Personalised Cufflink Tutorial

This year I'm making my own crackers so wanted to make some gifts to go inside. Gifts for the girls are easy but I had to get my thinking cap on for the boys. This is where I came up with the idea of making cufflinks. I managed to buy some cufflink blanks on eBay along with clear cabochons. The cufflink blanks I brought were 18mm circles with a rim so they work with cabochons. 

These cufflink blanks worked out to under 70p a pair. 

The cabochons were around £2 for 10.

I've made personalised cufflinks for some of my crackers which I won't post on here (in case they see them) so I'll show you below using fabric but will also explain how to use photos/pictures/text.

You will need:

Cufflink blanks with a rim for cabochons 

The correct size cabochons for your cufflinks (mine were 18mm circles)

Glue (I used collall all purpose as recommended by Beaders Companion)

Fabric or patterned paper - or images on a computer, printer and paper.

If you are using images from your computer, to get the right size changed your screen zoom to 100%. I used CraftArtist to sort my pictures but you can also use Word (copy the picture into Word). With the zoom on 100% you can hold your cabochon up to the screen and resize the picture until it fits the cabachon (as at 100% you will be able to see exactly the size it will print). When you've got the right sizing print this out onto good quality paper or matt photo paper and print at a high quality setting. I tried printing on normal paper but as my pictures were detailed and so small it got a bit fuzzy but it was fine on matt photo paper) 

Now whether your using fabric, patterned paper or printed images you will need to get a cabachon and put a bit of glue on the flat side and then stick this on your image/fabric in the position you want. If you are using fabric put a nonstick mat under it or the glue can go through the fabric and stick to whatever's under it. 

Now leave it dry

Once dry cut the excess fabric/paper from round the cabachon (much easier once stuck and dry as fabric won't fray plus it's very hard to damage the image/fabric under the cabachon)

Now put a bit if glue in the cufflink blank but not too much as it does spread and will come out the sides. 

Now press the cabachon into the cufflink blank and wipe away any excess glue (or rub the glue off if using collall all purpose)

Leave to dry and ta-dah 

My Sisters Christmas Cards

Finally got my bum in gear and started my sisters Christmas cards. I've done quite a lot of mine (hunkydory kits) but still have cards to do for my sister, parents and parents company and Christmas is sneaking up fast!

I brought the Mulberry Woods kit for myself initially (in the sale in July) but then my sister loved it so I said she could have cards with it, plus it meant I would have to buy the Hunkydory kits (I think I was just looking for an excuse!)

I made the below cards with the Crafters Companion Mulberry Woods Christmas kit along with some card blanks, peel offs & sequin dots from the DoCrafts goody bag. I also added in some die cut snowflakes.

Halloween Pumpkins

I love carving pumpkins but hate getting all those seeds an bits out (they also make the floor terribly slippery). My husband and I usually like to carve up pumpkins in intricate designs such as these two which are a ghost pirates ship and a vampire and his victim from last year.

 We printed designs onto a4 paper then pricked the paper through the paper onto the pumpkins with a cocktail stick, removed the paper and cut out the design. When we first did them we didn't think they looked very good but when it got dark and we lit the tea lights they were amazing.

I did want to do pumpkins this year but as Halloween falls on a Thursday we wouldn't have really had time to carve pumpkins unless we did them at the weekend and then they would have either been blown away by the awful winds today or rotted. I was looking to try an idea I saw by Martha Stewart where she used a drill and made a lace doily design - isn't this amazing! I think I will be trying this next year 

Christmas Cracker Hat Craft Tutorial

This year I've decided to make my own crackers. I decided this just after Christmas and then it became much easier with the Tonic cracker dies which they started selling in the summer (early I know but you have to be prepared!)

So I have the crackers theirselves sorted but I wanted to make my own hats as a cracker isn't a cracker without a paper hat. Today (27th October 2013) it was really handy as Aldi had a special on lots of Christmas wrapping including tissue paper so I sent my husband off with a list of things to get when he popped round there (it's virtually next door to us) while I slept off my migraine (grrrr). With all this windy weather my husband told me he was nearly run over by the outdoor plant shelving units on wheels! Luckily he ran out the way. 

So my husband came back with a pack of tissue paper, curling ribbon and fabric ribbon. I just said 'get any design' as my migraine had taken hold and he came back with the ones I actually wanted so that was amazing (I wouldn't have minded design as long as I had the actual items)

So now to the tutorial. To make paper hats for crackers you will need:

Scissors

A ball point pen (I used a white ball gel pen)

Double-sided tape

Ruler

Tissue paper (you will need enough to make 2 pieces 31cm x 12.5cm for each hat).

1. Get your tissue paper and measure and cut into two pieces that at 31cm x 12.5cm (if you have tissue paper 61cm long you can just cut this 12.5cm tall)

2. Use double-sided tape and stick this on one end of each piece of tissue paper. (If you are just using one piece 61cm long just put tape at one end) 

3. Stick the two pieces of tissue paper together to make a round piece of tissue paper. NOTE: Make sure if you are using a pattern that as to be up a certain way that you stick the paper together with both pieces up the right way)

4. Fold the hat flat so it looks like the below.

5. Mark every 5cm and then folder that hat in a concertina way.

6. Snip the top of the hat diagonally 

7. Ta-da you now have a paper cracker hat!

Just fold and put it in your cracker ready for Christmas (don't forget to put a present and joke in your cracker too!)

I made my hats in a few different patterns. You could also print on white tissue paper and make your own personalised hats (I've not been brave enough to print on tissue paper yet)

You can also make smaller hats for children or make a curvy line instead of a zig-zag. I did try to punch shapes out of tissue paper but found as it was so delicate it tore the paper but worked if I put paper in the punch with the tissue paper. 

With my tissue paper due to the size I had off cuts so I used them to decorate some tags for my gift wrap so very little wastage.

Yey! I'm a Spectrum Noir Accredited Alcohol Marker Colorist

Since I found out about Spectrum Noir alcohol markers I've wanted to do the accreditation. When I started crafting I started with ProMarkers, but then won a Spectrum Noir giveaway and was sent a six pack of greys and loved the numbering system (I never knew which pens blended in ProMarkers). I quickly amended my Christmas list and replaced ProMarkers with Spectrum Noirs and my lovely parents brought me my first bulk of Spectrum Noir pens last Christmas. 

I've printed off the accreditation test sheets a number of times but my blending skills weren't great, I'd do two great examples and then mess up the third and then find the test had changed as I'd taken so long to get round to doing it, then I got the latest Crafters Inspirations magazine from Crafters Companion and found the Spectrum Noir CD-Rom so helpful, especially the hair colouring as I could never get the hang of it even though I was watching YouTube tutorials, everyone seemed to do it differently.

Two weeks ago I completed the test, then kept going back to it, then re-did it as I didn't feel happy with it. I was so worried I'd get an email back telling me it was all wrong so thought I'd re-do it until I was happy with it myself. I sent it off and then got an email a few days later and was so worried it was going to say it was wrong, but it just said they'd received it. 

This evening I got an email, and luckily in the preview on my phone I saw it said I'd passed! I'm so happy as I've wanted to do this for ages and I got a certificate too. I love colouring in and now I have something to say I'm good at it with Spectrum Noir pens.

I was given some pointers on the dimension section about blending my dark colours more which was the only bit of the test I wasn't completely happy with myself either so I'm going to be working on that more to improve.

So now I can put my Spectrum Noir blinkie up! Yey! A great start to the weekend. I'm just so happy, it sounds silly, but I really am.

 

You can find out more about Spectrum Noir and the accreditation programme at http://www.spectrumnoir.com/accreditations/

Pet Advent Calendar Jar

While doing my food shopping I saw they had a chicken Dreamies advent calendars which would be perfect for my Pygmy hedgehog Spike but as he loves chicken Dreamies however as Dreamies are for cats the packaging was cat based and it came with a cat toy.....so I set about making my own advent calendar for Spike and came up with this which can be re-used each year!

An advent calendar jar for Spikes treats!

I brought the car in Hobbycraft for under £3 then used the embossing folder from the latest Crafters Inspirations magazine. For the count down I used a tag as the base and then printed out a countdown 

I printed the count down (along with the date in the corner) on Centura Pearl paper (so it's got a gold sheen). I cut them to shape on the guillotine then I used a perforating blade on my paper trimmer to perforate the top of each dated paper square so that I can easily tear off each date (then I'll know if he has already had his advent treat). I then stacked the pieces in date order and stuck them to each other along the top seam (although next time I would use tacky glue as it's far quicker and easier to line up)

I then decorated the jar with glitter snowflake stickers, Merry Christmas stickers and attached some bells onto the jar handle (all from the DoCrafts Christmas craft goody bag).

Now all that's left to do is fill the jar with Dreamies or some hedgehog friendly biscuits (if I can find a recipe)

I'm going to be making another similar jar for my parents dog and fill it with dog treats or homemade dog biscuits.

I loved making this and in the end it's cost me around the same as the Dreamies ready made advent calendar but I can re-use this each year (obviously I'll have to stick a new count down on or he'll think it's Christmas every day!)

Blog Candy on Pan Pastels UK Challange Blog

Pop over to the Pan Pastels UK Challenge Blog and enter their competition to win over £120 of crafty stash including Pan Pastels, mask and stamps

Just visit http://panpasteluk.blogspot.co.uk/and enter

I don't have any Pan Pastels yet but I'm looking to get the amazing metallic ones as they look so good on embossed images.