I Spy Mind's Eye!

 Aren't these patterns and colors beautiful!!  They all came in one big paper pack called the Lost and Found collection from My Mind's Eye.  I cut the pieces up in all sorts of sizes, then had fun putting them together.  Reminded me of a jig saw puzzle.

I edged all the pieces using Wild Honey Distress Ink. The butterflies are from an old Martha set and a TJ Designs Rubber Stamp collection, stamped with CTMH Chocolate ink. The laces and pearls are from my stash.
Since the cards were an odd size (8 1/2 x 3 1/2) I made envelopes to match the cards using the We R Memories Envelope Punch Board.

Thanks for stopping in :-)
Michelle

Prima Post-it

 Here's something a little different that I had a whole lot of fun creating.  A post-it note holder!  How glamorous and shabby chic!  I love how beautiful it came out, because of the small size,  it was sort of like making an ATC. Fun!

 The beautiful paper is from Prima, the eyelets and lace are from Michael's and that cute little flower ~ I created it using more of the Prima paper with Martha Stewart's Hydrangea punch.

Thank you so very much for stopping in to visit.
Hugs,
Michelle

Card Pattern Sketch #166

Hello again.  Thanks for checking in on me. Today's card is my take on the sketch from Card Patterns 166.  It is actually quite easy to create great cards when given the option to follow a sketch.
For this card I used paper from the Dotty For You collection by Close to my Heart. I layered all the pieces with Stampin' Up! basic grey card stock. Then drew faux stitching along all the edges I then added the flowers.

The flowers are made using Tim Holtz Alterations Tattered Florals die with newspaper. Yup, newspaper, then I painted the petals using Delphinium Turquoise starburst stain from Lindy's Stamp Gang. Aren't they beautiful!?  If anyone out there would like to have some of their own set of flowers, I have even put some up for sale at my Etsy Shop.

The shimmer on these flowers is fabulous and  of course the pictures do not do it justice. The small flowers were created with a Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch and phone book paper. I love up-cycling!

Thanks again for visiting.
m


card patterns

Flower Cart Gift Box plusTutorial

 I've received quite a few requests to post the directions for a flower cart that I had posted a few years ago.  The original instructions are in Russian, so with permission from Nadia, the original creator, I have done a tutorial in English.

Isn't it adorable!  This would be a perfect Mother's Day gift.
Here are the two templates you will need to create the cart/wheelbarrow.  The measurements are done in centimeters.  The dash lines are for folding ~ solid lines for cutting.

  

1. Cut out the templates ~ I've used Kraft paper for the large parts of the cart and a few layered pieces of thin cardboard for the handles, the wheel and the legs. I'm using some of Nadia's original pictures because she does a fabulous job recording the steps.
Here you can see all the cuts that are needed.  (My top cover is a bit different than hers)

2. Score on dotted lines, fold and glue to form empty cart.

3. Score and fold top piece of cart and adhere to the inside to create a flip up top. You can cover the inside if you'd like.

 

4. I ran all the extra smaller bits of the cart through my Big Shot using a wood grain folder from the Paper Studio. I cut some of the longer side pieces to create varied lengths of 'wood'.

5. Ink all the edges. I used Tim Holtz frayed burlap distress ink.
6. Add 'nail heads' using a brown marker and glossy accents..

 7. Put together the handles by inserting a brad through one of the handles then into one of the circles. Repeat with the other handle and wheel. Then sandwich a third circle inside so the prongs of the brads are not visible.
8. Glue the handles and legs to the bottom of the cart using the extra 'planks' as cross pieces to hold it all together.

 

 

 

Now for the flower filling :-)

1. Use Cricut Expression, cut out a nice bunch of flowers. I used a cut from the Cricut Hello Kitty Greetings cartridge. I also cut out some leaves using a punch from Martha Stewart called Leaf Fronds.
2.Use an embossing pad and tool and along with some well placed pencil lines, create some dimension to the flowers and fronds.

3. Adhere some of the flowers to the base top along with a ribbon to use as a pull for the top.
4. Trace the top of the flower cart to make a green base to match the leaves.  Cut two of these out.
5. Attach loads of flowers to one of the green pieces and then curved it to appear that the cart will look full.  I added rubber from a negative of a Stampin Up stamp set to give it some lift. It's always fun to find use for things that you keep for no apparent reason.

6. Attach the curved green base to the flat green base then glue onto your flower cart. You can see here how I created the illusion that the cart is overflowing with flowers.

 

Just keep adding flowers until your cart looks full. Isn't it beautiful!!

I hope my tutorial wasn't too long and that it was easy to follow along.  Please let me know if you create a cart, I'd love to see it!
ta ta for now,
Michelle

challenges:
Simon Says Stamp
Exploring Cricut
Die Cuttin Divas

Here are some pictures of my original cart and the link to the wonderful Nadya Mu-Ha from Russia