Recycled CD Ornament

Technique:  Papercraft

Stamps:
Drew's Cupcake digi by Designed to Delight
Two Apples digi by Designed to Delight

Pens & Inks:
Reds:
Greens:
Denim Blue: B91, B93, B95
Sky Blue: B24, B26, B28
Flesh: E0000, E000, E02
Red: R22, R24, R27
Green: G03, G05, G07
Grey: C0, C3, C5, C7, C9
Bundled Sage Distress Ink
clear Spica Pen
glitter gel pens

Papers:
Waiting for Santa Collection by Webster's Pages

Other:
old CD
wide double sided tape
double sided foam adhesive
ribbon
Sparkly Fluff
Rock Candy Stickles

We have stacks and stacks of old compact discs lying about the place, quite literally in the hundreds I would guess, which predate the portable hard drives that now store all our data.  I have been itching to find a way to use one, this challenge was perfect :o)

Using the CD as a template, cut two circles from your designer paper.  I used the Waiting for Santa collection by Webster's Pages, the paper has ornaments with the alphabet and drawn lines giving a very school book type feel, and this is going to be an ornament for my son's teacher.

I used strip of double sided tape on each side of the CD to secure the ribbon into place, sorry for the terrible photo, I should have done the non reflective side first, but I wanted to show you how I secured the ribbon.

Once the ribbon was secure I covered one side with double sided tape and stuck the first circle of paper into position. 

The edges were trimmed with scissors, and then I took an emery board to the edges and lightly sanded to remove any overhang still remaining and smooth the edges.

Both sides of the CD are covered in the same way, then the edges inked with Bundled Sage distress ink.

One side of the ornament has the Drew with Cupcake digi sitting to one side, I've used sparkly fluff and glitter glue to make it look less like a birthday cupcake and a little more Christmas-y.  I haven't put on much in the way of embellishments, because the blank space you see there next to Drew, will be where my son writes a personal message to his teacher.

The other side of the ornament has a Christmas wreath made from apples (apple for the teacher).  I used Gimp to make the background on the apples digi transparent, and then used Word to fiddle about until I had a wreath shape I was happy with and then after printing and colouring, fussy cut it to make a photo frame.

The finishing touch is a double bow on each side, made from the same ribbon as was used to create the hanger, but a thinner version. 

Challenges:
Christmas Stamping All Year Long:  Teacher's Pet
ABC Christmas Challenge: R is for Recycled plus Ribbon or Rhinestone
Crafty Ribbons Challenge:  Christmas Cheer in September 
Papertake Weekly:  Anything Goes

Painting The Roses Red

Technique: Paper and String

Materials:
an old novel
thin beading wire
acrylic paint
matt spray sealer
hot glue
bamboo skewer
string

Tools:
scissors
paintbrush
wire cutters
hot glue gun

There are plenty of ways to make paper roses, a google search will even pop up with several videos. The way I made mine was a hybrid from floral artistry, first using wires to attach to the petals and leaves, and then using the wires to attach to and form the stem.

Stack five pages from the novel together and cut out 4-6 different size petals. You can do this free form without the need for a template and you will have a more natural looking flower. Start with a small teardrop shape, about the size of the fingernail on your ring finger and work up to larger almost heart shape petals. You will need about 20-25 shapes, depending on how big you want your bloom to be. Cut 2 - 3 leaf shapes as well. Cut one strip of paper about 6 inches long and half an inch wide and fold this in half so it is 6 inches long and one quarter of an inch wide.

Cut 20 or so pieces of beading wire, about twice the length of your index finger, and then fold them over in half so that they are the length of your index finger with a small loop at one end, and the two cut ends at the other. Use small dots of hot glue to attach to the pointy end of the petals.

Using red acrylic paint, colour 2 or 3 petals from each size, so that about one third of your petals are painted red and allow to dry before proceeding.

Put a dab of hot glue on the end of your skewer and attach one end of the long strip you cut, you are attaching the short end in such a manner that the folded edge is facing up and away from the tip of the skewer. Wind it around the skewer to form the inner bud of the rose. Secure with hot glue.

You should now have a skewer with a small spiral of paper stuck at one end, this will act as the foundation for wiring all of your other petals. One petal at a time, hold in place with your fingers until you have the position you desire, then twist the wire around the skewer to secure. Continue in this manner from small petal to large until your blossom is the size you require. Wire two or three leaves into position.

Cut the bamboo skewer and any long wires so that your stem is around 3 - 4 inches in length. Securing with hot glue, wrap string around the stem to cover the wires and give a nice finish. You could use green florists tape here, or ribbon, if you preferred, but I wanted to keep with the paper and string theme.

Paper Heart

Technique: Cut & Paste

Materials:
old book
paper clips

Tools:
stapler
ruler
craft knife or rotary cutter

This project is so simple it hardly needs a tutorial! I used an old romance novel, but you could use any paper you like.

Cut 11 strips of paper one inch wide and six inches long.

Fold one strip in half and using a hole punch, place a hole up near the folded edge, this is the hanging strip.

Take two strips and put them to one side, they will remain six inches long.

Crop 1/2 an inch off two strips, so they are 5 1/2 inches long.
Crop 1 inch off two strips, so they are 5 inches long.
Crop 1 1/2 inches off two strips, so they are 4 1/2 inches long.
Crop 2 inches off two strips, so they are 4 inches long.

Starting with one of the longest strips of paper and ending with the shortest, make two piles. Take one pile, and ensuring that all the short edges are flush with each other, paperclip it into position about 3/4" down from the folded edge of the hanging strip. Repeat with the other side.

Gather all the short ends and make them flush and paperclip into position at the bottom of the hanging strip, you should be able to see the heart shape forming now. Fiddle around with the paperclips until you have the shape that you want. Having the short edges further away from each other will give you a more elongated heart, bringing them closer together will give you a wider heart. When you are pleased with your shape, hold the sections in place with your fingers, remove the paperclips and staple to secure.

Loop some string through the punched hole on the hanging strip.