Party Time Tuesdays "Christmas in July" Challenge!!

Hey Everyone!! Happy Tuesday to all!! I hope your day is off to a great start! I'm back with another great challenge for the Party Time Tuesdays blog! This week's theme is 'Christmas in July", so dust off those Christmas supplies you have and come play along with us.

 Stop by the Party Time Tuesdays blog, link up your projects and check out the awesome creations from our DT members.

This week's sponsor is Gauche Alchemy and they have a great prize pack for you to win.

Onward to my Christmas project for this challenge.

I made a simple wall hanging from mat board, patterned papers, die cut letters and a few embellishments.

Here is the pic for your perusing pleasure:

I cut three 4 x 4" squares from a 12 x 12" sheet of mat board.

I covered the front of the squares with these patterned papers from a DCWV "Stack 180" pack, cut at 4 x 4".

For the die cut letters, I used my Cricut and my Paper Lace 2 cartridge to cut them out at 3 1/2" out of a dark brown Kraft.

I inked the edges with a brown ink pad and added some highlights with a white gel pen.

I used foam tape to attach the letters to the squares.

For embellishments, I added some gold sequins, ornaments and poinsettias.

All that was left to do now was add my coordinating brown ribbon to connect my squares together.

And ta-da!! wall hanging complete!!

I hope you enjoyed this project today!!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the rest of your day and Peace!! :)

Re-Purposed Vintage Inspired Bottles!!

Hey Everyone!! Happy Saturday to you all!! I hope your weekend is off to a great start! It seems like forever since I lasted posted a project and I apologize for that. It's been crazy here with back to school just around the corner and all the Back To School shopping going on. I can't believe the summer, for us in Louisiana, is almost over. My girls head back to school on the 12th of August. So I hope to get myself back on a regular posting schedule.
Well, enough about that, let's get to today's project.
I watch a lot of tutorials on YouTube and subscribe to a lot of wonderful channels.
It was while watching one of my favorite channels that I came across this tutorial on how to re-purpose glass bottles and give them a vintage feel.
The artist by the name of Gabrielle Pollacco, took empty liquor bottles, paint, vintage papers and mod podge and created these one of a kind home decor pieces.
She has a tutorial on her channel as well as on her blog for you to check out: gabriellepollacco.blogspot.com
It inspired me to take some Perrier bottles I had and try this look for myself.

Here are the pics for your perusal:

To begin this project, you start off with any empty glass bottle you may have laying around.

Make sure the inside is clean and remove any labels with warm, soapy water.

Once your bottles are dry and label free, remove the top and paint the bottles with a layer of Gesso.

        And set them aside to dry.

Once dry, paint the bottles with an ivory or cream acrylic paint, 

which is what I used for the bottle in the middle.

For the other two, I wanted to try using other colors, like pink and teal.

I just added a little light brown acrylic paint to deepen the color a bit.

After the paint was dry, I used a brush and some watered down brown paint to flick the color onto the bottles, to create this speckled look.

I then took some free vintage papers I had printed from Sweetly Scrapped, cut them apart, arranged them on my bottles and used mod podge to adhere them down.

I also used a stamp set to stamp some images on the bottles.

I added some jute twine to the bottle necks, a key, some charms, and replaced the cap which I distressed using Gesso and brown paint.

And voila!! bottles complete!!

I hope you enjoyed this project for today!

I really had fun creating this look and I have them on display in a shelf in my home.

They make a wonderful home decor piece.

I have a few flower vases laying around that are screaming for a make over.

Well, maybe not screaming.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the rest of your weekend and Peace!! :)

This post is part of the Party Time Tuesdays blog, where you can find great challenges every Tuesday and inspirational posts from our fellow DT members.

Make sure to stop by and check it out.

Party Time Tuesdays Chipboard Challenge!!

Hey Everyone!! Happy Tuesday to all!! I'm back with another great challenge from the Party Time Tuesdays blog!!

The challenge for this week is to create a project using "Chipboard".

So make sure to stop by the Party Time Tuesdays blog to play along and check out all the great projects the DT members have created.

Our sponsor for this week is Gauche Alchemy and they are offering a great prize pack for you to win.

For my project, I made a bookmark using a few chipboard hearts, a manila tag and some flowers.

Here's the pic for you to check out:

I started with a 2 5/8 x 5 1/4" manila tag.

I covered the front with a piece of ivory cardstock.

I stamped a flourish stamp in grey and added a heart doily.

For the sentiment, "Be Strong, Go with Your Heart, and Believe in Miracles, Because Anything can Happen", I used a stamp I got from Michael's.

I stamped it onto a piece of white cardstock in Staz On, cut it out and colored it in using my R20 Copic marker.

I used my ATG to attach it to the tag.

To finish this tag off, I glued on my Chipboard hearts, some blue sequins, and flowers.

And ta-da!! tag complete!!

I hope you enjoyed this project for today!!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day and Peace!! :)

Feeling Sketchy Card Sketch #96!!

Hey Everyone!! Happy Tuesday to you all!! I hope your day is off to a good start. I'm back with another card sketch challenge from the Feeling Sketchy blog.

Here's the pic of Card Sketch #96:

This sketch is up and running now through July 31st.

Make sure to head over to the Feeling Sketchy blog to play along and check out all the great cards the DT members have created based on this latest sketch.

Don't forget there are also some great prize packs for you to win from this month's sponsors: Molossi- $30 Bling and Chipboard Pack and Aurora Wings- $10 Digi Stamps Pack.

Here is a pic of the card I made using the "Seahorse with Wings" Aurora Digi Stamp:

The card base is a 5 x 6" top folding card made from a sheet of Canson 140lb. Watercolor paper.

I masked off an area around the front of the card, about 1/2" in, with some washi tape and watercolored the background using my Recollections markers in Light Blue and Turquoise.

I used my heat tool to speed up the drying process and then went back in with the Turquoise marker, to create this cross hatch pattern.

I then went over it with a damp brush to soften the lines a bit.

( I learned this trick from watching a Jennifer McGuire tutorial on her YouTube channel.

This is a great trick to use when trying to recreate the look of water.)

After I had the background the way I wanted, I set it aside to work on the image.

I printed the image out on a sheet of watercolor paper.

I used my Recollections markers in Dusty Purple and Lavender for the body.

Seafoam for the belly, eye, top of the head and fins.

And lastly, Light Pink for the inside of the wings.

To give the seahorse a shimmery appearance, I brushed on Liquid Pearls in Lavender Lace on the entire body and wings.

I used Liquid Pearls in Bisque for the belly and inside of the wings.

I set the image aside to give the Liquid Pearls time to dry and then went back in with a white gel pen to fill in the spots found in the image.

Lastly, I added Glossy Accents to the eye and some more Liquid Pearls in Peacock.

Once the image was dry, I cut it out and used foam tape to adhere it to my card front.

For the embellishments, I added a sheer blue ribbon tied in a knot and some seashells.

I cut a small tag, stamped the sentiment "For You" and added it to the ribbon.

I also added some seagrass to the bottom, that I cut and watercolored.

And voila!! card complete!!

I hope you enjoyed this project for today!! 

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the rest of your day and Peace!! :)

Handmade Harbour "Teachers/Special People" Challenge!!

Hey Everyone!! Happy "Hump" day to all!! I hope your day is off to a good start! I'm back with another great challenge for the Handmade Harbour Challenges Blog. 

This week's theme is "Teachers/Special People".

Make sure to head over to the Handmade Harbour Challenges blog to link up your projects and check out the great projects the DT members have created.

Here's the pic of the card I made:

The card base is a standard A2 size made out of white cardstock.

I cut a sheet of black cardstock to 3 3/4 x 4 1/4" to create a chalkboard.

I inked the edges with a white ink and used my white gel pen to write the A++ and sentiment.

I also drew an apple, colored it in with a red gel pen and stamped "For You" in the upper left corner.

I matted my "chalkboard" on a piece of brown cardstock, cut a 1/4" bigger.

I used my ATG to adhere it to the card base.

For the bottom half of the card, I wanted to create the look of paneling.

So, I cut a piece of olive green cardstock to 2 x 4 1/4".

I cut 1" strips from the same cardstock, inked the edges with brown ink and glued them down leaving a 1/2" space between them to create this faux panel look.

Once I had my background for the card complete, I set to work on my image.

The image I chose for this card is the "Thank You Girl with Flowers", which can be found in the Handmade Harbour Store and it's image #526.

I used my Copics and Bic MarkIt markers to color it in.

Here is a rundown of the colors I used:

Skin- E00, E11, E13, R20

Hair- E13, E15, E18

Shirt, Rose, Galoshes- Bic MarkIt- Pink Flamingo, Fandango Pink

Pants, Tissue Paper, Hat Band- Bic MarkIt- Oceanview Blue, Blue Skies Blue

Jacket- Bic MarkIt- Margarita Green, Key Lime Green

Hat- C01, C03, C05

I added some highlights with my white gel pen and Glossy Accents to the galoshes and tag.

I used foam tape to adhere my image to the card base.

And voila!! card complete!!

I hope you enjoyed this project for today!!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the rest of your day and Peace!! :)

" A Cat's Love": Mixed Media Canvas!!

Hey Everyone!! Happy Thursday to you all!! I hope your day is off to a great start!! For today's project, I have a wall hanging I created for my daughter's room. It features a wonderful digital stamp I found online from MilkCoffee Stamps. They have an Etsy store with the cutest images you are ever gonna find. The one I chose for this particular project is called "Charlotte with a Little Kitten". I thought this image would be fitting since my daughter is an ailurophile aka Cat Lover. So, with an 8 x 10" canvas in hand, I set to work on creating a one of a kind art piece.

Here are the pics for you to check out:

For the canvas, I covered the entire surface with a sheet of patterned tissue paper I had.

I used some homemade mod podge to adhere it down.

I let it dry and then added some color using light blue and green acrylic paints.

I brushed the color on and soften the look with a baby wipe.

Once I had the colors just right, I set it aside to dry.

I wanted to add some texture and dimension to the background, so I stamped an "Art Text" stamp from Hero Arts, in a light brown ink.

I used some bubble wrap and white acrylic paint to stamp the circle pattern.

And finally, a scroll stamp from Fiskars to round it out.

Once I had the stamping done, I set it aside to dry.

I took a heart doily I had and mod podged it onto the background.

I also adhered a few Tim Holtz Ideaology Trinket Pins to the top and bottom.

I added a few flowers to the bottom and glued some pearls to the centers.

Once I had the base for the background complete, I set to work on the image.

For the image, I printed it out on a sheet of white cardstock and used a combo of Copics and Bic MarkIt markers to color it in.

Here is a list of the colors I used:

Skin- E00, E11, R20

Hair- E13, E15, E18

Shirt- Bic MarkIt markers- Key Lime, Margarita Green

Skirt-  Bic MarkIt- Oceanview Blue, Blue Skies Blue, Deep Sea Blue

Stockings and Shoes- Bic MarkIt- Cloud Nine Grey, Tuxedo Black

Kerchief- Bic MarkIt- Sunset Orange, Oceanview Blue

Cat- Bic MarkIt- Tiki Hut Tan, Tuxedo Black, Sunset Orange

I colored the cat to look like my daughter's cat, which was tricky. 

I wasn't sure I was gonna be able to pull it off but thankfully it worked out.

After the image was colored in, I cut it out and used some foam tape to adhere it.

I added a few die cut red hearts around the image to add a touch of color.

Now, all that was left to do was add my quote to the right hand side.

The quote I chose is from Charles Dickens, "What greater gift than the love of a Cat" and I used chipboard letters and Tim Holtz Ideaology Ransom alphabet to write it out.

I added some white highlights to the letters with my white gel pen.

And to finish this off, I added a few more pearls and some Heidi Swapp Butterflies.

And ta-da!! canvas complete!!

I hope you all enjoyed this project for today!!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the rest of your day and Peace!! :)

This post is part of the Party Time Tuesdays blog, where you can find great challenges every Tuesday and inspirational posts from our fellow DT members.

Make sure to stop by the Party Time Tuesdays blog and check it out!! :)

Mixed Media Layout!!

Hey Everyone!! Happy "Hump" Day to you all!! I'm back with another great Layout Sketch Challenge for the Feeling Sketchy blog.

Here is a pic of Layout Sketch #95:

This sketch is up and running now through July 30th.

Make sure to stop by the Feeling Sketchy blog to play along with us and check out the beautiful LO's the DT members have created.

Here is a pic of the LO I created for this challenge:

For this LO, I layered two sheets of cardstock as my base.

My background paper is a brown patterned paper from a DCWV "Timeless Texture" pack.

I used a 12 x 12" sheet of ivory cardstock from an American Crafts, Dear Lizzy, "5th and Frolic" pack, trimmed down to 11 x 11"as my base layer.

I distressed the edges of the ivory cardstock before adhering it to the brown background. 

To start this page off,  I laid out my photo and embellishments on the ivory paper and marked the placement with a pencil.

I then sponged around the area with a Pink Passion ink pad from Stampin Up.

I stamped an Art Text stamp from Hero Arts in a few places on the LO.

I then brushed on some white paint onto a square of bubble wrap and used it as a stamp to add some texture.

Once I had the background stamped, I set to work on the photo and embellishments.

I trimmed my pic to 3 1/2 x 4 3/4" and layered it on top of two pieces of ivory and Kraft cardstock.

I used a white ink pad and some waffle paper to ink the edges and stamp a pattern onto the photo.

To add some texture and dimension behind the photo, I mod podged a heart doily, added some gauze, some lace and ribbon that I dyed with reinkers.

I also added some linen thread from Stampin Up, wound it around my fingers and used Zip Dry glue to adhere it.

I used my ATG to attach my photo to the background I had created and dressed it up with some Recollections flowers and leaves.

For the upper left corner, I added the other half of the heart doily that I cut earlier and layered two torn strips of cardstock on top.

I used some Tim Holtz Alpha Ransom letters for the title "Baby Girl" and added some highlights to the letters with my white gel pen.

I added some more linen thread, a few die cut hearts and two Tim Holtz Ideaology Trinket Pins

to finish off the left side of my page.

To finish off the page, I used some Heidi Swapp Butterflies, pearls and a bead.

And voila!! layout complete!!

I hope you enjoyed this project for today!!

Thanks for stopping by and Peace!! :)

Party Time Tuesdays Color Challenge!!

Hey Everyone!! Happy Tuesday to all!! I hope your day is off to a good start. It's that time again for another great challenge from the Party Time Tuesdays blog!

The challenge this week is a Color Challenge:

Make sure to stop by the Party Time Tuesdays blog to play along with us and check out all the great projects the DT members have created.

There is a great prize pack to be won from this week's sponsor: Gauche Alchemy.

Here is a pic of a canvas I created using the colors for this challenge:

For this project, I used an 8 x 10" canvas.

I cut strips of red and white cardstock at 2", spritzed them with water, crumbled them up and dried them with my heat tool.

After they were dry, I laid them out flat, inked the edges with a light brown ink and mod podged them onto the canvas.

I cut a 4 x 4 " square of blue patterned paper, used the same techniques as the strips, inked the edges and mod podged it.

I set the canvas aside to allow the glue time to dry and set to work on the other elements.

For the soldier silhouette, I printed a silhouette image from my computer, cut it out and traced it onto a piece of black cardstock.

I cut it out and used foam tape to attach it to my flag background.

I traced the edges of the image with a white gel pen to create a few highlights.

I used my Cricut to cut out two rectangles for my dog tags and used foam tape and embroidery floss to adhere it to the background.

 I used Tim Holtz Alpha Ransom letters and my Cricut to create the "Let Freedom Ring" sentiment.

I went back in with my white gel pen to add a few highlights to the letters and tags.

And ta-da!! canvas complete!!

I hope you enjoyed this project for today!!

I thought this was a fitting project to honor the service members in our lives.

I hope you agree.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the rest of your day and Peace!! :)