Wedding Charms

Mar 28, 2015

Wedding Charms

Do you need a quick gift to give to a new bride? If so, this is one fast project she will cherish and can either wear, place in a shadow box or on the spine of a wedding album. To create the bead flower bouquet all I did was place one bead onto a headpin then curl the end of the headpin to form a small loop. Once I had 12 completed I bunched them together and wrapped a headpin around the middle of the bunch. Then I attached a jump ring to the wire wrapped area. Super simple. Supplies Used: 13 Headpins, 12 Beads, 3 Jump Rings, 2 Long Rectangle Blanks, 2 Vintage Beads, Black Acrylic Paint Tools Needed: Bench Block, Metal Stamps, Brass Metal Stamping Hammer, Long Nose Pliers (PJ Tool Jewelry &...

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Key To My Heart Mini Album

Feb 18, 2015

Key To My Heart Mini Album

The cover for this mini album is created from plaster cloth. If you have not worked with plaster cloth you really should give it a try. It’s a fun medium. Once the plaster cloth dried I painted both covers. Then I antiqued the hearts with a color wash. You don’t need anything special to create a color wash. All you need to do is water down your acrylic paint to the desired shade and apply it to your project with a paintbrush. While the color wash is still wet, use a paper towel to dab random areas so some spots have more of a wash then others. Plaster is a great medium to add a color wash to because the wash runs deep into the crevices of the plaster. I plan to fill this mini album with pages created from...

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I Love You Frame

Feb 13, 2015

I Love You Frame

This sparkly chipboard frame is going to be added to the front cover of a mini album. I plan to cover the album with vintage sheet music and ledger paper than add photos of Terri and Ansley. If you want to make this chipboard frame it’s super simple and here’s the tutorial. Supplies Needed: 2 Maya Road Chipboard Frames, Maya Road Glitter ~ Red & Silver, Red & Silver Acrylic Paint, Vintage Sheet Music, Martha Stewart Crystal Coarse Glitter, Vintage Glass Vial, Flocked Flowers, White Seam Binding, Diamond Glaze, Glue Stick, Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue, Dina Wakley Gel Medium, Book Page Words “I LOVE YOU”, Adhesive Foam Squares Tools Used: Scissors, Paintbrush, Craft Knife, Craft Matt, Tweezers Instructions: Using a glue stick type adhesive, cover the front of one chipboard frame with vintage sheet...

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Home and Missing the Old Family Homestead

Sep 15, 2014

Home and Missing the Old Family Homestead

I just returned from my yearly visit to Buckhannon, WV with mom and dad. I always love driving them up to see family. We have the best time together sitting in the car for 19 plus hours and literally laugh until we cry. It’s always a wonderful adventure with these two. But once home I miss seeing them every day and miss enjoying the quietness of sitting on my aunt and uncle’s porch listening to birds as they fly by, listening to a turkey or two and watching the deer eat pears and apples from trees planted by my great great aunts and uncles many many years ago. I’m truly a nature girl stuck smack dab in the middle of the burbs. Since family history is so important to me I thought I would...

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Sing Your Own Song

Jun 3, 2014

Sing Your Own Song

I wasn’t kidding when I said I LOVED Dina Wakley’s Scribbly Birds stamp set. Here is another piece I made over the weekend. Using Jet Black Archival Ink I stamped the bird image onto a 6″ piece of watercolor paper, then filled it in with acrylic paints. I painted the entire background with teal acrylic paint. I used the Kaleidoscope stencil by Ronda Palazzari and some of Wendy Vecchi’s Crackle Texture Paste to add texture to the piece. Once the paste was dry and did it’s magic I inked it with Archival Inks and Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Using Multi Medium I attached some vintage sheet music and an image from a book. Next I covered the stenciled areas and the branch image with bits and pieces of a dress pattern. Once the multi  medium dried I...

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Altering Melt Art Embellishments

May 30, 2014

Altering Melt Art Embellishments

I fell in love with this cameo in the center of a vintage tin I found, last week. As soon as I got home I made a mold so I could pour some UTEE into it. I did a random pour, just the cameo and then a little bit around it, wherever the UTEE landed is where I kept it. I wanted the embellishment to look like an old decorative piece that came off a wall taking some of the wall along with it… I hope this makes sense. I also have a vintage photo album with the most amazing embossed image on the front and decided to create a mold of this as well. As you can see, I use several different mold products and with all of them the results are wonderful. I get a beautifully...

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Documenting My December Album Pt. 3

Dec 17, 2013

Documenting My December Album Pt. 3

Over the weekend, I started adding photos, created a fun snow filled pocket and attached some baubles to the jump rings of my album. This album is coming together nicely and I’m having so much creative fun, no deadlines, no specific requirements just fun! I decided the top jump ring of my album needed a little sprucing up so I dug in my Christmas stash and added several holiday themed items, a vintage bell ornament, gold & silver jingle bells and a white snowflake transparency. Each item is attached with holiday trims in colors of red and green. And in this family no Christmas is complete unless you have a photo taken with Santa a.k.a. Paw Paw. This is my dad’s 11th year as Santa at Parkdale Mall in Beaumont, Texas. He truly is the...

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Documenting My December Album Pt. 2

Dec 12, 2013

Documenting My December Album Pt. 2

Ok so today lets finish up showing you the other pages and tags from my “Documenting December” album. This is the back of Tag 3. I made a little banner and placed a journaling sticker on it for the photo I plan to put on Page 7 of Terri and Ansley sitting on Santa’s “Paw Paw’s” lap they had taken when we went down for Thanksgiving. Page 8 I think I’m just going to let it become either a spot for a photo or some quotes. Tag 4 is a fold out tag I made from a large Kraft Tag. This is going to hold cookie recipes at least this is what I think right now, I could change my mind in the next few minutes. Tag 4 is a tri-fold tag, I think...

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Something Fun to Entertain the Kids

Dec 4, 2013

Something Fun to Entertain the Kids

When I was a little girl around the age of 3 or 4 my mom would go to an elderly lady’s house to do her hair. This lady had an awesome album filled with greeting cards she put together for little ones to flip through. I remember sitting on the floor looking at page after page in this album. I LOVED it so I thought of a fun idea for young kids during holiday gatherings. Find some old Christmas cards and if you are like me you have lots. I found this one that works perfectly for this type of project. You will want one that you can cut the face out of (snowman, gingerbread man, Santa, Elf, Reindeer even animals will work great). Using a craft knife cut out the face on your...

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Creative Weekend at Rocky Mountain Memories

May 1, 2013

Creative Weekend at Rocky Mountain Memories

Friday afternoon, I taught the Afternoon Tea class, which was loads of fun. Everyone created a mini album and cuff. The one thing I truly love about teaching is even though everyone has the same supplies and products, no two finished projects ever look the same. Each person incorporates their own little flare and style to their pieces. Teaching is one of my favorite things to do and being able to teach at such a wonderfully awesome store with super friendly people makes it even more fun. In the “Afternoon Tea” class everyone was hand stitching, stamping, stenciling, inking, painting, gluing and metal stamping. And in all the excitement I completely forgot to get photos of their finished projects. Such a bummer as each mini album and cuff were gorgeous and so unique. There...

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Mother’s Day Projects

Apr 25, 2013

Mother’s Day Projects

With Mother’s Day just around the corner I thought I would share a few project ideas from my book “Delight In The Seasons” that would make wonderful gifts for any mom on Mother’s Day. You can create a beautiful mini album just for mom sharing stories and photos from special times and moments spent together. This project is featured in the Spring Chapter on pages 46 – 49. I show you how to create the beautiful flower accenting the front cover of this album. If you prefer to create projects, this piece can be found in the Spring Chapter on pages 50 – 54. I show you how to create this beautiful felt message banner.  You can hand stitch any special sentiment you wish for your mom. My mom has this project sitting in her...

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Textile Mini Album

Apr 24, 2013

Textile Mini Album

This mini album is going to be a work in progress piece for quite some time. Each inside page will be it’s own unique piece of art. I don’t have a plan or even one idea on how to complete each page, I’m just going to pick it up and stitch off and on and see how it comes together. Sometimes it’s fun to create without ever having a plan. The album I’m using is a Maya Road Linen 4″ x 6″ Art Journaling Album that I accented with a Maya Road Linen Heart piece and a die cut doily from natural muslin using the Eileen Hull Sizzix Doily, Lace Medallion die. Before attaching the linen heart and natural muslin doily I first attached seam binding so I can keep the album closed with...

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Winnipeg Here I Come

Apr 3, 2013

Winnipeg Here I Come

Today is all about laundry, packing and checking my “To Do List” making sure everything I need for Crop & Create is done and packed in my super stuffed suitcase. As I’ve said before, teaching at a Crop & Create event is one of the items on my arty bucket list. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about Catherine’s events and I’m super appreciative for this opportunity to teach. I have goody bags made up to hand to some lucky winners during my classes. They are filled with lots of great Maya Road products. I also have stamp sets and a mini album to give away. Below is a peek at some of the items all packed a ready to go. Each person that takes one or both of my classes gets their name...

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Sneaks of 2 New Classes

Feb 20, 2013

Sneaks of 2 New Classes

Afternoon Tea is filled with soft tones of pinks, greens, gold and beige which are the perfect color combination for any shabby chic class. In this class you will create an altered cuff and linen mini album that’s perfect to fill with words or quotes to inspire or special moments you wish to document. You will use products by Maya Road, Ranger and The Crafter’s Workshop as well as vintage treasures I’ve included. You will decoupage, paint, ink and stamp and I’ll show you how easy it is using metal stamps to accent the butterfly embellishment for your altered cuff. These projects can be kept for you or are perfect to be given to a special friend as a gift for any occasion or special celebration. Here is a mini video I posted on Vine Afternoon Tea...

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Archived Halloween & Fall Projects

Oct 17, 2012

Archived Halloween & Fall Projects

With fall finally getting ready to hit my little neck of the woods.  I thought it would be fun to do some digging in my archives and list all the fall and Halloween projects I’ve created over the years. Even though some of the items I’ve used are no longer available from some manufacturers there are still plenty of products out there from others for you to easily make substitutions. Just click on each of the links below and they will take you to each of the blog posts. As you can see I have several cards, decorations and a mini album just waiting for you to create. Also, I thought it would be fun to show you one of the first layouts I ever made. This one is of Sonny our golden retriever...

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Editing iPhone Photos

Aug 29, 2012

Editing iPhone Photos

I get email all the time asking me how I edit the photos I take using my iPhone. So today I thought I would put together a tutorial (WARNING this is a LONG tutorial) and show you how I do it. I love editing my images and use Typoinsta, Instagram and Pic Stitch the most. There are lots of other free editing programs available but I seem to go back to these three the most. Here is an unedited photo of some beautiful sunflowers I took on a not so sunny day while in West Virginia. The lighting was terrible but I wanted the photo no matter what and knew I could have fun doing some editing using my favorite apps. The first app I use is Pic Stitch. This app allows you to...

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Mini Shadow Box

Aug 10, 2012

Mini Shadow Box

Tomorrow, I am participating in the Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts Grand Opening in Sherman, Texas. I will be there for a Book Signing and Demo from 11:00-1:00. I’ll be instructing those in attendance how to create a beautiful paper rose to accent a gift tag or card for any celebration or special occasion. And with just a simple change in paper color these beautiful roses are perfect for any holiday.  Come see me… it’s going to be fun! Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts 4127 N. US Highway 75 Sherman, Texas Ok, so on to today’s project. I love shadow boxes of any kind and decided to create a mini shadow box tag for one of my projects for CHA. As I started gathering Maya Road supplies I came across a Maya Road Scallop Square Basic Album...

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Blast from the Past 3

Aug 7, 2012

Blast from the Past 3

This is the mini album that started it all… I wanted to create something special for my oldest daughter Terri, who was getting ready to celebrate her 17th birthday. I had seen lots of mini albums in the gallery at Two Peas In A Bucket and decided Terri’s upcoming birthday was just the push I needed to jump into the world of creating mini albums. At first I was scared to death because I had no clue what in the world I was doing or even how to begin. I went to a scrapbook store which was just down the street and started looking at all the products. Mind you, this was a very strange world to me. I was still learning what Rub ons and brads were and never mind the overwhelming feeling...

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Artistic Journey 2012 Sneak Peeks

Jul 31, 2012

Artistic Journey 2012 Sneak Peeks

Check Out The Project Peeks For Artistic Journey! Artistic Journey 2012 is brought to you by The Crafty Scrapper. This event features 3 of Maya Road’s designers and they are set to inspire you to try new techniques and learn new things on your Artistic Journey. Check out the details below for peeks of each of the fabulous 3 hour classes. We have a special make and take that you will love for our Friday meet and greet! So join us on this Artistic Journey, October 5th – October 7th, 2012. We Want To Learn About The Teachers And See Peeks Of Their Classes! Meet Dina Wakley: Dina Wakley lives Arizona with her husband and three boys. She love everything about art…making it, talking about it, teaching it. Dina discovered scrapbooking in 1995. Scrapbooking...

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Maya Road Linen Album

Jul 12, 2012

Maya Road Linen Album

So happy to finally be able to share the Maya Road Catalog for CHA-Summer. They have some awesome products coming out this release and one of my favorite’s is their new 4″ Binder Linen Album that has 3 linen pages and 3 chipboard pages. I finished my mini album using this album just in the knick of time too… I leave bright and early… no, wait it wont even be bright when I head to the airport Saturday morning, just early… ugh. I’m so not a morning person… I just hope while I’m passed out in my seat on the plane I don’t drool. Okay enough of my traveling and on to my mini album… I had fun altering this album with lots of amazing new product. Notice the key in the center, it’s...

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Thimbles

Apr 10, 2012

Thimbles

I always get asked “What are you going to do with these”? when I’m digging in flea markets and such for little treasures to use in projects and such. So I thought I would give you a little insight into my head. Warning: Enter at your own risk! It’s a scary place inside this head of mine. I love adding to my ever growing, tarnished, slightly scratched and dented thimble collection. Oh how I love tarnished, slightly scratched and dented everything as well as tattered, torn and frayed. So here goes… 15 seconds inside my head. Accent for a shadow box Charm for a necklace or bracelet Tiny pot for vintage flowers Cute miniature cupcake GASP… smashed flat… an embellishment for a heritage themed mini album or layout Base for a miniature ornament You all...

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