Summer Flower Toothpicks

I'm in such a tizzy! I am so very busy... but here's a little craft idea that's just oh so easy!

Ok so terrible poem aside... I seem to have a million and one things to do today, one of those things being to create little pots of candied frozen raspberries in syrup for a 'Down the Rabbit Hole' teaparty tomorrow. Don't even ask me what I'm wearing, I usually spend days creating a fancy dress costume but I haven't had a chance AHHHHHHH anyway, at this very hot and sticky summer moment in time I am working on some Summer Flower Toothpicks to pop in each little pot of candied fruit for an added touch of adorable... super easy, been done a thousand times over by I'm betting a thousand other crafters, bloggers and Martha Stewart but I don't care, I'm adding to that number :3
Cut a strip of scrapbook paper 5cm by 30cm. Fold one end down 1cm and continue to accordian fold the paper. Place hot glue in a strip on end of the paper, glue on a toothpick. Fold the paper around and glue the two ends together with the toothpick sandwiched between. Cut a small circle of paper and holding the fold in towards the middle, glue the circle of paper on the back to hold the flower in place. Pop a sparkly little embellishment in the centre... stick into cupcakes, cocktails or frozen delights!


I've been kind of obsessed with these scrapbook paper flowers lately... I made a vintage inspired photography backdrop yesterday using these. You can check out a sneak peak of that one right HERE, you'll have to wait to see it all...I don't want to ruin the effect!

Happy crafting!

Nifty Things to Make With Scrapbook Paper ~ Easy Heart Bookmarks

 

Making these small, sweet heart paper bookmarks is so simple, you're bound to love them! Or make a few of them, pop them is a handmade paper box and give them as a gift!

What you'll need:

• 2 small pieces of scrapbook paper
• 2 small lengths of ribbon, 1 about 8cm and the other 3cm
• hot glue gun
• scissors
• a button

Firstly, cut out two hearts, one from each piece of scrapbook paper. It doesn't matter what size they are, so long as one is smaller than the other... e.g. the large heart be 10cm wide and the smaller one be 6cm

Next, put a dab of hot glue on the back of the smaller heart towards the top and glue it to the larger heart. To make the bow, fold the ends of the 8cm long piece of ribbon into the centre lengthways and glue in place...get fancy and cut a smaller length of ribbon, fold it, glue it and add it! Take the remaining ribbon and wrap it around the centre of the bow. Glue in place. Glue the bow to the top of the small heart. Lastly, glue your button on under the bow. Done! :o) Alternatively you could skip the button, add any other kind of embellishment or simply tie a bow in your ribbon instead... endless possibilities!

20 Nifty Things to Make With Scrapbook Paper - Paper Fairy Dolls

Welcome to Project Number Two in my '20 Nifty Things to Make With Scrapbook Paper' challenge, these gorgeous Paper Fairy Dolls! My hubby actually gave me the idea last night when I asked him if there was anything he thought I could do for this project so big thanks to my hubby for this one :) I tossed the idea around for an hour or two debating whether or not it would be too hard for me to put together but I decided to give it my best shot and it has turned out so well! It has been a very time consuming process, (drawing each step, going through the Photoshop stages, writing up the how-to etc) but I think it has been worth it!

At first I was only going to make the tutorial and printable for one doll but what fun is one fairy? So of course there had to be two! I can see so many uses for these little darlings! The first of course being to use up some of your scrapbook paper stash in a cute and unique way but you could do so much with them! Glue some fridge magnets on the back for some pretty fridge decorating, your child could dress up the fairies and make them into a poster for their room, stick them to cards, or just have fun playing with them! I have designed them so, when printed onto white card, your child can colour their hair, eyes, skin shoes etc however they like! I would have liked for the dresses to be mix and matchable but it was a bit beyond me at this stage; I really hope you enjoy this one!!! The first part is for mum or dad to do (the cutting out and tracing part depending on the age of your little one) but the colouring in and dressing up is completely up to the kids! (or the adults if you really want to!)

'Annie-May and Lucy Fairy Paper Dolls'
*For Personal/Home Use Only*

Things You Will Need:

-A4 print outs of the pages below (they are scaled so you can print them on A4 or A3, they will still match up either way). For printing: Print the two fairy dolls directly onto the cardboard (instead of tracing) so all the detail is kept, for the dresses, wings and wands just print the templates and cut them out. Those we will be tracing onto the back of your chosing papers later. Click on each of the pages to enlarge them, right click to save to your computer and print!
-Scissors
-Glue stick
-Scrapbook Paper...how many sheets and what colours etc is up to you! Use a plain colour scrapbook page (white would be best) for the doll itself then played around with colours and patterns for the dresses, wings and accessories.

Optional:

-Coloured pencils/crayons/textas for colouring your dolls
-Glitter or other embellishments for some extra bling!

How-To:

Just follow the istructions given! I hope it is easy to follow, but if you have any questions, don't hesistate to ask me! :)

*Quick Note: You glue the wings TO THE BACK of the doll after you've coloured them in and dressed them :)

 

Enjoy!! And stay tuned for the third scrapbook paper craft project! Xx

20 Nifty Things to Make with Scrapbook Paper - Hanging Butterfly

Welcome to the very first in my '20 Nifty Things to Make with Scrapbook Paper' project! How to make a pretty Hanging Butterfly with printable shape pages. I have a problem where I tend to collect scrapbook paper stacks with no intention to actually use them to scrapbook; I buy them merely because they are so pretty and I must have them! So I've come up with this project to challange myself to create 20 tutorials made from scrapbook paper! With photos explaining each step, they're easy to follow! I will try to cover all ages, from projects for children, to useful projects for us bigger kids, gift ideas, storage ideas etc! The best part is every one of these DIY projects will be 100% free!

I only have a few I swear!

This one is very easy to make and perfect for your little ones to make themselves (with a little help from you of course!) All you have to do is print out the pattern, cut them out and follow the simple instructions given below to make you're own butterfly. They'd be gorgeous hanging in your childs room, on their door handle, as a decoration or as a handmade gift idea your kids can make and give to their teacher, grandparents, sisters or friends! I apologise for the terrible photos! My camera has decided to temporarily not function and I have to use my phone..you can still see the steps though :)

The finished product!!

So let's get started!

You'll need:

• Your printed shape sheets (there are 2 to print, you will find them below, just click on the image to make it larger, and click 'save as' to copy to your computer for printing)
• Scissors
• A Glue Stick
• 4 x sheets of different coloured/patterned scrapbook papers
• A length of ribbon (about 8-10 inches long)
• A stapler

Optional:
Glitter, embellishments etc.

Step 1: Cut out your shapes as per the instructions on the printable sheets

Step 2: Trace these shapes onto the back of your scrapbook paper. Choose one colour for the larger butterfly shape, another colour for the smaller butterfly shape, and use either of the two remaining for the rest..It's up to you what colour combinations you'd like to use! Cut them out.

Step 3: Paste the smaller butterfly shape onto the centre of the larger butterfly.

Step 4: Paste your two large teardrop shapes onto the top wings of your butterfly

Step 5: Paste the two ovals in the centre of each teardrop

Step 6: Paste the two heart shapes to the bottom half of the wings like so...

Step 7: Paste the remaining two shapes onto the hearts

Step 8: Loop your length of ribbon so the ends meet and staple together

Step 9: Staple the loop to the top of your butterfly

Step 10: Decorate!!

Let me know how yours turn out! I'd love to see photos :) You can email them to sewsweethandmade@gmail.com

Enjoy! Xx

p.s This tutorial is made to be printed on A4 paper, you may need to adjust your printer setting slightly :)