Friday, December 26, 2014

12 Months of Christmas, or Homespun Christmas Challenge

Hello there! How are you? I can't believe 2014 is almost over, can you? It's actually Christmas evening as I type this. The presents have all been opened, the food has all been eaten, (not really, we have lots of left-overs), our company for the day have all left to go home, our littlest and my handsome hubby are currently playing a game together on their computers, and I am just relaxing.

All-in-all, it was a great day, and I will write more about it on our family blog, but leading up to it was just too hectic for me. As usual, I planned lots of fun things to make for family and friends, but I planned them too late, and spent the last several weeks in a flurry of busy-ness that I just didn't like. There were many other family oriented things I would have like to have done, but just didn't have the time to do it. I didn't even get Christmas cards out this year. I have quite a few made, just didn't get time to sign and address them, or write our annual letter. :-( Here's a picture of some of the projects I did get done this year.

While speaking with a couple other friends, I found that I'm not alone in this. Without planning ahead, the year just goes by too fast and once December hits, there's so many other things going on, that there's just not enough time to do all the fun, crafty things for others. I would like this next year to be different. I want to plan ahead and work on things a little at a time, month by month. I sat here this evening and made a list of things I could do ahead of time to make life easier next December and divided it up into month-by-month challenges. I find that I work better when I am challenged and when I have someone to hold me accountable, so, at the beginning of each month, I am going to post my challenge for that month, and then come back at the end of the month and let you know how I did. You are welcome to play along with me if you'd like. You could post ideas and projects you are working on, and let us know whether you met the challenge or not. Keep in mind that your challenges each month may not look just like mine. For instance, I plan on making 10 Christmas cards each month. That way, by the end of November I will have 110 cards ready to go. I don't need that many, but I can use the extras for gifts. You may need more than that, or a lot less.

Anyway, since this is December, and not officially 2015 yet, I am going to give you a pre-challenge. Get out there and take advantage of the after-Christmas sales. Stock up on some things that you are pretty sure you can use next year, whether it be for a handmade gift, or just a gift in general. I personally am hoping to find a bunch of fuzzy socks on sale since it seems like every little girl in my life right now LOVES fuzzy socks and I can use them for gifts throughout the year. I also make ornaments for my nieces and nephews every year, so I stocked up on some blank ceramic ornaments at 66% off yesterday. I think I may do something like this with them. I would love to show you the ones I made this year, using Stampin' Up's Simply Pressed Clay, but, as with many other things, I didn't have time to get pictures before I mailed them off. (Are you seeing a pattern here?) Well, since I think a post with just one photo is kind of boring, here's a picture of one of my past ornaments.
Don't forget that Stampin Up! is having a Year-End Closeout. There are quite a few holiday stamp sets, papers and embellishments on sale right now, some of them up to 80% off!

I have one other challenge for you, and that is to help me with a name for this challenge. My original idea (actually, it was my daughter-in-love's idea) was the 12 Months of Christmas Challenge, which I love, but I also like the image Homespun Christmas conjures up. What do you think? Any other ideas?

Well, it looks like my family is ready for bed now, so I will close here. Please let me know if you'd like to play along with our challenges this year and help me with my name of it. :-)

Till next time...
God's love and blessings!

Friday, October 17, 2014

I'm sorry.

I am back, and I have to apologize to anyone who has been expecting my Stamp-of-the Week posts. It just didn't happen. I'm afraid that as long as I'm a cake decorator, it probably won't either. As much as I'd like to spend more time posting, I just haven't figured out how to make it work. I have been busy crafting, and teaching craft classes, just haven't had time to sit down here and post about them. Anyway. with all that being said, I am sorry and I will do my best to post regularly, but I just feel it's better if I don't commit to anything specific so I don't disappoint anyone.

For those of you in a fall kind of mood, here's a fun project we made at my Tips, Tools and Techniques class this week. We used the new Gift Box Punch Board to make letter "blocks" for fall. I have to be totally honest here that I was not too thrilled with our Color Me Autumn Designer Series Paper when I first saw it, but I really like how these came out and I think I can see quite a few more projects using it.
We used circle and oval punches to make the cute little pumpkins. Here's the back:
Don't pay any attention to the crooked mat on the "v" block. ;o)
The word "celebrate" came from the Celebrate Baby set, and the "thanks" came from the For All Things set. We simply used a marker to ink up just the word thanks on the Give Thanks For All Things stamp.

I used my Silhouette to cut out the letters. Stampin' Up! has lots of digital files that can be used on e-cutters like the Silhouette. This way I was able to change the sizes of each of the letters to fit the blocks.

I actually have several more projects, both finished and in the works that I want to share with you over the next week, I hope. And, for those of you interested, I have 4 Stamp-A-Stack classes scheduled for next week. Check out my Events page to get the details and RSVP if you'd like to attend. I have some great holiday and birthday cards planned for the class.

Till next time...
God's love and blessings!

Saturday, September 6, 2014

September SOTM #6 & #7 Some Changes Ahead

Ooh, what a cryptic title. ;o) I'll give you more info on the changes in a bit. First, let's see another project with this month's Stamp of the Month--Gorgeous Grunge:
What do you think? I think I've mentioned before that I LOVE sparkly...anything sparkly, so I especially love our Glimmer Paper. You get tons of sparkle with no mess. Doesn't get much better than that, my crafty friends, doesn't get much better than that.

While I was perusing Pinterest for some ideas, I came across these cards and instantly fell in love. I loved the color palettes and the design, but I don't have any star stamps or punches. ;o(. No problem, I could simply switch the stars out for butterflies. This will make the perfect card for a couples' 50th wedding anniversary. The inside says "1 great life."

Ok, so now for the "changes ahead" part. I got to thinking and realized that I really like this Stamp of the Month idea, but there are 2 things I need to change. I realized that if I continue with the Stamp of the MONTH, by the end of the year I will only have focused on 12 stamp sets, and Stampin' Up! has way too many great sets for me to just focus on 12. So, I've decided that I will make it a Stamp of the Week (SOTW). That way I can work my way through 52 sets in a year. (Fun!)

With that in mind, I'm going to go ahead and show you project #7 so we can end Gorgeous Grunge week on a Saturday. This one isn't a card, it's a super cute gift box made with our new Curvy Keepsake Thinlits Dies.
I finally managed to use one of the stamps from this set that isn't a splatter. I embossed the stripey looking one with white after I stamped a splatter in Crumb Cake. I sponged all the edges in Crumb Cake and used an Aqua Painter to pull a little more color onto the cap of the acorn. After I finished this one, I thought it needed just a little pop of color, so I added a bit of ribbon.
What do you think? Which one do you like best? Oh, and don't worry about not getting more ideas to use this set, I'm sure it's going to pop up in coming weeks on other projects. It's just too versatile not to.

The second thing I will need to change is my expectations of my time. I was able to post 6 days in a row this week, but that was only because I already had a couple of cards made to show to you. I also had no cakes to work on, as I mentioned yesterday, and things are a little slower around our house this week. Next week I have a bridal shower to celebrate, a 50th anniversary to attend, and a birthday party for my own daughter. Each of these also means a cake-or 5-for me to make. Busy week means little time for crafting, and even less time on the computer, so while I plan on continuing to highlight a stamp set each week, and then giving away my projects at the end of the week, I will probably not be posting on a daily basis. I hope to still have 6 or 7 projects for you, I may just put a couple of them together on a post to save me a bit of time. Not sure how that will work, but I'm going to do my best to post at least 4 times each week. We'll see how that goes.

Anyway, I have also decided how I'm going to give away my projects. On Saturday, I will ask for you to leave a comment telling me which of the projects you liked best that week. I will then number the comments and randomly draw a number to see who will get the goodies. Sound like fun? Guess what? Today is Saturday so be sure to look back over the last couple of posts and come back here and let me know which of the Gorgeous Grunge projects was your favorite. I will give you till 9pm Monday evening, September 8th to comment.

Well, since I know next week is going to be SUPER busy for me, I think I'll spend the next couple of hours playing with next week's stamp set so I can get a head start and have some great stuff to show you.

Till next time...
God's love and blessings!

Friday, September 5, 2014

September SOTM #5

Wow, this is amazing! I've managed to post 5 days in a row. Of course, I haven't had any cakes to work on this week, so that makes a HUGE difference in my free time. In case you are new to my blog, cakes are my other hobby. You can check out some of my work here.

On to September's Stamp of the Month: Gorgeous Grunge. Love this set. So many things you can do with it. So far we've done a feminine card, masculine card, bright and cheery, and a thank you. How about the holidays? Yep, you can use it for holiday projects too. Lookie:
What do you think? Can you tell where I used Gorgeous Grunge? Yes, one of the splatter stamps makes a perfect snowfall.

To make this card, I stamped the tree image from the new White Christmas set on Whisper White and then stamped the snowman on the hill. I stamped a second image on a scrap piece of paper and used it to mask off the snow while I sponged Night of Navy on the sky. I then embossed the snow in white. I stamped a second image of the snowman on some scrap Whisper White and fussy cut him out. A little shading with Cherry Cobbler and Pumpkin Pie and he was ready to go on with a Stampin' Dimensional. I used Smoky Slate to shade the snow a bit and highlighted it and the tree branches with some Dazzling Diamonds. Wish you could see how sparkly this card is in real life. LOVE!

My demonstrator friend has an awesome tutorial on making bows. I used it for this bow and it was super easy. You really should check it out. I used one of our wider ribbons and found that just gluing the bow to the ribbon didn't look right since the ribbon was much wider than the knot in the bow. To remedy this, I stuck a glue dot in the middle of the ribbon and pinched the edges together to gather it under where the bow was going to be stuck.
Yes, I pulled my bow off so I could take this picture for you. 
About the White Christmas stamp set. It is super cute. Not only is there a snowman, but there's little birds, a deer, a polar bear, station wagon with a tree to go on top, a banner and more. Lots of great scene making images there. It is also a photopolymer set which means it is perfectly clear and easy to line up the images. I did learn something rather important while using it though. Do NOT use Staz-On ink with the photopolymer sets. I wasn't aware of this, and since my original idea was to watercolor the background I immediately reached for my Staz-On. Not a good idea.
Apparently Staz-On has a reaction with the stamps and makes them SUPER sticky. Like, it ripped my paper in multiple places, sticky. So, lesson learned, use our new Memento ink with the photopolymer stamps. It is water resistant as well, so you can still watercolor with it. I did try water coloring, along with spritzing some background color for this, but I think I like the sponging the best, at least for a dark night time sky look.

When I first mentioned the Stamp Of The Month idea, I said I would be giving away the projects that I've made, and I've finally figured out how I'm going to do that, so check back tomorrow for those details. :o)

Till next time...
God's love and blessings!

Thursday, September 4, 2014

September SOTM #4

Hello there. How are you this fine day? We had quite a storm blow through here yesterday and are ever so grateful that the tree that decided to lose it's top last night dropped it away from the house. Simple blessings. It seems strange to hear the creek flowing again after so many weeks of quiet.

Anyway, I know you're here to see the Stamp of the Month project for today. In case you forgot, the stamp set is Gorgeous Grunge, and here is my card:
I have to admit that this card was almost completely cased from this card I saw on Pinterest. The only change I made was to the buttons and the embossing folder. The card was actually done a couple of months ago while the Olympics were going on and my demonstrator friend challenged us to make a card using gold, so I switched out the buttons for some Champagne Glimmer Paper hearts. I LOVE this paper. There really is no such thing as a "scrap" piece with it because you can take a tiny piece, add it to a card and you have an instant sparkly embellishment. Love!
I also used some of our gold sequins and gold embossing powder for the sentiment.

The color palette for this card is Bermuda Bay, Strawberry Slush, and Baked Brown Sugar (which really looks like a non-sparkly gold color).

Well, what do you think so far? Lots of ideas to use this set with. As I mentioned yesterday, my new holiday stamps came in and I got to play with them a bit. I even managed to use Gorgeous Grunge on a Christmas card. I'll show that one to you tomorrow.

Till then...
God's love and blessings!

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

September SOTM #3

Woo hoo! I have my September Stamp of the Month (SOTM) #3 ready for you today. I'm on a roll so far...3 in a row. Also excited because the man in brown showed up yesterday with my goodies from the Stampin' Up! holiday catalog, and since we finished our first day of school and I managed to get all my housework done early, I got to play with them last night. :o) Can't wait to show you what I made.

On to the SOTM. So far I've shown you a feminine card and a masculine one using Gorgeous Grunge. This time I went bright and cheerful. Once again, this card is super versatile. You could use this for either gender, young or old, birthday, thank you, or as I did in this one, a simple "I love you" card.

In fact, I made several of these and used different sentiments from the new hostess set Good Greetings. This set has 19 different sayings and you can get it for FREE!!! I don't know about you, but I love free. This set will only be available till October 31, so be sure to check out my Promotions page to get all the details.
Do you see my "boo boo"?
I stamped the images on Whisper White card stock with Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, and Bermuda Bay. I used Basic gray as the mat for the stamped image and for the sentiment. Super quick, super cute. Love it!

Well, if I spend more time on here, I won't have as much time to get some crafting done later, so I'll close this here. 

Till next time...
God's love and blessings!

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Technique Tuesday & SOTM

Hello again! Today you get a 2-for-1 special. I'm going to post #2 for September's Stamp of the Month, and give you a Technique Tuesday all in one post. You're welcome. :o) First off, in case you weren't here yesterday, the Stamp of the Month for September is Gorgeous Grunge and here's my second card with it.
What do you think? I'm always trying to find an idea for a masculine birthday card, and I tend to go for the blue/brown combo for them. This card uses 3 stamp sets: Gorgeous Grunge (of course), Hardwood, and Remembering Your Birthday. I even used one of the Gorgeous Grunge splatter stamps to make "sprinkles" on the cupcake. :o) Here it is with the matching envelope
As with yesterday's card, I wanted to give this one a little dimension, so I popped the cupcake liner up with a Stampin' Dimensional, and I curved the sentiment banner with my fingers before strategically gluing it down. I just put adhesive where the banner goes under the circle and where it touches the card (under the word "thought"). You don't want to lift the banner up too much, or it may get squished in the mail. 
This sentiment has 2 parts, so the inside looks like this:
In case you can't read it, it says, "I remembered and thought...and then I forgot! Happy Belated Birthday."

Now for your Technique Tuesday. I've always had a hard time with background stamps. Even with using a soft mat under the paper, I often had areas of the stamp that just didn't get pressed onto the paper enough. Now, I usually do them upside down--with the stamp on the bottom, and the paper on top. Like this:
After inking the stamp and carefully laying the paper where I want it, I place a scrap sheet of paper on top and gently rub my hands all over the stamp. It's hard to take a picture while doing this, but I keep one hand still (to keep the paper from moving), and rub the other one all over, then switch and hold the other still so I don't miss any spots.
Lookie there! Nice even coverage all over the paper.
For the envelope, I folded my scrap paper to make a pocket to mask the envelope so that only the flap would get stamped. Then I turned this whole piece over and placed it on the stamp, just like the card front.
The scrap paper "pocket" did double duty as a mask so that I could sponge the edge of the flaps as well.
So, what do you think? We went from a very feminine card to a more masculine one. Like I said, this stamp set is pretty versatile. Tomorrow we're moving on to bright and cheery.

Till then...
God's love and blessings!

Monday, September 1, 2014

Stamp of the Month...Something New

Hello there! It's a new month here and I thought it would be fun to try something a little different. I picked a stamp set to be my Stamp of the Month and I will post a new card or project made with that stamp set each day this month. (I will try to anyway). At the end of the month I will be giving away all those cards and projects to someone or maybe a couple of someones. :o) Not sure how I'm going to do the give-a-way yet, but I thought I'd go ahead and start posting  the projects and figure out the give-a-way a little later. Hopefully, this will help inspire both you and me to get a little creative this month.

The stamp set I chose for this month is Gorgeous Grunge. Absolutely love this set. It's so versatile and can really be used on just about any project from cards to scrapbooks. Here's my first card:
What do you think? I love this color combination: Blushing Bride, Smoky Slate, Crumb Cake, & Soft Suede. I used Petite Petals with the matching punch for the flower, and Something to Say for the sentiment.
Here it is with the coordinating envelope:
A quick tip to give smaller flowers some "life" is to use the Stampin' Pierce mat and a rounded tool. I used a paint brush in this photo, but you could use anything..even your fingers if they're small enough. Simply put the flowers on the mat and push down in the middle of them with the paint brush. Voila! instant dimensional flowers. Then just use a glue dot in the center to adhere to the card.
Can you see what I mean in this photo? The petals have a bit more life and it gives some dimension to the card.
Well, there's my first installment for the Stamp of the Month. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Till next time...
God's love and blessings!

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Technique Tuesday-Felt Flower Keychain

Hello there! Welcome to my little crafty corner. I have a tutorial for you that I actually made a month ago, but am just now getting the time to get it posted. Sorry about that. Let's just say I was busy with life. :o)

Anyway, this is a super quick project that is perfect for party favors or a fun, simple gift. It's inexpensive to make, super quick and I think it looks pretty awesome.


Well, what do you think? Cute, huh? And guess what? If you're interested in the Big Shot, this is the perfect time to get it. Stampin Up! is offering special bundles this month (August 2014) where you get a free stamp set and framelets with a Big Shot purchase. If you already own a Big Shot, you can get the bundles at a discount. Check out my page for all the details.


Well, summer is quickly fading and there are quite a few projects on my To-Do List before we start our home school schedule, so I will close this here. Hope to see you again next week!

till next time...
God's love and blessings!!

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Technique Tuesday-Blendabilities Bookmark

Hello there! Welcome to my crafty corner of the web. Sorry I have been MIA. If you check out our family blog you will see why. :o) Busy, busy times for us.

I am so excited that Stampin' Up!'s new catalog is out. There's so many fun new stamps and accessories in there. I really wanted to try out the new Blendabilities. These are alcohol based markers that come in sets of three shades of the same color. Unlike water based markers, alcohol markers can be used over top of one another and blend well together. This makes coloring in detailed stamp images lots of fun--and easy! I decided a fun bookmark for my new catalog would be the perfect project to try these out on and of course, I made a video to share with you. Hope you enjoy.



One last thing, with the new catalog coming out, I will be hosting an Open House on June 14 from 1-7pm. Here's some of the fun I'm planning:



  • You can pick up your new catalog!
  • Shop my BOGO Sale. . . my retired product is FREE when you place an order of equal or greater value to your total of retired product!
  • Complete 3 fun projects using product from the new catalog!
  • Eat yummy treats!
  • Bring a friend that has not attended one of my events in the past and you'll both get a FREE grab bag of Stampin' Up! product!
  • Get in on prize drawings
  • Check out my Events page for more details and to RSVP if you'd like to come.

    Gotta go get my prizes ready. ;o)

    Till next time...
    God's love and blessings!

    Tuesday, April 8, 2014

    Technique Tuesday-Acrylic Watercolor Background

    Hello there! Welcome to Crafted In His Image. Life has been a crazy up and down the last couple of weeks, but I'm back with a simple and fun technique for you today.


    Watercolor seems to be very popular right now, especially at Stampin' Up!, so I thought I'd share a fun technique that will give you a watercolor background in just a couple of steps. It is the perfect backdrop for your stamps.

    I employed my 10 year old to help with the video this time. We may have had too much fun doing this. I think she enjoys my bloopers a little too much. :o) This was our 7th or 8th try with a whole lot of giggling going on in between. :o)


    Please leave me a note and let me know what you think and whether there's something you are interested in learning.

    Till next time...
    God's love and blessings!

    PS. You can sign up for my April Tips, Tools and Technique class if you'd like to make this for yourself, along with 3 other fun projects. You can check out my Events page for more info.

    Tuesday, March 25, 2014

    Technique Tuesday-Sort of

    Hello there. Please forgive me for not posting a tutorial today while we mourn the loss of a wonderful, sweet friend. I am comforted by knowing she is with the Lord in heaven, but still grieving because we will miss her oh so terribly here on earth.
    My heart is burdened as I am reminded that life here on earth is short. We are not guaranteed tomorrow. I pray that should something happen to you, your family would be comforted in knowing you are safe in the arms of Jesus.

    Unfortunately, so many are believing on their good works to get them there. "I go to church", "I'm a good person", "God is a loving god, He wouldn't condemn me to hell". The Bible teaches that God is a loving god, but He's also a just god and that there is no way to work our way into heaven. We can never be good enough. "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23 But, as I said, He is a loving god. In fact, He is love. Love doesn't exist without Him. He loves us so much He sent His Son to pay our penalty for sin. "For God so loved the world (that means you!), that He sent His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.

    Belief, that's all it takes. Believing that Jesus was God, born here on earth to take our place on the cross. Believing that He overcame death and rose from the grave. Believing that we don't deserve the grace He offers us and repenting and turning away from the sin in our life. So, I guess it does take more than belief, after all, Satan believes who Christ is, yet he isn't going to spend any time in heaven. We must also be sorry for our sin, no matter how "little" we may believe it is, it's still sin and God won't allow it into heaven. We can't work our way into heaven. No matter what church we belong to, what ceremonies or rituals we are careful to do, no matter how much money we give or good deeds we do, we can't erase our sin. Only Christ can do that. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9. Did you read that? A gift. All you have to do is believe and accept it. I'm so glad my friend had accepted that gift long ago and I know she is in heaven now rejoicing with her Savior.

    If you have questions, if you're not sure what will happen to you when you die, please feel free to leave me a message and I will do my best to help.

    Lord willing, I will be back next week with a tutorial for you. In the meantime please go hug your family close.

    Till next time...
    God's love and blessings.

    Tuesday, March 18, 2014

    Technique Tuesday-Watercolor Markers

    Hello there, and welcome to my first episode of Technique Tuesday. I even tried doing my first ever video tutorial. The hardest part...figuring out how to get the camera in the right place so that it would see the project and not the top of my head-oh, and not saying "and" a bazillion times. ;o)

    I thought I would start Technique Tuesday with a simple technique I learned as a new Stampin' Up! demonstrator several years ago called Watercolor Markers. Anyway, here's my little tutorial. Please comment and let me know what you think.


    I realized too late that I should have either zoomed in so you could see the project better, or hold up the finished ones to the camera, but after all the work it took to upload this, I don't really want to re-do it. I'll have to remember that for next time. Here's a close-up photo of the technique done on the two different papers. The left is Whisper White cardstock, the right is watercolor paper.
    And here's the finished card.

    I mention in the tutorial that you can get the In Color markers for free till the end of this month (March 2014). You can check out all the details for that at the Paper Pumpkin website.

    Here's a list of the products I used:
    Whisper White Cardstock
    Stampin' Write Markers
    Aqua Painters
    Watercolor Paper
    Simply Sketched Stamp Set (You can earn this set for free by hostessing a workshop.)

    Whew! I did it! Not sure if I will do a video tutorial every week as it took over an hour to upload this 4 minute video to youtube, but I will do my best to continue Technique Tuesday, it just may be in photos instead of video. :o)

    Till next time...
    God's love and blessings!



    Saturday, March 15, 2014

    3D Blossom Punch Flower Tutorial

    Hello, hello! How are you on this fine day? I am currently enjoying a VERY quiet house as my little one is out with her Daddy today and my son is spending time with his fiance. (I have no idea how to get that little mark over the "e" in fiance.)

    Some of you may not know, but one of my other hobbies is cake decorating, and recently I was introduced to wafer paper. Edible paper. Yeah, you can see my brain going can't you? Paper I can put on my cakes? Paper I can use my punches with? Yes, please. I took a class on Craftsy to help get familiar with it and then just played around with different things to see how it worked.

    Last night I got out one of my favorite punches and made a cardstock flower and then this morning I used similar techniques with wafer paper to make the same flower. What do you think? The flower on the left is card stock, the one on the right is wafer paper. And guess what? I took pictures making both of them so I could share with you how to make them. If you'd like to make the wafer paper flower, check out my cake blog for the tutorial.

    So, let's get started.
    Start by punching 6 flowers with the Stampin' Up! Blossom punch. Then use Paper Snips to cut in a little ways between each petal. In this photo I've only cut 4 of the 6 so you could see how far in to go.
    This next step is optional and can actually be done before the petals are snipped. I used a sponge and some Primrose Petal ink to add some color to the edges of the petals. You'll want to do this to both sides of your flowers.
    Next, take something rather narrow, I used a thin paintbrush and roll the petals of two of your flowers.
    Do the rest of the flowers the same way, but with something a bit fatter. I just used a paintbrush with a wider handle.
    You should have two flowers with tightly rolled petals, and 4 that are not so tight. (Pretend there's another flower in this photo. ;o)
    Take one of your tightly rolled petals and glue the sides together. It might help to wrap it around your paintbrush handle for this step.
    Now bring up the opposite petal and glue it to the first one. I just glued the edges, and I may have gotten it a bit tighter than it needed to be.
    Bring up two more petals that are opposite of each other. Apply glue to the edges of one of the petals and glue them to the other petal.
    Do the same with the remaining two petals, but you may need to put glue on both petals as they may not be able to stretch to each other and may need to be glued to the previous petals. (Does that make sense?) This is the center of the flower.
    Guess what? That was the hardest part of this flower. Now you just glue the center of each of the remaining flowers to the center of another, staggering the petals as you stack and make sure the other tightly rolled flower is on top. Sorry I didn't get a photo of this stacked flowers, but if you're confused, check out my wafer paper tutorial where I did remember to take a picture of this step. Glue your finished center in the middle and take all the petals and pull them up and give the whole flower a gentle squeeze to help the petals stand up.
     This is how it looks when you let go. Just gently pull down some of the petals to open the flower up a bit.
    And, voila! (There's another one of those words that needs a doohicky on top.) You have a beautiful 3D flower embellishment. I think I may glue this one onto a magnet or clothespin. 

    As much as I'd love to sit in my craft room and play with paper some more, I have 3 cakes that need to be worked on, so I will close for now. Hope you enjoyed the tutorial.

    Till next time...
    God's love and blessings!

    Friday, February 21, 2014

    My First Tutorial--A Felt Rose Pin

    Hello there! Thanks for visiting my blog today. We had an awesome snowstorm last night. This is the 5 foot fence around our pasture and vegetable garden. Looks like I'm going to need a new deer fence this year.
    Well, after spending a couple hours shoveling and jumping off the garage roof (boy, THAT was fun!) I plan on spending the rest of the day in my nice, cozy house working on some craft projects. I thought I would start off my crafting extravaganza by putting together a little tutorial for you.

    I first saw these on my friend, Georgia's website. She is my Stampin' Up! upline and is always sharing these great ideas with us. She was playing with our new Spiral Flower Original die and wondered what it would look like with felt instead of paper. Gorgeous!!! I tweaked her design just a bit and took step-by-step photos of the process for you.
    You will need our Spiral Flower Originals Die, the Autumn Accents Die, a Big Shot Die Cut Machine, some felt in your favorite flower colors, a glue gun, tweezers and a pin back.
    Cut rough rectangle shaped pieces of felt to fit over the dies. You will need two of each shape and guess what? The Big Shot can cut through two layers of felt at the same time, maybe more, but I only tried two. That makes the process go even faster. Simply stack the felt on the dies, sandwiched them between the cutting mats and run them through the Big Shot. Super fast, super easy. :o)
    Then lay the two flower pieces on top of each other and slightly offset them so that the scallops don't line up with each other.
    For this next step, you don't have to use tweezers, but it definitely makes it easier. I like these because they have a nice thin tip. Grab the smallest scallops and begin rolling the flower up.
     Just keep rollin', rollin', just keep rollin'. Sorry, couldn't help myself. :o)
    Focus on keeping the flat bottom sections lined up with each other. You don't have to worry about the scallop side, the rose just happens--like magic.
    Once you get to the end, simply use hot glue to glue down the two base flaps to the bottom.
    Now glue on your leaves and a pin back. It's OK if it looks a little messy, and you want some of the glue to ooze between those little holes. It helps secure the pin to the flower.
     You can use scissors to cut a circle from a scrap of the felt to glue over the pin and hide some of the messy glue and it doubly secures the pin on.
    After I made this one, my dear daughter decided she'd like one for her hair...in pink, of course. After making the rose, I used some scrap felt to make a loop.
     I glued the loop to the back of the flower. Now she can slide a clip or barrette or even a hairband through the loop and wear it.
    Lovely! I think the flower's pretty nice too. ;o)
    Well, what do you think? Super quick, gorgeous project. Love the different possibilities with this die. So what projects have you been working on this winter? Hope you're staying warm.

    Till next time...
    God's love and blessings!