Free printables on Bella Blog!

Here's a link to my guest post on the very lovely Bella Blog, from Bella Crafts Quarterly. Thanks, guys.

The post is about papercrafted embellishments - using them to jazz up projects and purchased cards - and packaging them to give as gifts.
Lots of printables!

Hope you like the post.

Super-Sized Sequins & Spangles

These are cup sequins. The facets make the sparkle!

These are spangles: flat cutouts. Some have "engraved" details.

Today I have two good ideas for the price of one (they're both free!). Number one: D-I-Y super-sized sequins and spangles made out of mirror card. Big fun. Number two: give them as a gift to a crafty friend. Or, give them out as party favours in their cute packaging, and spend the party sequin-and-spangle-crafting (I am thinking kids here).

Papercrafted sequins can be easily stuck onto card with foam squares (I use Thin 3D Foam Squares from Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L). I like to use the foam squares for the spangles, too - gives them a bit of lift.

These shapes are best cut out with a digital paper cutter, but I've also given .pdf files for those who want to give hand-cutting a try.

Here are your free downloads. A tut follows.
Here's the glitz:
CupSequins.svg
Spangles.svg

CupSequins.pdf
Spangles.pdf 

Here's the packaging:
SequinCup.svg
SequinTopper.svg

SequinCup.pdf
SequinTopper.pdf

Super-Sized Sequins & Spangles Tutorial

1 Cut your sequin shapes out from mirror card. Cut the guide stencils (in green) out from plain cardstock. If hand-cutting, use a 1/16" circle hand punch for the holes. You also need a fine-point embossing tool, a small metal ruler, and a foam mat (for flower-making, or a the flip side of a mouse mat will do).

2 Place the guide over the sequin shape, edges aligned, sequin mirror side face down. Inscribe the centre shape firmly. Remove the guide.

 

These sequins are inscribed, but not yet folded.

3 Next, draw the short lines that go from the centre shape to the outer edge of the sequin. Butt the tool against the ruler to make straight, accurate lines. I have marked the wrong side of the sequin so you can see the "fold lines" - but in real life, they are only inscribed.

Aim for a gently domed look.

 

Four-sided shapes are even easier to fold!

4 On the right side of the sequin, gently squeeze the fold lines - the "cup" takes shape. You can squeeze adjacent sides together. Aim for visible fold lines, but not sharp creases.

5 Back on the flip side, you can make final adjustments. You can go over the inscribed lines with the tool for more definition.

 6 Above, the finished sequins. Very snazzy - and convincing!

To make the spangles: 
The spangles are a simple cut-out job. Mark the design lines with the embossing tool as indicated - on the right side of the spangle.

To make the gift packaging:
Card topper: place the embellishments in a cello bag. Fold the cardstock topper in half over the bag top. You can attach the card topper with d/s tape or staples (hold the stapler sideways, or use a long-reach stapler).

Ice cream cups: see how-tos for Valentine Ice Cream Cup Gift Boxes, an earlier post.

What to do with your sequins and spangles? You could make a card...

SequinCardVase.svg
SequinCardVase.pdf

They're not fake anything... they're real paper sequins!

Have fun making your papercrafted sequins and spangles... and lots of bling things.

Mock Bottlecap Embellishments

Pretty paper medallions inspired by bottlecap charms.

Quick-make grad medal! (It's that time of year...)

Medals for other occasions.

Mock bottlecaps in metallic (left) or plain (right).

Here's the close-up: twist and tuck to make the "corded" surround.

Here's my take on the bottlecap trend: pretty papercrafted embellishments ideal for cards or scrapbook pages. There's a pretty cord-twist surround with an occasion-appropriate filler. Fun and versatile. Bottlecaps have the same irresistible appeal as buttons.

I've supplied digi-cut downloads for the bottlecaps. And a short tutorial to follow. Here are the downloads:
BottlecapEmbellishments.svg 
BottlecapEmbellishments.studio 

Now for the tut:

1. Digi-cut a bottlecap base and a print-and-cut insert disc. For the base, I recommend Centura pearl double-sided paper. The bottlecap base looks like a stylized sun. And each projection has a kind of a duck-bill - that's the bit that hooks over the edge.

2. Stick the liner disc onto the bottlecap base, centred, with a snippet of double-sided tape. Next, make the cord-twist look surround. Start anywhere. Simply fold-and-tuck the duckbill projections, going in an anti-clockwise projection. Make an angled fold to the left. Tuck the projection behind its neighbour. The notch sits on the edge of the disc.

3. Continue the fold-and-tuck procedure: the corded edge takes shape! So simple to do - and it looks like twisted cord!

4. Last one: fold the last tab under the first.

 5. Voilà! The finished bottlecap embellishment.

Notes on the cards: to make the medals, just run a strip of paper (about 2cm/3/4in-wide) through a paper crimper. Trim the strip ends: dead ringer for a strip of grosgrain ribbon. Fold the strip in half and pop the bottlecap medallion on a little way below the top loop. Use sticky pads or glue dots to attach the bottlecap to the "ribbon".

For a more authentic bottlecap look, double-sided metallic paper is the best choice. But the bottlecaps look fine in plain paper. Prints are not recommended as the corded effect would be lost.

The bottlecaps make great mini-frames for photos or quilled miniatures. And of course, you can change the colourway or message to suit.

Papers: Centura pearlescent d/s for the bottlecap bases, cards: printed papers from Craft Creations and Wild Rose Studio (Annabelle's Meadow).

Thanks to Leah for taking the pics.