Pretty Origami Bunny Envelopes

I was looking for a little Easter origami inspiration when I stumbled upon a tutorial for these cute bunny envelopes by Paper Kawaii.   They're the perfect detail to attach to an Easter basket or any spring gift.  They fold up in about five minutes or less once you get the directions down.  Hop on over to Paper Kawaii for the full instructions.

Here's what the envelope looks like when opened.  I used 6" x 6" paper which will fold down to roughly a 3" x 2" envelope.  The paper I used is from my book, Party Origami.

Craft: Felt Macaron Hairclips

Don't you just love macarons?  They're sweet, pretty and oh so delicate.   I probably could eat a whole plate of them if I had the chance.  Today I'm whipping up a pretty batch with zero calories.  Use them for pins or hairclips.

Supplies:
Felt - white and purple
Embroidery thread - purple
Sewing needle
Scissors

Click on image twice, right click on image, copy, paste and print.  Cut out each piece on the lines.  Pin to fabric and cut out all pieces in purple felt except the white filling template. 

1.  Place back tab on the back piece.  Sew where you see the dotted lines.  This will be the tab for you to slip a hairclip on.  Once done, flip piece over.

2.  Place the white filling on the top of the back piece.  Next place the top piece over the white filling.  Last place the bottom piece on the white filling.  You may have to do a little trimming to get your pieces to match up.

3.  Pull out two strings from one strand of embroidery thread.  Sew around the edges of the macaron (refer to picture).  Make sure to hide all knots underneath the top layer.

4.  Using one whole embroidery thread strand, sew the rest of the macaron (refer to picture above) onto the white filling only.

The left side of the picture is what the back of your macaron will look like when finished.  All you need to do is slide a hair clip onto it. 

Advanced Style

First off, sorry the posts have been so sparse this week.  I've got two words for you, "stomach flu".   It has taken over our house and turned it upside down.  Thankfully, we're all feeling better now.  Now onto something more uplifting!

About a month ago I discovered the most amazing site called Advanced Style by Ari Seth Cohen.  In Ari's own words the site is about:

I roam the streets of New York looking for the most stylish and creative older folks. Respect your elders and let these ladies and gents teach you a thing or two about living life to the fullest. Advanced Style offers proof from the wise and silver-haired set that personal style advances with age.

I personally love how this site is a celebration of the gracefully aging woman. You won't find any talk about plastic surgery or body size here.  Instead you will discover an uplifting site about woman and fashion.  If you ask me, we need more blogs like this.

Besides the blog, Ari has produced the documentary titled Advanced Style.  Please take a look and tell me what you think.  Enjoy.

Free Printable: Easter Bunting

If you haven't checked your calendar yet, Easter fall on March 31st which means that's it's less than a month away!  To get a head start on decorations, Paper Coterie is offering this cute Easter bunting for free.  You can get the free download on their site.

 

Crayola Ultimate Easter Basket Giveaway

Crayola sent me some of their products along with a $25 Michael's gift card to make the ultimate Easter basket.  Here's a little bit about how I crafted up the basket pictured above:

I purchased the white basket at Michaels and it came with a fabric liner.  I decided I wanted to have a knit liner instead.  I knit the liner in the round with a knit 2 purl 2 pattern.  Once it was the desired length for the outside of the basket, I placed half the stitches on a separate needle and knit those stitches until I had the desired length for the inside and bound off the stitches.  I repeated the process for the remaining stitches.  This allowed me to fold the liner down around the handle.

I had this idea of a scaled back yarn bombed basket so I knit a rectangle ribbed piece in the same pattern and sewed it to the handle. 

Since I have two kids and hide their baskets, I always like to make a name tag.  In the past I've printed out labels but this time I decided to sew a hand-stitched felt tag.  I also added a couple pom poms with some extra yarn to make it more fun.  For the back of the tag I sewed on a pin so the tag could be taken off the basket. 

Now, you probably want to know about the giveaway part, here goes. . .

One lucky winner will receive a Crayola Prize Pack with the following items:

Crayola Outdoor Colored Bubbles Big Wand

• Using the Big Wand, Kids can create massive bubbles in bright colors like “purple pizzazz” and “fuchsia,” to chase, catch and pop

Crayola Crayons

• Crayola Crayons include the colors generations have grown up with.
• Crayola Crayons are designed with a focus on true color, smoothness, and durability.

Crayola Color Wonder

• Crayola Color Wonder markers only appear on the special Color Wonder paper, so kids can have mess-free fun whenever, wherever and moms don’t have to worry about color showing up where it shouldn’t.

Crayola Chalk

• Crayola sidewalk chalk creates big outdoor art with the ONLY sidewalk chalk in bright, bold Crayola crayon colors!

A $25 Michael's Gift Card

To Enter:  Please leave a comment sharing what you would put in your ultimate Easter basket.  One entry per household.  Open to US residents only.  Please leave an email address so I can contact you if you win. The last day to enter the contest is Sunday, March 3 2013. I'll announce the winner Monday, March 4 2013 on this post. If I do not hear back from the winner after two weeks, I will choose a new winner.  Open to US residents only.

Disclosure:  The Crayola product, gift card, information about the Crayola product, and additional gift pack have been provided by Crayola

Contest Closed 

Ccongratulations to Genevieve who is the winner of the Crayola Prize Pack Giveaway!

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest.