Pink Paper Peppermints - Craft. Create. Celebrate.

mug heaven

I have no time to blog today* so instead you get to see a snap of my new favorite mug. 

Hubby bought it for me on our trip to Austin and I *love* *love* *love* it.

It is just the right size and heaviness and I adore the handmade shape with all the little crooked spots and dimples. 

The pink flower and "inspire" sentiment make me smile every morning...

And it's pink inside!

What more could you ask for in a mug?  Pink, flowers, inspiration, handmade...it's mug heaven!

Do you have a favorite mug?  I would love to see it!  Blog it and leave me a comment!

Hope that inspires you a little today.  See you tomorrow!

God's Grace and Peace,

♥ Melissa~

*interpreted: I wasted my blogging time today looking at crafty stuff on the internet.

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"Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your wonders.  From where the sun rises to where it sets, You  inspire shouts of joy."
-Psalm 65:8

ten on tuesday (on wednesday) - the crafty vacation edition

ten thoughts on tuesday

(or wednesday...or...you know...whenever I can grab my laptop and hide in the closet for long enough to post something)

one

I've already told you about Red Lead, the wonderful paper art store in St. Louis owned by sisters Chris Schwartz and Sharon Wisely, but I wanted to show you more photos and say again how amazing this store is! 

If you have a minute you must go take a peek at the online shop.  They have a unique line of stamps that are all so charming.

Here are some more photos of their inspiring space (click on them to see a larger image).

I want to bring a sleeping bag and live here!

 

A tag skirt with silk ribbon ties!  I really need this in my house!

 

Every display in the store is so clever and unique.  I love the umbrellas hanging from the ceiling and do you see the ATC cards dangling in the back?  There's a close up of these later.

Sharon and Chris hand pick all the old furniture and display items at antique shows and flea markets.

I am crazy about the collaged chair and the paint-chipped red table!  The postcards are displayed in old drawers!

 

Aren't these frame shelves amazing?  What a creative and crafty idea!

 

Art in glass jars.  Breathtaking.

 

Oh, this round table and all its goodies just makes my heart sing!

Love these microscope slide necklaces. This one is made with their queen bee stamp.

 

Buttons!  The texture and colors of all these make my eyes tingle!  Don't you just love that big button frame full of buttons!!?

A display of rows and rows of beautiful ATC's pinned together and hanging from the ceiling... stunning!

In this corner of the store it's always Christmas!  How lovely! (A red Christmas tree!)

For those of you lucky enough to live in St. Louis I hope you'll visit Red Lead soon and think of me here in Texas being super jealous of you!

two

In Madison, Wisconsin we stopped for lunch at Ella's Deli.  It is such a neat place full of creativity and craftiness (not to mention delicious food) so I just had to show you some pictures!

  

three

Outside of Ellas's is a restored Parker carousel from 1927.  Little O wanted to ride, but only on the bench, not on the horses.  Apparently they looked a little wild to him.

 

The wild carousel horse.

four

Inside Ellas' is even more whimsical and fun with all kinds of handmade animated characters, displays and dioramas created by local artists and the owners themselves!

 

Everyone's favorite elephant.

Teen O found the feet faces a little creepy.

 

This ketchup bottle jumps over the hot dog and vice versa. Pure genius. heh-heh

 

This robot has a camera in his face and a monitor on his belly so when you walk up to him you can see yourself on the belly monitor.  Little O *loved* it.

five

Even the tables get in on the act at Ella's.  Each table has a glass top with a themed-shadow box underneath.  We sat at the origami table.

 

This table was filled with mini instruments.

six

The other fun and crafty thing I did on the trip was to go to a small town "Strawberry Festival" art fair.  It was really neat.

I met lots of talented crafters and artists.  I wish I could just tour around the country going to these types of shows.

seven

The first was a gentleman who owns American Forging.  He crafts beautiful pieces from recycled aluminum cans!  You really won't believe they used to be cans when you see them.

eight

Next I met Jody Avery and Tammy Mueller of Squiggles and Squares.  They make super cute collaged scrabble tiles and dominoes.

I just loved them and bought a scrabble tile necklace with a little piece of the Bible collaged on the front!  Go check out their etsy shop to see their jewelry & key chains.

nine

Finally I met Gisela Magdalena Moyer.  A paper artist that creates the most amazing paper sculptures. 

Her work is bright and beautiful and full of life. The pictures don't do it justice at all.  I just couldn't stop looking at each piece.  She also has a fascinating life story (don't all wonderful artists?) that you can read about on her website.

I'm saving up for one of her tree pieces, they just make me smile.

ten

That's it for today, I am out of computer time!  Hope you enjoy some of those websites and maybe buy some art!

More photos tomorrow!

God's Grace & Peace,

♥ Melissa~
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"Hallelujah! I give thanks to God with everything I've got...God's works are so great, worth a lifetime of study—endless enjoyment! Splendor and beauty mark His craft; His generosity never gives out. His miracles are His memorial— This God of Grace, this God of Love."
-Psalm 111:1

ten on tuesday {vacation edition}

 So it's finally time to get back to ten on tuesday!  I can't guarantee how fun this is gonna be though because it's midnight and I've been in the car for four days. (well, ok, not really but it feels like it)

one
It takes ten hours to drive from Dallas to St. Louis.  13 hours if you make your family stop at "The World's Largest Gift Shop".  

 
two

This picture is not the gift shop because I couldn't find a picture of it and didn't think to take one.  This picture is the "world's largest basket" which I thought was funny. (It's the Longaberger headquarters...isn't that funny and so super creative? I love it!)

three

We stopped in St. Louis for a night to rest before heading to Chicago.  I got to visit the coolest art paper & stamp store ever called Red Lead. 

four
I took some photos, but haven't been able to download them yet.  Here's one from their site and I'll put mine up later this week.

five
Isn't if gorgeous?  If you live in St. Louis you are *lucccckkkeeeee* to get to shop here. It is so inspiring!  Take a peek at the fabulous shop and blog for lots of yummy crafty goodness!

six
We are in Chicago now.  Our hotel "ran out" of non-smoking rooms so we are in a stinky room until tomorrow.  We have all the windows open and fans going and I'm sucking on peppermints to keep the smell from gagging me, but other than that it's great.

seven
The next couple of days we'll be headed to museums, Navy Pier, Little Italy and Chinatown!  I can't wait to take lots of pictures!

eight
After that we are on our way to Wisconsin to spend time with the O-fam.  Looking forward to a nice relaxing week of doing nothing!

nine
I will try to stop in here and post once or twice though.  Especially if anything crafty happens...heh-heh.

ten

That was my lamest ten on tuesday ever, but it's 1:12 am now and it's smokey in here!

Grace & Peace,

Melissa~
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"I said to myself, "Relax and rest. God has showered you with blessings...soul..."
-Psalm 116:6-8

Button Flower Bouquet | 31 Crafty Flowers in 31 Days - Day 31

Day Thirty-one and now we're done...

Can you believe it?  It's been 31 days already? (actually if you count weekends it's been 6 weeks!!)

Our final flower tutorial for 31 Crafty Flowers in 31 Days  is for a beautiful bouquet of button flowers!

 Here's what you need to get started:
 

-Buttons
-Wire (I used 18 gauge)
-Wire cutters
-Pliers 
-Ribbon & jar

Step One

Decide on the length that you want your flower stems to be, cut your wire twice this length and fold in half.

Step Two

Now choose the buttons you want to use for your flowers.

I like to stack mine up and play with shapes, sizes and colors until I'm happy with the look.

Step Three

Now begin to slide your buttons up the wire in the order that you stacked them (top to bottom).

Step Four

Now twist the wire down to where you want the first "leaf".  I used various sizes & shades of green buttons for leaves.

 

 Your flower should look something like this:

Step Five

I also added little wire curly "vines" to my bouquet using a wire curler to twist the wire. 

If you don't have one of these tools you can use a pencil (round without the flat sides) or paintbrush to wrap the wire around.

You can trim the wire to fit exactly in the jar or vase that you are using, but I kind of like how my wire looked all swirled together at the bottom of the jar so I left it!

So that's it for my spring flower celebration!  As you're reading this we are on vacation, so I'm not sure how much posting there will be for the next few days.

I've had lots of questions about the next "31 days" of tutorials and I have some ideas, but those will be  "coming soon".

In the meantime I'll still be posting tutorials and ideas and of course I'll be going back to my regular blogging with ten on tuesdays & stuff so I hope to see you all around!

I have been so excited to meet so many people from all over the world doing this! 

Thank you all for your encouraging emails and comments!

See you soon!

Grace & Peace,

♥ Melissa~
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"He sent Me to give them flowers in place of their sorrow, olive oil in place of tears, and joyous praise in place of broken hearts. They will be called "Trees of Justice," planted by the LORD to honor His name."

-Isaiah 61:3

Recycled Newspaper Flowers | 31 Crafty Flowers in 31 Days - Day 26

Day Twenty-Six and one more flower from my bag of tricks!

Don't throw those newspapers away until you try this!  Today's flower tutorial for 31 Crafty Flowers in 31 Days  is a perfect summer activity to do with the kids!

 Here's what you need to get started:
 

-Old newspapers
-Acrylic Paints
-Decorative Scissors
-Flower punch or templates or die cut machine (or just freehand your own!)
-Buttons
-Tags
-Ribbon & Bakery Twine
-Medium Grade Sandpaper

Step One

Cut newspaper into pieces small enough to work with.  Choose sheets with solid sections of text or interesting graphics depending on the look you want.

Step Two

 

Pour on a little paint and spread with a foam brush or cotton ball, let dry.

Step Three

Add a piece of cardstock behind the newspaper for stability before punching your shapes (the newspaper tends to crinkle up and get stuck if you don't do this).

Step Four

  

Punch flowers. You can also use a die cut machine or templates for this or just freehand your own designs.

Step Five
 

You can cut decorative elements with your shaped scissors.

Step Six

 

Cut freehand leaves.

Step Seven

Now put together your flower!  I put mine on a tag and sanded it with sand paper to give it a distressed look.

You could also create a really cute handmade card with these, or magnets, bookmarks or even gift wrap!

Have Fun!

Grace & Peace,

♥ Melissa~
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"Look how the wild flowers grow! They don't work hard to make their clothes. But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn't as well clothed as one of these flowers."
-Luke 12:27

Office Supplies, Book Pages & Balloon Flowers! | 31 Crafty Flowers in 31 Days - Day 25

 

Look Alive it's Day Twenty-five!

Hey today we have some more fabulous flower tutorial links and even a video-Woo-hoo!  Enjoy these!

How About Orange

Flowers + Fabric + Office Supplies = L-O-V-E! 

Okay, if you can only go to one of the links today it has to be this one.  Jessica is one of my very favorite bloggers *ever*! 

She is so full of fun and inspirational ideas and just visiting her blog will make you feel happy! 

Her tutorial on flowery fabric-covered office supplies really will brighten your day!

Reconstructed Shabby Chic Silk Flowers

Here you will find a really neat tutorial on taking apart a silk flower and layering it with lace & glitter & stamping to make one lovely, shabby chic flower!  (Forget what I said about only going to one link!  You can't miss this one either! heh-heh)

Book Page Flowers

Tammy has a tutorial for making gorgeous paper flowers from book pages and stamping ink!  You will love this one! (See the one link only thing will just not work)

Balloon-a-ful!

Just for fun how about learning how to make a balloon flower!  Click play below!  (It looks pretty easy if you don't have the debilitating-fear-of-the-balloon-pop-noise thing going on...heh-heh)

Find more DIY videos

Ok have fun with these this weekend and come back Monday for more 31 Crafty Flowers in 31 Days!

Grace & Peace,

♥ Melissa~
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 "If you value Wisdom and hold tightly to her, great honors will be yours. It will be like wearing a glorious crown of beautiful flowers." 
-Proverbs 4:8-10

Foam Stamp Flowers! | 31 Crafty Flowers in 31 Days - Day 24

Day Twenty-Four and we could open a flower store!

Make your own flower stamp with this foam stamp flower tutorial for today's 31 Crafty Flowers in 31 Days ! 

 Here's what you need to get started:
 

-Craft Foam
-Pencil
-Scissors
-Adhesive (rubber cement or glue dots)
-Old cd case or acrylic mounting block

Step One

Draw your design on the craft foam.  Look in magazines, and coloring books for ideas for designs.  Simple shapes work best for this type of stamp.

Step Two

 
Cut out your shapes.

Step Three

Mount your design on the cd case with rubber cement or glue dots.

Step Four

  

Ink up your stamp and start stamping! 

You can also try using watercolor markers, fabric paints (for stamping on t-shirts or tote bags) or acrylic paints for a completely different look! 

This is a great summer activity to do with your kids!  Let them find simple designs in their coloring books to trace or have them draw their own designs! 

Have Fun!

Grace & Peace,

♥ Melissa~
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"The entire interior of The Temple was cedar, with carvings of fruits and flowers."
-1 Kings 6:14

Rounded Petal Fabric Flowers | 31 Crafty Flowers in 31 Days- Day 23

Day Twenty-Three and no admission fee!

Today we have another fabric flower tutorial for the 31 Crafty Flowers in 31 Days ! 

This one is very similar to the fabric flower we made before but instead of pointed petals you get round petals.

 Here's what you need to get started:

-Fabric
-Needle and Thread
-Scissors
-Buttons

Step One

Cut six 3x3 squares of fabric.

Step Two

 
Fold in a triangle shape, wrongs sides together and press.

Step Three

Stitch a loose gathering stitch around the open edges of the triangle.

Step Four

  

Now gather the fabric into a petal shape by pulling the thread through.

Step Five
 

Attach the next petal to the first and then stitch around the edges and gather.  Repeat this for all five petals.

Step Six

 

Once you've finished gathering all your petals attach the last petal to the first petal to form the flower.

Step Seven

Add a button to the center and your pretty fabric flower is finished!

Try putting these on:

-tote bags

-journals

-barrettes

-a brooch

-a scrapbook cover

-a t-shirt

-a bulletin board pin 

Have Fun!

Grace & Peace,

♥ Melissa~
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"He made the flowers, the lamps and their objects of pure gold."
-2 chron 4:21

Punch Flower Ball Garland | 31 Crafty Flowers in 31 Days - Day 22

Day Twenty-Two only 9 more flowers before we're through!

Today's flower tutorial for the 31 Crafty Flowers in 31 Days is a pretty punched flower garland.

 

 Here's what you need to get started:

-Flower Punch (or die cut or trace or draw your own)
-Glue Dots (or other dry adhesive)
-Patterned or plain scrapbook paper  (this would also be cute with recycled paper like yesterday's flower)
-Baker's Twine or other ribbon or string

Step One

Punch flowers in your desired colors. 

You'll need six flowers for each flower ball. 

You'll need about three or four flower balls per foot of garland.

Step Two

 
I've drawn a little face & body on this flower to make the instructions easier to understand. 

You can do the same for the first flower you create to help you get the hang of it, but after that, it probably won't be necessary.

Step Three

Join five flowers together at the "arms" using glue dots or other dry adhesive.

It should look something like this:

Step Four

 

Now put adhesive on all five petals of another flower and join each petal to one of the "faces" on your flowers. 

Then attach the last two "arms".

It should look something like this now:

Step Five

 

Now flip the flower upside down and  you'll see five little pairs of "legs". 

Adhere each "leg" to the one next to it as above.

Your finished flower should look something like this:

 

Step Six

 

Once you've finished all your flowers, string them on bakery twine or ribbon to create the garland.

That's it, now string your garland somewhere summery-ish and enjoy!

You could do this with red,white & blue flowers for a fourth of July barbecue or in bright primary colors for a birthday party too!

Have Fun!

Grace & Peace,

♥ Melissa~
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"As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field;"
-Psalm 103:15