Watch Out Ladies...

Isn't he the cutest? Yeah, I am a wee bit biased, as I am the proud mama.

But seriously, cute, right? :)

Ok, so Cash totally needed (made one for Luc, too) a Valentine shirt. But you know, Valentine's Day is so very geared toward the ladies...I didn't want him to be "that kid who has to wear a girlie shirt cause his mom is overly crafty." Trust me, I have seen that kid, and NO THANK YOU.

I saw this idea somewhere...who knows? Sorry. It was probably done with a really cool silouette machine. (can you sense the bitterness that I STILL don't have one?) Since I don't have that fancy gizmo, I stuck with the "hasn't failed me yet" Freezer Paper Method. See my tutorial on how this is done, HERE.

I had to kind of explain the shirt to Cash, and yeah...he probably didn't get the full connotation. However, he still felt like a Kindergarten Hot Throb when he modeled for me.

Craft Space Organization

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I was in the mist of organizing my craft space. It HAD to be done. Ok, so I am not quite lucky enough to have an entire ROOM to craft in, but I do have an "area" in the guest room. There wasn't much of a budget for this organization project either, but I am still pretty psyched about how it turned out. It's a start! :)
SO! I have the majority of my supplies stocked under my table. I am planning to add a nice little curtain type cover that will go around the table to hid the underneath, but haven't gotten to that yet.

The bottom green container houses my felt scraps, and the top has smaller pieces of card stock as well as stickers. Right behind the green containers is a HUGE bin that has all my card stock, scrapbooking paper, and stencils divided by color. On the right of the green are two divider containers that hold a lot of little bits, and the pink baskets hold my ribbon. The ribbon is on wooden rods, and I can just pull ribbon out as I need it.

These two large bins contain fabric. The bottom one is filled with my felt stacked by color, and the top bin is full of fabric stacked by color and print.

More containers that hold my different types of scissors, buttons, flowers, and random stuff in the front file box.

I had this old wire shelf, and decided to keep it working. All my yarn is in the striped bag on the left.

I spray painted some cookie sheets with primer, then paint, and hung them up. There are canisters with magnets on the back holding more little bits. I also put up multiple cork boards, so I can pin loads of inspiration on.

It isn't totally awesome yet, but again...it's a start. Of course, it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy better than it use to be. Right now, I am mostly concerned with getting it organized rather than spending a lot on making it look straight out of Ikea. (which of course I hope to do one day.)

It's a relief, and now I can finally breath deep again. The clutter is gone which can only leave room for motivation to put it all to use!

Have a great week!-

Tracy

Renewed Lamp

Over the holiday break, I had a goal to get my craft space in order. After Chatty Crafty, my STUFF was -literally- EVERYWHERE. All over. Upstairs....downstairs...kitchen...bedroom... every nook and cranny had soooooooommmmmmething stuck in it.

So! I went to the store and purchased a bunch of bins, and went to it. The organization is now done, now I am on to the "making it pretty" stage. That's where this lamp comes in to play.

I saw a lamp like this on Pinterest, and it was made by The Pleated Poppy. (awesome blog, BTW)

There was an ugly old lamp in my craft space that I was using. It had a flecked gold and cream base, and a plain old shade. It seemed like the perfect way to begin this project. :)

What you need:

Primer

spray paint

lamp shade

bits of material

What you do:

lamp base-

-Spray the base with a couple of coats of primer.

Let primer dry between coats.

-Spray a couple of coats of spray paint.

Again, let paint dry between coats.

shade-

-Cut off the material of the shade revealing the metal skeleton

of the shade.

-Cut material strips about an 1 1/2 in. wide.

-Tie strips to the lamp shade.

There you go. Shabby Chic.

This pretty little lamp sits on my crafting table.

More on my organization annnnnd decor coming!

Yarn Trees

Last year after Christmas, I hit Target and bought (what was left over!) all new ornaments. Andre and I decided we wanted to veer from our traditional red/green rustic decor, and go with bright colors. Needless to say, I was super psyched to get the tree up this year to see those newbies! (Pic of tree coming soon. My camera battery died right after taking these!)

Ok, so having new tree decor allllllllllllssssssssoooooooooooooo means new mantle decor. Now, we all know time has been short for me (yada, yada, yada) It just about killed me to put the mantle on the back burner until Chatty was over. Anyhoo, I worked with what I had, and then I decided to add these yarn trees. I have been wanting to make some for a couple of years, but they just wouldn't really blend with my old mantle get up. To start off, I only made two. BUT I WANT MORE! SO! My next step will be to get a couple more that are different sizes, glue a candlestick to the bottom of one or two to give different heights, and then I can be completely content. :)

Anyway, they are easy and cheap. PERFECT.

What you need:

styrofoam trees

(I actually used the green florist kind of trees, which I hate...but are cheaper.)

yarn

candlestick (optional)

hot glue

piece of felt

- Cut two felt circles the size of the base of the trees, and hot glued them to the bottom of the trees.
-Put a little dab of glue at the bottom of a tree, stick the yarn to it.
-Start wrapping. It doesn't have to be perfect. By the top you will have covered gaps.
-When you get to the top, put another dab of glue on the tip of the styrofoam.
-attach the yarn by circling it to cover the tip and then gently press yarn into glue.
That's it.
OH! Here is where the candlestick comes in. I was going to do this, but remembered too late that I had used my last dollar store glass candlestick on something else.
- Get a glass candlestick from Dollar Store. Prime & Paint.
- Hot glue or E6000 glue candlestick to bottom of tree. BAM! You got yo self some height!

My new mantle isn't perfect. It is definitely a work in progress, but it's a start.

All the color makes me happy!

Now, I just need to add some more trees in different size and heights!

Heading down to Florida tomorrow, and I am super psyched! I hope to pop back into blog world while I am down there, but if not...

Merry Christmas!

Joy. Peace. Love.

From Paper Wings to you.
- Tracy

December Craft club- Poppy Headbands!

This week was Craft Club week! The girls were super excited because we were going to be making headbands. The headbands we made were modeled after the poppy headband I made in the pic above.

I printed the template for the flower at Factory Direct Craft Blog .

The girls all brought:

a piece of felt

a headband

a button

I provided:

hot glue/hot glue gun

The headbands turned out really fun, and I loved to see how all the different personalities played out in this accessory!
Hard at work!

Isn't she just too stink'n cute?? :)

Cutie pie 5th graders!

Creative Crafting- November meeting

Shrinky Dinks. Yes. I love them. SOOOOOOOOO first let me start by saying.... YES, I know... not nearly enough pics of how super stink'n cute the girls charms turned out. (I forgot my camera! ) YES, I know...the pics I do have aren't that great. (I had to use my cell phone, and I got so caught up in helping the girls get jump rings on their charms...totally forgot about pics.) Sorry. I will do better.

Ok, on to the good. This month the girls each received a piece of Shrinky Dink paper (or you can actually use any #6 plastic) They were given free reign over what to create for their charm. I gave them permanent markers, told them to go for it. The girls did a fabulously cute and crafty job. SERIOUSLY CUTE.
Here is one of my cutie patootie 5th grade girls. Those are her charms hanging around her neck. I think she made one for each of her pets. :)

Isn't that ladybug a cute idea?!?!

Here is another one of my 5th graders making a BE HAPPY face. Love it.

The girls had a good time, and I was totally inspired by them to make my own! If I wasn't spending all my free time making stuff for Chatty Crafty....I would make a ton of shrinky dink charms!

PS- I see that I have hit 150 followers! YAY! You all know what that means....GIVEAWAY! Stay tuned...I will be posting it ASAP.

Much love on a Monday-

Tracy

Classroom Projects

Here is another set of projects that I meant to post lllllllllllooooooooooonnnnng ago!

This year I moved to a new school, and a new classroom. It is always a process to get my room set up at the beginning, but it was doubly hard when I wanted to change EVERYTHING!

I picked a couple of coordinating fabrics/colors, and went to work.

This pic above is from a wall right by my desk. I use the small cork boards (bought at Wal-Mart) to keep all my little reminders on.

I saw some covered clipboards online that were like this, in a set of four, and I loved it. I never use four clipboards at one time, but they are fun....and CUTE! I cut the material out the same size as the clipboard, and used several coats of modpodge to adhere the material. Pretty easy, except aroun the clip. That part can get tricky, and you definitely need a craft knife.


I took a larger (old ) cork board, and made this memory board for my pics. Now I can look at all my loved ones when I am right at my desk!

OH! My last name starts with a C, so I guess I wanted to remind the kids. :)

These big cans were already in my room, left by the previous teacher, and they looked useful. Useful and UGLY! More fabric and modpodge....a little hot glue/ribbon....and so much cuter!

All my plants got a little snazzy piece of material, too. :)

Then.....my bulletin boards had to coordinate.....

These glass jars (use to hold salad dressing) are painted from the inside, and topped with a strip of material. In theory...they are suppose to hold fresh flowers, but...I have yet to bring any in. Opps. I should probably get some fake gerber daisies to put in them. One day.

Oh, and the little wooden crate was some nappy looking thing I found at the Goodwill. I painted and then sanded it a bit to make it look "vintage." It was finished off with a watery glaze.

Lampshade...yes...I attacked that, too. I am telling you, there was no stopping me and my material.

THIS IS MY FAVORITE.

A teacher I use to work with made me a name sign years ago, and I loved it. However, time past, and it started to look raggedy. I made this one to replace it. I love the chevron stripes, and the old typewriter font.

It's hard to tell in the pic, but the bunting flag says w-e-l-c-o-m-e. :)

Well, that's it folks. Is it overload? Too much? Luckily, my room is big with a wall of all windows. My curtains are white shears that are pulled together with...you guessed it...coordinating ribbon. Anyhoo- I get loads of light, and have a big space. It helps spread things out, so it doesn't all come off as "too much."

I love it, and it was a good change to start off at a new school!

Hope you are all having a great November 1st!

(28 days until my b-day!!)

Tracy

OH! I see that as of - right this second- I have 139 followers! Awesome! As soon as I hit 150, I am going to have a fantastic Paper Wings Studio

GIVEAWAY!!!!

(That's right, you want it.)

Jack O Lantern Jars

Last week was a week of sickness at my house. Monday Cash came home with a stomach virus, and was out of school Tuesday. Wednesday night Andre came down with it. To top the week off, it attacked me on Thursday night. Whew! Harsh.

Anyway, Saturday afternoon Cash was out running an errand with his dad, and Luc started to get restless. I still wasn't feeling 100%, so I wasn't super interested in going outside to play. (Or playing at all for that matter) Then I remembered this little project from the Family Fun Magazine! Luc loves to paint, and we could do it in a stationary position. Win/win!

Yeah, Luc desperately needs a haircut. BUT look how he loves to paint!

Here's what you need:

glass jars ( I recycled some old jelly jars)

orange acrylic paint

paintbrush

masking tape

Here's what you do:

* Cut out geometric shapes, to use for the jack o lantern face, out of the masking tape

* Stick shapes onto a jar.

* Paint the outside of the jar. (YES, paint over the tape)

* When paint is dry, carefully pull the tape off.

* Place a votive or battery candle inside jar

These were super easy, having all the materials on hand, and really cute.

Have a spook-i-lious weekend!-

Tracy