Scrapbook Steals Feature!

**Please click HERE if you are looking for my Paper Girls Challenge Post!**

Good morning!  Today I have the pleasure of being featured over at the ScrapbookSteals blog!  I got to play with today's steal, which are super fun Kaisercraft Beyond the Page signs.  I got to play with the #relax and #me signs.

For the first one, I wanted to make a decor piece for my craft room.  I tend to take life a little too seriously at times, so this would be the perfect reminder to just take a step back and breathe.  I decided to paint it with a teal color, then go over it with white, then distress it.

Instead of just painting over the teal with the white, I decided to try a crackle finish using plain 'ol Elmers glue.  I didn't put a thick enough coat on, though, so the crackle wasn't as obvious as I would have liked.  Once the whole thing was dry, I took a fine sand paper and hand distressed some of the front and edges.  When I was finished, I tied a bit of burlap string to the pound sign.  You know how if you want to remember something, you tie a string around your finger?  That was the effect I was going for with the burlap string.  So in essence, this sign says "Remember to Relax."  :)

For the second sign, I thought it would be fun to show all of the things that make me, me.  My family, friends and hobby all add happiness to my life, so I wanted to make them the stars of this project.

To get the tiny pictures, I created three different collages in Picasa, then sized them to 4x6.  Once I had those printed, I cut the pictures out of the printed 4x6 photos.  It took about 50 pictures to cover the front of this sign.

I used Mod Podge to adhere the pictures to the sign.  Once they were dry, I used an exacto knife to cut around the edges of the sign.  That way, nothing had to be too perfect when I put it on, because the edges were going to get cut off anyway.  I also used a little sander to sand some of the corners where the knife wouldn't reach.  Then I covered the entire front with more Mod Podge to seal everything and prevent the pictures from falling off.

I love how this turned out.  I can see my girls, my family, my friends and even some of my favorite crafty projects when I look at this.  My heart is full.  <3 p="">   
Thanks for stopping by today!

Until next time...