Celebrate July 4th!

Happy 4th of July creative friends!  I have a little secret to share...I have been making mini albums and layouts for other people so much that I have fallen behind in my personal scrapping!  Anyone else in that same boat?  The good news is, it's NEVER to late to document those special times.  I might not get every single picture from my kids' childhoods, but I can certainly capture some of my favorites, right?  For this project, I didn't buy any new supplies; I created my own "kit" from what I had on hand, and I made most of the embellishments to scrapbook these pictures of my daughter's 1st July 4th.

If you work mostly with kits, try something new by going through your stash and pulling papers that coordinate.  I pulled from some Americana, Christmas and Valentine's papers.  And yes, I hand cut all those pennants for the banner...call me crazy, cutting with scissors is like therapy for me lol!

I did use my Cricut for the title and the stars, and added a little faux stitching with a white Gelly Roll pen.

Not excited about your own handwriting?  I printed out my own journaling for this page.  I printed out the text on the same size sheet of copy paper until I got the placement and font size the way I wanted it, I printed  it on my cardstock.  I could have kept working with this layout, but guess what, it doesn't have to be perfect...it's more important to get it done :)

Are you planning any July 4th layouts?

Supplies: Cardstock - Recollections; Patterned Paper - Heidi Swap Believe, Recollections Valentine, The Paper Studio Patriotic Words; Twine: Michaels; Burlap - JoAnn Fabric; Faux Stitching - Sakura White Gelly Roll Pen.

Thanks for stopping by!

Card-making for a Cause!

 I have been thinking about ways to do more for my community while doing something I'm passionate about, and my daughter's preschool Silent Auction gave me the perfect chance.  I donated a Pinterest card-making class for 6 ladies and spent the past couple of weeks getting ready for it.  The girls had different skill levels, so pre-made kits were definitely the way to go.  I hosted the party Saturday night and it was a blast! 

To keep things simple, before the  class party, I folded the cards, cut the cardstock and made the embellies, like these punched butterfly with faux pearl centers. 

 I separated the materials for each card into a cute baggie.

My daughter even embossed the napkins for me...

 I went to Pinterest for some clean and simple (CAS) card inspiration.  I don't do a lot of CAS cards, so I needed help with layouts lol!  The ladies did great with the first card, a bowtie and shirt combo for Father's Day, inspired by this card.  I found the free bowtie printable here.  

 They got to emboss and stamp a little with this second Pinterest-inspired butterfly card found here.

They quickly got the hang of embossing with the Sizzix Big Kick and combined that with paper-weaving for a fun "Thank You" card.  We modified the original card pinned here.

What a fun way to spend a Saturday night and all for a good cause...I think I like this teaching thing! Do you craft for charity? Thanks for stopping by!
Supplies used: Various paper scraps, Recollections white and kraft cardstock, Versafine Ink, Darice Chevron embossing folder

Jelly Bean Jars ~ Easter Crafting on a Dime!

 Hello!  Spring is in the air, which means Easter is not far away.  I am always looking for cute and inexpensive little items to alter and gift to my kids' teachers, so when I came across these glass jars at Target's $1 Spot, I scooped up a few.  I knew I had the makings of the perfect thrifty gift when I found the chalkboard labels and chalk marker there too!  These jelly bean jars cost about $6 each to make.

I love the chalkboard look and had been wanting to try chalk markers...I sketched out my design on paper first and then tested it out a few  several times on the label until it looked good.  I used a wet cloth and these labels wiped off easily :)

Next, I raided my stash for embellishments...used twine to attach these bunny tags I made a couple years back, aren't they cute with my $1 ribbon from Michaels?  I added some coordinating beads to these stick pins from Michael's clearance bin.

My daughter added the jelly beans (they were on sale of course), matching the colors to the ribbon. She can't wait to give them to her teachers!

Do you love a bargain as much as I do?

{{Hugs}} until next time!

Kimberly

Trash To Treasure ~ Repurposed Embellishment

Hello Scraps of Color friends!  Kimberly here, with my very first SOC Creative Team Post.  If you've seen any of my pictures on the forum, you know I love to reuse and recycle in my crafting, so I thought it would be fun to show how you I used something that you might throw away or salvaged from a yard sale as a fun embellishment added to this altered canvas.    I keep seeing these beautifully painted canvases and wanted to give it a go myself!  First, I painted the 9 x 12 inch canvas gold and added some texture by pressing a piece of bubble wrap into the wet paint and gently removing it.  I did the same with a dark brown paint and a piece of shelf/drawer liner.   

Once the paint dried, I layered on some scrapbook paper with mod podge and spritzed it with Heidi Swapp Color Shine Irridescent Spray in Georgia Peach. Next, I painted "life is art" in a dark brown to make it pop!

 Then, I added the accents, including my repurposed find: a cool canvas tag (attached to some clothes I bought) to make the phrase "Just Living a good life".  

 I added a button tied with twine...

and more embellishments, like this "create" sticker....

and this wood Ampersand.

Do you reuse or repurpose items in your crafting?  Please share!!

Supplies used

9 x 12 stretched canvas

Gold acrylic paint mixed with Liquitex Matte Medium

Mod Podge

Bubble wrap

Shelf Liner

K&Company layered stickers

Until next time!

Kimberly