Maya Road ATC Shadow Box

I am really excited to share with you a new altered art project I finished recently.  Being on the design team for Paper Patch Crafts has really given me an opportunity to try out new products and explore new creative possibilities.  This month Anne sent me this adorable Shadow Box from Maya Road.  It measures  8.75x8x1 and contains 6 compartments that are ATC (Artist Trading Card) dimensions. 

When I received the box I really thought I would create something of my children, but as it started to take on vintage characteristics and I poured through old photos of my childhood I knew it had to be about the year I was born.

I started by coloring the box with Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Vintage Paper and Old Paper.  I then applied Crackle Accents to the exposed surfaces to give it a more distressed look. 

The Vintage Keys and butterfly were also colored with the distress inks and more crackle added to them as well.  The number tiles were made with the Tim Holtz Fragments and stickers included in the Echo Park For the Record packet. All of the papers, stickers and word tags used in this project are included in that same collection.

The organza roses  and Tickets are also from Maya Road.  The mini picture frame and tea cup are mine from my doll house furnture collection.

A technique I thought I would share that you may enjoy trying is photo tinting.  I scanned a picture that I wanted to work with and then printed the photo on cardstock.  Using copic markers and ink pads I lightly colored in the eyes, lips and cheeks on the photo below.  It is very light.  Another fun thing you can do is color in one item if interest only.  Such as the eyes, an object being held, or a focal point in the photo.  You can experiment with your favorite photos by changing the tones to Sepia or black and white and then experimenting.  Your original photo is spared any mistakes and you can get the look you are trying to achieve.



the colorization doesn't show very well here, but the look is very subtle and vintage.



The word tag was also crackled to give it an aged look.  The sweet little resin flower from Maya Road was a nice way to balance it out. 

Supply List of items available for purchase at Paper Patch Crafts

Echo Park For the Record

Maya Road ATC Shadow Box

Maya Road Organza Rose Ribbon, Resin Flowers, Butterflies, Mini-Tickets

Kaiser Kraft wooden Embellishments

Birthday Challenge

There is a mini-weekend challenge going on now at Paper Patch Crafts.  The theme is a fun, bright and cheerful birthday card that contained either one balloon, cupcake, hat, or piece of cake.  I dug through some old stamps I had and disovered the fun cupcake set I bought many years ago from Stampin'Up. I outlined the stamped images with my Copic Multiliner to make the image pop a little bit more.  The kitty stamp is even older and I can't recall the company I bought it from.

The embossing folder for the background is Tiny Mosaics, I used Stampin' Up inks for the cupcake and colored my kitty with copics markers.  Some random sparkle was added with stickles.  The tag was stamped in ink, gone over with a gluepen and then loaded up with tiny micro beads to add some texture and extra wow to the project. In reality the micro-beaded text looks more sharp and detailed than it actually photographed.  My son's birthday is this coming Wednesday so I think I will give this card to him...otherwise I may have added a ribbon or bow to make it a little sweeter...but 24 year old men don't usually appreciate that little extra touch. :)

Happy Birthday Brandon!

Special Thoughts Mini-Book

Happy Friday everyone! I wanted to participate in another fun challenge going on over at Paper Patch Crafts. We would love for you to join in. Here is the sketch:

I decided to make mine into a mini-book.  Using the directions I posted at this link, I created my mini book out of 1 sheet of paper.  The cover I decorated with the super cool Echo Park Collection Kit, For the Record and he cute little tickets are from Maya Road.  All these supplies were purchased at Paper Patch Crafts.  You should check out Anne's new store...there are a lot of fun things happening there all the time!

My intention is to use this book for jotting down inspiring and uplifting things I hear, read or see in my life.  I have even created a couple little pocket pages to stuff in little mementos that might strike me as worth keeping.  My ultimate wish is that it will inspire me to be a more positive person and enjoy the simple things this life has to offer since there is so much emphasis on the negative lately.

So, I encourage everyone to get out their paper and whip one of these up for themselves.  We could all use something uplifting in our lives.

New Flower Tutorials!

A co-worker asked me to decorate an album cover for her that she needed for some birthday profiles she wanted displayed at work.  She wanted to use a basic standard sized notebook for the shell.  I decided after I purchased the notebook that it needed to be covered in something a little more durable than paper since I wasn't sure how much it would be handled.  I bought some duck cloth at my hobby store which has a canvas like quality, and covered the outside of the notebook with that and covered the interior with a heavy weight paper.  I didn't take any photos of the inside, but I did make sure all of the vinyl covering of the notebook was thoroughly covered.  I used some inks to age the outside of the canvas and then created flowers for the cover. 

I have demonstrated the mini paper roses previously at this link.  I also bought the Maya Road chipboard butterfly at Paper Patch Crafts.  You can buy a package of these here.  I covered the butterfly in coordinating paper, added some gems for the body and wire to finish it off.

Below are some videos on how I made the large Ruffled Rose and also the ribbon roses.  I hope you enjoy and try your hand at making these too!

Baby Boy Card

A friend at work is expecting her 1st baby, and the co-workers decided to get together and surprise her with a gift.  Well, guess who gets to make the card?  (I actually volunteered.)  I hope I do everyone proud!  I used the New Arrival Cricut cartridge and made this cute little giraffe.  I added some light blue rhinestone eyes and chalked in some rosy cheeks.  The papers are from Close to my Heart (I think) and the card base is Bazzil cardstock.  Can you guess what she is expecting?

It's fairly simple, but I think sometimes simple can be exactly the perfect message you want to convey!