JustRite Round 3 Finalist and Info on the Monogram Purse

All I can say is WOW my inbox has been flooded with questions about the Monogram Purse!!! I will tell you all about it but first I have something else I want to share with you.

As many of you know I entered the Monogram Purse in the JustRite Stampin' Champion Contest and last night they announced that it was one of the "hopefuls" for the week--but wait it gets better--this morning when I went to check the JustRite Stampers Blog my Monogram Purse was listed as one of the Finalists!!! I would really, really apprciate your vote!!! You can find out all about the voting by clicking HERE. You can see all the finalists for the week and give your personal vote. You can vote today through Monday evening. Watch the poll timer for the exact end time but it will be around 9:00 Eastern time. Thank you so much!!!

Ok now what you really want to know about--the Monogram Purse. I found the purse at walmart but I have also seen them at other discount and craft stores. Here are a couple of before pictures.

FrontSideBack

AfterAs you can see from the pictures I pretty much altered the entire purse. You can see more pictures of the Monogram Purse by clicking HERE. So many of you were asking exactly how I altered the purse so I have decided to do a tutorial for the Monogram Purse. Please check back in the earlier part of next week and I will post a step by step photo tutorial. I will also have a surprise for you so be sure to check back!! I think you're gonna LOVE IT!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today & I hope you have a GREAT WEEKEND!!! Don't forget to check out the JustRite Stampers Blog and vote for your favorite project!!

Smiles!
Heidi

Rose Blossom Bird Feeder

Do you ever see something in a store that you could alter and instantly get an idea? Well that's what happened to me when I was in Joann Fabrics one day and seen this little bird feeder. It was cute and had kind of a shabby look going on but I wanted to change it up a bit. I decided to use the bird feeder for one of my Spellbinder Design Team gallery projects.
I started out by cutting and embossing ArtEmboss soft metal sheets (it's like a crafting foil) from Amaco using the Rose Blossoms Edgeabilities die (s4 044) from Spellbinders. If you haven't ever used the metal sheets it is really easy to work with and it works great in the Wizard. It comes in a variety or colors (with a silver back) and also in copper, brass and pewter. The colored foil can also be sanded, doing this really makes embossed images pop! I cut out enough pieces to go all the way around the top edge of the bird feeder. I wanted the foil die cuts to hold the raised embossing so I filled the back of the die cut with clear household silicone which also works great for an adhesive.

Here is the backside of the foil die cut. ~
You want to make sure you completely fill it in as shown here.~ Then I started placing the foil pieces around the top edge of the bird feeder. I let a little of the foil hang over the edge to give the bird feeder a little more dimension. Here is a close up of what the foil looks like once the top is done.I also wanted to add some foil around the bottom and on the hanger so I cut and embossed several pieces of foil using the Doodle Parts die (S4 121) from Spellbinders and following the same instructions as above I adhered the foil.

Here is a picture with the foil Doodle Parts around the bottom and on the hanger.~Once I had all of the foil pieces adhered I let the bird feeder sit over night so the adhesive would dry and the silicone would firm up. The next morning I took the bird feeder apart so I could start painting it. I used Coffee Bean (brown) acrylic paint from Plaid for the first two layers of paint. You can just use a sponge brush to apply the paint. I wanted the bottom layers of paint to be dark so once the bird feeder was sanded it would have distressed or "shabby" look. After the brown paint was dry then I put on two coats of Parchment (ivory) acrylic paint from Plaid. Once all of the paint was dry then I lightly sanded all of the metal pieces.

All of the coloring was done using the Copic sketch markers. Here is a close up of the top once all of the coloring was done.As you can see from the pictures I also added a doodle and a butterfly to the cylinder part . The doodle was done using the Doodle Part (s4 121) die and Flying Beauties (S4 123) die from Spellbinders. The doodle part was done exactly like the other foil pieces. For the Butterfly I made two die cuts, one was using the foil and it was cut and embossed and the other was just a die cut that was cut from brass. I did this so the butterfly would be more sturdy. On the foil piece I filled in the back with the silicone and then placed the brass die cut on the back. Once the butterfly was dry I painted, sanded and colored the doodle piece and the butterfly. Then I used an adhesive to adhere the pieces to the acrylic cylinder.

Here is the finished bird feeder.~To see another beautiful and very inspiring project done with foil, be sure to stop by another Spellbinders Design Team Member's blog Paper Fections by Sharon Harnist. Sharon designed and altered a beautiful Herb Garden using the foil technique.

Supplies~
Spellbinders--Wizard Universal Die Cutting and Embossing System, Rose Blossoms Edgeabilities (s4 044), Doodle Parts (S4 121), Flying Beauties (S4 123)
Amaco--Cerulean Blue Foil, Light Brass
Beacon Adhesives--Fabri-Tac
Copic--Sketch Markers-V01, V04, B21, B23, BV04, G24, YG95
Plaid--Acrylic Paint-Coffee Bean, Parchment
Joann Fabrics--Bird Feeder
Loctite--Clear Household Silicone
Other--Sponge Brush, Sanding Block

Using the Spellbinders dies and the foil you can take something that is ordinary and turn it into extraordinary!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you are having a fantastic week!!

Smiles!
Heidi

Lots of Pictures with a little bit of Everything

Ok, where to start! It was a busy weekend & I have a lot to share with you!

This past weekend my cousin Lana got married!! They had a BEAUTIFUL wedding and I am so happy for Lana & Swanny (Jeff)!! Here are some pictures from the wedding and the dance.


Lana and her Dad, my uncle John~Who gives this woman~
I LOVE the back of her dress--it was Gorgeous!!The Vows~
This is the country church where I went when I was little. I have always loved the alter!
The First Dance~Father and Daughter Dance~It was a mix of emotions both happy and sad. I'm sure some of you remember me talking about baby Alex, Lana and Swanny are Alex's Mommy and Daddy and last June little Alex passed away. I know Lana and Swanny miss there little Angel Alex so much!! We all do!! My aunt, Lana's mom asked if I could paint something for out at the cemetery for Alex. She had a double heart with silk flowers and had a little saying she wanted painted on there. Here is a picture of what I painted.Lana and Swanny had no idea that I was doing this, it was a special surprise for them. I have to share this other little bit with you--After we got to the reception the maid of honor and the best man both talked and thanked everyone for coming. Amber who was Lana's maid of honor told us that she had been praying and praying that the sun would come out on Saturday, even if only for a little bit. It has been really cold here with a mix of rain and snow, but prayers were answered on Saturday afternoon!! Lana and Swanny wanted to go out to the cemetery to be with Alex just for a few minutes and as they were walking out there the sun came out and stayed out for about five minutes before going behind the clouds again. I don't think there was a dry eye in the place!! Alex was dancing with her Mommy and Daddy.

I also have some creative inspiration to share with you! I made two wedding cards for Lana and Swanny, one from us and one for my Mom and Dad to give them.

Here is the card that was from my Mom and Dad.~The heart shapes are Spellbinders Heart Nestabilities (scalloped and classic) and the flowers were done using the Flower Creations die. I love making three dimensional flowers!! I also used the Copic ABS and Sketch Markers for coloring all of the die cuts. The flowers started out as just plain white CS.

Here is a close up of the flowers.~
Here is the card that was from us.~To make the cake I used the Spellbinders Square Nestabilities. I also stamped a lace image on the squares using Brilliance-Moonlight White ink and added some pearl trim on the edges. For the topper I used a tiny piece of tulle and little loops of white satin ribbon along with three tiny flowers from the Flower Creations die. All of the stamps are from CTMH. For a little touch of bling I added some red stickles.

How many of you have a teenage son with longer hair? Do you wonder if they will ever cut it? I know I have thought that many times over the past few years!! Well Guess WHAT?? On Saturday totally out of tin air Dusty said he wanted a haircut!! I about fell over--REALLY!! He has had longer hair for about four years!! I didn't know if he would actually go through with it or not but he did!!

Before~ Ready, Set, CUT!!!
OMGosh LOOK at ALL that HAIR!!WOW LOOK at ME!!
Here's one more. I can't believe how much older he looks!! Now that's scary for a mom!!He loves the haircut and actually said he wished he would have listen to us and gotten a haircut a long time ago!! He must be growing up (a little) seeing as we are getting smarter. you know how the saying goes the older you get the smarter your parents become. *wink*

Thanks so much for stopping by today!! If you like the wedding card with the three dimensional flowers check back soon, I am going to do a tutorial on them.

I hope you have a Wonderful Week!!

Smile!
Heidi

Painting

I haven't done any stamping for a few days but I have been spending some time on another hobby of mine-painting. Back in June I posted a heart that I painted for my cousin, her little girl passed away after many struggles in her short little life. One of the times that she was in the hospital the nurses had made a keepsake heart for her Mom and Dad and they asked me if I could paint it. They wanted to have it on a table with pictures of her. I think it was one of the hardest (emotionally) thing I have ever had to paint! Last week my uncle (Alex's Grandpa) called to see if I could paint a marker that he had made for out at the cemetery. He made a heart shaped marker and he wanted to surprise them by having me paint it. I thought that was so sweet!!

This is very similar to the other heart but I just wanted to share this with all of you. The background image is actually a stamp (resting cherub-Stampendous!) that I did using blue stazon ink and then doing a wash over it. Just to lighten the mood a little here are a couple of other things that I have painted. Thanks for stopping by and looking!!I painted this for my Grandparents~A close up~
One of my many garden rocks~