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diy care package.

By annmarielovespaper on June 7, 2013

As someone who has lived far away from family + friends, I can attest to how wonderful it is to receive a care package in the mail. My mom used to send me the best care packages filled with magazines, my favorite candy, and the occasional Starbucks gift card (thanks Mom!) to make the distance between California + Utah feel a little bit shorter. And even though I am now back in California, I still have several friends that live out of state, so I am always looking for opportunities to send a little happy mail their way.

The key to care packages is that they don’t have to cost a lot; it truly is the thought behind the gesture that counts! In fact, one of my favorite things to do is to “shop” my own supplies. I have waaaay more stamps, pencils, twine, washi tape, and envelopes than I’ll ever know what to do with, so I pass them along to someone who can put them to good use! And of course, with all these fun supplies comes the opportunity to create fun packaging. I especially love adding descriptions to my items (i.e. “15 yards”) with Martha Stewart’s Crafts Your Own Stamp Set..

There are no rules and you don’t even need to send the package to a distant location. It might be fun just to drop a box off on a good friend’s doorstep to make their homecoming a little bit sweeter. Happy mail for the win!

4 Comments

fringe flag diy.

By annmarielovespaper on May 28, 2013

I’ve recently come to the rather startling realization that this wedding is going to happen in a few months, whether I like it or not (for the record, I love it). Needless to say, no matter how busy I am, I really need to get cracking on all of the DIY projects I have in mind. So! I’ve decided to tackle the smaller projects first, if for no other reason than the fact it makes me feel like I’m getting a lot done. Baby steps, ya’ll.

This past weekend I whipped out a bunch of fringe flags for all of our guests to wave around as John and I walk back down the aisle. It’s about as low-tech as crafts go, but will (hopefully) pack a big punch in photos! Here’s how I made them:

S U P P L I E S

Tissue paper
Thin wooden dowels (found in the baking section at any craft store)
Glue Dots
Washi tape (I found my gold-striped tape here)
Scissors

Decide how long you want your fringe flags to be and cut a sheet of tissue paper accordingly. I folded my sheet in thirds and kept it folded while I fringed the ends.

Fold each sheet of fringed tissue paper in half lengthwise a few times until it is in a tight bundle.

Roll the tip of the dowel in a large Glue Dot.

Wrap the base of the fringe tissue paper around the adhesive until is completely wound (I went with Glue Dots, but hot glue would work just as well.)

While holding the fringe tissue paper to the dowel, wrap a strip of washi tape around the base of the tissue paper until it is completely secure. If the fringe is too tight, tousle it with your fingers a bit to loosen it up. Finally, wave your fringe flag around like you just don’t care!

One wedding craft down, five hundred more to go!

To see this DIY in action, check out my Vine video here!

6 Comments

diy muffin tin planters.

By annmarielovespaper on May 10, 2013

The other day as I was browsing the shelves of the Goodwill, I spotted this muffin tin + knew instantly that I wanted to turn it into a planter. Once I picked up the muffin tin for $1.50 (50% day – look out!), I swung by Lowes and had a wonderful time picking + choosing my succulents.

Click here to see my Vine video of the planting process!

To create this planter, you will need:

Six succulent plants (I purchased all of mine for less than eight dollars at Lowes)
1 muffin tin (the deeper the cups, the better)
Vinyl Bumpers
An awl or drill (and drill bit)

After cleaning the muffin tin as best I could (a good rule of thumb for all thrift finds), I flipped it over and punched drainage holes in all six of the cups using a bookbinding awl. Luckily the tin was super easy to punch through, but if yours is thick, I recommend using a drill with a small bit.

From there, I added a vinyl bumper to each of the four corners of the tin to allow for proper drainage. This is key if you prefer living plants.

I then played around with the arrangement of the succulents and placed them in the muffin tin.

Then I began moving the soil around, adding in a handful of small rocks, and finessing each of the plants to my liking. After that I lightly watered the individual plants and called it good. The thing to remember about succulents is that they require minimal watering. In fact, it’s best if you leave them alone until their soil is completely dry. (You can read even more care + keeping tips here!)

So there you have it! A quick + easy Springtime DIY that has yet again fueled my thrift shopping habit! I have plans to make a bunch of these for my wedding and display them amidst other floral centerpieces on our tables. Good times ahead!

5 Comments

blueprint.

By annmarielovespaper on April 29, 2013

Lately I’ve been going through a major “interneting” phase. You know, the kind of phase where you all you want to do is catch up on all your favorite blogs, pin a million images, and discover new places to get inspired? I love when this happens. It makes me feel like the time I am already going to spend on the internet is actually being put to good use! (At least that’s what I tell myself.) Sometimes just looking at my pins is enough to get my creative juices flowing, but other times, I want to put my visual finds to work…

Hence: Blueprints! Every Friday on the BasicGrey blog, I (or a talented guest designer) interpret a non-scrapbook related image through paper and glue. It’s very similar to traditional scrapbook sketches, but with a modern, real-world application that will help you to think outside the proverbial box. And the best part of all? You can download each Blueprint as a PDF to reference when you sit down to create! (Ugh, I love technology way too much.)

So as it turns out, I now have to dedicate a little extra time on Pinterest each week to gathering inspiration…geez, just twist my arm already (;

1 Comment

capture.

By annmarielovespaper on April 17, 2013

Here’s a little peek at what’s been keeping me busy, busy, busy these past few weeks! BasicGrey just launched a brand new product line called Capture that I am so excited and honored to be a part of. I’ll be sharing lots of projects + ideas in the coming months, but in the meantime, you can read all about it here!

4 Comments

project life: january 2013.

By annmarielovespaper on March 1, 2013

Another Project Life installment! Yeah! I’m still loving the smaller format and my minimalistic approach to jamming photos and memorabilia in those little pockets.

Over the holidays while I was at Michaels for the umpteenth time in a week (’twas the season!), I spotted Martha Stewart’s customizable stamp set on clearance. Of course, my knee-jerk reaction was to throw it in my basket as fast as possible, but then guilt set in and I proceeded to have a mini debate with myself along the lines of “another stamp set?! really?? don’t you make stamps for a living?” (my inner voice is a total B). Nonetheless, I somehow convinced myself that YES, I NEED ANOTHER STAMP SET and so it came home with me and I haven’t looked back since. I am obsessed with the classic Martha font (Archer) and how surprisingly easy it is to create phrases to stamp. You can see it in action in that little “01” that I stamped at the top with hot pink ink. (Super long story for such a tiny product demo, I know.)

I also used some of my other favorite supplies on this page including the “Go” flair and girl veneer (misted with Mister Huey in Taxi) from Studio Calico, the roller date stamp and orange Thickers from Amy Tangerine, and the turquoise Thickers from American Crafts. As for the Top Gear obsession? I have no words.

This page was super simple to whip out because it was all about my recent trip to San Diego. I wanted to keep the focus primarily on the photos and memorabilia, but I also used a geotag flair from SC, striped aqua washi tape from Freckled Fawn, and my J & A stamp. And of course, to drive home the point that SD is my favorite city in all of the land, I cut out the “You Make My Heart Sing” phrase from a sheet of Dear Lizzy paper. It was a perfect match.

xoxo

7 Comments

thank you notes.

By annmarielovespaper on February 26, 2013

One of my resolutions for 2013 is to stay on top of social correspondence, especially since this is the year that lots of it will be going down. So as I was opening all the wonderful gifts from our party a few weekends ago, I couldn’t help but immediately start brainstorming ideas for the thank you notes that I would soon be writing. I knew I wanted them to be simple, but I also wanted them to have a handmade feel. Hence, embossed hearts! What’s more appropriate for a V-Day party than gold and hot pink hearts? Then again, when are gold and hot pink hearts not appropriate?

xoxo

5 Comments

i’m a hat person.

By annmarielovespaper on February 25, 2013

On any given day, there is a 97% chance that I will be rocking some sort of headwear (not to be confused with head gear…been there, done that, pleasegodneveragain). I’m a major hat person. Fedoras? Oh, yes! Baseball caps? Of course! And beanies? I’ll take one in every color! With a gigantic pom on top, por favor! I’m pretty much living in a beanie 24/7 these glorious cold days.

The beanie obsession can be blamed on a few different, but equally important, factors:

1. Janelle and her super-inspiring knitting skills.
2. Nat the Fat Rat. She is so my new girl crush and beanie-wearing idol.
3. La-zi-ness! I despise spending any longer than three seconds on my hair everyday and a cute hat gives me instant style! <— at least that’s what I tell myself.

The way I see it, the bigger the pom pom and the brighter the color, the better! I bought the blue hat that you see above from Target for less than two dollars on clearance. It was a little too plain for my taste (but who am I to pass up a good deal??), so I whipped up the yarn pom pom using this excellent tutorial and attached it to the hat in less than three minutes. SO SIMPLE, YOU GUYS. I’m never taking it off.

xoxo

4 Comments

engagement party invitations.

By annmarielovespaper on February 19, 2013

Confession: half of the reason I wanted to throw this engagement party was so I could design invitations using all my favorite fonts and colors. (Well, that and being able to put all of my greatest pins to work, of course!) Mission accomplished.

Since I only had a short amount of time to spread the word about the party, I just sent the invitation via e-mail to all my guests. As much as I would have liked to have shipped them out the old-fashioned way, the e-mail presentation was easier and it seemed to elicit quicker response times than usual. I can definitely see myself using this method again in the future for impromptu dinner parties and casual get-togethers. Super simple and with way more woodgrain than an evite. Win win.

xoxo

12 Comments

workspace wednesday: last minute crafting.

By annmarielovespaper on February 13, 2013

Tissue paper, baker’s twine, and heart punches…oh my! Two more days to pack in as many craft projects as possible before the engagement party on Saturday. Wish me luck!

xoxo

2 Comments

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