Craft: Oversized Sequins Decoration

When I think of New Year's Eve, images of glitter, disco balls, and sparkly dresses come to mind. Playing on that theme, I decided to make some oversized sequins to hang from the ceiling. I also made a few smaller ones to decorate the table. If you're still looking for some last minute ideas, these might be fun to make. They're pretty quick and easy to create too.

Supplies:
Metallic cardstock - I got mine at Paper Source. You could also use wrapping paper. If possible look for double sided metallic paper.
Scissors
Scoring tool - bone folder, popsicle stick, etc.
Ruler
Exacto knife

Cut out a circle (any size you want). If your paper isn't double sided, cut out two circles and glue wrong sides together. Let dry.

Find center of circle and cut a small hole in it using your exacto knife.

Place ruler in the center of the circle, crossing the hole you just made. With scoring tool, make two lines, one at the top and one at the bottom (refer to picture below). Turn ruler to a 60 degree angle from first line and make two more lines. Do this until there are six scoring lines on your circle (refer to picture).


Using the ruler as a guide, score the purple lines in the center of the circle to make a hexagon.

Now you will make creases on all the lines you just scored. Start with all the lines on the outer edge of the circle. Next fold each section up until the circle looks like a sequin. This might take a little finessing to get it just right. Your sequins should look something like the one in the picture above.

Here are some smaller sequins I made to decorate the table.

*Raising my glass*

Here's to the bright New Year
And a fond farewell to the old;

Here's to the things that are yet to come

And to the memories that we hold.

Cheers,

Jessica

Printable Camera Calendar

Need a new calendar for the New Year? Here's one of my favorites online, a camera calendar by Cannon Creative Park. The calendar folds down into a flat image of a camera. When the calendar is open, it folds into a square with four different 3D landscapes. It takes about three hours to make. My only complaint with it is that the open/close latches are difficult to use. Here are few pictures of the calendar I made.

Free Printable Christmas Gift Tags

Image Credit: Natascha Rosenberg

Have you noticed how many free holiday gift tags are available online lately? I feel like every time I turn the internet corner, BAM, there's another one. And the best part about it is that they're all lovely designs. Here's a list with links to a few of my favorites ( in no particular order).

Little Red Riding Hood (pictured above) - Natascha's Blog

Typographic Gift Tags - Eat Drink Chic

Forrest Themed Gift Tags - Studio Morran

Whimsical Illustrated Gift Tags - Orange You Lucky!

Vintage Christmas Book Illustration Tags - My Girl Thursday

Doodle Holiday Tags - Craftzine

Kawaii Gift Tags - Wild Olive

Feather Gift Tags - Love vs. Design

* Tag tip - print your tags on sticker paper to just peel and attach to packages quickly!

The Mitsuwa Marketplace

Over the weekend we made a trip out to the Mitsuwa Marketplace for some Japanese groceries. While we were there, we picked up a few last minute gifts for Christmas. Below are a few pictures of what we purchased along with our food adventures.

Currently at most Asian markets you can find specialty wrapped sweets for the holidays. Usually the food is just as pretty as the packaging. If you're looking for a special hostess gift, try out one of these boxes (pictured above). They're pre-wrapped and ready to go. Perfect for your favorite foodie!

We picked up this cute Mameshiba book at the Kinokuniya bookstore. We have another Mameshiba book and it's my daughter's absolute favorite. I also was able to get a couple bean-dog plushies when my kids weren't looking, he he.

Another great find was this children's book by the famous artist, Yoshitomo Nara. I really like it but I have to warn you that some people find Yoshitomo's work creepy. If you think you would like to get this book, check out the artists illustrations first.

Spaghetti Bread

At the shopping center there's a Japanese bakery called Clover Bakery & Cafe. They offer all kinds of unique breads and pastries including, spaghetti bread, unagi (eel) pan, and yakisoba pan just to name a few. My husband tried the yakisoba pan and said it tasted kind of like a Japanese version of a piroshki. I had the melon pan which was delicious. It had just the right crunch on the outside and was perfectly soft and fluffy inside.

Chestnuts roasting on an open chestnut roaster?

I have a confession to make, I've never tried fresh roasted chestnuts up until now. The chestnut booth was outside the store so I decided to give it a try. It just seemed like the Christmasy thing to do. So glad I did too, both my daughter and I enjoyed them on our ride home.

Now I'm curious, what unique places do you like to shop at for the holidays?

How to Make an Upcycled Craft Kit

Can you keep a secret?

You can? Good.

I like to collect trash for my kids to play with!

There are so many unique packaging items that make perfect crafting supplies. We use them all the time in our projects. In fact, we use them so much that I have a special box to keep them in. This got me thinking. . . .what if I made an upcycled craft kit?

These kits would be fun to make as a gifts for play groups. They're also good for rainy days or winter break. Below I share how I put my kit together. There's no wrong or right way to do this, make them however you want and get creative!

Supplies:
Plastic milk jug
Hole punch
Button
Rubber band
Wire
X-ACTO knife

You can skip these steps if you have a container with a large lid.

The first thing you will need to do is make an opening to fit the craft supplies in. With an exacto knife cut plastic jug (refer to blue dots in picture).

Punch two holes above the jug's flap and attach a button with wire. I placed a piece of tape over the back of the wire (in inside of jug) to prevent little hands from getting scratched.

Next, punch two holes at top of flap. Cut rubber band into one string. Thread through both holes to make a loop. Tie knots on back of flap. Now you have a larger closure for your container. All you need to do now is fill it with craft supplies!

Above are few things I put into the remake kit: squeeze bottle cap (makes a great hinge), fruit pouch caps (good for wheels), pizza table, plastic spool, mesh bag, and sock packaging.

Along with the recyclable items, I recommend adding some tools and supplies for embellishments. Here's a list of a few ideas.

Tools
Scissors
White Glue
Glue Dots
Markers
Paint Pens

Craft Supplies
Googly eyes
Pom Poms
Rhinestones
Popsicle sticks
Pipe cleaners

Rubber bands
Buttons

Stickers

And if you want, here's a label you can put on your kit. Just click on it, right click, copy, paste and print.

When your kit gets low, just add more trash to it.