TEA BAG tutorial

 i cannot take credit for this design.  i bought the svg.file at www.silhouetteonlinestore.com  if you have this file and open it, you'll find it quite intimidating.  my first time making this took me longer to figure out the file than to actually put it together.  like anything....once you've done it, you have that 'ah ha' moment! 

this is the file. i've color coded into groups to make it easier to understand what goes where.

the orange is the patterned paper. the brown is the base, and as you can see, if you're using a 12" mat, it won't all fit. you'll have to make two cuts.  i've lightened the one pc. because i'm not entirely sure what it does other than give the box a 'little more structure'.  i do use it, but i think you could 'go without this one'.

use a good heavyweight cardstock for your base..as with most boxes.  

the two black squares are for the bottom base and for the top of the cover.  i don't use the top one.  i just don't like the looks so i'll be leaving this out.  but wanted you to know its there to use if you want. you'll have to adjust the instructions if you'll be using this. 

i broke up the group to cut the patterned paper.  obviously i don't want the same patterns for the top and bottom.

they made the file so it would fit a 12" mat.  not everyone has access to a larger mat.  therefore the box itself is made up of 2 parts. you'll want to put your adhesive on the top of the flaps on 2 sides and bottom. in the picture i have it on all 4....that is a mistake...the adhesive needs to go on the bottom of the top flap. you will know what is top and bottom.  the flaps on both box pcs.  will match. (one is a bit bigger)

now lets put it together.  line it up making sure the folds match.  

never mind the little notes...you can't see them anyway.  

now while you can lay it flat is when you want to put your patterned paper on.

  i get some cardboard or chipboard and cut 2, the same size as that base, glue them together then adhere this 3 1/2" x 3".  this gives the base of the box stability and strength.  

here is the piece i think you could live without. but i do use it..i adhere it to the inside and base.

put your top together and while still flat, add your patterned papers.

the finished box...i added a 'tea text'...i kinda like that!  

all this tea talk has made me want a cup of tea....i hope this is easy to follow.  let me know if you have any questions.  thanks for visiting.  sure would love to hear from you if you visit.

(((hugs)))

DEM DARNED DINGBATS

if you've ever seen a 'DINGBAT' font, you'll know there are several different styles.  what fun!  although some are quite easy to use, others are a little more tricky.  i like to challenge myself, mostly because after all the teeth gritting, mumbling choice words under my breath and scratching my head wondering what the.......they really are nice when all is said/done.  before you even get started, do you like putting puzzles together?  that's exactly what you'll be doing if you've chosen one like this with all its' bitty pcs.  so let's have some fun!

if you have alot of small pcs, i would suggest making it large enough without it tearing when being cut. i made mine large enough to fit on an 8 1/2"x4 3/4 card.  i love the black cardstock from walmart.  when placing your cut, give yourself at least 1" on all sides of the cut so it looks like this:

carefully remove the negative, leaving your cut on your mat.  you may have a few rips and tears, but this is probably the hardest part getting that off without pcs coming with it..just pay attention to your pcs and where they are.  once your negative is off your mat, you'll have this:

next i get the piece i'll be putting the cut on... ready by just tacking it down so it won't move on my workspace.  then, lining up your negative straight over the top and using removeable adhesive, tack that down as well.

 
don't let this scare you off.  it isn't as bad as it looks.  

start taking your pieces off the mat, (i always start at one end and go as much in order as i can) and with a glue pen start 'putting your puzzle' together.  as i go along, i'll start snipping away at the neg. to get rid of paper in my way.  just be careful to 'not snip away' what you'll still need. 

you may want to gently keep lifting your neg. every so often to make sure it isn't getting glued down.

once all your pcs are glued in place, gently take off the rest of your negative and rub away any temporary adhesive.  now you're ready to place your mat onto your card base. 

now it's time to embellish.  

i wasn't for sure if the cross part was negative or positve, so i took the pieces and put them on the inside. either way i think it would look ok.   this also give a little  'extra' in the card.

unfortunately, when you download a dingbat font, the name of it doesn't come along...when i open mine, i get images of the alphabet.  this is some asian one, i don't know.  but it has some really cool dingbats!  i 'think' these are the letters T-U-V.  play around and have fun!  i think the dragon at the top might be a letter K.

just don't let these cool images scare you.  i really like them!  there is a really nice christmas dingbat that when you put some of the letters together, make nice borders.  another dingbat has childrens heros...too cool!  best of all!  they're free at  www.dafont.com 

thanks for visiting.

(((hugs)))

THE LEGEND OF THE PICKLE

we've had this tradition in our family as long as i can remember.  this Christmas was no exception with the first one to mention...'OH.....WHERE'S THE PICKLE' in hopes to grab an extra gift.  you would think they'd look without 'reminding' everyone....so...'THE SCRAMBLE BEGINS' to find the elusive cucumber. our little green ornament has been around the tree for a few yrs and has seen better days.  i  wish i'd taken a picture of its demise before retiring it into the circular file.  it did serve it's last purpose over this Christmas Eve, for one last time. broken and slightly dangerous for grabbing hands as i feared someone is gonna lose a finger!  

my daughter Jerri was the lucky one this year with her daughter looking on with envy. the others booing and jeering...(in the background).  me? just glad the tree survived 6 people trying to find a needle in a haystack!  and glad no-one got cut on that dang pickle!

and sooo, another year with a 'special memory' and each year arguing who won the year before.  but now what do i do now that we have no pickle?   is this the end?

gotta love the day after Christmas sales, which i say i'm never going to do, and last til about 1pm when i can't take it anymore and grab my coat/purse/keys and jump in the car. 

not too hard to figure out what i found on the clearance rack!  yup!  although our 'old' friend was much smaller, about 2 1/2" long (before the end was broken), the ones on the rack are the biggest ugliest pickles i ever did see!  over 4" long bright shiny, 'i mean SHINY'. how in the heck do you hide this thing in a tree? well! i have no choice but to buy them...and know what?  i got one for each of the kids too....now they can knock their own trees down. lol. 

i'll make it extra special and pack them each in their own little box for storing.

i used 'ARTISTE' cricut cartridge for the box..(if you want this cart, you can order it through me here at www.katschriber.ctmh.com or your own CTMH consultant.   to fit the pickle i designed my box on my gypsy and cut with my expression. bottom box w-10.90 h-3.36 and the top w-9.47 h 3.36.

using my SCOR-PAL, i scored the fold lines.  using 'SOOKWANG" scor tape..(love this stuff) taped all the flaps.  this stuff is awesome. and i believe it will last forever! well, mabye a real long time!

to get a good bond on the flaps i suggest taping them on the flaps as shown.

adding a little support on the inside helps too.  plus the 'legend information' for those of us who don't remember things too well. (me)

of course i have to make the box 'look nice'...like 'a gift'. i didn't want to put anything with dimension on the outside, as this will be stored with Christmas decorations and would probably getting squashed or knocked off.  so i left it as flat as i thought it should be.  

i can't wait to hear 'their' stories of their pickles with the kids!

and this is the end of my story for the 

'LEGEND OF THE PICKLE'

i hope you all have a safe, healthy and prosperous

NEW YEAR!

(((hugs)))

Post-It note holders

after posting some pictures on facebook of my post-it holders, i was asked to do a tutorial.  now i may have gone overboard on the instructions, but felt i'd better cover all the bases.  first off, i can't take full credit for the 'how to'.  forgive me, but i forgot to make a note of the lady who shared hers with instructions.  if it is 'you', i'll be happy to acknowledge you and give you credit.  meanwhile, i've added a few of my own instructions to step it up to 'my' liking. 

the finished holder.  (yeh, i'm a little backwards) 

with good quality heavy black cardstock, you can get 3 base holders from one 8 1/2" x 11" sheet.

base is: 7 1/2" x 3 1/4" 

scored at:  3 1/2" and 4"

choose your design and papers. i love graphic 45 papers.  everything co-ordinates and it makes it easy to pull together. but there are many 'kit's and pads that you can work with.  i'll probably move on to other styles one day, but for now, this just sets right with me.  i cut my mats at 3" x 3 3/4" with a 1/4" for the middle of the holder 'inside and out'.  not only does it look nice, but strengthens the whole thing as well.  you can mat again over this with a 2 3/4" by 3".  i didn't in this particular one, but in some of the pics of the other holders, you can see that i did!  

embellishing these are fun.  here, i used art philosophy to cut the flowers at default size. (i think it was 2 1/2")  use whatever you want.  buttons, bling, jewelry....whatever!

i make alot of my own chipboard.  this is just cardboard from boxes, cereal, whatever i can get my hands on....i save it all!  i just a couple to the thickness i want, glue together, then glue to the back of what i want 'popped up'. easy peasy.  just cut it a little smaller than what you're 'popping up'.

putting it together.  this is fun.  i ran into a problem where i didn't have the color bling to match my flower.  luckily, i had some acrylic paints.  (i think i had this for 2 yrs and the seal was still on it...lol) i had some martha stewart off white gems and i just stuck them on some scrap paper so i could dip them in the bottle of paint.  lordy, it was messy, and i worked right over my waste basket...it took me a few times of moving it around and heating it til i got it where i wanted it.  they're not as shiny as i'd like.  haven't figured out how to do that yet.  but i got the color i wanted.  yay me!  this is the first time i've done this!  i love it!  a little messy, but heck, you'll get a perfect match if you own all the colors...hahaha..oh brother!

now i don't know about you, but i don't and never have trusted the little sticky pads on the bottom of bling.  i've been taking mine off and using my scotch quick dry glue for yrs.  it can be a challenge, and i've  poked myself many times spilling my precious blood....'oh never mind'...just be careful.  the sticky pads don't stay sticky and they 'will' come off.  so this is why i take mine off and glue.

wow! my fingers look like a crafter.  

next, and lastly, just add a couple strips of glue.  i use my ATG gun. apply the post it squarely and up to the first scor-line so it's a snug, clean fit.  no gaps.  

there you have it.  i hope you make some and share your pics.  i'm always open for more ideas.  

thanks for visiting.  feel free to leave a comment.

oh...before i go, i want to show you some other post-it note holders i've made.  i hope they inspire you to make some.  

(((HUGS)))