Peaceful Hearts

If you have a die cutting machine you will love this Kreaxions thin "Butterfly Die"!  Since the Design Team featured the "Butterfly Die" for their reveal on the first I thought I would use the die again, but in a different way.  I used the negative piece from the die to create this card.  After making my base card out of white cardstock I covered the front with washi tape.  I then cut out two butterflies using the die and used the negative pieces.  I adhered them to the front of the card over the washi tape and added my sentiment.  This has been such a fun and versatile die to work with ... so many ideas and so little time.  Be sure to check out the Just Imagine Crafts/Kreaxions Punches Blog to see what the rest of the design team is up to this month.

 

 

 

Kreaxions Butterfly Die

Today the Design Team Card Reveal is up on the Just Imagine Crafts/Kreaxions Punches Blog.  This month the Design Team is featuring the "Butterfly Die".  I created this "Sing His Praise" card by embossing a piece of cardstock and adhering it to the front of the card.  I then die cut the butterfly from patterned paper and added sequins before adhering it to the embossed piece of cardstock.  For the inside of the card I die cut 5 butterflies and glued them together along the edges of their wings.  I then positioned the middle butterfly along the crease in the card and adhered the outside wings of the first and last butterfly to the cardstock on the inside of the card.  What a fun die to work with!

 

 

 

 

Recycle those pop cans - flowers

I'm sharing a tutorial over at Off The Rails Scrapbooking today:

I love making my own embellishments and found that I could make some unique flowers out of pop cans.  So pick your pop can(s) of choice.  Mine just happen to be Pepsi cans.

 

Step One:

I made sure my cans were clean and dry.

Step Two:

I used a X-Acto knife to make a hole in the side of each can.  I used a pair of scissors to cut down the side of the cans…being VERY careful not to cut myself on the sharp edges as I went.

Step Three:
I cut the top and the bottom of the cans off ... it will look like this.  Discard the tops and bottoms of the cans.

Step Four:
I carefully smoothed out the middle of the pop cans and placed them on top of a Sizzix flower die that I have.  I then ran it through my Cuttlebug.  The Cuttlebug cut through the metal pop can like butter.

 

 

 

 

Step Five:

I then ran the die cut flowers through the Cuttlebug using an embossing folder.

* Again use extreme caution ... the sharp metal cans will draw blood ... I know from experience.  After die cutting the metal pop cans and embossing the flowers, the edges of the flowers are dulled and not as sharp.

I decided to use my flowers on a layout.



 

Pecorino on Cedar

Sometimes when I'm scrapping a photo and going through my stash looking for just the right paper and embellishments I find I don't have a collection that compliments my photo(s).  That's when I start looking at my basic supplies.  Believe it or not using only cardstock can take your project a long way and/or to a new level.

I have a challenge up for the Creative Inspiration March Mini Crop - create a layout, card, tag, ATC or altered project and only use cardstock ... no patterned paper allowed.  You can use embellishments of your choice.
I created this layout for my son's album.  I only used Kraft cardstock and a variety of embellishments.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Design Team's Mini Crop challenges this month and be inspired.

Selfies

It's March 15th and time for the Mid Month DT Reveal at Off The Rails Scrapbooking.  This month along with the mood board challenge you needed to add stitching to your project.  I choose to use these sweet photos of Gracelynn from when she was in the car with her mom's phone taking selfies.  I stitched the strips down along the outer sides.  I'm slowly put surely using up some of my stash.  I've had some of these goodies hoarded, I mean saved for years ... it's about time I used them.

Be sure to check out the Off The Rails Scrapbooking blog to see what the rest of the Design Team came up with.  You won't be disappointed!

 

March Mood Board

 

 

 

"Selfies"

Just For Fun

Today is the Creative Inspiration Design Team Sketch Reveal.  Be sure to check out the forum to see what the rest of the design team did with this fun sketch.  Again, all of the supplies I used to create this layout I found in my stash.  Some of this "stuff" I have had for years.  My goal this year is to use up as much of my stash as I can ... so I can buy new stash lol!

 

 

March Sketch

 

 

 

My take on the sketch

Easter Card

Today I'm sharing a Design Team card I created for the Just Imagine Crafts/Kreaxions Blog.  I created this whimsical Easter card with patterned paper scraps and materials I had in my stash.  I also used the Kreaxions Circle Cutter, the B Stencil, Positioning Parts 8cm (small) and punch #302.

I embossed the doily and then cut it in half before attaching it to the card which made a great focal point for the bunny.

 

Happy Easter

Today is the first of March and that means the Design Team Reveal is up on the Just Imagine Crafts/Kreaxions Punches Blog.  The theme this month is Spring or Easter.  I went with Easter and created this cute card using the following Kreaxions products:
(I've provided links to the Kreaxions products I used.)

Circle Cutter

B Stencil
Punch #305
Positioning Parts 6.8 (small)
Punch #918 with the A insert
After I created the doily I embossed it.
I was a little leery about using white on white but I think the net effect is one of elegance.

 

Industrial Chic

Altered Art Found Object Necklace = Industrial Chic

I have had a bag of old keys for a while now with the intention

that someday I would alter them into something amazing.

Well there is a lot to be said for being retired because that someday finally arrived. 

Actually the last couple of days.  I had so much fun altering the first

key into a necklace that I made 3 more.  My newest altering favorites.

All the items that I used to make these necklaces I had

in my stash except the chain for the "Secret" necklace.

It feels good to be using up some of those hoarded supplies!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another altered bottle

I have been in an altering mood lately.  I forgot how much fun it can be!

I altered this bottle using a new technique (for me) using a glue and seal, crackle paint and distress stain.  I should have done a tutorial - next time. I pulled some lace, seam binding and flowers from my stash to complete this project.  It feels good to be using up that stash.

 

 

 

 

Love is in the air - Two projects today

I absolutely love the look of home decor projects that use oversized letters. There are So Many creative and easy DIY letter decor ideas out there to inspire you!  So with Valentines Day around the corner and love in the air, I figured it was time to purchase a letter or 3 and get crafting.

For this project I used cardboard letters from JoAnn's that I used my 50% off coupons to purchase along with a wreath that I got for 75% off.

 Supplies:

Letters
Wreath
Acrylic Paint
Spray Mist
Scrapbooking Paper
Mod Podge
Glue Gun
Modeling Paste
Stencil
Foam Brushes
Distressing Tool
Embellishments

1) First I painted the sides and backs of my letters with black acrylic paint and let them dry completely.

2) Next I covered the front of the letters with Mod Podge and placed the scrapbooking paper wrong side down on top of the letters and let it dry completely (over night).

3) I then used a X-acto knife and cut the excess paper from around the letters.

4) I then distressed the edges of the letters with a distressing tool.

5) I applied a thin layer of Mod Podge on top of the letters and let it dry completely.

6) I used a stencil and applied the Modeling Paste (which I had colored with acrylic paint).  Let dry completely, I used a heat gun.

7)  Next I applied some spray mist to the front of the letters and let it dry completely.

8) I added my embellishments and adhered with a glue gun.  

I LOVE the way this project turned out and I'm thinking I can come up with ideas for using oversized letters for every season/holiday.

 

 

 

My second project is a card for a design team assignment on the Just Imagine Crafts/Kreaxions Punches Blog. 

 

 

I created this card using my Cricut and the center point feature to cut the heart in the middle of the card.  I used the Kreaxions 4 in 1 punch #905 with no insert to make the black border strip.  The little hearts are the negative pieces from the punch. You talk about getting a bang for your buck ... I love that you can get so many different looks from the same punch depending on the inserts and/or stencils you use with it.



 

 

 

 

 

Altered Bottle

I love altering things and inspiration hit me when I was searching on Pinterest.  I altered this bottle which is a fancy way of saying - decorating a bottle to serve some sort of purpose beyond it's intended use. 

I took this Plain Jane Prima flower bottle (which I have had for years) and transformed it into embellished awesomeness by using an old music sheet,  lace, twine and some metal accents from my stash. 

 

 

 

 

I have the Friday Inspiration post in the forum at Creative Inspiration today.  Check out the details here.  My challenge is for you to alter something ... anything.  Be careful, your creativity might go rampant.