Creative Chaos

Happy 2011 New Year!

 

Wishing everyone the best and brightest New Year!! 

New Rules for 2011.......

• No broken legs
• No broken ribs
• No cancer
• No papercuts
• No arm infections

Ok...that just about takes care of it........Happy New Year!! Karin and the Chaos Family

My home for the holidays......

 

There are certain people in the family that have their own ideas on what constitutes holiday decor.  This person in particular decided that a detailed map of the Island of Sodor on the hallway wall using "Bendaroos" was exactly what our home needed.  He was quite excited to discover that the "Bendaroos," which were previously thought to only "bend" and "roo," were able to stick on the walls, thereby taking his design to a whole new level.   Luckily for him no damage was done to the wall so his landlord let him keep it up.

In other news, where I am currently at with my Christmas cards.......

 

This is as far as I've gotten.   So going with the old saying "turn that frown upside down"  I'm calling these cards the new design for Christmas 2011 and declaring myself officially ahead of the game for next year's holidays. Phew....

 

Channeling Claudine Hellmuth and the prize giveaway.......

Remember when I was doing a giveaway at the beginning of December because I was all excited about something of what I have completely forgotten but I really wanted to a giveaway?  Remember?  Well, I just did.  Since I was incapacitated at the beginning of the week, I wasn't able to do the drawing for the  book and the ornament.   Oh......I kind of don't have the candy cane ornament anymore as I took it to Paper Tales to use as a sample and someone bought it.   No need to worry though....I'm going to mail out another ornament.  

Alrighty here we go.  I just asked the CEO to give me a number between one and twenty.   He said "I don't know any."   I said "yes you do.....after a one and less than twenty."  He said "one hundred."   I said "that's not between one and twenty.  Give me another number."  He said "ten."   Yay! One down and one to go!  I asked him for another number.   He said, "one."   Yay!!  I thought for sure we were going to be here all night. 

After heading back to the post about the giveaway, I discovered that  #10 is:

Christmas treats? I like treats all year around!! But if I have to choose, I will pilfer a few choco covered cherries with the liquid stuff from my brother's stash! My Mom always gives them to HIM and not me! POOOH! *stomps foot*

Posted by: foreverpackrat/Lauren  | December 01, 2010 at 09:01 PM

and #1 is:

Peppermint bark from Costco...yummy!
Now I'll find out if it is as lucky as it is delicious. I also love home baked cookies that friends are kind enough to share...I can't bake a THING!
Happy December. I love your Blog!

Posted by: Cheryl | December 01, 2010 at 11:34 AM

So in other news I've turned into Claudine Hellmuth....except without the blonde hair, gorgeous smile and incredible talent.....other than that we're practically twins.  Take a look.......

 

So. much. fun.  I adore Claudine's work.  I bought the little poppets waaaaay back two years ago at Paper Tales with big plans....really big plans....plans so big that these poppets were still sitting on my shelf as of yesterday.  So, I decided to have the boys use them for a Christmas gift for my mom.  Here's our work space.  Once again dinner was eaten at the coffee table.  But it was totally worth it........

This was the perfect project for the kids.  They loved it.......

 

 

And I had such a great time working on this one. It's a Christmas gift for some good friends of ours...... 

Love how I put the heart there?  It's because I could not draw the hands and had to cover my mistakes.   Everything else is via Claudine.  Of course, when they open this gift and think I'm a creative genius, I'll just have to refer them back to Claudine's website.   Nonetheless, it was so much fun to do because it was so different from what I do.  

 

Ok.....I've got a kitchen table to clean......Talk to you soon!   

500th blog post......

 

Wow.  I sure do have quite a bit to say apparently. It's hard to believe that this all started four years and 490 posts ago.   This tag was one of the very first things I made when I was dipping my toes back into creating.  It seems like a lifetime ago.   The CEO of Chaos wasn't even two years old yet......

 

Ahhhh.....Now that he is able toform complete sentences, is no longer in diapers, is wearing his shirts properly and not discussing company secrets with dinosaurs, the possibities are endless.......

 

And then there is the fact, not to mention the proof, that not much has changed in regards to my kitchen table/craft annex space.......

Oh...then there was the day my life changed.  We got DVR.   Back to back Judge Judy.   It truly was a miracle.  He ate dinner with us for weeks......

 

 My very first giveaway..........

 

 

 

 And my second giveaway.......

 

The exhilaration of tapping back into my creative side..........

 

 

And my love of writing on this blog........I almost forgot about this post.  NOW, I can laugh.....

 

 

So many swaps.  I love doing swaps.  It was such a great way to get motivated to make something.   Oh, sure my sister could wait for two year for a birthday card.  But when Sue in Iowa is waiting for her Easter gift box swap, I'm all over it! 

This was from Lizzy....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then I discovered Flickr......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Oh....Flickr.....

Well, I have two boys anxiously awaiting to build their gingerbread house and train.   And, since I have no new creations to show you I'll be back with my trip down memory lane......Talk to you soon!! Karin

I know the rumors were swirling........

 
as to why I've been so quiet lately.......

That I ran away with a bar of peppermint bark dressed in a crepe paper skirt........

That I ran away with my new assistant to live a life of party hats and cheese......

 

That the CEO of Tomfoolery ran the business into the ground with his blind insistence that decorative Lego cat collars were going to be the next big thing to hit the craft industry......

 

Well, it was none of the above.  Although, I do have to admit to giving some thought of spending the rest of my life with peppermint bark.   But, like with the Count, it's only exciting just once a year.......

 

As it turned out, due to a papercut in my finger, my lymphedema arm got a massive infection resulting in a three day hospital visit hooked to an antibiotic iv.   While I was there, they discovered I had a cracked rib which then resulted in a flurry of test to see if my cancer had returned....

It was right there and then I wished I had run off with him.........

In the end, the infection is being controlled with some heavy duty antibiotic, the tests all came back clear for no reoccurrence, I discovered that Ativan is your best friend in situations like this and that the best Christmas gift I got this year was an early one......"no sign of metastasis" on a computer screen. 

When I'm feeling better I'll fill you in on the details..... like how the stereotype of the cute EMT/Firefighter is no stereotype.  It's really true.  Really. And despite being wheeled into the ER wearing flannel pajama bottoms, pink socks and a Pirates of the Caribbean sweatshirt, I couldn't help think if I was just 20 years younger.......   

How when the doctor came in to tell me that my rib was cracked, I honest to hot glue thought he had me mistaken with another patient....bless his busy little ER heart.....he was going to be so embarrassed....   

How the Nurses at Kaiser Rock the Casbah!!!!!! They are the best! With the exception of nurse Shelly in the ER, who looked and acted as if she had no rush to be anywhere....except in front of the computer and avoiding me, the nurses and doctors there were the best.  If my co pay wasn't so high, I'd book another couple of nights there to be with them.....  

How nurse Shelly's attitude made me immediately and legally change my name to Karin "Squeaky Wheel" Chaos.   

How when faced with the prospect of a reoccurrence, your brain has the uncanny ability to immediately filter out all the bull crap in life and focus in on the minute important details.  I can honestly say that when you are faced with something like this, the mind unlocks a padlocked door that takes you into a room where you have a talk with mortality.   You argue, you fight, you cry.  You make promises to eat more broccoli and less peppermint bark.  You ask "why me?" and then immediately think "well, why not me?" 

What occurs to you is how tenuous this time on earth is for all of us.   So my Christmas gift to you is the following:  

1. After looking at your Christmas to do list, cross off half the items on it.  

2. Once you have done that pick only two things that really mean something to you. 

3. Take a look at those two things and pick one or the other. 

4. After picking the most important thing on the list, you now have all the time in the world to spend with family and friends. 

5. Declare it the best Christmas ever!  

Talk to you soon!  Karin 

 

Just because I'm in this kind of mood......

 

The time travelers ornaments.....

 

I took these pictures for my Etsy shop and realized it had the 2009 on it from last year.

 

I suppose it's perfect for the person that just wants to forget that 2010 even happened......

 

However, I am willing to change the banner to reflect the ever changing times......

 

You know, I'm still love making these snowflake ornament......

 

 

Talk to you soon!  Karin

I can't decide.......

 
Whether I'm more excited about this tree......

Or. the glitter combination on the little pearls that I mixed up to match the paper on the box......

 

Don't bother asking for the top secret ingredients.  I'll never break......

 

Oh, alright....it's Martha Stewart Aquamarine, Saphirre, Antique Silver and White.  Yes. I know. I have no life.    But I am teaching a class on the same tree at Paper Tales if you are in the San Diego.    I don't have the dates yet, but I will let you know!  

Here are a few things I took into Paper Tales the other day.......

 

 
 

Remember how I ate pumpkin bread all day when I worked at Paper Tales last Saturday?   Well, here's the table.  This sat there the entire time while I worked.  How could I not eat my way through the day?!? 

 

Speaking of Paper Tales, I'm heading out there now!  Talk to you soon!  Karin

My new assistant......

 
The CEO of Creative Chaos has been put on immediate notice.  My new assistant, "Mousie," arrived the other day all bright eyed and bushy tailed, not to mention, ready to work.  Which is more than I can say for my current assistant  who prefers to lock himself up in his office with claims of looming deadlines, important conference calls and "big storms" on the Island of Sodor.....

Ya right.  So I told him that his next conference call is going to be with the unemployment claims department if I don't see more teamwork.    Mousie on the other hand is a model employee who is always by my side with outstretched arms waiting for his next assignment.....plus, he doesn't talk back.   I already promised him a promotion in the customer service department.......

 

He came straight from my friend Jenny's studio The Polka Dot Pixie.  She handcrafts not only adorable paperclay figures but wonderful hardworking employees. 

Thanks so much for all the Crepe Paper Love!  I am so happy to see so many folks out there that are just excited as I am about the Christmas trees.  I can't wait to see what everyone puts together.  Maybe I will start a Flickr group so you all can post your trees and then we can get excited about them all over again!  

I'm very slowly, but surely putting some things up in my etsy shop.  Out of all these frames......

 
 

I finished one and listed it.......

 
 

Sigh....as I'm loading up the pictures, I just realized that I took this same frame to Paper Tales today.   Yikes....I better promote Mousie to inventory control.   Anyway,  I better hit the sack.  We've got a Christmas tree to put up tomorrow.  Talk to you soon!  Karin

 

 

The Official Crepe Paper Christmas Tree Tutorial........

 
Woo Hoo....After a back breaking day at Paper Tales (which consisted of eating pumpkin bread, talking with some lovely ladies who read my blog, solving a glitter crisis, eating more pumpkin bread, ringing up crafty customers, inadvertently letting someone know that the special crinkle ribbon that's all the rage at the Tim Holtz 12 days of Tags blog is simply seambinding, eating more pumpkin bread and then finally waving goodbye to everyone), I arrived home to two boys and a Papa who had been waiting anxiously for my arrival so we could all watch Toy Story 3 together.   Once my eyes were dry from the ending of the movie, I got right to work on my Snowflake Box kits for tomorrow's class in between five loads of laundry.  Why am I telling you this?  Because I want everyone to see that I am totally committed to keeping my promise to bring you the tutorial.......even though I really want to sit on the couch and watch a movie......

 

But I must show you how to do this so you can become just as obsessed as I am.  Then I won't feel so lonely in my little world of crepe paper and glitter.   First, though, I have to tell you how it all happened.  Cindy Gilstrap, a wonderful crafter/artist, had made a crepe paper Christmas tree for the Joli Paquet blog that you can see here.   I instantly fell in love with it.  However, because I have the patience of a gnat, I decided to use my sewn ruffled crepe instead.   And the rest is history......

 

Now, I did a google search to see if these had ever been done before and didn't find anything.  Has anyone ever seen anything like this before?   Let me know if you do! 

 
Now, here are a couple things you need to know about this project.   Number one....once you start making these trees, you will find yourself unable to stop. Seriously. Ruffled crepe paper will never be the same to you.  You will find yourself looking for reasons why you need just one more crepe paper tree in your life.

 

Number two....expect to be pulling hot glue strings from your tree, your table, your body and your children for at least the next two months. 

Ok....I think we're ready!  

First gather your supplies.....

1. Crepe paper......I have no idea how much because I neglected to measure beforehand so let's just say a roll

2. Hot glue gun (this is what I used) or a heavy gel glue like fabri-tac or 3 in 1

3. Piece of paper to make into a cone or paper mache cone

4. Peppermint Bark candy bar (you will get hungry) 

 

I took a 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper and rolled it into a cone.  I then glued the end at the top to secure.......

 

 

Glue the sides......

 

Cut the bottom of the cone to from the base.  Once you cut it set it on the table to see if it's even and stands straight......

 

 

 

I sew my crepe paper on my sewing machine using a basting stitch and tight tension.  It ruffles up just right.  On my old machine, I had to pull the one end of the thread to ruffle it.  That works also. 

Start at the bottom with your first section skirting the bottom of the table.   Glue into place......

 

Continue around the base until you meet up in the back.....

 

Take it a bit above the last bottom skirt and continue around the cone.....

 

I worked in sections using pieces that were about two feet long.   When you get to the end, just match end to end and glue....
 
 

 

 Time for a break.....grab your chocolate......

 

 Ok, back to work!    We're almost done.......

 
 

Ta Da!  You did it!  For the very top I use a small section of the ruffled crepe paper and cut it a bit shorter than the other layers and then glue into place........

 

I hope you enjoyed it!   Put a bunch of glitter on and you are good to go.  I would LOVE to see any of the ones you make.  Please send pictures!!  Ok....I'm off to bed.....I've got a class to teach tomorrow!