Friday, April 5, 2013

Stamp to the Max April Blog Hop

Hey fellow crafters!  Are you enjoying the birthday ideas you are getting so far?  I sure hope so!  Today I am going with a spring birthday card for you.  I have loved this set from the second I saw it in the catalog last year.  It is called Best of Everything...and it really is. 

 
I paired the stamp set up with the Polka Dot DSP and some bright colors for a fun spring card.  My son and I went to the working historical farm here in town this week for Baby Animal Days and we held some cute baby chicks.  Nothing says spring like cute little birds. 

 
Hope you like the card.  Its pretty versatile and you can change the sentiment out to be just about anything without it looking crazy.  I like cards like that because you never know when you need a random sentiment on short notice. 

 
Don't forget that starting at 12:00 AM MST on April 6th you get FREE standard shipping on ANY order until 11:59 PM MST on April 8th.  So get your orders in to my website this weekend and score on some of the awesome new products without the shipping costs.  No minimum order required and its on everything!  Awesome!

Now get on over to the next blog and get some more inspiration for the upcoming birthdays in your life. 

  1. Maxine Conrad      www.stamptothemax.com
  2. Martha Haddock     www.stampinmartha.blogspot.com ( You are here) 
  3. Christina Ash-Mansker    www.crazystampmom.blogspot.com 
  4. Lisa Fennewald      www.lisaloostamps.com 
  5. Norma Fox          www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/normafox/blog 
  6. Elizabeth Harris      www.elizabethloves2stamp.com

Happy Stamping!
Martha
 

Monday, April 1, 2013

Fun With Fun Flowers Die

 
I had been wanting to make one of these cool twine letters for my house for a while.  Of course, you know the idea came from Pinterest.  I waited for some of the items to go on sale at the local craft store and then started my project.

 
 

I started with a wooden H that is about 18" tall.  It is only about 1/2" thick though.  I thought I wanted it thicker, but I couldn't find the height I wanted in a thicker version.  Overall, I am very pleased with it and realize now that the thicker version would not have turned out so versatile for me.  I used about 1 1/2 rolls of twine and lots of hot glue.  So make sure you have lots of glue sticks on hand when you start.

 
I started on the back of the letter and glued down the end and then started to wrap it around.  After a few wraps I realized that I need to be hot gluing most of the string down in order for it to stay in the place I wanted and nice and tight.  It doesn't take a ton of glue to get it to stay, so don't feel like you have to glob it on.  A nice thin strip right up against the strip already glued down is perfect. The twine is pretty forgiving, so even when I had to wrap the ends and corners it turned out pretty well.


Once the twine was done, I knew it needed some flowers.  You can find all sorts of felt at the local craft store.  It ranges from $0.25 - $1.00 a sheet depending on the thickness and if you wanted a pattern and glitter.  I chose the cheap stuff.  I folded the cream felt in half and put it over my Fun Flowers Die and ran it through the Big Shot doubled up.  Then I layered all the pieces for the look I wanted on the cream flower.  I used hot glue to attach the layers and the flower to the H as well.

The green flower is 2 long strips of felt cut about 2" x 5".  Fold it in half and then snip down the folded side leaving a half inch on the other side.  Then just roll it up using hot glue to secure it as you go. 

For the gray flower I cut square 12 squares of the felt just larger than the second largest flower on the die and cut 3 at a time with the Big Shot.  Then I cut a 2" circle out of the felt for the backing.  Fold each flower in quarters and hot glue it to the circle starting with the outside first and working your way in.

I am pretty pleased with it and people love it too.  Most people on Pinterest were using them as wreaths on their front doors, but I have mine sitting on a shelf in my family room.  Please do not be fooled by the easiness (is that a word?) of this project.  It was SUPER easy, but it is time consuming to wrap all that twine.  It took me about 4 hours, but I am pretty particular on how the finished product looks...so the OCD takes longer for most things.  :)

Happy Crafting!

Martha