Sew a Quilted Sketchbook & Pencil Wrap!

Hi friends! Today I have a fun sewing project for you using the quilt as you go (AKA fun and done) technique. We will make a sturdy cover to hold a sketchbook, pencils and other supplies.

This is a fairly quick project to make and wonderful for beginners. Watch the step by step video to see how it’s done!

Sponsored by Annie’s Creative Quilters Fabric Club! Join today and get your first kit for $9.99 and three free gifts just for trying! Use coupon code “FRUGAL”.

Supplies:

• 6 fat quarters of fabric in coordinating colors
• Sewing machine threaded with coordinating color thread
• Batting or felt for inner layer
• Chalk
• 1/4″ sewing elastic
• Button
• Needle and thread for hand sewing
• Rotary cutter and quilting rulers/mat

Measurements to fit a 6″x9″ sketchbook (adjust to make other sizes)
Batting/felt: 10″x14″
1/4″ Elastic: 18″ long
Fabric: I stacked 5 of the fat quarters and cut a 3 1/2″ x 18″ strips. I cut the stack to 10 1/4″ for the body and I made the pocket from the remaining 7 3/4″ long strips.
Backing fabric 14″x18″ (this is the 6th fat quarter you didn’t cut)

Directions:
1. Center the batting/felt on the backing fabric and sew down the strips using the quilt as you go method shown in the video.

2. Sew the shorter strips together to make a larger piece of fabric for the pocket.

3. Trim the excess backing fabric to an even 1″ all the way around and fold-over twice to overlap the striped side of the fabric neatly and press to make a nice looking binding. *Trim excess fabric from the corners to avoid bulk.

4. Press seams flat on the pocket fabric, fold it in half long-ways and stitch closed on the long side and one short side. Turn right-side out and tuck raw ends in.

5. Stitch down binding as neatly as you can.

6. Sew pocket on the backing side of the quilted project.

7. Mark a straight line on backing fabric where you want the elastic to run and sew on the elastic every 1″ or so. Leave a loop at the end for closing.

8. Hand sew a button on the striped side of the fabric where the elastic starts.

9. Divide the pocket if desired by sewing. Measure to make sure the sketchbook will fit.

I hope you found this project inspiring. I have several people mention that they would love to make something like this but did not have a sewing machine. While you can hand-stitch the project I think an easier method for hand sewists would be to find a fabric place mat and fold up one edge to from the pocket and hand stitch on the elastic. It would save you some seams and still be sturdy! Will you make this project? Let me know in the comments below! Til next time happy crafting!

5 Ways to Rainbow! Trendy Card Looks with Supplies you Have!

Hi friends! I love rainbow and color wheel themed projects. There is something so satisfying to see colors all lined up next to their color friends in rainbow order. Maybe it’s because I have a hard time picking a favorite color so I just use them all!

From candy, to clothing to home decor the rainbow trend is catching on. You might not be ready to redecorate your home but it sure is fun to play with rainbow colors on a card!

Left to right: Watercoloring with markers and using markers to stamp.

Today I’ll show you 5 ways you can get the look with supplies you already have! Watch the video to see how!

This tutorial is sponsored by Top Flight Stamps! SAVE 10% off your next order with coupon code: thefrugalcrafter10 *USA orders of $50+ ship free!

Supplies from Top Flight Stamps:

• Darkroom Door Stamps: Crayons, Paint drips, Pencils, Paint tubes, Brushes, Mixed boxes stamp
• Darkroom Door Stencils: Mixed Boxes stencil, Polka Dots Stencil
• Visible Image “Own It” Sentiments
• Acrylic paint
• Waterbased markers

Other supplies:

• Black and white cardstock * I like Recollections heavy weight
• Fibers/novelty yarn *You can often get scraps at a yarn shop for little money or free!
• Adhesive (double stick tape and foam squares)
• Bright distress ink mini pads 
• Rainbow ink pad
• Waterbrush
• Brights markers I used
• Versafine ink black
• Cosmetic wedges

Left to right: Mini ink pad stamping and rainbow in pad technique.

5 rainbow techniques you can try!

1. Use Acrylic paint to stencil and stamp. Use a Foam cosmetic wedge to apply to stencil or stamp.

2. Use water based markers it ink up a rubber stamp!

3. Use water-based markers or ink pads (pressed or scribbled on a palette) to paint in an image stamped in black.

4. Use a rainbow ink pad!

5. Ink up stamps with mini ink pads: Yellow first in the middle then overlap magenta and turquoise on each side.

I hope this article gave you some ideas on how to incorporate the rainbow trend in your net card. If you enjoyed this tutorial please share it with your crafty friends with one of the handy sharing buttons below! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

DIY Rust! {Get that Groovy Grungy Look at Home!}

Hi friends! Today I am going to show you how to use basic supplies you probably already have to get an old rusty patina look for your home decor and papercraft projects!

You can buy specifically made rust kits to create these effects but in today’s tutorial I’ll show you how easy it is to get the look with common supplies. Watch the video to see how!

Sponsored by LAVA Soap! Visit their website for money saving coupons and to find a store near you!

Supplies:

• Acrylic paint in dark brown, reddish-brown, turquoise, white and copper/gold
• Texture powder (or sand texture for house paint or you can even use ground cinnamon)
• Palette knife
• Paint brushes 
• Spray bottle with water
• Thin cardboard (like a cereal box)
• Dies I used: Tim Holtz Gadget gears, Spellbinders gears
• *I also used an embossing folder but little of that showed after we did the effect. Use any embossing folder you have as the design really won’t show

*Here is my faux pewter tutorial that I mentioned in the video!

Directions for rust paste:
1. Mix grit in to dark brown (burnt umber) and reddish-brown (burnt sienna) separately. You want a loose mud consistency.

2. Apply dark brown to your substrate (use embossed thin cardboard with layers of die cut cardboard for a nice texture) with a stiff brush working it into the nooks and crannies. You can stipple on the paint for extra texture. Let dry.

3. Dry brush copper or gold over the panel.

4. Use a palette knife to apply the reddish-brown. You can stipple on some of the red-brown color too.

5. Mix turquoise and white to make a pale aqua. Add water and apply to panel then spray with water so it will drip and look like patina.

I hope you try this technique with the supplies you have on hand and let me know how it goes! If you enjoyed this tutorial I’d love it if you shared it with your crafty friends using one of the handing sharing buttons below! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Easy-Peasy Watercolor Pencil Project: Carnations!

 

Hi friends! I have had a lot of requests for watercolor pencil projects lately so I though I’d whip up an easy, beginner real-time project for you.

You only need 4 basic colors that should be in most sets of 12. I wanted it to be accessible to everyone and also I think it is smart to try a limited supply project if you are new to a media so you can see if you like it before spending a lot of money on supplies. All you need is a red, yellow, blue and green, cool huh? Watch the video to see how I did this (and how you can too!)

The great thing about a recorded video is that you can speed it up or slow it down or pause if needed so you can go at your own pace.

Supplies:

• Watercolor pencils (red, yellow, green, blue) Spectrum Noir Aquablend
• Watercolor greeting cards
• Artist Photo Reference: flowers (book)

I made a playlist of my watercolor pencil projects if you like the media and want to learn more.

There are many great brands of watercolor pencils out there but the best ones are the ones you already have so break them out of the box and play! If you don’t have any yet the Spectrum Aquablend ones I used in the video are very good and affordable.  The other thing I like about the Spectrum Aquablends is that if you start with the primary set and love them you can buy other sets and there are no duplications between the sets of 24 as opposed to other brands where if you buy the 12 set and then get a bigger set you end up with 12 doubles. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Easy & Elegant card Design for Friendship, Thinking of You or Sympathy Cards

Hi friends! Today’s card project is one you can make up in batches to have on hand when you want a gentle thoughtful card to give. The design is simple and adaptable and if you don’t have the same supplies I have you can use the ink pads or watercolors you do have on hand.

You can see how to make this card as well as supply saving and storage tips in today’s video tutorial!

Tutorial sponsored by Rubber Stamp Tapestry! Use coupon code: FRUGALFREESHIPPING to get FREE USA (All 50 States, Puerto Rico & Guam) shipping on orders of
$20+ throughout the month of March!  New to peg stamping? Become a Peg Stamp VIP here you’ll get an instant coupon for 20% off Rubber Stamp Tapestry stamps plus the
deepest weekly discounts available! Coupon only applies to new customers.

Supplies from Rubber Stamp Tapestry:

• Trees Stamp set, Woodland Winter Stamp Set, Live, Love & Be Thankful stamp set 
• Black pigment ink
• Embossing ink
• Double sided tape

Other:

• Distress Oxide ink pads
• Clear embossing powder
• Watercolor paints (or use reinkers)
• Watercolor brush
• Watercolor paper

Storage tips:
I laminated the index cards that came with my stamp and slid them into cd/dvd sleeves. For the peg stamp cards I trimmed them small and laminated them with badge size laminating pouches because I had a bunch that came in a variety packs and I wanted to use them up:) You could also use clear packing tape to laminate the cards if you don’t have a laminator. I hope you found some of these tips useful and if you liked this project please consider sharing it using one of the nifty sharing button below! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

DIY Perfect Gouache Palette From Harbor Freight Bargain!

Hi friends! See how I used this cheap container from Harbor Freight to make the perfect palette for my gouache paint.

As you probably know gouache paint can be rewet like watercolor after it has dried so you can paint waste free. The problem with letting big gobs of it dry in a watercolor palette is that the dry paint can shrink and crack and then fall out of the palette or get mixed up with all the other colors. What a bummer! I love the convenience of having all of my paint accessible because I am more likely to use it. Watch the video to see my cheap and easy solution!

Supplies:

• I found a clear plastic case at harbor freight that had 24 clear flip top boxes in it for $4.79 This is available on Amazon too but it is more expensive. This would also work if you want a smaller set up that holds 28 colors and it is cheap!
• Here is the Arteza Gouache set I used. Make sure to peel off the color labels before you squeeze out the paint of they wont come off!
• Tube wringer (optional) I have this one but I wish I had a metal one and this one is cheaper too! *I use a lot of small watercolor tubes and the paint is expensive so I find the tube wringer to be a good investment (A few drops of watercolor can create many paintings) but if your paint is not that precious it might not be worth it. I like to save money and trips to the store:)

Directions:
1. Remove color label from tube and stick it to the side of the little box. *Or you can make a label with the color name and pigment info/light-fast rating.

2. Fill with paint.

3. Put small containers back in big box for storage. As the containers are not air tight I think you are fine to close them unless you have just used them and introduced any water to the pants, in that case I’d let them dry out a bit before closing. Since I filled them with fresh paint and I know there are no contaminants I closed them.

I think there are many things these little boxes would be useful for and you might even have something in your stash that will work the same way as this. Have fun organizing your palette and til next time happy crafting!

 

Triple Review: RENDR Marker Paper, NEW Premiere Brush Tip Alcohol Markers & Curio Stamps from Stampendous!

Hi friends! I have had requests to showcase a few new things and it made sense to do it all at once. It seems like there have been tons of companies revamping their marker lines over the past year and I am always curious as to the quality of them and how different they are from one another. Today we will look at the new Premiere markers sold exclusively at A.C.Moore. Along with RENDR Marker paper and Curio Stamps by Stampendous.

The new Premiere markers have a bullet tip and a brush tip and will not replace the old style Premiere markers that resembled Prismacolor with a bullet tip and tri-chisel nib. The curious thing was that the color names between the two versions are not the same…but I did find a similarity between the new brush pens and other new brush pens on the market. Watch the video for more details!

Premiere by Nicole Dual end brush alcohol markers:

These markers are available in sets or open stock at A.C Moore stores. Prices range from $3.99 for a single marker to $159 for a set of 48

Pros:

• Brush tip and chisel tip
• Less expensive than Copic
• If you have an AC Moore store near you they are on special or you can use a coupon on a set making them much more reasonable
• They use the same color number and naming system as the following brands so you can replenish or fill in colors from other sets (Colors the same as Studio 71, #coloring, Artist Loft (Michaels stores) and Blick Illustrator  available at Blick stores but they are not going to keep stocking them and all they have now are 12 packs.) If you like those markers you will likely enjoy these as well as the nibs are the same.

Cons:

• It is a fiber/felt tip instead of a higher quality foam tip
• Not suitable for brush lettering

*AC Moore will still be stocking the original Premiere markers with the bullet and tri-nib chisel ends as well as the new brush markers so you can shop for what best suits your needs. They do not have a shop online but they recently teamed up with Blitsy and they have the 12 and 24 packs of the original markers for sale so maybe the new ones will arrive soon. *Note the color names between the new and old style of Premier markers do not match.

Bottom line: I like the new Premiere markers but the regular retail price is high for what they are. This is a good item to use one of their 50% off coupons on or wait for a sale. Luckily they run good sales often and many weeks they have a 55% off coupon.

RENDR No Show Through Marker Paper 5.5″x8.5″ hardbound sketchbook

I had several marker users ask me to review this paper so I chose one of their smaller sketchbooks as they are kinda pricey. I have only used them for markers as their claim to fame is that alcohol markers won’t bleed through but other media can be used on the pages.

Pros:

• Heavy #110 paper (although it did not seem as thick as other #110 cardstock I have used)
• Does not bleed through so you can work on both sides
• Sketchbook is bound nicely and had a grippy cover

Cons:

• The paper does not allow good blending with alcohol markers
• When layering colors you get hard edges, it is nearly impossible for me to go back in and adjust something.

Bottom Line: RENDR paper is good if you want a sketchbook where you can work on both sides of the paper with alcohol pens without worry of color bleeding through. I have had a lot of people ask me to try other mediums on this paper so I will report back with my results in an upcoming blog post or video.

The comparison paper I used was #80 Neenah Classic Crest

Stampendous Curio Stamps

These attractive shaped wood stamps stamp beautifully and are designed to display.

Pros:

• Stamps great
• Shaped mount is painted black so it stays looking pristine
• Cute designs that you would be likely to use over and over again.

Cons:

• They are a bit pricey at $9 each at Simon Says Stamp or $15 each on Amazon

That was a lot of products to get through here but it is fun to put new things to the test to determine if they are worth the money or storage space in out craft room. As with any supply I think it depends. Only you know if a product will be useful to you so with my reviews I aim to be unbiased and to show you what they can do. As with all of my reviews they are not sponsored but I have used affiliate links at no cost to you if you want to check the products out and support my blog at the same time. Please don’t feel like you have to buy though and only buy something if it will add value to your life. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Real time Macaroons in Colored pencils…or is it Macarons?

Hi friends! I just love the beautiful pastel shades of macaroons…er macarons?

Sometimes art takes time. I recorded this tutorial a couple of weeks ago and have been fretting over whether to keep it long and in real-time or to speed it up. I decided to keep it in real-time so people could paint along with me and learn a bit more about their humble colored pencils.

Sponsored by Smart Art!  get a box of full-sized art supplies delivered to your door every month.

Supplies:

• Bruynzeel Expression set of 12 (basic primary/secondary colors)
• Fabriano Venezia Sketchbook
• Finetec Blending Pencil
• Faber-Castell Perfection Eraser Pencils
• Pencil Shapener
• Reference photo

This was a fun box and I totally enjoyed the Fabriano sketchbook! This is a pricey sketchbook so I am so glad they included it in this box as I would be unlikely to take a chance on it or even be aware of it otherwise. I am happy to report that the paper was wonderful for watercolor too! Check out my post on Friday to see how it handled watercolors. I also did this sketch yesterday in colored pencils and watercolor. The pages are robust enough to use both sides!

I hope you enjoyed today’s video and til next time happy crafting!

 

Make stamp sets more useful by swapping colors!

Hi friends! Colors can effect moods. You can take the same image and color it with pastels for a new baby card or jewel tones for a birthday. You can also take the same stamp set and swap out colors and accent images to apply to different seasons like I did today! These cards feature the Woodland Harvest Stamp set, one of the 5 stamp sets I designed for Rubber Stamp Tapestry!

Here he have the fall version…

…and here is the spring!

Watch the video to see how to make the fall card while picking up some tips for coloring and die cutting. The spring card is made in the same way just using the tree stamp (branches only) for a frame.

Tutorial sponsored by Rubber Stamp Tapestry! Get FREE USA (All 50 States, Puerto Rico & Guam) shipping on orders of $20+ throughout the month of February with Coupon Code: FRUGALFREESHIPPING New to peg stamping? Become a Peg Stamp VIP here and you’ll get an instant coupon for 20% off Rubber Stamp Tapestry stamps plus the deepest weekly discounts available! Coupon only applies to new customers.

Supplies from Rubber Stamp Tapestry:

• Woodland Harvest Stamp Set
• Peg stamps I used: Summers End, Muscari & Hyacinth Border, Wisteria frame, English Lavender, Dogwood Forest, Red Geranium (for the larger fern) and
  Brambly Rose (spring version)
• Dye inks
• Ink blending brushes
• Double sided tape
• Aleenes tack it over and over (for mounting stamps if needed)

Other supplies:

• Alcohol Markers Studio 71 from 48 pack (Dual tip pack of 48 colors on sale for $36 through tonight!)
• Colored pencils (Chameleon)
• Neenah classic Crest cardstock
• Wooden circles
• Large 2″ circle punch or shape cutter
• Stampendous spring border edge dies
• Post it notes for masking

I hope you had fun trying the following techniques!
*Masking
*Coloring with alcohol inks
*Accenting with colored pencils
*How color choices affect the overall look of a card
*Shading
*Making wood accents
*Border die cutting tips

Before you go I have a quick question for you

Now that I have hubby editing my videos I can have him edit more out and make them shorter. I realize that 30 minutes is a lot to ask of you to watch a video. So please honestly let me know if you prefer the longer videos like today or an under 10 minute video or if you would like me to alternate long and short tutorials. You won’t hurt my feelings. I just want to make the most useful lessons I can for you! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!