Rolled Magazine Cross

When I saw this on Pinterest, I knew I wanted to try it:
http://fromliketolove.blogspot.com/2011/11/another-project.html

I started by rolling a couple smaller projects, because I was trying this craft out with my 11 year old. She didn't like it because she couldn't roll them tight enough to make them look nice, so I started on this bigger project.

I'm a get-started-without-a-real-plan kind of crafter, so I just started making some of the same size circles and then arranged them to get the look of the cross that I wanted. I didn't realize how much smaller mine would be until I actually had it glued together and hung it on the wall. I wish I'd made it a little bigger....so I might make another one another day.

(If you're interested, the biggest circles are 6 pages folded, then glued end-to-end, then rolled. The smaller ones are 2 pages. )

I was fussy with the pages that I used because I wanted bright colors and not a lot of white/black print. Especially on the pages that I used around the outside to create the 'border'. When I finished, I gave it a coat with high gloss ModPodge.

I enjoyed the craft, and think I may re-visit it for future projects.

Quilled Cross

I wanted an Easter Cross for my small frame (see previous posts for other small quilling projects for this same frame) that hangs on a tiny strip of wall in my house. I searched Pinterest for inspiration, but didn't find exactly what I was wanting. I decided to just make the shape of the cross and start filling it up with different colors, shapes, and sizes. I am excited about the random-ness of it. It is amazing how hard 'random' can be sometimes. ;)

Love Wall Hanging

I have been wanting to make one of these for over a year now! Ever since I spotted one at a friend's house that said "NOEL" last Christmas. I said I would make one of those before Christmas this past year, but never got around to it. Then when my hubby was out of town last week, I decided I would spend an evening or two on it...but couldn't make one to say NOEL and not use it for 11 more months!! So I made "LOVE (always)". I really like the little heart added to the bottom with "always" stamped on it....to remind us all that it's not about a silly holiday. It's LOVE. And love is for always.

Since I've got sizes and everything worked out, I hope I can change up the colors/papers and quickly make a few more. I have the perfect narrow wall strip where I could hang one year round....Now to come up with a 4-6 letter word that sums up St. Patricks Day...and is not LUCK. Since I don't believe in luck. ;)

Quilled Christmas Scene

I made this a year or two ago, but I realized I don't think I ever showed it to everyone! I had a little frame that was a shadow box type, no spot for glass, just a back. I put paper on the back of the frame that had just a bit of pattern to it, then put it back in place. Then I made a few Christmas quilling items to fill the spots. I knew I wanted a manger scene on the bottom space, because of the size of it, long length & short height, but had no idea waht to do with the rest. I decided to fill it with other traditional Christmas things: stocking, wreath, and poinsettia. Last year I remember not having a spot for it and feeling like I was frustrated by that, but this Christmas I cleared off my photo shelves and piled them with lots of decorations, and this was the perfect spot for my quilled Christmas scene.

Crepe Paper Flowers

My husband, who knows I love all things crafty, gave me a paper flower making kit for a gift this past year, but I didn't take the time to work on it until he was in Paris this past month with work! This kit included paper, wire, floral tape, stamens, and a book with instructions and patterns to make the flowers. I followed the instructions in the book to make a rose, and this was it. The paper is thick, who sided and makes a very sturdy flower. I think I would like it a lot more if it wasn't so BIG. But it is pink, and it looks like a rose to me, so for a first attempt I was pretty pleased.

I decided for my next flower to make some orange ones to display in the fall this year as a seasonal pop of color. I had a roll of cheap streamer paper and thought it might work. I used a white stamen from the kit and rolled around that a cut of 1/2 ish by 4 inch piece of streamer that I  frayed with scissors. Then cut circles out that were the size of the paper, crimped them together on the bottom, and put them on one by one. This flower is much more fragile, but I love the look of it, felt the thinner paper was easier to work with and think it looks better in the end.

I posted again on these same flowers here.

Quilled Peacock

A while ago, I refinished this frame that was old-school gold, by painting it dark blue, then white, and putting some blue paint on to fill the creases and the rubbing it to let the white and gold show through. I love the frame, and was looking for a quilling project to make to fill it. I decided to do it this week and wanted to try a peacock, to get a big punch of color and extravagance. Here he is:

I looked online, but couldn't find any to copy that were head on peacocks this style, so I was on my own to make it up. I started by making a pile of papers in the colors I thought I'd like to include. A little yellow and green, but mostly dark blue, because I have so much of that color in my living area. I went round-by-round, adding different designs and colors. He started out like this, and honestly, I thought I was finished after the 5 hours work I put into it. But as soon as I put his body on top of his tail, I knew I needed to change something....

So I found a piece of paper the same color as the quilling paper I used for his body, glued his body to the front of it, and cut it to size. It was just what his body needed to pop in front of his tail. 

Then, I realized it wasn't done enough for me, so I worked on it another night and added a few more rounds of quilling and color! I ended up with the peacock you saw above. Now that he's finished though, I wonder if the frame is not right for him....

Wall-Hanging Paper Bursts

I saw an idea from a Better Homes and Garden article called Room in Bloom. I used their idea to create something for the bottom of my screen door wall hanging. I had made a small flower like this before, but never one of this size, and the idea of putting together to create a colorful wall hanging was wonderful!

Paper Shamrock Wall-Hanging

I made a HUGE paper shamrock to hang on my wall, just like I'd have made one with quilling paper strips. It is made with about 1 1/4 inch strips that were about 20-26 inches long. I stapled it all together, as I didn't think glue would hold it. I wanted you to see how big it was, so I wanted this photo with the yardstick included:

I hung it in the top rectangle of my screen door wallhanging, but think it needs something else. I tried gluing a banner to the front that said "Happy St. Patrick's Day," but it didn't look good. Any suggestions on embellishing it?

Paper Buttons

For all those who thought I was not making cards anymore, here are the ones I made this morning after getting the weekly email from Splitcoast Stampers with the tutorial on paper buttons.

The buttons are made from four layers of punched paper (pink) with a layer of homemade paper on top. Glue them all on top of each other and then cover the whole thing with Crystal Effects. I like the finished product. I didn't think it was popping enough on it's own, so I added some color behind it on the card and tied a string though the button holes. Here are the two pink ones I did first:

Then I decided while I was going I should make a couple more, so I used another piece of homemade paper and made these. I used a piece of cardboard, coated all over with VersaMark for the brownish strip along the bottom of the card.

Bird in a Cage

I feel like I haven't done much crafting lately, and when I saw this little bird cage craft, I wanted to try it for our house. So, I didn't follow the directions exactly, but here is my version:

I used an oatmeal top for the cage bottom. It was clear, so I put a white circle on one side. For the cage cross-pieces, I used a box top that I had kept around for a while, knowing that silver would come in handy sometime. Also, I didn't have a pretty piece of paper 16.5 inches long to do around the diameter of the bottom, so I cut diagonally through a 12x12 piece and used that center strip. My strips are all about 1 inch across. I think I would make them smaller next time. You can't see my bird as well as I'd hoped.

I thought I'd try making it myself, and then see if my little 5 year old girl can make one too. I definitely think she could do one with help....but it would be better for someone a little older.

Screen Door 2

I knew I wanted to do this, but when I put the screen door on the wall, I felt like I needed to! So, I had the kiddos stand for photos, printed them out with terrible quality in black & white, and cut around them to create a silhouette of them. Then I used it as a template to make a blue silhouette and put them on white paper and in these frames that I spraypainted silver.

I also finished off the "T". I got a glass cut for the frame and bought a mat. The silhouettes look a little funny to me, so I'm planning to change the hanging of them. I've already put them on ribbons. Maybe I'll post another shot once I've finished them off. I was thinking of fabric flowers on the top of the ribbons......

T

This was an idea I saw in a book from the library (decorating with papercraft by Clare Youngs). I thought it would be a great addition to our sunroom, which I dream about decorating with maps and stuff. I cut a "T" with my Cricut, and used it as a template to cut two T's from cardboard. Then I used strips about 1.5 inches wide to space the two T's apart. I used masking tape to hold it all together.

Then I took maps from a stash I have had for ages, and tore them apart and Modge Podge-d them all on. I covered it with a clear coat of acrylic spray and put it right on top of the TV cabinet.

Now to get some fun maps for the walls, so it will match something! Maybe on my upcoming vacation where I'll brouse through antique stores for days.....ahhhhh.......

Give Thanks Banner

I have been wanting to make one of these for a long time, but as we don't have a mantle, I didn't think I'd have a place for it. The thought occurred to me this week that I could put it on the piano. So I got to work. This was a fairly quick project. I cut the "flags" in 3x4 rectangles and used my brayer and brown ink to distress them. Then I glued white die cut letters onto bluish circles and patterned cardstock scalloped circles. I thought they needed a little more pop, so I glued a white scalloped circle the same size under the patterned one so you could just see the scallops. Then glued these to a brown rectangle and onto the tag. To dress up the top a little, I put a 1/2" circle where I wanted to punch the holes and then punched them. I strung this on twine (can I just say that I am VERY excited that twine was on many of the crafts I looked at this week! I love the earthy look and it reminds me of my parents!) I tied little pony beads on the end of the twine to keep it under the piano top and stuck the ends in there. Once I got the spacing right, I thought it needed a little more umph, so I added ribbons, tied on to the twine randomly, between the flags. I took a close-up so you could see the specifics better. Now maybe I can resist a little longer taking down the fall decorations to put up the tree!!

What do you think? Do you think they need something else?

ASK Sign

I have been wanting to have a long sign to hang in my photo area in the living room to offset the small frames. I decided to use the opportunity of my hubby being out of town to make one myself! It started out like this:

I wanted to try Modge Podge (My new favorite craft item!! Why have I never used this before??) with letters that I cut out of paper using my Big Shot Die Cut system. So, I got to work. I cut all the letters from white cardstock.

And I needed a background. A blue one. Then it hit me, I had this shirt I'd been saving for a project....So, I cut the fabric from the back of the shirt to match the board that I found, already a good size, in my hubby's shop (Here's to hoping he didn't already have a plan for this board!)

I put on the fabric, then put on the letters, then realized I had NO IDEA what to do with the empty space. So I set it aside for a while. I came back to it when I realized I had flower die cuts too! So I cut out a bunch of flowers, and this was almost what I ended up with:

Then I emailed back and forth with my patient husband to get an opinion - I can't craft without someone else's opinion - which some of you know already! And on his suggestions I made a few changes. I modified some of the flowers with scissors for more variety - like the burst looking one was the same as the one on the upper right before my scissors got to it! And I added curlies and dots and stuff. Then we were pretty happy with it. So, I gave it a coat or two of Modge Podge, painted the edges the same color as my accent wall in the living room and added hangers. Yeah, I know you can't get the full effect with the frames turned around, but I'm not about to put my whole family on this blog! :)

Stamped for the Kitchen

I stamped these a while back and just hadn't posted them. I have been keeping salt, baking powder, baking soda, etc on the top of the stove and thought it looked a little messy. I had the idea to dress up an old baking powder container, instead of throwing it away to put the salt in. When I finished and liked the way it looked, I decorated one for the baking powder as well!



I stamped white paper with two colors blue (one for flowers, a darker for the letters) then attached it. To keep it nice and keep it from falling apart, I covered it with a couple strips of clear packaging tape. That's why it's so shiny!

I like the containers because they have the metal across the top for leveling, which makes it easier for my little girl to help me measure in the kitchen, and I think they're the perfect size. I'll be saving these container every time now and making more!

Angel Ornament

My mom sent me this idea. Fun, and didn't require much time or any stamping. It was meant to be a tag, but I made it an ornament instead. The dress is just a section of the scalloped circle punch. The wings are vellum and the head a simple, 1/2 inch, circle punch.

Tags

I was in the mood today, inspired by the upcoming Christmas holiday, conversations with friends, and a few paper magazines. These are the ones I created....

I need to get a "to/from" stamp or two from the store this week!

Framed Verse

I made this verse last night to go in this blue frame we've had laying around for years! My husband picked the verse, but I made it all girly! It was pretty quick. I did it in a couple hours. I printed the verse on my computer, then cut it to size and stamped it all over with the flower in different shades of blue (bashful & brilliant). Then I colored in the darkest ones with a white crayon and used a cotton swab to put Not Quite Navy chalk all over. Then I rubbed off the spots with the crayon for the chalk to come off, leaving white flowers. I didn't think it was enough punch, so I stamped a few black flowers and used my blender pen to color them in, and attached them with Stampin' Dimensionals - some going off the edges. I matted it in a little black paper and then put it all on a silver piece and put it in the frame. Much easier and quicker than I had expected it to be.

Mom's Jar

My sister and I created this jar for our Mom for Christmas. We came up with a list of 52 things we were thankful for about her and put each one on a strip for her to pull out. Then included the instructions: to pull one out each week and know that we are so thankful for her. What a wonderful gift!! Thinking of the 52 things was not hard, Mom....

Baby Shower Favor

This is the favor for the shower. I stamped the circles from Riveting in Bashful Blue on the confetti paper, cut to the size of the gum package. Then I cut a rectangle of the Regal Rose and put it on the front. I created a faux-metal-edged tag with the giraffe and sentiment and tied it on with my silver cord. I hope they like it!