I'm a Scrap Chick!

I'm so excited to reveal to you that I was chosen to be a Scrap Chick at Birds of a Feather! I can't wait to get my hands on the first kit and start creating!!! I'm also hosting my first challenge there for the Lovebirds Crop happening this weekend.

For my challenge I chose this older Pagemaps sketch.

 

I scrapped these photos of my 2 loves and Valentines, my husband and son!

I just LOVE this cute mailbox! I stamped the lettering behind it on the "love" note.

Thanks for dropping by and sharing in my wonderful news!

Garden of Grandchildren

   Remember a couple of posts back I mentioned going through and scanning some of my Grandma's old photos? Well this is one of them. I scrapped this photo of my Great Grandma Dale with my Dad and his siblings when they were kids. I love the colors in this photo and thought they'd go well with these beautiful Prima papers (Firefly Collection)!

I made this for the Four Categories Challenge at Scrapbook.com for category 3 to use misting or painting with masking for the twist. I started by masking a Prima floral frame that I sprayed with Glimmer Mists (Blarney, Cranberry Zing, and Black Cherry). I made the leaves with my Cricut (Life is a beach) cartridge. The pink and gold button on the bottom flower I inherited from my Great Grandma, and had to put it on here. It's one of my favorites!

Thanks for looking!
Drea

I love a good mystery~The Paper Mixing Bowl

It's our new reveal day at the Paper Mixing Bowl, and we have a brand new challenge and recipe for February. Here's my take on red velvet cake.

Here's a look at the recipe and how I used it.

Utensils:
*I used layers
*Frosting ( I used gesso on the cream Bo bunny pp)
*2 is better than 1 (I used more than 2 flowers and puzzle pieces)
*Spill something ( I have a coffee stain on my background paper, but I think it's hidden now. )
*Hearts and flowers ( I have a chipboard heart in my title and used 4 different flowers)
*Multi-photo ( I used 11 photos of some of my favorite books)

Directions:
I used love (my heart)  in my title as a journaling prompt.I'm also using this for the Four Categories Challenge at Scrapbook.com  for category 4 with the theme I love ..... and the twist to use a heart. I made a bookmark for my journaling.

I started this page by making a book, which is stamped and painted.It's hard to tell from the photo, but I painted the sides of it gold, and made the cover to look like red leather.  I also stitched a line down the center. I made the magnifying glass out of gold paper, ribbon, and Glossy Accents. It was fun to make!

The white flowers were a RAK from Funtoolas which I covered with red paint. I made the cream and brown flowers using this tutorial for Sugarplum Flowers  by Vicky Alberto.

Thanks for stopping by and for all the sweet comments!
Drea

Sew Crafty

   Happy Valentine's Day!!!I just came across this old photo of myself while going through my Grandma's old photos. I lucked out and found all kinds of neat pictures, which I already scanned and saved on my computer. Among other things I was most excited about getting my Grandma's button collection, to add to the other vintage buttons that I inherited from my other Grandma and my Great Grandma. I had to use them right away and thought this photo and new line from Basic Grey (Lucille) would work well together.

I'm entering this into the 4 Categories Challenge at Scrapbook.com for category 1 to use buttons and to stitch them down for the twist. Here's a close-up of some of the buttons and these cute little patterns that I've had for awhile now.

I used a Prima mask and gesso on the background. The flowers were all handmade and leftovers I had from other projects. The pink ones were made using my Tattered and Torn Flower Tutorial. The blue roses were made using Gabrielle Pollaco's 3D Rose tutorial. I also got the white lace trim from my Grandma. I machine stitched the blue background paper and hand-stitched the red zig zag on the photo.

Thanks so much for looking!
Drea

Once upon a time

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I've had a lot going on, and have been working on things that I can't post yet. But I just finished this wedding page I did of me and my husband from 11 1/2 years ago. Our love has only gotten stronger since then and I'm so happy to have him in my life!

This was based on this month's sketch at Once upon a sketch, with love for the theme.

For the journaling I used the front of a wedding card that we received from my parents, and cut it into strips.

I also saved the silk flowers which I used here from our wedding day. I made the bling flourishes using liquid pearls (baby blue).

This is my example for the sewing challenge that I host at Scrapbook.com with the XOXO twist to stitch a circle and X's.  I hand-stitched the circle with black embroidery thread, and a baby blue for my X's. I'm also entering this into the Four Categories Challenge at Scrapbook.com for category 2 to use black and white with one other color, and the twist to use flowers. Thanks for looking!!
Drea

The Perfect Snowball~The Paper Mixing Bowl

   We've made a few changes at the Paper Mixing Bowl, starting with the dates for the recipes to be due. Our new reveal day is now going to be on the 15th of every month. You still get a month to cook something up with us though. Here's my take on Sushi.

From the utensils I used:
*Splash (Wet medium)- I made the background using mists and paint.
*Metallic elements-I have some silver snowflakes
*Stitch it up-I hand stitched the circle with the title in it.
*Bling it on- I used bling in the centers of some of my snowflakes
*Rolled paper-I rolled the edges of my papers

From the directions I didn't do anything, since it's now OPTIONAL if you want to journal. Great new changes!!

 Here's a close-up of some of my techniques. I used paint, stamps, stickles, and alcohol ink here.

I wasn't sure about the black snowflakes at first, but now I love them! It's my something unexpected for the Winter Wonderland Challenge at Flying Unicorn.

Thanks again for stopping by!
Drea

A Taste of Winter

 I've been dying to get my  hands on these papers, ever since I bought them last month! I LOVE Bo Bunny and their (Powder Mountain Collection) is awesome for winter pics! I scrapped this photo of my Mom and Sister at Donner Lake, in Truckee, CA.

This was based off of this beautiful sketch by Alda for Flying Unicorn Mojo Monday.

For the following challenges:

January Winter Challenge at Funtoolas. I used bling for the twist. 

Scrap for help January Challenge to use yarn. I used a blue yarn around the border and applied diamond dust over it

January Four Categories at Scrapbook.com. This is a new challenge hosted by my Diva and scrappy friend Lisa. I'm entering this in the category to use blue. 

January Stamping Challenge at Scrapbook.com

I stamped the title, bird, and dark blue snowflake.The large snowflake in the background was masked using Jack Frost Glimmer Mist.

This beautiful and sparkly butterfly was part of a FABULOUS RAK  I got from the very talented Renea Bouquets. She makes wonderful creations that she sells here on Etsy. Thank you again Renea! And thanks for dropping by!

Drea

Tissue Paper Flower Tutorial

   I hope you're all getting ready for a great weekend! I'm just staying warm and cozy, while enjoying the surprise snow that we're getting right now. I wanted to share another 2 pager that I made for the January Color Challenge at Scrapbook.com to use red, green, and yellow, and for the Pass the tissue challenge at Flying Unicorn. I knew I had to do this challenge, since I have a whole box full of tissue papers that I've had since junior high. Every Christmas the box gets fuller, so I decided to use green, yellow and a kraft color to add to these beautiful Bo Bunny papers (Serenade). But the real challenge, for myself, was figuring out how to make flowers from tissue paper, which at one point I almost abandoned.

This was the first one that I made.

Here's what you'll need.
Tissue Paper
Decoupage Glue
Foam brush
Wax Paper
Scissors
Small Flower
Permanent ink
Black ultra fine point Sharpie
Scraper or old credit card
Paintbrush
Embroidery thread and needle

Directions:
Start by drawing your flower onto tissue paper. I started by drawing a small circle with a pencil, and drew 5 petals coming out from it. If you're not comfortable drawing, then try using a flower stamp instead. Just make sure to use a permanent ink, so it doesn't bleed when you add the glue. Once you get the outline of your flower made, go over it with your black Sharpie, but don't outline the circle. Using the circle as your guide, draw lines coming out from it. Now you can erase your pencil marks.

Carefully cut out your flower.

Now use a small flower stamp for the center. I used Bo Bunny's Serenity Stamps.

I then cut around the flower leaving a little bit of the green tissue showing around the edges.

 Using a foam brush I applied the decoupage glue onto the flower and smaller stamped one, using wax paper on the bottom.

Using my scraper, (you can also use an old credit card) I gently lifted the flower off of the wax paper, to prevent it from sticking too bad. If you wait for it to dry then it'll be harder to peel away and you'll be left with glue around the edges that you'll have to trim.

After that dries, apply another coat. Now use the end of a paintbrush to shape the petals.

After that dries apply a 3rd and final coat, reshaping your petals if necessary. While the glue is still wet, put your stamped flower in the center.

I finished it off with a french knot, but if you don't know how to make one, you can also use a small bead or make a dot with puffy paint.

That's all for now. Have a wonderful weekend!

Bright Button Flower Tutorial

I'm back with my first LO for the year, along with a very quick and easy flower tutorial, inspired by the papers I used, which are all My Mind's Eye (On the bright side).

I used this awesome sketch from Paper Haus Magazine and turned it into a 2 pager. 

I did LOTS of machine stitching on here, except for the hand stitching I used to hang the banners. Twine is so popular now, but it's really easy to stitch your own. Just follow these directions on my tutorial for Twisted Stitching. Here's a closer look at the banner and stitching. 

Close-up of the journaling.

Here's the flowers that I made, inspired by the paper in the background.

All you need is some patterned paper, scissors, ink, glue, buttons, and embroidery thread. The first step is to cut out 2 circles by hand, in a medium and small size. As you can see my circles are far from perfect, but that's what  you want. 

Now cut small triangles almost to the center of your flower.

Then ink around all the edges.

Curl your petals up.

Glue the smaller flower on top of the larger one, and add a button. I also used embroidery thread on my buttons, but that's up to you. 

So quick and easy! Thanks for looking!

Drea

Hawaii Mini Album

   Before the new year starts, I wanted to share this mini album I made for my sister Irene, and her boyfriend John. John's back home visiting family in Ireland, so wasn't able to see this yet. Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family! If it wasn't for you John, I'd probably still be pestering Irene for these photos. Lol!
   I made this album from their recent trip to Hawaii from brown paper bags, using rafia to bind it. Here's the cover.

Here's the first 2 pages. I used my Cricut (Life is a beach) cartridge to make the lettering, bamboo, and palm tree. I used real sand and glue to cover the island.

Pages 3 and 4. Using the same cartridge, I cut the palm fronds.

Pages 4 and 5.

Pages 6 and 7. Thanks to Flying Unicorn for the white flowers! I won them from a challenge there a few months ago.

Pages 8 and 9. I was at this same beach when I was just 14. I can't wait to go back with my husband!

Pages 10 and 11.

A close-up of the tiki masks I cut with my Cricut. Also using (Life is a beach) cartridge.

Pages 12 and 13. More Cricut cut outs.

I made the flowers using my Serenity Blooms Tutorial. I just inked the orange onto white paper first.

Pages 14 and 15.

Pages 16 and 17.

The end! Have a safe and Happy New Year's Eve!!!