Photo Memorial Ornament

This is by far the most precious gift that I gave this Christmas. I created this for my mother-in-law.  My father-in-law passed away several years ago. He is greatly missed by all who knew him.  When the gift is this special, it really is a treat to create. The more work involved, the more time I got to spend reflecting on what made this man such a special part of the lives he touched.

You may be wondering how I got his photo on the ornament. I have a beautiful portrait of my in-laws. I scanned it into Photoshop. Next I created a black and white, high contrast image.  I then worked to get just him isolated.

I brought that photo into my Silhouette Design Studio software and traced the image. I then worked to smooth out all the little dots and such to create a usable image. I cut the image from black vinyl and applied it to a glass ornament. I had already glittered the inside of the glass ornament before applying the vinyl pieces.

On the other side of the ornament I placed the "Little bit of Heaven" phrase that I also cut from vinyl. Applying the itty-bitty-tiny letters was a bit tricky. Even using transfer paper, many still needed to be placed individually.  To be sure that this will last a while, I sprayed it with a coat of decoupage sealing spray.

Ribbons helped to finish off the cap and dress up the ornament a bit.

To present this gift, I made a special box. I used a box shape available in the Silhouette online store by Samantha Walker. I modified it to make it large enough to fit the ornament with the bows attached.  I used an acetate sheet for the window, some Christmas paper cut with a lace border punch and more ribbons on top to dress up the box.

This was the one gift I was really excited to give this year. I think she liked it!

What I Have Been Up to & Chickaniddy Sneaks!

Hey all. A long time no talk! :)
You know what what I love about this blog? When I set up about a few years ago, I did in a way that would give scrapbookers a break when they needed it. I guess I needed a break from scrapbooking for a bit. The thing is my mind is always racing! I found cross stitching helped that so I jumped right into a project and was working on it from one to five hours a day. Yes, crazy huh? So, scrapbooking temporarily went to the side. I didn't quit, but merely took a break. I thought I would share with you my latest cross stitch creation!

So my question to you is, how do you incorporate cross stitch into scrapbooking? I have done backstitching many times. I am not sure how to do the X's onto to paper without ripping it?

The next great thing is there is a brand new company in town named Chickaniddy Crafts created by Heidi Sonboul. I have seen some of the great designs coming up and, wow, you are going to love them. To see ALL of the new sneaks coming up, please follow Chickaniddy Crafts on facebook here. Just like the page to follow it! Today I am posting two photos of the collection banners and a reveal date banner.

Are you excited? I am! I can't wait for the two collections to be revealed!

Anyways, I hope everyone is having a great day!!

Silent Night Canvas from a Digital Stamp

Would you believe this canvas was created using a digital stamp? It was!  Seriously!  The digital stamp that inspired me is Silent Night Digital Stamp from Arty Pants Digital Stamps and is available at The DigiChick. It just released today!!! So it's on sale right now!  Hurry to grab it for yourself!

The wonderful designer created these stamps in several sizes so they can easily be used for cards, scrapbooking or even to create wall art. She also provides layered versions of each stamp, so you can easily clip digital papers to them!

The canvas I used is a 9x12, it was already stretched on the wood base.  I mixed a few paints to get a blue color that I was happy with, then painted a few layers on the canvas.  While that was drying, I used the 8x10 version of the stamp. I brought it into Silhouette Studio and traced it to create cut lines.  I cut it from matte white Oracal vinyl (outdoor).  The stars are from 2 different Silhouette shapes available from Silhouette. Nativity (shape 52103) and Wise men still seek him (shape 35315). I cut the stars from gold vinyl.

I wanted the canvas to have a slight aged/primitive look to it. So I took some white ink and dabbed it around the edges to give it an aged effect.  I then layered the vinyl, the gold stars first then the white letters on top.

Now I've got a beautiful holiday wall art to help us stay focused on the true meaning of Christmas!

Hybrid Mixed Media Journal

It's been a while, but I finally got to do some more She Art work!!  I love doing this type of art. The mixed media is so very pleasing to all my sensory needs!  It allows my creative process to flow, while I think through some deep thoughts and capture some!  It's an art journaling process.

For this one, I got to also play a bit digitally. Arty Pants Digital Stamps has released some really awesome digital stamp goodies that help make Femme images a real breeze!  Check them all out here.

I laid out my design in Photoshop, then printed the background. That got Mod Podged to a composition book.  I then printed the girl, the word strips and the embellishments separately. I fussy cut the girl and pieces and Mod Podged each layered on the journal. I used paints, bubble wrap, punchanella, inks, pens etc to shade, color and highlight.

Some areas got built up with gesso and modeling paste. Glitter got sprinkled on various layers including the lace, and the girls hair. Unfortunately we did not get any sun today to help with the photographs, so you'll just have to trust me that the bling is really nice!

Some gems were added to the flowers on her dress and in her hair. I doodled around the word strips that are layered on the journal.  Can you see how much fun this is?

I didn't need to add any rub-ons since the Extras by Arty Pants include some awesome stamps to make this super easy!

This beauty has already been delivered to a friend.  I hope she enjoys exploring her dreams and releasing her true beauty!

Etching Glass

This isn't a scrapbooking craft, but I did use some of my scrapbooking tools to do this. I've seen so many wonderful glass etching projects and had really been wanted to try it myself.  Then along cam an opportunity. My sister was getting married this past summer and I wanted to make something special for her shower gift. The shower theme was to stock the pantry. I decided to make her a customized casserole dish. This way when she makes all her yummy food to share at parties and gatherings, everyone will know which dish is hers!

I didn't think to take photos as I was doing this. So I just have a few that I took with my cell phone.  I bought a glass casserole dish that had a fairly flat bottom with not much writing or impressions on it. Then I took a measurement of the space I had to work with on the bottom of the dish.

I used my Silhouette Cameo for this project.I laid out my design in the software, being certain to constrain myself to the measurement of the casserole dish bottom. 

 Before cutting the design, I mirrored it in the Silhouette software. I then cut it out of vinyl. And weeded out the portions where I wanted the glass etching to take place.  This part can trip you up. Typically you weed out the waste areas and keep the design. But for this type of project you'll actually weed out the design elements so that those areas of the glass are exposed.

Using transfer tape, I applied the vinyl to the bottom of the casserole. I used a squeegee to make sure the vinyl was tightly adhered. The bubbles in the vinyl are fine. The vinyl will not be staying on the dish. It is just acting as a stencil.

Once the vinyl is in place, you apply the glass etching cream. There are a few on the market. I used Etchall. I only had a small jar and it was more than enough for this project. Plus you can gather the excess and put it back in the jar to be reused.

Spread the cream liberally to cover ONLY the areas that you want etched.  Be very careful to not get it on any other areas.

Now you just wait.  15 minutes. Then you can scrape the cream off the project and put it back in the jar.  Then remove the adhesive vinyl under running water.  And enjoy your permanently etched glass!

The vinyl left a bit of residue on the glass. I used some Goo-Gone to take that off.

I was so happy with the results. Especially since this was my very first time using this technique. Now I'm thinking of lots ideas for using etching cream!

Another Way to "Color" Digital Stamps

Hi everyone! It's Cathy here with a post for you today!  It's been a while!!  Life has taken on some new directions for me and crafting has not had very much time in my life. It feels so good to be getting some creative time again!  And for that I am really thankful!  I got to play with a brand new digital stamp by ArtyPants Digital Stamps called Butterflies and Filigrees, come on that name alone shouts "beautiful"!!  There are so many things that you can do with her digital stamps. She includes a layered file too! So you can clip digital papers or colors to them. You can incorporate them right into your scrapbook or photos designs!

I chose to make a card with this stamp. I brought the .png image into my Silhouette Designer software and resized it for a 4.25"x5.5" card.  I offset it to allow an area for the ribbon. Then I print and cut the card.

So. I'm not so great at using markers to color in digital stamps. But I thought I would share some things I did with this stamp to create a shiny (wish I could photograph the glitter better so you could see just how shiny!) card with texture, color and a bit of grunge.  I got out my copics, glitter and embossing materials.  I used some transparent glitter on the main filigree frame in the design. I wanted to keep it kind of grungy, but add a little dressy to it.

I also traced the 2 butterflies and created cutting shapes for those. I cut them out of vellum.

Each of the butterflies got a sparing layer of glitter on the card face and a rim of opaque glitter on the edge of the cut vellum. I set the vellum on the card with the wings lifted.  The greenery in the stamp was enhanced with color and texture from some gritty moss embossing sand.

Hope this gives you some ideas of how you can use digital stamps in your designs!

Creating a layout using a color scheme and sketch!

Good Morning everyone!  TGIF!  Sharon here to share with you an easy way to make a great scrapbook page.  I have found that using sketches really helps me with my creativity and is a great source of inspiration. There are so many wonderful sketches just waiting for you to check them out!  I know you can find awesome sketches and templates right here at Ideas for Scrapbookers by clicking on the sidebar under "LINKS TO PAM'S SPECIFIC TEMPLATES."  Pam's templates/sketches are really cool and so easy to use!

But today, I would like to share a sketch and color scheme from a different source, a challenge blog.  There are lots of them out there, and here is just one that has lots of inspiration:  Color Me Scrappy. They have a challenge going on right now using the following color scheme:

 

and sketch:

I loved the sketch and used it to make the following layout:

I used bricks instead of stitching for my border, and burlap to frame my photos.  As you can see, you can use the sketch as loosely or specifically as you like.  Check out the Color Me Scrappy blog to see what others have done with this sketch and color palette!

P.S.  You can use your creations as gifts, too.  I gave this layout to my sister for her birthday on September 30th!

VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S BLOGS/GALLERIES

Cathy Dippolito

Dolores Schaeffer

Cindy deRosier

Marlene Murphy

Lesley Walker

Gael Spence

Sarah Routledge

Sharon Fritchman

Tanya Ham

Sheila Burns

Pam Callaghan

Taking your scrapbook skills off the page and onto the floor!

Hi there---

There was a time this summer when I wasn't blogging at all.  There actually is a good reason why---I promise!  I was completing a BIG project.

 

I'm in charge of staining the deck every year, and this year, I decided I wanted to paint a faux rug on my deck.  Here's how it turned out. 

 

 

 

I originally got the idea from Pinterest.

And THIS, my friends, is where my scrapbooking skills----all that painting and inking and splattering on my scrapbook pages--- came in handy. 

 

Step #1:  Wash the deck and let it dry for a couple of days.  I just use a power washer, no chemicals.

Step #2.  Decide what pattern you want.  I bought a giant chevron stencil here. 

Step #3:  Tape off the area you want as a rug. 

Step #4, also known as what I learned:  I thought I could just lay the stencil down in the taped area and paint directly on it.  I was wrong!  This stencil is just too big and unwieldy.  Don't get me wrong, I love it, but it's not that kind of stencil.  So I had to trace my design in the taped area with pencil.

Step #5:  I saved a ton of money by mixing together paints I had to achieve the color I wanted.  I didn't pay close attention to finishes or interior/exterior.

Step #6:  Paint!

Step #7:  I used a little bit of brown stain on a rag to "distress" or age it a bit.  It was just too white and perfect at first!

Step #8:  Put three coats of polyurethane over the "rug" area.  Then, when it is all dry (wait a couple of days), tape the rug area again within the boundaries of the rug, and stain the rest of your deck.

 

It was a big job.  I was really hot.  But I love the result.  And it was cheap---because I used paint I already had, I think it was about $40 for the stencil.  Not bad at all!  Next summer, I will let you know how it weathered!

 

Thanks for stopping by today :)

Lesley's Versatile Style!

Hey all, it's Pam here! Today I am sharing some pages by our contributing artist, Lesley. You will see from these pages that first of all she does some amazing pages. Second of all, she has a very versatile style! Let's take a look at what I mean! She often uses mixed media and techniques such as that, and the product is always so neat to look at ;) .


Lesley's first page is filled with stamping and paper layering. Do you see those amazing birds coming off the page as well and the arrows? This gives her page lots of motion and makes for a fun page!

Her next page shares with us a slightly different style. While it shares a bunch of the whimsical feel, she chose a large embellishment to show off her photo. This again, works well with the photo!

Next, look at the a cool addition of techniques such as masking. Isn't it neat how she used real gears along with masked ones? Lesley had a great knack for capturing the feel over her photos on her actual layout.

This beautiful page shares with some mixed media techniques. Those white flowers are a great example of that. You know what I really like about this?? The combination of both cut out flowers and mixed media ones!

Again, we see a different style of layout. She does use mixed media but the main focus of this page seems the be the layering and tearing of papers along with the the use of cool embellishments! The purple is so pretty here!

I adore this last page by Lesley. She uses some graphic influences with the sunburst yet still keeps her style on it. You can see some stamping and an ornamental frame on her page. So fun!!!!

I hope you have a great day and have enjoyed seeing Lesley's style!

VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S BLOGS/GALLERIES
Cathy Dippolito
Dolores Schaeffer
Cindy deRosier
Lesley Walker
Gael Spence
Sarah Routledge
Sharon Fritchman
Tanya Ham
Sheila Burns
Pam Callaghan
 

Finding Inspiration Everywhere!

Good Morning everyone!  Sharon here.

Today I would like to share a layout that I made for my twin sister's and my birthday last year.  We celebrated our birthdays at Penn State when we went to visit my oldest daughter for the first time after she went to college as a freshman.  It was a very special weekend for many reasons, so I wanted to preserve the memories on a scrapbook page.

I always try to look around and find inspiration from different sources.  This time, I was paging through an "Artist's Cafe" magazine and saw a piece of art by Shelley Lane Kommers.  It touched me, not only because it was beautiful, but also because the accompanying article that she wrote about a childhood memory was very moving.

Here is her beautiful artwork that inspired my layout, entitled "Strawberry Park:"

If you want to see the article, check out page 144 of Volume 5 of  "Artists' Cafe" magazine.

Here is the photo that I wanted to use.  It was taken on my sister's camera by her husband.  I just love this picture of Karen and me!

I started with Kraft background:

 and knew that I wanted to used these Jenni Bowlin products that I had in my stash:

Next, I thought about it, and decided to change the butterflies to balloons because it was a birthday themed page.  I found a balloon on the internet that I used as a guide to make the rest of my balloons:

My balloon:

I m made a "bunch" of balloons using the Jenni Bowlin papers as seen above.  After adhering all of them to my page, I stitched the strings with  my sewing machine:

 I also spritzed the background with some moon shadow mist:

and here is my completed page:

and another close-up:

As you can see, it's really easy and fun to make a scrapbook page from inspiration found everywhere!!!!

Thank you for stopping by and visiting the blog today!

VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S BLOGS/GALLERIES
Cathy Dippolito
Dolores Schaeffer
Cindy deRosier
Marlene Murphy
Lesley Walker
Gael Spence
Sarah Routledge
Sharon Fritchman
Tanya Ham
Sheila Burns
Pam Callaghan