The Paper Chic » Jessica

DIY..Bulletin Board

Jessica — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:12:25 +0000

I’ve brightened up my kitchen after having to replace my refrigerator. I went from dark brown walls with a burnt orange accent wall to sand color walls with a sea colored accent wall. What a change it has made! My kitchen seems brighter and even a little bit bigger. I started out by making some new valance curtains in a great black and cream fabric but had enough left over to reface my old bulletin board. You can see the picture below shows just a boring chocolate board. I ripped off the fabric, buttons, and ribbon.

I then cut my fabric to fit and starting to attach to the back. You can use a stapler but in my case the old hot glue gun came in handy. After getting the fabric done I placed a wide ribbon and fabric covered buttons. I choose a wide ribbon only because I like to clip things to the ribbon also. So many papers and such little room for tucking! I’m really pleased with how it turned out and this board helps tie the curtains to the whole kitchen! Who knew a new refrigerator could do so much!

Summertime with Seafood…

Jessica — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:09:48 +0000

I had a great childhood growing up in a little beach community with water, sand, and seafood! I don’t remember the first time I ate crabs but every time I crack one open it makes me think of a newspaper covered picnic table and a basket full of crabs. It was my brother’s birthday last week so I treated him to a crab feast on Sunday. We drove just down the road from his house to pick up 1/2 bushel of crabs and some spicy shrimp. It was great to sit around a table covered in newspaper making a huge mess cracking crabs, enjoying butter dipped shrimp, and corn on the cob.

Here’s a picture of the crabs (dragons my nephew calls them)

What a great way to spend my Sunday! Food, Family, and Seafood!

Love Birds Wedding Card…

Jessica — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:14:11 +0000

The weather the other day was perfect…just a little heat but a lot of breeze. That got me thinking about a friends wedding coming up soon that will take place at the beach. Off to make this card I went and two sweet birds became one (corny). I started off by mixing lots of pattern paper from Basic Grey. Then came the layering of paper, birds and tiny flowers. I tied a small piece of tulle on one end to make a veil for the bride and placed a small bow tie on the groom. A paper covered chipboard heart in the middle and a tiny tag that reads love finished this card.

About 3 pounds of Blackberries…

Jessica — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 23:59:51 +0000

A weekend off with my B and nothing to do. We both work retail and getting time off together doesn’t happen very often so we try to make the best of it. The weather was so pretty and the humidity was down so off to pick blackberries we went. I have to say all these years I’ve lived in Va I have never picked berries which is only 30 minutes from my house. So here we go picking berries and feeding goats. We picked and ate so many berries (we picked more than we ate) and ended up with about 3 pounds. I plan on making some blackberry cupcakes and freezing the rest to use throughout the year for ice cream!

Here are some pictures of the goat walk which is a set of wooden stairs and a bridge that goats walk across to get to food on the other side. I just love goats!

Just look at these beautiful berries…

Can you believe this is Paper?…

Jessica — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:00:05 +0000

I don’t remember what I was looking for on Esty but I stumbled across some jewelry made with paper. Believe me I had to do a double take because this necklace is gorgeous! You can definitely tell the skill and patience it takes to put a piece like this together. Blush Envy is the genesis behind this fashion piece and it would be a great piece to add to my growing jewelry collection. Or maybe I should try my hand at making paper jewelry. I’ll let you know how that works out!

Making Embellishments with Scraps…

Jessica — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 01:21:12 +0000

I always have left over pieces of paper and mini scraps of ribbon from various projects. I’ve gathered them all together and started to make my own embellishments. Scraps of paper punched into scallops, circles, and butterflies. I started with the first layer by adding scraps of tulle and a simple stick pin. The next layers are more circles adhered with foam squares and a sweet butterfly. Last I added gems to the middle of the butterflies and simple stamped sentiments to each embellishment. These are now ready to add to store bought cards or use them to make gift tags!

Check out my store for these and other handmade embellishments!

Halloween Already?….

Jessica — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:14:37 +0000

I’m a retail manager working 40 plus hours a week so when back to school starts so does the fall/Halloween decorations. I recently went into a retail store that carried Halloween party favors and thought I should get working on some kits to sell in my shop. The kit that I put together is made to help with creating cards, scrapbook pages and gift bags. I have tucked in handmade embellishments, ribbon, garland, and even a small glass bottle with black glitter. You can find this kit and other kits in my Etsy store.

I also wanted to see what else was out there so to Etsy I went. I was looking for decorations made with paper and here are a couple of my favorite…

These cute little Tussie Mussie Cones were made by PaperEclectiques. Her store is packed with great decorations and tags which are great for parties of any size.

These three dimensional flowers could be the finishing touch on any of your paper or decorating projects. I think these flowers would be great as a banner or used to dress up plain brown gift bags. You can find these colors and so many more at Suzanne B Webbon Etsy.

Thanks for sharing and hope everyone has a great Monday!-Jess

Yellow and Grey…How Sweet

Jessica — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:55:34 +0000

Finally some time to get back to blogging and with a brand new look. I hope this simple yellow and grey blog will inspire me to write more often and get more done. (In the back of my mind I’m laughing) My sister in law put this new look together for me and I’m so thankful that she could see my vision. Me and the hubby have different ideas when it comes to blog layouts so I had to go to his crafty sister for help.

And since I love the yellow and grey color scheme so much I searched Etsy and found some items that I hope will inspire me to get into my craft area and create!

This sweet and simple pillow cover was created by Pillow Mio. She has lots of pillow covers in her store to help you put the finishing touch on your favorite couch or chair.

This necklace was created by Misses Bird and its a must have for your collection (or mine). The large grey stone and just a touch of yellow to make this perfect for any outfit.

Last is this bright and fun purse. I always love to add color to my outfits and bags are the way to do it without going overboard. So this bag is perfect for someone who just wants to brighten up and was created by A Touch of Star Dust.

Now I’m off to my crafting space to get maybe a card or two done then its off to enjoy my day with the hubby! Thanks for checking out my new look!

Edible Butterflies…

Jessica — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:08:55 +0000

Butterflies have to be my favorite insect (if I had to pick one). I love the all the different colors and sizes they come in and how they can just float through the air without a care in the world. After checking out some different shops on Etsy looking for butterfly party ideas I came across these edible butterflies. Almost too pretty to eat but they make a great addition to any cupcake! They are made by a company called Sugar Robot (love the name!). All of the creations are made of wafer paper (potato starch, vegetable oil, water) and edible ink. Printed on a food safe printer. They have even brushed them with a coat of organic flavoring. Be sure to check out Sugar Robot for your own butterflies and go make some cupcakes!

Strawberry Lemonade Anyone?…

Jessica — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:47:51 +0000

My grandma taught me to love all things that make you happy! When I was younger my brother and I would dress up in all her jewelry and I mean all of it. We would pose for pictures with our t-shirts full of broaches and our necks loaded in jewels. We always thought that grandma Helen must be rich cause she always had so much jewelry. I see now that I take after her and when I saw this piece I thought to myself that this is a piece that makes me happy! I’m in love right now with the colors navy, orange, and yellow so this one would make a great statement on my plain navy dress. I think I must order it!! Thanks grandma Helen!

Want this necklace too? Check out Anthropologie for this piece and other great pieces to add to your collection!