Depth of Distress

I am going to a wedding tomorrow for one of my youngest daughter's best friends. The theme is Rustic and they are using a lot of burlap and lace. We made burlap placemats and silverware holders and gift bags and I got to thinking I would make them a bulletin board as well. I scoured the flea market and found some old beat-up prints in frames. I discarded the prints and kept the frames. They needed a bit of gluing but I left all the scuff marks and chips in them as that's the look I wanted. I bought some board from my local hardwae store that you can push pins into and measured and had them cut it to size from the 4' x 8' sheet I bought. I covered that with burlap and stapled it to the backs while stretching it. I pounced Mod-Podge onto some lengths of burlap and let dry to stiffen it; then die cut flower layer #5 and made burlap roses. Did another set in dark brown and lace with Tim's tattered florals and just punched a circle of cardstock and hot-glued lace that I gathered around the edge as I went to mount onto. I also cut a length of burlap and just rolled it into a rose and hot glued it togeher. The leaves were cut from shelf liner as I didn't buy any green burlap. (Getting some today, though)I swiped the roses with Frayed burlp Distress Inks and also the leaves. i am soooo glad I thought ahead and bought stuff to make myself one too!!! I ordered prints last night I swiped from her facebook page and am picking them up this morning to tack on so that they know it's a bulletin board and to finish the look when they open it. They live in San Diego, so I am guessing it will have to be shipped from Wisconsin when they head back, but I just had to go the homemade route with their theme. These kids got married quick a couple of years ago because he was deployed and heading to Iraq(he's an officer in the marines), so they didn't get to have the fairy-tale wedding she dreamed of, so now, they are getting their big day! It is perfect for this week's theme over at Simon Says Stamp and Show, Layered distress, so am entering it there. I put a couple close-ups of the roses so you can see how cool they turned out. I need a little practice on the rolled type though. I am so left-handed!

Creative block-Stampersanonymous Swap

I have not signed up for these monthly waps before but we are doing 3, 6x6" pages in an assigned color monthly to create a nice chunky book for ourselves. June's colors are Red and Blue. I have put a few pieces together the last few days a little at a time and gotten them done in time to play, so will mail them off tomorrow to Sandy. Can't wait to see what I get back. I used chipboard as my base and added cardstock, then corrugated cardboard pieces that I used paint dabber on to highlight the texture. Made smaller tags using wrinkle-free technique and dyed my own seam binding with Distress stains. Die cut the star and used bronze patina embossing powder on them. I like how they turned out.

COC2- #10

Linda had us turn our books to page #37 this week for the challenge on her blog, Studio L3 , where we are working our way through Tim Holtz's Commpendium of Curiosities Volume Two. What fun these challenges are. I am also using this tag at OWSE for a collage challenge, as well as Simon Says Stamps for the Show Us a Bit of Brown challenge. i also used a memo clip to attach one of my tickets I made for a couple of swaps, one at the AllThingsTim yahoo group and the other at the InkyRangers group. These are so fun to do and a cute little embellishment to add to tags, cards, pages, etc. We also have a chance to win a prize donated at the Funkie Junkie. Check out her gorgeous stuff here.

Challenges

i finished up my challenge for the Everything Wendy Vecchi group, MAC #44 today. The challenge was to use bright colors. I am also using it for a journal spread challenge at OWSE where this time, we had to use something that we seldom use from our stash. My seldom used medium was Fun Foam. I have so much of it and don't think about it. I die-cut Tim's flowers with it and then stamped in Archival with Wendy's background stamp. I also stamped her heart and leaves onto the foam after heating it and then cut around them. if you stamp into the foam while it's hot, you embed the ink and texture onto the foam. It's a cool effect that I don't think the picture will pick up.

Ticket Mania

I signed up for the ticket swap on the new Yahoo Group, InkyRangers and there are 11 players, so we each have to send 11 strips of tickets to the host. I made an extra strip for her as well. Here are mine. Can't wait to see what I get back in trade. They are so fun to add to pages, cards, and tags for a cool embellishment.

COC2- #9

Just getting this in under the wire, I can see why I procrastinated all week with this one! Literally, this took me less then 10 minutes to make! Wow, what fun. Linda had us turn our books to page #35 for Tim Holtz's pocket watch technique. If you aren't playing along, you should be! Get yourself a signed copy of his second book from his blog here and join us every Friday as Linda assigns the new challenge. Sometimes there's even a chance to win a great prizeand this time is one of them. Here's a link to the wonderful donators of a gift certificate to their marvelous shop.I am also entering it into their challenge at Simon Says stamp and Show, where this week's theme is Anything Goes, so it's very appropriate. I see now, in my haste and excitement, I forgot to add a chain or ribbon to the top, so will do that now. Thanks for looking!

Summer Layout

My granddaughter spent the day with me yesterday and we decided to make a layout together for my challenge over at OWSE, where the theme was Summer. We dug through old pictures and chose some from when we took her to the orchard when she was 3. It was all she could do to pull one from the tree. Pretty simple layout as I was trying to teach her and wanted to keep it neat and easy and now, she wants to start an album and scrapbook herself. Yeah! Finally got someone to scrap with. She is 11 now, so will be able to do a lot on her own after some practice.

Three-fer

I needed two birthday cards this week; one for my middle daughter, Kayla, and one for a good friend, and fellow crafter, Nancy. I also needed to get my Everything Wendy Vecchi challenge done, which needed to have at least one of her stamps used, three circles, and two hearts. Also using it for this weeks challenge over at Simon Says stamp and Show where we had to show them some texture. I tried out one of my new Sizzix Flip-Its dies here and Archival and Distress inks for the stamping of several of Miss Wendy's stamps. I made the flower from felt and the leaves are fun foam layered on cardstock. I heated the foam and then stamped into it while how after die-cutting the leaves from the foam. Toned down the vivid green with inks. The first picture is the inside of the card and the second one is the front. I hope both of the girls like them. Big celebrations this year for my girls, Savanna turned 21 in March, Kayla is turning 25 on Sunday, and Angela will be 30 in August.Wow, she'll be caught up to me very soon. LOL

Flying Challenge/ rollodex swap

I am really loving doing these Rollodex swaps and this month's theme is birds. I used a napkin and added it to my Rolodex card withbeeswax, then brushed on a couple colors of Perfect Pearls powders and buffed it to a high sheen. I die cut some corrugated packaging that a cookbook came in and made the birdcages from Tim's movers and shapers set. I painted them in various colors with a foam brush, dabbing here and there. Colored the bird die-cuts with colored pencils, added jump rings to the cages amd dyed some seam binding with Distress stains and tied to the jump rings and then used my Tiny attacher to adhere to the tag. Some glossy accents to hold the bird to the cage. I can't find an adhesive that wants to hold to beeswax yet. Fun to make and dug out the melting pot and my beeswax again. Fun! I am also entering this for the Flying Challenge over at OWSE for one of June's challenges.

COC2-#8

Week 8 already! Wow, where does time go! This week, Linda has us turning out Tim Holtz book, Compendium of Curiosities II to page #62, upcycling packaging. I love this technique and to learn it, you will have to buy the book. You can get it on his blog here. Join in on the challenges at Linda's blog here. It's a lot of fun and challenges us to try new and fun things. The books are magnificent. I took it a step further and used a priority box flaps and die cut my leaves and painted them with Jenny Bowlin's daubers and then misted them with perfect pearls spray. Yum! My background is Tim's marbled stains, also in his book.