Paper Scrap Jewelry with Lori

If you're like me, by the time you've made several projects with your favorite papers, you have a bunch of scraps left that you can't BEAR to part with because it's SO COOL.  One of my new favorite paper scrap projects is jewelry.  There are plenty of ways to go here, from fast & simple to the limits of your imagination.

So today, I wanted to share a recent jewelry project I made using some of MY favorite papers - Steampunk Debutante from Graphic45.  This paper is currently sold out at Cutters Creek, but I KNOW you have your own favorite to work with already!  Here's the centerpiece of my project:

 

While this project is super easy, it is a little time consuming, just because of drying time.  Here's what I did: I smashed a bottle cap using a No More Shims mat in my Sizzix Big Kick (this was actually the inspiration for this project, as seeing the smashed bottle cap sitting there the shape reminded me of a gear).  Next, I colored/distressed the bottle cap "frame" area using various inks and embossing powders.  (Distress inks will NOT work for this project as they bead up.)  You can randomly sprinkle on the embossing powders and heat them with a heat tool, then once cool add your ink color(s) and heat again to dry the ink.

Next, I chose the image I wanted to frame, and adhered it to the center of the bottle cap with Glossy Accents and let it dry.  Once dry, I squeezed on more Glossy Accents around the outer edge and sprinkled in a micro bead mixture I had in my stash.  Suze Weinburg's Beadazzles are a great option for this!  I filled the rest of the frame with the Glossy Accents and let it dry over night.  IMPORTANT: If you do this all at once, your Glossy Accents will crack as it dries (what I wanted and got for this piece, but for most you will not) - if you want a clean & smooth surface, be sure to fill in layers, letting it dry completely in between each layer.

Finally, I just needed to decide how to attach the piece to my project.  For this necklace, I chose to drill holes in the sides where I wanted to attach it to the rest of the piece.  An even easier option is to attach a pendant bail to the back of the bottle cap and string it right on to your chain.  Here's a view of my finished project:

If you'd like to see a super easy bracelet project I made for my Mom for Christmas, I've got a post today over on my blog.  Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to let us know if you have any questions about this fun technique.

Transform Your Die Cuts - Deanna M

I have a Tuesday Tutorial post for you today to show you how you can transform your simple die cuts. I got my inspiration from the trees I could see on the other side of my fence, aren't they beautiful? I decided to make a fall card with leaves and I wanted to incorporate the colors from the trees into my leaves. I started by cutting a leaf from the Straight From the Nest Cartridge at 6" out of white card stock.

Next I pulled out a bunch of my distress inks in fall colors. I chose Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge,  Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, and Crushed Olive. Using my foam applicator I randomly applied some of the ink to my leaves.

To give my leaves a more realistic look I went into my backyard a picked a few leaves off of a small tree and using my No More Shims Embossing Mat and embossed my leaves using the veins and stems on the leaves from my backyard. Finally I spritzed everything with some Glimmer Mist. I used Rum Punch, Honey Dew Melon, Jingle Bells, Sun Kissed Peach, and Sugar Maple to layer on some additional color and some glimmer to the leaves.

I then pulled some ivory card stock from my stash to make a 4 1/4" X 5 1/2" card base. My mat and  patterned paper are from the My Minds Eye Sunshine Paper Pad. I pop dotted the orange leaves to the card and the attached the yellow leaf to the orange ones. I added my sentiment stamped in Distress Walnut Stain ink. The little nail heads and ribbon are from my stash. I am really pleased at how realistic the leaves ended up looking and love how easy that embossing mat was to use to get this look.

Happy Days Layout with Echo Park from Lori

I am absolutely LOVING this Happy Days collection from Echo Park!  The bright cheery colors make it great for so many projects.  I don't know about you, but I still have about a ton and a half of photos from my kids' younger days hanging around.  I thought these pictures from my now-5th-graders 3rd birthday were a perfect match for these papers.

Totally loving this!  Here are a few ways I added some dimension with these fun papers:

 Using a black distress ink pad, I edged all of my papers (I used a black marker around the shield shape).  Then, I popped up some of the pieces using some dimensional foam adhesive.

Finally, I added a few dimensional embellishments, like these bottle caps I smashed using the No More Shims mat.  I simply added some of the sticker elements from the collection mounted on cardstock in the centers.

Items available at Cutters Creek:

• Echo Park Happy Days Collection
• No More Shims mat from Scor-Pal
• Kool Tak 3-D Foam on a roll - Clear
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink, Black Soot
• Scotch ATG

To see some add-ons I made for this layout, you can visit my blog.  Thanks for checking us out today!  Don;t forget to check back all month for projects featuring Echo Park Paper products.