Natures' Wonder Shadowbox

Hello friends,

Today you can find me over on the Simon Says Stamp blog sharing a "perfect for fall" shadowbox made with one of my favorite stamp sets ever, Nature's Wonder.  I sure hope you will stop by to see how I built the leafy wreath from scratch, utilizing a few of the new Mini Oxide ink pads, Nature's Wonder stamps, plus the matching die set from Simon.  It hardly took me any time at all to create all the leaves needed for the project. I hope you'll pop by to see how I did it! 

Simon Blog link

Now carry on,
paula

My Favorite Things Kit

Hello Friends,

I have been away from my desk for a few days teaching at an event in Los Angeles called Ready, Set, Create. I have taught at this event for 11 years and have enjoyed the friendships I have made over the years. It's just a great group of women!

This is an image of just one of the classes.

We made a Reliquary Dome filled with some fun things - like a nest and eggs, a little dog, a heart, a flag. 

There were a handful of kits left from the event so I thought I might offer them for sale. 

The kit comes with the Reliquary Dome and all the pieces you need to make the project + 4 pages of color step-out instructions + written instructions + a supply list. 

I have added the supply list here so you know what you need before buying the kit.

Tools

craft sheet or glass mat

scissors for fussy cutting

paint brushes for paint and glue

tweezers

paper piercer

small needle- nose pliers

score-tape 1/4"

Ranger Supplies

Collage Medium

Gold Mixative

Gathered Twigs Distress Ink

Distress Paint - Speckled Egg, Tattered Rose, Ground Espresso, Picket Fence, Black Soot 

(any acrylic craft paint will work - you just need a white, light pink, light blue, brown, and black)

Click on the link below if you wish to purchase the kit.  The link will take you directly to PayPal.  

If you wish to pay with debit or credit card, click on the box at the bottom

 of the PayPal login page (you do not need a PP account). 

The total cost for the kit is $50.00 + $8 shipping (US domestic).

THIS KIT IS SOLD OUT

Thank you to all who purchased the handful of extra kits! I appreciate it!

Now carry on,

paula

Palette Purple Cards

Hello Friends,

Purple is the Palette color for September. It's hard to describe the magic of this group of fabrics, but stunning is a great start. There's just something about the varying shades of purple that makes these fabrics a joy to work with.

These petit collages are a great project for a beginner sewer. Start with one base fabric, then build on it with multiple pieces of fabric and paper. They could be mounted in a frame or used on card fronts as I have done. Either way, it's a win for anyone who loves purple—and who doesn't?

Isn't this stack of fabrics is just wonderful? I hated to take on the twill ribbon because I just liked looking at it!.

I made three cards but I only photographed the steps for one 

since they all use the same method for the base. 

I started by cutting a main fabric + a matching size of cotton batting. You can cut whatever size you want - it always depends on the card base you are using. I chose large Folio Folders, so my fabric and batting are 3 1/2 x 5". This size works well to give me enough of a border to add stamping.

I added a thin layer of Collage Medium to the batting just to keep the fabric in place while I stitch. I also added patches from other fabrics - these were cut from Purple Collage and Purple Tiny Print. These work well because there are three scales of prints a large, a medium and a small.

Next, go to the sewing machine and stitch around the edge as well as any other areas you wish (the Tiny Print patch will come later).

If you have a Scratch Tool you can use it to rough up the edges of the fabric and batting.

I stitched the patch with a giant X instead of going around the edges of the patch. Then I added a vintage button. As I have said before, I collect buttons that still have their thread in tact. These work perfect for projects like these because you can just glue them on.

I added a tinted Photobooth image (tinted with Distress Crayons), a Clippings Sticker and a butterfly from the Palette Ephemera Pack.

I decided to add some hand stitching to the Photobooth image using DMC Floss 3740. I used 2 of the 6 strands.

Again, all the little fabric collages go together that same way. Just bits here and there.

This collage used the Purple Botanical print along with Purple Collage, Wallpaper and Marble. These are Mini Paper Dolls (so very small) and the small wings are from the Transparent Wings pack.

The third Collage using Purple Flower Shop as the main print along with a bit of Purple Collage, Tiny Print, and Ephemera. I also added one stamp from Purple Stamps fabric. The ephemera is from Field Notes Snippets.

For the card bases, I used three large Folio Folders that I sprayed with Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain (both inside and out).

I chose the background stamp set Tailored & Houndstooth (CMS258) because I thought the sewing/tailor lines of the stamp went with the idea of using fabric on cards.

Once the fronts of each Folio Folder was stamped, I went around the edges with a Gathered Twigs Distress Ink on a Blending Tool.

I used 1/2" Scor-tape to add the fabric collages to the Folio Folders.

Then added faux Dymo Tape to each tab as a sentiment.

Here are some close ups of each finished card.

These were easy to make and a great beginning sewing project. I like that I could make all three base backgrounds then work on adding the extras when all three were in front of me. Adding a little here and a little there until I got a good balance of paper and fabric.

Now carry on,

Paula

STAMPtember Vignette Tray

Hello friends,

We are celebrating STAMPtember this month and that means there is always a little something from Tim and Heidi from Simon Says Stamp. The stamps and matching dies are sold individually, as well as in a limited kit. The kit includes all 6 STAMPtember products as well as other accessories like paper, ink, a stamping block and a full set of Watercolor Pencils (all for $99.99). There is also a free class with Tim on Sunday, September 28th on the Simon Says Stamp YouTube Channel.

There are 6 new STAMPtember products from Tim Holtz and Simon Says Stamp:

Festive Watercolor - stamp set

Festive Watercolor - matching wafer dies

Festive Sentiments - stamp set

Festive Sentiments - matching wafer dies 

Festive Words - large word wafer dies

Festive Tags - 4 tags shaped die cuts 

I honestly started this project by just stamping and die cutting all the greenery (Festive Watercolor), small text (Festive Sentiments) using Oxides for the florals...

and gold embossing powder for the sentiments.

Now that all the cutting is done - its time to start the project!
I started by covering a Vignette Tray with Christmas Collage Strips.

I added green Design Tape Trims in dark green to the lip edge of the tray. I always adhere the tape with Collage Medium to make it permanent. Yes, the tape is sticky but for a Christmas project that I want to keep for years, the extra glue is necessary in my opinion. Especially because my Christmas decor is kept in the attic in the off-season (it gets hot up there!)

You might notice that I did not paint or paper the sides of the tray. I just sanded it a bit and then painted it with Collage Medium to give it a finished look and feel.

I used a frame from the Christmas Baseboards pack for the bottom portion of the tray. It said Merry Christmas on the left end, so I wrapped the end with red and white twine to cover the sentiment that was facing the wrong direction. Simple fix!

I want the frame to sit away from the Tray so I glued four SETS of bingo chips together to place in each corner of the frame. Its an easy way to create a big space under the frame.

On a side note...that's my parents in 1947 with a snowman! I always wanted to use that photo and I got it in on one of the last products Tim and I designed.

Next we need a shelf. 

I cut about a 1/2" off each piece to fit the tray. Make sure you cut off the 1/2" before gluing them together!! Anyway, there are two pieces, that I staggered to create more interest. The paint is Rustic Wilderness.

I used Collage Medium to glue the shelf into the tray, right on top of the frame.

While the shelf is drying, lets work on the window. 

I have shown this technique before, but I really wanted to add color to the window!

Use a small brush to add any color of alcohol ink to the BACK of the transparency (comes in the Baseboard pack). I used Botanical, Dandelion, Crimson, and Bayou. It's just that easy!

Prepare the Baseboard Frame with a snow transparency and some added 1/8" Scor-tape.

Then just peel the Scor-tape and add the colored window.

I decided to add some shine to the window, so I cut a piece of metallic kraft stock (both silver or gold will work). The bingo chips are to raise the window from the tray back.

I used Collage Medium to add the metallic Kraft Stock to the tray.

Then added the window (with hidden bingo chips) over the metallic rectangle. The metallic paper reflects the colors in the window panes!

Next I added the lamppost.

You can see I have a riser (painted black) behind the base of the lamp post. If you don't have something you can use as a riser, then just use hot glue to keep it in place. The snow will cover it.

Now the fun part!
Arranging the Watercolor Florals and Festive Words: Merry into a cluster to be used on the window. It took a bit of time to work it out (and a few Thin Foam Squares but once I had the concept it was just about making the right shape with the greenery and florals.

I used cotton batting for the snow - painted with Collage Medium and sprinkled with Rock Candy. The Candy Canes from the Baseboard Pack were cut to length then glittered with Rock Candy before setting into place in the snow. The falling snowflakes are part of the Festive watercolor set and work perfectly to balance out the weight at the bottom.

I made a second cluster for the oval window using the much smaller Festive Sentiments and more the die cut Watercolor Florals. You can see I used many kinds of Foam Squares to create dimension.

Once again, I used a couple bingo chips to raise the smaller cluster from the back of the tray. They are my secret weapon!

More batting snow, more glittery candy canes finish it off.

Thanks for coming along on the journey to create this tray project. There are SO MANY variations that could be made using an idea-ology Vignette as the base. 

I love the way this one turned out and it's all because of the MANY choices of STAMPtember products that Tim and Heidi collaborated on. I can see myself using them over and over again!

Now carry on,

Paula