Recycle Craft : embellishments

Every crafter knows that embellisments, though small,
often are the most expensive part of cardmaking and
scrapbooking. I have tried out various sorts of plastic
and have now found a type of plastic that is very
usable to make your own, inexpensive, embellishments.



The embellishments that you see here are all made out
of a box that contained q-tips and would normally be
thrown away. The paper of your choice can be glued to
the plastic with Glossy Accents. The plastic can be
tweaked with a normal nailfile. For cutting the plastic
i recommend the scissors by Tonic Studios (Tim Holtz).

Frugal Crafting

When i am making the Coneberry houses, i reuse the cardboard
packaging material we all have in our houses. In stead of
throwing it all in the recycle bin, i recycle it in my own way.
A second upside to this is that i do not need to buy any
cardboard at the hobbystore, so i am saving money at the
same time as i am saving the environment, and that is always
a good idea.

ATC WIP

I always have some projects lying around that are
"in progress". The same goes for these ATC's, they
will be used in the (near) future and finished into
real ATC's, but at this moment i have no idea how
to finish them. So i just put them in a small box and
i will come back to them later.

DIY Retro Tapestry

Shrines : Memory Shrines

I now and then venture into the realm of assemblage as
an artform. I made a set of shrines that look like they
are the same, but they all are slightly different. They
are the size of ATC's, oblong.



The four Memory Shrines i made contain items which
remind me of my childhood. They also contain tiny
mirrors (next to the umbrellas) to incorporate the watcher
into the Shrine, making the observer part of it.

Pyramid Cards

A fun and different kind of way to make a card : the
pyramid card. You send the card unfolded to the
recipient and they can fold the card into the pyramid
shape you see here.



The card itself will actually get a three-dimensional
form. Especially interesting for those who like to try
something different now and then.



It works as follows : you decorate the topmost triangle,
that is the bit of card that you will see. You fold along the
dotted lines and you cut the two vertical lines. The two
vertical lines will be the slits that the two topmost corners
of the paper will fold into so that the pyramid will hold its
shape. There is actually nothing more to it than that. So try
it and enjoy.

Frugal Figurine Bodies

Use what you have to your advantage, that is my motto.
This also goes for crafting supplies. These wine bottle corks
for example, work great as figurine bodies. This farmgirl
(that i posted earlier) has a cork body. Some free materials
that we otherwise would throw away, work just as well as
the materials we buy at the craft store. It is easier than you
thinkk to save money and save our planet.

Felt Craft Tip

When making a Felt project where detail is not
the most important thing, you can use viscose kitchen
cloths instead of felt. This will only work when the
kitchen cloths have not been washed yet.

Coaster Booklet

All crafters have them : projects that never seem to
get finished. This is one of mine : a coaster booklet.



Who knows if it ever will be finished ...

Mexican Loteria

Mexican Loteria is a game of chance, similar to bingo,
but using images on a deck of cards intead of numbers.
There is a huge tradition in Mexico concerning the art
that is shown on the cards. Bright and colourful are
the keywords.



You can read the whole history on ML on Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loter%C3%ADa
The piece written there is very informative.

There are swaps held in the creative cummunity with
Mexican Loteria as subject. I have in the past joined
these swaps and will continue to make ML-cards,
sizes 6,4x8,9 cm (ATC-size), but for now i shall show
you some of the cards i made in the past.

Fairies

I love fairies, not all of them ( i am picky) but the ones in the
books i have, i love. I am talking about the following books,
the three books in the Lady Cottington series by
Brian Froud http://www.worldoffroud.com/ :




And two books by Cicely Mary Barker :

Vacation

Here is a nice way to give someone you know a wellwishing
when they are going on a vacation. Or to give a grandchild,
nephew or niece some spending money when they are going
travelling. Just make sure you make something personal
and put the note and/or money in the tiny envelope attached
inside the card. That way it is never boring to give money.

ATC's : Family

A family ATC made with some Zettiology stamps.
Zettiology has really nice stamps, they are unlike
any other stampline on the market. You can check
them out at www.zettiology.com.

ATC's : Black & White

Julie van Oosten is a stampdesigner that used
to work for Limited Edition Rubberstamps, but
now is working for Stampington. I really love her
stamps and have a lot of them. Three of her
Clear Stamp Sheets i will show you here. Those
are the ones that i used for making this
Black and White ATC.

ATC's : Vintage and Pink Flower

A vintage made with scrapbooking paper and
stamps by Julie van Oosten. The Pink Flower
ATC is made with stamps by JvO only.

I [heart] felt

My love for felt really started when i got this book in
i think 1994. I do not suppose that any bookstores
carry it anymore, but im sure you will be able to find
it in second hand bookstores or at fleamarkets. The book
is a well of information and is usable for both children and
grown-ups, or any combination of the two.

Needle Container

This must be one of the sweetest Needle Containers
you have ever seen. I think it is adorable. I bought it
in a second hand store and consider it to be a real find.

ATC's : women

Some ATC's with women as subject. Made with
Limited Ed. and Stampers Anonymous stamps.