Splitcoaststampers Shaker Tag Tutorial

I'm so excited to share that I got to work on a shaker tag/ornament tutorial for Splitcoaststampers featuring Top Dog Dies.   You can check it out here! 

Cardstock

Transparency (I used Unibind Thermal Steel Crystal Soft Cover Report Covers)

Dies:  Top Dog Dies Polar Bear, Mini Tags, Onesie Dress, Circles, Penguin, Memory Box Studio Circle Layers, Cardinal, Snowman, Pocket Page Winter, Water

Sizzix Big Shot with Magnetic Plate

Pretty Pink Posh:   Sequins and Mini Beads

Twinery Twine

Ribbon May Arts

Stamp:  Waltzingmouse Stamps Nutcracker Sweet

Twinery Stash Your Stash Blog Hop!

Are you hopping with The Twinery today?  If you are you should have reached me from Jen Cuthbertson's blog.  If you want to start from the beginning you can get all the details here at The Twinery Blog.   There's lots of goodies up for grabs today  including a prize on EVERY blog you visit on the hop!   Today instead of sharing projects were showing you how we store our twine.  You should find great ideas for storage no matter if you buy the sampler packs or the entire spools.  

So now you have your twine - how should you store it?   What?  You don't have twine?  That's ok - we have a great deal for you today - enter code STASH25 for 25% off your entire order through 11-6.

I confess - I'm a bargain hunter.  If it's on sale, I'm there.  I'm also always looking at what I get for the price.  Purchasing entire spools of twine has always been my personal choice because lets face it - I'm getting 240 yards on a roll for $14.00.  That works out to be around 6 cents a yard.  And honestly I put twine on just about EVERYTHING!   

Since I'm investing in the big spool of course I want to make sure I keep it clean and dust free so that it looks beautiful every time I use it.  I'm not saving anything if my spool decides to meet some of my other crafty supplies like glue or ink by accident.   I saw this coffee creamer idea in a magazine years ago and have been using it ever since.

I purchase the glass coffee creamer jars at the local dollar store.  Yes they still have them - I checked today.   I love that I can see exactly what color is in which jar.  My twine is safe from my inky fingers and I an dispense exactly as much as I like through the creamer hole in the top of the jar. 

Another big plus?  I know lots of us like to write down what products we used on our creations.  As I use more twine the snug Twinery label telling me the name of the color is getting looser.  You can see on the very first photo that the label on the Lilac twine is very loose.  I've been using it, and the spool is getting smaller.  With the creamer jar the label is staying in the jar - it's not falling off.  I can also easily see when I'm starting to run low and it's time to reorder.

I keep the jars on a shelf above my work desk - they are arranged by color and don't take up much room.  

They also brighten up my work space.  I love being surrounded by all these pretty colors!  I 'm always sure to find a match for any project.

OK.. here's what you've been waiting for...

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION:

Each designer participating in the hop will be giving away a Striped Twine Sampler ($18 value).

To enter just comment on each post along the hop. (And since each designer is giving away a Striped Twine Sampler, each post is another chance to win!).

Comments will close at midnight (EST) on Tuesday, November 3rd.

Winners will be posted on The Twinery blog on Thursday, November 5th.

The next stop on this hop is Amy Crockett!

Here's a complete list of all the designers on the hop today!

The Twinery

Tifany DeGough

Anita Mulcahey

Jen Cuthbertson

Jeanne Jachna - That's Me!

Amy Crockett

DoBea Alberts

Tobi Crawford 

Want to go shopping?  Don't forget the special discount!  Enter code STASH25 for 25% off any order through 11/6

Poppystamps Butterfly Shaker

I'm posting at Poppystamps today with a Butterfly Shaker Card.  Want a peek?

You can see more and read the tutorial here.

Top Dog Die Flower Cupcake Topper

I've got a fun and easy flower cup cake topper tutorial at Top Dog Dies!  I hope you will stop by and check it out.

You can get all the details here.

Here’s what you’ll need.

Top Dog Dies Pretty Petals #2, Leaves

Cardstock – I chose to use a dark and light shade for each flower.

A hole punch (I’m using an eyelet setting tool from Fiskars)

Ball End Stylus (mine is from Sculpy – I found it in the modeling clay aisle.

Brads  (I got a big package from BRIDES in the wedding section of the craft store) 

Wood Coffee Stirrers (I got mine at Hobby Lobby – look in the wood craft section.  I’ve also seen them at the grocery store in the coffee aisle.)

Waltzingmouse Team Talk Vellum Flowers

On the 9th of every month you will find me posting on the Waltzingmouse Inspiration Blog - Team Talk.

Today my post features these pretty vellum flowers.  They are super easy and you don't have to be an expert at color blending.  To see more click here.  You'll find new inspiration and loads of ideas for different ways to use your Waltzingmouse Stamps at Team Talk.  I hope you'll pop on over and say hi to the gals there!

Organizing Tags

Today I just wanted to share a few organization tips that have worked really well for me.  Maybe you already have a working system in place, maybe you are keeping an open mind and want to try something different.  I hope this system helps you like it has me.

Whenever I post a card I try to include all the particulars so that if you see anything you like you know exactly what I used.   To help keep it together I use simple jump rings with identification tags.  This is also really helpful for me when I am creating a card.  I shudder to think of all the different ink pads and colors I own.  How do I know exactly what shade of green I want to use without getting them all out and trying them? 

To keep it organized, whenever I buy an ink pad I print the name on a piece of cardstock.   I punch out a tag, and a hole for the jump ring, and then stamp an image in that color ink. The tags are color coded lightest to darkest.  Sometimes I will add a letter after the name of the ink to help me identify the pad - for example M = Momento, V = Versafine, SU = Stampin' Up! etc.    Here's a close up of the ink pad tags....

Here is a photo of my swatches of cardstock.  I am addicted to Papertrey card stock and purchase this brand almost exclusively now.  If you have other favorites you can simply notate with a letter the brand for easy reference.

  

 Here are my swatches of seam binding.  I buy Hug Snug brand and have my rings color coded.  I leave the tails long so that I can drape them across my project to see exactly what shade will work best to coordinate with the other materials I'm using.  So many colors to choose from.

These are my swatches for We R Memory Keepers Corner Chompers.  I have the name of the cut written on the tag and I have a stripe of color drawn on the swatch that matches the handle color of the Corner Chomper.  For Example, If I want to use the "Photo" cut (the swatch has a pink stripe) then I  want the pink handled Corner Chomper.

I keep all my rings on hooks in my scrap room.  They are all within arms reach so I can grab them for easy reference when I make something, or for when I need to make a list of different products I used for a project.

I hope this inspires you and will help keep you organized! 

Jeanne

Square Folded Flower Tutorial

A few weeks ago I did a folded flower tutorial of a circular flower.  One of the comments I got mentioned this same type of flower but as a square shape.  This got me thinking about what it would look like.  So I made a few dozen and wanted to share this tutorial with you.

Here's what you'll need:
Two Sided Paper
Square Punch - Any Size - this will be the size of your finished flower.
Glue
Brad or Button
1.) Cut 5 squares from two sided paper.

2.) Fold 4 squares in half. The patten on the inside will be the pattern that is revealed when your flower is complete.  I drew where the folds should be on the sample square next to the folded sample.

 3.) Fold in half the again the opposite direction.

 4.) Fold a third time from corner to corner to form a triangle.

 5.) Fold in the two opposite sides of the square to form a small folded square.  It should look like this.

 6.)  Fold back the top corner of the quare to reveal the paper patern on the inside.  Do not fold all the way back  Leave a slight edge of the outer paper showing  If you fold all the way back the flowers will be hard to open after you've attached the brad.

 6.) Glue the four squares on to the last square.  Make sure the folded down corners all point to the center.  It should look like this.

 7.)  Pierce a hole through the center and add a fancy brad or button.

You can use these for scrap booking, card making, or even simple magnets for your fridge. The hardest part is deciding which side of your pretty paper you want to show! And now - do I want to make circles or squares? Have fun!
Jeanne

Supplies Used for instructional sample   (all others scraps)
Brad:  K&Company
Paper:  My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Two Collection.  Blush "Sweet" Bouquet Paper

Rolled Flower Die Comparison

Today I'm posting something a little different.  With all the different rolled flower dies out there it is a little confusing about what to order and what it will look like when you make your rolled flowers.  I've ordered many dies on line without seeing them "in person".  Once you have the die in your hand it is still hard to determine just how big that bloom will be.   Of course depending on how tight you roll your flowers the dimension will change but this will give you a good approximation.    All flowers are shownon a cutting mat with 1" squares.
Just a few tips before we get started.  
1)  Whenever you cut out an intricate die - layer a piece of wax paper between the die and your cardstock.  I use Reynolds Cut-Rite.  You can find it in the grocery store next to the cling wrap and aluminum foil.  
2) Always roll the flowers from the outside of the circle in.  
3) A quilling tool is really helpful for the first inch or so to get the center tight. 
4) Use a hot glue gun to quickly set the flower.
5) Crimp and bend your petals to give them more shape

This is the Spellbinder Bitty Blossom set - there is a large medium and small die in the set.

These are the Memory Box Pinwheel Posie, and Small Pinwheel Posie.  They look about the same size but one is actually much taller than the other.

This is the Sizzix Spiral/Garland.  It is marketed as a Christmas ornament, but the spiral design makes it a good candidate for a rolled flower.  Maybe you have a die you can multi-purpose too?

 This is the Sizzix Flowers 3-D - There are two size flowers on the die.  Sizzix dies are great for cutting out material - try a felt flower - you want to use a fabric that won't fray.

This is the Spellbinders Spiral Blossom One.  The smaller flower on the right was created using one die cut flower.  You can make your flowers larger with any of these dies by adding another die cut to your original flower.  The larger flower in the photo on the left, was made by rolling two die cuts.   First,  Roll your flower as usual and glue it in place.  Next roll a second die cut flower to get some spring into it, unroll it,  and then intertwine 3 inches into the first bloom and then roll as you did the original.  Glue it into place. 

This is the Spellbinders Spiral Blossom Two.

Spellbinders Blossom Three

I will link this under my tutorial page and if I get new rolled flower dies I will add pictures and descriptions. 

I hope this helps!

Jeanne

Supplies Used: 
Dies as noted above. 
Paper:  Papertrey Ink Raspberry Fizz

Rolled Flower Tutorial

Just a quick tutorial on how I make my rolled flowers.

1.)  Use printed paper, or make your own by stamping on solid paper.  Don't worry - it doesn't have to be perfect or even line up - you won't see the detail on the finished flower

2.) Cut the flower using  a die- I used Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms for this tutorial.  I store all my Spellbinder dies in empty CD cases and have them organized by shape.

3.  Ink the edges for a more solid looking flower.  Cosmetic sponge wedges that you can find at the dollar store are an inexpensive way to ink.

4.  Using a quilling tool for a tight flower center roll the flower.  You only need the quilling tool for the first inch or so.  Roll the rest of the way by hand.

Easy Peasy - Your beautiful finished flower!

Folded Flower Tutorial

Here is a tutorial for a quick and easy folded flower. 

Here's what you'll need:
Two Sided Paper
Circle Punch - Any Size - this will be the size of your finished flower.
Glue
Brad or Button

1.) Cut 5 circles from two sided paper.

2.)  Fold 4 circles in half.  I drew where the folds should be on the sample circle next to the folded sample.

3.)  Fold the same 4 circles in half the opposite way.

4.)  Fold the circles in half again.

5.)  Fold in the two opposite sides of the circle to form a triangle.

6.)  Glue the four triangles on to the last circle.

7.)  Bend the flower petals back on all four triangles.

8.)  Attach a fancy brad or button to the center to finish your flower.  You can use these for scrap booking, card making, or even simple magnets for your fridge.  The hardest part is deciding which side of your pretty paper you want to show!  Have fun!

Jeanne

Supplies Used: 
Hole Punch Fiskars
Paper in Example Echo Park For the Record Collection
Brad K& Company