Shabby Wall Hanging

So, I finished this project this morning.  But, photographing it was difficult.  I either had too much light, or not enough.  So, I went with the black backdrop in my photo-tent.

I used pattern paper from 4 different collections, which is four different companies.  The largest pattern paper is from a romantic pattern paper collection: The Primrose by DCWV.  The text paper is: A Night at the Theater, from Melissa Frances. The dictionary pages is from Stampin' Up!, and the blue polka dot paper is from the collection: Sky's the Limit, by My Mind's Eye.

I used only one stamp:  Love Lives Here, by Paper Trey Ink.  The sentiment is: Home, is where the heart is.

The house is stamped onto a beige card stock and heat embossed in white.  I machine stitched the house to a cut piece of cream felt by Paper Trey Ink.  I adhered the felt to a piece of blue polka dot paper from   .  I added a white resin frame that I sponged some kraft ink on the raised areas to show some detail.

I added a half doily to the left side of the frame.  I added a material piece to the right side of the frame.  I  used some tulle trim from Melissa Frances (GN580), a tea stained lace trim and some white crinkled seam binding from Tim Holtz.  I ran the three layers through my sewing machine to add some stitching.  I added a multi-loop bow made with the white crinkled seam binding, and held the bow together with a pearl and rhinestone broach by Melissa Frances (BR005).

I used white paper blossoms for the floral cluster.  I sprayed them with a Tattered Angels spray: Burnt Red.  I brushed on some picket fence distress paint and dazzling diamond glitter.  I cut some leaf shapes from the dictionary page and distressed the edges with the paint and glitter.  I added two tiny blue blossoms, that were distressed the same way.

I tucked in a few buttons, a collection of clear sequins, a trio of pearls, a linen banner piece, a tiny bottle cap, and a heart bingo piece.  This wall plaque, is clipped to a vintage inspired hanger.  

Vintage Celebration for a Friend

This week has been a flurry of crafting, cleaning, and organizing.  No, it's not my version of Spring, here.  But, you never know, it could just sneak up on ya!

I don't know about you, but when I craft something that I'm super happy with, I tend to use the same papers again.  I don't know if it's because they are still on my craft table, or if I'm just head over heels with the colors, patterns and embellishments.

I needed to make a few, ok 5, more cards for Mother's Day, for my very close girl friends.  We do alot of different things together: craft, travel, lunch, dinner, drinks, movies, and most importantly, support each other is whatever matters the most to us individually.

The wonderful gals over @ Just Us GirlS Challenge have a fabulous sketch for you to try this week.   This sketch has alot of potential for your creativity!  I'm using this sketch to make these cards.

here is their sketch:

here is what I made:

I did change the sequence of how the two pieces are layered.  The other thing I changed, is the tag corners at the top.  I didn't make one large tag shape for the main panel, but rather added photo corners to the top of the card.

I did add a tag.  But, I kept the tag for the main layered piece.  I selected vintage shabby chic digital papers for the majority of this card.  

I stamped the mother and child figure onto a matted tag with basic black classic ink.  I just love how this silhouette evokes a smile. 

The card base is made from Sahara Sand card stock.  I matted the ledger digital paper onto Blushing Bride card stock.  I used my sewing machine, to give the panel a bit of visual interest.  I cut another floral digital paper piece down and matted it with Blushing Bride cardstock.

I wanted to keep the matts of these two pieces the same, so they would 'blend' together.  The tag, however, I wanted to use a different color matt.  I felt that this would elevate the tag forward.

I used the Love Lives Here stamp set, to stamp the My Heart ... sentiment.  I used my Love You Mother stamp set to stamp the silhouette.  

For the sentiment flag, I used the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.  And for the tag's tag, I used the Lots of Tags stamp set.  

The embellishments were what I had on hand.  I used some silver glimmer paper to create the photo corners, and the heart shape.  I thought the sparkle really made the card 'shine'.  

I couldn't decide on using a crochet trim or a seam binding for the ribbon piece.  So, I used them both.  The crochet trim is wrapped around the main panel.  However, the pale pink seam binding is tied around the panel, and tied into a multi-loop bow.  

I added two buttons.  I love buttons {smile}.  I used a cream colored button for the tag.  And I used a clear button for the multi-loop bow.  I also distressed the clear button.  I didn't want to add a colored button here.  I thought the 'color' distracted you.  But the absence of a button made the card look like it was missing something.

Now, I need to finishing putting the other four cards together.  I'll be dropping these off at the post office tomorrow.  I secretly hope the same postal worker is there.  She loves my cards {smile}.

Don't forget, to stop by the Just Us GirlS Challenge to get inspired by their creative work! and I hope you get a chance to play along.  This sketch is really a lot of fun to work with!

~stop by Sunday, May 12th, for your chance to win some blog candy~

Buttons, Burlap & More

Good Morning!  It's Saturday, and I'm getting ready to tackle some house chores.  It might seem 'crazy' to be excited about that, but, it gives me a chance to not think.  Not think about work, bills, and other obligations.  to just 'do'.  No time frame, no restrictions, no requirements.   Clean.

Well, let me start by apologizing for being late on this post.  Linda over @ Our Creative Corner, is our hostess this week.  And she wants you to make a paper craft item using Buttons, Burlap & More.  Sounds pretty easy.  Sounds a bit vintage.  I can do this!  I knew what I wanted to do in my head.  So, I set out to my craft room.  Took out my burlap (I have 2 colors) and tried, and tried to make a flower.  I couldn't get my burlap blossom just right.  It was either too flat, or incredibly too bulky.  UGH! now what?  So, I decided to use both the burlap and the buttons as accents.  My card is pretty much clean and simple, but it has alot of character, without too much stuff.  

I had two scraps of this beautiful Nostaligia pattern paper left over, and decided that they had the perfect vintage charm I was looking for.  

Last week, I was tea dying some seam binding.  I also frayed both edges to help give it a worn look.    I had a few feet left over, so, I decided to add a piece of that.  The seam binding is rather wide, a good inch or so.  So, to help camouflage the width, I added a scrap piece of crochet trim to the middle.  To help 'use' some of that ribbon real estate, I hand sewn some buttons onto the card front with cream twine.

As for the blossom, I have a few beautiful paper blossoms from Prima laying around.  So, I added two different shapes and colors of burlap behind the paper blossom.  I thought it helped give it a rustic look.

I knew that I wanted to stamp the sentiment on the bottom right corner of the card.  I also knew that I wanted a large enough type, so it wouldn't look odd, or mis-perportioned.  So, I grabbed one of my favorite Paper Trey Ink stamp sets, and stamped the sentiment in basic black classic ink.  And since the sentiment mentions a 'heart', I made a heart too.  I cut the heart shape out of a scrap piece of Glitz pattern paper and chipboard.  Adhered the two pieces together, and then tucked the heart behind my blossom.

Thank you for stopping by.  I hope we have inspired you to play along with us @ Our Creative Corner this week.  I know we would love to see your wonderfully beautiful creations made with Buttons, Burlap & More!

Sew Loved

I hope that this Saturday finds you well.  Me, I'm doing ok.  My dog, not so much.  For those who don't know, she had both of her knees replaced Thursday, and Friday evening was her first night home.  I know that she is happy to be home, but my heart breaks.  She reptured both ACLs and tore her right menisuc.  Ouch!  And she isn't a little pocket dog that you can carry around.  She is an Old English Mastiff, and weighs in @ 157 lbs.  She's a big girl.   And so, my attention has been on her, and nursing her as well as I can.

Anne Marie over @ Our Creative Corner, is our hostess this week, and she has titled this weeks challenge, 'Recipe for Mom'.  Anne Marie, asks us to, "create a project for Mother's Day using the following "recipe": embossing (wet or dry), ribbon, buttons/brads, and watercoloring.

I have to admit, this weeks challenge was a bit of a struggle for me.

Here is what I created:

I used one of my small canning jars to make the pin cushion.  I used a tutorial from Andy, here.  I filled the jar with pink and red buttons, to match the material on the pin cushion.  I added a scrap piece of the same material and buttons to my card.

The pattern paper I used is actually from the same sheet, I showed both sides.  I ran the top piece of pattern paper thru an embossing folder, showing the negative side.  I stamped 'Home, is where the heart is' on the lower left side of the card with crumb cake classic ink.  I used a Paper Trey Ink stamp set: Love Lives Here.  

I made the button card with a Paper Trey Ink stamp set: Button Boutique.  I used a scrap piece of rustic white card stock and garden green ink pad from Close to my Heart. 

To make my happy mother's day tag, I used a retired Stampin' Up! stamp set: You're Loved.  I colored the stamp with watercolor crayons and spritz the stamp with water and then stamped the tag.  The sentiment comes from Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.

I wrapped the card with some Pink Pirouette taffeta ribbon and used a white brad to hold the multi-loop bow together.  I added half faux pearls to two opposite corners and to the tag.  That's my Mother's Day project.  

Thank you for stopping by.  I hope you have time to play along with us this week!

Growing Green

The weather here is finally nice.  And when I say, 'nice' I mean 70's.  I'm not a big fan of 100 degree weather, and yes, it can be too hot.  But, for now, the weather is wonderful and you can actually go outside and do stuff.

Marcy, over @ Our Creative Corner, wants us to create a paper craft item showing 'Spring in its full spender, using GREEN as your main color!'  Ok, I have to admit, the first thing I thought of was a bunch of stuff that looked like St. Patricks day left overs.  (Not that I have anything against St. Patricks Day.)  But just look at the inspiration board Marcy gave us!

So for some inspiration, I went on over to Seams A Little Sketchy, for help with my layout.  Here is their sketch for us to play with:

 For some reason, tax time was incredibly stressful for me, so I didn't want to make just a card.  I'm not sure I could make, 'just a card'.  Anyways, I altered a blank box.  And, I didn't use ANY seam binding.  I know, scary!

Here is the top of my box:

Here is an angled view of my box:

Ok, this box was really fun to make.  Second, it has a lot of my favorite products on it; just a wonderful collection of this and that.  The great thing, is I only needed one sheet of 12" x 12" pattern paper.  How cool is that?  I used a new paper from Kaiser Crafts, that had a vintage feel to it.  This paper is actually a green pattern paper.  So, all I really needed to do was find/create green embellishments.  

I stamped the framed sentiment and the front sentiment in black classic ink, directly onto the pattern paper.  To give the frame a worn look, I painted it with white picket fence crackle paint, and then swiped my silver stamp pad over it.  I inked all the edges of the white box with burlap distress ink and then randomly with my silver ink pad.  I added buttons, half faux pearls, and rhinestones here and there.  To showcase the architecture corner, I distressed the top paper and curled the edge inwards.  The extra large half faux pearl surrounded by rhinestones, is actually a Melissa Frances broach.  I have a pair of super duty scissors in my craft room, and I just cut off the clasp.  

Thank you for looking.  I hope your weekend is fabulous and you get a chance to enjoy the outdoors!

You know, its kind of funny, but now that I look at my box, I'm thinking the two yellow paper blossoms should be replaced with white paper blossoms.  Let me know what you think, as I will be posting this box for sale in my Etsy shop.

Thank you, to those who have left me some of the most flattering and gracious comments!  They really do make my day!

You're Sweet, Thank You

It's Tuesday, and I hope this week has gotten off to a good start for you.  Me, yes.  I'm really enjoying my day off from work.  No, I'm not sick.  Just a scheduled day off.  I have no plans to drive into town, and the snow has been falling for a few hours now.  So, it's good to be 'isolated' and no deadlines to get to.

For those who know me, I get up early, everyday.  Yes, even Saturdays, Sundays, and days off.  So, this morning I was looking at some of my bookmarked favorite blog challenge sites, and well I found three I can enter.  So, here they are:  the Sketch (lay-out) came from Card Patterns, the Color scheme came from CR84FN Color Challenge, and the 3-D/Template challenge came from Just Us GirlS.

Lets start with the 3-D/Template Challenge.  Just Us GirlS, wants you to create a 3-D item, using a template.  Easy peasy, right?  I wanted to create a card & gift in one.  So, I remembered that I had purchased a template from Adela Rossol, it was the Gift & Card Combo.  Just Us GirlS, also has a few requires, they want us to include: ribbon, button(s), and flower(s).  Sounds pretty, and girly, and that I can do!

I needed a color scheme to get going with papers and embellishments.  I headed over to CR84FN color challenge.  This week, they wants us to use Kraft, Yellow, and Gray.  Sounds pretty.  And if you look at the inspirational photos, there are butterflies, doilies, lemons and a heart.  I can use those.

Now, for a layout.  I headed over to Card Patterns, they always have a great design.  Easy to work with.  In their directions, they say you can rotate the sketch, so that is what I did.  I needed one that is vertical.

Here is what I came up with:

For those who know me, if you take away any company/manufacture restrictions, I can use just about everything in my craft room.  And with no company/manufaturer requirements, that's what I did!

Lets get started with pattern paper.  I used paper from Cosmo Cricket, Memory Keepers, and Melissa Frances.  (I used papers from my scrap box.)  The solid card stock is all from Stampin' Up!.  Crumb cake is the card base.  I did various matts in whisper white, going gray texture, and the inside 'gift' was made with very vanilla.

I used three ribbons total. For the outside of the card/gift, I used a crochet trim from Stampin' Up! and a polka dot Kraft ribbon from Paper Trey Ink.  On the inside, I used going gray taffeta ribbon and white bakers twine from Stampin' Up!.  

The butterflies were a collection.  The embossed butterflies are from an emboss-lit by Stampin' Up!, and the inside butterfly is actually a stamp I stamped twice (one on card stock and the other on vellum) from Paper Trey Ink.  I added half faux pearls from Stampin' Up! to the center of the butterflies, to help convey a girly, feminine 'feel'.

The buttons are a miss mash of Paper Trey Ink, Amuse studio, and CTMH.  For the buttons on the front, I sprayed  them with spray adhesive, and then dipped them in dazzling diamond glitter, by Stampin' Up!. I finished them off, with a spray of clear sealant.  (I didn't want the glitter to rub off, when I was working with them.)  

For the flowers on the front of the card/gift, I stacked a paper blossom on top of a fabric flower.  I hot glued this floral creation to the top of a gray heart cut from gray textured card stock.  I also distress the edges with some picket fence paint.  

The tag on the front of the card/gift, I cut from a die and stamped the sentiment in going gray classic ink.  I needed a small and simple tag, so not to distract from the pretty paper and embellishments.  I chose this sentiment, because I plan on putting candy inside the box, as the 'gift'.  How yummy!

I used the new frame dies from Stampin' Up! to create the inside window.  I stamped a leaf flourish in snow pigment ink and heat embossed the 'window' with clear embossing powder.   I added some kraft paper shred inside the box so you could see the white embossed leaves on the 'window'.  

The inside sentiment comes from Paper Trey Ink.  I added two hearts cut from the gray textured card stock to the inside, also.  One is under the embossed butterfly and the other is on the stamped butterfly.  I added half faux pearls to the butterfly bodies, to continue the design from the cover.  I tied a yellow heart-shaped button with bakers twine, to the gray taffeta ribbon. I will fill this box with my friends favorite candy: chocolate covered gummy bears.  

I opened the card/gift combo, so you could see the back of the 'card'.  I wanted to show you that I did pay attention to detail and use one large scrap to decorate.  I  also believe that if you continue the same elements and designs through-out your paper craft item, you will achieve a cohesive design with elements that 'belong' (because they are repeated). 

Thank you for looking.  I hope that you get a chance to play along in any/all of these fabulous challenges.