Monday, December 21, 2015

How to Make Your own Art Supply of Paper

Hi, how would you like to learn how to make some of your very own papers and save money for other art and craft making supplies?  Well, here is my tip:  SAVE all those Christmas and other Holiday gift wrappings that you or someone you know will be getting and turn them into great paper and bases for future projects.

I have been making a lot of my own papers for card making, and other paper crafting for a couple of years now.  It all started when I joined the Arnold Grummer Paper Making Design Team and I got my very own Paper Making kit.  I learned the AG method very quickly and I was on my way.  Today I share this tip over at the AG blog (click here).



Over the last few years many many of the projects I have posted with paper projects have been made mostly with this handmade paper.  Over at the AG blog, ALL my projects are made with my handmade paper.



Every sheet of handmade paper is unique and lends itself to different results with each application.  So it makes for a really fun medium to work with in my Mixed Media.  Most of my attempts at using my own handmade papers have been successful, a few though were not so good.  Handmade paper is a bit more fragile sometimes and cannot get as wet as some mechanically made papers, so just remember that.  It takes practice to be able to have success with these papers when using very wet mediums.



So what can you save to make your own papers?  Just about anything that you can blend in a blender essentially.  Yes, if you can shred it and blend it with some water then you can make it into paper.
I save junk mail, gift wrapping, envelopes, magazines, etc.  If it was made from paper to begin with it can become new paper again.  It is also possible to make paper out of cotton linter which is sold as such.



Once you get started making your own paper it is addictive and leads to many creative opportunities.

Thanks for stopping by.

Friday, December 11, 2015

See You at CHA


  The CHA Social Committee has put together the See You at CHA Blog Hop event that has been going on this week as a way to share the excitement so many of us in this industry have over the upcoming CHA Mega Conference and Trade Show in January, 2016!  We are a group of Designers, Professional Crafters, Manufacturers, Educators, etc working in the Crafts and Hobby Industry.  We love what we do and we love to share that enthusiasm with all of you.   We are so excited that there is even a contest!

That's right.  Here is your chance to win a Visa gift card (which will be valid in the winner's country) worth over 600$ USD.   Now, that's exciting!!!!

The rules are simple:

1. Check out my blog post (mandatory)  leave a comment and answer the following question:  "What is your favourite  "Can't Live Without" craft tool or supply?"
2.  Tweet about the giveaway.  (Use #CHAshow).  The more you tweet the more chances you get.
3. Answer a multiple-choice poll about how you "Cre8time"for crafting (double entry value)

Anyone and everyone in The USA and abroad is eligible to enter.  Including participants and their teams.  CHA staff are not eligible though.




Now, getting ready to go to CHA  entails alot of preparation for me . It will be my 2nd time at CHA and  I plan as much as I can in advance.  My time there is short and packed, so I try to be prepared as much as possible.  Here are some of the things I do:

1.  Follow the See You at CHA Facebook Group.  There is a lot going on there and people are exchanging ideas, making plans, and sharing.

2.  Write out my itinerary either long hand or digital.  Making notes of reservation numbers, scheduled meetings,  when and where of social activities, classes, etc.

3. Print out copies of Hotel and Airplane information and confirmations.  Or/ and keeping digital copies of this information on my devices.

4.  Use apps on my iPhone to simplify my travel.  I like to use the Air Canada app to check on my flight(s) information, confirm my booking, pick a seat, etc... (So I don't have to do everything in number 3, even though I still do most of that just because people and digital systems are not fail proof).   By the way this  app makes check in a breeze, I can bypass the line and go straight to security, if I have no luggage to check.

5.  Make sure to have my passport and identification ready and easy to access, along with my iPhone to check in electronically at the airport.

6.  Bring my Planner!  That baby follows me everywhere.  In there I keep all the information I have already mentioned, just in a compact version. Plus I like to write in it, take notes, doodle and decorate it while waiting or sitting for a while.




Speaking of planners.....
 I will be doing a Make and Take of embellishments for your planner, in the Designers in Action section on the show floor at CHA.  I will be there on Saturday January 9 at 2pm, for one hour.  I will have a limited amount of product to use for this very quick and easy Make and Take.  I hope to see some of you there.  Thanks to Little B and Deflecto for their generous contributions.

 You can also check out the many talented Designer's Displays and Work at the Show, including mine. Our displays will be set up in the Designers in Action Section, for the duration of the show.


Now, to see the other posts on this hop you can click here:

Thanks so much for stopping by.

###If you are looking for my post for Creative Paperclay™ it's here.###


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Glittery Snowballs

Hi, here is my second post for today.   It is a quick how to for the Creative Paperclay® blog where I am on the Design Team.  To read the full post just click here.


To make this I up cycled an old decoration that had seen better days with some Creative Paperclay Delight, a very light weight air drying modelling material.

Supplies used:
Repurposed tacky gold ball/decoration (my own)
Paperclip (Staples)
Ric-Rac in gold (my stash)
Acrylic snowflakes (my stash)
Piece of white and gold cord (my stash)
Glitter Mod Podge (Plaid)
Glue (Tombow)
Delight™ (Creative Paperclay®)


***************Don't forget to check out my See You at CHA post for today also.**************

Thank you for stopping by.



Monday, December 7, 2015

Christmas Flower

Here is my handmade paper Christmas Poinsettia Flower Ornament that I made as part of the Design Team over at the Arnold Grummer Paper Making Blog.CLICK HERE



To make this I used several sheets of handmade paper I already had in my stash.  It is possible to make this with any kind of paper you have.  It came together quite easily by using the  Sizzix Die that I have had for years.  I used the same die to cut out two green petals to make leaves.  I also used my new Tri-Tone colouring pencils to add some interest to the leaves.
I find that using a glue stick when sticking handmade papers together to be better than wet glues.  In the end Ii  did use my Ad Tech glue gun to use some hot glue to attach the finished flower to a large clothes pin.  The clothes pin now makes my flower easier to attach to our Christmas tree or even to a gift.

Thank you for stopping by.


Supplies:
Koh-I-Noor Tri-Tone Multi colored lead pencils
John Bead Corp Ltd. Gold coloured glass beads
Sakura 3D Crystal Lacquer
Studio Glue Stick
AdTech Hot Glue
Richard Wood Clothes Pin
Papers All Handmade following the Arnold Grummer Paper Making Method
Sizzix #655222 Die Flower Petals & Center

Friday, November 27, 2015

How to use Creative Paperclay®

Hi, today I am sharing some of my tips about working with Creative Paperclay®, the air drying modelling material.  I am on their Design Team and I get to make all sorts of projects with this great product.  If you check out this link here you can read all about my tips for today's post.



Once the CP dries it is very light weight and its finished texture is paper like.  So, depending on how thick your project is, it is possible to manipulate the dried clay almost like thick paper!    Meaning that you can cut it with a pair of scissors, make holes in it with a punch, even make some (only on thin pieces) die cuts.  Ok, the last one might not be a good thing to do and could nullify any warranty on the dies or machine!!  But, my point is that this stuff is really fun to work with.



I have coloured the damp CP and the dry one with so many different mediums: paint, inks, colouring pencils, and pastels.  Similar to colouring paper!



That's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Vigil for Paris

Hello, here is a small piece I made following the tragic events that occured last Friday evening in Paris.  Today I have a post over at the Arnold Grummer Blog, where I share this project and the how to.  Please click here to go to that link.




I made this using one sheet of my own handmade paper, some Pitt pens, a stamp, wash tape, and my label maker.  It is a vigil for now and will soon be moved into one of my art journals.

Thank you for stopping by.

Friday, November 13, 2015

How To Make Clay Tags

Hi, today I have a project over at the Creative Paperclay Blog where I am a Designer, and it's about cute gift tags.  These tags can also be kept as mementoes and hung like ornaments.  They are fun to make and pretty easy.  Here is a picture:





To make these I used Creative Paperclay® air drying modelling material that I rolled out flat first.  Then I cut out the tags with a plastic knife while using a template I have.
Once the clay is dry it is just like working with paper and can be coloured on with any medium.  Dry paperclay can also be cut and even hole punched just like regular thick paper.  It is such a versatile medium to work with.

To see more pictures of all the steps I took to make these very tags just pop over to the CP blog where I post all the steps.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, and go get crafty.

Materials used:
Creative Paperclay®
Pretty Pearls 3D Paint by Craft Medley
Faber Castell Art Grip Colouring Pencils
Stamps Owl For You BMC 0025 from Spiced Sunshine Stamps
Tag Template from Arnold Grummer
Stamping Ink in Black from Ranger
Chunky Glitter Glue in Gold Craft Medley
Golde Crochet yarn (my stash)

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

#Thankful4Art video for C.A.C on YouTube

Here is my latest video made for the Creative Arts Collaboration YouTube Group.  The theme this month is #Thankful 4 Art.  Go checkout all the videos, please.  I hope you enjoy this very quick tour of my very messy craft room and studio, which I am so Thankful to have.


Saturday, November 7, 2015

Handmade Holidays AnnMade






Here is my Tote Set for the D.I.Y. er:



I gave this quite some thought, I actually considered what I as a Creative Gal would like to own and use.  I consider this to be a very handy gift that could be enjoyed by so many at any time.  Think of the people in your life who like to make things themselves.  They too would probably appreciate a way to carry all their tools from project making area to project making area.

Here is where it all began:



First I lightly sanded the wooden tote and bins from Walnut Hollow.


 Once I made sure the sanding residue was cleaned off I painted each piece with Acryclic Craft Paint in Buttermilk, from DecoArt®.



Next, I chose some lovely DecouPage paper™ (Olde Worlde)  from DecoArt®, measured and cut pieces to size.




Using the glue sealer finish Americana® DecouPage™ in matte also from DecoArt® I adhered each piece of paper to the front of each bin, and to the tote's sides.



Also,  the side ends of the tote got some lovely DecouPage paper™. Note, I like to use a brayer to make sure the paper adheres well to the surface of the tote.



To add a touch more colour and some shine I used Metallic Lustre™ in  Rose Gold from DecoArt®, on the edges of each piece.



Finally, for fun I punched out the letters C-R-A-F-T-Y from the same paper I used on the ends of the tote.  Then, using some glass pebbles I already had, I  put a tiny drop of clear glue from AdTech™ to adhere the glass pebbles to each letter.


The very last thing I did was glue each pebble letter to the front of the tote with some hot glue using the AdTech™Multi Temp  Hybrid Cordless™ glue gun.

As shown in the following pictures the tote is now ready to hold a lot of tools and supplies for the crafter or D.I.Y. er in your life.



The tote and bins can be carried around and also sit beautifully on top of a work space or desk.

I wish to thank the following Companies for their generosity and the following products used and displayed in this project.  I also wish to thank all of the sponsors (see below) who are supporting this event.  Finally, but not least I wish to thank YOU for stopping by.  THANK YOU!!

Walnut Hollow®
Rustic Tote (046308406861)
2 Rustic Bins (046308406854)

DecoArt®
Americana® DecouPage paper™ "Olde Worlde" (DP10)
Metallic Lustre™ "Rose Gold" (ML15C)
Americana® Acrylic Paint "Buttermilk"
Americana® DecouPage™ glue-sealer-finish Matte
Displayed:  Americana® Gloss Enamels® Soft Brushes for Glass
Transparent glass stain™ "Aqua"
Americana® Decor™ 1" Angle brush

AdTech™
True Cordless Battery Powered™ Multi Temp Hybrid Glue Gun (CAT #0280)
Glue Gun Pad (CAT #0717)
Adhesive Tech™ liquid glue (CAT #05616)
Scented Glue Sticks "Apple Cinnamon"  (3810 MAC) NEW!
Displayed: Scented Glue Sticks "French Vanilla", "Christmas Tree",  and "Pumpkin Pie"
Crafter's Tape Permanent
Crafter's Removable Tape


Enter to win courtesy of our generous sponsors:

******We are GIVING away over $600 in craft supplies to help YOU make the Holidays Handmade.  You may enter by clicking on the widget below.**************

a Rafflecopter giveaway







Monday, November 2, 2015

How to Make a Paper Poppy for Veteran's Day

Hello, How about remembering our combat veterans and showing our gratitude for their service and sacrifices?  November 11 is next week and I wanted to show my appreciation by making the following project which I share and explain all of the steps involved over at the Arnold Grummer Blog Design Team page.

I am also sharing this project with the viewers of the Designers Craft s Connection.



Supplies:
 5 x 7 canvas
Acrylic Craft Paint in Buttermilk (DecoArt)
Handmade paper in Red, Green, and Black
Stamping ink in Tea Dye (Ranger)
Glue (Aleene's)
Clear Acrylic Stamp of Poppies (stash)
Printer paper

I love to make handmade gifts and I also really enjoy making my very own paper.  I recycle junk mail, and gift wrap and turn them into art making paper.  My preferred method of making paper is to use an old blender and mix my own pulp by shredding papers and mixing with some water.  I then pour the pulp mixture into a wooden mold. (as per the Arnold Grummer Paper Making Method).  There is a video for this here.
The handmade paper can be used for just about any paper crafting project, such as this one.
For the above project I painted a canvas and decorated it with a handmade paper poppy, some stamped on poppies, and glued on a print out of the poem: "In Flander's Field", which I got from the internet.

I hope that you are inspired to make your own handmade papers, and your own gifts.  Please take a moment on November 11 to remember our veterans.
Thank you for stopping by.

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Happy Halloween...

It's here!

Happy Halloween!  It's that time of year where those that love to dress up and eat candy are very excited!  The Design Team over at Creative Paperclay® Modeling Material is excited too, especially in sharing their projects.  We got the opportunity to partner up with Gina's Designs to make this Spooktacular Event for you so enjoy!

My project is a creepy little graveyard:



Here is another view:



To make this scene I covered some chipboard base tombstones and coffin from Gina's Designs with Creative Paperclay®.



To add the stone like texture I used a toothbrush (reserved for such purpose) as shown in this picture:



To add colour to the "stones" I blended black and white paint into different shades of grey and painted each one.



For the coffin I used black paint for the most part, and some gold for the medallion.  The edges are coloured with some Creative paste.



To make the skull, spider, pumpkins,and emblem on the coffin I used Creative Paperclay and molds.



For fun I sat a plastic skeleton in the coffin.

Thank you so much for visiting now go Trick or Treating before all the good candy is gone!!

Wait, when you come back check out everyone's projects. by clicking here and enter for a chance to win prizes!!!


Materials used:
Gina's Designs: Tombstone Stand Ups, and Mini Coffin Fold Ups
Creative Paperclay® DeLight
DecoArt® Crafter's Acrylic Paint in: Black, Hunter Green, Orange (pumpkins), Amish Grey, and White
DecoArt® Media Fluid Acrylics™ in Metallic Gold
Imagine crafts Gold Metallic Creative medium
Plastic skeleton (My stash)


Monday, October 26, 2015

Halloween Boo Bag

Hi, today over at the Linnie Blooms Blog I am sharing my latest design for a Halloween Treat Bag.
Here is a sneak peak:


It is an easy project for any one to make.  All you need are some items from the Dollar or Party store, something to add colour,  some canvas Die Cuts, and trim (of course I used Linnie Blooms Products!!)some eyes that wiggle, and adhesive.  To make the "boo" sentiments I used my good old DYMO Label Maker and tape.

To read more details into the "How TO" just jump on over to the LB Blog, and see a close up picture of how I transformed an Owl Die Cut into a Cat!  It's magic!  Nah, it's just scissors.  Happy Halloween everyone!

Thanks for stopping by.

Thanks also to Faber Castell for the Big Brush pens I used, and of course Linnie Blooms for the Owl and Circle Canvas die Cuts as well as the green trim.  All other products and supplies were purchased. (Dollarama, Walmart)

Cat Lover's Hop: Sparkling Kitty



Hello, I am so happy to be participating in this new event: The Cat Lover's Hop!  I participate in other Blog Hops regularly but this one has to be one of my favourites, because it has a Cat theme!  You know how I love those felines.  So here is my project:



I made a black sparkly cat with shiny green eyes, not just because Halloween is around the corner, but because I am the proud fur mom of a beautiful long black fur cat with amazing green eyes! Do you see the resemblance?  LOL!



We are doing this Cat Theme Blog Hop from October 26 through 29.  October 29 is National Cat Day after all.  Only us feline fanatics would know this.

So To make my bling cat I used a wooden cut out that I purchased at the Dollar store, and I took off the cord meant for hanging it.



I gave it two coats of Black Acrylic Craft Paint (DecoArt), let that dry and then moved onto the bling!



The shiny embellishments are sheets of faux rhine stones that I also bought at the Dollar Store (Dollarama).  I brushed on some glue on the cat and lay down the sheets.  Once the glue was dry I just used some scissors and cut off the excess.  It is bit tricky to cut around the rhine stones, as you can't really cut through them.  I made the eyes with some more faux gems again from Dollarama.
I used my favourite craft glue: Aleen'e Tacky.



By the way I have several other projects on this blog and my YouTube Channel where I showcase cats, most often a black one!  So check them out.

I hope that you enjoy the hop, leave some comments and maybe win a prize!  Thanks so much for stopping by.

Friday, October 23, 2015

How To Work With PaperClay and Wood

Hi, today I want to share with you how I get Creative Paperclay® modelling material to adhere to a vertical wooden surface.  My trick is actually pretty simple, I just brush on a generous coat of watered down tacky glue before I lay the clay sheets down.  When I apply the clay to the wood I apply pressure carefully, and I try to wrap the clay around any sharp edges and overlap the next layer of clay.

Here are some examples of how I have done this in past projects:

                                                    (Applying a 50/50 water glue coat)


                                               (Overlapping clay around corners and edges)

I hope that you find this tip useful and have fun working with clays!  Thanks for stopping by.


Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Tropical Vacation Shadow Box

Ever wanted to make a souvenir shadow box of a favourite vacation?  Well, today is your lucky day.  Here is a project I made using Little B products as part of the Designer's Craft Connection's Blog Hop. I truly adore all the products made by Little B especially  the Adhesive Backed Notes, Tapes, Stickers and more that I can use in my planner and in my art work!  The products are very detailed, well made, and coordinate with each other in every one of the many collections.


To make this you will need a small divided wooden box like tray, this one was purchased at a Dollar Store.  It was painted in a creamy yellow with some Acrylic craft paint.  Two of the spaces were given a light blue wash to create the sky/beach background.



The decorating was done by using Little B paper products and punches.  There are three dimensional scenes made with adhesive backed notes and foam adhesives.  Several of the embellishments are also stickers and  tapes from Little B.



The  faux grass skirt fringe at the bottom was made with  White paper punched with the "Fringe" punch by Little B.  Later the 3 pieces of fringes were sprayed with some yellow ink. Once dry the fringes were layered in a staggered pattern and adhered with double sided adhesive.


To make the garland of tropical flowers as well as one of the flamingo's, the Little B "Tropical" steel Dies were used with several scraps of scrapbook  and card stock papers. Two different shades of shimmery pinks and some multi toned green paper made for pretty flowers.  The flowers were strung onto the raffia and each bloom was secured with a dab of glue to the garland.


To hang the shadow box on a wall, a choker style sea shell necklace was repurposed to be used as the hanger. It was simply strung through the hanger loops.




Here are some close up pictures of the inside spaces:


Note the space with the flamingos was made by cutting a piece of the Adhesive backed paper.  One flamingo was made with a pink scrap of paper and the Little B die. The two flamingos in the front are stickers by Little B, their legs are wires, so cute!  All the pieces were adhered with dimensional foam adhesive.

The bottom space was painted in blue and decorated with the dimensional Waves & Sandshores and Sea Shells stickers, all from Little B.

Above the beach scene the Hula Dancing girl is also another wonderful sticker from Little B which was adhered to a background made with gorgeous  tape, yes, All Little B!



In the top box in this picture more  Adhesive Backed notes were used by fussy cutting two of each sheet from the same pad.  More dimensional foam adhesive was used.  I just love the flip flops in the corner.  Of course they are Little B!

The tropical flower was made with the same die used in making the garland flowers plus two more die pieces from the very same set to create the centre bloom and stamen.

Using all the lovely paper tapes from Little B made decorating this shadow box easy, and so much fun.  Can you tell that I am a huge fan of this company and their beautiful products?

Thanks for stopping by, I hope that you get lots of inspiration from all the projects on this DCC Blog Hop!

Here is the list of Little B Products used in the project:

"Fringe" Punch #100638
"Tropical" Designer Cutting Dies # 100588
Tape #100632 ( .59 in, Gold Pineapples)
Tape #100569 (.11in, Green and Gold Stripes)
Tape  #100358 (.11in, Multi Colored Stripes)
Tape #              (.98 in, gold Foil Birds and Trees on White)
Stickers #100615 (Flamingo)
Stickers: #100164 (Waves & Sandshore)
Stickers: #100311 (Sea Shells)
Stickers: #100618 (Drink Umbrella)
Stickers: #100616 (Pineapple)
Stickers: # 100648 (Hula Girl)
Stickers:  # 100153 (Flip Flops)
Notes: #100095 (Summer)
Notes: # 100622 (Flamingo and Grass)
                                                          Click 
Other Products:
Wood Shadow Box With Divisions (7 inches square)
Acrylic Craft Paints in Sky Blue, and Yellow Daffodil
Double Sided Adhering Dimensional Foam Tape
Tacky Crafting Glue
Pieces of Craft Card Stock in pinks (Flowers and Flamingo)
Pieces of Green Scrapbook Paper (Flowers)
Raffia (Garland) 24 inches
One sheet of White Scrapbook Paper (Fringe)
Yellow Ink spray
One Choker Style Seashell Necklace (Repurposed)

Other Tools used:
Small Sharp scissors
Paint Brush

Here is your chance to win some awesome Little B™ Products:  To enter, viewers must "LIKE" the Little B Facebook Page and comment on the blog posts.  Get 2  points per comment, so the more comments the greater the chance to win!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
                                         

To see all the participating Designer's work you can click here: