Vicki Boutin

Little Yellow Bicycle/May Arts Blog Hop and Something AWESOME from Pink Paislee!!

It's time for another LYB blog hop swap!!!  This time we got to play with some lovely ribbon and trim from May Arts!!

 

 

I am a real lover of ribbon and I have been a HUGE May Arts fan for years!!  So I was excited to get to play with a big bag trim this month!!  This is what I came up with...

 

 

It's a ribbon Santa!  His beard is made up of mini pom pom trim.  His moustache was made from a piece of silver leaf trim.  His hat "fur" is a swirl of fine satin ribbon.  Here, take a closer look and I will share a GREAT trick...

 

 

 

Ready for the trick...use a glue stick and a toothpick!!!  Glue stick is perfect because it doesn't seep through the ribbon!  And the toothpick helps you reach the tight spaces like I did with the loopy, swirled hat "fur".  It works...really!

Ok, let's get to hoppin'.  If you have already been a hoppin' than you were just visiting Liz.  If you are just getting started here is the list of the fabulous Biker Chicks playing along...

 

Tania Willis

Liz Qualman

ME  :)

Heather Leopard

Jen Chesnick

Make sure to check out the LYB BLOG and the May Arts BLOG, too.  There may just be some GIVEAWAYS!!!!  Just SAYin'!!!!!

LYB BLOG

May Arts BLOG

 

Now a little Pink Paislee news!!!  So exciting....

 

 

This year Pink Paislee is hosting 25 full days of handmade holiday crafting on the blog! It's our 4th annual Countdown to Christmas event and it starts on December 1st...that's tomorrow!!!  Make sure to pay special attention to Fridays in the month of December!!  Again...just sayin'!!!!

 

Ok...get hopping and make sure to leave a comment on my last post for a chance to win some stamps!!!  I will draw a name tonight!!!

 

 

Repurposed Tags and a GIVEAWAY!!!

It is my week to post on the Scrapbook & Cards Today blog.  I issued the challenge on Monday to keep your left over bits and technique cast offs and use them to create something useful.  Today I am here with the tags I made from this pile I cleaned off of my desk.

 

 

I sat down for about one hour and made this group of tags...

 

 

I ended up creating eight tags!  And I really enjoyed making them.  Most of the work was almost done it was just a matter of putting it all together.  Funny thing...I was truly going to throw most of this stuff out on Sunday night.

Here is a closer look...

 

 

 

 

 

There you have it.  Please ignore the typo I just noticed.  I'm a dork and it's way to much work to fix it!  HA!  I hope you take me up on this challenge!  Let me know what you make if you do.

How about a little giveaway!!!!  I have 2 sets of LOVELY stamps and maybe a little something special thrown in there, too.  Just leave a comment here and I will draw a name this Friday, November 30th!

Have a great Wednesday!!!!

 

 

Scrapbook & Cards Today Don't Miss Out!!!!

I have been a part of the Scrapbook & Cards Today team for awhile now and I have a secret to share...I LOVE being able to work with such an amazing group of talented ladies.  Well, I guess that isn't such a HUGE secret seeing that I talk about the magazine in my classes and I teach at Crop & Create (another wonderful thing that I am honoured to be a part of!!!)through out the year but I really wanted to share that today.  I want to shed some light on a few things going on over at SCT and then I want you to head over there and start exploring.  It is a blog that you will want to add to your daily read, if you haven't already.  I have lots to share today.

Let's get started with this...

The new winter issue and brand new PageMaps 2013 Sketch Calendar have gone to print!  That means it will be shipping soon!  I can't wait to get my hands on both!  I LOOOOVE the winter issue and I think Kimber McGray's mag. cover is so darling!  And the calendar is a fan favourite, too!!!

 And guess what?!?!?!!

 

You could win one of three winter issue/calendar packs....

 

 

Just go HERE and post a comment before Thursday, November 29th 6pm EST for a chance to win!!!!!

 

That's exciting.  Also, they have extended their subscription sale until midnight tonight!!!  Only $14.95 for Canadian subscriptions and $17.95 for US subscriptions!  The bonus...a portion of the proceeds from the sale of all subscriptions will be donated to Becky Fleck's Relay For Life!  Check it out!

 

I have a challenge on the SCT blog this week, too.  I was cleaning my desk in preparation for a new creative mess and I was thinking about what I should make and what the challenge should be for my blog week on SCT.  As I was getting ready to throw out a bunch of odd ends and scraps, it came to me!  It is time to REPURPOSE!!!  I love this idea.  For me, repurposing is like a short cut to creating.  I love to play with inks, mists, masks and more.  With those things come lots of over spray, misted scraps and what some people might consider...garbage.  I like to think of them as "short cuts to creativity".  So this week I am going to take all of the bits I was about to throw away...scrap papers, extra die cuts, over sprays, left over embellishments and more...and make them into gift tags.  So excited!!    Take a look at what I pulled off of my desk...

 

 

 

Christmas is in the air here at the Boutin house and it has been a number of years since I felt like "making" anything by the time December hit.  So I am itching to make this stuff into something useful!!  So here is the CHALLENGE...take your scraps and make SOMETHING useful!!  I will be back on Wednesday with the tags I make.

Another bit of news...Crop & Create Winnipeg registration!!!  Registration opened last night for past attendees and there are only 26 spaces remaining for Crop & Create Winnipeg!  General registration opens tonight at 8:00 p.m.  EST.  Go HERE to check it out.

This is something else that is coming from SCT!!!!  It's just like Oprah's Favourite Things!!!!

 

 

 

Watch for it!  It's going to be good!!!

To close out my mammoth post for today, I want to share a few gift card holders I made for the Little Yellow Bicycle blog using the Once Upon a Christmas line...

 

 

This week the LYB blog has a swap going on with May Arts.  Make sure to check it out!!!!

 

 

That's it for now!!!  Have a GREAT Cyber Monday!!!!

 

 

 

A Few Details from the Jillibean Soup Mini

I promised to share some details for recreating the December mini I made using Jillibean Soup last week.  Here they are.

 

Here is the cover again.

 

I layered the cover with a mask and added a layer of paint.

 

Add glitter while the paint is still wet and let it dry.  Brush away glitter and add yellow paint to circle centers.  Dry brush the edge of the cover and pages with green paint.

 

To make the interior pages...

 

Arrange the pieces.  Love that Jillibean Soup has product that comes in multiples...great for minibooks!!!

 

Mask, mist and stamp the inside pages.

 

Cut 4" x 12" strips and fold in half to create flip out pages.

 

Stamp the tag, add numbers and add altered arrows.

 

I inked the arrow with yellow chalk ink and add glitter glaze paint.

 

The stars were covered with chalk ink.

 

Hope those little details help you if you decide to recreate this mini or some of the techniques.  I will have a few gift tags next week using variations of these techniques.  Make sure to go and check the blog HERE.

 

 

Jillibean Soup Guest Designer

Well, hello there!  Happy to report that I get to be a guest designer for Jillibean Soup this month!!  Love everything about Jillibean!  Jill, the owner is a ROCK STAR and I love her team.  Very happy to get the play this month.

When my box arrived I decided a minibook was in order.  I also decided to pretend I was on the ball and made a "prep" for December mini.  We have a few "ramping up for December the 25th" traditions and I wanted to document them this year so I made this....

 

Here is a look inside...

 

Each page opens up so more photos can be added...

 

 

Then the page slides under the little circle to keep it closed.

 

 

Love how this came together.  I will share more detail photos and ouline a few techniques later this month.  Be sure to check back.

Go on over and  take a look at the Jillibean Soup site for some amazing scrap goodness HERE.  Also check out their blog HERE lots of amazing crafting ideas from this talented team!!!!!