Welcome Gypsies to the Handmade Holidays Blog Hop!!!

Calling all crafters! We’ve gathered designers from some of our favorite manufacturers to show you ways to create something from the heart this holiday season. This 3 day Hop includes over 60 stops with inspiration brimming from every corner. Explore all thoughtful and frugal handmade gifts you could make for the holidays, all in one place on this Hop!

To sweeten to Hop, we’re offering a gift for you! How does one of the 6x6 Bundles from EACH of Authentique Paper's current 7 collections sound?

For every comment you leave on the blogs in the Hop, you'’ll be entered to win a prize pack from one of the participating manufacturer sponsors (including the fabulous prize pack from Authentique Paper)!
Visit the list of blogs below and leave a comment on each by Nov 7, 2011 at 11:59 PM {PST}. Each day we will be sharing a brand new list of blogs with brand new projects for you to explore, be inspired by, and create from! 
You've probably just visited the amazing Karen Clark. Be sure to visit the blogs of some more design team members from all over the industry. What a privilege to see my name on this list of fabulous artists!

Clearsnap
Spellbinders
Hampton Art
Zutter
Graphic45
Donna Salazar Designs
The Twinery
Authentique Paper
Glue Arts
Sabrina Alery – Clearsnap
Laura Denison – Graphic 45
Karen Taylor – Donna Salazar Designs
Beverly Sizemore – Hampton Art
Kazan Clark – Spellbinders
Janeen Shember – Authentique Paper
Charlotte Jenkins – Clearsnap
Grace Hester – The Twinery
Nicole Eccles – Graphic45
Audrey Pettit – Donna Salazar Designs
Nan Paturzo – Zutter
Jeannie DeGruccio – Authentique Paper
Tamara Tripodi – Glue Arts
Cheers to creating gifts from the heart this holiday season!
Happy Hopping and now for my handmade holiday madness! 

Part 1 - the great frame-up!

We're starting with a simple pine frame from the local craft supply store, Authentique Paper's "Gathering" collection, and some Glue n Seal.

First I cut the paper into thin strips - less than 1/4" is best. Starting in the top corner, I applied a thin layer of Glue n Seal to a small section, and place strips in random order, side by side. I left the edges hanging over both sides of the frame.

After allowing a little dry time for the front, I applied Glue n Seal to the sides, wrapped the strips and trimmed to fit.

 

Keep going until the entire frame is covered. Go for randomness, don't try to create a repeating pattern. The charm is in the spontaneity.

Part 2 - And now it's time for flowers

I started by hand cutting 5 circles, each about 2". It's easiest if you cut 2" squares with a trimmer, then hand cut the circles from them.

Next, I misted 4 circles and crumpled them into balls. Then I pulled them open and folded them each in half, and in half again. Then I scrunched and shaped each piece into a flower bud shape.

Finally, I glued the 4 flower bud shapes onto that fifth circle, scrunching and shaping to achieve a carnation-style flower. I also made additional buds by misting, scrunching and folding circles, but not gluing them into a flower form.

Part 3 - time to get it all together!

I like edginess. So I used a Ranger Ink Acrylic Paint Dabber and dabbed Espresso around the inside and outside edges of the frame. Then I hot glue gunned the flower and buds onto the frame. 

And finally I added some special touches. Prima's "Say it in crystals", trinkets from Maya Road, Authentique "Elements" and some felt leaves from my special drawer combined quite nicely, giving the frame the look of a page layout.

Thank you for stopping by the gypsy caravan. I hope you join the caravan and become a gypsy yourself! Make sure you keep hopping along to get more inspiration for a handmade holidays!

Materials:
Authentique Paper "Gathering" collection papers and elements
Pine frame from Michael's craft store
Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber in "Espresso"
Glue n Seal
Prima "Say It In Crystals"
Maya Road lace doilies and cameo roses

And if you're just joining the hop today, take a look at what's been going on all weekend!

November 5th:

Clearsnap

Spellbinders

Hampton Art

Zutter

Graphic45

Donna Salazar Designs

The Twinery

Authentique Paper

Jan Hennings – Glue Arts

Kim Sonksen – Donna Salazar Designs

Jamie Harper – Hampton Art

Jenny Suchin – The Twinery

Heather Conklin – Authentique Paper

Glue Arts

Gloria Stengel – Graphic 45

Christine Emberson – Spellbinders

Julie Overby – Spellbinders

Julie Ranae Murray – The Twinery

Mary Dawn Quirindongo – Clearsnap

Lea Sanders – Zutter

Tara Orr – Graphic45

Patti Milazzo – Glue Arts

Emily Lanham – Authentique Paper

Jessy Christopher – Donna Salazar Designs

November 4th:

Clearsnap

Spellbinders

Hampton Art

Zutter

Graphic45

Donna Salazar Designs

The Twinery

Authentique Paper

Glue Arts

Sherry Cheever – Graphic45

Claire Towle – Hampton Art

Emily Leiphart – The Twinery

Andrea Budjack – Glue Arts

Lesley Langdon – Spellbinders

Daniela Dobson – Clearsnap

Natasha Naranjo Aguirre – Donna Salazar Designs

Lisa Day – Glue Arts

Lynne Forsythe – Zutter

Jennifer Priest – Clearsnap

Tifany DeGough – Authentique Paper

Holly Simoni – Spellbinders

Fleur Smith – Zutter

Stephanie Johnson – The Twinery

Robyn Weatherspoon – Clearsnap

freckle face

hello fellow gypsies!
today marks my first official authentique post. yes i posted in september, but that wasn't a sparkly brand new project like today's!

i was asked to design either a layout or a minibook, and after some pondering i thought "hey! why not do both?"

so here we go!

i have this wonderful picture of my daughter that inspired this layout. her freckle face and impish smile were a perfect match for some of the "blissful" collection. the "prosperity" sheet is full of great rulers, which is what i used to make the hand-curled ruler border. i added scraps of other rulers and related trims, and started to get a real "school time" feel going. i added the the top border by trimming some "distinct" paper from the "uncommon" collection. the deep pink is a perfect match and a great example of mixing the authentique collections a bit.

and surprise! there's a minibook! tucked into a paper lunch bag, to go along with our school feel. this is a tiny book made from one of the "blissful" tags and paper pieces. i used some of the collection's "icons" and "noteables" to embellish it, as well as to create the tag dangles.

some random elements - paper flowers and vintage buttons, baker's twine and distress ink, finish off the layout and minibook as well.

thank you for stopping by the blog, and i hope i made your freckle face smile! - janeen shember

product list
"blissful" collection - papers, "icons", "noteables"
"uncommon" collection - "distinct" paper
"diction" word stickers
ranger ink - "frayed burlap" distress ink
random flowers and vintage buttons
assorted ruler trim
tiny piece of baker's twine

for more smiles visit my blog at www.suburbngypsy.blogspot.comf

cabinet of wonders

halloween is coming and it's one of my most inspirational seasons. i can never get enough of vintage rhymes, eclectic keepsakes and random spooOOOookiness.

so what better way to celebrate than to combine my scrapbook island team project box o' joy - containing authentique's "glowing" papers how's that for serendipity - with tim holtz's configurations. the result?
a cabinet of wonders.

each tiny box is a vignette, a story all its own. and each  one features a special technique or discovery inspired by the "spirit" of someone special. can you find them all? tortured block letters, wrappings and rappings, edgar allan poe, potions and quotations, and trappings of woe?

hold on to your coffins gypsies, and away we shall go...

rattling and groaning and scratching at the door...

{i love happy accidents. when i took the heat gun to the 13 to save some time, it bubbled and blistered instead. love this look and i'll to do it on purpose next time.}

haven't we met in the graveyard before?
{the quote on the door is George Bernard Shaw's and as soon as i read it, i knew i needed a project with a skeleton, and a closet. i love how random elements can come together.}

dead man's hand will slowly creep...
{ghastly vapors (made from a not so ghastly cotton ball) pour from the glass bottle. the leering witch is stamped on acrylic and lit by "candlelight". the hand from the grave is a "shaker" box with dirt, bones and gravestone sealed behind a piece of acrylic - cut from the sheet that comes with the configuration.}

skeletons scratching while you sleep... 
the mummy is created by layering cheese cloth over one of the idea-ology "creepy dolls". i was inspired to make something of both "creepy dolls" after doing tim's classes. they just have so much potential! can you spot the smaller doll in disguise? and just to go outside the box, i created a hanging graveyard along with a tavern-inspired black cat to hang at the door.}

you've made it to the end of the road, but you're not out of the woods yet.  
next week i'm starting a new  feature - "technique of the week" - and you get to help choose what the first 'nique will be. choose one of these spookiliscious objects from the cabinet of wonders , post your choice as a comment by 8/28, and the one with the most votes wins!


1) wrapped up mummy
2) witchy votive
3) tortured letter blocks
4) door #13

Unbroken Chain

I wanted to make something really special for my mom for Mother's Day. My mom is totally into genealogy and has pictures of our family dating back to my great-great-great-grandparents. Since this was a Mother's Day gift, I decided to focus on the chain of mothers and daughters in our family.

This piece is built from chipboard panels covered in cardstock that was distressed and inked. Accents include micro beads, scraps of lace and buttons. I used a fern leaf and gold paint to make the gold prints, and then added the leaf itself to the cover. Repeated on each panel is "mother" and "daughter" because each woman in the piece has been both, except for my daughter at the very end. But of course she will be a mother one day too.

Random Elements

I love using random little things, and turning them into something special. Today's project started as a plain little birdhouse from Michael's that cost a whole dollar. Add a paper scrap left over from a minibook class, some bits of greenery left over from a school project, some pebbles stolen from the neighbor's yard (shhh don't tell), a twig and some Ranger Walnut Stain, and we have a fabulous tiny house. It could be for a fairy, a pixie, a teeny weeny house sprite - who knows