Shabby

Saturday, July 26, 2014

CCL Graphic 45 YouTube/Blog Hop


I'm so excited to be a part of Creating the Crafty Life's Graphic 45 YouTube/Blog Hop this month! 

If you are coming from Stephanie's YouTube channel, onestepupcreations, you're on the right track! If you just happened to come across my blog and would like to hop along, please start over at Misty's channel, ziggy13mity1 as she is our Hostess!

Hands down, Graphic 45's collections are my absolutely favorites to work with. I discovered them a few years ago when I was searching for some Wizard of Oz papers and boy did I find some! To this day, their now retired Magic of Oz collection is STILL my favorite of them all (so far). 

But there are many that run a very close 2nd and An Eerie Tale is one of them! Misty is carrying it in her store right now. Check it out at MB Treasurista.

What I love about this particular collection is that it's probably their most feminine Fall/Halloween collection yet. The colors and images are gorgeous and very versatile. For my project, I decided to alter one of two paper mache books I found at my local Goodwill store. I got them for just a couple of dollars and one of them went from this:



TO THIS! I love fairy tales and that was the focus of this piece. I started out by giving the book a good couple of coats of gesso and then some black paint. After that, the fun began! The book measures approximately 7.5"x 11.25". I gave the pages a coating of metallic gold ink and then embossed them for texture. Next, I covered the top pages with "Unsolved Mystery" and rubbed it with some ink in an eggplant color. The whole book was edged in black cotton lace from Hobby Lobby and some bling from AC Moore. The satin "bookmark" at the bottom was dyed with Ranger's Adirondak Color Wash sprays.


For the center, I made some of the flowers using "Magic Spell" and "Abracadabra". The orange blooms are from Michael's and the off white cherry blossoms came from Misty's store. The vines were cut from a Sizzix die and glittered with green Stickles. It's a a little hard to see, but there's a clock behind all those embellishments. It was inked and embossed in gold. 


I fussy cut several of the images from the collection to create the scene in the middle. The crowned little reader in the corner is not part of the collection. She is an illustration by Jessie Wilcox SmithYou've seen her work before. Her sweet images have shown up in a few G45 collections (Do you know which ones???) and her work is just beautiful. 



At the top, I attached a pretty cotton doily that I dyed using Ranger's Adirondak Color Wash sprays in Wild Plum, Sunset Orange, and Lettuce. I used my Sharpie pens to color the metal butterfly and applied some more Stickles. A crown sits on the left of one of the chipboard pieces from the collection. He's hard to see, but on the right, there is a little owl stickpin.


Love working with this paper! Be sure to visit the rest of the YouTube channels and blogs for a few chances to win some great prizes. 

Winners will be chosen randomly from one of the videos/blog plus there are some hidden prizes from the ladies too. Make sure to comment & subscribe/follow on all of the hop stops! Here is what's up for grabs for the grand prize:

Sponsored by MB's Treasurista

Check out the STORE!!!

To be eligible for the grand prize you must follow and comment on all the videos/blog posts!!!

The complete list of participants is below. Make sure to hop along in the order given. 


Johnna's up next. Be sure to visit  her YouTube channel, sdcowgirl61, next. And have fun hopping along!

Blessings!

Melissa




Friday, July 11, 2014

CCL Paris in July ATC Swap

Bonjour! That's it for me in French!

This month over at Creating the Crafty Life, one of our members is hosting a "Paris in July" ATC swap! The guidelines are simple: the cards must be Paris themed, in shades of blues or pinks, fully embellished on the front, and standard ATC size (2.5"x3.5"). 

Before I began, I did a little research to find out what sort of things are happening in Paris during the month of July. This year, the Tour de France began on July 5th in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England and will end in Paris on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées on July 27th so I chose this event as the theme for my cards. 

Each swapper will receive 4 cards. I made two extras: one to keep and one for our hostess. 

I have a drawer full of metal gears in all sizes so I adhered them to the cards to mimic the gears on a bicycle. The background is a sketch of the Arc de Triomphe which is located on the western end of the Champs-Élysées. I also used a vintage photo of a cyclist from the race. To finish it off, I attached 
two very small ribbon roses on the right, the dates of the race, and a vintage street plaque on top.

Each ATC will be sent in a special envelope and a little card explaining some details about the race. Thanks, Christy, for hosting such a great swap! These cards are so quick to make and fun! And it's a great way to share your art with others. :-)

Have a great weekend!

Blessings!
Melissa