happenstance home: May 2011

My little men both turn another year older this month! They are growing up, and this year they didn't have a theme they wanted - no inspiration colors for me to use - nada - so I'm choosing cheerful and springy with some nature wrapped in. I got inspired by two things - mushrooms and faux bois.

This paper has a texture on it that completely reminds me of faux bois. It reminds me of my Sophie Conran plates. Too bad that the texture probably won't show up on the computer. I printed 6 invites per 8 1/2 by 11 sheet. My next step was to get out the paper reinforcement circles. I used this same idea many years ago but in super miniature version.

Here is how I add color to the circles. Decorating chalks work really well, and you can blend the colors for the look you want. I used the q-tips to apply the color, but cotton balls can come in handy as well.

Here are how my layers worked. From left to right - first a touch of aqua, second I added a little kelly green, and third more aqua was dusted on top.

They end up having a soft appearance and are really quick to finish.

I used the aqua that is all broken up and the kelly green two spots over. If you use just a little bit the color stays soft.

So, I placed the colored circle where I wanted it on the invitation, and then punched a hole in the center of the circle.

Next, I wanted to add a tab. Something to pull. I just cut out strips of patterned paper, lined them up against the invite, and when it looked good I made a hole punch through that paper. I left enough room for a mounting square, and then trimmed the excess paper off.

This is the back of the invite after everything was lined up and stuck together.

The simple finished look. This invite would be so easy to make in any color combination - and I choose my patterned paper quickly from something lying around, but I can only imagine if I had time I could have picked out a really fun paper. This was just a super quick assembly.

Close up.

I tucked each invite into a white paper bag that I trimmed to the right size. The bags that I purchased were originally 3 1/2 inches wide by 6 3/4 inches tall. I trimmed about 2 inches off of the top of the bag using my paper cutter and a decorative edge.

The polka dot rectangle was cut from fabric paper that has adhesive backing. It cut just fine with the paper cutter and was easy to attach. I like the addition of fabric to the mix as well.

A mushroom decoration was the final touch.

I'm happy with how they turned out. Now I'm leaning towards gnomes, owls, wood, moss. Not all of those - that is just my general thought process. Maybe some mini terrarium making. Painting? Old fashioned lawn games? We will see what happens. I need my final guest list and I will go from there.