Sweet Post It Note Flowers Tute

Here are the simple book page ornaments we've made for our little tabletop trees. 

 I call them Post It Note Flowers because they work up beautifully using a 3" x 3" square of paper,

 so in a leap of naming logic there ya go. 

 They are really origami kusadama flowers and they've been around forever.

 I'll give you a link to an origami website at the end of this post in case my instructions lead you hopelessly astray. ; 0 )

                     Start with a post it note or any size of paper as long as it is perfectly square. 

                 IF YOU USE post it notes, you will start with the gummy side at the bottom right

                                        and gently separate the layers if they become stuck.

Fold bottom to top, then sides in to form a diamond, then fold each side out from the middle.
Unfold each side "wing" so it looks like a kite, then fold the top of these side kites inwards so now you will have a middle kite shape with matching side triangles. Fold each triangle once inwards.
                                  Roll into a cone and hot glue the two folded sides in the middle. 

                   You need at least five to form a flower shape, tho I have seen them with more. 

               Hot glue all the cones together and don't worry if you have a little gap in the center, 

                                     even real flowers have a little opening in their middle.

We've made ours out of vintage dictionary pages to go along with our simple white Christmas theme.

And the Live, Laugh, Love ornaments?

 Simply book pages cut into small rectangles then Mod Podged onto Christmas balls.

 I hand wrote the words on each ball with a Pigma pen, then sealed them all with clear acrylic. 

 You could also use a Cricut or Silhouette for the words,

 or print them and cut them out to match the book pages and Mod Podge them on. 

 Simple, pretty and inexpensive. We like!

Here is a link to a real origami website with great instructions and lots of samples for these pretty flowers...

http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/origami_kusadama_flowers

Book Page Christmas Decorations

My girls and I will be at the Douglas County Christmas Fair in Roseburg this weekend. FOUR big buildings full of Christmas goodness, what's not to love? Come see us if you are in the area! Just look for the "Make The Best of Things" booth.

I love the riotous color that comes with Christmas decorating as much as the next creative gal, and yet this pretty cream and white theme using old book ages is one of my favorite projects. So wintry white and elegant, plus super cheap and easy. Recycling those old books never looked prettier. The paper chain garland is a familiar project. Remember paper chains from grade school?

If you glue two layers of pages together for thickness and stability, than use a snowflake punch and  a glue stick to string  them end to end  you will have a pretty and elegant snowflake garland.

If you have some less than perfect balls from past Christmases, these pretty book page balls are super easy to do. Add a few choice words or phrases with an artist pen and you have a set of pretty, subtle and unique ornaments for your family decor. Why not make one for each member of your family or even your office at work? Nestled in a pretty nest of crimped, cut paper, these would be a perfect co worker gift.

I crashed my stash for the metal star and the 18" twiggy trees, but really, everything and anything is a candidate for this classic, simple look. The paper looks so sweet against the deep green of the trees.

These gorgeous paper flowers are so sweet nestled in the branches and give the whole tree a bit of needed texture. They are super simple to make out of scraps and you could even make some for other seasons.

Here are those sweet flowers in a row. Love them!. Here's a link to the how tos to make these out of "post it note" size scraps.

http://makethebestofthings.blogspot.com/2011/11/post-it-note-christmas-flowers.html

Have a wonderful and safe holiday season, dear friends, and be sure to count your blessings during this most personal time of the year. Life is beautiful. And please, as James Taylor sings, "Shower the people you love with love, show them the way you feel, things are gonna be much better if you only will."

Post It Note Christmas Flowers

Here are the simple book page ornaments we've made for our little tabletop trees, including a punched paper snowflake garland, Mod Podged balls and these pretty little origami flowers. I love the look of a vintage black and white Christmas with all these elements.

For cheap and easy Christmas decor, you can't go wrong with recycled book pages. One of my favorite projects are these book page flowers.

I call them Post It Note Flowers because they work up beautifully using a 3" x 3" square of paper, so in a leap of naming logic there ya go. They are really origami kusadama flowers and they've been around forever. I'll give you a link to an origami website at the end of this post in case my instructions lead you hopelessly astray. ; 0 )

Start with a post it note or any size of paper as long as it is perfectly square. IF YOU USE post it notes, you will start with the gummy side at the bottom right and gently separate the layers if they become stuck. I LOVE these in hot pink, but I don't have any paper that color right now.
Fold bottom to top, then sides in to form a diamond, then fold each side out from the middle.
Unfold each side "wing" so it looks like a kite, then fold the top of these side kites inwards so now you will have a middle kite shape with matching side triangles. Fold each triangle once inwards.
Roll into a cone and hot glue the two folded sides in the middle. You need at least five to form a flower shape, tho I have seen them with more. Hot glue all the cones together and don't worry if you have a little gap in the center, even real flowers have a little opening in their middle.

We've made ours out of vintage dictionary pages to go along with our simple white Christmas theme.

And the Live, Laugh, Love ornaments? Simply book pages cut into small rectangles then Mod Podged onto Christmas balls. I hand wrote the words on each ball with a Pigma pen, then sealed them all with clear acrylic. You could also use a Cricut or Silhouette for the words, or print them and cut them out to match the book pages and Mod Podge them on. Simple, pretty and inexpensive. We like!

Here is a link to a real origami website with great instructions and lots of samples for these pretty flowers...

http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/origami_kusadama_flowers

I'll be joining the parties on my sidebar. Come join the fun and see the neat projects posted this week!

Sometimes pretty just happens.

Well, we're making the change over from Thanksgiving and autumn decor to Christmas this weekend. Insanely Creative Christy and I have a list and together we have a plan. But sometimes things just happen and you have to seize the day. I have a big, old, oval trencher with a beat up chippy paint finish and as we took things down and put things up we started throwing the odds and ends in that old bowl.....

Hey, neat!

That's looking pretty cool, almost like we planned it, but we didn't. Had to take pics anyway.

Book page Christmas balls, vine balls, shiny balls go in. Chuck in some random silvery, pearly, metallic garlands next. Hey, that looks good!

A pretty yarn angel, a tangle of tiny pearl beaded garland...and a trio of rusty tin stars. Better and better!

Hey, these pretty little string angels need a place to rest before we hang them on a tree. Put 'em in the bowl. Sweet! So many pretty things together in one place, maybe we should leave this as is?

Maybe, but probably not. We've got plans and lists and schedules. But don't worry, old beat up chippy painted trencher bowl, we'll do you good when we're all done with things.

Just sharing the spontaneity of the moment ladies, sometimes good things happen if only fleetingly. Seize the moment and ENJOY!

Beautiful, simple book page Christmas decor

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and then you know what happens.....time to decorate for Christmas, ladies! Woohoo!

I love the riotous color that comes with Christmas decorating as much as the next creative gal, and yet when Insanely Creative Christy and I started brainstorming about little display trees for our tiny craft mall booth, we decided to try a shabby chic look using, what else, vintage dictionary book pages. Here's the start of our project and we're liking this clean, white, crisp look very very much. So wintry white and elegant, we think.

Of course there's the book page decoupage balls with hand written script that say Live, Laugh, Love, Family, Joy and Peace. We'll try some smaller balls too just for a bit of balance. And don't forget the tiny paper chains. Book pages and hot glue, baby, easy peasy and cheap! The snowflakes are punched then glued together for a REALLY REALLY lovely garland, very simple and beautiful. LOVE IT! For a little extra body we suggest gluing two layers of paper together before punching. We're also trying some garlands of hearts and primitive stars. If you've got some craft punches try them out for some lovely and creative garlands for your Holiday House.

I crashed my stash for the metal star and the 18" twiggy trees, but really, everything and anything is a candidate for this classic, simple look. The paper looks so sweet against the deep green of the trees.


Christy made these gorgeous gorgeous paper flowers, they are so sweet nestled in the branches and give the whole tree a bit of needed texture. We're working on angel tree toppers made of more book pages and a couple of other surprise projects and we're having so much fun! We'll add a few more things and a bit of bling and who knows what else. We're a little giddy that way ;0)

I'll be posting the how tos for these sweet flowers starting this Saturday on the blog parties on my side bar. Please check back, they are super clever and easy to do, you'll want to make some for your own projects!

Have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving holiday, dear friends, and be sure to count your blessings during this most personal time of the year. Life is beautiful. And please, as James Taylor sings, "Shower the people you love with love, show them the way you feel, things are gonna be much better if you only will."

See you on Saturday!