charge into the new year with the paper antler party cracker - a tutorial

this is it
the very single last final caboose day of 2013
can you believe it

i give one final raised glass to this year
by presenting a tutorial inspired by the symbol of the year
the antler

here is a quick diy to allow your New Year's Eve party to go out with a bang
and to charge into the new year
the paper antler party cracker
designed for the Paper Crepe Company challenge mentioned here in my previous posts
merry and bright christmas and
hipster baby boy's first birthday

SUPPLIES

{all decorative supplies provided by the Paper Crepe}
tp tube
9" crinkle or thin textured paper
glitter paper
high quality patterned paper
twine
adhesive or hot glue
small prizes and candies

FORM

cut your crinkle or thin texture paper to approx 9" x 9" 

place tp tube on the inside centered

apply adhesive

since my cracker was made for a company party display and not to be opened it was not filled with special prizes

to create a functional pop-able cracker add just a couple more steps found here on this tutorial by

make and takes

TIE UP

carefully gather up each end and tie the ends

CRINKLE

here comes the fun part!

remember when you were a kid and you made your own leather by crinkling up paper brown bags until it became so soft

that is the same concept here

this is why you need a high high quality paper so it will crinkle and mold in your hand and not tear

crinkle away

it starts off rough but just keep going

crinkle and crinkle some more until it becomes soft and pliable

CUT CORNER

do not try to flatten the crumpled paper

fold over a corner to form an elongated triangle approx 4" x 2"

and snip

FORM TWO

to form a branched antler cut an 1 1/2 to 2" slit starting at the shortest side of triangle toward the folded side of the triangle at an angle

TWIST

start twisting the paper to form your antler shape

twist and twist

don't be afraid to twist tightly if you have some serious high quality paper

you want it tight to hold its shape

use adhesives or hot glue to finish off your antlers

WRAPPER

cut your wrapper from glitter paper approx 3 1/4" x 6 1/2 "

adhere paper centered on cracker

wrap paper around cracker and then overlap and apply with adhesive or hot glue

MOUNTING 

cut a chevron arrow shape out of patterned paper approx 2 3/4" x 1 1/2"
adhere shape to center of glitter paper
glue antlers in the center of the chevron shape

and there you have it

the paper antler party cracker

enjoy your New Year's Eve friends

look back with gratitude on the blessings of this past year

and charge forward with conviction to make this next year one with no regrets 

as you love more 

find more courage to those things which will bring the greatest joy for yourself and those around you

and dare to dream and act upon it

here's to living life with passion and conviction

radiator grate ornament holder diy tutorial: a blue christmas blog hop

hello again from the Blue Christmas Blog Hop

welcome to all my new readers from around the blogosphere

to see week#1 ornament collection from our lovely bloggers, visit here

this week is wreaths and wall decor

i was inspired by my favorite globe ornament to find a way to highlight it in a non-traditional display

an so the idea of the radiator grate ornament holder began

combined with a fabulous lesson on how to use the welding option on my silhouette cameo

SUPPLIES

high quality glitter paper

a few of your favorite ornaments

jewelry chain

jump rings

jewelry pliers

ornament hangers

tiny hole punch

adhesive dots

radiator grate {i found mine at home depot}

metal sheers

painted frame

metal picture back holders {i found mine in the framing section of michael's}

CUT

using your metal sheers, cut your radiator grate to fit perfectly inside your frame

it feels pretty powerful slicing through metal like its nobody's business

SECURE

secure your radiator inside of your frame using metal picture back holders

i placed mine about every 4 inches or so using a putty knife

SILHOUETTE WELDING MAGIC

i followed this amazing tutorial on welding letters on your Silhouette by findingnana

my mind was blown at how many uses i could have now for welding letters

you will be floored at how easy it is

i chose to but the reason back into Christmas and typed the words

rejoice He is King

i had to use a little spray adhesive on the back of the glitter paper to get it to secure to the Silhouette cutting mat

i put my blade on the highest setting and it did beautifully

be sure and do a test cut first

ATTACH

measure how long you want your wording to hang on your radiator grate and then cut accordingly with your metal sheers

using your tiny hole punch place two holes on opposite sides of your wording

with your jewelry pliers open your jump rings and place inside the hole

attach one end of the chain inside the ring and close

repeat for the other end

place an ornament hanger at the center of the chain

HANG

hang your wording in the center of your framed radiator grate
i applied a few adhesive dots behind the wording to provide extra stability
hang your ornaments
and drape your Christmas lights over the top corners

LIGHT UP

plug in your lights for that added holiday cheer

simple and fun

early Merry Christmas everyone

don't forget to hop on over and see these other fabulous ladies' 

blue christmas wreaths and wall decor

Krista @ The Happy Housie

Sarah @ Life on Virginia Street

Amy @ The Blissful Bee

Amber @ Averie Lane

Rachel @ Maison de Pax

Amy @ Commona My House

plasti-dip pine cone ornament tutorial: a blue christmas blog hop



ever since i came across this tutorial when planning for craft explosion two years ago

i have been wanting to play with plasti dip

the enticement of taking something rather ordinary

and creating something more resembling a work of art

has remained in my mind all this time

when i was invited to be a part of the Blue Christmas Blog Hop with Amy from Commona My House

i knew exactly what i wanted to try

since the regular can of plasti dip was a little out of my price range

i decided to try my hand at the spray version

i didn't know what to expect

what i discovered was something rather fun



SUPPLIES

something ordinary like pine cone picks from the dollar store

spray plasti-dip {i purchased my from home depot in the paint department}

glitter in varying textures

PREP WORK

you need some serious ventilation when working with this stuff

be sure to lay down paper or plastic to protect your surface from overspray

you will get a major workout shaking this can until you hear the metal ball rattle around before spraying

be sure to stay about 12" away while spraying

SPRAY

wait a minimum of 30 seconds between coats

COAT 1





COAT 2

COAT 3



GLITTER

sprinkle your glitter on top following your third coat of plasti-dip

COAT 4

DRYING TIME

four hours of drying time is recommended before use



RESULT

the transformation of an ordinary pine cone was complete
the four coats of plasti dip dried fairly translucent
not quite as white as i was hoping
but i love how the glitter seems to have crystalized inside the medium

i am happy with the way they turned out
and it has sparked a greater interest to try another object
to try maybe letting the coats dry longer in between
to try not shaking the can as long as it says to so it doesn't spray as thin
to add more coats

i would love to hear what you would plasti-dip
have you tried the spray kind before?
chime in with any tips or experience you have had

BLOG HOP

be sure to check out these fabulous blogs
and their Blue Christmas Ornaments
hop on over and tell them hi from our Sweet Dreams are Made of These readers

The Happy Housie  

The Blissul Bee 

Life on Virginia Street  

Averie Lane  

Maison de Pax  

Commona-My House

hipster baby first birthday cake bunting tutorial

for the little hipster baby boy birthday party display for the paper crepe party supply challenge i revealed to you here

i decided a cake bunting was a must

whether there was a cake or not

here is a quick overview of how to create your own hipster baby first birthday cake bunting

i utilized the SUPPLIES they provided us

bakers twine

aqua ribbon

patterned paper

and added a few elements of my own

bamboo skewers

solid colored paper

styrofoam circle

TASSELS

wrap your baker's twine around a piece of cardboard at least a dozen times

the more wraps, the thicker your tassel

carefully slide the cardboard out whilst holding onto one end of the wrapped twine

wrap another piece of twine around that one end multiple times to create the top and tie off

cut the bottom folds of twine in half

make three tassels

RIBBON 

double knot your ribbon around one skewer

then double knot the end to the other skewer

leaving some slack in the center

FEATHERS

cut feathers into varying colors of solid colored paper

i used this set of cut images for my silhouette cameo

the smallest size was perfect for this bunting

you can also trace a pattern or use other die cuts

choose five feathers of varying colors

NUMBER ONE

cut a number one out of your patterned paper

i like how this little guy turned out looking quite fish shaped

like a little brave's fresh catch hanging on the line

TIE ON

carefully tie the ends of your feathers with the baker's twine

begin tying on your tassels and feathers onto the ribbon

i choose to tie the tassels on separately than the feathers

GROUP
gather your feathers, tassels, and number one in groups of three evenly spaced out along the ribbon

STICKS IN

if you are privileged to actually have a cake and not just a sorry excuse for one

press your skewers into the scrumptious surface of the cake

til candle lighting time

happy bunting making friends

hipster baby boy's first birthday: the paper crepe challenge

this past week as been filled with lots of projects

and you know i love a good project

well i was elated to be hired by an up and coming party supply company called The Paper Crepe

in collaboration with my dear friend Amy from Commona-My House

{another newly planted Utah resident}

to create displays for their party tour hitting the cities of Sacramento, Dallas, and Chicago

the challenge: 

to design themed displays using only a box of provided paper products, ribbon, twine, and washi tape that could be shipped, used, assembled, disassembled, packed over and over again!

not as easy as you may think

we were able to add a few elements to give it some height, stability, and structure

but not a whole lot

was i up for the task

of course

i snagged the idea of hipster baby boy's first birthday party

incorporating some of the trending shapes and graphics

triangles, chevron, feathers, teepees, tassels, and woodland elements

it was fun to see sheets of paper and rolls of ribbon and twine

quickly transform into the bones of a birthday party any baby boy would love and mama too

quickly

yes, did i mention that we had four days to complete the entire task

the elements of this hipster baby party display include:

name initial for little brave baby 'A'

feathered head band

teepee table display

cake bunting

straw holding canoe

goodie bag

triangle bunting

crepe paper criss cross wall display

be sure to look for little tutorials for some of these items coming soon...

as well as my Merry & Bright Christmas 

to see Amy's Vintage Tea Party and Whirly Pop Centerpieces click here and here

**{check out the hipster baby birthday cake bunting tutorial here}**

if you live in or near Sacramento, Dallas, or Chicago, be sure to check out The Paper Crepe Party Tour for dates