Back to School season is all about accessorizing, isn’t it? Everyone wants to look good and wear something super cool. I thought tie-dye projects would be ideal to make right now…like this easy Tie-Dye Rose Ring! If you follow my blog, you probably remember my visit to Daytime Toronto and this segment here. Drew was actually wearing it!

It was a popular piece, a unique wearable…I received many emails asking about how to make it. Let’s get started!

MATERIALS:

Adjustable ring with a wide flat top {mine is from the discount store}

Cheesecloth bag {check your kitchen drawers!}

Tulip® One-Step Fashion Dyes™ {Fuchsia, Yellow and Green}

Rubber bands

Latex gloves

Liquid Fusion® Clear Urethane Glue

INSTRUCTIONS:

1- Cut a strip of tie-dye cheesecloth about 15″ in length. If you want a really big and funky rose, cut it longer.

TIP: I cut mine making sure I had enough pink on it for the top of my rose.

2- Wrap the cheesecloth tie-dye piece length wise very thin.

3- Leave a short piece to form a leaf and start twisting and shaping your rose.

4- You can shape it tight or loose, this will depend entirely on your taste.

5- Once you are happy with your tie-dye rose, glue it to the center of the ring using Liquid Fusion® Clear Urethane Glue.

TIP: This glue dries fast and to help this process hold the tie-dye rose in place for a few minutes.

6- Let dry completely.

Your Tie-Dye Rose Ring is ready to wear! And if you are really into making accessories using tie-dye cheesecloth, check my Tie-Dye Flower tutorial as well. Enjoy!

DISCLOSURE: I have a material connection with Ilovetocreate because I received a cash payment, gift or other thing of value or product that are mentioned herein.

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Yes! Back to School Accessories right from the kitchen drawers! Can you believe it? I will actually be posting three projects you can make from the same Tie-Dye piece of cheesecloth you will be making today. Neat! Let’s get at it!

MATERIALS:

Cheesecloth bag {check your kitchen drawers!}

Tulip® One-Step Fashion Dyes™ {Fuchsia, Yellow and Green}

Rubber bands

Latex gloves

Liquid Fusion® Clear Urethane Glue

INSTRUCTIONS:

1- First cut a large piece of cheesecloth. Use the package if you wish to make many Tie-Dye items.

TIP: There is no need for you to pre-wash it like you do with clothing.

2- Fold it like a scarf.

3- Tie rubber bands dividing the cheesecloth piece in sections.

TIP: It’s time to put your latex gloves on!

4- Mix your Dye with water.

5- Apply a different colour on each section of your cheesecloth piece.

6- Let it set for about six hours {if you could wait until the day after, even better!}.

7- Put on a new pair of latex gloves and rinse your Tie-Dye cheesecloth under cold water.

8- Keep it under the water a few minutes until the excess dye rinsed off.

9- Hang it to dry {I like to air dry my pieces}.

Congratulations! Your Tie-Dye cheesecloth is ready to use on your designs!

Come back tomorrow to start your first Tie-Dye Back to School Accessories tutorial. I will see you then!

DISCLOSURE: I have a material connection with Ilovetocreate because I received a cash payment, gift or other thing of value or product that are mentioned herein.

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It’s almost the end of Summer…I like stopping by my florist and take a look at their great selection of flowers and leaves. There is always something new to add to my dried and pressed flowers collection. I have shown you part of mine on an earlier post while organizing my precious pieces here.

Among those flowers are Carnations. I enjoy pressing them for many crafty projects.

I really, really love combining red and white carnations. They look fabulous in an elegant vase and last a long time!

Dianthus Caryophyllus, the scientific name of Carnations comes from Greek and it means a heavenly flower. But what’s behind the name “carnation”? It might come from the word “coronation” or “corona”. And actually Carnation was one of the flowers used in beautiful Greek ceremonial crowns.

I have done some flower drying and pressing this Summer using my microwave for faster results. Petals and stems are precious! I always dry and save them to embellish my handmade papers.

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“These vagabond shoes, they are longing to stray…right through the very heart of it…New York, New York…”

~ Frank Sinatra ~

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Summer is almost over and I started getting ready for my Fall courses…the ones I will be taking and the ones I will be teaching as well. I have been pressing many, many flowers and leaves for my Card & Paper Making Workshop at the Harbourfront Centre and also to make some samples for the class.

I have been also selecting some of my handmade paper pulp recipes to share with my students. We will be making lots of cards including Holiday themes! If you didn’t get a brochure, you can visit their website. Registration for workshops is already open, reserve your sit!

See you all there!

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As we all know blogs go through so many changes over time, we update banners, navigation, themes…It is fun! Today I am answering some emails I received about not being able to comment lately on my blog. After further consideration, I have decided to blog without comments. One of the reasons is because of time, moderating comments {and deleting spam} takes time. I would rather use that time creating more content and tutorials for you. And the other reason is because I found my posts re-posted on Facebook and Twitter! I am so flattered that you like them so much and took them with you…Thank you!

YOU CAN NOW:

You can send me your thoughts through my Contact Form. Many of you have always done it. You can easily share my posts and pages using the Share This button. Please, check the image above. When you click on it, you will see a drop down menu with a list of social media sites. And also E-mail. Share your favorite posts and pages! You can also now Print my FREE tutorials!. I hope you do! Isn’t that great?

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Preparing creative activities for private parties is something I really love doing. But I only take these kind of assignments if they are required ahead of time….enough for me to enjoy the whole designing and planning process. This Party I am working now is for a life time occasion and I can’t wait to show you photos of the finished projects! And even some shots of the Party if I get permission. Although I can’t show what I am designing, I thought about sharing some of the key materials involved in the process. Don’t you love the colours? And there is more, much more…This project is actually so secret that people who will be attending it do not really know what they will be making…shhh!

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We had a great class last Friday! I love teaching arts and crafts to my seniors students at retirement residences. My classes are tailored to their special needs, schedule and location.This is one of the reasons I became an Instructional Designer as well as an Instructor, because I love developing instructional materials as much as teaching them.

It’s such a rewarding experience for me to be able to fire up my senior students creativity through fun projects and techniques. They do have their favorites and Card Making is one of the classes they enjoy them most. Seniors still enjoy the art of writing letters by hand and they really believe in expressing themselves through cards as well.

Cards and letters go very well together, they compliment each other. A message is expected inside the card, and why not a letter? And they have even more meaning if they are handmade. Students made a few cards using materials from their kits. Some made birthday cards and others for any occasion. I closed the class with an introduction about Pressing Flowers.

I stopped by my florist on my way to the class and found great flowers and leaves. Hydrangea is one my most favorite flowers to press!

My students learned how to press flowers using the microwave. This technique preservers and in some cases even brightens the colour of the flowers.

They were quite surprised to see how easy and fast was to have pressed flowers ready to use just in minutes.

They left the class with bags full of pressed flowers and leaves to use on our next class. And pretty posies.

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It’s mid August, the leaves are changing already {Yes, they are!} it means that Fall will be here soon. Should we think about back to school accessories? Young fashionistas are already visiting stores for the latest styles…attracted to designer brand name clothing. Who doesn’t like exquisite details and fabulous displays? But some of you might probably be wanting to know how to make or revamp your own back to school sneakers. Are you one of those? Today I am sharing  a fun tutorial called  Haute Couture Back to School Sneakers.

MATERIALS:

Plain white shoes {mine are from the department store}

Craft brushes

Tulip® Soft Fabric Paint™ {Pink Reflection Rose}

Tulip® 3D Fashion Paints {Metallic Silver}

Tulip® Fabric Spray Paint™ {Cotton Candy}

Aleene’s® Fabric Fusion® Permanent Dry Cleanable Fabric Adhesive

Tulip® Multi-Surface Stencils™

Tulip® Fashion Glitter™ {Silver Medium Holographic}

Tulip® Photo Transfer Paper™

Scanner

Computer

Printer

INSTRUCTIONS:

1- Remove laces from the shoes, put them aside.

2- Using a craft brush and Tulip® Soft Fabric Paint™ {Pink Reflection Rose}, paint the shoes medial covering just the sides without getting to the insoles.

3- Let dry completely, usually about four hours.

4- Using a craft brush and Tulip® 3D Fashion Paints {Metallic Silver}, paint the shoes all over including uppers, heel and tongue.

5- Let dry completely, usually about four hours.

6-Fold the neck of the shoes like the image above.

7- Using a craft brush and Tulip® 3D Fashion Paints {Metallic Silver}, paint the outer edges of the shoe.

8- Let dry completely, usually about four hours.

NOTE: There is a twist on this tutorial as I made an applique from one of my stencils. I like making the most of my materials…This is how I did it:

9-Choose a Tulip® Multi-Surface Stencils™.

10- Place a white sheet of paper inside your scanner and then place your stencil.

11- Scan it.

12- Save it in your computer.

13- Open a Word document and insert the image of your scanned stencil.

14- Feed Tulip® Photo Transfer Paper™ following instructions depending on the kind of printer you have.

15- Print it.

16- Let it dry completely.

17- Cut out your “new applique”.

18- Using Aleene’s® Fabric Fusion® Permanent Dry Cleanable Fabric Adhesive, brush the back of your applique.

19- Glue it to the tongue of your sneakers.

20- Let dry completely.

Enjoy your new Haute Couture Back to School Sneakers. Questions about this project? Contact me! If you are looking for even a more glamorous look, you can bedazzled them with crystals following my tutorial here.

DISCLOSURE: I have a material connection with Ilovetocreate because I received a cash payment, gift or other thing of value or product that are mentioned herein.

Be on my Mailing List Here. Request information about hosting workshops; receive a current list of my courses details and where I am teaching, rates and availability. Get the latest updates on my events, books and tutorials.

It’s been quite busy here at the studio…working on a variety of projects. Today I am sharing a photo of one of the beauties I have used to prepare things for a class I am teaching this week with some very special students…all about flowers…will tell you more later. Sorry, I should have invited you, I know…it is a private class. But wait! I do have a couple of workshops for you. Did you check my classes page? You can sign up and join me here. Spaces are limited…Don’t you love Hydrangea? So many possibilities! Stay tuned!

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