Pop Goes the World

Remember that song?  I'm sure some of you are going to say no because you were born the year it came out, but it was my jam back in the day. And I've been singing it for the last couple of weeks while working on this next project. 

You may remember Priti.  She created the amazing dessert table at the shower I co-hosted.  She's co-hosting a baby shower for her sister and she will be putting her mad skillz to work again to create another amazing menu.  She asked me for help with the invitations since she couldn't really find anything she liked, so I came up with a concept and crossed my fingers that it worked.  And luckily it did. 

The colors?  Mint green, light blue, and brown. The theme?  She's About to Pop!  Love this theme.  I'd filed a few ideas away for friends already so I had a few directions I knew I could go.  For this project, I stuck with bubbles because, well, bubbles are cute and they pop and they remind me of polka dots - which I kind of have a thing for. 

{image via Iman Sadhegi}

I love when bubbles look like they are glued together in multiples and look like they are attached to each other, so I used that as my inspiration. 

I designed the invite in my Silhouette to fit an A7 envelope and used the print and cut feature. Once they were printed, I cut 6 different sized circles.

I had to make 60 invitations, so I cut 360 circles in total.  Don't they look cute all stacked together like that?  Then, I invited my friend Mandy over for a night of hard labor crafts and we glued them together by layering them.

Essentially, each bubble contains information on the shower. And, while you can't exactly tell in the pictures, the invite is just the bubbles themselves.  The brown background is just cardstock so you don't see my ugly craft table. :) Cute, huh?

I couldn't resist using a pop up dot to make the word "POP" pop off the invitation.  Not sure how many people will catch that, but I thought it was a pretty darn cute idea myself. 

But, I didn't want the envelopes to feel lonely.  I love a hand addressed envelope, but I have to admit I am a sucker for labels.  When making invitations, I am always torn between hand addressing the envelopes or using some cute labels.  When there are a lot of invitations to send, I think labels are an awesome option so that one isn't stuck hand writing 60 invitations.   

So, I printed out labels in the same fonts I used on the invite.  Not pictured is the return address label on the back.  I made it green.  The labels were a splurge, but I imagined that when guests received their invites, they'd see the envelopes and know something really cute was inside.  :)  Because there is. 

I'm not going to lie.  These invites took me a long time to make.  Without Mandy's help, I would probably still be putting them together.  But once they were finished I was literally about to pop with pride.  Love them. 

August Obsessions

I'm baaaaack!!  I wish I could say I've been busy in my craft room, but I really just took a break from crafting.  And blogging.  And life.  But, all work and no crafting makes Pintobean a very sad girl, so I did manage to fit in one project. I will be posting about that shortly. But until then, on to my August Obsessions. 

I have basically been vegging out in front of the TV lately or reading (on my Kindle!!), so this month is a short post.  But, here it is....

{image via Amazon}

Sew Wild by Alisa Burke.  I stumbled across Alisa Burke's blog and became an instant fan. She does some pretty amazing things.  But, what I was most in awe of how she creates her own fabric with paint.  How pimp is that???  I am totally obsessed.  She is offering a class right now ($10 off this week!).  Sooo tempted.   

Alexander's A Million Years.  Love, love, love.  I can't say much else.

That's it!  I have another post coming soon.  Promise.  :)

Pin-wrist

Does Pinterest overwhelm you?  It does me.  Anyway, I've been walking around aimlessly in my craft room with lots of ideas but no motivation to make anything because I know I will have to clean it all up.  That is what happens when I clean my craft room.  I don't want to mess it up. So, this next project is something I like to do because it makes me feel like I am making something but cleaning up at the same time.  Pincushions.

These slip over your finger or your wrist.  Cute, eh?  My grandma used to make these all the time only I didn't appreciate them until I actually started sewing.  And I didn't appreciate the scrap busting aspect either.  Or the upcycling aspect.  My grandma always says that the best crafters use what they have.  So when I make these, I like to pretend I am the most awesome crafter around.  Feel free to do the same.      

All you need is:

1. A glue gun.
2. Plastic caps.  For the finger pincushion, use a soda or water bottle cap.  For wrist pincushions, I use caps from the Simply Orange Juice bottles, but any larger caps will work. Am I the only one in love with the Simply Orange Juice packaging?  Yes?  Oh.    
3. Elastic.  I used a 3/8" width, but use what you have. You will need enough to wrap around your finger or wrist plus a couple of inches.  
4. Fabric scraps.  Start with a piece about 2" larger in diameter than your cap. You can trim it down if you feel like that is too much fabric.
5. Trim scraps.  Enough to wrap around your cap.  
6. Fiber fill.  I actually got mine from an item I ordered on the internet.  The seller used this as packing material.  Trust me when I say I am a pack rat.  I will bite my tongue here and not say how ridiculous using fiber fill for packing material is because it has proved very handy in my pursuits to be the most awesome crafter around.  I think my grandma would use cotton balls for hers when she didn't have fiber fill.  That grandma sure is a smart one, isn't she? 
7. A needle and thread.  I forgot to put this in the picture, so just humor me and pretend it's there.  I thought my picture was too cute not to share. 

For this post, I am making a wrist pincushion.  A pin-wrist, if I can be witty.  To make these, glue the edge of your elastic to the inside of your cap forming a loop.   I add some glue to the outside of the cap as well, just to make the elastic more secure.  The top of the cap is what will rest on your finger or wrist. And make sure you make a curry just before starting this project.  It will make your nails look awesome for pictures. 

Start with a small chunk of fiber fill and begin basting your fabric along the edge. As you baste, pull on your thread to make the edges start to gather.  This is will start the shape of the cushion.  As you form the cushion, keep adding fiber fill. You want it to look full, so add plenty of it. If you have too much fabric, you can trim here. It will basically look like a mushroom top.  When you are satisfied with it, knot and trim your thread.

When you complete your mushroom top, apply glue to the inside rim of your cap and place your cushion inside.  You may have to manipulate it a bit to squeeze it all in there.  This is a make-it-work moment. 

Once your cushion is secure, then glue your trim all the way around your cap, making sure conceal your cap.  I fold in the end slightly so I don't see a raw edge, but it is not necessary.

Slip it on your wrist - or finger - and marvel at how crafty you are. And then feel good about yourself that you got rid of some scraps and upcycled something cute - I really do love the Simply Orange packaging - into something cuter.

July Obsessions

So, does anyone know where the year went??  How is it already July??

It is pretty much one week since Sharmee's wedding and I think I'm almost recovered.  I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.  Once I do that, I think I will be fully recovered.  Mr. Bean has been studying for an exam he has to take for the last three weeks, so between my wedding crafting duties and his studying we've pretty much been roomies the last few weeks instead of Mr. and Mrs. Bean.  But, Mr. Bean's exam is today and I know he'll do well.  And I am making some pulled spicy pork for tonight because Billy Bean is in town!!  Woot!  If there is one thing I have learned about being a Bean it's that you must have pork on hand at all times.  So, I am looking forward cooking tonight for two of the most important men in my life.

Now, on it my obsessions....

The Beatles.  I am a Beatles fanatic.  My freshman year in college, my friend and I kept her 6 CD disc changer filled with Beatles.  Six CD disc changers were pimp back then and my friend brought hers to college which made me pretty pimp by default.  She owned pretty much every Beatles album ever made, so we basically jammed to the Beatles our entire freshman year.  She had an awesome Bose system, so we'd have to turn it down really low so that we wouldn't bother our neighbors, but by second semester that didn't keep our neighbors from yelling from the other side of the wall "CAN YOU LISTEN TO ANYTHING ELSE BESIDES THE BEATLES?"   We'd add in some Jagged Little Pill for posterity's sake, but we kept The Beatles in for the most part. For Christmas last year, Mr. Bean bought me a wifi internet radio.  Probably the best gift anyone could give me.  It connects to my Pandora account and I can stream music from all over the world.  There is one station I found that is entirely Beatles music.  And I dig.  "Come Together" is one of my favorites.  It makes me wanna move.  It makes me wanna clean.  It makes me wanna craft.

{image via Amazon}

Rhinestones.  Is this a surprise?  I am crazy for rhinestones lately.  In the last few weeks, I've developed quite a repertoire of rhinestones in my craft room.  And me likey. 

{image via Chick-fil-a}

Chick-fil-A's Deluxe Spicy Chicken Sandwich.  I've kept this secret for a while.  But now my spicy chicken sandwich pride must not be contained.  This sandwich pretty  much fulfills all of my chicken sandwich desires.  And it is actually spicy. 

{image via Paper Source}

Smash Books.  OK, so apparently I am not the only one obsessed with these Smash Books.  Every where I looked they were sold out.  These.Are.So.Cute.  The concept is not new, but just goes to show what great marketing can do. Check out the awesome video they put together.  Marketing at it's best, I tell you.  Ever since I saw the video, I've been on a hunt to own one.  I am not a scrapbooker per se.  I call myself a well intentioned scrapper.  I am notorious for keeping little pieces of papers and magazine clippings and notes with the intention to use them on a scrap page but when it comes down to sitting down and scrapping, I don't know where to begin.  But these books make me feel less intimidated and make me want to smash some stuff in them while singing the cute Minnutes song. 

That's all I've got!  I hope everyone has a happy and safe fourth of July! 

Happily Ever crAfter

It is finished.  My friend Sharmee is married.  It was a long weekend, but a joyous one.  I was honored to be apart of it and to have had a role in her entire wedding weekend.   We started working on her wedding about 3 months ago, so it's been non-stop crafting since April.

Unfortunately, I didn't take many pics of the things I was in charge of.  Mostly because we were working quickly so I didn't have time to think about it.  But I did take a few pics of some of the stuff we made/decorated/wrapped with my iPhone. Our biggest issue was the sheer size of each of the events, so we had think of how to do things as cheap as possible but as pretty as possible. 

This was how we wrapped the favors for the mehndi night.   I used Sharmee's outfit as inspiration.  We used gold tissue and green satin ribbon, tied in a knot to minimize the amount of ribbon we'd need.  Since we couldn't afford to wrap the entire gift with cute paper, we cut up small squares of some mehndi inspired paper and taped it to the top.

The next major thing we had to put together was welcome baskets for the groom's side called the jaan.  These went inside their hotel rooms and included itineraries for the entire weekend.  We had to make 90 of these so, again, cost was a big factor.  Instead of going with baskets, we decided to use these gold colored gift boxes.  The guests were already getting reusable containers that we decorated filled with snacks (not pictured) so providing a basket as well just proved to be too much to me.  We filled them with crinkle and stuffed them with snacks and sweets.  Sharmee had some stickers left over from her invitations, so we attached the stickers to the boxes with ribbon and included an itinerary.  I will spare you of a pic of the itinerary I made, but we personalized the itineraries for the most important guests.  Simple, but thoughtful.

Another thing I was in charge of was decorating the sign that would be displayed in her house.  The original one that they had made in India got lost in the shuffle of all things they brought back, so they ordered a new one and asked me to decorate it.  Traditionally, it is decorated with a glitter pen, but I, of course, knew nothing else to do but to bring on the bling.  Glitter pens just seem so 80's to me.  So, we used some gold trim Sharmee purchased and attached it to the border.

Then I blinged it out with rhinestones and pearls.  Luckily, I had a bunch of rhinestones left over from the basket I just made that happened to match the colors in the sign.  It looked really good in the photographer's light, if I do say so myself.

 

One of the most important things I had to decorate was the basket that Sharmee's sisters would be using during her wedding ceremony.  The basket would contain rice for her sisters to toss periodically during the ceremony.  So, I did what I know best here and spray painted it gold.  I added some gold trim to it that followed the lines of the basket.  I like that the lines were at an angle and not completely straight.  Then I used some paisley elements that Sharmee bought in India that happened to match our bridesmaid saris perfectly.  Totally on my list of stores to visit when I go back. My friend Anita is the rhinestone queen, so she brought over her bin of rhinestones and I helped myself to her stash.  

Since we had plenty of supplies, I added a few elements to the side as well.  I was really proud to see it being used during the ceremony.  :)

That's about all I got snaps of.  If the photographer got pics of the other stuff I made, I will definitely post them!

This was an amazing process to be apart of.  It was really touching to see an entire community come together as a family to make sure this wedding ran as seamlessly as possible.  Congrats, Sharmee and Nikhil!  Here's to your happily ever after!

LINKwithlove

If you haven't heard about this already, then I encourage you to check out LINKwithlove.  It is an awesome initiative started by Kal Barteski - one of my favorite bloggers - after she discovered some of her artwork was used - a lot - without her knowledge or consent.  LINKwithlove is about respecting each other's works, words, and ideas.

Read more about it on the website.  Like LINKwithlove.org on Facebook.  Follow @LINKwithlove on Twitter.  And always link with love. 

A Rhinestone a Day Takes the Blah Away

I am always down to do something out of my comfort zone.  When my friend gave me free reign to decorate a basket as a gift to her future sister-in-law, I ran to Hobby Lobby before she had a chance to finish asking.  The basket would be part of a Hindu ceremony known as a chandlo.  It is basically a short ceremony that announces that a couple can be wed.  The groom's side brings gifts for the bride -- which might include a sari and/or an outfit, jewelry and anything else they'd like to gift the bride-to-be -- as well as snacks for the bride-to-be's family.  I had to decorate a large basket for the bride and six small bins for the family. 

I wasn't going to write a blog post about the basket I made, but I searched the ends of the internet for some idea of what I was supposed to be doing exactly and it seems no one ever really posts pictures of the baskets they've been given or the baskets they've made.  How sad is that?  So today I am going to put an end to the silence that is these baskets.  Especially because I find that my Hindu friends require a lot of baskets for various ceremonies, events, gifts, etc.  And these baskets deserve to be seen! This is, of course, my version of a basket that could be used for these types of events.  At the end of the day, it's just a pretty basket.  IMO.  :)

The basket I was given to use was just a plain, flat basket, so I gussied it up with some gold spray paint.  I am a big believer in gold spray paint.  In fact, I always have a can on hand just in case I feel something needs some gold spray paint lovin'.  Hobby Lobby sells mini cans that are perfect for small craft projects.
 

I wanted to keep it within the same color scheme of the outfits that were going to be in the baskets:  red, blue and green.  So I basically blinged it out with red, blue, green and clear rhinestones.  I am of the mindset that the more rhinestones the better.  I think the world would be a better place if everyone would just use more rhinestones.  Am I right??  Am I right??  Inside joke.  Sorry.

And, of course, I added some ribbon. Because ribbon makes everything prettier. I ended up switching out the ribbon color at the last minute from the pic above so I don't have a pic of the 'before' with the color I used. I am never afraid to rip everything off and start over again if I feel like something isn't quite right.  And I did that quite a few times. 

Since I would have to wait until the day of the chandlo to assemble the baskets, I pre-cut the wrapping that would go around the basket.  I'll just say really quickly that I hate cellophane.  I try to avoid using it at all costs for no other reason except I cannot use it.  Every time I've tried making a basket, I end up ripping the cellophane or there is a big whole in it because my basket is too big and my cellophane is too small.  I hate cellophane.  Or cellophane hates me.  Either way, for the basket I used tulle.  Tulle is the greatest fabric ever invented.  I use it for everything I possibly can.  Tulle calls my name and I always answer.  Love it.

To save time, I decided to eliminate any potential problems by making my bows ahead of time.  I have been in love with fascinators lately, so I used that as my inspiration.  I simply made the bows and attached pins to them that would be attached to the outside once I assembled the baskets, then I added peacock feathers to the outside.  I scored some peacock feathers that had a red tint to them which fit my color scheme which made Pintobean a very happy crafter. 

The rest of the basket making process had to be finished the day off the chandlo, so I don't have pics of that process.  Actually, I forgot to take pictures of it until we were walking out the door with it, which is one reason why these pics are terrible.  But, what to do?  Here is the final product. 

And I love it.  Love the sheerness of the tulle.  Love the feathers.  Love the ribbon.  Love the rhinestone on the bow.  Love all the rhinestones. Love it. Here is a close up with the red sari.... I added a few more rhinestones at the last minute.

And here is another shot of it.  I couldn't stop taking pics because I knew I'd never see it again. 

And here is a pic of one of the snack bins from the back of my car.  Of course, it coordinated.  See the red-ish peacock feather?  So pretty!

And another shot. Last one, I promise. 

So, there it is.  Now I have to think of how I will decorate the baskets for the engagement ceremony.  That is, if I get the job.