Paper snowflakes

It's December! How about some paper snowflakes to celebrate winter? 

All you need is a square piece of paper and a  pair of scissors.

And now comes the FUN part: unfolding the snowflake!

tada!

Why stop here? Make a few more..

and string them up on your door.

TIPS

Dip the edges of snowflakes in glitter and attach them to your windowpanes. Or glitter them in golden, green or any color to coordinate with your mayoun theme!

or simply use them to embellish Christmas presents!

Happy snowflake making! x

Let's make some STAMPS

What?! 

You’ve never made stamps before? :O

Not to worry! Below is a step-by-step tutorial on how to make one in no time...read on!

So a bit of internet searching will tell you stamps can be made from linoleum, eraser and even potato (I doubt the latter will last more than one or two prints). But the stamps I am going to share with you today are made from something that you will already have in the house. 

Yes, a SPONGE!

So let’s get started. Things you’ll need:

Sponge ((I prefer scotch bright because it has a scratchy backing that acts as a built-in handle but you can use any)

Craft knife

Scissors

Paper

Marker/pencil

Start off by drawing a simple design on paper or use designs from this template.  

Cut out your design and trace it on to your sponge. It’s important for the traced image to be a mirror image for the stamped image to turn out the way you intend it to. Simply put, once you draw the image, flip so that the pencil mark touches the sponge, and now trace around your design.

Then grab your craft knife and cut. Begin by cutting into the traced lines first…

then slice away the excess sponge (not-part-of-the-design parts) with your craft knife and remove with scissors.

Next remove bits of sponge around your design.

Continue cutting away until your design stands out. Squeeze out some paint onto your palette and dip your stamp in.

Stamp your design onto some scrap paper to see if you need to refine the edges.

If not, simply stamp away!

(Do not discard any of your prints, not even the bad ones. Read on to see how i put those to use!)

For a mottled effect, dip into paint, lift and stamp.

For a more solid image, load brush with paint and cover the stamp completely before stamping.

Cut out ALL your prints, darken the edges with a marker, punch and string them up!

don't they look festive and pretty?

will make lovely Christmas decor :)

Now spruce up label tags..

gifts..

and all that you can think of with your stamp!

Happy stamping!

x

Make your own labels

Hey there! if you've been wondering how to label your handmade crafts and do not own an inkjet printer or afford to outsource the job to some labeling company, then look no further for I have just the tutorial for YOU!

And it is super EASY :d

You will need the following:

1. Ribbon or fabric in your color of choice
2. Scissors
3. Fabric paint
4. Sponge brush
5. Container
6. Palette
7. Ruler
8. Pencil 
9. Tape
10. DIY Printing Kit! 

  

Take out your DIY Printing Kit. The kit contains a stamp pad, stamp handle, platen, tweezers and rubber characters (alphabets, numbers etc). 

 

Select the platen size you wish to use and then using your tweezers set the text you want to use for your labels.

  

Make a mark on the platen half way down the text.

Next, tape down the edges of your ribbon on to your craft table. You need to do this to ensure the ribbon stays put when you start printing.

 (Since I was out of ribbons, I used cotton webbing for this tutorial. Not such a great idea since the material soaked up much of the paint, resulting in a bad print!) 

Determine how long you want your label to be. I wanted my label to be 3 inch long so I marked the ribbon accordingly and pressed down (or mark) at 1.5 inch to get my center point. The midpoint is important if you wish to center your text.

In a palette mix a custom color to your liking (not too thick or too watery). Using your sponge brush apply it on the stamp, covering all the letters completely. If by mistake the color comes on the side wipe it off with a paper towel otherwise you will end up with a messy print.

 

 

Now get printing! Align the mark you made on platen with the mark on ribbon and press down your stamp with enough force to get a nice even print. 

Lift your stamp and ta da! You just created a label for yourself!!! Continue printing down the entire length of the ribbon, applying an even coat of paint for each label.

Leave to dry and then heat-set it following fabric paint manufacturer’s instructions.  

Cut your labels and discard the ones with a messy/uneven print. And you are DONE!

Wasn’t this easy?

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