Green Horned Unicorn

Sketchy Thursdays 7.29

Hello! Now that I've found a brief moment and some internet access, I'm popping in to share with you the latest and greatest from Sketchy Thursdays! Here is the sketch for the current challenge: 

Here is my interpretation of the challenge:

I'm sure many of you recognize the photo and recongnize the girls in the photo with me. For those who don't, these are my fellow Sketchy Thursdays girls Julie and Heidi. The photo was taken last month at a crop that I was lucky enough to attend with both of them! I thought it would be fitting to use the picture this week since Heidi created the fun sketch for us to play with! 

Sorry I don't have more time to update at the moment, but I will say, the last few weeks have been crazy, and not at all in the aspect I was expecting. I have fun news and some unexpected changes to share with you when I return, hopefully sometime late next week. See you soon :)

Ps. Don't worry, it's all good stuff!! :)
Pps. There is still some updating to be done to the blog design, so please ignore anything that may seem a bit off!

Under Construction

Please don't mind the dust (or anything that might look a little off) as we give the GHU Blog a little update over the course of the next few days! :) 

ST 7.22

Happy Thursday! I'm popping back in to say hi and to share a new layout with you. Before I get to the layout, I wanted to share a fun surprise from the past weekend. While I was browsing some blogs, I came across this post on the Sassafras blog. Imagine my surprise when I reached the bottom and came across this layout (a page I made for a recent Sketchy Thursdays Challenge):


When I came across it, I think I said something like, "Holy *explicit", that's my page!". It was a fun little surprise to unexpectedly have a layout displayed on one of my favorite paper manufacturer's blogs :)

Now onto that new Sketchy Thursdays layout...

Here is the messy, fun sketch for the current challenge: 

Here is my page, titled Bday:

It's a messy, fun page using mist, paint and one of my favorite products...Hambly transparencies! The flourishes are some old vinyl rub-ons I found in my stash, and the background paper is Basic Grey. I think I need to buy a few more sheets of the BG paper. It's an awesome foundation piece when you want to play with paint and spray ink.

The photos are a few silly shots Nate and I took on my birthday. As you know, I like clowning around in photos. I apparently like drinking champagne while taking them too...ha!

That's it for now! Thanks for stopping by. I'm still enjoying my Summer Break, but will stop back in for another Sketchy Thursdays post next Thursday.

On Summer Break!

It's time for a break. A summer break that is!! As I previously mentioned, Nate and I have many travel plans in place over the course of the next few weeks. In order to truly enjoy our time spent with family and friends during our travels, I’ll be taking a little hiatus from my shop and blog until early August. 

Although I may not be posting regularly throughout the week, I will still be sharing a new Sketchy Thursdays layout every Thursday…yay!! When I return, I promise lots of eye candy, inspiration and, best of all, BRAND NEW product for the Green Horned Unicorn shop!!

I’ll try to keep up with my blog reading during my break (after all, it’s what fuels my inspiration!), but may not be popping in as frequently (or commenting as often) as I normally do. But, come August, I’ll be back in full force! 

While I'm away, here are a few archives you might be interested in browsing:

• What a Girl Loves
• Tutorials and DIYs
• Scrapbook Projects

I hope everyone has a wonderful couple of weeks. See you in August!! :)

ST 7.15

It's Thursday, and you all know what that means...the new challenge is up at Sketchy Thursdays!!! Here is this week's sketch:


And, here is my interpretation of the sketch:  

This week's sponsor is the Digi Doodle Shop, who was nice enough to give each of us a set of their digi sets to play with. Since I was creating a paper layout, I printed the Doodle Flower onto a transparency in a few random sizes, cut it out and adhered it to my page. It's a fun way to take a digital element and use it on a non-digi page. The photos on the layout were taken during a quick trip to Vegas to meet up with my sis back in April.   

That's it for now! Thanks for stopping by :)

 

DIY - Summer Dress to Ruffled Top Makeover

I'm still in love with all the ruffle and floral shirts that are available everywhere this season. The dimension and texture is just too fun! After seeing a lot of cute DIY projects online, I had to try it for myself! My inspiration for this particular project was the t-shirt DIY I saw on Elizabeth Kartchner's blog. 

Instead of using two identical shirts as she did for this project, I used a jersey-knit dress I had hanging in the closet that I no longer wore. It was a bit too bootylicious and boobalicous for my 30-something liking. There is too much bad 'licious going on in the world...I do NOT want to be part of the problem...ha! :)


I started by trying on the dress over pants and determining a nice length for a top (I love long tops so I made mine a bit long). When I determined an appropriate length, I marked it and then cut off extra length in the skirt. I then took the "leftover" fabric and ran it through my Sizzix to cut piles of cute little flowers in various sizes. 
 

To attach the flowers, I bunched each one in the center and started to hand stitch them along the V of the shirt. I just kept adding flowers, trying it on, and filling in the bare/uneven spots until I had used up all the flowers (a dressform would be handy if you have one). I wish I had a few more flowers so I could have gone further up the neck. But, regardless, I'm still very happy with how it turned out!

The last, and most difficult step, was to hem the bottom. I've never sewn a hem in my life (like EVER) and really wasn't sure how. I researched a little, asked my mom, asked my friends and finally, after about a week, I worked up the courage to give it a try. It actually turned out better than I thought which is a plus! So, here it is, the ruffled and hemmed final product: 

Here I am with a silly pose, sporting my "new" top (please don't mind the chalk drawings on the cement!):
 
And a close up of the flowers (I think Nate really enjoyed taking this shot...ha!):


If you try this for yourself, please be aware that the flowers will appear flat and fluttery prior to washing. But, as can be expected, they will curl up on themselves during washing. I ended up having to "fluff" the flowers while the shirt was damp and then allow it to air dry. 

Overall, the project took about 2 hours, working on and off, with some breaks. I'm extremely happy with the end results and am even more happy to have a brand new shirt created from an old item in my closet that would have otherwise been destined for donation.

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments! Thanks for stopping by :)

     

Herding Cats & ST 7.8

Ok, maybe I'm not herding cats, but it sure seems like it. Maybe even worse. I forgot how amazingly difficult it is to medicate a cat. The amount of strength that lies in Bugsy's 6-lb body is astounding. And the bite? Let's just say that Nate and I have some interesting puncture wounds to explain.

Needless to say, it's been quite a week trying to get her to take her meds, twice a day. Well, taking her meds isn't quite the right description. It's more like: Wrap cat in towel (helps keep sharp claws in). Lay on cat. Pry jaw open. Attempt to insert pill without being bitten. Miss. Try again. Get bit. Curse. Try again. Celebrate that the pill is in her mouth...YAY! Hold mouth shut till she swallows. Curse because, she tricks you and spits it out. Repeat. It's frusterating for us and for poor Bugsy. Fortunately the medication is working and we only have a few more days to go!

On a far less frusterating note (a happy note to be exact), the new Sketchy Thursdays Challenge is up! Here is this week's sketch:

And here is my interpretation of the sketch:
 
A quick little page titled 34, which highlights a few reflections about turning another year older. I primarily used the Cosmo Cricket Material Girl line. The photo frame is from Kitschy Digitals and the ribbons and flowers are some random items from the stash.

I'm hoping to be away from blog land for a few days while I travel to see my family, but will return next week with another DIY project I created. If you missed this week's Mapped DIY project, you can check it out here. Thanks for stopping by!  :)

  

Mapped! Large Wall Art DIY

I hope everyone had a great July 4th weekend! Nate and I had a relatively relaxing weekend, minus the trip to the vet with poor, sick little Bugsy (she was prescribed meds that we hope will alleviate her issues!). We attended a pool party, spent time lounging in our pool, and I was able to do some scrapbooking, crafting and work on some home decor projects (see below!).

As many of you know, I have a fondness for maps. A while back, I purchased a Rand-McNally World Wall Map very similar to this one:

It is a fairly large map, measuring 50 x 32. Framing it would be expensive due to the size and dimensions (it would require a custom frame). Since $100+ was not in the budget for this particular project, I headed to Arizona Art Supply (one of my favorite stores!) and purchased canvas stretchers to turn this flat poster-like map into a dimensional wall hanging.

For those unfamiliar with canvas stretchers, they are the wooden arms with mitered edges that slide together to form a square. 

Canvas stretchers, as the name implies, are used to stretch canvas for paintings. It's a very economical way to make custom canvases. For me, it was a very economical way to turn a poster-like wall map, into an art piece. I purchased the stretchers in 48-inch and 28-inch lengths to allow a 2-inch overhang on each side of the maps (so that I could wrap it around the stretchers).

First, I assembled the stretchers into a frame, which took under 2 minutes. 

Next, I placed the map face down on the floor and positioned the stretcher frame on to the map, allowing equal overlap on each side.

Then, I carefully stapled down the first edge of the frame. I continued to the opposite edge next to ensure that the map was stretched snugly. 

On the corners, I did a standard gift-wrap tuck and fold. From there I stapled down the sides until I was finished. 

Here is the final piece!

 

Once I get the completed piece hung and the surrounding wall stylized, I'll post a peek of what it looks like actually hanging up!

In the end, the project cost around $25 ($18 for the stretchers and $7 for the map) and took about 30 minutes to complete. Not a bad price at all considering the size of the finished piece (46" X 28"). 

Canvas stretchers would work well for a number of projects such as wrapping posters, prints and fabrics. Another option, if your project is a more standard size, is to buy a pre-stretched canvas from your local arts & crafts store. You can purchase them for very cheap if you wait for a sale. Hope you enjoyed this quick and fun DIY. If anyone tries this out, post a link so I can see your creation :)

Hello July! (and ST 7.1)

I don't know about you, but I can't believe it is already July...yikes!! I'm certain this month will fly by as quickly as June with all the travels we have planned. This month alone, we are planning trips to Omaha and Duluth to visit family and to Booneville, MO for my cousin's wedding. We have many flights and lots of family fun to look forward to! Hopefully I can somehow manage to scratch a few of the items off of my 34 List too!

I'm so happy that it's Thursday and that the long weekend is finally upon us! And, since it's Thursday, that means it's time for another Sketchy Thursdays layout! Here is this weeks sketch, a two-page challenge:

And here is my layout, titled "Fun in the Sun":

Yes, I realize that this is NOT a two-page design, but, unfortunately, I'm just not a two-page kind of girl. I have D-Ring albums consisting of an assortment of different sized layouts including 12 x 12, 8.5 x 11, 11 x 8.5, 8 x8, 6 x 12, and so forth. Because of the fun randomness of the album, I never have two pages of the same size in a row...making it quite difficult to do a two-page spread! So instead, I chose to scrap an 11 X 8.5 layout, which the sketch easily interpreted to. 

I used Sassafrass papers and embellishments to create the layout about my niece, Kylee, splashing in the pool during her recent visit (I think you may remember my page from last week about her brother). I like how the layout is bright and sunny, just like Miss Ky's personality.

Wish me luck, I'm off to a dreaded dental appointment to correct a problem with a crown...yuck.

Happy Thursday :)