Fat-Tastic Tuesday Challenge #8 - Cooking/Baked Goods

Hello Crafters!

Well, it's Tuesday again which means we have a new challenge for you over at Fat-Tastic Tuesday.

Our sponsor is

with 4 digi's of winners choice for the winner.

We are using another one of my sketches:

I will admit I did manipulate the sketch a bit this time but I think it still works.

You've seen those individual tarts you can purchase at different bakeries or craft fairs, right? Well, I made a small 4x4 tart box to put one of those in. I know they come in their own box but doesn't this look better than the plain brown wrapper?

 The pattern is below for this box. Pretty straight forward really. The heavy paper is from Cloud 9, the ribbon is from Simplicity, the stamped sentiment is from Close To My Heart, the label punch is from Stampin' UP!, and the image is Robyn's Fetish of course. I cut the plaid triangle from heavy paper in my stash. The acetate used for the window was a scrap left over. I used Nestibilities circle die to cut the circle in the lid. When putting this pattern together make sure to put the acetate between layers for a neater look. I forgot to do that. It looks ok but, it would have been nicer looking and more durable if done between layers. Live and learn.

Also as an after thought, you might want to cut and score flaps on the smaller piece so your lid can fit down over the box base instead of having to put it on the inside. I could fix the template at this point but, I'm being a bit lazy.

Anywho, here's a pic from another angle so you can see the height of the box which is 2".

 All in all I'm ok with the way this turned out. I could have added a lot more fru-fru but it's what's inside that the recipient will be after, right? Hey, wouldn't this be cute with a cookie image (or maybe punch art Cookie Monster) and a stack of big M&M cookies on the inside? Mmmm......

So with this template the sides are 2" and the square part of the box is 4". I recommend shaving just the tiniest sliver off of the smaller piece before layering it inside the big one. Just FYI, I always make a cheap white card stock sample for myself to keep. That way if I lose anything stored on my computer I have a physical sample in my files.

Well, that's it for today peeps. Stop over to Fat-Tastic Tuesday and check out the inspiration from the rest of the design team then get going on your makes. We would love to have you join us!

Happy Crafting!

Eclectic Ellapu Challenge #41 - Anything For A Teacher

Hello Crafters!

It's time for another challenge from the purples over at Eclectic Ellapu and the challenge theme was chosen by ... Moi. Yep, yours truly.

School will start this month for many of us and although I no longer have children in elementary (my baby is starting Jr. High School this year, sniff ... sniff) I thought we would have a school theme for those of you who just might be looking for some cute projects for teachers.

I am in an upcycle mood lately so I have turned a small pop-top single serve fruit can into a treat holder. Now, I can't take credit for this wonderful idea as it is one I saw several years ago. I have only done this once before and it had more of a Fall theme so I am in new territory here with the school theme. Here's a picture of the can:

The trick with this little puppy is to use a special can opener (purchased at Wal-Mart) that will cut tops/bottoms of cans and leaves no sharp edges. A bit on the expensive side but worth it once you get used to using it. So, as you can see I left the top in place and cut off the bottom of the can, ate the fruit (yummy!), washed & dried the can then let it sit for a day or two just to make sure it was good and dry. Obviously the label was peeled off. No need to worry about the stickem that the paper label was glued on with, that will be covered.

Next you want to fill the can with wrapped treats and hot glue the bottom back on. You could use a liquid glue but I didn't want to sit and hold it while it dried. Yeah, I'm an impatient crafter. We all have our faults. Makes me wonder how I will ever get through an art journal which I desperately want to do. But, that's a story for another time.

So I wrapped the designer paper I wanted to use around the can and made a mark where I would trim it down. No measuring here, I'm impatient remember? Anyway, I used Scor-Tape to attach the paper to the can and used a little liquid qlue at the top and bottom if there were any gaps, which there were. Also had to snip the paper a bit at the top to go around the curved surface gracefully.

I added a 1/8" ribbon at the top and bottom of the can to hide the metal rims. Just didn't like them showing. You could leave them uncovered depending on the look you are going for.

At the pop-top on top of the can I very carefully (so as not to pop the top) added ribbons and tied (only once) to decorate and add a little fru-fru. Lastly I added a string to the pop-top which I attached some layered stars and hand printed a sentiment on the top one.This project was made from scraps from my new "scrap box". So, what do you think? Pretty quick to make (except for the drying time after washing the can). To my surprise these pop-top type cans actually come in different small sizes but of course, you could use a soup can if you wanted too. I just thought this size was too cute. Here's a couple more pictures.

Don't fill too full or glue will stick to the candy. Wasted chocolate would be a shame.

Finished

Wouldn't this look cute holding pencils or something on a teacher's desk when the treats are gone?

Ok, enough about my project. Go over and check out the rest of the Eclectic Ellapu Design Team projects. We have a lot of inspiration going on over there. And why not make a project of your own and join in the challenge? We would love to have you.

Happy Crafting!

Altered Ecletics Challenge #2 - Anyting Goes

Hello Crafters!

Wow, has this summer gone by fast. It's August already. That means school starts in a few short weeks and it's time for a new challenge at Altered Eclectics.

A friend of mine showed me a project on a blog recently and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to make one. So, I took the supplies I needed on my trip up north to see her and we made our projects together. We didn't finish them while I was there (we saw a stamp show for 2 days - whoo hoo!) but almost as soon as I got home I finished mine. What fun. So, here's a close up shot.

Isn't this just the cutest? I wish I could link you back to where my friend found this. I'll keep looking and edit my post when I do find it. Bottom line is I pretty much cased it. I did do my project a smidgen different though.

We started with a bird die-cut from Tim Holtz and some corrugated cardboard that had been marked for the trash bin. Then we bought a newspaper, my friend quickly read it, then we tore some of it into small pieces as if for paper mac'he.  After cutting out 3 birds each and trimming off the longer tail we did not need, we each glued 3 birds together and let sit while we tore the newspaper. We then started applying the paper pieces with Mod-Podge glue onto our birds. I gave this part entirely too much thought as I tried to place paper pieces with the name of the town on in places where I thought it would show as a remembrance of the weekend. In the end, I could only sort of see them but, I knew they were there. However, we did have a few chuckles over not using the obituaries. Once this was all dry we stamped a random design with purpose on both sides of our birds with Momento ink. At this point we quit for the night and went to bed as the next day was to be a long one.

When I got home from my trip I continued to the next step which was to distress the bird randomly with colored inks of my choosing. I used regular craft type ink but, I should have used something with a little deeper color. This is the point where the original artist used clear Gesso before applying the ink. I skipped that part. What I did do is use my inks then poured on extra thick embossing enamel and heated with my heat gun. This was repeated several times until a smooth finish was acquired, about 3 times. After the first application of ink I used Versa-mark ink so I wouldn't muddy up the colors. The same process was done for each of the wings which were circles cut in half (only 2 layers of cardboard).

To attach the wings I used glue and a staple gun then camouflaged the staple with a sharpie and a gel pen. Hey, it worked! The glue alone was just not enough to hold them. Next time I think I will cut a small hole and stuff the end of the wing in it with some good stick-um glue. I also added a couple of brads with glue for the eyes.

The legs I made using a fairly heavy gauge aged wire to which I added bends in to make feet. This part is also different as the original artist connected the wire to buttons. The buttons were cute, just not what I wanted. The last thing I did was add random little white dots with my gel pen and adjust the legs so my little peep would stand up. And here he is:

This really was fun to make and worked perfectly for my August post at Altered Eclectics. Please visit my fellow DT's at AE and at their own blogs, they would love to hear from you. There are some great inspiration projects waiting for you. Remember, this is a monthly challenge blog so you have time to make something of your own and enter it into our challenge. Can't wait to see what you make.

Happy Crafting!

Fat-Tastic Tuesday Challenge #7 - Back to School

Hello Crafters!

I can't believe I totally missed last weeks post for Fat-Tastic Tuesday. My apologies to you all. I have posted both of my projects below for you.

Our sponsor is

 with 7 digis of choice for the winner.

Great prize - they have awesome images.

First, the sketch.

Per the norm, we use this sketch for two weeks (last week and this week). I used "Deacon School Sign It" for my first project.

The papers are from a school pack of papers which I just love. I punched out the numbers from one of the papers - they were the perfect size for the image and sketch. I colored the image with Spectrum Noir markers of course. The chalkboard I colored in a way to look as though it had been erased a few times. I will add a message with a white gel pen when it is time to give it to that "Special Teacher". I love the way this card turned out.

So my second project looks like this:

I love this image called "JJC September". I cut off the E=mc2 part so I could pop this awesome teacher up with foam tape. I may yet add that in myself later. The fun part of this project is that I made it entirely with scraps from my scrap box. Yes, I have been cleaning my stamp room and did not have a "scrap box" before. What?

No, really.

I saved pieces with the originals. Hmm, quite bulky actually. More on the re-org later. Anyway, I made this project a fat page instead of a card. The reason is I will be adding this to the front of a paper sack to make a gift bag. Great idea for using your fat pages. The small white bags work great but, seeing as this is a school theme, maybe a plain brown bag would be better? Anyway, when I do that, I can dress up the bag a bit as this project alone is a little plain. But, I do like the interesting color combo I went with.

Well, there you have it. Another week (2) under the belt for FTT. I sure hope you will stop by and take part in our challenge. Bugaboo is a great sponsor with great images.

Happy Crafting!

Eclectic Ellapu Challenge #39 - Shades of Purple

Hello Crafters!

Sorry I'm a little late with this weeks challenge. I have been out of town for a stamp show in Bloomington Minnesota. I'll have more on that later.

For now, I would like to show you the card I've made for Eclecitc Ellapu. Tabitha is our hostess and she has chosen a theme of "Shades of Purple" so I thought flowers and butterflies would be good.

Everything here came from my stash this time (almost). I couldn't believe I have such pretty stuff in my stash. I just love purple and had a great time making this for you. I used a die cut for the corners from Spellbinders, the sentiment is from Fiskars, and the punch and the leaves (from bird punch) are from Stampin' Up!

Thanks for stopping by today. Be sure to get on over to Eclectic Ellapu with a purple project of your own to upload to our challenge.

Happy Crafting!

Fat-Tastic Tuesday Challenge #6 Inspiration

Hello Crafters!

I know this post is late but I have been one busy little bee for a couple of days. Of course Blogger was acting up when I went to get on and do my post. So here I am better late than never.

So we are at inspiration week at FTT and the theme has been On The Beach w/ pastels. The Doodle Garden (our sponsor) has the cutest images ever for this theme. One of my favorites is this cute little sea horse.

I don't know why but the purple just spoke to me when I was thinking of the colors I wanted to use. It seems to go nice with the aqua color I chose for the embossed background. I found the lovely lace in my stash and just had to use it.

I made the flower with another ribbon I found and a large 1" glue dot. Love those things!

I left the center open to add the pearl dots. The sea horse image was colored then cut out and popped up on white and purple card stock die cut from a Spellbinders die and popped up again (top only due to the bulk of the lace). Of course I can't help myself when it comes to bling so had to add a bit of that too. Before putting it all together, I inked all the edeges and a little of the embossed background to make the embossing stand out a bit. I stamped a sentiment (Stampin Up!) and punched out with the word window punch (SU) and layered (popped up) on a small flagged strip of card stock. I think that's it. Hope you like it.

Now get on over to Fat-Tastic Tuesday blog and join in the challenge - we would love to have you!

Happy Crafting!

Fat-Tastic Tuesday Challenge #6 - On The Beach w/ Pastel Colors

Hello Crafters!

It's Tuesday again and time for a new challenge from Fat-Tastic Tuesday. For some of us it seems like summer took it's sweet time getting here but it did finally make it. So, to help celebrate summer we are asking for projects with a beach theme and pastel colors too. Easy enough.

I would like to thank

for sponsoring us for the next two weeks at FTT.

For my project today I incorporated a special fold. The front looks the same as any 4x4 card.

I colored my image with Spectrum Noir markers then tore around the image. I used a sponged looking DP from my stash for the bottom of the card and added some bling to represent the sun in the upper right corner. The ribbon is used to hold the card closed. So, slip it off and you have this:

 

This fold is called a "Double Display". Isn't it fun? The original pattern for this card can be found here.  I have adapted it to work for our 4x4 theme at Fat-Tastic Tuesday. The same DP was used of course as on the front. I thought it looked a little like water. A bit of a stretch I know but it works. So, I used a leafy stamp with VersaMark ink on the blue card stock and stamped the sentiment and cut out to fit the middle of the card. I used the Little Marina Mermaid and the Sea Horse images from The Doodle Garden and popped them up on foam tape after cutting them out for some added dimension. Add a little bling and a couple of buttons and there you have it. If you are like me, you love cards with special folds like this one. You should try it. It really wasn't hard at all.

Thanks for joining me today. Please do stop over to FTT and see the rest of the DT's projects. Why not join us with a project or two as well?

Happy Crafting!

Eclectic Ellapu Challenge #37 - It's A Man's World

Hello Crafters!

I'm excited to share with you a new challenge today from Eclectic Ellapu. We're making cards for the fellas this time around. Thanks to my Purple teammate Jacki for choosing this one. We should do them more often, don't you think? There are some awesome makes from the DT you just have to see as well as my make below.

Please forgive me for not looking at the name of the stamp. But, I will say this stamp and plaid papers have been in my stash for many years. I have actually used 3 different stamps plus a sentiment stamp. The sentiment I can tell you is from a new set I purchased from Stampin' Up's new catalog. I don't use colored pencils much but decided I wanted the softer look of the pencils on this card. I used a Cuttlebug small dot embossing folder then used my Nestabilities to cut a circle to represent a golf ball. Not perfect but you get the idea. I used twine instead of ribbon for a more masculine look on the left side of the card.

Because this is an easel card I needed to secure the twine on the inside of the card which I did with score-tape (cut narrow so as not to glue card together - lol). Love that stuff. The stop for the step is three 1" circles punched from scraps of the embossed card stock. The middle one is popped up with foam tape.

Here's a close-up of the three small golf balls.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed my post today and will stop over to Eclectic Ellapu and join in the challenge with us. We would love to have you. And with the new ladies on our Design Team over there ya'll will have plenty of eye candy to peep at.

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Crafting!

Fat-Tastic Tuesday Challenge #5 - Inspiration Week

Hello Crafters!

It's Fat-Tastic Tuesday Inspiration week! That means our DT have some more inspiration for you to take a peek at. Mostly we like to make Fat Pages but we also like to make 4x4 projects of any kind! We will also  accept any projects from you as long as they are 4x4 in nature. Of course you have to follow the theme to get the chance to be a winner.

Eureka continues to be our sponsor this week.

Here's the sketch we are using again this week.

And my project:

My red and blue card stock is from SU which I sprayed with Champagne Mist (SU). The fireworks background paper is from my stash. My metal is the the star brad (colored with a silver Sharpie), the ball chain around the image and the 1" scallop circles (SU) punched  from flashing tape that are partially tucked under the background paper. I used my Spectrum markers to color my image, punch out with a circle punch and layered on red card stock cut with a nestabilities scallop die.  I stamped the sentiment from a Paper Studio Clear Stamps set. The image and the scallop are popped up on foam tape for a little dimension. As you may have noticed, this project is almost the same as last week. However, I did turn the sketch and changed up some of the elements. I think I like this card better than last weeks card. Although I am partial to kitties, today's project is dog-gone cute. Sorry had to include the pun, couldn't help my self!

So you have a few days left to enter the challenge at Fat-Tastic Tuesday. Hop on over and check out the inspiration from our DT this week and get started on your own project. Remember, we are accepting all kinds of projects - they just have to be in the 4x4 format, and you can enter 2 times per week! Better get going, time is running out!

I have entered these challenges:

 http://simonsaysstampschallenge.blogspot.co.uk-anything goes 7/2
http://challenges4everybody.blogspot.co.uk #23 anything goes 7/4 
 http://asimplefive.blogspot.com/search/label/Inspire Me Fridays 7/4
http://www.hidinginmycraftroom.com #104-freestyle 7/5
http://avenue613.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/26-anything goes-or international colors 7/6
  http://inkychicks.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/#7-anything-goes 7/7
 http://artisticinspirationschallenges.blogspot.co.uk -#48 anything goes 7/7
  http://www.creativeinspirationspaint.blogspot.com-anything-goes 7/13
http://happycamperscc.blogspot.co.uk/ #19 bling 7/23
 http://countryviewchallenges.blogspot.co.uk #5 its summer sizzler 7/31

Happy Crafting!

Altered Eclectics Challenge #1 - Anything Goes

Hello Crafters!

Whoo Hoo! I have a wonderful announcement! Altered Eclectics (sister blog to Eclectic Ellapu) is now up and running and I am on the Design Team! Uh huh, that's right. I am so looking forward to this new adventure. The blog is entirely created just for altered projects. Isn't that cool? That means, no cards or layouts. I have to tell you, the other DT's have created some awesome projects. So you should get over there and check them out. After you've taken a peek here of course.

I really like altered projects but haven't had a lot of time in the recent past to work on them. Now, I have a good reason to make time for them. As a DT member I will have one new altered project for you each month along with the rest of the DT. Completely doable. Here's my first project:

Warning: I am posting this as a tutorial so it will be a long post, complete with pictures.

The first thing I did was paint a 1/4" x 12" dowel and wooden spool (separate parts glued together). I also added an office clip at the top of the dowel to hold a wedding picture as this is for my oldest Goddaughter who will be celebrating her 1st year anniversary in August.
 
Using metal roof flashing which I have horded forever and the Bigz Bird Die from Stampin' Up, I cut two bird bodies and 2 wings then inked up with Stazon jet black ink and let dry.

Once dry, I ran each piece through a leafy embossing folder (Cuttlebug I think) and sanded the raised parts to look like this:

First I shaped the body and wing parts using the end of my marker as a stylus. when you do this, rub lightly so as not to smash what you have embossed.

Now it was time to start gluing the wings together leaving the feather section and the flanged section open and inserted little tufts of tulle with wired beads (purchased) into the feather section. I had to ink the stems a bit as they were white to begin with. It was all glued into place with 3M glue and clamped until dry.

The body section was next. I started by cutting a couple pieces of Styrofoam to fit the body and head and glued them in place to one of the back sides. Starting with beak and working around the top of the head, glue the two sides together adding in the wings and the tufts of tulle while making sure the clip on top of the dowel stuck out just below the wing top. Then I close off the the belly of the bird around dowel.

Next, I die-cut two flowers from the metal roof flashing and inked up slightly then glued a medium silk ribbon flower to the center. I wrapped about a 12" piece of tulle around the spool and scrunched it together in the front. I didn't tie a bow here as I needed it flat so I could attach the flower. Attach your flower with glue and add extra tufts of tulle with beads behind the flower.

 
With about 24" (at least) of tulle, I tied a bow around the top of the dowel at the bird's belly allowing the tails to come down behind the spool. Add a touch of glue if desired to hold in place. Tuck jeweled wired spray up under the knot of the bow and glue in place. Arrange as desired.

Lastly add a bling dot for the eye and some pearls at the neck to finish off.

 

 
Sorry for the long tutorial but I wanted you to see all the steps I took to make the finished project. It really was a labor of love. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to head over to Altered Eclectics and check out the projects from the rest of the DT. They are AWESOME! I know you will be inspired to make your own altered project and I hope you will link up to show us.

I have entered these challenges:

 http://simonsaysstampschallenge.blogspot.co.uk-anything goes 7/2
 http://www.bellichallenge.blogspot.co.uk #172 wedding.html 7/2
 http://challenges4everybody.blogspot.co.uk #23 anything goes 7/4
 http://rheddandrosies.blogspot.co.uk #9 take flight 7/4
 http://asimplefive.blogspot.com/search/label/Inspire Me Fridays 7/4
 http://www.hidinginmycraftroom.com #104-freestyle 7/5
 http://qkrstampede.blogspot.com #45-anything goes 7/5
 http://creativecardcrew.blogspot.co.uk #39 7/6
http://craftybootschallenges.blogspot.co.uk-anyhting but square 7/6
 http://bunnyzoescrafts.blogspot.co.uk-june challenge-wings 7/6
 http://anythingbutacard.blogspot.co.uk/#22 get messy 7/6
http://avenue613.blogspot.com-anything goes-or int colors 7/6
 http://crazychallenge.blogspot.com/CCH #148 7/7
http://inkychicks.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/#7-anything-goes 7/7
 http://artisticinspirationschallenges.blogspot.co.uk -#48 anything goes 7/7
  http://www.creativeinspirationspaint.blogspot.com-anything-goes 7/13
http://happycamperscc.blogspot.co.uk/ #19 bling 7/23
 http://sparklensprinklecreativechallenges-july 7/31

Happy Crafting!