Easter and Spring Cleaning! (paper crafting style!)

First, all of us at Pursuit of Craftyness hope each of you had a blessed Easter! Above, are some of the eggs I glittered about 2 weeks ago. They sat in a bed of green tissue paper inside a distressed wooden planter I found at Hobby Lobby. They added a little Easter fun to our boring kitchen counter. (Thanks Martha!)

Next, is a project that all of you list makers will want to use for your spring cleaning! I love this time of year because after being inside a closed up house all winter, I want the windows open and everything clean! Surprisingly, I cannot wait to spring clean each year!

The 6x6" folder started as a simple 12x12" sheet of cardstock. I have provided the template (below) if you would like to create one. This project was published in a previous issue Paper Trends Magazine (now titled Simply Handmade). The design and pattern are copyrighted and can only be reproduced for personal, private use.

I used stamps to design the background of the cover. Stamps were also used to create the decorative elements, as well as Marvy Scallop Square Punch, paper flowers and Sakura souffle pens.

For the inside lists, I simply typed them up in a Word document, printed them onto cardstock and trimmed them to fit the pockets. (Tip: Once you create one list, just copy and paste it and change only the title of the room.)

Below is the pattern on how to fold the 12x12" cardstock into a folder. Enjoy!

Enjoy and happy spring cleaning!! -Stacey

A Simple Easter Mantle

Hello, all!

I thought I'd share one of my latest obsessions with you today... simple glass jars. It's been a long time coming as one of my very favorite things to do is go junking! (I'd call it antiquing, but I really don't buy very many true "antiques.") Anyway, glass jars are everywhere to be found while junking, so I've got a cabinet full! We use them to hold everything from our silverware to my ribbons and buttons.

Lately I've been trying to add some larger jars to my collection to use for decorating. I used a few at Christmas to hold some patterned paper cone trees nestled in faux snow... so pretty! I wanted to use the jars again this Easter so I tried to pick some items that would fit in the jars. I found the little faux Fitz houses at Kroger (of all places!) and was hoping that one would fit in the larger jar... no luck. Enter the "moss" covered bunnies and natural looking eggs from Michael's. Much better! I used shredded paper as a base for most of the items, both to lift the items within the jars as well as soften the feel of everything. I love how it turned out and have been enjoying the look for a few weeks now.

I wanted to add in some paper crafted elements, so I raided my stash and found some bunny tags that were sent to me a while back by a friend. I know she received them from another friend, so I can't even credit who made them! I love their vintage look, though, and I think they added the perfect touch.

I also bought some plain kraft eggs to glitter a la Martha Stewart, but in the end decided I didn't need them. We will do the good ol' egg dying thing with the kids, though, so I may do a few with the glittered letters.

I plan on switching the Easter decorations out with sand and shells from our past vacations next. I think I'm going to print up a few pictures in various sizes and tuck them down in the sand with some little notes including the date, place, and a few memories from each trip. I'm thinking of the jars as my new "frames" and having fun coming up with new ways to use them!

Happy Easter, everyone!
Jessica

Shimmer & Shine!

I was saddened to hear that Luminarte is closing up shop - Twinkling H2Os have long been a favorite supply of mine. I have to say, though, the blow was a little less difficult for me since I had found Shimmerz Paints shortly before! These little jars pack a BIG shimmery shine! They are a bit different than Twinkling H2Os in that they're already in liquid form. All that you need is a paintbrush that is watercolor-compatible. A little really goes a long way with these, too. Here are a couple of other examples:







I hope that gives you an idea of what a great visual punch you can give to your cards! I find myself reaching for them on almost every project lately - they're fantastic. ~ Jenn

Spray Mists

Hi!
Lately, I've been having a lot of fun with Glimmer Mists. I just love all of the fun things you can do with them. Today, I have a card to share with you that I created using Glimmer Mists.
First, I started off by spraying the white cardstock with Creme de Rouge and Meadow Green. As that was drying, I decided to try a Glimmer Screen on patterned paper. I placed it on the paper and sprayed with Sherbet mist.


Once that was dried, I assembled the rest of the card. I love the mottled look it gives the paper. It tied in the pinks so nicely.


And here is the finished product.



So, get those Glimmer Mists out and start playing around. They look wonderful on cardstock and create a fun look on patterned paper, too.

Have a great day!
Anabelle :)

Thrifty tips for a chance to win a product giveaway!

With the recent state of our economy, I know I'm not the only one out there interested in ways to make more money, save money, become a bit more frugal, etc.

I'm so interested in your ideas, I'm willing to resort to bribery...so how about a giveaway?! Below is a photo of the goodies! There are 9 patterned papers, alpha stickers, die cut tag sheet, sticker sheet, rubons, scalloped shimmer note cards & envies, brads, flowers, rickrack, faux jewels, and a pack of photo anchors.

Share your tips, blogs or website links that relate to becoming more frugal, stretching those hard earned dollars a bit further, crafting on a budget, making money at home, and so on. Basically, if you have a tip that has a positive impact on your financial life- share it!
You have until Saturday night @ midnight (March 22, 2009) to enter. For each tip, I will enter your name once into the drawing for a chance to win the goodies. Enter a 2nd tip and your name will be added to the drawing twice! Good luck!

Hey! So, as you can tell, there has been much glittering happening at my work table lately. It's all her fault. Because she made this. And I bought it. Except my box has *24* bottles of glitter. Yeah, I know... what does anyone need 24 different colors of glitter for? Everything, I tell you.

I originally bought the box for a set of assignments on glitter. I've since used said box of glitter on nearly every project since. It's an addiction. I first let on about it in this post. However, even I did not know at the time how bad it would get. For this project, I went old school and attempted a glitter puzzle.

The first step (or at least, this was the way I did it!) was to design my card layout. I knew I didn't want to do an entire background of glitter, so I wanted to come up with a design that would feature the glitter puzzle, but keep it from overwhelming the card. For that reason, I kept the puzzle fairly small but prominently featured on the card. Cut a piece of cardstock in the size you want the puzzle to be.

Second step... bust out your handy Xyron machine and run the cardstock strip through it. I used a Xyron because this project requires an adhesive with a backing on it. If you don't have a Xyron machine, you could also use a sheet of double stick tape, such as a sheet of red liner tape, etc. If you don't have a sheet, you could place a few lines of liner tape next to each other to create a larger double stick area. The Xyron machine leaves a backing on both sides of the cardstock. Peel off the side that is not covering the adhesive (that would be the clear backing). (If you're using red liner tape, just adhere the tape down and move on to the next step.)

Lay the cardstock down and draw your design on top of the remaining backing with a pencil. I used a ruler to keep my lines straight because I'm just tedious like that. I also marked which squares would be which color. Again... I'm just tedious.

Go over the lines with a ruler and craft knife. The goal is to cut only through the backing layer, *NOT* through the cardstock.

Now for the glittering! Peel off the backing on only one square! Pour glitter over that square, then dump the excess in a coffee filter (scrap paper, etc.). Continue on until all your squares are glittered.

Now, I will say, I wondered later if I could have just peeled off all the squares of one color and glittered all of them at one time, then moved on to the next color, etc. I didn't try it, so I don't know if the colors would blend a bit or not. Probably worth a try, though!

I used Heat & Stick powder to make the glitter letters, cut them out, and adhered all of it to the card with foam tape.

This project is definitely a bit more intricate than I typically go for, but I am really happy with how it turned out! The glitter has been out on my table for a few weeks now and has yet to be put away... I've used it on nearly everything, I swear. Just bought some paper mache eggs at Hobby Lobby, so those are up next!

Later, friends!

Jessica

Materials:
Patterned paper - Back to Basics Ocean Dot by Bo Bunny
Cardstock - Kraft and White by Papertrey Ink
Rubber Stamps - Big Deal Alpha by Stampin' Up
Watermark ink - Versamark by Tsukineko
Glitter - Feldspar, Aquamarine Crystal, Verdelite, and Turquoise by Martha Stewart Crafts
Tools - Xyron, sewing machine, Heat & Stick powder by Stampin Up
Finished size: 3 3/4" x 8"

Simple Masking

Valentine's Day has past, so it is time to start thinking about Easter cards! I picked up this adorable A Muse stamp at my local stamp store last week - and I just adore it (almost as much as I love the candy!). I couldn't resist adding a little detail to it, notably:


Yes, I made the last one without an ear! Couldn't help it, as it is the first thing that I always eat with Peeps. It was so easy to do, that I thought I would share this simple masking technique with you today and you could give it a whirl, too.

First, grab a Post-It Note. I decided that for the appearance of 'teeth marks', a scalloped edge would be perfect. I cut my Post-It with a petite scalloped circle die from Spellbinders, but you could just as easily use a scalloped punch to achieve a similar look. Once you Post-It has been edged, you're ready to stamp.



Lay your Post-It down on the surface that you're going to stamp. Use your favorite technique for positioning your stamp (eye-balling, stamp positioner, etc.) and stamp, making sure that the ear portion stamps onto the Post-It, while the rest of the image goes onto the white.



When you take away your Post-It, you have a great edge that looks like someone was being sneaky with the Peeps! See how easy it is? By playing around with your stamps, you will find that masking can give new life to your images. I hope you give it a try and post back so we can see it!

Be well, Jenn

SUPPLY LIST
Cardstock: (Stampers Select, Summer Sunrise) Papertrey Ink
Ink: (Summer Sunrise) Papertrey Ink, Versafine Onyx Black
Stamps: A Muse Art Stamps
Dies: (Classic Square, Petite Scalloped Circles) Spellbinders Paper Arts
Other: (Waterfall Stickles) Ranger