Moving Right Along

Happy September!

How the blazes are ya? Did you have a fine August? Hope so.

Me? I'm well.

Not too sure what to write about today though... Funny, eh? I've been away for a whole month so you'd think I'd have a million things to report on. But hmm, I'm a little stumped...

Oh, I know!

I'll catch you up on the basement work room move okay? Remember this ⬇?

That's right. I had this big plan to switch areas with The Boy. It took me a while to build up the courage and momentum to actually DO it but I did manage. Eventually... Hey, I'm slow.

So anyway, Lo and I have been busy as beavers turning this area into a place suitable for working and creating. We've cleaned and purged. We've painted, we've trimmed. We've moved furniture, we've organized all my stuff. There are still a few things left to do (not the least of which is working on The Boy's area). But things are looking pretty snazzy, and moving along at a nice pace now.

Here's a peak at one little corner...

I promise to show more in a bit, but that's all you're getting for now...

Have a great day!

♥M

You Guest It: The Bushcrafter

Today's "You Guest It" features one of those crafts that makes you go: "That's AWE-SOME!" In fact, I believe those exact words fell out of my mouth when I first laid eyes on it. So let us not dilly dally. Let us get to it, shall we? Coming to you all the way from Sweden, welcome the talented Jenny a.k.a. The Bushcrafter!

***

Hi!

My name is Jenny. I'm so glad to be a part of this wonderful "You Guest It" series that Michele has set up for us all to enjoy. I am a textile crafter and I call myself "The Bushcrafter". I am a soul-centered creator and also an artist and teacher. In me, I have some sort of fabric spirit who wants, pretty much, nothing else but to create. So I let it.

You know. Let spirit be what spirit is.

I would say we are all crafters. In one way, or another. When I'm faced with a problem, I try to solve it by using what I have. That's crafting for me. I enjoy melding crafting and recycling together, making the ordinary into beauty. Today I'm sharing how to embellish your egg carton with cross stitch. In this project we are using the whole egg carton and adding the sparkle with threads and colour.

With a few easy steps you can create your own beautiful box. Embroidering on an egg carton is easy-peasy, just follow these instructions.

For this project you will need:

1. An egg carton

2. Needle

3. Thread

Peel off any stickers from the egg carton. If you have print on the carton, you could try to painting the top.

Draw a pattern on a piece of paper. Place the paper on the box and push the pin all the way through in all corners.

Start sewing the first colour:

Until it looks like this:

You can embroider the sides of the carton too if you want.

Voila! You are done. You can now use it to keep your favorite things safe.

Here I store my pastel threads. You might want to use it for your jewelery or your buttons. It´s your choice!

***

You must admit that this is great, right? I mean the combination of recycling and crafting alone makes me want to do a jig. But the embroidery? On an egg carton? Well, that sends me head-long into a cha cha cha!

Other creations by Jenny "The Bushcrafter" that I recommend you not miss:

• The "We Are Stardust" Embroidery and Patchwork Pillow
• How to Weave a Strawberry
• The Guardian Angel of Winter

And while you're at it, pop into her shop because some of these beauties are actually available for purchase there.

Thank you Jenny for letting me showcase your beautiful work on the blog today. What a true pleasure this has been for me!

♥M

P.S. Have an idea for an eco-craft? Submit a guest-post idea to Michele Made Me's "You Guest It"! Find those details HERE.

Foam Tray Landscape

The foam tray etching and painting experiment continues... I couldn't help myself. HAD to try another one. Gobs and gobs of fun, hee heeeeee...

Find the original instructions HERE.

♥M

Video Tutorial: Egg Carton Gift Bow

Hi there.

How've you been?

Me?

Oh good.

I took a bloggy break there eh? I've literally been away from this little place for a whole seven days... It went by like the wind. Been busy. I'm riding a learning curve the last little while. Learning all kinds of good stuff. Over the last week I've been focussing on video editing. In the not-too-distant future, my hope is to offer a mini-online class. The ability to edit video will go a long way in making that a reality, so I've been practicing practicing practicing like a little fiend.

Below is my very first 100%-Michele-made video! (Lo pretty much edited the first two. I pretty much just plied him with coffee...) This time, though, it was ALL me. Granted, it's not as polished as a Lo-made video, but you know what? That's okay. I'm a beginner right? Stephen Spielberg needn't fear for his job just yet. Still, I'm pleased with my maiden effort. The notion that I have the skills (sorta) to make a movie from start to finish is a little bit exhilarating, you know? Movies! I can make movies!!!

Anyway, blabber blabber blabber... Just show the darn video Michele.

Okay, okay. Here it is: My "Egg Carton Gift Bow Video Tutorial"!


Kinda similar to the last video, eh? I'm making a gift bow video series apparently, tee hee. If you're fond of recycled gift bow ideas there are a few more here, here and here. For a slew of other egg carton crafts, click here.

Have a lovely day now, won't you? See you in two shakes...

♥M

Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 3

Today marks THE END of the "Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along"! I'm so glad I did this. You know what? I quite enjoyed the easy-going pace of this little event. No hurries, no worries... And, in time, something pretty gets made. Joys! I will definitely be exploring the craft-along idea again in some form... Oh yeah baby.

As of last time, I believe we had made the birdie family which we set aside for the moment. And we had attached the lettering, like so...

So let us end our spring recraft-along on a high note. Let us build a nest for our chicks, get our mama bird settled in, and grow blossoms on our tree! You with me? Walk this way...

Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 3

Nest-Building

Step 1: Start with my secret little move, which is to remove that shiny layer of paper from a section of cracker or cereal box. Just stick your fingernail (or you could use a craft knife too) under the layer of shiny paper in one of the corners of your piece of cardboard and peel away that paper. You'll want to prepare a few differently-shaded pieces of cardboard in this way.
Step 2: Now cut your pieces into tiny strips. Mine are quite narrow, about 1/16"( 1.5mm) wide. Cut some of these tiny strips from the differently-shaded pieces of cardboard.

Step 3: Now, between the two major shoots of that bottom branch, start glueing on the strips every which way without going too far beyond that top branch. What I do is I round each strip between my fingers, apply glue to the center of the strip only and glue it on randomly. The ends of each strip should curl up.
Step 4: Continue adding strips until you've added about 20 of them, rounding each between your fingers and attaching them to the box to form a very rustic nest shape. Don't worry about ends that stick too far out. We will be trimming them once we've glued everything in place.
Step 5: Once you've added roughly 20 strips, it's time for the chicks to move in. You made those last time remember? Apply glue only to their bodies, allowing their heads to stick out freely beyond the upper branch. Continue glueing on the tiny strips behind, beside, below, and even directly onto the chicks themselves (to hide the bottom half of their bodies).

Note: This nest-construction process is so organic and so much fun to do. I want you to trust your building instincts and enjoy it!

Step 6: Now, I prepared a few curly strips to add extra dimension to the nest. Curl the strips by wrapping them firmly and carefully around a large yarn needle (or you could use a wooden skewer). Keep them on the needle or skewer for a few moments so they retain their curly shape.
Step 7: Apply glue to a couple spots on these curly strips and attach them to the nest in a few different places. After the nest has dried, trim it as desired. Pay particular attention to the word "Listening". I found that I had several strips obscuring it and needed to trim them up quite a bit.

Mama Moves In

Step 8: Now it's mama bird's turn! Glue her onto her branch as shown below. And as per the Loving is Listening Birds and Details Template, copy and cut out a worm and glue both wormy pieces under mama's beak. Yummy.

Bring On The Blossoms

Step 9:  Using the carbon paper and the lightest colour of cracker/cereal box cardboard, copy and then cut out several flowers. I made nine flowers all together.
Step 10:  Using a regular hole punch, punch out 9 pieces of confetti from a darker colour of cracker/cereal box cardboard. Glue a confetti circle to the center of each flower. To give each flower dimension, place each flower center on the eraser-end of a pencil and firmly bend down the petals.

Step 11:  Glue the simple flowers onto the branches. Finally, into your beautiful box place two or three jars, and fill those jars with flowers or twigs or sedges or whatever your little heart desires!

And now I think we're completely done... Aaah yes... It's a very pretty thing, isn't it? With Mother's Day just around the corner, I think this will do nicely, don't you?

Now, I will be keeping my eyes peeled for action in the Loving is Listening Flickr Group to see what magic pops up over there. The intent, of course, is to feature your versions of this craft right here on the blog. I'm very much looking forward to that, so don't forget to post your photos!

♥M

Previous posts in the Loving is Listening series: Introduction, Part 1, Part 2

Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 2

Hey, how are ya? Well, I hope!

Have you been following along with the Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along? If you've missed any of it, here are links to previous posts: Introduction and Part 1 (which includes a list of tools and materials). These should catch you up nicely. By this point, you should have a lovely box decorated with a set of branches.

Today we'll be biting off the next morsel... We'll be focussing on lettering and birds. Let's get started!

Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 2

Prepare the Lettering

Step 1:   Print off copies of the Love is Listening Lettering and the Loving is Listening Bird and Detail Templates. Use the carbon paper to transfer the words "Loving is" onto a dark-shaded cereal or cracker box.
Step 2:  Cut out the letters using a craft knife or pair of scissors. Remember the big secret I shared in Part 1?... That secret comes in quite handy at this point. It makes the cutting of letters possible with scissors. SO much easier, in my opinion. If you prefer to use a craft knife, remember to protect your work surface with a cutting mat or old phone book. And once you've cut out the word "is", you can apply a light coat of paint to it. I'm using my son's cake paints for the painty bits of this project. Use what you have available!

Step 3: Take out the remaining bit of the scrunched paper bag.
Step 4: Transfer the word "Listening" from the template to the paper bag using that carbon paper of yours.
Step 5: With your trusty pair of scissors, slowly cut out the word "Listening". Don't forget to cut out the dots for the "i"s.

Step 6 Optional: I reinforced my "Listening" by glueing it onto the remaining piece of paper bag and cutting the word out a second time. This makes the word doubly sturdy, and much easier to work with. Note that it's a lot easier to cut out the innards of letters like s, e and g using a craft knife.

Step 7: Glue the words onto the base according to the Full Template. Once all letters and words are in place, I like to, very carefully, place a light book on top to make sure everything lies flat while the glue dries.

Heep! It's coming along none too shabbily now, eh?

Hatch Some Birds

Step 8: Use the Loving is Listening Bird and Detail Template and the carbon paper to transfer the mama bird details onto a medium-shaded cereal or cracker box. Remember the secret? I used it here too. Cut out all the pieces. Use a regular hole punch to punch the bird's eye out. Be nice though!
Step 9: Use the cake paint (or whatever paint you have around) to paint the mama bird bits. I used the colour mauve with varying amounts of water to achieve different shades on pieces 1, 2, and 4. Similarly, I used the colour grey with varying amounts of water on pieces 5 and 6. I left piece 3 as is.

Step 10: Use a marker or bit of black paint to colour in the mama bird's eye on piece 5. Make sure that your eye aligns nicely with piece 6.
Step 11: Gather the mama bird pieces and layer them as you would if you were glueing them together. Do NOT glue them yet. Make sure they stack nicely and look good. Make small adjustments now by trimming with scissors if necessary. Once you're pleased with the look of your bird, glue all pieces together. Place a book on top to ensure the bird dries nice and flat.

Step 12: Use the Loving is Listening Bird and Detail Template and the carbon paper to transfer the baby bird details onto two different shades of cereal or cracker box. Cut out both pieces. Repeat this step for a second and even third chick if you like!
Step 13: Stack the pieces and glue them together.
Step 14: Add the little chick's eye dot with a black marker.

Set aside the mama bird and chickies for now... And remember if you have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know in the comments.

Next up: The Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along nest-building-flower decorating big finish!

♥M

All other "Loving Is Listening ReCraft-Along" posts: Introduction, Part 1, and Part 3 (finish)!

You Guest It: Artist in LA LA Land

On the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month here on Michele Made Me, I step aside and let some other crafty soul take care of things. Today I'm so happy to have the gifted Melissa of Artist in LA LA Land guest-post. Have you ever met her? Well now's your chance, eh? Please make her feel at home!

***

First of all, I wanted to thank Michele for this opportunity to do a DIY tutorial on her wonderful craft blog.  I've been following it for over a year and have shared all the DIY fun, joy and tears with her and all you blog readers.  It's a real honor to be here with you.

Today, I'm going to take you through the process to make a Springtime Bird Fold Out Wing Card. I've created different versions of this clever card (which is also an articulated paper doll) for my online shop and blog, Artist in LA LA Land. But I designed these ones special for you and they are made completely out of recycled paper and junk mail.

DIY Bird Fold Out Wing Cards by Artist in LA LA Land

Here are the supplies you'll need to get going on the Fold Out Wing Bird Cards:

• thin cardboard (the kind used for cereal boxes, tissus boxes and packs of soda or beer.) 
• glue 
• pencil 
• paper fasteners 
• self-healing mat or a thick surface you can cut on (like thick cardboard or an big old book. 
• scissors and craft knife (exacto-blade) 
• printable PDF I created for you at this link: Spring Birdie Fold Out Wing Card. It has the bird patterns and directions on it. 
• junk mail, old catalogs, old calendar, etc. (recycled paper for decorating) 

Read all the directions and print out the PDF. You could easily make the Bird Fold Out Wing Card on your own after reading the PDF, but let's do it together here, just to be extra sure of how to do it. Cut out all the PDF pattern parts and trace them onto the thin cardboard. Cut out the cardboard parts.

I think the fun part starts after you've done this prep work. Now, you get to decorate all those cardboard parts with your recycled paper. Choose the papers you want and think about how the colors and patterns will work together or not. I think since you've created quilts and done crafts before, you'll be pretty good at this. I only used paper, but feel free to use washi tape, old ribbons, glitter, scraps of paper or whatever you have in your craft supplies at home.

Trace around the cardboard parts onto your chosen paper. Cut out the pieces from the recycled paper. Then glue the paper to the cardboard. Take your time and make something really special and pretty. Remember both sides of the wings will need to be decorated. The rest of the pieces of cardboard will only need one side decorated.

After decorating the bird, glue on the pocket as the directions say (add glue just around the bottom edge of the pocket and stick it to the bottom of the bird above the tail).

When all the decorating and gluing is finished, you'll want to assemble the bird with the paper fasteners as the directions say (the wings to the wing tabs and the head to the body). I make a tiny "x" with my exacto blade to make holes for the paper fasteners, but you may have a tiny whole punch or an awl to do this.

Then repeat the same process for the rest of the birds, little bird, heart and egg. The little bird, heart and egg carry your special message to your recipient. When making the little bird, keep in mind you'll want to write a message on his belly and/or wings, so don't decorate with paper that won't allow you to write a message upon it. For the hearts and eggs, your message will be written on the blank side of the cardboard. 

When you've finished your Fold Out Wing Bird Cards, tuck either the little bird, heart or egg in the pocket of the big bird. Then fold closed the wings and insert him in an envelope. It will fit in an 8.75" x 5.75" envelope. Your recipient will be thrilled to receive this very special and very clever bird card. 

 

Not only do these birds carry your special message, but they can also be played with. The wings fold in and out, but they also flap up and down. I think that makes them twice as fun. Use them for mother's day and father's day which are coming up. And why not for a birthday, to say I LOVE YOU or to your special pen pals! There's lots you can do with them.

I think these three birds tell a story too. First, there was love as you can see with the fold out heart card. Next, there was a union made as you can see with the egg card. And finally, they made a family as you can see with the little, baby bird card. Have fun celebrating the best moments of your life with these special Bird Fold Out Wing Cards.

Thank you again for having me here on one of my favorite craft blogs!

***

As you can see, Melissa is a uniquely talented paper artist. She is also a busy papier-maché sculptor, blogger and shop owner. If you visit her Artist in LA LA Land blog, you'll quickly come to realize just how prolific this young woman is, and how very open she is about her art-making process. I particularly enjoy seeing some of the custom orders she works on. For example, take a look at this one-of-a-kind custom squirrel wedding invitation she recently designed! Pretty amazing, eh? But that's just the tip of the iceberg... Here are a few more tasty links to get you started:

Conjoined Twins Papier-Maché Sculpture

More gorgeous (and free) printable PDF paper-play

Bunny Love painting from the Weekly Bunny Painting Series

Artist in LA LA Land Etsy Shop

Thank you Melissa for your beautiful Bird Fold Out Wing Card guest-post. I'm so happy you could come and share your talent with us today. What a super way to start the day!

♥M

P.S. Have an idea for an eco-craft? Seeking a new audience? Consider submitting a guest-post idea to Michele Made Me's "You Guest It"! Check out the details HERE.

Loving Is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 1

Happy happy Tuesday!


In case you missed it, on Saturday I introduced the "Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along". That intro is here for your perusal, btw. Now that the idea is out there, I'm most anxious to hit the ground running. If you have any questions big or small, do leave them in the comments okay? And remember that I will be answering recraft-along questions in the comments so readers can share them equally.

So today we will (1) list the tools and materials you'll need for the recraft-along, (2) prepare the base, and (3) create the branch element. You ready? Let's do this!

Loving Is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 1

First things first. Here is the complete list of stuff you'll need for the recraft-along.

Tools and Materials

• A few cracker boxes or cereal boxes in various shades (In other words, try to find boxes with a variety of neutral colours on the insides.)
• If you'll be decorating a large cereal box, as I am, you'll need a large cereal box for the base. I'm using a 525 g box of Cheerios.
• Medium size brown paper bag
• Iron
• Carbon paper (for transferring the design)
• Child's set of cake paints or watercolours
• Paintbrush
• Newspaper or something to cover your work surface
• Craft knife or utility knife
• Pair of scissors
• Regular hole punch
• Pencil and eraser
• Ruler
• PVA (white) glue
• Masking tape (for clamping)
• Black marker (I use the Sharpie brand)
• Cutting surface
• Yarn needle (or wooden skewer)
• The templates: Loving is Listening Full Template, Loving is Listening Birds and Details Template, Loving is Listening Branches Template, Loving is Listening Lettering Template
• a printer to print the templates

Note: The "Loving is Listening" Design is for personal use only. Please do not make items for sale from this design. Thanks!

In Saturday's post I suggested a few ways in which to use the "Loving Is Listening" design. For the purposes of this recraft-along I will be focussing on decorating a cereal box. But do feel free to frame your finished piece, or make a gift box, or whatever tickles your little fancy!

Prepare The Base

For my base, I'll be using a large family size cereal box. If it helps, this one contained 525g (~18oz) of cereal. Let's start by removing the top edge of the box and turning the whole thing inside out.

Step 1: With your fingers, carefully pry open the box at the seam and flatten it out. With a ruler and pencil, mark a line 5 cm (2 inches) from the top of the box. Cut off the top of the box at the line with a utility knife.
Step 2: Now simply re-fold the box so that the lovely neutral inner surface is now on the outside. I apply glue to the narrow side flap and bottom flaps. At this point, I use a few pieces of masking tape to clamp the gluey flaps temporarily in place until the glue dries. Note that I don't fully flatten out the bits of masking tape. I leave the corners of the tape curling up so that it's easy to take off again. Once the glue is set, I remove the masking tape slowly to avoid lifting and marring the surface of the cardboard.

We'll now take out a paper bag and use it to finish the top inner surface of the box.

Step 3: Grab your paper bag. Cut off the bag bottom and cut it open along the seam.
Step 4: Scrunch up the bag several times. Do this carefully so as not to rip it. Scrunch and re-scrunch until it is evenly wrinkled throughout.
Step 5: Press your paper flat with a dry iron.

Step 6: Cut out a few wide strips from your paper. My strips are 3 inches wide but you could go wider if you like. You'll need enough length to go around the inner top edge of the box.
Step 7: Apply glue to the entire outer edge of the paper strip. 
Step 8: Place the gluey strip flush with the inner top edge of your box. Flatten and pinch the strip in place along the edge making sure it is adhering nicely all the way around. Beauty.

The box is now ready to decorate! 

Note: If you happen to be turning this into a gift box, HERE is a post that suggests some creative ideas for nifty handles. Now would be the optimal time to install handles, by the way.

Make The Branches

Step 9: Use the link provided in the "tools and materials" list to download a copy of the Branches Template. Print it out. Use a sheet of carbon paper to transfer the branch design to the inside of one of your larger cereal boxes.
Step 10: Cut out the branch. I used both a utility knife and pair of scissors to cut my branch out. Fine details are more easily handled with a utility or craft knife.
Step 11: Paint the branch. I used The Boy's black cake paint on my branch. Yes, I asked permission. Allow the paint to dry. If your branch curls, place it under a heavy book for a while to flatten it out again.

Now I'm about to share ONE OF MY BIG SECRETS for using cereal and cracker box CARDBOARD in my crafts. Ya ready? Y'excited? Okay here goes...

You know that shiny layer of paper that covers every cereal and cracker box? I sometimes (though not always) peel it off. Especially if I want to get amazing adhesion between cardboard layers. What I do is I just stick my fingernail between that top layer of shiny paper and the rest of the cardboard and peel the dang thing off. I throw the peelings back into the recycling bin whence they came, and I'm left with a supremely glueable surface!!!... (Okay, maybe it's not that exciting, but still.)

So for example, once I've cut out the branch...

Step 12: I peel off most of that silly layer of shiny paper and then I apply the glue to my branch. See?
Step 13: And finally (for today), I attach the branch to the box and stick a light book on top to make sure it is super-glued on there. Nope, that baby ain't goin' nowhere.

Oh and by the way, if you happen to take any process photos, feel free to share them in the dedicated "Loving is Listening Flickr Group", yes sir. And lastly there's new "Loving is Listening Button" down in the sidebar there for ya, in case you're joining along!

Next up:  Taking a break for an extremely lovely "You Guest It" on Thursday. I'll be back on Saturday with the next installment of the "Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along". Until then, you have a great week!

♥M

All other posts from the "Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along": Introduction, Part 2 and Part 3 (Finish)