Bella Carta

summer night lights + a MYSTERY!!!

It's that time of year and the new catalog is right around the corner!

This project is super easy, just find a glass votive (try an empty jar or buy one at the Dollar Store - like I did), mod podge and reinkers in your fav colors.  The blue is Coastal Cabana  - with a second coat in Bermuda Blue. The pink one is Melon Mambo and the brown one is the new fabulicious Baked Brown Sugar.  

THIS PROMOTION WON'T START TILL FRIDAY 5/31, 12:00noon MST:

WHO LOVES A GOOD MYSTERY???  And who's looking forward to new stuff in the catalog????  If you're thinking about ordering - think about this:  one lucky person who orders between May 31st (after 12:00 noon MST, 2:00 PM Eastern for local peeps! ) and June 10th will be the mystery hostess and get free merchandise!  It could be you!!!   You can order and have items shipped direct to you :-) You can order from the new catalog, or the old catalog or the mini!   

For the first few days, you can either order from the NEW catalog, or grab the old catalog and order one more time before you say goodbye! (Only through June 3rd!) 

Here's how it works - 

Simply use the Hostess Code below  in my online store by midnight on Thursday, June 10, 2013.

Important:  When you add your first item to your shopping bag the hostess code must be entered just below the Special Offers section and it should say Rebecca Grohall as the Hostess.

Once all the orders are placed, I will draw ONE name to get hostess benefits on the entire order! I will call/email the winner to get your choices.  Don't forget to select me as the demonstrator:  Rebecca Grohall

Your Hostess Code is: HNHBDWB3

If you have ANY problems at all, please let me know!  We can also do orders the old fashioned way :-) 

 

Vintage trays re-purposed:

(this project initially debuted on my blog on August 31, 2011.

I love going to thrift stores to shop for vintage silver trays (some of them may be silver plate, some are probably just silver colored).   I get them home, clean them one more time, prep the inside surface with a primer coat and then I've added a chalkboard surface to the middle of the trays (some are round, some are oval, a few are rectangular) and then punched the ends for a hanging ribbon (I love my crop-o-dile!).  I typically use three layers of chalkboard paint to get a good layer.  And remember to "prime" your chalkboard surface once its ready - just run your chalk over the top of it. 

I've got Chalkboard spray paint from Krylon and the chalkboard acrylic paint from Martha Steward and I really like both of them. 

 

 

 

Green Christmas

This is one of my favorite projects! Take an empty soda can and turn it into an ornament.

This one features a little part of a broken earring. I found it one night at a gas station broken and discarded, being me - I decided to grab it and hold onto it. It was the perfect embellishment.

For this project you'll need:
An empty soda can, rinsed out
Tim Holtz Tonic serrated scissors (or heavy duty, kitchen type scissors)
Sizzix die -this is the swallow
Big shot or sizzix machine
Gardening gloves to protect your hands

If you've never cut up a soda can before, here's a good tutorial:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/popstars/

#upcycled #recycled #green #ornament #christmas #sodacan 

merry and bright!

I haven't done a lot of paper crafting this month, but I have been working on some other crafty projects.  Like this mason jar, this was an ordinary mason jar (you could use a spaghetti sauce jar, too) and cover the outside in glitter paint (this is MS glitter paint, easy to use) with two coats.

I used a bit of wire and some spare beads to come up wth a decorative handle, and hot glued some ornaments to the outside (these were more glittery goodness).  Use a tealight or candle inside, just remember to never leave a burning candle unattended!

Dollar Store Makeovers {ATU44}

Our challenge this week for All Things Unity is to go buy something
at the dollar store and use it in your All Things Unity project. 

Fun, Fun, Fun!!!! And right up my alley!

 

I bought a square baking pan (yes, it was just $1 at our local Dollar Tree) and used the bottom to hold a scrap book layout built on a 6 x 6 page size.  I added a layer behind it (that was 6.5 x 6.5 in) and it nicely filled the space.  If you wanted to go for more, you could always paint the baking pan (remember to use a primer first to help it stick to that metal finish).   I also bought a 2-pack of these poinsettia ornaments at the Dollar Tree - they are super glittery, and the little floral pick I used on the top with the pinecones and red bird. 

The stamp is Christmas List from Unity Stamp Co. The paper is some scrap I had left over (but I think its K & Co.) and I used a bit of ribbon between the pieces that is ruffled grosgrain from Stampin' Up.  The background cardstock is Really Red textured from SU, the green is Always Artichoke.  I used my crop-o-dile to punch holes in the top for hanging, and added some striped red wide ribbon.   

 

Sherri Thompson is a guest designer this month at ATU and is also the sponsor:  make sure you go check out the All Things Unity blog for the details.  
 

Play along!!!!! Simply make a card, scrapbook page or altered item - anything goes as long as you use Unity or Ippity stamps.  And if you link up for our challenges during the month of November--you could win our November Prize Package {to the side}! This month our sponsor is Sherri’s etsy for an {ippity} package worth $20.  You can find her shop at www.sharecropperskits.etsy.com. Create anything (i.e. card, scrapbook page, altered item, etc.) using your stamps  by Unity or Ippity 

****Please use only Unity and Ippity stamps in your creation.****

**Be sure to mention ATU in your post. **NOTE:: Please be sure to link to your specific POST about ATU not just your blog! 

3. If you load your creation up in an online gallery, please use the keyword ATU44.

4. This challenge will end on Saturday, December 10th at 11:59pm EST. So be sure to link up before by then!

5. You can link up as many times as you would like!  But make sure that each entry is new card using Unity/Ippy stamps. 

gettin' glittery with it

I have lots and lots and lots (and lots) of pinecones in my yard!   I keep thinking I should do something with them.  I decided to break open my glitter, which I usually don't play with it given its propensity for getting ALL over EVERY thing.

I used some MS ultra fine glitter in turqoise for this one (I have a few I did in silver too).  I think I want to hit these with a second coat or figure out a easier way to apply glue (any suggestions?) I'd love to do them completely in glitter.

 One of the cool things that happened unexpectedly - I noticed the extra fine glitter must have picked up some of the sap threads and created this glittering web inside:

Isn't that cool?

 

And I'll throw in a quick kitten update - they are doing well!   Mom, Layla,  is very social and a very good mother to them - she keeps them very clean and very well fed.  She's quite generous with sharing her kittens with me for endless photo sessions and has been very tolerant of having some human visitors come visit. 

halloween candles

The dollar stores has these flameless LED candles for yep - you guessed it $1.00.  They have them in white and cream and they're wonderful for altering.  (My advice, double check them before you buy them that the batteries are still good).

I used alcohol inks for this one - sunshine yellow, orange and red currant.  Start with your lightest color, a craft mat (the non stick kind) or some palette paper (found in the art supplies section).  If you don't have palette paper - you might be able to use freezer paper shiny side up.  Add several lines of yellow ink to the paper and roll your candle through, let it dry.  Take the next color, add it direct to the candle, letting the ink run down the side.   Let dry and take your third color (option) and repeat.   If you want to mottle the look, you can use the alcohol solution and a blending tool and just dab it on.  

Since these are LED style (no wicks, nothing burning) you could also decorate these up with ribbon, or a fun piece of jewelry. 

thrift store bounty - fall decor for $2.50

I found a muffin tin the other day at the thrift shop for 99cents and knew it could have a brand new life in my home, as a fall themed home decor piece.

I took it home, and washed it up with hot water and some soap - it was a bit dinged up, had some mild rust (I guess its first owner hadn't baked much, lol!).  I used a big nail (the roofing kind works well) and a hammer to make two holes in the top for a hanger.  Then took it outside and gave it a base coat.  I used regular old primer (that gray spray stuff) and gave it two coats.  Once dry, inside we went - where with regular acrylic paint and gave it two more coats. I used two shades of copper:a bright shiny one and an "antiqued" darker shade of copper.  Plus, a tiny bit of aqua green stuff to make it look like it was patina-ing. If you wanted to distress it a bit more, you could sand it a bit.

Next up - stuff to decorate.  I was going to use some moss, then realized I had an abundance of palm fiber (sometimes called coir) - this stuff grows inside a palm between the heart and the exterior.  The palm fiber came off some saw palmetto I recently cut back.  Add in a few fake gourds (these were from Michael's - I paid $1.49 for a bag of six medium sized ones, I had a few small ones leftover from a previous project). I simply took some hot glue and glued the coco fiber into place, then placed a gourd on top.   I took a bit of ribbon (this was a piece leftover from another project) and simply placed it through the holes, knotting it to create a hanger.

 

I think one in Christmas colors may be up next ... maybe blue with snowflakes?

A new look ....

Since I've discovered chalkboard paint - pretty much everything is getting a new look.   This is was a plain terracotta wine cooler, its now been given a fresh new look.  If you don't have one, check out your local thrift store - I see these pretty frequently.

If you're serving multiple wines - you can label the cooler with the vintage (year) and producer information, or if you're holding a tasting party - how fun to label these for blind taste test.

This project is super simple - just mask off the parts you don't want finished in chalkboard surface.  I used Krylon spray - in black chalkboard - and applied three light coats with about an hour dry time inbetween.  I let it dry a good 48 hours once I had applied three coats. 

 

a fall votive

 

Easy peasy, dollar store project!

Votive container ($1) from the dollar store, painted with some Martha Stewart glitter paint (and if you haven't tried this stuff yet - you need to RUN, not walk to your closest Michael's). This color is fire opal, its orangey-gold glittered goodness. 

The flower had fallen off a bunch and I added a beaded center.