Apple Box Part Two!

Good morning and Happy Memorial Day to all of you! 

 I shared with you how I created these satin flowers in my post HERE.  I have a second take on my apple box using these flowers.  This box I painted in a pale eggshell blue.  I spread glossy accents across the top and sprinkled it with Martha Stewart glitter.  

The flowers were actually made from my MIL's old slip.  Yep.  It was my first attempt at these flowers before I shopped for more satin. ;)  It worked beautifully! I added some black floss to the centers as well as a rhinestone.  

I added some Prima velvet leaves and cream "branches." 

I added this little light bulb from Junkyard findings.  I love layering my items into a cluster.  :) 

I am off to spend the afternoon organizing and cleaning my basement.  It is kind of a rainy, gloomy day here, perfect for cleaning! 

 We are stopping to have homemade BBQ ribs made from Dr. Pepper.  

YUM!

Have a great day my friends!

Altered Box and Satin Flower Tutorial!

Good morning, happy Friday, and upcoming 3 day weekend to you! I am trying to get a few gifts made for Cortney's teachers at school.  The end of the school year is quickly approaching!  I found a couple of paper mache' boxes at Hobby Lobby and thought they would be perfect to place a few small items from Bath & Body.  

As you know I am head over heels for these satin flowers. (Since I've practically beaten you over the head with them!) I just can't get enough of them! I have a tutorial a little further down on how I created them. 

I painted the paper mache' box in a pale pink and covered the perimeter of the lid with white lace.  

I added a thin coating of glossy accents to the top and sprinkled glitter over it.  

Once dry, I was able to decorate the lid with a large satin flower, a felt flower, and a few silk flowers I had in my stash. 

I love the variety of flowers and textures on this box.  :)

I want to share with you how I created these flowers that are reminiscent of a peony.  I found this fabulous variety of satin at Hobby Lobby.  I bought a 1/2 yard of each color for about a $1.50 each.  I love the rainbow of colors and decided on a light and dark of each color. 

I hand cut 5 circles in varying sizes. I used the darker color for the 2 smallest or inside layers where the flower would normally be darker. 

You will need a small tea light candle to melt the edges.  I did this in my kitchen near the sink just to be safe! 

As soon as you bring the circle close to the flame, the edges will melt and curl up.  It's pretty cool to watch!

Here are my 5 circles all melted and curled. 

You will cut 4-6 slits all the way around the circle. This gives the flower a peony appearance.  

You want to seal the inside edges by again holding them over the flame.  You just want to hold it there for a second or two until the edges just begin to curl and melt. 

Here is what they look like after the 4-6 slits have been cut and melted. 

Stack your flower.

I also created leaves for my flower by hand cutting a leaf shape and melting and curling the edges.  I took needle and thread to sew the whole thing in the center.  

(Here are a few of my leaves!) :)

I've been experimenting with what to put in the middle of the flowers.  I found these cute silk flower buds at Hobby Lobby and have used these for the centers.  For my box above I used a little Forget Me Not from the Pink Swan Etsy Shop. 

I have more projects to share with you using these flowers, that I will share next week. :)

If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment here.  

I hope you all have a wonderful, restful 3 day weekend!

I am looking forward to spending some time with my family! 

Victorian Lady in Orange

I have many obsessions......glitter, lace, flowers.....to name a few.  So my new obsession is related to flowers....it's these satin beauties.  It is certainly not a new idea, but it is fairly new to me.  I can't remember where I saw it on the Internet, but that is what sparked this new found love of mine. 

I've had several e-mails asking how I made these.  So I recently took step by step photos of my process. Again, not my idea originally, but certainly happy to share how I did it! I will post pics in a day or two.  :)

Here is the same Victorian lady that I posted on Monday with a different color scheme.  

Of course after I was done with her, I was afraid it looked too "Halloweenie!"  

If there is such a word! HA!

I have been experimenting with different centers to the flowers.  These were a few buds from a silk flower bunch I picked up at Hobby Lobby.  I plucked 3 off and glued them to the center of the flower. 

The leaves are made with the same technique as the flowers and I will share how easy it is soon!

The finish line to summer vacation is approaching!

I am trying to soak in the last few weeks of school, with all of it's final activities. 

It is a busy crazy time, but one I love each and every year I teach. 

I am lucky.

I am blessed to have been given the life I have.

Have a sweet day my friends!

Victorian Lady...

Good morning all!  I've had the craziest busiest last few days!Friday night was my school's talent show.  I spent part of Saturday editing photos and putting together a video.  The rest of the day I gardened and nearly put myself in traction. ;)

Sunday I had a  photography shoot for two little cutie pies.  The pictures came out so great, I couldn't wait to edit them! So needless to say there has been little time to craft, and now I am scrambling a bit to catch up!

Last week I was puttering around (when I thought I had alllllll this extra time....) and found this Victorian lady cut at the Silhouette Store.  I created another satin flower for her hat.  I added some silk blossoms to the middle and even created satin leaves. 

I added a couple of coordinating feathers, a bit of silk ribbon, and a few pearls.  The background and card base were cut using Spellbinder's dies.  

With school winding down, my days are filled.....stuffed to the gills with things to do.  I am certainly not complaining......I like a full busy life.  I wouldn't be a good bored person! Ha!  

So I am going to try to enjoy the things that are coming my way over the next few weeks.  But I have to admit I am looking forward to a slightly slower pace this summer, with a few extra hours of craft time. :)

Have a great day my friends!

Paper Loft's May Sketch!

Good morning! Happy Thursday to you!

I wanted to share my card for this month's Paper Loft sketch challenge! 

This challenge runs until 5/31/13.

One participant will be chosen as the guest designer, get a $30 gift certificate and special badge, AND will have their projects featured on the Paper Loft blog throughout the month of July.

To participate: Make a project (card, scrap layout, or any project that works with the sketch) using the sketch below.  Upload it to your blog or online gallery.  Leave a link on the Paper Loft blog HERE.

I loved the circular elements of this month's sketch.  I used my Spellbinder's dies to create them.  I added some homemade satin flowers and leaves to my largest circle. 

I added various colors of twine with a bit of seam binding to pull my card together.  

Tonight is Cortney's Fine Arts Fair at school.  Her school always does such a phenomenal job  making the school look a professional art gallery!  It is amazing to me what they are able to get the students to produce!

I am anxious to see what Cort created this year!

Have a great day my friends!

Butterfly Birthday!

Good morning! I hope you all had a fabulous Mother's Day! 

 I know I did. :) I had the opportunity to relax a bit in the morning and even sneak in a bit of crafting before heading to brunch with my family. 

I don't often get a chance to just create for the sake of creating.  Most of my projects are tied up with DT requirements.  But once in a while, I will sneak out a project.....just for fun.  This card was kind of a work in progress that kept getting put to the side and then slowly added to. 

While cleaning out a drawer in my craft room, I came across a box of SEI die cuts. 

This pretty butterfly and the 2 circles.

I had been wanting to use this pretty Prima flower too, and thought it worked well here. 

I added an SRM sticker birthday sentiment and added a few rhinestones to finish it off. 

This is another busy week here! Cortney has her fine arts festival on Thursday evening, and my school is hosting their first annual talent show on Friday night!  I know my principal and a couple of the teachers are performing! It should be a fun night! ;)

I am off!

Have a great day my friends!

Happy Mother's Day Tutorial!

Good morning and Happy Mother's Day to all of you!  

I often get e-mails and comments asking about my layering technique.  I am definitely a lumpy, bumpy gal!  Nothing flat leaves my craft room! ;)

I created this Mother's Day box using the Heritage, Flower Shoppe cartridges, and a perfume bottle box.

Here is the box I had in my container of “alterable” items.  Do you have one of those?  I actually have 2 very large rubber maids full of stuff to alter.  It is ridiculous how many things I have hoarded! I look at packaging a whole new way! It sometimes pains me to throw items out…..but I can’t keep it all! ; )

Here are the papers I used as well as the cameo from the Heritage Cartridge and the flowers created from Flower Shoppe.

I adhered my paper and lace to the box using Modge Podge glue and a soft foam brush to get an even coat. 

I love the look of doilies peeking out….there is something about the delicate edges I adore. It doesn’t look so great at the moment with the glue still wet……

My glittered cameo needed to be backed with black to make it pop, and I wanted dimension, so I added dimensional foam circles.  I like my projects to have depth. :)

Here is the cameo backed in black and placed on the two doilies.

I have literally hundreds of ribbons in my stash and I seldom go without it on my projects.  I found this soft, blue, silk ribbon and thought it was perfect for my box.

I had decided I wanted my twine longer to help “frame” the cameo, so I tied a longer piece to the center.  I also added leaves that I inked and creased.  When doing projects like this, I do use my glue gun.  I get impatient otherwise!

Add a couple more leaves and the flower. 

I decided to add 3 little flowers to the left side to help balance the box visually.

  The sun is shining, I got to sleep in a bit.....and I am heading to brunch soon with my family, sister, and mom. So it's a perfect Mother's Day for me!

What are you up to today for your special day?