Is it too late to share some Christmas-ish photos?! I hope not, because I'm going to do it anyway. Is this like wearing white after Labor Day? No longer taboo? First up, this is the gingerbread house that my Mom, my son, and I made: Making projects with him I am always yelling at myself in my head: DON'T TRY TO CONTROL THE PROCESS. LET IT BE WHAT IT IS. Most of the time, I manage to roll with whatever he wants to do. And in the end, it's always lots of fun and nothing that I expected. And now... Read more →

If you're like me, you love to make hand made cards, but you hate that people throw them away. Well, I figured out a solution that makes the card both a card and a gift: In essentials, all I did was cut some slits into the front of my card and slide the artwork in. It's quick and easy. When I posted this video on social media yesterday, I got a few questions about how to cut the slits, so I put together a quick tutorial: What do you think? Is this an idea that you'd try out? Thanks for... Read more →

Every year I make a few new handmade ornaments for my Christmas tree. This year, I made two different kinds of ornaments: stuffed fabric ornaments and paper stars made from my son's artwork. I put together a quick video of the papers before and after they became stars: If you want the how-to for either of these projects: Tomorrow (Wednesday, December 15, 2021) at 1pm EST I am sharing a free stuffed fabric ornaments mini class live on instagram. The instructions for the star are in THIS ScanNCut Club video. Next week I'll try to do a round-up of all... Read more →

As I mentioned to weekly newsletter subscribers several weeks ago, I was hoping to make the time to create some sort of non-fire related Hanukkah countdown thing for my son. Well, I finally figured out a simple project that would work for his age and interest level, but still work for us as a family down the road. Plus, it's pretty. Inside each of the little houses is a small toy and a piece of Hanukkah gelt. After we light the candles each night, he can untie the bow on top of the appropriately labeled little house to release the... Read more →

Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Hopefully you're anticipating good company and delicious food on Thursday. I have always loved adding fancy DIY place cards to my holiday table. Here are a few of my favorites from the blog archives: 2013 - City Skyline Place Cards (tutorial is here) 2017 - Leaf Place Cards (original post) 2018 - Egg Place Cards (original post) 2013 - Stamped Place Cards (original post) 2014 - Pop Up Place Cards (0riginal post) 2015 - Playing Card Place Cards (video tutorial is here) 2010 - Butterfly Place Cards (tutorial is here) 2019 - Paper Flower... Read more →

I'm part of an affinity group within the Cambridge Art Association. We decided to do a postcard swap with a twist. Instead of sending each other finished postcards, we're mailing half-finished postcards that the recipient can finish. Here are the postcards that I'm putting in the mail: I used my new Art Foamies foam stamps, did some image transfers, did some drawing and collaging, and just generally had fun making these little guys. I'm currently working on a Studio Vlog for Maker & Super Learner Members all about the making of these postcards as well as sharing what I get... Read more →

Steve and I have been debating what to do about trick-or-treating. We both want to take our son out, but we also want to make sure there's candy at our house for the other kids in the neighborhood. Someone online suggested that I leave little treat bags on our porch -- under the theory that people are less likely to clear the whole bowl of treat bags out than a regular bowl of candy. With this new idea, I had a new debate: just stick them in a bag or make something artsy and more "me?" Well, you can probably... Read more →

As you may know, I decided that my #PrintInktober goal is to make hand printed papers that I can use to make Christmas cards. I thought I would show you how much you can do with one sheet of paper. I followed the pattern building principles I taught in lesson one of the #PrintInktober class to create this bold pattern: And here are the six cards I made with that one sheet of hand patterned paper: The original print was 8.5x11" and the cards are all 5x7." I actually was amazed by how far that single sheet went. I originally... Read more →

I recently included a Kandinsky quote and painting in my weekly email newsletter (the newsletter goes out every Friday). It sent me down a bit of a Kandinsky rabbit hole. I stumbled onto a German website that I believe is for elementary school teachers. They had a fascinating lesson suggestion that I had to try for myself. STEP ONE - Laminate a design of colored tissue paper and black construction paper pieces. No need to fill the whole lamination pouch. Think about design. I used black tar paper for some of these, but it was too dimensional, so I ended... Read more →

Did you know that "Painted Wood Block Wall Art" is a thing? I stumbled across this etsy listing... link ...and it sent me down a rabbit hole. Here are a few other listings I found when searching "painted wood block wall art": link link link link If you're thinking what I'm thinking, then here are the supplies you need to make your own: Wood Canvases -- You can get a pack of eight 10x10 wood canvases for about $25 on Amazon. Your favorite paint or collage materials. If you're going to sell them: varnish. Personally, I have been known to... Read more →