Friday, November 20, 2015

Fall layouts with PhotoPlay Paper and ThermOWeb DecoFoil

Hello everyone! It was so exciting to collaborate with the new PhotoPlay Paper company and one of their first releases, Autumn Day. Each fall we take a trip to the Adirondacks, and this collection was a perfect match for some of my photos.

climbing mt coney
 

 I began with some large angled pieces on each side of the layout to mimic the angles of the slopes we were climbing.  I used some of the leaf stickers from the Autumn Day 12x12 sticker sheet and scattered them down the page in a naturial flow, and then machine stitched over them with some free motion loopy swirls to provide some movement. I incorporated a few DecoFoil™ leaves in Pumpkin and Rose Gold that I punched from some of the new DecoFoil™ Toner Sheets and ran through my
laminator.


climbing mt cooney 1
 


 To bring in a bit more foil, I added a few drops of DecoFoil™ Liquid Adhesive on the trees and went over it with some Pumpkin and Rose Gold Deco Foil to make the leave shimmer.

climbing mt cooney 2
 

 On my 2nd page, I used a few simple grid design with some strips and squares of paper.


up we go
   


 Again, I scattered some leaves down the page to create movement.  I added a DecoFoil leaf cluster on my journaling circle.  I die cut one leaf from a DecoFoil™ Toner sheet and ran it through my laminator with the Pink Melon DecoFoil.  The other leaf is wood venneer that I covered with some DecoFoil liquid adhesive and covered with Pumpkin DecoFoil™.  Then I reapplied some more Liquid DecoFoil™ Adhesive and covered with the Pink Melon DecoFoil™. This created a two-toned effect!

up we go close up 1
 

 Thanks to PhotoPlay paper for letting us work with our amazing new collections!

Friday, November 6, 2015

Handmade Holiday Hop with Therm O Web

Welcome to the 2105 Handmade Holidays Hop!


I am so excited to be a part of this amazing event!  Here's how it works:

There is a Link List below for a ton of amazing HANDMADE projects that you can peruse through.  There is a new list with new projects from different blogs, each day, for the next 3 days (Nov. 6-8).  


To be eligible for the prize, you can complete as my entires as possible on the Rafflecopter widget at the end of this post.  Check back each day for the next 3 days for more entires!  And here is the amazing prize valued at over $600 that you could win:


Oh my gosh what an AMAZING assortment of crafting goodies!  Here are all the sponsors that donated to this prize pack and also sponsored many bloggers with products:



Now I am SO excited to share with you my Handmade Holiday project!

Every year, I have been making simple paper advent calendars for my kiddos to do a countdown to Christmas.  This year, I wanted to make something that would LAST.  I created a quilted, circle-pocket, countdown calendar.


Supplies used:


-Background Fabric and backing (2 pieces about 24" x WOF)

-Batting: a piece just a bit larger than your project

-about 1/3 yd. fabric for binding

-black fabric for numbers (6"x12" piece)

-Therm O Web Heat N Bond Lite


-Therm O Web DecoFoil Transfer Sheets in Black and Gold




To begin, I search for circle shaped objects to make templates on cardstock.  I used a CD, a small paint can, and a lid from a toy container.  I cut TWO circle of the same size and print for each pocket.



Then I used the templates and traced them on the paper side of the Heat N Bond Lite.  Cut only ONE piece of interfacing per pocket. You will need to figure out how many of each size you need depending on what you cut from your fabric.




Using a dry iron, iron the Heat N Bond Lite to the WRONG side of one piece of fabric for each pocket.




Once you have all the Heat N Bond ironed on your circles, lay the out in your desired arrangement on your background fabric and pin in place, right through the paper, and iron them on one at a time.






For the pocket front, fold about a 1" flap to the wrong side of the fabric and iron to form a crease.  Stitch about 1/4" away from the folded edge and then trim off the excess fabric.




Use your Fabric Fuse Liquid Adhesive to glue each pocket to the front of the matching circle. Make sure just to glue around the edges to leave the pocket open.

Create a "quilt sandwich" with the front of the quilt, then the batting, and then the backing of the quilt.  Machine stitch around the entire edge of the circle with about 1/8" allowance (or more if desired). Quilt the white space as desired. I used a small, messy pebble look (I was thinking of little snowballs!).  Machine stitch on a binding.



For the numbers, cut a piece of black fabric about 6"x 12" and iron on a piece of DecoFoil Hot Melt adhesive to the top, leaving the paper ON.  Using a fabric blade and setting on your electronic die-cutting machine, cut the numbers out with your machine.  Alternatively, you could cut the numbers out by hand.


Once the numbers have been cut, peel them from your mat.  At this point, you can remove the paper on the top and place the numbers in between the parchment sheets that come with the DecoFoil Transfer Sheets.  Layer a piece of foil over the numbers (silver side down) and iron with a dry iron for about 30-45 seconds.  LET COOL COMPLETELY before you try and peel the foil from the numbers.



Once cooled, use the Fabric Fuse glue to glue the numbers to the front pocket of the circles.  And Voila, you are FINISHED!



Now just wait until December and starting planning what goodies you are going to put in each pocket!






Thanks so much for joining us for the Handmade Holidays 2015!  And a special thanks to Therm O Web and Blend Fabrics for the awesome products!




a Rafflecopter giveaway