WOYWW: Tree of Life Beading Tutorial

Happy Wednesday folks! It is that time again to check in on the crafty workdesks of the world over at the Stamping Ground and here is mine…actually it is my coffee table because I have had some beads and wire upstairs since the weekend.  I have been slightly obsessed with wire this week after getting the coiling gizmo and now I can’t use up my wire fast enough!

I didn’t use the gizmo on this though, these are all hand wrapped. I just love the look of these organic pendents and I finally have a use for all of the semi precious chip beads I have been hoarding! These have rose quarts and some green mineral, tourmaline maybe…I should have written down what I bought from the rock shop, doh!

To keep this post from being super long I made a free printable PDF file of the tutorial complete with 13 step-by-step photos. You can print it now and create it when you have the time, warning it is addicting! This project will take about an hour.

lss_tree_of_life_beading_tutorial

I used macrame cord with an adjustable knot (video tutorial here) to make the manly-er version…huh, do you think a guy would wear this?

In other news I signed up for a spring fair to sell my crafts! I plan to put these pendents in the show, what do you think would be a fair price, be honest, I won’t be offended 😀

That’s all for today. Be sure to hop over the Julia’s blog for more What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday fun. Until next time happy crafting!

More Rainbow-y Goodness!

Howdy folks! It is really starting to feel like Spring! I can see the grass on the lawn now and I have to mop the floors every night…well, er… I SHOULD mop the floors every night due to the mud. Yay, before we know it it will be Spring!

I was in the mood to play with color. I had a box of clear crystal acrylic hearts from Papermart and I decided to color them with alcohol ink. It worked great! Here is a quick video to show you how:

Now, that method is est if you want to color a bunch of things at once but you can also color one of those crystals with a permanent marker after you adhere it to a card. That is quick and easy too. You can use this technique on any non-porous supply (metal, plastic, glass etc.) so buy bulk supplies in white and clear and alter them! It’s fun! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Mama said there’d be days like this…

Happy early Monday! For the first time ever I have planned dentist appointments for myself and kids at the same time…I’m really hoping it goes smoothly. Wish me luck and no cavities!  🙂

This was a belated birthday card I made, her expression pretty much sums up my feeling today. Sharp pointy tools in my mouth…on a Monday…whee! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Quilling: How to store it?

Happy Sunday Folks! I hope you all remembered to “spring ahead” last night. I love it when we turn our clocks ahead an hour to get that extra hour of sun in the afternoon, spring is almost here. Just tell that to the snow that is still on my lawn LOL!  I guess it’s better than mud…wait, we have that too!

Today I wanted to share my quilling supply storage. I taught a kids quilling class last month and afterward my supplies were in such a state of disarray. All of my paper strips were in a basketball sized snarl, I almost tossed it in the trash. My tools and supplies were dived between 2 large plastic bins and everything was corralled in a large produce box. This was taking up way to much space. I wish I tool a “before ” picture because the transformation is quite amazing! I painstakingly straightened out all of the papers (it was worse than brushing out a child’s hair with silly putty in it) and I snipped off the binding on the end of the strips. Then I took a clear plastic tube that I had received an order of glass rods in and carefully slid the strait papers in. Anything that hung out I cut off! This might seem drastic but at this point I was a mad-woman who just spent an hour detangling quilling strips.

I got the idea because I had some tubes of quilling papers from Joanns that came in 12″ long tubes, brilliant, they NEVER got tangled. I will be saving any long clear tubes for this use since I have a little hand crank paper shredder that makes the perfect sized strips. this way I can store the extras! And all of my tubes fit in my large flat Artbin box:

I placed the slotted quilling tools in a clear bag. My quilling comb, paper crimper, quilling board and glueing board (which is a scrap of foamboard with wax paper taped to it) are all in there too as well as any ideas and patterns I have collected.

I place finished quilled art in a clear CD case to keep it from getting crushed and so I can easily see it when I want to use it on a card.

This storage solution might not be for everyone but I want my quilling stuff to be portable. I like to bring it upstairs to work on while I watch TV or take it to a crop if I have nothing else to do. I don’t quill that often so the space the supplies occupy needs to reflect that. I hope this helps you corral your quilling supplies. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

And the winner is….

Howdy folks! Last Saturday I posted a giveaway for a beautiful stamp from About Art Accents and the winner is…

Marjorie from TX!  I will email you to get your contact info and we will get that prize on it’s way! Stay tuned for our next AAA giveaway coming up in a couple weeks! Til next time happy crafting!

Felt Flower Hair Barrettes {easy tutorial!)

Howdy folks, I have been toying with the thought of selling at a spring or summer craft fair or festival since my Christmas craft fairs have gone so well. When I started making these cute felt flower hair clips I knew they would be a hot seller. Best of all the alligator clips I used from Papermart are a steal! You get a package of 100 for $5!

I packaged them in 4 1/4″ square clear pillow-boxes with hanger holes so I can hang them on my display rack. The flap with the hole can be folded down for gifting too!

Here is a video to show you how to make these easy flowers:

But wait, there’s more! I had so much fun making these that I came up with more ideas:

Not bad for some inexpensive craft store felt, eh? Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

How T Make a Shadow Box Card! {Video Tutorial}

This technique is so much fun that I have made 4 of these cards this week! These cards are easy, you can use the supplies you already have and they are quick too!

In today’ video I have lots of tips and tricks: shadow-box card, coloring a scene quickly, making a paper pine cone WITHOUT a fancy die (I’ll show you how to make the tassel too!) and layering background stamps to create wonderful patterned paper. All that an more…well, there had better be more for a 23 minute long video LOL! Check it out:

I hope you try this card, you can use whatever colors you like and whatever stamps you have, make it your own. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Wild about Wire! How to use a coiling gizmo!

Howdy folks! I got a new toy this week, a coiling gizmo! It was coupon commotion week at Joanns (where you can use ten 50% off coupons in one go!) so I snagged this for $5. Here is my first project I made with it:

I just played with the wire I had in my stash but I can quickly see I will need to stock up because it is so fun! Here is a quick video to show you how it works, this is the 2nd time I’ve used it and it is just plain easy. I think my kids will have fun with this too!

What do you think? I think I would like to rig up some adjustment on it so I can coil on all of the knitting needles I have too, I’ll let you know what I come up with. Of course you can simply wrap wire around a knitting needle but it would be slow and not as much fun LOL! 😀

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Video Tutorial: How to Make Votive/Floater Candles and Tea Dying too!

Howdy folks! I have a sweet little project for you today that would make a lovely wedding or bridal shower favor or Mother’s Day gift:

These are sweet heart shaped votive candles that are stable enough to float in a bowl of water too. Imagine 3 of these in a shallow bowl of water with colorful glass marbles as a centerpiece or one at each place setting as a favor at a wedding.  Most of the supplies I used today came from Papermart, they have the best prices hands down and you should check them out whenever you need bulk supplies like when planning a wedding. You will need: Paraffin Wax (you can get this at the grocery or craft store but if you need a lot mail order it from a candle supplier to save 70%), wicking for 2″-3″ diameter candles, Heart shaped silicone muffin cups (I got a pack of 12 at Target and they are perfectly fine to use with food after you are done!), crayons for coloring the wax, wax melts for scenting the wax (wait for a sale at ACmoore when the go for 2/$1) Tulle, jute twine, bakers twine, large unstrung merchandise tags, a Popsicle stick, black tea bags, your choice of stamps, water-based markers and ink and a clean soup can.

Watch the video to see how to make this. Be sure to pay attention to the safety information (don’t burn your hands off!) regarding wax melting:

Pretty easy huh? And inexpensive too. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you, Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!