17turtles Juliana Michaels

Teacher Gift Idea

Hello everyone! Today I am sharing a recent project I created for Bo Bunny using their gorgeous new Apple Cider collection. We were asked to create a "back to school" themed project and this is what I created...a gift box and card. My sister is a teacher, so I am giving this to her. The gift box is full of some little treats and supplies that she can use in her classroom. It was actually meant to hold a wine bottle! I covered it with the patterned paper using Yes Paste to adhere the paper. I love that stuff for altered projects. It will adhere paper to just about any surface including metal!

Now, I have to admit something here...I did not initially think about this collection for a back to school project. My sweet friend Rachel actually gave me the idea during a recent visit. As I was showing her the new collections, she casually mentioned how the Apple Cider collection would work for back to school projects and layouts. Thank you Rachel!!!

To me, this sticker really seemed to sum up just how much a teacher can influence a student!

I also made a little mini card/tag for the gift box.

I hope you enjoyed this little project! I think it would also make a great end of the school year teacher gift idea as well.

HAPPY HUGS!

Juliana

More Gesso & Butterflies

OK, so maybe I told a story. Well not intentionally, but I guess I really didn't make a layout with my CS sketch like I thought. I can not find one anywhere that is based on this sketch. So...I guess I need to do one!!! LOL!!!
Until then, I will share this latest layout with you. I have really been getting into templates, misting and gesso as you saw in my gesso & butterflies post below. For this layout I used a template from Studio Calico. It is a thinner template, so the gesso kind of spread underneath the template in places. It was probably more because of how I applied it...too thick maybe?! Anyway, I still like how it turned out. I started with a piece of white cardstock and added the gesso. I let this dry overnight and then played with it the next day adding color with some Distress Stains and Glimmer Mist.

On these next 2 images you can see how the gesso spread under the template. I think it still looks OK though. If you have any suggestions on how to avoid this next time, it would be greatly appreciated!

And how about using those little strips on the end of the paper. I love those things!!! And I am in LOVE with The Sweetest Thing collection by My Minds Eye! This past weekend I was able to buy more of it!!!

This is another one of the butterflies I made thanks to a little inspiration from my new friend Tracey! If you want another cool butterfly idea you must check out her latest post. I know I will be trying this on my next play session!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!!

HAPPY HUGS!!!

Juliana

Creative Scrappers #223

Hi all! Just wanted to share that I have a sketch up at Creative Scrappers! I made a layout with this sketch too, but for some reason I can't seem to find it. So I will have to share it with you at a later time. In the meantime, make sure you stop by the CS blog and check out how the CS designers interrupted my sketch! I know I was seriously blown away by all the amazing layouts!

That's all folks!

HUGS!

Juliana

Gesso & Butterflies

Yes, I have been playing with Gesso & Butterflies. And a few other goodies including some new Distress Stains, Rock Candy Crackle Paint and a Crafters Workshop Template. I have been wanting to play with these things for awhile, and when I finally broke down and got the Distress Stains, I knew the time had come. I had a lot of fun and I enjoyed creating the background paper for this layout. It was an interesting process to create what felt like it's on little project before I ever began adding photos and other embellishments. It was such a different process than what I normally go through to create a layout, but I really enjoyed it and I am pretty sure I will be doing it more often. I just need to get some more templates to play with! LOL!!!

These butterflies where created based on a tutorial by Tracey's that was so inspiring to me! I played around with some Jillibean Soup corrugated butterflies to create mine, because at the time I did not have the Tim Holtz die. I have since bought it and have been playing around with it!!! Thanks Tracey!!! I found the floral wire to work well and I love that it came in white. When I cut the wire to create my antennae I had trouble with the thread unraveling, so I applied Glossy Accents and this kept the edges from unraveling. I also added a coat of Rock Candy on top of the paint/ink. It doesn't show up the best on screen, but IRL it looks really cool! Now that I am looking at the layout again, I will be adding some jewels/pearls to the bodies of my butterflies. I love that look that adds!

The title was inspired by the tribute to "The Life of Brian" during the closing ceremonies of the Olympics.

Here is detail shot of the fun I had playing. I used Tumbled Glass, Walnut and Peeled Paint Distress Stains and Inks. I also misted it with some Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. I love how the texture shows through from the Gesso. Love it!!!

Anyway, thanks so much for stopping by! I'd love to see what you've been "playing" with lately, so leave me a comment and I'll stop by to check it out!

HUGS!

Juliana

Monograms

So here is the Monogram post I mentioned on my last post about wood grain. I am loving adding monograms to my projects lately. I have another layout that I created that I will share soon. However, the first project I have to share with you today was created for the Cricut Blog back in January using the Cricut Letter Envy Cartridge. We had just moved into our new home and I was inspired to create a home decor piece to add a personal touch! I cut the images from various Lilly Bee patterned papers. The black "M" & numbers were cut from a piece of velvet paper by Teresa Collins. I love the texture it adds! I also cut the large shadow image from chipboard to give the entire letter more dimension.

Now I am going to test your observation skills. Do you seen anything in this layout that looks familiar? Here is a hint...Look at the letter shape behind the photo. Any guesses?

If you haven't guessed, I used the scrap paper from the home decor piece above to create the silhouette background for this layout! I love the save my scraps and I especially love when I find a good use for them!!!

I also played a bit with gesso on this Dusty Attic chipboard piece. Nothing fancy, but I love the texture it added.

Another thing I had fun doing was layering all the little banners stickers that are part of the Lilly Bee sticker sheets. Overall, this has to be one of my favorite layouts of late. But quite honestly that changes frequently! LOL!!!

Thanks again for your visit and kind words!!!

I hope you had a great weekend and that the upcoming week is wonderful!

HUGS!

Juliana

Wood Grain Paper & Embossing

Some scrappy things just make me happy and wood grain products are one of them! This photo is of our horse Woody & his new buddy Casey. We recently moved Woody to be closer to us. He is at a boarding facility, and Julie (the owner) thought that he & Casey would get along well. She was right...they do! And we are so glad that he now has a new friend to keep him company!

When I began to scrap this layout, the colors of Woody's coat spoke to me when I was choosing the colors of papers I wanted to work with. The wooden fence inspired the use of the wood grain paper.

I also knew I wanted to use the new Cricut Wood grain Embossing folder! Perfect combination if you ask me! I have been hoarding these Authentique papers for quite some time and I am so glad to have been able to find a happy home for them. The yellow and damask papers are scraps from a previous project and they worked well as a mat for the photo. (After I embossed them of course! LOL!!!) I added a few buttons and washi tape to embellish it a bit. I love how the yellow thread looks on the buttons. Do you like to thread your buttons or do you leave them plain?

Supplies:

Patterned Paper:Authentique, Lilly Bee

Buttons:We R Memory Keepers

Washi Tape: Tim Holtz

Letter Stickers: Authentique, American Crafts

Well, that's it for today. My next post is going to be about MONOGRAMS! I have a couple projects using these that were quite fun to put together.

Thanks so much for stopping by & I truly do LOVE to read your comments! I am on a mission to make some new blog friends...so leave me a comment and I'll stop by and visit you too!!!

HAPPY HUGS!!!

Juliana

Bo Bunny Combo Sticker Flower Tutorial

I love making flowers. But I have never tried making them from cardstock stickers. Have you? For this layout we were limited on how many Bo Bunny supplies we could use to create a 2 page layout. So I decided to focus on how to use what I had and to make the most of it. That is how I came up with the idea of making my own 3D flowers by cutting and layering the cardstock stickers. If you are interested in how I did it, keep reading below for a step by step photo tutorial.