KRIYA-TIVE KALEIDOSCOPE: DIY

PAPER CUP CAKE GIFT BOX

by Ramya Anand - August 18, 2018

Hello Friends , Welcome back to my blog!! How are you all doing?? My little one who is now 2 years is keeping me busy that I get very little time to craft. This project is very special to me as me and my daughter together teamed up to make this for my husband's birthday.

This time I wanted to include my daughter as well for making some gift. So was thinking to create something that my daughter loves so she can also participate in the process. When I saw these cup cake boxes in pinterest I decided that I want to do this as she likes cup cakes. She helped me in punching the flowers( the major work) and choosing the color of the cardstock.

Each cupcake box opens up to a mini accordion fold journal and cookies.

PROCESS:
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
1. Styrofoam balls ( I have used 2.5 inches balls)
2. Paper cup
3. flowers ( punched/ readymade)
4. Embellishments for decoration - craft pearls, lace , streamers etc
5. Hot glue gun
6. Cardstock or pattern paper

These cupcakes are easy to make and are ideal as a gift . They are also cute as a desk-top decoration. I followed the tutorial of Miranda ( she has a video tutorial on this project) to make this project. Check out her blog for some amazing projects here.

Cut the styrofoam balls into half using an exacto knife. For the base of the cup cake measure 2 inches from the bottom of the paper cup and cut it.

Cut a piece of cardstock measuring 12 inches by 2 inches. Using a scoring tool score at every 1/4 inch. Fold back and forth ( accordion fold) and glue it around the paper cup .

Punch different colored flowers and glue them to the styrofoam using hot glue gun. Decorate the frosting with pearls and glitters. The red cherry at the top is made out of modeling clay and painted with red acrylics. Cover the base of the lid / frosting with a circular piece of paper so that the styrofoam base is not visible outside.

I used punched flowers and pearls for decorating the above two cup cakes.

For the above I have used pink streamers and gitter heart.

This one I embellished using black lace and red flowers.

CUP CAKE STAND:

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1. plastic champagne glass

2. plastic plate/ lid of a tin ( i have used a lid)

3. e6000 glue ( an strong glue that can bond plastics together)

Glue the bottom portion of the glass to the lid using e6000 glue ( the wide portion of the glass should be at the base). Allow it to dry and paint with black acrylics. I decorated the stand using black lace , rhinestone chain, punched flowers and foam roses. Upon the center rose I have inserted a floral wire with glitter hearts and happy birthday sentiment. Add a tiny amount of hot glue to make the wire stand erect.

I filled each cup cake box with an accordion fold journal and cookies. My husband liked his gift and was very happy and excited to see what's inside each cup cake box.

Hope you all liked this project. Do post your comments/suggestions.

Entering to the following challenges:

1. A bit more time to craft - " Anything goes"

2. The crafter's cafe challenge blog -"Birthdays/ buttons"

3. love to create challenge blog - " Anything goes"

4. More mixed media challenge blog - " Anything mixed media with optional brights"

12 comments

JUTE / BURLAP JHUMKA AND EARRING TUTORIAL

by Ramya Anand - June 20, 2017

Hello Friends, Welcome back!! Today's post is about jute jewellery making. Jute jewellery is becoming very famous now not only because of its light weight and unique aesthetics but also because its environmentally friendly. It is fashionable and goes well with casual attire.This is my first attempt in working with jute.i thoroughly enjoyed the process as making and decorating these earrings are easy and less time consuming compared to other types of handmade jewellery. I have a short pictorial for making the earrings. At the end of this post I have mentioned some links from where you can buy jute sheets online in India as well in US.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1. Jute sheets of different color
2. Scissors
3. cardstock
4. Fabric glue
5.Glue gun
6. jewellery making rope or thread( waxed cotton thread)
6. Beads and stone chain for decoration
7. ruler , compass and pencil

JUTE JHUMKAS:

I referred the tutorial by Radhika of hobbycrafts blog for making this. I modified the process a little to make the jhumkas more sturdy.

Cut two circular pieces from card stock . The radius of the circle is the height of the jhumka .
Draw lines crossing the center of the circle.
Cut the pieces into sectors as shown in pic3.
The bigger sector makes a larger cone and smaller sector makes a narrow cone. Here I have chosen a broader cone as it will be easy to embellish.
Finalize the shape and size of the jhumkas before proceeding to cut on the jute sheet as jute sheets are expensive.
Paste the cut card stock onto the back of the jute sheet to make it more sturdy.
Mark the point where the fold will come and embellish the rest of the jute fabric.
Join both the ends of the sector to make the shape of a cone (jhumka) using a glue gun.
Slightly trim the top of the cone to make a hole to insert eyepin.

JUTE EARRINGS:

To make one earring we need two pieces of jute fabric cut in the desired shape .
Paste the jute sheet onto a thick paper. Here I have used a watercolor paper.
Cut the pasted portion of the paper and paste the other jute sheet on its back. So it will be two jute sheets sandwiched in between by a thick paper.
Since the edges of the jute sheets are fuzzy we have to glue the jewellery thread to get a neat finish.
Decorate the earring with sequins or bling or wooden beads.
Punch a small hole at the top and attach jump ring.

I made two more earring by following the above procedure.

Hope you all liked this post. See you soon with another interesting post.

Links to buy jute sheets:

In India: http://itsybitsy.in/search/?q=jute+sheets

US: http://burlapfabric.com/colored-burlap/colored-burlap-sheets?zenid=k4207t0ihec05ri1u6mf6bjjo0

Radhika's blog for jute earrings tutorial: http://radhika-hobbycrafts.blogspot.com/2015/09/jute-jhumkas.html

2 comments

10 UNIQUE DIWALI CRAFTS AND DECOR IDEAS

by Ramya Anand - October 21, 2016

Hello everyone ,With the festival of lights around the corner am here with some easy DIY craft ideas to add sparkle and creative touch to your celebrations.

1. DIY CLAY DIYAS:
Diwali is never complete without diyas. Since earthern clays involve baking process why not try making this simple air dry clay diyas. Avoid cracks while kneading the clay as oil might leak through them.
Tutorial of DIY diyas

2. LOTUS ASANA FOR LAKSHMI PUJA:
Make this glittering lotus Asana to keep the idol of Lord lakshmi.
Tutorial of Lotus Asana

3.KALASH CLAY MURAL:
Use packaging cardboard and clay to create this mural work.
Tutorial of Kalash clay mural

4.CARDBOARD T LIGHT HOLDER:
This one will sure catch the attention of your guests. Arrange the Diyas in this glittering and colourful diya stand made using cardboard.
Tutorial of Diya stand

5.PISTACHIO SHELLS T LIGHT HOLDER:
An innovative T light holder by recycling old CD and pistachio shells.
Tutorial of Pistachio shells T light holder

6.DIYA PLATTER USING GLITTER FOAM SHEETS:
Have little time to craft?? Then this one is perfect for you as this platter can be made in 20 min.
Tutorial of Diya platter using foam sheets

7. CLAY RANGOLI:
Festivals are never complete without the colorful rangoli. For a change try this playdoh or clay rangoli which will surely win appreciation from your guests.
Clay Rangoli

8. SIMPLE THORAN:
Use old invitation cards to make this simple shubh/labh wall hanging or stickers. You can also decorate them using kundans or rhinestone chain.

9. GLITTER FOAM FLOWERS:
Make small flowers using glitter foam sheets and arrange them in between diyas to bring that colorful bling to your festival.

10. DIWALI GIFT IDEA:
Gift your loved ones this Diwali with this chocolate flower bouquet.
Tutorial of chocolate flower bouquet

Other ideas:
Here I have compiled ideas from other websites...
1. 10 Diwali card making ideas:
http://artsycraftsymom.com/diwali-card-making-ideas-diwali-dhamaka/

2. Ideas to decorate your home:
http://designdecoranddisha.blogspot.in/2014/10/diwali-decor-ideas-part-i.html

3. Rangoli ideas and diwali kids crafts:
http://artsycraftsymom.com/40-diwali-ideas-cards-crafts-decor-diy/

Wishing all my friends happy and safe Diwali... See you soon with another post..

8 comments

MANDALA DESIGN PAPER EARRINGS

by Ramya Anand - March 18, 2016

13 comments

SEWING MACHINE SHAPED BOX CARD

by Ramya Anand - March 15, 2016

Hello Friends, Welcome back to my blog!! Today am sharing with you all a special post made for a special person in my life. It is a beautiful journey of us together from the day I was born. She is my best friend, my source of strength and my pillar of support. Hope you would have guessed it !! Yes , this post is a small dedication to my mom for her birthday.

I was thinking for many weeks what I will gift her this year. When she told me few days back that she is altering some of my dresses I got the idea of making sewing machine shaped card for her as she loves stitching.

There are lot of cute memories associated with this sewing machine. My mom learnt sewing after I was born so that she could stitch variety of dresses for me. She used to stitch frocks with flowers and dolls of my favorite color. Later in life she got busy juggling between office and household that she didn't have time to pursue her hobby. Few months back she mentioned that she wanted to learn sewing again. I hope this card will motivate her to sew more.

I used my sewing machine ( brother - xl2600 i) as a reference to create this card . For making this card I used canvas paper as they are thick and sturdy. For the base ( bobbin cover area) I have recycled an empty phone packaging box. I have used DCWV - once upon a time paper pack for covering the whole card. At the edges I have glued black lace from recollections.

I made the stitch selector dial by using a circular piece of packaging cardboard and plastic bottle cap. For the hand wheel at the side I recycled an empty ribbon spool. The spool pin / thread spool is made up of empty tissue roll and cardboard pieces. I used push pins for the stitch length adjustment lever.

The borders around the selection dial and thread guide are hand crocheted using i hook. For the needle I have used a toothpick colored in black. The spool storage box is made using the recollections card stock.

All the flowers are handmade using recollections punches. The leaves are hand cut from glitter foam sheet and card stock. The piece of cloth kept under the needle is the leftover from our ( mom and me) first sewing project together. Instead of a printed or stamped sentiment I decided to try my hands on calligraphy writing. These are my first attempts of calligraphy fonts using rolling ball pen ( gel pen). I followed the tutorial of Julie Turrie .

TUTORIAL

Draw the shape of a sewing machine on a canvas paper and cut 2 pieces - for front and back. Make sure the backside is slightly bigger than front. Cut slits on the front piece for the thread guide and stitch length adjustments. Cover it with the pattern paper.

To make the box first measure the length of the front piece. For curved portions measure the length using thread and scale method. Now cut a strip from a card stock measuring the length measured and width 2.5". Mark 0.5" up and down on the cut strip and draw a line. Make a fold on the line drawn and cut small slits as shown above.

Glue one side of the slits to the front piece of the card. The slits make it easy to follow the curvy shape of the sewing machine.

Glue the back portion to the other side of the slits. Finally paste the whole thing upon a packaging box and decorate it of your choice.

Thanks for reading this long post patiently.Hope you all liked my card!! Come back soon for another interesting project. Do post your comments/suggestions.

Submitting this project to

1.Lulupu challenge blog - 4th birthday celebration - I made a birthday card and used the elements of C2- buttons, pattern paper , glitter foam sheets and flowers.
2.Lessology challenge - "Hand lettered love" - All the sentiments here are hand written. I have recycled packaging carton , empty ribbon spool , plastic cap , tissue paper roll etc.
3. Country view challenge - " Industrial" - I have made a crafty sewing machine.
4.Dream valley challenges - " All about birthdays" - I made a sewing machine shaped card for my mom's birthday.
5.The craft place challenge blog - " Anything goes"