Doily Butterfly Gift Bags

Pretty pleated butterflies - made with Tonic Studios Doily Dies.

Two lattice square doilies to make the butterfly. Fine pleats (top) or wide pleats (above).

Lacy butterflies here - made from square and circle dies.

These butterfly gift bags are fun, easy, and quick to make. The butterflies are crafted with the new Tonic Studios dies. 

The top style, with the lattice butterfly, is made using the Doily Square Die 226E. I used origami paper for easy folding and sharp creases. You need two pieces of paper for each butterfly. I chose a plain colour for the top wings, and a gradient paper for the bottom wings (to create a lovely hombre effect). 

My die-cutting device was a Cuttlebug. My plate stack, from bottom up:
A plate, C plate, die (ridges/cut side up), origami paper (right side up), shim, B plate. My shim was a folded piece of 160gsm cardstock. You can cut up to three pieces of origami paper at a time. I like to have a die-cutting session to make a stash of doilies.

Here is how to pleat and prepare the butterfly wings:

Hold each doily on the diagonal. Trim the sides of the gradient doily as shown. Crease each doily in half vertically, open out. Now, fold each doily in half horizontally, in half again, and in half again, and in half once more. Crease the folds. Open out the doily. You have divided it into sixteen horizontal folds. Accordion-pleat the folds of each doily, creasing as you go. 

Pleat, stack, and wrap the wings.

Now, take a strip of 2mm (1/16in) quilling paper and cut it in half. Fold one piece in half for the antennae. The remaining piece is the centre wrap. Stack the wings on top of each other, as shown. Wrap the quilling paper around the centre wing fold, catching in the antennae strip at the top. Glue the end of the wrap with tacky glue applied with a cocktail stick.

 With a quilling tool, twirl a loose coil at each strip end.

Time to spread those butterfly wings! The butterfly is now complete.
Here are some butterfly variations:

Above, lattice butterfly with wide pleats: divide into eighths instead of sixteenths.

This butterfly was made using Tonic Studios Daisy Square Die (225E) for the top wings and Tonic Studios Daisy Circle Die (221E) for the bottom wings. When using the daisy dies, fold them into eighths, never sixteenths. Above, the top daisy square is held on the diagonal - this creates pointy wings.

Above, the top daisy square is held horizontally, creating chunkier,
arcing wings.

Here is the pattern template for the gift bag and tags:

The bag design is a modified pillow box - pillow base, handle top.
I used American Crafts Cardstock for the bags. Cut out the bag and score the fold lines with an embossing tool. A tip: cut out an eye-shaped template out of scrap card like so:

Use this as a guide to mark the curve at the base of the bag. Crease all the bag folds - a bone folder is handy. Seal the bag side flap with either tacky glue or double-sided tape. Pop a sticky dot onto the underside of the bag front base fold - I used a 3D Dodz from Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L. Shape the curve of the base flaps with your thumb, and seal the flap shut. You can seal the handle flap with another Dodz, once the contents are in the bag. The butterfly is also fixed onto the bag front with strategically-placed Dodz.

The butterfly bags are ideal for parties - fill them with sweets and/or favours. The tags can serve as place cards. The bags are also ideal gift packaging for jewellery and small objects.

Petal Pairs Ribbon Reels & Gift Basket Tutorial

Flower-shaped ribbon reels and a presentation basket.

Today's project is part of the Papercraft Fabrications strand of sewing-related makes. 

The garden trug-style gift basket holds about a dozen dainty ribbon reels. Makes a lovely gift. The self-adhesive tab to secure the ribbon end is disguised as 3D leaves.

Here's how:

 

1) Cut out the pattern pieces (templates below, at end of tut). For each ribbon reel, you need the top and bottom reel drum, the reel barrel (drum side band - with the teeth), the flower top and bottom, and the leaf tab. 

Prep: Pierce a hole at the flower and circle centres - very important - this is used to align the pieces. Score across the length of the drum side band just below the teeth with an embossing tool and fold the teeth inwards. Cut the swirl slits on the flower top with a craft knife (use a mat). Bend the swirl slits upwards to form the 3-D flower shape. Chalk the edges of the flower top and bottom. (Bazzill Basics cardstock used - good weight, nice texture.)

 2) Glue the side tab of the drum band and join the band into a ring.

3) Pencil around the drum sides, to make placement circles on the wrong side of the flower top and bottom. Centre the circle on the flower by placing a cocktail stick through the centre holes.

4) Apply tacky glue around the outer edges of the drum circle. Glue onto the folded "teeth", aligning edges. Smooth in place. Flip the drum over.  Apply glue to the second circle and glue it onto the other side. The drum is now complete. It is a sealed, flat cylinder.

 5) Glue drum to flower bottom.

 

6)  Apply tacky glue onto the centre of the flower top and in a ring outside the petals. 

7) Glue the flower top onto the drum top. Use a cocktail stick to position the flower, matching the centre holes of flower and drum. Align the petals so top scallops match those on the bottom flower. Make sure that the flower petal cut-outs do not get glued down. Note the peek-a-boo effect: the colour of the drum can be seen through the flower petal cut-outs.

8) The centre flower feature is made using Tonic Studios Petal Pairs Petites punches (shown: PP Petites 4 - item 895e). Punch out three flowers, two of like colour, one contrasting. The flower is assembled using the Petal Pairs Centre Perks technique (see my earlier blog post: http://thepapercraftpost.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/best-buddies.html, Best Buddies, 27Feb 2012). When you assemble the flower, make sure that the contrast-coloured flower is face down.

9) Folding the Centre Perk: fold the contrasting-coloured petals so they meet at the flower centre. Fold the petals down consecutively,

tucking the last one under. Since you fold the petals under, the textured side comes out right-side-up in the finished Centre Perk flower.

10) Stick the Petal Pairs flower onto the ribbon reel top. I used 3D
Foam Squares from Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L.

11) The ribbon reel structure is now complete - time to load on the ribbon. Stick a piece of double-sided tape onto the end of the ribbon, fix it onto the reel barrel, and wind the ribbon on, keeping a constant tension. (I used Crafty Power Tape from Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L, which is super-sticky for repeated ribbon fastenings.) Ribbon, of course, comes in different widths - so on the pattern template, below, you are given a choice of reel barrel widths.


The leaf-shaped ribbon tab secures the ribbon tail to the reel. Score a V-shaped vein at the leaf centres, clip the leaves to the centre of the V and fold them upwards. Apply double-sided tape to the wrong side of the "stem" of the ribbon tab (Crafty Power Tape from Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L again.) 

12) When you apply the tab to the ribbon, fold the stem at an angle so that the leaves are visible beyond the flower. Fix it onto the ribbon like so:

The ribbon reel is now complete! Make one, or make a baker's dozen.

 

Pic above shows the ribbon reels with various centre flowers achieved with Petal Pairs Petites punches. Left to right: Petal Pairs Petites 2 (893e), PP Petites 4 (895e), and PP Petites 1 (895e).

Pressed for time? Above is a no-frills version of the ribbon reel flower.
The flower petal cut-outs have been eliminated - and a larger, standard-sized Petal Pairs punch has been used to make the outer petals of the centre flower.

Above, the no-frills ribbon reel with punches. Left to right: Punch from Petal Pairs Box Set 3 (882e) for the outer petals, and PP Petites 4 (895e) for the Centre Perk.

Time to make the basket now. Very simple to do:

1) Cut out the basket base and score the folds using an embossing tool held against a metal ruler. Punch the holes for the ribbon ties. Use a 1/8in circle hand punch. Position the holes about 2.5cm (1in) up from the base and 1cm (3/8in) in from the sides. Mark the widthwise centre of each basket side on the inside of the basket in pencil. A Tonic Studios Simplicity Geared Pattern Punch (style 948e Dotty Border) is used to create the lacy basket border.

 2) Place the first punch at the centre of each side. Work outwards to the edges, right and left, to complete the border. The geared punch cuts like butter - no elbow grease required.

Pic above shows a completed punched side. Remove the waste paper above the scallops and repeat for the remaining three sides of the basket base.

3) Punch a handle strip (Tonic Studios Simplicity Geared Pattern Punch,
Daisy Strip, item 940e). Just work your way along the edge of the paper until desired length is achieved. About 25-28cm (10-1/2 - 11in) is about right. (Tip: save the evacuated flower centres from the punched border. You can use them for as embellies for a future project.)

 4) Glue one end of the handle inside the basket at the centre on a long side.

5) Punch (or pierce) holes to either side of the handle, just below the punched border.

6) Use a tapestry needle to thread a 30cm (12in) piece of ribbon through the handle holes. Tie a bow; trim the ends; repeat for other side:

7) Tie a bow in each of the basket corners; 30cm (1in) of ribbon as before. For a secure bow that lies flat, bring a ribbon end through to the inside of the basket and back to the front, encircling the corner ribbon, then tie the bow on the front. Like so:

Here's a view from inside the basket:

You can see how the ribbon is encircled at the corner, keeping it close to the basket sides. Neat. Repeat for remaining three basket sides and your basket is complete.

If you prefer a tray-style basket, just omit the handle.

You'll be wanting these:

So, there you go - Petal Pairs Ribbon Reels and presentation basket. If you a in a hurry, a single ribbon reel in a cello bag makes a nifty small gift.

By the way, today is World Cardmaking Day:

: ) See what I did there. The ribbon reels and leaf tabs have been re-purposed. You can also use them as giftwrap embellishments.

That's a wrap for today's tut.

Big thanks to Leah, my patient photographer and adviser.

Book Review: The Crafter's Guide to Papercutting

The Crafter’s Guide to Papercutting

Emily Hogarth

Search Press

ISBN – 13: 978-1-84448-895-7

Paperback £12.99

September 2012

Artist Emily Hogarth has written the right craft book at the right time. The craft of papercutting is having a moment – note the well-deserved mainstream mega-popularity of papercut artist Rob Ryan. Why? Papercutting is a craft for hard times. With just a cutting implement and a piece of paper, you can create a thing of beauty. Plus, papercuts have an irresistible graphic appeal.

This is a well-thought-out and beautifully produced book that has a usefulness beyond its lovely projects. The book begins with a whirlwind, worldwide illustrated history of papercutting and continues with a how-to guide for novices. There are tips on tools and materials, notes about paper choice, cutting advice for scissors or craft knife, info on how to transfer design to paper, single and multifold designs, layering and multicutting. Beyond the basics, the chapter on designing papercuts is chock full of practical advice and presents material I haven’t seen before - such as how to get your head around backwards papercutting patterns (they are copied reversed onto the flip side of the paper).  There’s also a section about the importance of positive and negative design elements, which is the nitty-gritty of papercutting.

Emily Hogarth’s projects, which have heaps of personality and playfulness, form the core of the book. The projects have a contemporary feel, while taking on board traditional papercutting styles. Emily came to papercutting via her textile studies – cutting stencils for silkscreen printing. You can see that the project designs have the eye of a textile artist – they have plenty of flow and movement. 

Best of all, Emily has thought outside the box for her projects, not limiting her ideas to the usual 2-D cards and silhouettes. There are lots of 3-D and layered projects, and several projects make use of double-sided paper (a simple, but show-stopping trick).  (The Accordion-Fold Garden Card makes superb use of double-sided paper.) Other projects include a Flying Bird Mobile, a Shadow Puppet Theatre (the puppets have articulated joints), and some sweet cupcake wraps with cake pokes (simple, but effective – do-able in quantity). The zig-zag fold NYC skyline has wow factor, yet is achievable by relative newcomers to the craft. Nice. 

Each project has a step-by-step photo tutorial. A handy feature is the “Take Special Care” corner, which flags potential tricky spots.

The back of the book consists of a template section. The brave can actually cut up the book. The timid and the reverent can photocopy or trace the designs. A nice feature: there are more templates than projects in the book. The “extras” refer you to similar projects in the book for how-to guidance.

My thoughts on Man vs. Machine:  I am a keen advocate of digital papercutting. I couldn’t let a day go by without crafting on my new best friend, my Silhouette Cameo machine. But I still believe that there is a place for handcrafted papercutting. Like the e-book/real book kerfuffle – no need to choose – there’s a place for both. Handcrafted papercuts retain a charm and personality – the maker’s hand is precious. Digital papercutting enables the crafter to create amazingly ambitious papercut projects quickly.

Digital papercrafters will find lots in Emily Hogarth’s book that applies to their craft. Many of the design concepts - such as positive/negative and layering - apply to both hand-cut and machine-cut papercraft designs.  And Emily’s beautiful designs can supply inspiration.