Maya Road Design Team

Lovely Linen

Hi Roadies! Julia here again with another project to share. I've always loved Maya Road mini albums but the latest ones in linen? Well, I love creating with them...the texture is awesome! Being a sewer long before I found paper crafting, I'm so excited to see fabric mini albums and embellishments.

Todays album is the Linen 4x6 Art Journaling Album and it's four pages of beautiful double thickness linen. It makes the perfect gift album, a wedding or baby album or as the name suggests, a little album for art journaling. My album is more along the art journaling line and is filled with quotes that I love and inspire me.

One thing I did with this album was to fold back the front cover about an inch or so and glue it down. This adds a little unique spot of interest and gives you a peek into the first page of the album.

As you can see, I've filled it with lots of lovely embellishments. I love how the unfinished edges add lots of texture and character to each album.

The cover is my favorite place to embellish and there are many layers of Maya Road flowers, trinkets and trims. To add a shabby chic look to the Antique Room Key, I've painted it with Gesso, making sure not to get the paint into the grooves.

The linen albums really take ink, paint and stamping well. Thoughout this album, I've stamped it with the Art Journaling Words Stamp Set and the Vintage Wallpaper Stamp Set.

Each page in the album contains a quote that is meaningful to me. They are written on White Mini Kraft Jotter Tags.

Tissue paper is easy to adhere to the linen album with a clear multi-medium type adhesive or glaze.

Fabric albums are so much fun to create with. I hope you'll be inspired to give one a try. Thanks for joining me today!

 

Additional Maya Road Supplies:

Linen Mini Tag Pieces

Cream Velvet Resin Blossoms

Vintage Paper Roses

Country Rose Flower Fabric Tape

Vintage Pearl Butterfly Trinket Pins

Vintage Wood Mini Butterflies

Natural Wood Buttons

Vintage Sequin Blossoms

Alterable Canvas Blooms

Cream Vintage Burlap Roses

Ballerina Pink Tu-Tu Tulle

Vintage Pale Pink Pearl Ball Pins

Wood Twigs

Pink Lemonade Twine Cording

 

Paper Princess

Every princess needs a crown... and whether you believe in fariytales or not, every little girl is a princess to somebody. 

My project today is a sweet little girl's crown.  I've made a few of these in different colors for birthday girls before and I always use pretty Maya Road embellishments to fancy them up so that the little princess feels extra special.  I'm fairly sure that if I were a princess, I would want a whimsical paper crown just like this!

One of my favorite things on this crown are the Kraft Layerable Flowers.  I have to tell you that I was so afraid of those  when I first saw them and this is actually my first time using them on a project.  Now I don't know why, because I want to make more of those fun and spikey flowers!  I loved painting and glittering them up.  I just painted the front side so that the paint didn't clog up the slits that are cut in them.  After the paint was dry I formed them into the flowers and once they were shaped the way I wanted them, I added the glitter and the centers.  I think that the Velvet Resin Blossoms look so cute in the centers.

The pink organza flowers were made using the Carnation colored Afternoon Tea Trim.  To make the flower, cut one of the flowers from the trim then use a needle and thread to make a loose running stitch around the outside edges of the flower then pull the thread tightly so that flower become smaller and more bulky.  Make sure to bring the gathered edge to the backside of the flower.

When I use the Trinket Pins on my crowns, I use a wire cutter to cut the sharp end of the pin off.  I usually cut the pin off to about half its length.  Then I use hot glue to completely cover the cut end of the pin when I insert it behind the flower.  I don't want the pin to poke through the crown and hurt the child so I take some extra precautions to make it safe.  The hot glue encasing the end should work.

When I start decorating the crowns I always start in the center of the front with a Chipboard Scallop Frame.  They are such an awesome base for the childs intial of her name or the number of the birthday year.  The Scalloped Frames have always been a staple for me when I create, whether I am making a scrapbook layout or another type of paper project.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I was glad to share my project tips with you and hope that you all have a princess in your lives to make one for someday!



Other Maya Road items used in this project:
Ruffle Blossoms- Cream (sprayed purple)
Amethyst Purple Maya Mist
Velvet Pleat Flower- yellow
Antique Metal Butterfly
Natural Wood Button
Vintage Paper Posies (sprayed purple)
Velvet Point Blossoms- cream
Tulle Pleat Trim- milk
Mini Ruffle Trim- cream
Lustrous Button Jewel

The Making of a Canvas

Hello Roadies! Emily here today.

I had the pleasure of making some projects for the recent Maya Road debut on HSN last week. I'm known for my layouts, so it was really fun to break out of that and play with some different mediums. I thought it might be interesting to share how I was thinking as I designed a canvas for the show. Please excuse the poor photos, I didn't think to take them with my good camera, just my cell phone. I was sending the to Caroline throughout the process. I decided to use them because I think it's cool to see how the canvas evolved.

I started out with a quote from Thackery, "A good laugh is like sunshine in a house." I knew the Vintage Wood mini rulers would make a perfect roof. Stained brown with Maya Mist in Expresso, I was ready to go. I painted the Velvet Pleated Trinket Flower in milk a bright sunny yellow and place it behind the house. I painted my background with Blue Slushie and gesso. I think added a strip of green fabric tape, available only for the HSN kit, this was going to be my grass.

I decided to with a little more of the Blue Slushie mist, I wanted a BLUE sky! I took off the fabric tape, it just didn't look good.

I messed around the the Antique Gem Tinket pin and a Kraft ticket in white, trying to make a mailbox. I decided against it. I also put the fabric tape back, this time ruffling it and adding a second layer. I was so much happier with the look this time. I thought about putting the Mini Organza Roses Trim  in the grass, but I bumped the canvas, an accident occurred, and I ended up using them in a different place.

See where they ended up? They made rather delightful fluffy clouds, don't you think? I added my vintage image of a man laughing. I knew this would be a misproportioned piece of work, so it was fun to go really big on the face inside the house. I also rubbed some of the Blue Slushie off parts of the sky to give a more cloudy feel to it. The ticket reappears. I'm wondering if I can fit the quote on it.

I decide against using the ticket, instead printing the quote off and cutting it up. Figuring out placement was my next challenge. You'll notice it's not this way in the final image. I added some flowers in the form of the Antique Gem pins and some Mixed Chipboard Shapes. I also used the chipboard to house my quote source. This gave me a nice balance of three yellow spots on the canvas. I tied off each flower with some Wheatgrass Twine Cording for leaves. The twine cording also became the walls of the house.

I used gel medium to seal everything off and stitched the chipboard down and that was how I went from a blank canvas to this:

Once I got rolling, I had a blast. It was fun to try a different platform, and I think it earned me the assignment of a few more (which I'm OK with).

Anchors Away!

Hi, Roadies! Leah checking in with a fun summer wreath idea today!

Anchors are definitely an up and coming trend right now, and this wreath is a fun way to bring one to your home! I chose to cut a simple anchor shape out of cardstock to add just a touch of trend to the classy Maya Road goods!

I started with an 8" styrofoam wreath from the craft store, and wrapped it with the barn red gingham fabric tape. Be sure you have at least two rolls on hand.

Once I had my anchor piece cut, it's was mostly just a lot of fun layering of red white and teal. 

I did use a bit of paint on one of the chipboard tags and letters to add a monogram to the very front. Here's a list of the things that I used, in case you're interested in making one for yourself!

stain scallop blooms in teal, afternoon tea blossoms in milk, velvet pleats in cream and red, tu-tu tulle flowers in cherry red, wood measure once cut twice, paper twine in apple, antique treasure key, mixed shapes mini chipboard, lisa lowercase alphabet, vintage button stick pins, velvet resin blossoms, mini gingham trim in licorice, twine cording in shine gold

Happy May Day!

No Ordinary Moments Gift

Hello!  Today I made a a fun little gift box using a page from the Maya Road "Home Sweet Home" Mixed Media Album.  I loved that album from the minute I saw it and I knew that there were many more possiblilities than just an album.

I cut chipboard to add to the back of the chipboard house shape from the album set to form the box and the bottom then adhered old book pages and patterned paper to the all sides of the house box.  I used 25 gauge wire for the handle and one of the large Vintage Spools.  The spool is wrapped in yellow Vintage Measuring Tape Trim.  I lightly sanded the tape trim to give it a time worn look and to soften the color to match the soft colors in the rest of my project.

The little pom poms were made from the Twine Cording in "Shine Gold".  Can you see the little slivers of sparkle in the poms?  I love that.  I also used some of the new "Champagne" Vintage Butterfly Trinket Pins that I stuffed into that bouquet of the Vintage Paper Posies.

My thoughts on gifting this box is that it would make a great gift for a crafter or scrapbooker.  They can use some of the things in their projects like the bouquet of mini posies, the pom poms, or even the metal heart tin.  You could also make the house box for somebody special on May Day and fill it with a few sweet treats.

I filled the inside of the box with some shredded brown paper bag then added a 4 1/2" pinwheel to serve as a backdrop for all of the other things.  The pinwheel is topped with a chipboard Scallop Frame and a Velvet Pleats flower.  The metal Heart Tart is painted, distressed and the center is filled with patterned paper, an old family photo, and some buttons and the Pearl Chain Trim.

The little pink eggs were stamped with the words from the Art Journaling Clear Stamp Set.  The Antique Room Key was glittered up and hung along with the pom poms on the handle.  Metals are so fun!

The house front was decorated with a chipboard "Doorways" piece that was painted, distressed and glittered.  Some Ruffle Egde trim and big ric rac trim were used along the roof then I piled on the wood alterable buttons.  Have you seen the new wood Shaped Buttons?  Those are so cute! Included are hearts, flowers and stars.

I also used Vintage Paper Roses, more Pearl Chain trim, a Ruffle Blossom flower, a Velvet Resin Blossom and of course more Trinket Pins.  I'm in love with the new Vintage Pale Pink Pearl pin.... love, love, love!!  Maya Road knows how to make me all giddy inside :-)

See !!  So perfect... so vintagey perfect.

One last thing to mention is the Mini Organze Roses trim along the bottom of the house...  so soft and pretty for just about everything.  So, then that's it!  If you have a chance and want to make something unique,  get yourself some of the  so, so awesome Chipboard Albums from Maya Road.  You'll find they have some secret power to inspire you to be extra creative.  Go ahead I dare you to give it a try... you won't be disappointed :-)

Thanks for stopping by.  Best wishes for a super happy day ahead!

The Box Previously Known As A Perfume Box

Hello there Roadies!

Ania here with yet another box for ya (it's no secret that I love boxes...).
I'm not sure what it is, but when I get my hands on a sturdy, nicely sized cardboard box, like a perfume-box, it just feels wrong to throw it away (even though it'd go to the recycle/paper bin).

Take this box, previously holding  3.4 oz of lovely Eau De Parfum (She Wood..one of my faves along with Flowerbomb...but I digress).... I figured I'd put this box to good 2nd use, finding some matching patterned paper for the solid pink-peachy color of the cardboard, and a few Maya Road-embellishments to go...

Like creating a small but effective cluster next to a big heart covering almost the whole box. And oh, you can never go wrong with heart shaped linen! In this case a little bit of color was added by spraying some Maya Mist (dragonfruit pink & sunflower yellow washed out w/buttermilk cream).

The cluster started with a tucked in kraft snowflake behind the new Afternoon Tea blossoms in carnation... which in turn was embellished with a scrap of Scallop Chiffon & Tulle Trim and Antique Jeweled Pearl Pendant and a piece of celery green Twine Cording.

On the other side: The lucky number seven (which's this years big birthday number) labeled with the help of some trim adorning a bottle cap and a starburst of different slices of patterned papers...

You see...the kids keep coming home with messages like: "oh by the way, I think I'm attending a birthdayparty in....20 minutes". It happens more often than I like (sigh), which's why I have a bag full of backup-pressies (well ok, only 2 left atm) and well, I also try to keep the handmade cards stocked up so all I need to do is either to add the correct number or the kids name onto the card...

This box will go to the backup-bag, it's like a card and a pressie in one...I just need to figure out what items to fit inside this box :)

Wreath Inspirations

Hi Roadies, Angella here with more inspiration with our wreath fun!

My inspiration just had to be  Easter, love Easter ! not just for the chocolate and easter buns but for the true meaning ...  chocolate is that added bonus ..

Easter is Autumn here, still quiet warm but the turning of the season! beautiful time of the year.

 

I choose to use the Organza roses ribbon, the colour was a beautiful strong colour so I sprayed the trim with spray gesso just to shabby it down ... loved how the trim turned out!

then I made my flower cluster with a bouquet of Trinket blossoms

I never really thought about it much till I was going through all the beautiful Maya Road blossom
to form my cluster, I wonder how many there is ?

I hope you enjoyed my inspiration and pondering Roadies...

have a wonderful safe holiday

till next time, have a great day

Wreath Inspiration: Girly Girl

Hello there, Roadies! MandyKay here to share a soft girly wreath with you. If you're the kinda girl that loves pink and a little bling, this could be the wreath for you! And its neutral enough to use it all year long, if you'd like.

I started my wreath out by wrapping a foam wreath with some white yarn, then randomly wrapping some Blackberry twine on top of that. From there, I started layering up my flowers. I always begin with my larger flowers. So the Houndstooth Licorice Winter Rose and the Smoke Burlap Rose were added first. Then, I rolled up some flowers with my Zipper trims in Cloud White, Midnight and Bubble Gum Pink. It didn't feel complete so I, tucked in a couple of the White Velvet Pleat Flowers and a couple flowers made with the Earl Grey Tu-Tu Tulle and Licorice Black Tulle Pleat Trim to round out my cluster. To add a bit of shimmer and bling to my flowers, I used some Pale Pink Pearl Ball Trinket Pins, a few Clear Jewels, a Raspberry Bead, a Vintage Round Pearl Pin, and a Pearl Butterfly pin. And to finish the whole thing off, I created leaves with some Paper Twine cording.

To create that little leaf shape, cut off a desired lenght of the Carnation Paper Twin Cording and while holding tightly to the very end, untwist the twine til you are able to pull it apart, into the shape you want.

I hope you are enjoying our Wreath event, here at Maya Road, and don't forget to keep coming back, because we have a ton of inspiration left to share with you!

Thanks for stopping by, today!

Related articles

Wreath Inspiration: denim and gingham

Wreath Inspiration: I LOVE YOU

Wreath Inspiration: denim and gingham

Hi, Roadies! Leah checking in with a little bit of wreath inspiration for you today!

I have loved yellow for a long time, and it's so fun to have lots of products available to use in this sunny, mood boosting color! I know a lot of you are experiencing an extra long and cold winter and could use a bit of extra sun!

Start by wrapping a styrofoam wreath from the craft supply store in sun yellow gingham fabric tape.

To alter the canvas butterflies, just give them a coating a gesso, shape them a bit to bend and "float", allow to dry  and then spritz with Summer Sun Yellow  maya mist.

The paper twine cording can be a fun to add a bit of dimension to your projects when you untwist and fluff into loops or a bow.

Frayed Edge Pleated denim trim gathers well for the perfect accent to all of our yellow.

And I couldn't resist leading one stray butterfly off the edge touching the pretty yellow velvet pleated flower.

Hope your day is bright and sunny!

Wreath Inspiration: Shabby Spring

Hi Roadies! It's Julia back with some more wreath inspiration for you today. My wreath is a shabby-style wreath that's just a little out of the box. Inspired by some wreaths I found on Pinterest, I decided to use an old picture frame as a wreath. This suited me perfectly as I love taking an old unused object and putting a new spin on it.

This wreath/frame has actually seen many different uses. First off it was a white baby frame, next it became a black frame that held a wood initial for our last name. Here's my latest take on it turned into a wreath...

 

To give the frame a shabby style, it's been misted with lots of White Out Maya Mist. I love the opacity to this mist. It's also been layered with some printed tissue paper and stamped with white acrylic paint and Maya Road Vintage Wallpaper Stamp Sheet.

 

My favorite part of any project is always adding in the embellishments. Maya Road makes it so easy to add a beautiful array of florals and trims. They've all been hot-glued on after the background is well dried. Embellishments used: Pink Felt Beaded Flowers, Vintage Pale Pink Pearl Ball Pins, Hot Pink Vintage Gauze Blossoms, Camellia Pink Velvet Double Stitched Ribbon, Pink Velvet Point Blossoms, Wood Bird Cage Embellishments, Vintage Raspberry Beads, Vintage Linen Burlap Roses, Medium Fabric Leaves & Wood Vintage Doilies

To hang up my wreath, some Linen Burlap Trim was a great addition. It's accented with a Chipboard Butterfly, an Antique Room Key and an Alterable Wood Button.

Be inspired to take something old and breathe new life into it!