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Monday, December 21, 2009

Snowman Card and Some Fun at Work

quilling quilled snowman card pattern


Aren't these snowmen cards cute? We did something called a "Service Auction" at work. All of the managers had to offer something for bid by the employees as a way to raise money for the employee association.


My service offering was a Quilling Class. I had very little time to come up with my project, but I knew it had to include quilling. So I quickly created a snowman card and offered the class that they dubbed "Artful with Antonella" (cute, I think I will need to remember this one).


There were 2 "winners" Jaya and Prathibha. Jaya later told me that there were people who had asked her about quilling and what it was and she said that she told them a little, but was careful not to let on too much lest they outbid her - lol.


We used the card I created as our inspiration and the cards they created are truly their own.


quilling quilled snowman card pattern
quilling quilled snowman card pattern

I precut the template for the easel card using the pattern you can find on the Craftiblog (great site, I just added a link to her blog on my blogroll too).


In preparation for the class I also pre-cut paper accents and hand punched snowflakes and such so that these steps would not take up too much time. As you can see, we had so much fun stamping we didn't end up using the punches.


We sat down in the breakroom and began our class. I had selected a snowman because of the winter weather and thought we could complete the card within an hour. We ended up about 1-1/2 hours to make the cards and lots of fun by all.


I don't buy that many stamp pads, but when I do I try to find interesting ones. I selected these Tsukineko Brilliance inkpads because they actually have a shimmer to them. If you click on the pictures you can see the shimmer in the photographs.


This is a basic 2 ball Snowman pattern:


Head: 2 strips of paper, to make a Tight Roll


Body: 3 strips of paper, to make a Tight Roll


Gently push out the center of the roll to make a rounded head and body. Add Glue to the inside (bottom) of the snowman and let the glue dry.


If you notice, Prathibha added a blue strip as her second strip in the body of her snowman. You too can add some color to your snowman by replacing the 2nd white strip with the color of your choice. You can also create a snowman that is not white at all, the choice is yours, have some fun with this.


We then added an Orange triangle for his nose (I like to add the nose first and cover the center of the roll so you don't see the hole)


Googly eyes were added, because they are just too much fun - even if they sometimes give your snowman a bit of a cross eyed look - lol


3 Black crystals were added for his buttons


A piece of ribbon was cut and artisitically tied to keep him warm.


Finally his tophat was added


One of the tophats was made by cutting a strip of black paper and rolling it around your pinky and gluing it to a circular base (note: I used a hole punch to punch a hole in the circle so that the hat would perch dashingly on his head).


The other tophat used a single strip of black paper, and Prathibha folded up the bottom. We cut some strategic slits so that it would go flat and there you have it.

To keep the easel cards standing, we added 3 snowballs. As you can see, they are multi colored... use your imagination. I find when placing something to keep the card standing, that I go slightly off-center and preferrably something with some height. That is why the snowballs are stacked.
I love the personality that the cards have and the beautiful colors that were used.

What do you think you will try? I know that I will be making more of these myself, can't wait to see what they look like. :-)

Friday, December 18, 2009

Free Quilled Wreath Pattern

free quilling quilled wreath pattern
I love putting up wreaths, don't you? This wreath serves double duty as an ornament too.


For this pattern, I used my quilling to embellish punched items.


I took my 2 and 1-1/2 inch circle punches to create the actual wreath.


Next I punched leaves from various green papers. I arranged the leaves so that the covered the entire wreath.


Punch a small hole in what will be the top of your wreath and put a jump ring through it. This will be where you will attach the ribbon for your ornament. I find it easier to put it in before I add the remaining embellishments.




Make approximately 20 - 3 inch (7.6 cm) Green Shaped Teardrops


This is the fun part, arrange them on the card. For this card I made the following arrangements:


Group 3 spiral roses at the top and place about 5 - 6 green teardrops between and around the spiral roses.


Group 3 spiral roses at the bottom and place approximately 3 green teardrops between the spiral roses.


Add 1 spiral rose with 2 green teardrops to the middle left of the wreath.


Add 2 spiral roses with 3 green teardrops to the middle right of the wreath.


I added a few green spirals for good measure and there you have a beautiful wreath. This wreath is perfect for Christmas in greens and reds. It is the perfect addition to a card with a bonus ornament gift for friends and family.
For some added interest, make your card look like a door so that it appears that the wreath is hanging outside on your door.


Why not give it a try?


Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Spiral Rose Instructions




Spiral Roses are a lot of fun to make, I have added them to many projects through the years and thought you'd like to make some too.

They are actually quite simple to make.

Punch or cut a 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) circle.

Cut the circle into a Spiral shape.

Refer to the picture to see the spiral in black and the shape as it looks after it is cut.

Start at one end and roll toward the center. I prefer to use my slotted tool as I find it grabs the paper a little easier to start. Glue the end.

Punch or cut a small circle and glue the spiral rose to this smaller circle.

That is all there is to it, you now have your Spiral Rose.




Sunday, December 13, 2009

Free Quilled Snowflake Ornament Pattern

It is that time of the year... the cold weather has rolled in, we have had 2 winter storms and I have gotten stuck in the snow already and it is only December... lol

quilled quilling red snowflake ornament


I hope you enjoy this Red and White snowflake ornament. This is a 6-pointed snowflake for you to enjoy.



1 - 12 in (30.5 cm) White Tight Roll. This is for the center of the ornament.



6 - 2 in (5 cm) Red Tight Rolls. They will go all around the center white tight roll.



6 - 6 in (15.2 cm) White Teardrops. Glue the point of the teardrop between the 2 inch red tight rolls.



6 - 4 in (10.2 cm) Red Tight Rolls. Glue to the rounded white teardrop.



6 - 6 in (15.2 cm) White Teardrops. Glue the rounded part of the teardrop to the red tight rolls.



Add a jump ring to one of the points with a ribbon to hang from the tree.

Once the ribbon is attached you can enjoy the movement of the snowflake on a variety of places. You can add this ornament to a card and turn your card into a gift as well. If you are working on a winter scrapbook page, you can make one of these to adorn your page.


Or you can just hang it from your tree!

Enjoy!
Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

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Saturday, December 12, 2009

XEROX Supports the Troops

I wanted to share this with everyone and give you a chance to brighten someone's day by saying "Thanks".

Xerox has setup a special website called LetsSayThanks.com

What an awesome idea, you get to send a postcard to the troops for free. They have a bunch of Thank You cards that you can pick from. You pick the one that you like best and Xerox will print it and send it to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq.

So come and do something nice and say Thanks. As my friend Sue who sent me the link wrote:
"How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! It is FREE and it only takes a second. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know that we support them."

After you have sent your card, take a look around the site. The really touching part for me was reading the "Messages from the Toops" it goes to show just how much this simple act means to them.

I hope you'll send a card!

Thank you!
Antonella :-)

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