Sweet Shop Ornament tutorial

Is it weird that I'm such a HUGE fan of our new full-color sticker sheets? And I swear, this isn't one of those tootin' my own horn moments...I honestly love these sticker sheets! They are exactly what I'd hope to find in the fantasy scrapbooking/art journal shop of my dreams. I cannot wait to make more! We have endless ideas and mock-ups for future sheets...the only issue is finding the time! One thing that I promise to do is always compliment any forthcoming creative elements of ours with tutorials here on the blog...just some simple examples of how to put this good stuff to good use.

We're still at work on our very own hand painted patterned paper packs...so for now this little project will make use of some of your own favorite patterned papers for the backgrounds. These are simple ornaments mounted on wooden discs that we purchased at Michaels...but you can probably find similar ones at A.C. Moore, Jo Ann Fabrics, or any store like these. Look for wood, mdf, chipboard, whatever you like really. Ours measure approximately 4 inches across...and ours were CHEAP! They came in a multi-pack with all different shapes and sizes and the whole pack was like 5 bucks!

What you will need:

- Everyday is a Holiday full-color sticker sheets!!

-scissors, pencil, artist paint brush

-wood, mdf, or chipboard discs in shape of your choice,
approx. 4" across.

- patterned papers for your backgrounds

-Decou-page by DecoArt. You can also use matte finish Mod Podge or clear gel medium

- heavy duty glue like E6000 or a hot glue gun if you prefer.

-colored glitters of your choice. (We used Martha's tinsel glitter in florentine gold, feldspar, and kunzite.)

-ultra fine clear glitter

-bakery twine or pretty string or ribbon of your choice

-ric rac or ribbon to hang them with

Step 1. Trace the shapes of your ornaments onto your background papers and cut out paper backgrounds. Also, cut out the stickers of your choice, eye-up your designs and match the stickers with their respective backgrounds.

Step 2. Adhere your backgrounds. We used Decou-page by DecoArt...but again, you can use matte finish Mod Podge or gel medium. With a paint brush apply a thin even coat to the disc, lay corresponding paper on it and gently press down...then gently smooth out any wrinkles or bubbles with a clean, dry paper towel. Let dry. You do not need to apply a top coat of the Decou-page or Mod Podge. We will be doing this later on. ( hint: most people have a tendency to brush a coat of Mod Podge over top of the paper they just glued down...doing this will always result in lots of wrinkles and bubbles. When applying a topcoat it is essential to let the paper that you've just glued down to fully set-up and dry. You'll know it is dry when it is no longer cool to the touch.)

Step 3. Once the backgrounds that you've glued down are fully set-up and dried, peel backs off of your stickers and apply them to their corresponding ornaments. Then, apply a thin even coat of Decou-page medium (or Mod Podge, or gel medium) over the entire front of the ornament...then dust the entire front with a coat of ultra fine clear glitter...let dry and shake off excess glitter. Next, apply a thin even coat of Decou-page medium (or Mod Podge, or gel medium) to the outside edge of the ornament and dust with an even coat of colored glitter (tip: using a glitter tray or paper plate, roll/press edges in colored glitter.)...let dry, shake off excess.

Step 4. Tie bows...we used classic bakery twine because we just love the stuff...you can find small rolls of it in all sorts of colorways at Michaels, A.C. Moore, or the crafty shop of your choice. Also, you can use ribbon or whatever you like instead. Just tie simple bows and using your more heavy duty adhesive or glue gun, attach the bows to the top-center of each ornament.

Next, make a loop of ric rac or ribbon to hang your ornament...attach to the back using your heavy duty adhesive or glue gun. To finish it off and make the backs prettier, we often used a 2" paper punch to punch out a circle of patterned or colored paper, and then we decoupage the paper circle right over the cut ends of the ribbon loop thats on back...it looks good and reinforces the loop hanger at the same time.

Taa Daaah! You've got a gorgeous, glittery set of Cupcake & Cake ornaments!...And you only used a few of your Everyday is a Holiday stickers!...You can make more...do a mixer ornament...or find a long thin base and make an ornie using one of the Retro Baking Gals! The format is no big deal...that's the easy part. But now you've got a simple idea of how to use your stickers in a really fun way...just follow the same steps, use the same methods, and you can't go wrong. We'd love for you to share what you've done with us! We can't wait to see your projects! Email us photos!
xoxo, Jenny

Home Sweet Home

(click photo to SUPERSIZE it! )

Well...after a looooong time in the making...We've got a brand new Kit available!!

And despite it's cutie pie appearance...I must admit... a whole lot of deep emotion and thought went into the creation of this. First off, me and Aaron have had the basic idea of it floating around for quite some time. But it only truly started taking shape upon moving to our new home. It was then that we gained a renewed appreciation for the importance of "place". With our life & times in such a state of disarray & unrest it's essential to find your tiny slice of personal peace... A place for you and yours to settle into and fill with warmth and smiles...Home.
Home...that was our chant, our mantra, while sitting across from each other at the drawing board. And every night (very late!) me and Aar go for long walks around our neighborhood...it's our tonic for the stressful days. Well, we happen to live in very close proximity to some of the most gorgeous shore homes you will ever see. You can't help but feel dreamy as you walk past these giant sleeping beauties...these monuments of domestic bliss.
Even when we're itty bitty kids we've got this deeply ingrained sense of "home". Think about it...one of the first images you will render with your stubby little crayons is a house. And this habit doesn't end...you'll draw house after house after house during those childhood years when each and every one of us is an artist.
Anyway...like I said...this little Home Sweet Home Kit has a lot behind it! : ) But let me move on from the abstract and talk more about all the crafty details!
Pattern...and lots of it! That's the main ingredient. And all of the patterns you see are 100% hand painted by us. We love to generate our own supplies. Even though there's a wealth of fab vintage wallpaper out there in the world we feel it's our duty to put down on paper some of the designs swirling around inside our heads! We're so inspired by the world of scrap booking and wanted to do a piece of artwork that lived somewhere in between our world of sweets & collectibles and the patchworky, cut & paste world of scrapbooking. And that's what we love so much about creating kits. Because me and Aaron are essentially "painters". But when we put a kit together our paintings get taken to another level. We get to put our paintings in the hands of others...you can then cut them up...layer them...glitter them...and then our art becomes your art!
And the mechanical challenge is fun too. We kinda design in reverse when we make a kit. We design all of the elements first and then we figure out how they'll become a finished piece of art. And we think that doing it this way probably leaves more room for each individual to get something different out of the kit. Our favorite thing to see is all the unique interpretations of a kit. At Silver Bella last year we'd walk around the classroom with our eyes nearly popping out of our heads...we couldn't believe the vast range of creative outcomes produced from a single kit! That's why we'd LOVE to get Flickr group going for this new one. We included enough pattern, space, and design elements in this one for dozens of different interpretations...or you can stick to exactly the script...(Aaron is obsessive about the instructions...I keep them simple, but he wants to explain every last detail so that even if someone never crafted a single thing in their lives they'd still be able to successfully complete our kit!)
The colors are our fave palette of pale pink, berry pink, aqua, mocha, cream, bits of pale vintage green...and everything has got the warm glow of age. The kit contains everything you need to make what you see here (and definitely some tasty left over scraps!) And most importantly...it's soooo easy!! Really easy! Trust me. The base of it is a 9" x 12" canvas and the parts that appear to be 3 dimensional are just that. The banner, cupcakes, and floral panel are "raised up" with 3-D adhesive dots. I Love how those parts stand apart from the rest of the piece.
Anyway...wow, I've rambled on and on about this! It's just that I'm truly psyched and hope that this new kit will serve as the fuel for many many more to come. And also, the basics of the design have been in my head for months and I couldn't be more thrilled to see them come to fruition...very liberating! So...if you want to liberate a kit from our Etsy shop I'd be thrilled!

They're 40.00 and they'll start to ship within a week. Fun is guaranteed! You can get your's here!

And one more thing...it's really funny how things work out. Last week I was strolling through Flickr and came across the sweetest handiwork. These amazing hand sewn hearts caught my eye...each one more adorable than the next. All done by this sweetheart of a gal named Elizabeth and each heart is an ode to her personal inspirations...many of which are my very same inspirations from here in blogland. Anyway, I was so touched when only a few days after "meeting" Elizabeth I visited her Flickr pics and found a heart with the word "cupcakes" and a caption...for me!! Too darn nice!! And now...here it is in my home...and one of the finishing touches on our brand new kit was directly inspired from this little heart...the "stitching" on my little "Home Sweet Home" banner! So the inspiration has come full circle! I LOVE that!

Ok, it's super duper late...I've got more to blog very soon...namely, my Sweet & Sinister swap stuff...After opening my box from Karen I thought the Swap deserved a name change: Sweet, Sinister & Spoiled! Man...did she give me tons of fab stuff! I'll show you next time! 'til then...xoxo, Jenny