Well considering I am all packed for a class and shouldn't have time to craft, I have been able to be more creative than I had planned! Of course it helps that my hockey team was losing and I didn't want to keep watching the game last night! LOL

I was inspired to do a gift for a friend by a painting class that a different friend is offering. I can't make the class, but really liked the painting and with my friend's birthday coming up I wanted to make her something. So this is what I came up with.

This is the inspiration painting, by my friend Mary (Beyond White Fine Arts)

I tried it first on a journal page - to make sure I could get something that looked ok

Since the journal page came out ok, I went for it and made the canvas.

I am really happy with how they both came out. For the backgrounds I had wood looking rice paper - I didn't paint them! The effect was EXACTLY what I was hoping for!

And since I was on a roll art journaling, I did my February prompt for the Art Journaling Challenge I signed up for with Mixed Up Creative Academy. This month's prompt was Music and the technique was using sprays that I already own so I loved learning a new way to use them. I couldn't do the technique quite the same way as the tutorial as the journal I am using has slightly different paper in it, but I think it came out pretty close to what she did in the tutorial.

Regardless of the technique, I was really happy with how the background looked. The other part of the page was to use song lyrics and I wanted to do something to honour my dad. There is a song out at the moment called "Even Though I'm Leaving" and every time I hear it I cry as it reminds me of my Dad - in a good way but I can't help but cry. I thought it would be theraputic to use the lyrics in my page. I had some trouble with the stencils I was using but I made it all work. And I didn't even cry when I put on the lyrics so I thought all in all it worked like I wanted. And now I have this tribute to my Dad in one of my journals! I really loved this month's prompt!

So not sure if I will get any more posts before my craft weekend, but I will definately post all about learning with the awesome Tracy Scott and the gang at Scrap Addicts. Till next time, stay crafty my peeps!!

I got down to my craft room again last night and finished off a couple more projects. I started them when working on my last swaps so wanted to get them done. 

The first was a tag that I am going to give to my bestie Tricia as a late Christmas gift. I had fun with this one - I tried several different techniques that I found when perusing Facebook and Pinterest. I am pretty happy with the end result - I hope Tricia is too.

When I was working on my ATC's for the swap, I had some leftover paint that I didn't want to waste, so started a couple other ones. I decided to finish them off and send them to another crafty friend named Nylsa who lives in Puerto Rico. She was so supportive when I lost my Dad and sent me a really sweet Christmas card. I wanted to return the favour so sent her these two ATC's, as well as a fun card that I made with some of my scraps from the tag project above.

I have a couple other projects on the go - and even though I am all packed for my classes in the city this weekend, I still have enough supplies to keep crafting!! LOL

Till next time, stay crafty my peeps!!

I FINALLY got down to my craft room this weekend, though not as much as I wanted as I had to work most of the weekend. But I did finish off a couple of swaps, as well as making a birthday card for one of my pals.

First up, I finished off a swap for the Reneabouquets group I am in. This was a fun different swap - it was called a Card Candy swap. We were supposed to make embellishment clusters. I hope she likes what I did for her. This is what I came up with.

I am hoping my partner likes it. I also finished a couple ATC's for another swap. The theme was LOVE IS IN THE AIR and we were supposed to use the colours Teal, Silver and Red - as well as using some texture. This is what I created.

I had fun with this theme. I also sent her one of the cards that I made as a demo for the card class that I taught. That's another advantage to teaching classes like this - gives me cards to use in swaps!

I was on a roll at this point, and created a birthday card for one of my best crafty pals Paula. I finally got the chance to use the Theodore die cut I got a few weeks ago. Not easy to put together, but I think I did ok for a first try.

I also got some new goodies to play with. My order from Scrappy Apple Scrapbooking Supplies came in. I now have the awesome Graphic 45 Ocean Blue papers to work with! Can't wait to create with them - I have a few ideas already.

I have a class at Scrap Addicts coming up this weekend, and work is a bit less insane so hoping I can get down to my craft room a couple times this week before I go away. So till next time, stay crafty my peeps!!

Well I have NOT had a whole lot of time to spend in my craft room lately. I have been so swamped at work that I have not had time to do a lot of crafty stuff. I have gotten some fun happy mail though, so thought I would share. I absolutely LOVE the new Stamperia stuff and can't wait to find some time to play with it.

I did start a couple projects this weekend, so when I get them done I will show you what I made. Here is to hopefully getting to play in my craft room a bit more before the month is over! Till next time, stay crafty my peeps.

So my card class was on the small side, but my three students had fun and made some great cards. I love seeing how everyone does things just a bit differently, even though you show them all the same techniques. Here are the cards my students made.

I also ended up with the start of a few more cards myself that I can use for other occasions. I think I might have to get my self some other sentiments for card making! LOL. Hoping to get to my craft room more this week/weekend, though not sure how that will go since work is still insane. So till next time, stay crafty my peeps.

I didn't really get to my craft room this weekend, too much work to do and so when I was at home I was just vegging! But I did get some fun happy mail yesterday. I was really surprised too as the company I got it from is in the UK and normally it takes months for stuff from there to arrive. So a pleasant surprise that it came in two weeks!! I love it all and can't wait to get a chance to create with it. 

Make sure you check them out - they are called Artful Days and they have some really fun stuff. I love ordering from them just to get some stuff I can't get from my other crafty suppliers.

Tonight I will be teaching a card class at Chinchaga Adult Learning, so stay tuned for pictures. Till next time, stay crafty my peeps.

Well I haven't been able to get to my craft room this week as planned - because I have been spending all my time at work heat pressing 2000 pink t-shirts for anti-bullying day! I am getting down to the end of the pile though so hope I can do some crafting this weekend. I did get some happy mail this week so can at least do one more crafty post for the week.

This is the ATC I got from Zoe in England for the White on White swap with Mixed Up Creative. She said she was worried as this was out of her comfort zone. But I love it!!

I also got my snowman tag - and a TON of goodies - from my crafty pal Melody for the swap with the Reneabouquets group we are in together. I love how much she spoiled me. It was a good week for mail, because not only did I get my swaps, one of my partners FINALLY got the swap I sent her back in NOVEMBER!! I was beginning to think she would not get them. 

I hope to get to my craft room this weekend, and I do have my card class coming up next week. So till next time, stay crafty my peeps!!

I really had a crafty weekend at home - helps when it is so snowy and cold out you don't want to leave your house!! The other project I finished is some Valentine Cards for a swap I was in. My original partner was not able to actually swap with me, but another gal in the group said she could so I ended up making her cards and sending them out to her today. I used one of the cards from the class I am going to do and then used the rest of the scrap paper from that card to make four more cards, and to decorate the bag I put them into. Here they all are.

I really enjoyed making these - loved playing with my new die cuts and this paper line that I forgot I even had! Great colours for a bit of a different take on Valentine cards. I hope my partner likes them. I also hope she gets them sooner than the last swap I sent to her (I sent it in November and she STILL doesn't have it yet!!). Anyway, I hope to spend more time in my craft room this week, so till next time - stay crafty my peeps!!!!

More craftyness happened yesterday and as I said I want to post as I get things done! I worked on another journal page - this one inspired by the awesome Vicky Papaioannou and her great blog and YouTube Channel. I find her art journal pages so inspiring - and it doesn't hurt that I have almost all the same products that she does!! I saw one of her latest art journal pages and knew I had to do something similar. This is the video that inspired me.

I didn't have the same stamp set she used, but I do have all the Tim Holtz Distress sprays and loved the background she did. I had some cute animal stamps that I have wanted to use for quite awhile and sentiment that I heard awhile ago and loved, so this is my take on the journal page she inspired.

The stamping didn't come out quite how I had invisioned, but I still really like how the page came out in the end.

I also started another canvas, this one inspired by the Stamperia paper that I got at Treasured Memories and a technique that I saw one of TM's customers do at the last crop I was at. It is a way to make your canvas 3D using the soft clay Stamperia makes. I wasn't as successful as I had hoped, as my clay was drying out I think, but I am pretty sure I am gonna be happy with my end result for the canvas, since I have to add alot of gears, flowers and other ephemera to the canvas before it is finished. I will have the basic 3D effect I hope. This is the canvas so far.

I am not sure how 3D it looks in the photos, but it definately looks raised in real life. Now I just have to figure out what else I want to do with it. I am thinking of using some of the great wings I have from my pal Candy and her A Vintage Girl Shop. I will post more photos when I get it finished.

I still have more projects on the go, so should have more to post from this weekend later. Till then, stay crafty my peeps!!

I don't have anything planned for this whole weekend, other than spending as much of it as possible in my craft room. So since I plan to do a TON of crafting I thought I would post sort of as I get things done!

The first projects I was working on was playing with my new crafty goodies that I got from Brutus Monroe. I found this site through the Design Team Calls page that I follow on Facebook. I figured since I was going to apply for their design team I should see what kind of stuff they sold. And I found a few things I wanted. 

I also thought that since I had the supplies out I should maybe show you how they work too! I watched a couple Youtube videos on the Aqua Pigments, since I bought them without even really knowing what they were!  Here is the video that I found the most helpful.

Turns out they are liquid water colours, and they are really easy to use. The ones I bought are a glitter version (they have several types - Metallic, Sparkle, Neon and then a host of other colours). As you can see I had ful playing with them - even with my hubby interupting my video! LOL 

This is the set that I bought. I loved them so much I have ordered more colours!

And this is what one of the pages I did looks like when dry.

I ended up liking this technique so much I decided that it will be the background for one of the cards I am doing in the upcoming card class I am teaching for Chinchaga Adult Learning. This is how I finished the card.

I designed these as the other two cards I will be teaching.

The other project I worked on so far this weekend is finishing off a page that I took as a class back in October with my crafty Grimshaw pals at their crop. It was by the gal from Close to My Heart that they brought in. I finished the layout at the crop but never added photos to it. The page is so fun because it has a ton of flaps and you are able to get 21 pictures on a 12 X 12 layout! I took a small video so you can see how it came out!

I have more stuff to work on so I am going to get back to my crafting! I will post more later this weekend. So till then, stay crafty my peeps!