Cracked Glass Technique

       
Hi all! Well I've been super busy and haven't had a chance to add to my blog lately, but, have no fear I'm back,lol. There are so many fabulous techniques out there to try but this one really peaked my interest.I really wanted to do this challenge at Just Us Girls 50. (I had intended to do the sketch challenge as well but ran out of time!!) At any rate This cracked glass technique was so much fun I'm glad I chose this one.

     First you stamp your image ( I love Christmas so this one is perfect). I used memento ink since I was going to use some copic markers to color the image in. The image is then cut using a nestabilities square scallop. Once that is done the real fun begins. I used an embossing pad and utee embossing powder and my trusty heat gun. You let it cool ever so slightly and then repeat adding the utee until you have your desired finish. Here comes the cool part: you put it in the freezer for a minute or two and then take it out and crack it! The designers at Splitcoast Stampers came up with this.When you have your desired effect you work some distress ink into the cracks.
     To complete the card I added some epoxy flowers to the lower corners ( of course I had to add extra bling for the centers) and also added some ribbon and rhinestones to the top corners as well. Since the image is so darn cute I mounted the square with pop dots. I love the vintage look of this card. Not bad for my first try. I'm sure I will perfect this with a little more practice.
     There are also new classes up at My Creative Classroom which of course I signed up for 2 so far. Off to do my home work for both of Donna Salazar's classes (I'm falling behind already, lol!)

New Coloring Cards Book

   Ok I am beyond excited right now. I was blog hopping and found out about this fabulous book that was just released and its all about techniques for card making. I am awe struck at how talented these ladies are. They all have one to multiple cards included in the book with instructions. Anyways, the book was just published so I left comments on each of these fabulous artists blogs and was chosen from Trudy's blog to receive  a copy. She has 5 cards included in the book!!! I've included the link to her blog and hope you have a chance to checkout some of the other designers as well, they truly are inspiring! http://truesgiftsfromtheheart.blogspot.com

Tinkerbell!!!

     Happy 4th Birthday Mia! This cutie grand daughter of mine is such a girlie girl! Of course she would want a fairy party. Cricut and Mema to the rescue, lol. I feel so proud of myself going green. I had saved some Yankee Candle containers so decided to turn them into vases. Tink is cut @ 2" from the Tinkerbell cart and I used a hot pink vinyl.
     My grandson pointed out to me that there are also boys at the party so I pulled out the new Nursery Rhymes cart and found a boy and girl fairy playing together. This image was also cut @ 2" out of lavender vinyl. The grass is cut @ 3/4" out of green

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!!!

Mini Books for all occasions!

     Well, I haven't taken the summer off, on the contrary, I've been making mini books! This is a cute little one for a baby boy. Believe it or not its made from small envelopes that are covered with a heavy printed card stock. These are so easy to add pockets to hide journal tags and additional pictures.

     All pages are matted and this particular book is embellished with vehicles, boats, planes, cars, you get the idea!

     You can see one of these tags I was talking about: "Prince Charming".  I have decided to start selling these on my etsy store. It also motivates me to start making albums of my kids, grandkids etc.lol. I have more books to come!!!!