Sweet Ballerina Tags...

I needed to make it easier on my girls to find "their" bags at dance class...didn't realize everyone at the school would have the same design! EEEEK! Anyhow, it's also a chance for my youngest to see her name in print. We've been working with her on a speech delay and recognizing letters and this is just another way for her to practice with her name. I think she is doing just fine as she now recognizes "Addison" but keeps asking why we call her "Addie" for short! The cute ballerina and sentiment stamps are from Lizzie Anne Designs. Since I was limited on space, I opted to cut out the ballerina and trimmed her with my copic (C1 cool gray) so she really "pops" on the white, swiss dot bg. It's hard to tell from the photo, but I also used 3-D foam tape to make it look like a diorama! The dancing floor is elevated just enough so when you look at the tag, it looks as though she's really dancing!
A little bit of glitter and rhinestones for her hair!My eager beavers! Addison takes over the "lunch" duty on the weekends! Funny girl.

Glue-Art & Paper Studio Project...

Another FUN project from Glue-Art & Paper Studio to share with you all. This particular project uses the Crafter's Card File along with the 3x5 card inserts. There are a number of themes you could use here (recipe file, calendar etc.), but I decided to go with a teacher calendar! The Crafter's Card File is a perfect little addition to any teacher's desk and it will be close at-hand when they need it! I used a mixture of Verve and SU! stamps. The tan card insert is stamped with my french script bg. The main image is cut out with my nesty dies and I added a fun "school" themed quote along with some 3-D flowers. For each months tag, I decided to do something fun and whimsical. I came up with the idea to do a large, first letter, and then used my Karen Foster Snap stamps to finish the spelling.PTI-Polka Dot Basics...to keep the calendar cards simple!Fall is in the air AND inside my crafter's card file as well! I don't like to leave the inside "naked" so I carried the paper thru out. My adhesive of choice when altering with paper is modpodge...works wonders!In keeping with the Fall theme, I cut out the leaves (one skeleton pattern, one solid brown pattern) from my Accents Cricut cartridge. To add the additional colors for the inside of the leaf, I just cut the red/orange to size and used a glue pen on the backside (the polka dot pattern is from my PTI set). A little extra flair was added with the rhinestones!

Thinking "outside" of the boxes...

Before I head out to get started on a vintage bed I'm working on (I will share at a later date!), I wanted to post these fun altered wooden purse boxes I've been working on for Mom. My Mom had originally requested a handmade nameplate for her co-workers, but when I couldn't find the proper plating to use, I decided to go with these wooden boxes! They are dual purpose and can also be used as pencil/pen holders or filled with goodies and tied off with cellophane and ribbon. I wanted to do a little more than just put their names on the front. You need something just as pretty for the backside as well, so I opted to use some quotes on the back. I loooooooved getting in my button jar and going a tad overboard here. The buttons add a vintage flair with the modern papers I used.It's been awhile since I made tags so I thought it would be neat to use on the backside here. The tag fit perfect without covering up some of the bright colored details in the patterned paper. The ribbon I used on this handle is from May Arts and comes already "ragged"...thought it went better with the paper vs. an overload of buttons.Mom's is a little more custom to her taste! I surprised her with a hot cup-o-joe and added some Crystal Effects for a 3-D effect on the liquid coffee! FUN! FUN!I will probably make up some more of these for Teacher Gifts this year. I'd make them ahead of time and fill them closer to the holidays. Hopefully I keep to my word and NOT wait until last minute!

Sassy Bag Tag...

Who says you have MORE time when the kids are off to school??!!! I find myself using that "free" time to catch up on all the chores I put off during the Summer...lol All that cleaning is the excuse for not posting regularly! I will be working on a few projects this week, including a new Glue project, so there will be plenty of fun stuff to share soon! This is the packaging I did for the gifts in the previous posts! I love this little number from MFT! It's a mini set, which makes it perfect for making cute bag tags. This would totally rock on a beach bag, or in my gf's case, she used it for her camera bag. This design is pretty straight forward so I will spare ya' the details! I did however, add some stickles to the itty-bitty-bikinis...because these are exactly the type of bikinis "I" wear to the beach...ha!

Diva Card...

I'm not much of a coffee drinker, BUT, my girlfriend is! My cup would mostly likely have Starbucks Apple Cider in it...because they REALLY do make more than "just" great coffee!
Of course, that cup will have to wait until the weather cools down a bit! I do have my windows open today since there is a nice Fall breeze flowing today...always a good time to air out the house!
Anyhoo, this is the matching card I made for my gf's birthday gift that I posted on Monday. Funny story short, did you know if you start out with a vision of a "cobblestone" walkway, it can also take on a life of its own as a "leopard" print????!!! Totally thru me off after I pulled up my Eclipse tape and found a "not-so-cobblestone" look....sooo, instead of tossing it in the trash I decided to work with my new discovery! I started my using my Copic markers to airbrush the bottom half in tan, than cut out a pattern from the Eclipse tape for my "cobblestones". The Bella image is actually stamped first so I could match up the Eclipse tape just slightly over the table legs! I punched out the brown circles with my CM circle punch, tied on some embroidery thread, then glued (E6000) down the buttons. My favoritepart of this card is ALL about the sentiment! It fits our friendship perfectly...take a little time today to laugh, it's good for ya!

For a DEAR friend...

What do you get for someone who has EVERYTHING??? I know my gf loves Pier One for the simplicity and clean lines, so that was my inspiration for her birthday gift. I just received this new Cuttlebug-Swiss Dot folder last week (because Elizabeth MADE me do it!) from Eclectic Paperie for only $2.00! Of course, I couldn't just buy one, so I bought several other patterns and got a great deal! The Swiss Dot folder adds just enough texture to this project, without being overwhelming like patterned paper. Close up of the special sentiment. This fits our friendship to a "T". I had a little space to kill on the upper right of the heart, so I added a pink dew drop!I love these little clipboards! There are just a few left in my stash so I'm hoarding them for gifts:) I purchased these from my little hole-in-the-wall craft store while living in Brooklyn and I'm sad I can't find anymore:( They are just darling for your workspace/desk!

For Princess Abby...

A special request for Princess Abby! This little princess stamp from SU! is definitely one of the most used in my collection. She's fun and easy to color when it comes to customizing. The party info. is printed off the pc and I used my nesty dies for the "square-ish" design. I do love these, but this particular die takes more than a few passes thru the wizard...which is time consuming, but I keep using them because I love the finished beveled edges. Lots of glitter! I prefer to use Stickles, but here I used my Copic Spica Pens, which offer just as much glitter WITHOUT the drying time.

Good bag tags...whoa, say that 10 times fast right??!! You could adhere these straight to the bags themselves, but for added flair dig out the ol' spool of curly ribbon! This is a great way to stretch your party supply dollars...I "shutter" knowing these will later be ripped to shreds!! ACK!

Baby Buttercup...

Playing with my Stamping Bella-Baby Buttercup! I was really exploring a mixture of copic markers and prisma colorpencils. I generally do my color pencils first, than do a slight overlay in shading with the copic markers. Just be careful if you try this, I don't recommend this technique with light colors as the color pencils will stay on the marker nubs. All in all, I'm happy with the blending on the flower...deep blueish purple. The quilting squares are done with my PTI-Polka Dot Basics and I did a simple stitch around each one. The mini sentiment is cut out with my cuttlebug...oooooh, how I have neglected you...lol Lastly, I added some deep purple ribbon...it's actually a single strip hidden behind the card front and I add the bow separately with E6000 glue...works like a charm! Close up of the sweet buttercup! I was going to add some 3-D pop up tape but thought it might look funny sitting up so high. I opted to cut out another baby image and simply taped it on top of the original...adds a subtle depth without being overwhelming.

Breast Cancer Awareness...

I'm thinking I really need to purchase a photo box! My pictures have been hard to capture lately with the unpredictable weather as well as time of day (dead of night!!) I usually finish my projects...grrr! You can tell from these photos it was pretty cloudy and dark...I'm going to have to work on that! Anyhow, I got to playing the other day and was thinking of some new ideas for Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October) this year and I had the perfect set from MFT-Think Pink as my inspiration. Some fun little altered Post-it Pad holders. I colored the main image with my Copic makers and matted with SU! cs. The sentiment was bent around my acrylic block for the circle image. I was just going to add the circle sentiment when I got a novel idea to add the flower with rhinestone bling. In order to get my rhinestone situated directly in the middle of the flower, I simply used my small circle punch to just slightly clip the corner off of the main image! You totally can't even see the "extra" detail with the Hearts Cuttlebug folder I used, however it's embossed on the green layer...looks super funky in person...I looove it!Soooo, if you make oodles of large Post-it pads, you can also repeat with the mini notepads! I have these by the drawer full...not really sure why, but I finally found a project to use them with. The approx. size on the mini notebooks is about 1x 1.5 inches...really tiny! This size would be great to add to a gift bag or toss in your purse. When I go to "toss" these in a purse, I'd advise saving the plastic storage bag (I purchase mine at Clearbags.com) to prevent ripping off the rhinestones, paper, etc. I'm off to get cleaned up this morning! My twin sis has been in town visiting with us and we are headed to the Elementary School today for my Daugther's Kindergarten orientation...ahhh BIG sigh!

Witches Brew...

Just a little eager to try some fun Halloween images a tad early! I wasn't sure "witch" I liked more, the image or the sentiment?...lol Whatever the case, they both compliment each other! I've had this stash of patterned paper forever and love the colors so that's where I picked up the colors for the witch image. I used a combo of copic glitter pens and prisma pencils with gamsol. The prisma colors blended nicely when it came time for the blue nighttime sky. I kept tossing around the idea of whether or not to keep the bg image white, but I think the blue background really makes the image POP! The chunky ribbon is from Jody's May Arts shopping spree...she has the BEST selection! The pattern on the orange cs is from my swirls cuttlebug folder and the oval sentiment is die cut with my nesty dies. I took it upon myself to try the zig -zag stitch again, still working on getting it STRAIGHT, but I still had fun playing with it! Detail shot of the "sparkles" courtesy of my copic glitter pens!

Another Sketch Card...

Another fun little card I put together using Jen's Sketch from last weekend. The sketch only called for an embellishment on the upper left (buttons), but I decided to add a few more buttons the bottom as well...keeps it all symmetrical! Don't you love that little dino too? He is also from the Kim Hughes set I used on the last post. All the images are perfect for little boys, however, there is also a G.I. Joe figure in the set that I think would be perfect for a military silhouette card! I haven't had the chance to play with "Joe" just yet (I'd have to ask my hubby how he feels about it...lol), but I've got some ideas cooking! The polka dot paper is some old stuff from my CM stash that coordinates perfectly with this theme! Off to get some lunch for the girls, I gave up mowing this morning after I ran out of gas...eh, it's half done, good for today!! Rain is on the way!

FINALLY...A Card!!!

I know, I can hardly believe it MYSELF...lol I've been lost in 3-D, altering-land! I hadn't realized it had been sooo long since I'd made a card! In fact, I had to lean on Jen del Muro's SFYTT for a little inspiration! This is a sketch from her June collection and I thought I'd also pull out my Prisma Color Pencils and dust them off. I love how well the greens and yellows blended for a perfect match with the patterned paper. The cute little alien and sentiment are from Kim Hughes-Little Boy Set. I'm hoping this is the beginning of getting back in to card making...where it all started!