Make Your Own Ribbon Tags

This week I made some new dolls and some ribbon tags.

I was inspired to make the ribbon tags after purchasing similar ones from Scrapbook Territory, in Berkeley.

My creations are on the right

Below are some steps of how I made the ribbon tags, using washi tape instead of ribbon...

For the top portion, cut small pieces of scrap paper and fold in half

Gather some washi tape and a piece of card stock

Cover the card stock with washi tape

I laid two strips side by side matching the patterns as best as I could.

Cut each pattern into strips

Cut two banner shape pieces from each strip

Sew pieces together with a button and embroidery thread

Pictured below are my ribbon tags on some fun Project Life cards called, Little Picasso - I love the doodle borders.

Here are more samples from the Project Life Little Picasso set...

And then last but not least, here are six more stuffed dolls I made this week...

My own hand drawn & painted creations.

I can't believe it's November already...time to start planning my homemade xmas cards - stay tuned.

Victorian Post Cards

This weekend I was inspired to make some Victorian tags, which ended up turning into Victorian postcards.

Awhile ago, I purchased these lovely Anna Griffin tags and I've been wanting to make something with them...

I bought them from HSN, but they're currently sold out. You get almost 300 beautiful tags. I cut out some Victorian images from one of the Dover illustration books, "Victorian Fashions". Next, I stamped some background script onto the tags, added some Tim Holtz index labels and then I glued on the Victorian ladies.

I could have stopped there, but for some reason it still felt unfinished to me. So I decided to glue vintage text paper onto index cards and trim them to size.

Afterwards, I sewed the tags onto the index cards.

Then I decided to sew a bit of vintage lace and a button to each of the tags.

As a final touch I stamped some mini tags using the Stampology "Worth Repeating" set with different phrases so I can use the postcards for different occasions. Since they're cling stamps, you can easily cut the words apart and position them as you need on your acrylic block. Then I just added the tags to the postcards!

I could see sending these postcards in a vellum envelope, so that that the postcard image would peak through!

Yeah Giants!

Project Life Projects

Turning Project Life cards into dolls and houses...

I was at my local craft store and found this Project Life Kit by Heidi Swapp.

I love the colors: gold, pink and mint cards.

I don't do the Project Life albums, but I do love the cards. My thought was to turn the cards into dolls and houses. I started with attaching a head on top of one of the large cards.

Then I cut the card into a dress shape and added heart wings.

I sewed a backing to the doll and stuffed it to make it 3D.

I made a smaller version too.

Then I worked on some houses. I took a couple cards and cut them up and sewed them together.

I added some of my "Mindy Lacefield" dolls I painted awhile ago and reduced them in size.

All of the dolls and houses are  slightly stuffed, so they can stand up on its own...

Turning Project Life cards into dolls and houses...it's a good thing!

Hope you had a great weekend!

Easy Stencil Idea

A new idea came to me in the middle of the night: try laying your stencils over an art journal page, then photo copy the page. Below are some examples of what you get...

Just another way to use your supplies of stencils!

Again, just taking some pages of art journal, laying them over a stencil, and then making a photo copy.

 And just like that, I have new image to play with.

Then I took those copied pages and added some accents with a black pen. Next, I used my sewing machine with black thread and added some final stitches.

These can be used for cards, tags or envelopes! Have fun experimenting with your stencil!

Have a great week! 

Fun Birthday Weekend - Art Classes!

This weekend I celebrated my birthday with lots of fun activities. Part of the weekend included crafting with my sisters and making these adorable paper dolls inspired by Claudine Hellmuth.

We met at a wonderful art store in Marin called Once Around, and they allowed us to use their classroom to make these dolls as a private class.

My sister, Diana, helped coordinate the event - she made the samples for us and provided many of the supplies - thank you Dee! If you're ever in Mill Valley, make sure to check out this store called Once Around - it's very cool!

Prior to the crafting event we had a wonderful lunch at Blue Barn at Corta Madera, one of my favorite spots for lunch...

Picture of me & my sisters and my niece Natalie

On Friday, I took the day off and spent some time in Petaluma antique shopping and also taking a class from Eileen Hull at Cathe Holden's amazing barn. Below are a few shots from her barn.

Cathe Holden and I

My sister Maryl and teacher Eileen Hull

What great inspiration for redoing my craft room someday! Cathe you've collected some amazing pieces and your barn is a dream...love it all! Here's a picture of the project I made in the class.

 We used a Sizzix die to cut out the cover and pages.

Thank you Eileen for a fun and inspiring class!

Another nice bday surprise was being published in the Oct/Nov/Dec issue of Somerset Life.

One of my recent necklaces that I constructed from several necklaces was featured.

Thank you friends and family for all the bday wishes and thoughtful and generous gifts! It was a wonderful weekend of celebrations!