New Valentine's Day Bouquet!

Want to get flowers for your sweetheart that will last a lifetime? Check out our new Valentine's Day handmade paper flower bouquet!

Make it Monday - Woven Baskets

You wouldn't be able to tell if you walked into my house right now, but I don't like clutter. I like it when everything has a place and is in some semblance of order. However, life is not always accommodating. Therefore, I resort to my go-to clutter bustin' technique - baskets! With a basket, I can still have my organized piles of disorderly whatnot and it still looks alright. But where to find the right basket to fit my shelves?

(shelves with unwanted clutter)

Then it hit me. I can just make them! Newspapers and magazines make up a good chunk of the clutter piles around the house so I put them to good use and upcycled them into woven baskets.

Supplies needed:

• old newspaper or magazines
• glue or a stapler (I used a combo of both)
• old cardboard to reenforce the sides of the finished basket (optional)

You can find a great tutorial for these here. I plan to make one for each cubby of that there shelf. Have some extra magazines or newspaper laying around? Whip one of these up! They are fun and easy and make organizing a synch.

Enjoy:)

Mini Giveaway Winner and the Blue Box

Sorry that it's taken me so long to post this, but with the start of the semester, I think I have a good excuse. The good news is that we have 2 winners for the mini giveaway! Congrats to Allyson and Ashley who both chose map rose bouquets. An excellent choice, if I do say so myself.

And let's not forget what started this in the first place - the blue box. I quite enjoyed the suggestions and after much thought, was inspired. I am still working on it though and will post pictures of the new blue box shortly. In fact, changes are in store for the shop as well and the blue box will be helping me out with my new projects. Stay in tune!

Make Up Box Project and Mini Giveaway!

I love shopping at thrift stores and during one of my recent trips I scored this amazing make up box for $2! I thought that it would make an excellent makeover project! However, when I brought it home, I realized that I actually don't have any ideas of what kind of upcycled/makeover project I would like to do. Typical me, I know. That is when I got the idea to make this into a little contest for our blog! Here's the deal:

1. Comment and tell me what you would do with this box. You have one week to share your ideas!
   
2. After the week is up, I will look through your suggestions and decide which one to use on the box!
3. The winner will receive a beautiful bouquet of paper roses, just in time for Valentine's Day! There are red, book, and map roses to choose from. Please click here to see them!

Good luck!

Gift Box For Your Valentine

I'm not sure what it is about wrapping gifts...but I love it! My friends will laugh because as kids we used to have a party to wrap all of our presents before Christmas and mine were always the wonkiest, most awkward looking packages. I used to be the person that thought wrapping gifts was useless because it was only going to be ripped off the present later.

These days however, I love the sweet feeling of accomplishment when I watch someone open a gift that I have wrapped! And there is a certain kind of satisfaction when you see a beautifully wrapped package sitting there, just waiting to be opened. That is why I know love to experiment with different methods of presenting gifts. Who knew there were so many cute and creative ways to wrap presents? Not me. In fact, if you follow us on Pinterest, you can find our fun board of gift wrap ideas.

And speaking of gift wrap!

That brings me to the exciting new addition to our shop - Valentine's Day gift boxes!

Each box is hand folded from 8 different sheets of paper and are perfect for treats, love notes, or whatever! There are two different styles in the shop: plain white and book pages. The book pages listing has even been listed in a beautiful treasury that you can see here!

What do you think of our Valentine's Day boxes? What about wrapping presents in general? A thankless chore or a creative outlet?

The Day of Love is Near...

Ok, so it's been a while since my last post. A long while. But in the tradition of New Year's resolutions, I have committed to expand my blogging horizons!

On that note, that lovely holiday of hearts/love/the-color-red is quickly coming upon us, and I have some new and exciting items added to the shop to help everyone celebrate. So, put on your lovey-dovey attitude and let's get ready for Valentine's Day!

New Shop Item - Custom Monograms

We're excited about this one! In our shop we now offer personalized paper mache letters in virtually any font, size and style!

New Shop Item - Sneaky Paper Mice Silhouettes

Add a sense of mystery to your decorations this year with paper mice silhouettes. Inspired by Martha Stewart decorations, these paper mice look great anywhere - and are sure to give your guests a surprise!

New Shop Item - Mini Map Gift Bows

Enjoy traveling but don't get the opportunity often? To me, there's nothing better than snuggling up with some hot coco and doing some armchair traveling. I like learning about new places and love to decorate with old maps. What better way to celebrate the world travelers (or armchair travelers) in our lives than topping off their gifts with map gift bows? Check out our shop listing here for more details!

Diva Challenge #42 - Hope

The Zentangle challenge this week is to create a tangle centered on the theme of hope. When I think of hope this scripture comes to mind:

"Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God."

Ether 12:4

Check out the other entries here!

To learn more about Zentangle, click here!

And please don't hesitate to check out the rest of our blog and our Etsy shop!

Diva Challenge #41 - Dual Tangle - Opus & Jonqal

This weeks challenge was to create a tangle using only two patterns. Enjoy!

New Shop Item - Custom Gift Card Envelopes

Need stylish packaging for your gift cards this holiday season? Look no further! These envelopes can be made for clothing stores, Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond, you name it! Check out the shop for more!

Diva Challenge #40 - Pinwheels for Peace

I liked this challenge because it could be done so many different ways. Here is my first attempt:

And here is the second attempt with I like much better:)

To check out the other entries go here.

If you would like to learn more about Zentangle visit the official site here.

New Shop Item - Autumn Gift Bows

Ah, those Halloween parties coming up. We're pretty excited around here. And what better to top your host gift than an Autumn themed gift bow?

Zentangle - Diva Challenge #39

The challenge this week was to do a Zentangle with the theme of "love" in honor of 9/11. My immediate thought was to think of love and peace and how they often go hand in hand. This is what I came up with:

"Love & Peace"

On a side note, my when I showed this to my husband and explained how it was about love he asked, "why didn't you do my name or something?" So, I guess I'll be working on a second tile for this challenge! :)

New Shop Item - Paper Fortune Cookies!

Your Fortune:

"Cuteness awaits when you visit the Frills & Bils shop."

Why have we not discovered these before? Paper fortune cookies would be great for any party and can be made in a variety of colors and styles. I just love the idea!

Zentangle - Diva Challenge #38

I enjoy doing a Zentangle every now and then. Here is my entry for the Diva Challenge this week. Enjoy!

"Better Than a Pair of Ducks"

Paradox monotangle

This was my first attempt at paradox, a while back.

A few more Paradox tangles, just for kicks:)

"Taking flight..." by amandaj

A beautiful treasury. Thanks, Manda!

"Father's Day, here I come!" by KingHappyCreations

As she puts it, a "mantastic collection!"

"Eclectic Collection" by VintageFrocksOfFancy