Schlosser Designs

A few projects you might have missed...

2009-07-30T16:37:00.002-05:00

Remember that I moved... If you haven't changed your reader yet be sure to go visit the new site and change that so you don't miss anything!

There's a new free download over there as well for you on the New Schlosser Designs Blog

I'm moving!

2009-07-22T15:39:00.002-05:00

Yes, I've already moved to the Chicago area, but I've now moved my blog and redesigned the store! Be sure to update your feed and bookmarks! I will post on this one for about a week or two longer and then all new posts will be solely on the new blog! Not only did the blog get moved, but it's also been redesigned and is SO much easier for you to find your favorite projects and downloads! All you have to do is go to the top and click on the project gallery!

Here's the new site: www.schlosserdesigns.com/blog Easy, right! Come by for a visit and let me know what you think! I don't want to miss anyone!

For those who have subscribed through email from Feedburner, that's already been updated so you don't need to sign up again!

Store Redesign!

2009-07-06T14:10:00.002-05:00

I'm done moving and now call Evanston home. Although I'm sad to leave Texas I'm excited about all the new possibilities and adventures the Chicago area will provide! (And if any of my readers have some great craft stores to share with me please do!!)

I'm switching my store and blog to a server that can handle all the downloads that I've had! I hate for you to visit and have a project not available for you to download immediately! Bear with me about one more week and I'll be done with my late Spring Cleaning and have a new blog, store, and projects to share with you!!!

If you need anything immediately from the store please email me at erinschlosser (at) schlosserdesigns (dot) com!

See you soon!

Tutorial Tuesday-Father's Day Shirt and Tie Project

2009-06-09T08:51:00.011-05:00

I probably should have titled this post something like What I'm doing instead of packing for the move in 4 days, or maybe What I'm doing now is way more fun than packing, but since it's Tuesday, a tutorial it is! This is a new project template that can be used in conjunction with the storage tins used for the Classy Dad Kit and the Tool Kit.

This free template has two options for you!

Here are the main items assembled to put together the kit. The free PDF template (see below for the download link), silver tin, a few coordinating papers, and don't forget the chocolate Riesens! Just cut out the pieces you'd like to use and you're ready to go!

This is my favorite part! If you use the pocket and handkerchief pieces don't forget to write a little note on the handkerchief to put in the pocket!

Wrap the Riesens in strips of paper for a fun treat inside!

Download the template and instructions by clicking here. Enjoy!

Happy Crafting!

Father's Day Kit Winner!

2009-06-07T14:07:00.003-05:00

Ready? The winner of the Classy Dad Kit, Tool Project Kit, and 2 tins to make both projects is:

Congratulations! Trenda P. that's you! I'll be in touch shortly!

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions! There were some great ones and I can't wait to get started on some new designs!

Remember, if you didn't win you can still purchase the items in time to receive the tins well before Father's Day and use the coupon code MOVE09 to get 20% off your order! It's only good through the end of this week as the big move day is next Saturday!

Took Kit Project Tin

2009-06-03T18:32:00.002-05:00

Here's the kit for those DIY dads! I had lots of fun with this kit! There's lots of little tool icons and the wood texture was fun to work with also. As with the release yesterday there's a standard version and a custom version which lets you type in all your own sentiments. All you need is candy, tins, and the kit! The both kits include two cards, the tin cover with three alternate sentiments, and one sheet of designed labels. You don't need any special photo editing software to add the text either if you purchase the custom one! I tried to make it super easy for you!

The labels are standard Avery 8160 series address labels. I printed the cards and tin front on shiny photo paper which looks really nice and professional in person!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway! See the post here for the details!

Tutorial Tuesday-Classy Father's Day Project

2009-06-02T21:07:00.008-05:00

Woo Hoo! I'm so excited for this new project release! You remember the fun Valentine's Day Tin project? Well how about a Father's Day one? This 3 page PDF includes two cards, one tin cover with 3 alternate sentiments, and a full page of labels. I also found that the labels will go well over Reisen's as well as Hershey's Nuggets! All for only $3! (Don't forget to use the coupon code MOVE09 to get an extra 20% off!) The only thing the kit doesn't include are the tins which are available here. (The coupon code is good for those too!)

Lots of you requested a way to add or change the sentiments so I've made an extra special PDF for you! This PDF is exactly the same as the $3 one, but has text boxes in place of the sentiments so you can add whatever you'd like it to say! This kit is only $5 in the shop! You can print and change the text as much as you'd like! All you need is Adobe Reader. No other special software is required to type in the text.

This would be a great kit to buy if you'd like to use it for a birthday or thank you gift as well!

What if you're dad isn't and argyle and herringbone type of guy? Here's a sneak peek of another kit which will be released tomorrow for the handy dad!

And how about this? We'll do a giveaway because I LOVE doing giveaways! Here's what you'll win! You'll get the Custom Classy Dad Kit, and the Custom Tool Project Tin (tomorrow's release) and I'll send you two tins to make some with! That's almost $20 worth of product!

How do you enter? Leave a comment below letting me know what other types of kits you'd like to see me create. How easy is that?

Want more entries? Do any combination of the following to get extra chances to win:
1. Blog about the giveaway on your blog. (Leave me a separate comment with your blog post.)

2. Share it on Facebook with your crafty friends. (Leave a separate comment telling me you did so.)

3. Tweet it. (be sure to add @eschlosser to your tweet so I see it!)

4. Talk about it in your favorite crafty forum. (Leave a comment telling me you talked about it.)

If you leave me a comment, and do all of the above you can get up to 5 entries!

I'll pick two winners Saturday so be sure to enter by Midnight, Friday June 5th.

Happy Crafting!

Father's Day Gift Container

2009-05-26T18:26:00.002-05:00

Here's a quick hexagon box template that was well loved last year:

1. Download template here. Find a wood grain image online that you like. I like to look at Wilsonart Laminates , or Treefrog Veneers. Once you find an image that you like, right click on the image and save it to your computer.
2. Print the wood grain image on photo paper or cardstock, then print the templates onto the wood grain. (Any other pattern will work too!)
3. Then follow the directions on the template to finish up!

If you'd like to do the graduated sizes like shown above, just print at different percentages. Try 85%, 100%, and 120%.

Stay tuned this week for another Father's Day Wood themed downloadable gift set!

Happy Crafting!

Tutorial Tuesday-Copper Garden Decorations

2009-05-19T16:48:00.004-05:00

I found some copper wire as I was cleaning out my garage to prepare for my move and got sidetracked in making some little garden decorations! (Because crafting is WAY better than packing!) These would make great Father's Day Gifts for those fathers that like gardening!

Best thing is: They are super easy to make! Both of these took me about 15 minutes total!

You can get various diameters of copper wire by the foot at Lowe's or Home Depot. Find a diameter that is easy enough to bend, but not flimsy. Bend them into shapes and leave about 12" of straight wire at the bottom so you have something to stick into the ground.

I find that it's easier to make the shape and then cut, instead of cutting a straight piece of wire and then bending it into the shape you want. If you're having trouble with shapes, try sketching a shape on a piece of paper and bending the wire into that shape.

Happy Crafting!

Don't forget about the moving sale! Just enter in the code: MOVE09 for 20% off of everything in the Schlosser Designs Store!

A Little Friendly Competition

2009-05-15T07:53:00.002-05:00

Over at Fresh Nest Design we've helped Marie from Make and Takes redesign her space!

Deb and I both did a redesign this time and she's taking votes to see which one she should do. Be sure to go vote! (It doesn't have to be for me, just vote for which one you like, and which one took into consideration Marie's design style.) Click on her Before image above to go vote and see the final designs!

Happy Friday!

Tutorial Tuesday-A sale instead!

2009-05-12T21:03:00.006-05:00

Thanks everyone for checking in today! I'm glad you did-because I've got a moving sale! Since my new place is up 3 flights of stairs with no elevator my husband has declared that my current inventory needs to be minimized!

Be sure to order now before the current inventory is gone! Here's the store: Schlosser Designs

Customizable Mother's Day Cards Anyone?

2009-05-05T20:02:00.006-05:00

Thank you so much to all my testers! I made a few changes based on the feedback I got from you and here's the final product!

Download the PDF here. There are two cards on the sheet. Just print on 1 sheet of white cardstock, cut in half, embellish, and you're done!

But wait, you might ask why I had some testers test this project out first. It's because the sentiment on the front of the card can be whatever YOU want it to be! (Look for more projects with this feature shortly!) When the PDF opens up, click on the sentiment where it says Type Custom Sentiment Here and type away to your hearts content. These cards will allow you two lines in which to type a custom sentiment for your mom! How awesome is that?

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Edited: Thanks Daniel for letting me know about the bandwidth! It is a pretty popular download. The location has now been moved and is ready for downloading again. I'm working on moving the rest of my projects over so as soon as they are moved I'll let everyone know. Thanks for your understanding!

Call for Help!

2009-04-29T12:23:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone! Well I'm back from our quick trip to Chicago and thanks to the airplane ride I have another project to share with everyone! But before I do that I'd like a few people to test it first! (It has some new features with the PDF!) So... if you'd like to get the project (It's a Mother's Day Card) before everyone else and help me test out the new feature email me at:
erinschlosser (at) schlosserdesigns (dot) com
and put Mother's Day Test in the subject line please! I'll need about 5 people so email me quick! But don't worry, I'll release it in the next few days for everyone to download!!
And since I don't like doing posts without pictures, check out this wonderfully colorful display I took while in Chicago!

Edited: Thanks for the emails! I've gotten enough people to help test for now! Look for the new project soon!

One of my favorite projects

2009-04-22T08:12:00.004-05:00

This is one of my favorite projects that I've used a few times this week already!

Ribbon Bordered Picture Frame.

See here for the complete instructions.

Why have I used this tutorial several times this week already? Well, you see, last week my husband got into the MBA program he was hoping to, and it's not in the area, which means that we're moving---to Chicago! And very soon too as his semester starts in June! So, I've been madly staging the house to sell and this tutorial works great for adding a little something extra to your pictures.

I'm excited about the move, but also sad that we'll be leaving warm Texas for the cold that is the northern U.S. Have you been to Chicago? What are your favorite places to visit? What are some great craft stores in the area? Because that's the most important thing, right? :)

Don't worry though, new projects arriving shortly! I'll be needing some help too with some testing! So stay tuned for opportunities to test out some projects before they are released here!

Also- Don't forget to enter into the Design Challenge at Fresh Nest Design! There's a $125+ Kelli Kit up for grabs to the winner!!!

Crafty Mishaps

2009-04-16T08:47:00.002-05:00

I was just introduced to this site yesterday and thought I'd share. It's called CraftFail and it's where crafters submit projects that didn't necessarily turn out as planned. (Go visit and have a look around!) Because we ALL know that happens! I've got so many projects that I've done for the blog that didn't turn out like I planned and decided not to include here. Maybe I should feature some of them here? So, don't worry if you're new to crafting or trying a new technique! Many times I do 3-4 ideas before one I like enough to feature here. Have any projects that didn't turn out like you wanted? Please share in the comments!

Tutorial Tuesday: Baby Book

2009-04-14T19:29:00.003-05:00

Here's a slide show of the book I made for a co-worker that was expecting. (Katelyn has been born now!)

It's super easy to make! And here's the download for you! Click to download the Baby Book. There's 4 pages in PDF format. (Each page has 3 prompts.) All of the scrapbook prompts above are included and I added some that include meeting their sister/brother/siblings and the cat. I also added a stat page for a boy too. So you're ready to go!

When I made it I put one prompt on each page (each prompt is the size of an index card) and left space on the other side for a picture. That way the book is already made, the new parents just fill in their thoughts and add a picture!

Let me know in the comments if there are other pages you'd like to see and I can make those a separate download!

Happy Crafting!

This weeks download is up!

2009-04-08T20:22:00.001-05:00

Adobe likes me again so be sure to go to this post and get your Just Because candy wrappers download!

Tutorial Tuesday-Just Because

2009-04-07T19:24:00.004-05:00

For some reason Adobe doesn't want to make PDF's for me right now...so while I figure it out tonight and have the download ready to go for you tomorrow (scroll down, Adobe likes me again and the links are up!), here's a sneak peek of the project:

Tomorrow I'll have the bag topper and candy wrapper labels for your downloading pleasure!

Edited:
Ok, download the two PDF's and you're good to go! I wrapped the labels around Hershey's Nuggets so all you'll need is a bag of those and you're ready! The instructions for the bag toppers are in the download and I just added a simple silver rhinestone for something extra.

Here's the links! Click to download the PDF's.
Candy Cover Labels
Candy Bag Toppers

**Be sure that when you print them they are not scaled or fitting to page. This will cause them to not print correctly! For the labels I used the Avery 8860 white address labels. (They are 1" x 2 5/8")

Let me know if you've got any questions or comments!

Happy Crafting!

What I've been up to...

2009-04-03T17:13:00.002-05:00

Many of you know I'm an interior designer on top of all the crafty fun I have here. So on top of finalizing the new stamp set releases (yea!) I've co-founded an interior design specific blog with Deb from Mumbo Jumbo!
I've always believed that no matter what your budget you can have well designed spaces! So head on over to Fresh Nest Design for inspiration! And don't forget to follow the instructions in this post to win a spot for our Monday feature: Redesign a Space where we choose reader submitted spaces and give them a makeover! You can also submit questions or tips. Who knows? We might answer your questions too!

(Don't worry, this blog is not going to go by the wayside! In fact, due to my new employment situation I hope to post more craft projects every week here!)

Thanks for your continued support and wonderful comments and emails I receive! I can't wait to start going through my 3 sketchbooks and creating new projects to share!

Have an awesome weekend!

Tutorial Tuesday - Stamped Spring Napkins!

2009-03-31T17:18:00.003-05:00

These were super simple to do! I used the stamps from the Have A Tweet Day stamp set. These are cotton napkins I found for $1 a piece at Garden Ridge. Just pull out your ink and stamp directly onto the napkins! It's easy using the clear stamps because you can see exactly where the image is going, and you can make sure that you have ink covering the entire image before you stamp. Use a permanent ink like Stewart Superior's Hybrid ink. Heat set it with your iron without using steam and you're ready to go for a wonderful Easter brunch!

I love the little bird feet border on this one!

And a little nest garland with occasional eggs!

Happy Crafting!

Would you like to win some clear stamps?

2009-03-25T08:22:00.001-05:00

How about 4 sets of my clear stamps, and the clear blocks to mount them on? (Including the yet to be released new sets!) I am so excited to announce that I'll be sponsoring the prize next month for Christy's Craft Challenge! She has the most amazing crafts, written tutorials, and videos! Check out one of my favorite projects:

An oh so cute felted turtle

Every month she puts together crafty kits filled with all kinds of supplies. You can purchase them in her Etsy shop for just $5! You have almost the entire month to come up with a project using the supplies. (You can add more too, you just have to use what she gives you as well.) At the end of the month all her readers (and all your friends and family) vote and the favorite project wins the prize! Even if you don't win it's so much fun participating and a whole pack of supplies for just $5 is a deal!

If you want to sign up for the April Craft Challenge the deadline is March 27th!

Tutorial Tuesday-Happy Spring!

2009-03-24T05:17:00.003-05:00

Here's a quick Happy Spring Card I did this weekend in honor of the 1st day of Spring. This would also make a great Easter themed card! I used my Have A Tweet Day clear stamp set for this one. I LOVE the little nest stamp. If you look at the stamp set you'll see a little "bundle" of sticks. With this, you can make your nest as big or as small as you'd like. Just stamp it multiple times in an oval shape to get your nest! Or if you want a border, just stamp it around in the shape of a circle or square. (It's super easy to do because your stamp and the mounting block are clear so you can see right through everything to line it all up!)

I stamped the eggs on white cardstock, cut out, and layered with different thicknesses of foam tape. (Don't forget that you can stack two layers of foam tape to get even more dimension than just one layer. Here I adhered one egg directly to the nest, put 1 layer of foam tape on one, and 2 layers of foam tape on the one in the middle for added dimension.)

After you've stamped the main image, just put a border of velvet rickrack around it and secure the corners with brads.

Happy Crafting!

Free Sewing Pattern Winner!

2009-03-21T19:47:00.004-05:00

I've consulted the Random Integer Generator which told me

"Here are your random numbers:

6

Timestamp: 2009-03-22 00:52:40 UTC"

Which means that CaraJean

is the winner of the sewing bundle from You Can Make This! Congratulations! I'll be in touch!

We're Up and it's time to Party!

2009-03-19T22:34:00.003-05:00

And just in time because:

Kicks off in mere hours! I'm so excited to be able to sponsor a prize package for the event ($25 gift certificate to Schlosser Designs!) Especially since there's so many other talented ladies and awesome companies that will also be giving away prizes!

Welcome to those visiting my crafty site for the first time! And thanks for all those that keep returning and leaving your comments for me! I appreciate all the kind words SO much!

I decided to do a little bio on me since I've gotten a lot of new readers lately.

My name is Erin Schlosser and by day I use my creativity as an interior designer and during all the other spare times I run Schlosser Designs where I create clear stamps, sewing patterns, and other fun projects!

I absolutely LOVE to make things! Even when I was 9 years old I would decorate my room for each and every holiday and I haven't stopped creating since! Crafting and creating doesn't have to be expensive and I try to keep that in mind when creating my projects. The supplies I carry in my store are all reasonably priced and will fit into just about any budget. Have a look around my little bit of crafty heaven!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or follow my feed for the latest giveaways, new product releases, and free downloads! (And I've got a huge secret project to reveal soon!) Go check it out and let the partying begin!

Happy Crafting!

Website Down

2009-03-19T07:37:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the inconvenience! My store is down and being repaired/updated at the moment. The blog is still up and running though! It should be fixed soon and I'll let you know! Thanks for your patience!

Free Sewing Patterns Anyone?

2009-03-17T17:14:00.004-05:00

While I'm finishing up my new stamp sets debuting at the end of the month (I can't wait to share them with you!) I thought that today would be a great time to post this wonderful giveaway!

The talented ladies behind You Can Make This have a bundle to giveaway to one of my lucky readers. So get out your lucky four leaf clover and enter to win! (It is St. Patrick's Day, right?)

I finally had the chance to meet Kim, the owner, at the Mom 2.0 Summit in Houston a few weeks ago. Her sister Kris assists with things at You Can Make This too! (Did I mention that my mom lives next door to Kris? How lucky is she?)

Their website is awesome! If you were ever wondering how to do anything crafty related than this is the site for you. They feature downloadable instructions and patterns for many different kinds of projects! Things like children's clothing, handbags, jewelry, and home decor. If you sign up for their newsletter you will get instructions for all the projects shown below for free. (This is also a great way to see how well written and easy the instructions are!)

Just click to sign up for the newsletter here. Click the confirmation link in your email and you'll have access to all these projects and more!

Ok so ready for the giveaway? All you have to do to win this bundle worth $50 is go to www.youcanmakethis.com and look around at their projects. Come back and post a comment letting us know what your favorite pattern is. That's all you have to do!

The bundle includes and child/adult apron set, woman's reversible wrap skirt, "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Knot handbag, a reversible patchwork bucket hat, easy fit pants, and boys ties.

These are some of my favorites from their website include:

Sweet Pea Pleated Handbag

Aivilo Fat Quarter Wristlet

and if I had a little girl these Ruffled Capri's and Pants

So go check out You Can Make This then come back and comment to win!

I'll close the comments Friday, March 20 at midnight and will announce the winner of the entire $50 bundle Saturday! Good Luck!

Comments are closed for this giveaway. Stay tuned for the winner!

Just Because...

2009-03-13T05:56:00.005-05:00

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions, both comments and emails! There were lots of great ideas! I did a few this time, and next time I'll do the rest because I just couldn't narrow it down! For this download you get 4 cards! There are 2 blank square ones, and two rectangular ones that fit inside a standard sized envelope. Those two are Thinking of You and Just Because cards. I honestly can't tell you which one is my favorite because I like them all so much!

Here's what the sheet looks like printed out:

All you will need is white cardstock, paper trimmer, and a either an x-acto knife or sharp pointed scissors. The sheet will print out with some very fine, light grey lines on it. Just cut along those lines, trim the scalloped shaped area out and fold both pieces in half. You've got two cards and the only scrap is a little rectangle of cardstock!

This is probably my favorite! I had it designed to say Just Because but my husband was watching and suggested that I put underneath that: friendship doesn't need a reason. How clever is he? So there you have it, a collaborative project!

Click on the pictures below and they will take you straight to the PDF to print out. Be sure when you print them out you Don't scale to fit the page. Just print it exactly like it is. This will make sure that the sizes and placement come out correctly!

Happy Crafting!

More Downloads....soon...

2009-03-10T17:01:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! I'm just about finished with today's download but have gotten called back into work so I can't post the download today. It is another card that can be printed out and I have to say that it's my favorite so far!

So here's where I need your help!

Leave me a comment and let me know what types of cards you're most in need of now and I'll make a few different downloads with some different sentiments.

Do you need Thinking of You, Birthdays, Cheer up, or blank ones for any occasion? Let me know and I'll do some for you because you guys are the best! (And because I feel REALLY bad for not having it done for today! But after working 10 hours, and then going back in for another 5 I'll have to post tomorrow.)

So, let me know and I'll make some based on what you need right now!

See you soon!

Tutorial Tuesday - Quick Birthday Cards

2009-03-03T17:54:00.006-06:00

Alright, so don't even bother pulling out your stamps and ink this time! Just stick some white cardstock in the printer and print out these pre-made sentiments for yourself! Then, just cut, tape with foam tape to your card, add a little embellishment and you've got 4 birthday cards just like that!

Download the PDF by clicking on the preview image below. For added effect, cut out around the shaped ones to make a slightly scalloped edge!

Happy Crafting!

Find me and Fan me

2009-03-01T14:13:00.003-06:00

I've finally added a fan page in Facebook

or if you Tweet find me here:

Tutorial Tuesday: Business Card Holder

2009-02-24T19:10:00.000-06:00

So I just got back from the most amazing weekend I've had in a long while! I attended the Mom 2.0 Summit in Houston. I met some great new friends, and met a few people whose blogs I've been reading for a while. I had the pleasure of rooming with some amazing craft ladies: Christy and Deb. I also got to room with Surabhi who owns a math tutoring business. You guys rock! I can't even begin to explain the amount of energy there and the amazing women that I got to meet! I finally got to meet my mom's next door neighbor. Can you guess who it is? Here's a hint, her sister owns this site that's super awesome and she assists with it also! I met Maria, Alison (who had her entire wardrobe for the conference sponsered by Shade!), and April too! I had some great, hilarious conversations with Trisha of MomDot. I also got to talk to Gabrielle and Jordan. I wouldn't even know where to start in sharing with you everything I learned while there! There was definitely a reason that the conference sold out and I will definitely be going next year!

Last week I was all ready to go and decided that I needed a business card holder that held more than 5 cards at a time and that looked a little more like a Schlosser Designs product. So Thursday morning, hours before I had to leave, I came up with this simple pattern for a business card holder. (If you don't have business cards this would make a great holder for all those frequent shopper cards.)

So here's the tutorial for today:

Items you'll need:

2 scraps of fabric
1 piece of thin interfacing
coordinating thread

Piece A: Cut a piece of fabric to be 4 3/4" x 9 1/2"
Piece B: Cut a piece of fabric to be 4 3/4" x 6"
Piece C: Cut two pieces of fabric to be 2 1/4" x 4 3/4" for the inside pockets

Sew pieces C to either side of Piece B. Iron the seams open.
Layer all the pieces in the following order:

Piece A
Piece B/C (make sure the right sides face each other on piece A and B/C)
Interfacing

Pin and sew around the edges using 1/4" seams, leaving about 2" open along one of the shorter sides. See where my double red pins are on the top.

Trim the corners.
Turn right side out and top stitch only the top and the bottom. This will sew up the hole you left open for turning right side out. Sew a straight stitch along the seam where the two fabrics are sewn together. This will help secure the interfacing and make it fold a little easier. (You can barely see it at the seam between the green and blue fabric.)

Fold up the pockets and then top stitch up both sides.

How easy was that? You're done!

Happy Crafting!

Tutorial Tuesday-Floral Arranging

2009-02-17T09:45:00.002-06:00

I realize I haven't done a home decor tutorial in a while, so how about learning a little about floral arranging? We'll learn a little about arranging silk florals today.

Here is a preview of the two projects we'll make.

Before we get started there's a quick lesson. (Which can actually be applied to ANY design, whether you're designing a room, floral arrangement, quilt, card, scrapbook page, or fabric.)

There are some simple principles and elements of design that any beginning design student learns to recognize. Then, using these principles and elements, can put together a cohesive, pleasing design. These are as follows:

Principles of Design:
Scale
Proportion
Balance
Rhythm
Emphasis
Harmony

Elements of Design:
Space
Shape
Form
Mass
Line
Texture
Pattern
Light
Color

Today for our floral arranging we'll focus on the Principles: Harmony, Emphasis, and Proportion.
Harmony: Compatibility of elements to create a pleasing whole, achieved mainly through unity and variety. Basically it doesn't all have to be the same to be harmonious.
Emphasis: Anything in the design element that serves as a focal point.
Proportion: The size relationship to the object and it's surroundings. For instance, a really small plant in a really large container means either the plant is proportionally too small, or the container is proportionally too big, and one needs to be changed to make the arrangement more pleasing to the eye.

Ok, so now we'll get started applying our principles.
When choosing your floral stems, choose one or two stems that will be your focal point. I've chosen red for that arrangement and the purple for the other one. This one will take the stage front and center! (You've already got your emphasis now! How easy was that!)
Next, choose a few more stems that will coordinate with your emphasis element. Notice I said coordinate, not match. If you've chosen a red floral stem, like mine, try a smaller red floral, or even some berries in another coordinating color. Like maybe cream or pink. Some copper colored berries would be great too. Don't worry, It's perfectly OK if they don't match! (Great! Now you're harmony is complete too!)
Finally, measure the height of the space that the floral arrangement is going in. (You'll have to do a little math here.) You want the height of your floral arrangement to be about 2/3 of the height. So if your alcove that you're putting this in is 36" high, the tip top of the arrangement should be no more than 24". The red arrangement was going into an alcove about 60" high, so the finished height was pretty close to 40".

Now you've got all your pieces, and you know about how big your arrangement should be, you're ready to put it all together.
For this one you'll need some styrofoam, a few containers, 1 floral stem per arrangement, and a filler. (I used some scrap paper and put it through the shredder.)

Hot glue your styrofoam into your container. Trim the stem to the appropriate height. (Be sure you include the height of the container in your measurement from above and don't forget to use a wire cutter for this! Most floral stems will have wire inside them!) Stick your floral into the center of the foam.

Add your filler to cover the foam and you're done. How easy was that?!?

Here are the two I made to go above my stove in the kitchen!

Now for this one, you'll need a large glass container, 5-6 coordinating stems, and 3 emphasis stems. Don't forget you're filler. I used river rocks for this one. It helps to weigh down the bottom, both visually and physically.

Place your coordinating stems in the back and along the sides to essentially make a backdrop for your focal stems. Then place your focal stems in front of those. Vary the height of them slightly. You'll see that I cut two of the red stems to be a few inches shorter than the one that's front and center. (This adds a little variety, part of the Harmony principle.) Place them in front of your "backdrop" and you're done!

Congratulations! You've completed Floral Design 101! I can't wait to see what you make!

Happy Crafting!

Winner is...

2009-02-17T07:54:00.002-06:00

According to Random.org the winner is:

Here are your random numbers:6
Timestamp: 2009-02-17 13:55:12 UTC

Which means that the winner is:

So Stacey, email me your address (erinschlosser (at) schlosserdesigns (dot) com)and I'll get that Hey Cupcake set right out to you. Congratulations!

Want to make sure you get every post?

2009-02-10T19:22:00.002-06:00

You can now sign up to get all posts by email through Feedburner. Just enter your email in the box towards the bottom of the left column and follow the instructions to make sure that you never miss an announcement or giveaway! Like this one:

Sign up for Feedburner, leave me a comment letting me know that you did, and be sure to tell me which one of my stamp sets is your favorite. You can find them in the Schlosser Designs Store. I'll randomly choose one person from among those who signed up and commented to win their favorite stamp set! (There are a few people that have already signed up. If so, leave me a comment to confirm that you did, and let me know which stamp set is your favorite.)

How easy is that?!? So, just sign up for emails, let me know which one is your favorite, and check back Monday February 16th for the winner! Good luck everyone!

Tutorial Tuesday-Super Quick Valentine's Day Cards

2009-02-10T18:49:00.003-06:00

Thank you everyone for such wonderful, encouraging comments! I truly appreciate all of them!

Today's project is super quick. Just print the PDF on cardstock (download here), cut down the middle, embellish as needed, and you've got two Valentine's Day cards. I love how simple they are, and I love how the text plays with the positive and negative space. Try tying a ribbon around, or adding a few rhinestones. Next week I've got a quick home decor project and a mini floral arrangement lesson for you!

And if you're wondering why the project is so super quick today, it's because I'm working on some new items for the store, like more stamp sets and a new sewing pattern! I am SO excited! They're looking great! I can't wait to share them with you soon!

Happy Crafting!

Tutorial Tuesday-Valentine's Pillow Boxes

2009-02-03T17:15:00.004-06:00

Here's another quick valentine's day project for you! This one is super easy and fast!
It's a cute little Valentine's Day pillow box.

Just download the PDF by clicking here. It includes one complete box and four sentiment hearts for the front. They say:
SWAK
Love, me
Happy Valentine's Day
XOXOX

The PDF will look like this:

All you'll need is:
1 sheet of cardstock per box
12"-15" of coordinating ribbon
foam tape

Just cut around the edge of the box, fold the bottom and top on the slightly curved line, fold the tab and use double sided tape to close the box. Tie a ribbon around the box, and use foam tape to adhere your sentiment onto the front! You're done! They'll fit a few candies, or a cookie! Yum!

Happy Crafting!

Tutorial Tuesday - Valentines Treasures

2009-01-26T23:59:00.001-06:00

I am super excited! I have sooooo many downloads for you today! I've got a project, card, AND a Valentine's Day font for you! All FREE! And a sale in my shop if you don't have any of the cute silver DVD tins for storing your treasures in!

All the papers and labels needed for this project can be downloaded. In addition to the label PDF here and the case cover PDF here you'll need 1 bag of Hershey's Treasures and 1 DVD tin, some double sided tape, and glitter if you want a little sparkle.

I used the Diamond Stickles. This color is awesome because it takes on the color of whatever you put it on, essentially getting many different colors from one bottle. You'll see in the close-ups below!

Yep, that's all the same Stickles color! I love how it's red, and light pink!

So here's what you do:
Print out the labels onto sheets of Avery label #18160 or #8160. (It's the standard size 1" x 2 5/8" white mailing labels. I like printing them out on regular paper first and then stacking a blank label sheet and the printout on top of each other; hold them to the light to make sure they'll print correctly and are lined up. If they are, go ahead and print onto the sticky labels.)
Cut out the background paper and adhere with double sided tape onto the storage tin. Cut out the sentiment you'd like to use. There are three included that say:
You're Sweet
Happy Valentine's Day
I Love You
(I used the two extra I didn't use on the tin to make a card. They fit great on the front of a standard sized card!)

Next, I used the Stickles to embellish a few of the labels and the hearts on the sentiment. After they've dried, just use some foam tape to adhere the sentiment to the front of the tin.

Wrap all the nuggets in the labels, place in your tin, and you're done.

If you'd like the tins I've got with the rounded corners, you can buy them from my store.
Don't forget to use the coupon code "VAL09" at checkout to get 20% off your entire purchase!

If you like the font that I used in the I Love You sentiment with the hearts cut out, you can download it here. I made it with a free font making website called Your Fonts.

Once again, leave me a comment if you make the project! I'd love to see how yours turn out! If you want a different color scheme let me know and I'll see what I can do!

Edited: Also, I've had a few emails about the printout not lining up with the labels. Make sure that when you print, it's not scaling to print, or fitting to page. Usually printers will default to this setting. If you uncheck the box that says that, it will print at the exact size, which will allow it to line up correctly.
That should be all it takes to get you going on your project!

Happy Valentine's Crafting!

Tuesday Tutorial: Valentines Day Wreath

2009-01-20T09:43:00.001-06:00

Ready to get those Valentine's Day decorations up yet? I'm ready! So here's the first idea for you! It's a wrapped yarn heart-shaped wreath.
Supplies you'll need include:
That's:
Tacky Glue
1 package 2" diameter styrofoam balls
1 package 1 1/2" diameter styrofoam balls
Bendable wire
Wire cutters
Flat-head straight pins
2 skeins of coordinating yarn. I LOVED how the variegated red/pink yarn looked when wrapped around the balls! So I would definitely do one of these, and a different solid color to coordinate.
Coordinating ribbon for hanging (not pictured)

Ready to get started?

Wrap the yarn around the balls. I was worried that getting it started wrapping would be challenging, but the yarn kind of held onto the styrofoam texture and I didn't need any additional adhesive to keep it on. Now randomly wrap the yarn all around the ball until you can't see the styrafoam anymore. When you're done wrapping, trim the yarn and put a small dot of tacky glue on the end. I used the straight pin to hold it in place while it was drying. (I had intended to remove the pins when the glue was dry, but the heads were really tiny, so I just left them stuck inside. You can't see them.) You'll have a pile of these when you're done. I did half of each bag a different color.
If you let one get away, they apparently make great cat toys! I had to reclaim one of my pink ones!
Now, layout how you'd like them to look like when you're finished.

Then cut a 4 1/2' length of wire. String the yarn balls onto the wire and shape it into the heart shape.
When you get the ends back together, just wrap the wires around each other.
(Close up of wires.) Then trim.
Tie the coordinating ribbon onto the top of the heart, directly onto the wire. Hang you're finished wreath!
How easy was that? Wrapping the balls is what took the longest, but I did it while I was watching a movie. Once you get the hang of it you can pretty much do it without looking. Shaping the wreath took no time at all! Let me know if you made one, I'd love to see it!
Happy Crafting!

Tutorial Tuesday-Simple Birthday Cards

2009-01-13T20:26:00.002-06:00

One of my news years resolutions was to make sure I didn't miss ANY family birthdays. I did really good the first part of last year, but petered off towards the end. (I always called them, it's just that getting a card made and sent out sometimes was a little much.) So, I spent a Friday night and made birthday cards for everyone in one night. Now I just need to put them into envelopes and I'll be ready for an entire year of birthdays! Below are two of the ones I did. To keep it simple I used the same layout and just switched the papers depending on who it was for.

I used a layout from my Project Recipe Book. You can read more about the project book by clicking here. It's a great tool to have and makes it super easy to create cards and scrapbook pages! The Happy Birthday sentiment is from the Hey Cupcake set.

Get ready for some Valentine's Day crafting next week!
Happy Crafting!

Fabric Bowl Pattern Winner

2009-01-10T21:32:00.003-06:00

So I made a little mistake when I posted the reminder about the giveaway. I made the entire sentence the same color as the link. So some giveaway entrants left posts at the bottom of this post, and others left their comment at the bottom of this post. Sorry! Because of my error, I will giveaway a pattern free to one from each post.
According to the:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2009-01-11 03:32:16 UTC

Which means that the winners are the #2 commenter from both posts:

Congrats to The Duchess and Melissa! Please email me at erinschlosser (at) schlosserdesigns (dot) com and I'll send you a coupon for a free download from my store. For those that didn't win, you can go to the link here to purchase the pattern!

See you soon!

Modern Fabric Bowls

2009-01-07T19:31:00.005-06:00

It's in stock now! With the pattern you can make either of these wonderfully modern fabric bowls! It's a PDF available for download in the
Schlosser Designs store. For only $3 you can download the pattern immediately! (No shipping and handling either!) The download includes 11 pages of instructions and the patterns with over 15 full color pictures to help you along the process.

The pattern is for personal use only, however, if you sew and make items for craft fairs and bazaars you're more than welcome to use the pattern for making limited runs of the bowls. (Just nothing mass produced please!) Have an awesome day!

Don't forget to leave me a comment at the bottom of the post here to enter to win the pattern for FREE!

Happy Crafting!

Edited: This giveaway is over but you're more than welcome to leave a comment!

Sorry for the delay, but it's worth the wait!

2009-01-06T19:44:00.006-06:00

Here's some sneak peaks of the tutorial for this week! I think you're going to like it!

Fabric Bowls

For my birthday one of my super crafty friends Emily gave me some coveted fabric fortune cookies, straight out of her new Etsy shop, Momma's Apron Strings. I knew that not just any container could hold these great little cookies so I looked around trying to find a great fabric bowl to make. I found a few patterns, but none were what I was looking for, so I created my own!

Don't you just love the slightly curved top? I can't wait to make more! I'm thinking they can hold cotton balls in the bathroom, knick knacks in the laundry room, spare bits of craft parts, keys by the front door, it's endless! And, they don't take much time at all to make. Once I got the pattern worked out it took me about an hour to make 3 of them!

I'm still typing up and editing the photos for the tutorial. I'm somewhat of a detail oriented person so I wanted to make sure everything was just right and won't have it ready tonight, but tomorrow night for sure!

I'm also going to try something a little different. Due to the time (20+ hours) and materials (Lots of fabric and interfacing) I went through, trying to get this pattern just right I will be offering this one for sale at a small cost. The cost will only be $3 for the pattern. It will include detailed instructions with pictures (because pictures ALWAYS help!), full size pattern, and a few different variations. I hope it won't keep you from making them. It will be available tomorrow night in my shop as a PDF download. I'll post here when it's up in the store!

And how about this:

Leave me a comment at the bottom of this post and let me know what you think about the bowls and I'll randomly pick a comment Saturday and the winner gets a FREE pattern sent to them! (If the winner has already purchased the pattern by Saturday because they just couldn't wait to make some I'll refund you the purchase price.)

Happy Crafting!

Edited: The giveaway is over but you're more than welcome to leave me a comment still. Don't forget to subscribe to the Blog feed so you don't miss out on the next giveaway.

Tutorial Tuesday: Happy New Year!

2008-12-30T22:10:00.002-06:00

I hope everyone had a most wonderful Christmas! I'm still trying to fight off this cold that I got the day after Christmas. At least it waited until after Christmas to show it's ugly face! Anyway, I'm super excited about next weeks tutorial. Think home decor!

So until next week, here's a printable calendar for you! Here's the preview below.
You can download the PDF by clicking here. Just print it on cardstock without scaling or fitting to page. If you trim the page in half you'll have two calendars. One to keep and one to give to a friend. You could also print it onto fabric like this and border it in a coordinating fabric and have a nice hanging calendar for the year. I did a girly color scheme and a little more manly color scheme. (I got my fabric for my printer at Hobby Lobby. Most any craft store should have some!) If there are some other color schemes you'd like, let me know and I can recolor a few!

Happy New Year!!!

Updating the Blog

2008-12-19T19:49:00.002-06:00

If it looks a little odd, please let me know! I'm trying to update things a little and will slowly work on updating the template and tutorial pages with images so you don't have to click on each link to see the project! Have a great Friday night!

Glittered Brads and Great Gift Boxes

2008-12-16T16:31:00.006-06:00

I started with this:
2 silver brads, glitter, and a glue pad

Just tap the glue pad on the tops of the brads and sprinkle with glitter! Now I have glitter brads!

I made them to put onto this gift box...but I decided to just go with a red velvet ribbon instead.... You can download the template here. It's my little pizza box template from last year! If you print it slightly larger than 100% it will fit a gift card! Also great for jewelry or one cookie for a teacher or coworker gift!

Happy Crafting!

Tutorial Tuesday: Patchwork Pillow

2008-12-16T16:23:00.004-06:00

Yep, lucky you! More tutorials today! (I still have a few more also!) I made this for my dad for Christmas. He loves family history, and he's furnishing his home in Germany right now so I thought he might like this:

My maiden name is Williamson so I found a Williamson family crest online, made it a little larger in Photoshop then printed it out onto printable fabric. You can buy these fabric sheets at most any craft store. They are 8 1/2" x 11" sheets of white or cream fabric with a paper backing on it. You just run them through your printer at home and heat set with an iron. The color turned out great!

If you want to make one here's the pieces you'll need for the front:

You'll also need one fat quarter for the back. I used 1/4" seams for this project. After you cut and piece the front together just cut a piece of backing fabric the same size as the front. Place the front and back right sides together and sew around the edge leaving a hole with enough room to turn out and to stuff. Just clip the corners, turn it out, stuff, and sew up the bottom! The finished size is about 15" square.

Happy Crafting!

Tutorial Tuesday: Fat Quarter Accent Pillows

2008-12-16T16:09:00.003-06:00

Oh the weather outside is frightful..... It's been a icy, cold day here in Texas. It was too icy to go into work so I used today to finish up all the Christmas gifts I've been working on. I even took a quick break from making gifts and whipped up some quick new pillows for my sofa:
I LOVE this fabric and it has the colors of my home decor in it!

Want to make some? It took me about an hour to make both! Here's how:

You'll need 4 fat quarters total. 2 of the front fabric and 2 of the back fabric
Polyfill stuffing for the inside

I just took my fat quarters and made 18" squares with them. Pin a back and a front piece together with right sides facing. Stitch around the outside of your square and leave about 4" open for stuffing it. (I left my hole in the bottom middle. That way if your hand stitching isn't great the pillow will be sitting on top of it.) Clip the corners and turn it right sides out. Stuff the pillow and hand sew up the bottom and you're finished! This went SO fast and I was so excited to get these done that I forgot to take pictures of the process. If you have any questions just comment and I'll be happy to answer them!

Happy Christmas Crafting!

Merry Soaps Updated

2008-12-11T07:55:00.003-06:00

Just a quick note to let you know that the Merry Soaps post has been updated with the word art I used for the inside of the bottles.

Merry Soaps

2008-12-10T19:34:00.004-06:00

I know it was just yesterday that we made yummy Krispy treats but here's another great, simple, quick gift.
I asked my husband to help me name this tutorial and he suggested
Merry Soaps: so here it is!

I started with the $1 bottle of soap from Wal-mart. (For your project, any clear soap will do, as long as the label is easy to remove, and there's no printing on the actual plastic bottle. This had a sticker on the front and the back but they were easily removed.)

Print out a few words onto a transparency with a laser printer. (Don't use your inkjet printer because the ink is NOT waterproof. Print out what you'd like and take it to your local copy center and have them make a copy onto a transparency.) I made my images about 3" high by 2 1/2" wide. After I cut them out, I trimmed them down by holding them up to the bottle to get the approximate size. I also rounded the corners which made it look a little nicer. To insert it into the bottle just roll it up and stick it into the top. It will unroll by itself once it's inside the bottle. If you need to adjust it at all just use the pump. When it's in the right spot, just screw the top back on with the pump behind the transparency. Tie a ribbon and you're done!

And, I left work so quickly today to catch my train that I forgot to email the word art to myself so I could post it to share with you. As soon as I get it tomorrow I'll edit the post with the link, then you can download the words I used above and use those if you want. :)

Edited: Here's the link for the downloadable PDF. When you download it, just print at normal scale and it will print to the correct size. A preview of the file is below. You can make 8 different soap bottles with the file. Download it here.

Have fun!

Tutorial Tuesday: Krispy Treat Gifts

2008-12-09T19:31:00.006-06:00

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I had a LONG week last week so I was glad to get some relaxing and crafting done. I had a mini crisis when I realized Christmas is almost here! (Or at least, the time to send out all packages so that they get to family in time!) At work we use Photoshop a lot but I've been trying to use Illustrator a little more so today's tutorial I created for you in Adobe Illustrator! I hope you like it! This is a simple gift that would be great for neighbors or a stocking stuffer. It's also great for those that work. I've been taking it to work and it can be made in the microwave!

It's a perfect single sized serving of deliciousness!

For each package you'll need:
1 1/2 cups rice krispies
1 1/2-2 cups mini marshmallows
1 sandwich bag
1 snack size bag

Just add the rice krispies to the sandwich bag and the marshmallows to the snack size bag and layer together like the photo above. Then fold the ends on the top in slightly and staple. Print out the package with instructions here. (I used a piece of white cardstock. It's in a PDF format. Be sure that when you print it you DON'T tell it to scale it or print to fit page. It's just the right size so if you print it at 100% it will work perfectly!) After you print it, just cut down the middle and fold each piece. You'll have two pieces that are 8 1/2" x 5 1/2". Staple to the top and you're done! Super easy!

This is what the back looks like.
This is a preview of what the download looks like. Be sure to print it out from here though. If you click on the image and try saving and printing it may not print out the correct size!

The only thing the person that receives this needs is one tablespoon of butter and they will have a yummy treat!

Happy Crafting!

P.S. Look for more posts this week as I realize that I've got more Christmas related posts than there are Tuesdays before Christmas! So we'll be having more tutorials than just today. I've got a few more gifts, and some home decor. All easy of course!

See you soon!

Tutorial Tuesday - Tile Transfer Art

2008-11-24T20:18:00.011-06:00

I wanted to post this earlier, but it took me a little longer than usual to write up this tutorial. Don't let the long list of instructions keep you from doing it, it's actually pretty easy and definitely worth it! Here's some examples of what you can make with this tutorial:

Set of 4" tile coasters. (A little boutique store nearby sells a set similar to this for $40. Each tile only costs about .50 so you can make them MUCH cheaper yourself!)
I made this tile for me to take to work. I have it sitting on my desk so anytime I want I can peek over and see my husband! It's a little more durable, and I think better looking than putting him in a picture frame! It's also a 4" size tile. (How cute is he?!? He also wanted me to let everyone know that he doesn't really have a big black spot on his forehead...it's a small hole in the tile.)

This is the one I'll show you with my tutorial pictures. I made this for a birthday present for a friend who LOVES french things! This is a 6" square tile.

Ready for the supplies?

Tumbled marble tiles. They have these at Home Depot, Lowes, or any other flooring store. Make sure you get the tumbled ones. This will NOT work on tiles that are really smooth and polished. There needs to be some roughness for the transfer to work properly. (See close up below for what it will look like.)

1 jar each of these: Golden Gel Medium (Heavy Gel Matte) and Golden Medium (Matte Medium) These will be the most expensive part of the list, but they will make a TON of tiles! I use my 40% off coupons for Michaels when I buy these. You'll find them by the canvas and acrylic colors.
1 image printed backwards on a LASER printer. (Don't print it at home unless you have a laser copier. Most people, like me, have an inkjet printer.) Just print it out and take to a copy place and have them copy it for you. It doesn't have to be on a special type of paper, regular copy paper is fine.

1 baking sheet lined with newspaper
1 foam paint brush
1 clean sponge (I use the regular side, not the extra abrasive side.)
1 sheet of thin cork (this is only if you make the coasters)

Ok, now you've got your supplies so let's get started!

-Wash and thoroughly air dry your tiles. This will get off any dust from the tumbling process.
-While letting the tiles dry, print out your image and trim down to the size of your tile, plus 1/4" edges. (If you're tile is 6", trim it to 6 1/2" x 6 1/2". If it's a 4" tile trim to 4 1/2" x 4 1/2".)
-When the tile is dry, paint the front, back, and all sides with a coat of the Golden Medium-Matte Medium and let dry.
-When the tile is dry from the acrylic, put a fairly thick coat of the GEL medium directly onto the paper leaving the 1/4" margin around all sides. I tried to show you what your thick coat and margin should look like in the picture below:
Your paper will probably curl up a little bit but that's ok.
Here's the finished Gelled up paper. (I don't think gelled is a word...but you know what I mean!)
Turn your tile upside down and center onto your gelled up paper. By lining up the tile on the paper it's easier to center your tile with the image.

Once it's positioned, turn it over and use a brayer to press down the paper onto the tile and make sure there are NO air bubbles. (Just to clarify. The acrylic on the tile will be dry, but the acrylic gel on the paper will still be wet.)

After you've done that it's time to bake your tile. Place your tile (like seen below) onto your newspaper lined baking sheet. Put it into the oven for 15 minutes at a temperature of 200 degrees F. Basically what happens here is that the acrylic on the tile and the acrylic on the paper bake together and bring the laser toner with it.

When the 15 minutes is up, take the tile out of the oven and transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 15 or 20 minutes. (The time here is not critical, so you could leave this sitting for a day or two and it won't affect the outcome.)

Next, transfer the tile to a work surface covered in scrap paper. Grab your sponge and a small bowl of water. Get the sponge wet and start to wet the paper. You'll start to see the image come through when the paper is wet....we want to remove the paper and the image will appear! This is the fun part!

Here's where a few layers of the paper have been sponged off and you can see the image transferred onto the tile. Keep slowly removing the paper until you've got the majority of it off.

Sometimes it helps to let it dry for a minute or two so you can see better where the paper still needs to be removed. If you look at the picture below you can see a few paper fibers hanging onto the black part still, it's where it looks a little cloudy. If it looks like this it's fine. When we put the finished coat of acrylic on it, the few paper fibers left will disappear.

*Notes on removing the paper: Don't rub too hard and make sure your paper is fairly wet. It doesn't have to be dripping, but if it's fairly wet it will make it easier to remove without damaging the acrylic layer.

After removing all the paper and paper fibers, put another 1-2 coats of the Golden Medium-Matte Medium onto the tile and you've got a completed tile. This makes a great gift! Try printing out Christmas images or quotes to make holiday decorations for yourself too!

If you decide to do coasters, place a thin sheet of cork, cut to fit, on the back so they don't scratch your furniture.

*Because the acrylic melts with heat, if you make the coasters, please don't use them with hot drinks. Also don't use them as trivets either or your image will be stuck to the bottom of your hot dish.

If you have any questions please leave me a comment and I'll respond and try to clarify anything that may have been confusing.

Happy Crafting!

Tutorial Tuesday X2! Cookie Cutters

2008-11-18T08:01:00.000-06:00

We had a church activity for some of the 11 year old boys this past weekend and I wanted to make a special treat to bring....so I decided to make little tie-shaped sugar cookies. (Let me go ahead and warn you, I am not and have never claimed to be a good icing decorator! Please don't laugh too hard at my icing technique! :) As my husband said "It's ok, everyone has a brown and green polka dot tie in the back of their closet somewhere!")

Ok, back to the tutorial. Here's the finished product!

Here's the main item you'll need. This is in the plumbing section at your local hardware store. It bends fairly easily and is ideal for more simple shapes. (Making lots of curves or very intricate shapes will probably not work too well with this method.)

As usual, this doesn't take long at all! In fact, I made this in the car while waiting for my husband's carpool which was running a little late.
I drew my shape on a napkin and then bent the metal to the shape.

Once I got home I used a tin cutter to snip the shape off of the roll. I held it together with a small binder clip and it worked great. (I also learned that if I wanted to spend about $8 I could buy a rivet gun which would also have worked well to hold the cookie cutter together. For a more permanent solution this would probably work great!) The metal was only about $1.50 for a whole 10 ft. so there's plenty left for making more cookie cutters!

Happy Tutorial Tuesday!

Tutorial Tuesday - Handmade Memory Game

2008-11-18T07:32:00.001-06:00

This is a really simple project also and GREAT for a handmade Christmas gift! You can very easily adapt it for different age levels as well. This one is a fairly simple match the pattern game. For a little more difficult version, try printing out upper and lowercase letters, or pictures and the matching words. Or even match the english word with the spanish or french word. (Told you it's easily adaptable!)

Here's what you'll need:
A few packages of these:
-Wooden squares. I used two packages for the one I made. Originally I had wanted the squares to be larger than 1 1/4" square and was going to order some from here. At the last minute I decided to just make them smaller. I found these at Hobby Lobby. Most craft stores will have them. However, if it's for a fairly young child, the bigger ones might be better for their hands to grasp.
-You'll also need some white paint. I painted them with acrylic paint, you can also spray paint them.
-Scraps of patterned paper. (I say scraps because that's exactly what I used. Each paper piece I put on was a 1" square)
-Mod Podge (or another adhesive)
-Krylon Shiny clear coat finish.

So, just paint the front and back of the tiles. We're trying to make the back side as uniform as possible. Even a slight difference can detract from matching the pieces.

For each match cut out two 1" square of paper (or alphabet, or whatever you decide to make it with.)

Use the mod podge to adhere the paper to the tile, adhering one piece to each tile.

When this is dry, give it a few coats of Krylon clear coat to finish it off. Don't forget to use the clear coat on BOTH sides, not just the side that has the paper on it.

If you're really crafty, you can make a little drawstring bag to store them in. (I wanted to, but didn't have time.) This is such a small game that I could see this being carried around for waiting rooms in the doctors office or other such occasions.

Here is my pile of finished matching tiles.
Close-up. I love how the clear coat really gave it a smooth finished look!

The entire project took me about an hour, not including the clear coat drying time. And the only thing I didn't have on hand was the wooden tiles, which I spent $3!

Happy Crafting!

Tutorial Tuesday-Easy Home Decor Blocks

2008-11-11T15:31:00.003-06:00

Happy Tuesday! Here's the quick tutorial for today:

What you need:
Wood scraps, spray paint, cardstock, and cardstock stickers. (I used this one which I bought from my local scrapbook store: It's called Fall Cardstock Stickers from the Timeless Collection for Deja Views.)

Here's what I did:
1. Spray painted some wood scraps that I found in the garage a nice chocolate brown.
2. Peel off the cardstock stickers and place onto a piece of coordinating colored cardstock.
3. Trim around cardstock to make a border and adhere to your wood block. Easy as that!

If you can't get a hold of the exact page, any fall themed sticker will do. Also try printing a quote directly onto a piece of patterned paper. Any of these will give you a quick, easy, fall decor item.

Happy Crafting!

The Winner is...

2008-11-08T20:21:00.001-06:00

Straight from Random.org:

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2008-11-09 02:20:50 UTC

Congrats Emily! I'll email you and get the details of which papers and embossing you'd like!

Thanks everyone for playing! I've been crafting lots today and will shortly post some new fall decor projects!

Tutorial Tuesday: Holiday Cards plus Giveaway!

2008-11-04T20:17:00.005-06:00

The holidays will be here before we know it, and if you're like me, you might just wait until the last minute to make those holiday and Christmas cards. Here's a few ideas I whipped up that look great, but take a minimal amount of supplies and time to create! For all the embossing I used my Cuttlebug. If you don't have an embosser, try paper that is already embossed, or just a nice pattern will work great also. The sentiment on all say: may every day of this new year bring you a reason to celebrate. I just printed these directly onto the cardstock with my printer. That way, you can create any sentiment you want, and aren't just limited to what stamps you have on hand already.

Giveaway! It's been a while since I've done one...so here's the giveaway. Leave me a post and just say hi. Let me know know what you would like to see more of. (Examples include, paper crafting projects, sewing, home decor, gift ideas, or anything else that fancies you) I'll use the Random Generator to pick from among the comments. Leave a comment by Friday, November 7th. I'll pick a winner on Saturday. Here's what you win:

I'll emboss your choice of colored paper with any of the embossing folders I have and send those to you. This is great if you don't have a Cuttlebug and want some fun papers! I'll emboss enough 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" sheets for you to do 25 Holiday cards. I'll use any of the embossing folders I have and send those out to you. So, just leave me a comment, let me know what you'd like to see more of, and I'll pick a winner that will get their choice of paper color and embossing! I'll get the paper, emboss, and ship to the winner! How easy is that?!?

Happy Crafting! I'll have some more sewing patterns again soon. I'm working out the final touches now! Don't forget to leave a comment to enter the giveaway! See you soon!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-30T20:35:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Halloween!

Don't forget to enter in the coupon code TREAT08 in the store for your orders over $20. You get free shipping! It expires tomorrow night, so use it before you turn back into a pumpkin. :)

I can't wait until next week as I've got some GREAT fall and holiday ideas and tutorials I've been working on. I'm super excited about these!!! There's decor tutorials, and gift ideas....and lots more! Yea! See you then!

Tutorial Tuesday-Spooky Shadow Box

2008-10-21T19:29:00.003-05:00

This is another super quick one!

Supplies needed:
Shadow Box (get these at pretty much any craft store, even Target and Wal-mart have them)
Foam Tape
Spooky Patterned Paper

Instructions:
Cut the patterned paper to fit into the back of your shadow box.
Print from your photo editing program a spooky phrase. I used the Bleeding Cowboys font and printed it onto orange paper.
Stack about 4 squares of foam tape to each other and tape your phrase to the back. You're finished!

Try adding a spider to the front, or a few gravestones. You have lots of space to work with, so make sure you use things with different depths to take advantage of that!

Happy Crafting!

Halloween Treats for You!

2008-10-21T18:55:00.003-05:00

I love treats! So in honor of the spooky holiday of Halloween, I'm having a special treat for you at my store: Schlosser Designs

Starting now, through Halloween night, October 31, 2008 you can get FREE shipping on any order of $20.00 or more. (The total must be $20 before tax.) I always have free shipping on orders over $40.00 but everyone needs treats of the non-sugar variety sometimes!

When you check out just use the coupon code: TREAT08 and the cart will automatically give you FREE shipping on your orders over $20.00. If you've been waiting for the right time to try some of the clear stamps now is the time!

Here is a couple of ideas to get your order to $20.00:

1 stamp set $12.50
1 project recipe book $10.00
TOTAL: $22.50

1 stamp set $12.50
2 hinged storage tins $4.50 each (these DVD sized metal tins are great for making mini brag books!)
TOTAL: $21.50

2 stamp sets $12.50 each
TOTAL: $25.00

1 stamp set $12.50
1 mounting block starter set $5.50
1 borders mounting block $5.50
TOTAL: $23.50

So, have fun shopping!

Ack! Please forgive me!

2008-10-14T22:32:00.003-05:00

I'm so sorry I didn't post a Tutorial Tuesday today! I honestly have no idea where the time went to and with family coming into town tomorrow I had to clean out the guest room and guest bathroom. Don't worry! I'll be crafting with them and there's a few things in my sketch book I hope to do this week! Thank you everyone for the great comments that have been posted and emailed to me. I truly appreciate it! See you soon!

Tutorial Tuesday-Googly Eye Wreath

2008-10-07T17:16:00.004-05:00

I LOVE the googly eyes that you buy at the craft store. What better time to use them than Halloween time! So today's project is a spooky googly eye wreath. It rained last night so I took the picture inside on my pantry door. (I usually have a wreath hanging there too. Who said that you could only use wreath hangers on your outside doors!) I bought the wreath at Michaels using my 40% off coupon.

Items you'll need:

1 wreath
Glue gun
1 can black flat/matte finish spray paint
1 bottle each green and purple acrylic paint
googly eyes in various sizes (my Michaels had a bag with a variety of sizes for about $2)

First, paint your brown wreath to make it a nice spooky black. I used the flat finish paint so it wouldn't look so glossy and unnatural.

After it is dry I used a foam brush with a little of the purple and lime paint on it and painted some streaks of color on the wreath. You can see it best in the bottom picture. Don't worry about picking just one or two branches and painting the entire thing. Streaks here and there are just fine!
Then glue gun your googly eyes onto your wreath. I paired mine together so at night it looks like little creepies looking at you from the wreath. Next time I'll probably add some glow in the dark paint streaks also!

Every time I say googly eyes I'm reminded of this skit:

Happy Crafting!

Fabric Pumpkin Update!

2008-10-05T18:29:00.005-05:00

Thank you so much everyone for all your comments! I appreciate all of them! I've worked out an alternate top for the fabric pumpkin pattern. This top involves much less hand stitching, well, actually none. If you don't remember how to do a blanket stitch, or want to get your cute little pumpkins done faster than this pattern is for you!

Download here.

It also involves some slight changes when you're sewing your pumpkin. The changes are as follows:

Once you get your pieces cut out, sew them together so you have two groups of three pieces. This will give you two halves of the pumpkin. Below is one half of the pumpkin.
Then, sew up the stem with right sides facing each other. Clip the corners and turn right side out. Stuff the pumpkin stem and then pin it in between your two halves of the pumpkin. This is shown below. It's a little hard to see, but the stuffed pumpkin stem is between the two halves there.

Then sew along the edges and turn your pumpkin right side out. You're pumpkin will now have a little stuffed stem on top. Continue to follow the rest of the instructions from the original post here.

*Also included in the pattern above is an alternate felt pumpkin stem pattern that is more straight.
Enjoy!

Tutorial Tuesday-Quick Napkin Rings

2008-09-30T07:03:00.001-05:00

Alright, how about another super quick project? I found this awesome clear transparency "paper" from Hambly Prints (I love Hambly Prints!) and thought it would look really fallish with an orange background. Is fallish a word? Anyway, here are the directions:

Cut a 12" long, 1 1/2" wide strip of the orange paper. Cut in half and this will be the base for two napkin rings.
Cut a 12" long, 1" wide strip of the transparency paper. Cut this one in half as well.

From here, you can make the more modern one, or the one with the ribbon.

Modern: Wrap around and staple. All done!

Ribbon: Set two eyelets about 1/4" inside of the ends. Tie with a coordinating ribbon. Done!

These will make great, simple party decorations. Use Halloween paper, or bold geometric paper for a birthday! If your napkins are patterned, try using a colored vellum... that way you get a little of the pattern showing through.
Happy Crafting!

Tutorial Page Updated

2008-09-28T15:52:00.002-05:00

I just updated the Tutorial Page today with some more fun Halloween projects from last year. So be sure to check out the following projects:

Quick & Easy Accent Pillows

Halloween Wall Art (I used some papers that were available last year, these can easily be substituted out, depending on the look you want.)

Tutorial Tuesday-Embellished Candles

2008-09-23T07:14:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's time for Tutorial Tuesday already! This week's project will only take you about 1 minute. Yep, only one minute! For this project you'll need the following:

Candles (Any color will work. Since the embellishments are NOT flame proof it doesn't matter too much what they smell like because we're not going to light them. Mine are peppermint, leftover from projects last Christmas.)

Halloween/Fall themed ribbon

Scotch Transfer Tape (The red Tacky tape will work too.)

Now, cut a ribbon piece slightly longer than the circumference of your candle, put tape on the back, and tape the ribbon onto the candle. Done.
Hint: Try layering different widths of coordinated ribbon for a different look. This one has a wider black ribbon, with a smaller purple ribbon on top.
This ribbon was from Michael's. The ribbon in their $1 bin is the perfect length to make 1 or 2 of these candles. These would make great little I'm Thinking of You gifts for neighbors and co-workers as well! Happy Crafting!

Quick Glitter Card

2008-09-21T19:06:00.005-05:00

It's been a while since I featured a card so here's a quick one for you:
How did I get that fun green glitter accent you ask? I found this awesome tape at the craft store! It's CLEAR mounting tape. It's as strong as the foam mounting tape, but clear instead!
To make the card I cut a overhead transparency in half, cut a piece of white cardstock slightly smaller, and ran the paper through the Cuttlebug to give it a little dotted texture. Isn't it cute! Then, just run a stripe of the clear tape up the front of the card, sprinkle on glitter, and your glitter border is done. It's that simple.
Stamp the border and "Thanks" sentiment from the Borders and Corners stamp set, cut out, adhere, and you're done!
I LOVE how the glitter has a transparent feel to it, since it's adhered to a clear backing! Happy Crafting! I've got another quick Halloween project for Tutorial Tuesday! See you then!

Tutorial: Fabric Pumpkins

2008-09-09T17:40:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I think I'm ready for fall, and in a pumpkin mood.... So here's today's tutorial!

Fabric Pumpkins

These ones will last you just as long as the pumpkin pets in the previous post, and are a little more lightweight. :) You'll need these three PDF's:

Pattern: Panel

Pattern: Stem

Tutorial Instructions

The finished size is about 7" around (not including the stem.)

You can enlarge the patterns to make different sized pumpkins. I'm working on one about twice as large and will post a separate pattern for that one very shortly. The larger one will also have a fabric stem as opposed to a felted wool stem. (Thanks to my friend Celia for letting me borrow some felt from her stash!!) Leave me a comment if you use it. I'd love to see what everyone creates! Happy crafting!

Updated: I added a new pumpkin stem pattern in a new post. There are two patterns. One is for a more straight stem that involves no blanket stitch, and the other is for a felt one that is a little more straight. Find the new post here.

Pet Pumpkin Rocks

2008-09-06T16:42:00.003-05:00

So my husband and I carved our pumpkins a little early. :) Why you wonder? Because these are our little Pet Pumpkin Rocks and they will last until Halloween!

See that one in the back there? The one with the vampire teeth? His name is Edward. :)

So these are SUPER easy to make. You know me, I keep my projects short and simple. The longest time for this one is waiting for the paint to dry.

Here's what you need:

1 can each Orange and Green Spray paint
Various sizes and shapes medium sized rocks for the pumpkins
Smaller rocks for the stems
Sharpie Permanent Marker
E6000 adhesive

To get started, wash and scrub your rocks well and let them dry. Then paint them their respective colors. (This was the hardest part...waiting for them to dry!)

After they are dry, use your Sharpie to "carve" the pumpkins. It's ok if your rocks aren't perfectly round. Just use their shape to inspire your carvings. The pixelated face is one my husband did, see how the rock is almost a rectangle. And the happy toothy grin on the one next to it was done on a different side of the rock.

(To keep it as realistic as possible you can also use a yellow paint pen and make sure that the shapes you use are actually ones that you would carve.) Then use the E6000 adhesive to add the stems to your pet pumpkins and you're finished. If you're putting these outside, spray a clear coat of finish to protect your carving.

If you make your own I'd love to post a link here for others to enjoy. Just let me know when you post the picture and I'll link it right up!

And... here's a sneak peek of the tutorial for Tuesday! Enjoy!

Come for a free Make and Take!!!

2008-08-28T21:33:00.002-05:00

Short notice, but this Saturday night at the Local Scrapbook Store, Scrappin' Bunnies, I'll be hosting a FREE make and take! We'll be getting you started early on holiday gifts. So if you live in the area I'd LOVE to see you there. Here's the specifics!

Where: Scrappin' Bunnies
400 N. Central Expressway
Suite 108
McKinney, Texas 75070
(Exit 40A from Hwy 75- Louisiana/Virginia
Street Exit. East side of 75 behind CiCi's)

When: Saturday, August 30 @ 7PM and again at 9PM!

Hope to see you there!

Every Other Tuesday-Quick Sketchbook

2008-08-26T18:56:00.004-05:00

So this one is super easy to whip up! Gather the following items:

1 sheet of colored/patterned cardstock for the outside
5 sheets of cardstock, or more if you use plain printer paper (just remember your stapler will have to go through them!)
coordinating ribbon

Cut the following:
(2) 4" x 8" pieces for the outside of the notebook
(10) 3 7/8" x 7 7/8" for the inside

Now, just stack everything together and staple on the left-hand side. I then covered the staples with a piece of ribbon.
You can embellish the cover however you want. Try a monogram, embossed stamp, felt stickers, or anything else you'd like.
For mine, I used two strips of 8" long paper, one is 1" wide and the patterned paper is 3/4" wide.

Yep, really easy! Hope you like it!

(Also, I'm just about finished with an awesome autumn themed tutorial. So, dust off your sewing machines and prepare for some cute fall home decor items!)

Every Other Tuesday

2008-08-12T10:20:00.002-05:00

So, how about a tutorial AND template for the first Every Other Tuesday event? Here is a little envelope template to get you started: You can download it be clicking here. (You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.)

Here's a quick tutorial on how to put it together:

The template will print out onto one piece of letter sized paper. For this project I printed it directly onto the back of the patterned paper. You could also print it, cut it out, and use it as a template. Whatever works best for you. :)

Below I've got the envelope and alternate flap cut out and scored on the dashed lines.

Fold the sides in, and adhere.
Fold the bottom flap up and adhere that too.

Adhere the coordinating paper flap on top of the flap. Now we'll add the brad fasteners. Just make a pencil mark about 1/2" from either side of the bottom of the flap. (See mine below:)
Place the brads into the holes you marked. Then cut a piece of embroidery floss 10" long. Tie it around one of the brads and wrap around the brads.

This envelope will hold an index sized card note, or recipe card. It would also work great for a journaling holder on a scrapbook page! Enjoy!

I'd LOVE it if you let me know what you make with it!

Now, since this is also a tutorial there's a giveaway! Yippee! Just leave me a comment with a joke or short funny story. Let's get each other laughing! I'll pick a random comment on Thursday night, August 14th. The prize will be as follows:
One package of the brads used to make the envelope. Don't worry if you don't live close. If you win I'll send you the brads for free!

Can't wait to hear your jokes/funny stories!

Announcing...

2008-08-11T08:36:00.002-05:00

I am SUPER excited to share with you the talents of:

Kristina Werner!

She is an extrenely talented designer! For the months of August and September she will be showing us some awesome ways to use the Schlosser Designs Stamp Sets. Head on over to her blog and see for yourself the graphic designs of Kristina. You can see one here that she's already done. Kristina graciously answered a few questions for me. (Hope they weren't too cheesy, but I can't claim that I'm a professional journalist by any means!)

Besides making completely awesome cards and paper projects, what do you like to do in your spare time?

I love to read, but mostly silly entertaining things. Nothing too serious. And I also keep up with WAY too many television shows. I suppose you could say that I love anything with a good story, whether it be a good book or a even a television show.

Is there one particular moment that sparked your interest for cards and papercrafting?

Actually, I remember the exact thing I was looking at. :) Being that I work in the scrapbooking industry as a graphic designer I was pretty familiar with what was out there, but had never felt the urge to create anything myself. Then, I saw something that just made me what to create everything! It was a scrapbooking page by Laura Kurz. I was just so fascinated by it. It was this exact page...
http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=616170

Where do you look for your inspiration?

I tend to get inspiration directly from the products. I've always loved patterns and colors, so I just try to arrange them in a way that looks cool to me. :)

What is your favorite quote?

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss

This is one of her projects that she wanted to share:

Outside of Starbook
Starbook when opened

You can find her post about this book here. There's downloadable instructions at the end of the post. I told you she was awesome! Welcome Kristina!

Ready to commit!

2008-08-10T13:39:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I was waiting for things to calm down a bit around here but I'm ready...

On August 12th I'll be starting a new feature on my blog:

EVERY OTHER Tuesday

Check back every other Tuesday because I'll either be offering a new template, or showing you a new project tutorial. I've already got the first few planned out, and I'm warning you, they're way fun!

(Just a reminder: Every time I feature a tutorial with downloadable instructions, I do a giveaway. To enter is simple: Read the instructions in the post to see what to comment about and leave me a comment. Usually the giveaway prize will be a product needed to complete the featured project. I'm so excited! I love giveaways!)

I'd love to do it every Tuesday, but with the new stamp sets being designed I didn't want to disappoint and try for every Tuesday without being able to keep it up. I'll still be doing other posts throughout the week so you'll see me more than just Every Other Tuesday. :)

Can't wait to see you for the first installment of Every Other Tuesday on August 12th!

Card Ideas coming in...

2008-07-29T09:40:00.002-05:00

Check out this blog: KWerner Design. She's one of my favorite card crafters out there! She has lovely challenges and videos every week! For her last challenge, she used one of my sets to make a card that is way cute! I have more on her later... hint, hint...

On another note, Sorry it's been a little while since the last post. I'm working on a few more fun things for the store...like new stamp sets just in time for the Holidays! I'm super excited! And a few new project templates to upload for free!

So, as I'm deciding what types of things to post on the blog, are there any suggestions, or things that you're dying to see? More free templates, tutorials, both, something else all together? Let me know because I really want to make sure that I'm posting things that everyone wants to see!

Happy 100th Post!

2008-07-19T15:18:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I promised something big...

I hope you like it! I put together a book for you!

It's the Project Recipe Book!

I would have loved to have this book when I was first starting out with card making. It can be really hard to come up with different layouts for your cards. It's all black and white layouts which make it easier to add colors to your projects.

Lots of times I'll look at a card and decide I don't like it. Being the designer I am, I then ask myself why I didn't like it. It's usually that the colors they used are not my favorite. When I look at it again I like the layout, just not the paper they used. So, this is why this book is very simple to use. Just find the layout you like and add your own colors. This book has 40 different layouts that are easy to do. It will also tell you whether the layout will work for a scrapbook, card, or both. Here's a sample image from the book, with my notes to explain. Click on it to make it larger to read.
It's a nice handy size of 5 1/2" x 4 1/4". And it's spiral bound so it will actually stay open when you're working on your projects. It's in the store now and it's $10. :)

Post #99

2008-07-18T18:09:00.004-05:00

So, I tried to post earlier, and then a little later...and blogger was having issues with uploading pictures. And now it uploaded my picture rotated the wrong way... Just one of THOSE days I guess. On to the project:

Today I did a little gift for a few friend's birthdays today. I made a little fabric basket,

and some homemade granola to go inside. (Click on the items to find the recipes/tutorials.)

I made a simple treat bag topper to package the granola. I hope they like it! I do sell the treat bags in my store. They are a great size for homemade goodies!

Post #98

2008-07-17T11:44:00.002-05:00

I'm calling this one a Tent Card. It's also really easy to make. For the "tent" base cut one piece of paper 4 1/4" x 4 3/4". Fold it in half so you get a folded piece that's 4 3/4" x 2 1/8". For the stand up part I cut a piece of paper 4 3/4" x 3 1/2". Stamp or embellish whatever you'd like on it. I used the stamp set Hey Cupcake. All the words are separate so you can stack them, put them in a line, or skew them like I did for this card. When you're done, just adhere the bottom 1/3 of the embellished piece to the folded tent piece and stand up. You can unfold the tent piece and write inside. This would also make great place holders for a wedding party! Or if you're having a dinner party, try printing out the menu and attaching it to the folded tent piece.

Post #97

2008-07-16T16:06:00.002-05:00

Also super easy! Noticing a theme? I've been wanting to try a card with black and gray so this is it. The background is black, with a gray inset. I stamped the Cheers sentiment from the Borders and Corners Set along the top and bottom to make a kind of border. Then I used the scrap from my flower yesterday, trimmed it into a square, rounded two opposite corners, and adhered to the front with foam tape, for extra dimension. I really liked the shape it made by rounding two corners, instead of all four.
Thanks for peeking at the project. Don't forget to comment some time this week and say Hi!

Post #96

2008-07-15T10:48:00.001-05:00

Super Simple card! For this card I used the Borders and Corners "Thanks" sentiment. I stamped and then used clear embossing powder to make it dimensional. For the background I just cut a piece of the light blue paper that was 4" x 2 3/4". (I sketched a diagram of what I did below.) Then just cut it into 4 pieces, similar to the dotted lines on the diagram below. Once you have them cut out, just layout on your card background with a little space between each one and adhere. Add a little flower and silver brad and you're done. Easy as pie, or cupcakes, depending on which you like most! :)

Countdown to my 100th post!

2008-07-14T15:09:00.000-05:00

On to the countdown related stuff in a minute. I took a break from some paper crafts yesterday to do a purely embroidery project. It's another napkin, but this time no stamping, just pure embroidery. It all started with this book:

I was searching through the selection of books at Half Price Books (I LOVE Half Price Books!!!) and pulled this one off the shelf. It didn't have a spine because it's a spiral bound 225 page book. From the cover I thought it wasn't going to be worth it, but I opened it anyway and the minute I did, I just sat there, so elated, that I had in fact decided to open the book. There are over 200 pages of embroidered sketches in black and white. It's a compilation of sketches from a lady that lived in Virginia in the 1850's. The book suggests that all the designs would look better in white thread on white fabric, kind of like embroidered linens with lace and eyelet. But, as I flipped through I could see in my mind all these beautiful colors and my mind started racing. I feel like I stole the book, it was only $5.00! I brought it home and got started right away. This is the black and white image I decided to use. (If you have trouble picking colors, just make a copy and outline the image in different colors to easily see which colors you would like to use.)

Here's the final product. I did it on a napkin, but I might cut it out and make a little bag with it instead. This one is just too pretty for an everyday napkin. (Although if you do it on a larger napkin, it makes a great way to wrap a fresh loaf of bread to give to a neighbor. The fabric protects the bread, while letting it cool off without sweating. )
Now to the countdown stuff! Everyday this week I'm going to have a post with a different project! I'm so excited! And on the 100th post, which will be Saturday, I'll unveil a new product in the store. This product is pretty cool if I do say so myself, and it was created 100% by me. So come on out sometime this week, leave me a comment and say Hi!

Simple Card

2008-07-11T05:20:00.004-05:00

Ok, I know it's been a little while since my last post. I've been working on a few things that I'll post real soon. It's something new and really fun! Here's a simple 3" square card I put together so as not to slack on my posting! Just cut a square slightly smaller than your card front, tie a ribbon around. Stamp the border and sentiment, trim the edges, and adhere with foam tape on top of the ribbon. You're done. Easy! (It is lime green and brown, not black. I just like using the really rich dark brown paper.)

Winner!

2008-06-28T19:26:00.003-05:00

According to Random.org the winner is:

Here are your random numbers: 3
Timestamp: 2008-06-29 00:27:02 UTC

Which means that the winner is:

Email me at erinschlosser (at) schlosserdesigns (dot) com and let me know which you'd like, the napkins, or the StazOn Ink and I'll ship that to you right away! Congratulations!

Thank you everyone for your comments! They are greatly appreciated! Look for more things to be added to the website soon!

July 4th Project

2008-06-25T09:25:00.000-05:00

This project is along the same lines of stamping on napkins. I wanted a little more pattern on these ones.

Items needed:

1 fat quarter fabric (for those that aren't quilters it's where they take 1 yard of fabric and it cut into quarters)

StazOn ink

various colors embroidery floss

I cut out scraps of a neutral color fabric (thanks again Celia for the scraps!) I stamped the star from the Bough set and hand stitched around the image. I used a french knot at the star points, and a straight stitch for the outline. I used the water soluble pen to write "freedom" and "liberty" and then I free stitched those. I trimmed each one with pinking shears to be a 2 1/2" square.

Then take your fat quarter of fabric and cut it into quarters. You should end up with pieces that are about 9" x 10 1/2". Hem the edges and then sew the "patches" we made on top.

You're done!

(Close up of "patches")

Tutorial: Stamping is fun on fabric too!

2008-06-23T16:02:00.004-05:00

Ok, so you remember what happens when I do a tutorial right? I'll be giving away something that you'll need to complete the project. And this time you get a choice! The winner will get to choose between a brand new StazOn ink pad, or a set of 4 ready-to-be-stamped-on napkins. So, after the tutorial be sure to follow the directions to enter!

I made a few napkins this weekend. Of course I used the new stamp sets! I wanted some for birthdays or if we have company over for dessert. I used the Hey Cupcake set and the StazOn ink. The StazOn ink is permanent. Then I just embellished the cupcake with french knot "sprinkles". (Thanks to my friend Celia for showing me how to do a french knot!)

Here is a general one that I did for everyday eating.

Ready for the instructions?

Start with the Bough set, a napkin, StazOn ink, and a water soluble transfer pen. (I love the water soluble transfer pens, you just get them wet and they wash away!)
Mark two dots in the middle of your napkin to help with the stamp placement. (If you click on the picture you'll be able to see mine.)
Stamp the branch on the napkin.

Then I used the lazy daisy stitch to make some hand embroidered flowers on my branch.

Finish it off with a french knot in the middle of the flower and a herringbone stitch along the bottom.

This is another color combination I did.

Now for the entry rules:
Leave a comment on this post by Friday night, June 28, 2008. In the comment, tell me what other things, besides stamps you'd like to see me carry in my store. Would you like to buy paper kits that I put together with coordinating colors of cardstock? Special types of ink pads? Unique packaging to stamp and embellish for gift giving? Let me know what floats your boat and be entered into the drawing! Thanks so much!

Borders again!

2008-06-19T17:02:00.001-05:00

I made this card with the borders set, and the star from the Boughs set. I cut out the scalloped square and mounted it with foam tape, then cut out and mounted the stars on foam tape too. It gave a lot of dimension to the card. Thanks for looking!

Borders Set...more than just borders!

2008-06-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

Here's a card I made with the borders set! The shapes in this set are also great for making background designs for paper. See, the same shape that is bordering the "Thanks" is also stamped multiple times to make the background paper. Finished size is 6 1/2" square.

Shipping Update

2008-06-17T06:14:00.004-05:00

Edited: After working with the shipping all day on the website the new policy is as follows: There is one flat shipping price, $5.50, unless your pre-tax order total goes above $40, in which case it's FREE. I can't offer the Pickup option for everyone in Texas. If you live near me, please leave a comment when you place your order and your shipping amount will be refunded in full if you choose to pick it up. Thanks for all your support and sticking with me as I grow and learn!

There have been some questions about the shipping on the Schlosser Designs website. I have added a module that will show up for Texas residents only. This will allow you to choose either the $5.50 shipping, or Store Pickup (which is free). If you choose this method, you may pick up the order at my house. Thanks for your support! Any questions, just leave me a comment!

The Store is OPEN!

2008-06-11T19:22:00.004-05:00

Finally! The stamps are here, the packaging is ready to go, and the website is up, and it's even running correctly!!! (As far as I can tell anyway!)

So, head on over to get your favorite stamps!

Here are a few highlights that I wanted everyone to know about:

When you get to Schlosser Designs be sure to Login/Register as a customer. That way I can collect birthdays to add to the Birthday Club. Also, once you register on the site, I'll send you an individual referral coupon code good for 20% off of your entire first purchase! You can also pass this coupon code along to any friends or relatives. I'll keep track of how many people make purchases from your referrals and will be giving away super cool prizes to the top 2 people with the most referrals that made purchases up until the last day of July 2008. Good Luck!!

Also, take note that because I'm based in Texas, I must charge Texas residents sales tax. (Sorry!) But, if you order more than $40 before tax, no matter where you live (as long as it's in the US) you'll get free shipping!

Last item:
I'm now taking sign ups for crafting parties! You provide the guests and place, I'll provide the supplies and projects! Each host automatically gets 1 free stamp set, just for hosting with the opportunity to earn more depending on the sales from the party. We'll do a few projects. Your guests will get to keep a few, and we will also be making one to donate to a Not-for-Profit organization. So, host a party, earn free stamp sets, make some projects, and help others! Contact me for more details, or to book your party time! (If you don't live near me, that's ok too, I can host virtual parties! If you're interested in those, just contact me!)

Email me at: erinschlosser (at) schlosserdesigns (dot) com (If you have my other email addresses those are fine for personal emails, but ones about the stamps must go to the above email address. Thanks!)

Bough Stamp Set

2008-06-07T18:55:00.002-05:00

This set is super versatile. I was able to make the flowers, tree and topiary with the same stamp set. The only other stamp set I used was the "Thanks" Sentiment from the new Borders set! I think that the topiary might be my favorite, but I'm not sure, because I liked them all!

While we wait...

2008-06-02T18:00:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I've got shipping confirmation that the stamps will be here super shortly! Here are some cards I made a week or so ago with the Hey Cupcake set.

I love the oval stamp that can either be used as a plate or a border! Enjoy!

The winner is...

2008-05-24T15:28:00.002-05:00

The totally unbaised Random Integer Generator says:

Here are your random numbers:5
Timestamp: 2008-05-24 20:29:05 UTC

Which means that comment number 5 is Silly Marie!

Congrats! I'll get those wooden blocks to you shortly!

Baby Card

2008-05-20T18:05:00.005-05:00

Here's the card I made this month for card swap. My preview stamp images came in JUST in time! I used two images from the Borders Set: The border and the XOXOX stamp. (The "baby" stamp is from Stampin Up) The finished size is 3" x 6". I like this one because of the fun rectangular size. Just cut a 3" strip of 12" square paper, fold in half, and you've got yourself a card.

New contest format!

2008-05-18T17:22:00.005-05:00

It's been a while since my last post. You probably think I've fallen off the face of the earth. Actually I've been working hard on the stamp stuff. (Things that would make boring posts, like packaging and getting the retail website up and running, which has been a challenge! It's still a work in progress as I try to integrate PayPal into it.)

Anyway, here's a smaller project I worked on. These are little refrigerator magnets.

We had an old game that was missing some blocks, the generic brand of Jenga. I knew I could use the left over blocks for something and here it is. This is EXTREMELY easy to do! Just trace the block onto your favorite scrapbook paper, cut out, and use Mod-Podge (or another clear acrylic adhesive to attach paper) to glue down the paper to the block. When the first layer of clear acrylic is dry, put another one on top of the paper, to make the paper resistant to water damage. Then use your glue gun to glue a magnet on the back, and voila, you're done! Really cheap and easy to match just about any decor. I liked seeing the actual wood finish, but you could paint the wood too. (I almost spray painted them a chocolate brown.) Other ideas include:

-Stamping letters on them for spelling practice and learning your ABC's (well maybe your children, you probably already know your abc's :)
-Use scrapbook rub-ons for cute patterns.

And here's the contest part! Leave me a comment at the bottom of this post by Friday, May 23 at 7PM. You're comment must include the answer to this question: What is your most favorite color combination? It can be just two colors, three colors, four colors, or more. Just let me know your favorite.

The winner will get 5 unfinished magnet blocks! I've decided as I do tutorials here I'll also be giving away one of the key items to make the project. (If you don't live near me, I'll include the shipping to get them to you!)

Check back really soon! I will have projects extremely soon with the new stamp sets. My samples get here tomorrow and the final stamp sets get here in about 3 weeks!

Hand Embroidered Kitchen Towels

2008-05-07T18:13:00.005-05:00

I made these for Mother's Day presents. (Hopefully my mom won't decide to make this the week that she checks my blog! The J is for Janet, my mom, and the G is for Gayle, my mother in law.)

You might recognize the images...they are from my stamp sets that will be here soon! So here's what you do to make these, using stamps. Just stamp the image with black ink on white paper for the highest contrast. Then find where on the towel you'd like the image to be embroidered. (For these towels I used the cotton flour sack towels. I like how absorbent these are.) I placed the image underneath the area and traced over my stamped image onto the towel with a water erasable pen. (You can find these in the sewing section of your favorite craft store. The ink on mine is a bright blue.)

Next, free hand embroidery using any stitch you want and you're done. You can also use permanent pigment based ink and stamp the image onto the towel. Then try adding small beads for the small berries on the branches.

All the stamps are done!

2008-05-02T22:51:00.004-05:00

Well, for the first release anyway. They will be sent off to the manufacturer for production on Monday! I can't tell you how excited I am! I'm going to save the last two stamp set previews for when the stamps are actually in my hands and available to you. However I'll give you the titles of the two unseen stamp sets! Ready?

Hey Cupcake

and

Have A Tweet Day

Stay tuned shortly because I will be announcing a few fun things along with my stamp release. And keep your calendars open because there may be opportunities to host some parties in the future where the hostess will get one free stamp set just for hosting! How cool is that? An entire stamp set for free. I'm not taking reservations yet... So keep checking and I'll let you know when I will!! Thanks for all your support and enthusiasm! It means so much to me!

Ready for the next installment?

2008-04-27T17:38:00.003-05:00

This set is called Bough-tiful Blessings. (Hope that's not too cheesy!) It comes with a whopping 39 stamps. The branch/tree (depends on which way you stamp it) is 4 1/2" long. The perfect size for a card or scrapbook page element.

I am soooo excited about this set because of all the different possibilities! The branch can have so many different things stamped with it: stars for birthdays, flowers, leaves and berries, hearts for valentines day, cherry blossoms.... you get the idea. Also included are some small swirls, dots, and starbursts that can be used separately, or layered on top of the other shapes to make a center. These are easy to layout with your clear acrylic blocks and can be laid out however you want! I've also included three different stems, that you can add flowers and leaves to.

This set will also be on a 4" x 6" sheet. The price will be $12.50. (All of my stamp sets that are on a 4" x 6" sheet will be $12.50. Pretty easy to remember, and I think an awesome deal!)

Wait no longer....

2008-04-21T08:30:00.001-05:00

Here is a preview of one of the first of four stamp sets to be released soon! This set includes 4 sentiments, 2 corners, and 5 different borders. The circle can be cut out perfectly with your 1 3/4" punch and the square will fit in your 1 3/4" punch. The other three shaped borders are right at 2" wide each. These are great sizes for both cardmaking and scrapbooking! This will come on a sheet that is 4" x 6". Let me know what you think!

Sticker Pizazz

2008-04-18T22:28:00.003-05:00

If you're like me, you've got lots of flat stickers that are cute, but just don't cut it anymore on a card or scrapbook page. Many of the online card swaps I've done specifically say that you can't use flat stickers...so what do you do? Here's an easy trick to add a little extra pizazz to your flat stickers:
Stick your sticker on a blank piece of chipboard. (If you don't have sheets of chipboard, try a cereal or pasta box.) Then trim around your sticker. Now you've added dimension to your flat sticker. I used the technique to make this vase. The entire circle is a sticker, but it looks like the printed chipboard that you see everywhere!

Paper Flower Tutorial

2008-04-18T22:17:00.002-05:00

This would make an awesome Mother's Day Gift! And it's very versatile. You can make globes, embellishments, and flowers! Click on the link for the tutorial in PDF format.
Versatile Paper Flowers

Tweet Day Gift Bag

2008-04-15T18:33:00.003-05:00

Swap is tonight and the theme was a gift bag. It could be a gift box, bag, or anything else to give a gift in. I bought the craft paper brown bags and embelished them. A little tag. (hint: tag sentiment and border might be images from my new stamps. Do you like them?)

Close up of the birdie. I cut out the shape from the paper and adhered that to the bag. Then I used tacky glue and traced around the bird. I pulled out a skein of yarn that I bought just because I liked it. I outlined the bird with the yarn for a little dimension. I think it turned out nicely.