Halloween Wooden Gift Bag

This was a fun little piece I put together for a Halloween decoration. Those wooden gift bags I loved from Hobby Lobby but hadn't seen? Michael's has TONS of them with their holiday $1 wood! Yes, I definitely stocked up! The patterned paper I used is Textured Inferno from the Flouristics collection from Zsiage. The flocked stickers and rubons are from Making Memories. I wasn't terribly thrilled with the flocked rubons. You put down the double sided sticker and then press the flocking on from a sheet. It didn't transfer well - I did a lot of filling in with a marker and used Un-Du to remove several that didn't work at all. Which is too bad - there are some really cute designs. I might try them again with maybe a glitter or something but at least I got this project completed (glad I had the sticker version on hand!).

Tool and paint storage

Well I finally got around to getting some pictures of my spice rack filled with scrapbooking items! I used it for a bunch of things I used to have sitting in a basket that I was forever tryin to dig through to find things. Odd little tools that just didn't have any other place that was handy. Also my rulers, which I never knew what to do with (case in point, I still haven't uncovered the others as they are buried...somewhere!). I also added some of my most often grabbed paints and glazes and slid those in where the spices would have originally been - holds them perfectly!

Garage sale find finished!

Ok, so it's not really FINISHED (lots of touchup still to go), but for all intents and purposes (and wet paint), I wanted to get it photographed before it gets dark! I'm loving how this turned out! Once it's all finished and dried I'll post some pics of what I intend to use it for, but in the meantime, just wanted to show how it came out! All the papers are from the Basic Grey Blush line and the paint is from DecoArt (Elegant Finish Metallics in Rich Espresso). Learned a few new tricks working with this and found a new tool I LOVE in the kids' craft department! Four sheets of paper, about an ounce of paint (I used two coats) and some Mod Podge and my 50 cent find looks completely transformed!

Exciting News!!!

I've been waiting all week to share this news - it's been hard not to shout this from the rooftops! I have been chosen as a design team member of the instructional faculty for a brand new online craft instructional site, My Creative Classroom! I am so excited to be a part of this! As far as I know, there is no other site like it anywhere - we will be offering a full range of classes from paper arts to jewelry making to sewing to whatever our creative instructors can come up with! I've spent this week getting to know the other instructors as they have joined the teachers' message board and I'm really excited to take a few of their classes myself! If you scroll down on the right side of my blog, you'll see I've started linking their blogs and websites as I check them out - there's some real talent within this group and I am truly honored to be a part of this endeavor! If you scroll down to the bottom of my page there is a short presentation about My Creative Classroom - be sure to come check it out and sign up for the newsletter! There will be a week of free classes in January for people on the mailing list!!!

Yard sale find! Watch to see how this turns out!

Found this old spice/tool rack this morning at a yard sale for 50 cents! I can't WAIT to get this altered - stay tuned to see how it turns out and what I intend to use it for!!! Max wouldn't let me photograph it without being present and accounted for, so please welcome my kitty to my blog! :)

Moroccan Kingdom Candle Holder

This was a candle holder I picked up at a dollar store for $2. It started its life as a pretty boring piece - just wood with an odd maple shade of stain and rocks in the side sections. I used black paint, Mod Podge (glossy to get that lacquer look), patterned paper from Zsiage (moroccan Kingdom from the Out of Africa collection) and a piece of trim from Making Memories Funky vintage line.

Basic Grey Transparency Clock

This was another really fun clock to make but hard to capture in a photo. I actually have this hanging in a window and it looks great with the sun shining through it. I used a window frame from Walnut Hollow (clock mechanism too) and backed it with an old BG transparency. I had to drill the hole for the clock hands and also had to use the circle of cardstock for two reasons - one, to hide the clock mechanism in the back, and two, to make the hands visible when the sun's shining! The flowers are from Prima and the flower centers are actually flat beads from Halcraft. Another thing you can't tell from the photograph is that I mixed in a gel medium and sponged the paint on - it has a pretty dimensional look to it in person.

Teacher Appreciation Gift Frame

This frame was a teacher gift for my son's kindergarten teacher at the end of the year. I used Zsiage papers (Color Me 123 from the ABC's or 123's collection) and the tags were both done using the flip side of that paper. I used the Making memories tag maker rims to create the one tag (as well as a McGill punch and a Making Memories clip). The rickrac was from my stash. I didn't actually give it to her with the picture shown here (which was actually preschool graduation but I LOVE that photo of my son and one of his little friends!) as I wanted her to be able to put what she wanted in it. The quote was what I built the whole frame concept around - "The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings". Perfect!

Girly Clock

This clock is one I custom made for one of my son's teachers. She requested something to go in her living room and this was the color scheme. I used my usual clock base and mechanism from Walnut Hollow. The papers are from Paper Adventures' Fanciful Flowers collection designed by Connie Haley. It's a gorgeous line, with embossing and glitter on many of the papers. The flowers were from Prima and the center of the flowers as well as all the edgings are a pearly dimensional glue from PSX.

Family Clock

This was another clock I had originally made to be used in the Herr's booth but ended up not being able to use because the paper line ended up getting canceled (a shame, because I LOVED this line - 7gypsies - so these samples I had are just a few of a handful actually printed). Clock base and kit from Walnut Hollow. The green paint I used (from Making Memories) ended up not being quite right, so I sponged over it with a creamy color to lighten it up a bit. The flowers are from Making Memories. The photo was one my dad took of my mom, my sisters and I at Thanksgiving 2006 (with the glare on the photo you can't see my youngest sister). I gave my mom this clock for her birthday or Mother's Day (can't remember which - they're within weeks of each other).

Vintered Clock

Another clock that was used in the Herr's booth at CHA-Winter 2007. This was in the scrapbooking section. The base and clock mechanism were from Walnut Hollow. The paper used for the face was Fountain Blu from Zsiage's Vintered collection. I used 7gypsies clear buttons and backed them with Altered Ego from Zsiage's Vintered collection and tied them with threads from my stash. The paint for the edge and over the chipboard shapes (from Zsiage) was a pearly paint from Making Memories. The trim around the edge is also from Making Memories. Finished with a rubon quote.

Boa Yarn Clock

This was another clock I did for the Herr's CHA-Winter 2007 booth. I got a lot of skepticism when I said I could do a clock for each department and this one (soft crafts) everyone really wondered how I'd pull this off. Took some thinking, but turned out to be a really fun project! I used a Walnut Hollow clock base and put strips of Provo Craft's Teriffically Tacky Tape (the kind with the red liner) all the way across it and trimmed around. Then staring at the outside, I just started pressing on Boa yarn from Lion around the clock. It was a really simple process, but time consuming. However it's do-able in front of the TV because it doesn't require much attention. Attaching the rhinestone gems (from Cousin Beads) required a little more thought since the fluffy Boa yarn "moves". So I used a good liquid gemstone glue and kind of glued through all the yarn at each spot to make it sit still and form a "base" for the gems. I thought this would be a fun project for younger girls and would be a fun thing to have in their room!

Mosaic Tile Clock - AKA Look! No Mod Podge!

Yes, I can create without Mod Podge! This clock was for the Herr's Pacific CHA-Winter 2007 booth. I created different clocks for different sections of the booth. This one used mosaic pieces and grout from Milestones and a clock base and kit from Walnut Hollow. This takes several days, but I was excited about the results! The main tip for doing this is for placement of the numbers. Those particular tiles need to be set into place FIRST (without actually gluing the numbers down until after you're all finished grouting etc.) so you know you have a place to put the numbers, THEN place all the other tile pieces.

Create Wooden Gift Bag

I found these adorable wooden gift bags at Hobby Lobby and wish I had picked up more because I haven't seen them there since and they're a lot of fun to work with for a small project with tons of storage useage (this one is currently in my studio holding scissors on my workspace). I used Surf & Turf from Zsiage's new line New England (which is one of my all-time favorite collections from Zsiage - seriously yummy and versatile!). It's hard to tell from the picture, but I did not Mod Podge over the top of the paper. Instead I used Ranger's crackle finish over the swirls (looks shiny in the picture). The ribbon is just a piece of stray white I had hanging around. The flower is from Prima. The letters and flower center are Zsiage's chipboard. This stuff is awesome - it has a nice white glossy finish to it. I used Ranger alcohol ink and metallic mixative over them and then the crackle finish again. I'm not sure if it's the glossy finish or the alcohol ink/crackle finish that caused it, but it ended up with a super cracked finish - deep, crumbly cracks. It's a neat look - they look almost like amber! You can see where I somehow managed to forget to pull out a "t" when first doing this so I did the "t" later, resulting in a bad color match when trying to remember how much alcohol ink versus how much metallic mixative to use. So there's my next tip - proofread yourself when doing anything that requires color mixing!

Flower Clock

This was something I whipped up on breaks at work one day (yes, working for a craft distributor does have its perks in access to things to work with!). The clock base and clock works are from Walnut Hollow. For the patterned paper, I used Pure from Around the Block's Uber Luxe line. The clear clock face is actually just a circle cut from a sheet protector and the circles for the hours are punched from the flip side of the patterned paper.

Vintered SOD Gift Box

The boxes that Zsiage's Scrap-O-Dex's come in are really fun to decorate and use as a gift box. For this one, I used Altered Ego and Vintered Vagabond from Zsiage's Vintered line. I also colored Zsiage chipboard letters with a Sakura Permapaque marker and added a Prima and another piece of the feather boa I used for the frame on an earlier post.

Bleached Topaz Frame

Another frame using Zsiage paper (Bleached Topaz from Jen Starr's Jewelry Box collection). I love how it ends up looking hand painted (the sides are painted purple to match). Rubons from American Crafts and flowers from Prima. This frame also works in both landscape or portrait.

Tropical Frame

This was just a fun little frame I made using the Making Memories Tropical Vacation collection. A piece of paper, some flowers, and a sticker - doesn't get much easier than that!

Fountain Blue Frame

Another frame that was really easy but so fun! I still find feathers here and there to prove it. This was in the Zsiage booth at CHA-Summer 2007. I used my usual dollar frame from Michael's and Mod Podge, of course! The paper (which I LOVE) is from Zsiage (Fountain Blu from the Vintered collection). The rubons are from

American Crafts and the feathery edging is a boa from Zucker Feather that I cut a piece from and attached with double-sided tape (the red kind from Provo). Here's a tip - if you want to use rubons, use them BEFORE you Mod Podge. My lesson from this particular frame! Rubons don't particularly like to stick to MP. Can be done (as seen here), but takes a whole lot more effort and care to get the whole rubon stuck without messing it up.

Basic Grey Lamp

This lamp was a fun little project. I bought a pair of these lamps on clearance because I loved the base. However they had these boring little white lampshades on them that didn't do them justice. I had a decoratable lamp shade (covered in adhesive, meant to add fabric etc. to them) hanging around so I thought I'd make one of them match my living room better. I had some really old (think it's from the first or second release) Basic Grey paper hanging around that had colors pulled perfectly from my room, so I decided to use it here. The lampshade comes with a template, which I used to cut my papers. I wanted the paper to remain in the same orientation, so I did have to use four pieces to keep the design facing the same direction (had that not been important two would have sufficed) and then I used velvet ribbon from Flair on the seams and a rickrac along the bottom edge. I think the whole project took about a half an hour - cut, adhere right to the sticky lampshade, glue on the ribbon and rickrac and voila! Instant custom lampshade that looks awesome in my living room!