Bookmarks all around

For anyone that knows me, you know I love books.  I collect them, I read them, and keep them in alphabetical order on my shelves. 
Today I wanted to share some bookmarks with a fellow book lover.  This person responded to a facebook post that I made in January.  It simply said that the first sic people that responded would get a handmade gift from me at some point during the year.  This was a very cool challenge as I tried to make the gifts reflect the recipients tastes.  Hence the bookarks for this person.

A Little Fruity, by Technique Tuesday

In 2005, I was introduced to a little company that would change the way I thought of stamps.  I met the Technique Tuesday girls at a CKC convention.  I attended their class because I had never heard of them and so glad that I did.  Since then, I have bought as many stamps as I could and attended every class that has been offered at CKC.

A Little Fruity is one of my favorite sets.  It features very detailed fruits along with the cutest sayings.  You can use this set for so many different things.

Today I used it to make a Turn that frown upside Blessings Box.  This is a two sided box.  On one side is the "when life gives you lemons" saying.  On the other "so berry sweet of you".

I hope if you like these boxes and live near Paducah, Kentucky that you will go to http://www.ephemerapaducah.com/ and sign up for my June 6 class.  There are also many other great happening things at Ephemera Paducah.  Please check it out and tell Kristin I sent you :)

Enjoy this weeks blessings:

I also had enough paper left to make some greeting cards.  I think they are rather fun.

Scoring Board Flowers

I got a scoring board a couple of years ago at a CKC convention.  At first, my primary use of the board was to make envelopes for my cards.  With the passing of time, and my desire to do more things with it, I have learned to make rosettes and accordion fan flowers.  Last week I shared the Mother's Day flowers that I made for my mom.  These flowers were made with the scoring board.  They are super simple and today I am going to share how I make the potted flowers.

I feel it's better to use patterned paper and not cardstock, but not the thin patterned paper.  I used quality paper. I feel it made the flowers a bit prettier.  Cardstock would probably work, I just wanted a bit more flexibility in the flowers.

First of all I must say, I did NOT measure the width of the paper that I cut.  I imagine just eyeballing that I took a 12x12 sheet of paper and cut it around 4 inches x 12 inches.  Then cut another 3 or 4 x 12-inch strip.  I am guessing here.

For the next step, I did measure.  I put a strip of the cut paper onto the scoring board.  Then I scored, using the bone folder,  the paper at every 1/2 inch across the strip.  Once you have completed that fold the paper into an accordion shape (alter the folds, mountain, and valley).  At this point, you can ink the edges or cut a 45-degree angle at the end of each side.  This put a little dimension in your flower. I like to ink some...cut some... and even scallop some.  It makes each flower unique.


The next step may work for you, but not for me.  You should staple the middle of the accordion.  I could not get my stapler to hold the paper so I tied a ribbon around the middle.  Then you can either take hot glue or Aleene's Tacky Glue.  (I prefer Aleene's) You meet the ends together to form a circle flower shape and glue. I attach a binder clip until the glue dries.

Once the glue is dried you can attach at skewer to the back.  I run the skewer down through one of the accordion folds and hot glue into place.


You now decorate the middle.  I like to attach a rosette or some bling.











To make a rosette:

Cut another strip of paper.  If you want to ink or stamp the paper this is the time.  Given the number of score lines, it is difficult after you score.  This rosette if very pretty with a small stamp stamped all over the strip.

 This time you will score every 1/4 inch all the way across the paper.  Alter the folds just as you did above.  This time you will connect the strip end to end.  I like Aleene's glue here just to keep the bulk down.  Warm up the glue gun, you will need it next.

This part is a tad tricky, but with practice, you will get faster at it and be able to have no issues.  I practice first.  Take the rosette that looks like this:

If it does you are ready.

I take a dab of hot glue and put on a piece of scrap paper.  Quickly push your rosette into the glue.   Hold until it sets up.   Bam! you did it!  Decorate as you desire.

The Whitman Sampler makeover

Since I was a very small child, I have ADORED Whitman's Samplers. It has only been in recent years that I have felt I am worthy of the $10 per box price tag.  I have been saving all the boxes because they are such high quality boxes. With the encouragement and idea of a friend of mine, I have been making them as Blessing Boxes.  The recipient would put blessings, prayer requests, or general thoughts into the box.  At the end of the year the box is opened and you read through all of your papers.  Were your prayers answered?  Did you remember how blessed you were?  Are you grateful for what God has given you?

You could also share the box with a friend and you two read through each others....which is what my friend and I plan on doing. 

This Mother's Day weekend, I decided I would decorate 4 of them.   This also prepares me for a class that I plan on teaching at one of our local places (I plan on doing a blog entry about this awesome place soon, I just need some photos), Ephemera Paducah (don't you just LOVE that name?)

Oh I get sidetracked so easily, these boxes are done in 4 different styles. I tried to be as far apart as I could be in the themes of each box.

Box #1-Down Memory Lane. Like McCall's or Buttericks.  Boy does this theme take me back to my childhood.  My mom would let us look at the pattern books at Hancock's.  She would let us pick out the fabric and buttons and she would whip us up with a new dress!  This box takes me right back to those days.  I have used some vintage items from my Mom-in-law's sewing basket.  A pink zipper, lace, buttons, a tape measure, a needle and thread, pins, and snaps on the original card. The paper used is Lucille by Basic Grey (the calico reminds me of the fabric mom would have used to make dresses for me-actually this paper looks very much like the fabric of the dress I am wearing in my first grade picture) and Bountiful by Creative Memories. 

Box #2-Owl watch over you.  This one is a paper piecing and took HOURS!  I did not draw out patterns for the owl, tree, or moon. I just cut.  The paper is Que Sera Ra by K&Co.  This box has almost a flat appearance, but if you look closely at the box you can see all the layers of paper. Flowers by Prima.  Black pen by Sharpie.




















Box #3-Be creative.  I painted this girl onto paper and didn't know what to do with her.  I got this great stamp from Tim Holtz that featured angel type wings.  It was perfect for the girl.  This box features stamps by Hampton Arts, Tim Holtz, and Technique Tuesday.  Die cuts from K&Co, flowers by Prima.  Embossing Powder by Stampendous.  This girl makes me happy because she is feel to do what she wants in her artwork...yeah she's me.  Patterned paper is Wild Raspberry by K&Co.
















Box #4-God's Blessings.  Butterflies and birds fly all over the beautiful summer flowers.  What an amazing gift God has given us.  We should take time to reflect on the beauty in this world and not the negative.  Doily a found object.  Bird and table chipboard by Pink Paislee.  Flowers by Prima.  Card was given to me by my friend.


The greatest thing about altering something is you don't have to do it like anyone else's. You can use your creative nature to creative whatever.  Maybe you box will not be a Blessings box.  Maybe yours will hold love letters....maybe jewelry....maybe greeting cards.   Maybe you will take off the lid and use the box to display items you collect.  Maybe you want to keep some of the integrity of the original box.  Think outside the box.  Don't let anyone limit what YOU like.

If you decide altering a box is for you and live in Paducah, you can come to my workshop on June 6.  I will show you how and hopefully how to free your spirit.

Teacher Appreciation Week

This week marks the time of the school year where you show your child's teacher some love.  I was trying to be unique this year. I didn't want to buy the usual so I thought I would step out of the box and make a gift for Hannah's two favorite teachers and Trevor's teacher.

No directions here.....just photos. 

Happy Mother's Day

Here are my gifts for the moms in my life.

The Flowers were made by scoring card stock on the Martha Stewart scoring board.  Most of the flowers are scored on the 1/2 inch line.  A few use the 1/4 inch marking.  I made fan type shapes like we made when I was a child.  I took the fan shape and tightly tied a ribbon around the middle.  Then I took the fan ends and glued them together so they made a circle shape.  I used Alene's tacky glue and used black binder clips to secure until glue dried.  

Then I adored the middle of each flower....some feature rosettes, some crocheted flowers, some pebbles, even plain ribbon.  I then turned over the flower and put a skewer (that I had painted green), down through one of the pleats and used hot glue to secure.  The pleat sort of hides the stick.  

The dragon fly is a piece of chipboard that I inked with Distress inks and put on a wire that I had made look like a dragonfly flight pattern.

The pot is filled with plastic bags.  I pierced the skewers into the bags and arranged the flowers as I liked them.  I then took strips of green paper and cut fringe on each strip.  I rolled sections of the strips up and messed up the fringes.  I glued on top of the plastic bags and also used to support the flowers.  

The wreath was made from a piece of chipboard that I had around the house.  The flowers were made with the Martha Stewart scoring board as described above. 

Spring Break projects

Since we ran out of money, our spring break plans were a no go.  I decided to make a giant list of things that needed to be done around the house.

1.  Paint John's old childhood cabinet to put in utility room-I did this using paint leftover from the house and tied it to the colors I just did in the utility room.

2.  Redo the shelves and paint the dryer pipe-I used red spray paint on the pipe, and scrapbook paper on the shelves.

3.  Make a message board for family-I used an old frame from Grandma's house.  Inserted scrapbook paper where you normally put a photo.  Got some dry erase markers and some flowers.  Put it all together and wow a message board.

4.  Make new curtains for kitchen-I found some great fabric in Indianapolis at Wal-mart.  One was $1 per yard the other $3 per yard

5.  Install new kitchen sink-proved to be more difficult than we thought because the people we bought our house from (the flippers as I call them) cut the hole out themselves.  It was not straight and it was odd shaped....that may be why they used a mobile home sink (you can have one of these free in my garage).  It was a 5 inch deep double pan sink, and I have hated it every day for 7.5 years.  Now I have a 8.5 inch deep sink!

6.  For my birthday last year, I bought the lumber and my dad donated his skills to build me some bookcases.  That was last July, and I was just now painting them.

7.  Paint the back door-I wanted to paint the inside of the panels on the door leading to the garage.  I also wanted to paint a saying on there.

8.  Paint kitchen trashcan-we had the nastiest can in the world.  A blue can that they sell at Wal-mart.  (why do they make all the cans blue or white and just nasty?)  I painted it with Rustoleum black paint for plastics.  It is like a new can and fits the color scheme of my room.

9.  Use the left over transformation kit and paint the bath cabinet


Hope you enjoy the photos of my week of projects.