Hand decorated gift wrap

I decided that the gift I created for my god daughter needed some special gift wrap so I created some. She is a crafty person so I know that she will see the value in reusing the beautiful paper in her creations!!
I started with a piece of white heavy weight paper, used the items on the left - a piece of plastic canvas, some mesh, a swirly tile and a piece of white wax crayon  - to created some texture on my paper.  I simply place my item under the paper and rubbed my crayon (laying on its side) over the paper.  Just moved things around and kept rubbing until I had covered the majority of the surface area.

 You can see here with my paper at an angle the wax which has been applied to the paper.  You cannot see it unless you look against the light.  I love doing wax resist!!
So next I applied some colour washes in yellow and red until all the surface was covered and I liked the play between the two colours.  It left it to dry and used my left over acrylic paint to play on several other pieces of paper which will become decorative paper I will use in a another project.  Nothing goes to waste!!

Here you can see a section of the paper I created.  The white wax has resisted the colour and creates texture and design on the surface of the paper!  I have taken digital photos of my paper which I can use later for printing,in digital collages or mixed media artwork.  It is your work so why not record and use your own work in your art.

Very happy with this and I am off to wrap my gift!!

Therese

BEE Attitudes book

Our god daughter is being confirmed this week and I made her a little book to help her incorporate into her life the Fruits of the Spirit!!
The cover features the Law of Attraction which highlights the fact that you are the co creator of your life.  You use your thoughts, words and actions to create in the physical world.  The earlier in life that we realize that we are in charge of our lives and responsible for our choices and their consequences the sooner that we can consciously choose the thoughts, words and actions that will bring us what we seek in life.

 For these two pages, I laser printed the words and quotes onto a 4.25" x 11" piece of white cardstock. I sponged them with yellow, blue and green ink and used hand cut stencils to add some texture to the pages.  I folded it in half to create a page that is 4.25" by 5.5" and sewed the bottom and open side with my sewing machine which created a pocket.  I cut several tags (2" x 4.25") with "I choose" printed at the top which she can use to record her insights and for reminders to herself.  They can be stored in the pocket.

I found a version of the Fruits of the Spirit that was appropriate for her age and laser printed them on white cardstock.  I also created an affirmation tag for each of them that she can write on and store in the pockets created by the pages.  I wanted the theme to be BEE Attitudes and that is where these bees came in!!  Each page features flowers of some kind, a bee and one word.
I created each page, one at a time.  I started by embossing the quarter sheet, adding the flowers and embellishments and sewing on the word.  Once all my pages were finished, I placed a pair of them

back to back and sewed down both sides and across the bottom creating a pocket for the affirmation tags.  I had eight pages which gave me four double sided pages.  I added the bees with 3D foam tape once the pages were sewn.
For my first page, I embossed a quarter sheet of green cardstock with distressed lines, added some layered punchie flowers and finished them off with hand cut stems and leaves.  I sewed on my word.
On this page, I used a polka dot embossing folder (SU), added flowers created using red five petal punchies (SU) layered with yellow flowers with red circle punchie centers. I added some green swirls cut from a small die made by Sizzix.

 For this page, I added half of a white scalloped die cut (NS) on the left hand side and a layered die cut flower (SX) on the right hand side of the embossed cardstock.  The largest one on the back is from the Tattered flower die (TH) cut from shimmery hand decorated paper which I received in a prize package.  I sewed on the word.

For this page, I layered several scalloped circles (NS) and attached them to the embossed cardstock (QK) using a white mini brad.  I applied a piece of tape to the back of the cardstock so that the prongs would not interfere with getting the tags in and out.

 For this page, I added a layered die cut flower over the embossed cardstock (CB) and inserted a little leafed branch (SU) die cut just under its edge before sewing on the word.

 For this page, I added three layered flowers created using five petal punchies (SU) in red and blue flower punchies with yellow circle punchie centers over the embossed cardstock (SU) along with some little green leaves left over from cutting the swrirls and then sewed on my word.  For these ones I lined up the blue flower petals with the dips instead of the petals on the red ones.  It gives them a different look than the red and yellow ones above

For this page, I added two rows of black and white washi tape over the embossed cardstock and then sewed on my word.  I created a flower using a corrugated cardboard flower punchie (SU) layered with a red five petal punchie and several smaller circles for the center.  I added three green swirls which I cut with the small swirl die (SX) I used earlier.  I adhered it to my page using double sided tape.  This is my favorite page!

 This page features a large flower created using three scalloped circles and a couple of flower punchies.  I glued the flower over the embossed cardstock and then sewed on my word overlapping the flower.

The back page is blank on both sides and holds blank tags.  It is created using a 4.25"x 11" of white cardstock folded in half and sewed just like the front cover to create a pocket.  This will give her some space to do her own art and personalize her book.

I used my Zutter Binding machine to punch the holes  in all the page and used a 3/4" black wire binding to bind my pages together.  To add a bit of texture I tied some fibers to the wire binding.



I am hoping she will make the book her own by embellishing the pages, adding fibers and maybe some charms to the binding and making use of the tags.
I am very happy with how this little book has turned out and how quickly it came together.  I do admit I have been percolating this idea for some time and it certainly contributed to how quickly it came together.
We are so happy to be close enough to participate in this event and be there to celebrate with her family!!

Therese

Confirmation Card

Made this card for our god daughter who is being confirmed very soon.  I love the way it turned out!!   The decorative paper is from a Hawaiian paper collection I received from my daughter.  I love the colours.  I used several sheets from the same set to make my Mahalo cards last month.
The papers were cut and layered onto the red card front and the join was covered with a piece of lime green vintage seam binding with the ends glued to the inside of the card using double sided tape. I have always loved this very graphic image of a dove and knew it would be perfect for this card.  It is available for download from CLKER.  I laser printed it on white cardstock and watercoloured the image adding layers of paint until I got the intensity I wanted around the edges and a good blend where the colours met.  I sealed it with hairspray to keep the watercolour from rubbing off.  I created the little tag using a red tag die cut and a white circle punchie which I hand lettered with a fine tip Sharpie, watercoloured to coordinate with the card and then embellished with clear dimensional paint.  Once it was dry (overnight) I added a little hanger and attached it to my card by adding it to the knot when I tied a short piece of seam binding to the front to simulate a bow.
I love it when a project comes together easily, looks better than I had imagined it would and is perfect for the occasion and person it will be presented to!!

Therese