Sarah Jane's Craft Blog

This craft project was inspired by a recent trip to Tuesday Morning where I snatched up this Martha Stewart Craft Kit that includes a template for making spirals and stars out of paper for just $3.99. The kit includes this plastic triangle template, a craft blade (that supposedly uses standard utility knife blades) with a retracting plastic guard, and a small instruction pamphlet. The kit is designed for 12 inch square sheets of paper--the standard in scrapbook paper sizes. I was excited to try it out so I searched my stash for a 12 inch piece of scrapbook paper that had patterns on both sides. I learned that most of my scrapbook paper stash is single sided, but I did manage to find a nice high contrast piece of paper. 2-sided paper is now on my list for the next trip to the craft store. I folded the paper into a triangle and opened the plastic template. The paper fits neatly inside. Then I used the included knife to slice along the grooves in the temp...

I wanted to make a simple decoration to hang on my light fixture above our kitchen table for Valentine's day. I had seen these paper strip hearts floating around the internet and figured they'd be pretty easy.  They were pretty easy once you got the measurements and the directions to stack up your paper strips all down. So here's what I did.  I cut strips 1/2 an inch thick.  I think if I did it again I'd go with wider strips--3/4 of an inch or maybe even an inch wide. I tried out a few different sizes, but cutting strips in 5, 6, and 7 inch increments seemed to work out pretty well and gives you a nice sized heart.  You could do 4, 5, and 6 or 6, 7, and 8 inch hearts for slightly larger or smaller decoration without out any changes to the instructions. Cut two strips of paper for each heart in matching scrapbook paper.  Then choose paper that coordinates but is different for each of the smaller sets.  So you'll end up with 2 strips at 7 inch...

After I made my paper strip pumpkins , I knew I wanted to make some ornaments for the tree out of paper strips too. I cut 8-3/4 inch strips from a piece of 12 inch scrapbook paper. I then cut the 8 strips into 4 inch pieces so that I could make 3 ornaments.  Then I punched a hole on either end of each strip in about the same spot on each one. Use a metal brad to attach the strips together.  Then bend paper gently so the brads are at the top and bottom of what will become a sphere and carefully pull the strips apart so they create a ball. You'll end up with these lovely paper orbs.  I also made a larger sphere using some green paper (also 3/4 inch thick, 6 inches long, with about 14 strips).  When I was done, I just pulled the top brad out and poked it through a piece of ribbon and then poked it back through the paper ball.  Then I tied the ribbon at the top.  I'm sure there are more elaborate ways to attach a bow and decorate thes...

Just in time for Thanksgiving decor--out with the jack-o-lanterns and spiders and in with the pumpkins and gourds--I made some paper strip pumpkins.  I read a few different tutorials for these online (even one from Martha Stewart ), but I ended up adjusting the instructions slightly to minimize the amount of paper needed.   To create two large pumpkins and four small pumpkins you will need: 2 orange 12 x 12 sheets of scrap book paper 1 sheet of green scrap book paper (for the leaves--an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet or some scraps should work) 12 metal brads two green pipe cleaners one paper lunch sack hot glue gun Cut your 12 x12 sheets of orange paper into 7/8 inch thick strips.  The first piece of paper I chose had an ombre effect that took the pattern from yellow to dark orange (so it looks like different piece of paper--but it was all cut from the same sheet).   You should end up with 14 strips of paper.  Cut the strips into 8 inch pieces ...