Back to Our Routine

The visit with my in-laws was very pleasant. My MIL and oldest DD spent the day shopping on Saturday- lss, Michael's, Hobby Lobby- we hit them all! That evening hubby and I celebrated our anniversary. We have a new "up-scale" shopping area in our town that is absolutely beautiful and with it came some new eateries (something Huntsville, AL had MUCH need.) We ate at a restaurant called Dolce which had an Italian flair with the cuisine. It was truly a memorable evening! Sunday was Father's Day, of course, and we spent the day at the pool with the girls. Such fun!

My in-laws returned home this morning, so we are trying to get back in to our routine. Today I am sharing a card that I began on Thursday evening but because of the necessity for "crisis cleaning" on Friday, I was unable to complete it until today. It was actually finished except for the machine stitching along the border where the 2 PP meet. Unfortunately, you really cannot see the stitching in the photograph.

The rest of the card is pretty straight forward. I have teamed up Crafty Secrets Sweet Kids stamps with BG Sugared paper, Primas, and May Arts ribbon. The image is colored with Copic markers. The buttons are a mix of Autumn Leaves and BG and the centers are stitched with linen thread from SU.

Be on the look out for Jacksonbelle Tuesday in the morning. Remember it's ALWAYs A Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

Sweet Kids card recipe:

Stamps: Crafty Secrets- Sweet Kids, Canvas BG

Paper: More Mustard, Pretty in Pink, Curious Iridescent Cryogen White CS, BG- Sugared

Ink: Versafine- Black Onyx, Ranger Distress Ink- Antique Linen

Accessories: Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Copic markers, sponge, sewing machine, May Arts ribbon, SU linen thread, Button- BG and Autumn Leaves, Prima flowers

Collage-style Card for Mom

When I saw this fairy included in the Naturals pad by Crafty Secrets, it reminded me of the beautiful collages my mother used to make. I am not saying what I created is even remotely comparable to my mother's artwork. As I have mentioned before, Mom has a degree in Fine Arts and does some of the most amazing creations in textiles and fibers. Her collages are in the forms of wallhangings, "quilts," and weavings, to name a few. While her eclectic, almost risque style might not have been liked the average viewer, she was well-respected in the small art community where I grew-up. I don't mean to make this sound like an eulogy. Mom is alive and well (at least, physically- teeheehee) but her creativity is limited to using her eclectic style to decorate her home (we always say that if she does die an untimely death (Mom is only 60) , it will be due to electrocution while rigging some of her contraptions at home)! I'm not sure why she "quit" her art. She never had quite the confidence in her own work that she should have and while was approached by a couple of galleries, she never felt comfortable with presenting her works publically. She does have a couple of her more conservative pieces in waiting rooms and has decorated a a few homes. Reflecting back, it really is a shame. I do attribute my acute since of viewing colors to this amazing artist. Anyway, I certainly didn't intend to go "there" it just started flowing and I just couldn't stop it. I started my collage card with at 7 x 7 piece of Whisper White card stock (the large size was necessary to allow for the fairy image.) I punch a mask with a Giga Scallop Oval punch, then with a Jumbo Dauber inked with Cool Carribean ink (so miss that color) I repeatedly daubed the ink over the mask to a cloud-like effect. Next, I cut out the fairy and added Dazzling Diamonds accents with a SakuraQuickie Glue pen (please feel free to click on the photo- this card has tons of sparkle.) The "flower" in her hair is a brad by Creative Imaginations. "Dream" is a K & Co. adhesive rub-on sprinkled with pink glitter. In the upper right had corner, the butterfly has been accented with DD then the body was creased inward and the wings curled outward using a pencil. Stampin' Dimensionals adhere it to the card. Finally, the bottom right hand corner is a 7 Gypsies Photo corner cover in Prima Paper. Tucked inside is a "label" cut from Prima PP then altered using the "Cracked Glass" method. The little cherub is a stamp from Crafty Secrets, colored with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. The wings are covered with Stardust Stickles then she is added with Stampin' Dimensionals. Ribbon is form my stash. When Mary Elizabeth saw this with NO prompting she said that looks like a Nana card! Speaking of ME, I have to share a picture of my beautiful girl with you. Here she is as a Junior Bridesmaid at her cousins wedding. I cannot wait to scrapbook these beautiful photos!


It's ALWAYS A Scrapin' Good Time! Take care!

A Sweet Little Chatterbox

Here is the Sweetchips dress by Crafty Secrets that I made for my other great-niece (disclaimer- the title "great-aunt" makes me sound much older than I really am.) This one I paired up with Chatterbox PP which I thought was perfect for a sweet little dress. It is impossible to see but I paper pierced a little flower pattern on the collar and the pocket. The rick rack is some that I had in my stash and the little "applique" flowers came from a longer strand of "ribbon" from MM Dyeable Ribbons. I colored the centers of those little fabric flowers with a Copic marker to coordinate with the colors in the PP. The tiny little buttons are from my stash and being the detailed- oriented fool that I am, there are threads through those tiny holes. When I cover any chipboard with PP, I love to use my Basic Gray Precision File Kit to smooth the edges of the paper. I feel like it gives it a more finished appearance.

Here is a peak of the inside of the dress. The photo is from Baby Sidney's Baptism (aren't they sweet when they are sleeping- lol)! I cropped the picture with a oval punch then matted it with a scalloped oval punch. The little monogram was made with PTI's Borders and Corners Monogram Edition and Trajan Monogram. I then punched them out with SU's 1-3/8" circle punch and matted it with the Scalloped Circle Punch. The flowers are felt from Prima and their centers a Bazzill brads. All ribbon including the little green leaf vine in the bottom right corner is May Arts. The verse is from a Crafty Secrets Sticker sheet and the ribbon border was simply stapled then folded in little "pleats" using glue dots to hold each loop. Well, my dad is coming for a visit tomorrow (actually today) to help DH lay laminent in little Rachel's room so I'd better say good-night in case they need my help -lol! It's ALWAYS a Stampin' Good Time! Take care!

Sweet Chips= Sweet Gift

This is the first of 2 altered Sweet Chips dresses that I made for my great-nieces. Aside from the toy gifts that we gave them I wanted each of them to have something homemade and special for their first Christmas. These little chipboard dressed by Crafty Secrets are so sweet (hence, the name) and are a very easy project to pull together. Although I didn't have a specific dress from my childhood or my DDs closet to copy, I did keep the elements often used in little girls' dresses in mind. The papers used are PPs from MME with coordinating Bazzill CS. While I had a little difficulty matching the red with one of SU's and I ended up using Palette Moulin Rouge, SU Bordering Blue went perfectly with the blue-gray shades of the PP. The little lady bugs are from PTI Little Lady. 2 stepped stamped, heat embossed with clear EP, then cut out and adhered to the dress. It is difficult to see but I free-handed some faux stitching at the hem of the dress to make the lady bug appear to be in flight. The rick rack on the pocket was originally white but I colored it with my Stampin' Write Bordering Blue marker to make it "work." Oh, I almost forgot the adorable little vintage hanger is from Crafty Secrets, too. I think it just makes this project!

The dress opens up so that you can continue to alter it from the inside! On the package it even explains how to make it into a mini album, but my time resources were runnin' slim by this point and I decided to KISS (keep it simple stamper.) The little monogram is a PTI combination using Borders & Corners Monogram Edition and Trajan Monogram- this is such an awesome font! The flowers are Prima with Bazzill Brad centers and the rickrack border is May Arts. The quote and ladybug charms are from my stash and I have NO idea who makes them! Such fun projects that were MUCH appreciated by the little girls' mommies! I will share the 2nd dress in my next post. Well, it is a rainy stormy Friday here in Rocket City. DH is at the walk-in clinic for a bad cold that just will not go away and I'm chasing youngest DD around with a tissue constantly (she starts antibiotics today in preparation for her ear tubes week after next.) I'm ready for my family to be well. It's ALWAYS a Stampin' Good Time. Take care!

Lady Bug dress recipe:

Stamps: PTI- Little Lady, Trajan Monogram, Borders and Corners Monogram edition

Paper: PP- MME, Bazzill CS

Ink: Bordering Blue, Ruby Red, Stampin' Write Marker in Bordering Blue

Accessories: Clear EP, rickrack, Crafty Secrets Sweet Chips, Bazzill brads, Prima flowers, circle punch, scalloped circle punch, ladybug charms from stash