Helmar Creative Team

Mini Calendar Stand

Vicki-Ann here today and I wanted to start by saying Happy New Year!

 I grabbed a calendar to have on my desk that has a different quote for every day of the year. I just love to add quotes to my art in my art journal so thought this would be a great calendar for me. I had this great little stand that I thought would work perfect to hold the calendar. I wanted to make it so it matched with my other desk caddy that I made last year. Even though the calendar is on a stand it is quite flimsy and I kind of like it on my very sturdy little stand that now matches my desk caddy perfectly. 

First I gently sanded all the edges of the wooden pieces and painted one side with Gesso.

I then painted one side of each piece and all the edges with DecoArt Sea Breeze Americana paint.

I gathered up my box of scrap bits of collage. Copies of my art work and collage sheets from The Artstronauts club and looked for all the tiny miniature ones that I could find. As the little holder is only small, big pictures would get lost. I cut and placed the pieces on top just roughly to see what they look like. I then grabbed the Helmar Decoupage craft paste and using the glue spreader, spread glue on the unpainted side of the wood pieces and then on the back of the piece of collage to be glued. Then you scrape on top so it is nice and flat and well stuck.  I waited for all of it to dry then I inked the edges with some distress ink.

Then I glued the wood pieces together with Helmar Tacky Craft Glue making sure to glue along the side and in the slots at the bottom. 

My desk caddy is still as strong as the day I made it so by doing it this way, it works fabulous. 

I then sprayed it all with the Helmar Crystal Kote Matte to seal it and stop it from fading. 

You could also use this stand to hold a small album or just a card that you would like on display.

I got these mini stands on a clearance sale 2 for $1.

They are made by Kaisercraft don't you love when you can snap up a bargain. 

New Year Planner with Helmar

 Hi, Veronica here today to share with you my new planner for 2016!  I found this calendar system by accident when browsing through you tube one day.  Have I been living under a rock?  I didn't know about the Midori travelers notebook journals and I was so happy to have come across this video.  I have had planners since forever; not surprising since I have always loved hoarding paper.  So I am not new to planners; I have a Filofax and also a Franklin Planner.   I do carry an iphone and put down some appointment reminders on my phone; but for me there is nothing that compares to "writing it down on paper". 

So with the New Year comes my new calendar.  I love getting a fresh new calendar every year and have always looked forward to decorating my schedules with drawings and pretty stickers.  So this year I am decorating my new notebook covers.

For this project I am using the Helmar Super-Tac Glue and the  Helmar Crystal Kote Matte.  I start off with some gesso and heavy gel to "prepare" my notebook covers using some stencils. 

 Next I used water color paints and misted some spray on the covers.  I also stamped with archival ink and used some washi tape

Next I adhered some paper embellishments using the Helmar Super-Tac Glue.  The reason I used this glue in particular is because the glue not only dries fast but also has a flexible bond.  The flexible bond is perfect for my textured covers with all the dimension.  Also I need the flexibility of the glue since I will be opening and closing these notebooks a lot.

I added a layer of Helmar Crystal Kote Matte to the covers of my journals and calendars in order to seal in the paint.  Also the covers were a tiny bit sticky from the moisture of Florida weather and the gel medium so this matte varnish is the perfect solution.

Now for the finishing touches on my covers and to put them in their lovely new Fauxmidori planner for 2016! 

 

Thank you for stopping by today.  For more info on the product I used and more links to my planner please stop by my blog.

Happy New Year! Happy Scrapping,

Kitsnbitscraps

 

 

 Helmar Product Used:

Helmar Super-Tac Glue

Helmar Crystal Kote Matte

Happy New Year & Habari Gani !!!

 Hey Hey good people!! While today is January 1st, the first day of the new year of 2016, it is also the last day of the week long celebration of Kwanzaa in the African American communities here in the United States. Starting on the day of Christmas begins a week long celebration of family, unity and culture.  Millions of people participate and/or observe this holiday.

 

 

The seven days of observance are each dedicated to a different principle. Day 1- Umoja (Unity); Day 2- Kujichagulia (Self Determination); Day 3- Ujima (Collective work and Responsibility); Day 4-Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics); Day 5- Nia (Purpose); Day 6- Kuumba (Creativity); and Day 7, which is today, Imani (Faith).  Everyday of the celebration, people greet each other with the words of Habari Gani, that's Swahili for How Are You? Each of the 7 days a candle is lit from the kinara, which is a traditional candle holder that is to symbolize the roots of many African Americans.  Cultural events are held in various places during this observance which contain dance, music, food, drumming rituals and readings. 

In honor of the principals of Kwanzaa, I created this journal page, symbolic of the plethora of colors represented by the people, clothing, art and food.  The artwork in the image is actually some collaged, stenciled and painted papers created by me and adhered to the page with my Helmar Decoupage and Craft Paste. I ran across a sample of a wooden shade I had, and decided to cut from them, a few small pieces, to create the look of a faux decorative wall hanging. I used my Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to hold the wooden pieces with straw in placen and to lay down the human face and body images, which consisted of patterned garments and a variance of skin tones for heads.

 

 

My kinara shows distressed papers for lit candles that appear to have some dimension, thanks to Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots. The colors of the candles represent the following: Red is for the struggle, black is for the people and green is for the hope for the future.

 

             

The seven days are represented by these seven candles (Mishumaa Saba). I hope you enjoyed this journal page on the celebration of Kwanzaa as much as I did creating it for you!  Begin the New Year off right, with some old traditions and some new, whatever the case make sure not to forget to bring the Helmar Glue! ::giggles:: Looking forward to the NEW YEAR  with YOU and HELMAR!