Paper Rose Tutorial

There are tons of beautiful paper flowers out there and I see more and more everyday on Pinterest! They are such a beautiful, yet affordable way to decorate with flowers. I've done complex folded origami ones and crepe paper ones that require a lot of gluing and cutting, so what I like best about the roses we show you how to make here is that they are super simple and still look beautiful. Enjoy!

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March Newsletter and list of Classes

It’s so gorgeous outside, almost feels like summer instead of spring… And spring doesn’t even start for another week, we’ve been so lucky! And we’re lucky to be able to share all of our spring news with you!

March 22^nd: Keepsake Box Class! Create a beautiful keepsake box for little treasures and mementos that can be kept on display. $25.00, materials provided, but you may want to bring some of your keepsakes to use as a reference for the theme of your box. 7:00-9:00pm

March 24th: Image Transfer Class! Create beautiful altered art using different techniques and mediums for transferring images onto surfaces (mainly soft gel). $25.00, mediums and materials provided but please bring a small image that you want to use. (works better for beginners to start with something small) 2:00-4:00pm

March 29^th: 4-5 year old Children’s Art Class! $7.50, all materials provided. 4:30-5:30pm.

March 30^th: 6-8 year old Children’s Art Class! $7.50, all materials provided. 4:30-5:30pm.

March 31^st: Friends of the Library Demonstration on making paper flowers! At Valentine Public Library, 10:00am.

April 10^th: Altered Book Class! $20.00. Mediums and materials provided, but feel free to bring any photos, quotes, or embellishments you want to use. An altered book is an existing book that is glued, stamped, painted, collaged, and cut and/or torn. 7:00-9:00pm

April 21^st: Intro to Scrapbooking Class! Been thinking about starting a scrapbook, but just don’t know where to begin? We will introduce some tools and techniques and finish one page layout. Please bring 1-3 photos that you want to use. $20.00 (paper trimmer, adhesive, paper, and embellishments included) 2:00-4:00pm

To bring a little spring inside, our featured project this month is a succulent book planter. We first saw the idea on greenweddingshoes.com and realized that it was the same concept as the Altered Book Frame we had a class on last year. Start with an old hardcover book that is 2 or 3 inches thick that you are ok with cutting up. If you want book pages showing instead of the inside cover, open a few pages before you draw the rectangle that you will cut out. Measure and draw pencil lines with a ruler to create a rectangle in the center of the page, leaving about an inch to 1 and ½ inches around the edges. Take a craft knife and begin cutting along your line. You will cut through about 5 or 6 pages at a time. Continue cutting (this will take a while!) until you are about a ¼ inch from the back cover. Then place a cutting mat between your last page and the cover so that you don’t end up cutting through the back cover. Cut through the rest of your pages. Next, you will wire the pages together so that they lay flat and are more solid. To do this, pull back a few of the pages on top and drill through the rest of the pages. Drill 2 holes about 1 inch apart on three sides of the book (6 small holes total). Run thin wire down through one hole and up through the one next to it and twist the wire together on top. Do this with each of the three sides. Then using PPA glue or mod podge (we recommend PPA), glue down the back page to the back cover and glue the few pages without holes over the rest of the wired together pages so that you can't see the wire. Seal the inside of your hollowed out space with glue too. When that dries, line the space with plastic wrap. Sprinkle a few pebbles in the bottom. Next, fill your space with cactus or succulent soil. Poke some succulents in the soil and fill in any extra space with moss. Because there is no drainage, and succulents do not need much water, you will only need to very infrequently water it with an ounce of water. We have these two planters for sale in the shop:

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Keepsake Box

So excited about our Keepsake Box Class on March 22nd! There are so many things you can do with these boxes! I used Webster's Pages Sunday Picnic papers, Graphic 45's altered art box and metal tag, and a Tim Holtz curio knob and glass vial. Such a fun project! I'm imagining so many other possibilities with different papers: baby keepsake boxes, gifts for bridesmades like this one, a place to keep and display all your sweet little antique findings like vintage hankies, and so much more!Tweet

Spring Is Coming!

So excited for spring, what a gorgeous day outside! I'm sure we'll get more snow, but so thankful for the beautiful days that promise that spring will soon be here!Tweet

Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek of a few things going into our spring window displays. So excited to see how it all turns out!
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