Thought I’d throw this post up quick so I can link it to a challenge site. The first challenge is Flourishes colour challenge, use dark red, olive green, chocolate and cream. The other is Flourishes Sketch Challenge by Silke Ledlow. It is 11:28 and the challenge ends at 12MN so I’ll write more later.
Jameson has just finished his first swimming lessons and I needed a thank you for the teacher. I remembered I had an awesome kit from Sweet Pea Scraps with all sorts of fun summer items. one was a 12x12” sheet of flip flop paper. What could be better for a swim teacher?
This was the easiest layout but it took a few turns before it became what you see here. At first I tried a white panel in place of the sentiment with a bathing suit, drink, sunglasses etc but it just seemed flat and small compared to the fun paper. It took me a while but I finally found this Melissa Frances sentiment in my stash. In the second picture you can see how the paper has shiny glaze on it. I still wanted to give a small gift so I checked out my stash again and found a Scharffenberger (sp?) chocolate bar I got from – wait for it- the DOLLAR store! Way cool!
I was actually at the factory in Berkley CA when I was there about 5 years ago. Fabulous chocolate!! I made a super simple box for the chocolate bar and decorated it very simply with the stamps I had tried using for the white panel. I used saffron ink to get a watermark effect without waiting for actual watermark ink to dry. It is too bad I didn’t get to see her open it but she is a swim teacher, her hands were wet after all. I though of this ahead of time and put both in a plastic bag. Smart cookie huh?
Enjoy, Rebecca
RECIPE
Paper: Imaginisce DP, CS-Bazzil
Accessories: flowers-Scrapbook Sally, brads-Making Memories, wave punch-EK Success, rub on sentiment-Melissa Frances
May Arts has a Challenge on right now. They send you four 4-yard lengths of your choice of ribbon to complete a winter project and when you send a picture(s) in to the company, you get A FULL SPOOL of ribbon!! If you want to play, hurry up! Projects are due at the end of the month. The winner gets 3 FULL SPOOLS of ribbon. So I requested some ribbon (5/8” sheer white, silver and navy plus the snowflake trim) and here is the result. I thought others might want to make one so I took pictures as I made it and here’s the tutorial! Best part is it is collapsible so after the season is over, you can store it (minus candle) in a 9x12 manilla envelope!
You Will Need:
3 pieces of 8.5x11” CS or 2 12x12”
3.5-4 yards sheer 5/8'” ribbon-colour A (silver-weaving)
2.5-3 yards sheer 5/8” ribbon-colour B (navy-weaving)
2.5 yards sheer 5/8” ribbon-colour C (white-tying up sides and bows)
6” snowflake trim
Other stamps, ink and bellies as desired.
4 medium sized coordinating brads
craft knife and mat
hole punch (recommend screw punch and Crop-a-dile)
1/4” red line or Scor-Tape
faux tea light ‘candle’
Step 1. Cut 4 panels 5 1/2 x 6 1/4”. Cut one panel 5 1/2 square. Score the first 4 panels at 5 1/2”. This leaves a 3/4” flap. (The white paper is just to allow my camera to focus. It has trouble with large amounts of the same colour.) Click to enlarge any photo.
Step 2. Use binder clips to hold the panels together with score lines aligned. Punch holes in the sides of the panels as per photo below. Use a 3/16” crop-a-dile or other anywhere punch. The top hole is 1/2” in from the top and side. The hole closest to the score line is 1/2” in from the score line and the side. The last hole is 1/2” in from the side and halfway between the other two holes. (the side opposite the score line will be the top)
Step 3. Cut out windows from the middles of the panels. I marked mine at 1/2” in from the holes, bottom and top on the INSIDE of the panel. In retrospect, I might have chosen to cut out a square instead of a rectangle making all the edges the same width. If you are making a bit smaller luminaria, you may be able to use a square Nestability or other die to cut the windows. I used a craft knife and a ruler. Don’t bother erasing the pencil marks, they will be covered by ribbon.(You are looking at the inside of one of the panels with the top at the top this time.) Stamp the outside of the panels if you wish.
Step 4. Fold the score lines. Place the window panels at right angles to the 5 1/2” square panel as per photo. Line the corners up very carefully and punch a hole in the corners through all three layers at once. (The size of hole will be based on the size of brad you will be using.) I recommend you use a screw punch or other punch that does not require you to lift the papers off your cutting mat. Add a brad to the hole. Repeat with the remaining 4 corners. Mark each corner with a letter or number. Mark each panel and the base with the same number in each corner because you will have to take this apart for the next step.
Step 5. Take the whole thing apart! Trim a tiny edge off the corners of each panel near the holes you just made. This will help it fold together more smoothly when completed. See photo below.
Step 6. Now you will add your ribbon to the windows. Start by adding 1/4” red line tape or Scor-Tape to the insides of your windows. I took a photo but it didn’t turn out so well. Start adding your ribbons alternating colours, taping the sides only. You can see I have left the top and bottom adhesive backings on. My ribbon was a perfect fit side to side (5/8” wide).
Step 7. Remove ONE other adhesive backing strip. Start weaving ribbon through the other way. You want to start weaving at the non-sticky side. If you have never woven anything before, basically, one ribbon starts by going under, then over etc. The next ribbon does the opposite. This time, my ribbon doesn’t fit perfectly. A small space needs to be left between each ribbon so I threaded the first and last and adhered them (left side in the picture below), then adhered the middle ribbon, centered between the other two ribbons. Next, I threaded through the navy ribbons and adhered them, centering them in the space remaining.
This is what the inside looks like after all the ribbons are woven.
The outside after the ribbons are woven.
Step 8. Cut 2 pieces of ribbon 12” long and two 28” long. Use your heat gun to melt the ends of each ribbon to prevent fraying. Fold over 1/2” of both of the 12” pieces of ribbon and pierce a hole with an awl in each through both layers. (sorry, no picture) While reassembling the panels as in Step 4, put brad through the hole in the ribbon BEFORE putting it through the panels. This will anchor it to the luminaria. Do this for two adjacent corners; these will be the back two corners. Thread the ribbon through the holes as seen in the photo. From the brad, the ribbon goes out through one bottom hole, in through the adjacent hole, once inside, thread the ribbon up to the next hole and repeat. When you get to the top, tie the ribbon to itself inside and tuck in the tail.
Step 9. Fold the 28” length of ribbon in half. Starting inside, bring one ribbon tail out through each of the lower holes. Criss cross the ribbon and put ribbon through the next hole, criss cross on the inside and bring the tails out through the top holes and tie in a bow. If you would like another criss cross under the bow from middle holes to top holes: after threading the ribbons from the outside to the inside at the middle holes, cross inside and pull back through the middle holes from inside to outside. Cross on the outside and thread through the top holes from outside to inside. Cross in back and bring ribbons through holes front inside to outside and tie bow. (I am planning on going back to do this.)
Decorate as desired. Mine is decorated with specialty snowflake ribbon from May Arts of course! The chipboard snowflake is covered in glass glitter and hung with silver elastic cord. To collapse, remove the brads and fold the upper portion in half. You shouldn’t even have to remove the ribbon! Store in an envelope! I strongly recommend a fake candle to prevent a fire hazard.
A couple of notes: I am considering making the bows smaller and trimming the ends. What do you think?? Also, the corners didn’t want to line up perfectly, buckling slightly where I tied the ribbons. So I added a small reinforcement piece. Cut 4 pieces of matching cardstock 1 1/2 x 3/4”. Score in the center dividing it into two squares. Punch a hole 1/2” from the score line on each side. Apply adhesive to one square around the hole. (Actually, you could adhere both, I wrote this while I still thought that you’d have to remove the ribbon and take it all apart to store it in which case the reinforcements could only be adhered to one side.)Use this piece to reinforce the upper corners. if you are using 12x12” paper, it might make sense to add a tab to the top corners instead but if you are using 8.2x11” that would waste a lot of paper and my reinforcements worked out really well. Up to you!
Enjoy, Rebecca
RECIPE
Ink: VersaMark Dazzle
Paper: night of navy CS-SU!
Stamps: SU! snowflakes
Accessories: May Arts ribbon, red line tape, chipboard snowflake-stash, Art Institute Glass Glitter, elastic cord-SU!, brads-stash
The OCC has another sketch challenge this week and since they are looking for Design Team members, I am making sure I am playing every sketch this month. Hey OCC gals, if you are reading this, I am a very reliable Design Team member! I take my commitments very seriously! Hope you like my cards!
The Sketch: Click on the sketch to link to the OCC blog.
Jessica has been on an easel card spree lately so Madelynn decided to challenge the DareDevils to make Easel cards this week. I hadn’t made one before today but seriously, they are so easy. You can see nearly everything in the photos. Basically, make a card front. Make a top fold card base with a horizontal score line about halfway on the card front only and create a mountain fold. Adhere your card front to the card base below the score only!Make sure and add an embellishment to prop your easel up against and that is it!
This shows the card opened like an easel.
And here’s the inside!
I added the glitter by laying down 1/8” Scor-Tape first. It is so much easier to use for straight lines than liquid glue. The snowflakes were accented with a bit of sponging with Distress ink to get a more 3-D look and to help them stand out. I ‘made’ the ribbon by stamping the seam tape with craft ink. The seam tape is thin enough that the snowflakes show well from the other side too.
I hope you will all pay along with both challenges this week! The DareDevils DARE you to try out an easel card! You will be glad you did! I can’t wait to see your work and that of the other DareDevils! I hope you will find time to stalk their blogs! :) When you make a fabulous card, be sure to link it up to Whimsical Wednesdays, use keyword DDSC11 and HAVE FUN!
Enjoy, Rebecca
RECIPE
Stamps: snowflakes-CTMH
Ink: craft night of navy-SU!
Paper: DP-CTMH, navy and juniper CS-CTMH, night of navy, shimmer white CS-SU!
Accessories: seam tape-stash, snowflake punch-MS, snowflake brad-Karen Foster, Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder, Art Institute sea shell glitter, snowflake, ski, mitten embellies-Dress It Up Buttons, broken china Distress Ink, Liquid Appliqué
Another OCC challenge! I totally loved this one at first sight! I am super into vintage postcards which what I thought of first! I’m not sure if this one is being evaluated for the Design Team but why not play anyway? Especially when it is fun!
I’ve been wanting to make some sort of home dec item for ages but never quite figured out what I wanted to do. I started with the postcard, sized to accommodate the PostCard stamp and the postmarks. It was already 3x5 and I wondered how large my card would have to be to balance it out! Next thing I knew, I was knee-deep in my alterables drawer and I pulled out an artist canvas, maybe 6x8’?
Click the sketch for the link.
Isn’t this paper gorgeous? It is from an Organic Stack and for the life of me, I can’t remember who makes it! Yep, I am too lazy to get up to check, I’ll hopefully remember to add it later! Come one, it is after midnight!
The lettering is all done with JustRite Stampers, both Trompe Script and Times. The photo doesn’t do justice to the GORGEOUS printed brown satin ribbon I have hoarded for years. I finally have a fabulous place to use it! In case you are wondering, this is a wall hanging so the ribbon and bow you see flopped over the top are for the hanger. I took it down to photograph it because the wall colour is ugly and the light sucks. In the day light, it looks fabulous though.
Enjoy, Rebecca
RECIPE
Stamp: JustRite Stamps-font, key, postcard, postmarks-unknown, Flourish-SU!
Ink: chocolate chip, riding hood red-SU!, memento brown, Distress Frayed Burlap
Paper: DP-? stack, vanilla-Taylored Expressions, Gold shimmer-SU!
Accessories: foam dots-Jody Morrow, artist canvas-dollar store, metal plaque-Making Memories, ribbon-MasterStroke ribbon, lace-vintage from stash, sage marker-SU!, silk ribbon 1 1/4 and 1/8”-May Arts, flower-stash, gold EP-SU!
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