Pixie June Challenge

Pixie June Challenge

"Summer Days"

photo credit

Our fabulous challenge Design Team is sharing their projects with you

Ros Crawford

Link to Ros's blog - Mikey's Mom

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Chriss America Real

Link to Chriss's blog - Scrappin' with Chriss and Lou

Please come play along with us

Click HERE to link your project

"sweetness" frame by lauren bergold

recently, my sister-in-law gave me an envelope containing a bunch of "leftover" portraits of my nieces riley and lindsay from the last couple of years. i already have my own copies of most of these photos, but in the course of conversation it was mentioned that if i wanted to "make something or other" with some of these, that would be ok. :) :) :) when i saw all the gorgeous soft pink shades in the MARY MARY QUITE CONTRARY kit, i thought i'd better get started! (although i feel honor-bound to mention that "contrary" is not a word one could ever use for these girls... why just *LOOK* at those sweet faces in their easter hats a few years ago!!!)

i am what you might call a "frequent flyer" in the unfinished wooden item section of my local craft store. i am especially drawn to the $1 aisle, where i have been known to scoop up "interesting" finds even without having a clear idea of what i will do with them. last fall i saw a few of these 5" square frames and thought they might come in handy sometime... and i was right!

i gave the corners and edges a quick coat of white gesso, and then set about covering the flat surfaces of the frame. i used the reverse of glitz's "beautiful dreamer polka" on the front and 1/4" slices of echo park's "garden gate" on the sides. with a flowery border punch i made decorative strips of the same paper for around the photo aperture.

i used my low-temp hot glue gun to apply a very thin line of adhesive, an inch at a time, on top of the flowery strip, and scrunched the pale pink crinkly signature seam bindingaround the opening. as a finishing touch i cut out one of the poppies from pink paislee's "nantucket oyster bar" paper and applied a liberal coat of glitter glue to the center. one tiny crate paper "random" sticker summed up my nieces perfectly in a single word!

and here they are as the "stars" of the perfect little frame for their mama's desk. sweetness, indeed! ♥♥♥

* Supplies *

Pixie March Kit

"Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary"

Paper Only Pack - BUY NOW

Pixie Signature Crinkled Ribbons - BUY NOW

** Pixie March Challenge **

"Sketch by Kirsty"

Click HERE to enter the challenge

patchwork party gift bag by lauren bergold

by now probably everyone knows that i have a niece born on valentine's day, and that i love to decorate gift bags... here's a project, made with february's YOU MAKE LIFE FUN kit, which celebrates both!  i started with a plain shopping bag, about 10.5" tall. i buy these at my local big box craft store, i generally get a dozen--in various solid colors--for $4 or so, and i like to keep a bunch on hand. given the gorgeous selection of papers from my mind's eye "fun day" line this month, i knew kraft-colored was the way to go. i also knew i wanted to use the "patchwork party" paper... and, as befits a patchwork theme, to do quite a bit of cutting out! 

the complete motifs at the center of the page made a brilliant stacked flower!  all i had to do was cut them, ink them, place each layer on a few pieces of foam tape for dimension, and add a button-adorned scalloped circle to the center.

the partial flowers near the edges of the paper were equally useful: when i looked at the petals, i realized each tapering pair made up a sort of heart shape. and what could be better to adorn the birthday present of a valentine girl??! i added a few cosmo cricket buttons and hand stitches with black embroidery floss.

i am not sure my nieces are aware that gift bags purchased at the store do not automatically come emblazoned with one's name, but certainly, they are never going to learn that from me! for this version i used my computer to size and print riley's name in "pickwick" font, which i then cut from pink paislee's "prep school" pattern. again, the letters are mounted on a bit of foam tape, to lift them from the background paper.

nieces who get sweeter... (and cuter, and smarter!) ...every year are just one of the things that make MY life fun me; my pixie kits are another!!! :)

* Supplies *

Pixie February Kit

"YOU MAKE LIFE FUN"

Check it out HERE!!!!

Pixie Challenge Design Team Projects ~ Day Two

Pixie February Challenge


"The Land of Fairy Tales"

More projects from our Fabulous Challenge Design Team

Evgenia (Joy)

Link to Joy's blog - Enjoy your life

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Linda Breedlove

Link to Linda's Blog - Hands to work ... Heart to Love

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Sassy

Link to Sassy's Blog - Sassy Moments

Come play along with us

Pixie February Challenge

"The Land of Fairy Tales"

Click HERE to enter the challenge

"SMILE" embellished frame by lauren bergold

this month's pixie kit is called YOU MAKE LIFE FUN and it is aptly named: with such a fabulous assortment of papers and embellishments, who could fail to enjoy making a variety of cool projects?! someone who definitely "makes life fun" for everyone around him is my young friend carlos, seen in this photo:

you may recall that one of my LOVE NOTES projects last month was also an embellished frame, it is for carlos' sister isabel; since their birthdays are close together, i try to make them each a similar--but unique and personal gift--so i was really excited that this month's kit had everything i needed to make a "boy version"!

one of the centerpieces of this kit is a line i happen to ♥LOVE♥... "fun day" by my mind's eye! the patterns on two of the papers were IDEAL for fussy-cutting purposes: the reverse side of "sugar rush" has a zigzag pattern that became an instant flag banner, which i spiced up even more with the super-fun circle garland from the same source, with some bright and beautiful cosmo cricket buttons on top.

"pinwheel party" provided the perfect little set of icons for the lower section. i punched some stars from complimentary sheets by crate paper and pink paislee for the centers, and used a couple of tiny brads from my stash to hold them together; the stems are tiiiiiiiiny slivers trimmed with my paper cutter from crate paper's "exposure" sheet. 

i diecut the letters in "smile" using my cuttlebug, inked the edges of absolutely everything, and assembled this in a flash!

what could possibly make life more fun... or easier... than that?!  ♥

* Supplies *

Pixie February Kit "You make life fun"

happy birthday altered frame by lauren bergold

i don't scrapbook, as such, but i have been known to make altered frames... which is, afterall just fancier and more permanent type of layout! since this particular frame holds the photo of one of my favorite kids in the world--my best friend's daughter, miss isabel--it seems only fitting i should use the LOVE NOTES kit!

this frame measures approximately eight inches square, and i found it in the section of my local big box craft store where all of the unpainted wooded and papier mache items are kept.  would you believe it cost ONE DOLLAR??!  ok, granted, it was unfinished when i purchased it, needed quite a bit of sanding around the edges, and it does not have glass or plastic covering the photo area.  but then i knew i wanted to customize this and give it to a young lady who will turn three this spring.  so  those factors actually WORKED for me!  :)

in addition to the name, the variety of papers and embellishments in the LOVE NOTESkit was perfect for what i had in mind! the thing which sparked my idea to begin with was the my mind's eye "doily banners paper".  as soon as i saw it, i knew that if if cut out the banners and draped them over and around the frame they would look FABULOUS... and i think was i was right about that, don't you?!  :)

the second thing i added was a bunch of elements from crate paper's "random" chipboard sheet.  every piece of chipboard you see here (except the pink butterfly which is teresa collins' from the PINK ROSE COTTAGE kit) was part of the 12x12" sheet that came in the kit... and i doubt i even used half of the fun icons provided!

the words "happy", "adorable" and "sweet"... plus that super-fab cupcake and the funky ampersand... were all ready to use our of the packet.  heck, they are even self-adhesive, you cannot get much EASIER than that, right?!

my favorite part is the collection of tiny chipboard buttons, gems and little stickers that frame the heart-shaped opening of the frame.  it's hard to think of anything that would be cuter AND ALSO draw one's attention *immediately* to the sweet girl's face!

and now i cannot wait for this little gal's birthday to arrive... so we can take a brand new"adorable, happy & sweet" photo to go into the frame!

*Supplies*

Pixie January Kit "Love Notes"

get yours HERE!!!!

Pixie November Kit "Pink Rose Cottage"

get yours HERE!!!

♥ Pixie January Challenge ♥

"Love Notes"

Join in the fun HERE!!!!

"SPARKLE" gift box by lauren bergold

you'll have noticed that i ♥LOVE♥ to make fancy little gift boxes.  there are a couple of reasons for this:  one is that i am always attracted to them in gift shops, where they areexpensive!  another is that i have a lot of crafty friends to whom i enjoy giving a "little something" on their birthdays, and having some really AMAZING packaging always makes a small gift look a lot cooler, in my opinion.  this particular one i made using january's fabulous LOVE NOTES kit:

i started off with one of those little papier mache boxes they sell in the craft superstores for about $1.50. i stained all the edges black with a permanent marker before affixing my trimmed papers. i used the awesome crate "denim" pattern, and the reverse of pink paislee's "cozy sweater" for the top. 

when wrapping paper around the side of the box, it's important not to try and take your paper UNDER the part that the lid will cover; unless your lid happens to have a VERY loose fit, it's not going to slide over an extra layer. you can see, below, that i only applied about an inch-high strip of the denim. this is why it's nice to have colored the unfinished box with a marker, it makes it blend in a bit better!

of course, in this case, i also knew i was going to add the luxurious blue velvet lace from crate paper's "random" trimmings, and that would cover any gaps rather nicely. inside the box, i've got a little collection of vintage buttons, some of which have crystal or rhinestone details, which is why the american crafts sticker "bring your own sparkle" worked so well.

for finishing touches i added a "random" chipboard sticker (which i trimmed into two pieces to fit better) and a few of glitz design's rhinestones trimmed from the beautiful borders in the kit.  and now i am ready to bestow this lovely treat on a special sewing friend!!!  (shhh!  don't tell, ok?!) ♥

*Supplies*

Pixie January Kit "Love Notes"

"I want it all" pack

$39 - get yours HERE!!

"Paper only" pack

$9 - get yours HERE!!!

Looking for the chipboard only?

$5.50 - get it HERE!!!

Looking for the Crate paper trim?

$4.99 - get it HERE!!!!

Just want the bling?

$4.99 - get it HERE!!!

♥ Pixie January Challenge ♥

"Love Notes"

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