creativitE by Erin Bassett

Baskets and Boxes

I love little baskets & boxes, they are the perfect container for giving little gifts.  Here's some new die cut releases from Lifestyle Crafts.  (Remember...when you order to put in coupon code "ERIN" to get 20% off your order!)

This first one is an adorable berry basket....I made it a strawberry basket since I had a little bit of that Basic Grey "Nook and Pantry" strawberry paper left in my scrap basket.  The "wood" paper I used for the basket is from Studio Calico's "Take Note" collection.

To make the basket I had to die cut the basket pieces twice (which takes less then a one 12" x 12" piece of paper)...I snapped a photo of the pieces before I assembled the basket.

 

I then just folded all the pieces on the score lines and assembled it by crossing the two large die-cuts like an "x"...I put a little bit of adhesive in the center of the two pieces so that they would stay in place.  Then I just folded up the sides and wrapped the band die-cuts around the top of the box...once again putting a bit of adhesive under them.

And here's how it turned out!

 

 

I also made this cute little treat box...

I love that it has this little loop that you can insert a lollipop, pencil, straw, etc in!  Wouldn't a pencil be great in a gift box for a teacher???

I was also happy that the pattern on the paper I used lined up once it was folded!!  I think it makes it looks even better.  :)

 

Here's a close up of one of the flowers that comes with this die cut set....it actually comes with 7 different dies so you can really personalize this box!  Check out all the die pieces here.

 

I used my Epic 6 to die-cut these dies, but they will work in the most popular die-cut machines on the market...also, the reverse is also true...you can use other manufactures dies in the Epic 6!

 

Sponsor: Lifestyle Crafts

Got Fabric Scraps? Look what you can make!

I have a big basket of fabric scraps...it's actually about ready to bust it's so full so I decided I needed to do something with some of it.  So first I grabbed some of my recently added fabrics and ripped them into 1/4" to 1/2" strips.  (I wasn't very precise.)  I then sewed together each of the strips randomly with a little zig zag stitch on my sewing machine until I had some fabric scrap "yarn".  (Once again, it wasn't precise...I just quickly did it not caring what it looked like.)

 

While this photo shows the original cute ball of almost softball-sized "yarn" I made, I ended up having to make about twice as much for this project.

I then searched ravelry for a tutorial to get me started.  (Most of the time when I crochet from a tutorial I just use it to get me started, or give me an idea and then I tweek it to make it work for whatever I'm doing.)  I found this nesting basket tutorial and decided to use the pattern for the medium sized basket with a few tweaks to it (see below).

 

 

So I made a few changes to the instructions...I did half double crochet (hdc) stitches instead of single crochet (sc) and I didn't do the last 4 rows since I liked how tall it was without them. (hdc stitches are taller then sc stitches.)

 

 

This basket ended up measuring 7" x 2".  Which was perfect for me.  I will admit that it was much harder to crochet fabric then yarn....maybe it was because it was ripped or maybe too thick???  It definitely took some effort!  But it was a quick project and I think I like how it turned out...I'm not 100% sure yet LOL.  But hey, I used some scraps so I can't really complain too much.  ;)

 

What do you do with your fabric scraps???  Please post you links in the comment section!

 

 

Mod Podge Rocks! Fabric Covered Books

This blog post was featured on Mod Podge Rocks blog and I'm re-posting it here for all of you.   Also, in more Mod Podge news, I recently had the joy of having one of my projects published in the book Mod Podge Rocks!: Decoupage Your World...it's a great book with so many great ideas in it!

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Hi everyone, today I'm going to share with you a quick project that will really spiff up your home....it's also perfect for you art journalers who like to work in books!

I love to use book around my home as part of the decor.  It's a great way to add visual interest and sometimes give a favorite item a boost in it's height.  My only problem is that books covers don't aways "go" with my decor...so here's a great way to change it.

Just grab some books, Mod Podge (I used a matte finish), fabric, scissors, brayer, and an old hotel room key (or even a piece of cardboard will do), and some paper towels to clean up any excess.

For projects like this I like to put some Mod Podge into a squeezable container so that it's easier to control and I'm less likely to dump out too much.  You can see that I'm not really a "clean" crafter & I already made a mess just transferring it...but I'm sure you'll be much neater about it.  ;)

 

Start off by squirting out some Mod Podge all over one side of your book.

Next use the hotel key to spread it all over.  Make sure that you cover it completely, especially the grove near the spine.

 

Then apply the fabric, smoothing it out with your hands and the brayer.  If you happen to see that it's not sticking well somewhere you can add a bit more Mod Podge under the fabric and smooth it down again.

When you're done with one side, flip it over and do the spine and the other side.

Next, open the book up.  Cut small slits near the spine and trim down the spine piece.

Then you're ready to adhere the "flaps" down to the inside covers.  Since I am using these as decor I'm not too worried about what it's going to look like on the inside, so I just glued them down with Mod Podge.  If that's going to bother you then you can always cover up the inside cover with another piece of fabric after you glue down the flaps.

 

For the corners, I just folded them like I was gift wrapping a box and made sure that they had plenty of Mod Podge in the layers of the fabric. 

 

After the edges are adhered, apply some Mod Podge to the spine piece and tuck it down in the spine....you may have to use tweezers or some sort of tool to get it down there if it's tight.

 

And that's it!!  They are really quick to make and they don't take too much time to dry either.  

 

 

Go grab those books you have just laying around and get them covered!!

 

 

 

Erin Bassett writes the blog creativitE and considers it a blessing to be able to call her passion "work". She has been published in many books and magazines including Mod Podge Rocks!: Decoupage Your World. Erin is a craft addict who loves to do something creative every day. Her current loves are mixed media art, scrapbooking, papercrafts, sewing, and screen printing. 

Follow her on Twitter,  Facebook, and Pinterest.

My Card Make & Take From Inspired Journey

I went down to Manhattan Beach to the Inspired Journey event to teach this make & take for Lifestyle Crafts...

It was so much fun to show everyone how to make it!  All you need is a manual die-cutting machine (we used the Epic 6, but any other machine will work too), the largest size of the Nesting Frame die, the Butterfly die, and your favorite patterned papers & cardstock.  (We used paper from Authentique and Bazzill.)  Oh, and we inked the edges of everything.  ;)

The cool part of using the nesting frame is that you can fold a 6" x 12" piece of patterned paper in half to make it 6" x6" and then place it over the die with the folded edge placed so that it leaves a small portion of the die exposed...then when you run it through your machine it will keep the fold intact.  You can then use the smaller nested frame to create a mat for the butterfly out of cardstock.  :)

Once I got my card home I add a few details to it...pearls down the center of the butterfly, faux stitching around the mat, and a quote off the tear strip of the Authentique paper.

Here's a few pics from the event...this first one my friend Bucket took...

 

And here's a few I took...

So fun!!

Another Mixed Media Canvas: Clothe Yourself

Who likes vintage?   Of course I do, but with a modern twist!  Sewing manikins are still hot in the crafting world and so I thought I’d create a canvas for Basically Bare with one using one of the Basically Embellies Dress Forms.

I stared off by painting a 5″ x 7″ canvas using some of my favorite paints and stencils.

Then I pulled out three of the canvas leaves, and one of the small chipboard flowers from the Basically Embellies Bare Basics Blossoms & Leaves, and one of the bodices from the Dress Form set and painted them up.  While they were drying I covered the skirt of  the dress form with the chevron zig-zag paper.  I then adhered the dress form onto the canvas with Golden matte gel medium…it’s nice and thick so I can “slope” the edges around the chipboard since it dries clear, and then paint over it.

 

Then I just adhered the “leaves” onto the skirt with some more gel medium and added a few embellishments too.

I was careful to only adhere the tops of the leaves onto the canvas so that the bottoms could have some dimension.

And then I just finished it off by stamping on a scripture verse I paraphrased and adding some finishing touches.

Sponsor: Basically Bare