Upcycling using Heidi Swapp Collection and wood veneer trays for CMS!!!!

Hey there fellow crafters!!!  Happy August!!!  Yes, that's right... It is already August!!  And that means wonderful new challenges with fabulous inspiration for you :-)

"Beautiful New Day" with Heidi Swapp "Hello Today" Collection

First up is an altered wood veneer tray I made for this month's color combo at Color Me Scrappy!  

Here's a look at the challenge:

I recently purchased the Heidi Swapp "Hello Today" Paper Pad from the Frosted Designs Store and have fell in love!  Anyone who has seen my crafting for any period of time knows that I LOVE Heidi Swapp!!!  So, of course I had to put it to good use!  

Any who, here's a look at what I came up with:

Can you believe this is an altered wood veneer tray?!?  You know those small wooden trays your beautiful, laser cut wood veneers come in?!? Yep, that's what this is!
We had to incorporate something we "love" into our project and I LOVE life!!!  Every single day is a blessing!  So I made an inspirational wall hanging for my craft area (which also happens to be my "office") to remind me that every day is beautiful!
I started by painting my piece with a coral color, splattering blue Lindy's mist on it, then coating it with gesso to tone it down a bit!

I used mod podge (matte) to adhere my papers down, then began to embellish!  I cut the words "live, laugh, and love" using my Cricut Explore, then treated them with a coat of gesso and colored them with various gelatos.  



I grabbed one of the resin clocks from last month's kit at Frosted Designs and inked it with distress ink and a gold metallic gelato.  I also added flowers by Petaloo for added detail!



I finished the hanging with some ribbon and additional flowers!

There you have it guys!!  Upcycling can be fabulous!!!!

"Enjoy this Moment" with Heidi Swapp "Hello Today"
Next on the list is a scrapbook layout I created for the new A Cutt Above the Rest blog!!! This blog is dedicated to the ACA Store which provides all sorts of cut files and png files for your die-cut machines!
Here's a look at my first layout for the blog:

I did a simple page here using the same collection listed above!  I wanted to keep it simple to show off the amazing cut file I used!

Isn't it amazing?!?  I added some gold liquid pearls to accentuate the die-cut and make it stand out more against the background and finished the page with some flowers by Petaloo!

You can find this, and MANY more cut files in the shop here!

Well gang...  Thanks soooo much for stopping in and have a LUCKY day :-)

First Attempt at Art Journaling... Already Hooked!!!!

Hello crafty neighbors!!!  Hope you're having a fabulous start to your week :-)

I'm popping in to share my very first attempt at an art journal page!!! I've seen the pages and LOVE all the different techniques used.  I've followed along with the "Sundays With Sandee" series over on the Frosted Designs Blog for tips, tricks, and ideas!!  I even "subscribed" to Design Memory Craft's blog because I love the inspiration from their fabulous Design Team! So, I finally made a purchase through the Frosted Designs Store to gather some "art journaling" supplies and give it a shot!

I am entering my first Art Journal page to the Design Memory Craft monthly challenge!  The challenge is to use at least TWO of the following (I used the ones in red!):

Stamper's Big Brush pens (I used the Black one)

Watercolor Pencils 

Color Pencils

Metallics

Gelatos (I chose the "Tropical" pack)

Paper Crafter Crayons

Artist Pens

Pastels

Textural Accents & Tools (Gesso AND Gel Medium)

Gift Sets & Kits

Here's a look at my finished page (I only did one side of the journal just as an "experiment"!  I didn't want to get overwhelmed on my first try!):

I have to admit...  I am IN LOVE with this already!!!  It's actually relaxing to just be able to sit and create freely!!  I can tell that this is the start of something new in my crafty world!!!  Hahaha!!!!

Here's a picture of the items I used to create this page:

I started by priming my page with a coat of Faber Castell gesso.  I took three of the gelatos from the "Tropical" pack (Watermelon, Raspberry, and Snow Cone) and colored randomly over my background.  Then, I took a small paint brush and some water to blend it all together!  Once dry, I used the Faber Castell "Gel Medium" to seal it all in!  I came back and added some texture with a Heidi Swapp mini stencil and some molding paste! 

I have tons of stamps... TONS!!!!  I use them for cards, and sometimes even for scrapbook pages, but now... Oh, now I will be using them much, much more!!!

I chose a large flower stamp by Inkadinkadoo and used a black Stampers Big Brush pen to add it to the corner of my page.  I used the "Margarita Mix" gelato from the pack to color in the flower, then added some shading with one of my Spectrum Noir markers!  I finished the flower by outlining it with a Sakura black Glaze Pen and tiny white dots created using my White Uni-Ball pen from the Frosted Designs Store!

I used another (smaller) flower stamp by Inkadinkadoo and the big brush pen to add a flower to the top right of my page.  I used the "Raspberry" and "Margarita Mix" gelato to shade it in, then added the same effects as the other flower!

I finished my page with a sentiment stamp from a Dylusions pack that was perfect for my first journal page!!!  It reads:
"Until you spread your wings, you have no idea how far you'll fly"

I am soooo excited (and proud of myself) that I finally gave this a shot!!!  I am finding that I am walking further and further away from my "comfort zone" and am loving the results!!!

Well gang...  Thanks soooo much for stopping in and have a LUCKY day :-)