papermonkey.org {make time for playtime}

Glue Art & Paper Studio's First ever Sale!

If you have ever thought about creating your own recipe or address file, or even creating your own Index of Love for Valentine's Day the way I did here with the Mini Card File, now is the time! Select Glue Art & Paper Studio's altered wood and paper products are 30% off in their online store! They are so fun and easy to paint or cover with pretty patterned papers. The Mini Card File is on sale for $11.90; a pack of 100 colored index cards is only $2.80. So are these adorable dress forms (in 3 sizes).

They also have card file cardstock in every color or a punch to create your own index cards! Hmm what else? Cupcake Stands of all sizes to alter (not on sale), and vertical albums of all sizes from 3x3 up to 18x18 to hang your scrapbook pages for display, or to create a hanging desk calendar.

All sizes of Vertical Albums are on sale expect the 18 inch size. The one shown here is a 12x12 size.

This really is my favorite altering product, just love them. Stuff I altered months ago is still going strong and looking so pretty! I have one more surprise:

A free card file with cards ($33 retail value) will be included with every order over $75!

 

Please do not include the free card file with your order.  It will ship automatically and will not show up in your cart at the time you place your order.  We will select the card colors.  While supplies last.

 

Framing Your Loves: Family, Friends, and Ribbon!

Hi everyone!

When I received this month's Glue Art & Paper Design Team project I got so excited for two reasons. First - this project marks the addition of Jen del Muro to our Design Team! I can't wait to work with this amazingly talented lady :) Second - this tray is full of possibilities! I decided to add a backing to hang it on my wall and turn it into a frame filled with things I love - family, friends, ribbon, and flowers.

I first painted the frame with Delta Ceramcoat Seashell White, a barely off white acrylic paint. Pearl Finish, a sheer wash of shimmering white, was next to add a bit of warmth and subtle shimmer. The 2 3/4" inner squares were painted with Antique White, which to me is actually a very pale yellow.

I wove the various Stampin' Up!, May Arts and Offray ribbons in a braid type pattern on a piece of cardstock and folded it into the top right square for a "pillow" effect.

My Friends square uses Making Memories Fifth Avenue Sophia chipboard stickers as well as Prima flowers and butterfly crystal.

The crystal in the center of the Prima is a Swarovski.

I love the depth of the squares in the frame - they allow for so much shadow box fun.

The Family square also uses Making Memories Fifth Avenue Sophia chipboard stickers (the wreath and sentiment) and an opaque Say It In Crystals black flower.

I added a smaller Swarovski crystal in the center.

The final square uses Cosmo Cricket Fleuriste Black Chipboard flowers.

It is difficult to see but I used a square of green tulle fabric embedded with glitter as well. Water Dew Drops and a Prima Say It In Crystals black and white crystal sticker adorn the flower centers.

I hope you like my project. Be sure to check out what the other Design Team members have made! See you tomorrow.

Bright & Cheerful Cupcake Stand

Hi everyone!

I am typing one handed as I stabbed myself with scissors making this stand lol - how on earth did I manage to do that when scissors was not even used in making this? *facepalm* I tried to break the seal of my acrylic paint by sliding the very sharp point of my paper snips down the seal. I slipped. Let my idiocy be a lesson - never do that :) Life is great otherwise! This cute cupcake stand is this month's Glue Art & Paper Studio design project. It is a brand new product for Glue and debuted at CHA this past month. Wouldn't it be cute at an Easter party or a stamping party?

The stand comes in three sizes - this is the Large Three Tier with 7,9 and 11 inch tiers. It will hold a lot of cupcakes! They also make a small three tier and a large two tier size. I like that it comes already assembled and is made of wood. It is amazingly lightweight given how strong it is. I plan to use this not only for cupcakes and treats, but also in my craft area. I am considering turning it into a lazy susan so that it spins on my table.

Making this was easy! I painted the wood with three coats of Delta Ceramcoat Buttercream acrylic paint, then painted Blue Heaven, pink (my own mix of white, red, and a bit of brown), and Espresso acrylic paint on the smaller flowers from Stampin' Up!'s Fabulous Flowers and stamped the wood.

Tip: When using acrylic paint on your stamps, apply the paint to the stamp then stamp off on scratch paper first so you can adjust the amount of paint and pressure needed to get a good image. It will vary from stamp to stamp. Be sure to wash your stamps well before the paint dries. I rinsed mine with warm soapy water then dried them well with a paper towel, scrubbing the paint from the nooks and crannies of the stamp.

When everything was dry I adhered different sizes of circle punch shapes of Making Memories Garden Party paper onto the stand with Mod Podge. I sealed the whole thing with two coats of Mod Podge. While the paint and sealant is non-toxic, I do not intend to let cupcakes touch the stand. I will use a doily and cupcake liners.

These Making Memories Blossoms pink and white flowers with leaves are so similar to the shape of the Stampin' Up! flower. I added a Making Memories velvet brad in the center of the flower.

I added Robyn's Nest Dew Drops in matching colors all the way around the stand. They are adhered with mini glue dots. Those things stick fantastically to acrylic paint!

Here is a close up of the Dew Drops. I love the special touch that these bring - the almost look like hard candy.

I hope you liked the cupcake stand. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Fabulous Flowers

Paper: Making Memories Garden Party collection

Paint: Delta Ceramcoat Acrylic Paint in Buttercream; Blue Heaven; Bright Red (to hand mix the pink color); Espresso; White

Accessories: Glue Art & Paper Studio Large Three Tier Cupcake Stand; Robyn's Nest Dew Drops in Cowboy, Water, and Orchid; Mini glue dots; Matte Mod Podge applied with foam sponge applicator and paint brushes; Making Memories Blossoms and Velvet Brads; Stampin' Up! 1 3/8 and 1 inch circle punches

How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways: Mini Cardfile Album Tutorial

Hi and welcome  :)

Reveal Week continues! Today's project was made with one of my favorite new toys, the Glue Art & Paper Mini Cardfile. It comes with "naked" wood and fits 2.25x4 index cards that you can buy in lots of fun colors to fit your project. The card file would be perfect for use as an address/phone or recipe keeper. How about a birthday file so you never forget? The possibilities are endless.

I chose to make my Valentine and soul mate Allan a cardfile that would list 29 reasons why I love him - one for each day of February. I am actually going to use it beyond Valentine's Day and keep adding to it, so I kept blank pink and red cards in there too. I think it is perfect as a little flippable scrapbook of our moments together.

Supplies Needed:

• Glue Art & Paper Studio Mini Cardfile (for shopping details see the bottom of this post)
• Patterned Paper ~ Imaginisce Love Is In the Air from the Loves Me collection used here
• Paint ~ I used Delta Ceramcoat Butter Cream acrylic paint under Distress Worn Lipstick (pink) crackle paint
• Mod Podge (Matte used here)
• Brush and/or small foam applicator to apply the Mod Podge and the paint
• Stamps and/or Embellishments ~ I used matching rub-ons (Imaginisce From My Heart and Blossoming Romance from the Loves Me Collection) for a uniform look as well as flowers, dollar store mini heart crystals; ribbon, buttons
• Small pictures that will fit on the small  2.25x4 index cards (I resized my photos to 2 inches and cropped from there)
• Journaling words or comments in a font small enough to fit on the cards - You can write on the cards or do as I did and type them out, then print them onto cardstock.

Instructions:

1. Paint your cardfile. It took three coats of Butter Cream to get a really nice uniform look, but I used very cheap paint. Allow to dry between coats. Paint trim with crackle paint, going just a bit into where the paper will be with a very thin coat (or else the paper won't lay smooth). You want to keep a uniform, neat look between the paper and the paint. Allow to dry.

Once dry, the crackle paint leaves very fine cracks. If I had applied the crackle paint while the Butter Cream was wet, the cracks would have been larger and flakier. Click on any picture for a pop up larger version to see detail.

  2.Trace side of file onto paper. If using printed paper, pick a nice patch of paper to trace around that includes lots of print. You are tracing such a small area that you want to use a paper with smaller print. Cut out just inside the lines (so that the paper will be a tiny bit smaller than the wood you traced) and trim so that edges of paper fit perfectly.

The Butter Cream is more an ivory color than the yellow it looks like here.

3. With a brush or foam applicator, apply a coat of Mod Podge to the paper and adhere it to the file. While it is wet and pliable, center the paper and smooth it out, making sure there are no creases or bubbles of air. Allow 15 minutes to dry then apply a coat of Mod Podge over the paper to seal it. Make sure you get the edges so that they lay flat and adhere well to the wood. Don't worry if you get a bit of Mod Podge on the dry paint.

4. Design and embellish your index cards as desired and put them in the file. When designing your cards be sure to remember that you will need to fit pictures, words and embellishments on a very small card and then you may need room at the top to add a marking tab, so plan where everything will go.

I added lots of hearts and scallop circles - I wanted it to look like it was just bursting with love.

I also found this button in my stash that had almost the same floral pattern as the patterned paper - I was giddy! I am such a nerd.

A Few Layouts

Here are a few of the cards that I made:

 

This is one of my favorite pictures ever. It is hard to see in the lower quality print, but it is Allan and my hand forming a heart. I tried to get artsy and make it kind of grainy with a red tint.

The flowers on the circles and the layouts are rub-ons and I added a few tiny heart crystals here and there.

Cardfile details and where to buy:

I got so much e-mail asking me this about my vertical album that I thought I would just post the details here for those that want them. The cardfile comes in two sizes: mini (used for this project) that uses 2.25x4 index cards, and standard size that uses 3x5 index cards.

The cards themselves are sold separately in a rainbow of colors including my favorite Kraft. The neutral colors come in packs of 100 and the brighter colors come in packs of 12 I believe. You could also cut your own cardstock, or buy Rolodex or lined index cards from an office supply. You can buy the file online at Doodliedoo. There is a full listing of stores that sell them click here. All the listings are for stores in the US. Doodliedoo will ship to Canada but I am not sure about other countries.

Thanks for stopping by! See you tomorrow with another reveal :)

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Always (heart)

Paper: Imaginisce Love Is In the Air from the Loves Me collection; Glue Art & Paper Studio Index Cards in Red and Pink; Stampin' Up Real Red, Wasabi, Textured Certainly Celery; Pretty In Pink

Ink: VersaMark for embossing; VersaMagic in various colors

Accessories: Stampendous Clear and White Embossing powders; Pop up glue dots; sponge; Stampin' Up! circle punches in 1 3/8, 1 1/4, Scallop Punch; Stampin' Up! Wasabi Striped ribbon and Pink grosgrain ribbon; Autumn Leaves buttons; Imaginisce Rub-Ons in From My Heart and Blossoming Romance from the Loves Me Collection; Crystal hearts from the dollar store; K&Co Smitten Adhesive paper ribbon; Prima mulberry paper flowers; Petalloo fabric and bead flowers

Vertical Scrapbook Calendar: Pics & Tutorial

Today's post includes not one but FOUR scrapbook calendar layouts! I wanted my Glue Art & Paper Vertical Album to be not only pretty, but functional.  Too often when we scrapbook or even put photos in albums, they are hidden away. I love that I can see the calendar at a glance and also my family in these scrapbook pages. I made the album as a match for my Butterflies and Flourishes Mini Dress Form that I made last month as both will be placed on my desk in my craft area.

I will show you each page, then tell you how I made it at the bottom. Grab a coffee this post is a long one! Please let me know if you are interested in all these details - I am never sure if I include too much information and end up boring you. I would love some feedback :)

January

January is the month of new beginnings and setting goals. I chose this picture of Allan that I snapped while he was deep in thought at work. I can't tell you why but I love it. I may have surrounded him with a few too many flowers for his taste, but he is a man's man and can take it *wink.

The top left corner flourish and the small flowers on the circles are Webster's Rub-Ons, as are the patterned papers. I can't begin to tell you how impressed I am with the rub-ons. They are actually the best I have ever used and I think they cost $2.50. Money well spent. I used them on every page. The copper hinge is actually a Peel-Offs Sticker.

I used a combination of Prima Hydrangeas and Bazzill Bling Velvet Flowers that I got at Embellish-Online . I sponged some of the flowers to match the layout.

I also used a heart doily that I cut up, distressed and sponged. The blue and brown glass looking "dots" are Robin's Nest Dew Drops, while the really large brown jewel is a Prima Brand Crystal Sticker. More details on how I made the letters are below in the tutorial.

February

I took this picture of two Juncos in the tree at Point Pleasant Park last year and knew I had to use it for my word of the month, LOVE. Here I used a hand crocheted doily and flowers, as well as vintage buttons. I just love the speckled effect of the letters (how to is below).

 

March

It is hard to see in this photo (my house is so dark!) but the word for March is FAMILY. This photo is of my brother and nephews.

I added a few Webster's Rub-Ons (Bountiful Blessings sentiment and the butterfly scallop on the circle), vintage buttons and hand made rosettes, as well as Fancy Pants Felt shapes. the "Our Family" is a 7Gypsies Seal stamped onto a Stampin' Up! Scallop Punch.

The little butterfly is a rub-on too. It stuck despite such a different edging between the photo and the cardstock.

More info on how I made the gold and blue circles is in the tutorial below.

April

I got brave and scrapped myself! I decided to use different letters this month and go for the bling with Doodlebug Adhesive Letters.  I added swirls of Prima Brand Crystal Stickers to this page and sponged the Prima flowers with Distress Worn Lipstick ink. Can you spot the tiny little butterfly bead?

I added a rub-on to the calendar and directly on the photo.

Whew. Are you still with me? I think I have been typing for hours. Okay next is a tutorial for details on how to make the album itself. Thanks for hanging in there!

How I made my Vertical Album:

1.  The vertical album comes in naked wood. I primed it with white acrylic paint, then added one coat of Ranger Adirondack brand Gold Acrylic Paint in a dabber bottle (I still prefer using a brush).

When it was almost dry, I added a thick coat of Ranger Distress Crackle Paint in Old Paper to the bottom part as seen in the picture. Once this dries it leaves large flaky cracks so the gold peeks through.

2. I also added 1/2 inch dowel caps to the ends of the dowel after painting them in gold. They fit perfectly with a bit of wood glue.

Here is a picture without the dowel cap.

Here it is with. I also added a Prima Brand Say It In Crystals sticker to both sides.

3. The album comes with three silver rings. I wanted them gold to match my album, so dabbed on some Ranger Adirondack Gold Mixatives Alcohol Ink directly onto the rings. It is not perfect but it works.

4. I ran some May Arts Stems and Leaves ribbon around the poles, and added some butterfly brass beads and Petalloo pink Fabric Flowers with red beading.

I love these flowers they are so unique! I used them in February's layout as well. They are self adhesive.

Making the Calendar

I made the calendar in Excel and printed it on lighter weight cardstock. Next I sponged the edges in a coordinating Distress Ink for each month (Broken China or Worn Lipstick), as well as Tea Dye Ink to give it a vintage look. Each month was distressed and punched with a Stampin' Up! Ticket Corner Punch, and then I added Shimmer chalks everywhere, using more color on the edges and once again color coordinating to the month.

I framed my calendars and photos in Bazzill Bling paper using either Pink Cadillac, Blank Check (tan), or my fave Sugar Daddy (cocoa brown with a blue flash! LOVE <3)

Adding Special Touches

Using a piece of kitchen sponge that I snipped off the corner, I sponged Distress Ink in Vintage Photo and also some Gold Acrylic Paint onto Stampin' Up! Soft Sky circles that I pinched out. The kitchen sponge is the best tip that I can give you! LOVE the pattern it creates.

Every year Ali Edwards decides upon a word for her new year. I love the idea but am way too fickle. So I decided I would have a word that holds a special meaning to me for each month of my calendar.  Making Memories Game Piece Chipboard Letters were painted white and then sponged with my handy dandy kitchen sponge. For LOVE, I sponged in Distress Worn Lipstick, let it dry a little then sponged over that with Vintage Photo. The paint absorbs the dye so I apply it quite heavily but it ends up a soft, speckled blur.

Whew a lot of detail went into this project and I have done my best to share it all with you. I hope you liked it!

{hugs across the miles}

Suzy

Butterflies & Flourishes Altered Mini Dress Form Tutorial

   

Hi everyone!

I love altering things but sometimes the corners or latches make it so hard to fit the paper on. That is why I love this GLUE Art & Paper Studio dress form's soft, feminine curves. This is my first design team project for Kelli and Vicki, the owners of GLUE and it was so fun to make. The shape made it so easy: I just decided what spot of pattern on my paper would look best on the dress form, and then traced the form over the paper with pencil and cut inside the lines (I wanted the shape to be a bit smaller than the form so I could show off the paint around the curves). It measures 9 1/2 inches tall which is a perfect size for your desktop or a shelf in your craft room.

I really wanted my style and personality to shine through this piece. I have a very eclectic style but all my "styles" have two things in common: softness and femininity. I love everything girly, swirly and pink. I also love nature, especially during the spring season. Spring is nature's morning - everything is new, fresh, and full of life. Is there anything happier than seeing the flowers and butterflies arrive as the frost of winter departs?

I also love shiny, sparkly things. I swear I can be walking down the street and if something is shining in the window I just stop and stare, hypnotized. Allan will be ten feet down the street wondering where I went lol. I am also big on mixing up shapes and textures. I love a modern take on vintage style, which some people call "shabby chic", our generations word for "kitch". I tried my best to incorporate all of this into this dress form.

This is the back of the dress form. The pink crystal flourishes that swirl along the form are made by Prima and come in large stickers. All the crystals I used were ONE sticker and I still had leftovers!

The stickers have no backing but rather are held in place by stiff shaped plastic and a bit of webbing that I simply trimmed off. I did have to add a few glue dots to make it wrap around the pole.

I love the deep texture and flat paint of the ivory combined with the warm burnished gold metallic paint.

I painted the whole form with white acrylic paint, then painted everywhere except where the patterned paper was to go with gold acrylic paint. When the gold was almost dry I painted ivory crackle paint on the sides, shoulders and top of the base. A thick coating of ivory ensured deep, thick cracks. If you do not want your cracks this pronounced just apply a thin coat.

This is the form as I apply the crackle paint to the sides and base. Excuse the mess - I work on other projects as the paint dries on the form.

Tip: I use a flat square head Taklon brush to paint. They are fantastic to use with acrylics as they are firm yet move well. Clean up is easy too - you just need to rinse them out with water.

When the paint is completely dry, I used a foam sponge applicator to apply Mod Podge to the white torso and adhered my patterned paper that I had traced and cut earlier. I carefully painted a bit of gold paint over any white or unevenness, then let that dry. I then sealed the paper with another coat of Mod Podge and let that dry then added my embellishments.

I bought a dowel knob at Michael's in the wooden crafts section for the "head" of my dress form. I added a Prima crystal and simply glued it on.

Butterfly metal beads were added here and there with clear glue dots.

Beginning at the shoulder, I loosely wrapped May Arts Leaves and Stem ribbon around the body and pole of the dress from, ending at the base. This ribbon is so detailed - it even has veining on the leaves.

Here is how the dress form looks "naked". 

I love how Kelli and Vicki branded their logo into the wood on the bottom of the base. So fun and different. You can paint over it but I didn't. If you would like to alter your own dress form you can click here for a list of local and online retailers.

Thanks for stopping by!

{hugs}

Suzy

Paper: Webster's Pages  Primrose Garden from the Sweet Charity Collection

Accessories: Glue Art & Paper Dress Form; Ranger Adirondack Metallic Gold Dabber Acrylic Paint; Making Memories Spotlight Acrylic Paint (white); Prima Crystals; butterfly metal beads (maker unknown - purchased at art supply store); May Arts Leaves and Stems ribbon; fabric and bead flower; wooden dowel knob from Michaels; Mod Podge and sponge applicator. PS Brush is courtesy of Obsidian Dawn