Paper Umbrella

While making things for Ronda's seasonal display I thought I needed to make paper umbrellas, 'cause that seems pretty beachy. 

I took the glass stones out of the mesh
bag before putting it on her table! 

Found some patterns online (click here for the source and pattern I used), cut them out using different Stampin' Up papers and whipped them up in no time. I made a couple different sizes but the instructions are the same, just scale the original pattern up or down to make it the size you want. I originally had a small one in the beachy scene in a box that I showed you yesterday (click here for that post) but then I moved it to a clear glass decorative box along with some sand and shells. The large umbrella looks perfect in a big chunky footed glass filled with small clear glass rocks - I think they look like ice cubes. Cute, right? Try them, they're easy and fun - these would be cute for all kinds of events and parties!

pattern is on the top right, finished umbrella
top is next to it. Cut out 8 "petals" in whatever
paper you want - I mixed them up but just
one or two colors would be cute too!

fold the tabs as instructed on the pattern

glue to each other forming the umbrella. I don't have a picture but you then
stick a skewer thru the little hole in the top of the umbrella where all the
pieces come together in the middle, add a drop of glue to hold.
Then glue a small bead to the tip of the skewer to finish. 

click to see how to make the popsicle adirondack chair, paper hat, fish marbles:

Beachy Scene in a Wood Box (popsicle stick adirondack chair, paper umbrella, paper hat, fish marbles)

Look how cute this little scene turned out - I made a popsicle stick adirondack chair, paper umbrella, paper hat, and a fishy background (note I used Stampin' Up paper for all the paper projects); filled the chalkboard box I made a while ago (click here for that post) with sand and some fake long grass, and set up the cute scene...

I looked online for how to make a popsicle adirondack chair - found a few things to give me an idea but ended up just winging it. I think you can see from the pictures how I did it  - I cut the sticks to length with my craft wire cutters (they get used for everything - not just wire cutting!) and used Elmer's glue to stick it all together. It isn't perfect but come on, it's a popsicle stick chair and doesn't really need to be ;).

Here's how I made everything except the paper umbrella, come back tomorrow and I'll show you that!

-Cut 5 popsicle sticks to different lengths to make the back, glue to a small stick across the back to hold together.
-Cut 2 sticks in half to make the seat, then glue to the chair back.
-Cut 2 sticks to make the back leg supports, I used 2 little scrap pieces for the front legs and the pieces on the top of the seat. Glue all together.


The hat was very simple but adds a little beachy touch I think is cute - cut out 2 circles from card stock, a 2" for the brim and a 1" for the top. Then cut a strip from the same paper about 1/2" by about 4" or however long you need to go around the 1" circle to make the side of the hat. Curl the strip up to form a 1" circle and glue (I used a gluestick) to hold it's shape, then glue to the 1" circle that is the top  of the hat. Then glue that to the 2" circle to make the hat. I tied a piece of ribbon around it to make it even cuter.

my glue stick is an inch around so I used
that as a guide. see the strip around the top
of the glue stick, that's the side of the hat. 

I glued the strip around the glue stick and
then glued the top on and tied with ribbon
before removing it from the glue stick and
attaching to the 2" bottom circle. Just helped
hold everything in place doing it this way. 

For the background I cut out fish shapes from patterned Stampin' Up paper and mod podged large flat glass stones on top then glued them to a background paper cut to fit inside the box. I also cut some random flowy shapes to look like seaweed and put them along the bottom of the background.

Paper Umbrellas

Here's another easy craft for spring decorating - cute paper umbrellas. I saw the idea for these here - I followed the directions except she made a clay bead for the end and I just hot glued on a bead instead. These turned out pretty cute!

Cut out 10 circles (I used a 2" circle punch from Stampin' Up), fold each one in half and then half again so they form triangles. Put a piece of double sided tape in the fold, and then tape all of the folded circles together to form the umbrella top. Using a short length of wire, make a small loop in the top and glue it in the center of the umbrella. Bend the wire into the "handle" of the umbrella and to glue on a bead to the end. Done.

Note I hung them from my craft desk using additional pieces of wire -  thread or fishing line would also work.