A Fairy Happy Easter

Card Positioning Systems is celebrating their 5th Anniversary by releasing a sketch a day for 15 days.

This card is my interpretation of the day fourteen sketch, my goodness only one more to go!

The fairy postcards are Graphic 45, part of their Once Upon A Springtime Collection.  The designer paper is Kaisercraft, part of their Sweet Nothings collection.  I've inked all the edges with Antique Linen and Bundled Sage Distress Inks.

The leaf accent is cut from a Spellbinders die, the butterflies are a Martha Stewart punch, the roses are from Kaisercraft and last but not least the bow is a fabulous crochet yarn from my stash.

Tilda Gift Basket

Materials:
Kraft card
Cookie Dough by Kaisercraft
Spellbinders circles and scallop circle dies
Frayed Burlap Distress Ink
Magnolia Tilda with Spoon rubber stamp
Copic markers
border punch

This project felt really good to make, as it's my first attempt at colouring in months.  My thumb is still quite rigid so my technique is a little different, but I was still relatively pleased with the results I got.

I followed >this< tutorial for putting the basket together.  The measurements included in that tutorial are in centimetres, and my Scorpal is in inches, so I cut my 12" x 12" Kraft card down to 10.5" x 10.5" and scored it at 3.5" and 7" on each side.  Any measurement divisible by 3 would work, e.g. for a smaller basket cut a 6" square and score it at 2" and 4" on each side.

Before assembling I used a heart shaped border punch by Fiskars on the uncut edges, and I used the same punch to create the handles.  All of the edges have been inked with Frayed Burlap distress ink.

Challenges:


Magnolia-licious Highlites - Anything Goes
Magnolia Stamp Lovers - use Kraft paper
Stampavie & More - Hearts

Easter Planter Pot

Technique:  Decoupage

Materials:
terracotta pot
acrylic paints
Modge Podge or similar product
linen paper or other good quality ink jet paper
Blu-Tac

Tools:
scissors
printer
foam pad
tapestry needle
paint brush
spray sealant

Paint the terracotta pot using your favourite decorative method.  I often use a sponge to apply paint but this time I loaded up a wide brush with blue and white and streaked it down the pot for a colour variation.  Let it dry thoroughly and apply a second coat if necessary.  Seal using Modge Podge when totally dry.

Click on the images above to get the full size, then save and print out on linen paper on the highest quality setting your printer can manage.  The stamps were created by me using vintage post cards and Gimp to create postage stamps.  If you are making this for any other occasion, feel free to use the template below to make your own stamps.

Spray the front of the image with a spray sealant.  When I print out images I prefer to use a spray sealant as I have found brushing on something like Modge Podge can drag the ink particles and cause smearing.  You can use Modge Podge on the back of the print though.

Lay the image over a sheet of styrofoam for support and perforate the edges with the tapestry needle.  This gives a lovely, authentic look to the stamp.  Cut out as many pansies from the first print as you think you might need.

Once you have your images prepared use balls of Blu-Tac to design the piece.  This lets you move and rearrange until you get it exactly how you want it.  When you are satisfied use Modge Podge to stick the pieces permanently.  Allow the pot to dry over night and finish with a coat or two of Modge Podge.

I made this for my Mum.  I used the Easter Flowers I made a few days earlier to create a chocolate floral arrangement.

Bunny Egg Cozy

Technique: Crochet

Materials
8 ply yarn

Tools:
3mm crochet hook

This egg cozy is designed to fit over an extra large hen egg.

Body
Rnd 1: Work 4 sc in first ch. Place marker in first st for beg of rnd; move marker up as each rnd is completed.
Rnd 2: Work 2 sc in each sc around - 8 sc.
Rnd 3: *2 sc in next st, sc in next st, rep from * around - 12 sc.
Rnd 4: *2 sc in next st, sc in each of next 2 sts, rep from * around - 16 sts.
Rnd 5: *2 sc in next st, sc in each of next 3 sts, rep from * around - 20 sts.
Rnd 6: *2 sc in next st, sc in each of next 4 sts, rep from * around - 24 sts.
Rnd 7: *2 sc in next st, sc in each of next 5 sts, rep from * around - 28 sts.
Rnd 8: *2 sc in next st, sc in each of next 6 sts, rep from * around - 32 sts.
Rnd 10- 20: sc around, finish with a slip stitch and bind off

Ears
Rnd 1: Work 4 sc in first ch. Place marker in first st for beg of rnd; move marker up as each rnd is completed.
Rnd 2: *2 sc in next st, sc in next st, rep from * around - 6 sc.
Rnd 3: *2 sc in next st, sc in each of next 2 sts, rep from * around - 8 sts.
Rnds 4-8: Sc in each st around. Fasten off.

Finishing:
Sew ears to body. Glue on embellishments such as wobbly eyes, pom pom for nose, cheeks and tail.

Easter Flowers

Technique: General Crafting

Materials:
wooden bbq skewers
green food colouring
silk flowers
mini easter eggs

Soak the skewers in green food colouring for around 30 mins or until they are thoroughly green and then put on a sheet of newspaper and allow to dry thoroughly. Don't be tempted to use paint for this step, it must be food safe.

When the skewers are dry thread a silk flower over the point and then stick the point into the bottom of a mini easter egg to form the flower. I found that the petals from a cheap dollar store Hawaiian lei worked perfectly for this, I got a few dozen out of a $2 lei.

To present the bouquet you can make a bunch out of out a dozen and wrap a decorative ribbon around the stems, or you can place them in a vase or planter filled with shredded green paper or more eggs or both!