Adding Color

My mother is not the type of person who would understand the phrase "less is more".  Her home is the craziest on the block during the winter holidays.  People drive by slowly to look at everything in the yard.  She has the same zest with her landscaping in the Summer.

Mom loves these little figurines.  There are boys fishing, kids cuddling, and animals lounging throughout the yard.  She certainly doesn't need more.  Yet, my mother can't avoid buying them.  I think part of the appeal is that she has turned this yard decoration into a craft project.  We all know how therapeutic it feels to paint something pretty.  Many people like the "stone" appearance.  My mother prefers to add color.  The results compliment the varied hues throughout the garden.  If you've had one of these around for years, consider giving it new life with paint.  You may need to touch up the colors eventually.  Perform a makeover every few years.  Give your girl a new hair color and a brighter dress.  If you see a woman in the lawn section of the store with a cart full of these, she is probably my mother.

Crazy Little Box

I think I took a trip to crazy town for this little treasure box. It was a fun little trip! LOL- Really, I wasn't so sure what I was going to do with this box.  So, I decided to stain the wood.  Once the stain dried it seemed to be just about the same color as the original wood.  That's when I decided to slap some yellow acrylic paint on my finger and experiment.  I was in a playful mood and the ink was right there, beside a squiggly little stamp. Before I knew it, the box was covered in little beige squiggles. Is that a word? 

Honestly, I think I'm going to revisit this project later and Mod Podge over it or something! I'll be sure to share my adventures with you if I decide to revisit this crazy little box!

Happy New Year!

 2011 is going to be a year of growth, change, excitement and happiness for all of us here at Crafty Life and Style! I decided to Art Journal some of my goals for this year. I would love to share some of my extra special creations in an exclusive class this year. Finding a fun new class won't be that hard- in fact I have my eyes set on a class by one of our amazing Artist Spotlights! Then there are some personal improvement goals like improving my physical fitness and finding a better balance in life.

Putting goals down on paper- puts them out into the universe. It helps you to focus on your intention. Be sure to put your words on pretty paper or even better- art journal them like I did. That will make you want to look at them over and over again. Making goals manageable- like physical fitness as opposed to lose __ pounds- can also help those who get discouraged if they don't reach their "goal number". What do you have planned for yourself this year? I would love to hear from you.   

“You Rock" - Pets Or Quotes

 Hi it's Crafty Lady here with another fun project! Hope you love it.

Supplies:  

·         Rocks any size

·          1 Cup of water

·          Paper towels

·         Paint brushes

·         Acrylic paints

·          Acrylic clear finishing spray

·         newspaper  

·         plate or old ceramic dish

Optional Supplies: wiggly eyes, self stick gem, and tacky glue if needed to embellish your rock.

Friendly Reminder:  Just have fun using your imagination - that why they call it ART!

LET'S GET STARTED:  Finding your rock.  I like a rock that feel smooth and has some character - perhaps small lines.  You might not want to find your rock, that's ok - you can buy them at the local store - they are called river rocks.  If you were lucky to find one in nature for free - great.  But as you know - if we take from nature we must give back, so sprinkle some seeds or bread crumbs for the birds and you'll feel good about paying forward to nature.

Wash your rock and let it dry completely, you can set up your work area while the rocks are drying out. Sketch out your pet or quote using, white or black paint depending on the color of your rock. Let paint dry and if you don't like what you drew - the paint washes off easy. If it's a rough rock - you might need to use a little elbow grease.

When choosing a design - it can be simple or as technical as you like, or a simple word or phrase - it's up to you. If making a pet - be sure to shade areas and then highlight other areas as you can see on the WHITE CAT I made. Trim to finish using black paint. The multi color ABSTRACT CAT uses lines colored in and trimmed with black paint. With words and phrases you can add some gems and embellish as you like.

Don't forget the kids can join in at the same time or maybe have an after school or snowy day project.

Hope you enjoy it! Crafty Lady

Chipboard Flip Book

Chipboard books allow you to take your scrapbooking to a whole new level- removing the boundaries of the 12x12 or 8x8 paper.

If you're new to scrapbooking and wonder what chip board is... It is basically cardboard you can find at the bottom of paper packets or pads of paper. You can also do what I do and recycle most of your food boxes.
It's great for the environment and great for scrapbooking with! They will allow you to have a variety of thicknesses to choose from.

I used a die cut machine to cut out these small 2 inch tags and then used the same machine and shape cutting die to cut out the paper- so I knew they would match up.

Then I used a glue adhesive to adhere the paper to the cardboard and allowed it to dry.

Now comes the fun part... Decorating! I had never painted on my scrapbook creations so this was a safe way to try it. I whisked the paint across the paper with a foam pad and really liked the results! I think this is where my obsession with paint started!

Once that's dry- figure out how you want to embellish it. I chose to place a flower on the front and stamp my letters. While you can put photographs in these lovely creations- I chose to offer my friend some advice on how to relax. I used the letters in her name as a guide for my advice. So as she flips through the book she will see her name on it and some kind words to help her relieve stress in her life. Finish it off with a lovely charm and lots of ribbons.

The end result is a very special gift for someone you love.