Mar 9, 2010 Posted on Mar 9, 2010 | 0 comments

Today’s image link-

If you tried to download today’s vintage image and couldn’t, please try again. The link was bad but has been fixed.

Mar 9, 2010 Posted on Mar 9, 2010 | 2 comments

From my studio: Metal Art Pins and Acrylic Pendants

My work table is buried in tons and tons of metal art and acrylic jewelry pieces.  Such a fun diversion from paper for a few days.  Hopefully they will be dried enough to photograph later today so I can share some pictures of finished pieces.

Mar 7, 2010 Posted on Mar 7, 2010 | 2 comments

Tales From the Yellow Bungalow: St. Louis Spring!

I officially declare it spring time in St. Louis!

It was beautiful out today so I escaped my basement studio for a bit and headed out to the garden to rake out all of the leaves and debris from my flower beds.  In the process, I unburied my treasured White Lenten Rose, a gift from a friend’s garden.  I am always ready to declare it officially spring when I see the white of her petals starting to emerge.  As you can see, they are there and on the verge of blooming so I am happy to proclaim “Welcome Spring!”

Mar 6, 2010 Posted on Mar 6, 2010 | 0 comments

Red Lead Paperworks Giveaway

My friends over at Red Lead Paperworks are giving away a fun little treasure on their blog.  All you need to do to try for it is to leave a comment on their blog.  While you are over there, be sure to check out their awesome new 4×5 Statement Stamps that they have added to the shop.  I am in red rubber love with those!

Mar 6, 2010 Posted on Mar 6, 2010 | 3 comments

Silk Ribbon Embroidery: Baby to Bride Bonnet

A sweet baby girl is being christened today.  I am flattered that a special friend of her parents chose one of my ribbon embroidered bonnets to give her parents as a special keepsake of the day.

Mar 5, 2010 Posted on Mar 5, 2010 | 4 comments

Flashback Friday: Mother Daughter Friends Altered Canvas

designed January 2008

Ahhhh, this project makes me smile.  I made it the year my daughter Anna was a senior.  When we had her senior pictures done (by the awesome Holly McCaig) she insisted on including me in one.  I really do not like having my picture taken, I am probably the most self-conscious uneasy person in front of a camera.  But I agreed and we ended up with one of my favorite photos of us together.  I always smile when I see it.  It is kind of bittersweet looking at this project because I included a photo of us together when she was just a week old.  When I look at the two I feel a bit sad for the years that are gone and a bit confused about where they went.  Somedays it feels like it was just yesterday that she was that wee baby in my arms and somehow we are nearly 20 years later and she is away at college making her own life.  They simply grow up too fast.  sigh.  If I could go back and slow down time and have more moments with this sweet girl I would.

I am choking myself up. . .  so anyway, about the project. . .

This project was for CHA and features the Sultry collection from BasicGrey.  It was one of those projects that I sat down with no real direction and ended up with something pretty cool.  I could have gotten a similar look in probably a less complicated way, but the process was fun and just evolved along the way.

I started out with a box canvas and ended up turning it into a shadowbox.  I had no real plan when I started, I just sat down with stuff and let it take me somewhere.  After painting the canvas, I adhered thick chipboard to the inside to give the front surface strength so I could cut through it.  I added pattern paper to the front and then cut an opening.  I added rub-ons to a  piece of plexiglass and adhered it to the opening on the inside of the frame.  I covered all of the wood framing with pattern paper on the inside.  For the inside back, I covered another piece of chipboard and added photos and embellishments and adhered it to the back of the frame.  On the front I added rub-ons, chipboard elements, buttons, brads, and sticker letters.  I think the whole project turned out so soft and pretty looking and probably way more simple and less complicated than it was.

Mar 3, 2010 Posted on Mar 3, 2010 | 0 comments

From my studio: Lily Bee Trinket Box

I suppose you are all pretty tired of me talking about what I made for the Lily Bee design team by now, good thing I have just one last thing to share!  This little trinket box features papers from the Audrey collection.  I only needed to send in two projects, but I just couldn’t stop at two because I couldn’t decide which projects to send, so I sent three.  I really loved the blues in these papers from the collection and just had to use them on a decor piece.

The flowers, stars, and crystals are all from Prima.

I cut a square Audrey die cut in thirds and repieced it back together to fit the box lid.  I adhered it over a scrap of chipboard to give it a slight bit of lift off of the top of the box.

I added a scrap of vintage blanket binding for a finishing touch.  I love that this binding piece has a subtle tone-on-tone pattern just like the paper.

Thanks for indulging me in my three days of Lily Bee.  I will let you all know of course when they announce the team! {fingers crossed}

Mar 2, 2010 Posted on Mar 2, 2010 | 3 comments

From my studio: Lily Bee “My” Mini Book

For my second project that I sent in to the Lily Bee design team call, I made a mini book featuring their Vintage Poppy collection.  The collection has  round die cut with a scallop edge that fits perfectly on the round 6×6 chip album by BasicGrey.  To embellish my book I used rub-ons from the collection along with paper flowers by Bazzill in an assortment of colors along with chipboard flowers by Pebbles Inc.

Each page has a vellum pocket that holds a journaling card that has space for a photo and some text.

Each pocket is decorated with a chip piece with flowers and a rub-on.  Some have phrases, some have just cute little posies and some have both!

Tomorrow I will share a home decor trinket box I made featuring the Audrey collection.

Mar 1, 2010 Posted on Mar 1, 2010 | 9 comments

From my studio: Lily Bee Design Joy Frame

I haven’t tried out for a design team in forever.  I have gotten really spoiled with doing freelance work and enjoyed not having the monthly obligations of a regular design team.  Part of me really missed the challenge of being part of a team so I figured I would give it a try again if just the right company’s call came along.

If you remember, after CHA I posted some of my favorites from the show, one of which was Lily Bee Design.  Not long after that they announced that they were going to have a design team call.  I was immediately excited about it but had a few moments wavering self confidence about whether or not I would make it.  I really hate rejection.  I went back and forth about it and decided that I loved the product so I should give it a try.  What the heck, nothing ventured nothing gained, right?  In the past when I have applied for teams, I usually didn’t say much about it because if I got rejected (which stinks and hurts a lot) no one besides me and the people picking the team would have to ever know.

I am breaking with my normal tradition and being brave and telling everyone that I applied!  So anyway, I wanted to share what I made and submitted.  I made three projects, here is the first and my favorite:

This frame is yet another clearance aisle find from my local Hobby Lobby.  I recovered it with papers from the French Couture collection.  I added rub-ons from the Three Little Birds collection.

I crinkled and inked paper and then punched flowers from it.  I layered the punched flowers with paper covered brads from Bazzill.  I covered a pieced of chipboard with paper and added the phrase which I think was perfect for the sweet photo of my wee girlie Emma.  (Quick photo credit to my awesome photographer friend Holly McCaig.  If you are in St. Louis, you really should check her out!)

I freehand cut some leaves and added a fold to them so that they would be domed.   The frame has distress crackle paint around the edges creeping out onto the pattern a bit.  I love the shabby effect it creates.

As always, lots and lots of adhesive foam squares here to create lots of dimension.  (How about a shameless plug for my favorite ones, Therm O Web’s Foam Squares.)

To give the photo some lift, I matted the photo on pattern paper and then adhered it to a scrap of chipboard and then adhered that with adhesive foam squares.  The quote block was adhered with a double stack of foam squares to give it height above the photo.

I cut one of the phrase rub-ons into strips and applied them around the edge of the frame.  I love how that little touch added so much to the project.

I will be back tomorrow with another Lily Bee project, a fun little mini book.

Feb 27, 2010 Posted on Feb 27, 2010 | 4 comments

From my studio: Vicki Chrisman’s Shadowbox Die

Back in January at CHA, my sweet friend Vicki Chrisman sent me home with a diecut from her new Shadowbox Die from AccuCut.  Not only is it available as a die, but it is also available in pre-cut kits through Crafty Secrets.  If you are familiar with Vicki’s work, you know that she loves vintage as much as I do.  When I laid eyes on this sweet frame I was completely in love!

Yesterday I finally got a chance to sit down and just play a bit and reached for my diecut from Vicki and dug around a bit in my vintage lace and vintage buttons.

Vicki had several pattern papers to choose from and I ended up choosing one that was an older BasicGrey pattern.  I ended up though using the blank backside of the pattern paper instead.  To create the effect, I sprayed the white side of the paper pieces with a combination of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists in Sugar Cookie and Caramel Apple.  I heat set the spray to dry it quicker and then stamped on the pieces using stamps from the Flights of Fancy stamp set  by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous.  After the ink was dry, I used colored chalk to come in and add color.  I finished off all of the edges with distress ink.

For the photo, I used today’s free vintage image and printed it to fit my frame twice.  I colored the girl and dog on one and the background on the other.  I cut out the girl and dog and added them to the top of the background piece using adhesive foam squares.  Unfortunately, in the photos it is hard to tell that the little girl’s dress is a soft sweet pink.

To embellish the frame, I mixed bits of vintage lace and vintage buttons with velvet flowers (Making Memories), velvet leaves (Prima), silver paper leaves (Making Memories), canvas flowers (Making Memories), pink feathers, and felt flowers (unknown).  I added blue chalk and distress ink to the canvas flowers.

Thank you so much Vicki for giving me one of these sweet frames to play with.  I loved working with it!