Someone Pinch Me...

I came back from vacation to great news. My Faery Cake tutorial featuring Emerald Faeries Willy & Mia made the first round of the May Arts Ribbon design team challenge! If you run over to their blog and vote for me you have a chance to win some super trim & ribbon too. Check it out at May Arts Blog. For those of you who aren't involved in papercrafts this entry is for a very large USA ribbon manufacturer. Being a design team member means you have the honor of creating a variety of handcrafted items featuring their products which are used in variety of formats such as advertising, trade shows, teaching, electronic media like Facebook & blogs. The lucky person(s) who wins this challenge will prepare tutorials that promotes the use of this company's wonderful ribbons. Thanks for helping me by voting!

A Faery Cake Recipe...

I'm always in search of ways to recycle cool trash. My Faery Cake idea was born with the help of two empty chipboard spools from spent rolls of tape and ribbon. I'd love to share my recipe in hopes that more people will make this fun little project. Please be sure to visit my blog and share links to your cake!

Ingredients

• two chipboard spools from tape, ribbon, etc. in 2.75" and 4.5" (any two sizes you have on hand will work)
• one sheet pink 12x12 cardstock (for 12 roses and one 6.5" diameter scalloped circle for our cake base)
• one sheet 12x12 black & white designer paper (to cover 2 layers & make a 5.75" diameter scalloped circle for our cake base)
• fairy image (mine are Emerald Faeries by Debs Creations in Australia )
• assorted pink crystal & pearl faux flatback gemstones
• glitter glue
• pens, markers, paints, etc. to color your fairy image (I used Copic markers)
• May Arts Ribbons - #SK18 1.25" green silk, SK08 1.25" dk. green silk, BY66 green leaf trim, BY16 dk. green leaf trim

Tools

• scissors
• hemostats (makes cardstock roses so easy)
• ruler
• craft knife
• tacky craft glue
• hot glue gun
• sewing machine
• 2" scalloped circle punch and/or
• Cricut die cutter & Accent Essentials cartridge (optional)

Color your stamped image as desired, highlighting wings & clothing with glitter glue. Be sure to cut out image with a 3-section tab at the bottom, as shown in photo above. Later you’ll attach the image to our top layer of the cake with the tabs.

Trace perimeter of the spools in designer paper (DP) and chipboard and cut circles that will be the tops of our layers. Measure perimeter & width of spools and cut 2 strips of DP to fit. Adhere DP strips to perimeter edge of spools and chipboard circles.


Measure tab on your image, using craft knife cut a slit in the center of smallest circle to fit this tab. Insert tab and fold tabs back, glue in place on the underside to keep fairies upright. Glue this layer to matching chipboard circle and glue to the top of the smallest spool to form the top layer of the cake. Assemble your bottom layer in the same fashion from the larger spool.


Stack, center & glue layers with small layer on top of the larger layer to complete your undecorated 2 layer "faery cake".

**After assembling the cake I decided to add a pink scalloped base. So be sure to cut 2 scalloped circles from the Cricut Accent Essentials cartridge – one DP in 5.75” and one 6.5” pink cardstock. These were layered and glued to the bottom of the cake. If you don’t have a Cricut, a doily or plain circles will work too.

Make 12 total pink cardstock roses - 9 using 2" scalloped circle punch and 3 2.75” roses cut from the Cricut Accent Essentials cartridge. If you do not know how to make roses please check the tutorial on my blog below.

Cut 6 - 3” pieces of MA #SK08 dark green silk ribbon. Using hot gluegun fold to fashion leaves as shown in the photo above. Attach two leaves to the back of the 3 largest roses and set aside.

Run a gathering stitch down the center of 24” of May Arts (MA) ribbon #SK 18 and gather. Gather and glue around top layer of our cake. Glue length of MA #BY66 green leaf trim around bottom layer of cake and begin decorating by gluing flatback pearls and small roses! Hot glue 3 largest roses with silk leaves to base of top layer.




Decorate area around fairies with small pieces of MA #BY16 and BY66 and flatback pink crystals & white pearl gemstones. Glue in place with tacky craft glue.

Our cake is done! Please don't let anyone taste the cake...I posted mine on my Facebook page and a friend thought it was a real cake!

May Art Ribbon Contest Winner

Wish I'd thought to tell my fellow bloggers before now but I hope you'll take a moment to stop by May Arts and give a shout out comment voting for my Valentine "LOVE" banner! It's a tight race and all your votes are so appreciated...thanks in advance!

UPDATE!!! My banner was a winner...not the grand prize but a winner. Thanks May Arts...I love your ribbon and fun challenges.

Valentine's Day LOVE Banner ! ! !

Happy V-Day, y'all!!! I made a couple of these thinking I'd send one to artiste extraordinaire, Leslie Avila (check her link in my list of favorite places on the left sidebar.) A few weeks back she posted on FB a "play it forward" challenge and I was lucky enough to be her 5th & final participant.


The wonderful ribbons I used on my "LOVE" banner were gifts from May Arts. I've entered this in their Valentine challenge too in addition to the matching card seen below with cute little Tilda.


For the banner I used labels & alphas diecuts from the Cricut Storybook cartridge and a folksy heart from another that I do not recall now. The accordian pleated bases for the letters were fanfolds using the MS scoring board. The tops have hand sewn borders of MS Eyelet lace. All parts were antiqued using walnut ink. The altered art end flags were decorated using lots of misc. items from my stash. Along with double-sided DP from K & Co. No dollars were used in the creation of this fun piece.....DH will be so happy!!

May Arts Ribbon...

Click here to read about our family loved one who's in need of a kidney transplant and please spread the word in case you know someone who'd like to help!

I posted about a plaid ribbon giveaway at May Arts some time ago and myself took up their offer. I chose a sweet lavendar/pink/brown plaid with stitched edges. My plans were to make a cute garland of snowflakes and gingerbread men for the holidays but just couldn't make it happen so opted instead to make Christmas gifts for my two little great nieces. Truth is their mommy gave me 2 wood ovals a year or two ago and asked me if I'd make a door plaques for them since I have a handy Cricut die cutter. Somehow they got tucked away and forgotten until a couple weeks ago when I did a major cleaning in my studio and unearthed them.
So here's what turned out with my free ribbon from May Arts... I bet you can guess which one belongs to Alison and which is Caroline's!
Here's how to make them: sand wood oval and paint with dark base coat (I used fuschia & purple), dry and sand lightly and repeat. When dry brush on a coat of crackle glaze and dry for 55 minutes then coat with off-white acrylic paint & dry. Spray coat with clear matte enamel. Antique lightly with walnut sponge stamp pad. Cut 2 layers of shadow letters in chipboard & solid cardstock with Cricut (used Alphalicious and Plantin Schoolbook) and 1 layer of printed cardstock in normal uppercase letters. Glue layers together with Tacky Glue and adhere to base. Coat letters with Glossy Accents. Drill 2 holes for hanger. For Caroline's I cut lots of 4" pieces of yarn, string & ribbons which were tied to a wire hanger I fashioned from floral wire...you'll see the May Arts plaid in the mix. To make Alison's unique I tied the May Arts ribbon on each side and glued the loose end to the back of the plaque with a separate length of ribbon I tied a bow at the center top and added a lavendar button, 2 smaller buttons were added to the base just below where the ribbon is connected. I think they made a nice little Christmas present for two sweet little gals who are 6 and 4!!This is before I added the larger lavendar button to the bow ~ which version do you like best?

May Arts Ribbon Freebie!!

May Arts Ribbon is having a Plaid Ribbon Craft Challenge. Guess what?? The plaid ribbon is free...all you have to do is check their inventory and email them with your wants, your Christmas craft project and they'll mail off the ribbon you want to use. AND you stand the chance of being their featured blogger for the following month PLUS win a bunch of free ribbon. Click the link above and visit their store to pick out your plad ribbon then email them at sales@mayarts.com for your free ribbon. Deadline for entries is December 13th with a winner announced on December 17th. Have fun...I've already chosen my ribbon and will be sure to post my craft as soon as its finished!!