I had to force myself away from my studio this afternoon. I could tell I had been working too much and needed to stretch my legs and clear my head for a bit. For being the middle of a heat wave it was actually a very pleasant day. Little over cast, nice breeze, but very humid. So I had to take a picture of these palm trees on the way back to remind myself when we are dyeing in August that it will be pleasant once again in a month or two. BTW... thank you Instagram for making all my pictures look amazing.

After buying so many new washi tape rolls I had to figure out some new ways to use them to justify my purchases. Here is my first new way to put my beautiful new washi tapes to work. I'm using them to make gift bows. Below is a video I made explaining how I did it. And as an extra bonus I show you how I store them. 

To make a bow measuring 6 inches long you will need 3 strips of washi tape stuck down onto white paper. The strips should be around 11 inches long to give you plenty of room to work with. The bottom washi tape strip measures 6 inches long, and I have left a 1/8 inch border on either side of the tape. Once curled the middle loop is 4 and 1/2 inches long. The top one is 3 and 1/4 inches long. The center belly band measures half and inch wide and around an inch long, but it really depends on how you cut the "V" for the middle section. The Video explains all of that in greater detail. 

Supplies Needed:
- Two different kinds of washi tape preferably different widths. The kind I use in the video are Recollections form Michaels. Just choose two of your favorites. And here are the rest of the items you will need...

This week has been particularly difficult for a good friend of mine. Several different issues have been thrown at her in a very short amount of time and I can tell she is getting very overwhelmed. It's time that she had a little friendship pick-me-up. So I got to work right away making this card. I knew I wanted something lovely, but sedate. There was a tragedy involved in all the things that happened to her. And though it was not immediate family it hurts deeply all the same. Because of that this card had to be more on the side of a sympathy card. Meaning more sedate than my normal style.

My friend is such a bright, cheery, energetic person to make a card that was a little bit somber was really hard to do. I never realized 

just how much I focus on the person I am making the card for until now. So to help the process along I to focused on choosing muted soothing tones. And then picked the prettiest papers I could find that really express her. So of course I had to choose My Mind's Eye paper. And the Lost and Found Breeze collection just had the perfect colors in it. She appreciated the thought. And I could tell she had a lot of fun picking out the different elements of the card itself. She is a crafter too. It turned out to be a really nice way to get her mind off her troubles for a little while.

Not to worry I'm sure all the issues will wrap themselves up soon and she will be back to her old perky self in no time. Until then I will just have to keep distracting her with pretty handmade things.



Supplies Used:

Some amazing inspiration for a project I'm working on. Wouldn't you just LOVE to be invited to that Tea Party. The colors are just perfect, and so are the little ones. This image was created by the AMAZING Lacy Mae Designs


My favorite of course are themed tea parties. I haven't had one in awhile and I've been secretly planning one in my head ever since I saw this book... Tea Party: 20 Themed Tea Parties with Recipes for Every Occasion There are just such great pictures and recipes in that book. I'm going to have to have one soon... maybe a mermaid themed one!!!!
Ohhhh... then I would have to get one of those flowering tea pot sets. You know the ones that the dried tea flower opens up when you put hot water on it. Because it would look like an under water ocean scene... well I think it would.

My boyfriend came home the other day with this kit for me to build. Its a hopping bunny robot. I'm not quite sure why he did, but it is adorable. I do kind of think its some sort of test though. If it was I passed because the bunny bot has been built and it does indeed hop. And I did it in under two hours. I'm not quite sure how people are suppose to build these things if they don't have jewelry making tools because I used all of them and my jewelry making know how. But be assured dear readers I have past the test, and worked well under the pressure.