Filigree Friday Free Quilled BookmarkTutorial

Another Fabulous Filigree Friday!

I hope that today finds you well.  I am excited because here in the US we have a long weekend.  Monday is a holiday and the office is closed - Yeah!!

This is a Quilled Bookmark that I made last year as a teacher's gift.  I love the papers and the bright flowers!

Bookmark:
I cut 2 pieces of cardstock 2.5 in (6.35 cm)  x 5.5 in (14 cm) (patterned and black)
I also punched a circle of coordinating cardstock
I glued them together - placing the circle near the top for just a little more texture and, as luck would have it, a guide for placing my flowers
I then used a ribbon spool to trace a half circle at the top
Cut the top to make it round
I am going to skip the next part - As you can see, I attempted to cut a flap however, I don't think I needed to do that.

I also cut a strip of black cardstock and stamped Thank You in silver
I love angles, so I attached it at an angle across the front

Red and Yellow Quilled Flower:
Petals

• 4 in  (10.2 cm) Yellow 
• 6 in (15.2 cm) Red
• To make 2-colored petals you can either glue the red strip to the end of the yellow strip or roll first the yellow strip and then the red strip (gluing them is easier)
• Starting with the Yellow end, roll the Yellow and Red strips and shape them into a Teardrop shape (click here for instructions)
• Make 5 of these teardrops and glue them so that the point is in the center
• Add a red gem to the center (gotta have bling!)

For the Stem,

• I took a strip of green and used a technique called alternate side looping.
• Basically, I created a loop, then came around and created a larger loop, and came around one more time to create a 3rd loop and glued it at the bottom and then pulled it thin so that you can barely see the loops.  
• I did it for extra sturdiness because I am hoping this will get regular use :-)

For the Leaves

• 2 shades of green, one 4 in (10.2 cm) and 6 in (15.2 cm)
• I rolled them the same as the petals, I started with the lighter green

Yellow Flowers
These are a little smaller than the Red/Yellow flowers

• 2 shades of Yellow, both 4 in (10.2 cm)
• Roll the lighter then darker Yellow and shape into a Teardrop
• Make 5 for each flower
• Glue with the tips in the center
• Add a pretty gem in the center

For the leaves

• 3 shades of green this time, 3 in (7.6 cm), 3 in (7.6 cm) and 6 in (15.2 cm)
• I rolled lightest to darkest, shaped into teardrop and then glued between 2 of the petals

Some thoughts/tips:

• You could add more petals to the Yellow flowers if you wanted, I would not have more than 2 per flower.
• I like rolling my coils with a lighter color in the center, but it looks pretty if you do the darker color in the center too - that is the fun part about quilling! The more you play, the more fun you will have!

I am Linking here:

Cupcake Craft Challenges - Bookworm - http://cupcakecraftchallenges.blogspot.com/

Have a great Friday and if you decide to create something, let me know!

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Wacky Wednesday - Hug Card

Welcome back to Wacky Wednesday! 
Oops... forgot my definition:  wassail - means toast to someone's health

I don't know if this is the official name of this type of card, but I call them "HUG Cards" - can't say why exactly, but they remind me of a hug.  I made my first card like this in January, and have been making many variations of them ever since because I think they are so versatile and they are perfect for gift cards.

This is how I made this card:
The HUG:
Cut 5" x 12" decorative paper
Score at 4" and 8"
Now you will notice that if you fold the sides in, you cannot see into the center of the card.  So now we need to do a bit of cutting so we can get the HUG :-)
You want to cut a diagonal line beginning at the crease down to the corner
Do this on both sides
Now when you fold the card onto itself you have a hug

To make the Pocket Insert:
Cut 3-3/4" x 9" (just under 4" so that it slides in and out easier)
Border punched both ends
Score at 4" and fold up - the folded height is approx 5" so that it peaks above the base card
I punched a scallop in the middle of the shorter side(so you can see the gift card or tag)
Note: I used double sided paper so that there was a pattern on all the visible pieces)
I then took a coordinating paper and cut it at 3-3/4" x 3"
For this one, I adhered it to the inside of the shorter side so that it was visible when folded up and then punched a scallop in the same place.  This way I didn't have to measure, and the coordinating paper created a contrast so that you could more easily see that something was back there.
I then decided what I was going to put into the pocket and glued the pocket so that the item fit.

You may wonder, how did I keep the pocket from sliding out of my card?
Well, I cut a scrap piece of cardstock, 3" x 3" and folded it in half
I glued one side to the bottom of the inside of my hug
This is then covered by the sides when they are folded in, and you slide the Pocket right in

The Scallop Flowers
I punched 6 scallops
Folded and bent them to create dimension
Snipped along either side of the scallop (see the detailed picture)
Put a brad in the center
I used the brads to adhere it to my card - but you don't have to, you can use a glue dot just as easily

Finishing touch:
I cut a 1" x 9" strip of coordinating paper
Take a Ribbon and tie it to the strip

Slide the pocket into the hug
Fold up the flap at the bottom of the hug so the Pocket doesn't slide out
Fold in the sides (arms) of the hug
Take your 1" wide strip, wrap it around the card and glue it to the back - make sure your ribbon is positioned in a nice place in the front of the card - you can move it around until you like it and then glue everything.

That's it!  Would love to see what you do!

Note: I have included a template with dimensions, it is not drawn to scale, but shows the dimensions (click on it for a bigger picture)

Update - 6/24 Linkup:  Top Tip Tuesday - http://toptiptuesday.blogspot.com/2011/06/ttt-39-cross-it-challenge.html   (this challenge is to make the exact type of card I have posted - YEAH!! How cool is that?)

Update - 5/25 - Link Parties:

I Heart Naptime - Sundae Scoop Link Party - http://www.iheartnaptime.net/2011/05/sundae-scoop-link-party-8.html

Make It Monday #38 - Anything Goes - http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/

A Marvelous Mess #14 - http://marvelouslymessy.blogspot.com/2011/05/marvelous-mess-14-and-features.html

Update - 6/4 - Link Parties

Sundae Scoop Link Party - http://www.iheartnaptime.net/2011/05/sundae-scoop-link-to-party.html
One Stop Craft Challenge - Texture - http://onestopcraftchallenge.blogspot.com/

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Simply Sunday

Hopefully this week will be much nicer than last week (we had rain EVERY day) but I'm not holding my breath - it is raining right now - oh well! I hope these brighten your day as much as they brighten mine :-)

I hope you like my Shadow Shot Sunday picture.  I LOVE echinacea and this picture makes me smile as I look at the pretty flowers and then if you look closely you can see the little bee hanging out on the flower in the back.  I know, there are many, including family members, who don't get it... but it is those little things - lol!  UPDATED:  I found another fantastic place to post my echinacea:  Macro Flower Saturday check them out too - especially for those who love flowers!

Skywatch Friday this is my pic of the skies outside my bedroom window.  I have always loved trees and this is one of those traditional looking up through the trees shots - I must have 100s of these pictures.  Each time there is something special that I want to capture (and then there are the re-takes because it was blurry or something - lol).

Hopefully we will see the sun sometime this week! Here is hoping that you have sunny days in your future!!

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Filigree Friday Free Tutorial

Fabulous Filigree Friday!

I hope all of you are having an excellent week.  I don't know about you, but I am so glad it is Friday!!!

Since this is the time of year for Communions, I am sharing with you a card I made recently for Communion.  The card base that I started with is actually from a set of $1 cards I bought at Michaels.  I picked it because I loved the little window, and then while I was working on laying out the card I had this moment of inspiration and as you can see I used it so that the recipient's name would peak through.  I was inspired :-)

For my quilling I chose to create a cross, as I felt that would be fitting this event.  Since this was for a boy, I used blue quilling paper.  I used the Spreuer, or onion holder, technique.  Follow this link for more detailed instructions regarding using this technique.  This cross is another of my non-traditional designs, I really love this look, can't explain why but I am drawn to it :-)

For the cross you will need to do the following:

• Start at 7, then go up to 9-Right and 9-Left
• Yeah, I went up 2 instead of the usual 1 - I was feeling adventurous - lol

For the final part of the cross you will need to do the following:

• Start at 11, then go up to 13-Right and 13-Left

 Glue all 4 together making the cross shape.  I added crystals because I really love the way they look.  Believe it or not, the dove is not a punch, I hand drew the bird and cut it out (I know I have a dove punch somewhere in my house, but simply could not find it - you know the saying, necessity is the mother of invention).  Under the dove I used a Martha Stewart punch, and then punched the Angels (I've included a photo of the punches I used).

For the inside of the card I printed out a sentiment that I thought was appropriate, besides, it gave me the opportunity to play with fonts (I love all those cool fonts)!

As an added bonus I am also including a free printable (this is a PDF document for those of you who simply want to print the sentiments) and I am also providing "PNG" files with each of the individual sentiments for those of you who want to use them as digital stamps.  If you download one of these freebies, I ask that you do the following:

1. Become a follower
2. Leave a message letting me know you liked them
3. I'd love to see what you make, so please link back with a picture of the project you make :-)

Oh yeah, these are the punches I used :-)

Updated: I am Linking Up to the following:
Make It Monday - Anything Goes - http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com/
Stamp Fairy - 3 Embellishments (cross, bird, angel) - http://stampfairychallenge.blogspot.com/
One Stitch at a Time - Anything Goes - http://onestitchatatimechallenge.blogspot.com/
Update (5/22): Thrifty Nifty:  http://niftythriftythings.blogspot.com/2011/05/nifty-thrifty-sunday-6.html




Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco