May Arts and Scor-Pal Blog Hop Day 2

Good morning everyone!  Today is day two of the May Arts and Scor-Pal blog hop.  You should have arrived from Lori's blog.  If not, head on back to the May Arts blog and hop along.  You know there will be a prize up for grabs so you won't want to miss it.

Here's my project.  I made a thank  you card.  Pardon the crapalicious photo.  It's been raining pretty much non-stop here in Okinawa for the last 3 days.

 The sentiment says, "Arigato", which is Japanese for "thank you".  Living here, it makes it really easy to get foreign language stickers and these hiragana puffy alphas were perfect!  I love them and love the fact that I actually know what I am saying when I do use them.

I used some awesome Scor-Pal adhesive tape to hold the twine down.  And let me tell you.  This was so much easier than liquid adhesive.

 Do you know how insanely hard it was to resist writing, "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto"??!!  Trust me.  It was very tempting.  Maybe I will make another one.............

Now for the prize.  Leave a comment along the way and you will be eligible to win *3* spools of ribbon of your choice AND a Scor-Pal!  Holy shnikies!

Your next stop is Stephanie Ackerman's blog.  Don't forget to spread the love along the way!

Supplies used:
May Arts Twine (412-10)
Scor-Pal Scor-Tape (1/8")
Basic Grey "Kneehighs & Bow Ties" Collection
Bazzill Cardstock
Heidi Swapp Color Shine "Georgia Peach", "Tropicana Teal", "Mustard"
Daiso hiragana lettering

Cheers!

How To Use An Oversize Embellishment

Good morning Muses!  I hope you are all doing well!  If you are here from the GlobeCraft & Piccolo blog, then you must've seen my tutorial on how to put this little gem together.

Now I'm going to show you how to actually USE this piece on a card.  As you can tell from the markings on my (much used, abused, and never clean) cutting mat, this piece is approximately 5.5" tall.  That's a big honkin' embellishment.

The key to using over-sized elements is to keep everything else to a minimum.  Also, since the paper I used on the teapot is pretty busy, the background should be simple and neutral so as to not take away from the focal point, nor overwhelm the eye is too  much awesome. 

I chose to use kraft paper with a darker brown matting.

Anything else you add needs to be understated and subtle.  For my sentiment, I used an epoxy sticker from "Cashmere Dame" and put it in a discreet spot.

Finally, to add that final "something", I used my brand new, nifty glittery hot glue sticks and added some glittery dots along the sides.  Once those cooled down, I called this card done!

Thanks for taking a look and if you haven't checked out how I put together the teapot, please head on over to the GlobeCraft blog and give it a read through.  It really is a lot simpler than it looks!

Cheers!

Gauche Alchemy's 2013 Alchemist Call

Hi everyone! Gauche Alchemy is having an Alchemist Call and you won't want to miss this.  Here is the post from the Gauche Alchemy blog.

Do you love Gauche Alchemy?  Are you irreverent, snarky, creative AND maybe just a wee bit coo-coo cachoo? If so, we want YOU!




 

Here at Gauche Alchemy, our goal is to support and encourage creative thought and expression by providing materials that help artists of all types and skill levels think differently about their creative pursuits. We endeavor to be the “jumping-off point” for your next great idea! We are all about upcycling, as well as digging up the best manufactured products we can find.  We are all about being inclusive rather than exclusive.

And now is *your* chance to get in on all of the fun, snark, and gauche awesomeness we pride ourselves on.  We are on the hunt for a few new faces to add to our team of Alchemists.

“What does an Alchemist do??”  I’m glad you asked!

“Alchemists” are more than just “oooh lookie what I made” and “here’s how I did it.”  Our Alchemists are teachers, crafters, artists, and enablers.  We share our knowledge as well as our projects.  We are here to inspire.  After all, we are regular schmoes too.

“What kind of workload is required of me?”

As an Alchemist, you will be required to submit 2 projects per month.  One project is for the newsletter and one is for the blog.  Occasionally, we may have special events such as swaps in which additional projects will be asked of you.

“Projects” include actual finished projects, technique tutorials, and anything related to what we do.  These posts can be about your craft space, what inspires you, how to bust a rut and so on.  Like we said, we are more than just a “creative team” who shows off pretty schtuff.

“Now how about the whole quid-pro-quo thing?  What do I get in return?”

As an Alchemist, you will receive an Alchemist “kit” that is looooooaaaaaaded with Gauche goodness.  You will also receive a discount to the Gauche Alchemy store.  There are other perks you receive but those will be discussed with you should you make the team.

“How long is my term?”

An Alchemist term is 12 months with the possibility of being invited to extend.

“Now where do I sign up?”

To apply, send the following to GaucheAlchemistCall@gmail.com by midnight Eastern Standard Time on  Tuesday, April 30th with the phrase “2013 DT Call” in the subject line.  This call is open to international aspiring alchemists too!

All aspiring alchemists please send us:
Name:
Location:
Your blog address:
Are you currently on any other design teams? (Previous DT experience is not required)
Your favorite type of project to create:
Which products in our shop inspire you the most?
Why do YOU want to work for Gauche Alchemy?

An Exciting Announcement

Talk about a crazy couple of months it has been! I have moved with my family overseas to Okinawa, Japan. We still aren't completely settled just yet, but we are working on it. I am definitely having crafty withdrawals as my main shipment with all of my craft crap hasn't arrived just yet.

With that, I am totally stoked, flattered, and humbled to have been asked to be a member of the inaugural UmWowStudio Creative Team. UWS specializes in laser cut layered chipboard and is run by the super awesome and talented DeeDee Catron. I am also humbled to have been invited to work alongside some of the most RiDiCulOusLY talented women I have met in this industry.

 

The other three women that are part of the inaugural team are:

Jess Mutty

Miae Rowe

Kylie Drake

If you haven't had a chance to check out what UmWowStudio is all about, you really should.  Here is a little peek:

Layered Hexagons

Drool worthy right?!  

Cheers!

 

Steampunk Watch

Follow my blog with Bloglovin Good morning!  I have a very cool little tutorial to share with you today using some awesome Globecraft Memories and Graphic 45.

I love how this turned out!  This is pretty easy to put together but it does take some time.  Here's what you'll need:

Globecraft Memories Steampunk Watch Ornament
Piccolo "Vintage Black" Embossing Powder
Piccolo "Victorian Bronze" Embossing Powder
Piccolo "Vintage Silver" Embossing Powder
Piccolo "Vintage Gold" Embossing Powder
Piccolo Embossing Powder Adhesive
Piccolo "Vintage Gears" Accents
Piccolo 3D Enamel Gel in "Metallic Gold"
Glastique
Scrapbook Paper (I used Graphic 45's "Steampunk Debutante")
Tim Holtz Ball Chain
Chalk
Brad
Heat Tool

Step 1:  Punch the pieces of the ornament out and heat emboss the elements you wish.

Step 2:  As the heat embossed pieces are cooling, add the 3D gel to the ring at the top of the ornament as well as the numbers of the clock.

Step 3:  Cut your scrapbook paper to the appropriate size and shape of the pieces you would like covered.

Step 4:  Use a needle to punch the hole in the center of the oval scrapbook paper so that the brad will slide in and hold the clock hands in place.

This is the backside of the oval piece after my paper has been glued on.

Step 5:  Start assembling your ornament.  This is a good time to adhere the gears where you want around or inside the frame.  I glued mine between the layers so that they stick out along the sides.

Step 6:  Finish assembling your ornament and add your final touches.  I chalked my edges and added a ball chain around the outside of the bubble.

 

This really is a fun and super easy project to put together.  For another tutorial on how to use a bubble frame as a stand up card, visit the GlobeCraft Memories blog and get crafty!

Cheers!

A Valentine's Day Hop With May Arts!

It's that time of year!  The hearts, Cupid, red, chocolate, and who can forget RIBBON?!  We have a special Valentine's Day hop with all of the May Arts Ribbonistas and there's a prize in it for you.  Be sure to check out the May Arts blog for the full line up from yesterday!

Here is today's batting order:

* Christina Colón (You are here!)
* Emily Lanham
* Sandy Allnock
* Jenifer Cowles
* Johanna Descoins

I have a neat little project that involves those really pretty lollipop you can get at just about any store.  They are really inexpensive too.  I picked mine up at the grocery store for about a dollar for a bundle of five. 

 What I really liked about this set of lollipops is that the sticks were already cut to different lengths.  I loved this project because it allowed me to use an awesome Valentine's line that I picked up last year and have been holding onto.  This is the "Love Story" line from Fancy Pants.

All I did was make accordion flowers and glued them to the lollipops.  You can see the blue one and red one peeking out in the back.   Now there is a little tip for after you glue the accordion flower to the lollipop.  You will want to glue a chipboard piece or something sturdy to the backside of the flower because the flower will want to curl around the lollipop.

For mine, I decided it was a good opportunity to break in a heart punch I haven't used in some time and decorate the backs of the lollipop flowers.  For a finishing touch, I wrapped some May Arts twine around the sticks.

Front and back of two lollipop flowers

Of course, with adorable little lollipops, I needed an adorable little display piece!  In comes a recycled canning jar, more May Arts ribbon, and more Fancy Pants!

I used some of the larger width Chevron Twill and edged it with the blue twine.  The scalloped border that runs along the middle of the chevron is cut from one of the cardstock border stickers that were part of the collection.  I traced a circle and used the cool heart and funky star stickers. 

For the lid, I painted it with gesso and used the rest of the border sticker around the brim.  The inside is just filled with those itty bitty acrylic "bubbles" you can get at any craft store.  Since I like "festive", I curled some regular curling ribbon used for wrapping gifts and filled the rest of the jar.

Thanks for taking a peek at my super simple Valentine's project.  Your next stop is Emily Lanham's blog.  Be sure to leave a comment along the way so that you will be qualified to win *4* spools of ribbon of your choice from the Ribbon Lady!

Supplies Used:
Ribbon:  Black Twine (412-10), Blue Twine (412-94), Red Chevron Twill 1.5" (382-15-14)
Paper:  Fancy Pants "Love Story"
Punch:  Fiskars "Heart"
Lollipops
Glass Jar
Acrylic Bubbles
Curling Ribbon

Who Says Steampunk Has To Be Brown?!

Hello Muses!  I hope you are all doing well!  I have another post for you today with a tutorial.  We all know steampunk is all the rage.  While I love the traditional steampunk colors of brown, cream, black, and metals, I think it's great to shake things up a bit. 

I made this pendant using GlobeCraft Memories' bookboard bezels.

 

This pendant is super easy to put together.  It's quick too!  Here's how to do it yourself!

1.  Pick a large book board bezel.  I used the large teardrop.  Then run it through an embosser to add some texture.  I ran mine through a Cuttlebug using Tim Holtz's "Diamond Plate" embossing folder.

Large Book Board Teardrop Bezel

2.  Choose an embossing powder and heat emboss.  I used "Girls' Night Out" and did a total heat set.  You can do a flash heat set for even more added texture.

Girls' Night Out Embossing Powder

3.  Embellish to your heart's delight.  I wanted to keep a steampunk look to mine so I used Prima's awesome gears and a Prima light bulb.

It really is a quick and simple project for anyone.  For another steampunk tutorial with some awesome heat embossing, check out the GlobeCraft & Piccolo blog!


Cheers!