Again, I love anything altered.  I love canvas'.  They give you a blank slate to do with whatever you want.  You can paper mache them, paint them, rip them, anything.  I had bought some burlap rippon with lace along the edges at Love is in the Details.  I wanted to use it up in a shabby chic kind of way.  I also love Prima doll stamps and wanted to use that as the center on the canvas.  So during the crafty week I had all to myself.. I decided to do a canvas.

While having season 2 of Parenthood on in the background, I then sat down and stared at the white canvas for about 1/2 an hour.. hahaha not really that long, but seemed like it

I wanted to get my hands messy, so pulled out my paints and baby wipes (for clean up after) and got busy.

I first painted the canvas using pink, grey and blue..

I first painted it all with gesso and waited till it dried.  Then I painted it with the colors.  It ended up looking like this..

I not only did the front, I painted the back of the canvas too.  You'll see why later.  I took a brown distress ink pad and wiped it over top of the canvas and inked along the edges.  Next was the modge podge.  I painted that all over the front and the back.  

I used my Heat It blow dryer to dry each coat I did.  In this pic, you see me drying the gesso..

I then found a Prima sheet of paper that I liked and cut it down to the same size as the canvas.  I also had a light chipboard piece that I cut to size.  I stamped the page with blue paint using a music note stamp on the corner of the page, took my distress ink pad and rubbed it over lightly.  

It looked like this..

I then adhered the page to the chipboard piece and hot glued it to the back of the canvas with the Prima paper facing in.

After I did all that, I started cutting and pulling back the front of the canvas like this..

I folded back the edges and scrunched them in to hot glue them to the wood frame of the canvas and set aside to dry.  I stamped the Prima doll and cut it out.  I colored her hair and top with copic markers.  Then, I used pink lace ribbon and cut it in strips.  I started with one strip at the bottom of her dress and then I kept making layers with the ribbon to create a lacy skirt.  I added a pearl button at the waist and an adhesive pearl on her hair band.

When the frame was dry, I started adding the canvas ribbon.  I cut it up into four strips and scrunched them up and glued them onto the corners.  I then used burlap ribbon on the left hand side and lace ribbon on the right.  I had a swirly laser cut piece and inked it and glued it on top of the lace.  Then I added the button on top of that.  Glued on flowers onto the bottom left hand corner and a resin key to the top left hand corner.

I then used cheese cloth and scrunched it up and placed on the inside of the canvas and adhered the Prima doll tag on top of it.  I found wording that I liked..  "Inner beauty doesn't need make-up" and printed it off onto a light tan cardstock.  I cut up the words into pieces and glued them onto some burlap ribbon.  Then placed them inside the canvas.  I added a couple of bling drops and a Paris charm and it was complete.

Here are some pics of the finished piece.

I absolutely love things you can alter.  So when Prima released some of the new items from CHA winter 2013, I was giddy!  I loved the new tv frame and had to have it.  I had it a few months before I altered it.  I wanted to really do a good job on this and there is nothing on google to get ideas from.  So I had to use my own imagination and come up with something that I would think was amazing.  I am my worse critic, hence taking a few months even start altering this project.  Once I made up my mind, I sat down and did it.  It actually didn't take me that long to do at all.  I was on holidays, my son was at his Grandparents for the week and my husband was away working.  Had the house to myself, so on went the Pink music and got right into it.

Here's the base

I didn't have to distress it at all.  It came that way.  I loved the color already, so didn't want to paint it.  I wanted to keep it in the retro theme and embelish it like crazy on the side to add to the vintage.  I then used one of my wedding pictures inside, since I also had a vintage wedding and this pic was in sephia.  I used Recollections flowers (I love their big, fluffy flowers that can be used vintage or shabby chic), Prima's resin bird, Prima's metal piece with "love" words, lace ribbon, adhesive pearls and a paper doily as the base that I inked.

Here's the start

I then adhered everything on top, using hot glue and pop dots.

Here's the finished piece.  I love how it turned out.

I love altering chipboard albums..  love, love, love.  More so than regular 12x12 layouts.  I have so many completed ones and ones sitting for me to complete.  I found this doll form album at Love is in the Details and had to have it.  I had so much fun putting it together.

I started by picking out papers and cutting them to the body form.  I then adhered them to the chipboard and sanded around the edges.  using these two devises..

Once I adhered all the paper to the album and sanded the edges, I started embellishing.  I want to give this album a big of vintage/french paris/shabby chic feel.  I think I got close to it.

Here is the front of the album...

Page one..

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Page 6

Page 7

And all complete put together.. I added strips of ribbon to the the chain holding the book together

The other card I worked on was a Get Well one.  Same laser cut pieces.  This card I wanted it to be more "cleaner" and cheerful, so I used bright papers and didn't ink or distress at all.  I first cut up strips of the papers that I picked out.

I then stamped the front of the card and colored it in using Tim Holtz distress markers and copics.  I love coloring!  Great stress reliever!  

And this is the final look.. front

and the inside..

Another card I did that day.  This one I decided to do "Just a note" and leave the inside of the card blank for journalling in my own handwriting to make it more personal.  I wanted to use these great sticker bears that are so cute that I picked up from Love is in the Details.  The "Just a note" is a laser cut piece from the same store.  These pieces are great and I can't get enough of them.  Love the versatility.  You can leave as is, or emboss them, paint them, chalk them, whatever your creativity takes you.

This time for the wording, I just inked the piece with my ink pad.

Here are those cute bears, I mentioned above..

I inked around the edges of the front of the card.  Then I started doing the "placing"

I had a vintage looking postcard that I wanted to use.  Thought it would be perfect tying it in with "just a note".

Here's the finished card..

I had some supplies on hand and these great laser tag words that I had bought from Love is in the Details that I wanted to use and play with.  I decided to start with a thank you card.  I wanted it to be masculine and really, really wanted to use a vintage truck photo that I received from a dear friend.  I had also bought some chipboard gears from Love is in the Details and been itching to use them.  

I first started with the gears.  I wanted to make them look like steal with some ware to them.  So I used Inka Gold in silver and smeared that over the lasered cut pieces, which area like chipboard. 

I then took my little black ink pad and brushed it right on top of the pieces.

I love these small ink pads because I can use it directly on pieces and is so workable.

Next I did the thank you piece the same way.

I had a bunch of pre cut kraft paper cards that I absolutely love using.  Love how you can distress them and make them look either grungy or vintage.  For this particular card, I inked the edges on the front for distressing and then I used the silver Inka Gold and smeared along the corners and went over it with the black ink pad.  I adhered two scraps of cardstock to the front too.

I then started adhering the picture, the gears and the thank you.  I always play around with the pieces first, try placing them in different spots before I use adhesive.  I'll get up and walk around and come back to it, to get a fresh view.  I will do this a few times, each time I change something up.  I do this for everything I do.  Out of everything I do, the placement is the longest process.  

Here's the finished card.. front

and here's how it looks on the inside...

When I go into my scraproom to scrap.. I have to have a few must haves as I'm sure everyone does. 

First, Pepsi...check

Chocolate... check

My favorite tv series or movies I can watch over and over.... check

and I usually have Lays Salt n Vinegar chips too.    I also like throwing in a concert dvd and listening to it while I'm creating.  More than once, my husband has walked in while I'm dancing in my chair and singing at the top of my lungs to Pink, Adelle, Katie Perry or classic 80's music.   I need noise when I'm scrapping.  It helps keep my creativity flowing.

I joined up for an altered ticket swap and had a lot of fun with it.  The premise of the swap was to use a 5 ticket strip that was connected together and alter it to the category you signed up for.  I signed up for six categories! hahahha They were, Beach, Feminine/Frilly, Winged, Masculine Grunge, Halloween and Vintage.  I used the Tim Holtz sissex tickets die cut with craft paper.  Once I cut out five strips for each category, I then embellished them.  

For the Beach ones, I used Graphic 45's To the Sea paper line.  I used a feather, some seashells, some netting, some wooden pieces and I hand wrote the word "Beach" on them.  Here they are..

For the Frilly/Feminie ones, I used Recollections paper, Prima flowers, washi tape, bling and Recollections chipboard hearts and ribbon.

For masculine grunge, I used Graphic 45's paper, which I then chalked the edges.  I used gears lasercut pieces that I bought from Love is in the Details, colored them silver and chalked them with blank ink.  I used a metal corner piece and a metal brad to add some masculinity to the look of the tickets.

For the winged.. I used die cuts for the butterlies and Prima paper.  I added Prima flowers and adhered one of the butterflies to it.  I love how they turned out.

The Halloween ones were one of my favorites.  I love Halloween.  I used Graphic 45 paper and covered the tickets.  Then I chalked the edges with black ink to give a darker look.  I used Tim Holtz die cuts for the Halloween shapes.  I love them, but a lot of work!

The vintage ones are also a favorite.  I love anything vintage.  So had a lot of fun with these.  I used Prima paper, Recollection flowers, feathers I had bought from Michaels, Prima's adhesive pearl strips, ribbon I had already, along with a vintage looking charm I had bought.  I tucked in a vintage cardstock picture.  Love the colors!  I will definitely do a swap like this again.

The next swap that I joined was a Bingo Card Swap.  I joined the summer category.  I could not find beach themed bingo cards anywhere!  Or even vintage looking ones.  I had to settle on Jenni Bowlin's calendar bingo cards to use.  I also used Graphic 45's By the Sea paperline.  I added some netting I found and shells along with a flower.  The back was to be completely covered and a spot or two for pictures.   Here's what I created..

Front

Back

I joined a matchbox partner swap.  We had to decorate a matchbox, stuff it full with little trinkets/items and aslo do a mini album that would fit inside the matchbox once it was empty of the trinkets.  I ordered a matchbox from Graphic 45 and used the Graphic 45 By The Sea paper.  I had a lot of fun with this.  I filled it with Canadian caramels, flowers, buttons, an anchor charm, etc..  I used the same Graphic 45 paper to make the mini album