Back to the "Grab Bag"...

Happy Friday and Happy Halloween, everyone!

As you can see by the post title above, I went back into to my "grab bag" for today's card.

In case you haven't followed me for long and haven't seen me refer to this before, my "grab bag" is a large baggie of embellishments that I previously made/altered/painted, etc. for a project, but ended up not using. So I put them in my large "grab bag" and every now and then, I pull some of the items out and challenge myself to make up a card or altered project using them.

This time, I pulled out a group of aged/vintage-looking pieces - an inked and mini-pearl embellished kraft and white cardstock clock face, an inked air-dry clay frame, and an inked-up wooden flourish. Once I chose a piece of patterned paper from Prima's Stationer's Desk collection, it all came together beautifully...I decided on deep red accents to the vintage brown pieces...

The air-dry clay frame was already inked with Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress Inks from the first time I intended to use it. I added some Bisque Liquid Pearls around the beaded edges as another accent this time. The key charm inside was originally black...after a coat of gesso and red craft paint to the outside edges, I distressed it lightly with extra fine sandpaper...

Red lilies, and red and cream roses surround and accent the frames...

And the inked wooden flourish fit perfectly up in the corner, embellished with a few more roses and pearls...

Supplies:

Patterned paper:   Prima Stationer's Desk collection (A4)

Key charm:  Prima Vintage Trinkets - Tiny Treasures Fleur

Kraft clock face:   Maya Road            Frame:   Martha Stewart mold and air-dry clay

Flowers:   Wild Orchid Crafts            Wood flourish:   local craft store      

Lace:   TheFunkieJunkie.com            Pearls:   Recollections

Miscellaneous:   cheesecloth,  twine,  Bisque Liquid Pearls,  Vintage Photo Distress Ink

Thanks so much for visiting today...and if you're here in the US and on Daylight Savings Time, don't forget to "fall back" Sunday at 2 am...YAY for an extra hour's sleep! :)

Have a great weekend!

LLLC - Just Because...

It's La-La Land Wednesday, and this week the La-La Land Crafts team is working with a fun inspiration challenge...a "recipe"...

A splash of blue. A hint of pink.

3 squares, a circle, a dab of ink.

A touch of cute, and buttons bright,

Add die cuts plenty 'til it's just right.

Here's my finished project...can you spot all the ingredients?...

I wish the photos could pick up all the subtle sparkle on the card...it really shines IRL! I went with a darker, denim-like blue, accented with very pale mauve pink, all on a light taupe base. 

Along the side of one of the three squares of patterned paper, the Lattice Border Die adds a lacy feel. The  Fancy Butterfly die cut in the center circle is covered with Stardust Stickles that picks up the light so beautifully. The Cherry Blossom Flowers that sit in the center of the butterfly are made with pale pink cardstock, then watercolored with denim blue while a bit of the pink still peeks through...

The memo pin holding the sentiment tag was dry-brushed with white craft paint, then embellished with spacers and beads...

The seam binding bows were dyed with Distress Ink, and accented with a tiny pink button...the button isn't that "bright" but it sure is sparkly with clear coarse glitter in the center...

The leaves made with the Open Leaf Flourish die are layered beneath a couple more sparkly buttons and a small gray pearl flourish...

Supplies:

LLLC dies:   Open Leaf  Flourish,  Lattice Border,  Fancy Butterfly,  Cherry Blossom Flowers

Patterned papers:   Maja Design/Vintage Summer Basic collection

Doily:   Cricut Storybook cartridge            Scalloped circle punch:  EK Success

Taupe roses:   LayoutsFromTheHeart on Etsy            Silver asters:   Prima

Pearls:   Prima            Laces:   local craft store            Memo pin:   Tim Holtz

Miscellaneous:   cheesecloth,  Hug Snug seam binding,  Stardust Stickles,  Faded Jeans Distress Ink,

buttons,  coarse clear glitter

Thank you so much for stopping by today...I hope you'll take a moment or two to visit the La-La Land Crafts blog to enjoy the other wonderful projects my teammates have crafted up to share with you!

Have a great day!

How Beautiful a Day Can Be...

A happy Monday to you!

I have a short and simple post for today's card, a CAS watercolor card that I added just a bit of mixed media touches to - and it's still "flat" compared to my usual "fully loaded" and floral style.  :)

To get the black and white stencil details along the sides and top, I mixed black craft paint with molding paste, and applied it "sloppily" through the stencil, allowing some of the mix to seep underneath. I wanted to get some free-style shading with the black, but still make a guideline for the white that was to come. Once that black layer was dried (with a little help from my heat gun), I went back over it using the same areas of the stencil, but this time using super heavy white gesso for slightly more detailed lines...

I used mini pearls to accent the center of the poppies, to give a little texture to the stamped design (and used mini black gems inside the small purple flowers in the design)...

So hard to photograph sparkly glitter - at least for me! But I tried anyway. :)  Black Diamond Stickles was applied heavily over the butterfly in the design, to add just a bit of sparkly, understated texture...

Supplies:

Image stamp:   Indigo Blu "Blazing Poppies"

Sentiment stamp:   Reverse Confetti "Paper Crane"

Stencil:   The Crafters Workshop Mini Chickenwire Reversed

Pearls:   Recollections          Black gems:   Kaisercraft            Watercolors:   Sakura Koi

Miscellaneous:   black hemp cording,  Golden molding paste,  Liquitex super heavy gesso,   Black Diamond Stickles

Thanks for popping in for a visit today...I hope your week is starting with a smile!

Grateful...Mixed Media Card...

TGIF...happy Friday!  Today's card is the result of another experimental play session gone so well that I needed to do something with it. :) The temps are finally cooling down here, and I was in the mood to play again with autumn colors. This time, I pulled out what I call "Victorian" colors - rich shades of magenta, teal, and orange.

Out came a small scrap of 140# mixed media paper, some sprays, and other bits and pieces, and here's the finished product:

Here's a photo of the piece before I covered it with embellishments (as you can see, the molding paste wasn't completely dry yet, but it makes it easier for you to see the details of the grungy harlequin stencil). 

I tore the edges of the mixed media paper, and started layering, starting with strips of self-adhesive canvas, then torn strips of book pages. Next came the fun of adding the sprays,  and watching them mix and form new colors as they spread. Once the sprays dried, I highlighted the edges of the strips with white Gelato, blending it with my fingertips. Then the molding paste was stenciled on, and the edges of the harlequin pattern shadowed with black Stabilo pencil ...

In this lower corner, the orange blended with the teal to make a pretty olive green, with hints of the orange peeking through...it was fun watching the colors blend...

I found this piece of dangly crystal beaded trim in a little "leftover" bag...it came from the lamp section of the local craft store, and was a funky addition on a little lampshade a few years ago. I added a few smaller amber gems through the center, and it was a fun addition here, too! ...

The large flower in the center of the cluster was made using Spellbinders' Grand Peony Creations dies...

I had fun playing with the die-cut leaf stems, too. They were sprayed first with the same teal used on the card base, then a copper spray to give them a "patina" look...

Supplies:

Color Mediums:   Lindy's Stamp Gang Starbursts - Tibetan Poppy Teal,  Sweet Violet Purple Teal, Cowabunga Copper;

Lindy's Stamp Gang Flat Fabio - Mango Mania

Stencil:   The Crafters Workshop Mini Harlequin             Canvas:    Ranger

Dies:   Spellbinders Grand Peony Creations;   Sizzix Flowers Branches & Leaves

Roses and flower stamens:   Wild Orchid Crafts

Sentiment stamp:   Simon Says Stamp - Handwritten Greetings

Amber gems:  Doodlebug and Kaisercraft            Gem braided trim:   local craft store

Miscellaneous:   mixed media paper, old book page,  white Gelato,  Uni Posca white paint pen,  

Stabilo All pencil-black,  purple hemp cording

Thanks so much for visiting today...have a wonderful weekend!

LLLC - Fall/Autumn All Occasion Card...

Good morning, everyone! Today's card for La-La Land Crafts is for this week's inspiration challenge, Halloween/Fall.

I chose to make a fall all-occasion card with big, loopy raffia bows, and using Stitched Nested Circles Dies, the Berry Flourish Die...

and a combination of the Pretty Poinsettia Die with the Cherry Blossom Flowers Die to form a pretty, layered flower made from gold suede paper...

Autumn leaves show signs of slowly fading to brown before they fall, so I heavily distressed the leaves with crumpling, and accented the edges with brown and deep red inks. The little berries were accented with Copper Stickles...

The stitched circle dies have the stitching marks cut, but I also accented them with black and white ink pens for even more detail...

Supplies:

LLLC Dies:   Stitched Nested Circles,  Berry Flourish,  Pretty Poinsettia,  Cherry Blossom Flowers

Patterned paper:   Prima Sunrise Sunset collection

Black stamens:   ChocolateLetters on Etsy            

Miscellaneous:   Copper Stickles,  white wire,  wired burlap, cheesecloth,  raffia

I hope you'll pop over to the La-La Land Crafts blog and check out the other wonderful Halloween/Fall projects my design teammates have crafted up to share with you!

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I hope you're having a wonderful autumn week so far!

LLLC - "Love" Tag...

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Today I'm sharing a project made for La-La Land Crafts. Our inspiration challenge this week is "All Shapes and Sizes."

I started with a 3-1/4" x 6-1/4" premade manila tag, and layered, and layered, and layered...

I started by covering the tag with a pretty text paper...the text is gold-embossed - hard to see in the pics, but just the right touch of shine.  

At the top, I cut the LLLC Flag Banner Die, once from cream, and then from black to place underneath as a "shadow die"...

Along the far left, I attached the frilly Scallop Border Die to the back side of the tag. Next to it on the front of the tag, I cut two pieces of the Eiffel Tower Die, and used black foam tape to separate the layers before adhering them to the tag front with more black foam tape...

I placed the cut Heart Doily Die at an angle, and on top of it, two smaller manila tags, along with a piece from the Booktabs and Labels Die Set, and lots of pretty cherry blossoms cut using the Cherry Blossom Flowers Dies...

Supplies:

LLLC Dies:   Eiffel Tower,  Heart Doily,  Flag Banner,  Scallop Border,  Book Tabs & Labels,  Cherry Blossom Flowers

Patterned paper:   Kaisercraft Merry & Bright collection

Roses:   Wild Orchid Crafts            Pearls:   Recollections            Pearl Spray:   local craft store

Other dies:   My Favorite Things Royal Leaves

Miscellaneous:   Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress Inks,   hemp cording,   manila tags

I hope you'll take a moment to check out my teammates' fabulous projects for this week's challenge over on the La-La Land Crafts blog.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

LOTV - Good Friends...

TGIF! Another autumn weeks nears the end...now if only the temps would remember what season it is and lower a bit, and the rains come back to put out the forest fires around here, life would be a dream!

Today I'm sharing a slightly-shabby, mildly-mixed-media card featuring Lili of the Valley products. I've seen variations of this layout design used a lot for 12 x 12 scrapbook layouts and mixed media canvases, and I thought it would make a fun design on a smaller square card, also. I blended strips of paper from three different LOTV paper pads - Heartfelt,  Always & Forever, and Always & Forever - Solids ...

The background is made by using gesso and tulle on 140-lb. mixed media paper, and once they dried, spritzing with watercolor sprays...

I cut two of the leafy branch dies, one darker to become the "shadow" of the lighter, brighter green branch...

The premade roses are accented with handmade die-cut cherry blossom flowers...

The sentiment stamp is one I've used several times before, from Set 62, Quotables/Friendship. This time, I stamped one of the corners from Set 21, Grunge Corners as an accent...

And to accent the lower corner of the card, another corner stamp - this time from Set 68, Corners ...

Supplies:

LOTV Patterned Papers:   Heartfelt, Always & Forever, and Always & Forever-Solids collections

LOTV Stamps:   Set 62 Quotables/Friendship;   Set 68 Corners;   Set 21, Grunge Corners

Dies:   La-La Land Crafts Cherry Blossom Florals;   Poppy Stamps Massa Leaf Background

Roses:   Wild Orchid Crafts            Pearls:   Recollections

Color Mediums:   Lindy's Stamp Gang Flat Fabios - Pink Ladies Pink,  Greased Lightnin' Green

Miscellaneous:   mixed media paper,  gesso,  tulle,  cheesecloth

There's some great products up on the LOTV site these days...Inktense pencil sets and papers, XL art pads, and a whole section devoted to soon-to-be-retired rubber stamps. And if that's not enough, check out the great pricing on all stamps on the site until Christmas! 

Thanks for stopping by to visit today...have a wonderful weekend!

LLLC - A Dream is a Wish...

Good Morning, all! I took a few days for a break, but I'm back today with another La-La Land Crafts  Diecut Wednesday card to share with you.

Our challenge inspiration this week is "Hidden Extra"...and that led to all sorts of ideas spinning in my head. In the end, I decided on a softly-colored shabby chic card in rose and pale taupe, with a hidden extra message...

The "hidden extra" message is on a tag attached to the Lattice Border die cut at the top of the card. I used foam tape to adhere the patterned papers to the front of the card base, allowing lots of room for the hidden sentiment "tag" to slide in behind them...

The inspirational quote on the tag is from LLLC's Beautiful Day Sentiments stamp set...

The deep burgundy roses are surrounded by cherry blossoms made using LLLC's Cherry Blossom Flowers die set - they're sitting on a "bed" of leaves made using LLLC's Berry Flourish  die...

This cute little tag die is from the Stitched Elements die set. I stamped it with a little dotted heart and a tiny little word in the center, pressing a bit harder on the right side of the heart stamp to give the image an "ombre" look...

The front sentiment, again from LLLC's Beautiful Day Sentiments, is stamped onto another die cut shape from LLLC's Stitched Elements set. Down in the corner beneath it, you can see the Filigree Corner Die ...

I love the beautiful lines on the Fancy Butterfly Die. I left it in the taupe cardstock without further coloring, and added some cream colored pearls for just a touch of embellishment...

Supplies:

LLLC Dies:   Cherry Blossom Flowers,  Lattice Border,  Filigree Corner,  Fancy Butterfly, 

 Berry Flourish,  Stitched Elements

LLLC Stamps:   Beautiful Day Sentiments

Patterned papers:   Maja Design Vintage Autumn Basics

Other Dies:   Papertrey Ink Heart Prints

Other stamps:   Unity Stamps "empowered words" ("trust your heart");   Papertrey Ink Tiny Tags

Roses:   Wild Orchid Crafts         Pearls:   Recollections

Miscellaneous:   cheesecloth,  hemp cording 

You can see the rest of the team's beautiful projects on the La-La Land Crafts blog.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit today!