London Calling

I had a blast making this LO for my sister-in-law of her recent trip to England! What better challenge to enter this in, than the British challenge at Scrapbook.com. It's also for the multi-pic challenge, and my example for the Sewing Challenge that I host. The twist that I gave was to stitch your title. I used some old chipboard letters to trace my title and hand-stitched it in blue. I did lots of masking and stamping on this page. My favorite part though is the phone booth that I made out of a shirt gift box. I used an exacto knife to cut it out, and then painted it red before adding a shiny top coat. The windows on the sides are backed with clear transparency paper. I cut the crown out with my Cricut (home decor cartridge), and actually used the back of an old envelope that was gold. I love when I can recycle things into my work! Besides the blue background paper all the other papers are from Tim Holtz Lost and found collection.

Here's some close-ups. The stamped Big Ben started out as a mistake. I stamped it in black ink, but it didn't take in the middle. At first I was just going to cover the whole image with the gold embossed framed and colored image, but I liked the way it looked angled off of the original stamp. Sometimes mistakes can turn into something even better than you had imagined. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope everyone's enjoying the rest of the 3 day weekend! I have another page to share, but first I'd like to thank all the men and women who have served our country, fought,  and given their lives for our freedom! So thank you!!!

I made this page from my son's 10th birthday for the Chocolate challenge going on at Scrapbook.com. I started by editing the photos in Photoshop, so that just the cake is in color. I did some punching and machine stitching. It's pretty simple for me, but at least I finished it pretty quick. TFL!

Fashion Layout Challenge

    Hello! Don't you just LOVE these adorable photos of my cousin Janie's little girl? She's so cute!!! As soon as I saw these pics on facebook, I knew I had to scrap them. I played with them in Photoshop, making them black and white with a pop of pink, revealing the flower in her hair.
   This is my entry for the Spring Splurge Challenge going on @ Scrapbook.com. I missed the last few weeks, but had to jump in for the Fashion Layout week. This is also my entry for Funtoolas May color challenge to use black, white, and pink.

I created the mirror by cutting the frame using my Cricut (Storybook cartridge). I cut 2 strips of white cardstock to create the legs, topping them both off with Diamond stickles. I thought the circles on top looked like lights, so I backed them with black cardstock and applied Glossy Accents to make light bulbs. The mirror was cut using a smokey silver shiny paper. It looks much better in real life and actually reflects like a mirror. I created the background paper with stamps and markers. The rest of the papers are Bo Bunny's Enchanted line. I can't remember where I got the hangar, but have had it for a while now.

I made the flower using this tutorial from my friend Wendy. http://wendysscrappincorner.blogspot.com/2010/07/tutorial.html

I printed the quote in photoshop, which my cousin had originally used on one of the photos. I outlined it with Diamond stickles, and thought it was just PERFECT for these pics! "Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world."- Marilyn Monroe

A Mother's Love

I found this photo of my mother-in-law with her mom in a stack of old photos that my husband had. I've been meaning to scrap it for years, and thought Mother's Day would be the perfect time to do so. I assumed that my mother-in-law gave this photo to my husband, but she had never seen it. She did know that it was near the time that her mother had passed. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to meet my husbands Grandmother, but I know she was loved and very special. It was an honor to make this for my Mother-in-law, and I know she'll treasure it forever.

I made all the blue flowers, stamping some. I also stamped the floral border on the bottom. The background  started out as a light peach, before I added a mask, gesso, and some glimmer mists. I felt that these older BoBunny (Gypsy) pp's worked perfectly with this photo. I've been hoarding these papers forever, and only used them once before, so it felt good to play with this line. Here's a close-up of some of the flowers.

Here's a close-up of the stamped border.

Thanks for stopping by!

Pinkish Pleated Flower Tutorial

I'm back with another flower tutorial as promised. I made this LO for my mom for Mother's Day, of her mom back in the day. I'm entering it into quite a few challenges:heritage photo,distressed, and May Flowers at Scrapbook.com, embossing challenge at Funtoolas, scrap for help, pick your bouquet at Flying Unicorn, and the Paper Mixing Bowl.

Here was the recipe I used from the Paper Mixing Bowl.

Utensils:
*rub-ons/stamps-I stamped the chain link looking fence on the paper on the left. I also stamped and embossed the smaller flowers.
*Flowers-I made 3 different styles of flowers, and added 2 silk ones.So I guess I get brownie points.
*Paint or mist-I used paint and mist on the cardboard background, and an antique bronze glaze for the pearls and some of the flower centers.
*buttons-I used a couple of my Grandma's buttons on here.
*Weaving-I wove embroidery floss on the mini card that I made, which is tucked under the photo on the right.

Directions:
I used the inspirational word mother and made a mini folded card. Here's the inside of it.

For Funtoola's http://funtoolas.ning.com/forum/topics/may-embossing-challenge I embossed the small flowers and key.

The old envelope under the key was a requirement for Scrap for help, and I printed it from a list on their blog.http://scrapforhelp.blogspot.ca/ You also had to use something recycled, so  I used the cardboard and a brown shopping bag behind the photo, and for some of the small embossed flowers.

Now for the tutorial! Here's a close-up of the large flower I'll be making.

Supplies:
Cricut-Plantin Schoolbook cartridge
white cardstock
blending tool
Distressed ink pads (victorian velvet, aged mahogany, tea dye, and frayed burlap)
Scissors
glue
brad for the center

First cut your flowers with your cricut onto white cardstock at 4", 3", 2 1/2", 2", 1 1/2", and 1".

Then use your scissors to cut the ends of the petals so they're more natural and not so straight.

Using your blending tool, apply distress ink onto the flowers using tea dye, victorian velvet, and aged mahogany.

Using the largest flower, spray with water and fold in half. The water will react with the ink, blending the colors together.

Now just fold your petals like an accordian, back and forth. You might have to spray your petals again if they're not wet enough, but don't get them too wet cause they can tear or rip.

Carefully open up your flower. It should look something like this.

Then use your blending tool to apply frayed burlap distress ink onto the pleats that you just created.

Next shape your flower curling your petals out and down like this.

Now take the next 2 smaller sized flowers, and repeat the steps above, up until shaping the flower. This time you want to curl your petals up and  inwards like this.

Make the next 2 smaller sized flowers exactly like the large one, curling your petals out and down.

The smallest flower gets curled inwards. Glue all the layers together starting with the largest flower on the bottom. Add a brad through the center to finish it off.

You can make so many different variations of this just by changing the colors, and playing with your inks. I know I'll be trying it!

Happy belated Mother's Day!

I just wanted to say happy belated Mother's Day to all those mother's out there who just happen to read my blog! I had a relaxing and laid back day, starting with a great breakfast cooked and prepared by my  husband and son. My husband was so sweet to make  me a card for the first time, using my own scrap supplies. It was the best card I ever got from him, and what he wrote on the inside was even better! He stamped it himself and got into my box of hand-made flowers. I just wish I would've been there to take pictures. Hehe!!

But the thing I'll treasure most was this adorable note from my son attached to my gift bag! He's so funny, and you never know what'll come out of his mouth!

I'll be sharing my Mother's day projects over the next week. I'll also have a new flower tutorial for you, so stay tuned. 

Happy National Scrapbook Day

Happy National Scrapbook Day! I know I haven't posted in awhile, but I've been busy working on some gifts, which I'll post in a few weeks. I've also decided to start my own business scrapping for others. I still have lots to do,  but if you have some special photos you want done, just email me at drea313s@yahoo.com.