New year, new calendar

Each Christmas, I make a special gift for my husband. This is the one I gave him this year.

I started with a Tim Holtz die and cut out both paper and chipboard as the background. Then, I used the small easel die to cut out another piece of chipboard so the calendar stands on its own.

I added some Maya Road ribbon, a saying from The Paper Loft, metal embellishments (and paper) from Bo Bunny, a mini calendar, fish netting, and, for a laugh, a moose head a friend gave me.

The little saying was coated in Glastique Gloss and formed while it was still wet. This makes it less like paper and more like flexible plastic so it stays in place and keeps its shape.

It may look like a bit of a hodgepodge at first glance, but it means I have searched around the world, through the oceans, high and low and you are the only one for me!

 

Making Mosaics

Don’t you hate it when life gets in the way of paper crafting?!? That seems to be what has happened to me lately … When I am stressed, I have trouble being creative. Thinking is just too hard and I have many more failures than normal, which causes frustration and more stress and, well, it is sort of a downward spiral. Since paper crafting is both my hobby and therapy, I never want it to become a chore.

So, when things aren’t working like they should, I turn to one of my favorites — Mosaics!

OK. You can stop rolling your eyes at me now … these are much easier than they look — if you have the right tools.

Tami Potter is the queen of mosaics. While I have never actually met her in person, I have “followed” her for years.

She makes the process so easy with a cutting mat, paper and guide with grids. An idea book (one of my favorite scrapbooking books of all time) offers tons of examples, suggestions and tips. Here are her directions, via a video on her blog.

Here are closer looks at my pages …

Click on the images for a closer look …

I added sticker letters from The Paper Loft and cardstock from American Crafts for the title and journaling blocks.

Keep in mind that I did these while chatting with my friends and spent absolutely no time planning what would go where. I just figured out which pictures I wanted to cut and started cutting … With a little planning, you can make absolutely amazing mosaics!

And, since Tami’s method is so simple, it’s pretty hard to mess it up, which makes it perfect for therapeutic scrapping.