Happy Halloween with Bonus Pocket Cryptid Content

How long has it been since I shared a tutorial or download? For-flipping-ever, that's how long!

I wanted to make a little something for Halloween and came up with these little cryptid matchboxes.

I kinda love them. I hope you do too because I've got everything you'll need to make your own!

The worksheet! You'll need to download the full-size image, not the smaller preview. Print this on cardstock rather than regular printer paper for best results.

If you have a Cricut HERE is the project link which has both the print-and-cut image file and match-box cut and score file. (Note: You CAN fit four match-boxes on one 12" sheet. That project file can be found HERE.)

NOTE: If, for some reason the project files are refusing to link (shakes fist angrily), just search for "Nichola Battilana" on the Cricut Workspace, click on my profile, and you should find them. FOR WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT, CRICUT??!!!

Once you've got your file of choice sorted, pop over to the youtube tutorial for how to put all that stuff together to make your own little pocket cryptids.

 

That's it spooky friends. Now go make something creepy and make me proud!

Graphic 45 "Princess" Paper Crowns

You know that as soon as I saw Graphic 45's "Princess" I was going to make crowns. It was an inevitability!

And I did! Three simple paper beauties.

I cut a simple three pointed crown shape from the 12" Princess pad, about 6" tall at the highest point.

Added a 1.75" band around the bottom, and secured a ribbon for tying between the layers.

Note: the gold piece you see there was a Fancy Gold Dresden Diadem I had in my stash BEGGING to be used!

This gave me the base to which fussy cut butterflies, die cut pieces, Princess Chipboard,
Princess Stickers and other embellishments were added.

These butterflies were snipped from papers from Olde Curiosity Shoppe—Deluxe Collector's Edition.

These were snipped from "Flutter".

There are a few Metal Brads here and there but I wanted to keep these crowns really lightweight so that they didn't slip around when worn.

Want to make your own "Princess" crown? Here's a list of all the supplies I used:

Graphic 45's "Princess"12" Princess Pad
Princess Chipboard
Princess Stickers
Square Tag & Clock DiesMetal Brads 

Olde Curiosity Shoppe—Deluxe Collector's Edition (butterflies)
Flutter (butterflies)

Fancy Gold Dresden Diadem

Self adhesive gems
Foam Squares

Ribbon
Glue

Have a beautiful day, and here's hoping spring doesn't dally!

Haunted House Shadow Box

 A little haunted house shadow box today, for alphastamps.com

Inside a collection of spooky ooky bits

I've kept the little spaces pretty simple and haven't cluttered them up too much since they'll be covered by the house exterior most of the time.

The papers I used for the background are the Tim Holtz 8x8 Kraft Paper Stash. I like them a whole bunch! The simple black and orange patterns are nice and functional and easy to coordinate.

If you know me at all, you know I'm a bit lazy when it comes to hinges. I've opted to not have hinges in this piece at all and simply use a length of ribbon that is tied around the back and hold the front of the front facade in place.

Mine is filled with just a mish-mash of halloween images, but it would be a load of fun to create a themed house. A vampire abode. A monster mansion. Or maybe even include pics of your own family members in their Halloween regalia.

Want to make your own haunted shadow box? Here's the goodies I used for this piece:

Mini Haunted House Kit
Small Haunted House Add-On Kit 

Red Brick Wall Scrapbook Paper Small Haunted House Window TrimsSmall Haunted House Shadowbox  Halloween Labels Collage Sheet Tim Holtz 8x8 Kraft Paper Stash - HalloweenLittle Darlings Collage Sheet

Baroque Dresden Borders - Black 

Thin Fleur Dresden Borders - Black 

Assorted tiny bottles
Corked Domes 
Acrylic Black Standing Cat Cut-Out 

Brass Setting

Cameos
Plastic bats, and spiders

Ribbon

Acrylic Paint

Mothering ATC's in pink and golden floral glory

"Who wants to make some ATC's?"

ME! ME! ME! (I'm a keener)

And maybe I'd like to make some sort of Mother's Day thing-a-ma-doodle? You know, for people who like to plan ahead and not do everything last minute. I have no idea who these 'think ahead' people are, but sure!

That's how I ended up making this pretty batch of Artist Trading Cards for my friends at AlphaStamps.

There's 9 of the pretty things all together which means you could make your favourite motherer a pocket letter. Be sure to include a gift certificate, a sweet note, photograph, mementos or charms in there if going this route.

I've made some of these little darlings as ATC sized cards. Perhaps you'd prefer to distribute a little love to all the great motherers you know.

The cards were a cinch to whip up, but here are a few of the steps you may find useful

• Using papers from this month's kit I cut out the appropriate ATC size 2.5" x 3.5" OR 5" x 3.5" for folded ATC cards, then rounded all of the corners.

• I applied some acrylic gel medium using a doily as a stencil and sprinkled some gold embossing powder sparingly on top and set it with a heat gun. I really liked the way these worked together!

• I applied fussy cut images from Mother Knows Best Collage Sheet (which I printed in black and white)

• All of the winged things are from this Butterflies & Moths Collage Sheet. I printed one sheet full size and a second sheet at 50% to give me an even wider variety of sizes.

• When gluing the butterflies into place, I only glue the centre body part. This way the wings can be folded back, giving a 3D effect.

Easy peasy and all the bits came together nicely. Soooo, if you feel like making something pink, floral and feminine, (or are one of those amazing people who want to get a jump start on a mothers day project!) here's your supply round-up:

Baroque Dresden Borders - Gold
Mother Knows Best Collage Sheet
Butterflies & Moths Collage Sheet
House of Roses Old Letters Scrapbook Paper
House of Roses on the Porch Scrapbook Paper
Prima Tales of You & Me Notre Jardin Secret Scrapbook Paper
Prima Tales of You & Me Jardin de Fleurs Scrapbook Paper
Doily
Gold Embossing Powder
Acrylic Gel Medium

Paper Pirate Ships (and How to Be Inspired Update)

My fairy lantern post and tutorial have been pretty dang popular over the past week or so. I'm very happy that it prompted parents, grandparents, and caregivers to craft with (and for) the little people in their lives. I thought I'd post another project and tute that might encourage that sort making to continue.

If you know me, you know that I'm not only a fairy fanatic but that I'm also smitten with pirates. I've made paper sky pirate ships in the past as well as a nifty paper Sky Pirate Zeppelin. I have them hanging from my ceiling and I love the idea that there are little fairy sized buccaneers keeping any goblins at bay.

ANYWAY, it's a fun little project. You can get as simple or complicated with it as you like. Loads of opportunity for little people to help... picking paper, measuring, bending and curling the paper, placing the sails just-so. What you'll need:

• thick scrapbook paper (I've used Typography from Graphic 45)
• paper straw
• jute/twine
• large bead / pony bead
• charms and embellishments
• trims (I used THIS ONE for the above sample)
• glue!

The tutorial can be found HERE on my YouTube channel (or below) and just in case you need some clarification, here is diagram of what your boat folds should look like:

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Finally, a quick check in for those following along with the "How to Be Inspired" posts:

After the initial think, I've collected and pinned loads of images over on the Inspiration Board. Now it's time to form some ideas and let them brew. 

I've got a couple of thoughts floating around in my head, directions that I'm considering. I'm loving the medieval tents I've come across. Their shape, colour and decoration are amazing. I also really like the circus tents that I've seen - so whimsical. But I think it's those simple camping tents that are calling my name so that's where I'm headed.

How are you coming along? Have you given it any thought? Do you have a clear vision what you want to create? It might be helpful to consider WHAT it is you want to make. Yes, you're making a tent... but is it a functional thing? big? little? decorative? ornate? simple? permanent? movable? Does it have a theme? a story? Figuring out these sorts of details will help to narrow down the vision for the final project.

I'll check in again next Tuesday with a few more details about my idea, what I'll be making and how I go about making it.

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Fairy Christmas Card Advent Calendar

Ok, I've let Halloween pass and now it's full steam ahead with the Christmas posts. I have a few projects coming up that I KNOW you're going to want to try so I'm posting nice and early to give you plenty of crafting time. Today, a totally freaking adorable advent calendar alternative.

Imagine waking up each day to find a card from the fairies helping you count down to Christmas! I've put together a Fairy Card Advent Calendar, a 2 page download that includes 25 miniature cards with vintage holiday imagery, numbered postage stamps and three envelope templates to fit the various sized cards.

Now, when I showed this project to my kiddo he said "Yeah, but what about the treat?" The wheels in my mind starting turning and I thought of all the little things that would fit in those envelopes... letters, notes, coins, buttons, glitter, jokes, stickers, charms... then the light bulb above my head lit up. 

Every few days a charm could be included in the tiny card and your little pixie could make their own Christmas charm bracelet! The sets I've used here are the Santa Sleigh Silver Charm Set and the Silver Snowflake Charm Set from Alpha Stamps.

Cute as buttons and sugar free! Although if you do like the sweet stuff you could always give a lolly or chocolate kiss.

Don't do the advent calendar thing? No worries! You could always make these up and pass them out to the people in your life who need a little extra fairy magic around the holidays.

Now, as for decorating the outside of those envelopes, here's what I suggest:

1. Using the templates from the Fairy Cards Advent Calendar, trace the envelope shapes onto a piece of regular white paper.

2. Cut the shapes.

3. Fold the two short sides, then fold the bottom (the one with the flat edge) and glue into place. Be careful not to glue the envelope shut!

4. Sprinkle both sides with a bit of tea or coffee. I prefer tea as it doesn't leave a lingering scent. Allow to dry. NOTE: You can age your paper before creating the envelopes, but I found that doing it in this order results in a flatter, smoother finished piece. See wrinkles above.

5. Add little postage stamps and 'cancel' them using a rubber stamps. Any patterned stamp will do. Place a scrap bit of paper beneath so as not to ink your work surface.

6. Address the envelopes, personalizing them for the recipient.

7. Add the wee cards and any tiny surprises you'd like to include.

Lastly, and this is kind of important, these can NOT go through the regular postal system. Their size requires that they be handled only by Royal Faerie Post. If you want to send them to someone far away, I suggest mailing them within a larger card with a note of explanation.

Supply round up:

Fairy Card Advent Calendar

scissors
glue
tea/coffee for staining*
rubber stamps*
ink pad*
*optional

Do-dads for the charm bracelet:

Chain, clasp and jump rings / or pre-made bracelet
Santa Sleigh Silver Charm Set
Silver Snowflake Charm Set

You can get a printed version of the Fairy Card Advent Calendar and Charms HERE at AlphaStamps

Paper Gypsy Wagons Galore!

I've been making a series of paper gypsy wagons for a commission. Here are a few I finished up this weekend.

They have been great fun to create.

The wheels on these ones are from Gina's Designs and can be found HERE. I coaxed Gina into making them and I ADORE them. If you create small wheeled things they are so useful. They are especially good for use with lightweight and paper projects. I found that some of the wheels I've used on other projects added too much weight. These are damned near perfect.

The little mushrooms here are handmade with Paperclay. The wee flowers, leaves and buds are from AlphaStamps (I usually get the small 1/2" buds).

You can find those Gypsy coins from AS too. The papers are a mish-mash of G45, Marion Smith and Sanctuary Scrapbook Papers (which I'm totally smitten with at the mo'). 

If you have a question about any other supplies I've used, ask away. I'll have another post with a better supply list soon.