The Best Things Aren't Things

♥ ♥ ♥ WELCOME PRETTY LITTLE PEACOCKS ♥ ♥ ♥

Make sure to become a Follower

then Stop by the 300 Follower Giveaway TO ENTER TODAY

                       Good morning all you wonderful Pinquettes! Mary here with my project for the September Challenge: stamping and journaling. This is our 9th challenge and a really fun one. Since I have twin adults daughters who have birthdays in October, I really have to plan ahead, lol. They love my cards but also love the tags I have been creating.

      It is hard to see in the picture but I stamped it first with the phrase, then added an acetate tag overlay. The rose detail was a die cut with my Cricut to which I added some stickles. To finish it off I added an off white 3 Girl Jam ribbon. Did you know Jess carries this gorgeous crinkle ribbon in the Pinque Peacock Shop? You can purchase some HERE.
     I plan to slip this tag inside one of these cute little manila envelopes. Yup, they are also available in the SHOP. Take a look around and you'll find the Stickles (glitter glue) there as well.

     I plan to add some handmade cards in this recycled cigar box and include the card inside. Can you find the angel stick pin? I purchased the box at Michael's and painted it with black paint then used Beacon's laminate to "paste" the paper in place. I also used some Tim Holtz music tissue tape for a little interest. In my stash I found this metal accent that says "be an original". I find this amusing since, although my daughters are twins, they are both originals! These metal flowers I had just went perfectly.
     The angel stick pin is so fitting on this box. Have you tried these yet? They are my all time favorite Pinque Peacock product. They can get some at the Pinque Peacock Shop.

 
     I just had to show you the front of my box. While I try to destash some of my supplies,  I came across a strip of this soutache type braid and this lace bow. All I have left to do is make another box and fill both with cards. It's going to be a busy month!

     Now it's your turn to add your project to our challenge.

You can just let your creativity take you to any direction that it wants to go!

The theme is:

**STAMPING & JOURNALING**

On this challenge you can use any product that you want to use and create
anything you want and include Stamping and/or Journaling

RULES

1. You can create from and use any medium of your choosing: Paper, Fabric, Paint, Glitter, and More!... embellish however you like or want... must include stamping and/or jornaling on it!!!

The possibilities are ENDLESS!
So, use your imagination Peacocks!!!!

2. You can enter up to 3 separate projects, but must have a separate blog post for each.

3. LINK to the Pinque Peacock Challenge Blog in your post and YOU MUST be a Follower. (If you are entering via Facebook, first click the image on your page that coincides with your project. Then copy the URL in the address bar to use in the Linky Widget here for your Challenge Entry. After inputting your name, please remember to put FB after your name. You will be required to share a link to our Challenge Blog somewhere on your FB page and tag Pinque Peacock in the post as well. This will help us to verify you have followed the rules :) )

4. If you have used any Pinque Peacock Products on your Project, and you link to those products in the shop somewhere in your Blog Post or FB share, you will receive an EXTRA ENTRY into the prize drawing. Just enter your name in the Linky Widget below with the word PINQUE next to your name.

5. Your project must be something you created after the start date of this challenge. No back-linking to prior blog posts or projects will be permitted.

6. If selected a winner, you will have ONE WEEK to respond and claim your prize

Any entries not meeting these guidelines will not be considered in the Prize Drawing.

Be sure to peek in throughout the duration of the challenge, because we will be sharing more inspirational photos and tips to help get your Creative Mojo in HIGH GEAR!!!!

You will have until August 31st to create and join us!

There will be TWO (2) Prize Giveaways.

One randomly selected challenge participant, will win a

$5 Gift Certificate to the Pinque Peacock Shop.

*must be used towards Handmade Products ONLY and cannont be applied towards Shipping Costs*

A second winner will be selected by a closed voting session among the Pinquettes and will win a
$10 Gift Certificate to the Pinque Peacock Shop.

*must be used towards Handmade Products ONLY and cannont be applied towards Shipping Costs*

We are looking forward to seeing all of your beautiful PROJECTS and encourage you to tell all of your friends to join in the fun, too!!!!
CRAFTY LOVE

&

PEACOCK HUGS

The Quirky Queen and her Beloved Pinquettes

                                                                    ***********

Wine Plaque Mixed Media

     Hello fellow crafters!!!! I am so excited to be a Cricut Diva! That's right, I am now a member of the CricutDiva DT. For my first post I thought I would share with you a project I submitted as an example of my work for the application process in order to be  considered for the team. I love mixed media and have taken many online course so this is a favorite of mine. Our goal is to show you what you can do with your Cricut and the versatility of projects you can make with them.

     This project used 3 cartridges. I used: Word Collage, Celebrate With Flourish, French Manor and, as an extra bonus, Mini Monograms. Let's get started since I have a wealth of detail to share with you, lol.

     Let's start with this picture. I used an 8" x 10" canvas board and painted with Martha Stewarts Satin cream paint. It is hard to see in the pic but I also inked the edges of the frame with Antique Linen distress ink. I then cut the wine words from Word Collage using the wine section. This was all cut @ 6" with vinyl. I have a confession to make. This is not the original I started with! At first I tried a stretched canvas that I painted a wine color and was going to paint over the vinyl with the cream. Hint: not a good idea to start with a dark base if you plan to go over with a lighter color!

     I was satisfied with how this was proceeding but wanted to add some corners to the canvas. This is where French Manor comes in. I am not sure if the image on page 63 were glasses or not, but for this plaque, let's just pretend they are! I cut the Border+shift key and cut them @ 1.25" times 4 for all the corners.

     I have this wonderful stamp that I love and thought the Steam Punk look just fit in so well here. This is an Inkadinkado stamp that I used Archival Brilliance Coffee Bean to stamp with. I also had this wonderful braided cording that went fabulous with this project. Now what to do for the hands of the clock?

     Did you know that French Manor has a clock face with hands image? Well it does. It is on page 31 under Layer. I used my gypsy and moved the clock image off the mat so all I would cut is the clock hands @ 1". How cool is that, lol. Now on to my main image: the wine bottle and glasses.

     I bet you were wondering why I placed the word collage off to the side, well, here is why. I wanted to use this wine bottle and glasses as my focal point. The die cut is from Celebrate With Flourish and I cut it at 8.65" x 9.35". I used the main image as well as the shadow feature. All the edges were inked with Aged Mahogany and also sprayed with Glimmer Mist Brick and Fern. I also used some Gold Stickles to add a touch of class!

     I wanted a more realistic look to the glasses so I cut them separately out of Graffix clear plastic. I know it can be difficult to use the plastic or acetate without having the glue show so, I'll share my secret with you. I used a glue dot in the center of the glass which I knew I would cover with a Monogram. The stems were adhered with Glossy accents. If you have a spot that you are not happy with, no problem. I truly believe Stickles were made to hide mistakes!!!

     The little monogram circles were cut @ .75" from Mini Monograms. I also found a small cork in my stash so I just inked it up with some Aged Mahogany.

     If you remember in the first pic, I had glued a piece of fabric to the bottom part of the canvas. When I had laid everything out, it looked odd to me that the bottle was "just There". By adding the fabric, it gives the impression that it is resting on the table. The grapes are left over from small wine favors we used for one of my daughters weddings. Yes, I do have quite the collection of supplies! Before I show you the completed project I just wanted to show you the back. Why you ask? I like to show how everything should be finished off for a professional look.

     I had used Zutter rivets to secure my ribbon but didn't like the look of the rivets or ribbon ends showing. All you have to do is cut a piece of brown paper or card stock, a little smaller than the completed projects. Add a bead of glue around the edges (I use Arlene's Quick Tack) and then lightly mist with water. As it dries it lays taut and gives a nice finished look.

     I hope you have been inspired to use your cartridges for out of the box embellishments. If you have learn a little (or a lot, lol) I would love if you became a follower as well as leave a comment. I read each and every one of them and it always makes me smile!

  

     

I'll Always Have A Helping Hand.

          I always wanted to try printing on fabric, so when this was one of the lessons in the mixed media class, I knew this was the class for me. I am in the process of redoing our youngest son Steve's room with a nautical theme.
     There is 15 years 4 days difference between our oldest and youngest. Mike was going away to college and Steve was entering nursery school, lol. The photo was taken on Cape Cod while the 2  brothers were climbing on rocks. Steve (the younger one) was very nervous, so his big brother (Mike) reached out his hands and coaxed him up. The colors were just perfect for what I was looking for.
     I printed out the perfect sentiment: "I'll always be there with a helping hand." The solid light blue color is from a pair of my favorite capris. They were so worn I really had to replace them but couldn't bring myself to throw them away. They were so comfy. Glad I saved them because they were just the right color.
     Next I went through my buttons and found these that have a greyish tone with a black stripe in them. They go perfect with the rocks in the photo.
     I finished the edges with some French Knots with a darning cotton to add a little dimension to the piece. I really love how this turned out (as well as my sons, lol). Steve graduates college in another month AND has a job( as well as a cute girl friend!). Mike is married, lives in Florida, has a lovely wife and 2 wonderful children, Alexis and Nicholas. He also owns his own company. I'm sure this will become a conversation piece in this bedroom as well as making me smile every time I walk by.

USMC

     As you can tell, I am exploring new techniques (again!). My latest venture is my favorite place to take on line classes: My Creative Classroom. This is a class exploring mixed media with Shirley Pando. This second lesson is using paper on canvas and can I just say I Love It!!!
     I find it hard to come up with projects for men but somehow, this just seemed to come to me. One of my daughters lives in Hawaii on the Marine base with her husband. I also have a nephew who was in the Marines and my nieces husband also serves our country.I had made an album a while ago and this was paper I had leftover. I won't bore you with the details of the background but would like to share the embellishments and some of the meaning behind them.

     First, the metal tag I found @ Michaels in the clearance bin. It is engraved with wonderful words that I feel exemplify a Marine: courage, honor, hope, loyalty, unity, kindness, truth, charity and passion. Across the top in the right hand corner are 4 small circle tags that say "U S M C". These are tied together with thread that symbolize the bond they have for their "brothers" and fellow Marines. They are from the Tim Holtz collection but the letters are some stickers I had.
     The center image is from Tim Holtz seasonal stack and it features an eagle and the stars and stripes. I laminated this with glossy accents. The furthest image is also from Tim H and says "the world". I used his fragments acrylic tag and used a gold marker on the edge to add some dimension. This highlights that these men go anywhere in the world that are called upon to serve.

     I added a strip of the map across the bottom and added the United States Marine Corp sticker. When Chris and Andy got married we had black candy boxes with Lindt chocolates inside as favors for the men at the wedding reception. The top of the boxes had this emblem on top. As a side note, when they married he wore a tux and not the dress uniform. He said "You are marrying me, not the marines!" I love that he is such an individual. He loves his job but is also his own person.
     Finally, my daughter shared this quote with me: "Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem."
     The far right corner has a double stamped star with Stazon ink. I also had some Tim Holtz metal corners that I used and added a burgundy grosgrain ribbon around the outside edge. One suggestion from Shirley was to try upholstery nails along the edge. I added these last to symbolize that these dedicated service men can be tough as nails! Thanks to all the Marines for keeping us safe and allowing us to do what we do best.

I Love Sewing!

     My Creative Classroom is where I take a lot of classes and this is just the latest: Mixed Media. I have always wanted to learn the principles of this art form ( and use up some scraps!). I love detail so this was a project where I could really let myself go!
     First I started with a scrap of tapestry fabric, some coordinating fabric, some buttons and some lace when it hit me, why not do something for the sewing area of my craft room? I pulled out a zipper, some floss and embroidery yarn ( a project that has long gone by the way side!) and a vintage button. 
     After I fringed the edges of the tapestry I laid out my scrap fabrics and fused them onto the tapestry. Next i did some decorative stitches by hand before I added the zipper.
     The image is from Tim Holtz which I added some Rangers Glossy accents to before gluing it to card stock and fabric. I have so many letter beads that I decided to spell out "sewing" and added pearl beads in between the letters to soften the look.
     The pin with the thread and scissors was a gift years ago for my sister-in law since we both share a love of sewing. I made a ribbon hanger that I glued to a piece of card board and then glued the two together for some stability. This looks so good in the sewing area of my craft room!