Thursday, August 14, 2014

Simple & Cute Card w/ Pink Paislee

Hello! I know it's been a while and I will try my best to post regularly for the remainder of the year. My favorite time of year is quickly approaching...autumn! Halloween and Thanksgiving are just around the corner and it's time to get crafty!

I wanted to quickly share a cute and simple little card I made for the store to send to customers. The paper is by Pink Paislee and it's from their Pen Pals/Switchboard lines. So cute!



Thanks for stopping by & stay scrappy!

-Gina & the Hounds

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Fun with the Silhouette Cameo!

Happy Friday! I have finally completed the big project I've been working on for the past 4 months, and just in time too! Yesterday was the Giant's birthday and as a gift, I made him scrapbooks (a two volume set) of his 38 years. It was definitely a labor of love... 240+ pages (front & back). Here are some of my favorite cuts that I created with my Cameo. I am grateful to have had the Cameo for this project! It enabled me to create a truly personalized gift. The custom images below were all in jpg format. For images from the Silhouette Store, I included the image numbers so you can find them if desired.

1. Propeller hat from Tweedledee & Tweedledum-Alice in Wonderland


Found image on internet, traced, edited, & cut!


2. Buffalo Bills logo for card and window sticker.


Found image, traced, edited, & cut!

3. Old WWF wrestling logo.


Found, traced, edited, and cut!

4. Cruise Ship from Silhouette store.


Print and cut image #11124.


5. Motorcycle from Silhouette Store.


Image #59834

6. Little Shop of Horrors lettering


Found, traced, edited, & cut!


7. Deadly Venus Flytrap from Little Shop


Found, traced, edited, & cut!

8. Emerson College logo


Found, traced, edited, & cut!



9. Greek alphabets 1-4 from Silhouette Store.


Image #'s 6771, 6755, 6749, 6858

10. Starfish from Silhouette Store


Image # 17461


What have you created with your Cameo recently?

Thanks for stopping by and stay scrappy!

-Gina & the Hounds




Friday, June 13, 2014

Mini Book with Webster's Pages

Happy Friday! Today I am sharing a mini book I created with Webster's Pages Alison Kreft's "Hello World," "Pitter Patter"' "Welcome Love" and "You Are Loved." Those wood veneer pieces were just screaming "mini book" to me! This was created for The City's Design Team. 




Thanks for stopping by and as always, stay scrappy!

-Gina & the Hounds



Thursday, May 29, 2014

Hanging Mason Jar Lights

Happy Friday! It's been a while since I last posted but for good reasons. Remember that scrapbooking store I love (www.scrappininthecity.com)? Well, I am working there part-time now and loving it! How could I not when I get to be surrounded by cool product and talented people all day?! I have also been working on a big project for the Giant for his upcoming birthday in June for the last few weeks and can't post the layouts...yet. I did, however, get around to this month's Scrappin' in the City DT challenge-using washi & sequins. I decided to go off the page with these easy to make mason jar lights. No doubt you've seen the hundreds of variations on these easy to make home decor accents on Pinterest.




I poured some leftover glitter (a mix of Martha Glow-in-the Dark and tinsel glitter), in the jars and layered Doodlebug sequins on top (they come packaged in adorable test tubes). The washi tape was a combination of Doodlebug and My Mind's Eye and of course you can find mason jars at many retailers. I used a thin wire to wrap around the jar's lip and created a handle. Easy peasy! The twine around the top is leftover Strawberry Stripe and Sea Foam from The Twinery. The tea lights are battery operated.

Thanks for stopping by and stay scrappy!

-Gina & the Hounds


Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Mischievous Girl & Goodbye Hair!

Happy Saturday! Today's featured hound is Bailey. Here is a layout I did for Scrappin' in the City's DT this week.

*tag reads: Our good girl can be a naughty girl.




Materials Used:

*tube sequins from Hazel & Ruby
WP=Webster's Pages

I am loving Chic Tags' wood veneers, Wink of Stella pens, and am such a fan of Webster's Pages. Great products that make your layouts looks amazing!

In Other News:

After several weeks of careful deliberation, I decided that it was time to hack off the rat nest that was posing as my hair. I went searching for an app that would let me get a sense of how short I wanted to go. I'm not sure how useful the app was (as you can see from the photo below). The app is called Hairstyle Pro.

Doesn't she look like a pop diva?
If you liked it then you should've put a bone on it.

 I went from this:


To this:


And let me tell you, it really did feel as if 20 lbs. came off my head. A total of  7+ inches were cut (sigh of relief).

Have you ever chopped off your hair or are you thinking about it? If so, did you love it or hate it?

Thanks for stopping by and stay scrappy!

-Gina & the Hounds







Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Wall Decor for the Hounds

Happy Hump Day with the Hounds! It was a very scary Monday night/Tuesday morning for us as I'm sure it was for many Knoxvillians. I lived in earthquake country all my life but this recent storm that just passed through really had my nerves rattled. I received a tornado warning on my cell phone accompanied by a shrill alarm with the words "take shelter now." I received this alert twice. The Giant was in Atlanta on the 6th floor of a hotel (that must have been scary since they were getting hammered as well) so it was only the hounds and I that quickly ran to our safe spot...the closet underneath the stairs.


During the first alarm, the hounds were put in their carriers which they DID NOT like. Bailey worked herself up into a frenzy, yipping and panting. After it was safe to come out, I decided to leave their harnesses on, just in case. I'm so glad I did because less than 30 min. later, the 2nd alarm sounded. We finally passed out around just after 2am, with the cell phone right next to my pillow. It was scary for sure but thankfully, we escaped damage and no one was hurt.  Southern TN was not so lucky nor the three states beneath us. My heart goes out to all who were injured or lost loved ones during these violent storms.

During this past week, I've been experimenting with my Silhouette machine and I am happy to report that I love it! I created this for Scrappin' in the City's April DT challenge which was to make something using vinyl. I had this bouncing around in my head for a while and thought that this was the perfect opportunity to finally have it come to fruition. 

Wall vinyl doghouses!






It was super easy as the Cameo has pre-set blade depths and speeds already figured out for you. I'm very happy with how they came out and it's got me thinking about what else I can stick to the walls! Have you created anything with vinyl yet and if so what was it?

Thanks for stopping by and stay scrappy...and safe!

-Gina & the Hounds


Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Whimsical DIY Decor in 10 Steps

Happy Thursday friends! What?! Two back-to-back posts? Oh yeah! Today, I depart the world of scrapbooking and show you a paper crafting/altered/mixed media project. I've been working on *her* for sometime, trying to perfect and streamline the process so you too can create your own whimsical creature. Allow me to introduce you to "Domestic Goddess."



What you will need:

Paper mâché bust 
Wooden candle pillar 
Acrylic or wall paint (I used Ultra Flat Matte UL200 in Petal Bloom sample from Behr)
150-grit sand paper or Dremmel with sanding attachment
Hazel & Ruby "Pass the Tissue" paper (I used Teal Then/White Polka Dot)


Teresa Collins Basically Essential Modeling Paste
Teresa Collins Basically Essential Palatte Knife Set
Mod Podge (I used Hard Coat formula)
2 paintbrushes-one for painting and one for decoupaging
Hot glue gun
Hot glue gun "finger" or Mod Podge finger (to protect from burns)
Jewelry wire
Washi tape
Kraft paper cardstock 
Heidi Swapp Color Mist (I used Blush)
White feathers (3 bags)
X-Acto knife
Pearl Pen (I used "Cream")
Heat gun (to speed up drying)
Baby wipes

Step 1: Cut tissue paper in four 1.5" strips and cut 1.5" squares from each strip. Apply Mod Podge to back of tissue paper squares and to the area of the bust you'll be working on. Apply tissue square to bust and smooth out using finger. Apply a thin coat of Mod Podge to the top of the tissue. Repeat many times until you get the desired coverage. I created a V-neck at the top of the bust.






Step 2: While bust is drying, begin work on the wings. Draw a wing shape (the size can vary) on one piece of kraft cardstock. Cut out and trace wing on second sheet of kraft cardstock.





Step 3: Shape jewelry wire around wing shapes to create a frame for each wing. Attach with washi tape. Leave an end piece (where the two ends of your wire will meet). 




Step 4: Mix about 4 large palatte knife-fuls of modeling paste with 10 pumps of Color Mist for each wing. Mix well until you achieve desired color. Apply tinted paste to one side of each wing (make sure you have wings oriented in the correct direction for each side of the bust). The more lines you create, the more texture. Continue until you have reached desired coverage (covering all kraft paper, wire, and washi) and texture. You can speed up the drying some with a heat gun. Allow to harden. 



(Note: I originally applied the paste after I had feathered. I recommend applying the paste before feathering so you don't get paste on the feathers!)

Step 5: Time to sand the candle pillar. (Make sure to move wings and bust out of the way before starting this step so you don't get wood dust stuck to your drying pieces.) If you have a Dremmel, you can do this step fairly quickly. If not, just grab a piece of 150-grit sandpaper and begin sanding. This is so the paint will stick better and will keep you from having to add a second coat.


Step 6: Wipe off pillar with a baby wipe to remove dust and clean up work space. Apply paint to pillar, focusing on any nooks and crannies it may have. I used one coat of Behr's Ultra in Petal Bloom which gave it a chalky texture. You can use acrylic paint as well which will give you a different finish.



Step 7: While candle pillar is drying, begin work on the other side of the wings, making sure the modeling paste has set if you opted to use it. Begin hot gluing feathers to each wing. Select feathers with a natural bend to go around the edge of the wing first then work toward the middle. Apply hot glue to the "stems" so as not to have yellow, gluey spots in the middle of your feathers. Continue until you have desired coverage. Trim around the edges if needed to "shape" your wings.


I used this brand of feathers.




Step 8: Making sure bust is dry, cut two small slits in the back with an X-Acto knife where end pieces of your wings will be inserted. Insert wings and secure with hot glue, smoothing out the glue do it doesn't leave big visible globs. Use dots of hot glue to secure wings to back of the bust. Apply a small strip of tissue to cover the area where the wings are inserted to give a smoother finish.







Step 9: Apply dots with Pearl Pen to create a pearl necklace around the bust's neck.


Step 10: Making sure the pillar is dry, hot glue bottom of bust to top of candle pillar. 

Your Domestic Goddess lives! She will make a fun addition to a craftroom or a whimsical accent piece to your home decor...and you can say that you made it! There are many ways you can personalize this project, the possibilities are endless! If you attempt this project, please send pics, I would love to see them!

Thanks for stopping by and stay scrappy (and crafty!)

-Gina & the Hounds