DIY - Handmade Birthday Card

{ Guest Post from Eleanna }

Hello my friends!!!

I am really glad to have a great friend and a talented artist in my blog, as a guest blogger. You have already met her a few months ago, but still it is a great feeling to have great persons around. Eleanna shares with us a wonderful tutorial for a cute birthday card and I am really curious to read it. Aren't you?

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Hello lovely people!

My name is Eleanna aka zdrop for the crafting world! I am an architect and urbanist from Greece.  I love design all scales and I enjoy creating things with my hands. It makes me happier! :)

I also write craft tutorials for Crafttuts+. I speak a lot, I laugh [too] loud, I love swimming, dancing and eating ice-cream!

  

Yesterday a dear friend of mine had her birthday, so I decided to make her a b-day card! Would you like to see what I made? Well, It is a simple and fun project that can be adapted to different occasions!

You will need:

-some craft paper with different patterns in the color palette of your choice.

-Glue

-Pen

-Waxed thread.

-Lighter

-Scissors

-Awl or any other sharp tool.

-Eraser

First take one of the cards and fold it in half. This will be the base of your card. Now, choose a paper with a different pattern and cut it in half. Fold both strips in a zig zag way. You can also cut a small piece off to create a hole-design. Use the two strips of paper to from a circular flower, gluing them in the center. Now, glue them in front of your card.

Cool! The cover is sorted. You could leave the card like that and write your message inside. I  went for a more fun way. I created a garland to write my message. So if you wish to do the same, first count the letters of your message and cut some triangles from the different papers. Fold the paper first and cut the triangle using both sides of the paper. The upper edge of the triangle should be the folded edge and is the side you will use to hang the triangles from the thread. Write each letter of your message on one triangle. Now glue them on two strings of thread. Measure the needed length for the thread based on the card; it needs to open wide but at the same time the threads should not be hanging while the card is folded. Now you need to create four holes to your card to tie the strings. Place the card on the eraser and pinch it with the awl while folded. Pass the thread through the holes and secure the end by burning it really carefully! There is always the alternative of a small knot.

Ta-dah! Your b-day card is ready! All you need to do is give it to a friend! I had to sent mine, so I hope it will arrive safe....fingers-crossed. I hope you enjoyed the project as much as I did and that you got motivated to try it out! Come on, it will only take you 10 minutes. :)

Thank you for hosting my post Zina! 

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Thank you Eleanna!!! It is really a beautiful idea for a unique handmade birthday card! Thank you for sharing it!!!

And if you want to discover more about Eleanna, please meet her in

etsy shop: zdrop

facebook : zdrop

pinterest : zdrop

flickr:       zdrop

Don't forget to enter to EGST Giveaway to win Hot Pink Agate Bracelet by Ef Zin Creations!!!!

Have a wonderful day!!!!

GIVEAWAY - Eleanna... from Jewelry to Sockmonsters!!!!!!

Hello Amazing people!

Have I told you that I am a proud member of Greek etsy team? And you know what is the best? That in the specific team I have the opportunity to meet new amazing people and great artists not only via web but in real life too! Another thing I also love in Etsy community, that you can meet other’s inspirations and you can admire too many different creations with the same materials!

So today I am honored to represent you a great friend and a talented crafter! How I met Eleanna? From her well-written seminal tutorials and her SockMonsters! And it is weird how these sock dolls can be pretty and cute even for monsters! I visited her shop and I was surprised that she also creates amazing full of colors jewels in different styles! Unique minimal geometry necklaces, hippie earrings from polymer perfect for your Spring and Summer appearance, floral beaded necklaces in bohemian style, beautiful romantic cuff bracelets….! To be honest when you visit her shop it is really difficult to leave it without spending at least half an hour admiring her work... you will be happily "lost" in her shop!!!

But let meet her in a few lines….

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Hello there! I' m Eleanna from Athens, Greece :)

I grew up in Athens but I come from Serifos and Pelion, two lovely places in Greece. I have lived in France, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK but I 've never traveled outside Europe. I have studied architecture [AUTH, Greece] and Urbanism [Msc, TUDelft, Netherlands].  

I make many questions, I laugh out loud [really loud] and I love dancing,swimming and biking but mostly eating chocolate :P. I have been making jewelry more than 10 years, but even before that, I 've always been up to something creative: drawing, sewing, crafting in general. I don't know if it is a matter of genes, but certainly a creative environment helps: my dad was a painter, my mum draws and sews greatly and my grandma was a crochet master.

What I love about crafting jewelry and creating sock-creatures is that I can make everything on my own. The creative process in this scale is much faster and I can control all the phases: idea-concept, design and construction. And this is what I think I miss when designing for smaller scales, where the results are more long-term.

While creating, I feel more me. I love the whole process: the moment an idea strucks me and I get completely enthusiastic about it; the procedure of trying to figure out how to realize it; designing the final piece or details; choosing best tools, methods and materials; combining materials and making the synthesis; and my favorite part: having the end product!

I love discovering new materials and trying new techniques. This is why you will notice a big variety in my creations. One material I prefer is wood-clay, that after drying I paint with acrylic color. Another favorite is polymer clay, especially the millefiori technique. I also love fabrics and use them for some projects. Plastic tube is a material I use for the "networks". And of course I am obsessed with socks that I use to create my sock monsters! :)

I am a fan of sharing knowledge and ideas and motivating everyone to get creative. Lately, I write crafting tutorials for  crafttuts+ [http://craft.tutsplus.com/author/eleanna-kotsikou/] , which I really enjoy. I love being a member of the Etsy Greek Street Team, where I met lovely people and made good friends. It is a vibrant fast-growing community that spreads the crafting spirit and I think it is awesome sharing creative enthusiasm with others.

Thank you so much Zina for your sweet hospitality!

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Eleanna was really kind to offer a beautiful minimal geometric necklace from her collection as a gift to one lucky lady!!!!!

So in order to have the chance to win this beautiful necklace, just use the Rafflecopter below and earn more entries. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you Eleanna!!!!! mats mouts!