Sunday, January 22, 2017

Angel Wing Shadow Box


I've mentioned that I'm on an Angel kick lately. This is the centerpiece of it and reason behind it. 

Today is PhD boy's birthday. It's also the day 3 years prior that my dad died. Our son wasn't due for 2 more weeks so the fact that he was born 3 years to the day his grandfather died has always been significant in our lives. Though they never met, in addition to our son carrying on his grandfather's name, he has so many mannerisms and expressions that were my Dad's. 

When our son was home over the holidays we went to the cemetery. Sitting there was this perfect pine cone although neither PhD boy nor Mr. Chocolate understood what the heck I was doing when I picked it up. It was completely closed at the time and they said and I quote " It looks like a giant turd". Well, makers see things other people don't right?  They continued to taunt me as it dried in the laundry room. "You'll see" I kept saying. 


When it completely opened up, I was ready to make something with it. 


I painted the back and sides and using a piece of crackled scrapbook paper, Mod Podged it inside the box. I wanted things to look natural and aged. 


I painted the edges brown, and then using my favorite cracking technique, applied a thick coat of cheap old school glue ( I may no longer have to go back to school supply shopping but I go stock up shopping at back to school time!). You can find lots of glue crackling tutorials on Pinterest.  Basically apply glue ; wait until tacky but  not dry ; apply contrast coat ; watch magic. 

Ooooh crackle crackle

Here's the story on the Angel connection. The obvious is that with my Dad being gone I've always felt like I have a guardian Angel looking after me. The not so obvious is PhD boy has an Angel tattoo that represents many themes for him but is rooted in the story "Flying Home" by the author Ralph Ellison. This project brings these two together. 

The foil wings I found at Michaels for $4.99 for a pack of 6 sheets, 4 wings each. With a 50% coupon, well you do the math on of course I bought them. 



The wings come on a paper backing with built in transfer tape just like Cricut or Silhouette vinyl / foils. Remove the backing and apply to your surface and remove the transfer tape. 

Oh back to the pinecone! I dry brushed it with gold paint and attached it to the shadow box using an eye screw. 

To complete my project and tie the symbolism together I chose a quote about ancestors from Ralph Ellison. My dad is the ancestor ; Ellison is my son's tattoo inspiration and I am the link between them as the daughter / mother / artist. 


The full quote is: 
"Some people are your relatives but others are your ancestors and you choose the ones you want to have as your ancestors. You create yourself out of those values" ...Ralph Ellison
I printed it on kraft cardstock, cut it in three pieces, layered a transparency over top and trimmed it with washi tape. Adhered it to the shadow box with double sided tape and foam dots. Finally to finish, I added a wing charm that's almost identical to PhD boy's tattoo.



The shadow box is my keepsake but I wanted to bond our son to it so I'm not done!


I made him this brown braided leather and Angel wing connector bracelet. 


I also made him this altered candle to match the shadow box to which it's connected, as three generations are connected as a family. 


 Linking At:

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Weekend Plans Printable



Quick printable. Click image to enlarge ; PC users right click to save as! 

Have a great weekend! Party continues here


Thursday, January 19, 2017

BFF Open House Link Party

NOTE: I goofed up somehow and did text only links. Inlinkz won't let me switch to thumbnails so will fix for next week! 

Happy Friday Eve all! Usually the best day of the week. Hope everyone's had a good one. Seems like we were just here doesn't it? But you can never have too many parties ( except in real life...I am a total party pooper!). 

Let's take a look at some great shares from last week's party. 


If you've ever wondered what you'd do with a dress form, here's a spectacular idea. In total love with this stunning Valentine's dress form from My Thrift Store Addiction. Gorgeous! 


The ingenious Mich in LA shared this lovely ring made from fleece and felt scraps! Who'dathunk of this except her? Not me!


Avacadoes aren't just for guacamole ( but oh how I love guacamole!). This time of year is hard on the skin yet so  many commercial masks still have chemicals. This one from Alba Rosa can be made from all natural ingredients you likely have in your kitchen. 

With Valentine's Day rapidly approaching, time to start thinking up special treats. How about this Raspberry Cream and Brownie Trifle for Two from the ladies at Lolly Jane? 


Now, let's see what you've been up to this week! 









Monday, January 16, 2017

Wings of Peace: Coffee Filter Angel Wings


I'm on a bit of an Angel kick right now, and I'm also in the process of updating my mantle after Christmas.  I want it to work throughout the rest of Winter and Valentine's Day so it's a work in progress.

This isn't a new idea but it's new to me since I've done coffee filter wreaths and other projects but haven't done these. I've seen them done as huge pieces but these are smaller having used a 12x12 piece of chipboard as the base. Cost-wise, this is a very inexpensive project. Timewise, I'd say it's a medium commitment and depends on how large you want to go.

Supplies:

  • Coffee Filters. Hello Dollar Tree where I think I got 150 or 200 for $1
  • Heavy cardboard for your base. I used a piece of chipboard that came in something I ordered for Christmas. Reduce, reuse, recyle!
  • Glue Gun and glue sticks
  • Stapler
  • Angel Wing template. I drew mine but there are lots of templates online
  • Netflix and a double iced mocha ( these are optional lol) 
  • Time ( this is not optional) 
I started by drawing my template on a folded piece of paper, cutting out and unfolding.


Trace onto your base, and then cut out. This would be a good time to decide what your binge watching on Netflix. 


You can start from the bottom or top of your cut out base. I started at the bottom and worked my way up just like in life!  Take a coffee filter, fold in half ; fold in half again ; and one more time. I like coffee filter projects to be dense. Staple ;  take a sip of your mocha; repeat. I always think I'm going to count how many I use. WRONG. 


After I finished the first row, I layered the next row and kept going until my base was covered. 


Don't worry if the layers aren't uniform or you have sections that are sticking out. Try not to get hypnotized by all the wavy layers! 

See that layer at the bottom that's sticking out? Don't worry. See the next step.


Once you have all of your filters on trim your project like your trimming hedges. Just go all over with your scissors and snip off anything that's sticking out so they are all the same height. 

I wanted to add a little banner to my wings so I grabbed some glittered letters from my stash , cut out banner shames on my Silhouette and then draped them across the wings with baker's twine. 



I was already happy with the result but I was thrilled when while in Michaels for something else I wandered down the Christmas clearance aisle and found these for 80% off! $3.99 yes please. 


Normally when I find a deal like this I end up making it over but these I left alone. I think they work great w/ my wings what do you think? 


Sharing At:

Thursday, January 12, 2017

BFF Open House Link Party


Happy Friday Eve all! I hope the week has been good to you and that you've stayed warm! We were spared the snowstorm visited upon our PNW neighbors to the south in Oregon and I'm hoping it stays that way!

Grap a cup of your favorite whatever and let's look at some great ideas shared at last week's party. 


First up, a huge CONGRATS to Andrew and Dennis , the creators of Crafty Lumberjacks on not only starting their new You Tube Channel but on also joining HGTV's Handmade Channel!! Check out this genius idea they shared for their first feature: 



These fabulous tags from Much More Creative couldn't be more timely could they? 


I've yet to try candle making but this idea from Woods of Bell Trees is definitely one to try! Can you ever have too many candles? (Heather, I couldn't figure out where to leave you a comment)


Finally this printable from Lolly Jane is always a good reminder. A quote I've loved since "Dead Poets Society". 

Now, let's see what you've been up to this week! Thanks so much for stopping by. 










Tuesday, January 10, 2017

2017 Cards: Life Is Great Birthday


I have a few January birthdays to celebrate so this is the first of the cards I'll be making for them. For this one I went with foiled black white and gold papers, along with a wintry blue glitter scrap and black glitter paper. 

The focal sentiments were straight off the page. Literally. The DCWV Decor Noir  Stack they came from includes a couple pages of them so I chose two and put them together. 

Supplies: 
  • DCWV Decor Noir Stack
  • Craft Smith Gold Foil Stack (Numbers Sheet)
  • Cordenons Cover Weight Cardstock: Crystal
  • Gold Mirror, Blue, and Black Glitter Scraps
  • Strong Double Sided Tape ( I used Scor Pal / Sookwang)
  • Foam Dots 


Cut card base (5x7) from cover weight card cardstock. Score, fold. Cut base panel from gold and white Numbers paper. Layer onto card.

Trim sentiments and layer as shown. Adhere top sentiment to card using foam dots. Adhere bottom sentiment to card. 


The ScorPal / Sookwang brand of tape is great for glitter papers which can be a challenge to get things to stick to. Love this stuff. Most scrapbook and stamp stores sell it or of course there's Amazon! 


Easy, clean, fast! My kind of card. 

Monday, January 9, 2017

2017 New (and Old) Favorite Places for Fonts and Graphics (Update II))


Shortly before Christmas, I ended up having to replace my hard drive. Grrr. "Oh but you had backed everything up right?"  No comment. Lesson learned. Better yet, learn from my mistake! Back up back up back up!

On the upside, it gave me a good reason to discover some new resources for graphics and fonts (as well as discover some new images at familiar places). On the whole , the experience was more good than bad.  I thought I'd share some of my new finds as well as some of my go to regulars. 


Creative Market: This is definitely one of my new finds and fast favorites. It's free but you do need to sign up in order to use. Photos, graphics, themes, fonts etc. most of which are fee based, but the awesome part is that each week they release 6 freebies for you to download. The fonts are fresh and clean and the free graphics packs I've downloaded come with multiple elements. The magnolia wreath at the top of this post is from Creative Market!



Moritz Fine Designs: "Free Printables for Your Home and Workspace" and where I found 500, yes 500 free fonts! No I haven't downloaded them all...yet. What I love is that they're grouped and organized so if you're looking for Typewriter Fonts for example, they're grouped together. If you're a font addict, you want to pin / bookmark this site.


Star Sunflower Studio: In my search for fonts, I found this lovely grouping of brush fonts here but they have tons more! Again a site that's a combo of free and fee. 



Expressions Vinyl: In addition to being a resource for your vinyl needs, there's a fab collection of fonts at the Expressions Vinyl Blog! 


Fontbundles.net: Combination of fee and free and requires free account sign up. Fonts do expire so check periodically. 


Other great font resources:
DaFont (mostly free)
1001 Fonts ("Free fonts baby")
Fontspace (free)

You can also follow my Pinterest board on Fonts Typography and Hand Lettering

I also love these places I visited regularly before my hard drive bit it and am having fun re-building my library:

The Graphics Fairy OK who doesn't already know about The Graphics Fairy?!
Free Pretty Things For You
Free Vintage Digital Stamps
The Old Design Shop
New York Public Library Public Domains Collection
Just Something I Made


Sunday, January 8, 2017

My Twist on New Year's Resolutions...The Stop Doing List


I know most people make lists of things they're going to start doing and I've done that too, but this year I'm taking a different approach in making a list of things I want to stop doing. Many of these are blog specific but they're applicable in my life too. So in 2017, here are some things that I have promised myself I will stop doing. 

  • Stop seeking perfection. Whether it's because it's just my nature, or I am a quintessential Virgo personality, I have a tendency to not do / try something because I know it won't be perfect. True confession time: whether it's a recipe or a craft or whatever, if I don't think I can do it "right" I often won't do it at all. That has to stop.  Which leads to the next one which is the other side of the same coin...

  • Stop being afraid to fail. A lot of things have come naturally to me. In life, in crafting / making etc. I don't mean that to sound arrogant because the truth is that I gravitate towards the things that come easily to me and avoid the things that don't because I'm afraid to fail. Really and truly afraid to fail. I need to let this go because in failures there are opportunities. Many of us makers refer to them as "happy accidents" and true, I've had a few of them but I need to have some more. I also need to post the things that don't go quite as planned. Heck Heather Mann wrote a whole book on Craft Fails. I want to stop being afraid to fail enough to make Heather's next book ! 

  • Stop comparing myself to others. Especially when it comes to my blog and its "success". I started my blog around the same time as some others that have taken off and grown wildly. I am thrilled for those bloggers so this isn't about jealousy of them, but about me feeling like I failed because I didn't grow as big or as fast. Now, what I will forget to tell myself is that I started this whole thing at a time when I thought my day job was busy but stable,  then about a year or two into blogging that started to change radically and hasn't calmed down since. I also forget to tell myself that for many of those other bloggers, this was their day job. So I need to stop thinking I'm superwoman and remember that I work 65+ hours a week at a crazy job and I can't do that and grow my blog at the same pace as someone who has more time to devote to making things and cultivating their site.

  • Stop playing it safe. Again, a lot of these blend into each other but what I mean by this finding a balance between things I'm comfortable with and things I wouldn't normally do. I gravitate to black and white and neutrals and don't use a lot of colors. That will probably always be a large part of my work but I need to stop avoiding using some colors that don't come naturally to me and push some boundaries. 

  • Stop not using "special" materials. Anyone else buy really cool stuff that you never use because it's so special you want the perfect project to come to you and/or you're afraid you'll mess it up so you hang on to it and don't use it because all of the bullets that precede this one apply? Anyone? Just me? The end result is you have things that are special that never see the light of day. Stop that!  

There may be other things I need to stop doing but these are the main ones for now. How about you? Are there things you want to stop doing in 2017? If so would love if you shared in the comments! 

Thursday, January 5, 2017

BFF Open House Link Party Happy New Year!



Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a safe and happy start to 2017. My new favorite New Year's Quote is: 

"May the best of last year be the worst of this year"
 Like everyone else, I'm in the process of evaluating things I want to keep, lose, or change in the New Year. I want to revitalize my blog which has been a little stale so look for some changes. If you have any suggestions please feel free to leave them in the comments!


I want to keep my little party but would definitely like it to grow so if you have friends you want to bring, please do!

Let's see some highlights from last year's last party!



I did one of those "what are the first three words you see" word puzzles and the first word I saw was "peace" so this card from Paper Seedlings definitely caught my eye! Not just because of the word but I love the white on white layering and the detail. Beautiful!


Something I'd like to do more of in 2017 is Thrifting. I love found objects and My Thrift Store Addiction has some wonderful projects and ideas to get you started or re-started! 


If like me, you're still getting organized for the New Year, the gals at Lolly Jane have got you covered with 50 FREE printable 2017 calendars. 

This week's chocolate feature isn't actually chocolate but it's about chocolate! Love this vintage chocolate ad shared by Vintage TLC . Great as a printable or to use in image transfer project etc. 

Now onto this week's party! 



Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Angel Wing Necklace : Handmade Holidays


Like all of us makers, I made a lot of holiday gifts so I'll be sharing some that I wasn't able to share at the time. 

This one was for our favorite server at our regular Friday night go to restaurant. From the first time she came to our table we had an instant bond.  We are creatures of habit and the second time she came to our table she already knew our order! She's so good  to us, often treating us to dessert and just always such a sweet person. So I wanted to make her a little something and this Angel Wing charm seemed perfect. 


With the holidays being so busy I didn't take the time to take pictures of the step-by-step. One of my blogging resolutions for 2017! But the process and materials are simple: 

Supplies: 
  • Black chain ( Blue Moon Beads)
  • Silver Bead Caps ( Bead Landing)
  • Opaque White Crystal Beads ( Stash)
  • Black Crystal Spacer (Stash) 
  • Head Pins ( Stash)
  • Angel Wing Charm ( Shipwreck Beads)
  • Jump Rings (Stash)
  • Silver and Black Large Rings ( Bead Landing)
  • Toggle Clasp ( Stash) 
Measure lengths of black chain. I did 4 sections, 6 inches long, two strands each. Wrap white beads and bead caps on head pins and attach to each end of the double strands of chain.

Attach Angel Wing charm , spacer beads, and wrapped white bead to large jump ring as shown to make the pendant part. Attach chain and pendant to black and silver rings as shown. 

Of course what's a gift without a card so I made this one to go with it since her disposition is always Merry and Bright...not just at holiday time. 



Oops. I see my Merry & Bright was a little crooked. The card was super easy. Combination of papers from Recollections Black and Gold Christmas paper pack I fell in love with and a coordinating scrap from my stash!

Happy New Year all. Happy Making! 

Sharing At: 





Thursday, December 29, 2016

BFF Open House Link Party Goodbye 2016!!!


As much as I cannot believe we are at the end of another year, I won't lie and say that I will be unhappy to say goodbye to 2016! Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

However, what better way to say goodbye to the year  than with a party? 


What says party more than New Year's Eve and the gals at Lolly Jane have some wonderful ideas like this party hat tutorial which comes with a free clock printable! 


These festive Times Square Ball drink stirrers from Crafty Lumberjacks pair perfectly with the party hats don't they? 


What better time for a makeover than a New Year ? Grandma's House DIY has a gorgeous one. 


Finally, what's a New Year's celebration without a festive and of course chocolate dessert? 

These Peppermint Patty Brownie Cupcakes from Sugar Spice and Family Life are perfect! 

Now on to this week's party. Happy Happy New Year all!!