More Recycle Bags

For the FCE Fair, I decided to donate some Recycle bags. I decided to make mostly Hello Kitty because in case no one bought them, I would have recycle bags that I want! Well, it turns out all of the Hello Kitty ones sold out and I was left with the non- Hello Kitty ones. Guess I should have went with my instinct and done all of them in Hello Kitty! Anyway, here's some of my favorites.

Recyle Bag Tutorial

I received a question on how to make the recycle bags from Linda. I used to sew but those days are gone... I don't think my sewing machine even works anymore! Anyway- I wanted to embellish my recycle bags and researched using fabric on the Sizzix website. I was happy to find that no sewing was required! Here's what I did:

Supplies used:

• Fusible web (No Sew type)- comes in a roll or small sheets that are folded. Follow directions on the package.
• Fabric- if you are using white fabric, make sure its a thicker type since you can sometimes see through it- especially if you are using a black bag.
• Iron
• Embellishments- buttons, fabric paint, crystals (used with fabric glue), etc.
• Recycle bag

1. Iron fusible web to BACK of fabric that you want to use. Paper side should be facing you.

2. Cut image using Sizzix dies (note-I had a hard time with Sizzlits- Originals and Bigz work best).

First, cut fabric to fit die.

Then place fabric piece with fabric side down on die-otherwise your image will be cut backwards. You may want to do this, so just keep it in mind.

See- fabric side down. (I used red to show you).

Here's what your Hello Kitty will look like- same as if you cut it with paper. Pop out the eyes and nose. 3. Just as you would with paper- cut additional pieces in different colors for layering.

4. Peel off paper from back of die cut and position onto base piece. I normally iron on the base piece first then add the layers to the piece- but do what's most comfortable for you. If you are making a Hello Kitty bag here's what I did for the face- Since the bag was black, I didn't need to do anything for the eyes (just popped them out). For the nose, I ironed on a small yellow piece of fabric first and then layed the head over it, positioning the cut out nose over the yellow.

Peel off the backing... Here's the piece I used for the nose. I ironed it on first then positioned the head over the yellow so that it covered the nose hole. (can't seem to rotate this photo- sorry!). Iron on Hello Kitty head so that nose opening is over the yellow fabric.

Iron on red bow.

5. After you iron on all the pieces, you can embellish the bag with crystals (adhered using fabric glue), fabric paint or buttons. For Hello Kitty bags, I used black fabric paint for the whiskers.

I also used a clear glitter fabric paint to accent the bow. Here's a close up of the bow before it dries. Don't worry, it will dry clear.

I added the Hello Kitty phrase to the bag. Later on, I'm going to cut flowers, etc. and decorate the bag more. You can stop here... just depends on how you want your bag to look! Linda- hope this is helpful to you! Not much different from making regular die cuts from your Sizzix- just a couple extra steps of adding the fusible web. Have fun making them! Please let me know how your bags turn out! I'd love to see them!

Bags, Bags and More Bags!

Just couldn't stay away... Here's a few more bags to share. Using the Build a Lilac Sizzix die, I cut a lot of the small flower out of fabric and adhered them to the bag in the shape of a heart. I then added crystals to each flower to give it something special.

This bag was made using the Bigz Sandal and Bigz Build a Flower set. The middle of the flowers are crystals from Ben Franklin.

Finally, this last bag was made using the sizzlits cupcake die. I used different colord crystals as the sprinkles and outlined the frosting with glitter paint.

It's amazing how a little paper can really bring something to life! I just added some paper to these plain gift bags and it really made a difference! The digital designs are again by Nancy Kubo. The kit is called Aloha Sweeties, aren't they sweet? I can't stop using them in my projects. The Sweeties were cut out using oval spellbinders nestabilities and then colored cardstock was cut using the scallop ovals. I never thought I wanted to have ovals but I am sure using these sets a lot! I guess I didn't realize how much things are actually oval shaped. I highly recommend these sets. I use them all the time!

Here's an example of how just a strip of paper can add a lot. I just got some washi paper scraps and added them to a gift bag and voila! Instant easy packaging.

OK, my favorite again.

Background paper used was by DCWV paper packs. The clothes and bow were Bazzil Scraps. Hello Kitty dies from Sizzix were cut with a pearly paper, so they shine.

This Hello Kitty is the Princess Hello Kitty Sizzix die. I used gold cardstock for her crown and put red glitter glue in each heart. The paper used is by American Crafts.

All of these gift bags were surprisingly easy to make and very quick. Much faster than I expected. I was able to do about 20 of them in a couple of days. My mom had asked me to buy her some of the smaller gift bags since she liked that size. She doesn't know that I decorated them for her. She'll definitely be surprised! Hello Kitty is her favorite too!

Sorry, I forgot!

Ok, I'm new to posting, so I completely forgot that I need to provide credit where its due... As for my title- its still a work in progress, but I got the designs from the Little Dreamers Designs website. Its by the designer Nancy Kubo. She makes the cutest digital designs ever! Anyway, both graphics are from her totally sweet graphics kit. I used a lot of these for the candy boxes my daughter gave to her friends for Valentine's day. I also used the XOXO Gift Tags and XOXO Graphics. They are so incredibly cute and so easy to use. I embellished them with some glitter glue to make them stand out more. The box is the XL Sizzix Shaker Box. I'm getting off track... I also wanted to credit the supplies I used to make the bags that were featured... All of the fabric was cut using Sizzix dies. The Hello Kittys were the Originals Hello Kitty face w/bow. The flowers on the Hello Kitty bags were Bigz Hello Kitty Daisies and Hello Kitty flower bouquet dies. You can't really see that well, but the bows are embellished with glitter glue (crystal) and the buttons are from the fabric store, although the poka dot ones are doodlebug designs. The strawberry die is a sizzlit and the butterfly was a sizzlit build a butterfly set. The strawberry's seeds are done using gold fabric paint. I also used the Bigz Decorative Accent Swirl for the vines and Build a lilac for the flowers. For the floral bag, I used a sizzlits build a flower set. For the middles I used large crystals from Ben Franklin. Thank you to the girls at Island Scrapbooking for reminding me to do this! Whew! I think that's it for now!

Yikes!

Hello everyone out there! Is there anyone out there? After reading numerous blogs about paper crafting I finally got up the courage to start my own.... so here it is, a work in progress of course. Anyway, the inspiration for the name of my blog came from my husband. He thinks this title is hilarious and laughs every time he tells me to use that name... so for now that's my blog's name! No, I am not calling anyone out to beef (that means fight)! Anyway, I finally decided to teach a class at Island Scrapbooking (in downtown Hilo) next month. Since Easter is coming up in April, I thought it would be a good idea to make some kind of Easter basket, so I finally came up with one using one of the XL Sizzix dies and the bunny from Hello Kitty. I'll post a photo after I finish making a sample. In the meantime, I thought I'd post one of my recent projects... I got the idea after I saw some of those re-useable grocery bags covered with a strip of fabric at one of our local fabric stores (Fabric Impressions). This little strip of fabric really changed the way the bag looked and gave me the inspiration to put my own spin on it. Being that I love Hello Kitty, I naturally chose a Hello Kitty die for my first bag. I gave one to my mother-in-law and she asked me to make about 30 of them for her friends at her office. Here's a few of my favorites.