Party, party, party

I recently got to play with some yummy new stuff from My 2 Angels. You can find the links to all the products used on Tracy's blog here

The whole Let's Celebrate range reminded me of a high tea party (not that I ever have any of those, but YOU might), so I decided to make a little party set with an invitation, name holder and a birthday card.

Here’s how to make a standing-up invitation that can be mailed flat.

You will need:

-        2 pieces of cardstock: 4x4” and 4x8”,

-        2 pieces of the Wrapping paper both 3 ¾ x 3 ¾”,

-        a punched border strip 4” long

-        and 2 decorated panels from the “You’re invited” paper

 I used a sweet little cupcake charm, which I painted first and a cupcake from “Sweets & Treats” 

Fold the larger piece of cardstock in half and fold one half in half again, like this:

Glue the smaller piece of cardstock on that like shown:

And add the decorated panel

That’ll be the front of your card. On the inside glue on the 2^nd panel like this:

But tuck in the punched border under the panel. It will keep the front of the card standing up.

 Done!

Talking about High Tea, you will need name tags to seat all your “distinguished guests”

“We” might not be amused, but your friends will get a kick out of this: You use a toilet paper roll for a base. Shocking, I know.

You will need a 1 ½” section of a toilet paper roll and half a strip of “perfectly pleated cardstock”. I inked the top edge a little and glued it around the toilet paper roll.

If you want, cover the inside with a strip of paper, so the in-laws don’t find out our little secret. Next, add some velvet ribbon to the bottom edge and cut out a cupcake. Emboss a chipboard balloon (without the string) with embossing powder (I gave mine 3 coats to make it nice and shiny). Take a length of wire and wind it around a pencil like this:

Gently slide it off and sticky-tape one end behind the cupcake and the other behind the balloon. Cover the back of the balloon with some scrap paper.

Using some strong glue attach the cupcake with the wire to the ring and use a high-tech cloth peg to hold it in place till it’s dry.

Add a name and you’re done. This might look like a lot of steps for a small decoration but if you do these in production-line style you’ll be done with a dozen in no time.

And last I made a birthday card.

Tracy embossed some acetate with the Cuttlebug birthday embossing folder  and look how awesome this turned out! I decided this didn’t need a lot more, so here are the bits I have added:

-        some glimmer misted cardstock underneath (darker colours show the embossing best),

-        some more cupcakes 

-        a velvet ribbon 

-        a rhinestone circle 

-        and a birthday chipboard word covered in German glitter glass

Have fun celebrating!

Geli

River Walk

I just love this photo of Hannah on the Board Walk along the river. 

Here are some nice expo finds and the flowers from My 2 Angels: 

And I managed to squeeze in a bit of Bruno Mars again:

TFL!

my2angels is 3 this month - birthday sketch

Do you want to win a months subscription to our embellish me kit club?

Just us in our sketch challenge and a "show us your charm" challenges

We have 2 prize packs to give away for the following competitions during August

(sorry no overseas entries due to high postage costs)

Birthday Sketch

Upload your version of Jess’s sketch (see below) to our gallery to be in to win

(a majority of products used on your entry must be available from my2angels

and please add BIRTHDAY SKETCH to your title when uploading)

AND

Show us your Charm

Upload your most unique idea, creation, examples of using my2angels charms to our gallery

along with a description of your creation to be into win a 1 month subscription


So....
Here is my version of the birthday sketch:

I can never go past a die cut background paper and Websters does them so well! All the papers are from the delicious new Lets Celebrate range and the white embossed mat has been done with the Cuttlebug Happy Birthday Embossing Folder. I love using a little Twine to define the curved edges. Just glue it on, it works a treat.

Here's a flag from Youre Invited with a Frangipani Flower and half a Rhinestones Circle:

My absolute favourites are the sparkly Chipboard Balloons. Simply spread some Dimensional Magic all over them and cover in Glitter. Easy, right?

Since your carpet and possibly your pets are now well covered in glitter, why not give the mini Cupcake Charms the same make-over:

I made a little scallop border from folded-over Mulberry Flowers:

and a rosette from some left-over lace fabric with an Acrylic Flower for a center:

Yes, you guessed it, more twine. I just love that stuff.

Happy birthday to My2Angels and come on, have a go at the sketch!

Nature kids

Here's a fun little layout which we'll use in class next week:

I am lucky to have grown up near Saxon Switzerland, a national park with lots of sandstone formations, perfect for rock climbing and hiking. And these are my little nephew and nieces enjoying a day out there. Makes me wish I could nip over there and join them.

Anyway, I can't have it all...

Here are a few closies:

...hello birdie...

What if

This fortnight's challenge on the Boxx was:

*WHAT YOU WOULD DO WITH A FEW EXTRA HOURS IN A DAY.

*You may use as many photo's as you like.

*BUT Bonus points if you use at least 1 photo of your self on your lo.
*No other rules...just have fun!!

And...

I'm finally done! I think taking the photo was the thing that took the longest. LOL, oh so vain.

I have often thought that if I have to be cold in winter I'd like a bit of snow and ice to come with it. So, "What if I had more time (&$) to do the things I like?"

Out for publication

A little wintery swirl with German glitter glass

and a little blue flower:

and a pair of ice-skates. 

Well, I'm not complaining, but on cold winter nights in Queensland I miss my proper European winters!

Sweet Pea

My pretty little Leah as a baby. I imagined the torn paper made her look a little bit like a pea peeking out from its shell. 

We'll be doing this project in class next week (August 2-5). Hope to see you there!

How to make a charm pendant with My2Angels

Make a charm pendant (as seen on the My2Angels Blog)

My son loves turtles and here is a fun thing to make that will suit both boys and girls. First I cut the loop off a turtle charm with some pliers and filed the sharp edges a little. Then I covered a circle pendant with Dimensional Magic and put the charm into the middle. Make sure none of the Dimensional Magic gets on the charm.

Before it is dry cover it in glitter and let it dry completely (putting it in the sunshine speeds it up!). This will take at least half an hour, so be patient! Once it’s dry brush off any glitter from the charm and you’re done.

Have some fun with other charms like a snowflake snowflake for a Christmas card or a daisy for a girl’s necklace. You can even use the cabochon flowers cabochon flowers for a pretty look.

As a variation try a larger acrylic flower in a bottle cap (see the tutorial on how to squish them flat here)

Have fun with charms and follow the links to any of the products I used!

Making ribbon rosettes (with a version for seamstresses and one for the sewing impaired)

Here is a great way of making ribbon rosettes from a tutorial I did for my2angels. Everything I used can be bought there, too.

Take 1m of grosgrain ribbon, 12 - 20mm wide, and gather it in loops with your sewing machine. I simply fold the ribbon as I go. Sew only along the edge of the ribbon. The smaller the loops the better it will look.

Your ribbon is now only about 1/3 of the original length.

Cut a circle (about 4cm diameter) from sturdy cardstock. This does not have to be perfect as it won’t be seen. For the next step I have used a hot glue gun (cause I’m the impatient kind). You can also use Pritt Glue  and hold down each section for a little while till it sticks. Starting from the outer edge, glue on sections of the gathered ribbon until you’ve come all the way around. Then you start overlapping the previous row. Like a snail. You get it.

When you come to the middle leave a small empty space

Now you glue in a Cabochons Flower or an Acrylic Flower, daisy charm or a flower from flower chain. Whatever takes your fancy.

This looks great on a hair pin or a head band too!

Are you a sewing impaired person? Don’t despair, here’s a cheater’s way (though it’s not as sturdy). Stick some 6mm double sided sticky tape  along one edge of the ribbon and peel it off one bit at the time as you stick it on the cardboard circle. Pinch it into loops as you go. I used about 1/2m of ribbon.

 Finish the centre however you like and you’re done in a flash. This is also great for ribbon that won’t sew easy, like the glitter ribbon I used.

If you have mastered the art of pinching and sewing you can do all sorts of cool stuff, even sewing in the middle of the ribbon and using it as a groovy border. Big loops will look good for boys, too.

Geli

silly yoga in the park

I did this page for the July sketch challenge at the Boxx. Hannah was doing some silly yoga moves in the park and so I called it "silly yoga in the park".

 It was a little hard to photograph, but here is a close-up of the frame. It is made with a paper folding technique, which you can learn in class next week! 

 

And a little close-up of the balloon masking. The journaling says, "5 seconds of quick-fix inner peace" 

I'm on the WOW Design Team

Wooohooo, it's official and I can give my own trumpet a little toot: I got chosen for the DT at Wow, a chipboard company. Hold you breath for some awesome chippies coming this way.
Here are some other wonderful scrappers who are on the DT with me:


Sandrine Dawes, QLD
Tina Connolly, QLD
Sami Cronin, ACT
Liz Kordek, SA
Amanda Lawrence, QLD and
Kim Solomon, NSW
Gillian Lester, NSW
Sandra Staples, NSW (DT Co-Ordinator) and
Renae Woods, NSW.
and
Linda Baldock, NSW as the Product Designer


Check out the WOW blinkie on your right to have a look at their site.

New delicious Webster and felt ideas

Did you see the new Webster Let's Celebrate range at my2angels? I can't wait to get my hands on it, I think it looks wonderful and I've been told by Tracy that she didn't like it until she saw it in real life. Since I already love it on screen, it's gonna be awesome.

And if you have some felt slowly decaying in the back of your cupboard check out Tracy's blog for some super ideas what to do with it. Here's just 1 thing Tracy has posted:

Think about something that makes you smile

Recently I saw this cool technique in an old mag and we're going to have a play with masking, painting and stamping in class next week. The actual layout is quite simple so we can spend time on making the mosaic effect. 

This is how that paper looked when I started out:

and this is how it looks finished: 

Simple, but effective. The title was inspired by Renee's Scrapbook Savvy July challenge.

Geli

A new sparkle in her eye

My daughter Hannah got glasses last week. Well, I can only blame my bad genes for that... BUT doesn't she look smart! I used the June sketch challenge from Handmade by Suzanne. I really like using sketches when I'm a bit stuck for ideas and we'll be using this project in class this week.   

I used my new Martha Steward punch and Jac paper to make a sparkle lace border:

and some bake-in-the-oven play dough to make a rock star heart embelly:

and some very funky pink netting: