Love You Forever

Love You Forever. Are any of you familiar with that book?  My Mom gave it to me years ago and it is one of my faves for more than one reason! It was also the perfect inspiration for the title on this layout.  I love this photo of me and my mom!  When I saw it in my pile of photos, I decided to scrap it because I have been missing her a lot lately.  All the stress I have had lately with work and then being so far away from her has just made things even more tough.  I am thankful that my work situation has leveled out and I am looking forward to starting my new job in January.  I am also really looking forward to spending time with my Mom over Christmas weekend!


This layout is up on the Bo Bunny blog today as we focus on their brads.  I used brads to hold those gorgeous Dusty Attic chipboard pieces in place (thank you Gabi!!!).  I also wrapped the little strips of tulle around them to hold that in place as well.  I had fun embossing the patterned papers using my Cuttlebug and various embossing folders. I then rubbed some ink over the raised images using a sponge dauber.  The Bo Bunny Enchanted collection is gorgeous in all it's black and white beauty, but it really just calls out to me to have a bit of color added to it.  I added color once again using a sponge dauber.



I also inked the chipboard pieces with some vintage photo distress ink (my favorite color!) and then added a nice thick coat of the Tim Holtz Rock Candy Crackle Paint.  It added a very subtle bit of texture, but I love to play like this with my scrapbook stuff!  Last but not least, I used this sketch...


I created it for Creative Scrappers.  I hope you will give the sketch a go and play along for a chance to win a fun prize from Niklin Designs.

Thank you for stopping by!  I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas!

HAPPY HOLIDAY HUGS!
Juliana

Circle Scallop Flower Tutorial

The circle scallop flower has fast become a favorite of mine! Have you noticed?! It is super fast and easy to make AND...it adds such wonderful dimension to projects! If you were wondering where else you may have seen this flower before, here they are in order of appearance!
It first appeared on this mini album.
This has to be one of my most favorite projects recently!
Then, last week it reappeared on this card!
and now most recently on this gift jar!
Yes...I know! The card and gift jar match!!! I just couldn't help myself!
A view from above...
Anyway... after using these flowers several times now, I figured it was about time for me to put together a little tutorial to share on how I make them!

Here is a list of the supplies I used:
  • 2" Circle Scallop Punch (mine is by Stampin Up!, but EK Success has them too and you can get them HERE)
  • Helmar 450 Quick Dry Glue and Zap Dots
  • Patterned paper of your choice
  • Large button
  • Small embellishment and/or gem for the center


Instructions:

Punch out 7 circle scallops.
Set 1 of them to the side to use as the base for your flower.

To fold the petals, take one of the circle scallops. Fold the circle scallop in half.
Then accordion fold it like this...
Here you can see what I mean better.
Repeat this for all 6 petals, making sure to fold them all the same direction.

Now you have a happy little petal family!
Apply 450 Glue liberally to the base circle scallop. Then start adhering the petals in a circular fashion to the base. This glue will dry quickly, but it will still give you time to move the petals a little if they are not lined up evenly.
Clear the runway! The petals are coming in for a landing!!!
Whew!!! All of the petals have successfully landed!!!
Now, attach the big button using the Zap Dots.
This keeps the flower from getting too smushed!
We certainly don't want to smush this beauty!!!
Last by not least...because this makes it really purty...add the embellishment of your choice!
In this case, I had cut a flower from some of the patterned paper. But you could add chipboard and/or bling! Just have fun making it purty!!!
So, there you have it! Now you know how to make my secret circle scallop flowers and I hope you have fun making some of your own to add to your projects!!!

I would LOVE IT if you would share with me what you create using this tutorial!!!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed learning how to create this flower!

Happy Hugs!
Juliana

Christmas Spirit

I am trying to find it.  This year it has been difficult.  Thank goodness things have improved lately and I have been reminded that I have so very much to be thankful for.

S,o in an attempt to spread a little Christmas cheer, I have a quick Cricut gift wrap idea to share with you.  Details are posted on the Cricut Blog if you are interested. I love the colors of this gift wrap...not your typical red and green and it was so much fun creating my own custom dyed ribbon.  You can read about that over there too!



The second project for you today is a layout I created using a new Cricut cartridge created for Creative Memories called This & That!  Love this cart!  It contains a wonderful array of playful images and phrases that fit just about any theme. It contains 2 really great fonts as well.  The layout I created also uses papers from the Creative Memories Reflections Collection.  They are really pretty in person...quite a few of the papers have this gorgeous silver embossed design in them!


Those of you who know me will look at this LO and wonder who those adorable children are. Well, a gal I work with, who is a photographer on the side, took this adorable photo and was sweet enough to allow me to use it for my scrapbooking enjoyment.  Thank you Liz!!!  If you want to see more, stop by the Cricut Blog and /or the Cricut Circle Blog to see all the newly released cartridges and the fabulous DT projects.  I am sure you will find something to inspire you...plus if you leave a comment you have the chance of winning some Cricut.com credits and who wouldn't want those after seeing all these new goodies?!
As always thank you for stopping by and your sweet comments!

HAPPY HOLIDAY HUGS!
Juliana

Creative Scrappers Sketch

Just wanted to share that I have another sketch up on Creative Scrappers!


If you play along, make sure you link it up on the CS blog for your chance to win a prize from Niklin Designs, who is this month's sponsor. The more sketches you play along with the more chances you have of winning!

I hope you all will find some time to play along during this busy holiday season!

HAPPY HUGS!
JULIANA

My version of some Tim Holtz tags

Things are starting to look up...thank goodness!  And thank you all for your comments, thoughts and prayers.  I think some of them have been answered and I am so very thankful.  It has been a rough few weeks and things are not totally over with the stress, but at least I am starting to see a little light at the end of the tunnel.
Today, I spent my afternoon relaxing.  For me that was doing some scrapping that was not an assignment.  I have taken a break from some of my DT stuff just to give myself a little time to deal with things.  Sometimes we just need a break...
So what did I do? I played along with Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas.  This is my first time to do this, and I must say, I really enjoyed the process.  I learned some fun new techniques and really tried to take to heart his encouragement to use what I had on hand.  I would LOVE to have all of his products, but I don't.  The only thing I did break down and purchase was the Archival Ink.  It just does things that my other inks don't do, so I had to have it.  I am also quite certain that I am going to have to get one of those craft mats as well.  Maybe that would be a good Christmas gift!!!
When all was said and done, I ended up creating 3 tags.  The first two are rather small tags, but the third one is larger.  I wish I had done the first two the same size as the last one, but I was just playing around when I started this today.  The first one is based off of his Tag #5.  I don't have any of those super cool Reflections stamps, so I just choose some images that I had that would be OK to be reversed.  I used a piece of clear plastic from some of my Cricut cartridges.  I just layered it onto cardstock to make it thicker and a bit more sturdy.


The next one I created used the same alcohol ink on clear plastic, but then I used the Crackle paint fun from Tag #4. The crackle was done on the snowflake image that I cut with my Cricut. I just don't have any Distress Stain, so I used my Distress Inks and "pushed" the ink into the cracks using a sponger dauber.


The final tag I made was inspired by Tag #6. This one was super fun.  And...I did not use the Metallic foil stuff.  I used what I had on hand, and that was heavy duty aluminum foil.  I just wrapped a piece of it around a tag, glued it in place with some glossy accents and then embossed it.  The painting, took some time, but the final outcome was definitely worth it.  It has such a fun distressed feel!



Well, that's all for now.  
Thanks as always for stopping by!
HAPPY HUGS!
Juliana

Christmas Decor using a Mini Album

I apologize about the break in posting last week, but life threw me a curve ball and I am still reeling a bit from it.  With that being said, I may be taking a break with some of my crafting this month.  I am just going to see how things go and how I am feeling mentally about doing a lot of creating. I am doing my best to keep my chin up and I am looking for that open door that God is so good about providing when one is slammed in our face. This experience has been one of the most difficult I have ever had to deal with in regards to my career.  And we will leave it at that... 

So, let's get on with something fun!  I did get this little project completed before the craziness of last week and I hope you enjoy it! It was up on the Bo Bunny blog yesterday.

So without further ado...here is how to use a mini album to create your very own hand made Christmas decor! Yes, you read correctly, I used a mini album to create some festive Christmas decor for my home.  I used the new Blitzen Mini Album to create five decorative pieces that can be hung anywhere, including on my Christmas tree. They could also easily be strung on a ribbon and used as a banner on a mantle (that is if you have one! LOL!!!).



I choose five of the chipboard pages from the Blitzen Mini Album to create them.  I used the pre-printed image on some of them to inspire my decoration and embellishment.




Obviously, it would have been a lot faster to use these images as they were and just dress them up a bit with some glitter and jewels.  I however, wanted to do more with my hands, so I decided to step it up a bit.  I used various chipboard pieces from the Blitzen 12 x 12 Chipboard to layer and decorate each piece.
 



I dressed each on up a bit using pearl pen, jewels, ink, crackle paint, glitter glue and ribbon.



I used my Cricut to diecut shapes such as the holly leaves on the Two Turtle Doves piece, the snowflake on the Blitzen piece and the poinsettia on the Stocking piece. I also used various punches to create decorative borders on several of them.



I hope you enjoyed this series of Christmas decor pieces and that you found them inspiring as you create some fun Christmas decor for your home this holiday season!  Thank you for your visit!

HAPPY HUGS!
Juliana

Father Christmas Spool Tree

I hope everyone has had a chance to stop by the Official Cricut Blog and checked out the Cricut Craft Room and Cricut Mini this week!  I have been crafting away with it and it is wonderful to work with! There are so many cool things going on in Cricut land!  Seriously cool!!!  If you want you can check out more, see my post below.

Now on to today's share!  This project is also up on the Bo Bunny blog as we feature Father Christmas today.  I love the vintage feel of this collection and found it perfect to create a little Christmas decor project.


INSPIRATION: Wooden Spool Tree


WHY: This first project was inspired by a spool tree I saw in a recent issue of Paper Crafts Holiday Cards.  I knew I wanted to create one the moment I saw it, but I wanted mine to be a bit different.  I wanted to dress it up a bit more. Ornaments!  It needed ornaments and the Bo Bunny Trinkets were the perfect fit!  And so from this my Father Christmas Spool Tree was born.




I found the wooden spools and flower pot at Ben Franklin Crafts. And I found the dowel rods for the branches, the 1" wood strip for the trunk and the 5" round piece for the base at Hobby Lobby.




I created the tree and the branches and placed them in the pot before realizing that it was going to be too heavy to stand alone.  DH came to the rescue by suggesting that I attach it to a round wooden piece.  He then used some wood screws and counter sunk them so that it would be flat on the bottom.  It worked perfectly!




I covered each spool with patterned paper from the Father Christmas 6x6 paper pad.  Once everything was assembled, I hot glued the Trinkets to the front of the spools and embellished them a bit more with some jewels.


After I put it all together, and took the photos, I kind of think that I should have painted the spools a dark green.  What do you think? I just may end up painting them anyway...but very carefully! LOL!
Thank you for your visit!

HAPPY HUGS!
Juliana
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