she's crafty

7.28.2011



Do any of you watch she's crafty on HGTV? Well, she always has the most interesting projects and it got me thinking, why don't I use do more "crafty" projects? Sometimes I get so caught up in designing on the computer that I forget that I am crafty and actually love using my hands to make stuff. I used to say (when I was a kid) that I could make anything out of anything, even a pop can and a piece of tape. I used to make flour babies with my cousin and play house. That was fun.



I found this old piece of wood outside by our shed and knew exactly what I wanted to do with. I've been seeing a huge trend in the wedding scene for hand painted signs on old wood. So, I printed out my text using Chevalier. Then I simply cut out the letters, traced around them on the wood and hand painted them with a Sharpie Paint Marker. But, because the wood is unfinished the paint kept soaking through so I decided to hand paint it with white acrylic. I think it turned out pretty good. It looks much better further away, because I am in no means a calligrapher or painter. But decent any way.





What do you think? What words would you write? I thought about my last name, but decided on Welcome instead. So fun!




The next project I was inspired to make was inspired by something I saw at Target, but didn't want to pay $20 for it. I said, I can make that! So I set off to design a fun swirly pattern. Then I cut it our using a silhouette machine. Simple as that. Glued it to some paper and put it in a frame. I found these frames at a local thrift shop for a few dollars each. They were exactly what I was looking for and were exactly the right size. I made the swirlys and cut them out first before I had the frames, not the best idea. Do you know how hard it is to find a square frame! Ridiculously hard!





This next project was a super easy and fun one. It's a thread holder.



I found this pin board at a thrift shop for a $1. I think it sat in my office for a few months before I decided what I wanted to do with it. First I painted it white. Then I stuffed felt under the frame and over the pin board. Then measured and put in the nails with a hammer. I had to glue cardboard on the back because the nails pointed through, OUCH! So there you have it. A simple tutorial on how to make a thread holder hanger thingy. I'm not sure what you call it. But it works!

caroline gardner christmas card competition

7.16.2011

Wow, that was a long title...but that's what it is. I spent half the day working on these. If they don't make the cut, I'll probably make them into printable greeting cards for my etsy store. This is a contest in behalf of the UK Charity Meningitis Trust, and 100% of the proceeds from the sale of these Caroline Gardner Christmas cards will go to the trust! Isn't that a great idea!























Which one do you like best?

I took my color inspiration from the picture of the girl holding the balloon. It's a recent Gap photo. Aren't those colors so fun? I'm not sure how many of you have noticed the NEON outburst of color in the market right now, but I try to keep up with color and design trends when I design. This is my inspiration board for these designs. Fun huh?

a few projects

7.11.2011

So, I know I haven't written a post in like a month now, but I have my reasons....it's called SUMMER!!! Can I just say we've been to San Francisco and now Colorado and whew, I'm tired! In fact, we still have one more trip planned to Yellowstone this Summer too. It's been a fun one! I'm enjoying the warmer weather and swimming and picking fresh fruit and veggies from the garden. Isn't that great?

I designed this baby shower invite for a friend. This is her second, so we just wanted to do something to help her stock up for baby girl #2.






















This is an invitation and wedding ceremony card that I designed for another friend of mine. She's getting married in less than a month. I got them printed online because they were less than half what a printer wanted us to spend on them. I'm hoping they turned out.





(names and places have been changed on both invites)






















This is my brother-in-law, Nick. He recently graduated from High School and I was able to design his graduation announcement. I also took his pictures. I thought they turned out quite nice, don't ya think?

downtown provo



My dear friend, Darby Simon, took these amazing photos of me and my family. Aren't they adorable? I just love her style. We've known each other for a few years now and the only sad part is that they live so far away......but when they came to town, we knew we had to get together.























This is one of my favorites. Wow! My husband is cute!

















Isn't Charlotte adorable? I love those precious blue eyes!























I also had her take a headshot of me, so that I could update my blog. These are just a few of the images, hope on over here to view the rest. (All photos copyright Darby Simon.)

I let you in on a little secret.....I'm working on a fun personal project, a place to feature all of my work....hopefully I'll have that done in less than a year....ha ha ha!!!

Dental Commercial

6.09.2011

My amazingly talented husband illustrated and animated this 30 second Dental commercial for TunnelBravo (who commissioned him to do so).



Don't you think it turned out great? I think it looks so different from any other dentists commercials. He worked long and hard on it!

Way to go Chris! I think it looks great!

If you can't see the above video, you can watch it here.

a few new projects

6.06.2011


















I've had the opportunity to make a few new things over the past month. One of them being this cute beenie newborn hat for a great friend of mine. She's having a baby...probably very soon. I love the flower. So cute.

 














Then another friend of mine asked me to make a wedding guest book for her cousin's wedding. She couldn't find anything like she wanted, so she hired me to make one. I was looking around a thrift store and found exactly what she wanted. So I just changed the direction of it (to make it more modern) and recovered it. I think it turned out super cute. What do you think? She was going to also put mini envelopes on each page that the guests could then right little notes and put in them. Isn't that a great idea.

(This is the before picture. Originally made in 1982-the year I was born)



(And this is the after picture.)





tutorials for fiesta decorations & free downloads

5.18.2011


Here's the tutorial and templates as I promised for the Fiesta Banner, food tags and party favor tags.


Instructions for the Fiesta Banner-you will need
• 5 to 6 different colors of plastic tablecloths from the Dollar Store (or anywhere--but why pay more than a dollar).
• 50 foot rope (again from the Dollar Store)
Silhouette machine 
• download the file  here {right click to download}.
Total cost of project= $6-7

Step 1: Cut out about 5-7 rectangles the size of a sheet of paper (8.5"x11") of each color of tablecloth.
Step 2: Stick one sheet at a time to the Silhouette matte. Load in silhouette machine.

Step 3: Using the Silhouette program (or illustrator cs2) cut out the banner. Here is what the cut sheet looks like.

Step 4. Sew onto rope. I just used needle and thread and tied simple knots on each end of the banner, as well as the center.


Instructions for simple food labels
Step 1: Download the printable/editable file here {right click to download}. 
Step 2: Using Acrobat Reader, type in the boxes provided. Here's a break down with screenshots. 

 
 A. In Acrobat Reader go to Forms, and then Add or Edit Fields"
B. Click on text field box and you can edit the font and font size. I suggest Warugaki. Warugaki is only $30. That's the font I used, but you can use anything.

Step 3: After typing your labels. Simply print them out, cut them on the provided crop marks and fold them in half length wise (or hot dog wise). Enjoy!

















Instructions for Gracias Favor Tags















Step 1: Download the file here {right click to download}. It is a jpg and I hope it works with the silhouette. Let me know if any of you have problems.
Step 2: Stick one 8.5"x11" sheet of colored card-stock onto the Silhouette matte. Load in Silhouette machine.
Step 3: Send the jpg to the Silhouette and let it do all the work.
Step 4: Using string/raffia ribbon/ribbon tie it onto your favors. I used a simple hen & chick plant in a small pot I got at the local craft store.

I hope you enjoyed these tutorials and freebies! I'd love to see pictures of your next fiesta or party using these!