Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone!  There was a Halloween festival at my girls' school this past Friday.  The kids all had fun dressing up and showing off their costumes.  One thing I found interesting is how the costumes evolve as the girls get older.  In Danielle's 2nd grade class, it was all about looking pretty.  There were some angels, fancy devils (Danielle), rock stars, brides, a couple princesses, etc.  But in Rebecca's 4th grade class, it was all about being spooky, macabre and bloody.  Rebecca was a bloody vampire.  Among the other girls in her class, there was "zombie" everything -- zombie bride, zombie waitress, zombie prom queen, zombie skeleton, zombie clown . . . you get the picture.   Times have changed since the days of the Cinderella and Tinkerbell costumes they loved in Kindergarten.  Sigh.

I have a couple Halloween projects to share.  First up is a mask I made using some of Prima’s new Halloween goodies. A black glitter-coated mask will provide for the perfect disguise when the ghosts and goblins come a-calling.

Prima supplies used:

553760 Bat Vine

553296 Coventry Rose

551360 Say it in Crystals

552800 Carlotta Royale

538620 Fairtytale Roses (colored with purple mist and glitter)

No witch would be properly dressed without a pair of shoes like these:

I made these using a paper shoe template I created a while back. You can find the tutorial and link to the template on my blog here: paper shoe template.  I altered the template slightly to make these shoes a bit pointier . . . perfectly fit for a witch!

Prima supplies used:

841713 Paisley Road “Assam”

551360 Say it in Crystals

553548 Autumn leaves

553777 Night Flight bats

Have a safe and fun Halloween!!

Prima projects

Hi friends!  Today I have a couple Prima layouts to share.  If you follow the Prima blog, these might look familiar since I posted them there when I was featured last month.  I'm way behind on posting my projects here on my own blog.  In fact, I still have Summer CHA projects that I haven't shared yet.   Soon, soon.

This layout features papers from the lovely Pixie Glen collection. 

I love that there is a paper in each collection with journaling spots. I used one of the journaling spots and the mini alpha stickers to create a hidden journaling pull tab.

I decided to play around with something a little different on this layout: candle wax! I lit a sea-blue candle and let the hot wax drip onto my paper. I added some droplets of spray ink to compliment the wax color. If you try this at home, be careful with the flame and hot wax! 

 

Products used:

843229 Pixie Glen "Cornwall"

843212 Pixie Glen "Devon"

843168 Pixie Glen "Window View"

843205 Pixie Glen "Rose Arbor"

550172 Alphabets - Pixie Glen

550073 Alphabet Stickers

551360 Say it in Crystals

551841 Crystal Palace - Starburst

This next layout features a picture of me and brother when we were little. The Romantique line is perfect for these vintage looking layouts. Eeeks . . . I think I just called myself vintage. 

I cut out the image of the lady and flowers from one corner of the Romantique "Hilary" paper, then I flipped the remaining piece of paper over, cropped it, and adhered the lady with 3D pop dots to the reverse side (covering the missing spot).

I painted the edge of the Romantique paper with gold paint, then I mounted the paper on cardstock and crocheted a delicate border around the outer edge.

Products used:

843427 Romantique "Hillary"

551223 Romantique Chipboard

550097 Romantique Alphabets

553470 Medley Copper

551704 Fleur De Lys - Almond

552503 Avon Rose - Romantique

552695 Sherwood Rose - partridge

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

Budget-friendly flowers

Here's a two-page layout that I created for a Creating Keepsakes "Budget Tips" article about using everyday items to create page accents. 

As seen in the Creating Keepsakes' Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks: Fabulous Flowers, 2011.  Copyright Creative Crafts Group.  Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

I created the flowers using ink-colored cupcake liners for the petals, a glittered metal washer for a glammed up center, and alcohol ink-stained leaves that I cut from a coffee can lid. 

Take a look around your house and see what items you can find to create some fun accents!

Just 5 more weeks . . .

Just 5 more weeks until the CRAFT Beach Retreat on November 11 - 13!   I'll be teaching at the event along with these very talented ladies: Amy Tan, Ly T. Le, Linda Barber, Paige Evans and Rachel Kaufman. I have all the lovely Prima products in my hands and I'm in the process of creating the layouts for my workshop.

The title of my two-layout workshop is "Bridging the Gap".  The first layout will be about a past accomplishment and the second layout will be about a dream or a goal you have for the future.  It will prompt you to see how the skills you developed in reaching your past goal can be used to reach your future goal.   We'll be working with Prima's Romantique and Printery lines to create layouts full of texture, dimension, and lots of feminine touches.  You'll get to play with a variety of mists, inks, chalks and glitter.  There are still a few spots left at the event, so I hope you'll join me!

This unique event follows the approach of Scrapbooking from the Inside Out ("SFTIO").  It's the idea of using scrapbooking as a form of self exploration, self expression, and self discovery. The result is meaningful pages and projects that reflect who you are, both inside and out.

I recently got to play with one of SFTIO's gorgeous monthly kits:  the "Growth" kit.   I created a layout that will give you an idea of the concept behind SFTIO and the CRAFT Beach Retreat.

 

The "Growth" prompt got me thinking about growing older.  The journaling talks about how I'm not as concerned about getting more wrinkles or grey hair (thankfully there's Botox and hair dye to the rescue!), but rather the fact that as time marches, life as I know it right now will inevitably change.  My kids will get older, my parents will age, people will move on, etc.  But that reminds me that I need to sit back and enjoy the "now" and appreciate all the gifts I have today.   Living in the present and not fretting about the future is what I consider growing old with grace.

Enjoy your day!!

Scrap for Help - Guest Designer

I was so honored when my sweet friend Cynthia Llorens emailed me earlier in the year and asked me to be a Guest Designer for a new site she had just started called Scrap for Help. Scrap for Help is all about bringing people together from around the world through art and crafting.  This month they are celebrating Children's Day, which is celebrated on October 12th in Brazil.  It's a day to honor children.  So the challenge for this month is to create a project about . . . you guessed it . . . children!  The other component of the monthly challenges is to use recycled materials on your project.  This month we're using scrapbook packaging.

I created a layout using the packaging from three different packs of Prima flowers.  I used one of them as the photo mat, and I cut scalloped strips from the other ones.  Of course the layout is filled with lots of Prima goodies.

I crocheted along the edge of one of the border strips:

Those look like real pearls along the edge of the scallop edge, don't they?  Well, they're not!  I created them with my new favorite art medium: Viva Decor Pearl Pens:

I've tried many different pearl mediums, and this one works the best!
 
Be sure and check out Scrap for Help to see all the gorgeous projects created by their talented Design Team.  Everyone is welcome to play along! Thanks for having me as your guest, Cynthia!!!

World Card Making Day

Today is World Card Making Day, so it's a great day to share handmade cards.  Here are a couple of cards I made in the the not-so-distant past. 

I made this one with Prima products:

 

I made this one with Queen & Company papers, pearls and gems.  

The cute little cake stand stamp is Lawn Fawn.

A few of my fellow CK Dream Teamers are also sharing cards on their blogs today. Check out the blogs of these talented ladies . . .

Mou Saha
Piradee Talvanna
Laura Vegas
Kim Watson