I Love You This Munch

As I've written before, we're not really into Valentine's Day around here. It feels sort of forced to celebrate on a day so commercially-oriented. But the spirit moved me today, and I made John a valentine anyway. Not just any valentine, though... a zombie valentine. I can't take credit for the images on the card-- they're from here and here and here. This valentine is comprised entirely of recycled file folders and paper and (because I couldn't find regular glue) wood glue. It's not falling apart anytime soon. Those who know John will be unsurprised to hear that he really liked this gift.

Poinsettia News

I'm getting into the holiday spirit these days. Here's my latest craft project. This poinsettia wreath is a Martha Stewart kit- I used my 40% off coupon, yippee! There were a few leftover crepe paper flowers when I finished. Not sure what I'll do with them, but I'm sure I'll find some use.

I bought this kit because I love poinsettias, but was under the somewhat mistaken impression that they're toxic to cats and I should not have them in my house. In reading online, I find contrary opinions on this topic (see here and here and here). I probably won't buy a real one, even if the evidence on their toxicity is contradictory, so I'm quite pleased with my wreath.

Phew!

Thanks to all who heeded my call and sent good thoughts my way this morning. They worked, because I passed my proposal defense! Now I've just got to collect and analyze my data, and write a dissertation... onward and upward, right?

Anyway, I decided to surf the web for a congratulatory craft, and I learned about washi. Washi is a type of paper made in Japan, and the envelope shown above is a washi congratulatory envelope. It's a really interesting craft- check out more here.

And thanks again!

So Much Paper...

In hopeful anticipation that I'll someday finish my dissertation, I have been thinking about what I'll do with all that scrap paper. I mean, a dissertation, even printed double-sided, is an enormous amount of paper. And I'll definitely need to print out at least one less-than-final copy of it for proofreading purposes. So I'm looking ahead to the day when that happens (please, oh please, let it be closer than it feels right now...) Here are some useful links for paper crafts:

1. Two links for how to make your own paper:
Pioneer Thinking
Making paper with kids

2. Paper crafts for kids that don't involve actually making paper, just reusing it.

3. What one crafter does with her leftover paper.

4. In case you want to get technical.

5. Paper crafts galore!