Pinks and Yellows

Maybe it's because it's late fall going into winter and I'm missing the brightness of spring, but I'm really into pinks, reds, and yellows right now.  The Sidewalks line from October Afternoon seemed the perfect fit for a layout of our 2 year anniversary photo shoot - bright, fun, cheerful, and happy.  I love buying supplies within a product line.  It makes putting things together a snap!

Pink, red, and yellow goodness

However, just because I used products from a line didn't mean I couldn't still get painty and inky!  I broke out some pink acrylic paint, and stamped a solid shape for the title.  I dressed up chipboard letters and numbers with black ink and some Glossy Accents for a shiny feel to go with the black and white photos. Some swishes of dry brushed pink paint along the yellow panel on the right helped to tie everything together.

Layered flowers with pink acrylic paint and some Glimmer Glam helped to sparkle up the accents.

It's nice to be back in the creative swing of things.

Happy holidays, and happy crafting!!

Supplies used in this project:

• Sidewalks paper, label stickers, and keypad letter stickers (October Afternoon)
• Paper flowers (Prima)
• Pink acrylic paint (Americana)
• Black ink (StazOn)
• Mustard Yellow Distress Ink (Ranger)
• Glimmer Glaze (Tidepool)
• Border paper punch (Fiskars)
• Solid shape stamp (Jenni Bowlin)
• Glossy Accents (Ranger)
• Black pen (Faber Castel)
• Button (Making Memories)

O Christmas Tree

I've had a few wire frame forms for a while now just waiting for the perfect time and inspiration to decorate.  No time like the holidays to get you into the crafty spirit!

I took a very simple approach and I'm loving the results!  I just punched and cut circles from double sided paper, wrapped them around a paint brush to give them a bit of curl, glued them in overlapping layers and added a bit of jute trim for contrast along the way.  Super easy and super simple!

1/3 of the way done

The finished tree.  I graduated the size of the circles as I went up the tree.

Curly goodness

I think this little guy will live on my desk at work.  Its fun cheerful colors will be a happy sight during the day.

May your holidays be filled with cheer, joy, and crafty goodness!


Supplies used in this project

• Holly Jolly double sided paper (Cosmo Cricket)
• Jute trim (Precious Memories Our Designer (http://www.ourdesigner.com/)
• 1.5 and .5 inch Circle punches (Marvy)
• Circle cutter (Fiskars)
• Glue gun
• Paper flowers (Prima)
• Wire tree frame (The Shoppe at Somerset)

Prima Goodness

As you can tell from my work, it's no secret that I love flowers - in art, life, everywhere.  So of course I love Prima!  Prima makes a wonderful line of products including incredible flowers.  I'd made a frame several years ago to showcase one of my fav pics of my mom and I from when I was a little girl.  It needed some updating so I reached for my old standbys - Prima goodies.

What better to go with flowers than butterflies?  I adore this line of paper and embellishments from Bo Bunny.  They came together in a perfect combination of colors, contrast, and flowery goodness.  I pulled off the picture and photo mat from the old design and recovered the background with some distressed Bo Bunny papers.

Not a lot of ink or paint treatment on this piece.  Not a single crackle to be found in fact!  Instead, I went with lots of layers of flowers and embellishments to get the texture I was looking for.

That large chipboard butterfly accent was to die for!  I added some crystals to the center to help it sparkle.

This piece sits on a shelf in my craft room.  The colors, flowers, and that special pic of my mom and I inspire me and make me smile each time I look at it.  After all, isn't that what art is all about?

Thanks for stopping by!


Supplies used in this project:

• Papers and chipboard embellishments (Bo Bunny Press)
• Crystal flower branch, fabric flower, and paper flowers (Prima)
• Frayed Burlap Distress Ink (Ranger)
• Crocheted lace (Webster's Pages)
• Crystals





Back in the Saddle

Now that we've settled in a bit more from our recent move to TX I've found more time to craft and get my craft room organized.  Soooo nice to have a dedicated craft space again!  Here are a couple of recent projects.

Altered Canvas

I love love love working with transparency film.  I often use it to do photo transfers and this time I decided to use the transparency itself.  I picked up a Prima Printery kit from fabulous Karla at her Etsy shop.  The colors in this photo of our kitty Emma worked perfectly.

I layered a piece of Printery paper onto the canvas, then came the photo printed on the transparency film.  I made a pleated paper border from another sheet of the Printery pack and then just started layering and having fun with lace, pearls, flowers, and bling.

I misted the paper flowers and skeleton leaves with some Old Lace Glimmer Mist to give them a a nice sparkle.  A little Patina Glimmer Mist in the center of the top flower added depth.  I took 4 single paper flowers from the kit, folded them in half, and then tucked them in behind the center flower to give it more dimension and "fluffiness".

Of course my favorite part was the the part that involved getting paint and ink all over me.  That came in the form of a multi layered treatment along each edge of the canvas.  I started with a layer of Vintage Photo Distress Crackle Paint.  Once completely dry I rubbed it with Black Soot Distress Ink to add depth to the crackles in the paint.  After wiping off the excess ink with a damp paper towel, I added another layer of Olive ink until I got the effect I wanted.  Once that was dry, I tried out my new fav product - Inka Gold metallic paints from Viva Decor!  I rubbed the edges with Old Silver to give more depth and dimension.  I love the way it came out!

I also used the Inka Gold on a Glimmer Chip for a final corner embellishment.  I covered the chip with black StazOn ink first and then rubbed the Inka Gold over it with my finger.  A small pearl in the center and I was done!

Working with small canvases like this one are great ways to get a big impact without spending a huge amount of time. 

Wish Book

The next project was a mini book made from the wish cards from my one of my dear friend's wedding.  I wanted to do something special with them and thought putting them into a book would be a nice way for her and her husband to go back and revisit the memories and well wishes from their guests on their special day.

The colors from their wedding were purple and green.  The Kyoshi line from Basic Grey worked in nicely.  I covered the front and back chipboard pages with pieces from the paper line.  I bound the book with pieces of coordinating fiber and ribbon.  Super simple and easy!

I had fun embellishing the chipboard flourishes.  I started with a layer of Picket Fence (you guessed it) Distress Crackle Paint.  I can't get enough of that stuff!  After it completely dried, I rubbed it with some Black Soot Distress Ink and wiped off the excess with a damp paper towel.  I then went over each piece with a layer of Mermaid Glimmer Glaze.  I love the transparency of the paint and the faint shimmer it leaves.  It added the perfect hint of green to tie it all together.  I then used a black Copic marker to edge each piece to give it more dimension one on the cover.

From there I embellished the inside of the front cover.  Each page in the book has a small vertical strip of paper with the wish card nestled against it.  Super simple so the focus stays on the wishes.

The Basic Grey lines usually have a matching set of rub ons and I added a few of those along with some bling to decorate the last page in the book.

I kept the back super simple as well.  Just a single rub on in the center with my initials and the date.  A layer of Chandelier Glimmer Glaze coated both the front and back pages to add a bit of sparkle and help seal them against wear.

All in all a simple, easy design but a book I hope she and her hubby enjoying reviewing over and over again.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Max Factor

There are several inherent truths about living in Texas, one of which is that you gotta have a truck.  (check!) Another is that you gotta have a dog to go along with the truck (aka Truck Dawg).  We'd been wanting a dog for a while and now that we
a) live in TX,
b) own a truck, and
c) now live in a house with a yard big enough to accommodate a dog, it seemed like the natural time to adopt. 

When one of my coworkers posted that a puppy had shown up on his doorstep and needed a home, the stars aligned and we found Max.

Max the WunderPup

Max is a Blue Heeler (AKA Australian Cattle Dog) mix, though mixed with what, we have no idea.  He came to us at about 3 months old.  All we do know is that he is super smart, very loving, and an all around Expert WunderPup.

So how does this tie in with crafting you ask?  With my new subject matter in hand, I was even more motivated to get into the craft room and start working again.  One of the nice things about moving is rediscovering your supplies as you unpack.  If you're like me and loooove paper, you've got a huge stash.  After all, you never know when you might need that special "feel" for a specific project, right?  With my chosen photo in hand I went searching and found the perfect line - an oldy but goody from Basic Grey, Phresh & Phunky.

Max's first Layout

I took a super simple approach and dug out some old supplies as well as some tried and true staples such as Distress Inks and Crackle Paint.  I even used one of my circle punches!  My projects are always about the photos so one of my favorite photos of Max took center stage. Lots of distressing, a little bit of layering, and some pop dots on the title helped it come together in a jiffy.

Embellished Basic Grey letters on pop dots

Of course my favorite part of the project was embellishing the monogram letters to make the title.  I dry brushed them with Vintage Photo Crackle Paint, let them dry, then dry brushed again with Black Soot Crackle Paint.  Once that was dry, I went over portions of the letters with Victorian Velvet Distress Ink.

Inky crackly goodness

Even though it is a very simplistic design, it was a good start to get me back into the swing of things.  Having a designated craft space definitely helps.

Thanks for stopping by!

Items used in this project:

• Chipboard border (Creating Keepsakes)
• Phresh & Phunky papers and monogram letters (Basic Grey)
• Manila tag (Basic Grey)
• Victorian Velvet Distress Ink (Ranger)
• Black Soot and Vintage Photo Distress Crackle Paint (Ranger)
• Black ink (StazOn)
• Circle punch (Marvy Uchida)
• Custom brad (Chatterbox)
• Pop dots
• Metal charm
• Mini Brad (Making Memories)

Scrappergirlie Goes Texan!

Wow what a year 2011 has turned out to be!  So much has been going on, hence the decrease in blog activity.  One of the biggest changes is that I joined a new company and we moved to Texas!  Central Texas that is, right in the heart - near San Antonio and just down the road from Austin. We had been talking about relocating to Central Texas in the next few years. My hubby is from TX and thought it would be a great place to get some land and build a house.  We had JUST moved in February from one apt. to another in the Bay Area and hadn't planned on another move this year.  But the stars aligned and when the Universe points you in a specific direction you need to follow. 

So we packed up our 2 cats, 2 cases of wine, and a bag (AKA the blow up bag) full of all of my favorite adhesives and alcohol inks that I couldn't bear to through out since the movers would not transport flammable items.  The movers came on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend and we hit the road that night.  Yes, we drove 4 days through the desert, in the summer!

No, we didn't fill the entire truck, just 1/3.

Day 1 (Friday)
Starting Point: Mountain View, CA
Destination: Palm Desert, CA
Distance: 475 miles
Time to Destination: 11 freakin hours

Items of note:

• After doing a good bit of online research into cross country travel with cats, I somehow got it into my head that the cats would be happier on the trip if we put them together into a single large carrier as opposed to keeping them separate.  Yeah, that didn't go over well.  The hissing began as soon as the second cat made it into the container.  So off we went to the pet store to get 2 brand new carriers because the moving truck had just departed with our previous two inside. After the slow start, we finally made it out of the house and were on our way.
• We made pretty good time until we hit L.A.  Accident on the 405 slowed us a bit and then we hit road construction on the 5 that REALLY slowed us.  It took about 2.5 hours longer than we planned to get to Palm Desert.



Somewhere in the Southern CA desert.

• It was reallllly windy when we arrived around 1:30 AM.  Each night we had to unpack the cats, the wine, and the blow up bag.  Because of the heat, we didn't want to take any chances.

Day 2 (Saturday)
Starting Point: Palm Desert, CA
Destination: Phoenix, AZ
Distance: 256 miles
Time to Destination: 5 hours

Items of note:

• This was our shortest day, and the day on our trip we looked forward to the most.  Waiting for us in Phoenix was my niece, our good friends the Twists, and our new friend from WoW, Anthony and his girlfriend Raquel.We had lots of time to visit with all three sets of friends and it was so nice to catch up.
• Remember the wind I mentioned in Palm Desert?  Well that wind never let up the entire weekend until we hit El Paso!  We saw huge dust devils along the drive, but the AZ desert is beautiful. 

We're in the desert now!  On the way out of CA and into AZ.

• The cats held up pretty well but we ended up with the female kitty howling and meowing until she panted and tired herself out for the first hour of road time each day. After that first hour of torture and near panic on our part, she quieted down until we reached our destination.  We hung towels on the inside of the back seat windows to keep it dark and it seemed to help them a lot.  Each time we went over a large bump or found a particularly bumpy stretch of road she peeped up with a meow of protest but then went back to sleep.  The male kitty was a trooper the whole time and just slept all the way through.
• We had a great time in Phoenix and now the longest distance awaited us.  The next day we would hit TX.

Day 3 (Sunday)
Starting Point: Phoenix, AZ
Destination: Van Horn, TX
Distance: 550 miles
Time to Destination: 9.5 hours

Items of note:

• This was our longest day with the most miles covered.  Nevertheless, at the end of it we would at lease be in our new state.
• We crossed 2 state lines that day: NM and TX and saw some amazing scenery along the way.



Texas Canyon, off the 10 on the way from AZ to NM.

• Almost immediately after crossing into NM, the scenery changed.  The path we traveled took us through a higher elevation and the shrubs were much different.  I've heard great things about northern NM but the southern part we traveled through left much to be desired.

Rest stop off the 10 looking over Los Cruces, NM.  Elevation 3900 feet.

• It didn't take us long to get through NM and we were finally into TX.  We got out of the car in Van Horn and were immediately greeted with a wonderful rush of moisture.  I had forgotten how dry the desert was and once we got lower into TX and through El Paso, those gorgeous TX clouds returned.

Van Horn, TX

Day 4 (Monday - last day!)

Starting Point: Van Horn, TX

Destination: San Antonio, TX

Distance: 431 miles

Time to Destination: 8 hours

Items of note:

• HOME HOME HOME!  We made it to our new home.
• Cats intact, no adhesive explosions, and not wine leaks.
• It was a long trip and we could have shortened it a day but we wanted to give the cats a break and spend time in Phoenix with our friends.  All in all, it was very doable but I wouldn't want to do it again any time soon.

One of the things I love about our new house is that I have my own craft room!!  I'm working on getting it organized and just finished unpacking the very last box today.  My hubby built me a custom made bookshelf to house my kits which will really help in keeping things tidy.  More to come as the room gets organized. 

Until now, we've been working in the garden and getting the rest of the house put together.  Now all that's left is the fun part - gettin inky.

I love Texas so far though I do miss my scrappin buds and fav stores.  I still need to get out and explore the ones here in Central Texas.  Happy crafting and thanks for stopping by and sharing our journey!

Birthday Blog Hop Yumminess

Welcome!!  If you are participating in KinderStampO's 34 Birthday Candles and Counting blog hop you will have just come from the talented Tina and her Flower's Inspirations blog.  This hop is featuring over 40 amazing and talented artists and I am so honored to have been asked to participate!  We've each created a birthday themed project in honor of Jess (KinderStampO) who has a birthday this month.  Happy Birthday Jess!

When I think of birthday themed items the first thing that comes to mind is cupcakes.  I absolutely adore cupcakes!  Your very own personal cake - what's NOT to love?!?  For my project I decided to "cupcake-ify" a paper mache hat box.  I used lots and lots of Glimmer Glam and Lindy's Stamp Gang mists to give this project lots of depth and sparkle.  This cupcake had lots and lots of layers!

Cupcake box with ribbon handle

I started out by misting the inside of the lid and insides of the box with a Violaceous Violet Moonshadow mist from Lindy's Stamp gang.  After the mist dried, I went over it with a coat of Glimmer Glam in Lipstick Pink.  I love to use Glam on these sorts of projects because it acts like a sealer and gives a nice smooth glossy finish.  After that dried I added a layer of Glimmer Glam in Golden Goddess.  Once that dried I used my finger to rub more Lipstick Pink Glam in places to add additional depth.  I did mention I used lots of layers, right?  ;)  I love the result!

Layers of yummy goodness.  I planned to cover the bottom and sides with paper so I didn't worry about misting those.

Decorated inside lid.  You can see the sheen and depth from the multiple layers of Glam.  YUM!



The combination of the running ink from the Moonshadow Mist and layers of glam really added depth and shine.



I covered the outside of the lid, outside of the bottom, and inside bottom with paper from the Nook and Pantry line from Basic Grey.  The cupcake images were the perfect size!  I added Distress Ink and glitter to them to give them some punch.  I felt they needed an anchor so they weren't floating on the side of the box.  I took some vintage cotton lace and painted it with white acrylic paint and then added Distress Ink to give it some depth.



Paint and ink add even more texture to the lace.

I adhered the base paper, lace, and cupcake cut outs with matte gel medium.  I like using gel medium for this because the paper doesn't curl as it does with other wet adhesives.  Once it was completed I added a layer of Rock Candy (clear) Distress Crackle Paint.  It seems I can't seem to make a project without!  Once the paint had cracked and dried, I rubbed the outside of the box with more Distress Ink.  The Ink helped to bring out the cracks.  I also dry rubbed some more Lipstick Pink Glam on various places around the box to give it some interest.



Pre crackle paint shot.



Post crackle paint glossy crackly goodness.  It makes the frosting on the cupcakes look real!



I wanted the box to look like a cupcake itself so I took some white flower ribbon and coiled it around the top of the lid to make it look like frosting.  I painted a flower with Glimmer Glam and added it along with some velvet leaves to the center.  Instant frosted cupcake!

Yummy enough to eat!

Then it was off to the finishing touches.  I added some pom pom fringe to the lid and eyelets to the bottom to thread the ribbon through.

I'm not quite sure who will be the recipient of this little cupcake box but each time I look at it I want cupcakes!

Thanks so much so stopping by and participating in the blog hop!  There are tons of great sponsors and I'm sure you'll find something to inspire you.

Your next stop on the hop is Jess herself at KinderStampO.  You can also find a full list of blogs on her site as well in case you get lost hoppin' around.  Enjoy!

Products used in this project:

• Paper mache hat box (Michael's)
• Patterned paper (Nook and Pantry collection from Basic Grey)
• Matte gel medium (Golden)
• Violaceous Violet Moonshadow mist (Lindy's Stamp Gang)
• Lipstick Pink and Golden Goddess Glimmer Glam (Tattered Angels)
• Glitter glue (Martha Stewart Crafts)
• Snow Cap Adirondack Paint Dauber (Ranger)
• Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Ranger)
• Rock Candy Crackle Paint (Ranger)
• Vintage cotton lace (Precious Memories)
• Bling (Prima)
• Fabric flower (7 Gypsies)
• Velvet leaves (Remember When)
• Silver eyelets (Making Memories)
• Brown polka dot ribbon (Michael's)
• White flower ribbon (American Crafts)
• Wet adhesive (Helmar)
• Fabritac (Beacon)