Stone Tea-light Holder

Hello everyone

Today’s post is about using colorful stones/ pebbles to make a tea-light holders. Tea-light holders make for good gifts and most of us must be having atleast one at home

The tea-light holder, whose tutorial I am sharing today is unique in its own way. It’s made from naturally occurring stones and it has this perforated look which helps the light to seep out creating a wonderful effect in your room once turn off other lights.

Materials:

1. Stones or pebbles (colored or uncolored)
2. Acrylic paints
3. Epoxy based glue ( Araldite or Epoxy 6000)
4. Round/ square Chipboard piece (10 cm diameter/sides)
5. Pattern paper or any paper
6. Clear varnish

Procedure:

1. Clean and wash all your stones with soap water to remove all the dirt and grime. Dry them completely before you start using them.

   

   Purple and grey mixed stones

   

   Green and Turquoise mixed stones

2. Get a circular piece of chipboard or any other shape you desire. Size should be approximately 10 cm in diameter or 10 cm x 10 cm if square.
3. Cover it with Pattern paper on both sides. You can use fabric too.
   
   
   
4. Now Place the tea-light in the center  and start sticking stones in circular manner using epoxy glue ( I used  Araldite).  Make sure you place stones keeping distance from the tea-light. Instructions to use epoxy glue is mentioned on the product itself.
   
5. Once you place a single layer of stones, wait for it to dry a little. Once it dries up, start building a second layer using epoxy glue. In such manner you can build ans many layers as you want. 
6. Please be careful while placing the stones as they are irregular shaped, it takes patience and practice to place them properly. Sometimes you might have to hold it in place for few mins to secure them in place. I placed 4 layers of stones to obtain my tea-light holders.
7. That’s all you have to do. The perforated look comes naturally as the stones are all irregular in shape.
8. Now allow the tea light holder to dry for a day. Once dried, apply atleast 2 coats of varnish. Remember to paint the stones if they are not painted, before applying varnish. You can add embellishments it you want. 
9. Your project is ready. Light it up and relax.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Newspaper Coasters

Hello everyone

Today's post is about recycling or as we all say Upcycling Newspaper to make Coasters. We all use coasters to prevent our surfaces from any spills of tea, coffee etc. So since the spring is in the air, I decided to show you how to make a pretty floral coaster using newspapers and printed 2 ply tissue papers.

Materials:

1. Newspapers
2. Mod Podge
3. Foam brushes
4. Glue (Fevicol)
5. Scissors or cutters
6. 2 ply printed tissue paper ( A1 Craft Supply)
7. Cardboard or Mountboard
8. Clear Varnish

Procedure:

1. Let us start by making newspaper roll tubes. In order to make 2 coasters we will need atleast 30-40 tubes,depending upon the length of the tubes, the thinckness of the tubes and the size of the coasters.
2. To make tubes, u need to cut long strips of newspaper to about 8 cm wide. Make sure you get clean cut paper strips. I used a thin knitting needle to roll newspaper. Place the stick or needle at one corner of newspaper strip at an angle, tuck under the corner edge and then roll with your fingers. When you reach the end after rolling, dab a bit of glue ( fevicol ) to hold the end in place.
3. There are various methods of rolling the paper tubes and after making a couple of paper tubes, you will figure out which one works best for you.
4. Repeat this step to get more such slender tubes.
5. You will notice once you have made a few tubes that one end is slightly narrower than the other. Don't worry about this as it is desired. You can connect 2 tubes by inserting the narrower end into the broader end of another tube.
6. Once you roll all your tubes, start coiling them as tightly as possible. Join two tubes using Step 5 and continue coiling. You can use adhesive to secure your coils.
7. After you have coiled tubes and attained the desired coaster size, glue the end of the last tube. Repeat coiling to obtain one more similar coaster. Make as many as you like.
8. Now smear any white adhesive on both sides of all the coasters you make. I smeared fevicol on one side and after it dried added fevicol on the second side. Then dried it completely. This process hardens your coasters.
9. Now glue a piece of cardboard on one side of the coaster of the same size and shape. I also added a strip of mountboard around the coaster for even looking surface. You can also use any cardstock scraps you have with you.
10. Time for decoupaging. I used a 2 ply tissue paper with nice floral prints and  paper Mod Podge gloss to decoupage the coasters. You can use any variant in tissue paper as well as Mod Podge.
11. Apply 3 to 4 coats of Mod Podge allowing drying time between applications. I used outdoor Mod Podge so that our coaster would remain safe even if it gets moist. Coat Mod Podge on both the sides of the coaster.
12. You can stop here or add a coat or 2 of  clear varnish if you want. If you have applied varnish to the coasters do not forget about the curing time before you start using them.

There is no end to the size options ( big, small, medium), shape options( square, triangle, circle, hexagon, oval etc) as well as decoration options( tissue papers, pattern papers, washi tapes etc) when it comes to coasters. 

I hope you guys liked this upcycling technique and will try to make one soon.

3 Layer Gift Box

Hello everyone

Today I am posting a three layered box which can be very easily made. My friend Nidhi insisted that I should post something she can try at home. So I am posting a step by step procedure for everyone. I hope all u guys like this box and try to make a similar one at home.

Materials:

1. Heavy cardstock  (250 gsm)
2. Cardstock
3. Patterned paper or any paper with nice print
4. 1 hole punch
5. Scissors\ cutters
6. Glue (fevicol)
7. Ribbon or lace
8. Acetate sheet or Clear transparency sheet
9. Embellishments

Procedure:

1. Lets start by cutting a 16" x 5" cardstock piece. Score the Cardstock at 4", 8" and 12". Now we should have a piece which when closed should resemble a open rectangular box.
2. Once, this piece is ready cover it with pattern paper of your choice on both sides or outside. Any paper which you like can be used but should be thicker than your normal printing paper. While pasting the paper, be careful about allowing movement where the paper is scored.
3. To make the shelves, we need heavy cardstock and cut like the template given below to obtain a rectangular box.
   
4. Make 3 such boxes using the given template.
5. Once you have these pieces, use a strong adhesive to glue the square boxes to the main piece. Place the lower shelve on the first face of the piece 0.5" from the bottom.
   
6. Paste the second shelf on the 2nd face of the piece 2" from the bottom.
7. Glue the third shelf on the 3rd face of the piece 3.5" from the bottom.
   
8. For the lid of the box, use the template given below. You should use a heavy cardstock for the lid. Cut the center part and glue a piece of acetate sheet. Your peek-a-boo lid is ready.
   
9. Punch holes on the either ends of the piece. You can add an eyelet if you want. Knot ribbons at the ends and your box is ready.
10. You can decorate you box any way you like. You can use buttons, sequins,mulberry flowers, mdf embellishments. Just remember to have fun.....

Thank you all for reading this post and I hope you guys will make one soon.

Baby Onesie Gift Envelope

Hello there
 Today we will do another kind of envelope which looks like a baby onesie. You can use this envelope to add cash or gift cards and also write your message inside for the little baby.

Lets work....

Materials:

1. Cardstock (220 gsm)
2. Scissors
3. Glue
4. Paper tapes or washi tapes
5. Embellishments
6. Buttons
7. Satin ribbon
8. Cutting mat
9. Stickers 
10. Stamps and inks
11. Embellishments

Procedure:

1. First we need a template to cut the onesie card. I am attaching a template for your reference. Print it out on an A4 printing sheet.make sure its not very small. 
2. I have made my own template by drawing one on mountboard. My template is 17 cm x 22 cm i.e approximately 7 in x 8 in. Dunt worry about the size as you can make a bit smaller if you want. 
3. Score your cardstock in the center and fold it properly. Trace your template on it  and cut the onesie out holding the card folded. Make sure you connect the onesie either at the top fold or the bottom fold. I prefer the bottom fold. Do not worry if you cut out two pieces, you can join them using scraps of paper.
4. Once you have cut your card, start decorating the top. I added buttons, satin ribbon bows, some paper tapes.
5. You can do any kind of embellishments like stickers or polka dots or checks or sequins..... just have fun. 
6. After you have decorated the top, open the card and add a money envelope inside. Yon can read my earlier post about Money Envelopes ( New Born Babies) to know how to make a money envelope.
7.  Thats all you need to do and your onesie money envelope is ready. 

Baby Rattle Shaker Card (Gift Envelope)

Hey guys
I have made few money envelopes which can be used for specific occasions like baby showers, baby announcements, birthdays etc.

The one I am showing you today is a Shaker card with a money envelope placed securely inside a card. So you can put your cash gifts or gift cards securely inside the envelope in the card as well as write a message inside the card. Sounds cool right!

Materials:

1. Satin ribbon ( plain , striped , dotted )
2. Cardstock white for top
3. Cardstock for card ( any color)
4. Scissor
5. Glue ( fevicol and fevibond)
6. Compass to draw circle
7. Stamps and dye inks with acrylic blocks
8. Sequins
9. Mounting tape or foam tape or craft foam
10. clear acetate sheet or plastic round box
11. Crafting mat
12. Pencil
13. Crafting knife

Procedure: Well for start, we would need clean work surface so that we do not stain our white sheet.
Lets begin....

1. Take white cardstock (120 gsm ) and cut in 5 in x 5.5 in
2. Take the plastic container and use only the top or bottom part. now place that directly over the top right or left corner of the white cardstock and draw a circle around it using a pencil.
   
3. Now cut the circle using a crafting knife or cutter.
4. If you do not have a plastic container, you can use acetate sheet. Draw a circle of 3 cm diameter on the top right or left corner of the white cardstock and cut it out. Now cut a small 4 cm x 4 cm square of acetate sheet and stick it on the under side of the circle cut out.
5. Now cut thin ring from the other cardstock ( I used blue cardstock) which has diameter 3.3 cm and thickness 0.25 cm.
   
6. Now stick the ring above the cut circle neatly using Fevicol or any other adhesive.
7. Also cut a stick like piece which looks like a rattle stick .
8. Stick the top part of the rattle stick near the ring.
9. Now tie a satin ribbon bow around the stick. Once the bow is secured to the stick, stick the rest of the stick to the cardstock using strong adhesive.
10. Now ready  your card base scored and cut. I have used blue cardstock which is 11 in x 5.5 in. I scored it in the middle to get a 5.5 in x 5.5 in card.
11. Now place the white cardstock on the card base and trace the circle on the blue card. This is the part which will be enclosed.
12. Turn the white cardstock upside down and using mounting tape closely put tape around the circle cut out so that no gaps are there else sequins will seep out. Put mounting tape evenly across the remaining part of the cardstock. If u do not have mounting tape then use foam tape or craft foam.
13. If you are using plastic container, pass it through the circulate part and place it upside down. Now fill it up with different kinds of sequins. I used Blues, Greens ,Yellows and Whites. I added few stroller like sequins in the mix.
14. If you are using acetate sheet, then double up or stack up your mounting tape. a small well will be formed in the center. Fill it up with your sequin mix.
15. Now apply Fevibond or any other rubber based adhesive on the open part of the container and remove the papers off the mounting tapes. Place the blue card on top of the white card carefully. Once Placement is correct, press evenly over the card. 
16. Your Shaker card is ready.
    
17. I have used plastic container to obtain rattle like noise when the card shakes. Using acetate sheet gives you a shaker card with less noise.
18. Now cut a blue banner and a little white piece of card stock.
19. Stamp your sentiment on it using coordinating color. I stamped congrats using a Memento dye ink in Bahama Blue color. The stamp set I used is Grand Handwritten Sentiments range from Just Rite.
20. Use mounting tape to stick the sentiment to the card. Mounting tape adds dimension to the sentiment.
21. Now for the inside, I made an envelope using white cardstock. Made the Flap using blue cardstock.
    
    
    
    
22. I took 4.5 in x 4 in piece of white cardstock. Scored at 0.25 in from 3 sides from border. Folded it and stuck it to the card. I added flap which was 4 in x 1 in. I scored it at 2 in x 0.5 in and folded it. Stuck the half part inside the envelope and left the rest out.
23. I stamped mustaches in same Bahama blue ink on the white envelope.
24. That's it, write your message on the right side of the card and fill you envelope with cash and seal the flap using strong adhesive and your money card envelope is ready.

I hope you all liked it and will try it at home. Cheers.

Baby Stroller Gift Box

Hi guys.

 I have made a Gift box which looks like a baby stroller. You can pack gifts for the new born on baby shower, baby announcement or any occasion you can think of.

The inspiration behind this box came from Dr. Sonia who has this very beautiful blog called Cards, Craft, Kids Projects. Some time back maybe in 2014, I was looking for craft projects for kids when
I accidentally visited her blog and since then I keep visiting her blog for inspiration.

This gift box took me 4 days approximately to complete because I work for mere 3- 4 hrs daily. You might complete it faster if you have help.  Also I made from scratch so it took me longer to analyze the measurements and make changes to fit parts better. I hope you all appreciate it and would try to make a similar one at home.

So enough talking….lets work.

MATERIALS:

1.  Mount-boards or Cardboard (3)
2.  Scissors
3.  Cutters with sharp blades
4. Fevicol or white strong glue
5. Fevibond or any transparent rubber based adhesive
6. Kangaroo 1 hole punch
7. Crafting mat
8. Ruler
9.  Compass to draw circles
10.  Pencils
11. Small tip glue tube
12. Binder clips or clothes pin
13. Level meter
14. Chart paper or any handmade paper for wheels ( big sheets in 3 colors of your choice I each. 100-120 gsm)
15. Heavy Card-stock (220 gsm )
16. Embellishments
17. Eyelets
18. Eyelets punch
19. Wooden or acrylic beads
20. Satin ribbon
21. Glitter paper
22. Kite paper or tissue paper
23. Sequins
24. Needle and thread
25. Paper tapes
26. Paper flowers

 PROCEDURE:

1.  Make a cardboard or mount-board box with the following dimensions:- 24 cm x 20 cm x 6 cm- l x b x h
   
2.  Cover the box completely using handmade paper or chart paper. I used white colored 120 gsm paper to completely cover the box. To cover the box, cut the paper using below dimensions:- 24 cm x 20 cm x 10 cm – l x b x h
   
3. Score the dotted lines properly before folding the paper. Once scored and folded, glue the paper to the box. Stick the excess paper at the top sides of the box to the inside of the box.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4.    For the sides of stroller, draw 2 semicircles with 15 cm radius i.e 30 cm diameter.
   
    
5.  From the same center, draw circles with 3 cm radius i.e 6 cm diameter.
6.   Cut the two pieces as shown in the image.   
   
7.  Now cover the two pieces with a different colored paper. I used 120 gsm baby pink paper. To cover the semicircle, cut the paper 2 cm bigger from all sides than the semicircle piece. Stick the paper on one side and the make cutsat the ends having the excess paper, fold on the other side and stick it.
   
   Now cut exact same shape of the semicircle piece on the paper and stick it to the other side with folded paper. Before sticking the paper, punch a hole at the center of the semicircle. Repeat the procedure for the other side also. Your stroller sides are ready.
   
8. Now for the wheels, cut 4 circles with 9 cm radius i.e 18 cm diameter. Cut another 4 wheels with 2 .5" radius i.e 5" diameter.
9.  Stick pairs of 9 cm wheels together with strong adhesive to get 2 numbers of 9 cm wheels. I used fevicol to stick them together. Repeat the same with 2 . 5" wheels to get 2 thicker wheels.
   
10.  Now cover your wheels with different coloured paper. I used baby blue 120 gsm paper. Follow step 6) to cover the wheels neatly with paper. Now your wheels are ready.
    
11. To attach the sides of the stroller with the length of the main box, used strong rubber adhesive. I used fevibond. Place the side as shown in the image and place a ruler on the piece lengthwise.
    
12. Arrange box below the ruler such that the center of the semicircle is above the box well over 1 cm. Adjust the position of the box so that the corners of the box are not peeping outside the semicircular sides. For help, I marked the center of the box and center of the semicircle and coincided them for proper placement. Once you get the placement simple pick up the box and apply glue and place it back.
    
13. Apply pressure for good 15 mins or place something heavy on it. Once dried completely, repeat the step on the other side. Voila, your stroller body is ready.
    
    
    
    
14.   Attaching the wheels was a tricky part. I placed the wheels on the crafting mat to make sure they are aligned with the lines on the mat.
    
    Then I placed the stroller sideways on the mat. Aligned it with lines on mat and then slowly adjusted the wheels. Once done I glued them to the sides.
    
    This was the trickiest part of the entire project. Once dried repeat on the other side. Make marking on the crafting mat for help.
    
15.  Once your wheels are glued, place the stroller on the ground and place a level meter on it to check if they are balanced. You can also do this step before gluing the wheels to make sure the stroller is well balanced and aligned.
16.  Now for the movable shutters, cut 5 strips from the heavy card-stock or any heavy weight paper. Each strip with 8 cm breadth rounded at the corners.
    
    
    Also slant cut them at the ends to taper them at the ends. The length of the 5 strips should be 43 cm, 47 cm, 51 cm, 55 cm and 59 cm.You can add more more if you want with change in lengths as 43 cm, 46 cm, 49 cm, 52 cm, 55 cm ans 58 cm. Hold the strips from end to end on one side and mark the center at 4 cm x 2 cm from the bottom. Punch a hole in the center. Repeat the same for the other ends.
17.  Now using an eyelet join holes in the strips with the hole in the side of the stroller. Use and eyelet punch. You will need a big eyelet.
    
    If you cant find an eyelet I suggest u use a small wooden stick 1 cm in length but cylindrical in shape. Ends of Indian broomsticks do just fine. Cut in 1 cm long pieces and join the strips.
    
    To lock the ends so that the strips do not come out use buttons with hot glue guns at the two ends make sure you do not stick glue anywhere else but only the button and the stick end. I used an eyelet for this project. But I had used a button and glue gun previously on another project and it works just fine.
    
18.  Let it dry completely. Hold it tight until it doesn’t dry if you are using a stick, glue gun and a button.Repeat on the other sides.
19. Your shutter is in place now. U can permanently stick the shutter in the position you desire, but to make it movable u need needle and thread.
    
20. This is simple process but tricky.  First you stick the last strip on the back of wheels near the corner part. You need to do so on both sides. And u need to do this process of stitching on both sides simultaneously one after other. 
    
21. Once last strip is secured, which is the longest one take the next longest strip and hold it closest to the last strip like the shutter would be when held back. Make 2 dots on either sides near the ends of strips. Pass your needle through both strips at the dot marked. Work on both sides. Now pull the strip away from the last strip till no gap shows between the 2 strips. Now mark another point close to the earlier one from inside and pass the needle only from one strip. i.e from the strip which is not glued. Tie a knot and cut the thread. Now the last 2 strips are joined and have a recoiling motion.
    
    Repeat the process for the 3rd and 4th strips, then 2nd and 3rd strip and then st and 2nd strip. Once all are stitched together, the shutter is ready to move back and front.
22.   Punch a hole in the center of the 1^st strip near the end.  Hang 2 wooden beads with satin ribbon from that hole. This will help you to pull the shutter front.
    
23. Your stroller is ready. Glue your kite paper inside the box to cover the exposed area. Cut tassels or frills at the ends.
    
    
    
    
24. Now you can add as many embellishments as you desire. I added sequins on the sides and glitter flowers on the shutters.
    
25.  I covered the eyelets with blue flowers on the out and yellow flowers inside.
    
    
    
    
26. For the wheels I used paper tapes for spokes and tracks. I added paper tapes on the shutters for decorations. I also design cut the shutter to get a nice finishing.
27.  I covered the edges of the stroller using glitter strips.
    
28. Embellish the way you want. Have fun. After all the hard work, u can have a little fun.
29.  I purposely didn’t add handle. You can add if you want.