Stacy's Paper Crafts

Handmade Bows

I am THAT Mom who barks "save the bows!" as gifts are unwrapped Christmas morning. LOL I wish I had known how easy they were to make! If you have a little time and some pretty paper you'll have another excuse to avoid the holiday crowds and long lines at your local Target or Walmart.

I used SVG cut files & my Silhouette Came to create all of these bows, but you really don't need a fancy cutting machine or template to create these more traditional roundish style bows.

Maria from A Homemade Living has a great tutorial with step-by-step photos on how she creates her bows using some simple strips of paper. If you prefer a video tutorial, I found this one to be helpful...

 

To make a layered bow simply cut strips from coordinating paper a bit narrower in width than your first layer. Start at about 1/4 in. narrower and adjust according to your preference. Adhere the narrower strips on top of the wider ones using a glue stick before assembling your bow. You can use almost any type of paper to create bows including wrapping paper, paper from old books, paper bags, scrapbooking paper, copy paper, ect. I like to use patterned paper or glittered cardstock for my top layer, and 65lb. weight cardstock for the main layer. It creates a super sturdy bow!

I used my hot glue gun to assemble my bows, It really sped up the process and reduced the drying time significantly allowing me to make a bunch of bows in a short amount of time! January is my birthday month and also the time of year that I like to work on replenishing my Birthday and Thank You card stash. Since I had bows on my mind I created some birthday themed ones to use this coming year...

If you're curious like me, you'll be on the hunt for different styles of bows to create! Pinterest and Youtube are a great places to start, happy bow making!

 

Crayola Model Magic Helpful Tips

 

A few months ago I was doing some cleaning and came across an ornament my son made in preschool about 20 years ago. That sounds so crazy to me, 20 years! Anyway, I'm pretty sure it was created using Crayola Model Magic, or a product similar to it. It's in pristine condition! It's super lightweight, has somewhat of a pliable texture, but it's also durable and holds shapes amazing well. I thought it would be perfect for creating some faux food ornaments! I've only seen it locally in a handful of colors but apparently it's available in about 12 different colors. I purchased a few 4oz packs in white hoping that it could painted after it "cured."

Helpful Tip #1: Prime your with Gesso!

It is paintable but it requires a few coats to achieve good coverage. Unfortunately, when I went to apply the second coat, it pulled up the first coat in some areas. I shaped and molded a second batch of ornaments and allowed them to "cure" for about 24 hours. I then applied two coats of Gesso, allowing each coat to dry completely before applying the next. The Gesso helped the Model Magic to accept the paint and allowed me to apply a second coat of paint without pulling the first coat.

After my paint was completely dried I used Puffy Paint to apply the frosting to my cookie and donuts ornaments. I applied the "sprinkles" and glitter to the paint while it was wet and used my finger to very gently pat the sprinkle bits into the paint to ensure that they'd stay in place once the paint dried, and then left them to dry overnight

Helpful Tip #2: Use Matte Medium to protect & seal

After the puffy paint was dry I added two coats of Matte Medium to seal the puffy paint, "sprinkles," and glitter in place. Be sure to use a thin application of the Matte Medium and allow the first coat to dry before applying the second. You can apply additional coats if necessary. The thin application will reduce the amount of noticeable brush strokes and texture after drying. You could also use a glossy gel medium if you prefer a glossier finish. Mod Podge would probably be a good substitution as well. I prefer Matte Medium because I always get a ton of brush strokes when using Mod Podge and it annoys me LOL.

Helpful Tip #3: Use to create heavy items

The Model Magic worked great for heavier ornaments like the donuts and pretzels! I used air dry clay for my first few donut and pretzel ornaments and they are really quite heavy. I had to be strategic in placing them on my tree because some branches weren't strong enough to hold them, and others left the branches drooping leaving big gaps.

I hope you found these tips to be helpful!

Christmas 365?

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I know that many of us are often left exhausted after all the Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities and are anxious to pack it all away until next year. I can usually keep the party going through January! LOL However this will not be the case for me this year. I'll take down my tree and pack away the Christmas decorations, but I'm planning to keep my Christmas crafting supplies out so that I can continue on with all the projects that I wanted to create.

This past year I have really enjoyed following Jill aka Greenwood Girl Cards, and host of Saturday Morning makes #satmornmakes, along with her fellow collaborators. Apparently she works year round creating Christmas cards and tags for her loved ones. She recently shared a video showcasing her efforts for 2022 and I love it! You can check it out by clicking below.

I usually start thinking about Christmas in July, but my health makes it challenging to really stick to a schedule because I never know how I'm going to feel day to day. Each and everyday is different unfortunately, but I think if I make it a point to create something every month, that will give me an additional 5-6 months to create and I'll be able to tackle more on my Christmas holiday list!

Although I got distracted by all the crafty things and sidelined by illness most of this month, I did get a chance to create some really cute ornaments. I stared out strong with my gingerbread man cards, but then I got wrapped up in making faux cookie ornaments instead!

and chocolate covered pretzels...

And chocolate donuts...

and patterned paper ornaments...

especially the 3D kinds like this one...

I ended up making about 25 ornaments! I'm looking forward to adding some gingerbread men and little gingerbread houses to the mix for next year. Did you create any ornaments for your tree this year? I'd love to hear about them.

Thanks for stopping by today!

It's Gingerbread Season!

I know that many people associate gingerbread with Christmas. I don't think gingerbread should be restricted to a single season, but I have to admit that there just is something about Christmas and the Winter season that makes gingerbread a special treat! This year I'm going all in, on a budget of course, with all things gingerbread and candy land themed for my decor. I already know that I won't have time to do all of the things I'm envisioning before the season ends, but I'll be working like a busy Elf on Christmas Eve to get as much as I can done!  

 

This gingerbread man image was at the top of my list to create with! If you've been stamping for a long time you may have this image as a rubberstamp. Pickled Potpourri Designs currently has it available as a digital stamp, Ginger Joy. I started by folding an A2 sized card and adhered a layer of patterned paper to the center. I then got to work coloring the gingerbread man using Copic markers and Polychoromos Colored Pencils. I printed him out a second time so that I could color and fussy cut his bow, which I then adhered using foam tape. I then used a stitched oval die to frame him, and then cut 3 additional ovals, stacked and adhered them all together to give the gingerbread man a little dimension on the card front.

 

I used some white Nuvo drops with some superfine glitter sprinkled on top of it while it was still wet to highlight the icing. I used a fine point Posca paint pen to add a few white dots to the gingerbread man's cheeks. I used some white glittered twine to thread the tiny buttons which I attached using my new mini Surebonder dual temperature hot glue gun. My old one was literally a hot stringy, gluey mess! I love this new one so, so, so much! It's so much "tidier" and is easier to create with, without leaving my project, workspace, and hands covered in gluey spiderwebs! Apparently there is also a cordless version available which is pretty awesome! The corded version I have doesn't have a very long cord, nonetheless I'm really happy using with this one! Anyway, Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you'll join me this month celebrating the season with candy and gingerbread!