Mel Designs

Handmade Laundry Room Organizer- "Missing Socks"

If you are like me and hoards of other people, you have scores of mismatched socks. Where do missing socks go once they leave the dryer, if they ever really do? I guess the logical conclusion is that they cling to the insides of paints, arm sleeves, etc. On more than one occasion, I put on my yoga pants only to discover a renegade sock stuck to the inside leg. 

Sometimes they take longer to turn up, if at all.  After a couple of months of hanging onto mismatched socks, I usually just give up and find other uses for them. Some of my socks have turned into sock monkeys, draft stoppers (I once fashioned a long white sock into a snowman draft stopper, it was quite cute actually) or sock puppets. My dad uses them to wax the car.

I once designated a basket in my laundry room for the purpose of tucking away mate less socks in hopes that they would eventually be reunited with their partners. And do you know what, I did eventually match them up about 95% of the time, which still left a few for becoming snowman draft stoppers.

The missing sock phenomena inspired me to create this wood board plaque, perfect for storing mate less socks until a successful reunion can be made with its partner sock. Its more decorative then my basket and I can see which socks are missing at a glance.

 I raided my fabric scraps and torn them into strips, each measuring about 2" x 8." (The length and width of your torn strips will vary according to the size of the die cut you will be using, discussed a bit later) To join the strips together, I simply overlapped the pieces slightly (1/4") and sewed a straight stitch down the center. I joined together three strips, mixing and matching prints and solids.

Since I was using the Sizzix BigShot Die Cutting Machine and Bird die, I cut a card stock bird out first to make sure the fabric strips covered the entire die, and I didn't end up with a bird with no tail or beak or something.

Once I was ready, I set about die cutting my birds from the joined fabric strips, three of them.

Here is a quick look at my die cut fabric scrap birds.

Pretty but I thought the needed a bird more detail. I used my sewing machine and black thread to free form sew around the edges of the birds.

These turned out to be cute little scrap fabric embellishments for my laundry room organizer!

I chose DecoArt's Americana Acrylics in Lamp Black and Cadmium Yellow to paint the wood pieces. Bear in mind that Cadmimum Yellow is a transparent paint. It will take several coats to cover the board or you can use a more semi-opaque paint such as Lemon Yellow for a similar shade and color. I painted the sign board, which came from Walnut Hollow, black first, along with the clothespins, which I painted all black.

To create an aged effect on the board, which gives it a little more interest and matches my shabby chic decor, I painted yellow over the black and sanded the surface to let some of the black show through. The opposite applies to these teardrop shaped wings. I painted them yellow first and then black.

If you desire different colors to match your existing decor, DecoArt has a multitude of paint colors to choose from.

Once I had all my pieces painted, It was time to begin assembling the board. I used DecoArt's new medium, "Deco-pauge" with a foam brush to apply the birds to the sign board.

I used a heavy duty adhesive such as Beacon Adhesives Gem-Tac to attach the clothespins. Make sure you use a liberal amount of the adhesive as these clothespins will be handled frequently.

Finally, I used some 1" alphabet stamps and black pigment ink to stamp "missing socks" on the surface of the board. Several small bits and pieces of embellishments later, and a handmade laundry room organizer was born perfect for keeping track of those "missing socks." Maybe this will save me money replacing all those socks I never found and matched up with its mate!

Live Life Creatively,

Shabby Chic Napkin Rings with Buttons and Brads

Hop on over to the Buttons Galore and More Blog for instructions on how I made these pretty shabby chic napkin rings. I used Cozy Brads, wooden buttons from the Haberdashery and cameos to make a mixed media assemblage perfect for decorating your Spring table. Leave a comment while you are there and let me know what you think!

Live Life Creatively,

 

DCC Blog Hop- Buttons Galore and More Mixed Media Heart Pendant

Welcome to the March Designer Crafts Connection Manufacturer Challenge and Give
Away!  This month, it's all about the buttons, with Buttons Galore & More.  
This month, we have many talented Designers sharing projects made with buttons
and a fabulous prize package. The give away starts today and ends on March
17th.  Leave a comment to enter.  There will be a prize for one participating
Designer and one Reader who comments.  Drawings are random, so leave comments on
all the blogs for more chances to win.

I decided to create a mixed media necklace using gold beads and cozy brads from Buttons Galore and More. I used the button shank remover to remove the flange from the brad. For the heart shape, I used a Sizzix Die cut machine and primitive hearts die to cut two shapes from scrap fabrics.

Fuse webbing to the scrap fabric before cutting and fuse the smaller heart to the larger one by layering. Cut an extra heart from the scrap fabric for the back of of the heart. You will need to completely embellish the front of the heart before sewing the pieces together.

I used my sewing machine and thread to sew around the edges of the small heart in order to keep it in place. I also added a stamped fabric sentiment to fused muslin and fused it to the center of the heart.

Use the sewing machine and thread to stitch the sentiment in place. I used solvent ink by the way and set the ink with an iron on a medium setting.

One of the embellishments I added was wire that I used round nose pliers to bend the wire.

I used black embroidery floss to sew the wire the front of the heart. I also added a scrap off fabric that I had in my stash in a coordinating fabric.

I added my cozy brad, flange removed and sewed a gold button to the heart.

I used fabri-tac to add the brad to the heart. I also added a little glitter to the brad for a little extra sparkle.

To assemble the heart, sew the front and back together, leaving a small opening so that you can stuff the heart with polyfiber stuffing.

Continue sewing closed once it is stuffed. Because I had so many embellishments to the front of my heart, I hand sewed the pieces together using sewing thread and back stitch. I added a jump ring to the top with the hand sewing needle and thread.

Add a chain and there you are, you have a sweet little mixed media button embellished pendant.   

Now for the Blog Hop Part. 

Please join the Designer Craft Connection, Viewtainer and Buttons Galore

in presenting this blog hop. 

You have a chance to win a Viewtainer filled with an assortment

buttons and 45 feet of ribbon.

To win one of the Viewtainers filled with ribbons and buttons – Leave a comment on the Buttons Galore and More Blog.
The comment should contain your favorite project from the hop, and the container
you would like to win. Comments need to be made by March 17th, 2013 at 11:59
eastern standard time.

Don't forget to use the DCC logo on the right sidebar by clicking back and forward to see all the wonderful projects.

Life Live Creatively,

Buttoned Embellished Tiny Totes

Who doesn't love a good fabric stash buster/scrap project? I am forever on the lookout for great
projects that will use up my fabric scraps. I also love to create tiny totes. They are very handy for giving small gifts such as gift cards, candies, soaps, art gifts, etc.

I recently had the idea to use some of my larger scraps to create these pillows, exploding with color. I tore strips of fabric in a mix and match color theme and pattern selection.

The way that I assembled the pillow on the right is the same way that I assembled these cute little tiny totes, embellished with buttons.

I simply pinned together two of the strips and used my sewing machine and some black thread to sew the pieces together.

Continue in the same fashion until your strips make one nice sized piece of fabric that can be cut to form the front and back of the little tote. Notice how I used the various stitches found on my machine to join the pieces together, which adds some fun elements to the tote bag. I also used some free form stitching (see the yellow strip) to add a little whimsy. Some of these fabrics were purchased patterns leftover from previous projects and some were strips of hand dyed muslin I use to make my hand dyed and stamped ribbons. The idea is to have fun using up strips from your stash.

I couldn't resist adding a stamped sentiment to some of the strips that were solids. Text type details make things so interesting. I used solvent ink and set it with my iron on a medium setting (no steam).

Determine the desired size of your finished totes and add a 1/2" seam allowance on all sides. So if you want your tote to be, say, 5 1/2" x 7", cut your pieces to 6 1/2" by 8" using a self healing cutting mat and rotary cutter. Join the pieces together, wrong sides out. I was left with an uneven edge on one side since my strips were not exactly evenly torn. I cut off that edge and set it aside so that the edges were even. This makes it much easier to sew even seams.

Once my bag was sewn, I used the iron to steam the seams open and turned it right side out. Note that I used a knife pleated piece of hand dyed ribbon for the top of the tiny tote, which makes a nice embellished finish on the top edge.

Now for the part that's even more fun than putting the strips together. Embellishing it with BUTTONS. I fell in love with these hand dyed buttons by designer Laura Kelly for Buttons Galore and More that I received in my design team package.

I laid out a little "design" and used Beacon Adhesives Fabri-Tac to glue everything in place.

One of my favorite parts of this tiny tote is the button handle created by threading the buttons onto
a piece of wire.

I attached the handle by punching holes with a heavy duty hole punch, punching right through the fabric layers.

I used round nosed beading pliers to curl the sharp edges inward and secure the handle.

Even before joining the design team at Buttons Galore and More, I was fascinated by these little pieces of smooth plastic pieces they call "Start-Ups." They handle ink beautifully. I used chalk ink by ClearSnap to ink the piece in an uneven manner. I did have to use my heat gun to
get the ink to set quickly though. I'm impatient that way.

I stamped a fleur de lis motif in the center with the solvent ink.

I had so much fun making this little button embellished tote that I had to make another one. I mean, I had all these torn fabric strips just laying around, right?

Remember the scrap I cut off of the uneven edge of the joined strip fabric piece?

It didn't go to waste either! It seems scrap fabric projects lead to more scrap fabric projects!

  Live Life Creatively,

Stamped Bird with Eggs Shower or Wedding Favor

Are you looking for an easy to make favor perfect for an upcoming Spring Wedding, Bridal Shower, Baby shower or bridal luncheon? if you can stamp, you can create these adorable bird themed favors. The birds are simply stamped on top of the glassine bag, and the bag is filled with shredded kraft paper and candy coated eggs to resemble a bird sitting on a nest of eggs. The beauty of creating these is that candy coated or "jordan almonds" comes in a wide variety of colors so you can customize them to match your chosen colors. The materials are simple but if you would like to take the EASY ROUTE and order them from my etsy shop, they are available in multiples of 25 or 50. I also accept custom quantities so you can convo me with questions.

I ordered these 3" x 5" glassine bags in lots of 100 from etsy. The seller, Cre8tive Goddess, is one of my favorites and sends along a big bunch of shredded paper with your order.

I used StazOn solvent ink in black and a simple bird and script stamp for the design on the front.

When working in multiples, don't stack the bags together or the ink will stick to the back of the bag. Solvent ink dries quick but takes a little longer to dry on glassine.

I did these particular favors for a baby shower for an etsy customer in Canada. She instructed me in the text she wanted to use including type font. She wanted a vintage feel so I used Baskerville Old Face.

I used a scalloped edged circle punch to punch each label out. I like this one from Marvy Uchida because it allows you to see where you are punching on the paper simply by turning the punch over.

The first step in assembling these labels is to cut out some corrugated cardboard circles. Corrugated cardboard is most likely sitting in or around your trash or recycling bin right now. I used the top part of a Pizza box.

Simply peel away the top part of the box to expose the corrugated layer and use scissors or a circle cutter to cut circles that measure approximately 1 1/2."

Ink the edges of the cardstock circles with brown ink and glue it to the top of the corrugated circle, centering.

To embellish the labels, I die cut some flowers from black wool felt. You will also need some ribbon or dyed fabric strips, seam binding, etc to decorate the top part of the label. I find that it is easiest to hand dyed torn strips of muslin with Rit Dye so that I can get the exact shade to match the candy color being used.

This hemp from Hemptique adds the final rustic touch to the labels.

Assembling the labels is by far the most time consuming effort of this project since you are most likely working in multiples of 25, 50, 100, etc. I even completed a 400 piece order for a wedding last Spring!

The final step is filling the bags with the shredded paper and candy and attaching the label. Fill the bag with five almonds and shredded paper. Fold over the bag and punch a hole for the label. Use the jeweled brad to attach the label and hold the bag closed.

I like to send the favors along to my customers in special packaging. I imagine that the recipient might save the box and use it hold special momentos of the special event, in this case a baby shower.

I usually save shoe boxes and other non-corrugated packages for just this purpose. I paint the box with several coats of paint and then dry brush in a contrasting color.

To coordinate with the theme of these favors, I stamped the bird on hand dyed ribbon.

 

Life Live Creatively,

 

Chalkboard Napkin Rings

These days, chalkboard adorns everything from wine glasses to fabric pillow. So many varieties of chalkboard paint are available on the market that it is impossible to escape this super fun trend. Take a quick look at Pinterest and you will discover all kinds of recipes for creating your own chalkboard paint in any color imaginable plus a multitude of fun projects to use this paint on.

I ran into these fun 2" x 3" mini chalkboard pieces in the unfinished wood craft supply section of my local JoAnn's Fabrics and Crafts. They are made by Darice. I immediately knew I wanted to do something with them but wasn't sure exactly what right away. I remembered I had purchased some wood beveled napkin rings in bulk so of course! Napkin Rings.

With the addition of some polymer clay and paint in bright colors, I knew they would be unique as a table accessory/place marker.

I chose DecoArt's Americana Acrylics in bright, fun colors.

I painted the wood pieces in alternating colors.

To add a little embellishment to them, I used a plastic mould made for polymer clay and Sculpey III by Polyform in Silver.

When using plastic moulds, it helps to dust the surface with corn starch. This allows the clay to peel away from the mold more easily.

A little conditioned clay was pressed into the mould, shaped and peeled away.

This is a shot of the clay pressed and formed into the mould.

Now the clay is being peeled away. And here you have the finished shape!

I also opted to decorate the center of the wood ring with clay strips. I rolled out the clay into thin strips using an acrylic roller. I used a clay knife to cut thin strips to fit into the center of the beveled wood napkin ring.

I used solvent ink and a script font stamp to add some texture to the strips.

I wrapped the strips around the center of the wood ring and baked them along with the fancy moulded shapes according to the directions on the package.

 When the clay was cured and cooled. I dry brushed the fancy shape, glued it to the center top of the chalkboard frame and added a little flat backed gem stone.

  I used a super stong glue to attach the chalkboard frames to the wood rings. These napkin rings can be used over and over again. I love napkin ring projects. Almost any material can be used to make them including recycled materials. They can instantly bring an entirely new personality to table decor. Thanks for letting me share my idea with you!

Live Life Creatively,

 

Indigo Dyed Stuffed Door Hanger

Around the 15th century, in the days of Chaucer and courtly love, lovers began the tradition of exchanging small tokens of love in the form of flowers, candy and cards which eventually became to be know as "Valentines."

In the tradition of the month of love, the Designer Connection Blog Hop brings you "Handmade with Love" where I am sure you will find tons of inspiration for creating special love gifts.

Gauging by the purchases from my etsy shop, Valentine gifts are not only for exchanges by lovers but also for giving between family members and special friends. I had a customer recently who requested a custom order for her sister and mother as it was in their tradition to exchange gifts every February 14th in lieu of Christmas.

If you saw my post on creating this indigo dyed bird pillow, you were introduced to the cool concept of indigo dying using Jacquard Product's  Indigo Dying Kit.

I played with this product extensively last Fall and made some really cool projects. If you have not used this product before, here is a short list of helpful tips.

- The kit contains everything you will need to dye several yards of fabric, t-shirts, etc. The only needed items to gather are a 5 gallon bucket with a lid, a stirring stick (long, I used a 1" dowel), and a small plastic container.

- Weather permitting, I would highly recommend you use this product outdoors. Do not try using it in a bathrub or shower as you will end up with blue stains that are very hard to remove (do you know how In know this?)

- Plan to dye several items at once. You can store the leftover dye with the "flower" removed and placed into the small plastic container if you would like to store it and use it later.

- If you dont want to dye your own fabric, visit my etsy shop where you can purchase tie dyed indigo fabric by the 1/2 yard.

- Jenny at Craft Test Dummies did a great tutorial on step by step dying with this kit that you can check out before you get started.

I started with 6" sqaures of tie dyed indigo. For the door hanger, you need two, one for the back and one for the front.

I used Lite Steam a Seam by The Warm Company which is my favorite fusible webbing, and an iron to fuse it to burlap. I cut the burlap to a 4 1/2" square, peeled off the paper backing and fused it to the center off one of the squares with the iron.

To create the design, you will need some additional fabric elements. I fused some of the indigo dyed fabric scraps to a die cut heart. (Note: fuse if first then die cut it) You also need to fused muslin scrap and a scrap of red ticking fabric. Once you have fused the muslin, use a solvent ink pad to stamp a sentiment and heat set it with the iron.

Peel off the paper backing from the stamped sentiment, fuse it to the center of the red ticking scrap and sew the edges with a sewing machine and thread. You can use a backstitch for this step if you would prefer as an option.

Use your sewing machine and thread to sew a tight zig zag stitch around the edges of the burlap. It will resemble machine applique. I used a straight stitch to stitch the heart to the burlap and a straight stitch to stitch the stamped label to the heart.

Next, turn two 6" indigo dyed squares right sides in and sew them together on the left, top and right sides, using a 1/2" seam allowance. Leave the bottom open for turning and stuffing.

Use an iron to steam the seams open and turn the door hanger right sides out. Tear two 2" strips from one of the 6" indigo dyed squares and use your sewing machine to sew knife pleats along the center. Join the two together with the center stitch to make the strip longer.

Turn the door hanger right side out, stuff with polyfil by Fairfield (my favorite since its high quality, soft and so easy to work with). Sew the bottom shut and sew the ruffled strip to the bottom of the door hanger. (you may need to trim excess from the strip with scissors)

Notice the addition of these pretty flower centers by Prima from the Dynasty Collection (Ivory) which are still available from Scrapbook.com.

I opted for a wire hanger which I attached by punching holes with my heavy duty hole punch.

These indigo dyed door hangers can be a wonderful addition to any home. Perfect as a little Valentines Day gift, they can be incorporated into a home with Americana decor as well.

Live Life Creatively,

Amore Embellished Altoid Tin and Tags

"Amore" (Italian) translates to "love" in the English language. Remember the old song "when the moon hits the sky like a big pizza pie thats 'Amore?' The Italians celebrate love with no other and it was with this mind that I was inspired to create some super versatile tags that can be used to adorn anything from jewelry, home decor or as fun wedding or valentines favors, tucked inside this embellished altoid tin.

These tags also make gorgeous bag ties for favors perfect for Valentines Day Favors, Wedding Favors, Bridal Showers, etc. Just change the color of the ribbon to match your color scheme.

I have been saving altoids tins for several months ago but I was still surprised to clean out my recycled stash and discover I had 15 of these babies!! I must be eating them like crazy...

I knew that I wanted to paint the tin as I was aiming for a shabby, distressed look so I thought it would be easiest if I covered the tin with cardstock first and then painted it. So I took a pencil and make templates by tracing the tin twice (to cover the top and bottom).

I cut out the templates and used Zip Dry Paper Glue by Beacon Adhesives to glue the pieces to the tin.

I measured the sides of the tin and used a paper trimmer to cut strips about 1/4" thinner than the actual measurements.This ensures that the cardstock does not hang off the edges of the tin.

Adhere with strips around the tin with the paper glue and use rubber bands to hold in place while drying, although the glue will set up very fast.

Now its time to paint. I used Lamp Black Americana Acrylics by DecoArt to cover the tin on the outside. I also cut a 1" x 3" cardstock strip, scored it 1/2" from each edge and painted it as well. Additionally, I painted a doll pin stand (stay posted for how I used this) and about eight wood heart tags. These tags can be purchased from several online sources. Just search for "unfinished wood heart tags."

 

painted and scored cardstock strip

You may be asking yourself why I painted cardstock when I could have simply used black cardstock. I find that for items that will be handled frequently, adding paint and gesso layers makes them a lot more durable.

After I had a front coat on the wood hearts, I used a candle to rub wax heavily across the surface.

Next, I painted the hearts, front and back, with two coats with Americana Acrylics in Antique White by DecoArt. I also dry brushed the box using this paint as well as the doll pin holder.

Note that the doll pin stand, or holder (purchased at any craft supply store in the unfinished wood supplies) has been glued to a stamped cardstock strip and a sprarkly bead placed in the hole of the bead. I used Beacon's Gem Tac to glue these components together.

This embellishment, along with some pink hand dyed ribbon were glued to the top of the tin using Fabri-Tac by Beacon Adhesives.

  I also added some tiny self adhesive stones for extra sprarkle.

Now back to the hearts and this is the fun part. Use a sanding block to sand the waxed surface lighly to reveal a distressed finish. Areas where the wax was applied will "peel" away easily. Use a scriot stamp and chalk ink to stamp the surface of the hearts for a very subtle stamped background. Use alphabet stamps or stickers to spell out "Amore."

Make another template for the tin by tracing the tin bottom to the wrong side of patterned papers of your choice. I used some simple black with white dots. Glue the divider strip slightly off center in the tin, adhering the scored sides to the tin to keep in place. This will keep your tags and ribbon hangers tidy inside the embellished altoid tin.

I embellished this recycled tin can with one of the tags and some washi tape for a pretty art supplies organizer.

These tags also make gorgeous bag ties for favors perfect for Valentines Day Favors, Wedding Favors, Bridal Showers, etc. Just change the color of the ribbon to match your color scheme.

My brain has been on overdrive thinking all of all the art kits I can create with these tins. Stay tuned as I show you next how to create super easy postcard charms tucked inside this quilted embellished altoid tin! To get a head start, see my previous post on how to make these charms.

Live Life Creatively,

 

Melony

Die Cut Foam Board Painted and Stamped Bird Ornament

Can you believe the most merry day of the year is approaching us faster than we can say "ho ho ho?" I still have some bare spots on my nature themed tree that could still use some ornaments. At this late point in the game, I still have the spirit and desire to create but not necessarily the time to spend an entire day searching in stores and online for the perfect materials.

I created these die cut foam board stamped and painted birds for my etsy shop sometime back and the response has been terrific!

 

If you happened to catch my post on these fun, easy, die cut foam bird ornaments covered with veneer sheets you have discovered how easy it is to turn out a quick "wood" ornament using a Sizzix BigShot Pro die cut machine, the "Beautiful Bird" die cut by Brenda Pinnick for Sizzix, foam board from Elmers and finally real wood sheets from creative imaginations. I promised you three ideas for using the same die to create beautiful ornaments and here I deliver. Be sure to catch my post on the Crafts and Things Blog tomorrow for some fun ornaments made from ticking fabric.

Ok. So back to the painted and stamped version. First you will need your bigshot pro to cut out your ornaments from Elmers foam core board. The Sizzix BigShot Pro is perfect for this as it cuts heavy duty materials very easily.

So by using the die cut machine with the foam core, you get nice, even smooth edges. No need to sand. The die cut comes with a wing shape, but I am partial to teardrops. So I elected to trace 3" teardrops onto foam core and cut out with an X-acto knife.

You will need to sand the edges with a nail file (emory board) or a smaller paper sander made especially for paper crafting projects.

For the paints, I chose Lamp Black, Snow White and Antique White by DecoArt.

I painted the wing shape one coat of black since I knew I would be covering with one or two shades of white to create a distressed effect.

  I aso painted the back of each foam core bird shape ornament black.

Once the wing is dry to the touch, use a candle stick to randomly rub the surface.

Paint the wing two coats of white and then sand gently to remove areas where the candle wax was applied.

Paint the front of the foam core bird shape Antique White.

Use an ornate foam stamp and the white acrylic paint to stamp the surface randomly.

For a layered stamp look, I used StazOn ink in black and a script stamps to completely cover the bird.

I painted the beak black and added a small black dot for the eye. I slightly inked the edges of the bird to give it an aged look. Add a floral embellishment, stamp a sentiment on the wing, glue pieces together and your die cut painted and stamped bird ornament is complete! 

I bears mentioned that I hand dyed muslin using Rit Dye in Apple Green and purchased the silk flowers from Scrapbook.com. 

The flowers are from the Tasha collection and the tones are "midnight."

Just think of how many wonderful, lightweight but sturdy birds you can get from one sheet of foam board!

Although I used my Sizzix BigShot pro machine, I tried cutting the foam core with my smaller, standard BigShot and it worked too. Scrapbook.com carries this machine as well as a similar bird die cut that would work well for this project.

I hope you enjoyed seeing how easy it is to create with die cuts and foam board. Dont forget to jump over to the Crafts n Things blog to see my post on the the ticking fabric birds! And also check out these birds featured in my etsy shop.

Live Life Creatively,

 

Die Cut Foam Board Veneer Bird Ornaments

True to my fascination with everything avian, my Christmas tree contains everybird birds and inspired by birds. The idea came when I was out walking my dog and noticed the vast abundance of Georgia pinecones littering the ground. What could I do with these? If I used them inside, how was I to extract the little creatures living inside them?

I absolutely adore this "beautiful bird" applique die cut created for Sizzix by Brenda Pinnick. In my next three (errrr- long overdue) blog posts I am going to show you how to create three different ornaments with this die cut using unconventional materials to create stunning tree, mantel or package decorations.

This version all starts with simple to find, good old foam board. Foam board can intimade many of us because it usually requires using a craft knife to cut and that can take some practice. The best advice I can give you when cutting foam board (I prefer Elmer's because it comes in a variety of thicknesses, is high quality and can be purchased with grids on one side) is to utilize the "three cut rule." That is, trace your shape, use one pass of your X Acto knife to score exactly (or as close as you can) on the traced line, make a deeper second pass and finally score deeper to cut completely through. Don't try and cut all the way through with one cut, this doesn't yield smooth edged results.

As shown in the photo above, cut the foam board down to managable pieces. Cut some to match the size of the bird image on the die and some to use for the wings.

 
The good news is that, if you elect to use the shape of wing I did, you only need to trace a large teardrop shape onto the foam board and cut them out with the X ACTO knife. Have handy a sanding block or nail file to smooth any jagged edges.

  There is a wing shape included in the die cut that you can use if you wish but I have to admit I am partial to teardrop shaped wings.

The easier part of this project involves using the Sizzix BigShot pro to cut the bird shapes from the foam board. The BigShot Pro is a heavy duty die cut machine that cuts thick materials such as foam board.

It makes cutting these foam board bird shapes so easy!

Now its time to cover the shapes with the real wood veneer available from creative imaginations. The Real Wood Veneer product comes in 12" x 24" Real Wood Thin Cherry. It is ideal for cardmaking,mixed media, veneering, paper crafting, custom embellishments, and wood modeling.
It is compatible with most cutting dies.

You will need to use the wing template and an ink pen to trace the shape and an die cut machine to cut the real wood. For this smaller duty project, I went back to my lighter duty Big Shot machine and found that I could cut four sheets at once.

Once the sheets are cut, you can glue them to the foam core shapes to cover.

Use stamped sentiments for the wing and StazOn ink. I used brown chalk ink to smooth the edges of the foam core and to create the brown beak.

And to coordinate with the pine cones I spray painted (which made those little creatures promptly vacate) I added a small pinecone dusted with snow paint and a little bit of holly spray.

These ornaments are the perfect addition to any nature themed tree and can be make fairly quickly and easily in multiples. If you find your self lacking the time and materials to make these, visit my etsy shop for a great deal on these.

I hope I inspired you to try and make your own ornaments from simple foam board. What other dies do you own you could use to create special creations? Don't forget to check back here to see more ununual ideas using this wonderful die.

Live Life Creatively,