Snowflake Frame

I love making most anything with snowflakes.  They are pretty much instant art.  I found this wonderful frame on sale and knew immediately that it would become a home for a beautiful snowflake project.

My color story:
-Bermuda Bay
-Pool Party (ribbon)
-Smoky Slate

I didn't realize it until I started the project that this is one of those frame where the backing is partially attached and the glass does not come out at all.  I was going to attach the snowflake directly to the Smoky Slate CS.  I changed my plan and attached it directly to the glass.  The Frosted Finishes snowflake is the perfect touch to finish off the center of the snowflake.  I think it turned out pretty well.  The only difficult part was trying to get a photo of it with the wind blowing the ribbon.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Jumping Back In... my Gorgeous Winter Wreath

After the very unexpected death of my husband's sister and the events following that, it's hard to know where to begin, so I'll just jump right in and start by showing you the gorgeous Winter Wreath I made just before all these events.  I absolutely love it.  It's based on the one in our big catalog.  Of course, I had to put my own take on it, to make it truly mine.

I added lots more ribbon because I just love ribbon.  I added subtle sponging and lots of silver glimmer paper.  I also changed out the Soft Sky (used on the wreath in our big catalog) for Pool Party.  The reason I did this is so that it would coordinate with the Joy Banner we'll be making at my Christmas Retreat --- on November 16 (10:00-4:00) or November 17 (2:00-8:00).  They will look great decorating your home for Christmas.

So, what do you think?  You'd be amazed at how easy it is to make it.  We'll be making this one at my November Stamp Club on November 4.  The beauty of doing something like this in a class is that I prepare everything for you and you just show up and dig in.  You'll have a beautiful wreath for the holidays by the end of the class.  It involves a lot of materials but, by sharing them in a club, it cuts down on the expense for each person and you don't have to worry if you don't have a tool or die needed to make the project.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Hostess Scrapbook Club Vintage Layout

Here's our layout from this week's Hostess Scrapbook Club.

We used Beau Chateau DSP on a Marina Mist background for our layout.  We stamped a little on the left side, using the Elements of Style stamp set.  The 'Remember When' is from the Word Play stamp set.

The hearts are cut using the Framelits.

My daughter has named the technique for getting the vintage look to the seam binding.  She calls it the 'wet and wad'  technique.  I love it!  It is just exactly that.  We spritzed the seam binding with water (I also added a little Stiffen Quick to it.) and then wadded it up to dry.  After a while, I laid the ribbon in an old cake pan and heated it with my heat tool to speed up the drying process.

Pearl accents add a little bling to the flowers and to the smaller hearts.  The flower are created using an embosslit.  I tied a 'spring' of crochet lace trim into the seam binding and cut the leaves with a sizzlit.

All in all, we had a wonderful evening --- again.  I just love my scrapbook club girls.  We have so much fun!  I'm already advertising that, if you sign up on or before May 7 for the next round of Hostess Scrapbook Club, you will get to make TWO layouts at our May crop.  May is National Scrapbooking Month, so I can't think of a better time to make an extra layout.

If you aren't in the current club, but would like to sign up for the next round, do so on or before May 7 and you may join us for making the 2 layouts on May 7!
We're going to kick off our first crop of the new round --- July 2 --- with a party!!!  At every crop, we share our completed projects with each other, show 'works in progress' to get ideas, inspiration and suggestions from each other and then we enjoy creating one complete layout + a project, just for fun.

Lately, I've been adding an extra bit of fun to our evenings by giving out some sort of a challenge item.  They are to bring it back finished to the next crop.  It's so much fun to see what different ideas people can come up with starting with the same item and then taking off with their creativity.  I hope you'll consider joining our group.  It's more fun than you can imagine!!!

Green, Green and Neil Diamond

I wanted to show you a card today that will get some music flowing through your mind.  My card design is inspired by a sketch challenge and I chose to do it in a monochromatic color story -- thus, the Green, Green song in my head.
I used the stamp set My Friend and, because it contains text stamps for 'hello' and 'my friend,' my daughter calls this stamp set our Neil Diamond stamp set -- thus putting yet another tune in my head.  I do love this stamp set.  It's surprisingly versatile and a lot of fun to use.

I used 2 of our In Color brads and made a double layer of my text strip, to create added interest.  I sponged the edges of both of the strips, to give extra texture.  The little knotted bit of ribbon is created by tying a knot around a tiny sprig of our crochet lace trim.

I used the Big Shot to cut a circle for stamping and then cut a larger scalloped circle to layer behind it.  My colors are Lucky Limeade, Always Artichoke and a bit of Pear Pizzazz.  The vertical strip is created using a technique called Mother of Pearl.

Here's how you do the Mother of Pearl technique:

• Place a bit of Frost White Shimmer Paint in a small container.
• Wad up a small piece of plastic wrap.
• Dip the plastic wrap into the paint and dab randomly over a piece of glossy white CS.
• Set aside to dry.
• Once the paint is dry, lightly sponge over the piece with Lucky Limeade ink, using a circular motion.
• Tissue off excess ink, as desired.

So today, I challenge you to go try this fun technique on a creation of your own.  Enjoy!