Looks Like….

“It looks like we bought them at a store” to quote the admirer, as she stared at the packages of heart crayons.  She couldn’t have said anything better to make me feel like “super mom” who conquered creating the perfect Valentine treasures.  These packages of heart crayons will be included in the  gift baskets being prepared for my five year old {Valentine} and several of her friends.  The gift baskets will be handed out at a {Mommy & Me Valentine Party.}  This party will be an evening of crafts, decorating cupcakes, and just plain girly fun.  It has been outrageously fun to prepare such delightful red, white and pink party and I plan on sharing all the glorious details.

The bag topper was made with images from “Stamps By Judith” and the idea was inspiration from Judith herself.  (thanks Judith–you are a treasure to the art world)

I plan on posting more {Valentine} fun!  But for now, taking a few quiet moments to enjoy the comment from my precious {Valentine} over my latest creation.  Thank you sweet {Valentine!}

I {love} Color

There is just something about celebrating {love}, especially in the middle of winter.  A dose of red and pink does the soul some good in the midst of a colorless winter.  This is my second year of making heart crayons and the process of recreating the traditional crayon stick into a shape everybody {loves} is very satisfying.  I soak the crayons for a few minutes in a bowl of cold water.  This step eliminates sore fingers, large chunks of colored wax under your fingernails, and mostly a lot of precious time.  The wrappers just peel right off.

Once the crayons are peeled, it’s time to snap them into smaller pieces.  I layed the peeled crayons on an old towel and used a butter knife to snap them into smaller pieces.  Be sure to put your free hand over the top of the crayon you are cutting, because sometimes the “snap” can send the pieces flying. 

The small pieces can now be placed into the {heart} mold.  (I use a Wilton silicon mold because it eliminates any sticking and the mold is easily bent to remove each heart.)  You can put any color combinations together, but I have found that putting “shades” of color together to be the most eye catching.  Put the mold into the oven at 200 degrees for about 15 minutes (oven times may vary, so keep watch) and remove when the wax becomes liquid.

  

Allow the crayons to cool for a few minutes and then remove them from the mold.

Once they are removed from the mold, place them on a cooling rack for additional time to cool.  You are then ready to fill the mold again to make more crayons.  Don’t you just {love} them?  They are almost too beautiful to give away.  However, I am sure the little {sweethearts} who will be receiving them will {love} them just as much!  Give it a try…..

Delighted To Start Again……………

Even though the blogging has stopped (for a week or two)

                                    —doesn’t mean that the creativity has stopped. 

There have been many projects started and completed since the last post, so might as well get started with this card. 

 

The stamped image is from Stamps By Judith.  After the image was stamped and colored with Tombow Watercolor Markers—I stamped another duplicate image, colored and cut out the flower tops.  Using a foam square cut to size attached the “cut tops” to the first image.  This gave the image a nice pop of 3D blooming action.  The image was then layered with several matching papers.  Notice the pink paper, embossed by the dots folder with the CB,   is also included in the mix of layered papers.  I thought that this CB folder gave a nice carry through consistent with the main background paper.  Stay tuned to see other “blog-worthy” creations.

Foiled!

This card was created using the CB to emboss foil.  Isn’t it so beautiful?  If you have never tried this—don’t delay!  After one foil creation–I am wanting to create EVERYTHING with a little embossed tin foil.    Since that would encourage a “creative rut”—why don’t you show off your creativity, using this technique?   And once you have put it to the test—post a comment and a link to your foiled creation and we will check them out.   

The image is stamped and colored with Prisma Colored Pencils and Gamsol.  The sunglasses were embellished with rhinestones.  I love the message of this image–”Be Silly!”  While creating this card, I couldn’t help but think of a friend who helps keep life silly!  She is what keeps me normal…….(if that is possible.)   So may this message inspire you to be silly in life and to create an embossed foil card.

A Cuppa Coffee….

A cuppa coffee from Starbucks, and hours of conversation with a good friend.  Just grateful for the treasure of friendship!  So here is a card to show my appreciation to my friend for spending an evening laughing….crying….and…. just being my friend!

 

 

Not A Trick–

Only A Treat!

Time to think treats—-Halloween Treats!  So here is what I thought would make my little disguised visitors happy……………….

 

 

The maze was altered by creating a new background fit for a Halloween bag.  The image is a stampped SU image and colored with Tombow Markers.  The stars and “magicflakes” are stampped images (talkin’ about those stick stampers, from Stamps By Judith, again).  A little touch of glitter from a clear glitter gel pen, and the game was reassembled.  Do you like?

Lost Art!?!

This is a card that I made for some dear friends, who had us over for dinner.   

Going to someone’s house to eat dinner is almost a lost art these days.  We have become a society where facebook, internet, and email have become the main resources for interaction, so dining with friends around the table at their home felt refreshing.  So…that calls for making a special card to express our thanks….

  

Isn’t this some beautiful cardstock?  The main glittery background became the inspiration for the whole impression of the completed project.   The paper was cut to card size, and then the images (grater, pot, sifter, and pitcher) were cut out from the remaining un-used cardstock, and adhered with a 3D foam square.  Using the cardstock in this way allowed for much of the paper to be used and eliminated wasting such awesome paper.  This retro-themed card was fun to create and would be the perfect expression of gratitude for a fun time. 

The image of the retro woman drinking coffee is from stampsmith.net, she went perfectly with the theme of the card.  After the coffee drinking woman was stampped—and cut out, with detail scissors.  I placed several of the images all over the card front.  The reason for using several images and placing them in various directions would encourage the eye to look the card over from corner to corner.  The “So Good” was stampped with distressed ink from Tim Holtz, called Broken China. 

The layer of black cardstock really makes the robin egg blue pop to give a crisp clean overall look. 

All of that to say…Thanks so very much—for the good food, and wonderful fellowship!

A Dress With A Hat To Match!

Below is the dress to match the hat…… (If you have not seen the hat, scroll down the page to previous post.)

I began with a plain jean dress, which was seeing it’s final days, because my little scarecrow is growing like a weed.  So I thought that altering something we already had would be a great way to repurpose!! 

 The pom-pom trim was machine stitched around the hemline, and the raffia was cut to the perfect size and also attached with the sewing machine.   Raffia was tied around the buttons to help fill in some of the empty space, and also gives the idea of being stuffed with straw.  A little butterfly is hot glued on the button, can you see it? 

Felt leaves were hot glued around the neckline.  The patches were cut and the frayed edges give it the perfect scarecrow appearance.  A felt pumpkin was added to the patches to give more color and add some detail to the overall look.

The back of the dress was completed with the same leaf neckline and patches.  The raffia around the sleeves was machine stitched, I would hate for my little scarecrow to lose her stuffing. 

Hope this costume will inspire you to repurpose this Halloween Season.

Ready…Set…Halloween!

Whew!!  Halloween can come —because we are ready.  It was my job this year to create a scarecrow costume.  Talk about pressure!!  The costume is a jean dress and straw hat that has been altered , to express all the excitment that standing out in a field can bring.   

So, here are a few pics, to know what my little trick-or-treater will look like this year!

We will begin with photos of the hat…..

 Leaves, sunflowers, crow in a nest, butterflies, spiders, and corn make up quite a lovely hat.

 Here she is…..modeling the hat, although the ponytail was not allowing it to sit right on her head.  Hee-hee!!!  At least you get the idea.  Do you notice the spider hanging off of the hat? 

Here is the back side of the hat.  I just love all the fall color, and all the little critters hanging out around the hat.  It’s amazing all the friends that a scarecrow can make while standing guard over the crops.

It has been a few days since my last papercrafting post, but now you know what my brain and my hands have been up to.  It was a great deal of fun, especially knowing how happy my tricker-treater will be with my efforts.  Check back tomorrow for the photos of the altered dress.

What A Surprise…….

I cannot believe this…. I have been featured on Going Green Crafters and Artists Blog.  Thank you Monica, for finding this repurposed ATC to be something worthy enough to be shared over on your site.  I feel so blessed!