Stenciled Envelope

Today I Created | A decorated envelope

I used two colors of Glimmer Mist and a Crafter's Workshop template to create the front of the envelope.

The address label is a Sizzix Movers & Shapers die called Styled Labels. I really like this die for the versatility of the shape to create journal boxes as well as labels and tags.

I inked the edges of the label before applying it to the envelope.

I also took a spare die cut of the same shape and used it as a stencil on the back flap of the envelope to create the return address area.

Autumn Artistamp

Today I Created | Autumn postage stamps

I had so much fun with the Munk e-mail postage stamps so I decided to try another experiment.

I wanted to use more color but I don't own a lot of ink pads. I do, however, have a variety of Glimmer Mist sprays in some nice Autumn colors. So I experimented with rubber stamping Glimmer Mist inks.

Again, I printed the words using the computer. Next I sprayed Glimmer Mist on my craft mat and inked my rubber stamps right on the mat. This created some unexpected results with blending colors. Green and red create muddy brown very quickly. I had to clean off the mat and respray to keep the colors bright.

After using Glimmer Mists instead of ink pads I would recommend ink pads if you have them but this was a good learning experience.

Artistamp Experiment

Today I Created | A sheet of artistamps.

This was a totally new experience for me. I was given some Postage Papers and couldn't wait to play with them.

My first thought was to create a design that went across the entire sheet but after viewing a few comments online I realized that what makes postage stamps unique is that they are repetitive bits of art.

So I dug through my small stamp collection and found this monkey that I have been wanting to use. I created the words on my computer and printed the sheet. The alignment is slightly off so I will have to practice getting that exact.

Next, I cut a paper stencil that was the size of a single postage stamp. I laid the stencil on top of each stamp and inked Tea Dye and Barn Door Distress Inks on each postage stamp and along the outer edges of the sheet.

Finally I stamped the monkey on top of each postage stamp.

With a little more thought and time I can see that making these postage stamps can be very creative.

Felt Christmas Ornament

Today I Created | A die cut felt ornament.

I used the Sizzix Pumpkin 3-D die by Karen Burniston and cut 20 felt pieces. I cut off all of the little tabs that are needed to assemble the paper version of this design.

I first sewed all of the pieces together in the center flat side of the shapes and tied it together to create a loose ball shape. I then stitched all of the tops together and then all of the bottoms together to create the ball shape. It needed a bit of fluffing to make the ball look round.

I sewed the ribbon to the top and an acrylic charm to the bottom. I colored the charm with alcohol ink and then stamped a pattern and lifted the ink in that area.

My sister and I exchange homemade Christmas ornaments each year so this is for her.

Die cut and Stamped Card

Today I Created | A card at a Stampin' Up Demo

I'm not a big card maker. And I'm not a big rubber stamper. But my friend, Danielle has become a Stampin' Up demonstrator so I attended her first event.

There was some cute stuff and I just really enjoy crafting so I had a good time.

So today I created something and visited with friends.

Halloween spirit

Today I Created | A decorated frame in the Halloween spirit.

This project began with an oak frame. I rubbed the oak with steel wool and painted it black using acrylic paint.

I used an orange piece of paper embossed with the Texture Fades, Pumpkin Patch pattern. I sprayed it with brown, red and olive green Glimmer Mist and sprinkled salt on it while it was drying. The salt created the "stars" in the top corner near the moon. After the paper dried I rubbed black ink to make the pumpkins stand out.

I used a Tim Holtz Scaredy Cat die cut that I first applied Picket Fence Crackle Paint and then rubbed black ink to create a rough texture.

The fence is the On the Fence, On the Edge die that I inked and sprayed.

The moon is cut from Glow in the Dark paper using a circle punch.

To assemble the piece, I glued the fence and cat to the front of the picture glass. I glued the moon to the background paper and applied foam spacers along the edge of the paper to add some dimension behind the glass.

The last thing I did was to add the blood splatter. I used my glue gun with the intention of making it look like a spider's web in the corner but the glue fell as droplets. This gave me the idea to color them red with alcohol inks and turn them into blood droplets instead. A happy accident.

Car Illustration

Today I Created | An illustration of my son's car.

Well, it was his favorite car for a while until someone hit it on the freeway (no one was injured). I made this image and plan to cut it out of vinyl to use as a decal.

I drew it in Adobe Illustrator and plan to cut it on my Silhouette.

Organization

Today I Created | More closet space.

I spent my time cleaning out my large closet. This doesn't sound like a very creative thing to do unless you know the motivation behind the task.

I have a large and ecclectic collection of Christmas ornaments. I decided that I needed to purge all of the ornaments that I no longer enjoy so that there will be more room for my Shiny Brite ornament collection this year. I seem to be accumulating Shiny Brite ornaments at a fast rate.

I cleaned out the holiday closet and even got rid of some old cross stitch and needlepoint projects as well. So, although this isn't something tangible, I did create more closet space just in time for more collections.

Findings Tag

Today I Created | A findings tag.

Because this tag is so clean and simple, I plan to use it on a scrapbooking page. I left enough space to journal on the tag.

I embossed just one corner with a Texture Fade. I used a rubber stamp to add the bit of type on the side. I used Distress Inks to add some color along the edges.

Finally, I added a Trinket Pin to hold a tiny pair of scissors. The metal scissors were from a pair of earrings that broke but I loved the scissors so much that I kept it. I have so many odd findings that it is nice to use them in these little projects.

Gifts From My Mother

Today I Created | A scrapbook page for my mother.

I had two goals in creating this scrapbook page; 1) incorporate two butterfly pins that had belonged to my mother and 2) experiment using a pleated paper technique.

I knew that I wanted to just attach the pins on the page. They are ornate so I didn't want to place them where they would look too fussy. From there I selected an old photo.

Next I cut two 1 1/2" x 12" strips of blue paper. I folded them into pleats and sewed them onto the paper. I tucked the photo behind the pleats and added a text box below.

I sprayed Glimmer Mist on a plain Prima Flower then attached an old button.

The headline came at the very end when I started writing in the text box. My mother encouraged my creativity and for that I thank her.

Winter decoration

Today I Created | A Snowflake Decoration

The weather is beginning to feel cooler in the evenings so I started thinking about holiday cards and decorations. Technically it is still Summer but who cares?

I had this white and silver metallic paper that I was saving for a Winter page. Here in Southern California, our Winters are more a matter of overcast skies but rarely ever snow. Having said that, I realized that I've had this "Winter" paper for several years and had never had a reason to use it. I needed to create something Wintery.

I adhered the paper to chipboard and cut it out of the Basic Grey, Snowflake #3 die by Sizzix. Next I used a pale silvery-blue paper by Cosmo Cricket and cut a Paper Rosette die shape.

After assembling the Rosette I found an old silver metallic button and glued that to the center. Then I glued the Rosette to the snowflake.

This would look good on a Christmas card. The snowflake is 5 inches across.

Christmas Tag

Today I Created | An embossed and stamped Christmas Tag

I started with a tag embossed with two different patterns. I first sprayed dark gray and red Glimmer Mist on the embossed tag. Once this was dry, I sanded the raised, embossed areas.

For the overall pattern at the top, I rubbed Perfect Medium and then applied Perfect Pearls on the raised areas. This created the gold highlights.

I used Versamark watermark ink on an Inkadinkado clear stamp to create the bird in the green circle.

Finally I used some metallic numbers to finish off the December 25th theme.

I really like how the watermark ink created such a subtle design on the dark green paper.

Haley's Type Tray section

Today I Created | A section of my type tray for my dog.

She is about 15 1/2 years old now. I love this photo of her. I used a bit of purple ribbon since her collar is purple.

This is a simple section of my type tray but I will probably decorate it a bit more later. The bones on the side are by Heidi Grace.

Painted Collage Page

Today I Created | A painted page for my binder.

I used acrylic paint on corregated board. Before the paint was completely dry, I applied a page from an old atlas. I let the paint soak into the paper a bit and then lifted it off. The paper stuck in some areas and created a nice collage feel. I did a light color wash over the paper once it was adhered.

I plan to journal on this page. I haven't decided what I want to do on the back side of this corregated board page.

Skeleton Tag

Today I Created | A Skeleton tag

I used the wax-resist technique on this tag. I started with a cream-colored tag and embossed the skeleton using the Halloween Night Texture Fade. I rubbed wax over the skeleton, fence and spider web allowing the unwanted raised parts to "disappear" later.

I sprayed Raven Glimmer Mist and dusted some white Perfect Pearls while the tag was still wet. The raised parts of the tag that weren't rubbed with wax then disappeared when covered with the dark Glimmer Mist.

I used three rain drop stickers by Cloud 9 Design and applied red Alcohol Ink to create blood drops. The bats were cut from a Sizzix die and glued onto craft wire. The ticket is by Daisy D.

Paper Ornament

Today I Created | A Paper Christmas Ornament.

When I first saw the Sizzix, Pumpkin 3-D pop-up die by Karen Burniston, I thought it would look good as an ornament. I just needed to find the right paper that was shiny and thick enough to be sturdy.

I finally found the right paper and decided to experiment.

Things I learned: Thick paper is perfect. You need at least 13 of the folded pieces to create a full ornament. You can only cut 12 shapes out of two pieces of 12x12 paper. Really sticky tape works well but can be messy.

I hung one of my old chandelier crystals at the bottom of my ornament to give it some bling.

Distressed Snowman Tag

Today I Created | A wax-resist snowman tag.

The idea for this project came from the lessons I learned while creating yesterday's Halloween tag.

I started with a pale blue tag cut from the eclips Christmas cartridge. I used the Tim Holtz Snow Flurries Texture Fades to create the snowflake pattern. I rubbed the raised surfaces with wax. Then I sprayed a light coating of Sea Glass Glimmer Mist and wiped off any excess. This created the overall snowflake pattern. I let this dry thoroughly so that the paper was stiff.

Next, I ran it through the Snowman Texture Fades to emboss the snowman on top of the snowflake pattern. The cool part of this technique is that the flat part of the Snowman Texture Fade flattened the background snowflakes so only the snowman is a raised pattern.

Finally I used Denim Distress Inks to highlight the edges of the Snowman.

Halloween Tag

Today I Created | A Halloween tag using a wax-resist technique.

I had an off-white tag with a Sizzix Texture Fade Cracked pattern embossed on it. I began to wonder what would happen if I rubbed the raised parts with wax and then sprayed Glimmer Mist on top.

Luckily I had a block of wax left over from my old candle-making days so I rubbed and sprayed and was quite happy with the results.

I added a pumpkin die cut sticker from Cosmo Cricket and used some buttons for eyes. The words and crow are cut from the eclips Halloween cartridge. And the tag is cut from the eclips Christmas cartridge.

This gave me an idea to experiment further with this technique.

Travel Page

Today I Created | A scrapbook page for a recent roadtrip.

I bought the new Wander paper by Basic Grey yesterday. I looked through my stash of photos that needed to be scrapped and found pictures of our recent drive up to Santa Monica. We were on our way to the Los Angeles International Airport but were early so we took a detour to Santa Monica.

It was a beautiful day and the pier wasn't too crowded. I don't like to go to local tourist sites but I hadn't been to Santa Monica in several years so it was fun. I never realized that this is where Route 66 ends. What a great bit of history.

I randomly collect squished pennies so I included one on this page. I don't know how archival pennies are but it is a bit of memorabilia that I wanted to include.

Painted Photo Binder Page

Today I Created | A painted photo page for my Binder

I discovered Dina Wakley's blog today. It was very inspiring. I used to paint in college but avoided painting in my scrapbook. After reading her blog I decided to try painting on a photograph.

I like the way it has a feel of being a painted portrait and yet retains the realism of photography. I painted just the background to add some interest to an otherwise boring background. I also overlayed an acetate sheet to create the black details.

I will experiment further with this technique.

Binder Pocket Page

Today I Created | A pocket page for my Altered Binder

This was a very simple project using two-sided Basic Grey paper. This involves two folds, punching holes and adding a border sticker (optional).

I stashed my decorated tags in the pockets for now. I will probably embellish the pockets later.

London Travel

Today I Created | A binder page about London

I am an Anglophile. I love English history. It was thrilling to travel to England and into London to experience so many of the places that I had read about.

This binder page is to preserve a bit of that love of England. The page itself is created from a postcard that I had bought in a shop in Picadilly Circus. I never used it in my scrapbook but it is the perfect size to re-purpose for my binder project.

My favorite place was St. Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London. This is the chapel where Anne Boleyn's remains are interred. You can see the Tower of London in the postcard.

I distressed the postcard a bit so that it didn't appear so glossy and new. On the back I adhered scrapbooking paper of a map of London, some ribbon and a piece of paper torn from an old atlas. I plan to journal on the paper.

Binder page

Today I Created | A binder page using corregated board.

I was going to throw away a piece of corregated board that came as an insert in some packaging. It was a clean piece of board that seemed too nice to throw out.

I painted it with acrylic paint and distressed the edges with a bit of ink to match the Basic Grey cover of my small binder. I also tore away a bit of the top layer to expose the corregation beneath.

I added a rub-on and used watermark ink to stamp the lines for journaling.

Altered Binder

Today I Created | An altered piece from a recycled Franklin/Covey Planner binder.

I was going to throw away my old Franklin Planner storage binder but stopped to look at it a little closer. A binder is always good to hold odd bits of paper. I have a lot of odd bits of paper. How can I make this work for me?

I used four sheets of the Wassail line by Basic Grey. I love the chintz pattern. I trimmed the paper first and then applied Sizzix rub-on permanent adhesive to the backs of all of the papers. I used basic bookbinding techniques to wrap the binder. I used ribbon and some embellishments to hide the paper seams.

Since this is such a chunky binder to begin with, I plan to create thick, chunky pages using only supplies that I already have and/or recycled odd bits of paper or ephemera that I find.

I find that I like having several different projects going at the same time. I can work on whatever inspires me at the moment. This makes me feel free to create as I wish.

Here are more views of the altered binder as well as an image of what the Franklin Planner looked like before I altered it. Binder size: 8.5" x 9" x 3"

My new car scrapbook page

Today I Created | A scrapbook page of my new car.

The car was new when I bought it. It was rather exciting at the time.

I am an avid memorabilia-saver so I had the brochure and window sticker saved from when I purchased the vehicle. I included both documents in a protective sleeve.

Someday these car facts will be interesting to someone. Saving memorabilia is easy, it is knowing what to use and what to throw away that is challenging.

Glimmer Mist Stencil

Today I Created | A stenciled background.

I used a floral stencil by Crafters Workshop and sprayed a white piece of cardstock with two colors of Glimmer Mist.

I plan to use sections of this paper for a background to a scrapbooking page. I think it is too busy to be used as is.

I had also experimented with spraying one color on the paper and then applying the stencil and a second color but it became too muddy. I might try a colored cardstock and the Glimmer Mist to see if the colors become muddy.

Textured Rollodex card

Today I Created | A Rollodex card using Texture Fades.

I used a standard Rollodex card and ran it through my BigShot machine using a Tim Holtz Texture Fade. The paper is a little thin for this application but it worked. I would suggest cutting a card from thicker paper and running it through a Texture Fade.

I am trying to make the designs fit the person named on the Rollodex card. This will be used for a friend that works in the automotive industry.

Accountant's Rollodex

Today I Created| A Rollodex card for my accountant.

My accountant must like numbers or at least I hope he does. I used a piece of cardstock that had columns of numbers and formal alphabet stickers that states: CPA.

But my accountant also enjoys raising sheep and collecting antiques so I had to make his card a little less stuffy. I painted an area white and will include his information there. I wanted the paint to be informal just like he is.

Use Your Wings

Today I Created | Another bit of my type tray story.

I believe that creativity is like wings, you need to stretch them and use them to help your ideas take flight.

Wings symbolize so much to me. I wanted to do something that actually showed off my "wings".

I printed a photo of me taken in London. I mounted this on cardstock and cut it out. The wings are acrylic that I first die cut and then added texture using Sizzix products. I adhered them to the back of my photo. I used tiny alphabet rubber stamps to write the words on cotton, adhesive tape from cutetapes.com.

Always remember to Use Your Wings!!!!

Recycled die cuts

Today I Created | A way to recycle old die cuts.

I have a lot of old die cuts from when I was a scrapbooking demonstrator. I was trying to find a new use for them. My sister suggested I add texture to them and see what happens.

I used a Textured Impressions plate to emboss some existing dies.

This gave me new ideas of how to use old die cuts.