Christmas Crafts Snowman and Chunky Mini Album

Hi friends!

I am sooo excited to share some of my most recent projects. This one was my favorite of 2019, but it is just now that I am placing this little gem into the pages of my blog.

To begin, this was made to share in a collaboration with some amazing crafters in a youtube hop celebrating all things Christmas. (Details in video)

I was smitten with this little snowman when I first saw him on Silhouette Studio, so I gave it a go, and was so very pleased with the results. If you watch the video, you will see he has a little surprise to share!

To match, I made a super sweet mini album, as well as a card, which I share in the video as well.

Just look at that face!!
He is so sweet, and I took advantage of every but of space on his Top Hat to decorate with all the little bits and baubles that would make him look festive. Did I mention all of the flowers are HAND MADE? Yes, they are!!

  I added hand-colored poinsettias, which I made with dies from John Next Door, and Dress My Craft, as using delicate foamiran and paper, and decorated the top hat with glitter, gems, and even a little Tim Holtz Raindeer.

I also altered some Beautiful Board piecesfrom ReneaBouquets using paint and glitter ( of course!),  added vintage seam binding that I colored in the lightest pink and even tied a little bell that I painted to go with the color scheme. 

 Every little detail was hand-painted by yours truly...and now for the MINI ALBUM!!

This little beauty was made with lots of love using a tiny stamp from Stamping Bella, Lazer cut board from LaseroweLove and ReneaBouquets, Spellbinders and Tonic Studios Dies, and papers from Mintay. Can we say YUM??

To make the cover extra shabby and beautiful, I matched the coloring of the stamped image with the papers used in the background using Nuvo pens and Promarkers. I also added Nuvo drops for shine, and fussy cut images from the Sweet Christmas Mintay papers to top off the handmade Poinsettias. The snowflake centers are from ReneaBouquets and the swirls are all made with Spellbinders dies, and I layered everything with tulle, lace, and even a pompom trim on the edge.

 Layers!!! From the very first page, you get layers in this book, starting with an adorable pocket, trimmed with an embossed edge and pompom trim, and a beautiful bouquet topped off with a little Christmas tree decorated with pearls and sequins. The sprigs are also topped with Nuvo Drops.

 I made  this expanding tag page using Mythical Glade dies from Tonic Studios, and the golden tab allows the user to open this interactive element. Small lace flowers top this tag page, and little pink sequins add sparkle to the page.

 
This page contains a top folding element tied closed with mint twine, and backed up with lacy borders. The Snowflake is accompanied by little Gingerbread Babies I made using my Cameo, and all is topped off with shiny gems. There is also pompom trim and and a pink ribbon in the center of the page for additional texture.

The matching page has a shaker containing shiny bits, and tiny gingerbread cookies to match, as well as a handmade Jam Jar made with pink glimmery jam and a handmade felt flower. This page is also interactive, and the small heart-shaped tab allows you to open the flap and add a hidden picture.

For this page I made a spread where you can add a picture on the oval frame, and still enjoy a warm cup of tea! all items were fussy cut, layered, glimmered, embossed, colored with matching inks, and made to sparkle with Nuvo drops and gems.

 Here is another adorable page that opens to reveal a surprise. To see what it is, watch the video!
It is topped by a glittery pink snowflake, and sweet candy canes I cut using Spellbinders dies. To finish the page, I added  Beautiful Board snowflakes and a snowman, all from ReneaBouquets.

 This is yet another interactive page, with additional candy canes topped with mint candies fussy cut from the collection. The little window is topped with more fussy cut images, and a handmade bouquet. I colored different elements using Ranger Oxide ink, and topped the snowflakes with more fussy cut mints. Can you spot the washi tape? It's what I used to top the candy canes!

Here I made a pocket using a border die backed with acetate for support, and topped with different colored Nuvo drops. To this I added some festive trims, and I heat embossed some beautiful board snowflakes. They shine and add texture to the page, where three large tags can be used for journaling.

 My project wouldn't be complete without acknowledging the true reason for celebrating Christmas, so on this page, the little angel helps to announce: "Christ Is Born!"
This is my reason to celebrate Christmas, and my inspiration behind everything I make. The lettering is my own, and the board is from Laserowe LOVE. I also added a circular photo mat backed with swirls, and finished the page with more handmade poinsettias and greenery.

The matching page has yet another peek-a-boo window that doubles as a picture mat, and is decorated with a Christmas tree from the paper collection, and a gingerbread baby from ReneaBouquets. The cooke tray is a die cut piece I made using a Spellbinders die, and the flowers are made of pretty lace topped with pink pearls.

In case you were missing some RED...here I made matching pages using tonic dies that have interactive opening panels, and are topped with more beautiful board pieces that I heat embossed using glittery embossing powders and ink. The poinsettias are also handmade, using Oxide inks, and....paper towels!!! WHAAAT??? 

 Here is the opposing page, full of texture with the addition of more hand-placed bits of glitter throughout the page.

This is the last layout in this mini album, and here I made a pocket stuffed with little envelopes, and small ephemera from the Mintay Paper collection. To finish this page, I used more snowflakes from RenesBouquets, topped with small gems to match the envelopes.

The final page is one of my favorites. with a side pocket topped with an incredible bouquet of handmade poinsettias and gingerbread babies. This book has sooo much of what I enjoy inside of it, and I hope it is a source of inspiration for you!

 For the Spine, I used yummy beads and ribbons that emulated candy canes and sugar candies. The white pom-pom trim reminded me of falling snow. 

Please enjoy the video for more details on this awesome Christmas Project, and feel free to leave me a hello in the comments! 

As always, I hope that you can 

Be inspired, Be Blessed!!

****Thank you for reading****

Raquel

Fall Milk Carton Caddy

Hi friends,
I hope you're having a wonderful day! I made this adorable little milk carton swap package to participate with the ladies at the Loaded Envelope Galore & More group over on Facebook.
In this project I include some of the required goodies, as well as those made just for fun to share with one of the ladies in the group.

I began with making this adorable caddy with my Silhouette Cameo and papers from DCWV. They were simple to assemble, and the base came together quite easily also with my Tonic Studios dies. I also embellished the top with acrylic and paper flowers, and made small bows with blue vintage seam binding. How adorable!

You may think this is a repeat picture, but of you look closer, you'll notice that one side has a raccoon holding an acorn, the other has a girlier version holding a coffee cup. Pumpkin spice lattes anyone?!

I thought the colors were so sweet together, that I also adorned the side with some acorns and toadstools that glimmer with little Nuvo Drops. I cut those out with my Cricut :).

As a little extra, I added this large Maple leaf embellishment perfect for a wreath or the front of a mini album. It also has edges in glimmery copper, and the little raccoon is again sipping some coffee! 

I topped it off with a small yellow flower and red button tied with twine, and added shine with Ranger Enamel.

These little embellishments came together perfectly, and will be hard to part with. They are so stinkin' cute!! I made a separate video showing you all the details on these adorable rosettes. 

We were asked to make pumpkins, and quite honestly, they are a challenge for me, so I gave them my own personal twist: A banner!! 

I used several leaves that I hand colored, as well as wood pieces, acorns, flowers, and my trusty Cricut to cut out the letters in a wood-like font. I love it!!

Here is a picture of some store bought burlap flowers, and some handmade flowers I made using my Cameo and some coordinating papers. These will fit inside one of the cartons too!

Here is a picture of the tag I also made for this swap. I used it to top off some goodies.

Not pictured are the adorable ribbons I am also including in this package for a total of four gifts and some extras of course. I hope the recipient enjoys all the love I put into this project. It is always fun to share our gratitude with others. Today, I thank you for stopping by, hope you enjoy these projects, leave a comment, and subscribe to my youtube channel for more inspiration if you haven't already done so. 

Be inspired, Be Blessed!
~Raquel

For this project I used:

Silhouette Cameo

Marianne Designs Eline's Collectables Raccoon die

Tonic Studios dies

Sizzix Dies

Cricut Explore Air2

Papers are DCWV and American Crafts

All items are from my personal stash.

Please use this link to shop my stash!

https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=33184&u=1910051&m=7429&urllink=&afftrack=

Fall Rolled Flower Tutorial / Paints and Glitter

Hi friends,

Thank you for stopping by! Today I am sharing a process video on how to make a beautiful flower using paper and fibers! I have also embellished my flowers further by adding gold seed beads and enamel dots, but you will see that these can be added to your projects however you like to make them, and will look absolutely adorable!

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut these flowers from 65lb. and DCWV 80lb. Cardstock. For best results, use the best papers you can find. I also used Hot glue and Art Glitter glue for fast adhesion. I hope you like this video, and if you watched, please leave a thumbs up, and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to my Youtube channel!!

Be inspired, Be Blessed!

~Raquel



Here's the flower I used for my project:

https://www.silhouettedesignstore.com/designs/?search=250552&sortby=relevance&submitted_search=true

What Do You Color With?? Youtube Hop with Distress Oxide Inks and Funny Hat Digital Image!

Hi friends! 

I am so excited to share with you my first Youtube Hop! 

This fun hop consists of ten participants who are all sharing coloring techniques with different mediums. 

Needless to say, I was thrilled to be invited to participate!

For this hop, I used the Funny Hat digital image kindly donated by Julia Spiri (available via etsy and Facebook). Be sure to join her VIP Club on Facebook to receive images like the one below for free! Details on that are available on her Facebook page.

(Thank you Julia for this adorable image!!)

 I colored the image using Ranger Oxide Inks in different colors. I get those at Blitsy!

Finished image size is 4.25 x 5.5"

This is the adorable image Julia sponsored me with, and to allow the recipient to see all of the cute images Julia designed on this whimsical scene I began by printing it onto Mixed Media paper, and heat setting it to ensure the printer ink was completely dry.

Colors used are shown in my YouTube Video, link below.

To begin coloring, the first thing I did was to layer color washes with Oxide Inks from Ranger. This allowed me to color the image as I would with a watercolor palette. 

Selecting various colors and layering them together allowed me to achieve color gradients that blended beautifully and also kept their intensity.

Bow is from Nicole Silhouette, colored with Oxide Ink from Ranger

As I wanted to also add dimension to my card, I also decided to use Oxide inks and color small delicate flowers that I made using coffee filters.

This made my card appear as a scene in a garden.

To ensure the original detail of the image was not lost, I later traced the visible lines with a Micron pen in black, and then added sparkle with several Nuvo Drops by Tonic Studios.

I made sure to make it my own with a hint of glimmer using my favorite Gelly Roll Pen from Sakura.

Here you can see how I also fussy cut parts of the image to ensure I could use it on my card in its entirety. I also added the little drop heart die cut, also distressed with matching Oxide Ink.

For Gloss, I used different colored Nuvo Drops. For shimmer: Sakura Gelly Roll pen

This card was fun to make, and all the layers were cut using my Tonic Studios Memory Book Maker Dies. I am quite pleased, and if you'd like to see how I colored the image, and also participate in the giveaway, please visit my Youtube Channel. Be sure to watch and subscribe, and visit the other makers for an awesome day full of coloring videos and awesome prize opportunities!

Be inspired, Be Blessed!

~Raquel

Please watch the Video for TUTORIAL & GIVEAWAY!

My Book of Special Memories Mini Album with Tonic Studios Dies

Hi friends, 

I am here with a brand new set of dies from Tonic Studios and yet another adorable mini album! This one is perfect for a little girl, a mother of a little girl, or a cat lover, or all of the above!

I am thrilled with this collection of dies, and how easily I am able to put paper on pages to assemble the perfect little personalized gift!

On the cover, and throughout, I have used the  CUTE GIRL collection from Crate Paper. As a cat-lover, I could not resist, and the floral designs were easy to repeat with the layered Tonic die-cut that I assembled and colored using Nuvo Pens and Nuvo Glitter pen. The little roses all have some sparkle!

 The cluster of flowers is all handmade by yours truly, and I used Sizzix Dies by Tim Holtz, felt, and small pearls that I stitched together. 

The cat, butterfly, and flower buttons helped me complete the look. Adorable!!

The spine of a book is equally as important as the front. So for this, I used all the little strips left over from my favorite papers in this collection, and I created a striped collage. To top it off, I used a gorgeous bow topped with a flower and a pink pearl. The scalloped edge of this bow is perfect with its dainty details!

This is the front page, where I used dies from the Memorable Moments collection, as well as Nicole Silhouette for frames. Layering frames throughout this little book allowed me to extend the page sizes without compromising the pretty shaped pages. I also used the dies intended for the spine to weave a pretty ribbon for an added pop of color!

I just adore the kitten faces and the hand-written sentiments of the papers!

This is the second page layout, and here I kept the papers and frames simple, to allow the recipient to add the larger pictures, and the small sentiment is a Bucket list perfect for a little girl. It reads:

Swim with Mermaids

Dance with Fairies

Play in the Stars

Ride a Unicorn

Perfect list if you ask me!!

This page layout begins on the left with a pocket page, with an added tag & envelope that will hide sentiments,or hold small pictures. The pocket is lined with handmade trim that I cut into an adorable fringe, and a pom-pom ribbon in soft pink and grays. 

On the right, I used a cute pink kitten from the paper collection to make an adorable embellishment on the bottom half of the page, but left room for another photo.

This page had a tuck-spot right behind the photo frame, where I slipped a tag embellished with pink rope, washi tapes, and the sentiment: JOY

The opposite page is more playful. I used another image from the collection and topped it with a cute heart glass nose. The page also has added texture with the soft pink fibers I threaded through the design. The frame is double matted for extra depth.

The sentiment reads: DREAM

Here I created a whimsical page layout with a kitten from Santoro London Gorguss Girls, and the sentiment: Best Friends. The kitten sits next to a flower and shiny gems. Opposite, there is a pocket lined with pink delicate pom-pom trim, a small flower, and a cute insert with the elusive Unicorn with a glimmery blue eye. It reads: I am 50 percent Unicorn.

The smaller sentiment reads: 

The Happiest Girl in the Whole Wide World.

This adorable page layout shows the simple monogram G for Girl. Opposing this page, the two little birds sing with swirls and gems, and the pocket page reads: So Fun!The tags all have small flags I attached with my Tim Holtz tiny attacher and adorable Washi tapes from my stash!

This is our last page!! I made this one extra dreamy with a tuck spot that shows of the lattice cut of the book die, and layered it with the floral inlay cut die. This is all trimmed with Nuvo Glimmer marker in Graphite, as well as Blue Pearls for a super girly finish. The back cover page has the same cut, only here I made a pocket out of it, and topped it with a Gorguss Girl image, as well as a Dragonfly from Magnolia Doohickey and the word: WONDERFUL

The pocket contains extra tags as well as photo mats that serve as templates .This book is adorable, and complete!!

Here are all the goodies included in this tiny but adorable book!

Can you believe all of that was in there??

On the back, I used a floral paper to match the front, and small brad holds the loop closure. The silver string allows you to tie this little beauty closed. 

I hope you've enjoyed reading about this gorgeous little book, and that you can 

Be inspired, Be blessed!

~Raquel

Watch my Video here if you prefer a live presentation:

Memorable Moments Mini Album for Spring!

Hi friends, 

I am so thrilled to be able to bring you a mini album perfect for Spring!

I just finished this little beauty, full of little details and whimsy, in lovely shaped pages that will keep your eyes entertained! 

I used Tonic Studios new Memorable Moments Keepsake Insert Creator dies for this stunning little beauty that contains 11 opportunities for photos in five interior pages, as well as both front and back covers. The front reads:

Memorable Moments, and is embellished with a gathering of small glittered pink and white flowers, a sparkly bird cage, and a golden butterfly among other textures created with a small doily, rose gold trim, gauze, and shiny bling and pearls.

For the interior pages I also used dies from the Memory Book Maker Layered Cascade Die set. This is a lovely space to either write a small sentiment, or the name of the owner of this little book.

I think any grandmother or mom would love to receive this on Mother's day as a little brag book, or mementos of special times in her life.

 

I began decorating pages with flowers backed in vellum, centered with sequins, and overlapping stitched border frames.

                                     

I also added golden borders to some of the frames, Nuvo Drops for shine, and used the Keepsake Book Maker Tabs and paperclip dies to give this little book the appearance of small items attached to the lovely pages. 

The recipient will also be able to open a tab to reveal another spot for pictures on the page above!

The paperclip...it's made with golden paper!  

For this page I even created a dangle using gold thread, tulle, a dainty rose bead, as well as others, 

Here you see a very delicate page I created using Vellum. All the little dots were placed by yours truly on the vellum using Nuvo Drops. These little details are what I love to add to my pages!

I could not resist adding a little bird and birdcage to this page! I colored the little bird using Nuvo Alcohol pens, and added sparkly tulle behind him, to resemble the texture of a nest.

I then stamped a label image using  a Lia Griffith design stamp from Fiskars. This will easily serve as a journaling spot. On the opposite page, I made a doily stitched with gold ribbon, and it also hides a top-loading pocket for even more room to write!

The page is also decorated with matching antique lace. 

 The last page was not left behind, as I added a frame topped with a flower and golden clip, then also made a tuck spot by making the lattice die cut out of vellum and pretty flowered paper. On the last page, the little polaroid style frame states: adore...

I simply loved adding all the little details to this book, and hope you have enjoyed looking through it.

As always, I hope you can Be Inspired, Be Blessed!

Raquel 

 Watch my video and give it a thumbs up!

P.S.
I am entering this beauty into the  #CreandoBellezas challenge over on the Facebook group: Creando Con Ellas, and the Crafter's Castle  Crafter's Castle March 2019 Challenge.

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