Tag Archives: Robin’s Nest

A mixed media reflection on finding my tribe

A mixed media reflection on finding my tribe

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“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt from the heart.”  –Helen Keller

Each month the Robin’s Nest provides its International Design Team with a quote to inspire our art projects. This month’s quote got me thinking about focusing 2015 on the “things” that are important to me. One such beautiful thing–which cannot be seen or touched–is loyalty in friendship. Read the rest of this entry

Woohoo! Back for 2015

Woohoo! Back for 2015

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I’m still in the midst of the holiday craze and don’t have much time for blogging, but I had to stop in and make this quick announcement.

I am thrilled to report that I have been invited back and am re-joining the 2015 Robin’s Nest Design Team as an Altered Art Artist. Make sure to check out the rest of the fabulous team.

In between board games and cookie consumption, I am actually working hard on my January projects for the team. At least one of them takes me in quite a different direction and I can’t wait to share it with you.

In the meantime, have a safe, sane, but equally fun New Year’s.

xoxo Betsy

For a fresh breath of Christmas, check out this tutorial

For a fresh breath of Christmas, check out this tutorial
For a fresh breath of Christmas, check out this tutorial

Ok, Now I’ve done it. With that headline, I have officially made the worst pun ever. If you can forgive me, please check out my Altoid tin (breath mint) tutorial over at the Robin’s Nest.

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Behind the scenes of Elfville

Behind the scenes of Elfville

 

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Now that the Robin’s Nest contest is over, I thought I would show you some of the things that went into making Elfville. It involved more than a solid month of work. Phew! Would I do such a large project again? Probably not…especially since I can’t find a place in my home big enough to display Elfville (without displacing all the other vintage collections I have).

I have to be honest, amidst the flurry of getting this project done, I didn’t take enough how-to-make photos. So instead of individual tutorials, which would become tedious to read, I am going to give you an overall glimpse of how things were made. Read the rest of this entry

Robin’s Nest Blog Hop–Check out this altered Altoid tin Christmas Ornament

Robin’s Nest Blog Hop–Check out this altered Altoid tin Christmas Ornament
Robin’s Nest Blog Hop–Check out this altered Altoid tin Christmas Ornament

Welcome to the Robin’s Nest Christmas Blog Hop.

Make sure to visit each of the stops on the Design Team blog hop because the Robin’s Nest is giving away a fabulous prize–a bottle of Christmas Dew Drops–at every blog stop. To enter the contest begin at the Robin’s Nest, follow the links and leave a comment on each blog site. Also make sure you follow the  Robin’s Nest Facebook page.  

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The fabulous supplies of Elfville

The fabulous supplies of Elfville

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My Elfville post a few days back showed off some of the Robin’s Nest fabulous products. If any of it caught your eye, I wanted to make it easy for you to find, so I am providing a comprehensive list here.

Just to note, I’m not getting paid for this. Although I am on the design team, I bought the materials for Elfville myself since it fell outside the realm of my contractual obligation. (I also bought a whole lot more, but we won’t talk about that…) Read the rest of this entry

A papercraft town in time for the holidays

A papercraft town in time for the holidays

Earlier this fall the folks over at The Robin’s Nest announced a Craft Engineering contest. My wheels soon started spinning and I began scheming up a little project.

Well, that little project morphed into a gigantic undertaking that took countless days and nights. It seems that the process of creating a village isn’t as simple as making one or two buildings. You can’t have a village without houses. Then of course, you need stores and at least one diner. Essential municipal services such as a water towers and ferris wheel cannot be neglected. Yes, ferris wheels are essential.

Paper-Calliope-Elfville-1 Read the rest of this entry

The perfect holiday craft tutorial

The perfect holiday craft tutorial


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Are you ready? Halloween is over and that means we crafty people are about to get hammered by holiday must dos. Before you hit the panic button, check out this holiday card tray tutorial I posted over at the Robin’s Nest.

Eye-catching and unique, it is certain to be a “must” for many crafters’ to do lists. However, even if you have no interest in making the tray, you won’t want to miss finding out how it relates to reindeer poop and being naked amidst 73 cats. It’s not every day that you can find a holiday craft with those kind of connections.

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Full tutorial for Cinderella’s Time Gone By Artist Trading Block

Full tutorial for Cinderella’s Time Gone By Artist Trading Block

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Last summer I posted a tutorial for an usual Artist Trading Block over at the Robin’s Nest. It was so well received that I thought it deserved a full replay here.

My Cinderella’s Time Gone By Artist Trading Block (ATB) features remnants of Cinderella’s ballroom dance at the castle and plays with the concept of Time: the importance Time played during Cinderella’s special night, the fact that this Time took place in the past and how Time distorts, warps and fractures memories. Read the rest of this entry