Hi Crafters
Just a quick post today to show you the Reindeer Choir cards we made at Craft Club last night
I saw these on Pinterest and made some myself and then the group decided to make them.
They are a basic Teepee card dressed with antlers and open mouth. I had to design the open book, and hands, as I could see them in some of the pictures but could find no instructions.
You can use any oval dies of suitable size and some of the antlers are flower branch dies.
Thank you to Angela for taking the pictures and sending them to me.
Dee
Hi Crafters
A quick post today to show you this pretty little origami star dish/gift box.
This is not my idea it came from Rachthestamper.com
You can also see another version with a pretty lid on www.Dawnstampingthoughts.net, or Youtube.
In the demonstrated versions they used double sided papers and these are the easiest to use as you make one and decorate, but for my trial I used a piece of 6 x 6 from my stash and as I did not know how well it would turn out just used single sided. (this is a good tip for new trials as single sided is generally less expensive)
As you can see the base of the star shows the white side of the paper.
But having mastered the folding I used a Christmas paper double sided, this one used a piece 8 x 8" cut from a 12 x 12
I used some of the 12 x 12 left over to make a handle.
I then thought if there are lots of you out there with lots of one sided 6 x6 sheets of paper, how could you use them up to make these pretty boxes. A eureka moment later and I cut one sheet down to 5.5" square folded it in the same way, but using the opposite side up, and then slipped it inside the 6 x 6 folded square to make the one you see in the picture at the top of the page.
They make pretty little star dishes to put your sweets into
Or you could follow Dawns Stamping Thoughts method and make a lid to give a small gift
I can see me making these for Easter.
I hope you have a go and if so I would love to see the results
Dee
Hi Crafters
So here we are in November already and Christmas Craft Fair season begins.
The main reason for so few blogs in October was my preparation for the Craft Fairs I do.
My first is on 9th November at Nailsea and I love this fair. It is well attended and with a great variety of crafts on offer. It runs all day over 3 halls at the Methodist CHurch.
I am nearly ready. As in previous fairs, this year I am trying some new items as well as regular paper crafts. I try new items cautiously, if it is a new papercraft with a relatively small price tag and uses craft items already in my stash I may make 10-15 or whatever looks presentable on the table. If the item is larger and uses additional craft items that have to be purchased I will may 5-6. This is the number of Christmas Wreaths I have made to take to Nailsea. I have made some lovely wreaths using a metal ring that can be recycled next year. Some are covered in burlap ribbon and some in wire edged Christmas ribbons before decorating.
I had thought about taking wreaths to craft fairs before but was not sure how to present them, I ususally see them mounted on a back panel but I have nothing like this, however I have bought myself a wreath stand and am really pleased with the look and height as it will sit well on the table.
I can display a couple of wreaths at a time which is fine as anyone interested can then see what else is available and the display will not overshadow the other items on the table.
My next problem was the actual sale. If I sold one, what do I put it in. I could buy some carrier bags but the bags large enough to take the wreaths are made of plastic and I am trying to promote more natural crafts, as well as recycled so plastic bags did not compliment the theme. I therefore spent this morning making large carrier bags from ends of rolls of wallpaper and oddments of ribbon and cord from my stash.
I am now set to present my 6 Wreaths at the Fair.
During November I will write about the items I have made and then in December I will give a report on what worked and what didn't. Many of the crafters that so generously share their makes on YouTube do series on Craft Fair items and will also share the successes and less favoured items, so if you are thinking of selling at a fair in the next year it is well worth doing dome homework and checking out what is currently popular. A large chunk of trade is lost to me as I make very few items for children. I do not have any so do not know the market and steer clear of trying to make for them.
I do make items suitable for teacher gifts and stokcing filler and this year have made some delicious Elf Stockings for Chocolate lovers.
Good luck to all of you taking part in Craft fairs for the holiday season, I would love to hear how you get on
Dee
Hi Crafters
Following on my previous post here is a gift bag made from 2 Christmas cards, in a similar way to the box.
The finished gift bag measures 15cm wide and 16cm tall with a 8.5cm gusset, so will hold quite a lot
It would be suitable for a number of items including makeup, toiletries, breakfast gift bag etc.
Ideal for Teachers gifts, friends and neighbours, and shows some thought and effort has gone into the gift process.
Again this idea came from a similar item demonstrated on Posh Paper Lady blog, where you can get the layout and scoring required to put your 2 cards together together for the base gift bag. I have added some green tissue paper to go with the card and used some scrap card from my stash to make the handles.
Here is the gift bag alongside a second box I made with another 2 cards from the card set and in this box I have added 10 cards made using more of the cards and envelopes from the kit.
I will be collecting Christmas cards to recycle and both of these projects can be used to recycle your Christmas cards received this year, by simply choosing 2 cards the same size that go together and lining the card with some pretty papers from your stash. Check back in January to see how I can get on with this idea and for fuller tutorials.
Why not subscribe to my blog by hitting the follow button at the top of the page. It is free, and you can check in for more inspiration and general chit chat on crafting and ideas for craft fair projects.
Happy Crafting
Dee
Hi Crafters
I have been busy preparing for the Craft Fairs, but when I could not sleep last night I had a cup of tea and went on YouTube where I saw another great idea to use up those card kits you have purchased, used but have lots left in the kit sitting in the cupboard.
The idea is simple and can be adapted to most size cards
Use 2 of the cards to make a great box
The idea comes from The Posh Paper Lady Blog, who demonstrated the idea with 2 5" x 7" card, her boxes were lined with more card to make them very sturdy, but I think my cards were heavy enough card not to need lining.
My cards were 15cm by 30cm and I therefore worked out the dimensions and cuts required to make this gorgeous box
I cut 2" from the back of each card and then scored 1/2" down the cut edge. Using red tape I put the two cards together to form the middle of the box.
Then I worked out the depth of the base and lid I wanted and cut 2 pieces of card to make the base and lid these measured 24.25cm x 17.75cm, scored at 2cm and 4.5cm on all four sides.
Make up the lid and base, glue the middle to the base and decorate
This bow is a little excessive but I love it. The finished box measures 15cm x 8.5cm x 21.5cm, so could be used to wrap those parcels for Christmas
I liked the finished box so much I made another from 2 more of the cards from the set and this I will use to house 10 cards and envelopes made from the set. This £8 kit has given me hours of crafting and it feels really good to re-purpose something from your stash. I have made cards, covered notebooks, and made several styles of boxes from the kit.
Happy Crafting
Dee
