough so the edges of the stencil stay in place. If you created a stencil you need to tape down, use a couple small pieces of masking tape or painters tape to anchor it down. I left one of the bottom corners lifted up a little in the photo below to show you just how lightly I stuck my stencil down.
  2. Squirt/dab a little bit of paint on a scrap piece of paper. Dab the sponge in it and then tap it lightly a few times on the scrap paper to remove any globby bits.  Then dab your stencil with it (you want to lightly tap, overlapping each time, vs. rubbing). If you need to use a little bit more paint, go for it. It’s best to start light & add a little more (so the paint doesn’t bleed under your stencil).
  3. Remove your stencil & let the paint dry. Lifting the stencil is my favorite part!

I know I made these instructions a bit thorough! But don’t worry, this project honestly only took me less than 10 minutes to complete.

It’s a simple project for any maker level.

Happy making!

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Thrifty Craft | Calendar Envelopes

21 Mar


It’s my natural instinct as an artist to hoard *um, I mean be SUPER resourceful about* materials that inspire me to make them over & use them again. Here’s a fun project that I came up with last year as a way to use our 2010 calendar (I couldn’t bear to recycle all of those cute Boston Terrier PUPPIES!). We are always in need of envelopes for our dog walker’s bi-weekly payment, etc. & we like to keep corresponding fun. These also make a cute gift paired with some pretty colored blank cards & tied up with some baker’s twine.

Materials

1 old calendar (the more interesting, the better!)
1 envelope (small-medium) 
pair of scissors
ball point pen or pencil (for tracing template) 
straight edge (I prefer a cork backed metal ruler)
bone folder or popsicle stick
magazine or self healing cutting mat (to protect your work surface)
glue stick

Steps

1.Disassemble the calendar & cut the calendar pages in half. Set the cover of the calendar aside.

2. Carefully slide your finger under the glued edges of the envelope & pull it apart, smoothing it flat. (If you’re worried about ripping it, steam it open over a kettle or pot of boiling water. The envelope I used — a stray that I found in the bottom of our filing cabinet — came apart just fine without any extra effort.)

3. Take the cover of the calendar (or any other sturdy piece of cardboard or card stock you have lying around), trace the envelope onto it using the ball point pen/pencil & cut it out. This is your “template”!

4. Trace your template onto the calendar pages. I traced the side of the calendar page with the image on it because I wanted to be very intentional about how the image would appear on the finished envelope but you could trace the template on the other side if you’re worried about the pen marks showing up on the finished envelope. Speaking of…I used a Sharpie so it would show up in pictures for this tutorial but I’d recommend using something with a finer tip.

5. Cut out your calendar page envelopes.

6. Using your bone folder (or tip of a popsicle stick) & straight edge, create a crease along each side of the envelope. (Just match up the corners with your straight edge & slide the bone folder along the edge — using the point to create a little invisible line in the paper.)

7. Fold each flap of each envelope on the creases.

8. Place a folded envelope on top of a piece of scrap paper  & glue the sides of the bottom flap. Fold it in and smooth it down (make sure the bottom corners are really glued down!). Repeat for the remaining envelopes.

 

Maker’s note: As I use each envelope, I seal the top flap with a little piece of tape, a swipe of a glue stick or a decorative label/sticker.
If your calendar images are really bold/dark, you might also want to stick a label on the front of the envelope for the address.

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