Showing posts with label paper flowers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paper flowers. Show all posts

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Easter celebration boxes...

Alpha Stamps has a new monthly kit out today and I helped design it :) Since Easter is on April 1st (April Fools Day, lol) this year, March's kit is Easter themed. Some of the things in the kit are gorgeous papers from Bo Bunny, an adorable Happy Easter collage sheet from Catnip Designs (me), and a sweet shadowbox with an egg shaped cover. Here's a photo of the box I made using the kit along with some other goodies...
Isn't it sweet? There are three other shadowboxes and lids available, in the Easter theme, that get progressively larger in size. I, of course, had to make one of each...
I used paper from the new Jubilee 6x6 pad for this cute bunny box. In the box is a nest I built with eggs from the kit nestled inside it.
This adorable chick box has a vintage bunny girl ornament holding a fuzzy yellow chick and Easter basket inside.
*Note: It's a good idea to reinforce that little piece of die-cut chipboard between the chicks legs. I just glued a small piece of toothpick to the back of mine.
 This chocolate bunny box is my favorite! I made an Easter tree decorated with vintage colored eggs, a vintage basket and vintage look bunnies that are available at Alpha Stamps :)
Look how cute that bunny is...
And, yes, I did add Easter grass and colored eggs to that tiny basket!
Here's a photo of the whole group...
I bet you're wondering what that thing in the middle is, am I right?
Here's a closer look...
I love the the shutters we recently got in from Prima so I had to incorporate them into my Easter group. Amazingly, the rabbit cover from the Easter Covers for Mini Shadowboxes set fits inside the shutters perfectly. How cool is that :)
Now, I wanna share a little tutorial with you on making your shadowboxes deeper than they actually are. Although the depths range from 7/8" to around 1 1/2" and may be just fine to accommodate a paper collage or thinner multi-media vignette, I chose to use fatter items to create my vignettes. This made me scramble to create more space! Here's how I did it...
 Build your shadowbox and ink or paint any areas that may peek through the paper you cover the box with.
 Cover your box with paper inside and out.
 Paint your box cover on both sides as well as the edges. Notice I removed the tabs used to make this a removable cover.
 Paper your cover and cut out the egg shaped window with a craft knife. Then carefully fold the edges of the cover around the shadowbox to ensure a proper fit.
 Cut up a small cork, dowel or piece of balsa wool into four equally sized pieces. Mine are 1/4".
 Create a cute vignette inside the shadowbox. Hot glue the four pieces of cork/wood to the corners of the shadowbox so they don't stick out beyond the outer edges.
Lay the cover over the cork/wood pieces and fold the edges down into place.
Holding the cover in place, as shown above, lift up one flap and run a strip of hot glue along the shadowbox edge. Press the flap down until the glue cools. Repeat until all four sides are permanently glued down. That's all there is to it.
So who's ready to start making some cute Easter boxes?? Come on! You know you want to!
You can find my complete supply list at this link



Wednesday, May 4, 2016

caged Alice...

Today, May 4th, is Alice Liddell's birthday. If you are an Alice in Wonderland fan, then you know who Alice L is... for those of you who don't know, she is the little girl who inspired Lewis Carroll to write Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Alice L would have been 164 today if she had not died in 1934 at the ripe old age of 82. Anyway... in honor of Alice L's birthday I have created a silly version of the Queen's croquet ground... complete with hedgehog balls and flamingo mallets.
I used a wonderful shabby chic birdcage as the base of my croquet ground...
 then added a bit of moss...
some fussy cut collage images...
 some paper flowers and a wonderful resin-faced flower I painted with artist pastels...
then I topped it all off with a cute little hedgehog that's trying to escape the game ;)
If you'd like to create your own version of Caged Alice, you can find my supply list here.
Thanks for dropping in!

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

a miniature fairy garden specimen under glass...

It seems like everybody and their sister has gone nuts over fairy gardens lately. I'm not complaining as I think they are a lovely way to decorate your garden but, how about shrinking it down a bit so you can display it on your desk, shelf or table?
I did just that when I created this tiny little fairy garden specimen...
It may look complicated but it was really very easy to do... although there are a lot of steps to doing it, lol. I wanted to share my process with you so I created a Snapguide to show you how you can make your own miniature fairy garden under glass. Click here to view :)
Most of my supplies came from Alpha Stamps, of course, and you can see my supply list here.
Thanks for stopping by... now go make something!



Wednesday, February 24, 2016

a little bit of Easter art to put you in mind of Spring...

I always look forward to Easter and Spring because everything is so colorful and sweet. Fuzzy little bunnies and chicks are adorable! So with this in mind I put together a quick little tutorial to show you how to make a sweet miniature pull toy with a bunny,
  or chick,
 or hedgehog, oh my!
They are super easy to make and just take a few basic tools and supplies
Start by cutting out a rectangular shape approximately 11/16" x 7/8" from a thin piece of balsa wood or a piece of heavy chipboard.
 Check the edges for smoothness
 and lightly sand them so they look more finished. I used my Metal Reliefing Block, but an emery board works just fine too.
 Pick out some pretty pastel colors of paint. (Mine are from Martha Stewart Crafts.)
I painted two coats on my rectangles, letting the paint dry completely between coats.
 Add a bit of decoration to the painted rectangles and let them dry completely.
 Make a small bow and glue it to your bunny (or other animal, if you want).
 Using a pair of tweezers (I use these tweezers for everything! In fact I often use two pairs at once as my "hands" when working with tiny things.) glue two 6mm doll buttons to one side of the rectangle as shown below.
 When they are completely dry, glue two buttons on the other side of the rectangle.
Once those buttons have all dried, you can glue some contrasting 4mm doll buttons on top of them for added dimension. 
 When everything is dry flip the rectangle over to the undecorated side. Cut a piece of baker's twine or rayon cording about 4.5" in length.
 
Knot one end of the cord then glue it to the rectangle.
 When the glue has dried flip the rectangle over and glue your animal in the center.
Ta-da! Now you have a cute miniature Easter toy to add to a doll house or shadowbox or maybe to a diorama... Speaking of dioramas, I just finished working on this one...
 I used air dry clay to make the eggs and "painted" them with Copic pens.
 I love the way they look in that cute little basket!
While I was making Easter things, I though I would try my hand at making a tiny little scene in a bottle...
 I think it came out pretty cute :)
 I was really glad I had my tweezers when I was working on this!
Thanks for reading this really long post! I hope you enjoyed it and want to make your own little pull toy. I you would like to know what I used to make the Just Believe diorama or the Bunny Bottle my supply lists are below :)

Just Believe Diorama Supplies:
Bunny Bottle Supplies:

Saturday, November 21, 2015

a miniature rustic Christmas...

I'm really into crafting for Christmas this year. This is unusual for me as I prefer Halloween over Christmas and I tend to want to keep on creating Halloween crafts even after Halloween has come and gone. But this year, I have embraced the Christmas crafting sooo much, I created a Christmas crafting kit for Alpha Stamps.

The kit is called Rustic Christmas Tree Kit and it includes almost everything you need to create this lovely little rustic Christmas tree under glass...
I even provide complete instructions on how to put it together. You will need to provide your own glue, paint and tools (such as scissors). The whole thing from base to dome top is only about 6.5 inches tall so it's perfect to gift to someone special or to keep on your desk at work. You could even display it on a shelf or in a curio cabinet after Christmas is over :)
Speaking of curio cabinets... I used the fabulous Curio Cabinet Shrine Kit to create a miniature Christmas scene complete with fireplace and Christmas gifts...
I love the sleeping kitty and that chair!
 Of course there's a mouse stealing a Christmas cookie...
 and a mounted deer head above the mantle.

The outside is totally festooned with flowers and holly so it's pretty from every angle...
Wow, this has turned into a rather looong post, thanks for reading all the way to the end!

Before I go, here's a link to my supply list... cause I just know you're going to wanna make your own Christmas curio cabinet scene :) If you'd prefer to purchase the curio cabinet I created, it is available here. I've also started to load my Etsy shop with Christmas goodies and mixed media art for gift giving. Shipping is always free to the USA too!