LOVE - literally!

LOVE....

I loved this idea when I saw it..... I LOVE it even more now that I've completed it.... 

I couldn't wait to show you all. 

You can see the blog post where I first showed you the idea HERE

I found the letters at JoAnn and they were on sale for $1 off each letter..... that's ok.... guess I didn't have to use 4 coupons on them. 

Now, please understand, I have seen projects like this in the past. I have even attempted some of them myself. But, they never have turned out the way they should or how I think they should.
I am a very picky person about things I create.... usually.

The great part about this project was I used a ton of crafting supplies that have been dormant for awhile... some of them too long. 

The characters in the above photo are: 

- Scrapbook papers that I pulled out of my stash - love the browns and pinks together

- A couple paint brushes from my stash

- Some Nutmeg brown paint that I pulled out of hubby's hobby closet (Shhhh! don't tell on me)

- Some "scrapbook" paints that I bought years ago (yes, they really do say Scrapbook paint on them)

- and 1 plain Jane pink acrylic paint color - where I got, I know not.... but it's never been opened

And then my cute little Croc basket friends got me a couple years ago - this is my craft bucket, so hopefully the kiddos don't see all the "goodies" inside. 

First things first, I pulled a worn & torn sheet from the garage for my paint cover... it worked great because it is the fitted sheet and just wrapped around the table perfectly. Guess, this will go in my craft supplies now too.

Next, I had to mix some paint & choose my colors..... The Nutmeg brown was just a little bit light, so I had to add in some black and mix it up really good. Perfect!

The pink.... well, first I tried the "scrapbook" paint. How many years ago did I buy this? I don't have a clue.... have I ever used it? Well, no - the one I opened was still sealed.... the color didn't match and I'm pretty sure the paint is no longer good.... but, back in my stash it went. Silly, right?

I ended up using the regular, plain Jane pink acrylic paint.... Perfect!

I did 2 coats of paint on the sides and backs on the letters... making sure to get a small bit of the front just in case.

 

 I traced the letters onto the paper just before painting, so I would be able to cut while the paint was drying. Make sure you remember to cut the reversal of the image..... or in other words make sure your patterned paper is on the outside, because that's what you'll see..... 

And trace the papers a little bigger than your letters, so you have some extra space to work with.

 

 Next, I used a paper adhesive and painted it onto the letters and to the backs of the scrapbook paper and then smoothed the paper on. 

I called it a night & let the adhesive dry overnight.

 The next morning, I got out my chipboard sanding tools, my Tim Holtz's distressing ink (Love this) and a sponge. 

I sanded all the edges of the papers to make them flush with the letters (this is where the extra space  that you traced on each letter comes in handy - you can always take it off later).

Then I used my sponge and the Tim Holtz's Walnut Distressing ink and inked all the edges. 

On the O & the E, I inked all the pink painted edges too!

I love how it turned out. 

(Can you see a theme?)

After the kid's went to bed (hours later) so the ink had plenty of time to dry & set up.... I 

then painted the paper adhesive to the fronts & sides of all the letters, to seal and protect it. 

I let it dry and set to work on the final finishing touches.

For this I pulled out my Cricut machine, cartridges and Design Studio (DS) software (sorry no photos, I spaced it). I did not have the same cartridges she used in the original idea, however, I searched and finally found something that worked.

I really like the tag/flag shape she used, but that is one hard thing to find on the Cricut cartridges..... if you don't have the one she used. Of course, I was not going to be deterred.... remember I'm picky... once I find something I like, that's what I want.....

I finally found one on the Create-A-Critter cartridge, after searching for "flag" in the DS. I had to alter it in DS, squish it & stretch it a bit to get the right size. Then I arranged them on the DS mat & had it cut to maximize the paper usage. Once they were cut, I had to take my scissors and cut the little handles off the "flag".

I then used my Cuttin' Up cartridge and cut out the letters. 

Then used the George basics cartridge and cut the little hearts.

I used my Xyron "X" sticker maker and glued all the letters & hearts onto the tags.

Then out came my Distressing ink & sponge again and inked the edges & fronts of all the flags.

Out came my Crop-A-Dile and I punched 2 holes in each tag.

Then I strung it all up on some twine and attached it to the L and E. 

Did I mention that I used a lot of tools and supplies for this project... I think you get the idea. 

And the best part... the only thing I had to buy was the letters... everything else I had in my craft supplies.

And this was the finished project. I LOVE IT! I really do....

PERFECT!

And it fits on my small mantel! Again PERFECT!

P.S. Below it is the banner I mentioned in a previous post.... you'll see it again & how I made it possibly tomorrow....

 Credits: http://thehappyscraps.blogspot.com/2012/01/love-is-all-you-need-giveaway.html