Project Reveal with Andi

Good Morning,

Today is my turn to share a project that I made - yay!  I was given October Afternoon's Farm House line, which is one of my favorite OA lines of all time!

Shadow Box Tray by Andi

Supplies:
October Afternoon Farm House - Her Bureau
October Afternoon Farm House - Attic Trunk
October Afternoon Farm House Word Stickers
Bazzill Cardstock
EK Success Scallop Border Punch
May Arts Glitter Tulle
Inkssentials Crackle Glaze
Wilton Doily

Misc. Pearl Ribbon, Book, Thread, Button, Clear Dew Drops
Tray - Target $1 Aisle

I found this tray in the Target $1 aisle a few months ago - I picked up a gray tray and a bright pink tray with no real clue of how I was going to use it.  Part of the assignment for this month was to make a 3-D project with a handmade embellishment so I grabbed the tray and started at it.  I thought about actually keeping it as a tray and just decorating it, but then thought it might look good as a shadow box. 



I was super lucky to get October Afternoon's Farm House Line - most people that know me know that OA is one of my favorite paper companies and Farm House is one of my favorite lines!  Yay!  And fortunately, the paper that I got in my kit matched the gray and white tray.

I set to work gluing papers to the tray, starting with Her Bureau on the bottom of the tray and then scallop border punching 2 strips of Attic for each side.  Once that was done, I just started treating this as I would any layout, so I started layering paper, stickers, doilies, etc around where I wanted to place the photo.

I did a lot of hand cutting from the reverse side of Her Bureau, I cut the Pride and Prejudice Book from there, along with the Betty's Dress Shop Tag and the sewing scissors.  I used a lot of dimensional tape so that I would have different embellishments at different levels to keep the eye moving.  I added glittery tulle behind the book so give it some pizazz and the Dew Drops and Button because it was looking a little flat without them.  I added Crackle Accents to the Book and the scissors to help age them a little.

I made the heart garland from a Fiskars Heart punch, an old book and my sewing machine.  I'll be sharing a tutorial on that tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!  I hope you get a change to play with Farm House - it's a paperline that inspired me!

I'll see you back here tomorrow for the heart garland tutorial!
Andi



Dahlia Flower Tutorial with Becky

Good Morning!

We're back today with another great tutorial - this one is from Becky on the Dahlia Flower that she used on a card in yesterday's post.  Let's take another look at the card and then we'll get started with the tutorial!

Dahlia Flower Tutorial with Becky

Supply List
Double-sided paper or cardstock
Circle punch
Xyron or adhesive of choice 

1. You will need to punch 8-9 circles for your petals (depending on how accurate or not your folding is) and one circle for your base. I like to use a circle that is a little larger for the base to give me a larger sticky surface.

2. Cover the base circle with adhesive. I have found that the best method for this flower is by using a Xyron, although covering the circle with a tape runner will work as well.

3. Begin folding the petal circles. You will fold each side in so that they come to a point. After you have folded a petal, start adhering them to the base circle, gluing the point as close to the center as possible. If you adhere each as you finish folding them, it becomes easier to see how big or small you should be folding the petals.

4. Finish your flower with a button, large jewel, or Epiphany epoxy.

Thanks, Becky!  Such a cute flower!  I'm feeling very spring-ish after all of these flower tutorials!  And another great way to use a basic circle punch!

We'll see you back here tomorrow with one of my projects!
Andi

Let's Celebrate with Becky!

Good Morning! 

Today we'll be celebrating cards along with a cleaver way to store your cards!  Let's hear from Becky about her projects!

Celebration Card Box and Cards with Becky

Supply List
Cheez-It Box
Authentique - Celebrate Collection - Happy
Authentique - Celebrate Collection - Rejoice
Authentique - Celebrate Collection - Details Stickers
Authentique - Celebrate Collection - Elements Stickers
Coordinating Cardstock
Coordinating Ribbon
Black Buttons
Twine

I had seen the idea for making a card holder from a cracker box somewhere on Pinterest (my latest obsession!) and thought it was a good idea for showcasing Authentique's latest line, "Celebration."

I made the holder by first cutting a Cheez-It box. I cut one side and then traced it onto the other so that they would match. I covered the box with the Happy paper and then embellished with the sticker sheets. I added some matching ribbon to the bottom. It still wasn't quite finished so I hand-cut two small banners and glued them onto toothpicks.

Once I was done with the box I couldn't stop so I made two cards to go inside. I am trying to get into the habit of using my scraps to make cards so that was what I did. I used sketches I found online and adjusted them to fit the scraps that I had leftover. For one of my cards I made a folded Dahlia flower. A tutorial for that will be coming soon!

Thanks, Becky!  I love that Becky used her scraps right away - such a great use of materials! 

We'll be back tomorrow to share Becky's Dahlia Flower Tutorial!
See you then!
Andi

Flower Tutorial with Debbie!

Hello!

I hope you all had a great weekend!

We're back today with a super cute tutorial on how you can make a flower just like Debbie's!  I had never thought or seen this technique for a flower and I can't wait to try it!  Let's take a look back at Debbie's project and then start the tutorial!

Flower Tutorial with Debbie

Here’s how to make the flowers:
1.  I made flowers in two sizes by cutting a 12 X 1 ½ strip for the larger and a 12 x 1” strip for the smaller flowers.  I used a scalloped border punch along one side and ran a strip of Scor-Tape along the back side. 

2.  Then I ran the strip through my crimper several times…..don’t worry about matching up the ridges.  The crimping adds texture and pliability to the strip and makes it very easy to pleat into a flower shape.   I punched a 1” circle as the base and put a small mark in the center to help keep the pleating evenly spaced.  After pulling off the Scor-Tape, I pleated the strip around the circle base – two strips were used for the larger flowers and one and a half were used for the smaller ones. 

3.  A large brad through the mark on the base circle holds down the center of the flower. My brads were silver which did not work with the paper, but a quick sweep with a yellow Copic marker changed that in an instant.

Thanks, Debbie!  I love these flowers and I also love using the crimper - it's nice when you have different ways to use a tool!

We'll see you back her tomorrow to share Becky's project!
Andi

Shop Hop 2012

6th Annual So Cal Shop Hop – Wacky Holidays


Coming July 20-August 5, 2012 — Passports are on sale NOW!!!

With 30+ stores participating and more to be added, you’ll have fun for the whole event, hopping around Southern California, shopping for some of your favorite things: paper crafting supplies, and checking out each store’s Wacky Holiday! The theme here at Pages will be “National Teddy Bear Picnic Day” which is celebrated each year in July….who knew??!

Purchase your Passport Package (including a Tote, So Cal Shop Hop Pin/Button and Shop Hop Passport) for $10.00 before June 6th. Beginning June 7th the price goes up to $13.00. Your So Cal Shop Hop Passport entitles you to a 20% discount* at all participating stores during the Shop Hop. As you hop to the various stores, have your “Passport” stamped. If you visit enough stores, you’ll be entered into a drawing for great prizes!

Please Note: Your Shop Hop Package will be available to pick up in early July. Limit 1 Passport per customer.

Happy Friday with Debbie

Hello!

Happy Friday!  Is anyone else as happy to welcome the weekend as I am?  Maybe it's the beautiful weather that we've had lately, but this weekend seems like a great opportunity to go to the park, or walk around downtown, eat lunch at a sidewalk restaurant... and take pictures of your outing so you can scrapbook them!

Today we're taking a look at Debbie's project, which is a beautiful photo plaque.  Let's hear from Debbie!

I used the new Genuine collection by Authentique for this month’s Embellishment project.   I found a slate plaque at Michael’s and used it as the base for a Friendship wall hanging featuring my daughter Katie and her college roommate Mina. 

To form a base for the embellishments, I wrapped a 2” wide piece of white grosgrain ribbon across the bottom of the slate and mounted a 1” wide piece of yellow Bazzill cardstock and then layered the matted photo, flowers and a few leaves on top. 

The “Tried and True” banner and other items are from the “Details” 12x12 sheet of cardstock stickers, borders, alphabet and other embellishments which coordinates with all the paper in the Genuine collection.  This is an easy way to get everything you’ll need to make cards, pages and projects in a single sheet – and it’s a great value!

Thanks, Debbie!  I love this plaque, it would be fun as an Easter, Spring or Birthday Plaque as well!

Check back in Monday for a Tutorial on how Debbie made those super cute flowers from her plaque!

See you then!

Andi

Lollipop Tutorial!

Good Morning!

I hope you enjoyed Michelle's Lollipop Centerpiece yesterday - I'm thinking about making one for St. Patricks for the kids in Adam's class!  Adam would have fun helping me decorate the base and it would be cute for their little party!

Today, Michelle is sharing the tutorial so that you can create one of these for any occasion as well!

For some reason, whenever I think of handmade embellishments, I always associate that with making flowers. I wanted to make something a little different than usual, so I thought why not use candy as the centers? Then the recipient can have something tasty to take home with them.

 The Lollipop Flower Tutorial:

Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill
Curling Ribbon: Berwick
Ink: Tsukineko Inc.
Stamp: Stampin' Up
Shape Punch: Stampin’ Up
Hole Punch: McGill
Cellophane: Uline
Tape: Scotch
Lollipops: Tootsie Roll Industries

 1. Cut cellophane into 4 x 4" squares. Hole punch the center.

2. Insert lollipop into the hole. Gather the cellophane under the candy part and tape it onto the stick using clear tape.

3. Write or stamp your sentiment onto a piece of cardstock. Cut or punch out into a tag shape. Hole punch at the top.

4. Attach your tag onto the stick with curling ribbon.

Now you have the individual lollipop flowers. Arrange them together in a base using floral foam to hold it in place and now you have your bouquet. You can change up the design by using patterned papers instead of cellophane or punching out a different shape for the tag.

 Tips on making the Base:

Choose a shape you like. For my base, I used a Triscuit Thin Crisp box because I liked how the sides tapered in, reminding me of the shape of a flower pot. The regular Triscuit box has straight edges since it is a standard rectangular prism.

Choose the right scale. The lollipops seem too short when compared to the size of the whole box, so I had to cut the box down.

Cover it up. I traced each side of the box onto the back of a piece of patterned paper and cut it out. I glued each piece onto the box using a glue stick. No one will every know the origins of the base from just looking at it.

Play with your shape. I wanted to create a brim like on a flower pot, so I covered the inside of the flaps and folded it over.

Use the right adhesive for the job. Since the flap is cardboard instead of paper, I hot glued the flaps down to secure it in place.

Put on your own finishing touches. I chalked the edges and wrapped the box with some ribbons.

I finished decorating with some die cuts, punched flowers and pearls.

So cute!  Thanks, Michelle!  I love repurposing the box - such a great idea!  I love projects where you have almost all of the supplies on hand!  I think we'll be running out to grab a bag of lolli's and a roll of cello!

Well see you tomorrow with Debbie's project!
Andi