Cross Canada Blog Hop: The Bracket Frame

Welcome to the very first Cross Canada Blog Hop!  Our plan is to have one of these every month, on the 15th.  Although I may not be participating that often, I'll be sure to link you up to it.

If you came from my fabulous team member, Joanne (Jag), you're on the right track.  If you're just starting here, you can keep on hopping until you get back, but if you want to follow us across Canada then you can start at the beginning and join Deanne in Newfoundland.

This month we are having fun with the My Creations Bracket Frame, which can be found on page 132 of the Autumn/Winter 2012 Idea Book (or just click the link to go to my website) and it's only $8.95!  Isn't it great?

There is so much potential in this little product!  I made a very special project.  A high school friend of mine got married a couple weeks ago.  She had a little wedding in her back yard, so I wasn't invited, but I wanted to send her a special gift.  She has a very bohemian, eclectic style and I knew we had some fabulous products to match that look exactly.  She also used to refinish old furniture, turning them into pieces of art.  Here is what I created for her:

What do you think?  Did I manage to capture that style?  This is definitely a mix of old and new products.  I dug into my stash to find the perfect paper.  I used Bliss (retired) to cover the frame as well as making the large flowers.  The brads in the middle of those flowers are from an old Designer Brads package.  I also used Roxie paper, that fabulous zebra print, for the rolled flowers.  The black images are actually rub-ons from a few years ago, including the words.  All the paper flowers have been cut from the Artiste cartridge.  And any sponging you see was done in black ink.  I used a hot glue gun to put everything together.

Here are a couple of close ups of each corner: 

The black sparkle flourish on this corner is taken from my stash.  I've had it for so long, I don't remember where it came from.

I should explain why I put that yellow flower in there.  My friend and her new husband had a sunflower in a pot sitting where they said their vows because it holds significance for them.  It bloomed the day of their wedding!  Of course I had to put that in there somehow.  :)  I used retired Sunflower textured cardstock and sponged the edges with Sunflower ink before spraying it and crunching it up a bit.

And here is a close up of one of the other flowers I made.  I have to thank Mandy Leahy for the inspiration and tutorial on how to make those as well as the burlap flowers.  You can check them out here.   

I love the depth of this frame.  It doesn't show up in the photo of the frame but I hope you can see it in the photos of my artwork.  There is a good inch of space between the front and the back of this frame.  It doesn't come with a backing, so I just attached my paper to a piece of cardboard I have hanging around for just these reasons.

Here is a list of the current supplies I used:

Black Tulle ribbon

Burlap ribbon

Brads Basic Assortment

Sparkles Black and Grey Assortment

Parlor Velvet Rub-ons

Boutique Assortment 

Opaques Licorice Adhesive Gems

Artiste Cricut Collection 

I hope you like what I've made.  I can't wait to get it in the mail to my friend.  I hope she loves it!  

Now it's time to hop on over to my friend and upline, Sheri at Just Scrap It.  If you get lost along the way, check out the list below.  Join us again next month when we showcase the My Creations Journal.

1. Deanne ~ http://deannestamps.blogspot.ca
2. Stephanie ~ http://sbilbycreations.blogspot.ca
3. Michelle S ~ http://mycreationswithmichelle.blogspot.ca
4. Suzette ~ http://croppaperscissors-sue.blogspot.ca
5. Joanne ~ http://jagsscrapincorner.blogspot.ca
6. Krista ~ http://simplycreatingtogether.blogspot.ca  You are here!
7. Sheri ~ http://sherisays-justscrapit.blogspot.ca
8. Brae ~ http://thebrae-er.blogspot.ca
9. Michelle M ~ http://twirlntime.blogspot.ca
10. Tara ~ http://creatingwithtara.blogspot.ca
11. Kathy ~ http://kathy-itsagirlthing.blogspot.ca
12. Nancy ~ http://nancyklein.blogspot.ca

A Fabulous Technique

You have got to check out this video about a really neat technique!



Would you like to try this at a workshop sometime?  Let me know and I'll try to fit it in.

CTMH: September Stamp-of-the-Month Blog Hop

Welcome to another Stamp-of-the-Month Blog Hop!  If you came from Haley's blog, you're on the right track.  If you're starting here, just keep following the links in each post and you'll get back here.

It's September and maybe your kids are in school already, but we don't start until Tuesday.  My kids are super excited about going back, which makes me very happy.  But you can tell it's the end of the summer; they're having a hard time keeping occupied.  This month's stamp set is pretty fun and since my daughter loves colouring, I thought I'd ask her to help me out with a project this month.

Here is what the stamp set looks like:

Here is my daughter's card:

I'm not sure what colours she all used, but I love that she stamped her fall favourites in the inside.  I do know she used Autumn Terracotta for the fall title because it had the word Autumn in it.  :)

Here is my card: 

I wanted to make a simple card.  The burlap ribbon at the top was fun to work with.  I cut it in half and then pulled some of the fibers off before knotting it around the card.  It's a pretty loose tie, so I added a glue dot behind the knot.  

I just stamped the pumpkin image and the sentiment directly on the card base.  I couldn't use my new alcohol markers because of that, so I coloured them in with various colours of watercolour pencils and then went lightly over it with a water brush.  Here is a close up:

Just as I was finishing my post, my son, Nathaniel asked where his was.  He stamped on a piece of scrap paper and wants to share it, too.  So I ran upstairs to take a quick photo.  Here it is:

Love my kids.  :)

Now it's time to hop on over to Amy's blog and check out the fabulous artwork she's got for you.

Happy Creating!

Retro Sketches: Part Two!

I can't believe I actually made two cards for one challenge!  I'm on a roll.

Here's the sketch from Retro Sketches again:

Here is the second card I made:

This card is made with all Close To My Heart products, except the bit of satin ribbon, which I think I bought at Michaels.  I used Cruisin' paper and an adorable new stamp set, that my kids just LOVE, called Outta This World.  My kids are really interested in the planets and space, along with machines and dinosaurs, so I wanted to make sure my planet was coloured properly.  I think I got it pretty close to Saturn, by inking in Honey, sponging with Cranberry and rolling in Slate.  The space ship is inked with Crystal Blue then rolled in Twilight.  The letters are our new Pixie Glitter alphabet and an "r" from a Webster's Pages sticker sheet.  The map shape was cut with my Art Philosophy cartridge.

What do you think?  Which one is your favourite?

I hope you're getting a chance to create just for the fun of it!  

It was a Retro Sketches Day!

I am in the last few days of summer vacation.  Here in Canada, for the most part, our school year doesn't start until Tuesday.  I have enjoyed the laid back, relaxed style of most of our days this summer, but to tell you the truth, I am SO VERY READY for my kids to go back to school.  They are starting to get on each other's last nerves.  And I haven't really had very much time to craft, which I mentioned in a previous post.  This past Sunday, I hid in my studio and crafted away while my husband was home.

I won a July Card Kit from Simon Says Stamps on my friend, Sarah's, blog.  I got it just before I left for convention and I finally cracked it open to play.

Doesn't it look fun!  I have been so busy creating for my business, it was incredibly nice to be able to just play for the sake of it.  I made a couple cards that were sort of copies from other people but then I turned to Retro Sketches for some ideas.

Here is the sketch:

And here is the first card I made:

All the paper and ribbon are from the Card kit.  The stamp, from Pun Fun, and red bling are from Close To My Heart.  I coloured in the rocking chair with Cranberry and Orange watercolour pencils.  The bracket shape was cut with my Artiste cartridge.

I'll post my second card in a new post.  Stay tuned!

Avonlea with Chocolate and Sorbet

Time to show you the other two cards I made for the Women's Retreat.  Both these card patterns are taken from our new Make It From Your Heart publication.

Here is the first one, where I added Chocolate to the Avonlea paper.

I love how this one turned out!  I used the Artiste Cricut Cartridge to cut the speech bubble. It looked a little too plain for my liking so I stamped a pattern on top in 3rd generation (stamp off 2 times before stamping on your image). To add a bit of bling, or maybe a lot of bling, I added the Shimmer Trim in 2 layers to the Chocolate strip.  I also added thick sponging to the pattern paper.

Here is the last card.  I really wanted a colour that would pop since this would be a birthday card.  I think Sorbet does it.  Thanks to Tresa Black for her colour confidence chart.

I sponged all the pieces in Slate before putting this card together.  I love the elegance of this banner stamp.  A few Bitty Sparkles finishes it off.

Supplies: 

Avonlea Paper Packet

Artiste Cricut Collection, including Word Balloons and Birthday stamp sets

Diverse Backgrounds

Silver Shimmer Trim

Chocolate cardstock and ink

Slate cardstock and ink

Sorbet cardstock and ink

Bitty Sparkles

Sponge

I made all three of these cards fairly flat because I'm guessing that there may be some new stampers in my workshop.  I also wanted to make sure the cards would be fairly easy to mail.

Do you live near me?  Consider coming to the Retreat put on by my parents' church.  Click here to take a look at the brochure. 

Happy Creating!

Avonlea with Smokey Plum

Wow, life has been crazy lately!  Having my kids home for the summer has drastically shortened the amount of time I have to craft.  And although that makes me a bit sad to be honest, I really do enjoy the laid back pace of summer holidays.  But I'm gearing up for the exciting fall season and of course, crafting with new products.  My kids are actually gone right now, visiting Grandma, and coming home this evening so I'm trying to get as much time in my studio as I can today.

One of the things I've been working on this weekend is sample cards for a Women's Retreat I'll be attending and teaching at in September.  I'm going to spend the weekend with my mom and sister and sister-in-law, I think.  Can't wait!  The last time I attended this retreat was before Arianna was born.  I was pregnant with her, just didn't know it yet!  Since all those lovely ladies were here at my place on Saturday, I had them choose which paper to use and Avonlea was a unanimous decision.

Here is one of the cards I made:

Here's a close up of those little banners:

I didn't use any special techniques, just sponged everything in Slate.  I used the latest sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.

Supplies Used:

Avonlea Paper Packet

Love Blooms

Words of Comfort

Smokey Plum cardstock and ink

Slate Cardstock and ink

Sparkles

Sponge

Come back tomorrow to see the other cards.

Happy Creating!