The GREAT Craft Festival!!!!

Hello faithful readers,

So, did anyone other than me read the title of this blog and instantly think of Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin? Its fitting for the season that's for sure! Not to mention a classic.

The Great Craft Festival is being held at Cashman Center, November 4th - 6th and Paper Dolls is going to be there! We are super excited for our first large craft fair but also exceedingly nervous! The booth fee was not a meager amount for our little business and we are all having nightmares of no one showing up, not being able to process credit cards due to a freak internet connection mishap, selling nothing, and any number of other mini craft disasters you can imagine!

We have been working away creating all kinds of crafty art with a conscience - the sweatshop is back in business. Also, we have enlisted the help of family and friends for making us an awesome display fixture, assisting with set-up, and just begging them to attend and pass the word on. We've ordered bags, tissue paper (because that makes everything pretty) and new business cards. I tell you, there has never been a time where I've felt more official or more broke!

So, please plan on coming to the Great Craft Festival in a couple of weeks and tell all of your friends! Here are the details, we hope to see you there:

Great Craft Festival
Cashman Center Exhibit Hall
November 4th (10-6), 5th (10-6) and 6th (10-5)
850 Las Vegas Blvd N
Cost: $8 for adults (but we have a $2 off coupon - see below!!!!)

4 Rs and a U!

How many times have you been cutting a pattern out of felt and looked at the remaining scraps feeling guilty? They aren't really big enough to make anything out of but you just can't bare to throw them away. Or maybe, you slice through cardstock at a whirlwind pace while making exploding boxes, scrapbook pages, etc. and just swipe the left over bits of polka dot papers and strips of patterned vellum into the recycling bin. And I bet you have all looked at a few inches of remaining yarn, thread, or ribbon and just known there is nothing you can do with such a small scrap!?








Ruth, Gracie and I are constantly trying to think of things we can do with what others view as trash, rubbish, disposable or unusable. It really isn't hard - it just takes a change of mindset. And before you start calling us things like "green police" or "tree huggers" please realize that half of our motivation is financial. Well,, maybe a third! The more you reuse, recycle, upcycle and repurpose, the less you have to buy. And for three girls who aren't the richest crafters in the world - that's huge!

What is upcycling and repurposing anyway?

Most people who grew up with the three Rs are pretty aware of what reusing and recycling is. But what about the 4th R, Repurposing? Repurposing is literally what is sounds like. It basically means revamping something with a new use. Reusing a coffee can to capture used oil, keeping your PF Chang's left-overs container to feed Grover his morning kibble, etc.



Now, what about that pesky U?

Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value. Similar to repurposing but the important part is that upcycling maintains or improves the quality of the materials . Many of the handmade items sold on Etsy are made with upcycled items. There are coin purses made from sweaters, earrings cut out of vinyl records and an old travel case made into a clock, to name just a few. Another example might be taking the Starbucks coffee sleeves that you would normally throw away and using them as mini album pages such as the Las Vegas mini album Gracie made below.
So, the next time you find yourself walking over to your trash can or recycling bin, take a moment to pause. Ask yourself, is there something I can use this for?

September 11th...

Yesterday was a sad day. A day for remembering. A day I thought about all of the firemen I knew - my favorite customers from when I used to work at Starbucks. Men who risk their lives every day for someone else. Good men. Good Americans. Heroes.

It seems a little silly, or ill placed to mention 9/11 on a craft blog. Or maybe, its completely appropriate. Maybe everyone should talk about that day 10 years ago with whatever forum they have. Whatever way is most appropriate for them to share on.

I didn't make any crafts yesterday. Or, for yesterday. I thought about it afterwards and will do so next year. But, I thought I would share some of the things other crafty women made in honor of this day. (Click on the photos to go to the site and get details on these items.)









Take a look...

And remember...

Looking forward to Fall

I know it's not Fall quite yet but once school starts, I can't help thinking that it might as well be. I want to buy all new folders, packages of pencils, and sweaters in whatever autumn colors are my current favorite. This is usually a mistake in Las Vegas because it's still 109.

When we, at Paperdolls, think of fall crafts, we think of wreaths. Lauren and I have made several lately and we wanted to show you a few of them. We've been using felt, fabric, or yarn wrapped forms with silk flowers, ribbons, buttons etc. Anyway, take a look, and let us know what you think about them. Or just tell us what your favorite thing is about Fall.

Back to School!

Tomorrow's the first day of school! I need to return to work just so I can keep my days straight! It's my 10th year, and I know it'll be a good one.

I've been wracking my brain to come up with back to school gift for my friends at work.

A while ago, I saw a Valentine's Day gift idea for teachers here, and decided to use the idea to make gifts for my co-workers.

1. You'll need chinese take out boxes, fortune cookies, tissue paper, glue, ribbon, a 4" scalloped paper punch (I used the "Accent Essentials" Cricut cartridge), and this print out.

2. Cut out the print out, and glue to the scalloped black circle.

3. Add tissue paper to the Chinese take out boxes.

4. Add fortune cookies to the boxes.

5. Glue scalloped circles to the boxes.

6. Tie a bow to the box's handle.

7. Glue gun 2 pencils to the tops of the boxes for chopsticks :)

Ta-da! :)

Happy first day of school!