Dot & Whimsy

This past week has been all things

at Doodlebug Designs

This is their newest 'fall, autumn, thanksgiving' collection with an 

array of cute little critters like squirrels, owls, scarecrows, foxes and more!

And they're having a fun giveaway that involves pinning to Pinterest...check out the details:

I love little hangers made from wood and other sturdy objects, but

how about a stuffed paper ornament?  This one comes in just under 12 X 12

so it's a great size for hanging on a door or cabinet front!

To start out, I took a piece of 12 X 12 cardstock and folded it in half.  

Next I sketched out half of a pumpkin shape

(basically just rounding the edges and then creating a valley at the top)

After cutting out the design, open up the template and place it on top of desired

patterned paper (you will need two sheets for the front and back).

Trace the design onto the two patterned papers and cut out.  

The great thing about pumpkins is that they come in all shapes and sizes...you can't go wrong :)

You can also find templates online or use a svg file or other die-cutting file.

Match the two patterned papers up and begin machine stitching around the

perimeter or use a quick drying craft glue.  Be sure to leave about a 2"-3"opening

at the top so that you can stuff the shape with cotton filler, paper shreds

or tissue paper.  Use a ruler or long knitting needle to pack the filling.

After filling, glue or machine stitch the top closed.

I used a 1" circle die to create a fun folk-artsy polka dot pattern.  

The lace circle was made with a Lace Nesting Die (by Lifestyle Crafts)

and then I die cut the center with a circle die.  And I LOVE the new Sprinkles!

I hand-cut a few pumpkin leaves from an old template that I had...there

are many online by simply doing a search for "pumpkin leaves".

After cutting out, I sanded around the edges just to give a more finished look.

I also cut the stem from one of the Happy Harvest papers and then attached it to a 

piece of chipboard before gluing to the top of the pumpkin.  

Two small holes were punched at the top and then strung with wire for the hanger.

A cheery bow (ribbon from May Arts) completed the look and now it's ready

to greet our Autumn guests!

And y'all get ready...tomorrow we will begin our PaperHaus Fall Splendor Hop

along with the reveal of the newest issue...I've seen it and it's loaded with beautiful things!

 It's "Mini Album Week" at PINK PAISLEE

I have an ombre mini album tutorial up today... easy as 1,2, 3 and the best part is that

 it's so fun to put together. And being that it's a mini album there are lots and lots of photos to share!

  I had the pleasure of working the Pink Paislee booth at Create 'N Connect trade show this

 past July and I was able to peer over Heidi Swapp's shoulder as she demonstrated a 

make 'n take with her signature Color Shine sprays; this got my wheels turning and 

I couldn't wait to get home and experiment. 

  To create this ombre effect (or color gradient effect) you will need three of your favorite

 Color Shine sprays, Artisan 8 X 8 Papers and any type of binding system 

(or use a plain hole punch and loose leaf rings). I've used a Bind-It-All. 

Oh and paper towels...lots of paper towels!  

 The colors that I chose closely match pieces from the Cottage Farms Collection: 

Mustard, Georgia Peach and Tinsel. 

 Place the Artisan paper onto a protective mat and holding the color shine bottle about 6" from paper

 begin spritzing. I found that using a sweeping motion from left to right gave the best coverage. 

 Add the next two colors and then lay a full paper towel over the paper; gently rub

 over towel to remove the excess ink. 

 After the pages have completely dried, fold them in half to create 4" X 8" pages.

 Because I machine stitched mats onto the pages, I waited until the very last to punch the binding.

 You may choose to do differently, but I put the binding on the open-end side of the pages. 

 Now it's time to start decorating your pages! 

 The cover consists of pieces from the Paper Goods pack and Heidi Swapp's grey clear pop letters. 

And I'm not opposed to cutting up a Portfolio label sticker to serve my needs :) 

After I have all of my main items in place, I begin layering on embellishments such 

as buttons, stick pins, adhesive pearls, ribbon bows, etc. 

  Silver Luxe elements tied in well with the grey portion of the color scheme.

 And keep those bottles of Color Shine handy as you may want to use them to 

color-up some Artisan chipboard! 

 Yep! These are the dots for the I's and J's in the Clear Pop letter set...just attach them with

 a small glue dot...and of course, I had to do a little stitching too :) 

 When designing your pages, keep in mind the sizes of photos that you'll be using and then place your embellishments...or add your photos first and then layer on the embellishments afterwards. 

 Once you're ready to bind the album, you may want to add a strong adhesive to the inside bottom

 of the pages...this will make a nice sized pocket for adding tags or extra photos to. 

As I mentioned before, I used the Bind-It-All system and a 1" metal comb for binding the pages together

 (at the open end side). I then tied on several different patterns of ribbons from 

May Arts and the "Us" album is ready for photos! 

Again, it's Mini Album Week at Pink Paislee, so stop by and have a look!

 

This month we've been sharing the newest collection at

The collection is Feels Like Home and it's now available at retailers and online

Simple house-shaped chipboard pieces were the perfect backdrop for this mini album.

 For the cover, I drew inspiration from the On A Limb paper (from the 6x6 Paper Pack).

 I die-cut a tree and layered it on top of the branch pattern found on the paper.

 I added a couple of sentiments and shapes and the cover was complete.

When planning out the following pages, I like to alternate the colors so that I don't have

 two blue pages together, etc. 

Because I'm mostly a card and mini-album maker the 6 X 6 Paper Packs are a must have 

because the designs are true to scale and are perfect for paper piecing and die-cutting. 

And as with most of the mini albums that I create, I add a trim of twine or jute to the

 edge of the chipboard; use fabric glue and a toothpick to spread a thin bead of the adhesive

 along the edge and press the jute in place.

Just when you think Doodlebug Designs couldn't make

anything any cuter than they all ready have, they go and do it with Halloween Parade!

I should preface that by saying I love anything Halloween.

Not necessarily the actual 'day' but I love all of the fun colors,

jack 'o lanterns, spiders, bats and the season of Fall...it's just a happy time of year!

So, putting together this little pumpkin mini album was a treat from beginning to end :)

HALLOWEEN 2013 MINI ALBUM
(lots and lots of photos)

I love using inexpensive pre-cut shapes for mini albums.  I found this pumpkin shape in
a set of 12 at Michael's.  Alone the pieces aren't sturdy enough for an album,
so I combined two sheets together to form one page...works great!
 



After tracing the pumpkin shape and cutting out, I used a 4" circle die to cut out the mats.



  Be sure to do any machine stitching or brad adding before adhering the two chipboard pages together.



 They've brought them back!  Cutely shaped sequins to match all of the collections!
I like attaching mine with brads or adding with a small glue dot and then topping
with one of the new Sprinkles.


To give a clean edge to the pages, I like to add border of twine; a fine point glue pen
 works perfectly for this.


I think this is my favorite inner page...I just love the Frank!

I'm often asked how I stitch a zig-zag around a circle; it is actually easier than it would seem. 
First, I leave my stitching size to the default provided by my machine
(which is 1.4 length X 3.5 width...and I'm not a sewing machine expert, so this may not
be the proper terms as far as length and width LOL).
 Next, I begin stitching where I know that I will place an element such as a sticker, etc.
  This is not necessary, but does help to hide the joining stitch marks in case they're uneven. 
When I start stitching I more or less allow centripetal force to take over!
Just gauge as you go along, making sure that the center point of the foot is still
lined up with the edge of the paper that you're stitching.
I would definitely practice first with this so you can get a feel for how much pressure
you need to apply on the paper as you're stitching and also to see how fast you
need to press on the pedal.  I hope this helps!

And Doodlebug Designs is having a little contest for winning some of this
adorable collection, Halloween Parade...so head on over and check out the details.
 www.doodlebugblog.com