Simple Made Difficult

Chocolate to wrap

One of my clients (who is also a dear friend) asked me if I would wrap his Christmas presents this year (this is the third year he has asked me to do so). His wife cherishes the wrappings (and saves the paper and ribbons each year) so I am always willing to fulfill his requests. He gave me five gifts to wrap and this was the first gift--three bars of quality chocolate.

First, I went to my stash of materials and decided to wrap each chocolate bar separately with tissue and ribbon. With the wrapping, I always try and blend traditional and non-traditional colors and wrapping styles. I chose orange, red and green tissue paper and peach, red and olive colored ribbons.

Raw materials

After wrapping each bar, I chose an alternative colored ribbon to bind the bind: Peach grosgrain ribbon went on the red package, olive grosgrain ribbon went on the orange package and red organza ribbon went on the green package.

Three individual packages

If I were giving these away, I would have then stacked all three packages on top one another and tied them together with a large wire-edged ribbon and gifted them as a package. Very simple and yet elegant.

Instead, since I was dealing with a friend and a fan, I decided to up the ante a little bit by creating a handmade box to exactly fit the three bars of wrapped chocolate. Once the chocolate is removed, my friend's wife will have a keepsake box to hold buttons, coins, or any other miscellany. This way, she can keep the box out during the entire year to remember the original gift.

Handmade gift box

Once the box was completed, I covered it with a sheet of paper that was screen printed by hand. The red color and the polka dots are very on trend at the moment. The top and bottom interior of the box was lined with red velvet paper.

Bottom box filled with chocolate packages

The lid could be added and gifted accordingly but I decided to make it a little bit more elegant. Once the lid was attached, I wrapped the box with a red mesh wire edged ribbon and attached two personalized ornaments to the ribbon to finish the gift.

The final product

Week 51--Christmas4

I always make a non-traditional card very year in my cut out series for those people who want something different. Although most people don't use a square card because of the extra postage required, I always try and offer at least one square card every year. This is a 5 inch by 5 inch card that just makes me smile.

This is my final Christmas design this year.

On My Bookshelf

I am always on the lookout for books dealing with gift wrapping. Whenever I am in a book store of any type, I will search the craft section and the decorative arts sections of the store. This was one of my finds at a discount book store (the great Strand Book Store) in NYC. This is a book by Espen Markussen. There are 100 wrapping ideas that are presented. This is simply a photo book of ideas and provides limited instructions on how to accomplish these designs.

This is a great book for creative motivation/inspiration for some great wrapping ideas.

Snow Globe Fail

I have a client that wants me to make handmade snow globes to use as dinner place card holders/hostess gifts. The idea is to use a baby food jar as the base and to use NYC ornaments and glitter for the snow globe components. Before I work on the finished product, I always make prototypes to work on the process. I will now share with you my failures.

NOTE #1

Not all glitter is the same. Here I used fine glitter which tended to clump together.

NOTE #2

Use the hot setting on the hot glue gun if you are in a hurry. Use industrial strength epoxy or E6000 if you have some extra time--these two adhesives take 24 to 48 hours to set.

NOTE #3

To mimic the flow of snow, place some glycerin in the water. Too little glycerin and the glitter will drop quickly to the bottom of the jar. Add too much, and the glitter will stick to the lid.

NOTE #4

Thick glitter/holographic glitter works best. Here I used snow glitter which is a thicker glitter and seems to float nicely.

NOTE #5

If your lid leaks a little bit, run double sided tape along the lid grooves or run a bead of hot glue around the same place before twisting the lid on.

NOTE #6

Mason jars/Canning jars with locking lids and gaskets work the best. When you use these type of jars, you can fill the jar almost to the top of the jar (allowing for displacement of water due to the figurines you glue to the lid). The more water you have the smaller the air bubble you will have at the top of snow globe.

NOTE #7

If you are using a commercial jar and need to cover the writing on the lid, use an enamel type paint.

I will be sharing the completed projects for you next week.

Ornament Fail

Failure #1 (without flash)

One of my resolutions for 2013 was sharing more of my failures with my readers. I usually don't like to show you projects that didn't work but rather than see them as failures, I have started to look at them as processes for future successes.

I was following one of my favorite blogs and one of the contributors was having difficulty with using glitter glue to coat the inside of a glass ornament. I affectionately called the glitter glue--Poop Glitter. When you use this type of glitter it looks like poop piles and it really doesn't spread well enough to coat the interior of an ornament.

I was planning on using glass ornaments this week so I thought that I would help out. One of the options was to use acrylic ornaments but my local stores didn't have any more acrylic ornaments so I was resigned to using these plastic present ornaments.

The first experiment was to use the poop glitter that was thinned out with ModPodge. Well--this obviously did not work as evidenced above and below.

Failure #1 (with flash)

The second experiment was using fine glitter. I covered the inside of the ornament with thinned ModPodge. I let it dry until it was slightly tacky. I then poured fine art glitter inside the ornament and shook it around until it covered the ornament. While this was somewhat successful, there is still a little of the ModPodge showing. I might coat the inside with acrylic paint to deepen the color.

Failure #2 (without flash)

Failure #2 (with flash)

The third experiment was the process as #2 but instead of glitter, I used two colors of PearlEx powders. This was the most successful of the bunch but the ModPodge still shows through a little bit. Once again, I might add thinned out acrylic paint to deepen the color.

Failure #3 (without flash)

Failure #3 (with flash)

I have a couple more experiments before I finalize the process with my miniature glass ornaments.

Iron Craft Challenge #25--A Look Back (Kat Inspired Paper Christmas Trees)

The next-to-last challenge of this year is devoted to "looking back" at past projects as inspiration. I decided to dedicate this challenge to our director and leader--Kat. I was so inspired by her last project (Paper Snowflake Trees) that I wanted to make some paper trees on my own.

I came up with my own version by doing a cut-lace snowflake as the basis of the branches. I did a red version (above) and wasn't quite as pleased as I would have liked. The four layers are attached to a skewer and is mounted on a wooden oblong bead.

In the red version, I cut out the lace snowflake, divided it into half, and then mounted them to the skewer by gluing the overlap onto itself. The difficulty with this particular version is that the branches are asymmetrical and therefore the tree looks lopsided.

For the second version, rather than cut the snowflake in half--I only cut out one section of the snowflake so that the branches would be symmetrical around the skewer. The overlap was glued onto itself and then the skewer was pierced through the center of the rounded snowflake.

Glittered branches

Top most branch (most glitter)

To add interest, I applied snow glitter before gluing the pieces together. The snow glitter was applied in different thicknesses. In other words, the topmost layer got the most "snow" and the lowest layer got the least.

Aerial View

Side View

Week 50--Christmas3

I have struggled over the years to make an ornament cut out card but this year is the first time that I have been able to make one that I truly liked. The difficulty with this type of card is that there are so many possibilities of needing connectors that just don't make much sense. I was very happy with the way that this card turned out. I will probably make this in black and then place colored vellum as the liner.

On My Bookshelf

Today's book is a continuation of my stencil and Japan discussion. The Art of Decorative Paper Stencils by Kanako Yaguchi isn't a book really about stencils; instead, it really is a book about Kirigami (which is Japanese paper folding and cutting).

The author provides patterns based on designs from her worldly travels. She then presents 6 projects that use these "stencils." The book is divided into three sections: tools and techniques; designs, folding and cutting; and projects.

The beautiful of these designs is that the author provides folded and full sized patterns. A great book for reference material and for playing with paper.

Card #49 Redux

Not all of my cards turn out the way that I want. The card above on the left (which was this week's card explained here) just didn't seem right to me. I really couldn't place what I didn't like about it but I kept on looking. When I woke up this morning, I realized that the tree seemed lopsided.

I added an extra branch and provided a little more separation between the branches and the ornaments to get the card on the right. I think I solved the problem.

More Japan Goodies; From My Stash

What many Americans don't realize is that celebrating Christmas in Japan is very popular and lucrative. Although less than one percent of the population claim to be Christian, Japanese people love to celebrate the occasion rather than the religious significance of the holiday.

On my latest trip to Japan, I came across these "snow stencils." Snow stencils used to be popular during the 50s, 60s and 70s here in the United States. These stencils are used when spraying "fake" or "canned" snow when decorating on windows or glass. Smaller versions are used when crafting with etching cream. These stencils measure about 8.5 inches by 12 inches.

Each stencil package contains two stencils. There appear to be 14 sets of which I was able to purchase 5 sets. I will not be using these for window decorations but will use them for a different purpose and I will share how they are used in a later post.

Christmas Card 2013

Here are the basics of my personal Christmas card this year. This is the part that I hate--assembling multiple copies of a single item. In other words--I have doing the trained monkey work. I love the design phase but putting it all together--over and over again--gets me bored.

This year I am doing the sixth day of The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Week 49--Christmas2

Here is another in my cut out Christmas card series for 2013. This is based on a very popular stencil that has been making the rounds over the past several years. I always enjoy making business sized holiday cards because they are so unexpected.

I usually don't use red card stock but this is a fun shade of red so I thought about using it. I still haven't found a nice shade of green to use this year but I am still on the hunt.

On My Bookshelf

Today's selection is a new book to my library. I couldn't continue my discussion of my crafting haul from Japan without a Japan Craft Book to add to the mix. I have collected Japanese craft books ever since I lived there while in the military. I started collecting origami books because you really didn't need to understand the text because the diagrams were enough (Japanese folders where the first to develop the diagram system that is now accepted worldwide as the standard). I then started to collect books on Japanese Mizuhiki (Japanese Paper Cords) and finally I started collecting books on Japanese gift wrapping.

As I was in the airport in Sapporo for my return trip home, I realized that I hadn't had a chance to visit any of the bookstores while in Tokyo. I happened upon an airport bookstore and asked for origami books. Within the selection of books the attendant brought me was this book (roughly translated as Wonderful Disney Cutouts) by March Sakura (I am sure that is a nom de plume).

The book contains 41 cutout projects based on Disney characters. The author provides templates for artwork, ornaments, greeting cards and candle screens. Most of the designs are self explanatory and the cover shows two framed examples of the type of projects available (note: since most of the templates are full sized models, I chose not to share any of the patterns to protect them from being used/distributed online without purchasing the book).

I might have to start collecting a new type of Japanese craft book.

(Disclaimer--I do not speak or read Japanese. I had one of my coworkers translate the title and profile for me).

From My Stash

Today, I wanted to continue my discussion regarding my trip to Japan. While there, I was able to visit Nagoya, Sapporo and Tokyo. I was very lucky to be able to stay in Tokyo for several days. Because my down time was severely limited, I wasn't able to explore the craft scene like I normally do. Also, I had to visit with some paper vendors while I was there so most of my time was spent doing business.With what little down time that I was able to use, I found this book very helpful in navigating my way very efficiently. 

I believe that Japan has to be the leader in making, marketing, and using tape in a meaningful way. Washi tape has been around for quite a while but they still manage to update/renew its properties in such a way as to make it intriguing. I did notice some different trends in deco tape (decorator tape), though.

The first product is actually from Germany and is called "paper loop." It is a stylish decorated packing tape. It has more adhesive on the back than washi tape and therefore can be used for more permanent closing of boxes/packages. There is a slight sheen to the paper used but it can be used in a variety of uses. The pattern repeats every 40cm. I used it to decorated a package wrapped in plain white craft paper. The tape can be used in parallel (shown below) or it can be used perpendicular and since the design is symmetrical, it appears as if there is a single large bow on the package. There are four options: large red bow on white, small red looped string on white, large blue bow on brown (craft paper brown) and small red looped string on brown. There are about 50m of tape on a roll so you get a lot of bang for your buck (about 55 yards). 

paper loop from German

Basic package with tape

Big Bow (image from www.abodee.nl)

Red String Loop
(image from www.abodee.nl)

Blue Bow (image from www.abodee.nl)

Blue String Loop
(image from www.abodee.nl)

Washi tape is changing as we know it. While the patterns and colors are widening, the interesting changes are due to the width of the tape. Now, the tape is coming in much larger widths. The width shown below is the 3" width but there were 6", 9" and 12" widths available as well. The trend now seems to be plaids and checks. Older trends tended to be horizontal and vertical stripes and polka dots.

Another new development in tape is Mylar stenciled cut reflective tape. While similar Mylar tapes have traditionally been used for the holidays in past seasons, the new variations are these cut out tapes that are appearing for the holidays. They are being sold in a four pack of tapes with a variety of Christmas designs. They are a little costly so I would use them sparingly (e.g., small packages) and for decorative purposes only. There isn't enough structure to the tape to use them for closing or securing packages. The tape is adhered to a mylar backing strip and you simply release the tape and place it down on the spot where you want to use it. Once it is placed, you will not be able to move it without damaging the package or tearing the tape. The product is very finicky but the impact is pretty amazing. I saw four color choices for this series of tapes: red, green, silver and gold.

New Washi tape and
Mylar tapes

Mylar tape detail

I will continue to share with you some more of the products that I was able to find on my shopping journeys.

From My Stash

Today's post is the first in a series that illustrates what it is like to do crafts in Japan. Following the guidelines from this book, I took one of the adventures to FabricLand to try and find some fabric that I could use for book cloth. To be able to do so, it really helps to start with cotton fabric. I also wanted to something kid friendly because I wanted to use the book cloth to recover composition books to sell in my Etsy shop.

Here are three of the fabrics that I found that foot the bill. The pieces of fabric measure about 44 inches in width by 12 inches in height as measured parallel to the selvage edge (this is about the same as a regular 1/3rd yard in the U.S.). The middle selection costs about $4 and the other two cost about $4.50 each.

Iron Craft Challenge #24--Miniature Christmas Tree

For the 24th Iron Craft Challenge, we were given the theme of the holidays. According to the challenge, "So, we are just going to go with the flow here at Iron Craft and tell you to make something for the holidays for this challenge. Let's face it, that's what most of us are working on right now anyway."

I had the additional challenge of being away in Japan for most of the preparation time. I arrived home on Saturday before the deadline so I decided to work with materials that I could find while in Tokyo. I went to a local florist and found this miniature evergreen plant.

Bare Evergreen Plant

Using materials found at one of the famous Craft Stores in Tokyo (Tokyu Hands), I decided to decorate the tree with: a miniature paper chain (made from quilling strips), miniature Origami cranes (made from traditional Japanese washi), battery operated colored lights, holiday stickers, and imported miniature wooden ornaments.

Angel stickers and paper chain

The tree topper is made from two angel foam stickers that are placed on either side of a top branch of the evergreen. Other foam stickers were used to decorate some of the other branches as well (candy canes and wreaths).

Origami Cranes

Origami cranes (flying crane model) were made from traditional Japanese paper.

Wooden ornaments

Miniature wooden ornaments from Hungary were draped around the plant. After the tree was decorated with miniature battery operated lights, the tree was finished.

The tree was left for the housekeeping staff after I left the hotel. I received a letter of appreciation from the hotel after I left. Apparently, the housekeeping staff took pictures with the tree.

Week 48--Starting Christmas

Today, I wanted to share one of my holiday cards with you. I don't know how many of these I will make but I like the stencil used for the card. While the cutting is a little finicky, it takes a little longer than I would like to complete the cutting. Maybe, I can simplify the design.

I hear the sleigh bells ringing . . .