How to Tie a Flat Bow

This may not be rocket science, but knowing how to tie a flat bow can come in handy at times.  Flat bows are great for scrapbook pages and homemade cards because they add dimension without too much bulk.  

Here is a short video of my hands.  Okay, okay, I mean here is a short video of my hands making a flat bow.  I hope you enjoy the tutorial!

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Easy Retro Ornament From Paper Scraps

Each year we make some sort of hand crafted ornament from paper.  I try to keep them simple so that my small children can participate.  This year I decided to make a retro-style ornament from 1/2 strips of paper left over from other projects.  You'll need seven strips for the ornament on the right, and five strips of paper for the ornament on the left.  I used the Pear & Partridge paper from Close To My Heart.

 

For the seven-strip ornament, cut the smallest strip at 3.5 inches long, two strips at 4 inches long, two strips at 4.5 inches long, and two strips at 5 inches long.  Set them out as shown.  The is the order in which to glue them together.

Tools needed:  adhesive, paper piercing tool, and micro-tip scissors.

Using just a small (about 1/2 inch) of adhesive on the end of each paper, begin to stack the strips from largest to smallest...

...and back up to the largest.  Your little stack of papers will look something like this.  Poke a hole at the bottom and put in a brad to hold it all together.
 

I used cranberry brads and baker's twine for my ornament.  Green brads and baker's twine would have looked just fine, too.

Next, line up the tops of all the paper strips and glue them together.  Poke a hole, string through the baker's twine and add a brad.  Ornament done.  (Tip:  I used the point of my micro-tip scissors to make the top hole big enough for the baker's twine.)

This is me, walking to the Christmas tree to hang my ornament.  I love Christmastime.  This photo feels so festive.  Yes, that is a Santa hat and a paper airplane on the top of the tree.  The children were 100% in charge of decorating the tree this year.

My children made the 5-strip ornaments (like the one on the left) because the were a little easier to work with. 

For the five strips, cut one strip at 4 inches long, two strips at 4.5 inches long, and two more at 5 inches long.  Assemble in the same manner as shown for the seven-strip ornament.

 

The patterned papers from Close To My Heart are perfect for this type of project because there is a unique design on each side of the paper.  So no matter which way you turn the ornament, it looks great!  Here is one side of an ornament...

...and here is the other side.  A totally different look.

Here is my son's retro-style ornament.  He chose the green brads and baker's twine, plus a little extra dash of bling.

Merry Christmas and happy crafting!

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A Dino-Mite scrapbook layout!

At a recent workshop, we had fun making a darling Dino-Mite layout.  Even though dinosaurs seem very boy-ish, they can also be used for girls.  Take a look:

Here are some step-by-step instructions on how to create this layout.  All papers, tools, and supplies are from Close To My Heart. 

First we will start with the boy version.  The ink colors used are Desert Sand, Pacifica, Pear, Sunset, and Colonial White.

This is the cute "Roar!" stamp set.  Don't you think this will make cute cards, too?

A special tool used in this workshop is the Spray Pen.  Fill it with a re-inker and water mix to add a fun textured look to your projects.

Basic stamping supplies include clear blocks (mine are obviously well-loved and well-used!), scissors, adhesive, and Glue Dots.

Don't forget the stamp cleaning supplies:  spritzer and scrubber.

Now for the papers and embellishments.  The base pages are Kraft paper, and the rest of the cardstocks are in the same colors as the inks shown above:  Pear, Pacifica, Sunset, and Colonial White.  For specific cutting instructions, see the Reflections book by Jeanette Lynton.

To start, line up the two Colonial White papers and stamp the dinosaur images in the various colors.  You'll want to pay attention to spacing between the dinosaurs so that you have enough room for the next dinosaurs!

Here are a few tips for stamping solid images: 

1)  Ink up the stamp really well, and do some test stamping on a piece of scratch paper.

2)  Place the foam piece (from the stamp set) under your stamping area.

3)  Try tapping and twisting the stamp set on the ink pad.  Twisting usually gives me the best results with solid stamps.

Here is a look at how mine turned out.  Yours will look different if you mix up the colors.  Were stegosaurus dinosaurs really blue?  Who knows.  My son is absolutely sure that I got the colors wrong.  "The Triceratops should be blue," he says, "and the Pteranodon was orange."  He also says that both the T-Rex and Stegosaurus were shades of green.  Well, let's just say I took some artistic liberties with this one!

Feel free to ink the edges of your papers with Desert Sand ink.  Just dip a piece of sponge in the ink and swipe it on the paper edges for a more finished look. 

Note:  This step is why my fingertips and fingernails look brown-ish in the next few photos.  Inky fingers mean you are having fun, right?

Next, make a water/re-inker mix in your Spray Pen and spritz the stamped papers.  This technique works really great with the dinosaurs because it looks a little sandy, as if we were on an archaeological dig.

Next, adhere the stamped papers to the blue mats, then adhere to the Kraft paper background.  At this point we are on the home stretch with this layout!

Add some embellishments.  Here I used the Pacifica Mini-Medley Accents Collection.  Since the frame and tag are metal, Glue Dots work the best.  I don't have a photo yet, so I only glued down the right side of the little frame.  That way I can still slip a photo underneath.

To keep grosgrain ribbon from fraying, slightly heat the edges.  This is ribbon from the Sunset Mini-Medley Accents Collection.

To embellish the upper right-hand corner of the page, add a button and ribbon.  Then stamp some cute dinosaur bones in the Colonial White ink (which is more like a paint).  Allow plenty of time for this to dry, or heat-set with a Craft Heater tool.

Stamp an extra dinosaur on a scrap of cardstock, then trim.  This little guy is going to hang out on the small frame.

One more stamp (You Rock) and this page is essentially done.  Ready for a photo and title.

On the second page of this layout I decided to add three tags, which could be used for photos or journaling.  For now I didn't worry about spacing since I will tack them down after adding the additional photos.

The final product!  I hope you have as much fun making this as I did!

Check out page 89 of the 2012 Spring/Summer Idea Book to see the layout with a photo.  The awesome-looking title was made by swiping Colonial White ink on Color-Ready Cork Alphabet letters.  Again, allow to dry or heat set after using the Colonial White ink.

Look for the pink version of this layout coming soon!

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Cricut, Cricut, Cricut!!!

Cricut + Close To My Heart = Best Friends Forever!




Stamping and the Cricut go hand in hand.  I can't wait to be able to order this Cricut cartridge and coordinating stamps + chipboard!!!  You can get one, too, starting August 1st. 
Email me at princess_camelot@hotmail.com and/or comment on this post to let me know how excited you are for Cricut! How soon should I buy the Cricut machine? Wait, a better question: How soon should I have my hubby buy one for me?

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Tulip Treat basket

This little treat basket is made to look like a tulip.  My friend, Jeni, showed me the idea.

There are lots of photos in this tutorial, but the project is really simple and fast!
Even kids can make it easily.

For supplies, you will need:

Paper trimmer with scoring blade

Adhesive

Scissors

Stapler

You'll also need:

6x6" square of cardstock

5 3/4 x 5 3/4" square of patterned paper

Don't forget the candy.  It is the most important part.

Score the cardstock at 1.5" and 3" and 4.5"

Turn the cardstock 90 degrees and score again.

Here is the scoring diagrm.  Later we will be cutting, so for now, just focus on the scoring part.

Glue the patterned paper...

Place it on the back of the cardstock,

and secure.

Using the scoring guide pictured above, cut a short line at the half-way mark on each side.

Now you should be able to bring up two opposite sides.  This will form the inside of your basket.

Overlap with one of the outside flaps...

...and staple.  So easy.

Here is the important part.  Bring up the other outside flap.  Have the two corners point to each other.  Your project won't look a tulip if you skip this essential step.

Fold and staple the same on the other side.  Here I was putting in the last staple, which can be a little tricky.

Tulip treat basket...

Tulip treat basket filled with salt-water taffy!



My son loves green, so we had to make a green version, just for fun.

Enjoy!  Let me know how many tulips you make!

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