Thursday, July 23, 2015

OMG...What is that???....

It kept repeating, "I'm a pretty girl fairy, I'm a pretty girl fairy...."
NO, no you're not...you're slightly hideous in an oddly adorable kind of way and you have no place in this project after all, but we'll get back to that.  
THIS on the other hand IS a pretty girl fairy and I have captured her in this Dollar Store homemade cloche.  She's not real happy about that, but we're moving on....
It all started when Mixed Media Place ran this challenge of One Important Word.  
Just last week my daughter went shopping and as my family is trained to do, they throw nothing away before bringing me what might be a valuable resource in a recycled creation.  She handed me this tag and I loved it!  
Organic.  What a wonderful word. Of, relating to, or derived from living matter. Natural or earthy.  So it began....
I've got my handmade leaves made from white cardstock that I've colored up with copics and then stained and then clear powder embossed.
Here is my collection of goodies to begin.
I glued a lid to the top of the candlestick.  Wrapped a round piece of cork with a natural fiber cupcake wrapper and then adhered that to the top of lid.  this would be the base of my cloche.  

Fast forward a little bit. I've placed all my elements together for the "natural environment" setting, but I'm not liking that the base of my stand is clear like the cloche. I wanted that to look differently.
So, I coated it with Gesso, then painted it white, then crackled it, then aged it with Antique Photo DI.
After water coloring this little fairy with pencils, she was ready to be placed inside her little capsule for preservation.  She's already looking a bit torqued about the whole process.
And there you see my organic tag which represents her and her environment....all natural for 'observation.'
Backside view
Perfectly safe and secured is this pretty girl fairy inside of this handmade cloche (break the stem off of a plastic wine glass and tip it upside down).
It's back to the drawing board for me on sculpting pretty girl fairies. I should have known by the looks of the troll feet that I was on the wrong track.  Oh well.... now I have something ready for Halloween! 
Hugs and Happy Crafting and I hope you've found some sort of inspiration from this madness!
Lisa x 

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Whatever Floats Your Chicken......

You know what blogging leads to? Blogging leads to other people's blogs and those blogs lead you to new products and new products lead you to addictions and new addictions lead you to fun and fun leads you to challenges and challenges lead you back to people's blogs and, well, you get the idea...
So I'd like to quickly blame Tammy for my latest addiction because now I'm in love with yet another  blog, From The Heart's Digital Stamp of the Month Challenge (July) and my always loved Mixed Media Monthly Challenge Blog.  

I thought the progressive challenge of using this month's digital image, Inner Tube Birdbrain, with #14 Summer Days would be perfect together.
Here's how I made my faux wood mixed media Summer sign.

1.) Begin with a rectangle cut out piece of foam board from Walmart. Cut the edges real jagged and then cover it with a sheet of adhesive canvas.
 
2.)  Spread a light layer of Gesso for sealant and let dry. When dry, spread a light layer of crackle medium and let completely dry.
3.)  When crackle medium was dry, I took a ruler and drew two lines with a black pen and smudged with my finger to make lines for a faux wood sign appearance.
4.)  Pulled out the Distress paints and went to town coloring a beach scene.
5.) Colored up the challenge image with Copics and attached it to the sign. Added a layer of frantage with gold specks for a sandy beach, cut out sunglasses and flip flops on my cutting machine, painted them up and then adhered and lastly, added a jute twine for hanging. 
6.) I aged up the edges with Antique Photo DI and then sat back, took a deep breath and wished I was there! 
I loved being inspired by Summer Days Challenge with the pink flamingo. Figured this bird would be a more than adequate replacement and I loved the bejeweled glasses, so I had to add them too. The beach sign just made me think I had to create this bird's very own retreat.  Hope you like it!
  Thank you SO much for your visit. I appreciate YOU more than you know.
Hugs and happy crafting,
Lisa x

Monday, July 20, 2015

Size Doesn't Matter....

It's not true what 'they've' been saying...size really doesn't matter!
 What does matter is the thoughtfulness; which is why I decided to showcase this tiny box of 
2 1/4" x 2 1/4" x 2 1/4".   It may be little but it holds a BIG helping of thankfulness.  
This week at The Cutting Cafe Blog, the DT get to pick whatever they'd like to share and I thought you might enjoy these files that I've used above.
All DT projects are posted at The Cutting Cafe Blog on the 7th and 21st of each month. We'd love for you to visit and be sure to leave a comment for Regina. She selects one lucky person to receive 3 FREE files of their choice!
Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Lisa x

Monday, July 13, 2015

Remember When......

 Remember when you couldn't wait to grow up?!  
It was like wearing a badge of pride when you said,  "I'm (this many fingers up) and a half!"  
Now I'd like to freeze time or back peddle, back peddle, back peddle..
 When I started this challenge, I had no idea where it was going; except that it had to have blue in it and mixed media elements.  Once I colored up the vintage boy/man clown, the rest is... well, driven by childhood nostalgia.
So thank you Mixed Media Card Challenge...it's been fun!
And here's my completed card.....
Here's to aging, but never quite maturing...
Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Lisa xx

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Coffee Understands....

There are a few challenges happening this week and when I saw them, I knew they would be perfect together....just like coffee and cream, infused into me; via an IV line, over a period of 24/7!!
I am starting something completely NEW for me. It's like so 2001 for ya'll, I'm sure, but for me, it's brand spanking new. I'm starting a journaling book!!
No, it won't contain life altering tid bits of wisdom that I pass on to my heirs, but it will be chock-full of humorous quips that make me giggle.
So, here is my first journal page using the ever fabulous Sketch from Cardabilities and with it I have paired Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge of Coffee or Tea and Frilly and Funkie for their challenge of Something To Say.  
 
I loved the concept of humorous quotes so much, I dove right into the pages and haven't even decorated the cover yet. 
 I'll just let the muse inspire when it's ready....
Biggest of hugs to you all and Happy Crafting!
Lisa xx

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Happy 4th of Christmas!!???!! ....

Hi everybody! 
It's the 4th of July here in the States, but we're celebrating Christmas at The Cutting Cafe!
It's always good to get an early start on those gift ideas and cards, seeing as there's only 174 days or roughly 14,000,000 seconds until it's here. So, how about a couple ideas to help get you inspired.
Treat Boxes
And Matching Cards
Here are all the files I've used to complete these cute gift sets:

All DT projects are posted at The Cutting Cafe Blog on the 7th and 21st of each month. We'd love for you to visit and be sure to leave a comment for Regina. She selects one lucky person to receive 3 FREE files of their choice!
Hugs and Happy Crafting,
Lisa xx