ISSUE 289 FEBRUARY 2016
46 BEST-EVER
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Issue 289 Feb 2016
Adorable Softee Free Pattern
Make it!
ss Mastercla ing
kStamp kEmbossing kDecoupage
100+Bright
& Easy Ideas
Martahrat Stew
MEET THE STARS
behind the hottest brands from the USA
15 Fab makes
te! Oh SodeCu coupage
with your free gift
Simple card toppers
Gift it!
Lovey-Dovey
Copy and stitch our keepsakes
Colouring made simple Inside ...DUCK TAPE 4 WAYS k BLOCK PRINTING FOR NEWBIES
k BEADING & JEWELLERY MAKING k PATCHWORK CUSHION
In Crafts Beautiful …
FEBRUARY EVERY ISSUE
12 OVER TO YOU 14 YOUR REALLY USEFUL
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CRAFT TIPS 26 INSPIRATION FOR FEBRUARY 32 AT HOME WITH JULIE & WENDY 38 TAKE ONE DIE 58 NET SAVVY 70 ASK THE EXPERTS 73 HANDMADE HOME 79 CORINNE’S CRAFT SPACE 112 COMING NEXT MONTH 122 BEHIND THE CAMERA
CARDS & PAPER
84 52 MADE IN THE USA
17 5 WAYS WITH...
DIE-CUT HEARTS
Sharing is caring this Valentine’s Day
We bring you our favourite American products
21 BUNDLE OF JOY
86 ON THE SPOT
31 LUNCHTIME MAKE
CROCHET & STITCH
Send congratulations to expecting parents You’ll fall for our bunnies and hearts cards
43 LITTLE CHARMER
46 ALOHA DELIGHTS
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Embellish a little girl’s plain dress
67 LOVE BIRDS
23 HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WI Get the latest goss from the Women’s Institute
Die-cut an adorable teddy softee
64 PATCH IT UP
Let the Hawaiian state flower inspire you
PEOPLE & PLACES
We meet cross-stitcher Hannah Sturrock
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Celebrate Valentine’s Day with our avian makes
82 HUMBLE BUMBLE
Appliqué bees onto a cushion and card set
99 JURASSIC PERKS
Crochet a trio of amigurumi dinosaurs
102 BUTTON-TASTIC!
Cross-stitch a motivational sampler
106 HETTIE THE ELEPHANT
Sew a darling toy for a little one
LEARN & MAKE 24 ELIZABETH MOAD QUILLS
Shape loose coils into hearts
34 COLETTE SMITH’S MASTERCLASS
Create a pop-out honeycomb heart card
50 SARA NAUMANN’S MASTERCLASS
Block print impressions onto cards
Share it! with the rest of the CB community via 4 CRAFTS-BEAUTIFUL.COM
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BROWSE & BUY 29 TREAT YOURSELF
Folk crafts are catching our attention
36 SUBSCRIBE TODAY!
Receive a free gift when you sign up
MIXED MEDIA 44 FAIRYTALE LADIES
Live happily ever after with peg dolls
56 PRETTY PETALS
Glossy flowers are the order of the day
59 HELLO BABY
Paint a bundle of nursery decorations
62 HAVE A DUCK TAPE VALENTINE’S DAY
Conjure up a set of romantic gifts
59 JEWELLERY
80 UPCYCLING CHALLENGE
89 BEAD BOUTIQUE
Corinne Bradd turns a table into a craft station
104 BEADING LOVE
90 GOOD AS GOLD
Make cards and a heart plant pot accessory
Add a metallic sheen to polymer clay
BAKING
93 ROCK STAR
84 PRETTY RUFFLES
98 JEWELLERY SCHOOL
Craft an ombré cake with peonies
FREEBIES & PRIZES 7 HOW TO USE YOUR FREE GIFT
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Love is in the air with our beady favourites
Create necklaces with druzy stones Corinne Bradd talks metal embossing
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Get crafting with your Tattered Lace die
40 FREEBIES & OFFERS There’s an incredible £2,150 worth of prizes to win!
49 SCANNCUT GIVEAWAY
www.crafts-beautiful.com
Win one of two CM900 models worth £499 each
49 CRAFTS-BEAUTIFUL.COM 5
CB loves... Made by Me
Personalise home baked goodies with a little cookie stamp and simple message that says ‘Made with Love’. Simply press the stamp into the dough before baking, then package the tasty morsels in clear cellophane bags tied with ribbon. Priced £4, The Contemporary Home, tch.net
Top Gadget
Push your creative boundaries with the new Fiskars Power Punch. This super tool is brilliant for mixed media and upcycling projects, and with its Softgrip lever it can cut through balsa, cork and plastics with ease. There are nine designs to choose from in three different sizes. See fiskars.com for details of your nearest stockist.
February
Inspiration
Need ready-made? Card Tricks
Talented illustrator, Mark Hearld has launched a range of greeting cards that show off nature in all its glory. These dimensional designs feature a host of woodland friends from bunnies to sweet fox cubs – perfect for celebrating any occasion or just to say ‘hello’. Priced £4.25. berryred.com
Our pick of the best crafty highlights to enjoy this month
Green Scene Slip on a pair of wellies and get out into the garden, because spring has sprung! If planting or even crafting outdoors is your thing, this galvanised handmade trug will offer a stylish way of carrying your kit and caboodle around! annabeljames.co.uk
Page Turner
Not only is craft celeb Joanna Sheen a fabulous card designer, she’s also the author of Danger’s Last Resort, a fast-paced murder mystery set in a tropical paradise. This gripping read is full of twists and turns that will keep you enthralled until the very last page. Order a copy from joannasheen.com 26 CRAFTS-BEAUTIFUL.COM
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Crafty News
Play Days
Dress-up costumes are enchanting for parties and we’re smitten by this pretty dress from Monsoon – a delightful combination of tulle and fabric flowers. If you want to create an outfit for your little one look out for our fairy dress pattern in next month’s issue. We’ve a host of easystitch ideas and downloadable patterns so you can start making straight away.
Creative Spaces
We love this pretty vintage shadow box. It’s the ideal place for displaying your handmade creations and charity shop finds: a delicate porcelaine teacup, wooden cotton reels and little notes that need to be kept in a safe place. dunelm-mill.com
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monsoon.com
PAPERS for your stash...
Hello Baby!
Three separate stencils with the words Cute, Baby and Boy are an easy way to decorate cupcakes for baby showers, newborns and little boys. The font of each word is different so you can mix and match with Lindy’s other word sets to create personal messages whatever the occasion. lindyscakes.co.uk
Out & About
14th February. PaperCraft @ Cowbridge. Cowbridge Leisure Centre, The Broadshoard, Cowbridge. Shop the best craft products around. Advance tickets just £2.50. Details from sincerely-yours-shows.co.uk
© ICF Events
4th-6th February, Stitching, Sewing & Hobbycrafts, EventCity, Manchester. Find everything from knitting, jewellery making, papercraft, card making, sewing and quilting at the largest creative craft show in the North West. Craft lovers can stock-up on supplies and find plenty of inspiration for future projects. Advance ticket hotline, 01425 277988, ichfevents.co.uk
23rd February. Cushions and Lampshades, The Make It Room. Save a fortune and create your own home dec accessories. Priced £65 per person. themakeitroom.co.uk
You’re Invited Collection, visit bobunny.com for your nearest stockist
CRAFTS-BEAUTIFUL.COM 27
News Feb16.indd 2
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Aloha delights
Let the Hawaiian state flower, hibiscus, and bright shades inspire your card creativity
Crafts Tip
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Cards & Paper
Sta rt wi t h ... b Cardstock: white, green b Stamps: Clearly Besotted, Aloha; Paper Smooches, Kissables 2; Gift Card It; Waltzingmouse, Hello Happy Thanks; Splat That b Ink-pads: Tsukineko Memento, Tuxedo Black; Hero Arts, Butterbar; Bubblegum Pink; Soft Apricot; Green Hills, Tide Pool; Stampin’ Up!, Crumb Cake b Pens: gel, white; glitter, Wink of Stella, clear b Adhesives See our shopping list below
With Love
1 hibiscus flowers by
Create ten various sized
stamping the main base designs in shades of pink, yellow, apricot and purple, then leave to dry. Press the outline stamps over the tops of the motifs in black. Embellish the petals with orange spots. Follow the same
process to make five leaves in shades of green and mint, but don’t add the spots. Once dry, run a glitter pen over each element.
How to make... A HIBISCUS CARD 1 2
2 square, onto a blank,
Mount green card, 11cm
12.5cm square. Fix a smaller white panel on top, then add faux stitching around the edge using a white gel pen. Stamp a light brown wood grain effect to the section and leave to dry. Using the picture as a guide, stick the leaves and flowers onto the front using glue and foam pads to build depth. Stamp a ‘With Love’ sentiment onto a strip of white, then cut, fold and stick to create a 3-D banner.
Happy Birthday
1 10cm x 17.5cm, then add
Make a green card panel,
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a small white section on top. Fix the section to the front of a top-folding white blank, 10.5cm x 18.5cm. Using six ink shades and the paint splatter motif from the Splat That collection, stamp a row of images, making sure to flip the image as you go to create a stacked line. Once dry, run a glitter pen over them. Stamp a ‘happy birthday’ sentiment in black to finish. CB
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“Tap stamps gently onto ink-pads to pick colour up. Don’t press it too hard or your image won’t come out perfectly” Keren Baker, Designer
Go Shopping
Aloha stamps, Clearly Besotted, clearlybesottedstamps.com Waltzingmouse stamps, 02892 586349, waltzingmousestamps.com CRAFTS-BEAUTIFUL.COM 47
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Hettie the Elephant
Our darling toy is based on a traditional teddy and would be perfect for a little one’s nursery Sta rt wi t h ...
Crafts Tip
b Fabric: fur, pale blue; cotton, floral b Plastic eyes b Buttons, cover b Toy filling, polyester b Thread: sewing, co-ordinating; strong b Sewing machine
To help distribute the stuffing evenly, use a pin pushed through from the right side of the body
Find the templates on our pattern pages
Cutting Guide From pale blue fur: two side heads; two back heads; one front head; one trunk; two front bodies; two back bodies; two pairs of the arms and legs; one pair of ears From floral cotton: four feet; four arm pads; one pair of arms; one pair of legs; one pair of ears; the under trunk
2 centre back body seams
Stitch the centre front and
together. Match the front and back bodies together, then sew from the neck edge, down the side seams, across the base matching the centre front and back seams together and back Elephant Toy up to the opposite side of the With the right sides of the neck. Turn the body to the fur fabric and floral pieces right side through the gap in facing, stitch the two pairs of the neck and fill with stuffing. legs together from the front Divide the ear pieces into base, up and around the top pairs, pin and stitch around and down to the back of the leg to the base, leaving a gap of the edges and turn out. Next, make up the head; 3cm in the back of the leg and match the centre back using a 3mm seam allowance. seam of the back head Fold the pad disc in half and together with the right sides of make a small cut at each end of the fold; use these to match the fur fabric facing and stitch. to the base of the seams, then Match the centre front of the side head together and sew the pin and stitch in place. Turn centre front seam together. the legs to the right side Position the centre of the through the gap in the backs. top of the under trunk to Repeat the same process for the top of the centre front the arms. Stuff the arms and seam, then stitch in place. legs, then close by hand with Match the front head seams slip stitches.
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of the front and side heads together and sew these seams from one side around the trunk, attaching the under trunk up to the opposite side. Position the ears on each side seam and match the side seams of the side and back head together, sandwiching the ears between the two edges. Pin and stitch around the seam. Turn out. Create a small hole in the seam and attach eyes as indicated on the pattern. The head can now be stuffed.
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Cover buttons with floral fabric. With strong thread and a needle, attach a button to the top of an arm as indicated on the template; pass the needle through the shoulders of the body, then out on the opposite side and attach the other arm with the button. Pull the thread tight and fasten off securely. Repeat to attach the other three legs. Hand stitch the neck to the body; place the head over the neck, turn under the raw edges of the fur and stitch in place. CB
We asked you to name her!
“As I was scrolling through the Crafts Beautiful Facebook page, I came across a sweet, unnamed elephant. The name Hettie popped into my head immediately. It’s a vintage-style name, which I think suits her perfectly.” Laura Samantha Collins, Reader
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Stitching
“Fur fabric is great for toy making – it has a light stretch, making the toy plump and rounded, and also any hand stitching disappears” Amanda Walker, Designer
Go Shopping Blue faux fur fabric, Textile Express,
textileexpressfabrics.co.uk
Self-cover buttons, Hobbycraft, hobbycraft.co.uk
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Treat Yourself
Folk tales
Stuck on how to bask in all things bohemian? The rule of thumb is the letter F: think fringing, florals, feathers and free-spirited fun...
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1 Suffolk Gardens fabrics by Dashwood Studio, £3 per fat quarter, purple-stitches.com 2 Wool felt 2cm balls, 30p each, bloomingfelt.co.uk 3 Folk two-pack cake tin, £15, marksandspencer.com 4 Alabasta folk stripe red glass platter, £26, eclectdesign.com 5 Folk heart 25mm ribbon, £2.40 per metre, thehomemakery.co.uk 6 East of India feather wooden rubber stamp, £2.50, luckandluck.co.uk 7 Embroidery threads, 95p per skein, sewcraftyonline.co.uk 8 Floral bird treats cupcake kit, £9.75, pipii.co.uk 9 Folk It! Daisy Details Level 2 kit, £10, www.folkit.co 10 Free Spirit colouring book, visit kaisercraft.com.au for stockists 11 Festival multi-coloured fringing, £1.49 per metre, josyrose.com 12 Finders Keepers paper collection, visit kaisercraft.com.au for stockists CRAFTS-BEAUTIFUL.COM 29
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