Tag: crafting

Rearview Fridays: Potato Stamp Wrapping Paper

Ahhhhhhhh (sigh of comfort and decompression) I am back in the saddle — ish. Actually I’m more clinging to the edge of the saddle on the galloping horse that is my life, but none the less, I am here again. Our computer is set up in this new home on a new street in a new city, the internet is connected and it’s time for a Rearview Friday!

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This one I’ve been  saving. Last year when I was home on mat leave with then 3-month-old Gene and 3-year-old Rudi we made potato stamp wrapping paper. We had time in the schedule, space on the table and walls (for drying, this is key!) and had a rip-roarin’ good time. I fully plan to do it next year when we are not moving in the middle of the holiday season, whew.

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If you can believe it, Miss Crafty 5000 herself had never made potato stamps! So it was time. They were easy to carve and I bought lots of potatoes in case of mistakes. The snowflake was my runaway favourite design in print.

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I ended up using the Mala drawing paper roll from Ikea. It’s cheap and maybe tears a bit too easily for wrapping paper, but I liked how soft the texture was, it held the paint well and dried quickly. And I used whatever tempera paint we had around, just spread it thinly on a plate and then stamped away! I ended up drying the paper by taping it to the walls. It looked beautiful, magical.

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This was a great activity for a 3-year-old and also, ahem, for an adult! It felt extra special to clad our gifts in our original paper designs. And the stamps preserved pretty well for about a week. I kept them in a tupperware in the fridge with damp towels over the stamp cut-outs so they wouldn’t wither. Alas, this year it’s a mix of left-over wrapping paper from the drug store and brown paper, but I’ll dig out the fancy ribbon to jazz it up!

 

Free Pattern: Candy Corn Bunting How-To

I love Candy Corn. Not really to eat, I actually find it cloying and a bit meh, but I LOVE how it looks! I was inspired by a September post on The Purl Bee for these charming knitted candy corns. This halloween is going to pass me by before I manage to knit one, but come 2013, look out!

Anyways, it got me thinking how candy corn is a great decoration. And I also love me a good bunting (aka garland or pennant strand). And I thought: candy corn bunting! I googled to see what was out there — and there are lots, but none that I really loved. So I made my own. And I decided to share it with you! You can click HERE for the free pattern. I am no photoshop wizard, I aspire, but I cobbled this together and hope it inspires all sorts of candy corn bunting glory!

1. I grabbed some craft felt ends I had lying around and cut my candy corn pieces. In this case I’d decided I’d go with seven pieces on the strand, so I needed seven pieces of each colour.

2. a. Using a wide, tight zig-zag stitch, I attached the candy corn pieces together. I kept the pieces flush and the seam line right in the middle so that the zig-zag grabbed both sides of the felt.

2. b. I used orange thread between the white and orange pieces and yellow thread between the orange and yellow pieces.

3. Next I measured out a piece of 1″ wide brown ribbon (bias tape works well too) to length. Because the felt candy corns are 3″ wide at their widest point and I wanted 2″ in-between each corn, I calculated 5″ for each corn, plus an extra 15″ on each end to allow for securing the finished bunting. So with my seven-piece candy corn bunting, I cut a length of approximately 65″.

4. Next, I pinned my finished candy corns onto the ribbon, about 2” apart. In this case I pinned them halfway up the 1″ ribbon and folded the ribbon over the felt so the finished ribbon is 1/2″ wide. Then I sewed ’em down with a zig-zag stitch.

5. Lastly, I made some loops on the end of the ribbons so that the bunting can hang from hooks or tacks. I also left the ends long enough that they can tie. I used yellow thread on the brown ribbon. Kind of Charlie Brown-ish, love it.

Download the CANDY CORN BUNTING PATTERN right here for free! If you make one, send me a picture, I’d love to see how it evolves.

This little candy corn bunting was bound for a dinner party at a dear friend’s house. Here it is in it’s little glory, sitting above a delectable fall feast! Happy candy corn season folks.

CANDY CORN BUNTING PATTERN – a free download!