Monday, April 30, 2012

Grandmothers

My Mom just had a birthday this past weekend.  I'm not going to spill on her age, but let's just say that she looks wonderful and I should be so lucky to look that good when I'm a Grandmother!
I created this card for her:
I can't take credit for the design, and I can't remember where I found it.  If you know, please contact me so that I can give credit where credit is due.  
The paper is Colorbok and the felt flower and pearl flourish are from Prima.  An elegant design...perfect for my Mom.

And while we're talking Moms and Grandmothers, I created this next card for my daughter's teacher (who is also my dear friend's Mom).  She just became a first-time Grandmother to baby girl, Ilanna Grace.
The paper is Crafty Secrets and Melissa Frances and the flowers are Petaloo and Prima.  I've added vintage doilies and lace along with Making Memories pearls and buttons.   The vintage image reminds me of my Nana, so I thought it worked well with this card.

Be sure and stop by sometime over the next few days because I'll be posting April's tag.
Have a wonderful day, my friends!
M.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Beautiful Roses

Nothing compares to a bouquet of beautiful roses; except maybe a first class ticket to Greece!  A woman can dream, right?!

This week's "Beautiful Roses" challenge at The Shabby Tea Room was based on this photo:
We were asked to utilize aqua, pink, neutrals and flowers on our projects, and I was so inspired by both the color combination and the photo that I created two cards.
On this first card, I used Melissa Frances paper and a Glitz Design transparency for the background along with some stitching.  
The birdcage was painted with Tim Holtz Distress Crackle paint in Picket Fence (one of my favs!) and finished off with Prima roses and pearls.  I topped it off with some glorious crinkle seam binding in Bubble Gum pink and created a glittered petite banner from vintage sheet music.

This next card was based on both TSTR challenge and Mojo Monday's sketch challenge.
Again, I used Melissa Frances paper for the background, some vintage sheet music, and a paper doily spritzed with some Tattered Angel Glimmer Mist in Vintage Rose.  The chipboard button is Jenni Bowlin and the roses and art tile from Prima.  

I'm extremely proud to have finished both cards as well as keeping up with my shipping this week since the kiddos are home on school vacation.  I even managed to take them to our neighborhood park for some sun and swimming.  I know, I know...in April?  Well, we've had two 80 degree days at the beginning of the week, but today it's barely eking out of the 50s!  Crazy, huh?

I do appreciate your time and hope you'll stop by again soon.
Have a wonderful day!
M.

Monday, April 16, 2012

It's a Girl!

My friend's son is stationed over in Japan and he and his wife are expecting their second child (a girl) sometime in May, so she asked me to create birth announcements to send over.
The base is a sweet vanilla cream card stock and Glitz Design paper.
The sentiment on the front and the inside stamps are from K&Company.

I remember when my girls were babies as if it were only yesterday.  Of course, it wasn't yesterday...here is a recent layout of my youngest, Mackenzie, turning 6 years old!
I used quite a bit of the goodies in my April Scraps of Elegance kit for this layout.  The colors were perfect for the photos!

Materials used:  Pink Paislee paper, Glitz Design paper, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tattered Rose, Prima felt flowers, foil trim, Etsy tag, Making Memories crochet flowers and glittered alpha stickers, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Vintage Pink, crinkle seam binding, paper doilies, millinery roses, Making Memories pearls and machine stitching.

I also created a layout (I was on a roll) of Mackenzie and Madison from Halloween last year.
I got a little 'dirty' with this one...love using the Tim Holtz Kraft Resist paper and acrylic paint!
 I came up with the title based on their costumes.  "Good vs. Evil" seemed appropriate in so many ways;)
Materials used:  Tim Holtz Kraft Resist paper, DCWV Mariposa and World Traveler paper, black acrylic paint, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tea Dye, black grosgrain ribbon, OTC clock hands, Making Memories brad and gemstones, jute, Webster's Pages alpha stickers, vintage ephemera, small price tag, Tsukineko pigment ink in Pearlescent Poppy, vintage buttons and Prima pearls.

On this Halloween, the girls had to wear layers of clothing underneath their costumes because we had snow on the ground!  That's early for snow...even in Maine! 

I appreciate you stopping by, and certainly hope you have a wonderful day!
M.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Pink Cupcakes

The Shabby Tea Room offers up amazing weekly challenges and this week was no exception.  Just look at this inspiration photo:
Those cupcakes look almost too perfect to eat!  Though I have to admit that it wouldn't stop me!

Week #109's "Birthday Bash" challenge was to create a birthday project and include a cupcake.  Since I was lucky enough to have received my April kit from Scraps of Elegance, I used a few pages of the gorgeous Glitz Design paper to create this card:
I'm not sure how I feel about the cupcake because my daughter thought it was a tree at first glance. :)  Can't win 'em all!

I was able to use more of my Scraps of Elegance kit to create this card based on Mojo Monday's sketch challenge.  This was my first time participating in one of their challenges, but I can assure you that it won't be my last.

For this card, I went with a printed image of a cupcake...saves on explaining the pink tree! :)
I used the Glitz Design paper, the ribbon and paper roses from April's kit.  The glittered alpha stickers are from Making Memories and since they were a bit hard to see against the white doily, I highlighted them with a brown marker.

As it turns out, it was a week for pink cupcakes!

I'll be sharing a couple of layouts in my next post, so be sure to stop by to check them out.  It's been quite some time since I've worked on anything but cards and canvases, so your comments would be welcomed.

Have a wonderful day, my friends!
M. 

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Something To Share

Since Easter is tomorrow, I wanted to take some time this afternoon to share the cards and tags I created for my family.
This first card was created for my younger sister.  I used the same bunny image for both her card and my parent's because I thought it was too cute.  The flower was created using hand dyed cotton fabric that was ripped into strips and then folded over and fastened with a button.

This next card is for my parents.
Yellow and light blue are a perfect pair and it works nicely for this card.  Though you could also use it for a baby card.
  The glittered flowers are from Petaloo, and the paper and butterfly brad are from Bo Bunny.
Rather than create another 5 cards for my three daughters and two nephews, I opted instead to make tags to tie to their goodie bags.
Each tag was created using a printed vintage image, buttons, lace or twine and crinkle seam binding.  Easy peasy and oh so cute!  I had so much fun finding images that fit each of their unique personalities.

My family and I usually get together for brunch at my sister's house where we all bring a few dishes to share, and then we have an Easter egg hunt for the kiddos.  It's something I look forward to every year (as with all holidays) because spending time with my family means a great deal to me.  I am so very fortunate that we live near one another.

I certainly hope you have a wonderful Easter celebration with your loved ones.
Enjoy!
M.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Homegrown Flowers

One can never have too many flowers around whether it's in a garden or on a project; especially the homegrown kind, and it would seem that Lenet over at The Shabby Tea Room can't get her fill either.  She's challenged us to create something using only homemade/handmade flowers and asked us to use this photo for inspiration:
I wanted to do something other than a card, so I opted instead for a mixed media piece.
The quote says:  "Love blooms where it's planted".
The flowers were leftovers from other projects, so it felt good to use them up rather than have them sit on a shelf in a bowl.
They've been created using a variety of mediums such as burlap, muslin, hand dyed cotton, ribbon, yarn and paper.  I used a vintage doily as a 'vase' and added some gold glittered leaves to tie it all together.  
The background includes a vintage book page, sheet music, acrylic paints, rub-ons, marker and several stamps were used.  I absolutely love the way it turned out.
If you want to get your groove on, but haven't been inspired, check out The Shabby Tea Room.  Those lovely ladies certainly know how to get your mojo movin'!

I appreciate your time and hope you'll stop back by again soon.
M.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Fancy It Feathers

Have you looked around lately?  You can't really miss the latest trend...
FEATHERS!
They've inundated every detail of our lives...
From jewelry to clothing and shoes....
from hair accessories to body art...
home decor and artistic flair...
feathers, feathers are everywhere!

I created this pillow in honor of this new trend and entered it into the Moxie Fab World's "Fascination With Feathers" challenge.
The flowers were handmade using burlap and cotton, and the centers are beads from a vintage necklace.
I love how the feathers add a certain fancy flair.
What fun I had creating with feathers...who would have thought?
I do appreciate your time, and please take a minute to stop on over to Moxie Fab World and check out the other feathered creations.
Have a great day!
M.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

March's Tag

I'm not Irish, but I really like to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, so this month's tag has a bit of an Irish theme (in that it has a green shamrock :).
I used DCWV's Chateau Lavender paper as my background and hand cut a frame from Kraft card stock to highlight the sweet vintage image.  Can you see the Shimmerz Blinz?  I used it around the edges of the tag as well as on the heat embossed frame.
The shamrock was also hand cut out of Kraft card stock then loaded up with some gorgeous glitter, and the flower was fashioned from vintage dress pattern paper and added to the top of the tag for balance.
Not a difficult tag to create, but I thought it turned out nicely given my lack of time as of late.
I'll be posting a project that I'm working on for my oldest daughter's birthday sometime over the next few days.  It follows along with the feather trend running rampant in every aspect of fashion and art these days, so I hope you'll stop back and check it out.
In the meantime, have a wonderful day!
M.