things with wings...

Not exactly sure why, but I have quite an attraction to things with wings! Beautiful vintage images of birds, bees, butterflies... 

They always make me want to get out my scissors and glue and play! This pretty butterfly plate came from The Graphics Fairy.

I printed it twice, cut out the butterflies from one of the sheets and then layered them with chipboard.

Machine stitching around the edge of the print, some punched paper trim and to finish everything off...

Black 'pearl' cabochons and lots of shimmery Stickles!

xo,

bird collection...

Happy Monday! I've been working on some framed collage pieces for a class...

First off, I l.o.v.e. me a bingo card. Especially if it says something special like 'lucky'. Second, there is absolutely nothing cuter than a bird. And a bird covered in glittery Stickles is unbeatable. Once again, thank you Graphics Fairy for the beautiful images!

Layer all that up with some pretty trims and little pieces of ephemera and...

I can't wait to teach this one!

xo,

flowers and feathers...

Welcome April and all that spring can bring!

When I first saw this image from The Graphics Fairy of the colorful feather surrounded by flowers I knew I wanted to play-

I carefully cut it out and added chipboard to the backside so that it would be lifted up from the card base. Inking and adding Stickles really brought it to life- unfortunately I'm a lousy photographer and you really can't see just how gorgeous this is.

With an image like this, it really only needed a simple background with a few rows of stitching to make it shine. The image itself had a yellow bow on it so I added a real one made with seam binding, tucked a couple stickpins in for a little 'fancy' and finally stuck in a tiny tag with the message to 'dream'...

This one was really fun to work on!

xo,

lemon bird...

Today I've got a card that uses one of my favorite bird images...

The Graphics Fairy truly is a fairy godmother- without her and her generosity in sharing beautiful vintage images, crafters like myself would be lost.

When you've got a great image to use, putting a card together is a piece of cake! I added some machine stitching for texture, Stickles for sparkle and then layered it with a couple pretty papers and some vintage sheet music. After tying it all up with a fluffy bow, a cute little button was all that was needed to complete the whole thing.

Happiest of Fridays to you!

xo,

extreme makeover...

The other day my girlfriend Kris found a bunch of Paula Deen cookbooks on clearance at Michael's. She picked some up for both of us to play with, so I decided to make one over into something to keep track of my classes and receipts.

It was a pretty sturdy binder, made from chipboard. Included were also the page dividers and a handful of poly sleeves- not a bad deal for $2.50 each!

The first thing I did was lightly sand the cover (inside and out) and then paint with Tim Holtz distress crackle paint. THIS was not a success. As soon as it began to dry (and it was looking mighty cool with all those beautiful cracks) the paint began to flake off! My friends laughed at me and gave me a sanding block to began another round of sanding. This time I really, really took the finish off- paint and all. Once again I painted using the crackle paint. It stuck in most places but still had a few areas that just wouldn't let the paint adhere. I decided that was a problem for later since I was in a real hurry to get some paper glued on to see what it was going to look like!

It turned out that the Tim Holtz paint daubers stuck like glue to the sanded/painted/sanded/painted surface just fine! I used it to cover any bad spots and it ended up with a nicely shabby appearance that worked great for me.

I covered the inside covers with vintage sheet music. The dividers inside became pocket/dividers with a few extra strips of paper. It was a great way to use up lots of scraps that I'd saved from other projects.

The front and back papers are from the new Crate Paper 'Restoration' line- love that stuff.

A vintage bird image from The Graphics Fairy, some platinum Stickles, a giant Melissa Frances bingo card, stamped 'tickets' from Tim Holtz and more paper scraps finished off the front cover. The fortune I pulled from my cookie- the night I was working on this- was perfect!

Delight in the Details, part 2...

After making the front and back covers, I finished my book last week but never got around to taking pictures (I still can't quite get used to taking pictures of everything!). All the images used were from Karen at The Graphics Fairy. What did I do before I found her site? Well, I made lots of books that had no pictures in them!

Remember this mess? To make the pages, I used bits and pieces of printed paper, shipping tags covered in sheet music, and wrinkled seam binding. Floral embellishments popped-up with chipboard. A few 'pearl' brads scattered throughout. Velvet leaves. That's about it!

Well... that's about it. Guess I'd better find something new to make this week. I'm gonna take a look at this week's Brag Monday and see what inspires me!

party girl...

On Saturday, The Daughter turned 15. Wow.

It seems like just yesterday she was starting kindergarten and now she's in high school.

Time flies.

So while the teenagers were upstairs having a party, I found some quiet in my studio. As much quiet as could be found with them screaming, squealing, laughing and what sounded like elephants stomping. I had the whole 'party' thing in mind...

I really LOVE this image of the 'naughty lady'... I think it's darling. I found her here at The Graphics Fairy (I know, I know, how surprising that I was lurking around her site again!). I could use this pic on lots of projects. I'm sure she'll show up here again sometime.

The French advertisement used here is also from Karen but I can't for the life of me get it to link up here. If you type in 'French Advertisement' in her search bar, you'll find it.

I've hoarded that flocked gold/blue scrapbook paper (7Gypsies) on the backround for over a year, never using any of it. I still hated cutting into it, but.... what the heck. It's a party, afterall!

The ornate metal bookplate is from Tim Holtz.

And for the back of the piece... advertising for ladies underwear. I thought perhaps she could use some (although I prefer her with the piano scarf draped across!).

Happy Birthday baby girl!

a few more...

I had such a good time making the little 'girlfriends' piece for Kris, I thought I'd make a couple more...

This little 'birthday' girl came from two different sources- she is available on the Crafty Secrets clipart sheet but she is also available here from Karen at The Graphics Fairy. I enjoyed the fact that this way I could make her any size I needed... and dress her up any way I wanted to. This time it's for a party but who knows what she'll be wearing next!

In case it isn't already obvious, I really liked the hollyhocks in the background. Could you tell?!! It's been so gray and dreary outside and the colors in it are so happy and bright. Now I'd better find another background graphic to use- I think this one has given enough!

'vintage' cone...

This is a project that was SOOOOO easy- it was finished in less than an hour and that included 'drying' time!

I wanted to make something to hang on my front door. I had a styrofoam cone kicking around. And old books. Lots and lots of old books (anyone that knows me, knows I use book pages on just about every single thing I make).

Here's what you need:
styrofoam cone, cut in half
Mod Podge
foam brush
pages torn from an old book
clip art- I used my favorite bird and French advertisement (both from The Graphics Fairy)
ribbon
heart charm
adhesive
pipe cleaner
silk flowers (I used ivy and some tiny white flowers)
18-gauge florist wire
wire cutters or old pair of scissors
chandelier crystals (mine is actually a clearance Christmas ornament!)

Step 1: Using Mod Podge and a foam brush, cover front and back of the cone with old book pages. Don't worry about torn edges or discoloration- this is what gives it charm! The top of the cone will not show once you put your silk greenery in it, so it doesn't have to be beautiful. Mine surely wasn't. Let everything dry- it doesn't take long at all.

Step 2: Tie a ribbon around the entire cone, making sure to glue it onto the back, otherwise it will keep slipping off. Attach heart charm to the bow in front.

Step 3: Glue/decoupage clip art onto front. I used a second image of the bird, aligning their beaks and gluing this image just at their heads. It will create dimension by the top layer 'flying' away from the bottom layer. I thought so anyway.

Step 4: Make a hanging loop with the pipe cleaner. Squirt a little glue down into the hole where each pipe cleaner meets the styrofoam. Your cone will hang flat against the wall if you put your loop about an inch from the flat edge of the cone. The silk greenery will cover your loop so don't worry if all you could find was the glittery purple one left over from your last Halloween project!

Step 5: Poke a hole into the bottom of the cone and squirt a bit of glue into it before inserting the chandelier drop.

Step 6: Cut individual stems from the bunch of greenery and begin inserting them into the top of the cone. I bought mine at the Dollar Store and only used one bunch of ivy and one bunch of flowers.

Step 7: Now you're going to make the little wire 'holders' by wrapping the florist wire around something round (I used my glue bottle) a few times. I tried to make my loops as tight as possible so that whatever I insert into them won't fall out. You can make as many holders as you want to, depending on what you'd like to stick into them. Go ahead and poke them into the top of the cone.

Step 8: Put your love notes, children's drawings or reminders to pick up the dry cleaning into the wire loops. I had none of those things, so I used some vintage Easter images instead. I'm planning to change things out with the season so that I can leave the cone up (at least until I'm sick of looking at it!).