Along the Garden Path Blog Hop

The Inspiration Team is joining forces with the Stampendous DT so come “hop” Along the Garden Path with us.  Every day this week we’ll have projects featuring the Cottage Home and Mushroom Home Stamps and Dies Sets to add detail to my versatile Eileen Hull Sizzix Collections including the  Vintage Canister Scoreboard Dies  and more!

Three lucky winners will win their choice of Cottage Home or Mushroom Home plus pre-cut matboard from the Sizzix Scoreboards Canister Die. Sponsored by Sizzix. Deadline to comment is February 28th and winners will be announced early next week. See Official Contest Rules for details.

My piece was inspired by the Mushroom house and it instantly made me think of Alice in Wonderland! So this is my take using Stampendous and Eileen Hull's Dies together!

Materials Needed:

Card stock brown/cream

Sizzles Mat Board

Easy-Cut Adhesive

Image to put in Key Hole

Tools Needed:

Eileen Hull - Passport Book Die

Stampendous Mushroom Home set

Die Cut Machine - I used my Sizzix Big Kick

Colored Pencils - I used Prisma

Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink

Crackle Paste - Wendy Vecchi

Key Hole Die - Tim Holtz

Directions:

1. Die cut your Mushroom House using cream card stock

2. Using Easy-Cut Adhesive adhere brown card stock to Mat Board

 3. Die cut 2 covers from the Passport Book Die

4. Using the Key Hole Die cut through Mushroom House and one cover

 5. Stamp your images using Stampendous stamps and Ranger Archival ink

6. Time to color your image.

7. On the cover with key hole cut out, I stamped bricks and colored them in and then decided I would like to add some texture. Using a pallet knife I added texture paste around the stamped brick. Allow to dry and crackle.

 8. Once dry I added more color to the bricks and to the top of the crackle paste.

 9. Adhere Mushroom House using pop up dots

10. On the other cover, on the non covered side I added a image of Alice. Adhered this to the front using pop up dots. This gives my Art piece a very dimensional look.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed my piece that was inspired by the Mushroom.

Make sure you visit all of the Design Team Members on both teams!

Design your own Christmas bags

CHRISTMAS GIFT BAGS

GlueDots | December 1, 2015 | Project Ideas | 0 Comments

Christmas gift bags are easy to make and customize for your celebration. All you need are kraft bags (or recycled paper bags with handles), Glue Dots and cardstock. Designer Donna shows you how to make easy, custom gift wrap for your holiday.

Designed by: Donna Budzynski
Time: 25 Minutes
Level: Beginner
Size: 8” X 10”

Here’s what you need:

• Ultra-Thin Glue Dots®
• Kraft bag
• Cardstock – Canvas Corp farmhouse Christmas Stripe on Ivory
• Twine
• Red burlap scrap
• Colored pencils
• Gamsol – OPTIONAL
• Paper trimmer
• Small stapler

Here’s what you do: 

1. Cut three strips from farmhouse Christmas.
2. Cut red cardstock base to fit your wide strip.
3. Adhere strip to red cardstock using Ultra-Thin Glue Dots.
4. Adhere Happy Holidays and snowflake strips above and below middle strip.
5. Color any areas on strips to add color – OPTIONAL blend with Gamsol.
6. Using Prismacolor pencils draw some designs between the strips – OPTIONAL Blend.
7. Attach red burlap with staple and tie twine around bag handle.

*This bag would be fun to do with the kids! Children are great at doodles!

~Donna

 Either format of Ultra-Thin can be used for this project:

Eileen Hull Inspiration Team - April Showers bring May Flowers

3D Canning Jar Vase?

This is a fun little vase you could give as a thank you gift, birthday gift or just keep for yourself!

I started with Eileen Hull's Canning Jar 3D die.


I cut my Jars out of chipboard.

I  colored my jars and lids with colored pencils.
Then I blended them with Gamasol.

Here is Jar and Lid colored and blended.

Shaded to give the appearance of water in the jar.

Here is the jar with a bit more shading and I added the shading of the word Ball on the jar. I did this very lightly as I wanted it to be seen, but not the focus.

I then adhered all the pieces together and this is what I came up with!

I love how it turned out!

I had a very small glass that I used to put the flowers in.

Like a shot glass, but not. I think I saved it from some embellishments.

                                                  
If you would like to enter this month's challenge, here is the information.

You could win an awesome PRIZE!

The Art with Heart Challenge is a monthly celebration of creativity!  Each month the Inspiration Team will be showcasing their Art with Heart created with Eileen Hull’s innovative Sizzix dies. They will be following a broad theme left entirely open to creative interpretation.  We invite you to play along with us and share YOUR art with heart!

We want this to be a place for everyone to create, inspire and share.  We would love to see what you can do with Eileen Hull’s fabulous products but this is not a requirement.  Use what ever products your artful “heart” desires.  Art is for everyone so come along and share your Art with Heart!

We want you all to create freely there are no rules here, just a few simple guidelines…

1. Create a new project following the Art with Heart Challenge Theme (however you interpret the theme) OR if you have created something that fits the theme previously create a new post with a photo and link to the original post.  

           *This a great way to expose older projects to fresh eyes!

2.Include a link to the current Art with Heart Challenge in your post so others can play along too!

*Buttons and graphics are available for you to display in your sidebar if you would like to help us spread the word :)

3.When linking up your project please include a direct link to your post.

4.You are not required to use Eileen Hull Products in your projects.  However, those who do use Eileen Hull products will be given two entries into the prize draw.

That’s it!  So get going, get creative and share your Art with Heart!

Be sure to come back each week on Tuesday to see more creative project ideas from the Inspiration Team and check out the latest entries in the challenge.  There is no shortage of inspiring ideas here so kick back and enjoy a healthy dose of creative inspiration!

Now it’s your turn to share some inspiration by sharing YOUR creations!  You have until May 29, 2014 to link up your projects for a chance to win an awesome prize.  The winner and Top 3 will be announced on May 30, 2014.  In the meantime the Inspiration Team will be bringing you more creative projects and inspiration every Tuesday right Here!

Can’t wait to see your Art with Heart!

You will add your entry at Eileen Hull's blog, Click Here!
 (PS....enter now, only 2 entries so far.............
Odds are really good with only 2 entries! Good Luck!)

*Art with Heart Challenge Winners will be announced the last Friday of the month.

Thanks for stopping by and make sure you check out the other DT's inspiration!

Week 3-Chapter 18: Now You See Him...Now You Don't!

`Do you play croquet with the Queen to-day?'


`I should like it very much,' said Alice, `but I haven't been invited yet.

`You'll see me there,' said the Cat, and vanished.

Alice was not much surprised at this, she was getting so used to queer things happening. While she was looking at the place where it had been, it suddenly appeared again.

-- Chapter 6, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Just like the Cheshire Cat, we would like you to make a card where things appear and disappear! It could be as simple as a tag in a pocket or something more interactive and fun, for example a wiper card, a slider box or a slider card or even a double slider card, a telescoping card, a T-slide card, a swing (flip-flop) card, or a View Master card. These tutorials from Splitcoaststampers are for inspiration; your project does not need to be a card and the hidden element does not need to be a cat. Enter by August 24 , and the winner will receive three digi stamps from our sponsor!

Our sponsor this month is Dilly Beans, featuring the whimsical art of Megan Suarez, famous for her charming big-eyed girls! You can see the digi stamps and collage sheets on her blog, Dilly Beans Stamps. There is also a Dilly Beans design team challenge blog and an Etsy shop with Megan's artwork to inspire you. Dilly Beans offers four Alice-related digi stamps: Alice in Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts, the Cheshire Cat and some whimsical mushrooms; the design team will be featuring the first three.  
Here is my take of Now you see him...Now you don't....

Alice is adorable with those great BIG eyes!

This is a pretty big card! I really loved the image and wanted to have fun coloring....So Alice is just about 8". I used colored pencils,chalk pencils,soft pastel to make this mixed media piece. I had the most fun coloring it.

I cut her out and placed her on the background piece of paper. I had to cut off some of the details of her dress and hair, so I decided to draw them on and used a micron marker. No hair loss!

Here is a close up of her face.

She is so SWEET!

Let's see who is going to slide out?

It is that silly Cheshire Cat!

Here is is close up!

I hope you enjoyed my take on Now you see him...Now you don't! I had a lot of fun with him!

Check the entries from our challenge participants for more fun examples to inspire you!

So join us for some interactive fun by entering your project by Friday, August 24 on the Altered Alice blog.

Note: That is if you made it this far into reading....I posted a giveaway this week and if you would like to be entered, you leaving a comment here and there will get you 2 entries. But I am also gonna ask that you become a follower of my blog also. I am out of town till late Wednesday and will name the winner on Thursday. Thanks and good luck!

Blue Hair?

Who could look cute as a BUTTON with BLUE hair? My grandson, that's who!

Cosmo Cricket was having a Tiny Text challenge and I thought this would be a cute project. I used Material Girl button paper and some of the Nutmeg collection.

This is what I did........
I also used a Greeting Farms stamp.I used colored pencils to color the image. This image was perfect for this project.

My grandson showed up one day with his Mom and sister, he had blue hair and a blue mouth. He had a blue sucker while they did his hair at the salon. He thought he was so COOL! If you can't read all the text is says....Cute as a button, Even with blue hair!

Hope you enjoyed!

Have a great day!

CHAPTER 12 - Challenge Hearts!

"First came ten soldiers carrying clubs; these were all shaped like the three gardeners, oblong and flat, with their hands and feet at the corners: next the ten courtiers; these were ornamented all over with diamonds, and walked two and two, as the soldiers did. After these came the royal children; there were ten of them, and the little dears came jumping merrily along hand in hand, in couples: they were all ornamented with hearts. Next came the guests, mostly Kings and Queens, and among them Alice recognised the White Rabbit: it was talking in a hurried nervous manner, smiling at everything that was said, and went by without noticing her. Then followed the Knave of Hearts, carrying the King's crown on a crimson velvet cushion; and, last of all this grand procession, came THE KING AND QUEEN OF HEARTS." -- Chapter 8; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland



Since February contains Valentine's Day, we are challenging you to show us your HEART (or hearts), in whatever form you'd like to interpret that!Our sponsor this month is The Octopode Factory, who is offering a $30 Etsy shop gift certificate to one randomly selected winner.The Octopode Factory has amazing and unique images born from the fertile imagination of Lily Chilvers. The Etsy Shop carries her digi stamps and collage sheets, and she has large and small rubber stamps available through her blog. Be sure to check out all the incredible Alice in Wonderland characters and digital stamp sets, and visit! And for fun and inspiration, be sure to visit Lily's blog and The Octopode Factory Friday challenge blog, or TOFF for short!This is a very short month, so you have only until Friday, Feb. 24 to submit your entry! As always, projects that feature Wonderland will have two chances at the prize instead of one. Multiple entries are fine, but each must be on a separate post. Please join us!

This week is my week to share! I know last week you got a sneak peek on the Oh Alice blog. This week it is on my blog.

I have made a canvas with the queen of hearts. I love Lily's images, they are so fun to color! I started this canvas by covering it with gesso to give it some bite. I then painted the background with acrylics paint. While this was drying I set in to color my image, the Queen of Hearts. I used Prisma Colored pencils on her, layer after layer until I like the way she looked. I used my Cricket (Provo Craft) to cut out the castle. I used matte medium to adhere both the castle and the queen onto the painted canvas. Then I cut out Whimsical Heart Stems and added them to look like a fence. Then the shading began to make it look like those Whimsical hearts were jumping off the page. I really enjoy making this. So much fun to play around with shading. I added some glossy accents to the eyes and a few of the hearts.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!





Now it's your turn, go get your hearts going and join in this fun challenge. Head over to the Altered Alice and enter!

Chapter 11: STRIPES! Week 3

"At the two-yard peg she faced round, and said, 'A pawn goes two squares in its first move, you know.So you'll go VERY quickly through the Third Square--by railway, I should think--and you'll find yourself in the Fourth Square in no time. Well, THAT square belongs to Tweedledum and Tweedledee--the Fifth is mostly water--the Sixth belongs to Humpty Dumpty--But you make noremark?''I--I didn't know I had to make one--just then,' Alice faltered out."- Chapter 11, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There Happy new year! When I think of Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, I always think stripes and plaids. Lewis Carroll does not mention the patterns they are wearing, but so many illustrations and movies have clad them in mismatched stripes and patterns. Your challenge this month is to use STRIPES


Jenny Doh, formerly the managing editor of the famous Stampington publications, has started an artist's community website called CRESCENDOh. There is an online shop selling all kinds of things including charming CRESCENDOh clear stamps, including the Alice in Wonderland by Danita set that the design team is showing off. But the heart of the site is all the stories; stories by artists of all kinds, stampers, quilters, paper crafters. Each shares a tale of how art has changed their life. For some it is a joyous outlet, but for many others it has been a way to stay afloat in times of tragedy or grief. As I thought about this challenge, the theme of STRIPES seemed appropriate. Stripes decorate circus tents and tents of the knights of old. Stripes are birthday wrapping paper and elegant Regency wallpaper. Stripes are the traditional garb of prisoners, and stripes are also how the marks of a whip are described. Stripes can represent so many different things, and the creative process has been many things to the people who have contributed stories to the CRESCENDOh site.
Author Jenny Doh is donating a signed copy of her latest book, Art Saves, which is not only full of eye candy but is also full of the stories of how art changes lives. "Discover not only the HOW but also the WHY, through the stunning projects and unique stories of 20 exciting multi-media artists." Thanks so much to Jenny for contributing such a meaningful prize to start off 2012!

Enter your project featuring stripes by Friday, Jan. 27. The winner will be announced the following Sunday. As always, entries that feature Wonderland will have two chances at the random drawing instead of one. You may enter as often as you like but each entry must be on a separate post. All posts must mention and link back to the challenge.



This week my art piece is a mixed media plaque. It has been a tough week, I have been sick with pneumonia, I have been sick since before Christmas. It hit me hard this week. I was also asked to make some projects for CHA using the Cosmo Cricket line.

So here you go here is my project for this month of stripes
I took a 6" X 12" board and gessoed it and painted the background. Set aside to dry, took mini canvas and added paper from graphic 45 Halloween in Wonderland, also set aside to dry. I then took to coloring my images with colored pencils. Blending with Gamasol. I love these little images. I could color them over and over again. I cut them out and then adhered them to the little canvas. I Have not put a finish on this as I think I will be adding a coat of wax to it. I think it will look fabulous with wax. I could not put it on now as my lungs are weak.

Here are some close ups of the mini canvas

Here is one that I was just playing with. It is kinda of a "Where's Waldo"

So that's it for me this week. I am hoping for a feeling better kind of week for me. It is time.

Now off you go......check out this weeks inspiration by the Altered Alice design team members. Then go get your stripes going and join in on the challenge.