Land That I Love Journal

Hey, Crafty Friends!!

I'm here with Team Xyron and this week we have partnered with the wonderful, American Crafts, to bring you fabulous projects. And today, I'll be sharing with you this fun RED, WHITE, &  BLUE Journal made with the newest line of papers from Pebbles Inc. Called Land That I Love. It has an awesome patriotic theme that is flexible enough to use on everyday projects.

I used these papers to make this Land That I Love Journal.  And though I love being American, I find some of these papers gave me a more tropical vibe which was reminiscent of back home in Hawaii.

Supplies Used

Land That I Love- Patriotic Blossoms, Sparkler, Oh My Stars, Patriotic Blooms,

Boom Sparkle Pop, Ephemera Die Cuts- Shapes (Pebbles /American Crafts)
Creative Station (Xyron)
9" Permanent Adhesive Refill (Xyron)
5" Permanent Adhesive Refill (Xyron)
Eileen Hull Journal Die (Sizzix)
Eileen Hull Stitchy Flowers & Leaf (Sizzix)
Eileen Hull Spring Leaves (Sizzix)

May Board (Sizxix)
Eileen Hull Blends- Hydrangea (Clearsnap)
Opalescent Clear Embossing Powder (Clearsnap)
Chipboard Frame (Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts)
Stamens (Wilton)
Chipboard
Fabri Tac (Beacon)
Rhinestone Sticker
Stylus
Paper Trimmer
Extra Long Stapler

I started by cutting my paper into 6"x 9.25" wide strips. I chose the pattern paper for the cover and a solid color paper for the inside. I need two of each to cover both the outside and inside of my journal covers. I really love this floral pattern from the  Patriotic Blossoms paper. The hints of red really popped so I wanted to go with a plain red on the inside.

Then I ran my paper through my Xyron creative station. I peeled back that adhesive film and applied my paper to the front and back of my mat board.

What's my papers were attached to the mat board, I'd I cut them using Eileen Hull Journal die.

I applied glue to the spines of the covers and align the holes, using a mini clothespin to keep in place until the glue set.

I die cut flowers from the polka dot side of the Patriotic Blooms paper to cut several flowers.

I made short snips toward the center of the flowers to create petals. Then used my stylus to add creased details and to shape the flower.

I cut stamen from white cardstock. I layered and glued each together then raised each stamen one by one for dimension. I stacked my flowers together, then glued the stamen to the center of the flower.

I did the same with the smaller flowers, again adding details with my stylus, but used the smaller flowers to create center buds.

I applied white gesso over a chipboard frame. I needed to prime my surface so I could ink it with our the chipboard sucking up all the ink.

I applied two coats of ink, then sprinkle opalescent embossing powder over top. Then I heat set it with a heating tool.

The embossing powder is gorgeous!! It somewhat deepened the ink color and has so much sparkle and texture.

I die cut leaves from white and blue cardstock using Eileen Hull's Spring Leaves die.

Then, I shaped the leaves and added veins with a stylus.

A couple of the leaves for too long so I gave them a quick trim with a scissor.

To make the inserts, I cut 8.25" x 8.25"pieces of white cardstock folded in half, and staple down the center. Then I used a craft knife to trim off any overhang.

And here is my finished journal...

I plan on using this as a mini album instead of a journal. This would be great to take with me during the summer. So I can scrap memories while on vacay.

I hope you enjoyed this project and you are inspired by what you see. Thank you so much for stopping by! 

Until next time...

Happy Crafting!!

~ Mitsyana

Stay warm!

Hello, Crafty Friends!!

I’m neck deep into Christmas card making this year and I’m afraid I just skimmed barely made a dent in my mailing list…. sigh. Thank goodness I enjoy cardmaking so much!! I’ve found coloring to be very therapeutic and coloring my stamped images is an awesome outlet!

I think of stamped images as mini adult coloring pages. Adult coloring books are all the rage nowadays and though I absolutely LOVE them I often find it hard to keep the coloring momentum going. Then there’s the question of what do I do with it after I’m done… hmmm. I’ll stick with my stamps! Each image not only brings me joy coloring it but then it moves on to share a bit of that happiness to someone else.

Today, I’m sharing this adorable card I made with Pink and Main’s Scarlett. I absolutely think she is uber adorable and love, love, love her boots with those little pom-poms!! She is too stinkin’ cute  for words!!

All patterned paper is from Pebbles Inc. and is from the Winter Wonderland Collection.

This card totally describes the weather we’ve been having this week! You know it’s cold outside if you’re dressed like this inside!! Brrrr… Stay warm everyone!!

And Happy Crafting!!

~ DT Mitsy

Winter Love - Mixed Media Layout

Hello, Crafty Friends... I have been taking a really big interest into the mixed media world and have  been dabbling a lot with different techniques. Like my mom always said, " you have to try everything at least once to decide if you like it or not".

And, with that, I'm going to dive right in! No hesitating. No turning back. 

 Let's get ready to rumble!! Yup, Mixed Media is about to go down!! 

This just got real! I'm about to get dirty...Oh no!! I hate getting dirty!!

EEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!!!

Oh well, here I go!!

Supplies Used

Spritzers Dye Ink Sprays- Glacier Lake, Mermaid  (Clearsnap)

ColorBox Petal Point Ink Pads- Aurora, Enchantment (Clearsnap)

Art Screens- Bloom (Clearsnap)

Creative Station w/9" Permanent Adhesive Refill (Xyron)

3" Sticker Maker (Xyron)

Teresa Collins Pocket Die- Love- Memory Collection (Craftwell)

Winter Wonderland- Blizzard, Shiver, Flurries, Chips(Pebbles Inc)

Natural Corrugated Stack (DCWV)

Vintage Sheet Music

Gesso (Liquitex)

Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks (Ad Tech)

Winter Glitter Sprays and Flower Pick (Celebrate It)

Mini Picture Frame (Michael's)

Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (Paper Mart)

Gauze/ Cheese Cloth

Diamond Glaze (Judikins)

Sponge Daubers (Tsukineko)

Heat Tool (Marvy Uchida)

Die-cut Spatula (Cricut)

Button Shank Remover or Wire cutters 

Tim Holtz Distressing Tool (Tonic Studios)

Micro Beads- Seamist ( Buttons Galore)

First, I took a mini frame

 and remove the backing from it. It is easy to do with the help of your die-cut spatula. Just slide between and across. Try to remove as much excess cardboard as possible. This helps minimize the bulk of the frame.

 Now, I painted my whole frame with gesso and let dry. You can use a heat gun to speed this step along.

Then I sprayed my gessoed frame down using Clearsnap's Mermaid Spritzer. Once dried I used a sponge dauber and the darkest color from my ColorBox Aurora Petal Point to rub the raised areas. Dried the ink using my heat gun and then applied silver from my ColorBox Enchantment Petal Point to go over the dark color I just rubbed on. 

The silver over the black really makes the silver pop!

Then I heat set again with my heat tool.

I set my frame aside and custom colored my poinsettia flower. I love buying just white flowers and embellishments for this very reason. I can custom color everything to fit my needs. Because this is fabric, it takes a much longer drying time than paper. You can help it along with a heat gun but will still need quite a bit of drying time still.

Be careful when using your heat gun at all times! Objects get very hot!

While I was waiting for my poinsettia to finish drying I moved onto my paper. I cut an 8"x8" sheet of Pebbles Shiver paper and  distressed the edges. Then, I sponged on a huge flower onto the background using my Bloom stencil and the teal colors from my Aurora ink pad, I also went along the distressed areas with the same ink.

Then I ran that piece through my Xyron Creative Station. I also cut out random strips from more Pebbles paper and inked the edges of those strips as well. Then I tore a ripped out pages from an old book of sheet music and inked the edges of those as well. I distressed all the edges on my pieces with the same teal colored ink. Once all my pieces were dry they all took a quick ride through my Xyron Creative Stations and Sticker Makers.

I used a 12"x12" sheet of corrugated cardboard by DCWV as my base of my layout and randomly dry brushed gesso onto it.

Once dried, I just peeled and stuck my different panels onto the corrugated cardboard base. 

I added some Pebbles Snowflake Chips onto my layout using Diamond Glaze.

And then, made splatters using my spritzers. I just simply removed the covers and tap the cap to make the dye ink drip off the straw. OOhhhh, I likey!!

For inside my frame I cut out 3 die-cuts of the word "love" from craft cardstock using my Teresa Collins pocket die. Glued and stacked them all together and then inked them... again using the same dark teal color from my Aurora Petal Point ink pad.

For the final touches, I tucked and glued cheese cloth for a bit of texture. To add more texture I used more Diamond glaze and made strategically placed swirls and then covered them with micro beads.

And here is my finished layout...

And then the easiest part was just hot gluing all my pretty elements.

I can't tell you how much I am in love with this frame!!

And I love how the micro beads almost look like an extension of my glittered spray stems.

I am soooo in love with this layout! And, I hope you are too!!