mad for minted!

Have you ever used minted.com before?  I first discovered minted a few years ago when I received a really great wedding invitation in the mail.  It was one of those invitations that was so fresh-looking, fun, and happy that I immediately flipped it over to see where it was designed. Viola!  I had found minted and was in love! 

Minted is now taking over the paperie world-from adorable invites, to affordable artwork, to awesome day planners.  Oh, what's that you say?  They now use gold foil on many of their items?  Check.

And the best part?  They are designed by a whole slew of designers and voted on by regular ole peeps who like paper!  It really makes for a great variety of designs, all of which feel cutting-edge, trendy and new. (Hint: If you're an artist or designer they hold regular design challenges that are fun and easy to enter!)

A couple things I really love about minted:

1.  They will now ADDRESS YOUR ENVELOPES FOR YOU for FREE!  That's right, no more poor handwriting, crooked lines and hand cramps.  Let minted use their super-cute fonts to make your mail look extra special. 

2.  They have a super cute blog that has tons of great party ideas, like precious these DIY party hats that I want to make right now, today, just because it's Friday.

3.  They have the most precious children's stationary.  I cannot wait to order some of these pink alligator notes for the wee one.  These would be perfect for notes to your child's teacher, or thank you notes, or letters to grandma!  See my favs below!

 

 

 

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful weekend!

SUPER easy DIY Lucite Tray for $5

When I came across this post on making a "Lucite" tray, I was beyond excited to try it out! I've been wanting a little tray to style my vanity perfumes, but the real lucite trays are a bit pricey.  This acrylic version is definitely not at nice as a real lucite version, but for $5, it's definitely an upgrade!

 

It's so simple...it's just an acrylic frame from Michael's!  I got the 9x12 size, but they carry smaller and larger sizes.  The 9x12 was originally $5.99, but you can find a 40% off coupon on their website, making mine only $3.60!  I also found a piece of textured scrapbook paper on sale for $1 (many are even less) and viola!

 

Now, I also cheated a little....I had my scrapbook paper laminated for some extra strength and to make it easier to clean.  This was a free service for me, but would not be expensive if you had it done at kinkos.

 



DIY Shower Banner

Last weekend I helped my mother host a shower for a good friend of hers.  The decorations were really beautiful.

I loved this silver flower basket with hydrangeas, baby's breath, and a purple and white striped silk bow.  So elegant!

 My mother's treasured "Wedding Couple," antiques she brought back from England.

I love the idea of a homemade banner for any type of celebration.  It feels so special!

There are a lot of steps to making one, but it's not at all difficult!  The secret is variety-small paper flowers, big pom poms, & medium tassels on the sides, all in different tissue papers. Here's how to do it (I made this one day after school, so please pardon my messy classroom!):

CREATING THE LETTERS

Step 1: Print out your letters in the size/font that you prefer.  Using carbon copy paper, trace them onto matboard, found at any craft store in the framing section (I don't recommend poster board as it curls up with the glue).  If you don't want them to glitter the letters, you can use regular paper of any color!

2. Paint the front of the letters the same color of the glitter you will be using in case anything shows through.

3. Using Mod Podge or Elmer's and a brush, cover the letters with glue and glitter (glass glitter is the prettiest, but a bit more expensive).

4. Shake of the glitter and glue the letters onto a tissue paper of your choosing.  Then, cut around the letters.  You may need an exacto to get into the curved corners.

Next, measure out your ribbon according to where the piece will hang.  The piece we hung it on was 6 feet, so I made by ribbon 9 feet to have some extra on the end and to give it a little sag.  Line your letters up along the ribbon and attache with hot glue or masking tape to back.

CREATING THE TISSUE FLOWERS

Step 5: Cut a strip of tissue paper that is approx 7 inches x 12 inches.  Accordion fold it.

Step 6: Trim the edges into a semi-circle.

Step 7: Cut a long piece of ribbon, at least 3-4 feet and tie around the center.  Do not tie it at the very end of the ribbon, let one side be long and the other somewhere between 6-12 inches.  Tie small knots in the ribbon for extra texture.

Step 8: Open up tissue and glue ends together to form a circle.

CREATING THE POM POMS

Step 9: Layer 4-5 sheets of a contrasting tissue paper.  You can try more than that if you're gutsy!  Cut the stack in half, so you have two stacks of paper approximately 12 inches x 20 inches.  According fold into 1-1.5" sections.

Step 10:  Tie a ribbon around the center, repeating step 7 above.  Open circularly first, then separate the layers.

CREATING THE TASSELS

Step 11: Layer a couple of sheets of paper and cut down the center as in Step 9 above.  Stack your two piles on top of each other.  Fold in half long-ways and cut towards the fold, leaving about an inch along the fold.
Step 12: When you open the stack up, it should like like this!
Step 13: Each tassel uses 1 sheet of paper.  Take one sheet, fold it in half, then fold it in half again to look like the image here.
Step 14: Fold the sheet in half the opposite way, so the fringe is all hanging down.  Then take a corner along the center and fold it down to make a triangle.
Step 15: Continue to fold around the triangle.
Step 16: Punch a hold in the top and using the same method above, tie a ribbon through the hole.

 Then, go ahead and assemble the sides.  Lay out the pieces so the are different heights.  Gather all the ribbons up at the top and them tie together.  Keep the side pieces separate from the lettered piece until you are installing on-site.  This way, you have flexibility with the length of the banner.

And voila!  A beautiful banner!