By The Sea

     I'm back!!! So I told you I have been busy with projects. I'm still working on the spare bedroom ( you know, the nautical themed one). I decided to make a wall plaque using a variety of techniques I have learned from my classes @ My Creative Classroom.
     The shape is from Donna Salazar's Creative Book Pages template from Spellbinders. I used Zutters corrugated card board for the base and used Donna's technique using white opaque ink and some white embossing powder. This gives such a cool effect!
      The stamp in from Inkadinkado ( I incorrectly identified this stamp in a previous post). If you want to see the color combos I used with copic markers just check out the post for the Graduate card.
     The tag is a shipping label that I used smooch spritz on and then used Beacons liquid laminate  to attach the quotes from K & Company Sea stack.I made a little pocket out of craft cork that I backed with card stock to give it a little stability. I also found these fish brads hanging around in my brad drawer just waiting to be used, lol.
     I dug into my treasure trove of embellies and found this metal art that says "Best of Times" and a small one in the corner that says " remember". The top of the tag is finished with some cotton cording and a small silver seashell charm.
     I always love to incorporate something of meaning into my art work and this piece is no exception. Do you see the seashell I used for the hanger? This is from a door tag that was on our hotel room door when we visited Hawaii back in the '90's! How this inspires you a little.

Happy Fathers' Day!

     I hope all the dad's out there had a great day. This is the dessert I made for the guys we were happy enough to see today. It's a scratch recipe with cinnamon, chocolate chips, walnuts and cheery pie filling, yum! To dress it up I had these flags that I bought several years ago. They are originally for the 4th of July so I just added some rub ons with the "Happy Fathers' Day. Because this cake doesn't need frosting I still wanted to dress it up a bit so I made some chocolate covered strawberries. They really added a nice touch I think.
     I have been taking a lot of pictures with my new camera but haven't had a chance to do much with them. I also have Tim Holtz film strip that I haven't used so an inspiration hit ( at 11:30 pm I do my best work then, lol).

     This is what I came up with. I decided to use the pictures as a film strip and put them on a tag. I know not many guys save cards they receive but, honestly, who could throw this tag away?

     I spritzed the tag with Clearsnaps Spun Sugar spritz and tied the tag with the tag string and added a silver fish charm.

     I came up with this pocket card so the shipping tag fits right inside. I love my Bind It All so I thought it would be great to add some lacing to the side and added a distrezzed tag to the front. I got a deal on Rub Ons from My Sentiments Exactly and they had a lot of Fathers' Day sentiments. Needless to say they loved them.
     My own dad passed away suddenly 34 years ago but I still remember one incident vividly. I was in 5th grade and was devastated to learn I needed eye glasses. The day I got them I was so upset I refused to wear them. I was sitting on our back steps when my father quietly sat down beside me and asked me to tell him what I saw at the end of our yard. I told him there were bushes just a lot of bushes. He then asked me to put my glasses on, just for a minute. Of course I grudgingly obliged. He then said they looked very nice. Why not tell him about those bushes? To my amazement they were not bushes at all but trees. They were huge trees!
I learned right then and there that this was a very wise man sitting beside me. Love you always dad.



    

Mini Dance Album

     Finally, they are done! This is the first time I used the mini Your Story by ProvoCraft and I have to say I love the look! These did seem to take quite a bit of time since I played with all the embellishments but the outcome was well worth it.This post is rather pic heavy but thought I'd share the outcome

     This was a fabulous way to use up scraps! Don't forget to leave a comment, I'd  love to hear from you!

I Love Bling

Ok so I haven't been hiding honest! I have been busy doing all kinds of things. Finishing up some on line classes. ( I still have techniques to finish learning). I also had to take a break in order to make some jewelry for Fran's customer appreciation day. (I felt the women were as tired of tools as I am. These are so much fun to make and way cheaper than the European style bracelets! I love adding crystal elements for that touch of glitz. I do have some listed on my Etsy store if you'd care to take a peak.

Bathing suit charm

Sea Shell charm

Little White Purse

High heels

Who loves you

Turtle and dolphin

Shrinky Dinks Meets Cricut!

    
   Remember making Shrinky Dinks? I do! Thanks to Shirley at Okieladybugs Scrap N More she peaked my lost interest in this fun craft. I was able to find packs of shrinky dink material @ my local Michaels and just HAD to try it with my cricut. I used a variety of carts including Indie Art and Everyday Paper Dolls.
     I knew you could use colored pencils but this was a variety pack and the material I used allowed you to use Copic markers or any permanent marker. The pack also included black material which made making the spider web real easy.

   Since I have sooooo many craft items, I decided to turn these into charms using some crystals and beads I had hanging around. They are actually so light they would make awesome earrings or even necklaces.
    I decided to make a Halloween mini book while I was at it. (Guess I have my mojo working, lol). Anyways the following pics really don"t need much explanation except maybe the one with the tag. I really got my moneys worth out of the Alcohol ink class. You can make anything to match your project I love it. This album is for sale in my etsy store if anyone is interested. Oh and the black and silver paper? That was another goodie in the mystery box I bought from My Favorite Things back in March!!!