MFT Creative Challenge - Frame it!

Hello stampin' friends! Welcome to our June Creative Challenge! Our Design Team Creative Challenge is a monthly feature, where the design team is challenged to explore their creative side using a specific theme, product or technique. This month, we've been asked to Frame It! Be sure to check the MFT Blog for a list of all the designers who have put their MFT stamps and/or Die-namics dies to work to create a framed piece of art for you.

 

  

So, my friend and co-worker, Anna, asked me to make a framed piece of wall art for her daughter, Lauren, to hang in her bedroom. I picked up this really nice shadowbox frame at HomeSense for just $20 and the smaller 4X6 frame from Micheals for $7. Anna and I discussed the colour pallet she wanted so that the project would coordinate with Lauren's room. I thought this MME Miss Caroline, Fiddlesticks would go perfectly and then we picked 3 PI girls for the shadowbox framed wall art piece to represent some fun things that Lauren loves to do, like, playing with bubbles, running through the sprinkler and playing with a pinwheel! Anna also, asked if I could add some butterflies to the frame too! 

First, I wanted to create a lacy border around the interior of the frame. I found that I was able to tuck a Open Scallop Border Die-namics under the edge of the frame. So I cut approx. 12 Open Scallop Borders from cream cardstock and added an adhesive strip of Scor-Tape to the back. I roughly measured them out, determining where I could use a full 6 " border and strategically placing where the cut border pieces would go so that the scallop pattern was left intact. I also made sure that where the borders met in the corners there was a clean looking edge, almost a mitered edge. Once I had everything laid out, I removed the adhesive backing and adhered the borders all the way around the inside of the frame.

Then, I made 3, 6x6 panels to "house" my little PI girls so they weren't just floating around in the large frame and it would give me a base to later arrange my floral Die-namics and other embellishments. I used a ton of Die-namics on this project to decorate so be patient with me as I list them all, :) I'm loving my Dainty Doily Die-namics, so, I used the Dainty Lace Border Die-namics, Dainty Doily Oval Die-namics and the larger of the 2 doilies from Dainty Doily DUO Die-namics. My new beloved, Hibiscus flower Die-namics and the fabulous leaf that comes with, sure got a work out for this project, as did the gorgeous Botanical Beauty Die-namics. I cut several Rolled Flowers from Puff Cloud White, My Favorite Felt.  To embellish I used some velvet ribbon in pink, purple and yellow from my stash and purple bling sprinkled here and there.

After I made the large shadowbox project, I was on such a roll, that I made this small coordinating frame to be placed on Lauren's bedside table. I used MFT Pure Innocence Make a Splash, one of my all time favorite PI girls and coloured her with Copics and paper pieced her swimsuit. On the small frame you can see the Dainty Lace Border Die-namics and the Oval Dainty Doily, and I used the small Dainty Doily from the Doily Circles Die-namics, layered with the Perfect Petal Die-namics flowers and the Botanical Beauty Die-namics.  I also used the Mini Scallop Edge Die-namics. The little spray of flowers was added to the outside of the frame and adhered with my glue gun.  A sentiment from the Make a Splash set was stamped and cut with the Fishtail Flags STAX Die-namics, then I flipped the die cut peice around and re-cut it so the Fishtail is on both ends, then inked with Milled  Lavender Distress ink. I also used the Photo Corner Die-nmaics too, one on each of the panels.

Here are some detail shots of the Shadowbox frame. On the middle panel I cut a "Polaroid" frame with my Square STAX, like I saw on Joanne's card here. I cut a larger square from black cardstock and adhered it under the white frame. I think it really looks like a "Polaroid" too. Anna can add a pic of Lauren in this spot and I indicated such by stamping out the word "PHOTO" with the Wendy Alpha Stamp set on white card cut from the Ribbon die from the First Place Award Ribbon Die-namics. It is just lightly adhered with re-positionable adhesive so that it can be easily removed. I also cut several Fishtail Flags from various pattern papers and positioned them by the 3 panels. This also functioned as an "anchor" or "home" for adding in Die-namics flowers and embellishments.

I used the By The Letters, Uppercase Die-namics cut from corrugated card to spell out Lauren's name. On this panel I have used the Pure Innocence, Blowing Bubbles, I coloured her with my Copics and paper pieced her out-fit. I stamped one of the sentiments from the Blowing Bubbles set on white card cut with the new Traditional Tag STAX Die-namics and inked with Milled Lavender Distress ink and tucked it under a flowers made with the Flower Trio & Leaf Die-namics. I think if you visit me regularly you will know that I MUST ink all the edges of my papers...it is actually a bit of problem,lol....hence the name of my blog, so I thought I should mention that the papers, Die-namics die-cuts are inked with Tea Dye Distress ink.

I coloured the Pure Innocence, Sprinkler Girl with my Copics and Primacolour Pencils, then paper pieced her swimsuit. I cut the image out with my Oval STAX Die-namics and inked with Tumbled Glass Distress ink. It is matted on the Corrugated card cut with the Oval Dainty Doily. I used the Branch with Leaves Die-namics to fill in a quiet spot in the top corner of the frame by the Sprinkler Girl. I also added a sentiment from the PI Make a Splash Stamp set, stamped on white card cut with the smaller ribbon die from the First Place Award Ribbon Die-namics and inked with Milled Lavender Distress ink.

A little tip, many of the gorgeous Die-namics flowers cut and emboss, like the gorgeous new Hibiscus Die-namics. I brushed over the embossed line with my T0 and T1 Coipc Marker to just add a little more definition to the embossed detail. I also inked the edges with Tea Dye Distress ink. 

Here is the sweet, Pure Innocence, PI and the Pinwheel set. I cut a few Butterflies with my Butterflies Die-namics and the smallest butterfly from the Notched Tag Die-namics set, from chocolate cork material and added some purple gems to them.

I also added another sentiment from the PI and the Pinwheel stamp set...stamped on white card cut with the large ribbon Die from the First Place Award Ribbon Die-namics.

Well, thanks SO much for stopping by and for sticking in to the end of my project post for this month's Creative Challenge - Frame it! I had a lot of FUN making this frame and I hope Anna and Lauren like it! Now, skip on over to Kim's blog for all the links to MFT Designers who have taken up the Creative Challenge this month!

Happy Stampin'!
Hugs,




SUPPLIES:

The Aftermath....enter "Tara's Craft Nook" at your own risk!!!!

Well, I thought I would share some pics of my very tiny and very messy craft room with you this evening! Well, It is so tiny it really doesn't qualify as a "room", more like, a little nook, cubby or closet. There is only enough room in there for one person, moi, and sometimes, my daughter, Hannah. She squeezes in when she wants to colour stamped images with me or make cards.

When we decided to finish the basement and make a rec room down there. Hubby wanted a little powder room (bathroom) down there too but I talked him into making a wee craft room for me.


My Dad is a carpenter so he made my counter and built-in storage underneath my work surface. The work surface is a 6 ft length of counter top from the Home Depot. Even though you can see the chair in the pic I usually stand, so, my Dad made the counter a little higher so that I can work comfortably standing and or sitting.

I have two metal message boards above my work surface that I stick up all kinds of things on it. They are looking rather messy right now!!! Sometimes, I colour an image or try something out that doesn't make it to a card but I can't bare to throw it out, so, I stick on the board. I also, put up pics of the kids and sketches that I print to follow along with for various challenge.

I have large rub-on words that go around like a border at the top of the room that say imagine, design, create, enjoy, inspire!

At both ends of the room, there's cabinets that we bought at Home Depot. They fit into a recessed area so they don't' take up too much room. It's almost like they are built -in cabinets.

This is my stash in the cabinet to my left!!!

Can you see my radio under the pile of paper,lol?! I can't work without my tunes!!! I always pile papers and stash on top of the radio.

This is my stash in the cabinet to my right.



This is the mess I have created making all my Christmas cards for the last several weeks. You can also see the storage that I have under my work surface. I have a permanent home for my crop luggage and a little area that I keep my QK bag with my QK binders in it but since I have been working on so many cards everything has just been strewn all over the place!!!


My 4 QK binders and my Scor-pal!


This is my fabulous new stamp storage called ScrapOnizer. I love, love, love this system for storing my stamps. I had my EZ mount stamps in my old Paper/Sticker Binder and they would slide out of the little pockets every time I turned the page looking for a stamp.I was so worried that I was going to lose a stamp that I had to find a better solution! When I saw this system at my LLS I knew it was perfect!

This is soooo much better!!! The cases are clear, so, I can see what I want before opening the case. The cases and the holders are "alterable" so, if you want to pretty them up, you can!!!! I think I may do that over the Christmas holidays!!!

I definitely need several more of theses fabulous sets!!! I just watched the video on the ScrapOnizer website and they also have 12X12 sets to organize and plan your scrapbooking layouts and cool mini-containers that fit into the cases to hold brads, eyelets, buttons, charms and other little do-dads. I think this system is the stampers dream storage and I especially love that it doesn't take up a lot of space which is perfect for me as I'm working in such tight quarters with limited storage space.

More FABULOUS ScrapOnizers!!!!

And when I open the door of my little craft nook this is what I see!!! Now, most of the time the kids make me keep my door closed cuz I am usually rockin' out to my tunes, he he he! But once in a while I open the door and "hang" with everyone watching TV or a movie.

Now, over the Christmas break, I plan to do some serious cleaning and organizing of my craft nook. It's a little embarrassing to see the state it is in now!!!!

I talked with hubby and told him I need another one of the end cabinets from Home Depot and suggested that we could put it in the rec room just outside the door of my nook. He agreed to it...yay!!! I hope to do that very soon!!!!

Well there is a little tour of my craft nook...thanks for stopping by and having a wee look!!!!