Say Happy Mother’s Day with this modern DIY Mother’s Day wreath using ASTROBRIGHTS® Papers! Today's paper craft project gives you both a great DIY gift idea for Mother's Day plus a chance to win $500. Keep reading to see how to enter to win.Today I’m sharing an easy paper craft project that you can make for Mother’s Day that your mom can display all year long! This DIY Mother’s Day is part art project, part greeting card, part gift, and it’s a fun DIY gift to make.I really wanted to make the MOM letters pop out in 3D, so after playing around quite a bit I discovered that I could cut strips of scrap paper, roll them up with tape, and make my own paper risers for the letters. How fun! I think it’s an unexpected and cool 3D effect that makes this Mother’s Day wreath look really … [Read more...]
Search Results for: astrobrights
ASTROBRIGHTS®
ASTROBRIGHTS® is one of my favorite craft supplies ???? I've used ASTROBRIGHTS® 26 super bright colored paper and card stock (affiliate) in many sponsored posts for the brand, and my personal projects too. Below are some of my favorite DIYs that I concepted and made featuring ASTROBRIGHTS®...++++++DIY Dinosaur Birthday PartyASTROBRIGHTS hired me to create a unique kid's birthday party theme for them to feature as content on the new ASTROBRIGHTS brand website and in their social media properties … [Read more...]
DIY Christmas Gift Card Holder Printable Mittens Template
Gift cards are a popular holiday gift. My teen niece absolutely loves gift cards! And gift cards are great for teachers, babysitters, and coaches. Let’s be honest, though; gift cards can feel a bit impersonal. So today I’m sharing super cute handmade mitten gift card holders that will make your gift cards feel memorable and special. The paper mitten fronts and backs are glued together to make narrow pockets, and gift cards are then tucked inside. Recipients simply pull up the paper mitten cuff to reveal the gift card inside. I designed this handmade holiday gift idea for ASTROBRIGHTS® Paper. Cute, yes?Thanks so much to ASTROBRIGHTS for sponsoring this project. I always … [Read more...]
DIY Locker Decorations
Make these cute and colorful DIY locker decoration ideas for back to school using ASTROBRIGHTS® Papers!Today I’m sharing fun and easy DIY decorating ideas for your school locker. These DIY locker decorations are inexpensive and also more unique than buying locker decorations, and they only take an hour to make. There are 25 vivid ASTROBRIGHTS colors; I recommend picking four different colors for this DIY locker decorations project. Choose your favorite color combination for these printable locker decorations or show some school spirit by coordinating with your school colors. I chose Celestial Blue®, Rocket Red™, Martian Green™, and Lift-Off Lemon™ for Liam’s locker decorations. Free printable school schedule (in your chosen colors) First, I designed a personalized free printable … [Read more...]
Graduation Gift Card Holder – Free Printable Template
This DIY graduation gift card template holds a gift card for your favorite graduate -- high school and college graduates, boys and girls. And my free printable graduation gift card template also doubles as a cute bookmark for textbooks. Fun, yes?Every graduate can use gift cards. I'm really into useful gifts with clever twists, and this graduation gift card idea is quick and easy to make using my free printable template. The top of the gift card is a paper mortar board cap complete with teeny DIY tassels using embroidery thread.The bottom of the bookmark holds one gift card. Good gift card ideas for graduates include Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Apple, and of course, Starbucks for those late nights studying.You can personalize my graduation bookmarks with your … [Read more...]
DIY Valentine’s Day Jokes Cards for Kids
Get ready for your school’s Valentine’s Day party with these clever and cute DIY Valentine's Day Jokes Cards for kids! These valentines jokes make great handmade classroom valentines and lunchbox notes. These printable valentines cards feature 18 different silly Valentine's Day jokes like:
- "What should you say to a magical unicorn on Valentine's Day?"
- "What did the ceiling say to the chandelier on Valentine's Day?"
- “What did the potato say to the cooking oil on Valentine’s Day?”
- “What did one shark say to the other on Valentine’s Day?”
- and 14 more Valentine's Day jokes for kids...
Tombstone Printable Halloween Cupcake Toppers
Looking for easy Halloween cupcake ideas? Make simple tombstone Halloween cupcakes with my free printable Halloween cupcake toppers. These Halloween cupcakes feature funny tombstone sayings from Disney's Haunted Mansion ride are easy and quick to make last-minute for Halloween parties.I love the funny tombstone saying puns like Ima Goner, Ray N. Carnation, Theo Later, and more. I also designed generic R.I.P. and In Memory tombstones -- print one or both sets of Halloween cupcake toppers. There are 8 printable Halloween cupcake toppers per page so you can print as many as you need for your Halloween party.I baked these tombstone cupcakes for our school's Halloween party, and it was an easy last-minute Halloween dessert.See also: [Read more...]
Dinosaur birthday party: Geometric dinosaur party decor, cake & party ideas
Roar!! Here's Liam's dinosaur birthday party with bright and vibrant DIY paper geometric dinosaur party decor and cake toppers. Liam wanted his pals to come over for a dinosaur-themed birthday party with dinosaur party decorations, dinosaur party games, and a dinosaur cake. With that in mind, I put together fun and spirited paper dinosaur birthday party theme inspired by the trending geometric style and the sticker activity books that he loves so much.Keep reading for my free printable templates to recreate this dino party for your own little velociraptor.I worked with ASTROBRIGHTS® Papers to bring it all to life, including a large dinosaur wall decoration, geometric leafy vines, volcano stair risers, happy birthday bunting, party … [Read more...]
Color palette inspiration: Vintage linen calendar tea towels
It's almost the end of the year -- have you been reminiscing like me? I've been thinking about time passing and years changing so for this month's color palette I'd like to share my vintage linen calendar tea towel collection with you. Have you seen vintage linen calendar tea towels before? Linen calendar dish towels were super popular in the 60s/70s/80s. I've collected stacks and stacks of different vintage linen calendar tea towel patterns and colors. I just love them so much.Today I'm sharing a small handful of my brightest vintage linen calendar tea towels with you -- including this 1971 butterfly calendar dish towel that makes me think about change and perseverance. This month's color palette inspiration is optimistic and joyful: Martian Green™, Sunburst Yellow™, Orbit Orange™, … [Read more...]
Christmas Color Palette Inspiration: Wooden German Ornaments
This time of year bursts with traditions and memories. When I was a kid, the wooden German Christmas ornaments on our family's Christmas tree were always my favorite. ??? ? Pulling these cute little guys out of our ornament box each year gives me such joy that I wanted to share their bright colors with you to inspire your own holiday paper crafts.This month's holiday color palette inspiration has a hint of pink. Pink Christmas decorations are really trending right now yet I like a bit of tradition too so let's just do both, shall we? My holiday color palette for you is Pulsar Pink™, Sunburst Yellow™, Celestial Blue™, Gamma Green™ and Re-Entry Red™ from Astrobrights®. I'm … [Read more...]
Free printable Four Gift Christmas gift tags in blue: Want, Need, Make, Read
Here's a new set of free printable 'Four Gift Christmas' gift tags -- this time in blue. Just download, type to personalize, and print. This is our third year giving only four Christmas gifts each to Elise and Liam and it's been super amazing for our family. Instead of feeling the pressure to give ALL THE THINGS to the kids, I instead focus on finding four very thoughtful gifts, which gives us more time to focus on the reason for the season.Have you heard yet about the Four Gift Christmas? In a nutshell, you give four thoughtful Christmas gifts:
- Something You Want
- Something You Need
- Something To Make (I changed this from Wear because, well, are you … [Read more...]
Fall Color Palette: Orange and Green Heirloom Pumpkins
Here’s a new bright Fall color palette to inspire your Thanksgiving table decor this year. This orange, green and light green color palette is inspired by our sister trip to Waco, TX to visit Magnolia Market at the Silos and the orange and green heirloom pumpkins that you're seeing all over pinterest. My October fall color palette inspiration for you is Comic Orange™, Martian Green™, and … [Read more...]
Color inspiration: Apple Orchard
Have you ever visited an apple orchard? It's fun to see all the apple varieties with so many different colors and flavors and wander through the serene rows of apple trees. My September red, pink, green and yellow bright fall color palette is inspired by freshly-picked apples in Wisconsin.? ?My good friend Sarah grew up on Brightonwoods Apple Orchard in Burlington, Wisconsin about an hour and a half north of Chicago. Before I met Sarah in college, I thought there were only two kinds of apples in the world: Red Delicious and Granny Smith. Whoa, was I way wrong! Brightonwoods Orchards alone grows and sells more than 200 apple varieties, each with fun names like Ginger Gold and Mollies Delicious and … [Read more...]
Color inspiration: Carousel animals
Get ready to grab the brass ring! This summer we've been riding carousel animals. ? ☀️ ? My August orange, purple, teal and blue summer color palette is inspired by the many creative color combinations on vintage wooden carousel animals like this sassy tiger...Everyone else seems to be going back to school already but we're free until after Labor Day (hip! hip!). We've been able to pack a lot in this summer, including lots of laps on carousels. This past week we've ridden not one but TWO classic wooden carousels with carousel animals ...first, our old local standby, the Endangered Animals Carousel at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo......and then the carousel animals at the [Read more...]
Easy DIY summer wreath: Ice cream cones that look like sunshine
Summer is in full swing and I just made this cute and easy DIY summer wreath. Look at it once and it's a colorful sun ☀️ Look at it again and it's a circle of ice cream cones! ???This easy DIY summer wreath is so full of joy and whimsy, and it's actually really easy to make.You ever have a project that gets into your head and you can't get it out, so you choose to work on it even though you're supposed to be doing something else? That was this project. I had a bunch of other projects that I was supposed to be working on but I had to put them on hold to make this easy DIY summer wreath and share it with you.I love making things that are simple and clever and this "ice cream sunshine" wreath feels special to me. I wrapped a flat wreath form with bright yellow grosgrain … [Read more...]
Color Inspiration: Miniature golf summer color palette
This yellow, pink-pink and purple summer color palette was inspired by at a cute miniature golf course ?️ ⛳ ☀️ I like that it feels super 80's and nostalgic, like the best kind of throwback summer.I mean, look at all these colors of golf balls! Elise and Liam and Shane and I each chose different colors and hit the course in a cheery mood. … [Read more...]
Color inspiration: Bomb Pop summer color palette
Here's a classic summer color palette inspired by a classic frozen treat: Bomb Pops. Summer reminds me of being a kid in the 80's eating Bomb Pops quickly before they melted in the Indiana heat.And this modern Bomb Pop is actually Chicago pothole art by one of my favorite creatives, Jim Bachor. Yep, I said pothole art.Jim is inspired by our city's plethora of potholes, and so he fills them up semi-legally with his whimsical mosaic art. The Bomb Pop was part of his series called Treats In The City (which is now a coffee table book and poster). He installs his artwork in potholes all over the city of Chicago ([Read more...]
Easy DIY LEGO® Birthday Party Favors and Tags
Here's an easy and cute favor idea for a LEGO birthday party: LEGO books with quick-and-easy personalized paper book wraps that look like LEGO bricks.Books are always a welcome birthday party favor and the colorful and whimsical personalized favor tags add a festive touch.While books can run on the expensive side of the favor spectrum, I decided that I'd rather spend $4 per guest on useful and fun LEGO birthday party favors rather than give them a chotchkie-filled goodie bag. We limited the party sweets table to just my handmade LEGO birthday cake, diverted that money on favors instead, and still stayed well within our birthday budget.And Liam's party guests and their parents loved them!Making these LEGO birthday party favor is so easy to make that your kids … [Read more...]
Color Inspiration: LEGO® Bricks
Did you have LEGO® bricks when you were growing up? Or maybe your kids have LEGOs® strewn around your house right now? ? I just love their bright colors and creative potential.My May color palette inspiration for you is Solar Yellow™, Cosmic Orange™, Re-entry Red™, Gamma Green™ and Blast-Off Blue™ from Astrobrights Papers. … [Read more...]
Free Last Day of School Printable Sign – Type to Personalize, then Print
It's pretty crazy that the last day of school is already almost here. Time to get your free Last Day Of School printable signs ready for a last day of school photo!You can personalize my free printable last day of school sign PDF with your child's name, year and grade, all inside a super cute apple. Just download, open it up in Adobe Reader, type into the fields to personalize it yourself, print it out on either white cardstock paper or my favorite colored cardstock paper... … [Read more...]
Color inspiration: Yellow tulips
Yellow is my favorite color and this month's color palette inspiration is pretty heavy on the bright and golden. We just got back from our spring break in Louisville, KY where we toured a baseball bat factory, explored neighborhoods, ate the city's best chocolate chip cookies, and spied these beauties near a white picket fence in Germantown. ???My April color palette inspiration for you is Lift-Off Lemon™, Solar Yellow™, Galaxy Gold™ and Gamma Green™ from Astrobrights Papers. I love the idea of using three shades of a color plus one accent color. And three yellows is like three times the sunshine.I'm making my mom's mother's … [Read more...]
Color Inspiration: Unexpected Rainbows
Congratulations, folks, it's March which means we made it through winter. Phew! It's almost St. Patrick's Day and I'm finding unexpected rainbows across Chicago ? This little pot of graffiti gold was hiding down a side street that I happened to turn down on my walk home...And last week the kids and I found this pretty rainbow behind a Lakeview playground that we visited after playing by the lake, visiting a record store and eating scoops of ice cream.Yep, she's a rainbow.My March color palette inspiration for you is Lift-Off Lemon™, Plasma Pink™, Cosmic Orange™, Pulsar Pink™, Terrestrial Teal™ and Lunar Blue™ from Astrobrights Papers.That's a lotta … [Read more...]
Color Inspiration: Heart Sugar Cookies for Valentine’s Day
Hey friends, it's February! Let's talk about love. ?A little love is just what the world needs right now. My February color palette inspiration for you is Re-Entry Red™, Pulsar Pink™ and Lunar Blue™ from Astrobrights Papers.Red and pink colors are Valentine's Day staples. Yep, Valentine's Day totally owns red and pink. I think adding a splash of light blue really elevates the traditional pink and red Valentine's Day color palette so that it's modern, fresh and unexpected.Each month I share an original color palette using Astrobrights Papers who I’d like to thank for sponsoring these posts. All color palettes and opinions are mine. In the past I’ve been inspired by the [Read more...]
Color Inspiration: A New Leaf
It's a brand new year and January's color palette inspiration is all about turning over a new leaf. What do you think, are you ready for a fresh start?My January color palette inspiration for you is Vulcan Green™, Terra Green™, Martian Green™ and Gamma Green™ from Astrobrights Papers.The first color I think about when I think of renewal is green. And green is also Pantone's 2017 color of the year. This fresh monochrome green palette is just the thing to bring nature-inspired colors into your life -- even in totally-deep-frozen-January-in-Chicago.Each month I share an original color palette using Astrobrights Papers who … [Read more...]
Color Inspiration: German Nutcrackers
December's color palette inspiration is here to help you colorize your holiday paper crafts, winter wreaths, Christmas decorations and more. It's based on my favorite Christmas decoration: Wooden German nutcrackers.I bought my first wooden nutcracker in Rothenburg, Germany on a post-college European trip with my good friend, Sarah. It was our first trip to Europe and our requisite Eurail pass took us through France-Switzerland-Germany-Austria-Italy. My mom's German grandfather stowed away on a ship to America when he was 19 so I was excited to see the Fatherland first-hand. … [Read more...]
‘Four Gift Christmas’ free printable gift tags: Want, Need, Make, Read
We have a new Christmas tradition in our family: the Four Gift Christmas. We give four Christmas gifts to each of our children from mommy and daddy:
- Something You Want
- Something You Need
- Something To Make
- Something To Read
Color inspiration: Fall Leaves
It's been unseasonably sunny in Chicago this November. Today with loads on my mind, I decided to get off the computer and give the kids bags and collect leaves in our neighborhood. … [Read more...]
DIY Cardboard & Paper Magic Tree House Birthday Party Decoration
You guys! Check out the I made this DIY cardboard and paper Magic Tree House birthday party decoration that I made for Elise's 7th birthday. It was easy to make, cost less than $10, made the party feel super magical.The Magic Tree House book series by author Mary Pope Osborne follows the adventures of Jack and Annie, brother and sister who travel through time and space in a magic tree house. It's a big, big hit with ages 5-9 with just the right amount of suspense.Having a real Magic Tree House for our Magic Tree House birthday party was a big hit!WANNA MAKE IT? Keep reading for the step-by-step tutorial and supply list for making my cardboard Magic Tree House birthday party decoration –> … [Read more...]
Fall color inspiration: Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos)
Today I'm sharing a fall color palette to help you colorize your Halloween paper crafts, Halloween wreaths, Halloween party decorations and more.October's color palette merges Halloween with Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos): Gravity Grape™, Re-Entry Red™, Fireball Fuchsia™ and Eclipse Black™ ...with an optional pop of Gamma Green.™ … [Read more...]
Color Inspiration: Cubs Baseball Game at Wrigley Field
You may have expected oranges and reds and maybe even some purple for September's color palette inspiration. Hang tight; we'll get to those colors soon. The leaves are still green and the sunshine is still warm so let's hold off on the pumpkin spice lattes and enjoy late-summer-slash-early-fall right now.This month I'm inspired by family. The kids are back in school and we're seeing each other a lot less which makes our times that much more special. We recently took the kids to their first Chicago Cubs game at iconic Wrigley Field where the Cubs have been playing for 100 years (1916-2016). Did you know that you can get super close to the players and the field during pre-game warm up? … [Read more...]
Color Inspiration: Summer Beach Toys
How's your summer been? It's mid-August here in Chicago and hot and humid like it's supposed to be. Lately we've been spending a lot of time at the beach. … [Read more...]
Color Inspiration: Summer Berry Picking
It's July and everything is green and growing. We escaped the city for a bit to vacation in the country at a farm that we rent each summer for backyards and grilling and s'mores and sprinklers and county fairs.Today I'm sharing July color palette inspiration for your paper crafting projects and wedding colors. Last month I showed you a cheery school's out summer palette of yellow and red, in May we looked at an ocean of violets in bloom purple and green palette and April featured a cheery [Read more...]
