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  Love is most certainly in the air with this easy Valentine Hot Air Balloon! Perfect as a Valentine holder or for a sweet surprise for your loved ones to find when they get up in the morning or when they come home at the end of the day. I have seen many a Hot air balloon craft with Paper Lanterns and Balloon Shaped Templates but THIS Heart Shaped Hot Air Balloon ISN’T ON PINTEREST…… YET! It’s an original idea from yours truly! So just remember, you saw it here first! Let’s not waste any time and get to it! You will find it is really easy and I have two different options for you to choose from when making the basket/base. Depending on level of difficulty for you. Guarantee you will love this no matter which way you go.   The possibilities for decorating are endless! Whether its solid paper, or your favorite print, whether you use pinks, red, lavender or white, I’m not sure if its more fun to make them, though I am certain the yummy treats, notes or surprises you place inside will be greatly appreciated! MATERIALS: *poster board (2) color of your choice (or 12…

Father’s Day is just a few days away and I have some pretty sweet ideas for all the last minute crafters reading this. To view the full video of my Daytime TV segment just click right  HERE. For the tutorial and templates, just keep reading. There are a couple great ideas to do for the dads in your life. So lets get started! FIRST Craft Idea: I came up with this darling idea and call it, the “Six-Pack of Sentiments”, this is not on Pintrest yet,  because…. well…I just came up with the idea. It’s an original, you saw it here first! Check it out! Create a six pack of lovely messages and words to the Father or Father’s you may be honoring. I have three ways you can work the labels in order to do this! First you will need a template: Disclaimer* We have been having a problem with the scanner to have a printable PDF for you. As soon as it is up and running we will give that to you her as well! 1- Mom cuts the “beer” labels and lets the kids draw their favorite Daddy memory or activity. I have some suggestions here as…

I had the wonderful opportunity once again after many years, of sharing the TV screen with with Couture Cookie Artist Dani Fiori.  The very first time was about 7 years ago, when Martha Stewart’s resident Cookie Artist and I met numerous times on the show making Valentines pretties for the viewers. Dani worked for Martha for many years, picked up and Emmy Award along the way for her prop and set styling then, started her  couture cookie, invitations, and event design company, Sweet Dani B’s. Dani and I have kept in touch throughout the years and have done collabs before see here the beautiful Hug Monster collaboration we did for Valentines a few years ago. Mother’s Day is always such a sweet time to take a moment and honor all the wonderful women who have influenced our lives in one way or another. Especially moms. Dani and I  are also part of the Martha Stewart family of  Makers in the American Made Market at Handmade at Amazon. It was so wonderful to see her again last fall as we represented the A.M. Market among one of the 50 vendors for the summit last fall. It was time to do a collab again,…

When Martha Stewart calls…. unique and special relationships enter in your life. No matter where we find ourselves in life one thing proves to be true always. You can meet all the famous people you want, make all the connections you think necessary, increase your numbers of followers to a number where you think you may have arrived…but when all is said and done, it is in the few key, relationships that you invest in, where you find  what really matters. Everything else is a vapor, there one second and gone the next. It’s been 7 years since I first met Martha Stewart at a book signing @Macy’s in Clearwater, Florida in 2009. My life has never been the same. I still remember that day, I was waiting in line along with over 600 people waiting to get their book signed, waiting for that opportunity to maybe exchange a few words with this Marketing Mogul. Some would have a picture taken with her, give her a gift, a business card, a sample of thier product or a chance to tell her what they do for a living, all in the hopes that Martha would take notice and maybe , some…

When Martha Stewart Calls…it usually means I’m going to New York. I have always thought of New York as a very vibrant, exciting city. For me, it always goes up a notch when you have “been summoned” by the powers that be and are coming to see her and be a part of any event she organizes. You just know by now, it is going to be fabulous! It’s become my home away from home.  I don’t go out of town much anymore, until our son is older and can cope with the changes in his routine that come with travelling, it is not going to happen as frequently. He may never adjust easily and it is something  we are perfectly fine with. When I do, if it isn’t with my family, it is to New York City to see Martha, her crew and embark on a journey that most people only get to read about. My arrival to MSLO headquarters came after three hours of sleep, a very early flight, arriving late morning to a very rainy day in the city. Nothing was going to dampen my excitement of being back. Not even wet hair. No bad hair day…

” Whenever Martha Stewart Calls…I listen”. These words were aptly spoken by the CEO of J. Crew, Mickey Drexler, during last years American Made Awards. So… when Martha calls, I listened, too. This year the Martha Stewart American Made celebrated it’s 5 year birthday! ROC Paper Scissors was invited to be a part of this years American Made Summit at the MSLO Headquarters in NYC. I was asked to participate along with what were about 50 other makers in representing the American Made brand. Those are the moments, when your brain starts running at the speed of light: making plans, and trying to figure out if it is even possible to pull everything together that I would need in order to make this trip. Remember guys, along with working our online business from home,  I am currently homeschooling my son Jonathan with everything that comes with his Senior year: lesson plans, reviews, dual enrollment, testing, quizzes etc…. we run a pretty tight schedule here. Despite the busy schedule we always find time to have a little fun and smile. We also needed to make sure we could juggle the care of our youngest with special needs. My husband is my superhero….

Humanity was inherently created to connect. There are all kinds of connections we can make, some good, some bad, some life changing and impactful for generations to come. In a home where everyone including  the dog is male ( that would be my home), it is really wonderful to get out and spend some time with a beautiful group of women of all ages and a chance to get a great estrogen fix on Mother’s Day weekend! What does this have to do with ROC Paper Scissors? In this case, everything,  because relationships are everything Do you guys remember this paper portrait I made years ago for a customer who wanted to honor her parents 60th Anniversary? Their portrait was also featured on our youtube video sharing our story. The beauty about this business is the relationships you develop throughout the years. In this case, the sweet customer who had ordered this portrait contacted me to speak at a very special Mother’s Day tea for women of all ages at the church where she is part of the pastoral staff. She wanted to know if I’d share maybe about my business, life, family etc… Come Mother’s Day weekend I made…

OK friends! My sincerest apologies. I never meant to leave anyone in the dark about the #homenadfamilyDIYstar contest. I wasn’t able to give any information because I  didn’t  have any to give. Let’s back track a bit: The contest began March 7th with the announcement about the contest, on May 19th we submitted our video to the Dream Jobbing site, April 15th was the end of round one and they were to select 5 finalists over that weekend and announce a winner May 9th. However, they changed the competition over that weekend selecting 25 finalists to give each one the opportunity to be on the show which was a great for so many more people. For the whole month of May they would feature the 25 finalists. 5 a week for 5 weeks. At the end of each of the five weeks, the producers ( with the help of facebook comments and votes) would choose a favorite for the round with the FINAL 5 finalists and then finally select their DIY star. This last part has yet to happen and the date announcing the winner still remains TBA. With May being sweeps month (a ratings month) I’m sure they were…

A Huge opportunity has come across my path, Hallmark’s Home and Family show are looking for someone to become a part of their DIY family.   They started this Nationwide search over two weeks ago and I’ve been planning ever since. This “contest” thankfully is mostly based on talent/original creativity and your ability to teach your best craft tutorials in a approximately 6 minute segment. I can do this! I am so excited on being given this opportunity to showcase my talent and  I am very grateful for this chance for other eyes to see what I can do. I must confess there may have been a couple sleepless nights brainstorming my 60 second pitch to spare no detail and give it my best shot! Just number of likes WILL NOT determine WHO will win…can anyone sigh a sigh of relief with me? Your likes and comments will help them however, they will look at who is creating buzz and who isn’t…. After all it is on the Dream Job website so your comments are pretty much a “referral” when anyone is looking for a job. When I left Colombia in ’93 I thought that with it, I had left…