Software Meets Christmas Tree

Today is the start of the last challenge for 2013 at Sugar Creek Hollow and it is called Recycling & Re-purposing.  We would love to see your entries but they must be either vintage or shabby chic (or a combination of both).  Your entry must include one or more items that have been recycled or used for a different purpose and you must tell us about it in your post so that we know your entry meets the theme and is eligible for any of the prizes.

A year ago or so my husband brought home a whole pile of software CD-ROMs and DVDs from work that were being sent to the garbage and asked if I wanted them for crafting and of course I said yes and added them to my stash not having any idea at the time how I could use them.  Since then I have discovered that they make the best bases for Christmas ornaments and this is the third one I have used for that purpose.

I got my husband to drill two holes opposite each other but in the end, I only used one this time.  Then I printed some digital paper from Summertime Designs and cut it into 2 1/2" squares.  Each square was folded into thirds to create a point and glued onto the CD in two layers.

Next I cut some loops with my Cameo and some gold card stock from Recollections and added them to each of the points on the top layer.  A gem from Dollarama was added to the top of each loop.

I printed the vintage Santa from The Graphics Fairy, cut it out and trimmed the edge with some gold Stickles by Ranger.  I added some lace from my stash to the back and then mounted Santa on a scalloped circle that was cut using a Nellie Snellen die and some red glitter card stock from Dollarama.  Some gold cord from my sewing cupboard was added as a hanger and then a plain card stock circle was added to the back to hide the CD.

I am going to enter this in the following challenges:

Happy Campers  - Christmas
Crafting For All Seasons - Anything Christmas But A Card
Ruby's Rainbow - It's Christmas
Inky Chicks - Christmas
Parade Your Crafts - Christmas Projects

Vintage Christmas

It is time for another two-week challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow called VINTAGE CHRISTMAS.  We want you to make vintage or shabby chic Christmas cards, table decorations, ornaments or decor items.

Avril Branthwaite is joining us as a Guest Designer for this challenge so pop over to her blog and check out her work and make her feel welcome.

This card was so easy to make and is thin enough that I should be able to pay regular postage for it.  I started with Staples card stock for the card blank and then added a couple of background paper from Summertime Designs.  The sentiment is computer generated.

Next I printed the Santa image that I found online but now can't find in my computer so I apologize for not giving proper credit.   The Santa panel was embossed it with the Cuttlebug Snowflakes embossing folder and Tim Holtz Circle Diffuser.  The snowflakes were cut on my Cameo and I added some gems from my stash.  Everything was inked with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink from Ranger.

Finally, I added a double bow of organza ribbon that I bought at Michaels.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Crafts 4 Eternity  - Non-traditional Christmas
Crafty Catz - Santa Claus is coming to town
Totally Papercrafts - Ho, Ho, Holidays
Fairytale - Photo Inspiration
4 Crafty Chicks - Christmas
Creative Moments - Anything Goes/Vintage
Creative Craft Challenges 2 - Non-traditional Christmas Colours
Lexi's Creations  - Christmas

Gift Tags & Note Cards

The challenge for the next two weeks at Frilly and Funkie is called Gift Tags and Note Cards, both of which should be in high demand with Christmas fast approaching.  You can make one or the other or even both if you like but make sure they are vintage or shabby chic.

I got really ambitious to start with and decided to make a set of four of each and began with the gift tags.  To make each tag, I took some white card stock and cut it into a tag shape.  Then I used a chewed up old sponge dauber and swirled some Frayed Burlap Distress Ink on it to make the background.  I punched a circle from some dark red card stock, added it to the tag and then punched a hole in the centre of it.  Finally I stamped a little background feature from the Tim Holtz Ultimate Grunge set.

Each tag has a border of patterned paper from the Maja Designs It's Christmas Time paper pad and before I attached it to the tag I cut the top edge with a Martha Stewart edge punch.  Then I added some fibre across the patterned paper using ribbon and large ric rac from my stash along with some May Arts crochet lace and jute ribbon from The Funkie Junkie Boutique. A button, brad and filigree metal piece were added to three of the tags.

Next each tag got a panel from Tim Holtz color core card stack and embossed using the Tim Holtz Bubbles Texture Fade and a panel stamped with the ornament from a Tim Holtz mini blueprint set.  I coloured the ornaments with Prismacolors blended with Gotrick odorless mineral spirits.  A gold Sakura gel pen was used to highlight the cap and the decorations on the band.

I cut the snowflakes from white corrugated cardboard with a Spellbinders die and highlighted them with some of the Frayed Burlap Distress Ink.  A gold card centre and a teeny gem finished them off.

Finally, I dyed some seam binding with Aged Mahogany Distress Ink and added it to the top along with some lace seam binding from my sewing cupboard.

I have been sick for a month (it started with a cold and then I had a reaction to an antibiotic) so I fade pretty quickly and by the time I finished the tags, I must admit I didn't really have the energy to go all out on the set of note cards.  I should have really concentrated on doing one of each.  Mind you I can't put much texture on the note cards if I intend to mail them because the post office charges extra for thickness so let's use that as my excuse :)  Oh, and I think I am finally turning the corner and will survive.

What I decided to do was make simpler cards that complimented the tags and used some of the same elements with a few twists.  I have used the same Maja Designs papers, made the same embossed panels and snowflakes but I have put the bands of fibre on a little differently and used just lace seam binding in two shades.  The sentiment is computer generated.

The following items used to create these projects can be found at The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Tags or Boxes at Sugar Creek Hollow

The challenge for the next two weeks at Sugar Creek Hollow is called Tags or Boxes.  All of the gals on the Design Team as well as our Guest Designer, Bonnie Garby, have made tags so I went rogue and made a box.  After all, the challenge is called Tags or Boxes.  We want to see vintage or shabby chic projects and with Christmas fast approaching both will be needed.

I decided to make a box, not only because I suspected there would be a lot of tags but also because my daughter has a birthday soon after Christmas and since I have already bought her birthday gift I know that it will fit perfectly in this Wallet Box.

Here is a look at the back and sides of this box.

I cut all the pieces for the base from some Recollections card stock and scored everything.  The base, except for the accordion sides was put together using double-sided tape.  Then I cut all the patterned paper for both the outside and inside making sure to leave a small border.  The patterned paper is digital paper that I got as a freebie from Far Far Hill.

The next step was to do some stamping over all the outside pieces, except for the piece on the closure, which matches the inside paper.  I used one of the stamps from the Tim Holtz Ultimate Grunge set as well as a Paper Artsy Mini.  Black Ranger Archival ink was used for the stamping.

Then I stenciled the leaves on using Dusty Concord Distress Ink by Ranger and a stencil called Botanical by Momenta.  The last step before gluing the patterned paper to the base was to ink all the edges with Ranger's Pumice Stone Distress Ink.

The embellishment on the closure involved cutting two scraps of card stock and taking a Martha Stewart edge punch to them.  After they were adhered to the closure, I added some pearl flourishes from Dollarama, some feathers from my stash and a deep purple rose from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Finally, I added the accordion sides and some adhesive Velcro dots to keep the closure in place.

I am going to enter this project in the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps - Anything Goes
City Crafter - Hold It

Christmas Preparations

I know this a huge photo but I really wanted you to be able to see what I made for the new challenge at Frilly and Funkie.  The challenge is called CHRISTMAS PREPARATIONS and our hostess Sue wants you to make shabby chic or vintage items for your table, your tree, your holiday decor or even crackers for your Christmas dinner.

I have made a Tussie Mussie to hang on my tree and since this is a big one (10") it will fill in one of those pesky bare spots.  Now my tree is primarily decked out in red and gold but I do have a few gold and white ornaments so that is why I made this in these colors.

On November 30th, I am going to do a Step X Step feature over at Frilly and Funkie and show you how this was made so plan to pop over there for all the details.

I am going to enter this in the following challenges:

Bunny Zoe's Crafts  - Shabby Chic/Vintage
Make My Monday Challenge - Anything But A Card - Christmas Style
Crafty Calendar Challenge - All Things Christmas

I used trim, pearls, a brad, feathers, a pine cone, beaded trim and gold balls from my stash and I used the following products from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Friday Focus at Frilly & Funkie

It is my turn to host the Friday Focus at Frilly and Funkie and this week I am sharing projects made with May Arts products, including a new card that I am teasing you with above.  To see the finished card and find out how I made it, pop over to Frilly and Funkie.

From now until next Thursday, the May Arts products at The Funkie Junkie Boutique are 15% off the already discounted prices so now is a great time to stock up - and don't forget to check out the rest of the shop while you are there.

Vintage Christmas

The challenge for the next two weeks at Sugar Creek Hollow is ANYTHING VINTAGE GOES so that means you can make anything as long as it is vintage or shabby chic. 

Since we are able to make anything this time I decided to try to grow my very small stash of Christmas cards.  In Canada the cost of mailing a letter or card depends more on the weight and the thickness and we don't get penalized for the shape.  So that means we can mail square cards with no extra postage provided it fits through this itty bitty little slot that the postmaster has.  As a result my Christmas cards have to be pretty flat like this one is or I can expect a hard time from my dear husband since they were too thick one year and he had to buy extra postage and stand there and put it on each and every card.

For this card I used card stock from Recollections for everything but the background and that is from a paper pack called Norland from Farm House Paper Company.

The image is from an Artistic Outpost stamp set called Sleigh Ride and has been stamped with Black Archival Ink from Ranger.  I used the Sheet Music Texture Fade by Tim Holtz to emboss the green panel and then highlighted it with Classic Treasure Gold from Connoisseur Studio.  The scrollwork panel was made with a Tim Holtz die and then some Fabricland satin ribbon was added to it.

The sentiment has been stamped with one of the stamps from the Simple Sayings stamp set from Tim Holtz.  The Poinsettia was cut with my Cameo.  Pearl stickers from Recollections were added to the centre of the poinsettia and to the image panel.  Aged Mahogany and Forest Moss Distress Ink from Ranger were used to ink the different elements.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Paper Crafting Journey - Anything Goes
Lady Anne's Challenges - Anything Goes (must use a stamp)
Whimsy Inspirations - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

The following items were purchased at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

The Fall Harvest

It is time for a new two-week challenge at Frilly and Funkie and this time we want you to make vintage or shabby chic projects that depict HARVEST or THANKSGIVING.

I was away for a week and when I got back I had a pile of catch-up to do on my Son-in-Law's books along with a couple of sessions looking after my Grandchildren so I have to admit I rushed my card and being my own worst critic, I am not really happy with it but it does speak to the bounties of a fall harvest.  While we didn't pick our own apples, we did pick up a couple of large bags for eating and cooking and wow are they yummy at this time of year.

I started with a piece of  Bazzill card stock for the card blank and then worked on the background.  I used a baby wipe to paint a piece of white card stock with Guacamole, Hey Pesto & Green Olives chalk acrylics by Fresco Finish.  Then I took a sea sponge and dabbed on a bit of Blood Orange Fresco Finish here and there. I then stamped some leaves from a Just Right stamp set using Coffee Archival ink.  Next I used some black Archival ink to stencil the honeycomb pattern.  Finally it was distressed and inked with Vintage Photo distress ink.

The lovely lady gathering apples is an image that I found online at Abduzeedo and I have mounted her on some burlap.  I cut the leaves with metal foil using the Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves die.  Then I embossed them with the Victoria embossing folder from Cuttlebug and coloured them with some Ranger Alcohol inks.

The large flower has been cut from a coffee filter using the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die and then dyed using Wild Honey Distress Ink.  A brad from Making Memories was used for the centre.  I made the stick pin myself and then put the fruit and floral spray together with little apples and the sunflower (if that is what it is supposed to be) that have been in my stash for eons along with roses from Wild Orchid Crafts.

The gorgeous brown pleated ribbon is from May Arts and came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique along with the stunning metal piece to which I added some gems from Dollarama.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenge:

Cuttin and Stampin Challenges  - Autumn Harvest

The following items were purchased at The Funkie Junkie Boutique - a super place to shop with fabulous prices and great customer service.

A Tea Party for the Birds

The new challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow is called BIRDS OF A FEATHER and we want to see vintage or shabby chic cards or other paper-crafted projects featuring birds and nests.

To create my card, I started with some Recollections card stock for the card blank.  Next I took some paper from my stash and added some stenciling using the Mini Tiny Circles stencil from The Crafter's Workshop and some Broken China Distress Ink from Ranger.

I embossed a piece of pink card stock from stash with the Juli's Garden embossing folder by Cuttlebug and then highlighted the raised areas with the Broken China Distress Ink.  Next I added some lace that I picked up at an outdoor market on my trip to England and some white satin ribbon from Kate's Paperie.

When I saw this image at The Graphics Fairy, I fell in love with it and knew I wanted to use it for this challenge.  Before I mounted it to the card I added some Cotton Candy Stickles by Ranger to the outer edge.

The flower came from Excelsior Wholesale and was actually white but I chopped the centre out, coloured it with a Copic marker and then added the button and the burlap thread from my stash.  I made a couple of loops from the satin ribbon and added some crinkly pink seam binding and some fun fibre from my stash before I added the flower.  I added all of this over some white feathers clipped from a feather boa that I bought at Dollarama.

A little piece of doily from my stash and some pearl stickers from Dollarama were added to finish everything off.

Saturday Step X Step at Frilly & Funkie

I promised you on Wednesday that I would show you step by step how the card I posted for the current challenge at Frilly & Funkie was created so pop over there and check out all the details.

Goulish Halloween

I am in Mississippi this week visiting with some lovely crafting friends so this post has been scheduled.

The new challenge at Frilly & Funkie is called WHAT'S YOUR POISON.  We want to see vintage or shabby chic cards or other projects for Halloween.  But there is a twist - you must use black and green and orange is not allowed.

On Saturday, I am going to show you step by step over at Frilly and Funkie how I made this card so I won't go into all the details right now.  I will however give credit to Plumrose Lane for this goulish little boy and the spiders, to The Graphics Fairy for the crow and to Soap Deli News for the poison labels.

I also used the following products from The Funkie Junkie Boutique to create this card:

Romantic Anniversary

 The challenge for the next two weeks at Sugar Creek Hollow is called ROMANCE.  We want to see vintage or shabby chic cards and other projects that depict Romance.

We are welcoming a new sponsor for this challenge.  Really Reasonable Ribbon is generously providing one random winner with a $15 gift certificate to their online store, which is loaded with fabulous ribbons, trims and flowers.

Since I was still in England and my husband was here at home on September 20th, which was our 38th  anniversary, the day itself couldn't be romantic but I think this card that I left for him is romantic and he liked it so that counts for something.

I started with some cream card stock from Staples for my card blank and then added a background from My Mind's Eye.  I found the wonderful image online (sorry I thought I wrote down the source) and I have mounted it on a scalloped rectangle that I cut using my Cameo from pink card stock from my scraps and then added a couple little dew drops from my stash.

The corner is a piece from the Venetian Motifs Shapabilities die from Spellbinders and the pearl flourishes are from Dollarama.  The sentiment is computer generated, cut out with a pair of Fiskars mini scallop scissors and edged with some chalk from Mungyo.  The same chalk was used on the doily, which also came from my scraps.

I used the gorgeous ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon to make the rosette and the tails.  A pearl brad from Gartner makes the centre of the rosette and then a few little roses from Wild Orchid Crafts were added to finish things off.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Crafty Ribbons - Anything Goes with Ribbon
Fab 'n' Funky - Ribbon
The Paper Shelter - Shabby Chic
Whimsy Stamps Inspirations Challenge - Vintage/Shabby Chic
A Little Bit Crafty - A Little Bit Shabby
Live and Love Crafts - Pink
The Pink Elephant Challenge - Anniversary or Wedding

The Colours of Autumn

The new challenge at Frilly and Funkie is all about making vintage or shabby chic cards or other projects that depict AUTUMN COLOURS but with a twist - YOU MUST ADD LEAVES.  By the way, the rules have been changed so when you enter the Frilly and Funkie challenge you can now enter up to nine other challenges for a total of 10.

I arrived back from my 3-week vacation in England to find that many of the trees have started to turn and the colours are so vibrant so it wasn't hard to think of Autumn colours and leaves for my project for this challenge.  Oh and the vacation was terrific with lots of super day trips, visiting with crafting friends and eating way too much.

I started with some rust coloured card stock from The Paper Studio as my card blank and added a background of some Provo Craft paper that has been in my stash for years.

Next I embossed a piece of card stock with a Tim Holtz Texture Fade and created a mat from deep yellow card stock for my image using a stamp from a Tim Holtz grunge stamp set and some Coffee Archival Ink.  Then I proceeded to cover them both up - what is up with that!  If you look closely you can see both the texture and the stamping.

My wonderful vintage image comes from the online Digital Collection at the New York Public Library.  Everything has been distressed and inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

The leaves were all gifts from Linda Coughlin, the owner of Frilly and Funkie and some came already stamped while the corrugated ones were plain kraft and I coloured them with distress stains and then rubbed some gold Texture Gold on them to make them shimmer.

Finally, I dyed some rayon seam binding with distress ink to make the crinkly bow and added it to a piece of crochet lace.  The button came from my stash and has a bow made from burlap string.  The little berries were robbed from an old wreath that I found in the cupboard.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Come and Get It Challenges - Fall Color Challenge
Dream Valley Challenges  - Autumn
Rogue Redhead Designs - Autumn Colors
Parade Your Crafts - Fall
Really Reasonable Ribbon - Fall or Halloween and Ribbon

The following items came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique where prices are always discounted from the manufacturer's suggested price:

Fall is in the Air

Oh my, hard to believe but fall is fast approaching so the new two-week challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow is called FALL IS IN THE AIR.  We want you to make vintage or shabby chic cards depicting fall.

I found this wonderful image by Kate Greenaway in the digital collection at the New York Public Library web site .  The card blank is Bazzill card stock, the background paper is digital paper from Sprouting Seeds Studio and the green paper is from Provo Craft.

I cut the flower with the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die using a cone shaped coffee filter.  It has been inked with Scattered Straw and Dried Marigold Distress Ink from Ranger.  I added a button from my stash for the centre.

Two of the leaves were cut with the Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves die, embossed with the Victoria embossing folder from Cuttlebug and inked with Bundled Sage and Dried Marigold Distress Ink from Ranger.  The patterned leaves are from a clear stamp set by Just Right and were stamped with Coffee Archival Ink from Ranger, fussy cut and inked with Bundled Sage and Dried Marigold Distress Ink.

The flourish corners were cut with my Cameo and the spray of berries came from my stash.  The pearls are from Dollarama.

Friday Focus at Frilly & Funkie

Today it is my turn to present the Friday Focus segment at Frilly and Funkie and Linda has asked me to feature two products from The Funkie Junkie Boutique - crinoline and venise lace.

Here is a sneak peak at my project but to learn all about it and the products I used to create it, click here to be taken to Frilly and Funkie.

Pie Anyone?

The new two-week challenge at Frilly and Funkie is called EAT, DRINK & BE MERRY.  We want to see you create vintage or shabby chic projects that feature food or drink or both.

I found this great image online of a gorgeous cherry pie being taken out of the oven at My Kinda Vintage and decided to go with a cherry theme.  The cookbook cover was an online find. 

The card blank is some textured card stock from The Paper Studio and the papers are from Raspberry Road.  A Tim Holtz Collage Texture Fade was used to emboss the gold Recollections card stock.  I used a Martha Stewart Arch Lattice edge punch to create a little border and then added some ric rac from my sewing cupboard.   The pearls are from Dollarama and the button and floss are from my stash.

The lovely filigree corner piece has been painted with some red craft paint and then sealed with some Matte Multi Medium.  The little lace motif is actually a section cut from a longer piece of lace.  Everything has been aged with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink by Ranger.

The following items used in this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique where you will always find products at least 20% less than the manufacturer's suggested price.

My Rose Garden

My Rose Garden is the name of the next two-week challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow.  We want you to make vintage or shabby chic cards or other paper-crafted projects with lots of roses.

Heather Hudson at My Artistic Adventures is sponsoring us this week and all of us on the Design Team have used rose images from her lovely collage sheets.

I started with Staples white card stock for my card blank and used papers from Raspberry Road.  The lace is from a bridal supply store and I ran a piece of satin cording through it that has been in my stash for years.  I added a few little gems from Michaels for some sparkle.

I used some Worn Lipstick Distress Ink from Ranger on a little frame from the dollar store and added a computer generated sentiment.  The roses are from Wild Orchid Crafts and the tulle is from Fabricland.  I added some pink satin ribbon from my stash and some fibres from EK Success to the rose tag from My Artistic Adventures.

Every Possibility

It is time for another new two-week challenge at Frilly and Funkie and this time it is an easy one - ANYTHING GOES.  Of course your project must be vintage or shabby chic but you can create anything in your Frilly or Funkie style.  Don't forget though that you can only enter your project at Frilly & Funkie and four other challenges.

Now I know I am supposed to be making Frilly projects for your inspiration but I had a request to make a card for a friend to give to her minister because he is leaving her church to go to a large Toronto church.  I decided to accept her commission and kill two birds with one stone so this is my Anything Goes offering. 

Literally as this posts I am landing in Birmingham, England for a three-week vacation visiting dear friends, including Sue my teammate at Frilly and Funkie.  Since I am going to be gone for so long I had to get all my DT projects done before I left along with related blog posts so when I saw a chance to lighten my load, I have to admit I took it.

I used some Bazzill card stock for the card blank and some very old Provo Craft paper for the background.  I used some Wild Honey, Peeled Paint and Vintage Photo Distress Ink by Ranger to create one panel and then embossed a piece of Recollections card stock with a Tim Holtz Patchwork Texture Fade to create another panel.  It was also inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I used the Tim Holtz Stuff to Say stamp set to stamp the sentiment and the Steampunk set for the three dapper gentlemen using Ranger Black Archival ink.  The sentiment was cut out with a pair of Fiskars deckle scissors and then inked with the same Distress Inks.  The gentlemen were stamped onto a piece of plaid paper from my scraps and inked.  I added some burlap, a few metal pieces and a button on top of a little embossed circle.

So this certainly isn't Frilly but then it can't be when it is for a fellow and I don't really think it is Funkie so let's call this FRUNKIE - LOL.

Here are the products I have used from The Funkie Junkie Boutique - a super place to shop since everything is always discounted at least 20% from the manufacturer's suggested price - and the most awesome customer service.

Back to School

The new two-week challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow is called BACK TO SCHOOL and we want to see your vintage or shabby chic school-themed projects.

This week we have a Guest Designer joining us so please make Mynette Kitchen feel welcome and head over to her blog to check out her work.

School starts on September 3rd where I live and that is the day my husband and I leave for England so I was concerned that I might miss my little Grandson's first day of school since he starts Junior Kindergarten this year.  I have walked with my Granddaughter to every one of her first days (she is going into Grade 2 this year) but in the past the first day for the little ones often has been a week later than the rest of the school.  Thankfully he starts the same day so I will be able to share in his excitement.

I started with some red Bazzill card stock to make my card blank.  The gingham and polka dot paper are from Raspberry Road.  I found the focal image online at Catnip Studio, the flash card is from Red Wagon and the clock is a digital element from Friendly Scrap.

I took a card stock scrap and embossed it with the Notebook Texture Fade from Tim Holtz.  The text are stickers from DCWV and the button, ribbon and twine are all from my stash.  I used Vintage Photo Distress Ink from Ranger on all the pieces.

Step X Step at Frilly and Funkie

It is my turn this week to post the Step X Step feature at Frilly and Funkie and I promised I would tell you how I made the card, hat and hat box for my DT project for the current challenge (My Steamer Trunk) so click here to learn how I did it and see all the products that I used.

My Steamer Trunk

I am the hostess for the new two-week challenge at Frilly and Funkie and I chose MY STEAMER TRUNK as the name for this challenge.  The idea is to create a vintage or shabby chic project that depicts what you might pack in your steamer trunk or where you might be taking it.

I had fun making this combo project so come back on Saturday and I will tell you how I did it.  I made a card, a wee hat and tiny hat box.  My card is about what I would pack to go off on my steamer vacation but I did do a bit off stamping on the background to show where I might be taking it.  It looks like I am off to England, France & Italy.  If truth be known I really am heading to England in 2 weeks and was in Italy last year so now I just need to check France off my list.

I used a focal image from Vintage Fan Girl along with products from The Funkie Junkie Boutique, Michaels and Wild Orchid Crafts but as I mentioned I will tell you in more detail on Saturday.

Here are the products that I used from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Playtime

The challenge for the next two weeks at Sugar Creek Hollow is called A CHILD'S LIFE.  We want to see vintage or shabby chic cards or other paper-crafted projects that depict the life of a child and you must include a child in your project.

This week we are happy to welcome back A Day for Daisies as our sponsor.  They will provide one random winner with a $12 gift certificate to their store and Sugar Creek Hollow will provide a winner's badge.  The Design Team will also select their Top Pick and the creator will receive a winner's badge and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

My card this week features one of the gorgeous images from A Day for Daisies and this one is called Sisters and Dolls.  I was surprised that I really wanted to create with it given that I hated playing with dolls as a kid but this sweet image won me over.  We lived in a really old house and it had a rather scary basement with a barrel where we put paper to be burned (it was legal back then).  Well one early evening my Mother went down with some paper to throw out and started to scream.  In the half light she thought there was a dead baby hanging from the barrel only to find out that it was a doll that I had ripped the head off and thrown over the edge.  Now that I am the age I am (not telling) you would never suspect I was a such rotten little kid - LOL.

The card stock to make my blank is from Recollections.  The papers are from a My Mind's Eye pad called Blush.  I cut the oval with one of the Spellbinders Petite Scalloped Ovals Large Nestabilities and chalked the edges with some Mungyo chalk.  The image has been coloured with Prismacolors and blended with Gotrick OMS.  The ribbon is from Fabricland, the lace from a bridal supply store and the pearl stickers are from Dollarama.  The floral spray is a combination of a recycled piece from an old card and some little roses from Wild Orchid Crafts.  I made the stick pin myself.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Ladybug Crafts - Say It With Flowers
Delightful Challenges - Make It Pop - Layers or Dimension
Milk Coffee Challenge - Show Off Your Coloring Skills
Digi Stamps4 Joy - Make Your Own Embellishments (stick pin)
LEJ Designs - Lovely Lace
Bearly Mine - Tic Tac Toe (Color Pink, Ribbon, Digi Images)
Card Crafters Circle - Ribbon and Lace

By The Seaside

It is time for the new two-week challenge at Frilly and Funkie and our hostess Rebecca wants to see you create vintage or shabby chic projects inspired by sand, sea shells, sunshine and the seaside so she has called the challenge By The Seaside.  Since this is basically the same theme that I set 2 months ago for the Sugar Creek Hollow Design Team for the current challenge, I would say great minds think alike since neither knew what the other was doing - LOL.

I made a 5" x 7" card this time and used some white card stock from Staples for my blank.  Then I started on the background, which also started life as a piece of white card stock.  First I took some embossing paste and stenciled the dots in the upper right corner and then patted some on the bottom to make the sand.

I painted the sand with some tan acrylic paint and once it was dry I inked over it with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  Next I laid some wallboard tape down above the sand for more texture and then painted over it with some blue acrylic paint. Again once it was dry I added some Broken China Distress Ink.

The focal image came from an inactive blog called She Sells Seashells and I turned it to grey scale, flipped it and after it was printed I cut it out and added some Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I then added a little bit of cheesecloth and some lace that has been inked with some of the Vintage Photo Distress Ink. A row of tiny shells and beads was added across the top of the lace.  The beach hut clock came from the web (sorry forgot to write the site down) and the flowers were recycled from a card someone sent to me.  The pebble in the centre came from my stash.  The words were printed on my computer, cut with a pair of deckle scissors and then inked with some Broken China Distress Ink.

I am going to enter this card in thr following challenges:

Dream Valley Challenges - Summer Days
Opus-Gluei - Don't Be Such A Beach
365 cards - Textured Background
Tok-Bobok - Vintage
A Creative Romance - Beach Babes

The following products used to create this card can be found at The Funkie Junkie Boutique where you will always find prices 20% lower than the manufacturer's suggested retail price:

Friday Focus at Frilly and Funkie

This week it is my turn to present the Friday Focus at Frilly and Funkie and I am going to show you how the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die can be used with a wide variety of materials.

This fabric flower that is on the card I made for the current challenge is just one of the flowers that I will show you.

Check out all the details here.

Water, Water, Everywhere

It is time for another two-week challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow and it is called Water, Water, Everywhere.  We want you to create your vintage or shabby chic cards or pther paper-crafted projects with the ocean or beach in mind.

For my card I used white card stock (Staples) and then created the background using Broken China, Faded Jeans and Wild Honey Distress Inks (Ranger).  Then I made the water using similar colours of Adirondack Alcohol Ink (Ranger) on a piece of transparency (sorry they don't have names on the bottles - weird).  The sand is just some torn kraft card stock (Recollections) that has been embossed with a Bubble Texture Fade (Tim Holtz).

I found the image online but forgot to tag it with the web site (oops - my apologies) and it is mounted on top of a tiny piece of corrugated cardboard that I swiped with some Picket Fence Distress Stain (Ranger).  The beach hut was handmade using some striped paper from Free Vintage Digital Stamps, a bit of white card stock (Staples) and finished with a white button from my stash to which I added a blue card candi (Craftwork Cards).

The image, beach hut and sand were all inked with some Frayed Burlap Distress Ink (Ranger).  The sun was made with a Marvy Uchida punch and inked with some Wild Honey Distress Ink (Ranger).  To finish off the card I added a cluster of little shells & beads from Michaels along with some teeny roses from Wild Orchid Crafts.  The pearl (in the clam shell - LOL) is a sticker from Recollections.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Kitty Bee Designs Aloha Friday Challenges  - Summer
Stamping with the Dragon - On the Beach
Fusion Card Challenge - Used Photo Inspration
Happy Campers - Summer
Crafty Creations - Summer
Papercraft Star - Photo Inspiration
Tuesday Throwdown - Toes in the Sand
Bastel-traum - Shabby Chic/Vintage

Fancy Fold at Frilly and Funkie

Boy has the past two weeks flown by because it is already time for a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie.  For this challenge Sue has asked us all to create vintage or shabby chic projects with folds.

I decided to create an accordion card, which isn't the fanciest of folds but more interesting than an ordinary card.  The fun part of this type of card is that you can treat it a little like a mini album, so I did but I kept reminding myself of the postage costs and didn't get too carried away.

The covers have been punched with a Martha Stewart Around The Page Punch and all the papers are from a My Mind's Eye pad called Sunshine.  The big flower on the front was created using a variety of fabrics cut with the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die (more to come on this in a later post) and finished with a button for a centre.  I then added some pretty lace, a computer generated sentiment cut with the Spellbinders Square Fleur de Lis Nestabilities die and some Recollections pearl flourishes.

The first inside page features a filigree corner piece that I painted black, a vintage clock that I found online along with a vintage lady called Lilly Elise.  A pretty lace heart and little cluster of flowers completed this page.

The second inside page has a piece of word art that I created myself and cut with the Spellbinders Square Fleur de Lis Nestabilities die.  The flower is a metal piece that I painted black and then added a button for a centre.

The third inside page features some lace, a Recollections gem flourish and a tag from Create With TLC with a black gem from Michaels.

The final page has a flower cut from the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die with a pearl sticker for a centre and a message box cut from the Spellbinders Square Fleur de Lis Nestabilities die.

Many of the elements have been inked with Antique Linen Distress Ink and a black organza ribbon from Michaels holds the card together.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Anything Goes Challenge - Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly - Die-ing for a Punch
Bastel-traum - Shabby Chic/Vintage
Card and Scrap - Lace or Ribbon
Emmas Cards UK - Die Cuts
Dream Valley Challenges - Fancy Folds
Penny Black & More - Dies & Punches
Corrosive Challenges - Fancy Folds
Hobby House Challenge - Vintage

The following items used to create my project come from the Frilly and Funkie Boutique where you will find items at least 20% less than the manufacturer's suggested retail price.

On The Road

The challenge for the next two weeks at Sugar Creek Hollow is called WHEELS and we want you to create vintage or shabby chic cards featuring vintage things with wheels - cars, bicycles, wheelbarrows, etc.



We are pleased to welcome Doodle Pantry as a sponsor and they will providing one random winner with 3 images of their choice from the Doodle Pantry store.

I have created this collage type card reminiscent of going on holidays with the Vintage Auto image from Doodle Pantry that can be found here.  I coloured it with Prismacolors that I blended with OMS.  I cut an extra image and popped the luggage up a bit.

Then I went online to find the old map for the background, the signs and the ledger page.  I used the Tim Holtz Collage Texture Fade to emboss the kraft layer.  The sentiment came with the vintage auto image and added it to a hand cut tag and finished it with a Making Memories brad.  Everything has been inked with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink from Ranger to make it look even older.

To finish it off I added a button from my stash along with some suede lacing.  This card will work for a guy so with my husband's birthday coming up in September, I am relieved to know that I will actually have a card done for him this year.  Now I just have to remember it - LOL.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Creative Moments - Holidays (as in Vacations)
Crafty Cardmakers - Holidays (as in Vacations)
Digi Makeover - Anything Goes (must use a digi)
Alota Rubber Stamps - Vintage
Emergency Crafters - Summer Days & Holidays
Seema Crafts - Holiday/Vacation

Summertime

Today is my first challenge project for Frilly & Funkie as part of the frilly side of the Design Team.  The challenge for the next two weeks is called Summertime and we want you to create something vintage or shabby chic that reminds you of summer.  You can incorporate a scene, the beach, sunshine, bright colours or FUN. 

Summer always makes me think of flowers and usually bright colours are the norm but summer also reminds me of fresh air and for this project I thought pastel colours fit the bill.

I used some card stock from Bazzill for my card blank and then  found some lovely pale purple paper for my background online at Far Far Hill, which was inked with some Milled Lavender DI.  The next layer is embossed with the Sheet Music Tim Holtz Texture Fades and then inked with Milled Lavender DI.  The tag is a freebie from Astrid Maclean topped with a filigree piece that has been painted white with a pearl sticker added to it.

All of the flowers have been created by cutting crinoline on my Cuttlebug with the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die - one was dyed with Wild Honey DI, one with Milled Lavender DI and the white one just had the edges inked with the Milled Lavender DI.  For the centres, I added a little rose from my stash to one flower and two lovely floral buttons from The Funkie Junkie to the other two.

Over the lace I added some white satin ribbon that I ruffled with my sewing machine and then topped with a narrow green satin ribbon from my stash and some pearl stickers.  The butterfly was made from vellum with a Martha Stewart punch and then I hand cut a solid butterfly and inked it with the Milled Lavender DI.  The two butterflies were joined together and some pearl stickers were added to the front.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

"C" is for Challenge - Flowers
Cuttlebug Mania  - Make Your Own Flowers

These supplies are from The Funkie Junkie Boutique where you will always find prices at least 20% lower than the manufacturer's suggested price.

Happy Announcement

Today I have a happy announcement to share with you.  I recently was invited to join the Design Team at Frilly & Funkie.  This is a bit like old home week for me because Linda Coughlin, the owner of Frilly & Funkie along with another of her designers, Sue Carrington were teammates of mine when I was on the Design Team for Isabella's Sketchbook.

I will be part of the frilly team and today is my first post.  I am doing the Saturday Step X Step and sharing how I made the card that I posted last week called Love Hearts.  Here is a little sneak peek at the tutorial, which you can find here.

The most wonderful part of the Frilly & Funkie blog is that the Design Team does two tutorials each week - one on Friday that focuses on a product in Linda's store and another on Saturday where you can find out how something was created.  Also, you not only get to share your creations in their challenges, which run every two weeks but you can also share a project in their Sunday Share feature as long as you have used products from Linda's store in that project.

Now if you haven't shopped at The Funkie Junkie Boutique I encourage you to do so because the prices are at least 20% less than the manufacturer's suggested retail price and Linda has the most wonderful customer service.


I will be back on July 10th with my first challenge project for Frilly & Funkie and hope you will join us.

Love Hearts

The new challenge for the next two weeks at Sugar Creek Hollow is called YOUR FLAG COLORS.  We want you to make a vintage or shabby chic card or other paper-crafted project using only the colours of the flag of the country you live in.  Since I live in Canada my card is red and white while the ladies from the US and the UK that are on the Design Team have used red, white and blue on their projects since those are the colors of their flags. So now that you know how this works we want to see the colors of your flag.

We have a Guest Designer with us too this time.  Please make Sanja Grdinic feel welcome.  Oh and by the way, she is from Croatia and her flag is also red, white and blue.

I printed a bunch of different red and white papers from various digital files I had and used the Moroccan one for the background.  I also pulled out a few scraps from my stash.  Then I made a rolled paper heart from the various papers.  I also made a heart from corrugated paper.  The rolled paper heart is finished with some ric rac around the edge, a lace border along with a crinkled ribbon seam binding and a paper rose.  The other heart was inked with Fired Brick Distress Ink and then coated with Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle.  It too was finished with a crinkled seam binding bow and a paper rose.

The big flower was made by altering various sizes of paper flowers using Fired Brick Distress Ink and some Pearl Glimmer Mist and then finishing it with a paper rose in the centre.  The main band is red burlap with a narrower band of white crepe paper.  The little hearts were punched and then stamped with a little alphabet set and some red ink.

The supplies for this card are:

Card Stock:  Staples
Papers:  Corrugated Cardboard (The Funkie Junkie), Crafty Card Making, Mel B. Stampz & My Stash
Tools & Embellishments:  Alphabet Stamp (Hampton Arts), Paper Flowers (Prima & Recollections), Ranger's Fired Brick Distress Ink (The Funkie Junkie), Mini Heart Stamp (Marvy Uchida), Crepe Paper & Red Burlap (The Funkie Junkie), Ric Rac & Lace (My Stash), Red Paper Roses (Excelsior Wholesale), Seam Binding (Hug Snug), Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels)

Come Into My Garden

The new challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow is called MIXED MEDIA so we want you to use other things besides paper in your vintage or shabby chic project.

I don't think my project is either vintage or shabby chic and it certainly looked better in my head (don't you just hate when that happens) but it was fun to do.  I have a dear friend who is going to have knee replacement surgery in a couple weeks and I wanted to make something cheerful for her so I decided to make this canvas vignette. 

Here are the details but it is going to be a long post so if you are interested, I suggest you grab a coffee - or better still a glass of wine.

I started with an 8" x 8" canvas that I picked up at Dollarama and gave it a coat of Liquitex Gesso.  Then I took some Golden Light Molding Paste and spread it thinly over a honeycomb stencil that a friend cut for me with her Cameo and then peeled the stencil back.  I also dabbed some of the paste in a couple of spots - just because I could.

Once the paste was dry I painted it with Folk Art French Blue and then I covered most of that up (daaah) with different colours of Golden Fluid Acrylics (Yellow Ochre, Green Gold, Naples Yellow Hue & Burnt Sienna).  I thinned out some Golden Red Oxide and spritzed it over the stencil hoping it would land in the grooves and I suppose if you look really, really close you can see some.

The gate is made with corrugated cardboard that I coated with Mod Podge and then inked with some Walnut Stain Distress Ink (Ranger).  The hinges are just black card stock and the handle is a shelf peg from my husband's tool box.  The fence was cut from Recollections Kraft card stock using my Cameo and was then inked with some Rusty Hinge, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain and Black Soot Distress Inks (Ranger).  The grass was part of the same file as the fence and I inked it with some Forest Moss Distress Ink (Ranger).

The plant pots were both made from foil tape used by heating & air conditioning techs.  The big one was embossed with a Tim Holtz Honeycomb Texture Fade while the hanging pot was just textured using an embossing stylus.  Both pots were coloured with a combination of Terra Cotta and Butterscotch Adirondack Alcohol Inks (Ranger).

The flowers were all made from paint samples that I grabbed from Home Depot and cut with a variety of EK Paper Shapers flower punches.  I used Making Memories brads for the centres in the flowers in the big pot, Dollarama gems for the little yellow flowers and Recollection pearl stickers in the flowers in the hanging pot.  The leaves are cut from some ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon.

I made the sentiment in Photoshop and cut it using a Spellbinders Labels Ten die.  The Welcome sign was computer generated.  Both were inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Ranger) and hung with some copper wire from Artistic Wire and a black brad from Making Memories.  The hangers were cut from Recollections black card stock using my Cameo and a corner file from Bird's Cards.

The sun was made with a Marvy Uchida punch and inked with some Rusty Hinge & Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Ranger).  The butterfly was a silver charm from my stash and I dabbed it with some Terra Cotta Adirondack Alcohol Ink (Ranger) along with some bright green and bright blue that don't have names on the bottles (gee thanks Ranger).  The bee, lady bug and dragon fly are all buttons from Dress It Up.

Whew - are you still with me?  If you are bring your wine and join me in the garden - I like red by the way :)

Step Into Christmas

If you have read my blog lately you will know that I just returned on Tuesday night from a week in Maryland with the lovely Ann English.  I met Ann when we were both on the Phindy's Place DT  as well as through Sassy Cheryl's PCP group.  Before we left her house to head for the airport on Tuesday, I checked the challenge at Sassy Cheryl's and lo and behold Ann was the one who set the challenge this week (she keeps a secret well).  She wants us to create STEP CARDS so in between loads of laundry and ironing yesterday, I created this Christmas card.

I have never tried a side step card before so thought that might be fun to tackle.  It isn't difficult at all as long as you pay attention to where you are cutting, which I didn't the first time - dah.  The card base was made from Recollections card stock and the paper is from an old Provo Craft paper pad.  I raided my scrap bucket for the card stock to make the trees, which were hand cut, embossed with a Snowflake & Swiss Dots embossing folder from Cuttlebug and then dotted with a few pearl stickers from Recollections.

The sentiment is computer generated and the Sassy Cheryl's image was a freebie once upon a time.  The snowflake was cut using the Create A Flake Two die from Spellbinders.  The ribbon started out as Chalk White Hug Snug Seam Binding but I transformed it by dying it with Weathered Wood, Bundled Sage & Broken China Distress Ink from Ranger.  The edges of the image & sentiment were inked with the Bundled Sage Distress Ink.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Sassy Cheryl's - Step Card
ABC Challenge - O is for Open
A and T Emerald Faeries - Dies/Punches
Country View Challenges - Die Cuts
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Use your favourite embellishments (Pearls)
Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Anything Goes (must be Christmas)