Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Antique Music Rosette Ornament Tutorial!

Today I made these! They're ornaments. You know, for Christmastime. They are fairly easy to make and super charming. Here's how I did it...
I picked up some scrapbooking embellishments at Joann's. Michael's also carries this brand, K & Company.
And grabbed one of the old music books I buy on eBay all the time for $1 or so.
Tore out some pages. {No, I don't feel bad doing this at all. It's not worth anything and no one is going to sit down and play music from the 50s. I'm giving it new life!}
Trimmed each page down to a 4" x 8" piece.
Like so. {Don't mind my weathered self-healing mat. It's been with me through a million-and-one craft projects. Christmas gift hint?}
Totally optional, but I like the effect of scalloping the 8" edges. Zig zag shears work really well, too.
With a pencil, on one side only, I marked each 1/2 inch.
Use those marks as your guide to fold every 1/2 inch, accordion style. You don't want to use paper that is too old, I have some from the 1850s and it just fell apart when I folded it.
When you're done folding, your ends should both be folded in the same direction. The side they end on will be the back of the rosette.
Now, crease it in the middle by folding the strip in half both ways.
Should look like this. Now, it's time to glues the sides together.
Be gentle and take care not to rip the paper. I use Mod Podge to adhere the sides because, well, I use Mod Podge for pretty much everything... and pinch it together with mini-binder clips for 5-10 minutes, or longer if you want.
Not too hard, right?
Now is the fun part, decorating the rosette. Get creative. I simply glued on the embellishments. They already had sticky tape attached but I didn't trust it so I used Mod Podge as well.
Another option I love is to punch out scalloped circles from glitter paper.
And attach small embellishments to it...
and then attach that to your rosette! I love the sparkle!
These are so much fun to make, you can do them a million different ways.
Now you can add a bow with your ribbon hang by punching some small holes through your rosette and stringing ribbon through and securing it in front with a bow. But this is riskier and you're more likely to tear, so...
There's also this option, tie a knot to make a ribbon loop and simply hot glue it to the back.
They will look lovely on a Christmas tree but also just around the house, adding pretty to your decor.
OR attach one to each Christmas present to your friends & family! It would look lovely on a gift and they can also take it home and treasure it themselves.
I made 10 in a jiffy... now I'm off to make more...
Cheers!

Friday, October 23, 2009

Recession Friendly Gifts: Personalized Notebooks

{Firstly, I'm sorry for the quality of these photos. They're cell phone photos. Because my good camera met it's early demise on my vacation last weekend. Sad.}


Are you fortunate enough to have a Hobby Lobby in your town? I am! And if you've been there you might have seen these cute notebooks for only $2.99! But I think, with a little bit of embellishments their value and cuteness goes way up!
Here's the first of hopefully several posts on recession-friendly gifts you can get/make for Christmas this year!



First, I stamped the recipient's initial on the cover. Everyone loves a personalized gift.
I also went through the notebook, and stamped several pages with something pretty.
I think it adds a lot to the notebook and gives it some charm.
Some more initials are good, too.
Next, I slipped a wide, soft ribbon under the front cover.
And held the knot in place so that I could glue it in place.
Yep. Just tucked some hot glue under there and let it cool.
I've had these charms sitting around for a while, so I figured, why not?
Tie the ends into a bow after securing the charm. Secure the bow with some dabs of hot glue inside the tie so that the bow cannot come undone. Then just seal the ends of the ribbon and...
I think it makes for a lovely, and very inexpensive, personalized gift.
What do you think?

Thursday, October 15, 2009

How To BOO!

Today, Eisley and I went BOOing.
Do you know what BOOing is? Maybe you've been Boo'd, or maybe you have no idea.

It's the new Halloweentime sensation that's sweeping the nation! The idea is to gift someone with some Halloween goodies and a BOO! sign, then watch as the neighborhood gets festive with Boo! signs on the doors as the trend spreads...

You put together a Halloween goodie bag, like the one I made above, and leave it on your friends & family's doorsteps. Typically a Boo Bag is paired with a poem explaining that they should pass the favor on and go "Boo!" some of their friends. Ideally with a "Boo" sign to mark their door, I did mine a bit different, though...
Here are my bags! They included a Lark & Lola Handcrafted BOO! Garland and a bag of candy corn taffy!
And I wrote this poem all by myself, can you believe it??? Other classic BOOing poems can be found here. But this one was my creation and it met my needs. Feel free to use it yourself:

"You've Been Boo'd!

Some creepy ghosts
have come your way
to wish you a
Happy Halloweentime Day!
But these scary ghosts
you should not upset,
and they will be
if these requests are not met:
You have just a few days
to forward the "Boo!"
(Even though
this boo,
was made just for you!)
So pack a few bags
with some tricks or some treats
and send them off
into your neighborhood streets.
This way the ghosts
will know not to scare.
They'll know you took heart
to their Halloween dare.
Only then can you have
a Happy Halloween,
Without blood.
Without horror.
Without any screams!

Now go BOO! your friends!"


And I printed this out on pretty textured orange paper {which my husband picked out, because he said it looked "like the inside of a pumpkin"} using this font:

{Click to get}

Then I cut the poem out using a pretty border punch. Like so:
Glued it to some black bags...
Filled it with my treats...
And now my Boo bags were ready for delivery!
I delivered 5 bags today. I WISH I could "Boo!" ALL of my friends but time simply didn't allow. The idea is to not get caught, either. I only got caught once, so, not too bad!
HAPPY HALLOWEENTIME!

{Oh, and BTW, the bags, tissue paper, and candy corn taffy were all dirt cheap at Walmart.}

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Pretty File Folder Hang

Make a pretty catch-all for your papers. It's simple!


First, take a file folder. I love the pretty ones from Cavallini & Co.
Punch a hole in the two top corners...
thread a beautiful ribbon through...
... if you're going to hang a lot of heavy stuff in your folder, it'd be best to use metal scrapbooking holes to reinforce, then simply DOUBLE-knot...
Do this on both sides, double-knotting and measuring to make sure sides are proportionate...
... and now you can hang pretty papers on your wall with your file folder!
Cheers!

Books for Halloweentime

As the weather gets cooler, the fog starts to appear, and pumpkins start to decorate your neighborhood - there's no better time to curl up by the fire with a cup of cider and read some great Halloweentime books!

Here's a list of some books I recommend for fall.

I'll start with books for the SCAREDY CAT:

Journal: The Short Life and Mysterious Death of Amy Zoe Mason

This book is so much fun to read, because it's not like any novel you've read before, it's an altered book! It's artsy and decorative. The pages show you clues and chilling secrets to the story of Amy... can you figure out why and how she died?

You *must* visit Amazon and look through the pictures of this book. I can guarantee you you'll be wanting to read this "book" as soon as you see how artful and beautiful this "thriller" is.

Also, if you're a SCAREDY CAT, there's always Wicked. It's a newer book but it's becoming a classic!
If you're a TWILIGHT FAN, check out Need by Carrie Jones or Evernight by Claudia Gray. I enjoyed them both. Need had a moment that had me shaking in my boots, calling for my husband out of fear. Evernight isn't as chilling but it sets the scene for a creepy, dangerous story. I loved them both. I finished Evernight this morning and ran out for the sequel right away...
If you're a TIM BURTON fan, do you love A Nightmare Before Christmas or Sleepy Hallow? Check out his funny/morbid book of short stories & poems called The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories.
I'm a huge fan of Tim Burton, so this book is a lot of dark fun to flip through.
For the HISTORY BUFF, check out this book on Edgar Allan Poe. You can read alllll about him...
...and the people he knew.
I love these little vellum envelopes. The book has several of them...
They're full of Poe's letters & documents you can read for yourself.
OR if you want something really historically creepy, read A Delusion of Satan, which is a book on the Salem witch trials.
What's creepier than that???
What books are your favorite for creepy Halloweentime???

Sunday, October 4, 2009

October Paris Street

Just wanted to share some pictures from the October Paris Street Market! MANY thanks to everyone who visited and my wonderful family for their support. There's no way I could have pulled this off without my family...

Aspen Grove at 6am.
Paper garlands!

An hour after this picture was taken, there were hundreds of people swarming the rows...

I LOVE doing Halloween crafts!
Here are my first customers, who purchase several items 1/2 hour before the market was even officially open!


My calendar blocks. Always a hit.
Bottles got snatched up very quickly...
so did the taffy!
And the keys. There was one left at the end of the day.
My Johnson Brothers cake plate was so lovely I almost didn't sell it so that I could keep it for myself...
My antique music is from the 1850's.

I also had a customer who requested some custom name blocks! Cute, huh?
Cheers!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Sugar, Sugar!

Guess what this is?

Maybe you already know, but if you don't: it's called a sugar scuttle. My mom and I found it at a thrift store for a mere $3. There's plenty on eBay for under $20.

It's pretty. It's old. It's interesting. My favorite qualities for things I buy.


It's meant to be used like this, to serve sugar in, and originally would have had a matching scoop.
But I think that it can have many wonderful uses! It could hold pens & things on my desk...
It could hold business cards in my shop...
It could be used as a candy dish...
Even in the guest bathroom, for guest soaps!
Or bath salts.
Keep your eye out at those thrift store for pretty finds! Here's another silver piece I got, a gravy boat traditionally, but I think it makes a great soap dish as well.
Tres jolie, oui?
Cheers!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

We Have a Winner!

Firstly, sorry for the delay! Internet has been going down every other minute or so this week, luckily someone is coming by to fix this tomorrow. But it kept throwing a wrench in my giveaway!

Secondly, WE HAVE A WINNER! That winner is Anna Sophia from:


Congrats Anna Sophia! I'll be contacting you via email to set up shipping.

I'll be doing more giveaways throughout the holidays, so check back soon!


{Winner was chosen via Random.org}


Wednesday, September 9, 2009

{"BOO!" Giveaway!!!}


So did you check out the Lark & Lola "BOO!" garlands I posted about? They sold out at our show last Saturday! Do you like 'em? Good! Because you can win one.

I'm hosting the first ever Lark & Lola giveaway, and have chosen a lovely "BOO!" garland as a prize! Wooohoooo!

What do you have to do?
Simply leave a comment on this post THEN become a follower of Lark & Lola blog OR post a link to this giveaway on your blog. That's all there is to it!

I'll have Randomizer pick a winner next Friday - the 18th - at 12pm mountain time.

Cheers!

Monday, August 31, 2009

New Halloween Garlands!

Check out the new Halloween garland available at Lark & Lola!
Lark & Lola loves Halloween, so be sure to check the website for more Halloween items as well as visiting us at A Paris Street Market September 5th & October 3rd!