Top 10 projects of 2018 ~

Hi guys!!

I love sharing the top 10 projects of 2018.  Some of these are my favorite

 and some got high viewing but non the less I love them !!

So here we go~

#1. Created this Shaker Boat Album for Clear Scraps~

#2. Canvas zippered bags created using stencils by Clear Scraps.

  I loved creating these~

#3.  I created this scrapbook page for Quick Quotes.  My favorite part of this page
was getting so many photos on the page to tell the story and the boys are really enjoying being outside and talking to us.

#4. This card was created for Darkroom Door using newly released stamps and stencils.

#5.  This pop-up card was created for a Blog hop between Karen Burniston 

and Darkroom Door.  I enjoyed combining the different products into a card~

#6. This pocket page was created with Creating Made Easy monthly kit by Clear Scraps. 

#7.  Created this mix media piece as a member of the DecoArt blogger Outreach Program.

#8. All I can say,  is what a thrill this was!  Guest Designer for Take Ten magazine, publisher Stampington.

#9. Created this card for World Card Day using stamps by Joy Clair.

#10. Most loved~ created with Joy Clair stamps.

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Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful 

New Year.  See ya in 2019 !

Creating Made Easy April Kit ~ Birch Wood Signs

Hi, Connie here with the Creating Made Easy April Kit by Clear Scraps.  The kit comes with a package of rectangle Birch Wood shapes that are perfect for painting or altering.  I used a couple of stencils by Clear Scraps ( not in the kit) and made a couple of word signs. 



The wood is so smooth, no need to sand it before you paint.  I love that!!!



After the color was painted on and the Birch Wood was dry, the stencils were used to add a word or words (in my case).  The boards were hand sanded, to give a vinatge look, and speckled with black and white acrylic paint watered down.  I always use an old toothbrush to splat on my projects.  I feel I have more control as to where the splat will end up.





Hubby drilled the top holes for me and wire was added for the hanger.  These would be so cute attached to a gift bag or hanging on the wall or door knob.  Stickers and ribbon were added also.

Products not included in the kit are:
buttons, paint, stencils.

products used:
12" Imagine stencil by Clear Scraps
6" Imagine stencil by Clear Scraps
Creating Made Easy April Kit by Clear Scraps

Thanks for stopping by~
Connie Mercer/DT Member

Creating Made Easy April Kit~Pocket Page

Hi, Connie here with a pocket page to share, using the Creating Made Easy April Kit and the 12" acrylic sheets by Clear Scraps. This is a great project for saving memorabilia together with the photos that were taken at the event.  I love keeping it all together. So easy to create and the pocket holds plenty!


Photo Strip Instructions:
First lets create the photo strips that are in the pocket.  By printing the photos smaller and adhering them on a strip of paper,  more photos can be shared on one page.  I'm all about one page capturing the entire event.


Four photos are collaged on  4" X 6" photo paper and printed out.  The collage is cut down the middle giving two photo strips.  Mount the photo strips on pattern paper.  You can make as many as you need to tell your story.


Memorabilia and Photo Pocket instructions:
Cut a piece of pattern paper 12" x 4", shade with ink and use a decorative border punch on the top edge. Shade with ink when finished.  This will be the pocket that holds the memorabilia and photo strips.


Chipboard Guitar Instructions:
Ink the chipboard guitar with Distress Oxide/Vintage Photo, cover with clear embossing powder, shake off the extra and emboss with a heating tool.


Instructions to assemble the Pocket Page:
Remove plastic film from both sides of the 12" X 12" acrylic sheet.  Add the pocket to the bottom of the acrylic page using Beacon adhesive or a tape runner. Mount the focal photo on the top left.  Mat with coordinating pattern papers from the Creating Made Easy April Kit. Turn the acrylic page over, to the backside of the pocket page, an adhere glue (Beacon 527) to the areas where the pocket was adhered and the focal photo.  Those spots of glue will hold the background pattern paper in place without showing glue stains through the acrylic ( sometimes happens).  Tag a small drop of glue in each top corner of the pattern paper, so the paper is secure.  Lay the acrylic front over the pattern paper you are using for the background.


Add the chipboard embossed guitar to the pocket and continue to decorate with stickers.  Add photo strips and memorabilia to the pocket.  Journal the event and add the journal card to the pocket, if you like.  Speckle lightly, with acrylic paint, on the pocket (be sure to cover the top of the page with scrap paper before you speckle).

Product used:
Creating Made Easy April kit
Extra products (not included in kit):
title stickers, acrylic paint

Thanks for stopping by~
Connie Mercer/DT Member

Creating Made Easy April Kit ~ Travel Album

Hi, Connie here to share the Travel Acyclic Brag Book, that is in the April Creating Made Easy Kit by Clear Scraps.  It is such a fun project and super cute!!!  Mine is all ready for pictures, just need a road trip.


The kit is packed with creative paper, embellishments, acrylic goodies and the new Birch Wood rectangle shapes. 


First remove the plastic film from the acrylic Travel album.  Trace the shape on the pattern paper and trim both front and back image out.  The inside pages were sized at 6 1/2" X 3 1/2", trimmed and the corners were rounded.  Adhere papers to the acrylic album and pages.  I used Beacon 527, works great for this.


A view of the front cover and back cover.  Stickers and washi tape were used to create the album cover.  Dimensional foam adhesive was used to secure the stickers to the acrylic cover.


Ribbon was used to create a handle for the album.  All I did was wrap the ribbon around the handle and then tie off. Cut ribbon tails at an angle.


The inside pages were created using pattern paper cut in rectangle shapes.  Adhere to the acrylic pages (remove plastic film) with a tape runner.  Line up the paper to match the backside on the acrylic.  The paper will look like one sheet!


Image and word stickers were added to each corner page.


The back cover page, has a pocket that can be used for memorabilia or extra photos.
All products used for this project are included in the Creating Made Easy April kit except for the adhesive.

Thanks for stopping by~
Connie Mercer/DT Member

Creating Made Easy February kit by Clear Scraps~ card time !

Hi, Connie here with a card that I created using the Creating Made Easy February kit by Clear Scraps!  The kit is full of crafty supplies for you to get creative with.


The chipboard bird houses, in the Creating Made Easy February kit, come attached in a 5 x 7 chipboard frame.  Along with bird houses, the frame can be used to create with as well. Look how it was used on this card~

Products used:
Creating Made Easy February kit by Clear Scraps
Bird Houses chipboard embellishments

Thanks for stopping by~
Connie Mercer/DT Member

Creating Made Easy February kit by Clear Scraps ~ scrapbook page!

Hi, Connie here with a scrapbook page showcasing the expressions LOVE acrylic word by Clear Scraps!  I have never used the large words on a scrapbook page and I really love the look.  Take a look~

I'm using the word "LOVE" in my title along with the stickers from the paper collection in the Creating Made Easy February kit by Clear Scraps ~ Love you & me.

Designer tip:
I inked the back of the acrylic expressions word with black StazOn ink.  I removed the plastic from the back of the acrylic word only.  I left the plastic on the front of the word, giving the word a satin look finish.  I liked the look!!!

If you read what I wrote you will see this photo marks 42 years together and yes, he is still the one!!

Products used:
Creating Made Easy February kit
Expressions Large  "Love" acrylic word

Thanks for stopping by~
Connie Mercer/DT Member

Creating Made Easy February kit by Clear Scraps~Tiny Album!

Hi, Connie here with a Tiny Acrylic Album that is included in the Creating Made Easy February kit by Clear Scraps.  The album is chipboard and acrylic and comes with four pages. Perfect size for a small brag book.

Here is a short tutorial on how I went about creating this cutie~

I used three photos, one sheet of pattern paper and the Tiny album.

*Trace the shape of the chipboard page on the back of the photo, then cut it out.  Do this for the other two pages as well.
*Adhere photos to the chipboard pages and punch the holes for the rings.
*Optional~I added an extra paper page for the journal page.
*Add pattern paper to the back of the last page.

 Here is a collage of the inside pages~

Products used:
Creating Made Easy February kit
Tiny Album by Clear Scraps

Other:
Beacon, ribbon, rings and pearls.

Thanks for stopping by~
Connie Mercer/DT Member

Creating Made Easy February Kit by Clear Scraps~Heart Shaker!

Hi, Connie here with a fun Heart Shaker project, made with the Creating Made Easy February kit by Clear Scraps.  So easy and I love the way it came together.

I have done several posts on putting the shakers together, this time I covered the top frame with paper and then sanded it down.  I want to use this for some house keys, so I also painted the top of the frame and back of the shaker with acrylic sealer.  Inside the shaker I added heart beads.  If you need a refresher course on how to put these together here is a video on Scrapbook.com that Susan Frase did. It is excellent !

Products used:
Creating Made Easy February kit
Heart Shaker

Extras added that do not come in the kit are: stickers, small flower, large ring, key and charm.

Thanks for stopping by~
Connie Mercer/DT Member

Word Album with Creating Made Easy/Clear Scraps~

Hi, Connie here with a "Winter" Word Book Album from the Creating Made Easy January kit by Clear Scraps.  It is a mixable so the book comes with acrylic pages and chipboard pages. I love the acrylic look, so I rarely alter it.  I did add paint splats to this one~

I have a tutorial showing how the chipboard pages were covered with paper from 

the kit. Take a look~

A X-Acto knife was used to trim the ends of the pattern paper, to fit to the chipboard pages.  Then the paper was adhered to the chipboard page.  The edges were sanded, so there was no over hang of the paper. Then ink around the edges, if you like.

Take the plastic film off of the acrylic pages front and back.  You will have a rich glossy finish.

The inside pages with photo mats and embellishments.

Products used: Creating Made Easy January kit by Clear Scraps: Clear Scraps: Word book "winter"
Other: Beacon adhesive, paint plats (white and black), trim

Thanks for stopping by~
Connie Mercer/DT Member

Magical card ~ Creating Made Easy January kit !

Hi, Connie here with a gift card, using the "Magical" word strip, found in the Creating Made Easy January kit by Clear Scraps.  I love these chipboard words.  They are easy to alter and easy to make them what you need them to be for your project.  All I did to, the chipboard word, is colored it with Archival ink/Navy and added Wink of Stella, on it, for sparkle.



Products used: Creating Made Easy January kit by Clear Scraps, Clear Scraps: chipboard word "Magical"
Other: Archival ink, Wink of Stella, paint splats.

Thanks for stopping by~
Connie Mercer/DT Member

Key Rings with Creating Made Easy/Clear Scraps ~

Hi, Connie here with the Creating Made Easy January kit by Clear Scraps.  The kit has some fun acrylic tags that make really cute key rings.  Let me show you~


The trick is to sand the back of the tag with sand paper (be sure and remove the plastic film).  Gives it that frosty look.


After sanding the back, turn the tag over and remove the plastic film.  Use StazOn ink and stamp snowflakes on the front of the tag.  Add the ring and tie on strips of fabric or twine. Really cute!!




Last step ~ add snow and plaint splats.  Works great!!!

Products used: Creating Made Easy January kit by Clear Scraps
Other: key rings, StazOn ink, vintage keys, fabric and acrylic white paint for snow splats.

Thanks for stopping by~
Connie Mercer/DT Member