MAKE IT :: Decoupaged Wooden Bangles

How great are these DIY bangles from the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living? So cute and clever.

You can find the how-to and the clip art for this project here, at Martha Stewart.

Images: Martha Stewart Living

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Lovely Tutorials

Here are some I've seen and loved.

Dip Dye Cups on design*sponge. The colours...! I've seen quite a bit of dip dying around lately and I'm really loving the effect.

S'mores Kit on Creature Comforts. I've never tried S'mores but they sure look delish.

Hoola Hoop Rug on Family Fun. Awesome idea. we'll definitely try this. I'm not sure now where I saw this... it may have been WhipUp.

Retro Postage Stamps on bloesom kids. Fun and sweet.

Crochet stool top on Dottie Angel. Added to my 'to do' list.

Have you seen any great tutorials lately? Please share!
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Getting crafty with Ann Wood

Time on my hands is something I don't have at the moment... school holidays are looming and I have a very tight deadline with a lot of design work to be done in a short space of time, orders to fill (including one for over 1,000 products... eeek!), and add to that a migraine this morning and I'm almost, nearly, sort of, keeping my head above water. And then there's this poor neglected blog!

But, if I did have some time to spare I'd be making these sweet papier mache cups by Ann Wood. Ann's tutorial is very detailed and the finished cups are gorgeous. I'm hoping to have a craft day with Roxy during the holidays where we can try our hand at these.

Image Source: Ann Wood
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Paper Wreath and Garland Tutorial

You will need:

* Thin paper. I used paper squares bought from Chinatown - I love the unbleached colour of the paper with the vibrant orange and red, and the metallic gold. The photo doesn't capture the vibrancy of the paper in this wreath. It really is beautiful. Alternatively you could used pages from an old paperback book, origami paper, or even squares of tissue paper.

* Cardboard to make the backing ring. I used ivory card, but as it will be hidden you could use any light weight cardboard.

* Scissors

* Stapler

* Pencil or pen

* Bowls or plates to trace around

* Blu Tac to hang your wreath

* Optional additional decorations, embellishments, ribbon to hang the wreath.

The directions to make this wreath are the same as my Paper Doily Wreath Tutorial. For this wreath I folded most of my paper with the printed design on the inside, but for variation I made some with the colour on the outside - maybe one in every 12 or so.

Even though the method is the same, his wreath looks quite different to the one I made of doilies because the paper is rectangular instead of round. I've seen wreaths made from book pages very similar to this selling in shops for a few hundred dollars. I can't remember how much the Chinese paper is, but I would guess it would only be a few dollars for enough to make this wreath. And it's easy. Give it a go.

I hope you enjoy making it. Email me photos!


The garland is so easy it hardly needs a tutorial... but here goes.

You'll need squares/rectangles of paper, a needle and embroidery thread (or similar), decorative tape (I used Japanese washi paper tape).

Gather the paper squares from the centre like you did for the wreath. Thread the needle and pass it through the centre of a paper square.

Wrap a small piece of tape around the thread on the under side of the paper so it doesn't pull through.

Wrap a small piece of tape around the centre top of the paper so it will keep its shape.

Repeat until you have your garland to the desired length.

Easy!

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Paper Doily Wreath Tutorial

Hello! I have moved my blog to a new home. You can find this tutorial at the red thread blog's new address. Just click here.

Thanks,

Lisa

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Tutorials :: 3 paper wreaths and a garland

A couple of weekends ago I made some paper wreaths for Christmas. They are based on the method I used for my previous paper wreath. Same same but different. They are all easy and will only cost a few dollars each to make. I'll post the tutorials separately, but in the meantime, here's a better look at them.

This wreath is made using small paper doilies from the local discount store. 

And this one uses beautiful orange, red and gold paper which is readily available (and very inexpensive) from Chinatown.

Easiest of all is this mini wreath made from tissue paper and Japanese paper tape.

The garland also uses the Chinese paper and is the easiest thing you'll every make! Despite that I think it looks great in the cream, orange and gold paper.

I'm really into orange at the moment, and love how it looks with red - and aqua too. Have you started to decorate for the silly season yet? Do you have a colour scheme in mind? Or maybe you use a mixed palette?

Tutorials to follow next.
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Make your own fabric tape

This week there was a tutorial on Annekata (which I found via the lovely Maya) showing you how to make your own fabric paper tape. It's such a wonderful idea and a great tutorial, but it was quite involved and it inspired me to make my own fabric tape in a similar but much simpler way.

All you need is double sided tape and fabric.

Stick a length of tape onto the back of your fabric and rub it down so it's firmly attached to the tape. (I didn't bother cutting the fabric first, I just stuck the tape along the edge of a large piece of fabric). Trim the fabric along the sides of the tape... and you're done! So simple and quick, and the tape is so much fun. When you're ready to use it just peel off the backing.

Visit Annekata to see where my inspiration came from, and take a look at Maya's beautiful tape, and you'll also find they have gorgeous blogs.

What are you up to this weekend? I have recently increased my fabric stash and intend to reorganise and relocate all my fabric tomorrow. I'd also like to make a start on sewing some Ooshkas. I'll be having a stall at Handmade Market in Canberra on Saturday 5th June and need to get sewing in preparation.

Whatever you're up to, enjoy!

x
Lisa

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Craft tutorials in Notebook magazine

I've been waiting to tell you about this for a while now, and as the May issue of Notebook hit the stands today I don't have to wait any longer.


I was thrilled to be invited to provide a couple of projects for Notebook's create section, which was a lot of fun. The first tutorial is for leaf-printed cushions, and is a step by step guide to both the printing of the fabric and making the cushions. The second project is hand carving stamps and printing onto journals. You can see an enlargement of the first spread here.

But that's not all.... stay tuned for my next post for more news....
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Japanese Washi Tape :: Mini Bunting Tutorial

After I returned from my first trip to Japan with a mountain of gorgeous washi paper tape I started to make mini bunting out of it. The tape is now quite readily available online so I thought I'd make a quick tutorial for my mini bunting. It's fast and fun and with all the colours and patterns available you can make lots of different variations.

You'll need: Japanese washi tape and embroidery floss, or waxed thread, thin string, or similar.

Start by choosing your colours and cutting lengths of tape. The length will depend on how big you want your bunting flags to be. Mine vary in size, but they're roughly about 4.5cm (or about one and 3/4 inches). Cut your tape twice that length. There's no need to measure them though - half the charm is in the variation of size.


Cut a piece of embroidery floss to the length you want your bunting to be and lay it out in front of you.

Take a piece of tape and place it sticky side up under the floss. The floss should be about half way down the tape. Carefully fold the tape over the floss making sure the edges line up. It's easier than it sounds and if the edges don't align the paper tape is easy to lift up so you can try again.

If you are making a double width flag place a second piece of tape next to and underneath the first one so that they overlap slightly. Fold the second piece of tape over.


Cut a straight edge along the bottom of the flag then cut a triangle up into the center. Or if you'd like triangular flags cut up from the center bottom to the top corner on both sides of the flags.


Mix up the colours and patterns when making your flags. With this design I like to space the flags unevenly apart and vary their size for more interest. But with triangular flags I think a more even approach is better. But experiment, mix it up and have fun.


When your bunting is the desired length hang it up using a couple of pieces of washi tape. Easy!



If you're looking to buy some of this gorgeous tape you might try these 548 results from an Etsy search.
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Beautiful Snowflake Ornaments Tutorial

I just had to share this link to a wonderful tutorial on Katy Elliott's blog. Aren't these salt dough ornaments absolutely divine? And surprisingly they don't seem to be all that tricky either. Head on over to Katy's for a great tutorial by guest blogger Stephanie of even*cleveland.

Image Source: Katy Elliott

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Christmas Tutorials

Christmas is sneaking up on us and I'm not sure that I'll have a chance to do any tutorials this year. I have a million ideas, as usual, but as you may have guessed not enough time. So, in case you weren't hanging out here last year I wanted to point you in the direction of my Paper Christmas Wreath, Advent Calendar, and Crafting With Kids Decorations.
Edit: they are now on my new blog, along with other great craft tutorials. Click here.
Have fun!

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Jane's Summer Tweets

Jane from Melbourne, who won my second Tokyo Giveaway, emailed me last week with her wonderful interpretation of my Summer Tweets tutorial.


Instead of making papier mache birds, Jane made little softie birds from Melly & Me's Messenger Birdies pattern. Aren't they lovely? I love Jane's use of the heart-shaped swing too. Thanks for sharing your photos Jane, and congrats on doing such a wonderful and creative job.
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Tutorial :: Summer Tweets Bird Mobile

Hello! I have moved my blog to a new home. You can find this tutorial at the red thread blog's new address. Just click here.

 

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My next craft project

Image Source: The Style Files

Do you remember way back in November that I gasped when I saw these to die for chunky knit poufs? Well, imagine my delight when I saw this DIY project on Design*Sponge last week - not quite as dramatic, but still fun.

I wonder if I could use the instructions to make something more like the original pouf. I can't crochet, but it looks pretty simple doesn't it? I think I might make this my first Brown Owls project. I'm sure there'll be some crafty crocheting Owls who will be able to guide me when I need help. I'll show you how it turns out.

Image Source: Design*Sponge

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100 Craft Tutorials

Image Source: The Long Thread

The Long Thread has assembled a list of the Top 100 Craft Tutorials of 2008. It's a fantastic resource if you're looking for a project.

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Crafting With Kids Tutorial: Cheat's Papier Mache

School holidays. What to do when it's too hot to do anything but stay indoors where it's cool? Or, conversely if it's too cold or wet to play outside? Craft!

This is a great technique that can be used by any child over about 4 - with some help for the younger ones from an adult. I call it cheat's papier mache because you don't have to build up layers and layers which can get tedious and boring. You skip pretty quickly to the fun part: decorating. Using fabric for the outer layer gives you lots of options with colour and pattern - especially if you have a big stash of fabric scraps like I do.

You'll need:
- Newspaper
- Fabric scraps
- Scissors
- Sticky tape
- PVA glue or glitter glue
- Paint brush

1. Start by cutting your fabric into small pieces - roughly about 2-3cm (I inch) square. If your child is making something quite small like a mouse, the size of the fabric pieces will have to be smaller too. Decide what shape you wish to make. It can be anything: an animal, a mushroom, cupcake, car, etc. Of course the younger your child the simpler the shape should be. Roxy made her first one at 4 and a simple mouse made from a single ball was perfect. This time she chose to make a heart, and I made a matryoshka doll.

2. Cut a tabloid newspaper page in quarters. (The size of your paper will depend on the size you'd like your finished piece to be.) Take one of the quarter pages and scrunch it up in a ball. Flatten it out again and then scrunch it up again. Do this a number of times until your paper softens. Finish with it rolled up in a ball. Decide how many balls to make and what size they should be to suit your project. For Roxy's heart she needed two large balls and one smaller one.

3. Cut a piece of newspaper that is big enough to wrap one of the balls up. Soften it by scrunching and flattening as before. Wrap your ball up in this piece of newspaper, squeeze the ball tightly as you are wrapping so it's pretty solid. Your aim is to have a smooth round ball, so wrap fairly neatly.

4. Use the sticky tape to secure your wrapped ball so it is smooth. Repeat steps 3 & 4 for all your balls/shapes. For the heart we made the 3rd (smaller) ball into a cone shape when it was wrapped. It will form the bottom of the heart.

5. Join all your wrapped pieces together with sticky tape to form the shape of your object.

6. Decide whether you need to fill any gaps in your shape. For the heart we wrapped a long piece of scrunched newspaper around the middle and secured it with tape.

7. Cut a piece of newspaper large enough to cover your finished shape and repeat the scrunching and flattening, wrapping and securing process (as per step 3). Now all your original pieces should be combined to form the finished shape ready for decorating.

8. Stop for lunch... It's hard work this crafting!

9. Cover your table with newspaper or a plastic sheet. Paint one side of your shape with lots of glue. Place the fabric pieces on, overlapping them and painting glue over the top. The glue dries clear and the finished piece is stronger if it has more glue on it. Roxy wanted to use glitter glue, which really added something extra (lots of sparkles!) to her finished heart. Let one side dry before you flip it over. Time for a snack now mum!

You can add detail like I did with mine by cutting shapes out of fabric - face, hair, eyes, etc - and adding them last. Set your finished piece aside to dry completely.

I love doing this as much as children seem to! It's so much fun and the results are only limited by your imagination. But start off with a simple shape and graduate to something more complicated after you've had some practice. As part of my handmade Christmas plan for this year I want to make some decorations using this method. A loop of ribbon for hanging the decoration could be secured to the newspaper shape before you stick on the fabric. Handmade hearts would also be nice for Valentine's Day, or smaller ones would be lovely for an extra personal touch when wrapping birthday presents.

If you try this tutorial I'd love to see photos of your finished masterpieces!
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