Hello February! Totally Random Tuesday

Yes, I realize that February has been around for a couple of weeks, but I'm just now coming up for air! Here's a "totally random Tuesday" update for you:

I still can't believe that I see myself up there! The design team is getting all settled and I'll start sharing Pink Paislee projects soon :). If you don't already, feel free to connect with Pink Paislee here: Facebook / Blog / Instagram / Pinterest / YouTube / Twitter

This is the time of year that dance really ramps up. Our first competition was last weekend, and I am really happy about how things went. My 7-8 year olds took 1st overall and my 5-6 year olds (all first time competitors!) took 4th overall. The soloists all made the top ten, with one taking home 1st overall and the title. More importantly, everyone had fun and enjoyed the experience. It was really a great weekend and I am excited to get back to rehearsal to improve upon our performances.

I'm also about to start a HUGE project with a local elementary school - their first dance festival. I will choreograph, direct, write the script, and probably a million other things ;). PTO and teachers are on board, and I have a wonderful partner in the music teacher, so I'm sure it will be a success and a lot of fun!

A few people have reached out about the status of my Etsy shop, Precocious Paper. You may have noticed that I emptied my shelves at the end of 2014. I am not closing my virtual doors, but I am taking time off. When I started my Etsy shop, it was just for fun. A year later, Precocious Paper was my creative outlet, having just moved to a new state and taken time off from teaching dance. Now, my circumstances are much different and I am blessed with several creative opportunities. In order to strike the right balance, I am using this hiatus to step back from Etsy, re-charge and re-direct. I have a tentative re-opening date in mind and will share when those plans are more solid :).

As always, instead of waiting on blog updates, you can keep up with me on Facebook and more so on Instagram. I hope you are having a great week! Thanks for stopping by :). Tessa

Mustard Yellow Lace and Felt Flower Clip - Precocious Paper

When people meet my little girl, the first thing they usually say is, "Look at all that curly hair!" She does have quite a bit of hair, although I wish the sides and back would catch up ;). The next question is sometimes, "Did you dye it ombre?" Of course I didn't, but she was born with very dark hair and it is now growing in bright blond. Her ombre is totally natural.

The next comment is usually about her pretty blue eyes, but then the conversation generally returns to her hair. Well, her hair clips and head bands, that is. I'm often asked if I make them myself, and the answer is almost always yes! I've been dying for years to make my flowers into headbands for a daughter of my own. Nearly every outfit has its own hair accessory. Adlyn wore this flower clip with her new vintage dress this past Sunday to church.

I have been selling these Lace and Felt flowers in my shop for several years now. This color, though, is one of the new colors I'll be offering soon. I love a pretty mustard yellow!

While I generally sell the flower appliques on their own, I do accept requests to make custom headbands and hair clips with them. For this clip, I secured the Lace and Felt flower to an alligator clip lined with a no-slip grip. I added felt leaves and finished the back of the clip with a circle of the same mustard yellow felt for comfort and a clean look.

I think the size is perfect. At just about 2.5 inches across (not including the leaves), the flower is just big enough to get noticed, but not so big that it overwhelms her pretty little head. And Addie is petite. She is 7 months old, but only in the 5th percentile for weight. She may look like her brothers, but she's a mini version ;).

If you are interested in any Lace and Felt flowers, or custom headbands or clips, please visit my shop, Precocious Paper, and let me know. I'd love to help accessorize your little one! Have a great day! Tessa

Front Door Friday - Pink and Mustard Grapevine Wreath

Hello! Happy Friday! This week I have a mini wreath for you, and my first Front Door Friday grapevine wreath:

The wreath base is only about 5 inches. That makes this wreath a great option for a small window opening, a shelf, or wall decor.

The peachy-pink flowers are by Prima. I love the fairy-like feeling they give the wreath. The mustard wool rose is from my shop. I can't get enough of the mustard roses!

Because the grapevine is so tangled, I decided to leave the ends of my garland thread long so that they could tangle, too.

Thanks for visiting! I hope your weekend is a great one! Tessa

SMASH Sunday - Cheap Thrills + a Sale

Hello and happy Sunday! Today I am sharing from my blue retro portfolio. Last time I shared from this book, I wasn't sure which direction it was going in. Now, I know. This is going to be my hubby & me selfie book. I think this will be a great way to collect all of our date nights and us moments in one place. So, for the second set of pages in this book, here we go:

We took this photo at the Train concert that we went to last summer. I already scrapbooked a layout about it here, but I had an extra print of our selfie and this purple-pink page was perfect for it. I used lots of Heidi Swapp goodies from my Scrapbook Circle May kits - acetate tickets, acetate butterflies, glitter heart polaroid frame, acetate hearts.

One of my favorite details is the glassine envelope filled with sequins. I wanted some sparkle, but I wanted it to be muted like the bokeh paper on the right. Plus, it's fun to tip the book and watch the sequins move around.

I picked up some Project Life mini kits and this "admit one" card is my first Project Life addition to my SMASH books. I love the variety of cards and I'm sure I'll use them often.

Mini staples are my favorite way to attach acetate pieces. Just be sure you don't staple through too many pages of your SMASH book ;).

Oh yes, I mentioned a sale in my post title! Before the baby arrived, I turned my scrapbook room into a nursery. One wall is an Expedit unit from Ikea and that now houses almost all of my supplies (I kept the closet for my scrappy stuff, too). Now that I've had some time to experiment with how I store my supplies in the Expedit, I've decided to only have on hand what will fit, and that will help me keep my stash down to what I am likely to actually use ;).

So, I pulled a lot of great stuff from my shelves and have listed it in my Etsy shop, Precocious Paper. Almost everything is brand new, still in its package. You'll find alphabets, stickers, stamps, embellishments, tags, journaling cards, etc. Leftovers from Studio Calico and Scrapbook Circle kits. Extras from manufacturer exchange projects. I also put together some great SMASH kits, filled with die-cuts, pocket cards, journaling spots and more from a huge variety of manufacturers and lines, all ready for your smashing pleasure.

You can find all of these goodies in the "destash" section of my shop here. Every fifth item from the "destash" section is free (refund via PayPal within 24 hours). AND, just for you lovely readers, use code SMASHSUNDAY to receive an additional 10% off of the already discounted prices (and everything else in the shop, too).

Happy shopping, and thanks for stopping by for another SMASH Sunday! Tessa

Front Door Friday - Fabric, Yarn and Felt Spring Wreath

Welcome to the first Front Door Friday! You may or may not know, but I have a thing for wreaths. I love to make wreaths for family, friends, and of course, my front door. I especially love yarn wreaths, but I've been venturing out into other materials, too. And just about every wreath I make features some handmade flowers (usually available in my Etsy shop, Precocious Paper). To kick off this blog series, I thought I would share a wreath for Spring:

I was inspired by several pins from my Color Palettes Pinterest board:

one - two - three

I used fabric to wrap the entire wreath; a floral print for two thirds of the wreath, and a gray damask print for the rest. Incidentally, both of these fabrics are available in my shop as Ruffle Blossoms :).

I wrapped two colors of yarn around that, then embellished with silk flowers (Prima), mother of pearl buttons and handmade felt flowers.

I struggle with finding the perfect ribbon to hang my wreaths from (I don't like to hook the wreath directly to the door). This time, though, I just happened to have this gorgeous striped ribbon on hand and it was a great match.

I hope you'll join me every Friday for a new wreath or door decor project. In the meantime, you can see which wreaths are inspiring me by visiting my Wreaths Pinterest board. I've had several customers in the past few weeks purchase flowers for wreaths that they were making. Do you make your own wreaths? I'd love to see! And I'd love for you to visit my shop. Let me know if there is anything I can make for you :).

Happy Friday! Tessa

Etsy Update - Winged Things Collection

I have a new collection of paper crafting embellishments and felt and fabric flowers up in the shop today. Winged Things comes in a palette of coral, navy, aqua and yellow, with neutrals black, white and cork. Butterflies and birds are the main motifs, and the patterns include stripes, florals and polka dots:

If you use code ADLYN10 during checkout, you will receive 10% off of your order. Being my first collection back from maternity leave, quantities are limited. Find the entire Winged Things Collection here. Happy shopping and creating! Tessa

Autumn Printer's Tray - DCWV

I haven't made a printer's tray like this in a few years (see my first here), and I thought my favorite season would be a fantastic theme for another. So, I gathered together my favorite DCWV papers and raided my stash for coordinating embellishments. In one evening, I was able to fill every nook and cranny with orange, mustard, gold and aqua - my favorite color palette for fall!

Here are the papers I chose to work with, labeled with their respective stack:

Before gluing anything in, I measured each cubby and then decided which patterned papers to place in each one. Next, I figured out which embellishments to use and where to put them. When I was happy with the look, then I started adhering things to the tray. Some of my favorites include this flair, by A Flair for Buttons:

Of course, I love the large orange flower by Prima. The metal leaves are from Freckled Fawn.

Another favorite detail is this mini spool of thread. I picked up a bag of these spools at my local JoAnn store. I wound the thread around and paired it with a paper flower. Because of the pretty gold foil and glitter details on several of the papers, I wanted to embellish with gold things, too. I spray painted a couple of resin flowers gold and paired them with more Prima flowers and felt roses from my Etsy shop, Precocious Paper.

I used DCWV's burlap stack to add leaves to some of the flowers, as well as a backing for some of the compartments.

 

I filled these Tim Holtz vials with glitter for some more sparkle.

I just added my tray to a photo frame collage wall in my living room. Once I've got it all decorated for fall, I'll share a photo. Thanks for stopping by! Tessa

Hello, September - and Baby!

Hello, September! Ahhh, I feel like I've finally reached a point where I can breathe better, think better, feel better. If we aren't Facebook or instagram friends, I have some news for you. I'm expecting! And you see, the summer months ended up being a complete blur of morning-turned-all-day-sickness, spirit-crushing-headaches, and creativity-destroying-fatigue. I am absolutely thrilled to be pregnant, especially after our loss earlier this year - don't get me wrong. It's just that this time around has been the hardest. I suspect that being pregnant for the fifth time might have something to do with it. Plus, there's the fact that it's harder to have babies at 32 than 21. However, I think the real kicker was summer. I've never been pregnant over a summer, and the heat really took it out of me. To the point where medications were involved. But, it's just about fall now, and after the gloriously rainy Labor Day we just had, I calling it safe to say that summer is basically over. Whatever the season, I'm starting to feel more functional, and that makes me very happy.

Today, we find out the sex of the baby! So what do you think? We have three boys. Will we get a girl? When I was pregnant with my first son, I did the pin on the end of a string thing and that said I would have four kids - three boys followed by a girl. Right so far! I don't know, though. I think it's a boy. My hubby is leaning toward a boy. My doctor thinks it's a boy. Everyone else is hoping for a girl, especially Jaxon, our youngest. He said that if it's not a girl, he's calling Jesus to rectify the situation. :)

Just for fun, let's take a vote. Leave a comment here about what you think - boy or girl. I'll randomly select an answer, wrong or right, to win some goodies from my shop. We are revealing the gender on Sunday to our boys and close family, so I'll let you know (the sex and winner) on Monday.

And speaking of my shop, to make room for fall and winter things, I have all of my Samplers, as well as some Sweet Spots, on sale at a great discount! Shop here.

Thanks for stopping by and not giving up on this little blog after a 3-month long hiatus ;). Have a great day! Tessa

Mother's Day Corsage - Epiphany Crafts

Between filling orders for the shop, I've been collecting many, many new fabrics for the upcoming Summer update. One in particular just seemed to call to me when I sat down to make my latest Epiphany Crafts project:

I just love the deep coral-pink and the floral print! You can read through the post at Epiphany Crafts here for the how-to. All of the flowers you see here are currently or will be in the shop for the update, June 1st.

I love using my Epiphany Crafts tools to create the flower centers. I used the oval tool and the small round tool here. The settings are spray-painted gold, but the original silver finish they come in is very pretty, too.

As I mention on the Epiphany Crafts blog, making my mom and mother-in-law fabric flower corsages for Mother's Day has become a tradition. I love seeing them wear their flowers with their Sunday best, on Mother's Day and other days throughout the year. And I know my mom is always happy to tell anyone who asks that her daughter made it! You gotta love Mom :).

Have a great day! Tessa

PS - I'm entering this brooch in the Mother's Day Your Way contest, Best Craft/DIY category, found here. It's all about great Mother's Day gifts under $25.00. My brooch came in well under that mark. Wish me luck :).

Edited to add: My brooch received an honorable mention :). See here. Thank you, NerdWallet!

Fiskars and SRM are sew cute together!

Today and for the next two days, Fiskars and SRM Stickers are teaming up to bring you projects inspired by both company's products. I've long been a Fiskars fan, as evident by my scissors, trimmers, and the majority of punches in my stash. I had the wonderful opportunity to work with one of the XXXL punches and SRM Stickers to create calendars:

You can read all about my process on the Fiskars blog here. I also created a step-by-step photo tutorial for making these sewing pattern paper flowers. You can find it via Fiskars here.

I used the May Scrapbook Circle kit and add-on to make my calendars, with the addition of felt roses from  my Etsy shop, Precocious Paper.

I am planning to gift these calendars for Mother's Day, but you could also apply this idea to a teacher gift (the end of the school year is just around the corner!).

Be sure to check out Fiskars and SRM Stickers. Thank you to both companies for the opportunity to play with your fabulous products :). And thank you for stopping by today! Tessa

True Love - The Studio Challenges

Hello, hello! It's Tuesday and I am just now feeling like I have recovered from the weekend. We had our third competition of the season (my little dancers) and they did great! This particular competition is especially hard because of their high adjudication standards, and we didn't have rehearsal the week before due to Spring Break, so I am very proud of my kiddos for scoring higher than 15 other groups their age. Gosh, I love working with kids :).

Sunday began a new challenge at The Studio and this is the page I created for it:

The challenge is to use a color palette of green, pink and yellow - perfect for Spring! I opted for a minty green instead of the jade green of the inspiration photo, but that's just because I wanted to use my April kit from Scrapbook Circle - Happy Place.

From my own stash I added the paint chip, the yellow and pink washi tapes, the "true" sticker and the flower (Precocious Paper). Everything else is from the kit. I had a lot of fun playing with the Color Pop paper by Heidi Swapp. I need 20 more sheets to just play with ;).

I am in love with these alphas! I'm so glad to see those back in Heidi's product line. 

You can find the Scrapbook Circle kit here. And you can play along with The Studio here. We are sponsored this month by Bellaboo, a UK scrapbook supply company.

Thanks for stopping by today. Enjoy your day! Tessa