How I use my Erin Condren Life Planner! - Fridays With Danielle

Hey everyone! It's time for another Friday's with Danielle post!

Last week I showed you my Erin Condren life planner and told you how I felt about it. If you want to check out that post you can find it here.

In todays post I thought it would be helpful to some people to show exactly how I use it. When I intially bought it I had a rough idea of how I was going to use it but I knew it would take me a few weeks to be completely happy with it! 

I will explain how I changed and adapted things throughout the post. The pictures will be bigger than normal in comparison to other Sukilu Crafts post but I felt it would be easier for you to see what I'm talking about.

Please excuse my awful handwriting! Also anything covered up with post-it's in my weekly spread are just for privacy reasons.

How to create the Bokeh effect!

Hi everyone.

I've been looking forward to doing this post for such a long since I discovered this technique. 

Have you even taken a picture and noticed some light circles around the picture? Sometimes they are described as 'orbs.' Or taken a picture of a street at night then the lights are out of focus and you get these different size circles all over your picture - that look amazing! 

Well pictures like this are generally described as having the 'bokeh' effect. This effect is also achievable to create easily and you can use it for so many different things. I even think just on its own as a picture is beautiful!

There a few different ways to create the effect so today I thought I would show you I how achieved it!

If you want to find out how you can achieve it them just keep reading!

Homemade Cake Boxes for Cupcakes - Step by Step Tutorial

Hi everyone!

Last Wednesday I did a post about how to make some delicious cupcakes - check it out here. I also made for boxes for them at the time so I thought I would share with you how I made them.

I love making these boxes and you could use them for a number of things and the possibilities are endless with how they turn out!

These boxes are perfect for so many different occasions. You could use them to give out pieces of cake at birthday parties, a present for a loved one and so many other things. They are very easy to make and having a large window at the top means there isn't a lot of space to decorate. At times I like the idea of this as it draws attention to what is in the box and also you don't have to put a whole lot on  it in terms of embellishments! 

Not only is it easy to make but you also don't need a lot of supplies. You could use a patterned paper for the box and you could achieve a beautiful little box.

If you want to find out how make it then just keep reading!

Erin Condren Life Planner Review & Unboxing - Fridays with Danielle

Hello everyone! Danielle here. I'm so excited to be doing a post on my mum's blog and share with you some tips of my own.

As most of you will know from a post on Sukilu Crafts last Friday I have been part of this blog since it begun in April. I have been a huge fan of the blogging and the youtube world for around 9 years now but have always put off starting one of my own. Then in 2012 I became a mum myself and pretty much put it the back of my mind completely. When my mum had mentioned about starting a blog of her own I immediately offered my full help and support and since then we have spent a huge amount of time together building this website. I originally intended to take care of the technical side of Sukilu Crafts but the more time I spent watching my mum craft and her showing me what other people had done the more interested I become.

As time went on the one thing we found difficult was organising things Sukilu Crafts related such as what posts would go up when, when a new project would be started, what social media platform needed more attention etc. I came across a video by the very gorgeous Elle Fowler - otherwise known as AllThatGlitters21 that was a life saver! It was a video she had some all about her Erin Condren planner. You can watch the video here. Straight away I fell in love and started to look more into the planning world. It's safe to say I became obsessed. This was before the new EC planner had been released but I knew I had to have one. I felt it would be perfect to help out with this blog and also other personal things for myself.

How To: French Fancie Style Cupcakes!

Hi everyone!

I'm so excited for todays post as it's something completely different to anything I've done on here before.

I had made some cakes for one of my daughters birthday during the 4th July weekend and everyone really liked them so I thought it would be fun to show you how I made them.

In the UK we have cakes called 'French Fancies', they usually come in pink, brown and yellow and are small square cakes, covered in icing with a pop of cream in the top. I was completely inspired by these as they are definitely a favourite of mine and my family. Does anyone else have these cakes in their countries? Let me know down below and also I'd love to know what your favourite kind of cake is!

                             

I wouldn't say these are 100% easy to make but they are definitely a lot of fun. You could make so many different colours and add a variety of different sweet treats to make them exactly how you would like!

I also made some boxes to put them in which will be my Sunday Step by Step Tutorial so stay tuned until the end to get a sneak peak!

If you want to find out how to make these cakes then just keep reading!

Faux Flower Effect Card - Step by Step Tutorial

Hi everyone!! I hope you enjoyed the bonus post on Friday and I can't wait for you to see what Danielle will be bringing to Sukilu Crafts!

Now time for another Sunday tutorial. I know I did a 'Best Wishes' card last Sunday but I really wanted to show you this card I had made for someone at my husbands work. I think it's aboslutely beautiful and I also show you how I would decorate the inside of the card which I don't normally do.

I really wanted to make a card that had a faux flower effect on the front and I found this method to be a fairly easy one. This card is perfect for many different occasions, you would just need to switch up the sentiment to match your needs.

I also think it would be really fun to experiment with different colours for the flower as you would get different effects!

I really hope you enjoy this tutorial so keep reading to find out how to make this beautiful card!

A Touch of British Culture and a Special Introduction!

Hi everyone!!

A bit strange putting a post on a Friday but I wanted to do something slightly different. This post may be one to show to some family members as it's give you a taste of British Engineering and a look at an iconic British plane.

Before I show you some amazing pictures I wanted to introduce you to someone who is actually very involved in Sukilu Crafts.

Stamps and Scraps Organisational Tips

Hi everyone!!

In todays post I wanted to share with you an amazing way - in my opinion - to sort out all your scraps and stamps.

I've struggled with stamps being neglected, a very messy scrap box and stress of trying to find a particular stamp with no luck (then finding it an hour later because that's always fun!) Me and one of my daughters came up with a way to solve my solution so over a few evenings we spent hours sorting everything out and I'm very happy with the result!

Even if you are just a beginner or you don't have a large collection of stamps or scraps I still think it is very helpful to have a system. This way in the future when you add to it you won't be overwhelmed with mess!

I'm going to keep this intro sort and sweet and this is a fairly 'chatty' post so grab a snack and keep reading!

Best Wishes Card With Glitter! - Step By Step Tutorial

Hi there everyone! Hope you are having another lovely Sunday. The weather is here in the UK is all over the place at the moment. One minute it is pouring it down with rain and the next it's all hot, sticky and the sun is beaming.

Before I go onto explaining today's tutorial I wanted to give a quick mention to another blog I have been following for a while now. The blog is run by the absolutely lovely Whitney and features many crafting tips and tutorials as well as some decor ideas and even some helpful ADHD tips! She recently posted a tutorial using my DIY embossing paste. I was extremely happy to be mentioned on her blog and she was very kind to me credit in her post!
She made a beautiful DIY Jewellery display and I would highly recommend you check it out and also the other posts she has done.
This is her blog http://www.craftingforpurpose.com. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss a post!
Thanks again Whitney.

So in todays post I wanted to show you a card I had made which was inspired by some glitter card stock I purchased. I wouldn't normally used glitter card stock on my cards so I wanted to try something slightly different. I intended this to be geared towards a younger crowd however I love how it turned out and I think it would be perfect for anyone!

I love how the piece in the frame isn't completely translucent and the black on it really pops! You could really experiment with different colours and different patterns so this method would work for so many different cards and occasions.

If you want to find out how you can make it then just keep on reading!

Perfect Peals Embossing?! - A Fun Embossing Technique

Hi everyone! Welcome to another Wednesday post!

This one will be short and sweet but I hope it will inspire some of you to try out a new technique. I always love trying out new things as it broadens my abilities and allows me to create so many new and exciting things. Plus it's a brilliant excuse to spend a few hours in my craft room playing around with my crafting items!

In many of my projects I use embossing ink and/or embossing powder to add some texture to my work, make something pop or add some shine to plain paper or card stock. This is so much fun and relatively easy to do and I have recently discovered another use for embossing ink that I think is so different and you can achieve so many things using it.

You can purchase Perfect Pearls in an array of colours from crafting suppliers like The Range or Hobbycraft and you can actually use these over the top of embossing ink to get a beautiful effect. Perfect Pearls is a very finely milled almost metallic powder. It's is absolutely beautiful but I have never really had a use for it. Until now!!

This is a very fun easy method to experiment with so if you want to find out how to achieve it then keep reading!

Thinking Of You Card - Overlapping Stamps Method - Step By Step Tutorial

Hello everyone!! How has your weekend been? I'd love to hear what some of you got up to if you celebrated Independence Day yesterday.

In today's post I wanted to show you a method of stamping which I have used a few times before and I absolutely love it!

I have a lot of stamps that are just one single shape like a ballon, a flower, a heart - those kind of shapes. I thought it would be interesting to use a few different stamps of the similar shape to create the kind of image you could achieve by using a larger stamp. Not only do you have far more control of the outcome of your stamped image but you would be have multiple purposes for some of your stamps which you may not have even realised.

This method allows you to create some scenic pictures which look very neat and clean. It's so easy to achieve and when you have done it once - it's half the work the next time!

Here's a look at the card we will be making today using this method.

Basically all you need to do is stamp your single or any stamp you would like to use and fussy cut it. This essentially means to cut precisely around the edges so you will only have what is stamped cut out. Then you just use a temporary adhesive to mask off the stamp you have done so you can overlap it again or with another stamps. Masking it off prevents the stamps from mixing together and causing what would possibly be a mess. The reason I said once you have done it it will be half the work next time is because once you have fussy cut it, you can keep it and re-use it over and over again to mask off that same stamp. Obviously if you wanted to use a different stamp you would have to start over again.

This method, I believe, is perfect for beginners as sometimes bigger stamps can be very intimidating as they aren't particualry to stamp properly and that means you have to be a lot more precise. Also when you first begin stamping it's a lot easier to work with and buy smaller stamps.

You could also use this method for a birthday card and create a bunch of balloons with a single balloon stamp or if you have animal stamps you could group them together and make it look as though some are standing in front of one another.

If you want an idea of how to use this method then keep reading

Watercolour Smooshing Technique

Hello everyone! Hope you are having a lovely Wednesday. It's the hottest day this year in the UK at the moment so I'm trying to stay in as little as possible today.

In todays post I want to show you a watercoloring technique I recently discovered and also an idea of what you could do with it. When I have heard anybody talk about it they have referred to it as the smooshing technique. It's because you use a piece of acetate and actually smoosh the ink on the paper.

This is what it looks like.

I love the effect it creates and you can use the technique to get so many different designs! I love the almost child like element it has as well. I actually turned it into a 'Happy Birthday' card which you can see below. I think it would be perfect for a young one's birthday.

I would still consider myself a beginner when it comes to watercoloring and I found this technique very easy to use. I think you should give this a go and if you have any children get them involved; i'm sure they will love it!

Keep reading to find out how you can do it!