How-To's Day: Upcycled Holiday Wreath Bases

One of the major staples of Holiday decorating is the WREATH! If you are a big holiday decorator I am sure a new wreath is something you get excited for every year.  Or maybe you know that person who goes koo-koo crazy for decorating and you want to bring them a new wreath for a hostess gift or holiday party. This is a simple and affordable way to create a wreath WITHOUT USING STYROFOAM!!!

While Styrofoam wreaths are the usual bases for crafted wreaths and are a very versatile base to create your own holiday decor, Styrofoam is majorly gnarly on the environment and I try to look for alternatives when personally making my crafts.

I am a huge fan of this method of creating a paper wreath form because it is basically free. Where as a Styrofoam wreath base will run you ~$5.

All you need to make the base is a brown paper shopping bag and a roll of masking tape!!!

After opening the bottom of the grocery bag - scrunch the top of the bag to the bottom, creating a scrunched paper circle. Make sure you take off the handles. The handles can be added to the scrunched shape while taping if there is an uneven surface that needs beefing up.

Using this bag method you will get approximately 11" diameter circle which is a pretty standard small wreath size. To get a larger diameter you can create the circle with paper packaging or tape the grocery bags together.

You can wrap the tape as tight or as loose as you'd like.  Try out a few different tightness-es and see what works for you :)

Normal taping will leave the wreath about 1" thick. If you want a thicker wreath you can add two scrunched shopping bags together, then wrap with tape. This will create a base that is ~ 2" - 2.5" with two and over 3" with three together. If you wrap multiple bases together you should tape everything extra tight and you will have a super strong wreath base sturdy enough for a holiday heirloom for years to come.

The best part of utilizing the paper base is when you want to have a different wreath next year you can recycle this wreath keeping harmful materials like Styrofoam out of our trash!!!

Last year we had a Holiday Making Party where we highlighted sewn fabric bows and we had these wreath forms so people could make their own holiday wreath. Hopefully we can host another party this year and share some ideas so you can host your own with friends too!

Here is a peek at one way to use the base and do a snow theme with old dryer sheets and junk-mail paper snowflakes:

We would love to see your wreaths if you try out this Eco-friendly paper base! Post a comment or leave a picture on Our Facebook to share your holiday decor :)

Happy Making!!! XOXO, KC

CAFAM - Etsy Craft Night - Punched & Stitched Paper

Hola Amigos!

Last Thursday night I had the privilege of leading CAFAM's Etsy Craft Night. The project I hosted was based off our pierced and stitched paper craft.  It was a really exciting opportunity for me and I am just so honored to have the chance to be the featured crafter!

Last week the L.A. Skin & Ink Show opened at CAFAM and we wanted to highlight this extraordinary show within the imagery included for the project. The funky imagery included vintage California references, handmade items, and tattoos inspired by the show.

We shared a variation of this tutorial here with everyone showing how to pierce the image which is very similar to the tattooing techniques described in the exhibit.  The Black and Gray style tattoos that Los Angeles is famous for is created with a single needle just like this paper craft!  We also highlighted the second step where you can embellish the project further with colorful stitching.

I got to wear a microphone to shoot a video for a project shot for a USC student (shown top left) - More details on project use to come about the video/project.  Also, I had some great members from the Pretty Pink Ponies Etsy Team - Christina Cabral and Samantha Galletly (shown bottom left) helped assist and demo the project with the attendees and were a big help!

Everybody was hard at work all night on their projects - it was really inspiring and beautiful to see what everyone was coming up with.  It was interesting to see what images were used out of the images included as templates as well as how many people came up with their own subject matter for their projects.

There was a tattoo inspired rose that was quite popular.  It was a bit more in-depth then some of the other images but it came out so wonderful with the addition of the stitched elements.  Of course the California image was quite popular and I think most people tried their hand at the CA shape as their tester.

I got great feedback from the attendees on the project - I hope that the next time I share the project with a group I can have a wider range of needle shapes and awls so we can vary the piercings.  This will also help in adding some of the stitched details because the holes will be more manageable.  Overall, having just hat pins and embroidery needles as the tools was plenty - Its just good to note potential options and variations.

The craft night was streamed live on Stickam and at one point we had over 300 people watching our crafting online! The Stickam site is really slick for broadcasting and all you need is an iPAD which captures the videos as well as the sound simply and effortlessly.

We hope to see you at the next CAFAM Etsy Craft Night in November.  They are always held on the 1st Thursday of the month and have a different project each time.  I will make sure to share the info on the project as soon as I know more info :)

Hope y'all have a fantastic & productive week!!!

XOXO, KC

How-To's Day: Punched Paper Stationery and featured guest at CAFAM Etsy Craft Night

This Thursday KC is the guest crafter at CAFAM's monthly Etsy Craft Night.  Here is a sneak peek at the project available that night.  We are making needle pierced and stitched paper on this week's how-to project.

Supplies needed

• Medium weight/thick card stock. Thicker paper provides more definition and will hold up a larger needle pierce.
• Various size needles.These can include sewing pins, embroidery needles and can even include awls or other industrial piercing tools.
• Item to protect work surface such as towel or foamcore to punch the paper design into.
• Tracing paper and your design flipped or reversed. When outlining an image the pierce holes will produce a flipped version of a design, unless you flip the tracing image first.
• A pencil to freehand draw your image.

1. Draw the image to be pierced with light penciling on the backside of your paper if you wish to freehand draw the pencil lines. You can also place the image on which ever side you like to be the smooth side (back) 
2. Use the lines of your image, or your pencil lines as the template to create your pierced lines.

A finder needle such as a sewing needle will make a very tiny and more of a stippling affect dot.
Personally I like to use a larger instrument or needle for the outlining of the shape and then work my way in with a smaller needle for the inside detailing work.

Also watch your speed and placement because placing the holes/dots too close to one another can result in a "blob" and be visually distracting.

Here is an example of the finished card:

It is easy to make a plain piece of paper a simple and modern card just by punching the outlines!

Or you can create a new variation of your logo with this technique:

Wanna Come make the project with me?

Etsy Craft Night: Punched & Stitched PaperLed by KC Cooper Sears
Thursday, October 4 from 7:00-9:00pm
$7/ Free for CAFAM Members (includes materials, drinks, and snacks)
In the CAFAM Courtyard

Make your mark with crafter KC Sears and create punched cards and pictures. KC will have funky imagery to inspire you—think vintage California, handmade items, even tattoos—and after you pierce the image, embellish it further with colorful stitching.

Hope to see you there!!!

XOXO, KC

What I Wore: Friday / Instagram Friday! 9/7/12

Hi Guys!

Today I am sporting a denim tube dress and a simple sweater.

Last night I jumped over to CAFAM for their monthly Etsy Craft Night and made some Party Balls.  Mark Montano led the project and I got some good Instagram pictures of the fun.

Here is a break down of the project:

I am always on the hunt for projects to utilize magazines and this project is a mind-blowing way to use them up! I just wish I had tried this project out before making the Etsy party decor. We could have made a ton of these in a jiffy :)


Here is a photo visual breakdown of the steps listed above:
 

Still craving more details you can check out the full project list and steps here.

For more pictures and updates check us out @makeshoplive on Twitter and Instagram. Hope you have a stunning weekend!!!

XOXO, KC

How-To's Day: Make a Crafty Party

We had such a wonderful response to our Etsy Craft Party at CRAFTED last month and wanted to share some project tips to include in your own craft party.

For a Paper Craft Party

Always perfect for a paper party - rubber stamps & ink, paper punches and craft paper.

Project ideas:  Make your own DIY gift wrapping paper, Tags, Embellishments, Wall Art, Stationery

Also fun to have on hand - Postage Stamps!

Here is more details to get your stamps ready. 

By adding some bottle cap magnet blanks attendees have the option to make magnets along with the paper crafts super easily. 

Simple instructions can be found here.

Fabric Fun Party
Grab your girlfriends and update your wardrobe with a craft party :)

Sewn Fabric Bows can be a great wardrobe addition & easy for all levels of sewers.

Fabric yo-yo's

Add to shirts, purses, brooches, earrings, necklaces and all kinds of things.

Buttons

Even covering things with buttons is enough to make something new again!

Fabric + More Sewing  

Add some Lavender for some great gifts:

Heat Pads / Ice packs

Gather up your dryer sheets and make some fabulous sachets!!!

Around the House Party

Corks

Project ideas: Cover Votive Candles, Make Cork Boards, Wreaths, Mini Planters

Green Cleaning

Easy to make - DIY Laundry Detergent with 3 ingredients 

Don't forget every party needs some food and a signature cocktail :)

Check out some fun cocktail ideas from our Pinterest Vault

What is a celebration without some decorations?!?

We love finding party ideas on Pinterest! Check out our Weddings & Party Board to figure out some ways to decorate your party utilizing all kinds of fun themes.

Do you have any projects that are a craft party hit? We would love to see your party fun and hear any tips for our next party :)

XOXO, KC

How-To's Day: Paper Decorations for a Craft Party

I love making things out of paper!!! It is one of my absolute favorite materials to work with. One of my favorite materials to have in the studio are maps.  Thomas Guides are especially helpful since there is so many pages of maps inside each one.  The warehouse is so vast down at CRAFTED that basic paper garlands are a must to help add to the decorations.  We recently did a demo using the small tubular ornament template by Martha Stewart Crafts as seen here, and it is the perfect tool to crank out some massive decorations.

For the paper lanterns we are using this time saving tool, but you can also create the same result by folding a 6.5" square into a rectangle, then cutting slits in 1/2" intervals making sure to leave at least a 1/2"  border on the raw edge.

Always an easy favorite when making paper decorations is the classic paper chain.  We have been using the scraps leftover from the lanterns to make paper chains to add to our decorations.

Another awesome paper decoration is these great mini suitcases to reinforce the Wish You Were Here theme as well as decorate their booths. Using a rectangle box and some imagination you can make a super mini suitcase too! Check out this great example from Desiree B-

Off to keep making paper lanterns for our decoration meeting tomorrow ;)

XOXO, KC

Exciting Partnership with NextSpace Los Angeles

We have fun news to announce!!! Make. Shop. Live. has a new exciting Partnership with NextSpace Los Angeles to upcycle all of their discarded paper into our artwork.  This will totally help us expand our product line and we will also have items displayed and sold in the local studio just up the street. We are so excited that our favorite local co-working space will be sharing their trash that is really a treasure trove for our artwork!

Here is some examples of what your non-sensitive paper donations are used to create:

We Love NextSpace!!!

Thanks so much for your support!!!
-The Make. Shop. Live. Team