Merry Christmas!

First,. my apologies for random posts that have been appearing and disappearing!  I have been trying to use the blogger app on my phone with unexpected results..

Here is my Paris themed Christmas card.  Our family chooses a theme each year and I try to make a card to go with the theme for family members.

I also made cards with my friend Teresa Clark who is a Stampin Up rep.  She hosts a 'Stamp a Stack' for Christmas and we made batches of these beautiful cards.  (except for one - I gave away all 4 so fast that they didn't make the picture)

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone has a marvelous and fun Halloween!

 I made this card using Paula Cheney's technique here (and it is almost a direct copy).  I just had to try making my own.  Love the ghostly skull and crossbone images from the stencil.

31 Days of Halloween - Skeleton Luminaria

My final project for 31 Days of Halloween!  What a fun month this has been and I have enjoyed using my LCD\CV stamps.

I found these triptychs in a bargain bin at the craft store.  I cut out the centers and then painted them black.  To add texture I stamped some borders on the edges with a lighter ink.  The skeleton images were stamped onto paper and then copied onto vellum.  The vellum is then placed in the 'windows'. They look great with lights behind them, but, my camera doesn't photograph well in the dark.

Happy Halloween my friends!

31 Days of Halloween - Magic

31 Days of Halloween continues here and there is lots of stamping inspiration for the Halloween season to check out!

I use this Cityscape stamp a lot!  It can be used in so many different ways - as foreground or background, and I just think it is really cool looking.

To make this card I stamped the Cityscape image onto watercolor paper with archival ink and let it dry thoroughly.  Next, using a waterbrush, I brushed on Dusty Concord and Crushed Olive distress ink (using a mask to make the moon shape).  I inked the edges with Hickory Smoke distress ink and then used the Hickory Smoke ink along with the bat mask to create the bat images.  Finally, I mounted the text band and the image onto Dusty Concord paper with some brads.

The text stamp for the word Magic is also on this page.  This multi-word stamp is also going to be very useful!

31 Days of Halloween - Halloween Treat Tin

31 Days of Halloween continues!  I am really enjoying the posts this month here.

I love altering tins! For this tin, I used the 'Skeleton and Roses' stamp from Lost Coast Designs.  First I painted the tin with black gesso (a marvelous invention for Halloween lovers like me).  I then distressed the edges and glued on the stamped images.  I applied some Diamond Glaze for some shine.

I did not decorate the inside because I am stuffing it with Mike and Ikes!

31 Days of Halloween - Button Fairy

Check out todays post at Lost Coast!

It has been a while since I made a button fairy and this little girl has Halloween written all over her.  I enjoy selecting the buttons for these creatures and assembling their wings.  Quite a few of these fly around my craft room !

Stamp Used:  Button Girl
http://lost-coast-designs.com/nostalgia.html

31 Days of Halloween at Lost Coast!

The 31 Days of Halloween is underway at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity!  I will be posting my entries throughout the month.  Lots of inspiration for Halloween (my favorite time of the year for crafting).

Packing Tape Transfer over Sheet Music

Took another stab at this technique and I am even happier with the result.  This time I used the actual magazine page for the transfer instead of a copy of the image (this is a Southern Living floral arrangement, btw).  Removing the magazine page from the packing tape takes much less time than regular cardstock!  However, it did leave some faint lines along the packing tape edges.  I don't mind the lines, it just adds to the aged look.

My friend Dr. Craftenstein recommended sanding the transfer lightly to remove some of the shine and that was exactly what was needed.  Thanks Dr. C!

I made another one of my paper bag 'envelopes'.  Unfortunately, I learned that the United States Postal service machines will sometimes grab onto an embellishment and then proceed to mangle the envelope.  So, I had been wrapping up embellished cards with paper before mailing.  Now, I slip the card into this little paper bag.  Opening up my cards is now like the opening sequence of Get Smart.

Published in Rubber Stamp Madness - Halloween Triptych

Many thanks to Rubber Stamp Madness for including my Halloween Triptych in their Fall Issue!

Ballerina Card for Fiona

It is hard for me to resist a garage sale, and, at a recent sale I found a package of these delightful ballerina cupcake toppers for $1. The tiny tulle skirts are just too cute!  I used the packaging to make the frame and background and the cupcake liners that came with the kit were used for the curtain and the flower.  The whole card came together in less than an hour (which is lightning fast for me).

New Bear and Old Bear

Remember when I promised to restore my husband's beloved teddy bear?  Well, I am finished with the restoration and he is looking quite sassy there on the left!

To restore him, I opened a small seam and removed his ancient stuffing.  I am not sure what they stuffed toys with back in the day, but, I seriously hope that was not asbestos.  Next, he was gently soaked and washed for a looong time.  He was really dirty and it took a lot of time to get that grime off.  Once he was clean and dry, I replaced his missing eye with a matching safety eye (thank you Amazon!).  I restuffed the dear boy and then sewed him up again.

I thought about restitching his mouth, but, I like his expression.  He is a boy's teddy bear and has a somewhat defiant look which I love.

On the right is my latest Mr. Ted.  I am doing the ears and eyes a new way - I like them better than the original pattern.

Birthday Butterfly

I was so happy with how this card came out!  This is almost a direct copy of a tag that Tammy Tutterow made.  It is a fun technique and then I had to go and add some glitter on the edges - that's just how I roll.

I did not have a good envelope for this card, so I made one out of a paper bag.  I liked it so much, that I will definetly do this again.

Happy Birthday dear friend!

Christmas in July at LCD\CV

It is so very hot outside here in Georgia!  Nothing more delightful than thinking about Christmas and the chilly weather, decorating fun, and baked goods.  Wait, let's not think about baked goods right now....

This beautiful Christmas stamp makes a nice centerpiece for a simple card.  I love his hat!!  Here is a closeup.

I think I am going to stay inside today and make some more of these cards.  I will be happy I did when things get busy in December!

LEGO card

All of the kids in my family love LEGOs!  I found this idea on the internet here and there are several different versions around.  It was fun to make and it was quite a hit with my nephew.

Happy Birthday Jonas!

Skellie-Fest!

Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda (LCD\CV) are hosting Skellie-Fest this month.  Here is my Guest Designer Submission, titled 'Juggling Skeleton'.  Why wait until Halloween to celebrate the spooky stuff?

Here are the steps:

I copied the stamped image onto card stock and then glued on some torn book pages.  Next, I treated the skeleton with some Distress Glaze to keep it from getting too much ink color on it.

I inked the entire piece using 'Twisted Citron' Distress Ink.  I then laid the stencil on top and inked again with 'Wilted Violet' Distress Ink.  I love this wavy line stencil!

I embellished the project using circles punched from leftovers from this project and a pre-printed 'Trick or Treat' card I had in my stash....

Here are the LCD\CV products I used:

Articulated Skeleton (scroll down)
Journal Stencil
Grunge Trees (scroll down)

Guest Designer!

I am super excited to announce that I am now a Guest Designer for Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda stamp company!  I have used the stamps from this company for years and theirs is always the first booth I stop at during the Heirloom Paper Arts Convention.  To celebrate, I created this for the Half A Ween celebration going on on their Challenges blog.

Half A Ween is the midyear celebration of Halloween (except I called it Hallowtween - LOL).

To make the project I misted paper with ink sprays and then stamped over the result with the Lost Coast Designs Grunge Tree stamp for a background.  I then stamped the Lost Designs Button Girl Stamp on different papers and embellished with a grungeboard crown, a real button, and white gel pen highlights.

I love her serious expression and her darling lace dress !  Happy Half a Ween !!

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2016 - February

I had to try out this technique remix tag this month.  In an antique store I found the picture of the lady and just loved her hat!  Had copies made so I could retain the original.  She has such a sweet smile.  The flower is a rolled paper flower from vintage bookpaper and I added some pearl tipped pins that I have had for a long time.  Here are the supplies I used, but, I forgot to include the Tim Holtz lace, which I dyed using distress inks.

Also made this tag featuring a picture of my Mom from the 80's.  I haven't put a sentiment on there yet.  Isn't she sweet!

Published in 'Stamping All Year Long'

I was stunned to see my Easter Card on the cover!  I am so happy that two of my submissions were accepted for this new publication from RubberStampMadness.  There is a lot of beautiful artwork in this book - you can purchase it here.

Sewing Projects

This year, I have been catching up on forgotten projects and I finally finished these burlap sack pillows.  They are for my step-daughter's new home and I was amazed at how quickly I can finish an envelope style pillow cover.  They were a big hit and had the desired shabby chic vibe.  Now I will be envelope covering everything in sight!

Also, made another Mr. Ted.  This one for my granddaughter.  I got a report that the beta version of this bear lost his button eyes quickly.  I immediately purchased safety eyes (visions of choking children keeping me up at night).  These safety eyes are going nowhere my friend!  Last I saw this guy, he was wearing a tiara at Mary-Grace's 2nd birthday party.

And here is a picture of dear Mr. Ted with my husband's first teddy bear.  I plan on restoring this little guy.

Back to some stamping fun!

Published! Stampers Sampler

Nothing is more exciting than opening the mailbox and discovering that you have been published!  I am so honored that this piece was chosen for Stampers' Sampler.  'Circus Dream' is one of those projects that turned out completely different from what I first envisioned.  The idea came from those odd dreams that I have when I sleep late.  Those dreams are so unusual that I tried to capture one.