Paints and Glitter © custom cards and art

Hi friends! Today I am sharing my latest mini album using Tonic Studios Memory Book Maker dies, Santoro London Gorguss Stamp: Bluebird's Proposal,Frames, and Doily Dreams Digital paper line. This is an absolutely beaitiful and endearing little book full of goodies!
I also made a coordinating gift bag to go with this mini album. Read my Altered Butterfly post to learn how I made it!

For my cover, I used the Gorguss Girl image stamped onto Digital Paper of my own design. I colored the image with coordinating inks and pencils, fussy cut the paper, and made a pocket to house a tag with a scripture message To complete the cover, I also added dragonflies, pink pearls, flowers, an altered birdcage, and little wings for the small girl image. I finished it with a small sprig of greenery with tiny silver butterflies, and altered the background with gloss and glitter. 

The tag is also embellished with a bow, pearl, and smaller tag that has the tiniest silver butterfly. All papers are distre…

Hi friends! Today's post is all about being creative on a budget, and still making fabulous embellishments to either dress up a handbag, or use in other projects! This is a perfect idea for swaps!


Who doesn't love Butterflies?? Well I know that I do, and I found these little pretties at my local Dollar Store. To make things even better, they also had little handbags in pastel colors in a pretty velvet fabric. I selected both, and took them home with an idea in mind.


This is what I came up with!!  As you can see, I altered the butterflies, adding embossed silver paper, tulle, wired ribbon, smaller butterflies, pearls, and gems.

Aren't these spectacular? I made them each a little different, even making a Flamingo Butterfly. Named after the little pink feathers that adorn its center below. That one even has a heart-shaped pearl tiara!

These little beauties are enclosed in the pouch that I embellished with vintage lace, trims, ribbons, and pearls. One of them decided it wante…

Hi friends,  Today I am sharing a beautiful card made with papers that I printed from home using digital images. I also used Santoro London's Gorguss Girl Stamp: Little Leaf. She is a lovely little image, and I used the same papers to ensure her little dress matched the scenery. To make her background pop and add texture, I added silver paper as a background to the butterfly themed paper, and vintage lace. I colored the image using several markers and pencils. Then added the little flower to her hair for a soft-feminine touch.

The front of the card also has a birdcage that I made and backed up using clear acetate. To embellish, I added dragonflies, bees, vintage buttons, lace, seam binding, and glimmery gems.
The inside of this beautiful card also mimics the outer shape. I used Tonic Studios Memory Book Maker Dies for this card, and several items from my stash. I hope you have enjoyed this card! Be inspired, Be Blessed! -Raquel

Hi friends,  I have been so blessed to have won the amazing paper collection titled Doily Dreams. Designed by Carolyn from Teatime and Dolls. It is such a feminine and pretty collection, and each paper is shabby and beautiful! 
I decided on making a mini album that was simple, but beautiful. On the cover, I made a small shaker element using one of the ephemera pieces. It is a lovely birdcage, housing a vintage dress-form, covered in flowers. 
To mimic the elements found in the paper line, I used flowers, butterflies, and birdhouses.  The sentiment scroll on the cover was inspired by the lovely script also found in the paper line. The laces are also very elegant and match the papers perfectly!
The front and back inside covers have delicate touches with scrolled photo corners and blue pearls.  Each page features one of the lovely papers from this collection, and all have a little tuck spot for photos or your favorite notes.  To add a soft touch, I decided to make added tags in Vellum, …

Today I am showing you one of many options when making a Masculine Card. Perfect for Father's Day! I have made this tutorial easy, and you can tailor the cards to suit your needs. If you're anything like me, you likely have many supplies right at your fingertips that you can easily substitute for the ones I've used. 
I began with a primary-color palette. This is always the easiest route to take when making masculine cards. Save the frilly colors and textures for the girls!  For the front of my card, I first stamped the Guitar image in Ranger Archival ink in Black, followed by heat embossing in Green embossing powder.  If you can't bring yourself to use dark colors, or simply don't have them, don't fear. Give those light-colored papers some masculine touches by either adding a wood-grain, or cutting shapes that can be interpreted as having a masculine touch on your cards.

I used Cricut Pearl paper, which is shimmery and soft in color. The difference: I cut it w…