Folded Paper Christmas Tree Tutorial

I have a fun tutorial to share with you today.  

I posted this tutorial the first time November 2007 and thought it would be fun to post it again.   This was my very first tutorial so I hope it all makes sense. The best way for me to learn how to do something is by someone showing me and you might be the same -The supplies needed to make this project are very basic.  One sheet of designer paper, the single sided works best because the thinner the paper the easier it is to fold, especially the smallest square. You'll need your paper trimmer, a bone folder helps and an adhesive of your choice.

The next step is to cut the squares. The first square is 3"x3", the second square is 2 1/2"x2 1/2", the third square is 2"x2", and the forth square is 1 1/2"x1 1/2".

Now the folding part -

I've drawn pictures for you because it was hard to see the fold lines on my patterned paper.

The first in the series of pictures is folding your square in half and creasing it.

The next picture is folding your square in half again in the other direction and creasing it.

The next picture shows folding the square from corner to corner each way and creasing it.

The next step is to fold the square in half after you've done all that.

Now, you will fold it to look like the first triangle shape pictured by pushing the top left and right outside corners toward the bottom center. You'll end up with a triangle, a puffy triangle.

Next you'll take the top section of this triangle and fold it in to meet the center scored line and do the same with the opposite front side so it looks like the one in the center of the picture above.

You now have a "tree part". Fold the other 3 squares just like the first one and you can build your tree from the bottom up by stacking them one on top of the next, largest to smallest. Stick your tree together with the adhesive of your choice. I used a scrap of brown paper for the trunk of my tree, you can see my finished tree card pictured below.

My card from November 2007,

 

and a more recent version.

I hope you enjoyed the Christmas Tree folding tutorial and will try one for yourself.   

Thanks for visiting my blog and have a blessed day -

Sudz n' Hunni Soaps Packaging

Hi blog friends!

I took some pictures the last time I was packaging soaps that I thought would be fun to share today.  All the soaps on the table have reached their full cure dates and are cleaned up and ready for packaging.  By cleaned up I mean they've been smoothed and beautified by planing them and I've tried to make them as "square" as possible and they've had their edges beveled.

I've been using shrink wrap for my soaps because I like the way my soaps look "naked" and want my customers to be able to see the pretty designs if there are any.  I also use a clear label to complete the packaging process.

Here's a batch of naked soaps before wrapping I made using activated charcoal.

And here they are wrapped up and ready to go!

Almost all of these are still available in my online Sudz n' Hunni Soaps shop.

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Custer's Last Stamp Marcasite Pumpkin

I LOVE coloring pumpkins and came across this old rubber stamp in my stash made by Custer's Last Stamp called Marcasite Pumpkin.  It didn't stamp very well because it's old and dried out.  After coloring it up I went over all the black lines with a Copic Multiliner pen.  I did a little research on the stamp company and found it is no longer in business I'm sorry to say.  

The Copic markers I used are:

Pumpkin - Y15, YR02, YR07, E23, E25, G46, G43

Leaves - YG01, YG13, YG25, YG67

Background - B00, B41, B21, B34, E21, E23, E25, E29

I tried to keep the layout simple since the stamped image is so big using card stock colors that coordinate with my Copic markers.  I added an Autumn sentiment from a Papertrey Ink acrylic stamp set to finish my card.  The blue background splatter is made using a Mini Mister with Copic ink from a refill and spritzed onto the paper after I masked the main image.

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Sudz n' Hunni Lavender Soap

Hi blog friends!  I wanted to share soaps today that I made in an online class I took last month with Kendra Cotes at Amathia Soap Works.  She was teaching on how to use mica colorants.

I was late for the online class thinking I had the time zone thing worked out in my mind - not!  How embarrassing...  the class was actually two hours earlier than my time zone instead of two hours later.  

So...  I started the class in my pajamas, luckily my video camera wasn't on till later, lol.

The techniques I chose to try are a mica line in the soap which is the faint green line you see if you look for it and I dusted the top of the soap in the mold with green mica.  I also used purple mica to make the purple color in the soap.  It's scented with the delightful fragrance of Lavender and will be available in my online store Sudz n' Hunni Soaps after it's full cure date September 28, 2013 and there are only 7 bars left.

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

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Sudz n' Hunni Soaps

I thought it would be fun to share a little of the "behind the scenes" of Sudz n' Hunni Soaps with you today!  I've had to expand my soap curing racks as I'm running out of room to store it all.  You are looking at our kitchen table that is 8 feet long by 4 feet wide filled with soaps, well not quite filled but close!

Here they are now starting to fill up a new bakery rack or bun rack as they are called, my kids crack up when I call it a bun rack...  It's so nice to have all the curing soaps in one place now and my counter tops free of soap clutter.  

If anything catches your eye it will be for sale in my online store when it's full cure date is reached.

Sudz n' Hunni Soaps

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Link Parties:

Clever Chicks

Paper Smooches Circle of Honor

Since it's Patriots Day I wanted to share a fun card from my Operation Write Home box with you.

I used the Paper Smooches Circle of Honor stamp set and my Papertrey Ink Take Three die and a corner rounder punch.  I have a pre made template in the box with the die for quick card making.  

I colored the stars with Copic markers:

R35, R46, R59, R000, B0000, B23, B24, B28

These stars were really fun to color, I applied the principle of white reflecting the color it's next to on my white star.  I colored one side with R000 and the other with B0000.  

The blue layer (Astrobrights Blast Off Blue) has been embossed with a The Paper Studio stars embossing folder and layers onto White card stock then Neenah Red Pepper Linen card stock.

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Sudz n' Hunni Yogurt Soaps

Anne-Marie Faiola's new Soap Crafting book came out recently and I had to have a copy!

Anne-Marie is "The Soap Queen" and I love watching her videos on You Tube and browsing her blog for wonderful eye candy and learning all that I can about how to improve my soap making skills.

My soap today came from a recipe in her book on making Yogurt Soaps.  Anne-Marie says yogurt soap makes a wonderful facial soap because yogurt has naturally occurring lactic acid and is a gentle exfoliant.    She adds that its high zinc content is said to help fight acne, and its natural antibacterial qualities and high fat content are great for skin as well.  

I made the first three pound batch of yogurt soap and everything went well so I made two more three pound soaps for a total of 9 pounds of Coconut Lime Yogurt Soap.  It smells delightful and I can't wait to try it!

I used different swirling techniques in each batch of soap and this is the first three pound loaf cut into bars.

The second three pound loaf of Coconut Lime Yogurt soap cut into bars.

The final cut, all nine pounds of soap are cut into bars and on the curing racks.

Even right out of the molds and freshly cut these soaps feel nice and smell wonderful!

Their full cure date is October 9, 2013 and they will be available in my online store 

Sudz n' Hunni Soaps.

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Sudz n' Hunni Soaps Lavender Chamomile Sugar Scrub Soap

I've been experimenting with a new soap mold to make sugar scrub soaps to go with my regular Lavender Chamomile soap and lotion.

I liked the idea of offering "sugar cubes" and thought these molds would be perfect!

You see I bought two of the molds and pictured above are sugar scrub soaps un-molded - pretty cool!

I had a bit more of a problem with my second mold.  My little soaps were not coming out.  I tried leaving them in the mold for several days to harden, I tried freezing them and they still didn't want to pop right out.

The only thing left to try was putting them in the oven at the lowest setting for about 15 minutes.

That didn't really work either so I used a butter knife to remove them, not a very pretty soap anymore...

Not everything turns out quite the way I was expecting.  But that's okay, I'm not a quitter I'll do some more research,  reformulate my recipe perhaps and try again.  I'll let you know what happens when I do!

Edited to add:  I made one more batch of experimental "sugar soaps" a few days ago, when I poured the soap into the mold I only used every other chamber of the mold and put them in the freezer.  The next day I popped the little cube soaps out without a problem, yea!

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Lawn Fawn So Thankful

I have a Lawn Fawn card to share with you today, I used the So Thankful set.  I love coloring pumpkins and I love sketches, great combination for me! 

Here's the sketch:

These are the Copic markers I used:

Pumpkin - Y15, YR02, YE07, E25 - E27, E23

Outline/Background - T0, T1, T2, B21, B34, Y15

For papers I used the Basic Grey Ambrosia paper pad and Copic X Press It.

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Abercrombie & Fitch Fierce type Handcrafted Soap

Abercrombie & Fitch Fierce type handcrafted soap

A luxury handcrafted soap packed with confidence and a bold, masculine attitude, Fierce is not just a cologne fragrance, it's a lifestyle.  The clean scent of fresh citrus will grab her attention and warm musk will keep her interested, rugged, classic, cool... live the tradition of Abercrombie & Fitch with their signature type scent.

Minimum Net Wt. 4.5 oz.

Available today at Sudz n' Hunni Soaps!

Sudz n' Hunni Soaps Lavender & Chamomile

Hi blog friends!

I've been working on production and design of new soaps and getting ready for the up and coming holiday season.  Soap is beginning to take over our house and lives...  you can find it stashed here and there in different stages of the curing process.  You'll also find it wrapped and ready to go on a counter top and the collection is growing daily!

Today's blog post is mostly about attempting to make a ten pound batch of soap.  The first photo is two 5 pound soaps in their molds.  The second photo is a view of the bottom and sides of the soaps just out of the molds waiting to be cut.

As I was taking pictures my daughter came by to breathe in the wonderful aroma of Lavender & Chamomile.  

This was kind of an experiment for me.  The largest amount of soap I've made at one time so far is 6 pounds.  Actually two 3 pound batches made one right after the other.  It worked well so I thought I'd try making ten pounds of soap at one time.

I discovered a few things...  as I measured out my oils and put them into my largest crock pot to melt it became full.  To the top full...  I made my lye solution using a strong tea made from Lavender & Chamomile which was cooling in the sink.  As I pondered what I was going to do I decided to do some math and divide my recipe in half so I could just make two 5 pound batches back to back.

The above photo is the soaps cut from the five pound batch with more purple and white on top.

And these soaps are from the five pound loaf that had more yellow along the top, bottom and sides.

I had a lot of fun making the soap and everything turned out well.  I haven't decided yet if I should acquire larger containers to make soap in or just make two batches at once.  

Adventures in soap making!

The cure date on these is Octomber 10, 2013 and they will be available in my online store 

Sudz n' Hunni Soaps.

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

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Adorned From Above

 Gingerly Made

Frugally Sustainable