You Guest It: The Bushcrafter

Today's "You Guest It" features one of those crafts that makes you go: "That's AWE-SOME!" In fact, I believe those exact words fell out of my mouth when I first laid eyes on it. So let us not dilly dally. Let us get to it, shall we? Coming to you all the way from Sweden, welcome the talented Jenny a.k.a. The Bushcrafter!

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Hi!

My name is Jenny. I'm so glad to be a part of this wonderful "You Guest It" series that Michele has set up for us all to enjoy. I am a textile crafter and I call myself "The Bushcrafter". I am a soul-centered creator and also an artist and teacher. In me, I have some sort of fabric spirit who wants, pretty much, nothing else but to create. So I let it.

You know. Let spirit be what spirit is.

I would say we are all crafters. In one way, or another. When I'm faced with a problem, I try to solve it by using what I have. That's crafting for me. I enjoy melding crafting and recycling together, making the ordinary into beauty. Today I'm sharing how to embellish your egg carton with cross stitch. In this project we are using the whole egg carton and adding the sparkle with threads and colour.

With a few easy steps you can create your own beautiful box. Embroidering on an egg carton is easy-peasy, just follow these instructions.

For this project you will need:

1. An egg carton

2. Needle

3. Thread

Peel off any stickers from the egg carton. If you have print on the carton, you could try to painting the top.

Draw a pattern on a piece of paper. Place the paper on the box and push the pin all the way through in all corners.

Start sewing the first colour:

Until it looks like this:

You can embroider the sides of the carton too if you want.

Voila! You are done. You can now use it to keep your favorite things safe.

Here I store my pastel threads. You might want to use it for your jewelery or your buttons. It´s your choice!

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You must admit that this is great, right? I mean the combination of recycling and crafting alone makes me want to do a jig. But the embroidery? On an egg carton? Well, that sends me head-long into a cha cha cha!

Other creations by Jenny "The Bushcrafter" that I recommend you not miss:

• The "We Are Stardust" Embroidery and Patchwork Pillow
• How to Weave a Strawberry
• The Guardian Angel of Winter

And while you're at it, pop into her shop because some of these beauties are actually available for purchase there.

Thank you Jenny for letting me showcase your beautiful work on the blog today. What a true pleasure this has been for me!

♥M

P.S. Have an idea for an eco-craft? Submit a guest-post idea to Michele Made Me's "You Guest It"! Find those details HERE.

Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 2

Hey, how are ya? Well, I hope!

Have you been following along with the Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along? If you've missed any of it, here are links to previous posts: Introduction and Part 1 (which includes a list of tools and materials). These should catch you up nicely. By this point, you should have a lovely box decorated with a set of branches.

Today we'll be biting off the next morsel... We'll be focussing on lettering and birds. Let's get started!

Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 2

Prepare the Lettering

Step 1:   Print off copies of the Love is Listening Lettering and the Loving is Listening Bird and Detail Templates. Use the carbon paper to transfer the words "Loving is" onto a dark-shaded cereal or cracker box.
Step 2:  Cut out the letters using a craft knife or pair of scissors. Remember the big secret I shared in Part 1?... That secret comes in quite handy at this point. It makes the cutting of letters possible with scissors. SO much easier, in my opinion. If you prefer to use a craft knife, remember to protect your work surface with a cutting mat or old phone book. And once you've cut out the word "is", you can apply a light coat of paint to it. I'm using my son's cake paints for the painty bits of this project. Use what you have available!

Step 3: Take out the remaining bit of the scrunched paper bag.
Step 4: Transfer the word "Listening" from the template to the paper bag using that carbon paper of yours.
Step 5: With your trusty pair of scissors, slowly cut out the word "Listening". Don't forget to cut out the dots for the "i"s.

Step 6 Optional: I reinforced my "Listening" by glueing it onto the remaining piece of paper bag and cutting the word out a second time. This makes the word doubly sturdy, and much easier to work with. Note that it's a lot easier to cut out the innards of letters like s, e and g using a craft knife.

Step 7: Glue the words onto the base according to the Full Template. Once all letters and words are in place, I like to, very carefully, place a light book on top to make sure everything lies flat while the glue dries.

Heep! It's coming along none too shabbily now, eh?

Hatch Some Birds

Step 8: Use the Loving is Listening Bird and Detail Template and the carbon paper to transfer the mama bird details onto a medium-shaded cereal or cracker box. Remember the secret? I used it here too. Cut out all the pieces. Use a regular hole punch to punch the bird's eye out. Be nice though!
Step 9: Use the cake paint (or whatever paint you have around) to paint the mama bird bits. I used the colour mauve with varying amounts of water to achieve different shades on pieces 1, 2, and 4. Similarly, I used the colour grey with varying amounts of water on pieces 5 and 6. I left piece 3 as is.

Step 10: Use a marker or bit of black paint to colour in the mama bird's eye on piece 5. Make sure that your eye aligns nicely with piece 6.
Step 11: Gather the mama bird pieces and layer them as you would if you were glueing them together. Do NOT glue them yet. Make sure they stack nicely and look good. Make small adjustments now by trimming with scissors if necessary. Once you're pleased with the look of your bird, glue all pieces together. Place a book on top to ensure the bird dries nice and flat.

Step 12: Use the Loving is Listening Bird and Detail Template and the carbon paper to transfer the baby bird details onto two different shades of cereal or cracker box. Cut out both pieces. Repeat this step for a second and even third chick if you like!
Step 13: Stack the pieces and glue them together.
Step 14: Add the little chick's eye dot with a black marker.

Set aside the mama bird and chickies for now... And remember if you have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know in the comments.

Next up: The Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along nest-building-flower decorating big finish!

♥M

All other "Loving Is Listening ReCraft-Along" posts: Introduction, Part 1, and Part 3 (finish)!

Loving Is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 1

Happy happy Tuesday!


In case you missed it, on Saturday I introduced the "Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along". That intro is here for your perusal, btw. Now that the idea is out there, I'm most anxious to hit the ground running. If you have any questions big or small, do leave them in the comments okay? And remember that I will be answering recraft-along questions in the comments so readers can share them equally.

So today we will (1) list the tools and materials you'll need for the recraft-along, (2) prepare the base, and (3) create the branch element. You ready? Let's do this!

Loving Is Listening ReCraft-Along: Part 1

First things first. Here is the complete list of stuff you'll need for the recraft-along.

Tools and Materials

• A few cracker boxes or cereal boxes in various shades (In other words, try to find boxes with a variety of neutral colours on the insides.)
• If you'll be decorating a large cereal box, as I am, you'll need a large cereal box for the base. I'm using a 525 g box of Cheerios.
• Medium size brown paper bag
• Iron
• Carbon paper (for transferring the design)
• Child's set of cake paints or watercolours
• Paintbrush
• Newspaper or something to cover your work surface
• Craft knife or utility knife
• Pair of scissors
• Regular hole punch
• Pencil and eraser
• Ruler
• PVA (white) glue
• Masking tape (for clamping)
• Black marker (I use the Sharpie brand)
• Cutting surface
• Yarn needle (or wooden skewer)
• The templates: Loving is Listening Full Template, Loving is Listening Birds and Details Template, Loving is Listening Branches Template, Loving is Listening Lettering Template
• a printer to print the templates

Note: The "Loving is Listening" Design is for personal use only. Please do not make items for sale from this design. Thanks!

In Saturday's post I suggested a few ways in which to use the "Loving Is Listening" design. For the purposes of this recraft-along I will be focussing on decorating a cereal box. But do feel free to frame your finished piece, or make a gift box, or whatever tickles your little fancy!

Prepare The Base

For my base, I'll be using a large family size cereal box. If it helps, this one contained 525g (~18oz) of cereal. Let's start by removing the top edge of the box and turning the whole thing inside out.

Step 1: With your fingers, carefully pry open the box at the seam and flatten it out. With a ruler and pencil, mark a line 5 cm (2 inches) from the top of the box. Cut off the top of the box at the line with a utility knife.
Step 2: Now simply re-fold the box so that the lovely neutral inner surface is now on the outside. I apply glue to the narrow side flap and bottom flaps. At this point, I use a few pieces of masking tape to clamp the gluey flaps temporarily in place until the glue dries. Note that I don't fully flatten out the bits of masking tape. I leave the corners of the tape curling up so that it's easy to take off again. Once the glue is set, I remove the masking tape slowly to avoid lifting and marring the surface of the cardboard.

We'll now take out a paper bag and use it to finish the top inner surface of the box.

Step 3: Grab your paper bag. Cut off the bag bottom and cut it open along the seam.
Step 4: Scrunch up the bag several times. Do this carefully so as not to rip it. Scrunch and re-scrunch until it is evenly wrinkled throughout.
Step 5: Press your paper flat with a dry iron.

Step 6: Cut out a few wide strips from your paper. My strips are 3 inches wide but you could go wider if you like. You'll need enough length to go around the inner top edge of the box.
Step 7: Apply glue to the entire outer edge of the paper strip. 
Step 8: Place the gluey strip flush with the inner top edge of your box. Flatten and pinch the strip in place along the edge making sure it is adhering nicely all the way around. Beauty.

The box is now ready to decorate! 

Note: If you happen to be turning this into a gift box, HERE is a post that suggests some creative ideas for nifty handles. Now would be the optimal time to install handles, by the way.

Make The Branches

Step 9: Use the link provided in the "tools and materials" list to download a copy of the Branches Template. Print it out. Use a sheet of carbon paper to transfer the branch design to the inside of one of your larger cereal boxes.
Step 10: Cut out the branch. I used both a utility knife and pair of scissors to cut my branch out. Fine details are more easily handled with a utility or craft knife.
Step 11: Paint the branch. I used The Boy's black cake paint on my branch. Yes, I asked permission. Allow the paint to dry. If your branch curls, place it under a heavy book for a while to flatten it out again.

Now I'm about to share ONE OF MY BIG SECRETS for using cereal and cracker box CARDBOARD in my crafts. Ya ready? Y'excited? Okay here goes...

You know that shiny layer of paper that covers every cereal and cracker box? I sometimes (though not always) peel it off. Especially if I want to get amazing adhesion between cardboard layers. What I do is I just stick my fingernail between that top layer of shiny paper and the rest of the cardboard and peel the dang thing off. I throw the peelings back into the recycling bin whence they came, and I'm left with a supremely glueable surface!!!... (Okay, maybe it's not that exciting, but still.)

So for example, once I've cut out the branch...

Step 12: I peel off most of that silly layer of shiny paper and then I apply the glue to my branch. See?
Step 13: And finally (for today), I attach the branch to the box and stick a light book on top to make sure it is super-glued on there. Nope, that baby ain't goin' nowhere.

Oh and by the way, if you happen to take any process photos, feel free to share them in the dedicated "Loving is Listening Flickr Group", yes sir. And lastly there's new "Loving is Listening Button" down in the sidebar there for ya, in case you're joining along!

Next up:  Taking a break for an extremely lovely "You Guest It" on Thursday. I'll be back on Saturday with the next installment of the "Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along". Until then, you have a great week!

♥M

All other posts from the "Loving is Listening ReCraft-Along": Introduction, Part 2 and Part 3 (Finish)

Video Tutorial: TP Roll Flower Gift Bow

Happy Saturday!

Lo's been re-teaching me how to edit video. Don't know if you remember my last attempt all those moons ago in the far distant past over here... Well, I'm back in the saddle. Here's my second little video tutorial.

A pre-Easter moving gift for you... Enjoy!

♥M

I should not fail to mention Lo's - that's my husband, btw - input in this project. Suffices to say, I would still be at the computer breaking things if it weren't for him saving me from myself. Thanks Lo. You are my love.

And thank you to Jill as well. For encouraging me back up on the video horse. So glad to have found you in the vast ether. Let's keep supporting each other ok?

You Guest It: Sun Porch Studio

On the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month, through a new feature I'm calling "You Guest It", I'm happily sharing this Michele Made Me space with a fellow creative. So if you don't mind, Mary Jo from the lovely and warm Sun Porch Studio will be handling things for today. Oh, here she is now... Welcome Mary Jo!

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I have a difficult time wasting things. I consider something being wasted when I carelessly toss it away without taking into consideration what it may have become. Could there be another use for these corks that I pop out of my bottles of cabernet sauvignon? Do you ever save an abundance of something with the hopes of manifesting some creative potential? I have a strong desire to find a new life for the things that get tossed so frequently. Such as paper. How much paper to you drop into the receptacle each day? Oh my!

This is the story of how something as simple as tossed paper can be transformed into something beautiful and celebrated.

Tutorial: Mini TP Roll Easter Baskets

Just in time for Easter, I'm making some tiny, wee, little Easter baskets entirely from recyclables. You in? Let's get to it!

For this craft you will need: a TP roll or two, empty cereal box OR tissue box, pair of scissors, regular hole punch, glue, pencil, ruler, exacto knife, and liquid acrylic paint and paintbrush (optional).

Step 1:   Using a ruler and pencil, find the center of the TP roll and mark a line all the way around it. With an exacto knife, cut the TP roll in two along that mark as below.

Step 2 (Optional):  Give your TP roll pieces a coat or two of liquid acrylic paint.

Step 3:  Mark a line 1/2 inch (13mm) from one edge of your TP roll piece. Using a hole punch, punch an even number of holes along this line all around the TP roll. I punched 16 holes in mine. Now punch the same number of holes along the other edge of the TP roll as shown below.

Step 4:  Take out your cereal box or tissue box, whichever you're choosing to use for your mini-basket, and cut off the end flaps. Now cut narrow strips along the length of either type of box. The strips must be able to slip into the holes in your TP roll so check to see if they fit before you continue. If you've punched 16 holes in the edges of your TP roll, you will need at least 9 cereal box or tissue box strips.

Step 5:  Gather your TP roll, narrow strips and glue. Curve the narrow strips by slowly running them between two fingers. Go slow to avoid getting a papercut. Ow.

Step 6:  At this point, note that you have a series of holes that is further from one edge of your TP roll than the other. See what I mean? The holes that are furthest from the edge indicate the top edge of the basket. Weave a strip through a top edge hole and through the corresponding bottom edge hole. Curve your strip around and weave it up through the holes on the opposite side of the TP roll. The ends of the strip should be jutting out of the top edge of the TP roll. Glue the strip to the TP roll as shown below.

Step 7:  This step is essentially the same as Step 6, but once you've woven the second strip into the holes immediately beside the first strip, you will curve it down and around the bottom and cross it over the first strip, weaving it into the adjacent holes on the other side. Repeat Step 7 for the remaining strips.

Step 8:  Trim the excess strip sections that jut out beyond the top of the basket. Take the last strip and form a handle by curving it and glueing it in place along the edge.

Every TP roll makes two mini-baskets. Make each basket unique by changing up the weave or paint colour, adding confetti embellishments, trimming the strips higher, or doing exactly as YOU please!

Come Easter morning, fill each mini-basket with a wee bag of mini-Easter eggs and hand them out to all of your favourite people.

I bet they'll be egg-cited!

♥M

P.S. HERE's a whole 'nother paper Easter basket for ya!

Tutorial: Tissue Box Landscapes

While Lo was away on business this week, The Boy and I made...Oh you guessed already? How'd you manage that? Well you're right! We made Tissue Box Landscapes! This is a sweet and satisfying craft the whole family will get a kick out of.

Here's how we did it!

Tutorial: Tissue Box Landscapes

For this project, you will need:

• one tissue box per person
• a piece of corrugated cardboard
• a variety of paper scraps (I used odds and ends from various past projects like this one and this one. The hand-painted bits and pieces are especially fitting for a project like this!)
• ruler
• marker or pencil
• utility knife
• pair of scissors
• glue
• clothespins for clamping
• large needle
• string
• black craft paper (optional)

Step 1:  Gather your tissue box, utility knife, marker and ruler.
Step 2:  With the ruler and marker, draw a straight line roughly 1/4 inch (6mm) from the top edge and all the way around the box.

Step 3:  With the utility knife, very carefully cut off the whole top of the tissue box along the marked line using your ruler as a guide.
Step 4:  You might find that the corners of the tissue box have pulled apart while cutting. Glue them back together and clamp them with clothespins. Allow the glue to dry.

Step 5:  Measure the inside width and length of your tissue box top and transfer those dimensions to your piece of corrugated cardboard. Cut out the resulting rectangle.
Step 6:  Gather some pretty paper scraps.

Step 7:  On your cardboard rectangle, place scraps of your paper in a pleasant sequence down the length. Play with the placement of papers until you're happy with what you see. Without messing up the sequence you've created, slip the bundle of papers off your cardboard and off to the side. Notice the edges of my paper scraps are ripped. This will give your landscape a soft look. If you want more distinct lines, cut the edges with scissors.
Step 8:  Now take the bottom-most piece of paper from your sequence and glue it onto the cardboard. In my case, the bottom-most piece was at the very top of my sequence.

Step 9:  Continue glueing the pieces on the cardboard just as you had them in your sequence.
Step 10:  Once they're all in place, flip the cardboard around and trim the paper scraps to the width of the cardboard.

Step 11:  (Optional) At this point, I realized that my landscape was very similar in colour to my tissue box frame. To create contrast between the frame and artwork, I cut out a simple mat from a piece of black craft paper. I used the hole in the tissue box as a guide, and made the hole in the mat slightly smaller.
Step 12:  (Optional) I glued the mat into the frame.

Step 13:  Now I glued the landscape into the frame being careful to avoid putting the glue too close to the inner frame edges. While the whole thing dried, I placed a few rocks on the back to ensure good adhesion between those layers.
Step 14:  Finally, I used a large needle and some string to make a simple hanger for my little landscape!

Here's The Boy's landscape arrangement pre-glueing...

And here it is at home in its tissue box frame...

Sweetness!

I guarantee this little craft will bring out your inner artist, no matter how deeply she may be hiding... So let her out and watch her make her own Tissue Box Landscape!

♥M

Box-Covered Boxes PDF Tutorial In The Shop!

Unusually, today's post is freakishly in line with the shop post of earlier this week. I surprise even myself sometimes. Could I be more organized? I don't think so...

Screen shot of the Box-Covered Boxes PDF Tutorial

So, in keeping with that organizational mood, I give you my latest PDF tutorial... "Box-Covered Boxes"! In this lovely, albeit oddly titled, 6-page step-by-step downloadable project, I show you a fun way to uniquely transform a cereal, cracker or tissue box into a sturdy and sophisticated, one-of-a-kind storage container. See? Storage container. To keep you all organized and such? Yeah, that's right.

Requiring only the simplest of tools and materials such as a pair of scissors, a utility knife, glue, a few empty cracker or cereal boxes, and a ruler and pencil, this re-use project does take a little patience but even the new crafter can achieve some truly lovely results. Do note that this craft is NOT suitable for children as it requires the use of a utility knife and your fine fine-motor skills.

Find the sweet "Box-Covered Boxes" PDF downloadable tutorial in the Michele Made Me Shop! 

♥M