DIY: patriotic pinwheels for a sparkly Fourth of July

We've got something festive and sparkly just in time for your Fourth of July. Katrina of Ma Joie Press put together this great DIY. These make great party favors and decorations. Katrina added some to a bouquet of flowers for a holiday centerpiece, and it's adorable. Have a fun, safe and crafty Fourth!

1. What you need: 4.25" cardstock or scrapbook patterned paper squares, flat tacks, chopsticks, scissors, hot glue gun, hole punch, paint brush, glitter, and Elmer's glue.

If you love the paper design in the photos, Katrina was kind enough to share! Here is a letter-size PDF for easy printing. Print one side, then turn it over and print the back.

2. Cut from each corner to about two-thirds to the center of the square.

3. Put a dot of hot glue in the center of the square, and fold a point to the center. Continue dotting the glue and folding until you have a pinwheel.

4. Use your hole punch to make a hole in the center of the pinwheel, right through the dried hot glue.

5. Paint the edges of the pinwheel with Elmer's glue. Add glitter.

6. After the glue is dry, use a tack to secure the pinwheel to a chopstick. Careful not to push it in too tightly or the pinwheel won't spin.

Enjoy!

Make this the best semester yet

Back to school means shopping for your backpack, closet and home. Here's a treasury with a little bit of something for everyone gearing up for the new semester. Click the image to go directly to the treasury.

A peek in the studio (Fuzzy Muffins)

Emily, of Fuzzy Muffins, is ready to take you on a tour of her studio...

When I moved into our current Dallas home, I knew I needed to have a cohesive workspace, which really just meant I needed to put all of the things I use while creating Fuzzy Muffins in one area. I’m a graphic designer by day, so I wanted to integrate my design workspace with my crafting workspace. I quickly learned that involves a lot of shelving and drawers. 

Cue: IKEA. I purchased a dresser/drawer storage system for my piles and piles of fleece, a paper organizer for all my graphic design goodies and plush tagging supplies, and a massive bookshelf to house my design books and other plushie supplies (sewing box, baskets of yarn and baskets of excess fabric). All in all, everything is within reach!

It’s nice to be able to finish up a design project, then just roll my little chair on over to my sewing machine to make a huggable dino. But the main plus? Natural light. The entire office is surrounded by windows, which means I can really tell what color fleece I’m working with. There’s no, “Wait, is this navy or black?” Whew!

 

In my last “studio” I had a massive desk, which seemed like a great idea at the time, but after a while a realized... too much surface space = a very messy surface space. If anyone out there is looking to redo their office/studio any time soon, my recommendation: get a desk that allows you enough room to work comfortably, but doesn’t allow you to accumulate clutter. In my experience, a cluttered desk leads to a cluttered work process. You don’t want too many distractions when it’s craft show season.

For tiny pieces, like plastic safety eyes or noses, I use magnetic boxes to keep everything separated and organized. This would work great for jewelry makers or anybody else who needs to keep small parts in order.

It may be a small space, but it gets the job done. In the meantime, I’m off to go make some more Fuzzy Muffins! See y’all around.