Summer Road Trip 2013, Part 1

Coloma, CA  (Marshall Gold Discovery Park)  

Coloma, CA a Historic Town Filled with History

Our road trip this year is too good to fit in one posting, so I have written three.  Hope you will indulge me...

We first visited the Foothills of Tahoe to visit my BIL and SIL, visit the Marshall Gold Discovery Site, and do a little panning for gold ourselves...


No lobster dinners bought with our findings, but the treasures of time with the family were priceless...


Replica of Sutter Mill, where gold was discovered in CA



South Fork of the American River

Baby Boy Card

Not so Baby-ish Baby Card

The recipients of this baby card are not the "cute baby card" type of people.  The card needs to be edgier and more hip.  So I opted for using a paper designed for older boys, somehow it is perfect for this family.  I chose a Simple Stories Awesome 6 x 6 pad for the patterned paper.  The cardstock is from scraps.  There is some Bazzil (cream and brown), there is some Stampin' Up (Orange).  Not sure about the teal.  The ribbons are both from Stampin' Up.  The letter stickers are from Prima.

To add a gift card, there is an envelope on the inside of the card.  I made it over sized because gift cards are such varied shapes and sizes these days.

The ribbon makes it a bit thick to send through the mail, but this one is to be delivered by hand.

There are many layers on this card.  The flags on the front of the card are cut from My Favorite Thing's First Place Award Ribbon Die-namics.  I love how versatile that set is.  I have made flowers from it, pendants, flags, and, of course, first place ribbons.

I even decorated the envelope!

Peony Fairy Box

Purple Fairy's Home

In Progress

Overall, the Purple Fairy is going to be living in a wooden wine box that I am converting into a perfect habitat for a fairy.  Think whimsically creepy...coining a new turn of phrase here, but it does describe the aesthetic I want. I am making a bunch of paper flowers and layers of grasses.  Adding to the creepy part, the box will be embellished with doll arms and legs and clock cogs.  In the vein of being true art, I am addressing issues of being feminine in the modern age. 

Okay, enough of philosophy, back to color and fun!

Work in progress...nothing is glued down yet..
I'm adding tons more layers and backgrounds to bring in the creepy elements

I used Studio 490 Alphabetically Art stamp set to make both the large peony and the smaller peonies.   

    

Each of the smaller peonies are five of the small flowers from the Alpha set, layered up and curled to make the flower shape.  I love these little flowers!  I even made a couple flower buds using a single flower stamp.

The daisies were stamped in Memento from Studio 490 set Funky Flower Art.  I hand cut each one and layered up four of them to make each daisy.  

There are four layers of grass that I will glue into the box to make several dimensions.  And it will make a little pocket for the fairy to stand in, as well.  Each of these layers is made of three different green colors of cardstock.  I hand cut out each one!

 

Look to future posts as I am still in search of all the embellishments I need to make that whimsically creepy vibe I want.  Plus, I think Secret Garden from Graphic 45 (I think available after CHA) will have some patterned papers that would make an ideal background for the box.

Peony Fairy for Me

Purple Peony Fairy

I love these little paper dolls that I had to make one for myself.  If you remember, my niece got the other three that I had made.

This little lady is made in my favorite color, purple.  I used some scraps, so I am not sure of the brand of paper, but think it is Stampin' Up Eggplant Envy.  She is made up of nine layers 9 of the peony flower stamp from Studio 490 Alphabetically Art.  I added a small amount of highlights from my Copics.

Adding her clip art wings, face, arms, and legs.  I got these from my favorite library of clip art.  Here is the link.  It is for teachers and is free for use if not making the items for sale.

http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/sitemap/sitemap.php

 I added Copics to her face, because it was black and white, while the arms and legs were skin color. I used the Copics to match the two.  For the wings, I have a couple of wing stamps, but I like the ability to re-size them to perfectly fit my little paper fairy doll. 

She is just so fun...

but where can she go? 

She needs a little home....

Paper Dolls

I know I gush sometimes about the things I make, but this is one I really want to brag about....



Three regal flower fairies that have articulated arms, legs, and heads: Mom, Big Sister, and Baby Blue

I have been madly making a few paper dolls for my niece.  She loves fairies, so I thought she might like some fairy paper dolls.  So I flipped through some free clip art sites and found an articulated paper doll body, a variety of faces, and the wings.  The flowers are from a Studio 490 stamp set called Alphabetically Art.  Each doll is made with nine of these flowers that I then cut out and added some color with Copics.  The faces were black and white, so I used my Copics to match the girls faces to the limbs. 



The wings flap when you jiggle the popsicle stick.



I made slits in the back of the flower and put tabs from each wing through the slits.  This gives the wings extra stability and a fluttering effect.

Inside each flower is a matching gem





See how the arms and head are two different clip art pieces



Note the articulated arms and legs.  You can change her pose.  I love creating something you can play with!





 

 

 



 

Pop up Cracker Favors

Another Gift Idea

 

The holiday shopping and events have taken me away from the blog for the last week, but I have still been crafting.  Like a Chirstmas Elf, I have been making gifts for school secretaries, teachers (you saw those in a previous blog post), and crafting friends.  In the past I have made paper trees, Swedish Stars, decorated frames, and more. 

 This year, I opted for more of a New Year's theme to my little favor. 

I found inspiration from a project I had seen years ago and wanted to tweek and make it my own.  The one I had seen held a group of post cards.  I wanted to make mine smaller and more of a "favor" size.  This is 2" x 2" plus the cracker ends (roughly 3' x 2").  So sweet and fun.  I think they would even add a festive feel to the table as name cards.

 Pull the sides and the cracker splits open to reveil a holiday greeting.

 Papertrey Ink provided the stamps for the cracker pieces.  The patterned paper is Authentique.  The cardstock and inks are Stampin' Up.  I added a little baker's twine to the cracker ends to bring it to life, but don't know the brand.

Hope these bring a little pop to everyone's lives!

 

Card Gifts

More Cards for Gifts

 

 

I am still stuck in the box rut, but his time I made a smaller box without the acetate window.  I used My Mind's Eye Six by Six Gnome Sweet Gnome patterned papers. 

Gotta love those cute little gnomes and mushrooms.   The other basic gingham patterns included in the paper pack are adorable, too.  Something about them reminds me of the 80's and my childhood.  The paper is paired with My Favorite Things' felt and Bazzil paper.  The ribbon was from my Local Scrap Store.  It is so rough and rustic, it seems perfect for a garden-y themed set of cards.

Spellbinders dies made the scalloped oval and ovals. 

I also cut out some of the gnomes and mushrooms from the patterned papers to embellish the cards.  Hopefully I can stop this terrible addiction to making boxes, but not before the Holidays!