If it doesn't Challenge you... (art journal page)

Hello friends! JJ here today, to share an art journal page, featuring Susan's awesome "Create Your Day" stamp set.

I used Faber-Castell Gelatos on all the stamps, misting with water before stamping.  I love the watery effect this gave to the stamped images - quite different from a stamp pad!

I then rubbed a little more colour around the background with my finger tips and added my text (with rub-ons).

Couldn't you imagine using this stamp set to create a little scene on a card, too?

Thanks for visiting today!

JJ Sobey, Susan K Weckesser Design Team member

Pssssst . . .we have a challenge going on right now, click HERE to check it out!

First Haircut layout

Hi everyone!

I'm excited to be sharing a layout that I created using Susan K. Weckesser's whimsical papers!

Before I share, though, can I tell you a secret?  As much as I love Susan's paper (and I do love it!), I was a little bit intimidated by it!  

Whew!  There... I said it.  

The creative side of me is drawn to the bright colours and whimsical patterns.  However, the analytical side of me is searching for straight lines and neat, precise grids.  And yes, I'm one of THOSE people who are both - accountant by day, artist by night (I'm using the term "artist" very loosely!)

But I was so excited by this layout as it came together because I think it really shows that I can use this great, whimsical paper and still stay true to my simple, clean scrapping side!

Here's my layout, using photos from my daughter's first haircut:

Supplies used:  Susan K. Weckesser patterned papers; Bazzill cardstock; Susan K. Weckesser/Unity Stamp Co. stamps (A Little Bit Washi); Tsukineko and Memento inks; Basic Grey alpha letters; Finetec watercolours; Scrapbooks Adhesives dimensional adhesive; The Robin's Nest Dew Drops.

I flicked the entire background page with watercolour to add some colour and interest.  I created a grid using the photos and pieces of patterned papers, all matted in white.  

The washi tape stamps were stamped on and fussy cut from the same paper (cut from behind the green matte) so you can see flecks of watercoloured drops on the stamped images.

I cut out the circles from yet another paper and attached them randomly over my page, adding Dew drops.  Lastly, I added a simple title using letter stickers.

Easy peasy, lemon-squeezy!

Thanks for looking!

Sue :)

The Happy Homestead . . .

 Hi everyone, it`s Tracy here with another project that you can all create by gathering up scraps of wood and some old book pages.

My inspiration . . . My family.

I have watched my boys turn into young men right before my eyes, ever changing and clutching at new experiences. My world is about to change, my youngest has applied to University and could be moving away later this year. As a Mum I feel happy, excited, fearful and sad all at the same time . . . BUT... I have to remember that although he is flying away from the nest, he knows how much he is loved by us all and Home is where you hang your heart!

I grabbed my Unity stamps co branded with Susan K Weckesser - 

The Happy Homestead, A Little Bit Washi and Create Your Day sets...

and started by covering the wood all over with the book pages, fixing in place with Claudine Hellmuth multi medium and then a light coat of Gesso on top.

Time to get inky, painty, messy hands . . .what joy!

For the sky and grass I used Clear snap Smooch Spritz, spraying a little on to a craft mat and applying roughly with a brush.

Ink up that jumbo house stamp { It is HUGE and I adore it} and get stamping and colouring.

My hands once again resemble a beautiful rainbow after using a mixture of

Tim Holtz Distress Stains, Distress Ink Pads, Clearsnap Smooch and Maya Mists.

I spy with my little eye a stamp from . . .  A Little Bit Of Washi as a chimney.

Puff goes the smoke from the chimney with the help of Acrylic paint.

Splodge white paint roughly and then with a heat tool, heat it up till it bubbles for a little added texture... Magic!

You have got to loooove those clouds and sentiment from Create Your day set.

To add more dimension I stamped the house again, cut out the door and fence, fixed in place with a hot glue gun.

 Can you make out the curtains I cut out flying in the wind?

Very shabby, lol.

Once I was happy I used a fine liner pen and scribbled around all the elements, adding faux stitches and bricks along the way.

Was I finished?

Nope!

Here is the back

 

I had to hang my heart!

Just stamp the image onto paper and reverse it for the back.

Well that`s all from me today.

Thank you for stopping by and happy crafting to you all.

Till next time

Tracy Easson.

Design Team Member for Susan K Weckesser.

Pssssst . . .we have a challenge going on right now, click HERE to check it out!

"Change" layout by Vicky Varvadouka

Hello lovely people!!xx

Today I am sharing with you my last project as a member of this fabulous DT!!

It's been a wonderful journey and adventure in a colorful and happy world! That's how it feels working with Susan's happy products!!!xx

"Change all around"

Spring has arrived in my part of the world and you can see the change in everything!!

Nature comes alive, happy colors are everywhere and people are smiling!

Oh, how much I love Spring!!!

I have used papers from Susan's Whimsical collection. To soften the bold background I have spread some gesso using an old credit card! I fussy cut that lovely house and used some heart shaped gems for the smoke coming out of the chimney.

Here and there you can see some blue circles! I made them using the stamp "In Circle Me" !!!

I used Susan's stencil and Smooch to color the canvas heart!

This photo was taken when we went on an excursion and my little ones loved picking up flowers!!!

We had a great time and it was worth capturing the memory!!

I would like to thank Susan for giving me this awesome opportunity to play with her lovely products and all the gorgeous and talented girls in the team for making my stay such a lovely experience!!

Have a nice day,

Live your lives in full color,

Be creative and enjoy every single moment!

Cheers!!!xxx

Vicky

Christmas in....March?!

Hi sweet friends! Erin here today posting a card I made for a publication call that didn't get chosen. I guess you could say it's a reject, BUT...I like it so it's a winner in my eyes :)

I got the Painted Sentiments set from Unity a few weeks ago. I LOVE how BIG these words are and the handwriting font is so pretty on them! Seriously love how they stamp. Check out my card:

Have a BEAUTIFUL day! xoxo

~Erin

Scrapping It!

Greetings. It's Julie Here. I am not sure whether it is the changes of season or not. But as the golden days of Autumn arrive here I am on an organise and tidy mission. One thing thats a given is scrappers make scraps!

My layout today is a totally recycled effort. All the patterned papers are from the Susiebee Studios Range and are all from other projects.

For the background piece I actually poured and dripped some alcohol ink around and used a stamp to remove and transfer colour.
The cording is mine from another project, which I stitched down to keep all the texture in place.

The base was total fun! Recycled paper was layered and layered with gesso and Opals emboosing powder and embossed until I was happy. Then a washi stamp from Susan made a few extra marks.
Living happy and a little lightly was the theme for my piece today.
I hope you do too!
Julie

Come Sail Away!!!

Hi everyone, as time flies by here in Canada we get closer and closer to sailing season!  I can't wait till we are back on the water.  With this thought in mind I was inspired by Susan's stamp called Sail Away!  Isn't it cute!

I started with these simple items.  A small recycled paper journal pad.  Some ribbon, bling and a bit of piece of paper called Live, Love, Create and a bit of Beautiful Daydreams. 

I started by cutting up the alphabet off of the Live, Love and Create paper.  A through Z was cut out and then glued to every other page of the journal.

 

I then stamped and cut out the boat and wave stamp as well I made strips from the sentiment.  I coloured the boat and water with water colour pencils and then blended with water.

I then cut out the sun from the Beautiful Daydreams paper.  I glued the sun, boat, water and sentiment to the front of the journal.

I added bling to the water and the sun just for a bit of sparkle!  Then I cut up 3 pieces of each ribbon and threaded them through the binding of the journal and knotted them.  I trimmed up the ends of the ribbon and voila done! A cute little book to house anything alphabetical, not sure what yet, maybe all those passwords I keep forgetting! 

I hope you are having a great week, see you next time around!

Jennifer



 

Mixed media ~ Love Never Fails

Hey there bloggers Rita Barakat here with some ideas for mixed media!

Todays project starts with wood grain paper (DCWV Autumn Splendor Stack) 

& fabric (DCWV fabric adhesive stack).

 

I used a very wet a paint brush and gesso to flick and make 

paint splatters all over the wood grain paper.

Then I used Susan K Weckessers stencil from Crafters Workshop and

some modeling paste/

On top of the fabric I used various colors of Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft

Gelatos and Luminarte Radient Rain. I cut a heart shape out of the fabric.

I used Susan K. Weckkessers Splatter stamp from Unity.

 Once it's dry peel the backing and place it on the wood grain paper.

 The strips were left overs from the heart I cut.

 I colored the dried modeling paste and added all the embellishments.

The edges and splatter on acrylic heart (Clear Scraps) is gesso.

Another look at the finished project!
 

Inspiration Scroll

Hello dear Susan Weckesser fans. Einat here with an inspiring project! We will be celebrating Passover in just two short weeks. In ancient times the bible and the story of Passover were written on parchment scrolls and were rolled to keep them safe. This has inspired me to create my own scroll, a scroll of inspiration!

I glues together two Susan Weckesser's patterned papers and created a scroll. I distressed it a little on the side and inked it to give it a more real look. Then I created my inspirational sentence with Susan Weckesser's stamps and letter stickers.

 

I added Washi tape and a little bling (You can't create anything without bling right?) and misted everything with Glimmer Mists.

 

To create the scroll handles I cit cardboard and rolled it. I stained it with some brown ink and added golden button on each side. Then I adhered the scroll to the handles and tied it with string.

 

Inspire yourselves with a project, it will make you smile!

 

Have fun creating!
Einat

Until We Meet Again…

This post is dedicated to my Mother, Sylvia Pyrcz. She was a mother, a daughter, sister, wife, grandmother,  & friend. She LOVED life. 

Mom was born in England during the war and although she was born an amputee we never saw her as one. My mother could do anything that she put her heart to, and that included being one of the first female coaches for male high school sports teams in Ontario during the late 60’s. She was awesome at baseball and could out swim anyone. My mother was also a talented artist and a wonderful seamstress. She sewed most of her own clothes, however I never appreciated the itchy wool pants that she sewed me when I was little.We loved to be silly in our home! Mom’s first and last exercise bicycle. As a family, the mountains has always held a dear place in our hearts. Our first climb to a top of a mountain together was when we moved to Alberta in the summer of 1978.Our last visit to the mountains as a family was to remember our dear father in the spring of 2009.

It didn’t matter how much I told my kiddos to ‘behave’, grandma was sure to start something!Like I said, Mom tried anything once…or twice! This is mom and my brother David taking over the playground…again! Here is my mother and my baba. My girls can’t believe that grandma wore miniskirts… People always knew my mother for her warm personality and her bright smile.Mom really loved family.When I was shy and nervous my mom and dad would always encourage me to try new things, like flying lessons and balloons rides or just getting my drivers license. I am not sure how they managed this... but they did and it was magical.Yup, Mom loved to wrestle with my brothers but did not like me taking pictures of her doing that! I took pictures anyways and then RAN really FAST!!! My parents had a lot of hard times. I guess like any family does. However, the happy, silly, goofy, times were amazing. I knew…. no, I KNOW that I was loved by them and still am.Mothers are an AMAZING invention. I am SO grateful for the moms in my life!

My mom loved the simple things in life. She love her garden. Her books. Her family. Her music. Her cat. Her children. Her freedom. Her independence.

Did I mention that she really didn’t like how I always snuck up and took her pictures!?! She’d say, “Susan…put that camera away!” I am SO glad that I didn’t listen!

Having the missionaries over was something that my mother LOVED to do!!! She would filled them up on huge suppers and them we would go tobogganing! It made her smile showing missionaries snow for the first time!

[Sylvia Pyrcz, Katherine Pyrcz, Susan(pyrcz)Weckesser, Christopher Weckesser]

 

Mom had such a beautiful singing voice. She was so intelligent and well read in that she could quote most books on any topic. She knew her doctrine and loved to study…everything! She also LOVED to tell stories to the grandkids and they loved to listen!

My mother was a beautiful human being! She truly loved life.

She was quick to help others when they needed help or a meal. She had been in Relief Society Presidency and Young Women callings with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church and she loved the women that she worked with and taught. When mom was happy, she was happy and she thrived…. I could call her and talk to her and know that she loved me and she was there for me. We would talk for hours on the phone….

However, behind my mom’s beautiful smile she hid a shadow that haunted her her whole life. My beautiful mother fought with depression most of her life and she hid it so well that only a couple close friends and a couple of her family knew. Now, I don’t say this to make you feel different about her…. She was beautiful in every way. I tell you this, because if you are reading this and if you or someone is suffering for depression or ‘blues’, PLEASE get HELP TODAY!!! To have a healthy body you really need a healthy mind! You CAN be HAPPY! Life is too precious! Mom did NOT take her own life. However, when my dad died, she gave up living. She was only 69 years old… she had so much more living to do! She had the chance to fly but she didn’t. We tried to do everything possible to get her the help that she needed…but she had been fighting this her whole life and then with a broken heart it was too much for her.

I know with all my heart that this wonderful women is now whole. She is not suffering physically or mentally anymore. I shed tears because my dear friend & mother is gone for now, but I will see her again! I am sure of this and it gives me great comfort. I am so grateful that I was so blessed to have my wonderful Mom and Dad in my life.

How COOL….Mom has now found her WINGS!

Thank-you Mom for EVERYTHING!

BIG {hugs} xo

Love, Toadie (Susan)

 

The link to Mom’s obituary is HERE.