Showing posts with label Tutorial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tutorial. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Dying Ribbon to Match Your Card

Hello Everyone!

My Heartfelt Creations post this week is a card I made with the Butterfly Medley Collection.  It's a pretty simple card to create with just some embellishments and paper from the Butterfly Medley paper collection (of course)!   I ended up dying some white seam binding to match my card, so I thought I'd share that easy technique with you today, too.

For the card, I started by sponging Walnut Stain Distress ink on the edges of a 4" x 5-1/4" panel of seed-themed background paper from the paper collection.  I found a piece of burlap material in my stash, cut it into a square, pulled off some of the strands from all four sides to fray it a bit, and then adhered it at an angle onto my card. 

I selected one of the coordinating tags that comes as part of the paper collection and sponged Distress Ink on the edges.  I stamped a sentiment from the "Heartfelt Expressions" cling stamp set onto the tag, then added a jumbo eyelet to the top.  I adhered the tag over the burlap piece with some foam squares.  At this point, I decided my tag needed purple ribbon, so I stopped to dye some white seam binding (steps are shown below) with Viva Decor 3-D Stamp Paint to coordinate with my card. 




Finally, I dug up ("get it"??) some tiny garden tool embellishments that I've had forever (I was surprised I found them!) to glue on to the card front. 






Dying seam binding is really easy, just three steps basically.  Here's what I did:


1.) I mixed some Viva Decor "Violet - Metallic" 3-D Stamp Paint with water to make my ribbon dye solution. 

I just lightly dipped my dauber into the paint jar and then transferred the small glob that the dauber picked up to the dry container by tapping it off onto the bottom of the container.  I added about 1/2" of water to the container, stirred it up a little with the dauber and just sort of eye-balled the color to see if it was the tone I was going for.  I decided it was the right color I wanted so I didn't add any more paint to the water (at this point more paint could be added to intensify the color or a different color altogether could be mixed in to make a custom dye color).

2.) I estimated how long of a piece of seam binding ribbon I'd need for my project, cut it to that length, and dropped it into the container of purple water.  I used my dauber to smash the ribbon around in the dye solution so it would soak up the color.  After a a few seconds of smashing, I pulled the wet ribbon out of the water and moved it into a ziplock baggie, sealed the top, and kneaded and squished the ribbon around inside the baggie to get it nice and wrinkled and full of color.  This went on for about two minutes.




2.) I pulled the ribbon out of the baggie, balled it up one last time real tightly to ensure there was lots of wrinkling going on, and carefully dried it with my heat tool.  Careful, too much heat will melt and/or burn the fabric -- don't ask...





This is a look at the dried, dyed ribbon.  I couldn't capture it in the photo, but because the 3-D Stamp Paint is full of all kinds of awesome glimmer, that glimmer and sparkle transfers to the ribbon!  It's a pretty cool effect!


Finally, I tied a double bow with my newly-dyed purple ribbon using my ribbon-tieing block thing and glued the bow onto the tag on my card.  (I didn't actually loop the ribbon through the tag's hole, I can't get it to hold the bow shape when I do that -- I'm kind of clumsy that way -- so I just fake it by gluing it on.)

 And there you have it....

The Heartfelt Creations products I used for my card today are:
HCDP1 251 Butterfly Medley Paper Collection
HCPC 3474 Heartfelt Expressions Cling Stamp set
Viva 3D Stamp Paint in Violett-Metallic

Thanks so much for visiting today - I am always grateful and appreciate you checking out my blog!!  Please leave a comment if you can, and by all means, be sure to visit the Heartfelt Creations Blog today too, where all the creativity starts!!

TFL, I'm so glad you stopped by!

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Heart Wreath

 
Hi Everyone!

It's my Wednesday Heartfelt Creations post!!  This is a project I've been wanting to try for awhile.  I made a very small, ornament-sized version of this wreath years ago (see this blog post 2009), and I've always wanted to make a larger version of it that would hang on a wall.

I knew almost immediately when I saw the branches and leafy dies from the Birds and Blooms Collection that was released last month, that I had the perfect tools for this project!  Combining the Birds and Blooms Collection and the new Butterfly Medley Collection, I had more than enough great material to work with!!


I started by creating the wreath's "bones" -- you know, the main branch base.  To do that, I basically just misted two light brown cardstock strips with water to make them pliable, then twisted up the strips, kind of tightly, into "ropes".  I set them into a round cardboard lid to get them to take on arch shapes, then heat set them with my heat gun while in the cardboard lid.  Cardstock stays very stiff and sturdy when you dampen it then heat set it for some reason -- works great for projects like this!  .

I glued the ends together and finished shaping them into a single, large circle
 


I added some dark brown ink to the wreath branch to give it a little more realistic look. 

I stamped and die cut tons of branches and leaves from dark brown cardstock and glued them all around the wreath branch with my hot glue gun.

I don't know why I waited to shape the wreath branch into a heart form, but it wasn't until after I had glued on the brown leafy branches that I decided to to go ahead and make it into the heart shape.  (I think part of me was not sure I would actually make this a heart shape.)  I pinched one end of the circle branch and sort of pulled it down, then used some hot glue to hold the "v" in place.  Then I pinched the opposite end and pushed it inward from the top to form the top "v" and used more hot glue to hold that part in place.  That made the heart shape.

Next I proceeded to stamp and die cut some small and large flowers and a few butterflies for the wreath. I glued Prills into the centers of all my flowers prior to gluing them to the wreath (red Prills in the pink blooms and yellow Prills in the purple blooms).  I love Prills - sigh...
At last it was time to glue all the flowers onto the wreath.  I just randomly filled in spaces that looked like they needed color.  I decided my wreath needed some greenery, so I pulled out another set of HC dies and diecut some smaller, green leafy branches with swirls and added those into the mix.
To finish it off, I wrapped some beaded trim around the wreath, inserted some pearl sprays and finally,  added a length of ribbon with a bow on top to hang it with.  

It really was a very basic process, although I admit it did take me about 4 hours!  But nothing required any pattern, or measuring or anything like that.  It just all burst forth -- just lots of fun with paper, stamp and ink - that's what it's all about, right??!! 

The HC products I used to make this wreath:

HCD 750 Cut Mat Create 1B Die
HCD1 756 Birds and Blooms Die
HCD1 757 Leafy Branch Die
HCPC 3645 Leafy Branch Cling Stamp set
HCPC 3644 Birds and Blooms Cling Stamp set
HCPC 3651 Botanical Rose Cling Stamp set
HCPC 3650 Butterfly Medley Cling Stamp Set
HCD 758 Botanical Wings
HCD 759 Butterfly Medley
HCDP1 251 Butterfly Medley Paper Collection
 
My very detailed step-by-step instructions and complete list of materials used to make this wreath are posted on the Heartfelt Creations Blog!

Definitely head over to the Heartfelt Creations Blog today if you want to see some more amazing stuff!!  You'll love the cards, layouts and 3-D projects done by some of the most talented ladies on the web!!  I am in awe and I would love for you to see the fantastic projects they're doing!!

Have a blessed day everyone!!


Friday, March 9, 2012

Inspired by a Hand Fan!

Hi Friends,

This card was inspired by the web store called "A Cool Breeze - Fashionable Hand Fans".  I found the website while surfing around for an inspiring site for the IC this weekend over on SCS.

I chose this fan by "Chiang" as my inspiration. I set out to recreate the wonderful color scheme using Tim Holtz Distress Inks on glossy paper.







I stamped and cut out the Hero Arts "Daisy Blossom" stamp onto Eclipse paper to create a mask of my daisy and laid it on the glossy panel.





I sponged on my distress inks pretty randomly, but referring to my inspiration piece as, well, inspiration!

I removed the mask to expose the white space.

Next, I tested different colors of browns on another glossy panel to determine which ink I wanted to use for the daisy.  Because ink tends to act and look different on glossy than on regular CS, I wanted to be sure I chose the right color for my project.

Once I decided on the ink to use (I went with the SU! Chocolate Chip), I inked up my daisy image and stamped it over the white space.

I completed my card by adding a rust and brown-colored punched circle to the center and then stamped my sentiment using the same SU Chocolate Chip ink.  I layered the finished card onto Really Rust CS and then onto my white card base with dimensionals.

TFL, I'm so glad you stopped by!
 

Monday, August 15, 2011

In a World Where Butterflies are Bigger Than Birds!

Hi All,

This is a birthday gift for my sister Judy!  I enjoyed embellishing this thing so much!!  And I also liked that it allowed me to use up some of my stash that is overflowing in my craft room!

I found these fun metal birdcages awhile back at Michael's for $1.00!  (Kicking myself for not getting all of the ones they had!!)  The little doors open, and they are all different.


To start, I went out back and grabbed a branch that had been trimmed away from our tree last Fall, to use inside the cage.




I gathered up my faux flowers that I hoard store when I find them on sale because "I might need them some day".  {Oy!!}  Also had some charms, little birds and butterflies that were perfect for this project too.


Then, with my trusty, amazing E600 (awesome) glue, I proceeded to transform the little red cage into a gift that is suitable for my sister's birthday gift!!



The following are pics of the progress as the embellishing ensued!
Here I trimmed down my twig for the cage and then glued the bird on to it with E600 (awesome) glue.
I strung a couple of charms onto piece of craft wire and twist-tied it to the inside of the top of the cage.












Some of the flowers I strung through the bars of the cage and some of them I glued on with E600 (awesome) glue.
I also twist-tied these glass flowers that come on wires (that I've had since time began) around the bottom of the cage.  Used one of them to help secure the twig to the inside of the cage too.
A look inside the cage after gluing some flowers to the twig, then inserting it inside. I used E600 (awesome) glue around the contact points (where the twig came in contact with the cage) to stabilize the twig.
I left part of my twig sticking outside the cage so I was able to add another bird and more flowers!

These are the butterflies I added to the top.  (Pretend you don't notice that they're bigger than the birds!! LOL!)
A look from the top with the doors and top open.
Back side.


Random photo (because it's "my" blog hee hee ) of my little guy, Charlie!
And there you have it!  Fun, girly and ready for gift-giving!!

TFL, I'm so glad you stopped by!

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Fun Flowers

 Hi Friends,

Very fun things came in the mail last week!!  I did some shopping on eBay for some new (to me) dies from Sizzix and Cuttlebug and ordered some Purple Onion Designs stamps designed by the most amazing Stephanie Ackerman, my new hero and muse. She's a Christian, a blogger and an extremely gifted artist -- my 3 favorite qualities in a person!!  ;)  Check out her blog "Homegrown Hospitality" and you'll see why I gush!  (By the way, I found her via Pinterest  -- you should know by now how much I love that place!  PM if you want an invite or more info!!  I want that for you!!)

I made these cards this morning for the Inspiration Challenge on Splitcoast.  Whoa.  It's all about buttons, be still my heart!!  The webstore is Blumenthal Lansing.  I was inspired by the "Fabric Sensations" section and it caused me to pull out my vast collection of fabric brads!!  Yay!!

I started by attaching the sheet of rubber from Stephanie's "Pot a Flower" set to my large Rock-a-Block.  I didn't cut the stamps apart yet since I knew I'd be using them for paper piecing today.  And because I used the Rock-a-Block, I didn't have to add any cushioning to the rubber! Awesomeness! (I just use my ATG tape for the adhesive for my blocks, I don't buy any special adhesive, FYI.)





I stamped the set onto 3 different Basic Grey DPs.








These are the pieces I cut out.





Next I assembled several of the pieces and adhered them to the background paper (Emma's Shoppe by Crate Paper).  I added my Basic Grey Stitched brads to the centers of each flower.



To finish, I sponged Tim Holtz Distress ink in "Tea Dye" and doodled around the edges.  I layered the finished pieces onto SU! Early Espresso and then onto a Very Vanilla card base.  The final cards are 6-1/4" x 3-1/4". 










Here you can see how I used my pen to add the doodling where the stitch marks got cut off while I was cutting out my pieces. 










TFL, I'm so glad you stopped by!