ULLABENULLA

Woven Heart And Hand Valentine Tutorial...

I've had a number of requests for my 'Woven Heart And Hand Valentine' so I've decided to create a mini tutorial on how you can make your own.  My Mother taught me this technique when I was a little girl, and its always been a favorite of mine.

Step1:

With a pencil, trace your hand (from wrist to wrist) onto the back of a decorative paper .  I've used old sheet music.  Refine the lines, by straightening them - making elegant fingers.

Step2:

Flair out your tracing at wrists on both sides - creating cuffs.

Step3:

With scissors, cut out hand and cuff.

Step4:

Using decorative scissors (I used a small scallop) cut a curved end where cuff will be.

Step5:

Now cut out a heart from a pretty red decorative paper.  I've used a handmade Italian Marbled paper from the Castle.  Make sure your heart fits into the palm of your papercut hand.

Step6:

Gently fold hand in half lenghwise, without creating too hard of a crease.

Step7:

Fold heart in half as well, matching lobes.

Step8:

Now place folded heart over folded hand, so that the heart lies upside down in the center of your hand palm as shown.  Make sure folds are tight together.

Step9:

Holding your heart and hand together, cut 5 slits into both layers, making slits equal distant apart and equal distant in length, and slanted up towards heart curves.   Be careful not to cut slits beyond hand papercut.  I like to start with the center slit and then cut slits above and below.

Step10:

Pull heart from hand and turn so that the hand and heart are facing upwards together.  Place heart on top of hand, and gently slip each cut notch of heart into cut notches of hand.

Step11:

Now gently push down on each tip (starting from top) so that another heart layer shows through.

Weaving will vary depending on length and width of your cuts.  Try a heart with more than 5 cuts for extra complexity!  Hint:  odd number of cuts will always give a pretty end result.

Step12:

Finish off your hand by adding a crepe-paper or doily cuff on the end.

Sign the back and send to your Valentine!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

Gilded Fairy Chair Tutorial Available Free From The Castle Crier!

Have you ever wondered how to tempt a fairy into your garden?  Here is the perfect answer!  I have created a Gilded Fairy Chair Tutorial, that you can download free HERE!  A miniature version of my French Wedding Chair, this delightful little Dresden wonder will surely make you popular among the fey!!!

If you have not done so yet, please also take this opportunity to sign up for the Castle's Crafting Newsletter and Class Schedule HERE!    (Newsletters will now only be sent out via email.)

Free Christmas PDF's to Create and Inspire!

 

I just LOVE this little Snow Baby on a Snowball Box designed and created by Karima, the owner and Queen of Castle In The Air!  Best of all, there is a FREE PDF HERE so you can make your own!  You can also buy a kit Here, which comes with everything you need to create your own delightful little Snow Baby Box!  I'd like to make a whole family of these, just to put around the house!

 

Here is another amazing FREE PDF from the wonderfully creative Ann Wood!  I have always loved her magnificent paper ships, and now she has generously shared her pattern and instructions for making a enchanting paper boat just in time for you to sail away on Christmas time dreams!  Complete Instructions can be found HERE!  Can't you just see a family of Snow-babies riding away on one of these? 

I think this little 3-D town calendar from Canon is delightful too!  I love how each month gives a new scene, and yet you can see all of them at a glance!  You can print your own calendar for free here!  

And just for fun, I found this wonderful old 'Cook Book' illustration!  Doesn't it make you want to cook a holiday feast?   Link 

 

Make Your Own 'Miniature Winter Wonderland' Scene - Tutorial!

As I alluded to in my LAST POST, making these tiny little miniature 'Winter Wonderland' scenes is truly addicting and wonderfully fun!  They are easy to create and make me want to do a whole table-scape full of little mountains!!!

Heres what you will need:

Foil, Cotton Batting, Scissors, Moss and natural bits, DAS paper clay (for little houses), Fabric Stiffener (I used Aleene's), Stiffen Quik (Aleene's), Spray on Snow, Glitter and Mica and Hot Glue Gun.

Step one is to decide how big you want your scene to be.  We were limited to the inner circumference of our glass domes, (about 3 inches) but you can use any size you'd like.  Take a length of heavy duty foil ( about 2 feet or so) and crumple up a preliminary shape to work with.  Pinch out peeks, and pay attention to height.

  

Step two:  Cut a piece of creamy white cotton batting big enough that it will cover you foil on all sides when it drapes over.  Lay your batting flat on the table and pour some 'Fabric Stiffener' onto the batting and work into the batting with your fingers. You want the batting to be moist and tacky on both sides, but not 'drippy'!  Drape batting over your foil, and begin forming it.  Use your fingers to create peaks, and let the batting drape dramatically to form mountain ridges along the sides. Press the batting flat to the table along the outside edges. Have fun with this part!  When happy with the mountains, set aside to dry. 

Step Three:  While your mountains are drying you can make some tiny houses out of paper clay or even cut pieces of foam core.  I made mine of DAS paper clay, and then painted them different shades of red and pink and glued cotton batting onto the roof tops to give a snow topped roof effect.  When your mountains are fairly dry you can cut the edges of the cotton batting to fit what ever size and shape you are aiming for.  

Step four:  Make trees and bushes from tiny pieces of moss.  I cut triangular shapes from pieces of thick moss to simulate conifer trees.  Trees often grow in clusters, and even up on the hillsides, but rarely on mountain peeks.  Use your imagination...  Hot glue trees, and houses in place as desired. 

Step five:  The Snow!  First I sprayed a light dusting of 'Spray Snow'.  Be sure to test this before you spray your piece, as a little goes a long way.  A heavy spray of snow gives a very different but equally lovely effect as a light spraying.  If you wish, you can add a sprinkle of glitter on top of the Spray Snow now.  Or you can wait for the snow to dry.  Once dry, use the 'Stiffen Quik' as a spray glue, and lightly spray again applying glitter or mica where desired.  I found that a small sprinkling of Mica on the peeks gave the impression of 'sunlight on the mountains, and a dusting of finer glitter over the countryside made the lower areas look as if a light snow had just happened.  If you can't find a 'Spray Snow', I suggest using the Stiffen Quik and sprinkling on 'fake snow' or glitter.  

A couple of my students in the Mother Winter Workshop added crystals and other miniatures with great effect!  The skies the limit here, just keep scale in mind when you add things. We also thought about how fun it would be to add mini lights onto our hills.  I hope someone will take this project and really go wild with it!!!  I know I will be making more of these little worlds soon and hope you will too. ENJOY!!!

Free Easter Egg Tutorial On The Castle Blog!

Visit the Castle Blog HERE to find out how to download FREE directions to make your own Easter Egg Paper Theatre!  Also be sure and sign up for the Castle Crier Newsletter HERE so you'll be first to find out about future Castle tutorials and specials!

ENJOY!!!

Handkerchief Vases...

These diy Handkerchief Hanging Vases are adorable!  Find complete instructions HERE.  Via Laurie Cinotto Art & Craft.

My Gift To You - A VALENTINES WREATH TUTORIAL!

This fun little Valentines wreath is my gift to you.  May your day be filled with Hearts, Kindness and Lots of Love!

For this project you will need a handful of old buttons, green crepe paper, and some florist wire, along with scissors and glue.  I used pale green doublette crepe paper which you can Buy Online At The Castle.  But any nice quality crepe paper will do.

First cut 4 inch lengths of florist wire and loop through the buttons, making sure that the wire is tight against the button as shown above.  I made 20 little button stems.

Cut a couple of 1/2 inch stripes of crepe paper - against the grain.

Put a dab of glue on one end of crepe paper stripe and place just below each button.  Wrap stripe around wire going down approximately 2 inches.

Glue crepe paper end onto wire at bottom.

Now you need to create a long 'stem' of button flowers.  Take a 16 - 18 inch wire and attach each individual button stem onto the longer wire using another strip of crepe paper as shown above. All thicknesses of wire will be hidden under your crepe paper stripe.

Cut 20 small double leaf shapes as shown - cut along grain-line for best results.  These are tiny leaves!

Place a dab of glue on one leaf side and fold leaf over so that the two sides glue together.  Give the little leaf a twist up against the button to hold into place.

Carefully wind the long button stem into a circle and attach top to bottom with another strip of crepe paper.  You will need to loop the crepe paper between the small stems so that circle becomes closed.

Freehand cut a number of hearts, making sure that they have pointy ends.  (I used a copy of some wonderful old Calligraphy paper for my hearts.)  Fold under one side of each heart to give them some dimension.

 

Glue hearts onto your wreath, applying glue on long pointy end of heart and wrapping around the inner stem as shown.

I added a few tiny little red hearts to my bigger hearts for a touch of color!

Finally cut out a bird from image above (PRESS IMAGE for larger version!) and add to center of your wreath.  Add a 'love token' to the birds mouth and a pink ribbon and your Valentine is finished! 

 

Happy Valentines Day!!!