blog hop – The art of Jen Goode

Make a get well gift – Little box of sunshine full of hugs

May 2, 2011April 28, 2010 by Jen

Here’s another great project idea in conjunction with Eileen Hull‘s Sizzix ScoreBoards dies, the rectangle box. It’s a really nice basic shape with the added touch of a front flap to complete the box.

Beginning of a happy accident

I have to say with this project I had a complete fail of my own creation. I originally wanted to make a soft fabric covered box, but because I don’t actually own this die, I was using a single cut out version to attach my design to. So instead of attaching fabric and all before cutting the mat board (highly recommended) I was trying to use fuse-able fabric and then hot glue… unfortunately it was an utter fail! My box was entirely too thick with layers of fabric making it look bulky instead of cute. So I ripped everything off… which in turn created a complete mess of the pre-cut mat board.

Now What?? I didn’t want to throw in the towel. This particular project was designed with another designer in mind who is currently in the hospital. I wasn’t ok just giving up and not doing something, so I brainstormed and came up with the perfect solution…

When in doubt, decoupage!

If you use a tissue that isn’t coated, it works nicely as a decoupage component that makes really cool textures and patterns through overlapping, crinkling and folding. It also adds a nice hand made paper look to the piece.

You need:

un-coated tissue paper
mod podge
small paint brush – a chiseled edge works best when you have corners to cover
small bowl
water

To decoupage with tissue…

First make a mixture of 2 parts mod podge to 1 part water. The consistency should be a little thicker milk.
tear the tissue paper into pieces – 1″ – 3″ square or rectangle
scrunch up the paper so you create wrinkles in it, this makes for some nice textures and ease of moving around while painting.
paint a coat of the mod podge mix onto the surface you wish to cover.
place tissue on coated surface and brush more mod podge over as you work the paper around – essentially you are painting a layer and then painting over the layer of paper.
continue to add pieces of paper, overlapping as you’d like until the piece is covered as desired.

For this project I first created a layer of white tissue and let it set overnight. This helped to even out all the wacky bumps and tears in the mat board from removing the previous fabric design. Then I went back and added a few overlapping layers of a light lavender.

Once the tissue layers dried, I took one of my own illustrations and adapted the layout to fit this box. I printed and cut it out and then decoupaged it on as well. I chose the penguin in a flower garden, that’s one of my personal favorites and I think it makes for a great bit of sunshine.

I then added some loose lavender sequins (with mod podge) to the front flap on the box s well as on select flower.

For a closure device, I used a magnet set by glueing one magnet on the back of the flap and then cutting out a hole in the main body of the box, fitting the second magnet inside and then concealing it with more tissue decoupage.

I finished off this little box by adding a small pile of Hershey’s Hugs candies to make the perfect get well gift…

A happy little box of sunshine filled with hugs.

If you liked my project you might also like what other’s in this series have come up with.. please take a few minutes to check out their amazing creations! Love to hear your thoughts… leave a comment!

For more fun ideas, check out Sizzix craft products

i love crafting - enter to win! — Enter to win a Sizzix die by clicking to visit Eileens blog and leaving a comment

View the other designer’s projects:
Ann Butler
Candice Windham
Carla Schauer
Cindi Bisson
Einat Kessler
Jen Goode
Julie McGuffee
Karen Burniston
Laura Bray
Lisa Rojas
Lorine Mason
Madeline Arendt
Melony Bradley
Michelle Cummings
Marisa Pawelko
Niki Meiners
Roxi Phillips
Sandy Laipply
Sparkle Studio
Veronica Goff

Make your own pretty scented tea cup flower bouquet

May 2, 2011April 14, 2010 by Jen

Here’s another fun project idea using a Sizzix Scoreboard die by Eileen Hull. This particular die is a tea cup and comes in 4 pieces: one tea cup shape, bottom/saucer, body (side and bottom wrap around) and a cute little tag. You’ll need to cut out 2 tea cup shapes to make the full piece.

For my version of this project there was an additional color challenge suggested by Brenda Pinnick. She offered two different color themes and I chose the pretty gold and raspberry combination. Just so happens this was very similar to the color theme I had chosen for my wedding (eons ago) but because I never throw anything away, I still had some random pieces and parts from creating my bouquet and other wedding accessories. Perfect fit for me I say!

On to the crafting fun part…

How to create a tea cup flower bouquet
with the Sizzix Tea Cup die by Eileen Hull:

Paint each of the individual pieces using a paper towel with Plaids craft plaint and a blotting technique. Paint in layers of a caramel color along with a mustard/gold yellow color to make the texture and color variation effect.

Sizzix tea cup - blotting paint

Using a hot glue gun assemble the pieces to create the cup – do not attach to the saucer yet.

Sizzix tea cup - assembly

Spot paint (blotting) any corners or edges that have been missed before assembly.
Next hand paint a swirl design with embossing solution for use with embossing powder. Sprinkle on bronze and gold embossing powder and then used the heat gun to finish off the technique. Here’s a great tutorial for embossing tips and techniques.
Using Mod Podge, decoupage 3 dried pansies (by Pressed Petals) to the front of the cup. Carefully apply a layer of Mod Podge on top of the pansies to create a thin protective coating. These flowers are extremely brittle, so make sure to not use so much glue as they will stick and pull with your brush.
After the initial Mod Podge is dry, add an additional layer of Mod Podge to the entire cup and saucer using the same paper towel blotting technique as the painting process. This will create a subtle shine while adding a protective coat as well as a slight texture effect.
Hot glue the cup to it’s flat saucer base.

To add a subtle scent and flowers to the tea cup gift:

Cut two pieces of tuelle fabric approximately 6″ – 8″ square (or use 2 pre-cut 10” Tulle Circles) layering each other so there is a double layer of fabric.
Place approximately 1/4 c. loose tea in the center of the fabric, (I used American Tea Room‘s Broche tea – YUM!).
Gather all sides and tie with a ribbon so there is a nice ball of tea.

Sizzix tea cup - tea ball

Fit the tea ball into the bottom of the tea cup.
Cut fake flowers to desired length/height.
Push flower stems into the tea ball in the cup to create desired flower arrangement.

Get Involved!

There is a group of us making our own variations of this project before the product actually launches – Check out all the other cool ideas created by other designers.

Other Participating designers:

Make your own princess party favors with Sizzix scoreboards

March 31, 2010 by Jen

I had the opportunity to work with a soon-to-be released product by Eileen Hull as part of the Sizzix Scoreboards collection. This particular product, the Scalloped Box die, is an adorable DIY project accessory that have a gazillion possibilities for fun creations. Read the “vote for me” comment below to learn more about how YOU could win a Sizzix die for yourself.

I played with a few ideas but with the help of my own little princess settled on the idea of a Princess purse party favor. This is a great project to put together with your own little princess as a Thank you for her party guests.

Every item included in this pretty little party favor, with the exception of a cute mini 4-color pen, you can make yourself. Add your own special touch and get ready for some serious princess happiness, here’s how:

note: all printed graphics were designed by me and not currently available in stores.

Princess purse
Sizzix Scoreboards Scalloped Box die
I embellished the die cut matt board with pink craft paint, a princess pattern print out that I designed (free download), pink sparkle fabric, fancy white lace ribbon and a custom made sticker (see below). The purse handle is a wide organza ribbon attached to the purse sides using a crop-a-dile and white eyelets. The front flap of the purse closes with a small circle of velcro. The final touch is an organza bow on the front, two die cut flowers (included with the box die) and a little silver charm that says Thank You hanging from the side.

Tip: I used paint to cover various areas because I wanted the edges to match the finished piece. Scored and folded edges will be the color of your matt board edges otherwise.

Inside the purse there are all kinds of fun princess treasures you can also make yourself.

Princess stickers
Printed on 1 1/2″ circle Avery labels 8293

Princess puzzle
Printed on white card stock, adhered to a cereal box (brown side showing) for extra thickness – oh yes, recycled craft alert! Then I cut it out using the Sizzix puzzle die

Official Princess Card
Printed, cut and then laminated using lamination sheets

Princess notepad with cute mini pen
Construction paper cover with standard white copy paper cut to size – all stapled together at the top and then embellished with fancy white lace ribbon to hide the staple. A princess sticker added just for fun. The mini pen was found in the dollar isle of Micheal’s craft store.

Princess bracelet
Simple pink beads strung on elastic thread and finished off with a cute pink heart mini button.

I used hot glue and a double sided tape runner to put everything together. I love my glue gun!

Would love it if you would vote for me. If you like what I’ve done, I could really use your help… jump over to Eileen Hull’s blog about the Sizzix Scoreboards Scalloped Die and this blog hop and please vote for me! by leaving a comment telling her “I like Jen Goode’s Princess Purse”. If I get the most votes, I could win the actual die we used for this project. I could make these cute purses all day long… maybe even fill them with penguins instead of princess schwag!

You could win too… one commenter will be chosen at random (from any of the participating blogs) to win another fabulous prize (a Sizzix Die), so make sure to leave a comment telling her how much you like what I’ve done. Vote Here

(voting ends Monday, April 5th, 2010 at 6pm)

Recommended supplies some of the types of supplies I used

Here are more great ideas to make with the Sizzix Scoreboards Scalloped box die:

Scalloped Box by Ann Butler

Scalloped Box by Bonnie Burns

First Aid Kit by Candice Windham Designs

Office Supply Creativity by Cindi Bisson

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world

Vintage inspired ATC box by Designs by Roxi

Scalloped Box meets Staples by Eileen Hull

Created from Paper by Jennifer Ellefson

Getting labeled Creatively by Just a Thought or Two