Grizzly Bear Plaque

Mom and Dad of Josiah are fans of the outdoors. The bear is from some clip art that I converted to an SVG file and added layers...and mounting tape to give him dimension. I was pleased how he turned out.

Annabelle Hope

Made this for a special baby who is coming soon!

Little Girls' Plaques

  A friend of mine is expecting her second baby. She was deployed out of the country when her first was born and I never made her a baby plaque. So when she showed interest in a plaque for the second, I offered to make one for each, then we worked with "The Parents Express" to deliver them. Looking forward to hearing of the arrival of baby Sydney!

All art is from My Scrap Chick.

Subway Art Plaque 2

A friend just had her second baby boy. I had made a similar plaque a couple of years ago for her first son and she requested a matching one for baby Cru. I bought the frames to paint  a few years ago and am out of them....hopefully baby three is a girl so we can work with something different :)

No, the weight is not a typo!

Beary Sweet Baby

Today's plaque brought to you by sweet baby Lucy. Bears are made from flocked paper.

The Elephant in the Room

I just love it when I can coordinate with a nursery theme or bedding. Here's a plaque I did for a friend I've known since forever. I will send her the actual name, once mom and dad decide what it is.

Here's comparing the plaque with the bedding set.

New Stuff

I've not posted in a while...I'm beginning a new photography business. I've been taking photos of my own children for 16 years. This summer I finally upgraded my camera, and started taking photos of friends' babies. I discovered that all my years of paper crafting has really prepared me for this! Color, composition, Photoshop, backdrop engineering...it all works together to help make beautiful portraits. Now I just have to learn the business side of things...feel free to check out Thyme of Your Life Photography's blog to see some of the adorable babies and children.

On another note...I'm still making baby plaques. Personalization has always been important to me. I just shipped a plaque to a friend whom the military has moved across the country. She was the first one I made a plaque for. This is the fourth plaque I've given to her. Baby Isaac is due quite soon! She didn't know I was sending it, so am hoping it gets there in one piece and is a happy surprise.

All artwork if from Just So Scrappy Too's Outlet. The set is called "Playful Paws." I hand cut all the layers, instead of using my trusty Silhouette. Many of the parts are layered with mounting tape to add dimension.

Odin Plaque

Here is another baby plaque.

My Scrap Chick Giraffe

Odin is my new nephew and the baby brother to Ari. I had a bit of a challenge coordinating the two plaques, because I've sold my Cricut and am exclusively using my Silhouette.

Big Brother's plaque

Harlem Plaque

I made this plaque for a very special baby. To follow his story check out his mom's blog at /http://the38day.wordpress.com/ .

Mariana

Mariana is the name of the first baby to be born to one of the employees since my husband's company was formed just over a year ago. What a sweet name! Here is the plaque I made for Mariana and her parents.

I love the bright colors!

Mulberry flowers are so versatile.

The bird and butterfly are from Cricut- Create a Critter, Tree is from Cricut- Heritage and the font used for Mariana is Gabriola using Make the Cut on my Silhouette. The leaves are green mulberry flowers cut apart and the itty bitty flowers are from the Fiskars flower punch.

Isaac Plaque

Here's the latest baby gift.

I used Cricut Create a Critter for the main elements. The font for Isaac is PC Delightful...cut with Make the Cut.

Paris Theme Baby Plaque

A friend was needing a baby shower gift for her niece...The baby's room was pink and gray, but no definite theme. I suggested Paris...here's where the project went from there.

Poodle is from Cricut cartridge "Create a Critter"

My friend liked it, but did think the poodle's sideways nose was a bit weird

I printed the chandelier (from ScrapNFonts) and Eiffel Tower (from Lettering Delights) in gray on metallic silver paper. I used Pink Pirouette Card stock from Stampin' Up! sponged with Victorian Velvet distress ink.

Bubble Gum Pink

Bubblegum Machine Make Over

Another Pinterest inspired project...this time a gumball machine. I pinned this project last year sometime...and then was on the hunt for an old gumball machine at the garage sales last year to see if I could do something like it. During one of the last of the season sales, I found this!

Bubble Gum Machine Before

I took it all apart and cleaned it up.  (I worked on this as I was working on the chandelier...hopefully that explains some of the weird pieces.)

Tearing it all apart.

Then I spray painted the metal pieces. I chose not to paint the "works" of the machine because 1. I didn't refer back to the original pin to see that they had and 2.I wanted it to function and I was afraid the paint would jam the mechanism.

While waiting for the paint to dry, I worked...and worked...and worked on getting the Jelly Belly logo off the glass. THAT did NOT go well! I tried acetone, steel wool, turpentine, soaking it, scrubbing it, sanding it. I finally got most of the evidence off that the logo was ever there, but it left the glass scratched and foggy.

Final project.

I cut some coordinating vinyl to cover the scratched parts and labeled it treats. Had to take a couple of darts in the oval to get it to lay somewhat flat.

My sad attempt at the label.

Before and After

Gave this as a gift to my Sister in Law for her birthday. Thought it might be a good potty training tool filled with M&Ms for her toddler.

Elias

Here's another baby gift..This one is for baby Elias. The turtle is a freebie from SVGCuts . The firefly is from Doug's Bugs at Lettering Delights.

Family Portrait

To celebrate a friend of ours, graduating with his Master's of Divinity, we wanted to do something special for his family. We put together this paper doll portrait of his family. I couldn't have done this without my daughter's help. She considers the girls "the sisters she never got" and thinks the world of them. She knows their likes, personalities and what makes them special. It was a fun project to do. (And according to the Mrs. in the picture, it was well received!)

 

The Mr. and Mrs.

 The Girls

Gluten Free, Sugar Free and Fat Free "Cake"

Made this "cake" for my husband...he loves Diet Mtn Dew. Our family has several food issues. This cake covered something for everyone. The kids helped me set it up and light the candles right before he got home. It was a fun surprise when my honey arrived home from work, on his birthday.

To make sure I had enough cans, I drew circles in Photoshop and arranged them. Then I patiently watched sales to get the best deal on the pop. My daughter asked for a corner piece. :)

Elephant Baby Plaque

While waiting for an appointment with my OB when I was expecting, Disney's Dumbo was playing in the waiting room. It was the scene when Dumbo gets to see his mom while she's in "jail". As "Baby Mine" was playing, I was an absolute wreck. Crying my eyes out. I still tear up at that scene even without the extra emotional mess of not being pregnant! I found an adorable elephant set from My Scrap Chick, that reminds me of that moment in the movie. I just gave this plaque to a friend expecting her first little one.

My Daughter's Design

My teenage daughter has many talents! One of which she's been honing is drawing. We saw an adorable giraffe on Pinterest. It was a card, when I went to the link, the creator of the card had linked to the site that was selling the giraffe rubber stamp. I really wanted it! But alas, it was outdated and no longer available. Cue my daughter..."Mom, I think I can draw that."

And she did. Then she thought...he needs some friends...so she drew a couple more jungle animals...

Then...we scanned them...messed around with Photoshop Elements...and then Make-the-Cut...and made die cuts out of them...

Then we put 'em together for a jungle themed plaque for a good friend. (The monkey and foliage are all from My Scrap Chick.) Can't wait to welcome little Aaralyn Blyss!

Subway Art Baby Plaque

I love doing baby plaques, but they're really hard to personalize if I don't know Jr's name. This was the case for a new baby that was arriving in early March. The parents were very tight lipped when it came to sharing the baby's name. I did know that it was a boy and the nursery was black and white...and football. I decided to wait to make the gift after I had the "details." I set up the type and verse and mock weight etc. in Make the Cut and then changed it once I knew. (I did guess the length...woo hoo!)

This is a definite change for the usual style I've done...but it was fun. I still have lots to learn on designing good Subway Art. But babies keep coming, so I'll have lots of practice. :)

I found the frame at Michael's, painted it black and  used white Orcal vinyl for the lettering.

It is Well

Here is another Pinterest inspired project. I repinned this collage. Unfortunately, whoever originally pinned it, didn't pin it from the original source. It may have been user uploaded, but whatever the case, I have no idea who to give credit to. Please message me if you know the original link or source!

**Here is the link to this at Etsy.

All that to say...I thought it was a great idea and loved the composition. I'm still pretty green on the whole painting thing, but here is my take on it. (I made it for a gift for my father-in-law.)

Here's what I did to make mine...

1. Find sheet music for It is Well with My Soul, size it to fit in frame (8x10), and print off on parchment looking paper.
2. Seal that with Modge Podge. (I did this so that my letters wouldn't stick and rip the paper.)
3. Cut out "It is Well with My Soul." I used Make the Cut and my Silhouette to cut out contact paper.
4. Adhere words to sheet music to use as a mask.
5. Paint two coats of very light color all over. Let dry.
6. Mix a medium color with some glaze medium, then brush it on working in small sections, wiping it off in circular motions with crumpled cheese cloth. Let dry.
7. Repeat with a very dark color/glaze mix. Let dry.
8. Carefully remove the contact paper letters.
9. Mount the mat. (I used clear packing tape on the back.)
10. Cut the bird image out of contact paper, removing the inside part, to make a stencil. (I found my bird on Silhouette's website here. I did tweak it a bit to make the branch a bit longer.)
11. Position stencil over mat and sheet music and adhere.
12. Paint inside the stencil with a light brown.
13. Mix dark brown with glaze and paint and wipe with cheese cloth like above. 
14. Remove stencil. Let dry.
15. Frame it :)