Circle die cut paper Christmas tree and frame

I like using both the interior and exterior of the things I die cut and today I have a post that features two projects- one that uses the inside of the circle die cuts - A hanging Christmas tree and another that uses the outside of the circle die cuts - A photo frame.

 

To make these two projects I used a variety of green scrapbook paper and Sizzix Framelits Plus set of 15 circle dies.

After I die cut all the circles I cut a slit in each one half way through the circle to the center.

Then placed it on a piece of thin green yarn and glued the circle flaps together forming a slight cone shape. 

You can adjust the cone shapes as narrow or wide as you like and space them close together or far apart to make your hanging paper cone Christmas tree any shape you like.

With the "leftover" outside circle shapes I glued them together with the largest on top and working through to the smallest underneath.

I placed a cute photo of my nephew in the final circle.

Then I trimmed up the top page to a square and glued it onto a 12 x 12 piece of scrapbook paper.

To hang up my concentric circle photo frame I clipped it into a vintage wood clip hanger.

 I hope you have enjoyed my twofer circle die cut project and you'll give them a try!

How to make candy corn planner clips

This year's Halloween theme is most definitely "candy corn". I think this is now my 4th or 5th candy corn craft so far and it's only mid-September!

I die cut 2 sets of each size candy corn in all 3 colors of scrapbook paper with the Sizzix candy corn die.

 I trimmed the top parts off the white candy corns and the bottom parts off the yellow candy corns.
Then I glued the parts onto the full orange candy corns.

Then I glued the two candy corns back to back with a paper clip in between with hot glue.

Note: I did try a wet glue but it made the paper soggy and the paper clip showed through.

How to make a paper leather deer die cut cuff bracelet

Sizzix paper leather is such a fun material to work with. It die cuts like a dream and one of my all time favorite motifs to use in my art, jewelry making and crafts is a deer and this Tim Holtz Holiday Knit deer sweater like pattern is awesome!

So I thought I'd make a cuff with paper leather and the deer die.

The first step was to iron on some Heat n Bond to one side of the gray paper leather.
Then die cut the deer pattern.

Peal off the backing paper and iron the gray paper leather to a piece of black paper leather.

Cut the cuff to the size you would like it to be on your wrist - I did mine about 2 inches wide but you could make it any width you like.

I rounded the corners a bit and ran it through my sewing machine stitching a row of black stitches along each side about 1/4 of an inch in from each edge.

Use your favorite closure method- Velcro would work great or a button and button hole I bet would work great too.

Election year U.S. map and recycled dictionary page card

I remember being at an election part for Obama's first term and the hostess had a map on a board that was colored in every time a state was announced. This U.S. die cut card is inspired by election year maps.

For the background I used a page from an old dictionary and I chose the page that had California on it. To embellish the page I stenciled a field of stars with a blue ink pad and a Judikins field of stars stencil.

I used the Sizzix United States die to cut out both the outline of America and the individual California state.

Happy Election Year!

How to make a die cut Easter Bunny pedestal

In my humble opinion you can never have too many bunnies. With Sizzix bunny die and Big Shot Die Cutter I can make as many as I want! I thought I combine the bunny die with their pink paper leather and some Phoomph to create a bunny pedestal for Easter.

This project is super easy.
Simply peal off the paper backing from the Phoomph and apply the pink paper leather to each side.
Then die cut 4 bunnies.

Hot glue two bunnies together nose to nose taking care to make sure the bottom edge of the bunnies are aligned.

Then glue the other two to the first pair on each side.

For a final touch I trimmed the tail off and replaced it with a little white pom pom.

Then I went to my little plate collection and found one that looked nice sitting on top of the four bunny's ears.

This little bunny pedestal decoration is perfect to feature a few of my Easter eggs.

Lucky stenciled March planner page celebrating St. Patrick's Day

I have a few planners going this year. I have so many ideas and wanted to experiment with lots of techniques so I need a few to work with. For this month of March planner page spread I thought I decorate with large letters across all the blocks. Then I started to add a few fun washi tape details.

Tools and materials
Planner
Alphabet dies
Sizzix Big Shot Plus.
recycled clear plastic
Tombow recycled colored pencils
green print washi tape
small heart punch
backing paper from address labels sheets

The first step was to die cut the letters, L, U, C, K, and Y out of recycled clear plastic to make the letter stencils.

Then trace the letters onto the planner pages as you like them. Then color in each letter. I did some color fades and some contrasting outlines. This was fun to "color" in different ways and maybe even experiment with prints and patterns.

I adhered a strip of washi tape to some scrap address label paper and punched a bunch of hearts. I used the hearts to make a 4 leaf clover on the 17th block and the remaining strip for a decoration up near the month title of the planner.

These techniques would work great for each month by using different words for each holiday that falls within that month.

24 Cups of Tea Christmas Countdown Calendar

I have been thinking about my Christmas decorations for quite some time but I can finally enjoy them fully now that Thanksgiving decorations are packed away. My favorite decoration this year being Christmas countdown calendars. This one is made with my collection of tea cups. Each one is filled with tea. I think it's important to remember to take time to reflect and relax each day during this busy time of year.

Materials and tools:
24 tea cups
24 tea bags
peg board and hooks
paint
faux wood graining tool
Christmas paper
Computer and printer
Sticker paper
Christmas lights

 I scored a piece of peg board at Eco-Set. A company here in Los Angeles that recycles set pieces to artists and students.
I gave it a faux wood finish with Americana Decor Chalky Finish by DecoArt with a faux wood graining tool.

I printed out the numbers on sticker paper and stuck them on Christmas scrapbook paper that I cut into circles with a Sizzix Big Shot Plus.
I taped the tea bag to the back of the circle of paper and placed them in each tea cup.

It was fun to arrange all the tea cups and I think it makes a nice was to display them.


I hope you have a wonderful pre-Christmas season and enjoy moments of crafting and relaxing.

Happy Thanksgiving paper leather squirrel

Squirrels are so darn cute! I just got the Sizzix squirrel die and some of their new paper leather sheets perfect for using with it as the brown tone was perfect and the flexibility would lend itself to a bit of sculpting.

I die cut 2 squirrels and glued them together at the head and tail ONLY. After the glue dried I could separate the hands and feet a bit to get the squirrel to stand and hold an acorn between its paws.

 To give the squirrel a bit more dimension I colored it a bit with Tombow recycled pencils.

Happy Thanksgiving!

How to make a see-through skull shirt with a Sizzix die cut

I haven't done too much with clothing lately but today's post is my latest favorite thing to do with clothing- die cutting it! With my new Sizzix Big Shot. I thought it would be fun to do a skull on the back of a black shirt for Halloween.

I found a plain black shirt in the stash and gathered up:
white tulle
Heat n Bond
press cloth
Inner ironing board with scrap press cloth
Sizzix skull die

The first step is to turn the shirt inside out and iron on a square of Heat n Bond to the area you are going to die cut.

Next die cut your shape. The  Sizzix Big Shot makes all the difference as you have tons of space for all the extra fabric of the shirt.

Then Iron on the tulle. Be sure to use a press cloth under the shirt surface and on top so you don't get adhesive on the front side of the shirt or your iron.

Then flip the shirt right side out and peal off the paper backing on the die cut eyes and nose and iron them onto the tulle. Be sure to use the press cloths on this step too!

Here's another photo you can see how translucent the shirt die cut is with the window light coming through.

How to decorate food with die cut seaweed

I love to put little personal touches on everything-today a frozen pizza was my palette of choice and my medium was roasted seaweed. My tool was a heart and wing Sizzix die.

My inspiration came from the super cute and idea packed book Deliciously Decorative Cookies: 50 Stylish, Tasty Treats to Make and Decorate.

It features tutorials on how to make rice paper flowers and I thought about trying to decorate food with seaweed. To make the shapes I die cut hearts and winds with my Sizzix die cutter.

I cooked the pizza as directed and placed my die cut seaweed heart and wings right on the melted cheese. They settled right in and looked cute! I was thinking these seaweed embellishments would look cute on a bowl of hummus to bring to a party or on a bowl of macaroni and cheese?

 More about the book:

Deliciously Decorative Cookies: 50 Stylish, Tasty Treats to Make and Decorate
by
Fiona Pearce

This book features 50 projects, each showcasing at least one different technique; to assist readers to create beautiful cookie creations for all occasions. The projects are grouped according to the icing ingredient used to decorate the cookie, and include a key to indicate the skill level required to complete the project. This book includes simple but impressive designs, such as elegant cookies piped with royal icing, to the more complicated and unusual 3D cookie sculptures! There are also feature spreads that provide a handful of quick and easy cookies to make in moments, with the step-by-step guides making recipes easy to understand. The projects have been designed to suit readers of all skill levels and the beautiful photography of the finished cookies will serve as a design resource for experienced decorators.

How to make a leather and recycled plastic Steampunk style cuff

 Today's latest creation is another in my recycled leather cuff series. I didn't realize it was going to be a series but here is the third one I've made. Go figure. OK so here is how I did this one.

 I scored a party platter at...wait for it...a party of all places. A huge piece of smooth black plastic perfect for die cutting. I trimmed off the groove part around the edge and sent it through the Sizzix die cutter using the Tim Holtz Alterations Gadget Gears Die.







I should also back up a bit and say the inspiration for this whole project came from flipping though the book Hot Connections Jewelry:The Complete Sourcebook of Soldering Techniques and seeing this cool gear necklace but since I'm on a cuff kick that's what I was going to make.


Once the plastic was cut I thought it looked a bit shiny so scuffed it up with a piece of sandpaper.

 Then I sewed the gear on with a JHB Steampunk gear button on the topside of the leather (after cutting a tiny hole for the shank to go through) and a flat button on the back so the shank button wouldn't wobble around too much.
I thin stitched a pair of "D" rings I had cut off an old pair of sneakers to secure the sides of the gear and have them wrap around my wrist.

The cuff's closure is just a bit of Velcro i sewed onto each end.

If you like to make (or be inspired by) modern style jewelry I bet you will love:

Hot Connections Jewelry:The Complete Sourcebook of Soldering Techniques
by
Jennifer Chin

More about the book from the publisher Potter Craft:

"The art of soldering—permanently joining metal components with a torch and solder—can open up a new world of creative possibilities for jewelry makers.

In Hot Connections Jewelry, award-winning jewelry designer Jennifer Chin guides you through every step, from choosing a torch to basic techniques like sawing, filing, and riveting, as well as more advanced techniques like creating surface textures, setting stones, and using inlay.

With 23 in-depth lessons and 15 stunning projects, as well as inspiring examples from contributing artists, Hot Connections Jewelry is your essential guide to unleashing your creativity and confidence in jewelry making."

How to make a recycled leather St. Patrick's Day shamrock cuff

Shamrocks rock!
And making rockin' cuffs with recycled leather rocks!

It was so easy with the heart die and Sizzix die cutter.
I simply ran a scrap of green leather through the die cutter 3 times to get 3 hearts and free hand cut a stem. I laid out the hearts and stem on a another scrap of leather and crazy top stitched it.
Then I trimmed the scrap to fit on my wrist and sewed Velcro on the ends.
That's all there was to it!