handmade notebooks, washi tape and paper crafting

Hello there,
if you read my review of the book Letterpress, you might remember my crazy love for stationery and paper stuff. These are a few things I've been making with my paper, washi tape and other craft stash.

A6-size notebooks

notebook

The notebooks on the left are a very good size for sticking in any bag, they are A6 size (about that of a postcard). I made a lot of those and gave them all away. The one above on the right is very small, I think less than 10cm (3-4 inches), I sent that to my blog friend Lynn. It has a lot of different types of paper inside, including some cute Japanese paper.

handmade journal with prompts

variety of paper inside prompt journal

I also made a couple of journals like this one, which was also sent to Lynn. I put a lot of different papers of about A5 size inside: craft and scrapbooking papers; free patterns printed from the Internet and Reprodepot Pattern Book (Flora); some sheets I designed with text or visual prompts for journaling; other papers I decorated with washi tape and homemade tapes and stickers. I also sewed some envelopes from patterned paper like the burgundy one with the leaf design at the top of the pile. Inside the envelopes, I enclosed small surprises and gifts like stickers, tags, postcards and more paper that can be used to embellish the journal.

I really enjoyed making these journals. I loved making up the prompts, which included some quotes I like and that I find inspirational. It was also fun playing with different ideas to come up with designs for my own prompt sheets. I left the papers mostly plain so their owners can fill the journals with their own thoughts and creative works. I don't text journal regularly anymore but I use a journal like this as my own mood board and visual diary, where I paste photos of things I like or stuff I find in my journey through life.


I've been pretty obsessed with washi tape since joining a card swap in June. I ended up buying a whole lot of Japanese and other masking tape, and even made some of my own!  I posted the masking tape cards I made for the swap earlier, here are a couple other things I've been making with washi tape.

washi tape-decorated gift bags

These are good for party favors as they're very small, the bag is only about 10cm (4 inches) tall.

cards made with washi tape

These are 4 different cards decorated with washi tape. I ran my sewing machine through the card on the bottom right ; I thought that flowery stitch went very well with the gold tape.

card decorated with washi tape

This card took me ages to make but I really love how it turned out. I scanned it (as I did my recent creations as I finally bought a scanner - yay!) and I'm going to make patterned paper from it. Maybe even fabric - if I can figure out how to print my own fabric!

 butterfly playground card made with washi tape

I like this card, too. I made it over the weekend with my new butterfly punch and an old tree punch I have from Daiso. The card puts me in a very lght and happy mood. I'm going to replicate it with different tapes and in slightly different styles and make a set of butterfly cards. Wouldn't that be cool?

And finally, here are the cards I received in the masking tape swap:

card with washi tape decoration from Cheryl

stamps on envelope

washi tape card from Lay Hoon

another card from Lay Hoon

stamps on envelope

 

washi tape card from Nicole

mixed-media card from Wendy

[ check out my other handmade things ]
[ check out my posts on paper crafts ]

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by liberal sprinkles

decoupage DIY: coasters, cabinet

If you have never made anything for your home but would like to get crafty, decoupage is one of the easiest things to do. I got into 2 projects recently. First, look what I did with this cabinet.

decoupaged cabinet: before

decoupaged cabinet: after

I still need to glue down the edges a little but this was an easy project which took a few hours of work (a lot of it was spent cutting and measuring, which as you know I really dislike) and a couple days in total because I had to wait for the glue to dry. I used the same decoupage technique as I did for my coasters, for which I'm writing a tutorial if you would like to know how to make your own.

I used these fiberboard squares I found in my local Daiso. Perfect size: 10 cm squares and 0.6 cm thick (3.9 inch square x 0.25 inch).

fiberboard squares from Daiso

Daiso is this great Japanese discount chain store where you can get nearly everything for about $1.50. They sell all kinds of useful stuff: household, kitchenware, DIY and craft supplies, food, stationery... you name it, they probably got it. They have several stores overseas, including in the US. Here're the links to Daiso Japan and addresses for Daiso stores overseas including 11 in the USA.

This is what you'll need for the project:

1. tiles or strong backing of some sort, in whatever shape you like.
2. decoupage glue like Mod Podge. I used white craft glue, diluted with water at 1:1 ratio.
3. paper to decorate your coaster: scrapbook, wrapping paper, recycled paper from newspaper, magazines, books... whatever you can get your hands on! You could also use photos or fabric - that's what I used for the cabinet.
4. Brush: foam or regular. I used a 5cm (2inch) wide brush. I know some people prefer foam brushes but I've never had problems with a regular brush.
5. Squares, circles or sheets of felt, cork, rubber or foam for the back of the coaster.
6. Other tools: paper cutter, cutting board, glue, waterproof acrylic sealant

I used paper printed with images found on the Internet, some of them came from The Graphics Fairy. If you like to craft, you probably know of Graphics Fairy. If not, you may want to check out the website, where you'll find plenty of free downloadable vintage prints, mostly with no copyright issues as they're from so long ago. Great stuff to use for your blogging, DIY, craft, scrapbooking projects.

paper cut to size

I cut my paper a little bigger than the wood tile so the sides would be covered with paper as well. If I were using ceramic tiles, I'd probably leave the sides alone, I like the stone look. You can trace the shape of your tile onto the back of your paper if you want to be more exact in cutting.

I folded the paper over the side of each tile and cut off the excess paper at the corners.

Next, I brushed a layer of glue (or Mod Podge) over the wooden tile and smoothed the piece of paper over it, making sure to get any bubbles out. Once that was in place, I glued the paper down the sides. Then I painted a layer of craft glue over the paper, doing so in one direction only.

decoupaged square coasters

This was how my tiles looked at that point. It had started raining and gone dark so I had to take the photo with a flash, which got a bit reflected off the wet glue.

Once the glue was dry (20-30 minutes), I added another layer, then a few more later. I usually do 4-5 layers of craft glue when I'm decoupaging. You could finish off with an acrylic sealant to make it longer lasting if you like. For alternative decorations, you could rubber stamp your tiles,  ink stencil patterns onto a piece of paper or directly onto tile, cut out letters or do collage designs, like I did with the Renault in one of the coasters.

To make sure your coasters won't scratch the surface of the table, add some squares of cork, felt, foam or rubber backing to the bottom.

cork backing for

An optional step is to seal the coasters with acrylic sealant to make them more long-lasting. I used a spraying kind. All done :)

decoupaged coasters

[ check out my handmade stuff ]


Links to some coaster tutorials I like
Scrabble tile coasters (DIY Life)
Recycled woven magazine coasters (How About Orange)
Decoupage tips from theartfulcrafter

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by liberal sprinkles

masking tape card swap

papercrafting with washi / masking tape

I made some postcards a couple weeks ago for a card swap I was invited to join. The theme of the swap, organized by Lay Hoon of Mescrap, was masking or washi tape, those cute Japanese printed tapes. I first came across these wonders during a trip to Tokyo a couple years ago and fell in love immediately. They are so cute and flexible, you can use them for everything: as tape, as decoration, for loads of crafts.

These are the cards I came up with (front and back):

card #1

card #1

card #2

card #2

card #3

card #4

card #4

I started off with a lot more sewing, which is what I do more of. The front part of the first card I made is a patchwork of different vintage fabrics bought from Etsy. I sticked some masking tapes at the back, a nice contrast to the sewn stitches.

I didn't have any idea how the cards would look, I didn't plan or design anything upfront, just went with the flow. I really like how the second card turned out. I started by sewing a pattern stitch frame, then I went on to divide the card into panels using the same stitch and the same beige/gold thread. It made me think of vines and I had that green stripe tape which I thought would look good in between. It makes me think of being in a garden. Love it. I would definitely use the same or a similar design for party invites or to give away as a set.

For the third card, I sewed a border again and then used masking tape to create the message. I added the triangles banner (made with tape) later to add a little oomph. I liked the card even without the banner (and I would recreate this one, too) but I thought it might look a little plain to a crafts/journaling person. Next time, I'll use a non-white background to create more depth.

The last card was the only one that didn't come into contact with any thread. All paper. and it's "wrapped" up as a gift with a cute yellow tape. The tied up "ribbon" on the back of the card can be fluffed up to make it look like a knotted ribbon. I like this one a lot, too.

I had to use the same tapes on most of the cards since I don't actually have that many different rolls. I would love to get more but I don't do paper craft enough to justify adding to my stash!

I wrote on the back of the cards, heheh. I hope that doesn't upset the recipients!

[ see my handmade stuff ]

[ see my postcard posts ]
[ see my other paper posts ]

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by liberal sprinkles

CrazyJoy: twist

Hi, this is my submission for the creativity challenge 

by Joy of The Joy Cottage and

Lesley of Recipe for Crazy.

This week's challenge word was "twist".

I posted about these rings, 

which required a lot of twisting of wires to make,

in this post on my handmade beaded rings.

Please click on the CrazyJoy button if you'd like

to see the other submissions or join.

Have a great week!

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by liberal sprinkles

Have a colorful week!

Hello friends, here's some color to get you off to a bright and fun week :)

handmade rings by liberal sprinkles

I made all these rings! The first one I made among these was the red one on the left of the second peg. It has three white Swarovski crystals as accents, the ring was handwoven with red seed beads on wire.

my first quilt top

I took the plunge. I'm making my first quilt! I've been thinking about doing it for a while but I've never tackled such a big sewing project (the biggest thing I've ever sewn are bags), I've been sewing for only a year and a half, I'm a very slow sewer and I don't always sew straight! I'm also very impatient and easily distracted. I have 3 bag projects that I started about a year ago but haven't finished. I just get excited by other ideas, sewing and otherwise.

But I wanted to try making a quilt this year. I was tempted to join a quilt-along but that Dresden circle would  have been a crazy project for a beginner. Best to start with something easy and which doesn't require a lot of measuring and cutting (my most hated part about sewing). Pre-cuts! I decided on charm squares. I'm hopeless at reading patterns and following directions, so I'm winging it as I go along.

I'm using this

Moda Tranquility charm pack

I got two of these for US$8 last year at Some Art Fabric! They sometimes have 2-for1 offers and I got some really great deals there. I did some math (I hate math) and figured I could get a sort of twin-sized quilt out of 20 blocks of 4 charms (I will soon find out how crazy I go trying to manoeuver the whole quilt around my sewing machine!).

jigsaw puzzling...

That's me trying to decide what goes where. I didn't have enough floor space so I did one charm pack first, then the other blocks (that lone square in the bottom right corner was an extra in the first pack I opened :) I spent quite a bit of time on my knees, I had fun moving those squares around, visualizing what my finished quilt would look like. Imagine if I hadn't used a charm pack. I would never have gotten to the sewing stage!

organized ... so very un-me!

All arranged, organized and ready to go. I took a lot of photos of this stack from different angles, I just love looking at fabric and the pinked edges are so cute!

They look like pennants!
Maybe I should make a
fabric pennant banner
just for the fun of it... 

quilt blocks sewn!

The block on top is my first ever quilt block!! I sewed pretty straight this time! I can't put into words how excited I was when I finished that block. And when I finished all 20, wow. Satisfaction! I poured myself a drink ... heheh.

back to the floor...

I moved some furniture around so I had enough space to audition fabric for the sashing. This took me forever. I tried more than five solids but didn't find anything that really struck me immediately as IT but since I want to use only fabric from my stash, I settled on a green. I would have liked a yellow sashing and green border but I don't have any yellow solids. I think I'll use the pink in the photo above for the border (? any thoughts on this?) but I have no idea what fabric I'll be using for the binding and the back, though I'll probably sew the remaining squares into one long strip. I haven't counted to see if they'll run down the length of the quilt. I probably should have chosen all my fabrics and done all the math right at the start but I'm not very organized! If you're a quilter and you're appalled at how I'm going about this...sorry!

Dealing with the project in stages makes it less intimidating for me. When I try reading patterns, I give up before I get to the end or figure out how everything would come together. I also like to improvise as I go along, it allows me room to manoeuver. But it can get me in trouble. I had already cut into my green sashing fabric before I realized that I wouldn't have enough to cut the side strips in one complete length. Oops.

time to rip it up!

And I spoke too soon, I didn't sew quite straight!

Should I, should I not? I knew I should take it apart but I'm very lazy and I hate ripping seams although I seem to do it a lot. OK, I gave in, turned on the TV and started ripping. I'd sewed in very small stitches so that took a long time too. I took 2 sections apart. The resewing was fast, but I had to rip one up again because it just wasn't right.

One other thing I hate: ironing. I really did iron after piecing each part; I don't know why it doesn't look it though... Sewing has reintroduced me to ironing. I've ironed my clothes maybe twice a year in the last 3 years!

i think this needs better pressing...

Finally! My quilt top! It's a bit dark as I finished sewing late at night. I got around the fabric problem for the sides by making the lengths of the two middle horizontal strips the width of the quilt top. I got to this stage over 2 weekends. I was motivate by





Next week: border and charm square strip for the back?


Meanwhile, I'm watching some quilting videos at YouTube for inspiration. Free motion quilting is amazing, maybe I'll get there one day. I'm aiming for just straight line quilting for now. If you haven't seen the works of Judi Madsen, check out the incredible eye candy at Green Fairy Quilts. Her quilting is exquisite, I'm a big fan. You can also get Moda pre-cuts at nice prices at her store.

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by liberal sprinkles