Free Dress Template, Tutorial and Inspiration

Welcome to yet another super scrappy, hybrid edition of The Cherry On Top.

Let's get digital.  No, let's get scrappy!  No, let's get digital and scrappy!  Yeah!  Hehehe...I love getting glue and glitter on my fingers just as much as I like to keep it neat and digital.  Mix it up, Baby!  That's the way to go.

Isn't this just so darn, cute?!  I've been wanting a dress template for ages, but never came across one in a format that I could use on the computer.  So, I designed them myself and this is one of them.  With template making, all you have to do is think shape.  I wanted to go with a tear drop shape, but didn't have the cookie cutter shape for it in my program.  Then I found in the custom settings, a tie.  I cropped off the top, knotted part of the tie and this is what I got.  Not bad, I'd say.

The template comes all together like above, but of course, you can totally tear it up as you please.  I wanted to try my hand at a piece by piece using the template so I just moved the pieces around so that I could cut them out.

Make sure you get everything just perfect via computer, then print and cut.  There are some very small pieces.  Keep that in consideration if you do plan on cutting.  I enlarged my original quite a bit and even the smallest pieces were totally doable. If you have a nifty cutting machine, you're set.  You can always use your own stash of bling, paper, etc in place of these tiny pieces.

I used rigid paper (300 weight) for this dress and I was glad.  It's better for the small/tiny pieces.  I left a bit of white around some pieces, like the hanger and it still looked really good.  You get a bit of a sticker effect like that. (Don't worry about that tiny blue detail on the page.  You'll cut it off.)

If you don't want to get your fingers dirty, then keep it digital, like I did here in my layout.  Simply clip in the papers you want and any other lovelies to bling it out.  I used goodies from Alexis Design Studio's, En Pointe and Little Black Dress.

Isn't that such a fun photo?  It's my Mother-In-Law and her mother.  Bobon was such a gem.  This is the best picture to remember her by. That beautiful blue hair and infectious smile.  Were they having fun or what?

Here's the other dress I made.  I used the tie again for the bottom and a heart for the top.  I blinged up the hanger with a beautiful, coordinating ribbon and added some serious glitter for the hanger, straps and belt.  The glitter on the dress is from the paper.  Beautiful, eh?

If you find the design a bit too plump, it's easy to fix.  Simply angle the three bottom pieces more inward and you'll bring in the waist.  That's what I did for the one on top.  I was going to change this, but got a surprising reaction from some fans that they like, this more realistic waist line.  Hehehe...That's the fantastic thing about templates.  The flexibility.  So, angle your bottom pieces more inward, perhaps shrink the heart a bit and minimise your belt so that you get a nice fit.

Get out your fussy scissors and get cracking.  Here are the pieces and these are rather large.  It'll look great on a 12x12 page or an album cover.  I'm thinking prom, dance, wedding...

For this pink dress, I just printed it out in its entirety and cut around it.  I also snipped off that fancy, twirly part of the hanger, under the bow.  The shadows give it a nice lift and dimensional look.

Don't forget to piece your dress together before you start gluing.

Here are the two dresses.  The one enlarged and pieced together, with a tad bit of fabric under the belt (to cover up some imperfection) or to add some more texture.  Hehehe...A tiny pearl added to the flower on the hanger.  I could have went nuts, but held back.  Hehehe...  The pink dress is just cut out directly from the print out.  Easy peasy!  I'll be using it on a card.

I made a paper dress before with a cut out template I found Pinterest and it was amazingly popular.  I've got a Pinterest board dedicated to cutting templates where you can find this template and a lot more.

I displayed it like this.  Some fun, coordinating ribbon that flows all over.  A touch of pearls for some glamour.  A bit of that fuzzy stringy stuff, silky satin bows, butterflies and that frame is mega cool and really easy to make.  With the left overs I had from my dress, I rolled the papers and glued them around the edges of my shoe box lid.  Tip: Shoe box lids are an excellent way to present your projects.  Use the inside or the outside.  They are really light, which I like and easy to cover with paper or paint as you desire.  Of course, they are free, too!

I didn't have any wire hangers at the time I made this dress, so I made my own with some craft wire.  You could use a paper clip as well.  It didn't look all that great.  Hence, the fun fuzzy string wrapped around the hanger and the tiny bow.

Don't those pearls look awesome?  What an easy way to add serious pow.

 All of this texture and attention to detail makes this dress a true knock out.

Click HERE to get the free dress template.

All of our downloads are for PERSONAL USE ONLY.  Do not claim them as your own or resell them.

Feel free to show us what you create with our template or our other freebies.  Leave a comment if you download.  Hit that + button, Pin, Like and or Share as a way to say thanks.

Have a super scrappy day and thank you so much for visiting The Cherry On Top.

Free, Fun Father's Day Card

Welcome to another scrappy edition of The Cherry On Top.

We are getting super scrappy for Father's Day.  This is our third project for Dad's special day.  I snagged this awesome template from Key Lime Digi Design over at Ginger Scraps and you get it there, too and for free.  To see our other paper projects click here.

This card is so easy to assemble, but we're still hooking you up with a little tutorial.  Older kids will be able to make this no problem at all.  So get them to get the glue on their fingers.  Hehehe...

Here are a couple of screen shots at the digital process, but you don't have to do this digitally.  You can simply print out the template and do it totally traditional style by tracing around the template.  The choice is yours.

I clipped in a fun, Florida style paper for my cards background.  It's Key Lime Digi Design, so it only felt right to use dolphins, blue and bright yellow.

I created my own little layers and wanted a pocket as well.  I shaped that up and put everything where it should go, to make sure the sizes were all perfect and they were.  

Then I moved my shapes back to the top of the page so I could print and cut.  I should have cropped out my background on my screen saver.  I was checking out some other designs with pockets.

Simply print out your template either all clipped in with your favourite papers or the original version of the template.  These are all of the materials you need.

Cut out all of your shapes.  I also added two small buttons to my page, for on the collar.

Snip in just a touch, about an inch as shown above and below.  (You can see that basic printer paper does not do this project justice.  It's also why I made the other one.)

Wrap around the rectangular piece, at the top of your tie and adhere.  If you are using everyday paper like I did, glue will be just fine.  If you are using higher grade paper with more weight, then consider glue dots or double sided tape.

Snip out those tiny buttons and adhere to the tips of the collar for something a little extra.

I tried using glue dots on this thin paper and it really didn't work well at all. It even marred the top of my tie a tad.  So use glue for thin paper.

The experimental card designed with thin, regular printer paper.

And...the new and improved version with good, rigid, semi gloss paper, fun bright colours and functional pocket where you could insert a coupon or something in.

This seriously easy, fun project is ready in minutes flat.  Head over to Ginger Scraps Forum GingerScraps, grab the template and join us in the fun.  Enjoy!

Insanely Fast, Easy and No Cost Minecraft Piñata

Welcome to a DIY edition of The Cherry On Top.

Piñatas are not popular in Europe, so I'm finding. I want to bring it to life, here. One of the best things about a party is the piñata. I have childhood memories of them and they are very fond. My kid saw the concept on a TV show and said he wanted one for his birthday. Since he is a fan of Minecraft, I had to go for the Creeper Piñata.

Hit up the Party Ideas board on Pinterest for more piñata ideas. Here are just a couple more. I've already made a template for this one! Be looking for a future blog.

I fist checked out to see if I could purchase one here, in Belgium and found a store in the area that sold them for 25 Euros, unfilled. So at least another 15 Euros or so to fill it and I'm talking about 40 Euros or just under $45 for something that was going to battered and broken and I really don't think the kids care all that much waht is in the piñata besides the candy.  Hmmm...

Hitting up Pinterest first, I found some cool ideas, researched the basic construction, glue recipe and came up with a much easier, faster and cheaper way to make this Creeper (from Minecraft) piñata.  I want to credit The Coupon Closet for the spark. I took their idea and made it a heck of a lot easier.

This piñata took me under two hours to make from start to finish and with a lot of interruptions in-between.

Here is what you will need:

2 paper bags, whatever size you want. 

coloured paper (greens and black for a creeper) for the outside

paper cutter or scissors

light weight candy

light weight toys or other stuffers if you choose

balloons and confetti

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup water

pastry brush

I keep all of these lovely paper bags from retailers. They come in so handy. I found two nice sized, bigger bags that fit perfectly into one another. They really were not all that rigid as you can tell from the image. They were not coated and there was no plastic in any component. In the beginning I was worried that it wasn't going to hold the stuff inside. I simply folded inward, the handles for the inside bag.

Then I did a forehead slap and thought, I'll put all kinds of light stuff in there to keep the weight of the piñata down. Take a look at all of the light weight goodies I put in there. I took all of the packaging off that I could as well.

I recycled stuff that my boys didn't like or use or things we had doubles of. FYI, those little parachute dudes were a huge hit for the boys of this party. They were between the ages of 7-11. Glow bracelets, whoopee cushions (always a hit), Pez dispenser filled...Think light as possible.

Here's a link to a blog that has a list of non candy ideas for piñatas.

I never buy candy. I don't have to because everyone else does. I used candy that we already had in the cabinet. I chose the lightest candy from the bunch and still had a ton left over. There was a sweet variety of spek which are those pink marshmallows you see, chocolate cents, a few lollies and just a couple of other small, light candy to help fill up the bag, balloons and confetti. All seriously light things. You could always put in coupons, gift cards even a couple of dollars or paper money. I thought a 5 Euro bill would be cool or a coupon for a night's stay at our place.

After filling it, I checked to make sure the bag still fit nicely inside each other.  No problem!  Lift up your piñata by the handles and make sure they are going to hold all of your goodies.  You could consider extra reinforcement on them.  I didn't need any.

I hit up my colored paper stash and grabbed green and black as well as my paper cutter and scissors. I folded standard a4 sized paper in fours and cut, but the size really doesn't matter because you have to overlap anyway.  

Then made the glue of flour of water. I used a half a cup of flour and 3/4 cup water. I just blended until I had a decent consistency having no idea at all of just what a decent consistency was. Hehehe...Not too thick. Not too thin. I still had left over.

I grabbed my ever trusty, silicone brush and started the work of applying the paper. The bottom is where I started. It also probably doesn't matter where you start. This dried really fast. I made this piñata on our granite island and nothing stuck, but just keep that in mind as your gluing.

Over lapping is important. Just about a half an inch is ideal. You'll see as you go what is best. Try not to let it get too wet either. Remember, your bags are also from paper.

Work your way around the bag until all of the outside is covered. I continually checked to make sure my piñata was not sticking to the counter top and the spaz I am, kept wiping off the area where I was applying the glue so the clean up was a breeze.

I used two square for the eyes, a longer rectangle for the...the mouth thingy and then two more skinnier rectangles for those side bits. There he was in his green glory. Mama's creeper!

Now, for the big day. Would I be able to blog about this piñata or was it going to be a bust?

The guy jumping there is my oldest and the birthday boy. He was just a little excited. As you can see, we started off with this plastic golf club because I really thought this thing wasn't going to last.

After over a dozen strikes and still no wreckage, we went for a bamboo stick. Hmmm...Still no breakage.

We got an even bigger stick AND took the blind fold off! Funny how one of the boys had on a creeper T-shirt!

Finally!  LOL!  I could not believe how rigid my piñata was! I may have only needed the one bag or maybe because the boys were still kind of small, but keep this in your thoughts, too.

It took them a while to break it and they had an absolute blast with the entire event. Tip: I had bags for them to put their goodies in. Think about doing this at one of your parties and remember, piñatas are not just for kids.

I hope this blog has helped. We've got plenty more party ideas on our Pinterest. This blog also contains ideas for Lego parties. Head up to the top of the blog and look for the search window on the right because we've got a few blogs over Lego. Here's another.

Thanks for your visit and good luck with that piñata!