Sunday, July 25, 2010

Paper Primrose Tutorial

Here is tutorial for a paper flower. Sorry for the image quality, I was in a low lighting setting when making these flowers. The flowers are really easy to make and I was able to make one in less than 15 minutes.

Items you will need
A large flower punch or a die cut machine (I used the Cricut)
A small flower punch or a die cut machine
A leaf punch of a die cut machine
Ink ( I used Colorbox )
Adhesive/glue (I used Tacky Glue)
A wook skewer stick or quilling tool
Water in a spray bottle
Flower center and floral spray



Step 1:


Punch 2 flowers from the large punch and 3 from the small punch. Spritz the flowers with water. Be careful not to over wet the punched flowers.

Step 2:


Ink the flower edges. Next using the wood skewer, curl/roll the edges of each flower petal inward. You can also crumble the flower slightly to give it texture before you curl the petals. Let all the flowers dry before moving to the next step. This
will only take a few minutes.


Step 3:


Glue one flower layer over the other, staggering the petals.

Step 4:


Ink the floral sprays. Fold each spray in half and glue to flower center. Make sure you glue the sprays in a circular design around the flower center.



Step 5:


Glue a flower center over the attached floral sprays or you could use a brad.

Step 6:


Punch or die cut four leaves.

Step 7:


Ink the leaves edges.

Step 8:


Fold the leaves in half. Make sure the leaves have a sharp fold.

Step 9:


Using the wood skewer, roll the leaves tightly around the skewer.


Step 10:


Slightly fold back the leaves the opposite way of the curling.

Step 11:


Glue 2 leaves together at the base staggering slightly.
Glue the leaf clusters to the underside of the flower.

Step: 12:
The flower is completed:



Saturday, July 24, 2010



This is based from my sketch 062710. I am continuing to use up my old papers. This is an old kit from Colorbok titled “Love”. I made the flowers from tissue paper and added a filigree brad to the center. The journaling on the page reads: “There's a blacktop road, a faded yellow centerline. It can take you back to the place, but it can't take you back in time...”
Lyrics: from Wyonna Judd “ Flies on the Butter”

The hidden journaling reads: “This road led from my grandparent's house to my
childhood home. As a child, my family traveled route 78 just about every weekend. Nearly, 14 years has passed since I traveled on this road. A couple weeks ago, I went home and ended traveling on this road. This journey brought back so many memories of my childhood. The barn in this picture is no longer standing as well as many other landmarks and houses on this route. I felt so sad traveling along this road, because no matter how much you dream or how long you follow the yellow centerline, it can take you back in place, but it can't take you back in time.”


I need to repost this-the photo is not straight! This is my friend hold his son on a zoo trip. This is old paper that is at least a couple years old. I am trying to keep digging into the old stash.
Paper is by Paper Studio



This photo of my father when he was 18 years old. He is the man in the photo on the left side and his good friend is the man on the right. The other photo tucked in the pocket near the bottom,is my dad's high school senior photo.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Then and Now




This year was my 20th high school reunion-wow. This is the first high school reunion I have attended since graduation. I was hoping my friend Terry would attend, he did and it was nice seeing him after all these years. Terry and I were inseparable bestfriends all through grade and high school. I remember I felt the world would stop, whenever he and I were apart. It is amazing, the people we could not live without when we were seventeen, but now we only see evey 20 years. It was so great seeing Terry again after all these years. It felt like we were seventeen again, because Terry and I bonded again like it was 1990. I guess strong bonds never end-even after 20 years! The black and white photo was taken at prom "then", 1990 and the color photo is "now" 2010. I vow not to let another 20 years pass by without another reunion. Thank God for Facebook!

For those of you that have not seen any of my previous LOs about Violet. Violet was diagnosed with brain cancer last November and still is battling the monster. The title comes from a saying we have, “Fight Like a Girl”. We all had T-shirts made with this phrase. I scanned my “Fight like a Girl” t-Shirt and made a rub with the pink title. Last week, I heard this song, I had never heard the song, “Fight Like Girl” by Bomshel. So, I had to include the lyrics in the background. I started with a white piece of paper. I masked, overlapped with paint, stamped, rubbed and used the printer to print the lyrics in the back ground. I distressed the photo and outlined Violet's image with white paint. Added a couple rub-ons and ended up with something I liked-for once!
Here are the Lyrics:

Fight Like A Girl Lyrics
Little girl alone on the playground
Tired of gettin' teased and gettin' pushed around
Wishin' she was invisible
To them

She ran home cryin'
"Why do they hate me?"
And Mama wiped the tears and said
"Baby, you're brave and you're beautiful.
So, hold your head high.
Don't ever let 'em define
The light in your eyes.
Love yourself, give them Hell.
You can take on this world.
You just stand and be strong
And then fight
Like a girl."

At 31 she was wheelin' and dealin'
Kept on hittin' that same glass ceilin'
She was never gonna one of the boys, no
She coulda gave up on her ambition
And spent the rest of her life just wishin'
Instead she listened to her mama's voice sayin'

"Hold your head high.
Don't ever let 'em define
The light in your eyes.
Love yourself, give them Hell.
You can take on this world.
You just stand and be strong
And then fight
Like a girl."

Oh, with style and grace
Kick ass and take names

Ten years of climbin' that ladder
Oh, but money and power don't matter
When the doctor said "the cancer spread"
She holds on tight to her husband and babies
And says "this is just another test God gave me.
And I know just how to handle this"

I'll hold my head high
I'll never let this define
The light in my eyes
Love myself, give it Hell
I'll take on this world
If I stand and be strong
No, I'll never give up
I will conquer with love
And I'll fight like
Like a girl

Ooh

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

She's All Girl



This is another LO of little Violet. For all who do not know, Violet has been fighting a brain tumor for over a year. She had been an angel though it all. She never complains, she always smiles and continues to make us all laugh. She just wants to return to her normal daily rountine of being all girl. Violet plays with neighbor children and rides her bike in a dress and three inch heels. I believe she was born with heels on. The journaling reads:
" She is gentle. She is wild. She's a
riddle, she's a child. She's a headache,
She's an angel. She's an Girl.

My newest Sketch

Another Sketch and LO



I am still trying to use up my old stash. I am trying to create at least two layouts a month using my old stash. I have not created a LO exclusively honoring my Father and thought it was about time. I could not find any vintage looking Coal Mining background paper, so you know what I did...I made it! I made the background paper using old graphics and an old mining map of the area my father worked. I wanted to include the handerchief paper because this an important part of this LO's theme. There is hidden journaling on the card behind the photo and it reads:

This is a photo of my father's last day of working in the coal mine. He worked for Peabody Coal Company for nearly 20 years. Sunnyhill Mine # 9 closed after BP bought out the company and the land rights of the mines in Perry County. My father is the man siting in the front row to the far left and his best friend is standing directly behind him in the photo. The smaller photo is picture of my father supporting a strike in West Virginia. During this strike, the UMWA and the Teamsters joined forces blocking off roads and keeping non-union coal miners and truckers from transporting coal from the WVA mines. Growing up, I remember my father getting up each morning with lace-up steel toe boots, faded overall jeans, a metal miner's lunchbox and metal thermos of coffee heading off to work. He worked behind the scenes in a job that most people don't realize kept the spokes inside the wheel of this great promise land turning. Coal's energy somehow impacts everything we touch and use on a daily basis. Coal Mining goes back about three generations on my father's side of the family. My father was a true “ Redneck” and proud to be a " Damn Redneck". The term redneck and its literal manifestation, the red bandana wore around the necks of striking miners during the mid-1900s build multiracial unions of white, black, and immigrant miners in the strike-ridden coalfields of northern and central Appalachia. Redneck also means a "union man" or "or striker". My father has traveled through the Appalachia states as a UMWA union representative fighting and supporting fellow miners' striking for improved wages, health benefits and safety conditions of the mines during the 70's and 80's. I am proud to be a Retired Coal Miner's Daughter. "God Bless the Working Man

Some recent sketches



Another Sketch and LO




This is based from my sketch 062710. I am continuing to use up my old papers. This is an old kit from Colorbok titled “Love”. I made the flowers from tissue paper and added a
filigree brad to the center. You can check out my blog for details on how to make the flowers.
The journaling on the page reads: “There's a blacktop road, a faded yellow
centerline. It can take you back to the place, but it can't take you back in time...”
Lyrics: from Wyonna Judd “ Flies on the Butter”

The hidden journaling reads: “This road led from my grandparent's house to my
childhood home. As a child, my family traveled route 78 just about every weekend. Nearly, 14 years has passed since I traveled on this road. A couple weeks ago, I went home and ended traveling on this road. This journey brought back so many memories of my childhood. The barn in this picture is no longer standing as well as many other landmarks and houses on this route. I felt so sad traveling along this road, because no matter how much you dream or how long you follow the yellow centerline, it can take you back in place, but it can't take you back in time.”

Sketch and the LO


This is a family photo of our (my dh and my) best friends. This has been a difficult year for this family. My best friend's father passed away in May and Violet's battle with cancer! This family is such an inspiration, they continue to smile and find happiness in every moment! They are such a special family!

Sketch051510