Snake Venom, Cobweb Oil and Vampire Blood!

This will be a quick post to get into the swing of Halloween. I absolutely love these apothecary jars from SVG Cuts' Toil and Trouble SVG Kit. They are such great cut files. The two on the right are the exact same pattern, the smaller one being scaled down. You just can't beat Mary's files for any season or theme imaginable. They work great with my Sizzix Eclips electronic cutting machine.
I used embossing folders for the great textures on the side panels, the web on the top of one, and the spider on the top of the other. I used silver, then copper inking to give it a metallic look.

Happy Halloween!

Sizzix Eclips Blog Hop!

CONGRATS TO LINDA! You're the winner of  Deb's Crafty Side's blog hop! You'll be getting an email regarding your win!
Thanks for joining us in the #sizzixeclips Blog Hop (Aug. 2016). I hope you'll take a moment to browse my first blog hop ever, with projects made with my favorite electronic cutter, the Sizzix Eclips.

I have chosen Paris as my blog theme. My first item is this amazing Eiffel Tower from SVG Cuts' Travel the World SVG Kit. I visited this tower with two girlfriends some 44 years ago! It was quite an adventure traveling to Paris on Bastille weekend, when we had no idea what that occasion meant. We could only walk up to the first level since it wasn't in our budget to pay to go higher. (Europe on $10 a day back then)

This cut file is quite intricate. Even with this fast-cutting machine, each page took a bit of time to cut because they were so chuck-full of cuts. But, the Eclips performed every single cut beautifully.  And, I was so surprised to find out how easy this tower was to make. It took only four sheets of grey 12x12 card stock for the base and three sheets for the pink overlays. It looks almost daunting on sight, but with Mary's great tutorial, it went together perfectly. After cutting this out, I know that there is nothing this cutter can't handle. I stayed with a light pink and grey card stock (Bazzill) cut at Cardstock M (medium weight) setting. (click on photo to see close-up of cuts)

I next made this little octagonal box, from SVG Cuts' Maison de Madeline SVG Kit. It's adorable. I love the little knob on the top. This one is fast to make, and very easy as well. The digital paper is from Carta Bella Paris Girl (Paper Pack 1 and 2) and Echo Park's Be Mine Paper Pack. 

I glued some panels to the inside of the box to make it a bit stronger. I purchase most of my paper digitally; it saves so much room on card stock storage and you print only what you need at any particular time!

Lastly, I designed this Paris Marquee sign myself. I used the same card stock as the octagonal box, along with the pink Bazzill solid. The back is open so that I could insert the marquee lights and battery pack. I'm pretty excited about how it turned out, as I'm new at designing 3D projects. Believe me though, it is not without imperfections.

 The "shine" around the Paris wording is a light-weight glitter paper that I purchased at the dollar store. I mounted it on black card stock. Also used it around the inner edge overhang.

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at my projects. I would love for you to follow my blog!

For your chance to receive a free gift certificate, you must leave a comment.

Here's a list of the Sizzix Eclips Hop Bloggers. Take a look and comment on all five!  The more blogs you visit and comment on, the more chances you have to win!

Jan - Izbzee
Deb - You Are Here!
Camille - Short On Ideas
Lynda - Lynda Creates
Maria - craftnkc

Our blog hop ran from 8/19/2016 12:00 am ET thru 8/21/2016 11:59 pm ET.
The blog hop is now over, but please feel free to comment! For all winners, visit Jan's blog: Izbzee

L'amour est dans l'air

Philaterium Box

As I'm gearing up to make a larger chip board project, I found a tutorial for this little trunk box on youtube made by Alexandra M. I thought it would be good practice leading to the larger project. So, here is my Philaterium Box. I don't have any idea what philaterium means or relates to, but here's the darling trunk I made.

The hardware used is a mixture of Tim Holtz Idea-ology, The Paper Studio Spare Parts and cup drawer pulls from Amazon.

The inside top of the upper chamber has a pocket where I added some ephemera.

The paper used is My Mind's Eye, Lost & Found Union Square.

There are two upper sections, and a drawer at the bottom.

 

I haven't quite figured out if I want to put something on the inside top of the center section, and if I do, I'm not sure exactly what. I'll have to think about that! Sometimes one needs to just step away and let new thoughts arrive!

 

It's a lovely little box, and I really enjoyed making it. Alexandra M. has some other free tutorials, including a vintage suitcase, that you could all try! She explains things really well, and is quick and concise. 

Hope you enjoyed my little box tour!

Make a special place to save some sweet memories!

By the Sea

I found this card on Pinterest, and saved it in my folder: "Others projects that I like." This was one I adored. I finally had the chance to make it for a crafty friend I met online, Jeannie, who has come to visit me twice now. The last time was almost two years ago. I showed her all over San Diego. This is a photo of her at the ocean. It was actually taken mid day, so for this card I did some Photoshop fun and changed it to a sunset.
The card was originally designed by Karen Shady, an excellent layout designer who, I believe, used to be on the DT for Graphic 45. Thank you Karen! I know that I pretty much copied your card verbatim, but I really loved it, and I hope that was OK! You can see Karen's card on G-45s website, on her blog and on Pinterest.
The paper came from Graphic 45's By the Sea Collection.

Enjoy!

Life is Beautiful...By the Sea!

Mermaid Photoshop Fun

A friend asked if I could help her out with a photo that she took of her daughter. She wanted to know if I could make it look like her daughter was a mermaid. I love a Photoshop challenge, so I was up for it. Here's the photo she sent to me.

I then had some fun and turned her into this!

Then mama took it a step further and added some bling to the fin and framed it. She surprised her sweet girl with it. It really turned out great, and I think it has been a hit!

Wish I Could Be Part of That World

Color Fun!

I made this card as a housewarming card for a dear friend. So happy with how it turned out! I finally used a product for the first time that I bought a while back, and it is quite fun!

The product is a crystal pigment colors by Color Bursts. Brusho also makes the same product and it works the same. You can check it out on youtube. I have no connection with either one, but just want to share for those who might enjoy trying it. The windows, flowers and vase were cut files from SVG Cuts Townhouse Windows and Moonlight Garden Party, cut with my Sizzix Eclips. I altered the window a bit to give it more dimension.This is actually one of my favorite cards I've ever made.  I don't consider myself an artist/painter of any sort, so it was a bit of a stretch for me. But I'm definitely going to make more using this technique!

Another housewarming, well boatwarming, card using the same pigment paints and dies made by Simply Defined. This was made for friends who sold their home and most of the worldly goods and moved to a boat (well, a small yacht!). And this is what they get to see every single evening!

Not to bad, huh? Just a little visit feels like a vacation.

May You Find Happiness In Your New Home!

Vintage Valentines Matchbook and Candy Treat Box

I'm not too big on Valentine's Day, but these items were so cute I couldn't pass up making them. The pattern for this little Matchbook Candy Holder came from an online crafty friend, Jan Leonard, who took the template and made a cut file for it. It's just adorable. And, of course, I cut them with my favorite Sizzix Eclips electronic cutting machine. I made them for my bunco group, as well as for my daughter and her family. They hold one of the square Ghirardelli Chocolates in the little pocket. I'm sort of obsessed with them. I'll probably revise them and use them for other occasions as well.

This next little project was made using SVG Cuts Love Struck SVG Kit. They are little treat boxes that measure about 4" square. However, I made them a bit smaller (decreased to 75%), at about 2.5" square. So cute, huh? Always love Mary's cut file designs.

That's it for this Valentine's Day! Hope you received lots of love and chocolate!

Lots of Love To You!

A Toast For You!

This is just a quick post. My nephew got married, and so I etched these stemless champagne glasses for the happy couple. I made the box from SVG Cuts Maison de Madeline SVG Kit, shrinking it down so it fit the glasses perfectly. Wrapped the flutes up in some pretty gold tissue paper. I made the stencils for the glasses with vinyl and my Sizzix Eclips.

Here's to a Happy Future ♥

More Babies!

I know I have multiple posts with these cupcake boxes, but I just love making new designs for them and giving them to special family and friends. Here are two new sets with an Elephant theme. I just love how they turned out...and so did the recipients!
Here's the girl elephant box. I designed the top and side panels to have the elephants traveling around. There are four onesies and two pair of socks, the onesie acting as the cupcake and the sock acting as the cherry on top.

I used coffee filters as the cupcake wrappers. Silly, but it works!

I made some clothing rod dividers and a little box for them.
And, here are the onesies I made for this little baby girl.

And, now for the baby boy! Another Elephant Box, this time in blue.

And the onesies for him.

Here are both sets. I put baby monthly markers for the boy set. I've described these in previous posts, so I won't go into it here.

Hope you enjoyed these projects. I love making these for the special people in my life.

Here Come the Babies!