A Fun “Knick Knack” Host Gift Mini

I recently visited my Aunt and Uncle in Minnesota, and we arrived home on Sunday. I immediately knew I needed to create a special thank you gift for them, as they were really wonderful hosts to me and my three daughters. As they are “older folks” now, I think we completely wore them out, but they seemed to enjoy themselves and our busy pace. I noticed that my aunt had displayed one of the other albums I had created for them in a prominent place, amongst her knick knacks, as she calls them. So, I decided to make another mini, this time something pretty small, that I could send in a small bubble mailer.

I started with these Maya Road banner/pennant pages, but I only had two, and I wanted to have the rest of the album the same shape, so I figured it was best to create pages of my own, using some scrap chipboard and canvas fabric. How to adhere the fabric seamlessly? Helmar to the rescue!!

I just traced the Maya Road page onto the chipboard, and then traced a line around the outside, onto the canvas fabric.

Because I wanted this pennant to have a cohesive look, to the others, I frayed the edges by pulling the loose threads. As an aside I must fray things a lot, because I was watching my daughter sew some shorts for her Etsy shop the other night, and she stopped and pulled the threads to fray the edges of the denim…….for one hour. She thought it just wouldn’t look right otherwise. Ha!

Next, I pulled out my Helmar Decoupage Glue (I <3 it, could bathe in it), and spread it onto the chipboard, using the awesome, trusty glue spreader.

Because this canvas is fairly heavy fabric, I also spread the decoupage glue onto the back side of it, before adhering the two. Yes, that is a butterfly stamp on there………this was a “discard” fabric piece from another project….and was recycled for this project, because it wouldn’t be seen on the other side.

And here is the finished page! Helmar Decoupage glue made it bubble free, seamless, perfect!

I did the same thing on this other piece, only with lightweight cotton fabric. I only put a light layer of the glue on the chipboard itself, and then along the seams of the three fabrics, and it made a nice taut look, that could be inked and stamped just like paper!

I hope that my aunt and uncle enjoy this book, and that it becomes one of my aunt’s “knick knacks”. I thought that the upcoming challenge (which, just you wait and see, you’ll be giddy) fit her favorite things, like vintage, childlike colors, and blooming gardens. I can’t wait to add journaling and photos, and pop it in the mail!

Thanks so much for looking today, and I hope I’ve given you a little inspiration!
~Blessings and Sparkles

Mother Of Three

I’m so excited that my first post as a Helmar Hottie has gone up today! It’s such a thrill so far,  to be a part of this friendly, fun, supportive team.

For the layout I am sharing today, I used some of my favorite new Helmar discoveries:  Craft and Hobby PVA glue, Helmar 450, and Zap Dots.  (I couldn’t just use one, I love them all so much!)

I found these small scanned photos of my grandmother, and her three girls, taken in 1947; and thought that I couldn’t think of a better way to use the gorgeous, feminine (to me at least) color palette that Helmar’s fabulous Lydell found and created for our challenge, than by using these photos. I mean, you can’t get any girlier than that, unless you had maybe 10 girls. Hehe.   As the mother of three girls herself, I’m always comforted by the fact that my grandmother successfully raised her daughters (my mom is the littlest girl, on the left), and that she is hopefully whispering encouragement in my ear from above.

As you can see, I placed the photo of my mom, aunts, and grandmother together, on top of 4 Helmar Zap Dots. Best, stickiest, dimensional foam ever.

For all of the one-dimensional elements on this page, I used the Helmar Craft and Hobby PVA Glue. When I “wormed it” (my phrase for winding streams of glue) onto the back of the paper, I then spread it very thin using a Pampered Chef stoneware scraper. A old credit card could do the same job. I love how it then adhered perfectly and smoothly to the base paper, even with gesso and paint and such on it.

For the very first time EVER, I was able to adhere one of these vintage plastic doilies to my layout, and then photograph it so closely…..because there weren’t any glue strings! Helmar 450 did the trick!  It spread so nice and thin, but was still re-positionable, AND you can’t see the adhesive on the doily itself, or the paper. Perfecto!

The Helmar 450 Quick Dry was perfect for sticking this heavy clothespin to the fabric sticker, as well. There’s nothing better than security in knowing the clothespin won’t eventually be laying at the bottom of an album.

I hope that you will stop by the Helmar blog today and leave me and the other girls some love. I know you would be astounded at the diverse, amazing projects that have been posted,

See you soon, and sparkle on, Gnomies.

A Time For Joy {Box, Mini Album, AND technique share!}

Hello, and happy Monday! Well, after a long wait, my post sharing one of my most used techniques is up on Donna Salazar’s blog. I’m so happy to finally get to share it here, too! The box and album I made for this post are some of my fave projects to date, so I’m so ready to share them!

I thought it would be fun to share a technique that I frequently use, to achieve a gradient, or slightly airbrushed look to painted corrugated board.  This technique uses both acrylic paint, and Smooch spritz, in contrasting colors. I put the piece of corrugated board that I used in this technique demonstration, on an altered cigar box, to create a fun, girlie grunge style “surprise box!”

I started with Zutter corrugated board in the 7×7 size.  Zutter’s corrugated board has a top layer that easily peels off, especially if you mist it very lightly with water. I occasionally like to leave a little bit of the paper clinging, to add another dimensional layer.

If I am wanting a “cleaner” look, I first prep the corrugated board with gesso (on the right in my messy palette), and then add a layer of acrylic paint; but for a grungier look, I simply use a white acrylic paint as the first layer.

In this case, I simply applied a coat of the white acrylic paint. There’s no need to wait for the paint to dry between the steps of this process.

Next, I add another blob of acrylic paint, and then spray, (or carefully pour, depending on the amount needed) Smooch into the palette with the paint. Start with smaller amounts, in the lighter of two contrasting colors…..you can always add more…but you can’t take it back.   For pastel/light colors of Smooch, you will need to add more to the paint to achieve the color you want. Blend the paint and Smooch together with a palette knife or other blending tool. Keep adding more Smooch until you have the color you are after.

Next, paint the corrugated board using the mixture you created with the paint and Smooch. I find it creates the nicest look to paint starting from the outside, and moving toward the center. Leave an open space in the middle, as you can see in the picture above.  Lift the paintbrush slightly as you near the edge of your square in the middle, to get a blended, feathery look.

Next, spray the contrasting color of Smooch (in my case it is River Mossy green) directly on the square that has been left white. For a darker result, spray very close to the surface.

Using your paintbrush (that has not been rinsed clean of the light colored smooch/paint mixture), very lightly blend the darker smooch, this time, from the center out. Letting some of the mist pool into the grooves of the corrugated board is fine…it makes  a nice dark contrast, or you can push the brush into the grooves, and blend the dark mist more, to create a lighter, more, fully airbrushed look.  Continue to blend the darker mist outward, occasionally picking up just a little bit of the light paint/Smooch blend in your palette, and brushing it *very* gently over the top.  On this particular piece, I also added a few sprays of darker mist in a couple of the corners, as well.

Above is the final result of all of that painting, misting, and blending! I also inked the distressed edges of the corrugated board with Donna’s Mix’d Media Inx in Truffle. As the piece dries, the hue will change a bit. Sometimes I speed up the process with my craft dryer, because I’m too excited to wait.

I added this finished painty/misty piece to my altered cigar box, that has been covered in Donna’s Spring In Bloom, Artistic, and Crafty Chronicle papers, and embellished it with gorgeous bling from Want 2 Scrap, a bit of denim, and some more lovely papers. A bit of seam binding ties the box closed, to a vintage lock.

The gears were painted up with Mix’d Media Inx, and some sparkle was added in the form of Fairy Dust Glitter!

And, this is called a surprise box for a reason…….

Because inside the box, is a mini album!

This mini is made out of ….of course……more corrugated board! The album is bound with my bind-it-all, and the cover has a banner made from several layers of Donna’s papers, and denim. The gold thread is vintage, and came from my grandma’s craft box. I thought it would be fun if that sweet chipboard paper doll……dressed in a dress made of spring in bloom paper, spritzed with Smooch, and sprinkled with Fairy Dust Glitter…would be holding tight to the “Joy” banner.

Well, thanks for hanging with me through the technique, to the final share! I’m off to Minnesota in a few days, so I am crazily getting things together to leave, and projects ready to share on the Zutter and Helmar blogs!

I hope you all are doing well, and I thank you for your sweet, kind comments lately! I can’t wait until I have a spare minute to visit you all at your blogs, and I apologize for being missing!

Big hugs and blessings~

Layering Techniques Videos 2 & 3

Hello and happy Friday!  The girls and I planned to go camping this weekend, but there are storms that have been forecast for both tonight and tomorrow night; and the thought of our first camping trip being soured by wind, rain, and lightning, just was a bit much.  Not to mention, we will be taking a last minute trip to Minnesota the end of next week, and I really need to get things settled so we will be ready!

I realized that both of the remaining two videos I did (for Gauche Alchemy) on my layering techniques have gone up…..and I never posted them! Oops!

Two:

Three:

I hope you have been enjoying this series, and if you have any questions for me, or simply comments, let me know! More than anything this little series is just a peek over my shoulder at my crazy layering process. It’s like seeing into the laboratory of a mad scientist, not a brain surgeon, haha.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend ahead, and that maybe some crafting will be involved.
~Blessings

Put Wings On Your Dream

I noticed that my post as a guest designer for Donna Salazar Designs went live last night, so I’m excited to also share this project here with you! I’ve been waiting in anticipation of the time when I finally got to show it to the world!

For this layout, I used a photo of my sweet Ivy, that was taken late this fall, while she was sitting on the dock of a lake, enjoying the sun.  I was very inspired by the “dreamlike” elements in Donna’s “Spring In Bloom” papers, and I used that inspiration as the focus of the layout, which I titled “Put Wings On Your Dream.”

I started with a 12×12 piece of corrugated cardboard that I distressed, and then spiffed up with a blend of smooch, paint, and then sprinkled with Fairy Dust Glitter.

I thought it would be fun to add layered strips of denim, along with alternating strips of the lovely papers.

I obviously did quite a bit of fussy cutting of the butterflies and roses in the papers for this layout.  I wanted to give a sense of the butterflies actually flying, to represent the wonderful dreams Ivy has. The butterflies are elevated using differing sizes of foam squares.

The Mixed Media Inx and Smooch work perfectly with the beautiful die cut “Shadow Flowers” by Spellbinders.

The pocket in the left corner, is from a pair of Ivy’s jeans (so it is extra special to me), and I jazzed it up with some fabulous Nestabling, and a little strip of  corrugated board I had left over, wrapped with baker’s twine. I tucked a pleated bit of The Crafty Chronicle in the corner of the pocket, to add another layer.

I made the “Dream” title by using a stencil on the Artistic Papers, and stamping on each letter with corrugated boardand Mixed Media Inx, and I am very happy with the result. I like how the letters pop off of the brightly colored corrugated board layered underneath.

I can’t wait to head to my studio

Shadows and Light

Lately, I have been working on more than one project at a time. This helps keep my creativity fresh, and I keep from getting bored. Not that crafting is ever boring for me, but I don’t want it to feel like work. So, this layout has had bits and pieces added here and there over about 4 days. I was kind of uncomfortable with not completing it in one sitting, but actually, I think it helped me to come back with fresh eyes. I even bought the crystal swirls and crocheted flowers, with this layout in mind, while looking around at Hobby Lobby the other day.

This gorgeous Bo Bunny paper made things pretty easy. I bought several of the papers (they didn’t have the whole collection) at my LSS, and the set of diecuts, too. The paper has so many fantastic layers to it alone, that I knew I wanted to keep most of the additional layers up and away from the interesting things on the page.

The butterflies that came with the diecuts just fit seamlessly, when I added some foam squares for dimension.

I spent most of my time working around this distressed frame I created using a crafter’s workshop stencil (chicken wire), and modeling paste applied fairly lightly. This was a delicate stencil, so it was difficult to get the detail, but after spraying it liberally with mists in yellow, aqua, and pink, it filled in the squares and defined it a bit.  A touch of Mix’d Media Inx in truffle defined it even more. I tucked a square of burlap behind, and then laid down the photo. The photo is framed in washi tape I recently got from Gauche Alchemy (if you love washi tape like I do, you DO NOT want to miss out on the great deal at GA. The tape truly is the cheapest you’ll find it anywhere, with free shipping domestic, or $2.50 international, okay, end ad).

This photo and title say it all. I love this photo, despite it being taken at one of the truly darkest times for my daughter, and really all of us. She wasn’t open to having her photo taken (posing that is), so I shot this candid photo right by the river that runs behind our home. I love that I forever have captured the necklaces she wore all of the time then…a guitar pick, and a Celtic cross. This whole photo, it tells a story. Of someone living in momentary darkness, but the light of hope was just behind her, waiting for her to step into it.

Blessings~
A

I’m Such A Lucky Girl

Just popping in really quickly to announce that I am honored and thrilled to be added to the design team of Helmar!

I can’t believe my recent blessings in the form of the new design teams I am on. I spent what seems like such a long time, working hard, facing rejections, shedding tears, and yet always believing in myself, to get to this place, and now I’m just absolutely stunned at my luck. I am seeing big dreams become reality!

Now, my biggest challenge will be scheduling myself. I’m already obsessing over creating a detailed calendar on Google calendars, like my fellow Zutter Zister Wendy Morris (she blows me away with her organization, well, and of course ridiculous talent) does with iCal. Whew!  Honestly, I love to have a plan and to work toward a goal, and now I’ll have a few every single month, hehe!

Before I rush off to get busy on a project I have due, I just have to mention that I saw that my fabulous friends over at Scrapping The Music, are doing an AWESOME challenge using Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”.  I’m thinking that I may need to participate in this one.  The girls over there are some of the sweetest ever, and I’m missing them so much.

Well, I hope to be back tomorrow evening with a project share AND a project sneak!

Hugs to all, and lots of love and blessings to you!