Goodie Box for Secret Sisters Swap Group

Hi all, I recently started a swap group in Dubai and our second swap, which I hosted on Saturday 15th September, was a goodie box swap.  Rules of the swap was to buy 5 new items not exceeding the agreed amount and to fill the rest of the box with goodies from your stash.  I loved how my box turned out and took some photographs which I am sharing and detailing in this post...enjoy

The image above is my box at a glance...went for a slightly vintagy style but wanted to make it unique and also suitable to be kept in a craft room or space to store craft stash

I cut the delicate flourish and September calender month and wording with my Cameo, ink distressed it, embossed it and stamped it with a script stamp. I love the effect the layering of the Prima flowers on the flourish!!!

The dress form was also cut with my Cameo and I embossed it with copper powder.  I bought the vintage looking doily at a thrift shop and cut it to the size as indicated on the box.  Under the doily is really pretty green lace and on top of the doily is a brown lace flower.  Gold butterfly is a button by Bo Bunny and of course the rose and flowers are by Prima.  The 3 paper roses on the side was cut with my cameo and I dabbed it with white acrylic paint for additional effect.

Layers of lace, ribbon and flowers - love the gold corner embellishments I used on this box.

Layers of flower clusters fill this corner of the box and that awesome butterfly is yes...you guessed it...cut with my Cameo; it is so pretty.  I inked and glittered it and placed some bling on the wing.

Again the image above shows layers of lace and ribbon and  layers of  clustered flowers - so pretty; all kinds of different matching  flowers I found while rummaging through my stash. Under the flowers is a lace   doily I cut with my Cameo and at the back of it is a flourish and a wooded ticket - love the effect!!

Flourish frame, scissors with wording all cut with my Cameo.  I traced the shape on a sheet of Prima Printery paper and adhered the tow together with glossy accents.  Under the flourish frame I glued 4 buttons to give the illusion of 3D effect for this centre piece.

Views of the different sides of the box - as you can see I just ran some lace around the bottom.  I bought the box as is and I loved the vintage look of it and therefor did not cover it with patterned paper.

 Filled with yummies...of course I went over board as usual but the pleasure is in the giving right??!!

There is a page on my blog dedicated to the swap group; click on that page to see images of the other goodie boxes.

Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment...

The Shabby Tea Room - The White Challenge

I have recently taken to entering challenges and I am simply loving it!! I have not won any challenge yet but as I said I have just started....so watch this space "grin"

I also love shabby chic; it is, like for so many others, my favourite style to craft with. When The Shabby Tea Room posted their White Challenge I knew I had to enter. 

I altered 3 aluminium herb pots on a tray............I hope you like the way they turned out...

I cleaned them and painted them with white acrylic paint quite a few times. I decoupaged beautiful rose paper serviettes onto the pots with mod podge. 

As you can see I intend using them to store some of my really precious white laces!  The white butterflies are from 3D Accents and are so perfect for this project.

This beautiful delicate ruffled lace was gifted by a friend of mine - thank you Irene! I ran a white beaded string around the pot too and I love how it gives it that something special!  

The intricate lace around the bottom of the pot was gifted to be by another very special friend of mine - thank you Swati!  It completes the look of the pots don't you think??!!

 Different angles......just love love the soft effect crafting with white creates!

These are my favourite views......

Images of the paper serviettes I used - really pretty don't you think??!!

And finally this is more or less what they looked like to start of with............

Hop on over to the shabby tea room and see the beautiful white creations that so many talented ladies have submitted for this challenge!

Wish me luck...........

OUAS - September Challenge # 3

Once upon a sketch has some awesome challenges and even though I am a regular browser there, this is the first time I am entering one of their challenges.  There is usually a challenge a month but for September there are four AND they are teaming up with CSI - hop on OVER and take a browse...the challenge closes on 1 October so there is still time to enter - visit the website for exact details.

Here is the sketch and the information regarding the challenge:

For this challenge you must use:

the SKETCH provided
all the colours in the SCHEME
at least 2 elements from the EVIDENCE
at least 1 element from the TESTIMONY

From the EVIDENCE I used trees/branches, birds, flowers, pet accent and wood grain.   

From the TESTIMONY selection I chose to use some of wording from the lyrics of the song Easy by Lionel Richie; felt it suited the image perfectly!!!

MATERIALS USED:

Pizza box

Martha Stewart satin acrylic craft paints

Adirondack paint dabbers

canvas burlap and netting

various distress inks

MME Miss Caroline 6x6 paper pad

Patterned paper from K&Co Susan Winget Speciality Pack

Prima roses flowers and leaves

Petaloo brown flower and leaf spray

Die cuts - birdcage, grass, fence, rolled flowers (gifts)

Cameo - 3D flower and lace rosette

Brown leaves and images - my stash

7Gypsies loop and Hooks, green brads

mouse, bird and kitty foot prints - the Internet

Glossy accents and glue gun

I cut my corrugated board to size, tore of the top layer and applied Gesso to prepare for the painting.  I used Martha Stewart's satin acrylic craft paints - these paints are stocked by Paper Lane; in fact everything I used on this layout I bought at Paper Lane. Paper Lane is the largest scrapbooking store in Dubai - you can find them on Facebook too; please click on their name to be taken  directly to their blogspot!

I cut the 3D flowers on craft card stock with my Cameo - the design is by 'A Little Hut'.  I inked them slightly and dabbed with the dabbers!  I love that mouse and it fits perfectly on the piece of net. Can you find the other mouse on my layout?

The house/pond image was part of a freebie from a card making magazine.  I fussy cut the piece I wanted , inked the edges slightly with walnut stain and finally applied glossy accents on focal points.  

All the die cuts used on this layout was gifts from a dear friend (I do not own a die cut machine!!!) so I cannot provide that details but if you want to know message me and I will happily provide them. Words are from the song and I used my laptop to print them.

The flower rosettes I also cut with my cameo and it received the same ink and paint treatment.  The grey flowers and green rosettes are by Prima - I used the white dabber on them for extra definition.  I love how they turned out...love the colour combination and paint effect!

I trust you can see the burlap where the roses are??!!  I used Gesso to secure it onto the corrugated board and left it outside on the balcony for the rest of the day to dry completely; the weather in Dubai is perfect for that :-)

I used two bird cages - they were both initially cut from white card stock so I left the bottom one as is.  The second one I coloured with various inks and stamped it with a script stamp in black soot distress ink.  I used 2 bird images too - fussy cut them and glued them together.  I cut off the door of the white cage, secured the bird and adhered the second bird in a suitable position. I adhered a hook and loop, pierced a hole at the top of the bird cage and 'hung' it on the hook - super cute!

Just some detail on the paint work on the corrugated board - I love painting with several colours at once!

A close up of Mathew our beloved cat.  I bought this hat for an album I want to make and my daughter spotted it on my craft table and suggested we take a photo of Matt wearing it.  He was not impressed but he has great tolerance of my daughters and me especially.  Three years ago my daughters found Matt at the dumpster area of the apartment black we live in and he has been part of our family ever since.  Needless to say he is quite spoilt , fussed over and loved beyond measure!!  

When she viewed the photo on my mobile, my youngest daughter Hannah remarked "he looks a bit gay mommy" - I laughed at the time but when I browsed the OUAS challenge blog and saw that there was an option to accent a pet I immediately thought of this photograph - so bring me some luck Matthew...meow!!

Life Stories Paperbag Album

Hey crafty people, how are things your side?!  Hope all is well and that you are creating beautiful keepsakes to store you previous memories...I know I am!

For now I will be sharing my Life Stories album with you.  This album is created using the Life Stories Paper Collection by MME - I cannot begin to express how awesome these papers are!  By now you know that I love kraft paper and this range is all about that.  The quality and thickness of this paper is fantastic - right now I am trying to get my hands on the same paper stack but in a shade of green - love this paper people!

This album was inspired by Suzie from creative cafe; I loved loved making this album because it has so many different places for photographs and it has secret envelopes and nooks and crannies if you know what I mean.  Of course photographs do not always do justice to such a album and who knows I might just make a video!

Anyway on with the album...

The cover is pretty simple - the gorgeous paper, some stickers and a workable photo frame.  The binding is an old scarf and I added some brown doodads on the tassel's of the scarf - loved how it turned out!

I used the make of the paper range to name this album - "life stories" and hot glued it onto the bottom part of the binding.  The fastener is brown striped ribbon and a clip.  I punched a hole on the back album, inserted a brad and secured the ribbon at the same time.  Super simple people!

The page below can house over 7 photographs and most also have journaling spots.  See the round circle at the top of the page...it pulls out to reveal a long photo mat!  A few more photographs can be inserted into the pocket to make maximum use of this page!

The green dotted paper on the next page is not from the collection - I added it to compliment the kraft coloured and toned paper collection.  The lace lends it a softness I think and of course who does not love flowers and brads! The flap opens and the green tab is a pullout for another photo. Lots of tiny tags and journaling spots.

The next page again features the green dotted paper - a photo can slide under the circle that also acts as a journal spot. The flap opens and there is also a secret envelope behind the numbered journaling spot.

I love the page below and it has my favourite brown checkered envelopes that I so love using in my projects.  Lots of tiny tags again and can house over 5 photographs.

The next page is awesome - the flap opens to reveal a more photo mats and journaling spots - see the additional images for detail.

The above page is my favourite - I just love how it opens to reveal mats for 3+ photographs.  Superb!

The next page also has a green tabbed pullout for a note or date, the flap lifts up and down and can house so many photographs and notes.

The image above is the final page at a glance.  The flap lifts up to reveal more space for photographs - plenty of real estate in this album.  The image below shows the flap open.  Did I mention I love tiny tags??!!

This paper collection is fabulous people!  I don't know if its still stocked but I loved the texture, the thickness and the quality - perfect! 

The back of the album - simple!

Hope you felt inspired....please leave a comment!

Thanks for stopping by...

Vintage mini shadow box

Hey crafty people...today I want to share with you a recent project...

I created a mini shadow box within a box using my cameo.  As you all know I won the cameo and was over the moon - not only because it was a CAMEO but because I had never won anything before so YAY for me !!!

I cut the box design on dark brown card stock -  cut it twice for extra strength and of course attached it with double sided tape.  The picture below is the box at a glance..

The image below is a close up of the cover of the box...

I used paper from the Prima Printery collection and plenty of flowers by Prima, WOC and IAR   Black soot and brushed corduroy distress ink was used for this project

The antique looking leaf in the corners are by Jolees Boutique.  I cut in half a black lace blingy type flower from my stash and stuck it under the beautiful Prima roses for additional effect  I made the white beaded string myself with glossy accents, clear jewelry string and small plain white beads

I hot glued this beautiful black lace on the cover - it is not stuck down and can also serve as a pocket for a note or a trinket or little tag etc  I randomly added some peach pearl beads for additional effect

The above image shows the inside of the box  Lovely black lace lines the  "shelves" on either side

I used the same black lace for the inside of the lid and as the image shows, it also acts as a pocket  The crown tag is from the London Market collection  The chipboard butterfly is by Prima and I adhered black blingy flowers to the creme lace flowers

I chose the crown tag to match the crown trinket I have in the bottom left section of the box; a cameo photo image on the wall, some dark navy blue roses tied with creme seam binding and a heart trinket, and a Tim Holtz hanger complete that section

The big creme flower I bought at a home decor shop and its perfect for this box.  On either side there is a black sandal and a bag to match - on the 'floor' of the section is the other half of the black lace blingy type flower I used on the lid

On the right side..on top... I have a black flower that looks incredibly like a hat - has beautiful gold edging.  Also some beautiful lace from WOC.  The bottom section boasts a Melissa Francis vial with gold beads.  Next to that is a black cotton reel and a Bo Bunny trinket on the wall - super cute right?!

I threaded some jute through the holes in the black lace and adhered to the sides of the box...for that final touch I added some flat back pearls 

I hot glued a brad in the centre of the box, looped some jute under a flower and that acted as my fastener - super simple ladies.

So that's it for my box; my daughter's friends are coveting the box so I will be making 3 more very soon - order from them :-). 

If you are interested in making this project for yourself send me a PM.

The kit includes the box - cut and scored; the paper, the flowers, the lace, brad, jute, everything you see and PDF instructions.  It's a fun project and I can also supply a kit in a shabby chic style

That is all for now ladies, hope you are all crafting away...leave a comment and come back soon!