Princess Panorama

My baby girl is 5 & for her Birthday, we "unbabyfied" her room. The baby quilt came down & up went a butterfly net (bought 3 years ago at a consignment sale, just waiting for her to be old enough not to tear it down first chance she got) & a "princess panorama." When I saw Stampin' Up!'s new "Build a Fairy-tale" die cuts & decor elements, I was thrilled because I knew they'd be perfect for that big empty wall!

Luckily, her Birthday came just as I got all my new goodies from the new catalog & I could at least promise her I'd make a special picture for her. So here it is--a week later! I don't think I've ever been this obessed with a project--yesterday I forgot to eat (or shower)! I grabbed chips on the way out for afternoon carpool. At least I remembered to put my youngest in the car. Today I framed it & added the decor elements around it.

We found a frame that fits essentially three 12" x 12" scrapbook layouts perfectly. I used the new Sale-a-Bration paper for the background. Then along the borders, I used the new Eyelet Border punch. Then I went to town creating a scene with the Build a Fairy Tale die cuts. I still have lots left over, believe it or not! I can use those for scrapbook albums.

For added texture, I sponged the edges of everything in ink if I could. I also added glitter here & there--I'm loving all the new colors! For some centers of the flowers, I sprinkled glitter on a mini-glue dot. If I used a die cut circle for a flower center, then I covered it with a dot of Crystal Effects for a glass look. Check out the adorable little birds on the tree branch--love them! My daughter took another one (for "safe-keeping" she said).

Figuring out how to configure the castle was a little challenging because the die cuts don't come with a sample, so you just have to play. In this middle part, my favorite details are the half-back pearl from the Pretties Kit at the princess' neck & the Sale-a-Bration Saffron grosgrain "yellow brick road" leading to the castle over hill & dale.

There was a huge space above the carriage perfect for some kind of title, so I came up with this--probably saw it on a stamp somewhere--lol! I tried to make it look like a banner waving. If you don't have something to cut curves, you could make a template & use a hobby knife. The "I" & "Y" letters were stamped with the Lovely Letters set in Versamark. Then I used Heat & Stick Powder to make the Chocolate Glitter stick to them. They are matted on a tag from the new SU! die "Lots of Tags"--kind of look like little mirrors, don't they? The pink letters are from the Naturally Serif sizzlit die.

My favorite details here are the little mice peeking up at the carriage with their tails curling around the border. I wasn't going to add them because I didn't think I had room but my daughter really wanted them. So, that caused me to be creative & tuck them into the border. I'm also digging the gold glitter on the carriage--it looks really pretty on the chocolate! (My daughter wanted me to "do something with the carriage" too--she's a muse, I tell you.)

But what I love most is while she was watching me, she was making up stories about the characters--like the Princess is on her way to get married to the Prince Knight. She always puts our family into her stories too. I get to be the pink fairy--I can live with that :-)

Princess Panorama

Initial Pendant Party Favors

For my daughter's "Princess Party," I made these initial pendants for the girls to find in a treasure hunt. I used the little playing pieces from a traveling backgammon set (so there's a magnet on the other side). The process is the same as the really popular Scrabble tile pendants (just google "scrabble tile pendant tutorial" to learn how to make them). A 3/4" circle punch fit the paper to the game piece perfectly (with a little sanding around the edges).

I guess because these pieces were plastic, not wood, I did have to use a stronger glue than Tombow Glue on the paper to get it to adhere. Imagine my angst when the whole lacquered top came right off after drying for a whole day. But--I just used the Crystal Effects on the other side to put it back on, no problem. I also recommend removing any felt from the other side of the pieces because that peeled right off WITH the jewelry bail--so had to reattach the bail without the felt.

For the initials, I simply used a letter sticker or rub-on & then went over it with Stickles. I put the Crystal Effects lacquer right on top of it (without even waiting for the Stickles to dry). I also sprinkled a few microbeads onto the wet Crystal Effects. If your microbeads cover your initial too much, simply use a toothpick or paper piercer to gently push them around.

Last tip--the C & M game pieces were red, so I just colored them with two coats from a white Paint Pen. Quick & easy.

Initial Pendant Party Favors

Happy Birthday To My Little Girl!

My daughter Maddie is turning five (!) next week. She wanted a princess pony party. Well, I don't have those stamps exactly (they'd be a HUGE hit if someone would come up with that!), but I did have these cute images from the stamp set "ABC Images" to create some girly goodness. The designer paper is from the retired "Confetti" Simply Scrappin' Kit & so I just took my color inspirations from it. I made the glittery swirls by dotting Pink Stickles along the edge of the oval & then running my paper piercer tool through them--a little trick I learned from a pastry chef in my waitressing days long before I even knew stamping existed!

The "piece de resistance" is Maddie's fine coloring job on the images so each invite was unique, to say the least :) I love how she added sprinkles to the cupcake! That's my girl!

Happy Birthday To My Little Girl!