Felted Pom Poms

I'm not only all about paper crafts, but crafts in general! I decided to try my hand at making some felt pom poms for a few crafts. It's surprisingly easy.

Materials:

Wool Roving - I used Dimensions Crafts Wool Roving for Needle Felting

Dishwashing Soap

Two Bowls

Water

Paper Towels

Start by filling two bowls with hot water. Add a few drops of dishwashing soap to one. Start with a bit of the wool roving. Work to separate the fibers, and then roll them back together into a very loose ball.

Dip the wool into the soapy water. Begin rolling in your hands the way you might roll a meatball - but keep it fairly gentle. The ball will become denser and denser as you work it. Keep at it, even if it's not looking like you'd hoped. This process takes time. Once the ball has formed and is as dense as it's going to get, stop to evaluate. If there are some cracks that have formed, pull off a bit of excess roving, spread it apart, and lay it over the cracked section. Re-dip the ball in the soapy water and work it in your hands a bit to have it take shape and combine.

If it's not looking like you'd hoped, just keep rolling. Once the ball has taken the shape you want, and you've filled in any cracks, rinse the soapy ball in the clean water bowl. Squeeze any extra water out in a paper towel, and allow to dry. 

These little morsels are just too cute. I love them in a small wood bowl, or topped with an acorn cap. I love jewel tones for autumn and pastels for spring. The options are endless!

Giraffe Balloon

This Avery Elle Giraffe Balloon is just too cute. Not only do I love the giraffe, but I love the simplicity of the sentiments, and how it could be meant for someone of any age or gender. I find that I have a tough time making more masculine cards. This was one I thought could be fairly gender neutral.

I ended up lifting up the giraffe with foam tape to give it a bit of extra oompf against the stripes. I also combined the bubbles with the "Yippee" in black just to add a little more excitement.

The card above utilized the Avery Elle Giraffe Balloon stamp set and die

Skyline V, Strolling through Central Park

For the last in my series of Skyline cards all based on the Mama Elephant Central Park stamp set, it only made sense to make an actual Central Park themed stamp. My love for Central Park is no secret, but I've never actually gone on a horse drawn carriage ride. Hopefully someday we'll make it happen, but in the meantime, I plan to live vicariously through this lovely card.

I really enjoyed the end result of the black embossed horse and carriage stamp on top of the Memento Ink Grey Flannel stamped skyline stamp. In my eyes I think this would make a great any-occasion card. 

This time, I used:

Mama Elephant Central Park Stamp Set

Zing Embossing Powder in Black

Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangles

Skyline IV, Glitter Skyline

In addition to my new Mama Elephant Central Park stamp set, I also got a new embossing powder - Zing silver glitter. I hadn't tried a glitter embossing powder yet, so was anxious to try it. Why not try combine it with the glittering city of New York?

I feel like the result ended up looking a bit like a snow globe. I think I may save this one for the holidays, but I love the way the silver glitter embossing powder turned out. It really does glitter!

For my glitter skyline, I used:
Mama Elephant Central Park Stamp Set
Zing Embossing Powder in Silver Glitter

Skyline III, How You Doin'?

I think any Friends fan would appreciate this next card. I personally love it because I love Friends, Polaroids, and New York City. So there we have it!

I lifted the thought bubble with foam tape and embossed the yellow cab. I thought it helped to make things pop a bit.

I used the following in this card:
Mama Elephant Central Park Stamp Set
Zing Embossing Powder in Mustard

Skyline II, Hot Dog

The below card holds a special place in my heart because of the hot dog sentiment stamp from the Mama Elephant Central Park stamp set. It is actually what convinced me to buy the set in the first place. My son loves the Hot Dog Song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so I just couldn't resist this sentiment. I still wish that the stamp set came with a coordinating die set, but my detail scissors worked pretty well to cut out the though bubbles. I lifted these with foam squares for a little extra pop.

For this card, I used
Mama Elephant Central Park Stamp Set
Copic Markers

Skyline I, Thinking About You

I am in love with my new Mama Elephant Central Park stamp set! The only thing I think that could make it better is a coordinating die set. When ordering, I thought I had settled by also ordering the Mama Elephant Cityscape die set. As it turns out, I didn't settle at all - I love how even though they aren't a set but coordinate just perfectly!

I tried the die first, and after poking out all of the tiny window holes with a pin, I think it's beautiful! I haven't quite decided how to use it, but I was inspired to use the discarded scrap in the card below.

In the card above:
Lawn Fawn Scripty Sayings Stamp
Mama Elephant Central Park Stamp
Mama Elephant Cityscape Die
Zing Embossing Powder, mustard
Wink of Stella

A Paper Resolution

My affinity for crafting started at a very young age and primarily consisted of a love of glitter, glue, and glitter glue. My engineering background leads me to be slightly compulsive, while the little girl in me still loves a bit of glitter here and there. 

Measure twice, cut once, and add a little glitter on top!

I was an avid scrapbooker throughout middle school and high school. I took a few cardmaking classes in college and that's where my passion for paper truly ignited. The year after I graduated college, I made a new year's resolution to go an entire year without buying a greeting card. I was able to keep it, and can proudly say that I have not bought a card since. 

I have branched out to making small banners, my son's baby book, his mobile for his crib, and much more. I have yet to decided what I really want this website to be, but I figure it's a good start for getting my ideas out there into the world. If we're lucky enough, maybe I'll even open an Etsy shop. I'm not new to the blogosphere nor am I new to crafting, but I in no way will claim to be a professional at either. 

I'm going to be honest and tell you I don't actually have a lot of time to do my crafts. I have a full time job, a husband, and a very active toddler. I typically craft during his naps or after he goes to sleep, but let's be real, usually I'm just relaxing or cleaning while he sleeps.

Something sparked in me today - glittered perhaps? I've been thinking about starting this blog for a long time and it was one of my new year's resolution for 2016. I want to be able to put my ideas out there to share with the world, because, well... why not? So tonight, while my husband was out, and my kid slept, I popped in a movie (or three - don't judge), cranked out seven cards that I am very proud of, and decided to share. 

So here we go!