Little Scap Pieces Fun Friday - Congrats to the Grad

For the winner of the Craftin Desert Diva's Blogaversary Hop, click HERE

Happy Friday!! How can this be the last day of May already?? My gosh, this year is flying by!!

Friday means it's time for a Fun Friday Challenge at Little Scrap Pieces. The theme this week is Congratulations to the Graduate.

I created a money-holder card for the graduate, using paper from Fancy Pants' Country Boutique paper stack. The black base is from The Paper Studio.

Congratulations is I think a Fiskars stamp. Graduate is from Penny Black's Kate's Alphabet stamp set. The gems are from Recollections.

To create the inside money holder, a piece of 7 x 11 paper was scored on the long side at the 4" and 8" marks. Spellbinders Classic Postage Stamp Edgeabilities were used to cut the decorative edge. The label is a Spellbinders Grommet Tags die. The sentiment is from K Andrew Designs Positive Thoughts stamp set.

Now it's your turn!! Head on over to Little Scrap Pieces to see the amazing projects my talented design team sisters have created for today's challenge. Then link up your Congrats to the Grad project...I can't wait to see what you create :)

Tim Holtz May Tag and WINNER!!

Happy Thursday!! I hope you are all having a great week!! First of all, I would like to sincerely thank those of you for the sweet comments and emails regarding the final round of the Spellbinders Design Team call. I can't tell you how much your support means to me!! I appreciate it so much...so thank you from the bottom of my heart :)

I didn't have very long in my craft room today, but I wanted to try to eek in a tag for the Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2013. I actually had most of the items he used this month so I definitely wanted to play along :)

I won't go through the steps to make the tag...I followed Tim's instructions HERE. For the background colors, I used TH Distress Stains in Peeled Paint, Tumbled Glass, Fired Brick and Rusty Hinge. The stamps are all from the TH Mini Classics stamp set. Instead of a Enameled Tag like Tim used which I didn't have, I used an Idea-ology Fragments Tag, inked with Watermelon Alcohol Ink.

I am entering this in the following challenges:

1. Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2013 - May Tag
2. Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
3. DL.Art Thankful Thursday- May Linky Party
4. Sunday Funday #9 - May Linky Party

Now for the winner of the My Mind's Eye Blink of an Eye paper stack from the Craftin Desert Divas Blogaversary Desert Hop!! Random.org selected as the winner...................................

And #24 is................................................................

Congratulations, Davi!! I'll leave you a message or you can email me at indymermaid(at)gmail(dot)com with your address and I'll get the paper in the mail to you!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!! Have a great evening :)

Decorate to Celebrate #52 - Graduation

Happy Wednesday!! I hope you are having a fabulous week!! I'm trying to get all caught up from being gone for a few days. It's so hard to get back into the swing of things!! I've missed my craft room :)

It's time for a fun challenge at Decorate to Celebrate. For Challenge #52, we are asking you to create any project to be used as a party decoration or supply for a Graduation Party. Let's celebrate everything wonderful about diplomas, new opportunities and special achievements with your table decorations, party banners, pennants, yard signs, cupcakes, party favors and more. For my graduation project, I created a mortarboard gift box :)

The box and mortarboard were constructed with black cardstock from The Paper Studio. The top of the hat was cut with cardboard and a Spellbinders Grand Squares die. The tassel was attached with a black brad in the center.

The tag is a Spellbinders Labels 10, cut with paper from my stash. The edges were sanded. 2013 was cut from the Tim Holtz Wanted die with double sided tape. Gold beads were adhered over the tape.

I am entering this in the following challenges:

1. Craftin Desert Divas Craft It Up & Link It Up #7 - Ribbon or Twine
2. DL.Art Thankful Thursday- May Linky Party
3. Sunday Funday #9 - May Linky Party

Now it's your turn!! Head on over to Decorate to Celebrate to see the amazing projects my talented design team sisters have created for today's challenge. Then link up your Graduation project...I can't wait to see what you create :)

Craftin Desert Divas Blogoversary Desert Hop!!

Welcome to the Craftin Desert Divas Blogaversary Desert Hop!! Today we are celebrating with Tara over at Craftin Desert Divas for her very first BLOGOVERSARY!! Woohoo, Tara!! Congratulations!! I'm so lucky to have gotten to know you over this past year :)

If you just happened to have stumbled upon my blog, please start at Craftin Desert Divas so you don't miss out on a thing. If you have arrived from my incredibly sweet and super-talented friend Migdalia, then you are in the right spot. 

This is a "Desert" Diva Celebration!!

For my Desert Hop project, I created a Kokopelli wall hanging :) I have always been intrigued by the legend of Kokopelli...he is known as a trickster, a fertility deity, a traveling salesman, an insect and a warrior among other things. My Mom has a ceramic tile with a gorgeous turquoise Kokopelli that she got on a trip to Arizona. I just love it and wanted to recreate it for my project. I should have taken a picture of her tile, but I didn't get a chance to and since I'm traveling, I missed my chance. Oh well...I did use the tile to copy the image of Kokopelli.

 

The base of the wall hanging was cut with a Spellbinders Grand Rectangle and inked with Memento Bamboo Leaves ink. The next layer is a Spellbinders Grand Labels 23 die, inked with Ranger Archival Ink in Sap Green. The next layer is a Spellbinders Grand Labels 4 die. It was inked with Tim Holtz Wild Honey, Dried Marigold and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks. A Paper Artsy Hot Pick 1008 grass stamp was inked with Sap Green Archival Ink and stamped along the background. The bottom banner is a Tim Holtz Tattered Banner die, inked with Spiced Marmalade. Harmony is from Artistic Outpost's Serenity stamp set.

I really wanted Kokopelli to look like turquoise, like my Mom's tile. So I traced around him with tracing paper and then copied him onto Ranger Specialty Stamping Paper. I then cut him out and sprayed him with Dylusioins Vibrant Turquoise Spray. While it was still wet, I spritzed Dylusions Black Marble and Melted Chocolate sprays. Once the inks dried, I covered him with Ranger Glossy Accents, and I used my finger to cover it to give it a rougher texture...more like real stone.The picture doesn't do it justice...it really looks incredible in person. He was popped up with foam tape for dimension.

I am entering this in the following challenges:

1. DL.Art Thankful Thursday- May Linky Party
2. Sunday Funday #9 - May Linky Party

I have blog candy!! All you have to do to be eligible to win this My Mind's Eye Blink of an Eye paper stack is:

1. Be a Follower
2. Leave a comment on this post

That's it!! I will select a winner on Thursday, May 30th

ALSO - we have blog candy for those who are a follower of Craftin Desert Divas and leave a comment on every stop of the hop! Winners will be announced Tuesday May 28th at Craftin Desert Divas!

The Queen Royal Prize Pack

Designs on Cloud 9 

$20 Giftcard to their store

Robin

$10. CTHM Giftcard

LoveBug Creations

$15. Giftcard to their store

The next stop is the sweet and talented Robin of Cut One Designs by Robin!! 

Here's the complete line up in case you get lost along the way or want to revisit anyone :)

1. Tara - http://www.craftindesertdivas.com/
2. Michelle- http://mumoftwoblog.blogspot.com/
3. Stacey - http://staceyscreativecorner.blogspot.com/
4. Janis - http://pausedreamenjoy.blogspot.com/
5. Carri - http://doubleclickconnections.blogspot.com/
6. Jessica - http://jessicascraftshaque.blogspot.com/
7. Migdaldia - http://craftingwithcreativem.blogspot.com/
8. Lisa- http://indymermaid.blogspot.com/ < YOU ARE HERE
9. Robin - http://cutonedesignsbyrobin.blogspot.com/ < NEXT

10. Susie- http://www.susiecrafthappy.com/
11. Tracy - http://tracyscricutcorner.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much for hopping along :)

Little Scrap Pieces Fun Friday - Let's Hear it For the Red, White and Blue

Happy Friday!! I hope you had a wonderful week!! For all of my USA friends, I hope you have fun plans for the Memorial Day weekend!! Stay safe if you are traveling!! I'm away and won't be back to mid-week, so I probably won't be able to visit you for a few days. I will try to check in but I can't make any promises :)

Friday means a Fun Friday Challenge at Little Scrap Pieces!! For our challenge this week, we want you to use red, white and blue on your cards, layouts or projects :)

The base of my red, white and blue card is heavyweight cardstock from Canvas Corp. The bottom layer was sponged with Tim Holtz Fired Brick Distress Ink, the next layer with TH Faded Jeans Distress Ink. The top layer was inked with TH Old Paper and Tea Dye Distress Inks.

For the background flag, the stars are a Dylusions Starry Night stencil, inked with Faded Jeans  The stripes are a Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 It's More Flower Art Stamp, inked in Fired Brick. The Statue of Liberty and USA are from the Tim Holtz Mini Blueprints 2 stamp set. The backgrounds of both were inked with Old Paper and Tea Dye. The Statue was colored in with a Peeled Paint Distress Marker and a TH waterbrush. USA was colored in with Fried Brick, Picket Fence and Faded Jeans and a waterbrush.

I am entering this in the following challenges:

1. Simon Says Stamp and Show - Favorite Ink (Fired Brick)
2. DL.Art Thankful Thursday- May Linky Party
3. Sunday Funday #9 - May Linky Party

Now it's your turn!! Head on over to Little Scrap Pieces to see the amazing projects my talented design team sisters have created for today's challenge. Then link up your Red, White and Blue project...I can't wait to see what you create :)

Chocolate, Men, Coffee...Some Things Are Just Better Rich

Happy Wednesday!! Sorry it's been a while since I've posted...I am having a super-busy end of the month. I will be gone this weekend, too, so I may not be around to visit you until next week.

I have a card to share with you today using some products I've won from some awesome friends. The gorgeous flowers are from my super-sweet friend Cheri of DJ's Sundries...thank you again for everything Cheri, I love it all!! And the fabulous Fresh Brewed Designs stamp is from my super-sweet friend Vanessa of Vanessa's Paper Creations!! Thank you again, Vanessa - I adore it!!

The black base is from The Paper Studio. The next layer is a Julie Nutting Prima Tag with the top cut off. The rest of the paper is from Prima's Printery paper stack. The awesome image was stamped with Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink onto a Spellbinders Labels 1 die, with a Spellbinders Decorative Labels 1 die behind. She was colored in with Tim Holtz Distress Markers in Broken China, Tumbled Glass, Mustard Seed, Scattered Straw, Crushed Grape and Frayed Burlap. I used the "Out of the Box" technique to cut the die. The background was inked with Pumice Stone Distress Ink.

The ribbon is from Hobby Lobby and the tag is a Spellbinders Back to Basics tag. The sentiment is from K Andrew Designs Coffee & Tea Treats stamp set.

I am entering this in the following challenges:

1. DL.Art Thankful Thursday- May Linky Party
2. Sunday Funday #9 - May Linky Party

Thanks so much for stopping by today :)

Little Scrap Pieces Fun Friday - Shape Up

Happy Friday!! Another week that has flown by!! Seriously, where does the time go?? I hope you have fun plans for the weekend :)

Friday means another super-fun challenge at Little Scrap Pieces. The theme this week is Shape Up...we want to see anything but an A2 card.

For this challenge, I created a wedding card. The base paper is from Fancy Pants Road Show stack. It's really gorgeous...it has little flecks of glitter in it that you can't see in the pics. It was cut with a Spellbinders Radiant Rectangles die.

I used the "Out of the Box" Spellbinders technique to cut the arrow top, bottom and edge of the heart. That's where you cut around the parts of the image that are outside of the die.

The top layer is from DCWV's Be Mine stack. This layer was popped up with foam tape for dimension. The ribbon is from May Arts.

I am entering this in the following challenges:

1. DL.Art Thankful Thursday- May Linky Party
2. Sunday Funday #9 - May Linky Party

Now it's your turn!! Head on over to Little Scrap Pieces to see the amazing projects my talented design team sisters have created for today's challenge. Then link up your Shape Up project...I can't wait to see what you create :)

Decorate to Celebrate #51 - Teacher of Classroom Parties

Happy Wednesday!! I hope you are having a fabulous week!! It's time for another challenge at Decorate to Celebrate. For Challenge #51, we are asking you to create any project to be used as a party decoration (or party supply) for a Teacher Gift or Classroom Party. Let's celebrate everything wonderful about eduction, the end of the school year and the teachers who inspire with your table decorations, party banners, pennants, yard signs, cupcakes, party favors and more :)

For my teacher gift, I created a decorative candle and box. All of the papers are from My Mind's Eye Bloom stack.

The candle was wrapped with a strip of the MME paper. The label is a Spellbinders Fancy Tags Three die. The center is a Spellbinders Standard Circles Large die, inked with Tim Holtz Victorian Velvet Distress Ink. The gem circle is from Recollections. Thank You is from JustRite's Thank You Labels 20 stamp set.

The box was constructed with heavyweight cardstock from Canvas Corp. and decorated with MME papers. The flower is a Spellbinders Carnations Creations die.

I am entering this in the following challenges:

1. DL.Art Thankful Thursday- May Linky Party
2. DL.Art Thankful Thursday - Flowers
3. Sunday Funday #9 - May Linky Party

Now it's your turn!! Head on over to Decorate to Celebrate to see the amazing projects my talented design team sisters have created for today's challenge. Then link up your Teacher or Classroom project...I can't wait to see what you create :)

Craft It Up & Link It Up Linky Party - Show Us Your Craft Room!!

Happy Monday!! This is my second post of the day. For the Paper Playtime Use A Button challenge, please click HERE. I am so excited to be a Craft It Up & Link It Up Guest Designer for my sweet friend Tara of Craftin Desert Divas!! She hosts a brand new linky party every other Monday and you could win fabulous prizes!!

For Linky Party #6, the theme is Show Me Your Craft Space. The sponsors are:
 
Robins Nest - $10 gift card
Robin Carroll - $10 CTMH gift card
Craftin Desert Divas - $20 Michaels gift card

For this linky party, please only submit one picture of your craft room. Visit Craftin Desert Divas for all the rules and to play along.

Here is my craft room...

It took quite a bit of clean up to be able to take this picture!! It looks nothing like this now :) My Dad built everything for me...the long worktable and cabinets, the wood shelves, the stamp holder and ribbon holder. You can kinda see along the inside of the desk, there are spaces for my paper cutter and scoreboard so they are always close when needed.

I don't get to work with polymer clay as much as I would like, but I still have the oven I use to bake the clay.

My stamps have outgrown their shelf...they are stacked two deep. The binders on the shelf hold many of my clear stamps.

I love this cabinet, especially because there is room on the top for my sewing machine, Distress-it-all, hot glue gun and heat guns. I keep all of my Spellbinders and Tim Holtz dies inside, as well as embossing inks and powders. The Spellbinders are on magnetic sheets that I can flip through to find what I need.

The binder on the top holds all of my embossing folders.  The drawer on the left holds all my Tim Holtz, Dylusions and Wendy Vecchi stamps. The cabinet of the right holds my stencils and the rest of the stamps that I use most often.

This room also functions as an extra bedroom if needed. The daybed has a trundle beneath that pulls out so two people can sleep comfortably. The shelves hold some of my cards and cards friends have sent to me. The flexible arms lamp was a freebie...our recycling center has a "trading post" where you can put things you don't want anymore. I saw this, grabbed it thinking that even if it didn't work, I wasn't out anything. There was a woman behind me that I think was upset she didn't get to it first ;) Not only did it work, it had never been used!!

This is were I keep all of my paper stacks and scrap paper. Every single drawer is filled to capacity. I really need to quit buying paper and work on using my scraps!! You can't see the top of the table, but I decoupaged different ocean scenes on it so it makes me happy just to look at it. It has two chairs that go with it, but I don't have the room for them.

I am so excited about this cart!! I love to shop at Goodwill for my other passion besides crafting...books. I rarely find anything crafty there. I just happened to see this cart and knew it would be perfect to hold my art supplies. Not only that, but my Dad was with me and it was senior day so I got it at 30% off...this baby only cost me $3.50!! I love bargains  :)

So there is my craft room!! I can't wait to see yours!! I hope you will Craft It Up & Link It Up!!