More burlap banners!

Just having fun with a bit more burlap and felt!  I wanted to try a black and white burlap banner, so thought it would make such a cool wedding banner -- just had to try it.  Then, I wanted to create a banner for my home with my favorite colors -- cranberry red and sea foam blue.  So much fun to make!

Supplies used:  wool felt, patterned and plain, tight weave burlap, SU spiral flower die, retired SU table setting die and Autumn accents die, SU vintage brads, and lots of hot glue!

Some much needed rain came last night, and the forest fire smoke has finally cleared a bit.  Perhaps my lungs can finally recover. :)  Probably all this burlap fuzz didn't help at all! Ha ha.

Happy Saturday! and hope this inspires you to get your crafty on! OR if it doesn't, come to one of my classes in October and make one with all MY stuff. :)

Grateful Banner

Happy Friday!

Every so often, ok, QUITE often, I get an "itch" to create something beautiful. :)  I have recently been made aware, of what a HUGE stash of patterned burlap and felt I have accumulated.  You see, I am just a wee bit addicted to making cute die cut flowers, etc. with it....  And, every time I see a new pattern at Joanne's that I hadn't gotten before, well.... you know how that turns out...

I decided to make a fall banner with some of it, just to see how it came out.  I'm planning to offer this as a class in October, so stay tuned for coming events! :)

I started by applying fusible interfacing to the back of the burlap before I die cut it -- to reduce fraying.  After die cutting the banners, I used a crop-a-dile to punch holes for the twine to go through.  Next, I ironed Wonder Under to the back of some Espresso colored felt -- and die cut the letters for the word, "Grateful".  Then, I fused the letters to the banner pieces -- using a hot iron -- and strung the banner pieces together on a length of hemp twine.  Finally, I added the rolled flowers -- some are burlap (treated with a mixture of ModgePodge and water to reduce fraying) and some are felt.  The roses are cut with the SU spiral flower die.  If you have never played with this die before, you simply MUST! It makes creating roses so EASY!  My die is so well loved, it looks like it's been through a war -- cutting all that stiff burlap, but it still works great.  I die cut the leaves using the SU retired autumn accents die, and the banners are cut using a retired banners die, however, you could easily hand cut the banner pieces and make them flagged ends or triangles.

I would love to hear what you think of it! :)

Denim and burlap -- a dynamic duo!

A little while ago, Michaels had a beautiful display of denim and burlap combos.  I wouldn't have thought of putting those two together, but I so loved how it looked, that I decided to make a wreath like that.  I kind of love how it turned out.  I used various buttons and beads for the centers of the flowers.  The SU burlap ribbon makes the BEST rolled ribbon flowers -- just the right thickness and texture.  I used a roll of denim ribbon I found, to make the rolled denim flowers.  Then, the SU spiral flower die  was used to die cut the rest of the flowers featured on the wreath.  I used treated burlap (paint your burlap with a mixture of 4 to 1 -- water to Modge Podge and let dry -- keeps your burlap flowers from fraying so badly) for some of them, and various denim varieties for the rest.  I used the SU retired Autumn Accents die to cut the various leaves.  The wreath is a basic 18" straw wreath that I wrapped with some wide burlap ribbon.  Very fun project to make, and a whole different look than what I've created before.

So, dig out your old denim scraps and make something lovely with them! :)

Indescribable gift and spiral flower die wine tag

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Yesterday my crafty stampers' club made this gorgeous wine tag, perfect for spring and summer!  The hostess had requested a wine tag, and I decided to go with a color combo out of my comfort zone -- Coastal Cabana (a soon to be retired color) and Calypso Coral.  I really like how it turned out, and it is definitely on the trendy side. :)

For the base of the wine tag, I used an embossing folder from the spring catalog, Spring Flowers.  This cute little folder is not carrying over to the new catalog, so get it before June 2nd if you love it!

The flower is made with the spiral flower die -- using two die cut flowers (Calypso Coral and Crisp Cantaloupe) layered together.  To achieve this vintage looking flower, spritz your die cuts liberally with water, wad them up in your hand, crumpling them well, then smooth out and roll up into your rose and hot glue it together.  Smoosh and scrunch your rose till you like the look of the petals.  To make the leaves, I scored a pc of Pear Pizzazz card stock, then folded on the score line and punched petals with the large oval punch.  I then put them through the Stylish Stripes embossing folder to make it look like veins on the leaves.  For that background behind the rose, I used a die cut piece from the Artisan Embellishment kit (no longer available to purchase), and turned it into a stencil by coating it well with gel medium to make it waterproof, then sponged Coastal Cabana ink over it with a sponge dauber.  For the second wine tag, I used the Indescribable Gift stamp set from the Occasions catalog -- a set that isn't carrying over, so if you love it, get it!  Just sayin'!  I stamped the brach in Memento Black ink and then colored the flowers in using my Blender pens and Calypso Coral, Espresso, and Pear Pizzazz inks.  I added Crystal Effects to the larger flowers to add some dimension to them.  I rather like how it turned out.

Other products used: Calypso Coral, Whisper White, and Coastal Cabana card stock, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 3/4" scallop circle punch, Costal Cabana, Calypso Coral, and Pear Pizzazz ink, Pear Pizzazz and Calypso Coral chevron ribbon.

Be sure to check out the Paper Pumpkin special by clicking on the button on the upper right -- 50% off your first two months subscription.  SWEET!!!!!  Who doesn't love getting a crafty box delivered right to their door every month? :)

Flower Frenzy and Spiral flower die Fall Wreath

Happy Friday, Everyone!
I have a project to share with you today that I am super excited about!  I've been wanting to experiment with making burlap flowers for a while, and decided I wanted to do a fall wreath class, so I jumped in with both feet and pretty much have a comprehensive collection of all the burlap "flavors" that Joanne's carries! :)

I had so much fun putting this together -- totally satisfied my need for a "crafty fix" -- at least for today. :)

I used the SU Spiral Flower Bigz die for the rosettes and the Flower Frenzy die for the bigger die cut flower.  The rolled looking flowers, were made by rolling up the SU burlap ribbon into a flower.  For the larger two-tone flowers you see, I put two of the spiral die cuts together -- staggering the scallops slightly so they weren't directly on top of each other.  Those little wooden leaves you see in one of the photos, are the new Autumn Wood Elements that will be available in the Holiday catalog coming out on August 28th.  Also used in this project, are Basic Pearls, Antique brads, and a whole lot of hot glue.

Be inspired to get your crafty on this week! OR, if you live near me, come to my class on Sept 5th or 7th!

Be sure to check out this weeks weekly deals as well as the Big Shot bundles promotion happening in August -- buy a Big Shot and get a bundle FREE! OR if you already have a Big Shot, get a bundle for 15% off.  See my website for more details.

Until I craft again!....