Scallop Circle Fabric Bear

I saw one of these fabric bears at a recent demonstrator meeting that I went to made by Fran Trischetta (who saw it on Shelli's blog), using different sized circles. I wanted to make them using only Stampin' Up dies with the Big Shot, so I made these using the Scallop Circle and Scallop Circle #2 Die Cuts. Needless to say, my daughter is in love with this little bear! He is so cute and little, only about 3" tall.

Here is how I did it!

You will need one large scallop for the body, one medium scallop for the head, and six small ones for the ears, arms and legs. You are going to sew around them, going in and out every scallop with thread. (This is called making a yoyo.) I used the new Flirtatious fabric from the new catalog to make this. You can get yours July 1st!

Now when you pull the thread it will gather the edges like shown below.

You are going to put a little bit of pillow stuffing (or cotton balls) in each one and then pull your string tight and tie it to make these little balls. You want them stuffed pretty full.

Then I just used a hot glue gun to put the head, ears, arms and legs onto the body. I used the Filigree brads for the nose and black brads for the eyes and nose. You might want to put these on before you stuff the head. I did it after and made it kind of tough. Then add the bow and you are finished!

Miniature Christmas Stockings

Here are my Miniature Christmas Stockings that I gave you a sneak preview of the other day! I made these to give out to future hostesses with a gift certificate in them. Each stocking is approximately 7" tall by 5" wide. They would be perfect for gift cards, money or gift certificates. They are also just the right size to fill with candy canes or other goodies.
It would look really cute as an ornament on a Christmas tree filled with mini presents or to be used as home decor on the mantel!

CLICK HERE to get the FREE template to make these!

Here are the instructions:
Print out the template and cut out two stockings exactly the same. I used a sewing machine to sew the two layers together but you could also use a thin line of Tombow adhesive and just use the white gel pen to draw faux stitches on.


Out of very Vanilla card stock I cut a 7 1/2" x 2 1/4" strip and folded it in half. I used the scallop edge punch starting at the crease so when you do both sides they will line up. I then stamped the leaves from the Peaceful Season stamp set on the edges.


Using Tombow you are going to glue the Vanilla top onto the stocking. I used the Crop-a-dile to put holes in and twine to keep the Deck the Halls button on.


Here is the finished button so the twine goes through all the holes. Now I used a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol and srayed only the red stocking part. This makes the paper pliable and easy to puff open the stocking so you can shape it. I used my bone folder to stick inside and open it up while its wet. It dries fast so work quick and don't get the stamped top wet or it will run. Once it's dry its easier to fill!

Here is another version using the same stamp set.

Hope you like them!

Artisan Award Loser.... #1

I entered the Artisan Award Contest that Stampin' Up has and I lost... bummer. But at least now I can share all the stuff I created with you guys!
Here is on of my 3-D projects that I did. I sewed a large Chocolate chip colored suede pillow and put the burgundy/red fabric square in the center. Then I used the Tulipe die with the Big Shot to cut out brown felt and glue it on the pillow. I used a combination of Tombow adhesive and fabric glue to stick everything on. The ribbon is Vanilla Satin ribbon just bunched up and glued on around the red square. The bad part of entering this contest is that you do all these projects and you don't get your stuff back! Now I have to make another one for my bedroom!

The Tulipe die that I used for this is retiring so if you want one, order it now, don't wait. It's going to be gone soon!

String Art Yellow Rose

When I was a little kid I hammered nails into a wooden board and made string art on it. I had of course totally forgotten about this technique until I saw THIS SITE and THIS SITE. Then I just had to try it on a card!
To make this card I used the Extra Large Fancy Flower punch, the Curly Label Punch and the Photo Corners Punch. I used the Bellas Border roller for the edges and so saffron paper to make the rose and then sponged it with More Mustard.

Here is how to do this technique:
I first cut a 3 3/4" square in So saffron. I cut the inside out, a 2 7/8" square hole. Then I used the Matt pack guide and hole piercing tool and made the holes.


I used thick sewing thread and a needle. I tied a knot in one end and threaded in from the back. Start one hole over from the corner and go across to the next side and go in that first hole. Now your thread is in back, go one hole down and come back up to the front. Now go across and back down the second hole on the other side like shown. Keep doing this until you have the entire corner completed.


The first picture is a view of the back halfway done and on the right is the finished side.


Do the same thing for the next three sides. I put sticky strip on the back of this and put it down on the front of a card with a 3" square hole in the center.


For the black corners, I used the large corner from the photo corners punch. I used removable tape and stuck this to printer paper. I inserted it into the curly label punch like shown and punched out to make the decorative edge. This just makes it easier to hold.


For the rose (I used so saffron on my card but obviously this one is red) you want to punch 4 extra large fancy flowers and cut them like shown. The last one can be cut so you have one two petal and one three petal piece. You want to sponge the edges with ink before you start.


Curl the edges of all the petals of the flowers. The first one is on the left. The next one with the slit you are going to put glue on and fold over to match up the end petals so you have a slight cone and four petals like shown. Curl the edges. Do the same to the rest of the pieces.


For the last two petal piece, you are going to add some glue and fold it over just about in half and curl the petals.


For the three smallest flower pieces, I cut off the pointy ends so I could glue them together better. Then I put my finger in the middle and smashed down the ends like shown on the right.


To assemble them just put Tombow glue in the center and add one petal after another going from largest to smallest. I glued the rose in the hole in the cetner of the card so its really on the inside of the card.


Hope you could follow! This is sort of a mini tutorial.

Yet another Purse...

Ok, I'm sorry if you are sick of seeing these purses but I am hooked! I love them and they are so easy to do! This one I put a magnetic clasp on to keep it closed. It also has the inside pocket and side pockets that I show in my tutorial!

I also have a tutorial to show how to make them with the Top Note die. If you are interested CLICK HERE to see all the details!

My New TOP NOTE Rag Purse!

My TOP NOTE Rag Purse!

A close up!

I'm sure by now everyone has seen the rag purses using the scallop square die and the big Shot. I decided to change it up a bit and make one using the TOP NOTE die and the Big Shot! Using this instead gives it a totally different shape! You can easily add more Top Note shapes and make it as big or small as you want to. The overall size for this small purse I have shown is 8" x 4" x 6".
I have added pockets to the outside and inside of my purse and added a reinforced bottom. The main construction of the purse is the same as the scallop square purse(and you can add these pockets on your scallop square die-cut purses and it will work the same way!) but the steps are a little different to add all of the pockets and the base.
Here are some photos of the pockets!

My purse is made using just one pattern of fabric for the exterior and another for the lining but you can pick as many different patterns and mix and match as you want!

CLICK HERE to get more details or to order the tutorial for this project!

I recently found out that Angie Juda was the creator of the original Scallop Square rag purse. I had seen so many, I didn't know where they began. Such a great idea!
You can see her site by CLICKING HERE.