Handmade Embellishments

I am thrilled to have been asked to craft handmade embellishments for Scrapbook Heaven's kits.  One of my favorite parts of scrapbooking is coming up with and creating my own embellishments for my pages.  It's funny, now that I think of it, I very rarely purchase ready-made accents.  Dies, punches, rhinestones and pearls--now that's a different story.

Here's a look at the embellishments I created for the April kits:

I had a blast putting these together.  I think the mini pinwheels are my favorite!

Some more pics, just because I took them!

Punched word tags:

I knew someday I would find a use for that punch alphabet set.
OK, honestly, I nearly donated it two years ago.  Glad I didn't--sometimes hoarding is good.

 Crepe Paper Flowers {tute here}

Embellished Mini Tags:

Cutie Pinwheels:

New goodies

I had a heavenly day today.  The three boys are off on vacation with their grandparents and I am all alone in my quiet, peaceful, bicker-free home.  Yes, I miss the kiddos dearly, but I am loving this time to hold a thought in my head for more than 3 seconds. 

So I did a bit of shopping today and came home with some yummy new goodies:

I am so excited about those flowers up there, so I can make one of these necklaces.  And I've got big plans for Tim Holtz's die.  So excited!!

Tomorrow is another kid-free day around here, so I am hoping that I can get crack-a-lackin' on some crafty goodness!

Thank you Marks Paper, Co!

Remember this little project? Well, it won for the contest Marks Paper Co. had. The goodies they sent me arrived yesterday. Oh, so happy! I had just been ogling the paper with the children climbing the tree on their website. And what do you know, it was in my pack of goodies!

I can't wait to create something with these luscious papers.

Altered ATG

After seeing Donna Downey's altered Binderie, I was inspired to alter my ATG. Here's the before:


And here's the after:


The first thing I did was unscrew and remove the tape and uptake rolls; just two screws--I can handle that! Then I taped off the black trigger, the rubber wheel mechanism, and the inside posts that hold the rolls.


Then it's off to the spray paint. I used Krylon Fusion satin white to "prime", and then sprayed regular Krylon in Ivy Leaf. I don't have a lot of experience with spray painting, so I don't know for sure if the primer step was necessary. But my gun gets a lot of use and I didn't want the paint to get all chipped and scratched.

After all coats (2-3 of primer and 2 of color), I let it dry for a couople of days before adding the rub-ons. I used Daisy Bucket rub-ons (I love this spring-time line) and some I've had kicking around by Making Memories. Lots of rubbing, and voila! I will pick up one more pack of DB rub-ons so I can finish the back of the handle, and add just a couple more here and there. And then I will seal the whole thing with a Krylon protective finish and add a tiny bit of bling (maybe the flower centers.)

This was such a fun little project! Look around your home or crafting space and see what you can alter.