Goin' Vintage with Baker's Twine

It's Tifany here posing the question....

Can you do a vintage look using baker's twine?

ABSOLUTELY!

I knew I wanted to use some twine on my card {love that new charcoal color!}, but I also wanted to use these vintage looking papers. Although I LOVE the bright colors from The Twinery it just wasn't working for this particular card.

BUT - I didn't give up!

I took my Antique Linen Distress Ink pad and swiped it over the twine until I got a little more aged look...and now it flows perfectly with the look of my card.

If you've been thinking of purchasing twine from The Twinery, today is the day! Head on over to the online store and get yourself a little bit of fabulousness today!

And be sure to check out my blog for more inspiration using twine from The Twinery. I love visitors!

Supplies:
Fibers: (Charcoal, twine) The Twinery
Cardstock: (French Vanilla) Bazzill
Patterned paper: (Apron Strings, Noteworthy, Stamp of Approval, Vintage Linen, For the Record collection) Echo Park,
Ink (dye): (Antique Linen) Ranger
Color media: (Black/Pen. - Medium) Sharpie
Accent: (Nightfall/rhinestones) Queen & Co., (Nostalgic, tissue tape) Tim Holtz, (Artful Collage #523831, flowers) Prima, (Green/rose Leaves #170691) Prima,
Sticker: (Element Stickers, For the Record collection) Echo Park,
Tool: (ruler) Tim Holtz, (scoring board) Martha Stewart, paper trimmer, (Upper Crest Border Punch) Fiskars,
Other: black tulle

Simply 'Entwined'

Final day for the

Martha Stewart Punch Set

Giveaway...click here!

Hey everyone!

Jessica here with another post for The Twinery.  I feel like it's been TOO long since I've dropped by! Hopefully you've seen me using LOTS of the awesome baker's twine on my blog throughout the past month and I hope you have some of your OWN to play with by now, too!

I have a SIMPLE project today that you can really jazz up using twine from The Twinery...hence the title, "Simply" entwined :)   This is actually my hubby's birthday card.  I used a premade die-cut that says "Happy to be with you" and stamped the additional sentiment.

Cute as they are, this project would NOT be the same without the simple addition of some baker's twine in Honeydew and a cute wooden button.   I do this technique often and really love layering the twine giving it a fun zig-zag pattern and tying it all together with some kind of button or embellishment.  You can even use different colors to really jazz it up!

The best part?  The Twinery's twine is SUCH an amazing value and lasts such a LONG time!  I will be again soon with a fun KIDS twine project so be on the lookout for me again...until then, I hope you enjoyed today's "Simply enTWINED" project and I'm sure you've been oohing and ahhing over the rest of our talented design team's projects lately!

It was SO fun to be here, everyone!  Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

Jess :)

Additional products used:

Die Cut from My Mind's Eye 'Stella and Rose' Collection

Rubber Stamp sentiment from Unity Stamps

Hanging Around with The Twinery!

 For the Martha Stewart Punch Set Giveaway,

Click HERE

Hello all, Jordan from Polkadot Prints here again! It's been a while since I've posted and it's pure coincidence that my contribution this month is another hanging idea, but hey, The Twinery twine is perfect for hanging a lot of stuff!

My sister got married earlier this year (more details here). One of the handmade details were these hanging jars of flowers. She used washed out household and jamming jars, painted them white on the inside. Filled with water and flowers.

I supplied the Cappucino twine (from The Twinery of course!), to tie around the neck of the bottles and jars, and they hung on shepherds hooks. Yellow ribbon was tied over the top of the twine to finish in their colour scheme.

The hanging jars of flowers lined the entrance to the venue as well as sounded the area where the signing of the register took place.


(these two images: Etta Photography)

They were so effective and a really simple DIY. Perfect for a spring or summer get together!
So off you go and hang something with twine...it will change your life! :)

{Giveaway} Martha Stewart's Paper Punches!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. 

I have a few favorite things that I always keep in my crafting arsenal...well, a lot of things, actually (and the supplies seem to keep on growing)! You know that our baker's twine is one of them, of course...but want to know the other things I can't live without?! 

Martha Stewart Craft Punches

 (Photo Credit: Michael's)

See the collection of amazing punches here.

I'm addicted. It's a sick, sad disease (but a fun one)! I find myself walking the aisles of my local craft stores just searching for new ones all the time! It's no secret that the Martha Stewart team is made up of some seriously talented crafters...and we all swoon over the products they create for us! 

I love the Punch Around the Page sets...they are great for scrapbooking, card making and various other paper crafts too! You can use the set to create one continuous die-cut border. Punch your corners first and then use the edge punch to connect the pattern from corner to corner using the guides printed on the tool’s wings. These punches can be used separately to create elegant corners or trim on your scrapbook pages and cards.

Brilliant! 

 (Photo Credit: Paper Source)

 Want to win one? 

 I have one Double Loops Punch Around the Page set (just like the design shown above) to give away to one lucky reader! {$24.99 value}

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. 

ENTER TO WIN:

Leave a separate comment for each entry on this blog post to win {don't forget to leave your email address on each comment so we can contact you if you're the lucky winner}!

ENTRY 1: Leave a comment letting us know what your favorite craft supply or item is!

ENTRY 2: "Like" The Twinery on Facebook and let us know you did!

ENTRY 3: Follow The Twinery on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway - let us know you tweeted! For easier "Tweet-ability," just copy and paste the following phrase in your Twitter feed:

Win a Martha Stewart Craft punch set over at @TheTwinery! http://tinyurl.com/4gjtwae

ENTRY 4: Follow our blog and let us know you did! 

Don't forget: Leave a separate comment for each entry (up to four per person), and don't forget to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win!!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.  

This giveaway ends on Monday, March 28, 2011 at 11:59pm EST.

ONE winner will be chosen randomly on Tuesday, April 4, 2011.

Flea Market Fabulous!

Hello all, it's Grace again with my project for this month using fun baker's twine from The Twinery. I have been really enamored with mixed-media collages or embroidery art left on sewing hoops and decided to experiment with using baker's twine to embroider a design onto fabric and leaving it on some sewing hoops I scored at this flea market event ($1 each!)

I did not use cross stitch fabric but just a piece of leftover fabric I had left from a cushion sewing project. I penciled in the design, threaded the twine through an embroidery needle, 

tied a knot at one end, and then just started embroidering.

I used Cappucino twine and Maraschino twine for this project and decided to go around the outline twice for a more distinct design. I love the texture the twine adds to the hoop art!

After I completed sewing over the penciled lines, I hand-stamped a phrase, "My Wish For You is a Life Filled with Love" on the fabric using alphabet stamps. (I got my stamps at a sale and they are no longer available but here's a similar set.) I also used the Staz-on stamp pad as it dries quickly 

and works on all surfaces including fabric.

It was such a fun project and I now want to try the same technique using cut-out fabrics and outlining them embroidery-style. Great way to use up scraps!

Here's another one I tried,

On this one, I used felt flowers and Cappucino twine as the outline for branches but used a zig-zag switch on the sewing machine to sew the twine down. You can see more details on how I did this over at my blog, Tales of a Multi-Tasking, Craft-and-Design Loving, Mother-of-Two, Singaporean-Living-in-the-US, Corporate-Working Mom Named Grace Hester.

What do you think? Game to give either of these techniques a try? If you do, please do share it with us over at the The Twinery's Flickr Pool.

I am constantly inspired by the creations being shared there!

Help for Japan

We all have heard about and seen the devastation that has taken place in Japan over the last several weeks. All of our hearts ache for those who have seemingly lost everything and everyone near and dear to them in the earthquake and tsunami and now...with all of the nuclear disaster fears, the devastation continues. And sadly, for those lives that were spared and have been found in the wreckage - they now face years of rebuilding, regrouping and reliving. The images replaying on our local news channels is probably nothing in comparison to what it actually looks like over in Japan. 

There are many ways that each of us can get involved to help. We know that it's impossible for everyone to be able to pack up, head to Japan and physically help with the aid relief going on there, but there are so many ways to donate to those who ARE there, who are helping in the disaster relief and we want to be sure we do our part to help in any way we can. Look around your neighborhood, call local agencies and charities or even contact the Red Cross to see what you can do to help...they need help.

Starting today - Tuesday, March 22 through Sunday, March 27 - The Twinery will be donating 25% of all shop sales to The American Red Cross for their efforts in the disaster relief and aid they are providing in Japan. It's just our little way of helping those who have been torn by this horrific disaster. The American Red Cross is providing shelter, food and emotional support to the victims of the disaster - so please help! 

Visit our shop during this time...and remember that anything you purchase is aiding those lives in Japan as well! 

To read more about what The American Red Cross is doing in Japan and to learn how you can them with the disaster relief there, visit here.

Please help us spread the word about how The Twinery will be donating to The American Red Cross this week!

You can also donate to the American Red Cross directly by clicking the image below:

Colorful Twine...Ideas by Jenny Suchin

Hi everyone! Jenny here to share with you some projects using our colorful baker's twine. Have you tried The Twinery baker's twine yet? If you have, I hope you LOVE it and will share your projects with us! If not, be sure to try it out ... you will fall in love!!

My project's this month are focusing on the styles of cards you can do!

First card is a CAS card - Clean and Simple.

They are fast and easy and those of you who like to make quick cards, you can do this card in a snap!

Just get out some of your favorite color of Bakers Twine from The Twinery, I used Caribbean twine,  and some Washi Tape. Fold the tape over the twine and cut it in your favorite banner shape. I made this card in 5 min.

Next is a card thats a little more detailed and takes a bit longer, took me about 30 min to do.

I took some Peapod twine and taped small pieces of it to a small piece of green cardstock to make the grass. Then  I made a shape of a egg on some kraft cardstock and cut it out. Then I just used various colors of our twine to make the cute details on the egg. I LOVE using the bakers twine to make shapes, frames or to spell out a word. Theres so much you can do with our twine! If your wondering, I use glossy accents to glue my twine, it works well.

And for my last card, I did a more detailed card. This one took about an hour.

This card took longer because of all the cutting and coloring. I just love balloons and loved using our bakers twine on them! Adds so much detail to the card. Here I used Caribbean, Peapod, Pink Sorbet, Lemondrop and Maraschino ... you can see all the fabulous colors HERE. 

Be sure to get yourself some Twine and show us your projects on our Flickr Gallery!

You can check out all the fabulous colors of twine over at The Twinery!!

Have a great day!! :)

Jenny Suchin

Supplies Used:

Twine: The Twinery bakers twine

Stamps: Wilson Designs Stamps, Hero Arts, Your Next Stamp

Glue: Glossy Accents

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink

Ink: Memento Black, Copic Markers

Misc: Washi Tape

Sweet Ideas for Your Easter Treats

Easter time!

For this month’s project I decided to expand on Sugarsticks Parties’ Easter designs 

with some favor tags.
The free printable includes favor tags in both Easter designs available.

I cut this one in a basic straight line, and used it as a tag on small kraft box party favor. 

There is just enough room on the top of the tag for a small embellishment, 

and the purple glitter button fit just right.

 The Twinery’s twine in Honeydew, Blossom and Lilac  

 complement the colors of the tag and the button perfectly.

 

And there’s always a centerpiece or two that needs creating for the holiday table. 

I used the argyle design tag, cut in a straight line, on this candle.
Just a neatly tied twine in my favorite Carribean was enough for the pop of color. 

There is just enough room on the tags for a name or a small note, 

or you can just leave them blank like I did on this one.

I also wanted to see how the tags would look if cut as a rectangle with the fancy trim scissors.

 I recently made these cupcakes in a jar for a photoshoot 

and I love, love , love how easy these were to handle for the kiddos. 

No messes, no icing stains and so easy to eat with a spoon.
The blossom twine combined with pink tulle gives these just the right touch of 

softness, and the tag completes the lovely look. 

 The pink icing on this one called for a blue toned tag and twine. 

My favorite Caribbean comes to the rescue again:)

I hope you enjoy these and show us what you make with them. 

You can find the free printable here.  

You will need to save it as an image and then print.

Sugarsticks Parties’ Easter collection also includes 

invitations and favor bags with coordinating stickers.
All purchases will also include 

a free of charge DIY printable of matching pattern paper. 

 Please visit our shoppe here.

{Giveaway} 350 Cards & Gifts Special Issue Magazine

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

If you are a paper crafter in any sense of the word, you probably have the same a addiction that I do. Sure, sure....there's paper, punches, pens, die cutting tools and machines, embellishments, stamps, inks and so on...but the addiction I'm talking about now...MAGAZINES! 

I think...no, I KNOW...that I drive my husband crazy with my love and addiction to the printed goodness that is magazines. I have too many too count and NONE of them can be thrown away - ever. You know what I'm talking about...right? RIGHT? {Please tell me I'm not the only one that could easily subscribe to 30+ magazines a month if I could}!!

Well, each month, I practically knock down my post man when he delivers me any printed material by Creating Keepsakes! Oh, all of the printed yummy pages full of paper crafting ideas...I get giddy just thinking about it!

That's why I was so ecstatic when Paper Crafts (a sister publication of Creating Keepsakes) announced that they created a special issue called 350 Cards & Gifts. THREE HUNDRED & FIFTY?!?! They had me at "special issue"!

It features personalized gifts of all types to give to family, friends and anyone else you’d like to acknowledge in your life. You’ll find over 350 ideas for home décor, card sets, food wraps, organizational sets and much more. Actually, Creating Keepsakes says there is 368 fun ideas, but 350 sounded better...so lucky us! 

The day that it hit the newsstands, I ran to my local bookstore and snatched up a few copies!! Why? Well...it's all about my love of magazines, of course...but what was even cooler than that -- our baker's twine is used in SEVERAL handmade projects within the magazine!!! I was tickled pink! 

So, in celebration of seeing "The Twinery" listed in numerous projects as a product source in the magazine, I thought it would be fun to offer a chance for The Twinery's blog readers and fans to win a copy of the magazine itself! And actually, I have TWO of them to giveaway!!

Would you like to be one of the two winners to get your own copy of 350 Cards & Gifts? 

ENTER TO WIN:

Leave a separate comment for each entry on this blog post to win {don't forget to leave your email address on each comment so we can contact you if you're the lucky winner}!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

ENTRY 1: Leave a comment letting us know what your favorite paper crafting project is!

ENTRY 2: "Like" The Twinery on Facebook and let us know you did! 

ENTRY 3: Follow The Twinery on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway - let us know you tweeted! For easier "Tweet-ability," just copy and paste the following phrase in your Twitter feed:

Win a copy of Paper Craft's 350 Cards & Gifts issue over at @TheTwinery! http://tinyurl.com/49we5tf 

ENTRY 4: Follow our blog and let us know you did! 

ENTRY 5: Head over to the Creating Keepsakes Facebook page or Paper Crafts Facebook Page (or both), become a fan and let them know that you found out about them from The Twinery!

Don't forget: Leave a separate comment for each entry (up to five per person), and don't forget to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win!!

This giveaway ends on Monday, March 21, 2011 at 11:59pm EST.

The two winners will be chosen randomly and announced here on our blog on Tuesday, March 22, 2011.

One Crafty Chick Wrapped in Baker's Twine!

Hey everyone it's Katrina again!!  

I am hoping that EVERYONE has tried The Twinery baker's twine 

or if you just found out about us are planning on getting some soon.  

I have to say this is THE BEST twine I have ever worked with.  

I find myself grabbing it for practically everything I am making. 

So, on to the layout!  This is layout about Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker day at my local LSS.  So, what a better excuse did I need to put The Twinery twine on my layout than a layout about a bunch of "Crafty Chicks"!  

I used the Pink Sorbet twine and the Cappuccino twine to make the bows for the banner. 
I double them up, just to give them a fun look. 

Then I took the Lemondrop twine and made a little yarn skein by the doll.

Then last, but not least, the spools.  I ordered these and didn't realize how tiny they were! 
So, when I got them I was trying to figure out what to do with them. 
I decided that they would be PERFECT for this layout!

I just sprayed adhesive on the spools and then wound the twine around quickly,
while the adhesive was still wet.  They turned out pretty cute!

I used the Pink Sorbet, Cappucino, Lemondrop and the Peapod colors on these. 

If you are new to twine and want to get in on the fun, Nicole has a wonderful sampler pack that you can purchase to try the twine!  I can tell you...once you try it, 

you are going to be ordering the spools before you know it!!!!

Have a Scrappy Kinda Day!~~Katrina

Supplies:

The Twinery Baker's Twine: Peapod, Lemondrop, Pink Sorbet, Cappuccino

Pattern Paper: Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker It's Your Day collection

Cardstock:  American Crafts
Spools:  Maya Road

Mist: Shimmerz Colorings in Mama Sings the Blues
Ink:  Clearsnap Colorbox Cat's Eye Ink

Adhesive: Scotch, Fabri-tac, Helmar and Scrapbook Adhesives by 3l

Cricut Expression: Cindy Loo and Kate's ABC's cartridge

Taggin' Spring with The Twinery!

Hello everyone! Caroline from Paper Treats here!

I had a super busy and fun weekend making goodies for our church's Ladies retreat! My friend Tracey heads it up and she asked me to make two different style tags to put on favors, for a total of 220! So of course, it can't be anything too simple :) (tongue in cheek!) 

I had my dear husband punch out hundreds of flowers that got stacked in certain color patterns. Then I hand sculpted each one to give dimension. What really made the tags great was The Twinery bakers's twine! You can help but fall in love with those delicious colors! And they match so easily with whatever project I'm working on! Tying on the bakers twine first actually made it easier to tie on the decorative ribbon. it was almost like having a third hand to help me out! 

For these cookie bags I chose Lilac, Caribbean, and the juicy Honeydew, Yum!

 

I also made a few prizes. Once again The Twinery bakers twine was perfect in the perfect color Cappuccino, MMMMmmmm! I used it to tie on my Mocha Cake Pops! How fun is that!

Have a great day!

 

Spring is Swirling ...

Hi everyone!! Jen here from Jen's Ink Spot.  I don't know about you but I am SO ready for Spring!  With that desire, when I sat down to create I wanted to use my twine from The Twinery in a fun, Springy sort of way.  Maybe you've seen The Twinery's twine used as candy or hearts and that is soooo cute! 

So as I was putting my card together, the idea of some fun twine swirled flowers came to me and I went with it!   Below is a closeup so you can see them a little better.

 

Does that not make a fun center for a flower?!

How I did it:  I punched out a 3/4" cardstock circle that matched the main color of the twine so that if there were gaps, it wouldn't be as noticeable.  I then used my ATG gun to apply adhesive (any strong adhesive would work) to the front of the punched circle.  Then, I just rolled the twine around the circle starting in the middle.  When I finished, I placed a glue dot on the back of the circle and adhered the end of the twine to it to keep it in place.  I popped the twine circle up on the card with 1/16" foam dimensionals.

I also took 3 strands of twine (Peapod, Honeydew, & Pink Sorbet) and twisted them together.  Then I adhered the ends UNDER the popped up panel on the front of the card so that the ends are completely hidden.  The braided strand adds another pop of color on the card and it helps tie the card together.

Does that get you in the mood for sunny, spring days?!  It does me for sure!

Thanks for visiting The Twinery blog!  Remember, we'd love to see YOUR projects too!  Be sure to visit our Flicker group and upload your creations!  Have a great day!

Supplies
Stamps: Papertrey Ink Baby Button Bits, Polka Dot Basics II, Green Thumb

Paper: PTI Raspberry Fizz, White, Sweet Blush
Ink: True Black, Fresh Snow
Other: The Twinery Twine, PTI Canvas Impression Plate, Copic Markers, Pop Dots, Ribbon, Glitter

Twine Butterflies

Hi there! It's Stephanie, back with another sunshine-spring time card to share :) When I saw Monika's post back in February with those cute twine hearts I was immediately inspired. I thought, how cool would it be to make other shapes- like butterflies. So, I had to give it a try.

To make the butterflies stiff I used the recipe Monika found:
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup water
-mix and heat in a small saucepan until it becomes translucent & let it cool before using.

For the shapes, I decided to "wing" it. No cookie cutters, just me, the gluey concoction, & a sheet of parchment paper. My first butterfly was the carribbean teal one. I coated the twine in the glue & wound the wings up in my hand. This was difficult & I'm really surprised it turned out. I tried it a few more times & had to move on to a different method. I coated a longer strip of twine (about 2 feet) and laid it on the parchment paper in figure eight style, just winding it around gently to form the wings. This was much better.
Once I had my butterflies formed, I moved them over to a little triangle tent I made with foil so the wings would dry bent.

Once dry, they are pretty stiff. The wings can still be moved, just be gentle. I think the glue makes the twine colors even bolder.

I created a sunshine & sky scene on the card using cardstock cut outs & I adhered the butterflies using Glue Dots.

Since the butterflies have extra dimension compared to most embellishments, I knew a normal envelope wouldn't be ideal to house this card. The card itself is A2 size- 4.25x5.5" I have these cute glassine bags that I recently got and they turned out to be the perfect size to hold this card without smashing the butterflies. These bags are slightly larger than the card at 4.75x6.75"

I decorated the bag by simply adding 2 strips of ribbon with double stick tape. I folded the bag over & punched a small 1/8" hole on each side. I used a needle to string the lilac twine through.

To finish it off, I tied the bag shut & clipped a little "2:u, ♥:me" (hand drawn with white pen) tag on with a mini clothespin. I also added one more butterfly to the outside of the bag.
Above is a few close ups of the details.

I hope you enjoyed today's card and give these techniques a try! Imagine all that you can do with these butterflies (or other shapes you come up with!)- you could make larger ones to hang from a baby mobile, use them as gift embellishments, on scrapbook pages- the possiblities are endless!

Come visit me at my daily blog- I create with twine often!

Have a great day!

Stephanie

Supplies:

The Twinery baker's twine in: Lemondrop, Peapod, Carribbean, Pink Sorbet, Purple

Cardstock: DCWV (aqua, green); Bazzil (yellow); Recollections (kraft, white)

Ribbon: American Crafts (blue); Bo Bunny (yellow)

Others: Elle's Studio (thank you sentiment); Hobby Lobby (mini clothespin); Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pen in white; AnnabelGray on Etsy (glassine bag); Creative Chaos blog (sun svg file); SCAL2 (clouds & scallops); Cuttlebug (mini tag diecut)