Feeling Patriotic

The majority of my crafting comes right before a party.  I like to have something new to show the lovely ladies that keep me in business.  There are times when this is a stretch.  I will stare at my wall of craft supplies, my papers and my stamps, and then I will sigh.  There is nothing worse than crafting with out inspiration.  Sometimes I feel I need more inspiration than most.

This month I was dreading trying to make a card or something when it hit me.  I was suddenly inspired.  I snuck into my daughter's room and "borrowed" her American Girl doll.  If there is one thing I know about girls and dolls it is that they love parties.  The best thing about doll parties is that they can be small.

So I set to work making everything I could think of for a Forth of July parade day party.

 The first thing I did was make the USA banner.  The letters where stamped on patterned paper then cut out and mounted on accordion fold disks.

 Next I spruced up Heather (the doll).  The headband is yard with a stamped image and card stock glued to it.

 Her award (from winning tic-tac-toe) is another stamped image this one glued to a pin.

 Her braids are tied of with stamped flowers with button centers, the thread through the button is what holds them on.

 The tic-tac-toe game was really just an excuse for me to use my white marker, I loved it.

 A strip of patterned paper a strip of card stock and a stamped image to finish it off, simple combination that can make anything, even a twinkly, look classy.

 And now my favorite part, the table topper.  A simple set of wooden blocks.

 I may have made them a bit too busy, the background was stamped on all six side and the letters (in a darker ink) only on four.

The rocket I colored with markers after stamping.

So I learned a few things about stamping on wood.  First, it is fun.  I love finding new mediums to work with.  Second, it is easy.  No special supplies were needed.  Third, it can be messy, but not very.  My blocks are only for display.  No kids or adults will be handling or playing with them.  So I didn't worry about the ink being water based and running if it gets wet.  It took longer to set than paper when stamped so my fingers got a bit inky.  After a day of drying they are fine as long as no one puts them in their mouth.

All papers, inks and stamps used are from Close to My Heart (some maybe from retired products).  I am an independent consultant, if you are interested in the company or placing an order, you can visit my consultant's website http://caytw.ctmh.com/

Pretty Aunt Andy Wall Art

I'll be honest blogging about crafting is a bit intimidating to me.  Unlike homeschooling (which I spend hours planning and researching) when I craft it is very much off the cuff.  I like to start and finish a project all in one sitting.  Trying to explain what I did or why is often near impossible.  But when I have something that just works I love to share it so that is how I shall start, by sharing the things that just worked.

This one all started when I saw this picture of my Great Aunt Andy on her wedding day.  Something about the pose, the lighting, the expressions, I loved the photo.  And I wanted to create something.

The final product included a lot of little things I had wanted to try all put together.  The back ground was painted as well as drizzling glitter glue across it.

I added "bling where ever I could.  finding a place for a pin can be harder than you would think.

I stamped on printed pages, another technique I had been wanting to try.  When I cut out the bird and later extra flourishes I made sure to cut through multiple layers to add dimension.

My crumpled petals were simple to make but hard to glue down.  Usually I like nice clean lines and having an abstract flower was outside of my comfort zone.

Also out side of my comfort zone was using a glue gun.  Through out the project I attached tiny beads, from a broken necklace.  The easiest way to make them stick was putting the beads in an old pie pan, putting hot glue on the desired spot then pressing the hot glued object down onto the beads.  The one exception was the beads on the picture itself.  Those were an after thought so I had to pour the beads over my hot glue, not as easy.

I love the final product, it sits proudly in my front room.  And no worries the picture is only a copy, the original is safe so if I change color schemes I can make a new one.

Yet another Blog

I decided to have a blog dedicated just to my crafting.  And focused on my business.  I'm an independent consultant for Close to my Heart.  As such I try to put together one or two projects a month to support my business and encourage sales.  I also just love making things for myself and my friends.

With any hope this will not be a "buy me, buy me" site but just a place to share things I think are exceptional or ideas I am especially proud of.