CHA-cha-CHA day 2

hi everyone and welcome, or welcome back!

yesterday we believed in faeries.

today life is a bed or roses - or a box of roses. 

don't forget to leave a comment to enter the content. authentique paper bundles plus some special treats will be given out on july 22.

a simple box - the bottom is covered with pages from an old book.

the top is covered in roses

~  materials used  ~

"carefree" and "glory" papers - authentique

red papers - core'dinations

CHA-cha-CHA

welcome gypsies and happy CHA week! 

for those of you that are new to the caravan, CHA stands for Craft & Hobby Association and this week in IL is the summer show. all this week companies will be sneak peeking their new products, bloggers will be frantically typing their reviews, and many of us will be strutting our stuff - showing off our projects for our design teams.

as a very proud member of authentique's design team, i got to send a big box of projects to the show. and this week i'll be featuring them here on the blog!

*** CHA-cha-CHA CONTEST ALERT ***

visit the caravan and leave a comment to get entered in a fabulous drawing! 

the more you visit and comment, the more chances you have to win!

the prize package includes 6x6 authentique paper bundles and some nifty extras to inspire your own creations! 

the winner will be announced on july 22!

so are you ready gypsies? then away we go!

the book of faeries

a fairy sighs in a secret garden, tucked away

 with trinkets and keepsakes and stolen treasures.

kept company by forest friends

knowing someone somewhere says "yes, i believe in faeries!"

~  materials  ~

"lively" paper collection - authentique

paper mache book box

tiny treasures from tim holtz, maya road, and marion smith for prima

summer fun

hello gypsies!

i've been busily building fabulous projects for authentique's booth at CHA this month. i have some really amazing projects to share with you - but not until july 16!

in the meantime i wanted to repost some of my favorite summer projects.

first up, the "beach bum" - one of my all-time favorite creations.

beachie souvenirs

every car needs an engine!

don't forget the luggage

when authentique launched their "glory" collection i was thrilled! i loved the deep red, and the patriotic theme. and it was so flexible, you didn't have to do just patriotic projects. i created "by the sea" to celebrate an old-fashioned seaside.

but then i couldn't resist using "glory" for something a little more patriotic of course. last week authentique had a cross promo with want2scrap, so i combined their bling and authentique's "glory" to create some very special flowers.

thanks for stopping by today. have a fun and safe july 4th, and make sure to check in next week as i start sneak peeking my CHA projects, and kick-off a CHA contest!

glorious flowers

my favorite summer flowers are dahlias. i love their layers of petals and bright colors. and with July 4th coming, i was inspired to create some special dahlias of my own.

authentique is having a cross-promotional this week with want2scrap so i used papers from Authentique's "Glory" collection to make oversized flowers - i accordian-folded strips of paper, attached them together and formed them into circles. Want2Scrap's "Nestaboards" and matching "Nestabling" came together to create the flowers' centers. next i covered the "Nestaboards" with more pieces from "Glory",  sanded the edges and embellished with the bling!

stay tuned as things heat up for CHA-Summer. i am busily creating and building projects for authentique and will be highlighting them throughout CHA!

authentique is "fresh" for june

hello gypsies and happy summer! 

authentique is under way with their color challenge for june. this month's challenge features the colors of their "fresh" collection, and the collection itself! 

i love that authentique's collections all come with 12x12 sticker embellishments. it makes it sooo easy to create. featured is my personal favorite image - the bathing beauty. she's actually featured on the "free" sheet from the collection, and is fancy-cut and inked. 

authentique would love for you to play along!
just use the challenge inspiration to create as many projects as you'd like. a winner will be randomly selected to win an authentique paper prize pack {the more projects you create, the better your chances are of winning!}

i also had the opportunity to feature "fresh" during the authentique&epiphany crafts cross-promotional last week. the epiphany shape tools are really cool and made creating this locket a snap!

i used a pair of epiphany's oval metal charms to create a locket. on the front casing i used the shape studio oval to cut a bit of "fresh" paper and seal it under an oval bubble cap. then i added tiny pearls and a shell, creating a three-dimensional cameo.

 

for the inside of the locket, i cut a tiny bit of text paper from the "fresh" line, inked the edges, added a little sand paint and "life" from the "fresh" miniwords. the phrase "the tiny life" came out accidentally, but it's perfect for this tiny treasure!

the portrait is cut from another piece from "fresh", and is set in an oval bubble cap for added depth. the tiny clam shell is attached with a handmade wire spiral.

thanks for stopping by the caravan today. i'll be gearing up for CHA with authentique, and there will be lots of great surprises coming! so stop by again soon!

by the sea

welcome gypsies and happy friday!

today's project features something old, something new, and a little something blue! as the first post for authentique's "earth friendly friday" i am thrilled to have created something coll and new from old stuff!

poor sad cigar box. this was a left-over from my local scrapbook store. they didn't want it anymore and i knew i would be able to do something with it. three years later and i finally am! i used authentique's glory collection for this project because is just screams summer!

i wanted to celebrate summer early, so i created a shadowbox. after cutting a window in the box's cover, i lined the inside and covered the outside.

then i fancy-cut my waves, pennants, lighthouse and friendly shark fin, as well as a beautiful mermaid and pieced them together. some distress ink around the edges adds a little accent and sets the paper layers off nicely

finishing touches are made from lots of sea shells in different sizes, twine and crepe ribbon, and some die-cut spirals cut from an old cardboard box.

finally the feet. i wanted something really unique and beachy, so i went with smooth rocks 

- not from the beach but don't tell.

so an old cigar box, rocks, shells, and some shipping cardboard combine with one of our newest collections into a brand new fabulous something. i hope you are inspired to upcycle something today!

ready for prizes??

it's time for authentique's may sketch challenge!

check out the information on their blog 

there are fabulous prizes, glory, and a little something from the gypsy!

 card sketch

layout sketch