Holiday Craftiness

     Now that all of my handmade gifts have been distributed, I can write some blog posts about some of my craftiness! Today I thought I'd share a project that I made using my Silhouette.  

     In my opinion, part of the fun is seeing how it all came together. I started with a 10"X20" blank canvas that I purchased at Hobby Lobby. I painted it a teal color which I knew my gift recipient would like! I then used a clear, glittery paint to carefully make a thin border around the edge as well as made a few "swishy" strokes to give the canvas a little more dimension. 

After that was done, it was time to get my Silhouette busy. I chose some subway art by Echo Park from the Silhouette online store. I did have to edit it just a bit to make it cut better for the size that I needed. 

The most tedious part was peeling away the excess vinyl to leave only the words left. It was a process but listening to some of my favorite Christmas songs passed the time quickly. 

Once the words were clear of the excess vinyl, I used my transfer paper (best invention ever) to lift the words off of the backing to adhere to the canvas.

I had to press carefully and very, very firmly to get the vinyl onto the canvas. It really didn't want to adhere very well because of the paint and the fact that it was canvas so this took patience for sure. The result was exactly what I was hoping for though!

I added a couple of little retro type snowflakes in the corners and then declared it complete! Thankfully, our lack of snow and cold weather allowed me to take a photo outside so that you can get a feel for the true colors of the project. I am happy to say that my gift recipient liked my gift. 

     I made a few other things as well and hope to have a post about those projects soon. I'd love to know what you made for friends and relatives for Christmas! Leave me a comment and a blog link if you have one, I'd love to check it out! 

Scrap Happy~Melissa

Love These Ladies

     Somehow, along the way, I got incredibly blessed and have had the chance to have some very wonderful women in my life.  Not only that, I got the chance to know them well.  My great-grandmother passed away soon after I had my first child.  Which means that my oldest was held by his great-great-grandma.  How amazing is that?  So, the fact that my daughter knows her great-grandma, regularly spends time with her and has many memories made with her, makes me amazingly happy.
     I had been wanting to get a photo shoot done of all four generations of women for a while; my grandma, my mom, me and my daughter.  I had thought about going to a portrait studio but one day we were all at my house for an event, we all had on similar colors so I brought us all to the backyard and took this picture.  I knew immediately that it would be my four generations scrapbook page!  The photo was taken in May but I just scrapped it this week after seeing the gorgeous sketch from Kristy Lee over at Scrapbook Steals!  Here is the page:

I used the My Mind's Eye Stella & Rose collection: Mabel.  I really loved the colors for this photo and I was happy with how it all came together!  I know that I will treasure this page in years to come.  

     I just took my grandma Christmas shopping and out for lunch a few days ago. We really get along well and have fun together.  At 82, she is spry and active as well as good company. Today, my mom has off of work and she & I are going to meet for lunch too! I can't wait, I love spending time with her. I am also hoping that she will want to come to a couple of thrift stores with me.  My friend Misty recently posted on her blog about some treasures she found for the holidays and I could use a few more stocking stuffers for my kids! I've never thought of checking out thrift stores before but seeing what Misty all got made me want to check it out.  

     I hope that you all have a great day!  If you'd like, leave a comment telling me about an influential woman in your life.  I love reading comments.  Thanks for stopping.

Scrap Happy~Melissa