Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Felt Phone Cover

Hello everyone,
 Most of you know I don't only like crafting with paper, but also with fabric & beads. So today I would like to share a non-paper project with you: A new cover for my smart phone!

Not sure how you girls do it, but my phone tends to get scratched from the house keys in my purse and I don't like that…. So I needed something fluffy to protect my –seriously too expensive– mobile devise!

 

It's really simple, all you need is a small piece of felt & matching thread!

You don't even need a sewing machine because it's only 2 lines which need to be sewn and you could do it by hand. But I'm lazy and it's much faster with the machine…

And if you like the design a little more elaborate then see what you find in your fabric or ribbon stash! In my case I found some blue lace which I have once bought on a trip to Peru.

 

This is how you do it:
  1. Wrap a piece of felt length wise around your phone for measurements.
  2. Keep a little gap on all sides (approx. 3-4mm) as extra room for your phone to easily slide in and out + 1cm of hem line & then cut the piece out
  3. Embellish the fabric as intended (e.g. I sewed on that lacy piece to 1 side on the fabric)
  4. Fold the felt right sides & lengthwise together & sew together (leaving the 3-4mm on all sides for the phone to slide in and out easily)
  5. Cut the extra fabric along the stitching lines, leaving only 2-3mm (you can finish it off with your machine but my felt actually doesn't fray much so I never do it)
  6. Turn the felt inside out to reveal your beautiful new phone bag :-)

 Give it a try, it's done in a jiffy!!

Yours,
Steph



P.S.: This is my new project for the Home Decor Challenge by Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge.
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog

Monday, May 2, 2016

Interactive Card: the 'wiggle' effect ON YOUTUBE (Altenew Challenge #6)


Hello dear crafters!
Today's entry clearly is a SPECIAL EDITION:
I have created my VERY FIRST Youtube video!!


And yes, I was struggling massively…! haha :-) 

So let me explain where this all is coming from and what actually made me do this:


Many of you may know that Altenew started having Video Challenges since a few months now and while I always admired those crafters actually doing a video of their creations in their spare time, I always thought this is something not for me (lack of time, technical skills, etc.). But some 2 weeks ago I saw the weather forecast predicting an Arctic cold over Europe and so my gardening plans all died out. After all my business travelling I planned on having a calm weekend, and so I thought: why not make a new card and film myself while doing so!? And let's not worry about the editing… I might never do it and that's absolutely fine! 

Well, what can I say, I'm competitive, and especially when it's against myself, and so I couldn't have this SUPER-LONG & really boring video on my phone, I HAD TO DO SOMETHING WITH IT!Those of you who have tried to create a video , may know what came next…. A big struggle of OMG HOW do I edit a video? HOW can I cut it down? Fast forward? Apps/Softwares? Voice over? – No! pheewww this is all really overwhelming!

Well, it's a hobby, right? So it should be fun and exciting! So I started slowly, bit by bit… And frankly, that's exactly what it was – fun and exciting to learn something new! I enjoyed looking for a free editing app, learning how to use it, playing with all sorts of settings (on my phone as well as my crafting table), etc. No time pressure! 

I know the outcome is not great, but for a first try, I am actually quite proud of myself :-)

Yes, next time I will try to  craft on a sunny day, have more training with the editing, might try annoying you with my accent, and so on and so forth… but give me some time, I actually enjoy the (slow) process! 

So enough about the video struggles, let's talk about my creation:

Altenew is known for their amazing & classy looking style, but I was certain that one can do more than elegant cards with their amazing stamps; so I was going for a modern & interactive look!

This is what came out: A ROCKING SYDNEY OPERA card!! Yes, you can wiggle the Opera House with your fingers, and the "mechanism" is all hand-made (no fancy gadgets involved other than a simple gum ring you will find in your kitchen)!!
Check out the video if you would like to see how I do it (yes, a video comes in very handy when making out-of-the-ordinary-cards, to explain in pictures what I have actually been doing to create the 'wiggle' effect). 

Hope you enjoy this raw little diamond of mine & hope to see you soon!

Ah, and a BIG GIGANTIC THANK YOU TO ALTENEW FOR GETTING ME OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE & MAKING ME DISCOVER THIS NEW WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY – AWESOME! I would have never done it without your challenge blog but I am so glad I did! 

Until next time! With a video?? Who knows :-) 

Yours,
Steph
 
PS: I'm also participating with this card in the latest Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge 'show your metal' (what's better than a ton of Liquid Platinum 😉), as well as the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge 'anything goes'.
And this card also fits perfectly to Altenew's latest Inspirational Challenge which is about: AUSTRALIA!
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge BlogSimon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge BlogAltenew_Inspiration Challenge_May


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