Friday, November 16, 2012

The Little Blue House Twelve Days of Ornaments: Day 6


Welcome back - We are half way through the twelve days. I hope you have been creating along with us. This ornament will look great on your tree or you could also use as a tag on a gift. The ornament is a ticket with a clear window with a beautiful reindeer and tree.
Here are the supplies you will need.
1 sheet of chipboard
Printed paper for back of ticket
6"x 6" double sided printed papr for tree
Several shades of green cardstock and dark brown cardstock
2 small jingle bells
4 5/8" x 3 1/8" piece of acrylic
Script Stamp
Gold Halo Glitter
White and Bleached Sand acrylic pint
Glossy Accents
Diamond and Rock Candy Stickles
Cristal Craft Twinkle Glaze
Pinecone and Twig Distress Ink and blending tool
6" piece of ribbon for hanger
36" piece of gold thread & 2" piece of gold trim
Mini 8 Craft Punch
Tim Holtz Reindeer Flight Die and Pinecone Die
Embossing Folder & Cuttlebug
Pop Dots
Bronze & Brass Distress Stain
First cut a 3 1/2"ticket from chipboard - I used Fabulous Finds Cricut cartridge. Also cut a 1 1/4" star. You will also need to cut printed paper for the back of the ticket. Die cut reindeer from chip board.
Paint star, reindeer and ticket with Bleached Sand Paint.
After paint is dry apply metallic stains. Gold to the Star and ticket and Bronze to the reindeer.
Apply Glossy accents to the star and coat with glitter. Put a light coat of paint on the stamp and stamp on the reindeer. Let Dry.
Using the Mini 8 Punch from WR Memory Keepers punch the 6x6 paper into a circle. You can also use any 6" decorative circle. Ink the paper on both sides - I used Peeled Paint and Pine Needle. Also ink over the stamp on the reindeer and the edges of the ticket. You can see how the ink transforms the paper.
Cut the circle in half. The first fold is abot a third of the way up the straight edge.
Now fold that piece back to straight edge to form a cone shape.
Fold the large piece back so straight edges match up and you have a tree shape.
Paint the Cristal Twinkle Glaze onto the front of the tree.
Add the glitter star to the top of the tree. Apply trim to the reindeer neck. Make bow from gold thread. Thread jingle bells onto piece of thread and tie around center of bow.
Die cut 2 pinecones and 5 pieces of greenery from die. Also cut out 3 holly leaves. You can use a die , Cricut or free hand these. Ink Greenery with Pine Needle ink and a little Twig ink. Form pinecones. If you have not used this die there is a video on the Tim Holtz blog or YouTube that tells you how to make them. Apply a little white paint to the edges to look like snow.
Emboss the acrylic and attach to the back of the chip board ticket. Place the printed paper ticket over the top of the acrylic. Apply Diamond stickes to the embossed area.


Glue the ribbon hanger to the top center of ticket.
Attach reindeer with pop dot. Glue tree in place. Glue greenery and pinecones in place

Here is another picture of the finished tag.
I hope you enjoyed making this ornament. Make sure to leave a comment because we are going to be giving one away. Question of the day- are you a neat crafter or a messy crafter? Here is what my counter looked like as I was making this ornament - you can tell how I would answer the question.
Stop by the Little Blue House and see all the pretty ornamentson on the tree.
You can purchase most of the supplies from the LBH.
I will be headed to Arkansas for Thanksgiving week so I want to wish you all
Happy Thanksgiving
Keep Creating
Elaine









Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Twelve Days of Christmas: Day 3

Here is a picture of the two ornaments I created.
I used a paper mache ornament and fabulous Washi Paper.
Both are in stock at the Little Blue House.
Here are all the beautiful colors of Washi Paper.
Supplies you will need to create this ornament.
Paper Mache Ornament
Washi Paper
Glossy Accents or Diamond Glaze
Glitter - I used Halo Glitter (available at LBH)
Paint
Bling for center
Ribbon -about a yard of two colors
Hot Glue or Tacky Glue
Copy Paper
First paint the ornament and after it is dry pull out the hanger. It is best to use white paint as the Washi paper is translucent and if the paint color is too dark the pattern is muted.
Next take a about a 4" square of copy paper and press it onto one of the sections of the ornament. I outlined the fold marks so it would be easier for you to see. Cut out the section- you will use this as a template.
This is what your template should look like.
Trace the template twelve times onto the back of the Washi paper. If you place them like the picture below it takes less time to cut them out and you will maximize your Washi paper.
Cut out the pieces. Oops I am missing one - there should be twelve.
Peel the backing off the Washi paper and place onto the ornament.
Start from the center and work out.
Cut a small slit as shown below and press onto ornament. The paper is so flexible you don't have to worry about it creasing and if it does it flattens out great. Try not to have the paper overlap too much as it clouds the pattern. Also these ornaments are not perfectly symmetrical so you may have to trim a little off some of the pieces.
Cover the entire ornament on both sides
Now for the FABULOUS FUN - Apply Glossy Accents on the edges of the ornament and apply Halo Glitter. I wish the pictures could show how GLITTERY GORGEOUS it is .Let the first side dry and then apply to the back. Tap off excess glitter. I went into the garage and blew off additional excess. You can also use a paint brush to brush away excess once the glossy is dry.

I used hot glue to add center embellishment. Make a bow and hanger out of the ribbon and attach with glue gun. On this one I used a felt Flower with a gem in the center.
On this ornament I used one of the metal flowers from Momenta (available at LBH).

Please give this Washi Tape a try. You will really love it. To win one one of these ornaments post a comment and tell me what is the first ornament you put on your tree each year and why it is so special. The first one we put on is the very first ornament we bought as a couple. We bought it at The Christmas Place in Ft Lauderdale. The store was owned by Lynn Howell and she had a parking place that was labeled "Mrs. Howell" - when I went to the store if she wasn't there I would park in the spot - Figured, Hey it has my name on it!!
I hope you have a Blessed Holiday Season.
Stop by and see all the beautiful ornaments and Christmas projects we have created.

Elaine

Friday, August 17, 2012

How Did I Do THAT ?? Just add Water Front Porch Kit

I thought for this post I would share some of the techniques I used on the
 "A Day at The Beach" layout I created from the kit.  First I must say you will be amazed at how much product you will find in this kit.  Make sure you check out the design board at
The Little Blue House or on the website
Here is a picture of the layout

The first technique I will share is for the word "day".  It is actually the chipboard word "Play" from the minialbum in the kit.  I cut it apart and turned the "P" upside down to create the "d". I then used the side of my Glossy Accents bottle and rounded the "A" off.  You lose the "L" by doing this but that was ok with me.  I painted the letters white with the Ranger SnoCap paint dabber.  After that dried I covered them with Diamond Stickles.  That has to dry for about an hour or so.  While the Stickles was drying I took the length of the clear tubing and snipped it into generous 1/4" lengths - no I didn't measure - just snipped away.  Careful you need good scissors - I used my Tonics-and watch it the pieces may fly as you cut them.  Once they were all snipped I separated them into four piles.  I then got four sandwich size baggies and loaded them in.  To color the tubing I used Ranger Alcohol Inks.  I used Sunset Orange, Sunshine Yellow, Bottle (blue) and Citrus (green).  I squirted a few drops of each color in the bags - one color per bag.  I mooshed (technical term) the tubing bits and ink until I reached the right  color intensity.  Dump them out onto a craft mat to dry. and this is what you get - they look like candy don't they??!!

Once the Stickles dries on the letters coat a small section with a generous amount of Glossy accents.  Place the colored tubing in a random pattern.  Once they are all placed I went back and added just a little bit more Glossy Accents around some of the pieces. 
Let this dry for an hour or so.  Isn't it beautiful??
 It reminded me of intertubes. 
The next part of the title is the word "Beach".  I cut the title out with my Cricut just using white cardstock.  You will want to use a font that has some surface area, I used Cuttin' Up.  I then took a swirly patterned stamp and stamped the letters with Sno cap white paint dabbber.  After the paint was dry I spread the title out and starting at the bottom I added the Distress inks.  I used a blending buddy and lightly swirled it on.  It works best if you use just the edge of the foam-you have more control over the amount of ink you apply. The colors from bottom to top are Tumbled Glass or you can use Broken China, Ripe Persimmon or Orange Marmelade would also work and finally Mustard Seed.  Finally apply Glossy accents over the top.
I love the effect of the sunset with  wave pattern on the letters. 
I hope you give these tips a try.  
Just Add Water Front Porch Kits are still available.  Stop be the Little Blue House or go online to the Little Blue House Online and purchase your kit.  There are lots of projects at the LBH for you to see as well as all the projects are posted on the online site in the gallery.
I am headed down to the beach now...I am in Florida with three of my sorority sisters for a girls weekend and the the beginning of next week I will be with my Mom and sister - I can't wait.
Look for inspiration in unusual places.
Elaine


Tuesday, July 31, 2012

jUSt Add WaTEr Is FInALLy HeRE

 Here is one of the projects  I created using this fabulous kit. It is a canvas that features my sister Elizabeth's adorable Golden Doodle - Bailey.  Bailey loves playing in the pond at the dog park as well as playing at the beach with her Mom and Dad. 
I used one of the beautiful metal pieces, several of the trims, and crushed shells. The sand castle was created with the help of my sweet husband Dan -I  asked him to draw me a sand castle and what I got was close to an architectural wonder.  I used the sandpaper from the kit for the castle and embellished it with some of the beads that were also included in the kit.
The tag was created using the Graphic 45 paper, letter stickers,large glass beads and some smaller beads.
But the star of this project is Miss Bailey herself....she has the cutest darned face ever!!
Later this week I will show some more of my projects.
Make sure you don't get left out...ORDER YOUR KIT TODAY !!
In person at the Little Blue House - 817-431-7930
The gallery of all the projects is on the online sight. Make sure you check it out...they are amazing!!
Elaine

Monday, July 30, 2012

Just Add Water Final Sneak Before the BIG Reveal

It's hard to believe the big SPLASH is just around the corner. This will be my final sneak berfore the "Just Add Water" Front Porch Kit is revealed tomorrow.  You will be thrilled to see all the beautiful papers, ribbons and fibers, sparkley beads, buttons, and a fun new surface to create and play with.    

The design team has created so many amazing projects to inspire you.

This photo shows what the kit is all about...
You will have so many great items to create layouts, cards, and  home decor projects.
There is also something extra special.that you need for any summer trip.
Sun, surf and sand castles.  Hmm ... what else will you find?
Don't delay ..It's available July 31st..
To purchase 
In person at The Little Blue House 817-431-7930
Make sure to leave a comment on the LBH blog for your chance to win.
Check back tomorrow for the BIG SPLASHING REVEAL!!
Try and stay cool...
Elaine

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Front Porch Kit - Just Add Water Sneak Peek #2


It's HOT outside and inside as well!!! 
Why because The Little Blue House Front Porch Kit is almost ready to be revealed.
Just wanted to show you another peek.  Lots of stuff that glistens and sparkles.

 Kits can be ordered July 31st
Call 817-431-7930
 Make sure you visit the Little Blue House blog and leave a comment.
 You might be the lucky winner of a kit.
Check back tomorrow for some more sneaks
Happy Crafting
Elaine