A colored pencil tutorial so easy a 7-year-old can do it!

It’s true, I filmed this video yesterday and my daughter saw it when she came home from school and had to try it! I think one of the most fun techniques you can try with colored pencils is to use them on colored cardstock and patterned paper. Today I’ll show you how to color thickly and blend your colors so they pop out from the background.

This video is a long one (14 minutes) but there are extra tips and tricks so I hope you like it:

Here are some closer shots of the cards. I used the sketch at Oriental Stamp Art for this card:

I can not tell you how happy I am with this grossly expensive stamp set I bought last month (Stampin’ Up’s Occasion Alphabet, $31.95 on cling foam) I am using it all the time, I love the quirky, yet useful, sentiments and how it fits perfectly in the oval frame stamp I’ve had for years!

So, remember at the beginning of the post when I told you that my 7-year-old tried this technique? Well, take a look at her beautiful coloring job:

What are you waiting for? You can do this! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

WOYWW #147 & Hand-Cut Cheverons

Well, folks, I had some friends over to craft last night so I had to tidy up a bit lest they find out what I slovenly pig I am! 😀 So, my desk is actually quite tidy this week:

 

Not, just my desk, check out my room:

 

Now, Let’s just pretend it looks like this all the time shall we?

 

I did manage to get 2 pages done while the ladies were over last night (now that’s a surprise!) I wanted to attempt to hand cut some pattern paper into a chevron stripe and let me tell you, that is for the birds! I glued a bunch of strips down to a sheet of cardstock on the diagonal, then repeated my pattern on another sheet of cardstock going the opposite way and cut it into strips and assembled it. I’m not going into more detail because it wastes paper lining it up and it a total time-suck. I’ve already thought of a better way. I’ll share it later.

 

And since one page was enough of that technique I just zig-zag cut some of the paper scraps and slapped it on this paper. Good enough.

 

So, what’s on your work-desk this Wednesday? If you want to have a peek at some other crafty desks head over to Julia’s blog (the gal who started the WOYWW phenomenon) and have a gander, heck, why not snap a pic of your desk and join in the fun? Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Loopy Felt Flower Tutorial & Lots of Tips!

Boy oh boy, am I ready for spring!  I am using flowers everywhere and when I saw an advertisement for Basic Grey’s new loopy felt flowers I had to see if I could make them myself. How did I do?

They are fun, easy and only take seconds. All you need is craft store felt sheets, you know, the .25 cent kind and a pair of scissors and a dob of glue. Honestly, they cost about 2 cents each to make so why not give it a try. Watch the short video to see how:

Here are the written instructions: Fold a 1.5″ x9″ strip of felt in half the long way. cut slits every 1/8″ (you can use fringe scissors to speed things up) then roll up the strip and secure with hot glue. You can cut leaves from green felt and add them if you wish. If you want a flower with a round center just use a 1/2″x4″ strip of felt and roll that up into a coil then attach the folded fringed piece and roll as before. Easy peasy!

More tips!!!

I loved the background paper I made the other day, so much that I did not want to cover it up so I stamped a magnolia collage stamp on top. Here are some tips for stamping on pattern paper

1. Color the image with regular wax-based colored pencils (like Prismacolor or Crayola) the colors, especially the light ones, are opaque and will block out the pattern underneath. Color firmly to blend.

2. Frame the image by using a reverse mask. I used Post-It notes to make a frame around my stamped image and sponged (a make-up wedge works great!)on brown ink. When you remove the post it note you have a pretty frame just like magic and you can still see parts of your beautiful paper!

3. This probably goes without saying BUT, use a dark ink on a patterned background so it will show up 😀

One last tip!

Mix and match your frame and sentiment stamps for snazzy new looks! I have had this oval frame from Rubber Stampede for years, I love how well it pairs up with the Stampin Up stamps I just got this month. That oldie is not moldy anymore!

That’s all for today, I am having friends over to craft tonight so I must clean up the crap..er craft room!  Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Video Tutorail: Coffee Filter Flowers!

Howdy folks! I love paper flowers, they are as much fin to make as they are to use! Here is a card I made today using a flower made from a coffee filter:

 

Huh, I always seem to craft with bright colors on rainy days…I just realized that LOL! The paper I used is from MME and the stamp is from Purple Onion Designs. Check out this quick video to see how to make the flower from a coffee filter:

Here are the steps written out:

1. Cut a round coffee filter into a spiral. You can cut several at once because they are so thin.

2. Spray with ink or paint with watercolors and let dry.

3. Starting with the outside of edge of the filter, roll the filter up to make a flower fluffing and shaping as you twirl.

 

Hope you give this a try, it’s a cheap frill for your next card, tag or scrapbook page! Til next time happy crafting!

 

Easter Dresses & new SVGs!

My mom stopped by for a visit this week and brought my twins the most lovely Easter dresses! She sewed pretty cotton dresses with matching purses, my girls were delighted and can’t wait to wear them (which will not be before Easter because my girls have the tendency to go on woodland hikes and make mud pies regardless of what they are wearing!) Even though I don’t have pictures of them in their dresses yet I couldn’t help make a scrapbook page on which I will later add a photo of the two of them on Easter (BEFORE any mud pies are made LOL!) I use my new Party Dress SVG set from Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff for die cut:

 

For the title I used the fonts LD This and That and LD Buttercream from Lettering Delights. I discovered a quick tip for welding fonts in SCAL2(like I did on the word “Dresses” with the font LD Buttercream), after typing simply select the arrow tool and drag a binding box around the word, then click weld. I am embarrassed to say how long it took me to figure that you, I’ve clicked the word and clicked “weld” (that’s how you would do it in SCAL1) and it would not weld, dragging the box around the word is key! BTW there is no cursive font better for cutting than LD Buttercream, it is nice and chunky!

 

I sent this card to my mom as to thank her for the dresses, I love the sweet apron!

 

Here is a look at the new Party Dress SVG set I used in today’s project.

 

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Poppin’ Parasol!

Before I begin I have fabulous news to share (drumroll please…) I have been offered my very own column in Scrap & Stamp Arts magazine! Guess what it’s called? The Frugal Crafter!!!  I am beyond excited, my column will debut in the October 2012 issue! OK, I better stop patting myself on the back before I dislocate my shoulder. 🙂 You might have noticed this card from Monday’s video tutorial. I used the sketch from Oriental Stamp Art again to decorate the front:

 

But the fun happens when you open it up…

 

It’s a pop-up parasol!

 

Here are the details: All stamps on this card are by About Art Accents/Art Neko. I colored the geisha with Inktense watercolor pencils.  To make the parasol you need honeycomb paper. You can buy it or make your own using my honeycomb paper tutorial. You stamp the parasol on a scrap of paper, cut it out and fold it in half and trace it on the honeycomb paper. Cut that out and glue to the inside of the card. Be sure to do all of your stamping and coloring first.

Tips for working with honeycomb paper:

1. Make sure the design you are cutting from the honeycomb is symmetrical and the middle of the design will line up with the fold of the card. I had to stamp my geisha crooked so the parasol would lay flat on the fold. Live and learn 🙂
2. Large shapes work better, 2″ tall shapes are great but anything over an inch will work.
3. The tissue is delicate, be gentle while opening it. If you see a spot come unglued just put a wee dab of glue from a glue stick (you can use a toothpick to apply it) on the spot and close the shape to let it dry. Good as new.

Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing my awesome news today, til next time happy crafting!

WOYWW: A Native American Craft For Kids!

Happy Wednesday! Today I am working on a craft for my daughters’ 2 grade classes, they are studying Native Americans so I volunteered to do a craft with the kids, here is what I came up with:

 

You can see the stuff I used on my very messy desk. If you want to see other busy crafty desks be sure to check out the What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday challenge at the Stamping Ground blog. I’ve been doing the challenge for the past few weeks and it is great fun!

OK back to the craft. I went a- searchin’ online for ideas and I saw a tutorial for a basket here. The template looked just like my I-Top punch so I tried punching a shape from brown cardstock and making a basket with that but it was so small and I thought the kids might have a hard time so for the larger basket I cut a 3.5″ circle and cut “v” notches around it so I had 9 tabs to weave my twine in. I cut mine about 3/4″ in so there was plenty of room to weave. As for the canoe I pretty much followed the tutorial I found here using brown construction paper. Then I drybrushed some brown watercolor on and did some rubber stamping cuz that just the way I roll. 😀

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Video Tutorial: DIY Honeycomb Paper!

Edit: I created a SVG and a SCUT2 file to cut the file folder to make the glue jig. You can download it here. You can download a .cut file here for use with Design Studio, use layer 1 if you have George cart or layer 2 if you have Plantain Schoolbook. You can use a 12″x12″ mat, just let the rest of the file folder hang off the edge or use the 12″x24″ mat. Line the fold up to the 10″ mark so the slits will start 1/2″ away from the fold. See the video for an explanation of the technique before cutting the jig. 🙂

I love the look of honeycomb pop-ups on cards and tags. What I don’t love is the price. I have seen the Inky Antics Honeypop paper in a few online shops and it is $6 for a 5″x7″ piece of honeycomb tissue and, while beautiful, it is just too expensive for tissue paper (for me anyway) so I decided to try to make my own…and I did! Here is my homemade version:

It is easy to make, albeit a bit time-consuming. It take about 20 minutes to make a pad of tissue paper but it is something I can do while I watch TV (better than polishing off a bag of chips, know what I’m sayin?) and it saves me a bundle, it costs me about .30 cents to make vs. $6 to buy. See the video to learn how:

Here are some close up pics of the projects in the video:

This is a close up of the large pom-pom made with coffee filters I sprayed with ink and let dry before gluing.

Try it, you’ll like it! There is something magical about seeing that honeycomb paper the first time! If you have any questions just leave a comment and I’ll get back to you. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

French Country & Lots of FUN Techniques!

My apologies to all of my subscribers who had an unedited draft of this post emailed to them.

I love a card that uses a lot of techniques but doesn’t cost a fortune to make.

That is the case with this card. I was going to save it for Earth Day next month but I was afraid I would forget so you get it today instead!

Technique #1: Fabric flowers with homemade “Gluebers”

What’s a glueber you might ask? Well, it is a really big glue dot and it is used to make fabric and twine flowers. It is also expensive so here is how you make your own gluebers and glue dots: You need a bottle of Aleens Tack It Over & Over glue (you can order it online line from joann or custom crops and most craft stores for about $3 a bottle-it lasts a LONG time!) Squirt out a circle of glue on waxed paper the size you want. For the flower my circle was about 2.5″ wide. Let the glue dry. After the glue is dry cover the sheet of dots with another sheet of waxed paper to save for later. Cut apart the large dots. To make the flower cut a 2″ wide strip of fabric (whatever kind you like and have on hand) and tie a knot close to the end. Press the knot in the center of the glue circle and twist the remaining fabric as you wrap it in a spiral around the knot pressing the fabric in the glue as you go.  Stick the fabric tail to the back and snip off any excess. I used about 24″ of fabric for this. It took all of 3 minutes. You can try low temp hot glue as well for this technique, just work on a silicone mat:)

Technique #2: Make Your Own Baker’s Twine

I did a post on that, you can read it here.

Technique #3: Make a yarn nest!

I love this technique and it is so easy, just wrap yarn around 3 fingers and scrunch up some in the middle and press into a gob or hot glue. EASY! then you can add little plastic eggs. FUN!

Technique 4: Raid your back yard!

When I needed a bit of organic goodness for my card I poked around in my back yard for twigs and pinecones. Free & fabulous!

Technique #5 (for those of you with Stampmakers) Stencil & Embosss!

I made a stencil with my TC Stampmaker and stenciled the background. I’m not sure I am in love with the stencil packs because I could cut a better stencil on my die cut machine. The stencil is thicker than it should be I think HOWEVER  I tried embossing with the stencil in my big shot die cutter and it worked beautifully. Also I made a woodgrain embossing plate with my stampmaker (see the kraft paper under the nest) and I quite enjoy that.

 So, there you have it! Lots of fun techniques you can try! Til next time happy crafting!