Sara's Blog

I’m so excited: My friend Michelle is hosting a paper crafting event in London (one of my all-time top favorite places in the world) and asked if I’d come teach! The event is called Imagine, held April 14-15 at Alexandra Palace. If you live in the UK, you’ll definitely want to be in on this! Check out http://www.imagine.uk.com. There’s basic info up right now, but Michelle tells me more will be posted as we teachers get back from our Christmas breaks and start posting class descriptions. I’ve already got a few ideas for some cool classes…but if any UK paper crafters are out there, please post here or email me with your thoughts or suggestions! In the meantime, cheerio and have a safe and festive New Year’s Day!

Presents? Check. Gift tags? Check. Last-minute frenzy? Check again. Is your pre-holiday rush anything like mine? This week I’ve been finishing up gifts: A photo calendar, a “scrapbook in a tin” and lots of handmade jewelry. And last weekend I made (in a day, no less!) an ABC quote book for my mom. I’ve got a few pages shown here—it was super simple to do, I just computer journaled a quote for each letter of the alphabet (A is for Art, etc), then scrapbooked the quotes in an 8"x8" album. All these gorgeous papers were from Vintage 8"x8" Papers and I put them in the matching 8"x8" Vintage Album. I embellished the pages with brads and flowers from our Embellish-abilities™ kits plus some of my own vintage ribbon and buttons. I couldn’t believe I actually completed the whole book in one day! (This would also be a great gift for birthdays or Mother’s Day.)

Hope your holidays are filled with family, friends, old traditions and new memories! Enjoy!

Now where's that green ribbon?

I can't be the only one with a messy scrapbooking room, right? My tiny room is packed to the rafters with paper, ribbon, collage bits, buttons, stamps, fabric and all those wonderful things we paper crafters simply can't resist. I often look at those "Inside So-and-So's Scraproom" in magazines and wonder how on earth they keep things so tidy! (Do they actually vacuum in there?) Yet messy or not, this room is my sanctuary—here's where I turn on the radio, listen to the rain against the window, and let go of all my worries. It's an immediate zen experience. Everything slows down, everything gets put into perspective. And you can't see her in this picture, but my black cat Bean is a permanent fixture in this room...she wraps herself into a furry little ball and dozes on an old blue chair while I work. It may look like a disaster area, but it's my refuge.

(My mother would be horrified if she knew I was posting this picture for the world to see—her scrap room is immaculate! For her sake, I have to point out that the rest of my house is really clean...mostly because I'm in here!)

My friend Susan Cobb is a genius when it comes to card making: She can look at a piece of paper and imagine really cool ways to turn it into a gorgeous handmade card, complete with interesting folds, cuts, flaps, and other “paper engineering” techniques. Now, I love the look of paper engineering but there’s no way I’m going to come up with these techniques on my own! Thank goodness Susan explains it all in her new book, Susan’s Journal of Paper Engineering Secrets. If you like making cards as much as I do, this is one title you’ll want to request from Santa…or maybe give to a card making friend. (My mom gave it rave reviews, but she loves Susan so she’s a tiny bit biased!)

PS. Want to see more from Susan’s book? Check out our Paper Engineering Webisode—it’s listed at the top of the Archives!

Every holiday season I’m challenged by the “small gift dilemma”: What to give to holiday party hostesses, neighbors and at Secret Santa swaps. This year I’ve got a solution! Take a look at this pretty paper cone. It’s quick and easy to make, it’s completely customize-able, and (with modifications) it works for girls or guys. Here’s how to do it:

1. Trim 1/8” off the side and top of two pieces of 12”x12” patterned paper, then ink all four edges. (For smaller cones, use 8”x8” papers and cardstock.)
2. Center one piece of patterned paper on a 12”x12” piece of cardstock, gluing only at the four corners. (This allows the paper to shift when it’s rolled.) Turn the cardstock over and attach the other piece of patterned paper.
3. Roll the cardstock into a cone shape, glue the heck out of it along the edge and attach a ribbon and silk flower around the edge. I use Zots™ and double-sided tape. Depending on how stiff the cardstock is, you might need to wrap a piece of scrap paper around the bottom of the cone, secure with a rubber band and let it sit for a few hours.

I used some of my all-time favorite papers from Classic sarapapers™, a red silk flower from Vintage Embellish-abilities™ and added black trim with Small Zots™. The flower is attached to the ribbon with a 22mm brad; I used a 3/4” circle punch to make the circle of patterned paper for the center of the brad.

Of course, you’ll want to fill the cone with something: I put chocolates in cello wrap, then tied the top with a red ribbon.

Even better? This sweet cone isn’t just for holiday gifts—make it from bright citrus papers for a birthday gift!

Enjoy!