Andrea Ewen : MajaDesign

Painted Medallion…A Tutorial

11 April, 2013 - Cards, Tutorials, Vintage Spring Basics

Hello Maja friends! One thing I love about this ~~obsession~~, er, hobby of mine is that I get to play with paper. I absolutely love to find new ways, either by my own accord or gleaning from the mega-talent that’s out there (like my team mates!) to manipulate paper into something beautiful.Today I’m going to show you how I make medallions, and how, in getting inspiration from others, you can add a bit of pizzazz to the design. First, here’s a look at the finished product:I‘m using Maja Design’s Vintage Spring Basics for my theme. I’m in love with the soft yellows of the March papers. To start, you need a scoring board, stylus, paint brush, pearl paint and coarse glitter. Cut a 1 & 1/2″ inch strip off of 12″ patterned paper. I used 1st of March-bs paper. Score paper at 1/4″ increments. I make the pleats a little bigger so that the glitter will be more visible.

Accordion fold paper, but not too tightly because we have to paint it and add glitter.Paint about 1/2″ inch from the bottom. I do this so that the white fades to soft yellow going towards the center. Be generous with the paint because…While it’s still wet, we’re going to sprinkle it with coarse glitter.Glue the ends together to make a circle.I use clips to hold it in place until the glue is dry.I attach the paper to cardboard so that it holds up better. I don’t want the paper to pop up from the card, so I also use lots of glue. I have tried hot glue in the past but not only do I burn myself everytime, it’s messy and I don’t have as much ‘play with it till it’s right’ time.Now I attach that whole panel to my base.I want to cover up both the seam and the middle so it looks like the color fades in then out.This is what happens when you sneeze while sewing. Good thing it’s a shabby card because then it looks like I did this on purpose. 🙂I use EVERY PART of my Maja papers, including the name strip. This ‘post card’ paper is the back of the 1st of March sheet. I layered that upon a strip of the front of said sheet, then a piece the backside of the 7th of April. I added a little pearl to the middle for interest.

Another pretty thick card, you’re going to need a box and a wee bit of extra postage to mail this one.Ancillary details are the Zva Creative flourishes, lace/button/hemp accent and the cluster of flowers at the bottom. I also accented both the card base and the medallion with White Opal and Buttercup Liquid Pearls.

Thanks for spending some of your time with me today…I hope you’ll try this out!

Vintage Spring Basics…Call to Me

Posted by Andrea Ewen

28 March, 2013 - Cards, Vintage Spring Basics

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Hello Maja friends! By now you’ve seen some wonderful samples of the new Vintage Spring Basics by my fabulous team mates. I’ve got one to add to the show as well, this card is using the ‘May’ styles…full of delicate, pastel color and soft, ethereal designs:This card specifically features the 5th of May (both sides) and the 7th of May. In real life, the colors are a cross between the softest of pinks and subtle hints of plum. Therefore I added both colors to my card, pink with the flowers, satin ribbon and pearls and plum with the background papers and the iridescence of the crystals. The white flowers also have a pink/plum sheen to them. I added several mats (5 to be exact) and a small dotted scallop border across the top. The sentiment panel is a Floral Oval beneath a Labels Eighteen die. I sponged the inside of the top die with Pale Plum ink and stamped the verse in Cocoa ink. I also added a perimeter of liquid pearls for a bit more elegance. Here’s a view to show you the dimension…(aka not easily mailable! )I also added Pennant Trim die border to the bottom of the lace panel and adhered a Swarovski crystal to each banner. Included as well are several Zva pearl lines across the horizontal lace panel.

Here’s a glimpse of the lovely papers contained in this collection:

Thanks so much for stopping by…hope you have a wonderfully creative day!

Life in the Country…You’re So Sweet

Posted by Andrea Ewen

14 March, 2013 - Cards, Life in the Country

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Morning Maja friends! Hope you’re having a great day so far. I just returned home from a week long vacation in Florida, USA and though I had a wonderful, relaxing time…I couldn’t wait to get back into my stamp room again! I drew my inspiration for today’s card from Maja Design’s Life in the Country collection. I am so attracted to the soft floral prints and the lovely patterns. So I put this card together and added a bit of ‘snow’ for a little extra appeal. Take a look:

YoureSoSweetMajaclean031413 Most of the edges are distressed with a paper distresser. I did stitch the middle panel with my sewing machine after adhering the ‘Summerbreeze’ paper to the kraft. That panel was attached to the back side of the ‘Read a Book’ paper. I added two more columns of said design underneath the sentiment as well. The row of buttons are sprinkled with more glitter and attached to a length of ‘In the Hammock’ paper. The seam binding bow was first crinkled, then tied. I then added a small hemp bow and a button locket. That was then tied over a strip of cluny lace. After all was said and done, I dabbed some tacky glue with my finger on certain parts of the card and sprinkled the snow glitter.

Here are a couple of close-ups of the ‘snow’ and bow/button details:

The sentiment has a bit of sparkle added to it, you can see that effect in the picture below, along with the chunky glitter accents:

Here’s a sampling of the lovely papers included in the Life in the Country collection:

Thanks so much for sharing a part of your day with me! Hope your day is wonderfully crafty!

A Whole Lotta Thanks

Posted by Andrea Ewen

28 February, 2013 - Cards, It’s Christmas time

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Hello Maja friends! I’ve got two project to share with you today, one card and one tag. They do share some similarities, both are using Maja Design’s It’s Christmas time collection and they both share the art of ‘thanks’. I like to make a lot of thank you cards as of all the card sharing occasions, I think that gratitude is the most important. Everyone has Christmas, a birthday, Easter, etc. by design. Sharing a card with someone to thank them is an active occasion, an occasion that came to be because of the thoughtfulness of another. That’s what I like to celebrate. So, in light of my fondness for gratitude, here are a couple of projects:

And here’s a tag using the same papers:

I used the It’s Christmas time collection, specifically The Perfect Gift, The Perfect Gift (bs), Christmas Shopping and Sparkle (bs) papers. I tend to lean towards neutral or pale colors and usually add lots of flowers. The first card is a mix of fabric and paper flowers, thick jute, pearls and tulle. I also added some vintage lace, a border punch and some Zva Creative pearl swirls. The tag consists of just one paper flower, some Antique copper brads, vintage lace and some Zva Creative Iridescent pearl flourishes. I love the fact that even though Christmas is now a distant memory…I can keep on using these papers throughout the year!

I want to thank you for stopping by today and sharing a bit of your time with me…I certainly do appreciate it. Consider these creations virtual thank you cards to you!

Good Things Are Going to Happen

Posted by Andrea Ewen

14 February, 2013 - Cards, Life in the Country, Ska Vi Ta En Fika?, Vintage Summer Basics

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Good day, blog friends! Happy Valentine’s day to those of you who celebrate this special day with your loved one(s)! I have found that most of us card makers do not actually give cards to others (me!), even on these ‘card-giving’ occasions. One of the reasons is that most of my cards are very thick and cannot be mailed without a box. I have to say, though, if I’m going to see the person, I will hand-deliver a handmade card. Speaking of thick cards, this one is no exception! I used Maja Design’s lovely ‘Life in the Country‘ collection of papers and followed Mojo Monday’s design:

I used Summer breeze, Sowing Seeds (bs), In the Hammock (bs) and Close to the Lake (bs) from Life in the Country. I distressed all the edges and added a bit of stitching to the inner panels. The flower accent consists of a crocheted flower, a Baker’s Twine bow, paper flowers and a Zva Creative crystal flourish. The sentiment is from Verve’s Brighter Days set.

Here is another card I made, more on the ‘Clean and Simple’ side for me, using Vintage Summer Basics 1935 (bs) paper. Featuring a few of my favorite things… paper flowers, Zva Creative crystals and some added lace, tulle accents and a paper doily:

Lastly, I have two projects I made both with the same theme, however one is a tea bag holder by itself and the second one is a card with the tea bag holder adhered to the card base. Both creations feature the Ska vi ta en fika collection:

The twine bow keeps the cover closed, so when that’s untied, the flap lifts up and there is a bag of tea inside.

I thought this was a cute gift for a friend. I used Lejas cafe, Kaffe tack, En kopp te, Havrerutor – bs papers.The stamps are courtesy of Paper Sweeties. I expounded on this idea and added the holder to a card, pictured below:

These papers are Cheesecake – bs,Två fröknar & Två fröknar – bs. Lots of pearls on this card, both solid and liquid, some more lace and the trinket in the middle was pulled off of a discarded Christmas ornament. I simply colored the gemstone with a purple Copic marker to match the papers. I like the fact that I could fold over the top flap of the tea bag holder and the back is a wonderfully coordinated pattern to go with the whole card. I have to say that I just love my Maja papers!

Thanks for joining me today!