Star Flower Fold

Here is another teabag fold or kaleidoscope origami pattern for you.  This one is called a Star Flower.

You will need eight 1-7/8″ squares (as long as they are square any size is probably fine) and a bone folder is helpful for this one, but not absolutely necessary.

 

 

You will want to start with the white or back side of the square up.  Fold in half diagonally, then unfold and fold in half the other diagonal direction and unfold.  You should now have the white side up with a cross going from corner to corner.

 

 

 

 

 

Fold each corner in to the center.  You will wind up with a square.

 

 

 

 

Fold in half backward along one diagonal (flaps will be on the outside).  You will have a triangle.  Now, fold that triangle in half.  The folded corner should be at the top and the open corner at the bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

You will want to pull open the top section.  As you open it, the bottom corner will start to go up to meet the top point.  Now, fold that flat.  You then want to fold the top corner of just the top layer down to the bottom point.  Unfold that.  The crease you just made will help with the next step.

 

 

 

The next step is to fold that top section you just folded down into a rectangle.  To do that, you will pull open the front part of it.  The bone folder helps with this, then pull open the other side while keeping the first side open.  This isn’t easy, but it is possible.  Fold this flat along the center crease you made before.  It should now look like the second image down on the right side of this picture.  Take your piece and flip it over from right to left.  The angled side should be from top center down to left point.  Take the right bottom point and fold it up along the center line.  Now fold the bottom left point up to the top center point along the center line.  It sounds confusing, but you can get it.  If you are really confused, watch the video below.

 

The point that you just folded up, you need to fold in half towards the inside.  I fold it to the bottom point on the outside, then fold it in.  Your first piece is now complete.  Do the same with the other seven pieces.

To attach the pieces, you will put a bit of adhesive on the top of the small section that is left at the bottom left and tuck that behind the piece you just folded.  Do that all the way around and attach the first piece under the fold on the last piece.  You now have a beautiful piece to use however you want.  Here is the finished Star Flower again.

 

If the words were confusing, try watching the video to see what I did.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

Request for Cards

A friend received this and I wanted to share with you:

Hello,

My daughter was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome in late October 2011. At the time I had never heard of this disorder nor did I realize how it would change our lives. MDS is very rare in children, it is failure of a persons bone marrow. Bone marrow make cells that turn into red and white blood cells or platelets. As her bone marrow fails it brings her closer to acute myelogenous leukemia or AML. Not much is known about MDS, usually men in their 50′s get this and research is ongoing to understand the disorder in children. The only treatment is a bone marrow transplant, it is not a cure as the MDS could reoccur. There are many risks associated with the transplant and all who under go this do not survive. Finding a donor can also be very difficult. We have been blessed in that her brother is a match and he agreed to be a hero and save his sister’s life.

February 6 my daughter was admitted for the bone marrow transplant. She turned 15 on the first day she received chemo. This process means she will be in strict isolation for 6-8 weeks. She is not allowed out of her hospital room and a limited amount of people are allowed to visit. She will receive high doses of chemo to kill off all the cells in her bone marrow. As most people know, she will lose her hair, and can get mouth sores, experience pain in her bones, be nauseated and vomit. After the transplant many new risks will present themselves, such as possible rejection and all the side effects that go along with the medication required to help prevent the rejection of her brothers bone marrow.

Once she gets home she will be in isolation for 6 – 8 months. As you can imagine that isolation can be devastating for a teenager. Rach has been very brave throughout discovering her diagnosis along with the beginning of her chemotherapy. She is optimistic and plans on turning all of this into something positive.

My daughter has only asked for a few things after learning what challenges and treatments lay ahead for her. The first was to survive the transplant, and go on to live a long life. The second is that she wants to educate people about MDS and all that goes along with the diagnosis. She feels the more people hear about it, discuss it among others then perhaps more research could be done.

The last thing she requested was to see if she could get a 1,000 cards from people and teenagers like herself from around the world. Our hope is that this email gets forwarded to people from their contact list. She is hoping this could even reach ELLEN so someday she would have the opportunity to go on her show and educate people about MDS and bone marrow transplants. If this were to reach Justin Bieber, Racal Flatts or Taylor Swift that would be awesome too.

If you are willing please forward this email and send her a card or letter to:

Rachel K.
P.O. Box 1583
Hilliard, Ohio 43206

Thanks for taking the time to read it and I hope you can send a card.

Hearts and Flowers

As it is almost Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d give you a fun teabag fold called Hearts and Flowers today.

To start this one, you need four 1-7/8″ squares. 

You want to flip one of the squares over so the white side is up.  Fold the square in half horizontally, then unfold it.  You will take the top half and fold that in half to the first fold line.

Now you want to fold it in half vertically, then unfold it.

Place it so the folded over section is at the top and the square is face up, white side down.

 

Take the top right corner and fold it down along the center fold line.  Do the same with the left top corner.

Now, fold the top point down so it is half way between the corners that have been folded down and the bottom edge.  Then unfold and flip the folded part to the other side.

After that, you want to squash the top colored (front) sections so the fold line from the center is along the top edge of the folded back piece.

Do that for each side.

Fold the side sections in to the center fold.

Now, fold the top point (from the squash you did above) down along the fold.  Do this for both sides.

The next step is to fold the very top points over, so it isn’t pointed.  You don’t have to fold much towards you, just the point on each side.

Flip your piece over and you should see the heart on the other side.  The heart will be colored over white bottom section.

To adhere, you can put a bit of adhesive on the white section and slide the next heart piece along that one.  The last piece is the most difficult to get in, but it will slide in.  You may have to fold the bottom corners of the white section in a bit.

What you wind up with should look like this.  You can use this as it is, or as a flower head and draw in a stem and some leaves.  If you just want the heart, you can slide the white section behind something and have the heart over the top.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

Don’t forget the Winter Warm Up Crop is going on over at CardMaker Magazine’s CardSwap this weekend.  Go check it out and play along!  It is a lot of fun and is being sponsored by Elmers and Spellbinders, so there will be some fantastic prizes!

Winter Warm Up Blog Hop

There is an awesome crop going on over at CardSwaps this week.  Challenges and games will be posted February 8-11, 2012 and you have until February 14, 2012 to get your projects posted to the appropriate thread.  If you haven’t participated before, don’t worry!  There are many members that will be around to offer support and encouragement.  You can find out all you need to know in the forum.  So… AFTER the hop… you will be taken to the crop and I do hope you join in.  There is a prize on the line for blog hoppers and you are getting closer to the end, so keep on hopping.

The blog hop “theme” goes with the crop title of “Winter Warm Up”.  The only requirement was that the completed item had to make you smile and bring some warm, fuzzy feelings to the cold, cold Winter months.  If you live in an area where your winter doesn’t get cold…. well… enjoy your warmth and everyone’s warm ideas.

I live in Phoenix, AZ, so it doesn’t get really cold here during winter.  (I was born and raised here, so our winter is cold to me.)  However, when I think of ways to warm up in winter, I think of getting out and exercising.  My wonderful husband and I, as well as our kids, love to play tennis, so that is one way we warm up.

So… the game for hoppers… You will be unscrambling a word once you will collect a letter at each blog you visit.  We hostesses can play along, because we don’t know any of the letters but our own.  Once you collect ALL the letters, Ana, our last hostess in the blog hop will direct you to the thread in the forum where you can find all the details you need to enter the drawing.  All hoppers collecting all the letters, unscrambling the word or phrase, entering the game by following the directions in the forum, and leaving feedback on EVERY blog they visit WILL be entered into a random drawing held on February 15, 2012.  ONE lucky hopper will have their name drawn and will win a prize!!  So, make sure you visit every blog and find the letters. Your only hints are… it’s a phrase and it’s a way paper crafters warm up.

OK… You should have arrived here from Jane’s.  If not, start at the beginning and collect your letters.  Then collect my letter and hop on, friend.

My letter is… O

In case you get lost, here is the list of blogs:

• CardMaker
• Lora
• SusieQ
• Laura
• Marlene
• Jane
• Golda  <– You are here.
• Angelina
• Tina
• Judy (PrairieWildflower)
• Ivanka
• Teresa (WingsNThings)
• Ana

The next stop on your hop today is Angelina’s blog.  Check out her amazing project, then keep on hopping!

Thanks for spending some time with me today!  Enjoy the hop and then the crop!

A Few Cute Cards

Here are a few cards I made on Saturday.  Just wanted to share these with you.

Got this cute paper in an issue of Cardmaking & Papercraft.  Had fun with the colors and the idea.

The challenge on this one was to use some patterned paper.  I made a sign out of it using Spellbinders Labels 18 and a Making Memories rub-on.  I love the paper, which came in the Winter Wonderland set from Gina K.  The dragonfly was an adhesive sticker by Art Accentz that I put glitter on.  The glitter didn’t want to stay, so I sprayed it with some hairspray, which worked.  The cute little mouse is from the Spring Mix set by Gina K.

This was another paper I got in an issue of Cardmaking & Papercraft.  Thought it was really cute and would go well accented with the dark pink in the paper.  The tag says, “Your not getting older, you’ve just enjoyed more life!”

Had fun making all of these and just wanted to share them with you. Can you tell it was a turquoise kind of day?

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

A Meal and Several Snacks

My daughter went to Pita Jungle with some friends and tried a variety taster of their humus.  She absolutely loved it and wanted us to try it, too.  So, she found this recipe online and we tried it.  We love it and fix it every couple of weeks.  As good as it is, I wanted to share the recipe.  I don’t recommend doubling it as it makes quite a bit.  It may not look like it, but it is very filling and a little goes a long way.

ROASTED RED BELL PEPPER HUMUS (Food.com)

Ingredients:

• 3 red bell peppers
• 3 cups chickpeas (garbanzo beans) canned, cooked and rinsed
• 1 Tablespoon garlic, fresh minced
• 1 cup tahini
• ½ cup lemon juice, fresh
• 1 Tablespoon paprika (we skip this as I hate it)
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin, ground
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 Tablespoons virgin olive oil (optional, we never use)
• ¼ cup parsley, fresh minced (optional, we never use)

Directions:

1.  Place the whole peppers in an oven-proof skillet and set them to cook in a preheated 450°F oven.  Turn the peppers every 10 minutes.  Roast them for approximately 30 minutes or until the skins have blackened.  Place the roasted peppers directly from the oven into a paper bag and seal it closed.
2. Allow the peppers to rest for 10 minutes in the bag, this will loosen their skins.  Remove the peppers from the bag and while holding them under cool running water, peel away the black skins and remove the stems and seeds; all that should remain is the flesh of the roast peppers.
3. Combine the roast peppers, chickpeas and garlic in a food processor and puree until smooth.  Add the tahini, lemon, paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper; puree another minute until the mixture is very smooth.
4. Refrigerate for best flavor.
5. To serve: place the humus on a large plate that has been lined with lettuce leaves.  Make an indentation in the center of the humus and pour in the olive oil.  Sprinkle the parsley across the humus and serve with flat bread or pita.

Here is the pita bread we make to go with it.  It is really good with tortilla chips, too.

PITA BREAD (Food.com)

Ingredients:

• 3-1/2 cups all purpose flour, bread flour, or combination of one or both with wheat flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil, plus a bit for greasing the bowl
• 1 cup water, plus more as needed (usually takes more)

Directions:

1.  Place flour in a food processor with steel blade.  Add salt and yeast and process for 5 seconds.
2. While processor is running, add olive oil and water through the feed tube.
3. Process about 30 seconds and remove cover.
4. Dough should be barely sticky and in a ball, add water 1 Tablespoon at a time if too dry and process for 5-10 seconds.  If dough is too wet, add a Tablespoon of flour and process for a couple of seconds.
5. Place dough on lightly floured surface and knead by hand for about 1 minute.
6. Lightly oil a large bowl and put the dough in it.  Cover and let it rise until doubled, about 2 hours.
7. Punch dough and divide it into 6-12 pieces.  Keep lightly floured and covered.
8. Preheat oven to 500°F, use baking stones, or place a baking sheet on each rack.
9. Flatten each ball on a lightly floured surface and roll into a 6-8 inch circle.  Lightly flour each circle as finished, cover, but do not stack.
10. Starting with the first circles rolled, place each circle on the sheet or stone and bake until lightly puffed (about 2-3 minutes).  Should NOT be browned.
11. If bread does not puff up, still remove it at 2-3 minutes, creases in dough may cause it not to puff.

Hope you try this and enjoy it as much as we do!  Thanks for spending some time with me today.

Quilt Card

This was a quick and fun card.

This uses:

• Linen Closet paper from DCWV
• Natural Astroparche paper by Wausau
• Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 8
• Spellbinders Ribbon Tag Trio 2
• Gina K Designs Hope Grows Set
• Memento Bamboo Leaves Ink
• Memento Cottage Ivy Ink
• Koh-i-Noor Woodless Colour Pencils
• Cuttlebug
• Scotch 3D Mounting Tape
• Scotch Advanced Tape Glider
• Green Organza Ribbon

It all started with this paper, which reminds me of a quilt.

The background paper is cut with the Nestabilities Labels 8 largest die.  The flowers were stamped with the Cottage Ivy ink on the Natural Astroparche paper, colored with the pencils, then cut out and embossed with the 2nd largest Beaded Circles die.  I then used the ink pad to go around the edge to make it stand out a bit.  The sentiment is from the same stamp set as the flowers and stamped with the Bamboo Leaves ink and cut out with the ribbon tag.  I was trying to use all blues, browns and greens, so I found some green organza ribbon to attach the label.  As I was going with the paper reminding me of a quilt, the flower piece was a throw pillow, so I used Scotch 3D mounting tape to pop it up.  I didn’t think 1 layer was enough pop, so I used 2 layers of the tape.  Before attaching the background piece, I threaded the ribbon through the tag and attached it to the back of the background piece.  Then I went around the edges with the Advanced Tape Glider and attached that piece.  The “pillow” was added last.

Like I said, quick and easy, and a cute look.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!  Have a wonderful rest of the week.

Don’t forget, the CardSwap Winter Warm Up Crop starts next Wednesday!