Origami Dresses

Playing with paper is fun and these dress were all made from squares of origami paper

they are easy to make and make lovely cards and invitations

I added pieces of lace, rhinestones, pearls, buttons & silk ribbon so that each dress is unique

and how could I work on any project with including a graphic from Karen's blog The Graphics Fairy
- for this card I chose a French theme because the dress is rather classic chic, don't you think?

getting married?

or"Ladies who Lunch"  - this was a custom order for place cards

There are lots of links to tutorials & videos to make these dresses -  here is the one I used

and...............for the man in your life I made this with a £20 note

and this was  a $20 note

the tutorial for folding dollar note is shirts right   here

Happy Paper Crafting

Gill

Gift Wrapping

I have been having a busy time preparing for classes and one of the classes I enjoy most is gift wrapping. 

There are so many things you can do with paper, ribbon, tapes, jewels, lace and other bits and pieces that it is fairly easy to make something original and make yours a unique "Designer" wrap

These are a few of the wraps I have designed in the last week - I hope they inspire you

Pink metallic paper, velvet ribbon with hand made & dyed silk roses

Duck egg wallpaper with a satin ribbon Tiffany bow and vintage rhinestones from a damaged piece of vintage jewellery

for the man in your life - add a keyring as an extra little present (I used a leather boot keyring)

this would look great if you were giving a pair of Jimmy Choos!

lace & pearls on wallpaper

HAPPY WRAPPING & PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT OR FOLLOW IF YOU LIKE MY PAGE

Gill

Faux Vintage Perfume Box - a tutorial

Hi - I have been diagnosed....well self diagnosis and I am suffering from OCD (Obsessive Crafting Disorder).  This disorder is always with you! It can get you  in the middle of the night, whilst you are eating and, worst of all when you are doing housework! Suddenly you must stop whatever you are doing whilst this idea that will change mankind is in the forefront of your mind!  In my case OCD is hereditary and I can blame (thank actually) my mother, who was a soft furnisher. Even in the 50s and 60s she used to up-cycle furniture

I was recently given a lovely sample of  perfume and it came in a beautiful little box, which was too pretty to throw away

so I decided to give it a romantic looking aged effect and this is what I did:


I mixed instant coffee with hot water

and brushed it on the edges

then printed off 3 images from my favourite source The Graphics Fairy - 2 for the front and one inside

and  brushed the coffee over the images and allowed them to dry. I mixed some stronger coffee and flicked it over the images to give a more vintage look. I used a flat brush, but an old toothbrush works well

next I cut the images to fit the lid, inside and out,  and stuck them on with craft glue

then added a silk ribbon bow (which I dipped in the coffee and allowed to dry), added a vintage button and 2 little rhinestones at the edges of the script

Finally  I glued some vintage lace around the edge

and that's it - trash to treasure!

Painted lace

I love making lace..........crochet lace, tatted lace  and painted lace

I thought I would share my sheet of lace painting tips which I made up a few years ago. This is how to paint basic lace and, if you want to paint something, more intricate I would suggest looking at Arlene' Linton's site

It really is far easier than it looks to paint lace and all you need is a small flat brush, liner brush, stylus (or cocktail stick)  and water based acrylic paint. Painted lace is beautiful on all kinds of surfaces - if you are painting on plastic ie Christmas balls you can basecoat with DecoArt Multi Purpose sealer

To design a round piece of lace 

Place a round object (plaque, plate, saucer or similar) on to the project & draw around it with a soap (or watercolour) pencil – complete using the strokes* below

or

design a circular pattern (in segments)

Cut out a circle of paper and fold neatly as many times as required. Place on the surface and mark round the outer edge. Make small marks to indicate where each fold is and remove the folded paper. If an inner circle is required cut out a smaller circle, place inside the outer one and draw around with soap pencil.  You will now have equal sized segments to assist you in placing the strokes.

To design Square or oblong  project

Make 2 small marks on the outside edge of a coin with a permanent pen (the marks should define 1/3 & 2/3 sections of the coin). Place the 2 marks precisely on the middle of one edge of the square or rectangle you have already drawn and draw round the edge of the coin with the soap pencil. Continue drawing the shapes until you get close to a corner – now you may have to adjust the spacing to fit (or you may have a gap at the end) Repeat this on the 4 sides. Add the corner shapes by using the coin to suit the space. For more intricate lace a 2^nd row of semicircles can be added (with each one resting on 2 circles below). You will now have a series of circles to indicate where the strokes are painted. Paint the lace using the following strokes as required. below.

Materials 
White acrylic paint - Plaid Folk Art or DecoArt Americana 

FloatingMedium or Brush’n’Blend

Flat & liner brushes. 

Stylus (or cocktail sticks) 

Paint a “C” stroke to create each circular shape around th.e edge with a  brush loaded with white on one corner and floating medium on the other

To paint a sheer effect for the base - mix a tiny drop of white with floating medium (or faux glazing medium) and brush over the surface (to create a faux finish effect at this stage you can use a dry brush or make  a pattern using a piece of net,  kitchen towel (I once used bubble wrap). The full effect will not show until the paint dries. 

Make dots using a stylus or cocktail stick. Make sure you have a good puddle of creamy paint.  If you practise you will notice that as you make the dots they get smaller each time which makes a nice graduated effect. If you want the dots a uniform size you should dip in to the paint puddle each time. To make the pattern symmetrical start on the middle of the outside edge o a C stroke and work down until you reach the start of the next stroke. . Then, reload the brush and start again - dot over the very first dot and work down the other side.  Always dip into the centre of the puddle.

To paint cute little hearts - dip the end if a liner brush into the paint puddle and make a dot on the project - repeat making a 2nd dot right next to the first one, then, using the end of the brush pull the paint down from each dot to make a 
heart shape

Lazy daisies use a liner brush and inky paint to paint little 5 petal lazy daisies (just like embroidery at school!) and make a dot in the middle for the French knot

Crisscross - use the liner with white paint. I find it easiest to go around the project making all the lines in one direction and repeat the other way to make the criss cross pattern. 

To paint a lace effect using a paper doily – basecoat the surface  using white or cream (or the colour you want the doily to be). Lightly spray repositionable adhesive on to the doily and place on the surface. Apply the colour you want as the background colour. I prefer to use a sponge dauber but you can also use a stencil brush or spray paint. Remove the doily and you are left with a negative pattern  of the doily (really effective)

I hope these little tips are useful…………enjoy