An altered tin as a mermaid aquarium

Hi everyone!  I might be rushing the season just a wee bit, but when Gina designed these new mermaids, I simply couldn't wait to have some fun with them.  I'm calling this piece a mermaid aquarium.  The mermaids are available as a set of 12 in varying sizes.  I used the 4 inch size thinking I'd start small then once it gets closer to Summer, I can go much bigger with a 12 x 12 canvas project.  For this fun project, I used a tin I'd had in my stash for a couple of years.  It's a little bit larger than an altoid tin at nearly 4 x 6.  I used mod podge to apply Japanese lace papers to the tin for texture, used ink sprays in ocean colors, then coated it with clear glass bead gel.  I painted my mermaids with twinkling H2O's and then applied glass microbeads over a coating of glossy accents.  I also used our new catweed shape in the background, a clump of chipboard grass at the bottom, and a section of palm tree at the top for some extra tropical appeal.  Everything else I used was already in my stash.  My favorite part of a creation is looking through my stash to find things that are perfect, and it's so exciting when I find just the right pieces.  I wanted it to look like an aquarium so I found various wood pieces to create a stand.  I hope you like it!

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Mermaids Shape Set

Palm Trees Shape Set

Grass and Foliage

Catweed Shape Set

Fanciful Elements

Other Products:

Glass bead gel

Prima Lady Bird flowers

Japanese Lace papers from Dick Blick

Ink Sprays

Wooden decorative elements from Hobby Lobby

Gilder's Paste

Twinkling H2O's

Glass microbeads

Butterfly by Renea Bouquets on Etsy

An altered frame in a vintage shabby style

Today I am sharing this altered frame that I created as a gift for my friend.  Before I mailed it to her, I added this photo of my paternal Grandmother.  She passed away when I was young but I still remember how we used to sit outside in her yard and enjoy the sunshine.  I began with a 12 x 12 unfinished frame from Michael's.  I have altered several of these, and they are so much fun to play with as each one comes out so different.  This one I decided to paper instead of paint, but also did some stenciling with paint over the paper for a mixed media effect.  The project came together quickly and easily with some Gina's Designs chipboard shapes and some flowers.  I hope you like it!

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Chicken Wire (large)

Miniatures Shape Set - Guy Thing (antique bike)

Feathery Flourishes Set

Banner Border Strips

Skeleton Clocks

Steampunk 2 Shape Set (pocket watch)

Words and Phrases 1

Cardstock Doily Set - Sreampunk

Other Products:

Petaloo Flowers

BoBunny "The Avenues" Design Paper

TCW Damask Stencil

Folk Art Paints

Prima Chalk Inks

Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Powder

Prima Butterfly

Bo Bunny Trinket

A Bit of History

This layout is near and dear to my heart.  When I saw this design paper by Kaisercraft I was immediately reminded of my beloved old apartment in Hollywood.  I lived there alone for 12 years right in the heart of old Hollywood and they were the best years of my life.  Sometime after I had moved in, I had stumbled upon the first of Rachael Ashwell's Shabby Chic books in a used book store and I immediately started redecorating.  Suddenly there was vintage bark cloth and cabbage rose patterns, and lace everywhere, even thrown over the cat's beds.  All of my furniture got crackled and distressed.  Anyway, this photo is of my Willie who passed on about 9 months ago.  Here he was snuggled among the cabbage roses on my bed in happier times.  I can't stop looking at this layout because it's such a beautiful reminder of those days.  I never would have left if the landlord hadn't sold the four-plex.  I would no longer be able to keep my cats there with the new owner, so I moved 70 miles East to dullsville.  I try not to complain though, because my beloved pets have plenty of room and I'm sure they are much happier here.  Thanks for looking!

Gina's Designs Products:

Queen Anne's Lace

Skeleton Leaves 2

Words and Phrases 1

Fanciful Elements

Other:

Lace by Trseors Deluxe

Paper by Kaisercraft and Prima

Flowers by Prima

Dies by Marianne Creatables and Spellbinders

A Masculine Layout

I stepped out of my comfort zone to create a layout in neutral tones which was a little difficult for me.  The photo is of my Uncle Chuck many years ago.  He was recently killed in a motorcycle accident.  He was in his 70's when he was killed by a young woman who pulled out right in front of him.   He rode his motorcycle every day from his teens until the day he died.  I had always admired him growing up.  I will always remember him as a rebel, and as a child I was fascinated by him and his nomadic lifestyle.

Gina's Designs Products used:

Words and Phrases 1

Tulip Scroll Corners

Skeleton Clocks

Clock Hands Shape Set

Hinge Straps Shape Set

Thanks for looking!

February sketch challenge at Gina's Designs!

Here is the new sketch for February and below the sketch is my own challenge entry.  The challenges are an all new feature open to our followers or anyone else wanting to play along. Each month, on the first Monday, a new sketch will be provided in our gallery. Winner receives a $10 gift certificate to shop at Gina's Designs. Since only members of our Design Team entered last month, nobody won! We realized it would take some time before the word got out, but meanwhile it's your golden opportunity for a chance to win the gift certificate! Here's what you need to do:

You must register on the gallery in order to upload, and your entry must be entered into the area of the gallery designated for sketch challenges, and in the proper month. You will find the sketch challenges in the categories section. Winners will be chosen by drawing from all eligible projects and will be announced on the blog on the second Monday of each month. We encourage you to use Gina's Designs products in your project but it is not required to be eligible to win.

Below is the sketch for February along with my own sample entry.

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Steampunk Doily 

Feathery Flourishes Set

For The Birds (nest and eggs)

Flourishes 2

Skeleton Leaves 1

Other Products:

Prima flowers (Zephyr collection)

Butterflies by Renea Bouquets on ETSY

Design Paper by Mambi (Mixed Media Collection)

Filmstrip shadowbox as a nature assemblage

Today I am sharing another project inspired by nature, one of my favorite themes.  When I saw this Filmstrip Shadowbox, I knew it had to be mine!  After I got it, I puzzled over the decision on which one of my many ideas I should use, and with which orientation I wanted to use  You can place this piece either horizontally or vertically.  My first inclination was a Steampunk project, or maybe a fun retro pin-up theme would be great.  This would also be perfect for family photos, or anything with a movie theme.   All you need is your imagination.

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Filmstrip Shadow Box

Feathers Shape Set

Bird Watching Shape Set

Wings Assortment Set

Bug Collector Shape Set (the bumble bee)

Leafy Trees Small (a random piece under the bird nest)

Other Products:

White Gesso and Gilder's Paste in patina (front and outside of the box)
Washi tape lines the inside of the box

Inka Gold to edge the wings

Prima Chalk Inks to color the bird and the bee

text stamp on the bee wings

Enamel accents in black on the bee

Butterflies by Renea Bouquets on Etsy

Feathers, moss, branches, birds, eggs, birdhouse and metal piece at top center are all from my stash

Victorian Snowy Cabin Inverted Canvas

Today I am sharing an inverted 10 x 10 canvas which I used as a shadowbox, along with several of the newest chipboard shapes from Gina's Designs.  Many of the chippies used in the project I had specifically requested and are not listed in the store just yet, but will be coming soon!  I had in my mind to create something using a fireplace, and I wanted a snowy, winter look on the outside and a contrasting look of radiant warmth inside.  I was really happy with the end result.  I papered the inside with a yellowish patterned paper, then added yellow and gold sprays, and a damask stencil for texture.  I also printed a small snowy cabin scene, and framed it to look like a painting over the mantle.

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Snowflake Shape Set

Skeleton Leaves - Set 1

Filigree Frames Shape Set

Vintage Ladies Silhouette Set

Cats Shape Set

Lamppost ( I had these custom sized to be smaller)

Bare Tree (I used just a piece of this on the right-hand side)

Layered Fireplace (available soon)

Decorative Corners 1 (available soon)

Decorative Toppers 1 (available soon)

Other:

The gorgeous lace is by Tresors Deluxe on ETSY

Prima flowers and nest

Petaloo flowers

Modeling paste and stencils

Ink sprays
Prima resin piece on fireplace
stickles

Stampendous embossing powder in Shabby White and Shabby Blue

XO XO Wall Hanging in celebration of Valentine's Day

Today I am sharing another project for our January cross promotional with the Robin's Nest. The new Valentine themed products from Gina's Designs have made working with this paper so much fun.  The new designs are available in the store just in time for your February projects.  It was hard to decide which one to use, but here you see the XO XO Wall Hanging which includes the chipboard backing, the heart shaped frame, and the XO XO letters.  To begin, I backed the piece with striped paper from The Robin's Nest, and covered the letters with their glittered red paper.  I painted the heart frame in baby pink, and used some extra high foam mounting squares to pop it up from the back to create a shadowbox effect.  I embellished with some vintage Valentine images from my stash (which were also given dimension with pop dots), followed by flowers, bling, and other things, and of course our awesome chipboard cupid, part of  the new Cupid Shape Set.

The cupid was covered lightly with white gesso, followed by a coat of white chalk ink , then stamped in red with a script stamp, and finally by inking the edges lightly in red.

Gina's Designs Products used:

XO XO Wall Hanging Kit

Cupid Shape Set

Cardstock Doilies

Robin's Nest Products used:

From the Wild About U paper collection:

Classic Roses

Red Glitter Paisley

Glittered Letters

Other Products:

Folk Art paint in Baby Pink

Versa Magic Chalk Ink in Cloud White

Hero Arts script stamp

Inkadinkadoo dye-based ink in red

Versa Magic Chalk Ink in Red Magic

Lace by Tresor Deluxe

Crocheted bows by Delightful Designer on Etsy

Scripted flowers by Petaloo

Butterfly by Prima

Red flower and flat-backed pearls by Recollections

Pink lips ribbon from Smart Cindy on Etsy

Vintage Valentine images and red polka dot ribbon from my stash

Layout and New Sketch Challenge

Beginning this month, Gina's Designs will be holding a monthly sketch challenge in our new gallery.  We will put up a new sketch on the first Monday of each month.   Winners will receive a $10.00 gift certificate to use at our online store.  You will have until the first Monday of the following month to upload a project using the sketch.  You must register on the gallery to upload,  and your entry must be entered into the area of the gallery designated for sketch challenges.  You will find this in the categories section.  Winners will be chosen by drawing from all eligible projects and will be announced on the blog on the second Monday of each month.  We encourage you to use Gina's Designs products in your project but it is not required to be eligible to win. 

Here is my take on the sketch:

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Scribbled frames and lines

10 words Set

Cupid Shape Set

Valentine layout with Gina's Designs and The Robin's Nest

Today I'm sharing the first of my projects for our January cross promotional with The Robin's Nest.  I had a lot of fun creating this layout of my favorite Valentine, Miss Billie Jean.  She was just a puppy in this photo taken four years ago.  She stole my heart from the moment I saw her.  I created this layout from a sketch I found on Pinterest by Erica Mouton for Let's Scrap.  The background paper is a very pale pink parchment from my stash.  I did some script stamping and some stenciling on the background paper. All other papers are from The Robin's Nest Wild About U Collection.  I used lots of Gina's Designs chipboard shapes on this one from two different Valentine collections.

Gina's Designs Products Used:

Scribble lines and frame set

Chip clips assortment set

Valentines shape set

Cupid's shape set

Robin's Nest Products Used:

From the The Robin's Nest Wild About U Collection:

Black & White Animal Print

Valentine Cardstock

Valentine Striped Cardstock

Silver Lips on Red Cardstock

Black and Red Journaling Set

Other Products Used:

Script Stamp by Hero Arts

Stencil by Heidi Swapp

Scripted flower by Petaloo

Butterflies by Prima

Recollections flat-backed pearls

Washi tape from my stash