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My new blog!! I've made my first official "project' post and I have more to come! 

Redwood Moon Creations

Phasing Out

Hey you guys! Hope you are all doing well!! Things have been a little rough  in my house this week. All of my boys (husband included) have been sick. Also, my little guy has been diagnosed with asthma, just like his big brother, and this cold really got to him. Right now we're on a course of steroids and breathing treatments while he (and his lungs) recover. 

I am sad (and happy) to announce that I will be phasing out PaperKrate. My heart just isn't all the way in this blog anymore, and so I'm making a fresh start. It's time for me to  "come out of the broom closet" to you, my followers. For the past year, I've been an active, practicing Pagan. At this point, I'm feeling like I need to include that as part of my "blogging life" since it permeates nearly every other part of my life. I understand that this is something that many people disagree with. It's something that some people hold a lot of animosity toward, although that part is something I don't really understand. That animosity is something that I have already experienced in the short time that I've been on this path, and while unpleasant, not wholly unexpected. That said...I understand that some of you may not follow me over to me new blog, though I hope that many of you do. It will be a lot of fun...I'll still be showing all of my crafts (including Cricut stuff-SO many new, adorable cartridges coming out...hello Teddy Bear Parade), but there will also be posts about Pagan stuff, cooking stuff, or just something that I feel like talking about. 

My new blog is called Redwood Moon Creations. I really hope to see you over there. Also...if you happen to have any questions, feel free to ask. I'm still around and I still check out all of your blogs as well! I'm hoping this new start will have me far more active than I have been. Also...you can still find Paper Krate on FB here! 

Many blessings to you all!! 

Make a no-sew drawstring bag!

Hi everyone!! I know it's been FOREVER since I've posted anything...as is usual in my house, things have been SO hectic! LOL Getting ready for kindergarten, starting soccer...my boys are growing up! 

Today, I want to show you my new skill!! I'm very excited about having learned to do this. 

First, a confession. I am a non-sewer. I never really learned how to sew and the last thing I attempted was sewing a button on to something, and my husband had to fix it. So when I recently bought a Tarot deck for myself, I wanted to make my OWN pouch for them. I found all kinds of tutorials for sewing one, but had a really hard time finding one that was no sew. So...my very first one, I did on my own...using liquid stitch where the sewn seams would normally be. It worked fantastic! Yay! It was only then that I actually found a tutorial. LOL So here is my own tutorial for you guys! 

Materials:

An iron (not an absolute necessity, but it really helped me a lot), fabric, liquid stitch, scissors, pencil, ruler, and...

ribbon to coordinate with your fabric. 

Step One: 

The first thing you want to do is cut your material to the size you want. My original piece of fabric here is something like 7x16. I folded and pressed each of the long sides. Then I added liquid stitch and glued them down. This helps to eliminate visible raw edges (particularly where the ribbon comes out of the pouch). 

Step Two:

Fold your fabric in half with the "correct" side of the fabric on the inside. Use the iron to sharpen the crease that will be the bottom of your bag. 

Step Three: 

 Unfold your fabric. Measure approximately two inches (give or take, depending on the size of your bag) from the end and make a mark-this is done on the "correct" side of the fabric. Do so on all four edges. 

Step Four:

Apply liquid stitch from the crease to your mark. ONLY TO YOUR MARK! The rest is what you'll need for the holes for the drawstring. Fold your fabric again and glue the sides of the pouch together. 

Step Five:

Fold down the unglued part of your fabric and iron the crease, if desired. 

Step Six: 

Cut two 20 inch lengths of ribbon (or twine or whatever you are using for your drawstring). Again...the length will depend upon the size of your bag. Bigger will need more, smaller will need less.  Tie the end in a not to make a circle with each length of ribbon. You can add beads, if you like, to add a fun embellishment. 

Step Seven:

Place the ribbon (one "side" of the circle) close to your crease. Using the liquid stitch, glue down the fabric to form the hole through which you'll pull the drawstring. Be careful not to glue the ribbon and the fabric together!! 

Repeat for the other side. 

Once the glue dries, flip your pouch right side out and...

You have your finished pouch! Pull the knotted end of ribbon to close the pouch. The first picture I posted is of a finished one I used as a little treat bag. I used my Cricut and some iron on vinyl to embellish with my friend's name. Here are a couple more I've made: 

The top with some patterned fabric for fall and the other I did with a scrap of fabric leftover from one of the bigger ones. 

Super fun you guys! And they make great gift bags! My oldest only has 20 kids in his kindergarten class, so I'm thinking I'll make some of these out of some cute Halloween fabric for treat bags for the class when Halloween rolls around. 

I would love to hear about it if you decide to make one, so let me know! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 

Car crazy!

Hello to all!! Hope you all are doing well! I feel like I've been neglectful of my blog, and crafting in general. July has been such a hectic month! Camping, a weeklong vacation, guests at our house...there's been SO much going on!! Luckily enough, things are now settling for awhile for a few weeks before school starts. 

This past weekend was the big Auto Expo here in my town. People come from all over for it. It's so awesome to see all the classic cars cruising down Main St. I was inspired and made these cute treat bags in honor of our fabulous Auto Expo! 

I used the Nifty Fifties cartridge for the cars and added some Stickles for a little bling. The candies are Hershey Nuggets. I used My Pink Stamper's Boy Crazy stamp set for the sentiments. They fit so perfectly, didn't they? 

Hope you all have a wonderful week and hopefully I'll be back with some more projects this week!! 

My Pink Stamper New Release Blog Hop!!

Hello everyone!! I don't know about you, but I couldn't be happier that it's FRIDAY! I've been busy this week getting all ready for our big vacation. We're headed up to Oregon for a whole week...and there will be SUNSHINE! YAY! I'll get to see family I almost never get to see, and I'll get to spend lots of time outside in the sunshine. 

On to why you're here! Welcome to the My Pink Stamper New Release Blog Hop! Yay! If you're hopping over from Cristi's blog, you're on the right track. If you've just stopped by, head on back to My Pink Stamper to get started on the fun!! 

This week's SUPER CUTE release is the My Pink Stamper Moo-ey Doodles kit!! How cute is this?

Adorable, right? I know I fell in love at first sight! LOL My very first thought when thinking about what to make with this set was a card, but I wanted to try and do something different because, well, I pretty much always do a card. It's my go-to project.  Here's what I came up with! 

It's a little pizza box style treat/favor box! This was the first one I made and I had so much fun making it that I HAD to make another one. LOL I tried really hard to do a video tutorial for you guys, but my microphone wasn't working for me. Boo! Hopefully soon I can get up and running so I can do some videos for you guys. So, here's box #2:

I used the ProMarkers that came with the Yankee Doodle kit to color the images in. All the cardstock comes from the kits, as well (doesn't it all coordinate so nicely? I should note that the pink came from an earlier kit and does NOT come in the Yankee Doodle or Moo-ey Doodle kits). I used the new My Pink Stamper stamp pad that comes in the new kit-Texas Chocolate. It's a really great brown and works perfectly with this set! 

From here you'll be hopping on over to the fabulous Angela's blog. Here's the whole list for you guys, just in case! 

Robyn

Tracy

Shelley

Roberta

Renee

Missy

June

Julie

Helen

Edna

Cristi

Chelle <----- YOU ARE HERE 

Angela <------- GO HERE NEXT

Andrea

Courtney

I hope you all have an amazing weekend! 

Party party party!!

Hello everyone and Happy Tuesday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a great Monday. I'm sure you're all gearing up for whatever you have planned for the holiday tomorrow...something fun hopefully! 

This past weekend, my brother in law celebrated his 33rd birthday with some festivities at his house. BIL and his wife decided to build their own spit and roast a pig! It was so much fun (and yummy)! I did get some pictures...but I'll spare you those. LOL What I DO want to show you a picture of is my contribtution to the festivities. I found the idea on Pinterest (where else?) and expanded on it, as the one I found was SUPER simple. I wasn't sure at first how it would work out...but it worked out BEAUTIFULLY! LOL I was so excited to take this over and it was a huge hit. Ready?

It's a beer cake!!! It was heavy to transport, but...totally worth it! Everyone at the party got a kick out of it. I was thinking this could be a lot of fun to have a birthday parties, football parties, 4th of July celebrations...just about anything, really! LOL I used frog ribbon on it because BIL has a thing for frogs. This was just so much fun to make and I hope I get the chance to make one again. 

Thanks for checking out my brand new creation and I hope you all have a wonderful week!! 

More Yankee Doodles!

Hi everyone! I am, admittedly, making this post MUCH later than I intended. This week was my little one's first in preschool and it completely slipped my mind! Monday was his first day and he LOVES school!! That day was easier, since my husband came home from work early to see him off on his first day, so he was with me when we left. Yesterday, however, I drove away from the school...all by myself and in tears. I can't believe how fast they're growing up! 

So...I have more My Pink Stamper Yankee Doodles samples for you!! Very apt, since the 4th is just a week away! This set is just so so cute! 

I made both cards using the kit from Pumpkin Spice, which you can buy HERE! It's only while supplies last, so hurry and go get one because they are SO much fun to play with! 

I hope to have a super fun post for you guys on Friday...I have a big project to work on for my brother in law's birthday party coming up this weekend. It's a brand new project for me, I've never made one before, so I'm a little nervous! LOL 

Hope you all have a fantastic day!!