Valentine Banner

Howdy everyone! Hope your week is going great so far. 
We have had the flu around here. Everyone in my neighborhood had had it
and someone passed it along to me :o(  I am on the uphill
swing now and starting to feel much better thankfully!

Today I want to share a banner I mad for Valentines day. Now you might remember
that I made a a really cute one last year. And my DD1 swiped it from me. 
So I had to make another one for myself. 
I stared with a Maya Road Chipboard Heart Mini Album, but I only used
 the inside pages. I painted them with a mixture of pink & white acrylic paints,
 then sprinkled them with pearl watercolor and barely blended it.
I sprayed it with gold mist and set them aside to dry.

I used my Fiskars punch and Basic Grey's new True Love papers to make my flower cones.I lightly inked the edges and then rolled the hearts up to make the cone shape.
I used my Tiny Attacher to secure the cone and then used 1" Glue Lines® to stick the cones onto the chipboard bases. 
I used Ultra Thin Glue Dots® to secure my flowers & leaves into the cones.
I used my McGill punch for the leaves.
I used Heidi Grace chipboard letters, painted them with gesso and used my Stampers Big Brush Pen® in Deep Scarlet Red #219 to doodle on them. I used Mini Glue Dots® to add them to my hearts.
I added some bling to each heart, because what would Valentine's Day be without it?
I used some red velvet rick-rack I had on hand to tie the hearts together and to hang the banner up.
There you have it! I am hoping that I can hang onto this banner longer than the one I made last year!
What are you making for Valentine's day?  I would love to see, so leave me a link.

Thanks for stopping by today, and have a fabulous weekend!
Have you checked out the Glue Dots® Blog? Lots of great inspiration there for
all your projects!

Anita
 
I wrote this blog post while participating on the Glue Dots design team

Authentique Mini Book

Howdy blogging friends! 
I had a great time at the stamp show today and picked
up some great stuff I can't wait to play around with. 
I love when the stamp show comes to town! 

Today I want to share a mini book that I am teaching as 
a class at The Crafty Scrapper next month. I used the new
Authentique Lovely Collection Kit for the entire album.
Love this line of papers! Here are a few photos
I used bookboard for my covers and used my Cinch from WRMK to punch the holes and bind it. The heart shaped tin and the chipboard are from Maya Road. All the die cut stickers are from the Lovely Kit.

This little album is full of pages that flip and open and hide little pockets. There are a TON of photo mats because I generally put a lot of photos and journaling in my albums.

I used several pieces of the Maya Road chipboard through out. They are
 all painted white and then heat embossed with WOW powders.


I used almost all of the die cuts in the kit - I was in love with them!
Lots of ribbon too.












The class is February 2nd at The Crafty Scrapper.
Check the website for more info and details.

I am entering this in the monthly color Challenge at Authentique.
If you would like to play along you have until Feb 13th to link up.


Thanks for stopping by today!
Anita

Christmas Lamp with Glue Dots®

Good morning blogging friends!
I ma so ready for the weekend to start! We have the 
Stamp Scrap Art Tour in town this weekend and it is
5 minutes from my house! So I get to go all 3 days. Shop, shop, shop :o)
And since my friends and I go to retreat in 2 weeks, it is at a 
really good time every year too.

Today we have a new challenge up at Frosted Designs at it is "Music" and I
want to share a project I made for Glue Dots®.
 This project was a doozie - it took me about week to get it done. 
And then I had to make another one so I had a set.
I started with a old bedside lamp that I was going to toss out
 Lovely, yes? Our previous bedroom theme has been nautical (husband's choice) 

 This is the finished project. Quite a change! I painted the shade with a primer and two coats of acrylic paint, drying between each coat. I painted the base with acrylic paint and sprinkled with glitter, when it was dry I sprayed with a sealer. 

 I used cheap plastic garland for trim. I marked the back of the lamp every 1.25" to keep my rows even and wrapped the garland around, using Mini Glue Dots® about every inch or so to hold it in place. For the ribbon trip at the top I used Continuous Glue Dots® and pressed the trim in to secure.

 I made a LOT of rosettes out of sheet music and XXL Glue Dots®. LOTS of rosettes!

Using my Crop-O-Dile, I randomly punched holes around the bottom about a 1/2" up. I used fishing line to string Maya Road trinket beads through the holes, then stuck on all the rosettes. I used Craft Glue Dots® to add the paper flowers, Christmas ornaments and berry sprays. 

I added a few more embellishments at the base of the lamp. 

To finish it off I wrapped a piece of sheet music around the post of the lamp and added a tiny piece of trim.
From throw away to knock out Christmas Table Lamps!

Thanks for stopping by today!
Anita

I wrote this blog post while participating on the Glue Dots design team.

Faerie Garden - Glue Dots® CHA Project

Hi everyone! I wanted to take a minute and share a project
I made to Glue Dots® and it was selected to be shown in their CHA booth!

I started with a metal bird cage that I found at Hobby Lobby and 
added my Once Upon A Garden papers from Graphic 45
that I have been hoarding for a couple of years. 

**There are LOTS of photos**

 I fussy cut all the pieces from the papers and sealed them with Modge Podge for durability.

The cage is about 11" tall and 8" wide. I wound a wired thread through
the cage and added fussy cut flowers with Micro Glue Dots®. 
For the flowers, I added a a Micro Glue Dot® to the center of each, pressed a 
couple of seed beads in and sprinkled some extra fine glitter on top.


To create the pond in the front I painted the base blue, and topped that with clear acrylic
and a sprinkling with glitter. I used Micro Glue Dots® to add my water faeries
to the pond and added waves with white acrylic paint.

Aren't they cute! 

Here is a wide view of the garden. For the base inside I used floral foam,
cut it to size, and anchored it with XXL Glue Dots®. For the moss, I 
added Craft Glue Dots® randomly to the foam and just pressed it on. 
The other things pushed into the foam also help secure it.

For the flowers on stems I used pearl topped pins wrapped with green
washi tape. I used Craft Glue Dots to add two small flowers to
 the head of the pin. I added in some flower stamens for foliage. 

This Faerie has Ranger Crackle on her wings. Some of the others have Stickles on them.

I couldn't resist adding a couple of mini seashells to the pond, they are anchored with
a variety of Glue Dots®, For the fussy cut flowers stuck in the moss, I simply stuck more pearl pins through the center of the flowers straight into the moss.

I used a Tim Holtz die for the tree, painted it, inked it and glittered it.
This Faerie has stickles and extra glitter on her wings.

Thanks so much for stopping by today to look at my project.

I wrote this blog post while participating on the Glue Dots design team.
Anita

ColourQ #173 - Valentine Card

I have no idea why blogger didn't post this night!
Good evening blogging friends! How is your week going so far?
We had the most beautiful day here in Dallas - sunshine and warm. yeehaw~

Today is Tuesday so it is time for a new palette over at ColourQ and I 
really love this weeks colors! So soft and yummy.
I made a card this week instead of a layout, I needed another Valentine card!
I just love working with kraft paper as a background! I also used my Stampin' Up punch, and some die-cut elements from Pink Paisley. The little flowers are from MS.

Here is a look at this weeks colors
Be sure to join in the fun - you have until Sunday noon to get
your project linked up on the blog.

Anita

Adore You

Howdy fellow bloggers! 
Have you had a great weekend - we have had such beautiful weather
here in Dallas, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it!

Today I want to share a layout I made with some of the new 
Authentique papers I got from The Crafty Scrapper in Waxahachie.
This is my second project with these papers and I am just loving them!
I am so loving that floral pattern- I need more of it! 
This fabulous piece of chipboard is from Dusty Attic. I painted it with Viva Decor 3-D Stamp paint, highlighted with Viva Gloss Gel pen, and added some sparkle with metallic embossing powder.
For my chipboard letters I used white acrylic paint and highlighted the edge with my Rose Metal Gelato® - I think that one is my favorite color! For the heart I used Gelatos® in Rose Metal and Gold.
 The punch is Martha Stewart, flowers are Maya Road, stick pins are Maya Road and I have gussied them up a bit with crystals and beads, the ribbon is Stampin' Up.
Here is a closer look at the chipboard frame. I have been hoarding this piece for a while, but I finally broke down and used it. I love this piece and I may have to go buy another one!  The journal spot is October Afternoon.

I am linking up at the following challenges:
Divas By Design - Girlie
4 Crafty Chicks - pearls (I used pearl pins)
Pile It On  - Hearts
Get Creative - Sketch


If you are in North Texas, be sure to stop by The Crafty Scrapper and 
say hello - the best scrapbook store around I am tellin' you.
Be sure to ask about my upcoming classes:
A Page In Time:
This is an 8 hour workshop and we will be using the fabulous new papers from Graphic 45. You will complete 26 pages during the workshop! You will leave with 12 two page 8X8 layouts, 1 for each month along with a cover page and a back page. The album and lunch is included.

Forever Valentine Album
This is a very cute album made with the new Authentique papers. You will 
learn to make a variety of flip style pages and bind the book in class. 

If you are not in the area, the store will ship the class kits out to you!
Contact The Crafty Scrapper directly for information.

Thanks for stopping by today and have a fabulous week!
Anita

Valentines Day Card #2

Hi everyone! It is Friday,, yeehaw! 
Now if it would only warm up, that would be awesome. 

Today I have a card for Just For Fun Stamps using
more of their fabulous Valentine themed stamps.
My card is 6X6 and I have used the new Basic Grey True Love papers, with one small piece from from a scrap that I cannot remember who made it.  I used the Passport Stamp Background to heat emboss the bottom sheet. You can see my tutorial on how to do it HERE. The die is Spellbinders and I am loving it - I need to use it more often!
I also used: Tim Holtz Rosette die, Stampin' Up ribbon, Doodlebug button, and paper flowers. I used the Happy Valentine's Day stamp for the sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by today and have a fabulous weekend!
Anita

Embellishment Storage - I need to see it!

Hi everyone, over at Craft Storage Ideas we are continuing on with our 13 in 2013 series. Today I want to share with you some of my ideas on storing packaged embellishments. I love stuff. I am not a fan of "less is more". Less is less and more is best! That's just how I roll and I need a lot of embellishments to make my pages look how I like them.

 I tried a few different things over the years and I have found that in order to use my embellies - I need to SEE them! I switched to a really simply system using IKEA rods and S-hooks. It keeps my packages right in front of me in my line of site.

 
This is the view from my scrap room door and as you can see I have three of the rods hung across the front of my desk space. On each rod I have several s-hooks. On each hook I have a binder ring and I slide the embellishment packages onto the rings.

 
As you can see I was right in the middle of a project when this photo was taken :) I group embellishments by type on each ring when possible. One ring is all pearls, one is all bling, one is all MME, etc. I really do use my embellishments more because they are always right there in front of me!

My other embellishments, like flowers and those with no hole for a ring, I store a little differently.

 
This is my Prima Breeding Program. If the world ever runs out of Prima Flowers I will have enough to breed them in captivity. These bins are fabulous storage. I got them from a retail store that was getting rid of them. However, if you google "tip out bins" you will find some for sale. When I empty a package into the bins I add the tag so I will know what the name/type is.

 
My other odd ball things I store in my Alex drawers in a variety of plastic separators. These are all my rub-ons, journal cards, etc. This is a shallow drawer so nothing gets buried. Once a year I try and go through all my hoard and if there is anything I haven't used since the last time I sorted - out it goes. I toss everything into a box and take it over to the local recreation center.

So that's it - my plain and simple storage for embellishments. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

So that's it - my plain and simple embellishment storage system.
Thanks for stopping by today and don't forget to stop by the blog for lots of great tips 
all month long!

Anita

My Funny Valentine- Sketches In Thyme Guest Maven

Howdy everyone,, how is your week going?
Have you  seen any great stuff from CHA that you just can't live without?
I have been drooling over so many things - it may break my budget!

Today I have my take on Sketches In Thyme #100 and this 
week it is a two page layout. I generally do two pagers unless I only
have enough photos for one. 
I started with white Bazzill and added PP and die cut stickers from Basic Grey's True Love. I also used Gelatos®, Prima stencil, Twine, Tsukineko inks, and all my adhesive is from Glue Dots®. I used Micro Dots for the banner, Pop-Up Dots to give my circle die cuts some dimension, and Ultra Thin Dots for everything else. The scallop circle punch is from Fiskars.
These really cute little banner pieces were on the die-cut sheer. I added them to the paper, put a line of Micro Glue Dots® across the top and layered on two pieces of twine from The Twinery.
For the color on the background, I used a Prima stencil and mixed my Bubble Gum Gelatos® with a little water in a mister to make a spray.  You can find the tutorial for it Here
After misting I used Guava, Bubble Gum and Red Cherry Gelatos® to make a line across the bottom of both pages, then used my finger to blend all the colors together.
For the heart on this side, once I had sprayed the stencil on the other page, I picked the stencil up and carefully flipped it upside down to get an impression from the ink left on the stencil.
Sorry my page looks all wavy! The one thing I don't like about spray inks - they wrinkle my paper up. 

Here is the sketch this week
Be sure to join in the fun - you have until the end of the month to link up over at Sketches In Thyme

I am linking up at the following challenges:
Word Art Wednesday - Anything goes 
The Pink Elephant - Pink, Red and White

Thanks so much for stopping by today!
Anita