5 Must Haves: for a Kinda Crafty Gal

Meet Stacy. One heck of a crafty gal. She likes to say she's just {kinda} crafty, but then what does that make this average chick? Eek! I've known this gal since college and beyond being super sweetheart, I'm in awe of her impressive designs. We've kept in touch mostly through Facebook where I get the pleasure of stalking her latest creations for herself and her crazy adorable little girls via her new photo albums. And, after discovering her blog, She's {kinda} Crafty, I just had to have her here. I wanted her to share her must-haves with everyone (ok, really me!) because for, wow, about a decade, she's been creating the most impressive works and I can hang around her blog for hours, trying to soak in all her awesomeness.  I'm so honored she said yes to joining me here on TAGG! Her ideas are perfect all year round but especially holiday seaosn. For gift giving, making something is infinitely more thoughtful than buying it from the store. So here goes...

In Stacy's words, here are her five must haves... for a {kinda} crafty gal.
It doesn’t take much to be crafty, let alone {kinda} crafty, but there are essentials that every Average Girl needs to have in her arsenal to not just get through the holiday season but to add a little touch of crafty to the everyday.

Cardstock

Made using a free "printable"
and white cardstock!

 There are so many amazingly talented ladies online that offer an endless amount of free “printables." A printable can be anything: fun signs and tags, thank you cards, cupcake toppers, invitations, etc. However, you can’t just print them out on regular light weight printer paper. To take full advantage of you need a package of white, heavy weight, cardstock. Of course, having a pad or package of colored cardstock won’t hurt either, but white is a must. You can pick up a package at your local office supply store, just make sure the weight is 100 lb or more. My favorite paper supplier is Paper Source; their papers are great quality and the colors are always fresh and now! And, my favorite place to find free printables online is Living Locutro. You will look like the craftiness person your friends and family have ever met if you print out a couple of these goodies!
TAGG tip: check out the bag toppers Stacy made to spice up Halloween this year! If kids weren't at your house, they were certainly at hers!

Paper Trimmer or Scissors

Once you’ve printed out all the gorgeous free printables on nice heavy cardstock you’ll need to cut them out! Every girl needs a good pair of scissors that are exclusively for arts and crafts; keep them away from the kitchen! My favorite for detailed cutting are by EK Success, called Honey Bee Non-Stick Scissors. Buy them on Amazon, at Target, or my favorite - at Michael's using a 40% off coupon! Now if you are thinking of getting a little more crafty and think you’ll be cutting a lot of straight lines I highly suggest a guillotine style paper trimmer. There isn’t a week that goes by that I don’t take out my Tonic Studios Paper Trimmer ($18). I did my entire wedding using cardstock, my printer, and this paper trimmer.

TAGG tip: the "guillotine-style paper trimmer is one of those ahh, wish I had one of those! As Stacy mentions, she takes it out all the time, but I would, too, and I'm not even as crafty as she is! It's so annoying try to get a straight line sometimes. This makes it simple... and quick!

2” Circle Punch

I don’t know about you, but I am smitten with cupcakes! And no cupcake is complete with a cupcake topper. Kim of The TomKat Studios blog is the queen of party circles! There are plenty of free "party circles" available to create your perfect cupcake topper. After you’ve printed them on your new cardstock, you’ll need a 2” circle punch to punch them out (you could always use your Honey Bee Scissors but remember, cupcakes are usually by the dozen and that’s a lot of cutting by hand!). There are also scalloped varieties that make beautiful punches. You will use this circle punch more than you ever thought you would!


Adhesives


spice container made using
Mod Podge



So now, you have your printables, cut or punched them out and now you need to glue some of them together. There are three basic kinds of adhesive. Wet stuff that is similar to what we grew up using in school (but way better), roller adhesives, and ultra strong gel adhesives to glue down fun things like BLING! The #1 glue that you MUST have is Mod Podge (in the matte finish). Don’t buy the small bottle, go for at least the

medium sized one because you can use this glue and sealer for pretty much everything. Don’t believe me, there is an entire blog dedicated to mod podge. You can glue paper, fabric, leaves, whatever it is you are looking to glue to just about any surface and then you can use it as a sealer. Adheasive runners are wonderful, too, for scrapbooking, layering cut outs and lots of other small jobs. I recommend the Tombow, but really any permanent adhesive roller is important to have. If you are going to get really crafty (or if you need to fix a lot of things in your house), E6000 is the way to go for an ultra-bond gel adhesive.

Ribbon


So festive: a ribbon tree
Stacy just made!

 Don’t tell my husband but I have an on-going love affair with ribbon. If it wasn’t so embarrassing I would show you a picture of my ribbon box (it’s only slightly larger than my adhesive box). There isn’t anything you can’t make prettier or craftier with a little ribbon. Those gorgeous roller fabric flowers that are so popular right now can be made with ribbon. You can use some no-sew iron on hem tape to add ribbon to plain hand towels to jazz up your bathrooms. Add ribbon to plain frames (using mod podge or your adhesive runner) to have an instant boutique style gift. You can pick up ribbon anywhere. My favorite place is Hobby Lobby because it is always half off and their selection is gorg! But of course Michael’s and even Wal Mart have a pretty ribbons! Of course you can always make a beautiful wreath out of ribbons too :)



Well there you have it... enough to get you on your craftin' way!

Fab Find: Creative necklaces

Maybe it's the blog, but with all this searching for deals, discounts and fab finds, I'm constantly craving something new. Since this average gal is currently sans a full-time job, I have to get creative.

Enter: Michael's. I went there to buy a few supplies for something that I'll be posting about soon but then stumbled into the jewelry section. Wow, awesome beads, necklaces and so much more for unbelievable prices. Though I wish I was, I'm not super crafty so the thought of creating jewelry seems a bit overwhelming. While I did walk out with a beginner's jewelry tool set and a few items I still have to get around to, I just had to share with you my new fab necklace... that requires no assembly! See the pic on the right. So cute. I'm currently wearing it daily, paired with either a diamond heart necklace or my Tiffany & Co. bow. Love layering multiple delicate necklaces for a classic, individual look.

The best part? The necklace was $2.50 and the "imagine" was just $2.50... plus it came with a set of five other sayings! How fab is that?! $5 for a cute new necklace! That's my kind of splurge... and one the hubs enjoys as well! I've gotten a few compliments on it; I just say thanks while giving a little laugh inside at my affordable creation. Go to Michael's, start browsing around and see what you can create for yourself.

TAGG tip: check out the Sunday paper for coupons before shopping at Michael's. They almost always have a coupon for at least 40% off one item. Pays for the price of the paper, which also includes lots more coupons you can utilize.

Floral Design Demystified

If you’re anything like me, you know that putting flowers in a vase is a lot more complicated than just that. The stems are too long, the flowers droop all over, the combination doesn’t look right, etc., etc. If this sounds all too familiar, buckle your seatbelt and get ready for a crash course in floral design!

My arrangement!

Last week, The Average Girl’s Guide attended the inaugural It! Girl's Guide to Floral Design hosted by the fabulous Aime Dunstan, principal of It! Weddings & Events, and led by the incredible floral designer to the stars, Kim Votaw.

Here’s a key list of what you can do to make the perfect flower arrangement:

• Want fresh flowers? Make sure they’re firm to the touch. You're thinking, I’m scared I'll ruin them. Don’t! While we barely touched our flowers, Kim practically man-handled hers to be sure they were up-to-par. Feel the base of roses or squeeze a bunch of hydrangeas, for example.
• Make “wet oasis” your new best friend. That’s the green stuff often at the base of arrangements. Buy it at a crafts store like Michael’s. Just be sure to get the wet foam, not dry. Put it in your vase or creative holder, stick your flowers in it, add water and voila, gorgeous!
• If you're you a procrastinator like me and don’t buy flowers until the day before – or day of – a dinner party, fake it by forcing the petals open. Lightly fold petals back as you work your way in toward the base of the rose. The difference is incredible!



Kim demonstrates how
not to use a vase.

• Don’t put your flowers straight in a vase, put them in at an angle. It just looks nicer!
• And, think outside the vase when considering what to use. Pitchers, decorative cylinders, platters, even mirrors are ideal options (see pic for what Kim did). Check out Home Goods or TJ Maxx to get ideas.
• For the perfect circular arrangement (think bridal bouquet), start gathering flowers one by one at the base (not by the stem). When done, pull the middle higher to achieve a nice roundness. To keep in place, use oasis tape (sold at floral shops) or find a sturdy ribbon or string. Oasis tape is a florist’s best friend… they often use it to make a grid on top of a vase and put the flowers in each of the holes; keeps the flowers in perfect place!
• If you like a flower, remember the name of it; not all pink roses are the same, for example.
• Use different flowers of the same color. Create visual interest by placing flowers at various heights. Use “stock” flowers, which are linear (tulips or calla lilies), wide options and star shapes, like lilies. If you like a more colorful arrangement, consider keeping it to two to up the sophistication factor.
  

  

  Creative display with roses
  and carnations. Love.

• Carnations are not a dirty word! In fact, they’re making a comeback. Use them as Kim did (see pic) at the base of a creative display. {And, that's kosher salt underneath the star fish; cool!)
• Think color for tablescapes! Pair floral arrangements with bright green; it’s a great floral neutral! Look for wire balls, votives and other fun accessories to liven up a display. Kim also loves orange for entertaining and suggests that if you love all white florals, consider adding champagne to the mix… it helps the flowers stand out when being photographed.

And, just because you should know…

Someone asked, what about the plastic on the stems of gerber daisies. Take them off, says Kim. (good thing an It! Gal asked!).