Ladder Instructions

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Easter Ladder

I love Easter! So much new life and renewal from a long winter.  ( And such fun colors and patterns!)

I started the eggs by painting them a basecoat of purple.  I loved this striped paper and I had to add a little "bling" :)

The baskets were a little crazy!  The base coat is a toffee brown and I went a little wild and actually weaved the paper.  I adhered the paper with some scrapbooking square adhesives.  I finished them off with a sheer pink ribbon.
 

I couldn't resist this bunny paper for the letters and the brown vinyl.

The blue color was the perfect accent for the bottom and the brown vinyl showed up so well.

This basket wasn't as crazy.  I just used a solid piece of paper on the toffee brown basket.  I added a purple sheer ribbon on this one.

Ahhh.  The Easter Bunny!!  I started out by painting him a light ivory color.  I used a tole painting technique called "floating" on the ears for the brown lines.  I dipped an angled brush liberally in water, then I dipped the shorter corner in the brown paint.  I brushed it onto a piece of freezer paper to help the color blend into the other side of the brush.  When I was satisfied with the shadowing left on the freezer paper, I painted the lines on the bottom of the ears and the rounded part of the tops of the ears.  I used the end of a big paintbrush to dot the eyes with black.  (Make sure those eyes DRY for a long time, they will smear very easily.)  I drew on a nose and mouth with a pencil.  When I got the shape I wanted, I painted it with an autumn brown.  I used a long liner brush to paint the thin lines under the nose in the same brown as the nose.  I then painted the mouth with a pale pink color.  I used a stiff round brush to "dry brush" the rose color of the cheeks and the pale pink on the ears.  (Dry brushing is when you lightly dip your paintbrush in the paint and on a scratch piece of paper, dab off most of the paint.  When it is almost all dry, dab it on the cheeks and the ears.)  I added very small circles on the nose and cheeks by dipping the end of a small paintbrush in the light ivory paint.  I used one of the eggs in the kit to trace an egg on my paper.  I cut it out and glued it on in the spot I thought looked good. :)  I painted his hands the same light ivory and glued them on with glue.  Make sure to spray on an overcoat to protect all your hard work from the weather!!

Have fun making it yours!!

March Ladder

Is March already here?  Where does the time go??

I painted the shamrock a base green color and glued this fun, striped paper on top.

I love this minty green color.  I just had to add a pop of purple to spice this good luck charm up!!

I painted the letter blocks the same minty green and added the polk-a-dot ribbons.  I alternated between the black and white and the purple and white ribbons on the hooks.

This LARGE shamrock just needed some bling.  I started out with the basic green colored paint and used my new favorite glitter spray, Krylon Glitter Blast in Gold.  (They had several colors to choose from at my hardware store).  A little warning:  Don't spray the board too close because it covers REALLY well.  If you aren't careful, none of the green will show through.  Unless you want that of course!! :)  Maybe later I will add a gold ribbon around the middle with a bow off to one side, who knows, right??

I just love how this green paint and the white vinyl contrasted.  The saying shows up so well.  And we are so very blessed.

Mint green paint and a black and white polka dot ribbon.

This shamrock paper just finishes off the set!

Have fun making it yours!!

February Ladder

Love is in the air!!  Valentine's Day is coming fast!!

This heart was pretty basic.  Just a base coat of red and red glitter.

This heart is painted pink and I tied a tulle ribbon in a big bow.

So many cute papers to choose from!!  I love this font in the black vinyl.  Makes it so elegant looking.

Cupid's Heart.  I painted the heart red, the arrow shaft brown, the tip silver with silver glitter, and the feathers are a scrap of chevron paper.  I drilled two holes in the top of the heart to thread the wire through.  I twisted the wire together then twisted it around a pencil to get the curls in it.  I wanted to hang my heart with the hook, so i looped the wire around itself to create a hole.  Then more twisting around the pencil and back through the other hole.  I tied a raffia bow on the wire and glued three jewels on the side.

I painted the board an off white color and applied the vinyl.

This heart was fun.  A base coat of pink and some pink striped paper, then a jewel to finish it off.

Will you be mine?  The same off white color as the board above and the vinyl.  A Red polka-dot ribbon tied in a bow finished it off nicely.

Have fun making it yours!!

January Ladder

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Temperatures are dropping, snow is falling, let's build a snowman!

The snowflakes were fun and easy! I painted mine with a paintbrush and white paint.  If I were to do it over again, I would buy some spray paint.  Much easier to get into the edges.  I found some teal glitter I really liked.  But I didn't want a teal snowflake.  So I mixed 1/2 tsp. of teal glitter with 2 tsps. of white glitter together in a small bowl.  (I made 4 snowflakes with this amount of glitter)  I painted on my diluted Tacky Glue and spread the glitter around.  I did the same for the silver colored snowflakes.  Only I used silver and white glitter.  (Covered 4 snowflakes)

This Aqua colored paint and the striped paper matched my teal glitter almost perfectly.  I liked how the border of paint surrounding the paper worked out.  White vinyl and a silver bow finished off the blocks.

I think this snowman turned out great!  A white base coat for the body, black for the hat.  Black glitter and the same silver ribbon finished off the hat.  I used a pin in a pencil eraser to make dots for the eyes and the mouth.  Just dip your pin into a puddle of paint, then dot it on the snowman.  I painted a small triangle for the nose in orange.  I glued on buttons and tied a 1 inch piece of cotton fabric for the scarf.  I used Tacky Glue to glue the hat to the body.  I attached my hook to the top of his hat.

I really like the Bambi Brown I used for the quote block.

Have fun making it yours!!

December Ladder

I just love Christmas!  Actually, I love the whole month of December!

I painted the candy cane with a base coat of white paint.  I wanted the stripes to be as straight as possible and I knew I wouldn't be able to free hand them.  So I turned to my trusty painter's tape.  I used 1 inch by 3 inch strips and taped off the stripes.  I wasn't too concerned about which one was red and which one was white.  I found it worked best to start in the curve part at the top.  Put that one on first, then do the other ones.  The spacing works best that way.  It is a little hard to see the tape.  I painted the red on the parts not taped, but I left the tape on for the glitter.  After I painted and glittered the red, the tape peeled off perfectly.  I finished them off by putting a gold ribbon on them.

Gingerbread is a favorite treat around Christmas.  I had fun making a "boy" and "girl" one.  Both are base painted with brown.  I used a pin stuck in a pencil eraser for the white dots.  I used a smaller pin for the black eyes.  I drew lines with a pencil to follow with the dots.  (Again, not too good freehand!)  I used Krylon Triple Thick spray coat, then I glued the jewels on for a necklace and the gum drop buttons.

 

For the "Word Block"  I started by painting a green base coat.  I love chevron type paper.  This paper was perfect!  The board is wider than a 12 x 12 piece of scrapbook paper, so I had to piece it.  I made sure the design matched then I glued (or ModPodged) it on.  I put the vinyl on the right hand side of the board.  After I sprayed it, I tied the bow with ribbon I bought from the Dollar Store.  You could probably save time by buying a ribbon like this at the store and just attaching it to your board.

The tree was fun!  I painted the trunk brown and a base coat of green.  I made sure I painted the green on the front, because I wanted to cut the paper a tad smaller to let the green show through.  I picked out five different papers that kinda coordinated.  I glued the paper on, then sprayed it.  After it was dry, I tied a green ribbon around the middle.  The star I painted yellow then finished it off with yellow glitter.

For the last piece, I wanted some more red in the mix.  I used a Christmas Red for the board.  After I put the vinyl on, I sprayed it with clear coat.  I love this quote and feel it finished off the ladder set perfectly.

 Have fun making it yours!!