{GUEST DESIGNER} Pollyzas - Back to School Pencil Box

My project is a back to school pencil box. Since the kids are going back to school I thought I would put together a project that was based around that theme. 

I decided to make a decorated school pencil case. I went to a local store and bought a package of 10 pencils and a plastic pencil case. You can use any type of a case or box.

Next I gathered my supplies from Crop Chocolate. I used the paper line Echo Park Sweet Day, My Minds Eye - Fun Day Twine and Crate Paper Peppermint Collection buttons. I also used the Xyron Mega Runner on my project which was purchased on Crop Chocolate, my hot glue gun & Scotch brand white glue for adhering everything together.

First I sharpened the pencils, then I covered five of the pencils with twine, I did this by putting white glue along the pencil then twirling the twine around the pencil, one of the pencils I did using three of

the different color twines that I used.

I covered two pencils using the packaging from the paper pack, and covered the other three pencils in one of the patterned papers from the line. Once I was happy with all of my pencils I glued them to the

top of my pencil case using my hot glue gun. They adhered to the box very nicely. I alternated them one facing left then the next facing right, I also alternated them based on the covering, I started with a

twine covered pencil, then a pattern paper pencil.

I used buttons to embellish them, I put twine through the buttons and frayed the edges once I tied them off. I also lined the inside of the lid and the back side of the box to finish it off. This particular box

had a hole on the top for hanging I embellished that with twine as well as a button.

I hope everyone enjoyed my project, it was an honor to be able to share it with you.

Polly

 

Quilt Style Mosaic - by Clayton528 (Kathy)

I love quilts . . . I love how squares and rectangles come together to make a pattern. I'm not sure why but the clean lines and tidy shapes of squares & rectangles just call to me. So this month when Amber gave us our assignment using “mosaic” as the theme, I immediately thought of quilts because to me “mosaic” consists of various sizes of squares and rectangles.  While the easiest way to do a mosaic layout may be to purchase some pre-lined cardstock, I could not see spending the money for that.  So instead I decided to take my quilt-designing experience and try to incorporate it into a layout.

First thing I realized was with quilts you add ¼” to each side of your square, but that ¼” is then sewn into the seam.  With a mosaic layout, you add 1/8” in between each square and it isn’t covered up in a seam.  If that doesn’t make sense, don’t worry.  I’ve come up with measurements to and I’ll walk you thru it, but first let’s start out with supplies:

Supplies I used

CC Products
Black cardstock
“Paradise Beach” paper collection by Echo Park
Fancy Pants rub-on alpha (black)
Walnut Stain distress ink
Snake Tape

Tools
self-healing mat
metal ruler w/ non-slip cork backing
and craft knife (in MM’s tool kit)
clear acrylic ruler
paper trimer (optional)
pencil
pen

Step 1 - First thing to do, as with any layout, is to select photos.  There are no rules about what kind of photos to use, but I preferred using scenery pictures rather than portrait-type pictures to cut up and then used the portrait-type pictures as whole pictures/blocks.  Don’t crop your photos at this time because you never know when you might want that extra ¼”.  Also, keep in mind this is using 10 squares across and 10 down with 1/8” in between.  (But you can adjust this to less squares by enlarging your borders . . . like for 9 squares across, the border will be approximately 1”, whereas an 8 square would be 1 ½”.)

Step 2 – Marking your cardstock.  With a very light hand, use a ruler to draw first line 3/8” from the top.  (Using a light hand will make the lines easier to erase or leave if they are not too distracting.)  Move ruler down 1 1/8” down and make 2^nd line.  Continue drawing lines in 1 1/8” increments until 10 lines have been drawn.  Turn paper 90 degrees and do the same thing.  If you don’t want to draw a line clear across paper you can make little ¼” marks across.   Now taking photos place them on the lined cardstock to get an “idea” as to placement and how the pictures should be cut.

Step 3:  Printing, cropping and marking back of photos.  I printed one of my pictures 10 ½”x8” to use across the top.  I was only going to cover 4 squares down on the paper, so I cropped the picture 10” x 4 3/8”.  Rule of thumb – add 1/8” for every 1” square after the 1^st one.  For example – 2 squares = 2 1/8”; 3 squares = 3 ¼”; 4 squares = 4 3/8”, etc.  NOTE:  If you are going to cut your pictures only into 1” squares, you do NOT need to worry about adding the 1/8” for each square.  That is only for when you are doing 1” strips, like I did across the top or if you want to fill in areas like I did for the journaling (which you will see in the final picture).

  Here’s a table:
1 square = 1”
2 squares = 2 1/8”
3 squares = 3 1/4”
4 squares = 4 3/8”
5 squares = 5 1/2”
6 squares = 6 5/8”
7 squares = 7 3/4”
8 squares = 8 7/8”
9 squares = 10”
10 squares = 11 1/8”

For each picture, turn it over, and using ruler and pen/pencil, draw a 1" grid on the back. Then number each square from right to left or in a way that makes sense to you.  Numbering the squares is sort of a safeguard, in case you have to leave your layout and need to remember where things fit when you come back to it, or in case a curious child or inquisitive cat messes up your squares while your back is turned!

Sometimes a picture is not exactly 4”x6” or in exact inches . . . it may be 1/8” or 1/16” short on one side or the other.  Measure pictures first, and if it’s a bit short, either make your squares a tiny bit less than 1” or reprint your picture and crop it down.  As in quilting, fudging a little here and there is okay and will not be noticeable.  If you aren’t going to use a whole picture, the shortage doesn’t matter . . . just crop your pictures in 1” increments.

Step 4 – I then took my marked pictures and, using a paper trimmer, trimmed my largest picture into strips along the drawn lines.  (I used a metal ruler & craft knife for my smaller pictures.)

Step 5 – I then placed them on my marked cardstock to make sure I like the arrangement.  Once I was happy, I then finished cutting into 1” squares.  Doing it this way helped me to make sure I had the arrangement I wanted, plus strips are easier to move around and rearrange than a lot of tiny squares. J

Step 6 - Once I had my arrangement decided on, using Snake Tape, I adhered my pictures to the cardstock . . . making sure I followed the numbers on the backs of my squares.  Once all picture squares and strips are adhered to cardstock, there was some gaps.  Taking some blank scrap paper, I cut squares & rectangles to the sizes needed (using the table above for the correct measurements).

Step 7 – Taking different papers from “Paradise Beach”, I cut some 1” squares, a 2 1/8” square for journaling and a 3 ¼” square for title. Distress the edges with Walnut Stain distress ink. Adhere squares to LO.

Since adding any type of embellishment would make this LO too busy, I settled for adding just journaling in the smaller beige box and a title in the larger beige box.  This is how my final layout looked:

Once you’ve used this basic technique and feel comfortable with it, you can really have some fun!  You can leave one or two of your photos intact and fit them into the mosaic. You can try creating just a mosaic border around the edges of your page using bits of leftover pictures.  You can even use paper for the Mosaic part around a picture.  Following is an example I did using just one photo and paper . . .  I used 9 squares across instead of 10.  I really liked the results . . . I was also able to add some embellishments without it being too busy like it would have been on the 1^st LO.

(For this layout, I used “Life is Good” by Echo Park)
Here’s what I cut for the paper:  2 rectangles 2 1/8”x3 ¼” each; photo mat 4 3/8”x6 5/8”;
2 – 2 1/8” squares; 1 – 2 1/8”x5 5/8” rectangle; a1 – 1”x10 5/8”; and 18 – 1” squares

Thanks so much for taking time to check out this fun and interesting technique.  When you try it yourself, have fun with it . . . as I’ve said last month, there are NO mistakes, only creative discoveries.

Stained Glass Heart - by Scrap Happy (Julie)

What do you think of when you hear the word mosaic? The first thing that came to mind for me was
a stained glass window, like in a church. I wanted to create something bright, happy, full of light -- like
light shining through a stained glass window on a sunny Sunday morning. What could be more fun than using the popular Washi tape to re-create stained glass? Here’s my take on Mosaic:

And here’s the long list of products I used to create this piece of wall art:

CropChocolate products –

AC Mix Tape (all 3 colors)
Making Memories Paper Reverie Metallique Glitter Tape (used two of the three in the package)
Echo Park Playground paper for the background
Bits & Pieces – Stella & Rose grab bag (key)
Bazzill Basics cardstock for flowers and butterfly
Making Memories Bravissimo accessories – Pearls (on butterfly)
Tim Holtz distress inks in worn lipstick, dried marigold, frayed burlap, and spiced marmalade

Non CC products –
Studio Calico washi tape
American Crafts glitter paper – gold (heart shape)
Various Spellbinders
Close To My Heart stamp set for sentiment
Cardboard packaging for adding sturdiness for wall hanging
Various adhesives, foam tapes, glue stick
Close To My Heart 1/8 inch ribbon for hanging

To make the wall hanging, I first cut all my shapes – the large decorative square, the heart, the butterfly, the flowers, the sentiment shape. These are all various Spellbinder dies. The large decorative square I cut twice, once out of thin cardboard, once from the Echo Park Splash card stock, and the heart was cut twice. One heart was cut out of gold glitter paper. Another was cut a ¼ inch smaller out of white card stock.

Next, I decorated the plain white heart with washi tape.

I used small pieces of various tapes, alternating the tapes and the direction that I laid them
down. You can use this technique on any basic shape you want – circles, squares, butterflies, whatever
fits your project). Keep alternating the tapes, the direction, and the size of the pieces until your mosaic
is filled.

There are many different methods of cutting out rolled flowers – Cricut cartridges, Spellbinders, and
Sizzix dies are all possibilities. I used Spellbinder dies here. I have good luck rolling the flowers around
something small like a quilling tool, an Imaginisce Hybrid Petal Roller pictured here:

or even a toothpick or Q tip. I inked the edges of these flowers before I rolled them. They can be spritzed lightly with water to make them more pliable if needed.

After stamping the sentiment and inking the edges of the decorative shape, it was time to assemble all

the pieces. I played with things in various positions until I found what was pleasing to me. Once it was assembled, I punched 2 holes and hung it with ribbon from my stash. (pic 1 can be inserted again to show the completed project at the end of the tutorial also.)

I’d love to see what you do with this mosaic technique. Upload your projects on CC so I can see your
creativity at work (or is it play?)! And always, scrap happy.

Red, White, and Blue Mosaic - by mom2two (jenni)

I've been challenged so far since being selected for the Design Team.  This project was no exception.  Mosaic!  A picture immediately came to mind when it was chosen....small little squares/tiles all put together to make a picture.  Yes, I did look it up to get some ideas.....some of which I may use in the future, but when I saw the flag, I knew that was it.  This is really  nothing like what I saw online, but the red, white and blue is hard to miss!

First i had to choose the paper.....BG Lime Rickey has the bold red and blue that i needed.  The white squares were cut from BG Bittersweet.  I set the cricut to cut 1/2" squares.  Seemed like a million of them, but it was about 50 blue, 115 red and 80-some white.  Then I proceeded to distress EACH ONE!  yes you read correctly.....each square, all four sides, I game them a coat of TH Tea Dye distressing.

I then decided how wide I wanted the border.  I used my ATG, laid down a strip of glue and started sticking!  Some adjustments here and there to get the squares even and in a line, making sure the variegated colors in the paper were mixed up so that the mosaic looked like a mosaic!

And Voila!  the Mosaic's were done!  I love how they turned out!  A little time consuming, but the results are amazing!

Product list:

BG Bittersweet (white squares)

BG Lime Rickey (blue and red squares and "AMERICA")

Bazzill Blueberry Pie (background)

MM design shop embellishments - July 4

non-CC

ATG

TH Tea Dye Distress Ink

Bazzill White

Ladybug Necklace - by Miwa (Miwa)

Ladybug Mosaic Pendant

Hi, folks! Since our monthly challenge was “mosaics” and I have a particular fondness for bugs, I decided to make some ladybug pendants for my little girls. I had never worked with paper clay before, but thought this was a good chance to finally break open the package I had purchased several years ago. This project takes some time, but most of it is drying time. The finished jewelry piece is very lightweight and the paper clay itself is quite easy to work with. You do not have to use paper clay, though – if you want to make a ladybug mosaic for a card or layout, simply begin to follow from step #2.

Here is what you will need…

CC-items: Echo Park cardstock (Seasons Greetings), MME Lush ribbon trim, Making Memories Paper Reverie Gems & Brads NOIR and MM Paper Reverie Gems & Brads SIENNA

Non-CC items: paper clay (Creative Paper Clay Co.), jewelry bail, Mod Podge (Plaid), black paint (Making Memories)

Tools: cookie cutters, rolling pin, drinking class… whatever you want!

Step #1 – Making the paper clay pendant

You will only need a small amount of paper clay to make one pendant. Whatever excess you have, you can either discard or use for other shapes, such as ornaments or wall hangings (you can bag up the rest of your unused paper clay for another project). Once you have broken off what you need, knead the paper clay, adding a little water as you go, until the consistency becomes smooth. The feel is a slightly from from real clay, since paper clay is as it sounds – made from paper. Once you have a smooth ball, place it on top of wax paper (to protect your surface) and cover the ball with a layer of plastic wrap before rolling it flat – this is to prevent your rolling pin (or whatever you decide to use) from sticking to the paper clay.

Once you have rolled out your paper clay flat (mine were about one-eighth of an inch, but you can make it as thick as you would like – the thicker it is, however, the longer it will take to dry), use a cookie/fondant cutter/drinking glass to cut out your shape. If you are going to make a pendant, insert a bail (your ribbon or chain will go through this) while the paper clay is still wet. If you do not have a jewelry bail, fear not! You can just make a hole with a toothpick and then allow the piece to dry.

Step #2 – Adding the rhinestones

The paper clay will take at least 24 hours to dry. I laid my pieces on wax paper and flipped them over every once in a while, because the pieces will tend to curl slightly during the drying process. Also, periodic turning will probably facilitate the drying process. If the curling is excessive, you may want to put something flat/heavy on top to help maintain flatness. Once the pendant is dry, paint (front and back) the pendant several times. When the paint has dried, you are ready to add some bling.

Now, it is time to Mod Podge! Since my pendant piece was small, I used a paintbrush to apply my Mod Podge – this will easily wash off with water. Although the rhinestones have an adhesive, I laid a drop of Mod Podge underneath each one for additional security. Follow the pattern that you have chosen and do not forget to add the eye spots! 

Step #3 – Adding the spots

In order to have the black rhinestones *pop*, I layered red circles beneath them. To save time, I used a hole punch, but you could certainly make them any shape you wanted. I applied a layer of Mod Podge before adhering the red circles, allowed it to dry, and then added another layer of Mod Podge before adding the black rhinestone.

Step #4 – Covering the ladybug shell

Okay, this is the hardest part, but only because you are dealing with small bits of paper. I found it easiest to outline the shell with small rectangles/squares. After that, you fill in the empty spaces with various paper pieces. You can pick any shape, depending on the space that needed filling. Before and after you add each piece of paper, be sure to add more Mod Podge.  

Step #5 – Topping off the Pendant

When your mosaic is finished, simply add a few more layers of Mod Podge, to ensure the little paper pieces are securely glued down. I did not cover the tops of the rhinestones, but I did try to get Mod Podge all around them. If the jewelry is for small children, you will want to add super glue to where the bail is attached, after your project is fully completed. When the pendant is completely dry, thread some ribbon through the bail and find a cute little girl (or your charming self!) to put the pendant on! 

Photo Mosaic LO - by Chris (Christina)

Well at first I thought mosaic? Really? Isn't that what you do with tiles? After rummaging around the world wide web I came across a few delightful ideas.

This is the inspiration for my layout.Hers is all done in digital but after looking down through the post...way too much work for me and not enough CC product either.

http://ozone.oscraps.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=66211&cat=500&ppuser=8555

I still didn't know how I was going to convert mosaic to paper though.

After much thought and a few stressful hours editing my photo,I finally got exactly what I wanted! I love this project and think I might try this layout in another album too...that was until my husband said it looked like a picture from Silent Hill and now I can't get THAT out of my head.It kinda does actually but I love it nonetheless.

1.Take your subject outside for a quick photo shoot,tell her not to smile and get a "mom you're strange " look.Spend a little time(long time)searching for your photo programs just to realize they've been deleted on your hard drive.THEN go to PicMonkey to edit them.I chose to use,well the only colours I think you can chose,red green,blue and purple tones and crop your photo for a close up shot,do some flipped and head to the store to print.

2.I used my new Paradise Beach card stock(LOVE LOVE LOVE it) and take a scrap piece to practice on.I ran the edge of a chunk of cardboard through each of my TH Distress ink pads and dragged it onto the paper.

3.I cut up the pictures and distressed them a bit.The big picture was hard to distress.Kodak paper does not like to be ripped.After my paper dried,I spritzed it with Perfect Pearls perfect pearl mist.

4.I searched through my rub ons for just the right pieces and found some on each of the three pieces shown.

5. I lay my pictures down and fiddled with exactly how I wanted them.Sometimes I like things to be nice and straight but I like how this turned out with them straight but scattered.(make sense??)

Lastly,fight with your camera for a half an hour taking a tonne of pictures and find the ones that were actually  in focus and there ya have it!

My mosaic project..phew that was quite the crafty time.

Products used:TH Distress Inks-tumbled glass(blue),pumice stone,barn door,shabby shutters

                     We R Memory Makers- Purple sweetheart inker(last minute,need some extra colour thought)

                     Ranger-Perfect Pearls-perfect pearl 

                     Paradise Beach cardstock-Brown/cream

                     Rub ons-FB-Girl Phrases/FB-All Fall/FP-it's the little things

                          MM Distressing tool

A Mosaic Card for a Good Cause - by xanthippe (Brenna)

When I learned this month’s project was ‘mosiac’ I was excited!  I’d recently heard of Operation Write Home, and felt the mosaic theme would lend itself perfectly for an abstract card design.  Operation Write Home is a non-profit organization that provides blank handmade cards to soldiers overseas, so they can write home.   After visiting their website operationwritehome.org and reading their guidelines, I was trying to come up with some card ideas, just then the mosaic challenge came along and it was a match made in scrappy heaven!

First, I took a basic A2 card and colored the pattern I wanted to follow with some markers.

Then I chose coordinating paper from the huge EP stack purchased from CC. 

I also gathered random bling flowers I’ve collected over the years (and never know how to use).  I felt they’d make great ‘tile’ accents to my mosaic.

And the Operation Write Home rubber stamp.  It comes unmounted, but I have a dollar spot acrylic mounting block, so I glued it on for a permanent stamp.

Finally I glued everything onto the basic pattern I’d already drawn, and stamped Operation Write Home on the back.  I created a few more cards while I was at it, and will mail them all at once to OWH headquarters so they can be shipped overseas to the men and women who will use them.   

Altered Mosaic Frame - by By Belle (Michele)

Altered Frame-Mosaic

Hey everyone, by belle here and we are in month 2 of our design team term, I am having SO much fun with our themes so far.  As soon as I knew Augusts’ theme was Mosaic I knew I wanted to do a frame…so here is what I did.

You will need a frame to alter and sand paper to start.  I sanded the surface of the frame so it would be easier to color.

Next, select your paper; I used MME Stella and Rose Hazel and Gertie, Fine and Dandy True Blue and Lime Twist Out of the Blue.  All of these were purchased at Crop Chocolate.  Once you have your paper picked out you can determine what color you will add to the frame.  I used Distress Stain Broken China (from CC). I coated the entire front of the frame with the stain, let it set for a few minutes and whipped off the excess.

Now for the mosaic pieces…I am a fly by the seat of your pants kind of girl so I just started cutting a few shapes and placed them on the frame where I thought they looked good.  Then to fill in the spaces I did actually measure and cut pieces to fit in the holes.  I cut and placed all my pieces to make sure I liked the layout and then glued them all down.  I have a 12x12 die cut piece of cardstock that I love to use for masking!  I used Distress Ink Brushed Corduroy (CC) and randomly masked the paper pieces.  I also inked the edges to tie in with the masking.

I finished off my large jar of Distress Crackle Paint Clear Rock Candy (CC) when I sealed everything with 2 coats.  I LOVE the crackled look you get with this.

When everything is all dry you are ready to embellish however you want.  I used an unfinished wood word and stained with my Distress Stain and covered with a coat of Glossy Accents.  With all the paper scraps I made some pretty little flowers with my Big Shot and Tim Holtz Tattered Floral die.  Fancy Pants buttons and Jillibean Soup twine (both from CC) completed the flowers.  Teal gems are from my stash and are arranged in a random flourish to frame the word.  I love velvet ribbon so at the bottom of the frame I added Stella and Rose Hattie trim (CC).  The vintage cloths pin I used was my great grandmothers, it has special meaning on this project because I ‘believe’ she is always watching over me.

I hope you are inspired to try a project using the mosaic technique and I really hope you will share what you create!  I will be looking forward to seeing your photos!!

Until next month, happy creating!!