Today is the day I get to share my CHA Echo Park booth projects with you all! Yes, I have been talking about it a lot on my FACEBOOK PAGE and now I can stop yappin' about it and actually show you all! After I tell you all a little story..
I was contacted on July 6th asking if I would be able to design some projects for Echo Park Paper to show at CHA... I wish you all could have seen my face when I read that email! I was SO stinkin' excited and could not believe they would contact ME, let alone read my blog.. I mean, who am I?...
I replied back saying I would.. I mean, WHO would turn that down? A crazy person, that's who! Then, before I heard back about my deadline, I thought to myself, "Gee, isn't CHA THIS month?".. Ummm, yeah. *panic begins to set in*.... I was told that they needed my projects by the 14th.. *gulp*... AND they still needed to ship me the paper! *double gulp*.... I told myself, "You've got this, Tamara!"... (I really did say that.... Psssh! Don't try to pretend you don't talk to yourself!) So, I got a big box of awesomeness on July 8th in the evening and immediately got busy! As soon as I saw the GORGEOUS paper I was inspired to create! In TWO FULL DAYS I got done.. I was pretty amazed! I shipped them all out on July 11th.. which is an AMAZING day for me.. Not only did I get done super fast and knew my projects would arrive in time, but that evening I was asked to be on their in house design team!
Just imagine, if you will, a crazy woman running through the house screaming like a half pig, half duck.. being strangled. Kinda like, "Quuuuuack.. ah-ah-ah-ah *gasp*..snort, ah- *gasp* ah-ahhhh-.. Quuuuack".. "Snort"...
My husband asked what my problem was.. and you know what?.. If HE thinks I'm having an 'issue' then it's seriously disturbing!
So yeah, I am excited to say the least! It's a lot different than any other DT I've ever been on and I don't want to get into too many details, but it's super-doooper! If you want to meet the other SUPER talented design team members, head on over to the BLOG!
And you get something out of it too.. what?.. PAPER KIT GIVEAWAY'S! Yes, I will be giving away some of the newest kits here on my good ol' blogity-blog here and there! Yeah, buddy! And I get to give one away NOW!! (See below my projects for details!)
OK.. now that I got that outta my system, time for CHA projects and to get down to business!
*breathe in.. breathe out*.... (Seriously, I'm such a child! I feel like such a celebrity right now... LOL! )
So, first off, if you're not already following Echo Park's BLOG or 'like' their Facebook Page, then you might have missed out on peeks of some bea-U-tiful new lines! I'm talking about Victoria Gardens and Apothecary Emporium! "Hellooo000oo, GORGEOUS!"
<~~~~~~ LOVE!
These were two of the three lines I got to work with! I knew right when I saw Apothecary Emporium on Facebook that I wanted to make some test tube type of project with them. I had two tubes laying around and decided to make my own SVG file to hold them (which will be a free download during my Blogiversary Bash) and decorate it with the cool stickers that come in the kit! I will admit, I don't usually use stickers, just never really thought to. But these were SO fun!
I used a lot of pewter ink from Color Box! A great color for Halloween stuff (So is black, white and silver!)
Those little stickers fit just right on top of the test tubes!
I stuck some of the stickers on cardstock and cut them out. I then distressed and inked the edges. You can do so much with these stickers alone! These would be great with some Reese's Pieces or black and orange jelly beans in them! The twine shown is from the awesome Trendy Twine! How awesome is that black and orange?! I think it's a limited edition, so you might want to go snag some while you can! Go like her Facebook page and let her know I sent ya!
Think that's neat? Well, this is my FAVORITE! I had visions of doing something like this since LAST Halloween when I first started crafting, I just had no idea where to start! I tackled this and LOVE how it came out. I was sad to ship this one off, for sure! I will have to make another one!.. or at least the hat! The hat is a paper mache cone that I got wet and shaped at the top. I dried it and Mod Podged the paper to it!
I hope you like that vintage crinkle ribbon! I will be giving some away for my Blogiversary!
I used Recollections brand glitter and it works just as nicely as the Martha Stewart stuff...
The photo above shows how I added glitter to the wire holding the bats. It looks awesome in person with black and silver glitter on various elements!
I will share tips on how I made this in the next few days! :) It's a lot of fun!
Next up, is the Victoria Gardens collection. When I first saw this I had so many ideas coming to me and wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Then, I remembered a PDF file I saw awhile back to make a very small carousel.. that was it! I HAD to make a vintage looking paper carousel! The PDF was way too small to make any sort of template from so I created my own files in Sure Cuts a Lot from the basic shapes library and a mix of SVG files and created this...
Can I just say I am dang proud of this beauty!? It's a GIFT BOX! The top section and bottom section are both boxes. I built this thing as if I was building myself a house! lol.. I was very careful with placement and measurements. The center column is stuffed with packing paper and dowel rods for support. I actually had a lot more flowers and things cut out and realized if I went 'overboard' it would have been too much since it was such a large piece as is. Again.... 98% of this was made with the SCAL basic shapes library! I will share more about how I made this in a few days.
Don't those papers totally MAKE the project?.. That roof was a total pain to make! I had to use some rusty math skills to create it!
And, last but not least! The 'secret' paper I got to work with! Happy Days... how fun and cute are these papers?
I decided to go fairly simple with a neat 3D project. Sadly, I didn't get very many photos of this since I got sidetracked and then ran out of time. When I saw these papers I immediately thought 'diner'.. So, I made an 'EAT' sign with 3D letters!
The dice were a last minute add for that extra something special. You can make a menu and use this to hold it, cool, huh?! Most of this project is made from files at SVG Cuts!
And there you have it! Again, I worked so hard on these! Most of you who read my blog know I love to make 3D projects... and that hat box and carousel really show 'me'. I don't usually have time to go all out like I like to.. I hope I got a few of you to say, "WOW!".. :) I had so much fun working on these! I love starting a project and just going for it! And then to be picked up for Echo Park's design team after all this! I am truly blessed! This past *almost* first year of paper crafting has been AMAZING for me!
Now, for my giveaway...
Wait, did I mention I am now on ECHO PARK PAPER'S DESIGN TEAM??!!... I did? Oh, well.. in case you forgot or something.. *wink*
*insert big cheesy grin here*
OK.. PAPER TIME!
Let's begin the happy dance!!!
First of all, If you are just now seeing the new lines here on my blog, here are the rest! Pretty Christmas lines!
(These do not ship for awhile still, so you will not be able to win one of the Christmas lines.. YET!..)
Today I am giving away your choice of Happy Days, Apothecary Emporium OR Victoria Gardens!
To enter and win all you have to do is comment on this post and tell me what your FAVORITE project of mine was and what new paper line you'd like to win!
Facebook - 'Like' me on FACEBOOK! I LOVE new followers and you will not want to miss upcoming projects and giveaways (some limited to Facebook only!)
And if you want.. stop by Echo Park's Facebook Page and tell them what you thought of the new paper lines! I'm sure they love the positive feedback on their amazing products! Also, stop by their BLOG for more photos and CHA chatter and to meet the design team!
Thanks for getting through this looong blog post! I hope you enjoyed my projects!
Toodles!
I love your EAT sign and the little dice that you put with them! So fun! That is my favorite project, but very hard to pick with the other great things you made! I would love to win Happy Days, but I don't have any of them, so any would be great! You can't go wrong with Echo Park!
Posted by: Angela A | 07/19/2011 at 07:14 AM
All of your projects are AMAZING! All of your details are so perfect! I hope that once you take a bit of a rest you do a tutorial on the witch's hat! Congrats on being asked to design for Echo Park - I can't wait to see what else you come up with! Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Lauren Brewer | 07/19/2011 at 07:17 AM
wow! what great stuff you did!
my favorite also is the eat sign!
i would love to win happy days, i LOVE LOVE EP!
thanks so much for the chance to win
Posted by: renee griffith | 07/19/2011 at 07:20 AM
I just love them all!! I would have to go for the carousel and Victoria garden paper. This one is pretty and delicate.
Posted by: Angie Boswell | 07/19/2011 at 07:20 AM
Wow Tamara you have blown me away with your amazing projects! Of all of them I say the carousel is my fave! Honsetly though they were all amazing and it's hard to choose which I like best. A HUGE congrats on making the DT!! That is some big news! It's a toss up between Happy Days and the Victorias Gardens for me. I love them both!
Posted by: Kasi | 07/19/2011 at 07:21 AM
Tamara! This is so amazing! And you sure busted it out super fast. I love it all. My little girl will go ga-ga over the carousel. The Halloween one is awesome, too. The Happy Days paper is great, too. I am going to be staying at the Disney Pop Century resort next month and it will be perfect when I get around to scrapbooking it.
Posted by: Donna O'Neil | 07/19/2011 at 07:25 AM
OMG I love the carousel!!! You are extremely talented!!! I would love to win Victoria Gardens!!!
Posted by: cela messenger | 07/19/2011 at 07:27 AM
My favorite project has to be the witch's hat! However all of these projects are just AMAZING!!! I am so very impressed by everything you come up with. You have so much talent!!
I'd love to win Victorias Garden...such pretty paper!
Christy
triathletecece@yahoo.com
Posted by: Christy Miller | 07/19/2011 at 07:28 AM
LOVE these projects! Wow! You did such a great job! Can't wait for details!
Posted by: Cheryl Warren | 07/19/2011 at 07:29 AM
Tamara....I love all of these great designs. I think my favorite, though, is the EAT sign with the Happy Days paper. I'm from that era :-) and perhaps that is why. You made me think of the many eateries Hubby and I visited way back when. Congratulations on being picked to be on Echo Park Papers Design Team. You surely deserve it.
Posted by: Lorna Mae | 07/19/2011 at 07:33 AM
Hi Tamara! I've come to your blog by way of the EP FB page, and boy I'm glad I did! I can see why they asked you to be on their DT - you projects are nothing short of amazing! And I am blown away by the fact that you did them in such a short period of time - WOW!!!! I love each and every one of them, so I really can't choose a favourite. My favourite new paper line is 'Happy Days' so because of that I will pick your fantastic 'EAT' project as my 'favourite'. Huge congrats of making the team, they are super lucky to have you. Hugs from your newest follower! xx
Posted by: Simonne (aka Semsee) | 07/19/2011 at 07:33 AM
Carousel is amazing!!! Victoria Gardens is one of the most beautiful paper stacks I have ever seen!
Posted by: Becki Morefield-Wagner | 07/19/2011 at 07:33 AM
I love it...thanks for sharing your ideas, they are always just incredible what you do with paper...wow keep up the great work, have fun
Posted by: Katie | 07/19/2011 at 07:36 AM
I LOVE the Halloween Hat. That is just amazing. All of your projects make me say "WOW". You have a great eye for mixing and matching papers that is so pleasing.
I would love the Happy Days paper. It is so cheerful.
Congrats on making the DT, you deserve it.
Posted by: Amy Neil | 07/19/2011 at 07:40 AM
OMG these are all amazing! The test tube holder had to be my favorite project, you know the way to a nerd's heart ;-) While I'd love to win all the paper, I'd have to pick the Victoria Garden first, then go buy the rest later :-) Congrats on the DT, I can only imagine how excited you must be.
JessicaL
http://craftyrktsci.blogspot.com
Posted by: JessicaL | 07/19/2011 at 07:44 AM
You are AMAZING! They are all fabulous, but I think my favorite is the "EAT" sign! I would LOVE to win the Holly Jolly Christmas Paper. Thanks so much for the chance :)
Posted by: Jenny | 07/19/2011 at 07:47 AM
My favorite was of course the vintage carousel! I would love to win Victoria Gardens! ;) I also really love the witch's hat, and I'm not even a huge fan of Halloween. Great job on all o your projects and congratulations on EP design team!
Posted by: Becci Manies | 07/19/2011 at 07:59 AM
Oh my goodness! Wow!! You are one talented lady! I knew when I found your blog a long time ago that you were special.. Congrats on making the DT! You deserve it after all that hard work, they are lucky to have you! I have to say all of these projects are just amazing..I think the witches hat is my favie, I can already picture all the projects I can make with those Halloween papers! Thanks for the chance to win! :)
Posted by: Joanna bandelin | 07/19/2011 at 08:01 AM
OMG-I have to pick ONE??!!? I love the Halloween stuff and will be watching for details on the hat-I need a centerpiece for a Halloweeen-themed dinner.
BUT..I have to go with the "EAT" letters! I'm already thinking about how, once I get my hands on that paper pack, I will be making those for my kitchen. I have a retro look going on in there and something like this would look great!
Posted by: Jennifer Palmer | 07/19/2011 at 08:12 AM
I absolutely love the new Happy Days paper (well I Love all of them). But my very special neighbors of 20 years opened up their 3rd "Happy Days" Diner and I would love to your projects for them. It would thrill them to death! Congrats on making the design team! I would be floating on air!
Posted by: Genece Wicks | 07/19/2011 at 08:13 AM
They're all such great projects, but I especially loved the Fright Night Treats! I'd love the Happy Days paper, ooh all the things I could do...
Posted by: Patricia | 07/19/2011 at 08:18 AM
I LOVE Victoria Gardens & what you did with it :) So pretty! I follow you & Echo Park already on FB. Nice projects! Can't wait to get my hands on new supplies for them :) Thanks for this!
Posted by: Megan Karetny | 07/19/2011 at 08:19 AM
Oh my goodness. I LOVE the Halloween stuff so I would definitely want the Apothecary Emporium. How have I never seen this line of paper before. Heading over to their website now...
Posted by: Michelle | 07/19/2011 at 08:19 AM
All of your projects are fantastic! The Halloween witch hat really knocked my socks off! Great paper all around! They are lucky to have you! Congratulations!
Posted by: Alishia Irvin | 07/19/2011 at 08:26 AM
WOW!! you are one TALENTED lady... All your projects are just great!! Congrats on being selected to be on the DT..you certainly deserved it
Posted by: Linda Mortenson | 07/19/2011 at 08:27 AM