How to make 5-pointed paper snowflakes

Though no longer in elementary school, I still get a kick out of paper snowflakes. I made this snowflake garland the other night from origami paper, dental floss, and tape.

The second and third flakes in this garland are based on a 5-pointed star. Download the 5-point folding directions right here. I think they're easier to cut since there are fewer paper layers.

The first, fourth, and fifth flakes in the garland are based on 8 points. (Fold a square in half diagonally and keep halving it until it's nearly too thick to cut, then snip out small shapes ).

Here's an 8-pointer. Unfolding is my favorite part; it's practically as thrilling as bungee jumping. To get them nice and flat, iron your snowflakes with the steam setting turned off.

Cookie party printables

If you're hosting a cookie exchange this year, head to Joy Ever After. You'll find an entire set of printables to download, including an editable recipe card, gift tags, and more.

The blank folding cards might make nice labels for the food at a Christmas dinner buffet, too. Not that there's anything wrong with Post-its. What began as an effort to differentiate the sausage from the non-sausage stuffing turned into label mania at Grandma's this Thanksgiving. It can be hard to tell gravy from carrots, so it's best to label absolutely everything.

Orangifying the house

We added a little more orange around the place recently. Awhile back I'd ordered some of these super inexpensive frames that come in a million sizes. I love changing things up, so we plan to switch out the prints now and then. The little cactus is from Home Depot, and our magazines and owner's manuals are now tucked away in orange files from IKEA.

Test your mid-century design knowledge

A little Friday fun... If you adore Nelson clocks and Tulip tables, this quiz is for you. See how you score on these questions at TLC Home.

DIY modern paper ornament

I love spiky starburst shapes, so I attempted a version of the traditional Polish porcupine ball. Here's how to make this cool 3D ornament—great for Christmas or decorating any time. I can imagine jumbo sized versions hanging at parties or weddings. They take awhile, though, so you'd better start making them five years before you plan to get married.

You'll need: Paper, scissors, a circular object for a template, a ruler, pencil, needle, thread, rubber band, and glue.

1. Cut out ten paper circles, using a jar lid or CD for a template. (My circles are 5" in diameter. I stacked sheets of computer paper and cut out several circles at once.)

2. In each circle, cut eight evenly spaced slits toward the middle, stopping about a half inch from the center point.

3. With a pointed pen or sharp pencil, curl each tab into a cone and secure with a dot of glue. If you can pull off a tightly rolled perfect point, congratulations. I was running a little low on patience and settled for "sort of pointy," which I think also looks nice.

4. Cut two small pieces from a wide rubber band. These will hold the ornament together at each end.

5. Thread a needle and knot the ends of the thread together. String on one of the rubber band pieces.

6. Push the needle through the centers of five stars with their flat sides face down. Turn over the remaining five stars so their flat sides are facing up and thread them on, followed by the second rubber band piece.

7. With a chopstick or pencil, push down on the rubber band to compress the stars into a ball while pulling upward on the string with your other hand. The rubber should hold the stack together without requiring a knot. Adjust the paper cones as needed to make a pleasing shape.

8. Tie a loop in the thread for hanging if desired.

My coaster project at Design*Sponge

I've got a DIY tutorial up at Design*Sponge today: coasters made from vintage postage stamp images. A quick and easy handmade gift idea, perhaps? Click over to the site to get the instructions along with a printable PDF for making your own.

I should add: I wondered how colorfast these would be, so I soaked one in a bowl of water for an hour. No bleeding occurred. I've been using them for weeks now, and they still look good.

West Elm printable holiday tags and cards

West Elm is offering a set a of DIY downloads for Christmas gift labels, menus, recipe cards, name tags, and more. Choose from four different suites and print away.

Orange everywhere

Vintage coffee set by Follyandglee

Creative Zone by Superflash Photography

Have you peeked in the Orangey Goodness Flickr group recently? I started it ages ago so people would have a place to share the pictures of orange stuff they often emailed me. It now has over 2,000 photos of orange objects, projects, interiors, and landscapes. Have a look.

Happy Thanksgiving printable

Happy Thanksgiving, all! You might enjoy this printable illustration from Draw Pilgrim in Australia—a conciliatory gesture for Americans arriving at her website after searching the internet for how to draw pilgrims. Funny. Pilgrim suggests posting it on your door to welcome guests or laminating it for placemats.

And with that, I'm off for the rest of the week. Have a lovely holiday!

Pretty project tutorials

A handful of sweet items to sew or craft:
For Pleat's Sake tote at U-Handbag
Storage cube by Obsessively Stitching
DIY cardstock cupcake stand at Bird Crafts
Recycled roses wreath from Alisa Burke

Giveaway: Art prints from Thumbtack Press

Happy Monday, all! I'm delighted to announce a new giveaway: two readers can win a framed art print of their choice from the new and improved Thumbtack Press! Thumbtack offers a curated collection of work from over 100 artists and illustrators. When I say I'm delighted, it's not blogger hyperbole, either. I've ordered from Thumbtack Press myself and can verify that their prints are terrific. Their paper stock is really heavy, and their inks are archival and stated to be fade resistant for 100 years, which ought to be just about long enough. Prices are super affordable.

(Above: Bamboo Pattern by Masayoshi Mizuho. Below: Volkswagen by Kareem Rizk, Spiritual Tourism by Jay Fletcher, Amsterdam by Matt Mills, Whale Says by Shino Arihara, Deep Tree Diving by Terry Fan.)

How to win a framed print
• Leave a comment on this post with the name of a print at Thumbtack's site that you admire (choose from over 1300!)
• Include a link, email address, or other way of contacting you.

Giveaway closes Monday, Nov. 29 at midnight CT. Two winners will be randomly drawn, announced on Thumbtack Press's Facebook page (give it a Like!), and notified. International readers are invited, too.

Get 15% off through Dec. 15
If you plan to order some goodies for yourself or others, enter the code orange at checkout and save 15% for a limited time.

Update: The giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Carrie who chose “Deep Tree Diving” by Terry Fan, and Errin who likes “Tangle” by Paul Blow. Thanks to everyone for participating!

Make your own owl calendar

The owl craze is still going strong. For those who can't get enough of them, I present to you the Owl Lover 2011 printable calendar by My Owl Barn. Customize your calendar online by choosing from 30 different owl illustrations. Then generate a high res PDF, download, and print. Nifty!

New ribbon designs: squirrels and sewing

New jacquard ribbons I designed for J Caroline arrived on my doorstep yesterday. It's always exciting (and scary) to see the finished product since I never know if the colors will turn out as expected. And flat Illustrator files always look cuter with real life texture than they do on my monitor, so I eagerly await these samples.

The squirrels in the berry colorway above are my fave so I put them on a fancy plate for their photograph.

Everybody else got dumped onto a piece of foamboard. Here are all three colorways.

Sewing ribbon warranted a few props since it was easier to find a spool of thread than recruit some squirrels to pose with their ribbon.

These are now available at J Caroline Creative in 25-yard rolls and at Banberry Place (check pages 3 or 4) by the yard. Coming soon to other retailers!

Printable Christmas card and gift list

If you want to get a jump on printing out Christmas goodies, here's a hand-drawn holiday card, compliments of Mufn Inc.

Possibly my Christmas shopping would be more inspired if I wrote ideas on special stationery. Download a printable shopping list from Atypical Type A.

Free font: Matilde

Type Depot is offering their delicate Matilde typeface at a cost of zero dollars. She's available in two styles, along with decorative frames and patterns. Download her here. (This font is obviously a she.) For help using the patterns, click here.

How to make pacifier clips with ribbon

I sewed these pacifier clips for a baby shower this weekend. I'd noticed solid-color clips in the store while wandering the aisles, and I wanted to include something handmade in my gift. These seemed easier to make than a stroller.

Here's my little tutorial. You'll need ribbon, suspender clips (available at fabric stores), Fray Check (optional), and velcro.

1. Cut a 24" length of ribbon. (This ribbon is 7/8" wide.)

2. Apply Fray Check to each end to prevent unraveling.

3. Fold the ribbon in half, leaving a little extra at one end to fold over the other unfinished end to hide it.

4. Stitch around the edges of the doubled ribbon , trying desperately not to run off the edge. Squeaking "Eeek!" helps a little when you get close. Just a tip.

5. Sew velcro pieces onto the folded end about 2" apart.

6. Thread the opposite end through a suspender clip and sew it down.

Easily customize your Twitter page

Themeleon by COLOURlovers is a tool for customizing your Twitter background. Try out different color palettes and themes, or choose from over 2,000 patterned backgrounds. Many of them are kind of hideous to my eyeballs, but hunting around a bit can yield some keepers.

Retro printable card from June Craft

The very same Kayanna Nelson of June Craft from yesterday's post has generously provided awesome downloadable goodies on her blog. Get the printable bird card right here. Or hunt through her posts to find all the free desktop wallpapers sprinkled about. Most are calendar desktops, but I was dying to use them immediately so I Photoshopped over the calendar areas to make them useful for posterity. I've got that bird on my monitor right this minute. Thank you, Kayanna!

How to transfer an image to fabric with gel medium

I experimented with transferring an image onto fabric the other day. For my test, I used this completely adorable dachshund drawing by Kayanna Nelson of June Craft. The little fellow is downloadable for personal use at Bloesem Kids.

To try an image transfer, you'll need:
Acrylic gel medium, available at art stores
Fabric
A laser printed image (not inkjet!)

With your finger—or a brush, but I prefer to feel what I'm doing—spread gel medium onto your fabric in the area where you want your image. Not too thin, not too thick; just a nice even layer.

Place your image printed side down onto the sticky fabric and press firmly. Burnish the paper with your thumbnail a bit to be sure the image makes good contact with the fabric. Let it dry completely.

Dampen the paper with water, then gently rub the paper away from the image with your finger.

The resulting fabric will be a bit stiffer where the gel medium was applied, and you'll be able to see it faintly. I sewed my print into a mini drawstring doggie bag, sized so the area with gel ends near the seams. This way the entire front of the bag is the same stiffness. It's quite cute!

For a good drawstring bag tutorial, check out this one at Skip To My Lou. Since my bag is tiny, I laid the baker's twine inside the top channel before stitching it down, rather than threading it through later.

Cool free wallpapers for mobile devices

Have you been over to Poolga yet? My iPad really likes their growing set of wallpapers by fabulous designers and illustrators. Maybe your phone would like them, too.