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Happy Dance Time!

Posted on December 21, 2012 by apieceoflifespie

Samantha Walker

So last night I was standing in line at my local Trader Joe’s and I checked my Facebook and saw a “congratulations” on my timeline!  It was my time to check out so I had to wait to get home to see what that was all about and I that is when I found out I am a new proud member for the Samantha Walker 2013 Guest Designer Team!

I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and start on some fun projects under the banner of Samantha Walker!

Thanks for sharing a piece of “allowing me to do a little happy dance” pie with me!

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Hot Coco Warms the Heart…

Posted on December 19, 2012 by apieceoflifespie

Cococones

Oh my is it already Wednesday?  I can’t believe how fast this week is flying by and it does not help that I spent half of today in Dr. offices thanks to the whole family having a strep epidemic hit us and a unexpected foreign object (one of my flower crafting eyelets) in my 4 year old’s ear.  I guess she found it on the floor in my craft room and tried to attach it to her ear like an earring and it, “fell into my ear and disappeared”.  Thankfully it was removed safety and we are glad we paid the doc a visit for our strep epidemic or we would have never knew about her ear without the routine check for symptoms.

Now onto my fun project using Globecraft and Piccolo products and making my annual coco cones!  I used this tutorial from My Pink Stamper as my base for the coco cones, but I added dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chip and a mixture of both peppermint and regular mini marshmallows.

For my tags, I recycled a metal garland I had by striping down the snowmen form it.  I then stamped an image on the snowmen with Close to My Heart – Everyday Life stamp set and the ink I used is My Pink Stamper’s Darkest Night.

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Once stamp has set and dried I then took Piccolo Turquoise 3-D Enamel Gel and applied it to the stamped stripes.  Set aside to set and dry.   For the candy cane striped snowman, I used Piccolo Napthol Red 3-D Enamel Gel and Titanium White 3-D Enamel Gel.  Make sure you let the first color (napthol red) set up first and then add the second color (titanium white).  This will limit any color running.

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For this snowman, I decided to emboss it.  I used a stamp from the same stamp set from Close to My Heat I used above.  Since chevron strips are really popular right now, I thought making a hip snowman was in order.  Using Enamel Powder Adhesive I ran it over the stamp and stamped the metal. I then dusted the snowman with Piccolo Siam Silver Enamel Powder and shook off the excess.  I then set it with a heat gun.

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There you have it.  Such an easy way to add some holiday festive cheer to some coco goodness.  I am also going to use some of these snowmen as gift tags for my Christmas gifts!   Take a moment and head over to Globecraft and Piccolo’s blog and check out my first product tip of the day!

Cococones

Thanks for sharing a piece of  “crafting eyelets do not make good earrings for a 4 year old” pie with me.

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A Fun and Festive Yarn Wreath using Globecraft & Piccolo Products!

Posted on December 17, 2012 by apieceoflifespie

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Today is my first blog post as a Globecraft and Piccolo design team member!  I have this post and a post up over on the Globecraft and Piccolo blog happening today!  I sure have been a very busy girl, but I have had a blast working with these product lines!  Their products for embossing and glittering are out of the world amazing!  I am serious!  I have worked with my fair share of product in this arena and I quit using a lot of it, because I thought it was me not being able to master technique or the product.  Well I am thrilled to say it is NOT me!

There is a  total difference  in efficiency, hardly any waste, goes on even, sets amazingly well.  AND the Glitter! Oh my goodness I have never seen anything like it and does it really cling to their glaze/adhesive, called Glastique Matte.

So here is what I had cookin’ with some of these amazing products . . . yes another yarn wreath!  OK, I must admit I love making these and this will probably not be the last one you will see.

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Materials Needed:

  • G&P Enamel/Embossing Powder Adhesive
  • G&P Glastique Matte Powder
  • G&P Napthol Red 3D Enamel Gell
  • G&P Pure Sparkle Silver Glitter
  • G&P Siam Silver Embossing Powder
  • 14 inch foam ring/wreath – Michael’s
  • Yarn – Michael’s
  • Straight Pins – Jo-Anns
  • Metal snowflakes – recycled Christmas garland
  • Ribbon – Celebrate it (both kinds) – Michael’s
  • Bling  -Michael’s
  • Letter – Michael’s
  • Hot glue gun

Making the Wreath:

How I made the wreath was very simple . . . almost relaxing.  What you do is get a foam ring from your local craft store. This one happens to be 14 inches in size.  I picked up some “woolly yarn” and some straight pins as well.

Tie a knot at the end of the yarn and push a pin through the knot on the backside of the wreath.  Begin  to wrap the yarn over and around the wreath covering the tail of the yarn.  When ending one color and going on to the next, tie a knot on the ending color and push a pin through it to secure on the backside of the wreath towards the middle.  Then start the steps over with the new color.

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Pretty simple huh?   This wreath took about an hour and a half to wrap, but I was watching TV, so my focus was not solely on the wreath.

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Making the Snowflake Embellishments:

These are metal snowflakes I pulled off of an old garland, you could use paper, chipboard, wood…etc.  Applying  Glastique Matte cover the embellishment and dust with Piccolo Pure Sparkle Glitter  and shake off the excess.  Allow to set and dry and repeat on opposite side.

PicMonkey Collage2

Making Letter Embellishment: 

Using a MDF letter found at a local craft store, apply Piccolo Enamel/Embossing Powder Adhesive to the outer edges of the letter with a small brush or Q-tip.  Dust outer edges with Piccolo Siam Silver Enamel Powder.  It does not need to have full coverage, just enough to cover most of it since it will be painted over with another Piccolo product.   Heat and set with heat gun.

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Next you will apply Piccolo Enamel/Embossing Powder Adhesive to the front of the letter and dust with  Piccolo Siam Silver Enamel Powder. Shake off the excess and set with a heat gun.

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Now apply Piccolo Napthol Red 3-D Enamel Gel to all the edges of letter.  Set aside to allow to set and dry.  This will take a little over a hour.

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Once letter is dry, tie a ribbon around the letter and add an embellishment to the bow  using hot glue and set aside.  Then wrap and tie pom-pom ribbon around each ends of the wreath and attach embellishments to it using wax twine.  Then place letter on the wreath by adhering it with hot glue.

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There it is a work well done with some serious added sparkle.  This wreath would be an excellent replacement for your Christmas wreath come January.

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Be sure to pop on over and check out my other project over at the Globecraft and Piccolo’s blog today!  Maybe even check out their shop and see about adding some of these amazing products to your craft stash!

Thanks for sharing a piece of “Tinkerbell has nothin’ on me now when it comes to fairy dusting” pie with me.

Linking Up To:

Everyday is an Occasion: Linking Party

I Gotta Create

Pink Cricut – Link Up Tuesday

 

 

 

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Thoughts and Tons of Prayers . . .

Posted on December 14, 2012 by apieceoflifespie

Thoughts and tons of prayers for those families who lost so much today.  When an elderly person passes, they take the history with them.  When a child passes, they take our future.   Today, we as a nation, were robbed from our future and the future of these bright souls.  images

 

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Ring of the Bells – Gift Card Style!

Posted on December 10, 2012 by apieceoflifespie

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Hello and happy Monday to you!   Today we are having a fun challenge over at Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog with the theme being Bells are Ringing!  Head over and check out what the designers have in store for you in ideas for making some great Christmas themed projects with a little ring to it!  Make sure if you decide to link up, that you have at least some sort of bell and ONE Cricut cut added to your project!

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What I decided to do, is make a gift card holder that poses as an ornament in the shape of a bell using my Gingerbread cartridge.   I cut chipboard at 4 inches and then using a Doodlebug- North Pole designer paper, I cut the same image, two more times (I did not need to use the “flip” feature since I was using double-sided designer paper, but you would need to “flip” the image for the back of the bell if only one-sided paper is being used).

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I then cut two more images using the outline layer on a thick grey card stock from Papertreyink.com and embossed it using Globecraft and Piccolo Enamel/Embossing Powder Adhesive and Siam Silver Embossing Powder.

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I wrapped some waxed twine around the bell and hot glued it to clean up the edges of the bell. Once all the pieces were glued together (back sheet glue only around the edges), I then punched a hole at the top of the bell using my Crop-a-Dile.  I then used an exact- o- knife and made a slit along the backside of the bell to create at “pocket” where the gift card would be placed.

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I added the poinsettia embellishment brad and more waxed twine for the hanger.

It was a super quick and fun project that will make gift giving really fun this year.  Now be sure to head on over to Fabtabulous Cricut and check out the fun projects and LINK up!

Thanks for sharing a piece of “some creative gift giving” pie with me!

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Exciting News!

Posted on December 7, 2012 by apieceoflifespie

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So I can finally let the cat out of the bag and let you all know that I have the honor to be a part of an amazing design team for Globecraft & Piccolo products!  This is my very first manufacturing design team experience and I am a bit nervous and excited at the same time.  The talent I share the platform with is an amazing group of designers and I am thrilled to be given this amazing opportunity!

I am excited because this term is focusing more on home decor!  Yay!  So up my alley! I have a few things cookin’ in the craft room that will be out soon that I can’t wait to share with you all.   I have to say, their products are TOP NOTCH.  The embossing powders are just divine – the best I have ever worked with!

Head over and meet my fellow designers , check out the blog and online shop!

Thanks for sharing a piece of “exciting news that involves putting my heat gun to work” pie with me!

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Handmade Winter Gift Exchange!

Posted on December 7, 2012 by apieceoflifespie

handmade-gift-exchange-june-12

I decided to participate in the Craftaholics Anonymous Winter gift exchange.  This is were you sign up on Elfster and then you get paired up with another crafter to make a gift for each other.  I have not yet received my gift from my pair, but will share it with you all when I get it.  I sent my project to her last Friday, so I am pretty sure it is safe to link up my project back over to Craftaholics Anonymous.

I decided to make another yarn wreath . . . Shocking!  I love making these and believe it or not, I am making another one right now.  They are a bit time consuming, but I find them relaxing to make. This is probably the closest thing to knitting or crochet I will ever get. 🙂  My match-up lives in Orlando and works for Walt Disney World.  Her profile picture was her with Mickey, so I thought it was safe to say, she is a bit of a Disney nut.

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For the wreath, I used a 12 inch round foam wreath and wrapped it with red, black and white yarn. I cut the image using this tutorial as a guide from my Silhouette.  This machine rocks and it was so easy to take an image from Google Images and make the images.  I cut them on a thick piece of  black card stock from Papertreyink and chipboard for a solid structure.   Once I glued together the black card stock to the chipboard, I glittered the top of the image.

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I made ribbon flower using a zip tie to hold it together and then hot glued it to the yarn wreath I made.  I added different sized buttons to make Mickey head and ears.

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I think this turned out super cute and I hope that she loves it!   Head over and see all the other fun projects LINKED up that someone made for a complete stranger – there is a lot of crafty love going on over there!

Thanks for sharing a piece of “crafting for the sheer joy of giving” pie with me.

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My First EVER Advent Calendar!

Posted on December 6, 2012 by apieceoflifespie

DSC_5037As a little girl I always wanted to have a real advent calendar, sure I got the ones that you get at the grocery store with the chocolates in each day, but I loved the idea of having something special in a little box that would be a surprise each day.   Well, I finally have one!  I have filled it with chocolates and little Christmas themed activities to do with my girls.  I had fun coming up with ideas and the girls are going to have fun this season finding the number for the day and finding out what fun thing they can do that day.  I feel it is really going to keep the magic alive that comes with Christmas and small children.

I took a class at my local Scrapbooking store in a support of design team member I worked with.  I am not a “crafty class” type of person. The hubs has helped establish an amazing craft room and the thought of packing up my stuff and heading off to a crop or a class goes against my grain of being a crafting hermit.  However, I had a blast taking the class, being among like-minded people and learning new approaches and techniques.  Also a little harmless celebrity gossip and scandal swapping makes craft time grand! 🙂 – Hey, I do live 45 minutes from Hollywood on a good traffic day. 🙂

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The tree is a MDF cutout from a Kaiser Craft kit.  It was not rocket science putting the kit together, once again another more time and patience than “developed skill” to do to this project.  You need to paint the cutouts with craft paint and let dry, sand down any rough edges, glue boxes together (you need rubber bands to hold together boxes until the glue dries).  Cut paper to the shapes needed for the tree and boxes. Glue paper to boxes and tree.  Build form and glue down (that could use a second person to help with this step and I was glad I had a partner). Embellish and add your goodies to the boxes.  I used Kaiser Craft stickers for the numbering, gemstones and generic buttons I got over at Michael’s.   I also inked the boxes and the edges of the tree with Chocolate from Close to My Heart.  The paper was from Kaiser Craft and Doodlebug.

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It was a fun project to fill a Saturday afternoon and support a fellow crafty blogging buddy.  The best part is I finally have my Advent Calendar!

Thanks for sharing a piece of “getting out of my craft room hermit shell” pie with me.

Linking Up To: 

Gotta Create – Wildly Original Link Party! 

Craft-O-Maniac

Everyday is an Occasion

Paper Playtime

Pink Cricut – Link Up Tuesday

 

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Craftin’ Up the Holidays on a Dime

Posted on November 28, 2012 by apieceoflifespie

I have the honor and privilege to be invited as a guest designer for Decorate to Celebrate today!  I love this challenge blog and it is full of such amazing inspirations.  To be a part of the inspiration team is such a “pie al a mode” moment for me. Thank you Amy and Decorate to Celebrate for this wonderful opportunity!

The challenge is to make something in the scope of home, party or table decor that revolves around celebrating the Holidays, using paper crafting (Hanukkah, Christmas, New Years, etc.).  I am a total Christmas fanatic and have been wanting to start decorating my house since before Thanksgiving, but thankfully crafting Holiday cheer during that time staved off my need and allowed Mr. Tom Turkey to shine instead. Be sure to head over to Decorate to Celebrate and get see the other amazing creative ideas and LINK up your great Holiday project!

What I decided to make is an inspiration from the pages of the Holiday Crate and Barrel catalog  I saw this idea last year and again this year and just had to tackle it. It can be used as a center piece for a holiday table or just a fantastic decor added to an end table or sofa table. Thankfully, the hubs has an elaborate workshop in the garage so I have access to to pull this off – under the watchful and teachable eyes of course.  I think he is getting  nervous that I may be expanding my crafting space into his workshop soon. 🙂

How To:

I started with going to Home Depot and gathering up two sticks of 1/2 inch trim and 1/4 inch dowels (in the baseboard and crown molding department).  After doing a quick and dirty calculation I came up with the sizes I wanted and cut the 1/2 trim down to the sizes I needed.

Large Tree:

  • Long sticks: (roughly) 17 1/4 inches,
  • Short stick 11 1/4 inches,
  • Tree base cut down from  a 3/4 inch thick block to 6 x 2.5 inches

Small Tree: 

  • Long sticks : 12 3/4 inches x 8 3/4 inches
  • Tree base cut down from a 3/4 thick block to 4.5 x 2.5 inches

Once all pieces were cut down, I sanded down the rough edges and glued together with wood glue using clamps on each corner of the trees so they would set firmly and dry overnight.

Once dried,  I released the clamps and sanded down any glue that may have leaked out due to the pressure of the clamps. I mixed up some epoxy and with the help of the hubs cut down the dowels to fit in the cavity of the trees and quickly and I do mean quickly adhered the dowels to the tree.  BOY DOES THAT EPOXY DRY FAST!  

After that, I wrapped a piece of wire around the peak and hung from a tree branch so I could paint them.   I used Rust-Olemum Textured Metallic spray paint and painted it with about 4 coats (I should have had a layer of primer first; live and learn). Regardless,I loved the sparkle this paint gives off.

In between coats, I fired up my Silhouette and ordered two different 3-D ornaments for .99 each.  Using Bo Bunny’s North Pole designer paper (needs to be two sided designer paper), I cut out various sized ornaments.  These are a little tricky to put together- need more patience than talent :-).  But once I got the hang of it, the assembly went faster.  These don’t need any adhesive and I found a tutorial on putting together a round 3-D paper craft from the designer of these ornaments that I was able to crossover for making these.  Once they were assembled, I added ornament hooks and cut them down to size using wire cutters.

Note: You can use glass or plastic ornaments as well.

Ornament Cuts:

Ball Ornaments

  • Large : 6.25 x 6.0
  • Medium: 5.22 x 5.0
  • Small: 4.20 x 4.0

Long Skinny Ornaments

  • Large:  6.0 x 4.91
  • Small: 4.77 x 3.85

This project was very fun to make and it was a great way to incorporate some creative time with the hubs as well.  I am thankful he likes to guide me in learning new things, even if it may mean he may be woken out of a dead sleep hearing his chop saw or scroll saw hard at work in the middle of the night (that is when most of my crafting gets done). Also this project cost about $20 to make and you can’t beat that!

Thanks for sharing a piece of ” you can make what you want on a dime” pie with me!  And be sure to head on over to Decorate to Celebrate by clicking HERE to join the party!

Linking Up To:

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Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog # 139 – Holiday Wishes

Posted on November 26, 2012 by apieceoflifespie

Happy Cyber Monday! Thank you for taking a moment out of your cyber shopping for those great holiday deals to join in the challenge fun over at Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog!  In step with the holiday season officially in full swing as of midnight this past Thursday, the challenge is to make a  holiday card!  Make sure you use  at least one Cricut cut and head on over and see what the design team has in store for your inspiration and link up a fabulous holiday card yourself!

For this card, I really wanted to break into some amazing holiday designer paper by Authentique (Yuletide and Jolly) I happened upon at my local scrapbooking store. I cut the card down to 5.5×4.25 inch (it fits in an A2 envelope).  I then cut down the next layer by a quarter of an inch and used a Chomp-A-Dile 1/2 inch to round out the edges.  I inked the edges of both the base card and first layer with Close to My Heart- Topiary.

Using Storybook cartrige,  cut two rectangles at 3 and 2.75 inches. I again rounded out the corners with a Chomp-A-Dial and inked the edges. The sentiment was from My Pink Stamper- Christmas Wishes.  The ink was Close to My Heart– Holiday Red. I finished this sentiment tag with Pop Dots for layering and twisted the waxed twine around the top layer.

For the candy cane, I used Gingerbread cartridge and cut the first layer only at 3 inches. I cut it 3 times and then using Pop Dots, I layered each candy cane. Using the Crop-A-Dile, I punched two holes into the top layer and then added the poinsettia brads.  I then added waxed twine bow using a Glue Dot.

Thank you for stopping by and head on over to Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog and link up an inspirational project! Thanks for sharing a piece of “getting into the Holiday Spirit” pie with me!

Linking Up To:

Paper Issues – Happy Holidays

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