O Canada!

I'm not exactly sure where this post is heading, or exactly what to say... but feel like something should be said.

I have family who live in Ottawa where those terrible events took place earlier this week. 

Friends and family were put on "lockdown" that afternoon. Mum's were worried about their kids shut tight in their schools.

Family, visiting from England were on the very spot the shooting took place just days before. I've walked there myself many times.

There is a large military population in our area. We neighbour the military town where the repatriation of fallen Canadian soldiers takes place.

Today, the body of Corporal Nathan Cirillo, the young man who was killed on Wednesday, will pass along the Highway of Heroes, through our home town.

He will be returned to Hamilton, his home, the place we lived most of our lives.



The 500 kilometers between those places seem awfully small today.



"With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!"

I feel blessed to call Canada home. I'm proud of the bravery, the calm, the thoughtfulness and dignity displayed these past few days. It's not perfect, but it's a good place, filled with good people.

"O Canada, we stand on guard for thee."

May you rest in peace Corporal Nathan Cirillo.

Masters of Horror Portraits Halloween Blog Hop with Petaloo, Xyron and Core-dinations

Be sure to head over to the Petaloo blog for details on a great give-away of products from Petaloo, Xyron and Core-dinations.

I am not ashamed to admit that I am a creepy sorta' girl. Besides flowers, fairies, frills and glitter, I'm also a big fan of horror, thrills and creepypasta. For my blog hop project I wanted to create something that celebrated my love for the horror genre.

And so I've created these framed portraits of two undisputed masters of horror: Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft.

I began with an inexpensive wooden frames, covering them with Core-dinations Cardstock Neutrals. I embossed the paper, sanded it to reveal the colour core, and distressed the edges. I love the 'aged' look and texture this gives the pieces.

My Lovecraft portrait includes a vibrant assortment of blooms. The orange and green combination is just a smidge 'toxic' and coordinates perfectly with the polymer clay tentacles!

Edgar's portrait is complimented with an assortment of dark Petaloo blooms in a variety of textures.

My papery bits are held in place with my trusty Xyron Wedge Shaped Glue Stick. Larger items (like those hefty tentacles) are held in place with a spot of hot glue, but small snippets of Double-Sided High Tack tape hold everything exactly where it should be.

I'm pretty sure dear old Edgar would approve :)

Supply list:
Botanica Blooms 1102Darjeeling Mini Mix 1462Burlap Blossoms 1200
Floral Ephemera 1100Penny Lane Mixed Blossoms 1836Spring Berry Clusters 1105

Xyron Wedge Shaped Glue Stick
Xyron Double-Sided High Tack

Core-dinations Cardstock Neutrals

G45 Ornate Metal Label Holder
Wooden frames
Portrait print-outs
Feathers
Pen nib

Printy things

It's always a bit nerve wracking sending items to a printer. You never know what you're going to end up with. When I worked at a weekly entertainment paper we would anxiously await the new issue to see just what the inks and paper had done. After almost 20 years I still get anxious when awaiting a new print job to arrive.

Freshly printed Pixie Hill Planners arrived last week. I love the cover, it looks just as it should... but the image pages on the interior are a bit duller than I would have liked *insert disappointed face here*. The books ARE for scribbling in so it's important that the paper is uncoated, and this contributes to the loss of vibrancy *sigh*.

My holiday cards on the other hand are brilliant and I love them. They turned out just as I hoped and will be available soon.

Hope you're having a fab day!
xoxo

Tussy Mussy's for Tresors de Luxe

I was looking through a vintage crafting book for inspiration and came across some little triangular boxes that peaked my interest. They were called "cornucopia boxes" in the book, but to me they looked like Tussy Mussy's. 

A Tussy Mussy is simply a small vessel, meant to carry little bouquets of flowers, popular during the Victorian era.

Traditionally they were made out of metal... but I think the Victorian's would forgive these papers versions since they are embellished with plenty of lace.

They were popular gifts given by gentleman callers to the object of their affection. I think they'd make a dear hostess gift, or ideal 'thank-you' token.

These particular ones were created with Graphic 45's Time to Celebrate and embellished with a variety of laces from Tresors de Luxe, along with some of their very pretty fabric flowers.

And if you don't have access to little bouquets of fresh flowers, you could always wrap a sweet little gift in some tissue paper and tuck it safely inside to gift.

You can learn more about Tussy Mussy's here.

Supply list:
Graphic 45 > Time to Celebrate > Make a Wish
Graphic 45 > Time to Celebrate > Congratulations
Graphic 45 > Time to Celebrate > Let's Get Together
Time to Celebrate Chipboard

White Chiffon FlowersPeach Chiffon FlowersGold Venice Lace Trim Lace Trim Venice LaceLace Trim BeadedIvory Venice Floral and LeafIvory Applique Lace TrimIvory Lace Applique Trim

Fall 'Welcome' Sign with Graphic 45

I’ve created two different 'Welcome' signs using two different Graphic 45 collections, Couture and 12 Day’s of Christmas.

 I really wanted to demonstrate the vercitility of Graphic 45’s designs and colour pallet and encourage you to think outside the box. 

Do not be bound by the ‘theme’ of a paper line!
Don’t be afraid to pull out that Christmas paper in August.

For 12 Day’s of Christmas sign:
12 Days of Christmas Chipboard Die-cuts 212 Days of Christmas Flowers12 Day’s of Christmas Pear Tree
For Couture sign:
Couture  CoutureCouture Chipboard 1Couture Flowers
Blank sign base
Acrylic paint
White school glue
Ribbon
Jute twine
Assorted Petaloo blooms

Graphic 45 Staples door knob

Here’s the process that I used to create my sign. Give it a try and add your own flair and style!

Step 1: Grab a suitable sign base and a background paper. I’ve used an inexpensive blank wooden frame and chosen 12 Days of Christmas Pear Tree as my background.

Step 2: Using THIS simple crackle paint technique, I prepare my base and affix the paper to the frame. HINT: Coordinate the background paint to the main colour in the paper you are using.

Step 3: Create this funny folded loop shape with a length of ribbon, holding it in place with small dabs of hot glue (or score tape). Make a second that is a mirrored image of this.

Step 4: Apply the folded ribbon, along with two lengths for ‘tails’ to the front centre of your sign. This gives the illusion of a bow without the bulk of knots.

Step 5: The ribbon ends will now be concealed by a large tag from 12 Days of Christmas Chipboard Die-cuts 2. You can add a focal piece atop on the diecut. Here I’ve added an ornate door handle.

Step 6: Begin the embellishing! I’ve used 12 Days of Christmas Flowers to create some dimention and texture with some pretty blooms. HERE is a snapguide explaining how I assemble my flowers.

Step 7: When my main flowers and embellishments are in place, I situate the “Welcome” scroll just where I want it.

Step 8: With that in place I add my final embellishments, adding leaves, baubles and flowers from Petaloo.

Step 9: I complete the piece with a length of jute twine affixed to the back for hanging.

And here are the results using the same tutorial, but this time with the Couture collection:

Toilet Humour

Things have been kinda quiet around here lately. Sorry about that. I've been swamped with non-arty/crafty things like Canadian Thanksgiving and cleaning my house. Me? Cleaning? I know it's odd but I have a boatload of family from overseas spending the night tomorrow. Sure they say "Oh, don't worry! Don't go out of your way!" Pfft! I don't know about your family, but when guests are expected my family goes insane with the prep and cleaning. Just look at this...

Not only is that toilet clean, but I installed a new seat (believe me, it needed to be done) and even recalked around the bottom. I'm going to need a mental health day after this visit.

To be honest, my bathroom is the one place in this house that is usually clean. (Probably because I don't craft in there.) HOWEVER... I had guests over one day and a gentleman asked to use the restroom. I showed him to this very toilet and he came out moments later and looked rather shaken. I didn't think anything of it until later when I lifted the seat to clean.... it was an absolute horror show! It looked like Mr. Hanky the Christmas poo had hosted a conga line around the blasted thing. I was mortified.

Anyway, things will continue to be quiet for a few more days while I drive myself to madness, pretend to be the hostess with the mostess for a night, and spend three days in recovery :P

I'll leave you with another gem from my 1912 Hallowe'en Games book...

 

Halloween Cards with Petaloo & Authentique

Although I do enjoy making cards, I don't do it often. When I saw the Spirited Card Making Stack from Authentique in my design team package however, I had an overwhelming urge to make a few spooky greetings.

Using the Authentique Spirited papers "circles & scallops", "stamp blocks", "components", and "enhancements" the cards came together really easily.

The addition of some winding 'vines' of Floral Ephemera is perfectly petrifying :P

Some tattered Crochet Lace Fancy Trim gives a nice textured detail.

The Textured Elements Burlap Blossoms and Mixed Textured Layers are perfect for Halloween embellishments.

And sometimes just a little bling in the form of some shiny green Embellishment Brads is all you need for the finishing touch.

Petaloo Products:
Textured Elements Burlap Blossoms 1200
MixedTextured Layers 1257
Botanica Blooms 1102
Brads 1920
Floral Ephemera 1100
Crochet Lace Fancy Trim 1482
Asst Blossoms 1263
Spring Berry Clusters 1105
Forget Me Nots 1837

Authentique Spirited Papers
- Spirited Card Making Stack
- "circles & scallops"
- "stamp blocks"
- "components"
- "enhancements"

Images from:
Something Witchy Collage Sheet
Witchy Business Collage Sheet