Welcome Everyone!

Remember to "click" on all pictures if you'd like to see them a little closer.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Mixed Media Mayhem!

Hi everyone!

Maggi was hosting the Swirly Girls' Challenge this month and she was calling for absolute MAYHEM... with Mixed Media.  :)  I always dread mixed media challenges, but this one turned out to be quite fun.  It helped that I was working with the cute photo of one of my favorite pets, DaVinci, my crested canary.


So to start with, Maggi wanted us to use a stencil with molding paste.  I chose a beautiful damask stencil by The Crafter's Workshop and used Wendy Vecchi's Studio 490 Gold Embossing Paste.  Over that I misted some TA ChalkBoard glimmer mist called Decadence.  Maggi also wanted us to use a second stencil ... I got carried away and used TWO more:  The Crafter's Workshop, "Flower Frame", and Dylusions "Luis Leaves".


She also wanted us to use 2 different mists and make some handmade flowers.  Now THESE were fun.  I cut my flowers out of vellum using a Tattered Lace  die called "Lacy  Daisy".  I sprayed the solid piece with "Guacamole" mist by Art Anthology, and the lacy piece with Shimmerz "Goldie Lox".  Look how they curled when the mist hit them... no further distressing was required!



They were SO pretty when put together!


Now Maggi wasn't done with us yet!  She also wanted us to incorporate paint into our project.  Soooooo I painted the Dusty Attic chipboard frame around DaVinci with "Leaf" Sorbet Dimensional Paint by Art Anthology.  The glimmer and "goopiness" of that paint is wonderful!  (We got it in our Swirlydoos kit this month.)


Use a die cut, Maggi said, so I die cut some leaves using Die-Namites "Leafy Branch" out of vellum and cardstock.  The cardstock ones I painted with a yummy, fun to use, "Stamp Paint" by Viva Decor in Metallic Brown - so pretty.


Last, but not least, Maggi said use a stamp and do some embossing, so I made this sweet little stamped butterfly (using a stamp from Prickly Pear called Butterflies) on vellum using Versafine "Vintage Sepia" ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder.


It was a lot of work, but I absolutely love this layout!  I hope you have enjoyed seeing how it came together!!

I am going to enter it in the challenge on Die-Namites' blog.  I filled two of their requirements by using their Leafy Branch die and I also used vellum.  You can check out the challenge here.

Thanks for stopping by!
Enjoy the long weekend!!
Linda
  




Saturday, June 21, 2014

Swirlydoos Round Robin Tag #2

Hi again,

For my second tag that I did for the Swirlydoos Round Robin, I followed the lead of my team-mate, Kim Heard, and went with a Steampunk theme.

Graphic 45 made it so easy with their Steampunk Spells line of paper which I fussy cut the lady from and created the tag with.

To embellish, I used metal pieces from Prima's Junkyard Findings line and some Bo Bunny flowers (one of which I altered by adding a metal flower center to it).  The metal bird was from my stash.

We have a lot of fun with these Round Robins and anyone is welcome to come play with us.  Check it out here.  New teams will be setting up for July towards the end of the month.

Thanks for stopping by today!
Linda

Swirlydoos Tag Round Robin

Hi everyone!

We're having a GREAT time over at Swirlydoos creating tags this month!  I'm actually on TWO teams, so I have two tags to show you today!

This first tag was created with the Swirlydoos Bohemian kit which featured the lovely "Kaleidoscope" line of paper by KaiserCraft.


I learned a new background technique with paints that I used on this tag.  You simply take a piece of smooth white card stock or Bristol board and swipe paint dabbers across it in different colors.  (I will list all the products I used, at the end.)  Once that dried, I stamped an image  with black Versafine ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder.  This became the focal piece of my tag and I built everything up around it in layers of mats.


On a piece of light aqua cardstock, I created another piece of matting by embossing a background image with white embossing powder.


Supplies used:

Kaleidoscope patterned paper by Kaisercraft
Various bits and pieces from different "Collectables" packages by Kaisercraft
Butterfly Chapter stamp by Penny Black
Doily medallion  and light bulb by Prima
Doily #4 Rose die by Prima (which was cut in half)
Leafy Branch die by Die-namics
Adirondack Paint Dabbers:  Red Pepper, Mountain Rose, Terra Cotta, Butterscotch, Stream and Cloudy Blue

Check out my second post to see Tag #2!

Linda

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Submission for the May Arts Ribbon Design Team

Hi everyone,

The folks at the May Arts Ribbon Blog are having a Design Team Call, and as I LOVE ribbon, I have decided to submit the following projects for their consideration. Please wish me luck on my application for their team!


Project #1

This first piece is a tutorial that I did for Scrapbooker's Paradise back in April.  In my opinion, the beautiful silk ribbon bow pulled this whole project together and gave it that extra "ooomph" of elegance.

I wanted to make a "panoramic" matchbox similar to the panoramic eggs you see at Easter time.  To begin, I picked my image from the beautiful Graphic 45 6'x6' paper "Sweet Sentiments".  These images  are about 2-1/2" x 4", so I needed a fairly large frame for my cut out ... Prima to the rescue!  I then figured out the size my box needed to be, working from these two main elements.

I have made a template to show you how I created the match box.  (Remember to "click' on it to make it larger.)  If you have any questions about it, feel free to enter them in the "comments" box below and I will be sure to answer.  (I'm going to be on holidays from April 3-13 though and am not sure if I will have an internet connection, so my answers might be later in the month.)


Instructions:
1)  First cut your match box bottom out of regular cardstock, as per the template above.
2)  Cut your outside wrap out of a heavier material, such as cereal box board.  Score & fold (both the wrap and the bottom) on the dotted lines and cut on the solid lines.  
3)  Glue the box bottom together.
4)  Score and crease the wrap as you see below.


5)  Cut a piece of patterned paper to fit the wrap and glue it down using a glue stick.  (I used a piece of G45 "Botanical Tea" patterned paper for this part.)  Important:  if you're going to add a ribbon hanger as I did, glue it in between the cardboard and the patterned paper. Go over your folds again with a bone folder and make some nice creases.


6)  Figure out where you are going to have your opening, mark it on the back.


7)  Cut it out and ink the edges and folds of the wrapper with Distress Ink (I used Vintage Photo.)  (I didn't worry about how raggy mine looked, because I knew the frame would be covering it.)


8) See .... all pretty now!!


9)  At this point I knew I was going to hang my matchbox, so it could no longer be a "sliding" matchbox.  I glued it down to the wrapper, added a piece of patterned paper that was cut to fit the back, and then figured out the placement of my image and glued it down, centered behind the frame.  

Those two "blocks" you see are pieces of packaging that I glued down to give the box more stability, so the top didn't collapse in.  You could make yourself little boxes out of leftover cereal box and glue them down to serve the same purpose.  When you have your box bottom looking the way you want it, you can fold the wrapper around it and glue the tab down.


10)  Now comes the fun part ... go to town decorating!!  I wrapped the edges of the box with some rose ribbon I had, then got busy with some Petaloo flowers and some baubles from my stash.  

For the panorama inside, I added one of G45's lovely silver/white metal key hole pieces.  The beautiful butterflies are cut from a piece of  Bo Bunny "Primrose" patterned paper.  I used VersaMagic "Pixie Dust" chalk ink to give the frame a pale pink colour.


To finish things off I added a bow from silk ribbon that I have at home.  It drapes and ties beautifully.  I have to confess though, I use my Zutter "Bow it All" to tie the bows because I am all thumbs when it comes to tying bows!  :)



So, I hope you give this project a try.  It looks so pretty hanging on the wall and reminds me that Spring really IS coming, even though it keeps snowing and snowing.

Have fun creating!

Supplies used:

A piece of cereal box board

Project #2


Click HERE to see how I created the ribbon border at the base.

Project #3


Hanging Christmas ornament
Click HERE to see how to make it.


Shadow box to hold the hanging Christmas ornament.
Click HERE for instructions on making the shadow box.

Other Projects using ribbon:

Click on the picture to be taken to the post for further information.


Entered in Swirlydoos National Scrapbooking Day 2014


Also entered in Swirlydoos National Scrapbooking Day 2014
















Sunday, June 1, 2014

June Hearts of the West Blog Hop

Welcome to The Hearts of the West team blog hop - the June Edition!


This month's color challenge has been picked by Nancy Klein. Its' soft color pallet is perfect for this time of year. In order to keep it simple, we were allowed to choose a project of our choice.

You're in for a treat, so grab your coffee, sit down, and hop with the Hearts of the West ladies!



This is a circular blog hop - no matter where you start....  if you keep on going ... you will end up back where you started!  There is a complete list of participants at the end of this post .... just in case you get lost. 

If you came from Jackie's blog, then you're on the right track. 

When I saw this month's colour challenge, I thought of the Ariana patterned paper instantly and decided to make a layout from it.

I did some cutting from our Artiste Cricut cartridge for this layout.  The green mat was cut at 11.5", and can be found on page 61 in the Cricut handbook.  The coral mat was cut at 10".  It can be found on page 31.  The Crystal Blue roses were cut from the pattern on page 54, and their size is 2.4"

Thanks for stopping by!  Now it's time to hop over to Donna's blog.  If you wish to leave any comments or thoughts on the blog hop ... they are always appreciated.  Hope you'll be back again next month!

Freya Dunbar - http://freyassimplecreations.blogspot.ca/2014/06/hearts-of-west-blog-hop.html