Timeless Valentine

This lovely card was made with lots of great stuff from Canvas Corp.  The base of the card was misted with red, pink and bronze Glimmer Mist and I also added lots of paper and embellishments from 7 Gypsies.

The challenge was to send a card to someone you usually would not send a Valentine to.  I had just had a nice long chat with my sister, so it was she that inspired this fun card that actually made it in the mail.

I crafted a layered heart with burlap, paper as well as some 7 Gypsies tissue paper that had been covered in Ice Resin.  I love the translucent look of this element.

I stumbled across an old clock die cut that was coated in gesso, embossed and later distressed and sanded that added nice compliment to the heart focal.  Sometimes having a messy work space helps my process unfortunately.

I added some 7 Gypsies paper tape to bring in more of the vintage colors and add more texture to the background.

Finally, I used my favorite pins, also from 7 Gypsies to attach my sentiment.  In order to add more fun to the recieving of this card, I enclosed it in a quickly made handmade envelope as well.

I am excited to surprise my sister with an old fashioned snail mail hello!

Cheers,

Rhea

Come Away With Me Gift Bag and Card with Tutorial

Sometimes the simplest of tasks can prove to be a challenge!  This was especially true for me as I stepped out of the mixed media zone and into gift bags and cards for Graphic 45.  My mantra for this was simple, just keep it simple.  I have such a tendency to layer on so much stuff that would probably not hold up to the heavier use of a gift bag.  

Supplies:

Come Away With me 12x12

Come Away With me Patterns and Solids

Come Away With Me Stickers

Come Away With Me Journaling and Ephemera Cards

Twine

Distress Ink

Xyron Double Sided Tape

Paper Flowers

Recycled Cellophane Packaging

This project was created with a travel theme in mind.  I had planned on making a book or journal to go with this project, but did not have the time unfortunately.  Perhaps that project will still come to be!  I think that a junk book with these papers would be just lovely.

I pictured the recipient either moving away or heading out on a long voyage.  The Come Away With Me papers were a perfect choice for this idea.

Since I took the time to make a handmade card, I decided to showcase it a bit by making it part of the decoration on the paper bag.

A little bit of cellophane left over from craft supply packaging made for the perfect pocket for my note card.

Here you can see how it looks inside the pocket.  I just love finding useful ways to use my garbage/packaging in crafts!

I also created a snapguide on assembling this simple project.  Enjoy!

Check out How to Upcycle a Gift Bag by Rhea Freitag on Snapguide.

Fall Journal with Texture Tutorial

Fall is certainly my most favorite season ever.  For some reason, it just really inspires me.  With this in mind, I set out to create a fun Fall Journal to record my thoughts, memories and maybe even a few poems.

I will be sharing a few techniques along the way today as well.  On the cover you can see some great imagery from Alpha Stamps. For a full list of all the goodies I used from Alpha Stamps you can go right here. Another easy addition to this cover are French Country stickers from Graphic 45.

I love this cute little tiny oak leaf garland.  Also notice the great texture I got by layering stencils.  Here I used matte medium with my honey comb stencil and then aged it once the medium was dry.

Here you can see the detail of leaves I made with glossy card stock, alcohol inks and the tattered leaves stamps from Tim Holtz.

I started by choosing a few warm colors of ink.  I dropped them on the glossy paper and then blotted with a ink dabber doused with blending solution.

This is a few of the papers I made.  I did not mind that I still had some large spots on the paper, it ended up adding great interest to the finished leaves.

Here are the leaves after stamping them with permanent ink and then fussy cutting them out.  I am always happy when I can create my own embellishments from what I have on hand.

This tag below highlights the amazing texture you can get from using the different pastes that are now on the market.  Here I chose to use molding paste along with my stencil.

I started out by layering with my spray inks and stencils.

I then added layers of stain and inks. It helps to water down the stains before swirling the tags in the color.  I don't mind when my inks smear either, it adds interest to the piece.

 Another way to add a layer of color is with an ink pad and an ink applicator. This way it provides a softer and more reliable pattern.

Here are a bunch of my tags after playing with my inks and stencils. Notice I have gone back and added inks or stains to most of the edges of my pockets and tags.  This adds a great frame to any element.

Once there is a base layer of color and pattern, I take it a step further and add more texture with the paste. An inverted spatula works really well for this.

I like to use deli paper when I am doing this type of work.  I can mess up a sheet and easily clean up my spot with a quick toss.  Be sure to clean up your stencils promptly after applying pastes through them!

After the paste is dry I add more ink or gilders paste to provide yet another design element to the tag.

I am looking forward to curling up with a nice warm drink and journaling this past fall season.

I have entries planned for my recent Upper Peninsula vacation...

Perhaps a few fall poems...

And maybe even a doodle or two...

I hope you enjoyed this rather lengthy post of my Fall Journal filled with fun texture.

Cheers,

Rhea

Handmade Holiday

Just a quick post to show off a couple of jewelry pieces I  have created today.  Last minute gifts for those who will appreciate such a token.

This necklace was inspired by a necklace I saw on Pinterest.  That site is so much fun!  It was really simple and quick to create and yet still looks like a nice finished piece of jewelry.  There is lots of movement to the focal charm, which I just adore. 



This next one I really like.  It is a color scheme that I really enjoy.  It is interesting how the colors are translating in photos, it looks a bit more muted in real life. 

And a close up of the really lovely centerpiece. 



I hope both of the recipients enjoy! I also made a custom pink sparkly bracelet and earrings for a special little girl, but alas, I wrapped them up.  Oh well!

Lots more last minute holiday preparations ahead!  For those of you who are finished and prepared for your festivities, I salute you!

Cheers,

Rhea

Sparkly Swap Bracelet

Here is a quick post showcasing a bracelet I created with winter in mind.  It is a collaborative project as many of the charms were made by individuals in my Art Charm group on Yahoo.  I added many of my own little dangles, providing some unity with a few beads being repeated throughout the design.  I just love the sparkle and the noise this cutie makes. 



Putting this together also makes me yearn for more bead work. I may have to revisit that genre a bit more.

My Christmas Junque Journal

Not too long ago I posted a Holiday Junque Journal that I made for a gift.  Well, I loved it so much I had to have one for myself.  Please note, this post is picture heavy.  I really wanted to try and capture the feeling of the book.  I created a tutorial on how to assemble this book here.  I have also now made a video tour of my completed book if you want to take a peek. 



I actually started this book last week, with the intention to enter it into Simon Says Stamp and Show some tickets challenge.  I did not get enough done to feel comfortable posting.  I lucked out though as this week the challenge was to show some stars.  The compass rose on the paper is in starry form.  I love the symbolism of the compass; direction.  I added some star rub ons and a really great piece of journal jewelry that was star themed to drive the theme home.  I do love stars as you may have guessed. :)  The book has a wonderful sound to it because of the little bells too.  Just the perfect amount of movement and jingle. 

I actually colored the entire book blue to go with the star theme too.  I did not like how the stain looked on the binding, so I simply went over everything with a brown tones.  Now there are under currents of blue, which I love.  A happy mistake. 

There are tons of pockets inside to tuck in lists, receipts and holiday ephemera I find along the way.

The pockets were made by simply folding a rectangle of paper in half and taping around the edges with tissue tape.  My loyal followers know...I am totally addicted to tissue tape.



I scored a few packs of recipe cards at a big box store for a buck a pack. They make for great pages in my little book.



I used holiday rub ons throughout this project too.  I am like a child like fascination with them.

Perhaps it will help me to have a countdown calendar this year....

Like my last book, I also added a bit of old ledger book paper for lists.  On the first page here, I glued on a bit of snowflake ribbon.



I really love the addition of envelopes throughout the book.  The polka dot one above was handmade by someone else, I embellished it. 

I adore the postal theme too, perhaps this is where my love of envies started. 



I used an opaque spray ink on this air mail envelope called tin type, love the flat color.

I use the envelops to tuck in bits of paper and ephemera for later work as well.  I really love some of the reproduction vintage stuff you can get these days.



In the last four sections I used Tim's adage tickets as the label, I thought this was a cute idea.  It was inspired by lasts week's ticket challenge as I had mentioned earlier.



Tim's seasonal paper stash came in quite handy too.

I used the tiny attacher to simply staple on the ticket.  Looks good and it is a sturdy way of connecting this feature as it will take some wear and tear.

The brown envie here was sent to me.  I folded it and cut it up to make a double pocket.  Recycling plus art!



This last pocket is hinged with tissue tape.  This is a very easy way to add a pocket into your projects!

The dream label was a mistake from my dream jar.  I added the tickets to the label, but did not like them for my jar.  Another up cycle for me. 

I look forward to continuing to work on this book.  This is really just a template for lots more play and fun.  I did manage to take a few pictures of me assembling the book.  Many of you commented and emailed requests to show you how to put this together when I posted last time.  The pics are not great due to the crumby lighting in the basement, but I do plan to post a tutorial soon.  My little gift to you for the holiday! 

That is all for now.  I think I am going off to a holiday bazaar to get some more Christmas spirit.

Cheers,

Rhea