Nov 30, 2011

LESSology Challenge #7: Creative inspiration from Angi Barrs and Julie Tucker-Wolek




Today we are showing you the creative inspiration from design team members Angi Barrs and Julie Tucker-Wolek.

Angi Barrs

Hi everyone! Angi here! I'm so excited about our new challenge. I love getting pretty packages and envelopes in the mail. I also love making altered envelopes. Here's my latest altered envelope creation.


I "dressed up" a Maya Road kraft envelope. I added some some recycled stretch canvas to the front then  layered it with paper & embellies from My Mind's Eye.


I loved this challenge so much that I made a second envelope that I'd also like to share. I designed a Christmas theme for this one. These envelopes are just the right size for adding gift cards too.


I can't wait to see your "You've Got Mail" projects for our fun challenge.

Julie Tucker-Wolek

Hi everyone :)

With the holidays approaching fast - I wanted to make a mailbox that fits in with my Holiday decor :)

Here is my little mailbox that I started off with :)


And here is what I made :) I used Graphic 45's Christmas Emporium collection :)





Can't wait to see what everyone creates for this challenge :)
~~Julie :)

Aren't these just fabulous projects? We would love to see your entries for LESSology Challenge #7: You've got mail! :) Please leave some love for our designers.

Nov 29, 2011

LESSology Challenge #7: Design team inspiration from Audrey Pettit, Kirsty Vittetoe and Yvonne Yam


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Today we get to see how design team members  Audrey Pettit, Kirsty Vittetoe and Yvonne Yam interpreted LESSology Challenge #7: You've got mail! :)

Audrey Pettit

With the holidays just a few short weeks away, I am on the look out these days for good small gift ideas for all those folks on my Christmas list that I want to remember with a little something. One idea I really like is putting together a set of note-cards with matching envelopes. It's a gift made from the heart, and is useful and practical for most anyone on your list. Best yet, it can be quickly put together using supplies most of us already have on hand.

When creating a set of note-cards, I try to keep my design fairly simple and easy to replicate. I also like to keep the supplies to a minimum to keep cost down, and leave the design fairly flat so that it could be mailed. Here I used just two sheets of white cardstock and one piece of patterned paper to make four note-cards. To add interest to the design, I added a paper doily in the center, followed by a die cut label I cut from scrap paper. The circle in the center is leftover pieces of doily I've had sitting around forever. I added hand-stamped sentiment strips and vintage buttons, and Santas I fussy cut from patterned paper. Talk about an inexpensive way to get multiple focal images.

To dress up plain, ordinary envelopes, I simply cut a piece of patterned paper to size and adhered it to the front of the envelope. Since I had only one sheet of patterned paper to do all four envelopes, cutting a piece for just the front was a paper-saving solution. Print mailing labels, and these fancy envelopes can even go right through the mail. Wouldn't that be a fun surprise when you open up your mailbox?

For a gift presentation, I simply tied the note-cards and envelopes together with some Christmas ribbon and added a vintage-inspired postcard and a holiday quote that was leftover from my envelope project. My up-cycled item? The fun red mesh bow I added on top. It came from a bag of oranges I got at the grocery store.



Kirsty Vittetoe

Hi, it's me Kirsty here, sharing with you my project for LESSology Challenge # 7 - You've Got Mail

I don't know about you, but I love getting my scrapping supplies online, that end up with lots of this.... 


as you know at LESSology is all about recycling and I am going to show you how I altered this mailing box into a gift box....
gesso is what I used to cover-up all the unwanted text on the box...


now let's work with water colors....


remember that old book I altered? all the cut out pages now become green grass


green grass, blue sky, white clouds.... now let you imagination take flight......







now this little box is ready for a gift to get in, and then off it goes......




Hello friends! It's Yvonne! My mail project is an upcycled priority mail box! :)


I started off with this small little box which I covered with brown paper.


Added some paper scraps and stamping...


Are you inspired to create your own mail art for LESSology Challenge #7: You've got mail? We would love to see your entries! :) Please leave some love for our designers.

Nov 28, 2011

LESSology Challenge #7: You've got mail!



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Welcome to LESSology Challenge #7: You've got mail! :) There's no reason why you shouldn't make the outside of your mail as pretty as the contents inside. Don't forget to include at least one upcycled item in your creation. 

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Our sponsor for this challenge is Pixie Dust Paperie. The winner gets a $20 gift certificate! :)

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Here's a sneak peek of what our design team created! :)

Ready to play along? Link your creations via Inlinkz (located at the end of the post) by Sunday December 11, 11.59pm EST. Please read the challenge rules to ensure your eligibility for our prizes.

Nov 23, 2011

Sponsor Spotlight - Nikki Sivils



We absolutely love Nikki Sivils here at LESSology. Nikki is so generous and has sponsored not one...but two of our challenges this year! Her products are bright and colorful! They are perfect for both altered and traditional projects.

And check out the new Nikki Sivils Gingerbread Lane Collection!
We are giving one of these fabulous collection kits away to the winner of LESSology Challenge #6 - The Hanging Mobile Challenge.


We hope you enjoy these fabulous Altered Projects made by the
talented Doghouse Divas design team!



(made with the School is Cool Collection)

(made with the My Lil' Monster, Boo-tiful, My Friend
Birdie, and the Tree Love Collections)
 
(made with the Get Well Soon Collection)
For more inspiration be sure to check out the Nikki Sivils Shop & Blog.

Nov 21, 2011

LESSology Challenge #6 Guest Designer: Maggi Flynn



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Our guest designer for LESSology Challenge #6: Hanging Mobile is the fabulous Maggi Flynn! :)

Hi everyone!

My name is Maggi and I run a little blog called Just Add Glitter and Stir where I talk about my crafty endeavors: crochet, mixed media, scrapbooking and anything else I can put hook, glue or glitter to. I am thrilled to be guest designing for LESSology this month! I just love repurposing items to use in (and on) my projects. My current favorite thing to do is find canvas wall pictures at thrift stores, Gesso over the pictures and use them for my own nefarious creative purposes. lol Sometimes you can find them for less than a dollar which really appeals to my wallet since blank artist canvas can be expensive.

But today I'm here to show a mobile I created from an old wooden embroidery hoop, cardboard, fabric remnants, jewelry pieces and who knows what else I stuck on there. lol Under piles and piles of whatchamacallits and doodads in my craft room, I came across a piece of Wonderland fabric given to me by my good friend Deb. We're both big Alice in Wonderland fans and this fabric remnant became the inspiration for my "Wonderland Mobile":

I started with a wooden embroidery hoop to which I Mod Podged a piece of fabric, stamped onto it with red acrylic paint using star punchinella as my stencil, added some Stickles and sheet music (accented with Distress Inks).  I then stitched on the fabric and created the hanger using Punchinella and a clock jewelry pendant for the top of the hoop. The crown, glitter flamingo and Hatter brad were unearthed from my crafty stash. :D


For the outside of the hoop, I crocheted around it using blue acrylic yarn. The pink and blue tassel trim (from Gauche Alchemy's ACME kit) was mounted onto a piece of cardboard, cut out and attached to the hoop and cards using silver jewelry wire. I then attached a key to tie in the Wonderland theme.


The fabric featured graphics of playing cards with various characters on it so I cut two of them out, then I Mod Podged those onto pieces of cardboard. I stitched around each "card", added Stickles, more stenciling with star punchinella, added small pieces of distressed sheet music and wired a crystal to the bottom of each one.


This was one of those projects that I'd work on for a while, go to something else, come back and do a little more, stop and start, stop and start. lol Do you ever have projects like that or am I the only crazy crafter out there??? :D

I did have a lot of fun making this for LESSology and want to say thank you to Yvonne and the LESSology team for letting me show it off. Thanks for having me on the blog today! :D

Now, as I like to say: Go glue something awesome onto some awesome something!

Maggi

Altogether now...."Awesome project Maggi! " Are you totally inspired to make your own hanging mobile now? We would love to see your entries for LESSology Challenge #6: Hanging Mobile! :) Please leave some love for our guest Maggi.