The Future is as Bright as Your Faith -- Mixed Media Canvas

Hello again! Today I wanted to share my newest mixed media project, a 12x12 canvas of my own family!  I had this vision in my brain as soon as I heard this quote from the leader of my church, Thomas S. Monson: "The future is as bright as your faith."  In fact, one of the main reasons I decided to take Christy Tomlinson's SheArt Workshop was so that I could learn the techniques to bring my vision to life.  And here it is!

I added a lot of layers and stamps and craziness to this canvas, and by the time I was finished (at 2:30 a.m. the night before our church art show) I was not sure if I loved it or if I had ruined it.  You know how that feels when you've just been looking at something too long?  Yeah. I actually wasn't going to put black elements on at all, but when I meant to stamp with WHITE staz-on in the sky in the upper right, it turned out the stamp still had all sorts of BLACK ink on it, so suddenly I had a chunk of black words right in the middle of my nice bright sky.  Oops.  After that I just figured I had to roll with it.


As I said above, I created this to show in our church art show, which I was on the committee to help organize.  Here's what I wrote on my little info card for the show:


"I love this quote from our prophet.  The future’s uncertainty can seem scary sometimes, but our faith in Jesus Christ and His love makes it possible for us to move forward with our families  in joy and gratitude and hope!"


One amazing thing that happened -- a man who works as a consultant for an art publishing company came to the art show with his daughter (who lives in our stake) and loved it so much that he wants to show it to a buyer at a huge church bookstore chain to possibly sell prints of it! Holy cow. I can't imagine it would actually happen (because it is pretty rough and also because I used products from about 14 companies, so I think there are probably some copyright issues) but it was awfully flattering!


Speaking of which, here are the companies whose products I used.  I really raided my scraps drawers for the paper, and there are pieces here from Cosmo Cricket, DCWV, Sassafrass Lass, Scenic Route, Crate Paper, Making Memories, Chatterbox, Bo Bunny, Imaginisce, Daisy D's and Scrapworks.  The stamps are from Stampin Up, 7Gypsies, Hero Arts, My Mind's Eye, Sassafrass Lass, and Fancy Pants. Oh, and I also painted on one of my embossing folders from my Cuttlebug to get one texture!  


Who's in the mood to play I Spy? :)  I've never been great at mixing things from different companies and styles, so I really had fun just gathering everything I had and throwing it all together.  Other than that, this is just made with acrylic paints and a whole lotta Mod Podge.

Faith -- a scrapbook layout for ScrapbookPal

Hello again!  I'm back with a very fun layout, compliments of ScrapbookPal.com.  This month we design team gals are featuring the very cute stamps from Pink by Design, and today I am excited to share this scrapbook page I created with the Faith sentiment collection. It's easy to look at a sentiment stamp collection and only see possibilities for cards, so I was glad I had the challenge of using them for a scrapbook page.

Click to enlarge

In thinking about how I could use a whole bunch of the stamps on a layout, I loved the idea that faith grows over time, especially as we remember all the things these stamps say.  The tree background is patterned paper from Scenic Route, and I stamped the sentiments onto green paper and then cut around then to create the leaves.  I used a green marker to add some accents that would help tie them in with the patterned paper. I bent each leaf a little to give it some texture, then adhered them to the tree.  I used 3D foam for some of them to add to the dimension.  I cut a few more leaves from the same green polka dot paper I used for the bottom border strip. The title "faith" is cut from the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge using the Shadow function to make it nice and chunky.  (See below for a closer-up look at the different sentiments.)

So take a look at your sentiment stamp sets -- or better yet, pick up some new adorable sets from ScrapbookPal -- and see what unexpected things you can do with them!  ScrapbookPal has a lot of great new products right now, and shipping is always free on orders over $25!  Thanks for stopping by!

Materials: Patterned Paper -- Scenic Route (Tree, brown polka dot, stripe), KI Memories (green polka dot).

Fun with new goodies...

While wandering the craft store the other day, completely NOT looking at stamps or paper because I have enough of both to last me until the end of days, I was mysteriously pulled as though by tractor beam over to a rack with pretty much the cutest stamps I had ever seen -- the "Fine and Dandy" set from My Mind's Eye.  A cute little pennant banner, birdie, and perfect "thanks" sentiment were enough to make me surreptitiously stash it in my cart (in case the "you already have too many stamps" police were lurking nearby), along with some adorable coordinating paper.  Ah, new goodies!  Nothing like it to get your creative juices flowing! 

Oh, except a fun sketch that seems made to use with the new goodies!  That's how I felt when I saw this sketch from CPS this week.  

So, just under the wire, here is my fun little thank you card. 

Thanks for stopping by!

"Wish Big" Birthday Ensemble

My baby sister just turned 21, and I'm so excited to show you the card and present I made for her.  I think this is my favorite card I've made to date!  I actually finished it a few weeks ago and I've just been enjoying looking at it on my shelf ever since...  I love the colors and the happy energy of it -- it totally matches my sister's personality.

 

I used kraft paper (surprise, surprise) as the base and embossed it with my Cuttlebug.  I cut a 4 1/2" wide scalloped circle and layered it with a plain circle and the "happy birthday" paper strip along the bottom.  The cake is made by cutting rectangles in various sizes with scallop borders cut to size (I set all that up in my Gypsy), then rounding the top corners and stacking, using foam adhesive to make it 3d.  I added a paper medallion -- don't you think the stripey paper makes it SO fun?!  The "wish BIG" stamp is from Stampin Up, and I added a touch of color with watercolor pencils.

For the banner at the top, I just used my hot glue gun to attach this mini-pompom trim.  I had a tiny strip of this yellow-with-black-dots paper leftover (it was the back side to one of the other papers), so I turned that into an extra layer for the banner just by snipping pieces off and then snipping tiny triangles out of each one.

I took an extra minute to add some of the same trim to the gift bag, plus I found a strip of a very similar paper (from a totally different paper line and manufacturer) in my scrap drawer, so I turned that into a little fringe.  So cute!

Materials: Patterned Paper -- Scribble Scrabble; Stamp -- Stampin' Up; Embossing -- Provo Craft Cuttlebug "Happy Birthday" folder; Die Cuts -- Cricut "George" (rectangles), "Plantin Schoolbook" (scalloped border on cake), and Mini-Monograms (scalloped circle, plain circle) cartridges.

Now on to the present. I saw a tutorial on how to make an infinity scarf out of an old t-shirt on our local lifestyle show Studio 5 and knew that was just Ange's style. It was very easy and quick to make. It actually took longer to make that flower clip than it did to make the scarf! I put the flower on a clip instead of sewing it on to make both pieces more versatile. It was also very inexpensive, since I just used t-shirts from my "I like these colors but not these shirts" stash. Isn't my sister gorgeous?!

Happy birthday, frister!

Congratulations Lovebirds!

This one is for my little brother Dan and his new wife Carrie, who just tied the knot yesterday! I would be concerned about them seeing this before they get a chance to open it, but I'm guessing they have better things to do at present than check my blog...

Teal and brown were their wedding colors, so I thought this Basic Grey paper was the perfect choice -- of course with a little red thrown in for the color of love... :) I used the Mojo Monday sketch for this week. The birdies came from the Cricut "Joys of the Season" cartridge (2 Turtledoves!), cut at 3", and the big background heart came from the George cartridge, cut at 4". I cut the scallop edge on that center strip with my new Stampin Up border punch, and the sentiment comes from the "Congrats" set in the current Sale-a-bration catalog -- still working my way through all my new goodies! :) TFL!

I love the smell of new goodies in the morning...

There is something so inspiring about having new crafting goodies! For my birthday this year I had a little Stampin Up shopping spree and got a TON of the cutest stuff -- yippee! I've been so inspired by having all this great new stuff, so here are a few of the projects I've been dying to show you. Thankfully, my mom found my camera tucked into the pocket of an apron in her pantry -- oops. As Sammy said upon hearing the news: "She gets the dollar!"



This first one was a Valentine's Day project. We went to a church dinner dance, and I was in charge of decorating one of the tables. I had these cool dishes from IKEA, and I thought these little boxes went so nicely with them. Thanks, Brooke, for showing us how to make these at the party! The boxes are SO easy to make -- if anyone is interested I can post a video tutorial. I used the Manhattan stamp set for the flowers, the Curly Label stamp and punch for the label, and cut the "love" with the Cricut Opposites Attract cartridge at 1". I also used CDS and the George cartridge to cut out these hearts from red vinyl to apply to the glasses.







This one is from the 2 Sketches 4 You sketch from two week's ago. The pp is from Sassafrass Lass, and I used my own design and cut file for the notebook journaling spot (which I'll be putting up in my etsy shop when I'm finished here). I used my new "Little Leaves" and "Buttons #5" dies for the branch and buttons. The dotted lines are a jumbo stampin' wheel, named (appropriately) Dotted Lines, and the sentiment is from the "Sweet Little Sentiments" set.




Here's last week's 2S4Y sketch, which I rotated 180 degrees. The pp and stamps are from the "It's a Loop Thing" Sale-a-bration set (one of the best things about my party was that I got one of every single thing in the Sale-a-bration catalog FREE!). Oh, the sentiment is also from "Sweet Little Sentiments" set. I pieced the cupcake by hand. For the top part I just cut a circle in half, then used the SU scallop edge punch on the straight edge. I ran the bottom part through my paper corrugater to give it that cupcake-like texture. I made the cherry using the heart stamp from the set, and added CTMH liquid glass for a little shine.



This last card uses the "Thoughts and Prayers" set, which I think is SO pretty, which I colored with the Stamp and Write markers. I couldn't decide which background to use, so I just did one of each. The first one is embossed with the Cuttlebug text folder, and the second I did a little versamark stamping with the same floral branch stamp. Just a simple card, but I thought it turned out pretty.

Phew! Now that I have my camera back, I should be able to post projects more regularly. I still have 6 new SU sets I haven't even opened, so stay tuned! TIA!

A whole stack of stampin' cards...

It's been far too long since I posted a new card -- I've been busy, busy this month! I turned the big 3-0 and had lots of fun with my family and friends celebrating the big event. This past week, I've finally been able to make some cards. Hooray! (Mom, if you're reading this, don't go any further, because one of these is for you...) This one is my favorite -- it's an engagement card for my little brother and his new fiance. The pp is from Sassafrass Lass and the stamps are from the Stampin Up Love Matters set. I colored the letters with PrismaColor pencils and blended with Gamsol. The artisan label is my own design, cut with SCAL and my Cricut (the cut file is available in my etsy shop!).



The following two cards I created for the 2 Sketches 4 You Spring Design Team call. I wasn't going to enter, but I liked the sketches so much I decided to just go for it. I think I emailed in my entry about 5 minutes before the deadline Saturday night! I just got these Stampin Up sets from my friend Tammy for a really awesome deal (thanks again, Tammy!) and I'm having so much fun playing with them. This first one uses the Love Matters set and that same artisan label again, as well as a 5 1/2" scalloped square from the Cricut Mini-Monograms cartridge:



This one uses the "Pick a Petal" set and a JoAnn's metal rim velum tag. I created the scalloped border for the tag using my Cricut and Design Studio. The little tab at the top is from the Cricut Fabulous Finds cartridge, cut at 1". "hi" is from the Cuttlebug "Typewriter" alpha.



These last two are quick cards that I made several of each as thank you's for Christmas and birthday presents. The one on the left uses Stampin Up cardstock (last year's In Color combo) and a cool set of acrylic stamps my mom gave me for my birthday. Their from Inkadinkadoo and came in a huge set of 130 stamps! I'm pretty sure she got them at Costco. I cut the circle and scalloped circle with the Mini-Monos cartridge, and made the scalloped border with my Fiskars Threading Water punch. The little flower is an EK Success punch.

The card on the right uses Chatterbox paper that I've had in my stash for years and a Stampin Up block party stamp, along with another EK Success flower punch for a quick embellishment.



I've started listing some of my cut files in my etsy shop! If you have SCAL for your Cricut, be sure to check them out. I think they'll also work for the Pazzles and Wishblade, but I need to learn more about that. I'll be making a big announcement and offering some fun blog candy once I get more files ready to go, so stay tuned!

2S4Y - Laura #12

This week's sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You was a tricky one for me, but I like how the card turned out. I like the patchwork feel to it, and I think it will work well for one of my more free-spirited, eclectic sisters. This was a good card for using stuff from my stash that I haven't used in a while! The stamps are from CTMH -- one of those sets I just had to have, then never did much with. The pp and rub-ons are from the Scrapworks Florabella collection, and the vellum tag is from Joann's. I've also used a flower from Fancy Pants with a "skittle" in the center. I used mini-scallop scissors for trimming the circles, and a corner rounder for the larger scallop on the side. A little stitching is always a good touch, too! TFL!

Here's this week's sketch:



Also, check out this fun blog: On the Dot Creations. There are all sorts of cute things, and this week she is giving away a totally adorable apron. Check it out!

It's never too early for a little more Christmas!

I had SO much fun with this week's Bitten By The Bug challenge! Regina asked us to use the nutcup from Tags, Bags, Boxes and More for a Christmas project, which is really a great cut. It's cute as is, or it's a great blank canvas for all sorts of decoration! I cut the box at 5 1/2", which made a very good size nutcup. The finished project is about 3" tall, plus the ribbon. I added these adorable Hero Arts stamps, which I colored with Prismas and Gamsol and added some stickles just for fun. The round journaling spot above is from 7Gypsies, and I used a Stampin Up scallop punch for the circle behind it. PP is all from Pebbles, Inc. Check out all the other BBTB creations this week -- you'll definitely feel the Christmas spirit begin to flow! (And if you're still not in the mood for Christmas, there is a really cute Halloween take on it, too.) TFL!

Bless You -- Laura's Sketch #11

When I saw Laura's sketch this week, I knew just what I wanted to do with it. My hubby's mom and grandma made the most beautiful dress for Eliza's baby blessing, and I wanted to create a special thank you card that would pick up some of the beautiful details from the dress. I rotated the sketch 90 degrees for this card. The lace is from Fancy Pants, and I sewed it to the card with the same ribbon used on the dress. The stamped image is a Tilda from Magnolia, which I colored with Prismas and Gamsol, then raised up on pop dots. The background is embossed with the Cuttlebug. The sentiment was what killed me on this card -- I didn't want to cover up any of the lace, and there wasn't too much room that wasn't covered with embossing. I tried a couple different stamped sentiments and rub-ons on various colors of paper but couldn't find anything I liked. "Thanks" and even "Thank you" just didn't seem like enough for the hours of work they both put into the dress. So I hit upon "Bless You!" and wrote it in myself. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!

And here is a picture of my little angel in the dress that inspired the card!

All sorts of goodies...

I have been busy-busy getting ready for the boutique on Saturday. It's my first try at actually doing something as a Memory Works rep, so I wanted to make it a good one. I chose a few of the collections and tools from the new catalog and decided to show just how many projects you could make with each the thing. Here we go!

From the Cosmo Cricket "Honey Pie" set:

This one also uses a "blackboard" album from Cosmo Cricket, Prima flowers, and "baby" is cut with the Alphalicious cartridge. I did the scallop edge with Threading Water. The inside pages are covered with paper, but no pictures because it's waiting for baby Eliza! (You'll notice this is a common theme with all these girly things.)



This altered frame is something I made for a challenge at the Cricut SWARM this past weekend. The flowers are from the George cartridge and the swirly thing in the background is from Joys of the Season.



I did this layout at the SWARM as well -- I love it when things come together quickly! I usually don't do layouts before I have pictures to put in them, but I'm sure I'll have lots of material once this baby makes her appearance!



This cute post-it note holder was our make-and-take at the SWARM.



I've posted this card before, but it goes with this set:




The next few projects are from the Cosmo Cricket "Cogsmo" line -- I just love the cute little robots on this paper! I'm still going to make a card or something with this collection.

This mini-album is another "blackboard" album from Cosmo Cricket. I gathered a bunch of fun pictures of the boys together that probably wouldn't have made it into other layouts -- just everyday stuff, but so fun! I cut the letters here from Zooballoo.



Here's a layout with the same papers, about Sammy's first "book."


And these are from the Autumn Leaves "Cuteworld Girl" set -- I can't even tell you how much I love this paper! So exciting to be able to do all these girly things! I've only used a few sheets from this set so far. I think tonight I'll make a card or two to go along with these.

A baby book for Eliza! I also used WIMG for the flowers, and I drew the little birdie with my pen tablet and cut it out with SCAL. "Eliza" is also done with SCAL.



This layout was super quick, very possibly my fastest ever! The big flower came that way in the paper set. I came together so fast, in fact, that I took a few extra minutes to add the new Doodlebug crushed velvet flock to the flower and leaves. It's hard to see here, but it's really cute IRL.



I also altered the front of this American Crafts album:


And, last but not least, this is the make-and-take I'll be doing. They'll be able to try two different stamps (both from Autumn Leaves), Primas, and the Cropadile, all things in the catalog. I think I'll ink the edges of the tag. I've never done a make-and-take before, but I wanted to make sure it was something quick and easy. What do you think?

More fun with 2 Sketches 4 You

I just can't say enough about the beauty of a good sketch -- I think of it as the scaffolding on which I can create any kind of card. These sketches from 2 Sketches 4 You are the perfect example -- this first one is this week's sketch, created by Laura, and the next two are sketches provided for trying out for the design team (wish me luck!). I decided to create cards in three totally different styles with these sketches, and it was so much fun! I already had the "bones" of the design, so I was able to spend my time being creative with everything else instead of worrying so much about that. I love it!





This card is based on this week's sketch, and I love the bold, graphic style. The journaling card is special to me because I found it among my grandma's things after she passed away a few months ago. In her office supplies she had a whole bunch of fun things like this, and of course I couldn't let them just get thrown away! The pp is all from Scenic Route (the flowers are cut from the PP), and the scallop chain is done with the Fiskars Threading Water punch. The word NOTE is cut with the Cuttlebug Typewriter font.





This one is a brighter, more summery card, made just for my little sister who is away on a Church trip for the next three weeks. It's made using this sketch by Laura, and it's also my first design team entry. This cute little penguin chick is an Imaginisce stamp. The scallop circle was cut with Mini-Monograms at 3", and popsicle is from Doodlecharms, cut at 2 1/2". The green border is meant to be like a grass skirt, and the background is embossed with the Cuttlebug.





This one is based on Kazan's design team sketch, and I went for a softer look with this card. The paper is from Crate Paper, and the "Thinking of You" rub-on is from Pebbles, Inc. The swirl stamp is from Autumn Leaves -- I stamped the blue paper all in one piece, then cut it into three and added the punched flowers.

TFL!

I'm such a sucker...

... for cheap stamps! I love all the dollar acrylic stamps at just about every scrapbook store these days, and I am adding them to my collection faster than I can use them! So I decided to make a bunch of cards with some of my newer acquisitions (that way I can justify buying more, right?!).

These two cards use "Snag 'Em" stamps from Imaginisce. I went to Archiver's looking for one (the cute little penguin chick, but I haven't used her yet) and came home with about 5 sets -- oops!



A couple of weeks ago I got to go to the Fancy Pants warehouse sale and was able to get the Bella Brush and Pollen Dust stamp sets for $10 each. $10! Since these are usually $40, I just couldn't pass them up, even though I already have about a bazillion sets of flower and flourish stamps. The blue card uses stamps from Bella Brush, and the pink is from Pollen Dust. The "Happy Birthday" on the pink card is a Studio G $1 stamp from Michaels. The blue card also has velvet ribbon from Fancy Pants.




I went a little amuck with the embossing on these cards. That is definitely still a technique I'm working on!

An elephant never forgets...

Our challenge over at Bitten by the Bug this week was to use the Elephant from Zooballoo. This is one of my favorite little shapes, but I've only ever used it for very kid-oriented designs, so I challenged myself to come up with something grown up (but still fun!). Here's what I did -- I found this notebook in the $1 bin at Michaels a long time ago -- the cover was cream with the green stripe and a green T in the bottom right corner. I used stamps from the Fancy Pants Pollen Dust set (got these for $10, I couldn't believe it!), the cute little elephant, and the flourish-y shape and title are from Alphalicious. I put that shape/title together in Design Studio -- easy peasy!
I made this with the thought to give it away as I gift, but it's so cute I think I might just hang on to it! :)

My birdie obsession continues...

Okay, I think my love for little birdies may be going overboard! Just about every card I've made lately has some little birdie element. They're just so dad-gum cute, don't you think? So much fun!

This one used scraps from my "Lucky" layout from last week. This cute birdie is from the Cricut Joys of the Season cartridge -- it's a Christmas cartridge, but I think it's extremely versatile -- cut at 2". I used it for my Mother's Day cards, as well. The flourish the birdie is sitting on is also from JOTS, cut at 2" on shadow. "Thank You" is cut with Alphalicious, I think also at 2".



This simple card is a favorite layout of mine -- it comes together so quickly; it's great when you need to make a big batch of cards. The color scheme here was inspired by some lotion packaging I saw at Old Navy. I'm not sure how I feel about the black inking on the embossing, but I do love this little birdie embossing folder for the Cuttlebug. The stamp and scallop circle are from Stampin Up.



Here's another one with the same embossing folder, but the photo so does not do it justice because it really doesn't pick up the embossing on the white cardstock, but the card is so pretty and delicate. This one uses another stamp from the same SU set, and the scallop circle punch. I also used the Fiskars Threading Water Punch for the scallops on the bottom -- I love it!



I picked up this adorable Imaginisce penguin stamp for less than a dollar and decided he would be perfect for making some fun, fresh Father's Day cards for my grandpas this year. (I usually end up doing something "masculine" with lots of blues and browns, but my grandpas are all pretty fun guys and I think they'll enjoy this even more!) I used watercolor pencils for the green and orange, and blue craft glitter for the popsicle and swirls.



This one is for my aunt and cousin who are traveling to England even as I type. This little birdie is a Quickutz die that followed me home from the craft store on Friday. "bon voyage" is from the Cricut Beyond Birthdays cartridge, and the journaling block is something I designed myself and cut with SCAL. I love this shape, which is so popular right now, but I didn't have one on any of my cartridges and I couldn't find one as a dingbat. I LOVE that SCAL gives me the flexibility to do it myself! Recognize the paper? It's scraps from the penguin father's day cards! Just goes to show how versatile a couple of pieces of paper can be!