My Wishing Well

This is my own version of a wishing well.  Someone once posted that they were looking for a pattern for a wishing well, and I, being one of a few responders, mentioned that maybe they could use the drum from SVG Cuts Santa's Visit SVG Kit file as the base.  Nothing ever came of it, but I couldn't stop thinking about it.  So, when the Valentine Challenge came up over at SVG Cuts Facebook, I decided to give it a try.  The following is my version of a wishing well.  I was so happy how it turned out.  I have been asked to give instructions on how I did it, so the following is my feeble (and way too wordy) attempt at giving some instruction.  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.  All paper cuts were done with a Sizzix Eclips die cutting machine (awesome machine!) and eCAL software.  So, enjoy!

Instructions on Deb's Wishing Well:

Drum from SVG Cuts' Santa’s Visit SVG Set. I removed the brad holes from the drum and the decorator strip. I used a paper that I made myself. I was recently at the Hoover Dam and took a picture of a rock wall, then took it into Photoshop and made the rocks pink. Of course, you can use whatever you want!

The grass is from SVG Cuts' My Happy Garden Hideaway, and I overlapped it so that there were at least two layers of grass in all areas. I also inked the grass in both a darker green and some brown to give it some depth.  The strawberries, the ladybug and the heart on the top were from 24 Valentines SVG Kit from SVG Cuts. I made the little tag on the top myself in Photoshop. You could replace this with whatever you want…or nothing!

I made the pattern for the wooden boards on the sides in Illustrator, and they’re just four sides and an extra edge as a tab for gluing it together. They are about 10.25 tall, ¾" wide and ¼" deep. I embossed them with the Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes to give a wood appearance (had to feed it in two ways, since the embossing folder was not that long). I made a small cutout on the inside of the top rim of the drum so that boards could lay flat against the insides of the drum when gluing it in. On the left side board I cut a small X into the inside so that I could insert a 3/8" dowell. The dowell is 5.25" long, and I inked it really well in brown. I did NOT glue the dowel into the hole, but just pushed it in. On the right board, I made the Xs on both the inside and outside so the dowell could go through. I cut an inverted V at the top of each board to that it would fit the V of the roof.  (click on image to enlarge)



For the wishing well handle, I just got a piece of chip board, cut it in some arbitrary shape and hole punched the top and bottom. It just happened to be the right size to fit the dowel into snugly, so I didn’t even glue it. Then I took a very small piece of the dowel, cut it and inked it, and put it into the lower hole. No rocket science here, just making it work by trial and error.  With the dowel not glued in, this little handle actually spins and will move the bucket up and down in the well.

I tried four different times to make the roof, but finally realized they were just to thick and cumbersome for this project, so I just cut a 6" x 6" piece of chipboard, scored it down the middle and inked the edges. I cover the bottom inside completely in brown paper. Then I took a 1" by 6" piece of brown paper, folded it in half long ways, and covered the top score line with it and glued it down. Then I took two pieces of brown paper 3"x6", embossed them (had to put it into the embosser twice, once from each side) and glued them to each side of the top. I inked it with brown and just a bit of black. On the underside of the roof, I made two insets, one for either side made as a triangle with tabs. I glued them to the underside of the roof about ¾"-7/8" in from the edge so that they would be close to the upper outer side of the boards when I glued it on. Then I got two separate pieces of brown paper, which I embossed, to cover up the small square area underneath and hide the tabs from the triangular inserts. I cut an inverted V at the top of each board, so they fit the angle of the roof when you set the roof on top of them.

The bucket was made from the bushel bucket from SVG Cuts' Caramel Apple Pie. This was a bit tricky, since the bushel is open-slatted, and the bucket for the wishing well had to be solid. Here’s what I did: I opened the bottom of the bucket and the slats onto my cutting mat, the selected them all together and sized them down so that the bottom (center) was about 1-1/2". Then I ungrouped the slats and placed each one on the tab to which it would normally be glued. After they were all in place, I selected all and welded it together so it would cut out all in one piece. Then I copy/pasted it to make a second one. Next, I found a small glass, like a small juice glass, with a bottom that was about 1-1/2" across. I placed the two pieces on top of each other and twisted it so that the slats were not on top of each other, but filling in all empty spaces. I made a strip of paper, about 3/8" wide and wrapped it around the outer lower edge of the glass and glued the end. Then I put glue all over the outside of the strip and set it on top of the two cut bushel papers. And then folded up all of the slats and added a little more glue to the inner outer slats that didn’t stay put. I just held it until they stayed put, and let it dry. While still on the glass I took some 26 gauge wire (comes like thread on a spool) and wrapped it around the bucket at two levels and secured it. I used some Beacon’s 3-in-1 to keep the wire secured at intervals. After I took it off of the glass, I used a needle to poke holes in two opposite sides so I could thread the wire in and make the handle.

I used jute and took a single strand from it to tie the bucket to the dowel going across the wishing well. It frays a lot and becomes thin, so once I got my strand, I took a little of the Scotch Adhesive glue, put a drop on my finger and dabbed it very lightly down about 3", then repeated until there was just a very tiny bit of glue along the entire length. I then rolled the jute with my fingers to work the glue into the jute to make it stronger and to stop the fraying.

The flower buds I used were from SVG Cuts' Crush on You Boxes SVG Kit, and I used only the center, rolled portion of the flower.  I sized them really little (can’t remember exact measurements). You can just eye it. Then a cut out some little sprigs of leaves and cut them up to place next to the flowers as you like. Before putting them in the bucket, I added some filler (just made square boxes, and then a round piece to fill in the bottom of the bucket), so the flower buds had something to sit on.

Lastly, I used the arch vine from SVG Cuts' My Happy Garden Hideaway to put on the outside of of the boards. I just cut the top of the arch off and used the two sides on the outsides of the boards.

So, there you have it. You can embellish any way you’d like. I’ve never made instructions before, so sorry if this is too confusing. I just sort of winged it the whole way, so there is no one good way or best way to do any of it. Just have fun, and know that it takes a while, especially with trial and error. Finished size is 6" across by 10.25" tall. Have fun!

I'm wishing you happy crafting!

SIDE NOTE Feb. 20:  I was so surprised and pleased to have won first place in the Valentine's Day challenge at SVG Cuts' Facebook for my little wishing well. Thanks to all! Yippee!

Birthday Treats!

How fun is this cupcake treat box!  SVG Cuts does it again.  This is a part of their Happy Birthday to You SVG set that was just released on Saturday.  The set shows a flower on top, but since I was making this for a young man, I swayed from the flower and used a dollop of whipped cream with a cherry on top instead.  I cut the cherry from a very old Art Explosion clip art set I've had for probably 15 years, modified in Illustrator.  I made the cherry two-sided so that I could tuck the stem and the white "cherry shine" in between the two layers of cherries.    The dollop of whipped cream was a free pdf template from Stampindesign by Lynn Pratt's blog. I tried to fold it on my own and couldn't figure it out.  I finally looked at the instructions, and then it all made sense (no, I'm not a man). I can tell I'll be making a bunch of these this year.  The size of the box is perfect for a few treats. It's around 4" tall from the bottom to the top of the cupcake (not including the whipped cream).  All cuts were done with a Sizzix Eclips and ECAL software. I'm on my way to fill it up so I can give it away tonight. Try it!  You'll like it.

Sweet dreams, with a cherry on top!

Birthday Greetings, Bottle of Wine

 Thought I'd share the card I made for my husband's 64th birthday (on Groundhog's Day).  The card and elements are from SVG Cuts, and since the front elements were just taken out of retirement for a short time, it made sense to incorporate the Beatles and When I'm 64.  I used some of the song lyrics from the song inside.  My husband loved it.  It's not easy making "paper crafts" that men will appreciate, but this seemed to be quite appropriate for a guy.  Happy birthday, honey!

Will you still be crafting when you're 64?

A Journal Journey

This was such a fun project, and everything was new to me so it was also a great learning experience.  I made a journal for my daughter's birthday gift.  It was bound with a Cinch 2 binding machine using plastic covered wire coil binding.  The cover is made from chipboard covered with art I put together.  I designed the cover using digital paper from Jessica Sprague and art elements also from Jessica Sprague from the collection Journal Your Art Out 1, by Nancy Rowe Janitz and Christine Honsinger.  The finished size was approximately 8" x 10-1/2".

I filled it with Southworth Granite 24lb. paper in rose (it's so pale you can't tell it's rose).  At the end of the book, on the inside cover, I made an open-topped envelope to hold some embellishments I made.  I wanted to have them available so that my daughter could insert them when and where she wanted as she filled the journal.

In the envelope I put some fun things she can use in journaling.  I made some envelopes into which she can put letters, cards, tickets or whatever is her fancy.  She can glue these onto the pages as she uses them. Then I printed some journaling cards which were a freebie from Back to Paper by Linda Tieu.  I changed some of the colors of them to better go with the journal.  I also used some of the Vintage Cabinet Cards by Kitschy Digitals from Jessica Sprague, onto which I printed some photos of my daughter and her husband.  The one blue envelope was of a tree that my daughter painted and designed.  I asked her to send me a photo of it, and then I made an envelope with it.  It turned out really cute.

And, that's about it.  Hope you enjoyed it.  I certainly had fun making it.  And, I hope she uses it!  When I gave it to her, I got the feeling that she liked it but didn't want to mess it up by using it.  I'd love to see it filled with lots of memories and love.  So, until next time...

Keep on crafting!

Heart of My Heart

I requested February as my month to host Bunco (my first time, since I was a sub last year and this year I'm in as a permanent).  So, since SVG Cuts always has fun things available for each holiday, I decided to make the Bunco group girls a little candy box.  The pattern is from SVG Cuts in their Love Me Do SVG Kit.  I made the boxes 85% of their original size so the portion of M&Ms seemed more suitable.  The dice were a fluke.  I had ordered some brads from Oriental Trading Co. and instead they sent me 12 sets of these little dominoes.  They didn't want me to send them back so I gave a few to my sis-in-law and had no clue what to do with the rest of them. It came to me that dice would be cute, so I had my husband use the scroll saw to cut a few of the dominoes in half.  I realized afterwards that they were made of plastic and I could cut them with my scissors.  I made the small heart in Photoshop, and used the cut outs from the boxes for the little heart garland in the background.  The boxes were cut and scored with my Sizzix Eclips.

Sweets to the Sweet

A Little Birthday Card

I made this card for my daughter's birthday (today!).  It was made with SVG Cuts Everyday Cards SVG Kit.  The pattern for this one originally said PARTY where HAPPY is, but I changed it to Happy and then added birthday underneath.  I cut this with a Sizzix Eclips using ECAL software, and I can't believe how easily it cut the word birthday.  It is about 2" from the beginning of the word Birthday to the end, and the cutter cut it meticulously.  The insides just came out so easily.  I didn't think it would work, but it was no problem with this great cutter. The card is a box without the sides.  It folds flat to fit into an A2 card, and then the box opens in order to set it up.  I used a couple of small brads on the back for decoration where the salutation is located.  The envelope comes with the kit, and I embossed the flap to match the embossing on the front frame of the card.  I really love the way it turned out, and I love Mary's patterns at SVG Cuts.  And, most importantly, Happy Birthday to my sweet daughter.

Enjoy your craft today!

Bridal Shower Decor

So, as you who know me are aware, I am NOT a gardener. I hate getting dirty (I know, all of you people who love to get dirty and into the soil to garden are cringing). Anyway, when I had the pleasure of co-hosting a wedding shower it became necessary to clean out a large, overgrown bush in my front yard.  As I was cutting it down, I noticed the branches and how perfect they might be to use to make a lattice.  I picked out the ones I wanted to use, and proceeded to use them to make three lattice wall hangings, one of the bride, one of the groom and one of them as a couple.  I laid them out on my kitchen table and used a glue gun for placement and then added wire thread to reinforce the joints.  My daughter loved them so much, I had to make one for her as well.  So, here are the lattices that I came up with.  It was a fun conversation piece.  The bride loved them so much she had them displayed at her wedding.

Happy crafting!

Celebrating with keepsake cards

I've been making these cards with my own twist for a while now.  They're fun to make, and very personal. They do not open; they are just the front and back of heavy chipboard. I design the front and back (5x7 with 1/8" bleed) in Photoshop.  For the back, I make an extra overlay of the lower edge element and duplicate it to make a pocket.  After I print the cards, I laminate the printouts (front, back and overlay) on one side only.  I then glue it down onto the heavy chipboard.  On the back 5x7, I leave a bit of the lower edges where the overlay will be unlaminated so that it will glue on more securely.  I then have a pocket where I can put a gift card. I've done these for weddings and birthdays.  It's a fun way to give a gift card while giving a small keepsake also.

Happy crafty side to you!

Books (and boxes) are our friends

I made this little matchbox book a couple of weeks ago.  I thinks it's adorable.  It's from SVG Cuts from their set called Spirits of Christmas Past.  I used three different embossing folders and basic colors.  I love the feeling that the embossing gives paper.  I designed the oval insert on the front cover in Photoshop.  The pattern from SVG Cuts comes with a very cute insert that you might also like. 

Until next time!

Valentine crafting

I'll start with my most current project, a Valentine's heart box designed by SVG Cuts in their Love Me Do SVG Kit.  I was a bit hesitant working with all of the tabs at first, but after the top was done, the bottom was so easy and fast.  I'll definitely make this one again.  I printed the paper myself from a digital download (Circa 1934) from Jessica Sprague.  The rose is a free svg file (rolling rose) from Paper, Scissors, Ink.  While I was making the rosebud I was thinking, "well this is a loss", but once I put the glue in the bottom and turned it over I was shocked at how pretty it looked.  All cuts done with a Sizzix Eclips and ECAL software.

Happy day!

My First Post - My First Blog!

Hello friends,
I've recently been exposed to so many talented friends who so generously share their art and ideas and, as a result, I've been wanting to share some of my projects.  I'm a newby when it comes to paper crafts, but I'm having a blast.  My favorite place to find amazing projects to create is SVG Cuts.  Mary and Leo, the owners, are the most talented and helpful people I could ever imagine meeting on-line, and they have a fan base that is huge and growing daily.  None of this could have been done without them and all of the friends I have met on the svg cuts Facebook.  And, another thank you to my sister and brother-in-law, Terry & Bob, for getting me started in the first place.

Well, it's very, very late and it's taken me quite a while to get this set up, so I'll leave this at this point, and start posting some photos and fun stuff tomorrow!