the big "M" by lauren bergold

i could probably write an entire post about how much i love pink paislee products...especially the ones from the "sweetness" and "parisian anthology" collections that are featured in this month's pixie dust paperie kit, FLORIBUNDA. this particular sheet, "sweetest day" might be my absolute favorite:

you could pretty much frame that, right?! but instead, i decided to make a wall-hanging for my niece madeline's room:

i found the white wooden "M" at michaels for a surprisingly good price... (i think it was $4) ...and i knew right away i would trace its shape onto the lovely pink; but how would i know i was getting the very best bits of the paper?? easy. i'd "waste" an inkjet transparency from the office supply store. by tracing the "M" onto it, rather than my special paper, i was able to move it around and select the optimal place to cut...WITHOUT damaging or marking the paper in the process.

(i didn't take a photo at the time, but here's the template placed over some "stunt paper")

when i was happy with the arrangement, i traced the "M" onto the pink paper and cut it out leaving a 1/16" gap all round. i used my xyron to evenly coat the entire shape with adhesive and affixed it to the wooden letter. then i fussy cut a few more of the lovely roses and used edge punches on coordinating websters pages and glitz design patterns... (best part of a PDP kit? *EVERYTHING* already matches everything else!) ...to fill in the entire shape.

that just left a few finishing touches: i cut very thin (3/8") strips of the white-on-white music paper and used aleen's tacky glue (applied with a disposable brush) to attach it firmly all around the edges of the letter. i painted one of the tim holtz "ornate plates" with white craft paint and adorned it with a glitz rub-on. finally i dangled two of the fancy idea-ology "baubles" from cable wire staples that my husband verrrrrrrrrrry carefully shot into the side of the frame. (we first had a "practice go" on the BACK of the letter, to ensure it would not split or damage the wood!) last of all i attached some of the pixie signature crinkled seam binding (using adhesive and more staples) to serve as a hanger.

and now i kind of want to go back to michaels to see if they have a big "L"...for MY room!!! :)

Kirsty's Note -

Oh wow wow wow, now I can see what happened when a brilliant brain at work, ummm.... I wonder if Michael's have a big "K"???? ......    ; )

Pixie March Challenge

Join us HERE for our Pixie March Challenge, you might want yourself a prize package sponsored by American Crafts, click HERE for details or to link your entry

pearl-footed trinket box by lauren bergold

i'm in love with the tim holtz baubles that come in this month's pixie dust kit, FLORIBUNDA. they make everything look more glamorous, don't you think? not that our signature pixie crinkled ribbon needs any help...but still...a few sewn on baubles could not possibly hurt!




i covered this inexpensive little papier mache box from michael's with some of the pretty pink paislee and glitz design papers from the kit. it looked good...but i thought it needed one more thing: FEET!

i was right, don't you think? a trinket box is cool...but a footed one is A LOT more glamorous. this was actually a super-easy project to make. here's what i did:


i measured each surface of the box, and cut a piece of paper to cover each plane: the inner and outer sides, the top and bottom, and around the lid.


to attach the "feet", i used a tiny hand drill to make three small holes in the bottom of the box and carefully pressed the metal loop at the top of the pearls through the holes. they were in there quite securely, but to make extra-sure i put a tiny dab of hot glue on each one. you'll notice that i'd already affixed my patterned paper to the bottom of the box and the inside of the lid before i attached my feet and my ribbon trim...if i was doing this again, i'd complete both of those steps first and then add the paper (as it was, i just trimmed two more circles and glued them in to cover the unsightly bits!)

et voila: a tiny box for candies, or a love note, or a small piece of jewelry. maybe i'll give it lovely husband jeff the week before my birthday...and see what *HE* thinks fills it best??! ;)

Kirsty's Note -

Absolutely beautiful Lauren, I am starting to imaging the precious thing Jeff would put in this wonderful trinket box........ : )

Get your Pixie March Kit "Floribunda" HERE at The Pixie Shop!

Pixie GIVEAWAY

Wanna win Pixie October Kit "Fall in Love"?

Click HERE to enter the GIVEAWAY!

pixie wishes card by lauren bergold

one of my favorite things in february's SPRINGTIME PIXIE kit is the 12x12 cardstock sheet of graphic 45's "once upon a springtime" postcards. in fact the only thing that slightly worried me is that the pattern on the back is equally cool--making it hard to decide which part to use first!


eventually, i chose one of the postcards: i think the little girl and the frog (clearly a cleverly disguised prince!) are having a discussion about "WISHES", don't you? so i decided it would make a very cool birthday card for my cousin.


to make the flowery frame, i cut the postcard from the sheet, placed it on top of the "primrose cottage" paper, and traced lightly around the whole thing in pencil. then i trimmed the outside edges to size with my papercutter. then, i very carefully cut around the INSIDE of my pencilled line with scissors, taking care to leave some of the flowers and leaves "overlapping" the inside. under these i placed tiny piece of dimensional foam tape, so they'd be raised a bit over the main image.

the rest of the card is just layers of cardstock and the gorgeous crocheted lace that came in the kit, which i tinted with glimmer mist from its original pale blue and soft yellow, to chime in better with my color scheme. the flower is layers of die-cut patterned paper, crinkly seambinding, and a girls' paperie button.

i feel pretty sure this card will be good at CONVEYING happy birthday wishes...i'll have to let you know later if it makes them come true! :)

Kirsty's Note -

Beautiful Lauren, like you, I am so in love with this postcard DP as well as the floral DP on the other side, tough time to decide which side to use huh? But this is definitely the perfect choice!

Pixie Shop

Get your Pixie February Kit "Springtime Pixie" HERE!

Pixie Signature Crinkled Ribbon Sale

Buy one get one FREE, see all the colors available HERE!

Just select the ribbon you want and the free on will come in the same package with no charge!

promotion ends February 20, 2011

spring quotation accordion book by lauren bergold

is there a time limit for using the things in one's crafty stash? i hope not, or i may shortly be placed under arrest: this project is based around a junkitz brand wooden "box book" that is so old i don't have any idea where or when i got it! (i'm not the ONLY one who's done this, right?! please be a sport and say it's happened to you, too!) anyway, i am quite pleased to have found this elderly item in time to use it with the SPRINGTIME PIXIE kit, because i'm really happy with how my project turned out!

so what is it? well, it's kind of a mini album, i guess. but instead of photos, i've filled the inside with a fanciful hand-stamped version of a beautiful springtime quotation. you see, i was asked by a papercrafter i deeply admire if i would "exchange works" with her, and i wanted to make something completely unique in her honor.

the cover illustrates pretty clearly how well pixie-in-chief kirsty vittetoe selects and combines products from various sources: the winged fairy is from a graphic 45 paper, the blue is webster's pages, the strips are more G45 and some october afternoon, the button from the girls paperie, and the flower's made from our signature pixie seam binding!

here's a tip that's worth repeating because to me it makes the difference between liking the idea of covering mini-albums with patterned paper...and actually being willing to DO IT: never try to cover right up to the edge! because seriously, there's nothing more tedious, and life's too short! instead, trace in pencil around whatever shape you want to cover; cut out the pieces staying 1/16" of an inch INSIDE the line (don't measure, just eyeball a small distance; it does NOT have to be exact!); then, before you adhere the paper pieces to your book, take a permanent marker and color the edges of your uncovered project!

in this case, because the hinge of the box is black, and it'd interfere with functionality to cover it, i chose a black sharpie pen and colored the edges and corners of the box. THEN...i inked my patterned paper edges to match...THEN i glued all my bits onto the book. trust me, this is infinitely EASIER than trimming with a craft knife and i think it looks every bit as nice! :)

the *inside* of the book is pretty straightforward: i found a springtime quotation i liked, and broke the lines down so they'd fit into the pages of the accordion folded cardstock that makes up the album's pages. this i hand-stamped using a set of making memories alphabet stamps i've had FOREVER.

i used two consecutive sizes of nestie label shapes in order to die-cut a patterned paper "frame" for each page of the book. i then stamped a line of the poem on each page--with a few words "highlighted" by using stickers and my dymo labeler. then i decorated each frame with hand-cut fairies and flowers.

the back of the box book coordinates with the front; a fairy and a bit of lace trim add a bit of extra interest and some texture, respectively.

et voila: a book to welcome springtime! (which cannot possibly come too soon to please *this* particular warmth-loving pixie!) ♥♥♥

Kirsty's Note -

I have to say that THIS PROJECT is from a genius!!! AMAZING!!! You are SO creative Lauren, thanks for sharing with us such beautiful project plus great instruction!


ANNOUNCEMENT
"January Challenge winner"
Thanks to all who played along with Pixie January Sketch Challenge, we enjoyed every single entries, they are all beautiful in its own way, thanks ladies!!! Look out for our February challenge on Feb 20th!


Here's the winning project

Congratulations Burbulex!!!!!
Please send an email to kirsty@pixiedustpaperie.com, so we could line you up to claimed  your prize, you have till Feb 12th to do that.


Pixie GIVEAWAY 
round 5 prize #1
beautiful handmade notebook and brooch by Zielonooka

prize #2

Click HERE to enter the GIVEAWAY!

Shop HERE for Pixie February Kit "Springtime Pixie"

Designer Day Four ~ "Happy Spring" card by Kirsty Vittetoe

Hi all, it is my turn to show you a project for Pixie Dust Paperie's February Kit 

"Springtime Pixie"

As you can see/read from our preview post, this kit is all about Pixie, and our Designers had created those beautiful projects with Graphic 45 Once Upon a Springtime collection, I am showing today the other goodies in this "Springtime Pixie" kit.

The Webster's pages Vellum and Diecut kit included in "Springtime Pixie" are absolutely beautiful.

It has 32 pieces of 6x6 vellum and diecuts, 2 of each design, one of the advantage of using a kit, of course is the part where everything is coordinated for you, all you need is to create, the other is that you don't have to pay full price and get a pack of vellum and diecut with double of each designs, in this kit, you'll get ALL 16 designs of the pack, and pay just half of the price.

the vintage button in this kit is also one of my favorite

and how could me not have pretty Pixie in "Springtime Pixie" kit

for those who suffered from this bitter winter weather, Pixie is telling you "hang in there, SPRING is on its way......"

Now it's your chance to get your hands on this beautiful kit, last day to take advantage of EARLY BIRD SPECIAL. To enjoy a 15% discount on "Springtime Pixie", simply use code EARLY-SPRING during check out, promotion ends Feb 4th at 11.59PM (EST)

Here's the link to the Pixie Shop

Pixie GIVEAWAY

last chance to enter our round 4 giveaway, click HERE for details

winner will be announce on tomorrow's post

Pixie January Sketch Challenge

Click HERE to play with Pixie January challenge

Designer Day One ~ pixie birthday book by lauren bergold

some of the papers in the february pixie dust paperie kit SPRINGTIME PIXIE are...appropriately enough... covered in the most lovely & whimsical pixies you can imagine, from graphic 45's once upon a springtime line; as soon as i saw them, i decided to make something for my mother, who is quite a fairie/pixie lover!


i thought about a mini-scrapbook, or some kind of fancy calendar, but finally decided on a birthday book, seeing as how it's such a practical thing. i know she will really USE it, plus it'll last for more than just one year!

i knew right away i wanted to use the 6x6" webster's pages hollywood vogue diecuts and vellum sheets as pages, so i elected to make the base of my book out of an old sei "preservation series" mini-album filled with 6x6" page protectors; that way each sheet is safe & sturdy, yet they can still be slipped out to fill in additional important dates! i adhered the diecuts and vellums back to back so that each side of could represent a month of the year...with a few pretty decorative spaces in between! i love that there are appropriate pages for each season: winter, spring, summer and fall...that made these PERFECT for this sort of project!

i used my computer to make a little template with the days of the month on it, giving each day a line on which to write the birthdays which fall on that date. i printed those out on avery clear inkjet labels from the office supply store, and affixed an appropriately numbered one to each month's page. i spelled the names of the months using a capital from the gorgeous alphabet sheet in the kit..and my trusty dymo label-maker!

for the front cover of the book i very carefully and strategically trimmed the once upon a springtime 12x12 paper:

you can see from the illustration of the whole sheet that this involved tilting it slightly and cutting quite carefully around pixie wings! my top tip for this sort of trimming-based decision is: make a frame the same size as your project (this book's cover is 6.5x7") out of scrap cardstock is and move it around to determine EXACTLY what you're going to see...and not see...once you've done your cutting!

to embellish the cover i didn't need much: a double frame made from the chipboard pieces in the kit, inked a lovely peacock blue and then coated in glitter glue; a computer generated label; and a few fussy-cut pixies were enough to set off the lovely paper!

sturdy and practical though it is, frankly the original mini-album around which i made this book was NOT a pretty color! so finally, i adhered additional patterned papers to the back of the book and the inside front and back covers, to carry the theme throughout and cover up the remaining "unsightly" bits!

i hope my mom will love this so much that she looks forward to remembering all of our family's birthdays...especially mine, lol!!! :)

 Kirsty's Note -
That is such a wonderful creation Lauren, I am sure your mom is going to LOVE it! 


Early Bird Special
Pixie February Kit "SPRINGTIME PIXIE" will be on sale Feb 5, BUT.... we have an early bird special, purchase "Springtime Pixie" on Feb 1 - 4 (based on EST), you will get a 15% discount on the NEWEST Pixie Kit, what a treat for our Pixie Followers
Use code EARLY-SPRING during check out, 4 days only!!!!!


Pixie GIVEAWAY
Don't miss out round 4 giveaway, you stand a chance to win fabulous prizes, click HERE for details


Pixie January Sketch Challenge

You still have time to play with Pixie January Sketch

Click HERE for details or to link your entry

Spring Bird by Lori Hairston

I just can't get over how pretty these journal die cuts are!  They are perfect for cards, layouts, and even for the sweet little bird hanging I decided to make.  I can see this as a wonderful Mother's Day gift.  Just write a sweet love note on the back and it can serve as card and decoration!  Everything (except the twine) is from the November kit.

   The brads from My Mind's Eye are so pretty...I used three of them on this.  The ribbon card includes a blue felt ric-rac.  I rolled it up to create the little rosebud.  The doily behind the bird is from the packaging of the Prima flowers. 

 This kit has such amazing possibilities from Christmas to Mother's Day!

Kirsty's note

What a lovely project! 


Thanksgiving Special 
Shop at Pixie Dust Paperie

Enter the promotional code thanksgiving at checkout to receive 15% off of your entire order!!! 
(Promotion ends Nov 28, 2010 - EST)


Happythanksgiving!!!


Pixie Dust Paperie November Challenge
Click HERE to link your entry
(ends Dec 5, 2010)