How to make a Holly Jolly Flip Album…

November 11, 2015October 26, 2016Leave a comment

I wanted to share with you today one of my favorite projects from my Holiday Workshop

last Saturday. It is the “Holly Jolly Flip Album” using paper from Canvas Corp Brands

Farmhouse Christmas Collection and a 5″ x 7″ Black Acrylic Frame from Deflecto Craft Solutions.

It’s a fairly simple project and the ladies were able to complete the album in just a couple of hours.

Holly Jolly Flip Album

Here’s the complete supply list:

Deflecto Craft Frame, Black Border, 5 x 7 Inches (69575CR)
Canvas Corp Brands Binding Rings-Medium: Antique Brass
Canvas Corp Brands CCP2915 Better Not Pout Tags on Kraft 12 x 12 paper
Canvas Corp Brands CCP2914 Red & Black Stitched Diamonds on Kraft 12 x 12 paper
Canvas Corp Brands CCP2370 Red & Kraft Ribbon Stripe 12 x 12 paper
Canvas Corp Brands CCP2913 Farmhouse Christmas Patchwork on Kraft 12 x 12 paper
Canvas Corp Brands CCP2912 Snowflakes on Kraft Reverse 12 x 12 paper
Canvas Corp Brands CCP2722 Kraft Damask 12 x 12 paper
Canvas Corp Brands Optical Lens: Antique Brass
Canvas Corp Brands Fluted Corrugated Paper: Black, Kraft
Canvas Corp Brands Trims: Red Waxed Cotton Cord, Jute Cord Natural Twine
Canvas Corp Brands 17960 Tickets: Journal
Canvas Corp Brands Mini Kraft Bags
Red and Black Cardstock
Offray Charade Metallic Craft Ribbon, 5/8-Inch Wide by 25-Yard Spool, Gold
Decorative Trimmings 01317-003 Trim Aztec Gold
Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L 01617 Thin 3D Foam Squares Mix-Black
We R Memory Keepers Eyelets Cool Metal
Drill
We R Memory Keepers Crop-A-Dile Eyelet and Snap Punch, Blue Handle
1 11/16” Hole Punch
Paper Cutter
Double Stick Tape Runner
Craft Glue
Beacon Adhesives Fabri-Tac
Ruler
Jump Ring

Directions:

Mark and measure hole placement on black acrylic frame.
Drill 3/8” holes into frame.
Cut a 7” x 9” piece of Red & Kraft Ribbon Stripe paper and insert into frame.
Album Cover: Cut the “Holly Jolly Christmas” section from the Better Not Pout Tags on Kraft. Layer it onto black cardstock, kraft corrugated paper and then another back cardstock layer.
Cut a 4 3/4” x 6 3/4” piece of Red & Black Stitched Diamonds and adhere it onto a piece of 5” x 7” Red Cardstock layer. Add a 3/4” x 4 3/4” strip of Red & Kraft Ribbon Stripe. Adhere “Holly Jolly” layers onto the Red & Black Stitched Diamonds.
Punch a 1 11/16” circle from the Better Not Pout Tags and glue onto the back of the Optical lens by adding craft glue along the outside edges of the lens. Add jump ring to Optical Lens.
Mark and measure holes to line up with black acrylic frame on the Album Cover and punch holes. Add eyelets to holes with the Crop-a-dile.
Tie a piece of gold ribbon around the front of the album cover.
Cut several pieces of black 5” x 7” cardstock layers to use as the pages of the album. Decorate album pages using additional scrapbook paper layers, strips, flips, pockets, trim, cords, tickets and mini bags.
Align, measure and punch holes in the top of the album pages.
Add album cover and pages to the black acrylic frame using medium book rings. Add Optical lens to ring.
Embellish the stand by adding gold decorative trim with Fabri-Tac glue.

“This is a sponsored post. As a member of the Deflecto Design Team I have been provided product in exchange for my creative ideas, views and opinions.”

How to make a Frosted Pinecone Wreath

October 26, 2015August 6, 20211 Comment

Autumn has come to the Midwest bringing with it crisp air and colorful leaves.

I’ve even given up my flip flops for socks and shoes…

I like Autumn.

Really I do. (If only it’d turn right back into Summer.)

Now that I’ve given up on Summer, I thought I’d better start with my Fall Decorations.

I like making projects that serve more than one purpose.

Like this Pinecone wreath. After I’m done with my Fall Decorations…

I plan on adding red berries and re-making it into a Christmas Wreath.

How to Make a Frosted Pine Cone Wreath…

You’ll need:

14″ Smoothfoam Wreath
Assortment of Pinecones
White Spray Paint
Craft Moss
Craft Glue
Hot Melt Gun and Glue
Ribbon and Raffia
Thin Wire

Directions:

Gather an assortment of various sizes of pinecones.
Spray one side of the pinecones with white spray paint.
Glue Moss onto Smoothfoam Wreath. (leave the outside of the wreath bare)
Hot Glue and wire larger pinecones onto the wreath first.
Fill in the Wreath with the smaller pinecones.
Tie Ribbon around the outside of the wreath.
Add raffia bow.

*Disclaimer: This post uses ads and affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase using one of the links, I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) that helps offset the costs of maintaining this blog. Thanks for your support!

This project was created for and sponsored by Smoothfoam.

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Design Challenge with Little B…

October 21, 2015October 22, 201514 Comments

I played a little hooky from all the projects on my never ending “To Do” list…

and did a little card-making (just for fun). Thanks in part to a wonderful box of goodies

that I received from the good people at Little B LLC, the sponsor of this month’s

Designer Craft Connection’s Manufacturer Challenge.

(make sure to check out the great giveaway prize at the bottom of this post)

My Butterfly Card uses mini dimensional butterflies from Little B

and scrapbook paper from Graphic 45’s Rare Oddities Collection.

To create the division between the butterflies,

I used a really thin Black and White Striped Decorative Tape

This Simple little card uses all kinds of Little B goodies.

Directions:

Using the Lace Doily Punch, punch both sides of a white cardstock layer. (Approx. 4 1/4″ x 5 1/4″)
Add Gold Foil Hearts and Gold Foil Toile tapes to the center of the punched cardstock.
Add a thin strip of Gold Foil Love on top of the seem between the two previous tapes.
Layer white cardstock onto a piece of gold cardstock and adhere to a white card base.
Using three of the smaller layering heart dies, cut and emboss a small heart frame.
Adhere the heart frame onto the bottom right corner of the card.
Using a small Wedding bouquet from the Bride and Groom stickers, stick bouquet onto the center of the heart frame.
Tie white sheer ribbon around top of the card.

Finished Card Size: 4 1/2″ x 5 3/4″

♥ Thank You Little B LLC for generously providing the dies, punches, dimensional stickers,

and decorative tapes used on these cards. (You are awesome!)

Little B LLC is so awesome they’re giving away this prize package to one lucky winner.

To enter to win leave a comment on this post and/on the other designers’ blogs

and “like” the Little B LLC Facebook page… that’s all there is to it.

The more you comment the better your chances are to win! Open to residents of US and Canada only.

Contest ends 10-29-15.

Check out the Designer Craft Connection Blog for participating Designer projects.

Making a Playhouse Banner with oly*fun

September 23, 2015Leave a comment

My grandson Nicholas is celebrating his 5th birthday in just a few days. (but who’s counting?)

He’s having two parties this Saturday. One for the kids and the other for family.

Such a lucky little guy. (Born on his Daddy’s birthday.)

Since the family party is at his house, I had an idea to make a bright colorful banner to decorate

the new playhouse.

I had recently received a selection of oly*fun to work with and thought it would be perfect to use.

It was super easy to put together.

What exactly IS oly*fun?

oly*fun is a specially engineered material that features some of the best things about fabrics AND

papers. Easy to cut or die-cut and it will not fray. It is great for outdoors

Here’s what I used:

oly*fun: Orange Crush, Jet Black and Kiwi
Versatile Checks 12″ x 12″ Stencil (Deco Art)
Black Acrylic Paint
Stencil Brush
Circle Die Cut
Twine
Beacon Fabri-Tac Permanent Adhesive, 4-Ounce
Tiny Stapler

Directions:

Stencil the check pattern using the black acrylic paint on the orange oly*fun.
Create a banner pattern on cardstock.
Cut out the banner pattern and trace onto the stenciled oly*fun.
Trace and cut several banners out of the black and green oly*fun.
Cut strips and circles to decorate the banners. Glue onto banner with Fabri Tac Glue.
Fold top of the banner and staple onto the piece of twine.
Tie the banner onto the top of the playhouse and watch the kids play.

A Special Thanks to Fairfield World for generously providing the oly*fun for this project.

Merry Album

September 22, 2015September 20, 2016Leave a comment

Is it too early to start thinking about Christmas?

I bought this “Merry” Album from October Afternoon with hopes of using it during

my Annual Christmas Workshop.
To decorate my album:

I painted the chipboard with red acrylic paint.
After the album dried, I splattered it with white acrylic paint using an old toothbrush.
I added an extra 5″ x 7″ page of green cardstock behind the cover to make the word “merry” stand out.
I decorated the album with paper and stickers from Graphic 45’s “Twas the Night before Christmas” Collection.
Tie it off with some gingham ribbon, jingle bell and greenery.

Creating a Garden Stepping Stone

September 17, 2015April 7, 202010 Comments

Every one in my family thinks of me when they see Red Toile dishes.

It’s my thing. (one can never have too many right?)

So… when my daughter saw a set of Red Toile dishes on clearance for $25 at her local thrift store

she immediately called me to see if I wanted them. (um, yes!)

While packing the car for their visit home, my son in law picked up the box to rearrange the car

and the bottom fell out. Most of the dishes survived. Five of the large plates did not.

Deciding to turn lemons into Lemonade…

I kept the broken plates to make a few garden stones.

I enlisted the help of my little buddy. He was eager to lend a hand. (with gloves of course)

Creating a Garden Stepping Stone:

Cover the sides and bottom of an old cake pan with Petroleum Jelly for easy removal.
Arrange the pieces of the broke china pattern side down in the bottom of the pan. Make sure to use the flattest pieces.
Add glass stones in between the pieces for added color and interest.

Mix a quick setting cement according to the directions on the package.
Fill pan with cement approx. an 1″ thick.
Shake pan a little to fill in the gaps and smooth.
Allow a couple hours for the stones to set.
Remove stepping stones from the pans and clean excess cement from the top of the stones with a stiff wire brush and water.
Allow a few days for the cement to cure before sitting outside in your garden.

*Disclaimer: This blog uses ads and affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase using one of the links, I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) that helps offset the costs of maintaining this blog. Thanks for your support.

Any content on this website is created for inspiration purposed only. Creating with my suggested methods, products used, and tools is under your own risk.

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The Very Hungry Caterpillar

August 31, 2015October 9, 20151 Comment

Have you read the story of the little caterpillar that ate and ate and ate?

And then turned into a beautiful butterfly? (spoiler alert)

My project was based off the book The Very Hungry Caterpillarby Eric Carle.

Here’s what you’ll need to make the Caterpillar:

Six- 2″ Smoothfoam Balls
Sanding Block or Very Fine Sanding Paper
Deco Art Americana Acrylic Paint: Olive Green, Sea Aqua, Watermelon Slice, Marigold, Brown
Paint Brushes
Bamboo Skewers
White Craft Glue
Craft Knife
Mod Podge

Directions:

Lightly Sand the ridge around the middle of the Smoothfoam ball.
To help the caterpillar sit and not roll. Cut a slightly flat side in two of the balls. Use them as your first and last green balls.
Paint five balls with Olive Green and Sea Aqua acrylic paint. For added dimension, stipple or sponge the opposite color on the balls.
Paint the last ball with the Watermelon Slice acrylic paint. Add a cute little face.
Cut a bamboo skewer into 1″ pieces. Connect the balls together using the skewers and white craft glue.
Cut the tip off of two skewers and paint brown. Insert into the top of the caterpillar’s head.
Paint a coat of mod podge to seal the paint and give a shiny finish.

Disclaimer: This project was created for and sponsored by Smoothfoam.

How to Etch a Mason Jar…

August 29, 2015June 7, 2018Leave a comment

I love the look of daisies in old blue canning jars. It just says summertime.

It’s simple, beautiful and it makes me happy.

I recently got the opportunity to work with a new product, etching crème from Etchall®.

While looking around for something to etch, I noticed the daisies sitting on the table.

Hmmm…Wouldn’t that look great with a etched flower and a greeting?

It’s a super simple project. (just how I like it)

Here’s what you’ll need: (*affiliate link)

Directions:

Clean jar to remove all dirt, fingerprints and oil. Dry with a coffee filter, paper towel, or lint-free cloth.
Apply Stencils to jar. Burnish the edges of the stencil. You’ll want to make sure no edges are coming up.
Mask around the stencil with removable painters tape for extra surface protection.
Apply a heavy coat of etchall® etching crème to the masked area of the stencil.
Leave etching crème on design for 15 minutes. After etching time has elapsed, use the squeegee to return the crème back into the original container for later re-use.
Rinse etched surface with hot water to remove any remaining crème. Remember to keep crème away from porcelain sinks or ceramic tiles.

Step #2 Step #3 Step #4

The etched flower looks subtle against the water in the blue jar.

“This is a sponsored post. As a member of the Etchall Design Team I have been provided product and compensation in exchange for my creative ideas. The views and opinions are my own.”

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Colorful Chalkboard Frame for Kids and grownups

August 23, 2015May 27, 2017Leave a comment

A simple paint and stencil project, fun for kids or grown ups.

I decided to finish painting this colorful Rustic Pallet Frame* that I started working on

yesterday evening. As the name suggests, the frame is rustic and somewhat rough.

Because I was planning on stenciling on it… I sanded the front of the frame to make it smoother.

I wasn’t worried about making it completely smooth.

The Colorful Chalkboard Frame would be a great project to make with the kiddos.

Directions to make the Colorful Chalkboard Frame:

Sand the front of the frame.
Paint the frame with white acrylic paint.
Paint the top of each pallet section with different acrylic colors. Sort of a modified rainbow.
Because the stencil had four unique patterns, I decided each color needed its own pattern.
Mask off each section of the wood before stenciling.
Stencil using a stipple brush and white acrylic paint.
Allow to dry completely
To mute to colors: Lightly sand the frame with a sanding block. (optional)
For an added sheen: Apply clear crème wax to front of frame, allow to sit for one hour and buff.
I added a small chalkboard to the inside of the frame.

Supplies Used: (*affiliate link)

Walnut Hollow Rustic Pallet Frame, 11 by 12 by 2-Inch*
DecoArt Americana Mixed Media Stencil, 12 by 12-Inch, Retro Mod*
Deco Art American Acrylic Paints: White Wash, Watermelon Slice, Marigold, Foliage Green, French Grey Blue
Paintbrush
Americana Creme Wax 2Oz-Clear*
Sanding Block
Clean soft cloth
Small Chalkboard

*Thanks to Walnut Hollow and DecoArt for providing the materials used on this frame.

For more Summer fun with the kids…click on SIime Ad below.

Disclaimer: This blog uses ads and affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase using one of the links, I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) that helps offset the costs of maintaining this blog. Thanks for your support!

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