EZ Looper Rubber Band Bracelet Tutorial

Welcome back to Loom Band Wednesday! Summer is here! I am so excited for summer vacation! My favorite part about summer is the trip to the beach with family, camping, and road trips! This year I am going to keep busy while on the road! I am going to be bringing my Loom Band Organizer along with my EZ Looper! It is small enough to fit into any baggage! Plus, I love that I can stop in the middle of a bracelet if I have to and pick right up where I left off later.

There are several bracelets that you can make with the EZ Looper, but today, I am sharing how to make the four peg bracelet! Watch this very easy to understand video; it is perfect for a beginner, no matter the age!


Thank you for entering last week's giveaway! The random winner of the Loom Magic Xtreme! Book is Amanda Wilcox! Email me at jenevans at craftwarehouse dot com to claim your prize! 

* Loom Band Organizer 2 for $5 (reg $3.99) and EZ Looper 2 for $5 (reg $3.99) on sale until June 22nd, 2014

Americana Decor's Chalky Paint Table Makeover

Craft Warehouse is introducing Americana Decor's Chalky Finish Paint! Chalky Finish Paint is extremely easy to work with and great on virtually any surface. It creates a white washed finish in a variety of vintage colors on any surface plastic, metal, ceramic, glass and wood!

Have you inherited an old side table and it doesn’t match your décor? Chalky finish it! No priming or prep work needed!

Before

After

 Table Make Over Directions:

1. Clean your surface with damp cloth, then let dry.
2. Paint 2-3 coats of your favorite Chalky finish (Refreshing) was the color I used on the table.
3. Let your first color dry over night. This will help it cure before you place the second color on your surface.
4. Tape off the top of your end table using painters tape. Then lightly paint white chalky paint on the drawer and striped on the top of the end table.
5. You may need to apply 2-3 coats. Once completely dry take off painters tape and sand areas to allow the finish to come through.
6. Last give it a coat or 2 of the crème wax this will give it a protected coat.
7. Once dry buff the surface.  

Watch this video to learn more about the new paint and a few tips and tricks!

Join us tomorrow for even more Chalky Paint inspiration! 

* Americana Decor Chalky Paint on sale for $6.88 (reg $8.99) in 29 different colors until June 22nd, 2014

My Mind's Eye Mini Album by Craft Warehouse Design Team Member Amanda De Jong

Hello there! I'm Amanda De Jong with the Craft Warehouse Design Team and I am so excited to be sharing a couple projects with you today! I had the opportunity to create with the My Minds Eye Market Street collection, a mix of Nob Hill and Ashbury Heights, and when I was going over all the product I thought the best way to highlight all the bold patterns and embellishments would be through a mini album.

I absolutely love the touches of gold in these collections. So much so that I wanted to bring even more gold in to my album, but in a more subtle way. One of my favorite things to do with mist is to create a simple watercolor effect on my background paper.

I spray and/or tap my mist on to my nonstick craft mat, spray it with water, then lay my paper over this mist and press down. I especially love doing this with gold spray as you get this gorgeous shimmery watercolor look that is subtle but adds shine. You can do this with a mix of colors as well. Play with different concentrations of mist and water and see how they turn out, it's different every time!

Once my misted papers were dry I cut them down to 4x6 sheets along with several of the Ashbury Heights papers I knew I wanted to use. I quickly went through and lightly tacked my photos down where I wanted them to get my pages in order and ready to punch the holes for my rings.

After that it was a matter of adding more accents of the patterned papers and many of my favorite pieces from the chipboard and die cuts in the collection! We had a huge snowstorm in February that was out of the norm for us. We were used to the occasional inch of snow, so when we were snowed in for 3 days and reached nearly 9 inches it was a pretty exciting and fun time for us! This mini was the perfect way to document that.

When I was done with my album and looking over the pieces of the collection I still had left, my eyes kept falling on the globe chipboard piece from Nob Hill. I knew I wanted to create a layout with that as a focal point. I decided to use my Cameo to cut a design directly on to my background paper so I planned the layout in Studio so I could see where I needed to cut. It comes in handy when you can pull in your photo and build around it, there's no guessing game!

I chose these flags and offset them so that I would just get a peek of the paper behind them.

I did end up changing up the placement of the globe, I love it front and center! And decided not to cut out flags on the photo itself. That's the beauty of pulling a photo in to Studio. You know exactly how it's going to turn out!

So there you have it! I hope you've enjoyed my projects and are inspired to go create! Thanks for looking!

~Amanda

Mini Album Supplies: White Cardstock, Twine, Enamel Dots, Mr Huey Gold, Mint Julep and Opaque White Mists, My Minds Eye Ashbury Heights 12x12 Paper, Label Stickers and Flair Pins, My Minds Eye Nob Hill Chipboard Elements, Washi Tape and Foil Mixed Bag Die Cuts
Layout Supplies: My Minds Eye Ashbury Heights 12x12 Paper and Label Stickers, My Minds Eye Nob Hill Chipboard Elements, Washi and Foil Mixed Bag Die Cuts, White Cardstock, Enamel Dots, "Flags" Hero Arts, Design ID:  #48372 cut file from Silhouette

Craft Warehouse Design Team Member Amanda De Jong

What stood out to us when looking at Amanda De Jong's scrapbook layouts was her bold use of color and patterned paper! You can tell she has fun creating! We love her way of adding special time and embellishments on her pages to tell her story. Amanda is a local Northwestern who loves to shop at Craft Warehouse too!

How long have you been crafting?

I have been scrapbooking on and off for 15+ years, which is crazy when I think about it! At the time, my best friend's family owned a camera shop that also had a section devoted to scrapbook supplies. I helped out in the store whenever I could and after high school started working there full time running the growing scrapbook department. For many years scrapbooking had been an occasional hobby but over the last 3 years it has grown in to a passion, and an addiction to pretty paper! Now in addition to traditional layouts I spend my time creating altered items, mixed media, and vinyl decor.

What inspires you to be creative?

All of the above! Unexpected color combinations, ads, typography. These all inspire me when it comes to formation of a project, but the content is all about what is on my heart. I tend to create based more on what I am feeling, often inspired by my son or words that resonate with me, than on memory keeping specific events. Sometimes I manage to tie the two together!

What Craft Warehouse products do you love to use?

I absolutely love the selection of alterable items at Craft Warehouse, from the unfinished wood frames to the window panes, they are so fun to work with! I am also a huge fan of Crate Paper and was beyond excited when I discovered I could get my fix locally at Craft Warehouse  and "ooh and ah" in person!

How can you encourage others reading this column?

Do what you love! A little cliche, right? If your heart is in it then what you are creating will always be special, imperfections and all. I think it is easy to compare yourself to others and devalue yourself. Have a little fun, create for you and you'll find your voice!

Follow Amanda at her blog, on Instagram and on Facebook! Then, make sure to visit again tomorrow for her amazing tutorial using My Mind's Eye's NEW collection!

Loom Magic Xtreme! Loom Band Flower Bouquet

One thing I have noticed about Rubber Band Bracelets is that if someone meets anyone, young or old, that has a loom or loom bands, they automatically become friends. I was in California in January in a local craft store. There was a mother and daughter in the bead department looking at storage containers. I just couldn't help but ask, "Do you make rubber band bracelets?" Sure enough she did! I can spot a friend a mile away! I also met a friend this week that just started making no-loom bracelets and started selling them to friends so he could save up to buy himself a loom. I couldn't help but give him some bands to help him out! What about you? Do you have a friend to make bracelets with?

Today's rubber band craft comes from the book Loom Magic Xtreme! by John McCann, Monica Sweeney, and Becky Thomas. There are 25 awesome, never before seen, projects in this book that are fun for boys and girls alike! There are more than bracelets too! There's headbands, pirate eye patch, earrings, and other crafts. There are many crafts in this book that require more than one loom, where you can link them together to create larger projects!

This craft is called the Bouquet of Flowers (page 31 in Loom Magic Xtreme! as pictured above on the front cover). Breietta from our Salem store created these. She is nicknamed "The Rubber Band Bracelet Lady" by the kids in our store. She says, "This project is a lot of fun and all the kids love it! Remember, it needs two looms to make a flower, so make sure to pick one up before heading home to create it!" I would recommend this project for those loomers that would like to try something new. It is considered "medium" difficulty.

To create a unique center add a button instead!

How would you like TO WIN your own Loom Magic Xtreme! book to make your own?! All you need to do to ENTER to WIN is COMMENT on this blog post! A random winner will be announced next week during our Loom Band Wednesday post, June 11th, 2014. US residents only please. Winner will have 14 days to claim the prize before it is considered void.

 * Deluxe Loom Band Kits $5 (reg $16.99), Loom Bands 3 for $5 (reg $2.99 each), Storage Boxes $3.33 (reg $8.99), Loom Band Organizer 2 for $5 ($3.99 each), EZ Looper 2 pack 2 for $5 (reg $3.99) and 20% off all Loom Band books on sale beginning tomorrow, June 5th - June 22nd, 2014

SRM Stickers: You Did It! DIY Craft Kits

Imagine a box that comes with everything you need to look like the hostess of the year! What if that box had all the stickers, punches, boxes, glue, bags, and instructions with enough to make for an entire party? It would make party planning a breeze, wouldn't it?!

SRM Press came out with their DIY Craft Kits that does just that! There is a graduation kit, birthday kit, wedding kit, and princess party kit now available at Craft Warehouse! Each kit comes with a set of 12 to get your favors looking stylish and beautiful!

Now, all you need to do is think of what to place inside!

*SRM Press DIY Craft Kits on sale from June 5th - June 22nd, 2014. Congrats, Birthday, or Graduation $15 (reg $19.99) Princess Purse, Burlap Wedding Bag, or Baby Shower Bag $20 (reg $29.99)

Mason Jar Monday

This weekend, I was extremely inspired while at a wedding. The entire decor was burlap lined with lace. The tablescapes were lit with mason jars as candle holders. It was rustic, vintage, and beautiful. Craft Warehouse loves the Mason Jar Craze! So much that we even have books on the subject and our stores are filled with ideas to get you started using the classic storage container.


Here's more mason jar inspiration from employee Beth Williamson, from our Meridian Craft Warehouse store.

This teacher gift is spray painted on the outside and then brushed with charcoal.

This centerpiece created with three mason jars. All jars were painted on the outside. Then, using tape to mask off stripes and stars were painted the second color (blue on one jar and red on the other).

Lastly, this bride and groom set is perfect for wedding decor. Each jar was added to candle sticks and decorated with burlap and embellishments. You can get directions on making these right here.

You can click on "mason jar" at our sidebar of our blog under "labels" to see even more ideas!