Thursday, March 29, 2012

Easter love....a Crafty Secrets Giveaway


---------GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED-------

I have a sweet little gift for you today...

A tender little Easter treat box with 
some chocolate eggs and 'bunny love'...

I have been playing around with some of my Crafty Secrets products and wanted to share this sweet and easy little box with you...

- I purchased a little oval box from Michael's  
- Once the paint dried, I cut little circles of double sided tape 
- I peeled the backing and sprinkled white fine glitter on top
- I wanted the box to have an old vintage feel so I lightly rubbed some stamping ink around the edges


The box looks like it's been around for a while and just 
love the little vintage bunny image from Crafty Secrets

Speaking of Crafty Secrets, I am very excited 
to share with you your chance to win a....

$60.00 Credit  
+ free S&H from

 The following are a couple of projects I 
have used Crafty Secrets for in the past...

Do you remember the Shabby Princess party?  The backdrop for the dessert table was printed from the Crafty Secret CD.  These are only a few of the papers, as there are over 92 designs to choose from.


And I used their clear stamps to create this sweet Easter egg.  I have only scratched the surface with this product and everyday I can think of many more beautiful things to create with it.


Here are only a few of the goodies to choose from...


 Thousands of creative scrap images...
Clear stamps, and much more...

To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment letting me know you would like to enter the draw.


To increase your chances of winning, feel free to do any/all of the following and leave a corresponding comment on this post, with each comment serving as an additional entry.


1. Visit the Crafty Secret blog and subscribe
2. Visit the Crafty Secret FB page and 'like' them (feel free to also leave them a comment letting them know Craftberry Bush sent you)
3. If you are new to Craftberry Bush, please take a look around and if you like what you see, feel free to become part of the 'creative team' either through Google friend connect or the Friend Linky tool.   
4. Visit Craftberry Bush on FB and 'like' the page.


REMEMBER - each comment left here will serve as an entry, so please be sure to leave a comment for each of the aforementioned entry options you may elect to do.


The giveaway will remain open through Sunday, April 8th at midnight EST.  The winner will be chosen through random.org and announced on Monday, April 9th.


Thanks to all who enter and good luck! 


much love,
Lucy





Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Spring muslin butterfly...an animated mini tutorial


Good morning sunshines!


I rarely write posts at this time of day, but as the morning sun streams through the window and the silence of our home is broken by the tender cooing of mourning doves, I feel content. 


Even though this morning's dishes are sitting in the sink, the recycling bin needs emptying, laundry put away and my craft supplies returned to their shelf, I am content...  


Even though the car's 'check engine' light came on this morning and will probably require a lot of money to fix, I am content...


It's easy for me to lose my joy over dirty dishes, dusty floors or especially 'check engine' warning signs.  But don't dirty dishes mean we were blessed to have been able to eat?  Dusty floors mean we have a house to call home and out of place craft supplies mean that I have been given a beautiful talent that I should not take for granted?  Never mind the fact that I'm wealthy in health and that I am able to get off this chair and do the dishes, clean the floors, put laundry away and even walk to my destination if the car decides to break down... 


So today, I am choosing JOY and one of the ways I find joy is by creating and sharing with you...



 Photobucket

I have been playing around with animated GIFs and thought I would share a mini tutorial of how I painted this little butterfly onto muslin using one. 

1. Draw a butterfly onto a piece of muslin; if you do not have muslin, canvas or even painter's cloth would work well. 
2. If you are not comfortable with your free hand drawing skills, trace around a butterfly sticker or cutout.
3. Lightly draw in the details with a pencil.
4. Pick your colour palette. I chose warm colours that blend nicely into each other (these are called analogous colours in art terms).
5. Start with a dry brush and paint a little bit of pink towards the centre.
6. Dip your paintbrush in water and clean residual pink paint.  With the wet brush, go back to the picture and 'spread' the pink paint outwards (the paint will 'bleed' nicely onto the fabric causing a wash effect).
7. Dip your brush in the orange paint and apply as shown.
8. Clean brush and repeat 'washing' technique as before. 
9. Continue to apply the next colour (yellow) and follow the same procedure.
10. Use a small amount of red for the inner area of the butterfly's body and wings. I also applied a little bit on the tips. 
11. Fill in body with brown using a fairly dry brush. I recommend waiting for the paint to dry for this last step or the brown will 'bleed' onto the rest of the butterfly (you can see a little bit of that occurred on the picture)
12. Allow paint to dry and cut out if desired. 

I painted some simple ivy onto a paper tag from Canvas Corp and hot glued my little butterfly on.  I then used some of my stamped linen and attached it to the tag.  The cotton cord is also from Canvas Corp

Here is cool colour palette using the same 
technique.  will be using these for another project.

Nature offers the best colour palettes, don't you think?

I made this one for Bella's room using the same 
butterfly, but adding hand embroidered details...

As I was painting these butterflies, I once again realized how much JOY art truly gives me as it transports me to a world where I am just happy....:)


I hope your day is filled with JOY!


much love,
Lucy 


ps - what did you think of the moving pictures?  Does it work for us ?











Carolyn's homework
Home stories A to Z
Primp
The 36th avenue
Someday Crafts
French Country Cottage
2805
Crafty,Scrappy,Happy
Whipperberry
Tatertots and Jello
The girl creative
Chic on a Shoestring decorating
Finding fabulous
My Romantic Home
Simply designing
The Shabby Nest
I heart naptime
Today's creative blog
It's overflowing..
Ask Anna
a.k.a design
Thrifty Decor Chick
Cedar Hill Ranch



Sunday, March 25, 2012

A touch of Easter....egg flower vase

Hello my friends - I hope you had a wonderful weekend. 

We had a busy, but blessed weekend 
in the company of family and friends.


 Today I wanted to bring you another little 
Easter egg idea.  One which is very simple,
yet makes me smile every time I walk by it...

 Hubby bought me beautiful roses again 
this weekend; don't you just love those 
gorgeous colours? I'm one lucky gal..:)


I drilled a couple of holes on top of the egg and then gently chipped away the shell to make a wider opening on top (the white egg used on this tutorial is actually of another project, but you get the idea).  

In order to stand the eggs, I 'glued' them onto a small mirror using candle wax.  It's an old egg photography trick..;)  I then filled the egg with water and placed the roses in the eggs...

Easy, right? 


I displayed them on top of my old picnic baskets, but I think these would look so sweet on a shelf or just about anywhere you want a touch of Easter.


I worked on some other egg displays today that I will share later in the week.  I am so thankful you were able to stop by today, I hope you have a great week.


much love,
Lucy






Dear Lillie's Easter Party
Carolyn's homework
Home stories A to Z
Primp
The 36th avenue
Someday Crafts
French Country Cottage
2805
Crafty,Scrappy,Happy
Whipperberry
Tatertots and Jello
The girl creative
Chic on a Shoestring decorating
Finding fabulous
My Romantic Home
Simply designing
The Shabby Nest
I heart naptime
Today's creative blog
It's overflowing..
Ask Anna
a.k.a design
Thrifty Decor Chick
Cedar Hill Ranch



Thursday, March 22, 2012

Just for fun ...a Lorax Easter egg

 I am the Lorax, and I'll yell and I'll shout 
for the fine things on earth that are on their way out!
- Dr. Seuss

Hello everyone!  I recently received an email from the folks over at DecoArt encouraging the creation of Lorax themed crafts, in celebration of National Craft Month and the recent theatrical release of the Dr. Seuss' classic story.

As some of you may already know, I've long admired Dr. Seuss and find my appreciation for his work has grown with time.  While art truly is in the eye of the beholder and comes in many forms, his genius transcends barriers and his work is as relevant today as the day it was created.  To me, he is simply brilliant. 

During the March break I wanted to go see,we took the kiddies to watch The Lorax movie.  It was nothing short of great and as usual, Dr Seuss leaves us with a powerful message...


 " Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
 nothing is going to get better.  It's not"

He is of course referring to taking care of our earth and I am a big believer in recycling and trying to protect our precious home (please go hereherehere and/or here to see some of my recycling projects).



We had a little fun creating this Lorax Easter egg with Decoart paints, some colourful feathers and orange pipe cleaners...


We painted black stripes on these pencils and hot glued some feathers to make Truffula trees.  I think they would make cute little favors for a Lorax party.

I'm having so much fun decorating eggs and trying to come up with unique ways to do so...I hope you are not getting tired of it. 

But if you are, don't worry...I have also been busy creating other things and one of them is this new (to me) painting technique.  This was my first attempt and I'm not too happy with the results, but think I know what I have to do make it better.

Here is a little peek of a very bad photo I took with my iPhone... 

I'm a little obsessed with getting it right, so as soon as I 'get it', I'll share what it is and how I did it.  I think you might be surprised...any guesses?

Before I go, I wanted to welcome all you who recently joined our 'creative team'.  It is my hope that every time you visit, you find inspiration as I share a little bit of my heart with you.  Thank you for joining me on this journey and of course to all my old friends, I appreciate you more than you know.

much love,
Lucy




Carolyn's homework
Home stories A to Z
Primp
The 36th avenue
Someday Crafts
French Country Cottage
2805
Crafty,Scrappy,Happy
Whipperberry
Tatertots and Jello
The girl creative
Chic on a Shoestring decorating
Finding fabulous
My Romantic Home
Simply designing
The Shabby Nest
I heart naptime
Today's creative blog
It's overflowing..
Ask Anna
a.k.a design
Thrifty Decor Chick
Cedar Hill Ranch



Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Another Easter Egg Decorating Technique

 Make life as sweet as honey


From where I'm sitting, I can hear the sound of two little voices whispering when they  really should be sleeping.  The voices are those of our two boys who are currently sharing a room while Bella's room gets redone.  


It's hard to make out what they're saying, but perhaps their conversation revolves around the fact it takes 2,247 steps to walk home from the local 7-11, where Hubby took them after school today to get 'Slurpies'.   


When they rushed to tell me they had counted their steps on the walk home, I instinctively said 'how boring'.  The disapproving look on their faces as they responded 'No, it was a lot of fun", told me I had failed to appreciate the experience.  Turns out Hubby had asked the kiddies to guess how many steps it would take to get home and with each of them being competitive in their own way, the counting game helped make a long walk seem a little shorter.


Or perhaps they're making plans of what we'll do at the park tomorrow.  With another nice day in the forecast, we promised we would stop at the park on the way home from school.  Their lives still simple, innocent and carefree...

Their faith, pure and beautiful.  I the apprentice, and they my teachers.  Even though I am the adult , they teach me what blind faith really means.


They worry not about what they will eat or wear, they just KNOW.  Expect that we - as their parents - will provide.  Isn't that the same way we should feel about our Heavenly Father's promises?  Oh if only I had a trace of their faith...

Today was their first day back from March (Spring) break.  While I missed their voices around the house, I was able to get a few things done around here.  My kitchen sink was sparkly and the fridge handle was fingerprint free.  For a few hours anyway...:)

I opened windows and allowed the fresh Spring air to fill our home.  Don't you just love that feeling?

On my previous post, I showed this picture and mentioned I had been 'playing around' with some of the Crafty Secret's stamps.  Today I wanted to show you how easy it is to create a very whimsical and versatile Easter egg that can be used as decoration or as a place setting.

You will need:
Stamp and ink pad 
White napkin or white tissue paper
Glue or ModPodge
Paint brush
Scissors
Egg

- Stamp subject onto napkin or tissue paper
- Cut it out
- Apply a thin coat of glue or ModPodge onto egg with brush
- Stick cut out napkin onto the egg
- To smooth edges, gently rub the napkin cut out with the handle of the brush


Simple, no? 

Because the clear art stamps are flexible, I was also able to do some without stamping the napkin first but I found that the napkin method gave me a cleaner image. 


I also stamped some eggs with our names on them to use as place settings but got so carried away photographing this little guy that I forgot to include them in the shoot.


I'm smitten with the Queen Bee stamp set and while looking for a link for them realized that this particular set - and all the other clear art stamps - are currently on sale over at Crafty Secrets.  Isn't that great? 


I am excited to tell you that I will be having a Crafty Secrets giveaway coming very soon..:)  


For now, I leave you with a quote from honey's biggest fan...



Some people care too much, I think it's called love. 
-- Winnie the Pooh 





much love,

Home stories A to Z
Primp
The 36th avenue
Someday Crafts
French Country Cottage
2805
Crafty,Scrappy,Happy
Whipperberry
Tatertots and Jello
The girl creative
Chic on a Shoestring decorating
Finding fabulous
My Romantic Home
Simply designing
The Shabby Nest
I heart naptime
Today's creative blog
It's overflowing..
Ask Anna
a.k.a design
Thrifty Decor Chick
Cedar Hill Ranch



Friday, March 16, 2012

Tender blue...a natural Easter egg dye...

Spring has returned and with it, dreams of new beginnings are starting to sprout...

Hello my sweet friends, thank you so much for visiting.  I have another short post for you as I enjoy the silence of our home for a few minutes...


It's hard to believe that today is the last day of the kiddies' Spring break.  We were blessed with gorgeous weather, save for a thunder storm last night that brought all three little people into our room. 

We have been playing around with Easter eggs and decided to use nature to dye our eggs; one of my favourite ones being red cabbage. 

We cut up some cabbage, placed it in water and allowed it to boil.  We then placed the eggs in the boiling water. 


It was a fun experiment for the kiddies as they all thought the purple water would turn the eggs purple, but instead...


They turned this beautiful tender blue.

We only left the eggs in the water for about 15 minutes.  I am sure that if we had left them longer, the hue would have been deeper.

But I just loved this tender almost not there blue...

Isn't it sweet?

I have also been playing with some beautiful Crafty Secret Stamps and will tell you more about this particular egg and how I did it on my next post....don't you just love it? 


So here I sit on the last day of Spring break wishing to turn back time and yet I am also looking forward  to getting back to finishing various projects that have taken a back seat this week. 


Before I go, I wanted to thank you one more time for stopping by and wish you a beautiful weekend.


much love,
Lucy



ps - I finally got to watch The Help last night while Hubby took the kids out for a few hours.  I know I'm probably the last one to see it, but I liked it so much, so it was worth the wait :)




Linking at
Dear Lillie Easter party
Centsational Girl.
Carolyn's homework
Home stories A to Z
Primp
The 36th avenue
Someday Crafts
French Country Cottage
2805
Crafty,Scrappy,Happy
Whipperberry
Tatertots and Jello
The girl creative
Chic on a Shoestring decorating
Finding fabulous
My Romantic Home
Simply designing
The Shabby Nest
I heart naptime
Today's creative blog
It's overflowing..
Ask Anna
a.k.a design
Thrifty Decor Chick
Cedar Hill Ranch



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