Neighborhood Craft Night - Paper Wreaths

Handmade wreaths are ALL the rage these days - type the word wreath in to Pinterest and you will get hundreds of fabulous ideas at the push of a button!  With Spring on its way (allegedly - it is supposed to snow here on Thursday) I wanted to create something bright and cheery we could all hang on our front doors.

all photos courtesy of Busy Bee Photography

Supplies:
floral foam wreath (we used 9")
several sheets of coordinating patterned paper
Xyron machine (5" or 9" Creative Station or Creatopia)
liquid glue**
scissors
trimmer
assorted embellishments - buttons, flowers, etc

Cut your patterned paper in to 1 1/2" x 12" strips.  I used 25 strips total on mine - some used a few more, some a few less - depending on how closely together you set the strips.  Do not ask Bizzy to help.

Run all of the strips through your Xyron machine.

Take the first strip and loosely loop it around the foam wreath.  Line up the ends and press them together FIRST before pressing the rest of the strip to itself.  The adhesive will hold the strip to the loop.

Repeat with remaining strips, slightly overlapping each strip at the base (the part that touches the wreath).  Once the wreath is completely covered, trim the edges of each strip at a "V" - aka banner cut, fishtail, dovetail, notch, etc.

Decorate with embellishments as desired.

For a quick tutorial on how to create the rosettes used on this wreath check out the video below!

**Note - if you are going to hang this on your porch or have high humidity - keep some liquid glue handy. About a week after I made this a few of the strips popped "open" because of the humidity - so I just put a drop of liquid glue on the ends of those strips and it was a perfect fix!

Little Prince Blog Hop - Create your own Custom Cake Plates!

Hey gang!  Welcome to Day Three of the Little Prince Blog Hop - thanks so much for stopping by!

If you missed the first two days you will want to go back and take a peek - EVERY SINGLE STOP on this three-day hop is giving away a prize!  Check out Day One here and Day Two here - you have until midnight April 5th to enter.  Good luck!

I love to create my own party decorations - but it can be hard (and expensive) to find themed decorations.  Why not make your own?  Today I've got a quick tutorial for you on how to create your own custom cake plate.

SUPPLIES
Xyron Creatopia with Permanent Adhesive
One sheet 12x12 patterned paper
One cardboard cake circle (you can use any size up to 12" - I used a 10" circle)
Coordinating buttons
Xyron High Tack Adhesive Dots (these won't be available until June - sneak peek for you!!!)
Craft knife and self-healing mat
Sandpaper

Set your patterned paper face down on your work surface, then run your cake circle upside down through the Creatopia.

Peel off top film, then peel the cake circle from the backing and place adhesive side down on your paper (remember - your paper is face down on your work area). Use a craft knife to cut all the way around the cake circle, then sand edges to smooth.

Use your Adhesive Dots to apply buttons around the outside edge of the cake plate.  Tip: I only put buttons about halfway around before I put the cake on the plate - just in case!  :)

Place your cake in the center of the plate, add the remaining buttons - and you have your own custom cake plate in just a few minutes!

Are you wishing you had a piece of this cake?  Can you just taste the sweet fluffy frosting?  Well...I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  I was dreading this photo shoot because I KNEW if we brought a cake in to the house we would eat it and I am trying VERY hard to eat healthier.  I shouldn't have worried. If you look very carefully at the above photo you may notice that the frosting at the top of the cake doesn't go all the way around.  This is why.

Our mastidane puppy - Bizzy - is NOTORIOUS for eating things off the table when we aren't looking.  We tried to shame her by posting this photo on Facebook after my husband's last birthday - but it apparently didn't phase her because I had everything all set up for this photo shoot, turned my back for less than 30 seconds and...

Clearly she loves cake even more than I do.  Gotta love her!

As a thank you for coming by I'm giving away a great prize pack of Xyron goodies - including a roll of the Xyron High Tack Adhesive Dots!  You'll be the first to try them! I'm also including an Adhesive Eraser, Tape Runner, Glue Stick for Corners and Magnet Tape. A whole box of craftiness!  To enter simply leave a comment here on the blog.  You have until April 5th to enter - I'll announce the winner on my Facebook Page on April 6th.  Someone is going to be very happy!

Please stop by and visit the other Day Three bloggers (complete list is below) - next stop is the SUPER talented Irit Shalom.  You are going to love her altered frame!

Happy Hopping everybody!

starts at: www.homespunelegance.blogspot.com
Beth Kingston www.aintshecrafty.blogspot.com - that's me!  :)
Irit Shalom www.iritshalom.blogspot.co.il
Jillian Shelton www.paperalamode.com
Madison Womack www.ifeeltheloveproject.blogspot.com
Karen Ladd www.ahomespunaffair.blogspot.com
Elizabeth Mindemann -  http://www.ejoym.blogspot.com
Liz Matsko -  http://www.217Creations.com
Rani Childs - http://www.ldsolutions.blogspot.com

Xyron and Imaginisce - Day Five and TWO Giveaways!

It is the last day of our Xyron/Imaginisce blog hop - and we are sad to see this week end! There have been some amazing projects shared by both Design Teams, and today we are going to knock your socks off one last time.  We've also got TWO giveaways to share with you - read on for more details!

Angella Peardon took the Childhood Memories collection to a whole other level with this 3d tree house that just makes us happy.  What child wouldn't love this in their room?  On her blog today Angella also shares a 12x12 scrapbook page and some cards that are sure to inspire you.

Ann Corbiere-Scott has a tutorial for completing this cheery card on her blog, as well as two other cards that would brighten anyone's day!

Van Nguyen shares TWO tutorials on her blog today - and that is not all she's sharing!  First up - Van shows you how to create your own altered frames:

Then she shares step-by-step instructions for making this fabulous scrapbooking layout that was inspired by the paper itself!

Best of all - Van is sharing a XYRON CREATOPIA with one lucky winner!!!!  That's right gang - on her blog Van is giving away our fabulous 12" Creatopia machine - what a wonderful way to kick off the weekend!  Head on over to her blog to enter!

Viki Tiamat amazes us with her creativity - and we literally clapped our hands with glee when we saw this fairy garden she created for her daugher...using Imaginisce paper for the house!  On her blog she shows us all how to create our very own!

You know how much we love our four-legged friends at Xyron...and the Good Dog collection has inspired us all to create more projects (and take more photos) of our furry family members.  Today we've got two great projects that will show off those photos in style!

The colors in this photo frame from Stacy Rodriguez would brighten up any room!  On her blog today she also shares a fun tag that would be perfect on a bag of doggie treats.

Mitchell Kraft walks you step-by-step through creating your own mini album on his blog today - we love the use of color and space - heck...we love everything about it!

Please don't forget to stop over to the Imaginise blog to enter their contest, say thanks, and enjoy some fantastic Easter themed projects from Fleur Smith, Apryl Holland and DARLING napkin rings from Cari Locken. Thanks for the wonderful week Imaginisce!

This is the last day to enter our week-long giveaway...leave a comment here and we will select one winner from each day of the blog hop (Monday-Friday).  The names of all five winners will be posted on the Xyron Facebook page on Monday - and each will receive a Xyron prize pack containing a 1.5" create-a-sticker, a Glue Stick for Corners, and Magnet Tape!  Get on over to Van's blog and enter to win the Xyron Creatopia as well - good luck everybody!

Xyron and Imaginisce - Day Four and a Giveaway!

This week has been so much fun for the Xyron Design Team - Imaginisce products are a dream to create with and their bright colorful palettes just make us happy.  Check out what they've done for you today!

Shannon Morgan was clearly inspired by the Good Dog collection - she created FOUR fabulous projects - including these two fun cards!

You must go check out her blog today to get a look at the altered canvas she created (she walks you through how to create your own) - here is a little peek!

If you are a dog owner you know how much it means when someone brings a gift for your four-legged family member...imagine how excited you would be if someone brought you this darling doggie treat box from Gini Cagle!  On her blog today Gini also shares a tutorial for a good dog/bad dog reversible frame that just makes us giggle with its cuteness!

On her blog Angela Ploegman shows you how to create this magnetic memo board (with super cute magnetic clothespins) using the Childhood Memories collection, and also has a fun layout to share!

Viki Tiamat has a great tutorial for you on her blog today, she walks you step-by-step through creating this gorgeous star album. We love her "outside the box" thinking...wait until you see what she uses for the album cover!

The Imaginisce gang has had some fun Easter themed projects all week long - head on over to their blog to see some fabulousness from Jodi Wilton, Suzanna Lee, and this darling banner from Sara Zenger.

Don't forget that we all giving away goodies all week long - leave a comment here and every day (Monday through Friday) we will select one winner.  The names of all five winners will be posted on the Xyron Facebook page on Monday - and each will receive a Xyron prize pack containing a 1.5" create-a-sticker, a Glue Stick for Corners, and Magnet Tape!  Good luck everybody!