Evolution Of An Art Journal Spread

Hi everyone! Today I am going to share a bit of my process and a few techniques with you.

Really...I'm just going to show you how my brain works when I am creating. So when I pull out my art journal, I always cover my pages with some gesso to create a rough blank canvas.

The book I am using is from Fancy Pants Designs and it has a photo sleeve in between these two pages...in case you were wondering, and that second page in my spread actually has a folder. 

 My next step was to add some patterned paper to my pages. I pulled out the fun School Days collection from Ruby Rock-It for this part. 

 Because these serve as my background, and I like my backgrounds more subtle, I covered my papers with gesso.

 Next, I pulled out some fun treats from our swap partners at Ruby Rock-It. I used a die blank from Spellbinders (the Birds One set) and some Mayan Gold velvet dimensional paint from Art Anthology. I used the die blank as a stencil and painted around it: 

 Leaving it like this: 

 Then on the second page in the spread, I hand cut petals out of patterned paper from School Days and adhered to my page to make flowers. 

 I painted around my petals and hand wrote the word blessed: 

 I decided I wanted to tone down the black a bit, so I added stitching around the flower petals and painted more gesso over the word blessed. 

 I was much happier with that look. :) 

 Then I went back to my first page. I decided to make the third bird in that row stand out, so I used my Birds One dies and cut a bird from patterned paper and added it on top of the third bird. I added paint around the edges and wrote the words "stand out" underneath it. 

 One of my favorite things to add to my pages are ink rings. So I took some Watermelon Colorations Color Spray from Art Anthology and sprayed some ink onto a small plastic tray. I then took a random lid and dipped it into my ink to create my rings: 

 I actually think I went a tad overboard on the rings. I usually like to add 3 to a page or 5 to a spread. I did more. :) So here's the second page with the rings and I also tucked some school photos from the boys into the pocket. 

 And then I also created some 4x6 cards to slide in the photo sleeves in between the two pages. So here's what it looks like: 

 Well there you have it. :) 

 Thanks for stopping in today!!!

A Fancy Layout and Some Fancy Sneaks

Well this week has been busy here!  Lots of creating with fun new stuff!  You should see the boxes I have scattered around my room.  :)  But I've also been sick.  :(  And just plain exhausted.  I hope I can get back to normal soon.  I have so much to share with you but most of it can't be shared just yet.  So I will share a layout I actually did a while back but haven't posted yet.  :)

I used a lot of Spellbinders on this layout.  I used the Creative Book Pages and the Wonderful Wings dies.  I cut the butterflies, but I also used the butterfly as a stencil.  I put the die on my page, traced around it and then added stitching over my pencil lines.  It made for a cool journaling block.  :)

All the papers are from the Baby Mine collection from Fancy Pants Designs.  I love how I used this baby collection for a non-baby....it's actually pretty easy to do with this collection.  :)

Here are some close up's of my layout:

And speaking of Fancy Pants...have you seen the new releases yet?  They are sharing their fourth collection on their blog today!  And you can win the new collections, so make sure you stop by and check it out!  I'll post sneaks of the new collections here:

Thanks for stopping in today!!!!!  I haven't done much blog hopping myself this week because I have been so busy, but I hope to soon!  

Have a wonderful day!!!

Spellbinders Series: Making Cards with Large Dies **AND GIVEAWAY**

Nope, didn't drop off the planet...just been busy. :) I'm sure you all can understand. It's just a busy time of year.

So today I am going to share with you how to make cards using the large dies from Spellbinders. This is my last post for my Spellbinders series. If you missed any of the previous ones, here, here, here and here.

So, using the Grand Labels One dies:

I made this card:

Isn't it fun! I love making shaped cards and these large dies make it so easy. All the papers and the cool wood shapes are from Pink Paislee. Some of them were freebies that I printed out...they were giving them away on their blog, and I think you can still get them, so head on over. :)

And using the Creative Book Pages Dies:

I made this card:

Those adorable snowmen is another piece I picked up as a freebie from the Pink Paislee blog. I printed it and cut it out. Again, all the papers are from Pink Paislee.

Well thanks for stopping in today! And I wanted to offer a giveaway. Think of it as a Christmas present for one lucky reader. :)

Here's the giveaway up for grabs:

It's a bunch of papers and die cuts from The ScrapCake! I love love love their papers, and I just know you will too!!! And I know they can be harder to find, especially here in the States. So now is your chance to grab them...and for free! :)

And here's how you can win: Leave me a comment on this blog post. :) It's as simple as that.

I will also offer extra chances to win by doing the following:

• If you are already a follower of my blog or have just become one, let me know. Just leave another comment on this blog post letting me know that you are a follower (old or new) and you will automatically be entered in for another chance at the giveaway.
• Share this giveaway on a blog, facebook, or another website. Leave me another comment on this blog post with a link to where you shared it and you will automatically be entered in for another chance at the giveaway.

Hope you are enjoying the season and getting much accomplished as well as spending good time with family and loved ones! My kids are off school til the new year and I am excited to have them home. :)

Again, thanks for stopping in!

Spellbinders Series: Stenciling

Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping in today, for my fourth post in my Spellbinders series. If you missed the others, you can find them here, here and here. So...on the packaging on Spellbinders dies it reads "Cut, Emboss, Stencil." Today I am trying my hand at stenciling (and of course I did add some elements that were cut too). I have a very limited amount of dies, so I apologize that all my projects are using the same dies. My layout today uses the Wonderful Wings dies and the Grand Labels One dies.

But first let's start with the technique.

For my background, I decided to use my butterflies and some ink to create my own fun background. I simply laid the butterfly die on my paper and sponged ink around it, like so:

And repeated this several times with different colors, to create this:

Next I softened it a little by spraying my paper with water. It's kinda hard to see it in my pictures, but it did blend it better and give it more of a watercolor look.

Another thing I love to do with stencils is to use them for my stitching (have you noticed that I like to stitch?) So I first cut using my large label, and then I used the next size down as a stencil. I simply took a pencil and drew around the inside of the die.

I left it like that until I completed my layout, then my final touch was to go back and add stitching to where the pencil lines were visible. This way I didn't take time to stitch where it was going to be covered up.

So you want to see my completed layout using both of these techniques?

Here it is:

I thought it would be cool to add my journaling on the butterflies. :) The products I used are a mix, so I will add my supplies at the bottom of the post. One thing I did want to mention was that I was out of y's for my title, so I used upside down h's instead. You probably wouldn't have even known if I hadn't mentioned it. :)

Here are some close up's of my layout:

So it looks like I may be having surgery on my knee. :( I see my doctor again today and meet with a surgeon next to discuss it all, but my doctor recommends the surgery for my case (he says he doesn't for all). Any thoughts? A few of you have already commented on facebook...just wondering if anyone has any strong opinions on knee surgery?

And since you all know I am a reality tv show junkie...I just want to say that this has been a very disappointing week in "reality" world (and you know I've been laying on the couch a lot due to my knee so I've seen a lot of tv). I was very disappointed with America's Next Top Model and with X Factor. Anybody else agree?

Again, thanks for stopping in! Have a FANTASTIC day! :)

Supplies for "My Oh My" layout:

Papers--Pink Paislee, My Mind's Eye, Crate Paper. Dies and Die Cutting Machine--Spellbinders. Cardstock--American Crafts. Ink--Stampin' Up!. Butterfly Brads: Creative Charms, Chipboard Letters--My Little Shoebox, Lace--Hobby Lobby Stores, Floss--DMC, Pen--Sharpie.

Spellbinders Series: Embossing

Hello!! Welcome to my third post in my Spellbinders series. If you missed the other two, you can find them here and here. Today's post is all about embossing with the Grand Calibur.

Keep in mind that I am just learning this machine and in the beginning "playing" stage. I have no training with the machine and definitely don't know all the tips for doing things right...I am just a crafter with a new machine and I am sharing with you what I am learning along the way.

So I knew I wanted to make this post about embossing. It's very easy to cut and then emboss a shape with the Grand Calibur, but what I was wanting to do was ONLY emboss. I learned that was not as easy as I expected. I wanted to stick a piece of paper through and emboss three butterflies, at one time. I tried once, and it actually did cut my butterflies out. I tried a second time and for some reason my paper got all warped in spots. So I ran my embossing pad and plates through the machine with no paper or dies in it, to straighten out my pad. Then I tried a third time and got something I was ok with.

Here's the layout I made with the paper I embossed the butterflies on:

See that pink piece of paper? That is what I was talking about. I also cut out some more butterflies (these are cut and embossed) to add to my butterfly design. On this layout I used the Wonderful Wings dies and the Creative Book Pages dies (the postage stamp piece behind my photos over the banner strips).

The gorgeous papers are all from Pink Paislee, from their Butterfly Garden collection (I thought that was very appropriate for this layout!). I also used their rub-ons, charm and letters.

Here are some close up's of my layout:

And then, using the same supplies, I also made a card:

This time I added a bit of chalk on top of my embossed butterfly.

I'm gonna have to play a bit more with embossing with the Grand Calibur. :)

Thanks for stopping in today!!! Hope you have enjoyed my post.

Have a WONDERFUL day!

Spellbinders Series: Think Negatively

Welcome back for my second post in my Spellbinders series. Although I am using my Spellbinders' cutting system (Grand Calibur) you can use these ideas with any system you have. :) Today I am challenging you to think negatively! I always keep my scraps after cutting things out...for I love to use the negative parts! You can see that on all of the following projects. For these layouts, I used leftovers from these layouts.

Man, I just really love how this layout turned out. :) Those negative parts are from the Grand Labels One die and the Wonderful Wings die. I also used my butterfly that I cut from canvas. I stamped it to create a bit of design. That wonderful LOVE stamp is from Unity Stamp Company. The papers are all from BasicGrey's Indie Bloom collection. And notice how many brads I used on this layout...see, not at all out-dated. :)

Here are the close up's:

And then for my next layout I had a little fun and got a little artsy. I mixed paint and micro beads and then took a template from Crafter's Workshop and created that fun background. They have a bunch of fun templates I want to try, but alas I only have this one.

So I took these:

And made this:

I used the negative part from a piece from the Creative Book Pages die to frame around the photo, bricks and the negative butterfly (from Wonderful Wings die). The butterfly to the left is also a negative cut that I cut around and backed with white cardstock. I also had fun creating a brick look with scraps of paper.

Here are some close up's:

Ok...hopefully you are feeling at least a little bit inspired.

If you create something based on this post, please link it up so I can check it out! I'll even add a link in my post. :)

Have a wonderful day!