Custom Softie - Darla the Lamb

Awwwww! now this was pretty special to make. Tilly's little lamb.

[caption id="attachment_175" align="aligncenter" width="576"] Darla the lamb with bells[/caption]

Made from designer cotton fabric, Tilly's newborn babygro, felt, with hand stitched detail. This was such a pleasure to make. This was making an already beautiful pattern by Dolls and Daydreams into something so unique and special. Tilly's mum even chose the designer fabric. Who said owls and sheep don't go together?

[caption id="attachment_176" align="aligncenter" width="576"] Darla in all her glory, made from designer cotton fabric and Tily's newborn babygro[/caption]

This was a bit of a challenge because of using the babygro (a very stretchy fabric). The babygro was used for the inner ear, paws, and front of the body.

[caption id="attachment_174" align="aligncenter" width="576"] Darla's little bottom, Tilly's name hand embroidered[/caption]

This is Darla. A little bell around her neck with a series put inside with the stuffing. Tilly's name embroidered on the back with her date of birth, making it just that little bit extra special. This was one of the creations that I have made that I really didn't want to give away, but it is a very lovely new home.

CUSTOM DOLLY - Betty Lou for Nikki

There isn't a better feeling out there than making a a keepsake or gift that you know is going to be loved. When Nikki asked me for a 'Nancy Doll' but with purple ribbon and tutu I got excited - I get to make another Nancy. You see, I love making things but I do not have the space or need for a lot of the things I make, so making for others makes me happy.

FABRICS:
Victorian Flock Taffeta Damask
Shimmer Organza
Satin
Polycotton
Felt

Betty Lou sitting up with her tutu on

Betty Lou (and Nancy) is a more expensive handmade doll due to the embroidery. The heavy embroidery on her face meant that I needed to double up my fabric so it didn't pull. There is also an embroidered spider web and black widow (complete with seed beads) on her black Victorian flock dress, and the tutu consisted of doubled up purple satin and organza carefully sewn so it wouldn't fray. Stuffed with hypo-allergenic poly-stuffing.

Betty Lou next to her tutu



[caption id="attachment_116" align="aligncenter" width="645"] Personalisation can make a special handmade dolly into something precious[/caption]

I had seen gothic handmade dolls go for around $120, and although it does take time to embroider I want to maintain affordability. Betty Lou came in at £28.00 personalised.

Betty Lou was a pleasure to make and I'm sure she'll be well loved in her new home.

KEEPSAKES - Cat in a Box

Hello Little Roos,

Stephen and I have never been known as conventional so when it came to our friend’s wedding we weren’t likely to buy them a standard wedding present. This was decided by knowing the interest of the bride and a theme that had developed during the wedding planning.

[caption id="attachment_63" align="aligncenter" width="672"] Cat in a Box - Finished[/caption]

Presenting Lucky and Hope (the names I decided to call the cat and butterfly).

Since the wedding gazebo and the fairy princess castle I wanted a new challenge. I had rediscovered a japanese site that has a section for papercrafting. The Japanese are amazing when it comes to papercrafting but I wasn’t quite prepared for the kinds of websites that have
papercrafting sections. Amazing!

Lucky the cat and Hope the Butterfly can be found at Canon’s Creative Park along with other breeds and some of the most wonderful things I’ve ever seen. I am sure I will be uploading photos of more soon. The Butterfly was slightly adapted (size and without the flower).

[caption id="attachment_64" align="aligncenter" width="651"] Lucky the Cat out of the box[/caption]

First of all I put the cat together using 300gsm white card and experimenting with different glues. However, this is more of a manipulation process and therefore the 300gsm card was far far too heavy. I would recommend 160-200gsm. As for the adhesives, I used double sided tape, superglue (naughty, I know), and craft -acid free- glue in a glue pen form. The double sided tape did not hold so I wouldn’t suggest this one (I also used the mouse tape roller for the fairy princess castle when I ran out of craft glue and that didn’t work either), the superglue was used on the muzzle of the cat as nothing else would work – this was because the weight of the card was so heavy that a craft glue was not strong enough.

[caption id="attachment_62" align="aligncenter" width="622"] Hope the Butterfly sitting next to Lucky the Cat's foot[/caption]

Then I made up the Butterfly using 300gsm white card again. This was great for this particular 3D item. The box is the same one as I used for the wedding gazebo, however I made it slightly taller and sealed the lid closed. I used a different backing paper – gold butterflies – and only had
windows in three of the four walls and a window in the lid. I then used ribbon to decorate the box and added some 3D effect butterflies to the front corners.

[caption id="attachment_61" align="aligncenter" width="672"] Looking down on the Cat in the Box[/caption]

I found a beautiful butterfly on a download site that was part of a card topper kit. I printed off six. Three make up each butterfly and this can be done by sticking one left wing to another right wing.

Rating:-
Design: Original
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Additional: Take your time. Don’t rush. For this particular gift I didn’t attach the tail to the cat until the end as I altered it so it would lie further round the cat’s feet.

TIP: For the cat use 160-200gsm white card and craft glue in a pen.

KEEPSAKES - BLOSSOM CASTLE

Hello little Roos,

This, for me, was one of the most beautiful models I’ve made or even seen. I made this for a friend who was celebrating her daughter’s first birthday – Made using (and slightly adapting SHHHH!) a template from a digital download site. The template was a simple black line template allowing the user to choose their own backing papers. I am for and against this as I think the ease of use comes from the technical level of the crafter.

[caption id="attachment_56" align="aligncenter" width="511"] Blossom Castle - Finished[/caption]

I chose my backing papers, deciding on cream and blossom for the colours and decorated the finished castle with pearls, blossom gems, ribbon, and glamour dust (the glamour dust was put on before construction).

The base of the castle is a lovely little box but it’s not the easiest box to open since you have several tall towers on the lid, including one which is approx 12 inches.

[caption id="attachment_57" align="aligncenter" width="540"] Detail of Blossom Castle - The pearl gems really bring out the roof of the castle[/caption]

As a designer as well as a crafter and artist I would have preferred the gate towers to be on the lid and the walls to be lower and the gate I would have made less complicated and busy (the latter to I did myself, not for any other reason than finding the pieces obstructive and thus complicated to put together.

I have had wonderful feedback from family and friends regarding this piece and a request from my lovely mother to make her one.

[caption id="attachment_54" align="aligncenter" width="577"] Blossom Castle with the box base[/caption]

Rating:-
Design: Classic
Level: Advanced
Additional: You have to be patient with this one but it’s well worth it.

TIP: Print the matching paper on the reverse of the template too as you can seen inside. This is not suggested by the designer of the template. Only choose two backing papers, for the walls a cream or pale colour with a non intrusive pattern. For the roof and box, a more solid colour with a non intrusive pattern in a pale colour.

KEEPSAKES - WEDDING GAZEBO

Good evening little Roos,

The last few weeks have been terribly busy, however the desire to fill every bit of spare time with creative projects has meant that I’m always doing something.

[caption id="attachment_28" align="aligncenter" width="489"] Ella Goodwin & Gary Wheeler on their wedding day, 2012[/caption]

On June 23, 2012, my friend Ella got hitched to her beau, Gary. Ella is an illustrator and crafter. She loves to make jewelry, plushes and dresses – you can see and buy her stuff at Shop Miss Ella.

This is when I started to get excited about the 3D keepsake.

Card Making Downloads is my favourite place for crafting templates, from cards to keepsakes. The original design for the gazebo was designed by Crafty Creations. This design is lovely but I wanted to personalise it to suit the wedding we were attending. Needless to say from the photograph, Ella and Gary aren't exactly your traditional bride and groom.

[caption id="attachment_31" align="aligncenter" width="720"] The Wedding Gazebo out of its box[/caption]

I did keep several of the original elements/embellishments from the original design but I redesigned the backing paper using a repetitive illustration by the lovely Ella. I also drew a new bride and groom to match the real bride and groom.

[caption id="attachment_32" align="aligncenter" width="676"] I drew the bride and groom to resemble Ella and Gary in their wedding attire[/caption]

I used 300gsm card stock (this card stock won’t go through all printers easily and would therefore recommend using the heaviest your printer will allow) and added glamour dust and pearl gems for added detail.

The box is an optional extra but I love display boxes – the windows are such a lovely shape and very easy to cut. What I was impressed with most was the ease of putting it together and the perfect fit, not too tight or too loose. This is something that I find I have a lot of problems with when using templates.

[caption id="attachment_30" align="aligncenter" width="701"] The finished gazebo in its display box[/caption]

From a crafting point of view I would have preferred slightly better construction at the top central point but apart from that this was a fantastic project and a wonderful gift.

Rating:-
Original Design: Traditional
Level: Intermediate
Additional: This is very easy to cut out but time consuming and card hungry