Dot & Whimsy

A good Friday evening! I didn't realize that I was up at 

today, so I wanted to share this fun patriotic centerpiece that I made with

the brand new Pride Collection

To begin I used two different sizes of lace round dies by Lifestyle Crafts (you could also use paper punches or SVG files to achieve a similar look) and cut the shapes from desired patterned paper. 

 Cut (2) shapes for each stick.  To the back piece attach a paper straw with a fast-drying liquid glue.  Next, add thick foam dots (same height or taller than the straw's width) and attach the top round piece.  Layer on various stickers and glittery chipboard stars. 

 Fill the pail with floral foam and arrange the sticks as desired; top with red paper shred or Spanish Moss. When the 4th of July cook-out arrives, I'll add it to the buffet table and celebrate in style!

Greetings!

I'm pleased and excited to be sharing in this fabulous

Love Authentique Papers and Unity Stamps?

Then come on board as we hop and share projects

that combine both of these beautiful companies into one!

Do you remember a few years back when the altered lunch tins

were all the rage?  Well, I've had a couple in my keeps and ran across

them the other day.  I thought one dressed up in Authentique Paper would

be perfect for Christmas, so I chose the Festive Collection and coordinating

stamps from Unity, Naughty or Nice (which is now on SALE!)

 In times past I have covered the top of the tin (when I actually had a pattern), but I 

went with tons of colorful ribbons and stamped tags on the handle instead.
 After measuring the height of the body, I cut two strips of "Joyful" paper into 5x12".

Next, I cut two strips of "Glistening" paper into 2.5"x12", center and attached to the
"Joyful" paper.  Machine stitch and distress with ink if desired.  I used a quick dry tacky
glue in attaching my papers to the tins.  To hide the seams, I glued on some ric-rac.

Using my newly acquired mftstamps.com doily dies, I layered the two different
sizes onto each other and embellished the top with the sentiment stamped from
the "Naughty & Nice" set.  Now, this stamp is inset into a swirl of snowflakes, but
wanting the cute shape to really stand out, I decided to trim it from the background.

The tags were as easy as stamping and trimming out.  But I took them one step
further and dressed up the tips with the sweet holly tab stickers from the
 "Festive" Details Sticker Sheet.  I also distressed the edges just a bit with
a walnut ink.

Now, what to do with my FESTIVE tin?
Every Christmas it seems I'm in search of extra hooks for the ornaments
that the kids make at school, replacement bulbs for the tree, tape for that flap that's
loosened from a present or a quick name tag.  So, now I will have a handy little
keeper for all of these things and I'll sit it neatly under my tree :)
Let me know if you have any questions!

It's time now to head over to my fellow Authentique gal, Heather's Blog!
 Here's a complete list of today's hop if you're in need: 


Be sure to leave a comment as you hop...there are several prizes to be
given away during the course of this two-day blog hop...good luck!
Thanks so much for stopping in!

Bringing some 

on this, the first day of August 2012!

My birthday is in 18 days and is usually right around

the time that school starts...and so begins the busy-time-of-year!

Labor Day, football games, after-school practices, Halloween, 

Octoberfest, Election Day, Thanksgiving, Columbus Day...so many

in-between days while we wait for the Christmas Season to begin.  

I said all of that to say this:  Christmas will be here before we know it LOL

 Now, don't panic...you still have 145 days :)

But what better way to spend some of those in-between days

than crafting up some fun and cool Holiday crafts?

The Monthly Challenge is up at the
IMAGINISCE BLOG

and it's really pretty super easy (see below)

 Don't you love pilfering through the $1 bins?

I found this darling red splattered tin at Target a couple of years

ago and knew it would be even cuter dressed up!

The large Santa die-cut, the three patterned papers (for the flowers),

the canvas sticker and the chipboard sticker are all from the new

 I used three different sizes of the I-Top Punches to create the

layered flowers that I made to decorate the rim of the tin.

(16mm, 24mm and 32mm)

In attaching the flowers to the tin, I used the very handy-dandy

I-Bond Hot Glue Tool by Imaginisce...perfect for these types of crafts!

Now, if you would like to play along and submit a project

to the August Imaginisce Monthly Challenge, just do the following:

Create a layout, card or other project using the Inspiration below and ....