Thursday, January 28, 2021

BFF Open House

 


Happy Friday Eve all! Hope that everyone has had an uneventful week! Uneventful has become my favorite word. We had a little surprise snow here in the desert! I live in the foothills of the "Valley of the Sun" so it was a but of a shock! 

January is not going by slowly is it? How are we at the end already with February on our heels which means lots of Valentine's and Galentine's Day fun! Let's take a look at some of the ideas shared at last week's party. 

My latest projects are here and here : DIY Leather and Silver Earrings and How to Make a Card Without Fancy Tools


If you have a collection of family memories like Vintage Valentines, The House on Silverado has a great way to make a current piece of Valentine decor using them! 


How pretty is this Ombre Felt Fringed Heart from Creatively Beth! You can adapt to whatever your Valentine's color palette is. 



Masterpieces of My Life shared Six Decor Ideas for Valentine's Day including these beautiful Romantic French Labeled Bottles!


Finally, Two Chicks and A Mom has Valentine's Sugar Cookies that would be perfect to make for that someone special! 

As always, thanks to EVERYONE who linked up and let's see what you've all been up to this week! 

















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Cardmaking: How to Make a Card Without Fancy Tools

 




My first crafting love is paper, specifically Card Making. Since childhood, I've loved pretty papers and my mom always made sure I had my own stationery, thank you notes etc. I still love "snail mail" and making and sending my own cards. And yes, I have all the "fancy tools" which I've accumulated over the years. But every so often it's just as much fun to use no tools and still make something pretty. This post is perfect for you if you've ever wanted to try making cards but don't want to invest in a lot of supplies. 

First and foremost is your paper! Whether you buy scrapbook paper by the individual sheet or like me, tend towards "stacks" with just a few pretty papers, you can make a handmade card!

Supplies: 
  • Coordinating Papers. I used a Craftsmart stack from Michaels
  • Cardstock. I prefer 110lb weight
  • Adhesive. Tape runner or if all you have is a glue stick, that'll work. 
  • Paper Trimmer. If you don't have one, no problem. Craft knife or scissors will work. You'll just need a ruler. 

A lot of my paper stash consists of "Hot Buy" stacks from Michaels. They often have them either 70% off or buy one get two free with the one being $19.99 so it averages out to less than $7 per stack and you can get anywhere from 48-60 pieces in each stack, some of which are double sided. But what I really love is, many of the stacks come with pages of sentiments that can be used as a focal for a card. 

NOTE: These are a special category so not all of their paper pads qualify. Only those they usually have in their own section entitled "Hot Buy". 


Each of these sentiments shown here is its own panel so you have multiple pieces you can use. I start by cutting these types of pages apart and choosing the panels I want to use as my card focal. Since all of the papers in the same stack coordinate, you can then choose other papers for your card knowing they'll all work together. For those without words you can either layer with pieces that have them or use stamps or stickers. Out of the panels from this sheet, I have enough to make 10 cards! 




Card Base: You can cut your own ( I tend to ) or you can buy blank pre-cut cards usually either 5x7 or 4.25 x5.25. These may also be called A7 or A4 and can be found everywhere from office supply stores, craft stores, or specialty stores like Paper Source. If you're cutting your own, you will need to cut to desired size and score down the middle. I have a scoring board but you can easily do this by measuring to the center of your paper and using an embossing tool, or an empty ballpoint pen and a ruler to make the scoring line. Score, fold, burnish with a bone folder or scissor handle to give it a strong crease.

I usually cut my card(s) first and set aside, then work on the layers that will become the focal of the card. 

Trim Sentiment Panel: Once you've cut your sentiment panel sheet apart, trim each piece as desired. This is why I don't worry about getting them cut perfectly from the main sheet. 




Then using coordinating papers ( I have tons of scraps on hand so if you are starting from nothing, you may want a couple of additional papers for this part). I chose mirror gold and silver glitter scraps and used these to mat the sentiment focal. 



Then I cut my coordinating papers to fit my card base...in this case I cut one 4.75x6.75 for a 5x7 card and then one 3.75x5.75 for the next coordinating layer. 


So here you can see (left to right): Card base, first panel, second panel, matted focal


Center your focal piece on the second panel, attach with foam dots or squares to give your card some dimension. I get a lot of my basic supplies like foam dots from Dollar Tree. They also sell one time use tape runners and double sided foam tape. 



I have this monster ATG Tape Gun that I've had for something like 20 years and if you find yourself really doing a lot of paper crafting, it is well worth the investment! 


You'll layer your second panel to the first with your focal panel already applied and then the whole thing to your card base and you're done! 


I used the same process for this second card and reversed the papers. In total I used three sheets from this pack with 45 remaining ! 




And since "sharing is caring" did I mention that Michaels has their Hot Buy Buy One Get Two Free deal going on this week?!  They don't even pay me to say that! 

If you've ever wanted to try to make a card, I hope this is helpful! 





Tuesday, January 26, 2021

DIY Jewelry: Hildie and Jo Leather and Silver Earrings

 


Faux leather earrings are everywhere and I have made some and love them, but nothing beats the real thing! It can get expensive to buy leather though so naturally if you see real leather that's already pre-cut and designed for earrings you buy it right? Especially when it's 60% off which was the case with the Hildie and Jo Leather shapes I got from JoAnn. Hildie and Jo is JoAnn's in house brand of jewelry making supplies and if you're a new or experienced jewelry maker they're a great resource. I loved the simplicity of these shapes but me being me, couldnn't just leave them alone! 

Supplies: 
  • Hildie and Jo Leather Shapes (JoAnn)
  • Hildie and Jo Jump Rings ( JoAnn)
  • Misc. Charms and Metal Beads ( Stash )
  • Head Pins ( Stash )
  • Jewelry Pliers
NOTE: I won't go into basic jewelry making how tos in this post but You Tube is filled with them for the following: 




I had the heart charms in my stash and thought they'd be perfect with the silver leather and just in time for Valentine's season but also universal enough to wear all year round. Since I don't have pierced ears, the earrings I make for myself ( or my mom ) are clips. I used to stress about not having enough different pieces to adhere the clip backs to thinking "they'll all look the same". Then it dawned on me that for pierced ears, ear wires all look the same so I got over it. 





The construction of these is pretty simple. Thread Heart Charm and two small silver beads on head pin and close with a wrapped loop. Replace the jump ring that came with the leather shape and use matching jump rings to attach the the threaded head pin. 


Use jump rings to attach base to earring clip. DONE!

The same process was used for the black earrings. The leather on this was more natural since it's not painted so the edges were a little rougher as you'll see in these pics but when I was all done I just went around the edges with my scissors to trim up. 


Using the same process as with the heart charms, thread the beads on the head pins and close with a wire wrapped loop. Attach to leather with jump rings and attach earring clips. 


And I still have one more pair of leather pieces to play with! 


Sharing At:


Thursday, January 21, 2021

BFF Open House

 


Happy Friday Eve all! We made it through another week and I finally feel like my 2021 creative juices have started flowing. Check out my first 2021 project here. Thank you for your kind comments last week about my bestie who is doing a bit better day by day. We're not out of the woods yet so please continue to Mask Up and Wash Up! Let's take a look at some of the great ideas from last week!



If you are still in need of a 2021 calendar, then Common Sparrows has you covered with a Printable Shadowbox Calendar !




String Art is making a comeback and if you've never done it, it's easy, fun, and possibilities are endless. Love My Little Cottage has a great step by step tutorial for this String Art Heart and you're only limited by your imagination in what you want to make. So many shapes lend themselves to it. 


With Valentine's Day approaching, COVID still raging and all of us continuing to stay close to home, I thought this post from 3 Winks Design was perfect! And it includes some ideas for Newlyweds and "Oldlyweds" (a new term I'll be adopting) like me! 




For a special Valentine's breakfast or anytime, these Cheddar Swirl Bacon Biscuits from Morsels of Life would be a fabulous addition. Cheese and bacon wrapped in a yummy biscuit? Oh yes please! 

Thank you to everyone who linked up and let's take a look at what you've been up to this week! 








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Sunday, January 17, 2021

Valentine's: Shadowbox Framed Layered Heart

 



This week's link party continues here.

I've been off to a slow start with 2021 creating. Other than a few birthday cards, I haven't done much. Between some non-Covid health issues and tests, one of my besties testing positive for Covid and worrying about her, and the events of the year so far, I've been stuck. Anyone else like that? Sometimes it just takes seeing something hit your inbox to get you unstuck and that's exactly what happened when I got an email from Maggie Rose Design Co. with a free SVG cut file for a gorgeous layered heart. If you have or are thinking about getting an electronic cutting machine, you really want to check out Maggie's site! As soon as I saw the design I fell in love with it and knew I wanted to make something using it. 

Supplies:
  • Free Layered Flower Heart SVG File, Maggie Rose Design Co. 
  • Five sheets of cardstock 
  • Cardstock for background
  • 12x12 Shadowbox Frame ( Michaels)
  • Foam tape squares (Dollar Tree)
  • Electronic Cutting Machine ( I used my Cricut Explore Air 2)


I went with neutral colors because I may keep this out beyond Valentine's Day. I used two sheets of cream cardstock, one black, one white and grey marbled, and one silver glitter. 

You'll be building your heart from the base layer up so think about that as you're deciding which paper to use for which layer. 

I imported the SVG file into Cricut Design Space and sized to fit centered in the frame. I made mine 9 inches. Cut your layers. 



Once you have your layers cut, you can begin building your heart. I started with a cream layer for the base and used foam tape squares to attach the black layer. 


Repeat with the remaining layers, taking care as you get to the more detailed final two layers to position your foam squares where they won't show. 


This is with the third layer applied and you can see how it's coming together ( oops excuse that errant foam square!). 


When you're all done you can see how all of the layers work together and I was so happy with how this turned out! 




To complete, adhere your background paper to the inside of the back of the frame and then I added a strip of tape to secure my layered heart. In this pic, I hadn't yet attached the layers so they're not lined up precisely. 



One of the skills I have on my 2021 list to learn is how to make my own layered files but as I do that, I remain grateful for Makers like Maggie Rose who share their creations! 



Thursday, January 14, 2021

BFF Open House

 


Happy Friday Eve all. 2021 is chugging crazily along and while I still haven't been making much, I'm grateful for the gift of creativity and the ability to be inspired by the projects you all share here. Thrilled that vaccine rollout has come to our state and hoping by the time this posts I will have gotten my Mom signed up. My bestie and her husband were both diagnosed last week:(  As my BFF said: "This sh** is scary". Please please please continue to mask up and wash up! 

Let's see some of the ideas from last week's party! 



My Home of All Seasons has a great post on transitioning from Christmas to Winter decor if you (like me) haven't put your Christmas decor away yet. Or pin for next year! 


Don't have a digital cutting machine? Priyam from Simple Joys is your go to source for paper cutting without one. Can you believe she made this paper chandelier without one?! I'm not sure I could do as beautiful a job with one and I have both a Cameo and a Cricut Explore Air 2! 


I keep a stash of organza and muslin bags on hand for small gifts, especially jewelry. Eccentricities by JVG shows us how to have some fun with plain muslin bags using Freezer Paper Stencils. I love that you can tailor these to any occasion!


I love cream cheese in frosting. I think it gives that extra body and cuts the sweetness just perfectly. And yet, I've never made a Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting and can't wait to try this recipe from The Kitchen Is My Playground because it looks delish! 

OK let's see what everyone's been up to this week! 









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