Covered heart tutorial....

This one is a bit more masculine than the others. but the techniques used are very similar. Decorating your piece will be totally up to you, gather some fun embellishments and just sit and play.
Gather your supplies, I also used Glossy Accents to adhere metal to paper, metal to die cut, a Spellbinders scallop edge heart, some t!m Holtz metal embellishments, mini glue dots, a Crop-a-dile, slate alcohol ink, some ribbon and the orange double sided adhesive, and an embossing tool. Trace the top and bottom heart onto paper of your choice and cut out.
Eat the contents of the hearts. You owe it to yourself. Of course if you are giving the chocolate, then don't take a bite out of them first :). Take the lid off and paint the bottom of the heart (see picture above) on the lip that extends from the heart base and you can see when it's closed, also the side that goes up. easier to keep a nice cohesive look. I used gold, but any color would work. Paint the lip that extends on the box top also. Let dry.
Since this heart box had a metallic cover, I sanded it a bit with a file first. Then use my new love - Liquid Laminate! It's clear so don't go overboard. Squirt some onto the top and then 'paint' the top with a foam brush. I stamped and embossed the cover heart first. Then lay the cover heart you cut out earlier on top. With the laminate you don't have the same window to move items around. Once the paper is down, it's pretty much there. Be careful when you place it. I KNOW you will love this product though, so much easier and less messy than Mod Podge. Also, word of advice, don't get it on your clothes.. it's there if it does!
Cover the side of the top with a 1" strip (or larger/smaller - measure your box) of paper. Add either some lace or some ric-rack to the side with mini glue dots.
Using the orange double sided tape place a piece on the cover. Cover the strip with a piece of ribbon. Repeat for the second piece of ribbon.
Make sure it come down onto the back side.
Die cut a piece of metal with the Spellbinders scallop edged die. Emboss with your favorite embossing plate. Drip slate alcohol ink onto the embossed die cut.
It's okay if it puddles. The dry with your embossing gun. The ink will move around a bit, but the end result is very cool.
I added a t!m Holtz spinner, chain with attachment piece and a brad through the heart which was glued to a same size die cut chipboard piece for added stability.
Attached the piece to the top of the heart with some black pop dots. Added a picture to the attachment piece. You can see i added a metal corner to the heart bottom.

Close up of the heart.
Close up of chain. I just love how the distress embossing powder makes this piece look at the more "rough" and it still conveys valentine's sentiments.

Other options:
Western theme with brown craft paper, cording and appropriate stamps
cut a heart for the bottom inside and write a message or stamp a message on it
I'll be showing you the fabric heart Monday next week. I think you'll be surprised to see the little box covered with fabric. Till then. Thanks for stopping by and...

May Calendar - early!!

I know, it's not even the last week yet.. but it is the last weekend in April. So I thought I'd post the May CD calendar insert.

Supplies: Paper edger punch, tag punch, Creamy Brown Chalk Ink by ColorBox, Lemon Yellow Liquid Pearls by Ranger, Branch spray embossing folder by CuttleBug, white silk ribbon, yellow silk flowers, a bit of tatting, a stray embellishment by ???, a large flower grommet, and QuicKutz kite and envelope dies.



This month's quote:
The world's favorite season
Is the spring.
All things seem possible in May.
Edith Way Teale

I embossed the right side of the background piece with the CuttleBug embossing folder. Once embossed, gently rub the ink pad over the raised area to highlight the embossing. Then dot Liquid Pearls on all the little raised buds. I also used the Liquid Pearls on two corners, the small tag and the flower grommet.

The big flower grommet serves as a picture frame for a tiny picture of a snow drop. I tied heavier thread to the die cut kite and then tied snippets of white silk ribbon to the thread, weaving the thread down and around the piece.

Happy Easter metal project

Wooden blocks, craft paint, a vintage wash, and some embossed metal letters are all you need to create this charming display. I really like playing with the metal sheets. This project simply reminds me of a very expensive line of purses, shoes and jewelry.

I'd been removing some of my rubber stamps from their blocks for the sake of saving some space. You can use the removed rubber on your acrylic blocks by attaching the rubber with double sided tape. So nothing is lost. And in the long run, you've gained some space. That's how come the blocks are all different sizes. I like that look.

I then painted each block with a different color acrylic craft paint. After that, I used a water and walnut ink crystals wash. Just to antique the blocks a bit. Stamp your favorite stamps on one side with your favorite ink. Spray with a sealer and you are ready for the easiest step!

I used QuicKutz's large Cookie Cutter Diesel font and cut out all letters except the 't', or cross depending on how you look at it, from brown/silver metal craft sheet from Ten Seconds Studio. For the cross, I free handed a shape and cut it out. Then I used the Cuttlebug Floral Fantasy embossing folder (click here) and placed each letter in a different spot within the folder. I embossed one letter at a time. I think it makes each letter look very unique and it's hard to tell they all came from one embossing folder, don't you think? I ran the folder through my machine, I've heard you can also use a rolling pin if these embossing folders don't fit your die cutting machine. After the letter is embossed but still in the folder, sand with a soft sanding block. This removes the color from the raised embossed areas. Use a very sticky double sided tape to adhere the letters to the blocks. The word 'happy' is from a QuicKutz cookie cutter phrases set.

Be Creative!