Friday, January 31, 2014

Merry Layout from Turning Stone Casino Visit


































I promised myself I'd get this layout scrapped BEFORE we left for our trip to Tampa, Florida. Since it's our very late holiday & present to ourselves, I figured I should get "old" scrapbooking out of the way before I had a bunch of happy shiny NEW photos to use!

Since you are reading this now and we're making our way home, I can say I was successful!

This page is all about our Christmas trip down to Oneida, NY where we stayed at Turning Stone Casino.

I had been wanting to see their gingerbread house display for YEARS and I was not disappointed! Just wish they had some cookies for sale! The houses looked yummy!

My parents met us there and we ate at this fantastic country western place called the Tin Rooster for my birthday! It was amazing, right down to the dancing line dancers!


My favorite part of this page are these Prima gems and the double wood snowflakes! Not to mention some twine, staples, and a gold vellum "merry" speech bubble.

























Here is a side view of my page. Can you see the ice sneaking in on the edge? Yeah, wasn't any of THAT in Tampa!

Happy Friday!

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Wish You Were Her Postcards

























The other day the boys at work and I were talking about my upcoming trip to Florida.

They suggested perhaps I could send them "Wish You Were Her" Postcards. They meant of course one with some hot chick in a bikini looking hot and bothered.

It took me a second to figure out what they were talking about since I was not thinking of it in that context. I have never wished any of my male coworkers were babes in bikinis seeing how that would be awkward!

Figured instead of having to buy some icky postcard I'd hook them up with a hand drawn pin-up girl from way before my time.





























And, in case you were wondering about my naughty sentiment, I am also sending a lotto ticket!

Those double strings hold it on the back side of the card!

I can thank THE CUTTING CAFE for the lovely heart cutting file. I used Regina's Valentine Window Card Tops for the sweet hearts on the bottom that I backed with some pattened paper. I also used the punched out hearts inside the clear vellum envelopes with some sequins for a shaker type card. I imagine that might amuse those boys for a while after they are done with the scratch off!























Here is one last photo of my cards. You may be wondering by now why Miss Hottie Pin-Up Lady is holding such a large envelope. I sure was and when I asked THE MAN why it was so large in comparison to the rest of the image, he was shocked. He said he didn't notice the envelope but was busy wondering why more women don't get the mail in high heals!

Hope you are having a great Thursday regardless of WHAT footwear you are rockin!



Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Dragon Skin Covered Box with Hand Dyed Ribbons & Gems

























Shirley gifted me this very sturdy card board box recently and it was screaming FIX ME. No not really screaming, but I kept looking at it wanting to put cool paper and bling on it!


The glass knob, ribbon, metal corners, glass feet, and little gems make me so happy!


Enjoyed making the top the most with some Prima Gems, roses, and an edge off an antique pillow. Love reusing stuff!

























One more photo of the top looking at the box from the side. I really love the metal on the front. The scallop under the rose gem came from the second hand store and had India engraved on the bottom. Not sure what it was used for previously but made a nice decoration.

The gems you can see dangling off my ribbon are Prima Genie Stones that I got from the Funkie Junkie Boutique.

And, what purpose will this box serve in my home?

Currently it's hanging out on my desk with my new antique clock. Yes, it still works! Picked this up at the second hand store the other day because it was super cool. Remind me to give it to Tim Holtz when I meet him. Seems like something he'd think was awesome-sauce!


Happy Tuesday!

Monday, January 27, 2014

Valentine's Day Covered Box with Funkie Junkie Boutique Goodies


































On Friday, I showed you a little Hershey Kiss Box I made for my Sister In Law.

I also altered a larger box so I could add some treats in for her three sweet kids.

This box came from the second hand store and was very well made, just faded. So, a make over was due!


































As far as decorations went for the top, I really lucked out.

I had a perfectly sized vintage doily, old metal piece from a repurposed drawer, rosette I made from a piece of Prima packaging, a huge glass bead for a knob, and those lovely hearts, gold ribbon, glassine envelope, and postcard came as a thank you gift from the Funkie Junkie Boutique.

When you receive a package from Linda, you really feel spoiled. Everything comes in these little glassine envelopes that have some pretty wrinkly ribbon that can also be reused.

My favorite item I got in my last package (which is very similar to the rose on the knob and also from Linda's shop) are these lovelies: Paris Glass Dome Cabochons. I cannot WAIT to use them!


The paper I wanted to use on the box is crazy awesome! It looks like snake skin and was some origami paper my Aunt sent. Cover it with gold modge podge and I think it looks like dragon skin! ;-)

She also sent me a bunch of Tim Holtz washi tape, which always works great for sealing the edges of a box!


Also LOVE these little feet. 


They are vinyl bumpers I spotted at the hardware store and picked up for feet. Obviously I have a foot fetish! I love adding a little depth to anything!

I have a second similar box to show you tomorrow. The cold temperatures are keeping me in doors and hard at work on fun projects!

Happy Monday!

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Kitchen Angel from Across the Pond


Ohhhh I like having friends EVERYWHERE! ;-)

Check out my HAPPY MAIL from Jean! She flew over across the pond to hang in my kitchen right after Christmas!



She is hanging out right next to the grumpy girl in my rainbow tart pan. I like to think she's keeping her company!

And there is something really really cool going on with Daisy, Jean's grand baby girl.

She has been face timing with my Lexi!

They have been talking about school and what it's like to be there vs. being here.

It's like a digital pen pal and I am super excited for them!

I think eventually they will talk about the game they both play, but we'll let them chit chat about real stuff first!

Thanks Jean for being super cool and making me smile every time I spot that angel!

Hope you are having a great weekend, where ever you are!

Friday, January 24, 2014

Hershey Kiss Box for Sistah In Law

























Wee little treat box filled with pretty nail polish, lip gloss, and some chocolate!

My sister in law is one super lucky girl!

Well, almost as lucky as me! I had this super awesome Hershey Kiss Box file to play with from THE CUTTING CAFE. I had lots and lots of bling to use for the top!
























My sister in law sent me a cool birthday card with those glittery glasses so I cut them out.
























Added that tie dye ribbon I made the other day and tied a huge loopy bow.

Had a few Valentine's Day Bingo black and white print files from THE CUTTING CAFE left over so used them too!

Of course the top is metal embossed tape while the actual box is red glitter paper.

Nothing says cool like lots and lots of bling and chocolate!

Hope you love it, Jennifer!

Happy Friday!

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Artist Layout for ScrapFriends


































Recently I got this photo of my Grandma Skip in the mail. Well, actually I got it twice, once in a Christmas card and a second time in a thank you card, but who is counting! ;-)

Anyhow, since we had been talking about a recent trip my parents took to visit my Grandma, I thought I'd make a page of what they were excited about.

She has always been a painter as long as I've known her.

I mean, she's done other stuff to pay the bills, but she can do super cool things with oil paints and water color.

Recently she moved in with my Aunt Caryl and everyone has been encouraging her to take up the brush again!

I can imagine she might feel like I did when we moved. Very lost in the art department and wondering where to start!

Well, a sketch is always a nice jumping off point. I used this one from ScrapFriends for their January sketch challenge.


I won some 13 Arts Ayeeda Paints on the Facebook Once Upon A Sketch page the other day and decided to give them a try. Creamy pretty goodness!

I actually just dabbed on the paint and used a flat tool to smoooooooosh it around and mix up the paint a little.

You can see some of that lovely paint goodness sneaking out from under my wee banners which was an addition I made to the sketch.






























You can also see a feather I tucked in there! Goes along with my Lizzy Hill cut Grandma out style! ;-)

Happy Hump Day!

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Gold Beech Leaves
























I do like glitter & sparkle, but I also like to pair it up against natural elements and some neutral colors. Beech leaves turned out to work nicely for that. Here is the little display I created on top of my china cabinet for a wintery Valentine display. Of course, it's a bit empty, so no doubt some new creations will make their way up there.

These beech leaves didn't come cheap. ;-)

I told THE MAN I wanted some birch branches for my pink mercury glass vase. He thought getting dressed up in winter gear and taking a ride out back on the 4 Wheeler sounded like a great plan.

The birch trees are located across the creek which supposedly he had crossed the day before.

Yeah, you guessed it. We crossed and got hung up in the middle of the creek.

I offered to get off in hopes that the extra weight (oi! Feel like a fatty now!) would allow him to break lose.

Thankfully he has a degree in getting things unstuck and eventually he was back on the right side of the creek.

I however was still on the wrong side of the week. Good thing I was wearing my super stomping mud boots!

Tiptoed back across further upstream where the ice was still thick and gave up plans of birch branches.

Instead, opted for those pretty beech leaves!


































And one more photo at a funky artistic angle! I do have one birch branch in there for good measure!

Happy Tuesday!

Monday, January 20, 2014

Valentine Glitter Explosion Ornaments


































Was hanging around a big hardware store the other day and took a wander down through their clearance.

These Martha Stewart Glitter Explosion Ornaments were on sale.

You can't get within three feet of these without getting glitter on you.

THE MAN:  I can't wait until the house is glitter free.

Me:  Really? I will have been dead a year and you will have moved when that happens. (I was hoping to elicit sympathy as I was wiping glitter off my face)

THE MAN:  Really? You think that'd do it?

Anyhow, I thought they were beautiful and also cheap, which made them even lovelier.

So brought them home and went about changing them from Christmas to my favorite holiday of all.

Love love LOVE Valentine's Day.


































There were six ornaments included and I need cohesive decorations to really make these sparkle.

Started with that tie dye ribbon I made the other day. Hand rolled a mess of pink roses that I glimmered up with some mist. I was delighted to show case these awesome Valentine's Day Bingo black and white print files from THE CUTTING CAFE as a base for my roses!

They are adorable! I used multiple cards to spell out words like Sweet Heart! I printed them out on some fancy card stock that had water colors in pink and red. Easy peasy!


And so you can see them all at once hanging off my stocking holders!

Stocking holder really being the wrong term for these metal hooks since I leave them up year round and usually have some kind of art hanging off them!

Will show you a few more decorations this week! Happy Monday!

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Fun & Giggle Games Layout


































Christmas Day was pretty low key for us. We snacked, ate dinner, played some board games, and took a wander through the scrapbooks.

It was pleasant. The scrapbooking part I enjoyed the most.

I (ugh) hate playing Monopoly. I take HUGE risks in the hopes I'll lose all my money, but it never works. This game I took a nap in the middle and I was STILL in the game when I woke up!

The funny part about looking through scrapbooks is that the youngest was mad he wasn't in the first book we looked at. Since he born two years later, it made sense to us, but I think it started things off on the wrong foot for him! ;-)

Good thing we hadn't started with the wedding album! They both would have been mad.


































My favorite part of this page was using a black and white photo of Lexi's hands. She LOVES monopoly, plus usually has on those big funky bracelets so I figured featuring her would work the best. I also reused the back of a long strip sticker that had a pretty ruffled border that I glittered up. I was going for a winter look with a smidge of Christmas!


The little Prima flower clusters, sparkly leaves and owl makes me happy too!

Only a few more Christmas pages to make! Having a hard time getting into that mode when I have all this pretty Valentine's Day paper though!

Happy Thursday!


Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Tie Dye Ribbon Tutorial


























The other day I was cruising around Amazon and thought to look for seam binding.

Now I have run across plenty of seam binding but never the plain, simple, silky, easy crinkled kind. And not 100 yards for $7!

Oh the fun I can have with that!

So bought it and have been dying ribbon left and right!

So, I do not have many spritzes & mists. It's the same reason I do not have chips or cookies in the house. I WILL EAT THEM. No, I would not eat the mists, but I would use them ON simply everything. I love that stuff. So, I try to make myself use product I have already on hand.

Since years ago I was a consultant for stamping company and bought ever single stamp pad color they had...hence I have quite a few colors I can pick from. And since I am also not big into stamping these days, they need to be used or they will get dried up.

Let me show you a trick. ;-)

Use a stamp pad to dye with! If you look at the binding. you will see where I have swiped three different stamp pad numerous times. Some colors have mixed and made others.

It gets better though. Almost as good as a cookie.


I then add all the swiped binding to a coffee filter and spritz with alcohol or a clear mist. Or an almost empty white mist with alcohol added.


LOOK at the shimmery colors run!


And a little teaser of how the dried & dyed ribbon works with a vintage-type ornament I'm playing with!

Happy HUMP Day!

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

The $23.50 Leather Coat

Saturday is shopping day.

Basically with two small people who eat as much (or more?) than the big people in my family, I am reduced to shopping at least once a week.

There is a physical limit of how much food I can push around a grocery cart in a huge box store. 

This past Saturday was rainy. Like the kind of rain that soaks you in five minutes flat. 

I had a small list of chores and since the baby jeep is still gone due to a missing part that was unexpectedly delayed due to poor weather, I was driving THE MAN'S TRUCK. (big surprise on the bad weather thing)

First chore on the list was to drop off our used clothing.

We don't have a proper second hand clothing store. We have one that takes your stuff for free and resells it so someone can make a profit. And then we have another one that is churchy, but not in a way you understand.

Like it's called C.O.R.C for Christians Concerned about Something Or Other and very small, dingy, and on the scary side. 

Have I mentioned I hate cramped spaces?

Anyhow, I took five back alley ways to get to this store. Parked the beastly truck, wrestled large bag out of passenger side, threw my hood up against the rain and maneuvered through snow covered wet areas to the front of the store wishing someone had donated a shovel so things were a bit clearer. 

Bad parking is the second lovely feature of this store. 

After donating, I wandered around. This only takes five seconds, made longer from politeness. 

Only one person can physically occupy an aisle due to space constraints, so there is a lot of waiting while someone browses and then you can politely move around them. 

On my way out, there was a leather coat I thought might actually fit me AND I actually liked. I am perpetually surprised when something like that happens. Having nothing against something second hand, I just never find anything clothing wise. It was marked $20 CASH.
I asked nicely if that also meant checks since there was some long mumbo jumbo also written about certificates and all that jazz. 

She gave me a look like I was a dumb ass and said nothing.

I said hey, I think I want that coat, but I don't have any cash. Was hoping not to have to run back out in the rain to a bank and could I write a local check?

She said, no, cash meant cash. 

The other real second hand store that I frequent on a near weekly basis that raises money for the animal shelter takes cash, checks, credit card, or tells me to bring money next time I come. Not that I am comparing.....they just do not take used clothing. Once I mailed them a check as I was going on vacation and I had forgotten checks the last time. It's just that cool of a place. 

So head to second errand, dropping package off at Post Office which also happens to be across the street from a bank.

Banking is not my big thing. We don't have one here. We do have a bank, but honestly it's all electronic and physically located five hours away. This bank did have a cash machine so I ran across the street in the rain to grab some cash, dreading returning to the store. 

It cost me $3.50 in fees to get $20. I should have gotten more, but I was not thinking about tax. I was thinking about a jacket.

Back in the truck I pondered whether or not they charged tax on used clothing. It seemed kinda silly to charge tax on something that was already bought once, but what did I know. 

So I figured that I'd raid the change bag THE MAN keeps in the truck just in case. 

Drove back over to second hand store and starting looking for change bag. Realized belatedly that the change bag was gone, probably due to a recent dinner where we taught our kids how to play poker.

Yes we taught our kids how to play poker for money. It seemed like a life skill at the time and nobody wanted to google the rules for Go Fish. 

Decided to chance it and went back into the store.

Found a spare unoccupied spot where I could drape my large wet winter coat over a rack of clothing and try on  the leather jacket. Nothing is worse than cramping the girls with not enough space. Zipped jacket. Yes, lots of room for girls to move around. Hunted around for a mirror. Found one. Waited for person coming down the stairs to get past mirror so I could check it out. 

Decided it was a good purchase and went up to the counter. Took out $20 bill and waited.

Waited some more while lady discussed what so and so was going to do and blah blah blah. Got hot and grumpy in wet winter coat. Waited more. 

Finally she walked over and rang up the coat.

I was lacking .80 cents. I looked at her with my hairy eye balls and hateful grumpy ass hot self and said, it already cost me $3.50 to get this cash out at the bank. I do not HAVE .80 cents. 

She winced and stood her ground. I took my $20 and started to leave. 

Five shoppers in my proximity started digging through their purses because THAT IS WHERE I LIVE. We are nice all the time for the most part. And helpful. Unless we run a used clothing store and resemble a troll. 

I gave them the hairy eye ball too. This battle was between the owner and myself.

She said FINE. YOU ARE FINE.

I took my coat and ran like the hounds of hell were after me. 

I think I'll donate my clothing to the second hand store the next town up where I have not been marked as a bad-ass. I did notice later I was wearing my Orange County Chopper t-shirt my Father in Law bought me. It's possible I looked like some biker girl since I also had my hair pulled back which had also gotten damp from rain. Yup that is me. Riding my hog to second hand stores in the rain wearin' my hairy eye balls.

And by the way, the rainbow in my cloud? THE MAN who said, WOW, you got a great deal! A leather coat for $23.50!

Monday, January 13, 2014

Try To Be a Rainbow in Someone's Cloud: Rainbow from THE CUTTING CAFE


I had a lovely rainbow file to work with from THE CUTTING CAFE this weekend and a vision!

It's always nice when you have something that sparks your creativity!

Now, living up to what Maya Angelou is suggesting might be a wee bit harder for me! Perhaps I will tell you the story tomorrow. 

I had a couple of fun items I reused. One was the lovely scalloped tart pan from the second hand store that I spray painted gold. And the second were those gold butterfly wings. 

It was originally this huge gold clip butterfly that I took off a wreath earlier this winter and I despaired of ever using. Of course, that is generally the item you use first when you least expect it!

I am happy to report that for the most part, that entire pile of things below have been re-purposed! Some of it was shared with others too, which makes it nice!

Kinda like that soft scallopy lace sneaking in on the edge by my clouds. That is from Yvonne Yam

If you get a chance, hop over to THE CUTTING CAFE in the next couple of days and check out her digital files! One just might inspire!

P.S. Two people in my family asked me who the grumpy little girl was. And I said, oh some random photo I ran across in google images. They both gave me a LOOK like that was extremely dumb. I had a giggle. I thought she made my point. She needs a rainbow! Or perhaps a smaller hair bow. That was my oldest's theory. BAD HAIR DAY issues. 

Friday, January 10, 2014

The Kids Next Door Layout for Shirley


































Another page I made for the World's Best Neighbor, Shirley.

She wanted a photo of my kids because (yes I am very very bad, I did not make her a Christmas Card) so I made her a Christmas Page!

My favorite part is that dyed ribbon! I will have to show you my super awesome technique which is actually pretty simple on getting that tie dye look.

Had an extra ornament left over from THE CUTTING CAFE that I used for my very crazy title.


Also used some gold spray painted leaves from my second hand store wreath project. They made me really happy!

Happy Friday to you all!

Thursday, January 9, 2014

LESSology Key to My Heart Challenge




So the other day, I was cleaning off the top of my desk and ran across this bracelet I promised to fix for a friend.

It was ambitious of me to say I'd fix it when I wasn't sure really how to do the knotting that was involved. The beads however were very pretty with little diamonds and I did really want to get it back in one piece.

Of course, one cannot just simply fix a bracelet and not make a fancy-dancy little container for it!

It was re-used metal container to which I added a foot out of a huge reused glass bead, a Tim Holtz clock, and some washi tape to the side. Built up the top with various bits of metal and a pearl jewelry head pin.


Really love how pretty the silver, gold and copper all go together for this little container!  Below is another view of the layers I used. You can also see a bit of the embossed green metal I used to fill the empty gap in the top. The Yuletide Tim Holtz piece is my favorite. Love that word! Sounds so festive!

The reason I used so many mixed metals on my container is because the bracelet has many different kinds of metals! From a shiny silver, antique bronze, to some copper! It's really pretty!

I used a little key, the gem covered button that was previously used to keep the bracelet closed, a gem heart, and a little bead dangle!

The key is inspired by our latest challenge over at LESSology to use a key in your project!


And I am happy to report, she LOVED both the box and bracelet! Hoping you will play along! Fun times! 

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Bonus Tag #2 for Linda's Funkie Junkie Challenge


























Still have a bit o' Christmas up around the house. Just can't put it away quite yet! I am still enjoying my Altered Narnia Box, my 3-D Altered tree, and this gold shimmer candle stick! Never did get to show you the candle stick properly on my blog. 

Ran out of time!

I did just finish the very last gem for Linda's Funkie Junkie 12 Tags of Christmas Challenge. The sponsor of the challenge is her on-line totally awesome store The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

She gave us a bonus tag to play along with and I had to give it a try!

Here is her stunning example, so pretty and elegant!


Here is my gem, covered with some silver alcohol ink, with a very small sepia winter scene and a BANG POP snowflake with red gem. Ok, so the first two items were inspired by the card, the red gem was to make the whole thing pop!

I built it right on top of the jar so it would have some dimension. I like how all the gems are not all the same! 

Happy Hump Day peeps!

We are creeping towards the weekend! My wee baby jeep comes home Friday after quite a lot of body work due to my ice-ca-pades over the holidays. I am very excited to get her back! It has put quite a damper on my runs at lunch to the second hand store!