Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Overdone?

So I think I might have gone a little overboard on this one. I was working off of a layout someone else did, and just kept adding elements...



I like the colors, and I like the individual elements, but with the layers, and ribbon, and button, and twine, and flowers, and tickets... maybe a little much? (Click the photo to see it in more detail.)

Friday, January 21, 2011

Valentine and Bookmark

I got excited about making bookmarks yesterday and made another one, this time with a coordinating Valentine.



I used my little 6x6 deck of Basic Grey "Bittersweet" papers, along with the same rub-on sheet I used for the owls last week. The bigger birds were perfect for the card, and the smaller ones fit just right on the chipboard flower I used for the bookmark.



Here's a close-up detail of the birds on the bookmark - I used two layers of Maya Road chipboard flowers and covered them with more of the Bittersweet paper, then inked the edges and put the birds on - one set for each side of the bookmark. The ribbon is all from Papertrey.



It ends up being a cute little set!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Bookmark

Just a quick little project today - I found these fun flowers while I was cleaning up my craft room, and thought they'd make a good bookmark. I covered two matching chipboard flowers for the bookmark topper, and then added the vintage-style flower. Since the vintage-y flower has advertising/newsprint on it, I pulled out some cute office-themed patterned paper I got from (of course) Papertrey - behind the flower is a paper-clip pattern. As always, you can click the photo to see it larger and in more detail.



And the back (phone memo notes):

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Valentine Time Already

I came up with a couple of simple Valentines yesterday (okay, I was totally cheating - I'd started them with something else in mind and had all the elements just sitting here on my desk). Part of why I hadn't made the other cards I was planning with these elements is that the designs on the paper are just too gorgeous - I didn't want to cover them up with any other images. And then I got inspired by some of my friend Gwen's cards - she does some really gorgeous cards with a graphic main layer with just a sentiment on top - clean lines and matting, and restraint in embellishments, really elevate her designs.



So I dug out this slider die that I've had for my Cuttlebug for a while and used the flip side of the patterned paper (that's my favorite way to make sure patterned papers coordinate - I guess it's kind of obvious, but it seems like the flip side of an intricate design is usually something complementary and simple like this green grid design) on a twill ribbon that matched my mat layer. The "love" sentiment is from one of my big Fancy Pants stamp collections, and I think they turned out so cute. I love the little deer!

Friday, January 7, 2011

Dies in a Handbasket

I got this cute little basket during the holidays, with some yummy treats inside and a forest green Christmas image on top. I really like the size, so I thought I'd paint and stamp it so I can use it year-round.



I primed the top and painted it blue (with an Apple Barrel acrylic paint), then stamped a couple of Fancy Pants images on top. I was excited about this, because I've had two Fancy Pants sets for a while with the most beautiful images, but I needed something larger than a card to use them on.



This picture shows where I need to touch up a few places with the white paint... part of the weaving was red, so I painted the whole bottom part white so that it wouldn't clash with the new blue top. I was originally going to use this as a sewing basket, but embroidery hoops wouldn't fit. Then, I noticed that I kept worrying about losing my Cuttlebug dies because they were in an open-topped bag - turns out this is the perfect size to fit all of my embossing folders and dies, and the top is nice and heavy, so I won't be losing them. How fun!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Post-Christmas Megapost

It's a megapost today - I got a package yesterday with my Christmas gift-card spoils, and did some stamping last night, plus I've got a great handmade Christmas gift to show you that I received.



How cute is this little owl? I picked up these Maya Road rub-ons a while back (I think at the Scrap Barn, while it was still around) and I've been using them sparingly - there are a lot on the sheet, though. He fits perfectly on the Papertrey die that coordinates with Fillable Frames #9. The paper behind the tag is some Sassafras Lass paper I've been hoarding for a while - I love all the bright colors and sweet designs, but it's a little bit busy to use for cards.



This is a card I made with the other die/stamp set I got from Papertrey, the Mat Stack 2 Collection. I'm having a little trouble getting the stamp centered on the die (or the die centered on the stamp, if I do it that way), even with clear stamps... it's either going to be one of those things that just takes practice, or I'm going to have to dig out my old stamp positioner. Even so, though, I think it's a cute set. I used Hibiscus Burst ink and paper for this one, and the border is a little scrap from the Sassafras Lass paper. I love the Martha Stewart twine, too - I have a mixed red/blue/pink pack (different combinations of the colors) and used the red/white twine for a lot of Christmas stuff... it got me inspired to find ways to use the non-holiday colors.



And these are just some little tags I made with scraps, using the Fillable Frames #9 die and more of the Maya Road rub-ons. The tag border and sentiments are also from the Fillable Frames #9 set, and the die-cut hole at the top is perfect for a small eyelet.

And now to my awesome Christmas gift!



My aunt said when I opened this, "I hope you don't hate me for tearing up a book for this..." but no, it's so cool!



She used a Sense and Sensibility book for the roof of a birdhouse, and decoupaged the whole birdhouse with phrases from the book, sheet music, and decorative paper. Plus some rhinestone bling. I love the sweet picture on the back: