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?!
I keep my Cricut cartridges in a binder, but for some reason, I hung onto a few of the boxes the cartridges used to come in. I guess I just thought they were too cool to throw away.
Well, I finally put them to use with a new class I am offering at Capture A Memory in Flint Township.
In this class, we will use Distress Ink and Perfect Pearls Mists to color Bazzill Basics Paper and then cover the box in it. Then we will make tiles with Graphic 45 paper and Glastique. Finally, we will add Tim Holtz stamps, Tissue Tape and metal pieces, a few buttons and some ribbon.
I will bring lots of different colors of ink, a variety of ribbon and a jar of buttons so you will be able to make your box perfect for you.
I only have 5 boxes, so this will be a small class filled with techniques and tips.
Call Capture A Memory at 810-733-0716 to register today!
Scrapbooking is about much more than detailing each birthday, first day of school or vacation.
It can also be a place to record your feelings, thoughts and beliefs, as well as tidbits of everyday life.
This year, my husband and I have put forth much effort in reducing waste, growing it ourselves and making the best out of any situation. I wanted to record, not only what we are doing, but how we feel doing it. It will give us something to look back on and allow our children and grandchildren a peek into our lives during the summer of 2012.
I did that, here, with paper from We R Memory Keepers, Distress Inks, mistable letters and Perfect Pearls Mists:
Here’s a closer look at some of the journaling …
Click on the images for a larger view …
Whenever I see an iron birdcage or decorative fencing, I always think of my grandmother. It is a little odd, since she lived on a farm and never had caged birds or decorative iron fencing, but she grew up in New Orleans and for perhaps for that reason, I have attached the two in my head.
When I saw the Sweet Nothings Collection from KaiserCraft, I immediately thought of my grandma. Since I only have a few photos of her, I thought I would put them all in a mini album.
The pages (also from KaiserCraft) are actually wood — the same material they make their shelves, trays and photo frames out of. I love them because they can be painted, inked, covered with paper or whatever you want to do with them and they hold up well. I have pieces I made several years ago that still look brand new.
To start, I painted the edges of each page with Ranger Paint Dabber and then covered each one with paper. I used the UHU Stic to glue it all in place and then used my Crop-A-Dile to repunch the holes. A light sanding around the edges adds a bit of “time” to the album and gets rid of any paper hanging over the edge.
Then, it came time to decorate … For the cover, I added a few strips of paper and borders from the sticker sheet in the collection. Then I used Perfect Pearls Mists to color the flowers and glued them on the front with Designer Dries Clear Adhesive by Art Glitter.
The birds were stickers on the sticker sheet. I put a piece of dimensional foam adhesive on the back of each one and brushed them with baby powder (while leaving the protective coating on the foam. This “removes” the sticky. Then I removed the protective coating and attached them to the cover.
The cameo was also a sticker. I covered the front of it with Diamond Glaze to give it an epoxy appearance. I added a couple of pearls for a feminine touch.
For the inside pages, I used some of the same techniques — a combination of sprayed flowers, pearls, gems and sticker borders all from KaiserCraft.
Here is my grandmother as a girl and young woman:
Here she is married and with children:
And here she is the way I remembered her … the bottom photo was taken the year I was born:
Sometimes the greatest ideas come in those wee hours just before falling asleep.
This is one of those …
I have been wanting to make an altered book for many years — decades, actually — but I never had the courage to try. But, when I moved, I “found” an old copy of Alice in Wonderland. The book had purple on the edges of the pages and was such a nice copy that I couldn’t get rid of it — even though my daughter had written on many of the pages. And, with the perfect book in hand, I knew it was time to attempt to make an altered book.
It took me awhile because I wanted to allow plenty of dry time and I had to carefully think everything through, but it wasn’t difficult.
To start, I covered the inside of the cover in paper. Then, I cut out a few pages at the beginning (to get to pages filled with text). Next, I rolled a few pages and glued them down in the middle of the open book. Once that was dry (I was afraid of messing things up, so I did a little bit each day, allowing for plenty of dry time) I used Ranger’s Glue ‘n Seal to paint the edges of the pages on the right side so they would become one solid block.
Next, I traced the interior piece of one of the Globecraft Memories frames and began cutting an oval out of the book. I used my Fisker’s craft knife and continued to cut in sections until I made it all the way to the bottom of the book. I then coated the inside of the oval with Glue ‘n Seal and added some paper and ribbon.
Then, I covered the exterior of the book in the same paper and added a tassel and metal plate that I’ve been carrying around for years …
Back on the inside, I decided I wanted to soften the white pages a bit, so I added some Distress Ink and discovered an awesome technique …
The Distress Ink doesn’t show where the Glue ‘n Seal was. Doesn’t it make for a great look?!?
Next, I wanted to make a place for my fairy to sit, so I used some paper, Glue ‘n Seal, Clearly For Art (by Wendy Vecchi, Studio 490) and a Tim Holtz/Sizzix die to make some flowers. I also pulled out some leftover Prima flowers in a variety of colors and sprayed them all with Adirondack Color Wash in Butterscotch and then a thin coating of Perfect Pearls Mists in Heirloom Gold. The flowers were a variety of green, pink and purple and I love how different they all became with the same treatment. Here’s the inside with the fairy (I used Glue Dots to attach her.
Next came the Globecraft Memories frame … I covered them with paper and paint and attached them together. I still needed a bit of space between the plastic globe and the fairy, so I added a couple layers of dimensional foam.
Then it was just a matter of embellishing … I added some ribbon, some more handmade flowers (some made out of the pages of the book I took out), some more Prima flowers that I dyed and a couple of metal embellishments. I also made a butterfly the same way I made the flowers (paper, Glue ‘n Seal, Tim Holtz/Sizzix die & Clearly For Art) and added some wire antennae. Finally, for some added girly charm, I glued on several Dew Drops from Robin’s Nest.
I love the depth inside the globe. Isn’t this the perfect addition to any girly room?!
I love it when I discover a new tip or technique all on my own.
Granted, they may not actually be new tips (I’m sure someone out there has already discovered them), but like Christopher Columbus discovering the New World, if you haven’t heard of them before, you can claim them as your very own discovery! lol
Anyone who has taken a glitter class with me knows my love of coffee filters when working with glitter and embossing powders. The static-free filters collect all of the excess and make it easy to pour back into the jar.
Yesterday, I needed to spray some flowers with Color Wash and Perfect Pearls Mists by Ranger. Color Wash makes a huge mess … the ink goes everywhere and it is very permanent. I used to have a box that I used for spraying, but it got lost during the move.
Since I had been working with glitter earlier, my coffee filters were still out on my desk (I am a very messy scrapbooker).
I thought they may help contain the ink, so I grabbed one, set it on my Nonstick Craft Sheet, put the flowers inside and sprayed.
I was pleased at how well the filter caught the overspray. But then when I picked it up, I was even more amazed. It actually held onto all of the color!
I still wouldn’t recommend using them without placing them on the craft sheet — Color Wash is very permanent — trust me on this one. But, I just found a quick and easy way to contain the ink without having to store a huge box in my studio!
Today, I have a very special project to share.
It began with a table many years ago …
The solid-maple table was my grandmother’s and I have always loved the lines and style of it.
During those years when my house was furnished with hand-me downs and yard-sale finds, this table was the only “nice” piece of furniture I owned.
Years ago, I decided to refinish the table. Once I realized how hard it was, I stopped after doing the top and painted the rest of the table navy.
When I moved into a Victorian home, I painted over the navy with cream and added gold and mauve accents, despite the large scratch it acquired during a cross-country move.
And, when I prepared to move into this house, I took a can of white spray paint to the table to cover up that awful gold and mauve. I even purchased new knobs to spruce it up a bit. I wanted to do something a little more to it, but I wasn’t sure what, so it sat in this state … complete with the shadow of the mauve flowers I painted on it still visible.
Last week, a friend and I wandered around Hobby Lobby where I fell in love with a decorative pillow that, unfortunately, did not fit into my budget.
When I got home, I took one look at that table and suddenly I knew what I could do with it!
Isn’t it lovely?!
I started with white cardstock and inked it with Distress Ink. Then, using a few other colors of Distress Ink that matched my rug, I stamped a background with script, a compass and some swirls — all by Tim Holtz. I then added the birds (a stamp from Wendy Vecchi) with brighter Distress Ink and the saying with a bit of Ranger Archival Ink.
Then, I lightly spritzed it with Perfect Pearls Mists in Heirloom Gold.
My husband wants to see the table returned to its original glory and has promised to refinish it this spring, so I just adhered the paper to the table. If I had planned this to be permanent, I probably would seal it, but I just left it as is.
I love the depth, the colors and the pattern I came up with. It’s reminiscent of the pillow I saw, but was made entirely with supplies on hand and took less than 20 minutes! My kind of project.
candy scraps 