{crafty} Shop Favorites

I was going through both my Etsy shop and Facebook page looking back at some older items I have made to sell. Since many of them I have not shared on my blog I thought I would do a large share of some of my favorite projects I have made!

This one will probably have to be at the top of my list. This came as a special request on Etsy. The buyer had asked for a Shabby Chic/Vintage set of letters to spell her daughters name. I will be honest, I was a bit terrified! I had never done anything in that style and was afraid it wouldn't be my best work. It turns out I had a blast making them and absolutely love how they came together. I hand stitched the papers together and made the rosettes myself as well, which was a new technique for me.



 I absolutely ADORE Crate Paper and this altered frame came together fairly quick. I love when layerying embellishments just flows easily. 




 






This was one of the first frames I ever altered. It seems to be so difficult to come by cute boy stuff, and I am guilty of not doing it too often myself. Having a boy and only ever scrapbooking a boy I find it really easy to get carried away with more girly items. I had a lot of fun with this one using stamps, rub-ons, and felt. 




I had SO much fun creating this collection of 10x10 floating frames using both Crate Paper and My Minds Eye that happened to coordinate beautifully! A little vinyl cut from my Cricut and it was a done deal!

Somewhat newer to my Etsy shop are these distressed canvases. These can be pretty time consuming, but it is always fun to see what it will look like when it's done. All the photographs are taken by myself and then transferred from paper to canvas. I love that the transfers are imperfect and never quite the same from one to the next.

Thank you for looking! I would love to hear what kind of handmade home decor items you enjoy!

{crafty} Social Media Blog Hop

Today I'm taking part in a new monthly blog hop!

This blog hop was inspired by the connections made through social media. Each person participating will create a new project that was inspired by one of the others on the team. That inspiration can come from an IG pic, a quote they posted, something I saw on their blog, Studio Calico gallery, whatever I choose!

If you happened upon my blog by chance, head over to the first stop on our hop today at Shay's blog. There are many prizes up for grabs along the way so be sure to visit everybody!

This month I found my inspiration from Caz's "pool buddies" layout. 

I loved the misting and clusters on the layout but what inspired me even more was the little "oh happy day" banner across the pictures. I instantly thought of the gospel song and how upbeat and joyous it is.

I knew the bright sunny colors from Studio Calico's So Cal kit would be a great way to bring that joy in to my project. I had been wanting to alter a printer tray for quite some time, so this was really a fun project for me!

The white chevron pattern is Mister Huey's Opaque white and chevron mask. I just recently discovered Mister Huey's and I do believe an obsession has been born. LOVE them!

Blog Hop List:

Welcome, by Shay http://sbookinshay29.blogspot.com/ sbookinshay29
Margrethe http://onelifedocumented.com/ margrethe_ 
Melissa http://www.melissapriest.com/ click click
Amanda http://somethingsorta.blogspot.com/ mandadej  <-- YOU ARE HERE!


NEXT STOP --> Caz http://www.cazhancock.com/ cazhancock


Erika http://erikabardo.wordpress.com/ erikabardo
Kristin http://rukristin.blogspot.com/ rukristin
Monica http://monicalifeasme.blogspot.com/ MonicaB
Angela http://kindlelover.blogspot.com/ akochmcelroy
Suz http://livealifeextraordinary.blogspot.com/ SuzMannecke

All of our Instagram usernames are listed after the blog URLs, unless stated otherwise.

And I do believe I mentioned prizes? I have a collection of thickers and washi to give away! You can earn 3 entries by following my blog, "like" my facebook page and commenting on this post. Please leave a seperate comment for each one. Be sure to leave your email address in a comment so I can get a hold of the winner. Giveaway will close at 9pm Pacific on June 30th and I will use random.org to pick a winner!

{crafty} Word Art Canvas

Word art seems to be everywhere these days, and I love it! From the simple tone on tone quotes to the distressed reclaimed wood lists, it all makes a statement. I wanted to get in on this word art action but being a scrapbooker at heart I couldn't bare to do it without having fun with some gorgeous paper and embellishments.

 I saw this quote planted over a serene image on Pinterest and it is one I kept coming back to. I knew it would be perfect for canvas. When SCTNow asked me if I would donate a piece for an art auction at one of their events I knew it had to be this quote. And even better when I found Studio Calico, who puts together AMAZING collections of scrapbooking products, I knew exactly what I was going to use to make my idea come to life.



I couldn't be happier with how this turned out! So much so that I was sad to see it leave my house. I couldn't think of a better reason to give it away though. If anybody is in the Portland Oregon area please come out to SCTNow's Freedom Flicks event on June 30th. There will be a documentary on trafficking, food, drinks, panel discussion and a silent art auction.

{crafty} Little Princess Frame & Etsy

I am in love with this frame! I wish I had a reason to keep it for myself. 

This cute little frame has a temporary home in my new Etsy shop! Awesomely enough, Etsy has a mini version that perfectly fits in my sidebar! à

Ahh the little things that excite me. I am hoping to start filling it with items soon. I have lots of ideas in mind, I just have to make them come to life! I am going to have to start giving myself deadlines.

The Basic Grey Olivia collection has been so much fun to play with that its actually been a little difficult doing more boy stuff lately.

I took a 7x9 solid MDF frame and first painted the sides in a dark teal color. I used mod podge to adhere the paper, and then did another coat over the top to seal it.  

The bunny chipboard piece was accented with Glossy Accents. 

The label chipboard piece was stamped with a small flower in Ocean blue, both from CTMH. And layered with a felt sticker from the Olivia collection, and a chipboard banner from My Minds Eye Fine & Dandy. And of course, the ball fringe, have I mentioned before how much I love this stuff? Its too fun and too cute to resist!

{crafty} decorative letters

I have been wanting to try my hand at more decorative altered-type items for a while. I recently picked up a bunch of canvases and wood frames and such that would be great for altering. I am currently working on a canvas project that I am really excited about. I hope it comes together like I envision it.

In the meantime, I have a letter that I  altered. A good friend of mine recently moved in to a new home and her daughters were able to move from sharing a room to having their own. My idea was to make these for the girls' doors kind of as house-warming gifts, to celebrate their new individual spaces, but I admit I am not always the most timely. Now I have one down, and own to go. Lucky for me the little girl I made this for happens to be having a birthday next week, so at least its good timing for something! Her older sister has a birthday coming up too, so now I have a new deadline for her letter.

I painted the letter black and then used Mod Podge to cover it with this bright grungy pink paper from Basic Grey Olivia- Kembrie.

I love accordian flowers. I made this one with the reverse side of the Olivia - Kembrie paper. I punched and distressed a small circle of scrap paper that I had and then topped it with a cute little felt flower, also from the Olivia collection, for the center of the flower. I layered it over a Making Memories rub on accented with a little green bling.

The paper ruffle is Florence, from the Olivia collection. I simply punched a strip of this paper with the Fiskars scalloped border punch and then pleated it, holding down each pleat with glue dots and then glued the whole thing to the back of the letter. I added a few buttons, ribbon, pearls and a BG Olivia chipboard flower with a little glossy accents in the center and called it a day. 

I'm having fun getting out of my comfort zone and doing things that aren't just for me. I love being able to do girly, flowery stuff every now and then!

{CRAFTY} Shadowbox

This was a fun project and I am so happy with how it turned out! I made this Cars shadowbox for my son, who is completely obsessed with the movie. He even has the soundtrack and sings all the songs! Thats dedication for a 3 year old, don't you think? He was so thrilled when he got this that he told me over and over how much he liked it, and that I did a good job making it. It made my day that he appreciated it so much!

I could probably go on and on with the list of supplies I used here. The Cars logo is from the Cars cricut cartridge and all the chipboard was a pack I picked up at Michaels after lots of begging by my little man. I told him I would buy it and use it to make him something special, and thats exactly what I did. 

Also used -

Cosmo Cricket Joy Ride & Lil Man
My Minds Eye Abbey Road Stomp
Crate Paper Static
Diamond Plate & Tiny Bubbles Cuttlebug folders
Gear Brads from OTC
CTMH Glossy Accents

and more!