Summer BBQ Stationary: Swine You Up?

If you remember CP and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, then you already know I had a major stationary fail a few weeks back.

This is said stationary.

Cute, right?

I do have to admit, after I got over the minor phone number RSVP mishap, the reprints turned out even better than the first set.

I happened to get some new inkadinkado stamps for the occasion, which I used on the outside of the envelopes.

Of course, liners on the inside.

And then the actual cards? Just a cute invite to a summer barbeque, with the RSVP line really taking the cake.

“Swine You Up, or No Shanks?”

I crack myself up, seriously.

And the baker’s twine was a nice finishing touch, if I do say so myself.

As always, #ilovepaper.

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Custom Stamped Stationary with the Inkadinkado

So I’ve been getting back into crafting lately. I know, I always say that.

But seriously. I had an epic weekend of crafting.

One of my best friends is getting married this fall – and nothing is better to give at a wedding shower than stationary customized to the bride’s new last name. Sweet, right?

(Not to mention it helped me clean up at bridal shower bingo, I rocked the “homemade” category…competitive? me? never…)

So instead of my normal celery-stamps that I am known for, I decided to bust out the inkadinkado again. While the name is epically laughable, it does create some pretty sweet stuff.

I used 12 x 12 paper and sliced it into 4 x 5.5 notecards. These fit easily into 4.375 x 5.75 (A3) envelopes. I couldn’t decide whether to cut the paper first or stamp first, so I went with slicing the paper. This also gives you a bit more control over how the stamp is placed on the card.

And I stamped the envelopes too, because who doesn’t want to get a fancy envelope in the mail?

My favorite crafts are always the ones I make for people I love – and this was no exception. Can’t wait to toast the new Mr. and Mrs. S in the fall!

Friday Find: CakeryPapery in the wild!

So I had a fairly life-changing moment the other day when I was seriously stalking casually perusing the Pinterest wedding category board.

(And no, I do not approve of your judgement on the fact that I was on the wedding board and am no where close to married. A girl’s got to day dream about something!)

Back to my life-changing moment.

I saw my glitter mason jars! Pinned by a random pinner that I don’t even know! My photo and my mason jars – randomly on pinterest!

#mademyday

Follow that up with the fact that one of Home Depot’s official pinners (yes, the Home Depot) commented on my glitter jar post and then pinned it to the official Home Depot DIY Wedding Pinterest board!

#ahhhhhh

And then cp-bf reminded me that back in March, OXO (yes, the makers of all things good in kitchen utensil-dom) had created a facebook collage of my lemon chiffon cake recipe! Freaking 1,326 likes and 105 shares!

#nowicandie

Let’s just say it was a pretty cool moment. It’s been just over a year since I started this blog as an outlet for my creative life, my mess of a dating life, and just a way to share the daily hilarity that is cakerypapery – and never did I think I would still be at it a year later. So thanks to all of you who follow this blog, pin my posts, read my random musings, and make me enjoy this whole cakerypapery alter-ego thing.

TGI-freaking-F.

Easy DIY Thank You Card Set

So I still have a fascination with this whole “measuring” feature on my paper cutter. If I could go back to the days when I measured with a ruler and cut with an exact-o knife…I wouldn’t.

A few weeks ago I whipped up this set of thank-you cards. I already had the ‘thank you’ part printed out since I used them for my niece’s birthday party, and I hoard save things to “use them later.”

The blue paper was left over from my ombre Tiffany card project, and the dashed line cardstock I already had in-house.

A little slicing, a little glue stick action, and it’s thank you card game time.

I really like how these cards coordinate as a set.

Oh, and I still have more of the ‘thank you’ pieces to use up, so I’m sure you will see another variation of these on CP soon.

And who knows? Maybe I’ll even bake some cupcakes again soon, once I get this whole “work life balance” thing to stop being such a myth. Green velvet for St. Patrick’s Day anyone?

DIY Tiffany Blue Ombre Stationary

So I finally figured out that my paper cutter has this amazing feature, where it measures paper right as you cut.

That Martha Stewart, she thinks of everything.

And don’t judge, I would have figured this out sooner if I had actually read the directions…

Anyways, this is a vast improvement over measuring everything with a ruler.

So slicing and dicing custom cards is now pretty quick. Which is good when you’re getting ready for girls night out breakfast at tiffany’s birthday dinner and still haven’t started the cards…

But these went quick. I started off with 4 different shades of Tiffany blue for an ombre effect, in 12 x 12 paper.

Trim these down to fit in A6 envelopes.

Then a quick run through the printer to customize.

And done.

(For reals, I need to learn how to do letterpress to uplevel the wow here.)

I even got these sweet transparent envelopes to make sending the cards super fun.

But seriously? This whole “distance to the blade” feature is changing my life.

It’s the little things these days, really. 

And My Kraft Paper Obsession Continues…

We all know that I sort of, well, enjoy kraft paper. A lot.

Here’s the roundup of my holiday projects that involved kraft paper. And yes, I know it is well over a month since Christmas passed, but considering that I just took down my tree last weekend…it’s still holiday time here.

You can use it to make table runners, like this.

I really love this idea. Plus, you can do fun things like handwritten place settings or scrawl the menu out. (I did not do those things because it was only Christmas Eve and I needed to keep my over-the-top-ness to a minimum. Which was hard.)

Kraft paper also makes great invitations. Like the one for my Christmas Eve Spectacular.

(Yes, I send out invites to Christmas Eve dinner…hence the reason I had to keep the table runner simple.)

Or, you can use it to make Christmas cards.

This one was for my boss. She reads a lot of romance novels, which we jokingly refer to as “The Cowboy and the Princess.”

And it’s a great way to wrap presents. Plus, yarn is an easy upgrade from your basic ribbon.

Alright, I’m back to krafting. I mean, crafting.

DIY Window Leaf Cupcake Flags

So a while back (and by ‘while’ I mean in September, #shamerattles), a friend came to visit and we got into some serious Cricut action.

The result?

These super-sweet window leaf cupcake flags. Perfect for fall. Displayed on carrot cake and my-favorite-ever-cream cheese frosting.

Just cut out all the shapes, assemble with glue, and then attach the finished flags to toothpicks.

I like to use glue sticks for this type of work, hence the magazine laid out for scrap paper / workplace protector. I’ve tried rubber cement and liquid glue, but I remain a big fan of my first-grade glue stick method.

And seriously, get a Cricut. It’s awesome.

Because when you give a girl a Cricut, she’ll probably do a lot of crafts…like a lot a lot.

Festive Holiday DIY: Glitter Mason Jar Candles

Nothing says “Christmas” like glitter putting up the tree and setting up the nativity scene.

Well, that and the trifecta of epic Christmas albums (Mariah, Bieber, N’Sync. Duh.).

But seriously. The holidays are one of the only times where it’s socially acceptable to use glitter as an adult.

If you’re looking for a quick, easy, festive holiday DIY with glitter (who isn’t?), then pull out a few mason jars and make glittery candles.

It’s sort of like snowflakes, in a jar.

Just make a glue wash (glue + water) and brush the inside of the mason jars. I used regular ol’ Elmer’s glue, and adding the water helps it brush on easier.

Add glitter of your choice (I like silver) to the inside of the jars, and roll/spin the jar around until the glitter coats the sides.

Let dry, and….done. Simply add a tea light, and you’re good to go.

I brushed the glue almost all the way up to the top, but you could do it at various levels for the mismatched-yet-chic look.

These take about five minutes to make, and definitely give the house a festive look, even when they aren’t lit.

Seriously, iloveglitter.

Quick Gifts: DIY Printed Notecards

Yesterday I had one of those “crap I need to bring a gift” moments. You see, I was invited to a graduation party for the sister of a friend. So, I didn’t want to show up empty-handed, but my willingness to pay for this type of gift was about $10 or less. And the moment this “you need to bring a gift” realization hit me was the moment I was leaving the house. And since giving booze to teenagers is frowned upon, I couldn’t do my standard grab a bottle of wine out of the rack and call it a day moves.

Which is why it’s handy to have blank stationary in my craft kit and notecard design pdfs saved on my computer. Open one of the card designs, load notecards into the printer, and hit print. Quick, easy, DIY notecards.

I have a variety of designs that are my “go-tos” for gifts. The ones above are my ‘hello cards.’ Hola, bonjour, ciao bella.

I also have thank-you cards like this.

I really like the old-fashioned type key font on this one. And the accent letter.

For notecards I use 4.5 x 5 inch folded cards, but you could easily use flat cards or a larger size as well. I like the folded notecards because they strike me as more formal.

Quick, easy, inexpensive to make but impressive to give. Which is the way I like it.

What is your go-to gift when you’re in a rush?

More than sugar.

I love you more than sugar.

Which, is saying a lot for me. Because I really, really, really love sugar.

I also really enjoy envelope liners, like the pink stripe one on I put inside the love sugar DIY card. It really gives stationary something extra. Most people won’t notice envelope liners, but for the ones that do, I like to think they are a nice little surprise when you open the envelope.

Envelope liners are an easy DIY. Create a stencil from a piece of cardstock—for these A7 envelopes it’s sort of a trapezoid shape. You don’t need to line the whole envelope—the top flap and a bit into the bottom area. Trace your stencil onto patterned paper and then cut out the liner. Using thinner weight paper is best; I would avoid anything that is cardstock weight or heavier. When you glue in the liner, make sure you don’t glue over the envelope seal part. Lesson #567 that I learned the hard way…

And then you’re done! An easy DIY addition to a homemade card, or to store-bought cards as well.