This is a birthday gift for a girl who is fanatical (way beyond being a fan) of Mickey Mouse. She makes me laugh even while I’m crying, which is just one of the magical things about her.

Here’s how I started Mickey:   1) Traced and cut Mickey’s outline.   2) My sketchbook of how I imagined shooting out fireworks from his hands.   3) As I curved each strip with 80lb cover thick quilling paper (I cut my own), I’d put it aside to glue at one time.   4) Using a light table helped me see where some lines travel from outside into his body.   5) Even a small amount of error would show.   6) Had to cut the corner to trim off excess to fit.   7) Completed Mickey outline. I had left the hands undone, to allow fireworks dictate paths.   8) Side shot of outlined Mickey. I used a black felt to shade in the thin white backing that sometimes peeked out from the side.   9) Just a few scraps of paper from the “cutting room floor” as each strip was made to fit.

I had initially hoped to quill something remotely like Yulia Brodskaya’s with movement, but as I went along I realized Mickey is so definitively Mickey, and to insert lines where the artist did not draw them kind of took away from Mickey – especially his shorts, which just kept looking like striped pjs! It took an hour just to fill the left shoe with her initial “B”.

As I finished his shoes I realized how much the color along the sides glowed almost neon-like into the white backing and realized I didn’t need to fill in his face or shorts after all. I decided not to quill in them at all, and instead applied glue to each “wall” and pressed the quilling paper against the black. Since the black outline was made of thicker paper, it could withstand that much pressure – I don’t think a regular thin strip could manage so easily. I used tweezers to ensure tight corners and pre-softened my quilling paper beforehand by giving it a soft curl.

I formed his nose with a tight coil and squished in between tweezers to form the oval, flipped it upside down and gently pushed it out, then glued in place on the inside. I’ve included a close up of the red ovals in his shorts so you can see my work is far from perfect, and by then my neck said “good enough already!”

Here are some experiments with fireworks. In the end, I cut out long teardrop shapes on my Silhouette die cutter and enjoy the dimension they add when seen from the side. I used a hole puncher to cut a circle from a post-it note and inked in a center dot. This helped me visualize the center as I glued each spark in place. After much debate (my poor hubbie), I decided to have the fireworks stream up on their own accord rather than from Mickey’s hands. I simply ran out of room (I had already bought the 8×8 frame and it was the day of the birthday – gulp!).

Admittedly, Mickey kind of looks like he’s had a tattoo job, but I was really striving for a “magical” kind of outfit – ah well, next year… The fireworks paper was metallic  Stardream in a text weight.

This is my first die cut paper banner / bunting / pennant design. A much anticipated little girl is expected this Valentine’s Day, and I wanted the shape of her shower’s banner to be reminiscent of a heart but not be quite that obvious. I also tried to keep some dynamic movement by having the overlapping shapes show thick and thin areas – not just a straight outline.

I’ve always felt ribbon is akin to a backup singer – to support the lead and not steal the show. To give all the emphasis on the lettering, I ensured the ribbon is easily threaded through loops on the back layer so one doesn’t see the supporting holes.

The three shapes (pink, green, white) are cut from 8.5″x11″ paper. The three layers are aligned using a jig so no eyeballing is needed. The lettering (not included) is Adobe Caslon at 410 pt. I can’t remember the brand name of ribbon, but it’s a sheer lime green and I got it from Michael’s.

Part 5 (and final installation) of my Valentine Collection on Etsy.

Beware of Cupid’s shooting arrows! It was a great discovery my first time to use an ink pad on the edges of my paper ball decorations to add dimension. I realized dragging the ink pad across the arrow would make it appear as if Cupid had just let it fly, especially when it caught on the edges.

Version 1 is easy to put together since it’s a single sheet of paper. Simply use beading wire, fishing line, or string to thread from the bottom hole, then thread each arc at the top. A rolled paper straw in the middle keeps the ball fully inflated. A scalloped circle finishes the top and bottom and the beads are optional. Version 2 allows you to combine two different papers, of course.

Part 4 of upcoming Valentine collection on Etsy.

Filed under: by Cecelia, die cutting, Digital Die Cutter, Paper, svg ]]> http://craftingcreatures.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/3d-paper-ball-with-hearts-and-arrows/feed/ 2 buddhabellies BallTwo_both Ball_combos_600p http://craftingcreatures.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/yin-yang-valentine-card/ http://craftingcreatures.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/yin-yang-valentine-card/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:52:06 +0000 Cee http://craftingcreatures.wordpress.com/?p=2574 ]]>

I originally designed this card as a wedding invitation for dear friends. I wanted to give a subtle nod to their Asian background.

The interlocking Yin Yang design with Japanese flower motif opens up to reveal two interlocking hearts and a message for your Valentine. Overlapping two different colors of paper allows you to customize this card for weddings or anniversaries as well.

Part 3 of my Valentine collection, soon to be released on Etsy.

Classic cube with overlapping scallop-edged hearts. Simple and quick to make, this box can also be used for weddings or anniversaries. Who says Valentine’s Day is just one day of the year?

Part 2 of upcoming Valentine’s Day collection, soon to be offered on my Etsy store.

I’ve heard of scrapbooks that rival the thickness of a New York hoagie. Perhaps it’s because sandwiched in all the layers are dimensional chipboard letters lovingly decorated for each page; but what if you want your font, or your size, or your whatever?

I made this chipboard version of the famous LOVE sculpture, designed by Robert Indiana. After cutting out the paper on my Silhouette, I glued 8 layers of 80lb cover weight card stock together (6 white pieces sandwiched in between 2 red ones). It makes an intriguingly subtle effect when glued on cream stock because the white seems to have life of its own. Pinning in strategic corners onto corrugated cardboard allows you to keep them in register as you race before the glue dries.

Need snow? Paint yourself a winter wonderland. Daiso sells pearlescent white paint for $2 in a small tube. Use a fine brush, load it up, and let the paint scrape against the edges of your craft project (in this case a party favor box).

Try to make it look like natural snow drift by painting from one direction (so don’t coat every edge).

This triangular party favor box is sold on Etsy, along with other dinner party paper decor. Half-moon shaped flaps are on both ends to allow easy access to your stocking stuffer. Perfectly size for biscotti treats.

I’ve admired wine charms but can’t remember what color I am halfway thru the night. So I’ve made my own and left space for names. Matching gift tags? But of course!

Enlarge by 150% and they’re suitable for mugs too.

I didn’t have a tree topper and was inspired after seeing how easy it was to make a 3D paper star on Kim’s blog, Craftaphile. I added a stem and it seemed like I planned how well it fit on that topmost tree tip. The actual size is about 7.5″ wide x 9.5″ high.

I’m offering my die cut files free. I’d love to hear your comments like how it cut for you on your machine. The file formats are in SVG, DXF, and PDF (cutting by hand is also easy). They are all compressed into a ZIP file for you to download.

You’ll notice there’s a “front” and “back”, but really it’s just one has tabs and the other doesn’t. I pre-fold along all the lines (Craftaphile shows great photos) then use white glue and work with 2 tabs at a time, holding until the glue sets. After it’s assembled, the creases remember where they need to move and it just poofs out into 3D! Try it!

My nephews are old enough now to want gift cards, but young enough to still be curious about what’s under the tree, so I designed a pillow box glued shut with a tear strip so they can “Let ‘er rip!” on Xmas day. The handles separate so you can still add it last minute to wrapped box or easily hang it off the xmas tree branch.