Crazy for Crazy Birds

I absolutely love the Crazy Bird stamp set from Tim Holtz.  You can do so many things with this set from card making to journals, to painting them onto tiles. You are only limited by your own imagination.  These stampsets are selling like crazy so if you see one you better buy it or they will sell out.

I bought these 4x4 tiles at Lowes for $3.97 for a set of 9. I have only used 4 out of the set. I cleaned the tile with  90% alcohol front and back before doing anything at all. I then put some tissue paper down to help give my tile some grip before painting. I painted and stamped my background then I stamped the image with Versamark ink then I stamped another bird onto watercolor paper and colored it with watercolor markers. I glued the paper on top of the image to give it a raised surface and highlighted the image with a brown pen. I then applied some water proof Mod Podge on all the tiles so they could be used a coaster or just as a decoration, I also backed each tile with cork so it would not scratch any surface. I had so much fun making these crazy birds that I will be making more of them.  TFL!

Folio mini

Good morning.........I just can not give Chandra enough credit for her creativity and her awesome tutorials. I call her the one and done. She creates a book and makes a video..she gives a quick run through and then she does an awesome tutorial video. She does not play games when it comes to her books.

She created a folio called Simple Stories-Summer Vibes Folio..you can see that video here

I created two folios after watching her tutorial. I used a retired paper pack from Close To My Heart called Yuletide Carol and the new Anna Griffin Halloween Paper found only at HSN.

Thank you Chandra for another awesome tutorial and here is my version of her Summer Vibe Folio.

Thanks for watching.

Chandra inspired mini album

I love mini albums and I love making min albums that have been created by Chandra on YouTube. If you never made a mini album before this is your go to girl!

I used an assortment of products to make this album including a paper pack from Hobby Lobby, Anna Griffin, CTMH and Michaels. Details in the video.

Thank you all for watching and thank you Chandra for creating such awesome books!

Gelli Plate Art

I bought Gelli Plate about a month ago and let me tell you this thing is awesome. Did I say awesome!! All you need is some paint and an imagination and some cool tools. And by tools all you need is things from around the house. I use tops from bottles and pens and pencils and even a fork. I watched tons of videos before I even put my first drop of paint on my Gelli plate.

So I put some paper down on the Gelli plate so I could have some clear spots. Notice that here on the first photo.

Leave clear spots on your plate so you can add cool effects later. By the way you MUST let your paint dry between layers.The paint goes on pretty thin so just be patient. You do not want to mess up your work of art by getting in a hurry. Believe it will be worth the time in the end.

So once all my layers were dry and ready to be lifted I put some clear packing tape on the plate. This will not harm your plate at all since you are really just laying it on top of the paint. Burnish your tape down really well with a brayer or your hand, Becareful not to gouge your plate or you will put a hole in there and it will be there forever.

Here is what my tape looked like once I lifted the paint off the Gelli plate. Looks pretty cool doesn't it! The tape is still sticky on back where you left the clear spots. Now here comes the fun part. I grabbed some glimmer or shimmer  powder and a paint brush and applied it all over the tape even the part that had paint on it.....just to be on the safe side.

Wow don't you think this came out great! I used 4 different colors and on one strip I even put it on a dictionary page. Not as colorful but still just as cool.

So I decided since the first one came out pretty cool I would try this again. This time I used a flower stamp and bubble wrap and an embossing folder. Instead of using tape I used clear book cover tape. It comes on a big roll and it was just sitting there. I was very pleased on how well this turned out. I put the shimmer dust behind it and I plan on cutting it into small strips to make some one of a kind washi tape. I am using double sided tape for this.

This is the print before pulling it off the plate.

Here is the finished product with the dust behind it.I can't wait to use it for my future projects. 

All I need to do now is go around the house collecting cool shapes and objects to use with my Gelli Plate. Just remember do not use anything sharp because it will cause damage to your plate. The only rule is to be PATIENT! Have fun and thanks for looking.

Hostess-Exclusive-stamp-set-blog-hop

Welcome to this month's blog hop. This month we are feature the exclusive Hostess stamp sets.

How do you earn a hostess  set you ask.........well host a party either at your home or online. When you party meets the qualifying totals you get the hostess sets at a great discount. This offer only lasts through July 2015 so book a gathering with me today.

Our newest catalog Seasonal Expression 2 went live on May 1st. If you have not seen this catalog yet you have go see it now. Click here to go see the entire catalog. 

The hop goes in a big circle so if you get lost a long the way go back to Melissa's blog to see the entire list. We have an awesome group of ladies playing this month.

You should be coming from Debi's blog

Wasn't her creation awesome? She used Hostess stamp set Paper Bird (1613) found on page 5 of the  catalog.

I chose to do stamp set Tagged with Love (C1614) on page 4. This is a set of 9 stamps. This set can also be cut out using the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge. There are 6 sentiments with this set.
I made this card for my sister who is in the hospital right now. I used Thistle ink (Z2640) and Thistle cardstock . I also used paperback Taste of Summer (CC1038).  I added some bitty sparkles (Bulk232) on the bottom and inked all the edges with thistle ink. I added ribbon and popped my tag up with pop dots.

Now head on over to Judy Faye's blog and see what she created using the stamp set Exotic Flower (B1477)  on page 5.

If you have a moment leave some love at each of the blog sites. We have a great team of ladies that participate each month to bring you awesome ideas. TFL! 

It's a Girl

This is not craft related right now but it could be in the future with all our cool paper. My son and daughter in law just told me that we are having a baby girl. I will now have 9 grandchildren..........7 boys and 2 girls. So excited!!

Now I can go back thru the catalog with different eyes and look at all the pretty paper that is girl related. TFL!

Smiling Sister

 I used stamp set A1172 from the new Seasonal Expression 2 catalog. It can be found on page 17. I added a couple of  strips of  Purple shimmer trim.

If you would like to see this stamp set as well as many more go to my  CTMH site and place your order. We have this as well as many more awesome stamp sets to choose from.

I made this card for my youngest sister because every time I think of her she is smiling. She has a wonderful smile and cute dimples(jealous).

Her husband is a dentist so it helps that she has a great smile and a great personality.

I colored the Prima doll with CTMH Shinhan markers. My sister does not have blonde hair but I like this doll and I was practicing with my markers.. I love how all the purple reflects off of each other. She proudly displayed it at work for all to see.

TFL!

April 2015 Card Class

I participate  in a card class each month and this month Judy Faye Gardener was the hostess, 

For this month she gave us a choice of 18 cards to choose from. She created a card buffet and we got to choose which cards we wanted to make. She made it so easy for us by cutting and stamping all the images. 

This was a fun class. I chose to make 11 cards. Even though every thing was cut out it still took time to make the cards, We always have a blast when we gather together for card class,

Thanks Judy for a great class! See you next month with another awesome project.

Pocket Letter Embellishments

There a new craze in the crafting world call Pocket Letter Pals.  It is such a cute concept that I had to jump on the bandwagon. 

What is a Pocket Letter........well you get baseball card protectors and fill each pocket with paper and goodies, candy, tea, a nice letter about yourself.....really anything that you want to put in your pocket. It can be themed or random, it can be elaborate, simple, shabby chic, comical, whimsy, ANYTHING goes. 

When you get you pocket letter ready you either exchange it with someone you have arranged with or you post it on the Facebook and ask if someone wants to exchange a letter with you. 

I made these embellishments to go in my pocket letters. I used stamp set  Treats of Friendship C1616 from the new Seasonal Catalog found on page 15. I stamped my images and cut them out and some I colored with my Shinhan markers and some I paper pierced. I hope whomever receives my pocket letter enjoys them as much as I enjoyed making them. 

By the way the creator of Pocket Letters Pals is Janette Lane. Go check out her site and see what all the hoopla is all about. TFL!

Seasonal Expressions 2 NEW Product Blog Hop

Thank you for joining me and several  other Heartfelt Sentiments team members as we showcase artwork using Close To My Heart's new product lines from the new Seasonal Expression 2 catalog that will only be available for the next few months!!!!

If you are here from Aggie Peter's then you are on the right track.   Angie's art work was AWESOME.! If you have a moment leave some love at each of the blogs. We all work hard to bring you awesome ideas every month. You can always visit Melissa's blog  if you get lost along the way or  just to see the full list of  the participants.

I love mini albums and I love Youtube combine the two and you get awesome creations like the one I am posting. YouTube is my crack....I have to watch it every night before I go to sleep...,,,this could be the reason why I don't get any rest because I am always wanting to stay up late and create. Anyway I saw this video and I immediately knew that I wanted to make the mini card album using the Jackson Paper (X7195B), the  Jackson Picture my Life cards (3068) and the Jackson Complements (X7195C). Here is the video.........on YouTube Channel Scrappinology published March 26, 2015.

(X7195B) page 19

(Z3068) page 32.

Here is my version of her mini card album.

Front of mini card album with a pocket and flap

front flap opened

flap opened all the way

a hidden double pocket under the flap

right side opened.....pocket for notes and tags

left side opened ......more pockets for pictures. Flap

in the middle opens down

all flaps opened with lots of room for photos

back of album.

Sorry that this was such a long post. This card was very easy to make. Watch the video above and make your own with any of  CTMH paper found in the Seasonal 2 catalog or even our Annual Inspration catalog. Head on over to my CTMH if you would like to place an order.

Now head on over to Tonya's blog and see her awesome project that she created using new products from the Seasonal 2 catalog, I am sure you will love her project as well as all the other ladies on the hop. Please leave some love if you choose to at each of the blogs on this hop. TFL!

Blossom CTMH Paper Pack Focus Blog Hop

Welcome to the Heartfelt Sentiments Team Blog Hop. Every month of the year a new topic is picked and several talented ladies participate in the Blog Hop through out the year.. For  the month of April we are featuring Blossom paper found in the new Seasonal Expressions catalog  that went live on April 1st and will remain active until August, 2015.

You should be coming from Judy Faye's blog. Wasn't her project awesome! Remember that the hop goes in a big circle so if you get lost along the way go back to Melissa'a blog and she will put you back on the right track. While visiting each blog leave some love.

This month we are featuring Blossom Paper Pack (X7196B) found on page 9 of the new Seasonal Catalog.

 I decided to make a card from the Wishes (9041) How to Program book found on page 190 of the Annual Catalog. I choose card number 3 from the Just Because card workshop on page 68.

I started with an A2 cardbase and added some Glacier Extra Thick twine (Z3039) and tied it in a knot. I cut the required sizes for card number three and inked the edges with Glacier Ink (Z2641). I added an image from the Blossom Complements (X7196C) to complete my card. I punched a hole with a punch so I could thread the twine all the way around my card.

Thanks for looking at my blog and if you have a moment leave some love here as well as all the other ladies that work hard every month to make the blog hop a success.

Now head on over to Tonya's blog and see how she featured the Blossom Paper Pack. TFL!

April Stamp of the Month

No Clog Tips

Ever get frustrated because your bottles of glue clog up! Watch the following YouTube video from Jennifer McGuire and get some helpful hints on how to keep your bottles of glue from clogging up. Now go and burp that bottle of glue. TFL!

More Prima Doll Coloring

I am still trying to get the hang of coloring and shading. But my biggest concern is the black ink used for stamping my images. I have tried several....Stazon and Archiever's but it still seems to bleed when coloring over it. I have even heat set my ink and left it over night. Guess I will go to the ProMarker site and see what ink they recommend. In the meantime here are some dolls that I have played with.

 I also hate fussy cutting but am getting pretty good with my craft knife. I am also using my Brother Scan and Cut to cut.

Here are some finished dolls and you can see I still need lots of practice  but since they are just for me they are pretty good. the bottom left hand one was my first doll every to color. I cut her dress out of some pretty paper. Her shading was way off but I like her dress so she will go somewhere in my craft room.  TFL!

Prima Dolls and Altered Art

I was at a crop this past weekend and someone there was coloring these awesome dolls called Prima Dolls made by Julie Nutting. Aren't they the cutest thing ever! A new scrap friend had a bunch of them and she said I could borrow them and I stamped away. As soon as I pulled the stamp up from my paper I was hooked!

I also have discovered altered art and Gelli plates. OMG...a monster has been created. I had always wanted to try altered art. So I took the plunge and jumped in. All I can say is this is so much fun. 

I used a giant tag for my doll that I stamped onto a dictionary page that I bought at a thrift store. I used item I had laying around my craft room to make the tag. After searching on Pinterest for Prima doll tags this is my version. I cut her dress out twice to add some dimension and I cut a heart doily out for the ruffle on her hem of her sleeves and her dress. I then used the same dictionary page to make a rolled flower and added some lace to complete the tag. TFL!

IT'S HARD BEING GREEN- USE YOUR STASH-MARCH

Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day! This month on the Use your Stash Blog hop we are featuring the Color Green. I also have the honor of being the leader this month. We have 12 fabulous ladies participating for the month of March, Each month of the year we have a specific theme that we focus on. Our players vary each month also. This is a fun way to use your stash and think about what we have just laying around waiting to be used. As a paper hoarder these bloghops have really helped me to focus and bring out the oldies but goodies. I love seeing what everyone comes up with each month on the Use your stash Bloghops.

Now remember the bloghop goes in a big GREEN circle so if you get lost along the way come back to my blog to see the complete list of players. And while you are visiting each blog leave a little loving at each one please.

Here is a list of all our players

1. Terry Morrow

2. Sheila Bennett

                                                                    3. Paige Dolecki

4. Priscilla Gotham

5. Shirley Ross

6. Wendy Kessler

7. Janet McCormick

8. Darlene Henry

9. Marie Flayer

10. Cassandra Bernnett

11. Michelle Loncar

12. Heather Jane Schmuckal

This month for my hop I decided to make a spinner card for my two youngest grandsons who just celebrated matching birthdays. They were born two years apart but on the same day. The oldest is three and the youngest one turned one. I wish the stamp said "lucky me" and not "lucky you" because those two boys are so sweet and lovable. I wanted them to know that they are my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I would rather have these to boys in my life than  a pot full of gold.

I found a tutorial on YouTube under spinner cards. I love this card and I thought the boys would enjoy watching it spin and spin around. They are really easy to make.

I dug in to my stash of CTMH cardstock and pulled out a sheet of Key Lime CS (1235) and made an A2 card. I cut a piece of Glitter Paper from the Green assortment (Z1847). I used stamp set Lucky You (B1300) and stamp set Seasonal Thoughts (C1222). I stamped with Black Archival Ink (44751) and Clover Meadow Ink (Z2113). I colored my Leprechaun  and the pot of gold with ShinHan markers......Vivid Green (G46), Barely Beige (YR29), Pastel Green )Y49), Cerulean BlueLight (B262) and finally Peony Purple (P282) were the colors that I used.  I highlighted the gold coins with aa Gold Gelly Roll pen.

This was such a fun card to make and I hope that my Grandsons enjoy their St.Patrick's day card.

Now head on over to  Sheila Bennett's blog  and check out how green her blog is. Thank you every one for visiting my blog. Be sure to check out all the blogs and leave some love at each one,

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Pocket Letter Pals

Wow have you seen the latest craze going on on Facebook and InstaGram? It is called Pocket Letter Pals. It all started when the creator  Janette Lane was trying to do Project Life on a budget. She found the baseball card inserts.. She then decided that this would be an awesome way to start saving PenPal letters for those folks that still wrote snail mail.  Here is her 1st video on how this came about.

Well I watched and I immediately wanted to be part of the new craze. What an awesome idea! And you only have 9 pockets for fill up. Of course you can go as elaborate as you want or take the simple route. It is up to you to decide how you want to present your pocket letter page. You then find someone who wants to exchange with you.hence the PenPal concept. So over on Facebook people will post their pocket letter and you request to do an exchange with them. There are also little holiday swaps you can join,. You can just get a group of your friends together and draw names and exchange Pocket letters like that. Just ask what do you like...birds, cats, dogs, what are your favorite colors? Or just make a surprise page. Now remember it is all about your creativity not about well look at hers mine is so plain. It is the thought that you put into it that counts. Sometimes the simplest things are the prettiest. I am so excited and I just want to make all kinds of Pocket Letters and have them ready to mail out.

What a great way to use up scraps of pretty paper. You cut your inserts to 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 and then add quotes, flowers, brads, buttons, washi tape, tea bags, coffee,  lace, ribbons, pictures from magazines, then add a little note about yourself, the things that you can put in  a pocket are limitless, You don't have to go out and buy anything just look around we all have something that we can insert into to pockets. I kept opening boxes last night and saying OMG can't wait to make another page just so I can put this in there. I was amazed how much I had. Just remember the more you add the more it will cost to mail.

I used CTMH paper call Hopscotch for this pocket letter. I had some left over buttons, twine and stickers. I put a tea bag in the middle and added some bling to it. While making this I was looking at all my stash and boy was I amazed how much product I had left over. We all have that one little flower left over or that one cute saying or that one clip. Why not mail it off to a Pocket Pal?  Once your page is complete just fold it into thirds and insert it into a #10 envelope. Of course if you made a really fat one you may have to put it in a padded envelope.. Don't forget the heavier and bulkier it is the more it will cost to mail. Rates for overseas usually start at $3. If you do decide to exchange with someone set a time frame  so you each well know that you have certain about of days to mail out your letters. There is always that chance that someone will not mail you a Pocket Letter back. Don't get discouraged  just get another Pocket Letter Pal or only exchange with those that you know for sure are going to mail one back to you. Have fun!

What do you do with your pages once you receive them? Well you can put them all together in a binder or even use some of inserts on a layout or a card. You can do this with anyone. You don't have to be a scrapper or a card maker to do this. All you need is imagination and baseball card insert pages. You can get these at $Tree or Walmart or any type of store.

I am excited to be part of this new group and I can't wait until I get my first Pocket Letter. 

Thanks everyone for looking and off to make my next Pocket Letter and make a new friend.

front of my Pocket Letter

the back of my Pocket Letter

wrapped in pretty paper

Ready to mail out to my new friend.

CTMH PAPER FOCUS BLOG HOP

Welcome to the Heartfelt Sentiment CTMH Paper Focus Blog Hop Featuring Paper pack Hopscotch. This is such a cute paper pack. I loved working with it.

 If you are not familiar with bloghops they go in a big circle. We have a team leader that has the list of everyone doing the hop so if you get lost along the way go back to Melissa's  blog to see the whole list.While visiting each site leave some love to each of the talented ladies that participate each month bringing you awesome creations.

We have 8 ladies playing this month.  You should be coming from Judy Faye's page. As usual she has an awesome creation. 

I chose to do a layout out of the Magic Book (9040) $14.95

 found on page 190 of the 2014-2015 Annual Inspiration Catalog. The layout is called Mystify found on page 36. 

                                                            Hopscotch paper   works really well with this layout.

I changed the layout just a little bit from the book. I put horizontal photos instead of vertical and I used a    4 x 6 photo instead of a 5 x 7.  I still think it came out really cute.  These are photos that we took at the rehearsal dinner of my youngest son's wedding, My new daughter in law is an awesome girl and a perfect match for my son. The first photo is of me and her mom. The one's with the boy and girl are of my niece Laila and her nephew Jay. She is beautiful inside and out. It is my honor to have her as my daughter in law.

To complete my layout I used Flaxen CS (X5771) for my base pages and used assorted B&T's from the Hopscotch paper pack (X7194B). I also used Smoothie CS (X5763) and Glacier CS (X5770). I inked my edges with Dessert Sands Ink (Z2118) and inked the "SERIOUSLY"  arrow with Ponderosa Pine Ink (Z2145). Complements (X7194C), Hopscotch Assortment (Z3016), Flaxen extra thick  twine (Z3036) and Aqua Dots (Z1853) finish out  the layout. TFL!

Now head on over to see how Marianne Hancock focused on this month's Paper Pack featuring Hopscotch. Now remember to leave some loving at each and every blog if you have a moment to spare.

February Use your Stash Bloghop

Boy do I have all kinds of stash throughout my apartment.....yarn, ribbon, mesh for wreaths, fabric, bling, ideas but mostly paper. Me and a whole lot of us have lots of paper stash. So every month we feature a Use your Stash Bloghop.  This month we are featuring my love affair with  paper.

It seems like all I do is buy, buy, buy and never use. Can you say border line hoarder. Sometimes when I buy paper I just hate to cut into it. I feel that once you cut a piece I feel like I am losing a best friend. My goal is to start opening boxes and folders and pulling out that paper and using it. That is why I am so glad I joined the wonderful group of ladies.

You should be coming from Shirley's blog wasn't her project fabulous? She is also the leader of the pack so if you get lost along the way just go back to her blog and she will put you on the right track.

For my project I pulled out my stash of Later Sk8r paper (X7167B), this is awesome paper for boys or young men or even that older man in your life. I used the following colors of card stock:
Outdoor Denim (1275), Pear (X5764), and Slate (X5930) and Kraft (Z1375). I inked the edges of my Kraft tags with Outdoor Denim Ink (Z2140). I added some Project My Life cards throughout my mini. I also added Epoxy Bubbles (Z1806) in the green and blue assortment and finally the Later Sk8r Assortment. The stamp set I used came from the Later Sk8r WOTG (C1545).

I love mini albums and I made one for this project. I have lots of pictures to put in here once I get them processed. Sorry for all the photos but I wanted to showcase the paper pack. I added a belly band to hold the book closed. I put zipstrips on top and bottom of the band.

I found my inspiration on YouTube on Scrapbook Maven's channel. Here is her tutorial.

Now head on over to  Katy Taylor's blog  and she will show you her love affair with paper. If you have a moment leave some loving at each blog. TFL!