Fiskars Craft

Punchy inchies

Inchies are one-inch square versions of the fun crafting technique of creating Artist Trading Cards (ATC's).  These can be amazingly detailed tiny, teenie squares, collected and admired singly, or they can be simple squares arranged to make designs or patterns when combined together.

Here is how I have made my latest punchy inchies.

Started by cutting up lots and lots of squares - 1" squares, 3/4" squares and 1/2" squares.

Next comes the punching, LOTS and LOTS of punching using my Fiskars 1/4 round squeeze punch.  To punch these tiny squares, all you do is take some post-it notes (or paper with a repositionable adhesive square in the corner), turn your punch upside down and line up your square for a neatly aligned corner punch.

Keep punching until each square has been punched on opposite sides.

Adhere the layers together.

Soon these inchies will be assembled together, but my next step was to dry emboss the sentiment "Baby Girl" on the card using my Fiskars Mini-ShapeBoss.  The most important thing to remember when dry embossing is that you are embossing from the back of your project and any letters or words will be a reverse image while you are working.  I have found that it is easier to mark out your words on a scrap of paper as they will look while you are embossing - it helps avoid any confusion and spelling errors, it also helps to get the spacing and placement of your letters right before you actually put your Fiskars embossing stylus to work.

The fun part is to make a faux quilt with all the inchies and adhering them to the front of the card.

Another fun effect is to rotate the blocks to the diagonal.  I think these would look great as a border on a baby layout.

One last handy hint to share - the post-it notes or a repositionable adhesive square in the corner of a piece of paper are also great for punching our shapes from all your odd little bits of scrap paper and cardstock.  You would be surprised just how much you can get out of your tiny scraps.  All I do is take a variety of pop-up and small lever punches, turn them upside down, lift the "confetti" trap open, so that I can see the punch design and then rotate the paper around until I find a section that fits.  Take a piercing tool or tweezers to peel off the bits of paper that get stuck on your punched pieces.  Bundle them all up into a resealable bag - you now have plenty of embellishments on hand for future projects and you have used up your odd bits of scraps at the same time, keeping your scrappy space neat and tidy.

Hope you all have a Punchy Day!!!

Thanks Tracy

Just wanted to say  a BIG "THANK YOU" to our Guest Blogger this month.......Tracy Maloney!

Hasn't she done an amazing job!

We are pleased to say that Tracy is going to continue to post on here from time to time sharing her passion for craft with us all.......so that's wonderful news......

Can't want to see what she does next.....I know she has some fun projects planned for the coming FESTIVE SEASON. 

As from November we shall start to share some Christmas Projects on here....it's always nice to get in a bit early when you are creating handmade pressies....so we thought we'd start in November.

Make sure you drop by as the FISKARS CRAFT TEAM start to get FESTIVE!!!!

 

xoxo

Lyn Dwyer

Happy Halloween!!!!!! Have you been booed yet?

                     

            Happy Halloween everyone! Have you been booed yet? 

          What do you do on Halloween......we'd love to know! 

      Do you let the kids dress up? Do you do the "trick" and "Treat"? 

   Leave a comment below telling us what you do for Halloween......maybe  you have been crafty this year .....if so....show us what you have been making!

 

xoxo

Lyn Dwyer

 

 

Sewn Pumpkin Pincushion

Difficulty rating: Beginner

Designer: Patti Milazzo

In preparation for the cooler fall weather and more crafting time, I’ve made a cute fabric pumpkin pincushion for my upcoming sewing projects. It’s covered with festive orange patterned fabrics and is just 4 inches wide. With Fiskars Supersize Shape Template and sewing tools it’s a cinch to make.

Instructions:
1. Choose 2 patterned fabrics with a fall theme or color scheme. Using the 6” Supersize Shape Template, trace and cut 2 circles – one from each fabric.

2. Use the Rotary Cutter and Acrylic Ruler and the Cutting Mat to cut both circles into even quarters.

3. Swap the quartered pieces to alternate the pattern for each circle.

4. Start stitching (right sides facing in) along one side of the two adjacent pieces. This will form one half of the circle. Press the seam flat.

5. Repeat step 4 for the other half of that circle and do the same for the other circle as well.

6. Then join the halves of each circle together and press seams flat.

7. Next, match up the two circles with right sides facing in and with the pattern of the top and bottom circles alternating.

8. Stitch around the edge, leaving a 1.5 inch opening. Be sure to back stitch at the beginning and end to secure.

9. Turn the piece right side out and stuff with polyfil until the piece is somewhat firm. This will help to create a plump pumpkin.

10. Stitch the opening closed by hand.

11. Using a long doll or embroidery needle and 24” of coordinating embroidery thread pierce the center of the pumpkin from the bottom through the top center.

12. Wrap the thread over and around the pumpkin along the seam line between two fabric patterns. And again pierce the pumpkin from the bottom through the top center and pull the thread firmly to start shaping the pumpkin.

13. Continue this pattern along each of the remaining 3 seams (pulling the thread firmly) and then begin dividing each quarter of the pumpkin to complete the plump sections ending with the thread through the bottom. Pull the thread firmly and knot.

14. Cut out two leaf shapes from green fabric, sew edges with right sides facing in and leave a small gap to turn out. Turn the leaf out, tuck the opening in and machine stitch around the edges.

15. Attach the leaf and curled ribbon to the pumpkin with thread or glue. The pumpkin pin cushion is now ready to use.

Tip: Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees. To curl ribbon, tightly and evenly wrap grosgrain ribbon around a narrow wooden dowel and pin each end in place with wooden clothespins. Lightly spray the ribbon covered dowel with spray starch. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 4-5 minutes. Let cool, unwrap and use on projects.

For further crafty ideas make sure you pop over to http://www2.fiskars.com/Activities/Crafting

not long now......watch out

Interchangeable Border Punch Papercrafting Projects

Designer: Lisa Storms

Difficulty rating: Beginner

The new interchangeable border punch from Fiskars allows you to easily switch between different designs.

The individual cartridges stack neatly for compact storage!

To insert a new design into the interchangeable border punch, begin by pulling out the folded tabs from the bottom of the cartridge. Insert into main punch and click side tabs down to secure.

Now the border punch works the same as always. Insert a straight edge of cardstock and press down on top lever to punch design. Slide punched design down to line up with printed design on punch and punch again. Repeat for as long as you want a continuous punched border.

Border punches are great for adding an intricate design quickly and easily. It adds a lot of impact with minimal effort. A punched border is beautiful along the edge of a card or on a scrapbook page, but don’t forget to think outside of the box. Think of any crafting you do that uses cardstock with straight edges and imagine how much of a difference it would make to have a punched design. You can take something regular and kick it up a notch!

Here is an example. I transformed a basic decoration or ornament made from paper strips into something extra special.

It is easy to do! Just use punched strips the same as you would regular strips. For these examples, I either punched both sides of strip or just once depending on the design. Cut at least five strips per ornament and cut the center strip the desired length of finished project. The strips get longer as you go toward the edge. The measurements for my ornaments were 6 inches at center, 6.5 inches for middle strips, and 7.5 inches for outside strips. Gather strips together in order and staple at one end. Bend the other ends to meet together and staple to secure. Punch a 1/16 inch circle hand punch at top to hang.

Another example of turning up the style of a standard decorative element can be found in my Mother’s Day Brunch article found here . I simply border punched the edges of my paper before accordion folding.

Again, this book page wreath was taken to the next level by first border punching the pages. It adds amazing detail and texture.

Think of other basic projects you would like to do that can be taken to the next level by simply adding a punched border. You can add a wow factor with the new interchangeable border punch!

For further crafty inspiration make sure you drop by http://www2.fiskars.com/Activities/Crafting

Fetchy Skechy Friday - within the circle

Hi all better late than never....

Well there you are. Sorry no example this time around.
Try using the flower or leaf lever punches on this layout and if you got an old supersized circle template that would be handy too.

If you do a layout using this sketch we would love to see it.
email us: [email protected]

Debbie Buckland
Christchurch, New Zealand

Funky Halloween Fairy Costume

Designer: Emma Jeffrey

Difficulty rating: Beginner

I gave the traditional fairy costume a Halloween twist this year and came up with this funky ensemble that is cute and sweet with a dark and naughty side. Just right for my little horror!

To make the fairy tutu I cut my organza into strips approx. 20” long and 4” wide to fit my 5 year old. I used my Fiskars’ Razor Edge Soft Grip scissors which can just slice up the organza without the need for actual snipping. This makes the job much quicker which is helpful because you will need a lot of these. I then cut the ends of all my strips into triangular points.

For the waistband of the tutu I measured some elastic (mine was ¾” wide) around my daughter’s waist so that it stretched comfortably around her. I then sewed the two ends of the elastic together to form a loop.

Next, I tied the organza strips onto the elastic. I first folded the organza in half and put the loop of the fold underneath the elastic. I then brought the two ends of the fabric up over the elastic and through the loop and pulled tightly.

I continued in this way until I reached the desired fullness to the skirt, and I would suggest the fuller the better, so I stretched and pulled the elastic so I could tie on as many organza strips as possible.

To complete the skirt I added some ribbons, which were tied on in the same manner as the organza.

My Halloween Fairy needed a wand so with all this organza flying around I felt inspired to make an organza pom pom for the tip of it. I used my Fiskars circle template set and drew around the largest circle on cardstock. Then I used the second smallest circle for the center and cut it out using my craft knife.

I made two of these ‘donuts’ from cardstock, then held them together as I began to thread an organza strip through the middle and around the outside edge. I needed to tie several strips together to create enough length to go all the way around the ring a couple of times. Pom poms are very forgiving and hide any knots you need to make as you join strips together.

After going around the circle a couple of times, I took my sharp Microtip Scissors No. 5 which are able to get into places other scissors cannot reach and snipped my way through the organza, right between the two cardboard rings. Before completely removing the rings, I tied some ribbon several time around the center of the pom pom as tightly as possible to secure it.

I then tied the pom pom onto a length of dowel that had been covered with ribbon. I tied a few more ribbons around the base of the pom pom for added magic powers.

For the skeleton ribs top, I did a Google image search and found a rib cage template which I printed, cut out and used as a pattern to cut white felt. Another option would be to use the template as a stencil and use white fabric paint to paint onto a black top.

I pinned the felt rib cage onto a black top and sewed it on.

To finish, I used my Fiskars heart lever punch to make a pattern for a heart shape on a piece of bright pink felt. I sewed this over the top of the rib cage.

Happy Halloween!

For more fun Halloween crafty projects make sure you check out http://www2.fiskars.com/Activities/Crafting

Kerri from New Zealand shares her PINK Layout

Today's THINK PINK CHALLENGE entry has come from Kerri West who lives in New Zealand....Kerri is a very active FISKATEER  who loves to share her projects. Kerri is Fiskateer # 1017

Kerri has used two FISKARS TOOLS:

 XL block party square punch & XL circle punch to make her flower

Kerri says that she is quite proud  that she  got it done before the end of the month.

Still a few days to get those entries in to us here at

                                        [email protected]

 

I have arranged for Trea and Phillipa from Fiskars HO here in Australia to pick the lucky winner next week!!!

xoxo

Lyn

 

 

 

 

So "bloomin" lovely - Pink Bloomers

The latest entry for the THINK PINK CHALLENGE has been sent through by Tara Capewell from NSW.

How darn cute are these......just love them Tara.....and Poppy looks so cute in them.

Here's what Tara had to say......

Hey Lyn, I finally got my entry finished for the pink challenge! It was just getting 5 mins to finish sewing it!

I made some cute bloomers for poppy! i got the pattern off the internet(free one) and i used my fiskars scissors and something i had not really used before my fingertip rotary cutter.

i tell you what......it is a great little gadget when you want to cut small bits of fabric! it glided through the fabric to cut the strips for the ruffles on the bloomers.

There are still a few days left to get those THINK PINK CHALLENGE projects completed and sent through.......CHALLENGE closes October 31st.

xoxo

Lyn Dwyer