Costa Rica Travel Mugs

These decorated travel mugs from Starbucks turned out so well. They are so stinking cute :O)

I love the fact that you can decorate them anyway you want to - the only word of warning - don't make the inserts too think of they won't fit in between the 2 layers of plastic - so - no brads or sparkles so I go way overboard with the Prisma Glitter instead :O)

 I made one for me and one for Victoria and we discovered that a bottle of Champagne 

(or wine) will fit perfectly in the 2 travel mugs :O)

 I used the C1575 True To Life stamp set along with the Costa Rica trip set.

I still have the Bingo Alphabet - one of my favorites - so I used it to personalize mine.

 I used Crystal Blue and Pacifica inks for the butterflies and Pear, Juniper and Sorbet for the 

cutest frog on the planet :O)

The lizard was stamped in Chocolate ink and I used Desert Sand for the 'Beach" stamp which I colored using the Watercolor Pencils.

Hope this inspires you to create one of your own - Love Sara xxx

Chisato's cute purse :O)

A few months ago one of my class members - Chisato 

- walked into the class holding a darling purse - 

we all 'ooohhhed' and 'aaahhhhed' over it and she told us she had made it. 

We all complimented her on how cute it was and joked that we all needed one too.

It wasn't until a little while had passed when it suddenly occurred to me

that the adorable brown and white striped ribbon was Close To My Heart Ribbon!!!

OMG - what a cute way to use it - not just for cards and layouts but for your purses too :O)

Hope you like it as much as we did - Love Sara x

Extravanganza 2012 artwork - wooden plaque

Well I thought i would give you a sneak-peak of some of the artwork which I made for my Extravaganza class in Dallas. I was thrilled to be chosen to teach again and I was give the awesome 'Moonlight' level 2 paper pack & dimension elements.

Here, I used a wooden plaque from Michaels which I inked the edges using Smokey Plum ink - I then brushed peal paint over the top. I added paper and then photo mats for the fabulous photos of my

beautiful daughter Robyn.

I made paper flowers using the Cricut ' CTMH Art Philosophy" cartridge - then used dimensional element hearts which I either covered in the Moonlight paper or inked, painted & liquid glassed. 

I also inked the garden shapes wooden flowers.

New Black and White striped ribbon added another textural feel & the dimensional elements banner pieces were layered over the ribbon.

Hope you like it as much as I did :O)

Here is a canvas which I decorated with the Footloose level 2 paper and matching embellishments.

I also added some of the lace flowers and buttons and dimensional hearts from the Stella WOTG.

I pleated the Sweetleaf ribbon around the edge of the canvas and held them in place

with Sorbet brads.

The photo is from my daughter Robyn's 2006 graduation.

Hope you like it xx

The infamous 'fascinator' - I am not sure if I have posted a picture of it or not - I know many people took photos at Extravaganza last year but here you go if you haven't seen it :O)

The base was one of the banner pieces covered in black paper which I added liquid glass 'dots' which stayed 3D when dry which I then covered with silver glitz gel.

The flowers were made from the 2" scalloped punch with black pearls in the middle - Rhinestone brads added more bling, loops of colonial white ribbon, rolled paper roses, and a stamped 3D butterly on a pin.

I then glued the whole thing to a headband and VOILA :O)

Lucy Workshop on the Go Mini Banner

Oh my goodness I was so happy with the way this mini banner turned out - it is so stinkin' cute :O)

I used the sweet leaf wide grosgrain ribbon to thread the panels together. I made the rosettes under the letters from2 circles punched using the 2" scallop punch. I used E1019 Bohemian Alphabet to stamp the word  'Welcome', and then stamped the flowers and butterflies using the stamp set which comes in the Workshop.
I just loved the way it turned out and hope you do too :O)

The Kindle and its cover is complete - you knew I couldn't leave it alone LOL

Yes I know - I couldn't leave the cover or the kindle alone and had to keep embellishing it LOL.

Would you expect anything else of me?????

So I added more stamping, more Glitz Gel Glue, the buttons I liquid glassed and stitched

with embroidery thread and I liquid glassed the postage stamp and the glass in the 

lamps of the Paris theme stamp.

THEN I stamped my Kindle to match - of course I did ROTFLOL :O)

So now they match and I think I am done - well for now anyway - who knows what I might add next !

The fun you can have with your stamps and inks and a Kindle cover :O)

Over Christmas I treated myself to a Kindle - I have finally joined the 21st Centuary. I am a paper

person myself - a tactile person - so all of this electronic gadgetry just doesn't

excite me. BUT as I am headed to Hawaii in just a few weeks the Kindle seemed 

like the perfect solution to hauling a box of books with me.

I found this classic but fun looking cover for it - just like a manilla envelope. 

I love it.

It even has the cool string closure to keep everything safe 

BUT.  .  .  .  .  

It is kinda boring looking in a cool retro way - I knew I could 'bling' it up

and make it look like mine.

So out came the Stazon inks and my favorite stamps and the first thing I did was to add my phone number to the inside flap. God forbid that I should loose the flipping thing - hopefully if I did

someone would be kind enough to return it.

And then the fun stuff - Swirls, postage & images of Paris,

words which I love and my Name.

Then I went nuts with the Bronze Glitz Gel glue.

I LOVE how it turned out - it is so obviously mine LOLOL

Hope you like it too - let me know if you do :O)

My Creations Memory Game Jigsaw

I was given the new My Creations Memory game boxes to 'play' with for Conventions,

so one of the items I made was this fun Jigsaw puzzle.

I had 2 photos printed - a small one to go onto the top of the box and then a large one 12 x 18".

The large photo was cut into 24 pieces each measuring 3x3".

I inked all of the edges of the pieces and attached the photos to the front with a thin layer of liquid glass.

I used the Elemental paper pack on the box and added some of the new Cranberry Ribbon

for a textural feel on the lid.

Hope you like it :O)

Bliss Wedding Wall Hanging

Here is a wooden wall plaque which I bought at Michaels. I used a marker to color in the edges then covered the edges with the pearl paint.

I used the Bliss level 2 paper pack to cover the base and added Vineyard Berry cardstock which I dry embossed with a diagonal pattern - sanded then again dry brushed the pearl paint over it.

I made the ribbon ruffle from the chocolate paper and then covered the join between the paper and cardstock with a section of Kraft Border which I had inked using Chocolate ink.

the large Dimensional Element heart was stamped and the small heart was inked with Vineyard Berry.

Hope you like it :O)

Zippedee Altered Purse

Here is the cute altered 'purse' wooden box which I made using the Zippedee level 2 paper pack,Just the ticket stamp set (one of my very favorites) black ribbon and some of our new embellishments - yes you get a sneak peak at some of the goodies :O)
This photo is about 18 months old and shows Leo, Elliott and Robyn. I added mini opaques and the new red Sparkles for 'Bling'.

This is the back of the box - I have used some of the new Opaques pearls in Liquorice (black) and stamped "made with love" in black Stazon ink,  from the Made with love stamp set D1387 - page 79 of the Summer Idea book.

This end of the box features a page from the new Mix & Mingle mini album. I curved it gently before I Modge Podged it to the box. More Opaques cover the holes in the edge of the pages. I used a wooden oval shape for the tag and covered it with more paper and added mini Opaques around the photo of Leo & I.  I threaded more black ribbon and the satin edged Colonial White ribbon through it to tie it to the handle.

The other side of the tag has Robyn on it with another red Sparkle :O)

This is the other end of the purse with a photo of my husband richard and of Elliott. I have used on of the Clear acrylic tags and added a clear button which I added liquid glass to and then dropped it into Prisma glitter. Then I attached the button to the box - trapping the glitter between the box and the button :O)

Finally the lid - the beaded handle is from Michaels craft store which is where the wood box came from too. More black opaques and red sparkles add the 'bling' to the photo of Rich and I.
Hope you like it :O)

My Creations Recipe Box

Welcome to May and the 1st day of our new Summer Idea Book - I know you are going to love it :O) You can view it on my website at http://sarabatkin.myctmh.com
Here is one of the new items - a cute recipe box which you can dress up however you like - I used the perfect day paper - are you surprised? LOL it is my favorite :O)

I used Modge Podge to attach the paper after I had distressed all of the corners and edges with Cocoa ink. The paper and cardstock was distressed with the same ink - that way the edges blend in and don't look so obvious.
 Sparkles and stickease added bling and added dimension . Hope you like it :O)

Dry Erase Picture Frame

This idea came from another consultant which I absolutely fell in love with. It is a regular picture frame which I added the Notebook level 2 paper and stickease to and added Dimensional Elements which I inked then stamped. Lots of bling with flowers and sparkles added a fun touch and I wrapped the dry erase marker with our black ribbon. A fun project which is easy to make and you can switch out the backgrounds easily to customize to the season. Hope you like it :O)

Stamp camp Project 3 - Wall hangings

Here is the 3rd of the projects from last Saturday's stamp camp - we made wall hangings ready for photos. Mine on the left says DIVA - of course it does LOLOL - the one on the right says HOME - these are a fun way to display smaller photos - especially in an office or smaller space - hope you like it :O)

Disney Fold out Album

Good morning everyone :O)

Here is a fun album which I made and finally finished last night - woohoo :O) It started out with an undecorated album which I had picked up at a craft fair some time ago. I used the CTMH Giggles and Grins paper and stickease,and the matching stamps to decorate it. I did add a few embroidered Mickey piece which I bought at Magic Kingdom. The entire inside section folds out which I then decorated and made interactive.

As you can see I added flaps and fold outs to it to add more photos :O)

This is the other side of the fold out piece.

 

Again I added more pockets and tags.

Sorry this is a little blurry - I was standing on a chair to be able to get it all in LOL.

This was our first trip to Disney - we had so much fun.

Hope you like it :O)

An afternoon of fun at the zoo......

This altered album was made out of a children's chipboard book. I'll give you 3 guesses what it was about with this shape LOL. I sanded all of the pages as the printed made them very glossy then added the paper and cardstock. The sanding was the worst part and a little messy. But totally worth it :O) I did use a UHU glue stick as this works the best. then use sanding files to make sure you get nice clean edges of the pages. The best place to get these kind of books (if you don't have young children of your own) is the Salvation Army. Doesn't matter if the pages are drawn on as you are going to cover them up - you can get some really interesting shapes.

As usual, I made the pages interactive so the 2 photos on the left open up like a book and the bottom photos on the right lifts up.

 

 

Again the 2 photos on the right open up for more space and for journalling. Elliott was so thrilled that the lion had his name - usually Lions are called Leo (my son Leo is rather smug about this) So it made it even more special for Elliott - AND he spelled his name the same way. Elliott's day was totally perfect :O)

Hope you like it - find yourself a book and go and have fun :O)

Baby Wall Hanging & Door Sign

Some of you saw this at Convention in 2008 when I taught a class on how to use CTMH items around your home. The bases of these are both wood and came from my local craft store - with the Baby sign - I colored in the edge of the sign with a sweet leaf marker and then dry brushed the pearl paint over it. With the door hanger I just colored in the edge with the marker. On both items I then attached Spring Iris cardstock whcih I had dry embossed in a diamond pattern and then dry embossed. Summer Posies mini flowers were added with a clear Sparkle in the center. I added paper to the Dimensional Element letters and attached them using 3D foam squares.  Finally - Sassy strands and ribbons added the hanger to the wall hanging and some texture to the door hanger. Hope you like it :O)

Diva picture frame.

I made this cute wooden photo frame using the retired Stylin' paper which I absolutely love.

Here is a photo of me having afternoon tea at the Ritz hotel in London

I was so surprised when they brought me a mini cake with a candle on it.

Hence the look of surprise on my face.

The 'belt' buckle on the black ribbon is actually a ring pull from a coke can :O)

Mummy & Me

This is a picture frame which I made using 2 thin canvases bought from Michaels. It is difficult to see the color on the canvases but I sponges blush and garden green onto the background.

The center of the flowers are the nail head brads and the words giggle are embossed in silver EP.

The photo on the left is my 1st Christmas and the photo on the left would have been taken in the following summer so I would have been about 9 months old :O)

Alaska Cruise Luggae Tag

Here is a cute luggage tag which I made from a mini clipboard- it is only small and just perfect for this. I used the CTMH Majestic Blue Level 2 paper and the R&R acrylic stamp set (unfortunately this is now retired - but I love it - so still use it). I colored the image using chalks.  Lots of ribbons at the top just finished it off and I used StazOn Black ink to stamp the word Journey on the metal clip.

Hope you like it :O)