easily amused, hard to offend . . .

some pretty pages

2012-01-28T11:42:00.000-08:00

The new issue of Enchanting Creations is out, and
there are pages and pages of pretty things to see.

In the Shakespeare inspired section, they chose to
share one of my most favorite things I've ever made--
this altered book layout, featuring Titania, Queen
of the Fairies . . .

Titania herself is constructed from the Altered Pages Paper Dolls page, but the hand that is holding her is
my daughter's. The page in Titania's right hand is from
the script of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which I
scanned and printed.

You can see the whole issue here, and it's free!
Thank you, Enchanting Creations!

quick and fun little purse calendar

2012-01-27T13:13:00.000-08:00

Seriously, I needed one of these, one with room to write
stuff. Last Friday, we stopped in at an estate sale, and
I got one of those treasure boxes. You know, one of those
"Everything For $2.00" deals.

Anyway, there were two unused, government issued, no less,
little notebooks with yellowed pages, perfect purse size,
lots of room to write. Now I don't know about you, but if
something is going to be bumping around inside my cavern of
a black hole bag, it sure shouldn't be anything I spent a great
deal of money on or time making, otherwise I'm just going to
be peeved when it gets banged up.

This quick make was just the right answer, the only mildly time
consuming thing being marking the pages with dates, but even
that speeds along nicely. Plus, I'm doing it with a purple pen,
so of course that makes it easier, too!

Happy Friday, everyone--have a lovely weekend!

Challenges:
Gingersnap Creation--use some of your stash of favorite papers
Basic Grey Challenges--Favourite things--estate sale/flea
market finds, those cute new stamps(but all my new stamps
are my favorites, so . . .), and pretty much any Basic Grey
paper, right? BG papers and sticker embellishments.
Stampotique Designers Challenge--(memo book)
using the Starbirds stamps
Simon Says Stamp--Anything Goes!

Love is the crocodile

2012-01-25T06:28:00.000-08:00

on the river of desire.

Look at the croc puzzling over this, even he isn't
sure what exactly that means, poor confused fellow!

Croc and hardware images from Lost Coast Designs
available at Blockheads.

Oh, yes, it's challenge time! Dreaming of spring rather
than crocodiles? Consider the Glorious Green challenge
at Gingersnap Creations . . .

How 'bout some more fun?
SweetStamps--Love
Creative Stamp Friends--Antique or old-fashioned
Cupcake Craft Challenges--All you need is love
Crafting When We Can--use something not intended for crafing
(hymnal page, notebook paper, book page)

who is this woman??

2012-01-22T17:28:00.000-08:00

Does anyone recognize this woman? She's one of
my favorite stamped images--surely one of you
stampers out there will know her origins?

ANYWAY, both the image and the text are on vellum,
over a piece of serendipity background paper that
has an ivory wash, some distress inks, lots of crayon,
a little German Scrap, and some tulle. The woman's
thoughtful, resolute expression pairs well with this
week's verse at Word Art Wednesday, and she'd like to
join in these challenges, as well:

Rogue Redhead Designs--use vellum
Catered Crop--use printed material (background)
Craft Your Days Away--Distressing
Card Makin' Mamas--something old (papers, tulle, etc.)
Frosted Designs--use vellum, acrylic, or transparency

Love at first sight.

2012-01-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, yes, it's another Miscellaneous Anthromorphs
card--there is something about these images that I
find strangely compelling. Maybe it's the animals,
maybe it's their Victorian garb . . . whatever it
is, they've been getting a lot of attention lately!

Base is textured black cardstock, mixed media collage
background with plenty of crayon, images stamped in
Jet Black StazOn, stamps are Lost Coast
Designs, available at Blockheads.

Oh, yes, please, a challenge:
The Artistic Stamper--vintage
Aud Sentiments-use the word love
Craft Us Crazy--Valentine/Love/and-or animal (how perfect??!!)
Crafty Creations--Valentine
Crafter's Companion--Love is in the air
The Squirrel and The Fox--Critters

the old were young once

2012-01-18T05:00:00.000-08:00

Do you recognize these images? They're based on actual
Fayum mummy portraits from Egypt, from the period beginning
around the 3rd century BC. The originals were done in an
early type of encaustic, on wood panels, for sarcophagi.

So, it was really surprising to see Mini Ancients
offered by Lost Coast Designs, available at Blockheads.
--I'm used to seeing vintage
images, but this is about as vintage as you can get! Had
to have these--my children even recognized them, from when
we studied Egypt a while back.

The images are stamped on yellowed notebook paper,
cut out, and adhered to some hand-pieced background
paper I've been hoarding for awhile, but the Use Your Favorite
Paper challenge at Gingersnap Creations coaxed the last
bit of it out of me . . .

More Challenges?
Tuesday Throwdown--neutral colors
Crafty Bloggers--monochrome
Ink It Up--anything goes
Truly Scrumptious--something forgotten. I played it in my mind
as the people in these stamps are forgotten, but it is, in reality,
use something you haven't for a long time or forgot about. I didn't
forget about the pieced paper, but I did hoard it for a long time!
Sir Stampalot--monochromatic

serendipity style mixed media background for collage, atcs, twinchies, etc

2012-01-16T15:00:00.000-08:00

When asked to write up a tutorial for the current
theme (Use What You Have) at Gingersnap Creations,
I knew exactly what I wanted to do!

This is, undoubtedly, one of my all-time favorite,
tried-and-true techniques. It's easy, it's fun,
the results are great, and guess what?? It uses
your stash, your scraps, whatever you have on hand--
perfect for this round of challenges at Gingersnap.
But I'm always up for something new, so please leave
me a comment with YOUR favorite background technique!

First, you need something for the base--I usually
choose an old piece of 12x12 scrap paper--plus
your favorite adhesive, and, of course, your scraps.
I keep mine in a (okay, yes, SEVERAL) collage boxes.
AKA as old shoe boxes, but that's beside the point . . .

Ready to dig in?

Start gluing scraps all over the base. Don't worry
about lining things up just right, and don't fret
about color combinations--don't think, just glue!
Sometimes it's helpful to continually turn the base
as you glue, to prevent a discernible "top" or "bottom"
to the background.

If you have some pet piece you want to remain in the
picture, be sure to save it until last, because you
really should . . .

COVER the base. At this point, you could stop
and use your background piece as it is, but I
generally try and unify the colors somewhat.

Here, I'm using a light acrylic wash, first in
a blue, and now with a pink.

Once again, you may want to stop here, but
why stop when you can STAMP???

Randomly stamp images all over the background--
again, don't think too much, just stamp!

Finished? Whatchya gonna make? Time to CUT:

Here are some twinchie (oh, did anyone mention
the Gingersnap Twinchie art exchange??) and atc
backgrounds, all ready for some main images and
embellishments!

If that's too pastel for you, go bright like
I did in this background:

Squirt paint over the top of your background,
and then smear it around, making sure the paint
is thin enough that the images show through.

And there is always the option of more paint!

Here, I printed with found objects.

Some other serendipity backgrounds:

Some finished pieces using this type of background:
One Last Autumn in Paris
Autumn in Paris skinny
Cats in Costumes ATCs
moo cards and holder (whoa, these are from 2008!)

What's YOUR favorite background technique??
If you have a link, that's even better!

:)

a Tiny Tale of Alice

2012-01-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

I have a collection of Alice In Wonderland books;
it started in childhood . . . so why not add one
of my own making??

Here it is opened . . .

All the stamped images are from Lost
Coast Designs, available at Blockheads--there
are some fabulous fairy tale
and Alice stamps, very detailed and inspiring. The base
book is textured black cardstock, along with some Basic
Grey Fusion paper, StazOn in Jet Black, and crayon.

You didn't really expect me to make something without
crayons, did you???

;)

Challenge, anyone?
The Cheerful Stamp Pad--ready for this? Birds of a Feather!
Altered Alice--stripes
Penny's Paper-Crafty--birds
Basic Grey Challenges--something new (one of the stamps, the book form)
Moving Along With the Times--spots and/or stripes
Simon Says Stamp--spots or stripes

Have a great weekend, everyone--stay warm!

fly

2012-01-11T00:13:00.000-08:00

click the photo to enlarge it and read text

For the Spicy Supply Challenge (ribbon) at Gingersnap
Creations, using Stampotique stamps from Jo Capper-Sandon:
Starbird with Chick, Fly Word, and Great Moon.
Does anyone NOT have a bundle of ribbon scraps lying
about their art stuff?? The nest is made from ribbon
bits.

This sweet duo of birds have inspired me to do a series
of pieces--aren't they charming little things?

Let's add some challenges, shall we??
Anything Goes--anything goes!
Everybody Art Challenge--shabby
Ladybug Crafts Ink--anything goes using your new stuff--the stamps!
Ribbon Carousel Challenge--Inspired by . . .

a small token of my love

2012-01-09T12:09:00.000-08:00

It truly is tiny, just one and one
half inches square. Untie the pretty
silk ribbon, and it opens up--

as an accordion folded book, full of inchies and
sweet sentiments.

(click on any photo to enlarge)

The base is textured black cardstock, and the patterned
paper is from Basic Grey's lemonade line. The images are
from Altered Pages, and there is some distress ink, tulle,
German scrap, and a sparkly heart on the front cover.

Apparently I enjoyed making this a little too much,
as it's started up a whole series of tiny book projects.
You probably already know I'm partial to handmade books,
but this is the first one I've ever made that is so very
small.

:)

Challenges:::::::
Crafty Boots--New Beginnings (first tiny book in a series, FUN!)
Cupcake Craft--something new (my first inchie book)
Karen's Doodles--Valentines/Love
MyGrafico--Love and Valentine's
Cupcake Inspirations--from pic (I used the colors)

help me choose a sentiment???

2012-01-07T14:20:00.000-08:00

I'm leaning towards, "So many men, so little time."

This has been a great year so far--nothing to do with
the "So many men," don't get any ideas! Lots of
fun new stamps to play with, and these fine fellows are
from one of my new favorite sets--Miscellaneous
Anthromorphs by Lost Coast Designs,
available at Blockheads.

Used some textured black cardstock for the base, and
the patterned paper is bits of sheet music, book pages,
and someone's old college notes. The gentlemen are all
colored with markers, and there is a strip of black satin
ribbon behind each.

So, what do you think for a sentiment? Like I said, I'm
leaning towards "So many men, so little time," but am
definitely open to ideas here!

Challenge me up this weekend:::::

Gingersnap Creations--use a set or line of stamps
Rogue Redhead Designs--use a grid(the grid lines are the ribbon,
is that griddy enough?)
Craft Your Days Away--new beginnings(I was invited to be a
guest designer for Lost Coast Designs, and this is my first card
for them--believe me, I'm celebrating!!)
Crafty Catz--new beginnings also, see above!
Crazy 4 Challenges--use or try something new (the stamps!)
Card Makin' Mamas--use something new (the stamps!)

Have a great Saturday, everyone!

:)

PS!! This ended up being a birthday card for a gentleman
who turned one hundred!!

gettin' griddy with the Rogue Redheads

2012-01-05T17:55:00.000-08:00

Well, honestly, I'm still not sure I like the colors, but
the images from the Milliner Misses and rose from the
Floriculture plate, those make me happy! The patterned
paper is cut from a piece of handmade background paper,
and everything is inky with Jet Black Staz-On. A little
tulle, some sequins waste, and there you go.

Don't feel like lining up a grid with the Rogue
Redheads today? Then here are a few more creative
challenges you may want to try:

Gingersnap Creations--use a set or line of stamps (Rogue Redhead)
Pixie Dust Studios--mono-tize it!
Sassy Studio Designs--Use something new (the stamps)
Shelly's Images--use something less than a month old (the stamps)
Stamp n' Doodle--anything goes this week!

Update--Thank you to Shelly's Images for the Bronze Award
for this card! :)

I missed you!

2012-01-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

Whew, I'm back! Let me advise you, if you have the
choice of getting one of the colds going around right
now, and NOT getting a cold . . . well, you probably
know which one to pick. It's good to be back, and with
a brand new year of creative possibilities.

Speaking of creative possibilities, you might want to
peruse the latest challenges at Gingersnap Creations.
I had entirely too much fun making this piece for the
Chestnut Theme--Use a Line or Set of Stamps challenge:

If you click on the photo, it will enlarge.

The background is pieced of various scraps
of ephemera, and the sweet stamps are all from
Jo Capper-Sandon's line at Stampotique.

Stampotique is generously sponsoring the challenges
this round at Gingersnap Creations. They are also hosting
their Stampotique Designer's Challenge, which is
a Wish for the New Year.

Just look on the back of that little "wish" tag,
and you'll find one of mine . . .

:)

More fun challenges:
Digistamps4Joy--Something old, something new
(ephemera old, stamps brand new!)
My Mum's Craft Shop--something new (stamps!)
Penny's Paper-Crafty--birds!
Simon Says Stamp--something new (the stamps!)
Anything Goes Challenge Blog--blue plus one other colour

And you can always share your makes and find other
great ideas at Dear Creatives.

did you have a merry Christmas?

2011-12-27T12:44:00.000-08:00

We did. But one guess what's been going on with me . . .
bleah! See you in a few days, okay? I'm going back to
bed now . . .

Christmas luminary

2011-12-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

Ready for another Random Redhead Challenge from
Gingersnap Creations? How about Candelabras,
Chandeliers, and Candles--a perfect challenge
for the holidays.

You know the melted wax trick I talked about? This
luminary uses the same technique. The melted wax makes
the paper translucent, allowing the candle glow to shine
through. The Santa image is on vellum, the snow is Tacky
Glue and snow glitter. I also sprinkled silver glitter
on the paper, as I was melting the crayons onto it, and
swirled it around in the wax with the crayons.

If you don't have a suitable candle holder, a wide
mouth canning jar (they're tempered glass) will work
just as well. Just make sure your candle is much lower
than the top of the jar, and the flame won't come in
contact with the paper luminary. (Yes, I know, uh,
duh, right?)

There is glitter all over our house right now, from all
the Christmas things I've been making and receiving, and
you know how glitter clings to everything and everyone.
Let's just say our teenage sons are looking mighty
sparkly lately . . .

:)

angel tags

2011-12-16T10:13:00.000-08:00

These tags went out for an angel tag swap at
the Altered Pages yahoo group:

Pearls, snowy looking glitter . . .

. . . bling, glitter, and you can see the glaze here,
how it gives it a painted effect,

. . . and everyone gets some German scrap, netting,
stamping, and tulle! See that sheet music trim at
the bottom of this one? It's made from music from
a hymnal that I coated with beeswax, then gathered
into trim. I like how the wax protects the paper,
plus gives it a pretty color. This one fits in
great with the Spicy Supply Challenge at Gingersnap
Creations.

More challenge inspirationn:
Really Reasonable Ribbon--anything goes with ribbon or trim
Scrappin'Chics--anything Christmas
CropStop--non-traditional Christmas colors
Do You Stack Up?--winter
Rainbow Lady's--angels
Divas By Design--Christmas
Flutter By Wednesday--angel, butterfly, or fairy
Sisterhood of Crafters--Christmas

Gingersnap Creations wax challenge

2011-12-14T06:25:00.000-08:00

Do you have a favorite art thing?

I'm a diehard crayon lover. I admit it, they were my
first love, and I still use them often, almost every
piece has a little scribbling, a little waxy distressing.

So you KNOW I was all over the latest Gingersnap
Creations Spicy Supply Challenge--WAX!

The icy silver rick rack is outlined on either side
with Pennywise Arts iridescent bubble beads--Pennywise
is hosting this round of challenges at Gingersnap, and
providing some fun prizes.

You know those old warming trays they used to use at
parties, for appetizers and such? The kind that plug
in, and the top gets pretty hot? If you have one, and
haven't tried this, it is SO much fun--just set your paper
on top of the hot warming tray, and color with crayons.
They get all melty and blendy, which is how I did the
background for this tag. It was going to be a skinny,
and it is skinny size--3x5--except I'm all about Christmas
right now, so it turned into an ornament tag, and the
icicles at the bottom, they just kind of happened . . .

Gingersnap Creations ornament exchange

2011-12-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

These fun ornaments are from the Gingersnap Creations
yahoo group tag ornament art exchange:

Cathy Calmus

Peggy Gatto

Paula Akers

Helene Huber

and Jingle!

Thank you again, ladies!

more Christmas ornaments!

2011-12-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

These are more ornaments from the swap at Cassandra's--

This is my favorite from Mary--isn't it pretty?

They arrived all packaged up and so sweet!

Caroline had hers wrapped in velvety fabrics and ribbons,
but of course I tore into them before taking a picture.

Caroline did a great tutorial on the bottle cap
ornaments on her blog.

Such delightful ornaments from everyone--thank
you again, ladies!

:)

more Christmas atcs

2011-12-09T06:52:00.000-08:00

These were, well, interesting to package up and
mail . . . hello, bubble wrap! But really, aren't
tiny pine cones worth the trouble??

You can see the glitter on this one, oh yes!
All the images are from Altered Pages . . .

Got that blue icy stuff last year after Christmas,
and it sat patiently in the art room, waiting its
turn. And that tulle with the glitter spots in it?
Not even kidding you, that's been hanging around here
for at least fifteen years.

I use my stash, it just takes me a while to get around
to it, okay?

;)

Christmas Challenges--there are plenty of fabulous challenges
out there for Christmas right now, these are just a very few!
Aud Sentiments Challenge--any winter holiday sentiment
Crafty Purple Frog--It's Cold Outside
Crafty Ribbons Challenge--Traditional Christmas Colors
Paper Crafting Journey--Christmas!
Crafts And Me--Snowflakes
Create Me Pink--Christmas Colors
Creative Belli--Christmas!

tag ornaments

2011-12-05T06:50:00.000-08:00

These were for the art exchange at the Gingersnap
Creations yahoo group:

Altered Pages images, some German scrap bits,trims,
laces, glitter, Crystal Effects.

Christmas Challenges!

C.R.A.F.T.--Christmas Presents (these can be gift tags, but
I actually made them as ornaments)
Southern Girls--Ribbon!
Pixie Dust Studio--Shabby Chic color challenge
I Brake for Challenges--Vintage
Crafty Bloggers Network--Shades of Winter
Incy Wincy Designs--non traditional Christmas colors
UnstampaBelles--Christmas, plus bonus sticker challenge

Christmas ornament exchange

2011-12-03T06:50:00.000-08:00

So I joined a Christmas ornament swap at Cassandra's
Artful Adventure, and received my first package!

This delightful box and all the gorgeous goodies were made
by Miss Lynn of createbreathe:

That tiny book is full of sweet Christmas pages, it
could have been whole post in itself.

Thank you so very much, Miss Lynn!!

art exchange ATCs

2011-12-01T09:24:00.000-08:00

I recently joined an art exchange group, and these
were the beautiful pieces of art I received--a big
thank you to all these ladies, especially Kris, who
was the very gracious hostess. You may recall my
crazy, cross-country package? It was headed to her
with my atcs for this swap.

Kris Dickinson

Jan Larson

Wendy Aspinall

Terri Daugherty

Wendy Robinson

Alice Hyde

Gingersnap Creations Once In a Blue Moon

2011-11-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

It's almost Christmas, which is great timing for the new
Once In a Blue Moon Challenge at Gingersnap Creations--
Thank You Notes!

Please tell me you DO send thank you notes . . .

If you've been following along or joining in at GSC,
you know that this last round of challenges' overall
theme has been Farm Fresh, since it's November, and
the time for harvest. So, I challenged myself to make
the cards go along not only with the Blue Moon Thank
Yous, but with the other current challenges, as well:

Farm Fresh, Raffia, Livestock, and Color--Red, Brown, Yellow

Farm Fresh, Livestock, and Color

Farm Fresh, Livestock, and Color--this card makes me
laugh, it's such a ridiculous mess, but I do like that egg
basket stamp!

There's still plenty of time to join in the challenges at
Gingersnap Creations, and with the chance to be homepage artist
and win some goodies from Rogue Redhead Designs, well, why not
play along, right?

:)

Vintage Christmas ATCs

2011-11-25T06:25:00.000-08:00

I think I have artist dissociative disorder. The
Christmas things I've been making, the collage-ish
pieces, anyway, aren't my "normal" style, but they
sure were fun to make . . . and it's good to try
different things, right?

Challenges!!

Fairy Tale Challenge blog--Christmas
Phindy's Place--A sprinkling of snow
Poodles Parlour--Christmas
Simply Create--all about Christmas
Totally Papercrafts--Christmas
Wags 'n Whiskers--Snow Angels
Colour Create--Pink, White, and Gold

yep, more ornaments!

2011-11-23T07:16:00.000-08:00

These are for yet another swap. They are supposed
to have some embossing on them, I hope the German
scrap counts. I tinted it with ink, but it doesn't
tell well in the photos.

You can see the brush strokes made with the Crystal
Effects on this one, I like them! The snowflake on
the back is glittery, but again, it doesn't tell here.

Do you see the tulle in the background? It has
flecks of glitter in it, how fun is that??!

She's much more glittery in real life, as you
probably already guessed. These all use Altered
Pages images, and for this exchange, we were supposed
to keep the pieces fairly flat. The next round
of Christmas goodies, wait and see, they're atcs . . .

Challenges:
Crafts and Me--shabby chic/vintage
little red wagon--Christmas
My Mum's Craft Shop--things with wings
Truly Scrumptious--Christmas with pearls OR vintage look
4 Crafty Chicks--snowflakes!
Charisma Cards--snowflakes!

more Christmas ornaments

2011-11-21T08:07:00.000-08:00

Each glittery sheet music box gets one more ornament
besides the rose ball (please help me find a better
name for that? Rose ball, really??) and bird's nest:

Still can't photograph glitter, except on accident.
The white leaves have an iridescent glimmer, very
sparkly.

Coated the images with Crystal Effects, not only
for protection, but to give them a paintedish look.
Yes, you're correct; paintedish is NOT a real word.

All the collage images are from Altered Pages,
they have a huge selection of winter and Christmas
images.

More Christmas ornaments and Christmas atcs are
on the way!

:)

some Christmas surprises

2011-11-18T12:25:00.000-08:00

Whew, what a week--you've all had one, and it's all's
well the end's well, so I won't bore you with details.
And last night was our monthly friends get-together,
which is always such a blessing. My friends are fabulous,
and even though we don't see each other often or chit-chat
on the phone much, it's always good to know who has your
back.

All right then, if you happen to be one of my partners in
Cassandra's ornament swap, you may want to avert your eyes!

What's in the box?? It's a glittery box, you just can't
tell in the photo, of course . . .

It's roses and a tiny nest, complete with eggs.

Yep, made all those roses . . .

and needle felted the nest. Hadn't needle felted
anything for a long time, so that was fun.

More ornaments coming! Have a lovely weekend!

:)

one last Autumn in Paris . . .

2011-11-11T10:50:00.000-08:00

Well, okay, how about three more?

Paris Memories 3x3

Merci atc

Elizabeth's Autumn in Paris atc

So I recently joined an atc swap group, and sent the Autumn
in Paris atcs off for my very first trade with this group.
These atcs were supposed to be going to Colorado--bear in
mind we live in Missouri--and they have been on a merry trek,
so far to Massachusetts, and currently, thanks to the tracking
number, I can tell you that they are in New Jersey . . .

***sigh***

Maybe they will end up spending the rest of the autumn in
Paris, after all!

autumn in Paris skinny

2011-11-08T10:29:00.000-08:00

Here is another in the Autumn in Paris series;
the collage images are from Altered Pages.
This skinny card is also mailing off for a swap,

but before she goes . . .

My Grafico Challenges: Autumn
Craft Your Passion: Anything Goes PLUS brown
My Partner in Crafting Crime: Use something you got for free
(all of the ephemera!)
Lollipop Crafts: Thanksgiving or Fall
Sparkles Forum Challenges: Autumn

autumn in Paris

2011-11-04T11:36:00.001-07:00

(The giveaways are posted HERE!)

Finished up several atcs, a skinny, and a 3x3, all with
an "Autumn In Paris" theme . . . here is the first:

You would think that the tag that pulls from the pocket
on the back of the atc would let you in on Ms. Lola's
secret, but no . . .

She doesn't kiss and tell.

;)

Lola does like a challenge:

Divas By Design: Use Metal
Friendship's Garden: autumn colors and leaves
The Three Muses: vintage collage/memories
The Artistic Stamper Creative Team: backgrounds
Creatalicious Challenges: distress your edges
Through the Craft Room Door: "fall" in love
Lexi's Creations: use a charm

welcome to my world.

2011-11-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

This morning I was privvy to two sons discussing how
the furnace for one of their rooms is, in reality, a
little old man who lives somewhere in the basement--he
burns logs from the yard in a random guess as to how
warm the thermostat is set.

Said discussion was accompanied by a lively rendition
of The Star Spangled Banner, played by our daughter.

On the kazoo.

Welcome to my world.

What's happening with you this Thursday?

one last Halloween thing!

2011-10-28T12:38:00.000-07:00

(The giveaway linkies are HERE!)

Still in the mood for mini books--okay, yes, I'm always in the
mood for mini books! Here is one inspired by the Gingersnap
Creations Horror Stories challenge. Was thinking of going
with classic horror stories, but ended up with the old horror
movies from the 1930s. There were many, many of them produced
then, but it wasn't too difficult to narrow it down to the basics.

You know the basic Halloween horror favorites-- Dr. Jekyll & Mr.
Hyde, Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Werewolf of London &
Wolfman, the Invisible Man. But I did include a few other films:
Freaks, because I remember seeing it on TV when I was young, and it
scared me silly, plus Murder in the Rue Morgue, as a nod to Edgar
Allen Poe, who is credited with not only creating the horror genre,
but also writing the first murder mystery. A dubious honor, perhaps.

Kept the pages simple--the design and colors of the movie posters are
fabulous, and I wanted that to be the focal point of each layout.
This is a pretty long post--lots of layouts, and I'm not even boring
you with all of them! The cover has an orange glaze over some spots
made with rubbing ink through sequins waste holes, plus some violet
spray enamel. You can really see the sheen in this pic:

The chandelier is a wall decal, and there's a little glitter/
black microbeads, some satin ribbon. The letters are from a
vintage stamp set.

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

Dracula

Frankenstein

The Mummy

Murders in the Rue Morgue

Werewolf of London

Wanna make your own bound book? Here's how I made this
one: Super Simple Bookbinding Tutorial

Have a fun Halloween, everyone--save me a piece of candy?

:)

Look at all these Halloween challenges!!!
Gingersnap Creations--Horror Stories
The Paper Variety--Halloween
Creative Stamp Friends--Halloween
Shopping our Stash--Halloween--everything but the movie posters
I Brake For Challenges--Halloween
Sisterhood of Crafters--Halloween
Stampin' Royalty--Halloween
Fab'n'Funky Challenges--Halloween
Crafty Boots Challenge--autumn or Halloween
DYSU Challenge--Halloween photo inspiration Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde LO
Incy Wincy Designs--Halloween, orange/black/purple (cover)

Would you like to hear a story?

2011-10-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

This month, the underlying (but optional) theme at
Gingersnap Creations has been, and suitably so for
October, Edgar Allen Poe. So, when choosing a subject
for this week's Color Challenge, it had to be you-know-
who, right?

Would you like to hear a story?
(Click image to enlarge it.)

The text in the background, part of it is a copy of a
piece of The Raven in Poe's own hand, and the other is
a bit from The Tell Tale Heart.
There is a fabulous array of Poe and Halloween inspired
artwork already posted in the last few challenges, as
well as all the great design team and visiting artist
pieces. Stop by for a little inspiration, and link up
your own art for a chance at some sweet treats--no trick!

:)
PS--There is still time to enter my own treats giveaway,
HERE, and you can even link up your own giveaway, too!

Nevermore.

2011-10-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

(The giveaway post is still open for comments and
linking your own giveaway--HERE!)

Oh, brother. How did I make this, carry it around,
photograph it, show it to people, and not notice the
typo until posting it???

Edith concluded that the whole "new hair-do"
idea was, in fact, a big mistake.

Even if you don't think Edith herself is funny, at least
you can laugh at the typo, right? Edith's head is from
Graphic's Fairy, and her body is from Dezinaworld. I
personally like her new hairdo, comprised of dyed guinea
hen feathers!

Challenge me up this week:
Gingersnap Creations--Ravens
Party Time Tuesdays--Anything Goes
Try It On Tuesday--Altered Art
Use It Tuesday--orange, black, or purple, plus use your stash
The background is made from my hoard of ephemera, and
those feathers have been in my art room forEVER!
Crafty Cardmakers --Cute with a dark twist (how much darker than a
Poe twist do you want?!)
Corrosive Challenge--Flying Things
Scrappy Frogs--Something That Flies
For Your Inspiration--photo/color challenge

Friday Flashback--Thanksgiving Tag

2011-10-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

(If you're looking for the giveaways--scroll down a post!)

So I have made tags before these, but apparently I don't
post them to my blog very often--these are from just
last year! But the challenge at Flashback Friday is to
repost our first tag posting, so here it is:

These were tying up treat bags of goodies.

I remember my first tags, they were for a tag book
swap on swap-bot in 2008, just looked that up, but
no pics there, either. Anyway, I LOVED that book. But
that was before I was blogging regularly, so . . .

It's always fun (and sometimes scary!) to look back at
the old stuff.

Happy Weekend, everyone!

:)

giveaways!! come and play with us!

2011-10-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

My candy comments are closed, and the winners will be
contacted via e-mail, and announced later! Some of the
other candy links are still "alive."

Okay, it's true, I have a lot of stuff. I like my stuff.
But I also like to share, and it's always fun to get different
stuff--not necessarily new, just different, right?

So this is a destash giveaway, one for my cute card and scrap
friends, and one for my altered art type friends. You can sign
up for either or both, it's up to you.

You can also link up with a little giveaway of your own--it
doesn't have to be huge, maybe just an envie full of atc making
supplies--whatever is in your stash that you'd like to share.
Your giveaway "rules" are up to you, too, just don't try to make
anyone buy anything, okay?

Here are my "rules" . . .
Leave a comment and let me know which set of goodies you'd like
to receive--either cute, altered, or both--along with some way to
contact you if your blog profile isn't public.

For an extra chance, you can follow this blog, but please leave
another comment letting me know.

For yet another chance, let me know in another comment if you've
linked up below with a giveaway of your own.

One more--if you link this up in either your sidebar or a blog post,
leave me the link in a comment for another go!

Altered art stuff--vintage game bits, some vintage cards,
Valentines, buttons, lace and trim, vintage postage, cigar bands,
wooden picnic spoon, ephemera. In fact, there are a few more bits
and bobs not in the pic, and I foresee there being even a few more
things added, as well . . .

Cute card and scrappy stuff--lots of embellishments and trims,
some glitter, ribbons--bright, fun, stuff!

Let the games begin! Please leave a comment (or two, or three,
etc), and I hope you'll join in with a link of your own! This
destash-for-fun giveaway ends Nov. 9th.

Be sure to check out any links below for some more fun goodies!
Everyone has different guidelines and ending dates!

hedge apples everywhere I look.

2011-10-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

Hedge apples, hedge balls, osage apples, osage oranges,
whatever you want to call them . . .

. . . all over our yard, everywhere, everywhere, little
landmines just waiting to trip you up and twist your
ankle.

But they do smell nice when they start to rot, or when
you throw them on the burn pile and they roast. There
are squirrels who like the hedge seeds, and squirrels who
don't, and when it gets super cold, sometimes the deer will
eat them, as well. (The hedge seeds, not squirrels.)

They have a fabulous, brilliant color, and a curious
texture--these really brighten up the sea of brown leaves
that have taken over the yard.

The kids like to play hedge ball with them. The rules
are simple: Someone pitches the hedge apple, and someone
whacks it as hard as they can with the bat. If all goes
well, the apple splatters all over everywhere. TIP: If
you should choose to engage in a game of hedge ball, be sure
to wear old clothes, as the splatters stain a nice toasty
brown color. Apparently you can use the apples to concoct
a natural dye.

Some people claim these repel spiders, but I can tell you
from personal experience that this ain't necessarily so.

You'll have better luck just making a cute centerpiece.

I just try not to trip on them.

Been tinkering around the art room, thinking about
having a de-stash giveaway. What do you think?
Sharing is good. I could even send it flat rate,
and include a few hedge apples!!!

;)

Halloween CAS cards--super fast!

2011-10-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

So I had promised dear Jean at Altered Pages a new
Halloween kit, and had in mind a couple of things,
but time . . . well, it got away from me.

***sigh***

EXCEPT my daughter had a violin lesson, and hey, thirty
minutes is thirty minutes--why not make a bunch of CAS
cards?

Postcards, a regular sized card, and mini cards that
are the size of a postcard (4x6) folded in half. The
Altered Pages images are so cute, they don't need a bunch
of embellishing, anyway. A little black ink, a little lace,
and some Basic Grey papers from a few years back. Okay,
from quite a few years back--these are from 2005. I'm
going to punch holes in the mini cards, and use them for
treat bag tags.

I don't know how many cards you can crank out in thirty
minutes--I'm not that fast--but seven is a BUNCH for me!
How many cards can a CAS maker make if a CAS maker would
CAS cards . . . sorry, I need some coffee . . . maybe a
nap would be a better idea?

;)

Challenges:
Outlawz CAS (having a party right now, by the way):
using something old that's been lurking in your stash!
Little Darlings Challenges--Halloween or Fall
The Paper Shelter--Halloween
Clear It Out Challenge--Halloween
Tuesday Throwdown--Halloween
Karen's Doodles--Trick or Treat
My Craft Spot--Too Cute to Spook!

Have a wonderful weekend, my imaginary friends!

horror stories

2011-10-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

I don't like them. They creep me out. I do NOT
appreciate a case of the heebley jeebleys, no ma'am,
no thank you!

Have you ever read The Tale Tell Heart? Whoo hoo,
we had to read that in school. It probably wouldn't
have the same effect on me now, but yikes, let me tell
you, it scared me silly back in the day. That's such a
great photo of Edgar Allen Poe, he looks so very much
like he knows something (it, and the spooky house in
the corner, are from Altered Pages). He had such a sad
life, very tragic. I suppose it's suitable that he is
considered to be the father of the horror genre.

If you like a good scare, or just a horror story now
and again, you may want to consider the new challenge at
Gingersnap Creations.

And yes, as a matter-of-fact, that is a real piece of
something's jaw . . .

hand stamped fabric

2011-10-02T17:25:00.000-07:00

Went a baby shower for my niece-in-law today--I always
like to make something, something the recipient won't
get anywhere else. The first step is to stalk their
registry, to make sure I'm giving them something they'll
actually like!

The nursery is going to be bright colors and jungle
animals, so . . . broke out a new/old Stampin' Up set
I'd never even mounted, it's all jungle animals, and
the old Fabrico fabric ink. Do they even make that anymore?

Look how cute those lime green elephants are! Made a
couple of bibs, and a tag blanky with a hot pink minky
backing. These made (I hope!) a nice personal addition
to the store-bought gifties we found, plus they were SO
much fun to make.

Did you make anything this weekend?

:)

friendship book cover

2011-09-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

This is the cover for the friendship themed mini book
I've been working on . . . there are still several layouts
I'd like to complete, but you can see some of the finished
layouts if you care to scroll down a bit and take a look.

This mixed media collaged cover fits perfectly with the
current color challenge at Gingersnap Creations, which is
Turquoise, Blue, and Purple.

This little book also fits in fine as frog's hair
with these fun challenges:
4 Crafty Chicks-Crazy Egg Anything Goes
Crafty Purple Frog--Lots of Layers
The Outlawz POM--Anything Goes
Southern Girls Challenges--Anything Goes
For Your Inspiration--photo inspiration

Japanese Maple

2011-09-24T10:20:00.000-07:00

Made some fall cards using hand painted (well, yes, fingerpainted!)
backgrounds, some crayon, and stamping on vellum with black staz-on.
The verse stamp is from Our Daily Bread Designs, the Japanese Maple
leaf is Stampin' Up.

There's a jewel, too--I always forget how badly they photograph,
but people really seem to like receiving cards with a little bling,
don't they?

On this beautiful fall day (I hope you're having some lovely weather,
as well), if you'd like some autumn inspiration, check out these fun
challenges:

The Play Date Cafe--color challenge
4 Crafty Chicks--Celebrating Fall/Autumn
Delightful Challenges--Happy Fall, Y'all!
Crafting for All Seasons--fall colors
I Brake For Challenges--Fallin' For You
Our Daily Bread Designs--distressing
More Than Favors--Fall
Paper Pretties--fall
Penny's Paper Crafty--fall
PaperWorks--photo inspiration

WARNING . . .

2011-09-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

So you know I'm easily amused, right? While recently
perusing the plethora (speaking of easily amused, "perusing
the plethora" is particularly fun to say, just so you know)
of rubber at Viva Las Vegas Stamps, this lady literally made
me laugh out loud:

She looks a little too happy to me. Maybe I'm just
suspicious AND easily amused.

ANYWAY, she's part of a hand bound book layout for
this month's Gingersnap Creations Random Challenge:
Shared Moments. I may have played fast and loose
with the theme, but you can decide:

WARNING: When my friends don't call, I VISIT!

As always, the pics enlarge with a click . . .

atc cards--as in, they open . . .

2011-09-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Some silly Halloween atc mini cards--these are atc
size (2 1/2 by 3 1/2, except for the parts sticking over
the edges!) using Basic Grey papers, Altered Pages images,
some rich textured German Scrap, inks, crayons, tulle, and
silly jokes! Not sure where the Mr. Batty die cut flew in
from, but there he is . . . the riddle is on the outside,
and the atcs open to reveal the goofy answers! I'm thinking
these would be great to swap, or as little treat bag tags,
or as just a little Halloween greeting.

Trick-Or-Challenge:
Rogue Redhead Designs--Think Outside The ATC (going out
of bounds, so to speak!)
Getting Cricky--Halloween
Send A Smile For Kids--Fall or Halloween, kid friendly
Hmm, mine are goofy enough, but the pics are little creepy . . .
Sew Many Cards--Halloween
Crafty Purple Frog--Fall into Fall

Are you ready for this?

The Outlawz Challenges

friends layout

2011-09-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

Hand bound book layout--there's another layout
from this same book in the following post . . .

(click to enlarge pics)

Been working on the layouts in a hand bound book; have
had this image around for a while, I think it's very striking,
and have been itching to incorporate into something.

Vintage ephemera, stamped images, vellum, crayon, paints,
label maker warnings, computer printed text, netting, and
homemade heart charm.

Challenge me this---
Gingersnap Creations, Gal Pals
Card and Scrap, charms
Cooking It Up With Kate, green, girl, group of something
Crafts and Me Challenges, add a heart
I Brake For Challenges, backgrounds
Shopping Our Stash, Vintage or Shabby Chic
Crazy Amigo Challenge, together
The Cheerful Stamp Pad, Let's Reuse--well, most of the elements
in this are reused, but the two most unusual ones start with the
typed text that came from an old composition book. HOW did she
get it typed, when it was bound? I dunno. Maybe she took it apart,
typed her notes, and then bound it all back together? Also, the
label tapes are adhered to pieces of a shipping envelope that came
to us from India. My daughter and I had ordered kurtas, and the
envie they came in is a lovely shade of light turquoise, PLUS it
has all these fun fibres stringing all over it, so of course I had
to save it! It's actually used in several layouts in this book.

Happy Weekend, everyone!

:)

(Don't forget to check out the other friend layout below!)

friends are like shoes . . .

2011-09-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

You can never have too many!
(click to enlarge pic)

Don't you like that sassy flapper, shoe flipping photo
from Altered Pages? I like how it pairs so well with
the shoe stamp, it's from Viva Las Vegas Stamps. This
layout is from my latest, friendship themes, hand bound
book. Mini file folder page, vintage text page, the
sentiment is printed in various fonts on vellum, and the
shoes are stamped on vellum. Paints, crayons--the usual!

Challenge, anyone?
jens digi stamps, anything but a card
Papercraft Star, anything goes
Ruby's Rainbow, for the girls
Inspire Me Fridays--anything goes
Freshly Brewed Monthly Challenge--use something new
first time that shoe stamp had hit the ink!

a real friend . . .

2011-09-14T06:32:00.000-07:00

(click on the pics for larger images)

A real friend will tell you the truth, even if you don't
want to hear it, but you can't trust an enemy no matter
what . . . that's a quick paraphrase of Proverbs 27:6.

But a looser translation is this:

Only a real friend will tell you when your face is dirty.

The latest Spicy Supply Challenge at Gingersnap Creations
is to use that crimper that's probably collecting dust in
your art room corner. I used mine like my good friend (she
would definitely tell me if my face were dirty!) Rhonda
showed me years ago.

Take a nice heavy weight piece of cardstock and run it through
the crimper oh, maybe 7 or 8 times, different directions, to
break down the fibers a little. Then, split the paper down the
center and peel it apart, giving you two sheets of crimpy, soft
textured, flannelish-looking paper.

You probably know we have chickens, especially after hearing
the rooster crowing in the video tutorial, so you may have
guessed I'm kind of partial to chicky images. This photo
stamp is from Viva Las Vegas Stamps, who is sponsoring some
fabulous gifties for this round of challenges, and let me tell
you, if you can't find something you like at that store, you must
not like rubber stamps. At all.

Really, there is every style under the sun at that place--
funny, sarcastic, serious, sweet, sassy, artsy, cutesy--you
name it, it's at Viva Las Vegas.

I'm still suffering from rubber brain overload from my last
visit there . . . but it's worth it!

;)

What Would You Make With My Stuff???

2011-09-12T11:32:00.000-07:00

Here are the results of the What Would You Make
With My Stuff? Challenge and swap! I want to say
a big THANK YOU to all the ladies who played along,
all your pieces are so pretty, and it's great how
everything is so different, even though I sent the
exact same items. The images were the only things
that varied, and even they were very similar:

(Thank you to Cris for the "stuff" pic--I didn't
think to take one until the envies were sent!)
The "stuff" included some black lace, iridescent
ribbony something, a girl or woman image plus a flower
image from Altered Pages, tickets in orange and turquoise,
Basic Grey patterned paper, a few tiny jewels & brads,
some translucent plastic stars, and a page from a vintage
textbook. The challenge was to use at least three of
these things prominently, but most of the participants
used much more.

1. These first three photos are from Chris Flynn;
she posted details of her pocket and tag creation
at Redwood Mountain Musings. Chris used almost
everything included in the challenge envie!

That iridescent stuff made a great dragonfly!

2. Here's To A Good Woman by Sharon Briss

Shar at Ill Tempered Ink made a canvas--how pretty
is this? I'm all into greens right now, so this
beauty charmed me right off!

3. hello kitty by Beth Rudolph

That lace was originally black--I really like how
Beth painted it to make it her own for this sweet
tag. (Beth doesn't have a blog, so don't think I'm
ditching her link.)

4. Sing Out by Gerri Herbst

Pretty atc by Gerri at It's All Treasure--she
used that iridescent stuff in the background,
which would never even have occurred to me,
and neither would have making a basket from
the lace!

5. Happiness Always by Alison Manning

Lovely card by Ali at New England Stamper; I'm
thinking, you know, I sent Ali this envie with this
stuff, but would I have ever made anything nearly
this pretty with it myself??? Uh, duh, no!

6. Admit One by Diane:

Diane used some of everything except the orange
ticket in this beauty. I'm not a "natural" card
maker, so I always enjoy a good nosy around Diane's
blog--1 Card Creator.

7. Listen To Your Heart by Marjie Kemper:

Precious bookmark by Marjie, who always has something
inspiring to see at She Who Stamps and Scraps. Marjie wins double
triple bonus points for sending me the bookmark
in real life, as well as in e-mail life--no, wait,
that means I win! THANK YOU, Marjie!

8. I call this a Card Book--it's by Cris Peacock:

I'm not entirely sure, but I think she used
EVERYTHING in this super fun piece! You can
see more of Cris's goodies at "Cris' Page."

9.
Let Your Dreams Take Flight by Diane K.

I like the flighty trail of gems across this--
you can see more of Diane's art at Diane's Page.

10.I Saw It First by Shelly Schmidt

I'm still looking at this card, soaking in all
the elements . . . mostly I'm surprised to see how
Shelly used my signature--what a great touch!
You can find all the details, and much more, on
Shelly's blog, "My Creative Rumblings."

We had one more player, but due to slight complications
(if you call breaking a leg and a daughter getting married
slight), Mary, whose blog link I can't find to save my life
right now (sorry, Mary!), may not be joining us this time
around . . .

Thank you again, ladies, that was fun!
:)

whoa, I feel dizzy!

2011-09-09T12:08:00.000-07:00

I made a "real" tutorial, go figure! What's even
weirder in my world, is that it's up for all to
see at Gingersnap Creations . . . would you please
imagine some Twilight Zone type music at this point?

Super Simple Bookbinding Tutorial

Stuff you will need:
paper for the pages--plain, colored, or
various papers such as: security papers (from envelopes),
handmade papers, sheet music, ledger paper, pages from books,
vellum, patterned papers

heavy weight cardstock for cover--I usually collage mine first
ruler
pencil
punch tool—either a fancy Japanese screw punch or the type with
a needle like tip. If you do not have a punch tool, they are very
inexpensive, or you can make your own using a sturdy tapestry/darning
needle with the eye end shoved into the end of a large cork.

2 or 3 book binding clips--those big black clips with the silver
flippy sides, available in most office supply sections of stores,
or (where else?) any office supply store

scissors

some type of "thread"--waxed linen thread, beading thread,
embroidery floss, or narrow ribbon--whatever you want to use
to bind your book

tapestry needle--basically any needle with an eye big enough to
hold your thread

work pad such as a folded up towel, magazine, phone book

What to do:
Determine how big you want to make your book, and cut or
tear the two cover pieces to size. I like using a ruler as
a straight edge and tearing at least one side of the cover,
leaving a distressed edge.

Now, select the various papers you’d like to use as pages in
your book. I generally use some ledger paper, vintage blank
music note paper, handmade papers, some patterned papers, and
vellum. You may prefer to have your pages all the same size;
I make mine a variety of sizes. You may even want some of the
pages to extend beyond the cover of your book—whatever your
personal preference.

If you plan to stamp on your pages, or distress the edges,
it’s a whole lot easier to do BEFORE binding the book, but
I almost always construct the book prior to knowing exactly
what's going to happen between the pages. If you decide to
distress/stamp/etc. before binding, keep in mind that your
pages are going to be bound about ¼ inch in from the left side.

On the front cover of the book, measure in about ¼ inch from
the book spine, and make a straight line from top to bottom.

About ¼ inch from the top, and ¼ inch from the bottom, make
a dot—these will be holes for binding.

Measure halfway between those two dots, and mark another hole
spot. You may want to stop with three holes, but if you prefer
five, measure again, half way between the middle hole and the
two outside holes, and making two more dots to punch.

After you have your hole spots marked, sandwich your lined-up
pages in between the covers, lining up the edges to be bound,
and clip together with a couple book binding clips. Place the
book sandwich on a work pad of some kind, such as a folded up
towel, old magazine, or phone book. This is so your don't
scratch up your table and dull your punch tool.

Carefully punch through the hole spots you marked, using the
punch tool. You may need to twist slightly, not just jab
straight through, depending on how thick your pages are.

Thread your tapestry needle and knot the end of your binding
thread/ribbon.

Okay, are you ready for this? Here's a video, which is
a whole lot easier to follow than written directions
when it comes to something like this, but you'll have
to bear with me and be merciful. We've never made a
video before, and I sound like total dork, but at least
you'll be able to follow along . . . I hope . . . and
yes, that is a rooster crowing in the background!

Need some ideas? Here are some books I've made using
this super simple book binding technique:
Spring

Howdy cover and layout, Howdy LO, another Howdy LO

Garden book cover, Titania LO from garden book

Hot Beverages, coffee LOs, tea LOs, final pages

Over at Bella Creations, the September challenge
for the l'a arte transforme group is to share
a favorite technique--this is one of mine! :)

i'm still here!

2011-09-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

No, I haven't disappeared, just busy with
end-of-summer happenings. The results of the
What Would You Make With My Stuff? Challenge
are coming up, and so far, everything has been
fabulous--I'm excited to share all the lovely
creations with you all!

:)

life

2011-08-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

Well, sometimes my life feels sparkly . . .

. . . not so much today, but sometimes! :)

Stampin' Royalty--Bring on the Bling
Truly Scrumptious--Mostly Pink
Bearly Mine--Bring on the Bling
Oldie But a Goodie--must use stamps at least 6 months old;
mine are in the background, there are several--Plus, LOTS OF SPARKLE

sunshine boy

2011-08-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

There may be something wrong with my sense of humor,
but this one makes me giggle! It's destined to
go to the college bound boy, also, so I hope he thinks
it's silly, too. The newest challenge at Gingersnap
Creations in primary colors (bet you coulda guessed
that!), and the sentiment, which I printed on vellum,
is from The Stamping Boutique, who is kindly sponsoring
the challenges this month, giving you a chance at some
fun digi prizes!

The background is an acrylic paint monoprint, with crayon highlights,
brads, ribbon, and trim. The rather severe looking sunshine boy is
once again from the same Altered Pages sheet as the Reginalds,
printed in red.

Okay, I promise to put away the dour faced gentlemen . . .
for at least a few months!

a little green fairy

2011-08-21T14:20:00.000-07:00

Had some background left from the previous card--
you know, Reginald 1, 2, and 3--so had fun making
a few more things:

One Stitch at A Time--bling
Stamptacular Sunday Challenge: Apricot, Bling, Critter (ABC)
Basic Grey--Anything Goes. There is always some sort of Basic
Grey paper in everything I make, but it seems to be covered
by the fairy in this piece. No worries, though--see her blingy
hair piece? And the pearls at the end of the butterfly's antenna?
Opaline Designer Half Pearls, cut from their flowery shapes to fit
Miss Fairy's whim!
Designed To Delight--Anything Goes
Just Us Girls--color challenge
365 Cards--Vintage plus Green
Annabelle Stamps--Distressing

The background is a mixed media collage, serendipity
style, with a Stampin' Up butterfly, the girl and her
fairy wings are from Altered Pages.

what would you make with my stuff? challenge and swap

2011-08-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, I keep thinking about doing this, and just
haven't set it in motion--until now!

The challenge part is, I send you an envie with
a few things out of my art room, and you commit
to make something utilizing these things--an atc,
skinny, whatever. You can use other stuff from
your own stash in your creation, too, but please
incorporate most of what is sent--it's part of the
challenge!

The swap part is, you e-mail me a pic of your
creation by September 10th, so I can blog post
all the arty goodness, along with your own blog
link. You don't have to blog post your creation
yourself, I just thought it would be nice if we
could come visit you, right?

This first round will be limited to USA only,
and to the first ten people to e-mail me at
trishatoo at hotmail dot com. I will need
snail mail addresses, obviously, but if you'd
like to wait until I confirm that you're "in,"
that's fine--I plan on mailing these out
this Monday, however, so . . . no address by
Sunday evening, and I'll move on to the next happy
swapper, okay? A swap in motion tends to stay
in motion!

Sound like fun? I'm going to try to send pretty
much the same stuff to each person, to see how
differently or similarly each artist plays.

Let me know, I look forward to hearing from you--
this should be fun!

So, you get stuff, make something, send me a pic
by September 10th, and I blog post the creations.
How easy is that? You don't even have to go to
the post office!

****Thank you to everyone who e-mailed, this
round is filled--if all goes well this first
time, will try it again in November!****

back-to-school card

2011-08-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Do you have children going back to school? We have
two in high school, but since we homeschool, there
isn't much "back" to it. The oldest son, however,
is in his last year of college, so will be leaving
for the dorm again soon.

The latest challenge at Gingersnap Creations is a
Tribute to Teens, so this seemed a fitting something
to send to the eldest--that serious looking fellow
on the front, he's been the object of my artistic
affection for some time now. I've returned to him
more than once for projects now and again! (Check
out THIS POST.)

The doodled words seem the perfect foil for his
expression, don't they? That cute digi is from The
Stamping Boutique, who is kindly hosting the challenges
with some fun prizes this month at Gingersnap.

So, I'm thinking the inside of the card should say
something like:

At least it's not finals week!

What do you think?

;)

having fun today!

2011-08-13T15:02:00.000-07:00

Whew, yesterday I spent pretty much all in the kitchen,
which was fine and fun and all, but it was nice to treat
myself to some art time today. Checked out the Feline
Playful challenge list blog, and that added with some fun
new images got me going.

Got a super cute collage sheet of tiny playing cards
from Altered Pages, and while I usually would have immediately
thought "Alice," it just so happened these rather serious looking
fellows were staring at me already. So, went a completely
different route:

The atc seemed a little crowded, so made a, hmm,
square--not sure what size, honestly!

So, are these funny, or is it just me?

The backgrounds are my favorite--serendipity style,
with lots of stamping and distress inks and crayons.

Gotta enter these gents in some challenges!
ATC Reginald says hello to:
Allsorts--anything but a card
Challenge Up Your Life--no patterned paper
Inkspirations--color challenge
Phindy's Place--vintage look
Craft Us Crazy--anything goes

Square Reginald says hey-ho to:
Wee Memories--Masculine
Sew Many Cards--3 or more brads
Craft Us Crazy--anything goes
Sassy Studio--distressing

If you're really loving this guy, check out the kit
at Altered Pages--Jean was super fast and wasted no
time getting these handsome poker faces ready for
you to play with!

baseball cards

2011-08-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

Ever heard of The National Sports Collector's Convention?

That's where we are for the rest of the week. It's in Chicago this year,
or rather a suburb thereof. So, the big kids are running the shop, and the
baby is helping his daddy with the cards.

I'm just here for the pizza. . .

Clean And Simple if it kills me.

2011-07-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

For the newest color challenge at Gingersnap Creations:
Iron, Leather, and Brass (also known as dark grey, warm
brown, and brassy yellow).

So I challenged myself to make a Clean And Simple card
for this round--if you know me, you know I'm card
challenged to begin with. The CAS style is one I admire,
and very much appreciate when someone ELSE does it . . .

. . . but I dunno, this looks awfully plain to me. The
image is great, though--what a handsome fellow! He
arrived from June's Dezinaworld, who graciously hosted
this month's challenges. You have a chance for some lovely
goodies from June, just for joining in the fun at Gingersnap
Creations.

I'm not giving up--I'm going to get the hang of this
CAS thing, even if it kills me. And let me tell you,
it might just! Do you know how hard it is to NOT
splatter or smear or collage or stamp up a background
of SOME kind???

Do you do CAS?

And I'm still going to work up that swap I mentioned
HERE, so be thinking about joining. It will essentially
be me mailing you an small envie of arty stuff from my
stash, you creating an atc, card, tag--something--
from it, and sending me an e-mail pic of it to include
in a blog post.

:)

more photo freebies!

2011-07-22T12:42:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple more of the daughter's photos;
as with the others, feel free to use them in your
art, if you like. Leave us a link, so we can stop
by and see what you do!

:)

Lana liked to sit alone . . .

2011-07-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

. . . and dream about her journeys . . .

For the latest challenge at Gingersnap Creations,
here is a, well, hanging? It's kind of 3-D-ish,
as well. Anyway, going along with this month's
general steampunk theme, and today's newly posted,
more specific theme, Trains and Planes. No trains
in this, but a couple of planes, not to mention a
couple of flyboys to go along with them. The images
were kindly provided by this month's sponsor, the
sweet June at Dezinaworld.

Still trying to get the hang of the new camera!

Speaking of journeys, and pics, here's another photo
from Turkey--it's part of a fallen pillar, and looked
like a great background to me, so feel free to use
it in your art.

souvenirs for everyone!

2011-07-08T05:41:00.000-07:00

We are home! What a fantastic trip--the first four
days were spent helping with a children's program
in Istanbul, the next week traveling to see the amazing
sites at Troy, and the seven churches in the book of
Revelation: Ephesus, Smyrna (now Izmir), Pergamum
(Bergama), Thyratira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and
Laodicea. Then we were back in Istanbul for a day
of touring and shopping.

You KNOW we took LOTS of photos, and some you might
like to use in your artwork? Here are a couple you
may enjoy--feel free to use them, and if you do, I'd
love to see what you create! These will get bigger
if you click on them, and then you should be able
to print them.

If you have tips on sharing photos for other people to
use, please let me know--I don't really know what I'm doing,
and am always happy to receive good advice!

The doorway is from the ruins at Ephesus, but right
now, I'm not sure where the first photo was taken.
Let me know if this works for you? And if you'd like
more? Because we have SO many more!

:)

Never too many.

2011-06-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to try making one of these cute
paper shoes, and the Once In A Blue Moon recipe
challenge at Gingersnap Creations seemed the perfect
opportunity--three papers, three buttons, and three
words. The papers are Basic Grey, my favorite!

You know, you don't have to make your challenge pieces
go along with the general month's theme--this month is
"At the Mall"--but I always try to. Actually, there
isn't much trying, I generally really get into the themes!

As you read this, you can bet I won't be wearing any
crazy heels like these--the teen daughter and I should be
in Istanbul (seriously, Istanbul!), and wearing
significantly more substantial walking shoes! I'd love
for you to leave a comment, and will stop by for a visit
with you when we return--the 5th or so, depending on how
bad the jet lag is!

:)

the color of money . . .

2011-06-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess that depends on where you live;
our legal tender is, for the most part, green.
So, for the newest color challenge at Gingersnap
Creations--Color of Money--and this month's
general "At the Mall" theme, this just seemed
so right:

I like my money right where I can see it--

hanging in my closet!

This tiny dress is atc size (2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches),
and made from green collage sheets from Altered Pages. My
personal challenge to myself this time was to use only paper,
and so I was all proud of myself for not cracking into the
ribbon or bling, but then I realized I'd used ink! Way to
mess up my own challenge, right? Had to laugh at that one!

I'd love for you to leave a comment, and promise to stop
by and visit everyone when the daughter and I return from
our voyages--we should be packing today, and NOT blog
visiting, and I'll be away from the computer until the
5th of July.

"See" you then!

:)

Victoria. If you're wearing this . . .

2011-06-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

. . . it ain't no secret.

The latest challenge at Gingersnap Creations is
"Bags and Tags," going along with our "From the
Mall" theme this month.

This not-so-secret piece uses the Vintage Corset
sheet, as well as a library card and pocket, from
Altered Pages. Altered Pages is hosting this month
at Gingersnap Creations--come play along for a chance
at some fun prizes. The winner of this challenge
for the Home Page Artist also receives a Dark Eyes
Tag kit from Altered Pages--very nice!

Do you ever challenge yourself? For the last
Gingersnap Spicy Supply--packing materials--
challenge, I made myself go simple. No embellishments.
So this time, you can see, it was ON, as in VERY
embellished. Broke into that hoard of trims, made
some flowers, the whole deal. Tried to make a stark
contrast between how pretty the corset looks, and
then when you pull the tag, how creepy it real is.

Seriously, how did wearing one of these EVER seem like
a good idea?

AND PS, BY THE WAY: Will be working up that swap
challenge from the last post for next month, so
be thinking about joining in, and a big thank you
to everyone for their kind comments on the dd's
collage!
:)

PPS--Will stop by for visits after the daughter and
I return from our adventure, thank you for stopping
by!

what would someone else make . . .

2011-06-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

. . . with the stuff on your art desk?

The other day, the girl child yells from the art room:
"Mom! I'm using all the leftovers on your desk to
make something, okay?"

Fine by me, have at it--maybe it will make things at
least one-layer-of-stuff cleaner . . .

This is what she came up with:

I think it's fun--look at all that stuff! There's
corrugated bits from a coffee cup holder, a padded
envelope, this and that, pieces from projects left
sitting out.

That would make for an interesting swap--
if one person sent their "stuff" to another, and
that person had to make something with it and send
it back. Hmmm. Or just post it to their blog.

ANYWAY, since the daughter doesn't have a blog,
we're posting it here, right?
Gingersnap Creations--Spicy Supply Challenge(packaging materials)
Crazy Amigo--pink!
Shopping Our Stash--SOS (she used silver and Stampin' Up)
Use It Tuesday--punch, die-cut, or cut out
Simon Says Stamp and Show--distressed/torn edges
Stamp with fun--pearls and flowers
Catered Crop Linking Party

So, if I sent you a little envie of bits and pieces,
would you make a something with it and post it to your
blog?

Would you?

the adopted

2011-06-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hey, I was here! I love these guys!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

:)

sisters atc

2011-06-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

I really like this photo; it's of my Aunt Bettie and
Aunt Helen when they were still in high school, back
in the late 40's. This is a copy, of course--the original
is one of those tiny photo booth pics. Don't they look
like fashionable young ladies?

This atc was made using a serendipity style, mixed
media background, including distress ink, crayons, and
paint--you can see the yellow paint stamped with bubble
wrap, and the turquoise lines were made with corrugated
cardboard. You can get some fantastic looks printing
with found objects! This goes along with the latest fun
Spicy Supply Challenge at Gingersnap Creations:
Packaging Materials!

Whew, it was about all I could do to get this
posted--we have three going off to camp, and
another trip coming up at the end of the month,
so not as much art and blog snooping going on
around here . . . what are you doing with your
summer?

:)

What's growing Friday?

2011-06-03T11:26:00.001-07:00

Can you believe it's Friday again already? This
week has flown by, for me, at least!

Here's what's growing in my yard right this morning:

The daylilies are beginning to bloom . . .

as are the clematis! I'll try and get a pic of
the lilies and the clematis when more of them
open up.

Here's the yucca--not blooming yet, but the flower
stalks are coming up in all the plants.

Baby grapes!

And our hydrangea bush--which only blooms when it
feels like it--has two different colored flowers
coming on on the same plant!

Now it's your turn--what's growing with you? In
your yard, garden, art or sewing space, or your
kitchen, whatever new is growing with you, feel
free to leave me a link; I'd love to stop by this
weekend and have a look!
===============================
This just in--the fantastic fun box of goodies
arrived from Gerri today, so I had to make a little
something at least, right? The image is from June
at Dezinaworld; it reminded me of the three muses,
and believe me, I needed some inspiration this week!

(Not too bad a pic for indoors at night!)
Thank you again, ladies!

at the mall . . .

2011-06-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, honestly, I don't go to a mall anymore; well,
maybe a couple of times a year. We used to spend hours
at the mall in high school--shopping, going to the movies,
and snacking at the food court.

"Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't
know where to shop!"

The latest challenge at Gingersnap Creations is, as you've
probably figured, "At The Mall." There are lots of great
design team takes on this theme, so if you're feeling the
need for a little inspiration, be sure to check them out.

This little hanging was made with Altered Pages images,
who happens to be hosting this month's challenges--be
sure to check out the great prize they're offering for
the winner of the Home Page Art part of this challenge!

:)

What's Growing Friday . . .

2011-05-27T07:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, yes, I made that up--as far as I know,
there is no official "What's Growing Friday."
But if you leave me a comment, I'd be delighted to
stop by and see what's growing in your yard (or
art room, or sewing room, or kitchen!)

Here are some of the things growing in our yard
right now--at least what has survived the storm beat
down of the past few days. It was clear yesterday,
for part of the day, anyway, and I got a few pictures
in while enjoying the sun.

This patch of iris is thriving--the burgundy ones
were already bloomed out, and the yellows and
variegated ones got hit hard by the storms, but
these guys are hanging in there.

The wild rose is blooming, and has been for a while
now--the bushes are full and fragrant, scenting our
walking "trail."

The rhododendron was really blown around, and there
are only a few blooms left at this point--but the bush
was beautiful this year, really full of flowers!

The Black Medic is starting to cover the ground in
areas--cheerful little yellow blooms, and, if you
are so inclined, you can gather the tiny black
seeds they produce and grind them into a flour.

The daisies and clover are just starting to bloom,

and yes, unfortunately, there are rainclouds growing
today, too . . .

*sigh*

Wishing you a sunny weekend, wherever you are!
Oh, look at this--trying out the link thing!
C'mon, humor me, leave a link? ;)

Okay, maybe not as much fun as June's Fun Friday,
but I'm just playing around with this new linky
toy!

howdy!

2011-05-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

Have you tried any crackle techniques? I REALLY
like the faux barnwood technique over at
Technique Junkies--very easy, and effective!

This is the cover of the cowboy mini book; the faux
denim (also from Technique Junkies) wrap and key slide off.

Have you joined in any of the latest round of
challenges at Gingersnap Creations? The newest
is the Denim, Rust, and Dust color challenge--
just use blue, rust, and tan in your project (nope,
it doesn't have to Wild West related!), and
post it to the Gingersnap site.
This is a kind of mellow color combination; I'm
interested to see what everyone does with it . . .

Okay, I'm not sure how I missed this tidbit of info,
but for this challenge, not only is there a chance
of being the Home Page Artist at the Gingersnap
yahoo group or being a Ginger Gem--Technique Junkies
is providing the lovely prize of one of their newly
released Emboss or Die cds, plus a TWO year subscription.
Now that's a gem of a prize . . . (sorry, had to say it!)

swaps and has anyone seen my camera?

2011-05-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I was going to take some pictures
of what's growing in my yard right now--
some gorgeous iris and peonies, wild rose
and honeysuckle--
but the camera has gone missing . . .

SO you only get these--they're basically tags,
but they're going to be bookmarks for a
swap at the Gingersnap Creations yahoo group.
They're supposed to have a single travel theme,
and since I have some France-ish stamps, well,
that's where we went with these! You know, it's
hard to think "flat" sometimes--these couldn't
be chunky, since they're bookmarks. Also, now
I think they need a little something, so will add
some ribbons and beads or suchwhat sprouting
from the top. Okay, yes, tulle, it will be tulle,
for two reasons:

1. Tulle makes me think of clothing or hats, and
Paris is (I hear) a fashionable spot, PLUS
2. As you may know, almost everything I make right
now has tulle or netting on it!

These bookmarks are also great for these fun
challenges; stop by and check them out if you
need a little weekend inspiration.
Paper Romance--anything but a card
Pixie Dust Studio--vintage
The Rubber Cafe--vintage tag or card
Shelly's Images--anything goes
My Mum's Craft Shop--anything but square
A Gem of a Challenge--Aqua, Lemon, and Pink
Challenge Up Your Life--recycling (the backgrounds are a
collage of old ephemera)
Pattie's Creations--no, no, NO cards!
Polka Doodles--anything but a card
Totally Papercrafts--Don't be a square

Happy Weekend, everyone!
:)
PS: If you want to see more detail, just click on the pic . . .

Father's Day swap tags

2011-05-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

These are for a swap--the guidelines are they had
to be Father's Day themed, be tags, plus have some
stitching and metal on them. I don't usually do
"manly" looking things, but these are . . . or are
they? Hmmm. ANYWAY, serendipity background, image
and text on vellum, stitching, and brads.

Anyway, my tags would like to join these challenges,
as well (no, they didn't whisper in my ear or anything
like that, don't be that way!)----

Challenge Up Your Life--travel
Gem of a Challenge--challenge 21
Stamp, Scrap, and Doodle--use old supplies
Totally Gorjuss--not square
DDH--anything but a card
Happileigh Scrappin'--stitching
Karen's Doodles--bold and bright
Squigglefly--anything BUT the usual (this is definitely
NOT my usual!!)
Stamp Something (blog hop!)--anything goes

blogger ate your comments!

2011-05-15T13:44:00.000-07:00

If you left a comment on the last two posts
(don't you love good mail? and If your horse
ain't wantin' to go there), please don't think
I deleted them!

They were all nice comments, anyway, so why would I
do that to you???

:)

don't you love good mail??

2011-05-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

This came in the mail for me from Laura at
Artfully Musing:

And yes, if you're wondering, it's just as gorgeous
in real life! Laura makes amazingly rich, detailed
pieces, and has a drawing every month, so you may
want to stop by and witness her glory for yourself.

Thank you, Laura!
:)

If your horse ain't wantin' to go there . . .

2011-05-11T08:31:00.000-07:00

. . .then neither should you. Sounds like good advice
to me! This is a layout from my latest mini book,
made for the Wild West themed round of challenges at
Gingersnap Creations. The new challenge is "twine"--
there's obviously some on the tag, but that's also
twine there----

frayed around the star brads. Your creation
doesn't have to follow the Wild West general theme,
just twine, and really, who doesn't have some of
that lying about? The denim looking bits were made
using the faux denim technique from Technique Junkies,

and the key/twine/denim thing actually goes around the
closed book; it's just holding open the vellum overlay,
so you can see Mr. Ed there . . . the collage
images are from Altered Pages (which has a brand
new site open, by the way--congratulations!)

This challenge doesn't end until June 7th, so you have
plenty of time to work up a something--I'd love to stop
by and see what you create, so leave us a linky at
Gingersnap Creations!

hats

2011-05-06T14:04:00.001-07:00

I think I'm stuck in a tulle lined rut; it seems
that almost everything I make has to have a bit of
netting glued in somewhere . . .

Serendipity collage style backgrounds--my favorite!

Kinda liking the torn edges again, too . . .

And the crayons, everything always has to have
some crayon!

Plus, the not-perfect shape. I think my brain is
whiplashing from all those years of trying to make
perfect circles!

Happy weekend, and have a lovely Mother's Day!
My torn, tulled, off-cut pieces go along with
these challenges:

If the Shoe fits . . . Scrap It!---green
Crafty Catz--quote or sentiment
Charisma Cardz--No Cards Allowed!
Colour Create Challenge Blog--aqua, green, purple, white
Hanna & Friends--no patterned paper (my backgrounds are
made by me!)
Paper Play--show us your style!
Southern Girls--let's hear it for the girls!
Divas by Design's first challenge! Anything goes
The Paper Variety--mists, ink, or paint (that made me
laugh, because there's all three on these!)

cowboys, a winner, and poor little Billy . . .

2011-05-04T13:07:00.000-07:00

The next round of challenges has begun over at
Gingersnap Creations, and the new theme is
Wild West--the current challenge, cowboys and
cowgirls. You'd think, being a midwest girl
my whole life, I'd jump up and shout "yee-haw"
for this one, but let me tell you, at first I
just kinda thought, "Uh, what?"

Then (I am NOT going to say "moseyed on over,"
no, no NO!) I perused the selection of Old West
themed Altered Pages images, and that was enough
inspiration to get me started on another mini book--
here's the first layout:

Plus, and this is a BIG PLUS, Technique Junkies

graciously agreed to host this round of challenges,
and allowed us a peek at some of their amazing
tutorials. The faux denim and faux barn wood
techniques--perfect. Both are so easy, and have
such a great effect. Thank you, Technique Junkies!

Hey, congratulations to Cathy, you are the
random getter of the Asian goodies-- Cathy happens
to be one of my Altered Pages DT sisters! Hiya, honey!

So c'mon, you know you wanna play along-- don't end up like
poor little Billy:

imagine atc

2011-04-30T06:38:00.000-07:00

Here's an atc made using the image supplied at
Bella Creations for their April Bella Muse
Challenge; the background is painted, with
inked edges, netting and tulle, a little crayon,
some rub-ons, bling, and a bit of beeswaxed
music.

Happy weekend, everyone! Can you believe it's
almost May? And if you're in the mood for a little
candy, be sure to leave a comment HERE. :)

Mother's Day atcs . . .

2011-04-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

These are for a swap with a yahoo art group; we
were to make it a Mother's Day theme, use some
ribbon, and hand writing. There's netting, tulle,
a pearly pin, pearly bling, distress ink, patterned
paper--wait, one background is stamped paper--and
collage images from Altered Pages that
have been coated with a little Crystal Effects.
The handwritten sentiment has a coating, too, to
make it more sturdy.

You know, I almost ALWAYS use my own handwriting
on scrapbook pages, but almost NEVER on other
arty stuff. Hmmm.

Anyway, we always gave my grandmas flowers for
Mother's Day, so to me, well, it just isn't
Mother's Day without some flowers! Usually
some to plant in the yard, or a nice pot of
something pretty to set outside on the deck.

These also go along with the following moms
and flowers type challenges, so if you're looking
for a little inspiration this weekend, check
out these:
4 crafty chicks--distressing
Craft Us Crazy--Mother's Day or flowers
Dutch Dare Card Challenges--for Mom
Samuel Taylor's--flowers and bling prize:
Bazzill Bling Jewel Template, 2 packs of bling, and
5 packs of Prima flowers
Fairy tale challenge blog--Mother's Day
Sisterhood of Crafters--Mother's Day

red and gold skinny and a little blog candy

2011-04-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, okay, you're right, I essentially made all projects
this last round in a red and gold theme, but here is my
"official" piece for the latest Gingersnap Color Challenge--
Red and Gold.

It's made with a serendipity style background,
Altered Pages images, ink, red and gold tassle,
red tissue, and some gold embossing around the
edge of the image. You know, I've had so much
fun with this last round of Asian themed challenges
at Gingersnap Creations, I kept a little pile of
goodies as I worked . . . so, if you'd like to
receive a little packet of supplies, just leave
a comment on this post. If you'd like another
go, let me know you're a follower, or go ahead
and follow now, if you like. No need to leave
multiple comments, just one "all inclusive" will
suffice. Oh, oh, oh, and for another chance,
leave a link in your comment to a red and gold
something YOU'VE made--I'd love to stop by and see!

It's not a huge packet, just enough goodies to make
a few atcs or skinnies; some German scrap, papers,
images, etc. Everyone everywhere is welcome, and
we'll close out comments and randomly draw a
goodie-getter late next Wednesday morning. I'll
probably get around to posting a picture later
today . . .

Here it is!

Some red tissue, shiny gold patterned tissue,
patterned paper cut to skinny size, red flocked
envie with embossed figures, some tiny Prima
"cherry blossoms," a few rub-ons, some super
fine gold glitter, collage images and text,
ephemera (translation: newpaper clippings and
a restaurant placemat!!), a red felty butterfly,
a couple of charms, some red and gold German
scrap, plus some red trim and cord.

:)

geisha atc fan

2011-04-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, yes, these pictures are pretty horrible--if
I could have the camera in hand, AND a day with just
a little bit of sunshine, maybe these would be
better. Ugh. Sorry about that--you know how it is
when you make something that turns out kind of neat,
and then you can't seem to get a good shot of it?
Maybe that's just me . . .

ANYWAY, this is a simple atc fan--nothing elaborate.
Some rich Basic Grey in the background, great geisha
images from Altered Pages, gorgeous gold German
scrap, and a little ink, of course!

Here it is closed, obviously, and

open:

This is for the new Random Redhead Fan Challenge at
Gingersnap Creations--the design team has come up
with some lovely pieces to inspire you, so stop by
and join in the fun!

I really like altered art fans; these are several
made a year or so ago. All the images came from
Altered Pages--maybe you remember them, as they
were available for a time as project kits:

(This one was also published in Altered Arts magazine.)

Fun stuff! I hope to see your fan creations soon!

:)

misty geisha folder

2011-04-13T06:36:00.000-07:00

The new challenge at Gingersnap Creations is mists.
I really like the look of mists, but since I don't
have much in the way of the new mist products--a
couple of homemade concoctions--I usually just
use spray paint.

We have a LOT of spray paint. Think every color
of the rainbow, plus metallics.

ANYWAY, you can really see the shimmery, misty
outline of (yes, again--remember "this card"?) my
favorite plastic doily in this pic:

This is a stitched skinny holder folder, going along
with the general Far East GSC theme this month, using
Basic Grey paper, distress inks, and embellishments.
The challenges--like the misting--do NOT have to go
along with the Far East theme, I just tend to get a
little carried away sometimes . . .

Done any misting lately? Come join the challenge
at Gingersnap Creations; I'd love to stop by and
take a peek!

:)

wedding card . . . kind of a book . . .

2011-04-12T10:53:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year. Weddings everywhere.

The cover of this card is a thick iridescent cardstock,
so pretty, but it's hard to show you the shimmer. It kind
of comes through in this pic:

This card turned into something of a mini book.
The lace is holding the envie with the check--
I wish I were better at picking out gifts . . .

The verse and sentiment are from Our Daily Bread
Designs' Love One Another. Here is another wedding card I
recently made, using the same set---one post down---after
the list of other fun challenges!
:)
Bearly Mine--Inside Out
Claudia & Company--monochromatic
Ladybug Crafts Ink--Celebration
Tuesday Throwdown--sparkle and bling
Lexi's Creations--monochromatic
Creative Stamp Friends--swirls

wedding card

2011-04-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

I've been looking at the ODBD challenges now
and again, but have never entered one--these
fit with the current "no ribbon" challenge,
so I suppose this is as good a time as any, right?
:)

Plus:
Tuesday Throwdown--sparkle and bling
Papertake Weekly Challenge--dimensional

flashback to 2007 . . .

2011-04-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

There is a site called Flashback Friday Challenges--
have you heard of it? I ran across it this weekend
for the first time. The current challenge is to
repost your first blog post that features stitching,
either real or faux. I'm reposting the whole deal;
I really enjoyed being in that book club, it was
great to get together with some real "live" ladies
and make a little art. The pics enlarge jumbo size
if you click on them--apparently this was before I
knew how to resize anything. ;)

I joined an altered book club, and it's been great for making me
go make something. I mean really, if you've committed to having
someone else's pages done, it would be pretty bad to just show up
and say, "Oops, sorry! Didn't bother to even open your book . . ."

So here's my latest artistic endeavor. The theme is supposed to be
"Home or Insanity." So of course, I switch it around--not on purpose,
I just glued the dictionary pages on the wrong sides! So the insanity
side features a vellum pocket sewn on, tags bearing proverbs stapled
with red rick-rack, and some crazy looking broads. Two have literally
lost their heads. The "Home" side is supposed to appear more peaceful,
and has a door to open, revealing a collage in the style of Claudine
Hellmuth. Yep, been reading her books, couldn't help myself!

Remember, you choose . . .
(Home or Insanity!)

a bee in her bonnet . . .

2011-04-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

Are you familiar with that saying? We don't
really wear bonnets anymore, and I'm unsure of
it's origins, but suffice it to say, I'm pretty
sure I DON'T want a bee in my bonnet, thank you!

I recently signed up at Bella Creations, and one
of my imaginary friends and fellow Gingersnap
Creations DT members (you may have seen her here
and there--hey, 2amscrapper!) is moderator of the
Oh-la-la group there. The image was supplied
for the April Bonnet challenge.

Besides the main collage image and text, there's black
Bazzill flourishes, netting, tulle, a bit of puncherella,
tissue paper, stamping in the background, distress ink,
ribbons, pearly pink microbeads, and glitter.

I also did a mini blog hop, finding all the required
project elements, over at the Creative Cutter
Room. (Nope, not telling--you have to go find out
for yourself! ;)

There are so many fun Easter and Spring challenges
right now--this little piece also fits in with all
these great challenges:

The Pink Elephant--Easter
Delicious Doodles (Easter and ribbons)
If the Shoe Fits . . . Scrap It!--Spring
Fun With Shapes and More
Res-Q-Challenge--tissue paper
Stamp Something--Sassy circle something
Stampin' for the weekend--Easter
The Shabby Tea Room--color challenge

So, if you're looking for a little inspiration
this weekend, there you go, right there!

Have fun!

:)

love looks not with the eyes . . .

2011-04-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

This is a wedding shower card. I wasn't planning
on doing all that I did with this, it just
HAPPENED. It was as if I had to use everything
in reach; not sure what came over me!

There's misting and masking, stamping, distress
inky sanded edges, German scrap, rub-ons, Prima
flowers (spray painted gold), a vellum tag, and
bits of this and that.

The flower money clip can be taken out and used as a
bookmark. You can really see the masking on the inside;
I used my favorite plastic doily and gold spray paint.
Yes, I have a favorite plastic doily--don't act like you
don't have a favorite-something-weird, we all know you do!

;)
That plastic doily masking technique goes right along
with Challenge Up Your Life's latest challenge . . .
as well as Charisma Cardz wedding/anniversary challenge.
At Samuel Taylor's Crafts, there's also the "distress it"
challenge, with Tim Holtz dies as the prize.
That rhymes.

I AM easily amused, you know . . .

geisha skinny card

2011-04-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

It's time for a new theme over at Gingersnap
Creations, and this time we're traveling to
the Far East for inspiration. The first challenge
is "Geisha."

This is a three by five skinny card, created on
a serendipity style background. The lovely geisha
collage image is from Altered Pages, and the
barely-visible-in-this-photo flower stamp is
from Stampin' Up. There's also some masking
and misting going on here, but you can see
that, right? It's all gold and shimmery.

Come play along with the challenge, or at least leave
me a link--I'd love to come see your geisha creations!

(You all know I can't resist a link, right?? ;)

more spring book pages

2011-04-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some more layouts from the hand bound
spring book--

The pages are different sizes, so you can see other
papers and pieces peeking out from behind.

These pics will enlarge if you click on them,
by the way . . .

I really like the page on the left in this layout,
but not so much the one on the right. Hmmmm.
These layouts weren't in the magazine, so
this is a bonus peek inside.

Could someone send me a little time to blog visit,
please? It probably wouldn't even need a padded
envelope, would it? This week is filling up fast,
and there's just not enough time for computer
goofing--

I miss visiting all my imaginary friends!

happy day!

2011-03-31T15:00:00.000-07:00

See that girl? That's my grandma. She was 17 when
this photograph was taken, in 1926. Her hair was
an amazing red, and she showed it off with those
Mary Pickford curls that were so popular for many,
many years.

Do you see the shadow in the bottom right of the photo?
It's probably my Great Aunt Pearl, my gran's little sister,
but we're not entirely sure about that.

This is star of stage and screen Mary Pickford--

isn't she adorable? Not to mention incredibly influential,
in her time. Pickford eventually cut her hair into
one of those 1920's bobs we associate with flappers,
as did my grandma.

It seems fitting to incorporate a photograph of one of
my favorite gingertops into a bit of art to announce
(happy day!) my invitation to join the design team over
at Gingersnap Creations. I've enjoyed participating in the
challenges there for over a year now, so I have to admit,
I'm pretty excited about this opportunity.

Thank you, Gingers--I'm looking forward to creating along
with you and all the awesome Gingersnappers for the next
six months!

:)

pssssst!!

2011-03-31T12:15:00.000-07:00

Psssstttt! Hey, my friend (real and imaginary)
The Contessa is having a giveaway for one of
her beautiful, bright houses.

Just sayin'. In case you want to, you know, go
check it out . . .

Is it just me? Right now, anything with bright
colors really gets me going. It's as if my eyes
are craving color after so many long days of gray.

spring

2011-03-30T17:34:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the new issue of Altered Arts Magazine?
I love opening my e-mail and discovering it there--
especially when I'm fortunate enough to find one of
my pieces among the pages!

This is the cover of a hand bound, spring themed book.
All of the collage images can be found at Altered Pages,
which is undergoing a huge makeover; it's going to
be amazingly different over there!

This is just one of the layouts of the Spring book
in Altered Arts. The pics in the magazine are MUCH
better, of course.

This is one of my favorite layouts--you can double click
to make it bigger for you:

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.

Isn't that a great proverb? Now, I just need to
keep reminding myself of that!!

Thank you, Altered Arts Magazine!

:)

office supplies and overdue thank yous

2011-03-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

It's almost Friday. Seriously, this week has flown
by! Finished off a little hand bound book, this
time including some mini file folders in the
mix of pages--thanks for the Office Supply
Challenge, Gingersnap Creations! (There's
some ledger paper in there, too.) Unfortunately,
we were out of town, and I didn't plan ahead
enough to create something in time for the
Gingersnapper Spirit Blog Hop--check
it out for lots of awesome gingery inspiration!

Did you participate in One World One Heart?
Yep, it's been over for awhile, but I need
to say a big THANK YOU to Nancy for these
gorgeous earrings:

Aren't they pretty?

And you aren't going to believe this, but Random
Number Guy was good to me again, and the talented
Ema K sent this pendant:

You can see more of Ema's things at her etsy shop.

THANK YOU again, Nancy and Ema!

:)

life atc

2011-03-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

This week has been too busy for my taste. Too
much going on, and not enough down time, even
today. Seriously in need of a little art therapy,
I stole a few minutes in the art room, and made
this atc--

Does anyone still use twinkling H2Os? Those shimmery
watercolor paints--ohhhh, I DO like those. I wish you
could hold this in your hands and see the iridescence
of the citrine, turquoise, and amethyst! And the image's
Mona Lisa type smile (she's from Altered Pages) is a nice
accompaniment to the text. A little gold German scrap,
inked edges, and metallic crayon finish off this atc.
Simple, maybe, but just the bit of "go make something"
I needed today!

Citrine, turquoise, and amethyst may be considered semi-
precious gems, but they're some of my favorites, and
still appropriate for the Gingersnap Creations Jewel
Colors Plus Gold challenge.

Now back to "real life." Whatever that means . . .

Easter cards.

2011-03-16T16:00:00.000-07:00

Here's the thing--I like these fine last night, but
today . . . they make me cringe a little. They're
okay, but definitely NOT going to be everyone's
cuppa tea. The challenge was for these to be cards,
Easter themed, use pastels, and have some stamping.

The thing is, they're for a swap, so I'm hoping my
swap partners, whomever they may be, don't open their
package and say:

"Well, isn't this one interesting."

That is my mom's polite code, used occasionally at
art fairs, galleries, etc., for "I don't really
like this, but someone else must, so I won't say
anything negative."

My mom is really nice. I like that about her!

:)

crown

2011-03-11T15:21:00.000-08:00

Do you ever start to make something, and then
end up making something completely different
from what you had originally envisioned?

When I first read the Random Readhead "crown" challenge
at Gingersnap Creations, I was delighted at the prospect
of using one of my favorite new stamps--you can see it on
Titania, Queen of the Fairies.

But then, the appeal of making a "real" crown was
just too strong, so I got out my big roll of wire.
Really, I intended to make a traditional kind of
crown, you know, with triangle-points at the top,
tipped with jewels, but that didn't happen AT ALL.

Then, I was blog snooping, ahem, visiting, some
of the inspiring Ginger blogs, and found the
Simon Says Stamp and Show some metal challenge.

So there you go.

Finished it up last night, and wore it until
it was time for bed . . .

song in my heart

2011-03-03T14:45:00.000-08:00

I don't have tons of charms--lots of stuff you
could use as charms, I suppose, but not a lot of
actual store-bought, this-is-a-charm, charms.
Sooooo I kind of combined two tutorial techniques,
one by Penny Bennington, and one by Shelly Hickox.
I used Model Magic instead of paper, AND
instead of Primo, basically because I didn't
want to have to rummage through my daughter's
room to find the "real" clay!

This piece goes along with the latest Gingersnap
Creations Spicy Supply Challenge using, what else?
Charms, of course!

Sometimes I get so caught up playing with a new
technique, that the actual make is just kind of,
well, bleah, but this turned out pretty well. I
know, because that aforementioned daughter is not
shy with her opinions. She says she approves. ;)

Does anyone else have a live-in art critic?

****update****

Well, I guess the girl child was right--
thank you, Gingersnaps!
:)

little bottles

2011-02-26T13:09:00.000-08:00

Graphic 45 paper is delicious; these little
bottles are for a challenge over at Creative
Cutter World.

Made the tiny roses using the technique in the
super easy flower making tutorial posted in my
sidebar--it works just as well with fabric, too,
but you don't have to wet the fabric!

Happy Weekend, everyone!

:)

****update****

You aren't going to believe this, but I
actually won the challenge!
THANK YOU Creative Cutter World!