Math Makes Better Snowflakes, Starflakes & Swirlflakes

While in public school I performed poorly in my mathematics classes. I'm not sure why, because now I feel I'm pretty skilled in the art of home renovations and the various math calculations that come with them. Maybe I'm more of a practical, hands-on-sort-of-girl, whereas my high school teachers were insistent on learning theory.

No matter.

Now I know enough math to make some pretty awesome paper snowflakes, starflakes and swirlflakes. Thanks to this Youtube video by ViHart, we can help our children, students, siblings, spouse, friends, and other family and friends learn that math + paper = LOTS of FUN.

Have fun!! 

This the ceiling in my basement family rec room showing what my three kids and I did for fun the other day:

DIY Batman T-Shirt

I'm SO EXCITED to share today's craft with you! I saw the idea on Pinterest originally the other day aaand have been flipping out GIDDY waiting to do it myself. hahaha 'Cause I'm an uber nerd like that. And I used cardstock, so it totally falls under my paper-crafting expertise area! ;-)

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN BATMAN T-SHIRT! BOOyah!!

What you need:

• a solid-colour t-shirt (white won't work, silly!) - I got ours at Wal-Mart for $4-$9 (I think Mr. Man's was the pricey one - oy!)
• a spray bottle of bleach (STRAIGHT bleach; don't dilute it)
• the Batman sign (which you have to cut out, so scissors, of course)
• and if you're cooler than me maybe some spray-adhesive to help hold the paper to the shirt while you work...especially if it's as windy for you as it was for me!

So I was GOING to draw the symbol and cut it out, 'cause I totally mastered that skill at Hallowe'en when I carved a Batman pumpkin (it was awesome, if I do say so myself...and I totally do!) but wanted to just verify something aaaaand realized in the Googling that I could just print the thing off and save myself the angst of the drawing.... duh!

I got the Batman image from Google search: "how to draw batman symbol" which brought up the image from http://www.dragoart.com/tuts/3751/1/1/how-to-draw-batman-logo.htm  You can get this logo pasted into a PDF for printing here)

Then, obviously I think, I cut it out. I should have used my craft scissors, but being lazy and the weather ridICulously hot today (aiding my laziness take over) so I just used the kitchen scissors. O:-)

Did you know when you cut shapes, especially round ones, that it works best to move the paper and NOT the scissors?  Try it next time you're cutting out a circle; just hold the scissors steady and move the paper along the line you're cutting. It's the secret to a lump-free round cut!

Batman's all cut out and ready to go!

Then I went outside and laid my shirt out flat, and put the paper pieces down on the shirt.

Placed on the t-shirt.

ALMOST READY!

....then I pulled the greatest face EVER...

Dang it! There was quite the gust of wind... I think this is why the original suggested using spray adhesive to help hold her letters on... silly short-cutting!

Then the spraying began!  The idea is to spritz above the shirt and let the bleach sort of float down onto the shirt.

Waiting for it to dry a little before moving it...see how much lighter the shirt is already?

Next shirt!

Spray up above the shirt and let it fall down

like this!

Then remove the paper and voila!!

Ta da!  ...except you can see on the bottom right where I slightly didn't spray UP and got a wee bit under the paper... O:-)

 Because I sprayed our shirts SO much (to make the symbol stand out oodles) I sprayed the backs, too.  A bit lighter, though, 'cause I wasn't screening anything on that side. Just so it wasn't funny looking. 

The coolest family of Batman shirts EVAH! SO excited to wear these!

Once they're dry you're supposed to be able to wear them and go...but I don't like my clothes reeking of bleach, so I ran them quickly through a short wash first.

Isn't that GREAT?! I'm SO IN LOVE! And, obviously, you can do ANYTHING! The pin that I got this from was of the kids' names on the shirt and the blogger had tried a cross that she then added jewels to - it was very pretty!  The sky is the limit, folks! Make yourself something fabulous!

I'm going to go watch Batman.

The Christmas ABCs****

****If you happen to be Rebecca's in-laws, PLEASE refrain from reading this post until AFTER your gift exchange on the 27th. Okay, THANKS! I know, I shouldn't post presents, but I'm too excited!

Okay, so I don't know really if this counts as a do-it-yourself crafting post...and if the verdict by you lovely readers is that's it's NOT, well, SORRY! But I am SOOO uber stoked about this ginormous crafting project I've done up for a Christmas gift for my four beautiful, crazy, precious nieces I HAD to show it off and gloat.  I haven't even wrapped it yet 'cause I keep pulling it out to show it off when people pop by the house!

I'm pathetic, I know.
 
Anyway, the story goes like this:

I login to Facebook one day, well, not exactly minding my own business (isn't Facebook about minding everyone else's? I mean, really.) when I notice that I have un-dealt with event invitations. One of which is from a BYU roommate of mine (Hi, Elisha!) inviting me to the month-long "ABCs of Christmas." I'm like, WHAT the heck, I hate these invitation thingies.

Then I opened it.

SHEER BRILLIANCE. I LOVED it so much, I took the idea and turned it into a book for my nieces! And I absolutely will be making one this year for MY family to institute as one of our Christmas traditions!

Here, first, is the text from the event page (copied and pasted directly from, so these are totally Elisha's words, not mine!):


My sister sent me this idea to help our little one's learn about the true reason of Christmas. I think it is a great reminder for all of and will help us to remember the true reason we are celebrating this season, the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Enjoy!

December 1st “A” is for angel – Luke 1:30-31, “Hark, The Herald Angels Sing,” and be and angel – do a secret deed.

December 2nd “B” is for bells – Luke 2:13-14, “I Heard the Bells,” and ring the bells – sing songs or add bells to your tree.

December 3rd “C” is for candle – Matthew 5:14-16, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Eat by candle light.

December 4th “D” is for drum - D&C 25:12, “The Little Drummer Boy.” Decide what to give Him (pa rum-pa-pum-pum).

December 5th “E” is for evergreen – Psalm 100:4, “O Christmas Tree.” Put up your evergreen tree.

December 6th F is for friendly beasts – Luke 1:26-38, 46, 47 “Away in a Manger” -2nd Verse. Feed the friendly beasts – make a bird feeder with peanut butter and seeds and hang in a tree.

December 7th G is for gingerbread- Luke 19:29-38, “Up on the Housetop.” Make a gingerbread house.

December 8th H is for hug – 1 Nephi 11:8-23, “Because I Have Been Given Much.” Give a hug and make cookies for a friend/neighbor.

December 9th I is for inn – Luke 2:1, 3-7, “O, Come all Ye Faithful.” Help someone in need.

December 10th J is for Joy – 3 Nephi 1:13, “Joy to the World.” Make a joyful noise – go caroling.

December 11th K is for kings – Psalms 24:9-10, “We Three Kings” Set up a nativity adding kings.

December 12th L is for lamb – Isaiah 40:11. “While Shepherds Watched.” Add lambs to the nativity.

December 13th M is for manger. Luke 2:12 and read the definition of “manger” in the dictionary.“Away in a Manger.” Add the manger and
Mary and Joseph to the nativity.

December 14th N is for names. Isaiah 7:14. “Tell me the stories of Jesus.” Names, names, names – address cards while listening to or watching the nutcracker.

December 15th O is for ornaments. Matthew 6:19-21. “Deck the Halls.” Decorate or make ornaments.

December 16th P is for presents. Matthew 7:11. “12 Days of Christmas.” Wrap or give presents.

December 17th Q is for quiet. Luke 2:19. “Silent Night.” Be quiet! Enjoy a puzzle, book or game at home.

December 18th R is for rod. Luke 2:8-18, 20. “Far, Far Away.” Make hot chocolate and stir it with a candy cane rod.

December 19th S is for Santa. Helaman 14:3. “Here Comes Santa Claus.” Visit Santa.

December 20th T is for twinkling stars. Helaman 14:5-6. “The First Noel.” See the lights or go to the planetarium.

December 21st U and W is for unto us. Isaiah 9:6. “Angels We Have Heard On High.” Unto us a child is born. Go to the visitor center on temple square or watch a live nativity.

December 22nd V is for visit. Matthew 2:1 -14. “With Wondering Awe.” Visit neighbors bearing gifts.

December 23rd X is for extra visitors. 1 Nephi 11:20-24. “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Have extra people over to visit (play games,
dinner, or for FHE).

December 24th Y and Z - 3 Nephi 1:19 and John 3:17. Sing or read “The Night before Christmas.” Yawn and get some ZZZ's

Isn't that just FANTASTIC? I LOVE it!! 

So, I collected my enormous stash of Christmas scrapbooking paper (as usual, with me, everything I used was Close To My Heart paper and products soooo... there's their credit for that awesomeness!) fired up my Cricut (HIGHLY recommend using some sort of paper cutter for this - there are a LOT of letters, PHEW!), gave myself some rules as to what type of techniques I'm NOT allowed to use (I had 26 letters to double-page scrapbook, 'cause I'm insane, so my favourite distressing techniques - i.e. sanding - were OUTLAWED! hahaha) 

And here's what I got! 

E is for evergreen!  The list suggested putting up your evergreen tree, but I think on Dec 2 (B for bells) you're supposed to put bells on the tree....sooo I changed it and said to sit around the tree and say what you're thankful for this season. It goes with the scripture in Psalms. :-)

A is for angel - be an angel today and do a secret good deed!

G is for gingerbread, and one of my favourite pages!

Dec 24th it says to read "The Night Before Christmas" so I figured I'd better include that at the end of the book for easy access come story time! We HAVE to be all ready for Santa to come, and what better way to get ready than to read this classic?

We're a little strapped for cash this Christmas, so instead of using an actual scrapbook cover I made a cover, and then inside the page protector reinforced it with a couple extra pieces of cardstock, so it's not flimsy. Not that cardstock is overly flimsy, but you know, you want your front and back cover to have some, uh, "meat" to them.

And I used 1" binder rings to "bind" the book, and then decorated them by tying on oodles of red & green ribbons!

So there you have it! Unless you're the fastest worker ever there's probably NOT time to get this done for Christmas this year, but what a fabulous idea to help us focus our kids on what the heck this whole season is about - for Christian folk like my family, of course!  My wonderful 4-year-old daughter the other day, stood looking at my nativity scene set up near the Christmas tree and I'm told announced to my hubs "I don't like Jesus. I like Santa." hahahaha which is awesome and adorable - I'm so happy she can speak her mind so freely! - but hopefully next year we can start a new tradition in our home so she can see that while Santa's the super-FUN part of Christmas, he's not really what it's all about. Like when the Grinch realizes that maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store, but perhaps means a little bit more. :-)

Merry Christmas, everyone! Happy last-minute crafting! I have to quit blogging now so I can get back to finishing up my OTHER giant project that is NOT finished yet - oy WHY do I do this to myself every year? hahaha 

The Betties will be taking a blogging break over the Holidays - we'll be back in Januray. :-)

Cheers, all!
 

Paper Christmas Tree

Christmas is always a go big or go home holiday with our family. Usually the tree is up by now and carols are playing; however I became an Auntie this weekend and thus I am a little behind. It will be up soon though no worries. This is a craft I made last year and it was a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy!

Materials Needed:

Cardstock made into a cone about 7-8" high
Strips of double sided scrapbook paper cut about a half inch by 2/12 inches
an 8" piece of thin ribbon
Small terra cotta pot
Flower foam
Moss for base of tree in pot
foot long thin dowel rod
glue gun and glue sticks
scissors

The first step it the part that takes the most time. You want to take your strips of double sided scrapbook paper and glue them into loops. Ribbon can also be used as an alternate material. Careful to not bend and crease the paper loops. you will need to cut the corners off your loops as you get further up the cone.


Then you start glueing your loops around the base of the cone and work your way up keeping in mind to overlap your seams.

Once you get to the top tie your ribbon around the top to give it a nice finish.


Cut your flower foam to fit in your terra cotta pot. make sure it does not go above the height of the pot.
Add your moss and dowel and then you can put your finished tree on top of the dowel (glueing optional) and you are done! It makes a very cute, very country-ish Christmas decoration. Hope you like it!
-Rachel

Paper Distressing - Sanding

I know, I know. We're DAYS away from Hallowe'en and all the Betties are posting fantastical Hallowe'en crafts. Which are FABULOUS; I am in awe of my fellow Betties' creativity! And, honestly, looking forward to making some of these with my kiddo over the weekend!  Buuut...I'm not going to do a Hallowe'en-themed post.   

GASP!

I KNOW, I know. I'm horrible.

But I wanted to show you one of my most absolute FAVOURITE techniques. SANDING! It's a fabulous distressing technique aaaaaaand I use it all the time.

Before you get started you need to make sure your cardstock has a white core. You can tell by looking at the edge - if there's white, you're good to go.
 Not all cardstocks have this absolutely FANTASTIC perk, though, so be mindful of it when you're at the stores.

white core cardstock

Then, obviously, you need some sandpaper.  (I use the three fabulous grains from Close To My Heart's sanding kit; love it).

dunno why this uploaded upside down... whoops! But 220, 100, and 60 grain papers

Coarse, medium, and fine... all well loved!

Also, you'll need to work on a surface you're not overly fond of, and I DEFINITELY recommend scratch paper to protect whatever surface you are on.

Base of my card, ready to go!

For this, I used my COARSE (60) paper.  And then I've sanded applying pressure in only one direction - it gives a sort of lined/striped look...

Once finished THAT, go back across the other way, to make a thatched pattern.

 

Now, I'm all about efficiency (read: LAZY), so for this card, I'm only sanding two of the edges, 'cause that's all that's going to show. 

Okay, next, I'm sanding this fabulous buttercup circle, and I'm going to use my FINE (220) paper - this will make a much softer look, and actually makes the paper super smooth to the touch.

There's no real which-way to sand this - make circles, do lines back and forth, whatever.

I focused a bit more around the edges to soften up the shape. Resulting in:

voila!

And here's the finished card!  Sanded edges, softened yellow... I love sanding!

(Card pattern from Wishes: Card Confidence Program "Keep it Level")

Here are some other examples of straight sanding techniques I've done: 

Using medium (100) all over the card.
(Card pattern from Wishes, "Lucky Layers")

Coarse sanding just the edges...
(Card pattern from Wishes, "Collage")

...results in this fabulous look!

Sanding the base-pages and photo mats around the edges with fine grain, coarse-grain hatching on accent pieces, and finally light sanding with coarse paper around the edges of the pictures themselves.

The result being some extra depth and dimension to this adorable page (layout from Cherish but I can't tell you which one 'cause I sold my copy and haven't got a new one yet! At least my kid's cute, right?)

And that, my friends, is that! A brief introduction to your next favourite technique! I'll expand on it in another post - you can do some seriously fun stuff with an embossing stylus, paperclips, shapes, and your sanding kit, but for now get a feel for it, fall in love, and happy crafting!

Cheers!
*Red

Heart Paper Chain

This "heart paper chain" i made for our wedding paper anniversary. Its super easy, you can use the old scrapbooks paper that we usually have at home or be more creative and use different kinds of paper. What i like about this idea is that you can use just imagination and do wherever you want, and use like a decoration for your celebrations.

Basically you'll need:

• Paper strips or felt ( about 5cm )
•  Ruler
• Scissors
• Stapler
• Fabric ribbon (to hang the chain somewhere or just help to decorate)

Align the strips forming a heart, before stapling put the the tips of the next heart to staple them together.
Repeat the step by step to form a chain with hearts, adding more strips of paper as many times as you need.

Be creative!!!

Seasonal Wood Blocks- AUTUMN

Seasonal Wood Blocks- AUTUMN

After visiting autumn craft fairs and drooling over Autumn, Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations, I came to the conclusion that my home was sadly under-dressed. Personally, I prefer to have items that I can change in and out with the seasons (or when I get bored!) so this Seasonal Wood Block- AUTUMN set is perfect for this time of year.

Craft Ingredients:

* (6) Six 2" x 4" wood blocks CUT to size of your choice and SANDED
* (6) Six fall-colored decorative PAPERS cut to fit blocks
* (3) Three 1.5' RIBBONS for embellishment
* (1) AUTUMN vinyl sticker decal PHRASE in BEIGE (or any other light color)
* Paint. I suggest Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch, SATIN finish, in CINNAMON (see picture)
* Decoupage Glue & Sealer. I suggest Martha Stewart Crafts Decoupage Glue & Sealer (see picture)

Wood, Decorative Paper, Ribbon, Decoupage Glue & Sealer, Paint

Directions:

Paint your sanded blocks of wood with the paint color of your choice. Wait about two hours to be sure that your paint is dry if you're not using a fast-drying paint.

Painted Wood & Decorative Paper Cut to Size

During this wait time you can choose and cut the decorative papers you will use as your block back-drop. I like to cut my papers smaller than the actual size of the block, thus allowing a border of paint color to show around the paper. If you're like my sister, who did this project with me, she did not prefer to see a paint border. Thus, she cut her papers to the exact size of the blocks. This is a personal choice, so make it your own!  

Once the paint is dry, brush the decoupage glue and sealer over one side of the block and adhere your choice of paper. Brush on a second coat of decoupage glue to seal the paper in place. Let dry over night.

Block with Paper & Vinyl Letter 'A'

When the block and paper are dry (& smooth!) to the touch, you can now apply your vinyl sticker letters. Typically, the letters are purchased as words. Cut each letter out of the word and apply to each block individually. Smooth the letter onto the block and paper, and then peel off the mask tape.

Now you may begin embellishing your blocks! This is my favorite part :) Tie your ribbons around your blocks any way you see fit, and then trim to size.

Viola! You just brought a little bit of the outdoors in by declaring how much you enjoy this Autumn/ Fall season!

PS- A great place to buy the Seasonal Wood Blocks- AUTUMN ingredients (if you don't have the time to shop but still want to make it) is: Write@Home



**DON'T FORGET** to share your photos and experience if you give this project a try!