Willow & Paisley

Kiwi Lane Designs

 

Hey Everyone....How are you all doing? 

 

Well, I'm pretty darned excited that I got to be part of a fun little blog hop exchange that Technique Tuesday joined up with Kiwi Lane Designs for!  Kiwi Lane makes templates that you can mix and match to create cards or layouts with.  These are right up my alley!  I found these templates to be so easy and so much fun to work with.   

 

 

You really must click over to check them out as I am sure my explanation won't do justice to what you can accomplish with these templates.  I am absolutley in awe of the vibrant and eclectic cards and layouts in their galleries.  Oh, they have a great BLOG too.  

 

For my project I decided to use fabric and it was as simple as tracing the template onto the back of my fabric, cutting it out and gluing it onto cardstock.  Sure you can die cut fabric but I don't have near the selection of die cut designs that come in the Kiwi Lane card border and accessory kits.   

 

Specifically I used the following template sets on my cards.... Sentiments 1B and 2A,  Tiny Brackets 1T, Tiny Sweetheart 1T and Tiny Nature 2T.  

 

 

 

 

After I made the above card I had the piece of denim that had the negative cut out of the arrow and it was begging to be used.  I pulled out a few more pieces of fabric and put together this fun card.  

 

I admit I still say that I am a card maker, not a card giver but I have a few teenagers in my life and I think these will be perfect for their birthdays.  

 

Please be sure to check out more projects today from:

Ashley

Kris 

Teri

 

Thank you Kiwi Lane for the opportunity to work with your fantastic templates.

 

Thanks for stopping by. 

 

 

 

Thrifty Finds Haul - The One That Got Away!

 

Hey Everyone.....time for a Thrifty Haul post!  Whenever I buy stuff from the thrift store I take photos as soon as I get home so I can then wash the items and put them away.  Some of these photos are as far back as February 2012.  My organization of the pictures once I dump them in iPhoto is not that great so I just pulled a random bunch to post here.  Enjoy!

 

As always, I am drawn to this handmade/painted pottery  This little bowl was $1.50 and lives on my craft table to catch miscellaneous junk. 

 

 

 

I am also drawn to anything GREEN.  This vase was $9.99 which is a lot but I do love it.  The little sticker on it said "Made in Italy" so I figured it was a better quality glass than something made in China.  

 

 

I have 2 of these Pyrex gravy boats now.  My motto ----> you can never have too much gravy!  LOL.  

 

 

This silver bowl is way larger than it appears in the photo.  It measures 14" across.  I paid $5.99 and I use it to dump jars of buttons in to make it easier to rummage through them.  I don't think I've ever shared my mason jars of buttons (from the thrift store near my parents).  I will have to get photos of those one day. 

 

 

I love these little vintage S&P shakers.  25 cents each and yes I do use them.  Cuteness.   I can't remember what I paid for the little glass spouted jar.  I'm sure it's probably for vinegar but I think it would be perfect for bubble bath next to the tub.   

 

 

Oh, this little bird cage string of lights is sooooo cute!  I paid $3.00 at the Mennonite Thrift Store.  It was brand new and had never been out of the package.  I bought it for my neighbors daughters 13th birthday because I knew she hung white lights around her room throughout the year.  She loved this and hung it up right away. 

 

 

 

Two bags of pink and silver glass Christmas ornaments were $2.99 each.  I will only buy glass balls when I see them and I prefer if they are vintage but I cannot resist the pink ones.   

 

 

Speaking of vintage....here is a set of ornaments I did snatch up for only $1.00 because the thrift store had the Christmas items on for 50% off.  The candle holders were also 1/2 price at 50 cents each. 

 

 

And last but not least....the one that got away.  Last summer I snapped a picture of this vintage, turquoise vinyl and metal hamper, at the thrift store near my parents.  Ohhhh, I wanted it so bad BUT Mike was with me (waiting in the vehicle with our dogs) and if I had come out carrying this he would have laughed at me!  To this day I regret not buying this hamper!  It was in perfect shape and it didn't even smell like an old lady.  I swear.  LOL. 

 

 

I'm linking up to.....                                     

 

 

 Flaunt it Friday

 

Sir Thrift a Lot

 

The Thrifty Groove

 

 

Hello!

 

 

Just stopping in to say Hello!  That's all.  Just Hello.  Hope you are all having a great Spring!

 

 

{{To create this vibrant background I used three crayons on water colour cardstock and then "painted" the pigment with a very wet paintbrush.  I loved how vibrant they turned out.  

The sentiment circles are from the Fun Flair by Ali Edwards stamp set.}}

 

 

Happy Easter Monday!

 

Hello Everyone.  I hope you had a great Easter weekend. Ours was nice and relaxing.  I made a ham using my BFF's glaze recipe and Oh Em Gee.  It was freakin' good!  

 

Anywho, I just wanted to share a couple of Easter cards and why not do so on Easter Monday, right?  This is how I roll, people.  I can never do anything on time.  You should see the Valentine's cards you never got to see.  LOL.  {{And really....how do people actually blog for a living?  I would be very broke because I am so not good at it.}}

 

 

I used Petal Power from Technique Tuesday.  The polka dot petal was used for the ears and feet.  The solid petal with the light botanical print was used for the grass and that cute single flower was used to make a few bouquets.   My friend Kristina spotted this card when she was here on the weekend and snatched it up to call her own.  Which is great as someone should enjoy it since I never did get around to sending out a single Easter card.  Not a big surprise there. 

 

 

 

 

 

For this chocolate bunny card I used the Easter Seal stamp set.  Mmmm...excuse me while I go have another piece of Mike's Reece's Peanut Butter Easter bunny.  

 

 

 Have a great day friends!!!

 

 

Photo Inspiration Challenge

 

 

Hello Everyone.  

Today I have a card that was made using the photo below as inspiration.  The colours were my take off point rather than an Easter theme but I did want to re-create that adorable little farmers market berry basket so I drew the basket directly onto cream cardstock, cut it out with scissors and used distress ink and Copics to try to give it some depth.  It's pretty rough looking so don't look too closely.  It's the idea that counts, right?  

I'm sure you've seen them all over the net lately.  I even bought one from Anthropologie last year when they first became popular.   

 

 

The Technique Tiles Scalloped Circles were coloured with water colour crayons.  Chipboard is clearly not going to be water resistant and in the end I liked how the water gave it some distressed texture. 

I stamped my faux basket liner with Chevron Two Step.  It's a bit hard to see but it is peeking out there below the flowers. 

 

 

Last but not least the sentiment is from the Bring on the Sun by Ali Edwards stamp set.  I love all the fonts and sentiments in that set.  Good stuff. 

Please visit the Technique Tuesday blog to see what the other girls did using the photo inspiration.  Have a great day!  

 

 

 

March Greenhouse Society - Technique Tuesday

 

 

 

Hey Everyone.  

Today is shipping day!  If you're a member of Technique Tuesdays Green House Society then this Lily stamp is automatically shipping to you.  Not a member?  Well, the good news is you can still purchase the set for a limited time....but when they are gone...they're gone.   

Have a great week.    I'll be back soon with another card and a Thrify Finds Haul!  I know, I know....you'll have to see it to believe it, right? 

Charlene

 

 

 

 

 

March Greenhouse Society from Technique Tuesday

 

Hey Everyone!  It's been a long time since I've posted something but today I'm excited to share one of my cards I made using the March Greenhouse Society from Technique Tuesday with you.  They sent me this great little stamp set and I was happy to sit, stamp and colour!  

 

I don't know about you but I am counting down the months (yes still "months" left in Canada) until I can plant flowers and enjoy my deck.  Cannot wait!!

 

 

 Technique Tuesday releases a new botanical stamp set each month.  We share the image on the 15th and they start shipping on the 25th of each month.  You can join to become a member and have them automatically shipped to you while enjoying a nice little members only discount!  They do make a limited number of the stamp sets but you can purchase one for regular price until they sell out.  So if you see one you like go ahead and grab it while you can.  

 

You can read all about the membership details HERE. 

 

 

This Lily flower image made the cutest background.  As you may know I am not very good at colouring even though I really enjoy it when I do it.  I was worried I'd end up making it look messy but I feel it still came out with a "clean" look to it.  I hope you enjoyed seeing what I created.  I'll be back on the 25th with another using this same stamp set!  Thank you so much for stopping by!!

 

 

 

 

Hugs & Kisses

 

Hey Everyone....

 

In true "Char" fashion I'm going to pop in here and put up a few Valentine's Day cards before it comes and goes.  {{Although, Christmas has come and gone and I still have Christmas themed Thrifty Finds that I still plan to post a haul on.  So don't be surprised when you see that one day.}}

 

 

I used Hugs & Kisses by Ali Edwards as well as Chevrons Two Step on the little hearts.  Both stamp sets are from Technique Tuesday. 

 

 

Have a wonderful day.  Hugs & Kisses to you all, my friends!

 

 

January Studio AE - BE MINE Card

 

Heeyyyyy Everyone!

 

I was playing around with my January Studio AE stamp set again (while watching American Idol.....of course!!) and came up with this card.  Just thought I'd share!

 

 

In the photo below you can see that I cut the heart out of the top layer and added some foam adhesive behind it.  The "happy valentines day" sentiment is trimmed out by hand and also popped up across the open heart. 

 

 

I absolutely LOVE this stamp set and I hope you do too!  It's a keeper. 

 

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Have a wonderful day, my friends!

 

 

 

 

 

Technique Tuesday - Machine Sewing on Chipboard

 

Hey Everyone.  This is a blog project I created for Technique Tuesdays blog last January.  It's been sitting in my drafts all this time and I thought this was a great time to share it with you here on my blog.  Enjoy. 

 

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Hello Wonderful TT fans!

It's Charlene here with a little bit of machine stitching.......on CHIPBOARD!  Yes, that's right.  Did you know that your sewing machine can go through chipboard?  And probably go through it like buttah!    

 

Lets get started by showing you the supplies I used on my card.  Of course the star attraction, and my chipboard of choice today, is TT's Technique Tile - Buttons.

 

 

 

Besides your chipboard you will also need a sewing machine.  You don't need a fancy one.  Mine is from WalMart and I paid less than $200.  Here is the model I have and the settings it is on.  I almost never change the settings.  In fact, I don't actually even know what they all are.  But I do know if you are having trouble with your machine and your chipboard you might want to adjust your tension.  Don't worry if you break a needle at first.  It happens but once you get the hang of it I don't think you will have any trouble.  

 

 

 

Do you see my finger there?  Yeah, don't be me.  BE CAREFUL!  Once you get a piece this small started use something to push it through.  I used the end of a paint brush to do that. 

 

 

 

For a little banner like the one I'm making just continue to feed them through nice and slow.  Be sure to make a few stitches in between the chipboard buttons leaving spaces.  

 

 

 

Here is the completed little "banner".  Adorable, no?

 

 

 

I also wanted to show you that it's very easy to trace a shape with your sewing machine and you are not limited to just straight lines.  Just take it slow and follow the curves and lines of whatever chipboard shape you are using.  You'll get the hang of it with a little practice. 

 

 

 

I adhered the red cardstock to the chipboard in the centre of the heart only.  Do not put any adhesive where the needle is going to be going through.  That will be a sticky mess and will affect the needle. 

I will be making a bunch of these hearts to create a banner to string across an old set of shutters that are on display in my living room.  

 

 

 

Below is my finished card.  I used Glue Dots to adhere each "banner" button in place.  Note: I used a Copic marker to colour the Technique Tile.  It takes ink really nicely.  

 

 

 

These fantastic sentiments are from my most favorite stamp set....Loving Words by Ali Edwards. 

 

 

 

So there you have it.  Are you inspired to sew on some chipboard?  I hope you will give it a try.  I know you will love creating these dimensional embellishments for your cards and scrapbooking pages.

 

Have the best day ever!