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

Find Joy Mini Canvas

Hi Roadies! Julia here again with another Maya Road creation.

I love creating things just for the joy of it. Lately much of that joy in creativity is coming from the mixed media trend that is so popular right now. Combining a myriad of supplies and layers together to make something entirely new can be so exciting. And that's really what Maya Road is all about...the creative journey and the ability of the products to be used in so many creative ways.

My joy mini canvas started off as a 5x5 canvas  I picked up at a local arts & crafts store. It's layered with tissue paper adhered to the surface and the edges coated with black acrylic paint. To add some beautiful color to the project I misted it with Blue Agave, White Out and Green Apple Maya Mists.

Almost all of Maya Road's products are alterable. I love the gorgeous Vintage Edge Mums and this one is misted with White Out and Blue Agave Mists. It's paired up with some stamped leaves and lots of other gorgeous embellishments.

My all-time favorite Maya Road stamp set is the Art Journaling Words set. It's perfect for multi-media projects as well as cards and scrapbook layouts.

Also adding a sentiment to this mini canvas is the Lisa Uppercase Chipboard letters that spell out JOY. They are misted, then covered with a clear glaze and glass glitter to give them a beautiful shine.

Grab a canvas and some Maya Road supplies and see where your creativity takes you!

Maya Road Products Used:

Vintage Edge Mum

Blue Agave Metallic Mist

Green Apple Mist

White Out Mist

Leaf Trinket Pins

Turquoise Star Pins

Lisa Uppercase Alphabet

Decorative Scrolls Chipboard Set

Antique Button Jewels

Ornate Botanicals Stamp Sheet

Art Journaling Words Stamp Sheet

Vintage Raspberry Beads

Fabric Leaves

Natural Wood Buttons

 

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!

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!

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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!

 

You Hold My Heart

Thanks for visiting the Maya Road Design Team blog today!  I have a layout to share of my sweet baby boy, grandchild.  If you have a grandchild you know how they are the most amazing little things and can wrap your heart right around their finger.  If you don't, well just wait and see because someday you will be in awe of their every move.  Maybe it is because they don't live with us and we have to part so often, but they sure do steal your heart and many of the happy thoughts in a day.  This layout was a perfect way to express my thoughts of him.



One of my assignments for CHA was to focus on chipboard, which is so easy because Maya Road has the best ever chipboard sets.  On my layout I used the Love Mini Chipboard Set, Scallop Frames Chipboard Set, a couple of the Chipboard Tags, The William Mini Chipbaord, and the letter "R" from the "Lisa" uppercase set for Riley's name.

 As you can see I covered some of the chipboard pieces with patterned paper and others were painted or glittered.  On one of the 2 hearts near the bottom of the layout I covered it with patterned paper then added some Distress Crackle medium and stitched it up the center.  On the other one I added some micro beads to the crackle medium and a small puffy heart. 

When I use paint on chipboard I like to distress it up with a little sandpaper.  It just takes a light rub to expose some of the chipboard below the paint surface.  Then you can leave it just like that or you can add a coating of Mod Podge or other sealer for a glossy finish.

I love those chipboard tags and how they come with that little reinforcement circle...works great tied off with the Twine Cording.  Here I used the new color of " Blueberry", which you can see on the Maya Road Company Blog post HERE.

I also used Linen Burlap Trim, Wood Alterable Buttons, a Vintage Music Box Key, Border Scroll Rub ons, Vintage Wallpaper Clear Stamp, several Trinket Pins and a cute Vintage Cherries Finding.  Isn't Maya Road amazing?!?!  Perfect embellishments to go along with my perfect baby boys photo.  Don't forget that you can see all of the new product from CHA winter at the Maya Road Company Blog or download the new catalog HERE.

Have a wonderful day!

 

 

Fabric Tape Backgrounds

Hi Roadies! Julia here with my latest Maya Road addiction, fabric tape. There are so many ways you can use it and basically its just like Washi Tape only tougher with a great woven fabric texture. Lately I've been using it to create backgrounds for my card designs and I have a couple of ideas to share with you today.

My first design is inspired by an american country style. Red, white and blue all the way.

By simply adhering strips of fabric tape to the background and then stitching them, it makes a great pattern and textured print.

The card is accented with lots of Maya Road Trims and a Star Bottlecap filled with glass glitter.

You can also arrange the tape into a very trendy chevron pattern by using two different colors of fabric tape. I created this by applying the tape on an angle to strips of cardstock before adhering it to my card base. If you look close you'll see a couple of the new Maya Road releases in the accent cluster. You're going to adore all the new Maya Road releases!

Careful measuring and a shape guillotine-style paper cutter is need to get a crisp chevron pattern.

Maya Road Products Used:

Gingham Fabric Tape

Vintage Wood Mini Ruler and Vintage Wood Tiny Ruler

Denim Frayed Edge Pleated Trim

Denim Vintage Roses

Vintage Paper Roses

Star Bottle Cap

Cinnamon Tulle Pleat Trim

Vintage Raspberry Beads

Vintage Pearl Trinket Pins

Double Berry Twine Cording

Wood Mini Clothes Pins

Cloud White Zipper Trim

Earl Grey Tulle Pleat Trim

Pale Pink Pearl Ball Trinket Pins

Vintage Sequin Blossoms

Smoke Burlap Roses

Camellia Pink Double Stitched Velvet Ribbon

Pink  Vintage Tape Measure Trim

Vintage Wood Birds

Light Pink Small Organza Roses Ribbon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Complex Simplicity

Hello,  I am glad that you stopped by today!   I made a layout that features a photo of my sister.  She means so much to me... I am so grateful for her and the memories that we make together.  This photograph of her just says so much about her and I wanted to make a layout that would represent her personality and style also.



I know that I put way too much time  into the layouts that I make... I think forever on what the subject should be and I tend to stare, stare, stare at the photos.  It becomes quite the complex situation ;-)  You know how they say "A picture is worth a thousand words"?  I guess that I hope to capture a few of the perfect words and that is always so hard for me. 

I could have said so many different things about my sister... about her talents, her life, her loves.  So whether I choose my own words or the words of a poet, I  must write something.  Hours later (yes, I said hours!)  I thankfully complete my layouts.  The one final thing that makes a part of my creation process easy is using Maya Road products. 



I love the Burlap Rose and Linen Burlap Trim for this layout.  It fits perfectly with my sister, her horses and her lifestyle.  The Mixed Blossom Mini Chipboard set and the Jonathan Chipboard Alphabet that I painted up are so simple and easy to use. 

To me, nothing is ever complete without a Trinket Pin or two... or three!  I also like to use the Alterable Wood Buttons.  Painting them and distressing with sandpaper and ink, or sprinkling on a touch of glitter adds a nice touch and some pops of color throughout the page. 

So for someone who creates as slowly as I do, a complex process can be toned down a bit by using the  right product.  Thank goodness for the many Maya Road items that add simplicity to my projects! 

Have a wonderful day,

Other Maya Road product used:
Chipboard Scallop Frames
Tutu Tulle Trim
Vintage Raspberry Bead
Fabric Leaves
Scroll Rub Ons- white
Simgleton Stamp Strip