A crowning birthday

I absolutely LOVE to wear a crown for my birthday. I don't know why I do it...but I do.

For years I have worn cheap children's crowns, but this year, going on 41, I should probably wear a grownup crown.  I decided to make one that reflected who I am. A keepsake crown...that's HUGE!

I started by drawing out a pattern.  This proved to be a tad challenging, as I wanted two layers to the crown.  I had to match up the layers so that it all made sense. Therefore, I had to cut out each pattern and put them together to see if they worked.  Making the patterns took me about 2 hours of trial and error and (insert GASP here) MEASURING.

Once I got the pattern like I wanted it, I drew it on the back of a pizza box.  I used Jack's pizza 4 pack pizza box.  It worked out perfectly to fit the two layers onto one pizza box.  Then I cut it out.

I decided to decorate every single side of the crown.  The insides (the sides facing toward the inside of the crown) were made using pages from "Song of the Siren" and a sheet of K&Co paper.  I mod podged these papers to the crown then I let dry.  The next step was to trim the edges.

I did not take photos of the next stages...my hands were covered in mod podge and I was the only person awake so there was no way I could photograph these steps.

Once the inside was dry, I took K&Co polka dotted paper (Wild Saffron) paper and tore into long strips. I adhered with mod podge to the front of the inside layer.  I then took pink Bohemia paper by MME and glued in full to the small outer layer.  I mod podged both of the crown pieces.

The embellishments were made by making a  two 2x12 inch wide strips and 1x12 inch strip and using my scoring board I made rosettes.  I took Domestic Goddess paper by Graphic 45 (I simply LOVE their paper) and used for the main lady and the top lady on the left.  The lady below on the left is a 1920 stamp I have (I do not have a brand name).  I glued dream chipboard to the smaller rosette and the larger of the two ladies and glue to the larger rosette.   Added a dragonfly and some tulle.

All inks are by Tim Holtz. Glues are Aleene's and Mod Podge in matte.  Sparkles provided by Stickles (Tim Holtz), lace by 7 Gypsies.

This is going to be a great birthday!  Happy 41, Michelle

A bag for all your essentials

One day I was perusing the clearance at Hobby Lobby and found this gem of an item.  A cardboard purse.  It was in HORRIBLE shape.  It would have been very nice before it was scratched, torn, and bubbled....it was $1.40.  For a bargain like that I had to snatch it.  I took it home and pondered on it for a few weeks.  Today, I pulled it out of the cabinet and noticed the inside was actually in good condition. I could save it.  The inside was black with a black and white striped paper.  Pink was the obvious choice, but I had no chic pink patterned paper.  I saw these two sheets of Curtain Call paper by Graphic 45.  To say I LOVE this paper would be a vast understatement. I have all ready used one entire pad of it and I am pretty sure I have bought enough single sheets to equal a second pad.  The two sheets from today feature old movie posters.  The first one to catch my eye was the Clara Bow movie. I adore her!  Her role in Wings is one of my all time favorites (I think it was made in 1927). It's a silent film well worth your time.  The restoration they have done is extraordinary and the music is pretty grand as well.  Anyhoo, this was my theme. I decided I would go with a paper red Bazzil for the pop of color.

The scrabble letters are from John's boyhood game, the 20's is made with Tim Holtz grunge board (I love the smell of that stuff), all inks are Tim Holtz Distress Ink, glues are Aleene's Tacky and Mod Podge, ribbon is from a CKC booth, gears are 7 gypsies, car is from John's old Monopoly game, tulle from a wedding I attended, black and white polka dotted paper was given to me.

This keepsake is for sale for $20.  Thanks for viewing my stuff. 

Seeking His Grace: Blessings/Prayer box

I had this box I was covering. It was not just any regular box, it was a glorious Whitman's sampler chocolate box.  I had covered it in K&Co paper (not sure of which line...it came from a best of pack and the pack did not list the names).

 I had mentioned it to my friend, Valerie and she came up with the idea of a blessings or prayer box.  It was very fitting for such a wonderful box.  We weren't sure what to call it and we talked back and forth for a couple of days with ideas, finally this morning she came up with "Seeking His Grace".  It was PERFECT for our project.

I used Mod Podge in a matte finish to adhere the paper to the box and to give it the finish it needed.  To do the lid and the bottom, I tore little strips of the K&Co paper and decoupaged the tiny bits to the box. The sides were measured and cut to fit.  I also covered the inside bottom and inside of the lid.  

The outside of the lid was decorated in a chipboard branch and paper bird that I had.  The flowers and letters are from Prima.

I think our project turned out to be fantastic!  

I am blessed beyond measure....

There's this girl I work with...well there are many wonderful ladies in our building, but today I am focusing on one.  Heather....I was having a fairly rough day...well week.  And after Heather came in the office and gave me a pep talk...quoted some scripture and generally made me feel better, she left to do her job.

Sometime around lunch she brought me a carrot cake cupcake from Cass & Co., which happens to be the best place to get cupcakes in the whole city of Paducah.

The box was pretty awesome so I took it home and took it apart.  I realized I could cover the box.  I covered the box with papers both inside and out.  I decorated it up a bit and left it on Heather's desk....now she can choose to put a gift inside it and give to someone else.

Here is one of the verses she shared with me:
Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help  you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand"

Now how can you have a bad day after reading that???


I tell you what, I am so blessed by the people that I work with....every single day so many blessings. 

"What are you going to do with this canvas"

That is what the lady at Michael's asked me.  You may be saying "what a dumb question".....no not really.   This canvas was on clearance.  It was $2.35 for 2 canvases.  One was in perfect condition, the other had a giant hole in the middle!!!

My first step was to color the canvas. I used Chipped Sapphire, Faded Jeans, Broken China, and Dusty Concord Distress Inks by Tim Holtz.   Once I finished that, I spritzed the canvas with water and let some of the colors run together.  I even sprayed some Sterling Silver Michelle's Musings misting paint on the canvas.

 Next I  would have to cover the hole...which is what I told the lady at Michael's I was going to do.  I took a piece of chipboard and covered it in leftovers from my Blue Awning pad by K&Co.  I adhered this piece to the front of the canvas. I used Aleene's tacky glue and used a brayer to make sure the glue was everywhere. I could not afford any gaps in this because there is a giant hole underneath.  The next step was to cover the hole on the other side of the canvas. My business card covered the back just fine so I glued it there.

Finally came the embellishments....this was sort of inspired by a story I read about France giving America the Eiffel Tower. So the canvas has an American/French theme.  I used blues and reds in most of the piece.

The chipboard album...that became the unalbum

Here is another of my $.50 finds.  This album started as a Christmas Tree album.  Since I have no intention of making a Christmas album at this time of year...but I had no idea what I was going to do, I gessoed each page until I got an idea.

After the gesso dried, I decided to cut each album page into a triangle.  The triangles would make perfect pennant pages!!


The next step was to cover the page....I found a partial album by K&Co....I have no idea of the name it came in a best of K&Co paper pack and they did not list the name.




I was making this for my gift of 2013 promise to six people, and my niece Susan was one of the people to get gifts.  Susan likes pink so this is a darker pink, but pink none the less.  After I covered the triangles, I embellished. I used some left over letters, a piece of a necklace, Hambly Screen Prints transfers, Prima flowers, leftover ribbon, gems, charms and wire.

Finding Your Happy Place

This Saturday started out earlier than I imagined...the cat started meowing at 4:15am.  Does she not realize it is Saturday?  Silly Cat.  I finally gave up all hopes of sleeping around 6:00am and got up.  First things first, I fed the cat...then I sat at my art table.  My brother-in-law had saved me some old photos and I wanted to use some in something today.  I thought I would look at my favorite creative site CR84FN and do the challenge colors.  The owner had made a new post with this challenge's best projects.  They were lovely!!  I read the post, Mona (the owner) was closing the challenge.  WHAT?  No more CR84FN!  I was so sad. I have played along for a couple of years and the challenges have inspired me to try new things, to think outside of the box, and most of all to not be afraid of my least favorite color.....YELLOW!!!!

I picked myself up and decided to think about something happy.  I thought of a friend who has been on my mind a lot lately.  She is going through an extremely tough time, but you would not know it.  She smiles all day, she offers to pray for others, she works hard, but she is hurting.  What is her secret?  I think it's her faith in God.  She has given her problems to God...praying everyday.  She is pretty wonderful.

I decided to paint and I was going to paint what I thought her soul looked like.  A colorful world, with many flowers, lots of things going on, but still she is wearing a pretty dress.  Her castle represents the Kingdom of God.  It's a pretty deep painting for one afternoon.  As you can see from the painting, I think her soul is a pretty happening place. I am grateful to be her friend and grateful to know her.

What started off as a rough day ended up pretty swell.  

Luke 6:31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

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The painting contains many different types of acrylic paint...apple barrel, craftsmart and Americana.  I used stamps from Technique Tuesday.  Inks by Stazon, red flower made by Ina Champion (my mom-in-law) and is about 30 years old, paper flowers in purple made by Michelle's Musings (hey, that's me), green flower by Prima, yellow flower by Creative Memories.  Leaves cut from green cardstock scraps and the die is by Sizzix.  Castle, clouds, bubbles, happy word and all shapes designed and painted by me.

This painting is dedicated to my friend....may she display it proudly.

A canvas of a different color

For this canvas, I wanted to do something that I had never done.  Something really different.

First of all, I took a blank 12x12 canvas and glued a tissue paper tree with many layers on the right side. I actually got this idea from another artist, but I ended up not really having it visible in the final product. 

My next step was to post a photo of myself right smack dab in the middle.  I chose a color photo that I was not too in love with.  My thought process was that the photo would take a back seat to the "stuff" I was adding.

The next step was to add the "stuff".  I used various objects that I have collected, flowers, magnets, game pieces, foam things, beads, rope, charms, and baubles.  I had to use many different types of glue to adhere to the objects....E6000, hot glue, craft glue, and modge podge. After all that dried and stuck around I "painted" everything but my photo with gesso.  This was a long process.  I wanted to get this thing ready for many layers of paint.

I covered my photo with a paper towel.  Now starts the fun...I used many of my Michelle's Musings misting sprays as well as the commercial sprays.  I layered and layered these paints and in spots, I used acrylic paints. I just really wanted to add colors.  When I got it like I wanted I removed the paper towel. I added gesso horizontal lines to give movement.

viola!!! It's all finished!

Tags of 2013 with Tim Holtz: January

Here we go embarking on the journey with Tim making 12 tags for 2013.  I did not keep up well last year, but this year I intend on doing every month, every time.

This month's tag featured some cool elements, but I did not have the same things Tim had so of course I had to improvise.

Tag #1 Journey to the Soul

I used as a focal point, a stamped frame that I die cut and inside the frame is a lovely lady. I used Purple Stazon for the frame and Sephia archival ink for the lady. I put a layer of glossy accents over the inside of the frame to mimic glass.  These are Sizzix products.

Tim Holtz provided the quote in one of his stamp sets, it is stamped in Black Stazon.

The flowers are prima, with Ranger ink enamel centers.

The large houndstooth embossing is by Stampin up! And all the inks on top are Tim Holtz Distress inks.  There is a small flower cut out that was made by K&Co.


Tag #2 Good Times

The embossing on the background is a Alterations embossing folder by Tim Holtz. The film strip is a Tim Holtz stamp that was stamped with Black Stazon onto the clear film that covers cricut pads.  The gears are die cuts from Sizzix and I used grungeboard.  The good times is from a kit, and the oval used is from a Christmas present.  The finger is from 7 Gypsies.  All other inks are Tim Holtz Distress inks.


Tag #3 The leftovers
This is a tag made from leftovers from the other two tags.  The polka dotted background is by the paper company.

Thanks Tim for the first tag, looking forward to 11 more! 

Sunday afternoon work

This Sunday afternoon, I had laundry to wash, dry and fold; lunches to fix, clothes to put away, regular lunch to fix, bathrooms to clean, floors to mop and on top of that I had to teach Trevor how to do some art things.

The kid whined but he did it, he made some great creations.  Even had time to go to church.  And in between it all I had time to make three cards for CR84FN.  Yay.


I will go backwards one day and tell you about the Trace Creek Crop.  I love this day for many reasons but my favorite reason is that this day provides the mixing of my very favorite thing with Jesus!!!  The fellowship with some fine ladies is a little bit of perfection.  The shopping divine (I only spent what I made yesterday).  I completed an entire album.  I will have to show you that later because it is for a Christmas present.  I will show you my cards.

Recycled "ART"

I am all about leaving a smaller footprint on this world.  The mark I leave on Earth is not one that trashed the place.  I want to leave a mark that says "wow she made a difference".  Today my difference is in TRASH!

I have started collecting what some would call TRASH.  I am making things from this garbage.  Some things are going to be serviceable and some just a dust collector (so essentially I am leaving a dust bunny trail).

Today I challenged myself with a box of junk and a sundrop can.


Let's start with the can....

I first decided to clean the can and cut it apart.  The aluminum is much thinner than I thought it would be no wonder I have punctured many a sundrop can. Next I decided to use punches and punch out shapes.  I wasn't sure what I could do with that.

Then a vision came to me. The punched pieces would make a great base. I decided to color the pieces with alcohol inks using an inking tip that I got from Tim Holtz. I still needed something else. I needed to make flowers!

I cut a spiral from the can. Let me tell you this was not that easy, you have to be very careful not to slice your finger. Once cut, I inked it with alcohol ink I began to roll it. I started from the wide part of the spiral. This can he tricky as the edges are very sharp. It seems to be worth the trouble. Finish it by adding a dan of hot glue to hold it together. I will probably add these to some canvas art.