Paper Wreath

So I got the idea for this wreath from the Corner House Blog, but by the time I got around to making it, I didn’t follow her instructions, I just did it from memory. I had an Oriental Trading catalog in my recycling bin, and rather than chuck it I decided it would make the perfect paper wreath–so many bright colors!

I started by forming a wreath out of paper and duct tape. Then I used my 4 inch circle cutter to cut circles out of the catalog pages. Here’s where I faltered from the tutorial that inspired me: I cut each circle in half before I rolled and glued it. It made the cones shallower and the wreath a little smaller and tighter. I made the bow out of the scraps from a bridesmaid dress that I hemmed and just used a pushpin to hold it to the top of the door. 

Paper Bead Necklace

A couple of Christmases ago, my mom gave me a bag of paper beads from BeadforLife, and I’ve been meaning to make them into a necklace ever since. BeadforLife describes itself is “a nonprofit organization that works to eradicate extreme poverty by creating bridges of understanding between impoverished Africans and concerned world citizens. Ugandan women turn colorful recycled paper into beautiful beads…And people who care open their hearts, homes and communities to buy and sell both products.”

The beads are beautiful and every single one is handmade and unique. Just stringing them on fishing line makes a gorgeous one of a kind piece of jewelry!

I poured out my bag of beads and all I did was organize them by color and start stringing. 30 minutes later I had a beautiful new piece. Head to beadsforlifestore.org and get yourself a bag–you’ll help out the impoverished women of Uganda, and you’ll have the materials to make one of these beauties for yourself!

Mermaid Bridal Shower Invitations

My cousin Annie got married back in 2010 and since I was the Maid of Honor, I helped my Aunt Sharon plan and execute a (beautiful, if I do say so myself) bridal shower for the soon-to-be Mrs. My aunt had the idea to do a “vintage mermaid” themed party, and gave me the reigns to come up with an invitation.

Since I was already designing the wedding invitations and they were going to be super fancy, I decided to go cute and casual with the shower invites. I googled “vintage mermaid tattoo” to find some inspiration for my mermaid drawing. Once I had the mermaid done, the rest of it fell into place. I didn’t think to add the message in a bottle on the envelope until I was writing the poem and came up with the line “washed up with the tide”. So glad I thought of it–I think it adds a nice touch!