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.

Post It Note Holder

October 17, 2015October 15, 20151 Comment

Do you like Post It Notes? (I mean really like them.)

Are you one of those people that have post it notes stuck all over the place?

I stick notes in my planner, on my calendar, on the cabinet doors in my office, on the door leading out

to the garage and sometimes even on my lists. (it can be a problem)

So… it should come to no surprise that this is one of my favorite quick and easy projects to make.

Simple to Make. Easy to Personalize. Makes a Great Gift. (what’s not to love?)

Here’s what I used:

4″ x 6″ Clear Acrylic Frame
a couple sheets of decorative scrapbook paper
3″ x 3″ Sticky Notes
18″ Ribbon
Paper Flower
Paper Cutter
Scissors
Craft Glue

Directions:

Cut a piece of scrapbook paper 4″ x 6″.
Cut a small strip of a coordinating scrapbook paper 3/4″ x 4″. Adhere the strip to the bottom of the 4″ x 6″ paper.
Insert paper into the clear acrylic frame.
Tie ribbon around the top of the frame and trim ends.
Glue small paper flower to bottom right corner of the frame.
Add post it notes to front of the frame.

Etching for Fall

October 15, 2015September 24, 2017Leave a comment

I picked up this very old bottle at a yard sale…

The story with this bottle is that the guy bought a collection of old medicine bottles from the

early 1900’s that came from the old Bartonville State Mental Hospital.

If your not from around here, rumor is, the old State Hospital is haunted.

I believe the show “Ghost Hunters” did an episode there.

So… that and the fact that it was only $2.00 had me intrigued.

The old bottle was in rough shape.

When I tried removing the cork, it pretty much disintegrated on the spot.

To breath new life into the old bottle…

I masked the top and the bottom of the bottle with removable painters tape and added

a thick coat of etchall Etching Creme*. (*affiliate link)

After waiting 15 minutes, I removed the excess etching crème and put the excess back

in the container. I rinsed the bottle with warm water and let dry.

(make sure to read the instructions on the bottle of etching crème.)

To give the bottle a little Fall color…

I used a StazOn Ink Pad, Orange Zest* and rubbed the ink over the bottle.

The ink only adheres to the etched area.

To finish the look, I added a rub-on decoration to the front of the bottle with

a little raffia and key around the neck.

A new look for a very old bottle.

This project was created for and sponsored by Etchall®.

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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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.

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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Shoot for your Goals

September 9, 2015October 9, 20151 Comment

This is one of my favorite Soccer pictures of Nicholas taken by his daddy last Spring.

Today was a big day for Nicholas…

First Day of Pre-School

First Day in a new Dance Class and…

First Soccer Game of the Fall Season.

He’s one pretty busy boy.

I made my Soccer Frame for my Deflecto Design Team Project using:

Deflecto Beveled Frame, Metal Knobs, 5 x 7 Inches (799593CR)*

Kaisercraft’s Game On Collection P1496 First Place

*Disclosure: I am a Amazon Affiliate.

“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.”

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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Crafting with Office Supplies

August 27, 2015May 17, 201710 Comments

When you think of crafting do you ever think office supplies?

Would you believe…

the “be happy” sign, which is now sitting happily on my fireplace mantel,

started out as a office name plate holder

A few stickers, chipboard letters, washi tape and voila a happy little reminder.

There are surfaces everywhere just waiting to be embellished.

Name plate 2

Deflecto Interior Image Sign Holder, 8.5 x 2 Inches, Nameplate (89105) (affiliate link)

“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.”

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