Sakura Hobby Craft Blog Hop

If you came from Jennifer Van Pelt's  blog you're in the right place!

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My name is Karen Myers and I  am on the Design Team for Sakura Hobby Crafts.  I hope you are having FUN and enjoying our projects we are sharing with you today. I totally moved off the page with this project.  I'm redoing one of my bathrooms in a "Seaside" theme and had this Mary Englebreit calender page laying around waiting to be framed.  It's 12 x 12 size was perfect for an inexpensive scrapbook page frame - which I of course couldn't leave alone. Here are the supplies that I used to complete this project. 1 12 x 12 frame 3D Crystal Lacquer Sakura Hobby Craft Gem Particles in Blue Flash Fine Tarnished Silver Glitter Idea-ology Tissue Tape - Symphony 12 x 12 Calendar page Assorted beads & Shell from my stash I used the tissue tape to cover the frame.  It was easy and fast to apply.  I just folded over the edges to the back and used little pieces to cover up any small tears or places that I missed. Now the fun part.  I wanted to use the Gem Particles to cover the frame and give it lots of shimmer.  I mixed the Gem Particles with a tarnished silver glitter on a paper plate, got out a paintbrush, started brushing on Crystal Lacquer over the tissue tape and sprinkled on my gem particle mixture. I let each side dry for about 30 mins. before I started on the next side, just so I wouldn't have a sticky mess to handle while I applied the gem particle/glitter mixture.  I loved the way it turned out - very shiny-sparkly and kind of chunky! At this point, I was really happy with the frame and added the picture thinking I was done...but I had an idea to add some sparkle and glimmer to the front of the picture as well, and I had some gem particle/glitter mixture left...and a cute little bottle of beads was staring at me, so I thought....why not!! This was SO easy!  I applied a thick line of Crystal Lacquer right on the glass of the picture frame underlining the quote on the picture.  Then I just sprinkled some beads, a large green pearl, the gem particle/glitter mixture and added a shell.  I let this dry overnight.  I loved the way it turned out!  Now all those calender pages I've collected over the years are staring at me......... Till next time...stay creative!  Next you will be going to Chelsea's Blog !   Have fun, thanks for stopping by, and make sure you become a follower of mine and leave a comment to be eligible for the BLOG CANDY*! *To get the blog candy you must  become a follower of all the blogs including this one and leave a comment on all the blogs. It's that easy...Terri Sproul will pick a winner and post the winner on the Sakura Hobby Craft blog on July 3rd...  Good Luck!

Hurray for the Red, White and Blue!

Have you ever started a project and then WHAM...you got an idea that took you in a totally different direction?  Well, that's exactly what happened to me with this week's project...I just love the creative process!  What had originally started out as cupcake picks (yes, I was going to show off my baking abilities!), turned into this awesome banner!  I know what you're thinking...."Darn, I would rather have had some cupcake pics!"  Well, maybe next month!

I have a ton of pictures to share in this post, so I hope you enjoy them all! 

 Here's the loooong list of items I used:

3D Crystal Lacquer

Sakura Craft Gem Particles (Blue Flash and Peacock Green)

Sakura Black Rectangle Jewelry Finding

Chipboard

Idea-ology Seasonal Paper Stash (4th of July images)

AccuCut Pennant Die

Distress Ink in Vintage Photo, Old Paper, Faded Jeans and Barn Door

Stampers Anonymous Fabulous Flourishes RubberStamp

Crepe paper streamers in red, white & blue

Glimmer Mist - in various colors

Acrylic Paint - red

Accucut Scallop Circle Die

Tim Holtz Alterations Sizzix Decorative Strip Die - Paper Rosette

AccuCut Fringe Die

White and Red Cardstock

Blue Glitter Paper

Pearl topped hat pin ,a tiny price tag & 3 clear rhinestones

A strip of red rhinestones

2 Idea-ology Hinge Clips

2 skewers "borrowed" from my kitchen

Oh! and 2 stars from a box in the basement marked "Christmas decor"

Wow - that's a long list, but you know how it is when you start going on a project, you just keep adding things!

Ok, so here's how I made the "cupcake" picks.  Very simple really, especially with the magical rosette die - if you don't have one yet, get one, it makes rosettes in a snap!

I printed out words using the My Underwood font onto plain printer paper.  I used "God Bless America" and "Happy 4th of July" for my rosettes.  I cut each word out, distressed the edges and glued them on the rosette center.  Then I covered the center with Crystal Lacquer.

You can see in these photos that the edges are sparkly blue.  This is the Gem Particles by Sakura and here is how I applied it.  I made a puddle of Crystal Lacquer on a paper plate along with a mound of the Gem Particles.  I dunked the edges of the rosette in first the crystal lacquer and then the Gem Particles, going around the entire edge and then set it aside to dry.

I glued the rosette onto a scallop circle, then glued a skewer behind the rosette, using Crystal Lacquer.  Ta-DA!

This is where things kind of got fuzzy.  I had my picks ready to go - (just go upstairs and make the cupcakes Karen)....but alas, I somehow got the idea to put these cute little numbers on a banner....a U S A banner...for the 4th of July....yeah!  So, 2 days later....and a lot more doo dads, I finished it!  Here's some more photos of the finished project.

For the firework-looking doo-dads, I just used my Accucut Fringe die.  You could also, just cut fringe with your scissors, leaving a band uncut at the bottom, roll up the paper over a pencil, (to curl the fringe) then roll the bottom band around the bottom of a pencil to get the flower or fireworks shape.  I layered 2 together and used a hot glue gun to attach to the banner.  I glued a clear rhinestone in the center.

I used crepe paper streamers to make the large rosettes* under each letter. 
This one was sprayed with glimmer mist and edged in red acrylic paint.

I outlined the "JULY 4th" with crystal lacquer to make it shiny.

Well, that's it for today.  I hope you all enjoy your 4th of July holiday - hey, make a banner!

Our Design Team has a fun Blog Hop planned for June 30th.  I hope you can join us for it!

Here's a link to get more information and to RSVP -

 http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=225213800830499

For more information of Crystal Lacquer products, visit www.sakuracraft.com

and to check out the amazing design teams projects, visit www.crystallacquer.blogspot.com

Until Next time...stay creative!

* Chelsea had shared how to make these easy-peasy crepe paper rosettes on the Sakura Blog, but if you'd like more info on how to make them, you can just email me at katscrapfever@sbcglobal.net .

Vintage Layout - Robin's Nest Design Team Entry

 I've been going through family photo boxes pretty regularly since my recent move, and just fell in love with this picture of my Mom, circa 1929, and decided that it needed some special attention.

Here are the supplies that I used for this 12 x 12 page layout.

1 12 x 12 sheet of Donna Salazar's Trunk in the Attic (Banana Nut Loaf)

1 12 x 12 sheet Donna Salazar's Trunk in the Attic (Nutmeg Nostalgia)

Vintage Photo

Up-cycled old dictionary pages die cut into scalloped circles

Robin's Nest Clear Dew Drops

Crystal Color Lacquer (in brown and metallic gold)

Lace Ribbon

An Idea-ology Facet

An Idea-ology Trinket Pin

Glimmer Mist

Distress Ink

Copic Markers
3D Crystal Lacquer
Tape Runner

Ok, to start off, I used a real vintage photo that was mounted in a folder. I wouldn't have normally used this, but I was fortunate enough to have 2 of these pictures in my collection. I love the embossed framework and photographers name on the mat, as well as the dimension that it created on the page. Because of it's depth, I'll probably be putting this page into a shadowbox frame to display.

The first thing I did was to simply trace the swirls on the paper (Banana Nut Loaf) with  Crystal Color Lacquer. I love how it added a bit of shine, and really made the flourish images pop from the page. Note: It's important to let the Crystal Lacquer dry overnight...I know...we don't like to wait, but it's worth it! I used 3D Crystal Lacquer to adhere the Dew Drops to add to the flourish design. Just a teenie tiny drop does the trick.

I cut the sheet of Nutmeg Nostalgia paper about 3/4 of an inch larger than my matted photo. It was distressed on the edges using my Zutter Distrezz-It-All (love it!) and Distress Ink in Tea Dye. After gluing on the lace ribbon across the page, I adhered the distressed piece of Nutmeg Nostalgia, then my vintage photo.

Now on to the fun part, the flowers. These as SO easy, it's kind of embarrassing to say they are just scrunched up pieces of old dictionary paper. I die cut old pages of dictionary pages using my AccuCut and 2 different sized scallop circle dies. I sprayed them with various colors of Glimmer Mist, dried them with my Heat Gun, and crumpled them up....several times. I then stacked as many as I wanted for my flower, lay them on my craft sheet and start squishing them from the center until I'm pleased with the look. I squirted out some Crystal Lacquer on my craft sheet and squished the flower down.....boom - done. In a few hours, they are dry and just lift off the craft mat, ready to rock and roll. For the centers of these flowers, I used the Dew Drops in clear, colored with Copic Markers. They were glued onto the flowers with Crystal Lacquer.

Now for the finishing touches. For the Facet charm, I printed my Mom's name and year the photo was taken onto a left over piece of the Nutmeg Nostalgia, placed a few drops of Crystal Lacquer over the words, and placed the Facet on top, pressing to make sure there was a good bond between the two and no air bubbles. After it dried for a few hours, I just cut around the Facet, poked a hole through the paper, added a jump ring and attached it to the bottom of a Trinket Pin, which I then pinned to the lace bow on the page.

I had fun sharing my project with you.  I'm trying out for the Robin's Nest Design Team with this project, so if you liked it, I'd appreciate it if you would leave me a comment, or two...can't ever get enough love!

Until next time....stay creative!

Check out the Robin's Nest website at http://www.robinsnest-scrap.com/ 

and their Blog at http://www.chatteringrobins.blogspot.com/ for ideas and inspiration.

Father's Day Message Box

I love cruising around the Internet, reading different creative blogs and learning new techniques.  I am a follower of The Graphics Fairy blog because of her awesome vintage images that she posts just about daily that are free to download (I love people who share!). I found this fun Father's Day Message Box from a link on her blog, and am now following Just Something I Made, which you should check out too!

Materials Used: 

Message Box download (click here )

Craft Knife & Cutting Mat

3D Crystal Lacquer

Crystal Color Lacquer (blue)

Black coated Jewelry Finding

Distressing Tool

Distressing Ink in Tea Dye

Crop a dile & dark brown grommets

Brown bakers twine

assorted goodies to fill the box

I downloaded the image and printed it on white cardstock.  I used my craft knife to cut the images out (on a craft mat) and used my Martha Stewart scoring board (which I love!) to score on the dotted lines.

 Now, there are instructions you can follow on the Just Something I Made blog, but I just went ahead and folded the scored lines and the box just kind of fell together really easily.  I did refer to the instructions after I had folded and glued the top portion....I guess I just wanted to make sure I did it right.  I used the Crystal Lacquer to glue this puppy together...just a few dabs here and there...it doesn't take much & it sticks together really well.  The images on the box are really nice, so there wasn't much decoration that needed to be done at this point.  Also, there are a few tags and labels on the sheet to cut out and use.

I used my Crop-o-dile to punch holes in the center of the circles printed on the front of the box & used a brown grommet in each to reinforce.  I used Crystal Lacquer and Crystal Color Lacquer (in blue) to add dimension on some of the water on the front of the box, and on some of the boulders on the back.  I also used it to some of the images on the tags.

I made a little charm (charm isn't very manly, but I thought it would add a little bit to the front of the box, so we'll just call it an embellishment) using a Black coated jewelry finding from Sakura.  I just googled "vintage fishing postcard" to find something I liked for the charm, I mean embellishment!  I printed it on white cardstock, cut it out, glued it into the finding and covered the image with crystal lacquer.  While this dried, I went ahead and started on my fillers for the box.  I distressed some of the edges, added more vintage images I had downloaded and printed, along with some pictures. 

Now this is where you can be as creative as ever - adding messages, photos, giftcards, tickets or whatever you want! I'm going to add a little gift certificate for a fishing license for Robert (my hubby and lucky recipient of this little number for Father's Day!).

Here's a picture of what I used to close the box.  Brown bakers twine, one of the tags and the "embellishment".  This was a quick project - but it looks oh so creative! 

 

Until next time - stay creative!

Check out Sakura's Blog, www.crystallacquer.blogspot.com

and their website, www.sakuracraft.com for more information, inspiration and products!

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We are so excited to announce that the Sakura Hobby Craft Design Team is having a blog hop on June 30th with Blog Candy... Here is your chance to join in a fun hop with a great group of blogs. The best part is that the Blog Candy entry is super easy! You just need to become or already a follower of each of the blogs on the hop and leave a comment on each of the blogs.. See, how easy is that. We will announce the winner of the blog candy on the Sakura Blog on July 3rd, so make sure you go check out each of the blogs and leave them some love....

You will start this hop at the Sakura Blog then just continue to hop.

 

Stephen's Thank You Card Project

My very good friend Rosann turned me on to this very worthwhile, heartwarming, make you feel fuzzy-all-over article, Stephen's Thank You Card Project.  When I had my store, we had sent cards to Operation Write Home, which if you haven't heard anything about,

is another super project to get involved with. 

Stephen is a 10-year old boy, who is determined to send roughly 180,000 handmade thank you cards to every single deployed soldier - WOW. 

 You can help Stephen out by making thank you cards, signing them and sending them off - in lots of 5 to the address on this form.  And, if that isn't enough to make you feel good all over, Bazzill Basics Paper is giving away 2 tickets to the 2011 Creative Escape, randomly drawn from those that send in their cards and the entry form by July 1st!  Yippie!

I've made 10 of these beauties so far and sent them off.  I plan to make more....who's going to join me??

 Let's get those cards made girls!

Creative Souls Retreat Announced!

Join us for a creative all-inclusive retreat nestled in the beautiful San Bernardino mountains offering cabin accommodations, creative art workshops & a 24-hour scrapbooking work place.

Creative Souls Retreat

Sept. 9 - 11, 2011

Click on the link to get ALL the information and to sign up! 

 www.creativesoulsretreat.com

• a place to relax from everyday life
• a beautiful setting to be creative
• a place to share, laugh, play & rest
• a place to meet & make new friends

We are SO excited about this event and hope you can all join us!

*Special EARLY BIRD pricing is now in effect - Sign UP TODAY!

~* feed your creative soul *~