20 Thursday Feb 2014
Tags
2013, Altered, announcement, antique, art, audition, craft, Crafting Design Team Call, Create, Design Team Call, diy, Family, graphic 45, Graphic 45 Design Team Call, Home, idea, mixed-media, scrapbook, scrapbook paper, vintage, We Want You
It’s that time again! Time for the Graphic 45 Design Team Call!
Terms and conditions are here DTcallG452014-2. For more details, check out their blog.
Good Luck, Friends!
xo,
Christine Barker
16 Thursday Jan 2014
Tags
Artist Trading Blocks, arts and crafts, authentique, brenda walton, card making, card making trends, Carolyn Peeler, cha, CHA 2014, cha 2014 booth, cha winter, CHA winter 2014, craft, craft and hobby association, crafting, eileen hull, Everyday is a Holiday, Jenny and Aaron, Jenny Holiday, jo packham, Julie Weller, melissa frances, mixed-media, Mixed-Media Masterpieces with Jenny & Aaron, Petaloo, scrapbookimng, scrapbooking, scrapbooking trends, sizzix, Susan Shintaku, The sweet life, tim holtz, Where Women Cook
Living the creative life is an extraordinary experience but sometimes you have to work for it. Luckily for me, I only had to work a little bit (and had a lot of fun), in order to attend the Craft and Hobby Association Winter convention (CHA) this year. CHA is the big show where scrapbook store owners, designers and instructors get to see all of the new craft products from the manufacturers.
Thanks to one of my friends, I was able to work for a while in the Melissa Frances booth and the Petaloo booth. And, I also had time to walk the show floor and take pictures of the new products and say hello to friends.
I started my day in the Melissa Frances booth. I LOVE Melissa Frances products. Her product line includes gorgeous, vintage-inspired papers, trims, sparkling embellishments, miniature cloches and now chalkboard canvases. The time went by so quickly and I wish I’d been able to spend some time getting to know Carolyn Peeler. Luckily for me, Jenny and Aaron of Everyday is a Holiday were in the booth and we got to talk a little bit in between chatting with customers.
I’ve known Jenny and Aaron of “Everyday is a Holiday” since I met them at a creative event in 2011 and they’ve become two of my favorite people. Not only are they super talented, but they’re down to earth and have really big hearts. I’m so happy for them that despite having a tough year they’ve persevered and have created some awesome opportunities for themselves.
Recently, they released an amazing book, “Mixed-Media Masterpieces with Jenny & Aaron” which I ran out to buy as soon as it hit the shelves.
They also designed a line of hand-painted (vs created on a computer) product for Melissa Frances called The Sweet Life. I can’t wait until their scrapbook papers, journaling cards and other coordinating embellishments are in my local scrapbook store!
Are you ready for some Authentique Papers?
After my quick shift in the Melissa Frances booth I had a couple hours to walk around and see the new products from my favorite crafting companies. My first stop was at the Authentique Paper booth and they had some gorgeous papers and projects on display.
Next, I hit up the Sizzix booth.
Designer Eileen Hull has some wonderful new dies to create Artist Trading Blocks (like Artist Trading Cards, but with more dimension!).
And I always love to see what designer Tim Holtz has been working on. (And I figured out why I can’t find vintage trophy cups in vintage shops anymore! They’re all in Tim’s displays!)
Designer Brenda Walton has added 8 enchanting new dies to her collection, including flowers, leaves, a butterfly gift card, cupcake stands, a heart pendant, and also some textured impression embossing folders. I met Brenda for the first time at the French General Soiree on Sunday evening and she is a lovely, talented artist!
The latest news in the Sizzix booth is the line of incredible dies from Jo Packham, the editor of “Where Women Create” magazine and an amazing, modern renaissance woman. I had a chance to chat with her about her new line for Sizzix, “Where Women Cook”, on Sunday night at the French General Soiree. I’m excited to see how crafters will use her new dies to create gifts, favors, party supplies, and packaging for their home made baked goods.
Petaloo
Next, I had the opportunity to help CHA attendees create some beautiful Make and Takes in the Petaloo booth. If you haven’t checked out their beautiful blooms in your local scrapbooking store, you must! They have every size, shape and color you could ever want to embellish your projects! We started off making beautiful bracelets featuring gorgeous Petaloo silk rose petals and blooms and ended the day creating some gorgeous vintage-inspired mini valentines.
My friend, Julie Weller, worked the shift before me and our friend, Susan Shintaku, happened to visit the booth while we were both there.
Thank you so much for joining me for this field trip. I’ll have more pics to share soon!
xo,
Christine Barker
14 Tuesday Jan 2014
Posted in Art and Crafting, Cardmaking, DIY & Crafting, Lovebug Creations, Rubber Stamp, Rubber Stamp, Tags
Tags
Alterations, Augusta, birthday card, Cecilia, CHA 2014, CHA winter 2014, CHA2014, clear stamps, cling stamps, copic marker, craft and hobby association, dorcas troche, Family Ties Collection, frameworks, fussy cat, fussy cut, Hand Made Card, Happy Birthday, hexagon, Honeycomb, LOveBug Creations, Lovebug Creations Creative Team, mother of pearl button, Rumple Ribbon, signo uniball, sizzix, tim holtz, vellum
It’s time for another birthday on the Lovebug Creations Creative Team. This time we’re celebrating
and we’re ready to help her get the party started!
The beautiful ribbon on this card is from Lovebug Creations. It’s called Augusta, from the Family Ties Collection. This collection features yards of gorgeous Rumple Ribbon in all of my favorite vintage-inspired colors.
I added a vintage yellow-colored mother-of-pearl button to the center of the super cute bow.
The flowers are fussy-cut, using two different sizes and they’ve been popped out using foam pop dots.
I have a little thing for vellum, so there’s a piece of vellum on here to give a little visual separation between the background and the die cut hexagon shapes.
I outlined each of the hexagon shapes with my white, Signo Uniball pen.
The tag has been stamped with a Happy Birthday Sentiment and dusted with a rust colored embossing powder. A couple sets of gold brown toned crystals gives the tag just a little bit of bling.
The edges of the card and flowers have been lightly rubbed with a brown Copic marker to give the card a bit of a vintage feel.
I’m so excited to tell you that I used a brand new die from Tim Holtz’ Alterations Frameworks line. This Sizzix die is so new, I just brought it home Monday from the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) convention in Anaheim, CA, where I won it and one of my BFF’s stood in line to pick it up for me (Thank you, Julie! I owe you!) The name is “Honeycomb” and it’s pretty versatile, allowing you to cut out different sheets of paper from the same collection and then mixing and matching the hexagon shapes.
Happy Birthday, Dorcas! I wish you a wonderfully creative day and I hope your family spoils you!
Thank you so much for stopping by and please leave a birthday wish for our special Creative Team friend, Dorcas!
Click on the names of the Creative Team to see their beautiful cards for Dorcas:
xo,
Christine Barker
PS: Don’t miss the Lovebug Creations Creative Team “Loves Me, Loves Me Knot” Blog Hop on January 25. We’ll be unveiling the newest Lovebug Creations products and you won’t want to miss it. I’m not allowed to tell you about the new colors because they’re top secret but I will tell you that one of the new lines is NOT ribbon! Can you guess what it is?
29 Monday Jul 2013
Posted in Art and Crafting, DIY & Crafting, Lovebug Creations, Mixed Media, Papercrafting, Tags, Textiles, Vintage
Tags
ball jar, burlap, canning jar, Cindy Loo, color shine, copic, copic marker, craft, cricut, Cricut Cindy Loo, crochet doily, diy, diy gift, gesso, Heidi Swapp, heidi swapp color shine, homemade gift, hostess gift, lovebug creatins, LOveBug Creations, Lovebug Creations Rumple Ribbon, mason jar, mother of pearl button, mushroom, muslin, oh cecilia, paper craft, Rumple Ribbon, scarletcalliope sweet mason jar, sentiment, shabby chic, thank you gift, twine, vellum, vintage button, vintage music paper
Hello Crafty Friends!
First of all, I have to say a HUGE HELLO, G’Day, Hola, Bonjour, 您好!, and Hallo to my visitors from across the miles. I check my blog stats and I see that I often have some visitors from Australia, the UK, Canada, Argentina, Singapore (Hi Aida!) the Netherlands and France. Not to mention from all the other corners of the globe and you have no idea how happy that makes me! Leave a comment and say hello and tell us where you’re from!
So, you may have noticed that Mason Jars are a big deal right now. They’re so popular that Target, Michaels and some other large US retailers are selling the vintage-color blue Ball brand canning jars. I bought a case the other day without any idea what I would do with them, I just knew they needed to come home with me and I’d figure something out. 🙂
I decorated a mason jar with some fabric, twine, some adorable paper decor and some beautiful Lovebug Creations Rumple Ribbon. This project would make a great gift for a hostess, a thank you or just because! Or, what about using some as centerpieces for a pretty wedding or party? The jars could be filled with sand and votives instead of flowers for a fun seashore themed look!
I started off punching out a 3.5″ scalloped circle from vintage music paper. I also punched out some craft paper and glued it behind the music paper to give it some oomph, I don’t want it folding over once I start adding on some embellishments.
I gave the paper a spritz with some Color Shine in Teal from Heidi Swapp. (I’m so excited that they finally restocked this color at my local crafting shop!)
Next, I went over the paper with a little bit of gesso mixed with water.
While my scalloped circle was drying I wrapped the jar with a scrap of muslin and used a drop of hot glue to secure it.
Next, it’s time to wrap the jar with twine. Apply a line of hot glue, about an inch, and place the end of the twine in the glue until it cools.
Once the hot glue has cooled completely, begin wrapping the twine around your muslin. I wrapped my jar about 6 times and then used hot glue to secure the end of the twine.
Add a scrap of burlap to your scalloped circle and add a sentiment. I used a sentiment that was on a piece of vellum but you could print out any sentiment on your printer or use a rubber stamp.
Next, I cut an adorable mushroom using my Cricut Cindy Loo cartridge. (I LOVE this cartridge and all of the sweet, whimsical designs!) I used a Copic marker to go around the edges of the mushroom. Then, I added a mini crochet doily and accented it with a vintage mother of pearl button.
Now it’s time for your ribbon! I used Lovebug Creations Rumple Ribbon in “Mae” to wrap around the jar and to create a sweet bow. I love the “Oh Cecilia” Family Ties collection because it is full of gorgeous, shabby-chic hues that are perfect for my vintage-style crafts!
This vintage style Mason Jar craft goes perfectly with my collection of vintage-style milk jugs!
Thank you so much for joining me. Please leave me a note in the comments and let me know what you’ve been doing with Mason Jars besides canning!
xo,
Christine Barker
19 Friday Jul 2013
Tags
chalk paint, chalkboard, chalkboard flower pot, chalkboard label jars, chalkboard paint, chalkboard pots, chalkboard seashell frame, craft organization, craft supply organization, gift diy, home decor, mason jars, organization, paint, party diy, photo booth, seashell ornament, seashell tag, silhouette, valspar, wedding diy
Happy Friday Friends!
I have a secret to share with you. I’m obsessed with chalkboard paint. I think it goes back to my carefree days in elementary school when I was sitting at a miniature desk with a little blackboard on my lap and writing in chalk.
I love chalkboard paint so much that a whole wall in my son Trevor’s room is painted with it. Whenever friends come over we hand them a piece of chalk to write him a message.
I use Valspar Chalkboard paint that I bought at Lowes, but there are several kinds out there in sizes ranging from 2oz to a gallon.
Here are some fun and easy crafts to make with chalkboard paint. Just click on the pic to be taken to the ideas and tutorials!
Posted by GuroRenton
I love silhouettes and wouldn’t it be fun to enjoy your coffee with a friend in a mug with a silly nickname on it!
And an easy tutorial from Creme de la Craft to make chalkboard label jars!
How about some whimsical idea bubbles for the photobooth at your next party? This link includes 10 creative chalkboard paint ideas!
I don’t know about you, but I really struggle with keeping my craft supplies organized. I love this idea, especially because the jars are clear so I can see the contents as well as a handy label so that I can tell what’s in it from above as well!
I’ve seen this on Pinterest many times but I haven’t tried it yet. This is an awesome idea to help you remember what you planted when those little sprouts come up looking all the same! This would make a wonderful gift for the gardener in your life!
![Red-and-Green-Ornaments2_thumb[9]](https://scarletcalliope.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/red-and-green-ornaments2_thumb9.jpg?w=300&h=277)
Christmas in July? Why not when the tags are this cute! Adorable gift tags from Jess on The Examined Life. Chalkboard tags could easily be made in other shapes with other colors of ribbon for any occassion!
If you’ve been checking out my craft projects for a while, you might know about my passion for sea shells and this handmade frame makes me so happy! It’s perfect for a sign at a party, a gift for newlyweds or a lovely housewarming gift!
And speaking of sea shells, how much do you love this amazing idea from M to paint the inside of a seashell for a tag, wedding place marker or an ornament?
Thank you for joining me for this round up. I’ll be back soon with another project for Lovebug Creations and I have an interview coming up with my sweet and talented friend Julie Weller on How to Host a Craft Swap. You won’t want to miss her sage words of wisdom!
Have a creative weekend!
xo,
Christine Barker
18 Thursday Jul 2013
Tags
2013, altered art, beautiful ribbon, blog, blog hop, blogger, card making, craft project, craft tutorial, creative team, creative team application, creative team call, Design Team Call, designer, diy, home decor, jewelry, LOveBug Creations, making greeting card, mini album, mixed media art, mixed-media, ribbon, Rumple Ribbon, scrapbook, scrapbook pages, scrapbooking, seam binding, tag
Hello Creative Friends!
You may have already heard, but there is a new call for Creative Team Members for LoveBug Creations.
Do you have what it takes? Are you a:
Did you answer YES to any of those questions? LoveBug Creations may be the team for you!
23 Tuesday Apr 2013
Posted in Art and Crafting, DIY & Crafting, Swap, Tags
Tags
craft swap, craft tag, cricut, cricut victorian romance, dirigible, doily, hot air balloon, jeanine weiss, Julie Weller, LOveBug Creations, mariasela vallejo, michelle duke, papercrafting, pom poms, prima marketing, Rumple Ribbon, sherry bamsey, spring tags, swap, swap bot, tag swap, tags, tashia jacques, teah barrow
I feel so lucky to have so many talented friends. One group of friends, some that I’ve never even met, are involved in swaps hosted by my amazing friend, Julie Weller.
Julie puts out the call on Facebook to see who wants to join in. The last swap we made, Spring is in the Air, happened just before Easter.
For this particular swap the guidelines were to make Spring-inspired tags and to use the colors that were shown in the swap button.
Part of the fun of receiving the swaps is the beautiful and creative way that the girls package them up.
Here they all are, each one different but so beautiful!
The tags were made by Julie Weller, Jeanine Weiss, Mariasela Vallejo, Michelle Duke, Tashia Jacques, Teah Barrow, Sherry Bamsey and me.
This is my tag. I created the balloon with the Cricut Victorian Romance cartridge, a piece of vintage doily, white pom poms, paper flowers from Prima Marketing and of course, some beautiful On the Edge Rumple Ribbon in “Icy Sky” from Lovebug Creations.
Some people have asked me how to join a swap. The best way is to host your own and make the announcement on your Facebook page. But, if you aren’t ready to jump into the Hostess seat, I recently found out about a great place to join other swappers, Swap-Bot. “On Swap-bot, you can host swaps, join swaps, and chat with other swappers from all over the world.”
Thanks for visiting and let me know if you sign up to join a swap on Swap Bot!
xo,
Christine Barker
As Unique As You Are
Visual Storyteller in Southern California
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Arte, diseño, magia y vida
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Jenna Abts
art + love = life. From provocative to prosaic, disconsolate to delightful & from cursed to enchanting. This is the story of my fairy tale & my happily ever after.
art + love = life. From provocative to prosaic, disconsolate to delightful & from cursed to enchanting. This is the story of my fairy tale & my happily ever after.
art + love = life. From provocative to prosaic, disconsolate to delightful & from cursed to enchanting. This is the story of my fairy tale & my happily ever after.
art + love = life. From provocative to prosaic, disconsolate to delightful & from cursed to enchanting. This is the story of my fairy tale & my happily ever after.
art + love = life. From provocative to prosaic, disconsolate to delightful & from cursed to enchanting. This is the story of my fairy tale & my happily ever after.
