Album... Complete! and Happy New Year!!!

Hey Everyone! I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year!! I want to thank everyone who has +1, commented, viewed and shared my blog in the months since its creation. I hope I can continue to share new projects and ideas with you all in the new year and beyond. I feel blessed to be a part of a community in which I can find inspiration and ideas. I' m grateful for sharing another year with my wonderful family. Thanks to my hubby and kids for putting up with my messy craziness. I love you guys!! :) I hope that this new year will bring lots more crafting, challenges and inspiration. So a Happy New Year to each and everyone of you.
Before I end this post, I was able to finish the last page of my paper bag album. I will post project details and pics after the new year!
Peace!! :)

Next Page ..Done!!

Hey Everyone!! Hope your day is off to a good start! For today's post, I have another page for the paper bag album series done! I was able to finish it up last night and I think it turned out nice. There was this one patterned paper from the stack that I've been trying to incorporate into this album. I just couldn't seem to fnd the right fit for it. So yesterday's mission was to design a page using that paper. I will say that it wasn't easy and I had to cheat a little by using a neutral cardstock to bring the whole page together.
Here are the pics for you to check out:

I started with a green cardstock for the base and added a red floral paper (this is the paper I've been trying to use for awhile now) around the perimeter. I cut four strips out of this red floral paper, two measuring 1 1/2x10" and two 1 1/2x5" and cut a decorative scallop border along the edge. I also cut a gold strip that I added along the edge of the red floral and used my ATG gun to attach to the green cardstock. I initially wanted to use the floral pattern as the base for this page but I found the pattern too busy. So I thought using it as an accent would be a better fit to go with the other pages in this album.

Now, the green cardstock has a very subtle pattern to it. I wanted to incorporate the gold color from the strip to tie it in. So I tried a technique I haven't done before using VersaMark ink and Pearl Ex from Jacquard Products.

I stamped a bird and floral motif randomly on the page with VersaMark.

I then took Pearl Ex Micropigment powder in Aztec Gold to brush on the stamped image.

I was pretty pleased with the look that was created using this technique! You only need to use a little of the pigment to color in your stamped image. But I think it turned out nice. I was able to tie in the gold from the edge and create a pretty pattern.

I knew I wanted to add a 4x4" photo mat to this page.

The problem: I loved the pattern I had created and I really didn't want to cover it up.

So for the better part of an hour, I was torn between leaving the page as is or adding my mat.

I opted for adding the photo mat. 

I could not find a nice paper from the stack to add to this page.

I definitely wanted a paper with a subtle background and not have it compete with the other patterns.

So a half hour passes by and I decide to pull a light brown cardstock from my stash.

I thought a neutral would work as there are a lot of bold patterns going on in this page.

And I think my hunch was right.

I used the same technique to add a pattern and make up for covering the original.

I had a few gold strips of paper left over and decided to add them to the top and bottom.

 A few pieces of foam tape were used to attach it to the page.

I added rosettes and a chipboard medallion to bring this page to life.

I used some chipboard letters for the sentiment "Love" along the bottom of my page.

I used some more of the Pearl Ex to add some color to the letters and used my Scotch Quick Dry adhesive to adhere them down.

And voila! my page is complete!

I also made a coordinating double sided tag.

I added some sparkle with my Copic Spica glitter pens and a sheer white ribbon tied at the top.

And my page is done!!

I hope you enjoyed this project for today.

It was certainly a challenge using that red floral paper but I think it turned out alright in the end.

I will end this post here for now and hope you all enjoy the rest of your day!

Only 1 page left to go, Woo Hoo!!

 Peace!! :)

Countdown to Paper Bag Album Completion ... Begins!!!

Hey Everyone! Happy Sunday! Hope you all are enjoying your day! I normally don' t post on Sundays but I happened across the calendar this morning and almost freaked out. For some odd reason, I was under the impression that New Year's Eve was Wednesday. Don't ask me why but I could have bet money on it. I have been in my own little world since the holidays started. With crafting and having the girls and hubby home, I haven't bothered to give the calendar a look. So the countdown to finish this paper bag album has begun. For today's post, I have the next page in the album completed.  I was able to finish it up yesterday. I think it turned nice but I'll leave it up to you to decide.  Here's the pics for your perusal:

For this page, I used a pink patterned paper from the ColorBok paper stack "Delilah" as my starting base. As with all the pages in this album, I cut it down to 5 x10".  To tone down the color of the page, I went around the edges with a Creamy Caramel inkpad. I wanted to add a fun border to the side of the page and in the stack there is a fun blue patterned page with strips of lace running across it. I thought that cutting out the lace strips and layering it would give the page a nice ruffly texture. I also used my inkpad to go around the edges to give the lace an aged appearance.

 I liked the aqua and pink color scheme that was going into the page but I thought I needed to bring in another color to break it up a little.  I found a yellow patterned paper in the stack and cut out three 2 " circles and randomly adhered it to the page. I think it adds a nice dimension of color and brightens the page just enough. I also used my inkpad around the edges before adhering. I used a coordinating aqua paper cut at 1 1/2" for the middle of the page. I used my Fiskars Heart Border punch to give a decorative edge to the top and bottom of the paper.
Since I didn't add photo mats to my previous page, I thought this page needed a few.
So I added two 3x4" photo mats to the top and bottom.
I cut the photo mats into a curly label design.
I don't own a cartridge or die cut for this shape, so I drew it freehand.
I adhered the yellow polka dotted paper to an aqua background paper and tried my best to draw a 1/4" border around it. I think it turned out alright.
To adhere the photo mats to the page, I used some foam tape for added dimension.

I knew I wanted to go with butterflies for embellishments for this page.but I don't own any butterfly stamps. Weird?! But I knew of someone who just received some pretty sweet Melissa and Doug stamps for Christmas. So with my five year old's permission, I used her large and small butterfly stamps on white cardstock using Rich Cocoa VersaColor ink and set to work watercoloring them to bring them to life.
I used coordinating colors to match the rest of the page and added some sparkle with my Copic Spica glitter pens. I only adhered the middle of the butterflies to the page. I folded the wings to give the apperance of them floating across the length of the page. I think it adds a nice effect.

I finished off the page with some doodling and stitching using my white gel pen.

And I opted for a stamped sentiment across the middle, "Big Hugs!", "hugs and kisses", and X"s  and O's came from my CardzTV stamp set "Encouraging Thoughts".

And voila! my page is complete!!

I also made a coordinating 5x10" double sided tag.

I added some butterflies and stitching to both sides and a sheer blue ribbon to finish them off.

Phew! Hope you all enjoyed this project for today.

 I still have two more pages to complete before 2014 gets here!

Yikes!!

I'll end this post here for now so I can get back to work!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and Peace!! :)

Happy Friday!!!!

Hey Everyone! Happy F.R.I.D.A.Y!!!! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families and friends. Christmas was pretty good for my family this year. My five year old got a Cuttlebug for kids among her other gifts and she couldn' t have been happier.  My hubby made her a little craft desk next to mine with "Little Stamper" across the front. It' s really cute! Now she wants her own blog and twitter account.  Kids! My oldest got some cool gifts but being the typical teen, she was nonchalant about it.
I was hoping to post a page for my paper bag album series but it' still a work in progress.  To be honest, I did complete it but I' m not 100 % sold on the way it turned out. So it' s back to the old drawing board to see if I can improve on it a little. That is the goal I have set for myself for this weekend. So I' m hoping beyond hope I can have it done. I still have to complete the final 2 pages as well before the New Year. My fingers are crossed for that. So this post is more of an update than a project.
This seems like a good stopping point for this post. I hope you enjoy the rest of your T.G.I.F! Peace!! :)

Merry Christmas!

Hey everyone! It' s finally here! I wanna wish everyone a very safe and happy Christmas! May this Christmas bring you all the joy and happiness of the season! Peace!:)

The Return of the Paper Bag Album!

Hey Everyone! Hope you all had a good weekend! For today's project, I completed another page in my paper bag album series. It felt good to be able to get back into this after doing other projects for this blog. I thought it would be difficult at first but I think I was surprised by how fast it actually went. I think the page turned out nice but I'll let you decide. Without further ado, here are the pics of the completed page for your perusal:

 

For this page, I went in a different direction from previous pages in this album.

I decided to forgo the photo mat and use the coordinating tag for photos.

I used paper piecing and stamping to create what you see here.

Here's a quick rundown of what I did:

 I used a sheet of patterned cardstock from the ColorBok paper stack "Delilah" cut at 5 x10". This is the same paper stack I've been using throughout this album. I kept the embellishments for this page pretty simple. This page had a great floral design and I wanted to highlight that as my main focal point. I cut the two main flowers from the same patterned sheet and adhered them to the page using foam tape. I used some Crystal Effects to give the flowers some added dimension. I then stamped sentiments throughout the page in Creamy Caramel ink from Stampin Up. I wanted to use words that would define what Family meant to me. So I stamped the sentiments "Holidays Together", "Days Together", "Life Together" and "Everything Together".

For the birds and the birdhouse, I used a Inkadinkado mini stamp set entitled "Summer Assortment". The birdhouse has some sentiments running through it that I thought were perfect for this page. So I stamped them onto white cardstock using Rich Cocoa VersaColor ink. I added some watercoloring and my clear glitter pen to bring them to life.

 

I cut the pieces out and used foam tape to adhere them to the page. For the birdhouse, I used a 1/16 hole punch to punch a hole at the top. I threaded some Linen Thread from Stampin Up to give the illusion that the birdhouse is suspended from the top. I added a few cut out leaves along the top of the page to enhance the illusion.

 

To finish off this page, I thought it needed a little more color.

So I used a pink polka dot sheet from the stack for my title and banners. The title "Family" was cut using my Cricut at 1".

The banners were cut at 1 1/2" and adhered to the page using my ATG gun.

I added some more sparkle using my Copic Spica Clear Glitter pen and voila! my page is complete.

 

 

For the coordinating tag, I kept the design fairly simple.

 

 

 

I used my clear glitter pen again to add some sparkle to the centers of the flowers and dots.

A sheer green ribbon tied at the top completes my double sided tag.

 

 

Here's a pic of the page and tag side by side.

 

I hope you all enjoyed this project.

It was nice to be able to work on this album again.

I'm hoping to have it completed before the New Year.

Fingers crossed!

I will end this post here for now and wish you all a great day!!

Peace!! :)

 

 

 

 

 

                           

Cute Penguin Card and Santa's Sleigh!!

Hey Everyone! Happy T.G.I.F and Happy Pajama Day!! for the little ones having their school Christmas parties today! So glad that my favorite day is finally here and that Christmas is only 6 days away. For today's project, I made a cute little penguin card inspired by my daughter's pajamas. I know crazy right?! We bought them for her to wear at the Christmas party today and they were covered in the cutest penguins ever. That's when the light bulb went off inside my head! The only problem I don't own any cutesy stamps. So I did the next best thing , I drew a penguin design based on the one in the pajamas. I did my "faux stamp" technique and the card came out soo cute!! Here's the pic for you to check out:

 

Isn't he cute?!

I love this card!!

 

Here's the rundown of what I did:

 

To start off, I used a double sided piece of blue cardstock as my card base.

This is your standard A2 size card.

I layered a white piece of cardstock on top measuring 3 1/2' x 4 3/4".

The blue layer is cut a 1/4" smaller than the white cardstock and I used my ATG gun to adhere everything to the base.

I wanted to create a wintry scene for my penguin.

To achieve the look I was going for, I used a Stoneware Texture stamp from Design Co. to stamp this snowy background in white ink.

I used my Spica Copic Glitter Pen in Clear to add a little more sparkle to the background.

I cut a 1 1/2" piece of white cardstock to create this little snow bank backdrop for my penguin.

I added some Stardust Stickles along the edge for some additional bling.

Once I had my snow scene complete, I set to work on my Christmas Tree and penguin.

 

 

CUTE!!!

For the penguin, I drew him out on white cardstock.

I used my black pen to go over the pencil lines to darken them for that "faux stamp" look.

I used my watercolor pencils to fill him in and a black marker for the eyes and mouth.

I love the stamp sets that have the coordinating dies that go along with them, so I recreated that look by leaving a white border around my penguin.

It really helps to set him off from the background.

The hat I also drew on white cardstock and colored it in.

 I left a white border but trimmed it along the edge so I could fit it on my penguin's head.

I added some sparkle with my clear glitter pen and a few highlights for the eyes with my white gel pen and my penguin is complete.

I hate to sound like a broken record but he's sooo cute!!

 

 

 

My penguin needed a cute little Christmas tree to go along with him.

So I took a die cut tree and used it as a stencil to trace it onto white cardstock.

I drew this base for the tree to stand in because without it would be the same size as my penguin (2").

The same techniques that were used for the penguin were used on the tree.

I added a few glittery ornaments, embroidery floss tied into a bow and a star to finish the tree off.

I attached the penguin and the tree directly to the background with my ATG gun.

I also added some faux stitching to the card front with my white gel pen and ta-da that completes my card!!!

 

 

 

 

Here's a pic of the inside of my card.

 I kept it simple by adding a white panel and the sentiment "Merry Christmas" stamped in Bashful Blue ink.

 

I hope you all enjoyed this cute card I made today!!

 I have a bonus project my sis makes for this time of year for my niece's Kindergarten class.

It's Santa in his sleigh made with different candies and wrapped chocolates.

She's been making these for awhile now and has certainly perfected it.

Here's the pic for you to check out:

 

 

Isn't it cute?!

 I was trying my hardest to enlarge this photo a little more but I think Santa needs to bring me some photo editing software.

Heck I've been a good little crafter this year!

Here's a quick rundown of what she used to make this:

She used 2 candy canes for the bottom of the sleigh.

A Kit Kat bar for the base, 6 mini Hershey Kisses for the presents and a chocolate Santa.

A tasty gift any child would love to receive!

Thanks Sis for sharing this with me! :)

 

I hope you enjoyed these projects for today!! I will end this post here for now and hope you all enjoy the rest of your FRIDAY! people!! Peace!! :)

 

 

Gingerbread Man Holiday Card!!

Hey Everyone! Happy Tuesday!! Hopefully your day is off to a good start! For today's project, I made a simple gingerbread man card for the holidays. I wanted to make a holiday card just for the kids. I thought my niece would get a kick out of a card wishing her a Merry Christmas! Then she can display it wherever she wants. So the design for this is fairly simple. Here's the pic for your perusal:

Isn't he cute?!

This is a standard A2 size card.

I used white cardstock as the base and added a piece of kraft cardstock for the layer.

I punched the decorative border at the top using my Threading Water punch from Fiskars.

I added some faux stitching with my white gel pen and the sentiment "Merry Christmas" to the lower right corner.

Now for gingerbread man, I used a Christmas stencil to trace him out on white cardstock. I used a black pen instead of a pencil to mimic a stamped image that's been cut out. I added some watercoloring to the gingerbread man to give him that fresh from the oven look. I used my white gel pen to add some detail to the arms and legs. A black pen for the eyes and mouth and a few red rhinestones completes the look.

Now for the peppermints and gumdrops, I drew those out by hand onto white cardstock..

I added some color using my watercolor pencils. For the gumdrops, I used glitter to give them a  sugary look. I used Crystal Effects for the peppermints, which is sort of like Glossy Accents, and I love how they turned out. These candies look good enough to eat!

 

I mounted all these goodies onto a strip of red and white patterned paper cut at 2".

I made this paper using a Graph stamp from Annette Anne Watkins in Ruby Red ink.

My hubby purchased this stamp from Ebay and I'm not sure if they still make these. But I loved how it looked. I added some watercoloring to it to fill in some of the squares and adhered it to the card base using my ATG gun.

For the inside of the card, I used a piece of kraft using the same faux stitching as the front.

I added a strip of the patterned paper cut at 1" to the bottom.

And lastly, I stamped the sentiment "Warm Holiday Wishes" in white ink.

And voila! my card is complete!

I hope you all enjoyed this project for today! I had a lot of fun creating it.

I hope to finish my page for the paper bag album series sometime this week. My craft area is still a mess!! Hubby is finishing up the shelving he's making for me. I hope to have my area back to normal later today so I can finish up some other crafts I had to put on hold. I will end this post here for now and hope yall enjoy the rest of your day!! Peace!! :)

A Christmas Centerpiece made out of What?!

Hey Everyone!! Hope you all had a great weekend!! My weekend was pretty good all things considered. Finally finished all my decorating and shopping for Christmas!! It feels like it took a lot longer this year than last year to get things done. I was able to get some crafting done on Saturday. But my craft area is getting a major overhaul as I type this and I have supplies everywhere. My hubby is building me some custom shelves and storage to keep me organized. Which was a lot easier when I had fewer things but as of late, I've accumulated so much stuff! I keep finding things I didn't even know I had. So while I'm waiting for him to finish up my shelves and such, I have a Christmas centerpiece I made for my dining room table. I loved the Thanksgiving one I made and decided to do one for Christmas. Now, the base I used to make this centerpiece is unconventional. Let's just say I used a few objects I had lying around from Christmases past. Here are the pics of the materials used to create this one of a kind centerpiece:

 

Is that an old clock?!

Why yes it!

Hubby found this old clock minus its working parts at our local flea market. I used the clock as is.

I thought it would make a good starting point to build my centerpiece on.

 

 

A wreath?!

I thought to bring this centerpiece to life it needed some greenery.

Luckily, I had a wreath form that I covered with branch pieces from a fake tree we had. I added some white poinsettias and pinecones (from my Thanksgiving centerpiece) to create this simple wreath.

 

 

 

I took this snowglobe I showcased in a previous post as my focal piece.

Now that I had all my pieces all that was left to do was put it together.

 

 

Ta-Da!! Cute centerpiece complete.

Here's how I finished this off:

I laid the wreath on top of the clock after adding a red bead garland for extra color.

For the center, I used a few wooden blocks to elevate the snowglobe. I then covered the center with white tissue paper and sprinkled some fake snow for a wintry look. Lastly, I added a battery powered light strand to the wreath. In person, when this centerpiece is lit the snowglobe seems to glow and it looks like its snowing. 

The effect is stunning!!

 

 

And that completes this project for today! I hope you all enjoyed it. I love how it turned out! It just goes to show you that by taking a few items here and there, you can create something that's one of a kind!! I'll end this post here for now and hope you all enjoy the rest of your day!! Peace!! :)

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Gift Tags!!

Hey Everyone!! Happy T.G.I.F!!!! Thank goodness the weekend is almost here! For today's post, I thought I would revisit some Christmas Gift tags I had made. Here are the pics for you to check out:

                                                      I love this little snowman tag!!

This was the first one I made and the inspiration came from Better Homes and Gardens Holiday mag I picked up. The tag size is 1 3/4 x 3 1/2. I wanted to create a snowy scene for the background. To achieve this, I used a Brocade Blue inkpad from Stampin Up to add some color to the tag. Once the background was dry, I added some dots with my white gel pen to mimic a snowy sky. For the bottom half of the tag, I layered a strip of white cardstock approximately 1 1/2" and tore the edge. I adhered it directly to the tag using my ATG gun and added stickles to for a little sparkle.  For the little snowman, I layered two circles (1 1/4 "and 1") and embossed them using my D'Vine Swirls embossing folder. It gave me a nice textured look and made him really stand out from the background. I used pop dots to adhere him to the tag. To finish off my snowman, I used rhinestones for the eyes, buttons, and nose and a strip of black gingham ribbon as the scarf. The addition of a die cut snowflake and black gingham ribbon completes the look.

 

 

I love these ornament tags!! I think they are so cute!!

These tags are the same size as the snowman ones but I used kraft cardstock for the tag base. These were also inspired by the Better Homes and Gardens Holiday mag. For the ornaments, I punched out six 1" circles for each one in red, green and white. I used patterned cardstock I stamped a while back. To make them, you fold each circle in half and attach them together. Adhere the ends to the tag and there you have your 3D ornament. I used embroidery floss, red rhinestones and leaves to embellish the tops of the ornaments. In the inspiration piece, they p[oked holes around the perimeter but I used my white gel pen to achieve a similar look. To finish them off, I stamped the sentiments and tied a ribbon at the top.

 

 

For this final tag I wanted to showcase, the design is fairly simple. I used the same size tag as the other two. I added a die cut Christmas tree I embossed using my D'Vine Swirls embossing folder. I cut a 1/2" strip of brown cardstock to act as the trunk and adhered it to the bottom of the tag. I attached the tree and added some rhinestones and a star to decorate it. To finish off the look, I added 3 rhinestones to the right hand side and voila, christmas gift tags complete!

 

 

I hope you all enjoyed these cute little tags I made. I think they would add a nice touch to any wrapped gift. I'll end this post here for now, I still have a ton of housework that needs to be done! I'm hoping to work on the next page to my paper bag album this weekend! At least that's the goal!

I would like to have it completed before the New Year. So I hope you all will stay tuned for that. Enjoy the rest of your FRIDAY!! and Peace!! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simple Christmas Tree Card!!!

Hey Everyone!! Happy Thursday!! Hope your day is off to a good start! I just got back from my daughter's school where they performed "The Littlest Christmas Tree" play. It was AWESOME! All the kids did really well. My daughter looked so cute in her little reindeer antlers! I couldn't be prouder! For today's project, I have a simple christmas tree card I made. I've been watching alot of YouTube videos lately and was inspired. Here's the pic for you to check out:

The card size is a standard A2. I went with a green cardstock for the base and layered a piece of white cardstock cut a 1/4" shorter. To give the white cardstock some interest, I stamped a snowflake pattern in a light blue ink. Now for the christmas tree embellishments on the front, I turned to my "faux stamping" technique. I cut out a 2" triangle stencil that I used to trace out the center tree. I took that same stencil and drew 4 more trees an inch smaller than the center one. I cut them all out from white cardstock and watercolored the trees to give them that stamped effect. For the smaller trees, I wanted to give the impression that they were stamped off the page and then stamped onto the background. So I kept the coloring and outline very light. For the center tree, I used a little more color to make it stand out from the rest of the trees, added a few circles for ornaments and a star at the top. To finish it off, I used some glitter pens and stickles to make it sparkle.


Here's a pic of the inside of the card:

 

 I kept the inside fairly simple. I stamped a few snowflakes in the lower right corner, added a silver flourish and the sentiment "Warm Holiday Wishes". And that completes my card!

 

I hope you all enjoyed this card I made. I will end this post here for now and hope you all enjoy your evening! Peace!! :)

Simple Christmas Card for 2013!

Hey Everyone! Happy "Hump" Day!! I hope you all are having a great day! It feels like it's been forever since I last posted anything! I have to apologize but I've been soooo busy. I'm still in the throes of finishing up christmas decorating. I wanted to be done last weekend but it's been surprisingly so cold over here. You only have a short window before you freeze. Plus, I took the girls to see "Frozen" on Saturday. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it! It's a great movie!! My daughter is having a christmas program at her school tomorrow and I'm very excited for that as well. I finally finished up my Christmas cards to send to family this year. I kept the design very simple and love how it turned out! I had everything cut and ready weeks ago but when it came to assembly time, I couldn't get it to look the way I envisioned. I had to step back and focus on other things before I was able to finish them last night. Here's the pic for your perusal:

 

This card is a standard A2 size.

I used a template to cut a 2" square window on the front. I used an "Ironworks" embossing folder to emboss the left side of the card. It adds an elegant touch while keeping it simple. The bible passage on the front was typed on my computer at 14 pts. using Lucida Calligraphy onto white cardstock. I trimmed it down to 2 1/4" and layered it on a dark blue cardstock. I attached the sentiment to the card front using pop dots.

 

 

I also kept the inside of the card fairly simple.

I used the 2" square piece left over from the front to mount the manger diecut and star. I used three different inkpads in a dark purple, dark blue and light blue to mimic the night sky and add color to the square. The manger diecut was cut from Cricut @ 2' and directly adhered to the square. I used a silver and gold glitter pen to add some stars and a halo over the baby. I'm so happy that the pic picked up on those subtle glittery additions.  I cut the star out with my Cricut @ 1 1/4" and I double embossed it using first clear and then a shimmery powder to make it stand out. I love how sparkly this star came out! I mounted it on to the square with pop dots for a 3D effect. The sentiment "Peace" was stamped using my new Tsukineko Staz On Copper inkpad. This stuff is awesome!!

And that completes this holiday card for 2013!!!

 

I hope you all enjoyed this simple christmas card! It feels good to be able to take some time and post this for you all!  Enjoy the rest of your day and Peace!! :)

 

A Few Holiday Projects!! :)

Hey Everyone!! Happy T.G.I.F!! Thank goodness the weekend is here, finally!! Unfortunately, I'm too stiff from the cold here that I'm cancelling my weekly Happy Dance! :( The weather down here in Louisiana has been cold, rainy and blah!! But I will say that this is perfect weather to get some crafting done which is exactly what I did. For today's post, I have a few quick projects I wanted to share with you all.  Here's the pic of the first project I did this week:

 

This is my take on those cute snowglobe mason jars, I've seen popping up everywhere.

I went in a different direction by using vases I bought at a local flea market. I added some dots of snow to the outside of the vases with white paint. I also sponged some of the paint along the bottom to enhance the snowy look. For the inside, I added some fake snow and arranged trees and a figurine from my christmas village to set the scene.

 

Here's a pic of the second project I completed:

 

 

I jazzed up these frames that I put up every year.

I wanted to dress them up a bit for a display I did for my entertainment center.

For the frame on the left, I re-used my chipboard letter stickers from Thanksgiving to create the sentiment. At the bottom right, I used my "faux stamp" technique to create these christmas lights. I added a piece of gold wire to anchor the lights and give it a 3D look. I just adhered all the pieces down with some tacky glue and let it dry.

For the frame on the right, I used the same "faux stamp" technique and chipboard letters.

 

 

Here's a pic of the final project I did for today:

 

 

I love how this turned out!

I made a garland for the front of my entertainment center. The inspiration for the materials used came from my local dollar store. Hubby and I were there getting a few things when we came across this garland to hold your holiday cards. The lightbulb went off inside my head and I knew I had to try to make one. Luckily, I had all the materials at home. The string used for this project is a jute twine ny hubby picked up last week. I taped it to the front and added a bow and two ornaments at the ends.

 

 

The sentiment "Merry" was cut from my Cricut @ 4"and embossed using the D'Vine Swirls folder.

 

 

To attach the letters to the string I used wooden clothespins. I dressed them up by cutting a basic tree shape in various shades and patterns of green cardstock. For the trees, I used gel pens, hole punches and an embossing folder to give them added interest.

 

 

 

I adhered the trees to the clothespin base with some Scotch Quick dry and finished them off with the addition of a punched out gold star. And Phew! and Voila! my projects are complete!!

 

Any of these projects featured can be customized to fit your decor needs. I love the look of the garland and I plan to make a few more to hang up stockings and cards. But I hope you all enjoyed these projects today! I was definitely in the crafting zone today. Auto-Pilot probably describes my day best!! I'll end this post here for now and hope you all enjoy your evening and stay warm (for those expecting snow this weekend). I think I'll curl up with a hot cup of coffee, my snuggie and watch some crafting videos. Sounds like a plan. Peace!! :)

 

 

 

 

Ornament Card..!!

Hey Everyone!! Happy "Hump" Day! I can't believe this week is halfway over! OMG! Christmas will be here before you know it. I still have a ton of projects I would like to get accomplished for this week. I hope I don't spread myself too thin! Gotta remember to take it a step at a time! For today's project, I made a card for the holidays. This card was inspired by a talented artist who appears in the Simon Says Stamp YouTube channel! I find myself binge watching when I get a chance. The card that inspired this project featured a trio of patterned paper ornaments. I thought I could recreate this card and add my own spin to it. I'm fairly new to stamping and I only have a few stamps in my arsenal. But I really wanted to see how if I could recreate the look of a stamped image using a pen, stencils and watercolor pencils. I think I've achieved just that. You be the judge. Here's the pic of my "faux stamp" technique:

 

I think it turned out alright.

Here's the rundown of what I did:

 

To start off, I used a standard A2 size card base and layered a piece of green patterned cardstock cut at 4 x 5 1/4". I must of went through a few different patterns and colors before choosing this one. I inked around the edges using an Old Olive inkpad and adhered it down. Now for the ornaments that you see, I used a Christmas stencil that I own. I don't remember who makes the stencil but it features some fun Christmas themed shapes. To give the look of a stamped image, I traced the ornament shapes onto white cardstock. At first, I used a thin black marker to achieve this. It looked nice and I was happy with the look of it, till I started watercoloring. The outline bled through and mixed in with the colors I was using. So I went for a waterproof marker from Staedtler that I have. The marker tip was too broad and it didn't give me the look of a clean stamped image. So for attempt number three, I decided to use a regular black pen. I wasn't sure it was going to work at first but the pic speaks for itself.

 

Not only was I able to achieve a thin black outline mimicking a stamp but once I heat set it, it didn't bleed through. I did go over the outline a few times to darken it just enough. But I really like how this worked out. After I traced all the ornament shapes I wanted to use, I went back and added a few stripes and stars to dress it up a little. Once all that was done, I used my watercolor pencils to add some color. To finish them off, I added some stickles, ivory embroidery floss tied into bows and a gold gel pen to fill in the tops.. To attach them to the card base, I used pop dots to add a 3D effect and some more embroidery floss.  I like this technique it gives the appearance of the ornaments dangling on the front of the card. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment "Merry Christmas" on a layered banner that I cut on the diagonal. And voila! my card is complete!!

 

I hope you all enjoyed this project today! I'm happy with the final results and I will probably use this technique again. So stay tuned for more projects like this in the future. I will end this post here for now and hope you all enjoy your evening! I have to get my little girl ready for bedtime! Peace!! :)

 

 

 

 

Handmade Rosette Ornaments!!

Hey Everyone! Happy Tuesday!! Hope your day is off to a good start. I wanted to post yesterday but the day literally got away from me. As I mentioned in my last post,  my hubby decided to make this Christmas more about handmade rather than store bought. When it comes to the decor and the tree of course. So I have been crafting like crazy trying to come up with handmade ornaments for our tree. Now I understand why some people start this process months in advance. I'm already feeling the holiday rush so to speak and I'm hoping I can pull this off. So for today's post (which was meant for yesterday but I was pooped), I made rosettes in varying shades of green and red to adorn our tree. My hubby fell in love with the ones I made for our "Thankful" banner. So I made some over the weekend and I think they turned out nice. But I'll let you be the judge. ;) Here's the pics for your perusal:

 

Not bad, huh?!

I wanted to keep the design simple so that I could mass produce them.

I also set daily goals for myself so that I knew exactly what parts I wanted to complete and give myself a day to just assemble them.

I wish I could say this made things go smoothly but if you've heard of Murphy's Law "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong", you'll understand.

Here's a quick rundown of what I did:

 

Day One began by cutting 1 3/4" strips of patterned and regular cardstock in greens, reds and white. I used my Fiskars Threading Water punch to add a decorative edge. For regular rosettes, you have to score every 1/4" but with the threading water punch I only score between the scallops. I find this helps the scoring process, which can be tedious when you're making a whole bunch, go that much faster. So once you've scored all your strips, proceed to fold along the score lines using mountain valley folds. I used a little Scotch Quick Dry adhesive to attach the ends together. To help the folds at the ends line up nicely, I usually trim it a little. This helps you to overlap the ends without having any overhang. And to finish the rosette, I just hotglued it onto a 1 1/2" circle I punched. Helpful Tip: Hot Glue is the only adhesive that will work for this!! I've tried other adhesives when I first started making these and trust me they don't hold up! So with that said, did I burn a few fingertips off in the process? The answer is a resounding YES!!

 

So by the end of Day One, I had all my rosettes assembled, my fingertips singed and papers everywhere. Day Two rolled around and I knew I needed some centers to finish these off. So I headed to my Cricut. I cut out 40 2" circles from my George and Basic Shapes Cartridge. I then pulled out my holiday cartridge and cut the sentiment "Joy", Santa's silhouette, reindeer silhouette, bells, doves, and snowflakes. I cut them all out of white cardstock so I could watercolor the images. And the sizes for these shapes vary from 1 1/2" - 2 1/2". Once I had all these cut out and watercolored I adhered them to the centers of the circles using ATG and pop dots. I also stamped a few of the circles with some holiday sentiments I had. To finish off the centers, I used some gel and glitter pens to add dots and dashes around the perimeters. All that was left to do, was to attach them to the rosettes with hot glue. And ta-da, ornaments complete!!

 

Here are a few more close up pics for you to enjoy:

 

 

 

 

 

 I hope you enjoyed this project for today. It was a challenge making these. All totaled. I made 40 rosettes, give or take the first 10 that tore cause I got a little heavy handed with the scoring. But I'm sure I'm not the only one this has happened to . If I had to do it over, I would make these with only the Santa, reindeer, and Joy die cuts. Those are my favorites so far. I  just hope the tree appreciates all the blood, sweat and tears that went into these. For next year, I'll start my holiday planning in January that way if I'm making ornamnets, I'll have a good headstart. I think this is a good stopping place for this post and I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day! Peace!! :)