A Redo of "The Penmaker" Layout

February of last year

 I made a layout featuring the Penmaker, intending to frame and hang it in my craft room. Well, that never happened. While I was cleaning out our secretary,  I found it in the top drawer. Ahhhh... good intentions! Now was the time to fulfill that dream, but I'm not liking it so much... needs a bit of tweaking! This is what I did...

I would have preferred

to take that bottom layer off and apply some gesso and mists, but it was stuck tight.

I made a couple of

rosettes using the Alterations Mini Paper Rosettes die and that same paper I had on the original layout... (wow, had to be the Lord blessing me because what are the chances of that happening)! I added some blue buttons to tie in the colors of the photo, Authentique Diction that I doodled around and Authentique Petite Type Squares of his initials. The "Wonderful" banner is from the MME Kraft Funday Decorative Brads assortment. Also tucked in a couple scraps of Glitz French Kiss.

I stamped a Verve sentiment

on the Graphic 45 Staples ticket, but didn't get a clean stamp... probably due to the layering underneath. Attached some My Mind's Eye brads and a K & Company metal word.

Another Verve sentiment

and MME brad along with jute from my stash. 

What do you think?

Do you like this redo or should I have left it in the drawer?

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs!

Linda

Creative Jump Start Summit 2012 Journal March Update #2

The last two days

have not been the most creative ones in my craft room, but this afternoon an idea struck while I was sitting at my desk. Nothing like a card or a layout or an altered piece... just a page for my journal...

and while I'm at it,

here are a couple more I did since my last update...

I hope you'll all have a terrific weekend. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs!

Linda

C'est tres Magnifique

There are two 6x6 paper 

pads that I have that I believe are fabulous... 7 Gypies Conservatory and Glitz French Kiss. Aside from the fact that they are gorgeous papers is that they blend so well together.

This is the card I created 

today with these beauties. 

Here I've used papers

from both pads along with white cardstock.

The florals are all from

I Am Roses and were sprayed with Scintillating Silver Glitz Spritz from Lindy's Stamp Gang. The tiny white metal flowers with the rhinestone center are from Making Memories. The pearl trim is from my stash and the crystal rhinestones are from TPC Studio's My Funny Valentine self adhesive jewels collection. (If you're familiar with my blog, you know I use this brand of rhinestones quite often. They are a very fine quality and almost as shimmery as Swarovski.)

I sprayed the paper doily

from my stash with Scintillating Silver. These resin elements are Shabby Chic Treasures from Prima and are topped with two more of the MM metal flowers.

Both of these images

are from the Glitz French Kiss Whatnot collection. 

And I think it's all... C'est tres Magnifique!

Thank you, CCCB ladies,

for putting my card in the spotlight!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs!

Linda

Not My Usual

When I saw the Echo Park 

"Garden Gate" and Pink Paislee's "Oyster Bar" DPs in the Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary Kit from Pixie Dust Paperie I immediately thought how great they went together and that one day soon I would make a project with the two of them. Well, that day has arrived.

The card base is of Kraft

and topped with a mat of peach canvas textured cardstock. I used my paper distresser on the DP along with Antique Linen Distress Ink. I fussy cut the center flower on "Oyster Bar" leaving the last two petals intact and tucked in some of the pink tulle from the Glitz Beautiful Dreamer Trim pack. I slightly rounded the petals using a paint brush handle and applied some Clear Rock Candy Stickles.

The frame was made with

Spellbinder's Large Classic Scalloped Ovals and Large Classic Ovals. The lace is from the Glitz trim pack, the pearl trim is from my stash, and the bow is made from Kirsty's Signature Crinkled Ribbon. The flowers are by Prima and the leaf trinket pin is from Maya Road. The other pin I made with beads from my stash.

The embroidered butterfly

is from the surplus store we visited in Cumberland, Maryland last year. It's decorated with TPC Studio So Delish Mini Jewels and a couple pieces from my pearl trim.

When the Penmaker saw

my card, he said... "hummm, not your usual!" I'm not sure if that's a good or bad response. I know I like to try new techniques, even if they don't look like my usual! What do you think?

By the way, 

he did come back with... "I like it!"

Thanks for the visit... they mean so much!

Hugs!

Linda

My Mind's Eye... Be Happy

The weather has turned

quite cool after having temperatures in the high 70's and 80's last week. It's beautiful and sunny though, but too breezy for me to do any outside work. I would just as well be in my craft room making cards and looking out the window.

I pulled out the My Mind's

Eye Follow Your Heart "Be Happy" 6x6 Designer Paper Pad and all the bits and bobs that go with that collection... some mighty pretty stuff! This is what I made...

I did some machine 

stitching, fussy cutting, and distressing with Antique Linen Distress Ink.

All the flowers are

from I Am Roses except for the two grey ones, which are Recollections. They, as well as the paper doily, were all were sprayed with Scintillating Silver Glitz Spritz from Lindy's Stamp Gang. I adhered Queen & Co pearls to the crocheted flowers and to the doily.

The tag was cut by hand,

using a manila tag as a template. I added a wide silver eyelet and pulled on a piece of tulle from the Glitz Beautiful Dreamer Trim pack that came in the Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary Kit from Pixie Dust Paperie. It's tied with a May Arts Pink Burlap String bow, and topped with a half pearl. The bird in the cage is a MME "Be Happy" Layered Sticker.

Hope you have a great

week and can get out and enjoy this lovely Spring season!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs!

Linda 

Back To The Farmhouse

I haven't worked with

the October Afternoon Farmhouse Collection for awhile, so I pulled it back out and made this...

Nearly everyday, the Penmaker 

and I have a dish of mixed fresh fruit for lunch, which usually contains these red, juicy little berries. There's just something happy and refreshing about strawberries!

The papers are BoBunny's 

Wild Berry Journal, Echo Park's Dots & Stripes "Ladybug Tiny Dots" and October Afternoon's Sidewalks "Hide & Seek". 

The bow is Natural 

May Arts Burlap String tied with a piece of red crinkled seam binding. The strawberry is an Eyelet Outlet Brad.

The vintage buttons

are from my stash and topped with Queen & Co Self-Adhesive Pearls... they are also on the chipboard flowers. The glittered butterfly is Recollections. The paper doily is from my stash.

The strawberries are

OA Farmhouse Chip 'n Stick and the 1 card is from their Farmhouse Miscellany pack.

Thank you for the visit!

Hugs!

Linda

Oo La La Mary, Mary

The card I made yesterday

with the Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary Kit from Pixie Dust Paperie has a bit of a French flair... don't you think?

The papers are all from

Glitz Design... Vintage Blue "Vintage Blue Rose" and "Vintage Blue Floral" plus some from the 6x6 Vintage Blue Paper Pack that I bought separately. The florals are all from I Am Roses and are sprayed with Cactus Gold Glitz Spritz. The leaf pin is from Maya Road and the rhinestones are TPC Studio So Delish Mini Jewels.

Vintage Photo and Faded

Jeans Distress Inks were sponged onto all paper edges. I sprayed a vintage ribbon heart die from Michelle's on Etsy with some of the Cactus Gold and layered it atop a paper doily. I punched a scrap from the 6x6 pack with Martha Stewart's Doily Lace Border Punch and combined it with a layer of Vintage Blue Floral and this pretty little lady from the Glitz Vintage Blue Peek-A-Boo transparency pack, who is popped up with 3-D foam adhesive. 

Viva Mary, Mary!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs!

Linda

City Crafter Challenge #101

The City Crafter Challenge

for this week is "Copy Cater" from our lovely Hostess Linda Robinson.

Linda wants us to print

this beautiful image from The Graphics Fairy and use it on your creation as well as a link back to The Graphics Fairy blog. Here is what I made... a masculine card with a nature theme...

The papers are from

the 7 Gypsies Conservatory and Glitz Vintage Blue 6x6 Paper Packs. Vintage Photo Distress Ink was sponged on the distressed edges.

The dies used are

Spellbinder's Lattice Rectangles, Tim Holtz Alterations Mini Branch & Leaf Set, and Sizzix Branch w/Leaves. The canvas leaf is Prima's Lovely Fabric Leaves, May Arts Natural Burlap String, a Glitz French Kiss Giant Rhinestone, and a vintage button from my stash. 

Be sure to stop by

Sheila Burns Part-Time Pretties blog and take a look at her beautiful work. Sheila is the CCCB Guest Designer for the week and very well deserved. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs!

Linda

Funday In Print Masculine Card

To change things up,

I made a masculine card from my Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary kit. This is My Mind's Eye Kraft Funday Collection paper called "In Print" and Everyday Fun Buttons. I believe this is the sturdiest designer paper I have ever worked with. 

I teamed it with a tan shade

of Canvas Texture Core'dinations cardstock and a sheet from 7 Gypsies Conservatory 6x6 Paper Pack. The edges are sponged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I "sewed" the buttons

with May Arts Natural Burlap String. The sentiment is from Verve's Joy For the Journey.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs!

Linda

Mary, Mary, Is Not Contrary

In fact she is very willing

to please. I'm speaking of the March kit Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary from Pixie Dust Paperie. This is the second project I've made from this lovely kit... a birthday card for my Mom.

I used the Glitz Design papers

Beautiful Dreamer "Polka" and Happy Travels "Floral" along with my favorite Ice Cream Canvas Texture Core'dinations cardstock.

I put this Glitz Vintage Blue

Peek-A-Boo transparency over top and embellished with flowers from I Am Roses that were sprayed with Lindy's Stamp Gang Cactus Gold Glitz Spritz. The leaves are a birthday gift my sister gave me last week... they are the most beautiful patina. The jewels are from the BoBunny Forever Fall collection.

Be sure to grab a 

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary kit for yourself before they are all gone!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs!

Linda

And I Said, Oh That I Had Wings Like A Dove!

for then would I fly away, and be at rest! Psalm 55:6

This idea of flying away 

was on my mind while making this card. I have fallen in love with this Prima Printery Collection 8x8 Paper Stack. If you flip through the pad, you'll see several of these gorgeous papers printed with the dates 1865, 1877, 1880... the close of our American Civil War and just after. This one particular piece I used here says "Muster out roll... Volunteer Infantry". What amazing papers Prima has put together in this collection.

I put together several

layers, embossing one with Tim Holtz Postcard Texture Fade Embossing Folder. A bow of May Arts Brown Burlap String and a set of key charms from Charm Emporium.

The heart was cut with

a Spellbinder's die, the pocket watch is a Prima Chipboard Sticker and my dove is Sizzix #5 Bird. I sponged Vintage Photo Distress Ink on all.

I woke up today with a

dreadful headache... thus the mood to fly away! Just maybe... it will be gone by the time you read this. Have a pleasant day!

Thanks for the visit!

Hugs!

Linda  

Liebster Award

While we were in Florida,

Buffy at Buffy's Place (please stop by and give her some love), nominated me for the Liebster Award, which is given to Bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. Well, I am finally, to my shame, getting around to fulfilling the obligations connected with this honor.

So I need to pass on the award to five other blogs.

The actual steps involved are:

1. Link back to the person who gave you the award and thank them.   - Thanks again Buffy!

2. Post the award on your Blog.

3. Pass on the award to five Bloggers who inspire you.

4. Leave a comment on their Blogs to let them know.

I'm passing the Liebster Award on to the following:

Adrienne - Scribbly Doodles

Colleen - Dietrich Designs

Deb - A World of Imagination

Sarah - Thankful Tidings

Sheila - Part-Time Pretties

Please hop over to their

fabulous blogs and leave them a comment! 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs!

Linda

My Creative Jump Start Summit 2012 Journal March Update

I haven't done a lot

of work in my CJS Journal, but I do have two new pages to show you...

I started this page before our 

Florida/Tennessee vacation. I didn't care for the way it was going, so I set it aside. That always seems to help. Finally finished it over the weekend. As you can see, I used lots of Tim Holtz product. I did scads of stamping and gessoing (is that a word?) and applying molding paste. Can't beat that kind of creating.

Almost the same papers here.

I got started on those TH pastel pinks and couldn't get enough of them. I love this kind of laid back work... just kind of slapping on paper, gesso and ink. So much fun and very relaxing.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs!

Linda

Printery Collection

This will be short and

sweet as I was just ready to go to bed and realized I don't have a post scheduled for tomorrow. Now, how did that happen?

Here is a card I did

last week using Prima's Printery Collection 8x8 Paper Stack.

One of the Shabby Chic

roses off of the trim purchased from Frog Feathers on Etsy. I added a button and a Prima Say It In Crystals gem to the center. Some new pale yellow crinkled seam binding from Prairie Bird Boutique and Prima's Chipboard Stickers.

The Penmaker made this

stylus from Buckeye burl and I thought it a great match to my card.

He also did this pen

and stylus set from acrylic... love these colors... don't you?

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs!

Linda

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

If you've followed my 

blog for awhile, then you know of my love for Pixie Dust Paperie Kits. The March kit, Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, was delivered to my doorstep by our wonderful mail carrier (she is the best ever) last week and I have been enraptured ever since. Kirsty has most definitely put together a fabulous combination of designer papers and embellishments. Although this year's kits are smaller than the previous year's (lower price also) they certainly aren't lacking on quality and versatility. All components of this kit seem to coordinate and while looking through for the first time, I immediately started to plan projects. Now, that's what I call inspiration!!!

Here is my first...

 From my own stash, I 

chose a sheet of Ice Cream Canvas Texture Core'dinations cardstock for the card base and a sheet from My Mind's Eye 6x6 Fine and Dandy for the first mat. Then I cut into the Glitz Design Vintage Blue papers... both "Rose" and "Floral". These are so gorgeous... wish I had two of each. As I started to put this together I realized I wanted some other color of cardstock, preferably a blue, for a mat. So I went to my kit album to see what was available.

I put this album together

so I would know what's in each of my kits and could access the contents faster. And I did... I pulled out October 2011's Blue Moon and a sheet of American Crafts Pale Blue. While thumbing through, I also discovered more Glitz papers in the March 2011 Floribunda kit that coordinate beautifully with these, so I now have materials for another project at hand.

These I Am Roses

flowers and leaves were just what I needed to accent the papers. I sprayed them all with Lindy's Stamp Gang Cactus Gold Glitz Spritz. I also tucked in a Jolee's Bling Dimensional Sticker Gem in yellow.

This layer starts with

two Vintage Photo distressed paper doilies. Then comes the pale blue cardstock mat and Glitz "Rose" that's been embossed with Cuttlebug's Textile Tuxture embossing folder and sprayed with CG Glitz Spritz... also distressed with Vintage Photo. Atop that is a music sheet lacy heart die from my stash and a Glitz Peek-A-Boo birdcage, with a heart lock charm glued on. A Tim Holtz Mini Paper Clip holds on a set of keys. Both charms are from Charm Emporium on Etsy.

I can't wait to see

what else I can mix and match with these fabulous kits!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs!

Linda