Inspired By

TODAY IS THE DAY!  The BIG reveal of the project you have all been anxiously awaiting! Just go with my disillusions here! hehe.   The E-team is starting a new series that I think we will all enjoy and hopefully grow from!

This new blog hop is featuring our own personal journals as we embark on a journal that is

INSPIRED BY WORDS.

Visit each E-Team blog participant and leave a comment between today, April 25 to Sunday, April 29th for the chance to win a $25 eP gift certificate.  Winner's will be announced on the eP blog, Monday, April 30. PLUS!!  Join the E-Team in our journal adventure and post your journal cover on the eP blog by May 4th and we will pick 2 people to join us next month for the next journal adventure!!

Daisy, eP blog

Broni

Linda L

Micki

Sherry

ME!

I'm really excited about this new series!  I have been wanting to do an art journal for a while, but just never jump off the ledge. Add my love of inspirational words and this series has become the icing on the cake!  I'm so glad the Daisy snuck up behind me, and shoved! LOL!

I decided to make my own journal book instead of buying one.  My thought is that this will allow me to add what ever type of base paper or medium I would like to work with for that particular entry.  And I can add as many pages as I can fit my binding rings around! haha.  For my journal cover, I wanted to combine a couple of my favorite mediums; paint, metal and most recently, Ice Resin.  I started with a couple of Zutter book covers and painted a base coat of TenSecond Studios Verday paint in Bronze.  

Tips:  shake the paint well before applying.  The Verday paint is an acrylic paint that has actual metal particles in it.  You want to make sure that those particles get dispersed from settling on the bottom of the bottle.  

After letting the base coat dry for a couple of hours, I took a rough sea sponge and lightly dabbed more VerDay Bronze paint randomly onto the cover.  Immediately, while the paint was still wet, I misted with the VerDay Patina.  I put my Verday Patina into a cheap, fine mist bottle (like "hairspray" bottle), found  in the area where travel sized accessories are at Target.  

Let the Verday chemically react with the paint overnight.

After drying, I felt that I had gotten a bit heavy handed with the sponging/VerDay and had too much patina. I then just took my course sea sponge again, dipped it into a bit more VerDay Bronze paint, dabbed off on a paper towel and "dry" sponged randomly on the top of the covers to add more copper

Here is a picture, deliberately angled so that you can see all the wonderful metallic bronze shine

I have to say, I hated to cover up all this wonderful patina!!  LOL!  But cover it up I did!  Here is the cover to my journal.

I die cut various layers from the Tattered Floral die and from Spellbinders Carnation Creations from TenSecond Studio's Barn Red metal. I ran some of the flower layers through the Big Shot with an embossing folder and some layers I just hand doodled squiggle lines and others I used a decorative wheel tool on the metal to make patterns.  I then intensified the color with some alcohol inks 

I then shaped the flowers and applied a thin layer of Ice Resin to both sides of the individual layers using a small paint brush.  I recommend wearing gloves for this step.  It gets rather messy and you will get Ice Resin on your hands while trying to paint both sides of the petals.  I left a small portion of the bottom of the flowers unpainted so that I could set them down on my craft sheet to dry.  I was hoping that the Ice Resin would harden the metal enough that the flower petals would be more stable and would not bend as easily.  The Ice Resin DID help stabilize the metal.  I'm thinking that if I were to add another layer, it would make the metal really solid.   After letting the Ice Resin cure for a couple of days, I glued the layers together with Beacon's Glass, Metal and More Permanent Glue.  This is the first time I have used this glue and I was pleased at how relatively quick it set. I would highly recommend using it in a well ventilated room though! It has a bit of a strong odor!

The leaves were die cut using a combination of Spellbinders Carnations Creations and Foliage from TSS's Peacock metal.  

Here is my tutorial , with a video link for making flowers out of metal.  

And a close up of my "first" journal entry.  

The journal entry was typed on the computer, then each word cut out and sponged with Distress Vintage Photo ink.  I cut off a flap from a cardboard box, saturated it with water and peeled off the smooth layer of cardboard, revealing the rough layer underneath.  Distress Stain in Picket Fence was randomly applied.  The words were then attached using glue dots.  

The final touch was adding some swirling bling from Want2Scrap.  

I also finished the inside of the cover. 

I like to think that the TOTALLY different look is reflective of what I hope to accomplish with this journal.  No preconceived ideas.  No limits.  Just go for it.

I first covered the inside with Claudine's gesso.  I didn't really worry too much about how thick the coverage was.  Since I was totally impatient, I heat dried the gesso with my heat gun.  I then dropped random spatters of alcohol ink onto the gesso and hit them with a blast of canned air, dispersing the inks.  A light mist of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Tuscan Sun  was added on top.  After drying, I stamped the sentiment from Wendy Vecchi's I Am My Art set, using Archival Jet Black Ink.  Tip:  I would HIGHLY recommend that you do the inside of the cover before completing all the dimensional work on the outside.  It would make getting a clean, crisp stamped image soooo much easier and you will be able to avoid having to go over the stamped image with a black Sharpie.  Just sayin'.  

I'm really excited about this new adventure!  I hope that you will check out all the other E-Team's journal cover's and be inspired to join us!!

Cooking with 3rd Graders

(grrrr.....don't know what I hit...but I was almost done with my post and POOF!! It's gone! Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to know how much frustration I'm willing to go through just to give you some eye candy!! Aren't I just the greatest?! BWHHAAAAA!!)

Ok...enough jabbering, on with the goodies!!

The second week of October was the birthday of my son's 3rd grade teacher. On the fact list that was given to me (because somehow I ended up being room mom by default, i.e., no one else volunteered to to do!) the teacher listed her interests as 1) Grandchildren 2) Cooking 3) Crafts. This got my ol' brain turning. Hmmmm.....what could be better than kids coming up with their favorite recipes to share with a grandma wanting to cook for her grandkids? And, if it was put together in a cookbook to treasure forever, all the better!! So I snuck home a note along with some pre cut recipe cards (that would fit the size of book I had in mind) asking the kids to write down one or two of their favorite recipes and to decorate the cards if they wished. Luckily, there are on 11 kids in the class so it wasn't a huge chore to call everyone and make sure we had 100% participation! Here is the outside of the cookbook:


I pulled out my SU set of Voila and stamped the chef on Gina K's 120# pure luxury white. He was then highlighted and colored with my Copic Ciaos. I cut and adhered the checkerboard patterned paper to some chipboard. I then cut out the chef and layed him on the DP. OH! MY POOR EYES!! Yikes!! That DP was just waaay too busy!! So I cut a piece of SU textured white cardstock, leaving just a small border of the checkerboard. Ahhhh!! Much better!! The title was cut using Real Red cs and my Cuttlebug/Olivia word set (originally, I had cut out "Cooking With 3rd Grade". Uhhhh....too big for the cover! Had to modify the title!). I then used self laminating sheets to protect the front and back covers (the back cover is just the checkerboard dp over more chipboard). The inside recipes were also laminated to protect the kids art forever. A couple of examples for you:



I then used my Bind it All and put the whole thing together using red binding. I think it turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself. It is kind of funny how some of the kids wrote their recipes~when you flip them, they are "upside down". And I love their handwriting (for the most part, there were a couple that the parents did) and how they chose to decorate their cards.

OH! For those of you who might care~the book is 6" in length x 5" in width. I wanted to give the kids more room to write out their recipes if needed.

Wellll....I will have another post for you tomorrow. While I had considered sharing more today, I decided that I owe you some steady eye candy spread out over a few days vs a stomach ache from too much all at once!! Aren't I just the most considerate blogger ever?! BWHHAAAA!!

With that being said~Thanks so much for dropping by! For those of you who will be hitting the streets in search of goodies, have a SAFE Halloween! I think we will be heading out to the church's Fall Festival. My oldest has never been real fond of Halloween (hates the "scary" costumes. When he was younger I would explain it was just someone like him dressing up. He would tell me "My head knows that, but my heart forgets when I see them!"). My youngest (age 9) informed me that "he and his brother were really too old to trick or treat". When I asked him why, he told me that he really didn't "get" the purpose of Halloween. "All you do is go door to door begging for candy that isn't good for you. What's the point?" How do you fight THAT logic?!

Have a SAFE one and we'll chat again tomorrow!

Finding Inspiration in Reading

My youngest son just finished reading the book Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney.

Once done, he asked me if we could make him a diary (excuse me~~it's a JOURNAL!). He wanted to use my Bind it All (sniff, sniff, makes a mother proud!) versus just altering an already made journal book. So we got out SU's Small Board Basics and went digging through my paper stash. Now my DS (age 8) is very particular when it comes to his crafting. He gets an idea in his head and that is how it is going to be (unlike his older brother who just kinda shrugs and says "whatever"). He wanted a greenish paper and lettering. So I dig out all my greens. NOPE. Didn't like those. I even told him we could do the ink pad direct to the paper to give it more "texture" like the book. He finally found some double sided paper that he liked, giving instructions on which was to be on the outside, and which would be on the inside. We measured, cut and he rounded all the corners. He also wanted "lined" paper on the inside (like the book) vs unlined (and we had to have just about the same thickness as the original book). Luckily, I had just bought a package of lined paper for his older brother to do his homework on, so I got out my handy-dandy Bind it All book and figured out what size to cut the paper. DP is now glued to the chipboard covers and the inside pages are ready to go.

Then, lucky for me, I decided to do a test run on the holes on some scrap paper before I started to punch. WHEW!! Don't know if there is a misprint in my book or what. But the holes went OFF the cover. Tried it a couple of times on the scrap. Nope. Wasn't going to work. So I played around and figured out that when I move the board for the continuous punching, I just needed to move it one hole vs the two that the book suggested. No big deal, but I will ALWAYS check now first on scrap paper to make sure everything lines up as it is suppose too vs punching on my actual project first!! Then the kiddo went through all my O wires deciding what color looked best to him for the binding. Then it was time for the "embellishments" on the cover. My kiddo decides he wants to use stickers so we dig out all my stickers from a past stint of scrap booking. We line everything up and this is the result

(photo taken just out of the shower getting ready for school) Now, before you think that I'm a terrible mother who has given her kid some complex about his height, let me assure you that he came up with this title!! My kiddo IS short for his age (genetics are not on his side to be tall!) and he informed me that "it's true, you know!!

So far he has only made one entry (informing anyone reading that this is a JOURNAL not a diary!) but he was soooo excited to make this book. I hope he will continue to write in it. Who knows? Maybe it will be basis for a whole new series of kid's books one day! Supplies: SU's Small board basics, Zutter Bind it All, O-wires. Paper from My Mind's Eye. Stickers (?!)

Come Sail Away

"Come Sail away, come sail away, come sail away with meeeee......" (anyone care to join me in a Styx flashback?! Yeah, this will date me!)

This is the other "STAR Baby Wish book" (hmmm.....not sure I like that....gonna have to keep working on a name for these little puppies) that I did for one of the teachers at my kiddos school ( for those of you who may be just joining in~her daughter/daughter in law are due a couple of weeks apart and she asked me to make some guest sign in/best wishes books when she saw this book and this book for the two teacher's who are expecting SOON!)

This book looks like it should have been EASY PEASY to make. NOT!!! I think I just stressed out way too much over the fact that I only have the flannel plaid background stamp and I really was wanting a more "finished" plaid look. I finally managed to kick myself in the rear and moved on. Here is the inspiration first of all

Very clean and crisp looking. I think clicking on the picture will give you a larger picture in order to see the different plaid details (hmmm....may need another kick to remind myself that I've moved on from that sticky point).

Here is the results:

The cover was done trying to make the quilt pattern.

Inside pages obviously keep repeating the theme. Like I said, this should have been sooo easy to put together. But I also kept trying to add in another blue, like the quilt. Finally got it thru my thick skull that three shades were enough (but of course, I have several other shade "squares" stamped with the flannel);

That's it for that trip!! (Maybe I should have chosen the Gilligan's Island theme song instead....A three hour tour that turns into a much bigger deal! snort)

Supplies used: Paper: SU Whisper white, Bashful blue, Gina K's pure Luxury 120# in white and Prism dark navy CS (sorry, forgot to note which one I finally settled on...I had about three different shades in my cart at one time) Inks: SU's Not Quite Navy, Accessories: Quikcuts sailboat, Sizzix Big shot, tomobow multipurpose adhesive, Zutter's pink Bind It All, white 3/4" owires

Thanks for stopping in. I have a REALLY COOL discovery that I made on my next card to share with you!!

So You Wanna Be a Pop Star?

(My apologies to the band Cyprus Hill for the butchering of the title of their song.....) *ETA: if by chance you know of Cyprus Hill's song "So you wanna be a Rap Superstar (I think that is the title) I would like to protect my innocent reputation by saying that I only have heard the *modified* version and will deny to my deathbed of even knowing there was another version out there. (hehe)

I think that I should consider going into the "Congratulations/Best wishes/Baby shower guest book business (if anyone can come up with a catchy name for these books, let me know. My brain is stalled on this one). I was asked to make another two books for the daughter/daughter-in-law of one of the teacher's at my kiddo's school. Soooo, being the original thinker that I am, I just took the mommy-2-be's nursery sets again and made the books. I'm going to be a stinker and only post one right now (hehe....I NEED to have something to post tomorrow or this weekend and drat it all!! I've been having to work and have not been able to create something new in the last couple of days!!) Soooo, without further ado....may I present the Pop Star collection:

The diaper bag was the inspiration for the cover of the book. Then I just used the collection for ideas on the inside pages. And here is the book itself.

Pretty much a CASE (copy and share everything) of the diaper bag.

I had ordered the Spellbinders Star nesties for this project but they haven't arrived yet. I ended up buying the Sizzix Stars #2 die for this (at JoAnne's...ON SALE!! hehe) and low and behold!! My SU star punches worked great for layering on these dies, which gave me several nesting/layering options (kinda wish I hadn't ordered the Spellbinder ones now...I could have ordered someting else instead, but! OH WELL!!). The rest of this is pretty straight forward as to the supplies except for the white paper....found out that SU's whisper white is NOT great for the base paper over the chipboard. It is too thin and shows the "glue" lines. I ended up using Gina K's 120# luxury paper (LOOVE this for coloring, btw). Supplies: Paper: Gina K's 120# Pure Luxury, SU bashful blue, creamy caramel, chocolate chip and brilliant blue. Accessories: SU Small board basics, Sizzix Stars #2, Big Shot, Su large and small star punch, SU circle punches 1" and 1/2 ", SU corner rounder punch, Tombow multipurpose glue, Zutter Bind it All, 3/4" owires.

Stay tuned as we sail away for my next project!

Wannabe Dirty, Part 2

Since I'm still icing my shoulder from all the self congratulating, I thought that I'd share part 2 of the "this is soooo DIRTY" projects that I did for the baby shower. First, the inspiration piece.And the "Dirty" project~~~This was for the other teacher's "Best wishes" book (who knew there was such a thing! Kinda a cute idea tho. Too bad I didn't come up with it!! hehe)Again, I'm having to ice my shoulder LOTS for this one!! Now, to prove what a "Dirty" genius (cough, snort, cackle) I am, let me share some little details about this particular project.

Ever hear the saying, "It's not what you know, but WHO you know?" Well, lucky for me, I have a friend who also makes cards. But she is not a stamper. She uses die cuts and has a WONDERFUL collection of just about everything possible. Those cute little airplanes are from the die I borrowed from her. I modified the wings some, trying to get them to look more like the fat little wings on the blanket. Now, here is where my inner "Dirty girl" came in. I could not find any type of camo print in my LSS, Target, Michael's. What is a girl to do? Well, lucky for me, I just happen to own (thanks to Melody!) SU's retired Leopard print background!! PERFECT for that faux camo look on this size of project!! GENIUS!! I also used the Flannel Plaid background stamp (may I just say that this confirms my thought that I should keep all my background stamps for those "just in case" moments?!!) Ok....now a peek of the insideAnd of course, I made a card to match this one too.

So, whadda think? Is there a "Dirty Girl" in my future? (BWHAHAAAA!!! Sometimes I crack myself up! WHEW!! That's a good one for this hour of the morning!!hehe) Seriously, I REALLY liked how these two projects came out and when it is all said and done, that is probably the most important thing. Fame might be nice, but being proud of your own accomplishments is probably a much better feeling. Supplies: Paper: SU's River Rock, Cranberry Crisp, Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy. Inks: Bashful blue, Cranberry Crisp. Stamps: SU's Leopard Print, Flannel Plaid, All Year Cheer I, Papertrey's Trajan Monogram. Accessories: Quikcuts airplane, SU's small star punch, Bind It All (pink) Tombow Multipurpose Adhesive, Zig two way glue pen, stampamajig

Meeting My Inner Dirty Gal

If you have never taken the time to visit Splitcoaststampers, you are TRUELY missing out on a treasure chest filled with awe inspiring creations, challenges to get YOU creating and of course, resources for everything. One of the "perks" of joining the Fan Club is that you get to see what the "Dirty Dozen" have created for that month's theme.

Now~let's be honest here. There is a TEENY TINY place in each of us (remember, we are being honest here!!) that would love to be asked to join this team. Here's my reality: Not likely to happen. I have come up with numerous "excuses" as to why I will never be "Dirty" (i.e~don't have the "right" tools, papers, bling, yaddayaddayadda, my cards aren't noticed because I don't do all the challenges, I'm not on any design teams, and more blahblah) But of course, the REAL reason (snort) that I probably will never become "Dirty" is my lack of faithful dedication at this time in my life to creating. And possibly a lack of conviction that I'm capable of creating something that is "Dirty" worthy (I apologize for that one...that was about as hokey as they come!)

BUT!! Every once in a while, I truely LOVE what I've created and think that I hit the "Dirty Gal" level of artistic output (eat your heart out "WannabeMartha!). The following is one such project. Again, this was for the baby shower (this shower and all it's projects are going to give those mom's-to -be a run for their money as far as time invested, hehe). This is a picture of one of the mom's nursery sets. And a picture of the rug that was also inspirational for my creation.

I was asked to make a something that everyone could sign their best wishes and then the mom's-to-be could put them into their scrapbooks. Wellll.....personally, I like my scrapbooks (ok, when I was scrapbooking....) to have a "certain" look, theme, etc. So I came up with this little

beauty instead

Isn't it just PERFECT?!! (yeah, I've been having to ice my shoulder since straining it patting myself on the back!!) For once, I had the PERFECT paper, the PERFECT embellishments and had the PERFECT upline (hi Kerney!) who just happened to have the PERFECT tool (I'm soooo going to have to get myself a Bind it ALL!! I LOOVED it!) to get this done!! Here is a look at the inside pages

And of course, I made a card to go along with it

I REALLY like how this project turned out!! (yup! More ice coming up!!) The card was made by tracing the same chipboard letters (as I only had one "b" in the bunch and that had been used on the book). I loved the dimension of the chipboard on the album and plan on using them more often.

Supplies used: SU's book basics-small, Alphabet chipboard: unknown (been in my stash from Michael's for a while) Papers: SU cranberry crisp, barely banana, certainly celery, brocade blue, My Mind's Eye, Wild Asparagus line "little one" stripe/yellow, Inks: SU's cranberry crisp, barely banana, certainly celery, brocade blue, Accessories: SU's small star punch, ticket punch, photo corner punch, Certainly celery ribbon, Tombow multipurpose adhesive, Zutter's Bind it All (pink one) 3/4 red Owires

Stay tuned for tomorrow's project. The "Wannabe" Dirty Gal isn't done yet!!