Fall Wreath by Design Team Member Amanda Sherman

Hi!  My name is Amanda Sherman.  I’m honored to be the guest blogger today for Craft Warehouse.  I was so excited when my package arrived of materials.  You see, this is my favorite time of year.  The light has changed to that warm autumn glow and the nights and morning are crisp.  The sweet smell of harvest is in the air and it’s just a delightful time!  Ah…..
I thought these products would be so fitting for a Fall Decor project.  I know I love to bring the fall feel into my home this time of year, and I think I’m not the only one.

This is what we are working with:

• 2 sheets of My Minds Eye paper
• 2 sheets of Graphic 45 paper
• Green glittered paper
• Darice Fillable Charm Tubes
• Bo Bunny Rub-ons
• Feather
• Buttons
• Gold Stickles

To this I added:

• 1 sheet 12x12 chipboard
• Beacon 3 in 1 adhesive (love this stuff)
• some 8 mm crystals
• 3 headpins
• 2 pair round nose pliers

First we’ll cut a circle wreath blank from a sheet of chipboard.  The great thing about this is that it doesn’t have to be perfect.  And even if you don’t have a large circle cutter, that’s fine!  Plates work just fine.  I’m pretty sure that all of you have at least one plate in  your kitchen.  Trace the plates (preferably two of different sizes, otherwise you’ll have to free hand one circle to be larger/smaller than the one you traced).

Now that we have the circle, let’s have some fun.  We need to cut about 60 leaves.  Yup, I said 60.  Break out those scissors and feel the burn in your hand!  (Just think of it this way, it will burn about enough calories to treat yourself with a Hershey kiss when you’re done - (I really have no idea – I’m just guessing there, but treat yourself anyway ;) ).

After you have the leaves cut, we need to add some dimension to them.  Gently roll them in using your fingers to cup them.  Shouldn’t take much force, just gentle consistent and it’s done!

And you have a lovely pile of beautiful fall perfection!  (Don’t worry about having too many, because you could use them beautifully on either cards or just sprinkled on a table as more fall decor).

First, lets place some leaves on the circle so we can see the spacing and roughly how many layers we’ll need.

Once you have a  rough idea, you can start gluing.  The Beacon 3 in 1 adhesive is fantastic, but a hot glue gun would work great as well.  (I must put in my own disclaimer here and say I never use hot glue because I’m exceptionally good at burning myself….and I’m a complete wimp, so I’m thrilled with the Beacon adhesive).

Complete one  solid layer around the circle.  After that is complete and has had a few minutes to dry, begin to build a second layer around the wreath.

Once you have a second layer, fill in any “holes” or spots where you need to balance the color with additional leaves.

Now we can bling it out!!

Ahhh….Stickles….glitter of choice for clumsy people.  Oh, back to the subject at hand. Squeeze a glob (yes, that’s a technical term) onto a few leaves and smear it around with your finger.

While that’s drying, let’s add our final decorations.  Using this giant feather piece, apply a generous amount of adhesive to the back and apply it to the wreath.  Hold it in place for about a minute while it dries.

Now we need to use these charm tubes.  There are some basic jewelry making techniques involved here.  I thought it was best to use a video to demonstrate these, so here is is.  (If you already know basic jewelry making, you can skip this part).

Let’s make a bow from the glitter paper.  Cut four pieces to the following measurements:

• 1” x 8”
• 1” x 2 1/2”
• 1/2” x 6” (two pieces of this size)

Using your scissors, curl the 8” and the 6” pieces as you would curl curling ribbon.

Glue the bow to the feather on the wreath.

Using a button, a needle and some floss, lets tie our charm to the backside of the button. Begin tying the button by threading the needle from the front side of the button in the top left hole. Bring the needle back through the top right hole. Then across the front diagonally and through the bottom left hole.

Thread the needle through the eye of the charm. Then bring the needle through the bottom right hole.

Tie the floss leaving enough slack for the charm to dangle.

Apply a generous amount of Beacon adhesive to the backside of the button and apply the button to the bow.

Hang and enjoy the wonderful blessings of Fall!

Thanks for following along!  I had a blast making this project, and I hope you enjoy it too!!!  Happy Autumn.  Be blessed.

xAmanda

Just my TYPE card a tutorial

Karma: 21 You're just my TYPE card. Having fun with the new collection 'sweet n sour soup' from Jillibean soup- in stores now! Supplies: dark brown card A2 size blue or green cardstock mat cut to 5 1/4" x 4" typewriter pattern paper from Jillibean Soup - it's called 'crushed tomatoes' cut to 3 1/3" x 4 1/2" striped side of typewriter key pattern paper from Jillibean Soup- it's called 'raisins' cut to 2" x 12" letter print pattern paper from Jillibean Soup- it's called 'sour salt'- for punching kraft color corrugated sheet from Jillibean Soup- a small piece for die cutting soup labels stickers from Jillibean Soup dark brown cardstock cut to 3 1/2" x 1 1/2" for punching bakers twine...about 12" buttons Required tools: Big Shot die cutting tool Tim Holtz rosette wafer thin die (you'll need extended platform and cutting plates for the rosette die) Tim Holtz movers and shapers butterfly dies (you'll need the base tray to put the movers and shapers butterflies in before running through Big Shot) edger punch of your choice 2" round scallop punch (or die cut) your favorite scissors anti static embossing pouch (baby powder or cornstarch will work too) Step 1 Gather supplies cut papers to size listed above use scallop circle punch to punch 1 from the sour salt (red letter) pattern paper use edge punch to punch a border on 1 long side of your 3 1/2" x 1 1/2" dark brown cardstock use Big Shot and Tim Holtz rosette die to die cut 1 rosette strip from the raisin (striped) pattern paper use Big Shot and Tim Holtz mover and shapers butterflies die to die cut 1 butterfly from corrugated sheet Step 2 Using a tape runner adhere the punched dark cardstock to bottom edge of type writer paper. Then adhere to cut cardstock mat. and then adhere this layered piece to card front. OPTIONAL- since the inside of the card is dark brown, I used a large circle die cutter (or punch) to punch out some lined paper and adhered inside so there is space to write a personal note. when die cutting the tim holtz rosette, you'll get a little pinking edge die cut as well - normally you use this when putting together the flower, this time I don't need it for the flower, so I used it as a little embellishment on the inside instead, and it helps tie in the colors and pattern from the front of the card. Step 3 Making the rosette. after die cutting, you'll see you have perforation all along the length of your die cut. simply accordion fold back and forth, back and forth all along the strip. then add a line of red line tape to one end. remove the red film from tape, and adhere the other end of the strip to the first- making a ring. then- have a pop dot ready- and gently push the top edge of the ring down and in at the same time and the pleated edges will fall right into place making a rosette shape- hold in place with one hand until you can set a pop dot right into the middle. then place your scallop punched paper on top of the glue dot creating a layered-stacked look. carefully turn your rosette over- and place another glue dot on the back side- right in the middle and then attach to your card front where ever you like. (please note, once perforated, and then accordion folded , the paper has been through a lot, and is delicate) Be gentle. If it does tear along a perforation you can splice it back together with some additional red line tape, but if you handle it too much... you might need to cut another die and try again. It takes a couple of tries before you get the hang of it, but once you do, you won't be able to stop making rosettes! Step 4 embellishing your card. Select a soup label to serve as your greeting. If you want, you can use one of the blank labels and write in your own personal message! We need to make most of the label NON- sticky. So that we can form it into a 'flag' To do that: you'll hang on to the area you want to stay sticky- and then pat your anti static bag on the rest of the adhesive side of the label- making it non-sticky! If you do not have an anti static bag you can use baby powder or cornstarch. You just need a little of the powder to brush across the adhesive side. Now with the portion you did not 'de-stick' you can attach to your layered rosette on card front. Then, because these labels are made from cardstock, you can bend it a bit to make it look like it's fluttering in the wind. Next wrap the bakers twine around the body of your die cut corrugated butterfly a few times and tie off on top. cut ends- these sort of look like antenna dont you think? attach to layered rosette on card front add a cluster of buttons in one corner. If you like, rub an ink pad across the edges of your corrugated butterfly- the ink just hits the top of the fluted paper making for a fun effect. Are you loving the look of the corrugated die cut as much as I am? And that typewriter paper is soooo cute! Happy Card Making! Other new products from Jillibean Soup availalbe now: Christmas Eve Chowder Apple Cheddar Soup Sweet and Sour Soup 6 Bean Homemade Soup Corrugated sheets in 4 colors Corrugated die cut letters in 4 colors soup labels 6x6 paper pads