Plaid printable boxes

My original plan was to put some sort of appliqued shape on this design, but decided the simple plaid looks good by itself. I hope you enjoy these plaid printable boxes! Click on the images for a larger version to print. Print on card stock, cut out, score folds, fold and glue!

Book Review- How to Make 100 Paper Flowers

Maria Noble is an enthusiastic artist who wrote this book to share with people the art of making paper flowers. It's 100 projects shown with color photos and with the templates you'll need to create the blossoms shown. It's spiral bound in a hard cover to lay flat while you're working on a project from this book.

It starts with an explanation of the tools and materials you'll need to create the flowers, explaining the different kinds of paper, what florist tape and how it works, and other information you'll need. It also offers suggestions for where to buy the materials.

Then it gets into the projects. The first section is the one that a lot of people will find the most inspiring. Realistic flowers made from good quality crepe paper. It's also the most extensive section in the book. The flowers in this section would work well for creating paper fashion accessories such as a straw hat decorated with flowers for a Derby party, or gorgeous decorative accents for a home or an occasion.

My favorite thing in this section is the fact that it has 10 of the 12 birth month flowers! So you could pair a pretty vase with a handmade paper flower as a birthday gift.

January- Carnation, pg 44
February- Violet, pg 38
March- Daffodil, pg 18
April- Sweet Pea, pg 59
May- Lily of the Valley, pg 43
June- Rose, there are several rose designs, my favorite is page 30- the country rose
July- Larkspur, not in the book
August-Poppy, pg 56
September- Forget Me Not, pg 25 (shown in pink, I'd do them in light blue)
October- Marigold, not in the book
November-Chrysanthemum, pg 24
December-Narcissus, pg 16

After that, is less realistic flowers made from a variety of materials such as newsprint, construction paper, cupcake wrappers and tissue paper. These are the flowers that will look fantastic in paper craft applications like shadow boxes, book covers, fanciful gift wrapping and dimensional cards. My favorite in this section is the black and white newsprint poppy and on the facing page, the brightly colored, loopy and easy to make Fiesta Flower. The fiesta flower is one that could be made as a project with children then hung on thread to create a fantastic spring decoration, or made small as a decoration on a gift or card.

Then comes origami flowers- these don't follow standard origami instruction diagrams. They are explained in text with photos to show how to fold them. There are some modular flowers in this chapter as well. My favorite is the Kusudama flower.

After that, quilled flowers! Quilling is such a great look, and the simple flowers shown are a great introduction to the craft. My favorite project in this section is a toss up between the intricate filigree effect of the quilled bouquet which would look wonderful framed as art or the dandelions because I love dandelions so much.

At the end of the book are the templates for the various flowers, and a resource guide with places to buy materials online. The projects are simple and look really beautiful.

To see one a project by Maria Noble, check out this one for whimsical poppies.


I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

AirWick scented oils are making my home smell great!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Air Wick for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I love scented oils and warmers. When given the opportunity to try out the Airwick plug-in warmers and several of the oils, it was too good to pass up. 

The warmers plug into standard outlets. If you plug them into the top of an outlet, there is room enough underneath to plug in something else. This is the outlet behind my couch, and under the Airwick is my charger for my e-reader. 

If you haven't used scented Airwick products before, or haven't used them in a while, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the scents available. 

The first one we tried was my daughter's choice, Ocean Spray with Sparkling Sea Minerals which is a Sam's Club exclusive scent. I'm fond of florals and some fruits myself so I was initially disappointed with her choice. But then it started warming and the scent was really nice! It's absolutely non-offensive and a scent that I would recommend for offices just as much as for home. 

The scent oils come in glass bottles with a plastic top that's shaped to be screwed off easily. The warmers have a dial on top which indicates how open the wicking section is for how much scent will be dispersed. While the oils smell very strong in the bottle, don't worry that they will coat your house with too much scent. It's easy to get it just right. 

A bottle holds enough oil for a month of scent. 

So I wound up having them in a few rooms so I could try different scents.

My favorite is one of the National Park series- Grand Canyon Cactus Flower and Warm Breeze- since I got these during break up and the air outside smelled horrible (don't come to Alaska during break up, it stinks, literally)- this was a nose saver for me. It's only slightly floral, without a perfume-y smell. The scent is warm and friendly. (it's the darkest one in the bottles above!)

I also really like the other Sam's Club exclusive scent, Bright Citrus Splash- it's just that, bright and citrusy with a great mandarin and orange scent that doesn't smell really sweet. It smells very clean and cheerful.

So quickly listing the others, those were the standouts for me but the other scents were good too

National Park Limited Edition scents:

Hawaii Exotic Papaya and Hisbiscus is a sweet scent that my Hawaiian shirt wearing son loved. The floral and fruit are well balanced.

American Samoa Sweet Coconut and Island Palm is another great balanced fragrance, but the slightly coconut smell made me want to eat macaroons. I'm pretty easily influenced to eat macaroons though. 

Essentials-

For a bedroom scent, the Lavender and Chamomile is soothing and relaxing. It is a bit more heavily floral than the other scents, but I like it.

Island Paradise is another great balance of sweet and floral, it's a little on the sweet side but a nice summery scent and one I think I'd enjoy a lot in the depth and dark of an Alaskan winter.

Magnolia and Cherry Blossom has a touch of fruit, but is mostly floral and very nice. It's another one that smells summery and would be great in winter. 

These are all available for a great price at Sam's Club and if you buy them there, you can get either a bonus oil or a bonus warmer. They have a fantastic variety of scents. Sam's Club prices, bonuses and exclusive scents make it the best place to buy them. 

Honestly, these smell so good that my husband suggested plugging them in outside during break up to try and make it smell better during our Alaska spring (which only lasted about 4 days this year- now it's more like summer weather) 

Summer happiness! (photo post)

It's summer! YAY!! After the snowfall on May 17th, the weather made a turn for the gorgeous. So I've been spending lots of time out in my yard. The dandelions and eagle are clickable for larger versions.

My radish seedlings! I plan to pickle some of them.

My raspberries are sending off tons of runners. 

I've been outside crocheting, when this is done, I'll post the pattern.

This gorgeous photo was taken by my husband.