Patterned Paper Eggs and Handmade Flowers

Spring is finally here and I am so excited to see the green stuff popping out here and there! I prefer the warmer weather and I am quite pleased that I can now see that it really is on it's way! For our final GCD Studios project we were asked to create something spring or Easter themed so I went for the Easter theme. I was at my local craft store and saw these foam eggs and this wooden basket, the ideas started flying and here is the end result...a little mini Easter egg basket embellished with Chip Art Chipboard and patterned paper eggs and hand made paper flowers.
Melody Ross's new collection Soul Food is fast becoming a favorite of mine! I love the combination of orange, pink, green and brown and the fun text and floral designs. The wooden basket is covered with patterned paper as well.
As I mentioned, I used GCD Studios Chip Art products to decorate the front of my basket. I used the Squiggle stamp set to create the border around the tag piece. I distressed the Happy Easter plaque by painting the chipboard tag with white acrylic paint. Once it was dry, I applied a layer of antiquing gel and wiped off the excess, which leaves some of it behind, giving it a nice distressed feel. And don't you think the yellow glitter gives a bit of life to that cute little chick?!
I created some hand made flowers using die cut flowers and leaves to decorate the eggs.
Supplies:
GCD Studios
Soul Food Soulfield, Lovely Green, Soulful, Funky Soul, Soul Petit, and Brave Soul
Chip Art Chipboard Shapes: Birds and Tags
Chip Art Tools: Mallet, Block
Chip Art Ornamental Stamps: Squiggle

Now that you have seen my little basket, I thought you might want to know how I created the eggs. So I put together a little tutorial for you to follow so that you can create your own patterned paper eggs using your favorite GCD Studios papers.

Supplies:
Patterned Paper
4" Styrofoam Eggs
Hot Glue Gun
Modge Podge

How to make Patterned Paper Eggs:
Cut an 8" x 12" piece of patterned paper into strips of paper that are 1/2" in width.
Then adhere the strips to the egg in an overlapping pattern running the entire length of the egg.
I used a hot glue gun to get this started. Once I had added about 4 strips I began applying some Modge Podge to the sections were the papers were touching/overlapping each other. I found this to be helpful in keeping the paper more flat as you continue adding the layers. This does tend to make things a little messy, so consider yourself warned!
Here you can see that this egg is almost finished. Remember you want to continue to add the paper strips until all of the "white" areas are completely covered. Once you have the entire egg covered with paper, apply a coat of Modge Podge and let this dry. Once dry, apply a coat of Glitter Paint to give the egg a bit of shimmer.
Then feel free to embellish your egg with flowers, buttons, gems, etc.Thank you so much for stopping by today and I hope you have fun creating your own Easter Egg decorations!

HAPPY HUGS!
Juliana

Precious Moments on Thursday

If you are a Cricut fan then you know what today is!  It's Hello Thursday!  For those of you who are Cricut Circle members you were lucky enough to get a preview of the new cartridges that are being released.  I was lucky too and I got to play with one of the new Imagine Cartridges called Vintage Damask.  It is an all patterned paper cartridge and if you love damask than this cart is for you.  The papers are a gorgeous mix of beautiful damasks combined with a very vintage color palette. 
Now if you happened to see my layout on the Circle Blog, this is not the exact same layout.  Yes, it is similar, but I ask you to take a second look and you will then see that there are a few differences between the two.  I initially made two layouts using the same photo just playing around with a technique that I had been wanting to try and I realized that the scraps from my other layout would be perfect to give this a try.  I had already printed several of the patterned papers, so I had a few of them to play around with too.  Once I started playing, I thought it might be fun to share my other layout with you and the fun techniques I used when creating it.  The scraps I used are the large green scalloped background piece, the small brown half circles and the large damask shape.   I used the negative of the large damask as a mask to create the inked image on this layout.  I simply positioned it over my background paper and used my magnets and my fingers to hold it in place as I applied the ink using a sponge and Ranger Vintage Photo Distress Ink.
 Here you can see a close up of the masking.
The small brown circles are scraps from a smaller scallop frame that I created, but did not end up using on this project.  I had them laying on my scrap table and thought they might add a nice touch, so I added them inside the larger scallops.
I hope you all enjoyed Hello Wednesday yesterday and Thursday today!  I know I am super excited about some of those new cartridges.  How about you?  Do you have a favorite?

Coming up on 17Turtles:
Tomorrow, I have a my final GCD Studios project to share with you just in time for Easter!  Foam eggs, chipboard and and patterned paper are a wonderfully fun combo of things to play with!!!

And now, who of you my wonderful readers is ready for a giveaway?  I told you I would do one in April, and April is slowly slipping away from me.  Next week, I will be going through my stuff and putting together some things to give away.  I will be posting a giveaway next week, so stay tuned for your chance at winning!

Tomorrow, I have a my final GCD Studios project to share with you just in time for Easter!

HAPPY HUGS!
Juliana

Easter Treat Baskets

Today I have a little Easter project to share with you. I was inspired to create a pair of mini baskets, one for each of my nieces, using their favorite color PINK! You can never go wrong with pink and chocolate right now with them, so I am pretty sure they will love these little baskets. However, I won't be surprised if they want more chocolate than what the baskets are holding! LOL!!! If you are interested in creating your own little baskets, keep scrolling. The supply list, instructions and even my Gypsy file are available below!
Bo Bunny Supplies:
Vicki B Floweret and Loverly Patterned Papers
Double Dot Cardstock in Tutu
Vicki B Combo Sticker
Vicki B Petals
Vicki B Wrap

Other Supplies:
Cricut Cindy Loo Cartridge
(Flower Pot Box on page 75)
Scalloped Decorative Edge Scissors
Distress Ink (Vintage Photo and Peeled Paint)

Instructions:
Cut the basket shape at 5.8" x 11.46" from the Floweret and Tutu cardstock. (I layered the two papers to make the basket more sturdy, but it also gave a nice little edge to the top of the basket.)
Create the handle by cutting a 1" strip of Loverly and then trim the edges with scalloped decorative scissors.
Add the flowered border sticker and then attached the handle between the two basket layers. Embellish the baskets with the Vicki B wraps and flowers.
Create the leaves for the flowers using the green polka dot fabric which is one of the Vicki B Wraps. Cut the fabric into petals shapes and then scrunch the tip and hot glue it behind the flower.
Fill the basket with "grass" and chocolate and you are ready to go!


If you are looking for more Easter treat holders ideas, check out the Bo Bunny blog today. I am sure you will be inspired when you see what the rest of the Bo Bunny design team has to share with you!


Lastly, before I go, I wanted to share a little scoop with you regarding a fabulous class you can take. Heidi Swapp & Jessica Sprague are teaching a class entitled Mouse, Paper, Scissors: MOM and they will be using...get this...Bo Bunny's gorgeous Gabrielle collection!!! During the class they will be creating a stunning Mother’s Day Card, a 2-page interactive scrapbook page layout and a mini-book. The class runs from April 18-29. For more details, stop by Jessica Sprague's website. A direct link to the class can be found HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! And as always I enjoy your comments and if you ever have any questions, please just ask!

HAPPY HUGS!
Juliana

Bo Bunny's Gabrielle

It seems to me that every time Bo Bunny releases their latest collections, I find a favorite. The problem for me is that my favorite changes every time I use a new collection. One day it might be Ad Lib, the next day Gabrielle. Which is exactly how I was feeling when I created these two recent projects. Totally loving Gabrielle! But, I admit that has already changed since I made these! Can anyone blame me?

This layout is of my niece and my mom playing. I would have loved to have gotten a photo of them head on, but sometimes you lose the moment when they realize their photo is being taken, so I went with what I could get.
I did a bit of cut work on this, cutting out the vertical damask image and then layering it behind the photos and with the chipboard and butterfly pieces. I also added a bit of stamping using Versamark with both clear embossing powder and a sparkly powder. They are both subtle and add a small touch to the background. Stamping is one of those things that I enjoy doing, but never totally feel comfortable adding to my layout. I am always afraid I am going to "mess it up". I really need to get over that and just have fun playing with them.

The next thing I want to share with you is a necklace I created using the new Trinkets. I went to Hobby Lobby and found some jewelry hardware, beads and a chain that were similar and put this together. I have to admit, that this was quite fun and something that I would love to try again soon. I am actually wearing this piece of jewelry and it was rather reasonable to create since all the jewelry stuff was on sale for 50% off when I bought it!
Here is a link to the Butterfly beads I used on this necklace if you are interested: Butterfly Beads

Just a quick one today! Thanks for stopping by!
HAPPY HUGS!
Juliana
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