Sunday, 29 April 2012

Recycled paint chip origami mini box—of love




With Mother's Day right around the corner, what do you get the mom who has everything?  Everyone knows that material things from a store don’t mean as much as a gift from the heart…or in this case a box with a heart. This project utilizes larger sized paint chip samples and a simple origami box that most kids already know how to create.  The paint chips are a little thicker than the usual origami paper but if you use a bone folder or ruler you can crease the folds easily.

You will need:

2 Larger sized paint chip samples lighter colors work best

Bone folder or wooden ruler

Tacky glue

Small heart shaped motif, you can use a rhinestone heart, wooden, paper punched, or like in my case a puffy heart.

Tiny gift bow

Ruler, pencil, scissors


1.     Measure and cut a paint chip sample 3 ½” x 3 ½”.  Cut the other paint chip sample 3 ¼” x 3 ¼”.


2.     Using the larger paint chip (top) fold in half, turn and fold in half again. Open to non-colored side.





3.     Fold the corner up to center line.  Repeat for remaining three corners. 



4.     Turn and fold up bottom straight edge.  Turn and do the same to the other side.



5.     Open and turn sideways.  Turn up bottom to meet the point. (See photo)  So the same to the opposite side.





6.     Turn piece long ways and turn upper corner in to meet the lower fold line. (See photo)  Repeat on the other side.  Do the same thing to the opposite end corners.



7.     Open.  This is the only tricky part, although it does sort of fold itself.  Tuck the points in and down on one side first, then do the same thing on the opposite side.  All four points will meet inside the box top.  (See photo)





8.     Repeat steps 2-7 for the smaller paint chip sample. (Bottom)


9.     Stick a mini bow on the top.




10. Glue a mini heart inside the bottom box.


Monday Musings -- An Early Edition

Hi, everyone,

Thanks to everyone who visited this last week. Extra thanks to those leaving such kind comments.

Hope everyone had a chance to get outside this weekend. Yesterday was a rainy, kind-of-raw day here. But, today's been gorgeous!

Yesterday's weather was perfect for tinkering with this week's CAS-ual Friday challenge. And, in spite of today's beautiful weather, I managed to squeeze in an OWH card.  :)

Card #1: OWH Sketch #119

Sketch #119 was the inspiration for the Any Hero below. Of course, I turned the sketch horizontally. I swear that one of those circles is is 2.5 inches in diameter! (And, what would I ever do without my Creative Memories circle and oval cutting system?)

Papers: Bo Bunny Liberty, Bazzill Admiral and Watermelon, BasicGrey kraft; jute and blue mesh; border punch
I played a little with the layering of the papers for the circles before deciding on this combination. Other than that, this card came pretty easily. The criss-cross patterns of the jute, mesh, and kraft paper really seemed to work well together.(Sadly, it;s about the last of my blue mesh.)

Card #2: CFC50
This week's challenge is a spring-inspired challenge to make cards featuring flowers or trees. Since I'd been wanting to try out a technique shared by a Stampin' Up! consultant at the recent Pizazz It! scrapbooking event, I was pretty excited to work on a flower card. And, I must say, I'm really pleased with the way the card below turned out!

card base and sentiment oval: core paper; Punches: Stampin' Up!: all else: garage sale finds


Stampin' Up Technique: Secure end of twine/floss with tape at back of flower; loop twine/floss across diameter of flower, moving around the circumference of the flower, and taping the end of the floss to the back of the flower to secure it. The consultant used baker's twine in her demo, but the lighter weight of the floss seemed a better match for the delicacy of this paper.


There are three things that I love about this card:
  • The way the embellishments came together so nicely. And, the fiber I used for the stem has a natural fraying element to it, which made for a perfect leaf. :)
  • The image was taken with our new digital camera. I decided to forgo the usual scanning because I knew the shadows would not do justice to this little flower.
  • Most of the elements were made from garage sale finds: the funky fiber, the buttons, and the lovely Stampin' Up! paper. 
The one thing I don't like is that the card is probably a little too delicate and a little too thick to send to OWH. Feels like mail fail. Guess it'll just have to go to a friend who is need of a smile. :)
Speaking of Garage Sales...
  
Yesterday was the first garage sale of the season for hubby and me.
  • The good news: I always enjoy spending the day with hubby.
  • The bad news: The sale itself was disappointing -- aside from a couple of cute magnet stocking stuffers.
But while I had my camera out to photograph Sure to Bring a Smile, I took a couple of photos of some of my best scrapbooking/card-making garage sale finds.
 
A great cabinet that holds brads, gems, buttons, Distress and Alcohol Inks and their applicators. The little clown is a souvenir from a visit to FAO Schwarz in NYC 30 years ago -- and is a constant reminder to be as creative as possible!
Not quite sure what the original owners used this for, but it's been a CD holder and is now a card organizer. Years of tole painting classes came in handy when I changed its appearance to better fit the room's decor.
a wonderful cutting board and the book full of dies that came with my $25 Zip'e Mate
 
a pair of chairs that came painted white with butcher-board-like seats that matched perfectly with the room decor
A fabulous find! A drawer for punches, another for stamps... The top actually folds down (to make a changing table), which I originally used to layout 12 by 12 pages. However, the baskets from Pottery Barn fit the space so perfectly it's as if they came together. So, the baskets now hold stamp pads, pens, rulers, etc. I painted the drawer fronts and sides to better fit the room decor, but the base color was already white.
So, what are your favorite garage sale finds?  I'd love to hear about them!

Parting Thoughts
Not quite sure what the week holds card-making wise. I still have a couple of Tim Holtz's classes to watch. And, I'd like to try to use up some scraps with last Monday's {Mojo}Mondays challenge.
 
Have a great week and happy scrappin'!

Saturday, 28 April 2012

Contest : Guess my Name? Contest Closed!

guess what my name is, who


Lets have a break and have some fun


Surely its not Rumpelsptiltskin and its not Rupertt Aryeen Wind, that is my pen name.


So Why not we all have a guessing game around here just for the fun of it, Okay May be I will do a feature on you! an interview perhaps, that too just for fun! аnd there is also a special gift send to your home! 


Anyone who already know my name must not participate and i ask you to keep the game interesting by adding and giving away clues!

So here is the rules:


Rule 1: guess my name and be creative if you don't know it! There are no negative marks.
Rule 2: You can try infinite times but don't destroy my page by actually commenting infinite times, may be a hundred times per person.You cant be that creative but just to be on the safe side!
Rule 3 : there is no more rules.


Clues: You could always ask me, or rather trick me into giving away my name! so have fun

Winners :: Rohu and Divya ! Congrats winners!

comment away 


Friday, 27 April 2012

Friday Night Writes

Hey, everybody,

It was a pretty good week around here. Hope that you can say the same.

Tonight, I have 4 cards to share.

Card #1: OWH's Midweek Challenge

This week's challenge was to make a sweet summertime card for our heroes to send home. The card below was one of the last ones that made it in my box sent to Kris this week. And, those of you who visit regularly might recognize it as the card inspired by one of Ashley Rock's designs.

Jillibean Soup Watermelon Gazpacho Collection; Core Paper Flower Power collection

Card #2: {Mojo}Monday Sketch 238

I loved this week's {Mojo}Monday sketch. Isn't it interesting how the cards for some sketches come so easily?

In her post, Teresa Kline writes that this was a great sketch to use up scraps. And, I can think of some scraps that I will be using to make some really cute cards using this sketch. 

However, what first came to my mind was cutting a 3 inch by 4 inch section of some adorable toy-themed paper into 12 1-inch squares. A few stickers from one of my crop garage sale stash made for some cute embellishments. The only thing I struggled with at all was the tag part of the design. But, I think I worked that out, too, after a couple of tries. A funky fiber provided the final touch for the sketch's tag.

Paper: Crate Paper Toy Box collection; Stickers: Stickabilities by Paper Studio
 I really want to make more kid cards for OWH. And, this little card is the first of my next shipment! 

BTW  It would be interesting to get a little feedback on this card as it wasn't one of hubby's favorite. He just didn't get it.  Oh, well...   :) 

Cards #3 and #4

What these two cards have in common is that they were both made for friends. Card #3 was made for a friend at work who is leaving Ohio and headed back to her hometown state.  I'd actually made this card awhile ago -- and really liked it -- but didn't think there was enough room for a hero's handwritten message because the top of the card is only about 3 inches wide. (Sorry about the irritating shadow in the bottom third of this scanned image.)

Materials: if only I knew/remembered  : (
Since spring reminds me of rebirth and new beginnings, it seemed perfect for Anne as she embarks on a new adventure.


Card #4 was the top of my to-do list this week -- a sympathy card for family friends who just said good-bye to their beloved family dog, Duke. 

Paper: Provo Craft Paws-itive Thinking collection, core paper, miscellaneous card stock; Embellishment: The Paper Company Paws and Claws matteboard stickers; Sentiment: Jillian Vance, stamped in StazOn jet black
I think I'm headed in the right direction. I don't want it to be too frilly or whimsical. On the other hand, I don't want it to be too maudlin. But, the card doesn't feel quite yet finished. Maybe some Versamark paw prints... Hmmm... Any suggestions? 

Parting Thoughts

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Christmas in April and May for hubby and me -- aka garage sale season. There are really only 2 sales we try to hit every spring. And, the first of these is tomorrow! :)

So, what are your favorite garage sale craft finds? I'll share a few of mine on Monday.

Until then, happy weekend and happy scrappin'! 

Thursday, 26 April 2012

Decorated Hairpins--with paint chip samples




Don’t throw away those paint chip samples from your home painting projects. Recycle them to create these cute decorated hairpins for anyone, any time, any season!

You will need:

Pack of Hairpins with bezel

Clear dimensional glaze (I used Dimensional Magic by Mod Podge available in craft stores and online)

Various color paint chip samples

Tacky craft glue

Tweezers

Small paper punches in any motif

Piece of cardboard, a cereal box is great for this use.

Ruler, scissors, pencil


1.     Measure the inside of the bezel and cut out a background color to fit.  Trim if necessary.  Dab a tiny bit of tacky glue on the inside of the bezel and place the background piece inside.




2.     From another coordinating color paint chip sample, punch out a motif in a size that will fit inside the bezel.


3.     Dab a tiny bit of glue in the bezel center and using the tweezers place the motif inside. 




4.     Attach the pins to a piece of thin cardboard so that they will remain level.


5.     Do not shake the dimensional glaze, as it will cause bubbles to form. Fill each pin to the top edge.  If any bubbles appear pop with a pin. The glaze will look cloudy but dries clear and shiny.


6.     Place aside and let the pin dry for several hours till dry.  Drying times will vary according to humidity and temperature, 24 hours drying time is best.