Maya Road Design Team

One big, flowery cluster

Hello there!

Ania here with a layout for you this time.

When looking through the photos from this past Christmas I made a mental note to scrap these photos of my grandma and my children. Fast forward close to five months later, and I'm pleased to be able to say I've accomplished just that! =)

Right! I love the organza tea garden trim, so broad and lush, it sort of builds a comfy bed to add stuff on top of and is perfect for building a cluster around! So sad it's discontinued from Maya Road, so if you see some in your LSS, grab a couple of yards! You won't regret it, I promise! I added a strip of regular mini organza roses trim right beneath the bottom tea garden trim.

Otherwise, I layered my cluster by mixing stamping (gotta love the antique love doilies stamp set), fabric and kraft atop.

And I couldn't resist adding this satin scallop edge blossom to the layout, it's simply gorgeous!

 

Hope you enjoyed this layout inspiration :)

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).

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: 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!

How To: Be Tag

I love the warm colors of this Be tag.  The pop of blue against the fiery colors suggests both my easy going but passionate personality.   Maya Road Mists make it easy to bring colors to life.  Their embellishments are so much fun to add in layers.   Here's a quick look at how to create this tag.

1. Cover tag with book paper and seal it with matte medium.
2. Add drops of Maya Mists.  Here I used Dragon Fruit Pink, Pomegranate Pink, and Sunflower Yellow.  Using short blasts of compressed air, move the mists around the tag. Let it dry.
3. Add drops of White Out Maya Mist to the background and spray kraft butterfly with same mist.
4. Layer kraft butterfly on the kraft doily.  Add blue ruffle blossom flower and trinket heart stick pins to the butterfly.
5. Using scallop scissors, cut the vintage measuring tape trim & add to the bottom of the tag.
6. Wrap vintage hotel key with floss and add to the tag near bottom.
7. Spray "be" chipboard letters with espresso brown Maya Mist and adhere to tag.  Tie gingham brown bow to the top to finish the tag. 

One last Ode to Winter...

I know... we are all tired of it.  Most of us have had more than enough of the snow and cold and are ready for Spring!  (I think that I just heard today that there are only 20 more days until Spring... yay!!)   I'm ready to do the countdown, but that doesn't mean that I don't love creating with the photos and colors of winter.  I mean, who doesn't love a wintery stamped image or a glittery white wood snowflake?  Maya Road has the best things to use for all of your winter layouts, mini albums and projects.

I made this using the Landscape Binder with tabbed pages album.  Such a sweet little book that you can stuff full of Maya Road embellishments.


On the front I made a snowman using the Alterable Wood Buttons that I painted white and topped off with some clear crackle medium and glitter. The houses are from the Welcome Home Chipboard set and of course there plenty of the Vintage Wood Snowflakes both here and throughout the album.



On each of the pages I used words from the Art Journaling Words Clear Stamp set. 

I love the Sea Blue Zipper Trim with the snowflakes, the reds and the glitter so I also added the color to some of the chipboard pieces like the Hexagons.  The Let It Snow stamps were made using white embossing enamel.



The Red Velvet Pleats add a nice pop of color to the pages as does the Gingham Trims in apple Red and Licorice black.

As always I use lots of Trinket Pins and a Vintage Wood Spool or two. 

Thanks for stopping by and I promise that my next project will have nothing to do with winter... think butterflies and flowers! ;-)  Have a great day!

Charm and Elegance...

Hello,  I'm glad that you stopped by!  I have a fun little project to share today that can recreated by anyone using a few Maya Road goodies and a couple of  basic craft supplies.

I love topiaries... love them.   Did you know that topiaries have been  a symbol of "Charm and Elegance" for centuries?  There are so many different varieties now-- from the real or living evergreens to artificial ones.  You can find them everywhere as they have been very trendy for a good while now.  I guess those ancient Romans really knew how to decorate if we are still using some of their creative ideas today!

Here is one of my versions of a topiary.....


I made this charming little topiary with some of my very favorite Maya Road supplies.  I love that it's pink instead of the traditional green color, as it will be uplifting decor for anyone that is feeling a need for Spring.  I know that late winter in Minnesota can  bring on the "cabin fever" and makes me yearn for some pretty spring colors.


To make this I used a 3.5" Styrofoam ball for the topiary shape and the  wood pedestal base is an antique spinning spool and a metal Flower Bottle Cap.   The Styrofoam ball is covered  with Maya Road's Small Organza Roses Trim in Light Pink.  I did not prep the ball with anything-- I just hot glued the trim to the ball and made a flat spot about 1" in circumference that would be the "bottom" of the topiary ball when adhered to the base.  I tried to make sure that the outer edges of the trim (the netting that runs along either side of the roses) was not tucked under so that it helped to hide the white of the ball.

Once the entire ball was covered with the trim I wrapped some of the new Paper Twine Cording in the "Earth" color around the ball.  To me it brings in the look of nature and reminds me of a vine that has wrapped itself around the topiary.  It is glued in place in a few spots with some Vintage Paper Roses and a cluster of  flowers and Trinket Pins. 


Trinket Pins include the Hot Pink Flowers, Vintage Round Pearl (that has a Vintage Raspberry Bead slid onto it), Vintage Leaf Pin in Cream, and the new Pale Pink Pearl Balls.  The cluster of flowers includes a pink Country Gingham Posie, a Vintage Lace Silver Fox Mum, and some of the Organza Mum Trim in Forest green.

Once the ball was decorated I adhered some natural green moss that you can find in the floral section of any craft supply store,  to the bottom of the metal Flower Bottle Cap.   To prepare the Bottle Cap, I pushed the flower petals inward so that when it was turned upside down it looked like scalloped trim.  It was then painted white  and when dry I lightly sanded it to give it a distressed look.

I think that Maya Road products made this  project both charming and elegant... just as a topiary should be.  Thanks so much for visiting!