How to Video Re-Fillable Potpourri Sachet

Here is a new How-to Video

making a re-fillable potpourri sachet using

VELCRO® brand fasteners

Unique Flowers with Activia Activ- Wire Mesh

While playing around with some

 Activa Activ- Wire Mesh

I thought they would make 

some unique FLOWERS

and I was right.....

Here is a card I made using one of the flowers...

to see how I created the flowers

check out The Hive .

Creative Match Book Wrap with Activa Activ-Wire Mesh

I was playing around with some

 Activa Activ- Wire Mesh

and came up with a 

Match Book design for

gift giving....

It is the perfect size

to hold a small handmade pin

for gift giving...

Check out the instructions at:

"The Hive"

!

Playing with RIT Dye

As a full-time designer

I am always working with deadlines;

which don't get me wrong is a GOOD Thing!

So every once and a while

it is good to take time to play,

to try out new products 

(or products I have not used in a while)

and see how they work...

 

Yesterday was one of those days....

I got out my RIT Dye 

and tried out several 

different techniques...

One of the things I wanted to try

was to dip this beautiful 

SILK Ribbon 

into a Dark Green dye...

The results as you can see here

are absolutely beautiful!

The technique was quick and simple.

Check out the RIT Dye website

for technique directions

and some great project ideas!

Another Mixed Media Book...for Beacon Adhesives!

Here is another 

Mixed Media Book

that I did for the Beacon Adhesives

booth for the CHA Winter Show

This book started out as a

 pre-made canvas book by

C&T Publishing....

I painted it with

Earth Safe Finishes Shimmers,

used wonderful trims from

Expo International,

on the front I used rhinestones and

created a paper flower closure...

 

Fabric-Tac was used in this project!

Mixed Media Fabric Book with Expo International Trims and Fabri-Tac Adhesive

Another project I did for 

Beacon Adhesives for the

CHA Winter Show

was a Fabric Book showcasing

Fabri-Tac Adhesive

I layered assorted fabrics to make the book pages,

used Farbi-Tac to glue on

assorted trims from Expo International...

I created the flower on the front from 

old silk flower pieces and 

die cut paper flowers....

which I dyed with 

Earth Safe Finishes Colorant,

Metallic Powders and Water.

I used some 

rhinestones to embellish these

two inside pages along with
more trims from Expo International.

I added some lace and more trims from

Expo International along with

a mat board frame to these two pages.

 More trims from 

Expo International and

a little lace pocket.

The back cover has the same trims

from Expo International

as the front....I used ribbon

to create the closure....

Fabri-Tac is a Permanent, 

fast grab, quick drying, crystal clear 

and washable adhesive that

works great!

Up-Cycled Leather Purse

One of the projects I made for the 

Beacon Adhesives Booth

at the the Winter CHA Show

last month was an

Up-Cycled Leather Purse

I started with a TIN

that Wild Rice came in....

it had a unique shape in that 

it was oval....so when I looked at it

I could see a purse!

I cut leather pieces to cover the tin

and glued it on with

 Beacon's 3 in 1 Advanced Craft Glue....

I braided the leather to make the handle and

add trim around the top 

of the purse....

Here is a photo of the inside 

of the purse....

I added some detail to the front 

by stringing on some beads

to strips of leather...

and added a couple beads to the top of the purse...

The purse really turned out so cute!

Plus was so EASY to make!

Find something you can up-cycle today!

LIVE TShirt REMIX contest at CHA

Featuring Westcott Extreme Edge Scissors

Marissa put the video

together and it is ready...

Enjoy the fun and see 

what can be made with 

Westcott Extreme Edge Scissors,

a T-shirt and 

20 minutes....

Teaching at CHA

One of my favorite things to do is Teach....

I love to watch people learn a new craft .

While at the CHA Winter Show 

a couple weeks ago I 

was able to teach a workshop

for Makin's Clay....

There were 50 in the workshop....

 

 They were busy making leaves for a wreath

with a Makin's Push Mold....

They even blended the colors together

to create multicolored leaves.

Each wreath turns out to be an original....

with each student adding their own special

flair to the wreath....

 This is one is so cool!

She cut out the letters and heart 

free hand.

Here is another beautiful wreath....

My Flower Headband Booklet is Finished!

A couple months ago I was asked by

"House of White Birches"

to design some of my 

Flower Headbands for a Booklet....

I had them ready with step outs and instructions

within a week and sent them off 

for approval....when I returned from  the

CHA Winter Show 2 weeks ago....

there was a box waiting for me,

with my projects and copies of my NEW

 "Flower Headbands Booklet"

The booklet turned out great; it is an

8 page booklet with 5 flower headband projects,

a few of them show how you can use

VELCRO® brand fasteners

to make Changeable Headbands! 

Since it is just hot off the press

it is not available in stores yet

but you can order it online before 

the stores even get it in stock 

by going to: Clotilde 

it is item #889034 for $4.99 or

V889034 as an Electronic Download....

Check it Out and let me know what you think!

Valentine's Day Surprise with my Grandson

While watching my 2 1/2 year old grandson Blake

Monday evening....we decided it would be a 

good idea to make a surprise for his mommy

(my daughter in law)

for Valentine's Day

as his daddy (my son) 

is working out of town for the week....

 so we decided to bake

 some Valentine Day Cookies....

He enjoyed cutting them out....

and sprinkling on RED Sugar....

before baking some....

while others we baked, then frosted

with icing and sprinkled RED Sugar onto the icing....

We made a box out of Card Stock,

Added a Doily Heart and

the word Love....

placed some tissue paper inside

and filled it with cookies....

Then it was ready to give to his

mommy....while I could not get

him to learn to say

"Happy Valentine's Day" he did 

get excited when she came to pick

him up and said he had a 

"Surprise for her that he made for her"

and then he ran to get it....

Oh these are precious MEMORIES!

Quick & Easy Valentine's Day Craft

Are you looking for a 

Quick and Easy

Valentine's Day Craft?

Grab a Mason Jar, some

scraps of scrapbook paper

 to get started on this candy jar....

 I layered a 4 1/2" x 3 1/2"

piece of paper 

(the edges of this one I distressed a bit) 

with a 4" x 3"

piece of paper using my
Xyron 5" sticker machine and then
glued them to a Mason Jar....

I cut "LOVE" out of glittered

fun foam with a sizzix die....
ran it through the Xyron sticker machine

and placed that on top of the paper.

I glued a scrap of paper to the lid

and added a sizzix die cut glittered

fun foam heart to the top,,,,

added a bit of ribbon around the 

lid and tied a bow!

Filled with candy and it is ready to 

give as a gift!

So quick and easy.....

Here are several more of the candy jars....

each a bit different

but all quick and easy.....

I taught a group of ladies at church this 

past weekend and these are their jars....

Give it a try!

CHA Flash Mob for Charity

Here is the FLASH MOB Video

which we preformed at CHA for Charity....

FaveCrafts CHA Round-Up

While I was not able to get around the

show floor as much as I would have

like to last week....

I have a great way for you to

see more of what I missed....with the 

 FaveCrafts Round Up 

click on the above link to be

brought to a page where

there are more than 40

recaps of the show....

ENJOY!

Westcott Brand Sponsors T-Shirt REMIX Contest at CHA!!!

While at CHA I was able to be part of the

Westcott Brand sponsored a LIVE TShirt REMIX Contest 

which was hosted by Modern Surrealist (Marisa Pawelko)! 

Contestants put their 

Westcott Brand Extreme Edge Adjustable Tension Scissors 

to the test by slicing and shredding tshirts! 

There were 4 days of competion with

three designers each day....

pictured above is

Marisa, me, Kerry Goulder and Jill McKay;

we competed on day 2 of the competition....

We each had 20 minutes to work and
we each came up with totally different designs,

as did each of the designers each day

of the competition....

Results will be available along

with a video soon

which I will post when available!

I LOVE to Create is Amazing

Being a Designer Member of CHA

(Craft & Hobby Association)

I have the opportunity to display

my work at the Designer Showcase

held at the both the winter and summer shows....

It is a way to showcase our work and 

hopefully get additional design work.

This year a manufacturer;

"I Love to Create"  

offered to provide a repair kit

to the designers participating in the 

Designer Showcase event.

Since we have to either ship or

pack our showcases in our suitcases in order

to the get them to the show, 

sometimes damage happens....

When "I Love to Create" offered

to supply repair a kit I was thinking

it would be one maybe two kits

for all of the designers to share....

Well this was not the case.....

they had a repair kit for

each designer....(60  of us)!

These kits were filled with a

variety of their adhesives....

Paints and paint brushes....

and AMAZINGLY....

Alyson (from I Love to Create)

thought of every last detail 

because the kit included

bottled water, candy,

tissues, band aids, screwdrivers,

safety pins along with a 

note note from Alyson 

wishing each of us a Fabulous Show,

hoping that each of us would not 

need the contents of the the kit

and saying that the repair kits

were ours to take home....

I must say that 

"I Love to Create"

went above and beyond

for the designers who 

participated in the showcases 

at the winter show this year....

I respectfully say

"Thank You"

and wanted to personally

give a shout out to 

"I Love to Create"

for being so thoughtful and kind!

Inspiration from CHA & Graphic 45

Last week at the CHA Winter Show

I found myself without a lot of 

time to see the show floor

so I do not have as many  pictures

as I would like to have taken....

But the first day of the show 

while I was passing the

Graphic 45 Booth the displays

caught my eye and I took the 

opportunity to take some photos....

 Everything they had coordinated perfectly... 

 They had the finishing touches....

 That make displays wonderful....

 They had a great assortment

 of products that made you want to....

 take a selection of them home to play....

these are only a few photos of their booth....

they had so much more 

but as I was on my way to an appoinment

I did not have the time to take 

pictures of the entire booth....

but these are inspiring enough

for you to check out their new

line at the Graphic 45 web site.

To check out other highlights from the

CHA Winter Show click on the 

Designer Crafts Connection icon

on the left side of my blog.

I will also be posting more throughout the week!

 To see more CHA Round Up posts visit the FaveCrafts Round Up. 

Home from CHA Winter Show

I just returned home for the

CHA Winter Show

about an hour ago....

am busy unpacking and will

be posting pictures and

info about the show over the next 

week or so....stay tuned!

Taping a Segment for a New Web TV Show

While at CHA Winter Show this week

I taped a segment for a 

New Web TV Show with

Danielle Forsgren (The Craft Diva)

I showed how to make 

Changeable Headbands with 

VELCRO® brand fasteners;

I will share the link to the segment

when it airs!