Today’s post is actually an “Ask Jenny” question I got from a readers’ comment. Someone asked how to make a ribbon flower, so I thought that now would be a great time to show you a great shabby chic rose you can put on cards, gifts, or even make into jewelry. (More on that coming soon!) In the meanwhile, let’s get started!

You’ll need some wire-edged ribbon, (mine is 2 inches wide), and a needle and thread. That’s it!

Cut an 18 inch length of ribbon.

Pull the wire out from what will be the bottom edge using your fingernail.

Curl the wire into a little knot to secure.

Starting on the other end, pull the wire out along the same edge. Gather the ribbon along the wire, pulling gently as you go. The ribbon will start to curl.

Now we’re ready to form the flower. Starting with the end with the knot, roll the top edge down to the gathered edge. Take a stitch with needle and thread to secure.

Turn the ribbon over and loosely coil along the gathered edge, securing with few stitches.

When you get close to the end, tuck the top edge of the ribbon down to the bottom edge, then finish stitching!

Flip your ribbon over, and clip your threads and wires. Your finished flower will be a bit pouffy, so you may want to smash it a little.

And that’s it! These are particularly stunning in groupings on fabric covered books, headbands, along the necklines of clothing…really it’s up to you and your imagination to get your garden of fabric roses blooming!

The first project I am going to share with you is a cube photo stand I’ve been wanting to make for quite some time.  When I saw the Prima Solid Coordinates Jack and Jill flowers I knew they would be perfect for this project.  I picked this paper clip cube up at the craft store and you can either paint the wooden cube first or just use in with it’s natural wood.  The flowers themselves are attached to the cardboard or plastic backing sheet and you just peel them off when you are ready to use them.  It is fairly simple.  The flowers on this project were backed with a thin circle of like an interfacing type fabric.

Below is a close up of the block.  The detail on the Prima Jack and Jill flowers are just wonderful.

Now a question for you!  When you are crafting do you have a favorite snack?  I surely do and that favorite snack is M&M’s.  Yummy, yummy, yummy!  The one thing I don’t like about the M&M’s is that they are kept upstairs in the cupboard and I have to stop crafting to run all the way up to get them.  I know, poor me!  It was time to put on my solution focused hat and figure out a way to make less trips.  So I found this cute little glass container at my local craft store and picked it up so I could alter it for my craft room so I would always have a supply of M&M’s on hand.

Now my candy stash will remain in my crafting room.  I wonder if I can create a refill tube coming directly from the kitchen???
If you would like step by step instructions for making the above projects please visit my blog.  Paper Fashions.

So now that you have taken a look at what you can do with Prima flowers let’s talk about the product itself.

Pros
Flowers are detailed
Seem to be securely put together
A nice variety of colors
Lots of different types and sizes of flowers
Good quality and durable

Cons
Sometimes it is difficult to find an adhesive that will stick well to certain parts on the back of the flowers

While chatting with Michael at the Prima booth at CHA he told me about a new idea book that they had recently published and asked if I would like a copy.  I was very curious and accepted his generous offer.  He sent this along with the samples that I’ve shown in my work in the last two posts.

This book is broken down into sections by product.  The sections included in the book are; Small Flowers, Medium flowers, Large flowers, Say it in Crystals, Specialty Papers, Chipboard, Clear stamps, Voila, Mini Books, Contributors, and Bonus Layouts.  There are 20 contributors total for this publication and 16 of these folks are project designers.  Let me tell you, there is a huge amount of inspiration in these pages.  The work is simply stunning!  I’ve shown you a sample page from the book below.  You will surely want to pick up a copy!

I hope I have inspired you by some of the projects I have created using Prima Marketing’s latest product.  I can hardly wait to see what they come up with next!

Happy Crafting,
Lisa

Disclosure

I posted a version of this over on CraftsUnleashed.com- but I have a few extra ideas and pointers for you here!

It’s a new school year and new backpacks and jackets have been purchased- but it’s only a matter of time before my kids yank the pulls right off of the zippers! So I’m getting the jump on repairs by making some fun, recycled ones that the kids can personalize.

We’re building the base on an unlikely substrait- Formica samples from the home improvement store! You can pick a few up the next time you’re there, and if you ask nicely, you can probably snag a whole chain of samples that have been retired! I like them because they are light, strong, and heading into a landfill unless YOU rescue them and get crafty!

That being said, you’ll need:

• countertop color chips (from the home-improvement store)
• Mod Podge
• Acrylic Paints, Pigment Pads, and Embossing powders
• foam paintbrushes
• old comic books, canceled stamps, or other recycled images and/or
• stickers, glitter glue (stuff you have lying around!)
• Mod Podge Dimensional Magic
• Split keychain rings or zipper pulls

Begin by removing the sticker on the back of the chip (the wood-y side). Usually with just a little water it will peel off. Paint the back with 2 coats  paint  that coordinates with your image  and let dry thoroughly between each coat, using a foam brush.

Cut your  image from a comic book, magazine, or cancelled stamps to fit on the chip. Apply a thin coat of Mod Podge on the painted side, then apply your image. Spread another thin coat on top. After it’s dry,  put on one more coat. Then, if you like you can decorate with Sharpie Marker, put some Stickles glitter glue on, or apply a monogram sticker.

Use Mod Podge as a layer UNDER and OVER your images.

Make sure top coat of Mod Podge seals everything down.

Finish off with a nice coat of Mod Podge Dimensional Magic, avoiding the hole. You know I love MPDM, and if you are unfamiliar, you should definitely read my review of it. It’s awesome!

On the samples above, I pressed the side of the chip into a pigment pad and then sprinkled with embossing powder to add another layer of texture.

Let it dry 24 hours and then put your key chain through the hole, and fasten the small ring onto your zipper! (Use pliers to twist open the ring and thread it through.)

You’ll also notice that the sample on the upper left is watercolor paper that’s been painted with Extreme Glitter Paint. (I love that, too. Read my review of XGP, here!) I have a tendency to use watercolor paper as my dropcloth on my studio table. I work on it until the whole surface is covered in stamps, glue, glitter, whatever…and then I cut it up and use it in fun projects like this one. More recycling!

I got so carried away, I made another trio using recycled sheet music & some more palette paper:

Voila! Cute, functional, and Earth-friendly! These are great for kid’s backpacks or on luggage. Have fun…

While I was at CHA this summer I stopped by the Prima booth to chat with Michael and see what new releases Prima had.  Wowie, wow wow!  Can I just say they had so many great new items?  I got the full tour of their booth including their new paper lines which are to die for.  As we were chatting I was sharing with Michael how excited our readers get at Craft Test Dummies when they see product being used.  So he said he would send a few things my way so I could show each of you first hand some of the new product.

The first project I created is this lovely altered canvas which has a picture of my mom when she was younger.  Such a pretty picture and I wanted to capture it with something soft and sparkly.  I used Prima’s Craftable flowers, Cottage Blossoms, Love Letter Roses, and Say it in Crystals swirl with white lace.

This project has beautiful results using just a few of the amazing embellishments by Prima Marketing!  Notice how I applied some glitter to the large white craftable flower?  You could paint, ink, stamp, and a billion other things to these flowers.  Very cool!

Well, I could hardly stop there so I decided it was time to make a birthday card for a girlfriend of mine who is having a “monumental” birthday soon.  She is dreading adding on another year so I decided I wanted something pretty and cheerful.  No doubt she will be bombarded with plenty of black cards.

The Prima product I used to create this card includes; Gwendolyne Woodpecker flowers, Sugar Plum Roses, Rosetti Roses, and the new Say it in Crystals Colorful Lines.

Don’t you just love how the bling follows the curve of the paper?  Cool accent!

So now that I’ve had a chance to play with Prima Say it in Crystals, here is the run down-

Pros
Beautiful designs
They are connected together for easy application
You can easily cut pieces apart with scissors so you only have to use a portion if you wish
Several colors and designs available
Plenty of stickiness so you don’t have to worry about them falling off
Easy to use

Cons
Difficult to find these in my area so I need to order online

This is my first post with a sampling about Prima Marketing and their new CHA Summer releases.  Stay tuned right here to Craft Test Dummies to see another Prima post coming soon!

To see step by step instructions for how to make each of the above projects, please head over to my blog,  Paper Fashions.

Happy Crafting,
Lisa

Disclosure

I love stamping and I love watercolors… it’s so soothing to blend those translucent colors on my paper! So today, I’m going to show you how to use stamping and clear embossing powder as a “resist” to make some lovely (and easy) greeting cards.

(Note: in traditional watercolor painting, wax, oil, or a liquid gum is applied to paper. When the watercolor is applied, the paint doesn’t stick to the areas that have been treated with the application, and therefore no color is absorbed. Often the wax or gum is removed, leaving clear, white paper.)

Supplies:

• Greeting Cards with Envelopes
• Rubber Stamps (I used Scrappy Cat)
• Clear Embossing Powder
• Embossing Stamp Pad (I like VersaMark)
• Watercolor paints
• Watercolor brush
• Lo-tack (Painter’s) tape
• Heat Gun

Start off by stamping a design on the front of your greeting card. Make sure you use an embossing-style pad (one that has no pigment in it.) This is essential for letting the color of the paper show through. Follow up by sprinkling on your clear embossing powder and then melting it with your heat gun.

Stamp your design with embossing ink and sprinkle with CLEAR embossing powder.

Melt embossing powder with a heat gun.

Next, tape your card down to your work surface. The paper will tend to wrinkle, and the tape will help it keep it’s shape as it dries. I also like the “border” it creates!

Use the Painter’s tape to secure the card to your work surface.

Give your watercolors a few drops of water to soften them up and get the pigment flowing…then just do a wash of color over the top of your card. You’ll see that the watercolor paint soaks into the card, but just beads up and rolls off of the stamped areas:

The watercolor paint wont’ stick to the stamped images.

Continue to add color as you like. Let the paper dry completely before you peel off the tape.

Let dry completely before taking off the tape.

Here’s on more I made using the same stamp set:

There you go! This fun technique also looks great on scrapbook pages and ATC’s, so have some fun experimenting!

Hint to family members who love me: I want this piece!

Last July when I was at the Cleveland Craft Coalition Show, I had the pleasure to meet Stephanie of Little Lion Designs. Her fabric collage pieces where colorful and delightful to behold, and when I found out that she uses her artwork to raise awareness, I knew I had to learn more about her and share her story with you.

So, first and foremost, Stephanie Urban is a mom. She gave birth to a baby girl, Kaia, May 30th 2009. Kaia was born with Congenital Hear Defects (CHD) and needed surgery to repair her heart. Despite fighting bravely, she succumbed on July 2. She was 32 days old. She was a little lion.

Stephanie, who is a graphic designer and all-around creative person, channeled her grief and loss into making art pieces from reclaimed/recycled fabric. Soon, she realized that people really responded to her art work- and that it was the perfect outlet to both earn a living (she’d lost her job after Kaia passed) and to awareness of CHD. (By the way, you should read her story in her own words- it so touching!)

So now you know her backstory. But the other side of Steph’s story is her amazing art! While she uses recycled and reclaimed fabric, it is still vibrant, colorful, and filled with joy. (Don’t even THINK the work “vintage!”)  The lines of her art swoop and swirl, and fairly leap off the canvas with glee. Take a look at some of her artwork as it was displayed at the show:

Isn’t it marvelous? Such beautiful work form such lovely person. If you’d like to see what she’s got for sale, make sure you check out her Etsy shop, and go visit her Facebook Fan page. She’ll keep you updated on local shows and events, too!

Screen Shot of the Lo-Mob App for iPhone

I love to take pictures. But with my hectic life, I rarely actually pack a camera. Instead, I use my handy-dandy iPhone to take  my everyday photos. With my Lo-Mob app for my iPhone, I alter them into cool, high-art snaps!

The Lo-Mob app is easy to download via iTunes, and is only $1.99. This is a great price for all the fun you can have with it. Here is how it works:

1. Fire up the app on your iPhone, and select the camera icon.
2. Take your photo.
3. Using the “filters” tab at the bottom of the screen, select the filter that you want to use.  The app will preview the photo for you with each of the filters so that you can see exactly what it will look like.
4. Save the photo to your phone, or share it via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, or Picasa.

Now, if you take a photo on your phone and later say, “HEY!” this would look sweet with a filter on it, no sweat. Just fire up the app, select the “page” or little square icon on the bottom right of the screen, and then select camera roll. Then you can select your photo from your phone and alter away.

So here are the steps I took to alter my self-portrait on my iPhone.

Self-portrait taken with my iPhone.

Select a filter- the preview makes it easy!

Options for sharing are at the bottom of the screen.

Into sharing? You've got options!

So far, so easy, right? OK, now I’m going to share some of my favorite shots using the Lo-Mob App. Pardon my vanity.

Self portrait using the "30's Contact2) filter

Fairy- using the "Lo-Mob Reloaded" filter to soften and boost contrast.

Goggle Boy- using the "35MM Overlapp1" filter

Pool boy- using the " Vintage Instant ReFramed" filter

I really could go on and on. I think these are gorgeous shots, and considering so many of the replicate vintage cameras and films, there is no way you could reproduce them. For $1.99, it think it’s a great value. Skip the soy latte and download this!

Disclosure: Unpaid, unsolicited review. My own opinions.

Yes, my StazOn pad looks pretty well-used. Because it is!

My StazOn solvent-based stamp pad by Tsukineko is one of my absolute essentials in my craft box, and I can’t believe that I haven’t reviewed it for you sooner. If this is a new product for you, get your keys ready. You’re going to want to head out and get some of these amazing stamp pads when you’re done reading!

So, what is a StazOn pad? Well, it’s a linen-fabric covered ink pad that holds a solvent-based ink that works on non-porous surfaces. Unlike a pigment-based ink, which only works on porous surfaces such as paper, chipboard, and wood, the StazOn ink will work on plastic, aluminum, shrink plastic, glass, vellum and more.

For example, I used a StazOn pad to stamp images on dominoes. Pigment or dye-based ink needs to soak into a surface for it to “dry.” Because StazOn dries via evaporation, you can stamp on plastic and it will dry without heat-setting.

Black images are stamped with StazOn.

StazOn is also super handy when you want to layer wet media. For example, if you want to stamp an image and then watercolor it, StazOn is great.

Crocus image was stamped in StazOn, then watercolors applied over top on cardstock.

I’ve also used StazOn when stamping on heat-fix fibers. In this next example, I laid the butterfly stamp on the table and dabbed it with StazOn, then layered Angelina Fibers on top. After covering it with a piece of parchement paper I pressed it with a dry iron. The result is a nice, crisp outline.

Use StazOn to stamp on Angelina Fibers.

StazOn is the best ink to use with Shrink Film, because it won’t scratch off! I also use it on transparencies or shrink film in some of my altered arts projects.

So, need something other than black? StazOn come in a variety of colors! (And opaque ones, too, but we’ll get to those in another review.) See the color chart here!

Here are a couple of pointers when using StazOn:

• Make sure you keep the lid on when not in use. Solvents dry quickly.
• Buy the re-inker. For the above reason, it’ll get dry quickly but re-inking restores your pad.
• Don’t expect it to be super juicy. Solvents just aren’t.
• Not the best pad for rough surfaces, because it isn’t super-juicy!
• Be careful when stamping on glossy surfaces. Too much pressure and your stamp will slide.
• Use a shot of a heat gun to make sure your ink is set on plastics or glass.
• StazOn will scratch off of some surfaces, so seal with Diamond Glaze.
• I recommend using the StazOn Cleaner for cleaning your stamps and work surface.
• Visit Tsukineko’s FAQ sheet for more info!

Every crafter needs to have a StazOn stamp pad in their craft closet!

Disclosure

Good thing, too because my studio had a couple of items that seriously needed a make-over! I started off with this old lamp, which used to be in my son’s nursery.

Since the lampshade is fabric (backed in plastic) I thought it would be a good candidate for and “Upholstery Spray” makeover! I shook up the can well, snapped off the safety tab, and positioned the shade in a cardboard box to protect from overspray. I gave a couple of test-sprays, and found that the paint was relatively thin/ watery (as compared to spray paint, for example), and sprayed with little spattering. The paint saturated the shade in just a few passes.

Here’s what I got with just one moderate coat.

I needed just minor touch-ups where the coat was a bit thin.

So then I moved on to a HUGE eyesore- my office chair! It’s ugly and a little stained where my cat used to sleep on it.

So I gave it the Upholstery Spray make- over, and with one coat it looked like this:

Ok, so I learned a valuable lesson here- if your upholstery is DIRTY, you need to clean that up first. The spray adheres to the fabric differently if there’s dirt or grease on it. (Well, DUH, but I kinda was cutting corners. Don’t do what I did!)

One coat; close up of the dirty seat & resulting mottling.

I’m not one to give up easily, so I have it another full coat. HA! This was better:

Two coats of Upholstery Spray

Another good thing to keep in mind is that some colors are hard to cover. And black, to look really good, needs to be DARK…otherwise it just looks like a black t-shirt that’s been though the was too  many times. So my rule of thumb is expect to put on 2-3 coats.

All in all, I’m thinking that Upholstery Spray will be a boon to folks who love to upcycle and recycle- now you can change the color of a cushion or shade in a snap. And did I mention that it comes in Black, Brite Red, Orange, Burgundy, Hunter Green, Navy Blue, Periwinkle, Plum and Saddle Brown? Yup. And you can see the full color swatches on the site, as well as  handy-dandy video on using the product!

What would YOU give an “Upholstery Spray Make-Over?” Oh…..and remember that lamp? Well, here’s how it turned out:

Thanks, Upholstery Spray!

And if you’d like to check out an additional project, go visit Vicki O’Dell’s Back Rest Spruce-Up featuring Simply Spray products.

Disclosure

What makes Stamplisitic special is that they carry such a marvelous collection of scrapbooking, stamping AND mixed-media supplies. From Adirondack inks to Zentangles, they’ve really got something for everyone.

They’ve also recently moved- and their new, shiny scrapping mecca on Cooper-Foster Park Road is only about 500 yard from their old store. The new space faces a major road, has copious convenient parking, and is staffed by the most amazing, friendly, talented folks around!

For example, Mara was doing a make-n-take using some layered stamps. I wish I’d thought to take a picture, but the idea is to stamp on image multiple times, then cut them out and layer with foam adhesive. She is so creative and her display was inspiring! In fact, she inspired me to buy these:

While there,  my sister and I checked out the annual parking-lot sale. It’s like a craft yard sale on steroids! Folks bring their new & gently used items and resell them at a great discount. I scored some Sizzix products at a “can’t pass it up” price, along with a rubberstamp:

And, since Stamplistic had recently moved, there was a clearance sale going on in the back, too. I could not pass up a piece of slat board and some shelves. (I’m thinking new, more organized thoughts for my studio.) Only a complete craft nerd would get this excited over slat board. Guilty as charged!

For a quick video tour, read the article online done by the Morning Journal. And of course, if you are even THINKING about a trip to northern Ohio, put this great shop on your agenda!