Craft Club Challenge - W/C 23rd 2013 & 30th Sept 2013

Hi all....we are having a 2 week catch up...this week and next as we have played with lots of new dies and ideas and now's the time to finish those projects and just play with what we have learnt.

I will be showing you how to make the cracker which is a fairly quick demo....as it was just a bit too much for last week with the other boxes and the flower demo.  This is a great cracker to make and very different from those I have demo'd before and makes a great gift box or can be used to decorate the Christmas tree or on the dinner table.

You will need:

• Card stock...at least A4 size ....longer crackers need a 12" x 12" sheet. (Double sided gives you a great finish inside too)
• Pencil, ruler, scissors, Tacky PVA glue and small scoring tool plus a score board if you have it...such as a Hougie although it is not essential....this just speeds up the job and gets you using those boards.
• Ribbons
• If you have border dies or punches you may like to try them although I do have some here.

Don't forget to bring with you anything you want advice with or are struggling to get inspiration with.

Looking forward to seeing you.

Craft Club Challenge - 16th September 2013

Boxes with a difference

So....we need boxes for those little gifts but want to make it that little bit different...here are a few ideas to create that special gift.

 The box is the base of this cage which creates a stunning topper for that "something different" look. A bit hard to see the bird on the photos but he is there! This one was a project and not a 10 minute job but it is well worth trying.  On this session I will remind you how to create the size of box to match the topper and then it's up to you if you want to have a go or go for a simpler style and there will be more ideas shown here as we go through the week.

 I saw these lovely crackers on Create and Craft this week....which I don't normally get time to watch so I was chuffed to catch this one and thought this may be a great idea for gift wrapping.

I will be show you how to make the cracker but may not get time to do both...so next week will be a catch up week and we will decide on the day which you want to do...

You will need:

• Card stock, printed or plain.
• scoring tools
• ruler, pencil and scissors
• PVA glue (preferably Tacky Glue which dries quicker)
• You may bring any dies you have if you want to create a centre piece such as the poinsetta, snowflake, border dies and leaves etc but of course you can also use mine.
• Sparkly glitter, stickles, glitter glue and or gems.

There will be more ideas for box topper decorations but as most already know how to create the specific sizing of boxes technique I will do just a quick demo for those who do not know.

See you this week and look out for more photos and what we don't get done this week we can do in the catch up session next week.

Craft Club Challenge - 9th September 2013

You are a STAR !!!!
Here we are again ....after a swift weekend...back to the start of another week.

This week I thought I would show you how to create a beautiful 3D star that can be used in so many different ways and for so many occassions. Here are a few ideas:

• A wreath (see photo)
• Star bunting
• Decorations for the Christmas tree
• Favour boxes for a dinner party
• A great hanging advent calender.

This star is simple if the instructions are followed to the letter. We will be using the Papermania 3D star Template so bring it with you if you have one... I have plenty here for you to use if not and I have also ordered loads more if you want to buy one.

You will need to bring:

• Lightweight card stock and or reasonable weight decorative paper (not too thin as this will not hold the shape and not too thick as it will be hard to fold into the centre of the star) You can create this star from an A4 sheet as a minimum size.
• If you want to make a wreath or other more detailed projects you must bring the materials with you, (eg angelina fibres, base twiggy wreath, ribbon, hot glue sticks....be imaginative and have a go...if you want to do favours for your Christmas dinner bring enough sheets of the same card/paper.  If you fancy creating bunting or a sway bring your ribbon etc with you.

This is a great one for Christmas but also a lovely idea for Halloween which is just round the corner.

As always, I am looking forward to having a great week of craft with a great bunch of friends.

Craft Club Challenge - 4th February 2013

Feathers & Flowers
It is always a challenge to find a perfect flower that colour matches your project/card or a 3D element which brings paper crafting to life.  This challenge is designed to do just that....showing you how to sculpture a flat piece of low grade paper into a beautiful flower or feather.

Criteria for challenge:

Create a craft project and incorporate at least one paper flower and one paper feather which you have hand crafted....to take it one step further, if you want to tighten your criteria and be inspired by the photo below (which could be based on composition/colours etc, note the flat paper flowers ideal for scrapbooking but we are aiming for the 3D look!)

Here are my samples of what you can create and the techniques for how to craft these will be demonstrated at the craft club this week.

 

You will need:

• Paper which can be low grade, printer paper, scrapbook paper, music sheets, old maps, pages from old books etc
• Pencil
• Wire (garden wire is good....not too thick)
• PVA Tacky glue
• Flower dies for cutting each layer or hand made flower templates (differing sizes)  made from cereal packets.
• Small pointed sharp scissors.
• (Optional) Inks, rubber stamps with delicate designs such as text, flourish etc.
• Small embossing tool with smooth cylindrical handle for sculpting.

It is so enjoyable creating these and having a good supply in hand with never leave you with a dilema of not having the finishing touch!

Happy crafting and I am looking forward to catching up with you at the Coffee Morning, This morning at 10am.  (Full details on the tab along the top of the page.)

3D Church Christmas Cards

I can't believe Christmas has been and gone and all that work for the special season...mustn't grumble, I am a big kid really and would keep decorations in the cottage all year long....in fact that's my aim for 2013, I am going to celebrate each seasonal event by decorating the cottage.  Valentines Day is my next project so watch out for the Valentines day room setting, lucky hubby eh!

Getting back to Christmas here are my 3D cards I made for my nephew, his girlfriend and some friends.  I adore these little makes ....so satisfying to make!

 The base for the Black and White church above was a gift wallet and contained a gift voucher.

Hope you like them as much as I do, I will make some beach huts for the summer using the same template.

Happy Crafting!