Birthday Countdown: T Minus Two Weeks And Counting

The Little Mister has his 1st birthday party in a few short weeks and I'm getting ready to blitz the house with cleanliness and try to finish up some more decorations. Very excited to see family that we haven't seen in way too long and hopefully have some friends join us too. Haven't gotten much crafting done since the rag wreath a few weeks ago, but have been buying up some super cute robots, monsters and other fun stuff! I'm planning on making a banner or two this week. It's time to get to work! Oh! That completely adorable appliqued and embroidered t-shirt was made by my sis-in-law who owns GoLoud Graphics. You should check them out, they are fantastic!

Robot/Monster Rag Wreath Complete

The rag wreath I posted about last week here got its finishing touches, embellished chipboard letter and die cut monster and robot hanging in the middle, and just in time for the Little Mister's one year old photo shoot. I'm not a bright colors kind of person but I am absolutely loving this color scheme and the monsters and robots theme is just too much fun for a little boy. The Little Mister is loving the monster things too. Every time I show him something he gets the giggles, so I guess I chose well! Next on my to-do list: invitations! Won't have anyone there to admire my little cutie or all my pretty decorations if I don't invite them! You can find my rag wreath how-to here.

Recycled T-shirt Rag Wreath

My Little Mister is turning one next month and I'm getting amped for his monsters and robots party! I'm trying to get super crafty with it. I've been wanting to craft a party for awhile but we don't have very many parties. When my first two boys were having their first birthdays I hadn't yet discovered my affinity for paper crafting.

I made this rag wreath from warn out t-shirts destined for the trash and a pair of striped footie jammies that had seen their last bedtime.

This was a super easy project, even the little ones could help make this. It is a bit tedious, but a good project for keeping your hands busy while watching the boob tube.

Ingredients:
You can use whatever fabric scraps, warn out t-shirts and clothes you have lying around. To give you an idea of how much fabric it took to fill the wreath this is what I used.

• 1 pair of fleece footie jammies, 6T
• 3 medium women's t-shirts
• 1 large men's t-shirt
• 1 wire wreath
• 3" wide ribbon (I used fabric cut 6" wide and folded)
• any decorative doodads you want to gussy up your finished wreath

Directions:

• Cut your t-shirts into 3"x6" strips
• Tie them in a single knot around one wire
• Continue until wire wreath is full
• To make your hanger, push ends of wide ribbon through from back, tie in a bow or knot
• Add doodads if desired

Voila! Adorable wreath!
It really is that simple! No sewing or gluing, just cutting and tying!

I still have to make my doodads, some die cut monsters, robots and a scrapped chipboard initial. More show and tell to come!

Gearing Up For A Celebration, Monsters and Robots Style

 In only a few days the Little Mister will be ELEVEN months old! I can not believe the time has gone by so quickly. He's still as mellow as ever (thank goodness) and gaining new skills daily. Eleven months old means we are thinking about a first birthday party! I love first birthdays, we've always done those bigger than the other birthdays. They are just such a milestone, seeing a baby grow from this adorable, little blob of do-nothing to a baby who can move about the world, has opinions about stuff, can do things by themselves, communicate. And we survived it so we should get to celebrate!


I've decided the Little Mister's theme is going to be monsters and robots. I ordered this adorable hat from Fashion Touch on Etsy for his first birthday pictures. He thought it was so funny, not sure we'll get him to keep it on his head for long, taking this picture was a bit of a chore. I'm getting all excited with plans of things to make, decorations and scrappy craft projects then I wonder how I'll even get the house clean for a party, we're a zoo these days!

Family Heritage Scrapbook

These are scrapbooks that I made for my mom and mom-in-law for Christmas and I just love the way they turned out! They're now available through my online shop, Papercut Kitchen. Having such amazing photos to scrapbook makes a world of difference, how gorgeous are the Little Mister's newborn pictures and our family photos?! That would be all thanks to H & H Photography.

Vintage Girl Scrapbook

My sneak peak from a few weeks ago turned into this little beauty, vintage charm for a baby girl's pictures. The only thing I don't like about this album is that, with three little boys of my own, I have no reason to make one for myself! It will be appearing in my shop soon so keep your eyes out.

Sneak Peak Sunday

I have 3 adorable boys so whenever a custom order that involves pink, vintage roses, lace and bling comes into my scrappy little hands you know I get excited! Happy scrapping!

Custom Silhouettes: Capturing the Moment

 Custom Multiple Figure Silhouette by Papercut Kitchen $60.00

I love working on custom silhouettes! I'm always surprised by how they turn out, each one so unique just by changing the pattern background and colors. I think what I love most though is the process, knowing that I'm working with a photograph of someone's loved ones, the most special people and events in their lives, really makes me feel honored. The last image I worked from was just such a good one I wanted to share my process a bit.

This is the gorgeous image the client supplied me with, isn't it so incredibly romantic and fun? Not hard to find inspiration there!

From the client's image I create a digital silhouette and send it for their approval, no one knows them better than themselves and loved ones so I like to make sure I captured them correctly.

When the silhouette and paper choices have been approved it's time to cut and assemble. Voila! Custom Papercut Kitchen silhouette! I make mine using the computer and my beloved Silhouette die cutting machine, but you can make one at home the old fashioned way, shadows and tracing. Or print your photo to the size you want on your home computer and cut out the figures to make a template.

H&H Photography and Papercut Kitchen: Match Made in Heaven!

I'm incredibly excited to announce my latest scrappy endeavor, a partnership with H&H Photography to bring my scrapbooks and photo boxes to her fantastic mini-session packages! Her photography is absolutely gorgeous, artistic and the kind that doesn't just take a person's picture but captures a moment. We've had a newborn session and a family session with her and couldn't be more pleased. Not only will my photo storage/recipe box and 8x8 scrapbook be offered in packages but there will be a 12x12 scrapbook and chipboard album available for purchase as well, through H&H Photography and also through my online shop, Papercut Kitchen. All items are complete and ready to add photos to.

To make an appointment with H&H Photography visit her Facebook fanpage here or her website here. To purchase an album or photo box visit Papercut Kitchen's online shop here.

8x8 scrapbook Package Option

Chipboard Album

Photo Storage/Recipe Box Package Option

A Crafty Light

I'm seeing that crafty light at the end of my tunnel growing larger and larger! I know Christmas seems so far away but for us crafty folks it takes some major advance prep and I have some very exciting holiday opportunities coming up that I'll elaborate on later. For now I'm just giving a little sneak peak because I'm so excited to finally have gone craft supply shopping! It's been a long time and I'm feeling scrappy!

Bed Rest Is OVER!

The Little Mister was finally born at 5am on
Tuesday, March 22nd 2011
8lbs 14oz 20in

I say finally but, just like his big brothers, he did mamma a favor and came 2 weeks early, sparing me additional bed rest. I didn't have to be induced, yea! I avoided an epidural, I didn't want this to be my first, but I did go a new road and opted for some IV drug to take off the edge. And thank goodness for that, Little Mister was in the "Sunnyside Up" position (facing up instead of down-the easier way) making him a doozy to birth, even with the drugs. And again, just like his brothers, he was very considerate and was born swiftly. Even with trying to arrive extra early, not waiting for 5 min contractions, we were only in the hospital about 3 hours before his arrival. What a wonderful date to be born. As my good friend pointed out the numbers are 32211, super cool! And it's my maternal grandfather's birthday, making it a day with extra special meaning.

Final bed rest count: 3 weeks to the day. Thanks to my mom-in-law I survived with sanity mostly in tact and a clean and fully stocked house waiting for us when we returned from the hospital. If only those three weeks of rest could be stowed away and used during these first few exhausting months of newbornhood. Unfortunately the body does not stock pile rest and I'm blissfully exhausted.

On "Vacation" (aka. Bed Rest)

Well, our unborn little one is proving to be quite the bugger even before he's officially entered the world. We are 4 weeks from our due date and I've been on bed rest for the past week and will continue to be on bed rest until our Little Mister arrives. Because of this I've had to put my Papercut Kitchen shop on vacation mode. I hope to be reopening in a few months when we'll have our household all settled in and I'll be back on my crafty feet (this isn't just wishful thinking right?!). Until then I hope I will still be blogging about crafts and I will certainly be writing about life on my other blog, Notes From My Fridge.

Love Is For Every Day

Damask Heart by Papercut Kitchen

Valentine's Day has passed but I thought I would still share my heart shaped albums since they aren't just for that one day of the year. I've been having so much fun making these chipboard albums and I'm surprised. When I got ready to make my first ones I kind of thought it would be fun but then I'd get bored and move on but I really love that so much can be tucked in to such a small package. And even with albums of the same shape the possibilities are so endless, I think I'm addicted to making them!

Glitter Heart by Papercut Kitchen

Crafty Hearted: Better Than Diamonds

I am proud that my boys are so incredibly creative already, not so they can be my little drones, but because I feel like creativity is an incredibly important skill. It's something I can nurture in them that the school system can't. Whether they become artists or bean counters, it will be something they can use to express themselves or problem solve. It gives me a little reward to see their little minds at work, it's like a whisper letting me know that keeping them home with me until Kindergarten didn't damage them with my imperfection. Add creativity to the sweet generosity of a little kid and my heart is mush, especially when that kid is mine.

Mr. Golden Curls is 6 years old now and he has always been a creative spirit and a problem solver. At Christmas time with my parents we were all sitting around after having opened gifts and he was roaming around the house. He kept passing through saying "I'm looking for a bead. Do you have a bead?" It is not strange for him to be on a mission to make something but when he presented my mom with this ring made out of a twist tie from one of his new toys and a cut piece of straw for a bead we were pretty blown away. As far as I know he's never seen jewelry made like this but he had the ability to go measure Grammy's finger, create a bead, and get it twisted onto the wire just right. Then he gave it to her with the words, "I didn't have anything to give you for Christmas so I made you this."

Van Gogh: A First Grader's Account

Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear by Vincent van Gogh

Conversation with my 6 year old:

"What did you do in art today?"
"Watched a movie."
"A movie, in art class?"
"Yeah. It was about an artist, I don't remember his name but he did a bunch of stuff before he was an artist. Then he was so sad he cut his ear off and sent it in the mail. Then he was friends with this other artist and he went home and got so mad at his friend that he shot himself."

My husband and I looked at each other with hugely wide eyes, my 5 year old laughed and we spent the next 5 minutes explaining why that was sad and not funny and wondering why the heck a first grader needs that much background on an artist. Then when they were in bed we howled with laughter and wondered, who's next on the list?!

How Lovely Are Your Branches

I know I am miserably behind on my show and tell when it's the middle of January and I'm just now showing off the ornaments that I made for the grandparents. To my credit I did want to wait until they were gifted on Christmas but I am running in super slow motion these days. I blame my unborn child. These were such a big hit and I loved making them even more because they are my children and my beloved niece and nephews. I think I will be forever enthralled with silhouettes, such a simple form and yet so much detail and personality.

Autumn Gift

My little Jackson is the sweetest little thing I've ever known. He's always giving me little gifts of flowers and leaves and is generous with hugs and cuddles. When he gave me this beauty he was very diligent to let me know whenever it fell out of my button hole and suggested many wonderful ways I might be able to make it stay, like tape, and my favorite, just slowing down. I think I'll try to do that. As this gorgeous autumn season gives way to holiday chaos I'm going to do my best to just slow down.

Handmade For The Holidays Craft Show

I'm so excited for the second annual Handmade for the Holidays craft show! It's only about three weeks away. I enjoyed last year's show so much, all the talent and fantastic people. Christmas is right around the corner and there's nothing better than a handcrafted gift! The show is happening in Hot Springs, AR at ArtChurch Studio 9am-5pm and my husband and I will be there all day with brand spankin' new Papercut Kitchen goodies and a few old faves.

Scrappy Halloween!

Halloween is in full swing at Papercut Kitchen! You spend so much time figuring out fantastic costumes you need a fantastic place for your pictures. Premade mini album and page layouts are perfect for your spooky pics! Click any image to go to the listing.

Larkmartin & Co. Now Carrying Papercut Kitchen

I am so thrilled and honored to have my things in my first ever brick and mortar shop, and such a pretty lil' shop it is! Larkmartin & Co. is owned and run by the lovely Briana, maker of Larkmartin soaps that are absolutely to die for. You can come visit at 340 Ouchita Ave, Hot Springs, AR. When she opened shop she decided to share it with other local handmade artists and I'm completely thrilled to have my Papercut Kitchen flower magnets, paper bead bracelets, custom silhouettes and mini albums as handmade offerings to the locals! Last weekend was Larkmartin & Co.'s grand opening bash and we had a blast! Above you can see my wonderful husband in his handmade tie applique t-shirt mingling with the masses.

My flower magnets adorn the candle lantern and my paper bead bracelets in the basket.

Love the way my silhouette samples look on the wall! All ready for custom ordering! To their left is going to be a painted Larkmartin & Co. sign. Right behind the register!

My boys wore their tie tees to match Pappa and had a blast with the most delicious cupcakes and chalk drawing inside.

Larkmartin Soaps and home beer brewing kits.

There was even a henna artist on site for the celebration.