Posts Tagged ‘Craft’

06
Jun
2014

Heat Embossing 101

Written by: Lisa

Embossing is fabulous—it’s the perfect way to embellish paper and turn it into something special. Have invitations to send out? Place cards to make for that fancy get-together? Gift tags to stick on those carefully selected presents? Why not emboss all of these things and add a little glamour to what you do!

You’ve all seen embossed items—today I’m going to describe heat embossing so your design is upraised from the paper. It is a very easy process that anyone can do. The following tutorial shows my mother-in-law and I making the tags for a Wishing Tree at a recent bridal shower. We got our goodies at Paper Source– be warned you will buy everything you see– I love this place!

What you need:

Paper—whatever you are creating (tags, invites, etc.)

Ink—in the colors you would like your design to be

**Pigment ink is what you need- it dries slower so you can apply the powder. VersaMark

Watermark is clear ink and is the brand that I’ve used- found at craft stores.**

Embossing Powder—in the colors you would like your design to be

Embossing Heat Tool—sold in craft stores—Walmart has one for $15

Rubber Stamp/Design of your choose

Paper/Folder- as a work surface to catch overflow powder

Step 1:

Choose your color(s) and corresponding stamps. We had a border stamp which would be black and a letter ‘G’ which would be gold.

With this in mind, we planned to use a black ink pad for the border coupled with clear embossing powder. For the ‘G’ we would use the VersaMark clear ink pad and gold embossing powder on top of the clear stamped ‘G’.

Step 2:

After stamping each paper with the border in black ink we were ready to start the embossing.

Step 3:

Using the clear ink pad we stamped the ‘G’ in the center of each oval. As it’s a clear stamp, be sure to take note of what you’ve stamped—if you lose track, you can see it if you look closely.

Step 4:

After the clear ‘G’ is on the paper, sprinkle the embossing powder on top. You’ll see that it sticks to the stamp. Shake off the excess powder.

This is where it’s crucial to have a manila folder or a slightly folded piece of paper underneath. The excess powder will fall onto the paper and you can then refill your powder container every once in a while. You do not want to waste this stuff!

Step 5:

Use your heat tool to melt the grains of powder into a smooth surface. It’s nerdy, but I think it’s kind of cool to see just how quickly it melts into your upraised design.

If you’re doing a large project (we did about 50 cards) and you have a helper, it is best to get an assembly line going. My mother-in-law stamped and passed them off to me for sprinkling/heating.

Just a note- If you don’t have a heat tool, I’ve seen online that it works with some hairdryers, but you need it to be super hot and it takes longer to do. I haven’t personally known anyone to use this method.

Step 6:

Your newly embossed products are good to go! You can do really neat things with embossing, such as tone on tone, or emboss the design and then color the background only with a contrasting ink color. The possibilities are vast and it is an easy craft with a great impact.

Don’t these tags look great on the Wishing Tree at the bridal shower?!

Here’s a picture of my bridal shower invitation and our seed paper wedding favors, both created by embossing:

Happy Embossing!

26
Mar
2014

Jute & Twine Wrapped Easter Eggs

Written by: Lisa

If you’ve had a winter like us here in Maryland, you are awaiting the arrival of Spring with bated breath. Although the outdoors may not reflect Spring weather quite yet, there’s no reason your indoors can’t begin showcasing some warmth and happiness.

When it comes to decorating for the Spring & Easter, I like to bring the outside in—which means green & natural with a smidge of rustic. Some jute and twine wrapped eggs were a good craft to kick off my spring decorating.

What you need:

Plastic Easter Eggs
Twine
Jute
Hot Glue Gun

Step 1:

Gather your eggs. I bought 2 sizes of the plastic eggs because I wanted a bit of variety. I found my eggs at Hobby Lobby for $1.00 —score! I decided to place a dab of hot glue where the 2 egg halves come together to seal it closed. I wasn’t sure if the egg would pop open as I was wrapping, and didn’t want to deal with that possible disaster.

Step 2:

Warm up your glue gun, find some filler TV show, and get to wrapping. I chose to start wrapping the jute at the base/bigger end of my eggs. I found it helpful to wind a bit of the jute/twine and then glue it to the base. Glue and wrap on repeat until the entire egg is covered. I was able to get 3 eggs done before an hour TV show came to an end.

Here’s something to consider: The jute eggs went much faster than the twine eggs. I only had very thin twine on hand, so it took a bit longer to work with in order to ensure that it was wrapped tightly (no gaps) around the egg. I do enjoy the look of both textures, but in the future I might go with a heavier twine!

Here they are, all ready to find a home somewhere in my house:

I really like them! It’s a nice change from the bright colored eggs that everyone else seems to have.

05
Mar
2014

Moss Covered Shamrock

Written by: Lisa

St. Patrick’s day has always been an ignored holiday in our house in terms of décor—I usually jump from winter straight into spring. People always assume I go all out for St. Patrick’s day because I’m the pastiest of white and have freckles. So, in the spirit of my wee sliver of Irish roots, I figured I had to try and get at least one shamrock or something going on.

If you couldn’t tell from my other posts, we don’t really feature loud colors or glittery accents at our house. We’re a bit more subdued and au naturel ‘round these parts. When I saw this on Etsy, I knew two things: one, that it would fit in perfectly with our style, and two, I could make that sucker on my own.

What you need:

1/4” plywood—I used leftover from my Berry T Wreath post
a print out of your shamrock –- I free styled a large version based off of a smaller print out
Jigsaw
Sandpaper
Spray Paint- optional
Moss—I used sheet moss found at any craft store
Glue Gun

Step 1:

Print out your shamrock so you can trace it onto your wood OR draw a shamrock freestyle on your wood.

Step 2:

Power up your jigsaw and get to cutting. Be patient while cutting, as it is more difficult to cut curves rather than straight lines. Is it wrong that I always want to say “get jiggy with it” whenever I mention a jigsaw in my projects? It’s one of my absolute favorite tools!

Step 3:

Give it a quick sand to ensure you don’t have any shards of wood that are exposed—we don’t want any splinters.

Step 4:

As with my Berry T Wreath, I chose to spray paint the wood before covering it. I did not want the natural wood color showing on the edges of the shamrock, so I gave one coat of spray paint to the sides and top of the shamrock.

Step 5:

Trace your shamrock onto the back of your moss sheet and cut it out.
(Does anyone else think of Joey from Full House whenever they hear this phrase, or am I the only weirdo?)

Step 6:

Using your glue gun, apply your moss. Be prepared for a bit of a mess—moss sheds!

Now, I know that some stores carry moss that has adhesive on the back– no such luck for this girl. If you find that type of moss, I would imagine that the adhesive on the back would be sufficient to adhere to the wood, no glue gun necessary– talk about easy!

What moss covered crafts have you made lately?!

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