Sunday, September 24, 2017

Lucky- Destination Inspiration at A Vintage Journey

Hello friends and visitors! Today I'm over at  A Vintage Journey  with the 4th installment of our Destination Inspiration feature.  Here's a quick look at my finished canvas. I hope you'll stop by for the details and my tutorial.




Thank you for your visit and lovely comments.
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily

Friday, September 22, 2017

Bright, Fresh, Uplifting

Hello friends and visitors! It's been a hectic month for me, and I have another coming up, so my posts will be rather sporadic. Thank you for your recent visits and comments. They mean the world to me, and I hope to repay the visit as soon as possible. 

Today I have a journal page spread in bright colors, something I rarely do. I am participating in a round robin journal group, where we each pick two colors to work with. One of my round robinmates chose pink and orange--not exactly my go to colors.


Lot's of background texture created with layers of medical gauze pads, some vintage foreign book page strips, and then paste through stencils. I had a ton of medical gauze pads in my stash, and I just pulled them apart to give some great checked backgrounds.



Sprays, stamping, and some textiles for more texture. Then I added some more stenciling. 


Some long forgotten felt flowers and 'jewels' were perfect for the color theme. I just couldn't take that bling, so I toned them down with gesso. I added some rub ons, clippings from my stash, and a few labels from my never used label maker to convey my message. And finally some doodling for movement and impact.





And there's the 'openings' at the end of the binding strings. SOOO out of my comfort zone, but so much fun!

I'm sharing with:
 #itac17 #itac17Final #aallandcreate
CIRCLE(s) symbol of the globe, and of infinity - check
Words for PEACE, LOVE, HARMONY or UNITY in any language - check
Wire, sewing, lace, ribbon, something interlaced to symbolize interconnectedness - check
WHITE color of unity and peace in the world - check
And as we all are open-minded people your project could include a HOLE or something OPEN.- check 


Thank you for stopping by today and for all your kind comments! I read and appreciate them all! Please let me know if you have any questions.

Hugs and Blessings!
Sara  Emily

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Mixed Media Bird Card- Scrapy Land Challenge # 74

Hello friends and visitors! Today marks the start of a new Anything Goes challenge at Scrapy Land. I've made a simple card for my sister's birthday using just two dies and three mixed media products.


I used Sizzix Paper Cut Bird Thinlit die and cut it twice from white card. I fussy cut the bird from one of the die cuts and adhered it to a second piece of card. I coated it with gold crackle paste and when dry colored it with Distress Crayons. The second die  cut was colored with Distress Oxides. My background is a piece of chipboard from my cat's canned food box which I applied the gold crackle paste to and colored with Distress Crayons. I popped up both die cuts for a bit of dimension, yet the card is flat enough for easy mailing. If you like to use bird die cuts on your projects, Scrapy Land has plenty--just click HERE to see the selection.




Here's how I pop up intricate dies like this: apply dots of Liquid Pearls to the back, let dry and then apply a bit of glue to the dots and adhere to background. To pop up larger pieces like the bird, I simply use a scrap of chipboard adhered to the back, a trick I see used quite a bit by other bloggers.


I added my birthday sentiment -- Penny Black Splendid Wishes --  inside the card, since the front is so busy. I cut this from heavy card and applied crackle paste and Distress Crayons as I colored the bird. For contrast and interest, I colored the inside card with DOX. While this die is no longer available there a plenty of other birthday sentiment dies available in the shop.


That's it for me today! Now it's over to you! I hope you'll take a minute to stop by the blog to see all the beautiful inspiration from my teammates. Why not play along for a chance to win one of two $10 gift cards to Scrapy Land? Or you could be chosen as a Design Team winner, Top Pick or Honorable Mention! I can't wait to see what you will create! Just remember to use at least one brand of die that Scrapy Land sells in the shop to qualify for prizes!

I'm sharing with these challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Shimmer and Shine

Thank you for stopping by today and for all your wonderful comments!
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily

Finders Keepers Metallic Mixed Media Autumn Canvas For Frilly and Funkie

Hello friends and visitors! It's time for the Funkie side of Frilly and Funkie to unveil their projects for Kathy's chosen challenge theme-- 'To Everything There is a Season'. Fall is my favorite season, so creating this canvas came quite naturally.


Fall is one of the most beautiful seasons of the year.  Brilliant leaves, fall flowers,  crisp blue skies, and migrating geese fill the season with a sense of wonder and anticipation  You're invited to create a vintage or shabby chic project that captures the beauty of fall.  You can make a card, a tag, share a journal entry or any kind of project you desire. Just be sure to create it in the shabby chic or vintage style and be sure to use fall (not Halloween) images and colors.

I really started my canvas with the focal point. Surprisingly, I owned Tim Holtz Layered Leaf die and embossing folder for quite some time and never opened it! It's now my favorite die! I colored my leaves with Distress crayons over Prima Gold Crackle texture paste. Adding alcohol inks (Terra Cotta, Butterscotch, Bottle, and Cranberry) adds even more depth of color. It's hard to believe these leaves started as manila office file folders!



The next two shots are the same leaf--one taken in natural outdoor light, and the other at my kitchen table. I really love how you can see the alcohol inks pooling  in the recesses in the second photo.






I tried to mark the progression of summer into fall, by coloring and crinkling my leaves from just turning colors to getting really deep and crunchy as they do just before they fall.


Initially, I started on another background and threw my leaves on a small Distress oxide mop up card on my worktop. It reminded me of leaves falling through a late summer sky. I ditched the first background and made a new background using Fossilized Amber and Broken China DOX. I splattered with Walnut Stain and and edged with Frayed Burlap inks.


I made my canvas out of a cardboard panel cut to size, covering the edges with contractor's tape. To color the tape, I used Distress paints--Walnut Stain and Rusty Hinge and the same alcohol inks I used on the leaves. The 'frame' is made from Metallic Kraft Stock, embossed with Tim's Roses embossing folder. I sanded the raised areas and colored with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress crayons and alcohol inks to match the edges.


A mop up card scrap and a Quote Chip colored with Fossilized Amber DOX  and Distress Vintage Collage Medium and edged in Walnut Stain ink finish off my seasonal canvas.


A lot of shadows at the kitchen table, but I really liked the look--reminds me of the deeper shadows you see in the fall.


I hope you've found some inspiration here. For more  seasonal inspiration, please visit the blog to see what my Frilly and Funkie teammates have made for you! Then it's over to you! Remember you'll have a chance to win a $25 gift card to the shop just for playing along! And the Design Team will pick their Top 4, too!

I'm sharing with these challenges:



Thank you for stopping by today and for all your wonderful comments!
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily