June, 2021 Altenew Mixed Media Blog

While sorting through old photographs I found a school photo of my daughter in sixth grade.

I did a double-take at the uncanny resemblance with how my granddaughter looks right now, also in 6th grade. Braces, long, dark hair, shape of their faces, and Grandma Houts’ eyebrows.

I texted the photo to my son-in-law and asked if there were any recent photos of my granddaughter that would show their resemblance. He couldn’t find one. So he and my granddaughter staged this photo with the exact pose, earrings and hairstyle. (Son-in-law extraordinaire.)

At the same time I was contemplating what I might do for Guest Hosting on Altenew’s Mixed Media Blog. Inspiration was found browsing our local antique store. And there was a gold kind of shabby chic picture frame. It had a mat that had some real possibilities. (25% off $4.00!). And a plan was coming together.

The words “Daughter” and “Granddaughter” from Family Matters were the perfect size to gold heat emboss on the mat. The mat background was then blended with Altenew’s Large Blending Brush and the same colors that had been used on the floral images.

Bountiful Bouquets and Die were on my desk just asking to be inked. This fabulous large set has a bouquet made up of individual stamps. It was perfect because it had a shabby chic style and would require less die cutting and assembling because it was a bouquet

It was stamped six times using the colors recommended inside the brochure that came with the stamp set. The six die cut pieces were then moved around and arranged until my eyes liked it.

I trimmed the stamped images to fit the mat. I was put in the frame with glass removed for picture-taking purposes.

Now, the moment of truth. This was to be a gift for my daughter. Now it will be a gift to her after I have enjoyed it in my studio. On the back of the frame I will write some sweet sentiments and a note to the two ladies in the pictures. I am blessed.

The shipping boxes from Altenew are so beautiful that I save every one. The floral design on the boxes is similar to the floral in Bountiful Bouquet. I made 3 bouquets for each box front. Now they’re even a little fancier . What gorgeous shabby chic storage boxes for the shelves in my studio!

I hope to meet you in a virtual or in-person class sometime soon. You will find my guest educator classes at least once a month on Bridget Casey’s Free Saturday Workshop. I teach a class on Zoom usually the second Wednesday of the month. I am thrilled to be teaching in-person classes at Tucson’s new scrapbook store, Bluemoon Scrapbooking.