Craft Warehouse Goodies

I have been beyond excited to get the chance to create and inspire other artists for my favorite store, and when I say 'favorite' I mean kid in a candy store with her nose stuck to the glass case kind of favorite.

My time has finally come to be the Guest Designer this month for Craft Warehouse. When I received my box of goodies in the mail I opened it with all the excitement and anticipation of a 5 year old on Christmas morning. I pulled back the top of the box to reveal scrunched up paper that could be covering anything....

My mind was racing with 'what if' and 'I wonder'. Just about anything could be under that paper...

I slowly removed the paper, not sure of what I would find. The waiting is killing me... It's a bag!

Slowly I open the bag and let out a little gasp... G45 French Country paper line with all the bells and whistles, Color Me Crazy flowers by Petaloo, Embossing Folder by Darice, 1 large wooden tray and 4 small trays YES!!!! There is a crafting angel up there watching over me (thanks Mom, wink-wink).

I'm not sure what I will make with all these wonderful goodies but the possibilities are endless. One thing is certain, I'll be posting pictures of my finished project as soon as I'm done. 

A 'BIG" thank you to Jen Evans at Craft Warehouse for helping to feed my G45 addiction.

Sneak Peek....

Here's a sneak peek of what I'm working on this weekend. Can't wait to finish so I can show you all. 

Simple, Easy, BEAUTIFUL !!!

Here's a picture of the magnetic 'Beauty Board' I made to keep all of my favorite makeup organized and handy.

I started with a wood frame from a local craft store (I paid $7.99 for my frame). Painted it a soft aqua color to match my bathroom decor. Sanded it to give it a shabby chic look and lightly aged it with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Walnut Stain. I finished the frame off with a coat of matt Mod Podge to seal it. Next I measured the frame opening and headed to my local home improvement store to purchase a piece of thin sheet metal. I found a piece that only cost me about $6.00 and I only had to cut it down a little. The metal was thin enough to cut with my Tim Holtz scissors so that was helpful. I decided I didn't really like the look of the galvanized metal, so before I attached the metal to my frame I bought a very small piece of brown fabric (just big enough to cover the metal sheet) and I again got out my Mod Podge and spread a thin layer over the surface of the metal and then laid my fabric down, making sure to smooth it out so I didn't have any bubbles. Once the fabric was dry I put one more coat of Mod Podge over the fabric. When that was dry I attached the metal piece to the back of the frame using some E-6000.

Now for the fun part.... going through my makeup and deciding what I used on a regular basic that I would like to be able to find when I have 2 minutes to put it on. Once I had my favorites picked out I used E-6000 and glued an magnet to each one. For my eyeliners and makeup brush I cut strips of magnet and attached those. I was wondering if I would be able to get the magnets off when it was time to replace something so I let one dry on my mascara and was able to pull the magnet off once the glue had dried so I know I'll be able to recycle the magnets when I need/want to add something else to my board.

I really love how organized everything stays now and the added bonus of eliminating clutter in my bathroom. The same idea could me used in a craft room, kitchen, kids bathroom....the possibilities are really endless.

I hope you are inspired to create a board for yourself that will make everyday life just a little bit easier and it won't hurt to make it pretty too.  ;-)

A 'little' bit of Winter in the midst of Spring

I have always been fascinated with miniatures and love creating small worlds. A little glimpse at a possible life you could have if only you were 1/2 inch tall.

I tend to get carried away with the details but only because I want to be comfortable in my small world.

This cozy little cottage makes me want to climb inside. I can picture myself walking up the front path, through the door and coming to rest in an overstuffed chair by the fire sipping a hot cup of cocoa and of course my little dog Gizzy is just as cozy sitting on my lap. ;-)

I hope my small world inspires you to create a small world of your own. HAPPY CRAFTING!!!!!!

My G45 Happy Haunting Album Pics

I LOVE HALlOWEEN so when I got a good look at the Graphic 45 Happy Haunting paper line I knew we were going to be spending some time together. I made this album using a cereal box, a lot of black cardstock and the G45 Happy Haunting paper. I did a bit of fussy cutting for several of the images and made many of the embellishments myself.

The 'Man on the Moon' on the front is magnetic and attaches to the clock face underneath where I have hidden a metal disc to attract the magnet.

 I also made the flowers and the potion bottle. The bottle label was a digital download I purchased on Etsy.

The album front opens to reveal a page layout for photos and journaling.

The top of the box is open and holds 2 cardstock inserts that fold open. Each insert has a photo book in it to hold 6 photos and several tags.

Here are some photos of the first insert.

This is a closeup of the top portion.

This is a closeup of the bottom portion.

Here are photos of the second insert, front, top and bottom portion.

Front.

Top potion of insert.

Bottom portion of insert with photo / tag book.

Hidden poem tag ;-)

Photo book with pull out tags.

Back of box.

TAA-DAA.....

I hope you enjoyed my album. I had so much fun creating it. Please leave me a comment or questions if you have any. 

Next week I'll post photos of my Halloween Clock.

Thanks for visiting... Have Fun Creating!!!!!

My G45 Happy Haunting Album Sneak Peek

FROM THIS...

TO THIS...

I'll post photos of the album inserts and close up details this weekend.

Don't Just Stop and Smell the Roses...

My intention when I started this blog was to do a weekly post, but sometimes life has other plans for us. Recently other things took priority and I was really stressed out about not keeping to my self imposed schedule but here's what I realized... it's a 'blog'. It's not life or death. It's suppose to be fun not stressful. We all go about our days, making plans with family and friends, running errands that seem to never end, planning projects, dealing with the day to day chores and dramas that eat up all the hours in our days and taking care of the little and big things that come with being an adult. I think we all get a little lost sometimes in the details and forget to really take the time to be in the moment, to breath in and out and realize this is your life that your rushing through, don't be in such a hurry to get to the end. So with that said my new motto is "Don't just stop and smell the roses. Plant them, water them and make a bouquet when they bloom."