2014 - PaperChaserTO

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I'm never one to jump onto the bandwagon when things first begin to catch steam (maybe because I'm rebellious against change or, I'm just slow at catching onto trends...maybe a bit of both). The washi tape revolution had no impact on me. I admire the very pretty print of the tape but never seen any practical use for it. Even after watching plenty of tutorials using washi tape, I couldn't reason paying $3-5 for a roll of patterned tape.

Well all things changed on one windy and cold day when D and I decided to check out a craft fair. After sleeping through the first fair we wanted to attend, this was the one that popped our cherry. I have to admit, it did not live up to our expectations. It was held in the corridor of a library with no more than 10 tables. We did a walk through once and decided to come back after heading to Michaels. On our return, we were more open minded to checking out what each table had to offer. I bought handmade soaps, we met a really kind woman making kindle holders from recycled books, and finally we stopped by a table that had caught my attention the first walk through.

There is something about origami that holds a spot in my heart - it must be because I was obsessed with paper folding as a kid. I grew tired of making the same old cranes and flowers all the time but was way too intimidated to try the harder projects. Well back to the story, Sam was the young woman heading the table. She sat there, a big smile on her face, hands busy folding what looked to be a butterfly, as she introduced herself us. She was really into origami and was selling her art for quite a hefty price. I thought to myself, "Am I was looking at some weird alternate version of myself if I had kept working at my craft?" She was so in love with what she did and she was proud of her work; you could tell just by listening to her recount her experiences of travelling to California to work with Hit Record, leading a flash mob origami mural within the city, or even trying to break a world record for the most origami flower display. I glanced her table again and these ornaments stood out to me, they weren't traditional origami pieces, nor were they painted or paper machéd. It was washi tape! She used washi tape to cover glass ornaments - it was quite ingenious and I never seen washi tape used in such a manner. Well, after exchanging a couple more words, we parted ways.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and I find myself in the dollar store loading up on Elmers decorative repositionable tape - close enough to washi tape for me! (plus it was $1 for 3 rolls - you bet I bought every colour they had :P) So, I came home, ripped open the tape, grabbed a bag of styrofoam balls I got a couple weeks back, and I head to town recreating Sams washi tape ornaments.

It was real simple once I got the hang of it. Im not sure whether she made hers the same way I made mine, but her definitely looks a lot better. Regardless, I hung them up on my Christmas tree just this afternoon and they looks magnificent.

You can really see the layers in the second picture. I think an extra added touch of the bow really makes these ornaments stand out on the Christmas tree.

Happy Crafting!

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Since starting work in retail, I've been more aware of how expensive the simplest things are. Candles for example, can run up to $25 for a jar of over scented wax. Although I am reluctant to spend that much on 1 candle, I still can't give up the warmth the look of a burning candle gives a room on a cold December day. Enter: my dollar store finds! For $1 for each unscented candle, $2 for a jar of glitter (6 colours), $1 for a spindle of twine, and $1-$1.25 for some glass cups, I was able to create unique looking candles for this holiday season.

I love the look of the glitter twinkling in the light of the candle's wick, it's almost hypnotizing! I added some embellishments like snowflake cutouts and some mini pinecones I picked up on a walk through my local creek. It's unbelievable how some glitter can drastically change the look of some dollar store candles.

Tip - Cover your candle with an even layer of glue or it will look patchy (like a couple of my candles do)

To make yourself some of these candles, watch my video tutorial:

Happy Crafting!

Nostalgia, what is it this strong sensation of feeling when the past happens to cross your path? The nostalgia hit me like a ton of bricks as I browsed the dollar store for Christmas decorations. My colleague and I walked by the toy section to browse and ran into some Nickelodeon characters from the 90’s we recognized. We were dumbfounded that our local dollar store Dollarama had gotten these into their store. My colleague always jokes around that he is going to own a dollarama one day. We ended up digging through their stock on display and picked out Arnold, the star of Hey Arnold and Tommy,Chuckie, and Reptar from Rugrats.

We ended up using the toys we bought from the dollar store to make ornaments for this coming Christmas season. You can check out what we did in this video we put up on the YouTube.

Do you ever forget those few people on your Christmas gift list who deserve more than just a lame box of chocolate? If you need a quick and easy gift to whip up for those last minute people on your list, you need to learn how to make yourself a candy sleigh.

Here is how to cut your ribbon for the back of your candy sleigh. The side that says "fold" is the folded edge of the ribbon. I begin cutting at the open side moving my way into the centre of the ribbon. Curve out the end to give you that smooth curved look to the back of the sleigh.

Remember to check out my last CCC video where I show you how to make an origami santa tag!

Happy Crafting!

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Here is the first (of many) tutorials for this holiday season! I love this DIY simply because it involves recycling of your toilet paper rolls :) It's cheap, it's fun, and most importantly, it's so easy to make.

Here are some photos of the finished product. I have also made a couple more using 2 and 3 differently coloured yarn to make the same toque and it looks absolutely beautiful.

I'm so excited for this holiday season and all the DIY projects to be made :)

Happy Crafting!

As a follow up to my turtle shell tutorial here are some extra photos:

This easy DIY is perfect for any last minute Halloween costume ideas. I was inspired by a pin, but can't seem to find the picture anymore :( Regardless, I love how the head band came out and it's perfect for the Day of the Dead sugar skull trend going around this year!

The eyeballs in the centre of the rose give this headband a unique, spooky, Halloween feel to it teheh. Give this project a try, won't take longer than 2 hours taking your time while you watch a an awesome movie like Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring on Netflix.

Remember to check out my tutorial "How-to Sugar Skull Makeup"

Materials

For 5 roses

4-5 sheets of paper
Eyeballs (got these from the dollar store $1.25)
scissors
hot glue gun
glitter
glue

1. Cut your paper in half, width wise twice, then into 4. You will have 16 pieces. Repeat with other sheets of paper

2. First layer petals Cut your 1/16 piece in half, then into a curved U shape. Make a slit at the tip of the curve, bend the flaps towards each other and glue into place. Bend the curved edge back on itself.

3. For the rest of the layers, cut your pieces into a tear drop shape.

4. Second layer petals Cut 2 slits, one and the top of the curve and one at the bottom pointed tip. Bend then flaps inward and glue into place. Repeat for the top and bottom slits. Curve the top edge back on itself.

5. Third layer petals Cut 1 slit into the bottom pointy end of the teardrop. Again, Bend and glue into place. Use your thumb to help you curve the edge back.

At this point I added glue to the edging of the petals and rolled them in glitter. This step is optional, but I think it gives the roses an amazing look.

6. First layer petals You need three (3) pieces. Glue into triangle formation on the eyeball.

Second layer petals You need five (5) pieces. Add glue onto 1 side of the petal, attach. For every consecutive petal, add glue onto the same 1 side, slip under the unglued side of the previous petal and press into place.

Third layer petals You need five (5) pieces. Repeat as you did with the second layer petals. Once complete, flip over and glue down the unglued side of the petal.

7. Add a 1 inch circle to the back of each rose. Glue onto your head band.

You can skip out on the head band completely and attach floral stems to the roses to make a bouquet fit for your Halloween needs.

Happy Crafting!

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Hi girls and boys!

Here is the post where you can find the pattern templates for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Shell bag.

Download: Pattern

Instructions

This is my first sewing project so if I don’t use the same practices as an experience person bear with me, I will get better =).

Here is the video to follow with the instructions

Printing

Each page is created with an inch margin marked by the solid black box. Simply print each page out and arrange to for the pattern to look like this:

Blue arrows should align to make a diamond and the test square should measure 2x2 inches.

Cutting your pieces

Patterns do not have seam allowance, so give yourself ¼ - ½ inch gap when cutting the patterns out.

Piece A requires 2 pieces cut on centre fold; one will be the outer shell portion, and the other will be used to line the inside of the bag. Cut 1 piece on centre fold without seam allowance on your batting or interfacing. Remember to mark the top of the pattern.

Piece B requires 2 pieces cut on centre fold with the same fabric as your outer shell. Cut 1 piece on centre fold without seam allowance on your batting or muslin. Remember to mark the top of the pattern.

Piece C and D requires 2 pieces cut on centre fold OR cut on fabric folded twice like such:

Cut 1 piece on centre fold only, without seam allowance, on your batting or muslin.

For the strap pieces (not shown), cut 2 rectangular pieces 4x20 inches, and 1 rectangular piece 4x40 inches

Materials

Sewing machine
Scissors
Pins
Fabric marker
Piece A (3) – outer shell, lining, batting
Piece B (3) – 2 outer shell, batting
Piece C (3) – outer, lining, batting
Piece D (3) – outer, lining, batting
Straps (3) – 2 4x20, 1 4x40

Sewing

Taking Piece A, sew the pleats on the wrong side of the fabric. Repeat with other Piece A.
Taking Piece B, place right sides together and sew along outside edge. Cut perpendicular to the sew line at corner curve to alleviate bunching. Turn right sides out. Repeat for Pieces C and D.
Taking the batting, line the wrong sides for all Pieces A-D
Sew the batting to the pieces. See reference photos
With the strap pieces, fold them in half lengthwise and sew up the sides.
Take 1 of the 4x20 straps and the 4x40 strap and hem the end by folding it in twice and sewing straight across
Now take the remaining 4x20 strap that you have not hemmed and sew the centre to the outer shell. See reference photos
Flip the outer shell over and place the lining wrong side into the shell. Pin that down. Then with Piece B, pin the edges facing the right side of the outer shell. Wrap the strap piece around Piece B and pin down.
Sew around the pinned piece. Flip wrong sides out and tuck in Piece B and the strap to the centre of the bag.
Pin the longer strap to the top right corner and the shorter strap to the bottom side opposite the top.
Pin Piece C to the top of the inverted shell, wrong side up. Then Piece D to the bottom, wrong side up
Sew around the whole piece and flip right sides out.
You have completed your turtle shell bag