V-Day Printables.

The cynic in me always says love is just another four letter word, but the idealist in me always shuts the bastard up with heavy amounts of chocolate. And while the fool is still gorging on some, let me quickly slip in a few adorable Valentine's Day printable that I found here and there for the forgetful/less creative/busy/lets-just-get-it-over-with ones amongst us!

The site to download this from.

The site to download this from.

 

The site to download this from.

The site for this download.

Some of these are mighty adorable. Now all you need is a printable. oh, and someone to give them cuties too <3

Have a great day!

Paper Sparklers!

A very happy new year to all my avid readers/followers. I hope you had a dandy celebration on nye. I did! 
Although, frankly speaking there is not much that can be done here, what with the abandoned trucks menacingly blocking roads, and rightly so, people here don;t know what control is. 


Anyway, enough of that, off to the fun part I go. I know I should have put this earlier so you people could use them on new years eve, but my busy schedule prevented any such post. however, it's never too late, right?


:)


Today we will learn how to make paper sparklers that are children-safe and a lot of fun for them!


You will need:

• Festive straw 

• Wooden skewers

• Vellum Paper in red, white and blue colors (we don't get any here so I used those L files instead)

• Scotch tape

• Scissors

Cut a piece of paper about 4 inches by 3 inches. Make very small fringe cuts almost all the way through as shown above, leaving about 1/2 at the top uncut.

Starting at one end of the uncut section, carefully roll the paper up as tight as possible (you'll want that end to fit into the end of a straw so make sure it's a  super tight roll!)

Stick it into the end of the straw. In all three I made with the dimensions I gave it fit perfectly, nice and tightly into the straw but you may need to snip off an inch or so at the end of your roll to make it work. You shouldn't need any tape but you can always add a small piece around the top where it meets the straw for added sturdiness.

Festive straws look great but they aren't very sturdy. Here we cut down a skewer to about the same size (just not larger) of the straw and inserted it into the middle of the straw to add structure to the inside. Use a small piece of tape at the end to keep it inside.

Bend the paper a little bit to give the sparklers a little poofing up

Enjoy a safe New Yea...umm...ENJOY! :D

(source)

Tis the season.

Jingle bells, jingle bells - ho, ho, ho!


Yeap, it's that time of the year when kids at the signal have started selling Santa hats, when the Emporium Mall has put an inflated Santa at their entrance, when Agha's and such have started selling christmas tree decor. There is no snow, no sleigh, no SALE and possibly no gifts, but just a reason to celebrate.


And in this spirit why get left behind.


Here are few fun decorations you can make, of course you can buy the ones in the stores but where is the fun in that, pssh.

Christmas ornament you can make with colored papers or magazine pages. 


ONE:
 The instructions:

1. Cut out 10 paper circles (any size, as long as they're all the same). Text weight paper will be easier to work with than cardstock.
2. Cut each circle along the radius.
3. Put a small piece of double-stick tape on each side of the cut near the edge of the paper.
4. Flip the circle over so the taped side is down; then pull each flap across the circle toward you and twist to form a cone. Press the taped ends down to secure. You should end up with two cones that look vaguely like a fortune cookie. Do this to each of your 10 circles.

5. String the double cones together with a needle and thread. Make sure they're gathered snugly in a ball and tie a knot. Use the trailing ends of the thread to make a loop for hanging.
Here's one made from magazine pages. If you like recycled crafts, give it a whirl.

TWO:

You'll need: 

Paper, scissors, a circular object for a template, a ruler, pencil, needle, thread, rubber band, and glue.

Instructions:

1. Cut out ten paper circles, using a jar lid or CD for a template. (My circles are 5" in diameter. I stacked sheets of computer paper and cut out several circles at once.)



2. In each circle, cut eight evenly spaced slits toward the middle, stopping about a half inch from the center point.

3. With a pointed pen or sharp pencil, curl each tab into a cone and secure with a dot of glue. If you can pull off a tightly rolled perfect point, congratulations. I was running a little low on patience and settled for "sort of pointy," which I think also looks nice.

4. Cut two small pieces from a wide rubber band. These will hold the ornament together at each end.

5. Thread a needle and knot the ends of the thread together. String on one of the rubber band pieces.

6. Push the needle through the centers of five stars with their flat sides face down. Turn over the remaining five stars so their flat sides are facing up and thread them on, followed by the second rubber band piece.5. Thread a needle and knot the ends of the thread together. String on one of the rubber band pieces.

7. With a chopstick or pencil, push down on the rubber band to compress the stars into a ball while pulling upward on the string with your other hand. The rubber should hold the stack together without requiring a knot. Adjust the paper cones as needed to make a pleasing shape.

8. Tie a loop in the thread for hanging if desired.

THREE:


Instructions:

1. Cut the paper into strips that are 3.5" long and 0.5" wide. (This makes a small ornament about 3" in diameter.) Cut 9 strips of each color. Cut two 0.75" circles. Tracing around a penny works nicely.


2. Fold the paper strips in half. A crisp fold isn't needed; just a light crease will do.

3. String a bead onto a length of thread. Then push both ends of thread through the needle so the thread is doubled.

4. Poke the needle through one of the circles to string it next to the bead. Then string on all the paper strips near one end, alternating colors. 

5. After all the paper strips are added, begin threading the opposite ends onto the string. To do this, start with the strip you put on first (the one next to the paper circle). Take its loose end and push the needle through it. Continue threading on the paper strips in order. They'll naturally begin to fan out as you go.

6. Add the second paper circle.



7. Pull the needle off the thread. Feed the bead onto one of the loose ends of thread, then tie both ends of thread in a knot to hold the bead on next to the circle. If your ornament hangs a little crooked, thread the needle again and push both ends of thread up through the underside of the bead and out through the top so both ends of thread emerge. Tie off a loop and hang that spaceship.

 


Play with the colours, be creative!

Kink and Pink - Bachelorette Party

The night before last I went to a hen's party, and may I say God bless our trips to other countries (in this case UK) that provide us with adorable and convenient decor. It made me think, what about people who can't get things from abroad in time? Can't fly in the cute martini glass confetti, shot glass necklaces, funkay eyewear et al.

God bless DIY and event planners (ahem).

There is nothing our blessed country can't do x2 better and x10 cheaper [insert victorious laugh].

One thing to remember for a bachelorette party: Kink and Pink go hand in hand.

Having said that there still needs to be a theme that is individually yours. From the plethora of ideas, I'm showing you girls a peek into one.

It's Sex and the City inspired. So think like them. Decorate shoes, use rhinestones, feathers, buckles, belts... go wild!









Don't forget to include fun games!

Your Colour Story.

In the age of black and white Dorothy led a very boring life, until she was introduced to colour and then the yellow brick road, the red ruby shoes, the green emerald et al. made magic possible.

Likewise, colour in events, be it official or personal, spins your mood into the Land of Oz. For me it is very important to have definite theme colours for every event; it describes the mood you are trying to evoke in your guests - fun, quirky, elegant, sombre... the palettes are limitless. 

Keeping that in mind I found an ideal site that I thought I would share with you people to help you pick your colour story. Click away!

Fun Favour Boxes.

Everyone is always looking for unique ideas for favour boxes. Here is one I found that can fit in some delicious candies as a thank you for your guests. Now, I have not experimented with the size yet, but it seems possible to enlarge the template to make the box a little bigger. Although , I would suggest not to go too big, it might lose its cuteness, but feel free t ogive it a shot :)

What you need:

1 x favour box template

1 x thank-you flag template

2 x sheets A4 card (you could use complimentary colours to add an extra bit of pizzazz when your guests open the box!)

A pair of sharp scissors

Pencil

Cocktail sticks or toothpicks

Ribbon to coordinate with your wedding colours

Method:

Dowload and print the templates, and cut out the favour box template.  Glue the two pieces of card back-to-back and then cut out the box shape using the template

Once you have the shape, fold all the little strips inwards, place your favours in the middle, and pinch all the strips together at the top before securing with a little bit of tape.  Cover the tape by tieing a pretty piece of ribbon in your theme colours

Cut out the ‘thank-you’ banners, snipping one end in a ‘v’ shape to make a flag.  Roll the other end around a cocktail stick an secure with a bit of tape.  Gently push your flag into the top of your box…

and DONE! It wold be fun if you could fit some Hershey's Kisses in it. 

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Make flower fairy lights.

This is mighty tedious and a little time consuming considering origami is involved, but the result is beautiful. If you have a small affair where you can apply this, I'd highly recommend it.

To make flower fairy lights you will need:

•               Fairy lights

•               Vellum paper in a variety of colours (vellum paper is hard to find, you can try and alternative like stained acetate)

•               Scissors

Method:

1. Cut 15cm squares of vellum paper in a variety of colours. You will need two or three squares of paper for each fairy light. Fold paper square in half diagonally to form a triangle.

2. Fold the left and right corners up to meet at the centre, forming a diamond shape. Fold in half to form a small triangle. [see image left]

3. Cut curves along the open edges to form a heart-shaped top and create the petal effect. You might like to choose different petal shapes for each colour. Layering them, the variety of shapes will add depth.

4. Cut across the bottom point to create a small opening to slip the light bulb through. Unfold.

5. Layer a few paper petals in different colours on each fairy light. Attach the flowers above the bulb on the plastic wire so the bulb is left exposed.

While vellum paper is a lot less flammable than ordinary paper, but don’t leave the lights on unattended. 

Once done these lights can stay on even after the party or you can hang them in your or your children's room.