KIM'S CRAFT COTTAGE aka paper rocks scissors are cool too!

Bday Card

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 10:00:00 +0000

This is a very cool pocket card I made for my niece for her birthday. I used the SEED PACKET TEMPLATE SET by Kelleigh Ratzlaff and the WATER COLOR BLOSSOMS digital craft kit byPaper Garden Projects. Both are available at THE DIGI CHICK.

The kit has really pretty papers and lots of beautiful elements to cut out and embellish with.

The seed packet template is perfect for making a gift card holder/card all in one.

The directions for assembling the card can be found on KELLEIGH'S BLOG. The sentiment is from a Stampin up set.

Quick Wedding Card

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 31 May 2012 11:39:00 +0000

So much going on and no time to blog about it! No apologies, I would rather be living life than just writing about it. I have several cards I have made but haven't had time to post so I will try to get them up asap. This is the most recent one I made for my nephews wedding.

I thought I was being clever using a square punch and rounding the edges for the cake but I saw on SCS that a lot of people thought of this too. The wedding colors were turquoise and white so I coordinated the card to match. I think that is the best thing about making your own cards, the ability to customize to your situation.

I love mini things which is why I love the little tag set (the mr. and mrs. tag)from Stampin up. Cute. See ya soon......I hope!

BRIDAL SHOWER STUFF

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:30:00 +0000

Hey there! How ya doin?
Things have been hoppin at our house as we are adding two decks and a garage this spring, my daughter is a senior and we have all that stuff to enjoy and my nephew is getting married (holy cow am I getting old). My daughter and I attended his fiance's wine themed bridal shower this past weekend and I wanted to show the card and wine bottle deco I made.

The floral tag was a stamp available in the now expired spring mini catalog from Stampin up. I missed the deadline to order the actual stamp but did you know that SU has a whole, huge digi section! It is awesome. I got the stamp and some really pretty vintage digi paper (actually a whole digi kit) for less than 10.00. Having it as a digi stamp allowed me to personalize the center part. And don't think you can't change the stamp outline color cause you can, just check out THIS tutorial by Mari Koegelenberg. I changed it from the basic black the digi stamps come in to a vintage brown, printed on cream card stock and colored the flowers with Copics. Seriously, if you haven't tried digi, you should. It opens up a whole new dimension in your crafting arsenal.

HAPPY EASTER!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Just wanted to wish all of you celebrating a HAPPY EASTER!

I made my kids a couple of felt peeps to put in their baskets along with some real ones. Hope you have a great day!

MATCHBOX EASEL

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:00:00 +0000

I can't take credit for coming up with this idea as I saw several in my web travels. I thought it was pretty cool so I made one as an Easter treat box. I have a tutorial on how it was made over at THE HYBRID CHICK.

EASTER WREATH UPDATE with a free bunny pattern

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 14:05:00 +0000

I have updated my ALL SEASON WREATH for Easter. I have such a busy life that I have many (about a trillion) more projects than I have time for. I discovered with this wreath that making a base project and periodically updating it is a great way to make my house pretty with very little time or effort.

I adapted a couple of leaping bunny pictures from the internet and made one I liked. You can download the BUNNY PATTERN HERE.

The blanket embroidery stitch was used to go around the edges of the bunny in a light aqua color and the flower and leaves were made with Spellbinders dies.

The eggs were made with Spellbinders Oval and flower dies. Let me know if you have any problems downloading the pattern. I haven't done this in a while but it should be ok. Have a great weekend! Linky parties

HEARTFELT CREATIONS

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:03:00 +0000

Ok, so I swore (to myself) that I wasn't going to apply for another design team but at the very last minute (on the very last day of the call no less) I saw that HEARTFELT CREATIONS was looking for a new design team. I love their products so I hurriedly sent a few samples of my work and I made it through the first round! HC would like customers to be part of the selection process so they asked us to post our entry projects. Since it was last minute entry, I sent samples I have already posted here so they may look familiar.

Thanks so much for stopping by and go let Hearfelt Creations know if you think I should make the team!

SEW IN RESULTS

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 14:37:00 +0000

I only spent about three hours sewing, I get up at 5AM so I don't last very long in the evening. I think I did pretty well though. I got it about 3/4 of the way finished so I am happy.

I don't like how the cuffs look so I am going to redo them and I need to find some really great buttons. Participating was a great way to finally schedule some me time and get something done for myself. Thanks for hosting Heidi, this is such a great idea!

START YOUR SEWING MACHINES!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:48:00 +0000

My sewing machine is in warm up mode and I have plenty of caffeine! For me, the Friday Night Sew In has begun. This is what I am working on.

I have had this fabric for forevah and I still love it. It is a double knit with a pattern quilted into it. The pattern I have had for maybe a year or so. I am doing this view but without the collar cause I didn't have enough fabric.

That is the problem with buying fabric when you don't have a specific plan for it. I cut it out and started on the pockets last week for a little head start. I will post pics tomorrow to show how far I got.

Friday Night Sew In

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:24:00 +0000

I have had a jacket cut out for about a year and I haven't had time (well I have been lazy too) to finish it. So, I am going to participate in a FRIDAY NIGHT SEW IN this Friday. Hopefully it will help give me some motivation to finish the jacket up before it goes out of style! If you like to sew and have some UFO's join in the fun.

ALL SEASON WREATH

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:54:00 +0000

I am still finding ways to use felt flowers. I made a wreath for my front door that I can change out the decorations according to the season/holiday. This month it is St. Patty's Day and next up will be some bunnys for Easter. Scroll down if you would like to see how it was made.

I made all the large flowers as shown in THIS tutorial.

I started with a styrofoam wreath found at Michaels and wrapped (and glued as I went) strips of beige linen around the entire circle. I used regular elmers white glue for this part as I didn't want the bumps I sometimes get with a hot glue gun.

I next used wool/rayon felt with a Spellbinders die to cut a leaf pattern.

This was wrapped and glued on top of the linen. I think it is kinda pretty as is but you know I couldn't stop there.

I cut small rectangular pieces of the linen and gathered the center to make small bow-like shapes and attached them (with a hot glue gun) to the wreath.

The flowers were glued onto the linen strips.

I then made small rolled flowers in both linen and felt to fill in the open areas. A circle was cut using a Spellbinder's die and assembled as shown. I hand stitched the flower to keep it together but it could be glued as well.

This is the finished wreath.

For my seasonal decoration, I cut some heart shapes out of another Spellbinder's die and formed a shamrock petals. The stem was cut freehand.

The pieces were hot glued onto linen and I cut around the edge.

Three of the shamrocks were glued onto a strip of linen.

Small slits were cut on the end of each side of the linen.

I added a thick dot of hot glue to the back of a button and let it dry. This made a small shank that lifted the button up from the wreath when it was attached. This allowed the linen to slide over the button and hold it in place. The buttons were hidden under the petals of the flowers.

All set for St. Patty's Day. I sorta wish I hadn't made the biggest flowers as big as I did but I do like how it turned out and I am anxious to get started on some bunnys.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Linky Parties

BIRTHDAYS

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 22:57:00 +0000

I have two sisters with Birthdays this month so I spent a little time in the craft room this weekend making cards. They are both getting the same card (shhh, neither of them read my blog so don't tell them) because I spent most of the weekend cleaning. I finally had two whole days with no scheduled events (except for my son's piano lesson but my husband took him) so I got caught up with laundry and other crappy, long overdue chores.

I also finished a year-round wreath for our door which I will be posting as soon as I get the tutorial put together. What do you think of the background of the picture. I found a new photo editing program called ipiccy through one of the blogs I follow. It is free and it does some fun stuff for pictures. I am a bumble when it comes to photoshop so I really like how easy it was to purty up my picture. I like the darker background, I think it makes the focal point stand out more.

Have an awesome week!

HEXAGON GIFT BOX

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:00:00 +0000

I have a tutorial on how this Hexagon shaped box was made over at THE HYBRID CHICK.

Check it out if you get a chance!

MY BIG GIRL PANTIES!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:52:00 +0000

Disappointed but not surprised cause I was shocked beyond belief that I made it through the first round....

Then astonished I made it through the second....

And then I tanked...

The competition was fierce and as my sweetie pie husband said " look how many people didn't make it as far as you". So, I am proud that I made it as far as I did and maybe a little relieved which I know sounds crazy and a little sour grapish but I am not sure I have the talent, energy or time to keep up with the big dawgs if ya know what I'm sayn' and I am hikin' up my big girl panties and movin' on!

Congrats to the new team and thanks Spellbinders you all rock!

FELT FLOWER SCARF

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 14:33:00 +0000

I have seen this type of scarf popping up on blogs and Pinterest. I thought they were so pretty and knew I could make a really special one using Spellbinders dies.

I used off white 35%/65% wool/rayon felt from Joann's. I died the wool myself using Rit Dye in Teal for the smaller flowers. I used the Spellbinders Floral Doily Motifs Die for all the flowers.

I My scarf was about 4o inches long which was 11 of the largest flower dies. Each large flower took 5 die cuts so I cut 55 flowers. Yes that is a lot but it was pretty easy with the die cut machine. I layed the flowers end on end and stitched the edges together.

You don't have to be very neat on this step because it will be covered up. Sorry about the crappy pics but I had to get this done before my daughter's drum line performance and I just grabbed the camera and clicked on my horrible looking ironing board.

I stitched the flowers by hand but I am sure you could use a machine. I don't recommend gluing for this project as it would probably come out way too stiff to be comfortable when wearing.

I have a step by step on how this flower is made HERE. Pin as shown with four flowers. Place one of the flowers on top of the first in line and stitch together in the center. Work your way down to the end.

The cream flowers were made by folding them directly in half. The teal ones were made by folding them slightly off center as shown. This just gave a little more dimension to the flower. They were assembled the same way as the other flowers though but without the flat base.

The teal flowers were stitched in the middle of every other cream flower on the scarf and a pearl button was added in the center of all flowers.

Cool huh? Thanks so much for stopping by and have a super week!

Linky Parties

VALENTINE'S DAY DECORATION

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:56:00 +0000

I made some VINTAGE METAL ORNAMENTS for Christmas and didn't have time to do a tutorial on how they were made.

I wanted to do a tut now but didn't feel like Christmas so I made a Valentine's Day decoration using the same technique. I have the tutorial posted over at THE HYBRID CHICK.

SPELLBINDERS GRAND CALIBUR GIVEAWAY!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:54:00 +0000

I was invited to make a few felt crafts with my Spellbinder dies and do a little review for CRAFTGOSSIP.COM in the felting crafts section. I made a Kindle cover, a heart shaped treat holder and an owl all from Spellbinders die shapes and felt.

Hop on over to CRAFTGOSSIP.COM to get a closer look at the projects and ENTER THE CONTEST!!! The winner will receive a GRAND CALIBUR MACHINE AND THREE OF THE NEW EDGEABILITIES DIES!!!

This giveaway will run from today January 23, 2012 through February 6th. Good Luck!

LINK PARTIES

BATHROOM CURTAIN

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:00:00 +0000

When I was on vacation I decided to redo the bathroom decor. It went from purple and olive to aqua and brown. I am not really loving it though so it may go through another metamorphosis. The rugs were falling apart though so I had to do something and I got some pretty aqua rugs on sale at JC Pennys. I couldn't find anything I liked for a curtain so I found this fabric ( I think at Joann's but I am not sure now) and made a simple one for the time being.

I jazzed it up a little with some pretty rose ribbon.

Quick and easy and in the "it'll do for now" category. I am always so grateful that I learned to sew (thanks mom)it comes in pretty handy some times. Hopefully with the success of Project Runway it won't continue to be a dying art. Speaking of PR, I just adore Austin. So talented and so much quirky fun to watch!

SIDE TABLE RE-DO

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:00:00 +0000

This is a painting project I did last fall. I needed a little side table for our entry way and I found this little table in a re-sale shop. It was a dreadful maroonish color which had been layered over numerous other colors. I new it would be some work to get it where I wanted it but it was the perfect size and shape. I also had been looking for quite a while for something that would fit and that didn't cost a bundle.

Not sure what happened to the top but it looked awful and was uneven from the paint and chips.

I had to sand that baby down to the raw wood with an electric sander.

The bottome part wasn't as bad so it just got a once over with some hand sanding.

I used a coat of Rustoleum's Ultra Cover 2X primer in grey. The top was painted in heirloom white and the bottom dark walnut.

This is my fancy paint set-up, a cardboard box, so I don't paint the grass. The bottom got 3 coats of the walnut color. It is a really pretty rich and deep brown.

To paint the top, I taped off the edges in green frog tape and wrapped newspaper around the base.

The top got three coats of the Heirloom white. It is a sweet, creamy, off white that went very well with the walnut. I also distressed the edges a smidge with some fine grit sandpaper. I went over the entire piece with clear Fiddes and Sons wax.

I was pleased with how it turned out considering this was only my second furniture painting project. I want to add some print to the top eventually but that may have to wait till next summer's vacation.

IN THE MEAN TIME.....

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:13:00 +0000

I have been busy on a couple projects and trying to get my daughter ready for college next year so I haven't spent much time blogging. I forgot how many things are involved in getting ready for college- tours, housing, financial aid, etc., etc. In the mean time, to (hopefully) keep you amused, I am going to show some stuff I did last fall but never got around to posting.

I made this hands free purse to lug around a book and camera to my kids events. It is big enough to carry all the stuff I need but not too big. It is sort of like a back pack too in that it goes over the shoulder so it doesn't keep slipping off like a regular purse. Love this pattern and the fabric I found at my local quilt shop.

I modified the strap by making it a sling as apposed to what the pattern looks like. It was easier to make and easier to wear.

The front has a little pocket for my phone, another for my chapstick and change and a zipper pouch. I also added velcro along the inner edge of the top so things wouldn't spill out.

I have gotten a lot of use out of this and I used the leftover fabric to make my kids advent stockings.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

PERSONALIZED THANK YOU

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:03:00 +0000

I don't know what happened but I had to re-post this. The scroll feature on blogger disappeared??? Sorry about getting the same thing again but I didn't know how to fix it other than deleting and re-posting.

This is a Thank you card ( for all those Christmas gifties) featuring my kids. I have a tutorial on how it was made at THE HYBRID CHICK.

Sorry again if you already saw this!

LINKY PARTIES

A FLOWER 4 U (oh yeah and happy new year)

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 10:00:00 +0000

WHEW....... That is a huge sigh of relief that the holidays are over. I apologize for being a grinch but I don't love this time of year. I wake up every morning with a thousand things on my to do list. There is just too much too. Too much running around, too much stress, too much commercialism, too much shopping (did I mention I hate shopping). Now I can get back to waking up with only a hundred things on my to do list!

I do wish you all a very HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR though because you all deserve it! And I want to THANK YOU for visiting my blog and especially for your kind and supportive comments they are always greatly appreciated.

The flower above has been one of those things on my "to do" list for a very long time and I finally had time to give it a try. Not totally satisfied with it but it was a decent start.

LETTER PILLOWS

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:13:00 +0000

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

My daughter and I were in Joann's (a minor miracle for her) a while ago. She couldn't find a homecoming dress she liked and we were looking for a pattern. We didn't find what she wanted but she did find a pattern for pillow letters and asked me to make her some for her dorm room for next year. I loved how they turned out and how easy they were to make so I made my neice a set for Christmas.

I used light pink fleece and made some felt flowers to decorate some of the letters.

I haven't spoken to my sister yet but I hope she liked them. My daughter loved hers too. The pattern is McCalls 3274 and the flowers were made using Spellbinders dies which I described HERE.

Have a great day! LINKY PARTIES

SHE'S GOT IT TOO!

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:08:00 +0000

I had pretty much given up on thinking that the crafting gene which was passed on from my talented mom and dad to me, had made it through to my daughter. She has never really shown any interest in any of it. I bought her a sewing machine when she was about 12 and she has never even tried using it. How surprised was I last night when I got a text saying she needed to buy craft supplies (can I get a fist pump and a yesssss) to make some gifts for her friends. THUD... not only because she wanted to make them but because she asked to buy stuff. I have a whole warehouse full of craft stuff that I never use including most of what she needed.

She wanted to personalize candy canes to give to her friends and did it all without my help or suggestions. How cute is that? Sniff, sniff, I am so proud.

This one is a kitty with a ball of yarn, sigh.... I think it hasn't skipped a generation as I had feared.

Changing gears here, I have a little something I made my boss. It is a paper pieced mug rug with, of course(if you didn't know we study frog development), a frog on it. I found the pattern HERE ON ETSY and thought it was really cute. Now, this man has tons of frog stuff all over his office and I usually don't get him more but this was functional and something he hadn't gotten before.

Before you think bad thoughts, I know my quilting skills are lacking (just take a look at the skrewed up left leg) but I just figured I could say he was a mutant frog affected by toxins in his environment.

Hope you have a great day! LINKY PARTIES

TINY TREE SKIRT AND SNOW LADY

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:10:00 +0000

Ok I know I have gone crazy with the felt projects but it is so much fun creating them. I have two more today and then one more thing tomorrow and I swear I am done for this holiday season.

The only household decorations I got up this season were candles in our windows (and a tree of course) and I thought they needed a little someting extra. Soooo I made them their own little tree skirts out of felt.

I used Spellbinders dies Floral Doily Motif and circles to layer on top of each other then cut a v shaped section out as shown.

I next stitched them together with the blanket stitch (as always you can glue instead) and wrapped it around the base. Then stitched up the back. I love these they make the candles look so much more festive. Next up is a pretty little snow lady.

She consists of Spellbinder dies scallop circles, reg Circles and one of the Snowflakes (can't remember which one) all layered together and stitched up. Are ya sick of felt yet? Not me, have a crafty day!

LINKY PARTIES