Monday, December 7, 2009

Sugar Kissed Pin Cushion


Hello! Some of you may remember the pincushion I made for Halloween. I had a request for a tutorial on how to make them so I thought I would make a Christmas version.
Again I'm using the tea dyed muslin that I purchased at JoAnn's. It is such a nice color.
I drew a circle using a saucer as my template. There will be two circles.



I then had Lindsey stamp a Christmas image on one side with pigment ink.



With right sides together, stitch around circle 1/4" from edge, leaving a space for turning.





Turn right sides out and fill with fiberfill as full as you can get it and sew closed.





Choose a button. Thread a long needle with doubled DMC, I used the color 321. Stick needle up through the center and through the button. Now go back down through the button and out the bottom. You'll now bring the thread around the sides and down underneath the button.






Do this in sections until you have it sectioned like the sample below.




One day at a flea market I discovered an old hanging basket for plants. I immediately had another idea for how to use it.



I switched the chains around and hung it upside down to hang vitage ornaments from.

I hope you like this idea, too!



Have a wonderful day! Twyla and Lindsey

Sunday, December 6, 2009

All Is Calm, All Is Bright

Hello! Twyla here. Didn't Lindsey do a great job on the altered playing card in our last post? I'm so proud of her creativity and the quality of her work.



On this Sunday morning I wanted to share some of my beautiful postcards with you.



I'm so glad that you appreciate the images that we share. I think these evoke the spirit of Christmas in a calm and peacefull way. Some days during the Christmas preparations it's easy to forget the gentleness of the season.







One of my dearest blogging friends is Jill from Bittersweet and the Little Soap Company. Jill is one of those people who inspires me daily. I always admire her ingenuity. I just think Jill could do anything she sets her mind to do. One of the things she accomplished this year was writing a cookbook. I am lucky enough to have one. They are her family's recipes. I can't wait to try some of them such as her Grandma Lola's Egg Noodles, Skillet Stroganoff Pork Chops and her Red Velvet Cake.
Isn't the cover pretty? It is for sale in her shop.



Jill also makes the Best soap I have ever used! Also the best lip balm. I can't even use any other kind now and my son Jordan can't either! Our lips have never been softer! If you are looking for a special gift for someone on your list, you might check out Jill's shop, Bittersweet and the Little Soap Company for some awesome choices that I know would be appreciated!



Have a beautiful Sunday!
Twyla

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Sugar Kissed Altered Playing Card Tutorial


Hello Friends, Today I am showing you how I made this Altered playing card.


First Start by printing this vintage sewing pattern and cutting out the two little girls.



Then print on heavy paper and cut this oversized playing card. If you want it to look more like a real playing card you can use a corner rounder punch for the edges.


Take a wooden spool which you can find at craft stores or you can use a vintage spool. The spool used for this tutorial is 1 1/2 inches. Cut a 1 inch circle of patterned paper to cover the top of your spool.



At this point if you want to add patterned paper to your playing card, you should add it now. I used paper that was from Hobby Lobby in their open stock section.
Glue your little girls onto the playing card using pop dots to make them stand out. Glitter around the edges of your card.
I also glittered a paper flower and added pink pearls to which I then glued in the upper corner. You can use a sticker or print "T'was the Night Before Christmas" or "Christmas Morning" and glue to your card.
The spool is covered using a 1inch strip of cardstock wrapped around it. I then added a strip of ribbon around it and tied a bow.



I cut a small wooden dowel and glued down into the spool. I added a strip of glue up the dowel and glued it to the back of my playing card. I then added tape to hold in place until the glue was completely dry.


And this is how it turned out! The possibilities are endless with this idea. I hope you like it and will try it!



Have a great Saturday, Lindsey

Friday, December 4, 2009

Sweet Vintage Goodies

Hello Friends, Today we are sharing a few Sugar Kissed vintage goodies that we hope inspire you!

Last year we found this sweet little Christmas figurine to add to our collection.




While at a flea market on Sunday I spotted this matching planter!




Mom bought me this adorable swanky swig this week! It was a sweet surprise to come home from work too!




Here is a close up of a little reindeer figurine that is a part of our Sugar Kissed Christmas vignette!

And here is the beginning of our collection of Santa head mugs! We both think they are so cute and hopefully we will find more this month to add to it!


Have a great day, Lindsey and Twyla

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Sugar Kissed Images

Today we'd like to share more of our images with you to use in your cards, Christmas decorating or artwork.
This is a sweet postcard that was to Ester from Mama, 1914.

Who can resist a little girl in a red coat and one of the cutest deer I've ever seen.


I thought this one was funny that it said from the four of us. It was a Hallmark card from 1958. I just love the string people.


It is time to announce the winner of our last giveaway for the set of tags that Lindsey made. It is our dear friend Madison of Madcrafts! Thank you Madison for your sweet comment.

We'd also like to say a great big Happy Birthday to Jennifer of For the Love of a Teddy Bear! Be sure and visit and wish her a happy birthday.
We hope you enjoy these images today and we'll be back with another project tomorrow!
Have a wonderful day!
Twyla and Lindsey

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Paper Bow Tutorial


Today I want to show you this really awesome new idea that has been very popular in the scrapbook community.

Scrapbook paper bows! You could also make these out of vintage sheet music, or any other double sided paper.






Start with a piece of paper big enough to cut (8) 1 x 6 strips of paper

(4) 1 x 5 strips of paper and (1) 1 x 4 strip of paper.

I use a 12 x 12 sheet of paper and it takes a little over half the sheet.

I recommend double sided paper for this project.




Here is what you are doing with the strips. Bending them down and gluing them.



First take a 1 x 6 strip of paper



Bend down like this




curl the paper sideways,




add glue just along the bottom and hold till dry.





Continue doing this to all (8) 1 x 6 strips and the (4) 1 x 5 strips. So that they look like this.





Take your 1 x 4 strip and glue the ends together.




Punch holes at the bottom of all pieces. I used a 1/8 inch hole punch but you could use a bigger one.




Take three small brads (if using larger hole punch use bigger brads) and take 4 pieces of your bow and push your brad through.

After you have 4 pieces on your brad, fold down and that way you are able to move your loops around to get them shaped the way you want.

Do this with your other (4) 1 x 6 strips and then with your (4) 1 x 5 strips.





Layer the 2 bigger pieces on top of each other.
Then layer the smaller one on top.

Glue your loop to the top and you're done!



I am showing you again in this pink paper.
Now it is up to you if you decide to flip the strips over to create different looks. I did in the bow above but this pink one will all be with the pink side up.



Here is a close up of how it looks as I am pushing my loops on to my brad.




Here are all the pieces before I started assembling them.






As I layer the pieces together I can move them around to get them to positioned just right.





And here is how they look when they are done.

I recommend using double stick tape for this so that you don't have to hold each loop as they dry.

I hope you enjoy this cool idea! It is a great way to personalize your packages!





Since this is still Barbie Wednesday, I wanted to share this photo I found on a Photography site. I could not find any info on this picture but I love it!!!!! It is probably from 1962 or 1963.



Have a great day!


A Sugar Kissed Bottle!

Hello Friends! Today I am showing you this small vintage bottle that I altered.



Take any shape bottle (mine is an old milk bottle) and wrap a 12 inch strip around it to measure how long your strip needs to be, overlapping about an inch.


You can cut your paper with decorative edge punches or tear it for an aged look. I layered two different papers and glued them before taping them on the bottle.



I then wrapped the paper around the bottle pulling it as tight as possible. Add a strip of double stick tape to both edges of the paper so that you are taping them together and not taping directly to the bottle.



I then layered silk flowers found at any craft store and a pink polka dot brad which can be found at Hobby Lobby and glued that to the front of the bottle. I then took a red velvet leaf and tucked down behind the paper.


I filled the bottle with white glitter and cut a 1 inch circle to cover the top of my bottle and that's it!


Have a great Tuesday, Lindsey