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.

"Mini Muffin Tin" Tutorial

Choose from solo-, quad- or hex-compartment trays.

The tray above has lined compartments, rather than removable "muffins".

Today's project channels the home-baking trend. Since this is a papercraft project, these aren't real muffin tins - but they can be put to good use, nevertheless. Use the "muffin tins" as desktop organizers or as party favours for a baking-themed party (a yummy treat in each compartment!). Choose from one, four, or six compartments. I guess I could have called them "Cute Compartments" or "Pretty Party Organizers" - but Mini Muffin Tins it is.

As you can see above, the "muffin" container can be removed from its compartment. You can line the compartment for a "deluxe" version.

Here are your printables for all the variations:
MiniMuffinTinSixA 
MiniMuffinTinSixB.pdf
MiniMuffinTinQuadA.pdf
HexMuffinTinQuadB.pdf 
EggTray.pdf 
EggTrayCups&Liners.pdf 
MuffinCasesQuadSix.pdf 

MiniMuffinTinSoloA.pdf
MiniMuffinTinSoloB.pdf 
MiniMuffinSoloLinersA.pdf 
MiniMuffinTinSoloLinersB.pdf 

The Mini Muffin Tin solo is a larger size, so it requires a larger "muffin".
The smaller "muffins" fit the 4- and 6-compartment trays. For each size, you can choose from a rectangular or angled tray top. The Egg Tray has a plainer top end than the Muffin Tins (make it now and fill it with choc eggs).

Mini Muffin Tin Tutorial

1 For the purpose of the tut, a Mini Muffin Tin Solo will be made. The construction for the other styles is similar - only more compartments to be made. Above, parts cut out and prepped. I make the Mini Muffin Tins out of 160gsm copier cardstock.

2 Glue adjacent flaps to form a cup, like so:

Lining the cup with patterned paper is optional - but if you are going to do it, the time is now:

(Make sure the print faces inwards.)

3 Apply glue onto the cup tabs. Lower the top onto the tabs, aligning cup with the window opening: 

4 Next, apply the base cover, gluing around the edges and the hexagonal window. Smooth it in place. This is an optional step - the Mini Muffin Tin looks neater with the tabs concealed.

5 Next, make the Muffin from pretty print paper. Glue adjacent sides.

The muffin fits neatly in the tray compartment. To close the muffin top, fold down the sides consecutively in a clockwise direction, tucking the inner corner under where nececessary. (The outer corner is rounded, the inner corner is squared.)
Now you are done:

Add a tag, if desired.

A Mini Muffin Tin would make a gread brad, bead, or button stash - and/or suitable gift packaging for gifting to a crafty friend.






 

Paper Blooms by Jeffery Rudell: Review

Paper Blooms:

25 Extraordinary Flowers to Make

For Weddings, Celebrations & More

By Jeffery Rudell

Lark Crafts, February 2014

Paperback, £ 12.99

ISBN 978 1 4547 0350 1

Star rating: *****

Paper flowers are mega-trending in the craft book world at the moment (not that they ever go away). So, when it comes to a paper flower-making title, you can pick and choose.  Paper Blooms, by papercrafter extraordinaire Jeffery Rudell, is my  personal favourite so far. It is not a huge book, but it is bursting with good ideas, warmth, and personality. 

The anecdotes to introduce each flower are charming, memorable, and relevant. Knock-out results are obtained with few materials and basic equipment. The flower construction techniques are simple to master – but ingenious.  And judicious paper choice makes a important contribution to the final creation – clock the anemones made out of glassine paper, and the sunflower centres constructed from rolled bands of corrugated cardstock.

Speaking of rolled bands of paper, many of the featured construction techniques will appeal to quilling enthusiasts. Examples: the Daisies have tightly quilled coils as flower centres, and the Cosmos have loosely –quilled coil centres. The Aster is a super-sized fringed quilling strip. 

The Ranunculus is simply an open coil, executed in double-sided paper, and placed on a stem. The result is breathtaking.  The author, expressing his “less is more” design philosophy says, “ ... this project relies on the simplest suggestion of a flower, little more than an abstraction of  a flower. Still, three facts become evident: 1) something can be beautiful without being complicated, 2) even simple skills yield attractive results, and 3) the tilt of a blossom, the bend of a wire, and the addition of a few leaves can greatly enhance any project.”

The 25 featured flowers are not literal, naturalistic fascimiles of real flowers. The idea is to capture the essential qualities of the flower in a creative way – visual essence of flower.  Many of the flowers combine methods of paper manipulation – such as the lovely Daisies, which consist of two staggered layers of folded paper and the (previously mentioned) quilled flower centre.

Other high points include the multi-layered (but manageable to make) Dahlias and the Carnations resourcefully crafted from coffee filters. Playful – and fun to make.

Instruction-wise, you are provided with photographic step-by-steps as needed.  Full-size flower templates are given back-of-book.

The Inspiration section does seem like a bit of an abbreviated afterthought.  Although the usage ideas are beautiful – and beautifully photographed – for the most part they are nothing you could not have figured out yourself.  This is a small gripe in an otherwise fabulous book.

The flowers in this book combine really clever construction techniques with simplicity of construction – that’s a winning combination. Vibrant colours and unusual paper textures contribute to the total effect.  This well-written and beautiful book is an ideal gift book for a crafty friend.

Note: I was given a review copy of this title.