May Arts Ribbon Tree

I had the crazy thought a little while ago that perhaps I could take on just one more design team committment (if I were to be so lucky) and so I tried my hand at applying for the May Arts design team. Unfortunately I didn't make it, but that's alright because I still came away with a lovely new project which I can share with you all.

So today I’m going to show you how to make this simple but beautiful home décor piece, that can be used as a centerpiece or to adorn your bookcase or mantle.

 

To make each of the flower buds (I like to think of them as cherry blossoms) you need approximately 12” of sheer organza ribbon. I’ve used CC17. And a needle and thread. And yes, that’s my dirty ruler in all it’s glory… I’m a messy mister, but that’s a tutorial for another day!

 

Tie a knot in one end and trim off the short end of the ribbon so the knot is right at the end. This is going to form the centre of our flower.

 

Then wind the ribbon around the centre knot, twisting it over and over as you go. You do not need to get too precise for this, in fact I encourage you to experiment. The tighter you twist, the smaller and more compact your flower will be.

Using your needle and thread, secure the flower together. If you’re clever enough you might want to do this as you’re assembling it rather than at the end (took me a few goes before I figured this out!)

Ta Da! Your first cherry blossom! Notice how I’ve still got the needle and thread attached? That’s because now you can go ahead and secure it straight onto your branch.

 

So what I’ve done is to go hunting in my backyard until I found a nice dry branch, painted it cream and stuck it in a vase. Easy right! Then I’ve added lots of my cherry blossoms and some faux suede leaves (I’m using XL09) until it looked right.

 

What do you think? Romantic and dreamy? Perfect for dispelling some winter blues by celebrating a perpetual Spring! I tied some CC09 around the vase for a lovely finishing touch.

Here’s a close-up of one of those blossoms on the branch. You can see how soft and delicate each one is. But the best part is, this is so easily adaptable! You could make this centerpiece in any colour scheme to suit your own décor. Or make a bunch of the blossoms to use for other projects instead. The possibilities are endless!

Thanks for letting me share my ideas with you today. It’s been so much fun!! 

Kreatorville Week (+1) Day One

I'm so excited about this!
I've officially declared this week "Kreatorville Week" (except it's actually going to be running for 8 days, so it's really Kreatorville Week +1), and I plan to show you how awesome these kits are, and how wonderful being a subscriber is  :-)

Every day for the next 8 days I'm going to share with you each kit in turn, and the projects I've made with them. I've very rarely ever had to mix other products into the kits to make a layout, as I've always had everything I need to make lots of pages. So everything you're about to see is nearly always 100% kit products. And as far as I know most of the old kits are still available for you to purchase, so you can get yourself a piece of the action! You can browse all the past kits here.

And of course, there is going to be an amazing Kreatorville prize for you to win too. More on that later. And perhaps a special guest (or two).

But first. An anti-disclaimer:

Keandra is not paying me, bribing me, coercing me, or sponsoring me in any way. I'm not part of her Design Team (I wish!!!) and I don't get a commission from the kits! She didn't donate the prize, that's from me. I'm doing this because I just love her kits. Plain and Simple.

Ok, now that's out of the way let's get on with the show.

Let's start at the very beginning with the November kit. This was the very first kit, and is still my all-time absolute favourite. And you're about to see why. It's filled with some delicious Cosmo Cricket and Jillibean Soup and if you count how many projects I made with it you're going to understand how much I loved it.

I'm a bit partial to this layout for two reasons. One - it was the first layout I did with banners/bunting/whatever you want to call it, and so began my obsession! And secondly, it was the very first layout I ever had picked up for publishing.

This layout (which features both the handmade title and embellishment that came in the kit, plus all four of the Prima pebbles..... talk about extravagant!) became my first Guest DT submission for Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenges.

And this one became my first DT submission for Dotty Divas (unfortunately Dotty Divas no longer exists).

I also managed to get two layouts done for the Year in the Chair album.....

This one for Moodle's December photo (yes, I know it says January, but that was before I realised I had included the wrong photo. Obviously this layout no longer exists in this form any more. It's kinda destroyed in fact *lol*)

And this one from the January photo-shoot.

This is a more recent layout I did for a sketch challenge on the Cosmo Cricket blog.

And lastly, even a couple of other projects.
A quick card I did just the other day.

And one version of the Tree Incarnations.

Phew!!! That's it. Unless you include this layout where I used all the left-over alphas as a photo mat......

Ok Ok Ok, enough already!! And don't worry. I haven't made this many layouts and projects for any of the other kits (yet!) so they won't all be this long.

But I will leave you with a photo of the giveaway prize.

This little parcel of goodness is actually filled with genuine Kreatorville Kraft kit products. I've managed to put together this prize with at least one article from each of the 8 kits. I'll go through them all properly tomorrow (since this is already getting ridiculously long), but this is what you'll win.

Now, the way you win it is like this.......

Leave me a comment on this post, and on any (or all) of the Kreatorville Week (+1) posts that are coming up. That gives you 8 chances to win. Tell me what you liked about this kit, tell me what you think of the layouts, tell me something fantastic about your day. I don't mind!

Next, if you are a follower of the Kreatorville blog (go and sign up now if you like) you can leave another comment on this post (and every other post coming up). That gives you 16 chances to win!!

Ok, that's it for now. I promise!
Come back tomorrow for the December kit.

The Bird Project

I promised some pictures of the bird project, so here it is:

Yes, you have seen this before. This used to be the Easter Tree, but then I pulled all the leaves off and stuck birds on instead! It seemed fitting for the true Autumn weather we're currently experiencing. I left all the buds on, but now I'm not too sure about it looking at these pictures. Maybe I should paint them white at least? Hhhmmm.....

This was so simple that Munchy was able to help me with it. I just drew a bird and wing template and then traced it onto a bunch of different papers - mainly using up some scraps of Cosmo Cricket's Earth Love and Nutmeg papers. Cut them out, blinged their eyes and hung them up.

Et voila!

Oh Easter tree

Well why not?
If you have a Christmas tree then why not an Easter tree? After all, surely a tree covered in eggs symbolises new life better than chocolate bunnies?!

So this is what I did....

1. Foam eggs, collaged paper, ribbon and bling = egg decoration



2. Branches cut from our garden, a bit of gesso, and a quick spray of laquer to make it shiny = the tree



3. Stick it in a vase = an Easter tree!!!



4. Decided it wasn't finished and made this little fella to stick in the bottom.

Well actually, what I really wanted was a few of these little bunnies to put around the bottom. Hopping and playing and loving thier Easter tree.

But I ran out of time.
Even though they only took 10 mins to make :)



I followed this tutorial from Elsie Marley to make the bunny out of an old little baby sock.

A bit cute hey?

No.1 girl thought so anyway. She promptly took the bunny out and insisted on taking with us on our holiday. She must have played with it in the back seat for about at hour, keeping herself amused.

10mins of creating very well spent I say!



PS. This is what was in the vase before the Easter tree made it's appearance in my imagination and then took form.