Artful Avocations

The Great Outdoors Mini Book

 Last night I did some catching up on play time.  In addition to the Out & About Tin, I made this 6 x 6 mini scrapbook.  I made it up as I went along but got my inspiration from a flip book that Lisa V. made and brought to share with us at my last Stamp Camp.  The instructions for her book came from StampingPro.com where you will find complete directions for a darling flip book using one SU! Simply Scrappin' Kit.  I used the Out & About Kit since I already had it out.  Everything is Stampin' Up except the ginormous (since that's a real word now, we can use it!!) eyelets (WalMart) and the jute is from my stash...seriously that jute is from a huge (or ginormous) roll I bought over 10 years ago!  Oh, and the corrugated cardboard is some packaging material from my new BBQ --- Please remember to recycle whatever and whenever you can!!  I didn't really have much of a plan as I started this book, other than to have pages of varying sizes and some pull-out tags for journaling or additional pictures.  Obviously, there are no pictures in this book yet, but I'll find some of the boys and me camping and stick them in it eventually.  I've taken pictures of each page opened so you can see what's inside of the book.  Thanks for looking and thanks Lisa for sharing your cute book!

Out and About Tin

This afternoon I played with the SU! Simply Scrappin' kit  Out and About.   My vacuum kept calling me, but I just ignored it until about 9:00 this evening.  I finally caved in and vacuumed...after I finished my paper play!  No vacuum cleaner is gonna get the best of me!  So, I got my inspiration for this tin box from the Crop-a-dile Rocks article in the  August Stampin' Success.  I had to try punching holes in tin with my crop-o-dile after reading that article.  Like cuttin' butter with a hot knife I tell ya!!  Cool.  Very cool.  After I punched two holes at the top of the tin to accommodate the ribbon tie, I decorated the tin with papers and stickers from the Out and About kit.  I also die cut a Cuttlebug flower out of chip board, sponged some ink on it and dotted the center with a marker.  I put a mini eyelet on it to thread it on the ribbon tie.  Everything used is from Stampin' Up! except the gingham ribbon.  I picked that up two years ago at Zim's Crafts in Salt Lake City when I was there for the 2005 SU! Convention.  I'm sure glad I bought 20 yards of the stuff because it's a perfect match to More Mustard and I tend to use it a whole bunch...one of my faves!  Plus, it totally matches the More Mustard gingham ribbon sticker in the kit.  How's that for coolness?  Thanks for looking!

Hello Sweetie

When I first laid eyes on this stamp set from Crafty Secrets, I knew I had to have it.  It reminds me of one of my dearest friends who just celebrated her birthday.  What better stamp set to use to make her card than this?  She is stamped in Su! Basic Black on Whisper White cs as well as the Hello Sweetie and the cherries.  Everything is watercolored using Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Green Galor, and Creamy Carmel.  Oh yeah...and she has Brocade Blue eye shadow on!  There's a little flat backed sticker pearl for her earring too.  The red gingham designer paper is from Rusty Pickle (??), the Real Red and Basic Black card stocks and the red brads are from Stampin' Up!  I also used the new Martha Stewart eyelet border punch.  Thanks for looking!

Phoenix Frame

I thought I wouldn't need to make another frame for a while...well, it's been a couple of weeks so I guess that's long enough.  Tonight I made this frame for some friends' grandson who is being baptized tomorrow.  Even though he's only a couple of months old, I wanted something where the style would outlast his infancy and still be appropriate as he grows older.
Supplies:
Designer papers from Deja Views and K & Company; vellum card stock from Stampin' Up!; ribbon from Offray; large brads and eyelets from my stash; frame from Target.
Tools used:  Files to sand letters from Basic Grey (Eclectic Paperie); round tab punch from Stampin' Up!; 3" block alphabet dies from Ellison to cut out letters.
Thanks for looking!

Fun With Chipboard

Wow!  I can't believe it's been a full two weeks since my last post.  Here are the projects made at my Fun With Chipboard technique class this past week.  I used all Stampin' Up papers for these projects.  I die cut the chipboard shapes and the designer papers for the larger flowers with a Sizzix die and the smaller flowers with Cuttlebug dies.  Nothing too special, just techniques on these projects.

Americana Frame

This is the last of the framed collage art for a while...I think.  I really have fun making these and I do have a couple of empty frames, so maybe I will make another in the near future.
Supplies used:
Background papers: Rusty Pickle, K & Co., and Karen Foster Design
Ribbons: Offray
Star Brads:  unknown
Big Time Brads: Karen Foster Design
Large G:  Memory Makers chipboard alphabet
Smaller letters:  no manufacturer on packaging
Red Outline diecut Stars:  Cuttlebug cut from Stampin' Up! Real Red card stock
Red Tag:  Ellision Design Thick Cuts cut from Stampin' Up! Real Red card stock
Vellum Quotes:  Colorbok - Everyday Blessings
Frame:  Michael's

The USA letters on the Big Time Brads are cut out with the Base Camp Cricut cartridge.

To cover the chipboard letters with the background/designer papers, I used an Anywhere Glue Stick by Stampin' Up!, roughly cut out the letters (you really don't need to cut them exact), and sand the edges.  I used the precision file set from Basic Grey available from Ecelectic Paperie to get in the little holes.

Hope you enjoy this!  Thanks for stopping by!