Friday, July 15, 2011

DIY Decorative Tape Tutorial

Bianca Mandity put together a fantastic tutorial showing you how to make custom decorative tape using Incredi-tape! While she used the 3/4" tape, you can use any size depending on your needs!

You can see the full tutorial HERE.

And check out the product tutorial section on the site for more fun!



You can also use the tape for making a strip of bling! The tape is STRONG and CLEAR. Cover it with glitter, micro-beads, sequins, bits of paper, and more for a fun Mardi Gras look!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

More Wonderful Art Samples!

The gorgeous piece above was created by Design Team member, Gerri Herbst using the Best Friends xoxo Digital Collage Sheet! I love all of the texture she added.

Gerri also created this FANTASTIC necklace using the Brass Box Flip Frame Kit and a few of the dancer images from the Best Friends xoxo Digital Collage Sheet!

Here are a few close-ups. The buttons and charms Gerri added are so sweet!


Above is a beautiful piece by Kelly Burton using the Vintage Ladies Heads Digital Collage Sheet, Vintage Definitions Digital Collage Sheet, and some Boroque Black Dresden and wings.

Kelly also made this lovely piece using the Applegate Family Digital Collage Sheet, Vintage Grunge ATC Backgrounds Digital Collage Sheet, and the Steampunk Parts Digital Collage Sheet. Awesome mixing of images Kelly!

Don't forget to leave a comment on my earlier post HERE to enter the New Shrine Kit GIVEAWAY! There will be 3 lucky winners! xo

Denise's Canvas!

I wanted to share this fantastic canvas with you created by one of my very talented customers, Denise Phillips! I think this project uses more Retro Cafe Art Gallery and Coffee Break Design products than any other project I've seen! And certainly it's the biggest I've ever seen! You can click the photos to enlarge.

Above Denise used the ATC Frame Windows, rusty corners, rusty fences, bird paper cuts, and the inside piece of the Shrine ATC Frame as a door! In the windows you can see some of her furry family members.

She used the Three Compartment Cubby Hole Shrine Kit as the upper "apartment".

And at the very top Denise added an Arch Shrine Kit along with another bird paper-cut. Thanks for letting me share your gorgeous and impressive canvas Denise! xo

Monday, July 11, 2011

6 BRAND NEW Coffee Break Design Shrine Kits and a GIVEAWAY!


I've been designing the last few days, and I'm beyond excited to share the 6 BRAND NEW Shrine Kits by Coffee Break Design with you and announce a giveaway!


(with necklace option)



Flaming Heart Trinket Charms

So small and completely adorable. I'm dying to make some stud earrings with these!

Classic Flaming Heart Milagro Shrine

(the crown and cross are optional on the large shrines)
This shrine and the large shrines below are so cool because the opening is exactly 1" x 1" so you can use them to showcase your favorite Inchies!

Fancy Flaming Heart Milagro Shrine

(optional crown and cross embellishments and 1" x 1" window!)

Elegant Winged Heart Milagro Shrine

(optional crown and cross embellishments and 1" x 1" window!)

Classic Winged Heart Milagro Shrine

(optional crown and cross embellishments and 1" x 1" window!)

Here are a few pieces I made! You can view complete the tutorial here.

And now for the GIVEAWAY!
Simply leave me a comment on this post telling me which new Shrine Kit from above is your favorite! I will use a random number generator on July 18th to pick 3 lucky winners who will receive their favorite new Shrine Kit! (P.S. if the tiny charms are your favorite of course I will send you a few packs)
Good luck! xoxo

Flaming Heart Necklace and Pin Tutorial

For this project, I'm going to show you how I made a fabulous necklace and pin using the Flaming Heart Sacred Trinket Shrine Kit!
..................................................................................... Because we are making a necklace, take the middle piece and snap out the optional middle channels. This is where the chain will be placed later.
......................................................................................... Here is the piece with the channels punched out. The channels are very easy to remove, but you can also leave them in and they will not be visible later.
........................................................................................... I wanted my paint to be nice and bright, so I started by brushing some Gesso on the areas I planned to paint. I brushed on 2 thin layers. The Gesso is not required, but will make for easier paint coverage.
........................................................................................ Next I painted my pieces using acrylic paint.
....................................................................................... I wanted to add some texture, so using a sponge brush I dabbed on the paint.
....................................................................................... After the pieces are painted, attach the middle piece to the back using a small amount of glue. I prefer to use Mod Podge to attach my masonite pieces.
The next step is to add your chain before adding the top piece. For my necklace I'm using ball chain and open balls to secure the chain. You can also secure your chain into the cavity by adding a knot or bead to the end of a cord, ribbon, etc. and gluing it into the cavity.
......................................................................................... Add an open ball to each end of the chain. Simply place the open ball around the end of the ball chain and close or "crimp" the open ball using some pliers. Be sure you crimp it enough so that you can place your top piece on without any gaps.
............................................................................................ The open ball will hold the chain in place. Place the end of the chain with the open ball into each cavity. Again, you can also use cord, ribbon, etc. which can be glued into the cavity.
............................................................................................ Once your chain is in place, add your top piece using a small amount of glue.
.......................................................................................... To finish my piece I stamped the front with a script rubber stamp, inked the edges with some brown ink, and added a tiny frozen charlotte to the opening!
......................................................................................... After making the necklace, I decided to make a collage pin. I wanted to cover the front with paper, so I took my top pieces and traced the shape on the back of my paper, then roughly cut it out.
.......................................................................................... I glued the paper to the front, and then sanded the sides and opening using a nail file. Doing this will leave a lovely clean edge and won't hurt the sturdy masonite!
.................................................................................... Clean edges after sanding with the nail file.
........................................................................................ Instead of stamping, this time I attached some patterned tissue paper using Mod Podge. The tissue came with a lovely package last week and of course I saved it to use in my art! (thanks Teri!)
....................................................................................... After cutting away the excess paper, again I sanded the edges with a nail file. Tim Holtz Tissue Tape would also work nicely for this!
....................................................................................... After inking the edges of the front piece, I moved on to the image. Using Frida Kahlo from the Bottle Cap Labels Collage Sheet, I centered the image using the middle piece.
........................................................................................ I roughly cut around the image, and then glued the image onto the back of the middle piece. This way I knew my image was perfectly centered. I also added some white acrylic paint to the "fire" of my back piece.
........................................................................................ I left the middle piece natural/unpainted as it added a nice contrast to the white. Assemble the back, middle, and front with just a bit a glue and done!
........................................................................................ Finally, I added a pin back using some E6000. This is an excellent size for a pin! Here are my finished pieces! I love the versatility of the Flaming Heart Sacred Trinket Shrine Kit! And of course in addition to accessories you can also use them as embellishments on other projects.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Charm Winner!

The winner of the fantastic charm giveaway below is #4, Sherry. Congrats! Thank you so much to all who entered.

Also, don't forget the deadline to enter the Accessory Cut Outs contest is July 15th!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Art Samples!

I have a few fantastic art samples to share with you! The pieces above and below were created by Design Team member Gerri Herbst! For the above piece Gerri used the Lucy Digital Collage Sheet, Paper Roses, Brown Cotton Spun Mushrooms, and the inside piece from the Fancy ATC Frame Style 1!

In this gorgeous sample, Gerri incorporated the Daguerreotypes 1 Digital Collage Sheet!


And here is another wonderful piece by Kelly Burton! This piece incorporates several digital collage sheets including Vintage French Mason Jars, Vintage Steampunk ATC Backgrounds, and 2.5 Inch Vintage Lady Head Negatives!

Just beautiful ladies! xo

Friday, July 1, 2011

39 New Brass Charms and Treasure Boxes and a Charm GIVEAWAY!

I've been busy the last few days listing these amazing brass charms and Treasure Boxes for you! 39 to be exact! Below are just a few of my favorites, but you can see them all HERE!


Scroll down for a super awesome chance to win some!


In celebration of the 4th of July and the lovely new brass charms and Treasure Boxes, I'm giving you a chance to win ALL of the charms you see in the photo above! Including my favorite Treasure Boxes! swoon...


For a chance to win these lovelies, just leave me a "charming" comment on this post!

If you are a winner and a Facebook fan, you will get an extra surprise.
I'll use a random number generator to select a winner a week from today, July 8th. As always, international players welcome. Happy holiday weekend!