Creative Chaos

"LOVE" Heart Tutorial......

I'm finally recovered from my week of subbing and all ready with my heart tutorial.   I've got the step by step instructions for you as well as some kits if you would like to make the one shown.  I only have eight of the chipboard hearts so the kit is limited.  If you would like one, I have it listed in my Etsy shop.   You will get everything (except glitter and glue) you need including the instructions in pdf. 

 Also, I realized that you would have some extra papers and crepe left over so I threw a tag and glitter heart in so that you could make something extra. 

Ok.....let's make a heart.........

Here's what I used:

• chipboard heart
• various vintage wallpapers or anything you have on hand
• ruffled crepe paper
• ruffled seambinding
• stamped "LOVE"
• sheet music or any paper for back of heart
• white/cream paint
• paint brush
• glitter
• glue

I start with an unassuming chipboard heart........

I punch two holes in the top.  The extra hole will be covered with paper.......

Gather a variety of papers for the collage.......

Start gluing down the papers in a random fashion.  I just tear the pieces but you can cut them if you like.....

Cut around the edges of the heart......

Don't overthink it.  Overthinking will always get you in trouble.....

 Cover the holes on the front of the heart.......

Punch the holes out using the back side as your guide.......

Pretend there are two holes in the finished heart below........

Trace the heart on the sheet music and then cut out and glue to the back......

Punch the holes in the sheet music.......

Grab some white paint and brush along the top edge of the heart ........



Then go along the edges of the paper on the top of the heart.  This will give it a mosaic look......

I like to use a pencil around the edges of the paper to give it some definition......

Take your ruffled crepe paper and glue to the back edge of the heart.  I start at the bottom and work my way around.  You can use either hot glue or 3 in 1.......

Just make sure you don't glue over the holes.  Keep the seam of the crepe above the hole.......

Next, take the ruffled seambinding and glue around the front edge of the heart......

Again, I start at the bottom and work my way around.....

Next up, the flower.  I put some glue (I uses aleenes quick dry tacky glue) on the flower......

and then put some glitter on it.......

You don't see it here but I put glitter on the leaves also......

 

Cut out each letter of the "LOVE" into squares.  I ink around the edges with a soft gold to give it some color.   I then use a glue pen to trace around part of the letters and put some silver glitter on it.  (I use Martha Stewart antique silver)

Glue the flower and letters into place.   Take some ribbon (I used seambinding) and place through the hole of the heart and tie a double knot.......

I tied the ends of the ribbon also.  I then put a dab of glue by the hole under the ribbon in order to position the ribbon so it doesn't fall on top of the letters.   

And there you go!   All ready to hang in your home.......

And then with the leftovers you can make a gift tag........

Be Mine......

And it can be yours......I'll be posting a tutorial for it!  The picture above isn't completely done yet.   It still needs the all important glitter.  I just got sidelined this week subbing for kinders and 1st graders.  And now,  I'm off to Paper Tales.  I'll be back Monday to show you the how to for this cute heart wall hanging.  Plus I'll have some kits available if you want to do one just like this. 

Talk to you soon!  Karin

Tutorial Tuesday: washi tape anyone?

A while back I bought a roll of painter's tape at Target.  I thought it would be fun to stamp on it and make a hybrid washi tape of sorts.  So, as per usual, I tossed it in my cart next to the laundry detergent, hair dye and bag of chips ready to race home and make washi tape all night long in order to share it on my blog and anyone else who would listen to me.   Of course, the tape has been sitting on my desk for the last couple months just begging to be stamped and turned into fun, hip and trendy washi tape instead of the lowly utilitarian masking tape for which it was intended.  So, despite people in this house that wanted to use it for things other than decorative washi tape, I managed to rescue it from its humble beginnings when I was working on the journal for Lisa's Antiquated stamp set. It was so much fun and sooooo easy I thought I would do a quick tutorial for you.

I checked around the web to see what other versions are out there.  Although, there are a bunch of tutorials  that use score pal tape and tissue paper, I found it a little to cumbersome for me.   It's not to say I won't try it one day. But for now I need easy. I found another tutorial byScrappergirl that uses masking tape and Maya Mist. I love how it turned out.  So anyhow, here are my very basic instructions.......

All you need is this.........

Found it in the paint section of Target.  It's painter's tape, not masking tape........

I put strips of it on some parchment paper.......

and then stamped away......

when I was done, I rolled it up for quick and easy storage.........

Then I got to thinking.  What if I painted the tape?  So I did.......

I experimented a bit with some different paints.......
  

But then I had to go make dinner and that ended that.   I'll have to get back to you how it turned out.  I think I need to work with it a bit.  I used the Martha glitter paint and kind of like where it's going.......

That's it for now!  I'm substitute teaching for 4th graders tomorrow....Wish me luck!  Karin

Melissa Frances Crown Tutorial.........

 Edited to add:  You would think that one who is on the Melissa FrancEs design team would know how to spell Melissa FrancEs.  You would think..... seriously.....ugggggg.....

 

Finally!  I'm at last posting the tutorial I promised months ago.   I put this crown together a while back using the new 5th Avenue paper.  You can impress all you friends, neighbors and kids in the car pool by wearing this little number.

First, gather all your supplies.  For those of you just tuning in, I always keep a large supply of chocolate nearby for any sugar intake needs.   Although it's not officially on the "supply" list, I highly recommend stashing some nearby.

Ok.....Here's what I used to create the crown......

MF 5th Avenue 12 x 12 paper

Geraldine

Ebony

Flora

MF Pink Tissue Fringe

MF Large Flower

Gathered White Seambinding

Tulle (for the top and the ties)

Pink Seambinding (for the ties)

Glitter

Glitter pen

Decorative Scissors

Adhesive 

gold stamp pad (optional)

 

I made a crown template from a piece of cardstock.    Just fold your paper in half and cut out desired shape from card stock.........

I used the "Geraldine" paper for the base of my crown.......

 
I cut a piece from the "Ebony" paper to run across the bottom......

Next, take the "Flora" paper (which, by the way, I love this paper. Love it.)......

 

Anyway, cut approximately 5 of the arches and set aside for just a minute......

 

Print up "Queen for a Day!" or any other appropriate phrase.  I've been known to wear the crown around the house with phrases such as "Pick up your Legos! I'm Not Your Maid"  as well as,  "For the tenth time, I Have no Idea What's for Dinner"   Anyway, feel free to choose whatever phrase best fits you......

Next, I cut the phrase out with a pair of decorative scissors and used the blue part of the "Flora" paper for the background.  I used Edwardian Script in MS Word for the font.  

 

Cut the paper to size around the phrase.   Remember that piece I told you to set aside?  Well, hopefully it didn't get buried under a bunch of papers and projects like mine did, resulting in a half hour of my life that I'll never get back........ 

 

Cut the sides on a angle to fit the phrase......

 

If you want to, you can edge all the sides with the gold stamp pad. Glue into place on the crown

Next, take the tissue fringe and glue to the bottom of the "Ebony" paper.......  

 

Because I'm putting the ruffled seambinding in the middle of the fringe, I took some time to seperate out the middle.......

 

I placed the ruffled seambinding in the middle of the fringe and glued into place.....

 

I used a pencil to trace around the arches and paper. It gives it a bit of dimension.  Plus, I feel that people take you a bit more seriously when wearing the crown with some shading on it......

For the tulle on the top of the crown, gather a bunch and tie with a piece of string......

 

 

 

Set the tulle piece aside for a minute because we are going to glitter!   Grab your trusty glue pen and trace around the areas you want to glitter......

 

For the crown itself, I used glue (I like to use Aleene's QuickDry Tacky glue when applying glitter) and a small square brush to outline the edges. 

 

 

I used white glitter for the front of the crown.  And silver for the edges and little dots......

 

Glue the tulle on the top to the back part of the crown.  Glue the seambinding and tulle on the back sides of the crown for the tie backs. 

There you go!  So, see, whether you let your loved ones know that  "It's My Party" or, "I Won't Be Doing Dishes Tonight!"  you will be doing it in grand style........  

 


If you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask in the comments or email me.  I'll be happy to help you out!  

Talk to you soon!  Karin

Tutorial Tuesday...I mean Thursday....

 

I mean, doing everything I possibly can to avoid doing taxes.  How am I supposed to do something as trivial as working on my taxes when I have all this new paper sitting right next to me..... Am I right, or am I right.   If my accountant is reading this right now....don't answer that.  

Anyway, since I'm so in love with this new paper and obsessed with using these acrylic overlays, I thought I would try to combine the two in a tag.  I think the thing I love about tags is they are quick and easy.  Also, the person you give it to can hang it up and display it like a little piece of art.

So here we go.......

I decided to use a piece of chipboard for the base of the tag.  Since I was going to have all sorts of things happening on the front I wanted something with a bit more stability than card stock.  I cut the chipboard 3 x 6" and then cut the paper a little under 3" in width and and in longer so I could fold it up on the bottom.......

 

I glued the two outside edges to form a little pocket. Just a little FYI....don't use a lot of glue.  It will spread and you won't be able to put your little tag in.  I actually used hot glue so I could control it a bit more.  You could also use a tape runner......

Next, I cut a piece of acrylic overlay and some pom pom trim.....

 

I glued the pom pom trim into place.....

 

Made sure the tag fit in nicely......

 

I inked the outside of the tag with a white ink pad.....
 

 

I inked the edges if the overlay with a combo of gold and coffee bean brown....... 

So then I started thinking about the little embellishments I wanted to use.   When I was making the "A girl and her story" scrapbook, I remembered I had bought this sticky back canvas a while back.  I'm sure it was to do all sorts of awesome things.  In the meantime it was just sitting there.  So I cut a little heart out and painted it.  I love the textured look to it.....

 

 

 

Plus it can be a dimensional as you want it to be.  In the " A girl" scrapbook, I didn't even take the backing off, I just hot glued down the middle and let the sides stick up.   For this one, I took the backing off and stuck it to the overlay.......

 

I just kept a bit of the tops of the heart popped up.....

 

So I experimented with a couple more embellishments.  This little flower and twine wandered over so I gave it a try.....

 

Hmmmmm.....the twine is cute but I don't want it.   The little flower...eh.  I'm not thrilled.

 

So I left that part of the tag to think about it later, and got to putting glitter dots on my heart.   I used my trusty glue pen to put the most perfect little dots on the heart.....

 

 

Dipped it in glitter....

 

Hmmmmm....Not only do I see the little flower is back; but it brought along its friend the button with it.  I hate to tell them, neither one is getting on this tag.  Instead, I grabbed some tulle and a piece of silk material and concentrated on the top bows.......

 

I then painted the bottom of the overlay tag with some leftover paint and stamped a "I Love You!" on top of it.  And, then much to the little flower's dismay, I chose this cute yellow flower to place on top of the heart......

 

I decided the tag needed some more glitter; so I used my glue pen to edge the paper and sprinkled some clear glitter on it.   I felt like the bottom needed something more so I wrote "Mom."  

Eh....It's kind of hard to see it....... 

  

If I could do it over, I probably wouldn't do it again.  But it looks ok......

 

I'm sure there is a little flower and a button saying "I told you so" somewhere out there......

So there you have it.  A cute little tag to make make if you are looking to avoid doing your taxes.....or any other chore like laundry or cleaning the house.   I'm always looking out for my fellow creative friends. 

Ok...no more avoiding it.  I have to finish my taxes.  Talk to you soon!  Karin

The Official Crepe Paper Christmas Tree Tutorial........

 
Woo Hoo....After a back breaking day at Paper Tales (which consisted of eating pumpkin bread, talking with some lovely ladies who read my blog, solving a glitter crisis, eating more pumpkin bread, ringing up crafty customers, inadvertently letting someone know that the special crinkle ribbon that's all the rage at the Tim Holtz 12 days of Tags blog is simply seambinding, eating more pumpkin bread and then finally waving goodbye to everyone), I arrived home to two boys and a Papa who had been waiting anxiously for my arrival so we could all watch Toy Story 3 together.   Once my eyes were dry from the ending of the movie, I got right to work on my Snowflake Box kits for tomorrow's class in between five loads of laundry.  Why am I telling you this?  Because I want everyone to see that I am totally committed to keeping my promise to bring you the tutorial.......even though I really want to sit on the couch and watch a movie......

 

But I must show you how to do this so you can become just as obsessed as I am.  Then I won't feel so lonely in my little world of crepe paper and glitter.   First, though, I have to tell you how it all happened.  Cindy Gilstrap, a wonderful crafter/artist, had made a crepe paper Christmas tree for the Joli Paquet blog that you can see here.   I instantly fell in love with it.  However, because I have the patience of a gnat, I decided to use my sewn ruffled crepe instead.   And the rest is history......

 

Now, I did a google search to see if these had ever been done before and didn't find anything.  Has anyone ever seen anything like this before?   Let me know if you do! 

 
Now, here are a couple things you need to know about this project.   Number one....once you start making these trees, you will find yourself unable to stop. Seriously. Ruffled crepe paper will never be the same to you.  You will find yourself looking for reasons why you need just one more crepe paper tree in your life.

 

Number two....expect to be pulling hot glue strings from your tree, your table, your body and your children for at least the next two months. 

Ok....I think we're ready!  

First gather your supplies.....

1. Crepe paper......I have no idea how much because I neglected to measure beforehand so let's just say a roll

2. Hot glue gun (this is what I used) or a heavy gel glue like fabri-tac or 3 in 1

3. Piece of paper to make into a cone or paper mache cone

4. Peppermint Bark candy bar (you will get hungry) 

 

I took a 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper and rolled it into a cone.  I then glued the end at the top to secure.......

 

 

Glue the sides......

 

Cut the bottom of the cone to from the base.  Once you cut it set it on the table to see if it's even and stands straight......

 

 

 

I sew my crepe paper on my sewing machine using a basting stitch and tight tension.  It ruffles up just right.  On my old machine, I had to pull the one end of the thread to ruffle it.  That works also. 

Start at the bottom with your first section skirting the bottom of the table.   Glue into place......

 

Continue around the base until you meet up in the back.....

 

Take it a bit above the last bottom skirt and continue around the cone.....

 

I worked in sections using pieces that were about two feet long.   When you get to the end, just match end to end and glue....
 
 

 

 Time for a break.....grab your chocolate......

 

 Ok, back to work!    We're almost done.......

 
 

Ta Da!  You did it!  For the very top I use a small section of the ruffled crepe paper and cut it a bit shorter than the other layers and then glue into place........

 

I hope you enjoyed it!   Put a bunch of glitter on and you are good to go.  I would LOVE to see any of the ones you make.  Please send pictures!!  Ok....I'm off to bed.....I've got a class to teach tomorrow! 

 

 

 

Tutorial Tuesday.....on Friday......

 

I did this project last year for Kari's Halloween blog.  I thought I would share it with you toady!

What you will need for this project:

• Large recycled can (I used a bean can....we had chili for dinner that night)
• Various black and white papers (I used vintage wallpaper, scrapbook paper, vintage sheet music, vintage book paper)
• Black crepe paper
• Black garland trim (I used Bethany Lowe)
• Silver tinsel pipe cleaners
• Various black and white ribbons
• Glitter star
• Banner with Halloween phrase
• gesso
• Adhesive (I used a glue stick)
• Glue gun

 

1.   First gather up all those little scrap pieces of vintage wallpaper, scrapbook paper, sheet music and any other black and white paper you would like to use.   You know…. The scraps you can’t bear to throw away, yet keep piling up because you’re not sure what to do with them?  Yep….those.  Now they have an important purpose!

 

At this point you can either just tear the paper, or cut them into squares and rectangles and glue down onto the can.  I used a glue stick, but you can also use mod podge or you favorite adhesive.   Don’t worry about a pattern or being perfect.  The beauty of this project is simplicity and randomness.  Just have fun with it.  Keep gluing all your pieces until you have covered the can completely........

 

 

At this point, it’s time to paint.  Water down some white paint and go around the top and bottom edges...

 

Then do a wash of paint on the rest of the can.

 

 Next up, glue the black tinsel around the top of the can.

 

 

I decided at the last minute to line the inside of the can with some vintage sheet music.  If you decide to skip this step, just make sure to paint the inside of your can with some gesso or primer.  Cut the sheet to the dimension of the can and place inside.  Don’t glue at this point because we are going to tuck the silver tinsel handle in between the paper and the can later.

 

 

 Next, grab two pieces of crepe paper. On the first piece (this will be your ruffle for the bottom of the can), sew a basting stitch along the the middle of the crepe.  On the second piece approximately 27” (this will be your rosette) sew along the edge. 

 
 
Pull one end of the thread and gather the crepe paper.  If you don’t have a sewing machine you can always gather and glue the crepe paper down  to the bottom of the can.  For the rosette, just sew a basting stitch and gather.

With a glue gun, glue the crepe paper down following the circles of the can.   It you want a little crepe showing, glue closer in the middle......more, glue closer to the edge.

 

 Next gather your star, tinsel and trim pieces and glue to the can.

 

With the other piece of silver pipe cleaner, tuck in between the sheet music and can.  Put some hot glue in the space and press down to hold.

 

Print out a phrase on the computer you would like to use.  Trim to size and ink the edges with a gold ink pad.

 

 

Although I show black glitter here, I ended up inking some black ink on the edges and then used a clear white glitter around the edges of the banner.

 

Lastly, tie some ribbons on the side of the handle and a little piece of tulle if you like.

 

Ta Da!   Your black and white tin is now ready to hold some Halloween candy..... but only the good stuff..... like chocolates. Enjoy!

 

Cake Kit .........

I'm doing another video tutorial through Cropped for my paper cake box.   This time my hair will be a little longer and I will hopefully appear less nervous in order to show you how to create a paper mache cake box like the one above. 

I'm also offering a kit to go with it.........

 

What you get in the kit:

·     Paper mache box

·     Variety of flowers as shown in example

·     Extra flowers

· Floral fabric

·     2 ½ yds pre-sewn pink seambinding

·     2 ½ yds pre-sewn crepe paper

·     1 yd pre-sewn crepe paper for rosette

·     A completed ruffled crepe paper

·     A completed crepe paper rosette 

·     Martha Stewart white glitter mix

·     Glitter Heart w/ attached glittered wire

·     3 mini banners (Make a Wish, Eat Cake, Happy Birthday)

·     Candle

·     2 crystals

·     Decorative paper (for bottom of cake)

Price: 15.00

Registration for the class is through Cropped and will be open on May 15th.   The tutorial will be available on June 15th.  

We are leaving today to go on a little family vacation.  Since I technologically live in the 18th century, I won't have access to my emails until we get back on Sunday.   If you have any questions about the kit or class, just send me an email and I will talk to you when I get back.   

We'll be celebrating a cancer free life and Carlos' 10th birthday (my birthday too. However, I like to ignore that year older part.)  at Universal Studios and Santa Barbara.  

I talk to you when I get back!!  Karin

Tutorial Tuesday......on Friday!

Pink Floral "Nest" Banner

Here's what you will need: 

• Melissa Francis Chipboard Banner
• Narratives "honeydew" paper
• 7 Gypsies "barcelona terrassa" paper
• Girl's Paperie "cabbage rose"
• Pink Tulle
• Pink Pom Pom Trim
• Chipboard Letters
• Glitter

I love this project.  It's super easy and fast.  I was thinking it would make a nice housewarming gift. 

OK........once you have everything gathered, go get a piece of chocolate to eat while doing this project.   It's a "must have" supply in the Chaos craft room.   Just make sure to wipe your hands so you don't get chocolate smudges all over your project.

1.  After checking to make sure your fingers are clean, place the Chipboard on the "Green Scroll" paper and trace the outline.  Cut and glue to the chipboard. 

2.  Cut the "Barcelona" paper to the width desired. Cut the sides to fit the design on the banner.  I used a scallop scissor to cut the top edge.  Glue into place on the banner.

3.  Cut one of the large flowers patterns out of the "Paper Girl" paper.  Glue into place as shown in the picture. 

4. Punch holes in the top of the banner for the ribbon.

5. Put glitter on the edges of the banner.  I personally use a a small paintbrush to outline the edges with glue and then sprinkle on the glitter.   You could also use glitter glue like Stickles to do the edges.

6. Glue your pom pom trim along the bottom of the "Barcelona" paper. 

7. Place your chipboard letters where you want them and then glue.

8. Lightly spread some glue on the pink flowers and then sprinkle white glitter on top.

8. Thread the tulle through the holes.  After deciding the length you want, knot the tulle in the front of the banner to prevent it from slipping through. 

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:

Green Floral "Nest" Banner

 

 

Here's what you will need: 

• Melissa Francis Chipboard Banner
• Narratives "honeydew" paper
• 7 Gypsies "barcelona terrassa" paper
• Girl's Paperie "cabbage rose" paper
• Tulle
• Pink Seambinding
• Webster's Pages "bloomers" ribbon
• Chipboard Letters
• Glitter

1.  Place the Chipboard on the "Paper Girl" paper and trace top part of banner outline.  Cut and glue to the chipboard.  Do the same for the bottom half with the "Barcelona" paper.

2.  Cut the "Green Scroll" paper to the width desired. Cut the sides to fit the design on the banner.  I used a scallop scissor to cut the top edge.  Glue into place on the banner.

3. Put glitter on the edges of the banner.  I personally use a a small paintbrush to outline the edges with glue and then sprinkle on the glitter.   You could also use glitter glue like Stickles to do the edges.

4.  Glue the green floral ribbon to the bottom of the "green scroll" paper. 

5. Punch holes in the top of the banner for the ribbon.

6. Place your chipboard letters where you want them and then glue.

7. Thread the tulle  through the holes.  After deciding the length you want, knot the tulle in the front of the banner to prevent it from slipping through.   Make a bow with the seambinding.  Thread the long portion of the seambinding through the holes.  Fit for length.  Knot at the hole and a the end of the seambinding.

There you go!  Now go find yourself a a housewarming party in which to get invited.  Or, tell your friends to move so you can bring this to their new home.  Either way you will be ready! 

Talk to you soon!  Karin

edited (Thanks to Linda!) to reflect the correct spelling of TUTORIAL.....ugggg...

 

Tutorial Tuesday.........on Wednesday!

I was at Michael's the other day (I know, I know....we have such a dysfunctional relationship) perusing the $1 bins that had been marked down to 50 cents and saw these little magnets.   I like them because they are big (3x3) and sturdy.   So lets take some plain jane magnets like these..........  

And turn them into these............Super simple and easy. 

 

Glue some of your favorite paper down on the magnets.  I used my new favorite from the Girl's Paperie that looks like my vintage wallpaper........

For the little frames I grabbed these cute little Maya Road chipboard ones that I got at Paper Tales awhile back.......

I put glitter on both frames and attached a picture on the back........

I decided to do a little piece of crepe paper on the top of one of the frames......

 

To do this I ruffled some crepe paper by sewing it up the middle and ruffling it. 

I cut off a little piece and glued the ends together.....

I then shaped it into a half circle and glued into place......

 I added some trim to the bottom.......
 

Glued the frames into place and sent it off to the refrigerator to get to work holding spelling tests and pictures of Cranky the Crane.  

 

Talk to you later!  Karin