I’ve got to thank Denise for the inspiration for today’s project. She’s been doing these amazing card totes lately, based on a tutorial by Leslie Miller. So, thank you! : )

While making the tote I had some problems with scoring the lines, and I discovered you could actually use the grooves in the Tonic paper trimmer as guides, like the popular Scor-Pal. I made a tutorial for it, and as the last one, you have to click on the link at the end of this post to get to it.

I haven’t made the cards to go in it yet, I hope to share those with you in the next few days. I also haven’t decided if I’ll be using sentiments in spanish or english, because I don’t know who I’ll give this gift.

I love this medallion from the Baroque Motifs set turned diagonally (it’s rock-and-rolled, too). It looks so much better than ’square’. This was my very least favourite stamp from this set, but that changed now. I love it this way. So, the lesson would be to look at your stamps in different ways, maybe you’ll find a surprise and fall in love again with it : )

Estivalia ♥

Paper: Purely Pomegranate and Groovy Guava cardstock (Stampin Up!), White cardstock.
Stamps: “Baroque Motifs” (Stampin Up!), “Elegant Flourishes by Rhonna Farrer” (Autumn Leaves).
Inks: Purely Pomegranate and Groovy Guava classic inks (Stampin Up!)
Misc: Sewing pin, ruler, paper trimmer (Tonic), white gel pen (Uni-ball), medium corner rounder (EK Success), purely pomegranate double stitched ribbon (Stampin Up!), Cherry blossom paper punch (CarlaCraft)

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When I first saw kusudamas this was the model that first draw my attention. A diagram for it it’s impossible to find online but yesterday, while Google-browsing I found out someone made a video for it (it is actually a series of 5 videos).

The name of the model is sakuradama and was made by Toshikazu KAWASAKI. This particular sakuradama was made with pieces measuring 3″ x 1,5″ from regular photocopy paper. The patten was downloaded from the CANON Papercraft site.

Somehow, my model ended up with only 22 units, instead of the 30 ones that the video shows. It seems I can’t make a model correctly, I always end up with silly mistakes, lol. But I learned and will be better next time :)

I like assembling kusudamas, but the first part of folding the individual pieces is really tedious, at least for me. I think next time I’ll fold the undividual pieces in series through several days, and not all at the time in one day like I’ve been doing. Maybe that way it won’t get so boring.

By the way, I don’t know if I’ll be able to post tomorrow, since I have to take a psychological test to apply for a job. This year will open the local casino of Antofagasta (which is also a hotel) and they are taking applications for *every* job. I hope you understand.

Oh yeah, and a little WIP pic of this ;)

Edited to change picture… so much better now :)

The first post on this blog (at Wordpress.com) was a kusudama. Since then, I’ve had 800 visitors, so exciting! I’ll try to see if I can make a fun giveaway for the 1k milestone :)

Well, today’s project is also a origami one. This one was made with 30 single sonobe modules jointed together into small “pyramids” that form a polyhedra.

I used two different papers for an added effect: plain pink photocopy paper (15 modules) and a deep pink wraping paper with golden accents (15 modules too). This model does not need glue to hold together the little pieces :)

I liked how the center of it looks like a star, but I couldn’t make it stand right. This one took 5hrs approx, counting the paper trimming and folding of the individual pieces. Actual assembly doesn’t take that much time, actually.

I have some origami papers that I bought more than a year ago thinking about using for cards, but never made it, so I’ll use them for their original purpose in the next weeks :)

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Hello everyone! Long time, no stamping :) As many of you have read from previous posts, my trip to Iquique took me by surprise. I arrived yesterday at 12pm and the only thing I wanted was to sleep! But, enough of that. Today was a happy day.

Today’s project is an altered lampshade. My parents own a department in Iquique that they rent by day, stuff there gets pretty worn out in a short time. This lampshade was in a pretty bad shape when my mon asked me to do something with it so they could get it back to the apartment sometime.

That was like 2 months ago, lol. Only today I found myself with nothing better to do and with time. The base is a beige handmade paper I bought at the supermarket sometime ago. I really liked the fibers on this one, looks like mulberry paper. It’s also very thin and that makes it perfect for this project.

Then I stamped random swirls with the Elegant Flourishes set by Autumn Leaves in Versamark, it was hardly noticeable so I re-stamped with River Rock Classic ink. Then I randomly stamped two flowers from the Baroque Motifs (SU!) set in Blue Bayou Classic ink. I also used generation stamping (stamping several times without reinking). I liked how the small flower and the swirl look like a comet :)

I ended up with some leftovers of the stamped paper, so I though about covering a small tealight candle as a small bonus/gift for my mother.

And there it is :) Don’t you think it’s a bit ironic that I haven’t made a single card since I started this blog? I know I do and feel terrible about it. I’ll get my lazy ass moving soon to make some cards.

Hi! Welcome to my new blog :) (though it actually has the same name as the previous one, lol). Hope you enjoy the new projects and features of this one (easier commenting, yay!).

Well, onto today’s project <3 I present you… kusudama! “Kusudama” are a form of modular origami that I just discovered and wanted to try. Most kusudamas don’t require glue to hold together, but this one does :p Iused the directions from Mio Tsugawa’s webpage to make this traditional japanese kusudama.

For this particular model I folded 30 pieces of white photocopy paper and 30 pieces of blue photocopy paper. All 60 pieces make 12 flowers that assembled make a dodecahedron. When I was at the half of the finished project I glued a light blue fiber through the model, so it could be hanged somewhere and used as an ornament :)

I spent the whole saturday making this. From 8am to 5pm, seriously! But I think that’s because I am just a newbie and this paper is really stiff and doesn’t fold well. I also secrewed up when glueing the pieces together, but you can’t see that ;p However, I LOVED it, and I’m already looking for a book to buy and make more models (there aren’t a lot of diagrams online), so you can also expect to see some more in the near future.

Last, I’d like to apologize for the picture. 3D objects are harder to photograph than cards, bleh. I tried to edit as much as I could on Photoshop, but it ended way too bright and didn’t liked it =/ Oh well, I guess I can’t win them all.

(ironic that I made this project on Oct. 6th, aka World Card-making Day, LOL).