Thinking of You

I finally had a chance to play along with the Creating Pretty Cards sketch #37 this last week. Of course I don't get around to sharing it until the last day that you can play along. So here is the fun layered up card that I created. I love the bright and bold stripes from the Moonlight DSP Stack.

Here is the sketch that was posted over at Craft Project Central.

 

Here are all the supplies: 

• Crumb Cake card stock 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", scored at 4-1/4"
• Moonlight DSP 4-1/8" x 5-3/8"
• Silver Glimmer Paper 1/8" x 5-1/2"
• 24" Whisper White Baker's Twine
• Stamps: Sassy Salutations, Truly Grateful
• Ink: Strawberry Slush, Pool Party
• Accessories: Apothecary Accents Framelits, Banner Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals, Paper Piercing Tool, Stampin' Pierce Mat, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Paper Doilies, 2-Way Glue Pen

 I started off by folding the Crumb Cake card stock on the score line then stuck the DSP down with some glue stick. Next I cut one of the Paper Doilies in half and use a little more Glue Stick to glue it onto the bottom right of the card front. Next up I glued the Glimmer Paper right across the middle of the card with some 2-Way Glue Pen.

I used the smallest Banner Framelit with a scrap of Strawberry Slush card stock to cut out the little banner. Then I used the second from smallest Banner Framelit to cut out a scrap of Pool Party card stock for the larger banner. I took the chevron woodgrain image from Truly Grateful and stamped it onto the Pool Party banner. The Pool Party banner was glued down with more glue stick while the Strawberry Slush banner was stuck on with a couple Stampin' Dimensionals.

Next up I took the twine and wrapped it around the card twice and tied it into a nice little bow. I stamped the greeting from Sassy Salutations onto a scrap of Whisper White card stock in Strawberry Slush ink. Then I cut it out with one of the Apothecary Accents Framelits. I used the Paper Piercing Tool and Stampin' Pierce Mat to add the pierced holes all the way around the label. 

The label was stuck onto the card front with a few Stampin' Dimensionals and a couple Rhinestones were added onto either end to glam it up. 

I really love all the fun layers and bright colors on this card! Have you been playing with any fun sketch challenges lately? 

Pink Crochet Baby Blanket

So there is kind of a funny story about this pretty little blanket. My sister-in-law had just recently shared the news that she was having a baby. I knew I wanted to crochet a baby blanket for her but it was too soon to know if it was a boy or if it was a girl. I'm sure you can see where this is going...

Well I wanted to go ahead and get started on a blanket so I didn't have to rush and could actually get it finished on time instead of the usual procrastination that I do. I figured what the heck... I had a 50/50 chance of getting it right. So I started off with a pink one for a girl. Well just a day or two after I finished this one up I found out she was actually having a boy. I am so happy for her, but it's just my luck to pick the wrong one. I still had plenty of time to make a blue version.

Since this is slightly different from the other pattern here is the pattern for this pink version:

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Soft Pink (2 skeins) and Watermelon (2 skeins)

Size H hook

It is an easy granny square and worked up pretty quickly. I think it took about four evenings. In case you want the pattern here it is. 

Starting with Soft Pink: 

Round 1: Ch 6, join with slip stitch to first ch to make a ring. Ch 3, 2 dc in ring. Ch 2, 3 dc in ring. Ch 2, 3 dc in ring. Ch 2, 3 dc in ring. Join with slip stitch to top of ch 3.

Round 2: Ch 3. Turn project over and add 2 dc in the ch space from the previous row. *Ch 3, 3 dc, Ch 1, 3 dc*, repeat from * two more times. Ch 3, 3dc, ch 1, join with slip stitch to top of ch 3. 

Round 3 - 12: Ch 3. Turn project over and add  2 dc in the ch space from the previous row. Continue crocheting dc in sets of 3 with 1 ch between each set the length of the side and 3 ch between each pair of 3 dc on the corners. 

Round 13 - 14: Use Watermelon yarn.

Round 15 - 17: Use Soft Pink yarn.

Round 18 - 19: Use Watermelon yarn.

Round 20 - 22: Use Soft Pink yarn.

Round 23 - 28: Use Watermelon yarn. Bind off

Round 29: Use Watermelon yarn. Begin in one of the corner chain spaces. Single crochet all the way around. Sc 3 stitches in each corner stitch. Join to first sc with slip stitch.

Round 30: Slip stich to the 3rd sc from the corner turn project over sc in that 3rd stitch from the corner. Dc 12 times into the corner sc, skip next 2 sc, sc in next stitch. Skip next 2 sc, *dc 7 times, skip next 2 sc, sc in next stitch*. Repeat from * until you reach the corner. Then dc 12 times in the corner. Repeat until you have gone all the way around the blanket and slip stitch into first sc.

Round 31: Sc in each stitch around, slip stitch into first sc.

Bind off and weave in ends using your preferred method.  

I really love the scalloped edge on this. The final row of single crochet really makes the edges look nice and neat.

Now this pretty pink one is sitting and waiting for a home...

Enjoy the pattern!

Linking up to these parties.

Sail Boat Baby Shower

A while ago someone contacted me about making some sail boat baby shower invitations. But she was in a rush for them and ended up running out of time for shipping and production of 30 baby shower invitations. However, I thought this sweet little sail boat card came out adorable. 

It's been quite some time since I made this so I don't remember the punches used, but the inspiration for the sail boat came from Mary Fish.

I just thought I would share this cute card instead of keeping the pictures hidden on my hard drive. 

Floral Wall Art

For a simple gift I re-purposed this four panel frame by popping in some pieces of Whisper White card stock that I stamped with images from Peaceful Petals and Sweetbriar Rose in Momento Ink. Then I simple colored in the images with a variety of Blendabilites markers. 

• Stamps: Peaceful Petals, Sweetbrier Rose, Everything Eleanor, Perfect Pennants
• Ink: Momento Black, Versamark
• Blendabilites Markers: Daffodil Delight, Coastal Cabana, Wisteria Wonder, Old Olive
• Accessories: Iridescent Ice embossing powder, Gold embossing powder, uni-ball Signo Gel Pen, Rhinestones

On one panel I added this fabulous greeting from Perfect Pennants in gold embossing powder. Each panel was stamped with the large beautiful swirl from Everything Eleanor in Versamark ink and embossined in Irridescent Ice embossing powder.

In the Sweetbriar Rose flower centers I added some white dots with my uni-ball Signo Gel Pen.

This was such a fun and simple project. I just taped the card stock to the backside of the mat and popped it into the frame and it was done! Did I mention I just LOVE the new Blendabilities markers???

What have you been using your new Blendabilites on? 

Green Necklace Set

This beautiful silver chain and green bead necklace and earring set was the second gift I made to send to my exchange partner for the Craftaholics Anonymous Summer Gift Exchange. All the beads and chain were form my stash so I have no idea who made them.

I even made a cute little tag with a bow to hold the necklace and earrings together.

I packaged the necklace and earrings in this lovely box that was a convention make and take from last year. It worked perfectly to give the necklace set with a bit of candy!

Have you been making any jewelry lately?

Linking up to these parties. 

Sending Good Thoughts

The main image panel for this card really came about as a screw up from the card on this project. On that particular project I was looking for a smoother transition between the colors. But when I tried to take the ink pads directly to the DSP the DSP kept sticking to the ink pad and not letting go. I was getting pretty irritated. So the piece for this card sat on my work table for a couple of weeks.

 

• Pool Party card stock 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", scored at 4-1/4"
• Whisper White card stock 3-7/8" x 5-1/8"
• Watercolor Wonder DSP 3-3/4" x 5"
• Stamps: Perfect Pennants
• Ink: Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Night of Navy, Stazon
• Accessories: Silver Glimmer Paper, Chevron Border Punch, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Brights Buttons, 2-Way Glue Pen, Stampin' Dimensionals, Heat Tool, Vanilla Smooch Spritz

Then one day as I was cleaning up I decided to turn it into a card. Because, after all, the piece did look pretty cool. So first I took a spray bottle and sprayed the card stock with some water and dried it with my Heat Tool. That created all the little splotches that you see. Then I sprayed it with some Vanilla Smooch Spritz to give it some more splotches as well as some sparkle. I stamped the greeting in the lower left hand corner in Stazon ink. Finally I was ready to stick it down onto some Whisper White card stock with Glue Stick.

 

I wanted to add even more glimmer to the card so I took some scraps of Silver Glimmer Paper and punched it with the Chevron Border Punch. I took just the chevron pieces and glued them into the upper right hand corner of the panel with 2-Way Glue Pen.

I wrapped the panel a couple times with some Whisper White Baker's Twine and tied it into a knot. Then I threaded the twine through a Brights button and tied it into a bow.

Then I just stick this panel onto the card front with some Stampin' Dimensionals. Not bad for a piece I was irritated with and ready to throw away.

Do you have pieces that you get frustrated with and set aside then later find the perfect use for them?

Progression of a Painting

As an artist it is always interesting and even amazing to see how a project starts off and doesn't look like much of anything. You get the thoughts in your head that this looks terrible. That a child could paint better than this. But you're persistent and keep on going adding more here and there in those spots that just need something more. Until finally you get to the point where it is done in your eyes. Those who buy the art just see the finished piece. Not the process that takes place while developing it.

So I thought it would be interesting to take photos of a painting as it progresses so you can see some of my process. This particular mixed media piece I was painting as a gift for the Craftaholics Anonymous gift exchange.

Supplies Used:

• 12" x 12" Canvas
• 12" x 12" text print scrapbook paper
• DecoArt Americana Paint: French Gray Blue, Bahama Blue, Desert Sand, Whispering Turquoise, Alzarian Crimson, Royal Purple, Forest Green, Espresso, Golden Straw, Berry Red, Charcoal Gray, Irish Moss
• DecoArt Multisurface Satin Paint: Dark Scarlet, Black Tie, Cotton Ball
• Decoupage, Soft Charcoal Pencil, bubble wrap, DecoArt Decou-Page, Tim Holtz Dot Fade stencil, DecoArt Gold Glamour Dust

Although you really can't see it here I started off by painting the sides of the canvas in Espresso and then decoupaged the scrapbook paper onto the canvas. Then I coated it with a variety of paints trying to blend them somewhat. I added some streaks of brown for stem like shapes. 

Here is where I decided that it was too bold and bright so I added a wash of Cotton Ball paint that was thinned down with water. I used a stencil I picked up from the paint section at Home Depot and a sponge to add the white filigree on the left side. I also added a layer of Gold Glamour Dust paint on top of the white filigree with the same stencil. I sponged on some dot type shapes with the Tim Holtz Dot Fade stencil in some more Espresso paint. Then I brushed some Golden Straw paint on some bubble wrap and pressed it onto the canvas in a few places to add some fun pattern and texture. 

I added some white bubble wrap print as well. Then I started to paint on the flowers in Berry Red. This is where I was seriously questioning my painting skills. The flowers looked terrible. But I kept going and worked to add more shadows and distinguish the highlights on the flowers better. 

After a lot of adding shadows here and there and adding some black dots in the center of the flower, some light colored stems, some charcoal pencil around the edges blended out to create more shadow and define the flower petals. 

Here is what my work table looked like when I was done. What a huge mess!

Now you can see some of the details of the finished panting. I almost didn't want to give the finished painting away because I liked it so much!

I used a fine point sharpie to add my initials in the bottom corner.

I really love how all the colored layers came together to give these bright flowers a beautiful background. I must say I am very proud of this painting!

What do you think?

Linking up to these parties. 

Dressed Up Desk Organizer DIY

I scored this fabulous desk organizer at a flea market recently and wanted to dress it up a bit. The dark faux wood was just not doing it for me. So I took some Krylon Gloss White spray paint and went to town. I didn't get a before picture of it, but it is exactly like this one that I found on Etsy. But I managed to snag mine for just $5. 

It has some great leaf detail on the front that looks like carved wood. Such a fun pattern and texture as long as you can see past that ugly faux wood coloring it originally had. 

So after cleaning it up with some soap and water and letting it dry I sprayed several coats of Krylon Gloss White spray paint until it was nice and covered. I think it was four or five thin coats. 

I took some retired designer series paper and cut it down to 3" long, then cut it to the width of each of the sections in the organizer. A little bit of DecoArt Decou-Page did the trick to glue down the patterned paper. Then I coated the entire thing with about four coats of a Krylon gloss sealer. 

Now it just sits pretty holding lots of my tools on my work table! I love being able to give new life to things that might otherwise end up in the landfill. 

Have you been working on any upcycling lately? Or DIYing any garage sale finds? 

Flower Explosion

Okay, I know I said this card I posted last week was one of my favorites. Well this card is definitely my favorite! This stamp set was at the very top of my first new catalog order. Although it does make you want to use almost every ink pad you have....

It just makes such beautiful flowers! It's also photopolymer so you can see exactly where you are stamping and you don't even have to use the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig!



• Hello Honey card stock 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", scored at 4-1/4"
• Soft Sky card stock 3-3/4" x5"
• Whisper White card stock 3-1/2" x 4-3/4"
• 10" Chevron Ribbon
• Stamps: Flower Patch
• Ink: Regal Rose, Strawberry Slush, Rose Red, Soft Sky, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Stazon
• Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, Natural Chevron Ribbon

This card really is all about the stamping. So I started off by folding the Hello Honey card stock on the score line. Then I took the piece of Whisper White card stock and started stamping my flowers. The largest pink flower was stamped in Regal Rose (which happens to be retired but I didn't realize it). The middle pink flower is Strawberry Slush had the smallest pink flower center is Rose Red.

For the blue flowers I stamped the larger one in Soft Sky had the smaller center in Pool Party ink. Next up were the leaves. I stamped them in Old Olive ink and just stamped two leaves before inking up the stamp again. Finally the small flowers were stamped in Daffodil Delight ink. I just love all these bright fun flowers!

 

The greeting I stamped onto the bottom of the flower panel in Stazon ink.

 

Finally I glued this layer onto the Soft Sky card stock. The Natural Chevron Ribbon was wrapped around the top of the panel and tied it into a knot. This layer was stuck onto the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals. Finally I stamped the same pink flower and leaves inside the card.

 



 What do you think of this lovely new stamp set?