'Twas the Day Before Christmas...

And all through Flamingo Scraps, the Flockinstas were working on holiday greetings!

Genie Smith

Erin Reed

Suzanne Pickens

Cheryl Arbo

Special Guest, Cooper Alsabrook

Donna Sullivan

Kathleen Natale

Luann Ostrom

Melissa Williams

Ramona Downing

Tonya Gibbs

Have a safe and happy holiday, from our flock to yours!

Personalized gift for a loved one, or for one who has it ALL!

Merry Christmas to All! Donna today, sharing a photo craft I made to use as a beautiful gift for a loved one. The beauty of this craft is it's simplicity and personalization, using any photo you can copy with a laser printer, and print it to fit the size of the canvas you wish to tranfser your photo to.(or, as in my case, bring your photo to a copy center to be copied, the copy MUST be a laser print to work, home ink jets will not work) Here is the finished canvas...

I started with just a blank 8 x 10 canvas, my laser copy photo (be sure to "flip" or "reverse" your photo when printing!) and a jar of Liquitex Gel Medium, available through special order at Flamingo Scraps by contacting Suzanne directly. She will happily order any products available featured through our posts! I had excellent results with this brand of gel medium! (sorry the label is crooked, the OCD in me tried to fix it, to no avail, product is certainly unaffected!)

I am including a video tutorial on the process, as I could not explain in words better than this video tutorial shows it! After my transfer process was completed, I took Tim Holtz Black Soot Distress Paint and blended in the edges of the photo and painted the outside edges of the canvas. When the paint was dry I used a fine grit sand paper to distress the look, blending in the inherent imperfections of this technique. When finished with the distressing, the canvas was then sealed with a flat acrylic sealer to protect the entire canvas. All that's left is to wrap your gift and make the recipient wonder how you did it! This is a gift for my youngest son, commemorating a special time we had together while his three siblings were all in school, special times we will both always cherish. This photo details the imperfections that make these canvases so uniquely your own. The horizontal lines show where some of the gel medium did not transfer the photo, and to the left you can see where the distress paint was added, then distressed with the sand paper.

The Tim Holtz distress paints are also available through special order at Flamingo Scraps, you will want the entire set once you learn the beauty of these paints, I am a distress paint junkie!!!

Also, it's not too late to get in on the Tonya Live! Ustream event! Tonya is using the BasicGrey 25th and Pine kit, made available exclusively through Flamingo Scraps. Your kit will be packed full with the collection papers and ephemera. Tonya has an entire series on youtube, play lists made available weekly to hep you create your own December Daily, or just a commemorative album for the 2013 holidays. Best part, the kit is on SALE at Flamingo Scraps (kit), and to start just click HERE (tutorials)!

Merry Christmas to all of our Flock, Flock leaders, team, and to you, the readers of our posts, a happy and prosperous New Year for 2014!

As always, Scrappy Smiles! Donna Sullivan 

Mini for Mia, Maci, their Mama and Me

Today I have used the 6 x 6 mini pad from Rondelle by Prima from my Warehouse Box available from Flamingo Scraps Pink Bird Bargain Bin. I have chosen to do a chipboard mini album from Maya Road, also in my Warehouse box. You may or may not receive the exact items, but they boxes are loaded with product and will certainly inspire you to create awesome projects! Here is the cover of the mini. Diamond paper was fussy cut around diamond shapes, Say It In Crystals, black, trimmed and added to surround Cameo Tutu embellishment (more details below for cameo and journal ticket).

I started by painting the bare chipboard album with Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Black Soot (available through Flamingo Scraps, special order by contacting Suzanne)

I found it best to allow the paint to air dry, rather then try to help it along with a heat tool, it produces a smoother and more matte finish. I only painted the outside edges knowing I was covering the inside and outside with patterned paper.

I also painted the outside binding, and wanted to cover the rivets holding the three ring binder. I used TH Spun Sugar to paint the white flower trim. Before adhering the pink flowers, I formed a circle of Webster's Tutu trim on the binding to go under the top flower.

From a piece of vintage sheet music I cut a rectangle frame to surround the binder mechanism, glued it in place and dabbed a little more Black Soot paint to blend it to the inside cover, shown on left. 

The inside pages came next, painting with the TH Distress paints. 

L - R Forest Moss, Bundled Sage, Spun Sugar, Victorian Velvet.

The three on the left were still in the drying process, the far right had already fully dried.

Waiting for the paint to dry before adhering the patterned paper to the inside pages, I started working on the embellishments, I used a cameo from my Warehouse Box, dabbing a little Distress Paint on the raised edges to highlight the raised edges, and lightly added some lighter pink to the outer edge. left is untouched. Below is a before and after.

From my stamp stash I embossed a doily stamp on a vintage sheet music page. To mimic the shape of the doily stamp, I stretched the a square stamp into a diamond shape on an acrylic block and embossed this in black also on a piece of the Rondelle paper. (see next photo for comparison)

Stamp as is from carrier sheet.

Stamp stretched and formed to patterned paper under acrylic block.

Journaling block stamped with TH Distress Paint in Forest Moss.
As you can see, paint was on more than just the detail of the stamp, put it did not transfer to the final image.
(Tip: wash your stamp immediately, it dried very quickly when applied thinly!) This was cut out and added to the pocket on the front cover of the mini album.

Inside front cover and first page, embossed doily stamp on music sheet and inked with Tim Holtz Distress Ink, Tattered Rose.

Detail of first page. Fancy Pants Bulb Safety Pin with Tim Holtz Baubles attached to top ring of binder. Detail of embossed doily on vintage music sheet. and Webster's Tutu trim pouf. 

Piece of Webster's Tutu trim threaded through center hole on inside page, glued into place on front and back. All tulle was pulled through to the front, leaving a tail to be glued onto the back.

Inside pages of the remainder of the book, awaiting photos and additional embellishments from a recent photo shoot of two of my Granddaughter, my Daughter in Law and myself just before I moved away from them in NY. I just received the proofs via email last night, excited to get them in the mail! All papers were cut to size, corners trimmed by trimming rounded corners using chipboard as template, edges distressed and then glued into place. Tattered Rose ink used to add a little dimension to each page.

All products used have been listed in the description except stamps were taken from my stash.

Thanks so much for spending a little part of your day with the Flamingo Scraps Design Team today. We love creating for you, and we're always available to answer any questions you might have for any of us!!! Have a great day & Scrappy Smiles! Donna Sullivan aka paperfusionarts 

Crisp and Fun Fall Projects From the F4 Team

Every month when I look at the F4 projects I think, "Oh! That's cool, I would have done this or that. Hmmm..I could have done that but put this this on it". It's a lot like watching a game show at home and getting all the answers right, but when you actually get onto the show, your brain goes somewhere else.

These are the materials our beloved flock leader gave us to create with this month:

• A 12x12 piece of double sided  paper,
• A chipboard truck,
• A glittery pumpkin,
• A price tag embellishment.

I am always amazed at what everyone comes up with. Here are the ideas from four of our flock members. Enjoy, and I hope we were able to inspire you as well.

GENIE'S PROJECT :

My 10-year-old daughter's best friend actually gave me this idea. Holding the little pumpkin, she said "You should make a little fall centerpiece!" The idea stuck with me, but I wasn't sure how to incorporate the truck chipboard. Suddenly, inspiration hit. It'll be a pumpkin truck, and I'll fill it full of candy!

It took some trimming and re-trimming, but I finally got a little box made to attach to the truck, using the backing from an old paper stack. I used the truck as a model to cut wheels so it could stand up, and then made a strip to fit the length of the truck. I measured 2" on each side of the "body," scored the corners and then 1/4" in from the sides to make tabs to attach to the truck. I cut a bottom the same way, and then taped and glued it in. I covered my little truck in paper, doodled the window, door, and bumpers, and added a few buttons for wheels and lights. Finally, I thought the 5 cent flair was the perfect finishing touch, attached to a Popsicle stick on the back of the truck.

 RAMONA'S PROJECT :

"Wow!" was all I could say when I saw this month's Flamingo 4 products. Yes, I started out in one direction, but ended up going another.That's what I love about doing F4 projects. You end up creating things with items you would never think about putting together. I am into altering things and junkin' it up a bit, so I made a tag. I'm really happy about how it turned out.

I used my Cameo to make the quote, cut my pumpkin in half so it would fit the length of the truck, and yes, I did jack the truck up a bit. LOL! I used Cream Seam Binding , Vintage Photo Distress Stain, and Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Spiced Marmalade for the bow on the tag. Follow the links below to locate these fab products to add to your next creative project !

Claudine Hellmuth Mediums   http://flamingoscraps.com/product/claudine-hellmuth-studio-kit-mediums/

Heidi Swapp Color Shine http://flamingoscraps.com/product/heidi-swapp-color-shine-georgia-peach/

Seam Binding - Cream  http://flamingoscraps.com/product/seam-binding-cream/



KATHLEEN'S PROJECT :

Every year, when we visit our local pumpkin patch, I always complain that I don't have a frame to put the best photo into and display during the fall season. This challenge was just the answer! I had a cheap unfinished wooden frame that I paid less than $1.00 for in my stash, so the transformation began. I covered the frame with the paper in the kit and TRIED to make the truck look realistic with multiple fall colors of Tim Holtz paints. I cut my pumpkin in half to be able to have two. We've been bringing my grandson to the pumpkin patch since he was six months old, so we established "Pete's Pumpkins" for that year.  I used my chalkboard and gel pens for the writing on the truck. The "Fall" title is from my stash and the sign post is nothing more than a painted toothpick. The orange paper in the photo slot is actually the reverse side of the plaid paper, and it will make a perfect mat for my photo.

Being a true scrapper, I hate to toss out scraps, so I used some of my leftovers to make a group invitation to put onto a bulletin board. I reversed my truck and repainted it, and used one of the pumpkin halves from my frame temporarily. The Trick or Treat bag and the bats are made from paper punches using the reverse side of the plaid paper. My date and journal tag are from my FlamingoScraps Warehouse box.

 

                                                                                                                 

 DONNA'S PROJECT:

                                  

Recipe Mini Album Cover
I first cut my recycled card board (orange packaging) to 5 x 7. It was not perfectly covered. Leaving the bare white core showing, I inked the white portions with TH distress inks, Spiced Marmalade and Peeled Paint, distressed the edges and inked again with with Peeled Paint, then sprayed with Apple Glimmer Mist. 

Next, my patterned paper was cut to 4.5 x 6.5. I distressed the edges and inked with the Peeled Paint ink, again sprayed with the Apple Glimmer Mist and layered over the orange chip board base. I traced the chip board truck onto the orange packaging, layering it behind to add dimension to the Maya Road truck piece.

I painted the bare truck chipboard first with Wild Honey, then around the edges with Spiced Marmalade, allowing each to dry first. I then inked the edges with Spiced Marmalade. In order to use the pumpkin on my cover so it was not just one round piece, I first cut it in half and adhered the flat back to the cover. I took the remaining half and cut that in half, giving me two pieces, which I glued together to resemble a pumpkin pie.

Using the Maya Road stick pins, I inserted the large green as a stem for my pumpkin (I had to trim the pin down with wire cutters, as it was too long for the pumpkin). I added three flowers flower stick pins to the bed of the pick up truck for added interest. The recipe book is bound together using two book rings, allowing me to open and add pages as I collect my pumpkin recipes

The final addition was adding the 45 cent self adhesive price button. 

MAYA ROAD FLOWER TRINKET PINS  http://flamingoscraps.com/product/maya-road-flower-trinket-pins-pearl/

PAINTS, MISTS, AND MEDIUMS  http://flamingoscraps.com/product-category/inks-mists-mediums/

Well, that's it for another Fabulous Flamingo Four! It just goes to show that you can create wonderful projects using minimal supplies. Join us next month when Melissa, Erin, and Luanne, and Cheryl with get creative with four more mystery items from our Great and Wonderful Flock Leader. Just a reminder, all of the newest and yummiest of CHA products are now in the store from Cosmo Cricket,  Fancy Pants,   as well as the  Basic Grey 25th and Pine. So many new items I can't list them all here!!

Be sure to tune in to Ustream for another great tutorial from our very own Tonya Gibbs, on October 8th, at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/gibbst.  Broadcasts are the first Monday of each month at 8:30 p.m. EDT.

For today's post, I have chosen a 12 x 12 layout. It was a beautiful day with my family on the grounds of the historic Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, NY.
This is Donna, and this is my first design team post. After two guest design posts in July, I am so thrilled to be part of an awesome team!
I have used the Hope Chest collection by Pink Paislee from my Flamingo Scraps warehouse box, an incredible amount of goodies packed into one box! The possibilities are endless! This layout only used just a fraction of what's in the box!

I started with my background paper adding some embossed details using Tim Holtz Fabulous Flourishes stamp and one found object in my house. Here is where I chose my ink and spray color pallet. TH distress ink, rusty hinge to pick up the brick color in the photos, and two Glimmer Mist sprays, mustard seed and gumdrops, to blend with the paper pallet.

This photo shows the hidden journaling tag on the page and my ink/spray colors, and was also adhered with a stronger glue to reinforce the edges when the journaling tag is taken out and put back in. Each photo was matted with an 1/8" border, using patterned paper and inking the edges. I then decided on how I would embellish my page.

The scalloped fabric trim was Glimmer Mist'd, dried and cut to form my flowers for the page.

I knew I was going to want one flower on the edge of the page, the center flower, so it did not need to be a

perfect flower.

This white trim was also misted with the same two colors as the above flowers. I used these as flower center and also placed a couple on my page alone. I misted them with the Mustard seed first, dried, then misted again with the Gumdrops. No two will come out alike! 

With Webster's tutu trim, I simply took the piece and knotted one end and trimmed close to the knot to get the little pom pom flower. A dot of glue will hold the knot in place

This corner of my layout, I first fussy cut the legs from one of the papers, knowing I was going to overlap this onto one of my photos, I did not adhere it down completely at this point. With a piece of 'waffle' shelf liner I embossed directly over my piece, then stamped directly over the embossing, filling in the imperfect embossed image. 

Here is where I fussy cut another piece of patterned paper, cutting it so it was part of the background, but also overlay one of the photos. It also helps keep my hidden journaling flap down when it's closed.

A corner view with a flower cluster with butterfly clips and the embossed/stamped detail.

Here are two butterflies from the collection, they come in white and off white, 2 of each. I misted one with Gumdrops again. When misting on different paper surfaces, you get different tonal effects which makes each have there own look, but still coordinate together! 

Products used

Pink Paislee "Hope Chest"

Paper Collection

Label Stickers

Butterfly Clips 

Paper Goods

Prima Washi Tape stamp "123456"
TH distress embossing powder Peeled Paint (Special Order)

TH distress ink, Rusty Hinge (Special Order)

Stamper's Anonymous TH Fabulous Flourishes, large stamp (Special Order)
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Gumdrops and Mustard Seed (Special Order)

Webster's Sparklers (bottom flower center) 

White Daisy Trim, misted with TA mists

Hope you have enjoyed a day in the garden with us as I created my layout.

These photos were taken so many years ago, it was fun to relive the day!