Pretty envelope in any scale

 To make a pretty envelope in any scale from larger than life to a very tiny mini  is easier than you think.


To start with you need 4 circles of paper. They need to be the same size. Pic 1.

Fold each circle in half  . Pic 2

Check  photo 3  and 4 for how to place your folded circles for the next step.

You want to create a square ( photo5) with the upper flaps of the circles  pointing upwards.

Glue the 4 circles for the bottom square together. The top flaps will be the upper part of your envelope.

Fold them so they overlap  to close the envelope. You can add some glue or a sticker to keep it closed.

Pretty decoupaged boxes

I was clearing out some drawers and found a little folder with tons of mini printies leftover from when I did the decoupaged dress form.

I also had bought two very cheap metal pill boxes  at a dollar store  and  them being on my table together was the inspiration for doing this little project.

You can  use any size of box for this project so it will work in many different scales. The box can be metal like mine or wood or even cardboard.

You will need Mod Podge to glue down the paper printies  and for the final coat of varnish. I actually did two coats on my boxes.

Printies are very easy to find on Pinterest ; just try mini printables.  For the box on the left I used vintage perfume labels and the other one has pictures of Paris as a theme. I just printed them as small as my printer would allow me to print them. Ordinary printer paper will be fine.

I did cover both the outside and the inside of my boxes because I did not like the shiny metal. But that is totally up to you. If you want to open and close the boxes do not cover the hinges with your decoupage and make sure you also do not cover up the clasp.

I am going to use my boxes as storage boxes but they will also make great gift boxes or even suitcases with a handle hadded.

Have yourself a mini little christmas

To all the visitors of my blog :  Merry Christmas

Crochet pincushion doll , just like Gramma's

Here is the pattern for my little pincushion doll.  

The pattern is fiddly and not really suitable for beginners. Please note that the skirt is worked from the bottom upwards and should look like a little bag for the doll to fit into. After stuffing  it will begin to look like a proper skirt, believe me.

The size of the doll is shown by the real of yarn next to it. This is the normal DMC  fils dentelles real that is quite small. The finished doll is standing on a 12 th scale table  and this will also give some idea of her size.

For those who prefer a bigger doll, I suggest working the pattern with a ticker thread and bigger crochet hook. Note : I have not tested this but I am pretty confident that it will work.

Super fast and easy cookies

These cookies are very easy and quick to make. No kneading, no mixing, no rolling out and even no baking !

All you need are a few easy to get materials and a hole punch :  Craft foam  or  cork sheats  can be turned into these easy cookies.

Just punch out a lot of them over a small container.

To decorate them I place them on a piece of double sided sticky tape. Do not press them down or you will never get them off again just put them down gently so they stay in place while you decorate.

For the decorations you have many options : glass paint, puffy paint, snow paint, pearl paint all will look pretty awesome. Tip : brown glass paint makes your cookies look nice and shiney.

Sesame seeds make great nuts. Poppy seeds, semolina and mustard seeds will look nice too. Grated cork(, if you buy it from a shop it is called model railroad gravel but with a nutmeg grater you can easily make your own  )   will look like chopped nuts.  No hole beads are a lot of fun to use as well.

And if you happen to have some nail art stickers, do use them too.

If you have some paperpunches in different shapes you could try those as well .  But most of mine could not cope with the cork or the craft foam.

So in stead I used some card board. The  tree and heart shaped cookies are cardboard. I added some glass paint to make them look nice and shiny and then I decorated in the same way as the little cookies. If you want a thicker cookie you can glue several layers together.

Santa takes stock of his toys

Playing with stuff to make a center piece for Christmas today 

. I got out my collection of toys. Had no idea I had so many ( perhaps I should make a shop ?) . There are some I made and some I bought and some that were gifts.  I thought it would be fun to make a place where Santa was checking his stock of gifts.

. I had a set of shelves that a friend made for me and never had a chance to use it so I painted it white and filled it with the toys. Added some christmas stuff and Santa of course. He came from the dollar shop and I think he is more awesome then anything I could make.

Used photo glue to glue the ensemble to a disc so it all can be removed after christmas and then I think I must start thinking about this toyshop.

Paris in a watch case.

It all started with this little metal figurine. I had planned for her to go on a shelf  at  the Brocante shop but painting her was pretty hard and I felt she deserved a bit of special treatment after being so patient.

The more I worked on her the more she reminded me of a character from a book I like very much. This lady called Eline wore clothes just like the ones on the figurine  and she took great pride in her appearance.
 In the book Eline goes on a trip to Paris and I felt that would suit my little lady much better than being on a shelf in a shop.



I decided a vintage looking watch case would be a perfect place for this Paris in  spring  scene.

She goes to look at the then brandnew Eiffel Tower so I  used a picture of that as a starting point.
I printed it twice because the watch case has glass on  all  sides and I wanted to cover the back of the watch too. So I decoupaged the Eiffel tower once with the picture showing on the outside and once  on top of the back of this picture with the picture showing on the other side. Top photo shows the outside of the watch case,  the photo below the inside that will become the background for the scene. Hope this makes sense.

To add a bit more interest and depth. I printed the Notre Dame church  two times as well.
One whole image was decoupaged to the inside of the watch case, next to the Eiffel Tower and the second version was added to the top of it using double sided foam tape.

Foam tape at the back of the Cathedral

To add a spring atmosphere I used some tiny dried branches and covered them in Flower Foam. This is a mix of colors that I think looks very nice amd reminds me of spring time trees in Paris.

A tree added to the right side of the picter and a branch sticking out addedto the left. Remember to stay away from the rim or your watch case will not close.

 Here is the scene inside the watch case but without Eline so just showing the background.

There she is ......adding a lot more depth to the scene and making it come alive.

I am actually planning to have her take a few more trips in the future.