Candle Trio Centerpiece

BEFORE...

AFTER...



I LOVE candles. In my event decorating days, I used candles a lot when designing centerpieces and silk floral arrangements. Because of the heat generated by the burning flame, decorating the candles to coordinate with the event theme could be a real challenge (AND if there were children or inebriated guests at an event, burning candles created a risk of injury or fire). Along came the battery-operated candles in all shapes, colors, sizes - and even scents - candle heaven! 

   I bought this set of three LED candles at Hobby Lobby. (I used 40% off coupon, but they are often on sale there at 50% off.) I used ivory 6" tulle and cut it in appropriately sized strips to wrap around each candle, providing a suitable surface for adhering the ribbon and flowers to. Amazingly, the red tacky tape  I used to attach the tulle, ribbon and flowers on the slippery surface of the candles worked extrememly well!

   You can use patterned paper to wrap around the candles - vellum works very well. To make a gorgeous centerpiece place your finished candle(s) on a mirror and sprinkle glitter all around! Or design a beach-theme candle and scatter a little sand and small sea shells on the base! Sooooo cute....

   My candles are decorated  with some left over scraps hanging around my table, but one can really go wild jazzing up the candles!

Photo Frame

This photo frame is easy and inexpensive to make! I bought the frame at Hobby Lobby for $1.99.

The frame 's color is like a brown paper bag and you can use paint or ink (or both) to create your choice of color. For my frame, I used three different Cat's Eye ink to create a fall look. (The photo was taken in the fall.) I randomly applied red, brown and green inks to achieve an autumn color scheme. The paper is from my stash and I don't recall the vendor. It is a medium-dark green and has a subdued leaf pattern design. I cut the leaves, flower parts, and branch on my Cricut and lightly skimmed brown ink on the pieces. Note: If you want your colors to be brighter, paint the frame with a coat of white paint, then apply your inks.

FYI: The picture is of Cheryl (on the left) and her daughter Kelly. Very dear to my heart are they - Cheryl is like a sister to me, and Kelly is as a daughter. They have blessed my life more than they will ever know!!!

This is a close up of the flower. I cut five different sizes from the green paper, sprayed the pieces with water and crumpled them up to dry. When the pieces were totally dry, I uncrumpled them (very carefully), punched a hole in the center of each piece and used a gold brad to hold the flower together. I skimmed gold ink over the flower and then adhered to the frame.

Feather Card

I found this feather floating around my scrap room and it is the inspiration for this card:

The paper and bling are from my stash and the border is the Gothic Arches punch by Martha Stewart.

Thanks for stopping by!

Still kickin' :)

Computer down and sick husband - now I'm back! (Still have the sick husband, but God's working on that:)
Life gets so crazy sometimes...
I have two new Big Girl Toys:
the Expression 2 - got it during the HSN release
and the Creatopia by Xyron - got it in May at the Mega Meet Scrapbooking Expo in Novi MI (that's an awesome place to go - a scrapbooker, card maker, stamper, paper crafter heaven!)
The Creatopia is AWESOME. Go over to youtube.com and search for it. The videos that show all this machine does will make you want to run to JoAnn's and buy it!

I still am wanting to get 100 followers - and when I do someone will win a Cricut Cartridge!!!! So send a link to your friends!

NEW STUFF :)

For personal satisfaction - and to save some money - I have started making paper flowers for my cards, scrapbook pages, etc. After watching many youtube videos and reading blogs by the most talented designers, I have learned a lot about tools and techniques!

   THE PUNCH BUNCH TOOL KIT for making flowers can be purchased online from Joan's Garden: http://www.joanscreations.blogspot.com/. Joan carries the tool kit and a wide selection of punches specifically for creating your own paper flowers. Her prices are very reasonable, and she doesn't mark up the shipping cost - whatever it costs to ship is exactly what she charges. (She's a sweet lady and very talented. If you enjoy challenges, check out her weekly tag challenge!) The Punch Bunch Tool Kit has everything you need to make any type of flower your heart desires!

The next item is the PRECISION FILE SET (by Basic Grey). I purchased this really cool set from www.ohmycrafts.com/.  It includes five different sizes and shapes - you can distress areas you couldn't reach before! AND it's only $5.95!!!

A FABULOUS presentation from DCWV - you have to see it to believe it!

ENJOY!!!!

DCWV Paper Couture.mov

THREE ROSES CARD

I love old-fashion, vintage paper and this paper was the inspiration to make a card. The three roses were left over from a craft project - I lightly brushed a dark red ink over them to create a vintage look. The light blue May Arts ribbon is from my scraps - the blue matched the blue in the paper. I am addicted to MS punches, and the lace one made a pretty edge on the card front. The bling centered over each scallop provides a sparkly element.

   The first picture shows closed view of the card:

In this view the card is opened  to show where I chalked the lace and the bottom of the card,

creating a cute design when the card is open or closed: 

Front view with card slightly open: 

Thanks for stopping by and have an awesome day!

Paper Roll Mini Album

I have been wanting to make a paper roll mini album for quite a while. Since I didn't have any instructions, I kept putting it off. Thinking about it yesterday, I thought "it doesn't take a rocket scientist to make one." I used paper towel rolls, cutting them down to 3-1/2" (toilet paper rolls are 4" but I didn't have any empty ones on hand:). Using 2 empty rolls, I cut 5 sections for my album. I flattened them out with my roller, then creased all the edges with a bone folder. Some people use card stock to cover the rolls, but I preferred to use regular weight designer paper - it was much easier to adhere and manipulate around the paper rolls and added less bulk. I cut the paper to 3-1/2" wide by 6" length - this wrapped perfectly around the roll leaving enough overlap. I used a floral pattern and a striped pattern, alternating as I designed each page. For embellishments I used buttons, ribbons, paper, stickers, flowers and some bling. I cut the tags from Tags, Bags, Boxes & More, tan card stock. I used brown, green and dark red ink to edge the tags. I have three of the tags stamped, and will stamp the other two later. I'm not quite finished, but enough so that I can post these photos! Click on the photos to get a detailed, close-up view. 

Theme possibilities for this project are endless! When you have a few free minutes, go to youtube.com and search for "paper roll mini albums" - you will be amazed by the beautiful paper roll albums available for your viewing pleasure:):):)

Have a wonderful day and may God bless you!!!

Thank You ScrappinLil!

This special award was passed on to me from a very creative, talented blogger: ScrappinLil! I feel so honored and thank you Lil from the bottom of my heart! You can visit her at:

http://scrappinlilscreativeside.blogspot.com/

I now have to present the award to 8 more bloggers, AND I also have to tell you "8 Things You Don't Know About Me"....

1. I have 5 grown children, 16 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren.

2. Most of my working career was as a graphic designer and art department manager at a large printing company in Ohio.

3. My favorite food is Watermelon and Lays Potato Chips.

4. My favorite colors are blue and purple - and all shades and tints of those colors.

5. I also am a professional event decorator.

6. I was born in the beautiful state of Kentucky.

7. Travelling is one of the things that I so love to do.

8. I'm a Girl Scout co-leader.

I have to ponder upon the 8 bloggers to pass this award to - so, I will let you know later who they are!

And don't forget to stop by ScrappinLils blog! You will love her beautiful creations!

God bless and have an awesome day!

Check Out VALITA'S FRESH FOLDS blog!

I love flowers on cards and scrapbooking pages - they add such a beautiful touch to almost any project. The flowers in this photo were created by Valita - a very talented designer in Australia. Her designs are so inspirational and her tutorials are easy to understand - both written and video. I highly recommend that you visit her blog: http://valitasfreshfolds.blogspot.com/ . The flowers in the photo were created by Valita and you will be amazed at how easy they are to make.

Also on her blog are instructions for this original design by Valita:

Isn't she amazing?! She has lots more beautiful creations on her blog - check it out: http://valitasfreshfolds.blogspot.com/

Finally - THE Christmas Card ... :)

There has been so much going on, so many family and friends getting sick, just so much everything, that I had not designed the Christmas card I was going to use this year.  Finally, a few days before Christmas, it is done! (It's a good thing I hand deliver most of my cards :)

As usual, I just have no expertise in photographing cards. This one is so pretty in person with shiny paper, shimmery ribbon, shiny glitter and a couple touches of bling. (I sure wish someone had a class on how to "Effectively Photograph Cards 101" - I would sign up in a heartbeat!)

BTW - have friends become a follower of my blog - I'm trying for 100 and the 100th person will win a nice prize. If that 100th person mentions the follower who referred her/him to the blog - that person also will win a nice prize! So help me out here :)