Valentine's Day Feature on WeddingLovely Blog

My line of DIY Valentine's Day printables is featured on WeddingLovely's blog today and I wanted to make sure I shared that post with all of my loyal readers!

It is very exciting to have my items in front of so many possible customers and right before Valentine's day no less!

It would be awesome if a few of my loyal readers could stop by the WeddingLovely blog and leave a comment or two about the feature!

My inspiration behind these Valentine’s Day DIY greeting cards, gift tags and mason jar wraps sold on Etsy is to provide my customers with an affordable and simple way to celebrate Valentine’s day with their loved ones. Be it your spouse, your children, a sister or a friend, these DIY downloads allow for anyone to create an affordable Valentine’s day gift for someone they care about.

These affordable gifts range from mason jars filled with Red Hots and labeled with our Happy Valentine’s Day wrap and “I have the hots for you” gift tag to our “I love you to the moon and back” celestial Valentines Day greeting card, all do it yourself projects that are affordable and simple to complete.

Click on the image to visit my Etsy store and shop today!

For more DIY tutorials, wedding inspiration and inspirational musings visit www.bethericksondeisgns.com/allthingscreative.

Long-lasting Bouquets: The Art of Paper Flowers

Spring and Mother's Day are just around the corner and these paper flowers make a great spring decoration or a centerpiece for your Mother's Day brunch. The great thing about these bouquets is that they last longer than live flowers and since you will probably have most of the supplies around your house, they will be cheaper too! If you don't have the supplies at home I will provide a supply list for the Dollar Tree and Amazon, so you can choose where you want to shop.

You can make paper flowers out of just about any paper you, different patterns and colors allow for variety in your bouquet.  The bouquet pictured above has a few types different paper flowers in it, some that are folded Origami and the ones we will learn how to make in this tutorial.

As I was researching online, I found many tutorials on how to make the bloom of the flowers but no one included how to attach a stem. This tutorial includes both parts of the flower, the paper bloom and a wire stem.

Amazon Supplies:

Dollar Tree Supplies:

Creating the bloom:

Step One: Choose your paper

Step Two: Cut circles of varying sizes out of your paper.

Step Three: Cut a spiral from the outside of your circle to the center leaving an area in the center for the base of the flower.

Step Four: Roll your flower from the skinny outside point to the center, starting your roll around a very small dowel or bamboo skewer.

Step Five: Once you have your paper flower rolled to the center, let the flower expand to the desired size. After you have your desired size, place a circle of hot glue on the base of the flower and press the center into the hot glue to hold it in place.

Adding a stem to your paper flowers:

Step One: Cut your desired length of crafting wire (cut them longer than you think you need so you can trim to adjust the height of your flowers as you arrange them in your vase)

Step Two: Roll one end into a tight spiral

Step Three: Bend spiral to a 90 degree angle

Step Four: Place a circle of hot glue on the base of your flower

Step Five: Press the spiral into the hot glue and then place more hot glue over the top

Step Six: Hold until dry

To arrange my paper flowers I filled a small vase with glass marbles and then inserted my wires stems into the glass marbles, moving them around until I created the desired arrangement.

For more tutorials and inspirational encouragement visit www.bethericksondeisgns.com.

Painting SuppliesPaper Crafts Supplies

Drawing Supplies

The ART of GIVING

Sunday • November 26

Small Pocket Wallet

Do you know someone who never carries a purse, complains their wallet is too heavy or who likes to throw some money and credit cards in their pocket and head out the door. If so, one of these fabric credit card holders would be perfect for them, lightweight and small enough to fit in a pocket. They come with the option of two or four pockets and they are perfect for a stocking stuffer or to mail. Shop here: Two Pocket & Four Pocket.

Tomorrow is our last day of the series and we are featuring a local family run small business so make sure you come back to find out who it is!

Affordable Christmas Gift Ideas

Yes, I know, Thanksgiving has not even been celebrated yet! But if you don't start thinking about Christmas gifts now, the next thing you know it will be December and you will be running out of time. You will really be out of time if you want to give handmade gifts. So, even though it’s early, let’s get started! Who knows, maybe you will have all your gifts done before Thanksgiving and you can just look forward to enjoying the hustle and the bustle of the holiday season without the stress of shopping at the busiest time of the year!

I know I always say I am going to start early this year and then it never happens. Well, I am hoping to change that this year and I hope this list of creative gift ideas will help you change that too! Some of these items will be things you can make yourself and some of them will be beautiful finds on Etsy! I love finding a few of my gifts each year on Etsy (www.etsy.com), because I truly believe that Etsy provides an avenue to find a gift the perfectly fits the person you are giving it too. Etsy may not have something for every single person in your life, but I do believe you can find at least one of your gifts there and also enjoy the idea of shopping small and supporting those who pour their time and energy into making something unique. I challenge you to find at least one gift on Etsy this year for someone special in your life. Okay, back to the list!

Handmade note cards: Make them yourself with wonderful instant downloads from Etsy or purchase completed notecards. A few of my favorite Etsy shops for purchasing completed cards are: CreationsKMP (www.etsy.com/shop/creationsKMP), HeartsEase2 (www.etsy.com/shop/HeartsEase2), or BlueVioletSentiment (www.etsy.com/shop/BlueVioletSentiments). To purchase instant downloads to create your own notecards try these stores: pointandpoem (www.etsy.com/shop/pointandpoem) or dariakonik (www.etsy.com/shop/dariakonik). These are just a few of the shops I found on Etsy that supply clipart or notecards, there are many more to be discovered.

Mason Jar Gifts: Mason jars can be used in a variety of ways at Christmas for gifts. A few ideas that come to mind are, cookie mix, hot cocoa mix, quick bread mix, an assortment of favorite candy or nuts, beauty products, art supplies and much more. Decorate your mason jar with one of these free mason jar wraps (Download here, 10 inch or 14 inch) or purchase a mason jar wrap from my Etsy store (www.bethannerickson.etsy.com). My mason jar wraps come in 10 inches or 14 inches, to print the larger size you need to have access to a printer that prints on 11x17 paper.

Unique Jewelry & Engraved Items: Etsy is home to many talented jewelry artists. Shop for beaded earrings, beach glass pendants, engraved sterling bracelets, key chains and everything in between. You are certain to find the perfect piece for the special person in your life. Visit some of these shops to see if they meet your needs: BethAnnErickson (www.bethannerickson.etsy.com), TimArtCreations (www.etsy.com/shop/TimArtCreations) or sweetstonesjewelry (www.etsy.com/shop/sweetstonesjewelry).

Crochet a Scarf: A soft warm scarf is the perfect winter gift and even better if you make it yourself. Don't know how to crochet? Did you know that www.youtube.com has instructional videos for beginners just like yourself . We are heading into the season where you will find yarn on sale at Michaels, Hobby Lobby and other craft stores, making this gift idea very affordable. So why not pick up some yarn today and try out a beginner’s video. I watched this video myself and found it very easy to follow. (Beginners Crochet Project) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx6oEOxOekI)

Baked Goods: We all spend time in the kitchen at the holidays, cooking and baking so we usually have the supplies we need on hand. Why not put some of that time baking to use finishing up your holiday gifts. Holiday tins are easy to find this time of year at Walmart, Fred Meyer and any craft store, along with holiday themed parchment paper. A few supplies and some time in the kitchen and you have some tasty holiday gifts that are sure to please. They are perfect for that one person in your life who is difficult to figure out what to give.

Some other affordable gift ideas are homemade candles, hand-painted kitchen utensils or a handmade Christmas tree decoration. I am sure I could come up with many more ideas for you, but I think this list will get you started. Etsy is a great resource for handmade gifts if you don’t have the time or inclination to make them yourself.

If you have an idea but are not sure how to accomplish it feel free to contact me and I will see if I can help. Good luck with your Christmas shopping!

Make sure to stop by my Etsy store, www.bethannerickson.etsy.com or my Zazzle store, www.zazzle.com/EricksonDesigns to see what other wonderful items we have for sale!

Extra Extra! Father's Day Gift Idea

Father's day is just around the corner and today I was thinking, what ideas do I have that might help those needing a last minute gift idea for dad?

That's when it came to me! Why not use my mason jar wrap available at www.bethannerickson.etsy.com to wrap a jar of peanuts, a wine bottle, a jar of salsa or bag of coffee beans or fill a mason jar with his favorite candy. Really anything could be wrapped with one of my mason jar wraps to make into a personalized gift for Dad. There are so many ideas I could go on and on!

As I think about it, my dad has practically everything he could want. Does he really need another bbq set, car wash kit, or some trendy gift item he might never use? No! But I do know that every Dad has a snack food or a drink that he loves, that he would buy for himself. Why not make it into a Father's Day gift?

My mason jar wraps are affordable and easy to purchase and download on Etsy.

Supplies Needed:

Step one: Purchase and print the mason jar wrap

Step two: Trim the wrap to size

Step three: Wrap around the gift item and tap in place

Three very simple steps and you have the perfect gift for dad!

Visit www.bethannerickson.etsy.com to purchase one of our very versatile mason jar wraps today and create your own unique gift for dad!

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