Splashes of Watercolor

E-Team assignment - Play with little boxes...

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Daisy has given the E-Team our new assignment and it's "Box-a-licious"!  For this BLOG HOP, we got to play with Tim Holtz Configurations and it was so much fun!  You won't believe the diversity of the gorgeous creations that the E-Team has come up with.  I can't wait for you to see them all!

 eclectic Paperie is going to choose two winners who will each receive a Configurations of his/her choice, plus lots of paper crafting goodies to enjoy with it!  To be eligible, simply visit each blog listed at the end of this post and leave a comment on the blog hop post.  Each blog listed will accept comments for the next 48 hours, starting at 8:00 a.m. (EST) today.  One comment per person, per blog please!  Two winners will be chosen and announced on the eclectic Paperie blog on Friday, Dec. 3.

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Now on to my creation!  I chose to use the largest of the Configurations – 8.75 in. x 10.75 in., but I didn't use all of the small boxes within the larger box.  I also knew as soon as I first saw the Configurations that I would make a beach memories box.  Are you surprised?  Thought not!  

Here's my finished project and my process:

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***You can click on any of the photos to see them full size.

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1) I chose photos that I loved and wanted to use, then resized and cropped them each to fit a certain little box.  I also played around with the box layout and chose not to use all the little ones.  (Yay!  I'll have them to use later on another project!)  Oh, and you may have noticed that I did change the layout a little at the end of the process.

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2) When I had figured out the layout, I removed all of the little boxes and numbered them on the back so I would know where each one should go.  I also had the previous photograph to go by, of course.

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3) Then I did a white wash on all parts of the boxes that would show and started applying some of the backgrounds, like the tissue tape that was to show behind the fragment charm photo.  The white wash was done with Claudine Hellmuth Studio Gesso and water, mixed on my non-stick craft sheet and applied with a paint brush.  You'll see a little more of this farther along.

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4) I wanted to show you a little of how I created some of the backgrounds so that all of the elements in the boxes were at differing depths from the back of the larger box..

Using a Scor-Buddy, I scored each end of the piece of background paper to the height I wanted it to be from the back of the box.  Note: the center part of this background piece should be the width of the inside of the box.

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I applied tape to each side and then creased each end at the scored lines.

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I adhered one end of the background piece to the inside of the box first.

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Then I pushed in the other end.  It pretty much sticks by itself.  Now you're ready to add a drop of glue and your element to be showcased.

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5) To make the sand in one of my mini glass bottles, I used clear glass micro beads and colored them using Copic various ink refills (E31, E33, E37).

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6) Next I white washed  the miniature shutter I picked up in the doll house section of my local Hobby Lobby.  Then I used some Claudine Hellmuth Studio paint in Charcoal Black and mixed it with the gesso to create a light gray.  I used this to age the paint  by dry brushing it onto the white shutter.  When this was dry, I did white wash it again so it wouldn't look just dirty!

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7) The tiny picket fence, also from the doll house section, was white washed too.  In SC, all of our sand dunes and beach grasses are surrounded by small fences to protect them.  But the pickets are held together with wire.  I tried to simulate this by coloring some white twine with my T3 Copic marker and weaving it around the pickets.

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This is how I cleaned up the paint that had dried on my craft sheet.  It's amazing how this little slip of plastic, the Ranger craft scraper, can scrape every bit of paint up!

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8) Putting together some of the other elements:

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9) To create the support for the fence, I had to make a tiny box since it was only going to be attached on the bottom.

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So let me tell you a little about each section of my Beach Memories Configurations:

One of my favorite things to do at the beach is to sit on the beach at sunrise and have a cup of coffee!  HAD to include this photo!  The shells are from Edisto Island Beach, SC.  You can see the twill bow with the Twinery twine and mini pin that hold the fragment charm.

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This is my favorite shot of my two youngest grandchildren standing on the couch looking out the window at the ocean.  The banner is made from Twinery Caribbean twine and Ranger canvas ATC (you could use Claudine Hellmuth sticky-back canvas too).  The canvas was painted with Claudine Hellmuth Studio paint in Classic Teal.  And there are some more shells from Edisto.

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This is a photo of one of my beautiful daughters and her two sons on the beach, attached to a fragment charm.  I used Tim Holtz metal numerals and Maya Road chipboard alphas to create the year.  I also added a brad head to the window shutter.  More Edisto shells, too!

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I love this picture of my feet and my grandson's in the water.  It was taken at dawn on the beach in April.  The mini glass bottles hold the sand made earlier and some water mixed with Ranger Distress tumbled glass reinker.  The sand in the bottom of the box is a mix called Mudd Puddles – Malibu Beach that I picked up at a stamping convention.  It goes on wet and then dries and cures in 24 hours.  The stamped shell is a Unity image, water colored with Ranger Distress inks.  Look at those beautiful metal Foundations (box feet)!  And guess what...more Edisto shells!

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And finally the completed project again:

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Now it's time for you to visit all the other blogs.  You'll be thrilled and amazed, I'm sure!!  Don't forget to leave me a comment for a chance to win a Configurations of your very own!

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THE E-TEAM

Broni Holcombe (You are here!)

Linda Duke

Linda Ledbetter

Micki Harper

Sherry Cheever

Starla Nelson

Daisy Sparks (eP blog)

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Thank you so much for stopping by and for making it through this extra long post.  I hope you enjoyed seeing how my thought process and execution came together.

• Stamps: Beach Days, Sun Rays (Unity)
• Paper: watercolor paper, Seaside (October Afternoon), On the Boardwalk (Graphic 45)
• Ink: Archival jet black, Ranger Distress tumbled glass, scattered straw, wild honey, aged mahoghany, Copic various ink refills: E31, E33, E37, Copic marker T3
• Other: Tim Holtz: Configurations (8.75 x 10.75), Foundations 4 box feet, metal numerals, fragment charms, tissue tape, mini pin; Ranger: non-stick craft sheet, mini-mister, craft scraper, glossy accents; Claudine Hellmuth: Studio Gesso, paint brush, Studio paint – charcoal black, classic teal; Maya Road chipboard alpha; miniature wooden window shutter, miniature wooden picket fence, white twine, twill, hole punch, mini glass bottles, the Twinery Caribbean twine, ATC natural sticky-back canvas (Inkssentials), clear micro beads (Martha Stewart), Scor-Buddy, Fiskars 9" paper trimmer, foam tape, water brush, hot glue gun, Edisto Island Beach seashells

Big Dreams Come True!

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My niece just found out she's been accepted into the FBI Academy!  It's been her dream for several years, and she's been working so hard to achieve this goal.  (She's the one who's a forensic anthropologist.)

She'll be coming to my house today for a belated Thanksgiving dinner for our entire family, and I wanted to make her a card to let her know how proud I am of her.

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I used the Donna Downey set called She Said from Unity.  It's one of my favorites!

Gotta run and get everything ready!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and …

 

CONGRATULATIONS, LINDSAY!!

• Stamps: She Said (Donna Downey/ Unity)
• Paper: white, smokey shadow (PTI), Urban Prairie (Basic Grey)
• Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Versafine onyx black, Ranger Distress black soot
• Other: Labels Eleven Nestabilities, corner rounder punch, sponge dauber, aqua mist satin ribbon (PTI), foam tape, Copic markers:

A Big Ole Felt Flower - Color Throwdown #120

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Is it Wednesday again already?  Doesn't time always seem to speed up and the days fly by when it gets to be this time of year?  It sure seems like it to me!

It's time to step up to the plate and take on the the Color Throwdown challenge again!  Let's see what colors Danielle has chosen for us this week:

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Aren't they great together?  Wait until you see the DT cards.  They're all beautiful!

So are you ready to see my big ole felt flower?  I'm not sure what else to call it.  It's a big ole felt flower.  Here it is:

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I made this card to give to my Mom for Thanksgiving.  Obviously I can't mail it.  Big ole felt flower.

But she can wear it, the big ole felt flower, because it's also a pin.  I've seen a lot of these on various blogs and combined the instructions from several different ones to come up with a look that I liked.

I don't know if you need to see a close up but here it is.  Big ole felt flower.

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I've also made several in red for my daughters and sisters.  I think they look great on a coat lapel.  Big old red felt flower:

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So there you have it.  Head over to see the design team members creations at the links below and be sure to check out all the details of the challenge on the Color Throwdown blog.  Please come and play along with us!

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Barbara * Cathy * Danielle * Kristin

Laura * Tammy * Lynn Put (November/December Guest Designer)

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Thanks so much for stopping by again this week.  Here's wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving and happy shopping too!

• Stamps:  Framed Greetings (My Favorite Things)
• Paper:  razzleberry textured, white, So-So Sweet paper pack (the Paper Studio)
• Ink:  rich razzleberry, Memento bamboo leaves
• Other:  felt (MFT), Framed Greetings die (MFT), circle & scallop circle Nestabilities, Tattered Leaves die (Tim Holtz), hot glue gun, old olive ribbon, rhinestone stickers, foam tape, bar pin

An Our Craft Lounge winner!

A huge congratulations to Lillian Child, who is the winner of the Life is Sweet stamp set from Our Craft Lounge. 

You can see a list of all the winners at the Our Craft Lounge blog soon!

A friend's birthday….and a couple of challenges

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I needed a card for a friend's birthday and since she loves owls, decided on this cute image from the November KOTM, {picture perfect}, from Unity.

I used the colors from the Color Throwdown again (CTD119).  They just seemed to suit this image!  I also used the SSSC94 sketch.

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That's it for me today.  I hope you all have a great week, and in case you don't stop back by for the Color Throwdown post on Wednesday, I hope you also have a bountiful and happy Thanksgiving.

 

• Stamps: {picture perfect} – Unity Stamp Co.
• Paper: vanilla, espresso, cajun craze, Nutmeg 6x6 mini deck (Cosmo Cricket)
• Ink: Memento rich cocoa, Ranger Distress frayed burlap
• Other: large deckled rectangle & circle Nestabilities, sponge dauber, Victorian Lace Border die (PTI), Tattered Florals die (Tim Holtz), felt (MFT), button, hemp twine, foam tape, Scor-Tape, Copic markers:

A Super Sweet Our Craft Lounge Blog Hop!

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Hey, everyone!  Are you ready to blog hop with the Our Craft Lounge design team today?  We're showing off 4 new stamps sets for Valentine's Day, and also showcasing all of the previously released Our Craft Lounge stamp sets that can be used to express your love to your sweetheart!

I'll be giving away the sweetest set.  Literally!  This is Life is Sweet:

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I loved working with this set and coloring all the sweet goodness!  Look how yummy!

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I used Ranger glossy accents on the glass and the cherry, and the flower was made with 2 of the Tattered Florals flowers from Tim Holtz Alterations.   It's topped with a button (PTI) and some Caribbean twine from The Twinery.

So here's the deal.  Leave me a comment for your chance to win the Life is Sweet stamp set.  Visit each of the blogs listed and leave a comment for a chance at the other sets being given away.  You can only win one, but it sure doesn't hurt to increase your chances!

The blog hop ends on Saturday, November 20th at midnight Pacific/3 a.m. Eastern.

Here are some things you REALLY need to know:

1) Your comment left on sneak peek day (yesterday) will automatically enter you into the giveaway for the blog hop prize.

2) You MUST leave contact information in order to be entered – or at least be signed in to Blogger.

3) You can enter on each blog once each day.

4) You will only be eligible to win one new set.  Blog candy will be drawn Sunday morning (Nov 21) by each blog participant.  Winners will be notified by the designer and a full list of winners will be posted on the OCL blog. 

Here's the list of blogs you need to visit:

Amber Hillman

Bev Gerard

Broni Holcombe

Cambria Turnbow

Deb Felts

Debbie Corbari

Denise Marzec

Heather McNally

Jeanne Streiff

Joy Kennedy

Kendra Wietstock

Kisa Peters

Lori McAree

Pam Hooten

Tammie Edgerton

Have fun and good luck to you all!

And on a personal note....Congratulations to Ree Drummond for winning the Thanksgiving Day Throwdown with Bobby Flay!  Yee haw!!!

• Stamps: Life is Sweet (Our Craft Lounge)
• Paper: vanilla, kraft, lemon tart (PTI), Nook & Pantry 6x6 (Basic Grey)
• Ink: Memento tuxedo black
• Other: Labels Eight Nestabilities, Fanciful Labels Cuttlebug Embossing Plus folder (Provo Craft), Ranger glossy accents, Caribbean twine (The Twinery), button (PTI), Tattered Florals die (Tim Holtz), Pop up glue dots (Glue Dots), Scor-Tape, foam tape, Copic markers:

Vintage Love - Color Throwdown #119 & a Sneak Peek!!

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Hi, folks!  It's time for another Color Throwdown challenge and this week I'm combining it with a sneak peek for the new Our Craft Lounge release!  You're gonna love these SWEET new stamp sets! 

First of all, let's look the color combo that our lovely Barbara has chosen for us.

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Ok, now, my challenge was to use these colors to create a Valentine card.  Uh huh.  I thought it was impossible too!  But I think I may have pulled it off.  You tell me what you think.

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Isn't this the sweetest little girl you've ever seen?  I fell in love with her immediately.   She's in the new release from Our Craft Lounge called Vintage Valentine. (And she's got a little boy friend too!)

I used the MOJO165 sketch for this week, and I decided to tone down the CTD colors and watercolor her and her little teddy.  Then I used the backgrounds for the intense colors.  Can you see how I popped up the envelope and her cute little teddy?  I also added Ranger Distress Stickles in antique linen just about everywhere!

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Ok, so you can find all the blogs that are sneak peeking today at the OCL blog, but I've also listed them for you below.  Be sure to leave a comment here and on all of the participating blogs today and during the actual blog hop tomorrow for a chance to win some blog candy.  And please make sure that your contact information is included or that you are signed in to Blogger .  The contest will close on Saturday (Nov. 20) at midnight, and winners will be announced at the OCL blog.  Tomorrow you'll see which set I'll be giving away and you can comment then too for another chance to win.  Here are the blogs to visit:

Amber Hillman

Bev Gerard

Broni Holcombe

Chelle Fowler

Deb Felts

Heather McNally

Jeanne Streiff

Joy Kennedy

Kendra Wietstock

Kisa Peters

Lori McAree

Pam Hooten

Tammie Edgerton

So are you going to play along in the Color Throwdown with us?  These are some great colors.  You can even use them to make a Valentine card!!  Check out what the rest of the design team has made:

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Barbara * Cathy * Danielle * Kristin

 Laura * Tammy * Lynn Put (November Guest Designer)

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Did you catch that?  Cathy's back!!!  We're so thrilled and I know you will be too!  We've missed her so much!

I'm so glad you stopped by to take a look.  Don't forget to leave a comment, check out all the blogs on the OCL blog hop, and all the Color Throwdown DT blogs too!  And tomorrow is the big Our Craft Lounge new release blog hop party!  So be sure to check back in with me for that and another chance to win some blog candy!

• Stamps: Vintage Valentine (Our Craft Lounge)
• Paper: watercolor paper, early espresso, pear pizzaz, Mariposa Stack (DCWV)
• Ink: computer, pear pizzaz, Ranger Distress inks:  walnut stain, tattered rose, victorian velvet, wild honey rusty hinge, fired brick, tumbled glass, antique linen
• Other: water brush, clear embossing powder, circles, scallop circles, & lacey circles Nestabilities, sponge dauber, paper bag, Postcard Texture Fades (Tim Holtz), corner rounder punch, seam binding, vintage lace, vintage button, rustic cream button twine (PTI), Scor-Tape, foam tape, Ranger Distress antique linen Stickles

It's an E-Team & Darcie's blog hop!

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Hi, y'all!  It's time for another fun and fabulous blog hop featuring the E-Team!  This time we're partnering with Darcie's to bring you some tips and hints on creating with her stamps and/or shadowboxes.

Let's get started!

First of all I'm going to show you a shadowbox I made using Darcie's Acrylic Shadowbox Frame Raine Large.  I fell in love with these shadowbox frames when I first saw them at CHA.  Then I picked this one up at a craft show just a couple of months ago, and made a hanging shadowbox to commemorate my grandson's 1st year of playing soccer. (You can click on any of the photos to see them full size.)

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I had so much fun adding all the cute little elements.  The stars were cut with a die cut from glitter paper, the banner was hand cut, and the sentiment is from Unity.  The soccer ball is actually a sticker.  Wasn't it convenient that Miles was holding his hands just perfectly for me to be able to fit in the soccer ball?

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I did not, however, take step-by-step photos of the process when I made it.  That would leave me with nothing to show you here, wouldn't it?  Well, I couldn't let that happen, so I created an Acrylic Ornament Meghan to also share with you today.

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At first I was going to create a really sparkly Christmas-themed ornament, but then I decided to use a photo of my 4 grandchildren that I took when we were all at the beach for our annual family vacation.  The whole theme then changed and I decided to make it a little bit shabby, with a beachy feel.

I followed the instructions that are enclosed with each of the shadowboxes, and started by tracing the chipboard onto patterned paper, one for the back and one for the front.  I only cut out the opening on the front piece. 

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Then I printed the photo and allowed it to dry thoroughly.  I cut it just a bit smaller than the outer edge of the ornament chipboard and adhered it to the inside of the paper that was cut for the back of the ornament.

The next step was to create the snowflake.  I cut the largest flake from felt using a die.  The middle one is made of grungeboard and painted with Claudine Hellmuth acrylic paint in traditional tan. The smallest one was punched from glitter paper, and the tiny star is the center of the largest felt one.  After I adhered the 3 chipboard pieces together using Beacon Zip-Dry, as recommended in the instructions, this is what I had:

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I then adhered the papers to the front and back of the ornament (also using Zip-Dry), sanded all the edges, and sponged them with Ranger Distress antique linen ink.  I used Scor-Tape to assemble the snowflake then dotted it with Ranger Matte Accents and sprinkled on some crystal coarse glitter.

I added some Diamond Dust glass glitter inside the ornament, then attached the acrylic pieces to the front and back, using the provided clips to hold everything together.  The snowflake was attached to the front using Scor-Tape.

The final step was to tie it all up with some seam binding and Caribbean twine that had been misted with Ranger Distress antique linen ink, scrunched and dried.

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That's it, folks!  I just love how both of these shadowboxes turned out.  I guess now my daughter Gretchen will argue that she gets the ornament since Jennifer got the shadowbox of Miles.  But I think I'll just keep it to hang on my Christmas tree as a reminder to us all of the wonderful beach trips we share every summer!

It's time for you to move on and check out the fantabulous creations of the rest of the E-Team.  I've had a sneak peek and I know you're going to LOVE what they have to show you!  Also, don't forget to visit the eclectic Paperie blog and leave a comment to have a chance to win some cool prizes!

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Broni Holcombe (You are here!)

Latrice Murphy

Linda Ledbetter

Micki Harper

Sherry Cheever

Starla Nelson

Daisy Sparks (eP blog)

And Darcie has a cool tutorial today featuring one of these shadowbox ornaments!

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Thanks so much for stopping by and for making it all the way through this long post!  I hope you have a great week!  Please stop back by on Wednesday for a Color Throwdown/Our Craft Lounge sneak peek combo post!  Then we have an Our Craft Lounge blog hop coming up on Thursday!  What an exciting week!

Love you guys!

Soccer shadowbox frame:

• Stamps: {all you need} August KOTM (Unity Stamp Co.)
• Paper: white, black glitter paper (K & Company), Ooh-La-La & Abbey Road (My Mind's Eye)
• Ink: Memento tuxedo black
• Other: Acrylic Shadowbox Frame Raine Large (Darcie's),  Copic markers: Y32, Y35, T1, T3; Metro mini shimmer alpha (Making Memories), Kids puffy soccer ball sticker (Recollections), Concentric Stars Cuttlebug die (Provo Craft),Zip-Dry paper glue (Beacon), black DMC thread, foam mounting tape

Beach Memories ornament:

 

• Paper: photo paper, Figgy 6x6 paper pad (Basic Grey), white glitter paper (K & Company)
• Ink: Ranger Distress antique linen
• Other: Acrylic Ornament Meghan (Darcie's), computer & printer, pencil, craft knife, scissors, Studio acrylic paint – traditional tan (Claudine Hellmuth), foam brush, grungeboard snowflake (Tim Holtz), snowflake punch (Martha Stewart), Create a Flake One Shapeabilities, Zip-Dry paper glue (Beacon), Ranger Matte accents, crystal coarse glitter (Martha Stewart), Twinklets Diamond Dust glass glitter (FloraCraft), Scor-Tape, sanding stick, sponge dauber, Ranger mini-mister, seam binding, Carribean twine – The Twinery 

I just have to share....

I just have to share this email I received from my daughter today about my 4 year old grandson.

So every week in Miles' preschool class they learn about a certain letter of the alphabet. They practice writing that letter, they tell stories about the letter, they think of words that start with that letter. Then on Friday they bring in a toy or other possession whose name starts with that week's letter, for show and tell. They have been doing this for awhile now.

This week the letter was B. So Miles decided that he should bring "Bobby" for show and tell.[Bobby is his dad.] (Bobby may have been consulted in this decision). We found out what time show and tell was going to be, Bobby made sure he was there on time... and when it was time for Miles to say his piece, he said:

 "This is my Daddy. His name is Bobby. Tomorrow, he is taking me Bowling. And he likes to drink Beer."

 

(we didn't tell him to say that!)

Pretty priceless huh. :)

 Love,

Jen

 

Ya just gotta love that kid!  Oh, and maybe I need to add that this is a Southern Baptist preschool.

 Have a great weekend, everyone!

Gingerbread House - Color Throwdown #118

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Good Wednesday morning, everyone!  I'm hosting the Color Throwdown challenge this week and I wanted to give you some warm, sweet colors to play with.  The colors of gingerbread and cherry cobbler.  Literally!

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I used my Sweet Holiday stamp set from Our Craft Lounge and colored the gingerbread house with my Copic markers.  I sponged the edges of the oval and added Ranger glossy accents to the candy and Sparkly Fluff to the snow.

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The rosette is made out of a strip of crepe paper.  I accordian folded it, glued the ends together, then formed the rosette, just like you do with the Rosette die.  Simple!  The sentiment flag was hand cut.  I love that curvy sentiment!

So, one more Christmas card down and bunches more to go!

We'd love for you to play along with us at the Color Throwdown!  You can get all the details at the CTD blog and please be sure to check out all the great creations of the design team here:

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Barbara * Danielle * Kristin * Laura

LeAnne * Tammy * Lynn Put (November Guest Designer)

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Thanks for stopping by!

• Stamps: Sweet Holiday (Our Craft Lounge)
• Paper: white, kraft, soft suede, cherry cobbler, Jovial 6x6 (Basic Grey)
• Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Ranger Distress tumbled glass
• Other: sponge dauber, oval & beaded oval Nestabilities, corner rounder punch, crepe paper, tiny attacher (Tim Holtz), Ranger matte accents & glossy accents, Sparkly Fluff- sugar, baker's twine, Scor-Tape, foam tape, Copic markers: