HOPE ~ created for the ePicks Team Challenge

Hi!  Sue Lelli here and My layout is all about HOPE.

I am playing along with our ePicks Team Challenge ~ HOPE hosted by Andipants!

I LOVE these resin Angels that I painted with Silks Acrylic Paints by Splash of Color.

The colors I used are Emperor's Gold for the wings and African Jade (which I toned down a little with Gesso to match the paper) for the letters.

Here is my layout and it is all about my friend's tiny little 2 month old baby boy who needs open heart surgery:



I used the photo from the actual baby announcement and built my page using Prima Elements that help me tell his story. The title Hope just says it all.

Here is a close up of the hearts (on the Prima "Princess Paper") I outlined with a Sakura Glaze pen. I used metal and wood gears and clocks with the hope that they can get his heart working again. See the tiny little plane on the clock? The family is waiting to hear when they can fly him to Boston Children's Hospital to have his surgery. I also used a lot of stitching to represent mending his heart.

Here's his Beautiful little face surrounded by more heart gears and time pieces and a wood Prima flower to represent Florida where he lives along with a butterfly made of cork. Can you see the tiny clothespin? Even that has the word Hope on it. The ruler is to measure his growth because hopefully, when the surgery is a success, he will grow into a fine young man.

Some photos of my process:

I LOVE this Prima Doily Stencil! I used it to apply my embossing paste and later my Silks paint.

The embossing paste looked so COOL for my background but I thought it needed a little color.

I painted the stenciled pattern with Silk Paint in African Jade mixed with Gesso and added outlines to the hearts with my Sakura Glaze pen.

I hope you like my layout. Creating is how I cope with the emotions of life. I'm not sure I will give this to his parents. I am going to wait and see how he does with surgery and maybe I'll change the word to LOVE and frame it for them to put in his room. But right now, I am filled with HOPE and prayers.

I HOPE you get inspired and come play with our eP Team Picks Challenge ~ HOPE.  You can win a $15 gift certificate to the eP store!!!

HEARTS ~ January Get Altered Challenge!

Hi everyone. Happy New Year! It's Sue Lelli here and I am hosting the January Get Altered Challenge at eclectic Paperie. The eP Get Altered challenge begins the first Thursday of each month and is an opportunity to explore your creative journey, step outside your comfort zone, and experiment with new products and techniques. It's all about having fun while creating altered and mixed media art with a chance of winning a $15 gift certificate to the eclectic Paperie  shop.

I chose to use a Wendy Vecchi - Studio 490 - Art Parts Hearts Love & Stars kit shown at the end of my post to make my heart wall hanging.

I am going to show you heart by heart details and then some of my process at the end. (LOTS of photos!)

This is the largest heart, star, and LOVE word. I used Tim Holtz distress paints, a Prima Donna Downey Damask Stencil, and Wendy Vecchi White embossing paste to make this heart. The pink ribbon is from a Victoria's Secret bag!

Here's a close up photo so you can see the embossing paste better ~ LOVE!

Here are the center stars and beads and gems.

Another close up. The text is a Christmas Tim Holt stamp set. I LOVE the font and it doesn't matter that it's Christmas because you can't read it! LOL!

On my last heart I used Wendy Vecchi's Studio 490 translucent embossing paste. LOVE how it adds texture but you can see the paint colors through it! I also added A Wendy Vecchi Blossom Bucket natural heart that I painted white.

Some Process Photos:

I gessoed the hearts and stars so they would hold the paint.

I applied Tim Holtz Distress Paints to my small craft sheet.

Here they are after I dragged them through the paint ~ LOVE the marbeling effect!

Here is a page in a journal where I wiped my left over paint for a future project ~ NEVER waste this FAB paint!

I stamped text randomly.

I applied white Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 embossing paste through a Prima Donna Downey Damask Stencil for my large heart,

and Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 translucent embossing past to my smaller heart. It looks white when first applied but dries clear as I showed you in a previous photo. LOVE!

Here is what the kit looks like when you purchase it with an example of what you could make.

Here is what my desk looked like as I was putting my wall hanging together. You are only limited by your imagination plus I have enough pieces left over to make a couple more things! This kit is FUN and I love how easy it is to make holes in it with the Crop a dile. Cuts like butter!


Now go get out your hearts and alter something! Then link it to the eclectic Paperie's Get Altered Challenge and be entered to win a $15 gift certificate to the EP Shop!