The Chains of Everyday (or, A Very Dramatic Way to Title a Post About Parties)

...then, I remembered paper chains (you know, Dear Friends. Middle of a conversation)...

I had a long time to prepare for a Dear Friend's baby shower, so I got to fuss over the details a bit more than usual. And really, details are what sets one thing apart from other things...whether it's a party, or a gift you made for someone, or even if it's the details of your everyday life. No one else can recreate those details just like you. And recognizing and appreciating those details can make your heart light and your mundane life anything but mundane... And isn't that how it should be?

Don't sit around, waiting for the "next big thing".

You know that Little Boy that calls you Mommy? You know that kitchen window where you collect your Maileg Mice? You know that laundry that you need to get done today, and decide to use a new scent of detergent? You know that corner you pass on your way to work every morning, the one with the tree that's flowering so beautifully this time of year? Yes. Those are your "next big things"...

But, back to paper chains...

Scraps and bits of paper have to be one of the easiest and most plentiful sources of supplies. Often when I'm working on a project or a party, I'm taken aback by how pretty my trash looks! Much too pretty to grow away...

I remember putting together chains of paper as a class when I was in elementary school. Probably, it was to keep us busy and occupied, but it always made our classroom look festive. My teachers must have been very wise, to have accomplished all those things with the simplest of activities and using the most inexpensive of materials, and here I am, MANY years later, blogging about them...

Leftovers. Strips and scraps too small to reuse for most decorating. But not for this Creative Genius! (PS, just a week prior to taking these pictures, I saw an Instagram picture of paper-chaining from a famous party-planner that I follow. So, it's really alright for me to refer to myself as Creative Genius since it's a bit tongue-in-cheek. But, it does take a bit of genius to recognize a great idea, so...)

You know the drill, right? Make a loop out of a strip of paper and glue it together (I actually stapled these because I had to transport them a good distance). Then take another strip of the same-ish length, stick it through the loop you made, and glue the newly-created loop together. Keep adding and gluing, mixing up the patterns and colors as you go... Make it as long or as short as you like.

This is just a "pile" of the chain, before I used it as decor, but already it made me visually-happy!

Once at the shower, we strung, "hung" and laid the chains here & there. Adding a bit of pattern and color in various spots...

I think they were a festive addition to an already lovely venue (my Gracious Friend, Kim's, home), a beautiful party scheme and a perfect reason for a party, a Dear Friend's new baby...

Actually, I'm so proud that I remembered to take pictures of the chains along the way of their life-cycle. I often get so excited about decorating and creating that I forget to photograph. And it's the first thing that my mother, you know, the Discoverer of Raw Materials, will ask, "Did you take pictures?", as she is my Biggest Fan and wants to share me with the world.

So, here you are, world... Now, go make an occasion, you Lucky You!

A New Spot. And Some New Inspiration...

I am a homebody. I love bring home. I love being with my husband. He really is my best friend. I love my routine. And my pups. I love my kitchen window. It's one of my favorite spots to decorate. I love to make my bed and do my laundry. I love that my GrandBoys and Adventures are (sorta) within arms-distance.

But. I'm also a traveler. I like flying. And long car rides. I like experiencing different seasons-and even different cultures-as a result of just a few hours of either. I like airports, some not as much as others. I like the stops along the way. But mostly, I love that there are people I love in lots of different places. All over the country. All over the world. But really, I'm a sucker for Birmingham...

There are people I love in that City. Part of me lives there. I visit as often as I can and stay for as long as I'm able. 

One of my new perks of being in Birmingham, besides my New GrandGirl, is a new favorite store, Paper Source. 

I think shopping and inspiration should go hand-in-hand. When I walk around in a store, I want my head to swim with ideas and thoughts and things I'll want to do when I leave there. Paper Source for me is that kind of place and I've been wanting to share it with you...

It's is a spot for cards and seasonal gifts and embossing powder and wrapping paper. 

Oh! The wrapping paper! Museum-quality-art on a roll. Sheets worth framing. Or, of course for wrapping the perfect gift, one of my favorite activities.

I'm not a prolific stamper, but look at this wall of rubber stamps. The designs we could emboss (remember my earlier post bout that?) with these. What fun!

This is silk ribbon. Hand-dyed. And just enough of a length to tie around that Perfect Gift.

This paper chain kit! Such a cute way to "get started" with being creative. Also, I've got an upcoming blog post about paper chains and their how-tos, so stay tuned...

Specifically, I went this time looking for these...

...little glassine envelopes for a baby book I'm custom-creating for a Baby Black Dog (Babyblackdog.etsy.com) customer. After a few trips around the shop, I told the salesperson, "I'm looking for packages of tiny envelopes..." And she showed me a back wall that I'd never seen, containing the perfect answer to my need...

Paper Source is located at The Summit in Birmingham and so-near to Anthropologie, how convenient! You need to stop by and dream. And then let me know what you've found... They also have an online shop that you'll enjoy, for the times when you can't physically get there.

Inspiration can translate into areas of your life where you'd least expect it. Thought I'd remind you of that today...Make room for it whenever possible...

Projects, Notelets and Mathmatics

I was putting together an order for a Baby Black Dog customer. It was a gift that she bought and was having me send it directly to the gift-ee. By the way, did you know that Babyblackdog.etsy.com is a perfect place to shop for gifts? Well, it is.

I was putting the finishing touches on the gift and grabbed a mini card and envelope to attach with her greeting...I have a stash of cute cards and envelopes that I always have on hand...

then I realized, "those aren't Baby Black Dog cards"...

So off I went to remedy the situation.

I tore open one of the envelopes, to create a template...

...chose some patterned paper scraps...

...cut, glued and formed the envelopes. Then, got my paper cutter-one of my most-favorite project tools-and some white cardstock and, with much effort in a this-is-ridiculous-I-used-to-be-a-teacher sort of way (cause, in case you don't know, me & mathematics just don't get along), cut some fold-over notelets...

...which were promptly embossed with a coppery-gold new embossing powder...

...such a pretty shine.

I stamped the back of each with my awkward (for now) Baby Black Dog stamp and created my own stash of all-occasion notelets...

...and, for their first official "usage", I attached them to the gift-order I was sending out...

Necessity is the mother of invention, I've found it to be true. Of course, I use the word "necessity" loosely, as in telling the Popcorn Lady at Target, "I need a bag of popcorn", but you get the idea...

The Wonderful Everyday...

Dear Friends...

I like to begin my posts as if we're Dear Friends in the middle of a conversation...

          -You've Got Mail (loose) reference

So...Dear Friends,

I was thinking of one of my Favorite Things. Yes, I have lots of Favorite Things. And People. I have lots of Favorite People. Oh! And Places. I have lots of...you get the idea...

I'm sure my mother taught this particular Favorite Thing to me, as most of my creativity can be attributed to my mom. She is the Discoverer of Raw Materials... Sometimes it takes me years to be able to visualize what it is that she sees in something. She's the kind of "creative" that you can't learn. You just appreciate "it". And do what "it" suggests...

Anyway, she is a huge fan of clear, glass jars for keeping stuff. Big jars, little jars. And inside those jars she usually stores things she's found for me but that I haven't quite caught-on to...cause when I do, her jars of treasures are no longer her's...I take them home and they become mine.

I have a closet that is a good size. It used to house wetsuits and Lacoste shirts and baseball cleats.  And it smelled of adventure. But then one day, it was just a big, empty room with no useful purpose. A place where Love used to hang his clothes...Sigh...In case you didn't catch on, that was a reference of my unwillingness to be a Contented-Empty-Nester, but that is a subject for another time and, another blog, Kimcanandsocanyou.blogspot.com (shameless plug!) to be specific...

Anywho. The closet is now my workspace. It's where I house my supplies. And my inspiration. I have drawers of drawstring and cello bags. I have boxes of cardstock. I have an entire drawer of chenille chicks. And I have lots of jars...

...sitting atop an old card catalog, a favorite-find from the Discoverer of Raw Materials...

The jars are (fairly!) organized and contain this-and-thats. Old Scrabble letters and plastic cameos. Dominos, don't know why, but I have lots of dominos. I have vintage French flashcards in one jar. And ballerinas that hold birthday cake candles. And tiny, glass Christmas ornaments...

Things that I create with. Stuff that inspires me. Lots of things I took from my mom...

For me, it's a good way to be aware of my supplies, but I also use them for decorating. The ballerinas are currently part of my fireplace mantle-decor.

More importantly, the jars make these everyday items look festive, and that's my favorite thing. It's a philosophy. It's an outlook. Don't save your best just for company. 

My hint for you today is to look around you. Take notice of what makes up your Daily Life. Little Boys who smell of adventure and bubble-solution. Little Girls who collect stuffed toy mice. Puppies and their food. You know, Life...

Now. Take some of the ingredients of that Daily Life and display them like precious works of art (cause, that's what our Daily Lives are, you know)...

Cupcake papers... I have to climb on a chair to get the ones I need. But they look happy, so I like them there...

Dog treats...

Pacifiers. Golf tees. Pods of coffee for your newly-discovered-and-daily habit...

Cello sponges used to wipe Labrador-drool off the hardwood floor. I mean, ya know, in case you need a suggestion for a friend...

My wish for you for today is this: that you stop fighting the everyday. Enjoy it. Embrace it. Be thankful for it. Dress it up. Put it in a glass jar and take a pretty picture of it. And then, show it off. 

Or sumpin like that...

A (Currently) Golden Life...

Currently, along with being inspired by almost everything and everybody, I'm liking a touch of gold on my projects... I've gilded before, but it hasn't caught on with Kim Marshall and become one of her go-tos. I'll just go ahead and get this out there:

When it comes to "how" I enjoy my creativity, I'm very particular. I don't like projects that are tedious-I appreciate that in others, but personally I like things I can pick up and get done. Things with quick and immediate results. I'm more of a designer when it comes to any kind of project. I love the idea process. But the implementation of the idea, or the vision, often leaves me a bit numb. There, I feel better now that I've put that in black and white...

Gilding requires following instructions. I'm not good at those, although I do (follow instructions) from time-to-time. I prefer activities that I can figure out myself and that are difficult to mess-up. Anyway...

This is what I'm trying to share today.

My old/new favorite way to add shine to something is with embossing powder. I think the reason I have a new-found love for it is my new jar of gold powder. What I've been able to put my hands on over the last few years has been a glittery powder that is stocked at the local stores. It just doesn't work like I've wanted it to, and I lost my respect for embossing for a bit. I'm sorry, embossing powder, but it's true and needed to be said...

Side note: Paper Source, which I've known from its online presence, opened a store at the Summit in Birmingham, which, if you're a creative-type like me, is like a dream. I get lost in there. The store and the City...

I found a five-dollar jar of gold embossing powder without the glitter and it's changed my world. By the way, you have to be careful with glitter of any sort as it can be a cheap substitute for creativity. That's an excerpt from my book, Things I Wish I Knew About Life And Creativity.

Embossing, is basically rubber-stamping with dimension. You need powder, an embossing pad, a heat gun and rubber stamp. Don't let any of those items scare you. They're all easily-located and inexpensive to own. You stamp and heat. That's it. Good embossing powder has the lovliest finish. I've used it in many of my projects as of late...

On favor bags, table and game signs for my friend's shower...

And just yesterday...

...used it to make personalized envelope seals for a favorite Etsy customer of mine. These are just Avery labels that I bought at an office supply store. I stamped her initials, sprinkled the powder and heated it until it liquified and developed a visible shine. And it doesn't rub off. You should try it...

I've been saving my ideas and thoughts for a long time. Waiting for the perfect format to share them.

I think I may have found just that...

My First How-To...

I've been wanting to incorporate ideas, projects and parties into my blogging, so I'm beginning this new spot as my place to concentrate on that creative side of me, keeping my blog kimcanandsocanyou.blogspot.com as the home for my musings, thoughts and what-have-yous... 

So, here's what I'm creating today...

I love torn fabric. Particularly strips of it. I keep inexpensive muslin on hand as it makes the loveliest of gift-wrapping ribbon. But recently, when working on a surprise baby shower for a friend (let me clarify...the shower was the surprise, not the baby!), I was putting the ideas & design together and wanted to take it in a soft and vintagey direction. I decided to make a garland of torn-fabric and challenged myself to use what I had on hand. I had some soft pink muslin already, and searched my closets and hiding places for other fabrics. What I found was a well-loved Ralph Lauren sheet and an old Vera linen tablecloth, aged well-beyond it's usefulness. I did purchase a bit of pink-tiny-gingham to go along with the patterns and colors, cause I felt like pink-tiny-gingham needed to be there...

The garland looked beautiful, so I thought I'd share my "secrets" with you, just in case you'd like to try one. PS, I'm working on 1 or 2 that will be for sale in my shop, babyblackdog.etsy.com in case you'd rather purchase than make...

To begin a tear of any fabric, I make a tiny snip with scissors as a ripping-point (the width of the individual strips is up to you, but an inch or so is my favorite). Some fabrics don't do this well, but most tear with ease. You'll need to go with the grain, so if you snip on the wrong edge, just turn the fabric, snip and tear away. By the way, depending on my project, I like to use at least 1 1/2 yards of fabric so my strips will be that length (when tearing for ribbons, the more the yardage, the longer-and better- the ribbon will be for wrapping). 

For this particular event, I used regular twine as a base/holder/string-thing (profession terms!) for my garland, cause I liked the color, and probably 4-5 yards of it. I began in the middle of the length and slip knotted (slip knotting allows me to scoot the pieces about) a fabric strip. I repeat this process over and over, using my excellent-taste for deciding which pattern of fabric goes where. All total, I used approximately 40 strips, each about an inch and a half wide, each bumping next to one another, making the garland-part about 2 yards wide with a few extra feet of twine on either side for hanging. 

For this shower, I used a Rifle Paper Co (my favorite!) banner, spelling out the New Baby Name, in front of the garland, and we draped a quilt behind for creating a suitable focal point...

I'm making another garland for a different party, and purchased small amounts of specific fabrics to achieve the look I wanted. This one, an Ahoy It's a Boy! shower needed a different feel, thus the newer fabrics...The garland itself has 35 or so strips, and is perhaps a yard wide.

Of course, this garland isn't just for parties. To use it to embellish a window or over a crib would be lovely. The sky is the limit! Also, I found a display on Pinterest where the strips of fabric were hung on an embroidery hoop and used as a chandelier...it was stunning.

So. Wanted to share this method/idea/inspiration with you. Use it as a starting place and let creativity take you where "it" wants you to go... Let me know what you come up!