Fabric Yo-Yo's

Good Evening. I hope you all are happy and healthy, have crisp December air to breathe and some snow if you're lucky. It seems like forever since I have done a blog post and as usual I have been busy creating in the craft room but not recording it here. Ironically I talked to Zoo on the phone today and we were both inspired to craft after talking of the blog and all it contained. I, of course, was surprised how many posts I have done. Not being a fan of using the computer for more than entertainment, I have added more than anticipated.

Today I would like to talk about making Yo-yo's. Zoo sent a few videos and web sites to explain what they were and then I had to give some a try. Hand needle work has gone onto the hurt the hands, only do in small measure list, but I must admit they turned out cute. I tried some in a variety of sizes and like the larger circle sizes the best. I tried my Sizzix Circles #2 Bigz Die first and used the largest of the four circles. I ended up mostly tracing a larger circle from a stencil I have onto the fabric and then cutting it out. I found this method and size worked the best for me.

The two sites I used from Zoo's sampling were as follows...

https://www.positivelysplendid.com/fabric-yo-yo-tutorial/

http://www.bhg.com/crafts/sewing/accessories/how-to-make-fabric-yo-yos1/

So I grabbed some fabric from my drawer and away I went. When showing Zoo my new creations on our next skype craft session, she was floored that I had made so many in random colours without a plan for each one. I will eventually use them all and so was happy to prove this recently when one of the yo-yo's was the perfect colour for a card I was making.

This card was stamped using the 'Kiss it and Make it Better by Connie Stewart' video and I will go into this further in my next post. I look forward to making cards or mixed media work with the remainder of my yo-yo's. 

Have a great night!

Red Bear : )

Transferring images using packing tape and stencils.

Happy Snow day!

We had a lovely day off work to get outside and shovel out three driveways and then hibernate indoors with our hobbies. Myself, I ventured into my craft room and experimented with packing tape, stencils and magazine pages. Zoo's fault, yet again, due to her sending me another link to put in the 'do' or 'not do' pile. Originally I didn't think I wanted to try this, as the result is shiny and I wondered if I could do anything else on top of the packing tape layer. This morning, however, it tickled my fancy and I gave it a try.

In the video, the lovely lady uses magazine pages, stencils and packing tape, all of which I have on hand, so away I went.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtAGnlU3s8U&feature=em-share_video_user

 This stencil is one of my oldest and is from Simply Stencils By Plaid, 28530 Hearts, Checks and Gingerbread

The following three are from a cheap kids set I found somewhere years ago.

 These two are from Stampin'Up, Dots and Stripes decorative masks. The stripes was hard to get the tape off of.

This stencil didn't work the best. In the video, she warns that we need to rub hard or use a brayer to get the tape to stick through the stencil in finer design areas. I used a brayer over thick foam but this one didn't work. Later I used my embossing stylus to rub in the smaller dots and details of the other stencils, but I guess I forgot this one. Good life lesson.

My neighbour, who sews, gave this one to me. It says 28760Bulk on it and may have come from a fabric store.

 I decided before I started that I would place the finished tapes onto pages I had already painted or sumi smooshed. This way I felt I was adding another layer to pages to make cards, or into altered art books for further development.

This last page with the green, I cut up and made cards out of. The gloss from the tape adds a nice dimension to the cards and I also used up some of the stamped paper Zoo had sent me months ago. Some of the stamped images are just photo copies she had sent, but I used them to finish the cards and I like how they turned out. The pictures don't do them justice.

So that has been my fun day with packing tape transfers. I hope the weather adds more fun so I can escape to my craft room more often.  Cheers everyone.   Red Bear : )

More Texture Paste

Good Morning.

It has been a long while since I have done a blog post and upon looking though my pictures, I found some more texture paste cards I have made. I thought I would include those in an easy continuation of using up the paper I have made theme and the texture paste creations theme.

These two are from my original experiments with texture paste and
I didn't know what to do with them. I don't do Halloween cards or
 decorations with the kids all moved out on their own, but turning them
 into 'shocking' birthday cards turned out cute and usable.

 I used up the remains of my last batch of paste that was starting to dry up by adding some kids glitter glue to it. I used three or four different stencils and covered a whole piece of canvas with it. I love it but have been mulling over what to do with it for months now. I don't want to ruin it so will keep mulling it over until I figure out what will look good or loose patience and just experiment (the more likely of the two).

I hope everyone is enjoying their Victoria Day long weekend. Our weather here is gorgeous and we hear lawn mowers and motorbikes galore. Happy Spring!!

Red Bear : )