Bethlehem Star Pattern

I have been neglecting my blog a lot lately, but here's a new one for ya! If you are new to paper construction, I would recommend trying a different project, because this is not as easy as it would seem.

The back story: every year I like to add some handmade ornaments to my tree, and over the past few years I have been recycling my Christmas cards for this purpose. You can see a couple of them in the edges of the pic. This year, I went online with the hopes of finding a pattern for a 360 degree Bethlehem star, and had no luck! You can find one-sided and two-sided patterns, but not 'ball' shaped ones. So I came up with my own, which turned out to be a tricky bit of geometry - what exactly do you call a 14-spiked sphere where some of the spikes are 3-sided and some are 4-sided?

Anyway, here are the patterns and instructions for your personal use. The pattern printed full size makes about an 8 1/2" long star. Just double-click on the pics to enlarge. Merry Christmas and Happy Crafting!

The Deed is Done!

My eldest was married this weekend! And since this is a craft blog....the above picture includes some of the items that I made over the past 13 months for her wedding. Not included were the bridal bouquets, etched glasses, and jewelry that she made.

Gaelic Storm Band is Amazing!

Went to see them last night, and being such a crafty-minded person, I had to find a way to attach "Darcy's Ass" to my dashboard. There's a back story (and a song of course) to this little donkey, and you can find out about their missing mascot, the band, and their celtic music at http://www.gaelicstorm.com/

Labels for Favors and Tent Cards

Personalized labels are easy to make! Here I've imported an image to my graphics program, and tweaked away! The labels include a mock nutritional label, with ingredients such as "love" and "happiness", as well as a thank you message from the bride and groom.

Tent-style table number cards are made from the leftover invitation scraps.

Hurricane Irene

Had to adjust my sign a bit!

Whew!

These wedding invites for my daughter took awhile, as I was trying to find a balance between "casual fun" and "formal occasion". The rules from the bride: lots of fall color, nothing elegant, no ruffles, bows, ribbons, or buttons,lol! Hence, the velcro dot and leaf brad enclosures...

A Cat and a Cake

...and candles, of course! I colored the flames with orange and yellow oil pencil, then sealed them with glitter glue. If you don't seal your chalks or pencils when they are used inside a card, you'll wind up with smudges you didn't count on. The sealant doesn't have to be glitter glue, I just wanted the sparkly effect.

International Wedding

This one was made for a friend of my daughter, and combines some cultural features of Spain, Austria and the US:

The background is of an etching by Josef Eidenberger, an Austrian artist, and is titled Linz Hofgasse. The Spanish bride has lace trim and Swarovski beads on her dress (a nod to spanish lace and Austrian crystal). Her bouquet features the national flowers of the US, Spain, and Austria (rose, pomegranate, and edelweiss). Each flower is made of paper by me.

Table Numbers

I've been MIA for a while, working on the invites to my daughter's wedding, but here is my latest project: the table numbers.

Long Neck

This pop-up giraffe prefers the ground vegetation over the trees.

Summertime!

Now I need to make an apple pie card to match!

Big Screen Buddies

Dad and his son are enjoying a favorite pastime. (Inside, the son has grown up.) The screen part was made to have a photo slid in from the top.

Happy Memorial Day!

Just a simple paper cutout design: there's a white lining to hide the message inside from peeking thru the cutouts.

Computer Guy

Integrates a purchased sticker into the design