I'm hooked!

I received some Shimmerz Blingz paint (Under the Sea) in my March Scraps of Elegance kit, and I absolutely love it!  The sparkle is just subtle enough and the thin consistency is great for blending and adding layers of color to any project.  I now want every color they make!

With that said, I've used it on quite a few of my latest projects including The Shabby Tea Room's week #107 challenge ("Bright and Beautiful Spring").

We were asked to use lilac, yellow, blue, Kraft and a butterfly and to be inspired by this photo:

I immediately thought of my Blingz paint for the blue!  I brushed it around the edges of the Kraft card stock along with some white acrylic paint and machine stitching.

The frame was hand drawn, cut and glittered as a focal point...almost as if you were looking through a window.

I fussy cut the butterfly from Bo Bunny Country Garden paper and the butterfly brad is from the same collection (also included in my Scraps of Elegance March kit).  

You can purchase this sweet little card in my Etsy shop.

I do appreciate you taking the time to stop in, and I look forward to your comments.  Please take a minute to check out the other fabulous interpretations of this week's challenge at The Shabby Tea Room, and then wander on over to Scraps of Elegance to check out April's kit (the big reveal is April 1st).  You wouldn't be disappointed if you signed up to receive one of their gorgeous kits every month!

Have a great day crafting!

M. 

Happy Everything!

My sweet baby-girl, Mackenzie, turned 6 this past week!  Time passes in the blink of an eye, and it seems more so when you have children.

She is such an angel and deserves nothing but happiness and success.  

Her birthday inspired my next card created for The Shabby Tea Room's Week #106 "Pennant Party" Challenge.  We were asked to use the colors in the inspiration photo and to include either a flag, banner or pennant.

"Happy Everything"

I tend to lean towards creating mixed media types of cards because I love layering and using various textures.  With this one I included scraps of muslin, a bottle cap and some Blingz paint around the edges.  

I machine stitched each of the flags on the banner as well as around the edges of the card.  I also chose to hand draw stitching to anchor the printed vintage image.

It's a little different than the cards I normally create...more of a retro feel, but I think it will fit well with The Shabby Tea Room's challenge.

As always I appreciate your time, and be sure to stop by my shop where you can purchase this card or one of my other unique creations.

M.

Vintage Lace and a German Easter Bunny

With Spring peeking around the corner, I can't help but think of Easter; especially since I have three girls that expect a visit from the Easter bunny (well, two anyway)!  It won't be much longer before they all start to doubt his existence, so I'm doing all that I can to keep his spirit alive for as long as I can.

While looking for unique Easter images to create with, I came across this vintage German postcard.

I love that he's wearing glasses and that the colors are warm rather than the standard pastels.

This is the card it inspired:

The beautiful vintage lace trim came in my March kit from Scraps of Elegance, and I thought it went perfectly on this project.  It reminds me of the typical up-down design painted around the middle of a dyed Easter egg.  

To add a hint of orange in the floral cluster, I cut strips of the Bo Bunny Country Garden paper and made loops.  I tucked them in here and there to look like a ribbon (only because I didn't have a length of orange ribbon anywhere).  The flowers are from Petaloo and arrive perfectly glittered.

A few Prima rhinestones in the corner and a stamped sentiment...voila!

I love the look of the vintage lace so much that I'm going to enter this card in the "Lace" challenge over at Love My Tapes.  They manufacture lace tapes, fabric tapes, and so much more.  You'll have to stop by and check them out.

While I have your attention, I'd like to show you another card I created for a dear friend.

This too was created using all the gorgeous goodies from the March kit at Scraps of Elegance.

Again, gorgeous lace!

Cards like these can be purchased in my Etsy shop.  Stop by often as we're always adding new and unique items.

I appreciate you spending some time, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

M.

Tea Time

Ever since my girls were little, I've always let them to play with my tea set.  They get dressed up in pretty little dresses, set it all up on the coffee table with water and cookies and play tea time. A few pieces have gotten broken here and there over the years, but to see them playing so well together using their imaginations is worth every crack and chip.   I could have purchased a set of their own to use, but I like the idea of having those memories tied to my tea set, and every time I spot a chip, I think of them giggling and playing.  They don't do it as often as they used to now that they're older, but when they do, I'm always asking to join in.

I created this TEA TIME card set with them in mind:

Each card has a coordinating handmade envelope.

Aren't those little flowers gorgeous?  They're from Petaloo and they come loaded with glitter!

I happened to find this pretty lace in my stash.  I thought it went perfectly with the grey.

I wanted to add a pink floral pin, but I didn't have one in the right shade, so I embossed it with Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Powder in Tattered Rose.

The paper doily was sprayed with both Tsukineko Walnut Ink and Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Vintage Pink.

This is my favorite because it reminds me of my girls playing tea time.

I'm loving the pop of brighter pink with the Prima Pearls.

Each of these cards can be purchased separately or together as a set in my Etsy shop.

As always, I appreciate you taking the time to drop by, and I hope you'll be back soon.

I'll be posting an Easter card that I created using a vintage German bunny image.  It's adorable!

Since it's such a beautiful day, I think I'll take the dogs for a walk.

Happy crafting!

M.

Spring is Near...Challenge #6 of 52

High in the 60s with sunny skies one day and snow falling the next.  Maine weather ~ if you don't like it, just wait a minute.  Having lived here since I was a little girl, I know the telltale signs of Spring even if the snow continues to fall.  The obvious sign is the singing of the birds, but the biggest sign that Spring is Near is...MUD.  Lots and lots of mud.

Maine mud season only lasts a short time, and it's tolerable with a good pair of boots and when you think of it as a precursor to the beautiful season it introduces.  So, in honor of Spring and for the weekly challenge over at The Shabby Tea Room , 

(inspiration photo)

We needed to use at least three colors and dry embossing for the challenge.

I created this welcome Spring flag:

I dry embossed around the outside edges of the flag as well as the butterflies.

I'm extremely happy with the way it turned out and will list it for sale in my Etsy shop.

I'm a new member to the Scraps of Elegance kit club, and I was excited to use my very first kit (March) on this project.  

Everything went together perfectly!  I was amazed at the all beautiful embellishments (some of which were new from Winter CHA), and the Bo Bunny Country Garden paper is irresistible. I'm already looking forward to next month's kit.  I've also created a thank you card ("SWEET"), an Easter card and a card set ("TEA TIME") with this month's kit, so I'll post those pics next time.

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to check out all the gorgeous eye candy by those participating in the weekly challenge over at The Shabby Tea Room.  

Have a wonderful evening, my friends!

M.

A is for Apricot...Challenge #5 of 52

This post has absolutely nothing to do with apricots or the alphabet, but it WAS inspired by Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger:

I love the teal and orange color combination (with the hint of gold)...not something I would automatically turn to, but it works!  I'm also drawn to the french.  Even "apricot" looks romantic when spelled in french, am I right?

Using these elements for inspiration, I created an Easter card:

The background ephemera (a French flower boutique invoice) was a deep orange color, so I knew I had to use it, and it teams well with the fussy cut vintage Easter bunny.

An old gold earring sits nicely at the center of the sheer ribbon.

Not only have I been inspired by Moxie Fab World, but the teal/orange color combination they've introduced me to is one that I'll have to consider more in the future.  I think it worked well on my Easter card (which can be purchase in my Etsy shop).  

Thanks for dropping in,

M.

Challenge #4 of 52 ~ Colorful Basket Full of Vintage Easter Goodies

What a beautiful day!  The skies were blue and the temperature made it up around 62 degrees; which in Maine at this time of the year is a record breaker.  Spring is peaking from around the corner!

And speaking of Spring, The Shabby Tea Room's weekly challenge reminded me of Easter with it's "Colorful Confections" photo inspiration:

We were asked to create a project using Teal, Pink and Green plus a tag and here is what I came up with:

An Easter basket full of vintage goodies.  

I used K&Company's Floral & Fauna paper for the basket and Sassafras' Sweetly Smitten for the flower...two of my favorite collections.

 Who wouldn't want a basket full of goodies? 

Perfectly colorful!

Thank you for stopping by and be sure to take a peek at some of the other entrants in this week's challenge over at The Shabby Tea Room.

Have a wonderful day, my friends!
M.

Better late than never...February's Tag

I know I'm late on posting February's tag, but it's been extremely overwhelming these last few weeks.  I did manage to get everything put away so that this 'new' apartment feels a bit like home, but I still find myself running in circles looking for things.  In time, the girls and I will fall into some sort of routine and life will move forward on a positive note rather than running in slow motion as it has been lately.

So, with that said.  Here is February's tag:

Although I haven't been feeling the love, I went with a Valentine's theme this month.  The printed vintage image is one of my favorites and the hand cut heart embossed with Tim Holtz's Tattered Rose embossing powder and Crackle Paint in Picket Fence adds a touch of vintage.

Vintage laces, doilies, and buttons tie it all together along with some distressed crinkle seam binding.  I added some Prima vines and leaves to the flowers just because, and outlined the image to help it stand out as the focal point.

I've been working on some paper Hydrangea balls for a customer who is interested in using them for her son's wedding centerpieces.  

She's impressed with the structure of my balls compared to the one she picked up at Michael's, but it's been hit or miss trying to get the paper in just the right ivory color.  I have faith that I can come through for her.  It's quite an honor to be asked to create something for such a momentous occasion.

As always, I appreciate your time and hope you'll stop back soon.  

Have a wonderful day!

M.