The Mice Have Come Out To Play!!! - Halloween Style

The mice are here to stay and play!

Here is your second post of the night!! Aren't you lucky ;).

I know I am!

So this tutorial is going to be very brief because it is basically the same concept as the "Bat Cave" but you use Mice templates and not Bats!

Bat Cave Tutorial (Check it out here!)

Mice Templates (from Martha Stewart)

All you need to do is choose your template, Choose the colour of your paper and cut away!!

Then place these cute and sneaky mice wherever they can get into the most mischief ;)

These sneaky mice are heading up to the kitchen for a midnight snack ;)

I love how these mice add so much fun to a simple staircase. Where have you placed your mice??

Have they gotten into anything mischievous??? I know mine have ;)

-Happy Crafting-

-xo-

DIY Halloween Garland

So it is almost time!!!! 2 more sleeps!! Are you excited?? I know I am... can you tell??? 

I have been getting so carried away with decorating the house for the Halloween bash that I almost forgot to take pictures... Almost but not quite ;).

Are you ready for this... Since I was delayed this week you get two separate posts today!!! wooohooo

The First tutorial is for a paper garland that hangs from the roof and add a dramatic flair over what will be our snack table :). (note I did not make the hat ;) it was left over from last year's costume) lol. Also there will be so much more going on with the table in 2 days!! haha

Lets take it away because the count down is on!

Your Supplies

What you will need!
-A paper Cutter or a Circle Stamp ( I already had mine)
-Sticky Tack (I use the white one for the roof)
-Coloured paper or construction paper (many pages)
-Sewing Machine with Thread
-Scissors and Imagination!!





Once you have everything ready and laid out, choose the colours of your paper and figure out if you want a mismatch or a patter or the same colours. You can even use glitter paper or clear plastic paper.

Take your Circle cutter and you can either cut out  each circle individually.... I did not have time for that ;). So I folded each piece of paper a few times and got stamping! I had many circles ready to go in just a few seconds! Once I had all of the circles punched out I organized the colours into the pattern I wanted for the garland.

Best Halloween Colours!!

Chain Stitch Away

Now get your Sewing Machine (make sure it is threaded and cleaned and ready to go!) and drop your presser foot and let the feed dogs of your machine move the paper. This is the simple part you Chain Stitch all of the circles you want in a line (this is where the imagination comes in!!! Save a little for later though ;)). You can make a long chain this way or make the individual dangling garlands like I have shown here!!

Here is the Pile of garlands!! :) 

p.s. be careful they tangle easily 

(guess how I learned this ;) lol)

You are on the Home Stretch!!! Now this is where the second part of your imagination comes in handy!!! All you need to do is take small amounts of your sticky tack or tape and arrange the garlands to your hearts content and make the designs of your dreams!! 

It really makes the room more festive!!!

You are done!!! Congratulations!! 

I hope that you love the way your garland looks and I would love to see pictures of them too!!! 

-Happy Crafting-

-xo-

How To: Halloween Spiderwebs

Here we are! Back at it again. I know I have promised you more information on the Sizzix Big Shot and how it works and what kind of projects I am going to do... well those are still coming. So wait with baited breath ;). I want to finish a project and show you a "How To" as I explain the machine as well:). Crazy I know, but I want you all to get the full experience. Additionally, I don't want any of you to miss out on the Halloween tutorials!!

Seven again I say 7 Days and counting until All Hallows Eve!!!

Do you have your costumes ready??? I sure hope so and I would love to hear all about them so send me a message or a comment ;).

As for right now I am going to show you how to make amazing and realistic spider webs from the dollar store bags of material!!.  I know that a lot of people don't really like these fake spider webs because they just look clumpy or they don't stick well and there are many other excuses...  I hope to break all of those excuses today!! So here we go!!

Supplies:

One bag of spider webbing, Spiders optionals ;)

Sticky Tack (white) or tape

You can find bags of the Spider Webbing at any main stores, drugmarts, dollar stores and even some grocery stores carry them. These bags usually have small plastic spiders included (they enhance the effect ;)), When you open the bag, the material is usually all in a big bundle, don't worry it is mostly just cotton so unfold it a little and we will get started. 

Don't worry the creepy crawlies wont come running out of the bag lol

Out of the bag

I ripped off a small piece to work with so that we will be able to have more control. Remember you can always add more if you need some for the project. There is sooooo much material once it has been stretched out, I usually only use one bag for the whole house, that is how much this stuff stretches!!)

Now that you have your bundle to work with, get you fingers moving and stretching. Feel free to rip even smaller pieces to work with. The smaller the bundle you are working with, the thinner you can get the strands and the more realistic it will look.

Getting better, working out the kinks

OOO Looks spooky almost there!!

You can see the difference between the two pictures here, the more you stretch and pull and move the material around the better it will work for your needs.

**Tip: Don't be afraid if your pieces get a little sparse, you can keep moving the fabric around and pull more material from the larger bundles and it will fill up. This material is very forgiving***

Here is the fun part... are you ready?? 

Get small amounts of your sticky tack ready and start dreaming of the scariest spider placements you can dream up... I know I know, its not hard because spiders are always creepy and scary ;)!!! Is that just me?? 

Here are some of the places I dreamed up, you really can place it on everything!!!

Typical cobwebs hanging from the beams

The Spideys are coming!

The corners are always amazing because they are out of the way and help create and maintain the atmosphere of the room.

The thin strands on the photos around the room, adding effect

The thin strands look amazing on windows and frames, Give it a shot and see what you think!!. Also the best thing about the frames is that you may not even need to use the sticky tack because it will hook onto the corners!! Why not try it out?

Last tip and tick for today is that the webbing can also be used to look life fog in glasses and bowls and things. All you need to do is play with is a little less and keep it fluffy. Wrap it around and make sure there are different densities of the webbing in the bowl to make it look as if the fog is moving.

One of our centre pieces!

I hope you learned a lot from this post and that you are able to be more creative now that you know how to effectively use the Spider Webbing!! Send Pictures and let me know how yours tuns out!!. I would love to hear what you all are planning for Halloween!! 

Remember 7 days left for all your arts and crafts and until the final reveal here ;)

-Happy Crafting-

-xo-

My New Quilting Best Friend

Hi Everyone!! I have a wonderful surprise for you all today :):). This post is not about Halloween if you can't tell ;). You get a small break for now... but new tutorials will be returning as we are getting the house ready for the party day by day!

So this new surprise is a quilting tool I received as a belated birthday gift from my amazing family.

I don't know about you but I have a hard time making up my mind about what I would like for my birthday, or Christmas or basically any holiday... I always say you don't need to get me anything (I truly mean this) however I do understand that presenting those you love with meaningful gifts can be rewarding for the gift giver as well. Therefore, I am able to give in when I know that the gift means something for them too.

Sooo back to the original story haha.

My stories may be roundabout but I will always get there ;).

My birthday was in July and I was having a hard time deciding what I wanted... mostly because I have everything I need. I suggested possible gifts such as a gift card for a craft store or a bundle of fabric. However, the point was made that gift cards are not a meaningful as a specific gift and as for the fabric bundle... well my family has an amazing point that I usually create something and give it away to friends and family or I would use it for a commissioned project. Which is very true ;) (they are so smart). Therefore, I needed to think long and hard for an important meaningful specific gift that I would be able to use and maintain for a long time. 

And I found One!!

Aren't the colours amazing!! :)

Always the best!!

Well here we are !!!! My most amazing family gave me the Sizzix Big Shot die cutter and embosser, and the best part is that I was able to find a 50% off coupon! Frugal and Fun ;)

I want to tell you about the Sizzix Big Shot and what I will be using it for and also why I chose this cutting machine over all of the others. It took a lot of time and research but it was actually a lot of fun! Hopefully you find this informative :).

I did a lot of research trying to determine what machine I wanted and what exactly I needed the machine to do. I was also able to read a lot of reviews and go into a few stores to speak to the sales people and learn more about each cutter... I know I know it sounds like a lot of work for such a small thing but it was a bit of money and I wanted to make sure that I was not making a rash decision and that I was not choosing something that I would not use. Trust me I have learned my lessons over the years... I am sure that you all must have at least one item on your home that you were sure you would use but now it is covered in dust because it just wasn't right for you (I know I do!!! so I try to avoid that happening again haha.) 

This is why research is so Important!!

I reviewed a few electronic cutters such as the Silhouette cameo, the Accuquilt GO! electric cutter and the Cricut cutter. I learned right off the bat that I did not want a machine that required my computer or an internet connection to work all the time. This is because I did not want to be limited by the ability to transport everything or if there was an outage in service or if someone was using the computer when I wanted to cut or quilt... I know I'm impatient haha so for those reasons the machines were not for me. To be honest I am not ruling these cutter out forever, but for my first cutter they were not the right choice for me at this time ;). Never say Never!!

***One side note is that the Go! cutter didn't need the computer but it was for making a lot of cuts and it is a larger machine. so for the space I have right now it just wasn't right. Also the price was really high lol***

Accuquilt!

So moving right along! We are down to the final two contestants.

Big Shot!

I ended up settling my choices between the two die cutters.

A die is a specialized tool that is used to cut or shape materials when placed through a press. That is exactly what the Sizzix Big Shot and the Accuquilt GO! were made to do. You are able to purchase specific dies in various sizes, shapes and dimensions and run them through the machine to cut them out :). I will give you the run down for why I chose the Sizzix over the Accuquilt.

Here are the reviews!!!

Accuquilt GO! 

Pro:

-The Machine was created for quilters by quilters.

-The Dies are made specifically for quilting to make it easier and more precise

-Hundreds of Dies to choose from

-Each Die has a pattern attached so that you can start quilting right away

-Folds up to transport

-The Foam of the dies are two tone to make sure you know where the blades are.

Con:

- The Machine is too light, when you move the die through the press the machine moves and sometimes start to collapse a bit where it can fold up. (you can even see this for yourself on their videos)

-You are only able to purchase from the accuquilt website meaning there are limited discounts. (you know how much I like those ;))

-This machine only accepts accuquilt dies.

-They have only designed this for quilting and not paper crafts.

-Duplicated shapes on some of the dies (it doesn't make sense to me to buy the same shapes on two different dies)

So overall this machine was not what I needed, the cons outweighed the benefits. Don't get me wrong this machine was wonderful for what it was designed for but I wanted my machine to do just a little bit more.

Now onto the Final Review!!

Sizzix Big Shot

Pro:

-Coupons can be used for this machine and the dies

-It is found in Canada and the US and there are many stores that carry the dies

-It is made for embossing paper or cutting cardstock for scrapbooking and papercrafts 

-The Bigz dies can be used to cut almost any material including fabric, aluminium and sandpaper

-Many different types of dies (new crafts I can branch into with the same machine ;))

-Newly released quilting specific dies!!

-You can use a shim to use the accuquilt dies in this machine as well!!

Con:

-It is a little heavier and is not able to fold up so you need to have a spot to keep it (not always in the workspace)

-The dies are not two tone

-Not all dies are able to cut fabric, but most are ;)

Can you tell which one I liked better???? I admit that my Con list is a little pathetic, but to be honest that is why I went with the Big Shot. It was everything I needed. It has been amazing and it was the most wonderful gift!!!. I will be able to show you more tutorials soon and show you how exactly it works!

The Final Winner!!!

Overall it was fun to research and I hope you found this post interesting, if not entertaining ;). You will be hearing a lot more about the die cutter soon!!

- All my thoughts and reviews are based on my personal experience and are my opinions only-

Do you have a die cutter? If you do I would love to hear about your experiences!!

-Happy Crafting!!!-

-xo-

Halloween Bats - Tutorial

I hope you all had an amazing weekend and are getting ready for the weather change :). Before the snow comes we have something super fun to plan for... Halloween!!! Including bats and cats and ghouls and ghosts;)!!!! 

The Bate Cave!!

The Bat Cave!

As I said before my boyfriend and I are throwing a Halloween party and we are slowly but surely getting our house set up for it (sometimes the bats creep me out when the lights are off lol:) but to be honest they are awesome and I cant wait for the 31st  to come!). The bat cave is all set up and ready to go and if you want to make them for yourself just follow below :).

Supplies:

Pencil

Black construction paper

(I am using green for the tutorial for you to see better since my table is black)

Scissors

Small piece of Card Stock (template)

Sticky Tack or tape for the wall (sticky tack doesn't damage the paint)

We are ready to go!

Take your card stock and fold it in half. Now that you have halved your template, you can sketch your bat's shape and size. I wanted many small ones so that it looked as if the bats were travelling out of their cave. 

The bat's body is small and the wings are wide. Remember that the point at the top will be the ears and that when you cut them out that you need the separation at the top to have the ears form properly.... Imagine how I know this ;)... many trial card stocks until I had my perfect shape for my bat. So take your time and be creative, it is your creation and make it one of a kind!

Hi Batty

Move on to cut the shape out, watch your fingers!

Fold and Cut!!

Now that you have you Batty shape all ready to go we will take the construction paper and fold it in half and then fold each half in half so that you have four quarters. Depending on how large your bat shape is you may need to fold your paper differently to get the most out of you paper with the least amount of waste.

The other will look like this

One side will look like this

Measure the size of your Batty Template and fold the column of paper (accordion style) until you run out of paper. This is to speed up your cutting. Look below if this step is confusing.

Accordion style

***If you have any questions please send me an comment so I can help :)***

Cut off one of the double folds so that it is easier to trace and cut. If you want to try to trace and cut through all of the layers... be my guest but you may not have crisp edges and it will be a little more frustrating. If you do try let me know how it goes :).

Trace your Bat!

Match the Folded edges

Make sure that the folded edges of your template match the folded edges of your construction paper or you will end up with only half bats or reverse bats... which may not be the best for the overall turnout ;). Now you can trace your design and cut it out. If you have followed the folding as explained up above you will end up with 4 bats :).

Batty, Batty, Batty, Batty

We are all going a little Batty, but you are almost done!!! All you need to so is get your sticky tack ready (or which ever adhesive you have chosen) and attach it to the bats! 

I want to let you know that I initially used tape for the walls... however there was a little bit of damage to the paint and I quickly switched to sticky tack and Voilà! no damage and it still looks amazing!!! So try a tester spot with your adhesive before you move forth!! 

Don't let those bats fly away with your wall paint... tricky little bats, they wont get any treats that way :p.

Sticky Bat!

Go ahead and use all of your creative juices to place your bats and then you are done! I was lucky because we already have a batman clock that became the focal point of the bat path. 

Bat Cave!!

You can have some congregate in a corner and fly out that way, or have them come down the stairway or up the stairs to a window or door to go outside.... the possibility are endless!!! 

You are done and your cave looks amazing. 

You are well on your way for a spooky Halloween Set -up!

If you so give this a try, I would love to see pictures and posts. I hope that you enjoyed the tutorial.

Happy Halloween Crafting;) See you soon!!

-xo-

Sneak Peak!! The Bats are coming!!

When I get back from my super busy weekend I will show you how to create a Halloween Bat Cave of your own!!

This is one of the many craft tutorials for Halloween that will be coming your way!!

Don't worry nothing too scary ;)

Have an amazing weekend!! Treat yourself and do something you love!

I'll leave you with this to ponder.... This was the view from my office this morning... How can a day be bad when you have such amazing beauty surrounding you. Take time and smell the roses, find something you love and fulfil your dreams :).

-xo-

Quilting Art on Canvas - Tutorial

A modern way to display a quilt

Here we go again! Tutorial time!!!!

I created this pattern from a table runner pattern I saw in Sew it today magazine. I have changed the dimensions and the number of different fabrics that I used so that I could make it work for the size of my canvas.

Lets get started!!

***Tip: You can use scrap fabric, planned fabric or even a pre-cut jellyroll***

Supplies:

Sewing Machine

10 Different (Ironed) fabric patterns or materials each at least 2.5 inches wide and 30 inches long (I used a combo of cotton, fleece, and polyester)

Thread and a wound bobbin of matching thread

Scissors

Rotary Cutter and Self-Healing Mat

Hot Iron and Ironing board

Seam Ripper

Cutting Ruler, Large Clear Ruler

Canvas (mine was 20 x 16 inches)

Hot Gluegun (with glue stick)

Here we go!!

Cut strips of fabric

You will be cutting 2.5 inch squares; however that can be extremely time consuming. I mean really who wants to sit and cut 100 squares... Not me :) !!! So lets get smart and figure this out. Take your ten strips of fabric and cut the width down to 2.5 inches by at least 30 inches long (we will be trimming the length so that part does not need to be exact.)

Now that you have all of your fabric cut and ready we will get ready to sew! (sorry I don't have this picture I was too excited to get started sewing!!! Anyway it just looked like a pile of fabric, or half a unrolled jellyroll ;).

(Spoiler: I will be having tutorials using pre-cuts soon!!!)

Plan out your fabric order and set the fabric up on your table and place the right sides of the fabric together, matching the top of the fabrics, and sew a 1/4" seam down the right side seam.

Right sides together and sew away :)

Take your pattern to the ironing board and iron your seams in an alternating fashion. Press both seams in. 

The arrows show the seems pressed in

Now that you have all of your fabric together this is the interesting part. You will be sewing a tube and then we will be cutting your squares from here. 

Take your whole fabric, right sides together, and fold it so that the seams match (basically fold it in half) and sew the tube closed with a final 1/4" seam. Now you will fingerpress your fabric flat so that your seams match right up on the opposite side (this is why you alternate ironing so that they match up.) While you are fingerpressing the seems together you will feel them "lock into one another." If you have any questions about this part please shoot me a message or a comment and I can help answer any questions!

Now you will have a tube that looks like this (the little pile to the right is part f the tube I have already cut.. I know I know.. I get too excited and need to take more specific photos. Forgive me I was super excited for this!! Aren't you???) 

This tube has the other fabric underneath it, right sides facing.

Now this is where the fun starts :)

Cut 2.5 inches

Square up your tube by trimming the left side so it is all flush, 90 degree angle for the corners. Now you will measure 2.5 inches from the left side and cut your fabric with your rotary cutter. Continue to cut the 2.5 inch wide tubes until you run out of fabric. Or until you have the number of layer you want. I needed 9 cuts.

Here are the 9 tubes.

Now you will organize your tubes in line and get your seam ripper ready.

Rip one seam from each tube

Hi Mr. Seam Ripper, get ready to work!!

Keep an eye on the type of pattern you would like to create. If you would like diagonals the you can work your way down one tube at a time taking the seam ripper to each subsequent block. I wanted to create a "wave" or a point to mine (it kind of looks like a mountain and I love that!!)

layout your cut pieces together,
so that you can plan your pattern

*** Tip: If you rip out a seam and it is not part of your pattern, you can go back and resew the 1/4" seam and then go back and rip the correct seam you would like... Imagine how I know this :p***

We are almost done!!! can you see your pattern now??? I can and I'm Super Excited!!!!

Take your fabric strips and sew them all together with a 1/4" seam.

Sew Sew Sew!!

Now you will have your finished "Quilt Top".We will not be making a quilt sandwich this time though, we will be gluing it to the canvas. I re-ironed all the seams flat and placed hot glue on the corners of the canvas. 

To be honest I couldn't bring myself to ruin a full canvas by putting glue all over it. This way if I want to take the fabric off and use the canvas for different art I still can :) Frugal I know ;). If you would like to make your canvas more sturdy and make sure that the fabric is not going anywhere, then by all means glue away!! Just be careful the glue is hot hot hot and the heat will reach through the fabric!

We are done!!!

You are done!!! WOOHOO!!! I have placed this art over my workstation. Now I can look up and view my work when I need some inspiration. 

Remember before how I said it looked like a mountain, It helps to remind me that when you are fighting an uphill battle, there will always be a reprieve all you have to do is push on.

So Awesome!!

I hope you liked the tutorial!! Please reference this tutorial if you are using it. Also I would love to see your projects if you try!!! As always, if you have any questions or issues please contact me and I will be able to help!

Happy Crafting!! xo