Be wrapped in love...

I do not like to shop.

There, I said it.

I'll say it again.

I do not like to shop.

However, I do like finding the perfect gift for someone. And because I do not shop often, I browse for good gifts all year long. Sometimes, that perfect gift is a gift card (like to their favorite scrapbook store...hint, hint). And, while a gift card may sometimes seem impersonal, when it's wrapped with something hand-made, it seems to be wrapped with love.

The Linnie Blooms shop is full of some new fun holiday shapes, and this stocking is perfect for a stocking stuffer (it doubles as an ornament too).

First, I took out a white crayon and freehand drew some zig-zag shapes on 2 of the Linnie Blooms Canvas Stockings.

With a little bit of Distress Ink and some water, I painted over those zig-zags (one side is Festive Berries and the other side is Evergreen Bough). The white crayon acts as a resist.

                                                  

Then, I used Tacky Glue to line the edge of one of the stockings and glued them together.





Next came the fun, embellishing part. I glued a thick, furry felt as the top of the stockings and rubbed in some Rock Candy Stickles. I added silver glitter glue as stitches on the toes and heels. I went outside and clipped my spirea shrubs to get some natural sticks that I added to some silver berries and wrapped them in a bundle with some twine. Some Copic-colored Linnie Blooms leaves top it off.

And look...it's the PERFECT size for a gift card!

So don't despair if you don't find that perfect gift...

wrap it in LOVE...then it is perfect!

~Kelly

www.kellystarsallthingscrafty.blogspot.com

Be secretive...

Let's play
"what's in my Linnie Blooms canvas flourish pocket"...
You can't probably guess from this first picture, but maybe this next one will give you a hint.

Did you guess secret journaling? Ding-Ding-Ding...you are right!

Earlier this month, on my blog, I discussed my new adventure into an art journal...you can check it out here. I have never done anything like this before, and I must admit, it is quite addicting (like I need another crafty addiction!).

The Linnie Blooms "mixed stitch canvas book" is what drew me in. I saw one in the "real" Linnie Blooms store when I was there this summer and I knew it was something I wanted to try. You can see it on the online store here.

So, I am creating an art journal inspired by songs I love. This page happens to be a "church song", but believe, me I will be covering all sorts of music by the time this book is done. This song, "You are Mine" has a very special place in my heart because it came to me during a very difficult time. The story is one that I don't want to share with everyone, so this Linnie Blooms canvas flourish pocket is a perfect "secret keeper".

To create the pages, I covered them sloppily, or should I say "creatively" in white and then metallic gold acrylic paint. I added some gold glitter gel, a pearl embellishment, some doilies die cuts (Sizzix decorative doily), lace, patterned paper, and fabric scraps. I attached and covered all of these additions with Mod Podge.

 

 

For the pocket, I used a stencil from Crafter's Workshop, and then spritzed my own mixture of gold metallic acrylic paint, Create a Shade Pearl Paint from Close to My Heart, and water to get the design. The color is subtle, but still has enough contrast to really stand out. I used Fireline, (which is really thin beading wire), to string on a few seed beads (clear, silver, and irridescent white) to embellish and create a border around the pocket. The pocket is attached to the journaling page with a delicate pearl pin from Maya Road.

So, what are you going to put in your secret pocket?

~Kelly

www.kellystarsallthingscrafty.blogspot.com

**Remember...just for my beloved followers, I have a SUPER discount code for you. If you want to place an order at Linnie Blooms online store, you can shop here... http://lindabarutha.com/shop/. Use the code LB2013KS and you will get 10% off your order. Enjoy!

Be seasonal...

It's time to stop and smell the leaves.
It's also time to stop and shovel the leaves.  So many have fallen in the last few days, that I can't even see my driveway.  I'm not complaining, because I would much rather shovel leaves than snow.  That white stuff will be here soon enough.

Today, I'm bringing the leaves indoors too.  I'm adding another season to my Four Seasons project with the Linnie Blooms canvas long blanks.  Linda has been adding new shapes, and these Linnie Blooms leaves absorbed the color from Distress Inks and Distress Stains so vividly.  I stamped a subtle swirl pattern on top too. I used hot glue to attach my leaves to the wire stem and canvas long blank so that I could "sculpt" some shape into the leaves.  Using a hot glue allowed me to push, raise, and wrinkle the leaves to give them even more texture and dimension. 

With mason jars a hot trend right now, I traced one onto vellum paper from clip art I found online.  Once again, I painted a chevron background by taping off the pattern with Scotch blue painter's tape (my new love).  There is also some twine and wire in there too. 

I didn't want to overwhelm this canvas...sometimes it's hard for me to tell myself to "STOP ADDING MORE ITEMS".  But, I'm happy where I stopped with this one. 

Autumn is a second spring,

and I am taking time to recognize each leaf as a flower.

~Kelly

**Remember...just for my beloved followers, I have a SUPER discount code for you. If you want to place an order at Linnie Blooms online store, you can shop here... http://lindabarutha.com/shop/. Use the code LB2013KS and you will get 10% off your order. Enjoy!

 

Be daring...

This whole "mixed media" art is still very new to me. Sometimes it is difficult for me to move out of my comfort zone. What am I? A scrapbooker? A paper artist? An artist? I feel like I'm neglecting my scrapbooking if I start dabbling in other media. I feel like I'm "cheating" on my scrapbooks if I play with something else.

I really, really need to get over it...

it's not like my supplies have feelings!

When I have been at the Linnie Blooms store, I have drooled over Linda's "mixed stitch journals". So I finally bought one. And, I dove in. When I should have been paying attention in church the other day, God had another plan for me. He led me to find a theme for my journal. This is just the cover, but slowly it will develop into a big fat work of art highlighting some of my favorite songs and lyrics. Now, I wasn't really zoning out in church, because it was one of my favorite church songs that led me to this project. I think it will be the next page, so I'm not going to go into a full reveal just yet.

For now, you get the cover... "songs in my heart". I inked the cover with Distress Inks and Stains and water, using some stencils in spots. I used paint markers to make a frame around the edge of alternating black and white rectangles--sometimes I think every piece of art should have a black and white checked frame. I will try to resist from including it on every page of this journal, but I won't make any promises. I stamped a sheet music background stamp with Stazon ink and random stamped in every direction. The canvas hearts are also from Linnie Blooms...the pink one is colored with Copic markers and the smaller one is covered in washi tape. I placed and replaced 100 different ribbon and lace scraps before settling on the ones pictured...I was so PICKY! Lastly, I added the title. I cut the words with my Silhouette Cameo (LOVE it) and hand wrote "in my" with Stickles.

Oh, and I mentioned "stencils"...that's because the Scrap It Girl November challenge is STENCILS...check it out HERE and join in the fun this month.

This journal is just the beginning of a new journey. I need to focus on what makes me happy and not worry about my supplies "feelings". I do this for me. It's what I need right now. There are no mistakes. Just possibilities.

~Kelly

**Just for my beloved followers, I have a SUPER discount code for you. If you want to place an order at Linnie Blooms online store, you can shop here... http://lindabarutha.com/shop/. Use the code LB2013KS and you will get 10% off your order. Enjoy!