Hawaii birthday…

I have been a little slack posting but have been busy crafting (made 50 pairs of earrings this weeknd using my new 1 step looper) and going to a craft show. I have also had a couple of craft days with lovely friends, instead of crafting together we have changed the format so one teaches the other a new project. Such fun. Mine is going to be for mothers day so will post later.

My parents LOOOOOVE Hawaii.  Dad has also acquired many ukes and we now have some lovely Hawaiian friends from the uke circut. Dad’s birthday is coming up next week and I suspect uke 7 (I think) will be acquired from a special friend, and talented uke maker, Joe, owner (with the lovely Kristen) of Kanilea Ukulele.

I have made mini ukes (for the uke no. 2 that did not arrive in time for xmas), uke themed stepper cards and cards with every hawaiian islands sticker I can find in Brisbane.  All I could find this time was a 4 Hawaiian dancers.  But after the recent craft show doing stencilling I was inspired.

I cut the palm trees layers using my baby cricut and the stretch your imagination Cartridge, assembled.  I used the negative to stencil trees, using two shades of green for the leaves and two brown for the trunk so it looked like it had rings.  Layered on the cricut palm trees and coloured the palm leaves with copics to match.  Used some distress ink to create the sand,  added the hawaiin dances and voila!

Aloha,

Katrina

Everywhere I see christmas trees

So the family christmas card has been handmade by us for over 20 years.  Each year we must come up with  something a little better and a little different.  Yes there are expectations from those that receive them but it is also fun.  Sometimes I get an idea, sometimes mum likes bits and pieces she has seen in my cardmaking magazines.  Sometimes I need to do two designs as Dad decrees they are a bit cutesy for business use.  After quite a bit of playing around test designs were provided to the family for approval. Yes its serious business!

This year I was inspired by this tutorial on making a folded xmas tree from a half circle.  Great I though, I can use the cricut to cut the circles.   I was also keen to destash particularly brads.  I did have to buy some xmas paper with smaller designs but I did economise by choosing a pad which worked for these and our gingerbreads plus the 12 days of xmas tags I still need to make. 

Usually I split up the construction tasks between myself and mum but as I am not working and she is, its all me.  I have completed 1/4, 1/4 need some stamping, bases are 90% made for the balance of our 120 odd xmas cards.  A bit of stamping, colouring and attach our handmade stickers to the back and I will be done. Hope you like them.  I am quietly in love with every one.  

 

Happy crafting

Katrina

Electronic die cutting tip

OK I am currently cutting 85 sets of clothes for gingerbread decorations.  Took a little fiddling but have managed to get it right with my cricut so I do not have to cut by hand (phew!).

As I am not working at the moment but still wanting to get ahead with my Christmas crafts I am trying to be extra thrifty.  My big discovery… wait for it, 3m edge lock tape.   I might be behind the game but I have not seen this tip anywhere.

Use a 2 inch piece top and bottom of your paper (I have 6×12 inch matter so if you have a bigger one perhaps each corner) and if using chipboard each corner to hold in place.  Much better than glue sticking the mats and no more discarding once have been cut up badly.

Well back to it… only 65 sets to go..

Happy crafting

Katrina

Copics,

I have not understood what all the fuss has been about Copics. I have always just bought what is on special not even bothering to pay attention to colour. So when I needed to replace green and brown markers I decided to buy a few to see how they went.

I headed off to my local store with a colour card – showing each colour, brand and number so I did not double up should in my excitement I want to buy more! Do make yourself a colour card not only is it useful when you go to the store it is also great to remember what colour is which when colouring. Mine is a long off cut of white card slightly longer than a bookmark.

Well I was restrained ending up with two green (one shade difference), one brown and one purple. So when my mum requested a happy retirement card in 2 days for one of her staff I thought it would be good to try out the copics. She asked for a an A5 sized when folded card so it could be sent around work for signing, the recipient loves flowers and it should say happy retirement.

I stamped with some of my “free” stamps and set to colouring. It has been at least 2 years since I have coloured anything, technique needs work but they are vibrant, blend beautifully and a dream to use.

This card came together in an hour thanks to some pre-assembled flowers, sticky pearls, coordinating paper and an essential sentiments pad from Hunkydory.

Happy crafting

Kat

Making a Tardis

Ok well it’s not a real one but I had a request for assistance from my brother to decorate a card board box which he had already painted blue as a Tardis to hold a whizz bang laser point thingy and USB stick that looks very Dr Who.

Well he arrived with a few sheets of colored card, a picture and some pre printed police box signs and we set to work. He was keen to get cutting by hand but I really wanted to try to use the cricut to do the hard lifting of cutting so many panels and windows. He really didn’t understand at the time but he certainly understood the benefits by the time we were done.

I found a black and white jpg image which was finally (after several attempts) approved as suitable and I used the fantastic svgcuts software to trace the image. After some playing removing unwanted cutting lines and the resizing and stretching for the actual box it was time to cut a few test pieces. This process need to be repeated as the top was of course a different size to the rest of the panels.

I added acetate (from old packaging) to imitate windows and star dream opal card to provide the effect of lights. Bro then added the decals which i had reinforced using the xyron on some black card, attached a zillion bits of foam tape to give the raised effect and presto, four hours later one Tardis. Pics of the box and the fancy thingy are below.

We added a false card board bottom with tissue paper underneath, cut some felt and then rolled the two sides (no glue require) to make it appear as a custom holder. Apparently it was a big hit.

Kat

Aloha! How to make a dress card

This is a little Hawaiian dress card that I made whilst playing around with making shaped cards. I had an idea that if I could cut a dress shape from a folded 4×6″ card and cut a dress from some pretty patterned 6×6″ paper it would look pretty neat. So I set to work, after a few attempts I have come up with a design I am happy with.

Below is the card flattened out in case you want to make one for yourself. It’s just a matter of cutting the neck, the dress sides and the sleeves. I have deliberately made these cuts a straight line to make it easy to cut out by hand. I always have trouble cutting a perfect curves by hand.

You can of course embellish the dress with ribbon, pearls and buttons. That was my original intention but when I saw the way this gorgeous patterned paper sat on the card once cut out it really didn’t need much other than a little yellow highlighting on each flower.

Happy crafting.

Kat

How to make a triangle gift box – perfect for treats!

A love little gift boxes particularly those which can be made quickly easily and without too much measuring and pfaffing about. So it is no surprise that I love triangle gift boxes. You start with a rectangle, A5 or 5×7″ card is perfect and then score as shown below.

Then fold all sides towards the centre line (running length wise e.g. short side to short side). See below.

Then the tricky bit with all sides folded in, fold short side to short side and hole punch the two left pieces and then the two right pieces. See the photo below.

Thread a ribbon (I’ve used black so it is easier to see) through the holes on both sides and tie a box. Presto! A cute triangle gift box ready for decorating and filling with goodies.

I think I will make and decorate a few of these for easter in pastel colours and maybe some in orange, yellow and blue!  Whilst I am happy for you to use the designs to raise funds for charities and not-for-profit organisations please do not use these commercially. Till next time.

Kat

How to make a birthday card from offcuts

Todays blog is about birthdays and specifically how to use your offcuts to create a cool one. This is my very first original design. I started with a simple challenge of using little offcuts (2cm wide x 6cm high) as candles. Initially I used glitter glue to draw a flame shape but now I have purchased a nice leaf punch which also works fantastically although I still do like the look of the glitter flame. I use any material for the candle base – corrugated card, foam, patterned paper, embossed paper, card and keep these in various sizes in a snap lock bag ready to go.

I find, as I always like to keep stock on hand for myself, to give away and lately to add to my etsy shop it is a big time saver to make multiple cards using the same design. This simple candle can be used on its own, in pairs, in trios, with or without a background or a suitable message.

The trio of cards pictured below took around 10 minutes to make with most of the time taken up by settling on the colour scheme, background and message to be included.

Whilst I am happy for you to use the designs to raise funds for charities and not-for-profit organisations please do not use these commercially. Till next time.

Kat

Christmas project 7… flower pot santa

My mum tells me I used to love Bill and Ben the flower pot men which may explain my fascination with all flower pot dolls. This cutie is a fashioned from a painted upturned flower pot (red and then glittered), a large wooden ball, 4 small balls for the hands and feet, cord, curly hair, a small santa hat and some decorations.

Start by painting the pot your desired colour. Once dry give a quick coat of varnish. Work out the appropriate length to cut the cord for the arms and legs by draping over the pot. Sorry it is not a precise science. Tie a knot in one end and thread on your beads. The cord for the arms is tied around the cord for the legs to anchor.

Glue on the curly hair, some eyes and draw on a mouth. Glue on the Santa hat and then decorate as desired. I’ve used pom poms for buttons, the brim and top of the hat. You can turn this into an angel by painting the pot gold, adding bow twisted at the middle (use wire-edged ribbon) for the wings and leaving out the santa hat.

Katrina

Christmas project 6 – bauble xmas tree

Well I actually made this in October for my mum’s birthday so haven’t been able to post it in case she saw it. A few years ago I made a bauble tree its core, a foam cone has now disintegrated and as a result the poor tree collapsed. The cheap plastic balls also were starting to show their age.

Mum asked me to refurb the tree but I had a better idea, make a new one with modern colours (pink, purple, blue, green etc) for her birthday. The result it pretty good.

To make, start with a small pot or bucket, add oasis core to fill the pot. If you want a nice symmetrical tree you should also add a cone insert however I recommend spray painting either gold or silver before inserting. This is so if you can see it between the balls it doesn’t stand out. Then starting from the bottom start gluing the balls around the tree. At the top add your choice of decoration. I decided on a star but as my tree is also a bit “organic” I also added a couple of cute decorations and some pink ribbon. To finish off I purchased some “diamonte” stick on letters to spell Joy.

Katrina