Riding Along

My husband recently celebrated his 43rd birthday. This is the card I made for him ….

To see how I made this card, visit the Elizabeth Craft Designs’ Blog … I am featured today!

By the way, Matt & I did take a ride to celebrate his birthday … to Clarkston, a town neither of us had ever been to before. He wanted to try the Union Woodshop, an  award-winning restaurant that was featured on “Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives” and a favorite hangout of Kid Rock.

 

The food was amazing … I had pulled pork, smashed sweet potatoes and greens. Matt had the “non-burger” burger (he says a burger must have beef) made with pulled pork, homemade spicy sausages and homemade smoked maple bacon that was featured on the TV show.

I cannot wait to scrapbook the rest of the photos from his birthday dinner. It was a nice spur-of-the-moment trip.

 

 

Tour the National Parks

Wow! Time sure does fly!

Between deadlines, not feeling well, starting up a business, teaching and working on projects I cannot share right now, I have not only neglected my blog, but I forgot to share the mini book I made for my mother in law on Mother’s Day!

My mother in law loves to travel and she enjoys visiting National Parks all over the country. So, I thought it would be fun for her to have a book that listed all of them so she could record when she visited.

The process took a little longer than I anticipated, since I couldn’t find a list of all of the parks online. So, I went through the National Park Service’s website and copied each state’s parks into a Word document. That ended up being 500+ pages long!

So, I deleted photos and descriptions and formatted all of the text, which took me down to around 200+ pages.

Obviously, I was not creating a book that long, so I deleted all of the National Monuments, Historic Trails, National Lakeshores and other things included and focused only on National Parks. Then my book was a manageable 13 pages long and I could cope with that!

Then, I went through and grouped each of the parks by the area they were located in. So, all of the parks in the Pacific Northwest were together and those in New England were together, etc.

My final lists looked like this …

I then went through and created an index page with a tab on it for each section. I used a variety of stamps and quotes with a travel theme to decorate each one. Here are a few examples:

 

Most of the stamps I used were from Studio 490 (Wendy Vecchi) or Tim Holtz. They both have great sayings and the images were perfect.

On this one, I also included a die cut tag from Tim Holtz.

Each index page lists the states that are included in that section.

I covered the insides of the cover with map paper from My Little Yellow Bicycle. the index pages, cover and accents were all made with a very old line of paper that I love from Cloud 9.

I used the Cinch to bind the book and then added ribbon to the bindings.

Here is the cover again.

It turned out great and she loved it.

Should you decide to make a similar book, I am more than happy to send you the Word document I created. Just drop me a line with your e-mail address.

 

 

 

Pretty in Bling

The January challenge for Scrap It Girl is to use bling, glitter and other things that sparkle and shine.

I decided to add a bit of sparkle to the homecoming dance photos of my niece Kayla.

My niece is a bit of a tomboy … she lives for football and hates dolls, pink and dresses. So, you can imagine our surprise when her mom asked us to meet her at the park to take pictures of her in her homecoming dress! Half expecting her to be in a denim shirt dress, I was thrilled to see her so beautifully dressed in lace and heels.

I knew I wanted to do something special with the photos, so I have been sitting on them for several months. I decided a bling challenge was perfect! Here’s what I did …

The journaling tells the story of how her dad wanted her to pose like a model and how when she finally started goofing around, I got a photo that shows her as she really is … beautiful inside and out!

Play along at Scrap It Girl this month and you could win some great prizes. All you have to do is create something that sparkles and post it online. Hope to see your entry there, soon.

 

Technique Thursday: Sew Ribbon

Technique Thursday is back after a short vacation to spend time with my son who stopped by on his way from Guam to San Diego. He’s a corpsman in the Navy and I am so proud of him!

Anyhow, today’s technique is an easy way to add ribbon to a card or layout. Here is an example I created a few months ago of my nephew … notice the ribbon along the bottom of the photo mat? It is applied with the Sew Ribbon tool from We R Memory Keepers.

 

It is very easy to use. The tool includes three parts, like this …

You simply slip your paper between the two templates (strong magnets hold them perfectly in place), insert the punch into the template and push.

 

Then, you remove the sticker paper from the “needle” and wrap it around the edge of your ribbon, like this …

 

The needle makes it easy to thread the ribbon through the holes made with the template.

 

I wrap the ends of the ribbon around the back side of the paper and secure them with a bit of adhesive. It couldn’t be easier!

Here is a layout I did of my daughter, using new paper from Graphic 45 … I used the leaf template, here.

 

(click on the photo for a larger version)

And a card I made with the leftovers … I used the Shoelace template on this one.

 

Want to try it out for yourself?

I’ll be at Capture A Memory from 2-6 p.m. today with Sew Ribbon for you to try. Hope to see you there!

 

Get Well Soon

I am not sure if it is the recent return to reality by Mother Nature or just a bad day, but I was feeling gloomy and could not seem to shake it. So, I did two things that I knew would help — making something for someone else and coloring — and came up with this:

I used papers from Little Yellow Bicycle and X-Press It, stamps from Magnolia (the girl) and Kaisercraft (the saying) and some ribbon from my stash. I used the following Copic Sketch markers to color it:

After I colored it, I added a bit of sparkle with the At You Spica pen and then added some buttons and dots with Liquid Pearls.

I am sending it to an aunt who is ill in Florida to brighten up her day, now that it helped to brighten up mine!

Art Glitter Design Team 2012 Audition

I am excited over two things today …

The first is that I am applying for a position on Art Glitter’s design team. You probably know how much I love Art Glitter and Designer Dries Clear Adhesive and that I have served as a guest designer for them twice. Now I am applying for a DT position that will last an entire year. How exciting is that!

Secondly, I am excited to share this project, which I have been creating for a few weeks and I love how it turned out. It’s one of those things that you have in your head and then you jump in with both feet and try it and then it works and, well, you know the satisfaction and excitement I am feeling right now.

First, a little background … I have been wanting to make something to hang in the window that would reflect sunlight and make little rainbows in my house (just like in the movie, “Pollyanna.”) I think the cats will enjoy it. While I was milling that over in my mind, my husband brought home some pieces of acrylic that he planned to use for windows in the chicken coop he was building. Well, as soon as I saw them, I knew they would make a great piece of window art so I started asking questions — if he could cut it, if he could drill holes in it (it’s very thick) and if he really needed four windows in the coop. He agreed three would be plenty, cut down one of the pieces, added holes at the top for a hanger and holes at the bottom for hangings and presented it to me.

With the base obtained, I discovered a bit more inspiration in the Little Yellow Bicycle Saturdays collection. With that piece of paper in hand, I sat down to work and created this: (click on the photo for a larger view)

I hung it on a white wall to photograph it, but it will soon be hanging in a window.

I used a lot of products from a lot of different companies on this piece. That’s one thing I love about art like this — you can mix and match and use up little leftover parts. I also used quite a few techniques. So, if there is something I don’t explain here, please let me know and I’ll give you the directions. Otherwise, I am afraid this may be the world’s longest blog post ever!

First, I used a Crafter’s Workshop stencil and Alcohol Ink to create the background. Alcohol Ink will fade in the sunlight unless you spray it with a UV protector. But, I want to see the process, so I left mine uncoated.

Then, I added papers by Little Yellow Bicycle and BBP, each aged a bit with Distress Ink.

I used ColorWash to color the large blue flower (Prima) and the ribbon (Tim Holtz) and used Designer Dries Clear Adhesive to attach everything. Notice how it dries so clear you can use it to attach clear buttons (BBP).

I used a stamp set from Darcie’s to stamp the saying and the little birds. Then, I went back with Designer Dries Clear Adhesive and added Vintage Glass Glitter to the branch the birds were sitting on.

The candelabra is a wood cut from KaiserCraft. I painted it and then decided it needed a bit more something, so I covered it in three different colors of Microfine Glitter. (You will definitely want to use the fine metal tip for this) I left a couple of spots that weren’t covered completely with glitter just to add a bit of interest.

I added some transparent glitter to the edges of the flower for additional interest and some Vintage Glass Shards to the ribbon and around the clock face (Tim Holtz) to spice things up a bit. As a side point, the Vintage Glass Shards will change color in the sunlight as well … can’t wait to see that result!

I also added a hint of glitter to this little clipboard I made.

A friend gave me this little bird cage to go on my art piece. We all agreed it needed a bird, but no one had one, so I made one. I used the same stamp (the birds on the limb) and stamped them on cardstock. Then, I cut the bird out and covered both sides with glitter. Finally, I added a tiny bead from my jar of black Gala Glitz (Art Glitter) as an eye. Then I used Designer Dries Clear to adhere him to the cage and to keep the cage door open.

And, with the addition of some charms, beads, hardware pieces and ribbon, I can call it done. Naturally it’s been cloudy since I finished the piece, but I cannot wait to see how it reacts in the sun!

Remember to post any questions here and I’ll answer them shortly.

Thanks for looking!

A Home for the Fairies

When I saw this little wooden birdhouse at a big box craft store, I knew I had to have it. I immediately thought of how cute the little fence would be covered in white crackle paint and how adorable the roofs would be if they were embossed metal.

So, I bought the house and set to work covering it with paper, stickers and flowers  from the Paradise line by Little Yellow Bicycle. I love their little flower kits — they come with a variety of flowers, scored paper to make some, leaves, centers and more. I used one as a medallion on the front and several on the back …

But, I also used some of the pre-scored pieces as gingerbread trim along the roofs’ edges.

For the roofs themselves, I used three different techniques — all with Tim Holtz/Sizzix embossing folders and adhesive-backed metal sheets from QuicKutz (Lifestyle Crafts).

The one to the left in the photo above is simply embossed and adhered.

The one at the top is embossed and then treated with alcohol ink.

The colorful one uses a technique my friend Linda showed me, with gesso and alcohol inks. You can watch it yourself, here. It’s very cool!

Anyhow, once my fairy house was complete, I covered it (except for the tin roofs) with Ranger’s Glue n’ Seal, which creates a waterproof seal.

Then, I tucked it in my fairy garden …

I’m not sure how the sealant will hold up in the weather, but I figured it would be worth it just to enjoy it for as long as it lasts. It looks so cute tucked in there, doesn’t it?!

 

Time to Relax

I absolutely love the Saturdays collection by Little Yellow Bicycle. The colors and patterns are so “me.” This collection has already shown up in several of my creations and I am sure it is bound to find its way into many more.

Here’s a card I made with it …

(Click on the photo for a larger image)

I used a few of the papers in the collection, along with a dimensional frame. Then, I used Tim Holtz/Sizzix dies to cut out the butterflies and branch. Then, I stamped the butterflies with one of Tim’s stamps. I colored them with Copic Sketch Markers, made wire antennae and bent their wings for a little additional dimension.

I added some lace from my stash, Distress Ink, a few gems and a stamp by Northwoods. Quick and easy, yet elegant and relaxing at the same time.

Bring on the Sunshine

I have the cutest nephews.

Although I don’t get to see them often (they live in the deep south), I do get to share their smiles on Facebook.

Naturally, when I saw these photos, I HAD to scrapbook them. And, I thought this collection from Little Yellow Bicycle would be just perfect …

(Click on the photo for a larger image)

Welcome, Henry

My brother and sister-in-law recently expanded their family.

To show off my newest nephew, I created this adorable page using papers and embellishments by Little Yellow Bicycle, cardstock from American Crafts, Ribbon from Bo Bunny and the We R Memory Keepers’ Sew Ribbon tool. The ribbon tool was easier and faster than I predicted. I think I might be adding it to my collection very soon!