Nov 16, 2014 | Christmas, Decor |
Ever had one of those days? I got to Brian King’s house yesterday morning for his Craft Garage Sale (which was awesome) only to discover I was wearing mismatched shoes. Actually Brian noticed it before I even got to the front door and said, “Do you know that you’re wearing different shoes?” Otherwise I may have never noticed!
Since it was “one of those days” I didn’t get to create something new for today’s blog post. So I went to my stash/stache and pulled out this great little item. Earlier this month a group of Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators gathered for a shoebox swap. This is one of the projects we got to make. Megan Quillen brought it. Isn’t it adorable? Thanks, Megan!
The image from the Santa Stache stamp set was stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink on Whisper White card stock. We colored it with Stampin’ Blendabilities markers, cut it out with Paper Snips, and added some Rhinestone Basic Jewels. Then we adhered the layers with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
There was one more step that I opted to omit because I was afraid it wouldn’t dry before I had to pack everything up and go home. Most people traced over the lines of the mustache with Dazzling Details (124117) which gave it a nice glimmery look.
Onto the back we glued a wooden clothes pin that had a small magnet glued to it.
This little guy now lives on my refrigerator to hold notes, coupons, wish lists, whatever.
Projects like this are so quick and easy, but make a big statement. And they make perfect small gifts. I like to make up some extras to have on hand for those unexpected situations – like maybe I feel I should give something to the mail carrier, or the bank teller, etc.
Here’s what we used:
Thanks for stopping by today, and Sweet Stamping!
Nov 15, 2014 | Blog Candy, Christmas, Decor |
Geodesic, adjective, of, relating to, or denoting the shortest possible line between two points on a sphere or other curved surface.
I’m still in an ornament making mood. It’s been years since I made any of the Geodesics, so I thought I’d give it a go. After a couple of practice runs, to remember how, I now feel I could crank these out pretty quickly and neatly.
You can tell the one on the right was my first one – the points don’t all come together as neatly as on the other one. Neither is perfect, but hey, they’re hand made. The imperfections in our crafts are what make them ours.
The template is simple – it’s just a circle with an equilateral triangle inside.
Cut 20 circles of the same size: 5 for the top, 5 for the bottom, and 10 for the middle. Fold in the three sides of each circle. I used the 1-3/8″ Circle Punch to cut mine. This made ornaments approximately 2-1/2″ wide. Obviously, larger circles would yield a larger ornament. I laid the template on top of each circle and used that as a guide to fold.
By the way, you know all those little paper scraps you’ve been holding onto just in case they would come in handy someday? Well, today’s the day! This is a great way to use them.
Multipurpose Liquid Glue is perfect for gluing the pieces together. Line up the sides, then pinch together while pressing on the table to keep everything straight. The glue sets quickly, so this just takes a few seconds per circle. (Yes, I know I need a manicure.)
First glue 5 circles together so that all 5 share a point. Then glue together another 5 the same way. These will be the top and bottom of the ornament.
TIP: Make a loop with your ribbon/twine and tie a knot at the end. Just before you glue together the last two circles of the ornament top, put the knot end inside the point with the loop end hanging out. Then add a dab of glue to the inside of the point to make sure the hanger doesn’t pull out. You can do this to the bottom as well, if you want something dangling from the bottom of the ornament.
Glue together the remaining ten circles in a line. The glued sides should make a zig zag.
Glue together the two ends to create the “belly band” of the ornament.
Now glue the top onto the belly band. Repeat with the bottom.
Et voila! You have a beautiful ornament that looks like it took much more time and effort than it really did.
I know my instructions are probably as clear as mud. I hope the photos help. Please let me know if you have any questions at all.
Here’s what I used:
THERE’S STILL TIME TO ENTER! If you haven’t yet entered to win the current blog candy, all you have to do is comment on yesterday’s post. Click here for details. The earlier you comment, the more chances you have to win. Tell your friends! Tell your family!! Tell everyone!!! The more people who comment, the more chances you have to win. Thanks for stopping by today, and Sweet Stamping!
Nov 13, 2014 | Christmas, Decor |
I’ve been collecting ornaments for most of my adult life. Some of the ones I love the most are the old hand made ones.
Yesterday I helped a friend of mine with a display she was creating for her church. She had most of it done already, but we made tags and ornaments to add to it. It got me thinking how easy it would be to make some new Christmas ornaments for my collection. So I started playing, and here’s the first one I came up with.
These are the two sides of the same ornament.
Stamp & Emboss – The largest stamp from the Bright & Beautiful stamp set is practically an ornament itself. I heat embossed it twice – once in Cherry Cobbler on a piece of All Abloom DSP and once in Pool Party on Cherry Cobbler card stock – for a positive/negative look.
Cut & Paste – I cut out both stars with the corresponding Stars Framelits die, so they fit perfectly together. To attach them, I put a little Multipurpose Liquid Glue on the back of one star, then used a scrap piece of paper to smear it around to all the edges. The glue gives you a couple seconds to get it lined up just right. The two pieces glued together make a much sturdier ornament that if I’d only used one piece.
Hang – Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine makes the perfect hanger for this color combo. The white in the twine helps bring out the delicate white designs in the DSP. I thought about adhering the twine between the star layers, but I thought it might make a lump. So I ran it through a 1/16″ hole that you can hardly see. (I hesitated buying the handheld circle punches, but now that I have them, I use them all the time! They come in 1/16″, 1/8″ and 1/4″.)
Thanks for stopping by today, and Sweet Stamping!
Sep 29, 2014 | Decor |
Yesterday I showed you how to decorate pumpkins with your Stampin’ Up supplies. Today I’m going to show you how to make napkins rings to match.
First I cut strips from Cajun Craze card stock and glued the ends together with Fast Fuse to make the rings.
I covered some Whisper White card stock pieces with Color Me Autumn Designer Washi Tape, then used the Autumn Accents Bigs Die with my Big Shot to cut out some leaves. For the rest of the leaves, I used the same die and assorted solid color card stock, then ran each leaf back through the Big Shot in various Textured Impressions Embossing Folders. I attached all the leaves to the ring with Fast Fuse.
I then glued on buttons and Autumn Wooden Elements with Multipurpose Liquid Glue.
For the two-tone acorn, I cut acorns out of two different colors of card stock. I used my Paper Snips to trim away the bottom part of one acorn, and glued what was left on top of the other acorn.
Thanks for stopping by today to see how to make these simple, quick, and easy napkin rings!
Here’s what I used:
I also used a couple of retired embossing folders. Click here to see Stampin’ Up’s current selection.
Sep 28, 2014 | Decor, Techniques |
I so enjoyed making the Halloween washi tape pumpkin from yesterday’s post, I decided to see what else I can do with my Stampin’ Up! supplies. Let me know what you think about these.
For the smaller pumpkin, I used Color Me Autumn Designer Washi Tape to create a belly band around the middle. I used the Autumn Accents Bigz Die to cut the leaves and acorn from card stock, then embossed the details freehand with my Simply Scored Stylus and Stampin’ Pierce Mat. I attached the pieces with Fast Fuse adhesive.
For the larger pumpkin, I cut 3/8″ x 12″ strips of Color Me Autumn Designer Series Paper, then glued them to the pumpkin, much like the washi tape from yesterday’s post, from stem to bottom. I happened to have a jar of ModPodge, so that’s what I used to attach the strips – I would have preferred matte but all I had on hand was glossy. The DSP is thicker than most other papers you might use for decoupage, so it’s a little harder to get the strips to lie down perfectly around the curves. There are a few places that may need a touch up of glue, but all in all I’m very pleased with how it turned out.
I cut three 5/8″ x 12″ strips of Cajun Craze card stock and glued that around the middle for the belly band base. (Say that several times really fast: belly band base belly band base belly band base.)
Using the new Seasonally Scattered stamp set, I stamped “thanks” onto a 2″ strip of Whisper White card stock in three colors: Crushed Curry, then Cajun Craze, then Mossy Meadow, applying each color to the stamp with a Sponge Dauber. Be sure to start with the lightest color and end with the darkest. (See this technique in my Open House post here.) I punched each end of the card stock with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch.
I topped Mossy Meadow 3/8″ Satin Stitched Ribbon with Crushed Curry 1/8″ Taffeta Ribbon. I ran that through both ends of the tag and glued the whole thing over the Cajun Craze belly band.
Here’s a close up of the tag.
Here are some strips left over from the large decoupaged pumpkin.
Check back tomorrow to see how I made the matching napkin rings.
Thanks for stopping by today!
Here’s what I used for the smaller pumpkin:
Here’s what I used for the larger pumpkin:
Sep 27, 2014 | Decor, Techniques |
A local craft store recently had their faux pumpkins on sale, so I got a few (okay a few dozen.) I know most people carve a face into their pumpkin, and I’ll do that with some, but I decided to do something a little different with this one.
The Witch’s Brew washi tape I’ve used here is still available in the Stampin’ Up! Clearance Rack for only $1.99! Click here to buy it now.
This was so easy and quick! Just hold the end of the washi tape at the base of the pumpkin stem and run a strip down to the bottom, across to the other side, and back up to the stem. Continue around the pumpkin, smoothing as you go, until it’s covered. The tape will overlap at the top and bottom. One pack of the washi tape covered this small pumpkin with a bit left over.
When I was finished with the tape, I painted the stem with acrylic craft paint, covering the ends of the tape around the stem area.
Thanks for stopping by today! Come back tomorrow for more decorated pumpkins!
