Tilda Altered Tray Embellishment Center w/ 3D Tea Cups

Happy Sunday everyone! Today, I'm coming at you with my first GDT project for Sacrafters shop, for the month of July.  Sa sent me so many awesome goodies to alter and I always get so excited when I'm asked to guest design for her shop.One of the first things I noticed, in my DT package, was a cute little serving tray. Having recently picked up Tim Holtz Tea Time die, I thought of a great way to incorporate the two into a cute embellishment center. Check it out!

This is the largest of the serving trays available in Sa's shop and was so easy to put together. I painted all the exposed parts with Bleached Sand acrylic paint by Americana and then I covered it with papers from Tilda's Tiny Treasures paper pad. I just adore this paper pad for all it's sweet images and gorgeous papers! 

All the edges were distressed with a sanding block to give it an aged look. Then I adhered a pretty floral trim all around the tray and flat back pearl trim on top of that.

I created small flower clusters on each handle side with die cuts from the paper pad and flowers from my stash.

I'm so in love with the gorgeous prints of this paper collection.

So shabby chic!

The sweet tea cups were created with Tim Holtz Tea Time die. I die cut the tea cups and saucers from the paper collection and made them 3D. If you're interested to see how I did that, go check out my mini tutorial, here.

I added a flower die cut piece to the front of each tea cup. Then I made the cute little tags and glued them to the inside of the tea cup. I filled each tea cup with shredded tissue and tiny fabric flowers. And now I have a really cute embellishment center for my craft table! I can switch out the embellishments to suit the project I'm working on and the tray serves as a pretty decor piece.

I hope you like my project and I encourage you all to check out Sacrafters shop. Her off the page products are so unique and so much fun to alter. You can use my discount code "LIZFANS" for 10% off your purchase of  $30 or more.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! Hope to see you all real soon!

Have a great day.

"Oh So Lovely" Altered Photo Display Tray

Welcome back crafty friends. It's been a few weeks since I posted anything on my blog, but I got a good reason, I promise. You see, I uh...lost my mojo. I know, I know, that's crazy right? I tried and tried to sit down and create something pretty, but my mind was just  blank. Nothing was coming to me and I was just dying to create!After several days of ,well, nothing, I decided to take a break and just ride this one out. I've been stressing out a lot lately and I think that had a lot to do with me not being able to create. I knew my mojo wasn't gone forever ( or so I hoped). I think I just needed a little  "me" time with no DT projects and commitments. Sure enough, a few days ago, I was finally able to sit down and like magic, all my creative juices started flowing again! Yippee, my mojo was back! I've never been happier to get my hands all inky and create a mess in my craft space,lol. Today I'm sharing the fruits of my labor, a true labor of love.

You have no idea how happy it made me to finally craft! I had recently purchased Kaisercraft's "Oh so Lovely" paper pack and I was inspired by the beautiful mother/daughter sentiments throughout the collection. So, I decided to alter a photo tray, I had picked up at my local  craft store, and create a tribute to the special bond I have with my girls.

I wanted the tray to be bright, fun and feminine. The girls and I took silly selfies that I changed to black and white to coordinate better with the paper collection. I added bits of lace and sweet feminine touches throughout the tray.

I love the look of bare wood embellishments,that's why I left the word "Smile" as it was. The frame was die cut from chipboard and pattern paper and then I cut it in half.The sentiment in the center is from the coordinating Collectables pack by Kaisercraft.

 This is the sentiment that inspired the entire tray. I popped it onto another die cut piece and layered it over a paper doily. The birdcage was fussy cut from the collection and I also added two glass vials on the lower right hand corner. The vials are filled with tiny beads from my stash.

 Here's a silly picture of my oldest daughter and I . She has a habit of taking pictures with half her face gone,lol. I added a cute resin bicycle and lots of handmade flowers. The words are stickers that I cut up and popped up with foam tape.

I created a cute little banner to spell out "Love" and adhered it to the top of the compartment. Here's another silly picture of my little girl and I.A bit of lace and pearls round out this compartment.

For this compartment, I created a little "art journal" using Spellbinders Labels 7 dies. I created a little book and used a script stamp to stamp on the pages. I cut out the individual words from a sticker phrase.

All of the gorgeous flowers were handmade out of coffee filters. You can check out my coffee filter flower tutorial here.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! Hope to see you all real soon.

"Little Miss" Altered Shadowbox Stand

Hello crafty friends! Welcome to another project share for Sacrafter's shop. Like I've mentioned in my previous post, I'll be guest designing for her shop for the entire month of May. If you are not familiar with Sa's store, I highly recommend you check it out, here. You will find wonderful wood pieces to alter as well as amazing,one of a kind, wood and chipboard die cuts for all your crafty projects. I also have a a special discount code you can use to save 10% off your purchase of $30 or more.Simply type "LIZFANS" in the coupon box and, instant savings!
So today's project share is an altered shadowbox I created for my oldest daughter.It's just a little reminder for her to remember to always "shine"!

This is Sacrafter's Square Shadowbox Stand. It is made out of MDF wood and is so easy to put together. I covered the wood pieces with Bo Bunny's Little Miss collection. I only had a few pieces left of this collection and I put every scrap to good use.

I adorned the shadowbox with different fussy cut elements from the paper collection. Then I draped some pearls for an elegant look. Lastly I added flowers in coordinating colors and a beautiful Magnolia Doohickey butterfly to the corner of the box.

There's a picture of my lovely daughter inside this cute, resin frame. I just look at her picture and can't believe how much she's grown! She's turning into such a beautiful young lady, inside and out.The background paper had a really great quote that I thought fit perfectly with the project. It reads "Don't be so hard on yourself, choose to shine." She's had problems with low self esteem in the past and I've always told her it's a matter of choice. It's our choice to "shine" and be happy or to choose to be down in the dumps.Embrace who you are and be the best at being you! I think she's actually listened,lol!

This is the base of the shadowbox stand. I created a little cluster of  flowers, pearls and a fussy cut birdcage at the bottom.

 Side views of Shadowbox Stand.

 Back view of Shadowbox Stand.

My daughter loved the final outcome and called it her "little shrine". I'm just happy to have put a smile on her pretty little face.

If you would like to get your hands on this shadowbox or other similar products, head on over to Sacrafter's for a huge selection of off-the-page products. Don't forget to use my discount code for even more savings.

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I hope you like my project and I'd really love to know what you think.

Have a wonderful day and I'll see you all real soon!

Mother's Day Coupon File Folder Folio

Good morning crafty friends. With Mother's Day only  a few days away, I thought I'd share with you a sweet gift idea for the special woman in your life. I was inspired by a grocery store run and a childhood memory. Weird, I know.When I was about 9 years old, I remember making a coupon book for my mom, for Mother's Day. Do you guys remember those? Each coupon was good for a small chore or kind gesture for your mom, to show your appreciation.Well, I was remembering all this while pulling out my coupon folio at the grocery store.You know, the kind that has pockets inside to sort your coupons? I combined the two ideas together and created my grown up version of that childhood coupon book to gift my mom this Mother's Day.

Here it is! Isn't it pretty? I thought Graphic 45's Precious Memories collection would be perfect for my project. I love the sweet mother and baby images and it has lots of blues, which is my mom's favorite color. The folio is constructed of card stock and I found the tutorial here. It measures 7x9 inches and has 6 pockets inside.

Here's a view of the cover. I did a lot of fussy cutting to create a collage, if you will. You can see bits of lace peeking out in the back and I used one of the post cards from the ephemera pack.I also used one of the chipboard pieces from the collection and accented it with tiny pearls and a sweet little bow.

I created 5 large, tag shaped coupons.Each has a sweet sentiment stamped onto one of the smaller journaling cards. Then I added fussy cut flowers and used the sticker sheet to spell out "coupon" at the bottom of each tag.

I printed out the coupons ,cut them out and adhered them to the back of each tag. So all my mom has to do is select a coupon and hand it over to redeem it. Easy, and this guarantees me some quality time with mom! We can take pictures during our times together and she can keep these pictures inside her folio. Precious memories! 

I do hope you like my Mother's Day gift idea and to all the mothers out there, I wish you a wonderful Mothers' Day!!!

Thanks for stopping by today. I'll be seeing you all real soon!

Shabby Chic Wood Heart Banner

Hi guys! This month I've been asked to be a guest designer for my sweet friend Sa's shop. Sacrafters carries tons of OOAK wood and chipboard products to alter, as well as embellishments and stencils.And her prices can't be beat! You can use my discount code "LIZFANS" for an additional 10% off your purchase of $30 or more and it's good for the entire month of May.
Let me share with you my first DT project for the month.

I altered her Wood Heart Mini Album and turned it into a banner for my wall. I've been stressing out a lot lately and I just wanted a little reminder to appreciate the little things in life, and not worry about things I can't control. Of course, I had to make it shabby chic to go with my decor and I think it turned out quite sweet.

You get 10  raw wood pieces, 5 solid pieces and 5 cutout pieces to lay over the base. I didn't paint mine but simply covered them with designer paper and inked the edges with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. I printed out the words onto pattern paper and then adhered each word to the heart base, making sure I centered it with the opening of the heart shape.

The small flowers are all from my stash and I dabbed white acrylic paint to the tops. I created the music sheet flowers with my Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms Die and then sprinkled the flowers with Glamour Dust.

I really like how each piece has a different "window" shape, so I accented each opening with mini flat back pearls. The pearls add such a pretty little detail.

Lastly I threaded a piece of jute through each of the holes and tied pretty pink bows in between each wooden heart piece.

My heart banner looks so pretty on my wall and best of all it reminds me to "Live, Love, Laugh every day". And at the end of the day that is all that really matters!

I hope you like my project. Head on over to Sacrafters shop and check out all her alterable products and don't forget to use my discount code "LIZFANS" to save even more.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I'll see you all real soon.

Baby Girl Shadowbox Birth Announcement

Hi guys! I hope you all had a wonderful Valentines day and are enjoying this beautiful Sunday. Today I'm sharing a new project I created as guest designer for SaCrafters. SaCrafters carries unique shadowboxes, storage boxes and other items made out of wood, mdf and chipboard. For today's project I used the Baby Girl Dress Layered Shadowbox and turned it into a cute birth announcement.

I love it! I think it turned out so precious! 

The picture is of my youngest daughter at only 6 days old. She's 9 years old now and this sweet picture just brought me so many sweet memories.

I used Kaisercraft's "Bundle of Joy" paper pad and fussy cut some elements to add to the shadowbox. I covered a few bare wood blocks with scraps of paper, added cute miniatures and a small piece of rosette trim to create a nursery scene.

Here you can see the distressing I did on the shadowbox. I first painted the entire thing with warm white acrylic paint, dabbed some petroleum jelly in some areas, then painted it with a coat of baby pink acrylic paint. I used fine grain sandpaper to remove some of the topcoat of paint and further distressed it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I covered the back of the shadowbox with the pattern paper and added the stats of my baby's birth.The cute little feet are stickers I've had in my stash for years.

I added a piece of ribbon to the back so it can easily hang and be displayed in the home, as a beautiful keepsake.Lastly, I added pearls ( one at a time) to the rim of the shadowbox.

I think this project would make for such a wonderful gift and is such a sweet way to announce the birth of a new baby.I really do love the way it turned out.

I hope you all enjoyed my project share for today.

If you would like to get your hands on really unique shadowboxes, head on over to SaCrafters and don't forget to use discount code "lizfans" for 10% off your purchase of $30 or more. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Bo Bunny Country Garden Altered Frame and Birthday Card

Hello there! I'm back to share some more projects with you all!
Last week, my sweet, wonderful mom celebrated her 64th birthday. She is a huge fan of anything from " I Love Lucy" and collects the Lucy Barbie dolls, so my husband and I ordered some dolls online. Unfortunately, they would be arriving a few days after her birthday. I didn't want her to not have anything to open on the big day, so I decided to alter a frame for her. She loves to display pictures of her kids and grandchildren all over her room and she just loves when I make her stuff. She loved it! And immediately found a picture to put in it.

I started off with one of those $1 frames from Michael's and painted the sides a warm white. Then I covered the frame with Bo Bunny's Country Garden papers. I distressed the top piece by tearing random pieces and inking the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I also used my Martha Stewart punch to punch out border strips that I tucked in between papers.

The wooden dressform is from Sacrafter's shop and I left it natural. I just made  a "dress" from one of the pattern papers and added a piece of strung pearls for a necklace. And just look at those flowers! Aren't they gorgeous? The big blue one was gifted to me by Sa and the pink ones are from my stash. They were originally white but I colored them with Heidi Swapp's shine spray in Blush. 

I added Diamond Dust to the tops of all the flowers and tucked pieces of white tulle in my flower cluster, for added girliness! ( Is that even a word?) I also cut apart an Easter pick and used the berries to accent the arrangement. The leaves were die cut with one of the Spellbinder's Foliage dies and pattern paper.

Love these little wooden sentiments from Michael's. They come white and are so shabby chic. Perfect for my frame!

I also made a coordinating card to go with the frame. This was my first time using the Spellbinders Resplendent Rectangles dies, I've had forever.They are sooo pretty! Then I just added a Kaisercraft wood frame and some pearls for accent. The banner was fussy cut from one of the pattern papers and then stamped with "Happy Birthday".

Here's the two pieces together. I think they turned out so pretty and shabby! My mom loved them both and I loved watching her smile when she opened them. Let me know what you think. I really appreciate your sweet comments.

Have a wonderful day!

"Something Blue" Altered Printers Tray

Hello friends! Today I want to share with you a project I created to celebrate my recent wedding anniversary. My anniversary was on April 23 and I celebrated 8 wonderful years of wedded bliss with the love of my life. It really seems like we've been married so much longer though, because Jay has been in my life for over 14 years. What started out as friendship simply blossomed into love over time and I couldn't be happier. So to commemorate 8 wonderful years, here's my latest creation:

 

 

I used Prima's "Something Blue" collection and lots of wood and metal pieces I had on hand. I really love the soft colors of this collection and I printed out my pictures in Sepia tone to better suit the color palette.

The Printers tray was intended as  a gift for my hubby, but as you can see, it turned out more feminine than I had planned. " So who is it for really?" he asked. I had to laugh at that, guess I got carried away with all the flowers, hehe. But it did turn out so pretty and it's going to look wonderful hanging on my wall.

 

 

 

 

 

Phew! Lots of pictures,  I know. Just wanted to show you close ups and details of all that went into each compartment. Altering printers trays is a lot of work and this one was definitely a labor of love. I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed making it and I thank you so very much for stopping by. Have a great day !