Frugal Finds - Book Pages

This week on Practical Scrappers, I was challenged to use book pages as a medium. I have to admit, this was a hard one for me.  I love to read and tearing up a book was brutal for me!

 As some of you may know, I have been creating a lot of home decor and other mixed media items so that is what I did this time as well.

The first project is a chipboard wall hanging that I bought at Hobby Lobby.  I simply Mod Podged pieces of the book pages to the chipboard and then trimmed the edges as close as I could with scissors.  I added the heart for a little pop of color and detail. I LOVE how it turned out and I am planning to use this as a Valentine decoration in my own home.

My second project was inspired by a Pinterest pin that my friend had pinned.  Her birthday was this week and I wanted to make her a special gift.

The book I was using had a lot of artwork in it and I knew from the beginning that I wanted to use those pages apart from the text pages.  So, that is what I did, I tore out several of the farm scene pictures and decoupaged them to a 12x12 canvas.

The words were cut using my Cricut Expression and the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge.  I have cut letters for these types of projects and I have learned that you either have to use color core cardstock or if you have white core cardstock, you may want to ink the edges for it to look right.

I hope you like these projects as much as I do.  It was hard for me to tear out those first few pages but I am more than happy with the result!  I know I will be making more projects using book pages in the future!

Thanks for looking!

Leslii

Christmas Canvas Decor

Hi everyone! I am here today to share a Christmas wall hanging I recently made to use as a decoration in my own home.

I had seen a sign on Pinterest that I loved using words to form a Christmas Tree and wanted to do this same sign, but with my own touches.

I started with a 12x12 canvas and then Mod Podged a 12x12 paper directly on to the canvas.  I tend to use Mod Podge quite often when making altered projects and I continue to get good results.

My next step was to cut out the words. I chose a red glitter paper and  I used my Cricut Expression and Type Candy Font cartridge.  With the Cricut set to 1 3/4", I cut the words using all capital letters.  The words then had to be placed on the canvas.  Unfortunately, due to the back of the glitter paper having such a smooth, non-absorbant back side, I couldn't use Mod Podge.  I chose to turn the letters into stickers instead using my Zyron sticker maker.  I found the center of my canvas, started with the word Christmas, and then worked my way up from there.

I wanted to do something a little special for the star so I cut another star 1/4" larger in a light gold glitter paper and then layered the red star on top.  I used the same gold paper to make a border.  I then finished my canvas by randomly adding green gems to the "tree".

I hope I am helping to get you into the Christmas spirit!

Thank you for stopping today!

Leslii

Practical Scrappers - 10 things Stickers

For this weeks ten things challenge on Practical Scrappers, we were asked to use stickers.  Of course there are a ton of stickers out there but it seems like we get into a rut and just throw them on a page to make less white space.  There are a ton of fun ways to change up stickers or simply use them in a different way.  Be sure and check out the Practical Scrappers blog post for more ways to use those stickers!

I started out with a layered sticker from My Mind's Eye, here you can see it as it came, fresh from the package.  As you can see, it is already super cute but I wanted to add a little more interest so I used my Close To My Heart liquid glass and added a few bits of extra detail.

 Hopefully, you can see the dots around the scalloped edge, I also filled in the heart, and added a border along the outside edge of the bottom layer. (I know it is kind of hard to see, sorry!)

Here you can see, a couple of other detail stickers from the project.  I did add liquid glass to the circle  sticker as well, but in the picture, it is hard to see.

And, this is my final product!  I love the way it turned out!  I have been decorating chipboard words for several months now, and I have to admit, this is one of my favorites!

I hope you like my project!  Thanks for looking!

Leslii

10 Things Eyelets

I know I have been kind of MIA lately, sorry about that.  There is so much end of Summer craziness around here between the kids ready for school, work, showing goats, and last minute trips, sometimes crafting unfortunately is put on the back burner.

This week though, I was asked to do a project for Practical Scrappers using eyelets.  I have used eyelets in the past but it had been a long time and I wanted to do something I had never done before.  

I have been loving altered projects the last few months so I decided to do another.  This week I worked on a recipe box using a premade box and paper from Studio Calico's Sundrifter Collection that I picked up at The Scrapbooking Studio, in Bloomington, IL.

I first cut a strip of paper to fit along the edge of the box and then added a border of silver eyelets.  I then Hodge Podged the paper to the box and followed by covering the rest of the box.

It turned out like this...

This box will soon be used on my kitchen counter.  I hope you are inspired to use eyelets in your next project!  Thanks for looking!

Leslii

Premade Flowers

The 10 things challenge on Practical Scrappers this week was using premade flowers.  

I made an 8x10 sign for my friend who was married last year and recently moved into a new house.

I started with a blank 8" by 10" canvas and used two different shades of brown ink to distress the edges of both the canvas and the paper I would be attaching to the canvas.  

The paper background is an adorable paper from Studio Calico's Sun Drifter Collection. 

The letters were cut on my Cricut using the Type Candy Font cartridge.

And then, of course is the flower.  I chose a natural canvas flower.  I then frayed the edges a bit and used the chocolate ink to add some brown to the canvas.  The flower was still plain so I used a small premade tule flower and a chocolate brown button to add a little interest to the center.  

I am loving the small block letters that are popular right now so I used them to add the family name and established year to the sign.

I am happy with how it turned out and my friend and her husband really seemed to like it too - that is what mattered most to me!

Thanks for checking out my blog today!

Leslii

Echo Park's A Perfect Summer

This month I was given a super cute line to work with for The Scrapbooking Studio

 - Bloomington's design team.

I always love what Echo Park puts out but this was definitely my favorite line thus far!

First up are two one page layouts of my girls and our friends swimming...

I incorporated a lot of the different patterns from the line for this layout.  I also used some of the cute chipboard stickers to embellish.

For this one, I used three different patterned papers from the line and cut them into strip for the background.  The frame around the photo was made by weaving all of the little strips from the bottoms of the paper, I loved that I found a way to use those!

This card was made using several stickers from the collection.  I used a small circle punch to cut out different colors of "fruit" to give the tree an extra pop of color.

Next up is my altered project...  I used a 5x7 photo mailer and turned it into a fun Summer home decoration.

Each 5x7 was decorated individually using a letter that I cut on my Cricut, as well as chipboard embellishments, stickers, and some doodling.

On some pages, I also added stitching.

On a couple, I used letter stickers to spell out things my family does in the Summertime to make a border along the top edge.

A few gems were added here and there too.

And all together, it looks like this!

I am very pleased with the way this turned out and I hope you are inspired by it too!

Thanks for looking!

Leslii

Star Wall Hanging

I made this somewhat rustic wall hanging to put on top of my kitchen cabinets.  Practical Scrappers was challenging me to use stars this week and boy did I use a lot of stars!

I started with a 12"x12" canvas.  

The next layer was a piece of paper from American Crafts Mayberry Collection that I picked up at The Scrapbooking Studio in Bloomington.  

I then cut out an 11" star using my Cricut and the Plantin SchoolBook Cartridge set on RolyPoly.  The small stars are also a patterned paper from the Mayberry Collection.  I used both sides of a single sheet and cut out 1 inch stars.  After adhering the small stars to the large stars, I added stitching using a white gel pen.

I finished the project with a "frame", brown sititching, and brads in the corners.

Thank you for looking!

Leslii

Superhero by Amy Locurto

 As many of you already know, I am a member of The Scrapbooking Studio in Bloomington's design team. This month I was priviledged to get to work with Pebbles' Party Superhero by Amy Locurto.  I love the way these turned out!

First up, is a double layout of my 4 year old's birthday party.  I used oval cutouts from the patterned papers to accent my pictures.  I also cut apart the star garland and scattered the stars around the pages.

Next is a card perfect for just about any little guy.  The characters and stars are stickers, I also added some Stickles to the paper, just for extra little kid fun.

Last but not least is my favorite project from this month, a wall hanging for my little guys' room.  I fussy cut all of the pieces and used a piece of the patterned paper that looks like notebook paper for the background. The pieces were all simply adhered to the paper and then I used Hod Podge to secure it all on a canvas.

I really enjoyed working with this line, I hope you like what I came up with!

Thanks for looking!

Leslii

Washi Tape Decor

Hello, All!  This week's Practical Scrapper challenge for the 10 Things Team 

was to make something using Washi Tape.

I chose to use Washi Tape to cover a chipboard word.  I took the bare chipboard word "LOVE" and simply lined up the tape to cover it while keeping the pattern.

This is how it turned out after adding a few butterfly embellishments.

I hope you like it!

Thanks for looking!

Leslii

My Mind's Eye - My Girl

This month I am privileged to start my stint as a designer with the The Scrapbooking Studio in Bloomington. As my first assignment, I was lucky to work with My Mind's Eye's My Girl line.  I was a little nervous at first,  wondering what in the world I was going to do with all of these busy papers.  But, the truth is, once I started, I loved them!  They are so fun to work with!

First up, I did this card.  the background is a craft-core cardstock that I embossed with my Cuttlebug and then  lightly sanded to bring out the hexagon pattern.  All of the embellishments are from the My Girl collection, I simply strung a piece of  orange and white baker's twine through the button holes.

Second is a one page layout.  The background is a piece of gray cardstock that I sprayed with pink mist.  The ruffles along the bottom are simply punched circles that I layered.  The camera cut out is just one of the many adorable cut outs in this line.

 

This one paged layout was done my using a few different patterned papers from the line.  I cut the chevron paper to make a fun border.  The bicycle is from the many chipboard pieces available.  The butterflies are actually white that I misted gray and added a piece of baker's twine for color.

This was the most fun for me.  I started with a raw chipboard sign and then covered it with paper using Mod Podge and then added a bunch of adorable My Girl embellishments.

I am really happy with the way these turned out.  I wasn't sure I would be able to hang with the awesome designers at The Scrapbooking Studio, but I think I did okay.  ;)

My last post was also from the My Girl line, check it out!

Luggage Tags

This week for Practical Scrappers I had to come up with a way to use tags.

Just after Christmas I was at a friend's house and she showed me the adorable Hello Kitty bags her girls had gotten from Santa.  The one drawback is that the bags are identical.  She mentioned that she wanted to get them each a luggage tag so they could tell them apart.  I offered my services and this is the result...

We had both agreed that a black and white photo would be cute on the tag but that they should be different in other ways.  Each tag started out as a plain chipboard tag.  I covered each in cardstock and then added ribbon embellishments. The ribbon I used was from my stash. Their names where then added in whimsical white letters.  I simply printed a small photo from my computer, matted Clare's in brown, and placed Sophie's onto a Kraft sticker. I then added a few gems for more girly flair.

I knew I didn't want the backs to be plain since you would be able to see both sides when the tags are attached to their bags.  I decided to add a quote about traveling because I hope these beautiful girls are able to see the world!  Sophie's says "The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page".  Clare's reads "I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list".

I finished each of the tags off by covering them with a coat of Mod Podge to make them more durable.  Unfortunately, the Mod Podge added a glare every time I tried to take a picture.  Next time I think I will take the picture before the Mod Podge.

I hope you like my tags, I hope the special little girls I am giving them to like them too....

Altered Photo Mailer

Hi all!  I am on Practical Scrappers today with a fun and frugal Christmas decoration.

 I started this project with a blank photo mailer for which I paid $4.99 , a $.97 package of patterned paper, and cardstock.  

My first step was to cover each of the 5x7 sections with patterned paper.  I then attached a ribbon along the entire top edge of the mailer.  

My next step was to choose a word.  I knew I wanted something different, not the usual "Winter" or "Peace".  After brainstorming with a friend of mine, I settled on "Wonder".  

I knew I would have an extra section and thought it would be fun to make something more 3 dimensional and finally chose a rolled paper Christmas tree.

The tree was made with paper I had in my stash.  I first cut the paper into 2 inch strips and then cut each strip into sections starting with 1 inch for the top and then adding a 1/4 inch to each piece until I ended with a 4 inch piece.  I took each piece and rolled it length wise around a pencil and secured the curled paper with a few drops of clear glue. They were then adhered to the patterned paper using the same glue. Presents were added using cardstock scraps and bakers twine.

I cut the letters out with my Cricut Expression Machine and then used a makeup applicator to lightly ink the letters in green.  I then used the Cricut Machine to cut the letters again but this time with the shadow feature to make a matted layer for each letter. Each shadowed layer was distressed on the edges with blue ink again using a makeup applicator to get into all of the little angles.

I wanted each section to be different but look like the belong together.  As you can see the W, N, and E were all accented with an aqua colored paper that I embossed with my Cuttlebug and and sanded the edges.  The O, D, and R were highlighted with a lime green paper that I tore.

I also added gems here and there on all of the sections for a little extra glam.

I am quite happy with the final product and already have it on a shelf in my living room.  I plan to make a few more of these with different color combinations to give as inexpensive gifts this Christmas this year too.

2010 Calendar

I make a calendar for my Mother In Law every year for her birthday which is in January.  I buy a blank calendar so that I can start it in February and end it in January.  I don't always love the pages because my MIL thinks that the more pictures the better and I tend to be more of a minimalist.  I am hoping to finish it today, but here are a few of the pages so far.

FEBRUARY

APRIL

MAY