Enjoy the Journey

I made this for my coworker and his family as they are preparing to move out of state.  This little gem doubles as a card and a mixed media piece that they can display in their home.  The base of the card is actually cardboard.  I just inked up the edges with distress ink and then covered both sides with paper.  Mauve flower and scroll are by Maya Road.  Isn't the color of the scroll pretty?  I first covered it with an acrylic gold paint dabber and once it dried I went over it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  The hardware is Tim Holtz, of course.

My favorite part of this 6x6 mixed piece is that I used one of my original prints --the bird on the branches!  I shot that a few months ago and I thought it would be perfect for this piece considering that they are about to embark on a journey. 

In keeping with the bird theme I stamped a bird cage on the envelope in vintage photo distress ink and then that lovely quote using black archival ink.  The chipboard bird is also Maya Road --I just painted him black.

Thanks for looking...take flight!

Art Therapy

I wanted to revisit this layout for a few reasons.  1.  I want to pin it to Pinterest from my newer craft blog and 2. I wanted to show the vulnerable and not so pretty side to scrapbooking.  When I first completed this page I was so afraid to share it with the craft community, but by far it has been by most popular one to date and so many people shared how they were inspired to scrapbook their own emotions.  You see, scrapbooking shouldn't just be for the good times, it can help you repair some of the bad times in your life too.  Art has been my saving grace as I have faced many rough patches in my life and I find comfort in knowing that when I hurt again, I can pour it into my art --even the art of scrapbooking.

I want to mention that this layout features a medium that we all have access too for free --CARDBOARD!  Yep!  And it was so much fun to use.  You will see it in a couple of places in my layout.  Enjoy.  :)

First and foremost is the hand-stamping of lyrics...one.letter.at.a.time.  Insane, I know.  But it looks pretty awesome, doesn't it?  These are lyrics by the band My Ruin --no relation to me, Ms. Ruin.  ;)

I stamped these letters on cardboard and then cut them out.  I love the multiple layers of texture!

This is probably my favorite embellishment.  I stamped a heart on cardboard, cut it out, and then I stapled it down the middle.  Very symbolic.

This beautiful scroll is by Maya Road.  I misted it with Tattered Angels mist and then stamped over it with a script stamp.

Thanks for looking!

Artsy Fartsy Swap

We are gearing up for our next swap at Artsy Fartsy.  If you want to join us, just click here and join our page.  Our last swap was a big one, we had several categories to participate in and of course I had to take part in all of them.  Here are my projects. 

This is a banner.  It is very UNLIKE me, but I thought my swap partner might enjoy it.  I drew the birds by hand on a cardboard box, cut them out, painted them, and decorated with rub-ons.

I LOVE THESE!  I stamped actual canvas with a flower rubber stamp using versa mark and then I embossed the flowe rin black.  I cut the flowers out in circles and then added a button and thread to the center.  TOO CUTE!

Bottlecap love!  I love all of the different elements in one bottlecap.  I used a lot of Maya Road flowers and ribbon, vintage dictionary pages, and a stamps by October Afternoon and Stampin' Up!

This is a chipboard dress form that I covered with buttons.  So much fun!  I added a couple of embellishments including the handmade bird and a spool of thread from that I bought in an antique store.