~Butterflies on Winter Cards?!~



Yes, I know....In Canada this doesn't happen very often...In fact, you never see butterflies during the winter months around this part of the country. Not unless you visit a conservatory. But I got to thinking...not every part of the world gets to experience a white, snowy and cold Christmas like we do. Many of the wonderful
ladies at SB.com brought this to my attention :) I often forget that 'winter wonderlands' come in many different forms...So, this card is made to reflect a more 'temperate' winter, if you will.

As usual, I used a lot of glitter on this card and a lot of lace. And just when I thought I couldn't fit in any more lace, I used border punches to make the pp look like lace. Oh, I think I have an obsession :)
I used a Tattered Angels stencil to create the large paper butterfly out of Websters Pages Garden Gala pp. I used chunky, sparkly glitter to spice up the wings. Behind the butterfly is a harlequin print from Creative Imaginations.

The smaller butterfly is from my own stash and the button combo is dotted with liquid pearls. The pom-pom trim is by Prima and the rest of the lace is from my own stash as well.

I covered a laser-cut mirror flower with some Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint and layered it with a delicate Prima flower that was distressed as well :)
Some more liquid pearls around the edges...and ta-daa!
Thank you all for lookin!

*Ivana*

~Can't Wait to Get My Hands On...~



All of this beautiful, new Prima product!!!! This is Prima's Product Pick for September and it couldn't be more beautiful or more my style!!! I love every little bit of this darling collection! It's so delicate, pretty and can be really versatile! I was hoping to get some of this line when the store ordered it, however, this stuff sold so quickly, that I did not have a chance to scoop up any of it! :( Now I am anxiously waiting to see if the store will get it in again...or if maybe I will be picked as the lucky winner of these
gorgeous goodies! :)
You could win this incredible product too! Here is the excerpt from the Prima Blog:

For a chance to win some of these products simply re-post this PPP on your blog, Facebook wall or any other place you frequent (please follow all TOUs.)

Then copy a link to your post right here in the comment section and we will pick one random winner from the comments in October!

For more info on this and more INCREDIBLE Prima products please visit their blog here.

*Ivana*

~Tis the Season~



Yesterday, I bought my first Christmas ornament of the season! Michael's just got their stock in and I couldn't resist this adorable, little, shabby sleigh that just
screamed my name!
It inspired me to create this card...I'll have to post the darling little sleigh when I have
some time to photograph it :)
For now, here's what resulted from my inspiration...

The metal leaf in the photo was a dark bronze...I painted it, of course, and the glittered it like there was no tomorrow....hehe
I also added a little Svarowski crystal...as if it needed more bling!

The cluster of darling Prima flowers is set around a corsage pin centerpiece...The pin is holding together an organza bow, some pretty pearl beads, a charm from an old necklace, and pretty Bo Bunny silk rose trim.

The card is lined with iridescent stringed pearls (from my stash) and the large oval rhinestone is covered in chunky glitter. I used a EK Success Border punch for the paper and the lovely 3-d flower stickers are by K & Co.
A touch of liquid pearls and some lace at the top complete the look!
Another card to add to the Christmas collection...
Thanks for stoppin by!

*Ivana*

~An Inspired Jar~

I was recently checking some of my fave blogs and I came across
a beautiful jar created by an incredibly talented artist, Silvia,
and was so inspired that I couldn't resist
digging around in my canning supplies to find my
very own jar to alter. After all, I am always in perpetual
search for charming little containers to store all my goodies...This one in particular
will be a storing a *small* portion of my lace :)



The sides of the jar are painted with Tim Holtz Distress Paint, and the bottom portion of the jar is covered with some antique note paper. Above that is a
small piece of burlap that I glued my lettering onto, and above that is a barely-there
font that says "goodie" (you can see it a lot better in person).
The cluster of flowers features Prima Winter Roses in white and Prima Fairytale
Roses in Baby Pink and LOTS of glitter. Nothing makes me happier than a glittered, painted, vintage Prima flower! :) I covered the large rhinestone with glitter as well, and punched out some leaves with a Martha Stewart punch.

After painting the metal key with distress paint, I loosely tied it with stringed pearls and hung it around the neck of the jar....did not glue it down - well not yet at least :)
Not really sure yet if it
will be a final piece of the jar - so if I change my mind, which I do a lot of,
it can easily be removed

On the side of the jar, I lined the inside of a Tattered Angels Frame with burlap that I painted with white distress paint, and set it off with a cluster of
prima flowers, buttons, bling and punched out leaves.
I hope to find a nice quote to put inside the frame one day....

Oh lace...how I adore the way you make everything look so pretty....I don't know what I did before I started using lace...now I can't make anything that doesn't include lace as a feature! So given that lace is so dear to my heart and that this jar will hold my lace collection, it only made sense to lace it up everywhere I could!
So I glued alternating strips of rhinestones, stringed pearls and crystal jewelry, along with some of the lace that is stored in the jar...
Can't wait to add it to my scraproom! Now, if I could just make a few more to store the rest of the lace....hehe
Cheers

*Ivana*

~We all need a Warm Welcome Once in a While~



Hello everyone! Hope your Sunday has been fabulous! I just wanted to post another little project I worked on late last night and finished up this morning.
I thought my scraproom was lacking a little warmth these days,
so I figured what better than a "Welcome Banner" to spark
things up a bit. Of course, it's in the same shabby style you
expect to see from me and it will be the perfect little addition to my shabby chic decor
in my scraproom!
I plan to take it in to the shop for a little while and hang it in the doorway to our HUGE scraproom. After all, we all need a little warm welcome once in a while!

Here's a more close-up shot of the banner....

...and another one...

....and yet another one!
Below, you will find shots of each individual letter in case you feel
inspired to make your own little banner!
Enjoy! :)

Thanks for stopping by and have yourselves a lovely night!!!

*Ivana*

~A Bit Too Early?~

Yes, I know Christmas is still two months away, but I just couldn't help myself!
It's just funny how a season can convey such a strong feeling in a person...For me,
the holiday season does just that.
I love everything about it. I love that I get to travel home to spend time with loved ones, I love that I have a home to go where it is cozy and warm, I love the soothing aromas from my mom's kitchen whether it be a beautiful holiday feast or a simple cup of hot cider....I love everything about those few days in which every care disappears and we have time to take in the true beauty of life.
So, I made this card to represent all of those feelings I have for my most favourite time of the year.
I can barely wait for the holidays to come...until then, I will stick to making cards that make me feel like "it's the most wonderful time of the year"! :)

I wanted to show a close up so you could see the details a bit better - especially the little button cluster. I glued several buttons down, sort of like a pyramid, and then covered them in beautiful, sparkly, chunky glitter! Then I placed a little bead in the center with a lovely pink rhinestone. I tried to mimic the way snow
covers the trees by glittering only the top of the letters, and I also roughly
painted the brackets with distress paint so that it would look
snowy.
I finished it off with lace, more buttons, a few more touches of glitter.....
and now I want to make more!!!
I guess it will keep me busy until I get the a-ok from my dear bf to decorate our
place with my overwhelming collection of Christmas goodies or until
I need to last-minute shop for all the loved ones....can't wait!

Thank you all for lookin!

*Ivana*

~ A Poem of Love ~



Howdy, everyone! This must be a miracle - two posts in one night!? How can this be?
To be honest, I don't even know how I am finding the time to do this right now.
So many things need to be done at my house...ongoing renos, cleaning, organizing for the week...all very important things...all very unlikely to get done
on a Friday night...so instead, I am blogging!
Ahh life is short...and besides, how could I not share my little poem frame with you?
Like most of what I create, it started out as something different...actually just as a
simple little frame...I know, boring!
But then, something magical happened. I ran out of space to place the photo.
Out of my distress, I found a solution!
I had been dying to find a way to scrap a love poem that I have had for a while,
and this little number fit the bill perfectly!
So with a bit of distress paint, some 10 Second Studio Metal sheets (a stylus and a sanding block), lots of chunky vintage glitter, and handmade flowers.....I
have in my possession a darling little poem holder!
Whenever I want to read it, I can pull it out - it is inside the heavenly glittered
note paper - sort of like a little secret :)

Happy Friday everyone, enjoy your night!!

*Ivana*

~A Special Wall Hanging~




Yay, it's Friday! Instead of heading out tonight, I decided to finish a project that has been on hold for way too long. After re-decorating our living space, I found that much of our artwork/photos were no longer in harmony with our new found design.....sooooo I have been meaning to finish this little number for a while now, to compliment our space!
Finally, here it is in all it's glory!
I may have gone overboard with the glitter...and the bling...and the shiny buttons...but who are we kidding!? This is just the way I like it, and I
wouldn't have it any other way!
Now...only to find a home for my little creation....
Thanks for looking everyone and have a fab weekend!!!!

*Ivana*

p.s. I used a lot of distress ink for the masking, glimmer mist for the sheen, and an espresso paint dabber for the stamping. I wanted a worn look that still looked classy. The buttons, lace, stringed pearls and butterfly are from my own stash.
Frame embellie is from Tattered Angels
and the heart and flower are by K & Co.

~ A Happy Mishap ~

This card sort of happened by accident :) I was working on a layout, and wanted to create a birdcage as an embellishment - so I started drawing one out on a transparency, which I later added stickles, alcohol ink, rhinestones, and liquid pearls to. Then I realized that the proportions were all wrong and I was so upset that I had spent all that time creating this little cage and couldn't use it. So I decided to make up a little card by using plain white cardstock and brushing alcohol ink around the edges and then adding stickles glitter randomly to fill the white space. I finished the card off with a quote stamp, some cut-out leaves, and beautiful Prima flowers. I added some Ranger dimensional pearls (colour: Mushroom) on the layered Prima flowers, and finished them off with a rhinestone center and some glitter. Even though it was not planned, I think the card turned out great! Too bad more of my mistakes don't end up looking like this!
Thanks for looking and have a great day!! :)

*Ivana*

~ Bingo Mini Book ~



A quick little mini book that started out as a card. On the front cover I used a bingo card by My Mind's Eye. I layered a glittered WRMK lace sticker and a Tattered Angels frame over the bingo card, and using a pin, I attached a white Bo Bunny bloomer and and a Prima flower in the center. The front is embellished with some lace and a couple of punched leaves. The paper is by Little Yellow Bicycle.

I adhered a stretchy lace ribbon to the back of the book, and then adhered a Webster's Pages sparkler to the front, so that the book covers can be closed to hold all the inside pages.

I plan to add some more pages to the inside of the book - for now though - it features a pic of my grandma and I and a little bit of space for a title and some journalling!
Thank you so much for looking and have a FAB day! :)

*Ivana*

~ A New Prima Layout ~

It's been a busy week, but I still found some time for a quick little page using some of Prima's beautiful new Annalee paper. I adore the shabby chic look of this line and the colours are to die for! I hand-cut flowers from one of the patterned papers, and then layered them around the photo. I added lace and buttons from my own collection and the chipboard letters are by My Mind's Eye. I used some Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint to distress the page, the letters, and the Tim Holtz Chipboard shape. I used a border stamp by My Mind's Eye to outline the photo and the corners of the layout. Have a super day and TFL!! :)

*Ivana*