I got such a huge response from the Valentine Fruit stickers last year that I decided to actually get them printed! The best part, they’re printed by a fruit sticker manufacture so they are 100% food safe! I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out and they make adding a sweet note to fruit that much easier. They are now available in my shop and they are sold in sets of two sheets for a total of 48, one inch stickers.

I was thrilled to find put that these little guys are also featured in the Feburary 2012 issue of InStyle Magazine and the current issue of Mollie Makes craft magazine. Such an incredible honor, so I want to give a BIG thanks to them!

In case you’re more of the DIY type, I still offer the downloadable PDF in my shop too. I’d love for you to take a peek and tell me what you think!

I am so happy to finally share some exciting news! A tutorial that I submitted to Design*Sponge, nearly three years ago, has been included in Grace Bonney’s book, Design*Sponge at Home! I haven’t been able to share it until now but I can say it was definitely worth the wait to be part of such a great project.

If you haven’t seen the book already, you must check it out! It’s a fantastic collection of home tours, DIY projects and step-by-step tutorials. My project is featured in the exclusive Anthropologie version amongst the 16 additional pages of bonus content.

Below are the complete instructions for how to create your own Japanese Masking Tape Book Covers. I was looking to make my home bookshelves a little more appealing and some of my older books needed a good face-lift. With the help of craft paper and simple masking tape, my books were transformed! Hope you enjoy!

Here’s another project that I recently finished for work. I wanted to play off a Día de los Muertos aesthetic but interpret it in a new way. Foam-core was used for the base and standard sewing pins to created the larger image. After that, I used bright thread to fill in the rest of the piece.

I love how it turned out and I have so many other ideas I can’t wait to try this technique on! This first one was quite ambitious and terribly time consumming but I learned some valuable tricks along the way. I’ll be sure to share more projects soon!

A few weeks ago I was struggling to keep my curtains in place. Every time I opened a window the rings would slide or my sheers would shift. I ended up using mighty magnets to keep the rings in place and they’ve worked out brilliantly! Best part, they’re so little that you can place them towards the wall and you’ll never even know they’re there. It’s such a simple and easy fix so I thought I’d pass the tip along. Here’s to drapes that always stay in place!

Well, I don’t but I’m pretty sure there are some ladies that enjoy a cold brewski from time to time. In honor of them and to people that are fond of drinking from glasses period, I created this pint for the design club at my office. Each month, a designer is selected at random to design an object. We typically do a series of things like t-shirts, or notebooks and now we’re doing pint glasses.

There are no rules other than to do whatever you want and whomever is in the club is stuck with whatever you design; a tall order for a designer and quite an terrifying one at that. It’s not every day that I can design without any restrictions. Admittedly, I was a bit overwhelmed at first. But once I’d made up my mind to design something pretty and overtly feminie, I just went with it!

The phrase on the side “may you enjoy many, many happy hours” is my personal wish to all that drink from my glass; whatever the beverage may be. Cheers!

I’ve thought long and hard about this decision but I’m afraid I will be officially taking some extended time off from Twig & Thistle to rest and (hopefully) heal. I feel like I’m breaking up with a best friend or the sweetest boyfriend ever and I can tell you this hasn’t been an easy process for me. You all have been so supportive and generous with your comments and kind emails and I will miss all of you dearly. I’m not sure how long I”ll be taking or what exactly the future holds but I hope to run in to all of you again soon!

Before I say my final goodbye, I have one last DIY project that I had to share. (I managed to fit this one in when I was feeling tip-top) I’ve been drooling over this painted zig-zag rug by The House of Smiths and wanted my own little bit of chevron style so I thought I’d make a picnic blanket!

This project took me about 4 hours total but overall it was pretty easy. I bought a fabric drop cloth from Home Depot for $6.98, which is perfect for a picnic blanket since it’s backed with plastic. And since I was covering a larger surface area, I didn’t have enough vinyl to spare so I created a chevron template out of foam core to trace the pattern onto the tarp.

Once my pattern was drawn, I used painters tape to seal off the paintable areas – this part definitely took the longest. Once it was all taped up I got to painting with a roller which went relativly quick and dried overnight. I love how it turned out and I have so many more picnic blanket ideas now. I think they’d make fun gifts or a great way to decorate for an outdoor summer party.

Lot’s of love to you all and thank you again for visiting! Sincerely yours, Kathleen xoxox 

Hi lovlies and happy Monday! I had the pleasure of attending Summer School in Portland this weekend where I took a flower arranging class from Chelsea of {Frolic}. This was my first ever floral class and I was excited to learn how she creates her relaxed fresh flower arrangements.

I can assure you that making something look so simple and effortless is really quite the oposite. I picked up some great tips and basics for floral arranging but I no doubt need more practice. Above are some pics of the event and my final bouquet. I can’t wait to experiment and develop some skills and hopefully share as I go.

Chelsea was sweet as always and I got to see other friends as well as meet new ones. I even shared a table with Lillian of Unstitched, Grace of Design*Sponge and Katy from Katy Elliot. Such a talented and fun group and a great way to spend the weekend!

With Easter almost here, Mother’s Day is soon to follow! I’ve updated my original Mother’s Day Door Hanger for 2011 and hopefully it’ll come in handy for a few of you.

Whether it’s a gift for yourself or someone you know, I’m sure everyone can appreciate a little down time this Mother’s Day. The best part, it’s a gift that keeps on giving; hang whenever a quite moment is needed and cherish those precious times! All you need to do is download, print, cut and hang! Happy early Mother’s Day!

CONDITIONS OF USE: All Twig & Thistle downloads are subject to our Terms & Conditions. Downloads are for personal, non-commercial use only. In addition please do not redistribute or modify any of the templates. If you’d like to link to the pdf, please link to this post directly. Thanks!

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While working on my latest Save The Dates, I was in desperate need of gold staples but couldn’t find any locally and didn’t have time to order them. I improvised with a gold permanent pen and violá instant gold staples!

While staples come in a plethora of colors now a days, it’s fun to make your own. I imagine that this would work with any permanent marker as well and it’s a good trick when you’re in a bind!

I’ve been working on a new addition to the Etsy shop recently and I’m thrilled to be able to share with all of you! I wanted to create a unique Save The Date card based off of a matchbook. The covers are letterpressed in gold metallic ink onto light blue, pink or green stock. Inside, are custom magnets that are perforated at the bottom so they can be torn off and saved on a refrigerator.

I am so excited with how these turned out and have definitely been inspired by lace and spring colors! You can check out the new Save The Dates here – hope you like them!

Hi Friends and happy Monday! I thought I’d start the week off with a DIY project that I created for larger events like weddings, showers or anything that requires multiple tables. Instead of traditional numbered cards I thought it would be fun to number the napkins instead. They make for a striking presentation that your guests are sure to remember. The template comes in black but can be easily customized by changing the color of the napkin.

Complete instructions and step-by-step photos after the break.

Materials Needed:
Cloth Napkins
3″ Circle Punch
Iron-on Transfers (light colored fabric)
Iron
Ink Jet Printer

No St. Patrick’s Day is complete with out a good Irish beer! Why not celebrate in style with these shamrock inspired coasters?! Substitute with sparkling cider for little ones and everyone can join in the fun!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Color Printer
Paper
Blotter paper or thick cardstock
Spray Adhesive
Craft Knife

INSTRUCTIONS
To make these printables more coaster-like, simply print template onto regular text weight paper then glue them to a thicker cardstock with a spray adhesive. I use thick blotter paper or watercolor paper which can be found at any art supply store.

Once glued together, using a craft knife, carefully trim out each coaster along solid grey line. If printed with an ink jet printer be warned that the ink may bleed when dampened. An alternative is to either print with a color laser printer or have them laminated. Sláinte!

CONDITIONS OF USE: All Twig & Thistle downloads are subject to our Terms & Conditions. Downloads are for personal, non-commercial use only. In addition please do not redistribute or modify any of the templates. If you’d like to link to the pdf, please link to this post directly. Thanks!

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Even though I have bright red hair, I’m not the least bit Irish but that doesn’t mean I can’t celebrate St. Patricks Day like I am! This week I’ve got two DIY projects in honor of ol’ St. Pat and this first one is a sweet twist on a pot of gold.

Simply cut rice crispy treats into the shape of gold bars, wrap in parchment paper and gold foil and serve! Don’t worry about cutting them perfectly, once wrapped in the gold foil, they truly look like the real deal! Fun for a party, lunch boxes or even shimmering favors!

To kick things off here, I’m thrilled to finally share some projects I put together specially for the latest issue of Utterly Engaged! The goal was to create three projects that could be used during the wedding using mainly paper cups. I love the concept of taking inexpensive staples and transforming them into pretty wedding details. As we all know, weddings can add up quickly so finding ways to cut costs without it looking like it is a win win!

I ended up creating a simple wreath to be used during the ceremony or as decoration throughout the reception. By simply sliding the cups inside of eachother and securing with hot glue, this was a surprisingly easy craft.

For the second project, I wanted to create a centerpiece that would be both inexpensive and multi-purpose. I wrapped espresso cups in fabric and used them as planters for small plants. At the end of the event, guests could take these home and transfer them to their own gardens.

Lastly, 8oz. paper cups were dressed up with a simple paper wrap, filled with hot cocoa powder, marshmallows and adorned with a wooden spoon! Serve with hot water and encourage guests to warm up and take a cup home!

All the detailed instructions and more images can be found in the latest issue of Utterly Engaged along with a plethora of other amazing articles and contributions. Cheers!

The 2011 Oscars air on February 27th this year and I couldn’t be more excited! I’m a huge movie fan and grew up in a family that celebrated film and television. Consequently, the Academy Awards were always a big deal to us. My parents even named our cats Oscar and Emmy!

Last year, I created a downloadable Oscar suite that included printable party invitations, ballots, envelope liners, popcorn bags and candy toppers. I’ve been getting quite a few requests for an updated 2011 version so, with out further ado, here they are! Each PDF includes instructions and if you need more information, please see my original posts here and here.

OSCAR INVITATION & ENVELOPE LINERS
Set the tone for the party to come with these printable Oscar Party Invitations and envelope liners.

OSCAR BALLOT
Play along while you watch! Have guests arrive early to fill out the ballot ahead of time for who they think will win. At the end of the evening, tally up the score to see who guessed the most right!

POPCORN BAGS
What are movies without the popcorn? Serve individual portions by printing the template directly onto white paper bags, line with glassine bags to prevent butter stains and fill with movie popcorn! Both the paper and glassine bags can be found in my Etsy shop here.

CANDY BAG TOPPERS
Of course you can’t have the popcorn without the candy! Dress sweets up by arranging in cellophane bags and topping with red and white stripped toppers. Arrange it all on an old fashioned candy tray and pass it around to all your guests. Learn how to make a candy try here.

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CONDITIONS OF USE: All Twig & Thistle downloads are subject to our Terms & Conditions. Downloads are for personal, non-commercial use only. In addition please do not redistribute or modify any of the templates. If you’d like to link to the pdf, please link to this post directly. Thanks!

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