Truly, Madly, Deeply - FINALLY!

Grab some snacks and sit a spell, this is going to be a long post. You've been warned! 

When I first got a sneak peek of the Heart-Shaped Lantern that would be released in the new Truly, Madly, Deeply collection from Bird's SVGs, I was dazzled. I couldn't wait to build one of my own! 

Bird very cleverly created a separate cut out for the central vellum heart so that it could be embossed in an embossing folder - so cool!  Around the same time, I was watching a Jennifer McGuire video about alcohol ink lifting where she made some beautiful patterns on vellum. I was intrigued to try it and figured why not give it a go on my lantern.

So I inked up a piece of scrap vellum with some red and purple alcohol ink, grabbed a lacy Tim Holtz stencil and tested it out. Fun technique! 

Next I inked up my vellum heart and did the same thing. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the heart after the ink was lifted, but you can see it in the finished lantern.

For the body of the lantern, I kept thinking about what colors I would use to really make it something that would fit into my home decor. I have some black wrought iron furniture with antique gold accents and I thought that might look really great.

I embossed the lid panels with a similar lacy Tim Holtz texture fade (embossing folder) and then rubbed over the embossing with some antique gold wax. I love how the embossing is highlighted this way.

I built the rest of my lantern and also rubbed some of the gold wax around the panels and edges and called it done.  

I liked it, but I just felt like it needed something else. The gold wax didn't come out as well on the body of the lantern as I would have liked. I put it on display and have been lighting it up every night for a week while I pondered my next step. 

Today, inspiration finally struck. I re-cut the offset panels for the outside of the lantern, but this time I used some Tim Holtz metallic kraft paper. I embossed the pieces, painted them with black paint and then wiped some away to get a worn brass look. I glued them to the lantern and now I'm so very happy with it!

Here's a view from the side:

You might wonder how I embossed the large front panel as it doesn't fit through most embossing machines. It's a trick I read about years ago and this was the first time I actually tried it. Rather than putting the embossing folder though a machine, you can roll over it with a rolling pin, or in my case, a brayer. 

The impression isn't as deep as if you ran it through a machine, but it's good enough!  I put a tan embossing mat down on my craft table and then the embossing folder with the paper inside of it and then went to town rolling over it with a LOT of pressure.  Persistence paid off though, and I think the embossing really makes this project come to life.

I added a color-changing electronic tea light inside and it looks magical as it cycles through every color of the rainbow. Watching it glow reminded me of a very unique place I visited as a teenager. 

I grew up less than an hour from Yale University and one of our high school teachers took us on a class trip to the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. From the outside, it's an unusual looking building (photo from Google images), but nothing really spectacular. But notice all those square-ish panels...

...they are made of thin marble and when on the inside of the library on a sunny day, the whole place absolutely glows. It's really beautiful and something neat to see if you ever get the chance. You'd never imagine that looking at it from the outside. (Photo from Google images)

So now that I've taken you on a trip down memory lane, you can see why the lighted lantern reminded me of that beautiful glowing marble.

Still with me?  I'm almost done rambling on, I promise!  

If you've made this lantern, what did you do with all of those leftover hearts from your cutting mat? I couldn't bring myself to throw them away! 

Using some painter's tape, I carefully transferred the rows of hearts and glued them to a piece of 4" x 5.25" cardstock. Once they were all glued down, I ran the whole panel through my Cuttlebug with an embossing folder. Then I glued it onto a gold glitter pre-made A2 card.  Now I've got an extra card for the next time I need one. All I'll need to do is add a sentiment to the front and it'll be ready to go. 

I really appreciate the fact that you've stuck with me this far. I hope you didn't run out of snacks! Thanks for stopping by and I'd truly love to hear what you think of my lantern if you'd like to leave a comment below.

Creepy Coffin Luminary

I just loving making Halloween crafts, and I was super excited to see this creepy coffin luminary released by Bird's SVGs. It's from the new Creak 'n' Shriek collection. 

Creak 'n' Shriek Collection from Bird's SVGs

If you've read my blog before, you probably know how I adore things that light up, so naturally this was the first project in the collection that I just had to create. 

Not only does this project go together very easily, Bird's assembly tutorial has several helpful tips along the way, including one suggestion for avoiding wrinkly vellum on such a large piece.  Honestly, I love listening to both Bird's accent and her handy tips and therefore watch all of her videos even if I have a pretty good idea how things go together!

I followed Bird's suggestion and used some antique gold Rub and Buff wax to highlight my pieces and it really has a fantastic effect.  You can see it much better in this picture. I love the worn, vintage look this added to the piece.

On the base of the luminary, I added some dried Spanish moss to make it look like this crypt was a bit overgrown. I used some antique gold brads to the RIP plaque.

Last but not least I decided that a black rose with some gold wax highlights was the perfect finishing touch.

I've really been enjoying looking at my creepy coffin luminary every night.  It's just so cool!

Be sure to check out the full collection from Bird's SVGs - there are several amazing projects for Halloween.  I think the pop-up bat card might be next on my list.

Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear what you think. 

Celtic Love

There's something about the look of Celtic knotwork that I just love, so it's no surprise that I've incorporated that look into a few St. Patrick's Day paper projects.

First is this card which I adapted from the Celtic Charm kit from Bird's SVGs. I used the Celtic Hounds card for the base of my project, but used one of the Celtic Cross stencils from the Celtic Stencil kit to add a glittery centerpiece.  

Have you signed up for Bird's newsletter? I happen to know that there's a coupon code for the Celtic collections in the most recent edition, so you may want to consider it. 

I sized the stencil so that it would fit inside the circle on the front of the card and cut it out of some stencil material on my Cricut. I used Matte Multi Medium to stencil with and then poured Tim Holtz Distress Glitter Dust over the top, tapping off the excess and setting it aside to dry. Once it was dry, I added some foam tape to the back of the circle and added it to the front of the card.  

And I just have to say, this is the most beautiful glitter if you've never seen it in person. It has a vintage mercury glass look to it and the camera just doesn't capture the wonderful sparkle. Hopefully the leprechauns won't make off with this lovely bit of gold!

As I often do with my cards, I cut the liner/sentiment shape and attached it to the inside with a piece of temporary Post-It tape for future use.  The reason I mention this is because I really love how this project turned out and have been admiring it on my desk. Maybe I'll mail it out next year, but for this year it's eye candy just for me!  Because I plan to have it on display, I made a card stand to go along with it.

 

You can find this card stand in a FREE download from Bird's SVGs called Various. There are these two beautiful card stands as well as some other fun files just perfect for Spring. I'm already thinking of a use for those cute Easter eggs too!

 

One thing I did was cut an extra 'Stand 2 Layer 2' piece so that the scrollwork detail where I added the green gems can be seen on both the front and back of the stand. The bonus is this also adds an extra layer of strength too, not that you need it.

The other nice thing about these stands are how easy they are to make and how you could customize the colors to coordinate with any card or project you choose to display. 

Last year I made this luminary using the Celtic Cross card which is also from the Celtic Charm kit. Unfortunately I didn't blog about it at the time and have long since forgotten any details, but I know it wasn't difficult to adapt. 

As I have a habit of doing, I'm looking at this project a year later and thinking about adding some gems and maybe a base to sit it on. Always a work in progress!

Thanks so much for stopping by and Happy St. Patrick's Day a week early. I hope you find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! 

I'm so EGG-cited about these FAUXberge eggs!

I was already pretty excited about the new Eggstravagance kit from Bird's SVGs when I found out that the largest white and gold egg shown below is a luminary. For someone like me who particularly loves projects that glitter and glow, this is majorly EGG-citing!  The blingy possibilities for these Faberge-inspired beauties just makes my soul happy. 

The best part is that this kit was just released yesterday and is ON SALE for a limited time!

I used some metallic pink cardstock for my egg, although I really love Bird's egg all in gold. It's so luxurious looking! I definitely need to stock up on some more metallics and bling for future projects.  I planned to add some more pearls around the smaller rings of the pedestal, but didn't have as many as I thought. Oh well, just one more excuse to shop for craft supplies!

I had fun putting this together and even more fun lighting it up when I was done. I used a color changing electronic tea light under the shade and it is so pretty as it transitions through a rainbow of colors.  

Incidentally, if you're looking for the perfect bag in which to gift one of these beautiful eggs, you should definitely check out the Easter Egg gift bag from Bird's Easter Egg Hunt kit shown below. The bag could be made with matching metallic details and gems added on the outside.  What an elegant presentation that would make!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I'd love to hear what you think. 

Tis the Season

The holiday season is upon us, and as with most, I've been busy working on projects, Christmas shopping and a whole list of other things I never seem to get ahead of! In fact, I made this fun tree luminary weeks ago and am only now getting around to posting it.

This project from Bird's SVGs comes from the Home for Christmas collection (shown below) and is a fun way to create some glowing home decor for the holiday season. The paper is used is printed with colorful pom poms and I added some sequins here and there for some extra sparkle.

What is so neat about this tree is that Bird designed it in three different sizes, so you can create a forest, or pick just one to fit in where you'd like it. I made the largest version of the tree and it's large enough that it will fit an LED pillar candle inside. I opted to use a color-changing electronic tea light as it seemed to go well with the colorful paper. I must confess that I've been thinking about doing some gold and silver trees, maybe using glitter paper. The possibilities really are endless. Now all I need is an extra week in December and I should be all set!

Something I plan to make a bunch of are the cupcake boxes from Bird's Celebrate with a Cupcake collection. 

 Every year I tend to load up on fun chocolates and other sweet treats and give away little bags or boxes of them to friends and family. The individual cupcake box is perfect for this!

I eliminated the insert which would hold your cupcake in place, and I replaced the cupcake embellishment on the front with a little bonbon I found in Cricut Design Space. The box holds quite a bit of candy and I love the look of the top when it's all folded up...I think it looks like a swirl of icing on top of the box!

This is a very quick and easy little box to assemble, and will come in handy for lots of little gifts and treats this year. 

Last but not least, since I'm jumping all over the place with projects I thought I'd mention this lovely bag from Bird's For My Mum collection. 

I made this bag shortly after the collection was released, but only had this one picture of it before I added the ribbon handle and gave it away. 

I just recently stumbled across this photo and started thinking how lovely this bag might look with a poinsettia on the front for holiday gift giving. Red on white maybe. White on pink? Your imagination is the limit.

As always, thanks for stopping by and I hope your holidays are a joy!

Rocket Lantern

...and the rocket's red glare....

  

Okay, well maybe more than just red glare! I only made one rocket (so far), but I was having a good time taking pictures of it every time the tealight changed color, so figured I'd just share all of the colorful pics. 

Here's a closer look at my Rocket Lantern from Dreaming Tree's Stars and Stripes Forever bundle. It's just one of three illuminating projects just in time for the 4th of July. 

I didn't really do anything to change this one very much from the original by Dreaming Tree...why mess with perfection?  I did use silver glitter paper for the nose cone and base, but other than that, I kept it pretty simple.  

This could be so cute for New Year's Eve too, don't you think?  Maybe done in black, silver and gold instead?  The sky's the limit (pun intended).  

Thanks for stopping by! 

Sunflower-ish Tealight

Just a really quick post to show you what I did with the free Gerbera Daisy Tea Light from Dreaming Tree.  

For some reason I was thinking of how cool these would look in some fall colors, and decided to make this into a sunflower of sorts.  Or maybe a black-eyed susan?  Either way, the sequins in the center reflect the tealight flame a bit and make this extra sparkly which always makes me happy. I think a glittered center would be cool too.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Fire & Dragonfly Lantern

It's a bit of an overcast day today, so I thought I'd light up my lanterns for their moment in the front of the camera!

Both of these are from the new Summer Nights and Flights bundle by Dreaming Tree. I actually had the same Violet Leaf stack of DCWV paper and so I made my first lantern (the one on the right) to look almost exactly like the one that Dreaming Tree shows on their website. 

I made a second lantern for a neighbor who just returned from a few months in China and who brought me back the gift of a beautiful silk scarf. To me this lantern has somewhat of a pagoda feel, so I made one in green and gold to use as a thank you for the scarf.  I used paper from the same stack, although this time it's metallic gold flowers on a green background.  

I embossed the gold panels with a Cuttlebug Oriental Weave embossing folder which seemed to make them super shiny with all the extra facets to reflect light.

I also added a gold glitter ball on top as shown in the assembly video, but rather than paint mine with glitter paint, I covered it in quick dry glue and sprinkled Martha Stewart ultrafine glitter on it and then let it dry for a few hours before gluing it on top with some Glossy Accents.

BONUS!  Dreaming Tree just added some FREE Autumn Nights and Frights panels for this lantern so it can be used for Halloween too!  Now I can't wait to make the spooky version!

I hope my neighbor enjoys the lantern. Thanks for stopping by to check them out!  

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I may receive a commission.  I only participate in affiliate programs for products or services that I personally use and recommend.  

Valentine Tea Light Holder

Just a quick post to show off the cute little tea light holder I made using the FREE Valentine Tea Light Holder file from Dreaming Tree.

I did add a pink vellum liner because I love the look of the electronic tealights thought vellum - a much softer, more diffuse glow I think.

I also had lots of fun digging through my stash of blingy things to find some hearts and other glitzy stuff to add to the project. I think Valentine's Day is the perfect holiday to go a little nuts with rhinestones and shiny stuff!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stingy Jack Lantern

If you haven't already checked out the designs at 3dsvg.com, make sure you pay them a visit. 

Right now you can download this Stingy Jack Lantern file for FREE.  There's a free Spooky Coffin box too which I hope to build over the weekend!

I love how quickly and easily this went together.  I substituted plain vellum and a color changing tealight (found in the Home Depot Halloween section) for the printed vellum as I didn't have any inkjet vellum handy.  I think this came out really great and I'm looking forward to doing some shopping on the new site over the weekend.    

Here's a view of the opposite side.  Happy weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Corn Stalk Luminary

These adorable little cornstalk luminaries are from one of the first kits I ever purchased from svgcuts.com. The name of the kit is Enchanted Autumn and can be found here.

I think these would look great as part of a Thanksgiving place setting.  I've made several and display them in various places on my entertainment center along with some other autumn crafts to jazz things up a bit. In additional to having a thing for paper, I also love things that light up, so you can expect to see lots of illuminated projects in my posts.

I've been meaning to experiment with making them bigger to go around a larger 2.5" color-changing electronic tea light I have.  If I do, I'll update this post with a picture.  I think the changing colors might be kind of spooky for Halloween.