Hey Everyone!  It’s October and I am busy making all kinds of Halloween goodies.  I really love fall and all the muted colors; and I love decorating for Halloween!  I always try and make my front door very welcoming with lots of jack-0-lanterns so the kiddos know they can trick-0-treat.  I also give away those bite size chocolate snickers, mars, 3 musketeers bars; but really between you and me, those are my favorite so I buy lots and hey if there are left overs … I can eat them all

So today I want to share a cute “BOO” banner I made to hang on my front door.  I made it with the “Oh So Mini” mix and match canvas pages.  I used the tab, stamp and a scalloped shaped canvas pages.  To start decorating my canvas I first sprayed them with Tattered Angels mist, then I took a 6×6 Crafters Workshop stencil (circle) and filled the dots in with my Zig fabri pen.

I then prepared my Basically Bare “Fanciful Frames II” by painting them black with a couple of coates and letting them dry.  Then I brushed some glossy accents on top and let that dry overnight.

Happy Halloween!

Veronica Johnson, Kitsnbitscraps

Supplies Used:

Basically Bare:  Fanciful Frames II, Oh So Mini Album Canvas pages

Other Supplies:  My Mind’s Eye “Lost & Found Halloween” collection, May Arts, Zig Fabri-color Pen, Kaiser Craft Flowers, Prima Flowers, Petaloo Flowers Buttons Galore, Crafters Workshop, Tattered Angels mist, Fabri Tac adhesives

 Hi Everyone, Kristin here to show off one of my favorite ways to decorate a mini-book.

I like making mini-books because they are self-contained and super easy to display. I have mini-books on display throughout my house. Because these books are set out for everyone to look at; one of my favorite ways to decorate a mini is to throw everything you can at the cover. Make the cover the star of your book.

I created a multiple layered acrylic/canvas cover for this mini. The next few pictures will show you what each layer looks like when the previous layer has been lifted up.

Cover of the Book/Top Layer:

 Second Layer (top layer lifted up):

Third Layer (top two layers lifted up):

 And here are a couple of closeups of the cover with all three layers down. You can see how each layer really adds to the depth and dimension of the one underneath.

Tips for layering with acrylic pages:

• all bulky/3d embellishments should go on the top layer
• washi tape and other sheer elements work well
• stamping is also an excellent way to add texture (I stamped on the canvas in this book)
• play around with all the layers at the same time
• use repositionable adhesive until you know for sure where you want something

Here’s a look at the inside pages of the album. I kept it very simple. Little snapshots of Jeff and I over the last year with some journaling, alpha stickers, and washi tape. Because the cover of the album is my focus, the inside was quick and easy.

Thank you so much for stopping by the Basically Bare blog today. You can catch my regular blog posts at rukristin papercrafts where I’m documenting my everyday-memories in my own quirky way and inspiring others to do the same.

You can also find me on facebook, twitter, and instagram.

Jen Matott here with a scrapbook layout to share. It’s that time again and I’m reminiscing about my days as a student, especially since I’m on the other end as a mom and teacher now.  I had my 20th high school reunion a few weeks ago and it was a blast!  I loved talking to my classmates about things we remember happening when we were young.  Before the reunion, we had a Facebook page set up and shared photos from high school!  I dug out my box of memories and yearbooks and scanned in a bunch of photos.  I found my senior photos and can believe how long my hair was and how young I looked!  My skin was so smooth!   So, I decided to do a page with that photo…

I used one of the canvas pages from the Oh So Mini line… It’s the stamp-edged one and I used VersaMark through a new Prima stencil and added Bubblegum pink embossing powder from WOW!  It still keeps the canvas texture but embosses beautifully! I did use the ScraPerfect pouch before so that it eliminated any static in the fabric.  Works perfectly!

Here’s a close up of the texture in the canvas and embossing powder.  I love this effect!!!   So going to do this again in the future on canvas!

I also used a chipboard frame from the new Fanciful Frames II line!  I love how sturdy and adorable these are!  It fit my photo to perfection and I prettied it up with some stamping from Suzy West’s “Call Me” stamp set and WOW copper embossing powder.

You can see how I mixed other embossing powders in to create a patina look.  You can alter these frames with just about anything!

Here I am at 17 years old and boy do I wish I had that skin and hair back!  It was so fun to reminisce and look through old photos.  If you have old back to school photos, get them out and scrap a page with your memories of a younger you!

Happy Back to School for all the students, parents, and teachers out there!!

Jen

Are you ready for another fun project using both Basically Bare and May Arts?  Jamie here with you again with just such a project!

When I sat down to work on this canvas, I originally envisioned a fall themed project, full of reds,oranges, and browns.  However, as I started laying down color, the canvas took a completely different spin.  Which is not a bad thing – now I have a super girly canvas with a summery feel to it.

To start, I painted the entire canvas with black gesso.  Next, I next I mixed a few different colors of mica powder with water to make a slurry, then painted the mixtures over the dried gesso.  The color and shimmer of the mica powders just pop on the black background.

Then, I used an acrylic frame from the Fanciful Frames II set.  I wanted just a hint of color on the frame, so I inked my embossing folder and then quickly ran the piece through my Cuttlebug.  The stars were inked with Tsukineko Brilliance Galaxy Gold ink. The sun was painted with crackle paint, and once dry, I added a bit of my mica powder slurry mixture.

Next, I inked my white net ribbon several different shades of yellow and oranges and cut the ends into points.  The ribbon was then layered over several different patterned papers. The two acrylic stars were inked with StazOn ink.

And to finish off the piece, I used a chipboard dress form, which was heat embossed and then covered with Glimmer Glaze.  For the skirt, I really wanted something super feminine and poofy.  I took  my flowers ribbon and cut out the flowers so I could layer them on the skirt.  Since I wanted the dress to really stand out on the dark background, I purposefully left the flowers white and uninked.

Basically Bare items used:

-Dress Form

-Fanciful Frame Set II

-Celestial Shape Set

May Arts items used:

-White Net

-Sheer Frayed Flowers Wired

Tattered Angels items used:

-Glimmer Glaze Mellow Yellow

WOW items used:

-Sour Lemon embossing powder

Jamie here with you again today with an 8×11 canvas.  This canvas was made specifically for Summer CHA and I’m finally sharing with those who could not attend. I can’t tell you how much fun I had working on this piece!  I haven’t made a lot of canvases, so working on something different really allowed me to play and experiement with different techniques.

Let’s start with the background first.  I am very impatient when it comes to waiting for mixed media pastes and gels to dry, so I did something a bit different.  I took several colors of Distress Ink pads and swiped them across the canvas until it was fully covered.  Then I gave the entire canvas a good spritz with water and let the inks run.  I just kept adding ink and spritzing with water until I was happy with the result.  Then, using WOW embossing powders and a Crafter’s Workshop template, I heat embossed the circles on the background.

Next, I started adding all of the dimensional pieces.  Using a WOW stamp and embossing powder, I heat embossed a canvas heart.  Then I simply flicked some ink on the heart for a splattered effect.  I found some old letters in my stash which I painted and ran through my Cuttlebug for dimension.

Next, on to the houses.  The green house is covered with layers of Washi tape, and then the edges have been embossed.  The yellow house was inked with Tattered Angels and then heat embossed. The last house on the right is covered with layers of Ranger’s Tissue Tape, then a thick layer of Crackle Paint.  Once the paint was dry, I inked over all the cracks with Distress Ink.  And to keep the paint from flaking off, I gave it a good spray with an acrylic sealer.

The flowers were created by stamping onto Clearly For Art Modeling Film,  inked with alcohol ink, and then cut out.  I then heated the film with my heat tool, and while it was still hot, carefully molded the leaves so they had lots of dimension.

Lastly, I added a bit of punchinella and word strips to complete the saying.  The  word strips were outlined with a Zig Millenium pen.

Basically Bare items used:

-Happy Little Houses Set

-Canvas and Felt Heart Set 2

WOW items used:

-Gummy Bear Green embossing powder

-Sour Lemon embossing powder

-Sierra Sunrise embossing glitter

-Gratitude Stamp Set

Tattered Angels item used:

-Yellow Daisy Glimmer Mist

Kuretake item used

-Zig Millenium pen

Jen Matott here with a fun project that I did with the new Oh So Mini Albums.  I mixed the Scallop and Rounded pieces together for a fun banner!  I love the different materials that these albums are made of and how materials react differently to the different surfaces.

This banner was so fun to make and I loved how it came out after stringing it together. Let’s take a look at some of the individual pieces:

This canvas piece was left bare and I used a Crafter’s Workshop cloud stencil with Faber Castell Design Memory Craft Gelatos in Silver Ice and Blueberry with a sponge brush. I then dripped some embossing medium onto the canvas and added WOW Embossing powders in Black Glint, Cotton Candy, and Platinum.

One of the clear acrylic pieces that I embossed using my Cuttlebug and embossing folders then sprayed with the Tattered Angels sprays that were inspired by Basically Bare in Coconut Shell.

This cardboard piece was created with a brick template and VersaMark with WOW Embossing powders mixed and layered. I started with Cable Car Red and then layered Black Glint and some Copper. I then added the “Journey” Stamp and embossed with Bright White. The dots are Gelatos through a stencil and then dripped some Gelatos mixed with water from the top.

Another canvas piece with WOW stamps using Faber Castell Design Memory Craft Pitt artist pens and Gelatos through a circle stencil.

This is one of my favorites. A chipboard rounded piece with a Prima script stamp using Faber Castell Pitt Artist pen and then flames embossed over top with a stencil and WOW Embossing Powders in Cable Car Red, Black Glint, and Copper. I also embossed the doily with Ultra High Gold WOW embossing powder. The stamped frame and words are from WOW and embossed as well.

Lots of embossing and stamping here… then layers of ribbon cut papers and dripping embossing powders and a framed saying attached. I also embossed and added the cardboard and chipboard circle waste from the holes in the mini pieces for more texture. I love that I can peel the cardboard to reveal the corregated parts.

Finally another acrylic piece that was stamped with StazOn and embossed through the Cuttlebug again and sprayed with Tattered Angels.

I hope you liked my banner made from Oh So Mini album pieces!  I had so much fun making it and it was at CHA in the WOW Embossing Powder booth this month!

Hi everyone, Katrina here.  Wow, it seems like it has been awhile since I have posted here on the Basically Bare blog!  We had to get all those yummy Summer releases debuted to you over the past week or so!  I was excited when I found I could work with any of the releases…aka Mix and Match!  I used the Fanciful Frames II, a page from an Oh So Mini album, and the Hats and ‘Staches releases.  That’s a lot of Bascially Bare goodness right there.

I knew I wanted to use on of the canvas pages from the new Oh So Mini albums as a layer behind my photo.  I ran some ribbon thru the holes to cover them, made a knot bow and then added a flair piece as an embellishment in the center.  I also frayed the edges of the canvas all the way around the page.

I, then started wondering what I was going to do with those ‘Staches!  It’s a girly page, plus I wanted to show a different use for them.  I covered in chipboard, trimmed and sanded the edges, then inked with Picket Fence Distress Stain.  I was going to use them as a border, but it wasn’t working with the layout, so I decided to use them as accent pieces.

To accent the cute faces on the page,  I sized my photo to fit inside one of the frames from the Fanicful Frames II set.  Before attaching the photo I painted the frame pink, dried with a heat gun, then ran lipbalm over it in places and then painted with an off white color.  I then dried with a heat gun again and then with a paper towel rubbed off the lipbalm.  The lipbalm created a resist to let the pink show thru.  I ran some Picket Fence Distress Stain over it and misted with some Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Chalkboard in Sandy Beach (a Basically Bare inspired color).  This created the final look that you see here.  I added a couple of covered ‘Staches at the top and bottom of the frame as accents.

Thanks for visiting today.  I hope you get some ideas to play with on your projects!

Hi Everyone! Kristin here, and today I’m going to be sharing with you a fun layout and a couple of tips on decorating those canvas embellishments with chalk inks.

I love the way the little canvas pieces look right out of the package — soft and very cloth-like.   When using paint on canvas there is a tendency to get a firmer finish, and I really wanted to keep that soft, pliable look. I decided on using chalk inks to achieve my desired look.  After experimenting a bit, I’m really happy with the way they turned out, and I’d love to share a couple of tips with you.

Materials Needed: Canvas Embellishments, Chalk Ink (I used Prima), a Makeup Sponge, Spray Bottle (with water or rubbing alcohol), and a Zig FX White Paint Pen

Hey there! Sarah reporting here with a dynamic duo of cards created with the Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker collection called “Exit Here.” This is a bright, fun, and happy line of papers! It made me think of one thing- SUMMER!!!! Woohoo! You can defenitely tell I have summer on the brain by my first card, which includes an amazingly delicious looking summertime treat…

And to be honest with you, I can’t really call it a summertime treat bcuz i eat ice cream year round soooo…anyhoo, I created this ice cream cone by stacking a few of the Basically Bare Cupcake frostings on top of one another. The middle scoop is a felt piece and the other two scoops are canvas pieces that I covered with pink craft paint.  The cone is just some cardstock I cut and embossed, and the cherry on top is a Basically Bare button! I used my Zig Painty FX marker in red that Kurtake provided, and topped that off with some red Stickles. I did the same technique to my little Basically Bare sunshine! This card makes me happy, it’s got 2 of my favorite things on it! Ice Cream & Sunshine yesssss!

For my next trick I’d like to show you a card with another fave of mine, flowers! I wanted to have a flower in a pot, annnd I still had the bottom portion of my Basically Bare cupcake left sooooo,

It just happened to work out perfectly I ripped off a little of the front cardboard layer to grunge it up a little.

Juiced it up a little with some red bakers twine (which Im addicted to) and a Nikki Sivils tag, it actually looks like a real flower pot! lol The posy is a Basically Bare flower chipboard embellie that I covered with some bright & cheerful Nikki Sivils patterned paper.

Thank you to Nikki Sivils and Kurtake for generously donating your beautiful products! Have a creative day everyone!

Love, Sarah

Don’t forget to visit the Nikki Sivils Blog, too!

DeeDee here, again Today I’m sharing the Fleur de lis by Basically Bare in canvas..

… totally off the page! 

-click to enlarge!-

To accompany my canvas fleur de lis I’ve gathered Distress Stain in Pumice Stone, a medium color burlap, muslin, dark brown quilting thread (it’s thicker than normal every day thread), a gorgeous super wide dark brown burlap ribbon by May Arts, vintage buttons and pillow fluff!

I splattered some distress stain on my teflon mat, gave it a bit of a spritz with water and dipped my fleur de lis in it. I then set it out in the sun to dry… I did try heating it with a heat gun and for whatever reason it kept getting a purple tint. Mr. Natural Heat to the rescue

After he was dry I sewed a piece of burlap to a piece of muslin.. I knew I wanted the burlap to be the main texture of the pillow.. but didn’t want the fluff to poke through the open texture, so I created the base of the pillow from a nice tightly woven muslin. After the burlap was sewn to the muslin and my fleur de lis was dry I placed the Basically Bare canvas piece on top of the muslin and stitched a couple of times with the dark brown quilting thread.. not only to hold it in place but to pull together some of the darker browns I wanted to introduce into the pillow.

Then I sewed my ribbon on at the top and bottom.. Keep in mind there’s no back on my pillow yet.. At this point in time I’m basically building what I want the front to look like! After the ribbon is in place I pulled a couple of burlap strings from a scrap of the ribbon and sewed my vintage buttons into place.

Then I sewed my two sides of the pillow (my front piece and the back piece) together WRONG SIDES touching.. but I left a small section unsewn so I could pull my pillow right side out! This makes a very crisp clean sew line all the way around. Stuff pillow.. sew shut the tiny spot.. and DONE!

I just love that all the Basically Bare goods are ripe for the altering and ready for your imagination to take them where there are no bounds! I love pillows and was super excited by the end result of this one. I’m even MORE excited by the fact I got to use one of my all time favorite products.. not something normally associated with pillows but hey.. that’s what it’s all about right?

Hope this inspires you to try something CRAZY with your goods

-DeeDee