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thank you to the lovely "editors" of the following lifestyle blogs+ websites:
Emily of Once Wed
Ez of Creature Comforts
+ Gabreial of Vintage Indie
Please stop by and check out
the myriad of information they offer
on a daily + weekly basis.
Beautiful photographs,
design inspiration for daily living + special life events
as well as crafty goodness
...only 3 clicks away!
gather together
A piece of wire
I used 19 gauge, annealed, approx 20” in length
1” wide Ribbon-
I used grosgrain
Vintage monograms
-or other tiny fabric embellishment
Tacky glue
Cut your ribbon into several 3” long strips.
I like odd numbers best for the “symmetry” factor.
Snip the bottom of each ribbon strip to create a “V”.
Turn your ribbon piece over to the wrong side and “turn down” from the top a ¼” seam.
Iron—this will create your “pass through” for the wire.
Run a very thin bead of tacky glue under the edge of the folded over ribbon to seal the seam.
If your glue tip is not small enough to create a thin strip of glue—use a bamboo skewer to help spread the glue {my all time favorite crafting tool}.
Repeat with all of your ribbon pieces.
Turn your ribbon pieces over to the right side.
Glue 1 set of tiny monogram initials about half way down.
Thread your tiny flags onto the wire.
hang and admire the wiry wonkiness of your itty bitty bunting
variations:
2bunting
Function:
noun
Etymology:
perhaps from English dialect bunt (to sift)
Date:
1711
1: a lightweight loosely woven fabric used chiefly for flags and festive decorations
©J.Rusnak+Papier Valise 2009
pulled out a stack of favored art, craft + decorating books-spent some time doing the "flip through"
set up a small vignette of little things that make me happy--took a photo, printed it out + put it on my inspiration board.
hesitantly picked up a notebook + a pen
and then sly old inspiration
teamed up with Danny Gregory and befriended my "i can't draw" mentality
“My alphabet starts with this letter called yuzz.
It’s the letter I use to spell yuzz-a-ma-tuzz.
You’ll be sort of surprised what there is to be found once
you go beyond ‘Z’ and start poking around!”
~ Dr. Seuss
{vintage game tiles}
A.…is good at keeping secrets
B…does not speak French
C... always manages to surprise me
D… tout les en haut
D !
Surprised, indeed!
A wonderful, thoughtful secret kept by the non-French speaking, good gift giver.
Who somehow managed to maneuver his way around a French website to gift me with a Marie Claire Idées subscription.
{ Photo Credits: Louis Gaillard + Gilles Trillard}
....i have been without my Marie Claire Idées fix for several months after the independent bookstore that reserved it for me closed it's doors.
Living far away from immediate family means we keep in touch by frequent telephone calls. Two of my nephews dabble in the art of the 2 minute conversation. I get as many questions in as I can within this time frame about school, friends, insects and lego.
I always, always end our conversations by saying “I love you” and I always, always hear back, “I love you too”. Sadly, I can sense that the 7 year old will soon be at that stage where “I love you too” will not be a part of the goodbye as often happens with age as self consciousness heightens.
A few weeks ago I said “I love you as big as the ocean, so do you know what that means?”
His reply, “An ocean is pretty large, and did you know Aunt J that water covers ¾ of the earth’s surface?”
“I guess that means I love you a lot.”
“Yeah, you do.”
{vintage declarations of love once used on Valentine's Day Cards}
So, now we have a new way of saying goodbye.
A goodbye that rolls off the tongue of a 7 year old as easily as if he were telling me about his latest video game.
“I love you ¾ of the earth’s surface~”
The sweetest of goodbyes, I do declare.
...if one cannot go to France on a whim
on a whim one should bake a little France
French Apple Tart
this was so easy to put together
--just remember the dough needs to chill for at least a hour--
{from Ina Garten, here is the recipe and a small interview with her as well}
Vintage Accordion Folder
© J.Rusnak +Papier Valise 2009
{for personal use only}
These folders are a great way to organize receipts, ticket stubs or use as a reference folder
You will need:
6 - 9 x 12” catalogue style envelopes ( we used Envirotech recycled envelopes)
Glue Stick
Bone Folder
Paper Cutter
Optional: Tabs for labeling pockets
Cut envelopes in half, so that they measure 5” high, while still maintaining their original 9” width.
This will involve trimming each half a bit.
Trim from the open “cut” sides (not the flap side or the already sealed bottom of each envelope)
You will have 12 pockets.
Set aside one “flap” pocket.
With the remaining 5 “flap” pockets—glue + seal the flaps, to create your pockets.
You will also have the 6 pockets created naturally when you cut off the envelope bottoms.
Stack loose pockets on top of one another--all open sides together. Begin gluing.
Using the width of your glue stick as a guide, run a length of glue down the center backside of 1 pocket (shortest side to shortest side)
Take the next pocket and stack it on top, burnish with a bone folder or brayer.
Repeat, until all of your pockets have been glued on top of one another.
This creates your accordion “pocket”.
{4th photo below shows how accordion "forms" by only gluing the center portion of the envelopes to one another}
Take the last “flap” pocket that you set aside and using a bone folder, score a line approximately ¼” above the natural flap fold line ( see above photo).
Fold over.
This creates a flap that will easily tuck into the next pocket to create a secure keeping pocket.
You can also use the flap to cover several pockets at once and tuck it wherever you wish on your accordion folder (see below). You will also need to glue the bottom to create a secure pocket.
Once you have glued the bottom, you can then glue and stack this last pocket.
Glue your accordion pocket within your metal tab folder.
Cover the entire front pocket with glue and place on the inside cover. Cover the last pocket with glue and adhere to the back of your metal tab folder.
If desired you may wish to add tabs to your pockets--
we used vintage fold-over tabs, adhesive label tabs and vintage paper tabs.
More Variations + Uses:
add large grommets to the center edge of the front cover + the center edge of the back cover and run a ribbon through from front to back to add a decorative closure
add a fabric embellishment to the cover such as a flat style millinery flower, or a length of ribbon for contrast
perfect for keeping track of birthdays, label your pockets by month or by person--tuck in cards and gift suggestions
social event tracker--i'm keeping my ticket stubs, video rental slips + library card slips for a special project later in the year and this will help me stay organized by month
holiday reference--a perfect idea folder for smaller magazine clippings
