Practical Scrappers New Years

I can't believe it is already time to talk about the New Year! Today Practical Scrappers is featuring cards and layouts for or about New Year's. I'm "sending" you this one:

Paper and dimensional sticker: MME Chalk Studio

Alphas: Glitz

Numbers: Simple Stories

Flowers: Prima

Embossing Powders AC Zing!

Chalk Studio cards

I know, I know. It has been a long time since I just crafted and blogged for the sake of it. Please forgive me, but know that I've been working on some fun projects and classes. These cards are a sort of "sneak peak" at one I made for New Year's that you'll in a little over a week. 

I was working on all three while at my LSS' monthly crop day (at the beginning of the month!) and we got to talking. While we got a lot of planning for classes in the next couple of months done, and I taught the owner a little about using her unused Silhouette Cameo, these cards were all I had to show for my day away from home. But they're so fun! It was nice to break into my own stash and wontonly create.

Paper: MME Chalk Studio

Feather trim: Recollections

Feathers: Paper Studio

Cork arrow: Fancy Pants
Enamel Dots: Teresa Collins

Paper flowers: Graphic 45 staples

Brad: Basic Grey

Ink: Ranger Distress Worn Lipstick

Glittered Vase for How To'sday

It's time for my second How To'sday post at Scrapbooksteals.com and I wanted to bring you something that could be an easy last minute Christmas decorating project but would also work for weddings or general home decor projects. Check it out! I even used loose glitter, something I almost never do!

Here's what you'll need for the project: Mod Podge, glitter, paint brush, removable tape (washi works), and a workspace to catch all the glitter.

You can see that I already taped up my vase with some washi in unequal bands around the glass. Apply a thin coat of Mod Podge to spaces inside the bands. And dump that glitter onto it, tap off excess glitter and put excess back into jar. I did one section of the vase at a time. Check for places that may not have held the glitter well and do some spot touches. 

Allow the Mod Podge to dry for a little bit, but while it is still a little wet gently remove the washi strips. Allow to fully dry and then apply a second layer to seal in the glitter.

I filled the vase with an assortment of tree and floral picks, white poinsettias, and clear beads. 

Here's how wonderfully this vase matches my tree! I'm thinking that since the aqua is also in our bedroom that I'm going to have to replace the poinsettias and relocate it so I can enjoy it all year long.

Paper Girls Challenge Blog - Use Christmas paper for a non-holiday layout

I seriously love that Charissa offered up this challenge at Paper Girls Challenge Blog - you need to use your Christmas papers for a layout that isn't about Christmas. Finding ways to use my stash unconventionally, especially themed papers, is something I am all about! 

For this layout I combined a design team assignment from my local store, they provided Fancy Pants Merry Little Christmas and simply wanted me to use it. Love when things work out like that! If you've been watching my posts all month, you'll know that I've really gotten some use out of the kit they gave me too.

Since the paper was a new line (and free) I thought I'd dig way into my stash and pulled out those buttons, one of my first purchases from Scrapbooksteals over 4 years ago, and some Thickers that are so old they're falling off their sheets. 

Thanks for stopping by, now take a break from those Christmas projects you've been working on and link up a fun layout!

Red Cups - Practical Scrappers Sketch

It's sketch time at Practical Scrappers and I'm using more of that fantastic paper that my LSS provided me to make samples for the store. 

Here's the sketch: 

And my interpretation:

There are somethings that just scream Christmas tradition and red cups are decidedly one of those things that customers look forward to using. Vance just likes hot chocolate, he doesn't really care so much about the cup, but I was surprised when I went looking for red cup photos that I only have the two. Really?! As often as we go there there really should be more!

Those speech bubbles were from a coordinating ephemera pack that I bought to help with my assignment. The reverse sides say "nice" and "coal" but I thought it would be a fun way to highlight the title so I flipped them over.

This layout is super thick, with lots of layering and foam dots it is not really a surprise.

The green ribbon and red Thickers are American Crafts and the buttons are from MME Winter Wonderland and were from my stash. 

Winter Platter

On Use It Tuesday we're featuring Winter/Holiday themed projects. Some of you might remember this Fall project that I did for Practical Scrappers a few months back, well for today's project I updated it for the new season!

Check out all those chipboard pieces - the letters have been in my stash an average of 3 years and the snowflake and clock for just over 1 year. 

I used modeling paste to white out the space around the letters, using the letters as a mask. After it'd dried a bit, I removed the letters and misted them and the burlap/modeling paste separately. While the letters were drying I rinsed some of the blue off of the burlap so the color would have some variation then I put the letters back into their spots. 

Those of you who saw the Fall version might remember these pinecones I'd made using my Silhouette Cameo, well I've brought them back with "snow" for the winter theme. Snow was created with good ol' Elmers and some white flocking that's at least three years old and hardly touched. 

What are you going to make to celebrate the new season?!

Now go link up those wintery projects on the Use It Tuesday page! It's been a good run, but the team is closing up shop after this challenge and I'd love to see us go out with a crafty bang. More details are on the blog, but let me just say that UIT really got me digging into my stash and using instead of hoarding and I'm sad to see it go. It's been an honor to play along with the challenges both as a participant and design team member.

Joy Christmas card using Practical Scrappers sketch

It's time for another Practical Scrappers card sketch! I busted into one of my favorite paper lines for this one - My Mind's Eye All is Bright. 

And here is my interpretation: 

You'll notice that the sketch has three distinct boxes, instead I used that chipboard sticker to create two of them and then put the layered sticker in the center as the third. The whole thing is much more fluid than the sketch, but it was definitely inspired by it!

Sadly with all that paper tearing and chipboard and layered sticker action, this card will not be able to go in the mail! Way to thick and yummy for that.

Shaker Cards

One of my favorite things about being on design teams is that they push me to get outside my comfort zone and try new things. Today's challenge for Paper Girls Challenge Blog did just that, I had to learn how to make a confetti shaker.  

Uh, and it's soooo easy that I don't know why it took me so long to try! I loved the process so much that I used paper that my LSS provided (Fancy Pants Merry Little Christmas) and will be teaching a shaker class there this weekend using these cards as samples.  

Easy, but it did take a little experimenting, this first one is a little wobbly looking. I attempted to make a pocket out of plastic and then adhere the pocket to the frame. The result was eh, it might work with a larger frame but I moved on.

I liked the effect of this one much better! I essentially made a shadow box with clear plastic packaging (yay for upcycling!), foam tape on all sides, and paper.

Products used:

MME twine

Pink Paislee Luxe Stars and Rub-ons

Unity Stamp Co. Grandma's Closet sentiment

Teresa Collins sequins

MME Winter Wonderland chipboard stickers

Authentique mini book

I'm finally getting around to sharing this mini book, I made it while at the Scrapbooksteals Retreat and thought I'd share it as my Use It Tuesday "Anything Goes" project. As you know by now, at UIT we want you to use your hoarded items and tell us about it! So my hoarded item in this book is that yellow twine, I've had that MME twine since they released Miss Caroline and somehow ended up with multiples of the yellow. I use twine a lot and that stuff seems to be never ending. 

The book itself was made with wooden book ends that I picked up at my LSS stash sale, the interior pages are just thick, yummylicious Authentique papers glued together. If you don't recognize this line, I have to say that Authentique's Curiousity is probably one of my favorites for back to school. No primaries! Woot woot!

I'm gonna rapid fire "turn" through a couple of pages now, you can see in the above photo how there's lot of layers and depth on the right side a lot of that was created by making smaller pages.

And a shot of the last portion of this spread, and then it's close-up.

So here's pages 3-4. Technically, they are the last pages. I didn't take a photo of the back cover because I didn't decorate it, there's just a ribbon across the back so the book can be tied closed.

Now go use up your stuff!

Products used:
Authentique Curiousity
Pink Paislee Luxe stars, inked
Recollections black doilies
Studio G lamps
Ribbon, stash
MME twine
Studio Calico wood veneer hexagons

DIY Poppies/Wreath for Scrapbooksteals today

Ever have a tool that you use all.the.time for a few months and then it gets set aside? Right now I’m “on again” with my Silhouette Cameo so I thought I’d share a fun project that I made for today's "How To'sday" at Scrapbooksteals.com. You'll have to head over there for instructions to make the flowers, but I'll give you some close-ups to whet your appetite.

Here's my way cute wreath that I made with flowers I created for "How To'sday". That wreath had some hideous fall themed florals on it, but I just couldn't pass it up for the price.

Here's one of the poppies all but assembled. The brown ribbon is just wired ribbon that I picked up at Michael's, there's a basic metal brad in the center, and then the fab Prima Designs flower centers that have been hanging around my stash for way to long! (And I have a second similar pack, you better believe that I'll be trying this again.)

The welcome banner uses a Authentique Thankful 6x6 paper pad and some of their sticker sheet. You noticed that I'm using that line a lot?! Yep, it's my only "fall" line and I've been feeling lazy and keep going back to it. Given that the holiday is next week I may get another year out of it too! Anyway, then I just used some random ribbons to make the whole thing less circular. Not sure how I feel about that part. 

Thankful - Paper Girls Challenge Blog

Today on the Paper Girls Challenge Blog we're asking you to show us a project about being "Thankful."

I just so happened to need some thank you cards in my life, so I made these fall themed ones using...wait for it... Authentique Thankful. Appropriate, no?

Here they are together:

And a little bit more of a close-up. Isn't that sticker quote on the first one fantastic?! I just love it.

MMM, and some lace trim on this one really dresses it up and offsets the crazy attempt at a flower that ended up way large so I cut it in half right down the center. 

Products:

Authentique Thankful 6x6 pad and sticker sheet

Twine, ribbon stash

Gems from Michael's

Brown ink

foam dots and ATG tape runner

Masterpieces aka vinyl doodling

It's time for a new challenge at Use It Tuesday. This time we're asking you to do something "Sticky" challenge and don't forget to use and tell us about those hoarded items!

I decided on this one quite by accident, I'd had some vinyl out to cut a wall sentiment for a friend and wanted to put some of the scraps to use. 

But back up a bit, a year or so ago I'd cut the word "Masterpieces" and hung a curtain rod as a display for Vance's art work. It was falling off the wall so I replaced it. Then I added a flourish, and another and two hours later I'd "doodled" around my title. The hubs was more than a little surprised to see my alterations - from a black stately font to this. HA!

And I love it. Other than the title all those vinyl cuts are from scraps that I've had for nearly two years! I have a feeling that the vinyl won't stay this time either but as fun as this was I don't even care. 

Silhouette gift making

Hello there, it's my turn to share on the Scrapbooksteals blog. This week has been "Gift Week" across the Steals sites so Melodee asked me to create some giftable things using my Silhouette Cameo. I couldn't stop with just one project so there's a few projects and a lot of photos and I hope you can hang with me and get inspired to make some of your own gifts this season!

First up, is a Christmas present that I made for my hubby's graduate studies advisor. She is a huge Harry Potter fan so I bought some of the files and used the Cameo to cut vinyl stencils for etching glassware. I was pretty excited to get started because even though I've owned Silhouette machines for years I've always wanted to etch glass and never buckled down and did it.

I etched the Harry Potter logo on one side of each glass. On the opposite point on the circle I etched some of the more iconic images that were available as cut only files - snitch, quidditch player, the house creatures.

I made eight "finished" glasses, and these sets of four will give you a good idea of the end result. 

I confess, I made a little gifty for myself too because I was dying to use the Hazel & Ruby Chalk It Up that I snagged while at the Scrapbooksteals Retreat. 

The frame/tray was something I picked up at the thrift store and have been wanting to find reason to alter it. I used a couple of different files from the Silhouette store for this one - the key and both kinds of banners. 

Each layer is inked and adhered with Mod Podge, then since it will live in my kitchen/dining room area I used a water proof sealer to preserve it just a little longer. With two under 5 in the house you just can't be to careful!

Next up, I made cookie boxes for my neighbors last year and loved doing it so much that I decided to get a head start on the process by making them now! Sweet. I used a Lori Whitlock cookie box file from the Silhouette Studio store. 

I hadn't used this file before so I decided I needed to put some samples in one for the photo, I was pleased to find that it holds a dozen bakery cookies. My kids quickly raided those and trashed the box. Guess I'll have to whip up one more!

I used Authentique Wonder papers I'd gotten in a Christmas kit on Steals last year, paired with some new American Crafts ribbons. 

The plastic opening was made by adhering the thin plastic packaging from paper kits to the frame. I did a quick wipe down with some antibacterial wipes before putting the cookies into the box.

My boys like to sit and help me craft, and they kept stashing my extra Christmas ribbons into boxes that hadn't been tied with ribbons. It did look really cute, and I might just have to cut some more boxes to hold some of their stocking presents. Or maybe use them as organizers.

This may be the last one I'm showing you, but it's the first I've given away - a little hostess gift for dinner with friends a couple of nights ago. The wine box is another fun file from the Silhouette Store. The file's designer, Jamie, has a tutorial on her blog.

Check out that label, three layers of yummy cardstock! And then a big fall leaf from the floral department and an old metal tag.

I was a little disappointed that the file didn't have a closure of any kind, the box itself seemed unstable once I put a bottle in it so I pulled out some twine to wrap around the entire box. Isn't is awesome how it dressed up the box? I think it really says fall now and it didn't feel like it would fall apart when I moved it around the house. 

The ruffle along the edge of the box top was made by folding My Mind's Eye Indie Chic washi along the edge. 

The lid simply hinges back and there's a couple of tabs to hold the bottle of wine, or sparkly juice, in place.

And here's one of the inside of the box. Surprise! Bunnies! You don't say?! I wish I'd considered their orientation when setting up my mat, but I just loved the leathery kraft color that this Authentique Hope paper had and had to use it for the box regardless of the print. 

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Thanks for stopping by, I hope that I've inspired you to get started on some fun gift giving this year!