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
19 Sunday Jan 2014
Posted in Art and Crafting, Cardmaking, DIY & Crafting, Field Trip, Mini Album, Mixed Media, Rubber Stamp, Scrapbooking, Sewing
Tags
anna dabrowska, arts and crafts, Botanical Treat, card making, card making trends, cha, cha 2014 booth, cha winter, CHA winter 2014, craft, craft trends 2014, crafting, dyan reavley, graphic 45, graphic45, idealogy, mini albums, mixed-media, printers tray, ranger, scrapbookimng, scrapbooking, scrapbooking trends, Shari Carrol, Sweet Sentiments, tim holtz
Hi! Thanks for stopping by. This is the final set of pictures from my experience at the Craft and Hobby Association Winter convention in Anaheim, CA. Which projects are your favorite so far? There’s so many to choose from!
xo,
Christine Barker
18 Saturday Jan 2014
Posted in Art and Crafting, Cardmaking, DIY & Crafting, Field Trip, Mini Album, Mixed Media, Rubber Stamp, Scrapbooking, Sewing
Tags
arts and crafts, bo bunny, BoBunny, card making, card making trends, cathie fillian, cha, cha 2014 booth, cha winter, CHA winter 2014, collage couture, craft, craft trends 2014, crafting, crystal ninja, echo park, Julie Nutting, Laura Dennison, laura mccollough, Maple Street Shoppe, mixed-media, mod podge, plaid, prima marketing, scrapbookimng, scrapbooking, scrapbooking trends, websters pages
Hi! Here’s some more pictures from my experience at the Craft and Hobby Association convention in Anaheim, CA. Come back tomorrow for the final set of pictures showing the latest color trends for scrapbooking and card making and awesome pictures of mixed media projects. The last set will include pics from Graphic 45, Tim Holtz and more!
xo,
Christine Barker
17 Friday Jan 2014
Posted in Art and Crafting, Cardmaking, DIY & Crafting, Field Trip, Mini Album, Mixed Media, Rubber Stamp, Scrapbooking, Sewing
Tags
A Gilded Life, american crafts, arts and crafts, bo bunny, BoBunny, card making, card making trends, cathie fillian, cha, cha 2014 booth, cha winter, CHA winter 2014, collage couture, craft, craft trends 2014, crafting, dear lizzy, Debbie Murray, echo park, Julie Nutting, laura mccollough, lawn fawn, mixed-media, mod podge, plaid, prima marketing, scrapbookimng, scrapbooking, scrapbooking trends, Shea Fragoso, shimelle, Spellbinders, websters pages
I took so many pictures of new products and inspiring project ideas at CHA that I had to break it up into sections. Here’s part 2 and don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the next set of pics!
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
08 Thursday Aug 2013
Posted in Art and Crafting, Field Trip
Tags
Alexandria LaNier, burlesque, city of lost children, coachella 2008, corsets, craft, creative, fantasy, gears, goggles, imagination, industrial design, Jean Paul Gaultier, Kiki's Delivery Service, La cité des enfants perdus, petticoats, steampunk, Steampunk aesthetic, steampunk culture, Steampunk Mad Hatter, steampunk treehouse, The Golden Compass, The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, victorian
Hello Creative Friends!
Today I’m providing a muse to feed your creative inspiration as you work on your projects this week!
Mad Hatter by my friend and
photographer Alexandria LaNier
I first discovered Steampunk culture in 2009 while researching corsets and burlesque costumes and started dreaming of creating my own designs. It was exciting to realize that there was a name for this aesthetic that has been whispering to my heart for most of my life.
Among my favorite Steampunk movies are La cité des enfants perdus, or The City of Lost Children, with costumes designed by Jean Paul Gaultier. Other favorites are The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and The Golden Compass. Years later and I’m still smitten with the dark, rich colors, the odes to days long past and the sense of excitement that recreating everyday objects into art brings. I love the Victorian look, dirigibles, industrial design, corsets and petticoats, gears, goggles, and almost everything that steampunk represents.
Graphic 45 project By Sherry Cheever
Back when I first started researching Steampunk, there were only three websites/mentions of the genre on Google. Now I find it wherever I look. I was ecstatic to see so many Steampunk costumes at my first experience with ComicCon in 2010 in San Diego. My husband was probably tired of hearing me say, “OMG, Steampunk!”
What I love most about Steampunk are the images of creative, inspiring and modded objects and styles that evoke the historical fantasy and imagination of this movement.
I love this Steampunk Treehouse that was installed at Coachella 2008. I can imagine climbing into it, reading a book and being transported to imaginary worlds far from the stress and hustle of our world.
Thank you for joining me and I hope that you’ll find some details in the Steampunk aesthetic to add to your creative projects!
XO,
Christine Barker
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
22 Monday Jul 2013
Posted in Art and Crafting, DIY & Crafting, Lovebug Creations, Mixed Media, Papercrafting, Vintage
Tags
craft, dollar store craft, dry erase board, dry erase marker, fabric flower, fake calligraphy, german glass glitter, glitter, home decor, home decor craft, LOveBug Creations, mother of pearl button, paper flower, picture frame craft, pinterest inspired, rhinestones, rosette, Rumple Ribbon, scallop, vintage lace
Welcome Friends!
I spend quite a bit of time on Pinterest looking for exciting new ideas and trends that I can incorporate into my creative projects. I do love being creative and creating art for arts sake, but I also love making something pretty that I can use around the house to make my life easier.
Posted by lindsayrobbins
I came across this dry-erase board idea on Pinterest a while back and was inspired to create something similar for this weeks project featuring Lovebug Creations Rumple Ribbon. You could create a board for writing down: your schedule, love notes to your family, a grocery list, or inspirational quotes. Or make one for each of those tasks!
I started with an 8″x10″ wooden frame that I bought at the dollar store and then put in a sheet of 8″x10″ scrapbook paper. Next, I started creating my embellishments. A lace scrap became a flower, a left over rosette from another project was incorporated, I added a mother of pearl button, and then I hot glued on a length of rhinestones.
I cut up some vintage sheet music and created a rosette using my Martha Stewart Score Board. Next, I added some German glass glitter to the paper flower on the right, topped it with a mini crocheted doily and finished it with a mother of pearl button. The scallop edge circle to the right is from a scrap of vintage wall paper.
I got brave and used some scraps of vintage lace from my stash to decorate the top and side edges. The flowers started off as white so I diluted some cream-colored acrylic paint with water and painted the paper and fabric flowers. Next, I glued some large silver glitter to the paper flower.
The beautiful bow is made using three different colors of Lovebug Creations Rumple Ribbon: Oh Darling, Buttercream and Augusta. Using a tutorial that I found, I wrote out the quote in fake calligraphy using a dry erase marker. I think I need more practice. The nice thing is that if you don’t like the way it looks you can just wipe off the glass and try again!
Here’s the dry-erase board on my wall. What do you think?
Thank you so much for visiting my blog! It makes me super excited when visitors leave comments, it makes it all worthwhile and tells me that someone is looking and hopefully getting inspired!
And, I have a special announcement! You may have heard that Lovebug Creations is looking for some new Creative Team Members. Check out their blog for all the juicy details!
xo,
Christine Barker
22 Monday Jul 2013
Posted in Art and Crafting, DIY & Crafting, Field Trip, Jewelry, Mixed Media
Tags
becky morgan, biddy bopp shop, birdhouses, blarney yarn, ceramic jackalope, ceramics, christopher curtis, craft, craft fair, crafter, crochet, cupcake candle, decaf chai tea, flea market, food trucks, handmade diy, heirloom, ilee papergoods, indie makers, jackalope, knit, koko candles, la restaurant week, laser cut jewelry, le trango, letterpress, letterpress printing, lizbeth navarro, los angeles, maker, me like clay, moonshine lamp co, padua farms bath and body, pinterest, pottery, reclaimed wood, renegade craft fair, renegade craft fair los angeles, rob lewbel, screen print, succulent garden, succulents, t-we tea, terrarium, tom colicchio, topiary jewelry, urban anonymous, whimsical animal masks, wool roving
Hello Creative Friends!
I was a busy girl this weekend and I left Orange County and headed up to Los Angeles two days in a row! On Saturday night my husband and I had date night at Tom Colicchio’s restaurant, Craft, for LA Restaurant Week. We had mixed reviews about our experience which I’ll detail in a Yelp review at some point.
On Sunday I went with some friends on a fun shopping adventure to the Renegade Craft Fair which featured over 250 indie crafters, make-n-takes and workshops, food trucks, popsicle stands, a dj, a beer garden, and amazing people watching. The Hot Trends right now are succulents, laser cut jewelry and stationery, repurposed and recycled items, more succulents, screen printed wearables and posters, all things knit and crochet, including crocheted cactus and succulents, ceramics and pottery, letterpress, and of course, more succulents!
Terrarium Shop by Urban Anonymous
If you spend time on Pinterest then you know that Terrarium’s are HOT right now! There were several booths with Terrariums but this one with the different colored sands was my favorite.
I adore the pastel colors and organic shapes of this pottery from Me Like Clay.
Whimsical animal masks from Biddy Bopp Shop
Upcycled bottles made into lamps from Moonshine Lamp Co
This unique piece of art from Moonshine Lamp Co stopped me in my tracks!
I bought some delicious smelling soap from Padua Farms Bath & Body. It smells heavenly! Becky Morgan told me about her shop in Claremont, CA called Heirloom that is filled with her sweet smelling body products and wonderful handmade treasures. I think another field trip is in my future!
I have a little obsession with bunnies and deer and Lizbeth Navarro makes the most adorable ceramic deer and she has Jackalopes!!!
I was on cuteness overload yesterday. LOVE these adorable greeting cards from Le Trango.
There was lots of jewelry to be seen at Renegade but these delicate lace pieces from Topiary really caught my eye. So fun and so unique!
Cupcakes are still hot! These adorable, yummy looking candles are from Koko Candles.
I’ve tried needle felting and loved it so it took all of my willpower not to buy up some of this beautiful hand painted wool roving from Blarney Yarn.
I bought some Chai Tea from these handsome gents of T-We Tea.
There were several booths with gorgeous cards and prints from letterpress printers. Being amongst all of the beautiful stationery inspired me and makes me want to return to my print studio and start printing something, anything! These cards from iLee Papergoods were particularly colorful and whimsical with sailing ships surrounded by swans, gnomes dancing around mushrooms and owls and foxes and mermaids, oh my!
And more succulents! I loved these birdhouses and home decor frames crafted by Christopher Curtis from reclaimed wood.
For lunch there was a plethora of food trucks serving up burgers, organic vegan food, gelato, indian food and more!
What a great day of shopping and being inspired by all of these talented makers! If you live up in the Bay Area, the next Renegade Craft Fair will be held July 27 & 28.
Thanks for joining me, Friends!
xo,
Christine Barker
16 Tuesday Jul 2013
Posted in Art and Crafting, DIY & Crafting, Lovebug Creations, Mixed Media
Tags
beach, beach wedding gift idea, bow, chipboard initial, chipboard letter, collage, coral, craft, debi beard, decoupage, diamond dust, diy, e6000, easy project, german glass glitter, gesso, gift idea, glass glitter, glitter, liquitex, LOveBug Creations, matte medium, ribbon, Rumple Ribbon, sailor's valentine, scotch scrapbookers glue, sea shell, seam binding, she sells sea shells, shell, summer, summer craft, vintage sheet music, wedding gift idea, wood letter, wooden letter
She Sells C Shells by the Sea Shore!
A while back I received a fun little gift from Debi Beard during a field trip to the Mermaid Mercantile at Out of the Blue in Solana Beach, CA. This extra special field trip was part of a dreamy shopping adventure arranged by Kim Caldwell during her Affaire at Tiffany’s-themed art event in Manhattan Beach.
The gift from Debi consisted of a white letter C and some sea shells and a challenge to embellish the letter in our own style. It’s only been 2 years but I finally stepped up to the challenge! I’ve put together a Sailor’s Valentine inspired tutorial so you can make your own project using some sea shells you collected on vacation (or purchased in a craft shop!)
First, start out with a letter or shape. It can be made of wood or chipboard.
Using a paint brush, cover a small area of your letter with Matte Medium, and then lay down a piece of book paper, vintage music sheet or clothing pattern tissue. Cover the paper with the Matte Medium (I use Liquitex) so that it becomes soft and will stick flat to your letter.
Continue layering paper all the way around the top and sides of your letter. If you have curves in your letter, you’ll want to brush a little Matte Medium onto your letter and then place a strip of paper down. Cut slits into your paper on the inside and outside of curves to allow it to fully wrap around your letter and not create wrinkles. Always cover your paper with more Matte Medium so that it is completely sealed. Set on a piece of plastic wrap or a non-stick surface and allow to dry.
Once your Matte Medium layer is dry, you can begin painting the paper with acrylic paint to give it an aged and shabby chic look. I mixed some Gesso with Matte Medium, brushed on a thin layer and then rubbed most of it off with a paper towel. You could also use a baby wipe for this step. Allow to dry.
The next step is to glue down your sea shells. I used Tacky Glue, but you could use E6000 if you want a faster drying time.
Begin laying down your larger sea shells first, and then add in your tiny shells into the blank spots. Allow to dry.
You can skip this step if you want your book pages to show or you can follow along and have a sparkly, glittered initial! Using a paint brush, smooth on your favorite glitter glue on a section of the sides of your initial. I used Scotch Scrapbookers Glue with a 2 way applicator. I really like this glue because the tip is skinny and allows me to get glue into all the nooks between my sea shells. Work in sections so that your glue doesn’t dry before you get your glitter on. Glitter the sides of your initial with Diamond Dust glass glitter and after the entire initial is covered, allow to dry.
Next you’ll want to squeeze glue in between all the sea shells and then sprinkle with more Diamond Dust glass glitter. Allow to dry.
For the final step, tie a gorgeous bow using Lovebug Creations Rumple Ribbon. I used “Eyes of Blue” and “Icy Sky” for this project. I added a piece of coral to the top to finish it off.
Thank you so much for joining me for this easy and fun summer project!
And, if you joined us for the Lovebug Creations Summer Release Blog Hop you’ll remember that I offered a $5 Gift Certificate to one lucky winner! It’s Crystal Riley! Crystal, please contact me at info @ scarletcalliope .com (remove spaces) with your email address. Congratulations!
xo,
Christine Barker
As Unique As You Are
Visual Storyteller in Southern California
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create. love. live.
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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.
