DIY Watercolor Wedding Invites - Simple Tutorial

Seeing as it is the beginning of wedding season, I thought I would post a tutorial for the wedding invites that I made for my wedding last summer. They are extremely easy to make and ended up saving us a ton of money!
Here is the finished product:Materials Needed:
-Sturdy Cardstock for the back of the invite. (the green background paper in my invites)
-Vellum for the invite information. (you can use any color or style of paper, as long as you can print on it)
-Watercolor paper (heavy weight- 140lb)
-Watercolor paints and brush. (Prang or Crayola work fine)
-A stamp that matches the theme for your wedding.
-'Sticky-doos'- Those 3-d cushions with stickies on both sides of them.
-Scotch Tape.
-Raffia.
-Envelopes to match your color scheme.

Step 1:
Cut your cardstock to size (make sure it will fit in the envelopes you got!) using a paper-cutter and print out your invite information on the vellum using your printer. I printed six per page, so I didn't need that much vellum. Then just affix the vellum to the cardstock using plain old scotch tape. Make sure your tape isn't larger than the stamp you are using or you will see it in the finished invite.
Step 2:
Get out your watercolors, watercolor paper, brushes, stamp and water. Mix your paint really thick and paint it onto your stamp like shown. Make sure not to let the stamp get too waterlogged or your image will be distorted. Fill your whole sheet with as many as you will need leaving a little space between them. Make sure the stamped images are completely dry before moving on to the next step. You can use a blowdryer to quicken the drying.
Step 3:
Paint in your design! Don't get too detailed with this, just have fun and experiment until you find a combination of colors you like. Make sure each layer of color is completely dry before you paint the next layer. Watercolor has a tendency to 'bleed' colors together if the previous layer is at all damp.Step 4:
After the stamped and painted images are dry, cut them out. Also take your raffia and make little 'ties' with it. These will go behind the watercolor flowers.
Step 5:
Assemble your flowers! Use your Sticky-doos to give the flower some 3-dimensionality and tape the raffia bowties to the center to hold it down.
Step 6:
Stick on the flowers! You are now finished - you may wallow in your creativity!If you would like to post about this tutorial on your website or blog, please include a link back to this entry. Hope you like it!
Also, if you have any questions, just leave a comment!
:)

Handspun Yarns, Armwarmers, and a Scarf, OH MY!

What a better time to start making warm things than the start of summer? Oh wait. I think I'm just trying to make up for all of the crafting I didn't get done during the school year...
These are both merino wool:

I really like the top one, I was trying to get some bolder colors with my dyes. The second one reminds me of my wardrobe. It is all of the colors of the clothes I currently own.
I'm also going to take some nice pictures of these armwarmers and write up a pattern for y'all by the end of next week. Here they are in all of their glory:

Also made this week is this scarf I whipped up using scrap and recycled yarns. I think I'm going to make a few more of these as I've got a bunch of bulky yarn scraps lying around and taking up space. Do you like the colors? I think they are a bit manly for myself. I think this one is going to get put in the Etsy shop.

I've also started working out again (well I should say working out on a regular basis - it was hit and miss this semester) and I got a new video which is kicking my butt. I'm so sore!! I usually just do cardio, but this is a strength-cardio-ab circuit with no breaks. Ouch. Hopefully the soreness will wear off soon so I can stop walking around the house like an old lady. :)

New Items AND Happy Birthday Bo & Rascal!

I've been crafting up a storm the last few days in effort to bulk up my Etsy shop!
Here are some of the results:
Two crocheted button cuffs -- these are made from scrap yarns I had lying around the house and random buttons. They are really lightweight and cute. :)I've also been painting some little wood blocks with acrylics. I think they would be super cute in a kids room or any small space that needs to be brightened up.

Yesterday was Bobo and Rascal's first birthday!! Nate and I made them mini catfood cakes and had a nice relaxed night at home. Here is a picture of our happy little kitties ( who aren't that little anymore!) Happy Birthday!!
Thats it for now, I've been relaxing and taking full advantage of the fact that my semester is over. :)
More later!
--Cassie

Goals for the Summer...

My first goal I have for this summer is to completely beef up my Etsy site by crafting through my enormous yarn, cloth, and jewelry stashes. I'm making an honest effort to cut down on what I own, and making some money off of it wouldn't hurt. :)
So we begin with project #1 for the summer, the simple armwarmers:I'm going to be writing up a free pattern for these for you all as well. They are perfect for the buy-one-skein-sickness that I seem to suffer from. Don't you love the mustard yellow?
Another big goal for this summer is to cook often and cook well. I made these pretties last night, they are pretty much a staple around here. Its just grilled portabella mushrooms on nice bread. We season them slightly and then put them on the griddle with a little olive oil. So easy and so good. Also, those are sweet potato fries (from trader joe's) in the background-- not cheetos as this photo may try to convince you. Lastly, those are Nate's man-hands, not mine. :)
Well, more goals later, I'm off to eat some dinner!

Semester Accomplished!

So I'm all done with my semester and I have a HUGE weight lifted off of my back! I got done with my last crit last night at 5:30 pm, and I'm now officially done!
I'm really excited for this summer because I am hoping to do all sorts of fun things with my three months of free time. One of the things I really want to catch up on is visiting friends and family. That may be a bit of a pain because gas prices are kind of a pain.... at least I've got my little corolla though!
I'm taking it easy this weekend and catching up doing some listings on my Etsy site. I was a little sick the other day, but I'm feeling better today.
Here is a sampling of some of the recycled yarns I've been dyeing up:Last Wednesday night I went to go see Josh Ritter and his amazing band in Madison, and it was lots of fun, like usual. We went with Nate's family and happened to see a bunch of friends from Oshkosh. If you are in the Chicago area, they will be playing at the Taste of Randolph Street on June 22nd. The Drive By Truckers are playing there the night before, so I may need to make a weekend out of it. It would be well worth your time to check Josh Ritter's music out. :)

Catching Up

I'm procrastinating finishing a paper today, so what better way to do it than have some fun on the internet. Last post I talked about my recycled yarn, and here is about half of it. I'm in the process of editing pics of each individual skein to put up on my Etsy site, but I believe that will happen after the semester is done and over with.

You may have also noticed Rascal looking contemplative in the backround- haha.
The garage sale season is also off to a good start this year. I picked up these pretties last week:I'm also in the midst of crits for the semester and my portfolio review for continuance in the painting program. Here are some shots from my studio:
As you can see from this one, I don't get out much. My skin is blazingly pasty.....