Favorite Things Friday - Favorite Color

You guessed it, it's time for another round of Scrap it Girl's Favorite Things Friday. The theme this week is your favorite ink color to work with or spray or marker color.

Recently, it seems my go to color is pink.  It seems like every projects I've made recently is predominantly pink.  Blame it on me being a girly girl when it comes to projects, or maybe blame it on the changing seasons.  Either way, I love pink. And as you can see, I have plenty of it to keep me happy. :)

So what is your favorite color to work with?

Time To Spare

We all have plenty of time to spare right? lol Well, if you're anything like me, you try to squeeze every second of time from your day. Today I have an awesome clock made with lots and lots of Unique Laser Designs embellishments. So let's jump right on in and I'll show you can make one of your own.

I started with a bare wood shadowbox, which I painted with Starburst ink from Lindy's Stamp Gang. Once fully painted, set it aside for a bit to dry.

Next, I adhered some pages from an old dictionary to cover the background. Once again, set it aside to let the adhesive dry before moving to the next step.

Now, I simply added a bit of ink to the paper, then stamped a few random flowers.

Now, on to the embellishments.  I used my smooch ink to color the corner pieces and hearts.  Then just set them aside to dry.

Once the embellishments are dry, adhere the corner pieces to each corner. Then adhere the hearts in a clock formation so that a heart is at the 3:00, 6:00, 9:00, and 12:00 positions.

I decided to add one more piece, which is the center medallion.  I painted it with the same Smooch ink and adhered it to the center of the shadowbox.  Next, I added the clock fixture (the instructions for it will be on the package when you buy the clock itself).

I wasn't happy with seeing the rod that holds the clock hands, so I added a flower to hide it.

Next up, I added a bit of twine around the inner edge of the shadowbox.

Now, on to the last embellishment.  I took a dragonfly and inked it with more Smooch ink and a bit of glitter.

Once it was dry, I simply adhered it to the upper right hand corner of the shadowbox, then added a couple flowers to the lower left hand corner.

So to wrap things up, the center medallion, hearts, corner pieces, and dragonfly are all from Unique Laser Designs. Wonderful pieces used for a fun and functional project.

Stamping on Candles

Spring is finally here, so of course I have another project to welcome in the new season. So let's jump right on in on how I made this wonderful candle.

I have many plain jane white candles and was looking for a way to make them a bit prettier.  However because this is something that will be burning, I couldn't add all the normal embellishments.  And because of the waxy surface, most inks will not dry.

However, I know from past experience that alcohol based inks will dry on the candle.  So what better pen to use than my Zig Kurecolor  pens? 

I used four colors to ink up my stamp - Blush, Green, Persian Blue, and Deep Violet.

Because of the alcohol, the ink dries fairly quickly on the stamp.  So to extend the drying time, I spritzed the stamp with alcohol.  Just regular alcohol from your medicine cabinet. One thing to keep in mind when spraying alcohol - you do not want to inhale it.  It will burn your lungs.  Be sure to spray the alcohol in a well ventilated area and away from yourself.

While the stamp is still wet from being spritzed, stamp the image on the candle.  Because of the curved surface, the image will not be perfect, but that's ok.  Plus, spritzing the stamp with alcohol gives a watercolor effect on the candle, which is an unintended but awesome effect.

Give the candle a few seconds for the ink to dry, then repeat the inking, spritzing, and stamping process

I stamped a total of three images on the candle, all very close together.

What a cute finished project right?

Never be afraid to play and experiment.  You never know what the outcome will be, and in this case I learned how to create a wonderful effect on waxy surfaces.

Favorite Things Friday - Favorite Place to Sit While Crafting

It's time for Scrap It Girl's Favorite Things Friday post once again. So what is the theme this week? Well, it just happens to be your favorite place to sit while crafting...table, desk, etc. So let me show you my favorite place to sit and create.

Here's a peek into my crafty world.  Two work tables give me lots of space to spread out, which is wonderful when I have several projects going at once.  And of course one very comfy chair with a back support cushion.  A gal must be comfortable in her work space, right? lol And if you look closely, you can see the beginnings of about five projects.

So where is your favorite place to sit and create?

Stars and Coasters

Today I have a really fun project using items from a new company called Unique Laser Designs. Let me just say the quality of the products is amazing, and the selection of designs is quickly growing.  For this project, I made a set of coasters using the stars set.  Ready to find out how these were made? Well, let's get started.

First things first, I adhered glitter to all of the stars and let the adhesive dry before moving to the next step.

Fill your melting pot with UTEE and melt according to the manufacturer's directions.

Once the UTEE is melted, I added  a small amount of clear glitter and mixed it in.  Then I poured just enough UTEE in my mold to cover the bottom of the mold.

Working quickly so the UTEE stays melted, I added two of the large stars to the mold.

Then I poured enough UTEE in the mold to cover the stars.

Next up, I added in three of the smaller stars from the set. By adding the stars in layers, it adds lots of dimension to the finished item.

Finish up by pouring more UTEE in the mold to completely cover the stars.  Now, just set the mold aside for a few minutes to set up and cool.

The last thing to do is simply to unmold the coaster, and it's ready to use. Just as a word or precaution, the melting pot and UTEE are extremely hot and will cause serious burns.  Be very careful around the melting pot and the melted UTEE.

Once cooled and unmolded, you'll have a very unique coaster to wither keep and use yourself or even give as gifts. Happy crafting!

Hope & Dreams Canvas

I was at the craft store a few weeks ago and found a pack of burlap covered canvases and had to have them.  Burlap offers such a wonderful texture. I finally had a chance to get in my scraproom and play and I knew immediately what I wanted to use.

We all know spring is right around the corner, so of course I wanted to bring out all the colors of spring on the canvas. So lets get started and I'll show you just how easy it is to recreate this canvas.

I started with my White Zig Painty FX pen. I wanted very clear brush strokes, which is an affect I couldn't achieve with the pen tip.  Easy fix though.  I just held the pen down on my craft mat until the paint flowed out.  I then used my foam brush to apply it to the canvas.

I did the same thing with my Pink Painty FX pen, only this time I added a bit of glitter into the paint.  I can't have a project with out any shimmer :)

You guessed it, I did the same thing with my Light Blue Painty FX pen.  I also added a bit of glitter into the paint again on this round of color.

Next up, I added a few medallions in the lower left hand corner and a punchinella strip across the center of the canvas.

Now, I'm going to set the canvas aside and work on a couple of embellishments.  I used my Yellow Painty FX pen to color a felt bird and my Light Blue Painty FX pen to color the smaller chipboard bird.  Set these aside to dry.

Once the paint is dry, I used my White Chalk Pastel Zig Writer and Black Zig Writer to make the eye for the bird.

Now it's time to start adding the embellishments.  I simply layered on a heart and a floral spray.

As the last steps, I added the two birds, a few more flowers, and the sentiment.

I'm ready for this long winter to be over, and this canvas has all the colors and signs of spring to welcome in the change of season.

Favorite Things Friday

Guess what? It's time for another installment of Scrap It Girl's Favorite Thing Friday!  And the theme today - Favorite adhesive.

This was a really tough decision because I use so many different adhesives depending on the type of project I'm working on. For mixed media projects, I generally need a stronger adhesive due to the multiple layers and the weight of the objects being adhered. 

However, for my everyday, general purpose adhesives, I religiously reach for my glue dots. Simply stick and go, and no worries of it coming loose. For those teeny tiny objects, I love my Zig 2Way glue Pen.  The ball point tip lets me get just a drop of glue.  Ohhh, and it works perfectly for glitter too.  I can lay down a thin line of adhesive perfect for adhering glitter.

So what are your go to adhesives?

Happy Birthday!

It's the first of the month, which means it's time for a new monthly challenge at Scrap It Girl. This month's theme - birthdays. And it's the perfect theme because my oldest niece will be turning 16 (gasp!!) on the 13th. So let's get started and I'll show you how incredibly simple it is to recreate this project.

I started off with painting the entire plaque in pink.  Of course, you could use any color you wanted. Set it aside to dry completely.  Don't worry about paint strokes, it'll just add texture to the finished project.

 Next up I took a bottle of spray ink and took the sprayer off the bottle.  I held the sprayer tube over the plaque and flicked the ink off.  It makes nice splatter marks on the plaque.

 Simple so far right? So then I chose a background stamp and ink and simply placed random stamps on the plaque.

 To add another layer to the background, I used a dimensional paint and stencil to create two bingo cards.  Set the plaque aside to let the paint dry.  Also be sure to wash the paint off the stencil and any other utensils ASAP. If the paint dries on your stencil or utensils, they will be ruined.

 Next up I created a banner.  I cut a length of baker's twine, then cut five pieces of patterned paper.  I simply folder the patterned paper over the twine, cut the ends, then stamped the letters.  Lastly, I adhered the banner.

Now for all the fun embellishments! I added in lots of flowers, a small butterfly, and some crystal swirls.

 And for the last embellishments, I added a birthday sticker and another butterfly.

I can see all the different variations that could be made with the plaque - Mother's Day, Easter, Christmas...

Thank you for stopping in. I hope you've enjoyed your visit today!