A Hufflepuff Box

I am a Hufflepuff. For a long while I fought against it, but I have come to embrace my house. What's not to love about loyalty, a dedicated work ethic and strong moral code?!

Now whenever I see yellow I think "HUFFLEPUFF!" and set to celebrating my house with pride.

The yellow window on the Stained Glass Windows Collage Sheet reminded me of something that might be in the Hufflepuff common room so that's where I drew my inspiration.

Inside, a Hufflepuff garden full of yellow Curly Paper Roses. There are  Mini Fern Garland leaves, Tiny Paper Roses and Miniature Creeping Vine Garland too.

But enough showing off! Here's how I made this sweet little Hufflepuff Box.

1. Assemble the inside drawer of the Matchbox for Conservatory Book. Use the arched frame element from the Mini Conservatory Accordion Book as a template and cut the arched shape from the drawer. NOTE: leave a bit of a border when you cut, you will need the edge to glue the frame in place later.

2. Cover the inside and exterior of the box with cobblestone paper from the Wandering Ivy 12" pad

3. Paint the arched elements cut from the Mini Conservatory Accordion Book. Cut the yellow window from the Stained Glass Windows Collage Sheet and glue to the back side of one of the frames.

4. Glue that to the inside of the drawer.

5. Glue the second frame to the exterior.

6. Add Sheet Moss, Curly Paper Roses, Mini Fern Garland and Miniature Creeping Vine Garland to the interior.

7. Cut butterflies from the Wandering Ivy 12" pad and colour with felt tip markers.

8. Download a public domain badger image and add it, along with the prepared butterflies to the interior.

9. Cover outside sleeve of the matchbox with paper from the Wandering Ivy 12" pad. I am NOT gluing the end in place. This piece will wrap around the inside drawer, not slide over it.

10. Cover the exterior.

11. Glue 2 lengths of ribbon to the outside cover and add some pretty buttons.

Add a couple of cute charms and tie closed! Easy as pie.

Are you a Hufflepuff? Or will you make a little something for your Ravenclaw heart? Gryffindor? Or something a little green perhaps?

Whatever your house, have take pride in it and make a little something to celebrate all the goodness it encompasses... yes, even you Slytherin!

Here's the supply list in case you missed anything above:

Matchbox for Conservatory Book
Mini Conservatory Accordion Book
Stained Glass Windows Collage Sheet
1 Inch Curly Paper Roses - Variegated Yellow
Wandering Ivy 12" pad
Pewter Wizard Hat Charm
Star Fairy Wand Charm - Silver
Sheet Moss
Mini Fern Garland
Miniature Creeping Vine Garland
Ribbon
Buttons

A Card for Baby Too

Although I'm not really a card maker here's another. (I'm on a roll)

I've used papers from the Precious Memories collection from Graphic 45

The "Baby" script is cut from a larger chipboard piece. Me thinks it's been in my stash for a while and it may no longer be available but I'm working on finding out for you.

The flowers are a mix of bits from my stash. The leaves and white flowers from Petaloo, the green/yellow spray snipped from a $store bunch, and the wee blooms in the corner are 1/2 Inch Pale Peach Paper Roses

Not my usual thing, but sometimes it's nice to play outside the box and dabble in other areas because you never ever know what you're going to fall in love with.

xo

A Card for Fathers Day

Phew! It has been a hectic week. The kid is playing soccer competitively and we've been driving EVERYWHERE. Funny how traveling sort of knocks you on your bum even though you sit through most of it. 

ANYWAY... I made Mr. a Father's Day card with Olde Curiosity Shoppe 

I kinda love how it's more designy and not all about sports and fishing and golf and beer... because not all dad's are into that. (Though Mr does enjoy a micro-brew once in a while.)

Inside I've tucked a little pic of Mr and the Kid. And a flying pig because why not.

And there's just a hint of gold dresden trim on there because apparently I can't make anything without adding something shiny.

I've got another jam packed weekend coming up. It's all soccer all the time right now. I need more crafty blogging time please!

Anyway, have a lovely weekend and Happy Father's Day to all the daddy-o's out there. High fives to you!

Floral Shoppe Mushroom House

Floral Shoppe was the the Graphic 45 collection I was most excited about playing with. They are beautiful and lush and elegant and I just cannot gush about them enough. They are absolutely gorgeous! So, of course, one of my first Graphic 45 projects as brand ambassador puts those floral pretties to good use!

I took a simple wooden greenhouse from the craft asile at the bargain store, and covered it with Midnight Medley along with a chipboard tag.

I've added some decorative hardware with a Metal Door Plate and Knob and some Stamped Metal Brads. I've also added some metal feet to the bottom of the box.

I know it's not over the top covered with loads of embellishments and decorative elements... but I love the elegance of this wee piece. I think the paper just sings for itself.

What's inside you ask? Well, I thought about keeping jewelry inside, but my favourite sort of elegance is the type that goes hand in hand with eccentricity. This little greenhouse would belong to an old biddy who grew magical toadstools in her spare time.

The interior is covered with Old Curiosity Shoppe, tags and and fussy cut butterflies.

Inside, a collection of clay mushrooms and toadstools!

Note: While I normally use Paperclay for my mushroom making, this time I used DAS Junior air dry clay. It was under $3 at Walmart and I thought 'what the heck'. It's very similar to polymer clay, but doesn't need to be baked. I find my hands too hot for most polymer clays (it melts and gets mushy in my hands) but this was really fun to work with. 

There's a little space in the middle which I am saving to add a real small potted plant.

For the curious, here's the before.

And my transformed pretty Floral Shoppe mushroom house.

Inspired? Here are all the bits I used in making this wee greenhouse.

Floral Shoppe
• Papers, Tags and Stickers

Old Curiosity Shoppe Deluxe Collectors Edition• Papers and Tags

 Graphic 45 Staples: Metal Door Plates and Knobs 

Graphic 45 Staples: Stamped Metal Brads

Small Wooden Greenhouse
Metal Feet
DAS Junior White Air Dry Clay
Sheet Moss
Faux Moss
Small Wooden "Clay" Pots
Acrylic Paint
Glue

A new Pixie Hill resident

This post has nothing to do with fairies or crafting or magic.

It has everything to do with this little fellow that I fell madly in love with last week. 

This tiny bunny is named William Oliver Nigel Kennith Yellowbottom.

(Wonky for short.)

He is just about the sweetest little floof in the world!

He's slow but curious.

He has a wonderfully mellow personality and it quite like Padfoot in every way but appearance (though they are both adorable),

He also never stops eating.

And that nose never stops twitching.

Wee Sewists Shrine

A wee sewist's shrine for AlphaStamps.com today.

I've used an Altoids tin for the body of the shrine, and the lid is being used as the base. I've used an old chess piece as the stand, but an old spool would work well too.

Speaking of spools... I've put a couple of vintage spools at the base as well as a few little buttons.

Inside, that's a 3 Inch Miniature Dress Form. I've applied a coat of gesso and then painted it white. To get it to fit inside the tin properly I've trimmed the base of the form. To cut it to size, I heated a blade and sliced through the plastic.

The tiny side table is made by gluing a Flat Round Wooden Bead atop a wooden finial. On top there are a Small Brass Scissors Charm, Tiny Thread Spools and a snip from the Mini Button Cards Half Sheet.

Want to make your own wee sewists shrine? You can find all of the AlphaStamps bits I put to use HERE.

And here are all the individual supplies:
Blank Altoids Tins 

Small Brass Scissors Charms  3 Inch Miniature Dress Form 

Flat Round Wooden Beads  

Tiny Thread Spools - Set of 5
Small Wooden Spools
Miss Betty Vintage Thread & Sewing Scrapbook Paper
Altoids Tin Insert Frames - Scalloped  

Altoids Tin Roof  

3mm Rhinestone Chain - Pink Mix  

Iridescent Plastic Pearls (Strands)  

Crystal Rhinestone Stick Pins  

Pear-Shaped Pearl Stick Pins - Gold  

7/8 Inch Fancy Fan Ivory Lace  

Moments in Time 6x6 Paper Pad    

Mini Button Cards Half SheetHalf Scale Books & Things Collage Sheet 

Floral Phone Holder for Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

This month I decided to make something a little less elaborate, but it's one of my favourite products from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts: the Tablet/Ipad/Phone Holder

I have three of these Phone holders around my house and I use them every day.

I know, I know... "but I could just prop my phone against something." That's what I thought too, but I really do love my little holders, use them daily and find them so useful.

Plus, it's a fun little project to work on. A little project to express your own style that takes up just a short time, a very few supplies, and is practical! Woo hoo, right?!?!

I've made a quick video walkthrough with a few tips like adding embellishment to the far edges rather than the centre. You can find it HERE 

You can get as elaborate or restrained as you like. Create something to suit your own style and tastes... but here are all the supplies I used to create this version of the Tablet/Ipad/Phone Holder.

Tablet/Ipad/Phone Holder
Lace Frame
Graphic 45 Floral Shoppe - PINK LILIES
Graphic 45 Floral Shoppe - Chipboard Tags
Thin Looped Dresden Borders - Pink
1 Inch Curly Paper Roses - Variegated Yellow Pink
Butterfly Charm
Acrylic paint