Great new craft forum - introducing My Makes

I'm very happy to reveal that I've been appointed one of the moderators for a lovely new crafts forum called My Makes. It's a friendly community for all crafts and I hope you will join us and make new friends and share your own makes.

I have also done a tutorial for this banner birthday card, made from scraps of paper and Washi tape, and will be working on more tutorials for the forum in the future.  Hope to see you there!

Banner birthday card

Scented Strawberry Sachet

I made this little scented strawberry to hang in my car but it would also make a cute scissor keeper or pincushion.  It's published on the Fiskarettes UK FaceBook page.

I cut a semi-circle with a radius of 8 cm from red felt, a white flower and a green leaf and calyx.  

I sewed yellow seed beads randomly onto the berry, then with right sides together sewed the side seam to make a cone shape, rounding the bottom so the shape wasn’t too pointy. 

I filled the berry with toy filling, and inserted a cotton wool ball with a few drops of pot-pourri refresher oil, then gathered the top edge with a running stitch. I then stitched the opening closed and attached a loop of ribbon to the top of the berry.  

I added veins to the calyx and leaf with two strands of green embroidery silk, snipped a small hole in the centre of the calyx to pull the hanging loop through, then stitched the calyx and leaf onto the strawberry.  I sewed some larger gold beads to the centre of the flower and attached it onto the opposite side to the leaf.

A Card for Quick Cards Made Easy Issue 154

Quick Cards Issue 154

Dreamcatcher card

I was lucky enough to be chosen to design a card for Quick Cards Make Easy magazine and was delighted to be sent such pretty papers in bright colours and Aztec-inspired patterns.  I used two triangles of complementary papers, cut out a couple of dreamcatchers from another paper, die cut some feathers and made a rosette from the other papers, added one of the sentiment toppers from the set and finished off with some sequins and tiny gems, all on a background of bright pink cardstock to pull all the colours together.

Fairy Wand

Make a Wish!

I used the Fiskars Shape template to draw two stars on gold felt, cut them out and sewed on star sequins to decorate. The two stars were blanket stitched together, leaving a gap at the base. I  painted a garden cane gold and added a little glitter with a glittery nail varnish top coat. I glued a little ball of toy stuffing onto one end of the stick to pad it.  When this was dry I inserted it into the star and stuffed it firmly with toy stuffing, using a pencil to push it right into the points, then sewed up the gap and added a ribbon and bell.  Magic!

Made for the Fiskarettes UK design team

Chocolate Box Card

A Mother's Day card - an everlasting chocolate box

Who doesn't love a nice selection box - and this one lasts forever!  The toppings are beads, gems and dimensional paint.

Made for the Fiskarettes UK design team

Hexagon Necklace

I made this nature themed neckace for the Fiskarettes UK Facebook page

 

I used a Fiskars hexagon punch to cut the shapes from white shrink plastic, coloured them with all the different blue Promarkers I could lay my hands on and stamped them with various nature themed stamps (flowers, bird, dragonfly, butterfly and feather) with Staz-On ink. I highlighted the flowers on the darkest hexagon with silver gel pen as I knew the colours would darken once I had shrunk the plastic.  

 

I used scrap card to plan out where the linking holes needed to be

 

 

I punched holes to link them together then shrunk them with a heat gun and joined them with jump rings.

They hexagons shrunk to about a third of the original size

  I cut two lengths of rattail cord, threaded one through the jump ring on each end of the hexagons and used silver wire to wrap each end of the doubled cords and attach the clasp.

 

Steampunk Pillow Box

A pillow box I made for the Fiskarettes UK Facebook page

Cut and score a pillow box shape from brown card and dab with copper ink pad to give a metallic finish. 

Emboss a strip of silver card and copper card with metal effect embossing folders, distress with diluted black paint and layer with black paper to form a band round the box.  Wrap with twine.

Use the hexagon punch and a circle die or punch to make a bolt shape from Kraft card, dab with copper ink pad, distress with dilute black paint and add texture with black glitter glue.  When dry, coat with embossing ink and clear emboss.  Add a punched tag made from silver card with twine and add a peel-off greeting to finish.