Monday, April 7, 2025

Springtime Vignette

Hello friends,

With Easter right around the corner, I thought it was time for a little springtime project that could easily be completed in a day or two. I covered the boxes on day one. Along with painting the rabbit, eggs and Toadstools so they could dry overnight. Day two was putting the scene together and cutting the Sizzix flowers. I hope you'll follow the following easy steps to create your own little springtime garden scene!
I started with two Square Vignette Boxes (I did not use the smallest box that comes with the set). I cut 4 patterns of Worn Wallpaper to cover the two boxes, then adhered the paper with Collage Medium.
Once the paper was adhered I covered the surface with a thin layer of Collage Medium and set the boxes aside to dry while I worked on other things.
Lets start with the things that need to be painted so they can start drying. 
I used hot glue to add a Salvaged Rabbit to a big popsicle stick for easy painting. I used Ground Espresso Distress Paint for the rabbit, but any color will work. I gave him two coats for good measure.
After he was dry, I sanded off the shine with steel wool. Now you can pop him off the popsicle stick.
Next up are the Tiny Eggs. I really didn't know what color I wanted so I painted up a few of each using Speckled Egg, Squeezed Lemonade, Dried Marigold, and Worn Lipstick. I just used my fingers, wiping my hands between colors. I also painted, or should I say rubbed, Scorched Timber over the entire Barrel.
Once the eggs were dry, I flicked paint over the top with a small paintbrush. 
While the eggs dry, I painted two Toadstools with Speckled Egg Distress Paint. It took two coats over the tops to get full coverage. Once dry, scribble Walnut Stain Crayon over the paint and rub it in. I also used a wet wipe to pounce over any dark spots. I love the way they turned out with such little effort.
NOTE: you can see how I added a chipboard base to each Toadstool so it will be easy to secure them to the Vignette base when the time comes. A little hot glue works perfectly to secure the chipboard to the Toadstool - you just need to hold it upright while the hot glue cools.
I thought this metal plaque from the Factory Tags pack would work brilliantly on one of the Vignette Boxes. I just needed to add a bit of Picket Fence Crayon to fill in the recessed areas and a couple of the smallest Screw Heads.
One more thing before we start assembling...a sentiment. This time I took a stick and wrapped cardstock around the top with a Metallic Sticker. The bottom got the same treatment as the Toadstools so I can adhere it to the Vignette Box with ease.
Lets add some reindeer moss around the bottom just to get started.
Now we need the boxes that we made earlier. I used a Walnut Stain Distress Crayon to age the Wallpaper, because that is just my style. You know I like things to look a bit beaten up, lol. 
So here we go...lets start gluing the mail things to the smaller of the Vignette Boxes. I took this shot so you could see approximately where I placed things. 
NOTE: I previously added the Metal Factory Tag to the center front when the Vignette could be on it's side. You can also use 1/2" Scor-tape to add the tag if you don't want to wait the drying time. There is also a much better photo of the tag at the end of the tutorial.
Once the main pieces had some time to dry, I added more moss...both reindeer moss and spanish moss.
Now for the last go round...
I started at the back to fill in more of the space. I added some spanish moss and after it was dry, I pulled apart small pieces of moss and tucked it inside the spanish moss. The flowers and rocks were added last.
NOTE: the tiny rocks were found at Michaels, but I think any craft store would have them in the flower arranging section or even in miniatures.
All the flowers were made with the Sizzix Brushstroke Flowers Mini Thinlit.
I did not end up using any of the pink eggs - they just stood out too much. 
So easy to tuck the Tiny Eggs into any little spot! The detail work is my favorite part!
Now add the two Vignette together with Collage Medium. 

And there you go! 
I enjoyed making this project with all the pastel colors and nods to springtime. I also love how even mixing the Worn Wallpaper works perfectly with this color palette. Ready for Spring!
Now carry on,
Paula

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Folio Folder Book

Hello Friends,

I have been working on a small book this week using the Folio Folders. I kept it small (finished size 5 x 4.25") and added a fabric cover made with Palette Pink fabrics. The book features Paper Doll Posed, Photo Studio cards and frames along with Snarky Small Talk. Lets get started and I'll walk you through the process.
I used the three small Folio Folders for this project. The larger size will be saved for another time.
I starting by spraying the Folio Folders with Antique Linen Distress Stain. It's the perfect base for all the other layers to come.
Once the folders are dry, prepare for stamping. I am using Stampers Anonymous Tiny Prints + Speckled Egg Oxide.
I inked about half the stamp with Oxide. But before stamping, I used a wet wipe to feather the lower edge of ink so there are no hard lines from the stamp pad. This makes a huge difference in the final result.
You can see the result of the feathering here. Obviously, no stamp block was used.
Repeat the steps to stamp the inside of all three folders.
Once the ink was dry, I used Collage Medium to add 8 x 8" Memoranda paper to the outside of each Folder. 
I also cut up a few sheets of Memoranda to make some ephemera for my book. I might not use all the pieces but I have a lot to choose from.
I covered some of the stamping with more Memoranda paper on the inside and added some of the ephemera pieces that I previously cut. I also added Cello Sticker Tape to some of the pieces.
To prepare for the collages I'm going to need some Paper Dolls. These Paper Dolls are from the "Posed" pack. Each of the Paper Dolls has an arm or hand out so they can be "posed' along with some ephemera. To me these are the best kind of Paper Doll!
To color the Paper Dolls, I picked bold colors of Distress Crayons. I colored directly on the clothing, then rubbed the color with my fingertip to fill in the area. I used a cotton swab to thin out the crayon a bit more, revealing some of the details underneath. To add tiny details, like buttons, flowers or plaid on the skirt, I used a Detailer Water Brush to pick up crayon off the Studio Mat and color in the area. Since this guys are going into a book, I sprayed them with a clear sealer so the color is permanent. 
*If you would like to know more about using crayons you can always go to this POST where I explain it in more detail.
So lets get started on the collages that will be in the center of each Folder.

I repeated the elements on each of the folders to give consistency throughout the book. 
Here are the 7 products I used:
Photo Studio 
Postmarked
Cello Sticker Tape
Small Talk Snarky
Classic Label Stickers
Paper Dolls Posed
Collage Paper Serendipity

Folder 1
I love adding Postmarked stamps and Cello Sticker Tape as an addition to the Photo Studio cards. I sewed around the cards but if you are not a sewer, then just skip that part.
Snarky Small Talk was used just for a bit of fun. I loved picking out what saying went with each Paper Doll. Notice her 'Posed' hand on the Classic Label Sticker? As if she is holding up the card?
Folder 2

I swear if you look close enough, this Paper Doll lady is rolling her eyes!
I also love how the bold colors of Aged Mahogany for his jacket and Uncharted Mariner for her dress really bring them to life!
Folder 3

Her dress is plain so I colored it with Kitsch Flamingo, then added stripes with Uncharted Mariner and Fossilized Amber using a Detailer Water Brush. His jacket is Seedless Preserves and his pants are in Rustic Wilderness.
Cover
I made an easy cover with two pieces of Palette Pink fabric and some cotton batting. The fabric was cut 5.5 x 8.5" to give some leeway for squaring up once the quilting was done. The finished size is 5 x 8 1/4".
I added twill tape for a closure.
Now sew the three folders to the cover. I started with the center folder, sewn to the center of the book. I used two office binder clips at the top of the book to clip the cover the the folder for stability when sewing.
You can see here that the folders are sewn about a 1/4" apart. 
Well, I thought I would photograph each page of the book so you can see it in order. Enjoy!
Page 1
The house is in the pack with the Posed Paper Dolls.
Page 2 and 3
Page 3
Additional Snarky Stickers have been added to the tabs on each Folder.
Pages 4 and 5
Page 4
Page 5
Collage Paper Serendipity was added to page 5.
Pages 6 and 7
Page 6
Page 7
Pages 8 and 9
Page 8
More Collage Paper on page 8.
Page 9
Pages 10 and 11
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Here is the other half of the house that I cut off from page 1.
I hope you like this small book. It was very fun to put together using the Snarky sayings! I guess I need to use them more!

Now carry on,
paula