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diy muffin tin planters.

By annmarielovespaper on May 10, 2013

The other day as I was browsing the shelves of the Goodwill, I spotted this muffin tin + knew instantly that I wanted to turn it into a planter. Once I picked up the muffin tin for $1.50 (50% day – look out!), I swung by Lowes and had a wonderful time picking + choosing my succulents.

Click here to see my Vine video of the planting process!

To create this planter, you will need:

Six succulent plants (I purchased all of mine for less than eight dollars at Lowes)
1 muffin tin (the deeper the cups, the better)
Vinyl Bumpers
An awl or drill (and drill bit)

After cleaning the muffin tin as best I could (a good rule of thumb for all thrift finds), I flipped it over and punched drainage holes in all six of the cups using a bookbinding awl. Luckily the tin was super easy to punch through, but if yours is thick, I recommend using a drill with a small bit.

From there, I added a vinyl bumper to each of the four corners of the tin to allow for proper drainage. This is key if you prefer living plants.

I then played around with the arrangement of the succulents and placed them in the muffin tin.

Then I began moving the soil around, adding in a handful of small rocks, and finessing each of the plants to my liking. After that I lightly watered the individual plants and called it good. The thing to remember about succulents is that they require minimal watering. In fact, it’s best if you leave them alone until their soil is completely dry. (You can read even more care + keeping tips here!)

So there you have it! A quick + easy Springtime DIY that has yet again fueled my thrift shopping habit! I have plans to make a bunch of these for my wedding and display them amidst other floral centerpieces on our tables. Good times ahead!

4 Comments

blueprint.

By annmarielovespaper on April 29, 2013

Lately I’ve been going through a major “interneting” phase. You know, the kind of phase where you all you want to do is catch up on all your favorite blogs, pin a million images, and discover new places to get inspired? I love when this happens. It makes me feel like the time I am already going to spend on the internet is actually being put to good use! (At least that’s what I tell myself.) Sometimes just looking at my pins is enough to get my creative juices flowing, but other times, I want to put my visual finds to work…

Hence: Blueprints! Every Friday on the BasicGrey blog, I (or a talented guest designer) interpret a non-scrapbook related image through paper and glue. It’s very similar to traditional scrapbook sketches, but with a modern, real-world application that will help you to think outside the proverbial box. And the best part of all? You can download each Blueprint as a PDF to reference when you sit down to create! (Ugh, I love technology way too much.)

So as it turns out, I now have to dedicate a little extra time on Pinterest each week to gathering inspiration…geez, just twist my arm already (;

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capture.

By annmarielovespaper on April 17, 2013

Here’s a little peek at what’s been keeping me busy, busy, busy these past few weeks! BasicGrey just launched a brand new product line called Capture that I am so excited and honored to be a part of. I’ll be sharing lots of projects + ideas in the coming months, but in the meantime, you can read all about it here!

3 Comments

project life: january 2013.

By annmarielovespaper on March 1, 2013

Another Project Life installment! Yeah! I’m still loving the smaller format and my minimalistic approach to jamming photos and memorabilia in those little pockets.

Over the holidays while I was at Michaels for the umpteenth time in a week (’twas the season!), I spotted Martha Stewart’s customizable stamp set on clearance. Of course, my knee-jerk reaction was to throw it in my basket as fast as possible, but then guilt set in and I proceeded to have a mini debate with myself along the lines of “another stamp set?! really?? don’t you make stamps for a living?” (my inner voice is a total B). Nonetheless, I somehow convinced myself that YES, I NEED ANOTHER STAMP SET and so it came home with me and I haven’t looked back since. I am obsessed with the classic Martha font (Archer) and how surprisingly easy it is to create phrases to stamp. You can see it in action in that little “01″ that I stamped at the top with hot pink ink. (Super long story for such a tiny product demo, I know.)

I also used some of my other favorite supplies on this page including the “Go” flair and girl veneer (misted with Mister Huey in Taxi) from Studio Calico, the roller date stamp and orange Thickers from Amy Tangerine, and the turquoise Thickers from American Crafts. As for the Top Gear obsession? I have no words.

This page was super simple to whip out because it was all about my recent trip to San Diego. I wanted to keep the focus primarily on the photos and memorabilia, but I also used a geotag flair from SC, striped aqua washi tape from Freckled Fawn, and my J & A stamp. And of course, to drive home the point that SD is my favorite city in all of the land, I cut out the “You Make My Heart Sing” phrase from a sheet of Dear Lizzy paper. It was a perfect match.

xoxo

7 Comments

thank you notes.

By annmarielovespaper on February 26, 2013

One of my resolutions for 2013 is to stay on top of social correspondence, especially since this is the year that lots of it will be going down. So as I was opening all the wonderful gifts from our party a few weekends ago, I couldn’t help but immediately start brainstorming ideas for the thank you notes that I would soon be writing. I knew I wanted them to be simple, but I also wanted them to have a handmade feel. Hence, embossed hearts! What’s more appropriate for a V-Day party than gold and hot pink hearts? Then again, when are gold and hot pink hearts not appropriate?

xoxo

5 Comments

i’m a hat person.

By annmarielovespaper on February 25, 2013

On any given day, there is a 97% chance that I will be rocking some sort of headwear (not to be confused with head gear…been there, done that, pleasegodneveragain). I’m a major hat person. Fedoras? Oh, yes! Baseball caps? Of course! And beanies? I’ll take one in every color! With a gigantic pom on top, por favor! I’m pretty much living in a beanie 24/7 these glorious cold days.

The beanie obsession can be blamed on a few different, but equally important, factors:

1. Janelle and her super-inspiring knitting skills.
2. Nat the Fat Rat. She is so my new girl crush and beanie-wearing idol.
3. La-zi-ness! I despise spending any longer than three seconds on my hair everyday and a cute hat gives me instant style! <— at least that’s what I tell myself.

The way I see it, the bigger the pom pom and the brighter the color, the better! I bought the blue hat that you see above from Target for less than two dollars on clearance. It was a little too plain for my taste (but who am I to pass up a good deal??), so I whipped up the yarn pom pom using this excellent tutorial and attached it to the hat in less than three minutes. SO SIMPLE, YOU GUYS. I’m never taking it off.

xoxo

4 Comments

engagement party invitations.

By annmarielovespaper on February 19, 2013

Confession: half of the reason I wanted to throw this engagement party was so I could design invitations using all my favorite fonts and colors. (Well, that and being able to put all of my greatest pins to work, of course!) Mission accomplished.

Since I only had a short amount of time to spread the word about the party, I just sent the invitation via e-mail to all my guests. As much as I would have liked to have shipped them out the old-fashioned way, the e-mail presentation was easier and it seemed to elicit quicker response times than usual. I can definitely see myself using this method again in the future for impromptu dinner parties and casual get-togethers. Super simple and with way more woodgrain than an evite. Win win.

xoxo

12 Comments

workspace wednesday: last minute crafting.

By annmarielovespaper on February 13, 2013

Tissue paper, baker’s twine, and heart punches…oh my! Two more days to pack in as many craft projects as possible before the engagement party on Saturday. Wish me luck!

xoxo

2 Comments

project life.

By annmarielovespaper on February 12, 2013

Yet another Project Life installment! I’m having so much fun getting back into it and experimenting with the smaller size and looser format.

Hard to tell from this photo, but I included a mini layout between both pages, just to break up the symmetry of the spread a little bit. I mean, why not? I like to keep things interesting.

I wanted to include this super cute 2013 print from Urbanic, so I decided to just glue it on top of my page protectors and place the gorgeous Studio Calico aqua ombre paper underneath. I backed the print with white cardstock that I ran through my Cuttlebug with this polka-dot embossing folder, added a little embellishing, and called it good. I always forget how much I love that little embossing machine! Definitely need to bust it out more often this year.

You know it’s not one of my spreads unless there’s a heavy dose of hot pink, so I used a journaling card from Jamaica and topped it with a Studio Calico banner die-cut, an Amy Tangerine Daily Thicker, and a stamp that I designed for SC this past year.

For the mini layout, I tried to keep it as simple as possible (my general rule of thumb for PL, really). Minimal embellishments, a little bit of ephemera, and quick and easy journaling thanks to my typewriter. I didn’t even adhere the photobooth strips to the paper; they’re just held together by my trusty gold paperclips. Living life on the edge, as usual.

I’m in love with this graphic Crate Paper pattern and the way it brings all the rainbow colors in my spread together. Happy happy! And of course, how insanely awesome is Amy Tangerine’s calendar stamp?! Genius. Other products used here include the Yeah Yeah Yeah die-cut, mini alphas, and aqua washi tape.

The red phrase paper in the upper left corner is from a Fab.com mailer that I am convinced was designed with Project Life in mind. The purple Rose Bowl ticket in the center is just hanging out for now. I love the white space it gives my page and figure I will worry about what I will place on the other side of it when that time comes. Just roll with it.

Aqua + cream paper by Crate Paper | Totally Obsessed With Stamp | StazOn Black Ink | Hot pink pen from Typo.

So much fun, you guys. How are your books coming together?

xoxo

8 Comments

bridesmaid cards.

By annmarielovespaper on February 9, 2013

Over the holiday season, I was lucky enough to have almost all of my friends in town for several weeks. This meant daily trips to Starbucks to “get work done” which translates to “rearrange the tables + chairs in the store to accomodate everyone and talk loudly for hours on end.” (The good people at the ‘Bucks totally love us.) Since it’s so rare to actually have my friends nearby for an extended period of time, I knew I had to seize the opportunity to pop the question to my bridesmaids in person. And let me tell you, I struggled to figure out what I wanted to do! The pressure was on, to say the least.

After many failed mock-ups (I was dead-serious about this task), I finally decided that simple was best.

Using my Cameo, I die-cut each of the cards and then adhered them to a sheet of gold cardstock along with a handwritten message on the back. From there, I wrapped each card in hot pink tissue paper and tucked them into kraft bags embellished with washi tape, glitter tape, and a Thicker in each girl’s first initial. And guess what? It totally worked! Despite the fact that four out of six girls currently live out of state, they all agreed to join me on this journey! I couldn’t be more thrilled.

xoxo

7 Comments

Posts from the ‘make’ category

diy muffin tin planters.

blueprint.

capture.

project life: january 2013.

thank you notes.

i’m a hat person.

engagement party invitations.

workspace wednesday: last minute crafting.

project life.

bridesmaid cards.

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