Floral Hair Bow Holder

Now that my daughter's hair is getting longer and she is collecting bows for her hair, I wanted to make something that would display her bows and also act as a decoration for her new room.  The room itself was already painted purple, so I took that idea and went with it.

Here you can see the holder without and bows hanging from it (picture below of it in her room hanging on the wall).  I added in tons of Prima flowers and Crystal flourishes to really make this stand out.  You can also see the Webser's ruffled bloomers trim at the top as the hanger.

I used heavy duty chipboard for the letters and the circle.  I glued the floral paper to the chipboard with crafters glue, then covered the everything with multi-medium matte by Claudine Hellmuth to seal everything in.  After it dried I took Prima chalk inks in similar colors and inked the edges of all the chipboard items.

Here you can see the holder and up on the wall in my daughter's room with the bows attached the to the hanging ribbon at the bottom.  I like this because I can see all the bows, plus it adds to the decor of the room.  The "C" stands for Catherine and the "R" is for Reed.

All around the edges of the circle I added in about 5 yards of various colors of tutu tulle by Maya Road.  I cut up the yards and layered them going around the circle giving it a dimensional effect.

You can find almost all of these supplies at Flamingo Scraps - so head on over and take a look!!

Enjoy!!

Supplies used:

Chipboard

Paper

Flowers - Prima

Ink - Prima

Mediums - Claudine Hellmuth

Crystals - Prima

Trims - Websters and Maya Road

Ustream Tonight - Oct. 7, 8:30 p.m. EST

Flamingo Scraps presents Tonya Gibbs Live Tonight at 8:30 p.m. EST.

Tonya will be creating this mixed media canvas that she featured on Marion Smith Designs' blog last Saturday. Class begins at 8:30 p.m. est at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/gibbst. Join the crowd early!

We will do our best to record the class, but we are at the mercy of Ustream.

 

 

Supplies needed to follow along are these are all optional:

• Marion Smith Designs Nirvana Paper - Up & Away
• *Tim Holtz - Tattered Leaves Die, Tattered Floral Die, Mini Tattered Floral Die (These Prima Daisies in the store are a perfect substitution if you don't want to make your own flowers.
• Pumpkin shape (I found this one on Silhouette) but you could find a shape on the Internet and trace it  onto you patterned paper. The Grand Caliber Ovals would work too.
• 20mm Rhinestones clear
• Copic E29 (or dark brown permanent marker or alcohol ink)
• *Ranger:  Matt Medium, Distress Stain Forest Green, Distress Stain Spiced Marmalade, Distress Paint Antique Bronze,  Distress Ink Vintage Photo.
• Burlap
• Lindy's Stamp Gang - Tibation Poppy Seed Starburst spray, Edelweiss Moss Green Starburst Spary, Creme Brulee Starburst Spray
• Vine
• Miscellaneous Metal Filigree
• Skeleton Leaves
• Stick Pin
• Floral Stamp
• Clear Glitter Nail Polish
• Book Page/Music Page
• Twine
• 10x10 canvas
• Perminant Brown Ink Pad

 *Can be special ordered by Flamingo Scraps. 

Hope to see you there!



All about the feathers!

Well, at least it seems like the scrapbooking industry is, lately. There are all kinds of different feather products out there, and I decided it was time for me to jump on that feather bandwagon, as well, using the Jenni Bowlin Cardstock Feathers available in the Flamingo Scraps store! Here's what I came up with:

I really have a love of Emily Dickenson, so when I saw this quote from one of her poems, I decided it would be a perfect way to showcase the feathers and make a wall hanging for my scrap space. 

That letter treatment is something else! To get this effect, I painted the canvas with various shades of blue acrylic paint, using my brayer. Then, I used some bubble wrap and Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Black Soot, Picket Fence, Broken China, Salty Ocean, Weathered Wood, and Chipped Sapphire (all available via special order) to stamp the bubble wrap in layers. After it all dried, I cut the text out with vinyl letters on my Silhouette (though you could do this with plain old alpha stickers, as well) and painted it all over with gesso. After letting the gesso dry, I sprayed it with Heidi Swapp Color Shine in Primrose and Tropicana Teal. Once that all dried, I peeled the vinyl letters off to reveal the original background. To make them stand out more, I simply outlined them with a black Sharpie marker.  The black border is also done with a chisel tip Sharpie marker. 

The feathers are just glued on with some glossy accents carefully ran along the spine and pressed down onto the canvas. I'm really pleased with how this project turned out!

What have you used feathers on, recently? I'd love to see your projects!

A secret crush on home decor!

Good morning, fabulous Flamingo fans! Melissa, today, with a fun project using Pink Paislee Secret Crush 6x6 paper pack... because it is just a cool collection to use and I was inspired when I saw the patterns!

I have a serious crush on trees... I'm pretty sure my decorative theme in my living room is pretty much trees. I collect Christmas trees, too. But, that's beside the point. I saw a tree, much like the one above, out at a store one day, and while the tree was beautiful, the price tag on it was not! Enter the Pink Paislee Secret Crush 6x6 paper pack, a Styrofoam cone, a little bit of gesso, some glitter, a Maya Road decorative pin, some sheer ribbon, seed beads from my stash, and I have one that's better than anything I could ever buy in the store!

I used my Cameo to cut all of the flowers from every sheet of the paper pack, save for 3, but you could just as easily cut them yourselves... it's a simple 2-inch circle, spiral cut and wrapped into a rosette. 

As you can see, I painted the foam with gesso, which I then sprinkled with fine glitter and let dry to give the base an appealing look, as well.  I took some seed beads and glued them into the flowers, but you could use anything you want for embellishment there, or leave blank. 

I think it looks great, sitting on my bookshelf. Don't you? 

So, there you have it! I hope you were inspired to create your own and I'd love to see what this project has inspired you to create. Be sure to check out all the new and happening trends at flamingoscraps.com . You'll be glad you did !!

Until next time...

Keep scrappin'!

Melissa

Maya Road Laundry Room Banner

I have lived in my house for 12 years, and for 12 years, the state of my laundry room has made me crazy!!  I had shelves built and a sink installed, but never got around to painting it.  And then Pinterest and spray paint empowered me!!!  It still isn't finished, but the washer/dryer area is painted in bright, fun colors.  Which led me to tackle another project that had been waiting -- a little bit of home dec to tie the room together!

As soon as I saw the Maya Road Canvas Laundry Day Set, the Vintage Wooden Spools, and the Sew Cute Chipboard, I knew I wanted to make a banner!

I alternated Laundry Day shapes with Canvas Flag Banner pieces and wooden spools strung on narrow ribbon.  The canvas pieces were attached mini wood clothespins.

I had a ball decorating each canvas shape with wash day words and images.  Stymied as to how to make a laundry basket -- I settled on the birdcage from the Tim Holtz Movers and Shapers set -- PERFECT!!!  My most favorite ever Pink Paislee chippie letters and more Maya Road embellies -- Mini Ruler, buttons, Laundry Day Mini Chipboard, and Heart and Hand Chipboard!

I raided my stash for safety pins, charms, and the awesome overall fasteners!  I have had those for years and years, saving them for the perfect project!

My laundry room is now a pleasure to work in -- the valance is a tension rod with Dollar Tree napkins draped on it -- and I am on to the next project!!

Thanks for Looking!

Scrappy Mess to Master Piece

Some serious Holiday crafting has been going on in my room the last few weeks. Between Tim's 12 tags of Christmas, Cards, and some last minute gifts, I have had scraps up to my elbows. I wanted to share with you guys today a tip for turning those scraps into a work of Art.

I started with an 8x10 naked canvas (you could do any size). Then I used my Ranger Glue 'n Seal to decoupage the scarps onto the untreated canvas. Just looks like a giant mess right now. But notice the chipboard pieces - they will offer some depth later.



Next I covered the entire canvas with watered down Gesso. This will make all the elements one color and make them look as if they belong together. Be careful not to apply the Gesso too thick - you still want to be able to see the patters from the different styles of paper. I also added a thin coat of White Metallic Acrylic paint and then lightly sprayed Lindy's Stamp Gang's Creme Brulee Cream to the finished piece to give it a sparkle. So you may ask - "Why add all of those pieces if you are just going to cover them up?" - well, it's simple, I'm after texture. While it is hard to see in the photograph - the text and the music notes are still visible in places. But the Mess looks like a uniformed mess at this point.



Next I wanted some contrast for all this white. So I took an old cardstock frame from Daisy Dee that was dated 2004, and I covered it in black gesso and bead gel. When it was dried, I used my finger to rub same white metallic paint over the frame to bring out the texture of the bead gel. Then I spritz it with the Lindy's Stamp Gang Creme Brulee Cream.



Next I assembled a beautiful spray of Prima's Christmas lights Crystal Sprays, White Flowers, and butterflies around my frame. Notice that even though the flowers and frame have covered the canvas - you can still see the textures of the pieces that were adhered to the canvas backdrop. These textures give depth to the canvas and offer something new every time you admire the piece.



Next I decided the frame seemed empty so I cut a Tim Holtz bird cage from black chipboard and embossed it in silver with the music note stamp from Stampendous. During the 12 tags of Christmas, Tim Holtz shared a technique for using shrink plastic with UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel). So I cut the bird at 8 inches from the Home Accents Cricut Cartridge from Shrink plastic and when I dipped it into the UTEE it shrunk to about 4 inches making the perfect crystal center piece for my canvas.



To finish the piece off, I used a Dylusions stamp from Dyan Reaveley, that says "A Friend knows the song in your heart" - the rest of the phrase was removed. I stamped it onto thick packaging and embossed it with white embossing powder. Placed it in the bottom right hand corner of the frame and called this Masterpiece finished.



I have a step by step from start to finish video available on my YouTube Channel, click here to watch it.

Thanks for stopping in today,

Cindy's Glossy Accents Project

Last week, Tonya posted a tip about how to keep Glossy Accents unclogged.  In the comments, I said that I needed a post telling me how to use Glossy Accents, since I never use mine!  She responded on Friday with a new post which showed 5 projects using Glossy Accents and Crackle Accents.  At the end, she challenged me to use Glossy Accents on my next project.

Well, there's something about being called out by name in front of hundreds that motivates a person to accept a challenge!  I was most inspired by Tonya's use of Glossy Accents to make a 'dewdrop' on a flower.  I was thinking about that as I was walking to pick Trevor up from kindergarten, my feet crunching the zillions of acorns on the sidewalk.  I picked up a large handful of acorns and decided to experiment with Glossy Accents on them.

Of course, the second Trevor saw me he noticed that I had a huge handful of acorns.  He was instantly curious about what project I had planned for us to do together.  I told him we'd be making napkin rings.  He said, "Great!  What are napkin rings?"

Here are mine:

And here are Trevor's:

They were fun and easy to make.  I started by cutting an empty toilet paper roll into 6 rings, which we then painted with fall colors.  While they were drying, we stamped oak leaves using Staz-On, added Glimmer Mist, then did a color wash of paint over that.  (Actually, that's what I did- Trevor did the first one that way and used crayon on his next two.)  After  I did the fussy cutting, I coated my leaves and acorns with Glossy Accents.  We left Trevor's plain for contrast.

When everything was dry, we tied string/ribbon around the rings and used Glossy Accents to attach the leaves.  I used the glue gun to attach the acorn, as I wasn't sure if Glossy Accents was intended to hold that much weight.

Here's a closer look at one of my napkin rings:

From Flamingo Scraps: Glimmer Mist

Other: Glossy Accents, Folk Art paint, Staz-On ink, Stampin' Up stamp, unknown twine/ribbon

What a fun project!  Not only did the Glossy Accents work well as an adhesive, but I love the shine that it provides.

Amanda, it's your turn!  I challenge you to make a project using Glossy Accents.  Can't wait to see what you create!

Guest DT Cindy deRosier: Heather's Housewarming Gift

While we are busy getting ready for CHA, our fabulous group of Guest Design Team members is going to inspire you some more this month!  Up first is Cindy with a fabulous project - enjoy! :)

We are not military, but one of the sad realities of living in a military community is that friends move away,  often with little notice. One of my close friends was recently transferred across the country to the Florida panhandle. They'd always rented in the past, but this time they bought their first home. I decided to make them a housewarming gift.

I knew I wanted to make some sort of wall hanging that could hang either indoors or outdoors. I found a ceramic heart from Provo Craft and painted it a creamy neutral. I cut their last name (Brown) from some BasicGrey cardstock (brown, of course!) and adhered the letters using Mod Podge. Then I gathered the following supplies:

I used the Key Lime Pie Glimmer Mist to dye the cord a nice leaf green color, then I glued the cord around the perimeter of the heart. I covered the whole thing with about 10 coats of Outdoor Mod Podge, waiting at least 15 minutes between coats. I'd never used the Outdoor variety before, but I'd heard that it dries tacky, even with the proper drying time. This was indeed the case, so I gave the heart a quick spray of Krylon to seal it. Perfect!

I really wanted to use a Prima flower on this project, but I wasn't sure how to weather-proof it in case Heather decided to hang this outdoors. Time to experiment! I got a test flower and brushed on a coat of the Mod Podge. Quite a bit of yellow came off on my brush. I tried dabbing (rather than brushing) and it worked much better. I was able to apply a thin coat that sealed the color in. I applied multiple coats to both front and back. The Mod Podge behaves differently on paper than on ceramic, as the flower wasn't tacky to the touch when I finished. It did have a very interesting texture- it almost felt like a rubbery plastic! I brushed the yellow ink pad over a pearl and added it to the center of the flower, then attached the whole thing to the heart. It looked pretty cute, but was definitely missing something. Then I remembered these beauties:

The color was wrong... would the Glimmer Mist solve the problem? Yes! They ended up exactly as I'd hoped. It's so satisfying when that happens! I used the same technique of dabbing on a primer coat of Mod Podge front and back, then added a bunch more finishing coats. For good measure, I sprayed the whole thing with two more coats of Krylon.

Here's the finished product:

Miss you, Heather!

To see more of Cindy's work, please visit her gallery!

Weekend Whimsy: Christmas Traditions and Memories

My mother calls me the keeper of traditions in our family and I love that role!  Especially at Christmas!  This year I got this ornament display tree and was able to showcase all the ornaments I have collected over the last 35 or so years!   Nearly every ornament on my tree marks an occasion, or a trip, or was given to me by friends or family, and every year when I get them out the house is flooded with wonderful memories!  I also decorate with several items that are traditions I carry on from my grandmother!



My ornament display tree!

 

An ornament from 1979 I got when I was volunteering
at the Robert Mills House during grad school

The ornament marking my first Christmas in my present home on "Carr" Street

A voodoo doll I got while at a conference in New Orleans

The ornament marking the year I became a Master Gardener

Florida ornament that has been on trees in NC, SC, and NJ!

String of chili peppers I picked up while working in Taos, NM

Carrying on a tradition of my Granny's -- ribbon candy in her Christmas Tree jar



One of my most treasured possessions, a handmade angel that
graced my grandmother's mantel for as long as I can remember

Scrappers and paper crafters tend to be keepers of traditions and memories -- what are some of the special holiday traditions you keep for your families???  Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year!

Displaying Holiday Cards

Every year, I put all the cards we get up on the fridge -- not just the Christmas cards but also all the birth announcements from throughout the year. Mostly because I put them up when they arrive in the mail and forget to take them down!! ;)

This year, I wanted some magnets to hold them up.   So I grabbed some clothespins, some scraps of patterned paper, a roll of magnetic tape, some ribbon and a few other items....

First, I cut some pieces of magnet of the roll - about one inch long strips - and I used hot glue to affix the magnet to the clothespins:

I cut my paper down to fit on the front side... but the clothespins looked a little too plain still.  Hmmmm.... what to do....

Mist it of course! ;)

I used my Licorice Metallic Maya Mist.  The mist soaked into the wood well - it will never soak into the metal or magnet though!  So I wiped it off with a paper towel.  Worked like a charm!  Added my patterned paper....

From Flamingo Scraps: Pink Paislee Bayberry Cottage patterned papers; Licorice Metallic Maya Mist

Other Supplies: Clothespins, Magnets, Ribbon (Michael's)

Added a little ribbon and they were ready for the fridge!

All that was missing was a few cards and it is ready for the holiday season!!

How do you display your holiday cards?!