Fall is in the air, and I can smell the seasons changing.  I like to craft, take some time to focus on other things than the regular day-to-day.  I like this little craft because it only requires three things:  a mason jar, glue gun, artificial leaves and some sort of tool to press the leaves down onto the jar (I used a popsickle stick)

(Don’t have faux leaves?  No worries, HandCrate members who receive the Halloween celebration box have leaves a’coming their way!  Don’t have HandCrate yet?  Subscribe here!)

Get your supplies together.

Start gluing away!

Use some sort of tool to press the leaves on so you don’t burn your fingers.

Mid Project Photo

Final Product!

I love it!  I am thinking about putting a cute little LED tealight in there for a glow. 

Happy crafting!

I’ve been busy launching my subscription box, HandCrate !  This monthly, seasonal subscription box includes various crafts and samples from small handcrafting businesses.  For only $13/month with free shipping, we already have 15 boxes going out for our Halloween box!

Each monthly box always includes a greeting card, confetti, a banner, washi tape, and paper straws to match the holiday.  🙂   Plus other fantastic goodies handcrafted with love.

The excitement around the project is really exploding, and the best part is the box helps promote small crafting businesses.  Seasonal sales can become a speedbump for some etsy shop owners during the down months, but by adding a small sample to HandCrate, there’s a good chance of drumming up some more business!

Plus, craftprenuers who participate also get a free celebration box!  Even more to celebrate!  If you are interested in featuring your work in a celebration box for a particular month or want to review the box for your blog/website/YouTube Channel, message me at handcrate@handcrate.com for more details.

Here are some exciting samples from some craftprenuers already to be included in the Halloween box scheduled to ship out on September 9th:

This will be the only post I do on PaperCraneWishes.com about the project, but you can check out the HandCrate blog through the website.  I am excited to start writing some blog posts about managing your craft business, pitfalls, and what I’ve done to overcome some of my biggest challenges running a shop.  I will also be doing Q&As with featured artists about their experiences as business owners.

I should be getting close to doing some more blog posts on this site.  🙂  I am just awaiting the arrival of my new Canon Rebel camera!   I am very excited to give a clear window of my world to you fine readers.  🙂  Stay tuned for better photos and more exciting DIY craft projects to amp up any of your celebratory events.

Thanks for following and as always, happy crafting!!!

❤ ❤

Amy

Of all my addictions, Pinterest may take the cake.

For any festivity, food is always important.  Memorial Day and the 4th of July always include red, white, blue, stars and stripes.  That being said, here are some amazing recipes I found that are not only easy, but fun and perfect for celebrating America’s independence!

lecremedelacrumb.com

DIYREADY.COM

I love simple, easy and self-explanatory.

Celebrate these sweet treats with a sign, available for free with this 4th of July Printable, or thru my online store in a foiled kit.

Currently, I am selling these wonderful metallic foiled party kits for your DIY 4th of July event including sparkler tags, tic tac labels, beer bottle labels and even this sign too.

FREE 4TH OF JULY/MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND PRINTABLE!

Trying to save some money during this 4th of July? (Who isn’t, right?)  Download this FREE printable I made, print it out on any color print, cut the squares, use a hole punch or some other tool to make the holes, string them together, and hang!  Easy and done.  “Take A Treat” sign is available in this free printable to place near your 4th of July Treats.  Recommended to be printed on cardstock.

FREE 4TH OF JULY/MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND PRINTABLE!

Thanks to all my customers who recently sent in their project photos!  Seeing these photos always makes my day.  If you let me share your photos, I give $5 off your next purchase of $10 or more.  Message me on etsy, or email at papercranewishes@yahoo.com for more information.

Tony, Illinois, USA

Laura L., Dublin, Ireland

Thanks so much for following my blog!

Happy crafting!

Is it Mercury that is out of whack this month or something?

Whatever it is, I have been overflowing with some great, creative ideas!  I’ve been working on a Fourth of July party pack and thought of these creative stickers to put on some beers. Even better news?  These can be customized to say things like “Lou’s Big Birthday Bash” or “Jennifer’s Bachelorette Party”.  Be on the lookout at the shop for the new product, or message me on etsy, or email me at papercranewishes@yahoo.com to see your free proof.

Other ideas that have flowed to me as of lately include these cute stickers to put over chocolate kisses.  My lumberjack’s birthday is soon (tomorrow actually!), so I gave him some “kisses from the MRS”.  Great way to amp up a party or to make someone you love feel special.

That being said, I would love to show off some projects created by some customers!

Danielle A., IL

Aimee G., NJ

If you share your photos and allow us to show them off too, you will get $5 off your next order!

Thank you again so much to all of you jolly good fellows, and happy crafting!  ❤

I am always trying to think of fun ways to celebrate big events like Mother’s Day.  Who better to spend all your crafting efforts for than someone who deserves it – – – MOM!  I put this cute little Paris-themed tote together for my mom.  (Tote was only $10 on sale today at Joanne’s Crafts & Fabrics!)

I love personalizing everything with my die cut machine.  I’m always surprised how much friends and family treasure the custom, personalized gifts I make them (coffee cups, totes).  It’s hard not to like something with your name on it!

Surprisingly, with all the things I have been able to learn how to do, I had yet to venture into iron-ons.  I wanted to personalize the saying “NAENAE” (the name my daughter calls my mum 🙂 ).   I even still had the iron ons from the Cricut Explore original material sample pack.

Place the iron on material shiny side down.

So I typed it up in a nice, sturdy font and printed it out with the “iron-on” dial.  Be sure to check the unchecked box “mirror for iron-ons” in the design program too, I hadn’t checked that box.  (Ever wonder what that check box was for?  this! lol)  So, check that box.  lol.    Or else it will be printed in the incorrect way and come out reverse on your work (like my first one did….sigh)!

After I printed in a mirrored image, I had to remove the liner.  It took me a few minutes to figure it out (like I said, I’ve never done this) but I did eventually find where it peeled open, and then it pulled off smooth into an amazing decal!

Place the decal over where you want it to go.

The directions said to place a nice dishcloth above it to avoid damaging the decal…

The letters didn’t exactly stick on when I tried this method, I started to worry that this whole mother’s day gift may botch, but I tried to keep it together….

So I just went all in and placed the whole iron over the decal.  I just wanted to see if it was even sticking….

and it worked!

Stuck on there good!

Perfect Mother’s Day Gift!

I also included a sun hat made from Iman’s Global Chic line, a ladybug shaped bubble bath bar from LUSH (buy handmade!), and this amazing book “Creative Lettering and Beyond”.  I was telling my mom how she should get into calligraphy, she has such beautiful cursive handwriting already, she could probably start an etsy shop on her handwriting alone!

Here are the actual, specific directions created by Cricut:

Happy Crafting!

Thanks to all the customers

who posted their projects on social media this month!

Share your photos with PCW products (instagram, etsy, facebook)

and get $5 off your next order!  I’ll send you a coupon code and

post the picture on the next blog!

Hi there!

The site is currently under construction as we try to amp up our game and integrate some more features here.  However, if you want to shop our products, just click on “Shop Online Store” above.

Also, if you would like to see a free proof of your custom tag/project, message us at papercranewishes@yahoo.com to see yours today!

❤

Amy

(okay, I don’t know why I added quotations to the five stars, but it makes it feel more official.  lol, what I am trying to say is I LOVE this machine.)

I think it was about three weeks ago when I saw the Heidi Swapp Minc Foil Applicator machine.  It was right next to the Cricut Explore products in Hobby Lobby, so naturally I  gravitated towards the item, mostly because of my fascination with shiny things.

Currently, this machine offers 10 great color options and only require you have a standard laser printer in your home (not ink-jet).  The minc foil applicator machine only works on materials printed on a laser printer.

I was so intrigued I actually went and bought a laser jet printer because I don’t own one.

After reading some mixed reviews online, I was a little apprehensive to buy a Minc considering some people said the foil machine disappointed them, that it had “spotty” results.

Yes, I will admit that sometimes there will be a knick here or there in the foiling, but considering the technology, it’s still amazing.  The foil is really stuck on there too, it doesn’t bled or fade or rub off at all.

The lure of shiny things led me to beg my husband for this machine on my next birthday.  What a nice husband I have, because on my next birthday, it was mine!

Here are some photos of a cute gift basket I made for a baby shower.  I think all the fun little gifts I added with my Minc foil applicator really made the purple come out and also gave the gift a bit of elegance.

I was especially impressed with just how small the gold foiling can get and still hold quite a bit of detail.

Customize a tumbler with a vinyl decal (on my cricut).  Add some AVEDA tea and you got an amazing gift basket to give a friend!

I’ve only tried the pink and the gold so far but I must say I am loving this machine.

If you are looking for foiled custom tags/stickers/etc for your next big event, message me through etsy and let’s get a custom order started for you.  These DIY projects are so easy and affordable when you purchase your own TicTacs/lip balm and get the customized stickers from PCW!

And in case I don’t say it enough to my lovely readers and fellow crafters….

Are you trying to find an affordable way to amp up your big festivity soon?  Adding a custom wedding tag to an affordable item is one way to create a memorable impression for your guest.  I’ve started creating them in my own shop, and I have found people raving about them!

Coffee, mints, s’mores, honey, plants are just to name a few of the popular wedding favors going on these days.   Fun, trendy tags are popping up all over too like “S’more Love”, “Meant to Bee” (honey), “Spread the Love” (jam), and sometimes just a cute little hangover kit with items to help alleviate the night after.

If you are interested in any of the tags you see here, you can purhcase them at my shop through this link, or just by clicking on the photo.  Tags are affordable ranging from .20-.30, making this a very easy add on in terms of DIY wedding favors.

States are always a big trend, as we are all a little biased to our home states (in some ways).  I’ve developed a collection of state themed tags in case you want to celebrate state pride on your wedding day.  I am also selling blank silhouette tags of most states in case you want to do your own DIY project with them.

Check them out at my shop here.

Planning for your wedding doesn’t have to be expensive, and there are so many creative and whimsical ideas that are just as special and won’t break the bank.

This week it’s my birthday, and being the crazy crafter obsessed person I am, my husband is going to be buying my a MINC machine.  SO EXCITED.

What is MINC, you ask?  I saw it in the aisles of Hobby Lobby the other day, and well, let’s just say that I am on my way to making some beautiful gold foil items in the near future, with practically any metallic sort of color you want.

If you want to learn more about the MINC machine, check out this blog from Artsy Fartsy Mama as she reviews this amazing machine:

Can’t wait to show my new creations on my next blog post!

I saw this pinteresting and came across it on No Time For Flashcards .   This is a great craft to do with kids because it’s really hard to mess up.  Luckily, Darbysmart sent me some acrylic paints in the mail and I always have vinyl cut hearts on hand (I am a crafter-dork like that I guess, LOL).

I have been subscribing to DarbySmart  (and also selling there as they also have a crafter marketplace).  Last month’s box of DarbySmart was out of this world as we made wood-burned leather coasters.  I gave them to my sister as a gift.  This month’s box was less than exciting, a calendar made from strings and wooden tags?

Hmmm….. I think I will pass but since I am a crafter/maker/artist extraordinaire, I was happy with some of the tools in the box, including the paints and brushes that made this project possible!  I am trying to focus all of my blog posts around more diverse crafting projects, getting new materials every day makes me think outside the box.  What’s great is that if you subscribe to Darbysmart, you can always come here to see alternative ways you can use the materials they sent you.

I like the acrylic paints!  And two paint brushes is awesome.  A person could probably paint a whole picture with the paints they sent (get a canvas, some wine, wine and paint in your home ❤ ❤ )  Washi tape: let’s be honest, who doesn’t love washi tape.  A GOLD paint pen, I frikkin LOVE paint pens, so this made the whole thing worth it.  I used a white paint pen in my previous blog about how to make your own handpainted wedding signs.  So that made me do a cartwheel and was totally worth it.  As you can see they have other materials, wooden tags.  Since I don’t want to do this months darbysmart project I am going to keep the wooden tags for gift tags in the future (maybe personalize them with my Cricut??)

Anyway, so if you don’t want to do this month’s project with DarbySmart, no problem!  I am going to try and think of some super fun crafting projects to do around this, including this cute tutorial on how to make your own “Valentine Stones”.

Valentine Stones

Materials needed:

Acrylic Paints and Brush

Heart Stickers

(I printed mine out on the Cricut Explore)

River Stones

Put the stickers on the stones.  So easy!

Paint away!  I like funky colors, so I thought I’d do a pink/red/purple mix.  ❤

Cover them in paint!  Yay!  Like I said, so easy.

Happy little Valentine Stones!  I am going to put these in some organza bags and give as gifts.  I love stones in general, such an earthy feeling and a simple, solid valentine!  it’s one of those things your friends will keep around, or find years from now when they are cleaning out their closet.  Something that can make them smile even years from now.  🙂

Thanks for checking out my craft project!  For those who have already signed up for the newsletter, I will be trying to send out the first one at the beginning of February featuring a whole bunch of fun valentine day projects!  If you haven’t signed up yet, you should!  I will only be sending out one email a month, so your box won’t be clogged with a bunch a stuff, just a once a month mailer filled with fun DIY projects and crafts.

How is everyone else preparing for Valentine’s Day?