

These days, being under lockdown, a lot of us feel like don’t have enough materials to craft and to embellish the moments of this forced home stay. But actually e, the paper crafters, have great opportunity not only to rescue our Easter crafts, but also to change the entire way we are thinking about our work and our home craft space.
Minimalist and “capsule” ideas are not new to the world. But now, with the reduced possibility to buy the things we want, we can learn how to be real paper designers. And also – appreciate other crafters, by being inspired by them. This indeed happened to me when I saw first time the amazing and not traditional Easter cookies by Nadia from My little bakery. You can find Nadia’s amazing ideas in her site. She is absolutely gorgeous, believe me!
Start small
So, these paper embellishments and the whole greeting card were inspired by My little bakery video tutorial. I will not be showing here the process step by step. It is easy to be seen. Just will give you some tips and hints which I am using to create my own paper embellishments.
The only materials you need are white paper, scissors, markers, pencils and brushes. Of, course, you can add also coloured paper if you have, but in the same time can colour it yourself, which will make it more interesting. In my project I used both ways, you will see later.
Probably, as a paper crafter you have also Sizzix Big shot machine or another machine like this and a lot of paper dies. But even if don’t have some of the needed shapes, you can draw them, as I did it. I didn’t have egg shape, can you imagine? But I also believe that everyone can draw an egg shape. This is the brilliant capsule idea – to have only the main instruments and materials and to create a lot by yourself.
Use white as a base
First tip: use only high quality paper (watercolour in my case).
Here you see some die-cut pieces and some of my hand drawn eggs. I love working with white paper, because it gives me great opportunities to create colours, designs, texts and everything which appears in my head.
If you are curious about this way, which I am calling “Capsule craft collection”, you can check my article here with the main steps to follow. This can help you to declutter your craft space and your craft habits. And if you decide that you need more help, you can check the book I wrote about my minimalist crafting – The Capsule craft collection.
This is my experience and my way step by step to create a healthier craft space. It is also very useful in this moment, when it is not so easy to have all craft supplies you need. The world is changed, maybe this change will be forever, so we have to re-organize our craft habits to meet these changes. And actually, to became more “crafty”.
Explore your fantasy and enjoy the colours
Because this project was inspired by My little bakery, I was keeping the colour scheme of Nadia’s project. But you can use all the colours you love.
For example: use watercolour markers or all other non-alcohol-based markers to create wonderful watercolour designs:
You can see how easy is to make a big collection of embellishments…
…only by playing with the watercolour “black”, the real black paper and white.
Imagine how many variations can have! And when add even one more colour, the feast happens!
Use the watercolour technique to create darker and lighter nuances. You don’t need a huge amount of markers and papers for this.
You also don’t need special instruments to shape the petals. The round bottom of a crochet hook, the old nasal inhaler and the round top of a pen will do e great job!
The pen top will work for the little ones
And the inhaler (or the hook) for the bigger ones.
Save money for the most important materials
I can’t regret – the self adhesive foam pieces in the craft shops are giving wonderful 3D effect. But they are actually not very cheap. To save money, following my capsule craft philosophy, I am using the cardboard backs of my white paper notebooks. I have great supply with the shape and size I need.
So, this is the “big” secret of having pleasant craft time in the times of lockdown – use what you have! You actually do NOT need more. Everything in your home can be an instrument or a material. And internet is full with great inspiration as Nadia’s beautiful page.
Enjoy your craft time and be safe!
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If you like paper flowers, why not to see this article about How to make Iceland poppies… More detailed instructions – in my Etsy shop: