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Easy Notepad

22 Nov

There’s a nip in the air and I am sorry to say my crafting mojo has just skipped right over Thanksgiving and on to Christmas- I blame it on the stores that put out Christmas stuff the day after Halloween.

Last night I was re-organizing. It’s amazing how much stuff came out of that tiny little camper after the Paper Trail trip and now has to be assimilated back in the studio. So while I was putting things away, I found a bunch of these little memo pads I had gotten at the Christmas Tree Shop a while ago. Since they were 3″ square, I wondered if the Sizzix Square Box die would work as a little folder to wrap the pad with because it is a 3 1/4″ square. I actually tried the 3″ Block but it was a little tight.

At this time of year I am always looking for little handmade gifts. [Read more…]

Handmade Holidays Blog Hop 2014

8 Nov

Welcome to day 2 of the 4th Annual Handmade Holidays Blog Hop! A few years ago we were looking online for handmade gift ideas and thought it would be great if there was a resource dedicated JUST to handmade gift ideas. Enter the Handmade Holidays hop! We’ve gathered over 100 of our creative blogger friends in the craft industry as well as some of our fellow product manufacturers to bring you a plethora of inspiring gift ideas you can make now to give to your friends, family, and colleagues. Pin and bookmark these ideas for this holiday season and to use throughout the year! Each day of the hop features approximately 30 gift projects and you can “hop” from one blog to another to check them all out.

My project is a fun Santa Canister

from the new Sizzix Vintage Kitchen collection.

Growing up, my mom had a set of silver canisters- two tall ones for Flour and Sugar and then two smaller stacking ones for Coffee and Tea. That set was my inspiration for this die. The Canister is a versatile die because it will hold a stack of cookies, brownies or candy- the perfect container to decorate for the holidays! You can also cut the canister in half to make two stacking short ones that stack because the lid and bottom fit on any size that you decide to make!

Sizzix supplies:

Big Shot die cutting machine
extended cutting pads
Canister die
Jar Labels Textured Impressions
Kitchen Labels Framelits
matboard

Other Supplies:

velvet looking ribbon
spray adhesive
rhinestone buckle
Santa’s coat trim
– 1/4″ iCraft tape

Coat one and a half sheets of matboard with spray adhesive. Cover with wide red velvet ribbon. Die cut Canister and one additional side side. Stamp snowflakes on the inside of the box.
Place lines of double sided adhesive down each tab and on the tabs of the lid. Remove release paper and adhere sides together to form square shape. (If you don’t like the look of the white seams showing down the sides, you can fill in with a red marker). Fold matboard over on all score lines of the bottom of box, then insert into the base.
Cut a length of black webbing to go around the box. Use hot glue to adhere webbing around belt loop. Wrap belt around box.
Hot glue white fur around the top edge of the Canister lid. Pierce a hole in the top of the lid. Secure leather button to top of box.
Emboss a scrap of metal using the Jar Labels Textured Impressions folder. Die cut matching label from the Kitchen Labels Framelits set. With a metal stamp, spell out “4U”. Add black paint over the sentiment, then wipe off. Punch a hole in the tag and tie on to cellophane bag filled with goodies.
Give away!

Are you ready for lots more creative handmade gift ideas and projects??

Follow along on our blog hop! Simply click on each of the links below to be taken to that post with additional information and photos on how to create a handmade gift project. Have fun and pin away!

Clearsnap

Ellison Educational Equipment

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L

Rowland Technologies

Neat and Tangled

ICE Resin ‎

Therm O Web

Elizabeth Craft Designs

Pink and Main

The Buckle Boutique

Clearsnap – Vivian Keh

Ashley Rader – Giddy Upcycled

ICE Resin – Jen Cushman ‎

Candy Spiegel- Candy Scraps

Graphic 45 – Andrew Roberts

Rina Gonzales – Mothership Scrapbook Gal

Therm O Web – Amanda Niederhauser

Cori Warner – The Flying C

Yana Smakula – My Cardmaking & Scrapbooking

The Buckle Boutique – Shawn Mosch

Eileen Hull Designs – Eileen Hull

Angela Muir – Handmade in the Heartland

Krista Winters – eat, knit & d.i.y.

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L – Erica Houghton

Katie Smith – Punk Projects

Elizabeth Craft Designs – Karen Aicken

Jeanie Hevener – Create & Babble

Ellison Educational Equipment – Hilary Kanwischer

Fancy Shanty – Stacy Molter

Liz Hicks – Blogerisms

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow our Handmade Holidays Gift Ideas Pinterest board for even more inspiration!

Follow Jennifer Priest of RainMaker Media Works + Hydrangea Hippo’s board Handmade Holidays on Pinterest.

A huge thank you to our sponsors for this hop – please visit their blogs below and follow them. And be sure to come back tomorrow for another 30+ amazing Handmade Gift Ideas!

Clearsnap || Ellison Educational Equipment || Walnut Hollow || Graphic45 || Westcott || ICE Resin || Therm O Web || Rowland Industries || Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L || Pink and Main || Elizabeth Craft Designs || The Buckle Boutique || Neat and Tangled

Additional Sponsorship provided to bloggers by:

Sakura || Fairfield Processing

Craft Fail Book Review

4 Nov

I was honored to be asked to review Heather Mann’s new book, Craft Fail- When Homemade Goes Horribly Wrong.

Heather blogs at DollarStoreCrafts.com. She is also cofounder of The Blueprint Social, a social media consulting company and network of influential bloggers, and cohost of the web show “Get a Little Creative.

I met Heather a few years ago at CHA when we had displays next to each other in the Designer Showcase. Amy Anderson of ModPodge Rocks was sitting with her and were really fun to talk to, so I have been following Heather on line and watching to see what she has been up to.

This book is laid out with a photo of a project or recipe looking perfect, then next to it is the FAIL- this is what happens when things just don’t go the way you planned. And who hasn’t had that happen?

Craft Fail is hysterical. My son and I were looking at it the other day just dying laughing (but always with sympathy because the next FAIL could be mine!) It’s hard to say which is my favorite, but there are a few that never fail to cheer me up. They went THAT wrong 🙂 The commentary that goes with the projects is just perfect and so cleverly written. I would highly recommend this book for the crafters in your life, the cooks, the experimenters, and the Pinterest crowd- it is sure to be a hit. The books is available on Amazon- you will want to buy a few to have on hand for Christmas gifts.

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What I like about the book is that it is OK, and even encouraged, to celebrate the FAILs that come along in the world of crafting. It’s all about fun and experimenting and letting your creativity go where it will. So what if things don’t always turn out the way you’d like? Having a laugh about it is almost as good.

As I found out on the Paper Trail, it’s the journey that’s the fun part, not so much checking things off a list to say that you did them.

Congrats Heather- well-done!

Halloween Popcorn Box Challenge

31 Oct

I am soooo late to the party… but didn’t want to disappoint my friend and fellow Sizzix designer Laura Kelly who is hosting her annual Halloween Popcorn Box Challenge. She sends (or gives) a popcorn box to her blogger friends and has them create with it. Go here to see all of this years entries! She also has a great giveaway going on so make sure you enter!

Laura handed me this popcorn box when I saw her in Colorado along the Paper Trail. [Read more…]

Day 40- Paper Trail 3

13 Oct

OK, I am a little behind in filling you in on my travels, but I promise I will go back and post about earlier happenings when I get home. Thankfully I have lots of pics to remind me what happened when!

Last night I had dinner with my friend Jen Goode and she says I should just do quick updates here and not worry about writing big long posts… of course I always do what my wise friends say so here we go…

I have been having issues with Scotty- the lock on the door totally froze when I was at Simple Pleasures and we had to load everything in the back of the truck and ride around with it for several days while I figured out what to do. I dove up to the Littleton area and called a locksmith through roadside assistance.

He charged me $129 to open the door but was not able to offer a solution except to jam the lock so I could get in. Many thanks to all of my amazing folks who are traveling along this journey with me. Due to your help and support, I was able to handle this with a minimum of anxiety because I felt like you were all there for me to bounce things off of.

So that night I parked Scotty very close to the curb (it’s so low to the ground the door was wedged closed). Yesterday I went to my event at Stamping to See You and a lady there knew a locksmith. He came right over. He was adorable… Floyd was 86 and knew his locks, but pronounced that Scotty’s was shot and probably a latch would have to be installed. Luckily I had a good supply of Industrial Strength Velcro®- I used several strips of it to keep the door closed until I had a more permanent solution.

Today I got up and started calling around to see if anyone could take a look. It’s Columbus Day so some places were closed. But I lucked out when I got Greg Heights on the phone. I told him what happened and he said, “Don’t worry. I will do my best and we will figure something out.” I loved his can do attitude!

I hopped in Big Daddy and made sure the Velcro was secure on Scotty’s door. I could just imagine it opening while I was driving and seeing it go flying off the camper in my rear view mirror! Partway down the highway I had to get out and tighten it, but it held till I got there.

When I arrived, Greg took out the old lock and surveyed the situation.

He came out with tools, screws and hasps. After a few minutes, he came up with just the right latch for the job and bolted everything together. He thought of everything, including making it impossible for me to get locked in there 🙂 (How did he know about that incident in Florida?!)

He also gave me good info on the laws of running lights (mine are not working), so I went to Wal-Mart and got another set of bike lights for the bottom of the camper and I feel like I am back in business. I am loving the Velcro® this trip for sure!

I showed him the place where Scotty got hit last week and he said that they will probably declare it totalled, but to get an estimate when I get home. Wouldn’t that be amazing if the insurance paid me what I paid to buy it? I don’t know how that all works though… more adventures ahead, I’m sure.

He was very gracious and only charged me $40. I gave him $50 and was on my way to Wal-Mart to get a lock. Good as new!

Will try to write more often and thanks for following the #paprtrail3!

Paper Trail 3 Return Trek Across America Update

6 Oct

I can’t believe I am already more than halfway done with my marathon two month Paper Trail Tour around America! I am pulling Scotty, my vintage camper, and teaching craft classes using Sizzix dies designed by me and signature Clearsnap inks in retail stores and at events!

Follow the Paper Trail experience in real time by LIKING my Eileen Hull Designs Facebook page where I am posting the latest pics and events. [Read more…]