The Heart of My Art (and a NSD giveaway!)

Hello and welcome! If you've made your way here today, I'm willing to guess you're either a member of my family or a scrapbooker? Safe bet? I hope you're here seeking Nat'l Scrapbooking Day (NSD) info, as I have some brilliant celebratory business for you.

Today's Happy Happenings!

1. Big Picture Classes National Scrapbook Day 10K event is happening now. As a member of their 10K Team, I know I can't wait to add a layout or two to the Instagrams. Will you? Still on the fence? Well, there are prizes involved, and this is Insta-history in the works, friends. Need I say more?

2. Scrapbook & Cards Today: Nope, it's not Monday, but it is NSD, so I'm delighted to be paying Scrapbook & Cards Today an extra visit this week, sharing this layout and giving away some awesome delights. More on the layout in a moment!

The Heart of My Art by Megan Hoeppner. Supplies: Cardstock: American Crafts; Textured paint (Glimmerz): Shimmerz; Heart stencil: Heidi Swapp; Pigment sticks (Gelatos): Faber-Castell; Washi tape: Hazel & Ruby and Paper Source; Glassine bag: SRM Stickers; Stickers: Fancy Pants Designs; Spray ink: Studio Calico; Shipping tag: Office Max; Baker's twine: Whisker Graphics; Pens (Gold Sharpie; White Gelly Roll): Newell Rubbermaid and Sakura of America; Photo: Fuji Film (INSTAX Mini); Other: Gold thread. 

3. Giveaway! Yes, it wouldn't be a holiday without a scrapbooking prize, so I'm offering a mystery box full of scrapbooking goodies to one lucky commenter on this here post. Simply leave your comment between now and Tuesday, May 6, including your email address, for a chance to win. Excellent!

Image credi

Okay, back to my The Heart of My Art layout. This was a first for me—going super mixed media with a page. But it's about art, so I wanted to give it a go. if the idea interests you, here are a few of the steps I took, broken down:

Do It To It

1. I used the Heidi Swapp heart stencil that I recently purchased while at the Portland Creating Keepsakes Convention as a background.

I paired it with this amazing jar of Spun Sugar (white) Dazzlerz by Shimmerz to create a cool, textured, almost watermark effect across the back of my page. Dazzlerz are gorgeous, smooth, paints that have a heavier texture than a basic paint. They are M-A-Zing!

Image credit: Enchanted Dreams Shop

2. Inspired by this cute dress (from Target) I bought Maggie for my Aunt's surprise party last month...

I wanted to create a similar watercolor/heart look, so I started by drawing a heart on the now dry heart background using my beloved white Gelly Roll by Sakura.

Then I drew strips of color down the heart, with more color towards the top of the heart, using my Faber-Castell Gelatos—another awesome product!

3. Using a paintbrush and some water, I blended the Gelato color columns down the length of my heart, adding more Gelato where I felt it needed it.

4. Keeping with the paintbrush business, I then wrote the word "art" on an SRM Stickers glassine bag, using my spray ink, just as I did in this tutorial. This is something I'll definitely be doing again. Loved the look on the glassine!

5. Back to the layout, I added a strip of some of my fav washi, the Fat Roll by Hazel & Ruby, to the side of the page, layering over some misted book paper, which I tore from a book. I then added another strip of gold washi in a slightly thinner size.

Secret revealed: See that bit of black peeking out from behind the book paper? Yeah, that's an area of brush script that didn't go so well. No need to start over, however. No way! I just improvised and this book-paper/washi grouping was born.

6. Once the glassine bag was dry, I positioned it to the layout, making sure to only place my adhesive down the center, backside of the bag so it wouldn't show. I then added a strip of my new "handmade with love" washi tape from Paper Source. Gosh, I love this tape!

7. Time to sew! I added some machine stitching using my fav gold metallic thread, following my white Gelly Roll lines of the heart. I purposefully went outside of those lines a bit to keep it less linear. And I purposefully stitched over a bit of the bag and book-paper row to make the elements feel more connected on the page.

9. For the word "The" in my title, I simply wrote using a metallic gold Sharpie. It took a few coats to make it really show up well.

10. Wanting to enhance the "art" effect a bit more, I added some spray-ink splatter by removing the nozzles of my Mister Huey's and lightly tapping on them while holding them over the coordinating color column in the heart.

11. I added the words "of my" at the top of my tag using tiny stickers from Fancy Pants Designs. typed my journaling on a 2"x4" shipping tag, using my typewriter. I like the way the black letters slightly show through the glassine bag, both acting as a subtle print (to complement the book paper) and indicating there's a story in waiting without putting too much of my words out in the open. This was a personal story to tell, and I didn't want too much of it revealed on the surface.

12. The HEART of my ART, when it comes right down to it, is preserving our stories from my Maggie and her future sibling(s), so I simply added an old Instax Mini photo  taken of me while pregnant with Mags to complete the page.

For more on the significance and story behind this page, I hope you'll check out my post today on the Scrapbook & Cards Today Magazine blog. And don't forget to upload the fun you create today on Instagram with the hashtag #NSD10k (or in the BPC gallery). Both the magazine and BPC are offering pretty sweet prizes today, so there's even some added incentive in there for ya! :)

Oh, and don't forget the ol' goodie box o' delights being offered here. Hope you'll enter.

Happy NSD, friends! Thanks a bunch for making my blog a small part of your celebration today!

Cheers!

No Business Like Bow Business: Easy bow techniques

Just call me a bow-fessional. You know, like a bow profe... Ah, never mind. I’m about bow-punned out after all the fun I had over on the Scrapbook & Cards Today blog. If you had a chance to check out my Monday with Megan post today, you, too, know bows. 

I even shared a tutorial for making your own crepe paper bows. They’re fast, easy and oh, bow cute! (Okay, so maybe I have a pun or two left in me. Consider yourself warned.) ;) 

A dear friend of mine is expecting a baby (two of ‘em, actually), so I thought I’d make my crepe bow into a little gift tag for her shower gift. 

I simply attached the bow to an SRM Stickers glassine bag (love these!), using a stapler. But I first layered some sequins from Teresa Collins Designs and Hazel & Ruby on the center of my bow, giving the stapler one more thing to hold on to. 

I then added a little washi and a few additional sequins to a standard shipping tag to complete the look. I now have a handmade gift tag to add to my friend’s shower gift. Bow kidding. It’s that easy!

Bow the Distance!

Make bows like bow-body's business with this faster-than-fast washi-tape technique!

Do It To It

Step 1: Fold strip (approximately 5") of washi tape on itself (leaving you with a 2.5" strip).

Step 2: Pinch to form bow shape and staple to secure. 

Step 3: Wrap strip of washi tape around stapled center.

Oh, bow you didn't! Yes, I did. A washi bow in 3 easy steps.

Looks to me like this bow tie needs a Mr. 

Back to my Stained by Sharpie technique.

Just color a fella on a bitty bag. If only I'd given him a fedora instead of a top hat. He would have made Humphrey Bow-gart proud. 

And stitch the bow to the bag with a needle and some embroidery floss. 

Fill it with treats and make your mustached Mr. smile. 

But what's a Mr. without his Mrs.?

Yup! The Stained by Sharpie markers work on burlap bags, too. Isn't that awesome? 

I made her bow using dictionary paper. 

Uh oh! Looks like my candy bandit is back! Those adorable, tiny fingers are caught candy-handed. 

Bow-nus Technique

Here's one more bow for this show. The supplies you need are:

Brand new, delicious paper from My Mind's Eye; classic wood buttons from Bella Blvd.; an awesome heart punch from Fiskars (and a small circle punch, not shown); Zots from Therm O Web

Do It To It

Step 1: Punch two hearts from patterned paper. 

Step 2: Punch small circle from scrap of paper (any paper is fine as this won't be visible).

Step 3: Place adhesive in center of circle. 

Step 4: Push tips of hearts down into glue using your fingernail. 

Step 5: Place additional adhesive on back of button and attach to center of bow.

Step 6: Shape hearts to enhance bow shape. 

Have fun with this technique, trying different paper patterns and bow centers (buttons, flair, etc.). 

Bow ties—just what I needed to make Cory's Valentine's Day gift complete! More on that in another post. I've gone on for long enough today. Thanks for stopping. And remember, there's no business like bow business!

Cheers!

Cupid's Arrow: A Washi Tape Treat

Need a quick Valentine that doesn't suck? These should, ahem, point you in the right direction!

Washi Arrows

Supplies

* heart suckers

* washi tape in 2 varying widths

* fine-point permanent marker (I used Sharpies)

Do It To It

1. Adhere two strips of wider washi to sucker stick, extending the tape approximately 2" beyond end of stick. 

2. Cut ends of tape closest to sucker to a point that points towards the sucker. 

3. Layer thinner strip of tape over center of wider tape (both front and back) and cut sucker ends to point.

4. Make a dovetail cut to outside end of tape and cut some fringe to complete your feather. This is the fun part! 

5. Write a little love note on feather using permanent, fine-point marker. 

6. Call Cupid and tell him you have his arrows ready to rock and roll. (800-LOVE-YOU)

Love Buds

If a bouquet of flowers is more your speed, you can use most of the same supplies (and a couple of punches) to make these botanical beauties!

Do It To It

1. Punch hearts from patterned paper (or cardstock) using heart-shaped punch. Note: Approximately 5 hearts per flower.

2. Punch small hole in base of each heart. Note: Hole should be the size of your sucker stick, if not slightly smaller.

3. Thread punched hearts up stick and fan out around sucker to create flower.

4. Add leaves using by wrapping a strip or two of washi around sucker stick, beneath hearts. Note: This will also hold hearts in place. 

5. Write a little love note on tape using a fine-point journaling pen.

6. Call the florist and tell him he has the day off; you've got this!

Supplies

* heart suckers (Target)

* basic hole punch

* washi tape 

*  heart punch (I used Fiskars scalloped heart)

* fine-point permanent marker (I used a Sharpie)

Cost

I think the complete project was only $4 for 32 suckers. 

* Suckers = $1/pack of 8 @ Target

* Crafting Supplies = $free.99, because I used supplies I already had on hand

Cheers!