My 365: 2012...

Hi, everyone!

I am SO excited about our May Arts/Helmar collaboration this week.  Whew!  So awesome! May Arts is one of my favorite ribbon companies and when I found out they were a preferred partner with Helmar I was pumped!

This week we are bringing you a TON of inspiration every day here on the Helmar DT Blog and I've got one that I'm really excited about.   As many of my  Facebook friends and blog followers know, I have been studying photography and recently began a "Project 365".  It's a huge commitment to take a photo EVERY DAY for a year.

Well, I've also been getting down on myself with my scrapbooking and lack of time for it lately but hey, we can't do EVERYTHING, right?  Or can we?   I decided that scrapbooking doesn't HAVE to be fancy and that Smash books were the perfect thing to document my 365 this year.   I started out with some gorgeous Orange Sheer Woven Rosettes and I knew that HAD to be my border :)   I glued down some Helmar 450 Quick Dry which is SO perfect especially for Sheer ribbon.  It dries clear and you'll never know it's there :)

Then I painted the outside of my book before it was time to glue down some of my favorite leaf satin cut outs from May Arts.  I have seen Tracy use these SO many times on some gorgeous canvasses and other projects and I was shrieking with delight when I saw these in my Design Team box.  Shrieking I tell ya!

I used Helmar 450 Quick Dry on the leaves as well and the Helmar nozzle makes it so easy to get some glue down even in a really thin space.  I love that!   

After I attached the stems, I cut out a few rosettes from the Orange and Red Sheer Woven Rosettes and used that for my smaller flowers.  I then took a gorgeous piece of purple ribbon from the Silky Crush line and began to roll/twist it into a ribbon rose:

I added a button and some felt clouds that my DD cut out for me and attached them with some ACID FREE Glue and here is the finished product:

I am so excited to have this book ready as I'm just about to print off my first week of 365 photos!  This is going to end up being sucha special keepsake memory for my family- I cannot WAIT!

Thanks for stopping by today and thanks so much to MAY ARTS for being so generous...be sure to check out more details today over on the HELMAR DESIGN TEAM blog...thanks!

xoxo,

Jess :)

HELMAR HOLIDAY BLOG Hop!!!

Hi Everyone!

{{{I am SUPER excited to be previewing December stamps as the Guest for The Craft's Meow today, too- so PLEASE scroll down to check it out- thank you!}}}

It’s that time of year where we all start thinking of the holidays so what better way to get your Holiday spirit than a great Helmar Holiday Hop? Filled with so much Holiday cheer and some amazing projects featuring all the different Helmar Adhesives. 

That being said, WELCOME to my stop on the Helmar Holiday Hop. If you have been following along, you should have hopped here from CHERYL’s blog. If not, you just have to stop at the Helmar Blog and start from the beginning. There are goodies along the way and we don’t want you to miss a thing!

Today I am showcasing a few of my favorite HELMAR "All stars"...Acid Free Glue, 450 Quick-Dry adhesive, and Zap Dots!

I decided that since Toffee is one of my favorite treats, I might be stuffing a few stockings with this amazing Nashville Toffee that hubby brought home the other night!

However, this orange box will NOT due for Christmas so I decided to grab some Authentique paper (a Helmar preferred partner!) and some ACID-FREE glue and decorate!

Once I was done gluing the paper down, I wrapped it with a big satiny bow and then it was time to add these cute felt snowflakes.  I layered two of them using a Zap Dot.

Once this was done, I used some 450 Quick Dry to glue down the bling and also the button on the ribbon/bow.   I also glued down the felt snowflakes w/ the 450.  This stuff is the BEST for ribbon/fabric as it doesn't bleed or buckle and dries SUPER fast. It's miracle glue, I'm telling ya!

Here's one more shot of the finished product- a little sweet for the sweet :)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and make sure you leave a comment at every stop because the elves of Helmar will be giving away prizes to some lucky Helmar fans. Now hop on over to TRUDY's blog to see another amazing Helmar Holiday project. The Holiday Hop will be open for comments until 11:59P.S.T December 4^th , so take a look and enjoy a little holiday spirit from all of us on the Helmar Team. Thanks again for stopping by today and MERRY CHRISTMAS, everyone!  Tis the season- it's beginning and I'm getting excited!

xoxo,

All Things Grow with LOVE...and a giveaway!

Hi, everyone!

I'm so excited to be back on the Helmar Design Team blog today with another recycled project using some Helmar showstoppers:
*Acid Free Glue
*450 Quick-Dry, and
*Zap Dots!
Today I want to show you how I keep a lot of loose odds and ends that either a.) don't have a real "spot" in my craft desk or b.) I have maybe one or two leftover from a pack and I probably won't refill or replace it.   (a girl's gotta have some variety in her crafting, right?  ;)


I have a few of these little 'odds and ends' jars and I'm actually GIVING THIS ONE AWAY today!

I think there were flowers in this jar originally, and they've all been used.  I've been storing leftover ribbon from card kits I've bought online, some lefover brads, charms, a few flowers, and some other odds and ends in this one and as you can see it's very plain and 'blah'.
I decided to give this a little makeover using some paper and some Maya Road (a Helmar preferred partner!) rose ribbon.  It's SO pretty!

I started by adhering the paper with some ACID FREE GLUE.  After a few layers I added a label and was already loving how this was looking ;)

I then took 450 QUICK-DRY and applied a thin layer where I wanted to lay down my rose ribbon.   450 QUICK DRY is the BEST for ribbon, fabrics, etc.  It dries clear and super fast, and doesn't bleed through even the sheerest of fabrics such as this ribbon.  It's a MUST have in your crafting area!

After this was done, it was time to decorate the lid.  I did use 450 QUICK-DRY on the paper for the lid because the lid is a bit transparent and I didn't want any glue lines on the inside/bottom of the lid.  It worked fabulously!


Last but not least I took some circle 1/4" White ZAP DOTS and added them to the back of the rose sticker to give it some dimension- love the look!

Here's the final result, what do you think?

Thanks SO much for letting me come and hang with y'all on the Helmar blog today.  DID YOU SEE thenews?  It's ABOUT THAT TIME for the 2011-2012 DESIGN TEAM CALL and Tracy has all the detailsHERE....we would LOVE for you to apply!


I'll be posting on Helmar's FACEBOOK page, with my project here today, too!  Are you following us on Facebook?  Our page is hoppin', fun, and FULL of inspiration so make sure to head over if you're not there already...once you "like" us, come back here and leave a comment and I'll draw one random winner on MONDAY, 10/17 (so please comment by Sunday at 11:59pm CST! and post the winner on MONDAY!  All you have to do is go "like" Helmar or let me know that you do already!  Cuz really....what's not to like?  And we can ALL grow better with love ;)


Love to all,
Jess :) 



PS...thank you to my SWEET and beautiful daughter Madelynn for helping me take some of the pictures!  <3

"You and me, baby, we're stuck like GLUE..."

Hey, everyone!

I'm SO excited about my DT post on the Helmar Blog today!  I have been wanting the "Glue Daddy Caddy" for a while now and when my box came from Tracy the other day I was ecstatic! Tracy's dad (aka "Glue Dad") makes these amazing holders for all my Helmar goodies and I couldn't WAIT to decorate :)   Here's what it looks like when you order it:

...and here's the "AFTER!" 

I have to say that I'll always be the "pink girl" but I am REEEALLY loving the color yellow lately.  It's just so happy and cheery and I find myself reaching for it a lot.   So, I painted my Glue Daddy Caddy and waited for it to dry...

Next step was the Helmar Crackle Medium.  OMG, I LOVE this stuff.  Don't let the fact that it's a 2 step process fool you- it's actually UBER easy!  The hardest part is waiting for step 2 to dry and see your results..but even that only took about 30-45 minutes!  Check out this closeup of the crackle:

(TIP: to make your crackle stand out more, use distress ink of some sort and rub all over surface to 'fill in' the cracks, then wipe off excess ink!  Easy peasy and FUN!)

Next up was to 'seal the deal' with Helmar Acrylic Sealer- GOOD stuff.  Makes it so shiny and smooth!

After I crackled, I took one of my favorite stamps from Ippity (Unity), "Music of my Heart" (LOVE this set)  and I stamped it in Black StazOn all over the top and front of my Glue caddy.

I then wrote on the back of it in a Black Sharpie- one of my favorite quotes!   The flowers are dark grey Webster's Pages "bloomers" and I really love how they 'pop' on the yellow and black!  I had to girl it up a little, ya know?  :)

What do you guys think?  You will definitely have to check out the Glue Daddy Caddy- I love my 'Deluxe" version that has 2 side pockets- perfect for all my zap dots, liquid scrap dots, all of it!  Here's a view of the side pocket:

...and here's the finished product one more time:

Be sure to stop by the Helmar DT blog today too for more info and thanks as always for stopping by!  I have a REALLY exciting announcement tomorrow so stay tuned!

Fabric, Flowers, and FREEDOM to share...

Hey, everyone!

I have a really special project that's kind of near and dear to my heart.   Tracy (our DT leader, President of Helmar, USA, and a really dear friend of mine) reminded me the other day of one of my favorite all-time quotes inspired by Ray Bradbury...  


"She took a LEAP OF FAITH" and built her wings on the way down..."   
It's a quote that I love so much, I actually have a necklace with that sentiment as well as an engraved bracelet charm.   I started thinking about those words, and about how important it is to have a SOFT PLACE to land when we take those important leaps in life.    
One of my "soft places" to land is my family, and I am really, really grateful for that.  Sometimes though, I like to have a private, safe place to keep my thoughts, hopes and dreams and now add the very recent love of art journaling and well...journals are much needed around here.


Another dear friend of mine and my AMAZING boss, Marie,  hand-bound this journal for me for my birthday and I adore it:

Add to that?  A THIRD dear friend of mine, Eryn  sent me a package the other day in the mail from the gorgeous boutique, "Vintage Glam" she owns and it was wrapped with this beautiful hand-made fabric flower:

It was WAYYY too pretty to just discard and I wanted to do something special with it...it, too, is soft, and girly and beautiful and I just love it.


So there I was- journal, flower, and I found some fabulous Pink Paislee paper and UNITY stamps to play with.   I was all set with the help of my Helmar Acid-Free Glue and a Zap Dot!   Here's what I did:
I covered the chipboard cover with Acid-Free glue and spread it evenly using a sponge brush.

Flipping over to the back side, I almost became devastated (lol) when I realized that I cut my paper for the back of the journal, in order to highlight the "THINK POSITIVE" graphic and much to my eye rolling, realized I was about 1/4" short.  Ack!  Well, it was Distress Ink to the rescue as I was able to cover up my little mis-measure :)

After adhering the paper for both covers I was ready to stamp these adorable clouds and sentiment, "Believe in Rainbows" from the Unity stamp set "Happyville".  I LOVE this set.  After cutting out a fun piece of Pink Paislee paper for the front cover and gluing it down, I was ready for my final 'touch'.

I glued down this AMAZING flower/ribbon embellishment and made sure that it was secure with a Zap Dot.   Two of the ribbons are stationery and the other two are free to flow and I really love how it makes the journal look and feel.  What do you think?
Here are a few final photos of the finished product:

Front cover:

Be sure to stop by the HELMAR Design Team blog today too, for more info and THANKS for stopping by...as for my journal?


I haven't decided exactly what I'm going to 'keep' in here but some very special thoughts and notes, indeed.  I hope that you guys have enjoyed this and that you all have a 'soft place' to land- and a soft place for your thoughts along with an appreciation of the FREEDOM we have to share them...
hugs and love,
xoxo,

Baggin' it and Taggin' it on "BLACK WEDNESDAY" with HUGE news...

INHALE.

{exhale.}

REPEAT.

ARE.

u.

READY????

We are "Hip Hoppin'" into Thanksgiving here at UNITY with a SPECIAL WEDNESDAY POST,

HUGE "BLACK WEDNESDAY SALE", and the release 

of SIX NEW STAMP SETS in a new CO-BRANDED LINE by

BELLA BOULEVARD!!!

Bella Blvd. just so happens to be one of my favorite paper co's in the universe and is now working w/ Unity to bring you SIX NEW SETS.

TODAY!!!!

Here's the one I used:

For this week's Hip Hop theme we are "BAGGIN' it and TAGGIN' it" which is a GREAT theme to show you how to throw together simple hostess and/or holiday gifts at the last minute!   Here is my project using the new Bella Fiori set:

I decorated a cute Bakery Bag from Taylored Expressions with some BELLA BLVD DP and stamped the big flower from this set all over the bag.  I filled it up w/ some cute gumballs and added a SUPER simple tag using the Bella Fiori set as well :)  Such a quick and cute gift for anyone-and really any time of year.

I didn't want to stop there so I made a quick card to go with:

Be sure to stop over at the UNITY BLOG to get the latest lowdown on ALL the sales and happenings today, and when I tell you "all", I am NOT. KIDDING.

TONS and TONS of good stuff going on today!

For now, head over to my sweet friend JIMMI's blog to see what she's baggin' and taggin'...and check out the AMAZING sale Unity is having...RIGHT NOW...and this is JUST the beginnings of it!

One more thing I want to mention, because I think it's important.  TO BE GRATEFUL.  And because I am SO. So. Grateful to be a part of UNITY:

For every sale from this HUGE event, 50 cents will be donated to the local FOODSHELF program.  Did you know that $1 donation will buy up to NINE dollars of groceries for families in need this holiday season?  Yep, 50 cents for EVERY. SALE.

Now THAT is something I am grateful for.  I was writing Angela tonight telling her that for all the holiday spirit that I love, there is always a little part of me this time of year that is unspeakably sad for the people who aren't as fortunate as we are, so I love this.  Does my heart SO much good <3

Well, this was a LOOONG post so if you are still with me, THANK YOU.  I am VERY, VERY grateful for all of you and your support, too :)

Have a WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING, everyone!
xoxo