Bridging the Gap in My Own Little Way

This is a six inch mini album I made for my sister-in-law, Amy, to give to a friend who was recently married. I was telling another friend about it and she would like one, too, to send to a pair of newlyweds she knows. It seems like I'm doing a lot of black and white or black and cream for weddings. "Back in The Day" we would never have used black in our wedding colors! Of course we would never have worn a black formal to prom, either. Or anything the least bit low-cut. Or short. Or sequinned. If it wasn't pastel with ruffles, lace, and poufy sleeves it just wasn't prom or wedding-worthy. 

I think the papers and embellishments I used for this album do a fine job of bridging the generation gap. We have pearls, prisms, and filigree on the dangle, with roses and a delicate pearlized doily on the cover. I used some very dilute walnut ink to tone down the "whiteness" of the doily a bit, then I sprayed it with some Smooch Spritz to give it a little sheen.  I wish you could see how pretty it is, but it just doesn't show up well in a picture. The black frame is cut with Nesties Labels 1 and embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. Until the bride and groom insert their own photo, the frame holds an image stamped with SU! Elements of Style and highlighted with a Gelly Roll Stardust pen. 

Can you make out the scallop stitching around the edges of the pages? Those aren't just for looks. I layer the papers I want for each page and stitch around the edge to hold them together. I leave the top open on some of the pages to create a pocket for tags that hold more photos or journaling. 

The ribbons at the top are tied to the tags. Each tag has a variety of embossing, stamped images, and inked edges. Even without any photos, they are quite interesting!

I think you can see on the picture below where there is a slim little place punched out at the top of each pocket. An oval or circle punch works great for this. (For baby girl books I like to use a scallop circle.)

The last two pages I have to show are a little different. The diagonal pocket worked perfectly with the checked paper...

This pocket was made with a Grand Nestabilities oval, but you could trace and cut around a plate to get the same effect. 

There are a few more pages--twelve in all, but I won't bog down your computer with loading more images.

Remember the Paisley Tables? Doc sold them! For TWICE AS MUCH as he was asking before I painted them!
More updates--my color guard girls are doing great! The first competition is next Saturday. I also need to brag on the football team. The Houn Dawgs are state ranked! WooHoo!One poll has them at #7 and another at #5. Go Dawgs!

I'm putting together the projects for stamp club tomorrow and I'm still not exactly sure what we're doing, so I better get back to it!

Thanks for stopping by! See you next time!

Free September Calendar (And It's Pretty, Too!)

Here is September's calendar for you to save to your phone/computer/iPod/iPad's homescreen or lockscreen so you always have a calendar handy. This month I went all out with the swirly-flourishy embellishments! I kind of like those. You probably wouldn't have guessed *wink* since I have them in one form or another on all but two of my calendars. Go to my April Calendar for help downloading this to your "iWhatever" or computer.

If you are not as crazy about flourishes as I am, here is the naked calendar so you can decorate your own. I use my iPad and the Coolibah app to make mine (click here to learn how) but you could use any scrapbooking or photo editing software. Finding a good calendar to start with is usually the hardest part, so I started making my own in a different program on my computer. However, I found this one (without letters and numbers) when I Googled "free calendar download" a few months ago. I had to add two weeks for September to fit, but I'm very pleased with the way it came out.

Yesterday I learned that when anyone tried to leave a comment here they got one of those annoying squiggly letter and number things that are impossible to read. I think I have taken care of that now and you should be able to comment without fear of being perplexed by a pesky puzzle. That being said, will someone please give it a try? Just say "hi" so I'll know it's fixed. 

I hope everyone has a lovely Labor Day weekend. Thanks for stopping by! See you next time! 

Are Paisleys A French Thing?

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post! I thought I was here last Friday, but it's been TWO WEEKS! Please allow me to apologize. Andy has been in Ireland all week so I've been extra busy and quite distracted. I don't sleep well when he is gone and by the time he gets home tonight, he will have been traveling for about 18 hours, so I'm turning the ringers off the cell phones and we are sleeping in tomorrow!

I had a goal of finishing this old foot locker while he was away. I found it at a neighbor's yard sale. Isn't it GORGEOUS?!

Oh, hold on a sec. Wrong picture....

There! That's better! Now--isn't it GORGEOUS?! Keep reading to see the surprise inside! 

This piece was in horrible condition. It had been wet, so the bottom was very warped and rotted. I wouldn't have trusted it to hold up under any load at all, not that I would have put any of  my belongings in it--the inside was just plain NASTY! 

I cleaned it up as much as I could, then primed and painted it, inside and out. I used a satin spray paint in Almond then sprayed lightly around the edges in Pebble. The surface was still scarred and rough in places, so I didn't even bother trying to make the paint all nice and smooth. 

Of course, I had to "Paisley-fy" it. As soon as I saw that big paisley stencil I knew I wanted to use it on this trunk. (At my house these days, anything that doesn't run away gets painted or covered in fabric. Andy's going to pull in to the garage one day to find me painting tire tracks on his giant toolbox and lining the drawers with denim!) The pattern helps to hide some of the scratches on the surface. I used a creamy white to keep it subtle, then painted the trim. Brown for the "leather" and black for the metal pieces. 

Since I didn't trust the bottom I decided to stand it on end like some of the really big steamer trunks you see. I guess it was intended to stand up, because there is only a handle on the one end and the front. 

I glued a very thin piece of plywood to the bottom and painted it to match the top and sides.

Here is a look at the back side. No one would ever guess how awful it looked a few weeks ago!

To fix up the inside, I covered an old election sign with this great cotton duck I found at Hancock's and glued the sign to the bottom. It's the perfect fabric to go inside a trunk.

I covered another election sign with batting, wrapped it in the awesome fabric, criss-crossed it with black grossgrain ribbon, and added some antique-ish brads where the ribbon intersects. Voila! A French bulletin board! (I honestly did not make the connection between the French bulletin board and the French designs on the fabric until I had it all put together.) Is there any chance that paisleys are a French thing, too? 

The hardest part of the whole project was finding the right piece of wood for the shelves. I figured out how to mount them, but none of the scrap pieces I had looked right. I considered glass, but after two bad cuts (of the glass, not me!) I gave up. I know I could have taken the glass to "the glass place" to be cut, but it was after hours and I wanted this DONE! 

I rummaged around a bit more and found an old potting shelf that was PERFECT! I cut the boards to size and covered the front edge with a piece of wood trim.

Okay. You've been very patient. You can see the inside now.... 

I absolutely love it! I really hate to sell it, but it is headed to our booth at Uncle Doc's to wait for someone else to fall in love with it. I can just see it with books and travel souvenirs on the shelves, and postcards and photos tucked into the ribbon. It's also a good size for DVD's or any number of crafting items. *wink*

I had so much fun with this! Most likely because it was such a challenge.  I love it when I can rescue something that most people would throw out. I have another footlocker and a trunk in the garage, but the footlocker is Dad's, and somehow I don't think he would appreciate the paisleys! 

It's time for me to go get my Hubby! Thanks for stopping by! See you next time!

Michele 

Stamp Club Sneak Peek

One Friday each month several of us meet at our friendly Stampin' Up! demonstrator's home for "Stamp Club.". Sherry has held these gatherings for so many years that I can't remember when we started, but the oldest Idea Book on my shelf is from 2005. This month we will be trying something new. Sherry has invited me to design the projects and lead the group! I've come up with two card designs and thought you might like to see them.

I started with Baja Breeze, but any color of the rainbow would work for your base. The front is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder called Rebecca. I cut and embossed three shapes from Whisper White cardstock. The largest is from the Labels Collection Framelits and is embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots folder. On top of that are two shapes from the Apothecary Accents Framelits, one embossed with the Elegant Lines folder, and the other stamped with whatever image or sentiment you like and adhered with dimensional adhesive. All edges are inked with Soft Suede. This card is very easy to make--it just requires a lot of cranks on your Cuttlebug or BigShot. Just think about all the different looks you could get simply by changing dies or embossing folders! 

 This is probably my favorite way to make a card in a hurry. I cut a piece of vellum cardstock 4x5.25 inches, stamped it with the En Francais background stamp in Soft Suede, and inked the edges. Next I used Elegant Eggplant to stamp the Sweet Floral image over En Francais. The vellum doesn't absorb the ink very well, so to avoid smears I held the heat gun on the images for a few seconds. Then I added a piece of Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon and adhered the vellum to a card of Perfect Plum. (Apply your adhesive so that it will be hidden by the ribbon and the stamped image if you use vellum.) I didn't put any type of sentiment on this card, but I think it would look nice with an oval tag tied to the ribbon, don't you? This design works with so many stamp combinations. Just choose one image that has a fairly small pattern and one bigger, more substantial image. Quick and easy! 

Here is the same card using cardstock instead of vellum. The images look very different even though the inks are all the same:

I got all my fair entries (and ribbons!) back safe and sound, so I'll try to snap some pictures over the weekend. Maybe something you see will inspire you to dig those boxes and boxes of photos in your closet!

I better go make sure everything is ready to go--tonight's the night! I'll see some of you at Sherry's!

Thanks for stopping by! See you next time!

Michele

Free August Calendar

Can you believe July is almost over?! Never fear! I will help you prepare for August.

This month we have for your consideration an award-winning calendar! (This is where you say, "Ooooh!" and "Aaaaah!") Remember when I told you that I was entering some scrapbook pages at the fair? Well, I entered six 12x12 pages, three computer items, and a wedding invitation. I promise to show you the 12x12's, but I don't have great pics of them and they're at the fair for another week, so when I get them back, I'll have a show and tell. 

I can, however, show you the other items. There was a category in the computer art division for calendars and this one earned a lovely red ribbon for second place. 

The business cards I made for myself also earned a red ribbon in the computer art division....

I used Coolibah and my iPad, of course. It's so easy that it makes it feel a little like cheating!

Last, but most certainly not least, the page I made (with Coolibah) using photos of both of my grandfathers in their WWII uniforms won a blue ribbon in the scrapbooking category of computer art. I'm certain the subject matter was what did it!

Aren't they two of the most dashing devils? They both have their hats at that cocky angle in almost every picture from their younger days!

There is a cardmaking division, too, so I entered one of the wedding invitations I've made in the category for "other occasions." (That pretty much means it's not a birthday or holiday card.) It earned TWO ribbons! A blue for first in its category, and a purple Champion ribbon for the whole division. They liked it better than any other card there! 

Enough of that! If you need help loading the calendar to your computer or iWhatever, click HERE and follow the instructions. Or if you'd like to make your own calendar using Coolibah, go HERE to learn how.

I have another long week of all day band, so I'm turning in now. 

Thanks for stopping by! See you next time!

Michele

There Are No Mistakes in Scrapbooking...!

A few weeks ago, one of Andy's co-workers had knee  replacement surgery. He's a great guy and we hope he's back on his feet (literally) very soon. Andy asked me to make a card to send him and this is what I came up with. The images are all from a discontinued Stampin' Up! set called "Loads of Love." Seems easy enough, right? Ha! Fooled you! This is a lesson in fixing-what-you-mess-up-when-you're-not-paying-close-enough-attention. 

I stamped and colored (!) the images on white cardstock, inked the edges, affixed brads for hubcaps, and added a green mat. Then I adhered the striped paper to the front of a gold card. I stamped and punched the tag and placed both pieces on the card front. Quick and Easy! So quick and easy that I wanted to take some pictures so I could use the card for a blog post! This is how my first pic turned out:

Hmmmm.... 

Instead of peeling everything off with Un-Du, I just trimmed the gold card front about 1/4 inch each way and adhered the whole thing to a green card. Much better! Here's another look:

I delivered my fair entries Saturday. We had a failure to communicate which did not make me the happiest person in the world, but it was all (pretty much) worked out in the end. I should know later this week if I won any ribbons. I will share some of those pages when I get them back in a couple of weeks. 

Today was the first day of  "Band Camp" with the entire band. We started at 6 a.m. Ugh. 

I. Am. Not. A. Morning. Person.

So thanks for stopping by, but I have to go to bed!!! See you next time!

Michele 

More Awesome Paisley Stenciled Tables.

While surfing for inspiration (browsing blogs and other websites) a few weeks ago, I happened upon a blog called Domestic Imperfection and some pictures of a table with a paisley design stenciled across the top. You can see Ashley's post HERE. Go ahead and look. I'll wait....

Isn't that just beautiful?!

A few days later I was at Uncle Doc's, the flea market where Mom and I share a booth, when I spotted two plain little end tables that Doc had purchased just a few minutes before I walked in. 

They were practically screaming my name! I made a deal with Doc: If he would trust me with those two tables, I would take them home and do my thing, and when he got them back he could put a better price on them. (I was just dying to stencil paisleys on something and they were perfect!) Doc agreed, thinking I had more than one screw loose, and helped me carry the tables to my car. 

I sanded the tops a bit, glued some loose joints, and tightened some screws (on the tables-not in my head!). Then the stencils I had ordered from Cutting Edge Stencils arrived and the real fun began. 

 I taped the stencil in place with blue painters' tape and used a four inch foam roller to apply creamy white acrylic paint. The stencil pattern is almost two feet square, so that part was done in no time! After the acrylic paint dried I gave them a light sanding and, using a foam roller again, rolled on a couple layers of Minwax Polyshades, which is a stain and polyurethane combination. You could use straight polyurethane, but I wanted to tone down the contrast a little. (Besides--Ashley used stain over the paint on her table. If I'm going to use someone else's idea I should do it correctly, right?) I painted the skirt of the tables and the legs with a white latex paint then brushed some of the Polyshades over those areas as well, purposely leaving it a little streaky and toning down the contrast again. Finally, I replaced the knobs on the drawers. One was pretty wonky anyway, and I found some that looked like crazed ceramic at Hobby Lobby (for half price, of course!) They are perfect! Here are some after photos: 

I am happy to say that Doc was very pleased with the way they turned out. I am too! I have an old footlocker I'd like to doll up a bit next, so I'll let you know how that goes. 

Before I can jump into that, however, I have a bass drum table/light to show you and a few scrapbooking projects to take to the fair. Yes, the fair. Stop laughing.

I'll be spending a big chunk of the next three weeks with the color guard girls, learning drill for the upcoming marching season. Geez. Guess I better go get some laundry done! 

Thanks for stopping by! See you next time! 

Michele