TP

TP = Toilet Paper. There, I said it. I never thought that I would ever write about TP on my blog.

While moving things around in the trunk of my car, I came across this. It is a recycled drink cup that holds a half of a roll of TP. I keep it in my trunk for emergencies. If you ever find yourself needing the use of public facilities and they are out of TP, this will come in handy. It is pretty obscure and looks as if you could be toting around a cold drink.


I thought about posting this to my blog a long time ago but was a bit shy about talking about TP. I think I still am and I feel a bit red in the face as I am typing this.

The TP is dispensed from the center of the roll. Since the core is usually glued to the first sheet, I take scissors and cut the core in half and slowly ease it out, being careful not to remove too much TP in the process. I then place the TP into the cup, replace the cover, and feed the TP out through the hole.


I decided that it was about time that I make a pretty cover for my TP dispenser.

The nice thing about this dispenser is that it can also be kept in the cup holder in your car. It is very convenient to have for cleaning up little messes too.

Okay, enough said. I promise to never talk about TP on this blog again. Pinkie swear.

Aloha!

Flat

Son comes home, walks through the garage and notices that my car has a flat tire. Like the good son that he is he says for me not to worry about it and that he'll take care of it. Whew! What a relief to have a capable son.

Son removes tire and loads it into his car and takes it to get repaired. He returns with the fixed tire and puts it back onto my car.


Son shows me what caused the flat. A little metal thingy between 1/16" and 1/32" in width by 1/2" long. I took a picture of it with a penny for comparison.


The damage.


Now, I know that it costs an arm and a leg and perhaps a little more than that to live in Hawaii. Yes, the cost of living is outrageous. But! Forty dollars to fix a flat tire? This got me thinking. How much does it cost to fix a flat in your area? More? Less? I thought that it would be interesting to know what it costs where you live, whether you're on the U.S. mainland or somewhere else in the world. Maybe I don't have anything to complain about. My inquisitive mind would like to know.

Aloha,

Part Three: Paper Flower Wreath Tutorial

We are on the home stretch in our wreath making journey. This is a simple flower to make and will be used as the "filler" in the wreath.


Begin by punching 36 flowers from a 1-1/4" 6-petal paper punch.
Cut into the center and remove one petal.
Overlap two petals and glue in place.


Make a small hole in the center of the flower with a large needle or the tip of a scissors.
Roll each of the petals toward the back of the flower using a skewer or something similar.
Add a button to a 2-inch piece of wire. Loop the wire through two button holes. Squeeze the wire together on the back of the button. Add glue to the back of the button and glue it into the center of the flower.


They look so cute clustered together in a little bouquet.


See you on Friday for the wreath finale. Have a nice day!

Aloha!

When The Little Princess Comes to Visit

It is Monday. Everything is a blur...


...because The Little Princess comes to visit.


We even remove the seat cushions to make it low enough for The Little Princess to access her throne.


It is nap time in The Kingdom. (Thank goodness for nap time.) All is quiet now that The Little Princess is sleeping.


I baby sit The Little Princess every Monday and get absolutely nothing done while she's here. Even so, I look forward to seeing her. She is such a little bundle of energy. Every picture that I took of her was blurry. It tires me just to watch her run around. Sorry, I know that these pictures are hard on the eyes.

Have a wonderful day, everyone. I'll see you tomorrow for part three of the paper wreath tutorial.

Aloha!

P is for Paper

Hello! I hope that you have had a fun-filled weekend.

I am still playing with paper and still making paper flowers. It seems that flower making, paper or otherwise, never gets old for me. There are very few flowers outside in my garden, but it's sure colorful here inside my house.

For some reason, this wreath was very difficult to photograph. No matter what I did, the pretty colors wouldn't come through.


A close-up shot, but still not much better.


Oh well, I never professed to be a good photographer.

I hope you have a smashing week ahead. Take care!

Aloha!

Part Two: Paper Flower Wreath Tutorial

Hello, fellow wreath makers. I hope that you're ready to make more flowers. Today's tutorial will show you how to create a medium sized shabby rose. We will be making 18 of these roses to add to our wreath.


You will need:

2" scallop paper punch
Cardstock
Dye Ink
Scissors
3" of cloth covered floral wire per flower (approx. 54" total)
2 buttons per flower (36 total)
Small container of water


Punch four 2-inch scallops for each flower.
Make a small hole in the center of each scallop with the point of a scissors. Cut slits between each scallop about a third of the way into the center.
Ink the edges on both sides of the scallop. How much ink you would like to apply is up to you. I'm a pretty heavy inker because I happen to like the look.


Feed the 3-inch piece of wire through the holes in the button. Dab a bit of matching ink onto the portion of wire that will be exposed.


Submerge the first scallop into water. Remove immediately.


Feed the scallop onto the wire through the hole in the center of the scallop.


Gently squeeze the petals over the button to form a bud shape. Wet paper is very fragile. Take care not to break the petals.


Continue feeding each of the scallops onto the wire, squishing and squeezing each layer onto the previous one.


After all 4 layers have been added, feed a button onto the wire. Twist the wire to secure the layer of petals. This button will not show so you can use old, ugly, or recycled buttons if you'd like.


Gently open up each layer of petals. The petals should have twists and turns in them. This is the look that we are trying to achieve. Once you are pleased with the petal placement, set it aside to dry. After the petals are fully dried, they will be stiff and retain their shape.


The flower on the left has not been inked. It has very little visual definition compared to the two on the right. Even so, having a few solid flowers will add interest to the project.


I hope you enjoy making these flowers. I had to stop myself from making too many. It is very easy to get carried away because they are so much fun to make.

See you on Tuesday for the next installment. Have a wonderful weekend.

Aloha!

Make a Paper Flower Wreath Along With Me

Let's mix it up a bit and try something new. How about assembling a paper flower wreath along with me. I will be posting a series of 3 very simple paper flower tutorials followed by a fourth tutorial on wreath assembly.

The first flower tutorial will be made within this post. I will be posting the remaining tutorials on the following dates: June 25, June 29, and July 2. This will give you ample time to make each of the flowers. If you have any questions, please post it within the comment section of each tutorial. I will be answering your questions in the comment sections.

The supplies that I will be using throughout this project are:

* Cardstock (solid or printed, in the color scheme of your choice)
* 1-1/4" 6-petal flower paper punch
* 2" scallop paper punch
* Floral wire
* Buttons
* Dye inks that coordinate with your cardstock
* Sewing needle and thread
* Glue, tacky and/or hot
* Scissors



THE WREATH BASE

The wreath base is made of cardboard. The perimeter of the circle is 12" with a 7-1/2" circle removed from it's center. Cereal boxes or any other cardboard that you have laying around will do. Cut as many layers as you need to form a sturdy base. Glue the layers together with tacky glue. Top with a circle of cardstock.

Have the wreath base ready on July 2nd, the day of wreath assembly.



THE FIRST FLOWER

The first flower that we will be making is an anchor flower. This will be the largest of the flowers and the focal point of the wreath.

*For the first layer of petals, punch two 2" scallop circles from cardstock.
*Cut a slit to the center of each of the scallops between two petals.
(The first diagram that is drawn in pencil shows you where you will be making your accordion pleats. Do not draw these onto your scallop. I did this to show you where the folds will be made.)
*Accordion fold both scallops. You will end up with two halves.
*Glue together to form a full circle of petals.


* For the second layer of petals, cut a strip of cardstock 1-1/2" wide by 11" in length.
* Accordion fold each strip in 1/4" pleats.
* With scissors, make tiny rounded snips on every other fold to form the petals.
* Glue the ends together to form a continuous circle.
* With needle and thread, take a running stitch close the straight edge.
* Pull the thread tightly to form a rosette. Tie securely with a knot, cut thread.


Glue the scalloped flower to the top of the rosette. Glue a button to it's center.


Repeat these steps to make a total of 6 flowers.


I will be using dye ink to add color to some of the cardstock flowers in my next tutorial. It adds dimension and a nice contrast to the flower petals. Choose inks that will add color to your flowers or choose not to ink at all. I will be showing you an example of both versions in the next tutorial.

Here's a sneak peek of our next flower.


If you are making this wreath along with me and have posted these flowers to your blog or photo share, please leave a link in the comment section. I would love to see your creations and I am sure that other's will too.

See you on Friday for the next installment.

Have a happy flower making day!

Aloha!

Paper Makes Me Happy

In the past, I looked at paper as something flat with little dimension. I never really had all that much interest in creating with it either. I am building a new found respect for paper as I am realizing how easily it can be manipulated and transformed into many shapes. I now understand the paper addiction that so many have.

Please bear with me as I go through this paper cupcake stage. I promise that it won't last forever.

But! I gotta say, how paper frosting can look so delicious is beyond me.


I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for stopping by and hanging out with me on my blog. I know that I don't say this enough, but please know how thankful I am that you choose to stop by.

To my blog pals that have been with me from the very start and to all that have newly subscribed and everyone in between...thank you, thank you, thank you! I am so appreciative of your support. Without you, I probably wouldn't continue to experiment and create as much as I do.

I hope you are having an amazing day!

Aloha,

Magnetic Christmas Countdown Advent Calendar

I sit here wishing that I could turn back the hands of time and relive the early days of my life as a young mother. It is not the hectic pace that I miss, but the opportunity to make more memories during the height of my son's childhood.

Each time that I create something that I know my son would have enjoyed as a young child, deep seated feelings emerge from within me. How I wish I could have substituted this handmade advent calendar in place of the store bought ones that I'd purchase at the local drugstore with it's cardboard doors and waxy chocolate Santa's, simply because I didn't have the time it took to make one myself. Don't get me wrong. We still managed to create a zillion memories, waxy chocolate and all. But as I look back, I know it could have been better. Much better. Maybe I'm just thinking in hindsight. Realization is much clearer after the events have occurred and you have had sufficient time to think about it.

At the age of 22, my son isn't going to get a charge out of this glittery refrigerator advent calendar like he would have had at the age of 5. Of course, it is simply because he is a young adult now and the wonderment of childhood has diminished. He's still supportive when I show him what I've made but it's not the same. Sadly, this is what life is like at this stage of the game.

Let's build a memorable tradition with a Christmas Countdown Advent Calendar. Set this up on your refrigerator each year for the little ones to enjoy. Just think of the pleasure that they will have when you bring this out year after year.

To begin, you will need twenty-four, 7/8" x 12" strips of cardstock. The glittered card stock that I have chosen is very thick due to the coating of glue that was used to secure the glitter to the cardstock during manufacturing. The outcome is a very hard and durable rosette.

Fold each strip into 1/4" accordion pleats. Glue the ends together to form a continuous circle.

With needle and thread, take a running stitch close to the edge of one side of the accordion pleated circle, gathering the thread tightly to form a rosette.


Punch 24 circles from a 1" circle punch.
Punch 24 circles from a 1-1/2" circle punch.


Punch out numbers 1 through 24 with a 7/8" number punch. You can purchase ready made numbers in the scrapbooking section of your favorite store if you do not own number punches.


Glue the 1-1/2" circles to the backs of each of the rosettes.
Glue the numbers onto the front of the 1" circles.
Glue the 1" circles onto the face of the rosettes.


Glue a magnet onto a mini clothespin.


Glue the clothespin to the back of the rosette.


A glittery, sparkly, countdown to Christmas.


If you own a stainless steel refrigerator, you know that magnets will not stick to it. In this case, you will have to get yourself a magnetic board or cookie sheet to make this work.




Use the clothespins to hold a treat, a bible verse, or a Christmas memory to count down the days 'til Christmas.


As sad as this may sound, I can picture my then 5 year old sitting in front of the refrigerator arranging and rearranging these little magnetic rosettes every day until the arrival of Christmas. The sweet smile on his face. The excitement in his voice. The joy of early childhood.

A clear reminder to myself of the importance of making memories and of the reality of how quickly time passes.

Aloha!