Alissa made these fabulous Father's Day cards, one for her dad and another for her grandfather. She put a picture of herself when she was little with each one of them inside the appropriate card; very sweet! Alissa used her Copic markers to color these stamped images . . . she's becoming as fascinated with Copic markers as the rest of us! By the way, more Copic marker colors have been ordered! And don't forget about the Copic Marker Class on Wednesday, July 20, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., taught by Susie and Deb K. If you're a Copic marker fanatic, or want to learn how to use these fabulous color markers, this class is a "must-do"!

by Alissa Peppley

by Alissa Peppley

Trying to make it a 'summer's busting out all over'  with color at Art 'n Soul, there are new papers from the K & Company Jubilee collection on the back 12x12 paper rack. They're quite inexpensive . . . 50-cents a sheet!

This paper has some embossing elements.

This paper has foil accents.

OMG . . . from the Graphic 45 blog . . . unbelievable!

"This next creation was made by Nancy Wethington. It's a gorgeous altered lifeguard birdhouse that features On the Boardwalk. This adorable and fun piece is another example of Nancy's amazing imagination and talent. She's even included a tutorial to help inspire you! This sweet house would make the perfect piece of summer home decor, as well as an amazing gift for someone you love! Here is what Nancy had to say about her techniques for creating this lovely little house.

Found this lifeguard bird house at my local craft store and immediately thought of On The Boardwalk Collection! I like to keep some type of centerpiece in the middle of my dining room table and thought this would be a good addition.

Started off by staining the entire house with watered down acrylic paints. Then got to work cutting up the words on Summer Crush to attach to the roof. Once that was done, I used the leftover Summer Crush and a punch to use the small circles on the edge of the roofline. Attached both the words and small circles with 3-in-1 glue. A bottle cap filled with Summer Crush and the Coney Island New York sign (also from Summer Crush) completed the rooftop.

Cut out a square of She Sells Seashells for the *water* and glued that to the bottom of the lifeguard house. Then adhered small strips of On The Boardwalk to the door frame and bottom of the house.

Next step was to add the people. Cut out the 3 men from Coney Island and adhered to one side with Glossy Accents. Added lots of Glossy Accents to the bottom and adhered a piece of driftwood to cover the missing arm and leg from the man standing on the right side. Then added sand to the bottom of their legs to make them look as if they're standing in sand.

Used one of the Bathing Beauties under the lifeguard house. Since I didn't want the back of the paper to show through the front, I added another piece of driftwood and adhered her to the driftwood. Added sand to the bottom of that vignette.

The lifeguard house needed a lifeguard so added the muscle man from On The Boardwalk. Adhered him to the front of the house and . . . you guessed it . . . added sand. I adhered all the sand in this project with Glossy Accents. Simply poured a lot of Glossy Accents to wherever I wanted sand, then sprinkled the sand on top and let dry before I took any of the loose sand away. If you pour on the sand and sprinkle off right away, you may have blank spots. So be patient and let it dry first.

Took the *to the beach* sign from High Style Holiday and, after attaching two brads, strung the sign to the side of the lifeguard house with roping. Added a bit of Stickles to the sign to give it some punch.

The last step was to string some fishnet around the lifeguard house, add more sand and a couple of pieces of sea glass and my project was complete."

Supplies:

Graphic 45: On The Boardwalk Collection: High Style Holiday; On The Boardwalk; Coney Island; She Sells Seashells; Summer Crush; Bathing Beauties

Ranger Glossy Accents
3-in-1 Glue
Martha Stewart scallop circle punch
EK Success small circle punch
Acrylic Paint: Simply Paint Turquoise; Americana Burnt Umber
We R Memory Keepers: Crop-a-Dile; eyelets
Miscellaneous: bottle cap; sand; fishing net; sea glass; birdhouse; rope

Look what came to visit on the dock this morning . . .

Perhaps our chances for sunnier and warmer days are becoming more reliable since we are entering our final week of June. While you're out and about, please be sure to stop in at the store . . . you make our days much brighter when you visit!