Paper Folding on the Airplane

On the return flight home, I was feeling a little fidgety. No crafting for about two weeks… but since I went to Urban Craft Uprising and saw lots of handmade goods around Granville Island, Canada, I was antsy. So, to pass the time, I started thumbing through the airline magazine. The semi-finished sudoku and crossword puzzles didn’t capture my attention that much, and I had read through the steakhouse directory too many times. Onward to the Sky Mall magazine! I enjoy virtual shopping as much as anyone else especially when one magazine has business books-on-tape, concrete garden fountains and pet gear under the same cover.

But that didn’t last too long either… without scissors, glue, knitting needles, or even a crochet hook, what was a girl to do? (Incidentally, these are all probably unsafe or inappropriate things to bring on a plane now.)

I made a paper tree! Actually I made two: one on the way to Phoenix and the one in the picture was on the way home. I both cases I left them on the plane. Someone (cleaning crew, probably) might have found it interesting, or at the very least, amusing? My husband called me the “(paper) tree bandit”. I thought of it as free art. Want to make some on your next plane ride? It’s really easy, and the instructions are here.

Tags: airplane, paper, plane ride activity, recycled paper, tea, vacation

Tutorial: Newspaper Seedling Pots and Cardboard Garden Tray

It was another awesome time at the Chicago Craft Social last Friday night! I’m writing about the event on Craft Critique, so here we’ll just focus on this cool, recycle/upcycle project.

(Update: The event review is posted on Craft Critique now.)

Leading this table was a lot of fun, and I promised some new crafty friends that I would have instructions posted on this very simple eco-friendly outdoorsy project. Though it may be a little late in the season, I might start some vegetable seedlings for late summer/early fall planting. What I love about the pots is that there’s no adhesive, and you can plant the whole thing in the ground once your seedlings are established.

The newspaper seedling pots: newspaper and scissors

I didn’t use any forms or jars to form my pots, but there are certainly products out there that are sold at your local garden shop for not a lot of money. I took full sheets of newspaper and cut them in half, then half again (quarter-pages). Using two quarter sheets, roll them up like toilet paper roll size.

Fold one end of the tub into itself (about 1/4″ to 1/2″) and press. Repeat. Folding over a few times will give the pot some structure, a little collar of sorts.

Now the tricky party: the bottom. I place the tube over my fingers like a puppet and just start folding the bottom into itself, as if I’m wrapping a cylindrical gift.

Eventually, you end up with a triangular little piece of paper, and that can get tucked in. Actually, I smash it onto the table to help get the folds to stay. No adhesives.

This isn’t going to look super neat, but I figure, after you’ve filled the pot with soil, and you’ve started watering your seedling, the paper is going to stick to itself after getting wet.

Now the tray: cardboard, cereal boxes, snack boxes, ruler, cutting mat, rotary cutter or utility knife, bone folder (optional)

The tray was just something simple for crafters to carry their pots home, but think of the possibilities with kids and a little paint or stickers! You can use any cardboard box, like cereal and snack boxes. One box will make two trays. So, cut apart your box: front, back, two sides.

Take your large rectangular piece and measure 1-1/2″ to 2″ from each side – the width is up to you. Then using a straight edge, make a line from outside corner to “inside” corner. Score (not cut) on these lines.

At this point, you should be able to fold the cardboard and start forming the tray. The diagonal lines can be “pushed” into the tray. This then gets stapled to the tray side (doesn’t matter which side).

Use a box edge to create the handle… just staple onto the tray.

The tray below has a 1-1/2″ edge. The 2″ tray looks is shown at the beginning of this post and here at my friend’s blog, “Our Tiny Oak Park Bungalow“.

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Looking for more crafting, my review on Xyron’s Creatopia machine is posted at Craft Critique (disclaimer). This machine is amazing! Check out all six articles, and there’s a great giveaway that ends on Saturday, June 26! Good luck!

Tags: crafting, garden, garden craft, kid-friendly craft, recycled, recycled paper, seedling pots

Collage Project: Flooring Catalog

Magazines and catalogs are sometimes the best sources of inspiration, especially when I see tons of little colored squares in a particular carpet tile catalog (we actually used these tiles in our basement).  I was itching to do a collage project and finally broke out the scissors. The tiles would be perfect for covering up one of my sketch books.

Since the squares were all uniform in size, piecing it together was easy… like a cut-and-paste Tetris game! I’d like to do one coat of Mod Podge on the front and back covers soon, and I have enough cut-outs to cover my larger sketch book another time.

Tags: art, collage, decoupage, Flor, magazine, recycled, recycled paper

Some Festive Cards for anytime

I was busy last week getting a pack of cards ready for a silent auction. I hope the winner enjoys these and actually uses them. (Click on the picture for a better look.) Now I need to get crackin’ on a few mother’s day cards and one birthday card for a friend’s daughter who turns one this weekend!

Tags: cards, collage, crafting, crafts, paper, recycled paper, rubber stamping

Valentine’s Basket Card

I made this card several years ago for a friends on their wedding anniversary and then again for Christmas. I thought Valentine’s Day might be a nice time to resurrect it. What better to hold a little teabag, candy or gift card? It’s also a nice way to recycle crinkly paper from gift baskets, and odd pieces of cut paper and ribbon! I suggest using a padded envelope or hand deliver your creation to your friend. Here’s my simple “basket” card that I’ll take you through.

For the card, you will need:

• 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ piece of cardstock (half of 8-1/2″ x 11″ paper and folded)
• 5-1/2″ x 2-3/4″ piece of coordinating printed paper
• 9″ – 10″ ribbon
• Miscellaneous: ruler, pencil, bone folder, gluestick or double-sided tape, hole punch

1.  Fold your cardstock in half if you haven’t already. Position the card so it is fully open. You will glue (or tape) your coordinated paper to the inside top half of the card. This might look strange, but hang on.

2. Close the card and on the bottom front face (just the other side of where you glued), mark a point at 2-3/4″ (exact center) from the edge. You may also want to mark 2-3/4″ up the two sides also, but this is not necessary. It’s the height of the printed paper.

3. Take a bone folder or some blunt tool to score the paper from the bottom mid-point to the top edge of the printed paper (along the side of the card). You’ll have two right triangles that will become the “basket”.

4. Fold the triangles up and use a bone folder to crease well. Almost done!

5. Punch holes at the top of the triangles for your ribbon and tie a pretty bow.

6. Use some leftover crinkly paper and place your favorite tea to share.

You’re done, good job! For some more fun, you could rubber stamp some cute designs all over the cardstock. Don’t forget that you’ll have a small amount of writing space inside the card since the front is folded over.

Here’s an extra little tidbit. You know those paint chips you get at the hardware store when you’re thinking you’re going to actually paint that ONE room… Use your paper punch and attach to some long toothpicks with glue or tape!

Hoping to have a few more Valentine’s Day resources for you tomorrow. Enjoy!

Tags: cards, gifts, greetings, love, paper, recycled paper, tea, teacher gift, Valentine's Day

Crafting with Leftover Paint Chips

I’m sure we’ve all collected paint chips or paint sample cards from home improvement stores at some point. I’d pick some up just for inspiration when I was rubber stamping. The picture above is of a sample case from my days of working in construction… what a fun tool to have there. But more recently, I’ve collected paint chips for our home and didn’t realize that I doubled, or even tripled, up on some of the sample cards. Like the pack rat that I am, I thought that I might someday figure out how to use or re-use them in a crafty sort of way. So, for even more inspiration, I found these sites and now I can’t wait to make projects like these!

Paint Chip Card Holders at DesignVerb

Embroidered Paint Chip Cards by Lisa at Craftzine.com

Punched Dot Cards at Elegant Musings

Tags: art, cards, paint, paint chips, recycled, recycled paper, recycling