Weight Loss Fridge Magnets

If you're anything like me, you're constantly fighting the Battle of the Bulge. Perpetual diets, constant workout changes and little or no change on the scale - sound familiar anyone? Wish I could blame it on my 2 pregnancies, but I can't - there is only one reason for my weighty issues - The Goodies in my Refrigerator!! With hungry kids and a hubby in the house, my fridge is stocked with the yummiest snacks and sadly I just can't seem to stop digging in. So I thought how about crafting my way out - with some highly motivational Weight Loss Fridge Magnets!

So the plan is that I make these cheeky bordering on rude magnets and fix them on my fridge so that next time I want to stuff my face, I will have something bright, colourful and extremely honest telling me to stop. My first is a 'Warning Do Not Open' magnet. I used some black card stock with an orange layer on top which I embossed using the Itsy Bitsy spots folder. The lettering was done using some alphabet stickers from Itsy Bitsy and how about that awesome 'Danger' sticker! Went so well with my theme!

I made the second magnet to remind myself of my ultimate dream - to have a flat tummy. I think I last had that when I was in school, playing basketball every free second. Now 2 babies later, it seems like an impossible feat but hey there's no harm in dreaming right! So I picked up this extremely apt sticker set from Itsy Bitsy and centred my motivational magnet around it. Hope it helps me remember my dream at all times. 

For my next magnet, I decided to go cheeky. I found these adorable little elephant stickers from Itsy Bitsy and I fashioned my magnet around them. I used the colours and the elephants themselves for the message which is quite simple "These fatties look cute... YOU DON'T". Nothing like a harsh reality bite to keep you on your goal right!

For my final magnet, I decided to do something to get my husband pumped up too. He could lose a few kilos too, so I used some green burlap along with some sporty stickers and the very simple slogan - "Play, don't eat!" My alphabet stickers from Itsy Bitsy really came in handy, all my slogans were so easy thanks to them!

And that wraps up my motivational fridge magnets. Hope it works! Well even it doesn't, I had such a laugh making them. Would love to hear your thoughts too, leave a comment and let me know. Till then, Happy Crafting!

Supplies Used

Pretty Sets with the New Range of Washi Tapes

Itsy Bitsy recently introduced this gorgeous new range of washi tapes from We R Memory Keepers and  when I got my hands on them, I couldn't wait to get started! Each pack comes with 2 rolls of Washi's one slightly thicker than the other and length will last you all your crafting days! I've been meaning to make some coordinated Bag, Tag and Card sets for a while now and this was the perfect opportunity. 

For my first set, I decided to go with the green washi's available at Itsy Bitsy. The white base for both the bag and the card is handmade paper. I used the washi's to add this one sided grid design, it was super easy to do and the result is quite clean and crisp. Some tie die gypsy flowers for a pretty touch and I decided to make a bold statement with the beaded straps. Isn't it awesome! I also used one of the many We R Memory Keepers tags available at Itsy Bitsy. There's literally so  many of them, in so many colours and sizes, it was the perfect accessory to my set. 

For the card, I pretty much followed the same design and in the empty space, I used a corner embossing folder along with one of the Sew Easy Ribbons trims which is also new at Itsy Bitsy.

 For my next set, I decided to create a slightly larger bag and this time the colour scheme was all  white and pink. I started with the same white handmade paper for the base and then used the pink washi pack to jazz it up. I created a four stripe pattern at the bottom alternating between ruffled and straight washi tapes. I love the effect of ruffled washi's and I find that the imperfection of the ruffle actually makes it quite perfect!

For the straps, I used some wooden pink beads from Itsy Bitsy and another We R Memory Keepers tag.  Like I said, there are so many to choose from and they're all pretty reasonably priced - like Rs. 29. I finished it off a pretty butterfly from Itsy Bitsy with a pearl trail. For the card, I followed the same principle except for a change, I changed the washi stripes from horizontal to vertical and added some embossing too. Love how it ultimately turned out!

I am in LOVE with the washi's at Itsy Bitsy!! I think I'm going to be adding them to a lot of my projects going forward! It's such a versatile accessory and so much fun to use too. I'm thrilled with the sets I made, can't wait to present it to someone! Arghhh!!! The agony of crafting for no reason in particular! Ha ha ha!! Thanks for dropping by folks! Have a good one!

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A Pretty Girly Dollhouse Part 3 - The Bedroom and The Nursery

I'm back again with the third and final instalment of my crafty dollhouse series. Part one was all about making the house from an old carton. In Part two, I created the furniture for the living and dining rooms using some old match boxes and toilet rolls. Now in Part 3, I'm going to finish furnishing the remaining two rooms of the house. It's time to work on the bedroom and the nursery. So let's get started.

I chose a lacy blue theme for the bedroom. The bed is actually an old pack of breakfast bars that I wrapped with a paper from the Fresh Floral Stack that coordinates with the wallpaper. For the pillows I used some satin ribbon with a pompom filler. For the headboard, I die cut a scallop oval and embossed it with a floral embossing folder and the lamps are all made from the awesome range of Itsy Bitsy jewellery making supplies. I've made a tutorial video for this room which you can watch later on in this post. Here are some closeups of the details. 

 

Next I began working on the fourth and final room. I really spent some time figuring out what to with this room - study, second bedroom, kitchen... the final choice was a nursery/ baby room. I chose the sunny colours of yellow and once again had a blast adding the numerous details of a typical nursery.  I've had 2 kids and each time there were 2 nurseries, one at my  mom's where I went for confinement and the other at my own place, so I am intimately familiar with the requirements. Here's a glance at the entire room. 

I started with a cream jute sheet as the flooring, the original was a dark brown which I felt would not go with the sunny feel I wanted. Then I worked on the dresser/ changing table. I used a standard box template to cover the entire side of the wall and then created the faux drawers with strips of pattern paper and brads for drawer knobs. I added a lace trim on top and laid out some Itsy Bitsy handmade decals to appear like baby clothes on the dresser. For the lamp on the corner, I created a stand using a headpin and some pearls, glued that on to the yellow button as the base and added some flowers and ribbon around for added style. A cupcake liner formed the lampshade. 

Next I got to work on the cradle. Once again, discarded toilet rolls came in handy. I sliced it in half and then added some toothpicks as legs. For the canopy, I die cut a scallop circle, cut it in half and curved it over the cradle. Some pearls and an Itsy Bitsy doily finished it off. 

                               

I had some fun with the other details in the room. For the wall, I created a mural using some Itsy Bitsy 3D stickers, all in a pretty princess theme. And I also made a little rocking chair. I found a template some months ago on a blog titled Memories by Dawn and bookmarked it. I knew I would try it some day. For the cushion I used some ribbon and an Itsy Bitsy pompom. 

And here's a final look at the completely furnished dollhouse from top to bottom. The pearly pink drawing and dining rooms, the lacy blue bedroom and the sunny yellow nursery. Hasn't it turned out great! All made from paper crafting supplies and a bunch of discarded materials.

As promised, here is a video tutorial of how I made all the bedroom furniture and accessories. Let me know how you like it and would also love to hear your comments on the rooms I furnished here. Thanks so much for stopping by and Happy Crafting folks!

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Time for some PASSIONATE PLUM

Itsy Bitsy has a range of colour collections and when you're shopping for embellishments you will often find them in packs like Soft Touch, Bubblegum, Aqua etc. One of the collections that I find quite mesmerising is 'Plum'. It's all deep and seductive purples so when I was thinking up how I wanted to style this name board, 'Plum' just popped to mind!

A name board is great for a child's room or outside your front door. When it's custom made like the one above, then you can take particular comfort in knowing that you have a one-of-a-kind creation. So after deciding to create a 'Plum' name board, I decided to do it for Itsy Bitsy's  newest store in Banaswadi Bangalore. It's a stone's throw from my home and I'm always going there anyway. So I picked up some papers, embellishments and chipboard alphas and got started on my project. 

For the main body of the board, I used some papers from the Basic Stack and added  rim of pearls. Then I used some Plum glitter flies and glued them all around the rectangular edge. For the letters, I picked up some chipboard alphas and painted them a stark white to contrast nicely when all the purples.  I finished it off with a purple bow embellished with some Itsy Bitsy hand made roses. 

For the little dangles below the board, I once again used the same pattern paper from the basic stack. I glued some mauve feathers on top and added this GORGEOUS plum rose in the center. Isn't it just mesmerising! Such a treat to see and work with. It comes in a convenient pack of six so I am very glad that I've got 3 more waiting for me in my craft stash.

Finally I tried something that I have never done before. I created the little pearl dangler you see below using some jewellery making supplies from Itsy Bitsy. I started with a headpin and then slipped in a variety of pearls and fillers to create that pretty little pearl drop. I first got this idea from Dr. Sonia when she did a post about Shadow boxes for this blog and with Itsy Bitsy being so well stocked in all jewellery making tools and accessories, I was able to put this together in a cinch!

How do you like my name board? And do you find the Plum colour series as mesmerising as I do? Leave a comment and let me know. Would love to hear your views!! Till then Happy Crafting!!

Supplies Used

A dressed up tin

Hello peeps, this is Juhi with another guest DT post. White on white is my favorite for CAS cards, but I had never tried it on a 3-D project, until now. I dressed up an old tin for the Itsy Bitsy Pristine Sparkle Challenge. I must admit, I had no end "look" in mind when I started this but I do love the end result.
This is what I started out with.

I began by applying a layer of decoupage glue (any other craft glue will work as well) over the tin and covering it with crushed wrapping tissue. I've used tissue paper that come's with shoes. Let it dry.

This is what my tin looked like with one layer of crushed tissue, I've also added a lace trim at the bottom using decoupage glue, hot glue would work as well.

I didn't think the tin looked white enough with the tissue so I went ahead and stuck on some paper doilies, I stuck one onto the lid too. These have also been stuck with decoupage glue/fevicol, apply a layer of glue on top of the doilies too.

After the glue dried up I stuck an itsy bitsy stencil with masking tape and colored in the central row of flowers with a versamark marker and heat embossed with silver embossing powder.

To finish it off I added loads of laces and trims in silver and white. I also added a chipboard laser cut (painted silver with acrylic paint) and some glitter foam stars.

For the lid I used a chipboard swirl again painted silver with acrylic paint and added some white paper flowers. The flowers are from a set of layered flowers I got from Itsy Bitsy long back, only one remained so I carefully separated the layers to make three flowers.

Here's a list of supplies I've used that are from the Itsy Bitsy Store:

I hope this has tickled your imagination enough to come up with something for the Itsy Bitsy Pristine Sparkle Challenge. I know it sounds intimidating but do give it a shot, you'd be surprised with the magic white and silver can spin!

Supplies Used:

A Pretty Girly Dollhouse Part 2 - The Living and Dining Room Furniture

A week ago, I published photos of a dollhouse I made using an old carton and some fabulous Itsy Bitsy supplies. If you haven't seen it yet or would like to take a look again, you can find it here. Today as promised I am sharing the furniture I made for the living and dining rooms. I'm really having fun with this project because as Suman Pandit  commented on my paper dolls post, these kinds of projects are great for little girls everywhere, even the little girls lurking inside grown women like me! Ha Ha!

So my living room furniture consists of a sofa and 2 single seaters. I also made a standing lamp for the corner, a potted plant for some greenery and a rug for the floor. Here's a peek at the living room when you open the dollhouse and glance inside. How do you like it!

To make the sofas, you'll be surprised to know that I just used some old matchboxes. When I was in school in Bombay (I went to Bombay Scottish School), my craft teacher Mrs Bracken had all the girls make dollhouses using old shoeboxes and the furniture was  made out of old matchboxes. I used the exact same approach for my living room and have the thank Mrs Bracken for making such an impact on my life with this project. Here's a pictorial collage of how I made the seating furniture.

For the little accents in the room, again I had a blast using some fabulous Itsy Bitsy supplies. The rug in the centre is created from the fabulous new range of burlap sheets at Itsy Bitsy. I just removed the threads on 2 sides to create the tassel effect. For the potted plant, I used some fillers and flowers again from Itsy Bitsy and for the lamp, I used some craft sticks and a muffin liner. Isn't it pretty!

Now on to the dining room. Since it is after all a little girl's dollhouse, I felt compelled to use lots of pink and pearls to make it as girly as possible. I had already done the walls in some floral pink paper so I just matched the 'upholstery' of the chairs to the hot pink flowers on the wall. I added a vase for the centre and stuffed it with some tiny roses from Itsy Bitsy.

To make the chairs, again I used some recycled elements. This time it was old toilet rolls. Below is another pictorial collage of how I converted a simple toilet roll into some pretty chairs perfect for a meal for a doll and her friends.

Here's a closeup of table with the pretty vase of flowers. For a little added flair, I embossed the table top with the damask embossing folder from Itsy Bitsy and to give it some dimension, I edged it with some pink adhesive strips.

For the chair cushion, I took some white pom poms from Itsy Bitsy and pulled them apart a little. This made them soft and fluffy. Then I just stuffed them into the cavity of the chair. Genius eh!

Finally for the vacant wall, I took a chipboard frame laser cut again from Itsy Bitsy and glued it on to the wall along with a stamped image I had with me. Love how it added a ornate and antique accent to the space. 

Finally here's a picture of the dining room when you first open the dollhouse and glance inside. My husband (who is an architect) insists that my furniture is not to scale. Well I couldn't be bothered with such nitty gritties. For me it just has to look pretty and I think it does. What do you think?

Stay tuned to next week's post when I will be furnishing the upstairs rooms. One will be a bedroom and what are your suggestions for the other? Study? Nursery? Kitchen? Give me some ideas folks!

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Chocolate Truffles with the Itsy Bitsy Chocolate Moulds

As you know Itsy Bitsy is the definitive hobby and craft megastore and if your hobby extends to chocolate making and baking, we've got a fabulous range in this area as well. I recently picked up some fabulous silicone Chocolate Moulds from the Itsy Bitsy store and couldn't wait to start making a batch of chocolates. 

The silicone moulds are far better than the plastic ones as they are pliable, flexible and won't crack under pressure. When the chocolate sets, all you have to do is ease it out of the mould and it just slips out without a problem. Each set comes with 2 trays which can each accommodate 15 chocolates and there are a variety of designs and options to choose from. To see how the actually works, don't miss my video demonstration at the bottom of this post. 

Now to serve my chocolate truffles I decided to make a little serving stand. I used the template on this link. You can use this to serve cupcakes also and it makes a delightful addition to any tea party or dessert serving. Since I was making it to serve chocolates, I used some brown card stock from Itsy Bitsy and followed the template on this link to create the stand. Then once it was ready, I had some fun embellishing. I used the Itsy Bitsy Damask folder to emboss the base, then I added some adhesive frills for the edge. A doily on the top was essential along with some ribbon and Itsy Bitsy blooms. Don't the chocolates look even yummier!

Itsy Bitsy seriously has a lot of supplies for all kinds of hobbies and since I love to bake, I was thrilled to see the wonderful chocolate moulds included in the product range. Have you ever tried making chocolates? It's super easy to do! I've made a video demonstrating how to the make soft-center chocolate truffles and you will see first hand how easy these chocolate moulds are to work with!

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