Canvas Bag

I received a bag of product from Plaid while at the Craft & Hobby show in January. Inside was a fun selection of block printing stamps including this sweet elephant. I loved the image so much, I decided to use it to decorate the bag it came in!

I used the following manufacturer product samples:

        Fairfield  - Metallic Oly*Fun™multi purpose craft material - Silver
                          aluminor™ faux quilted craft material - Gold
        Plaid Ent - Folk Art Multi Surface paint - Charcoal Black
                           Mixed Media Foam Applicator
                           Fabric Creations™ Block Printing Mat
                           Fabric Creations Block Printing Stamp - Elephant
        Therm O Web - Fabric Fuse™
      
    
      and supplies and tools I already had on hand:

         Adhesive back jewels, 24" gold ric rac trim
         Craft knife and metal ruler, or paper trimmer



Step 1. Stamp the elephant image onto silver Oly*Fun as follows. Squeeze black paint onto a disposable plate then dip the foam applicator into the paint. Pounce lightly on a clean area of the plate to spread the paint evenly on the applicator.

Step 2.  Dab the paint evenly onto the stamp. Place the fabric on top of the foam mat then press the stamp onto the fabric.  I received 12"x12" pieces of Oly*Fun, so I stamped the first image at the center, about 4" from the bottom edge then an image on either side. 

       
Step 3.  I created a border by cutting 1" above the images and 1" below using a craft knife and ruler and the grid on my work table mat as a guide.

 

TIP: If using a paper trimmer, always cut from the back of the craft material. 

Step 4. Glue the gold trim along the top and bottom edges of the border, then glue to a 12"x12" piece of gold aluminor.  Embellish the elephant images with strips of adhesive backed jewels.

Step 5.  Trim the aluminor along the faux quilted design as shown in the photograph, then adhere to the front of the bag.

Oly*Fun craft material is available in 4 metallic colors and a rainbow of non-metallics. Used for projects both indoors and out it is amazingly versatile as you will see in another project where I used it to create a card.

Enjoy!  Y'all come back now...........

Yours truly,
Julie :)

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON CRAFTING!

Thank You Card

This is the project I entered in the FaveCrafts Blogger Contest. If you like it, please consider voting for it here:  http://www.favecrafts.com/voting/Blogger-Contest/ Thank you.

Art coloring books are one of the hottest trends in the crafts industry at the moment and I was excited to receive coloring books from Leisure Arts. I love to draw and have a large collection of markers, colored pencils, pastels, paints and more from many different manufacturers.  Unfortunately however, I'm not someone who can sit and color.  For me, coloring has to have a purpose so I decided to work with the sheet of border designs then use them as embellishments for this Thank You card - the perfect project for the manufacturers who sent me the product.

 I used the following manufacturer product samples:

        Fairfield - Metallic Oly*Fun™multi purpose craft material - Silver
        Leisure Arts - Art of Coloring Books - Patterns
        Therm O Web - iCraft Gold Deco Foil, Adhesive Pen, ZOTS™ Clear Adhesive Dots
                                   & 3 D Foam Squares
        Sakura of America - 3-D Ink Glaze and 3-D Soufflé Opaque Puffy Ink markers
                                            & a KOI WaterBrush
 
and supplies and tools I already had on hand:
         Craft Glue (stick), Cream Card stock - 8.5" x 11", Water Color Pencils
         24" gold ric rac trim, paper trimmer, small tag and 4" silver thread

Step 1: Color the areas of the leaves as shown with the green glaze marker. As you can see on the left the glaze produces a shiny look.  Color around the glazed areas with a light green water color pencil. Use a light touch when coloring with pencils.

Step 2: Use a yellow water color pencil to color the center of the flowers, purple and blue glaze to color the outer petals of the flowers and orange soufflé for the small center ring and dots at the end of each stamen.

Step 3: Color the large petals with dark pink glaze and light blue soufflé on the outer circle of the round flower. Use a damp paintbrush, or the water brush to lightly blend the areas colored with water color pencils.

Step 4: To add even more dimension, I colored a second, small flower as follows: Trace the outline of the petals with the adhesive pen. After about 30 seconds, place the gold foil sheet with the gold facing UP on top of the design. The gold foil will stick to the adhesive to give those areas a look of gold leafing. I love the look of foiling, so I outlined some of the leaves with the chisel tip of the adhesive pen and added foil to those areas too.

TIP: Each adhesive pen comes with two tips. A bullet point and a chisel tip. The tips are easy to switch out, but I was concerned that the adhesive would dry in the tip I removed, so I bought 2 pens and put the chisel tip in the second one and keep both tightly capped when not in use. And, I have 2 replacement tips when needed!

Step 5:  Lightly color the petals with dark pink water color pencil, then blend with a damp brush. Dot the tips of the stamens with dark purple glaze. Note: The color on the 2 petals on the lower left was not blended to show the difference blending makes.

 

Step 6:  Cut all the colored pieces apart!

Step 7: Make a card by cutting the sheet of letter sized card stock in half to create two, 5.5" x 8.5" pieces. Set one piece aside. Score then fold the second piece in half to create a "quarter card", 5.5" x 4.25". Cut a 3.75" x 5" piece of silver metallic Oly*Fun, center then glue to the front of the card. Attach one end of the ric rac trim to the back of the front of the card. Wrap around the front of the card twice, crossing at the center then glue the end at the back.

Step 8: Assemble the cut pieces of your colored design starting with the leaves at the base using glue dots. Overlapping the base of the leaves, layer the large flower and the round flower and attach with foam squares. The design will remain the same except the pieces are pushed toward the center so they overlap. Snip between the petals of the pink flower and turn up slightly around the center. Glue on top of the larger flower then add a jewel at the center.  To finish, I added a small tag and 2 additional strips of ric rac at the bottom right for balance. I also added one of the leftover squares of gold aluminor under the leaves and trim.  The photo below is to show how prettily the foil and glaze colors shine.

Not just for cards, you can use these techniques for many kinds of paper and mixed media projects. There are so many coloring books available, but not all can be colored with water color markers and pencils, so always look for books with good quality paper.

Enjoy!  Y'all come back now........

Yours truly,
Julie :)

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON CRAFTING!

CHA Prime Publishing Blogger Event

Each year Prime Publishing (FaveCrafts) holds a networking event for CHA designer and blogger members.  This is where we gather to get to know each other and generally have a wild and wonderful time!  Not just for networking with each other, the event is sponsored by manufacturers as a way to meet industry bloggers and introduce them to their latest products.  After the show each one of us receives a "goodie box or bag" of sample product so we can add a sprinkle of our own creativity - after all, a product is only a product until a designer shows us what we can make with it and shares it on their blog.  It's all about creativity and inspiration!

It's like Christmas when the boxes arrive on the doorstep! I received sample product from Design Master Color Tool, Fairfield, Leisure Arts, Plaid Enterprises, Sakura of America, Testor Corporation and Therm O Web, Inc.  My mission now is to create something with the products I received.

I'm still working on product I received from Design Master. I love the colors and it's perfect for coloring chipboard and Smoothfoam.  There's also a white texture spray that I think will make the most amazing Snowmen.......... thinking ahead of course.

Here are two projects I came up with to enter in the "contest" which will run March 31st thru April 6th. Hope you like them as much as I liked creating with them. You can find full, step by step instructions by following the link for each project.  All the designer projects are featured on the FaveCrafts website here.  Please vote for the one you like best - you can vote once per day and, of course, I hope you like one of mine.  http://www.favecrafts.com/voting/Blogger-Contest/

Thank You Card

Canvas Bag

 
Enjoy!  Y'all come back now..........

Yours truly,
Julie :)

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON CRAFTING!

Easter Projects

It's almost Easter weekend and I'm scrambling to decorate the house for Saturday. That's when we have our family Easter Egg hunt for the grand kids and traditional dinner.  These are so quick'nEZ I'm not sharing detailed instructions, just photos with a few notes.

First up is our Easter tree.... These are artificial Forsythia branches placed in a old glass vase wrapped with grapevine.  The branches are decorated with Smoothfoam eggs, découpaged with the top, printed layer of a variety of napkins.  Paint each egg first with a coat of slightly diluted white glue or Mod Podge. Separate the top layer from the napkin then gently pat pieces onto the surface of the egg.  Cover with another coat of glue.  Sprinkle with clear glitter while the glue is still wet if you like a sparkly look.  Secure a ribbon loop at the top with a quilt pin to hang.

This topiary was also made from a larger Smoothfoam egg.  I decorated the surface with small florets from a silk hydrangea. You can find detailed instructions for this project by following the link.

Easter Egg Topiary

Easter wouldn't be Easter without tulips and "Peeps"....

To create this arrangement, I placed a small glass jar inside a larger glass vase then pushed 2 rows of peeps between the 2 glass pieces and added a layer of foil wrapped, chocolate eggs around the top. I added twigs from the back yard to the flowers and decorated the branches with tiny rabbits. If you use artificial flowers, you can use an empty tin can in the center instead of a glass jar, which is how I made this arrangement using a square vase.  I found the small glitter eggs at Target - 6 for a dollar! I snipped the ribbon hanger then pushed the base of the egg onto a white floral stem....

If you look closely at the "Tulip" vase photo, you can see this Happy Easter Garland in the background. Follow the link for instructions.

 

Easter Garland

Peeps are really fun to use for decorations. Push them onto the top of a bamboo skewer then add them to vases of candy, or flower arrangements. I usually buy a bunch after Easter, when they're practically being given away and save them to decorate the following year.   
TIP: Let your peeps harden before pushing them onto the skewer... much easier than when they're soft and squishy.  

Here are two more ideas. Peeps on skewers in a vase filled with Easter grass and candy and a rectangle shaped glass with a Smoothfoam block inside, cut small enough to allow a layer of peeps around the outside.

 

Hope you enjoyed this Easter "Peep" show!  Have a fabulous weekend...... y'all come back now!

Yours truly,

Julie :)

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON CRAFTING!

Oly*Fun Metallics Blog Hop

A few days ago I received samples of Oly*Fun Metallics from Fairfield World. It's available in 4 colors: Silver, Gold, Rose Gold and Red. I love that it's bright and shiny and, what's most important to me, I didn't have to drag the sewing machine out...    a stitch in time saves nine, but I hot glue mine (whenever possible)!  This is a very versatile fabric and can be used both indoors and out.

I received 3 of the 4 colors.  The gray shown in the photo, is the back of the silver. The back of gold and rose gold is white. I'd just purchased a new bed set for the master bedroom, but decided it needed a small decorative pillow to glam it up a bit for Spring, or until my grand daughter sees it - she's going to want this pillow for her room!

 

It was so easy to make and I finished in about 30 minutes - I love quick'n EZPZ.. 

In addition to the Oly*Fun fabric, all you need for this project is a square pillow form (mine is 12" x 12" also from Fairfield World), scissors and some tape.

1. Fold the fabric to create a 30" x 30" square then cut.

 

2.  Place the pillow form on the back of the fabric at the center. 

 3. Fold the fabric up from the bottom then down from the top to overlap. Secure with a piece of tape.

4.  Fold the ends as if you were wrapping a gift. Make sure the corners are sharp and that the points meet when pulled over to the center of the pillow at the back.  Don't tape yet.

 

5.  Cut a second color of metallic, 30" x 9" (I used gold).  Wrap around the pillow, overlapping the ends at the back. Secure with tape.

6.  Pull the sides together over the top of the gold and secure with tape.

7.  Finger gather the band of gold at the front of the pillow. Carefully wrap with a twist tie, or a small piece of covered floral wire. Twist the ends together to secure, then trim.

 

8. Cut a small strip of rose gold, about 2" by 3".  Fold the strip length ways into thirds then use to wrap around the center. Overlap then secure the ends at the back with tape.

My mum always called small, decorative pillows "scatter cushions".  For decorative purposes only, they always make a big impact wherever they land!

For more fun projects with Oly*Fun metallics, check out the list of participating designers on the Designer Crafts Connection blog.  Share a comment here, then hop on over to enter to win a 10 yd bolt of your own - your choice of color!  Enjoy!  Y'all come back now...........

Yours truly,
Julie :)

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON CRAFTING!

National Craft Month - Mystery Box

Wow, lots of stuff happening this month.... clocks move forward, First day of Spring, it's St. Patrick's day on the 17th, Easter Sunday is on the 27th and to top it all, March is also National Craft month. SO much to do!

When I think of Spring, spring cleaning immediately comes to mind, so to get National Craft Month off to a good start, I thought I'd fill a box with some crafty tools and product and have a bit of fun. One lucky person will win the box and everything inside it, but you have to let me know what you think these items are by commenting....... not here, but on the Designer Crafts Connection blog. Comments won't be published until the last day.....

To get you started, here's a photo of the box with one item already in it.  Each day this week I'll add a photo of another item which will go in the box. Let me know what you think these items are in the comments section of the DCC blog and someone will win the mystery box.  Winner must have a shipping address in the US or Canada.

You don't need to guess what this third item is (it's pretty obvious), but you do need to tell me what brand: "Handmade ---------"  fill in the blanks.  Y'all come back now, I'll be adding more items tomorrow thru Sunday, March 6th.  Good luck!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON CRAFTING!