Advent Calendar #12 - Clay Napkin Rings Tutorial




Materials:
- clay ( Please, always keep our beautiful planet in mind; be an eco-friendly crafter and use air-dry clay if possile. It takes 24-48 hours to dry, but heating up the oven just because you are too impatient is such a terrible waste of energy)
- rolling pin
- toilet paper tubes
- cling wrap ( yeah, not eco-friendly at all, but at least it can be reused to wrap the remaining clay )
- a small kitchen knife
- bamboo skewer
- a bendable surface to work on, e.g. a non-fabric placemat or a flexible baking sheet
- sandpaper

Total time: 
ca. 15-20 minutes for a set of four rings

Total costs:
less than 5€

Instructions:

1. Start by wrapping the cling wrap around the toilet paper tube the way a candy is wrapped. Tuck the ends into the tube




2. For one napkin ring, take a piece of clay twice the size of a walnut. Roll flat with the rolling pin ( ca 3-5mm) on a placemat


3. Cut out a rectangle


4. Use the pointy tip of a bamboo skewer to "write" ( carve) your word into the clay


5. Carefully lift up the piece of clay from the placemat, wrap it around the toilet paper tube and lay aside in a  dry place. Every clay is different, please follow the manufacturer's recommended drying time.


6. Once dry, remove the clay rings from the tube and smoothen the surface with sandpaper. Start with a medium-grade grit, and finish with a fine-grade grit.

And that's it!





P.S. Instead of writing a word, you can leave the surface blank and glue a tiny ornament or christmas embellishment to the ring.
.


DIY Wedding Dress Hanger Tutorial

I was recently accepted as a DIY contributor for Polka Dot Bride. In case you don't know Polka Dot Bride, let me tell you it is a wonderful australian wedding blog, and one of my favorite blogs of all ever since i started planning my own wedding almost three years ago.

My first project was published a few days ago: a DIY floral fabric dress hanger; perfect for your gown or the bridesmaids dresses.





You can read the full tutorial here on Polka Dot Made- the DIY section of Polka Dot Bride.


Advent Calendar #4 - Washi Tape Tea Lights



Advent Calendar #3 - Gift Tags







Christmas gift tags in red and white, available in my Shop in a set of 5.

Advent Calendar #1 - 'Tis the Season





This is the best christmas card ever. Ever!
It doesn't really make sense to give my husband a christmas card. It is kind of like giving a card to myself, because sooner or later almost everything he gets from me ends up in our "Our Stuff" memory box.
But the moment i saw it, i knew that he will LOVE it, so i had to buy it.

The card is by JulieAnnArt on Etsy. Check out her shop; all her cards are super cute and funny!

Mustache and Lips

in Paris!

Photo via Facebook

Thank you so much, Etsy France!

Sketch Challenge: Above

Today i am participating in the "Ruby Rock-It sketch contest on the Page Maps blog.

This is the sketch:



My photo:


The photo was taken a few years ago in my former fabulous life as a flight attendant. It's the picture of another plane crossing our route.


And the final layout:



To create the page i used brown packaging paper and plain white paper. Both are crumpled, distressed with Tim Holtz Distress Ink Vintage Photo and sprayed with green paint and brown watercolor.
( Real mists are not in my budget right now, but acrylic paint thinned with water in a perfume spray bottle creates the same effect).

I also included paper from the Glitz Design Happy Travels collection as well as two metal signs from airplane galley containers.





Btw, i am in no way related with First Choice Airways, but isn't that the most awesome name for an airline??
LOVE it!!




Other materials  used:

- Heidi Grace border
- turquoise ink pad
- green acrylic paint
- light brown watercolor
- burlap
- cardstock
- my Silhouette Cameo
- foam stickers
- a compass stamp
- a piece of burlap
- oversized paperclip