Graphic 45 Happy Haunting Collection #2

 

 

Graphic 45 Happy Haunting Collection

Created by Charlie LaBonte

for The Hens' Den

 

 

 

I am not much of a layout person but I really had fun with this one.  I had recently attended Ranger U and fell in love with grunge board and embossing powders.  I wanted to do something that would allow me to work with both mediums.  I think it turned out pretty cool.

 

 

I used 2 of Tim Holtz's Alterations Sizzix dies.  One was the Gothic Boo and the other one was the Word Play die. 

I painted them black(using Claudine Hellmut's Studio Paint "Black") and while the paint was still wet, I sprinkled Adirondack Embossing Powder "Terra Cotta" sparingly and heated the grunge board until the embossing powder had melted.  During this process, the grunge board curles up but then it relaxes and lays flat.  About the time it takes to get a good melt on the embossing powders.   When everything was nice and cool, I painted the edges with Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Paint "Traditional Tan". 

 

I just had to cut a gate in the fence line.  It just begged to be opened. You can see that I used a bit of purple to give some other color to the layout.  I used Tim Holtz's Distress Pen "Dusty Concord" and Rock Candy Stickles for the greeting.

 

 

 

 

This will be a very cool decor that I can hang every Halloween now.  Hummm.....it might even make a great gift.....

 

Hope you enjoyed your visit.  We have so many projects planned this month featuring Graphic 45's Happy Haunting Collection.  Be sure to comment on them all for a great chance to win  Day 2's post.  The winner will be selected from the comments that are posted and there is no limit on the number of comments you make. 

 

When your done, skip on over to our store and check out our goodies and be sure to post your project in our store gallery. We love to see the work you do.

 

Thanks for stopping by!!!!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Graphic 45 Happy Hauntings Collection

Graphic 45's Happy Hauntings Collection 2012

Created by Charlie LaBonte

For The Hens' Den

 

 

 

My husband and I were at a car show in Long Beach WA.  It is the weekend after Labor Day weekend that this small town gets so darn crowed, it amazes me every time we go that you can see anything at all.  They call it "The Run to the End of the World".   Hundreds of classic cars attend that show every year. If you are ever in the area, you should check it out. 

 

On our way back, we stopped at a "collectables" store and I fould this cute little blue chest.  Not sure what I would do with it, but is was coming home with me.

 

 

 

 

Then....we got Graphic 45's Happy Hauntings Collection in the store and I know what I would be doing with it.   I painted it black and added some hardware and then made a trip to Michaels and after a few hours of playing, I have my project done.

 

Here is what it looks like now.   I had so much fund making this.  Here are a few more pictures.

 

 

   We are featuring Graphic 45 and Happy Hauntings all month long and someone will get to win this.  Every day throughout October, we will be featuring different projects using this paper lie.   You will be amazed at some of the projects.  Some of them, it is hard to beleive they are using a Halloween line.   Details on how to win will follow. 

 

Thank you so much for stopping by.  Please visit our store The Hens' Den  and shop or post your projects in our gallery.  We would love to hear from you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



September News Letter for The Hens' Den

Open publication - Free publishing - More card making

Graphic 45 and Labor Day Weekend

Summer seems to be coming to an end.  Labor Day Weekend has always meant to me the last good 3 day summer weekend and then we move into the fall and winter.  I wanted to spend the weekend doing something I love.  CREATING.   I wanted to do this with no schedule in mine, no project or deadline in mind.  Just something for me.   If it turned out, YEAH.  It is ended up being a bomb, no biggie, it was for me and my use and no body would see it.   Best way to go at something, no expectations.

I found this wall shelf at Pole Barn Primitives (my fav place to snoop) and knew I wanted to do something really cool with it.  I took it home and stared at it for a while and then started looking at the paper I had and it came together. 

I have this supply of music note paper (for sale at The Hens' Den) and thought it would make a great foundation paper for the shelves and the inside walls of the shelf.  Using Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Matt medium, it was a messy job  but so FUN!!!. I love getting gooey.

Next, came the edges and I knew what I wanted to do...I had the perfect paper.  Graphic 45's Curtain Call paper line.   Love this line!!!   You can do so much with it.

 

 

This paper is the perfect balance with the music notes paper.

 

 

I really needed to do something with the front.  Adding flowers or ribbon would have made it look heavy and gaudy.   I found in my personal stash the last piece of half pearl ribbon (word used loosely).  There was not enough to do anything major with it but sticking with the "less is more" theory",   I cut it into equal parts and centered in the middle of each shelf rim.  The final result was rich and simple.  So far, I am liking what I have going!!!!

 

 

  Now onto the sides. Again, my fav Graphic 45's Curtain Call line.  Using one of the papers from the line, it became my base and then I started layering up from there.  I spent a bit amount of time fussy cutting out some of the other pieces and the results are below.

 

 



 

I am so excited about this being on my wall.  I am trying not to hurry with the pictures.  I am not good at taking them anyway, so this part is hard.  "SLOWING DOWN"....LOL.  Not a part of my style.

 

At this point, I think I am OK with posting this as my personal project.  I love the results.  It is so rich looking, at least to me.

 

It holds so much of my "stuff".  I am so Happy and it really looks good on my wall.  Everything is at each reach and is easy to see.   LOVE LOVE LOVE .   I was asked how long this took me. Well, this is how I measured the time:  I watched The Hunger Games and then all 4 episodes of the Twighlight Series.....lolololololo

 

I wish the glare was not there. I tried taking so many pictures but without the overhead lighting and my flash, you would be looking at a very dark picture.  Oh Well.   

Take time to nurture your inner spirit.  It does wonders for removing stress and setting your mind at ease.   This project cleaned up my desk area so much, I have an even happier place to play now.   I moved onto other project for a very big event that The Hens' Den Design Team will be working on during the month of September for October debut.  We will be playing with Graphic 45's Happy Haunting Collection.   Be sure to stay tuned and watch our blog (The Hens' Den Team) and our Facebook page, The Hens' Den.  Our October news letter will be a must have.  Email us at info@thehensden.com and give us your email and we will make sure you get a copy. You will see so many wonderful projects using this wonderful line!!!.

Have a safe and grand day!!!

August News Letter for The Hens Den

Open publication - Free publishing - More card making

Re-cap of Scrapbook Expo in Puyallup Washington

We just want to say a huge thank you to all of our loyal customers new and old that came by and visited all of us at the Scrapbook Expo in Puyallup, WA this past weekend! It was so great to see so many names we recognized from your online orders or the familiar faces from Facebook!!

 Photos of the mini book kit display above and 

below is the fun cabinet that displays all things Tim Holtz!

We had such a great time meeting you and seeing you come in and many those that came back sometimes three and four times!!

We loved hearing your feedback about how much you loved the booth! We really work hard on making you feel at home there!!

Also a big thank you to our helpers Elisha - Cheri's daughter and Shavanna Cheri's mother in law. They were a great help in the booth! And of course Glenn who ran more product up when we sold out, he's such a huge support!!

Break down of the booth is always so much fun, 

it took 8 hours to put it all up and 2 hours to take it all down!

Look for us this fall:

Scrapbook expo - October 19th & 20th, Portland OR

Creating Keepsakes Convention - November 9th & 10th, Bellevue, WA

Fancy Pants Country Boutique Give-a-way

The Hens Den is having a great give a way.  Country Boutique.  It is such a beautiful line and so perfect for so many events.  Stop by their blog and enter to win this beautiful collection



July News Letter for The Hens' Den

July 2012 News Letter div>

Open publication - Free publishing - More altered items

Graphic 45 Old Curiosity Shoppe by Charlie LaBonte

Graphic 45

 Old Curiosity Shoppe

Alter projcet by Charlie LaBonte

I found myself a few days ago at our local antique shop, Pole Barn Primitives and once again found a project that inspired me.    I was there again today and found my next project, but that will have to wait until later.

There, sitting on top of a lot of other goodies, was this old "'first aid" cabinet.  Ugly, paint peeling and rusted hinges and clasp all had to go.  

Oh, and that hole down the side.  I had to fix that as well.    First thing was to sand the entire cabinet and remove all the loose paint.  I did not want to sand to much because I wanted to leave all the imperfections on the wood alone.  I wanted all the dents and holes to remain.  They are part of the age of the cabinet.  After sanding the entire thing and removing all the hardware, it was time to fix the whole in the side of the of the cabinet.  Using thick chipboard, I made a template and cut 3 layers and glued them together and then nailed them in place.  Band aid in place. Now it was time to paint and I chose black.  It provides a dramatic look with any color combination.   Next step, applying the paper and embellishments.  I love Graphic 45 paper, it fits so many altered items.  The finished project............

Lots of Graphic 45 Olde Curiosity Shoppe Collection

Petaloo flowers and Tim Holtz goodies

Graphic 45 Metal Door Plate and Petaloo flowers

Petaloo flowers, Tim Holtz, Seven Gypsies, Teresa Collins Fabrication Linen Buttons and Brads

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Glass Vial

Graphic 45 Metal Butterfly with Ranger Inc Embossing Powders

 Prima Bling and Teresa Collins Brad from Fabrications Linen Collection

Petaloo flowers and Graphic 45 Ribbon

I used many methods of putting this together.  I used hot glue, double sided tape, Glossy Accents and Claudine Hellmuth Studio Extra Time.  

Products used:
Cabinet from Pole Barn Primitives

Graphic 45 Old Curiosity Shoppe

Graphic 45 Old Curiosity Shoppe Optical Oddities

Graphic 45 Metal Door Plate

Graphic 45 Metal Butterflies
Graphic 45 Stamped Metal Brads
Graphic 45 - Ribbons
Petaloo Flowers - Vine Spray
Petaloo Flowers - Black Velvet
Tim Holtz Idea-Ology - Corked Vials
Teresa Collins Fabrications Linen Brads
Teresa Collins Fabrications Linen Buttons
Glossy Accents
Scor- Pal Tape
Claudine Hellmuth Studio Extra Time
Therm - o - Web Pop Ups

I hope you enjoyed your visit and please remember to shop at The Hens' Den for your scrapbooking needs.

Happy Birthday To You!!!

June 13th 2012 is my birthday and I love gifts.   So.... My gift to you is 20% off your entire purchase at The Hens' Den between 6/13/2012 and 6/17/2012.   That's right, 20% off your entire order.  That is my birthday gift to you.   Have fun shopping!!!!  (exclusions - Sale items)

www.TheHensDen.com

Graphic 45 - Olde Curiosity Shoppe - Carousel

Graphic 45's

Olde Curiosity Shoppe Collection

Pig's do fly Carousel

Created by: Charlie LaBonte

A friend of mine gave me this "thing" and asked me if I could make a merry-go-round. Her husband was shocked that she would put something like this in the garbage, of all things.  LOL.  When I saw it, I new what I wanted to do, sorta.  I just did not know how to get it from my brain to the actual end results.  It was a challenge, I have to admit that.  It is not perfect, I learned alot during this process and that is the main thing.   I have the before, during and after pictures.  I hope you enjoy.

Before

I had no idea how I was going to "cover" that ugly thing on the top

During

I was not able to take this think apart, so everything was a struggle to make. Lots and lots of templates using copy paper. I mean LOTS!

These are wooden dowels that I bought and cut to the length needed.  Once I got the all assembled, I realized that they scrapped along the base to I had to do lots of sanding. LOTS of sanding on the ends to make them just skim the surface of the base. 

I had all the dowels in and realized that I forgot to paper the center and had to take them all out again.  Learn as you go.

There were so MANY steps to makeing this, but I just could not take that many pictures.  There were a few hours spent makeing the template for the top and lots of frustration.  But in the end, I think it turned out ok.  Like I said, I learned a lot making this project

After

There are so many things I would do differently if I were to do this again, but for my first real challenging project, I think I did ok.

Products Used:

Olde Curiosity Shoppe - When Pigs Fly

Olde Curiosity Shoppe - Exquisite Motif

Olde Curiosity Shoppe - Parlor Wall

Olde Curiosity Shoppe - Mercurial Masterpiece

Olde Curiosity Shoppe - Optical Oddities

Olde Curiosity Shoppe - Olde Curiosity Shoppe

May Arts Ribbon - 3 Tone Black, Cream and Brown

Tim Holtz Distress Marker - Mustard Seed

Tim Holtz Distress Marker - Black Soot

Tim Holtz Distress Marker - Faded Jeans

Tim Holtz Distress Marker - Picket Fence

Ranger Stickles - Midnight Blue

Claudine Hellmuth - Studio Paint Classic Teal

Claudine Hellmuth - Studio Extra Time

Ranger Adirondack Dabber - Pool

Scor-Pal Double Sided Tape

I hope you ejoyed and please be sure to shop at The Hens' Den

June News Letter For The Hens Den

Open publication - Free publishing - More cards

Mission Small Business - We need your help

Mission Small Business Voting Link

We are applying for a grant for The Hens' Den.  This $250,000 grant will allow us to open a store front and with so many small business needing help, we need yours.  Please follow the link above and vote for The Hens' Den  Rochester WA