Weekly fall project Part one: "stained glass" crayon leaves

Hello :) well the week is about over already an I finally have something for you. I have been playing around all week making these super cute "stained glass" crayon leaves. 

So, here's how I created them:

1.) gather your supplies

     -crayons

     -wax paper

     - sharpener (to create crayon shavings)

     - iron (set to low, no steam)

2.) lay out a piece of wax paper and scatter crayon shavings lightly across it

3.) fold the wax paper in half over the crayon shavings OR lay another sheet of wax paper over them

4.) quickly iron the wax paper.. The more you move the iron, the more the colors will blend (this is the fun part)

5.) from here its up to you, but I used an ek leaf punch to create fall leaves. 

 

Love how these look! The possibilities are endless and the best part... They only take a few minutes to make!

Susan's Autumn Revealed...

     I am the mistress of procrastination :) JK, actually I have been uber busy this way with life and work and well none of the fun stuff I would rather be doing. However I did manage in these past few hours to put together a great card for you guys!

      I will say I slightly cheated on this one by not making the base of the card or my envelope like I normally would. And you shouldn't feel bad about that. Especially if you got a fantastic deal on a pack for $0.97! I used Recollections 5x7 in Shimmer Brown. Loved it as my fall color. When I picked up the pack I didn't realize that it wasn't a folded card but when life gives you an obstacle just add more glue! ;)

    I wanted the card to be a bit divided so I grabbed some textured stock in a rust color with a white core cut it 3x5 and scored it every 1/2 inch, took a emery board and went over the raised score marks. I actually saw this affect done in a card making book and it turned out really good. For the middle focal point I kind of just eyeballed the measurements. I believe my cream cardstock was 3x2 1/2, and the beige was a 1/4 inch off top and bottom to that to give it a nice frame. I edged the cream with T.H. Crushed Olive, and the beige piece with T.H. Vintage Photo. (Yes, Ill be using those a lot since they are my only two colors. (: ) I have a leaf punch that I took some fall colors and punched just a few leaves and edged those as well. I also went around and defined the edges more with a gold archival pen called American Crafts Metallic Marker. Just something I had around.

      I then scavenged a nice fall stamp from my modest collection and stamped the beige piece with Archival Black by Color Box then glued it to the cream piece which was now this mossy color. Although I cannot remember where I heard it but I believe I was told there is a rule of 3 when it comes to embellishments. So I broke out the Crop-A-Dile and some eyelets to match and just punched and pressed 3 into the top right corner. I found some cute acorn ribbon and just made a nice strip to go under the sanded white core paper before putting the assembled fall piece on top.

     Now for the back. I just took some of the same beige paper, cut it 1/4 inch smaller than my main card, distressed the edges with Vintage Photo, and wrote my little sentiment to my friend Bonnie that I am long over due for sending her a card. Not liking the plain look of just that I started experimenting with the two Tim Holtz inks I had and making fall colored stamped leaves. I practiced first before applying them to my card.

     Before I attached the front and back together I embossed half of the front with a Cuttlebug design. Which one? I can't seem to find it, but it was in a 4 pack when I bought it. I just made sure to stick the card just right at the edge of the ribbon before putting it through the machine.

     When applying the leaves. I wanted a dimensional effect. So I popped them up with a few foam squares at different points on each leaf. I feel I should have popped up the frame also but it still looks good to me. So here is the over all card. Sorry this post feels rushed. It kinda was for 1am :) but I am dedicated to this blog and will do what I can when I can.

Enjoy.

Inspiration Monday!

/squee! It's Monday!

     I know your not suppose to be so glad it's Monday, but why not! It sets the mood for the whole week! You plan your activities and get organized to take on the world!

     This weeks inspiration is going to be everything Autumn! While I know the First day of Fall isn't until September 22nd you always want to get a jump on the next season while you can. I mean stores are already sticking out Christmas things and it gets to me that they would just skip Fall.

      The leaves turn their wonderful blends of Reds fading into Oranges and Gold. The temperature slowly goes down and the fantastic breeze brings scents of life changing. Small animals gather for their own personal harvest and time seems to stand still if only for a moment.

Why would you not want to celebrate that!

 

   So look for our projects throughout this week. We will try to astonish and amaze you! :)

 



Birthday Thanks

My sons 2nd birthday was over a month ago and I have been slacking... I need to make his thank you's. 

his birthday was monster trucks. So this is what I came up with for thank you's...

So, this was my first idea. I decided I didn't like it (this is a common practice for me) I usually change my mind at least 2 times while making a card. 

I really like how they turned out. 

Far from the traditional birthday...

    Hello blogverse! I wanted to take you through my inspiration for this week with our theme Birthdays!

     It was long over due for my hubby's birthday pictures to make a debut, so without further a 'due here we go. The highlight of the day was the helicopter ride! It was AMAZING! It was the first time I had ever had my feet off the ground and J loves to fly (eventually will get his private pilots license) and it had been forever since he had a chance to go. We did the Shark Run which is a 16 mile ride with a high possibility to see sharks past the 2nd sand bar. We had a briefing before we went into the helicopter. I remember the very nice lady telling us not to go anywhere behind the helicopter where the tail rotter is or we would die. *laughs* We got on and were off, it was exhilarating! No sharks that day but a school of Tarpon, Sea Turtles, and beautiful water. He seemed at home in that front seat loving every minute of it! It's not often I get to surprise him without him guessing what it is way before the day.

      I started with a sheet of regular 12x12 paper out of our Mambi Kit 'Our Travels' (J even gave his input) and edged all sides with a blend of Tim Holtz Crushed Olive and Sky from Rubber Stampede. The Sky brightened the Crushed Olive and I was quite pleased with it since the paper I chose had the tropical colors in it.

 

      I then printed off some of the pictures I wanted in my layout to tell the story of the day. I took a lot of pictures, but if you start focusing down while you in a helicopter you get slight motion sickness. I have a really good photo printer an Epson Artisan 837 that I'm in love with. I use Epson Glossy paper with it and it really does make a difference the paper you use with your printer.

 

     After they were cut I moved on to getting a coordinating paper from the same kit to frame the photos with. Play with your layout, make sure you have an idea of where you want to see things go. Take time, get to know it, give it a pet name.. Okay maybe not but at least plan a little and not just throw a lot of stuff on a page.

     Once I figured out where I wanted everything I started thinking about embellishments! I have the DCWV Heirloom Paper Pack that Christy talked me into getting on our adventure to Joann's and I flipped through it and found a cool page with a lot of numbers in assorted ways. Since J was turning 34 that day I made my own bellish! <~Not a real word but should be. I trimmed out 34. Three, and Four gluing them to a piece of neutral cardstock to give them a little oomph!

 

     The end result was really nice, bright, and fun. I stamped a few Tim Holtz stamps on the bottom and right edge with Color Box Archival Ink in Glacier Lake. I used a few dimensional embellishments from our kit as well as lifted the 34 with a couple of foam squares. The left 34 is from Thickers 'Everywhere'.

 

     For the technical side of what I used: Tombo Temporary Adhesive on the photo's in case I wanted to do something with them later, I used a Paper Studio Glue stick for adhering the 34, three, and four to the cardstock but used Tombo Permanent Adhesive to put them on the page. I kind of just have a few options on my desk while I am working and just pick up which ever one I think will do the job I need it to. :) Being my own worst critique I think I need to practice on my journaling. I felt the need to go back over it to make it darker and it isn't as fluid as I would like it to be. Ah well, that just makes it unique!

Baby quilt

Well, since last week was a free week, I tried to catch up on some projects I had. 

This baby quilt was for my husbands cousin new granddaughter! Awe!

I was given total freedom :-/ that can be great, but also very stressful! I decided to do a simple, more modern, design. I knew I wanted gray in the quilt & found myself digging through my fabric stash... I love the yellow, black, gray & white colors!

I created a rectangle of small, assorted squares & off centered it on a solid gray..

Then added a black boarder all around it. Top almost complete! 

Next was the personalization... I decided to do a monogram because this quilt will be used & I don't like a child's name all over stuff, for personal (I don't want some stranger calling my son by his name) & safety reasons. 

I bought a font online & hooked up my external floppy (haha!) so I could transfer the letters to my sewing machine (I have the Brother Pacesetter ULT 2002D)...

After, what seemed like forever, but was  about 4 hours :( I figured out how I wanted the lettering & got my sewing machine to read the floppies... (I wanted to yank my hair out after formatting the disks 5 times)! I did learn, my machine does not like quick formatted floppies... I had to do a full format, then transfer the files :) 

So, I ran a practice...

And found out my machine was too close to the wall & messed up my design. See the black single thread lines??...!

But that's why a test should be ran! Plus, you can play with your tension if needed. 

Well, I did the actual monogram embroidery this morning (and broke a needle) - some things you can not plan for - I am very happy with the look!

I am working on the quilting & am going to just stitch in the ditch (never done before). I think I need to keep the quilting minimal and let the fabric do all the "talking". 

Hopefully, I can finish the quilting tomorrow & share it with you. 

Good night :)

Inspiration Monday!

With still trying to stick to a little family spirit this week and looking at our own projects that still need to be completed, lets kick off this week with a little Birthday action! Yup Birthdays! Everyone has one! :P So pick your poison.. *cough* medium and go for it. Dig out those old pictures that you know are out there, filled with ribbons and balloons, edged with cake crumbles and icing goodness! Layout a 12x12 to add to your scrapbook, make a tag, mini book, or send those Thank You's for attendance at a certain party. *looks at Christy* ;)

My project for this week? A 12x12 for J's Birthday (June 26th, yeah I'm really late with this one), that is if I can fit everything on the one page, we did a ton that day! And while you may be years late or just days just remember that's the great thing about crafting. You decide when, where, and how.

Just a preview of what we did! I was terrified!

Better late than never...

Sorry for the late post. It's been a crazy week. Decided last weekend to have a yard/garage sale this weekend & I was not ready. I seriously spent everyday this week organizing it & digging through my sons clothes (newborn to 18 months) and his toys! And there wasn't any shortage of either :( ... 

Well, I survived & Susan came to help me sell stuff in the pouring rain! (Thank you Mother Nature for not allowing the sun to shine & instead bless me with flash flood warnings all day long!) Oh well, that just gives me a reason to try again in a few weeks :)

Ok... Lets move on to fun stuff :) 

I LOVE my Crop A Dile. I think I've had it for about 3 1/2 years & I have used it a bunch!

It will take a little getting used to how much pressure to apply & what the different dials (black cubes with numbers) do... 

I would grab a scrap piece of paper and practice. From the front they look similar. The first one I pressed a little hard & can see the back part making bumps, but as long as you practice first & get the hang of it - you won't have that problem. 

From the back, you can see the differences. #1 is on the left...

The #3 is great for thicker stuff, like chipboard. See how raised from the paper it is?

I am finishing up my family tree pages & needed some "buttons" to match... 

So, I gathered my supplies:

Cardstock/patterned paper, Crop A Dile, glossy accents & a circle punch (I used a 1")

I didn't need a bunch, so I picked 4 coordinating papers & punched 3 circles from each paper. 

Then, I needed to add the button holes...

Punch the holes with the 1/8 side of the Crop A Dile. 

Add glossy accents, it looks blue-ish & hazy, but will dry clear. 

See? :) this one is not a "button" 

And this one is :) yay! Now we all can make cheap "buttons" to match all our projects.

I am very happy how they turned out! The best part is, if you are like me, you may change your mind & want to punch holes after you add the glossy accent. Well, you can!! Just used your Crop A Dile, it is heavy duty & will chomp through it with minimal effort. 

Can't wait to add these to my family tree page :) 

Susan's Crop-A-Dile.

So this week we decided to have a product review. Now to clarify we are NOT being paid to do this review, nor did we receive anything from We R Memory Keepers which actually produce the Crop-A-Dile. That being said, lets get started!


Now this may look like a mid evil dungeon torture device, which is the first thing that came to my mind when I first saw it, but what it is in fact is a 1/8 inch and 3/16 inch punch that can set eyelets and snaps, not to mention it can punch through any material: paper, chipboard, fabric, plastic, acrylic, wood, and the occasional unruly hubby. Okay maybe not that last one but one can hope. ;)

Now my Crop-A-Dile is purple which to my understanding is a discontinued color. They still offer the pink and now they have an aqua color. There are even lime green ones out there in some places. They no longer sell them with the case but sell it separately to have it just be an option. The Crop-A-Dile retails for $33.99 at Hobby Lobby which is probably why I never bought one (Thanks a million Christy). But with a coupon (rubs her hands together evilly) $20.39 plus tax. Definitely worth it to use a coupon. This price is also without the nifty case which is $11.99 and comes with 240 eyelets.
Speaking of eyelets! There are tons of different ones out there. Just take a look at the Eyelet Outlet! They have every type of brad and eyelet known, or at least dang close!

Projects! Still think this is an over grown hole punch? Not so, just look at the accent possibilities. Take tags for instance, here you have plain boring tags, but when you add an eyelet, it becomes a durable, reinforced, hole for ribbons, flourishes, or anything else you can stick in there. You can add movement by setting and eyelet and inserting a brad to make anything turn, wings to move and so on. What this is, is a multi weapon perfect for any scrapbook or crafters arsenal.

This tool makes it easy just to punch, pop an eyelet in and set it with a simple flick of the wrist. It even adjust the depth/reach into the paper so you can set it and get the same result every time for multiple projects. The black cubes are also adjustable. Each giving you a different setting to your eyelet pending on your project.

Final thoughts? I like it, it's durable, comfortable to use, and comparable to similar tools out there the price point is good. Its multiple tools so take that in consideration when looking at purchasing anything else.

Tip #1: There is a small learning curve when setting an eyelet. Don't Smash! This takes a bit of finesse. Ease your grip on the handle to make sure you do not crush your eyelet. You can watch the distance between the back of the eyelet to the front, get the feel for it

Tip #2: Make a cheat sheet. Punch some holes and use the different settings on the black squares to press eyelets, so then you can have a reference for what you need for the project you are doing.

Tip #3: There are a lot of bad reviews for fabric punching. My advice is to add a piece or two of cardstock to give the punch something to grab on to pending on the fabric. :)