Zoe's Friendship Blog Hop! today!

Hi everybody! Today is Zoe's Friendship Blog Hop! The theme is, well, Friendship :-).

I created a very simple layout. These are not the photos I want to use. I have better photos but cannot find them. The blond in the pic is my best friend for the last 25 years. Another pic is of her and her daughter. The 3rd pick, with the long brown hair, is me in 1992 on a John Deere tractor. I was helping my BFF move back to Minnesota and her father taught me how to drive the tractor (she grew up on a farm). Of course all of this happened when I still lived in Chicago.

ANYWAY, I will be visiting her soon, so once I locate the pic I really want (it's in a frame in one of my many photo boxes) and I get a new pic during the visit, I will swap them out and remove the pics in this layout.

The punches are MS, the font from my computer using MTC, the flowers and flourish are Prima; the pearls are Paper Studio; Paper: BoBunny Mammarazzi and Black Dot; Bazzill: Raven.

 

You should have arrived here from Jackie's blog (#8. jackrabbitscrappin). If not, that's ok. The next blog is Cheri Pemberton (#10. gracefulcardmakers). Not sure how everyone in this hop is doing it. Below is the line up. Hope everyone is having a lot of fun!:

1. Host- Zoe Crafty X. http://craftyx.blogspot.com
2. Kari Sanchez.  http://purplefuntastickcreations.blogspot.com/
3. Nancy Morin  http://www.scrappingoutofcontrol.blogspot.com
4. Erin Nagy http://www.pagesofpictures.com
5. Linn Thompson Cloninger. http://www.linnsscrapshack.blogspot.com
6. Gina Torres - http://californiascrappin-gcinderella21.blogspot.com/
7. Gill McCall - http://creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/  
8. jackie-http://jackrabbitscrappin.blogspot.com/
9. Freda Thomas http://scraparama.blogspot.com/
10. Cherie Pemberton http://www.gracefulcardmakers.blogspot.com/
11. Jamie Lindstrom (Scrapbookingprincesjamie)- http://www.myamusinglife.blogspot.com
12. Monica Edwards (scrap2treasure) http://www.scraps2treasure.blogspot.com
13. Alina Coronado (Addicted to Scrapping) http://neverstopscrapping.blogspot.com
14. Melissa Langford Mueller (A Creative Journey) http://acreativejourneywithmelissa.blogspot.com/
15. Jenny http://jennyplace26.blogspot.com/
16. Rhonda http://craftingwithblue.blogspot.com

 

It's BLOG HOP time!!!!

Welcome to my blog and the Scrappers Delight Summer Blog HOP. We are having a hop June 24 at 9am CST - July 8 at 9pm CST. YIPEE!


You should have arrived here from Carrie's Blog (http://paperglitterstamps.blogspot.com). If so you are on the right path. If not please click on the link http://scrapersdelight.blogspot.com/  to start at the beginning as we'd hate you to miss out any letters.  

I hope you are inspired by my project and if you are here on my page that must mean you are enjoying the blog hop since I am last on the list, lol! 

When you are ready please hop return back to the Scrappers Delight blog (http://scrapersdelight.blogspot.com/) to put in your answers to the question for the hop, and thanks for playing along with us! You can also see on that blog pics of the blog candy you could win as well as the game details.

Please follow my blog as I will personally be having some really cool stuff coming up after I'm wrapped up with all these blog hops!!

 

Below is my summer layout! Tell me what you think!: 

For the curly waves I used An Ocean of Words; the giant wave: Dude; fun: Alphalicious; palm tree and sun: Create-a-critter; surfer boy: one of my sizzix dies; the beach: 220 sand paper. My photo did not copy well :-(. And I have to find another photo for the other frame. So many photos, not enough time!

Here is my letter; you will need it for the game: 

Again, when you are ready, please hop return back to the Scrappers Delight blog (http://scrapersdelight.blogspot.com/) to put in your answers to the question for the hop, and thanks for playing along with us! You can also see on that blog pics of the blog candy you could win as well as the game details.

Baby Blues cartoon today

I love the Baby Blues cartoon strip! Zits had a scrapbooking related cartoon a while ago. This one is pretty funny. Hammie had been digging around in the backyard and cut through the cable. Yesterday Darryl thought he would look online for a how-to tutorial on how to splice your cable. Here is today's:

new look! (sort of)

As some of you can see I've been giving my blog a little facelift! I am still working on it and the original website, www.scraparama.com, will eventually be pointed toward the blog. It's less work for me! The website URL is great for attracting more traffic on the internet, but I don't need to spend my time maintaining both a website and a blog; not when I have tabs that customers, potential students, and looky loos, can click on.

My next step is to change the color of the tabs so they match the color scheme of the blog. I also need to center the tab bar. Then I'll get to work on the shopping section of my website. It's very tedious work! The shopping cart software wants me to enter in every single detail for every single item and product I carry! PHEW! But once it's done, it's done! Pretty soon all you'll have to do is click on the shopping tab and shop to your heart's delight!

Another reason why I decided to build my website this way (at least for now; who knows if I'll later change my mind, lol) is so companies I deal with and buy from, can get an idea of how many followers are on this blog. You may not necessarily be customers of mine, and I'm not going to insist on it, but it's the same old numbers game. I can also make sure that customers are visiting the blog, regardless if they follow, so they can stay updated on what's going on, and maybe get inspired by some of the projects and layouts I post here.

OK! back to creating!

Freda

Friendship Blog Hop! coming soon!

Just some FYI! there is a blog hop coming soon! We LOVE blog hops! So keep watching this blog for more info!

Day 54

Yup! another frame! I really like how this one came out. The crackle paint (fired brick) crackled so much better than the tarnished brass did; just as well as rock candy crackles. I stamped the keys using a stamp by Hero Arts and Staz-on ink. There is so much you can do with your scrapbooking supplies that doesn't necessarily have to be scrapbooking. But don't worry, I'm getting back to that soon. Just been on a project kick lately:

Day 53

This is the last project of the night. I found this great looking curio cabinet at HL for DH's man cave. The Tim Holtz paper came from there too (lost and found)! After adhering the paper to the wood with MP, I waited for it to dry, than sanded down the sides and corners. Then I lightly sanded the top of the paper to distress it a little bit and give it a faded look. If I sanded too much, or too hard, then the paper tore. But was ok. It added to the character. No sealer of any kind! I was afraid a sealer, even matted, would take away from the look I was going after.

I do not have the before and after pics of the drawers but I do for the sides of this project. It's amazing what a little bit of paper can do! At first DH was against paper on the sides; he was afraid it would take from the drawers. So I put the 3 sheets of paper around it without adhering it and he could tell right away how it changed the look for the best; that's when he gave it a thumbs up. He even took pride in selecting the paper he wanted on the sides. He's so proud of it! Now he has something to put all his little do-dad thingies in that are currently in his closet. And he calls me a pack rat!

Before:

After:

 Straight on:

Day 52

I've been trying to think of ways to decorate my home and one thing I noticed in a friend's house was how she made use of the letter "W" since her last name begins with a "W". So I decided I would do the same with the letter "T". I spent maybe $10 between HL and Ms getting various different letter "T's". This first one, I painted the Mona Lisa gold leaf flakes on it. It was very simple and creates a dramatic effect. Can't wait to put it on the wall! I have maybe 4 more "T's" to paint up in different ways, one I'm going to use my embossing powder, and another that will involve 12x12 paper!All these T's will be on the wall along side the staircase going upstairs.

Day 51 - another frame

This is a frame I made for my niece. She's REALLY big on the Fleur de lis (lives in Louisiana).Yes, this is another M's $1 wood frame. I painted it with the Tim Holtz antique bronze crackle paint and then stamped with a variety of Fleur de Lis stamps (Staz-on). After I finished, I realized suddenly that antique bronze was the perfect color since it is the color of the Saints in New Orleans. As an after thought, I didn't pay much attention to the direction of the Fleur de Lis; so that means she hopefully has a photo going vertical!

Day 50 - who wants to see some giant rhinestones?

I have all 60 three-inch rhinestones molded! Now all I need to do is polish them. I have - through trial and error - discovered that I need to hand polish them from 600, 800, and 1000 grit paper (at least) before I use the dremel. Even then, I'm having better luck hand polishing at 1500 and 2000 grit paper, and then a nail buff -  rather than using the dremel. Maybe it's my inexperience using a dremel, dunno, but it's working out better for me.

Below is a photo of about 56 of the rhinestones that I molded; the other 4 were in my scraproom. Up close are some of the rhinestone next to a water bottle for comparison. The rhinestones that are upside down still need to be polished. The rhinestones that are facing up have been polished at 600 and 800 grit; that's why they're still cloudy. Polishing is necessary to get rid of the cloudiness that occurs while the resin and catalyst sets; the catalyst generates moisture which gets trapped in the mold; it also makes the surface rough. If I don't use catalyst then it takes forever for the resin to set:

Scraproom update

Here are photos of the new ribbon rack DH is building for me. We're only in the painting stages but I'm so excited I just had to share! I got the idea from someone else's blog (forgot who's). But I like it MUCH better than putting the rolls of ribbon on a dowel stick; not all ribbon rolls have a hole large enough to fit on the dowel; the dowels are not strong enough to support the weight of the ribbon rolls; and when I need a role (the whole role) that's in the middle of the dowel I have to remove all the others to get to it. It doesn't matter so much if I need only a few inches, just roll off what I need).

Anyway, DH is building a series of shelves that are in a frame for support. The frame is 4 inches but the shelves are 3.5. Then there will be a molding strip in front of the shelf which acts like a gutter. The original instructions said 3 and 4 inches; however, the molding strip I chose wasn't that thick; and I wanted a wider shelf for the wider rolls of ribbon I occasional get. I figure I can put a dowel stick behind the smaller rolls so they aren't moving around on the shelf; so they stay in place. We did a test drive on one shelf and it works. And when it's all finished we're going to put crown molding on the top so the ribbon rack doesn't just stop suddenly; don't know if that is on the original; can't find the pic that I saved. This ribbon rack is floor to ceiling (I have a LOT of ribbon). However, there is a chair rail on the wall that gets in the way; so we have to make 4 parts to this ribbon rack: left and right, ceiling to chair rail and, left and right chair rail to floor. This description will make much more sense when we have the finished product installed.

Below are the pieces that still need to be painted. The molding strip also still needs to be painted.

Day 49 - another frame

Ok, my last entry showed a couple of picture frames I made for  DH's man-cave. As some of you might recall, he would not let me put flowers and other embellies on one of the frames. So back to Ms I went to get another $1 wood frame (and some glitter, and ribbon) to make the frame all over again, the way I envisioned it.

The ribbon is from Ms; I dyed it using the Tim Holtz antique linen distress ink. Spread the ink pad on a splat mat, spritz with water, and let the ribbon soak up the dye. Repeat as necessary. If I had the new alcohol inks that would have made my life easier; so would have an appropriate color of Glimmer Mist; but I don't have either. So I dyed it this way. 


I used Beacon's 3 in 1 glue to adhere the ribbon around the edge. The pearls and flowers are Prima.

Doesn't it look so much nicer than DH's frame? I showed him my finished look, hoping to persuade him to accept the one with the embellies and flowers. He liked my new one, BUT, not only did I get a no, I got a HELL NO! Sigh...

Day 48 - picture frames

DH is no fun! I made these picture frames ($1 at Ms) and he would not let me dress up the dictionary print one with Prima flowers, lace, and pearl flourish embellishments. In fact, he forbade it! He is NO fun! That's because I made them for his man cave and he didn't want them all femmie up; the only embellies he wants on them is if it's golf related. Hmm...the script one is fine all by itself but I think I might use one of my many font carts or the All Sports cart to come up with something golf related for the dictionary print one.I also have a Stampabilities golf bag die cut and embossing.

On the dictionary print I tore out a few pages from an old dictionary (it's 25 years old!). The paper edges are already yellowed from age but after tearing with a ruler I decided to yellow it up some more with my Antique Linen distress ink. Then I went over the edges with my Walnut Stain (love that color!). Applied some MP; allow to dry. Then sand paper the edges and ink with more Walnut Stain. Spray with an acrylic sealer.

On the script frame I painted it first with Americana Buttermilk acrylic paint; allow to dry. Then I painted over that in streaks with Folk Art Cardinal Red acrylic paint (wanted a distress look on that one too); allow to dry. I have several script stamps. Stamped Stazon (black) on my stamp and carefully applied to the from; it took 4 pressings (it's a large stamp). Allow to dry. Apply acrylic sealer.

Oh, and since these frames do not come with a glass piece or plastic piece for the opening, I cut one out from the bubble packs to my cricut carts. 

Don't they look great? (but I really want to put embellies on the dictionary print!) All this from a $1 wood frame from Ms! Super cheap to make and comes out great looking.

Day 47 - Faux Drawers

Today I finished up a project idea I got some time ago: faux drawers. It hangs like a picture but they look like drawers. DH cut out in plywood 3 pieces of wood that measure 7x14 inches and painted each one white for me. While he was doing that, I cut out on my E the harlequin pattern (George) and the flourish hearts (Ornamental Iron). I needed to use CDS to make everything weld together, as well as stretch out the image from OI so it spanned 14 inches. For the polka dots, I used a 1/2 inch hole punch. Everything was cut out on vinyl.

Next, I used Triple Thick Sealer on it. This took several coats. DH had already cut a hole in the back where the Tim Holtz Curio Knobs will go; they screw in from behind. So it was a partial indentation in the back, enough to fit the screw - since the plywood is 1/2 inch thick, and then a teeny tiny hole drilled. I pushed the screw through and attached the Curio Knobs.

Boy do I wish they are real drawers!

Ok, DH is working on a new and improved ribbon rack for me. I am molding the last 12 of the giant rhinestones for my room (molded 60 total). Tomorrow we're going to Home Depot to buy a dremel for me to use so it will make the polishing job on the rhinestones easier. I figured I will be finishing up on the rhinestones as he is finishing up on the ribbon rack. I have my caulking gun and mirror mastic ready for adhering the rhinestones to the room border. Yes, there WILL be a video tour when it's all ready. We're getting there!

Hey! I just noticed I hit 150 followers. Maybe it's time for blog candy?!?!?!?! Whaddya think?

Actually, I've finished painting my old kitchen table and chairs but I'll save that photo and entry for another day; maybe tomorrow... I'm afraid to take that pic only because I'm afraid it will show too much of the room before the video tour. We'll see...

Freda