Starburst Studio

Sweet Baby Boy Cards

I'm still on a baby boy kick using the adorable Echo Park Bundle of Joy line. I especially LOVE the color combo!  And the die-cuts that are included in the scrapbook kit make card making so easy. These only took about five minutes each. I love whipping up cute and simple cards! The strip of whales is from a piece of patterned paper that I cut down and the sentiments are stickers in the kit. A decorative brad finishes off the card.  This one is even easier! Just a sentiment sticker attached to patterned paper and adhered to the card base and then a few die-cuts.   This sweet little owl is my fave! I mixed a few different pattern papers and kept the layout very simple so the brown chevron would really stand out. Love it! Thanks for stopping by!

Baby Boy Frame on a Canvas

I've got another project today using the Echo Park Bundle of Joy baby boy line. This time it's a small wooden frame that I adhered to a 12x12 canvas. I love how it turned out!  (This is a store sample for Craft Warehouse, you can read more about that here.)

I started by covering the canvas in brown chevron paper using Mod Podge and then I added the green patterened paper on top of that. The wooden frame was also covered with patterned paper/Mod Podge and the edges were painted white to match and then glued down to the canvas using E6000. I decorated the rest of it using the die cuts/stickers/brads that are in the line. Wouldn't this be SO cute hanging in a baby boys room? I don't normally add "bling" to boy projects but I thought these blue rhinestones by Queen and Co. fit really well. What do you think? Isn't this line adorable? LOVE the mix of patterns and colors!

Baby Frame Shadowbox

I absolutely LOVE this baby boy line, Bundle of Joy from Echo Park.  It comes with paper, die cuts, stickers, etc. The images and color scheme are completely adorable and it was so fun creating with it.  I'm also obsessed with these unfinished wood frame/shadow box thingies from Craft Warehouse. I've made several for the store and they're one my favorite items to work with. The fun thing is, they're just slightly smaller than 12x12 so it's just like making a scrapbook page but with a cool frame around it. The monograme letters are from Making Memories and are adhered to the front of the box. Funny story - this is actually a picture of my son Matti, but I only had one "t" so I changed it to Max, lol! I figured since it was going up at the store, no one would know and it wouldn't matter. I love the dimension of adding the name in front.  (This is a store sample for Craft Warehouse, you can read more about that here.) Hope you like this little peek at one of the many projects I've made lately. Thank you for stopping by! I appreciate it so much! 

I'm baaack!!

Well, as you probably (hopefully) noticed, I took a little blogging break for a few months. But I have a good excuse! At the beginning of February, I started working part time from home for Craft Warehouse in Gresham. I am now making samples for the store displays. It's pretty much the most perfect job for me and I am THRILLED! But, with that and homeschooling my boys, plus just being a normal busy mom/wife, I haven't been able to make time for blogging. However, my goal is starting working on the blog more and start posting some of the projects I've been making. (I'm averaging about 10-15 projects a week between scrapbook pages, cards, home decor, etc. so you'd think I'd have tons to share.) Thank you for sticking around and I hope you stop by again soon! 

DIY Black and White Bracelets: From a Beaded Necklace to a Bracelet

Hi there! I'm so glad you've stopped by! Today I'm showing you the third bracelet in my DIY black and white accessories -  a trio of bracelets that I made from two necklaces. These are SO easy! (You can see the Chevron cuff here and the striped on here.)

Supplies - Beaded necklaces* and elastic jewelry cord (I used 0.5mm), that's it! All you have to do is simply cut the necklace thread and pull off the beads. (Aren't they pretty?) :)Then thread them onto the elastic, alternating black and white beads. I ended up using 13 of each color but the amount will depend on how big you want the bracelet to be.  Once the bracelet is the length that you want, trim the elastic cord but leave plenty of length to easily tie it in several knots. The final step is to add a drop of super glue to the knot to really secure it. Let it dry and then trim the cord the rest of the way.  I don't really wear "dainty" jewelry so I made three of these to wear at once to make it more substantial. I think they'd be cute layered with other colored bracelets like red or mustard, too! I hope you've enjoyed this series of black and white accessories! Are you going to try making any of them? :)

*Repurposing old necklaces is a great way to make custom jewelry while not spending a ton of money. I find them all the time at second hand stores and yard sales and they are almost always WAY cheaper than buying a string of beads at the craft store. Next time you're out thrifting, keep your eye out for a necklace that might not be perfect as it is, but could be remade into something else - like a cute bracelet!  

DIY Black and White Bracelets: Stripes

Today is the second day of my series of DIY black and white accessories and I'll be showing you how to create the super cute striped cuff. (Be sure to check out yesterday's post - the Chevron cuff!)

Supplies - Cuff bracelet, black acrylic paint, "low tack" tape (like painers tape, etc. I used washi because it was the width I wanted), high gloss glaze (Mod Podge is fine, but all I had was matte so I used this Martha gloss glaze instead), small paint brush.  Start by adding a piece of tape across your cuff (the width of the tape will determine the width of the stripes), be sure to press down the edges of tape to it is as smooth as possible. Next, add a second piece of tape but don't smooth it out, just lightly put it on. Add a third piece of tape directly next to the second piece and smooth it out. Then pull up and remove the second piece, leaving an opening to creat the stripe. Follow this process all the way around the cuff to create evenly spaced stripes.  Once all the tape is on, go back one more time and use your fingernail to really press down all the edges. (I didn't do a great job of this and I'll show you what happened.) Then take a small paint brush and paint on a layer of black acrylic paint. Pay careful attention to the top and bottom edge and try to keep it as straight as possible.  Add as many coats as it takes to get a solid color (mine took two.) Now, before the paint is completely dry on the last coat, peel off the tape. This will create a more even line and will lower the risk of the paint sticking to the tape and peeling off.  As you can see in the next photo, some of the paint leaked under the tape because I didn't do very good job at smoothing it down.  To fix it, I used a thumbtack and just scratched the paint off.  Ta-da!! So pretty! Once the paint has completey dried, the final step is to add a layer of glaze, just like on the Chevron cuff.  Enjoy your new, one-of-a-kind cuff! Check back tomorrow to see how I turned two necklaces into the beaded bracelets!  

DIY Black and White Bracelets: Chevron

Black and white is supposed to be one of the hottest trends for Spring so I thought it would be fun to dress up some of my old jewelry and give it a fresh take. I'll be sharing a quick tutorial over the next 3 days to show you how I made each one. 

I'm starting today with my favorite of the bunch - the Chevron cuff! This started out as a $1 plain white plastic cuff from Michael's and guess what I used to cover it? Washi tape! I was scrounging around my craft room looking for anything black/white and found this roll of tape and thought, I bet that will work! And guess what? It does! Here's how I did it.

Supplies - Cuff bracelet, washi tape, high gloss glaze (Mod Podge is fine, but all I had was matte so I used this Martha gloss glaze instead), small paint brush. Start by tearing off a length of tape that is about double the width of your cuff (you can probably just eyeball it.) Pull it taut and carefully lay it across the bracelet. Now take your time to press it down, paying careful attention to get out as many creases/bubbles as possible. Depending on the shape of your bracelet, you may not be able to get it completely flat but do the best you can. (The gloss glaze will cover up most imperfections at the end.) After you've smoothed out the front, wrap it around into the inside and line it up as neatly as possible then press it down firmly. I didn't do a great job at this - ha!Next, tear off another piece and carefully line it up with the first piece, smoothing it out as needed. This is very important. It makes a huge difference in the look of the finished cuff if the pieces of washi tape are lined up carefully and smoothed out as much as possible.  Continue adding tape all the way around until you reach the end. Do your best to not overlap the pieces, but you might have to on the last piece, depending on the spacing. Here's the fully wrapped bracelet. As you can see, it's not perfect but the next step is to add the glaze which helps detract the eye from any imperfections. 
I added 3 layers of glaze, letting each one dry for a few hours between. And just a tip, a little of this stuff went a LONG way! When I first added it, it dripped off the side of the cuff and started to pool at the bottom so I had to keep wiping it off to even it out. The next two layers I only used a few drops for the whole thing.

Better, right? It's even cuter in person. :)Check back tomorrow and I'll show you how I made the striped cuff. :) 

A Little Tipsy - There are literally HUNDREDS of different styles of washi tape so a few things to keep in mind if you try this out -
~Be aware of which way the print will go on the bracelet. You want to make sure it will look good going "up and down" as well as side-by-side.
~Not all washi tape is created equal! For instance, Smash tape works great on paper but did not stick to the cuff and wouldn't work at all. Some are stretchier than others as well.
~If you start with a cuff in a color other than white, you might have to paint it since some washi tape is slightly sheer. 

Simple Thank You Card

I had so much fun making this card! I haven't stamped in months and months (a couple of years??) so it was great to pull out my supplies and get to work on this simple thank you card. I used to work for A Muse Studio (formerly A Muse Artstamps) as a Certified Instructor so I have a HUGE amount of stuff that I've accumulated.  The only thing new was the doily (from the dollar section at Target.) Cute and simple - my favorite!
Pink notecard, thank you stamp, adhesive pearls - A Muse Studio
Doily - Target
Gray ink - Memento
Double sided tape - American Crafts
White glitter - Stampendous
Butterfly punch - Martha Stewart
Baker's twine - Twinery 

Thursday Thrifties: Board Game Edition

I'm so excited by this week's thrifting finds! One of our family goals for 2013 is to play more games together (NOT video games!) so we headed to Target to check out their board games and I was really shocked by how expensive they were! In the past, we've always gotten our games on Black Friday when they're super discounted so I wasn't prepared for how much they cost full price. My hubby and I chatted about it and he decided to check out a couple of Goodwills* to see if we could find anything good for less cost. And yes he did! I'm actually amazed at what he found! Check it out! (Slamwich, 221 B Baker Street, Dominion, Enchanted Forest, Clue: Secrets and Spies)

Dominion, Clue and Slamwich were all $3.99 and brand new while Baker Street and Enchanted Forest were only $2.99 and barely used. Everything has all the pieces** and we've had a blast playing them!  I'm especially loving Enchanted Forest. Did you play it as a kid? My husband and best-friend did but I've never heard of it before.

I'll be sending him out again today to check again for any "new" games, can't wait to see what he finds! Have you done any thrifting this week? 

*Now is the perfect time to check out the Goodwills for games/toys! Since everyone has new stuff to play with from Christmas, they're getting rid of the "old" stuff.
**Goodwills do NOT check/count game pieces so buy at your own risk. If you have time, count the pieces while you're still there, otherwise you can do it when you get home but you can't return it to get your money back, only for a store credit. 

Thursday Thrifties: DIY Holiday Apothecary Jars

I needed quick, easy and cheap Christmas decorations and I have literally hundreds of bright colored ornament balls so I thought I would try making my own Apothocary type jars to display them in. Now, I'm sure you've seen this before as it is not my original idea at all. But I thought I would share my version, just in case it inspires your to go out and try your own!  I headed to the Goodwill and actually found everything I needed to make 6 of these jars (only three are pictured.) The jars ranged in price from $1.99-$3.99 and the bases were all $1.99 so they cost about $4-$6 each. MUCH cheaper than anything you could buy in a store! Plus they're totally unique, no two are alike!  All you have to do is find jars with a lid and some sort of base* (these are candle holders) and glue them together using a strong adhesive. I use E6000 but am on the hunt for a replacement because it is pretty toxic and I have to work with the door open.  Once they're cured for 24 hours, fill them with whatever suits your fancy! I used fake snow and bright colored ornament balls. Here are a few more ideas - 

~Christmas candy
~Pinecones and red ornament-balls
~Curled Christmas ribbon
~Tinsel
~You could even cover little styrofoam balls in glitter and fill them with "snowballs"

There are so many ideas! That's why I love this little project, it can fit just about any style of home. 

*When looking for a base, try flipping things upside down (that's what I did for these ones.) They almost always look cuter that way.