I spend a lot of time sewing and baking but papercraft is where it all started for me. Every now and again I come across a project that unearths that love for card and paper and this is one of them!
After scrolling through Cricut Design Space I found this beautiful framed layered Rose art by Anna Griffin and just had to give it ago.
So, with a project in mind, I raided Hobbycraft for supplies:
I picked up a 10 x 10 inch Shadow frame ( I prefer these to the box frames). A range of 12x12 card in pinks, greens and glitter card. I love the card that has a slight texture to it. I opted for silver glitter for the background instead of the champagne the design suggests.
I also used the greens from this Hobbycraft Bright Colour Spectrum Paper Pad (A4 24 Pack). These packs are amazing and great value, if you're lucky you can find them on offer. They have various packs in different colourways and effects, including foil, glitter and even marble so well worth stocking up on.
Cricut Design space makes it super easy! It lays everything out for you and takes you through every step of the project. Once all the layers have been cut simply layer them together in the right order and stick together using sticky foam squares. The foam squares create the depth which makes this project pop!
Once all stuck together, place it in the frame and its done! This would make a beautiful present for someone especially for Mother's Day or it would be great decor for Valentines Day.
This project is the first one I've done of this kind. I'm blown away by how easy Cricut makes it. To make it from scratch and papercut this kind of project with a craft knife would have taken hours and hours! You mostly see vinyl being the main material used when looking at Cricut projects on YouTube and blogs. But Cricut is a game changer for papercrafts! I'm definitely going to make a few more of these!
- Mosaic Tiles
- Glue
- Grout
- Grout Scraper
- Plain tray
You get a good amount of all the supplies, I was a little worried about the amount of grout but it was enough to complete the project. My only slight dismay with the contents was the tray being plain. The picture on the packaging shows it as white, which is a bit misleading! So, you do need to get yourself some acrylic paint and give the tray a couple of coats before you can start. This isn't a big thing of course, but personally, I wish more blanks came in white to save time!
Now I've never grouted before, and it was the part I was most worried about! But it was so easy. I followed the instructions but did find I needed to add more water than it stated to get the grout to a toothpaste consistency. From here it's just a case of filling the gaps between the tiles with the grout. The scraper tool is very good although I found using a clean lollipop stick better for doing the edges and slightly fiddly areas.
After around 15 minutes using a slightly damp cloth clean up the tiles, the grout will come off easily and reveal the beautiful mosaic underneath.
And there you have it! I love it and will definitely try more mosaic projects now I know how easy it is. I would recommend this kit if you want to give mosaic a go. The box doesn't look like much but I was pleasantly surprised how good it was. You can create some beautiful pieces for the home using mosaic. Go and try it!
Time for a little throwback! I've been so busy the last few months that I never got around to posting about this Christmas wreath making workshop I ran. This was part of the Hobbycraft 12 makes of Christmas workshops, which allowed customers to have a go at a range of Christmas crafts during the lead up to the holidays.
Having made many wreaths in the past I was asked to run the Christmas wreath making workshop back in November and I have to say it was brilliant and a lot of fun!
These workshops include all sorts from advent making, fillable decorations, Christmas eve boxes, cracker making and many more. Hobbycraft have run these Christmas workshops for a few years now and are well worth checking out. This particular workshop cost £15, which I have to say was an absolute bargain when you take into account the number of materials they each used to build up their wreaths.
The table was filled with a whole range of floral picks, pine cones, dried oranges, floristry wire and much more.
After running through the basics of wreath making I let the groups loose to create their own wreaths in whatever way they liked.
It was so interesting to see what the favourite themes were. Many seemed to love creating a neutral modern frosty winter wonderland look. But the traditional red was also a big favourite.
Both groups absolutely loved the workshop and were thrilled with what they had created. I think they were all a little surprised at how easy it is to make something so stunning that can be used year after year. I have to say I too felt rather inspired by what they had all created afterwards!
The photos you see here are only a small sample, in total 20 wreaths were made!
I actually ran a workshop making these just before Halloween and it went down so well! The great thing about these designs is that you only need one cutter, and that's the fmm mix n' match face cutter. This clever cutter enables you to be able to cut 100s of different toppers, ideal! You can buy them in many places including - Amazon, Lakeland and Hobbycraft from round £5.50.
To make these cakes I used the ultimate chocolate cupcake recipe, piped with orange coloured buttercream. I used a Dr Oetker gel to colour the icing, which worked fine but wasn't as good as some of the other colour gels I've used before. It's not as concentrated so I found I had to use a fair amount to get the desired colour. For the toppers I used:
- White, Orange, Red Green and Black Renshaw Ready Roll Icing
- Wilton Candy eyes
- Orange and Black food pens
- Edible glue (and a small brush)
A good tip is to use a rolling pin that has guide rings at either end, this means you can get all of the icing the same thickness. And remember to put a little icing sugar down to stop the icing sticking to your work surface!
Also, Ready Roll Icing has a long shelf life so any leftovers can be stored in airtight containers to be used for future projects.
And that's it! These were so much fun to make and great to make with kids as well.
Once you've mastered the basic construction the possibilities to customise them are endless! To making patchwork versions, quilted, using waterproof linings or block fabrics. They are perfect for trying new techniques without using too much fabric and ultimately building confidence.
Each pupil in the class had a little instruction booklet so they could all follow along at their own pace and take away after the workshop.
Zips can be a little daunting for beginners, but they are simple when you take it one step at a time. And there's the added option of adding tabs at each end like you see on the pouch below.
For this workshop, I pre-cut the pieces and made little kits for the pupils to choose from. If there's anything I've learned from sewing it's that the tracing and cutting is the most time-consuming part!
This meant everyone who attended was able to get straight into sewing, take their time and most importantly enjoy sewing it all together.
And here are the finished pouches! Three people attended including one guy which was lovely to see. They all did so well and the final pouches all looked great. The look of achievement when it all comes together never gets old!
Although I plan to teach a whole range of crafts, primarily I'll be teaching sewing. There are so many people out there who buy sewing machines and end up being too frightened to get them out of the box, which is such a shame!
I've always been a believer in starting basic and building up skills. So I decided the first workshop I would run would be How to Sew Bunting.
So I set the date of 18th August, opened up for bookings and was so happy to see the amount of interest. I've helped countless people set up their new sewing machines over the last 5 years and couldn't wait to start making actual projects.
I want to make it as easy for people as possible. I know from experience how frustrating it is walking away from a workshop and forgetting half of what was said! So I have made a little step by step instruction booklet and templates for people to take away for each of my workshops.
I had a group of six people and it was lovely to see everyone getting stuck in! The fabrics and colour combinations people chose were beautiful. I always love seeing the choices people make as it's all inspiration for future projects.
And perhaps best of all three young girls attended and it's great to see youngsters getting crafty and learning new skills.
After two hours we had four lots of bunting all sewn up. Everyone loved it and I can't wait for the next workshops!
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