Tri-Fold Notebook Holder -

Hello, Crafty Folks!

The diminutive trifold notebook wallets are wonderful RAK gifts.  I plan to make five or six more to give away during the month of April.   I created The G45 French Country wallet for myself!   The Prima wallet I plan to give the Prima to my daughter.

Graphic 45 French Country

Notebook paper was created using Photoshop.

Prima Nature Garden Collection

I really like how my little notebooks turned out!

Thanks for Stopping By!

Hugz,

Chana

The Red Book of Westmarch - First Attempt

Hello, Crafty Peeples!

I continue my foray into bookbinding.   The Hubster is a HUGE fan of the Hobbit and Lord of The Rings Series.  I recently came across a Long Stitch bookbinding tutorial for creating the Red Book of Westmarch.   I didn't have any red leather and was not inclined to spend that kind of money for a practice project so I decided to use the faux leather fabric that has been propped outside my studio door for exactly one year.

I am so glad I did not invest in red leather.  My first attempt at the long stitching did not go well.  I am posting it here so that I can mark my progress.  I now plan to make three of these books.  One for my hubby, one for my eldest grandson, and one for my son-in-law.   For the real projects, I will order the real leather.  I could not emboss on the faux leather and I really want to add the emblem and Bilbo Baggins initials.

I really don't like this frame.  It probably would have been nicer if I had made it thinner.  Hopefully, I will be able to emboss the books I am working on now.   

The Long Stitch allows you to sew your signatures directly to fabric (or paper,)  The Red Book in the film is Case Bound, but I liked the look of the book in the tutorial.  When properly executed (mine is not) The long stitch makes a beautiful spine.

The inside of the fabric I used is like a moleskin and I decided to leave it in its natural state but stained with Distress Ink

I also used distress ink to age the signature sheets.  I used water color paper to make these signatures.
By the way, my grandson saw this and really liked it, so I let him take it home.  Glad I took pictures.  At least now I know he will like the "real" Red Book of Westmarch once I have it completed.

Thanks for dropping by!
Hugz,
Chana

A Cute Mason Jar Makerover

Hello, Crafty Peeps!

I recently have found myself fascinated with up-cycling bottles!  I get such a kick out of mixing crazy paint colors with crackle and glue.  I am never sure of the result but so far I have not been disappointed with any of my outcomes.

For this little mason jar makeover, I decided to just do something simple for my SIL's fabulous blue and white kitchen.  We will fill the jar with more of her brother's "family&friends" famous J.R.'s All Purpose Rub!

I wish the photo showed the sparkle of the glass beads around the cuff of the jar.  The matte finish of the Paint gives the jar a real vintage look and feel!

I totally forgot that the color of my lid insert would alter the color of the glass bead on top.    I used Rub n' Buff® wax "Pewter" to alter the color of the mason jar lid.  Around the top of the cap, I used Inka Gold Hematite for more contrast between the lid lip and the lid insert.

This was a fast, fun, and simple project!  Hope you will make your own Mason Jar project and share with me at "A Place To Start" and/or my monthly challenge blog 613 Avenue Create!

THANKS FOR VISITING!

HUGZ

CHANA MALKAH!

Shopping Our Stash #260 - Get Inspired By Your Bedding!

Hey, Crafty Peeps!

We are back with another one of our off the wall Shopping Our Stash challenges!  The last time we wandered this far into the land of unique inspiration we asked you to get inspired by your shower curtain! I drew my inspiration from the bedding in one of our guest rooms. 

The primary focal is the geometric pattern in the comforter.   The comforter is reversible, so I was inspired by the greyish brown color and tried to match that in the cardstock used for my base.  My paper is much darker but the true color is more correctly reflected in the banner and the designer paper used on the inside. 

 I wanted to play around with double-embossing the front of my card.  For this creation, I used ColorBox® Silver Embossing Powder in combination with the WRMK® Next Level "Quilted" Embossing Folder

A tutorial for double-embossing can be found HERE on the ClearSnap® Blog

I finished off the design with the Heidi Swapp® Love, Love, Love Banner.  I die cut a heart using my Sizzix® Hearts. Both the sentiment and the heart are secured with double-sided foam tape.  This created a cool 3D look IRL.  

The interior was finished off with a designer sheet from Teresa Collins'™ "Far Away" collection.   Finally, I added a Petaloo Glass Flower. 

Thanks for stopping by!   Try this double-embossing.  You can create fun, elegant faux metal designs and save money!  

Hugz,

Chana

Materials

1 Pc Card Stock cut to 5-1/2" x 12.0"  (finished card will be 5-1/2" x 6.0")

1 Pc Card Stock cut to 5-1/4" x 5-1/4"

1 Pc Designer Paper - Teresa Collins™ Far Away

Embossing Folder - WRMK® Next Level - Quilted

ColorBox® Silver Embossing Powder

Top Boss® Embossing Ink

Die - Sizzix - Hearts
Embellishments -
     Heidi Swapp "Love, Love, Love" Banner
     Petaloo Premier Spring 1 Darjeeling Collection - Glass Flower with Leaves
Parchment Paper

Decoupage Clue

Double-sided foam

Tools

Paper Trimmer

Craft Iron

Disclosure Statement

EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 1, 2009, FTC GUIDELINES REQUIRE BLOGGERS TO DISCLOSE ANY TIME THEY ARE COMPENSATED FOR ENDORSING OR REVIEWING PRODUCTS OR SERVICES.

The Project demonstrated above contains components received for free in return for my services and for posts on my blog. I affirm that I have not made, nor would I ever make or endorse, misleading statements regarding any product or service used in the operation of this blog.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS REGARDING ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE USED ON MY BLOG, PLEASE CONTACT ME AT CMALKAH@YAHOO.COM.

613 Avenue Create - Design A CAS Project

Hello, Crafty Peeps!

This is a very short post!  Over at 613 Avenue Create, we are asking that you design and submit a CAS project.  This can be a card, a tag, 3D, Up cycle, etc.  I suck at CAS, but have decided to try and create at least one CAS project each month.  That should improve my skill level in this genre!

I am beginning to love CAS because I see so many cards with so much stuff stuck on them, but the designs are not cohesive, they do not tell a story.  Clean and Simple design requires a lot of thought because you must communicate your entire message with minimal embellishment.

The Hubster says I should employ CAS when explaining to him why I need every stencil and embossing folder on the planet! 

 I used Tim Holtz's Botanical Rub Ons for the foliage and sentiment.
The papers are from the Teresa Collins Daily Stories Collection

I don't usually design the inside of my projects, but this gave me another opportunity to come up with an effective clean and simple design.  The "Today" sticker is from the Carpe Diem Snap Planner Collection.    One of the goals of CAS design, is that the design should be easy to replicate.  Using stickers and rub ons make creating multiple cards of the same design a breeze.

Thanks for Stopping By!

Hugz,

Chana Malkah

Earth Safe Finishes - Bird House - Chinese Tea House

HI, Crafty Peeps!  Today I am presenting a cedar birdhouse that I painted and decorated to resemble a traditional Chinese Tea House - Birdhouse.

Here is a recent design using Earth Safe Finishes®!  In case you are not familiar with ESF, it is a WOMAN owned, Made in the USA company that develops, manufactures, and markets high-quality VOC free products.  You can read more about the company HERE!

This birdhouse has languished in Projects In Progress for almost four months.  I knew that whatever I did with the birdhouse, I wanted the roof to have texture so, back in May, I added drywall tape to the roof, covered the entire birdhouse with Gesso, and put it in PIP.  Last week, I decided to make another attempt and was inspired to go oriental.   I hope this project will inspire you to use chalks and pigments on large surfaces with minimal embellishments.   My product focus this week:  Earth Safe Finishes® Chalk It Up™ "Licorice" and Earth Safe Finishes® Pigment "Permanent Red."  I also used Ann Butler Designs™ Iridescents "Sheer Silver."

The Tutorial for this project can be found at the Earth Safe Finishes® Artists Blog

My husband purchased an unfinished cedar birdhouse from the Goodwill Store for $3.49.
The windows are caps from empty distress stain bottles.
The house had some rough edges, which was great, because I wanted the tea house to show age.

The Oriental Weave panel provides visual relief from 
the bold designer papers on the back, side and front of the house!  

The instructions for creating the faux metal siding are included in the tutorial.

Thanks for Stopping by,

HUGZ!

Steam Punk Amy! - A SPECIAL REDESIGN

 Hello, Crafty Peeps!   

Today I am showing how I redesigned a project that did not hold up to use.

PRODUCT REDESIGN

A few months ago, I made a note holder for my friend, Amy!  She loves Steam Punk and I thought an ensemble made for G45's Steampunk Spells would be perfect!   

This is what the set looked like when I gave it to her.

Pretty, but unfortunately, the paper was not strong enough and the seams began to split.  She brought it back and  I was so embarrassed!  Take my word for it, it was AWFUL.

See, AWFUL!

This is the revised wallet:

I even added a pen holder and this neat box to hold the pads.  Business Cards fit behind the PUNK

THE BIG DO OVER!

So I started again, using the heaviest weight of cardboard I could find.  I also increased the size of the note wallet and gave it more of a book binding.

The panels were coved with a heavyweight kraft paper.

I used three large magnets as closers.

I used large clamps to square the box.

I cut a piece of Steampunk Spells paper to size and covered it with clear shelf liner. 

This will reinforce the seams and protect the wallet from stains and tearing

The inside was also covered with corresponding paper.

 I have opened and closed this wallet at least fifty times; it seems that the construction is holding.

Amy is an infusion nurse and this wallet will get a work out from her.  It is great, she can be my product tester.   I am currently working on a wallet using faux leather.  Wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by!

HUGZ,

CHANA

Challenge #117 - 613 Avenue Create - TRULY ANYTHING GOES!

Hello, Crafty Peeples!

This week at 613 Avenue Create, we have a "Truly Anthiny Goes" Challenge.

So, show off your Canvas work or Art Jounals.  I would love to see some Scrap Pages and Home Decor Projects.  Whatever strikes your fancy, we would like to see your creations.

I decided this week to revisit an old favorite of mine, brown paper bag cards.  They are so easy and so full of opportunities to "hide stuff" like tags and gifts.

BROWN BAG TAG POCKET CARD

I don't celebrate Easter, but this wonderful paper from Authentiques's "Hope Collection" was impossible to resist.  I am sending this as a gift to one of my crafting buddies!

 Like I said, lots of little "cubbies" in which to stick things.  Such a nice way to send a gift of stamps to a crafting buddy! The Inkadinkado Stamps fit perfectly!

Thanks for Stopping By!  I look forward to seeing your work in the challenge at 

613 AVENUE CREATE

Challenges Entered:

2015 World Wide Open Design Team Challenge - Anything Goes

Amusing Challenge - Anything Goes
Design Team Showcase - Anything Goes
Eclectic Ellapu - Anything Goes- PINK TEAM
Scribble and Scrap - Always Anything Goes
A Gem of A Challenge - Shaped Cards (Anything But A Square)