A He{ART} Journal To Remember

After our recent move, it's funny how things turn up that were buried under so much clutter. As we are finally getting settled in our new home, I had to share this journal of mine. It's not your typical diary that was a written by one person. It belongs to both my husband and I. It is more like letters that we wrote to one another prior to our engagement. Our thoughts and feelings were poured out through words and inscriptions over a span of 3 years. Sometimes we added memorabilia or personal things like ticket stubs, sketches, colorings, stickers, etc.  It turns out, as I realize more now than before, that this may be my very first 'art journal' so to speak. Emotions that we felt often displayed the colors that it reflected like when we argued or when we were happy. It was also a place where we could express ourselves creatively, making our relationship grow in ways unimaginable. Even though we could talk and laugh for hours on end, this journal was a more intimate way of conversation through artistic expression such as poetry, lyrics, and colors. Very sacred, indeed. I hope this will always be part of our legacy to our children and the future generations of our family... It holds such a valuable purpose to teach that real love is not perfect, but it also keeps no record of wrongs and is not bound by material or worldly things, but by trust, honesty, and unconditional love that God has placed in us, especially with those who are close to our hearts...

***

I always had a deep fascination for butterflies, the beauty of transformation is astoundingly amazing.

A glimpse of our back to back letters to each other in our journal...

A drawing that I drew of my dream home by the ocean....

Pressed flowers that my hubby used to decorate one of his pages...

A rough sketch of a photo of us. It was my documentation of when he was seeing me off at the airport. I left for a month to Hawaii to visit my sister...

He drew my name, graffiti style...

Lots of color and writing....

We were down to the very last pages of this journal and this is where he proposed to me....

And of course I said... YES!!

And its been 8 years since we got married and we are living happily ever after.... 

This is our purpose: To Love Each Other So Other Purposes Will Be Fulfilled 

[DIY Holiday Project] Paper Christmas Tree

Today I have a little holiday craft project to share with you! This one is basically the same technique I used when I created my Christmas Wreath last year, using the same scrapbook paper collection--Sweet Dreams Holiday Avenue by My Mind's Eye. I just adore the glittery + textured feel and gorgeous colors + designs of these papers, but you can use any of your favorite scrapbook papers as you like. This project was inspired by a post I read here and here, from Crate Paper on their blog, but also because I wanted to create these trees to coordinate with the holiday wreath that I mentioned above.

Anyways, here are a few photos of what I did and the final result only took me a little over an hour, but could take longer depending on the size of your tree cone. I also had a lot of extra pre-cut and stapled papers from last year, so that really helped keep this project shorter than usual. Either way, be sure to take your time and have fun with it!

DIY: Paper Christmas Tree

Supplies Needed:

• Craft or Foam Tree Cones
• Patterned Cardstock cut into strips (sizes between 1" x 4" inch to 1" x 5" inch), then ends stapled together
• Hot Glue Gun

 1. This step I already had these pre-cut and stapled from the previous year, but what it really is are 1" x 5" strips of patterned paper with ends stapled together.

 2. Using your hot glue gun, add a strip of glue to the stapled edges. Be careful because when pressing these down, it can be too hot too touch. Also, you will probably need to hold them down for 10-15 seconds at a time for it to really settle and stick.

 3. Begin adhering the strips to the cone about 1.5 to 2 inches above the bottom edge. Do this by overlapping the corners, just a little tiny bit, all around until you come full circle. After that, for each layer move up 1/2 to 3/4 an inch.

 4. This first layer makes it hard for the cone to stand steady on its own, so I slightly bended the strips to help the cone lay flat on the surface. You may do this to the rest of the strips, but I found that it didn't quite look right to me, so it's really your preference.

5. Once you reach the very top, the tip of the cone is left uncovered. What I did was punch out a circle of similar size or you can cut it out with scissors and glue that on. The glittered snowflake I used was actually an ornament off my tree. :) But, you can think up your own tree topper ideas such as a paper punched star or circle w/your monogram initials, a small pretty bow or what have you...

C2 | Paper Crave + DIY Paper Wreath

 Happy Wednesday!

Today I have a really awesome C2 | CREATIVE CONNECTION  to share with you... If you've been reading my blog up until now, you may already know that I have a thing for paper and all the creative things you can do with it. Not only do I love making cards or scrapbook pages, but I love making gifts or crafting with it to make art pieces or decor. There are tons of DIY craft sites that are incredible resources for making handmade items using paper. One valuable site does just that----PAPER CRAVE.

Paper Crave is a blogger site of all things paper from stationary to packaging design to paper crafts and printable resources, to gift wrap and greeting cards and so much more. I really like the new series installment that has just begun which is called the Weekly Wrap. Every Friday will feature unique gift wrapping and packaging ideas that will serve as inspiration for your own personal gift wrapping/packaging projects. SWEET, huh? Now is really a great time, before Christmas, to get inspired for this if you're looking for a new or fresh way of making your gift giving fun and unique.

I have a particular paper crafting project that I want to share. which was taken off Paper Crave's recent article a few weeks ago about Paper Wreath Tutorials. The article highlighted a few bloggers who shared their paper wreath making skills and the links to their blogs where you can find the step by step tutorials to create them. I was immediately taken by the looped paper wreath by Razzle Dazzle Crafting (another great craft blog) and decided to make one of these beauties. It was really easy, fun, and fast to make. Check out the photos below and see how wonderful it turned out.

 Stapled 1x5 inch strips of looped patterned paper.

Used Wonderful Winter glittered paper stack by My Mind's Eye.

 Using a hot glue gun, I then adhered the strips onto this 12 inch styrofoam wreath found at any local art/craft store.

 

 Close up photo of the layers of paper.

 

My handy dandy glue gun.:)

Ta da! Mission completed and it turned out beautiful!

( Thank you Dusty @ Razzle Dazzle Crafting! )

I have one more wreath to make, but thinking of creating three all together to add to my wall since a single one seems a little too small for the huge space. Plus, I'm definitely going to reuse them over and over again or even keep them up all year round just because they are too cute to put away. Maybe, it'll be one of those crafty decorative pieces that I can hang in my own personal craft room.... Yes, still dreaming of that day. :)

Anyways, hope you have a great rest of the day and thank you for checking in. Hope you were inspired! More updates on my digital designs and hybrid projects to come soon!

Be blessed!