Bella Dia

Mandala Tote

Do you like my little mandala tote? I was
totally inspired by a hand-drawn tote bag
created by Yasmine in the latest issue of
Parasol Craft. I used a black fine point
Tee Juice fabric marker and it went
on beautifully. I already had the tote
bag but I got it at Michael's.


The tote is small but it's the only one I had on
hand when inspiration struck. I'd like to do a
bigger one like Yasmine's too.

So I tried needle felting...

I have been wanting to give this a try forever!
The needles, the roving, and the foam pad have
been in my stash at least two, maybe three years,
but I never sat down and just began. Well, I received
a copy of Felt Me a Smile to review and that was
just the jump start that I needed. These three
little creatures are my first projects and were
gifts to my children in their Easter baskets.


A brown bunny with a white belly holding
a bouquet of flowers...


a cream bunny with a blue flower and long ears...


and a standing brown bear with a blue
checked bow and flower. They are all
less than 3" tall.


I love the cover project, so cute! The little hugging
bears below were my first attempt and inspiration for my
standing bear. Actually, my very first bear ended up being
torn apart by kittens during the night - oh so sad to see
little bear's nose and arms ripped off and lying in the
middle of the floor looking up at me with only one good
eye! So be forewarned if you have cats in the house and
keep your needle felting projects well hidden. After I
finished the bear, I went out on my own and made
the two bunny variations.


I have to say needle felting is almost magical to me -
you keep poking this little barbed needle into a ball of
fluff and before long a sweet creature appears! I think
anyone who enjoys sculpting would love needle felting
and it doesn't take long to get the hang of it either.
What's fun about Felt Me a Smile is that not all the
projects are needle felting, you'll also find several
methods of wet felting and projects that combine
both, like the one on the cover.

I wanted more roving colors and after a little research
I found that Weir Crafts has very good prices, a beautiful
selection of colors and types of roving and they shipped
super fast too so my experience couldn't be any better.
(Just so you know, I'm not receiving any remuneration
I just wanted to pass along a good experience.)

More Mandalas

Some of my mandalas are a little wonky but I'm
okay with that. I use three different sizes (F, S, XS) of
Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens and they are wonderful
to work with. So relaxing, and portable too.

Mandala Experiments

 
I've been having so much fun doodling
mandalas with the inspiration I've gotten
from Daisy Yellow. These are the first ones
I've done experimenting with different
lines and designs. More to come!

Cereal Box House Tutorial

I have had this tutorial on my mind for so long!
I love little houses and creating wee villages, definitely
a carry over from my childhood, and have been wanting
to make some of my own to play decorate with. I figured
I could make houses from all the cardboard boxes in
my recycling so now I have finally taken pictures and
written up a tutorial to share with you!
There are a lot of pictures but the tutorial is actually
very simple. Once the house is made it can be painted
or covered with paper or even left plain. You can also
leave one flap open and use it as a gift box, part of an
advent, or just a hiding place for treasures :)

Supplies:
cardboard box from the pantry
straight edge
pencil
scissors
thick white glue
something to score with

Optional:
clamp, clothespins, or painter's
tape for holding pieces until
they dry

*click on pictures to enlarge*

#1: undo all the seams and lay your box out flat with the
unprinted side facing up

#2: draw a line across the box at least
one inch below the mid line

#3: cut the original vertical fold lines from the top to
the marked line; lines to cut are marked with a
white dot in the picture

#4: score across the box on top of your drawn line

#5: cut off the little flap at the arrow; cut off two of the
top flaps - where the X's are in the picture

#6: turn over and apply glue to the small side seam flap

#7: fold up box in reverse and clamp or hold
until side seam is dry

#8: fold and glue the bottom of the box

#9: here's the box all glued up in reverse and the top is
cut and ready to make the roof

#10: fold all four sides down on the score line you made
earlier in #4 then fold back up straight
 #11: apply glue to the small flap at the top of the short
side panel (see arrow in picture #10); put glue on the
unprinted side and glue together as above

#12: lay box on its side, then mark and score angled
roof edges against the front and back panels of
the box (all four angles)

#13: cut off top section of each front and back panel
at the peak of the roof

#14: cut side panels along the angled roof line about
3/8" away from your marked and scored line
(do this for all four angles)

#15: cut off an angled tip at the peak of the
sides (four times)

#16: fold all four flaps that you just cut towards the
box; apply glue on all the flaps and tuck into the roof

#17: here's your house all glued and
ready to be decorated!


Experiment with a variety of boxes; the small house
in the middle is made from two pudding boxes glued
together and the square house on the right is from a
tea box. You can also change the height of the roof by
adjusting the length of the four vertical
cuts you made in #3.

These houses were all taped instead of being glued and
then I covered them with paper.

These houses were painted with acrylic paint. They can
be drawn on after they have dried. The little house with
the green roof is made from an allergy medicine box.

I hope you'll try to make some houses. They are
easy enough for older kids to do and younger kids
can have someone else make the house and then
enjoy the painting and decorating.
Have fun with it!