Countdown to Christmas recap 1-11

Here is a little recap of what I receved for the Countdown to Christmas Matchbox Swap days 1-11. So here they are.....


Day 1 by Jenna

Day 2 is from Sarah

Day 3 from JoAnne at Vintage Dragonfly

Number 4 from Marie at Spun by Me

Day 5 from Linda at Country Pickins

Day 6 came from Molly

Day 7 is from Becky

Day 8 from Angela

Day 9 came from Sherry

Day 10 Comes from Carol

Number 11 is from Jan

thaks for recapping with me. Have a lovely night. Angela

Tutorial for Simple Tear Bears.

First you will need the following materials

1 - 2 shades of thick handmade paper(I buy this on Ebay normally as most stores do not stock it), Glue stick, water pen or paint brush with water, stylus or other such tool(I use a all purpose tool from CM, brown ink (Chalk ink works best but you could just use chalk too), white and black gel pens. Optional are Craft Scratcher from Tim Holtz(Tonic Studios) and Paw print mini punch.

Step 1- using a pencil or just the stylus draw and impress the shapes to use for the bear. You can create a template for this if needed and trace it. I just draw various circles on the back of the paper.

Step 2 - Using a water pen(or paintbrush with water) trace around each circle or shape one at a time.

Stop 3 - Tear out the shapes. (once you get used to the technique you can eliminate the water brush step and just tear out your desired pieces but when first starting the water brush helps you tear the piece)

Step 4 - Optional- Using craft scratcher and working from the middle of shape to outside work the paper to a fur texture. Be sure that your pieces are dry before doing this or too much with come off. You can also accomplish this look with a wire brush or stiff tooth brush.

Step 5 - Using Paw print mini punch punch out 3 pieces from black(you will only use the center paw part). These will be placed on the bear as shown. You may also just cut the shapes from paper freehand or using and oval punch can work too. I normally do freehand to get the exact shape I want.

Step 6 - Using a cotton swab or even your finger apply the ink or chalk to the edges of the pieces you tore out. this will give your bear a bit of definition.

Step 7 - Using a stick glue attach all the bear parts. Please note- tape will not work it will just pull the paper apart. Stick/paste glue works the best on this type of paper.

After all the pieces are on glue on the eyes and nose. Moving the eyes further apart and positioning the nose turned or further down will create different effects. Play with your eyes and nose positioning until you have the desired look and attitude for your bear. then glue in place with the glue stick.

Finally add the details using the gel pens. I add the whites of the eyes and the highlights in white then the lashes, brows and mouth in black. Freckles are cute to add too. A bit of pink ink or chalk can be added to the cheeks to finish the look. This bear is called a peek-a-boo because it hangs over a piece of card or other detail. You can create full length bears and add clothes and such. You can also create other animals using the same technique. For a sampling of some of the paper animals I have some you can visit my previous posting here. If you have any questions or need help with a pattern please email me at scrapbookcafe2@yahoo.com.

Thanks for joining us today and have a wonderful day. Angela

My paper piecings

I was going through my photos for updating the blogs and found some of my paper piecings I had created. All the animals are done with mulberry papers and inks and fashioned after pets from photos people sent me. the characters are all hand drawn and then made from paper scraps and such. Just thought i would share some of my favourite things to do. This is my favourite of all the dogs I have done. Its all mulberry paper.

This was a bird I had done.

A paper peicing on a western style page layout.

A paper piecing from a christmas page.

These 3 bears were designed by me for a halloween page.

This was one of my favourite paper peicings I did. I love making pirate related pages.

this paper piecing was on a page I did entiled "Butterfly Kisses"

These bears I did for a Wizard of Oz layout. I liked the scarecrow best.

and these were another set of Halloween bears I did.

This is another of my favourite paper piecings.

This page was entitled Moo-vie night.

This is one of my pet paper piecings. The photo is behind.

And the other part of the pair.

This was a poodle.

and a kitten mulberry paper piecing I did.

another poodle.

This little one I did on a christmas page.

A collie I did(One of the first).

Another cat.

A paper piecing of 2 sisters for a sisters layout I did.

One I did fashioned after Belle(actually I used her as a model in alot of the little girl ones.)

Another dog with the photo.

Another one from a dog layout.

A Husky.

This poor guy was hard to do.

My paper piecings are just another creative outlet for me. The tearing and cutting is great when things get stressful. I can just sit while watching TV or waiting for Dancing lessons to finish and make them. thanks for stopping in for a peep. Have a wonderful day. Angela

Anything Goes Week 21 at the Craft Den.

OK, I have decided that my sister is totally Dodging posting anything on our blog! Come on Cat post something!!! I finally had a little time to catch up on some challenges so this one I made for one of my monthly ATC swaps but also for the Anything Goes Challenge over at the Craft Den. The theme this week is Black and white. I made an Asian inspired ATC using UTEE, Mooon glow embossing powder, black and clear perfect medium, Stazon and foiling around the edging. The UTEE is cracked to give it an ild China pottery feel. I really like the way it came out. It almost loks like the bird and tree are cut out and added but really they are stamped and embossed in many layers. I was playing around ; ) If you want to see the entire set of ATC's you can see them on my other blog here. thanks for stopping by, Maybe Cathy will post something soon. Have a great weekend. Angela

Easy Beaded Embellies tutorial.

These little beaded branch embellies are great for accents with flowers or really anything. I have posted here 2 tutorials, one for the branches and one for flourishes, they are both very simple and can be altered to fit any needs.

Using very thin floral wire and medium and small seed beads, string first medium pearl bead to center of wire.
Twist the wire by holding the bead in your fingers and spinning or twisting it.

when you get desired branch length then separate wires bending one side up.
String on miniature seed beads, I used approximately 10. This can vary per your design.

Loop wire around and pinch together at base when to desired length.
Holding down were the wire meets the stem with one hand then holding the bunch of seed beads in the other twist them until the wire is twisted to the stem.
Now Bend up other piece of the wire and repeat on this side with the same amount of seed beads.
Now repeat the same steps again with the pearl beads this time making the branches a bit longer.

When you have enough branches then twist the base wires together to finish the piece off.

Part II Making beaded swirl flourishes

First start with a medium seed bead or pearl(I used a pearl bead). String it through the tip of the thin floral wire and bend just enough wire around bead to hold it in place.

Now string your tiny seed beads onto the wire to the desired length of the small flourish.

Loop a small bit of the wire and then twist the remaining up to the bottom of the first chain of beads.

String your second set of small seed beads to a larger length then the first.

Add your medium bead and wrap wire around it then trim off excess.

Shape Flourishes as desired by bending the wire in an arch or swirl pattern.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and if you have any questions please just email. If there are any other types of tutorials you may want to have me post please just leave us a comment and I will try to post them. Have a wonderful day. Angela