Easter Treat Holder

This inexpensive, yet lovely, Easter treat holder was fashioned with shhhhh! ....  an empty toilet paper roll.  I love it when I find a way to up cycle, recycle.  The lovely designer series paper is from Best Year Ever, (#138633 and free when you place an order totaling $50).  The flower was punched out of Crisp Cantaloupe using Stampin' Up Blossom and Pansy flower punches.  The shredded coffee filter paper was cut with the Stampin' Up Fringe Scissors.

You Brighten My Day

February 2015 thank you bags.

These bags were made using dollar store wrapping paper, I could not pass up the lovely red poppies. Each bag was accented with a metallic red butterfly cut from the Butterflies Thinlits Dies (#137360 $24.95 on page 26 of the Occasions Catalog) and a tag stamped with You Brighten My Day stamp set from the Sale-A-Bration Catalog and free with a $50 order.  Stamped with Real Red ink and punched out with the Note Tag Punch (#135860 $16.95 also in the Occasions Catalog on page 49).

Baby Train Scrapbook Pages 2

Last night was scrapbook club and we made the Baby Train layout that I showed earlier this week.  For this two page layout I chose more "girly" colors, I left room at the top for a title.

Baby Train Scrapbook Pages

Two page layout.  

Card Stock:  Close To My Heart and Stampin' Up

Animals were drawn then cut into pieces and layered.

Train pieces were cut from Cricut cartridges and punches as follows:

Engine:  Everyday Paper Dolls, page 63, Accessories 3, cut at 5" in black and blue. 

Caboose:  Everyday Paper Dolls, page 63, Accessories 2, cut at 5" in black and blue.

Photo car backings/wheels:  My Community page 42, Blackout, cut 2 at 3" in blue.

Photo Frames:  Art Philosophy, page 34, cut 4 at 5"; 2 in blue and 2 in orange

Photo Mats:  cut 4 @ 4x4" square in black

Wheel Layers:  

1 @ 1 3/4" Black

7 @ 1 1/4" Black

1 @ 1 1/4" Blue

7 @ 3/4" Blue

1 @ 1" Orange

7 @ 1/2" Orange

Valentine Tri-Fold

Stampin' Up Coastal Cabana 4.25" x 11 scored and folded at 2.75" and 5.5"
DSP:  (Love Me Knots by Moxxie) Front Panel is 2.5" x 4", inside panels are 2" x 4" (White) and 3.25" x 4"
Love die cut in Primrose Pedals from Cricut Close To My Heart Artbooking Cartridge page 61, RDS 1.5"
Photo Mat 2, page 59 cut at 4"
Red Heart, Stampin' Up Tiny Accents Punch Pack
Stampin' Up Definition of Love stamped onto Crumb Cake, swirls from Snuggles & Smooches stamped in Versamark and heat set with Champagne embossing Powder
My Silly Valentine from Snuggles & Smooches stamped in Primrose Pedals ink

Valentines

January Workshop Valentine Creations

Mixed Media Birds

All three 8"x8" mixed media canvas panels. 

Mixed Media Bird Art III

This is the final panel of the three Mixed Media Bird Art 8x8" canvas art projects.  For this one I chose to feature two birds on a branch.  This may just be my favorite of the three, maybe it is the sunny yellow background or the pastels of the birdies.

I drew the birds, branch and leaves, painted them in and completed by sketching over them with my Faber-Castell Pitt Artists Pen.

Stamp sets used:
Stampin' Up, Musical Notes; Chamomile; Every Moment
Darcie's, Chickenwire
Crafty Secrets, Farm Chicks
Inkadinkado, Bird Assortment

Mixed Media Bird Art II

Three Little Birds

This is the second 8x8 canvas in my Mixed Media Bird Art threesome.

 I made a leaf stencil for the background and painted it with Gesso.  I hand drew the birds and branches and for more definition I highlighted the birds with a black Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen.   

Stamp Sets Used:

Stampin' Up:  Love is Kindness, Moon Lake, and Language of Friendship (retired) and Perfect Pennants.

Stampin' Up Simply Created Mini Memories Album

My next workshop will focus on making a mini album using the Stampin' Up Mini Memories Simply Created Album kit and the stamp sets:

A Happy Thing
An Open Heart (retired)
Nature Walk (retired)
Beautiful Bunch
Flower Shop
Something To Say
Word Play (retired)

Sample of one of the pages using A Happy Thing hummingbird stamp

This wonderful kit comes with two chipboard cover pieces, rings, buttons, sequins, heart clips, gold twine, gold vellum, doilies, three die cut sheets, dsp, a bag and an envelope.  I supplemented the kit with various card stock pieces, an embossed watercolored page, pearls and various punches. 

Stampin' Up Mini Treat Bag - Instructions and Valentine

This first bag was made to deliver orders for the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Packs

This second bag shows instructions on how to expand the bag:

Finished Bag Front

Cut two pieces of dsp or card stock 6 1/8" x 6 1/2" and cut out two of the larger dies from the Mini Bag Thinlits.  Also cut a piece for the bottom of the bag at 4 3/4" long by 1 1/2" wide, score at 1/2" on each end.

Cut the piece for the bottom of the bag at slight angles to fit more easily.

Score both of the larger die cuts at 1/2" on the smaller flap,  then fold the score line and cut the top to match the edge or cut off straight across ,see photos.

Decorate the front of the bag.  Add score tape or glue to the 1/2" folded edges of the die cut (white strips in photo above)

Remove tape liner and attach at both sides to the backside of the front

Your box should look like this on the bottom.

Add glue or tape as shown above and attach bottom to the box inserting the two side flaps to the inside of the box.

Completed bottom of the box.

Mixed Media Bird Art I

I was inspired by Dina Wakley (Ranger) to try my hand at painting three little birds onto an 8x8" canvas.  A light coat of Gesso was applied to the canvas board and dried.  I then applied Aqua and Navy.  I roughly drew the birds and branches and filled them in with acrylic paints, highlighting with a Derwent Inktense Ink Black 2200 pencil.  Live, Laugh, Love was written on the birds with a Faber-Castell Pitt artist pen in Black 199 M.  

So Sweet was stamped in StazOn black ink from the Stampin' Up set Hello Life.  

Mini Harlequin stencil by The Crafters Workshop designs by Jaime and Alphabet Border Small by Ranger design by  Dylusions, Dyan Reaveien.  

Frame from Michaels Crafts.

Hummingbird and Lemons

Stampin' Up Sale-A-Bration

A Happy Thing Stamp Set

Stampin' Up Sale-A-Bration is going on right now, with every $50 in purchases from the Annual 2014-15 and the Occasions Catalogs you get to choose an item from the Sale-A-Bration catalog for free.

I colored my hummingbird with Blendabilities and cut out a frame for him with the Window Frame Collection dies.  Card base is Perfect Plum.  White is Neenah Solar White smooth.

This same stamp set was also used for this weeks Stampin' Up order bags:

The lemon was masked and stamped three times, colored with Blendabilities and a piece of yellow card stock cut out with a Martha Stewart edge punch was adhered to the the bottom.  

Mixed Media Art Bird Tags

This blue bird tag was my first attempt at the Dina Wakley painted tag lesson.  This one will be for my next workshop homework assignment, wherein we were to make a mixed media tag with one of the Julie Nutting tags from her Tag Pad.

First I applied Gesso to the tag in a very thin layer with a pallet knife and let it dry.  Next was an application of Aqua acrylic paint edged with Navy.  I free handed the bird and painted it with more of the Aqua, Navy, Eggplant, yellow and orange acrylic paints.  Gesso was used for the white areas.  I redrew around the bird and branch with a Faber-Castell Pitt artist pen.  Washy Tape was also used.

Stamp sets use for this tag are:  Stampin' Up Music Notes wheel, Bloomin' Marvelous, Happy Watercolor and retired, Feathered Hope.

This tag was made for the Split Coast Stampers Color Challenge CC513  I used gray, bay blue and pink.  Taking a lesson from artist Dina Wakley on applying acrylic paint to paper, I drew my own version of her squiggly bird onto Neenah Solar White card stock, painted the bird and cut it out.  The tag base is from a tag pad by Julie Nutting.  Stamp sets used for this piece are Stampin' Up, An Open Heart and Butterfly Basics.

Breast Cancer Encourgement

I made this card for a friend to give to her daughter-in-law who was just diagnosed with Breast Cancer.

Stampin' Up Stamp Sets:

Something Lacy - background was stamped onto Sahara Sand in Versamark and heat embossed in white.
Something to Say - encouraging words
Kindness Matters - Butterfly

Butterfly and background were colored with Blushing Bride Blendabilities.