A card using the Smudge & Mitten Paper Pad

This card was made using:

1 sheet from the Hunkydory Smudge & Mitten Paper Pad

A 6x6 card blank (made from A3 sheet of Centura Pearl card)

6x6 piece of mirri card

Affix It Craft permanent glue runner

Spare pieces from Smudge & Mitten card kit

I first gutted the mirri card (leaving about a 1 cm frame)

Next I cut the middle piece to 12cm x 12cm and rounded the corners

I cut the image out of the paper sheet so it was 11.5cm x 11.5cm, rounded to corners then glued this to the 12cm x 12cm mirri

I turned the piece of paper I had left over and cut a 5 3/4 inch square out then glued this to the 6inch piece mirri, then glued it to the front of the card blank.

I added a strip of boarder near the bottom of the card.

Next I added the image at a jaunty angle and finished with a sentiment topper.

Minimal products and it looks just as good as the cards from the card kit (if not better actually I think)

Minimal card - Smudge & Mitten

I made a card early using only a few bits yesterday and wanted to challenge myself to see what I could do with a card blank, a tiny bit of mirri and a printed sheet from the Smudge & Mitten paper pad. 

This was the result:

I think it looks pretty good, especially with the minimal items I used. I cut the image to 5 inches by 4 1/4 inches and glued it to the left of the card. With the left over paper I turned it over and used a 3/4 inch x 5 inch strip and glued that to the right of the card. 

Next I took a 1/8 inch piece of mirri and using glue dots stuck it where the 2 paper pieces joined. 

This would make a great party invite or birthday card.

Chi Chi Memories Hip Hop Girl

Chi Chi Memories have this great little digi this month called Hip Hop girl. 

Rather than make a card I decided to make a gift bag that could be used for a goodie bag full of sweets or a small gift.

I started by getting a gift bag up on on my computer using Craft Artist 2 and decorating it adding in the digi stamp where I wanted it. I printed this on Centura Pearl card (so it was glittery) and then printed out the digi on it's own as in order to colour with Spectrum Noirs you need to print in grey scale or the ink bleeds with the Spectrum Noirs. I put together to bag following the instructions on the print out which was mega easy. I then coloured the greyscale Hip Hop girl with Spectrum Noirs and cut her out and stuck her to the bag. I finished with some organza ribbon. 

I hope you enjoy! 

Fathers Day Cards

Just a quick post of the two Fathers Day cards I made this year using two different styles

This was an easel card made using Fizzy Moon digi kits on Craft Artist. I printed all the items separately and then matted and layered myself.

This card was made using black glitter card, mirri card and old superman comics. I did this in the same way as my husbands 30th card (see my post from 14th May) but this time I used the black glitter card as the base layer on the front of the card, and added the comic book page with circle cut out on top. PLEASE ensure if you make a card using comics that they aren't rare expensive issues! Even some that are damaged can be rare and worth something. This one was a newer common one I paid around 50p for. 

The comic book card would also make a great birthday card for a male or even female! 

Christmas Decorations Using Felt Flowers

I've got quite a lot of felt and had this idea while laying in bed recovering from a migraine (the part where I think my head feels fine but am scared to move incase my migraine is just pretending it's gone)

I absolutely love cutting fabric and felt on my Sizzix Big Shot using the bigz dies and had a polystyrene ball from the Crafty Creatives birthday box still left over. 

The things I used to make the flower ball were:

Three colours of felt 

Polystyrene ball (mine had been drawn on when I was contemplating another project)

Red satin ribbon (5mm wide)

Sizzix Bigz Flower Layer #10 die and my BigShot

Silver glitter glue

Silicone glue 

To begin with I used the Sizzix Bigz Flower Layer #10 die and cut two large flower shapes from red felt (if you dont have a die like this you can cut one by hand, its only to cover the top and bottom of the ball and wont really be seen). I then cut lots of the small flowers from the die. I cut around 100 flowers from the felt in three colours(cutting 5 at a time...got to love Bigz dies) and put these to the side. You dont need 100 but I wanted enough for other projects. 

Take one large flower and cut a slit in the middle as wide as your ribbon then thread the two ends of your ribbon through the slit so you have a loop one side. Glue the two loose ends to the felt.

Next glue the flower with the ribnon to the top of your polystyrene ball (I used silicone glue for a firm hold) and place the other large flower on the bottom. The flower shape easily moulds round the ball due to the petals. 

Next cover the ball with your small flowers again I used silicone glue, and I started on the middle which didnt have any felt on, built this up and then covered the rest of the ball. I found it was best to randomly dot glueon the ball, add the flowers then work on the gaps inbetween. If you also glue just the centre you get a more 3D look to the flowers.

You can stop here but I then added some glitter glue to the centre of each flower (that was showing). To do this I put my flower ball in a small cup so I could glitter one side without touching it, left it to dry, turned the ball round and glittered the other side.

I got so enthusiasic about covering the ball with flowers that I did it to the woodern hearts I got free with Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine. This would be great on the front of a card and the recipient can then hang it on their tree.

Youcould also use just one colour felt to fit in with your theme or leave off the ribbon, add a wooden stick/rod and put it in a little bucket or pot for a table decoration (which could be used all year round)

Up cycling Unused Foil Tray Lids

I use foil trays a lot at home as I make meals and freeze them but I always seem to have loads of left over foil lids (as I usually freeze 3 meals and use one or I cook stuffing in them) but I've found a great use for them! They are great to put through a die cutting machine to make a mattish silver embellishment so great for Christmas plus fingerprints done show up as easily as on mirri-board.

They also emboss amazingly and done cracker (unlike some cardstocks)

I used a mix of spellbinders, sizzix sizzlets, Tonic dies and Darice embossing folders (plus one free from Simply Homemade). They cut great in my Big Shot and came out so easily. 

Do you have any novel uses for other household items in crafting?

Personalised Cufflink Tutorial

This year I'm making my own crackers so wanted to make some gifts to go inside. Gifts for the girls are easy but I had to get my thinking cap on for the boys. This is where I came up with the idea of making cufflinks. I managed to buy some cufflink blanks on eBay along with clear cabochons. The cufflink blanks I brought were 18mm circles with a rim so they work with cabochons. 

These cufflink blanks worked out to under 70p a pair. 

The cabochons were around £2 for 10.

I've made personalised cufflinks for some of my crackers which I won't post on here (in case they see them) so I'll show you below using fabric but will also explain how to use photos/pictures/text.

You will need:

Cufflink blanks with a rim for cabochons 

The correct size cabochons for your cufflinks (mine were 18mm circles)

Glue (I used collall all purpose as recommended by Beaders Companion)

Fabric or patterned paper - or images on a computer, printer and paper.

If you are using images from your computer, to get the right size changed your screen zoom to 100%. I used CraftArtist to sort my pictures but you can also use Word (copy the picture into Word). With the zoom on 100% you can hold your cabochon up to the screen and resize the picture until it fits the cabachon (as at 100% you will be able to see exactly the size it will print). When you've got the right sizing print this out onto good quality paper or matt photo paper and print at a high quality setting. I tried printing on normal paper but as my pictures were detailed and so small it got a bit fuzzy but it was fine on matt photo paper) 

Now whether your using fabric, patterned paper or printed images you will need to get a cabachon and put a bit of glue on the flat side and then stick this on your image/fabric in the position you want. If you are using fabric put a nonstick mat under it or the glue can go through the fabric and stick to whatever's under it. 

Now leave it dry

Once dry cut the excess fabric/paper from round the cabachon (much easier once stuck and dry as fabric won't fray plus it's very hard to damage the image/fabric under the cabachon)

Now put a bit if glue in the cufflink blank but not too much as it does spread and will come out the sides. 

Now press the cabachon into the cufflink blank and wipe away any excess glue (or rub the glue off if using collall all purpose)

Leave to dry and ta-dah 

Christmas Cracker Hat Craft Tutorial

This year I've decided to make my own crackers. I decided this just after Christmas and then it became much easier with the Tonic cracker dies which they started selling in the summer (early I know but you have to be prepared!)

So I have the crackers theirselves sorted but I wanted to make my own hats as a cracker isn't a cracker without a paper hat. Today (27th October 2013) it was really handy as Aldi had a special on lots of Christmas wrapping including tissue paper so I sent my husband off with a list of things to get when he popped round there (it's virtually next door to us) while I slept off my migraine (grrrr). With all this windy weather my husband told me he was nearly run over by the outdoor plant shelving units on wheels! Luckily he ran out the way. 

So my husband came back with a pack of tissue paper, curling ribbon and fabric ribbon. I just said 'get any design' as my migraine had taken hold and he came back with the ones I actually wanted so that was amazing (I wouldn't have minded design as long as I had the actual items)

So now to the tutorial. To make paper hats for crackers you will need:

Scissors

A ball point pen (I used a white ball gel pen)

Double-sided tape

Ruler

Tissue paper (you will need enough to make 2 pieces 31cm x 12.5cm for each hat).

1. Get your tissue paper and measure and cut into two pieces that at 31cm x 12.5cm (if you have tissue paper 61cm long you can just cut this 12.5cm tall)

2. Use double-sided tape and stick this on one end of each piece of tissue paper. (If you are just using one piece 61cm long just put tape at one end) 

3. Stick the two pieces of tissue paper together to make a round piece of tissue paper. NOTE: Make sure if you are using a pattern that as to be up a certain way that you stick the paper together with both pieces up the right way)

4. Fold the hat flat so it looks like the below.

5. Mark every 5cm and then folder that hat in a concertina way.

6. Snip the top of the hat diagonally 

7. Ta-da you now have a paper cracker hat!

Just fold and put it in your cracker ready for Christmas (don't forget to put a present and joke in your cracker too!)

I made my hats in a few different patterns. You could also print on white tissue paper and make your own personalised hats (I've not been brave enough to print on tissue paper yet)

You can also make smaller hats for children or make a curvy line instead of a zig-zag. I did try to punch shapes out of tissue paper but found as it was so delicate it tore the paper but worked if I put paper in the punch with the tissue paper. 

With my tissue paper due to the size I had off cuts so I used them to decorate some tags for my gift wrap so very little wastage.

Pet Advent Calendar Jar

While doing my food shopping I saw they had a chicken Dreamies advent calendars which would be perfect for my Pygmy hedgehog Spike but as he loves chicken Dreamies however as Dreamies are for cats the packaging was cat based and it came with a cat toy.....so I set about making my own advent calendar for Spike and came up with this which can be re-used each year!

An advent calendar jar for Spikes treats!

I brought the car in Hobbycraft for under £3 then used the embossing folder from the latest Crafters Inspirations magazine. For the count down I used a tag as the base and then printed out a countdown 

I printed the count down (along with the date in the corner) on Centura Pearl paper (so it's got a gold sheen). I cut them to shape on the guillotine then I used a perforating blade on my paper trimmer to perforate the top of each dated paper square so that I can easily tear off each date (then I'll know if he has already had his advent treat). I then stacked the pieces in date order and stuck them to each other along the top seam (although next time I would use tacky glue as it's far quicker and easier to line up)

I then decorated the jar with glitter snowflake stickers, Merry Christmas stickers and attached some bells onto the jar handle (all from the DoCrafts Christmas craft goody bag).

Now all that's left to do is fill the jar with Dreamies or some hedgehog friendly biscuits (if I can find a recipe)

I'm going to be making another similar jar for my parents dog and fill it with dog treats or homemade dog biscuits.

I loved making this and in the end it's cost me around the same as the Dreamies ready made advent calendar but I can re-use this each year (obviously I'll have to stick a new count down on or he'll think it's Christmas every day!)