Cards and Crafts : 5/1/17

DIY Earring Holder Tutorial

DIY Earring Holder

Hi friends this DIY Earring Holder is my final post as Designer Spotlight for Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge where the theme is "We're Going Around In Circles"

I love to incorporate recycling in my crafts and here I recycled CDs and cardboard tubes to create my earring holders.

DIY Earring Holder

Each layer of this earring stand can hold 11- 13 pairs of earrings and the whole stand can display 30-39 pairs of earrings!

Handmade Foam Rose

Foam is a material I have enjoyed crafting with even before it became the "in thing"!! All the roses and rosebuds on the earring holders were made using thin sheets of pink foam and Spellbinders Rose Creations die.

Handmade Foam rose bud

Here are some of the Tutorials to make the foam roses : Handmade Flower Tutorials. You can adapt most paper flower Tutorials to make foam flowers ...the main points are to use thin sheets of foam and to use hot glue as the adhesive.
Before I made this stand I used to store my earring in Ferrero Rocher boxes...it was okay but I had to go through stacks of boxes to get to a earring I needed...this way the earrings are clearly displayed and dangle so prettily!

Handmade Foam Rose

DIY Earring Holder Tutorial
Materials Required

CDs- though you may be tempted to use other materials for the layers, CDs are the sturdiest and easiest option. I used 4 CDs here.
Supporting cylinders- you can use any sturdy cylinder which is easy to glue to the CDs. Easy choices would be toilet paper rolls, the cardboard tubes inside cling film/ Aluminium foil rolls/wrapping paper rolls etc. I used the cardboard tubing of a party popper [you can see the picture later down in the post]. You can also recycle plastic bottles to create your cylinders but plastic is trickier to stick to a CD and you need to have a bottle that is aptly shaped! You need 3 Paper rolls

DIY Earring Holder Tutorial

Paper- to line your CDs and Paper Rolls.
Adhesive- Liquid adhesive and the Hot glue gun.
Foam circles- optional- will explain why soon
Something to punch holes in the CDs- You can heat a nail and pierce through the CD but it requires a lot of patience and it can be frustrating! Easiest is to use a Cropadile or a good strong punch such as the WRMK hole punch.

DIY Earring Holder Tutorial

Pretty up your CD with circles of pattern paper cut slightly smaller than the area of the CD. [It is better to cut your paper not to cover the entire CD so that you dont have to worry about strong adhesion at the area where the holes will be punched].
Punch holes in 3 CDs only as the 4th CD will be your base layer and will not hold earrings.
Punch holes at intervals of approximately 1/2 inch...you dont need to measure anything just eyeball it! Dont punch the holes right at the edge of the CD...punch 3-4mm inside the outer circumference of the CD.

DIY Earring Holder Tutorial

Optionally add a circle of foam to the under-surface of the CD...adding foam and hot gluing the paper roll cylinders to it gives a more secure adhesion!

DIY Earring Holder Tutorial

I have used adhesive backed foam sheets which are nowadays available in the market but you can use regular foam too.

DIY Earring Holder Tutorial

For one of my earring holders I recycled a confetti party popper we had used in my daughter's birthday party.

DIY Earring Holder Tutorial

DIY Earring Stand

In the first earring stand I made ,I was not sure if the rack would topple over after adding earrings so I created a weighted base using a plastic container.

Handmade Foam Rose

DIY Earring Stand

But later on I found out that it was stable and sturdy with just a CD as the base.

DIY Earring Holder

I hope you liked this idea and I hope this will be useful for not only for others like me who have a good collection of dangling earrings but for also talented ladies who make and sell earrings at craft fairs and exhibitions.

DIY Earring Holder

I have had so much fun creating for Simon Says Stamp and I hope you liked my posts as well.
Do drop by the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog to be inspired by gorgeous creations by the amazing DT and also to participate.You can link in 5 times and you have a chance to win a $50 prize each week!

22.5.17

3 D Garden Shed with Little Critters

3 D Garden Shed

Hi friends sharing a 3 dimensional Garden Shed for my 4th post as Designer Spotlight for Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge where the theme is "Little Critters"

I made a 3 dimensional garden shed using chipboard and added cute little hedgehogs, butterflies and dragonflies as critters!

Garden Shed with Hedgehogs

I love to make 3 D projects using chipboard as they are sturdy and durable.I made the 3 D window for my garden by die cutting 3 pieces of chipboard using the Tim Holtz Window and Pediments dies, layered them atop , applied gesso and gave a nice coating of Prima Texture crackle paste .

3 D Window

Added Graphic 45 Time to Flourish papers behind and around the window to create a sunny cheerful scene!

3 D window with Graphic 45

I fussy cut some gorgeous flowers from the Graphic 45 papers and also made matching handmade sunflowers [using the Cheery Lynn sunflower die] .

Handmade Sunflowers

Since the theme was "Little Critters" I added butterflies, hummingbirds and dragonflies to my garden!

Handmade Sunflower

Here is how I made my 3 D Garden shed which is open on the side to house a mini album/ diary/etc[not yet decided what I should put inside it!!]

3 D Shed Construction

I embossed cream card stock using the Spellbinders Brick folder and added my 3 D chipboard window to the front piece. Used double layers of chipboard to create the roof , base and sidewalls.

3 D Shed Construction

When constructing such a 3 D structure it is easier to stick the roof and base first and later add the side wall.

3 D Shed Construction

I used card stock and liquid glue to stick the pieces together.

3 D Shed Construction

The base and roof of my Garden shed are lined with beautiful papers from Graphic 45 Time to Flourish.

I added a hovering hummingbird on the roof...made it literally hover using acetate!!

Graphic 45 Time to Flourish

I used rusty hinge and wild honey Distress Inks to create the gorgeous shading for my sunflower and added chunky glitter on the center!

Handmade Sunflower

I also made the golden dragonfly fly in midair by suspending it using a thin strip of acetate!

Dragonfly

The garden floor has moss and mushrooms!

The picture below shows the open side to slip in your mini album or secret diary!

Open wall for Mini Album

I used a Graphic 45 chipboard"time to flourish" on the base of my window...such an apt sentiment for this project wont you agree!

Graphic 45 Time to Flourish

And bidding you adieu with the cutest image...an adorable hedgehog from Penny Black's Critters in love stamped and watercolored using Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens .

Penny Black Hedgehog

I hope you liked this project.

15.5.17

House Shaped Organizer Box

DIY House Shaped Organiser

Hi friends sharing a magical mermaid's home which is an organizer for craft supplies!

House Shaped Organizer Box

I'll admit I worked on this one for hours and hours !! Will quickly run you through some of the closeup shots.

House Shaped Organizer Box

How can a mermaid's home not have shells ...! Well I added some huge shells which are part of my treasured collection from a holiday in one of the best beaches in the world Candolin Beach, Goa.
You can also see glass beads gel and tiny glitter balls all over this mermaid's abode. I cut our an image of the gorgeous mermaid and added her to a glass pebble/cabochon and propped her up on a foam disc.

House Shaped Organizer Box

I used Prima texture crackle paste and TCW microbial stencil and Carabelle Studio geometrie stencil in many places!

Prima Crackle Paste

Prima Typo Bulbs

The Prima Typo Bulb I had been hoarding was just perfect for this project!

Typo Bulbs and Glass Beads Gel

Love how easy it is to create 3 D projects using Graphic 45 papers!

Framed Graphic 45 Voyage Beneath the Sea

The project has lots of fussy cut sea weeds, corals and starfish and the gorgeous mermaid has a resin sea horse for company! I made the sea horse using resin, alcohol ink and a chocolate mold!

Mermaid with Resin Sea Horse

Tiny pearls in a heart shaped bottle for the mermaid!

Magical Bottle with Pearls

More resin embellishments..

Resin Seaweeds, Crackle Paste Bubbles

The sea weeds were made with silicon molds and resin and colored by adding alcohol ink into the resin mixture before it set.

Fussy Cutting , Sea Shells and Sand Dollars

My favorite view of the home!

House Shaped Box

It features a large dome and a beautiful image from Graphic 45 papers which I framed inside it and added a glittery gold border.

Glass Dome

Inside the dome are tiny pearls, star sequins and little sea shells.

Glass Dome Window

House Shaped Box

The other side features a mesmerizing mermaid standing tall and beautiful ! I added some stamped and colored sea horses and goldfish to give her company!

Graphic 45 Mermaid

The backside of the house has the storage compartments.

Back side of House Shaped Organizer

I kept the roof lightweight on this side as it has to swing open to reveal the shelf inside.

3 D Octopus Lady from Graphic 45

Used Prima texture crackle paste for a lovely shiny texturing.

Gorgeous Crackle Paste Stencilling

And added glass beads gel for the sea glass effect.

Glass Beads Gel

Graphic 45 Diver

The netting I used had some cool Styrofoam elements embedded and this gave a cool sea foam appearance! The starfish was handmade using molds and airdrying clay and shaped to give more dimension!

Netting and Clay Starfish

I used 3 hinges to hold the 2 halves of the roof and the back half swings up to reveal a shelf which is large enough to hold bottles, ink pads, pens ,little notebooks and what not!

Drawer inside the roof

I used danglers from my local fabric shop and attached them using discs of foam.

The main body of the house holds an organizer I made using chipboard pieces .I had to use an antique metal handle from my local hardware shop as the drawer compartment was quite thick and sturdy!

Antique Metal Drawer Handle

I used 2 pieces of medium weight chipboard to make sturdy parts for the organizer.

House Shaped Box Construction

I used wet glue as well as strips of card stock to stick the pieces together.

House Shaped Box Construction

I constructed the compartments in such a way that it will be the perfect storage for my embossing folders .

House Shaped Box Construction

I love to use corrugated paper to line 3 d projects as it is so easy to go over the edges.

House Shaped Box Construction

I actually designed the drawer compartment first and then made the "house" to fit over it!!The completed house is 13.5 inches tall , 12.5 inches wide and the "body" is around 7 inches wide.