Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Card Making: Valentine's Day


Happy Valentine's Day!

One upside to our snow day last week was it gave me a chance to finish this year's Valentine's Day cards. Fortunately I'd already cut out my focal images using my Silhouette Cameo since the power was out. The rest didn't require any electricity!

My colors this year were black, cream and fuschia. 

Here are the papers and supplies I used: 
  • Black metallic Stardream cardstock 
  • Cream Cardstock
  • My  Minds Eye "From the Heart" gold foil heart paper
  • Craft Smith gold foiled paper 
  • Recollections gold mirror and fuschia glitter paper
  • Watercolor paper 
  • Watercolor paints 

I chose an image from the Silhouette Design Store and cut it from gold mirror cardstock. Waste not want not, this image resulted in a positive and negative so I had the hearts that were leftover from the middle of the framed image if that makes any sense, and used those as well. 

For the "framed hearts" as I'll call them, I mounted on cream cardstock, then the fuschia glitter paper. I cut a panel from the gold foiled heart paper ( 4x6) and mounted to the Stardream black card (5x7) and then mounted the focal as shown.



For the cards I made using the center hearts, I played around with some watercolors I picked up recently on a BOGO ( buy one get one free) at Aaron Brothers. Cone to think of it , the watercolor pad was from a previous Aaron Brothers BOGO. Spotting a trend? 


I just played around and made some background paper ( oh I added some gold mica inks): 


I trimmed this , mounted on black then gold paper and attached the gold mirror heart with a foam dot. 



I finished each style of card with gold sequins!

Hand Lettering Practice ... Happy Valentine's Day  






Monday, February 13, 2017

Bead Embroidery: Angel Wing Pillow


I mentioned last month I was on a wing kick with projects like this and this. I finished the top of this pillow last monthy but finally got around to assembling it this weekend. I am NOT a seamstress! Sewing straight lines (questionable) is about my level of expertise. But it's done and I love it and the materials used sum up my style: a mix of rustic everyday materials and glam.

Supplies: 
  • Fabric

This is the rustic part. I bought a couple of fabric drop cloths in the paint department at my big box HW store a few years ago and I'm still using them for things. So yes, this pillow is made from painter's drop cloth but of course you could use anything! 

  • Beads
This is the "glam" part since I used a combination of antique French seed beads and metallic gold beads. I became enamored of bead embroidery last year at an art show and am working on my skills!


Process: 
I cut the dropcloth to the approximate size I wanted my pillow. Cut out the front and the back at the same time. Set the back aside. 

I freehand sketched the wing using plain old pencil, then started attaching the larger "outline" beads. I can see for some where bead embroidery would make people stressed but for me, it's kinda therapeutic. I think it's the repetition. And I will never be someone who's going for absolute perfection with each and every stitch and bead being uniform. 


After outlining, I beaded each of the sections with smaller beads and then finally filled in each section with the smallest beads.  You can see where some of my lines squiggle but I've found that you can fix this when you start filling in with other beads. The weight / pressure from the other beads will kind of straighten things out. It's a journey so practice practice practice! 


The dropcloth fabric fits perfectly with the fabric of my sofa and side chair. You can see another of my pillow projects (from waaaayyyy back ) in the background!

To finish, I stitched the top and bottom together, turned, stuffed and finished by hand.











Saturday, February 11, 2017

Hand Lettering Practice and Coffee Printables


This week's link party continues here

I smile when I read the "About Me" of so many bloggers and see some variation of the statement " I run on coffee". I know there are many bloggers who don't drink it too so no judgement!

But for those of us who do, my unscientific research concludes that it's not just a beverage we consume, it's a life force! I'm no exception. Mochas for me!  Hence my hand lettering practice quote above and some printables I made. 









Thursday, February 9, 2017

BFF Open House


Happy Friday Eve all! Well the Northwest started the week under a blanket of snow and looks like the Northeast will finish it under an even bigger one. Hope everyone and all of you in the middle are safe and warm! 

Let's see some great ideas from last week's party. If you're snowed in this weekend, might have time to work on them! 


I love this cup cozy Kileen from Raven Would shared. It was inspired by the movie "Big Hero 6" and the Beymax character. There's an ongoing battle in our house because Mr. Chocolate is of the opinion that Beymax is and should be referred to as Big Hero 6. We've agreed to disagree but I think everyone can agree how cute this is! Even my basic crochet skills can handle this! 


The expression "SWAK" for Sealed With A Kiss comes to life with these printable envelope seals that were shared by White House Crafts. How much fun are these?!


Dog lovers or friends and family of dog lovers you will want to check out these printables from My Busy Beehives.  Woof! 

Finally, if you're looking for a delicious Valentine's dessert, look no further: 


Chocolate Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting from Birds Party! You're welcome !

Now, on to this week's party! 

   
   








Monday, February 6, 2017

Cardmaking: Sympathy Card


"I feel a card coming" is what Mr. Chocolate said the minute we got an email about the loss of a friend's beloved canine companion Freddie. Being married to a card maker, he knew that went without saying. 

For so many people their four legged friends are so much more than pets. I know our little girl is. She's been my constant companion for the last 15 years and I dread the inevitable day .  Like our friend's dog, ours knows when someone's sick or hurt or just having a bad day and knows when we need her to just sit w/us. The increase in therapy animals and hospitals bringing pets in to see patients suggests that there's some science behind this. When my son was in undergrad, his college brought puppies in during finals to reduce stress. 

Naturally I wanted to acknowledge this loss and send some small comfort to our friend. 



I save all of my scraps so I went to my scrap bin and pulled out some coordinating pieces along with some angel wings from my embellishments stash.  When working w/ scraps they sometimes dictate the design.  


Layered the pieces as shown and punched a heart from a scrap of black glitter cardstock.  I wanted to show that Freddie's heart will always be w/our friend even now that he's a guardian angel. 


PS
Here's my little baby. She's old, she's toothless, she can barely see and she has our heart! 






Thursday, February 2, 2017

BFF Open House Link Party


Happy Friday Eve everyone. Hope the week has been KIND to you! Once again it's flown by. Some really fun ideas shared at last week's party. Let's see a few! 


Valentine's Day is coming but I am really loving that "Galentine's" is a thing. What a fun way to show your girlfriends some love and let's not leave guy pals out ...that could be "Palentine's" right?  This post from White House Crafts is perfect for Galentines with a host of great ideas! 


You could whip up a few of these DIY Agate Coasters to include. 3 Winks Design has the how-to.  I keep seeing agate accessories everywhere but they can add up fast!


My Busy Beehives shared this fabulous Scrabble Tile idea that is super easy and super cute! 


Wipe the drool off your screen. Don't these White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecakes from Crafting In the Rain look amazing? You're welcome! 

On to this week's party! 

   
   











Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Valentine's Lanterns


Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. Products in this post were provided to me. Project and opinions are mine.

Yikes. How is it almost Valentine's Day already?  Time to get busy with some new decorations right? Fortunately I get to work with Oriental Trading Company and with their selection of  decor and craft items, was able to come up with some new  pieces I now have up not only for Valentine's Day  but as part of my decor all year round! 

Since I tend towards neutrals and metallics, I fell in love ( no pun intended) with these silver metal lanterns. I decided I'd make some altered candles to put inside them but since I knew I wouldn't light them, I chose battery operated flameless candles. They look great lit or unlit and no risk of burning down the house! 


Never one to leave anything plain, I used a Love Letter background stamp to make candle wraps for the candles. 


I stamped on plain white cardstock then tore the edges and went over with a metallic gold rub-on to give them an aged look. Adhered them to the candles with a strong double sided tape. 


Still not content to leave my candlewraps alone, I cut a couple of hearts from some scrap glitter vinyl. And of course, STILL not content, had to embellish some more! What goes better with hearts than more hearts and keys? 


I adhered the large keys with foam dots,  wrapped gold and white Baker's twine around each candle a few times  ( this also keeps the keys in place) and finished with heart charms and a rolled paper rose made w/ scraps from my stamped candlewraps. We makers don't wastestuff  do we?!


Once my candles were done, of course I needed to add some embellishments to the lanterns themselves. Using scrap glitter paper , more Baker's twine,  charms , and paper roses did the trick! 




When lit, the candles give of a calming soft glow. I miss just sitting and looking at the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree. I think I've found a solution! 

Supplies Used ( unless otherwise stated all are from Oriental Trading Co) 
  • Metal Lanterns
  • Flameless Candles
  • Heart and Key Charms
  • Gold and White Baker's Twine
  • White Scrapbook Paper
  • Love Letter Background Stamp
  • Gold metallic rub on (my stash)
  • Strong double sided tape ( my stash) 
Happy (almost) Love Month!!