Paper pierced leaves

There's a fun link up challenge going on over at Mountain Plains Crafters.  Make a leaf or autumn project and link it to the challenge for the chance to win a nice prize from Pan Pastel. 

I did a little paper piercing with my Stampers Secret Weapon by Stephanie Barnard.  I used all the items below, including products from Kaisercraft, Tombow, Unity Stamps, Um Wow Studio, Teresa Collins, Sizzix, Spellbinders Celebrations ink and FabScraps embellishments.

This is the first time I've used the Tombow mono glue.  Wow, I had no idea it dries so quick.  I love it! 

Supplies:  Unity Stamp Co, Kaisercraft Heirloom pad, Tombow Mono Aqua glue and Xtreme permanent adhesive, Sizzix Stampers Secret Weapon, Teresa Collins Vintage Finds twine, FabScraps burlap twine, UmWow Studio wood sequins, Spellbinders Celebrations Golden Glow ink

Halloween treats and tags w/Unity Stamps & Spellbinders Celebra'tions

Besides crafting, one of my favorite things to do is buy clearanced treat boxes and bags at Target, in particular, at 90% off, haha.  It's usually the seasonal ones that I go for.  I'd rather buy super cheap, pre-made boxes and devote more time to creating treats to go in and outside the box.

 

 

My Pinterest - click here

So, I snagged a set of these Halloween boxes last year for, oh, 39 cents!  And, this shiny white bag was from a Christmas sale last year.   I picked up several of those as well.  I thought it would be fun to stamp a fun Halloween image on the bag, but, I wasn't sure if ink would adhere to this material, so I decided to heat emboss, being very careful not to overheat and burn this thin material or cause excessive puckering.

 

I grabbed this cute witches hat from the Unity Stamp Halloween Chatter set and used Versamark clear ink, then sprinkled black embossing powder, tapping the excess through the material onto a scrap piece of blank sticker paper.  After putting the excess powder back in the jar, I put the paper back in the bag to keep the heat away from the other side of the bag.  I then added a thin strip of orange glitter adhesive tape to the hat.

The tags were made with the brand new Spellbinders SWEET TREATS matching stamp and die tag set.  Let me tell you, these stamps and tag dies are HUGE!  Spellbinders was kind enough to send me this set in the mail, after my guest blogger stint at the CHA Paper Arts show in Atlanta last month (thanks, Dave!)  Who can say that they received personal instruction from Richard Garay himself, the designer of this kit?  I can, that's who!  #grin 

 

I used everything you see below, embellishing with May Arts Ribbon twine and Freckled Fawn neon dots.  Those cute bats were also heat embossed, fussy cut and held in place with Glue Dots.  This stamp set is one of my fave from the Unity Stamp Co, Kooky Spooky and Batty set.  Have I told you how much I love Unity Stamps?  Well I do and if you could see my stash in my craft room, you would know! 

 

I plan on entering my project in the Unity Friends with Flair challenge and the Simon Says Anything Goes Wednesday Challenge.  

 

Come and join in!

Additional Supplies:  Spellbinders Celebrations Odacious Orange ink, Basic grey black candy buttons, Memento luxe black ink, Zing black opaque embossing powder, American crafts glitter adhesive tape, heating tool 

 

#CHASHOW #RICHARDGARAY #CRE8TIME

Falling Leaves and Giveaway at MPC!

We're having another challenge giveaway over at Mountain Plains Crafters and the theme is Leaves/Autumn.  You can incorporate one or both in your project for a chance to win a sweet prize from Pan Pastel; a Donna Downey mixed media kit!

 

For my project, I did some heat embossing with this leaf stamp from Unity Stamps and used several inks (Spellbinders and Tim Holtz) with a blending tool, splattered some October Afternoon sprinklers paint, sprayed Clearsnap Smooch Spritz and embellished with items from one of my favorite companies: Unity Stamp Co. 

 

I recently ordered a mystery goodie bag from them and was pleasantly surprised to find some awesome products from FabScraps included.  I adore FabScraps and had the opportunity to meet Laura (all the way from South Africa!) at the Craft and Hobby Association Paper Arts show in Atlanta earlier last month.  She is so sweet!  I also purchased some lovely FabScraps products, while there, to bring home and share with the design team at Mountain Plains Crafters.

 

The jeweled flower, which I blinged out a bit, and the cloth tag are FabScraps products from the goodie bag.  I stamped the tag with a masked sentiment from the "All about you" sentiment kit from Unity (created by Tifany DeGough) and added some May Arts Ribbon kraft twine and natural twine and some brand new scalloped edging ribbon from their new release.

 

Come link up your new project at Mountain Plains Crafters here.  Ends 9/24/14.  Share the link with your crafty friends too!

 

 

My Pinterest - click here

 

 

 

 

Supplies:  Tim Holtz brushed corduroy and tumbled glass distressed ink, Spellbinders Celebrations Golden Glow ink, Clearsnap Smooch Spritz in Cashmere, October Afternoon Sprinklers in Witches Brew and Jack O'Lantern, May Arts Ribbon kraft twine, natural twine and scalloped edges, FabScraps Jeweled flower and canvas tag, Studio Calico enamel dots, Queen and Company blue bubbles, Ranger white embossing powder, Versamark clear ink, Maggie Holmes sequins

 

#CHASHOW #SPELLBINDERS #FABSCRAPS #UNITYSTAMPCO #CLEARSNAP #MAYARTSRIBBON #PANPASTEL

Cutting Edge Blog Hop @ Pretty Pink Posh

There's a pretty cool blog hop going on over at Pretty Pink Posh, maker of all things sequins, dies, stamps and general cuteness!  When I saw all the fun going on and the sponsors, I had to jump in.

As luck would have it, I just got this new stamp set from Waffle Flower last week.  It's their brand new "A Homemade Christmas" set.  When I saw that they were a sponsor for the hop I decided to break in my new stamps.

I'd been pondering what to make, and all my crafty thoughts went straight into this gorgeous teal/gold panel card.  One of the requirements is that you use a die, so I went for my Lil Inker Designs Stitched oval mat frame.  The rest of my supply list can be found below.

Follow this link to the Cutting Edge Blog Hop with Pretty Pink Posh and check it out.  Even if you don't enter a project, you might still win a prize.  Be sure you read the rules for the hop entries.  Good luck and I'd love it if you leave me some bloggy love!

Supplies:  Pretty Pink Posh yellow sequins, Waffle Flower A Homemade Christmas stamp set, Lil Inker Designs stitched oval mat frame, Spellbinders Golden Glow ink, Tim Holtz Tumbled Glass distress ink, Inkssentials mini blending tool, Memento Luxe black ink, Stickles yellow glitter glue, My Mind's Eye 6x6 Remarkable paper pad, We R Memory Keepers large enamel dot, Zing aqua embossing powder, Versamark ink, American Cradts adhesive glitter tape, Glue Dots, May Arts Ribbon natural twine, pop dots

Spellbinders Birthday Flower card

I need to make some all occasion cards that can be mass produced but not take an extreme amount of time to create.

 

So I turned to my new Spellbinders Celebra'tions Just Because set.  I had the wonderful opportunity to work with the creator of this collection, Richard Garay himself (eek!), during my recent guest blogger stint at the CHA Paper Arts show in Atlanta.

 

 

The thing I love about this set? Sentiments, shapes and dies, all in one pretty little package!  Perfection!  16 fun pieces to work with that are so versatile.  The sentiments font has a bit of a Celtic look to it which I find very interesting.

 

I started with a gorgeous piece of We R Memory Keepers orange wash designer paper from the Inked Rose pad and embossed it with this embossing folder, then added a strip of orange polka dot washi tape from Queen and Company.  

 

Next, I stamped a bunch of the larger flowers (I'm going to layer these) with Spellbinders Celebra'tions ink using the Odacious Orange, Captivating Coral and Golden Glow.  I cut the images using the dies with my die cutting machine, including cutting several of the larger circles as a raised embellishment on the flower.  Remember, I'm mass producing, so I did a bunch at once to save time. 

 

Lastly, I layered my flowers and painted some Clearsnap Smooch Glitz in Frost for a sparkly, shiny effect, raised the center with pop dots and added a Freckled Fawn neon enamel dot.  This was placed on a piece of vellum embellished with Queen and Company orange bubbles and my stamped sentiment.

 

 

 

Next time, I think I'll try heat embossing that sentiment in white but for mass production, simple stamping was the way to go.

#CHASHOW

Summer card with homemade washi tape

We're having a fun show-n-tell this weekend at Mountain Plains Crafters and the theme is end of summer/back to school.  I hit a bit of a creative block, so I decided to try this tutuorial I had bookmarked awhile back, how to make homemade washi tape, found here.  I used a microporous medical tape as opposed to the thicker kind that has ridges, and veered from the tutorial a bit, using my Ranger Inkssentials mini blending tool instead of baby wipes to blend.  I laid out a couple of wide strips on a large acrylic block, then cut into smaller strips with my Cutterbee retractable craft knife, then inked the tape with my new Spellbinders ink.  (Gifted items from the Spellbinders workshop at the Craft and Hobby Association Paper Arts show.  Love this ink!!)

 

My Pinterest-click here

 

 

Next, I picked out a couple of fun Unity Stamps to ink over the colored washi tape with Tim Holtz Brushed Cordoroy distress ink, and let dry overnight.

 

 

The next day, I gently peeled the strips off the block and placed on white cardstock and trimmed.  I could have separated the strips and had a gap inbetween, but I opted not to for this card.  Might try that next time.

 

It looks so much brighter on the white cardstock background!  Love it.  The finishing touches are Doodlebug Design fishes (samples from CHA-thanks Doodlebug!), Queen and Company orange buttons and blue bubbles, orange jute cord, burlap ribbon with a raised bubble sticker, designer paper from Colorbok (green striped) and Woodgrain cardstock from Crate Paper Maggie Holmes, one of my favorite stacks ever!  I am in love with this cute summer card.  Hope you get inspired to try a new technique next time you need to get out of a crafty funk.....

 

I also plan on entering this into the Unity Friends with Flair Challenge this week.

Blogiversary WINNER!!

Well, I was going to wait and announce this on the actual day of my Blogiversary which is Friday August 15th, but I'll be out of town and besides.....I can't hold a secret that long!

Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate my 1 year anniversary of crafty blogging.  It's been a fabulous year with the start up of Mountain Plains Crafters and my guest blogger stint at the Craft and Hobby Association Paper Arts show in Atlanta recently.....

So, without further ado....via Rafflecopter, the winner is.....

Congratulations Kathy!  I'll shoot you an email and get your prize to you.

Autumn Gold Foil card w/tag

 I am so ready for Fall to get here.  I've never been much of a summer girl, especially where we live in the South.  It's hot, muggy, and all the mosquitos within a 50 mile radius find their way to me.  Nobody else, just me.  I can go to a baseball game and everyone around me is fine.  Me, on the other hand, I'm jumping up and down, scratching, griping about the bug spray that never works.....so yeah, not a summer girl.

Autumn is my favorite time of year.  Always has been.  I love the chill in the air, the leaves changing, and pumpkins on every corner. 

With that in mind, I picked up this gorgeous S.E.I. paper pad from the Scrapbook Expo last month.  It has the most luscious kraft and foil papers in colors ranging from gold, silver, purple and blue.  I'd been looking for foil papers to do some embossing so this girl snatched it right up.  Isn't it beautiful?



I embossed the gold foil paper with my leaf folder and Cuttlebug.  Who knew it would be so difficult to take a picture of gold foil??  It kept picking up the blue shirt I was wearing in the background.  But it is so pretty in person.  Next, I made a tag with another piece of paper from the same pack, a chevron gold and kraft design.  This was embossed and cut with Spellbinders new Celebra'tions Pierced Rectangles dies.  I created a mini tag with the words Happy Fall (Unity Stamp Co) embossed in white Ranger embossing powder and cut with Lil Inkers Design stitched tag die. 

For the leaves, I have another Unity stamp that I used by stamping with glue onto textured cardstock, then sprinkling fine gold glitter and setting slightly with a heat tool.  Be sure you've got some heavy duty wipes to clean off any excess glue if you try this.  I used Crafter's Essential hand wipes for my hands and stamps.  It cleans stamps like a dream!  The finishing touches were some May Arts Ribbon natural twine and Queen and Company orange bubbles and buttons.  Hurry up Fall, and get here!

I plan on entering this project into the SEI Lifestyle challenge and the Unity Friends with Flair challenge this week.

Graphic 45 gift box - Raining cats & dogs

I made this cool little gift box out of a make-n-take kit that I got from the Craft and Hobby Association Paper Arts show. 

This guest blogger was madly taking photos and tweeting on the last day.  The lovely Joanna, from Graphic 45, allowed me a photo op from the project done earlier that morning, then gave me the goods to make one at home.

I took a picture of the sample.  Did I look at the sample or project sheet while working on my own?  No.  Should I have?  Probably.....ok, yes!   You know how sometimes you just want to put something together without reading the directions??  Haha, oh well.  I don't think I strayed too far from the original.

Here's the sample from the show:

And here's my front, side and back shot.  I think it turned out ok.  

What do you think?

Supplies:  Graphic 45 Raining Cats & Dogs stickers and paper trim, kraft cardstock base/tag, ribbon, Yellow Bicycle burlap flower sticker, May Arts Ribbon 2mm black twine

(The Graphic 45 sample photo is posted with express permission of the Craft and Hobby Association.  Please do not copy)  #CHASHOW

Halloween card....Enter if you dare!

I recently had a visit with my cousin who is all about Halloween.  This girl goes all out.  I've seen it and yes, it is quite the spectacle.

With Fall just around the corner, I was totally in the mood to ink up some Unity stamps that I've had for awhile, and after getting all pumped up from my cousin on Halloween, that's the direction I went.  I actually won this set last year in a blog hop.  It's called Halloween Chatter.

I plan on entering this in a couple challenges this week:  Simon says stamp Wednesday challenge and Unity Friends with Flair.  Scroll down if you'd like to see how I made this.

First, I started out with a metallic silver embossed card, then cut several frames with nesting dies and my Cuttlebug.  Next, I inked up the smaller frame (which was cut on watercolor paper) using Spellbinders Celebra'tions Pretty Plum ink (this ink is luscious & juicy!), an orange distress marker and the Unity sentiment.  Once stamped, I touched up with water and a paintbrush to add some fading around the lettering.  Need some spooky, right?

I splattered some October Afternoon Jack O'lantern Sprinklers around the sentiment for more creepy fun.  I usually unscrew the spray nozzle and tap lightly for better control. 

The orange fuzzy ribbon was cut in strips and secured with rolled up mini glue dots.  I added some sparkly orange Queen & Company bubbles, fussy cut the spider and black cat, and adhered with pop dots.  Happy Halloween!

Ballet Celebrate card

Isn't this a sweet card for a little ballerina?  I'm making some birthday cards and was looking to use some of the FabScraps goodies that I brought back from CHA.

FabScraps came over all the way from South Africa to the Atlanta trade show.  Those ladies had the most delightful accent, and no, I did not point that out. 

I actually used 3 products on this card from CHA.  FabScraps had a booth at Open Market that completely SOLD OUT!  If you didn't make it to their table in time, you were out of luck.  I was a smart girl, heading to their table first.  I picked out this pack of pink ballet designed paper called "Victoria's Shoes" and the coordinating sticker pack.  Look closely and you'll see that I distressed the paper.

My Pinterest-click here

I also created a Celebrate sentiment using the Spellbinders Celebra'tions Tape It stamp set.  I stamped it in a blush ink so it doesn't show up as well in this photograph but it's so pretty in person. 

The 3rd CHA product I used was from Pinkfresh Studio.  I fell in love with Kinnari Zaveri's super trendy products.  I snagged this washi tape from Open Market also.  The colors were perfect for this card.

Lastly, I scattered some pretty green gemstones and added these gorgeous Queen & Co clear bubbles that I picked up on my recent trip to the Scrapbook Expo in Duluth, GA. 

I also recently had the opportunity to meet one of my design team members in person from Mountain Plains Crafters.  MariLynn was traveling on vacation to the South and we worked out our schedules to meet up.  She made the beautiful quilled flowers!  She's so sweet.  July was a fun month for me, no doubt! 

#CHASHOW

My time as guest blogger with CHA Paper Arts

Ah, what a time I had in Atlanta last week.  But as they say, all good things must come to an end.

If you're new to my blog, let me quickly fill you in.  This crafty girl found out that the Craft and Hobby Association would be holding an Inaugural Paper Arts trade show in Atlanta.  Over a month ago, I began an online quest to get into this event.  The powers-that-be got wind of my quest, called me, and asked me to be their guest blogger and show photographer.  You can read about my quest in the July 2014 archives here on my blog.

The time I spent at the show exceeded my expectations and then some.  Let me tell you, it was HARD work;  harder than I thought.  Had it not been for major technical difficulties on day one, dropped internet connections, password not working, re-writing my first post 3 times due to said problems, required apps draining the life of my phone....haha.  I can laugh now but I wasn't laughing then!  Luckily, I had a back-up plan.  If I've learned anything in life, it's always have a back-up plan.   

Day one was filled with workshops and seminars.  I learned so much!  Day two was the opening of the exhibit hall and more seminars.  The exhibit hall was filled with vendor booths who showcased their new holiday products and current releases.  So many cool things, enamel dots in every color of the rainbow, crochet doilies, kraft products, thousands of items!    Total sensory overload, and this was a smaller show! 

People somehow knew who I was, as they would come up to me and say, "oh, hey, you're Terri".  I found out later that CHA had put out a little blurb about me a few days prior to the show.  

I'm so glad I did my research.  I tried to touch base with every vendor via Facebook or Twitter, prior to the show, to familiarize myself with the companies, their designers, etc.  Of course, many I was well familiar with and many I was not.  So research was a very good thing.

I loved meeting so many people I've admired from afar.  I tried not to be a crafty geek and fawn over some of these people, but in a couple instances, I failed miserably!  All in all, I think I kept it together pretty much.  ;) 

When I wasn't blogging, attending workshops, taking notes in seminars, tweeting like a mad woman or photographing everything in sight, I was spending time with different companies, learning new tricks, partaking in only two or three make-n-takes as that's all I had time for.  Lunch?  Forget about it.  No time.  I actually lost weight when I got home.  All that walking and no time for meals.  I'm not complaining.  I'd rather talk to the folks that came all the way from South Africa, Australia, Nepal and China. 

Would I do it again?  In a heartbeat!  So much happened in those 3 days.  I'm sure I'll be reflecting on this for a long time to come.  Here I am, 3 days after the event and I'm continuing to get tweet responses and good feedback.  I hope the folks at CHA were happy with how it went, minus a few bumps in the road.

I was hoping to blog on my own site while I was there, but as you can see, there was no time.  I'm listing the links below, if you wish to read my blog posts.  The first is the blurb about me, from CHA.  The rest are from me.  Happy reading!

http://craftandhobby.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/meet-terri-burson-chas-guest-blogger-for-cha-2014-paper-arts/

http://craftandhobby.wordpress.com/2014/07/29/good-afternoon-from-atlanta/

http://craftandhobby.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/yesterday-at-paper-arts-was-a-blast-looking-forward-to-the-show-opening/

http://craftandhobby.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/morning-jumpstart-and-exhibit-hall/

http://craftandhobby.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/more-from-the-paper-arts-show-exhibit-hall-crafty-inspiration/

http://craftandhobby.wordpress.com/2014/07/31/last-nights-open-market-at-cha-paper-arts-2014/

http://craftandhobby.wordpress.com/2014/07/31/morning-jumpstart-from-the-cha-paper-arts-section/

http://craftandhobby.wordpress.com/2014/07/31/final-thoughts-from-the-cha-2014-paper-arts-show/

(The above photos were posted with the express permission from the Craft and Hobby Association.  Please do not copy without permission.)  #CHASHOW

Want to win ribbon? May Arts Ribbon Rainbow Challenge

I got picked to be in the May Arts Ribbon Rainbow challenge!  If you will, please visit the link below and comment which is your favorite.  I'd like it if mine is your favorite, but if it's not, I'm ok with sharing the crafty love! 

I'll tell you a bit about my project.  I watercolored a sky and rainbow, then created a window frame, curtains, blinds,  and flower box.  If you look close, you'll see glitter and sequins on the rainbow.  I used 6 different May Arts Ribbons, but only four were required:

The flowers, the leaves made with green chevron ribbon, the mini raffia bow ribbon, the red curled ribbon, the kraft twine, and a strip of sequin ribbon on the rainbow.  Oh and the butterflies were cut from May Arts Ribbon too.  So it's 7 MAR products! 

VOTE FOR ME HERE:  May Arts Ribbon challenge

OTHER SUPPLIES:

Unity Stamp Co Jillibean Blossom Soup butterfly, Pretty Pink Posh yellow sequins, Twinkling H29's shimmer paints, Tim Holtz distress markers, Prima shaped enamel dots

Butterfly inspiration from MPC

I arrived home yesterday from my stint as the guest blogger at the Craft and Hobby Association 2014 Paper Arts Show.  I'll tell you all about it this weekend and give you some links....but first....

When I checked in with Mountain Plains Crafters, the girls decided we should all post a butterfly card tomorrow just for fun.

As I began working, I thought how cool would it be to incorporate as many products as I could from the goodies I brought back from CHA?

So here goes:  the paper is from Anna Griffin's Pretty Paper Collection.  I used the Spellbinders' Celebra'tions Many Words stamp sentiment, Pierced Squares and Golden Glow ink, the Mod Podge Woodgrain stencil and FolkArt metallic acrylic paint in Bright Gold (both are Plaid products), the Stampendous glitter embossed leaf I made in the exhibit hall, elements from Graphic 45's Raining Cats and Dogs stickers (thanks Joanna!), the Crafters Essentials hand wipes to clean my hands and stamps, The Sizzix Stampers Secret Weapon Pad by Stephanie Barnard. 

Wowza!  That's 10 different items.  In addition, I also used vintage butterflies I made with Paper Smooches dies, Lil Inkers Design tag die, Tim Holtz brushed corduroy distressed ink, Queen & Co yellow bubbles, and.......I think that's it.  Whew! 

Go check out the rest of the design teams pretty butterfly cards here:  Butterfly beauties

My Pinterest-click here

#CHASHOW