{crafty} Be Yourself

Hello there! Have you seen the reveal of Pinkfresh Studio's July embellishment kit? As always, it's a fun one!

The ombre canvas tags are GORGEOUS, I love the exclusive acrylic words from Color Cast Designs. And the gold alphas? A touch of gold is pretty much necessity these days and these alphas are the perfect size too! I also ADORE the doodle heart veneers! I am going to need many, many more of those! Pretty much, I love it all.

I couldn't resist having a little fun with this gorgeously rich paper from the new Happy Things collection. I tried not to overthink this layout, like I tend to do, I just wanted to have fun with it and be my normal random self. Like the layout says: Be True. Choose Joy. Dream Big. & Be Yourself.

If you haven't picked up the kit or the new collection, seriously you SHOULD! Happy Things just begs for whimsy and fun and I can't wait to see what people do with it! I know it is on it's way out to retailers now. One shop I know for sure will have it is Butterfly Reflections Ink.

Thanks for looking!

{crafty} SMBiGBlogHop GOALS

Welcome back! We are so happy to have you back for the December edition of our Social [Media] Butterflies blog hop! This month we are heading in to the new year with a hop dedicated to GOALS. 

You should have come here from Shay's blog, if not head back to the Social Media Butterflies home base to start from the beginning.

For the last couple of years I have picked a word for One Little Word but never really kept it at the forefront of my life for that year. I really want to change that for 2013 so I decided to create a canvas to hang that can be a daily reminder. My word, my goal, is to be INTENTIONAL. To do things with purpose and reason in every facet of my life. From the way I spend my time, to how I spend money, from devotionals to grocery shopping. Yes, grocery shopping! It's gotten out of hand as of late...

Thanks for looking! Be sure to hop along for a lot of great crafty inspiration!

Trisha

Shay 

Amanda 

UP NEXT -->Jenny

Kristin

Suz

Corinne

{crafty} Cut it Up SMBiGBlogHop

Welcome back! We are so happy to have you back for the October edition of our Social [Media] Butterflies blog hop! This month the girls are going to be bringing you a Carve It Up theme--- using our Silhouettes, Cricuts, fussy-cutting, punching, exact-o knife-- our designs will all have a unique cut up piece to it!

You should have come here from Suz's blog, if not head back to the Social Media Butterflies home base to start from the beginning.

I have only had my Silhouette Cameo for about two months, so when the assignment came to do some cutting I knew I had to break it out and play! I am loving both the machine and the software and feel like before long it will become a staple in my every day creating and not just a "project" machine like the Cricut was for me. 

Originally I had decided to do a mixed media project, cutting my letters out to use on an 8x10 canvas. After removing all the letter pieces though I looked at my negative and decided to use it as a mask instead. I mixed some paint, added in a bit of modeling paste and slathered it on. I love the texture and depth it added to my canvas. I have just begun dabbling in mixed media and it is so much fun to get messy...as long as I have plenty of baby wipes near by!

When I cut my letters out I happened to stick a full sheet of 12x12 cardstock down. When I finished using it as a mask I was hit with another little bit of inspiration and decided to let it dry and use it as a base for a layout. 

I will say, it didn't quite turn out as I had planned but I still love the idea itself. One I will have to try again. I used pieces from Studio Calico's Central High kit, adding the map print behind the letters and as a border. I pulled in another Cameo cut with an SC studio file as a base for my layering. 

So there you have it! 1 cut, two projects! Be sure to keep hopping and check out all the great projects this month. And check out the giveaways below!

Shay http://sbookinshay29.blogspot.com/

Suz http://livealifeextraordinary.blogspot.com/

YOU ARE HERE ----> Amanda http://www.somethingsorta.blogspot.com/

NEXT UP -----> Trisha http://www.trisha-grace.blogspot.com/

Corinne http://corinnesmilovici.blogspot.com/

Angel http://kindlelover.blogspot.com/

Jenny http://mycreativelife29.blogspot.com/

Monica http://monicalifeasme.blogspot.com/

Patricia http://harmonyhealthandfaith.blogspot.com/

How about a giveaway? Or better yet how about TWO!?

1st Giveaway - $10 Silhouette download card

~How to Enter~

Comment on any of the blogs or link up with a Carve It Up themed layout on our home page to win a $10 Silhouette Studio gift card :] Each comment will gain you an entry! Giveaway closes Sunday Nov 4th

2nd Giveaway - Newly designed stamp set from Studio l2e
~How to Enter~
"like" Studio l2e's page on FB and let her know I sent you then come back here and comment that you have done so.
For a second entry, become a follower of my blog and leave a separate comment below!
This giveaway will close Wednesday at midnight Pacific, winner will be posted Thursday.

How awesome would these be for Project Life?

Happy blog hopping, and make sure to come back next month on the 29th for our next hop!

{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} 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} Canvas wall hanging

I have really been enjoying playing with altered items lately. I found that it comes a little easier to me than creating scrapbook layouts and cards. It is a little difficult for me though to create something without having a purpose for it, or knowing who it will be for. I just keep trying to get out of my comfort zone, and luckily, Im always happy with the results.

I made this wall hanging with 3 thin 5x7 canvases and the My Minds Eye Fine & Dandy collection. I started with the "Dream everyday of your life" chipboard piece and continued the theme for there. I wanted it to be an inspiration and hopefully, wherever this item ends up, that is exactly what it will be.

The flowers are simply made, but I love the look. I cut several circles out in different sizes and papers, inked the edges and then roughed them up with a paper distresser. I layered them and finished off with brads and buttons, using ribbon as the stems. Also used on this canvas was glimmer mist, Fiskars scalloped border punch, brown ric-rac and staples. 

While searching through my rub-on stash I found this "Dream and then make it happen" from CTMH. I had them both in white and brown which worked out well to contrast off the chipboard clouds. Also used glimmer mist, Martha Stewart Optic Edge border punch, Crate Paper chipboard, silver pearls, and ball fringe. 

I LOVE ball fringe!

For the last canvas piece I created a banner. I totally cheated and used my Cricut for this. I think it probably would have been faster to just cut them myself, but I'm not the greatest when it comes to keeping a straight line. The letter stickers are from the Pink Paislee "Fetching" collection. Also used on this piece: glimmer mist, Basic Grey "Cupcake" rub-on, Ek Success border punch, and silver pearls.