bizzy bees…

These bizzy bees by P.S. It’s In The Details are too cute!!  I love their simplicity and they can embellish just about anything…

the right package

Packaging is so important.  It really does more than just contain whatever is inside, it showcases it and grabs your attention so that you want to open it and see what’s inside.  Here is a great example of good packaging that I found here.

Kusudama Paper Flowers

These are too cool!  They are so clean and crisp looking… find the complete how-to at Folding Trees: Part 1 and Part 2

Recycled paper flowers | From Maya*Made

Here is another fun and easy way to transform that scrap paper into something fabulous!  You can get the complete how-to over at maya*made.

DIY: Eco-packaging

I stumbled across this the other day and simply fell in love with the idea!  Mandi at Here’s Looking At Me Kid shares a fabulous way to stay green and creative while shipping products or gifts through the mail.  The full how-to can be found here at A Beautiful Mess, but basically you just use a paper bag and stitch it closed.  The great thing is that you can decorate it as you wish!  It’s also a great way to save some cash.  I love this idea so much, I’m going to adopt it!  I actually have a similar idea that I’ve been actively using for about 8 years now.  I’ll post a DIY on that soon!  Thanks Mandi!

Images via A Beautiful Mess

bird inspired art

I simply adore birds of all kinds and love to see when people are inspired to create works incorporating birds.  Here are a few that I really enjoy…

Art & Philanthropy’s “Bird’s on a Wire” is created from recycled paper and soy inks

“Three Little Birds” by Julia Patrucco (found at YayArt)

“Feeding Birds” by Kristiana Pärn

Rolling in the GREEN

In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, I gathered up a few GREEN handmade items to share with you.  Be sure to wear your green today so you don’t get PINCHED!

1. “All Buttoned Up” from Chickiedee
2. “Green Robots” pencil case from Sewfriendzy on Etsy
3. “Henry” from wiggletiggy on Etsy
4. “Frankie” from Chickiedee
5. “Emerald Polkadot Hand Knit Hat” Deusprovidebit on Etsy
6. “That Did Feel Good” from Monkey Chow on Etsy
7. “Natural Forest Silhouette” from CritterJitters on Etsy
8. “Android Pillow” from Craftsquatch on Ets0

{studio sunday} Shimelle in London

Good morning Sunday!  I just love looking at other people’s studios, because they can be so inspiring!  I appreciate that everyone has their own space that works best for them and they are all unique.  Some are small and some are big, some are organized and some are chaotic, but all are great.  That’s why I decided to start {studio sunday}.  I want to have a whole collection of different spaces to inspire others and perhaps give you ideas on making your studio space more exciting! If you would like to take some photos of your studio/workstation, please do and send them to us at info {at} chickiedee.com!

This week for {studio sunday} we’re taking a peek into Shimelle’s workspace.  Shimelle lives and works in London for ScrapBook Inspirations Magazine and she also designs for Banana Frog Stamps and Two Peas in a Bucket. Scroll down for a little Q&A with her.

1.  What got you into scrapbooking?
I discovered scrapbooking by complete accident in 1998 — a million years ago it seems!  I was performing in a play about a family of women who keep an album of news clippings and photos, even when the clippings were tragic things.  As a cast, we wanted to make a photo album about the play as a gift for our director, but none of us knew about scrapbooking at all.  We went to a discount store to find a cheap photo album we could dress up with Crayola pens and such and instead found one of those kits that has a binder, page protectors, a few pieces of paper and stickers and a template or two.  We made that album in our dressing rooms backstage and by the end of the play, I’d discovered the scrapbooking aisle at a nearby craft store and was totally in awe — and totally aware of how I had just broken every rule in making that first album!  I’ve been scrapbooking ever since.

2.  Where is your studio? (In your home or somewhere else?)
My studio is a room in our home – we live in a postwar flat in London and it has a room that works just perfectly for me.

3.  How many hours per week would you say that you spend in your studio?
This is my full-time job so I’m here a great deal.  My desk and computer are just out of sight in these pictures, and it varies week to week whether I spend more time at my crafting desk or my computer desk.  Between the two I am in this room at least fifty hours a week, so it has to be a space I love!

4.  What’s your favorite part of your studio?
This may be very cliched, but it’s the window.  We’ve lived here about three years and prior to that we had only very small windows in every room.  Everything was very beige-toned from the lack of sunlight.  Here the light is relatively light even on a grey London day, and that helps a great deal!  The view is very peaceful and quiet as it’s not open to any streets so if I need to pretend I live in the countryside rather than a big city, I can!  We built the work desk out of kitchen units to stand alone in the middle of the room so when I am working I am standing up and constantly looking through that window.  There is always something I wish I could change about this space but the window is just perfect.

Thanks so much Shimelle, we loved taking a peek inside your studio!  {Images via Shimelle}

sweet little letterpress

I saw this little Deer letterpress card and instantly fell in love.  It’s so cute that I thought I would share with you… Oh! And you can find it at Etsy.

{Humpday Tutorial} DIY Candy Bar Wrappers

I just love this DIY Candy Bar Wrapper idea, because this would be a great way to celebrate any event!  For example, you could make your own candy wrappers for your wedding favors, bridal shower favors, baby shower favors, birthday favors, ect.  As you may already know, my niece was born yesterday, and I think this would be a fabulous way to celebrate her birth.  Perhaps I will make some wrappers with her name on them and hand them out to the family when I see them!  Sooo cute!

The full instructions and downloadable templates are found at the old Creature Comforts site here!  Let me know what you plan to do with these!