Happy Day Layout

Hello browsers, thank you for stopping by.

Using the beautiful papers from MME The Sweetest Thing - Honey collection.  I  decided to scrap a photo of myself my husband took when we arrived in Dubai a few years ago.  I left it out on my work table and I was later horrified to see that water had spilled on it and this had caused the ink to run.  After close examination I decided the photo did not look that bad and realized it could fit in with the look and mediums I intended to use on my layout.

Here is my layout at a glance...

See on the image below how the pink in the ink ran in the photograph...

I layered different patterned papers from the collection and with some bubble wrap and yellow paint added texture before adhering the photograph.  Some of the tile texture is showing in the top corner.  I did a lot of paint dabbing and glimmer mist sprinkling before I started on my design.  Did very little inkling; distressed all the edges of the papers instead.

I chose the page with the bees...here is a snapshot of the page before I started working on it

I thought the pink in the roses picked up the ink in my photograph perfectly and it also finalized my fourth colour which I wanted to add to the black white and yellow theme! I created some texture with the mini tile texture template,  Took some Viva Pink Glimmer Mist and sprinkled its vibrant colour all over the page.

The black and white flower in the top left hand corner was cut with my cameo - I used black and white dotted paper from the DCWV La Creme paper stack.  The bees and 'honeycomb' shapes was my inspiration and I carried this theme forward throughout my layout!

Yellow daisy like flowers with black centers was perfect for this layout and the black glittery swirl added just that hint of elegance. I finger dabbed white paint on all the flowers for additional definition.

I love how the black and white striped ribbon matches with the black and white paper under the photograph - they are from two different collections.  One always steers away from like on like but there are times when it look good - like this time :-)

Black and white patterned paper under the chipboard sentiments further emphasize the black and white scheme in this layout.  Spun a yellow beaded spray across the page and it looks like drops of golden honey.

The chicken wire is a die cut by Dusty Attic.  I cut it into various sizes and adhered it to different places on my page.  When dry I took a toothpick and ran yellow paint along the lines of the shape to create the illusion of honey.  Love the outcome!

I placed a chipboard rose on the exact image on the paper

I used Sun Sisters glimmer mist on the sun template - think it was the perfect touch to this page.

Products Used

MME Sweetest Thing - Honey paper

MME Sweetest Thing - chipboard elements

MME black striped ribbon - Stella Rose 'boy' trims

Dusty Attic - chicken wire 

Mini Tile texture 6x6 template

WR Memory Keepers sew easy floss

Martha Stewart rubby ducky satin craft paint

Sun sisters and Viva Pink glimmer mist

Tim Holtz paper distresser

Black Soot distress ink

White acrylic paint

12x12 chipboard

Non Paperlane Elements

Yellow flowers, black flower lace and centers

tiny white daisies, bees, butterflies and buttons

Sun stencil and yellow beaded string

With beautiful papers and matching embellishments once can create anything.  Paperlane stocks such a wide variety of papers, embellishments, mixed media tools and products, die cuts, etc.  Too many products to mention.  Let the wonderful products sold at Paper Lane inspire you to create beautiful memories.

Until next time...Janine

Bird House Garden

I love gardens, birds, butterflies and flowers.  The 'fairy' in me always imagines there are indeed fairies, gnomes, pixies and other ethereal creatures living in their beauty.  This was exactly my thought when I was given a wooden bird house as part of my DT project...to create a garden for the birdhouse - one beautiful enough to attract fairies, butterflies and a few nosy creatures!

Take a look...

For the base of the garden I used a wooden in tray, painted it in Martha Stewart's curry green satin craft paint.  I flipped the tray around and hot glued a grass square to it.

I painted the bird house with vanilla bean paint and once it was completely dry I applied Martha Stewart's weather crackle effect to the back sides and roof only - I left the front as is.  The image below shows the crackle effect beautifully.

The image below is the back view of the birdhouse and garden.

I attached the decorative wreath to the opening of the birdhouse and it fits perfectly.  Positioned the bird hovering to enter the house and adhered a toadstool to the right hand corner.

In the image above and below can you notice some of the nosy creatures who wanted to eavesdrop on the conversation the fairies were having?  Besides the butterflies I see 3 - can you spot them?

I mostly used artificial leaves and flowers; in between I used some peach coloured roses and a sunflower.  The white fence is actually drawer space dividers purchased locally and they resemble a picket type fence perfectly!

All the items in italics and red are available at Paper Lane.  A full range of Martha Stewart paints,  accessories and tools are available at Paper Lane - when there browse the wide range of embellishments and papers too and make your project now!  There is no limit to what you can do with these paints; they are fantastic to use and they wash off easily if you make a mistake.  Pop into Paper Lane and stock up on all your Martha Stewart products...you will not regret it!

So that's it from me today - I hope you enjoyed reading the descriptions and looking at the pictures and I certainly hope you try and create a project with a bird house too!  I think this birdhouse garden would be a perfect gift for a girl  - who would not love to move the fairies around - yeah I did not glue them down!

Thanks for stopping by...

Martha Stewart Stencil Projects

Hey happy crafters...is everybody looking forward to celebrating Christmas??!!  The new year approaches and I hope and pray that 2013 be a wonderful year for all of us filled with love, happiness and new hopes, dreams and achievements!

With this post I share with you a few "Martha Stewart" projects using her paints and stencils.  As I mentioned in a previous post her paints are incredible - they are thick and luscious and can be used on all surfaces...and I mean ALL surfaces.  It applies smoothly, does not have small bits like some paints do and its finish is a dream.  It is perfect for any project.  The wonderful thing about using her paints on any surface means your projects can incorporate paper, walls, canvas, wood, glass, ceramics, mirrors, furniture anything.  It is perfect for craft projects AND home decor projects.

The paints come in a wide variety of types and colours and Paper Lane stocks the entire selection. The product range also includes stencils and templates and with the paints it is easy to turn an ordinary item into something spectacular.

Ladies let me emphasize that all the items I used in my projects were items that I had around my home; all of them plain and boring...so plain in fact that they were hidden from view :-).  I had so much fun with the paints and stencils I went over board as you can see...when I saw how easy they were to use I did not want to stop!  I specifically chose items I imagined everybody has because wanted to show you how versatile these paints are .

In keeping with the festive celebrations I stuck with the Christmas theme. So without further ado lets take a look at the projects...

For the above project I used a simple wooden box and first painted it with white acrylic paint.  I picked a stencil from the flourish collection, positioned it with some Martha Stewart tape and applied the paint with the stencil brushes.  The paint I used is florentine gold glitter paint - the end result??  A perfectly decorated box to hold the left over Christmas trimmings and add a wonderful touch to the decorations in any home.  It is so easy to do - pick a stencil, stick it down and add your paint!!

This time I applied goji berry to a cheap plastic pot plant holder.  With this round surface I made sure the stencil was tightly secured with the tape before applying the paint - I did not want any seepage!!  I also applied the paint with a roller to the rim of the pot plant holder and the water catcher - I think it looks lovely - vibrant enough to now 'live' in my kitchen!

A friend of mine loves potpourri so I bought her a box of fragrant vanilla as a Christmas Gift!  Instead of gift wrapping it I decorated the box itself using a stencil - it turned out great!  I picked the word 'relish' from the inspiration collection and with beetle black satin paint, easily applied it to the acetate box housing the very fragrant potpourri.  A paper doily positioned on top, some silver ribbon threaded through black lace, a flower cut with my Silhouette Cameo, two chipboard stickers, silver bead bling and a pretty tag made by a friend completed the look.  Please note all the items in red italics and more are available at Paper Lane.

I took two matching hand towels from my linen cupboard and with pink salmon and surf satin paint turned them from plain and boring into something warm and romantic!  The 'his' and 'hers' stencil is from the inspiration collection.  Looks great...hmmm...thinking of making some more!!

What is any project if there is not a 'paper' one hmmm :-).  I turned this boring white paper bag into a pretty Christmas gift bag that any receiver would love!  I used green curry satin paint and applied it to the border stencil - love it!  This stencil is also from the flourish collection. A touch of red, a pretty tag and I was done.  It is that easy!

Ladies with the Martha Stewart paints, stencils and tools you can alter any item in your home, give any object a face lift, share beautiful gifts and create lovely keepsakes.  The prices are reasonable, the effort minimal, the products amazing and the end result beautiful! Along with the wide selection of awesome papers and embellishments that Paper Lane has to offer, your home could boast a new look within a few hours.  It also makes perfect gifts so hurry over to Paper Lane today to get yours before stocks run out.  Remember these Martha Stewart products are exclusive to Paper Lane!

Altered Dome Plaque

I was so excited when I saw this wooden plaque dome in my DT package - I love to alter things!!

So many ideas went through my head like a layout featuring a family photograph, then I thought of painting it and doing some texturing but I wanted to do something that I could use after and not something that would just go on display. 

So I opted to make a key holder...

 Wanted a rusty shabby kind of look so I stuck to browns burlap cremes etc.

First I applied gesso and when dry Martha Stewart's vanilla bean satin craft paint.  Next I applied Martha Stewart's weather crackle effect and when that was fully dried, white acrylic paint.  Super super result!  Her crackle is wonderful to use, easy to apply, dries quickly - I absolutely love it! I cut some corks in half and screwed in normal cup hooks. I dabbed some hazelnut alcohol ink on the hooks and keys to tone down their gold hues. 

Don't you just love this burlap flower???  I had bought this flower at Paper Lane before I even saw my DT package and of course when I decided to use this flower in my project; it set the tone for the design scheme, colour theme and style.  I created the canvas flower myself and adhered the metallic flower to the center - perfect result don't you think??!!

I adhered a square of burlap to the plaque with my glue gun.  Chose to use paper from the DCWV Tradewinds paper stack-I tore and curled the paper before positioning it.  That awesome large key was a find when on vacation in Malaysia and fitted this project perfectly.  I used white ink dabber on the flower and tied a seam binding bow with a stick pin underneath.  The canvas bird is by Prima on which I used creme de chocolat glimmer mist. The key image has glossy accents for definition

The large key is on a chain and I chose to keep the chain on the key in this project.  At the bottom of the key image I poked a tiny hole and locked the chain through it....the image below shows how I spun the chain across plaque.

The gold butterfly with key from the paper collection was perfect!!  Adhered corrugated board onto that lovely patterned paper.  Before adhering the strip of corrugated board I finger painted it with white acrylic paint - love the effect.  Alphas were placed on foam squares before being adhered to the corrugated board.  Love the delicate lace on top and the awesome lace on the bottom! I placed net randomly through out the project. Again I dabbed the dark brown flower with acrylic paint before cocooning it in lace.

The back of the plaque.  I hot glued 4 round wooden knobs to protect the plaque against the wall and spun some old chain.  Did you notice I used the plaque in an 'upside down' position in my project??

Paper Lane is fully stocked with wonderful items to alter - pop in, select one, buy some paints and embellishments and display it in your home.  With such wonderful items in store, you have no excuse ladies so go to paper Lane now!!!

I hope my project has inspired you to alter something...if you do, post your pics, we would love to see.

Take care ladies...Janine

Theresa Collins Christmas Cottage

A warm hello to all you Paper Laners out there!  For those of you who celebrate Christmas I am sure the excitement is building up and your minds are aflood with ideas on how to make your celebration perfect this year!  I hope my projects inspire you to create some of your own to add to the cheer of your celebrations with family and loved ones!

The Christmas Cottage collection by Theresa Collins is a perfect Christmas collection with combinations of red cream and green.  Her line is classic and timeless and one could use it year after year and it will always still be perfect!  She hoped to inspire cottage coziness with her line too and I think she did that just...you can be the judge of that too.

For my Christmas projects I created a card, a tussie mussie, a cracker and a daily.  I used some bits and bobs and leftovers from last year and actual Christmas trimmings for my decorations.  I created simple projects, something anyone can do to add to the theme and feel of Christmas in your home.

Christmas Tussie Mussie

A tussie mussie is really easy to make; just roll your 12x12 sheet in the shape of a cone, secure and decorate.  Fill it with a gift envelope, yummy chocolates, candy bars, etc.  Children love it and they squeal with delight when they find lollipops and candy bars filled inside!

Christmas Cracker

I made my Christmas cracker with an empty paper towel holder - I cut it down to the size I wanted and filled it with candy I bought at Candylicious - I placed the candy in a sealed plastic bag first!!  Next some red paper that I had kept from flower packaging from a bouquet, then hot glued some lace on the edges on both sides, some beautiful Theresa Collins Christmas paper, a sticker and some Christmas embellishments - eazy peazy!!

Christmas Card

I layered 3 pieces of beautiful papers from the range; each a quarter inch smaller, matted a sticker from the sticker pack, some ribbon and again actual Christmas embellishments and my card was complete.  I love the feel of the card, so Christmasy!!

Christmas Daily

I made this Christmas Daily for a friend and I plan to gift it to her for Christmas  I used 6x6 chipboard for the covers, 3 binder rings and mainly papers from the collection  Used leftovers from lat year's projects, stickers, chipboard pieces and Christmas embellishments.

These projects are easy to make and make wonderful gifts for any occasion.  With the exception of the Christmas trimmings everything I used on my projects can be purchased at Paper Lane.  Plus Paper Lane has so much more in their store which can only add to the project you have in mind.  So pop on over to the store and purchase your goodies now while stocks ast!!

I hope you will try some of your own .. until next time..Janine

Altered Domed Plaque

I was so excited when I saw this wooden plaque dome in my DT package - I love to alter things!!

So many ideas went through my head like a layout featuring a family photograph, then I thought of painting it and doing some texturing but I wanted to do something that I could use after and not something that would just go on display. 

So I opted to make a key holder...

 Wanted a rusty kind of look so I stuck to browns burlap cremes etc.

First I applied gesso and when dry Martha Stewart's vanilla bean satin craft paint.  Next I applied Martha Stewart's weather crackle effect and when that was fully dried, white acrylic paint.  Super super result!  Her crackle is wonderful to use, easy to apply, dries quickly - I absolutely love it! I cut some corks in half and screwed in normal cup hooks. I dabbed some hazelnut alcohol ink on the hooks and keys to tone down their gold hues.  Under the hooks are squares of netting just for extra detail.

Don't you just love this burlap flower???  I had bought this flower at Paper Lane before I even saw my DT package and of course when I decided to use this flower in my project; it set the tone for the design scheme, colour theme and style.  I created the canvas flower myself and adhered the metallic flower to the center - perfect result don't you think??!!

I adhered a square of burlap to the plaque with my glue gun.  Chose to use paper from the DCWV Tradewinds paper stack-I tore and curled the paper before positioning it.  That awesome large key was a find when on vacation in Malaysia and fitted this project perfectly.  I used white ink dabber on the flower and tied a seam binding bow with a stick pin underneath.  The canvas bird is by Prima on which I used creme de chocolat glimmer mist. The key image has glossy accents for definition

The large key is on a chain and I chose to keep the chain on the key in this project.  At the bottom of the key image I poked a tiny hole and locked the chain through it....the image below shows how I spun the chain across plaque.

The gold butterfly with key from the paper collection was perfect!!  Adhered corrugated board onto that lovely patterned paper.  Before adhering the strip of corrugated board I finger painted it with white acrylic paint - love the effect.  Alphas were placed on foam squares before being adhered to the corrugated board.  Love the delicate lace on top and the awesome lace on the bottom! I placed net randomly through out the project. Again I dabbed the dark brown flower with acrylic paint before cocooning it in lace.

The back of the plaque.  I hot glued 4 round wooden knobs to protect the plaque against the wall and spun some old chain.  Did you notice I used the plaque in an 'upside down' position in my project??

Paper Lane is fully stocked with wonderful items to alter - pop in, select one, buy some paints and embellishments and display it in your home.  With such wonderful items in store, you have no excuse ladies so go to paper Lane now!!!

I hope my project has inspired you to alter something...if you do, post your pics, we would love to see.

Take care ladies...Janine