Willis Family Photos

The challenge for Mosaic Moments this time was to be inspired by Pride and Prejudice.

Here is how my page turned out …

To see my inspiration and how I created this page, visit Journella, here.

Simply Stencils

I love playing with stencils. They are inexpensive, come in thousands of different patterns and have millions of uses. For this month’s challenge at Scrap It Girl, “Things with Wings”, I grabbed some brand-new stencils and went to work …

I started with a sheet of white cardstock and inked a circle with Distress Ink using a new template by Colorbox. Then I filled in with sides and bottom with Distress Ink.

 

Next, I taped The Crafter’s Workshop stencil with washi tape. This both holds the stencil in place and masks off parts I do not want to ink.

Then I used a finger daubber and Ranger Archival Ink in black to stencil the image. I moved the stencil a few times to ink the entire card.

 

Here is the finished background …

Next, I inked the birds … these are wood pieces from Unique Laser Designs.

After they were inked, I covered the top with Glastique to make them rich and shiny.

And then I used Designer Dries Clear adhesive to glue them to the front of the card.

I think this is perfect for a guy or nature lover. It would be a nice thank-you card, sympathy card or get-well-soon card, don’t you think?

Now it’s your turn … create a project with wings and enter it at Scrap It Girl. You could win a fabulous prize if yours is chosen as the best! I cannot wait to see what you create!

 

If April Showers Bring May Flowers, What do May Showers Bring???

We have been hit with a lot of rain this month. In fact, we got 4″ of rain in one day and 2″ more later in the week. Our rivers are flooded, our lakes are flooded and things are wet everywhere.

Fortunately I managed to find a few hours between the rain storms to photograph some spring  flowers.

Here is the page I created showcasing the flowers. Get complete details and discover how I created it, here …

 

Be a Designer of Dreams

I’m on the Linnie Blooms blog today … hop on over there and see how I created this adorable, little wall hanging.

Tombow and Elizabeth Craft Designs Blog Hop

Welcome everyone to the Tombow and Elizabeth Craft Designs Blog Hop.

If you have arrived here from the Tombow Blog, then you are in the right place!

If not, you may want to click here to start at the beginning. When you visit each blog on the hop, be sure to leave a comment. Then, “Like” the Tombow Facebook page and “Like” the Elizabeth Craft Designs Facebook page. One person who comments and likes will receive an amazing package filled with wonderful and unique prizes …

The project I would like to share with you today is a card I made with Peel-Offs and Silk Microfine Glitter from Elizabeth Craft Designs and Tombow Markers.

I started with Big Flowers Peel-Offs and, using Double-Sided Adhesive, coated them in Silk Microfine Glitter in Cool Diamond.

I cut out the images and then began coloring them with Tombow Dual Brush Markers in colors 856, 933 and 993. I colored sections of the flower with one color, then dragged the neighboring color into that color for a beautiful blend. It was super easy — no water or blending solution needed to create perfect blends.

For the center, I colored it in 992 and then added dots in 977. All of the colors were included in the Secondary Set of 10 markers. It does take a while for the markers to dry, since they are on glitter. I let mine dry overnight (I tend to use a lot of ink) and it was fine.

Inside, I added one additional flower and “Get Well Soon” cut from a die.

The papers are all from Stampin’ Up and I used a bit of Distress Ink around the edges.

I used the Curvy Leaves Die for the leaves on the cover.

I hope you enjoyed my project for the Tombow & Elizabeth Craft Designs blog hop. Don’t forget to leave a comment for your chance to win!

Your next stop is Jacqueline Smith . Have fun!

 

Help! They’re Molting!

If you have never noticed a molting chicken, you are in for a treat. They look rather ridiculous as they lose feathers and slowly replace them.

I recorded the event this year on this spread for Linnie Blooms Designs.

For a closer look and to see how I created this page, click here.

 

Green Door Studio

One of my dearest friends and her daughter have opened a new business in Brighton called Green Door Studio.

It is an adorable shop filled with repurposed furniture, handmade crafts and hard-to-find items like vintage windows and drawer pulls. The store also has two classrooms so people can hang out and work on their own projects or take classes from several different teachers, including me!

When the store opened, I wanted to take something as a bit of a congratulations gift. Knowing the store’s (and my friend’s) philosophy on recycling and being “green,” I made this little vase out of a jelly jar (one that actually came with jelly in it, not one of my canning jars).

To make the label, I pulled out a manilla tag and cut off the tag portion and used a corner punch to round the edges.

I swiped three shades of green Distress Ink onto my non-stick craft sheet

and spritzed it with water.

Then I placed the tag upside down and swirled it around in the ink.

I dried it with a heat gun and then swiped it around in the ink some more. I dried it again and repeated the process a few more times until I liked the results.

Then I inked the edges in Vintage Photo Distress Ink

and then applied a bit of Black Soot Distress ink to the very edge.

I added stickers from Authentique and stamped the word Congratulations on the label and then stuck it to the jar. Next I added some Tissue Tape from Tim Holtz, a bit of twine and a button (Stampin’ Up) to the rim of the glass.

As a final touch, I glued on a wishbone from Tim Holtz for good luck.

I filled the jar with water and some freshly cut basil from my garden — I love how good it smells — and took it to the new store on opening day.

To see when I’m teaching at her store in Brighton, click the calendar on the right. Or visit her blog at thegreendoorstudio.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You Make Me Smile

This challenge for Mosaic Moments was to show the things that make me smile. There are so many things that make me smile, it was hard to pick … so I opted for the biggest and most important things …

And, yes, that is one of my new baby turkeys. Isn’t he/she cute?!

To see how I created this page, click here …

Do dies get you crowing?

It’s June 1st and that means it is time for another challenge at Scrap It Girl.

This month, the theme is dies. I used an old Cottage Cutz die to create this adorable card …

 

I started by cutting the die multiple times with different colors of cardstock:

Then, I inked the edges with Distress Ink to give it a bit of depth. I completely covered the comb so it would be a different color red than the tail feathers. I then added a bit of color to the cuts in the dies with a gray pen. For the eyes, I attached a piece of brown cardstock to the back. Then I assembled the rooster Next, I assembled the card using cardstock and Best Creations paper. Glittered paper is sometimes hard to adhere to. So I used Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear Adhesive when attaching the pieces to the glittered portion of the paper. Then I thought the rooster needed a bit more definition, so I made country stitch marks with a black pen.

Finally, I added a stamp from Darcie’s. Didn’t it turn out cute?!

Now it is your turn.

Create something — a card, layout, mini album, altered art — using dies and post them on the Scrap It Girl website. The best entry will win an amazing prize package that includes Spellbinders dies!

You have until the end of June to enter … get cropping!

 

 

I’m unlaced

This challenge for Mosaic Moments was particularly challenging for me.

Although the sentiments I placed on the final page were not revealing, it brought about all sorts of thoughts that left me feeling very vulnerable and exposed, or unlaced as I called it here …

Click on the image for a closer look and click here to read the story behind this challenge and why it was so hard for me to do …