Picture Frame

Hello ladies (and gentlemen)! I hope the week is treating you all well! I've had a busy couple of weeks, but right now I'm relaxing in my hometown and visiting with family. It doesn't get much better than that. :)

This week, I'm sharing with you a picture frame that I made using CI paints. I saw this technique on a Prima live show using a mini album and thought that it would be perfect for a glass picture frame.


I used mango, buttercup, and sky blue. I know that it looks a little messy, but I like it. Afterall, it's art, right? All I did was take a Sharpie and doodle on the front of the frame, and then I painted the back. That way you don't have to worry about trying to stay in the lines because you'll be painting behind them. :)

I hope everyone enjoys their upcoming weekend! Thanks for looking!
-Dani

Gift box.

Hello everyone! This weekend I'm going to a birthday party for a friend's daughter. It's a little sad because we're all moving away next week and won't see each other for a long time. Ahh the joys of military life. Anyways, I created a gift box for the party.
I made the box out of kraft cardstock and painted it with CI sea foam. I added some bright Sassafras paper, distress ink, and some ribbon. I think it's the perfect little gift box! I hope she loves it! And I hope you all enjoy your weekend!

-Dani

Bulletin Board

Hi everyone! I feel like before I show you all my project I need to make a couple of confessions. First of all, I love Target. I'm slightly addicted, but I'm dealing with it. ;) And secondly, I love finding good deals. I'm always searching for a good bargain. With that being said, I'm starting to gather stuff to decorate my scraproom (frugally, of course). I find awesome deals at Target all the time. Their clearance is AMAZING. Anyways, I found a tablecloth 75% off that is inspiration for my room. I also found a bulletin board in the Dollar Spot at Target for $2.50.
I covered the corkboard part with a scrap of fabric from the tablecloth and trimmed it with ribbon scraps. I painted the outside of the bulletin board with white acrylic paint first, and then I put 2 coats of CI Evergreen. Once it dried, I used a little Antique Gold and sanded it to make it look aged. And I made the pins by hot gluing old buttons that I found to push pins. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it! Thanks for looking!

-Dani

Handprint Valentine's Day Card

I have to admit, I'm pretty excited about Valentine's Day! It's my absolute favorite holiday! My husband and I always go all out with our surprises every year. We don't do the flowers and candy thing. :)

Anyways, in celebration of my favorite holiday, my son and I made a card for his Granny and Paw Paw. I'm not sure if you can really see it or not, but the hand prints are supposed to resemble a heart. I saw something like this in a catalog that I was looking at the other day, and thought it would be perfect to do at home with my little man. I'll admit that this wasn't my first idea. I had tried to make the hand prints with poster paint first, but since my son is 18 months old and rambunctious, that didn't work out very well. So I traced his hands onto cardstock. I painted them first with Antique Gold, and then added a layer of Rustic Red. I really like the effect that I got from it! I like the sort of vintage, romantic thing. :)

Thanks for looking, and I hope you all enjoy your Valentine's Day!!
-Dani

CI Paints + Texture Builder!

Helllllooo, Dani here! If it seems like I'm in a chipper mood, I am! Any day that I get to play with paint and any other kind of medium is a good day for me! Today, I am sharing a layout that I made for a family friend featuring her niece and nephew having their first lollipop!

First off, I used CI sky blue to "wash" the background. (Is 'wash' a good word for it? I'm not really sure what else I'd say.. haha!) Doesn't it go GREAT with this line of Sassafras?

Secondly, I used texture builder (I actually used the kind for acrylic paint. Not sure if you are 'supposed' to, but it worked.. haha) on the dragonfly. I mixed one part CI sunshine with, I'd say, 3 parts texture builder. Once mixed, I applied it to the chipboard with a circle foam brush. To get the 'peaks' in the paint, dab the foam brush loaded with paint/texture builder mixture straight down and pull it up kind of fast, twisting as you come up. For those of you not familiar with texture builder, you can find it in the acrylic paint section of the craft store.

Hope you all have a fantastic Thursday! :)

Flip Flops and Combat Boots

Hi all out there in blog land! I'm Dani Smith. I'm new to the DT, and this is my first post! I just got my paints about a week ago, and I don't think that I've gone one day without playing with them!

Here is a layout I made yesterday when I was playing around in my scraproom:
I used CI Rustic Red on the chipboard heart and the paint splatters. The patterned paper is all Teresa Collins Crush.

I also made an invitation to my son's second birthday party. He turns two in July, but I'm already getting a jump start! :)
I used CI paints to enhance the colors that were already on the patterned paper (which is all Jillibean Soup Monster Stew). I used royal purple on the scallops and on the circles on the monster. And even though you can't really tell from the picture, I used fairy dust on the eyes and teeth and sky blue on the hair.

Thanks for looking and enjoy your Thursday!