Guest Star Paula Cheney!

Today's guest star is Paula Cheney who brings us two lovely pieces of altered art. Paula says, "I was drawn to Jenni’s paper with the school children and knew right away I wanted to create a small canvas featuring the little girl in the white dress.

To prepare the 8 x 8” canvas I gave it a coat of gesso (let it dry). Then added a coatof Aqua Adirondack Dapper paint. Once the paint was dry I added a coat of Espresso, then wiped it away with a baby wipe while the paint was still wet.

Now comes the fun part...I just started layering paper onto the canvas using gel medium. I added the ripped paper at the top to mimic the shape of a tent because thelittle banner flags reminded me of something you might see at a circus. The Affection card also mimics the doorway into the Big Top. I just kept adding pieces of Jenni’s paper and old music until I had the right balance, because in my world there should always be a bit of old to balance out the new. I added a piece of dyed cheesecloth, mostly because it was on my desk and I like using things I have arms reach. I always think of it as a challenge to see what I can do withthings that are already on my desk. Once I got all the papers in place, I used watercolor pencils to add detail to the little girls' dresses. Then finished it off with oil pastels and a graphite pencil for shading.

I love how it turned out. It really reminded of my older sister and I so I decided to add the star to the older girl since my sister is someone who I have always looked up to and tried to be like. She is a star.

This project uses a 7 Gypsies Receipt Holder that is available at JBS Mercantile in the General Store.

Gather JBS 12 x 12 paper.
Cut pieces to fit sections.
Rip each paper across the top and ink.

Insert paper into the receipt holder and start filling with photos and vintage treasures. I used black and white photos taken of my parents older siblings taken during the early 50’s.

For the large picture of my parents I cut a piece of heavy book board about 4 x 7”, then adhered JBS paper. I made an enlarged toner cartridge copy of the photo (the original is only about 2 x 3”), then followed the following steps to create a tape transfer:
1. Make an toner cartridge copy (ink jet will not work) of a photo.
2. Cut a piece of clear contact paper (matte finish) the size of the photo.
3. Cut around the picture to remove as much white space as possible.
4. Lay the copy on the table top face up and lay the contact paper over the top sticky side down.
5. Burnish well with a bone folder (do not skip this step).
6. Immerse image in water for at least 5 minutes.
7. Remove from water. Use thumbs to roll away the wet paper leaving the image on the contact paper. Run under water from time to time to facilitate removing the paper.
8. Cut away any excess contact paper. Let dry sticky side up (It might not be sticky when you take it out of the water but as it dries it will get sticky again.
9. Add a bit of glue stick to the back, then lay the transfer over the JBS paper and burnish well.

I added other bits of JBS paper, embellishments and stickers to the receipt holder. The paper mixes so well with the vintage items from my stash it’s hard to know what is old and what is new.

HodgePodge Mini-Album Tutorial

I must confess that I found the making of hodgepodge mini-albums quite daunting until I discovered my own little method of throwing them together with ease (and cheaply)!

The trick is to save all the chipboard backings from your product packaging. Here I have the makings of three hodgepodge minis that I've thrown together from recyled materials and a few extra bits leftover from previous kits. I just arrange the pieces from smallest to largest based on width. The minis here all have nine pieces pages.

This process really doesn't take as long as you think either if you go with the time-saving assembly line method. Divide and conquer. Take five minutes to divide your pages into stacks for as many minis as you need to do. These make great gifts! Next time you have a spare half hour start covering the pieces front and back with patterned paper. Don't overthink it, just cover them! I adhere the paper directly to the chipboard then cut off the excess and lightly sand the edges. Save even more time by lining the chipboard up along straight edges of the paper to avoid a cut or two.

With your next half hour edit and print pictures. I printed all mine at 2x3 inches to save thinking time. Some I ended up cutting down even smaller. You can also print a couple at 4x6 and adhere them back to back to add an extra page. Of course, when gifting it saves even more time to print multiples of the same photo and do a second or even third mini for the grandmas.

Once the photos are all adhered flip back through and add titles and journaling. I stuck to label stickers, journaling cards, and letter stickers on the interior so the mini would lay flat.

Once the interior is done, take a half hour to pretty up the front. look at all the empty ends and adhere dimensional embellishments on these. My mini is still laying totally flat but has all the dimensional bits that I love because they're carefully placed on outter edges of the pages.

Of course, another great way to save time is to limit your materials. The patterned papers are all from the December Kits. Some of the embellishments are leftovers from past kits. I also added a Pink Vellum Embellished Butterfly to the mix.

Use a hole punch to punch out a spot for the book-binding ring on the left side of each page.

Tie on a pretty bow!

Save one for yourself and put one in the mail as a very special gift! (The trip to the post office is always the hardest part for me, lol).

January Exclusives!

A new year means a new round of JBS Mercantile Exclusives! I'm really excited about these 5x7 Calendar Bingos available only in the main kit each month. I'm thinking I'll make a month in review mini album with mine . . . a page each month and a completed album at the end. Such fun! Oh! And the little valentine is not an exclusive, but he is vintage! So cute! We will be back with another peek or two on Christmas day! 2011 is going to be a great year at JBS Mercantile!

Guest Star Bridgette Troung!

I'm happy to be back with a new shadowbox page to post, this time Christmas related!

A few things about the shadowbox: It was purchased at Michaels. It's 12x12, and comes in a few colors. Normal price is $30, but with the regualr sales of 50% off, then they sometimes include coupons for an extra 25% off and that's how I got this one. :) It has a canvas covered backing, and keeps closed with a magnet.

I used another neutral cardstock base for this one, but next time I might just try using the canvas backing. Of course I started with a Christmas bingo card. I cut the shapes out of the JBS 4x4 Front Porch mini papers (I LOVE those things!). I used punches with the embossed cardstock and sanded them a little to highlight the text. The stamps are ones I have used before, Holiday Button Bits by Papertrey Ink. The JBS buttons have a full adhesive backing, which I adore, but sometimes I feel the need to stitch through the holes. I accented the rest with the JBS christmas tickets, letter stickers, and vintage buttons. I think it's the perfect accessory for the holiday! Thanks for letting me share.

Fabulous! Thanks for the inspiration Bridgette!

Seasonal Sightings . . .

Here are a few seasonal sightings for you from our December Kits. Lisa . . .

Jill (with a darling year in review layout featuring our new calendar bingo cards) . . .

Michelle . . .

Wilna . . .

and Doris.

Winner!

Our Thanksgiving Photo Challenge Winner is "kcscrpbkr." She writes, "I am thankful that my son came up from college for the break and spent a fair amount of time with us. This is our make your own pizza feast." Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm pizza! What a yummy tradition and a wonderful way to spend time together during the holidays. Email me at doris.sander@gmail.com and I'll tell you about your prize!

Grandma's Snowflakes by Betsy Sammarco

These beaded snowflake ornaments are made with beads from my grandma's old costume jewelry. Grandma gave me her old jewelry years ago and much of it was broken. I took the strands apart to use the beads, caps, and clasps in various crafting projects. One Christmas, everyone in the family received one of these as a gift. Not only are the snowflakes pretty ornaments, knowing that they are a part of Grandma makes them even more special. Here are just a few I've made: