Up cycle

I had this kokopelli box which I was keeping for the longest time, waiting for the right opportunity to alter it.

The chance came on Evelyn's birthday, when I bought a "gem" encrusted ribbon necklace for her. I had to make a box to send along the gift and espied the kokopelli box in the corner. With black soft velvet lining, it was perfect!

I pulled out my Japanese fabric tape, lace , pearls and set to work. Happily it came to this. Thanks also to the fabric tape, I managed to transform the loose lid box into a flap cover.

My finishing touches was from Martha Stewart's frame, and the tiny veneer from Studio Calico. Tada!

New Year Blooms

I tag this as the last project I did in 2011, and the first I have done in 2012.  I was making the bloom brooches in the night for 4 friends who were different from one another.  The tags to put them on were pieced together on the first morning of 2012.

As you can see, it is a fast and easy way to pull together a gift and make it look more complete than just giving it plain.  I find that putting a little consideration and some feeling will bring you a long way in putting together the final product. 

If you have some great ideas for displaying and giving your gifts, do share your idea with me!

Fabric Twist Flower

It's been a while since I posted tutorial, so here's one I made with a strip of leftover fabric.  I cut the side seam off the fabric and decided to turn the gorgeous bright strip into a flower that I could use for layout.

It's super easy so you can attempt this with anything that won't break.

 Step 1 : Take a piece of fabric strip or ribbon.  Fold the starting tip into half, lengthwise to start.  Add a dab of glue before starting to twist around. 

Step 2 :  Loosely twist the strip and start to curl it around the centre, adding glue along the sides as you go along.

 Step 3 : Hold the flower centre to ensure that it is flat as you continue to twist and glue round and round to build the circular shape.

Step 4 : End the remainder last bit by gluing and sticking it down to the entire back as a base.

 Viola! The finished flower should look like this.

If you love gems and pearls, you may stick a pearl or bead to use as a centre to curl around.

Have fun! Do show me your flowers if you make some.