Hey everyone!!  Welcome to class :)

Today we are going to work on the techniques that we will be using in this mini book and tommorrow’s post will work on the assembly & completion of the project.  This is a LONG post with lots of images.  But if you’ve got any questions or I confused you, please shoot me an e-mail at gigikennedy@yahoo.com & I will try to help you out.  Also, don’t forget your homework at the end of this post!!!  You want to be an A+ student don’t you???

O.K….let’s get started!!

In this book I used LOTS of handmade paper flowers, I just love them.  I chose handmade flowers for lots of reasons:  they provide a simple & consistent embellishement throughout the book;   they are versitle & simple to create; they are economical because scraps & bits from your crafting stash are used to create them; they can be created in a million and one ways so the book will have a great bit of interest without being super labor intensive; and they add TONS of texture to your project especially when you add techniques such as inking, distressing and stitching to your flowers.  Can you see why I love them now?  :)

In this book, I used 3 different kinds of handmade paper flowers.  Today I’m going to share with you how to create each one.  Tomorrow we will create them & be adding them to our book pages.

Flower #1:  Strip-y Flower

Cut a strip of patterned paper @ 2″ wide x 12″ long.  Distress one of the 12″ sides

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Using your scissors snip across the paper leaving about 1/4-1/2″.  This will create your flower “petals”.  When making these flowers for our project, vary the width of your snip cuts (see the example above, some are narrow strips, others are a bit wider).  Distress edges of your cuts and rub distress ink lightly on edges (I used Ranger’s Distress Ink in Antique Linen)

Start “folding” in the strips (your “petals”) in the center, pleating them.  Keep going around in a circle & you will be creating a circular flower shape.

Keep going around, folding until you have the shape of flower you want.  My flowers usually use about 9″ of the 12″ length, they start to get too thick if you go further.  Snip off the rest of the 12″ length of paper and staple the center to keep all of your “petals” together.  Don’t worry about making the staples look pretty, you are going to cover them up.  Just get that flower together.  If you haven’t made your flower too thick, you can use a tapestry needle & embroidery thread & sew a button on the middle to keep it all together (I’ve done this with the small gray polka dot flower in the image above.  I used about a 1 3/4″ strip of paper and only @ 7″ of the 12″ strip.)

Now “fluff up” your “petals” by scrunching them a bit & then pretty up your flower’s center with punched circles, brads, the chipboard buttons from your Cosmo Cricket sheet, gems, buttons, the Jenni Bowlin Chipboard Buttons, embroidery thread, butcher’s twine…have fun using up what you have available & trying to layer different elements.  (I used tacky glue and sticky strip to adhere my embellishments in the center.)  By using an assortment of different flower “centers” you’ll create lots of great texture & interest on your project.

Now for Flower #2:  Scallop-y Stitched Flower

This one is much simpler to create, but it still packs a punch :)

Punch a scallop circle (or use scallop scissors on a punched circle if you don’t have a scallop punch).  Distress the edges of your flower just a bit.  Sew with your machine (or you could use embroidery thread & the backstitch or the chain stitch, french knots look great in the center too)

These flowers will look great in a bunch or mixed in with some of your other handmade layered flowers as shown in the example above.

Now our Flower #3:  The Lollipop Flower

Another simple flower that really will shine on your project.  Create these flowers in a bunch of different circle sizes for maximum impact.

For this example I used the lens cap of my camera for the shape.  You can use your punches or your coffee mug or whatever size you want.

Take your circle & stitch a few times around the perimeter.  Both straight & zig zag stitches look great for this.  Distress the edges & pop your choice of embellishment in the center.  For this project, I embellished the centers of these flowers with the buttons from the Cosmo Cricket chipboard sheet and buttons from my stash.

Now for the stems & leaves for our flowers:

I used the flip side of the Sassafrass Lass patterned paper, it is a great shade of green.  Just cut a strip for your stem & hand cut some leaves in different sizes.  If you wish you can run them through your sewing machine to make them snazzy (Be warned, the leaves are a pain!  Maybe try to sew a leaf shape first & cut second?).  You can also just use a pen too…looks great that way too & gives just the right bit of definition.  Don’t forget to distress the edges a bit too.  For these I used sandpaper with great results.

Now, so that you will be set to assemble your book tomorrow, let’s take care of a few things that will need some drying time:

Take the 3 Chipboard pieces of your Mixed Media Book and paint 1 of them red on both sides (I used Making Memories Red Wagon Acrylic paint)…For the other 2 pieces, paint ONE side a cream color (I used Folk Art’s Buttermilk Acrylic Paint).  For my book, each side took about 3 coats. Set aside to dry.

Now let’s make the tag that will go on the cover of your book:

Let’s start…Find a shipping tag and trace it’s shape on your choice of patterned paper.  I chose October Afternoon’s Tea Towel…the Fancy Pants Bracket Trees diecut paper (the middle part with the kraft & the polka dots) would look great for this too.

Cut out the tag.  Ink your “you have this” stamp and stamp on the top portion of your tag.

If you wish, using the zig zag stitch on your machine, stitch around the perimeter of your tag

Cut or punch a circle of about 1/2″ diameter out of patterned paper (I used the red part of the Cosmo Cricket Cheerful Charlie patterned paper)…Adhere to top of tag

Punch hole through the middle of your circle & tie a length of the stripe ribbon

Distress & ink the edges of your tag.  Now take Glossy Accents (or similar product) and go over the black stamping on your tag.  This will highlight your image & make it stand out on your book’s cover.  Set aside on a flat surface to dry.

Whew!  a lot of images in this post!

Now for your Homework tonight:  Take a photo of yourself for page one of your book.  See the “bingo” card page above?  That is going to be our page 1 and your smiling face needs to be on it. :)  So do your hair a bit, pop on some lip gloss & smile.  YOU need to be a part of this :)  Also, start making your “happy list”.  See that red page above with the Lollipop flower?  It is going to be filled on both sides with a huge list of people/places/things that make you smile.  So start thinking about it today so you’ll be set to take pen in hand & write away tomorrow.

See you tomorrow for the creation and assembly of our book!

Have a happy Wednesday!

xoxo

gi

and the handmade kind that last forever are better.

still don’t have a mother’s day gift?

the project i am going to show you how to make today can be whipped up in as little as an hour with materials you probably already have on hand!

almost everywhere i go, i see these beautiful, multi-colored, collage style “bib” necklaces:

they were my inspiration for this:

supplies needed:

misc. embellishments (flowers, buttons, gemstones, brads,  beads, vintage ephemera… almost everything i used on my necklace were embellishments from older kenner road kits)

felt

ribbon/lace

glitter

(2) eyelets (crop-a-dile or other fastener tool)

glue gun

scissors

liquid glue or paper glaze

step 1:

cut a piece of felt into a triangle (or whatever shape you prefer). mine is about 6 inches across the top.

step 2:

arrange your larger elements onto your felt…. shift & move them around until you find a design that’s pleasing to the eye.

i stacked a lot of my smaller items onto layers of the prima flowers for a more “rounded” shape.

make sure you leave a little space on each upper corner to allow for eyelet placement.

glue all pieces down using a glue gun.:

step 3:

using a crop-a-dile, punch holes & place eyelets where you want your ribbon to thread through.

step 4:

fill in some of your bare spots with your smaller embellishments.

step 5:

using scissors, cut excess felt away.

step 6:

turn piece over , and thread ribbon  or lace through both sides.

your piece should look like this:

if desired, you can cover the back with another piece of felt or fabric.

step 7:

turn necklace over & loosely braid if you like, tie ends.

if you prefer, you can add large beading clamps on ends of ribbon & attach a jewelry clasp.

step 8:

now is the time to add any finishing touches to the front with paper glaze & glitter.

let dry & enjoy!

happy mother’s day!

Mothers day is this Sunday in the US and i wanted to create a little brag book for my mom {with pictures of the littles} that she could either carry in her purse or display on a shelf. The Fancy Pants whimsy journal book was perfect for this; and all of those different size papers made the stacked interior easier to create with. I used products from all three of the April kits, but you could easily take these ideas and create it with items, including vintage ephemera, that you already have on hand.

Time needed to create : 1-2 hours maximum

Kits & additional products used : Central valley, Hen house, Two-by-Four, mini manila tag

Adidtional Tools used : sewing machine, dry adhesive, AC slick writer fine point in black, Foam adhesive or Pop Dots,

To begin I removed excess pages from the interior that i didn’t want to use. I chose one page to remain for each differently cut journal page inside {this will be more obvious as you look at the images below}. Then i sewed the edge of the sheer cover on my sewing machine and then i gathered various chipboard shapes, ribbon, and fabric and slowly layered them to cover the logo on the front cover. The ribbon actually wraps all the way around the back of the scalloped chipboard piece, the adhesive on the chipboard helps keep the ribbon in place once it is tied in the front.

I didn’t use alot of alphabets with this, but you can obviously add any journaling or titles that you’d like on yours. I adore how the book looks open, all the layers and pictures peeking out… i’m a sucker for whimsy and odd shapes and sizes. lol

This piece was so fast and easy to create. The natural chipboard is actually a pink paislee chipboard piece and i removed the top pattern and then stitched a sqaure with my sewing machine. {Debee’s april gallery totally influenced this decision. I love how she stripped the alpha in her layouts.} Then i punched the photo with a circle punch and used foam adhesive so the picture floats on top a little. Those small teardrops are the negative pieces from the Y & Z alphas that came in the central valley kit.

Aren’t my littles the cutest kids ever… ;)

I love how quick and easy creating page was. I just stitched around the photo and then adhered it to the page. I added a rubon accent and those Jenni Bowlin pearls and it was done.

This accent was created by again stripping the pattern off of the chipboard house and stitching a felt butterfly to the house before it is adhered to the page. Then simply add the rubon right onto the butterfly. The trick when putting rubons on fabric is to go slow and make sure you hold it firmly in place so it doesn’t slip or slide. Felt fabric generally works well because it has a high tack surface. ie : it is like a sanded surface with paint, it allows something for the rubon to stick to.

This page is actually stitched right to the back cover. I applied the tall flower to the left edge but cut the left side leaf off and reapplied it to the right side. Don’t be afraid to take embellishments and turn them into something else or to make it fit your project better.

This little corner actually hides a stitching error i made. Totally common when i sew. Sometimes I leave because it adds a quirky quality i like but this one was a thread problem that was all clumpy… so not cute! So I hid it with a chatterbox sticker and the prima pebble {which fit perfectly inside}.

The back was covered with another page from the interior. I simply cut off the perforated edge and used a corner rounder so it would all match and so there would be clean edges. Then I added the alphabet stickers.

Because this is the back outside of the album I was worried the little pink paislee alphabet stickers wouldn’t stay on the butterfly so i stitched them down with the butterfly right onto the chipboard flower. I don’t think they’re going anywhere now. ;)

I hope this has inspired you to create something, anything, handmade for a mom you love. If you do please feel free to share here in the comments or post it in our flickr gallery.

Happy mothers day to all of you moms. It’s truly amazing work that you do!!

xoxo

i (me, lisa) always get the weirdest looks whenever i go into a hardware store.

last week, i went to pay for my 50 tiny peat pots and bag of live ladybugs (i’ll explain the ladybugs later)….

you know, those biodegradable, cardboard pots that you use to plant seedlings & they just decompose when you plant them?

these guys:

so, the cashier guy smiles at me and says, “hi, how are you?  planning to do a lot of gardening this weekend?”

“no”, i replied, “actually, they’re for a project for my kid’s school classmates.”

“oh”, he said, “they’re planting stuff?”

“nope”, said i, “i’m making little easter basket pails for them.”

“oh”, he says, “so, you’re putting gardening stuff into the easter baskets for them!, (like he’s beginning to understand me)… we have some cute seed packets that would go perfectly with these… here let me show you…”

“no… hang on!” i blurted, “the peat pots ARE the easter pails. i’m going to decorate them & fill them with candy”.

“okay”, gardening guy says giving me a strange look. “so… what are the ladybugs for?”

“oh,  the lady bugs are just for my kids to put out in our yard”

“of course” says bewildered gardening guy. “are you going to decorate them & fill them with candy, too?”

so, here’s the project:

pretty, huh?

and pretty cheap & easy to make, too!

here, let me show you:

what you need

little peat pots (mine are about 3 inches tall)

paint

glitter

assorted paper, vintage ephemera, or clip art images.

wire, pipe cleaners, or tinsel covered wire.

hole punch

and anything you want to use to decorate them… buttons, brads, flowers, ribbon, anything your little heart desires!

step 1

paint your pot, or glitter & let dry.

i’ve found that if you paint the outside & inside it kind of makes the pot a little sturdier.

step 2

punch holes on sides of pail to add wire handle.

add decorative eyelets or grommets if desired.

thread wire through & twist to secure, making sure there are no sharp edges… you don’t want those little fingers getting hurt!

step 3

decorate!

i’ve included a PDF of little vintage spring postcards that i’ve put together & used at the bottom of this post :)

step 4

fill with treats, pass out & revel in all the compliments from your kid’s teachers & parents on how creative you are ;)

if you have any questions, please fell free to ask them in the comments section & i’ll answer them as soon as i can!

happy spring, everyone!

vintage-easter1

(please only use these images for your own personal use)

what ever to do with those vintage bobbins???

i wanted nothing more then to stick them on my living room shelf and display them in all their beautiful vintage glory…i know!! they are fab!!

but…*sigh*…i knew kerry lynn was probably looking for something a little more creative then that, lol!!

so….i turned them into photo/note holders. a simple project that still allows for them to sit on my shelf…but makes them a bit more useful and a bit more cool;)

so here’s what you need…

your bobbins

2 clothes pins ( the wooden ones)

paint

light guage wire

glimmer mist

ribbon

what you do

paint your clothes pins, let dry.

spray some glimmer mist on, let dry

cut a loooooooooooong length of wire, hold your clothes pin to your bobbin and wrap some of the wire around the part of the clothes pin that sits against the bobbin holding the bottom part of the pin to your bobbin. press the clothes pin open and continue now wrapping wire around the top part of the clothes pin. when you are done, twist the ends of the wire together and cut off any extra length.

tie a bit of ribbon to the bottom of the bobbin,

press the clothes pin open and insert a photo or note, set on shelf or desk…and done!!!