Just Dandy

Fabric flower tutorial

A few of you have contacted me about those fun fabric flowers I created on one my cards during the Papertrey Ink countdown. They are so fun and easy to make...I thought I would put a little tutorial together for you.

Of course, the first thing you are going to need is fabric. I picked this pattern from one of my favorite fabric designers, Joel Dewberry. This is from his Notting Hill collection.

After you have selected your fabric you are going to need a backing for your flower. I have been using Papertrey Ink's Vintage Cream felt. It's neutral so it's goes with just about any fabric I use and it also goes through my die cut machine like butter. You could hand cut a piece of felt free hand but I find it easier to run it through my machine then to sit and try to create a perfect circle by hand. I use one of the Spellbinders circle dies to die cut my felt to create all of my flowers like the one I'm sharing with you today.

Now, here is where your free hand cutting will come in. I cut about 45 circles out for each flower....give or take depending on how full you would like it. Die cutting fabric isn't as smooth as die cutting felt so that's one of the reasons I just hand cut them. Also, they do not need to be perfect...in fact the less perfect, the better.

To start your flower you will need to gather the very middle of each of your fabric circles....just like you see me doing above.

Then you can start adhering them around the outer part of your felt circle. I use a hot glue gun when making these but you could use whatever method of attaching these that you would like. Hot gluing works best for me.

This is what it will look like after the outer part of your felt circle is filled in. You do the same thing on the inside. Work your way around until you have reached the middle. You really can not mess it up!

Voila! This is the finished flower. You could leave it just as is...

or fancy it up a bit with a button and felt leaves!

I hope this helps those of you who were curious how they were made. I've made about 75 of these babies so far and can't seem to stop. They are scattered all over my craft studio!

Happy creating!
~Melissa

Flipping Out & Heart-2-Heart #4 - Day 2

 

Welcome back for day two of this months Papertrey Ink countdown. I have a few more projects to share with you today using both Heart-2-Heart #4 and Flipping Out. I'm so thrilled to hear all of your excitement over both of these sets and hope that I can inspire you just a little bit more over the next few days.

I'm keeping it super simple for today. I'm a huge fan of stationery and notecards and thought I would focus more today on just the images and some bright, cheery summer colors. Not only are the ideas endless when it come to stamping one layer cards but they are also perfect for keeping on hand and mailing off to someone special. No bulkiness or extra postage needed!

Let's start with Heart-2-Heart #4. I stamped all of my telephones on the right side and added my sentiment on the left. 'HELLO' is one sentiment and 'sweet friend!' is another. I stamped the tiny heart, that is also in the H-2-H #4, next to my sentiment to complete it.

I didn't share the telephone die yesterday...here it is!

And here is a fun sheet of embellishments. All die cut and stamped using the Heart-2-Heart #4 images. It's a little hard to tell but there are clear circle epoxy stickers over the center hearts. They fit perfectly!

I used four of the patterned flip flops in the Flipping Out set to create these next three cards. After stamping all of the flip flops I went back over them and stamped the straps.

I mentioned yesterday that there are a total of 7 sentiments included in this set. 'Relax' and enjoy your day! is one of them.

'Take time for yourself!'

Here I flipped to a vertical card and stamped just one of the flip flops up the left side of my card.  

'Enjoy your vacation!'

 

That completes today's post from me but there is still more to see today from these ladies...

 

• Nichole Heady
• Heather Nichols
• Maile Belles

 

Thank you all for stopping by on this Friday! Have a wonderful day and I will see you all tomorrow! :)

 

Hello sweet friend

Stamps: Heart-2-Heart #4 (available May 15th)

Cardstock: Stampers Select white

Ink: Spring Moss, Hibiscus, Summer Sunrise, Aqua Mist, True Black

 

Telephone embellishment sheet

Stamps: Heart-2-Heart #4 (available May 15th)

Cardstock: Stampers Select white

Ink: Spring Moss, Hibiscus, Summer Sunrise, Aqua Mist, True Black

Tools: Heart-2-Heart #4 telephone die (available May 15th)

 

3 flip flops cards

Stamps: Flipping Out (available May 15th)

Cardstock: Stampers Select white

Ink: Spring Moss, Hibiscus, Summer Sunrise, Aqua Mist, True Black

Day 3 - Sending You & Flower Fusion #2

Welcome back for day 3 of this months Papertrey Ink release countdown. I have more projects to share with you today using Sending You & Flower Fusion #2. Both sets will be available starting March 15th! Only a couple of short days away. 

I have enjoyed reading all your comments both on my blog and on Nichole's blog over the past few days about Sending You. The flowers in this set have been compared to quite a few different things and I have gotten such a kick out of hearing them....from fuzzy & hairy to fireworks and porcupines! :)

For todays first set of projects I went back to my favorite color combo....

 

pinks and greens.... Raspberry Fizz, Sweet Blush & Ripe Avacado! I also wanted to show you that this set not only works well with flower dies but also with flower punches. I know we all have some of these in our crafting supply stash. I don't use mine all that often but I know I will be using them a lot more now that I have Sending You to use with them. The flower punches you see above are from EK Success.

 

To start I stamped the smallest flower in the set in Fresh Snow ink onto Ripe Avacado cardstock.

 

I then turned my punch upside down so that I could see the flower below and center it in my punch.

 

And here you can see it punched out and adhered over a larger flower punch. I love just that little bit of added detail that these stamps give. I like to give my flowers a little curve so I used my paper piercer to wrap them around. You could use any anything round though...a pen, pencil etc.

 

And here is a shot of all my projects together.

 

This first card uses one of the flowers I created above. I placed that in the center of the frame image and then added a couple of leaves that are a part of the set. A little reminder....both the frame and leaves have coordinating dies.

 

It has been quite awhile since I created a set of embellishments and I thought these flowers would be perfect for just that! I cut a piece of clearly creative cardstock to measure 4.25 X 5.5 and attached each flower with a glue dot.

 

Here is another card, again using the frame image (LOVE this), and a few other images from the set. Notice on this frame...I placed the flowers and leaves on the bottom and sentiment on top. On one of the cards from Day 1 I did just the opposite and placed the flowers and leaves on top and sentiment on bottom. Just an extra option you have when stamping with this set.

 

For todays last card I used Flower Fusion #2. After creating my Scarlet Jewel flowers with the coordinating die I stamped the outlined flower image in Fresh Snow ink. On the second flower you'll notice that there is a small flower stamped on the inside. That is one of the smaller flower images included in the set.

 

Next, I moved onto my card front. I wanted to keep it a little cleaner and simpler than the cards in my first project so I chose a crisp sheet of white cardstock. I added two strips of Scarlet Jewel cardstock across the front. I wanted to add glitter to the center of those and added a strip of red line tape.

 

Really love the look of this after the glitter has been applied!

 

And here it is after all the finishing touches have been added. The patterned paper is from the Distressed Dots collection. Both that and the white square were created with a square Nestability. The stem of my flower was stamped in True Black and glitter was added to the leaves as well. The sentiment 'I appreciate you' is part of this set! And if you notice I also added the patterned paper to the inside of my card for a little something extra!

 

That's all I have for today! Be sure to stop by and visit the other Papertrey ladies....

• Nichole
• Heather
• Maile

I'll have more to share tomorrow! Until then have a wonderful Saturday! :)

Sweet Mint Motif Tags

I dedicated my whole afternoon yesterday to catching up on some stamping and it felt sooo good...had my ipod playing with my favorite tunes, a warm cup of coffee by my side and the whole basement to myself! I hate being behind on things and it felt really good to play catch up and just have some me time.

Here is one of the little projects I completed using Mint Motif's Sweet Hearts set. No sentiments on these....just the sweet images and lots of paper piecing! 

 

The blue polka dot patterned paper I used for the paper piecing is from Jillibean Soup...from the Soup Staples Collection. The paper, as well as the Cotton Candy Pink twine I used on the tops of the tags, you can find at i{heart}papers. I created the large tags using Papertrey Ink's Tag Sale #1 die.

 

Glitter, scallops, flowers, doilies...all a girls favorite things! Well, this girl anyway. ;)

So glad you stopped by today...thank you! I hope you all have a super day. I'm going to be spending it next door with my grandparents! Coffee, muffins and a bit of cleaning and organizing. A perfect morning! :)

  

Supplies:

Stamps: Sweet Hearts (Mint Motif)

Cardstock: Orange Zest, Raspberry Fizz, white, Sweet Blush (Papertrey Ink)

Patterned Paper: Soup Staples Collection (Jillibean Soup)

Ink: True Black (Papertrey Ink)

Accents: flowers (Recollections), glitter (Doodlebug), Cotton Candy Twine (Divine Twine), doilies (Wilton)

Tools: Tag Sale #1, medium scallop border die (Papertrey Ink), Upper Crest & Scallop border punch (EK Success)

12 Trendy Days of Christmas - Bling

***The giveaway for 13 of my stamp sets is still going on. Be sure to scroll down to the post below and enter for your chance to win. Comments will be open until 6PM EST tonight and then a winner will be chosen.***

 

 
I'm joining in on the fun again today for Kimberly's 12 Trendy Days of Christmas. Today's trend....BLING! I'm sure you can tell from my blog that there are not many cards or projects that I create that don't include some sort of bling. It's just one of those things that make me happy when creating! :)

 

Trying to get a jump start on my crafty projects for the season I thought I'd make a set of tags to use on my gift bags this year. I love making tags and keep a stack of blank ones on my desk for occasions just like this. I created mine with my large Marvy tag punch.  I pulled out my Peaceful Poinsettia set and stamped the large outlined flower and small outlined flower onto polka dot paper from Papertrey Ink. I then trimmed them all out.  Yes, ALL but it didn't take me long. The poinsettia having pointy petals makes it pretty quick and easy to trim. The to & from are from Papertrey Ink's 2009 Holiday Tag collection. To finish them I added all the Poinsettia's with dimensional adhesive and lastly added all of my BLING!!!

Thanks for popping in! See you back here tomorrow!

 

 

Supplies:

*All Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted*

Stamps: Peaceful Poinsettia, 2009 Holiday Tag Collection; Ink: True Black; Cardstock: white, Berry Sorbet, Sweet Blush, Ripe Avacado, Spring Moss; Patterned Paper: 2008 Bitty Dot Basics; Accents: rhinestones; Tools: Marvy tag punch

12 Trendy Days of Christmas - Felt

  

 

Kimberly Crawford is a busy gal on her blog sharing some of the latest trends in cardmaking and gift giving. I was thrilled when she asked if I'd like to participate and couldn't wait to jump in and create with today's trend.... FELT! I absolutely love using felt in my cards and creations. So many fun things you can do with it!

So with my Christmas music playing I happily started to create and ended up with these cute little ornaments.

 

So simple and easy to make....I used a Spellbinders circle die and made 6 circles total...2 of each color. Placing 2 of the circles together I started hand stitching around the edges being sure to leave a little gap towards the end so I could stuff my ornament with cotton. After stuffing I added a loop of twine and tucked it inside and then finished my stitching. The little felt snowflakes/flowers I found at my local craft store. They came in a huge bag with multiple sizes and colors. Those were attached to my ornaments and then rhinestones were added to the centers.  

 

I plan on making a few more of these and using them to decorate my gift boxes and bags this Christmas. A perfect little "extra" to add to a special gift!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!

Supplies:

Accents: felt, twine, ribbon, buttons (Papertrey Ink); felt snowflakes (Michaels); rhinestones (K & Company) 

Green Thumb

Popping on real quick this a.m. to share a little something with you all. It's been hectic around here lately with school starting but everything should smooth out soon and my posts will be more frequent!

 

Green Thumb....who does not LOVE this set! I created a set of tag embellishments with the images and they just make me smile. So colorful and cheery. Berry Sorbet, Pure Poppy, Spring Moss and Sweet Blush were the colors I used. Each tag measures 2.25" x 3". I love making these because they can be used for so many different crafty things.

 

This set, along with a few others, will be listed in my Etsy shop later today!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Teacher Tags

It's hard to believe that summer is just about over.  Where in the world did it go? Really....it seems like it just started. For some of your children it is over and they have already gone back to school. We still have just under two weeks left before school starts here which I'm sure is going to breeze right past us. I'm taking the days slowly...soaking up each and every moment with my two kiddos.

With school in mind I have a set of tags for you today!

 

I reached for Papertrey's Teacher's Apple set, a set I love but haven't used in quite some time. Each tag measures 2.25" X 3". The apples were stamped in 3 different colors...Berry Sorbet, Pure Poppy and Chartreuse Palette ink. I stamped the apple stem and leaf onto my Kraft cardstock and then used dimensional adhesive to attach my apples. The sentiment 'Just for you' is from the 2008 Holiday Tag Collection. I matted each of the Kraft apple tags over a piece of white cardstock that I trimmed along the bottom with my scalloped scissors. And lastly, I thought I'd use up some of my smaller scraps of ribbon and attach those to the tops of my tags with a staple.

 

Thank you all so much for stopping by today! We're off for a check up with B's rheumatologist and then more school shopping.

Enjoy your day!

Cupcakes

Has anyone been watching  the new show on TLC called DC Cupcakes? Or the cupcake challenges on  Food Network? K and I are completely hooked on both of them and think it would be so cool to own our own bakery....a lot of work, yes but so, so cool.  If I could I would open one in a second....or maybe Sophie and Katherine are looking to add to their staff and we can move to DC and work for them. I know, wishful thinking! It's not so much the eating of the cupcakes that would make me happy but the decorating and making them works of art. K said she'd take care of the eating part. :)

I was surfing around last night and look at how pretty these are...

 

Creation Cupcakes

Hello, Naomi

Wedding Bee
  
They really are works of art and I seriously would have a hard time biting into one of them!   

So since I won't be opening my own bakery or working in one anytime in the near future I thought I'd whip up some pretty paper cupcakes instead. Not nearly as pretty as the ones above but I did have fun making them.

 

I made a sheet of embellishments (they will be listed in my Etsy shop today) along with a coordinating card. I used the cupcake image from Papertrey Ink's Baby Button Bits and did a little papar piecing with the DeLovely collection from Cosmo Cricket. For my roses I used Raspberry Fizz felt and for the stems Martha Stewarts rose leaf punch.

 

I'm on a cupcake kick lately so I'll be sharing more of these soon! Have a wonderful day and thanks a ton for stopping by!

 

More Embellies Listed

 Hello! Hello! Hello! Remember me?! Just a super duper quick post to let you all know I updated my Etsy shop with more embellies! I'll have a longer post for you coming tonight or tomorrow! 

Until then have a great night!