HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I'm ringing in the new year with a wish that everyone will find more time for whatever makes you happiest and, of course, for making art. Has anyone made any resolutions for the year?

Time Flies

I can't believe it's been more than two weeks since I've blogged. The holidays have a way of sucking up the hours. My five grown children came home, along with one boyfriend, so we had a houseful along with some fun times. The last one left early this morning, so peace has once again descended here. I look forward to getting back into "the routine" and making more art. But that will have to wait a bit longer - first there's cleanup duty!

Disaster!

Oh no, I can't believe I did this! I made a soldered ornament for work's ornament exchange on Sunday. I had it all finished and was polishing it, when I dropped it on the counter and broke the glass on the back! This was an unusual size of glass and I only had two pieces. Plus, I'm working all day tomorrow and the party is Sunday afternoon! I am so bummed - the soldering even came out pretty well on this one. Have no idea what to do - due to the time I might just wrap it up as is and tell the recipient that I will redo it. That seems tacky, but I don't know what else to do now... Two morals to this story - don't wait til the last minute to do something and don't drop glass! Grrrrr!

And more...

I've finished the calendar and it's going in the mail tomorrow! Above are the last four months. Below is a photo of the front with a picture of our family. This is actually a picture frame with an easel which holds it upright. The second photo shows how the pages will flip over for each month.

More calendar pages

Four more months:

Calendar gift

I am working on a calendar for my mother-in-law for Christmas. The monthly pages are 7 1/2" x 8 1/2" using patterned papers, stamping, glitter and lots of embellishments. The support for the calendar will be an 8 1/2" x 10" "naked" chipboard frame that I will decorate and the pages will be attached with two binder rings at the top. I'm about finished with the pages and have the frame to do before putting it all together and getting it in the mail in time for Christmas. Here are the first four months.

Winter in TX

Thursday and Friday were super hot here. We had a record-breaking high of 84 degrees on Friday! So, while I was doing a little Christmas shopping, I just had to take some pictures of these beautiful store window displays, thinking that it might be the only way to experience winter!

The first is the window display of Anthropologie. Look at all those intricate snowflakes hung on invisible thread. This store location is on a corner and they had at least four large windows dressed like this. Lovely! And, they had the cutest little red knitted mittens for their gift cards.

And, right next door and not to be outdone, was the Apple store. Their two large windows sported these great snowballs. I think they were made of quilt batting. At least temporarily I could

feel like it was indeed the winter and holiday season.

More cards

Here's another card (above). I love this paper by Creative Imaginations. The stamp is from My Sentiments Exactly. I embossed it in black on red cardstock. The ornament is attached with pop dots. The sentiment is ribbon from Joann's. I made alot of this card below. The stamps are from Rubber Soul and this was a company sample I copied. The wreath and sentiment are stamped with SU Certainly Celery on cream cardstock. The berries were punched with 1/16 and 1/8 hole punches and the wreath was layered first on red cardstock, then green metallic. The card is much creamier and more elegant looking IRL than this scan shows.
And this one uses another of the SU tree image layered on a background (Just for Fun) stamped in red. Looks much different than the one posted yesterday stamped in blue!
I'm off to make more cards. I'm up to about 60 now!

Christmas Cards Galore

Every year I get an idea for a card and purchase a few stamps - but I can never stick to one design for long. 100 identical cards is just too boring, especially with all the great stamps on the market! So, here are a few of this year's Christmas cards which I'm trying to finish.



















The card on the above left uses a stamp from Stampers Anonymous. I dry-brushed gold acrylic paint on the back of acetate, then stamped on the front with Staz On. The card on the above right is similar to one I posted awhile back which I had done for a "make-n-take" at the store. I used alcohol inks on glossy cardstock, Twinkling H2Os for coloring in the images (sprinkled with glitter while wet) and a Stampendous clear stamp set.

The Santa stamp on the next card is by Inkadinkado. These colors didn't scan well, as the base card and background of stamped image are cream and the ink and layer are dark green. I threaded gold beads onto cream sheer ribbon before attaching to the layer. This was actually CASEd from somewhere on the web - sorry I can't remember where to give credit.

The blue card uses 3 stamps from Just for Fun. This is actually their "Project of the Month" card on their website. I love the little girl and her doll. The words are all one background stamp and the snowflakes a border. I added Stickles dots inside the snowflakes.

I'm working on more - will share tomorrow. So many stamps, so little time...

I'm back!

Arrived home this afternoon from a very quick trip to Chicago to see the flamenco dance recital of my daughter. When I left yesterday it was 74 degrees in Ft. Worth - today it was 21 degrees with a biting wind in Chicago! Even so, it was fun to be in the city at this time of year when lots of holiday decorations are up. And the lake sure looked different from summertime! But it's good to be home...

New header

Did you notice my new header? I have held off changing it until December 1st - just doesn't seem right to put up Christmas stuff until December. I'm so excited to share it with you - I love it! I have tried and tried to make my own, but finally was forced to get some hlep. This was made by the very talented Kris Hurst at Blissfull Elements (http://krislhurst.blogspot.com) - check out her wonderful art on her blog.

I'm off to Chicago again tomorrow for a few days. My oldest daughter is taking flamenco dance and will be in a studio recital tomorrow evening. Looking forward to that, plus getting to see three of my girls, but not the cold weather! It will seem even colder coming from the 70-degree weather the past few days here in Texas.

New Product - Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint

I finally found the new Tim Holtz Crackle Paint and bought a jar. This comes in a 1.1 oz. plastic jar and is a thick water-based paint in colors to match the Tim Holtz Distress Inks. The cap has an attached applicator for no mess, no fuss. It's a one-step crackle process - just paint on and wait for it to dry and crackle.



I tested this on a plain shipping tag. The directions say to paint a medium coat for fine cracks and a thick coat for heavier cracks, so I painted thickly on the top portion of the tag and a thinner coat on the bottom to see any differences. I apologize for the poor photos - this was very hard to get a closeup without glare.




The first photo shows the tag just after painting (with glare). The second photo shows the dry paint crackled.

I was disappointed in this product and doubt I will purchase more. It is expensive and does not produce a nice crackle finish as I expected. The thinner coat of paint hardly crackled and the thicker coat looks more like parched ground rather than cracks. I think a regular crackle product produces a better effect. You can also crackle by painting over any white glue while wet - using Elmers glue and inexpensive craft paint would do the trick more cheaply than this product. One amazing thing about this paint, though, is it's self-leveling - you paint it on very thickly and messy and it levels out to a rather smooth application.

Countdown to Christmas

It's time once again for Lisa Vollrath's seasonal countdown. Starting tomorrow (Dec. 1) through Christmas, she will post downloads on her site: http://countdown.tentwostudios.com
She always offers wonderful images and only asks that to download you first link her site on a message board, website or blog. Save it to your favorites and check it out every day until Christmas! (Be sure to read the "fine print" on what you can and can't do with these downloads.)

Christmas Cone

This is a cone I just finished for friend Diann in an online swap. The gold paper at the top is not part of the cone - just in there for holding some little goodies.

I used a heavy chipboard-type cone I found at Michael's - looks much like the old thread cones. I spray-painted the inside gold and covered the outside with some Anna Griffin Xmas paper, then cut and glued a gold paper doily around the top and bottom.

The bottom of the cone was open, which posed a problem - how to make the cone come to a point? I found a little door hanger at the dollar store which had ribbons, bells, etc. hanging from a gold and red ring. I bought this thinking that I could use the bells for the bottom of the cone, but that didn't work. Serendipity - the ring fit the cone opening perfectly!! I took the top gold rim off one of the jingle bells, glued it in the hole in the bottom of the cone and added a tiny red glittery bell upside down to form the cone point.

I punched holes on either side of the cone with my trusty Crop-d-dile (love that tool for punching holes!) and knotted sheer ribbon through the holes for a hanger. I added rosettes made with the same ribbon to the sides and Stickles "jewels" to some of the snowflakes and the doily.

3D Advent Calendar

We haven't put up an Advent Calendar since the kids were all young, but I saw this darling Making Memories kit - in Target of all places! - and just had to have it. The kit comes complete with the heavy chipboard red box with 25 little drawers, all precut papers for the drawer fronts, rub-ons, chipboard buttons, poinsettias, ribbon and holly and brads. The only things I added were Xyron adhesive for the papers (these fit the X-box sticker maker exactly), three brads for the flower centers and tiny ribbons for the buttons. I would have loved this when the kids were little for special little prizes or candies each day - maybe I'll put some tiny embellishments in each drawer for my own private Advent calendar!

Sidenote: I used my tiny Heidi Swapp iron to straighten the ribbon - you know, the itty bitty pink and black one that looks like it's made for Barbie. Well, I forgot it and left it plugged in all last night and all day today while at work! The good news is that I didn't melt my cutting mat, burn down the house or fry my iron! It still works! So that's a good endorsement for that little iron.

All About Inks

Confused about the variety of stamping inks on the market and what each is used for? Here's some information I compiled for my stamping classes.

INTRODUCTION TO STAMPING INKS


Inkpads fit into three basic categories, although there is some crossover and a few “exceptions.” The most important thing to remember is to first select the material you will be stamping on and then choose an appropriate inkpad for that application.

DYE-BASED INKS
Water-based and washable (semi-permanent once dry)
Dry quickly (and, thus, not used for heat embossing)
Best for detailed stamps
Usually dry on all papers, including glossy, though may need to be heat-set
May fade over time

PIGMENT INKS
Slow drying (used for heat-embossing)
Smears easily until dry
Cannot be used on non-porous surfaces (glossy or matte papers) unless embossed
Fade resistant
Resist and embossing inks are included in this category
* Note: Brilliance pigment ink is the only ink that will dry on vellum!

PERMANENT INKS
Either water-soluble or solvent-based
Dry quickly
Can be used on non-porous surfaces, including glossy paper, transparencies,
shrink plastic
Use when coloring image with water-soluble media
Special cleaner may be needed


OTHER:

CHALK INKS
Rich, opaque colors with matte finish
Blend easily
Can be embossed
Permanent when heat-set
Some brands juicier than others (ie. Colorbox)

VERSAMARK
Actually a pigment ink but “in a class by itself”
Can be used for resist technique, heat-embossing, watermark background

Moo Cards

I have no idea why these are called "moo" cards, but they are similar to business cards only about half the size - approximately 1" x 2 3/4". They are available through Flickr and come in sets of 100. They are made from any combination of photos you have stored on Flickr and can have up to 6 lines of text on the back.

I ordered mine a few weeks ago with ten copies of my collages and they came in Friday's mail. It is so fun to see your own art and name on cards! And the artwork looks so different in miniature! I am loving these - makes me feel almost "professional!" I am hoping to give them to my fellow store employees as well as our customers so we can keep in touch after Recollections closes.

Crazy, busy weekend

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday. We only expected one daughter from Albuquerque, but Thanksgiving afternoon our daughter from Chicago (flight attendant for Southwest) called to say she would arrive at 5:30 since the airlines didn't call her for a trip. So, we put a hold on the cooking dinner and had a later feast with the two of them. They both left early Saturday so it was a quick visit!

There's a saying in Texas that if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change. Well, change it did. Early in the week we had 80 degrees and the air conditioner running. Thanksgiving morning turned COLD and it actually snowed big flakes in the afternoon. It's back up in the 50's and raining now.

I did manage to find some time for art. I finished twelve 12x12 layouts for a calendar class at Recollections. It was designed by the corporate office but still took hours to put together. Sorry I don't have photos!

I also finished two birthday/anniversary books this weekend. These are tab board books, covered with coordinating patterned papers, with a metal title frame and ribbon tie closure. Each inside page is stamped with a month and has a cardstock block with 31 spaces for writing names for the birthdays and anniversaries that month. These will be Christmas gifts for my Mom and SIL. Hope they're not reading this!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday. Take time to reflect on the many blessings in our lives and enjoy this special time with family and friends. We are expecting a quiet and relaxing day since only one of our five children will be here this year. I may even make some art!

Tag Card

Despite a full week of work, I am managing to get caught up with swaps and mingles that are due. One of my online groups does a "mingle" every month where a photo of some random object is posted and you make something inspired by that object. This month;s challenge was this photo of three little pots (or bowls?). I liked the bright, cheery mix of green and red and white which are also Christmasy colors.


I made a tag and pocket using an Accucut die and embellished with the polka dot patterned paper. The dots on the back of the pocket were stamped with a brand new pencil eraser!


Here's the tag out of the pocket. I used my new large corner punch and added Diamond Glaze for shine. The striped ribbon mimics the striped bowls and adds contrast to all the dots. This is going to Teresa - hope she likes it.

New stamps

I love a bargain! Michael's and Joann's have started selling some wood-mounted and clear stamps for only $1.00 each. I have purchased some in the past and they are decent quality. The rubber is deeply etched and stamps well. The clear sets are mostly tiny images but still a good deal.

I found these Christmas stamps at Michael's last week - too cute to pass up, especially for $1 each!

And two more from Joann's. Now, why in the world do I "need" this many Christmas stamps!

4 x 4 Swap

This week has been very hectic - my "part-time" job has morphed into over 30 hours this week with no days off. And I'm trying to finish a few swaps before the deadlines. I did manage to finish the Circus 4x4

I collaged different circus images I found on the Internet with part of a circus ad in our newspaper. The pages are copies of the original with additions of Stickles on the elephant and the "tent" border, a Bingo marker for the ball and a tiny red pompom for the clown's nose. I also used a new "make-your-own-rubons" product for the circus title. This is made by Grafix - you can draw, rubber stamp or print a design with your computer on this film, apply the special adhesive sheet included and then remove the liner and use as a regular rubon. It was the first time I'd used this and I like it. It wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.

The backs of these were supposed to be decorated as well. I used real popcorn bags from the dollar store for the backs, folding over about half an inch on the top front to simulate a "bigtop." The ticket stamp is from Invoke Arts.

Now all I need to do is get these in the mail!

Holiday Card Make 'n Take

We had an after-hours private party at the store last night. About 50 ladies from all over the country were in town for a scrapbook retreat and came to the store to shop and party. I did a "make 'n take" project - the above holiday card using alcohol inks, Twinkling H2Os, glitter and the new Tag Curler. It's a matchbook fold on glossy paper and is actually more red than the scan shows. Everyone had a great time and stayed until almost midnight!

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Halloween. We have even had a few trick-or-treaters this year after none last year! The kids were older ones - the little ones just don't seem to go out door to door anymore. Such a shame - some of my fondest memories are of trick-or-treating throughout the neighborhood. Times have changed.

So here's some treats for you. If you use them in your art, I'd love to see what you do!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

More cards

We were away for a quick weekend in Kansas City to celebrate my MIL's 80th birthday. I managed to fit a visit to Archivers in - what a treat. It's a huge store filled to the brim with great papers, stamps and accessories. I am hoping that now that Recollections is closing in the DFW area, they will open stores here!

Here's a "cuttlebugged" thank you card I made for my SIL and BIL for letting us stay with them. The raised areas are lightly chalked.

And here are a few more Halloween cards using my new "Jack" stamps from Just for Fun. Aren't they fun stamps?!

More Christmas Cards

Here are more cards for the cancer fundraiser. These are all very simple cards, but I hope they will sell well.