Curse of the Crafter

Curse of the Crafter

Monday, December 1, 2014

Warm & Cozy Brag Tag Book

The Warm & Cozy Brag Tag Book

A Country Craft Creations Design Team Project


Happy Holidays!
Can I tell you how excited I am to be able to say that!!! Christmas is one of my favorite holidays.
This project concludes my Carta Bella Warm & Cozy DT Project series.




With a new baby at home, my husband and I have become coffee addicts lol. I have a bunch of extra coffee sleeves from the carrier cups I make for him to take with him to work and really wanted to do something fun with them. But I wanted to do something a little different and more interactive. So I came up with a small Brag Tag Book with several coffee sleeve elements that pull completely out of the album and turn into small free standing photo frames. 

    

I started this project by making the cover and binding for the 6inch by 9 inch mini book. I used chipboard, cardstock, and scortape to adhere the pieces together. 

Next, I used a strip of the Warm & Cody paper to create a small flap to adhere the tags. This is the inside of the book.   

  

Then I created the covers for the coffee sleeves. My apologies for the picture quality. Crafting while on vacation away from your stash and technology can be very challenging. 

Then I was able to add them together and start embellishing!! This paper series was so great because all of the stickers and cut-aparts really made for the perfect embellishments all over the album.



 Thanks again for stopping by and supporting my addiction lol. Looking forward to sharing my next Design Team haul from Country Craft Creations in Hooper and my December Projects!

XOXO,
Lish

Supplies:
Carta Bella Warm & Cozy paper
Carta Bella Holiday Washi Tape
Scortape
DCWV Corrugated Paper
3 Coffee Sleeves
Beacon 3 in 1 Glue
Velcro Dots purchased at Michaels
Heavy Weight Chipboard
7 Gypsies Red Twine
Bazzill Cardstock Ivy, Storm, and Pomagranate
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Walnut Stain
Maya Road Snowflake Paper Clips
Bazzill Basic Paper Snowflakes
Tim Holtz Idea-Ology Tidings Tokens
Graphic 45 Tags

Cheshire Katt Scraps Blog Hop!

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Friday, November 21, 2014

How to Throw a Birthday Party in Less Than 1 Hour

How to Throw a Birthday Party in Less Than 1 Hour
A Design Team Project for Country Craft Creations 
                  

If you are anything like me, I always get the last minute requests for gifts, decorations, or "ideas". And by ideas I mean, " Hey Lish, I was wanting to make something special for someone. Do you have any ideas?" I usually share a fee ideas and then I usually hear, "Oh that sounds great, can you just make one real quick?". It's a good thing I have a good sense of humor because surely they are joking...right?? (WRONG)

This is a great project almost anyone can make in about an hour. 

I received a GORGEOUS Graphic 45 prefabricated box this month in my Design Team haul for Country Craft Creations. 


I secured a ribbon to the top of the box to create a soft closure. I then added some birthday paper (It's Your Day by Michelle Coleman) I had on hand, and covered the outside as well as the inside. I used my Scortape to adhere the paper so it was quick and no waiting time for it dry. 

I ran up to the grocery store and bought a candle, a cupcake, small wine bottle, and a bar of chocolate. I had the confetti, balloon, and horn already at home. 

I used several of the scraps I had from cutting the paper to decorate the box to create custom labels for the items that went inside the box. I also used a scalloped punch and Happy Birthday stamp to really embellish the items. 

Once everything was finished I arranged it in the box and set out to give to the Birthday Girl :)
XOXO,
Lish



Supplies:
Graphic 45 Mixed Media Box
Scortape
It's Your Day by Michelle Coleman paper 
Candle
Wine
Balloon
Confetti
Horn
Cupcake 
White Ribbon






Monday, November 17, 2014

November Design Team Haul for Country Craft Creations

Have you seen the new Carta Bella Warm & Cozy paper?!?!?!




If you haven't you are absolutely missing out! I was so excited to receive this paper collection for my November Design Team Projects for Country Craft Creations. What was inside?

- The complete Carta Bella Warm & Cozy paper collection
- A Graphic 45 Mixed Media Box (infinite amount of possibilities!!)
- Scortape 3/8 (I was almost out of Scortape so that was a great staple to add more of in my craft room.)

I have a few really awesome ideas that I will be sharing. Take a peek at the papers below:

  

Ok, now I gotta run! So much to create and share this month!!

XOXO,
Lish

Monday, November 10, 2014

This Project is Cursed, Seriously.

Cursed Coffin Design Team Project for Country Craft Creations
(www.countrycraftcreations.com)



While I love how the final look of this project turned out, this project was one of the most difficult pieces I have ever created. I truly believe this project is cursed lol. Anything that could go wrong, did. Things that NEVER happen, happened. Things like running out of cardstock all the way to progress photos going black. Even as I type this, I am waiting on a password to reset so I can upload additional photos and videos lol.

I created the coffin piece first from some clear acrylic sheets I had in my craft room and assembled it with some silver foil tape. The coffin measures 11 inches long and 4.5 inches wide. I used Tim Holtz hitch fasteners for feet, hinges to allow the top to open, and curio knob to pull the top open. I created almost about 15 white flowers to cover the top (and also hide the magnets). I used the amazing Marion Smith Bloom Impressions Tool to mold the petals and really make the flowers look more alive.



I used black cardstock to create the base of the tag album. I created simple 8x4 envelope-type pages with the top end open to slide the tag in. Using my handy dandy Scortape made it a quick task. I used quite of few of the cut-aparts from the Wicked Time papers to really embellish the sides of the envelope pages.
   

Instead of a square or rectangle accordion shape, I created a triangles with a rounded edge to attach the envelope pages to ensure when the coffin opened the pages would spread and all the paper and pages were seen.

I covered these specialized corners with Multi-Medium Matte paste to ensure they would not crack or tear as the album was moved.

Prior to covering the two ends, I secured the Basic Grey magnets to the envelope pages and the coffin to ensure the album could be easily removed and viewed. Because this paper was so gorgeous, I made sure to include to large pages that I folded in half and slipped into the two ends. Lots of room for extra photos or journaling.

Below is a short video tour of the project showing how it opens, closes, and the album being removed and displayed.



I hope you enjoyed the 3rd and final project for the Country Craft Creations Design Team for the month of October. I can't wait to see what Marion comes out with next. Make sure to swing by www.countrycraftcreations.com to check out the paper and supplies in stock and the clearance is amazing! (Steampunk anyone?)


XOXO,
Lish

Supplies
Marion Smith Wicked Times Paper
Scortape
Basic Grey Magnets
Marion Smith Bloom Impressions Tool
Tim Holtz Hitch Fasteners, Hinges, and Curio Knob
12x12 Acrylic Sheet
Silver Foil Tape
Claudine Hellmuth Studio Multi-Medium Matte
DIY Shop Chalkboard Tag
Trick or Treat, Poison, and Dentifrice embellishments from my personal stash
Halloween Ornate Tags by Jamie Koay (svg file)

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Tombstone DT Project Tour

Hey Everyone!
My latest DT project for Country Craft Creations was another fun Halloween inspired piece. This playful tombstone has a few fun aspects hidden inside and outside.


I started out by making 2 different boxes. One for the base and one that would sit on top. Using regular 12x12 black card stock, I measured, scored and cut out the unnecessary areas of the paper to assemble my boxes.



Next, I traced half of the top of a plastic lid to get the round curve I needed for the top piece of the tombstone. I made two of these and attached them together with one strip of card stock. Then, I cut a hole in the base piece and added the 3 pieces of twine.




Once the twine was secured, I secured the boxes together with Scortape. Prior to adding any paper to the piece I carefully planned and secured all of the magnets I would use in this project I used 10 total Basic Grey small and large magnets. I wanted to ensure they were hidden but still effective. I also laid out the items I would glue to the twine.



Now that I had all the main items in place, I started attaching and embellishing. I used a lot of the awesome cut apart pieces that were in this paper collection. I was able to use them throughout the project without having to purchase a bunch of additional pieces.





I hope you enjoyed the additional information on this project. I really love the versatility of this paper. Make sure to swing by Country Craft Creations for some great deals on this paper collection as well as magnets and Scortape. www.facebook.com/tammyscountrycraftcreations

Congrats again to Monica Baker for winning this project!!!! More giveaways coming soon!

XOXO,
Lish

Supplies:
Marion Smith Wicked Times Paper Collection
1/4 inch Scortape
Basic Grey Large Magnets
Basic Grey Small Magnets
The Paper Studio Silver Sticker Frame
Small 1x2 Mirror
Recollections Halloween Sticker
American Crafts DIY Shop Chalkboard Tag
American Crafts DIY Shop Chalkboard Labels & Die Cut Frames
7 Gypsies Jute Cord
Small Glass Dome Ornament purchased from Michaels
Plastic Bone Hand purchased from Michaels
True Hemp Crafting Cord


Friday, October 31, 2014

Girl in the Mirror Tutorial


Hey Everyone! Hope you enjoy the quick tutorial on how to make a fun embellishment that will really enhance your projects.


Monday, October 27, 2014

And the Winner Is........


Well.......no one guessed the exact amount. Lots of amazing guesses and a few were really creative! **Shout out to Tam who guessed 13** I am so excited so many of you were able to participate.

So Who Wins??

Since no one hit the mark, I would select the guess who was closest without actually going over.

The actual number of magnets used in this project was TEN. There are 4 magnets holding the mini album onto the front of the tombstone, 2 small mini magnets holding the album closed and 4 magnets holding the top of the tombstone on which opens to reveal a very special surprise.




The closest guess without going over was 8, so MONICA BAKER is the winner!!! CONGRATS!

I will post the other interactive surprise on this project tomorrow along with some additional information about the piece. Videos will be up on Wednesday. Thanks again to Country Craft Creations (www.countrycraftcreations.com) for sending me this amazing Marion Smith paper.
Thanks again to everyone who participated!! More fun and games to come, stay tuned!!

XOXO,
Lish

Friday, October 24, 2014

Do You Want to Play a Game?


October is such a great month! So many things to celebrate this year! My son's first Halloween, first official design team projects for Country Craft Creations and the one year anniversary of Curse of the Crafter.

I have been having so much fun making some amazing projects with Marion Smith's Wicked Times paper. So I figured I would let everyone else join in on the fun as well!

WANT TO WIN MY NEXT COMPLETED PROJECT?

I am almost finished with my latest DT project but I still have a few more embellishments and interactive pieces to complete. The main products used in this project were Marion Smith's Wicked Times paper collection, ScorTape and Basic Grey Magnets supplied by Country Craft Creations.

Current stage of this project.
COTC Tombstone Project by Alisha Martin

HOW MANY BASIC GREY MAGNETS WERE USED IN THIS PROJECT?

HOW TO ENTER
1) Subscribe to my YouTube Channel (Curse of the Crafter)
2) Like Country Craft Creations in Hooper on Facebook
3. Leave your guess on how many magnets were used in the comments on this blog post.

As long as those 3 tasks are complete, anyone is eligible to enter. Only one guess per person. 
All entries and required tasks must be completed by Sunday, October 26th, 2014 at 12:00AM EST.

I will announce the winner and reveal the finished project along with its the interactive elements on Monday, October 27th, 2014. In the event several contestants guess the same number, the first correct answer will be named the winner. 

I will mail the finished project as shown (and maybe a few other surprise goodies) directly to the winner.

GOOD LUCK!!!
XOXO, Lish

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Eye of Newt Design Team Project

I am so excited to share my first Design Team Project! It was so hard to make a choice on what to complete first and actually cut into these gorgeous papers.


I have been wanting to make a potion/apothecary bottle for years. So when a friend of ours dropped off a few bottles to recycle, inspiration struck!

   
I began by cleaning the bottle really well. I dried and polished it with my Norwex polishing cloth as I have found that it gives the best shine and polish for glass, mirrors, etc. I wanted a cracked/old appearance so I applied some Modge Podge as a base. After that dried, I applied some Rock Candy Crackle Paint. I used it liberally so the cracks would be very visible. I gave it some extra time to dry to ensure the crackle wouldn't smudge, peel or tear as I began to work with the bottle. 

I give the bottle an aged appearance I applied some Walnut Stain Distress Ink. You can see above the difference with and without the stain. Once the bottle was prepped, I wanted to try a few techniques with some items from my craft room and really make the bottle look different. 

I used some Art C black molding paste I picked up at Michael's on the sides of the bottle with a stencil I purchased at a local craft store. 


I really love the way this started to transform the bottle. The most difficult piece of this project was figuring out how to make the eye open on the front of the bottle. I really wanted it to look attractive and normal at first glance with a little interactive surprise upon further inspection. I ended up using a template and technique from the book Playing with Pop-Ups: The Art of Dimensional, Moving Paper Designs by Helen Hiebert. I used my 1/4 inch Scortape to adhere the paper to the bottle. It is one of my favorite adhesives along with one of the items I have to restock the most lol. 

 
The paper really makes the look of this project. I used the Wicked Times paper collection by Marion Smith. I was so excited when I found out that Country Craft Creations (  www.countrycraftcreations.com ) was going to be sending this paper for my projects this month. The purple and orange flower paper was perfect to draw the attention so the eye can open and really surprise the viewer. A picture can also be added instead of eye as a great hidden surprise. I used a tear dropped shape gem from Marion's Junque & Gems line as the tab to open and close the eye. I really looks gorgeous. I cut out the "NEWT" and other embellishments from her cut apart page in the collection. The Genuine Miraculous sticker is from a set of Recollection stickers I purchased last year at Michael's. I added the googley eyes to really give it an "eye" of newt theme. 

        

To finish up the side of the bottle, I cut out a small piece from the cut apart sheet out. It fit perfectly to add just a little more dimension. I also used a small Tim Holtz metal skull and crossbones on top of a paper clay embellishment I handmade. The last piece to this project was to add something to the top. I used a ping pong ball and created the eye with a green and black marker. I used some red and pink glue sticks with my hot glue gun to cover the base and give it a more gruesome Halloween look. I added some hemp rope secured with Scortape and a Jolee's spider sticker to finish off the middle section. 
  
Finally, to add some age I covered the project with baking cocoa. 

I hope you enjoyed the additional information on this really fun project. I really love the versatility of this paper. I have a few more surprises in store this month so please be sure to check back! 

Make sure to swing by Country Craft Creations for some great deals on this paper collection as well as quite a few others! 
https://www.facebook.com/tammyscountrycraftcreations

Supplies:
Marion Smith Wicked Times Paper Collection
Marion Smith Junque & Gems
1/4 inch Scortape
Modge Podge
Distress Crackle Paint Clear Rock Candy
Distress Ink Walnut Stain
Art C Molding Paste
The Crafters Workshop Ronda Palazzari 6x6 Stencil Template
Red Glue Stick
Pink Glue Stick
Ping Pong Ball
Tim Holts Metal Skull and Crossbones
Jolee's Boutique Glitter Spider Stickers
Recollections Potion Label Sticker
Small Googley Eyes
Baking Cocoa

Dimensions:
The bottle stands about 14 inches tall and is 5 inches across the base. The paper eye that opens and closes is 2 inches by 2 inches.

XOXO,
Lish