Special Ops: Storybook Houses

It's no secret that I love to pickup something for nothing and turn it into a masterpiece. These items were found at an after Christmas sale for 50 cents!
~ Storybook Houses ~

Today's technique changes Primitive Country Christmas décor into vibrant, jewel-toned Storybook Houses.

Step 1:
Trace the outline of the block or house onto paper.

Step 2:

Cut out the shape and trim to fit. 



Step 3:

Stamp and heat emboss a design on to the paper.

Step 4:

Paint or color the image then adhere the paper to the block.

I used my mists and a small paint brush.

The embossed lines kept the colors from merging.

Step 5:

Wrap the edges with washi tape.

Paint the top and sides of the block with Mod Podge.

I used three layers of Mod Podge on my blocks.

Supplies:
Paper:Crate Paper
Washi: Love My Tapes
Stamps:Prima, Inkadinkado, Stamps Happen Inc, J. Mauck
Pigment Ink:Clearsnap
Embossing Powder:WOW
Mist:Heidi Swapp, Tattered Angels, Dylusions
Surface Sealant:Mod Podge

Scrap On!

~charity~

Princess

Welcome to the Scrapping Our Stash blog hop.

The embossed Princess and Crown on this banner were made using a stencil by Funfare. I thought they matched the sweet Eiffel Tower image I've been hoarding since...2011! Not to mention the Making Memories Flowers from 07 or 08.

You can find many other Funfare designs HERE.

That mask I used for the misted background is a vintage tatted collar. 

It fits right in with the bit of vintage lace at the top and the piece wrapped around the Tower. I've spent so much time collecting these bits of lace I have been forgetting to use them!



Be sure to stop by each blog for inspiration and sign up for a few freebies on the way!

Here is the order of the blog hop: 

Wendy C www.stampingrules.com
Suzanna  http://lifestrivialities.typepad.com/

Lee-Anne http://lee-annelovethejourney.blogspot.com
Jennifer http://livethemoment-jen.blogspot.com
Charity http://menemenetekeluniversity.blogspot.com/   <<<----- You are here!

Sandy http://itsafamilyaffairwithscrappynana.blogspot.ca/

Bobbi http://vintagemusedesigns.blogspot.com/

Wendi http://scrappydayinparadise.blogspot.com

Monica http://scrapinspired.com/

Kristy http://alwaysaworldaway.blogspot.com
Majken  http://chocoscrapaholic.blogspot.com
Cheryl http://patchesandscraps.blogspot.com
Kristina http://http://mamasanity.blogspot.com/
Brenda http://simplybrenhavingfun.blogspot.com/
Ruth http://paperandmusings.wordpress.com/
Alison http://alisondaydesigns.com/
Cathy http://alteredplayground.blogspot.com/

Follow my blog and leave me a comment saying you did. I'll enter your name in a random draw for these Spring Inspired ribbons and clips.

US shipping only. Winner announced March 3rd.

Supplies:

Paper:Maja Design, MME

Trim, Mask:Vintage Lace

FLowers:MME

Pearls:CTMH

Mist, Pigment Ink, Chalk:Clearsnap

Embossing Powder:Wow, Stampendous

Stencil:Funfare

Scrap On!

~charity~

Forever, My Valentine

Well, the month got away from me and I didn't get all my Valentine's cards posted before the big day. But they are still pretty and so VERY fun to share. These cards were made with my Memorable Seasons Kit for February.

~ Forever ~

I find it easiest to put together more than one card using the same set of supplies, just with a few changes. Clearly these cards share a heart doily!!!

The majority of the paper is Crate Paper: Kiss Kiss with a few bits from former kits. Pink and aqua are one of the few combinations that make me like pink. The extra bit of red just spices things up.

 

Scrap On!

 

~charity~

Love Always

SWAT Drill # 50: Mood Board

My oldest daughter was tiny at birth and stayed that way till she hit her teens. In this photo she is wearing a 3-6 month blouse as a dress! She is 2 1/2 months old.

~ Love Always ~

This layout is my entry for Red Carpet Studios

Challenge #91:My Fair Lady

Create a "girly" project with lots of layers.

All Papers and Diecuts are from Memorable Seasons kits.

 

Supplies:

Paper:Crate Paper, Fancy Pants

Die Cuts:October Afternoon, Crate Paper

Flowers:Making Memories

Twine:Two Berry Creative

Pearls:Recollections

Border Punch:EK Success

Puffy Stickers:Heidi Swapp

Washi Tape:Love My Tapes

Glitter Paste:Bo Bunny

Mask:Momenta

Stamp:Prima

Ink:Clearsnap

 

Scrap On!

 

~charity~



Mercard

Little did I know that when I posted this Mermaid Valentine card using Funfare Stencils that the technique I used to make the ocean and waves would interest so many people!

~ Oceans of Love ~

I am thrilled to share with you exactly how I did it.

It was a long and artsy process so settle in for a LIST of photos. 

 

Paper Supplies in Inches:

Heavy cardstock for card, 4x6

Medium to heavy weight cardstock for image base, 3.5 x 5.5

Scraps of paper for tearing. 7x3

Tear your paper scrap in half. Tear slowly and with lots of "dips".

Don't feel silly practicing this!
The torn paper is the key to the wave look.

 

Coloring Products:

 White embossing powder (Zing), white pigment ink (Clearsnap), and three colors of mist.
I used a mint green (Heidi Swapp), a teal (Tattered Angels)

and London Blue (Dylusions).

For tools you will need sponges or cotton rounds and a pointed stick (mine is for applying rubons).

Adhere the torn paper strip with the strait edge 1/4 of the way from the top. Apply the adhesive just to the ends so that no debris remains on the image base.

Mist the sponge with the lightest color and spread it on the base in a circular motion. The color should cover all the paper beneath the torn strip.

Repeat the process with the medium color but do not cover the entire paper.

Sprinkle the darkest color onto the base by removing the spritzer and tapping the tube. Be sure to cover the top of the base with a scrap paper to catch oops drips. Leave the drops on the paper about 10 seconds before spreading them in a circular motion.



 The base needs to be completely dry before begin this next step.

Using the pigment ink daub the base right at the edge of the torn paper. The width of the ink strip will be the width of the white caps on the waves.



Dust the ink with embossing powder. Tap off the extra and use a paintbrush to remove any unwanted portions. Use the stick to scrape circular lines in the powder. Heat to set. 

Place the mermaid stencil over the ocean and apply ink.

Dust with embossing powder, heat to set.



To complete my mermaid I used Clearsnap ink and WOW embossing powder. The Sentiment is MME and the sticker is Heidi Swapp. All papers used are Craft Smith.

I can't wait to see this technique showing up on projects!

Be sure to share.

 

Scrap On!

 

~charity~

Remember Today

Red Carpet Studio Challenge #89

A Winter's Tale

Use snowflakes and white paint or modeling paste.

These photos of my mom, brother, and I were taken Christmas Day 2013.

~ Remember Today ~ 

This is one of those layouts that simply does NOT do well on camera. In person the black & white layers stand out sharply against each other. The paint and modeling paste is clearly visible. Even the snowflakes tucked among the flowers make a sharp contrast. It seems, however, that you will just have to take my word for it!!!

 

Supplies:

Paper:Prima

Snowflake Punch:Martha Stewart

Border Punch:Kreaxions #312

Trim:Stash

Flowers:Petaloo

Title, Stickers:Echo Park

Modeling Paste:Liquitex

Paint:Craft Smart

Dimensional Paint:Ranger

 

Scrap On!

 

~charity~



Sparring with Destiny

Star Wars is a BIG deal at our house. The Funfare Star Wars Stencil set fits right in. Here I've used it to embellish this layout.

~ Sparring With Destiny ~

To get those great silhouettes I used a reverse stencil process.

Here are the instructions:

Liberally ink the back of the stencil with pigment ink.

Place the stencil ink side down on the paper to be embellished. Place another paper over the stencil and rub all over to transfer the ink. A brayer works great here but fingertips will do.

Dust the image with embossing powder.

Tap off the extra and heat to set.

If you are looking for an even more dramatic result use a textured paper like this one from Craft Smith Co.

 

Supplies:

Paper:Craft Smith, Bo Bunny

Stickers:Creative Imaginations

Alpha:Little Yellow Bicycle

Stencils:Fun Fare

Ink:Clearsnap

Embossing Powder:Zing

Glitter Paste:Bo Bunny

Border Punch:Kreaxions #909 and #920

 

Scrap On!

 

~charity~

 

 

Lori

Red Carpet Studio
 Challenge #90: Casablanca
Black and White, + 1
These photos of my second child were taken in the hospital.

This is my luck Friday the 13th daughter born in Italy.

Healthy, strong, and pleased with the black and white stuffed tiger Daddy bought for her first toy.

~ Lori ~

The center cut doily was achieved with the Kreaxions circle cutter set at 7 inches then punched around the edges at varying depths with Kreaxions Punch #918.

Punch # 916 is used on the corner of the larger photo.

To give the layout more texture I scrunched the washi tape after applying.

 

Sketch:

(turned once to the right)

Sketchabilities #133

 

Supplies:

Paper:Crate Paper

Washi Tape:Love My Tapes

Masks:Momenta

Punches:EK Success, Kreaxions

Wood Chips:Prima, Stash

Alpha:American Crafts

Tiny Type:Glitz

Flower:Recollections

Dimensional Paint:Ranger, Duncan

 

Scrap On!

 

~charity~



So This is Love

 My second daughter's pregnancy was very difficult and the birth ended with a loss of spinal fluid. This resulted in an agonizing head ache that lasted a couple of weeks...although it felt like MONTHS! In all of the distraction I still was amazed at the beautiful creature I had given life to.

~ So This Is Love ~

When my background paper has a very busy pattern I have to find a way to pop-up my title. One way to do that is to build a base with strips of Washi Tape. I use a contrasting color for my title to make it extra visible.

 

Supplies:

Paper and Burlap:Craft Smith

Washi:Studio g, Crafty Steals, Love My Tapes, Japan

Flowers:Petaloo, Prima

Twine:Two Berry Creative

Ric-Rac:Vintage

Gems:Recollections

Metal Charm:Momenta

Alpha and Tiny Type:Echo Park

Heart Punch:EK Success

Corner Punches:Kreaxions #913, #916, #917

 

Scrap On!

 

~charity~

Dream Big

I am THRILLED to announce that I am on the design team for
Love My Tapes!
Washi tape is ULTRA fun to play with and comes in plenty of color and prints.
Be sure to stop by these Social Media sites to keep up with my new company!
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Etsy
 Hot-air-Balloons and puffy clouds go together like stars and sparkles!
Although I've never ridden in an airship it is definitely on my bucket list.

~ Dream Big ~

The sequin clouds on this card are my rendition of beautiful pearl clouds by Lee-Anne Thornton. The stars inside the balloon are strips of washi tape cut to fit exactly.

Supplies:

Paper:Craft Smith

Washi Tape:MME, Love My Tapes

Tiny Type:Authentique

Metallic Rub:InkaGold

Sequins:Greenbrier International

Balloon Pattern:Silhouette Portrait

Scrap On!

~charity~



Sisters Forever

When my first child became a sister she wasn't so sure about this intruder. In fact, she chose to simply ignore her for the first few months. Eventually she accepted her, but it wasn't an easy process.

~ Sisters Forever? ~

This layout is my entry for the February Scrappy Friends Challenge

Rochelle's Tic Tac Toe Challenge

I used horizontal row 1:Sticker, 2-word Title, File Folder

Kelly's Word Challenge
I used "forever"

Brenda's Sketch

 

Supplies:

Paper:Carta Bella, Crate Paper

File Folder:Making Memories

Burlap:Carta Bella

Stickers, Alpha:Echo Park

Trim:Ranger, Recollections, Stash

 

Scrap On!

~charity~



A Good Day

 A couple days before my birthday a sweet friend of mine took me to the races. It was my first time and I LOVED it!!! The following day I drove by one of the race cars being repaired. The crew very amiably took my photo next to the car.

~ A Good Day~

A banner is a quick way to add washi to a project.

A couple brads to hold the twine down, and an assortment of tapes folded over the twine make a colorful statement.

 

Supplies:

Paper:Craft Smith

Washi:MME, Japan, Target, Love My Tapes

Brads:Teresa Collins

Resin Flowers:Basic Grey

Alpha:Authentique

Twine:Twinery

Stickers and Tiny Type:Echo Park

 

Scrap On!

 

~charity~



Fun Fare Design Team

I am super thrilled to be working with Fun Fare by M and N Creative Designs!!! 

Although these stencils are originally meant for food decoration I see SUPER FUN cards and party invitations when I look at them!!!

Here are the sets I was sent:

So many more stencils are available!

Check them out in the Etsy shop:

M and N Creative Designs

What is JUST as important as variety?

Well PRICE of course!

The 6 piece sets are just $10 and individual stencils range from $0.75 to $2.

Go check them out!!!!

And like that Facebook page as well.

Fun Fare

For my first project I chose the Mermaid.

First I sponged a bit of mist onto the card in swirls.

Then I added pigment ink and white embossing powder for the waves.

The mermaid is inked and embossed in gold.

 

Supplies:

Paper:Craft Smith Co.

Pigment Ink:Clearsnap

Embossing Powder:WOW, Zing

Mist:Heidi Swapp, Dylusions

Alpha:Prima and American Crafts

 

 

Scrap On!

~charity~

Love You

SWAT Drill #49

Valentine's Cards

Every year I make the kids cards.

It's getting harder to keep them a surprise, but

 a Mom's gotta do what a Mom's gotta do!

~ Love You ~

I used a wonderful lime green washi tape to create a checker board design for my background. Next I layered modeling paste stars and a gold heart doily over the top.

Very traditional and Oh So Sweet!

 

Supplies:

Paper:Craft Smith

Washi:Japan

Alpha:Basic Grey

Modeling Paste:Liquitex

Mask:Memory Box

Punch:Kreaxions #905

 

Scrap On!

 

~charity~