WOYWW? #184---Christmas, of course!

Well I'm late with my What's on Your Workdesk?  Wednesday post.  It's
all Christmas--first, a nativity atc for Altered Arts Magazine:

collage image from Altered Pages

I have to say, I feel somewhat victorious with this photo--you can see
the glitter!  Here's the second pic:

Holiday baking in progress--these are coffee rings, kind of like cinnamon
rolls.  And if you were here last week, I finished the nests--you can see
them in the post below (HERE).

Happy (belated) WOYWW!  If you'd like to join in the blog visiting fun,
the party is open to everyone, just stop in at Julia's and jump right in.  :)

needle felted bird's nest Christmas ornament

Finished the little nesties (from this post)!  Here is one with a bird added:

It's easier to see what the clothespin is for now--the nest is glued to the top,
and the pin is used to clip the nest to the tree. The bird is from the
Vintage Illustrated Birds set, and stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink.

My friends seemed to like them--several decided to clip them in their hair at
dinner, so apparently these are multi-purpose ornaments.

I'm glad I made myself one as well--this little nestie is on our tree right now!

Happy Sunday!

WOYWW? #183--can you guess what these are?

It's time for What's on Your Workdesk? Wednesday, #183--this week
I have the makings of some Christmas tree ornaments:

Can you tell what these are?  Probably not--they look a little like fuzzy cookies
at this point.  The clothespins will be attached at the base, if that gives a clue.
I don't have any finished yet, but here is a pic of one I made last year--it's in the
background, though:

Can you guess what it is now?  I'm making these for a group of friends, we
meet once a month and have dinner and talk for hours, and this week we're
having an ornament exchange.

Are you WOYWWing this week?  If you leave a comment, I'll try and find
you--occasionally there are comments from google connect people, and I
can't find links to blogs, but I really do try to visit everyone who drops in here.

Happy WOYWW, and thank you to Julia for hosting this weekly event.
(PS--in case you haven't seen it, here is a link to the annual free Christmas
issue of Altered Arts magazine.)

O Holy Night--a Christmas atc

O Holy Night Christmas atc

For my first Altered Arts December post, I'd like to share with you this
Christmas atc--lots of layers and glitter, yes? 

Have you seen the annual free Christmas edition of Altered Arts Magazine?
I have a little Christmas atc shrine in there, along with directions--here are
a couple of pics:
Here it is closed up and tied with
some silky seam binding.  The
hinges are made of burlap.  All
the images (in both atcs) are from
Altered Pages.

 Are you making lots of Christmas things?  I need to get started on a few
gifty things--it's hard to believe it's December 3rd.  Today the husband
and I celebrate our anniversary--twenty-four years already, they seem to
have gone by in a heartbeat!

Thank you for stopping by, and enjoy the Christmas issue of Altered Arts!
:)

Inchie collage easel card, Passion for Paper, and a free magazine!

Wow, I haven't posted in a while--I've missed my blog snooping visiting time
this week!  It's basketball season, and between the husband coaching Junior
Varsity and the son playing Varsity, I've been spending lots of time at games.

Here is an easel card made using lots of vintage ephemera and Blockheads
stamps, in honor of the new Easel Card Reader's Art Quest at Unruly Paper
Arts.

(If you've never made an easel card, there are lots of tutorials on-line that
show how--I made up a quick and easy one (HERE) that uses generalized
dimensions.)

Used several sets on this one:
Nature Medallion, Greco-Roman, Full Sheet, Feeling Regal, Honeybees,
Vintage Birds, Seashells and Round Frame, and Verses, Full Sheet

Every year, Altered Arts Magazine puts out a free Christmas issue, and it's
that time of year!

Here is the link for you:  Altered Arts Christmas 2012.
I have a couple of pieces in this one, and will share those Monday.

So I hope you have time to check out the free magazine, and will join in
the latest rounds of Reader's Art Quests at Unruly Paper Arts--you do have
a Passion for Paper, don't you?

Happy Sunday, everyone!  I hope to have more time this week to visit with you!
:)

super simple easel card directions/tutorial

There are plenty of great easel card tutorials on the intraweb, but here is a
generalized, super-simple version that may be easier to start with than some
of the more complex varieties.

Stuff you need--cardstock, adhesive, paper cutter

Just like any basic card, whatever size cardstock you are using, the finished
card will be half that size.

1.  Fold the cardstock in half.  This is your card base.

2.  Cut a piece of cardstock the same size as folded-in-half base.  Or, in
other words, a piece one half as big as what you started out with:

(The piece you just cut will eventually be the front of your card--you can
stamp/collage/embellish it at will.)

3.  Fold the FRONT of the card base in half, from the outside edges to
the fold, like this:

4.  Adhere the front piece to the folded flap of the card base, like this:

Now the card front can be set up like an easel.  You probably need to put in a
strip of paper, or ribbon/trim, underneath the base, to act as a lip that will hold
the easel front in place, like this:

A sentiment generally goes beneath the strip/lip, but that's up to you.

That's it--simple, right?  Here's a pic of the loosely folded card, in case you
still aren't quite seeing how these work:

Reality can be beaten . . . a new favorite . . .

Well, yes, you're right, I DO have a new favorite fairly often, but this
particular favorite is a first with me . . .

It's the first time a sentiment stamp has ever made it to the top of my list:

Reality can be beaten with enough imagination.

Do you like the background?  It's a Gelli Plate monoprint.  If you've made
monotypes, you know you can't just make ONE--you end up pulling stacks of
fun papers, which are great to have on hand.  If you've never tried monotypes,  
Blockheads has the Gelli Plates on sale right now.

Stamp sets?  Used Seashells and Round Frame, Whimsical Faerie Wings
and Verses, Full Sheet --that's where the new favorite stamp can be found.

Here's a little tip--VersaFine ink works great on the acrylic paints used in the
monoprint.  I tried another ink first, and it looked great initially, but then bled
and got fuzzy.

Happy Sunday, everyone!
:)

A tiny thank you book with tags.

It's Thanksgiving here in the states, so this tiny book of thankful
tags is particularly fitting . . .

Haven't made a little book for a while, and have to admit, I'm really liking
this one.  The papers are all Gelli Plate prints, but I also stamped on the dry
prints with the background from the RRD set Relish Reading.

Used some VersaMagic inks--have you tried those?  Okay, if you know me,
you know I'm NOT a trier of new things, so just saying, I've never used
those chalk type inks before.  Have to say, I REALLY like the effect.  Here I
used Pink Grapefruit and Turquoise Gem.

 When you're pulling Gelli Plate prints, it's always great to throw some 

lace on the plate--you get great textures on the print, and instant

coordinating embellishments, too!

Okay, yes, made a BUNCH of tags!  Used Relish Reading,

Milliner Misses, and Beach Babes, and lots of Bible verses.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Challenge?
Rogue Redhead Designs--UNcard
Crafty Sentiments--Thanks
Word Art Wednesday--always anything goes, using an uplifting sentiment or
scripture.
Die Cuttin Divas--Thanksgiving (you don't think I cut all those tags out by hand,
do you? ;)
Our Daily Bread Designs--Thanksgiving or Christmas
Sweet Stamps--Thank you
The Stamping Boutique--Giving Thanks

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday, #181

Working on the two tray table today:

 Finishing off a tiny pocket book full of tags for a RRD
piece--the backgrounds are from Gelli Plate prints, fun stuff!

Hopefully the finished book will get posted tomorrow.

And putting that cling foam stuff on some new rubber
from Blockheads--that little blue thing is a stapler, not sure
 where that even came from.

As always, a thank you to Julia for hosting this weekly blog snoop.

If you leave a comment, I will return the visit sometime this week.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here, so a Happy Thanksgiving to all

who will be celebrating.  Even if you aren't, now is as good a time

as any to think on what you're thankful for, yes?

See you later, WOYWWers!  :)

finally time for show and tell!

Okay, it's not rocket science, but I really like this simple gift I made
a while back.  Today I'm so happy to be able to share it with you, here
for Altered Arts Magazine, and also as my latest
article/tutorial at Unruly Paper Arts!

 This is a folder with a ribbon tie, which opens to reveal the 

 set of handmade notecards and detailed envelopes inside.
(Gotta love that bicycle on the envie, it's from the
Blockheads Victorian Invention set.

Here are the notecards--the idea was to keep the whole process 

fairly simple, in order to make multiple sets for holiday gift giving.

My friend Rhonda gave me a notecard set in a similar style folder

years ago, and I thought it was a delightful gift. 

Used stamps from these sets: Victorian Invention, Architecture, Stargazer,
and Grunge Collages, and Distress Inks in Victorian Velvet, Vintage Photo,
Tattered Rose, and Tea Dye.  Plus crayons around the edges, of course!!  :)

I'd love to hear what you think--and don't forget, if you'd like a tutorial on how
to make some of these gift sets, there are directions at Unruly Paper Arts.  

What's on your workdesk? Wednesday, #180

Not going to subject you to the mess.  The tray table is cleared at the 

moment, but the real art room is truly very bad.  Deep.
Thick with layers of artistic endeavors past.

However, here is one of the altered rolodex cards that was in the 

making last week on the tray table workdesk:

The collage images are from Altered Pages, the stamps are from Blockheads. 

Do you remember this pic?  I finally get to show and tell about it

tomorrow, so if you get the chance, I'd love it if you stop by
and see what WAS on my workdesk. (Tomorrow=Thursday!)

I'm hoping to be early in my WOYWWing this week, but if not,
you know I'll find you sometime before next Wednesday rolls
around, right?  Happy WOYWW to you, and a big thank you
as always to Mrs. Dunnit for being such a wonderful hostess!

P.S.  The kitties are getting along much better, having apparently
reached some sort of territorial agreement.  **sigh of relief!**

Clean and Simple hasn't killed me yet.

Do you do Clean and Simple stuff?  I try, let's just leave it at that . . . anyway, 

have to say, I liked using the Distress Inks on these little gift tags, or they could

be tiny notecards--anyway, the DIs kind of give it a grungy look, but it's still 

CAS, so it's a win/win, right?

It's rainy and cold here today, and I want to go hide out in the art room and 

make stuff, but instead will be having a laundry party . . . have a great Sunday, 

everyone!

PS--stuff I used: Feeling Regal stamps and Distress Inks in Victorian Velvet ,

 Peeled Paint, and  Broken China.

Challenges:

Blockheads--Clean and Simple 

Crafty Creations Challenges--NO flowers

Loves Rubberstamps--Anything Goes

Cards For Men--Anything Goes

Simply Create Too--Use Your Stash

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday, #179 (with a special aside to Poppy)

It's Wednesday, and you all know what that means--time for WOYWW!

My real desk is a total mess--the whole room is, actually.  It's in the "it
gets worse before it gets better" phase of tidying.  So, back in the living
room, on a tray table:

 You can see a book I've been ripping pages out of, getting ready to alter it,
a CAS card (I'm terrible at clean and simple anything!) for a dt challenge
piece, and some Rolodex cards that are getting some background papers
added.  Do you recognize the lady in the collage sheet?  She's the theme
for one of the altered Rolodex card swaps. 

Sorry I'm so late this week--will be around to visit later tonight and some
tomorrow, okay? 

Now, a special aside to Poppy:

"Poppy, my name is Maggie.  I heard you recently got some new brothers.
That's terrible, really awful news.  Look at my face, I feel your pain,
sister!

My Girl told me we have some visitors, and they should be leaving when
their mommy gets an apartment that will let her have cats.

Aren't they disgusting?  Everyone else seems to think they're adorable, but
I slap their little kitten faces whenever I get the chance."

(Bleah.)

the quilted fabric inchie charm bracelet finale!

For my first November (can you believe it's November already???)
Altered Arts Magazine project,
here they are, the final quilted inchie charms . . .

Let's start with with "hope":

(I'm particularly fond of the bits of unraveled twine that make up

the nest.)

And here is "faith":

 These were done using Omni Gel to make transfers, and are
1 inch square fabric inchies.  The beads add a little width, they
aren't included in the inch.

Vintage glass buttons, keys, fabric, and glass beads on jewelry wire finish
this off into a charm bracelet.  I think it would be fun to make some fabric
inchies to swap, too, but that's a whole other project, yes?

All of the collage images are from Altered Pages--did you hear that Altered 
Pages is the proud new owner of The Mailbox Muse?  Cyndi (of Altered Arts)
will now have more time to focus on the magazine, and Jean (of Altered Pages)
is already so adept at putting just the right pieces together to make a fabulous
kit, that the Mailbox Muse is a perfect fit.  Were you lucky enough to get a
reservation for The Orient Express kit before it sold out?  It's sure to be full of
all kinds of altering inspiration!

Challenge me up with my friends at:

Word Art Wednesday--anything goes

Crafty Catz--add texture (you know I like that nest!)

Inspire Me Fridays

Dear Creatives

Raise the Bar

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday, #178

Oh good grief it's been a whole week again.  Sometimes, if it

weren't for Julia and WOYWW, I wouldn't get a post in!

Not much to show this week that I made myself--just a tiny peek at a 

piece getting ready to go out for (possible) publication:

HOWEVER, here are the fantastic atcs I received back

in an Edgar Allan Poe Gothic Arch swap--a huge

THANK YOU to:

Wendy Robinson., Suzanne C, and Wendy Aspinall

Martina Fuchs, Jan Larson, and April Dudko

Aren't they amazing?!?

So you probably know the woyww deal--if you leave a

comment, you know I'm too nosey to miss a chance to stop

by and see what's on YOUR workdesk!  It may not be

today, but it will be soon, okay? See you then, and
have a Happy Halloween!  :)

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday, #177

Notta lot.

The living room work table has been cleaned off and sent to the barn,
in preparation for painting (the walls) and new carpet, so I'm back in
the actual art room.

Things have kind of landed here and there . . .

The "cheese" box is a leftover from the Halloween and trinket box
projects, the paper pads and stamps from a piece for an article for
next month's Unruly Paper Arts, and the painty brayers are for
monoprinting.

Here's a little peek at the UPA project:

 but I can't show the rest for a few more weeks . . .

Will be coming around for a visit to all who stop by this week, and
last week's WOYWWers who left comments, too. 

What's on YOUR workdesk?

:)