Be Happy

Had so much fun creating this rustic wood plaque for The Robin's Nest - please go check out my step-by-step instructions  "Be Happy"

I hope you didn't miss THIS post, for my Glamour Girl Frame - - The Robin's Nest Glittered Chipboard is SO easy to work with

Beyond the Sea - Altered Altoid Tin

Head on over to The Chattering Robin's blog to get supply list and step-by-step instructions on creating mini dioramas from Altoid tins.

I do love the ocean (hence the name Reel Girl, love to fish!) and I created a homage to "The Little Mermaid".....

New Traditions...

The weather has been downright chilly here in Southern California and it is putting me the mood for Christmas crafts!

Over the long holiday weekend, I pulled out my photos from last Christmas and got scrappy.

We have a new holiday tradition in our family that began last year.  Instead of buying each other gifts or doing the usual secret Santa, white elephant or other type of gift exchange, we decided to have a friendly gingerbread house building competition with a cash prize! The "buy in" was $10 per person and jackpot on the line was $160!  All names went into a jar for a blind pairing of 2 man teams.  A one hour time limit was set.  And no pre-made house forms!  All teams were provided with packs of graham crackers and a bag of homemade royal icing.  Colleen and I shopped for all kinds of different toppings and candies to provide the teams.  There were candies flying and messes made and at the end of the hour, Trevor and Tori skyped in from out of town to serve as our impartial judging panel (they had no idea whose house was whose or which of us were paired together). We cannot wait to do this again!

To create this layout, I started with (2) 4 x 6 photos and used the following supplies:


From the Robin's Nest:

Snow Glitter Cardstock
Dew Drops - Fresh Mowed Grass and Chocolate Cherry
Straw - Red
Crimson Chipboard Glitter Snowflakes

Other supplies / tools:

Bazzill Cardstock - White
Coredinations Cardstock - Tan
Elle's Studio - Vintage Christmas Flashcard and 12 Days of Christmas
Sequin Mix - The Crafty Pickle
Paper Cutter
Corner Rounder
Adhesive
Sewing Machine (optional)

• Cut Glittered Snowflake CS to 8 x 8 and round corners (optional: machine or faux stitch around edge)
• Cut tan CS to 6 x 6 and round corners
• Adhere CS squares off center and overlapping to your base
• Center photos on top of your CS squares
• Now start layering your embellishments.  I like to lay things out and rearrange until I am happy -- then I take a quick pic with my phone so I can recreate my design!

Thanks for stopping by the blog today!  

Decopauge Reindeer Ornaments with a Vintage Twist!

I recently created a bunch of these ornaments......

I participate in an annual handmade ornament swap and every year there is a different theme.

This year's theme was "Traditional"and I knew I would go with a reindeer motif.....I am reindeer OBSESSED!

For me traditional means traditional icons (santa, trees, reindeer, elves, stars, etc) but also traditional materials.  So I incorporated antique book pages cut into strips to use as decopauge material.

Below is my step by step, along with tips/tricks (read: what I found the hard way is the wrong thing to do)

It would be so easy to put your own personal spin on this ornament - I already have plans to make more!

I think mongrammed ornaments would make a great personalized gift!

Gather:

• 3" Smoothfoam Balls
• Decoupage Medium 
• Glitter (I used Heidi Swapp Marquee Love, it is awesome to work with!)
• Ribbon / Twine (cut into 20" lengths)
• Jingle Bells
• Card stock scraps for image silhouette
• Vintage/antique book pages, sheet music or newspaper cut into small strips
• Spray Sealer (I used Krylon Satin Finish)

Tools:

• Paper cutter 
• Scissors
• Foam paint brushes
• Drill to make hole through styro ball
• Wooden BBQ Skewers to hold smoothfoam balls while decoupaging and drying (also used to push ribbon through hole in ornament

Optional:

• Baby wipes to clean your hands frequently and keep your project pristine!
• Mason jars - to hold in project in process
• Reindeer Die (I used Tim Holtz Mini Reindeer + 25 Die)
• Cuttlebug or other die cutting machine

Tip / Trick:  I used a die for my reindeer - - but it would be so easy and so very charming to hand cut a tree, star or over sized monogram to use on this ornament!  

I began this project by poking a BBQ skewer into my Smoothfoam styro ball - this gave me a way to hold the ball while working on it, and then also to put in a mason jar to hold while drying

Pour your decoupage medium in a  bowl and start brushing the decoupage medium onto your smoothfoam ball - - then start applying strips of book pages / newspaper.  After SEVERAL layers of book pages were applied, I let dry for about 10 minutes and then I applied my Christmas Icon in the same manor.

Tip/Trick:  I found it was much more efficient when I used my fingers to apply paper strips once the initial layer of decoupage medium was applied 

Tip/Trick #2:  I was originally going to use RED silhouettes on my ornaments, I quickly learned that the card stock I was using just bled all over the ornament (test your paper for "bleed") - - so I had to put another layer of book paper on and switch to a different card stock.

I let my decoupage dry overnight.  

Then it was time to drill.   I let my hubs drill a hole through the smoothfoam ball.  Not that I am not capable, but I tend to over think placement and it takes forever - - hubs drilled all of them in under 2 mins.

I then "strung" the ornaments on a long, thin dowel and took them outside.  I sprayed them with Krylon Satin Finish, sprinkled a good dash of glitter on them and then sprayed another heavy coat of the Krylon sealer.  I did this step a little at a time spray, sprinkle, spray - turn stick - spray sprinkle, spray, etc. until I had glitter on all sides.

While I let the sealer dry, I cut my ribbon into 20" lengths and strung them through the jingle bell.  Once the ornaments were ready, I placed the ribbon halves together and pushed from bottom of ornament to the top using the wooden skewer.  Once the ribbon was through the ornament I adjusted and pulled tight. I knotted the ribbon at the top of ornament and again at ends of ribbon, cut at an angle and applied Helmar Fray Stoppa to prevent ribbon from fraying.  With a lot of ribbons you can just run a lighter quickly across the cut ends to seal.

For packaging, I used a cellophane treat bag from the craft store, hemp twine and a pre-made tag from the candy / baking aisle of the craft store.  I created labels on the computer to attach to the tag and voila! easy and rustic wrap!

Thanks for stopping by - - next post will be recap of the ornaments I receive in the swap!

I'm not ready....make it go away!

Ah...Christmas Eve....I came home last night after work, exhausted with a "to do" list a mile long.  I went to bed instead of getting anything done which brings me to a VERY busy Christmas Eve.

I was talking myself into a bad attitude this morning - - lamenting that I have done nothing for Christmas this year - my decorations only got half done and shopping got pushed to the back burner.

But when I started writing this post, I realized that I actually have had a great December full of Christmas-y moments!

I participated in Val's Annual Christmas Ornament Swap (check out her swap blog here:  Yarnigras Swapper Spot ) and the theme was "A Woodland / Traditional Christmas".  I was stumped at first, then found my inspiration on Pinterest for these champagne cork toadstools (and yes, I had to drink quite a bit of champagne!)

The swap is 5 for 5 - - you make 5 ornaments and you get 5 ornaments in return (I packaged mine as sets of two)

The ornaments I received were incrediby beautiful, using so many different craft techniques!

I got together with my mom for some girl time and handmade gifts.......

Made some candy to give to friends and neighbors......

And even took in a musical (cannot recommend this enough!)

Writing this has put me in the holiday spirit - - I am looking forward to spending time with my family on Christmas Eve for the first time in 10 years (we are usually out of town).  So there IS reason to be in holly, jolly mood!

Merry, Merry Christmas!!

Getting into a scrappy groove......

The last weekend in September was our 4th annual weekend scrappy getaway to "The Manor" and I think this was the best one yet (ok, maybe because I did a RECORD number of projects for me! lol!)

We are a group of scrappers / crafters and sewing enthusists from all across the US that decided to meet "IRL" (in real life)  for a weekend of crafting, wine, food and friendship!

Our group for 2014:

The original idea was to choose a different craft retreat in a different location each year since we were all coming from so many different locations in the country.  HOWEVER...the first year we stayed at The Manor was like a crafty EPIPHANY!  There was no reason to EVER go anywhere else for our creative getaway!

And this is MY result of our crafty weekend:

I love my time with my creative friends - - they inspire me!

Zombie Swap & Eyebrows on a Dog

I finally joined another swap through Val at Yarnigras Swapper Spot!  It has been awhile, but I love her swaps -- they are always inspired, and always include amazing crafters!

This swap was a Halloween animated zombie swap - - make a zombie based on one of your partner's  favorite animated characters.  I received an amazing zombie package from Kerry - - and she couldn't have created anything more perfect for this animal lover than Sparky from Frankenweenie re-imagined as a zombie dog!

This character is sculpted perfectly!!  Lots of great, gory details (look at the neck bolts!)  She also included a candy jar with Sculpy zombie head, a beautiful card, and fun items from the Halloween collection at Bath & Body Works (Vampire Blood Hand Sanitizer anyone?)

And then she also made this incredibly cool tote bag from a zombie T-Shirt!  This will definitely be my go-to bag for the farmers market!  She has a link to the tutorial to make these cool totes on her blog, so be sure to check it out - Tales of a Needle and Thread

I am so in love with Zombie Sparky that I think he will be displayed year-round and not just at Halloween!

Thank you so much, Kerry - you are an amazing artist!

My partner has not yet received my zombie creation, so I will have to wait until the end of the week to share the pictures!

On a side note, I recently decided that Henry needed eyebrows.  So I drew them on with some chalk.
Of course, I HAD to scrap this photo!

This layout is for Kelly's September Challenge at Kitchen Keepsake to use multiples of 3 on your layout:

Thanks for stopping by!

Cal Picks a Winner....

Hello All -

Today is new challenge day over at The Kitchen - - please stop by for a visit for fabulous inspiration or maybe just to chat with us around the kitchen table:

Kitchen Keepsake Challenges


And now - my blog hop winner!

Instead of Random.Org or those other  number generators, I decided to let my black Lab, Cal pick my Blog Hop winner!

Here's how it went down last night....

Congratulations, Cindy!  Send me an email with your mailing info and this will be on it's way!

Welcome Kitchen Keepsake Blog Hoppers!!

Hello everyone and welcome to the first Kitchen Keepsake Blog Hop.

You should have reached my blog by way of the amazingly talented Kelly!

We are super excited to share some wonderful inspiration with you. Be sure to grab your favorite drink and enjoy the hop.

We are a group of crafters that enjoy cooking and eating as well as scrapping!

I do the monthly "Culinary Muse" challenge at Kitchen Keepsake - - for July, my challenge is based on ice cream!  My challenges are never what they seem at first glance - - I like to throw in a twist to really get you thinking outside your comfort zone!

To see my full July Challenge, click here:  July 2014 Culinary Muse Challenge

Here is my layout for July:

The journaling reads:  "Danny always shares his ice cream with Henry and uses the same spoon - eww!"

Here is the complete list of talented ladies.

Suzanne

Carmen

Janet

Kelly

Shelly

Phillis

Colleen

KitchenKeepsake (forum)

Some blogs will have a random give away - a random commenter on my blog will receive this Summer Inspired Prize:

so please leave a comment on each blog.

Your next stop is Phillis - - our awesome Featured Chef this month!

Thank you all for joining us today and we hope you enjoyed today’s hop. You will have until July 31, 2014 at 12:00 midnight Eastern time to join us.

The winners will be posted on the blogs offering a give away so please check back on August 1. 

I will leave you with a slide show of some of my recent projects (scrappy and otherwise!)

Embracing the Holidays.....

This year, things have settled down quite a bit in my world and I am wholeheartedly embracing the holidays with crafting, baking and a generally good attitude (just a little road-rage around the malls, and a bit of a bad attitude in the crowded grocery stores – but no one has gotten hurt – so far!)

I started the holiday season off early with my first batch of Peppermint Bark – especially made for one of the hubs’ golf buddies…..

I also discovered an AMAZING crafty swap hostess from Louisiana named Val – her blog is www.yarnigras.blogspot.com she crochets, does mosaics and is just an all around crafty Goddess!  I found myself her swap partner in a Vintage Halloween Swap – and was simply blown away by the package I received from her.

After that experience, I eagerly joined her annual “Handmade Christmas Ornament Swap”.   Simply create 5 handmade ornaments, send them to Val, and you will receive 5 handmade ornaments in return from a variety of different crafters using an amazing array of mediums.    

I created these ornaments for my contribution to the swap:

And what I received in return was nothing short of amazing!  

Thanks for stopping by - check back soon - I will be posting my Peppermint Bark recipe!

Shelly
Reel Girl

Welcome Helmar Blog Hoppers!

Welcome Holiday Hoppers! You should be here after visiting the amazing Laura Achilles blog (lauraachilles1.wordpress.com)

Well, I know you have already seen a lot of incredible projects in this blog hop, here is my holiday inspiration....my own version of the 12 days of Christmas ( a mini advent calendar) ...12 days of activities that mean something to our famliy.

I stapled chicken wire to a frame to create my bullentin board. (After the holidays, this will serve as a daily bullentin board)

Plastic name badges became my calendar "pages" and the badges are stuck to my bulletin board using silver clothes pins from Canvas Home Basics.

I used Elles Studio Holiday Numbers adhered to the plastic name badges with Helmar Premium Craft Glue.

I used Best Creations Glitterd Cardstock (have you worked with this glittered cardstock? IT IS A-MAZING!) and on the back side of the glittered cardstock, I adhered regular white cardstock with my 12 days of Christmas activities (using Helmar Acid Free).

From here, you should be hopping on over and being really inspired by our own Amy Teets - She always rocks my scrappy world!

Thanks for stopping by today!

If you leave a comment, please leave a note about your own family traditions during the holidays!

Shelly

It's a Rock Star Diva thang......

I am proud to be one the November Guest Designers for the Paris Hilton Creativity Collection. This collection was designed for young scrappers -- but I had a blast creating these projects (I do love my bling!) Every collection is cute & girly and if you have a tween or teen in your life that is crafty - - you must get them some of this collection! Check out my projects all this week on their facebook page!

I worked with the Rock Star Diva Kit along with a couple of packages of Rhinestone Stickers & Sticker Sheets.

My first layout is of my sister's dog (actually one of her FOUR dogs!) Beezy (and she also took this picture of Beezy!)

The rhinestone title sticker originally said "Pop Star", but I cut off the top of the "O" to make it "Pup Star"! I also punched holes in the epoxy circle sticker to create a button accent for my page. I used lots of bling on this layout, so of course had to use Helmar Gemstone Glue, and Helmar 450 Quick Dry for the organza ribbon and everything else. I also used some Zap Dots to "pop" up some of my cut out elements. The only things not included with the kit were the Prima paper flowers, the organza animal print ribbon ($1 from Michael's clearance bin!) photo corners (actual vintage black photo corners from my grandma's stash!) and the AC Thickers for her name - - hard to tell from the picture, but they ARE glittered! I finished this layout off by machine stitiching a double border using both brown and black thread to match the animal print elements.

I was lucky enough to be invited to see the American Idol Concert Tour here in San Diego by my sister-in-law, Debbie. We had the BEST time!! Dinner at a Greek restaurant first, then off to the concert - - where I was truly blown away by the sheer talent of these Top Ten performers - - much more dynamic than what you see on TV!! Sioban was truly amazing, truly a performer. But of course, my heart belongs to Casey! And Lee really rocked my world! He was amazing!

So how perfect was this kit to scrap my American Idol Experience?!

I copied and printed the AI logo from their website. Cut it out and attached it to chipboard. I used Helmar Textured Effects on top to give some "oopmh!" to the logo and attached it to the page with Liquid Scrap Dots for dimension.

Next I decided on creating some cool cards for the younger kids in my family & also a "Diva Emergency Survival Kit" which I will share with you tomorrow! Fun stuff!

Thanks for stopping by today! And be sure to stop by tomorrow for more ways to rock this paper & embellie collection!

Shelly

Welcome Helmar Halloween Howlers!!

Thanks for participating in the Helmar Halloween Howler Blog Hop!

Halloween is my favorite holiday - I love the decorations, the costumes, carving pumpkins and roasting pumpkin seeds and of course....the candy......

We got to choose which Helmar products we wanted to highlight for this blog hop, and I had to go with my 2 favorite go-to glues: Helmar Professional Acid Free Glue and Helmar Gemstone Glue.

Lately I have been obssessed with all things vintage in my decorating and in my paper crafting. I decided to create this Halloween card after seeing the adorable vintage halloween images from Gecko Galz:

Some notes and tips on how I created this card:

I printed the word Bewitched on white cardstock, then cut out with scissors and and X-Acto knife. I brushed the Gemstone Glue on the cut out word using a paint brush and then liberally poured the glitter over the top. I also used a paint brush to apply gemstone glue to the tulle and then sprinkled glitter on to it.

I like to apply the Acid Free Glue directly to my paper, then spread it around a bit using a Helmar glue spreader. I will often use a brayer to roll over the top to make sure I have good even coverage.

Supplies for this card are as follows:

Helmar Acid Free Glue
Helmar Gemstone Glue
Bazzill CS - Black
Core'dinations CS Vintage Collection(embossed with Cuttlebug and lightly Sanded)
Pink Paislee Pixie Stix black glitter
Vintage Halloween Empemera from Gecko Gals
Black Tulle
ColorBox Ink

Now here is where Helmar Remove Cleaner comes into play.....because I am an incredibly messy crafter, my work surfaces and all my tools get a generous spray of Remove and a good wipedown after every project! It cleans the sticky goop off of everything - and it smells good, too! And my Remove is not just for my craft area - - it gets used all over the house!

I am leaving you with instructions for PERFECT roasted pumpkin seeds!

Ingredients:

• Seeds from your freshly carved Jack-O-Latern (remove pulp, rinse well under cold water and pat dry)
• Approximately 2 Tablespoons melted butter
• Nature's Seasoning (by Morton Salt)

Oven 300 Degrees

Toss pumpkin seeds in melted butter, coat well.
Spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet covered in foil
Sprinkle LIBERALLY with Nature's Seasoning
Bake 30 to 45 minutes until golden brown

ENJOY!

Thanks for stopping by, and now hop on over to Tanisha's blog by clicking the image below: