A Season of Giving

Hey all,
I have been extremely busy and just not able to get into my craft room. I will be seeing my friend again soon and I have been saying I would bring him a gift for three months. Each time we got together I still hadn't gotten anything done. I just couldn't come again without a gift for him. When I saw the lantern I knew I wanted to make it but not sure how.. I started with Victorian Christmas SVG Bundle and well the rest is history.. Here is how I made it.

I cut the body of the lantern from Bazzill Avocado card stock. In my minds eye I could see this paper and pine needles. I loved the holly on the orginal but wanted it to be more of the lantern and of course I was thinking of Charles Dickens. I reached for black paper but It really isn't my favorite to work with because it tattles on you with your glue. That is when I reached for the Avocado colored paper.
I found the patterned paper I was thinking about in my stash then because there just wasn't enough anymore of the one paper I had to improvise. I decided to do the bottom in the avocado with the pine emboss folder and add the metalic ink to the top. All pieces of the Avocado were inked with Tim Holts Iced Spruce distress ink as well. I will list the "ink" on the bottom of this post so you can get some as well. It is pretty nifty ink and we all have Trina Struckman to thank for telling me about it.
The ribbon is a deep burgandy from Walmart and is 1/8 inch wide. The little snowflakes are from Michaels. Take a walk down the Christmas tree isle and in particular where the stuff is for the miniature Christmas trees are, I have stashed away a few things from there for future use. 

I punched a hole in my center top portion of the windows on the lantern and then added red bells using a jewelry jump ring, with exception to front where I added a single snowflake.

I felt that the swag on the top would take away from the paper so I added ribbons to the sides using a glue gun to adhere them in three places. The tiny bells were something from my stash. I have had them so long I do not remember where  I got them. The greenery is thinlit Tim Holtz Dies. I purchased them from Amazon as they often put his dies on sale. I usually use my machine but when I need a delicate cut it is often easier to use the dies. I know the paper will not tear while cutting. The top is Tim Holtz knob also purchased from Amazon. 

Now for the center which lifts the votive sized battery light. I save the center rolls from plastic wrap to use in designs as base pieces. This is a portion about 2 inches high. I cut it using a plaster saw. I adhered a strip of cardstock to cover the roll piece curling it first to help it" hug" the roll piece. I bent the top lip of the paper in to cover where the candle would sit. This lip portion is 1/16 inches high. The candle sat on top quite well. The candle flame was colored yellow and then a maroon with a permanent marker. I adhered the greenery to the center pieces and added pearls I had colored with a R39 Copic Marker. 

    I hope you like my lantern as it was a gift for a couple of dear friends and was well received. Thank you so much for stopping by and reading my blog. As I write this I was given a Dreaming Tree spotlight for it which was very nice. Happy Crafting Y'all!
 Blessings, Sharalyn

Supplies
Avocado Bazzill Card Stock
K& Company Glad Tidings collection
I found one listing on ebay for the emboss folder
It is RB Pine Branches emboss folder
"Ink"
Metallic Ink
Tim Holtz Distress Ink: Iced Spruce
Tim Holtz Vintage knobs
Tim Holtz Thinlit Dies 661597
1/8 inch Maroon Ribbon
Miniature Red Bells: Michaels
Miniature Snowflakes: Michales
Red Gems: Michaels
Tonic Craft Tacky Glue: Scrapbook.com
Sizzix Eclips2
ecal2 software

A Christmas Wish.. Come True

Hey Y'all,

This is a story of a wish I had to have a pick up truck. I have shared it many times. I drove poor Mary Bonk Crazy.. but oh how I wanted to make a paper one.. and of course it took her a little time but oh y 'all… my heart to yours Mary, I love you. Thank you.

You will need to purchase Fall Weekend SVG Kit
I started with cutting the truck using Bazzill Ruby Slippers. I knew I wanted this to look like an old pick up truck so instead of using so much chrome paper I made the bumpers wood. I added lines to the wood with my scoring board, then inked it with Tim Holtz Distress ink Gathered Twigs. The truck was given the "old dirty look" with the same ink. I saved the center cut outs from the side elements for the hood and added them to the top of the truck. I used sliver liquid pears for the key hole pump.
I cut the greenery for the sides top and back of the truck using Clara's Christmas Strips SVG Collection. You will need to size it down. I cut the bow using a darker Red another Bazzill favorite Blush Red Dark. I drew lines for the bow with a dark Red pen then inked the edges with Aged Mahogany Distress ink. Cut the top bow using Bazzill Ruby Slippers and ink the same.

The wreath for the front of the truck was made using More Christmas Box Cards SVG Kit. Use the Wreath from the door Christmas Card. I made the Christmas balls with red glitter Stickles. The bow was cut from a Memory Box Precious Snowflakes Die. The snowflakes for the hood and wheels were cut using Maryanne Snowflake Die from Simon Says Stamp cut from Craft Cardstock from Simon says stamp as well.  Those were glued to the inside of the wheel well and then a Marquee Love by Heidi Swapp for the hubcap. Snow was added to the whole truck using Deco Art Snow Writer, add glitter while it is still wet. Two of the packages in the back are made using the One-Piece Boxes SVG Kit . One is made using the  Twist Top Star Box. This is the one I asked if anyone recognized in the sizzix group. I do want to make a bunch for a girl friend but I also wanted to use it for this design. I had to remove all but the top hole on the star to make it cut well. The White walls are Vanilla American Craft Card Stock. 

The Tree in the back is from an old file I acquired I believe on SVG cuts fan page. I believe the maker was 3d pine tree from wildwood paper craft imaginarrium.  It was made using the dress form bottom form Dress Shop SVG Kit. I made the dress form bottom with minimal stand pieces and glued the branches one at a time onto the stand. I added the Snow Writer to the branches and then added Antique glitter from Art Glitter. The Snowflake on the top of the tree is two snowflakes glued together and are from the snow globe card  Christmas Box Cards SVG Kit  .

Christmas Blessings Die was acquired from Amazon. I have tired to find the exact listing for it but to no avail. I believe I purchased it a few years ago and it may not be available from the same maker. 

On the tail gate I made holes and added brads then tied Stampin up Linen Thread to it to "hold" the tail gate up. On the inside of the truck bed is wood rails. I made those using three rectangular strips cut from Bazzill Mocha Divine each a tad smaller to add depth. Ink them as well with gathered twigs distress ink.  That is my Christmas Truck and I hope you like it. I am very pleased with it and feel it will look amazing in my decore when I set up for Christmas. I want to take the time to personally thank you Mary for all your work and all your "thinking" . It really takes time to come up with this and it is a lot of try and retry till you get it perfect. Mary you do a wonderful job. You made a lot of people very happy from Katie Smiley and I, Thank you. We adore you. 

Blessings, Sharalyn

Happy Crafting Y'all. 

From a Pumpkin to an Owl Treat Box

Hey y 'all,

 This is going to be a quick post since I have already had a lot of questions. I made this for two reasons. I was entering something for the ecal group challenge and as a thank you for someone who shares a love of owls at my church. So here it goes

Using the Freebie Pumpkin Treat Box I brought the bottom leaf onto the mat and cropped the stem off. I cleaned up the rough edge from the crop by deleting the extra nodes. Then the "ears" in the Mocha Divine from Bazzill are cut at W 1.326 x 1.038. The smaller "hair" or feathers are cut at W 0.633x 0.639. cut two of each. The "beak" measurements are.. Top W 0.576 X 0.801. Bottom W 0.331 x 0.459. Cut one of each I used American Craft Honeycomb cardstock. Use the smaller leaf and duplicate and angle several onto the middle pumpkin piece. Use path, exclude, back to front to make the cut outs on the tummy.

Use the brown piece with the vine, break it apart. When you move the top brown piece away you will have a tear dropped piece. I used that for his wings and angled and duplicated it . Then you select all of it and use path then back minus front. This will give you the cut outs on the wings. I cut mine using Bazzill Mocha Divine. Cut two center portions of the pumpkin and layer them under your wing cut outs gluing them together.

Using the same brown piece and cropped the curly part off. Use the part that you cut the vine off of and turn it with the two bumps up. Copy and paste two extra pieces of this as one will be your feet and one will be the yellow part for the eye. Clean up any nodes by deleting them.  Using the other odd shape from that stem that was left over and using path and union bring the tear drop piece and the odd shape together to make the lid and eye part. I used Bazzill Black Bird. Size the piece to W 0.803 x 0.753. Cut two of the black and two of the yellow. Glue the black to the yellow slightly overlapping. This is not a perfect fit so use your creative eye for the eyes. lol
Using the same shape you used for the yellow of the eye cut two feet from American Craft Honeycomb Cardstock.

As Trina Struckman said in the comments I used the stem for the tail feathers and added lines using a maker. I added leaf lines for the ears and "hair".

Cut the bottom, middle and top of the pumpkin using Brown. I used Bazzill Mocha Divine. Cut the box shape. I used a paper from Celebrate Autumn by Echo Park.

Leave a little showing so you can see the feet. Train your tail feathers up and glue under the edge of the bottom pumpkin. You will be overlapping your tail feathers that is why I used two colors. Glue the pumpkin bottom to the box front. I did this while mine was flat then glued the box together. Glue your feet to the bottom underside of the middle pumpkin or tummy. Glue your head on next just over the top portion of the box and pumpkin. You will be covering the stem but it will be visible from the back. I used pop dots for the last center portion of the pumpkin and attached it at the center of the Head pumpkin. 
Layer your wings gluing them together. I used Cinnamon Bazzill Cardstock for the bottom layer and ran the two layers through my emboss machine using Cuttlebug African Batik emboss folder. Bend the wings slightly  and angle them gluing them over the edges of the tummy. 

Glue the eyes about half way onto the middle head piece. Train the top beak into a curve leaving the flat edge as a tap. This will be how the beak is attached to the face. Do the same for the lower beak. Adhere the lower beak first then the top over the lower beak. 
At the center top of the head glue the "ears" at and angle then to cover your seam do the same with the smaller leaves. These were trained into an upward curve. Glue a bow onto the middle part of the face at the "neck". Fill with treats and your done! 

I hope this makes sense to y 'all. Enjoy your owl and I would love to see them on my Facebook page Shara's paper Creations or Dreaming Tree whatever! Thanks for stopping by and Happy Craft'n Y'all!!!
 Blessings, Sharalyn


Here is the Link for the Freebie: Take a look around and see if there is anything else you make like. 
Pumpkin Treat Box

Christmas Fantasy Lantern

Morning all,
The weather is starting to get cool here and the early mornings

are delightful! I wish that September would be cool but that is not the normal for us. On October 31st is when we feel the real change of the season, or that is how it usually is.

I have been thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas and I am ready to be a little chilly and ready to decorate my house in fall splendor. I am ready to think about Christmas and glitter and all the wonderful things I can make with the fall decorations. So it is that I share my lantern. This is one that was free last month from Creatieve Papier Uitspattingen. I made it very Christmas looking and I hope that gets you in the crafting mood. Lets get started.

I cut the lantern using Bazzill Bitter Chocolate. I made a hole in the bottom platform to hold a tea light. The vellum and acetate were stamped with versa mark ink then embossed with a glittery clear emboss powder. The windows were not glued in but rather put in with score tape. Then frames for the windows insides cover the vellum and acetate edges. I wanted this lantern to draw you in when you looked at it.

For the Tree inside I used a small paper dowel like you would have found on wire hangers from the cleaners. I drilled holes to allow the light to shine through the tube and branches. The branches are a small sprig die cut from Poppy Stamps. Each branch is glued then I used pearl accents on the tree to create the snow and added ultra fine art glitter while it was still wet to the pearl accents. The bottom of the tea light was covered with Bazzill Bitter Chocolate paper. Then the top of the tree has a "light" like you would find in the Christmas section of a craft store. They are on a sting and would be used to hang on a small table tree. I popped the bottom off of it and glued it to the top of the tree. I liked how the teal light shown through.

I knew I wanted the light to shine down onto the tree so I put holes in the top polygon for the lantern after I covered it with the bitter chocolate paper and weaved the lights in and out of the polygon. I brought the lights through the top of the lantern and wrapped them around the post of the lantern. The tiny power pack with the switch is under the "tree" that leans against the post. I welded small snowflakes to the cut that has the holes for vents in the top of the lantern. That layer is glued under the orginal cut and Deco Art Snow Writer was used to great the dripping snow affect. While it was still wet I applied ultra fine Crystal Art Glitter.

Knowing this extra weight would be hard for the lantern to hold all by itself I added a cardboard tube in the center of the base stand and added chipboard to the top and bottom pieces of the base. I glued small glass stones to the inside as extra weight.

The leaning Tree is also made with the Poppy Stamps Die glued to the pole on the base and then on top of each other to create the leaning tree. Deco Art Snow Writer and Ultra fine Crystal Art Glitter was used again to create the sparkling snow effect.

This Lantern was so much fun to make and to lose myself in the creation of it. I have a couple more that have been requested of me to make and I will lose myself in their creation as well. They are gifts as was this one. To say I enjoyed myself in making it is an understatement. Cornia's Creations really let my creative expressions come out. Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog. Enjoy your day and Happy Crafting Y'all!

Blessings Sharalyn

The Beauty and Reflection of Autumn

Hey y 'all,

It has been so hot and muggy here and just plain not fun! I have not been in my craft room very much although you will have to wait till September to see what I made recently. My craft room is a disaster! I plan on cleaning it up today so I can make another very large mess.. Anyhoo. I made this lantern last month.

There were a ton of firsts for me in this lantern that I made. I leaned how to make my own paper. I also learned that I could change the background paper color in my photo program for paper you print yourself. I made my own 3d tree and leaves. Now leaves are not that hard to make and the tree really wasn't either it was just a lot of trial and error. It looks really great and I love it but next time I will use wire in the branches or put less leaves on. The leaves weighted the tree branches down and gave them an angle I didn't like. Most of this is trail and error and next month I will share with you a couple more trials and errors. My mom says "how will you know if you dont' try"? Good question and since I grew up with this mindset y 'all get to benefit from it.

This lantern is called  "Autumn Lantern" the Artists name is Corina, She has a page called Creatieve papier Uitspattgen. As much as I can gather she is Dutch. Google translates her words as best it can so I do not know from her own words. She is a very creative artist and quite talented. I love well made detailed designs and she really does do them quite well. I paid for this file, but if you join her Facebook page and make one of her files then post it before the end of the month she will give you the freebie for that month. This month it is a hanging lantern. Hurry though, you only have till the end of the month to make and post something though or you will not get it for free. If you look for the paragraph were she explains how to get the freebie there is a link that you can download designs she has made for free. Make one of those and post before the end of the month. Make sure you post for the (put that months name in) freebie.  It is a complicated design and as she says in her own words not for a beginner.
 UPDATE: Cornia is no longer adding people to her Facebook group as someone did not respect her wishes and not share the file. Therefore you will need to purchase her files on her blog.

I printed on my Stampin Up Cardstock Vellum with a paper from Snapclick Supply. This is were I pay for and download a lot of my paper collections. I had changed the background to white so I could print the vellum without a color just the leaves. Then I changed it again to compliment the paper color I used. I had wanted to use a light inside the tree to shine on the leaves and give them a glowy look but it was to tall for the lantern. Maybe in the future I will find one that would work for that. I really would like to find even smaller lights or light strings that reflect something you would use in a village. I will have to keep hunting. The fairy lights are attached at the top of this lantern to shine down on the tree. I used a permanent ink pen to color the lights on the string with orange. This gave the lantern a warmer glow.  This lantern speaks to me in so many volumes. The beauty of the fall and in my mind, the Lord. He has made everything perfectly. This lantern that Cornia Created is both beautiful and delicate. I made one for my daughter as well but really need to take another crack at what she was desiring. While pretty and she likes it, it is not exactly what she loves. I need to do more research to find just the right element to help me achieve her desired lantern. While I usually post about Dreaming Tree or Svg cuts I have to admit the complicated designs of Corina are intriguing me. I still love both other companies I am just on a Creatieve papier kick.

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my blog. My apologies for not getting this done sooner it has been quite a month for me. Busy, Busy, Busy. I think I am looking forward to the cooler weather and the slower pace of Winter! Blessings to you all! Sharalyn

Happy Craftin' Y'all!!!!


I have been asked where I got the lantern pattern and Facebookhttps://creatieve-papier-uitspattingen.blogspot.com/ will not allow me to share it saying it is unsafe. It is not... so here is the link to her blog.

Horray for the Red, White and Blue!

 Afternoon all!

On this day before the 4th of July I wanted to bring to you Mary Bonks Ginormous stars!!!
So festive and would work for Christmas, Birthday parties, Graduations all kinds of occasion's. The kit is called Mega Stars SVG Kit.

I saw these and loved them but they use a lot of paper for one star...and I live in a sleepy town where I can't just go down the street to get more. When I need more cardstock I have to order it. Well that is most people these days but 13 1/2 sheets per star is pricy to the normal person. To make three and they aren't even for you??? Honestly I did think twice about it. When I really thought about it and considered the joy it would give the person I was giving it to it was worth the cost to me. It is a surprise and while his wife might read this he will not. I can share with you this is for my Best friends husband for his birthday. We are having them over on his birthday on the 10th to celebrate our birthdays ( mine is on the 14th) and have burgers. Grover loves patriotic stuff just like I do and decorates his yard that way. I love going over and seeing what is new. I sealed these with glossy acrylic spray and am hopeful that if he puts them outside they won't fade to terribly.

The blue star is cut from Bazzill Admiral cardstock and embossed with a Darcie Fireworks folder, then I used Craf-t rub on Metallic paint which Trina Struckman told me about to bring out the emboss on it. The color I used was silver blue.

The Red and white stars was a bit more challenging and that is because I glued the panels on before putting the star together. It was VERY confusing to me and my suggestion is to glue the star together first then put your panels on. I did the internal panels as I put the star together. The base of the red star was cut from Bazzill Blush Red Dark. The White star was cut using American Craft White Card Stock. The internal papers are from Photo Play and the collection is called Live Free. I purchase this collection last year when it came out but purchased a lot of extra sheets of paper from Scrapbook.com as I loved this collection. I do that whenever I find something I can use in a lot of other projects.

Those are my stars and maybe next year I can make some for us. I look forward to using this Kit in many ways and for many celebrations. Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and read my blog. I look forward to seeing the many designs to come using this Mega Star. One person in particular I am hoping she uses my idea and makes it.. I won't spoil it for you yet.. Thanks again and Happy Craftin' Y'all! Blessings, Sharalyn

Delicate and Beautiful Lanterne

Afternoon all!

It is a glorious Sunday afternoon and I am sharing with you the first item I have made from Creaiteve Papier. I was introduced to her designs through Helle Bilde Muller and her blog post. Helle and I were on the design team of Dreaming Tree together and I have seen many of Helle's Creations. I like to read her posts and see what she has made and what she is up to. It was one day that I read about a beautiful lantern Helle made. This is also Corina's design and though not the lantern Helle made, it is still a very pretty lantern. I will be making one like the one Helle posted about as well. Helle did a wonderful job with it.

For some crazy reason I became confused by what this lantern was made of and started making the body of it from acetate. I had no idea if this would work but felt is was very clever to make it from that as it would hold up a bit longer. Anyway it turns out that no it is supposed to be made with paper. I should say that the language of this blogger is Dutch and so you have to rely on goggle Translate to understand the jist of things. It doesn't take a translator to understand that her designs are well thought out and are quite lovely. This was what I thought anyway. I absolutely love lanterns and she does them very well.

I cut the body from acetate as I stated before. I had purchased a box of overhead transfers from a office supply store many years ago. Quite an expensive purchase for me at the time as it was 35.00 for this box. I thought I would never use the box up in my lifetime. If I were to make more designs using the acetate that might be possible but since I now understand I was wrong I might not use the whole box up.

Files can be used in Silhouette, Make the Cut or cut as an SVG. I loved how delicate this lantern was and have another idea which I am not willing to share just yet. Unlike another designer I have recently tired this gals files are complete and do fit quite well together. Instructions are in Dutch and you will have to translate them using Google.
I have been paper crafting many years now and enjoy it very much. I have started to design some of my own files and can appreciate a good design with great engineering. This designer does have that. Though I do miss the wonderful Videos I get from SVG cuts and Dreaming Tree, I see a great future with wonderful designs ahead with Corina. I look forward to sharing more of them.

I used American Craft White Card Stock and pearls from my stash to decorate this lantern as well as my Musical Flourish Emboss folder from Cuttle bug. This Folder is one I use quite often and it is one of my favorites.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog, I hope you will give Corina's Files a try. You have to contact her via her blogposts and give her the number of the files you want. They will send an email with the PayPal information and once you pay you will receive the files. Thank you again for stopping by. Happy Sunday and Happy Craftin' y'all!
Blessings, Sharalyn

A Patriotic Lantern

Evening y'all,

When I saw the Penny Farthing Lantern from Dreaming Tree I was torn. I wanted to do a patriotic lantern but I also wanted to do the steam punk version. After I made the Steam Punk Version,  I decided I had time to get make the Patriotic version. I also had a good friend make a patriotic lantern and that pushed me to making mine. The Penny Farthing Lantern is from the Good For Guys SVG Bundle

This was a long process as I changed the look of it SOOOOO many times and this was a tough lantern to make as I had trouble with my vellum I printed curling. I am not talking curling at the edges I am talking into a taquito. It was extremely frusterating. I got my layers off and had to go back and do the Leo Kowal trick with the scrap of paper. It seemed like it took me FOREVER to get this done. I know y'all understand some projects when you finally get done your glad to move on to the next thing. I am glad to move on to the next project or idea I have. How did I make this? Grab a cup of coffee or tea and have a sit. Lets get to it.

I have been using silhouette business addition to alter things in as I have not gotten the hang of Eclips software yet but I am plugging away at it. Using the knife tool I cut away everything away for the man on the bicycle and away from the frame of the lantern. If I could have a wish I wish there had been a blank lantern for me to add any design I wanted. I deleted all but the bicyclist. I removed the pipe as I don't like encouraging smoking. I have seen to many I love suffer the ill affects of it. I deleted the nodes to the pipe, then I fixed it so it looked like just a mouth. I also changed the coat and collar a bit. I added nodes to the hat to finish the look and made my bicyclist a little smaller. I didn't want him to be the sole focus of the lantern. After all this was to celebrate the fourth of July.
 I got out my book of PDF's from SVG cuts and starting looking at patriotic collections.  Collections are just groups of flat SVG cuts that you can use to weld into a design or just use on cards or in photo book layouts.  I chose the star banner from Uncle Sam's Extravaganza Collection Part 1. I ungrouped it and released compound path and deleted inside parts of some stars on it as I had already done a test cut and it had not come out well. Next I brought in the flag from Made In The USA SVG Kit. I found the silhouette of the two children running with the flag and again using the knife tool I cut the flag away and fixed the nodes in it as well. I welded that to the "walking stick" making it look like he was carrying the flag. Then adding the stripe to the flag I made a compound path.

The celebration of the fourth to me is not with out my reflecting on my freedom, that others died so I can be free. Knowing I wanted to add that to my lantern I made a firecracker and using a stencil font I subtracted the letters from the rectangle/ firecracker. I added another skinny rectangle  and altered a few nodes to make it look like a wick then welded stars to the wick.

I had deleted the corner parts and since it looked to plain I added the scalloped corner and the firecracker bursts to it putting them in place and subtracting it from the solid piece.
On the other side is a Ferris wheel from A Day at the Carnival SVG Collection as well.

I took out the design in the top of the lantern and did my best to make it look like firework bursts. I used the shapes menu for this in the eclips. One is a rain drop that I altered the nodes a bit and the other is just your ordinary star. I was going to make panels for the top using the offset in Silhouette but once I got to that point I didn't feel it really needed it. It would add depth and I may still go back and add it but I think it would be fine without it.

I wanted feet again but I didn't have any more from Tim Holtz. I wanted something a bit different and I can say this the first time I have combined Dreaming Tree's files like that.  Using the  Dragonfly Daze SVG Bundle I took the base from the Dragon Fly Lantern and assembled it then glued that to the base of the Patriotic lantern. I had trouble with it as well. My paper kept popping in. I don't think I would want to make this again just because of all the issues I had making it but it turned out better than I had hoped for and I am pleased with the result.

Many have asked how I did that. How did I make the fireworks look like the night sky on the 4th?  It was a total accident. I found the paper from Snap click Supply and bought the collection. I printed it onto my vellum and cut my pieces. I glued them into the lantern and had already decided I wanted to use the remote lights Leo told us about. I had thought I would just use the white light but when I turned on the remote it flashed and oh my what it did for the vellum!!!!  It was just as if they were exploding and our high wheel man was riding by!

That is my lantern and I hope you enjoy it. I won't make another just because is was a pain but I will enjoy this one for as long as it lasts. Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog. Have a wonderful day and Happy Craftin' Y'all! Blessings, Sharalyn

I apologize for the terrible picture and video. It has been very windy here and I have not been able to get a good video or photo. I promise to do better next time.

3dsvg.com
Good For Guys SVG Bundle
Daze SVG Bundle

SVGCuts.com
Uncle Sam's Extravaganza Collection Part 1
Made In The USA SVG Kit
 A Day at the Carnival SVG Collection

Snap Click.com
Echo Park Celebrate America Digital Paper Pack

This is printed on Card Stock Weight Vellum from Stampin Up
using Cobra continuous  ink system for my Epson

Submersible LED Lights - Qoolife Remote control Battery Powered, RGB Multi Color Changing Waterproof Light for Vase Base, Floral, Aquarium, Pond, Wedding, Halloween, Party, Christmas

$7.98 ^$ 7 ⁹⁸  Prime

Below is the link for the lantern in action:

Patriotic Lantern/ Sharas Paper Creations
Special thanks to all who have watched my video I am amazed at the numbers and how far it has reached. 2,444 as I write this and it is still going up. Thank you so much. I am stunned.

Gas it up Riley, your heading to High School!

Hey y 'all,

My grandson Riley is graduating from middle school tomorrow and I wanted something unique to put a monetary gift in. I had recently seen this cute little Vintage Gas Pump.  I purchased it from Cre8tive Cutz but there were things about it that bothered me a bit after I made the first one.
When I give a gift I want it to be the very best I can possibly give. That means if something bothers me about a design I can't give it till I make it the way I think it should be. I want to explain that this is in no way a tear down of her design. It is a cute design and I am positive anyone would be happy to make it and give it the way it is. I am just that particular that looking at it and knowing the things that bothered me were still there would make me crazy. I have to give a gift with all of my very best effort or don't give it. This is me and where I live. So That being said lets get started.

I chose my colors and started cutting but then I thought no this needs to be this color. Usual right? That is totally up to the artist making it and again I will say the things I "fixed" are totally up to the artist. It is my cross to bear that I make it knowing it is a gift I am happy with.

When I started to assemble it the first thing I came across that bothered me was the tank was open to the bottom. Since I planed on putting cash in it what if it got stuck in the bottom? I know most people don't worry about that kind of thing but I did. The next thing was the stand for the bottom didn't have tabs at the corners to help keep it closed and add stability. Yes those things are important to me as well. In my opinion not only does it help with stability but it helps you glue the box together. I am just that uncoordinated.. ask my mom. I added triangle tabs to the corners and cut it again adding dotted lines to the top so I would know where to glue the tank on the top. Then I made a frame to fit over the top of the tank and glue to the platform or stand to hide the lines and finish the look.
I turned my attention to the tank and added a rectangular flat flap to glue onto the tabs.

Next I started making the top for the gas tank. What I found was it seemed a bit wonky and especially at the top. I assumed it was a hiding node because that has happened to me as well. When I brought the file up to find the sneaky little node I did find it but I was a bit surprised that a lot of the nodes had a corner feature attached to it. Well It is still a good file and like I have said before most people don't even see it let alone it bugs them. I am a little different and it shows. Most call that OCD I call it knowing I did gave my very best. So I changed the nodes to curves, smooth or straight where I thought it should be. The orginal also comes in a tad at the bottom. Not a bad thing and I didn't mind it to much but I still changed it.

Ok I had gone this far to change things so I went further. Since I changed the nodes came a slightly different shape a tad more square so that meant that the center piece she made didn't quite fit. Using the knife tool I cut a section with the pointed flaps and duplicated it. I welded these pieces together making the center piece slightly longer, adding score lines where they were needed.  This allowed for my "correction" of the file. I put it in italics because again this is the individual artist thing. Then I decided to make a frame for the gas words and then a frame to go around the very top. That looked good so I added one to the tank as well. All of these extra things I added increased the stability of the box in my opinion as well. Last up was adding the number stickers between the two layers so it looked like they were supposed to be there.

The only thing that I sent an email to the designer about was that the nozzle if sandwiched with cording would need to be flipped, and because I am who I am I will need to adjust a tab so that the entire cord is wrapped in both directions. Again this is all about where I live, not that design is a bad one. It is not. It is quiet cute and I will be purchasing more items from her and most likely changing things to fit my criteria I have put on myself.

 I found this to be extremely adorable and I do have another Idea with it and will try to see if I can make it work. If I ever get that Vespa type bike made it will look adorable next to It in my room. Below it the orginal file and  I think you will be quite pleased with it if you purchase it and make it as is. I have said before I can drive myself nuts and yep I sure can. But in the end I know without a doubt I made a file I am pleased with and Most important to me, I know if I handed it to Jesus he would know I did my very best. That is what is important to me. I cannot speak for the designer of this cute file but I do know she gave her all and it is adorable.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Have a wonderful day and Happy Crafting Y'all! Go have a look at Cre8tiveCutz.com it has some adorable files. Blessings, Sharalyn

Penny Farthing SteamPunk Style

Evening all, 
I wanted to share this amazing file called Good For Guys SVG Bundle from Dreaming Tree. This kit includes an amazing card, a compass box and this wonderful lantern. Click on the name of the bundle and it will take you to it. 
When I watched the tutorial for this lantern Leo Kowal mentioned that it was steam punkish.. I had to agree. I don't know the first thing about doing steampunk so this is my version. If you haven't purchased this amazing kit you really should. The card has so many applications and I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with for the lantern. I had two ideas that made it hard to choose which to make first. I went with this one but stay tuned. Lets get started on this amazing lantern. Kudos to Ron Guttman, Diana Tam and Leo Kowal. This one really Rocks!!!

As Trina Stuckman and I discussed the lantern she said I should pop the High Wheeler man out by making him another layer. It was a GREAT idea and I told her so.  I made two but I wish I had done three total. It would have popped out more. I also did that with one wheel. I cut and made the lantern almost the same. I printed my vellum with digital paper from Snap Click Supply . The file I used was Echo Park Times and Seasons. I adhered that to the inside and added the small Tim Holts Gears and a small spinner on top. I poked a small hole through to the inside of the wheel on the extra high wheel piece I created. Then put a brad through that and glued the man into place. I sponged on Brilliant Gold ink using a very dry pad and used a gold ink called Smooch with a tiny sponge brush to make the lines on the man. Smooch comes in a nail polish type bottle so the applicator is in it. Or it did come that way. I have had this a long time. 

I assembled the lantern as indicated on the rest of it making two bottoms of the lantern so I could use the Tim Holtz feet I have been itching to use. Here is where Deb Maurer comes into play again. It was her idea to add extra cardboard for stability to the bottom of another file called Dress Shop SVG Kit from SVGCuts. I made inserts for the lower bottom piece so it would add strength to the lantern. Assemble as Leo instructs and then using Glossy Accents to hold the feet in place glue each foot one at a time holding them in place till they take hold. Once you have each foot glued into place turn the bottom piece upside down so the feet are sticking up and let dry while you work on the rest of the lantern. 

I made an extra frame for around the lantern sides. I used the Tim Holtz distress Mica Spray Brass and Copper. The distress Mica Spray was used on the bottom piece and my accent pieces as well.   The corner pieces are brads that I cut off the brad part and glued into place using glossy accents. The round décor I used in the center of the wheel and on the top of the cane was something I bought more than ten years ago but can't find now. I wish I could I have looked. I added green rhinestones to the side and top and using black wire from the jewelry section of Walmart I made the ring for the top. 

This is such a fun lantern and could be changed so easily with the center pieces to make it any season or occasion you like.  Leo also mentioned that as he was putting  the lantern together. Now a shout out for the tricks and tips he adds when you watch the hole video all the way through. The scrap of cardstock trick to add clue to areas that it didn't clue all the way. EXCELLENT!!! I DO use that tip thanks to you Leo and you have made my projects look that much better. Here is another y'all may have missed. Did you see when he used the side of the pick up tool to hold the piece in place while it dried? that was perfect!!! My piece dried flat! I didn't use a pick up tool but a pencil, same result. My pick up tool wasn't near my hands. Not only do you get great tips when you watch the whole video but you get a chuckle or two when he says something funny. I'll be honest I would miss a lot if I didn't watch the whole video. I watch it first then I watch it stopping him when I need to catch up to him. It is very helpful.

That is my lantern I hope you like it. Thank you so much for stopping by and reading my blog. Have a safe, wonderful memorial weekend and remember what we are really celebrating. Those that gave their lives for our freedom. God Bless and Happy Craftin' Y'all!
Blessings, Sharalyn

 Fun Fact:
Penny Farthing was the name given to the High Wheel Bicycle
I looked it up I had no idea.. 

Flying High Bi Plane Style!

Morning all!

I was introduced to the airplane by Deb Mauer. She purchased the kit at Cre8ive Cutz. The original design called for flat wings with the shape but top and bottom are folded over. The wheels are also flat and the front wheel wells do not have a cut out in them. I knew I needed to "make this my own" so to speak. Lets fly away with my imagination and get busy. 

 I wanted to make this for Mark and maybe one for myself as I loved Deb's version with the printed papers but with my youngest grandson's birthday fast approaching I decided this would be faster and easier than my previous plan. My first thought when I saw the plane was the wings need to be more dimensional. I added three side pieces made to fit and complete with score lines in the proper places from Harvest Sunset SVG Kit .I also added holes in the wings so I could add eyelets and make the plane "fly". You will also need to make the cut lines for the struts wider because of the added piece that will be sandwiched in the center of each strut for strength. The instructions call for the plane to be put together a certain way. You will need to familiarize yourself with the original instructions and then change up the order a bit.
  Using the knife tool in Silhouette Business addition I cut the top and bottom svg's in half cleaning up any misplaced nodes by deleting the ones that were not important to the wing shape.  Center your holes in between the cut lines for the struts and make a narrow rectangle for the cut lines. I centered the rectangles over the cut lines then deleted the original cut lines for the struts. Add the holes to top and bottom portions of the wings. You will need to add the cut lines to one side only top and bottom. Cut your top and bottom pieces out and add eyelets. I wanted to add panels and these are not provided. I only added them to the wings but you can do this with any part. Using the internal offset I made panels for the wings. Cut three side wheel pieces from Harvest Sunset SVG kit . Adhere each Wheel side or now your wings sides carefully making sure each tab is adhered before moving to the next tab.  Do not put the top on yet. Next cut a extra piece for each strut of the wings cutting off the end tabs and sandwiching it in the center of each strut. This is for strength. Glue in each strut piece and leave wing open. 
Next I added a hole to the  top tail portion of the plane and inserted the eyelet.  I decided while constructing it that I would cut an extra windshield piece to adhere around the edge of the windshield front to give it a more finished look. I will be making another plane for my hubby but I don't believe I will use the clear acetate for the windshield. I think I will use cardstock vellum from Stampin up.  The acetate was difficult to work with and the glue didn't want to adhere to it well. I made the tail flaps as indicated and adhered them to the plane in the order the printed instructions have. That is right no video.. now see why I said I am spoiled?

The wheel wells are fine the way they are but I felt I wanted to add a cut out to them to make it look a bit more authentic. This will require sandwiching an extra piece as well. The "cut out" so for lack of a better word was made using a W 0.47 in x H 0.5731 inch Trapezoid. Angle it between your cut lines and subtract. Make sure you ungroup your score lines from the wheel well piece first as this will make your score lines disappear. Regroup the score lines and your piece and cut. Glue to the body as instructions indicate. I poked a hole in bottom portion of the wheel wheels to attach them but I will get to that. 

The wheels are made 3d by using the same piece from Mary Bonk's Kit Harvest Sunset SVG Kit. I used the ones on the coffee cart and sized accordingly. Add a hole to the center of each wheel from Bi Plane Kit. I glued two together for strength. Cut two more circles without the holes for the end piece. Glue the sides of the wheels together much like you did with the body of the plane. Leave  the circles without the holes off and poke a hole in the bottom of the wheel wells. Insert a brad from the outside  to the inside and open. Glue your circles to the other half of the wheel and add your embellishment. 

Before you close the body of the plane thread your fishing line through the hole  of the body on the plane. Attach a small washer tied to the fishing line on both end to hold the fishing line in the body of the plane and to keep it from falling out while assembling. Keep checking to make sure it is still in your body before you close it. I was not so lucky and had to scramble to get it back in place. 

I added tabs to the nose piece so it was easier to keep it together. I didn't add the octagon shape to the nose but instead made and extra propeller and adhered them together then added Glossy accents to the propeller with a paint brush and let dry. Bend into a blade shape before adding with a brad to the nose. I used the long brads Mary Bonk mentioned when she made the barrel from  Wildflower Saloon SVG Kit.  I waited till I had adhered the wings to the plane before gluing the nose into place. 

Close your top wing up and adhere it into place following the printed instructions. Turn the plane over and add your bottom wing. I glued the center bottom portion of the wing to the center bottom body of the plane. Glue the other part of your bottom wing closing up your wing.  I glued the nose into place and added my embellishments. The Hub cap looking embellishments are from Heidi Swapp and are called Marquee Love.  I ordered them from Scrapbook.com.
String your wings with the fishing line going down the top of one wing through to the bottom wing and over through the other holes to the top. Tie the wing fishing line and the tail fishing line together and Voila! You have a "flying 3d plane. 

 


I hope you enjoyed my crazy plane ride. Since I am leary of heights that will be the extent of my flying in a Bi Plane. Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my blog. Have a wonderful day and Happy Craftin' Y'all! Blessings, Sharalyn