Summer Dream

It is time for a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie and Nancy chose the theme and is calling this one It's Summer.  She wants everyone to let us know what you love about summer. Do you enjoy traveling, growing a garden, or laying on the beach? Create a vintage or shabby chic project, card, or layout showcasing what you enjoy most about this wonderful season.

I love to travel but this summer we are sticking pretty close to home because the exchange rates are through the roof.  That makes me sad so I decided to make a vintage travel-themed tag to cheer me up.  I remembered one I had seen here and thought I would CASE it although I don't speak French and there was no translator on her blog so I had to figure out how to re-create it on my own and then knowing me I had to give it a few extras.  Since it has a nautical spin to it, there is lots of blue involved.  I also think this would be great for a guy and think I will give it to my husband as a nudge to get him to change his mind about not traveling this year.  Stay tuned to see if it works :)

I started with one of the large manilla tags that Linda sells in the shop and added Broken China Distress Ink over a criss cross mask (the sections that were left when I made a stencil with my Cameo recently) and through a swirls stencil.  Next I took my natural sea sponge and dabbed Stormy Sky DI all over.  Finally I used Walnut Stain DI with a TCW called Mini Ledger to add some vintage text.

Next I cut the anchor and ship wheel from Grunge Paper with my Cameo.  I painted the wheel with Folk Art Coffee Bean acrylic paint and then scratched on some Deco Art Honey Brown with the tines of a fork.  I painted the anchor with Deco Art Rich Espresso Metallic paint and went over the chain with Folk Art Antique Gold acrylic paint.  I added some jute cord to the top of the anchor.

The map is from The Graphics Fairy and I converted it to sepia on my computer, lightly inked it with Broken China DI and then inked the edges with Walnut Stain.  The compass was a black and white freebie I found online and I converted the black to brown, printed it, fussy cut it and then inked it with Antique Linen DI and took Walnut Stain to the edges.

The sailboat is also from The Graphics Fairy and I fussy cut it and inked it with Antique Linen DI.  I realized after it was on the tag that I should have converted it to sepia - oops.  The text is computer generated and has been inked with Antique Linen DI and edged with Walnut Stain DI.  Finally I dyed some seam binding with Broken China and Stormy Sky DI.

I am going to enter my tag in the following challenges:

Monday-Mood-Board - Photo Inspiration
A Gem of a Challenge - Something Blue
Kreativeinkauf-challenge - Travel
Sparkles Forum - Vintage/Shabby Chic
Cheerful Stamp Pad - Travel to Faraway Places
Get Creative Challenges - For the Boys or Father's Day

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

Mixed Media Masculine

It is time for the second monthly challenge at Anything But Cute challenges and I am the hostess for this one.  I decided to call the challenge Make It Masculine and I would like you to make a mixed media card or other project for a fellow in your life. It could be for Father's Day, a birthday, an anniversary or just because you want him to know how special he is.

I decided to make this Steampunk inspired card for my husband for Father's Day and while the cards are easy enough to make, it sure is difficult finding an appropriate verse for inside the card when he is not your father and your child is grown up and married with kids of her own.  In hindsight, I think I should have made it as a surprise card for no special occasion.  I can see another card on my agenda in the not too distant future.

I started with some Recollections kraft card stock for the blank.  Then I took another piece of the same card stock to make the background panel.  I used Golden Molding Paste through a TCW stencil called Mini Time Travel to create all the clocks and numbers and once dry I sprayed it with Lindy's Stamp Gang Burnished Brass Moonshadow Mist.

The next layer is just another piece of card stock to which I added some plaster casting material (Gauze mixed with Plaster of Paris) that I found at the local art supply store.  I didn't try to smooth it out so it would have some bumps and lumps when it dried.  Once it was dry, it too got a spray of Burnished Brass.

The top layer is some paper from a Prima paper pad called Printery and I added some stenciling with a TCW stencil called Mini Harlequin and Vintage Photo DI.

To make the hot air balloon, I started by grabbing a freebie image from The Graphics Fairy, erased the basket in Photoshop and then printed the remaining image.  I cut it out and then traced the outer edge on a piece of card stock and a piece of copy paper.  I cut both of those out and then cut pieces out of the copy paper version to replicate a balloon.  This became a pattern that I placed over some Tim Holtz Grunge Paper so I could draw and then cut around all the edges.

I covered the grunge paper balloon with a layer of Gesso and then I painted it with black acrylic paint and once dry spritzed it lightly with the Burnished Brass.  To put the balloon together, I inked the card stock version with Vintage Photo DI, added some pop dots, then added the original printed balloon, which was also inked, added more pop dots and finally the grunge paper balloon.

The basket was made by weaving some twine leftover from my macrame days and wrapping it around a piece of card stock.  I attached the balloon and the basket with some pieces of wire from Artistic Wire.  A gear and some clock hands from Bead Landing were added to finish it off.

To finish off the card, I added a few more gears, a clock from Jolee's Boutique and an arrow from The Paper Studio.  The clock edge and arrow were rubbed with Renaissance wax paste from Treasure Gold to change their colour to match the gears.  The final step was some text that I made on the computer using a font called Impact Label.

Once the card was finished I stood it up to admire my handiwork and it fell flat on its face.  It turns out the plaster panel with all the other added bits and pieces made it way too front heavy so I added a verse panel inside with some of the same stenciling to stabilize it.  I would not recommend the plaster for a card but it would be great on a canvas or other altered item.

I hope you will create a mixed media project and share it with us at Anything But Cute.  All of us on the Design Team will be choosing our favourites and mine will have the opportunity to be a Guest Designer.

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

Simon Says Stamp  - Make It Masculine
Card Mania - Metal Embellishment
The Kraft Journal - Father's Day

Pop of Purple

 The new challenge starts today at Frilly and Funkie and I am the hostess for this one.  It is called Monochromatic and I would like to see a shabby chic or vintage project that uses basically one colour and its various hues and tones - a little white or cream can be added but unless that is the main colour, it needs to be just an accent.

I decided to use purple as my main colour, especially after I found some lovely purple papers in the Maja Designs paper pack called Vintage Spring Basics.  I started with some Recollections card stock for my blank and added the distressed striped paper first, tucking some seed beads I picked up at the dollar store into a couple of torn areas.

The damask layer came next and I mounted it on some purple tulle from my fabric stash (hard to see in the photo but it is there).  I used Wendy Vecchi's Polka Dotty stencil and Dusty Concord DI to add a few dots and then distressed it too.

Next I used the Wendy Vecchi Three Flourishes stencil with some texture paste on the top purple paper.  I distressed it as well and tucked a doily inked with Dusty Concord DI behind it before I added it.

The lace has been dyed with a combination of Crushed Grape and White Linen Dylusions spray and the seam binding to make the loopy bow was dyed with Dusty Concord DI.  The leaves started out as bronze metal but I gave them a coat of Gesso and then inked them with Purple Twilight Alcohol Ink blended with Snow Cap Mixative.  The corset on the dress form was "painted" with Dusty Concord DI and then I added a coat of Mod Podge to it.

By the way, when I am working with inks and paints I try to use some latex gloves but more often than not I forget and end up with stained fingers but since I picked up one of the scrubbies that Linda carries in her shop, it is easy peasy to remove those stains. And the bonus is that I now have a solution when my Grandchildren decide to use marker and paint on their hands instead of paper - forget the milk, bleach cleaner, toothpaste and every other thing we tried in the past.

I am on a mission to use some of my stash so all the flowers came from there (some are from Wild Orchid Crafts or Excelsior Wholesale) and if they weren't already purple, I coloured them with different Bic, Promarker and Copic markers.  Finally I added a fun button from my stash and some dollar store pearl stickers.

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

The Crazy Challenge - Use Ribbon or Lace
One Stitch at a Time - Anything Goes with Flowers
That Craft Place - Shabby Chic
A Gem of a Challenge - Flowers
Inkspirational - Purple

The following products used in the creation of this card can be found at The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

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)

Groovy

I was asked to be a Guest Designer for the challenge starting today at Try It On Tuesday.  The challenge is 1960's Retro and they want to see projects that depict the pop art/fashion/colours of the era.

During the 1960's I was in my late teens and early twenties, living on my own in a big city so I remember that time very well.  I look back at photos of me and wondered what I was thinking when I wore certain clothes so I decided not to go the fashion route with my project.  I decided to make an art journal page that combined the pop art and colour aspects.  I also decided to try my hand at Zentangle. 

I started by gluing two pages together and then painted it completely with Zesty Zing Fresco Finish paint.  Then I took a baby wipe and added some Smoked Paprika Fresco Finish paint in random areas.

I added some stenciling with Wendy Vecchi Orange Blossom Archival Ink and a stencil from The Crafters Workshop called Mini Flower Frenzy.  Then I added a bit of second generation stamping with Wendy Vecchi Red Geranium Archival Ink and some sections from her Large Collage Background Stamp (I have cut my stamp into sections so it is easy to pick and choose which design I want to use).

Next I cut out all sorts of shapes and began to do the Zentangle using a Pigma Micron 01 pen from Sakura.  Confession - the peace sign was printed on the computer and already had some designs on it but I added a background of my own.  I tried doing my own but couldn't get a pattern in the narrow shape that looked decent.  I also printed the blank hand shape from the computer because I can't draw and then I added the Zentangle.  All the colouring was done with Bic markers or Copic markers.

I have to admit that I am a picky person so I destroyed quite a few shapes because the doodling wasn't as precise as I would have liked it.  It was time consuming and I don't know if I will tackle it again any time soon but I did like doing the colouring and considering how much I do in vintage tones, the bright colours were fun to work with.

Next I stamped some flowers with Jet Black Archival Ink using a couple of stamps from a Studio G set that I found in the clearance bin at Michaels, fussy cut them and coloured them with markers.  Finally I created some 1960's themed words on the computer using a font called Hippie Movement.

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

Stamps and Stencils - Anything Goes (must stamp and stencil)
 

New Challenge Blog Announcement

I am super excited to announce that I have been invited to be a member of a new challenge Design Team.  This wonderful new challenge blog is the brainchild of the extremely talented Pamellia Johnson of My Little Craft Things.  I am fortunate to live close to Pamellia so I have the opportunity to go and visit her from time to time and try to soak up some of her incredible creativity (when we aren't laughing and chatting).  When she invited me to be part of the team, I almost fell over but am itching to get started and am finally glad I don't have to keep this under my hat anymore - well if I wore hats :)

Here is a description of this fabulous new challenge:

Anything But Cute is a brand new mixed media challenge blog with a new challenge starting on the 5th day of every month at 7:00 am EST.

We welcome all types of crafts. Cards, journal pages, scrapbook pages, 3D crafts, canvas art, altered items and any other handmade paper or mixed media arts. We encourage crafters of all skill levels and styles - shabby chic, grunge, vintage, elegant, stylish, retro, you name it. As our name indicates, the only style we are not showcasing - are all things cute and adorable. There must be at least one mixed media product on your project somewhere, be that paint, ink, stain, spray, paste, clay, crackle glaze...whatever tickles your fancy!

At Anything But Cute, we would love to see all you seasoned and expert mixed media artists, but we also want to encourage those of you who are just getting your feet wet. Our design team will always be on the lookout for these exceptional projects and artists. You just never know when we might be giving out something special to a talented mixed media newcomer. We all have to start somewhere, right! Be sure to mention in your post that you are a newcomer to the mixed media arts.

Our first challenge starts on May 5th, so let's get messy and have some fun!

In the meantime you can see some of my mixed media projects and learn a bit more about me by popping over to the Anything But Cute challenge blog.  Make sure you check back there on April 27th when the next Design Team member will be revealed.

I am certainly honoured to be in the company of an incredible group of very talented ladies.

Wendy Stencils

It is time for the new challenge at Frilly and Funkie.  Sue is our hostess for this one and she is looking for shabby chic or vintage projects with STENCILS.

I decided I was going to try to channel my inner Wendy Vecchi this time and all the while hoping there was some Wendy in me. 

I used some Recollections card stock for my blank and then I started on the background.  First I smooshed some Cornflower and Fern Green Archival Ink on my kraft sheet, spritzed it with some rubbing alcohol and dragged a piece of Specialty Stamping Paper through it to get a marbleized effect.

Once it was dry I did some random stenciling by using Wendy's Dots and Stripes Border stencil with Cornflower Archival Ink and her Checkmate stencil with Fern Green.  Next I used Jet Black Archival Ink to stamp some flourishes from Wendy's Daisy Art set.

I hand cut a heart from a cracker box and covered it with some metal foil tape from the hardware store then I coated it with Red Geranium Archival Ink and Embossing Powder.  Once it was dry, I used the Checkmate stencil and Jet Black Archival Ink to give it some pattern.  I took a black Copic marker to the edges where there was no embossing.

I stamped the flower from Wendy's Build a Blossom Stamp It Stencil It set three times on Specialty Stamping Paper with Jet Black Archival Ink and fussy cut them.  I inked them with Dandelion Archival Ink and used a bit of Orange Blossom Archival Ink to shade the centres.  On one flower, I stamped some script using a Recollections stamp.  All three flowers were shaped and mounted together and a big black button was added for a centre.

I took a piece of Venise Lace and dyed it with some Orange Blossom Archival Ink  and then added some branches cut from Tim Holtz Garden Greens Die and inked with Fern Green Archival Ink and Forest Moss Distress Ink.

Finally I stamped a butterfly from a Hero Arts stamp, coloured it with Dandelion and Cornflower Archival Inks and then added some dollar store gems for a body.

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

Stamps and Stencils - Anything Goes (must stamp and stencil)
The Mixed Media Card Challenge - Flowers
Mixed Media Mojo - Recycle/Upcycle (Twist - use flowers) - Hardware foil tape is upcycled to make heart

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

Springtime with Dies

The new challenge starts today at Frilly and Funkie.  Nicole is our hostess this time and she is calling the challenge Spring Time Die Cuts.  She wants to see vintage or shabby chic projects that include die cuts, especially those that make you think of spring such as flowers, foliage and butterflies.

I don't own many steel dies but I do have a Cameo die cutting machine so I cut all the petals for my flowers and the filigree egg to make an Easter card.  This one will have to be for next year since I didn't finish it in time to give to my family.

I started with some scrap card stock for my blank and then added a background layer of paper from the Maja Design Vintage Spring Basics pad.  The squares are cut from that same pad and the Coffee in the Arbour pad.  All the paper has been distressed with my scissors and then inked with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I then did some faux stitching around each square using my piercing tool and a white Signo pen.

The flowers petals were cut from white card stock in two sizes, spritzed with some water and then inked as follows:

One large and two small - Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint DI
Two large - Scattered Straw DI
Four small - Worn Lipstick DI

 The petals were folded and twisted and allowed to dry slightly before they were opened carefully and shaped.  Once dry they were glued together with some Wilton stamens for centres.

I also hand cut some leaves and inked them with Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint DI.  The flowers and the leaves were then inked on the edges with some Vintage Photo DI.

The filigree egg was cut from some grunge paper and then painted with some Antarctic Fresco Finish paint.  Once dry the flowers and the egg were coated with Perfect Pearl Perfect Pearl (no there is no echo, that is the name - lol).

I cut the sides off a filigree corner and the charm loop off a butterfly charm and painted both with some Folk Art Tapioca acrylic paint before inking them with Worn Lipstick DI and adding a bit of Rose Quartz Treasure Gold wax paste.

The loopy bow is seam binding dyed with Worn Lipstick and Scattered Straw DI.  I also tucked a couple pieces of lace and scattered some pearls around to finish the card off.  The stick pin is made from a dollar store pearl headed pin with some added beads from my stash.

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

Creative Card Crew - Handmade Flowers
Fan-Tastic Tuesday  - Anything Goes with a twist to use a die or punch
Inky Chicks - Stitching (Real or Faux)
Card Mania - Flowers
The Crazy Challenge - Floral
The Pink Elephant Challenge - Pastels
Pile It On - Die Cuts or Punches
That Craft Place  - Easter/Spring
Suzy Bee's Bloomin Challenge - Anything Goes with a twist to use pastels
Card and Scrap - Easter/Spring Colours

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

Friday Focus at Frilly and Funkie

Today, I am presenting the Friday Focus segment over at Frilly and Funkie.  This is a sneak peek at what I have created so pop on over and get all the details.  It is a large project and I hope you will like it as much as I do.

Cherry Blossoms and Ribbon

The new challenge at Frilly and Funkie is hosted by Linda and she is calling it Put A Ribbon On It.  She wants to see vintage or shabby chic projects that feature ribbon.

I decided to cover all the bases and make a shabby card with a vintage image and a big bow.  I started with some Recollections card stock for my blank and then added three layers of paper from the Maja Designs Vintage Spring pad that I distressed with my scissors.  I dyed some cheesecloth with Antique Linen Distress Ink and tucked it between a couple of the layers and used the DI to ink up the edges of the paper layers.

The vintage image is from Antique Images and is one of a series of four depicting the seasons.  While the bow is hiding it, this one has the text "Spring" on the bottom.  I covered a filigree corner with Tapioca Acrylic paint from Folk Art and then embossed it with some clear embossing powder.  The butterfly was created with some Martha Stewart Crafter's Clay and a Mod Podge silicone mold.  I painted it with some of the Tapioca paint and then added some Stardust Stickles to it and to the corner.

The cherry blossoms along with the branches and leaves were all cut on my Cameo out of scrap white card stock.  The branches were inked with Walnut Stain DI and the leaves were painted with some Light Yellow Green acrylic paint from Accent and then inked with some Peeled Paint DI once they were dry.

The blossoms were inked with Spun Sugar DI and then the edges were inked with some Victorian Velvet DI.  I used an old Laurentian pencil crayon called Cerise the add some centre shading and then added some Recollection pearls.  A couple of the blossoms were turned into buds.

Finally I created a big bow from the gorgeous May Arts ribbon that Linda sent me.  This is wired ribbon so it is easy to shape, although looking at it now I see that next time I need to do a better job folding the ribbon in the centre.

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

Top Tip Tuesday - Buttons or Bows
Card Mania - Spring
Craft-Dee Bowz - Anything Goes with a Bow
Crafty Cardmakers - Spring Has Sprung
Card and Scrap - Use Layers
Robyn's Fetish  - Add a Bow
Crafty Ribbons - Anything Goes with Ribbon

These products used in the creation of this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique where you will find lots of great new products, super prices and wonderful customer service:

Spring Blooms

A couple years ago, in a moment of sheer madness,  I offered to make a nightgown for an elderly friend.  She gave me the money for the fabric and I immediately went out and bought it and then I panicked that I wouldn't be able to make it fit her since she is almost 6 feet tall, so it sat in my sewing room - out of sight, out of mind.

Last week, the overwhelming guilt got to me and I finally made the nightgown and took it to her.  Since she is 80 years old, I had to make sure she was sitting down when she opened the package because I didn't want her to faint from the shock.  She loved it and if it doesn't fit, she hasn't told me. 

The scraps of fabric have been sitting on my desk and gave me some inspiration for this art journal page, which was completed a whole lot faster than the nightgown.

I started by gluing two pages from my journal together and then added some Golden Light Molding Paste through a stencil from TCW called Mini Hexagons.

Next I gave it a couple coats of Fresco Finish paint, first Lake Wanaka and when that was dry a coat of Antarctic, which I wiped back a bit with a baby wipe.  Then I added a coat of Robins Egg Blue acrylic paint from Craftsmart and wiped it back too.

Next I used some of Wendy Vecchi's Cornflower Archival Ink through her Checkmate stencil and some Tumbled Glass Distress Ink from Ranger through her Polka Dotty stencil in random areas.  I followed that with her Watering Can Archival Ink through a Dylusions stencil called Letter Jumble.  Finally I used a natural sea sponge and pounced some Deco Art Americana Peacock Pearl acrylic paint all over.

Next I cut a stencil of sun rays on my Cameo and used it with some Wendy Vecchi Metallic Gold Embossing Paste.  It looks like butterscotch pudding in the jar but just wait until it dries and you get gorgeous shine.

My friend Pamellia gave me a stamp that mimicked some of the flowers on the fabric and I found some other small ones in a bucket of little used stamps so I decided to use them for this project.

I pounced some of Wendy Vecchi's Red Geranium, Dandelion and Orange Blossom Archival Ink on my craft sheet, spritzed it with rubbing alcohol and dragged some Specialty Stamping Paper through it.  Then I stamped a bunch of flowers using Jet Black Archival Ink and fussy cut them.

I then created another sheet in the same manner using some Wendy Vecchi Fern Green and Ranger Olive Archival Ink. Then I used a Pigma Micron Pen from Sakura to draw stems and leaves and fussy cut them as well.

I also stamped a couple of butterflies from a Hampton Art set onto the Specialty Stamping using Dandelion and Red Geranium Archival Ink and fussy cut them as well.

The sentiment is computer generated and then inked with Tumbled Glass and Broken China Distress Ink.

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

Artist Trading Post Exchange - Springtime
Make Art Challenge - Stencils
Fashionable Stamping - Springtime
Mixed Media World - Anything Goes
Craft Stamper - Anything Goes (must have stamping)
Country View Challenges - Anything Goes
Inspiration Journal - Spring Blooms
Stamplorations - Stamps and Stencils
Dream It Up - Marching Into Spring

Bring on the Bling

It is time for another new challenge at Frilly and Funkie.  Jenny is our hostess this time and wants us to Bring on the Bling with our shabby chic or vintage creations.  Be it diamonds, pearls or even glitter she wants to see some sparkle on your projects this time.

I started with some Staples card stock for my blank and then dug out one of my favourite paper pads from Maja Designs called Coffee in the Arbour.  I used some of the papers for the background and angled panels and I used one of the images for my focal image, which I mounted on a scrap of card stock.  Everything was heavily distressed.

I tucked a doily under one panel, some mess under another and a little piece of venise lace under the image.  The pad comes with some tags that you can cut out so I did just that and stamped Just Because on them and then added some burlap string to them before I tucked them under the image as well.

The big flower is made from coffee filters that I cut with the Tim Holtz tattered florals die and then dragged through some watered down Shaded Lilac Distress Ink.  The neatest thing is that the pink separated out of the ink and I ended up with a two-toned flower.  I added a pearl to the centre of a rhinestone ribbon slider to make the centre of the flower and then added a little bit of iridescent  Stickles to the petals.

The leaves and the butterfly are die cuts were cut for me by a friend.  I put a light layer of Picket Fence Crackle paint on them and then inked them with some Old Paper Distress Ink.  The butterfly is another die cut and I inked it with some Victorian Velvet and Shaded Lilac DI.  Finally I added some dollar store gem flourishes and individual gems to the body of the butterfly.

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

Card and Scrap - Bling or Beads - use bling, glitter or pearls
Natalie and Amy's Challenge - Flowers

The following products used in the creation of this card can be purchased at The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Floral Get Well

My next door neighbour is having knee replacement surgery this week so I thought I would make a get well card to take over to her when she gets home from the hospital.

I started with some white card stock from Staples for my blank.  The background paper is from Gin-X and then the next layer is a piece from a Prima pad called Printery.  On top of that is a piece I made from another piece of white card, a hexagon mask from Recollections and Spun Sugar and Victorian Velvet Distress Inks.

I aded a piece of lace from my stash, some eyelash yarn, some pearl loops and some greenery that my friend Pamellia die cut for me.

The large flower is made from scraps of pink and green card stock and was edged with some Victorian Velvet DI.  The little roses are from Wild Orchid Crafts and all the flowers have been sprayed with Tattered Angels Pearl Glimmer Mist.

Finally I used my computer and a little tag punch from Martha Stewart to create a sentiment and some pink vellum and another Martha Stewart punch to create the butterfly.  I added some pearls to the butterfly for a body.

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

Penny's Paper Crafty  - One for the Girls/Female Cards
Simon Says Stamp - Special Lady/Girly
In the Pink  - For a Special Lady
Southern Girls Challenge - Get Your Girly On
Try it on Tuesday - Pearls for Girls
Bunny Zoe's Crafts - For the Girls
Shabby Tea Room - Pop of Pink

Art Notebook Cover

I decided to make something for the fun of it while I am staying indoors and trying to keep warm.  I try to make notes of the products I am using in projects as I go along so that I can keep the clutter at a minimum as I am working but have the information available to do my blog posts without having to dig everything out again.  I found these great composition notebooks for 50 cents each at WalMart and decided to jazz one up.

I started by coating the cover, front and back with a coat of Liquitex Gesso.  Once dry, I added some Golden Molding Paste through a Heidi Swapp Harlequin stencil in random spots.  I also added some drywall tape in other random spots.

Next I covered the cover with alcohol ink from Ranger.  I used a blend of Wild Plum, Eggplant and Copper Mixative in some areas and a blend of Lemonade and Peach Bellini in other areas.  Once it was dry I gave the cover a watered down coat of Gesso and then spritzed it with some Pegleg Pete Purple Moonshine Mist from Lindy's Stamp Gang.

Next I did some random second generation stamping using Jet Black Archival Ink from Ranger.  The stamps I used were from Tim Holtz Ultimate Grunge set and from Wendy Vecchi's True Art set.

Next I started to collect some embellishments and alter some of them.  The letters are a mix of chipboard from my stash and wooden letters from Dollarama.  I gave each one a coat of Gesso and then I painted them with Orchid and Wild Orchid Acrylic Paint from Americana and Purple Pearl Metallic paint from Deco Art.  I used a Recollections script stamp and some Ranger Deep Purple Archival Ink to add some interest to a couple of the letters.

The flowers are a mixture of roses from Wild Orchid Crafts, a wooden piece from Dollarama, a Recollections daisy and a silk flower that I took apart and painted.  One flower layer was painted with Wild Orchid and the other was painted with Purple Pearl and then rubbed with some Festive Berries Distress Ink from Ranger.  I added a dollar store pearl to the centre of one flower, a button from my stash to another and a tiny rose to the last one.

I altered a little metal frame and a filigree medallion with some Wild Plum and Eggplant Alcohol Ink.  I painted a little metal butterfly that was a gift from my friend Pamellia with Purple Pearl paint.  I added some beads, gems and cup sequins from my stash.

Finally, because the Gesso and other media made the covers warp a bit and want to pop open, I added a button to the front and back with a string closure.  The string is attached at the back and finishes at the back  One suggestion is that you make sure that your string will wrap around the back button a number of times to determine what length you need.  I just wrapped mine around twice and cut it only to discover that it has a tendency to spring loose.

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

Artist Trading Post Exchange - Alphabet Soup
The Mirror Crack'd - Album/Journal Cover
Inky Chicks - Flowers
Altered Eclectics - Anthing Goes (must be altered item or mixed media)
Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Altered Item/Mixed Media

Winter Getaway

It is time for a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie and since I am hosting the challenge, I thought it should be called IT'S TIME FOR A VACATION. It is time to get away from winter and go on a vacation somewhere - it could be a warm beach, an exotic locale with lots of sights to see or even in your own back yard so let's see a vintage or shabby chic project that depicts where you are going. 

If you are tired of all the brutal cold and snow that we have had in the eastern half of North America, then you too are ready for somewhere warm.  This mixed media canvas I have created is meant to depict what I might be seeing from a glass bottom boat in the Caribbean.  I might see the same thing if I was snorkeling but I don't do snorkeling.

I started by covering a thin canvas from the dollar store with Gesso.  Next I made a stencil on my Cameo that I will call pebbles and used some texture paste mixed with sand through it to cover the bottom portion of the canvas.

I used more texture paste with a Dylusions stencil to create the dots on the top portion - bubbles maybe?  I added some burlap to divide the sections and glued on some diamond leaf guard pieces.  Once the leaf guard was dry I decided I didn't like it and pulled it off but it left some neat glue impressions so I left those there.  I also added some cheesecloth for a little more texture or maybe flotsam and jetsam.  Then I covered the canvas with another coat of Gesso.

Next I covered the whole canvas with a coat of Peacock Pearl metallic paint by Deco Art and let it dry.  Then I sprayed the top portion with Blue Patina Perfect Pearl Mist and the bottom portion with Lindy's Buccaneer Bronze Mist.  I rubbed some Aquamarine Treasure Gold wax paste on the dots and some Renaissance Treasure Gold in a few places around the edge of the canvas.

The next step was to make the mermaid.  I got her body as a free template from The Enchanted Gallery, took her into my Cameo software, scaled her to the size I wanted and cut her from an old cracker box.  Next I painted the pieces with Buttermilk Americana acrylic paint and then inked the edges with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I drew her face by hand and since I am no artist, don't look closely.

To make her tail, I covered a piece of scrap card stock with foil tape and ran it though a circles embossing folder.  I took a pair of Fiskars scissors called wave and cut strips that I glued to the tail.  Then I covered the tail with a mixture of Meadow, Pool and Sailboat Blue Alcohol Ink blended with some Copper Mixative. 

Her hair is some doll hair I found in my stash and I dyed it with some Rusty Hinge Distress Ink and then gave her a little piece of seaweed punched with a Martha Stewart punch from some copper card stock.  Finally I put her together and added a couple of shells for her bra.  By the way, if you were constantly underwater, you would be having as bad a hair day as she is :)

The next step was to organize all the embellishments.  I painted some venise lace with some Bronze metallic paint by Craftsmart.  The seaweed was made with crafter's clay and a mold and then painted with Crystal Green metallic paint by Deco Art but I thought it was too blue so I gave it a light coat of Avocado acrylic paint from Americana.  The starfish are hand shaped from crafter's clay and painted with the Bronze metallic paint.  The rest of the embellishments are beads from my stash, a filigree metal piece, a gear, a couple of buttons, some glass chunks, some cup sequins and lots of shells.

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

Altered Eclectics  - Anything Goes (must be mixed media or altered items)
Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Altered Art/Mixed Media
Opus Gluei - Need A Little Vacation?

The following products used in the creation of this project came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique where you will find lots of exciting new products:

Saturday Step X Step at Frilly and Funkie

Today it is my turn to present the Saturday Step X Step over at Frilly and Funkie.  Here is a little peek at what I have made so pop on over to see what it is and check out all the details.

Together Heart

I decided I better get moving and make a Valentine's Day card for my husband and this is what I came up with.  I know this has a lot of pink on it but my husband has a couple of fabulous plaid shirts that have predominately pink in them and he feels quite confident to wear them so I forged ahead - pink and all.  BTW, he eats quiche too :)

I started with some Recollections white card stock for my blank and then tackled the background.  The background started with a pink and white striped paper from a My Mind's Eye pad called Blush.  First I did some random stenciling - Wendy Vecchi Watering Can Archival Ink and a TCW stencil called Mini Chickenwire Reversed and then Aged Mahogany Distress Ink from Ranger and a Wendy Vecchi Stencil called Polka Dotty.

Then I used some Jet Black Archival Ink from Ranger to stamp some flourishes from Wendy Vecchi's Daisy Art stamp set.  The next step was to put some of Wendy's White Texture Paste through a cross hatch stencil that I made myself on my Cameo.  The final step for the background was to distress the edges and add some scraps of a polka dot paper from the MME pad to a couple of torn spots and then run the Aged Mahogany DI around the edge.

Next I used some Glue and Seal from Inkssentials to add a piece of old book paper to a scrap of white card stock.  Once it was dry I used some of the Aged Mahogany DI and a large multi heart stencil from Heidi Swapp to make all the little hearts.  I outlined each one with a black Pigma Micron pen.  I cut each one out and then took some Jet Black Archival Ink and stamped bits on each heart using the Wendy Vecchi Large Collage background stamp that I have cut into sections.  You will notice that the Aged Mahogany looks a little more brown on the old book paper and for a split second I throwing them out and starting over but then decided they were kind of funky and I was just going to live with them.

I took another scrap of Recollections card stock, cut a heart out of it and then ran it through a Tim Holtz embossing folder called Sheet Music.  I rubbed the raised areas with Treasure Gold Rose Quartz and a little bit of Jaygot Silver wax paste.  Next I took a scrap of floral paper from the MME pad and softened it with my crimper until it felt almost like fabric - a trick I learned from my friend Pamellia. Once it was soft enough I stamped it with some Aged Mahagony DI and a Recollections script stamp.

I added the softened paper to the back of the cutout and then added a couple layers of quilt batting cut in the heart shape and then a backing rectangle of card stock so the patterned paper now puffs out of the cutout.

Next I cut some filigree leaves with my Cameo from white card stock and then rubbed them with silver wax paste.  I made some shabby roses from a couple sizes of Marvy Uchida punches.  The little flowers were made from scraps of grey card stock and have Making Memories pewter brads for centres.  The larger flower is made from another paper from the MME pad.  All the flowers have had a bit of white acrylic paint added to the edges.

The sentiment was printed on my computer, cut into individual words and the edges were inked with Aged Mahogany DI.

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

Artist Trading Post Exchange - Love Is In The Air
Make Art Challenge - Hearts
The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge - Think Pink
Penny's Paper Crafty - Embossing
The Sisterhood of Crafters - Sweethearts and Roses
Stampotique Designers Challenge - It's All Love and Hearts - SDC 182
Papertake Weekly  - Hearts and Flowers
Tuesday Throwdown - Love Is In The Air
In The Pink Challenge  - Love Is In The Air
Crafty Cardmakers - Love, Love, Love

A Mixed Bouquet

It is time for a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie.  This time Sue is our hostess and she is calling it Winter Blooms.  With gardens pretty gloomy in many areas of the world right now (or covered in snow as mine is) she want to see vintage or shabby chic projects with lots of handmade flowers.  You can make roses, daisies or any other type of handmade flower you want.

I started my project with some white card stock from Recollections for the blank.  Then I got out my Coff in the Arbour paper pad by Maja Designs and picked out some co-ordinating papers in pink and yellow.  The striped paper went down first after I distressed it with my scissors.  Next came a yellow piece topped by a lattice panel that I cut with my Cameo.  Then I added some triangles of a teeny floral pattern to two corners.  I added a bit of Victorian Velvet Distress Ink to the corner panels.

I found the lovely vintage lady online at Create with TLC and after I printed her I added some venise lace around the edge of her from behind.  I cut the fancy frame on my Cameo, spritzed it with some Perfect Pearls and then mounted the image on top.

The flowers are not really representative of any particular type but were fun to make and all started as white card stock.  The large pink flower was made with scalloped hearts that I cut with my Cameo and then inked with Victorian Velvet DI.  The large yellow flower was made with more Cameo die cuts and inked with Scattered Straw Distress Ink.  The little yellow flower was made with a Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die and inked with Scattered Straw DI while the little pink flowers were made with a daisy punch and Victorian Velvet DI and have little white pearls for centres.  All the buds were made from the smallest flower on the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die.  The leaves are punched with a Martha Stewart punch.

To finish the card off I added a loopy bow made from seam binding dyed with Victorian Velvet DI, a couple of vellum and card stock butterflies made with some Martha Stewart punches.  Their bodies are pearls and then I scattered a few more pearls in one corner.

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

Through the Purple Haze Challenges - Use Some Flowers
Crafty Calendar Challenge - Anything Goes
That Craft Place - Anything Goes
Pile It On - Use A Bow
Card and Scrap - Use Flowers
Cut It Up Challenges - Romance - Flowers, Lace, Pearls

The following products used to create this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique where you will always find prices lower that the MSRP and now there are lots of great new products to choose from.