Off the page

When  I took the class from Finn in June it was my first attempt at collage. I was not happy with my results but it was a first attempt. Once I was home I decided to give it another go, but this time on a canvas. Of course I scrapped my fave subject...my hubby.

 The barbed wire and bar code is Dusty Attic. The gears, bird and keys are from my Tim Holtz dies. There are random buttons and paraphernalia all over the place. I had a blast making this. All of the papers underneath are by Prima and the paint is Claudine Helmuth. The stamps are My Mind's Eye, and tattered Angels. There is tissue tap underneath the barbed wire chippy pieces and the journaling surrounds my hubby's outline. 

The metal piece is a piece of scrap my hubby brought home for me. He frequently supports my habit/addiction and I love it!!!

The acrylic label that says Battle the burn...yeah that was hanging from a bottle of hair product that I bought. I just love using all those little odds n ends. Everything has been sprayed with smooch in black, rubbed with gold rub n buff, and detailed in teal paint by Golden which has been discontinued. I really can't think of the name right now.

 I adore the way this TH bird turned out. I really loved making all the texture with my texture paste too. This whole thing was just yummy.

Someone recently posted that you need to step back and look at your work to get an idea. I really wish I had that advice before. The red piece of paper (under the paint) in the middle of the page detracts from the piece as a whole. I have learned, which is the most important part of creating art...growing and learning. I hope you also can take that advice for the golden nugget that it is. Thanks for looking.

Andiepants

Swirlydoos November RR entry

This month I was privileged to be number 1 on my Round Robin team over at Swirlydoos.com. This means I had to design a page and the rest of my team has to scraplift my page...no pressure. This month we had a couple of rules. #1, more than one picture on your layout. #2 specialty paper with an extra bonus point if you use that specialty paper to make a flower. #3, rub ons.  Here is my entry for the November RR...

This is a page of my DD and her BFF. They have known each other since preschool and even though they attend different schools now, we still make sure they get together a couple times each year. When they do get together, it's like nothing has changed and they were never apart. I think these two will be friends for life. I decided to try a monochromatic LO for this month.

 Here is a closeup of the bottom right. The flowers are by Petaloo. I took a doily and cut and folded it to make a flower that is peeking out on the left side of the picture. I used distress stain in spun sugar to color the doily edges. There is a piece of mulberry paper peeking out on the right just below that doily. There is also some Melissa Frances tissue garland under the bottom picture and under the top picture (you can see better in the picture below)

The brick wall is made with clear embossing paste mixed with Luminarte primary elements in icicles. It really turned out cool. I have been using my new Luminarte products on EVERYTHING!!

 Wood letters are by Kaisercraft. I primed them with gesso and used Luminarte's primary elements in chiffon pink. You have to mix the primary elements with gum arabic in order to get it to stick. I used the left over paint to color the mini lily that I made from my punch.

This final picture shows the Kaisercraft rub on that I used. the pink in between the torn paper is a Tattered Angels stamp using Luminarte Silks in pink grapefruit. I wasn't kidding when I said I'm using it on everything. 

TFL,

Andie

Swirlydoos "Rocktober" Round Robin winner!!

I am so flattered I don't even know what to say! One of my fave challenges over there is the round robin challenge. Once you sign up you are assigned to a team of 4. Person 1 has to design a page within a specified set of guidelines and submit their entry by the first Monday of the month. The second person on each team has to scrap lift person 1 and submit by the second Monday. Well, you get the idea. At the end of the month we all vote for our top 3.

 This month there were some super gorgeous entries! I am so flattered to say that my LO for the month received the most votes/points! Of course there was a 3 way tie at first. The amount of talent is unbelievable and I can't believe that I was even in the top 3.

This is one of my pics from the hubby and I in Vegas last month. This Lo was made using the current Swirlydoos kit...Belle Chanson. 

Notice anything about the veil in my hair and the large flower down in the corner of the page;) 

TFL

Andiepants

Boyhood

Fall is here! Leaves are blowing everywhere and there is a crisp smell in the air. I finally have found some scrappy time and got my camera fixed! That's right...I'm back. I attempted some pics with my phone but to say they were awful would be an understatement. So now htat my camera is back I have taken pics of my work and the blog is back on a roll.

I sat down one night and decided that after 2 years of having these Heidi Swapp star masks I would finally put them to use. I had been plotting to layer them (as you see here) but did not have a specific LO or idea in mind at the time. I am ecstatic with this page and the way this turned out.

 This is a pic of my DH and my middle son Colin taking a ride around the neighborhood on daddy's bike. Paper is Prima Almanac collection.

 Dollar store flowers layered. Coloring is TH Distress Stain in faded Jeans and Glimmer Mist in Dark Denim.

The wire piece is done free form.  The sticker boarder is K & Co and the splatters are TH stains in Dark Denim.

Thanks for looking. 

Shabby-palooza

Ok so I completely agree...the ____palooza term is way overused. But this so totally applies!

Two of my girlfriends have daughters graduating together and have planned a duel open house for this afternoon. The theme...shabby chic of course!! My GF recently installed a wide plank wood floor for the barn. She collected old doors from the garbage for back drops, has hanging shredded sheets, and rain barrels. I'm so excited to see the final product. For the centerpieces she asked me to make some of these little heart bags from the Cricut tags bags boxes and more. I thought it would be super cute to make some pie boxes as well. She plans to have random frames with pictures of the girls, and various antique and shabby pieces all over the tables. I was so excited to be able to make these for her.

 Sorry the light quality is so poor. I have to use my phone because my camera is on the fritz and have been way too busy during the daylight to get good photos.

All paper is by Wild Asparagus.

 The yellow flowers are from Melissa Frances and the flowers are Spellbinders blossom 1. Big thank you goes to Lisa Gregory over at Swirlydoos for the butterflies.

 The metal pieces are from the dollar store. I have been experimenting with tarnished metal. Way too much fun. 

 Can you spot the toilet paper tube? If you guessed the leaf you would be correct!! There is a tutorial over at Swirlydoos for how to make these lovely little gems.

 Sorry this one is so blurry

 Here is another metal piece. This on I covered grunge board with foil tape and used multiple colors of alcohol ink. 

This box was my favorite. I love the soft blue with the yellow and brown. The tulle is just a piece from...you guessed it...the dollar store.

Remember scrapping is as expensive as you make it. I enjoyed sharing my creations with you. Stay scrappy.

hugs,

Andiepants

Steam Chic

Fresh off the desk of Andiepants...a new style is born! I call it Steam Chic! Totally inspired by my artsy lil sis, sweet sour designs. I love steam punk and shabby chic so why not right? Let me know what you think. Since this was the very last mousetrap *insert dramatic pout here* it'll be some time before I post any more of these fabulously colorful little morsels. Enjoy.

A card for every occasion

Happy mother's day to all my scrapolicious mothers out there. Just wanted to share my first mothers day card this year with you. I used Prima's almanac paper line and a Prima stamp set acquired at the 2012 Great Lakes Mega meet. Hope your mothers day was fantastic.

XoXo
Andiepants

Trapt and Scrappin'

Happy National Scrap booking month everyone!! Yesterday was national scrap booking day and I devoted a majority of my day to scrappin' in celebration there of. I've been avoiding organizing some of my trinkets and baubles that have been sadly piling up in a tote in the middle of my floor. My poor cramped room seemed to get smaller and smaller. In honor of NSD I decided to get off my ever growing behind and get hot (as my scrappy friend frequently says). Not only did I organize but I also took a Ustream class over at Swirlydoos with some of my swirlygirlies and we had a riot! Imagine our shock when we were told to get our hands on mousetraps!! Yes mousetraps!!

I wasn't prepared so instead I just started grabbing whatever was on my desk at the time and started altering. 

It looks a lot like the ATC's from my video because that is the stuff that happened to be on my desk at the time...lol. This one is backed with a polka dot patterned paper from MME Lost and found collection and decoupaged with the same napkin that is in my prior tutorial. The mouse trap is now a refrigerator magnet! I KNOW RIGHT?! There is a big ol magnet on the back and the spring loaded bar is a clip!! So you can clip your stuff to the magnet!! Now if you are anything like me, the clips that I have bought in the past do not hold. The stuff slides out or the magnet won't hold. You can attach a rare metals magnet purchased at the hardware and voila! a super strong magnet with an awesome clip and looks cute too.

Ok...so I got a little better...

I bought a Tim Holtz distress stain last year in dusty concord #1 so that I could play with the stain and see if I liked it and #2 so that I would use more purple. These are some old CM stickers that my GF was getting rid of. I thought they went nicely. I learned, however, that the red label on the wood does not get covered by the stain (um Hello?! that's why I covered the butterfly in the stain...cuz I knew this already) so the red peeks through a bit...OK...live and learn. Also, I put my pearls on and THEN tried putting the trap back together. Big mistake. I shmeared the pearls all over the place and had to improvise. Plus the sticker got ripped. Ok...lesson 2...embellish more AFTER you put it back together.

Third was the best but still learning....

This one is my fave. It's Alice in Wonderland...look closely to see Alice. I didn't wait long enough for the pigment ink to dry and I think next time I will emboss the stamp before covering with the stain. I made the flowers from my waffle cookbook using the Time Holtz tattered florals die, covered in faded jeans distress ink, sprayed with TA glimmer mist in aquamarine, and used the harlequin texture folder by Sissix. The key hole is a fragment left over from some odd size chipboard previously used. Again, it was just lying on my desk so hey...why not.  I painted in teal and covered with Martha Stewart glitter in Hematite. This time I did the pearls afterward and added the bling to her crown. 

I only have one more trap left but sadly I cannot take the time now to alter it...cuz I gotta pack for MEGA MEET!!! Wahoo!! I can't wait. Hopefully I'll have lots to share when I get back. 

Later gator,

Andiepants

*Eat my pixie dust!*

For some odd reason I continually get waylaid from my scrappy plans and end up doing something that is equally scrappy but still not accomplishing my scrappy goals! This time it's box cars. I had no clue what a box car was but 3 weeks ago I was informed we were racing them and I would have to make them for my babes. Of course everything that her big brothers do in cubscouts, little miss Aubrey Lu has to do as well.

 This is Liam's car. It's a convertible complete with spoiler and flames. These cars completely represent the personalities of my twins. This car is SOOOOO Liam. Mind you, he did the spray paint, chose all the cut files, ran the gypsy while I loaded and manned the cricut, applied all the decals himself...he worked very hard. 

 He was very excited that this was around Earth day because not only were we repurposing boxes, but the wheels are made out of cereal box cardboard.

 I wanted to get a good pic of the foil paper used. This is from the Citrus cardstock pack by DCWV. The headlights are done with the foil red and blue as well...although the hubcaps are plain CS. 

Here is a pic of the red.

Aubrey LOVED this phrase. She must have repeated it 25 times in the half hour that we put this on before bed. The flowers and Tinkerbell stuff are all from the Disney Tinkerbell cartridge for the Cricut. Very tedious and time consuming but they turn out lovely.

 The trim on the top of the windshield and the damask headlights are from the Sophisticated cartridge by Teresa Collins. This is one of my newest acquisitions but is fast becoming my fave go to.

I used the flash in an attempt to show the bit of glitter on the wings (TA pearl spray) and the glitter paper that was used for the outfit. There is also white flocking powder on the balls of her shoes. I'm definitely removing her and keeping her to scrap some pics of the kids running around with these boxes.

The racing world is definitely in for a surprise tomorrow when they are taken by Liam and Aubrey...the dynamic duo!

If you are wondering abut Colin, he's being a party pooper and said he doesn't want to participate tomorrow (even though he's a WEBLOS). Too bad I didn't have time to make him a pink one;)

hugs,

Andiepants

The new adventures of Andiepants

Greetings all. Wanted to share with you a little sneak peek at what I have been slaving over for the last month and give a fantastic little tutorial on a piece of this mini album.

Not to mention this is my FIRST video!!!

enjoy!!!

P.S.
Because of the audio file I used, if you are unable to view this you can search for the mobile version on youtube. Yes, I am learning.

XoXo
Andiepants

Swirlydoos Layout of the week

Yours truly has had her art chosen over at www.swirlydoos.com as layout of the week!! Starring my wonderful hubby...Nathan!!!! I am so happy to have had this LO selected!! I'm very proud of how it turned out and of course it's only made better because it showcases my darling hubby.

 My inspiration for this page is Anna Dobrowska! She is fantastic!! check out her blog. 

Most of the pieces over on side are pieces that my husband has given me over the years for scrapbooking. I haven't known what to do with them until now. He's an engineer/machinist and there actually some scrap pieces on there that he made.  

The page was for a challenge. In the challenge you had to use chipboard, acrylic, punch or die cut, and metal. You had to include a title and hidden journaling, and you had to cover something with gesso, mist, and sparkle. 

 Here is a pic of the hidden journaling open. The message is to my hubby and is very personal so I won't quote it...but suffice to say that 7 years ago we almost got divorced and because of all the wonderful qualities that make my hubby who he is...we are still together today.

This is my hubby's birthday card for his 33rd birthday. I adore the Le Blanche stamps.

I used layers and lots of foam. My hubby loves industrial type stuffs...thus the gears. There's a tutorial over on the Swirlydoos site for these. They look so rusted and cool. The acrylic piece behind is one of those old bicycles with the one large wheel and one small wheel. Again...one of the things that my hubby has always found fascinating. 

 I took this close up to show the stamping with gesso. It's a Tattered Angel's stamp of a snoflake but was just so swirly and cool...I thought it looked fantastic.

 This is my father's Christmas card. He's a big Norman Rockwell fan and I thought he would just LOVE this Santa. This is the only picture I took and it's not very good. I fussy cut the red ribbon that is under the cluster. I fussy cut Santa out of the graphic 45 papers and attached him to some Tim Holtz resist kraft that I colored with red and green. I made the vine myself by attaching some roses and gold and white ball pieces from the dollar store to a petaloo berry vine. 

Andie's hot tip...scour the dollar stores for great finds that you can use on scrappy pages. They may look aweful in the store but use your imagination and they could be great:)

 Last but not least, this is a card made from a tutorial over at Swirlydoos. One of the newer designers...Paulien...is SUPER talented!!! This is my take on her design. I made this for my GF Cindy who loves the rustic country theme...which is totally translated to shabby chic! Hey all...guess where I got the pussy willows? Yup...dolla store!!!!

Coming soon...I made a page for a contest in May...but it's TOP SECRET!!! I can't wait to share it. Also I'll be posting my first video soon! I'm so excited...I can't wait.

TTFN

Andiepants

I'm still crafty...I swear!

It seems that life has gotten in the way of my blog. But fear not, I have still been crafty. I dropped my Nikon last fall (sigh) and although it still works the shutter is messed up and it needs to go in for repair. I have used this as an excuse to take NO PICTURES. Yes, you have all heard me admit it. However, I have some pics of crafty things I have been working on like...

 Aubrey's hair.  She wanted Ariel hair. We used Kool aid and this was the closest we could get

 Grandpa's family tree. For my hubby's grandpa's 80th birthday I made him a family tree of all the children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, and placed it in a shadow box for grandma to hang.

 Liam! I gesso'd my son. He was Woodstock in the Christmas play and the only way to make his dark hair yellow was gesso first. His face was painted too...and yes that's a dog collar.

 My new duct tape Bible bag. says it all doesn't it?

 The bracelet that actually never got finished. Talk about a complicated pattern...geez.

And a Halloween mini album. Turned out Super cute. The papers are Basic Grey. I did this while at a retreat. Another woman had something similar and I thought hers was so cute so I designed this on my cricut and cut it out of chipboard. It took me about 8 hours from design to finish.  There is a lot more to that story but we won't go there.

Thanks for stopping by.