May the Force Be With You - Sketch Inspiration Challenge #352

Patterned paper [Cosmo Cricket Hey Sugar (Heartstrings & Be Mine), Everafter (Something Blue), Dutch Girl (Lena & Hans), Boyfriend (Elements)], alphabet stickers (Carefree Elements by Authentique), QK Nesting Circles die, AC precision pen, Snake tape tape runner

 

You can check out the Sketch Inspiration website here. I recently began participating in these weekly sketch challenges again - she has some great sketches!

 

Merry Christmas!

patterned paper (Teresa Collins), cardstock (white = Carte Bella, green = Bazzill), kraft #8 tag (purchased frm LSS), glitter rub-on sentiment (Making Memories), rhinestones (My Mind's Eye, Making Memories), poinsettia embellishment (Petaloo), Tim Holt distress stain (festive berries), TH crackle paint (Rock Candy), glitter (Stickles), ribbon (Making Memories), chipboard, snowflake, trees, house dies (Tim Holtz), book label die (Sizzix) 

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! We were a little slow this year... most Christmas cards went out (last-minute! Christmas Eve and since I was sick last week, I didn't make any hand-made Christmas treats. Oh, well... I keep hoping I'll plan more efficiently next time. We'll see! :)

Merry Christmas!

P.S. Tag made for a Secret Santa tag exchange amongst the new Cropchocolate.com Design Team (Jan-June 2013). My first "real" tag!

Hit Like a Girl - CC Challenge #42

CC-items: patterned paper (Cosmo Cricket Hey Sugar "Heart Strings", EP Holly Jolly Christmas "Stockings are Hung"), cardstock (EP Happy Days "Black/Light Teal), TH Distress ink )(Walnut Stain), circle diecut (MM Lost & Found kit), Lifestyle Crafts Circle Nesting dies, MM celery ribbon + charm, Doodlebug ribbon frills, Snake tape adhesive, Quickutz License Plate 4x8 alphabet, Imaginisce fabric flower, Scrappin' Supplies rhinestone, Authentique Glory Element Stickers; non-CC-items: Inkessentials Glossy Accents, MM Bravissimo "All Star" embellishent, white cardstock (The Paper Company)

CC Challenge #42 was to use ribbon with something else. It sounded like a great time to use some MM celery ribbon (it's infamous at cropchocolate.com, because it's been in almost every single hot chocolate grab bag for the past 2 years - but I love it!) with one of the ribbon charms. This sketch was based on Sketch #351 at Sketch Inspiration.

Cropchocolate.com Challenge #41 - Birthday Card

CC-items: Miss Caroline "Lucky" twine, patterned paper (EP Happy Days & FP Baby Mine [All in a Row]), EP Happy Days cardstock, adhesives (Viper, Snake Tape); non-CC-items: QK pennant & heart die, MM card rub-ons, Fiskars border punch

Mika's friend is having a birthday party this Saturday, so I thought it was a great chance to get another card done for CC's weekly challenge. I love twine!!!

Cropchocolate.com Challenge #41 - Hearts

patterned papers (Fancy Pants Baby Mine collection and EP Happy Days), adhesive (Viper), QK die (heart), Doodlebug stickers (Congrats)

This week, my fellow DT member Brittany and I came up with a challenge, based on my DT project (see previous post) - to use at least 3 hearts on your project, all with a different patterned paper. Since one of DaddyDude's baseball teammates was expecting a baby, I took this opportunity to make a baby card. I had lots of Fancy Pants Baby Mine paper (when CC was selling it) - it's adorable stuff and best of all, it's double-sided! Double the great patterns!

Also, Doodlebug sells little sticker sets with common card sentiments. I *LOVE * these! I have the "thanks" version as well. :)

December DT Project for Cropchocolate.com

Basic Grey PB&J paper kit, Imaginisce Bitty Blossoms Paper Mix, MM brads Brad Combos (Black & White), MM Brads Value Pack (Princess Bright), MM Brads Value Pack (Heart), Stickles (silver), Authentique “Carefree” Elements alphabet stickers, AC Thickers (Forest), Tim Holtz Walnut Stain Distress Ink, Glue Dots Ultra-Thin 3/8 inch adhesive, AC precision marker (black), AC Glitter Brads, Tacky glue (GemTac), Quickutz label die, Sizzix heart die, Thin packing foam (from various packages received), Chipboard (purchased on EBay a long time ago), Marvy-Uchida corner rounder punch
[LO based on a Becky Fleck Page Maps sketch]

 

My latest DT project is up on the Crop! We were challenged with making a project that was "Reflective of You". The technique I showcased was making quilted hearts.

CC Weekly Challenge #40

Patterned paper EP Happy Days), baker's twine (The Twinery - Maraschino), MM Wedding pearls, Scrappin' Supplies rhinestones, Bazzill Just the Edges, FP Baby Mine chipboard alphas, FP lace trim, border punch (Fiskars)

Challenge #40 was to create a project about something you are thankful and to use twine. It counted as a double entry if you made your own twine embellishment, so I finally made some twine flowers with a makeshift flower loom... details to follow soon!

Butterfly Tag - Working with Inks

 

CC-items: BG pearls, TH distress stains (broken china), TH rock candy crackle paint, Icicle Stickles, MME trinkets (#19 & #33), FP lace, MME ribbon (Stella & Rose/Lost & Found), rhinestones (Scrappin' Supplies), FP Lilac House stickers, MM colored staples, FP Baby Mine chipboard, Glue dots;
non-CC-items: distress stains (walnut stain, worn lipstick), gold acrylic paint (Delta) 

Cropchocolate.com's Weekly Challenge #39 involved using ink/paint to make your background at least 2 different colors. This was really challenging for me, because I haven't worked with inks very much. However, I liked how this turned out - and discovered that you can use makeup foam wedges to apply Tim Holtz distress stains - how cool is that?!

Traditions Layout

 

CC-items: FP Chipboard Alphas, FP Grab-Bag patterned papers (Delight), marker (AC precision pen), diecuts (MM Flutter), MM brads (B&W combo), MM baby metal signage, MM celery ribbon + slider

For the month of November, the Cropchocolate.com focus group's challenge was "Traditions". I decided to finally scrap photos of our last New Year's morning, when we ate some ozoni. We're a pretty relaxed family when it comes to traditions, but I simply CANNOT begin a new year without making this for breakfast! This past year, it was the 4th day after my ACL surgery, but I still managed to hobble around the kitchen, making the soup. :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! We spent a very relaxing week in Palm Desert, thoroughly enjoying the sunshine... Marika's soccer team finally ended their season (the day we left), so I was able to de-compress from that stress. Mika's team clinched first place (yay!) and will have their playoffs next Saturday. They've already clinched a berth to advance to out-of-area play, which won't begin until January. DaddyDude says I should stop coaching after this, because I'll never have a better team - he's absolutely right, this is a "Dream Team" on many levels - and hopefully things will work out with the girls, so that I won't "have" to coach anymore, either.

November DT project for Cropchocolate.com

Echo Park For the Record 2 Collection Pack (patterned papers, alphabet stickers, diecut stickers, etc.), Fancy Pants Designs – Baby Mine Chipboard Alphabet, Fancy Pants Designs – Lace ribbon trim, Fancy Pants Designs rub-ons (Chalked and Double Alphas), Charcoal baker’s twine (The Twinery), Ink (Tim Holtz Distress Ink – Walnut Stain), MM eyelets (pewter), Fabric squares – Verona (Riley Blake Designs), MM Scrapbook Basics Glitter Foam Alpha Stickers, Adhesive (Scrappin’ Supplies), Carta Bella kraft cardstock, Bazzill cardstock, Marvy-Uchida scalloped circle punch, Red RickRack (Bazzill), white thread (Coats & Clark), Adhesives (Krylon spray adhesive, tacky glue), white cardstock (The Paper Company)

It's up! It's up! My November DT project! We were challenged with the "theme" of "Thankful", but Amber wanted something light-hearted and out-of-the-box. So, I decided to make a layout entitled, "Thank Heaven for {Crop}Chocolate: the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly". 'Nuf said... :)

You can also see the tutorial in Instructagram right here!

Laughter is the best medicine - Dragon Baby

I was just watching "The Today Show" this morning, when they mentioned this video and how the father made it... if you need a lift this morning, you should take a look at it! Here's another video he made starring his little girl... and yet another amusing one called Iron Man Vs Bruce Lee...

Home is Where the Heart Is

EP For the Record 2 collection pack (papers, alphabet stickers, diecut stickers), Carta Bella kraft paper, flowers (Imaginisce), clips (Doodlebug), AC glitter brads, Bazzill Just the Edge borders, MM celery ribbon, TH distress walnut stain ink, AC precision pen, Snake tape, QK dies, Spellbinders tag die, EK Success border punch [Layout based on a Page Maps 2 Sketch by Becky Fleck] 

Cropchocolate's challenge #38 was to use an image of a house or the word "home" somewhere on your project. Since I'm supposed to be doing only layouts and cards for my next term on the CC design team, I decided it was time to make more layouts! This is from our trip (back in March) to Carlsbad, also known as "the Legoland trip".

Instructagram project - repurposing a soda bottle!

The owners of cropchocolate.com are working to get a new website up and running, so they are running periodic contests to encourage people to submit step-by-step projects. The latest challenge was to repurpose something around the house, so I decided to repurpose an empty soda bottle and make some plastic beads... which I then used to make into a unique bookmark.

Here's a close-up of the plastic beads - I think they look pretty cool!

Here is the bookmark in use - it's flat grosgrain ribbon, so it's not bulky within the book. Want to learn how to make this? Check it out at Instructagram!

How to make a calorie-free cake with lasting power

Hello, hello! My October project for the Cropchocolate.com Design Team was posted on the CC blog today. You can read it here or you can continue scrolling down...

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, just because there is so much room to be creative! For our October challenge, Amber made the task a little more difficult by asking for it to be “candy-inspired”. After much debating, I decided to make a Halloween paper cake.

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a baker. Yes, I like to cook but no, I don’t like to bake. HOWEVER - I find cake decorating to be absolutely fascinating (I love that TV show, Ace of Cakes!). I’m also kind of a fitness fanatic so a calorie-free cake is perfect for somebody like me! Best of all, now I have a Halloween centerpiece that I can use year after year.

Trust me, this is much easier to make than a fondant cake… (been there, done that!)…

You will need…

CC-items

EP Chillingsworth Manor 12x12 Collection Pack

Bazzill Just the Edge Paper Strips – Halloween & Blanche (latter used as a template only)

MM Toil & Trouble Rosette Stickers

MM acrylic paint (Acorn) – hot chocolate goody

Tim Holtz Clear Rock Candy Crackle Paint

Ultra-thin glue dots

MM Spook Alley Trim & Treats (ghosts & bling)

MM Spook Alley Looking Glass stickers

MM Toil & Trouble Brad Combo (skulls, witch hats, & bling spiders)

MM Toil & Trouble Brad Value Pack (purple & yellow stars)

MM Toil & Trouble trims (orange polka-dotted ribbon)

WRMK The Cinch Wire Clipper tool

 

Non-CC-items

Multiple paper mache boxes (graduated sizing)

Wilton cookie sticks (6”length) – n = 4 (four  3” pieces plus four 2” pieces)

Tacky glue

Krazy Glue

Plastic cauldron (bought or homemade)

20-gauge craft wire (Darice)

Tissue paper for flames

Battery-operated light

Polyester Fiberfill (batting) – Mountain Mist

Miscellaneous Halloween decorations, charger, and glass tea light holders (purchased from Dollar Tree)

 

Step 1 – Painting the Paper Mache Boxes

The first thing you’ll need to decide is how big of a cake you want. Each cake layer will be a paper mache box. I wanted at least 3 different tiers, but ultimately my choice was limited by what the local craft stores had available. In fact, what I found determined the cake architecture – I had to add stilts to the tiers, even though that hadn’t been part of the original plans (but it turned out at the end, you’ll see!).

Once you’ve gotten all of your paper mache boxes together, get the wax paper ready and paint the tops and bottoms of each box. I used some Making Memories acrylic paint (Acorn) that came in my last batch of hot chocolate. After two layers, I topped it off with some Tim Holtz Rock Candy distress crackle paint, to give it more of an aged look.



Step 2 – Decorating the Bottom Tier

To help make each layer distinctive – and to hide the obvious lip separation – I added a scalloped edge to the rim of the bottom and middle tier lid. I simply trimmed a smaller strip of Echo Park’s Chillingsworth Manor paper and traced a Bazzill “Just the Edges” border. Once the border was cut, it was glued to the lid.

Once the scalloped edges had been added, I glued two Halloween-themed borders (Bazzill’s “Just the Edge”) and topped it off with some rosette skull stickers from Making Memories (another hot chocolate goody from long ago).

Step 3 – Decorating the Middle and Top Tiers

I used the same EP Chillingsworth Manor patterned paper (as the bottom) for the middle tier, but opted for a different look for the top, to set off what would be the eye-catcher later. I glued another strip of Halloween-themed Bazzill border and added some stilts to both layers. I had originally planned to have the boxes resting directly upon each other, but because the sizes were not what I had envisioned, I had to add some space so the different sizes wasn’t so obvious.

The stilts were simply Wilton cookie sticks. They’re made out of paper, so you can easily cut them with scissors and sand them down with an emery board. Don’t forget to paint the stilts! Depending on the size of boxes you use, you’ll have to decide how tall to make those stilts. Since TM Crackle Paint is actually kind of slippery, I had to use Krazy Glue to get the sticks to “stick”. I found it best to allow the legs to dry in its final position (prop the tier up on its legs).

Step 4 – Decorating the tops of the tiers with scalloped circles

To make the top of each tier a little more attractive, I topped each one with a scalloped circle. I found a free printable template here: http://www.picstopin.com/500/free-printable-round-scalloped-circle-for-scrapbooking/http:%7C%7C0*tqn*com%7Cd%7Cscrapbooking%7C1%7C0%7Cl%7C1%7C1%7Cscallopedcircle*jpg/

I traced the circles onto another EP Chillingsworth Manor patterned paper and topped them off with cut Halloween-themed brads (use the Cinch wire clipper to remove the tabs and simply glue the brads on with the ultra-thin glue dots).



Step 5 – Making the Cake Topper

You can put anything you’d like on top of the cake! However, it’s probably best not to make it too heavy (if you do make something heavier, I would switch out the cookie sticks to wooden dowels that are screwed to the paper mache boxes, for stronger support). I made my own cauldron (hubby had an odd piece of plastic in the garage that was the right shape) by drilling two holes on the side and twisting some craft wire through it, for the handle. I also popped in a battery-operated tea light, surrounded by some tissue paper (to simulate spooky flames). For the final touches, I glued a chipboard-backed haunted house (Sizzix/Tim Holtz’s Rickety House die) to one side of the cauldron and a couple of bling-eyed ghosts (from MM Spooky Alley Trims & Treats) to the other. I did not opt to glue the cauldron to the top tier, to make it easier to pack up for storage later.

Step 6 – Further Decoration of Bottom and Middle Tiers

I like my cakes fancy, so I added some ribbon trim (MM Toil & Trouble ribbon) around the bottom and MM Looking Glass stickers on the middle tier.

Step 7 – Adding cobwebs

Since every Halloween cake should look old, I added some cobwebs (stretched batting) around the legs of the stilts, securing it with dabs of tacky glue. These webs were topped off with some bling spiders from the MM Toil & Trouble brad combo pack (trim off the metal tabs again with the wire clippers).

Step 8 – Outdoor photos of cake

 Here are some pictures of the cake outside, where you can see the vivid colors better…

Step 9 – Close-ups of outdoor photos of cake

Step 10 – Cake with All the Trimmings

You can opt to set your cake in a fancy display…  and go all out by embellishing the cake base with more Halloween trinkets (skeletons, rats, spiders, and scorpions all purchased from Dollar Tree).

Step 11 – Secret Candy Stash

And last but not least… remember that part about being candy-inspired? Well, I can’t think of a better place to hide your special candy stash, can you? Your guests might even comment on how your cake smells so sweet!

Happy Halloween, everybody! If you decide to make your own Halloween cake, I’d love to see pictures!

CC Challenge #34a

Simple, but sweet! I really liked Julie's challenge for the OWH card hop... and used the specified size components to create an unusual wedding card for one of DaddyDude's residents. The challenge this week, by the way, was to use one of the OWH card hop challenges to come up with a card... easy peasy! Well, we also had to upload a step-by-step tutorial at instructagram.com, a new website that the owner of cropchocolate.com is getting ready to launch - it's pretty nifty!

OWH Blog Hop - Brenna's Challenge!

Last but not least, Brenna's challenge was to create subtlely tactile cards. This was a fun one, because I haven't embossed in a very long time...

OWH Blog Hop - Nina's Challenge!

Nina's challenge was to use scraps from a particular collection. I wish I had had more time for this challenge, because I will save obnoxiously small scraps within every collection. After all, you might be able to use it on a tag or something! Right?

Hey, recognize that stamp? It's Heidi Swapp! Those rotating stamps...? Remember?

OWH Blog Hop - Julie's Challenge!

Julie's challenge was use certain size components of papers to make a card. I really liked this challenge! I used Fancy Pants' My Family collection and was able to produce four cards...

Actually, I'll be submitting these for Brittany's challenge as well, since these are my scraps from FP's My Family. This really is a fabulous collection to have! It's very versatile - which is exactly why I save every piece of scrap from it!

OWH Blog Hop - By Belle's Challenge!

By Belle's challenge was to use a particular sketch. My cards tend to be very simple when I'm under time pressure and especially, when I'm trying to avoid making bulky cards. So... these aren't fancy at all...

OWH Card Blog Hop - Amber's Challenge!

Okay, time to post my completed challenges! I'll still continue making cards after the blog hop is over, because I want to send a bunch to OWH... :)

Amber's challenge was to use a particular sketch - and embossed solid cardstock, at least 2 pieces of patterned paper, and some trim. I made four cards for her challenge...

I loved how the Bazzill cardstock showed off the embossing... and I snuck in the ribbon trim under the sentiment. Hey, recognize it? It's the famous MM celery ribbon trim! Love that stuff!

I'll also be submitting these cards for Jenni's challenge, which was to use a stamped image and a punch. The stamped sentiments here are from Heid Swapp and EK Success (they're a few years old) and the punch is a scalloped flower punch from Marvy Uchida.

Join our CC DT card blog hop for Operation Write Home!

Hello, crafters! Hopefully you've all arrived from the very talented Nina's blog. If you are starting here, please begin with Amber's blog so you don't miss a thing!

Welcome to Cropchocolate.com's second blog hop - this time, we're honoring our wonderful troops and making cards for OWH - Operation Write Home. This wonderful organization provides handmade cards for our dedicated military heroes to communicate with loved ones back home. From today through October 8th, the CC Design Team will be running a blog hop filled with all sorts of challenges. There will be a main prize give at The Crop and some of the DT crew are offering individual blog candy, so be sure to read all the details! Please make sure all of your linked cards are made with at least 50% cropchocolate.com materials. If you haven't already, be sure to request a few OWH stamp here - you'll need it to stamp the back of all your OWH creations.

Before we get started, I just wanted to remind you that there are a few strict guidelines to follow while making your OWH cards, to ensure the safety & happiness of our heroes and facilitate processing of these cards for distribution. You can find a copy of the official OWH guidelines here or you can print out a pdf of their brochure - however, you'll definitely want to read it before you create and right before you get ready to ship off your cards to an OWH shipper. In a nutshell, though - NO GLITTER, A2 size cards only, use quality materials, be sensitive about content, no bulky embellishments, OWH-stamped... please follow OWH guidelines and requests! If you do, then it's a win-win situation for everyone!

Here is the blog order:
Amber
Michele (by belle)
Brenna
Julie
Brittany
Nina - hopefully you arrived from here
Miwa (you are here!)
Kathy - your next destination!
Jenni
Chris

Canadian crafters can still participate by sending their cards to:

Corinne Braun
6-300-108th St
Saskatoon, SK S7N 1P8


My challenge to you - should you choose to accept it - is to use up your scraps! We all have at least one box of paper scraps kicking around - let's try to use some of it up! I've created three different card sketches (each with an example) as a launching point for inspiration. Other than the background paper, everything else should be a small scrap of paper. As you can see, I absolutely love the MME Lime Twist collection!

Sketch #1

 

 

Sketch #2

 

 

Sketch #3

 

 

If you're still looking for inspiration, please visit the home of OWH - there are tons of tutorials and more sketches! You don't have to use my sketches, or anyone else's for that matter, but my challenge is to use paper scraps. As far as card themes are concerned... each of the 3 main OWH shippers have a short list of requested themes, which you can view here. There is also a list of "Deadlines and Themes" posted here. Cards created during this blog hop will probably NOT make the holiday card deadline, so cards involving: birthday, love, thank you, missing you, thinking of you, and blank (without sentiment) might be the most appreciated.

Once you've finished your cards, please review the guidelines once again before sending your creations off to an OWH shipper - you can also view their video on "the OWH mailroom" to see what goes on there! The OWH volunteers donate a lot of their time making sure our heroes get these great cars - please do everything you can to make sure your cards processed quickly so they can be appreciated! Don't forget your packing slip here!

And don't forget! I'd love to see your creations, so please post them and hook them up to Mr. Linky here. Thanks so much for participating and helping our troops! Now, it's time for you to move on and visit the amazing Kathy Clayton's blog here!

CC Challenge #32 - Easel Card

MM Vintage Findings Mat Stack,Bazzill cardstock, white cardstock (the Paper Company), FP Happy Together Quotes & Accents (HC), Prima Say It In Crystals bling, red rhinestones (Scrappin' Supplies), MM Wedding pins, MME Lush trim, TH distress ink (tea dye), adhesive (Scrappin' Supplies), Pop dots (All Night Media), stamp (Autumn Leaves)

Challenge #32 this week was to construct an easel card. I've never made one before, so I was grateful when somebody posted a link to this website, which has some lovely tutorials.

Looking to hang onto summer a bit longer?

Then you'll want to check out this post!

 

 

Fellow CC'ers know by belle (aka Michelle)  as an amazing artist. I'm also privileged to serve on the Cropchocolate.com Design Team with her! You can check out her blog here, but in the meantime, her 3D project is currently being featured on The Crop (isn't that the coolest paper lantern ever?!).

Next week, the CC Design Team will begin our OWH card blog hop - so get your A2 cards ready and order your (free) OWH stamp! The hop will run through October 8th, so you'll have plenty of time to join in! What a great cause!!!

CC Challenge #31

EP Apothecary Collection Pack, EP Apothecary Cardstock, MM Glitter die-cuts, MM Spooky Alley Trims & Treats (bling), MM Toil & Trouble Trims, MM Toil & Trouble Wordfetti stickers, Scrappin’ Supplies Permanent Adhesive by Snake Tape, Snake Tape, chipboard, tacky glue, staple 

This week's challenge was a little trickier - you had to use 3 different types of patterned paper/color, 3 different sizes of circles, and at least 3 paper folds. Since I'd been working on my October Design Team project (Halloween!), I decided to make a Halloween card (based on a sketch from Card Sketches for Paper Crafters)...

Paper Bowl Project

Wow, I'm really falling behind! Coaching both girls' soccer teams is really exhausting me - more on that later - that I'm having to budget my time very carefully to get my CC projects done! A few days ago, my September DT project appeared on the CC blog. Here it is!

 

Paper bowl project (by Miwa)

I used to be a straight-laced layout/card-making girl until this year – now, I find myself making home décor projects, which forces me to think outside my comfortable little box. For this particular 3-D challenge, I wanted to create something that I could display AND use. Naturally, I went surfing on Pinterest and eventually stumbled upon a picture of a magazine bowl. I really liked the concept of “building a bowl” so I decided to give it a whirl. Perhaps one of the most rewarding side benefits of this project was being able to use up a lot of my paper scraps! 

You’ll need strips of paper, 1” wide and anywhere from 3” to 12” long. It’s totally up to you! The longer the strip, the larger the paper coil will be. You could use paper strips of the same size, but I think using variable sizes helps to add interest to the bowl. I selected papers from the MME Lime Twist collection because of the bright and distinctive colors. Other supplies you’ll need are: tacky glue, Mod Podge, a foam brush, a bone folder, and rubber bands (optional).

Once you have a nice pile of paper strips, you’ll have to fold the paper. Thick scrapbook paper is a lot harder to fold than thin magazine paper, so you’ll have to prepare the fold lines with a bone folder or scorer. I also found it useful to use the scoring edge of my 12”-Fiskars paper cutter. You don’t have to be exactly when folding, so don’t worry about being too precise!

 

Score the paper strip lengthwise, right down the middle (0.5”). Make another score to the right and left of the center fold (approximately ¼”). After scoring, fold both sides of the paper to the midline and then fold the paer in half lengthwise. Holding the paper firmly, coil the paper into a tight roll, adding tacky glue as needed. I found it helped to secure the coil with a rubber band for a few minutes while the adhesive dried. This is a good time to watch TV or listen to music, while you create a pile of paper coils. Set this mound aside until you have created the bottom section of the bowl.

 

The best way to create a flat surface to the bowl bottom is to make one big paper coil. For this, you’ll need to use 12” paper strips. Once again, you’ll have to score and fold the paper strips.

Begin by coiling the first paper strip, as you did for an individual paper coil. However, at the end of the coil, add some tacky glue to the inside of the fold and slide the next paper strip inside – and continue rolling the strip. Continue the process until you have made a paper coil of the desired size; glue the ends shut.

Finally, it’s time to start building the bowl! Think about the angle that you want the bowl to have and begin adding the coils layer by layer to slowly build the sides. A little bit of tacky glue will help secure the coils to each other. You can also try using Mod Podge as your adhesive, but you have to be really patient (tacky glue dries faster). Make sure that the sides of the bowl are relatively even before you run out of paper coils!

Once you’ve finished building the bowl, you will need to apply a few layers of Mod Podge all over the bowl (it helps to work over wax paper!). This helps the coils to bond to each other and gives your bowl a nice finished look.

For those of you with Etsy shops, there’s yet another benefit to making these bowls – you can sell your creations! Personally, I think the bowls made from scrapbook paper are much prettier than those from magazines…

Happy paper rolling! J

Challenge #30 and an Enabler Alert!

12x12 Authentique "Blissful" aper, AC mini brads, MM pewter brads, Crop-A-Dile; tacky glue, googly eyes

Challenge #30 this week at CC was to create a 3-D embellishment or project. I decided to break open some "new" paper and make a movable 3D snake. Do you remember those cheap plastic snakes you had as a kid, that would sway back and forth if you held it by the tail? Basically, it's that - just made out of paper and brads. This Authentique paper was great for this project, because it's such high quality and very thick. I found a picture of some directions here on pinterest, but wasn't sure what was going on at the tail-end (literally), so I made up my own. The picture on the left was photographed at dusk (high ISO, no flash) while the one on the right is with flash - so you can see the nice colors of this paper.

And looky here! Time for another warehouse sale! You're probably all swimming in embellishments, but the one I went to (about 5 years ago) had rockin' prices on albums (which are good quality). It's too bad they can't have a warehouse sale on the same day as Sizzix, so I'd only have to drive out there once!