liveSPACE

...easy holiday favors

here's a really simple and easy project for making festive holiday favors.  make them big or small and fill them with treats or small surprises inside.  the favors we made were from a 10" half circle but you can adjust the size to fit your preference.  this project couldn't be easier. 

think of these favor as you plan your christmas party.  wouldn't it be great to hang these on your tree and invite your guests to take one as a parting gift?  or how about hanging from the back of each dining room chair?

these would be great in the office too.  hang one of these on the door handle of your co-worker's office as a christmas surprise. 

materials:
A Kid Like Me™ Christmas specialty cardstock paper pad (PADX-71)
eyelets, eyelet setter, ribbon, tape, tissue paper, ruler, xacto knife

instructions:
1. cut your cardstock to 12x12" and cut off 2 – 1" strips to use as handles.

2. trace a 10" circle (or whatever size you want) and cut the circle in half. view template. 

3. gather your ribbon into a small bouquet and tie a knot at the top.  find the center of your half circle and place your ribbon with the knot inside the paper.

 

3. roll the half circle around the ribbon to make a cone.  make sure the knot stays inside the cone so it won't fall through. tape the edges down.

4. hammer the handle down using eyelets. and fill with goodies wrapped in tissue paper.  that's it!

...and the winner is!

sorry for the delay, folks.  the winner of our create-your-own calendar kit and rhinestones is Janet B. 

here's how she suggested i chase away the christmas blues:

"Start singing--anything. Gently move yourself in Christmas songs. Music is a definite pick me up."

congratulations and please email me your street address.  thanks to everyone for leaving a comment!

...make an original holiday story

hi everyone!  hannah, the assistant, here for another holiday project. 

i used to work at a preschool and one of the things we would do with the kids is let them make up their own stories.  first we would have them choose from a pile of stickers that they wanted to use in their story, then they would arrange it on their paper however they liked, and last we would ask them to tell us a story about the stickers they used.  i was working with 3 year olds so we would write down the story as the child told us verbally.  it was really fun for the kids and it was really funny for the teachers because the kids would always come up with creative and hilarious stories. 

today's project is based on that idea!  this is a great way for you to spend quality time with your child or grandchild and do something fun and educational as your kids grow up!  it's also a good way to encourage your kids to think creatively and have to freedom to create a story however they want!  depending on the age of your child you can review colors and count pieces for preschool-aged kids or for school-aged kids you could give them complete freedom and have them practice writing. 

materials:
A Kid Like Me™ Christmas specialty cardstock paper pad (PADX-71)
A Kid Like Me™ Christmas icons chipboard embellishments (CBX-18)
A Kid Like Me™ Christmas alphabet chipboard embellishments (CBX-19)
pop dots, a sharpee


instructions:
**this project is more about your child but there are some steps you can do beforehand to make it an easy process for you and for your child.**

1. select designs and cut your specialty cardstock to 12x12".  i chose ones with a scene so it would be more conducive for a story but of course the child has creative freedom!

2. find a scrap piece of sticker acetate (the plastic that the stickers come on from the store) and prep the chipboard icons with pop dots on the back and place on acetate.  this way your child can have a creative flow placing the pieces without getting frustrated with removing the pop dot backings.

here's an example of a finished story!

...noel

i'd like to share a project from richelle in accounting.  what a cute use of mambi christmas paper, soft spoken™ pieces, holiday embellishments and simple wood letters you can find at any craft store.  

good job, richelle!  what a cute little project that looks great on her desk at work.  this year mambi's got you covered in the christmas paper department.  we've got paper pads coming out of our ears with christmas cheer!  check out these pads...

(from left to right, row 1)
A Kid Like Me™ Christmas paper pad with 148 sheets! (RPBS-25), A Kid Like Me™ specialty cardstock pad (PADX-71), Kay - Oh What Fun specialty cardstock pad (PADX-72)

(row 2)
A Kid Like Me™ 8x8" specialty cardstock pad (VCX-05), A Kid Like Me™ 5x7" mat pad (MPS-31)

...christmas blues and a giveaway

i've got the christmas blues.  i admit having some rain this week was nice but for some reason this year it just doesn't feel like the holidays yet.  it probably has something to do with the fact that we're so swamped here at mambi [we ar doing some really awesome things for 2010] ...too much work to do!  i feel like i'm stuck in october still waiting for thanksgiving and my birthday to come. 

today's mambi giveaway on a wednesday follows the theme of things being a little off, like me.  if you'd like to win our create-your-own 12 month calendar (SSVP-13) and a handful of rhinestones please leave a comment answering the question: does it feel like the holidays to you? also, give me some advice as to how i can change this mood. i'll pick a winner on monday.

...upcycle your christmas

happy december!  hannah, the assistant here for another project.  i think it's safe to say that everyone is feeling the pinch this christmas season and that means we need to not spend harder but spend smarter.  here at me & my BIG ideas we try to do our best to recycle waste and conserve when we can.  lately we've been having a lot of sticker roll cores lying around.  my co-worker elena brought some to me and explained that they had served their intended purpose but wondered if they could be used for something else.  way to go elena! 

as scrappers we know all about reusing old ribbons and paper scraps but what if we took it to another level?  instead of simply recycling an old sticker roll core we can UPcycle it and make it something even cooler than it was originally intended to be used for.  i understand that you might not have sticker roll cores laying around your living room BUT you might have something else that would normally be thrown away that could be UPcycled!

here's the idea i had using old sticker roll core: run with the environmentally friendly idea and give the gift of a tree seedling or potted flower.  so the project i did was to make a portable seedling container. 

materials:
A Kid Like Me™ Christmas Winter Wonderland specialty cardstock (PADX-71)
sticker roll core
tree seedling/potted flower + extra soil if needed
plastic wrap
tape
tissue paper and ribbon/yarn

instructions:
1. we need to cover the bottom of the sticker roll core so that none of the soil escapes.  take a small piece of plastic wrap and cut to a square.  place the core on top of the wrap and tape the 4 corners up on to the outer edge of the roll.  you'll have 4 'wings' of wrap left after you do that.  press them down so it'll cling to itself and tape the 'wings' down if needed

2. measure the height of the core and cut your cardstock to fit.  i'm using our A Kid Like Me™ Christmas specialty cardstock pad so choose something with a cool treatment!.  this pad has foil, UV coating, and flocking.  i chose one with foil.  wrap the paper around the core and tape it down covering the edges of the plastic wrap.

3. take your seedling/potted flower and take it out of the plastic container it came in.  fill the core with extra potting soil and insert your plant.  i'm using a fake mini christmas tree but you get the idea.

4. wrap your covered container with a piece of tissue paper and use ribbon or yarn to tie it down. don't forget a little tag!

 

this container could also serve as a cute centerpiece.  i also used another core and wrapped it with cozy yarn to add a different kind of texture.  combine both styles and fill with mini trees or a fall arrangement to make an affordable UPcycled tablescape!

i hope this really simple project will inspire you to also take a look around and see how you can reuse something ordinary and make it special!

 

...ornaments and eyelets

  

hi everyone!  hannah, the assistant, here and i hope you had a truly thankful thanksgiving!  it's black friday and i have a fun project for you to gear up for christmas.  yes, now that thanksgiving has come and gone NOW we can start to think about christmas (and not before halloween, sheesh!). 

just in time for christmas we have our A Kid Like Me™ Christmas Collection.  it's perfect for all your craft projects and also to get your home in the mood for christmas.  take for example our new Paper Chains (PCS-01).  it would really cute for decorating your home for a christmas party but let's think outside the box!

the project i have for you will take advantage of the pre-cut strips of paper to make little ornaments that would be great for your tree but also to be used as a gift embellishment!

materials:
A Kid Like Me™ Christmas Paper Chains (PCS-01)
eyelets, with your eyelet tools too
3mm hole puncher will make doing your eyelets a snap
crystal clear tape
xyron or double sided tape
festive string

the cool thing about eyelets is that they come in sooo many different colors.  they look like little pieces of candy!  so pretty. 

instructions:
1.  take your paper chain strips and either xyron or use your double-sided tape to adhere your strips wrong-sides together. 

2.  take different lengths and patterns and create circles and arrange them in simple or creative ways.

3.  when you're ready to eyelet them together use your hole puncher to punch through each circle where you'd like the eyelet to go through.  the eyelets i used could only handle about 3 layers of circles. 

4.  i found it was easier to pre-cut your string and knot it first and then pull the string through the back of the eyelet. 

  

voila!  cute and easy to make with the help of our Paper Chains from the A Kid Like Me™ Christmas Collection.  let's enjoy the season!

...typography, oh how i love thee

typography |tīˈpägrəfē|
noun
the art or process of setting and arranging types and printing from them.
• the style and appearance of printed matter.

typography is one of my biggest loves. and, some people abuse it, a lot. if you ask my team they would tell you how much it irks me when the kerning is off or when ALL SCRIPT CAPS is used (yuck). i love to love type and sometimes when it's used too much i can't take it anymore. can anyone say papyrus?

typofiles, my term used for people like myself who have a favorite letter (mine - "G") and who know way too much about letters and see them as shapes rather than just letters on a page. if you ask me, typofiles are the coolest geeks around. if you have ever wanted to learn more about typography, here are some interesting links.

http://www.veer.com/products/type

http://www.typeradio.org

49sparks.com

thinking with type

http://design.sva.edu

http://www.p22.com

what's your favorite letter?

...hanging vase

hi everyone!  hannah, the assistant, here for another guest posting.  here in california the weather is getting cooler but it’s still pleasantly warm in the daytime.

today we’re going to make a hanging vase that could hold flowers from any arbor or tree to nicely decorate an early al fresco lunch.  if you happen to live where it’s already too cold these hanging vases could still make a nice addition to a dining table or mantle.  we’ll decoupage or paper-mâché mambi paper together to create our vase.  very simple, easy, and affordable.  this is a great project to do with the kids. 

materials:
Kay’s Autumn Specialty Cardstock pad (PXT-09), cut in to strips
balloons, i’m using water balloons
glue, i’d recommend a tacky glue
paintbrush
styrofoam cup
plastic container
water

instructions:
1. if you’ll be working indoors be sure to cover any table tops with newspaper.

2. blow up your balloons, as many as you need. choose a few different papers from Kay’s Autumn Specialty Cardstock pad.  cut in to strips, 1/2-1” wide.

3. in your plastic container put good dollop of glue and maybe 1Tb amount of water.  we’re working with cardstock which is on the thicker side.  the water will be there to keep the glue damp and soften the water however we’ll be working mostly with the glue directly. 

4.start by layering strips of paper in an X pattern on the bottom of the balloon.  we want to make sure the bottom of our vase will be sturdy.  use your paintbrush to brush glue directly on the balloon and then place your strip on the glue and apply more glue on top of the paper.  drip your paintbrush in water if the glue dries too quickly or if the paper is too stiff.  be very generous with the glue!

5. once the bottom has a good infrastructure start to layering your strips around the ballon being sure to overlap over the previous layer of paper.

6. cover the balloon as much as you’d like (i stopped a few inches from the top) put it in a styrofoam cup to dry.  use any type of cup that you can dispose and won’t stick to the glue.  let it dry until the glue has dried.  the time will vary depending on how many layers of paper you’ve glued.  i dried mine overnight. 

7. once the glue has dried pop the balloon and discard.  if it’s still damp inside the paper shell let it dry some more, opening side up.

8. once completely dry punch holes on the side and knot string on either side of punched holes.  tie small bouquets to place inside the vase.

***9. if you’ll be using the vases inside the rounded bottom will pose a problem.  simply cut the bottom of the vase using an xacto knife.  use a small votive candle holder to hold your flowers but slip the vase to hide your candle holder.*** 

...hello fall

to say goodbye to summer my team and i ventured down to the beach for a farewell. i wonder sometimes if they think that i am crazy. oh, well. i asked them to write a message to their future selves and we placed the messages in a bottle and sent it out into the ocean.

it's now fall (november)... my favorite time of year. it's cold but not unbearable. you can wear sweaters. the air is crisp and fresh. boots and scarves are welcomed. i don't need to get a pedicure regularly. you can drink things like warm apple cider and pumpkin spice lattes. you can eat apple pies (a la mode of course, hagan daaz vanilla). it's also my birthday month. and, if your birthday is in november you know what i mean. and if you know me, you know i celebrate all month long. i give myself little presents each day that are meaningful to me. yesterday i had lunch with serena. we have been having the same conversation for 2 weeks now via voice mail. how sad is that! so, that was definitely a great birthday month gift. what is your favorite month and why?

 

your friends and family are the most important, ok should be the most important people in your lives. and even though sometimes the drama and the OMG moments get to be too much. they are still apart of you. so cherish every moment and don't let the petty stuff get to you