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Origami Paper Tutorial

Easy Origami Rabbit Tutorial – Step By Step

I chose this for my next tutorial as 2023 is the Chinese year of the rabbit! There are lots of origami bunny tutorials; this is one of the simpler ones.

All you really need is some thin squares of paper and a pair of scissors.

If you make this out of double sided paper, the inside of the ears will be a different colour! Not got any? Use two thin sheets of different colours (that’s what I’ve done here).

Don’t forget to fold neatly and crease firmly – you can press the creases with the back of your thumb nail if you don’t have a creasing tool.

  • If you’re using two-colour paper, start with the colour you want the inside of the ears to be facing upwards.
  • Start with the paper in a diamond shape, with a corner pointing towards you.
  • Fold in half from top point to bottom, crease and unfold.
  • Take the bottom left sloping edge and fold in to meet the centre crease.
  • Do the same with the top left edge.
  • Take the right hand point – fold it back to meet the edge you’ve just made, then fold the tip back the other way so it sticks out over the flat edge a bit (this will be the tail!)
  • Flip the whole thing over.
  • Fold the left hand point over to the right, so it almost meets the flat edge.
  • Next, fold the whole thing in half, bringing the centre crease upwards and the edges down towards each other – it’s easier if you pick it up to do this (see last picture).
  • Now we’re going to make the ears! At the moment, they look like they’re laying along the rabbit’s back.
  • Hold the bottom of the model in one hand and gently bring the points of the ears up with the other.
  • Stop when the back of the ears are roughly perpendicular to the base. Crease well.
  • Ok – so the next step involves separating the ears! Take a pair of scissors and very carefully snip down the centre crease between the ears, being careful not to cut all the way down.
  • To give the ears a bit more shape – stick your finger in them 😂 You can open them out a bit at the bottom, which will show the contrasting paper (if you’ve used it).
  • Lastly, lay the model down and go over all the creases on the body one last time.
  • Bunny is finished! Stand bunny up.
  • 🐇
Categories
General

How to Spot a Stationery Lover: An Illustrated Guide

Are you a stationery lover, or do you know one? If so, I bet some some of these sound familiar! Personally I can relate to all of these.

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Craft Origami Paper Tutorial

Simple step-by-step origami boat tutorial

Simple origami boat tutorial

This simple origami boat is a fun model to fold. Use a fairly thin square of paper, and remember to fold neatly and crease firmly after each step.

  • Start with your paper square as shown above. If you don’t have a creasing tool, you can use the back of your thumb nail to help crease. We’ll be folding it horizontally then vertically to start with, creating a grid of quarters. Ready?
  • Fold in half from side to side, making sure the edges line up; crease and unfold.
  • Do the same thing, this time folding the other way, to create the horizontal fold; crease and open up fully.
  • You should be left with folds dissecting the paper into neat quarters.
  • Turning the paper 90 degrees, fold the bottom point under and up to meet the top point.
  • The next picture shows how the creases sit.
  • Take the bottom point and fold it up to meet the centre.
  • Do the same with the top point, so they meet in the middle.
  • Next, fold the left point into the centre…
  • …then fold this point back, but instead of folding from the original crease, fold a little way in from that.
  • The next step can be a bit fiddly, but the previous folds will help you out! Pick the model up and press gently in the centre; the middle should go down and the outside edges should come up!
  • Gently press the bottom together to encourage the creases – you’re after a big triangle at the bottom and 2 smaller triangles at the top.
  • Once your model looks right, press and crease all the folds well.
  • Lastly, fold the bottom point back to form the bottom of your boat. If you get it just right, it should stand up by itself!

Hope you enjoyed this model. They look great in different sizes to make a whole fleet.

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Categories
Stationery

Writing matters! National Stationery Week ’22

If, like me, the best thing about going back to school was shopping for stationery, then rejoice! May 16th-22nd is National Stationery Week! Yes, really – well, they have National days & weeks for everything, why not stationery? Because stationery is awesome.

My Etsy customers are the best! Reviews like this make my day.
Launched back in 2012 by the Stationery Show, it started life as just a day, gaining momentum and building into a full week. It’s used to celebrate the joys of writing by hand; whether you’re writing in your own notebook, sending someone a letter or postcard, or just a quick note to stick on the fridge.
What’s your style when it comes to stationery? Understated? OTT? Cute & colourful? Plain & simple? I love the fact that you can get stationery in so many different styles to match your mood or personality. 

Making from waste materials means I’m kept on my toes a bit in terms of what I can make in what size, but it means it never gets boring! These pencil cases were made from leather from a furniture samples booklet, and would’ve otherwise been thrown away. Find a selection in my Etsy shop.

Favourite stationery brands

When it comes to looking at stationery shops online, my favourite is Present and Correct. The whole look of their website is just *chef kiss*; every detail is a stationery lover’s dream, down to the graph paper backgrounds. I highly recommend checking out their Ephemera section – all those things you need without really knowing why. They do have a physical store too, in London, though I’m yet to check it out.
Do you have a favourite pen? I’ve got a set from Kikki.k that I use all time, I love them! Think simple pastel sets and stationery essentials from this Swedish brand. While they currently don’t have UK stores anymore, you can still peruse their online shop for inspiration.
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Categories
General

Flame on, Lay it out, Geek it up

Ahoy There!

A warm welcome to followers old and new. I’ve been busy stocking my Etsy shop with lovely rescued leather journals and pencil wraps this month and have created some new labels for my shelf space at The Emporium (a Wellingborough based shop full of handmade awesomeness!) – all my products now have more of a library-esque feel, which I love.
But enough about me; let’s just get down to it, shall we?

Have you heard of Little Flame candles? Based in Northamptonshire, this small business started to make these hand-poured candles upon retiring. After many months of research and testing, Little Flame was born. Did you know? Soy wax is non-toxic, clean burning and completely free of animal derived substances! Find them on Insta & Facebook and show a new small business some love.

I don’t know about you, but I love a journal with blank pages. It gives you the freedom to do whatever you want; doodle, write, sketch, list, paint… and if you’d like more structure, you can simply add it in yourself. From creating lines, grids, tables and headers, Pinterest (where else?!) has some great ideas to get you going. Prefer video? Here ya go! In the market for a new journal? Check out this selection over in my Etsy shop.

I’m a huge fan of some beautiful creative lettering. But what’s classed as a font and what’s a typeface –  and what’s the difference? Essentially, the Typeface is the base set of characters (e.g. Arial), the font is a particular set within the typeface (e.g. Arial Regular or Arial Rounded). Want more? Nerd yourself out here. Fancy some creative typeface fun? This book is great!

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Categories
Books Lunchtime Lusting Stationery Stationery

Planning, Plants & Books

Staying on top of things can be hard work. I love a planner and I love writing lists to help me track things, but I know they’re not for everyone! If you’re looking for something a bit less intense than a physical organiser or planner, how about a digital version? There are some great ones out there to suit different needs. Here are a couple of links; I can also recommend the GoodNotes app if you have an IOS device. 
Digital daily planner 
Weekly digital planner

Outdoor spaces can bring us joy, but during winter it can be hard to get that greenery in, whether you’ve got a garden or not. Having plants indoors can be beneficial to the air as well as your mental well-being. Here are some great plants that will thrive in your home during the winter months.

What have you been reading in the past year? Any stand-out favourites? I’m signed up to Goodreads, so I log what I’m reading and can then take a look back at the books I’ve read over the year. I’m in a couple of (virtual!) book clubs and it’s really nice to read things I wouldn’t normally pick for myself. However, my favourites from 2021 are firmly in my comfort zone! 

Between Two Thorns – Emma Newman. As a fantasy fan, I fell easily into the idea of Emma’s Split Worlds. It’s intriguing right from the start and really keeps your attention throughout. Set in (pretty much) modern day, it flits between our world and a secret mirrored world, where immortal Fae hold power.
Uprooted – Naomi Novik. Yep, it’s more fantasy! The setting is more traditional; think fairy tales and folklore, a simple village by some dark woods and tales of the local dragon…

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Categories
Craft Origami Paper Tutorial

Tutorial: Simple origami bat

This simple origami bat is fun and quick to make and makes great decorations for Halloween. All you need is a square of thin-ish paper.

Remember, with origami you need to fold neatly and crease each fold firmly as you make them.

  • Start with the square of paper in a ‘diamond’.
  • Fold in half horizontally, bottom corner to top corner.
  • Fold in half vertically, bringing the left point over to the right point.
  • Open up the last step.
  • Fold the bottom edge up, but not all the way – just so there’s just a small triangle of the underneath layer showing.
  • Fold this little triangle down, over the edge you folded up in the last step.
  • Pick the model up and fold in half, backwards along the central crease, wing tip to wing tip.
  • Now you just need to fold the wings up! Fold the top wing only, by taking the outside point towards you and up, so the bottom edge is now in line with the central crease from the previous step.
  • Turn the model over and repeat the last step with the other wing…
  • …open out the wings slightly and you’ve got yourself a bat!

You can experiment with adding more folds in the wings to make different bats. Made this model? Share it on social media and tag me in your pics.

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Categories
General

Creative Life

Why own a plain pair of trainers when you can walk around with a work of art on your feet? This whole range of custom painted trainers are just so perfect. How many pairs of trainers is too many…? Shop Paintplay by Chey on Etsy.

I don’t know about you, but I’m a very messy creative. While I’m all for a spring clean to keep on top of things, at the moment I’m in need of an autumn clean! This blog post has lots of handy hints and tips to try out for organising and decluttering spaces of all sizes. Time to get sorting…

Categories
General

Summer Bloggin’

Summer is here (well, most of the time – it is England after all), the bees are buzzing, the days are long… things are starting to feel a bit more normal. Breathe in, breathe out, and take a look at this months’ offerings.

Sometimes you make something and you think “This is the best thing ever!! Everyone will love these! I will make looooooads!” That’s what happened with these origami and resin necklaces. Each animal is folded from a small square of colourful origami paper, then set in resin. They’ve been placed on a pendant with a white background, so they stand out whatever you’re wearing. Guys, I hold my hand up; I may have gone overboard and made too many! So, I’m having a clear out and they’re available from my Etsy shop at 25% off, making them a bargainous £12 – they’ll then settle at £14 if there are any left over. Get ’em before they’re gone!

Getting out in nature is so good for us; it’s great for mental health and general wellbeing. It can also be a wonderful source of inspiration. Get yourself outside into a green space, breathe deep, and take some time to look around you – really look around, taking time to notice the small things; the big things; the different greens; the splashes of colour… you could even take a notebook to sketch or write.

We all know we need to be using less plastic and to start cutting out single-use plastics altogether. But where do you start? It can seem really overwhelming… so having a shop like Food For Thought is fantastic! Run by the lovely Kerry, this zero waste shop is based in Nene Court, Wellingborough (where else, right?). Head to the website for tips on reducing & reusing, plus a stock list of all the things you can refill there. If you’re not local to Northamptonshire, it’s worth taking a look to check for similar shops in your local area. Start by aiming to swap one thing a month and take it from there.

Categories
Lunchtime Lusting Notebooks Stationery Stationery

Ahoy there, stationery fans!

Stationery fans

Hands up if you love stationery. Me too. So let’s not waste any more time with this section and get right to it!

Do you use washi tape? I absolutely LOVE it. So versatile, so pretty and so practical – you can use it for journaling, wrapping, decorating notebook covers… plus it’s made from natural fibres, so can be recycled. Winner! Joanne Hawker has just added her own designs of washi tape on her website and, like the rest of her range, it is just delightful. 

Have you heard of bullet journaling? Is it still a thing? What even is it? Well, it’s primarily a type of diary-journal-planner, most often done on dotted paper or something that helps create sections, bullet points, trackers etc. The more ambitious use plain paper journals and create their own grids & patterns. People use them for well-being, tracking habits, or just general planning. Personally I think half the fun is customising and decorating the pages! Here are some ideas for if you’re just starting out, and some more adventurous ones.

Did you catch my last blog? Take a look through these 5 signs you’re a stationery addict. From hoarding notebooks to not using pencils because they’re too nice; how many of these do you identify with?