leap year birthday

Today is my (Laura) husband's birthday! That's right he's a leap year baby. He's only 7.

Click here for the E-card at someecards.com

mid-century modern

Laura and The Tiki Chick just came back from Modernism Week in Palm Springs, California. Palm Springs is a treasure trove of Mid-Century Modern design. 

We boarded this double decker bright yellow bus for an Mid-Century Modern architecture tour. We lucked out on some fabulous weather, a nice 80ish℉. Supposedly it was 100℉ a few days earlier. 

A not so Mid-Century highlight - ROBOTS! The owner of this house created larger than life robots from found objects. The painting of the robots in one color creates cohesiveness. The neighborhood is supposedly up in arms about the robots and the fact that every Christmas there is an over the top light display, but we love it!

A favorite Mid-Century Modern stop was this William Krisel designed home. Look at that landscaping (also designed by Krisel)! Geometric shapes, colored hardscape, and desert plants embodies the spirit of Mid-Century Modernism, even though this is newly renovated.

Color is a huge part of Mid-Century Modernism. Aquas, oranges, bright green. We are going to have to play with a few of these in the upcoming weeks.

valentine's day cards

For Valentine's Day, we created a couple (or 3) of cards for the ones we adore using some of our favorite supplies.

cardstock {we use so much that we purchase it by the ream}

paint chips {so fun to use, come in hundreds of different colors, and FREE!}

sequins {for that *sparkle*}

buttons!

paper punches:

• Martha Stewart Crafts Deep Edger Punch in Flower Bed 
• Martha Stewart Crafts Double Edge Punch in Doily Lace
• Fiskers That's Amore Squeeze Punch size medium

just in time for valentine's day

Try this easy pop up papercraft for a last minute, but looks like you spend a lot of time Valentine's Day card.

 

 fold a piece of cardstock in half (you can use regular paper too)

make parallel cuts at the same height about 1/4" to 1/2" wide. 

you can make them wider if you want to. 

do about two to four sets at different heights. 

 

fold up and crease

 

flip entire card over and fold the other way too. 

lay the strips down flat and open your piece of paper.

 

push up the strips like this. 

it is a good idea to fold the card shut to make sure everything lays flat.

adorn the strips...

 

...like this. adhere another piece of cardstock to the back and voila! pop up magic.

And because Valentine's Day heralds in the upcoming season 

(and Laura is a little obsessed with her new garden)...

 

Spring is SPRINGING!

florals

Just a few inspirational shots to get the creative juices flowing. These were taken after work, today!

 

These tiny cactus flowers are truly *magical*.

 

There's something about this all over floral that just makes us :)

 

Who doesn't love PINK?

 

Monster Yucca!

heart doily

Roses are red...

This primrose is blue...

  

Paper doilies can be stuffy, so here's an easy DIY version for you!

Fold up a piece of paper as if you were making a snowflake and punch like crazy. We used three different sized hole punches and did some punching in clusters of three. Unfold, then fold in half, and cut into a heart. TADA!

By the by, we bent a cheapo hole punch trying to do this (or we have super strength). So, spend a few extra dollars and get yourself a good quality hole punch. Lesson learned.

a sparkly hello

Welcome to Buttons Make Me Sparkle! We (Lindsay & Laura) love Love LOVE to create fabulous crafts, especially with our two favorite crafty items {Buttons & Sparkles}. On our new blog we will be posting crafty things -inspiration, ideas, tutorials, etc.- and our CRAFT PARTIES! 

Here is a sneak peek of what to expect from Buttons Make Me Sparkle.

 

A tree for all seasons.