Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Gearing up for Summer (on a budget, of course!)

 We are quickly approaching Summer and time for all things outdoors. For our little Family this means, cook outs, camping, even longer evening walks, festivals, fairs and vacations. We really try to get as much enjoyment as we can from the Season.
  More than ever, all of the things we love to do will be on a tight budget. This means hitting up every free outdoor concert and family activity.

 In our area, the Parks and Recreation Dept. is the go-to source for all things free & family orientated. The public library is another great source for fun with Summer reading programs for both kids and adults, Family activities and oh yeah...FREE books, movies and music.


 We love having B.B.Q's with our friends and extended family and the cheapest, easiest and by far tastiest way to do this is to have potlucks. We always have the best mix of dishes, desserts and drinks. This is by far easier than the host doing all the work. Because WHO wants to spend the entire dinner party in the kitchen?!?
 I can never say enough good things about walking as a Family activity. It's FREE, you bond with your loved ones and you get to really see and experience your neighborhood or town.
 Vacation and camping are the bulk of where our "Summer" budget is spent. But you better believe we do it as frugally as possible! We research, plan and scheme during the dark, Winter months about our get-aways. Then book campsites, yurts, cabins, plane tickets etc. sometimes a year in advance in order to get the best rates.
 I realize this is more future planning than a lot of folks can manage but we have found that if make it a priority at the beginning of each year to sit down with the new years calender and our income tax return- that the extra bit of planning goes a long way to stretching our reserves.
 Here's to hoping you are dreaming  up all the ways you can to make your Summer fun and frugal.
Have fun...you know we will!


Monday, April 11, 2011

 I have a new obsession with crepe paper. I have seen it used in some really fab looking paper projects & finally decided to give it a go. First I have to say that I have only ever used crepe paper for party decorating & had forgotten how inexpensive it is. I paid less than a dollar for a big roll at my favorite local craft store (The Paper Zone). There were many colors to chose from and I picked black and a deep red.
 I wanted to make a banner from oval shapes cut from paper and embellish the oval shapes with pleated crepe paper. As usual, I had a "vision" of what I wanted this fancy banner  to look like.I nearly made the mark on this one, which is not always the case.
  I then created an image from three of the literally thousands of free images from The Graphics Fairy. I chose a French frame and with my computers software stretched to an oval shape then added a bee then a royal crown for a "queen Bee" effect. I printed it out onto stiff paper and cut it out. Then came the really fun part, I flipped the image over and started pleating the black crepe paper and gluing it to the queen bee image as I worked around.  Since this was my first time with this craft, the last one I made looked much better than the first as I got the hang of the pleating process.
 When I was done working with the crepe paper, I flipped the piece over right side and glued it to a "flower" made from hearts cut from an old chemistry text book. I am planning on punching holes at the tops of the "flowers" then threading them onto white hemp twine to create the banner.
   I found working with crepe paper to be a bit tricky but I am learning and above all enjoying this new medium.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

  I like the rain. It's free water, it's perfect coffee drinking  & book reading weather & it's romantic. Even with all the things I love about the rain, and there is A LOT of it here in the Pacific Northwest, I find myself  longing to see the sun the past few days. It has rained non-stop and it feels a bit like living underwater. I need to gear up and get out and walk in it. Let myself get wet and muddy and chilled, then come back in to warm up and watch the rain fall and the songbirds bathe in the puddles.
 Sunnier, warmer days will soon be here & it will be a green season thanks to all of this rain. So, let it fall, let it pour, let it drench and I will work on embracing it.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

http://www.etsy.com/listing/71079863/sparrow-paris-post-vintage-dictionary

 I made this little cutie last night & just listed it  in The Paper Snail. I added the "Paris" banner & am thinking about a crown for the sparrow. Thanks to The Graphics Fairy for the free antique images.
 Craft Cult has been an invaluable resource for me as an Etsy Seller & Crafter. I can see info about my shops & their listings at a glance. This is a very user friendly site & gets the "Snail Of Approval"

http://www.craftcult.com/index.php?userid=



  Thanks to a good friend, I now have a pile of old comic books to get crafty with. I have been making Scrabble Tile Pendants for a while now & knew I could use the comic books pages to decorate the Scrabble Tiles. I went with classic comic book onamonapias (sounds.....zap!) for the fronts & magnets on the backs. I am thinking of offering them in a small, reusable tin. The blank top of the tin was calling out to for a comic book image as well. I adhered the paper to the top of the tin using good old Mod Podge & was real pleased with the whole thing. 

Simply genius..this site allows you to automatically reset your expired & just sold Etsy listings. I gotta get on this Uncle Gravy train!
http://www.mudstuffingindustries.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64:uncle-gravys-renewing-agent&catid=34:digitalproducts&Itemid=58


Spring time is here and with the new Season I thought it the perfect time to start blogging about all my crafty ways. I am busy filling orders for both my Etsy shops: www.thepapersnail.etsy.com and www.asnailspace.etsy.com and still finding time to try out some new crafts. Spring has always seemed like a time for renewal and birth. So here's to the birth of new ideas and a renewed passion for my art.Oh & by the way I snapped this pic on a walk through our Pacific Northwest village neighborhood.