June Projects

Today I just want to share some projects I have done this last few weeks.

I have been mentally struggling a little bit the last few weeks, but I havent given in, I make sure every single day counts no matter what. I create something even if it is an ATC or an embellishment I love to have some sort of record to show that each day has mattered.

My neighbour next door gave birth to a baby girl on 1oth June 2016 so I made this little cutie to give to them x They called their daughter Daisy. x

I also had a commission to make a friend of my sons a card for his sister, so I got her likes and dislikes and came up with this card, I really like it.

A friend of mine done a youtube tutorial showing how to make this gorgeous cute bag, my friend Scrimpingmommy has some super cute tutorials and I highly recommend you pop over and have a look she is a fab friend and very talented lady x

While visiting my parents last week I noticed my sister was using a shopping receipt as her bookmark so told her off and said I would make her a few x the first photo below is a paperfold version and then I have a lace applique version both are very useful and ideal for the job, so I hope she enjoys them x I have done tutorials on them and they will be added to my youtube channel in the next day or so.

Anyway x I hope you all get some inspiration from my projects and I will speak to you all really soon x Love and hugs always Karen xxx

Announcing a Guest DT for Diemond Dies

I am so excited to announce I am a guest designer for diemond dies for their promotion – The 60 days of Diemond dies promotion so excited x please enjoy me sharing projects with you all xx

I have done a few small bits just to play with the die and they cut BEAUTIFULLY x

So happy with them and cannot wait to share some fantastic projects with you all x

The links below will take you to all the diemond die social media and their shop enjoy

http://diemonddies.com/wordpress

Diemond Dies on Facebook

Diemond Die Youtube Channel

Shabby Wall Hanging

Hi Everyone, Karen here with my final design team project

for Shabby is Chic Boutique 

I have made a wall plaque in very subtle and muted tones

using lots of items that are available from the store.

 

I started of with an 8″ wide Chipboard circle

I painted it both sides with a coat of gesso and then covered the front of it with 

a postal script napkin and once dried added a whitewash of white acrylic paint to

mute it slightly.

I then added the v shaped scalloped lace and finally to add that extra softness to the plaque

I added a soft scalloped lace behind it.

To tidy up the edge I added white 4mm pearl trim which worked a treat.

 

 

The decoration I pulled out a lot of elements from my design team kit and also a vintage image that I had printed off from Pinterest.

I placed everything on to get my layout and see how I liked it all on the plaque before gluing anything down.

I firstly added the heart applique then added my image which I then went around with the v shaped trim

I did cut it down the center to make it much neater and finally added 3mm white flatback pearls to it.

I absolutely loved the metal wings from my kit and knew I wanted to use one of them also so I started adding thin layers of white acrylic paint until I was happy with the coverage to embellish it further I added rhinestones and small spots of stickles glitter glue in Cotton Candy (colour)

I then decided to add the butterfly’s to the corners of the image and used the rhinestone trim to emphasis the body and rhinestones for the antennae, lastly to finish off the from I added 2 floral appliques layered with 2 leafs from one of the dangle trims and to carry on with the colour from the metal wing I added a good layer of the stickles to add the pink colour and finished it off with one of the flower centers and some rhinestone tassels

 

I am fairly particular with my projects and feel unless the back is finished off properly too the project isnt finished, so the reverse

I added a large doily and then went around the edge with another white gathered trim from my stash and added in a lace pocket and used a loop braid to show where the pocket is at first glance, to carry on the theme from the front to the back I added the butterflies once again and finally added the small seam binding loop on the top to hang the project. 

 

 

I hope you enjoy this project and gain some inspiration from it and see how beautiful the products are on your projects.

 

I used the following products on my project

White Tassel Lace Trim

2mm rhinestone cupchain

V Shaped Leaf Trim

butterfly trim

gorgeous flower dangle trim

Chalk White seam binding

stunning embroidered tulle lace

black and white napkin

9.5cm White Lace Applique

17mm Rhinestone and Pearl flatback

Antique Brass Filigree Wing 4″

Thank you to Amy & Kim, and all the Design Team for their support and encouragement throughout my

design team term, I wish all the new members the very best and wish Amy every success with the future of

Shabby is Chic Boutique x Thank you to all you ladies and gents for your support it means a great deal.

Sending you all lots of love and hugs always Karen xx 

Altered Drawstring Bag

Shabby is Chic Boutique

Altered Drawstring Bag

I absolutely love this project it is so pretty and useful,

Such a lovely little bag to send with a special little gift.

To make this project I pulled out some gathered trims from my stash and a fabric image then used the trims from my Design Team kit.

I started on the reverse and started at the bottom and worked my way up layering various trims from my design team kit and from my own stash to give the full and varied finish.

The trim at the bottom I removed the chiffon petals and the pearls (I felt the pearls didn’t do the trim justice) and added nice flat back pearls to give it a more elegant look. I then threaded the tassel on the corner to give the bag a little bit more length.

The top trim is a elasticated gather so it will be flexible to move with the drawstring.

The front I added this gorgeous linen fabric image using pva glue. And then framed the image using trims and pearl and rhinestone trim also, the small resin rose I added to her hair.

I have added a chiffon flower that I took out from the trim and added it to the front corner at the tassel and added a pearl and rhinestone flower center.

Product I used from Shabby is Chic Boutique  were

Drawstring Linen Bag

Lace Flower Dangle Collar Trim

stunning embroidered tulle lace

1.1cm white flower lace trim

Clear Rhinestone and Pearl Mesh Trim

Tassel

16mm flatback pearl button

17mm Rhinestone and Pearl flatback

10 mm off white flat back roses

Hope you enjoy this Project

Lots of Love and Hugs Always Karen xx

Some Card Designs March-April 2016

I have added a selection of cards I have made over the past 2 months

These cards are all made from scratch and I am loving making them again and being able to personalize the envelopes, and ensure they are all in full order to sell on to customers.

I have used a massive variety of techniques dry embossing and heat embossing, alcohol ink marker colouring, fabric and papers I just love them all.

Thanks for reading x

Shabby Watercolour Flower Card

Shabby Watercolour Flower Card

Shabby is Chic Boutique Design Team Project

By Karen McClure

Shabby Watercolour Flower Card

I have been really getting back into my cardmaking again but being able to

Mix my love for fabrics and napkins into the cards has just opened up a whole new level of enjoyment for me so here is how I made this card

I took a 6”x6” White 300GSM (@ 140lb) Card Base

I then chopped down a piece of cardstock to 5.5” x 5.5”

And then decoupage the water colour effect napkin on to this and left it to dry completely overnight.

Next morning I cut a smaller layer at 4”x4” and used a corner punch and some distress ink just to give it a little bit of a colour.

Then I using double sided adhesive tape taped down the napkin covered layer on to my cardbase and then added the distress inked layer on top of that also using double sided adhesive tape.

I then pulled out all my lovely crafty bits from Shabby is Chic Boutique store and started to plan my card, I took a piece of lace applique from a large panel and layered it down using pva glue

Using a lovely gathered lace from my stash I made a lace flower rosette

And to go on top of that I picked off the chiffon flowers from the stunning pearl and chiffon flower collar and started to later them up to make a gorgeous flower.

After layering up the chiffon I needed to choose a flower centre and it would have been easy to simply add a nice piece of bling but I choose to stay neutral and took the lovely cameo and paint it with white acrylic which fitted the idea in my vision perfectly.

And I then using hot glue adhered it to my card.

But it still needed more elegance to it so out came the gorgeous tassel and I tucked it under the flower to flow out and as a nice little extra I added a leaf applique from one of the other trims in my DT package.

And finally to just finish it off I added 3 of the small resin roses just sets the card of beautifully

I hope you like the card and that it inspires you to think of ways to use your craft products in new fun ways x

Thank you lots of love and hugs always Karen xxx

Products Used

30.5cm Venise Lace

Lace Flower Dangle Collar Trim

Rose napkins

Tassels

18mm Vintage Resin Lady Cameo in tan

10 mm off white flat back roses

White Tassel Lace Trim

Shabby Butterfly Wall Plaque for Shabby is Chic Boutique

Shabby Butterfly Wall Plaque by DT Member Karen

Good morning friends, Karen here today with my next design team project for

Shabby is Chic Boutique.

I have created an altered CD for this project.

To begin with, I took my cd and traced around it on to white card stock and cut it out using tacky glue I adhered the card to both sides of the CD. I then decoupaged the watercoloured rose napkin onto both sides.

 Next, I added a large applique piece to the front of the plaque and then layered on frayed cheesecloth from my stash.

I then went round the front with the v shaped leaf applique trim (I cut it in half up the centre and then snipped between all the sections so that it curved without puckering)
To soften the look I added two layers of gathered trims from my own stash, the chiffon trim is available in Shabby is Chic Boutique store.

Then I had the fun of decorating I took the chiffon flower lace collar trim and snipped the flowers off them and made it in to just a flower, with more layers. It turned out so pretty!

I used the lace to make a pocket on the reverse of the plaque to add a tag.
I used the tassel under the chiffon flower and added 2 butterfly appliques back to back and attached them on to the thread of the tassel, I also added one to the front of the plaque.

I then took a cardboard butterfly template and added lots of scraps from my DT kit to give the butterfly a fabric softer look, I used the leaf tassel trim and used one leaf as the body and on top of that I added the pearl and rhinestone trim to give it a little bit of sparkle. I also used the same technique on the other butterflies.

I used some of the small resin roses to add some more depth and interest to the plaque and I called the front done.

On the back, I removed all the pearls from the dangle sections on the lace and replaced them with the resin roses they just looked so much classier, the pearls were easily removed with just heating it with a heat tool for a minute and gently picking them off leaving the lace with no blemishes.

I then took a small section of cream satin ribbon to make a hanger, I adhered it with hot glue and added one of the flower dangles over it to disguise the ribbon and just make it look more clean lined.

And again I added a small resin rose to give it the finishing touch.

I hope you enjoy this project.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Shabby Is Chic Boutique Items Used

White Tassel Lace Trim

30.5cm Venise Lace *1/2 yard*

Clear Rhinestone and Pearl Mesh Trim

Lace Flower Dangle Collar Trim

butterfly trim

Rose napkins

10 mm off white flat back roses

Tassels

Shabby is Chic Boutique DT Project – Bow Card

I purchased the bow card template from

http://sandrasscrapshop.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/91-strikkaart-patroon-bow-card-template.html

it is a beautifully put together template with many layers for you just to print and pencil on to your cardstock and paper and construct .

Once my card base was constructed I then got out my box of goodies from

Shabby is Chic Boutique and started to place them where I felt they should go on my card.

I used many products and am very pleased with how beautiful the embellishments made my card go from very pretty to absolutely stunning.

I used the 30.5cm Venise Lace (*1/2 yard*)

And chopped out the heart appliques from it and positioned them on either side of my card and then also at the bottom of the card.

I then added the 2 leaf dangles from the White Tassel Lace Trim to imitate leaves and on top of them I added a 40mm wide 2toned pink rose these were added to both sides on top of the heart appliques.

I then wanted to add something to the top and had a small section of bridal applique left so tidied it up and attached it to the upper part of my card and then used 1.1cm white flower lace trim to add dimension to the appliques flowers and to give it the sense of luxury I added rhinestones to give it some sparkle I had some in my stash but it is available in the shop to purchase and will leave the link below x

I then decided I wanted to add some butterflies (I adore butterflies and try to add them to almost all my projects) but to add something extra to them I actually took one of my napkins from my DT pack and decoupaged it on to some card stock and then die cut out some butterflies when doing this I also cut a flourish using the same piece of napkin and card and loved the look it gave, I attached the butterflies in various places and added the flourish which worked in beautifully. For the centre I wanted something to add a softness to it so opted to use some cream webbing material as I didn’t want muslin due to the threads falling off and shedding the webbing is a little more resilient and it worked out perfectly, I finished it off with a vintage image from pinterest and used one of the resin frames from my stash surrounded the image with rhinestones and added one to the top of the frame. Lastly to finish the card off I added a tail to the card and used some wedding in thin stripes and some ric rak braid in cream and some rhinestone trim I glued them all just under the second layer of the card but to make sure it looked finished if anyone looked I added a Rhinestone and pearl button and for all the butterflies I added small strings of rhinestones to give them all some sparkle.

This project did take me a lot time as I wanted it to be close to perfect. My mum turns 60 next month and this card will be going to her x so I hope it inspires you to look at all your trims differently and use them in different ways x

Enjoy, Lots of love and hugs always Karen xx

Items I used from the store are as follows

30.5cm Venise Lace (*1/2 yard*)

White Tassel Lace Trim

bridal applique

1.1cm white flower lace trim

Parisian Napkin

.96″ silver rhinestone and pearl flatback

Also available in the store is the rhinestone 2mm trim

​

Design Team Project for Shabby is Chic Boutique

I am so pleased to announce that I am now a member of the design team for

Shabby is Chic Boutique

It is a facebook store with some beautiful craft items to buy.

I have made a beautiful Altered Box using the items that were included in
my Design Team Kit.



This is my finished Project which used the following items from my kit



16mm flatback pearl button
10pcs - I used for my Box Feet

Vintage Butterfly Napkin - 
I used to cover the lid of my box, I just absolutely loved 
the sentiment on the napkin.



.96" silver rhinestone and pearl flatback
Was added into my project among the flower cluster



Ivory Lace Bridal Trim
2pcs
Was added to the lid of my box, it was cut into smaller sections 
to cover more of the lid



8mm Flatback pearl hearts
15 per pack
I added the Pearl hearts to my applique flower centers





White Tassel Lace Trim
I added this stunning trim around the whole box



1.1cm white flower lace trim
I used around the lid of my box to disguise the seam of my lace.



Leaf Trim I used to add Leaves into my flower clusters it helped 
add the softness to the box.

I start off my box with coating it with a layer of Gesso both inside and out,
the inside I gave a second coat using just white Acrylic paint.
I coated the box's bottom section with a soft pink acrylic paint I didnt have
the exact colour I wanted, so I mixed a deep red tone paint with
some white acrylic to give me the perfect shade.
The lid of the box, I decoupaged the napkin on using Decopatch Glossy
glue, once this has dried I lightly dust it with some baby talc
it helps to take off the tacky feeling and also gives the box
a lovely scent x 
I then added my trims and finally I picked out a selection
of flowers from my stash that would work with the colours of the napkin.
I added the bridal applique on to cover as much of the lid area as possible and
then I organised my flowers to work along with the applique to
make sure I had maximum effect. 
I finally for the lid added in my embellishments among 
the flowers, I cut the leaf trim into small sections and used as leaves in
the flowers, I used the small pearl hearts as flower centers in my
applique flowers and lastly I added the rhinestone and pearl embellishment
into the flowers also to give it the little bit of bling it needed 
to finish it off perfectly
The base of my box, I added felt and then used the
16mm flatback pearl buttons to make feet for my box and I was done.

Shabby is Chic Boutique Store 
Shabby is Chic Boutique Blog 
Enjoy and have an fab day x Lots of Love and hugs Karen xx

Lace Caddy – EXCLUSIVE to Scrimpy’s Craft Boutique

I ordered this stunning kit from Amanda who owns Scrimpy’s Craft Boutique

Her store can be found on facebook Scrimpy’s Craft Boutique

She sells the most amazing kits and I have bought almost all of them as they are great quality and fantastic value for money.

With this kit which was made by Fernli Designs exclusively made to Amanda’s specifications to house her stunning laces and trims.

When you get the kit it has 6 pieces base, handle/centre partition and 4 sides

I chose to decorate mine using paper and I chose a very simplistic wood grain effect

 

This was the very first stage of decorating.

I then used gorgeous trims and laces from Amanda’s shop to decorate and it worked out beautifully

The base I added 2 panels of felt then added a 3 larger panel over the whole base, I then added 1.5cm cubes for the feet and I added felt to the feet also to give it a more finished professional look.

I used a chiffon styled gathered trim first to add a softness to the caddy and I then added a beautiful guipure trim which has beautiful and delicate detail and to finish it off and also to tie in the pearl headed pins I have used on my spools I chose to add a 6mm pearl flatback trim around also.

My spools once I have some cream seam binding in stock that will be added to each spool

Overall I am extremely pleased with how it turned out and cannot wait for my next kit.

Lots of love and craft hugs Karen x