Fun with Coffee Filters: Bold Butterflies (Part 2)

Time for another coffee filter craft. This time I used some old funnel-looking filters Cory had in our cupboard to make butterflies like these.

Here's a side-by-side comparison of regular filters vs. funnel ones so you'll know what to look for. The first filter (with the beads in it) is a regular, circular filter. The ones below it are the ones you'll want for this project.

Let’s make some filter butterflies. It’s easy. Here’s what you’ll need for this one: funnel coffee filters, spray mist, a hole punch, string, beads, pinking sheers and adhesive.

Just like with the garland and the banner, you’ll first mist six funnel filters.

Once dry, I fold the filters into fan shapes.

Adhere two sets of two filters together. Doing this, you should now have four wings. The smaller, single ones will be the top wings and the two glued together will be the bottom wings.

Punch a hole in the center of each wing group.

At this point, you can either leave the full wings, or you can create a smaller butterfly by trimming the wings. I used pinking sheers for a fun decorative edge.

Knot the end of a piece of string and thread three beads for the butterfly body.

Thread on the wings and add one more bead for the butterfly head. Pull the butterfly together tightly and secure the butterfly with a few knots. Then loop the rest of the string to have something to hang the butterfly with.

At last, the metamorphosis is complete. You have a butterfly!

Hosting a spring get-together? Create a bunch of these and hang them from your trees or from spots in your home. These would also look cute as spring décor if you created several of them and strung them in your front window.

Join me on Tuesday when I share my third and final coffee filter installment… well, for now.

Fun with Coffee Filters (part 1)

Wanting to add some color to this dreary wing (aka winter-spring) we’ve been having here in Utah, I spent part of last Saturday playing with coffee filters. Yeah, that’s right, coffee filters. Well, filters and spray mist. The result: several different projects. I decided to post them here in case you’re looking for a little color this wing, too.

Coffee Filter Project #1: Banner
I made this for my family’s Easter celebration. I love the bright colors.

Creating this one is simple. Just spray circular coffee filters with spray mist (I used Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels) and allow them to dry (takes about 10 minutes). With each color, keep one crisp and crumple up the second one. Then, layer the crumpled one over the straight one and attach letter stickers.

On the ends, I crumpled and stapled together a sprayed filter to create flowers.

Once your pieces are all put together, clip them on a string for a fun and easy banner!

Coffee Filter Project #2
I used a few of my extra colored filters to create a bright, spring garland. This time, I threaded the filters in color groupings on the string.


You don’t have to be a coffee drinker to do this craft on the cheap. I bought an entire stack of circular filters from the dollar store for, yes, you guessed it, a dollar. Excellent! Enjoy the filter fun and check back on tomorrow for another idea.

DIY Floss Spheres

You know those textured spheres that are all the rage right now in home décor? Well, thanks to an idea my sweet hubby shared with me (something he learned from his talented mama(, I now know how to make them. This would make a fun Easter evening craft tonight, or you can do them anytime. Let’s get started!

Supplies:

Embroider floss
Balloons in various sizes
Sugar water
A few damp cloths (this gets sticky!)

Instructions:

Step 1: Mix 1 part sugar with 1 part water to create a paste.

Step 2: Dip embroidery floss into sugar water. (I used 8.75 yards of floss for a small circle. It takes at least twice that amount for a larger circle.)

Step 3: Blow up a small balloon. (I used water balloons for my small circles, and I didn’t blow them up very much.)

Step 4: Wrap the wet floss around the balloon in all directions, making sure the floss stays nice and wet as you go.

Step 5: Allow the floss-wrapped balloon to dry overnight, and then pop it, removing the balloon remains from the circles inside.

Because the sugar water is sticky, the floss dries stiff, which allows it to keeps its form. Cool!

Bonus Idea
If you’re looking for a fun Easter craft to do with the family this evening, make these circles in several colors and use them as egg décor. Using the same sugar water, I also made a paper mache nest for my floss eggs. Here’s how:

Step 1: Tear pieces of newspaper, dip them in your sugar water mixture, and wrap them around a larger balloon.

Step 2: Once the balloon is wrapped, allow it dry overnight.

Step 3: Remove the nest from the balloon and fill it with your floss eggs.


I loved this project and will definitely make more floss spheres to put in a dish on my coffee table. It’s inexpensive, easy and fun! I hope you’ll give it a try.

Thanks for the awesome idea, Cory and Lorna!

Color Your Eggs with Creativity!

Move over, dye. Coloring Easter eggs just got a lot more creative and fun. Last year I shared these eggs, which my family and I dressed with rub-ons and glitter glue.


After the fun I had last year, I decided to explore the art of crafting eggs again this year. Here are a few of the colored creations I came up with:

1. Bring on the Buttons
I used dots of glue to attach bitty buttons to a misted egg. (The color on the egg is from spray mist, a scrapbooking supply.)

2. Pom Pom Pretty
It was dots of glue to the rescue again. This time I used them to adhere jumbo pom poms. This idea would also be sweet with bitty poms.

3. A Bling Dream
I adore self-adhesive rhinestones. This egg was wrapped with a bling belt and is so ready for a night on the town!

4. That’s a Wrap
I stuck a strip of glue to one side of the egg and then wrapped it with embroidery floss. This would also work with yarn.

My egg addiction followed me to work, where Joannie McBride and I dressed up eggs with spray mist, rub-ons, flock, and more! You can check out the ideas we hatched by visiting the Creating Keepsakes blog.

Are you decorating eggs this weekend? What’s your favorite way to shine those shells?

New Hair (and new shoes)

I've done it. My hair is short...short and blonde. I've always been a fan of Ellen, so I took a pic of her to my stylist and told her to "give me the Ellen." Do you like?

My next step: Donate my large shoe collection to charity in exchange for a bunch of new Converse sneakers. Seriously.

Japanese Masking Tape Projects (and a little TV Time)

Domo arigato, Japan. Japanese masking tape is one of my favorite things to hit the crafting market in a long time. I love how versatile it is. Thanks to its not-so-tacky tack, I can put it on my wall without damaging the paint, and I can even peel and stick it on paper several times without messing up the paper. It’s a masking marvel. Check out a few things I created with it, using the Love My Tapes brand, for a local TV segment.

Build a Banner
I wrapped the tape around a ribbon and adhered it to itself to create this banner. It’s a quick way to dress up the home or the yard.

For a more seasonal take, I punched bits of cardstock and added letter stickers to spell “spring.” I then attached the letters using the pretty tape.

Create with Clothespins

The tape will adhere to several surfaces, including wood, so I used it to dress up an ordinary clothespin. It’s a unique way of adding a placecard to a table setting.

Tape Up Some Letterhead
I cut the tape into triangles and added a little stitching to create a banner across the paper. I will either add my name to the banner to create personalized stationery, or I will turn this into a scrapbook layout. Either way, this is a simple way to make a playful banner.

Wrap without Paper
You don’t need wrapping paper to dress up a present. Instead, wrap a basic box with Japanese masking tape. It’s colorful and quick…what a gift!

Enhance an Envelope
Make your letter standout from the crowd with a little tape.

And don’t forget the back. Slap a little tape on the flap.

What About You?

I know I’ll be doing more with this fun-to-use craft medium. Have you had a chance to play with it yet? What’s your favorite use?

TV Time

If you're interested, you can check out my Studio 5 segment, where I shared these and other projects. You'll love seeing what Darin, one of the hosts, did with the tape. It was very creative. Enjoy the show!

Also, you can check out several of my past Studio 5 appearances by visiting the section of the "Apperances" Creating Keepsakes website. Thanks for taking a peek. Your support is always appreciated. :)

The Narc Side: Could You Have Narcolepsy?

Do you feel that? It’s time to spring forward an hour, which means you’re probably pretty tired today. I know I am, but I’m afraid this has nothing to do with the clock. Instead, it has everything to do with my having narcolepsy. This is an autoimmune disease caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.

With sleep in the forefront of many minds today, I thought this was a perfect time to do a little to raise awareness of this illness. I lost 13 years of my life to this disease, and it’s now my goal to see that this doesn’t happen to others…possibly you.

Questions to Ask

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself if you or someone you know never feels rested:

1. Do you experience frequent sleepiness? This can be to the point where you’re nodding off in any and all places. For example, I’ve slept through root canals, through movies, and even through a Def Leopard concert.


2. Do you have a hard time remembering things, especially recent things?


3. Are you easily distracted?


4. Do you get a full night’s sleep only to wake feeling ready for a nap?


5. Do you experience sleep paralysis?


6. Do you have nightmares that feel real?


7. Do you wake up often during the night?

Now, I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but if you answered “yes” to several of the questions on my list, I would highly encourage you to ask your doctor for more information on narcolepsy.

Take Control

This is a rare-ish disease, but part of that is because so many have gone undiagnosed. Don’t lose years of your life. Instead, take control and find the answers you need. That’s what I finally did, and after years of being told nothing was wrong with me, and I was able to get the help I so desperately needed. This is your life; own it!

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let’s celebrate Daylight Savings Time by taking a nap. Zzzzzz…

Read more about my narcolepsy story here.

Time for a Tape Sneak Peek

I'm getting ready to head off to Studio 5 (studio5.ksl.com) this morning, where I'll be doing a TV segment on the hot tape trend in crafting. For the most part, we'll be discussing Japanese masking tape, the super fun new product to make its way into the creative world. I'm going to save those projects for the show (I'll post them here soon). For now, I want to share a few of my tricks using other types of tape.

Duct Tape Bouquet

I got this idea from the Duck Brand website (www.duckbrand.com). If you haven't visited, you need to check out their imaginative project gallery. You'll find instructions for making your own duct tape blooms.

Decorative Masking Tape

I love this stuff from Fancy That! It's packing tape all styled up. I covered basic juice glasses to make these candle votives.

And I wrapped it around this white letter holder for a fresh new look for my desk.

That's it for now. I'll post my TV projects soon. In the meantime, I'd love to hear what you like to do with tape?

I need your help with this hairy situation

As you may or may not know, shortly after my mama was diagnosed with breast cancer, I decided to grow my hair out for Locks of Love. (You can read more about this here.) Well, the time for the cut is drawing near, which means I need to start looking at styles.

I haven't gone short-short since I was kid and had to cut my hair after a perm gone wrong, so this is a tad scary. What if I look terrible with a short do? Eep! But, you know what? The purpose behind the cut is far more important than a bad hair day (or year), so I'm going to do this thing.

I've collected a few cute cuts and would love your feedback. Keeping in mind that my face is not celebrity-thin, which cut do you think would look the best on me? I have a favorite, but my mind isn't made up so I'm not going to tell you which one it is yet. First, I'd love your two cents. So, can you spare some change to help me with mine?

Option #1: The TomKat Cut

Pro: I'm a tucker. Not a day goes by that I don't tuck my hair behind my ears. I like that this cut makes that possible.

Con: I've had bangs like this before (image two), and they're a lot harder to keep up than they look.

Option #2: The Big Love Look

Pro: I love the longer layers in the front. I think it will help disguise my double-chin dance.

Con: My hair is naturally wavy, which means it would probably be a pain to get the sleek, straight strands.

Option #3: The Princess Part

Pro: My hair is definitely on the thick side, and this seems like it would accommodate that without much fuss.

Con: Does it look cute or messy? Not sure.

Option #4: New Moon, New Do

Pro: Feels like a modern and fun take on the traditional short bob.

Con: Like I'll ever look as cute as Miss Alice. That's a hard act to follow, even if it is just hair.

Option #5: Liv's Locks

Pro: People sometimes tell me I look like Miss Tyler, so maybe that means this cut would look good with my face.

Con: It looks like it might be too long. I have to cut at least 6 inches.

So, what do you think? 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5? I can't wait to hair...errr, I mean hear. ;)