Throw Back Thursday: A Perfect Bullseye

Here’s a page I did back in 2012 … 

Last summer my husband sold a gun and used the money to buy a crossbow so he could go turkey hunting. He did it for me — I love the taste of wild turkey, but I hate the thought of picking out little pellets from my food. Matt knew with a crossbow, I could enjoy the flavors I love, peacefully.

The day he went to sight it in, I went with him and he let me shoot it a few times. It was the first time I had ever shot anything, so it was a big deal. More importantly, the day quickly became a special moment between husband and wife as we learned something new together.

Naturally, I was eager to scrapbook it and I began it several months ago using mosaic paper (click here for details …) but I got stuck on the title. I wanted something that reflected the importance of the day, but when my searches came up empty, I set the page aside.

Months later, I was airbrushing some flowers and leaves with Copic Sketch Markers. As I was putting away my supplies, I noticed the beautiful pattern created on the scrap paper I was using. The more I looked at it, the more I thought it would make a great background for my bullseye page.

I cut the scrap into a circle and then used my Cricut Gypsy to make the letters in the title a variety of sizes and then weld them together. Placed on a black background, I think the title really sticks out.

What do you think? Have you ever used scraps or leftovers to make something new?

Simply Stickers

When I was a child, I had a sticker collection. I kept them in one of those spiral-bound, magnetic photo albums and loved the opportunity to trade and add to my collection. It was all the rage in the early 80s and even though times changed and I outgrew my collection, I never seemed to outgrow stickers. In fact, they were one of the things that drew me to scrapbooking in the first place.

These days, my friends rarely use stickers in their scrapbooks. They prefer die cuts or flowers or buttons or just about anything except stickers. I understand where they are coming from. In the early 90s we all sprinkled our pages with tiny Mrs. Grossman’s stickers — a look one of my friends refers to as a sticker sneeze. Like a sneeze where tiny droplets go everywhere, we covered our pages with tiny cartoon butterflies in colors nature never intended. It’s a look that is not only out of style, but never had any basis in art whatsoever. There was no place to rest your eye; no focal point; no triangle — just an odd mix of photos and tiny stickers.

So, I understand why many of my friends cringe at the word sticker.

But, given the right style, the right attention and the right design, stickers can still participate in amazing scrapbook pages.

 

On this page, I used stickers for the title, as a journaling block, and as accents. They, along with the plaid and denim papers, are all made by Simple Stories and are part of their Summer Fresh line. I love this line and have used it on many projects and pages so far. It reminds me of days gone by when life was slower and simpler. And I love the color palate — yellow, red, denim, blue and green.

 

Here, I used a sticker border on the edge of the denim paper for a unique look. I love that they match perfectly — something not all companies can achieve. I also added a few word stickers to fill in a blank space.

Here’s another look at the border … the scallop is the sticker, the plain denim is paper. Simple Stories includes several fonts on their letter sticker sheet. I used two of them for the title.

The flowers and jars are also stickers.

 

And, since I like to alter everything, I used my Cricut to create labels for the jars after my husband made the pickles. Here’s a better photo:

 

I used the Preserves cartridge to make the labels both for the lids and the jars. The word pickles uses the Opposite Attracts font and I used my Gypsy to weld the letters together into a word. I used my Xyron to turn the words into stickers and adhered them to the labels.

Finding an adhesive that would stick to the jars was challenging, since they are not smooth. However, Glue Lines by Glue Dots seemed to do the job just fine.

 

Bunny Water: Updated

UPDATE: I can’t believe I completely forgot the most important part of this project.

Once finished, I coated the all of the paper and stickers with Glue ‘n Seal by Ranger. This product goes on white/semi-clear and dries crystal clear. It comes in either matte or gloss (I used matte). Once dry, it becomes waterproof. I know it is hard to believe, but I did a birdhouse some time ago and coated it in Glue ‘n Seal. It has been sitting outside in the weather ever since and although some of the papers have faded, there is absolutely no deterioration from water. It is amazing.

So, I coated these papers in Glue ‘n Seal, too, since there is no way to continually fill and pour from a pop bottle without dripping a bit of water. Thank you, Ranger, for another great project!

 

Our rabbits are not located near a water source. So, we fill up a container in the kitchen sink, take it out back and then fill each of the bunny’s water bowls.

My husband decided a 2-liter bottle works best (and he’s right). The cap prevents any spillage along the way and it holds more than enough water to wash out and refill the bowls.

But, looking at an empty pop container in my kitchen was not an option, so I altered it …

I used the Summer Fresh line from Simple Stories. It has that country feel that matches perfectly in my kitchen. (click on the photos for a larger view).

I removed the label off the pop bottle and wrapped it in the navy floral print. Since the circumference of the bottle is longer than 12″, it left a gap on the back side. I created a tag out of another sheet of paper and attached it so it looks like this …

Then I added a bunny I cut out with my Cricut and a variety of stickers to complete the look.

The word water was printed off of my Cricut using my Gyspy. The letters that make “bunny” are just some left over sticker letters from long ago.

I love how it turned out and I think I might be making another … though probably not for the bunnies. I think this is a great idea to create custom labels so the bottles of soda match the decor at your next party.

A Special Birthday Card

In a few weeks, my baby boy will be 21.

I know. I cannot believe it either. It seems like just yesterday I was meeting him for the first time.

I always thought I would be with my kids when they turned 21 and I looked forward to buying them their first drink. But, since my son is halfway around the world, serving his country at a Naval hospital in Guam, I won’t be able to share the special day with him. Instead, I thought I would send him a very special card …

This card was created by Kathy at Paper Phenomenon. You can follow her step-by-step directions, here …

It can be used as a mini-book, added to a scrapbook page or whatever. It’s super adorable and I’ve already made several. But this one I wanted to serve as a card for my favorite little boy!

It opens …

And opens …

and opens …

And opens …

And then it has three little tags that come out (I made mine with the Tiny Tabs & Tags Sizzix/Tim Holtz Die and the Cricut Gypsy & Old West cartridge).

I love it. It only takes one piece of 8 1/2 x 11 paper to make the base. Then I used scraps from Bo Bunny, American Crafts and Webster’s Pages, along with some leftover rub ons, Jolee’s and a few metal pieces from Ideaology.

Soon, it will be off to Guam to welcome my baby boy into adult hood!