Design Team Wednesday

Hi Everyone! With Christmas right around the corner the days are much shorter, the nights are much cooler and the possibility of snow is on the horizon.  When I saw the We Are Memory Keepers "Frost" line I just knew it would be a great way to welcome in winter. One of the things I love about this line are the vibrant colors.  A lot of winter lines tend to be a bit dull, using mostly shades of blues and grays.  But the Frost line has a gorgeous blend of blues, grays, and greens. The first project I made was a paper wreath.  I used four 12x12 sheets of paper from the Frost line.  Another thing I love is this paper is double sided so I was able to get a lot of paper choices from my paper strips.  Here is the finished product:

All of the pattern paper is from the Frost line.  The "Winter Time" embellishment is from the Frost line as well. I pulled the center together using a piece of Bazzill ribbon and a piece of blue Bazzill cardstock. 

I just love how these simple loops of paper can make such a fun decorative wreath.  The paper tabs are attached using hot glue and a Styrofoam wreath. I couldn't believe how easy this was to make and fun too!

My second project was a coordinating layout.  My daughter was born in the winter months and I loved that this paper was neither masculine nor feminine.  It really could go with either gender. 

This is a photo of my dear daughter bundled up in her winter sleep sack and cozy little hat.  The pattern paper is from the Frost line and the cute polar bears at the bottom are from Queen and Co. The pom pom ribbon is from Maya Roads.  I used a fun piece of glitter cardstock to really tie in the idea of winter. I also used glitter letters from my stash for the title. Here are a few more close up pictures!

I hope you enjoyed my projects and are looking forward to a peaceful winter full of that powdery, snowy goodness! Happy Scrappin!

Tweet

Employee Favorite Product of the Week!

Liquitex light modeling paste

Liquitex light modeling paste was designed to be mixed with acrylic paints so artists can add texture to their work.

BUT…I don’t use it that way. BECAUSE…I am NO artist! LOL.

I used the paste with stencils!

The card was made using a metal stencil. Using my craft mat, I taped the stencil edges to the paper IMPORTANT: Use heavy weight paper. With my spatula, I scooped some paste from the container, and plopped it on the top portion of the stencil. And just like frosting a cake, using the spatula at 45degree angle, gaps.

Carefully remove stencil, and lightly sprinkle some fine glitter over the paste. Heat set with your embossing heat tool. Be careful not to burn the paper. OR, you can allow to dry overnight. The paste hardens overnight. I happen to like how the paste bubbles with heat set. I smash the bubbles with my fingers and create a cool texture. Heat set only dries the paste to the touch, but it is still soft…However, the drying process is faster with the heat set.

For the Christmas House, I used a flexible “masking” stencil for the brick work. After the same process as above, I used distress markers to color in the brick, and free handed the roof top.

Other coloring mediums include acrylic paint, copic markers, ink stains, dabber paints, and ink pads. A little experimentation is all“it takes.

So, don’t throw away those metal stencils. Try using the modeling paste, and have some fun!

Pat

Tweet

Design Team Wednesday

Hey everyone! I can't believe that Christmas is just around the corner. Somehow I'm still stuck in fall mode, but I definitely started getting in the Christmas spirit while making my projects this week! I found a picture of my husband and I at my in-law's house a couple years ago for Christmas. This was a very special Christmas for us because we were able to have both my family and his family together for Christmas dinner. For my layout, I wanted to mix and match different paper styles to create a unique combination. I used Jenni Bowlin's "Christmas 2012" paper, which had a nice vintage look to it, as the background and combined it with Echo Park's "Very Merry Christmas" paper, a very fun and modern paper collection. I used my die cut to create the cute design on the bottom of the red paper, and I laced green and white twine through to give it more dimension. I added ribbon from American Craft's "Holiday Ribbon" between the two center papers to give a nice "page break."  To accent the page, I decided to make paper ornaments. Using my die cut, I cut out different sized circles and embellished them with Stickles and glitter from my stash. I used dimensionals to make them pop, attached them with twine, and "hung" them with a brad. The stars are actually from a chipboard tree set that I got at the store. One of the trees had stars on it, so I punched them out and colored over them with red, green, and gold colored pencils. The sentiment "Joy" is from Echo Park's "Christmas This and That" chipboard set. Here's some pictures of the layout.

Here's a close up of the paper and one of the ornaments.

When I was at the store, I saw the chipboard tree set and just had to buy it! I had been debating on what to do them, and I finally decided to make napkin holders with them. Since this time of year usually consists of many dinners and parties, I thought that this would be an easy way to embellish a dinner table. With my leftover paper, I covered the trees both front and back, embellished the center with the Echo Park chipboard sentiments, and added ribbon from my stash to the top. For the "rings,", I used 2 inch wooden rings and wrapped them ribbon. I hot glued them to the back of my tree, and VOILA! I had 4 cute napkin holders. This is so easy to make, and they really turn out nice.

Here's a close up of one:

This is how the back looks like:

For a better look, stop by the store and check them out along with the layout. Happy Crafting!

-Claudia 

Tweet

Employee Product Of The Week

Oops!!  How did it become Thursday already?  This should have been posted this morning, but I was thinking it was only Wednesday today!!  This is Dawn and it is my turn for employee product of the week.  Anyone that knows me, knows that I am not really a big technique person, but as I was entering this fabulous product into the system the other week, my curiosity got the better of me!  I caved and bought the Naturally Aged Paint System Precious Stone in the color turquoise by Tattered Angels.  It is a 4 step process, but it is really easy to achieve beautiful results.  I used glossy paper, but it will work on almost any surface.  I followed the easy instructions and let it dry and then I die cut my Christmas tree and made a card (of course, lol.)  The photo doesn't do the effect it creates justice.  You can't see the true colors and shimmer.  The colors can be used alone or layered for truly custom effects.  Each time you use this product, you will achieve different results.

This product also comes in other beautiful colors and finishes like weathered wood, antique silver or aged copper, just to name a few.  Stop by the store to see my sample and to pick one of these fun unique kits up for yourself.  You won't be disappointed!

Sorry about the poor quality photo's.

Tweet

Special Sales in the Store

Lifestyle Crafts Dies & Alphabets 25% off the already discounted price
(excludes tools & Knotty & Nice)


Knotty & Nice $39.99

Lifestyle Crafts Letterpress 25% off (excludes tools)

Clearance Paper 10 for $1.00 (Must be in increments of 10)

QuicKutz Clearance take an additoinal 50% off

American Crafts Ribbon by the Yard 40% (only though December 14.

Select Class Kits marked down.

Some exclusions apply. Sale prices apply to regular priced and in-stock merchandise. Cannot be combined with any other discounts. Not good on previous purchases or towards class kits. Sales good now through December 31, 2012

Tweet

Lifestyle Crafts' Evolution Now in Stock!

Evolution

The Evolution universal craft tool allows you to die cut, emboss, and letterpress! It's lightweight, portable, and compatible with all leading brand dies and embossing folders. This tool is perfect for scrapbooking, card making, home decor, and all craft projects!

Includes:

- Evolution tool
- Large 6x13" Cutting/embossing platform
- Mat A for cutting thin metal dies
- Mat B for cutting thick metal dies and embossing
- Bonus Nesting die ($24.99 value!)

Tweet