Part Deux - New Year's Eve Fascinator

So how do we attach the butterfly to a barrette, headband or ribbons? A washi tape twist tie!
You'll need a ruler, scotch tape, an unused twist tie,scissors and washi tape. This idea comes from Marisa over at Omiyage.

1. Take your twist tie and measure the length - mine is 4.5 inches long. Since we're going to make cute cuts on the ends your washi tape should be longer than the tie by about 1/2 an inch.

2. Put your twist tie length wise on your ruler and put a piece of scotch tape in the middle to keep the tie from moving around.

3. Cover the twist tie with a length of washi tape and  try and keep it straight. Washi is pretty forgiving as long as you don't press it down too hard on the ruler surface.

4. Turn the tie over and scotch tape the centre to the ruler again using a tiny bit of tape. Cut your second length of washi and line it up with the washi on the reverse side. Cut off the scotch tape sticking out from the tie.

5. To make the chevron ends just fold the ends together and cut a v from the centre to the end point on a angle.

6, Slide the twist tie into the back of the butterfly and apply some glue to the little triangle on the front to secure the butterfly fascinator.

Just wind both sides of the tie onto a barrette, a ribbon or a head band and you're done.

Happy New Year girls!

What r u doin' for New Year's fascinator?

Origami Fascinator - Model by Akira Yoshizawa 

Hey girls remember when we made a DIY top hat fascinator back in the spring?

How about an origami butterfly fascinator for New Year's Eve? First a few basics on origami paper.

In your craft kit you have a selection of origami paper. Some are double sided (contrasting colour on reverse) and some are single sided. I made this butterfly from Chiyogami single sided paper which is quite thick and a little harder to fold.

For this model I suggest you use double sided origami paper as it hides folding mistakes.

As a rule of thumb, I always clean my work area (dog hair everywhere) and wash my hands (removes oil on your fingers) before I tackle an origami model. Make sure your hands and work area are dry to prevent any watermarks on the origami paper.

Tools

If you want to make a smaller butterfly you will need to trim your paper. A standard 15 cm square finished model is about 12 cm. (5 inch wing span).
If you don't have a paper trimmer you will need a ruler, a pencil and some standard scissors to cut the paper. Save your scrap paper as you can always cut out designs for other projects.

This model uses a standard  square sheet (15 cm) of origami paper.

You will need a bone folder, two of those cute clothes pins, origami paper and a flat surface to work on.

Let's create a water bomb base origami fold.

TIP: For this base fold you start with your paper the side you want to show on the finished butterfly.

TIP: start you diagonal crease by pinching the centre and pinch the pointed ends - use a mini clothes pin to keep the paper aligned like this:

This the link with a youtube video.  http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-waterbomb-base.html You can stop and start the video by clicking on the play button. I usually watch the whole video first and then start it again to fold with the video or scroll down on the linked page for step by step picture instructions.

Your finished collapsed waterbomb base fold with the tip of the triangle at the top should look like this:

Five more folds and you'll have a butterfly here's the link:
http://goorigami.com/single-sheet-origami/origami-butterfly/3006  scroll down and start with step 4.

Tip: make sure when you flip the paper over after step 4 the pointy end of the triangle is at the bottom facing you.

For step 6 bring just the top layer up & make sure the model looks like this -  ignore picture 7 in the tutorial (don't squash) just lift the paper gently as far as you can and secure the top with one of your pins. Notice how I can put my finger in each side?

Turn your model over and fold the little triangle down (mountain fold) and fold in half (valley fold) along the centre to create a 3d butterfly as shown in the picture at step 8 of the tutorial.

How'd you do? Are we ready to create the fascinator?

What r u doin' for New Year's Bangles?

Bangles - pretty but some of us just don't like the jingle jangle. This easy, peasy bangle DIY solves the problem & would look pretty for New Year's Eve.

Hive on the Drive

For the first version you'll need:
Scissors
Ribbon (5/8 wide) - 18 " - 45 cm long
Skinny metal bangle
Small Binder Clip, or 2 mini clothes pegs

1. Tie a tight knot leaving about a 1 inch (2.5 cms) tail. The knot should be on the inside of the bangle.

Hive on the Drive

2. Holding the knot wrap the tail to the right covering the bangle and secure with your mini clothes pins.

3. Flip the  bangle over so the unwrapped ribbon is on the right. Wrap the ribbon as tightly as you can on an angle (candy stripe) covering the entire bangle until you come to the tail. If the tail has loosened re-wrap. Cover the tail with two more tight wraps and tie a knot on the inside of the bangle. Cut off any excess ribbon.

Ta da - easy peasy ribbon bangle!

The other version is even easier using wider ribbon cut 6 inches long. Just tie 2 bangles together and cut pretty tails on the ends.

You can always change up the look for any occasion or outfit.

Yule Log

Merry Christmas everyone. I can't believe I was so busy I neglected to post anything for December until Christmas Day!

So here I am in the quiet of the morning sipping coffee watching my virtual yule log and trying really hard not to fiddle with the decorations on my tree.

Our local cable company has the best virtual yule log - just the flaming log and the sound of a crackling fire.

I still have another six Christmas crackers to make but hey I thought relax enjoy the tree, the quiet and the yule log.

DIY's to come for my girls...

Star Bright - Origami Style

How About Orange

Oh you all know I love origami and this edition from How About Orange is stunning and not that hard to do.

Use in lieu of a bow, make an ornament for the tree. Or my thinking instead of my lame kirigami snowflakes put them on the window in different sizes. They look so pretty in person and don't be afraid of colour - mine are pink and orange with a black toille pattern.

Orange you glad I love glitter?

Hive on the Drive - Gift Tags

So with many thanks to How About Orange for coming up with an origami business card holder I made it my own to create gift tags that can be reused.

Just use a blank business card and write a fa-la-la note to the recipient asking them to reuse the tag for next year. Just include a few blank cards and slide them in the top slot.

Or why not make a card holder for your girlfriends? I mean who wouldn't like a washi covered holder for their purse?

Gift Tags that you can use again?

Okay I'll admit it I spend a lot of money on gift tags  I like to use neutral paper like kraft paper for wrapping or for this year it will be newsprint since I have tons. But I love pretty gift tags and spend way too much money on said tags..

So Omiyage have these really pretty mailing tags but I resisted then I remembered How About Orange had these really cool paper business card holders . So what if with my new favourite washi & glitter tape I combined them to make gift tags in a mashup of Omiyage and Orange that you could reuse again?

My thought make little cards to include in the gift tag. Decorate with glitter goodness. Discard the To From card for this year- reuse the tag again!!

You'll see it's brilliant.

Vintage Paper Tree - You Look Marvelous Darling

Finally, in all it's washi tape goodness my vintage tree made out of newsprint and a tomato cage. Kind of looks like a carousel doesn't it? Don't you think it will look pretty in a vintage shop window?

My biggest headache was trying to use an edge punch for the bottom layer. This was a big mistake as newsprint does not have the weight and binds on the punch. If you want to do a fancy edge I suggest using computer weight paper and glue the edge to the newsprint.

I used silver and gold washi tape, round gold letter seals, tiny specs of parfait glitter tape and your basic accordion fold to make the medallions.

The top is based on the Martha magazine tree. I used the scraps from the bottom two rows cut them in half and stapled them in the middle.

I'll post a DIY next week with some tips and tricks.

I think this is my best Christmas project ever!

Girl Paper Tree - Sneak Peek

Washi Tape Goodness Paper Tree

Oh I am so close to finishing my pretty vintage paper tree. I just could not wait so here is a sneak but not the best peek.

As you can see the top is not finished but tomorrow I promise in all it's washi tape goodness and newsprint. It's so pretty it will be hard to part with it.

Sugar

Aren't they awesome? I love homemade costumes and yes we are all suffering from a sugar rush today.

And the Scariest Movie is...

Photo: www.allyou.com

So I have polled a number of friends and family on what was the scariest movie they saw as a kid and their all time favourite scary movie. I also added a list of movies I will never watch as I can't even watch the trailer let alone the whole movie.

Scariest movie as a kid:

1 Rosemary's Baby
2 The Wizard of Oz
3 House of Wax
4 The Haunting (1963)
5 The Shining

Favourite scary movie:
1 The Thing
2 Psycho
3 Dracula (1931)
4 Alien
5 The Exorcist

Movies I cannot bring myself to watch:
1 Snakes on a Plane
2 Arachnophobia
3 The Exorcist*
4 Anaconda
5 The Fly (1958)*

As you can see there is no one scary movie we could all agree on but in our household "The Haunting" 1963 is in our childhood memories as very creepy.

I have seen both "The Fly" and "The Exorcist" but can't watch either even with TV commercials.

So what is your all time favourite scary movie?

Test before You Plunge - Paper Tree

So yesterday I went merrily on my way making the first row of my newsprint tree. It looked nothing like my vision. So this morning I took the time to make a sample for both planned trees.

As you can see the burgundy trio washi looks fabulous on kraft paper but totally washed out on newsprint which is the path I went down yesterday.  The gold chevron and the silver line washi tape look very pretty on the plain newsprint.

Another thing I thought of is since washi tape is pretty expensive save every little snippet. Just put it on the waxy side of wax paper. I figure I can use all the little snippets on a card or tag.

Oh by the way if you're interested in finding out more about washi tape from a Canadian supplier head over to Omiyage's online store.

Inspiration Paper Tree - Light Bulb Alert

Amuse Studio

So I found this paper tree over at Amuse Studio a few months ago and really thought it was very pretty. But as you may know I really like to make things my own.

So I set out to make quite a large display tree (32" without a base) for a small shop front out of newsprint and a tomato cage based on the accordion fold but less rigid looking.









Here's my first attempt using my community newspaper:

Hive on the Drive

So I've been staring at this project model for at least 3 weeks.

It was only today going back to my inspiration the light bulb went off! Why not combine the rigid medallion with the relaxed half medallions and add some contrast paper similar to the inspiration.

BTW the wind came up just when I took the shot so the tree looks a bit odd but it is quite pretty just the way it is. I will post the relaxed medallion tree DIY instructions next week post Halloween. All you need is a tomato cage, newspaper, 8 pipecleaners, scissors, a stapler and paper clips.

So you want to blog?

Was talking to someone yesterday they said they'd like to blog - quite keen. I suggested they be a guest on my blog as a first step.

So my friend here's the criteria.

My Mum, loved everything even a melon loving little girl from the fifties that I display on my porch which to be honest I scratched my head about at the time. She loved Christmas but most of all Christmas crackers and the good cheer for all and sundry.

So here is your assignment if you chose to accept it for you and your friends. Update those crackers make them your own but please include those goofy tissue paper hats as part of the tradition that my Mum loved.

It's a melon girl thing.

Hunger, Lolli & Avenger Sneak Peek

And here they are the props for the kids. The lollipop is paper based with tissue paper wound to make the rainbow effect.

I did end up using duct tape for the shield as it has a 16" diameter and needed the strength of the plastic cloth. Not very environmentally friendly but looks super avenger.

The quill is made from an Pringles can and some gun metal cardstock.

Hello Katie, Katriss & Captain

So I have been diligently working on props for Halloween. Ms. Perry needs a lollipop, Katriss a quill and well Captain America a shield.

You may remember my post about my nephew and his funny costume a toilet. Well, he had a change of heart and while I did a lot of research to figure out the toilet costume believe it or not his shield was quite difficult to do.

Well kids I have finished all three and I am pretty happy with the end results.Gluing stuff has been problematic because after 3 months of dry weather the humidity is causing me grief but I am done. Yippee!

Sneak peek tomorrow...

Or Captain America Charlie Brown

So the toilet is flushed and my nephew is obsessed with Captain America.  He wants me to make the shield. Let's put it this way - I followed the guy way of making the shield with duct tape.This is the first step all red, white and blue to follow with star. Eek it' so bumpy and while shiny is so not what I imagined.

DIY fail - start over again. Don't worry Mackie I have 2 days to come up with something different. The thing is it should be shiny and look like metal. Hmm tricky...

Oh Happy Day & Weekend

So kids it's Bond Day, Thanksgiving weekend and Beatlemania Day.

This picture was attached to my dresser mirror for ages when I was a tween. I know all the words to their catalogue of songs. George was my favorite and I cried the day John Lennon died. My favourite album was Rubber Soul and I had no idea what "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" was about.

The lads first song turned 50 today. And for some reason "Love, Love Me Do" has been in my head all day!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving weekend Canada.

It's the Great Toilet Costume Charlie Brown

So in passing I asked my sister-in-law what the kids were wearing for Halloween. The girls are toying with Katy Perry and Katniss from the Hunger Games. However, my nephew had me rolling on the floor laughing. He wants to go as a toilet.

Really Mackie but how would you sit down at school? This is a real design challenge.

And this commercial costume for $ 49.99 has the same problem - how would a kid sit in this?

So I going to help Mackie make a homemade one so to the white board I go.

Sneak Peek - Oh Paper Christmas Tree

Sorry I have been away posting for the summer - it was very busy here on the Coast.

For September I have put all my efforts designing a vintage paper tree. It took a number of tries to come up with a concept that is relatively easy to reproduce with text weight paper. As you can see I used my community newspaper as the paper source and used a very simple technique - accordion folds. The tree stands about 32 inches high.

It looks great sitting on a table or a counter and would be suitable for a small storefront window display for the upcoming holiday season. Since this is a model and not the final product I'll be posting info on paper and embellishment ideas for this project over the next few weeks.

I also came up with a modern version of the tree which I'll share with you in November.

Simple Things - Into the Mystic

I have no idea what happened but my post that I scheduled went pfft!

So here is the concept:

A little bit of steampunk, some royal jelly and starry nights. But really you need to keep things simple. To tie in all things together use touches but don't go over the top. Yes, I know it might be disappointing some will embrace the idea and some will not. Some will want to be the audience and some will want to be the actors.

A lot of weddings are too wound up in tradition - you can change it up without breaking the mold if you tell the story before hand. Your hip friends may know what steampunk is but not your Auntie. When you send your invites give some suggestions even a hat is participation. It's important when you set a theme to give your guests a sense of fun and whimsy. Don't worry imagine.

Inspiration - Into the Mystic

So how quirky and fun is this Owl? So this is my jumping off point for for a tattoo girl wedding.I just think they are the coolest bird and offer all kinds of interest detail to the usual paper crafts or in this case metal craft.

Where in the world am I going with my inspiration? Check back I will reveal all on Saturday.

DIY Parasol Drink Stirrer My Take

Remember those doily parasol drink stirrers that inspired this stirred not shaken project?

While pretty because the paper doily is embossed it is really hard to get a smooth finish and is a bit fussy to work with.

Solution? A dyed coffee basket filter and fringe! I just used a glue stick to attach it to my round light cardstock base and then used those cute pearl stickers you can find in any craft store to embellish the top.

The instructions for the doily parasol are over at Papermash in a PDF. My version has a larger base (about 3 1/2 inches diameter) and I used double sided tape to secure the cone seam.

TIP: Once you glue the doily or coffee filter to the base make sure you find the circle centre and make a mark and pencil in your cone cut. Decorate the top of the parasol before you cut the tensie triangle to make the cone shape making sure you don't decorate on the cone overlap.Cuticle scissors are ideal for making the fringe cuts.

DIY Not Today - Ride if you Can

There are two sports I follow without fail. One, you should know is Formula One auto racing and the other is road race cycling. Huh? You may have heard of it. A road race over three weeks - like the Tour de France?

Well there is this very nice Canadian, the only Canadian in a starting field of 198 riders who had a very bad day today. He is talented and tough. To give a perspective to finish the Tour de France is a milestone. To win the Giro d'Italia makes him the Sidney Crosby of the sport but to be a legend like Gretsky he had a chance to win the historic Tour de France in the same year. Until today.

His name is Ryder Hesjedal and he is one of the world's top athletes period. But some stupid guy touched wheels with another which caused almost half of the riders in the peleton to go down. Unfortunately, his fellow team mates were in the wrong place and the entire team took a tumble except for two. This is unprecedented even for the Tour de France. They were going about 70 km per hour at the time of the crash.

Seriously, it was the worst accident I can remember at the Tour de France. But there is good news. No one died or was seriously injured although it is likely Ryder will not be able to continue. His Olympic bid is doubtful now too.

That's the thing about racing a Formula One car or a road bicycle that is so frustrating. Some idiot makes a mistake and your race is ruined. That's racing. It is a harsh reality but they are gladiators and I have no doubt Ryder will ride if he can.

Sometimes things come up that are more important than a post about drink stirrers. So I promise tomorrow my last installment on drink stirrers parasol pretty.

DIY Sailing Origami Drink Stirrer

This is my favourite drink stirrer as it's my idea & really fun for summer & the boat floats!  Remember that paper feather I made from an old map? I decided to use some remaining remnants for the origami boat and light card stock for my sail. The sailboat is a bit top heavy so this project really is more suitable for a tall drink.

Although you could make a little armada for a slab cake topper or reduce my dimensions for cup cakes. Since I am a newbie to origami I used the simple boat fold we all made as kids. The paper size I used was 4 1/2" by 3 1/2". You can find the boat origami instructions over at Origami Fun.  The sail I just freelanced making a right angle triangle putting two small holes about 1/4" from the top and bottom. Just remember to keep it to scale about 2 1/2 inches high. Piece the boat centre triangle with your skewer and slide the boat on then slide the sail on the skewer.

Smooth sailing!

DIY Easy Peasy Feather Drink Stirrer

This idea comes from 100 Layer Cake. I have a confession guys I don't even own a glue gun so I made a paper bead to affix the feather.

This way I can reuse the bead and feather. Since I don't have a bead tool I wrapped one layer of masking tape around a bamboo skewer to make additional space for the bead hole & feather. You can google paper beads as there are tons of instructions.

I used some magazine paper and made a strip about 6" long and 1/2" at the bottom making a long skinny triangle for the oblong bead. Once the bead is completed use the pointy end of the skewer to slide the bead off.
Remove the masking tape. Line up your feather to the top and bring the bead up from the bottom to cover about 1/4 " of the feather spine. Ta da you're done!

Sneak Peek - Drink Stirrers

Parasols, sail boats and feathers..

Three different drink stirrers for you to make. Seriously, so many ideas and most of them can be adapted for cupcake toppers or enlarged for a centerpiece.

DIY Lotus Coffee Filter Flowers

So these are a sample of the flowers I made for the birthday party. I fell in love with the lotus flower after a visit to New York years ago. My Mum, a water colour artist asked me if I could pick her up a book at the Museum of Modern Art. I figured since I was there I might as well take a quick tour.

I was gobbed smacked and spent the rest of my weekend exploring the art museum. The best painting there is a huge mural of lotus flowers by Monet.

The only real difference from the original coffee filter rose et la Aunt Peaches is my version of roses are easier to make. The post is still under my DIY section if you want to refer to it.

For the lotus flower I changed the petal shape template and added a five point kirigami fold to create 10 petals per layer.

It took me forever to figure out the kirigami five point fold as all the instructions are for a square not a circle until I found this shamrock on Zakka Life. Yes my eureka moment: most kirigami projects are turning the square into a circle. Duh!! I will post the instructions for a five point fold (10 petal points ) in the DIY section on Saturday.

When I dyed the filters this time I used a combination of food colouring and acrylic paint. This can be very time consuming and a quicker way would be to use fabric dye. I was afraid of ending up with blue hands before our trip but I think if you have to make a lot of flowers this would be the route to take.

TIP I found 6 filters per lotus flower work better than 5 for the coffee filter rose. Since you are making deeper cuts to form the petals this gives the flower more volume but you will have one more cut per flower.

If you have any trouble understanding the kirigami folds hop over to Omiyage. Just so happens they have instructions for both 5 and 6 point cutouts to get you started.

Takeaway - Caribbean Party

So remember that birthday party with a Caribbean theme I did last weekend? It was not the best event I  have contributed to as many things out of my control were supposed to be done and never were carried out.

Seven Days Before

1. No cook - the house host's husband bailed.

2. No plan for rain. I spent way too much time coming up with a canopy.

Day Of
1. My husband, house host and I put up canopy left at 11am to get ready for 2 pm.

2. No tables delivered - we ended up with one table for the food and everything else. And an old bookcase which I turned into the bar.

3. The house host's table was glass and didn't want decor on the table. Scratch all the flowers I made.

4. Guests arrive no hostess. In fact no one came out the house for almost 45 minutes. Very awkward.

5. No birthday girl. One of the guests had to pick her up. You see this is what happens when the hostess does not host her party for her sister.

6. Birthday girl arrives at 3 pm - all is well: she is thrilled.

7. Husband takes over barbeque duties - all loved his burgers. And thank God for rum punch. Where's the promised beer? But someone did appreciate my sailboat drink stirrers.

So tired left before the deluge of rain. But yippee the canopy worked perfectly.

Lesson: never let your girlfriends who you love plan a party while you are on holiday..

Lotus vs. Lotus

Oh I was so inspired when I bought some origami paper in Ottawa I had to try making something. A very linear lotus flower. I think it would make a really cool corsage or boutonniere.

And speaking of Lotus and by association Emma Peel did you know my favourite driver finished 2nd in the European Grand Prix?  No not Emma - Kimi!

Now this is the closest I got to Kimi at Montreal but don't I look excited to be there?

Rainy Days - How to Plan

You get really great photos on rainy days as my Ottawa persons photo shows but when your client asks you to cross your fingers for it not to rain - you know the project is going sideways.

The weather forecast is not good for Saturday and we cannot move the soiree inside. So today I have spent all day googling canopy tarps.

Why not rent a tent? We are on a shoestring budget not an option. So now the tropical theme is more camping in a rainforest then a Caribbean hotspot.

It's not like it doesn't rain in the tropics or in BC so we can work this out if we have a plan.

1. What do we have on hand? Tarps check, some rope oh and my bamboo shades, patio umbrella and table. Oh and a shower curtain.

2. What do we need? A table for food with shelter from the rain. A place for guests to sit with enough shelter from the rain.

3. A fire pit without wood as fire pits are banned this time of year. Seems to me briquettes would work.

You get the gist - planning for a rainy day or a too hot day for any event is a key element in making your guests comfortable.

Tell them to wear their gumboots and bring some blankets and rain ponchos.If the weather is fine they can always discard the rain gear. 

Holiday Find - Ultimate Vintage Bucket List

Photo - CBC

I have returned from our week in Montreal and Ottawa. This is the most beautiful room in Canada - our Library of Parliament. You actually cannot take pictures in the Library but I found this on Google to give you a glimpse.

It really doesn't do it justice but if you ever get a chance to visit our nation's capital take the visitors tour through Parliament.

The building is simple stunning inside and out. It reflects a grace that is often overlooked by the people who work there.

I don't know when I added this library to my bucket list but to see Young Queen Victoria in marble at the entrance made my day.

 I must return to my Caribbean project but I will post ideas inspired by that most cosmopolitan city of Montreal in a few weeks.

My Take - Sails & Parasols Peak & Sneak

Tropical Drink Stirrers DIY Sneak Peek

Photo PaperMash UK

Where have I being? After many weeks of struggling with my old laptop we bought a new one which I just received. I have been making paper lotus flowers and I thought we just had to have drink stirrers for our client's Caribbean themed party.

These doily beauties from Papermash were my inspiration. Oh, BTW we are heading to Montreal for a week so my posts will resume but I just had to share this idea.

It's A Tropical Party

To start with this is the range of a tropical palette. Our birthday girl's favourite colour is pink. I'm leaning to a two colour palette of an watermelon pink and lime green with a touch of turquoise.

My client is thinking Caribbean and we could have a lot of fun with this adult birthday party theme.

We could go flip flops: Jimmy Buffett with giant fish OR Bob Marley and oversized flowers. Oh and a client must palm trees. I love the stylized drink umbrellas in the storyboard. A special touch for our birthday girl.

Storyboard

Aunt Peaches Blog