Graphic 45 paper pumpkin

Hi, design elf Katrina here again to show you what I have been up to in my craft nook.

     Halloween is almost upon us, so I have a nice quick and easy project to share with you. I used the wonderfully spooky Graphic 45 Steampunk Spells papers for my pumpkin but you could always use a plain cardstock and make it as a Autumn pumpkin, it dosen't have to be Halloween themed if you don't want.

These are wonderfully simple to make and look so cute. I cut 12 1inch strips of the paper ( the length of the strips will determine how big you pumpkin will be, they all just need to be the same length ) 

You then need to pile them up and make a hole in both ends and secure with a brad at top and bottom. The gently fan the strips out in a rounded shape. Fiddle about with it until you have the shape you like and then you can decorate it!

I chose to cut some leaves out using the PaperArtsy leaf die and shaped them with my fingers. For the  stalk I rolled a small scrap of the paper and glued it to the top then arranged the leaves around it using silicone glue.

I used one of the pieces from the banners pack as a tag and attached it with some thin craft wire. I also used some pieces of craft wire to wrap around a cocktail stick to make some curly wire pieces and poked them into the silicone glue under the leaves.

To continue the Halloween theme I die cut some bats, 2 for each bat so I could sandwich the wire in between them, made wire curls for them to wiggle on and I was finished!

This is such a nice project to make for Autumn or Halloween, They would look lovely in a group of different sizes and are perfect for children to make too.

I hope you will give my project a go, have fun with it ,

   Love Katrina

Graphic 45 Steampunk Spells art doll

Hi everyone, design elf Katrina here. I cant believe it is nearly a month since I posted, I am so sorry its been so long but unfortunately I have been poorly. But I am back to normal now and have a seasonal art doll to show you.

   Of course you cant think of Halloween without thinking Graphic 45!! I love this paper and wanted to make a spooky art doll with it, so here is what I came up with, a little bit larger than first planned perhaps but I am very pleased with her.

She stands about 14 inches high and I made her out of re-cycled box card. I re-enforced her neck and body with coffee stirrers in between the 2 layers of card so she would stand up. The base is a box made from box card, I cut slits to push her legs through but did have a few engineering issues which were solved by stacking pieces of  card either side of her legs inside the box to stabilise her

For her head I chose one from my digital collection but you could use a stamp, magazine picture or why not use a photo of a family member? That would be fun!  Her glasses I made by wrapping some craft wire around a spray bottle top that was the size I needed and her hat I drew, covered with the Graphic 45 paper and decorated with bakers twine and stickers from the collection. All it needed then was a couple of die cut bats!

Her body I covered with strips of the different papers and decorated with stickers and embellishments from the collection. I then made her a little spell book and a broom from twigs from the garden.

I also drew and covered her arms.

I then covered the base box  with more of the wonderful Graphic 45 paper and added a few decorations.  These are the Creative expressions glass vials filled with witchy potions!! The labels are from the Graphic 45 stamps

I also made a couple more books for her and gave her a friend, after all every witch has to have a black cat!

So there she is all ready for Halloween! I must admit I had so much fun making her.

If you have any questions just pop them below of on the Fruit Pixie facebook page

     Happy crafting!

                                  Love Katrina

Autumn flower

Hello, Design elf Katrina here to share another project with the wonderful products from The Fruit Pixie.

    This time I am using something you might not think of using but is so versatile to work with, Colour catcher sheets! Yes, the ones you put into your wash to stop the colour running. If like me you don't use them, you will start when you see what a great product they are after they have done their job in the washing machine. I get mine in the good old £1 shop and have a stack of them ready to go when I need them.  There are so many things you can do with them, they stitch like a dream and take on any colour from any wet colour medium, after all that is their job, and are so easy to cut and they don't fray. See what I mean?

     Today we are going to make a flower with them. I chose to do a yellow flower but of course you can do what ever colour you want to.  The idea for how to put this flower together came from Tammy Tutterow, her tutorial is here - http://tammytutterow.com/2013/07/tuesday-tutorial-love-struck-vintage-style-millinery/ but I have changed a couple of things.

So to begin with we need 2 washed colour catcher sheets. I then chose the colour paint I wanted from the Cosmic Shimmer paint range and made it up into a spray paint by adding a small amount of the paint to a small spray bottle and added some water and just a drop of PVA glue. The glue prevents it from splitting. Its hard to give exact proportions of paint to water but just add a drop of water to the paint and try it, you can add more if need be. Give it all a good shake and its good to go!

Spray both the colour catcher sheets until  they are covered and dry either with a heat gun or naturally.

I then cut 16 long hearts but I think next time I would do 18. I used the Tim Holtz movers and shakers heart but you could use the PaperArtsy Tall heart or even draw one yourself. To cut this many you can fold your colour catcher sheets into 4 and cut through all the layers. You will also need a small circle of felt to stitch them all too.

I then went through and added ink to the edges.

The all then need to be folded as in the photos. The colour catcher sheets fold well so its not too bad a job. I also stamped them all with a script stamp.

Now we can put the flower together. Stitch your petals around the outside of your felt circle and then make another layer inside and one inside that until you have used all your petals up.

I then added one of the wonderful Vintage metal buttons which I rubbed over some of the Cosmic shimmer chalk paint. There are so many ways you can use this flower, the colour catcher sheets are very robust, I have made a book in a class with them and it is still going strong!

So to make my flower you will need - 

*2 Colour Catcher Sheets

* Cosmic Shimmer Chalk paint - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/cosmic-shimmer-matt-chalk-paints-643-c.asp

*Spray bottle - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/imagination-crafts-15ml-spritzer-7591-p.asp

Distress ink - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/ink-pads-84-c.asp

Heart die - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/paperartsy-die-tall-heart-11873-p.asp

Vintage metal buttons - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/8-vintage-metal-buttons-20578-p.asp

Broach backs - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/30mm-gilt-brooch-pin-back-516-p.asp

Have fun making your flowers!

   

                                Happy Crafting

                                                    Love Katrina

Autumn Stag card

Hello, Design Elf Katrina here. Autumn is defiantly in the air, my favourite time of year, misty mornings turning to bright crisp days. The call of the crows and the squirrels getting ready for winter and then of course the wonderful Autumn colours too, just a delight!

     So as my mind turns toward Autumn my crafting soon follows so here is a very Autumn looking card I created in my craft nook using the Spellbinders Birdstand  die and the Paper Artsy oak leaf which is perfect for this time of year.

I used card from the very useful Core dinations Kraft core Nostalgic collection which has the most beautiful autumn coloured card. I cut and embossed the leaves then sanded them back using the Core dinations sand it gadget and then removed the dust with the Core dinations dust buddy, which if you haven't tried it yet get one it really works!

To give the leaves a bit of a life I added some Cosmic shimmer polished glitter using a quickie glue pen.

To find the products I used in making this card look here - 

Cardstock - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/coredinations-kraft-core-nostalgic-16365-p.asp

Dies - birdstand - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/spellbinders-dies-648-c.asp

                      Oak leaves - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/paperartsy-cutting-dies-417-c.asp

Glitter - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/cosmic-shimmer-polished-silk-glitter-600-c.asp

Dust buddy and sand it gadget - http://www.thefruitpixie.co.uk/tools-and-accessories-nproducts16curpage-2-16-c.asp

Enjoy the Autumn colours

                                Love Katrina

Bird and feather box

Hi Everyone, design elf Katrina here with another project from my craft nook

     Today I have made a little box using a couple of the new Spellbinders dies.

I made my box using Coredinations cardstock which I embossed using the Doodle Damask stencil from That special touch Mica. I then rubbed it back to distress it.  The aperture is cut out using Sizzix Framelets  frames and sprigs ( which are half price the moment ) I then placed a book page behind.

I used the bird on a wire die for the outside of the box and the Feathers on the wind on the lid.

Do have a look at these new Spellbinders dies they are a breath of fresh air!

Do let me know what you think

Love Katrina x