Junk journal designs

While at lunch the other day I was inspired by a someone’s post about a quilting technique. (I’ll need to locate & post the link later..!) I’ve been wanting to create a junk journal for some time now, & have plenty of scraps to get started, but this neat idea for quilting a rose made me want to try out a junk journal with a fabric cover, so that I could sew on this style of rosé! Here’s the sketch I came up with using the Paper app on my iPad:

Using that same quilted rose idea, here are a few more (surprisingly girly/elegant for my own tastes) ideas I came up with — mostly just working out layout… It probably won’t turn out this…pink… If I were to create it.

That second one is NOT something I’m fond of…that layout bugs me to no end. However, in the interest of sharing my process, I’ve decided to share even the ones deserving of the bin. 😉 Perhaps it’ll be suitable if I played with that arrangement more…it’s just too….(shudder) centered. Where’s the rule of thirds in it?!?? Oh, well. I do like the last one, however.

I then got a bit side-tracked coming up with journal ideas… -_-;; (If you haven’t noticed by now, it’s difficult for me to stay on just one task..!) So, without further ado, here are more (Nintendork) sketches of journal ideas:

This Chomp Chomp one could use some more tweaking, as well…

I love the quilted look here. I’ll have to make this one cloth cover as well. 😉

Lastly, someone mentioned to me today that I should continue to use my full name for all of my work, even my blog, since I use it for everything else, so from here on out, I’ll sign off as I do for everything else! 😀

Cheers!!
— Elise M. Gross

P.S. Ehh…not sure…what do y’all think?

Paper craft rut!

Sorry for the delayed post, folks — I hope you all had a lovely Father’s Day weekend with all your Dads/Pops/Father/Grandpas out there!! We were quite busy here in Texas. 😉 Oh! Has anyone noticed the new banner? I originally put up our newly designed logo for 2 Geeks & a Grandma, but it looked so lonely after the cute little Pachyderm animals left, so I combined them. 😀 Tee-hee!!

I’ve been thinking about starting the scrapbook for me & my beau… we certainly have enough photos (though not as many with me in them, as I’m usually the one photographing.) Of course, if I do that, I’ll probably be busting out the Cricut at one point or another..! I usually cut things by hand & such, but about a year ago my family all pitched in & got me the Cricut Expression (er, I think that’s what it is? I’ll have to check later..!) Here it is in all of it’s glory:

Paper crafting essentials!

(Forgive the filters, that’s from my Instagram account..! Which, by the way, I am considering “re-opening”…thoughts??)

So, in thanks, I made each of the family who’d pitched in a specially-made card, just for them! My favourite one is actually one I made for my Uncle:

I used simple card stock sheets & scrapbook paper scraps! Cute, right?

Isn’t the envelop just fab? I felt it really added to the Asian theme of the oragami. 😀

The card front (and most of the inside) was created using scrap paper I had lying about (I can’t trash anything…my bane!) & the black was done with a super-fancy (wait for it…!) Sharpie! Haha! We roll high class in hea!

Lately I’ve been really itching to do some more paper crafting, & I’d really like to make some more items with my Cricut (poor thing doesn’t get as used as it ought to!) I’m just not sure what I want to make!! Most of my paper crafts are very large — like some amazing paper bird houses I made a couple of years ago…

Oooh…looks like I had an idea, now! I’ll have to do up a super amazing paper bird house tutorial! Yay!! ❤ Oh-oh!! And a journal!! I created some neat designs via the Paper app on my iPad recently…remind me to post them! ;D

What awesome paper crafting ideas do you guys think I should give a shot? It does not have to be done with a Cricut — I’m up for any challenge! I am soooo looking forward to some great ideas!

Cheers!!
–EL

Cross stitching QR code

This week has been pretty slow, so I’ve been thinking about something I can make for my sweetie pie! I’ve been pretty fascinated with both cross stitching & QR codes lately, so I thought I’d make a cute little lovey-dovey post card with a secret message! I went to a free QR code generator site & made a little message in QR code. I then printed it off, attached it to a nice bit of card stock & am just cross stitching right over it! I’m planning on tearing the paper right off after — we’ll see how that works…

Here’s a preview of it so far:

I had to create a grid over the QR code image using a ruler & pen.

I carefully remove the paper…

Voila! A beautiful QR code cross stitch! 😀

I think that next time I’ll try printing on something that doesn’t leave anything behind once removed, like tissue paper. There are still little bits of paper poking out from beneath the threads. I can get most of them, but it’ll take some time. Gah!

Time to go work on the rest!!!

Cheers!!
–EL

Wanna’ make a bet..?

Are you a gambling sort of gal (or man)?? Wanna make a bet with me? ;D If I win, you owe me a cooookieeee…!!
How many of you thought Bowser wasn’t real??? If you say he is merely fiction….then bust out the bakeware, fools!

BAM! Myrtle the Turtle, AKA Bowser, King of Koopa.

This abso-freakin-loutely adorable Bowser themed sweater was made by the amazingly talented Jennifer over at Squirrel Picnic. (To see how she did it, go here!)

This got me to thinking, though…what other super-amazing-awesome-Nintendork items have been created?? Being a die-hard Nintendo fanatic, I decided to take to the interwebs to discover what possibilities floated about the place!! I not only found some awe-inspiring art works, I also found some kick@$$ bloggers to follow!!
Here’s just a few of the retro-love goodies that I found:

Ooooooh, yeeesss….these stuffed toys of awesome are creations of the amazing human being, Steph, AKA: nerdJERK. Not only does she have some pretty stellar items — (she also has an Etsy shop! Yay!) — but she is, & I quote, “a genuine Human Awesomeness Advocate!” What amazing creations from such an amazing person!

Um…Mario themed sweater vest? Yes, please!

Not only is this sweater vest TOTALLY RAD, but it’s available as a FREE pattern!! I’m not one for knitting, so maybe one of you fine folk could make me one instead of a cookie (that you totally owe me!) ;D Hehe! I found this gem down at the blog of Happy Seamstress, a group of very talented (& quite amusing) ladies! They’ve hosted Nintendo themed craft contests before — I look forward to possibly entering in the future!! xD

DUCK. HUNT. LAMP.

Quite possibly one of the absolute coolest up-cycles I have ever come across, this duck Hunt lamp made from an old Duck Hunt cartridge & Nintendo Zapper is SO AMAZING I want to go out & make one of my very own right now!!! The artist is ___ of Estranged Illusions, & you can find their post about this lamp on their DeviantArt page.
I have loads of cartidges, most still usable, but a few not working….at the very least I’ll hit up the flea market (Trader’s Village, y’all!) & grab some extra cartridges & a zapper to do this myself. Just think of the many possibilities!! [dies of joy]

I’m going to go back to drooling over all these super finds, now..! Do any of you know of any other awesome Nintendo themed crafts I should check out??

Cheers!!
–EL

So many blogs, so little time!!

I made this & added it to the Goodies section ❤

So I’ve been looking for a way to follow all of these amazing blogs I keep coming across that aren’t on wordpress, & I really dislike RSS (it’s a personal thing. 😛 ) Luckily, I’ve come across an amazing site that lets me follow ANY BLOG EVER!! It’s bloglovin.com, & if you haven’t heard of it & you blog, go sign up!! I did, & I can now happily peruse my favourite bloggers all in one space. Huzzah!

Oh!! & if you have a blog of your own, you can even add your blog to your profile & link it — for example, you can follow my blog on bloglovin by going here!

Now, bear in mind that you can follow any blog, even if they’re not signed up to bloglovin, & you can use bloglovin to discover new blogs.

I just figured I’d share this since it’s so fun!! Do you guys know any other awesome blogs I should follow??

Cheers!!
–EL

Once Upon A Father’s Day

Father’s Day is coming!! Today I decided to put together a Father’s Day card for my Papa! I was inspired by a set of free graphics from somewhere online… (I honestly searched everywhere, but as I looked these up on another computer, I couldn’t even check my search history! I don’t know where these came from– if you know, please let me know! I had to sign up for their newsletter to download them, but I’ve yet to receive a newsletter, too…. )

Here’s a quick rundown of how this episode went: I started with my supplies…

There’s the cute graphics, which I printed on regular computer paper & then cut out (I wish I’d had something thicker, like card stock, but alas…) Then there’s the scrapbook paper (theme: The Once Upon A Time Stack), glue, & a pair of scissors/rotary cutter.

I had made some sketches earlier & put together the front based on those:

After the base, I added the final layers (I love stacking layers…such an effect..!)

I kept the little ribbons separated when I glued them to the back of that mustache graphic, & then curled the ends upward a bit for a 3 dimensional effect. I accidentally made the front a separate piece from the back of the card, but don’t fret!– I fixed it up so it looks intentional! ;D Here’s the inside before my message:

I added a bit of string to the tag graphic to make it look more like, well, a tag!

After message:

And the back of the card:

Gah! I forgot to take an image after I wrote on the back of the card! (I always draw a cute heart & write “MADE WITH LOVE” plus the date. Oh, well..)

Here’s the envelope I made using another piece of scrap booking paper from the Once Upon A Time Stack (I basically free handed & built the envelope around the card itself! Haha!)

And the front of the envelope:

Overall, I’m very pleased! :3 I hope he loves it!!

Until tomorrow,
Cheers!!
–EL