I stumbled across this blog and just had to share. Katy Elliott shares this awesome recipe and tutorial for salt dough ornaments by Stephanie with drawn on filigree . Genius!:

And did I mention the 260 year old home they are renovating? How much fun would that be (Mr. Project says not fun at all… but I disagree!). I’m sure they are up to their elbows in all that has to get done though.

If you love a craft and home renovation blog as much as I do, then be sure to check out Katy Elliott for some inspiration and a good read!

I came across a great blog a few weeks ago titled A Thousand Words and there were some really adorable projects including this awesome tutorial on creating royal icing shapes for cupcakes:

I cannot wait to try this out! Not that I need to be making cupcakes anytime soon. But check out the link for step-by-step instructions.

And then there is the super awesome Birthday Hamper that she made “on the cheap” for a good friend’s birthday gift. It turned out to be the cutest home-made gift ever known to man:

Anyway if you have some blog browsing time, I highly suggest A Thousand Words for a good read and some great inspiration!

This week’s Craft Blog of the Week is not so much a craft blog, but the blog author April  (who is an awesome photographer in the Houston area), is super duper crafty! She recently threw a baby shower for her Sister-in-Law that was fit for a Queen! Here are some of her photos of this awesome celebration. To see more, visit her blog: Life in Print.

Totally cute invitations! I love me a great invitation.Adorable banner and table. Those big fans are so much fun and the cake is too cute.

Bath Salt Party favors and a cute Entry/Guest Book table. This party had it all! And there is more… be sure to check out the rest of the photos including the awesome FOOD table. April sure knows how to party, and she’s a pretty great photographer too!

Here are a few more of her darling quilts:

Check out her blog for more inspiration. I know I feel inspired… I just need to learn how to quilt now! Are you a quilter? How did you get started?

So without further ado… I LOVE cards. I think they are the perfect simple and quick craft. I subscribe to this cute little blog called Note To Self (isn’t that the cutest name??). Lindsay’s cards are adorable but not over-done. She has a great knack for balancing designs and elements but still keeping it simple and sweet.  I’m super inspired by her work, so I’ll share a few quick images with you. Check Note To Self out when you have a chance!

How can you do wrong with a big red bow???

And this one is made with MY Fine & Dandy line from MME. Love the flower!I love anything made with Kraft paper. Add some black and butterflies and you’ve got awesomeness.

I love these Christmas trees. I wonder if she cut them by hand? I definitely see an SVG cut file in my future… good thing Christmas is still a long way off!

Thanks Lindsay for all your beautiful inspiration! I hope the rest of you feel inspired to make some cards, or at least do something crafty today!

If you have a craft blog and are interested in being featured on The Project Girl, please send me a link to your blog by clicking on the “contact” button at the top of the page.

She’s definitely been busy! I also wanted to do a quick interview with her so you can learn more about her and what she’s up to. So without further ado, here’s Deena!

What is your favorite color? O, how I love color.  A deep burnt red seems to have stayed my favorite for quite some time now…

Is there a color that you don’t like to design with? probably black.  I always would rather use a really dark brown.

What is your favorite thing to doodle? Well, if I open up my MANY notebooks ( I collect them and switch between them all way too much), I see lots of swirls!  I also see lots of plans for new ideas for designs and projects. I am actually a much better listener when I am doodling, so don’t be offended if you see me with a head in my notebook while you are trying to talk to me.  Just know I am absorbing everything you say.

How long have you been designing? Officially I have been selling something that I have designed for about 15 years. I started making wallhangings with uplifting thoughts, to hand-painted notecards, then to hand-painted children’s frames.  Stickers, cricut cartridges, and paper collections came next.

Did you want to be an artist when you grew up? Oh yes. Luckily my parents didn’t mind me putting thumb tacks all over my walls with characters I had drawn.  I would have about 50 different drawings up in my room all at once.

What is the most fun project you’ve had? The most fun project I have had was probably Abbey Road for My Mind’s Eye.  They gave me so much creative freedom with it.  That made the designing really come together so easily.

If you could give one piece of advice to people trying to make it as a designer, what would it be? Take risks and don’t be afraid to get out there.  The only reason I get to have this amazing job is because I took one little risk at a time and I tried to improve myself with each step.  Also, be inspired by the world around you.  There is enough creativity in the world to go around.

What is something that you try and teach your kids about creativity? There are so many ways to be creative. It took me a while to realize that my husband, a hard core science guy, was actually really creative at his job.  He has to really open up his mind to think of all the possibilities.  Whatever my children are interested in, I want them to be innovative and creative. I don’t compare my children with one another, so I point out specifics when I notice their unique creativity. I am trying to give my children a framework, and then let them create their own unique worlds.

Do you design on paper first or only on the computer? This one depends on the project.  Sometimes I want a really clean line (like the bird in Happier) so I will design it right in Illustrator.  But other times I want a hand drawn, right off the paper look (like the cutest little Halloween Collection I have coming out later this summer).

Thanks Deena! I’ve seen the Halloween collection and it’s to die for! Here are a few crafty projects from Deena:

You must see this fun tutorial on decorating a cake:

And if you’ve got a party coming up, consider printing digital designs on transfer paper to make T-shirts:

And if that all is WAY TOO Crafty for you, Melissa Esplin has come out with some beautiful blog kits to help you beautify and customize your blog:

We’re constantly updating the DHD blog with fun project ideas, inspiration and tutorials, for scrappers and non-scrappers so be sure to check it out!

It also is featuring MME CHA Summer Sneak Peaks! You know you want to see these. Such beautiful lines! Here are just a few of my favorites:

Abbey Road (Deena Rutter)

Ooh La La (Zoe Pearn)

Boo To You

There are tons more sneak peaks on the MME blog, and they should be all popping up at your local scrapbook store in July!

I’m really excited about a new digital designer’s blog that is part of Two Peas in a Bucket! Its basically a place that all the Two Peas designers can go to share info, sneak peaks, contests, challeneges, the works! I posted a little blurb about me (with the above photo) and there are some other introductions to designers as well as a give-away for one of Carina’s new kits!

Anyway, check it out if you have a minute!

Oh and to decorate my photo I used: Rhinestone Bling Kit,  Organic Grunge Masks,  The white grunge border is going to be released this week as part of Urban Chic Boutique , and the crocheted border will be released next week! Keep your eyes peeled on my store!

The next step in my organization was to make some cute labels! My second favorite thing is to make cute labels! What a good day! So I designed these labels (Available for free download at the end of this post), printed and cut them out:

Once they were all cut out, I ran them through my xyron 250 machine. If any of you don’t know what this is — its the most amazing invention to come to paper crafting. you basically slide your paper (or buttons or ribbon anything thin enough) through the front and turn the wheel, and it comes out the back A STICKER! I’m being completely serious here. You have to see it in person, but whatever you put in, comes out with the perfect amount of adhesive adhered to the back. Get one!

Once the labels were all made into stickers, I just threw them up on the containers! 

And some up-close shots:

I am so so happy to have this done. The closets look amazing and with the labels, everything now has its own little home! Hopefully this will motivate you to do a little bit of spring cleaning and organizing. Be sure to download some labels so that you can keep all your stuff straight! I’d love to hear about your organization methods and be sure to leave a comment if you do download the labels. xoxo Jen Allyson

Download  PDF Labels>> Label Page 1 & Label Page 2