Handmade paper fire starters with beeswax

I had a brainstorm in the last few days since my experiments with fire starters - maybe I could use handmade paper for them.  I had to find my box of handmade paper as it has been a while since I was in there.  I made up two of each - two without wax and two with beeswax.  I decided to use beeswax on them because I just recently acquired some and I wanted to preserve the beauty of the paper.   

These are the ones I made above.  The ones without wax worked reasonably but those with wax were much better.  I used my griddle covered with foil in the same way as I did for when I used crayons.  I laid my handmade paper sheet (8.5"x 5.5") over the foil and rubbed the beeswax sticks over it.  Beeswax required a bit more heat (250F) and also the handmade paper is thicker than the other papers I used so it takes a bit longer for the heat to transfer through.  I avoided the edges and that proved problematic when I tried to light them as the sewn ends were less waxed than the rest.  

I had to go back and add wax to the edges.  For those already made up I simply dipped the ends in melted beeswax.  For those not yet made up I found that sewing through paper coated with beeswax is problematic as the wax is a little sticky.  So for my next ones I will put regular wax on the edges and the beeswax in the center.  It will give a nice highlight to the paper to have a coloured edge.  I will investigate the availability of parraffin - used for sealing canning jars - at the grocery store to see if there is any available at this time of year. It would provide a clear quick melting options for handmade paper.  I do like the beeswax on the handmade paper so I would consider just putting the parraffin on the  edges.          Therese

Slow Crochet - garlands made with crochet thread and felted wool die cuts

I have been brainstorming to find a process by which I could create garlands using thread and fabric shapes.  After a bit of research on garlands I found most had twine or ribbon as their base and a wide variety of fabric components including some made from felted wool die cuts, blanket stitched fabric shapes and "heat n bond" fabric elements.  I have a stash of felted wool donated to me by my daughter and I thought it would be a good place to start.  I wanted to find a way to secure the shaped elements to the substructure that would involve some slow activity so I decided to explore crocheting.  I liked the fact that I could use fairly thin crochet thread to create a more robust substructure than it would be on its own and that the finer thread would work to secure the elements in a sort of sewing way.  It took me a while to find what I was looking for online.  The technique I discovered is called surface crocheting and though I did not find any examples of it being used with fabric I thought I would give it a try.  I found some precut diecuts in the stash of felted wool and thought they would do for my experiments.  I started yesterday and found that the technique worked quite well for securing the butterflies to the substructure I created.  Interestingly, physics being what it is it, where you choose to run the surface crochet affects how the element hangs on the substructure.  I had thought that it would be great to have the substructure run right through the middle of the butterflies horizontally.  It was disappointing to see all the butterflies flip over when I hung my garland because they are heavier at the top than the bottom.  A bit more research and I decided to try to secure the butterflies at the top of their wings instead.  That worked better but they really looked more like they were caught in a net with the substructure between the wing tips which was not really the look I was going for.  So today with a bit of time on my hands after having done the mending (how did that happen??????????) I decided to see if I could go through the middles vertically and have the butterflies just be following each other on the garland.  That worked quite well and as I was playing with them to take photos I tried hanging them vertically instead of horizontally and liked that quite a bit too. I think the vertical ones would work really well in the wind - either hung outside or on a screen in a window.  I did have a butterfly vertical garland that I receive as part of a birthday card a while back.  It hung on the screen in the patio door and was always being activated by the wind.  It had a little weight at the bottom so maybe these would need weights at the bottom as well when hung vertically.  

We shall see as it is a work in progress and I am very happy to have a process that works to create garlands with fabric as a slow activity.   You can see below how the surface crochet appears on the elements.  It looks like regular stitching on one side and chain stitches on the other side.  It was so nice to be able to find a way ahead for this project.  Appreciate all those who share on the internet so the rest of us can find them.  

Therese

Slow Stitching - large leaf hand stitching project is finished

 I have finally finished all the leaves on my large leaf border hand stitching project!!!!!  I have enjoyed this slow stitching project (44" x 9") but dealing with a large piece and defined directions of stitching has meant having to flip it back and forth as I went across each section of every leaf.  I will be working on a small project next though I have yet to invent it so it may take a bit of time to sort it out.  I have been pondering the concept of combining crumb squares with a central square.  In that regard it would be easy to incorporate hand stitching into the square.  I will work out something and let you know when I get started.  

Here are my leaves one at a time!!

Firestarters - 365 project for this year!!

 

This is my first batch of fire starters which I have decided is my 365 project for this year.  It was the end result of trying to use up the paper that accumulates in my craft room and put it to good use.  After several sessions of online research in regards to fire starters I have had two full days of experimenting on the structure and content of these fire starters as it only made sense to have a fire starter which actually starts a fire before I made 365 of them.  

I have tried several options for the outside structure including bond paper and paper from paper bags and that which comes as filler in online orders.  All the ones I tried worked well.  For inside I have tried many variations including - crumpled newspaper, newspaper strips, small pieces of bond, shredded bond and many different ways of combining them.  At the end of my first long day and many different combinations  - even using bacon fat as an accelerant  - I decided that an accelerant was necessary so I would try wax and maybe polyester fabric.  My experiments with polyester fabric did not go well and I was unable to get it to burn with a flame strong enough to start a fire.  It was worth a try.  

Next, I decided to give wax a try which is one of the most used products in DIY fire starter tutorials.  I don't have a lot of wax on hand except in the form of waxed crayons and I decided that this would be a good place to start.  It would make the outside beautiful and encourage flames!!  I trimmed papers to approximately 5.5" x 8.5" from bags from bananas bags and some brown paper from parcel filler.  I put the bottoms of the bags through the shredder for the next step.  

I set up my griddle and coloured the paper using my wax crayons.  I have used wax crayons on several different substrates in the past.  A while back I made backgrounds for cards using cardstock.  You can check out instructions here.   More recently, I made some Heart Art using bond paper which worked out really well.  So with foil on the griddle I just started colouring my pieces of paper with my crayons and creating fun and interesting colour combinations.  It was lots of fun!!  

Next I folded the pieces in three the long way and stitched across the bottom to create a sort of tube for stuffing.  I did them all at once on the sewing machine and cut them apart once I was finished.  

Here is what I used to stuff the "tubes".  I held the "tube" in my left hand and took a small sheet of newspaper (4" x 4" or so) and scrunched it and put it in the top of the tube then used the palette knife to get right to the bottom.  I took a small handful (1/4 cup) of shredded paper and inserted that into the tube.  I scrunched another piece of newspaper and inserted it over the shredded paper and push it down to about middle with my palette knife.  Added another bit of shredded paper and then lastly another scrunched piece of newspaper.  I pushed the newspaper just down enough so I could pinch the top edges together so I could stitch them together.  I sewed them one at a time as I created them to ensure they did not lose their contents.  

Here is a photo of one fire starter - front and back.  As  you can see the edges really don't need to be neat and there is enough overlap to keep the contents inside.  No fancy stitching either - just regular thread!!

I managed to make 26 fire starters today so I am ahead a bit on my goal of making 365 - one for each day of the year!!  I have tied them into bundles of six which I think would make wonderful gifts for friends who have a fire pit or go camping.  I expect there is MUCH more outside social distancing visits in our future so these will come in very handy!!       Needless to say that there were at least that many sacrificed in the name of research and the final test was to see if DH could light a fire with one.  Success!!!  He was very happy with how they worked.  They are super easy to use - you simply light both ends and insert below your kindling - OR  - place below your kindling and light both ends.  In a few minutes you have a fire started and are on your way to a new adventure.  We are very fortunate that we have plus temperatures here this week so my experiments have been conducted outside in the fire pit without freezing any part of myself.  

  So I have an outlet for scrap bond (shredding) and paper bags and such which I have been saving to make decorative paper for cardmaking.  Instead, some will be decorative paper which will be channeled into fire starters.  I have a plan to organize my craft room so that there is less storing and more using that happens in there.   I hope that more creating will happen as a result!  We shall see!!

Therese

Crumb quilt squares in reds with a floral motif

Wanting to have some fun today I decided to make some crumb squares.  I dug through my crumb starters and found these red and white embroidered florals which  were in a batch of fabric I acquired a while back.  I had to cut them apart which left them with quite interesting angles.  The largest one unfortunately had been previously been trimmed close and I could not avoid stitching over the design.  I really enjoyed making these six crumb squares today!!  I have a small pile in my quilting box.  I know I have a couple other bright red ones in there and will have to work on created a few more that would coordinate with these ones to make a quilt top - purple would be very red hat, green would be very Christmas,  so maybe it will have to be blue or yellow!  We shall see!!  I managed to get everything cleaned up before supper which was excellent.  Works better when everything has a home.   Therese

 

Birthday card with a cute sheep, some ribbon and a "ewe" greeting

 Another January birthday card using an image I printed off a while back.  It is a digital of a cute little sheep with a heart on its butt and bird on its head.  (Beyond the Fringe Crafts) I started with a large envelope from my stash and created a black card to fit inside.  I added some blue decorative paper (digital) with a black ribbon across it.  I watercoloured the image, added a wavy line of paper piercing using my pattern tracing wheel and then layered it onto yellow to coordinate with the star and ribbon in the blue heart.  I mounted the image over the ribbon using 3D foam tape and then tied on a short length of yellow ribbon to the black one to simulate a bow and reinforce the yellow from the image.  I had added a cute little font greeting when I printed the image.  Worked out well!!           Therese

All occasion card featuring a collage background, a layered butterfly and rhinestones

 I am reaching the bottom of the pile of triangles  For this card I added a layer of yellow decorative paper to my card front before adding the triangles.  I left gaps between them and they barely go from side to side and are standing quite upright.  I added strips of white tissue paper over them to diffuse their edges and soften the colour a bit.  I added this turquoise butterfly sticker and then a little teal punchie one over it.  I die cut the body from black cardstock using a Quickutz die.  I mounted the little butterfly using 3D foam tape and then created a flight path using clear rhinestones.  Quite a bold background with the striped paper in there but the bright turquoise butterfly is bold enough to not be overwhelmed.  I added a black wavy border with a fine tip black sharpie marker to repeat the black of the butterfly body.  Glad to have so many cards in my stash!!          Therese

All occasion card with an aperture created by triangles of decorative paper and an embossed butterfly

 I found four of these triangles and after a bit of auditioning found that they created a frame around the edge of my card.  I went looking in my decorative paper stash to find a piece that coordinated.  I found this blue one and added several lengths of white tissue paper just to create some texture.  I found the gray butterfly in my stash and embellished it with some embossing and a bit of sponging to give it some colour.  I die cut the butterfly body using a QuicKutz die from black cardstock and adhered it to my butterfly using white glue.  When it was dry I used a slim piece of 3D foam tape in the center to adhere my focal element to my card front.  I used a fine tip black marker to create a swirly flight path and then decided to add a black wavy border as well.  The marker caught a little on the edges of the paper where they overlapped but I have decided it works with the randomly drawn line.     Therese

Another fabric gift bag

Overnight I remembered that I have this wonderful polyester indoor/outdoor fabric which has very good body and would likely make sturdy fabric bags.  So this morning after doing a few items off of my to do list I thought I would give it a try.  I used one end of a piece and only trimmed to straighten the edges to the grain.  I created it exactly like the last one which you can find here.   It is not quite as large a the last one but as you can see does stand on its own.  I will likely finish off my scraps of this fabric into a couple more bags which I can have on hand for gift giving or just passing on when the occasion arises.  Therese
 

All occasion card featuring a random collage background, a watercoloured floral image and some bling

 I am enjoying this process of creating background right on my card front!!  I used the same process for this one - edge to edge and butted tightly to each other.  To ensure they are well placed I positioned a piece of double sided tape across the middle of my card which kept the pieces in place while I applied glue behind the top and bottom portions.  I chose a landscape format for this card and again used a floral digital from Craftstarters.com.  I watercoloured it to coordinate, added a black border a bit heavier than last time still with good result.  I ran my tracing wheel on all four sides and mounted this image to my card front.  I added clear glitter to the flower's center petals and some blue rhinestones to the upper left corner.  I am making a dent in the little pile of triangles!!      Therese

Fabric gift bag made from elegant and lustrous brocade fabric

I have a gift I need to wrap and I always struggle with exactly how to do it so that the gift can be special but the wrappings will be reused.  Gift bags is the obvious choice, in that most people will not throw them out because they are easily reusable and stored.  Not wanting to purchase a bag I decided to see if I could make a fabric gift bag that would have the benefits of a reusable paper gift bag.  I started with a fairly small piece of beautiful fabric which came along with a fabric acquisition that was mainly for quilting.  I was not sure what I should do with the few pieces that were in this lot but they were too beautiful to not hang on to until a project or purpose presented itself.  It is an elegant brocade fabric with a bit of body and a lustrous finish.  I cut the piece in half and trimmed the edges of one piece to be more true.  I stitched the two short ends together.  I should have top stitched it after pressing but I was making it up as I went so I did do it later but it was not as elegant as if I would have been had I done it immediately.  I folded and pressed this tube with the seam in the middle of the whole and stitched the bottom closed.  Next, I folded both sides so I could stitch the bottom to create box corners.  Mine measured about 2.75".  After pressing the bottom triangles into place on the bottom of the bag I stitched across both ends and across the middle which nicely finished the outside and inside.  After pressing again, I folded the bag on the edge of one side and stitched across it to define the bottom edge on this side.  Next, I did the same to the other side.  These two seams nicely define the bottom which allowed me to cut a cardboard rectangle that just fit on the bottom which gives the bag more structure.  Next, I stitched up the top edge and then folded it over and double stitched it at the fold.  Next, I added the ribbons for the handles.  On hindsight, I should have positioned the ribbon handles on the sides before I did the top stitching because that would have been a better finish with less seams.  So this bag now folds flat neatly and the cardboard stays in place while it is stored.  You can see below photos of the front and back.  

I have decided not to include a tag as most people can sort that out themselves and most of the bags that have come my way have tags that have not be used.  On hindsight it is a bit large for my gift but it is a good size for reusing.  This was a fun project and I expect I will probably make a few more with those scraps of beautiful fabric that I have in my stash!!  

Therese

 

Thank you card featuring thin heart collage, red ribbon and a font greeting

I created this thank you card today using the scraps from yesterday's heart art collage for my Mom.  I started with a large purple card which fit in an envelope from my stash.  I stamped the front with a swirly heart background (SU) and gold embossed it.  I trimmed the collage scraps straight across and adhered them next to each other with the soft edges to the outside on the front of my card.  I overlapped where they join with a red ribbon with gold trim adhering the ends to the inside of my card.  I added a short piece over it on the left and tied them together with a short piece of gold fiber leaving the ends long.  I found this laser printed font greeting (NOEL) in my stash.  I watercoloured the body of the letters with purple and then added a bit of clear glitter to the letters.  I ran my tracing wheel on all four edges and then watercoloured the background in light green.  I layered my greeting onto a gold layer and adhered it over the ribbon using 3D foam tape.  Those hearts make the most wonderful background!!  I love the softness of colours and the edges.    Therese

All occasion card featuring a collaged background, a floral image and rhinestones

Having really liked the last card I made I decided to make another one in the same fashion.  I adhered triangles to the front of my card reaching from side to side and tight to each other.  I added the black border to it using a fine tip black Sharpie.  I found another little floral image in my stash and watercoloured it to coordinate with my background.  I gave it the same black border treatment with a black marker though a bit heavier this time and I still like it.  I mounted my image to my card front using 3D foam tape and then added three pink rhinestones to finish off my card.  

Having fun!!

Therese

 

All occasion card featuring a collage background, a little watercoloured flower and black borders on both

In the midst of getting cards made for my stash I decided to see if I could make some backgrounds using my little stash of triangles that I created a while back when I made these cards for my January Card Exchange partners.  I adhered random triangles tight to each other and reaching from side to side on my card front.  This card fits inside an envelope from my stash.  I trimmed all the scraps to the edge of my card once my glue was dry.  I found the little laser printed flower image (Crafterstarter.com) in my stash.  I watercoloured it to coordinate with my background, added a row of paper piercing on each edge and then added black highlighting on the edges using a large black marker.  I liked that the colour absorbed randomly and so I emphasized that by making the corners a bit heavier with colour than the sides.  Just enough to emphasize the focal element's edges.  I mounted the image to the background using 3D foam tape and then used a fine tip black marker to make a randomly drawn line all the way around my background.  Thinking it still needed a bit of something so I added clear glitter to the image - petals, center and the little yellow "bobs".  I am really liking these collaged background created right on the card front.  FUN!!!!!!!  Therese

Therese
 

Heart art for my Mom - heart collage using tissue paper, thin decorative papers and white glue

I made some heart art for my Mom.  Right now she needs to know that she is loved and is a blessing to all those around her.  

I created a couple of panels using white tissue paper, white glue with gold glitter and hand cut hearts from my large stash of thin decorative papers - quite a few which were napkins and paper towels I used to clean up after doing some creative art using acrylic paint.  I always wipe up my palette in order to not waste the paint.  I water down the paint in my palette, wipe it out and then spread out the paper to dry!!  It makes the most interesting and unique papers.  I did this same technique when I created my heart art for the front line workers.  I wanted my art for my Mom to be beautiful on both sides and the process of creating these pieces means that the side that is against the plastic is very shiny and smooth so I decided to make two and glue them together so I would have the great texture on both sides of my heart.  After my two pieces were dry I removed them from the plastic and cut one into the shape of a heart.  I used white glue to adhere it to my other panel.  Once that was dry I trimmed out the heart with my scallop decorative scissors.  I die cut a filigree heart from silver card and glued it to one side of my heart and added a glitter butterfly as my focal element.  I punched a hole at the top and added a ribbon so it could be hung in a window or on a door handle. To finish it off I used a pin and pierced each scallop which adds a bit more interest.   You can see below how it looks with a bit of light from behind.  The two layers makes it more opaque but you still get the stained glass look which I really like.  I will be sending it off to her in today's mail.  

Therese

 

Gray and maroon flannel quilt top

I worked on piecing this quilt top last week and was unable to finish because I had miscalculated and then had to cut more pieces.  I sorted it out today and ended up having to add two strips to the edges to make it wide enough so it would seem that when it comes to quilts I have difficulty getting the numbers right.  I have washed this quilt top as well because the gray plaid pieces were precut and had not be washed.  Not too much shrinkage so I will move ahead with adding a batting and backing next time I quilt.  

Therese

 

Little paisley quilt

I managed to get this quilt top finished today.  I used dark green backing and a cotton flannel batting.  I washed before quilting because the paisley fabric was precut and had not be laundered.  It did not shrink too much so I did not have to trim too much before binding.  I did a self binding with the backing coming to the front and being stitched into place.  I am happy with it!!

Therese

 

All occasion card featuring a lacy copper foil heart over a copper ribbon with a carved wood grain background

 A card which will be sent with our thanks for the blessings of gifts during this Christmas season!!  I cut another lacy heart from the piece I created by gluing copper foil paper to cardstock.  This one leaves a large heart out of the center so I cut another one from green cardstock and used it inside of my copper foil frame.  I started with a dark green card.  I added a length of copper ribbon to one of my carved wood grain backgrounds which I made a while back securing the ends to the back and then added this large layer to my card front.  I adhered the lacy copper foil heart to my card front using a white glue from a fine tip applicator.  I pressed it with my hand for a bit to ensure good contact between the heart and the embossed background.  I embossed the green heart and adhered it inside of my heart frame.  Love this one too!!           Therese

Slow Stitching -working on the last large leaf

I am still working regularly on my large leaves - my latest slow stitching project.  It has been a while and I am gaining.  I just started the last leaf yesterday and am very happy with how they have all worked out.   I will post all of the leaves when I get this one finished!!  

Therese

 

All occasion card featuring copper foil hearts on a carved wood grain background

 Another card of thanks for the blessings of the season!!  I am using the few supplies I have left over from unwrapping gifts on Christmas Day.  This year I have decided to use the seasonal items to make my January Christmas cards instead of my thank you cards as they are more appropriately used there.  

I added strips of the foil gift wrap in between two of the wood grain lines and secured the ends on the  back using regular glue.  I adhered this large element to my gray card front.  I used some of the hearts which fell out of the lacy heart I cut for my last card as focal elements on this one!!  I adhered the hearts with white glue onto the embossed carved wood grain background which I made a while back.  Worked out really well!!!  Therese