A Very Merry Unbirthday

to you, Laurie.

♥

First, this is a happy birthday post to my SIL, Laurie (you know my niece, Krissy who's getting married? Laurie is her mom). Laurie's birthday is actually on February 29th so she doesn't get a REAL birthday this year - hence the unbirthday theme.

And an entry into Rinda's Alice in Wonderland challenge.

In honor of the two, the "very merry un-birthday" was perfect.
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Here's to you, Laurie! Happy {un}Birthday!
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And to you, Rinda! Thanks for the inspiration.
♥

And then just because... (not sure why all the extra spaces here...)

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PS: Journal strips were done with strips of paper run through my label machine then sanded with an emery board. And the flowers are some I made using the technique for flower-making that I posted yesterday. :o)

It's a jolly holiday with Mary...

...no wonder that it's Mary that we love.

When I was a little girl, I loved Mary Poppins. I was three years old when Disney released the movie starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke ~ that was in 1964. I don't remember actually seeing the movie back then, but I've seen it countless times during the course of my life.
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Last night Carrie and I attended the Broadway production of Mary Poppins at Gammage Theater near Arizona State University. Despite some stormy weather (and can you believe we didn't have our umbrellas?!?!), being pressed for time getting to the theater, then parking (several blocks away), and sitting down just minutes before the play began, it was a wonderful evening!
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Dare I say, practically perfect in every way?

Google image found here

I love the magic of the story, the no-nonsense-practical-but-fun way Mary Poppins asserts herself, the underlying romance between Bert and her (you know it's there!), and the music! The songs are some of my favorites. Of course, for the production last night the songs were re-mixed somewhat, and there were a couple I'd never heard before, but there were snippets of "Spoon full of sugar" and "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" throughout the performance.
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Hm...I'm realizing as I write this that I'm not very good at writing a "review." How's this: If you are a Mary Poppins fan and have a chance to see this production, do it. You won't be disappointed.
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♥

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On my list of things to do on this rainy Sunday: Breakfast with my in-laws, and then I'll be in my craft room for the remainder of the day. I'm going to finish my niece's guest book, and have a few other little goodies I'm working on.

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Wishing each of you a blessed day!

xo

Swirly flower power

I am loving these little flowers!!! I came across this video tutorial at Lollychops website. These are so easy and fun to make...I just had to share them. Be warned, they are addictive! I sat down and made 30 of them in an afternoon.

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The video at Lollychops is FUN and I encourage you to give it a glance, but in the meantime, I took a few photos of the process...

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You start by cutting a circle (I used felt for this, but you can use paper as well), then cut the circle in a spiral toward the center. This one is about 2" across, and I don't worry about it being a perfect circle...

Grab the end with a pair of tweezers and start wrapping it around...

Continue wrapping until you get to the end/center of the circle...

Slip it off the tweezers and add a good glob of glue.

Here's what the bottom will look like:

I free-hand cut some leaves from green felt and glued them to the bottom. Super easy. :o)

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I had so much fun experimenting with the two different styles. If you cut the spiral in a wavy line, you get uneven rose petals like this:

And if you cut the spiral in a smooth line, you get a flat little flower like this:

And they are also very cute made with paper...

I think I'll use some of these flowers to decorate a spring-themed picture frame.

:o)
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Just a quote for Friday.

Not my photo...I found it here.

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"Let's go fly a kite."

~ Mary Poppins

Dress rehearsal...

...a gift for a friend

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It's been a while since I used the Coptic book binding method. Since that's how I plan to bind my niece's wedding guest book, I wanted to do a practice run first. I reviewed this video on YouTube as a reminder, and then I put together this little book (4" x 5") for a co-worker of mine who is leaving next month.

All the materials I used for this book were things I already had on hand. I used mostly scraps from my niece's book - left over book board and scraps of linen paper for the signatures/pages. The diamond paper is some that I've had for a few years now - handmade in India that I purchased at a paper store here in Arizona that is now closed.

It's been a while since I did any kind of book binding, and making this little book made me realize how much I miss it. There will be more handmade books in my future!

xo

Cute inspiration - sock owl

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My daughter, Carrie found this cute little sock-owl tutorial here.

Isn't he adorable?

...gotta' make this sometime soon!!!

Sneak peek...working with "white space"

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♥ ~ my work space right now ~ ♥

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I've seen several scrapbook layouts lately with "white space" - meaning a lot of space on the page intentionally left blank. I've never really done layouts like this, but I'm sure getting some practice working on my niece Krissy's wedding guest book! This book will be more about the written messages from wedding guests than it is about the pictures and embellishments so I'm [forcing myself to] keeping it simple.

I'm disappointed in these pictures - poor light today with all the rain in Arizona. The butterflies and photo mats are navy blue cardstock with a slight bit of sparkle in it (leftover paper that Krissy used in her wedding invitations).

So far, I'm very happy with the way the book is turning out... should be finished by this weekend.

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Krissy ♥'s Jamie.

xo

Why the turtle?

Perhaps you have wondered why I named my blog "PaperTurtle."

Perhaps you haven't wondered, but are curious now that I mention it.

? :o}

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Well, when I was in the third grade I had a school assignment to write a report about the reptile of my choice. I chose the turtle.

Then when I was about 14, I had a really cool aunt - you know the kind? The aunt you think is SO awesome and cool?!?! Mine was Aunt Sharon and she collected frogs. She had them all over her house, and I wanted to have a collection like that so I could be like her. So I chose to collect turtles.

There are two live box turtles living with us, and I have owned hundreds of turtles made of stone, ceramic, plastic, glass, wood, clay...you name it. I have turtle stepping-stones in the backyard, turtle salt & pepper shakers in the kitchen, a turtle soap dish in the bathroom, a turtle pincushion in my sewing box, and a turtle tattoo on my right foot.


When my daughter, Carrie was little we made sand turtles instead of sandcastles...

{Carrie @ age 3}

and snow turtles instead of snowmen...

{Carrie @ age 8}

I did an internet search for "turtle attributes" and found this piece with regard to the symbolism of the turtle: "Turtle teaches us to be careful in new situations and to be patient in reaching our goals. Turtle also teaches us to take things slow, for it gives us time to figure out if we need to protect our self or forge ahead. Turtle shows up in our lives when we need to go into shell and wait until our thoughts & ideas are ready to be expressed. He also teaches us to be adaptable to our environment so we can find the harmony within it."

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Personally, I think I'm a lot like the turtle; steady and determined, keeping pace with myself and life's challenges, ever focused on the goal... Well, ok...maybe I'm not exactly like a turtle...but it sure sounds like something to strive for!

♥

PS: The turtle drawing on the top of this post is one that I've been doodling since I was about 13-years old (that's a long time), and if I had a dime for everytime I've drawn her... Anyway, she is PaperTurtle.

"B" is for Brennan

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I'm going to a baby shower today.

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Our oldest niece, Jessica is expecting a baby a boy and today I'm going to her baby shower. As part of her gift, I embellished a paper mache letter "B" to match her registry theme ~ airplanes.
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I've made several of these letters over the years. They are so simple to do and always a hit. I thought I'd include a quick little how-to:

I put the letter face down on the back of the paper and trace around it with a pencil. I usually trace the letter, and then paint the back and sides of my letter form (with acrylic paint), and then cut the paper letter out while I wait for the the paint to dry.

Next, I glue the paper to the front of the letter form with a basic glue stick. Let it dry for about an hour then sand the edges of the paper letter with an emery board (or sandpaper) to make it look a little worn.


I'm still getting a lot of mileage out of my late mother-in-law's craft supplies. The airplane buttons are from her stash; so these belonged to Baby Brennan's Great-Grandma PJ. (I ended up not using the yellow jet because it was just 'too much'...)

The buttons I chose had knobs on the back of them, so my hubby drilled some holes for me. I put some glue on the base of the button and then popped it into the snug hole.

Quick.
Easy.
Thrifty.
Fun.

There's a baby boy coming to our family!

~:o}

A family birthday.

My nephew, Ryne is 18 today.

I wanted to write a post about him today and as I looked through my pictures, it was difficult to find one of him without a guitar. He is an amazing musician (takes after his dad/my brother) and this instrument is always with him.

This young man has always held a special place in my heart. I love him to the sky! I'm emotional just typing this...

And then! I read my SIL's blog this morning and now I'm at a loss for words. She wrote a beautiful tribute to our Ryno-man -- a must read tribute from a mother to her son on his 18th birthday.
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If you are so inclined, hop on over to her blog and leave her a little love today.
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Happy Birthday, Ryno!!!

We ♥ you!!!

xo

Just a quote for Friday.

Not my photo...I found it here.

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"Kind words are like honey -

sweet to the soul and healthy for the body."

Proverbs 16:24

Thrift store find.

Did you notice this table underneath the photos of my vintage doilies yesterday? Carrie and I were at Goodwill (thrift store) a couple weeks ago and it had just been donated - didn't even have a price tag on it yet. Lucky for me she's in transition between apartments, otherwise it would have been a bigger struggle on who was going to own it!

The current paint job isn't very good, and Hubby is ready and willing to refinish it for me, but I haven't decided how I want it to look. For now, I like the worn look, and it's perfect for holding some of my random craft room things.

♥

Vintage Doilies

Pretty, huh?

My daughter Carrie and I love going to garage sales - especially estate sales where you can find all kinds of great vintage stuff! About a year ago we found some doilies at a garage sale and they have been in my drawer ever since, crumpled up in the same condition in which we purchased them.

I finally got around to pulling them out and cleaning them up. Here's what they look like all pressed and pretty:

The hand work is so beautiful. I set a couple more out and all of a sudden, mid-shot...

~sigh~

Is nothing sacred?!?!

Next project: a wedding guest book

My niece Krissy is getting married on March 13, 2010, and I have the honor of making the book that her guests will sign. I'm so happy that she asked me to create this - a keepsake of their special day with notes written by people who love them.

Yesterday I started cutting. Of course, with my furry helper at hand. I must have knocked him off this table 25 times while I was cutting. Once I was done I gave in and let him relax there for a bit.

♥

How I spent my Valentine's Day.

My day was wonderful, and I'll tell you about it in this post...but just let me say:

Hooray! Valentine's Day is over!!!
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I loved it, had fun decorating for it, had fun
making treats for it, but I'm over it.

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Moving right along...

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The Renaissance Festival is happening in Arizona right now as it does at this time every year (February - March). It's one of the largest festivals in the country!
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The weather was just right yesterday - and it was Valentine's Day - so Hubby and I headed out for a day of sunshine and merriment. I didn't take my big-girl camera because I didn't want to lug it around all day (plus it can be pretty dusty out there), but I did get some decent pictures with my little point-and-shoot.

The colors. ~sigh~ I love the colors...


Great place to shop if you are a belly dancer! These are belly chains and the art work is amazing! Hundreds of metal rings and bells and beads inter-looped together. Me in the background holding a cup of adult beverage. :o}

Not sure what kind of trees these are, but they were in full bloom. Pretty, huh?

Me - acting like a tourist instead of a local:

I'm not as good at self-portraits as my daughter - always chop off someones head! Just after I snapped this the shop girl said, "May I assist you ma' lady?" She took a picture and it was awful of both of us so I'm posting mine instead. Me and my Valentine: ♥

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