Wild Wyoming Art Cafe'

Create A Keepsake Baby Album in One Night!

I have a quick and easy Keepsake Baby Album to share with you today!

I have been so very busy with a full time job as a counselor, being a wife and mom, a Boys and Girls Club Board Member, Graduate School and being a member of Spellbinders Inspriation Team, Tattered Angels DT and Social Media and DT Coordinator for Julianna Hudgins Positively Me.....that I often don't have any time to carve out to just create art for me.  Whew, it's exhausting just reading about all my duties. lol

Most days I enjoy juggling my many hats and feel very productive in all of them.  But, sometimes my plate is so full I don't know where to start.  That's when I really have to make sure to take time for myself.  I do something that feeds my soul.

This Keepsake Baby Album was just what I needed to create, as a gift for a co-worker, with no specific products or guidelines, and the hope and wonder of a new life as my creative mojo.

I made this Baby Album in one night.  It measures about 5x7".  I started with a Maya Road Board Book, which has rounded corners.  I chose a variety of My Mind's Eye patterned papers that blended well together.  I kept the theme focused around vintage baby and neutral colors, as my co-worker doesn't know yet if she's having a boy or a girl!

I traced an inside page onto my paper then used my paper trimmer and scissors to trim it perfectly.  I kept this to use as a template for all the rest of the pages.

 I left an 1/8" on each page near the book binding to allow it to close easier.  I let the base of the board book show through at the binding.  It gives it more of a vintage feel.  I used industrial strength adhesive to adhere each page.

I cut and embossed several different Nestabilities Spellbinders Paper Arts die templates to create mats for the baby pictures.  I adhered the Heidi Swapp BABY letters to the front of the album, along with a strip of ribbon.  Then I signed the back of the book.

I placed the BABY Album in a gift bag and included several types of adhesive.  This way the new Mom has an album all ready to go, knows exactly where to include the pictures and has a way to adhere them as well.

This is was such a fun project, that really helped me enjoy the creative process, ramp up the mojo and create just for fun.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!

I really appreciate it.

Holly

A Jillian Vance Design ~ Tooth Fairy Ensemble

I am so very excited and honored to be a Guest Designer for Jillian Vance!!!  I have always adored her stamps.  It's been a pleasure to get to know her and see her at each CHA show.  Her story is inspirational and you are going to be blown away when you hear that she started designing stamps at the age of 10!!

You can read about Jillian Vance Here.  She is such a brilliant young entrepenuer and if you're a paper crafter or mixed media artist, I hope you will support her by visiting the Jillian Vance Website and buying truck loads of her stamps!

She has created so many fabulous stamps, it's really hard to choose my favorite.  But today I'm going to show you the Tooth Fairy Stamp Set.

The Tooth Fairy Stamp Set has so many fun stamps in it and is so versatile!  My youngest daughter Mackenzie Hope just lost a tooth, and this stamp set was the perfect inspiration for my project today.

I created a Tooth Fairy Ensemble to share with you today!! A Card, A Tooth Box and Tooth Fairy Dust! This was so much fun to create!  Here is a sneak peek of the ensemble for you......

Please make the jump over the Jillian Vance Blog by clicking on the link to see the entire project and visit her website.

It would mean the world to me.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

 

You can see all her amazing stamp designs on the Jillian Vance Website.

Be sure to check out her blog ~ The Princess and the Paper as well!

 I had so much fun being a Guest Designer for you Jillian!  Thank you for being such an inspiration to young women around the world!

 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Hugs

Holly Simoni

www.hollysimoni.typepad.com

 

Canvas Apron for Kids!

I love creating with my girls.  We have an entire room in our old house dedicated to creating. They have their own space, which usually looks like a tornado blew through it. lol  I wanted to share a kid sized canvas apron that I created with Arianna.  We had so much fun creating it.

There is a full tutorial over on the Tattered Angels Blog!  This month we are celebrating crafting that is so easy even kids can do it.

To see the full project click on my post on the Tattered Angels Blog.  Please leave a comment there and let me know what you think, and what ideas you have for more kids projects!

supplies:  Tattered Angels, Canvas Corp, Want2Scrap, Donna Downey Foam Stamps, Pink Paislee Wood Letters.

Thanks so much!

Happy Independence Day!

Holly

Gratitude Journal and Edgeabilities Video

I love the idea of being grateful for what you have.  It keeps you focused on the positive.  I've noticed many people on facebook and blogs taking the time to write about something they are grateful for everyday for 30 days.

I decided to create a Gratitude Journal along these same lines.  I created this one for the Spellbinders Blog.  I'm going to add some tabs along the side for each person in our family.  The girls are so excited to do this.  We might even include some art journaling, sketching, etc.

Here's a video to show you how I created it!

You can find the supply list and more information on the Spellbinders Blog.!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you get to take some time to journal, sketch, text, facebook or blog what you are grateful for this Thanksgiving Season.

Hugs

Holly

 

Celebrate, win die templates and create 3D pumpkins!

The Spellbloggers are celebrating 6 months together with a giveaway.  How fun is that?!  Head on over to the Spellbinders Blog to see the tutorial and win die templates by leaving a comment!  

Now on to the project I created for you....A 3D Pumpkin using layers of die cuts made from old book pages.

My girls, Mackenzie Hope and Arianna Faith love to help me create.  We spend a lot of time crafting together and building memories.

Spellbinders Co-Founder, Stacey Caron has a great message about creating with your kids.

Here are all of our 3D pumpkins.  We used a dilapidated old book we got at the library sale.  It's a great way to re-purpose them into a mixed media project.

Supplies:  Spellbinders Grand Calibur® Machine, S4-344 Tear Drop Circles #4, S4-327 Floral Flourishes, S5-049 Carnation Creations.  Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Harvest Orange and Glimmer Glaze in Cowboy.  WorldWin Papers - Treasure Cardstock; Clearsnap - Colorbox Ink, Chalk Ink and Pigment Ink; Want2Scrap - Bits of Bling; Old Book Pages, Twig from my yard.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!  I hope you get to take some time to craft with kids.  It really is so much fun.

Holly

 

Framed Button Monogram!

I absolutely adore Monogram projects.  They make fabulous Teacher Gifts, House Warming Gifts, Baby Shower Presents, etc.....and are great for people of all ages.

I have had this project in my head for several weeks now, but was still trying to figure out the colors, and how to get it to look how it did in my head! LOL

Here's a sneak peek of my Framed Button Monogram.

To see the entire project and a tutorial on how I created it, click on over to the Spellbinders Blog!

 Be sure to leave me a comment over there and let me know what you think.

Here is a Teacher Monogram Gift I made that you might recognize from a previous post.

This one was made with crayons!

Both projects were created using Spellbinders die templates.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!  Enjoy your Labor Day Weekend!

Hugs

Holly

 

 

Teacher Gift Ensemble Set

I created this Teacher Gift Ensemble using new Spellbinders Edgeabilities and Square Bracket Box.  It's almost back to school time.  I can hardly believe it!

Arianna's teacher is male, so I kept the style more neutral.  You could really spice this up with more die templates, a more feminine color palette, ribbon or flowers.  This is really quick and simple to do.

I also made my first video!  My first video at home that is.  It's so hard to get the lighting just right, etc.  But I think it turned out ok for the first one.

 

Spellbinders™ Supplies:

• Grand Calibur Machine
• E8-002 Classic Bracket
• E8-004 Classic Ric Rac
• LF-010 Square Bracket Edge Box
• S5-071 Twisted Metal Tags and Accents

Preferred Partner Products:

• The Rubber Cafe' - J-1095 Fabulous Phrases Cling Mount Rubber Stamp

Cross Promotional Partner Products: 

• Fancy Pants Designs - Off to School Patterned Paper Line
• SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L™ - E-Z Runner and 3D White Foam Squares
• Clearsnap - Ebony Fluid Chalk Ink
• WorldWin Papers® - Ivory Treasures Cardstock

Other: freshly sharpened pencils, red ribbon, tissue paper and your favorite chocolate.

 

The Spellbinders Blog has all the details of my Teacher's Gift Card and Box Ensemble!

Be sure to check out the new Spellbinders Website and Spellbinders Blog!

 

Thank you so very much for stopping by my blog today.  I really appreciate it.

Hugs

Holly

My Mother's Day Gifts

I am so very blessed to be a mom to two amazing girls ~ Arianna Faith and Mackenzie Hope.  They worked so hard to make me these Mother's Day Gifts.  

Mackenzie made me the fun and bright popsicle stick pencil holder and even included two of her favorite pencils.  She said she knew my favorite color was blue...but hers is pink....and well, she just thought it would look nice in bright pink.  (I love that about her!)

Arianna made the beautiful vase for me.  She worked for days on it while she was at school.  She painted on layers of liquid glue, and traced the pieces with a black marker.  She told me all the details of how she created it.  Her teacher, Ms Mann, was kind enough to provide a flower for each Mom.

Handmade gifts on Mother's Day are absolutely the best gift.  Each year I look forward to seeing what they will create.  My girls love creating just as much as I do, and we often spend hours doing it together.

This Mother's Day, I am so thankful for my girls, and how they remind me to laugh out loud a lot; create without rules; enjoy the little things and be silly whenever you get the chance! (PS- I think their dad is pretty amazing too, and I wouldn't have these two little sweeties without him ;)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Hugs

Holly

Spellbinders Bunny Hop!

Welcome to the first day of the Spellbinders™ Bunny Hop!  In honor of National Craft Month and spring, we’re showcasing our spring themed die templates.  We have ten talented designers – two each day for five days – ready to usher in spring with creative projects and fabulous prizes!  

The Bunny Hop is from March 21-25, each contest is midnight to midnight EST (that’s 24 hours only).  Be sure to mark your calendar!  Each day the Spellbinders Blog will direct you to the participating blogs.

It’s so easy to win!  Simply visit each blog and leave a comment! We will randomly draw one lucky winner from each blog to win that blog’s featured die templates. Winners will be announced on the Spellbinders Blog!  Winners must respond within 48 hours of their names being posted to claim prizes.  

Spellbinders Bunny Hop Schedule:

March 21

Linda Duke 

Holly Simoni ~ That's ME!

March 22

Becca Feeken  

Debbie Olson  

March 23

Heidi Blankenship 

Kazan Clark  

March 24

Sherry Cheever  

Beth Pingry  

March 25

Julie Overby  

Jerri Jimenez 

 

I'm so excited to be part of the Spellbinders Bunny Hop!  I have such a good time participating in blog hops, seeing all the wonderful creations, getting inspired and saying to myself - wow what a cool way to use that die template!

I have created a Counting Book for a toddler using S4-262 Nested Ducks and S5-052 Creative Page Tabs.

The Counting Book is an accordion folded mini album that is held together

with a ribbon which ties in a bow in the back.  

It is created with October Afternoon Schoolhouse paper line!  I love all the fun colors and graphics.

I used LF-168 Grand Large Labels to create a total of 10 panels. Five panels are shown on each side.

Each panel has a pocket sewn to it with a stamped Nested Duck die cut adhered to the pocket.

October Afternoon counting cards have been colored with Copic Sketch Markers.

A Creative Page Tab die cut is adhered to the card making it easy for little hands to pull them out!

 

Supplies include: S4-262 Nested Ducks, S5-052 Creative Page Tabs, LF-168 Grand Large Labels, S5-028 Nested Pennants, Beacon Adhesives Zip Dry Glue, October Afternoon Schoolhouse patterned paper, WorldWin cardstock, Copic Sketch Markers, Flourishes Birthday Pennants and Strips and Stripes, Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink in Creamy Brown, Offray Ribbon in black and hand made beaded stick pin.

 

Thank You Spellbinders Paper Arts for sponsoring the Bunny Hop and the prizes today. For questions about this contest, please email [email protected] .

Please leave a comment to be eligible to win the Spellbinders die templates I featured today!

S4-262 Nested Ducks

 

S5-052 Creative Page Tabs

Then check the Spellbinders Blog tomorrow to see if you are the winner! 

 

For more information on Spellbinders, please visit these links:

For more information on Spellbinders, please visit these links:

♦ Spellbinders Paper Arts ♦ Spellbinders Blog ♦ Spellbinders on Facebook ♦

♦ Spellbinders Newsletter ♦ Spellbinders Videos ♦

 

Tattered Angels and Fabulous Fabric!

I love working with fabric!  This month on the Tattered Angels Blog are so many fabulous fabric projects.  I have three featured on the Tattered Angels Blog today!

Spring Basket 

 

Before I started creating paper arts and mixed media, I was a quilter, so mixing fabric and mixed media just feels so right for me.  I really loved creating these projects.

I gave you three sneak peeks of my projects!  You'll have to head on over to the Tattered Angels Blog today to see the final projects!

You'll also learn how I found a way to make Glimmer Mist permanent on fabric!  Yep, that's right ;)

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!  Hope you get a chance to create some art this week!

Holly

Tattered Angels supplies:  Sun Sisters, Rum Punch Glimmer Mist, Chandelier Glam, Classic Accents, Screen Print Clear Stamp, Tattered Traveler, Screen Print Clear Stamp, Rum Punch Glimmer Mist, Sun Sister Glimmer Mist, Trunk Bay Glimmer Mist,  Peach Bellini Glam,  Viva Pink Glimmer Mist, Inchworm Chalkboard Mist, Polka Dot Pink Chalkboard Mist, Mermaid Glimmer Glam, Grape Ape Chalkboard Mist and Sun Sister Glimmer Mist

Spellbinders supplies:  S4-312 Blossom Three and  S4-124 Classic Scalloped Circles Large.