A froggy hello with Not Just Frames

 Hi friends!

Today I am sharing my first project with you as an affiliate for . I chose this adorable frog which goes perfectly with my summer. I have so many frogs and toads in my garden and I love it when I find them. For summer, I love bright, bold, and sometimes neon colors. 

The kits are pretty easy to put together and personalize how you would like. I love these laser cut pieces because the end result always looks clean and crisp. This particular one has many pieces as each other shown is a different piece. It's fun to piece it altogether. 

I pull out all the pieces and start to choose colors. I know there will be pink. I pick out a handful of colors that I enjoy for summer. 

I know I won't use them all but it's a starting point. Originally I thought I would do the flowers in different colors but I ended up using this dark purple-ish color that I really like. 

I knew it would go really nice with a green frog. 

These are the colors I chose. The black for the eyes was colored with an alcohol marker. I did paint each piece with white gesso (you can use white paint) before I added color. I don't always do that but when I am using light colors or I really want the colors to stand out the best they can, I find that a primer is best on the wood.

  As you can see, I just use what I have. I have a mix of finishes and brands. I am big on using things I have and making them work. Really you cannot tell there are different finishes. The "Top Notch" brand is a Joann's brand. I do love the colors they carry but I feel like I have to use about 3 coats to get a good finish with them and that does annoy me.

After I painted all the pieces, it was time to glue. 

I prefer Titebond for all my wood gluing, it never has failed me. 

I don't have any wood clamps in my studio and I'm too lazy to go down the garage to grab some so I use my paperweight to hold the pieces while the glue sets. I collect fun paperweights and use them all the time in my studio. 

Once they are all glue in, I let it dry overnight. I attach a string loop to hang with some hot glue. For this piece, I didn't want to add any additional ribbon or greenery which is popular. I love this design so much that I didn't want to add anything to it. 

~Paula

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Please Note: This post contains product links so you can easily find any supplies and/or tools you may be interested in. As an Amazon Associate and a Not Just Frames affiliate, I may be compensated for a purchase made using my link. However, no additional cost is extended to you. The other links are just to help guide you in the right direction. I am not affiliated with those companies but I encourage you to shop small businesses as much as possible. 

(afil) Link to Frog Kit

(afil) Link to Not Just Frames 

CRAFT Challenge #717

 Hi friends,

This week on the CRAFT Challenge Blog the theme is: Anything Goes or Recycle.

The sponsor is SheepSki Designs <=== please check them out

I chose to use My Pad  <=== you can purchase it here

I printed out the design and used Silhouette Studio's Print & Cut feature to cut it out on my Cameo.

I had the idea to emboss the background paper with a wavy design but when I did I felt it was kind of boring so I came up with this layered design just to add some interest. The embossing folder is by Darice.

 

I decided to use watercolors for the frog and lily pad. I'm pretty excited with all the shading. I added some details with pens. 

 

 

The sentiment is embossed with a glitter embossing powder but I totally forgot to use anti-static powder and the glitter went a little haywire. I always have the stuff right by me when I am embossing and I forget to use it most of the time and usually regret it. I decided to be okay with it here as it adds some pizzazz to the sentiment banner. 

I think it turned out to me a super cute summer birthday card. What do you think?

~Paula

Please Note: This post contains product links so you can easily find any supplies and/or tools you may be interested in. As an Amazon Associate, I may be compensated for a purchase made using my link. However, no additional cost is extended to you. The other links are just to help guide you in the right direction. I am not affiliated with those companies but I encourage you to shop small businesses as much as possible.