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.

Thank You Card

I created this card for Linnie Blooms using the brand-new picket fence! Learn how I made it, here.

 

Birthday Card in a Box

My baby girl turned 21 on Monday.

I wanted to celebrate with something a little more special than just a simple card. So, I made her a card in a box.

I got the directions/measurements for making the box from Amanda Sevall Designs. Click here to get the directions.

I used leftover paper to cover the box. I added an anchor die cut and anchor washi tape because she anchors are special to her (they remind her of her brother who is in the Navy).

I stamped 21 with a Close To My Heart stamp set and then used a circle punch to cut them out. The Happy Birthday stamp is from Just Rite; the flowers and leaves are McGill punches; the feathers are from Bella Blvd.; the flourishes are from a Sizzix die and the heart is from Linnie Blooms.

 

Focus, focus, focus

That’s what I keep saying to myself. It is my word of the year. The word that will keep me on track, reduce my stress and allow me to make my business a success.

It is also a word I have trouble “focusing” on. I sit down to make a card. I glue on a flower, cut a piece of paper, then decide I need to look something up online, check my e-mail, play a few games, answer a question for a customer, get up to get a drink, do the dishes, collect eggs from the chickens, take a picture of the cats to post on Facebook, throw on a load of laundry and soon the whole day is gone and I have yet to finish one simple card. Then I forget about the card until I remember I have a deadline and then I stress about finishing it!

This may be my typical day, but I am sick of it. It is time to get my act together and FOCUS on getting things finished.

That is what I decided in December and again on January 1. It is now half-way through February and I am still working on staying focused. There are just so many distractions!

I thought if I kept the word in front of my face, it would help. So, I created this little 5×7 canvas in my favorite colors (they match my kitchen perfectly) to help remind me to focus.

I started by spritzing a 5×7 canvas and a Linnie Blooms pocket with Glimmer Mists.

I put them in a box on the way to the recycle bin to contain the mess.

While those dried, I coated some Linnie Blooms hearts with Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear Adhesive. (I used my finger to spread it around so I got the entire heart).

Then I covered each heart in Art Glitter glitter. I use a coffee filter to collect my extra glitter. It doesn’t stick to the filter and then I can pour it right back in the jar.

 

I set those aside to dry and turned my attention back to the pocket. I wanted the pocket to look puffy, so I folded up a paper towel and tucked it inside.

Then I followed along the front flap of the pocket with a bit of Designer Dries Clear Adhesive and coated it with clear glass glitter.

I used the same glue to attach feathers and the pocket to the canvas. I used the Tiny Attacher to attach the ribbon and burlap.

Then, I glued the hearts on the front.

 

I cut tags out of kraft paper using a Tim Holtz die. I then inked the edges with Distress Ink in Vintage Photo and then in Black Soot.

I added flowers, a metal clock (because this is all about time), a metal button, some twine and the word FOCUS in big black letters that I cut out with a Tim Holtz die. I also used some little sticker letters (also from Tim Holtz) to put the words To Do and Today on the tags. And that was it! Can you see how puffy the pocket is?

 

Here’s a close up of the corner of the pocket …

 

You can see how the adhesive dried clear and now you just see the chunks of glass for a pretty, soft sparkle.

Now if I can just stay focused …

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Valentine’s Day Card

This month’s challenge at Scrap It Girl is to use hearts on your project.

I wanted to create a card that was as masculine as possible, given that I was working with pink hearts!

I started with a kraft card as a background.

Then I cut up pieces of Authentique paper and layered them. For the top one, I added a bit of Distress Ink to the edges and used dimensional foam to pop the ticket.

I added a canvas heart from Linnie Blooms that I stamped with a Wendy Vecchi background stamp and Archival Ink. I hung the heart from a 7 Gypsies clip with a bit of wire and added a little more wire on the card as an accent.

Simple, but fun to make. What do you think?

Now, visit Scrap It Girl’s site and add your own heart creation. You could win some amazing prizes!

A bookmark for my birthday

Today is my birthday.

I was also due for a post for Linnie Blooms today.

So, I decided to make something only for me — trying a few techniques to see if they would work along the way.

Here’s what I created …

 

Head over to Linnie Blooms to find out how I made this wonderful bookmark.

Linnie Blooms Canvas Journal

Today is my second time as a guest designer for Linnie Blooms.

This time, I created a mixed-media canvas book.

 

Here’s a peek at some of the inside pages …

 

To find out how I created this book, visit Linnie Blooms’ Blog!

 

A Sparkly Christmas Banner

Today is my first post as a guest designer for Linnie Blooms. I created this adorable mixed-media banner using blank canvas shapes and my Copic Airbrushing System.

Then, I added a bit of glitter, Stickles, jingle bells, flock and more. I even attempted to sew a bit — OK, I cheated and taped the threads on the backside, but I did use a needle and thread.

Here’s the completed garland …

 

Head over to Linnie Blooms blog for a step-by-step tutorial, including a few tips I learned along the way!

Sneak Peek from Linnie Blooms

I was asked to be a guest designer for Linnie Blooms in December. I am so excited because this is a new manufacturer who creates fabric shapes, albums and other products perfect for mixed media art.

I wanted to see how Copic markers would work with the muslin cut outs, so I sacrificed one of the shapes as a demo piece.

 

First, I colored the entire shape with a Copic Sketch Marker. I was surprised at how well it colored … there were no streaks and the color blended nicely.

Next, I tried adding a second color. Blending the two colors wasn’t possible, but it colored over the original color well.

I used the Copic Blending Solution pen to create dots on the bird … it worked almost as well as it does on paper!

Finally, I used the air brushing system and a plastic stencil from The Crafter’s Workshop to airbrush a design. It turned out beautifully and none of my colors ran or got muddy.

I’ll be back on Dec. 9 and Dec. 30 to showcase my Guest Designer creations! I can’t wait.