Autumn Leaves Ornament / Wreath {Fall Home Decor}

Pin It Now! Are you getting ready for Thanksgiving?  I already have guests here at the house, and am starting my side dishes...pineapple casserole, marinated carrots, and cakes and cookies.  We have a winter storm due to arrive tonight, so we all may  be snowed in!

After all the food prep today, I finished a project that I've been trying to do since LAST year!!!

Remember the gorgeous Christmas ornaments from last year?  I wanted an autumn one.  Finally, here it is...

I've updated it to use current product, including the 1-1/4" Burlap ribbon, crepe paper, and woodgrain embossing folder.  

Here's my process:

First of all, I consulted Margaret Murray's tutorial here, and tweaked it as I went along.

Cut 20 of the maple leaf (More Mustard), and 20 of the smaller leaf (Old Olive) from Autumn Accents Bigz Die.

Stamp the maple leaves with En Francais using Crumb Cake ink, then sponge edges with Cherry Cobbler.

Emboss the smaller leaves with Woodgrain TIEF and sponge with Always Artichoke.

Fold 15 of each leaf in half lengthwise, leave 5 of each for backing.

Glue 3 folded leaves back to back and glue them to a flat leaf as shown.  Repeat for 5 sets.

Same process with the smaller leaves.  

Okay, for my base I punch a 5-petal flower punch and a 2-1/2" circle punch, so you know where each leaf set will get hot glued.  

Hot glue one set of maple leaves to each "flower petal". Nestle the smaller leaves between the maple leaf sets and hot glue. 

Make a burlap rose with your 1-1/4" Burlap ribbon.  Just roll the ribbon in half lengthwise and hot glue a tight roll in the center.  Then roll and twist the burlap loosely to create a flower. I didn't glue as I went along, but waited until I was satisfied with the flower and hot glued it to a silicone sheet.  Add a Vintage Faceted Button in the center with a basic rhinestone (large) with Crystal Effects.

I thought the burlap rose needed a little softening look to it, so I traced the smaller leaf onto Crepe Paper, folding the paper into 5 layers to get all my leaves at once.

I don't know who chewed this pencil, it wasn't me :D

Sponge with Always Artichoke and Cherry Cobbler.  They are lookin' pretty!

Gently hot glue them down, tucking them in with a pencil tip.

The hot glued mess is coming together!

Add the finished burlap rose and a little ribbon to hang it with!

Time to celebrate!  Know what I'm thankful for?  My sweet boys.  My precious pup, Lizzy.  Crunchy leaves. Those smiles.  A happy home with my hardworking husband.  

Have a blessed and creative day!  ~ Erika

Altered Composition Book - HSS167

Pin It Now! Hello, crafty friend!  Homeschool is getting started around here, so I used the sketch from Hand Stamped Sentiments to alter a $0.50 composition book from WalMart.

Here's the sketch.

It's so easy to make!  Just trace your background paper and glue to the front and back.

 I used the Canvas Creations #129375 for the spine, it comes in a 12" x 12" sheet, and cuts wonderfully with a rotary trimmer. It adhered really nicely with Snail.  I tucked a layer of Baked Brown Sugar Stretch Ruffle Trim down the side.

Here you can see the trim.  The corset body form from this Etcetera DSP is cut from its second sheet and popped up.  One doily behind, one scrunched on top with a Frosted Finished Designer Embellishment (Holiday 2013).  A few small rhinestones along the left side.

 "Smile" is from Happy Day, and is stamped on 7/8" Natural ribbon in Calypso Coral, pleated and placed over the popped up body form.  A little linen thread and Designer Faceted button finishes it off!

This composition book will be used as my attendance book for homeschool, so there's a little added meaning on the front.  My boys are in 4th and 7th grades, so I placed the 4 and 7 on either side of the form.  And SMILE is something I like to remind myself to do every day, especially when teaching my children!  

I hope you're inspired to alter something that will bring you a SMILE, and that you might check out HSS and all the inspiring projects these ladies have to share!

Have a blessed and creative day ~ Erika

SUPPLIES:

STAMPS: Happy Day

INK: Calypso Coral Stampin' Write Marker

PAPER: Etcetera DSP

EMBELLISHMENTS:  Basic Rhinestones, Frosted Finishes Designer Embellishment, White Tea Lace Paper Doilies, Baked Brown Sugar Stretch Ruffle Trim, Canvas Creations, 7/8" Natural ribbon, Linen Thread.  

Baby's First Birthday - Lollipop Card {How To}

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Just a little quickie today, a card made to celebrate the first birthday of a sweet little daughter of a friend. My childhood friend came to visit this week, and we sat to make this together. My favorite time with friends is either in the kitchen or the craft room :)

HOW TO DO IT!  The lolly is super easy to make.  Punch coordinating circles with a circle punch, mine is a 1-1/4".  Layer them, overlapping slightly, onto a scrap circle of paper.  It helps to mark your middle point first, so all the circles are perfectly placed.  When you come around far enough that you meet the first circles, begin tucking the new circles behind them.  I tacked them in place lightly with Snail, and then glued them down tight with Tombo Multi glue when I was happy with the placement.  Add your details, and a lolly stick - HINT - I get my lollies from the bank, and cut off the sticks!  LOL

The center medallion is made by scoring a 3/4" x 10" strip of DSP in 1/8" increments. 

Most of the supplies used to make this card are retired stash - the Subtles DSP Paper Stack, Sweet Cakes and Patterned Party Stamp sets, and Pretty in Pink CS.  I made a few extra to customize for special occasions, like I did with this one.  The inside was typed up with a matching font from the front...

Have a blessed and creative day!  ~ Erika

Happy National Scrapbook Day! {Glassine Sack Tag Album, 50th Birthday Party Decor}

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Hi friends, and Happy (inter)National Scrapbook Day to you!  Today I'm sharing with you a good reason to scrapbook - to honor someone you love.  I put together this mini album for my husband's recent HUGE milestone birthday!  It was really easy and the result was worth a million bucks.

 Simply gather a bunch of glassine bags or whatever bags you have on hand.  Need some?  Check here in my Etsy shop.
Staple them together at the bottom.
Wrap the stapled end with a piece of cardstock.  Mine is Marina Mist, embossed, and embellished with an Antique Brad & circle punch of Champagne Glimmer paper.
Wrap each bag with coordinating pattern papers.  Mine is Nautical Expedition (retired SU).  This gives the album a little body and color.
Add a little stamped embellishment to the front.  I used The Open Sea.
Now your base is done, time to fill it with memories!
I used the Two Tags die, measured the usable space, and typed up the replies on the computer. Then I cut them out and die cut each with the Big Shot.

Since it was my hubby's big giant birthday (I happen to be a LOT younger than him LOL, but I'm catching up fast), I wanted to fill it with messages of appreciation from people all throughout his life.  FACEBOOK, here I came!  I sent a group message to everyone that I thought has been touched in some way by his being around.  Childhood best friend, coworkers from 25 years ago, family, neighbors, church friends.  It was really easy once I got started.  Then the messages started rolling in, by Facebook message, text, and phone.  And it was WONDERFUL!   I was so blessed by the memories I received on his behalf.  It was very sweet to read what others had to share, and I was surprised by the heartfelt responses, especially from the guys in our lives.  But the real impact was when he read the messages.  I gave him the book the night before his birthday, and he took it to bed to read.  He laughed.  He got quiet.  And he smiled.

And this is why you have to scrapbook.

I also threw him a surprise party, and I wanted to share some of the decorations with you.  I scoured the web and Pinterest when planning his party and ended up coming up with all the ideas on my own.  First up was the banner for the cake table...

It's made of hand cut banner pieces, and LOTS of squares of Silver Glimmer Paper.  I scanned snapshots of many of the big moments in his life - childhood, grandparents, high school, our wedding, our first son, second son, and our business grand opening were some of the big ones.

Here's the hall, all gussied up!  I didn't want to do all black, I'm just very much not into the over the hill stuff :)

C. is a collector of antique clocks, so I started swiping clocks from the house earlier in the week. I set one as a centerpiece on each table, added confetti & balloons, and glue dotted a "time" quote to the face of each clock.  Lines like, "time flies when you're having fun",  "everything is better with time", etc.  It was so very HIM, and he loved it too.

  

Finally, some quickie decorations for the food table.  Jars of candy with coffee stirrers embellished with banners, pinwheels, and big fat rhinestones.  

I hope you enjoyed my birthday ideas, and hopefully you'll be able to bless somebody's life with a scrapbook, or honor them in some way with your crafty skills.  I'm going to try to pop back in later with a layout for NSD :)  Till then, have a blessed and creative day!  ~ Erika

Starry Mason Jar Christmas Card - Merry Monday, Jenni Bowlin Centipede

Pin It Now! Even though things are blooming around here, it's a chilly, rainy day.  I made comfort food for dinner - a cornbread chicken bake (yum) - the heat is on, and I'm making another Christmas card!  I have a sketch from Merry Monday, and I'd like to show you how I stamped my mason jar onto glassine and stuffed it full of vintage stars!

Here's the card...aah, vintage. 

I've been seeing stars all over the place lately, and I happen to have a bunch of star sequins in my vintage supply tin.  I sprinkled some over the sentiment panel, and added a healthy pinch to the mason jar.

It's super easy to stuff them with whatever you want.  First, grab a glassine sack.  Need some?  Check here. Stamp your image with Staz-On and fussy cut it out, both layers at the same time.  

Use clear craft lacquer (Crystal Effects) to apply a very thin line along three sides of the back panel, but not the top.  Stick 'em together, they'll seal in just a minute.

 Use a stylus or pencil to work the top open, and add your sequins, flowers, glitter, etc.  Close the top with a glue dot.

Almost all of the elements of the card are surprisingly from Jenni Bowlin's April mini album kit, designed by May Flaum.  The patterned paper is Pink Paislee's Hope Chest collection, and I think the floral design on it is reminiscent of snowflakes.  The wooden bingo chip is heat embossed in gold to match the card.  This is the first time I've tried heat embossing wood, and it worked like a charm!  No pun intended. The ribbon and banner ends are also from the kit.

Inside, a die cut from Webster's Pages, stamped with More Merry Messages (SU). 

I made a countryfied (my word) version for a friend with a goat farm.  Here's the jar stuffed with flowers...

So check out the challenge over at Merry Monday if you're in the Christmas spirit, and see all the festive inspiration!

I'm also participating in Jenni Bowlin's Centipede Challenge!  This post goes under two challenges. "Share a Crafty Tip", and "add something shiny to your project".  You can join the JBS Mercantile Forum and join in the fun!  

Easter Crosses of Hope Tags & Cards

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Happy Easter Saturday to you!  If you haven’t put together some little goodies to give the adult friends in your life, it’s not too late.  Here’s an easy tag to make, that also quickly transforms a card front into an elegant statement.

In assembly line fashion, prepare all of your layers.  Doily Sizzix circle (largest one), wood grain embossed Sahara Sand cardstock, Crosses of Hope stamped in So Saffron (hand cut), “Happy Easter” from Teeny Tiny Wishes, punched with the Word Window punch, then banner cut at the ends.  And then your flower layers.  Here’s a quick visual on how to recolor your Flower Lace Trim easily:

I’ve seen them sprayed with a water bottle (here on Pinterest) to achieve the color spread, but I like the way the Aqua Painter works better for a variegated look. You can really work the brush into the layers and get it as wet or dry as you want.

After assembling your tags, you can run some Linen Thread through the tops of some, or make cards from them like these two.

I have several Sympathy cards to make this week, so I thought I’d make one from this tag to get started.  If I happen to have leftover tags that didn't find a home by Easter, I’ll  probably swap out the Easter sentiment for communion, baby, or whatever I need.

My guys and I put together these bags of pretzel bunnies (again, found on Pinterest here), and we plan to go to our elderly neighbors today, and visit a couple local folks in nursing homes.

Have you been watching The Bible series on History channel?  We just caught up last night, and wow, how visually stunning it is!  To see the stories played out on the screen is amazing.  I love seeing the surprise and realization on my sons’ faces when they recognize the stories being portrayed.  I think it’ll be helpful to them to see this, they’ll remember the events even better now.

Have you seen this Easter topiary on Pinterest?  Haha!  It’s adorable.  This is the one we made here at home for our kitchen table.  The base of mine is a blue glass vintage doorknob and an inverted mini tart tin.  It gets lots of comments J  My 12 y.o. says he saw a report that Peeps never deteriorate.  Weird, but okay!  I guess I’ll pack it away for next Easter and see if the research holds up.

Well, I hope you have carved out time to do something crafty this weekend!  Link up in the comments if you’d like to share, I’d love to see what you’re up to!

SUPPLY LIST:

STAMPS: Crosses of Hope, Teeny Tiny Wishes

INK: So Saffron, Old Olive, Primrose Petals

PAPER: Tea for Two DSP, Sahara Sand, Baja Breeze, Whisper White

EMBELLISHMENTS: Lace Flower Trim, Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon, Doily from Artisan Embellishment Kit, Delicate Doilies Sizzix die, Always Artichoke Seam Binding Ribbon, Woodgrain embossing folder, word window punch