Jimminy!

It has been forever since I have posted.....life has been fun, full and fabulous and although I have found sometime to craft I have found no time whatsoever to blog.  Hopefully more time will open up over the summer months!  I do have one card that I would like to post and also submit to the JustRite Friday Challenge A#121 Color it Pretty.  And here is my submission:

I just love the delicacy of this image and the shape of this die!.

Thanks for stopping by and

Be well,

Sheila

Wowza...It has been....

a really long time since I have posted last!  I have a good reason though.....my husband and I bought a cottage!  It was super fast...we went in it on the 28th of December, put an offer in on the 29th and had it accepted on the 30th.  Less than a month later we closed on the property.  And since then it has been moving in furniture and basically getting it ready for the warm months to come.....at least we all hope they come!  My husband and I have been spending nights out there and I found that I wanted a catch - all box to put my watch/jewelry/hearing aids (yes, I wear hearing aids ;-) ) in and so found this unpainted box at Hobby Lobby for $12.99.  I had a 40% off coupon and so got a great deal.  The first thing I did was to remove the black handles.  I then painted the box red.  Actually, I used up two different colors of red and mixed them indiscriminately.  I put on about three layers.  Each time I painted the box it because a little "rougher" due to the wood grain swelling.  Usually one would sand that smooth between finishes but I wanted it to be rough for the next step....hoping to help the wood achieve the faux look of old barn wood.
 

  So, after painting it I used Staz On ink in Saddle and Timber Brown to"age" the red.  I also applied white paint here and there to further distress the look.  Over the white when more brushings of Saddle and Timber. I did this several times until I felt it look like aged barnwood or reclaimed wood.  I also was going for a relatively uneven look so that it appeared that this was an old box made from scraps of wood.  After I got the color where I wanted it I covered the box in several layers of ModPodge Matte finish.  The ModPodge helps to finish the wood and even out the rough surface.

The next step was to line the drawers.  I used scraps of random paper that I had.  I did each drawer with a different pattern of paper...keeping with the found and repurposed theme.  I painted and MP'd each drawer.

The next step was to cut out the metal motifs that went behind the handles.  These I cut out from tim with a Spellbinders die.  I then took the cut tin shapes and ran them thru a Spellbinder texture plate to create an embossed pattern.  I then took the pieces and rubbed them with Staz On Timber and Saddle and then also sanded then rubbed them with white paint.....all to create that aged look again!  From there I began to assemble various handles.  I did the bottom first as that is the only drawer that won't open....due to adding the feet to the chest.  I guess I could have done something different but I really love these feet and think they add so much to the piece.  I purposely used different handles and really like the way it looks. The second handle is a throw back to my family growing up.  I remember in my basement or my grandmother's basement a box that had lost it's handle and had a bit of a ruler there in place...held in with two wing nuts!

Finally, I added corner pieces and a top handle...for no other reason than I just like the way it looks!!!

So, here is the box in all it's glory and I am so pleased with how it turned out.  I plan to make more pieces out of this unfinished wood...it is so easy and inexpensive and really, just a pleasant way to spend the afternoon!

Some of the pictures look like the color is a yellow....it isn't!  It is  worn out brown color!

    

Thank you so much for stopping by...I have been absent so long I don't know if I have any visitors any more!  If so, thank you for your time!

Be well,
Sheila

Hitting the JustRite Challenge 112 - Color Inspiration one more time....

I have to admit....this color combination has me both intrigued and befuddled.  Honestly, this has been such a difficult combo for me to work with....I think because the colors almost seem to clash to my eye. When I finally got something together I liked the rather "vintagely" look that the colors had but it took me a long time and a lot of futzing around before I came up with a card I liked!  I went a little layer heavy on this particular card....everytime I tried to bring it in with fewer layers I ended up with a card that seemed to be missing something....obviously I worked on this too long and was getting punchy!  I do love the challenges over at JustRite as they almost always involve their stamps and Spellbinder dies and so I get to use two of my most favorite product lines in a new and interesting way.  So, here is the JustRite color combination challenge 112.

And I did deviate from the exact match on these colors....I just couldn't find any that were an exact match in my stash so some of my colors are a bit darker....and for whatever reason, once I brushed ivory onto my red rose it became purple-ish looking....oh well!

Here is my card-

And thank you for stopping by today....I always appreciate visits and comments!

Be well,

Sheila

Frilly and Funky Challenge....the Warmth of Winter.

Okay....this Frilly and Funky challenge says to create a card or project that warms someone's heart and for me that heart is my daughter Clarice.  A few weeks ago I made some "tiles" for her sister to hang on her apartment wall and over winter break Clarice asked me to make her some.  Now as most of the world knows the midwest was gripped in a polar vortex....like 50 degrees BELOW zero!  It was so cold that it only made sense to stay in the house and craft craft CRAFT!  So, after Clarice picked out some papers that she like I made her these tiles.  And, yesterday I gave them to her when I went and visited her at college.  And, they certainly warmed her heart to have some homemade craftiness from her dear old mom ;-D

I use inexpensive paper mache' tiles from Hobby Lobby that I "pre-treat"  with ModPodge.  I then start to assemble the layers again using MP.  I also used a mirror like sheet of product from Tim Holtz to stamp and creat the faux mirror in the middle of the third tile.  I also too some pink foil, embossed and then inked and added sparkling H2O to it to give it a more metal like appearance.  The cabinet knobs are also from Hobby Lobby...I usually wait until they have some sort of sale and then pick up several that I like.  So, with out further ado here is my entry into the Frilly and Funky The Warmth of Winter Challenge!

I really love how these turned out and am so happy that Clarice loves them too!  I hope to make more for some of the friends of Clarice and Bessie...it is a nice project to turn to when I have a bit more time on my hands.  Thanks for stopping by!

Be well,
Sheila

JustRite Friday Challenge 112

I am so tickled to be able to participate in a JustRite Stamp Challenge 112 Color Inspiration.   Life leading up to the holidays, and by holidays I mean all the way back to Thanksgiving, I have not been able to take part in one of my most favorite challenges.  I love JustRite stamps and dies and have been slowly building up my supply.  This particular Friday challenge is a color inspiration challenge and I gotta tell you it was pretty difficult for me!  I actually like all three of the colors included in the challenge but found it very difficult to use them all together in a cohesive and attractive way.  But in the end I am pretty satisfied with the finished card....so I guess this challenge stretched me!  The challenge was to use these colors....

And then also to use Spellbinder dies as well, of course, JustRite stamps and/or dies.    In my card I used several Spellbinder dies as well as a few JustRite dies that coordinated with the JustRite Stamp set that I chose.  I LOVE it when dies coordinate with stamps....such a nice clean look without any extra fussy cutting!

I actually hope to try and get another entry into this challenge before it expires.....now that I have the colors worked out in my mind!  And, as always, thanks for stopping by!

Be well,
Sheila

Just a little somethin'-somethin'....

My friend's daughter is going on a mission trip this coming summer and she sent out a letter asking for some financial help.  I sent back my check inside this little card.  Again I used my new most favorite die....Taylored expressions colorblock plate!  Super Duper easy!

I just love the classic color combination here.....in fact, I love black and white and just about any pop of color!  I did highlight each black and white panel with some silver stardust pen.....it's hard to see here but really quite pretty in real life.  I hope no one gets sick of these cards because I think that they will be my new turn to pattern for some time!

Take care and be well!

Sheila

Oooofff....

It has been soooo long since I have blogged.  Well, over a month now.  I have been able to do a bit of crafting but have not have the chance to photograph or sit down long enough to record it.  I hope and expect that now life will slow a bit and allow me to get some fun crafting time in.  It has been very cold here....we have been at the heart of the polar vortex and have had wind chills inexcess of -40-50 degrees.  It has been so cold that my son boiled a pot of water and then we went out on the deck and threw it into the air....it disappeared immeadiatly....literally it freezes to mist in an instant.  It actually was so cold that we did stupid winter experiments....Fun in the Midwest!

Anyways, I made two card sets for a friend of mine for Christmas.  She loves to have sets of all purpose cards about and I wanted to try out a new die that I had ordered from Taylored Expressions.  I ordered this die some time ago and finally had the chance to  work with it.....it is the Colorblock Die Plate and I just am so happy with it.  The sets came together really quickly and I can see using this die many, many times.  I first made her a set that was pink and then remembered that her favorite color was yellow....so, no problem!  I quickly whipped up a yellow set too ;-)

First is the pink set which I just LOVE!  This particular color combination is lovely to me....I hope that I have enough paper left to make another set for myself ;-D

The first photo shows what the gift looks like all packaged.  I made a simple belly band and then used JustRite stamps for the decorative image as well as the sentiment.  I matted the sentiment upon a piece of paper that coordinates with the inside of the card.  The band goes around an acrylic card box.

Then, I cut out 5 cutting block plates out of black paper as well as  5 plates out of coordinating patterned paper.  Then I used the different black sections to make up "chalkboard backgrounds" for the various sentiments. 

I had never tried the blackboard effect before this but really am pleased with how it turned out!  I will definitely be using this technique again.  I am late to this trend's bandwagon but I will do my durndest to keep it going!

I switched around the cards....some were vertical tents, some were horizontal tents and the rest were "book" openings.

Finally, this is what the inside looked like.  Just very simple and clean!

Here is the yellow set....I won't do a walk thru as I followed the same directions as I gave above.  I will point out though that I added to both cards sets a bit of coordinating colored pencil to both card sets' chalk sentiment area.  I love that little pop of color.  I can remember being so pysched when I was younger to be able to use the colored chalk!

Anyways, my friend loved the sets!  And, I will for sure be making more of these to have around the house....so easy and so quick!  I hope you all are staying warm wherever you may be ;-D

Be well,
Sheila