String Art Project and Tutorial

Hello friends!!  Today I am sharing a post and tutorial over on The Twinery blog for the Handmade Holiday's Blog Hop.  The hop has great projects that you can give as gifts this holiday season from many designers all over the web.

I created a fun string art project using some yummy Solid Bakers Twine.  Here is my completed projectl....

I also have completed a tutorial for it so that you can make one of your own to give away this holiday season......

I love giving out handmade items for the holidays...it just makes each gift more personal.  Today I am sharing a fun string art project using lots of yummy Solid bakers twine from The Twinery.  To get started, you will need: A board base (mine is 11 1/2 x 11 1/2), nails (mine are finish nails that are 1 1/4 inches), bakers twine (I used the Solid Caribbean and Solid Pink Sorbet), die cut images (for template and saying).

There is a bottle of mist in this picture because I was thinking about staining the board, but decided against it and just used the board in it's natural state. 

Measure and adhere your template in the spot where you want it on your board.

Next, mark where you want to put your nails.  I used a paper piercing template to get the holes as evenly spaced as I could.  You could also use a ruler.

Begin nailing your nails into your board on the marks.  My board is about 1/2 inch thick and I nailed the nails almost 1/2 an inch in leaving about 3/4 of an inch above the board.  This took me about 30 minutes to complete and I only hit my thumb once. :)  I have seen someone recommend using some needle nose pliers to hold the nails up to keep from hitting your fingers/thumb, but I found that to be too hard to do and get the nail right where I wanted it.

Once you have all the nails in place, remove the template and discard.  Up next is the fun part...

Now, you get to tie some twine onto a nail and then go crazy.  Just weave the twine from one nail to the other.  I found it was easier to twist it around the peg at least every other one or so to keep it tight and also to make it so it isn't very easy for the twine to slip off the nails (in case you drop the twine a time or two like I did ;) ).

When you are satisfied with how much twine you have filled the image in with, you can then wrap it around the outside of the image and then tie it off and snip off the tails close to the nail that you tied it on.  I wrapped an outline around the image twice, but I don't think that it really needed it both times.

Repeat the same steps with the heart image inside the house....don't forget to outline it like the house when you are done (I may or may not have done this and then had to go back and do it before I took the picture below).

The only thing left is the sentiment that I adhered with foam adhesive to give it some lift off of the wood.  I was thinking about building a frame of some sort around the edges of the wood piece, but I haven't decided yet...what do you think?

Here are the twine colors that I used in my project today....

I would love to hear what you think of my project today in the comments below.  If you want to hop along and enter the HUGE giveaway going on for the Handmade Holidays blog hop (including every color of twine that The Twinery offers), you need to hop on over to The Twinery Blog post HERE, leave a comment and enter into the giveaway form embedded into the post.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Hugs,
Amy

Snowman Candle Tutorial

Hello everyone!!  I have a new post up over at the Peachy Keen Stamps blog sharing a tutorial with you on how to put images on candles using stamps.  I have done a few of these in the past with pictures of my kiddos for family members, but I love this idea of using stamps on a candle to make personalized gifts for neighbors and friends.  

Here is what you will need to get started:

• candle
• stamps (I am using the Snowmen, Greetings and Globe stamps from Peachy Keen Stamps)
• black ink (I use Memento Tuxedo Black)
• white tissue paper
• wax paper
• scissors
• heat tool
• coloring medium (I used my Copic markers)
• white scrap cardstock (to keep your work surface from getting stained)

 Step 1:

Take your tissue paper and stamp your image on the smoother side.  There is usually a bit of a smoother side to tissue paper and I have had better results with the coloring on the smooth side.   Be sure to do this over your white scrap piece of cardstock to keep the ink from bleeding through to your workspace. 

Step 2: Color and cut out your image.  If you are using markers, be sure to keep the white cardstock under your image because they will bleed through the thin tissue paper.  There is no need to be precise on your cutting job....it will not show once it is on the candle.

Step 3: Place your cut out images on the candle where you want them to be.  

Step 4: Tightly wrap the waxed paper around your candle so that it is smooth over the image.  Using your heat tool, wave it over and around the image until you see it start to get glossy.  Be sure that it is glossy over the whole image, but don't leave it too long in one spot or it will warp your candle.

Step 5: Let the candle cool (only takes a minute or so) and then carefully peel the wax paper off of the candle.  Your image should now be completely melted into the candle.

Here is a look at two of them that I have made.....

They were really simple and quick to make....I think I will be doing several more for neighbor gifts this year!!  To package them up, I put them in cellophane bags.  

 

I used some shimmer bakers twine from The Twinery to tie them up and then made this cute little tag with the November 2013 SOTM from Peachy Keen Stamps.  This set is part of the November Specials going on right now.  I also used the Stitched Round Tab and Tag die set from My Creative Time for the tag base.

I hope that you have a great week!!

Hugs,

Amy

Show me your Technique Tuesday - Mini Hop with MCT

Hello and welcome to the fun new blog hop with My Creative Time.  Emma has this wonderful idea to have three members of her design team create a project and share with you a technique that we used while creating our project and share it with you.

For my technique, I thought I would share with you a fun way to add texture to cardstock with any scoring tool.  I have the Martha Stewart score board, so that is what I used along with a square piece of black cardstock with a purple color core (it is out of the Black Magic stack from Core'dinations).

I turned over the purple core cardstock, turned it so that it was on an angle to my board and scored it at every 3/8 of an inch.

I turned the cardstock piece 90 degrees and scored it again in the opposite direction at every 3/8 of an inch.  (Please excuse my poor ink stained cutting mat)

I then turned it over and sanded the black front with a sanding block so that the purple shows through at the score marks.

I then attached it to my card with the super fun images from the new Treats for my Sweet stamp set from My Creative Time.  The tag is die cut from the Teeny Tag Greetings set.  I colored in the pumpkin with Copic markers and added some beautiful orange Jute Ribbon from Liz's Paper Loft Boutique.  The patterned paper is from Imaginisce and I cut the circle with my Cricut Expression 2 and the preloaded Cricut Essentials cartridge.

I am adding this to the Focal Point Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.

I am so excited to share the links for the two other super talented designers participating today.....I can't wait to see what they created to share with you, too.

Amy ~http://www.scrappingmommy.com/ (You are here)

Cassandra ~ http://www.ctimz3.blogspot.com/

Cathryn ~ http://inthepinkcathryn.blogspot.com/

Have fun!!

Hugs,

Amy

Baby Shower Party Favor Tutorial with SRM Stickers

Here is a fun project that I am sharing over on the SRM Stickers blog today.  It is a fun tutorial on how to make a party favor for a baby shower or any other fun occasion you may need one.  What better way to tell your guests thanks for coming to a party than to send them home with one of these pretty little gifts.

What you will need for this fun project:

• 3 x 12 inch strip of patterned paper
• Cardstock oval shapes cut with die cut machine or punches
• SRM Sticker Sentiments - Baby
• Scoring tool
• Corner Rounder
• Ink
• Lace
• Ribbon
• Twine
• Paper piercer and template
• Needle and embroidery floss
• Flower
• Button
• Treat bag
• Strong Adhesive (Glue Dots, Scor-Tape)

Let's Get Started:

Step 1:
You will need to score your 3 x 12 inch piece of patterned paper at 2 inches, 6 inches, and 8 inches.

Step 2:
Next, fold on the score lines so that the patterned paper is showing on the outside, round the corners on the 2 inch flap, and then ink all the edges.

Step 3:
Take a paper piercer and a template to evenly pierce holes along the front edges and flap.  Use the needle and three strands of the embroidery floss to stitch in the holes.

Step 4:
Using a strong adhesive, secure the lace along the inside of the flap edge.

Step 5:
Secure the treat bag to the inside of the gift bag and adhere the flap to the front with a glue dot.  Layer the oval pieces together with a sticker on top and secure to the top of the gift bag with dimensional adhesive.

Step 6:
Adhere the ribbon, twine, flower, and button just below the oval pieces.  Add an SRM Sticker border to the bottom of the gift bag.

Enjoy!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!  Don't forget that I start my guest designing week at Peachy Keen Stamps today, so don't miss that post...you will have a chance to win some Peachy Keen stamps for leaving comments all week.

Hugs,

Amy

Altered CD Mini Album with a Mini Tutorial

Here is a mini album that I made out of some of the many old CDs that we have in a box next to the computer.  My hubby says that he should sell them to be used in skeet shooting, but I convinced him that I can make some fab things with them like this super cute mini album. I used my Cricut Expression to cut the circles that are covering the CDs and the Paisley cartridge to cut the layered flowers.  I also used the wonderful Viva Decor Pearl Pens to accent the pages in my mini album.  Click on the pics to view them larger.

Pages 1 and 2

Pages 3 and 4

Pages 5 and 6

Pages 7 and 8

Pages 9 and 10

Back Cover

Here is a mini tutorial on how to cover the CDs:

Step 1: Gather your supplies. 
               You will need a CD, 5 inch circle cut out of patterned paper,
               Scor-Tape, and sandpaper

Step 2: Place strips of Scor-Tape to the outside edge of the CD

Step 3: Adhere the 5 inch circle over the CD and then sand off the edge that overlaps the CD.  This gives it a perfect distressed finish and fits the CD perfectly.

Step 4: Decorate the finished CD page and then bind to other completed pages with your favorite binding machine.

I just love the Scor-Tape.  It works fabulously for those hard to adhere projects and it was the perfect adhesive for this project.  I also love to use it to secure ribbon to projects (like the ribbon on page 2 of the mini album above).  I have never had any other adhesive hold ribbon to paper as well as the Scor-Tape does.

Another of my new favorite items is the Viva Decor Pearl Pen.  It works fabulously to add a perfect dimensional accent to any card, scrapbook page, or mini album.  It even is a fabulous accent for clothing as shown by other members of the ScrapbookPal design team.  Here I used the Gold color to accent the butterfly body and also the butterfly trail (on page 6 of the mini album):

Here I used the Silver color to add a center to the flower on the cover of the mini album:

To create this flower, I cut out 4 different sizes on my Cricut Expression with the Paisley cartridge.  I then rolled the petals and then pinched the ends a little.  I then covered with some Mod Podge and when they were dry, I spritzed a little Glimmer Mist onto them.  I layered and adhered them together with some Glue Dots and then added a little punched flower to the middle along with the Viva Decor Pearl Pen center.

Supplies:
      Cardstock, patterned paper, ribbon, felt flowers: Stampin' Up!
      Die Cuts: Cricut Expression with George and Basic Shapes and Paisley carts
      Stickers: SRM Stickers
      Punches: Stampin' Up! (scallops, corner rounder, flowers),
          Martha Stewart (butterflies)
      Pearl accents: Viva Decor Pearl Pens
      Adhesive: Scor-Tape, Glue Dots, Scotch ATG
      White gel pen: Sakura
      Binding system: Bind It All
      Other: CDs, buttons, paper clips, Glimmer Mist

I hope you enjoy my mini album and tutorial!!  Have a fabulous day!!

Amy