Welcome to my little corner of the web. I plan to use this space to share inspiration for crafty folk and anyone interested in the inevitable chatter of my daily life.
Happy New Year Friends. I hope that your holidays were wonderful and that you are looking forward to 2016 with an optimistic view. The holidays were busy around here as well. It's always busy when the children are home from school, my husband is home from work and everyone we know seems to pop over to say hello. Its a wonderful time of year that reminds me of our many blessings.
Between Skylander quests and origami overseeing, I had a chance to get a tiny bit of creative work done.
I created this beautiful card using the new High Society paper from Gecko Galz. The exact paper is HS09. I also used the beautiful image from the Pretty Portraits 2 Collage sheet.
You will need:
5x7 card base or cardstock to create one
Red cardstock of your choice (I used Bazzil)
Glitter glue
floral spray (I found mine at the dollar tree in with the Christmas decorations and chopped it up)
rolled roses
handmade hat pins
Making the Card:
Cut your red cardstock to 4 3/4 x 6 3/4 to create the large mat
Cut the High Society paper to 4 1/2 x 6 1/2
Cut red cardstock to 3 3/4 x 2 3/4 to create small mat
Cut image to 3 1/2 x 2 1/2
Create two rolled roses. I used the CTMH Artiste Cartridge and then inked them using Tattered Angels Glimmer mist in scarlet and cranberry.
Adhere large red mat to base.
Adhere design paper.
Arrange flower spray and paper roses and adhere to card.
Adhere focal image to small mat and attach to card using foam squares.
Insert hat pins under the edge of image or spray and adhere.
Using a fine tip glitter glue, trace the flourishes on the design paper.
Aren't the challenges on Gecko Galz so much fun. I wish that I had known about them sooner as I am having a blast creating all these new styles. This challenge was of course a Christmas Challenge. I really like the way it turned out. I find challenges that don't limit colour choice are much easier for me.
Material Used:
Gecko Galz Oh Christmas Saying OCS09
Do Crafts Denim Lace
American Crafts Cardstock
Close To my Heart Colonial White Card Base
Close To My Heart Artiste Cricut Cartridge Rolled Rose
Ebay Leave
Old Paper Distress Ink
Crayola Pencil Crayons
Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers
Stickles
Flat Back Pearls
I always start by colouring my focal image. It sets the tone for the whole card. Depending on the colours that come out of it determines what supplies I will use on the card.
Double mount the focal image on dark and then lighter blue cardstock creating a 31/2x31/2 square.
Cut a piece of cream cardstock 4 1/2 x 3 3/4 (I ran mine through my cuttlebug to add some dimension). Ink the edges with Old Paper Distress ink and attach it to a piece of dark blue cardstock.
Attach the blue lace to the blue and cream layer, securing the lace on the back with a piece of tape. Attach the layer to the card base.
Using Foam squares attach the focal image to the card base. Be sure to add a bit of extra pressure where the foam squares attach to the lace.
Arrange your leaves and rolled flower to the bottom left corner. Add three half back pearls to the bottom right of the focal image.
Admittedly I rarely work in gold. Its just so flashy and I tend to lean...bend...hang right over on the muted vintage coloured side of things. It is always fun though to pick up a challenge and run with it. You would have laughed if you had seen my husband's face when he came home from work and saw the gold foil card on my bench. I think he wondered if I was having a midlife crisis. Truly, that's how predictable my colour palette is.
Materials:
The card is 5x7 and I used a card base from core'dinations.
Colonial White Cardstock from Close To My Heart
Gold glitter mac tack from the dollar store
Berry Sprig from the dollar store
Cream Coloured Lace from Do Crafts Madame Payrauds collection
Focal Image Gecko Galz Angelica Stamp A06
Green leaves from ebay
First I coloured the image using a combination of coloured pencils and spectrum noir markers. I like the contrast that you can create with the shiny gold pencil crayon and the deep blue inks.
Once the image was coloured I set it aside for a moment and took the gold foil and attached it to a 51/4x 31/4 piece of cardstock. Trim the focal image to 5x3 and adhere it to the foiled cardstock.
Next I cut a 5x7 piece of cardstock and covered it with foil. You could put it directly on the card base if you are brave. I am not, so I used the extra cardstock. Cut another 6x4 piece of cardstock and and mount it to the gold foiled piece. Attach these to your card base.
Cut a 5 inch piece of lace and layer it on the left hand side of the card.
Using foam squares attach the mounted focal image to the card base.
Arrange your berries and leaves in the bottom left corner and you are done.
My new stamp just came in a few days ago and I have been dying to try it out. The name of the stamp is Lindsay and it is from Angel Wings Rubber Stamps. I have never used one of their stamps before but I was quite impressed by the fine detail and quality of the stamp. When I saw this stamp online I fell in love but was not really sure what I wanted to use her for. While clearing away some clutter from my desk I came across some glass ornaments that I have left over from a project last year and decided a Christmas Angel ornament for one of my besties was a perfect choice.
I used brown Memento ink as I was not sure exactly what medium I was going to use to colour sweet Lindsay and I figured that left the most options open for me. I started out by colouring with my pencil crayons only to find that 3/4 of the colours had been spirited away by aspiring young artists that love to play in my studio....and with my electric pencil sharpener. Needless to say, the project design was changed up as I could not see this little girl with green hair and an orange face. The entire dress and wings were done with plain old crayola pencil crayons and then I used my spectrum noir markers for her hair and skin. I found her eyes were extremely difficult to get right as they are impossibly small. I think that this is one of those stamps though that are just to sweet for one little spot to ruin the look. After she was all coloured I inked her with Tim Holtz distress ink in Tea Dye. I used a small amount of stickles on her wings.
I was so excited to be chosen for the 2016 Gecko Galz design team, that I decided to jump right in and create my first project. My fingers are still blue with ink but I was so anxious to share how my tag turned out that I did not even wait to clean up.
The image that I used of the little girl and also the Winter Magic Sentiment are part of the Winter Magic image set that is free with a purchase from the Gecko Galz Etsy shop during the month of December.
Use the iridescent paper for the smaller inset layer. Emboss using the swirls folder. Ink the embossed image as desired. Mount the layer onto the cardstock base. Attach lace to bottom of the card. My lace was quite thin so I used 4 layers of the off white lace and two of the blue lace.
Punch a hole in the top of your tag. Pull a piece of lace through the hole. Attach a paperclip at the back of the tag to hold the lace in place and then thread the other side back through the hole. Now your bow will stay put.
Next I printed off my Gecko Galz images using my HP inkjet printer. I used the iridescent paper for this but you could just as easily use the plain cardstock. I trimmed out the images I wanted to use for this project. Using my Sizzix I die cut the little girl image then inked the edges using blue distress ink. The Winter Magic sentiment I inked the edges with the blue distress ink and then rolled the ends in opposite directions to create a scroll effect.
Using the white tissue paper cut a chunk about 2 feet long. At one end cut several sections vertically 1/3 of the length. These will become your branches. Twist each branch as firmly as you can and then put a bit of glue on it to make it stay. When you get to the end of the small sections keep twisting and create the trunk of the tree. Again, apply a small amount of glue to help it stay tight. Allow the tree to dry thoroughly.
While it is drying stamp your leaves on white cardstock using the blue distress ink and cut them out. Once they are cut edge the leaves with more blue ink. Allow the ink to shade towards the centre of the leaf. Assemble your rolled flowers and ink them with blue distress ink.
Once everything is dry you can lay out the pieces to see where you would like it all to fit. Once you are happy with it, use liquid adhesive or hot glue to attach the pieces. Using the Pretty Pearls 3D paint go over the branches of the tree where you think snow would gather as well as a large dollop to cover the base of the tree and under the little girls foot. Use the Diamond glitter to create a frosty look all over your flowers, leaves and tree. Let the tag dry well before moving. Enjoy.
Did you get in on the amazing giveaway generously donated by the wonderful Lynsey Jones Owner and Creative Genius of Party Plan Divas?? Well our winner did, and she will be receiving the Party Plan Divas Party Planner. That's allot of "P"s.
Our winner is:
Thanks again Lynsey Jones for supporting this giveaway. If you are in direct sales and are not Anita Brown :) You can still order a copy of this planner from Party Plan Divas. There is so much information available on Lynsey's site you will be ready to explode your business in 2016.
This year has brought about some interesting trends in the papercrafting industry. People have moved on from Smash Books and Project Life to simpler forms of expression like adult colouring and paper doll making. Its incredible the amount of interest that these new colouring books have stirred up. I was at a show on Friday and all the vendors were discussing this new fad. Its really not a new fad though when you think about it. Stamping and scrapbooking have allowed people the guilt free opportunity to colour for a very long time. Why now are the colouring books specific to adults flying off the shelves? Its actually quite simple. We are all stressed. Not necessarily the depression, anxiety invoking type, sometimes its just our daily pace that causes our body or more importantly our brain to feel overworked. When we colour our mind is forced to focus on the small decisions required to complete the picture. The selection of colours, the type of medium to use, which picture to colour, all of these small decisions relieve our brain of having to tackle the larger issues in our life. Its like a mini vacation for our mind. Adult colouring books are being recommended by art therapists because of the therapeutic value they provide.People that were ruminating over health issues or personal problems felt immediate relief from just sitting down and colouring. It certainly does not have to be any particular book. Choose a book or even print off a free page that is the most detailed that you are feeling confident in tackling. For me, colouring the Prima Doll stamps provides me with the same calming effect as colouring the more detailed books. Find something that is of interest to you and give it a try. They are also great gifts for just about everyone on your Christmas list.
Its time for Christmas gift projects at the library already. Whoosh where did the time go? This year I really wanted to do some type of mixed media project but as we are limited to 2 hours for the class I was a bit stumped. Luckily I spoke to Vicki Gee at a crop last month and she helped me work the details out in my head.
Women Empowering Women. That is the name of the local networking group run by Karen Tweedy Independent Director at Thirty-One Gifts. I love the name but I love the experience even more. Karen and I share a common passion for helping other Women achieve their dreams. Sometimes that means dragging them through countless social media tasks, sometimes it means celebrating their achievements over hot chocolate at Panera. The reason that this group is so effective is that we not only openly share our best marketing and sales ideas, we boost each other's confidence and gently nudge them closer to their goals. The group keeps us motivated, and accountable. That is something that is lacking when you are a one woman shop. I just want to thank all the members of the group for their ideas and support. I encourage all of our Independent Business women to find a tribe of women and start empowering one another.
Another great woman that is devoted to lifting other business women up is my friend Lynsey Jones. She owns a company called Party Plan Divas. Lynsey has devoted so much time to creating wonderful videos with tips and tricks to help people build their business. Lynsey has chapters of her Divas all over and she is heavily involved in assisting each chapter reach their goals. Lynsey is busy with promoting all her Divas in the Christmas Gift Guide right now but she is going to be joining us on the blog to discuss issues affecting women entrepreneurs in the near future. In the meantime, Lynsey will be sponsoring a giveaway of one of her amazing Party Plan Diva Agenda's. All you have to do to enter is sign up for her daily party plan tips email. (I have been receiving them for years and she has brilliant tips) as well as signing up for my monthly email list. Pretty easy right.
This is an older video that explains the planner. It was the first planner designed specifically for Party Planners. (Direct Sales).
Don't you just hate it when technology issues mess with your plans. For whatever reason blogger would not publish yesterday. I tried well into the night and no luck. I decided that the best thing to do is combine the two posts (yesterday's video and today's project.) So it will be like getting to watch a whole season of your favourite show on Netflix. Ha. Well close enough.
This is the video showing the Heartfelt Creations Stamps and Dies that arrived yesterday.
This is the project we are working on tonight in our scrapbook club.
Supplies Used:
Twig & berry Paper Collection (Kaisercraft)
Twig & Berry Diecut Pack
Heartfelt Creations Sparking Poinsettia Stamps
Heartfelt Creations Sparkling Poinsettia Dies
Ruby Rock It Christmas Ribbon
Close to My Heart Ruby, Barn Red, English Ivy, Ponderosa Pine and Honey Inks
Ground Espresso Distress Ink
Flat back gems from Ebay (I paid 24 cents and it was free shipping)
We don't have satelite or cable at our house because I felt it influenced the children too much and put them into the whole commercialization loop. Somehow though I don't seem to apply the same principle to my own viewing habits. I watched a video from Heartfelt Creations the other day and ended up ordering all the supplies that they they used. I could not help myself, I had to have it.
Here is my shopping list from the other day:
SPRK POINS-CUT & EMBOSS DIES
SPRK POINS-CUT & EMBOSS DIES
LARGE PNST-CLING RUBBR STMP SET
SPRKL PNST-CLING RUBBR STMP SET
PNST NOTES-CLING RUBBR STMP SET
SPRK POINS-HEARTFELT PAPER COLL
Thats right, I purchased both sets of dies, the coordinating stamps, the background stamp and the paper collection. Now I am stalking the UPS guy because I can't wait to get my hands on my new toys.
This is the video that did me in.
I am hoping that the delivery will arrive before Thursday so that I can incorporate these beautiful flowers into our club layout this week. We will be working with the "Twig and Berry" collection from Kaisercraft.
Last week we were fortunate enough to have the talented Denise Marchetti share her beautiful Prima Doll Calendar with us. I was so impressed with Denise's talent that I decided to delve deeper to learn more about this creative mind. You will not believe what Denise really does with all that talent. REBORN BABIES! Have you heard of these. I only learned of them about a year ago when someone posted on facebook about having adopting a doll. I am a child of the eighties so I was an adoption certificate carrying Cabbage Patch Mom. I followed up on the link to see what the fuss was about. Honey, these aren't our Cabbage Patch kids.
Check out some of Denise's Work:
Denise does not have any reborn babies waiting to be adopted at this time, but if you want to be placed on her adoption list follow this link Hand"D"Creations. There is also an amazing look into the hours it takes to go through the process of creating these sweet dolls.
Late last night I was inspired when a mini canvas fell off my bench and onto my toe. Hey some people are inspired by apples hitting their head...for me a good swift knock on the toe does just fine. I made the decision that I have too many half finished projects lurking in my studio. One would think that I would have come to that conclusion before hurting myself, but potato p-a-t-a-t-o. I got out my Prima Doll stamps and an old pad of DCWV paper, a few Prima flowers and flourishes and some Basic Grey Rub Ons and Voila....my mini canvas masterpiece was born.
Here is what I did:
I had previously painted the canvas a blotchy mix of pink and white acrylic paint.
I sanded down some of the areas of the canvas so that the texture showed through.
I used the white rub ons and my bone folder to put the flourishes in the upper centre to right side of the canvas, trying to have as much show through were I intended to place my doll.
Using a plain white paper doily cut in half I created a half moon on the right centre of the canvas.
I had some Prima Say It With Crystals flourishes in the studio so I used one in the top left .
I had some left over scraps of a crocheted doily from our club layout from a few weeks ago so I used it to create a sort of base to ground all the elements at the bottom of the canvas.
Silver filigree and some pretty Prima flowers were added to the crocheted doily pieces.
Using the "Always be your own kind of wonderful" stamp from Close To My Heart, I stamped my sentiment with black Memento Ink and then coloured it with cotton candy ink (which I applies using a makeup sponge).
I popped the sentiment up on foam squares and then finally adhered my pretty Prima Doll. She is inked using Tattered Rose Distress ink.
Thats It. As my little guy would say "easy peasy, lemon squeezy".
The second mini that I created with the paper was actually the one I started with. I loved the whole idea of the teapot shape and the cute embellishments. Somewhere though along the way I lost my mojo on this project. Luckily I have great inspiration on tap from the Facebook Group 4 Gs (Girls, Grins, Glitter and Glue) They came up with some brilliant additions to finish this project off.
Here is where it sits now:
Don't mind the shaky hands. I have an anxiety disorder and sometimes I am a bit shaky. Also I saw on a video by Crafter 45 once that people are distracted by wounds that are unexplained. The scratches are from my big sucky King Shepherd Titan who thinks he is a lap dog. At 120lbs I beg to to differ with him.
I admit that I am a paper hoarder. Honestly though, if you are going to be a hoarder, don't you think scrapbooking supplies is a wonderful thing to collect? This week, well the last couple of months on and off really, I have been enjoying the fabulous Fabscraps High Tea Paper Collection. No really, I bought the whole collection.
Uhmmmm, two of the collection really but who's counting. I love the theme (come on High Tea...My Grandma's Teacups) and the designs are so beautiful. I have only worked my way through a small portion of the first kit and have already created two really fun mini's. This is the first. It is an 8x8 chipboard mini.
Oh my goodness, I feel like I'm losing my mind! I intended to share these pictures last Friday but somehow got sidetracked. On the bright side, they're up before Christmas!
We explored the **Docraft Ultimate Vintage Diecuts Pack** (now sold out), featuring 60 pages of vintage images. This kit is so extensive that we're using it across three clubs. We paired it with **Anita's cream textured 5x7 card bases**, which are excellent quality and come in packs of 20 cards and envelopes.
We made 10 cards total. 2 each of 5 designs.
We used a little bit of glitter glue and a pinch of glittery washi tape to glam up the cards. Some of the ladies also used embossing folders and distress ink. The card with the Angel is best completed using medium thick foam squares. My first one had really thick squares and it was really bulky looking. Our next card club is not until the end of November so you will have to check back to see what else we cook up. In the meantime be sure to follow my Cardmaking board on Pinterest for lots of inspiration for your own cards.
One of the absolute best parts of having a craft business is that you meet the most talented people. The other day I was fortunate enough to have Denise Marchetti in my studio. Denise was telling me about this amazing calendar that she had created using her Prima Stamps. I was intrigued and she promised to share pictures of her masterpiece as soon as possible. Well guess what, she sent them to me Thursday. So knowing me as as you do, of course it took me until now to to get everything organized to share them.
Here we are: Denise Marchetti's Prima Doll Calendar.
January, is birthday theme as my daughter and granddaughter are both January babies I used anything I had on hand that would go with my theme.great idea to use scraps and from your stash!
February: Valentine's Day
March: Easter is in March 2016
April: Vacation theme
May: Bring in May flowers from stamps I have
June: Used stamp of the month from close to my heart and SU lovely as a tree
July was paper piecing to create a scene at the beach
August is stickers from leftover packages I had
September is back to school
October: My favourite one is large spider web stamp embossed with black and then spiders are from die and so are pumpkins
November: Leaves falling (some distressing and inking)
December: Waiting for Santa santa in window is fussy cut from paper and then place behind acetate and then window die cut.
I used copic for most skin tones but 2 are done with watercolours.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful calendar with us Denise. It is wonderful to have a chance to see the versatility of these adorable stamps.
It's so sad that I have made such a cutie patootie album and have no new babies in my life. I thought I would share how cute it really is before I send it off to ebay land hopefully to the delight of some new Momma.
Here is what I used:
Fabscraps Baby Bear ChipBoard Album Fabscraps Baby Bear Paper Line Thick mulberry paper Googly eyes Close To My Heart New England Ivy Recollections Green Velvet Trim Reclaimed Lace from My Grandmother's Sewing Box
When you have a blog you tend to read a lot of information about blogging. Its so much more than just typing random thoughts onto a blank white screen and hitting publish. Well, for some people I guess that is what they do but I am interested in the actual art of blogging. You know the creative process wherein other people invest themselves in your content because they feel that you are providing them with value, knowledge, inspiration and sometimes just a smile. This post I hope does the latter.
On Saturday I packed up my 1/3 of my craft store and hit the road to be a guest at the crop of Angie McColeman in Kingston. I agonized over what would be the best selection to take to show all the talented croppers in attendance. I must have packed 6 times to get ready. A little Graphic 45, a little Julie Nutting, a splash of Kaisercraft so the ladies could recreate our Magnolia Grove layout from last week....I even took a couple of Colouring Books for Adults. As a last minute idea I threw in my box of fabscraps chipboard pieces which turned out to be a huge hit.
I took a quick glance at google maps thinking that I knew whereabouts the crop was being held. By 8 am I was packed and ready to leave. My hand packed lunch that my 12 year old son provided for me in hand. By 8:12 I had my copilot picked up and loaded. We were off on another whirlwind adventure.
Well, as it turn out I did not know where I was going as well as I had thought I did. We ended up somewhere north of Odessa at a lovely Free Methodist Church. The parking lot was filled with well dressed ladies....that tipped me off that perhaps I had taken a wrong turn in Albuquerque (is that a real place) No offence ladies but we all know we dress for comfort when we are heading to a crop and this high heal wearing, matching scarf and purse crew seemed a bit to put together to be planning on spending the day playing with paper. I consulted with my cohort and we decided to seek assistance from our friend that was already at the crop. Of course she was too busy cropping to check for our SOS texts. We resorted to asking the first person that walked near enough to hear our pleas to give us directions to our destination in Kingston. She actually pulled out a paper map which honestly I don't think I have actually seen anyone use for directions in years.
Thankfully it was a short jaunt to get us back on track and we managed to make it to the crop a mere 15 minutes late.
We were welcomed with such warmth and hospitality that I wondered why it had taken me so long to decide to make the trip. It was a wonderful day of chatting with such creative minds. I felt like my craft tank was overflowing with inspiration. I also made some wonderful connections with local crafters that will be guest posting their projects on the blog. Yay for us!
The very best part of the day was reconnecting with a dear friend that I had not seen in years. I forgot how much I missed chatting with her.
This wonderful experience has motivated me to take my little shop on the road more often. If you are looking for a mobile craft store for your next crop give me a holler. I would love to get out and meet all my you crafty ladies.
This article contains affiliate links which if you purchase the product I get a small commission.
Last week my new collection of Spectrum Noir Markers arrived. All except the cool greys which are on backorder....I guess a lot of people are busy drawing the dreary skies. I was unsure whether I would like them as well as my Copic markers or my ShinHan, but now I am convinced that this is the maker collection I have been dreaming of. You dream of markers too right, it's not just me?
#1 There are all these beautiful colours to use
#2 The reinking system is so easy
Each bottle has a dropper cap and will refill pen at least 5 times.
#3 You can get different styles of nibs to suit your colouring style.
These next generation replacement nibs fits in the chisel nib end of the Spectrum Noir markers.
#4 They are less than half the price of Copic and ShinHan Markers
#5 They offer free instructions and video tutorials to get your accreditation. This is very cool as it costs allot of money to take the courses you need to get Copic certified. They give you a certificate and a blinky to show off on your blog.
They feel really nice when you work with them. They are large enough that you feel like you have good control while you colour and the grip is very comfortable. I really like the nibs that come with the pens so i am unlikely to switch to the brush nibs. The colours are deep and vibrant and the colour palette is wonderful.
I don't regret switching over to the dark side at all and I don't think you will either.
Some posts on this blog contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission whenever a product is purchased through these links. All opinions expressed on My Grandma's Teacups are solely my own, and I only suggest products or services that I believe will be helpful to you, readers.
