Feeling Happy

The new challenge at Frilly and Funkie is hosted by Georgie and she wants to see shabby chic or vintage projects that make us Happy, Happy, Happy.   This could be a project that you love doing, a product you love using, or something that makes you so happy it gives you inspiration to make something beautiful! Just make sure you have fun!!

I love crafting in a vintage style and I am loving Graphic 45 papers since they are vintage inspired so I decided to combine this with another of my loves, cooking, and make a recipe book.  Of course I had to use the Home Sweet Home collection for this.

I started by cutting four 8" squares of heavy chipboard and had my husband drill three holes along ones side.  Then I painted them black with Americana Chalky Finish paint by DecoArt.  Once they were dry, I sealed them with a coat of Matte Mod Podge.

The next step was to create expandable recipe card pockets from black card stock using inspiration I found here.  After each pocket was formed, I added a panel of paper to the front and then added a label that was computer generated and then die cut with the Spellbinders Labels Ten die.  The labels and all the papers and elements were inked with Black Soot Distress Ink.  The pockets were set aside as they were the last thing to be added to the pages.

Next I cut strips of paper with a scalloped edge to add to the top and bottom of each of the inside pages.  Then I covered the front and back with a full sheet of paper and proceeded to embellish the
front.  The back just has my watermark added to it.

I started by added a paper panel mounted on black card stock and then started cutting elements from the paper and punching out some of the tags.  Then I stamped the woman carrying the pie twice and coloured her with some Copic markers and then used some dimensionals to add one image to the other.  The apples were cut from a large sheet from the Time to Flourish collection.

I printed multiples of the flowers in a couple of sizes using a digital stamp I got as a freebie from Beccy's Place a couple of years ago.  I coloured them with Copic markers and then went over them with Spiced Marmalade DI.  I used more dimensionals to adhere them and then I added black seed beads to the centres.

The label was made in the same manner as the pocket labels and I added some pearl stickers from the dollar store.  Finally a couple of chipboard elements from the collection and a button from my stash were added.

Then it was time to add the pockets with some blank recipe cards and put the pages together with binder rings adorned with some grosgrain ribbon.

This is something that would make a great gift at a bridal shower with a few favourite recipes added.

The following products used in the creation of this project came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Altered Clipboard

It is time for a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie and this time Pamellis is our hostess and is calling it Snap, Crackle, Crackle and she described the theme this way:

Let's see some cracks on your creations! You can use crackle paint, crackle paste, crackle glaze, crackle accents, an old cracked image, a piece of cracked UTEE, a cracked pattern from a stencil or stamp, you can even doodle on your crackle design! Anything goes, as long as is cracks me up!!

I decided to alter a clipboard this time but wanted a small one so I started shopping on my way to get my hair cut.  I thought I could find one at the dollar store - not.  Then I thought I would find one at the office supply store - not.  I got to the hairdresser's and was moaning about how all I could find were letter-sized clipboards and she said she had one they weren't using anymore and gave it to me.  So this ended up being a recycling project.

I started by giving it a coat of Gesso.  Then I painted it with some Americana Buttermilk Acrylic Paint by DecoArt.  When that was dry I gave it a coat of Folk Art Crackle Medium and then followed that with a coat of Folk Art Butter Pecan Acrylic Paint.

Once the paint had cracked and dried I mixed some texture paste with Tea Rose Reinker and put it through the Wendy Vecchi 3 Flourishes stencil.  I am not sure why but the colour changed and looks more beige but it works with the crackle.

Then I took some Mountain Rose Alcohol Ink and blended it with some Copper Mixative to change the colour of the clip. 

I took a scrap of paper leftover from the Graphic 45 mini album I made and punched both sides with a Martha Stewart punch, inked it with some Tea Dye Distress Ink and then wrapped some black organza ribbon around it.

Next came the flowers.  The leaves were a die cut inked with Frayed Burlap DI.  Next I stamped the flower from the Wendy Vecchi Build a Blossom Stamp It Stencil It set on Specialty Stamping Paper and on Clearly for Art and then cut both out.  I coloured the paper one with Tea Rose Archival Ink and the other one with a mixture of Mountain Rose and Copper Mixative Alcohol Inks.  I used the alcohol ink mixture to change the colour of a gumdrop for the centre.

The two little paper flower were punched from a Prima paper pad called Printery and I added some brads from Making Memories for centres.  The other small flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and were inked with Tea Dye and Frayed Burlap DI.  The large rose was sprayed with Buccaneer Bronze Moonshine Mist from Lindy's Stamp Gang and then rubbed with Rose Quartz wax paste from Treasure Gold on the edges.

The little butterfly was made from crafter's clay and a silicone mold, inked with Tea Dye DI and then painted with Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint.  I inked it again after it was dry with some Frayed Burlap DI.

The frame is a resin piece that I painted with acrylic paint and then rubbed with the Rose Quartz wax paste.  The crown is a charm and I just added a brad to fill the hole at the top.

Finally, I added a pearl flourish, some individual pearls, a square dollar store brad and a couple of buttons.  And there you have it - an altered clipboard.  It won't hold paper anymore but I think it would make a nice decor item.

I am going to enter this in the following challenges:

All Crafts Challenge - Anything Goes (No Cards)
That Craft Place  - No Cards
Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes (Must be Altered or Mixed Media)
Avenue 613 - Anything Goes (Option Feminine)
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything Goes (Altered Art or Mixed Media Only)

The following items used in the creation of this project came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Vintage Garden for Anything But Cute

The day has finally arrived for the first challenge at the Anything But Cute Mixed Media Challenge Blog.  Branka is our hostess this month and she is calling it Vintage Garden.  Here is how she described it:

What do you think of when you hear the word Garden? Is it flowers, birds, butterflies, dragonflies, bees, lattice, vines, fences? Whatever garden vision you have, we want to see it. But make sure it's in a vintage style.

I decided to make a canvas  - you can click on it to get a larger view.  If you have followed me for a while you know how much I love vintage images so I went searching for something to use as my starting point and found this sweet image of a Mother and her children strolling in the garden at The Graphics Fairy.  It was coloured and I started to work with one of the colours in the photo but in the end changed it to sepia and then set it aside as it was the last element to be added.  Of course I had to add flowers to my project because it is supposed to remind you of a garden.

I started by giving the canvas a coat of Gesso.  Next I added some strips of torn paper, drywall tape and strips of washi tape.  Next I added some Golden Light Molding Paste through a TCW stencil called Mini ledger and a Wendy Vecchi stencil called Checkmate.  The drywall tape and stenciling was done on the sides as well.  The final texture on the base was achieved by gluing some cheesecloth across the middle of the canvas.

I used my Cameo to cut a wreath "mat" for my image from Tim Holtz Grunge Paper and coated it with Gesso.  Then I grabbed all sorts of lace, flowers, wood and chipboard embellishments, buttons, beads, cogs and metal pieces and glued them in various places on the canvas.  Some were already in colours that were not very complimentary or were in raw form so I gave them a coat of Gesso before they were glued down.

Once everything was in place I dry brushed everything with Deco Art Americana Peach Silk Acrylic Paint.  Then went over it with a light dry brushed coat of Gesso.

I wanted to add some spray inks and here is where I discovered I have a love/hate relationship with them.  I really like the look of them on a project but the spray bottles do not like me and constantly want to clog.  I am not one to be stopped though and when running everything under hot water to try to clear the clog didn't work, I found a work-around that gave the same result.  I just poured a little of the spray in a tiny container, stirred it well and dipped a natural sea sponge in it and sponged the ink on where I wanted it.

The sprays I used were a homemade one of rubbing alcohol, Glossy Accents, dollar store powder eye shadow with mica called Honey Suckle and Mountain Rose Alcohol Ink along with a Lindy's Stamp Gang spray called Burnished Brass.

Next I rubbed Rose Quartz wax paste by Treasure Gold over many of the high spots on the bits and pieces and finally added the vintage image.

I hope you will join us for the first challenge and show us your Vintage Garden mixed media project.  You have until June 4th to share your project with us.  The Design Team will be choosing their top picks and one deserving crafter will be invited to join us as a Featured Artist.

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

Mixed Media Monthly - May Flowers
Mixed Media Mojo - Tic Tac Toe (I used Gesso, Stencil, Chipboard - the starburst and fleur de lis are chipboard)
Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes (mixed media)
Nordsalten Hobbyklubb - Monochromatic
Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything Goes (mixed media)