A few years ago I hosted a blog post on the SCT blog about masking with mist and stitchery. I just happened to see it linked on Facebook and realized I never did post about it here so thought I'd share since this trend seems to be coming back again.
Originally posted on the SCT blog September, 2011:
I decided to play with the ampersand mask for this layout. I’m going to creating a mask with the ampersand and spray over it with Mister Huey mist. So to start, I needed to determine where on my layout I’d like this element to be. Then I put my base paper in a box, to help contain the spray, and layered the mask over it.
After doing that, I stood back with my spray, and lightly spritzed it over the ampersand. I wanted a monochromatic look, and for the mask to stand out just a little, so used the color Clay over this mask.
Remove the mask, and you’ll see the ampersand shape, with the misted color around it.
I still wanted to maintain a monochromatic look, but I wanted my ampersand defined, so hand stitched around the edges. To do that I used the same needle that I hand stitch with, and pierced holes around the edges of my shape. Its hand stitching and I don’t want it to look perfect, so it was okay that each stitch wasn’t evenly placed. You’ll also notice that the piercing was closer together on corners, etc., without being too close or you’ll perforate the paper.
I then took my DMC floss, which comes in 6 strands, split it into 3 strands, and hand stitched around the edges of the shape. This created a fun detail to this element on my page.
For the rest of my layout, I created layers to add more texture, and a fun photo of my daughter with one of her chickens.
A year and a half later and I still like this layout. :) That's a good sign! Sunshine is still clucking along in the coop too as Morgan's favorite chicken.
Confetti is running rampant on the crafty front, so I wanted to take a moment and share some tips/tricks and techniques for adding confetti to your scrapbook pages. I had two projects in my gallery at Studio Calico this month using this technique:
I've experimented with confetti a bit, and found a great adhesive to use to adhere confetti, as well as some fun punches to use as well.
The cast of characters:
You need:
punches - I have two different sized hole punches here. I also have some really great punches I found at Walmart for less than $1. They are by Studio G (which can also be found at Michael's), and one is a circle, the other a heart punch. They worked great on my Valentine layout above.
Other popular punchs are the Swiss Cheese punch from Fiskars but I'm also seeing some great options with the knockout punches from American Crafts, specifically the star border and this one.
I like these individual punches because I can use them on small scraps of paper to get my shapes and don't have to start with a fresh 12x12. Making confetti is a great use of scraps.
You also need adhesive. Elmer's Craft Bond = fabulous.
After I have punched my shapes it's time to get out that adhesive and my misting box. It's going to get messy.
This Elmers adhesive is AWESOME. It will soon be making it's way to a Studio Calico shop near you. ;)
Some things to note:
This adhesive is sticky.
It's a spray, so be in a well ventilated area.
Cover your whole project. Don't just spray it where you want the confetti to be. I say this because when it dries, you will be able to tell where the adhesive was when you hold your project at an angle in the light. It also changes the texture of your base paper just a little bit. But this is NOT like Super Seal. Your project will not be hard and shiny. It's fabulous because it works and almost disappears when it dries. It just doesn't disappear completely.
For this example I used my card. I sprayed the entire thing with Craft Bond, and then sprinkled confetti. After sprinkling it, I was able to rearrange things to get them where I wanted. I'm a perfectionist that way. It doesn't dry so fast that you can do this. I sprayed it, added my confetti, rearranged, and then walked away from my project. It is repositionable at first, but when it dries it's stuck. But it takes a while so it's best to leave it alone for a few hours.
Additional tips:
If you sprinkle a lot of confetti and the pieces layer on themselves, those top pieces wall fall off because they aren't on the card base. Keep that in mind as you sprinkle, and reposition pieces until you are satisfied and then leave your project alone until the glue is "cured".
When you come back to your project later, it'll be dry and it'll be fabulous. As I mentioned, you can somewhat feel a change in texture, and if you hold your project in the light you will be able to tell where you missed with adhesive, but just barely. I just wanted to make sure all the perfectionists out there knew that. :)
Here's a closeup of my Valentine layout that included heart confetti:
Just want to add a few accent pieces to your project? I'd suggest a Martha Stewart glue pen and a pair of tweezers.
You can also add confetti to a page protector and sew it shut, just like I did on my Note to Self layout.
When you do something like this you can add fun things like bigger punches and even fun veneer shapes like those asterisks. This type of confetti floats around your layout which is fun.
I had the pleasure of posting a sweet project for a giveaway on the Crate blog over the weekend, and wanted to take the opportunity to share it here as well. I just love it!
Inspired by the garden gate chipboard piece in the chipboard accents from the Neighborhood Collection, I wanted to make a spring/summer décor piece.
I white washed the wood vase with gesso and then covered it with a strip using the Picnic Pattern, a bit of Block Party, and the delicious felt trim from the same Collection (the Emma's Shoppe trims, especially that pink, would have been pretty too). I topped it with the white gate, and then wrapped it in twine and added an Eclectic Button to top it off.
The flowers were made using the rolled flower technique as well as some buttons.
You need one circle punched from a 3 inch circle punch, and a green circle punched from a 1.5 inch circle punch I used the Festive pattern from the Snow Day line for my “leaves”)
To start, I threaded two button on floral wire.
After that, roll a rose flower from the large punched circle. If you need a reminder on creating these flowers, check out my tutorial here:
Thread the rose onto the floral wire below the two buttons, add a large third button behind that, and finish with your smaller circle “leaf”. What you have is a rose for you bouquet.
Fill in the vase with several flowers, and finish it with finely trimmed strips from the Block Party print, and you have a beautiful vase to treasure.
I made a vase using this same wood container (which I picked up from Michael's for $1) on this post. I can't believe it's been 3 years since I did it the first time! It was fun to revamp the idea with new product.
1. So.... last week we had a snow storm that unexpectedly brought about 8 inches of heavy, wet snow in the space of a few hours. I worked in the office that day, so I was up, showered, and out of the house around 6:30am, got my Starbucks and my pumpkin scone, and was sitting in the office when I heard Morgan's school had closed, there were busses in the ditch (with no kids on them, thankfully), and later, that my house didn't have power.
When I left the office around lunch time, I picked up coffee for Steve on the way home, because the power had gone out about 8am and I knew the kids were outside playing in snow, so I figured they might need coffee and hot chocolate to warm up.
At about 2:30 we all got tired of being without electricity. I'm a girl who likes silence, but I had no idea how comforting the hum of electricity was. Silence with no electricity is an uncomfortable silence. I didn't like it. After pondering ideas of things to do, I decided..... "HEY! Let's make a tutorial for Studio Calico!" And out came the video camera.
I had planned to do a hand stitching tutorial with the WRMK Sew Easy tool already, so it worked out pefectly.
Things to note:
1. How do you tell your husband to ZOOM OUT without coming across as a nag? That is something I need help with. heeeee.
2. I am easily distracted. So when I have one kid snaking my m&m's and the other throwing snowballs at the window, a mama can lose focus on what she was talking about. Yes, we are having a snow ball. pffft.
3. When we bought our video camera, we had a new baby, and we paid @$900 for it. So, even though it's now 7 years later and things are much improved, I am a girl with a hubby who doesn't want to purchase a new one, even though Flip camera's are at Costco for $129. I'm still working on him. That said.... the video on the camera looks fine. It also looked fine in my video program. But somehow the transfer to YouTube looks terrible, and for that I apologize. You didn't really want a clear, close up look at that hangnail, did you? No, probably not.
4. My hubby was filming me, and I was talking about hand stitching. Awkward.
5. I think the fact that Payton ended up eating all my m&m's deserves it's own bullet point.
With that, here's a video tutorial on the WRMK Sew Easy tool, as well as some hand stitching.
Please let me know if you need something clarified, have a question about my technique, etc., or would like future tutorials, zoomed out, and in clear form. I'm all ears.
In general, I am only going to post craft related videos and tutorials on this account, so if you want to click the link at YouTube and follow me you will get a notification email when a new video is posted. I don't know how often that will be but, you know, just in case.... :)
2. Speaking of crafting, today is the 25th. That means you have 3 more days until Project 12 layouts are due. If you are still wanting to play along, this month you need to link your layouts to this post.
I had to break out my creative thinking cap, because I didn't take a lot of photos in January. I was up to my neck in crafting and prepping my life for CHA, so as I looked through my digital files, all I was coming up with were layouts and closeups, lol. The bright star to my month, though, happened to be my baby girl, who turned 7.
With just two big events to summarize the crazy month, I modified the sketch a bit to use fewer photos:
Kelly was nice enough to share some photos taken with her camera at CHA, which worked perfectly to highlight that experience. The two themes were so different that I was worried about what the design would look like, so to make it fun, I carried Payton across the layout and put her on the right, carrying forward the birthday theme.
This photo cracks me up. Daily, all year long, my girls like to ask "how many days until my birthday", so that thought comes to me immediately as I look at this photo and her wearing her sister's birthday hat. Her birthday is in March. Not much longer! Only 33 days, PJ! :)
I took out a photo so I wanted to fill it with something fun. Recognize these frames, and most of the other products, for that matter? Yes, it's a previous kit from Studio Calico. Baker's Dozen, to be exact. I bought extras that month but haven't had a chance to use it all yet. That's a blessing and a curse! It means I have a backlog of stash, but it also means I get to play with Scenic Route, which I haven't seen in a while.
I had a lot of fun with this layout and really like how it turned out. I like the changes Becky made for the sketch, and I'm doing something different with my titles this time too, taking more creative liberties each month.
3. In two days, it'll be time to head to Studio Calico if you want to purchase March goodies. April posted March prices and shop items on this thread. In an effort to get the latest and greatest we are cutting it close with some goodies from Cosmo Cricket, etc., so watch that thread to see what we are able to get our hands on. I am also in line for some of the goodies that are new to the shop.
4. Tomorrow is the anniversary of my birth, lol. I'm not really looking forward to it. When I turned 30 I was 8 months pregnant with Payton. Steve took me to dinner and I came home with heartburn. heee. On my 33rd birthday I broke my driver's side mirror on my way to work. That means 7 years of bad luck. Guess what day it'll be when that runs out? oy. So, there's a wee bit of dread in what tomorrow brings. I'm just not ready yet. When I was at my yearly physical my doctor told me that at the advanced maternal age of 35 they like to start weaning women off birth control pills, which led me to think "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME". This is something I would expect to hear from my mother. I'm just not ready to be hearing this type of talk directed at me. A great big ugh.
5. With that, I'm out. After the kiddlets are in bed hubby and I are going to maybe rent a movie. The Academy Awards are on Sunday night so I'm hoping to see something nominated. Is Black Swan available On Demand? hmmmmm.
I had several projects in the winter issue of Scrapbook and Cards Today, and one of my favorites was this fun wreath I made. It came together really quickly and was actually really easy to make too.
The holiday line from Stampin' Up I Believe line from My Minds Eye Tradition line from Fancy Pants Designs
All three lines worked so well together, and I was blown away by the Stampin' Up fabric. It was a lot of fun to work with!
For this wreath, I picked up a foam from from Michaels. It was simple to embellish.
I tore thin strips of fabric and wrapped them around, tying a knot in the front.
Then I trimmed 1/4 inch + strips of patterned paper and wrapped that around the wreath. I pulled it tight in some spots, and let it get loose in others in order to provide a more dimensional look. I mixed different patterend papers on this part.
My paper flowers are called Kusudama and I followed the basic tutorial on this site to make them. They'd make fun ornaments for the Christmas tree too!
Let me know if you have any questions about this project!
Speaking of Scrapbook and Cards, though... I hope you've been visiting the site the past few days. They are doing 12 days of holiday giving, which started on the 10th.
Did you see it? I made a cardkeeper as my tutorial for the Crate Paper blog. Check it out. Isn't the Restoration line gorgeous? I chose it specifically for *my* card keeper. :)
To answer a question I received, the chipboard I used was thick. Thicker than a cereal box. I'm not sure what weight it is. I just used some sheets I had in my stash. But it's pretty thick. It's probably twice as thick as a cereal box weight. Perfect for a book cover.
I have had several requests for a tutorial on one of the layouts in my August gallery at Studio Calico this month. In particular, for this layout:
I have LOVE loved this pattern ever since October Afternoon put it on a patterned paper at CHAW10. It was my favorite print from the show. But I didn't know what it was called. I have googled "quilt pattern" many times, but the number of patterns that type of search comes up with will boggle your mind, so I figured that quilt was meant for another bed.
I just happened to stumble upon a tutorial she did for the Fiskars blog using the Cathedral Quilt pattern to make a picnic blanket. At first I was elated because I had finally located that pattern which meant new bedding for the master bedroom! But after looking at the pattern I also realized.....
I can totally make that with paper.
And I sounded just like my mother. ack!
When I received my August kit I immediately knew what patterns I wanted to play with, and quickly went to work. This layout looks involved and difficult, but these quilt squares are really quite easy! This is how it works:
1. Trim circles from a patterned paper of your choice. Something to note: If you are using a two sided piece of paper, you will cut a lot of time and paper out of your project. You just need to determine if you would like to see both sides, and which side you would like to be the window, and which side you would like to have as the frame.
If you are using a single sided pattern, as I did, that's fine. Just choose prints that you like, and trim circles from the print that will frame the window (in reference to my layout, trim a circle from the pattern that will be the manilla print).
As for punches, I chose my 2 inch Marvy Circle punch so that I could have 6 across and have room on the outside edges, but odd numbers are usually more visually pleasing, so for this tutorial I chose to use my 3 inch circle punch. I wish I had used this punch or the 2.5 inch initially so you could better see the pattern of the paper in the window, but at the time, I was winging it, and wasn't sure what to do, lol.
Edited: I measured and I actually used a 2.5 punch on my Polliwog layout, not 2. The squares inside are 1.5 inch squares. I apologize for the oversite on that 1/2 inch and hope i didn't mess anyone up! You can still use 2 inch squares! :)
2. After you have trimmed several circles, it is time to score them. A 3 inch circle means a 2 inch square, and this is the long and drawn out way I did it. I trimmed a square out of a piece of chipboard, and traced it on my circles, which for me seemed much faster than lining things up and measuring. The outside corners of the square should meet an edge of the circle. I traced it on the side of the paper that will be the window (ie, if that piece of paper in my Polliwog layout was double sided, I would be tracing on the side with the little creatures). Keep in mind the orientation of the pattern on the paper, and make sure to trace the square so that the pattern has the correct orientation (the flowers are straight, stripes aren't crooked, etc).
If you have a ScorPal, yay! If you have a scoring blade for your rotary cutter, yay! If you have a ruler and a bone folder from Making Memories that you have had since 1997, you will do just fine! I don't have a ScorPal, and couldn't find my scoring blade. So it was a ruler and a bone folder for me. And it worked just fine and dandy.
Score the line that you traced. Folding the paper over takes away some of the width, and you want to try and match up corners on all four sides. If they don't, don't worry about it! I didn't! I made more circles than I needed and sent the bad ones to the round file, or hid them under my photo. Or I stitched on them. Quilts are homespun, handmade, and imperfect, so I can't expect my scrapbook layouts to be any different.
3. If you have a double sided patterned paper for this technique, skip this step. But if you didn't, or you want to create different patterns in your windows, at this point you need to trim squares out of those prints. Make them 2x2, if you used a 3 inch circle.
4. Now we need to use that bone folder, if you didn't have it out already. Simple fold over the little flaps to the front of the circle, and score them. After scoring all four sides, it'll look like this:
Do this with all your circles.
5. Once you are ready to put your layout together, line up your squares next to each other on your layout. If you trimmed out squares, this would be the time to put them in their place on your layout. You simply slip the square under the folds and push them down again. After doing that you can add a glue dot, or a dab of glue under each flap, to adhere it.
I stitched some of my squares down. I didn't want the layout to look too complicated, so I only did it a wee bit, for effect.
Voila! The Cathedral Quilt pattern is now on a scrapbook layout, and it wasn't hard to make. It's cushy though. I like how the squares, all lined up, actually felt quilt-like.
And if you are interested in the quilt pattern, like I still am, here's Kendra's tutorial:
Just in case you missed it, if you'd like to see a tutorial on the happy accident that led to these super cute rose flowers, please check out my tutorial, including photos and step by step instructions, on my Studio Calico blog post here.
Have a great day! I'll be back later with more to share. Davinie
Okay, world. I did it. I made a video. Have you ever wanted to hand stitch on a project but didn't know where to begin? Or do you already hand stitch but want to see how someone else does it? I am Davinie, and I'm a left handed paper crafter, lol. Watch me stitch:
lol. I posted this today on the Studio Calico blog as well. I thought it would be much easier to make a video than to try and have someone take photos of me in "action".
Enjoy! Don't make fun of me! And, my burning question....
After you have made the cone for your Tussie Mussie, it's time to embellish it and fill it up.
I didn't take a photo of it, but the very first thing you need to do is punch a hole in the upper back of your tussie mussie. You then slip both ends of your ribbon through, so that there is a loop hanging out the backside of your cone shape, and tie a bow with your ribbon. This creates a hanger for this project, and puts a great big bow in the front which is a nice accent.
To cover up the edges of the cone I made a pleat of sorts.
This is what the first fold looks like.
And here is what it looks like from the side.
After folding it to the left, fold it to the right so that the pleat sticks out.
Do this several more times until you have gone the length of your paper. If you need to increase the length, simply trim additional paper to the width you need, and tuck the end behind one of the pleats.
After the length was complete, I attached it to the top of my cone shape.
Filling the cone was easy. I simply trimmed several strips at 1/4 inch in width, and folded them accordion style.
The cone is filled with flowers and a bird.
The pleated flower was made using Emily's flower tutorial here.
For my other flowers, I simply trimmed floral shapes from Cosmo's Farmer's Market paper. I then attached all of the flowers to pipe cleaners.
I attached a pipe cleaner to the chipboard bird as well, and then arranged all of them in my cone, with the accordion flower to the back.
And voila! Super cute spring/summer Tussie Mussie that works perfectly on doorknob.
