Altered Block Graphic 45 Topography

                     

I love Graphic 45 and when I needed to make an altered block for a swap I couldn't wait to use topography! I also picked up some little glass bottles, a big brass key, crocheted flower and a drawer pull. The first thing I did was glue the paper on each side and inked the whole block. Then I made the pin cushion out of a vintage silver jello mold. I stared that out by cutting a small circle of lace fabric and sewed the edges together making a opened ended ball shape. On the open end I pushed the stuffing through and pulled the thread tight. It reminded me of a hot air balloon shape. I hot glued the ball to the bottom of the jello mold. It turned out perfect for the top of the block. I think my partner liked it..I sure had fun making it!

Organized Scrap Room

I think back to how many places I've had a "scrap room" in my house and laugh. What was I thinking? My bedroom, an entry hall (we never used), half of the kids play room, dining room and...finally...a room all it's own..I took over the kids toy room! It's a perfect space, just off 

the living room. Our house is really old, so it has many rooms. I came to realize if 

I wanted to get serious about creating I needed a place where I could...

                                                       1. See my creative supplies. 

                                                       2. Have a big work surface

                                                       3. Have good lighting

                                                       4. Not be closed off from the rest of the house/family

In all the other places I never utilized any of my supplies. My stuff just sat in bins and drawers. My new place works because I never feel like I am closed off to what the rest of the family is doing. That sounds weird but it really works for me. I converted our old entertainment unit into a craft supply cabinet. I also re-purposed a dresser and made my own Silhouette table from a metal file holder cart. I LOVE my area because everything has a place. I have labels on everything. When you don't know what you have, I think it's harder to create. I can't wait for the kids to outgrow their toys then I can take over the 4 seasons closet next to my creative space! I used to be a crop scrapper. I only really scrapbooked when I went away to crops and my stuff would be packed away until the next one.

I organize my embelishments by color in zippered "worm bags". They more sturdy than a plastic sand which bag and come in various sizes. They are perfect for compact storage! 

I have one bag for every color. There are basically three categories..metal,
ribbon and other (paper & flowers). 

I organize my paper also by color unless I have embellishments that go 

with the paper. Then I use a plastic folder from Crop Hopper. I find that when everything is organized I create better because I know what I have and where it is. I don't waste time looking..
Here's hoping you can get organized and start creating! :) 

Christmas Tag

I LOVE thinking of ways to make my own embellishments using my stash. For this Christmas tag I made the embellishment using metal stamps and a bottle cap. First I ran the bottle cap through my cuttle bug to flatten it out. Then I stamped the word "Jolly" using a brick, hammer and the metal stamps. 

  I think using the brick makes it easier to stamp a clear image. After I stamped the letter I took white craft paint and dabbed it over the letters. I used a paper towel to wipe the excess paint off. Lastly I put a Tim Holtz star below the words, punched a hole in the top and tied it with bakers twine. I got the Santa image from the Silhouette store, the tickets were from my stash and I punched out the white boarder. I used Tim Holtz mini attacher to staple the ribbon on the top and lastly I inked the edges of the tag. I love how it turned out, and it's my favorite vintage style ta boot!

Happy Creating,

Melissa 

Previvor, BRCA and Breast Cancer

It's been a crazy few months. In Jan my sister was diagnosed  with breast cancer. She got tested for the BRCA gene mutation, and it turned out to be positive. I got tested and I am positive also. We inherited it from my Dad. This means that we have a link in the tumor suppressing BRCA gene that is broken or mutated. According to BeBrightPink.org my risk of breast cancer is as high as 87% and ovarian cancer 54%. My genetic counselor said I am a "previvor", a survivor of a predisposition for a disease such as cancer. I found a couple FB groups that have been so informative and helpful. There are so many women going through the same thing I am. After meeting with oncologist breast  surgeons, plastic surgeon and oncologist gyn, and much research.. I made the decision to have a hysterectomy and preventative bilateral mastectomy (PBM).  I want the best odds of not getting cancer. I had other problems  related to gyn, so I am relieved to have had a my hyst a few weeks ago. Menopause hasn't hit me yet, but I'm sure it's on it's way! I am going to have my PBM in Jan/Feb time frame. One gal said on the FB BRCA Sisterhood group..you wouldn't get on a plane that had a 54% or 87% chance of crashing would you?  or It's not elective when the alternative is cancer.  I am a part of a FB group The Documented Life and did this page in my journal back in Jan. This journey has really changed me..and how I see the color pink!

Cool Labels

 I recently bought some plain white labels and wanted to jazz them up a bit. While I was finishing up a project my son Jack (who LOVES to play with my spray mists and color with paint) asked if he could "spray" as he calls it. I had the big stack of white labels and thought sure why not..let see what he can come up with. I gave him a few and he had a blast spraying all kinds of colors onto the sheet. For a few of them I dotted them with Tim Holtz distress stain dobbers (I need to get some Bingo dobbers too!) While I was at Micheals I saw Heidi Swap came out with a small circle stamp with an interchangeable circular saying stamps. Adorable and perfect to stamp on top of where I stamped with the dobber!! I made some to label my craft storage bins, notebooks and of course envelopes. So many uses! 

Happy Creating,

Melissa 

 

Halloween Tree Ornament

I've been looking for a frame of some sort to use in my most recent swap group for some time! The swap is Halloween Tree Ornament. I knew I wanted to use a picture I had of a black crow reading a book. I made several trips to the Dollar store to only find one or two frames of the same design. I needed 12 of the same design. I was at Michaels on Sat before I went to my monthly crop and score! I found a 3 pack of chalkboard type wood frames. Bonus..they were only $1.49 (on clearance) per pack!! I was super excited! 

I like to keep the swap items inexpensive because I also have to pay shipping to and from the host. The best part is that they are really light, so they won't weigh the tree down. First, I needed to paint the frames as they came in pink, teal and light green. I used a basic black craft paint and did two coats with a foam brush. 

I printed out the crow picture and cut it down to fit each frame. I used wash tape around 

the crow, and then embellished with Echo Park Chillingworth Manor. 

I cut the plastic ring part off of  spiders and glued them on last. 

Since the frame will be hanging and the back will probably be exposed I used the same line of paper and embellished with a tag, black polka dot washi tape, and a black button.

 I really like how they came out and can't wait to get 11 different ones back to decorate my Halloween tree! 

Happy Creating,

Melissa

Handmade Birthday Hat

A fun tradition to start when kids are young is a birthday hat. (I wish I would have thought of this one when my kiddos were babies) Make a sturdy birthday hat that you can take a picture of your child wearing each year on their birthday! It would be so much fun to look at the succession of pictures..young to old. One of my very crafty friends Jennifer makes adorable hats..and I got the idea from her :)  For this one I started by cutting a piece of 11X14 watercolor paper the size of the hat I wanted. I love watercolor paper because it's sturdy enough to hold up to a lot of crafting. I actually had a store bought birthday hat that I took apart and saved for a template. To start off with I cut out the name on my Silhouette and lightly adhered it to the hat.

I misted the hat with Maya Road misting spray. After it dried I peeled the name off. 

I folded tissue paper several times and then using my little flower punch I punched out the flowers. I glued them to the hat along with a little pearl in the middle with Glossy Accents. 

I trimmed the edges of red party cray paper to make it slightly fringe and glued white ric rac in the middle.

For the top I layed out a strip of white tissue paper and then cut fringes. I then rolled it up and make the "pom pom". I separated the layers by gently pulling on them. 

The banner is made of double sided triangles joined at the top. I cut them this way so I can fold them over bakers twine. I wrote Happy Birthday and secured each end with a pin. (I taped the pointy end to the inside of the hat). This hat was fun to make, my friend requested "not too girly". Thank goodness she said something to me or I would have gone a little crazy and did the whole nine yards of princess, ribbon and tulle!  Happy Creating,

Melissa