More Waffle Paper Ideas

Last week I posted some ideas for using Waffle Paper.  They can be found here.  Today I have a few more projects using the paper.

You can cut it with the regular dies as in the frame around this flower.  It adds an additional type of texture to a card.

The Sizzlet dies will also cut it as you can see in the swirls below.  The paper is very lightweight giving it an airy feel.

Another thing you can do is heat emboss it.  I really liked the effect of the gold on the black crinkles.  I purposely did not adhere the edges of the waffle paper oval to let it flutter a bit.  Quite a different style card than I usually make but an effective use of the paper I thought.

I added touches of gold to the Cajun Craze border with the Gold Lame' Accent Ink- I love how detailed you can be with the tiny applicator.  And did you notice the black rhinestones??  They are in the Holiday Mini as well.

Fabulous Fabric

Welcome to the Stampin" Addicts Holiday Mini Blog Hop.    You may have arrived here from Cheryl's blog where she featured the very versatile set Seasonal Sentiments.   If not, you can still visit all the blogs as they are linked in circle.  The Holiday Mini is packed with amazing goodies so this hop is sure to knock your socks off!


Designer Fabric is a brand new product line that SU! has just introduced.  Not only is it wonderful quality, it coordinates with the papers, inks and accessories!  All the projects I have made are no-sew so you do not need to be a seamstress to enjoy these lovely textiles.

First is a simple candy cane holder that you could use as a Make-and-Take project at a workshop or create a bunch for gift giving.  I used the Clear Scallop Square die to cut the fabric, strips of iron-on adhesive to close the edges, then cut two small slits through both layers of fabric and threaded Cherry Cobbler seam binding through and tied knots at the ends.  Cute and quick.

Next I decorated a gift bag to match.  The base is a piece of Deck the Hall Designer Paper - perfectly color matched to the fabric!  The flower embellishment is made by tearing a 1 inch by 28 inch piece of the Deck the Halls fabric.  (Now if you are a quilter you will cringe that I said tear but it helps add to the distressed look by fraying the edges and curves the fabric inward which makes the twisting easier.)   Starting at the center of a circle of Sticky Pages, I stuck one end of the fabric down and started twisting and coiling the fabric.  At the outer edge I tucked the end under.  

I made the tiny red rosettes in the same manner by tightly twisting the Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding and sticking it to a large glue dot.  Loops of seam binding attached to the back finished this off.  


The tag is Crumb Cake punched with the new Decorative Label Extra-large Punch and stamped with images from the Peaceful Season Level 2 hostess set.  No scrap of this beautiful fabric is too small to be used.  I used a thin torn strip to tie the tag to the handle.  The candy cane holder fits nicely on the handle as well. 

My final project is a beautiful fabric flower medallion that I adhered to a bottle of chocolate scented shower soap.  I cut four swatches of fabric with the Lattice Die and rotated them on top of each other.  The center is stitched with needle and thread and pulled to gather it slightly.  


I just love the center of the flower.  I was experimenting with the seam binding and discovered I could pull a thread in the center to gather it into ruffles.  Once I had it ruffled, I used the same technique as the coiled flower on the gift bag (minus the twists) and adhered it to a circle of Sticky Pages working my way from the center to the outside.


Thank you for visiting my blog today and you can hop to the next stop where Amy has the Tasteful Trim Big Shot Die to show you.


                                                                                                                            

Our Silver Anniversary

Yesterday was Tom and my's 25th wedding anniversary.  I can't believe I have been so blessed to be married to my very best friend for 25 years.  We celebrated over the weekend by taking our children to a special restaurant that we love.  It is a beautiful English style inn built in the 1920's as private home and since turned into an inn with a few very unique guest rooms and a lovely sunroom for dining.

Then yesterday, our actual anniversary, Tom and I spent the day together.  We browsed jewelry shops as we are looking for anniversary bands and went for a walk on MSU's campus (where we attended grad school when we were first married).  In the evening we watched our wedding video with the kids.  We had so much fun sharing stories with them of the day and telling them about relatives they never had a chance to meet.

I secretly worked on a slide show of some early pictures of us- not an easy task to keep hidden with Tom working at home!  First I tried using a program that came on my Mac but got totally frustrated.  Then I tried My Digital Studio.  Wow!  I am amazed how easy it was to do and how much flexibility I had in being able to add music, move the pages around and fiddle with the timing of the slides.   The quality seems to be low when I loaded on the blog and the music is a bit off so the original is much better.  It was such a fun surprise.

Playing with Waffle Paper

The new Holiday mini has SO MANYwonderful products I felt like a kid in the candy store picking out new things to try.  One of the most intriguing is the Waffle Paper.  I have been playing around with it to see just what it is like.  There are two different assortments.  I have the one that includes Early Espresso and Basic Black.   It is crinkly like crape paper but stronger and not stretchy.  One side is dull and the other is slightly shiny.  It is quite strong for tying bows but will rip if too much pressure is used.

On this baby card, I used it in a variety of ways.  It is wonderful for pleating a ruffle.  I cut a strip about three times longer than the length of the card.  After putting a strip of sticky strip on the wide striped ribbon I pleated the waffle paper, pressing it along the top edge as I went.

For the large button, I cut multiple thin strips of the paper and used sewing thread to tie them together.  It was easiest to make them longer than I wanted and then trim them to size once I had them sewn to the button.

The smaller buttons are threaded with a very thin piece of the waffle paper that I twisted until it was very tiny.  I was surprised that it was strong enough to be able to gently tie a knot in it without tearing.

The waffle paper can be cut with the Big Shot dies.  The rick rack on this Thank You card is cut with the Tasteful Trim XL Bigz die.  The crinkles will be slightly flattened after being pressed in the die cut machine but still have really cool texture.

On the side is a simple knot.  The paper is easy to tie and holds its shape well.

I am working on more projects with different ways to use this paper and will have more to share in a few days.

Also I will be participating in Stampin' Addicts Blog Hop which is Friday, August 27 to Sunday, August 29.  All new products from the Holiday Mini will be featured so you will not want to miss that.  I will be featuring the oh-so-pretty new fabric.  I cant wait to see the other designer's creations.

Clear Block Stamping

One of this week's challenges on the Stamping Addict's site was to use a clear acrylic block to stamp an image.  This was perfect timing as my clear blocks had just arrived.  So my very first use for them was not to mount stamp as they are intended but use them as a stamp themselves.

I first stamped the Teahouse background stamp on Whisper White and then inked up the smallest Stampin Up Clear Block (size A) and repeatedly stamped it overtop.  This is mounted on a piece of Riding Hood Red Patterns paper.  Though it is hard to see the flowers and bird were stamped with the Punch Potpourri Level 1 hostess set before punching.  (It is a cloudy day for picture taking.)  Little pearls, a butterfly and Thank You sentiment are the last little additions.  Such a quick and easy technique.

Contemporary Christmas Card

Things have been a bit on the crazy side since returning from convention, hence the lack of new posts.  Our county fair is this week and prep for that is always a big time commitment.  But the kids have had a great time exhibiting projects and participating in all the related activities.  Hopefully I will have some fun scrapbook pages soon to share with all the pics.

It felt good to finally stamp again!  The Contempo Christmas stamp set and matching wheel have such a fun retro feel and the DSP from the level 1 hostess pack complements it perfectly.

I am so happy to have the new clear mounted stamps as I did not even have to use a stamp-a-ma-jig to get the trees lined up.  I am so bad about pulling out that tool!

The strip with the ribbon is piece of Pear Pizzaz cardstock on which I used the Contempo wheel inked with Pear Pizzaz ink.  I folded it at each little pointed oval and cut the centers out with sharp scissors.  Then I ran it through the Paper Crimper before threading White Taffeta ribbon through the cut-outs.

Measurements:
Pear Pizzaz cardstock base-  5-1/2 X 8-1/2 scored at 4-1/4.
Striped DSP - 2 X 5-1/2
Patterned Pear Pizzaz DSP - 2-1/2 X 4-1/4
Whisper White layer - 2-5/8 X 4-3/8
Wheeled Pear Pizzaz border strip - 1 X 5-1/2

Stamps: Contempo Christmas and Contempo Wheel
Ink: Pear Pizzaz Classic Ink
Accesssories: Rhinestones, 3/8" White Taffeta Ribbon, Paper Crimper