Back from Hiatus

I have had a lot going on the past few few weeks.  We had family visit for Thanksgiving and took an impromptu trip to North Carolina in between all the normal craziness of the Holiday season kicking into high gear.

While I have been sewing (frantically at times!), I have also had a couple of other projects going on that took priority simply because they had deadlines. 

I taught a class at my church on my paper-covered barn stars the week before Thanksgiving. 

 

I wish I could say it was a smashing success, but I have come to realize that there are a lot of people out here (I live in rural-ish Virginia) that have probably NEVER paper crafted before.  While it should have been a simple "cut and paste" project, I think a lot of people that took it were overwhelmed.  Oh, well. 

I am also in the Primary (Children's organization) Presidency at my church, and with the new year comes a new theme and just a general renewal of all the materials we use throughout the year.  My current project for Primary was making new binder covers for the Presidency and all the teachers.

     Below is a sample of one of the teacher binders.  Even though now that they are done I wish I had used the same red paper on the text and the list, I think they turned out really cute!

 

(The empty block is where the class, children's names and birthdays go.)

 

I used a free kit from Summertime Designs to make the covers.  She has some really lovely kits, and they are amazingly all FREE!

 

 

 

 

  

 

Halloween Barn Star

I finished a non-sewing project this week.  Say hello to my newest piece of Halloween decor!

 

 

I would explain how I did it, but there are so many tutorials online (just google "paper covered barn star tutorial"), I felt that would just be redundant.  These really are so simple to make, you almost don't even need a tutorial!

 

I found some papier mache barn stars online for cheap, so I ordered a couple.  Then I got the paper for 50% off at Hobby Lobby.  So in other words, this project is really budget friendly!

 

This is my first attempt at embellishing a barn star, and it was a good learning experience, as far as working with a papier mache base, rather than a metal one. 

 

I used Mod Podge for the entire project here, but I think next time, I will either spray it with a matte clear coat to finish it, or use a spray adhesive to stick the papers on, or both. 

 

I think the two layers of Mod Podge (one layer to stick the papers on, and one layer to seal it) was a little too much for the paper base, because I noticed after the top coat dried, the arms of the star started bowing out a little bit.  It is not noticeable looking at it, but I could definitely feel it.

 

I had initially thought I would add some sort of ribbon or other embellishment, but in the end, I didn't like the way it looked.  I felt like it made the star way too "cutesy" for Halloween decor.  So I left it plain, and I like it.

 

Next I am going to make a Christmas one.

 

 

For those who don't know, I actually worked at a Scrapbook store for a year while my husband was gone on a 15-month deployment, so I have a little bit of history in paper crafting.  (In fact, my former boss at the scrapbook store, Rita, has a darling website, Pink Polka Dot Creations.  You really should go check her out!) 

 

 And I have to say, I actually loved working with paper again! It's been awhile since I have, and it made me happy to play with it again.  So don't be surprised if you see some more paper crafting pop up on my blog a bit more, cause I have a few more things I'd like to try in the near future!

 

But until then, happy crafting!

 

(Linking to these parties:)