Have a Spook-tacular Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone! Here to share a classic technique, perfect for today.

One of my favorite ways to decorate for Halloween is to cluster candles to set that spooky mood. The best part is that you get to make any design you want on the candles.

You'll need:

• ivory or white candles
• ivory or white tissue paper
• wax paper
• stamps and ink
• heat gun
• gloves to protect from heat/hot wax
• scrap paper or craft mat

Make your own designs on candles with these easy steps!

1. Stamp image onto tissue paper like so:
   
   
2. Layer on stamped tissue paper over candle
3. Layer wax paper over the tissue paper sandwiching the tissue paper between the candle and wax paper
4. Slowly heat the wax paper over the stamped image with a heat gun
5. Lastly, peel the wax paper off and the stamped tissue paper will magically be melted onto the candle

Tip 1: Be careful to keep the tip of the heat gun a safe distance so you don't burn the wax

Tip 2: If you're sensitive to heat, put on protective gloves to keep the heat or hot wax from dripping on your fingers as you handle the candles

Tip 3: Make sure you protect your work surface with either scrap paper or a craft mat to collect any wax drips

Materials: Kaisercraft 13th Hour Clear Stamp; Other: candles, tissue paper, wax paper, Memento ink in Tuxedo Black, heat gun


This really is a simple and classic way to dress up candles for a spooky Halloween look, so it's not too late to give it a try!

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Trick-or-Treat!

Happy Friday! With the Halloween weekend beginning tomorrow, do you have all of your decorations ready?

If you have and want to make some more decorations or if you haven't at all and just want a quick candy tray or centerpiece, you can make this too!

There's something super fun and spooky about the black and white patterns from the Kaisercraft 13th Hour collection. I decided to add bright orange and yellow candy corn to contrast with the black and white. I colored skewers in black, hot-glued them to the nest, tied twine around the skewers several times, hung die-cuts from the back of the paper pad to the twine with clothespins, further embellished with printed chipboard crows and dominoes, and added candy corn - so simple!

Materials Used: Kaisercraft 13th Hour Paper Pad, Printed Chipboards; Other: Whisker Graphics twine, skewers, nest, mini clothespins

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Have You Found Your Costume Yet?

Halloween is just a few days away, have you found your costume yet? I reflected on the group costumes my friends and I have worn in the last few years and decided to make a layout from them.

The Kaisercraft 13th Hour collection is perfect for Halloween photos. One of my favorite patterns is the Midnight pattern paper. I particularly love the dimension in the design, weaved between the branches are purple and orange patterns. Since the paper is so awesome as is, I wanted to keep the layout simple but echo the dimension. I drew a moon eclipse, cut it using a craft knife, then slipped a printed acetate sheet beneath it to create some more dimension, and lastly added the title "Halloween", created from the Slice machine. I then clustered the photos in a 2x2 grid using various matting techniques.

Materials Used: Kaisercraft 13th Hour Midnight, Evening (front and back), Clocks Acetate, Rhinestones; Other: Fiskars Craft Knife; Making Memories Slice

Visit the Kaisercraft blog for more Halloween inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Halloween is Near!

Hope you had a great weekend! Sharing a fun and simple set of cards to get you in the kitschy Halloween mood.

So I thought, wouldn't it be cool to make mini cards using the Kaisercraft's 13th Hour collection? I came up with this when I started drawing out different things that represent Halloween/October to me. Vampires and owls immediately came to mind and with the similar widow's peak shapes they have, I decided to create a pair of these cards playing on their similar shapes. I used a heart punch to create the widow's peaks, and the wings.

Materials Used: Kasiercraft 13th Hour Evening (front and back), Journaling Tags, Pearls; Other: Sizzix Big Shot machine, Nestabilities die, EK Success heart punch

Hope you like what you see here and don't forget to visit the Kaisercraft blog for more inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Bonjour, Vintage Photos!

Is it Wednesday already? Where has the week gone? As I mentioned in my last post, I started my new gig and I am loving it! So been very busy with my new beginning. :)

In the meantime, here is a simple project I put together using the Kaisercraft Bonjour collection.

I have a stack of favorite vintage photos of my parents and I've been meaning to put together a paper bag album to store them. The Bonjour collection is perfect to compliment the photos because of the lovely vintage feel. I cut strips of Bonjour pattern papers and snipped the ends shaped like pennants. I also tossed in some doilies, sewed everything together, scattered photos on the pages and in the kraft bag pockets, tied the package together and just like that, a vintage photo album.

Hope you like what you see and don't forget to check out the Kaisercraft blog for more inspiration!

Materials Used: Kaisercraft Bonjour Provence, Paris, Madeleine, Paper Pad, Journal Tags, Lace Foam Tape; Other: sewing machine, doilies, kraft paper bags, EK Success border punch, Martha Stewart studded heart punch, Big Shot die-cut machine, Nestabilities dies, Whisker Graphics twine

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Project Scrapbox Workbox: Installment #1

Lots of changes this month... lots to be thankful for and lots to look forward to... On the work front, I said good bye to an old company and hello to a new company! I am so excited and I can't wait to jump right in. But the last few weeks have also been so busy wrapping things up and tying loose ends.

On the crafting front, I am excited to share that I made the investment in the Scrapbox Workbox. At first, I was hesitant because the box itself isn't necessarily my style with its traditional furniture look. But after further research, I was convinced it will meet all of my organizational and functional needs. And it did!

As you can see, it's still a somewhat unfinished workspace... meaning, I didn't complete all the organization of my craft stuff nor did I finalize the configuration of all the inside shelving. But the point of this post is just to share some things I learned through this huge investment. Installment #2 will be about the finished workspace and how I personalized it to inspire me each time I open the unit.

Research & Decision:

• I wanted to purchase the unit with a discount, free shipping, and from a company with great customer care.
• I finally bought it from Legacy Scrapbooking because I personally found the owners, Larry and Lynda, extremely responsive and helpful.
• Plus, there was a 5% additional discount when you "LIKE" Legacy Scrapbooking on Facebook.

Timeline:

• 9 days shipping from Utah to my New York apartment (amazing shipping time, if you ask me)
• 0.5 hours moving and unwrapping the 5 boxes (total weight of 450 lbs.)
  
• 5.5 hours building the unit (Thank you, love of my life!)
  
• 3 hours configuring the inside shelving (still working on this)
  
• Lifetime of craft organization at my fingertips! Love it!
  

My 'Before' Studio:

• I had two large craft units (one of them featured in this previous blog post), one small craft drawer, one small book shelf, and a small craft desk scattered around my living room, taking up way too much space.
• But I loved the eclectic collected look of all the different units thrown together.

My 'After' Studio:

• I have one large craft unit that magically fits everything craft-related in a highly organized manner!
• I will be personalizing it further so it feels more like my "studio" and less of just a huge display shelves.

 

Next Steps:

• Personalize the inside of the unit!
• Come back and check out installment #2 on "Project Scrapbox Workbox"!
  

Hope you found this post helpful if you're looking for information on the Scrapbox Workbox and let me know if you have any questions about it!

Oh, and on a separate note, a great big thank you to Aussie Scrap Source for featuring one of my favorite layouts this past weekend. I used one of my absolute favorite punches on it, the Martha Stewart studded heart punch and now it is also on sale for 25% off at Two Peas!


Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Beaucoup d'Amour: A Check or Money-holder Card

Happy Friday! Here to share a card made with the lovely Kaisercraft Bonjour collection again.


There's something incredibly romantic and lovely about the Bonjour collection. I created a tri-fold check or money-holder card. I wanted to just create some sort of balanced art and design in the front of the card that wouldn't be as contrived as the functionality of the inside check pocket. So I created an abstract lantern dangling from the negative of a punched heart which also served as the tri fold part of the card. I then wrapped the card in some red and white twine to finish it off.

Materials Used: Kaisercraft Bonjour Mairie, Paper Pad, Pearl; Other: sewing machine, Martha Stewart heart punch, Whisker Graphics twine

Hope you like what you see here and don't forget to check out the Kaisercraft blog for more inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Good Times: Beautiful Aruba Wedding

Happy Tuesday! Here to share a new Kaisercraft collection. Bonjour is seriously gorgeous!


I am in love with the Bonjour collection. The rich dark tones balance the pale pastel pinks and greens, such a lovely combination! The colors were perfect to compliment photos taken recently at the wedding on the lovely island of Aruba. I wanted to include some memorabilia including a thank you card from the bride and the wedding program, so I created a deep pocket using foam tape.



Materials Used: Kaisercraft Bonjour Madeleine (front and back), Paper Pad, Journal Tags, Foam Tap. Other: business card pockets, sewing machine, Making Memories Slice

I love pockets so much that I also sewed on some business card pockets to create a brief flippable picture to reveal two more photos. This is one of my favorite ways to hold more photos and create interactivity on my layouts.

You have to check out the new collections Kaisercraft's October releases!

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

"Heart-Air" Balloon Card

I love me my hearts and hot-air balloons... why not fuse the two together and make something cute! I also love dimension... but dimensional cards are hard to get through the mail without them getting crushed. So today, I’m here to share with you one of my favorite ways to create a dimensional card but still have no issues mailing it.

Here’s what you’ll need: shape punches, scoring tool, embroidery floss

My favorite part is that you can flatten the card to mail it without bulk:

And then your recipient can very easily fold the heart balloon right back up:

Here's a quick tutorial:

1. 1. Punch a few shapes (3-5) of the same size and score down the middle of each
2. 2. Attach shapes to base cardstock with embroidery floss or a strong sewing machine down the scored middle
3. 3. Fold the shapes up create dimension

It’s so easy and fun to make, so I hope you’ll try these kinds of cards too. You can use circle shapes to make circle ornaments or bubbles of all sizes. You can use square or diamond shapes to make dimensional kites. The possibilities are endless!

Materials Used: Silly Season Milk & Cookies (P728), Gingerbread (P729), Friends Rub-on (RB891); Other: Embroidery floss, Bazzill cardstock, EK Success and Martha Stewart punches

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Joy: A Quick Card

Here to share a quick card using a super adorable reindeer Christmas Flourish and Sparklets by Kaisercraft. The card puts me in the Christmas mood and I am sooo ready for the holidays!

Kaisercraft Christmas Flourishes are perfect painted or bare and the Sparklets are perfect to brighten any project. For this card, I wanted to show how a bare flourish can be dressed up with some Sparklets attached to the reindeer’s antlers as dangling ornaments. Add some twine, a doily, and flag with a simple sentiment, and you have yourself a simple, fun and sparkly card.

Materials Used: Kaisercraft Flourish Pack – Reindeer (FL364), Sparklets in Rouge (RS416) and Crystal (RS408); Other: Bazzill cardstock, doily, Zig pen, Whisker Graphics twine

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl