My First Altered Canvas: Love is all we Need

I know, I know... I'm still on the Valentine's kick.  But, I made this for the AWDML Blog last week and I just HAD to share it here with you!  I bought this canvas a while ago to do a gift for my dad's birthday.  And...well....I haven't got the nerve to get all goopy and create what's in my mind (sorry, Dad!). 

So, I was inspired by a Pinterest project that originated from the American Crafts blog and created this!  All I needed was my cricut, a circle punch, some glue and this beautiful Authentique paper!

You can see how I created the heart on the AWDML Blog post.  And, if you come to my house, you'll see this hanging in my scraproom!  I just love how it came out and I can't wait to do another canvas.  Maybe this time I'll do my sweet friend Scarlett proud and get my goop on!  Stay tuned!

My Funny Valentines

I know Valentine's Day was more than a week ago now, but I'm still in the Valentine's spirit, so I wanted to share this layout that I created last week!  This one showcases some gorgeous Authentique papers and of course, my two kiddos!  I love the striking combination of black, white and red!

 

In this past week's newsletter at A Walk Down Memory Lane, I shared a quick tip on how to make these leaves with a circle punch!  My days of freehanding leaves are over!  And, let's face it-- anal-retentive people like me MUST have leaves with their flowers!

 

And, here's a little close-up of the title work!  I used a combination of Thickers, Lily Bee Alphas and my Cricut on this one!  I LOVE to mix up the alphas in my titles!  It's a great way to create interest and to draw the eye to the title!  Love it!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll come back tomorrow to see my very first altered canvas!

Paper Bag Pocket Tutorial

Hey, all! Welcome back to my blog!  I know I have been a bit of a slacker with updating lately, but that's all about to change!  I'm on vacation and I plan to schedule a bunch of posts to get you all caught up on what I've been up to! 

Today, I want to shar a fun and easy tutorial that I shared on the Birds of a Feather Kit Club blog! I love this project because it can be used for a ton of different things-- birthday party or wedding favors & goodie bags, Christmas treats for friends or co-workers, May Day treats for friends and neighbors, Teacher Appreciation gifts and so much more! I chose to make a Valentine goodie bag for my kids using the BOAF February 2013 kit!
First, start with a basic paper lunch bag:

Now, simply fold the bottom half of the bag up, leaving about an inch and a half of the top of the bag showing and crease.

Next, simply stitch around the three sides of the bag to create your pocket. If you don't have a sewing machine (or don't want to dig it out), you could use a bead of glue or some double sided tape here, instead.

Now, the base of your project is done (yep- it took about two minutes!) and you can decide from here where you want to go. This can be used for just about anything! Today, I'm using it for a Valentine goodie bag for my kids. This would even be easy enough that you could make one for each of their classmates! Here's what mine looked like after it was decorated:

And, here it is full of goodies and ready to make someone smile! Isn't it super cute?!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you liked my project and that you can think of ways that you can use it!

Before I sign off, I just want to take a moment to thank Amy for having me on this fantastic team. This has been an incredible experience and I have been so very honored to be a part of it. I also want to thank Linda who has been a wonderful team leader and an inspiration with her designs. And, Kristin who has been a perfect team mate- also an inspiration! And, of course I want to thank the BOAF girls for welcoming me into the family! I'm not going anywhere and hope to stick around as long as you'll have me!

Stay tuned to the BOAF Blog for the announcement of the AWESOME new Design Team and for details about the upcoming crop! It's going to be a great time!

Thanks, again, everyone!!

It's February at Birds of a Feather!

This February 2013 Kit is another one of Amy's kits that is just busting at the seams with fantastic scrappy goodness! The colors are to-die-for and the patterns and embellishments are beautifully put together! The kit has a definite Valentine theme, but is not so "Valentine-y" that you can't use it for other things, and I LOVE that!

My first project with this kit is a layout about my grandparents-- my Memere and Pepere. They always loved eachother so very much and showed it in the way they took care of eachother. The photo was taken just a few short years before we lost Pepere when they just watned a "nice" photo together. So they dressed up and stepped outside infront of the lilac bush.

In this close up you can see the journaling and the different patterned papers that are in the kit.

And, here's a closeup of the title! I used the fantastic Pink Paislee sticker and colored it with a pink Copic Marker. I love how these stickers are so versatile! I couldn't resist replacing the "dot" of the "I" with some bling from the kit, as well! I also used one of the beautiful Maya road flowers and I created some leaves using a circle punch and some of the script paper.

Finally I created a quick card! This kit is going to be perfect for making valentines with!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! If you haven't already ordered your February 2013 Kit, don't wait another minute! These are going to go fast!

There's lots of scrappy goodness in the works, so be sure to come back soon!