Gift Packaging - Poinsettia "bow"

I found this idea on the Custom Crops website, in their designers' how-to section. The link to the tutorial for the 3D Poinsettias is here. There's also a cut file you can download but it was simple enough that I made this without the cut file. You just need Plantin or a similar leaf on another cricut cartridge.

The original tutorial was for 5 leaves of 3 different sizes, plus 3 green leaves of the largest size. I ended up not using my smaller leaves though, and I had cut extra of the larger size (due to technical difficulties) and when I started putting my poinsettia together, I ended up liking the way I made it with more of the larger leaves and less of the smaller anyway.  So, here's my recipe. You can do yours like Tanya's on the Custom Crops site or like mine or do it your way! :)

10 leaves from Plantin cut at 4 inches in red printed paper
5 leaves cut at 3 inches
3 leaves cut at 4 inches in the green for the non-flower leaves
pearls/beads for the flower center
pop dots and ink to ink edges if you like

The first layer is 5 leaves, pop dot the second layer on top of that. I overlapped the second layer in the center more to make the petals look smaller than the first layer. Pop dot the 3rd layer on top. Glue beads or pearls or use self-adhesive flat-backed pearls in the center. Adhere the green leaves at the bottom. Affix to your gift package. All done!

I remember when I was a kid, my grandma used to dress up her gifts by crafting the packaging. These days, it seems like everyone gives gifts in gift bags and the care and love in the packaging has given way to convenience and speed. I hope to add a little more care to the gift packages that I give this year.

Thanks for visiting!

Gift Packaging - Box Bag

One of the customers at the scrapbook store brought in a project for show and tell, and I loved it. She sent me the link for the tutorial, it's at Split Coast Stampers here.  Totally easy and so cute!  So I made one. Go check out the tutorial, and give it a shot!

True Love

The store I work at, Scrapaganza, just received the next line from We R Memory Keepers! Be My Valentine!  (I know right? valentines stuff ALREADY? I wish they'd slow down over there at WRM).

Anyway, it's a gorgeous line of papers and embellishments!  And yes, there's lots of hearts and valentine theme in it. But I decided to show that it doesn't all have to be Valentines. WRM always has a couple sheets of sewn cardstock, and I LOVE this one, that says True Love if stitching! I had to use that with this photo of my son the day he was born. I also adore the little typewriter stamp!

So check out this line at Scrapaganza if you are in town!  Thanks for stopping by!

Whoo do I Love?

I made this page a month ago! I only just now took a picture of it so I could post it.
I created this page for a Sizzix die cut class at Scrapaganza. The die I used is called "Angel Wings". But the projects I created for the class were to show things other than angels... why buy a die you can use only for one purpose? :)

I also used a scallop circle cut from Graphically Speaking on the Cricut, the beak is a leaf from Plantin cartridge. The fonts are Learning Curve and Cheerful Seasons.  The border punch is one of the punch-around-the-page punches.

I am rather fond of this layout! Thanks for looking!

La Rosa dressform

I've had this metal dressform for some time now. Almost a year maybe? It was originally a sort of off white color with an ugly pink bow in front. I got it cheap at Hobby Lobby though, and never intended to keep it the original color. :)  But, like many plans, the painting of it and then decorating it as home decor never happened... just never enough time you know?

However! I'm in the Cricut Circle, and the Circle Blog's monthly contest (open only to Circle members) this month was to make a home decor item using felt, something green, something cuttlebug and at least one cricut cut. So, I pulled out this forgotten piece and went to work.  It's fairly simple really. I did get my hubby to do the spray painting for me as I had to work long hours on Black Friday. But I cut the roses from felt, the leaves are from A Child's Year cartridge, the flourishes are from Cindy Loo, and the leaves were embossed with my swiss dot cuttlebug folder. This will look very nice next to some keepsakes and photos of our wedding. :)

Thanks for looking!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I thought I would wish all my crafty internet friends a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am thankful to all of you who are my inspiration! May you have wonderful crafty ideas and projects to be thankful for as well!

Be well!

SEW EASY - Product Review

I did this review for the scrapbook store I work at, Scrapaganza. I thought I would share the review here as well, in case anyone is interested! It is the Sew Easy Paper Piercing Tool and it's accessories! The manufacturer is We R Memory Keepers.

I thought I'd take a spin with them to try them out and review them for you!  Many of our customers have expressed how they love the look of sewing on scrapbook pages and cards, but they don't want to use a sewing machine to achieve the look. A paper piercer is fine for straight lines or circles with a template, but it's difficult to achieve a more complicated pattern to mimic the zig zag or other stitches available on machines.  Well, We R Memory Keepers has solved that problem for you!

The paper piercing tool comes with the handle, a straight line piercer and a needle (when you open the package, watch out for that needle making a leap for freedom!).  The piercer head comes off, just give it a little twist and pull, and you can switch it out for one of 6 other piercing heads in different patterns. There is also a mat available so that as you roll the piercer over your paper, the mat protects your work surface as well as providing the give necessary for the piercer to poke the paper. The piercing heads come in 6 patterns as I said, for example: a scallop border, zig zag, a "star" or "snowflake" and others. The back of the piercing head package gives 3 examples of how you can change the sewing pattern to make it look different, so save your package back! You can also come up with different sewing patterns on your own if you like, so  these tools are very versatile! 

Now for my review! I bought everything so I could give it a good try out. However, one of the first questions I got on friday from customers was: Do you really have to buy the mat?  So to answer that question, I got out a self-healing mat, a piece of spongy foam packing, a mouse pad and two widths of corrugated cardboard (very thin and standard width).  Using scrap bazzill cardstock, I tested each one with the straight piercer head. The only one of those items that worked was the corrugated cardboard, and only if you went along the "grain" of the corrugations. HOWEVER: I then tested the "star" or "snowflake" pattern on those items and it did not work at all. So, my conclusion is that if all you ever use is the straight piercing head, you could use corrugated cardboard as your mat. But if you use the other patterned piercing heads, you really NEED a paper piercing mat under your paper.  If you already have the Bazzill In Stitches mat, I'm sure that one will work just fine. 

Here are some cards I made using the Sew Easy tools, and a few tips I learned and will pass along!

 I just love scallops, don't you? I had to use the scallop border. Now, here I used the scallop AND the straight piercers. The first thing I learned is that the piercer probably won't go entirely through cardstock unless you press really hard on it, BUT you do NOT want to press really hard or you risk ripping the cardstock. When I practiced with the piercer, I found that it seemed the intent was to lay down a pattern as a guide for you to stitch through. The very tips of the piercer usually pierced the cardstock but you don't get big holes, so you do have to actually poke your needle through. Also, the piercer cannot poke through two layers of cardstock. You can use it on 2 layers but you will only get a pattern as a guide, which was fine for me doing this project, but you should be aware of it!

Also, the floss that is available from this product line would probably work better if you separate the floss... don't use all 6 strands. Use 3 or 2. The thicker your thread and needle, the greater risk you run of ripping through the paper or cardstock you are sewing through, especially the more intricate patterns (see my comments below). On these cards, I used string, and it was a bit too thick for my tastes. I'd rather have had 2 strands of the floss instead, but I didn't want to break open a package just for 2 cards.  Otherwise, I *loved* this tool. Frankly, piercing one hole at a time with a template takes almost as long as the sewing... I'd rather do the piercing with these piercers any day, and save my time for the sewing! Which did not really take me that long by the way.

On the bottom there is the pattern "star" or "snowflake". It's called "Burst" on the package. I love it! But here's what I learned using it:
Definitely you need thinner floss than the string I used or the full strand of floss. Split the floss, it will definitely look better!
I stitched only through one layer of paper, and it was thick cardstock. It cracked easily. My mistake! Use this pattern on thinner cardstock or paper. And don't press really hard as you roll it over the paper. (practice with scraps) I found with this pattern and the thick cardstock and thick string that it was almost too much for the cardstock and there was some ripping between the pierced holes. I fixed this easily by putting some scotch tape over the bursts after I'd sewn them, as I had two bursts start to come apart. You can't tell though once I put the tape on the back to hold them. I think if I'd used thinner floss that this whole project would have looked better.

If you've been looking for an easier way to pierce patterns quickly, and a more portable, easier to use tool than a sewing machine, the Sew Easy tools are it! I highly recommend them!