Artful Musings

23
Mar
2017

Fun & Crafty | Sale-A-Bration Celebration

categories: Fun-n-Crafty, Sale-A-Bration, Stampin' Up!

We are down to the final days of Sale-A-Bration and the Occasions catalog so to send this year’s event out with a bang I’m on the blog today with a sale-a-bration celebration. There is still time to grab a few freebies (each $50 you spend on Stampin’ Up! product earns you a free Sale-A-Bration item) before the promotion ends. As a bonus, just today a few last-minute items were added (see picture – thanks to my upline, Jennifer Blomquist over at NW Stamper, for the image).

For today’s project, I’d planned to use the 6 x 6 glimmer paper that was part of Sale-a-Bration, unfortunately it sold out on Sunday so I had to alter my project to focus on the Occasions catalog stamp set that we’ve learned is carrying over into the new 2017-18 catalog, which will launch in June. This set is probably my favorite of the catalog, Dragonfly Dreams (144728). For today’s hop, I created a card and a hinged box. The box I’ve seen on many blogs and in at least one origami book. Interestingly enough, it happens to perfectly hold one of the small embellishment containers from Stampin’ Up!

I used Soft Sky (131181) and So Saffron (126957) inks, Soft Sky paper (131203), the dandelion print paper from the Falling in Love DSP (142788), and the clear Wink of Stella shimmer pen (141897). Starting with a standard card base I cut a piece of the dandelion print from the DSP pack to 4″ x 5.5″. Next, I cut a panel for die cutting the dragonflies out of Whisper White card stock (100730) and sponged the edges with Soft Sky. Once I die cut the dragonflies I colored over them with the clear Wink of Stella pen to give them that dragonfly shimmer. I used a die cut inlay technique where you insert the die cut back into the overall panel to create the paper inlay. I also curled up some of the wings to give the card dimension and stamped one of the sentiments from the set onto the bottom using Soft Sky.

The box is an oldie but a goodie. A very simple hinged box that is built using a 7″ x 6.5″ piece of card stock and two smaller pieces of DSP (a 2.5″ x 2.5″ and a 1.5″ x 2.5″ piece). As I said, I’ve seen it around a lot, including an origami book about box creation. I did find a wonderful video by Crafty Caroline showing her building the box. Below are two images of the box before construction, the first showing the score and cut lines and the second showing the box cut and scored before putting it together. Score lines for the 7″ side: 1/2″, 3 1/4″, 3 3/4″, and 6.5″. Score lines for the 6.5″ side: 1/2″, 3 1/4″, and 6″.

There are still great Sale-A-Bration freebies to be had through March 31st! If you order the Dragonfly Dreams bundle now you can take advantage of bundle pricing ($46.75), which won’t be available in the new catalog and you would only need to spend $3.75 more to get a Sale-A-Bration freebie. Bundle pricing saves you 10% off the stamps and coordinating dies. Not quite ready to order? That’s okay, just remember that bundle pricing for this set is only available until May 31st!

If you started here, please visit Susan’s blog and show her some blog love. Until next time, remember, creativity and imperfection live together in all we do. “Grace is the face love wears when it meets imperfection.”

~xoxo
Beanie

Christine Szekeres – Artful Musings (you are here)
Susan Schultz – Stampin’ by the SF Bay

Supplies Used
Dragonfly Dreams Bundle
Falling in Love DSP
Soft Sky & So Saffron Inks
Soft Sky Card Stock
Clear Wink of Stella Shimmer Pen
Simply Scored Board
Project Life Corner Rounder

23
Feb
2017

Fun & Crafty | Watercolor My World

categories: Fun-n-Crafty, Watercolor

Hello my crafty peeps! I’m happy to be here again this month as part of the Fun & Crafty blog hop. This month’s theme focuses on watercolor techniques. The new Occasions catalog is in full swing as well as Sale-A-Bration. I decided to use the new SU watercolor pencils (141709) as well as two Sale-A-Bration items: the “Inside the Lines” DSP (143850) and the brand new 6×6 Glimmer Paper Assortment (143831).

I’ve enjoyed working with watercolor pencils for many years and I was excited to see SU come out with a set that matched their colors. I hope they come out with more! These pencils work much like other pencils I’ve used. They blend smoothly and are creamy when you lay down the color. You can either use aqua painters (103954) or blender pens (102845). Using aqua painters creates a more dreamy look, while using the blender pens showcases the richness of the pigment.

For this card I used aqua painters and three of the pencils, Calypso Coral, Old Olive, and Daffodil Delight. I cut a 2″ x 2″ square from a sheet of the DSP, colored it using the pencils and aqua painters and then cut that into four 1″ x 1″ squares. I mounted the squares to squares of the new glimmer paper (mint macaron). I embossed the sentiment from the “You’ve Got This” stamp set (139575) using VersaMark ink and white embossing powder. Using foam squares I mounted the 4 squares on the front of a Soft Sky card base. You will love how easy these pencils are to use and marvel at the results you can achieve with either water or blender pens.

There is a ton of inspiration throughout this hop. If you started here, please visit the other talented team members listed below and leave them some blog love! Until next time, remember, creativity and imperfection live together in all we do. “Grace is the face love wears when it meets imperfection.”

~xoxo
Beanie

Kathy Thisted – Stampablog
Christine Szekeres – Artful Musings (you are here)
Tobe B – The Craft Sea
Susan Schultz – Stampin’ by the SF Bay
Pamela Wu – Stinky Tofu

Supplies Used:
Watercolor Pencils
Soft Sky Cardstock
Aqua Painters
You’ve Got This Stamps

Sale-A-Bration (SAB)
(1 free item with each $50 purchase)
6×6 Gilmmer Paper
Inside the Lines DSP

08
Dec
2016

Fun & Crafty | “Oooh, Something Shiny!”

categories: Artful Pursuits, Christmas Inspiration, Fun-n-Crafty, Stampin' Up!

Hello my crafty peeps! I’m happy to be here again this month as part of the Fun & Crafty blog hop. This month’s theme: “Oooh, Something Shiny!” is one we can all relate to, particularly at this time of year. I’m sure you are NOT like me … I’m sure your Christmas and New Year’s cards are already done … however, should you find yourself in a last-minute rut, I hope you take some inspiration from the below as well as all the other inspiring projects in this month’s hop.

If you are anything like me you look for stamps and dies that are versatile. When I saw the “Greetings from Santa” stamps and “Detailed Santa” dies, I knew it would be simple to create a number of cards that were different. Far from requiring a lot of thought, these dies and stamps are pretty straightforward in their versatility making them some of my favorite ‘go to’ sets for holiday cards.

For this month’s hop I decided to showcase the simple versatility of these stamps and dies using three different card stocks and three different glitter papers. Each card contains the same elements, but each looks vastly different due to the color combinations. The first combo, ‘Straight Up Christmas’, combines red and white. It is simultaneously colorful and whimsical. The second combo, ‘Frosty Friends’, combines red and dazzling diamond. This is the bling-y version of the card. The third and final combo, ‘Winter’s Magic’, combines silver and blue into an elegant version that evokes a cool winter’s day.

What I especially love about these two products are all the extra images and dies that can be used to add little touches to your envelopes. Here are a couple of examples of what I mean.

Oooh, something shiny wouldn’t be complete without a wee bit of Chibitronics fun. Below is the fun trade I created for a demonstrator event back in September. I used the Cookie Cutter punch and stamp set to create this light up reindeer to guide Santa’s sleigh.

~xoxo
Beanie

Tobe B – The Craft Sea
Christine Szekeres – Artful Musings (you are here)
Pamela Wu – Stinky Tofu
Kathy Thisted – Stampablog
Jennifer Blomquist – Northwest Stamper
Danielle Elvin – Going to Collage

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Greetings from Santa
Dies: Detailed Santa Thinlets
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler, & Whisper White
Glitter Paper: Dazzling Diamond, Silver & Red
Ink: Versa Mark
Embossing Powder: White & Red
Other: Fine-Tip Glue & Embossing Buddy

28
Nov
2016

Nani ke Ola Blog Hop: Butterfly Kisses & Dandelion Wishes Album

categories: Artful Pursuits, Mixed Media, NKO Design Team

Hello and welcome to the first ever Nani ke Ola blog hop! Today each blogger is focusing on the new 7 Dots Studio collections, Cotton Candy and Writer’s Block. I love 7 Dots Studio and was so excited for the new collections, particularly Cotton Candy. You should have arrived from Heather Thompson’s blog and started at the Nani ke Ola blog. There is a giveaway so make sure to visit each blog and leave some love for a chance to win a sweet prize!

I’ve been a member of the NKO Design Team for a little over a year, and in that time, I’ve had a chance to spread my wings, get messy, and be inspired by some of the most wonderful artists around. I know you will agree that these are some talented ladies, when you see all the creativity of this blog hop.

As I said, I was over the moon when I saw the Cotton Candy collection. It is dreamy and whimsical and includes teal and salmon a favorite color combination of mine. It’s like it was tailor made for me. I knew I wanted to combine the lush papers, stickers, chipboard, and other elements with products from Prima Marketing’s Memory Hardware collection. There are wonderful mixed media elements in this collection and you can really create something beautiful combining the lush papers and elements from 7DS with the great products from Prima. If you like the Memory Hardware line, I encourage you to let Jennifer know. She stocks some Prima products and is always listening to what her customers are excited about. I used the square album, flowers, rhinestone chain, resin heart, sequins, lace trim, and domes in this project.

I began by “dry” painting the album using some Vintage White Folk Art paint. The advantage of dry painting is that it dries quickly since you are using so little paint. It also creates a “shabby chic” / distressed base for the album. HINT: You only need to paint the edges since paper will be covering most of each page. I also began sketching out what papers would go on each page. I do this by cutting up the 12×12 papers into 6″ squares and also cutting smaller pieces (4×6, 3×6, and 2.5×4). Next, using Walnut Stain Distress ink and a round blending tool I inked the edges of all the papers. I cannot stress enough how elegant this simple step is. Visually, it adds so much dimension to the papers and ties each page together. Once the pages are cut and inked, I begin laying them out, moving things around and finally “locking” in the design of each page and 2-page spread.

Next, it’s time to begin gluing things down. I like to use a really strong tape runner (like 3L Scrapbook Adhesives My Stik permanent adhesive) or Scor-Tape. For this album I created photo pages, waterfall pages, and pocket pages. After the pages were done, I began thinking about embellishments for each page. For the chipboard I used some clear and copper embossing powders. To get embossing powder to stick to the chipboard, simply use VersaMark or another ink (like Delicata Black Shimmer ink), apply the powder and heat set. The 7DS collection kit comes with two sticker sheets, words and icons, one cardstock elements sheet, and one die cut tags sheet. The waterfall pages consist of 5, 4×6 panels. To create the glue tab, score each panel at a quarter inch and crease using a bone folder. Apply tape runner to the “tab” and beginning at the top, adhere each panel, placing the next panel tab right next to the one above. For the pockets, apply adhesive to the bottom, left, and right sides, leaving the top open to create the pocket.

Once the inside of the book was complete, I began working on the cover. Using a new Memory Hardware acrylic dome, a resin heart, some moss, a few rhinestones, some sequins, and rosette trim I built the focal piece of the album. Anything heavy was glued down using hot glue to make sure it would remain in place once the dome was sealed. HINT: If you paint anything that is going inside the dome make sure to let it dry completely and also rub your anti-static powder tool over any painted surfaces. Also, seal the dome to the backing paper using clear or matte Glossy Accents in a very thin layer. Using too much medium will make it seep into the dome and your floating bits will get stuck to the medium that seeped inside.

Up next, Kathleen Bement White. Make sure to visit and comment on all the blogs for a chance to win the giveaway!

I had so much fun creating this album. I hope it inspires you in your creative pursuits. If you started here, please visit the other talented team members listed below and leave them some blog love! Until next time, remember, creativity and imperfection live together in all we do. “Grace is the face love wears when it meets imperfection.”

~xoxo
Beanie

———– THE GIVEAWAYS ———–

	To qualify for the giveaway, make sure to follow and comment on each of the blogs. You have until 12/01/2016 to comment. The winner will be announced on the Nani ke Ola blog on Monday, 12/05/16! Good luck everyone!

For an additional giveaway, make sure to follow us (@nanik3ola, @beanie_me, @heifer21, and @lccrafts85) on Instagram and comment on the prize photo. You have until 12/01/16 to follow and comment. The winner will be announced on the @nanik3ola Instagram on 12/05/16! You can search Instagram using #NaniKeOlaBlogHop and when you receive your 7 Dots Studio goodies make sure to post pictures of your creations using this hashtag to join in the fun!

Supplies Used
Cotton Candy Collection Kit
Cotton Candy Chipboard
Cotton Candy Hex Stencil
Prima Marketing Memory Hardware Line

10
Nov
2016

Fun & Crafty | November Blog Hop

categories: Christmas Inspiration, Fun-n-Crafty, Stampin' Up!

Hello, friends! I’m on the blog today with a new project using the Tin of Tags kit currently for sale in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog. This is a new blog hop that our group of demonstrators are planning to have on a regular basis.

Stampin’ Up! kits provide a great value and allow for loads of creativity. Almost everything needed to complete 30 gift tags is included in the kit. The only thing you need is the coordinating stamp set, adhesive, and ink pads. The kit contains full color instructions and the tags are cute and super simple for various crafting skill levels. I like this kit so much that I am making it with my church group.

There are 10 different tag styles and you have supplies enough to make three of each style. Here are a few pictures of the tags as I made them along with a final picture showing all of the tags. This is a very quick project, taking between 1 and 2 hours, depending on skill level.

There is a ton of Christmas inspiration throughout this hop. If you started here, please visit the other talented team members listed below and leave them some blog love! Until next time, remember, creativity and imperfection live together in all we do. “Grace is the face love wears when it meets imperfection.”

~xoxo
Beanie

Tobe B – The Craft Sea
Pamela Wu – Stinky Tofu
Kathy Thisted – Stampablog
Jennifer Blomquist – Northwest Stamper
Stacey Lane – A Work of Carte
Susan Schultz – Stampin By The Bay
Christine Szekeres – Artful Musings (you are here)
Nicole Flournoy – Inky Fingers Stamping
Danielle Elvin – Going to Collage

Supplies Used:
Tin of Tags
Tin of Tags Stamp Set
Inks: Crushed Curry, Island Indigo, Old Olive, & Real Red
Acrylic Blocks: A, D, & G
Adhesive: Mini Glue Dots, Stampin’ Dimensionals & Fine Tip Glue

03
Oct
2016

World Card Making Day 2016

categories: Artful Pursuits, WCMD

So, this past Saturday was World Card Making Day (WCMD). After watching a FB live by Catherine Pooler, I decided to finally join StampNation, which is an online community for paper and mixed media crafters. I first learned about StampNation from My Sweet Petunia when they conducted a contest and the prize was a Stamp of Approval box from Catherine Pooler. Begun a year ago, SOA is a curated box of creativity for paper crafters. A new SOA filled with various products comes out each quarter and they always sell out (sometimes in a matter of hours, sometimes in a few days).

Anyway, I’d thought of joining SN over the past few months but I’d resisted. On Thursday Catherine did a FB live talking about what StampNation was planning for WCMD (actually a whole weekend of fun, with videos, prizes, tutorials, and challenges) and I decided to take the plunge and join. So far I’m not sorry I did. I spent a good part of Friday looking around the site and Saturday making cards for several of the challenges. I also made cards on Sunday. I’d meant to write this post on Saturday, but each time I was back at my computer it was to upload a new creation, not take the time to write a blog post.

Anyway, I wanted to blog about this so I decided to share a few of the things I created so far. We have until 10/22 to post our creations (there are over $450 in prizes) so I plan to join a few more challenges. It’s just what my creativity needed. Simultaneously, another friend posted a picture of a “half-a-puppy’s” worth of cards she was sending out to friends for WCMD and she encouraged us to send some snail mail love. I decided to join in and ended up sending out about 25 cards to friends. I put a little post-it inside with the following message: “Happy WCMD 2016! Pay it forward? Consider sending this (or another) card to a friend. Snail mail rules!” I had a lot of fun sending out snail mail to friends and enjoyed WCMD 2016 immensely. So much so, that I cannot wait for WCMD 2017!

Until next time, remember, creativity and imperfection live together in all we do. “Grace is the face love wears when it meets imperfection.”

~xoxo
Beanie

18
Sep
2016

The Great Crafty Escape of 2016

categories: Artful Pursuits

I have been so low on creativity lately that I decided to attend my friend Jennifer’s crafty weekend. She does this event twice each year (in the spring and the fall) at the local Hyatt House in Bellevue, WA. You get a 6′ table all your own in addition to snacks and goodies from Jennifer. The goal is to work on your unfinished or planned projects.

I attended this back in the spring and didn’t get much done, but I decided that I had a better plan of upcoming projects and would be more successful this time around. It’s funny, last time I was judicious and smart in my packing and didn’t get much done and this time I feel like I packed everything but the kitchen sink and got a lot done. Go figure.

One thing I knew for sure is that I didn’t want to do the whole weekend. Last time I was there Friday night, all day Saturday, and most of Sunday. It was simply too much and come Monday I was exhausted. So, I focused on Friday night and Saturday, leaving Sunday for rest and time with my best friend, which turned out to be perfect!

I had a bunch of new goodies from Lawn Fawn, Stampin’ Up, My Favorite Things, and Concord & 9th that I wanted to try out and I am happy to report that I was able to try out almost everything I brought. I created some Halloween treat bags that I will use for our intern team at work, I experimented with the new Concord & 9th Christmas Cottage stamps and dies, the new Lawn Fawn stitched pop-up hill dies, and some new unicorn and bear stamps from My Favorite Things. In addition, I got to play with my MISTI and a bunch of interactive dies.

Here are a few of the things I created:

I will confess that I don’t always support my local store, but I’ve been trying to get better about buying local. If you live in metro Seattle here are my three favorite places to shop: Ellen Hutson, Impress, and Urban Scrapbooker. The first is not a traditional brick and mortar store but has a great variety of products and manufacturers, the second has two great brick and mortar stores as well as a decent online shopping option, and the last has one of the best discounts available (a standing 15% off for Club Urbie members). Thank you for sharing some of your time with me today. Until next time, remember, creativity and imperfection live together in all we do. “Grace is the face love wears when it meets imperfection.”

~xoxo
Beanie

19
May
2016

Bible Journaling: Strength of My Heart

categories: Bible Journaling, Christian Thoughts, Illustrated Faith

Hello, friends thanks for stopping by to see what I’m up to today! Recently, I’ve begun incorporating my Bible reading and journaling into my planner in an effort to remind and encourage me to crack open my journaling Bible on a regular basis.

For the upcoming week I am ping ponging between the old and new testaments. For the purposes of this post, I went ahead and wrote out the verse plan as well as creating the art in my journaling Bible for Monday, May 30th. I really like using the daily pages for my Bible journaling lesson. This allows me to meditate on the verse as well as thinking about what visual images I want to use.

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
~Pslam 73:26

In the upper box I wrote out the complete verse along with a few of the cross reference verse themes and phrases. I used the small box on the right for the noted cross reference verses. As I meditated on Psalm 73:26 a few key words popped out to me and I noted those in the lower box on the right: flesh, heart, fail, God, strength (rock, Hebrew), and portion. I used the morning/afternoon/evening boxes to divide up the verse for memorization.

As I began to think about what imagery I might use, rock came to the forefront (strength is rock in the original Hebrew). I have always thought of this verse as a morning prayer … hence the sun rising over the rock. I love incorporating stamping into my Bible journaling so I added a few from a couple of the Illustrated Faith stamp sets.

Thank you for sharing some of your time with me today. Until next time, remember, creativity and imperfection live together in all we do. “Grace is the face love wears when it meets imperfection.”

~xoxo
Beanie

Supplies Used
Journaling Bibles
Illustrated Faith: Names of God Stamps
Prismacolor Colored Pencils

12
May
2016

Copic Jumpstart: Bonus Lesson

categories: Artful Pursuits, Copic Jumpstart

One of my favorite coloring mediums are Copic markers. While they are amazing, they can also be frustrating. How to blend them? What colors go together? I’ve long wanted to get a bit more education with Copics so I decided to take a Copic class with Sandy Allnock. If you are interested in taking the class, visit here to sign up. There is a cost savings if you sign up before class begins on May 27th!

Originally this class was to begin on May 6th, but due to the Copic marker shortage, was delayed until May 27th. For anyone who signed up by May 6th Sandy offered a bonus lesson, which she delivered on Friday. It was coloring a squirrel. The squirrel was a digital file that we could download and print onto our cardstock and then color. Several of the class members created fun squirrels (a pink one, one with a rainbow-colored tail, and many others). If you have an Instagram account you can view some of these here. I started out making one that followed the steps laid out and then I got a bit adventurous. Here are pictures of my two squirrels.

I am really looking forward to the first lesson on May 27th. I will do my best to post about my adventures working with Copics during this class. Until next time, remember creativity and imperfection live together in all we do. “Grace is the face love wears when it meets imperfection.”

~xoxo
Beanie

26
Apr
2016

2016: The Year of the Organizer

categories: Artful Pursuits, Get Organized

I am part of a group on FB called the Fun n’ Crafty Stampers and back in December our group leader challenged the group members to set some goals for 2016. This year may be the year of the monkey for those who follow the Chinese New Year calendar, but for me it’s the year of the organizer.

Initially, I resisted participating (as a rule, I am not a fan of resolutions for more on that see: I Resolve and No Is a Complete Sentence) but on January 9th I took the plunge, deciding to participate and creating two main goals for 2016:

Each month we report in on how we did on our goals that month. It’s been a great start to the year, with major strides in regular blogging and crafty space organization. Below are a few pictures of the organization projects that I completed in January, February, March, and April. Among the things tackled: wall unit to hold spray stains and stamps, labeled and organized all of my Distress products, new 4-drawer unit built and labeled, new large cabinet organized by supply type (washi, adhesive, paint, canvas, punches, etc), new sequin storage, and mounted and labeled embellishment cubbies.

In the works for May … die and matching stamp storage and researching 12×12 paper storage as well as a bit of purging of items to sell at the upcoming Crafty Garage Sale being held at the Holly Hills Clubhouse on June 11th from 10am to 2pm.

Until next time, remember creativity and imperfection live together in all we do. “Grace is the face love wears when it meets imperfection.”

~xoxo
Beanie

Favorite Organizational Supplies
Sequin Organization
Cubbies (wall mountable)
Really Useful Box Organizer
Tim Holtz Spinner
Ranger Product Labels
Avery Sticker Paper
Recollections Craft Storage Solutions
Brother P-Touch Label Maker