Primitive Seasons

See the new gadget!!!

2012-01-27T18:19:00.003-05:00

Over on the left sidebar, you'll see a new gadget (that's what Blogger calls them.) It's the logo for the She Art workshop. If you click on it, it will take you to Christy Tomlinson's website and store. She is the fabulous artis behind She Art. I am signed up to take She Art 1 in the next 3 weeks, although I actually have up to 3 months to access all the pdfs and videos involved. I am really excited about this because one of my New Year's resolutions was to start an art journal and a good friend, Diane in Michigan, hooked me up with She Art. It's quite a phenomonon going around in the mixed media art world. It's called She Art because one of the core images used in this art is a simple shape of a girl. But oh boy, what you can do with her!! I hope to have some finished work to show here soon but I thought I'd let you all know in case you want to join in the fun. She Art 2 is also being offered but you should take 1 first as it addresses all the basics of mixed media art. I don't consider myself an artistic person but I've seen some of the work that beginners have done and it's soooo cool! Think about it!

In Honor of Ravens Purple Mania!

2012-01-13T15:38:00.002-05:00

As I said in the previous post, I'm not a Raven's fan but this is my part of participating in "purple mania!" One quarter of a square doily at the top, Spellbinders Labels 4 and the saying is from SU. MS leaf punch and some little flowers from Michaels. Ta da!

I think I really must like this color.....

2012-01-13T13:25:00.003-05:00

....because the last post used the same robin's egg blue or light teal, whatever you want to call it. This was done with scraps from my overflowing box. I used some SU paper and the seam binding is vintage. Found it in my MIL's when we cleaned her house out. I used Spellbinders Nested Pennants and Lacy Pennants dies and a Sizzix Flourish. The fact that the flourishes are mirror imaged was a happy accident. I turned the die to the blue one time through the machine and to brown (on the backside) on the other pass through. Used a Copic marker to color the little flower and both that and the sentiment are from SU stamps. My card box got quite empty last year so I have been trying to fill it up with this year's creations! Enjoy your weekend. I know lots of you are experiencing snow and this is a big football weekend too, especially for the Baltimore Ravens. Not a fan myself but Baltimore is painting the town purple for sure! Stay snug and warm and make art.

First Creation of 2012

2012-01-06T10:04:00.005-05:00

I made a pair of these cards with the idea in mind of using texture, white and one color. The white paper is Stampin Up and the lace medallion, cut with Spellbinders Lace Doily Motifs is a paper that came with my Cricut. This is the first time I've ever had a problem with a Spellbinders die. The diecut would not release from the die. I had to use several pokey tools to get it out and ruined a couple in the process. I think the problem was the paper was too thick. SU papers are heavy and I think a thinner weight paper would be better. The small medallion is a Spellbinders die also, Fleur de Lis Rectangles. The saying is also from SU, "Blessings from Heaven." The flower is Prima and I used the texture folder also from SU. The ribbon I had on hand. No clue where I got it. I also used a couple dots of" Bottle" Perfect Pearls. Hope everyone has a great weekend and stay warm wherever you are!

Blog Give Away

2011-12-31T14:48:00.002-05:00

http://keepsakesbymelissa.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-annual-end-of-year-christmas.html

Click on the addy above and enter to win some fabulous prizes. I do mean fabulous!

Belated Blogger and Happy New Year

2011-12-31T09:20:00.004-05:00

I think this must be the longest I have ever gone and not posted. I have even considered doing away with my blog but I love doing it. It's just that lately with various health issues and the holidays I have been unable to find the time. However, I hope to remedy that in the New Year! Speaking of which I want to wish everyone who visits a happy, healthy, peace filled and stress free New Year. I hope the world becomes a better place in 2012, at least in small ways. This country especially needs our prayers to turn around the problems facing us so if you have a moment once a week or so, offer a small prayer for that reason. I am a firm believer in the power of prayer and lately I feel it is the ONLY way to remedy our problems. I thank you for that and hope you have a happy new year weekend!

The Newest Member of the Family

2011-12-08T19:34:00.003-05:00

I would like you to meet Grace, the newest member of our family. I have wanted an old vintage dress form for as long as I can remember. I was finally successful in securing one and she's a beauty. The petticoat she is wearing, which hides her metal cage, belonged to my husband's grandmother and the pocket watch was my great grandfather's. She arrived just in time for Christmas. I don't know what her permanent spot will be yet but right now I am enjoying her here next to my desk. Sigh!

2011-12-06T12:50:00.003-05:00

A night time photographer I'm not but it looks nice nonetheless. I took this the other night after my husband had finished with the lights. I am recovering nicely from the rotator cuff surgery. First couple of days were rough but I'm relatively pain free now. Now comes rehab! Hope you are finding time for yourself during this busy season to create a little something and stop to remember what it's really all about. Enjoy!

A few more houses......

2011-11-23T17:56:00.007-05:00

Well I decided to try my hand at some larger paper mache houses. These are available at your local craft store. I used PTI's Home Made stamps for the doors, windows etc and some bottle brush trees, K&Co tags, glittered snow flakes, stars and mini candy canes and a little vintage reindeer I had. My studio is covered in glitter. I love the effect but I hate the mess! Yuk! I wanted to get these finished as I am going in for out patient surgery on Monday. I have a partial tear of my right rotator cuff. But I'm hoping to at least get on my blog and Pinterest after the first couple days. Don't know for sure. Have to wait and see. Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have much to be thankful for don't we?

Christmas and Cereal???

2011-11-21T15:46:00.007-05:00

I bet you're wondering what this post is all about. Well as you can see I have been busy making small christmas garden type houses which have a rather vintage feel and I made them from the cardboard cereal boxes. The houses themselves are made from the small individual serving size cereal box. The corners of the buidings correspond to the folds of the box. If you try this make sure you open them carefully. The roof and other extra pieces are made from full size cereal box chipboard. Here are the patterns and directions: http://www.issuu.com/inspired-ideas/docs/christmas?AID=10752329&PID=3872207&SID=skim1847X546955Xe8230083fd7fcaea3b6d7068c8ed0bc5

This is an online magazine. Just click on and page through. At the end you click on the Index for the patterns which you can print on your copier. You may have to adjust the patterns slightly for your cereal boxes as I found they weren't quite true but no biggie! A little paint, a lot of glitter and some mini trees etc. and you have a little village in no time. Enjoy!

I forgot!!!

2011-11-08T18:27:00.004-05:00

I forgot to tell you that the Flower Shoppe cartridge also has ten different shapes of leaves for your flowers. I added a leaf or two to the first flower I showed you in the last post and then made a different flower /center/leaf for the other photo. The white in the center is glue which hadn't dried! Can you tell I get excited over this stuff!! Enjoy!

Don't you love flowers???

2011-11-08T17:04:00.004-05:00

Don't you just love flowers? I do and I love making them. This little flower I am holding is from the Cricut cartridge Flower Shoppe. Check out the center! This is why I held it close to the camera for you to see. This cartridge has dozens of flower layers and you can choose how you wish to put your flowers together. The centers are cut then rolled around a dowel or chopstick. Then you glue the layers together. But the fun is choosing how you want the petals to look. This is only one of many combinations. I added a bead for the center and then sprayed with Perfect Pearls Mist in Forever Red (a Ranger product). Click on the picture to see it larger and you'll see the effect of the Mist. And if course you can make them in any size you want. You can use graduated sizes as I did here or you can make many layers of one size for a very full three dimensional flower. This is one cartridge that is going to get a lot of use in my studio. Have a great week everyone.

Punch Tricks

2011-11-06T12:42:00.005-05:00

Hi everyone! It's a beautiful fall day here in north east Maryland, sunny and cool! I just got back from a shopping trip to JA's and Mike's and have something really fun to share with you. Martha Stewart has a Christmas deep edge border punch out called Skyland Snowflake. The magic comes in that you can use it for a double edge border punch as well as a single snowflake in addition to being a deep edge punch. I hope the picture demonstrates this.

I began with a strip of paper cut 2 and 1/4 wide and used the punch in the typical way to go down the edge of the strip. That strip is on the far left in the picture. You can actually begin with any width and then trim to exactly 1 and 1/8 from the inside edge of the punched strip to the trimmed edge. I hope that's clear! Then line up the punch along the opposite edge so that the very center mark of the snowflake is lined up with that mark on the punch--this is on the end snowflake and punch again. This will give you your full round center snowflake. Move the strip and do the same again for each complete circle on your strip, however long it is. If it doesn't come out the first time, fudge on the width of your strip a little. Luckily mine came out the first time but I can see where you might have to adjust depending on your paper cutter, your eyes, etc.

Then to get one complete snowflake, use sharp paper scissors and just trim one out from the row, clipping carefully around the tiny scallop edges where necessary. This really expands the use you will get from this punch. It was $18 at JoAnn's and I used a fifty off coupon which made it $9 plus tax so I'm a happy camper. If all of this isn't clear to you, just drop me an email and I'll help you through it or post more photos if necessary. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

2011-10-19T11:04:00.002-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted as frequently lately. I've been so busy just with projects around the house and doctor's appointments, etc. I really had nothing to share today so I thought I'd put up a picture of a small bulletin board I have on one wall. Things change there seasonally. You can click on the picture to enlarge. Mostly fall and halloween things (older stuff), a few small dolls and other inspirational things. I also took note that the number of my followers has shot up quite a bit and I want to thank everyone who signed up. That's very flattering and I'm so grateful. I wish each and every one of you a fantastic fall season and lots of mojo and inspiration to keep creating!

Happy Fall Y'All

2011-10-07T14:42:00.002-04:00

I'm so happy fall is here. I love the cooler temps, the falling leaves and comfort food type meals. I also love fall crafting. This is a little tree I did. The glittery black tree is from JoAnn's. I made the decorations from the Tim Holtz Rosette die, Spellbinders scalloped and round dies, and halloween stamps, buttons, flowers etc. Adds a nice little accent to the jelly cabinet in my kitchen. I think I originally found this on Pinterest. Hope you are enjoying the season too!

You'll Never Guess......

2011-09-24T09:41:00.003-04:00

You'll never guess what the leaves are made from in this little wreath!!! Plastic packaging!! Yup! You know the kind of stuff that your Tim Holtz dies and Ranger products as well as a gazillion other things come in. I save the large pieces (mostly fronts and backs). I saw this done on a blog last year but now can't remember whose it was but it was definitely not an original idea of mine. I used Tim Holtz leaves die to cut about 40 leaves out. Then use your heat gun and shape each leaf however you want. They soften with the heat but then firm up almost immediately, so work quickly. Then you sponge them with alcohol inks in fall colors and also had metallic paints in gold, copper, green etc. Then glue them to a large circle of chipboard, add your berries and ribbon in the center. And don't forget a ribbon hanger. Be sure to enlarge the pictures by clicking to see the leaves up close. Have a great weekend!

Halloween Hoot!

2011-09-24T09:38:00.004-04:00

This cute little owl was a dollar stamp from Jo Ann's. I made a rosette using two 4" strips of DP and scored at every 1/2". Then I mounted the circular piece on a Spellbinders large pennant die cut and added a ribbon for hanging. The image was gussied up with Stickles.

Another Inkalicious Project

2011-09-22T10:55:00.007-04:00

This next project is done using a very old chipboard book I've had sitting around for a couple years. I believe it was by Maya Road and I chose to use it vertically rather than horizontally. Again on this project I used the TH Distress Stains and I can't say enough about how wonderful these are for quick coverage. This project is also all about ART.....there are some really funny sayings from Wendy Vecchi stamps on this one. The top page with the EK Success rolled flower and the glitter wings is just so pretty. The glitter on these wings really sparkles brightly. I used a new glitter from Donna Salazar called Fairy Dust and the color is Mixed Berries. It is sooo fine and just sparkles like diamonds. The last long page uses a flower pot from Art Parts and some grungepaper swirls for stems and leaves. All the flowers were handmade and they're all different. My favorite saying on here is "Art is therapeutic and thus it should be tax deductible." Do you agree? I sure do! Anyway I have showed you most but not all of the pages just to give you some idea of what this little mini book is all about. Enjoy!

Happy Fall Y'All!

2011-09-22T10:50:00.002-04:00

This is my favorite time of the year and I seem to have more energy and am finally feeling like I'm putting this go round with bronchitis behind me. I have a couple of exciting projects to share with you today. The first is the project shown on the cover of Wendy Vecchi's new book. It's done with her product Art Parts and mostly all Wendy and Tim Holtz products. I didn't have every piece of Art Parts that she used so I improvised and am very happy with the results. This project was soooo much fun to do and didn't take as long as I thought. The new Tim Holtz Distress Stains are a blast. You can cover a large piece with ink in no time at all with them and the colors are luscious. This piece is all about ART! All the little sayings involved deal with art and inspiration. I hope you can click on the picture and get a good look at the rubber stamp sayings that were used. Enjoy and I hope be inspired!

Fall is Here

2011-09-19T13:40:00.003-04:00

The last few days here in Maryland have been gorgeous. Sunny most of the time and deliciously cool temperatures. Today I worked on a few Tim Holtz tags. The images are from last year's impressions folders and the pumpkins are a Sixxix die. I used a TH bird and a MS chandelier and added a sentiment and tag to each. Used Wild Honey Distress Ink sponged on the tag first and then Walnut Stain after the embossing was done. Simple and easy! Hope this finds you enjoying the weather in your part of the world!

A Little Fall Treat.........

2011-09-09T16:23:00.004-04:00

This is a sweet little witches shoe card that I ran across initially on Pinterest. Following the link I came to a blog called the Craft Spot. Here is the link: http://www.craftspotbykimberly.blogspot.com/. Just scroll down and you will see some lovely pictures and a nice tutorial on how to make this. Be sure to click on the picture to see it up close. It's actually a card and Kimberly tells you how to do this. The ribbon I used is plain Snug Hug seam binding in cream and I sprayed it on my craft mat with Perfect Pearls Mist Copper. So easy to make custom colored seam binding ribbon. Also, forgot to say that the pattern for this is from the Happy Haunting Cricut cartridge. This was a fun project and I hope you will try it.

2011-09-07T14:52:00.002-04:00

Have been out of commission from a nasty case of bronchitis. Just finished my second course of antibiotics. Hubby had it too so it's been quite the contagious place to be here. Hopefully I will be able to get back to my creative work soon.

Are You Prepared???

2011-08-26T14:12:00.004-04:00

As if an earthquake wasn't bad enough, now we here on the East Coast are bracing for appears to be a very bad hurricane! I am preparing by making a couple tags today to share with you. Both tags use a new product called Goosebumps by Tsukineko. It's a texture spray. On these tags, I sprayed Goosebumps, dried with a heat gun, then distressed with ink. Then I sprayed again, dried and used a different color ink. Then embellished. The Goosebumps acts as a resist so you get a textured mottled spotty kind of look. Very nice. I found it at Michaels which shocked me that they even had it but I know it's available online a lot of places. The faith tag has a large flower I made, a smaller prima flower, a few vintage religious articles and the Faith bingo card. If you're a catholic, you'll get the tongue in cheek innuendo there! The other card of course is Halloween using Tim and Martha dies, stamps and paper. All the inks used were Tim Holtz Distressed inks on both tags. Be sure to click to see the pics larger and hopefully maybe you can catch the texture effect. Stay safe and dry!!!

A EARTHQUAKE in Maryland?????

2011-08-23T14:58:00.003-04:00

Well we just experienced a 5.9 earthquake here in Maryland. The epicenter apparently was north of Richmond VA and it was felt from North Carolina to Boston, Massachusetts. I was at my desk, felt the initial shaking, stood and had to grab onto the wall when the worst hit and it shook a little longer and stopped. I heard what sounded like a big wind and looked outside and (so spooky!!) NOTHING was moving. We knew right away it had to be an earthquake. What an experience!

A New Adventure

2011-08-21T09:55:00.003-04:00

Maybe you noticed the little red link at the top left of my page. I joined Pinterest. If you haven't joined yet, give it a try. It's free and so much fun. I'm not much on these technical things but this is actually very easy to learn how to use. Think of it as a giant set of bulletin boards that you want to save things to. You can save decorating ideas, papercrafting ideas, crafts, designs, signs, rooms, quotations, recipes and anything else YOU can think of. You can get started by looking at my boards or others and see if it's something you'd like. You can also follow the boards of other friends who are members. If you see something on someone's boards that you like, you "repin" it to your boards. And one of the nicest features about doing this is.....when you click on an item you like on someone's boards, it will take you directly to the website it came from. So often you get right back to a tutorial that the item you like was made from. So cool. Create boards of your own and save the things that inspire you. One warning.....it's addictive. Like You Tube, you can spend all day on Pinterest! Have fun!

Inspiration

2011-08-18T17:02:00.006-04:00

Here are two views of a little card I did this afternoon. The background was the most fun. I saw this technique on Stamp TV. You take a piece of DP. I think it should be what I call a "quiet" print, in other words not a large print or loud motifs on it. I used SU's Newsprint. Then I ran it through the machine with Tim Holtz clocks embossing folder. Then I used Black Soot Distress Ink brushed across the raised portion, just very lightly so you don't tear the paper. Then I used some Vintage Photo around the edges for a vintage look. I stamped the clock and the saying from SU 's a Sense of Time set. Then I cut them out with Nestabilities scalloped circles and long rectangles. Distressed them with Vintage Photo. With a little black sheer ribbon and a TH charm that says Moments, I completed it. Be sure to click on the pictures to enlarge them to get a really good look at the background.

A Second Fall Cut

2011-08-18T15:58:00.002-04:00

This one is from the catridge Nursery Rhymes. Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater.

Playing With Cricut

2011-08-18T14:30:00.002-04:00

Playing around with the Cricut today and this is an image from a new cartridge called Damask Decor. I used the Silhouette feature to cut the background and the layers. This is fairly large, about 8" across and 7" tall so it would be good for use on a scrapbook page or the top of a box or a large bag. I was just seeing what the images on this cartridge are like and chose a pumpkin because I am soooooo ready for fall and cooler weather. Been in kind of a mojo slump lately. Don't you hate it when that happens! I'm trying to hard to get back in the groove. A new season and nice weather would help. We're all ready for that right????????

2011-08-08T13:06:00.002-04:00

These lasst flowers are made with a five petal punch. You can make as many layers as you like and depending on how you work with them using a flower shaper tool or even the end of a marker will work, you can make them very tightly closed or more open. The one on the right has a MS punch for the leaf base (hard to see) and the left one uses an SU punch for the base. Sort of makes it look like a water lily. The video for this is also on You Tube. I think you could sit on there all day and just watch paper flower videos. There are so many but it's nice to add a few new flowers to your repertoire.

2011-08-08T13:04:00.002-04:00

These are some of the new roses I mentioned in this morning's earlier post. They were made with the Spellbinders Rose Creations die. This die was designed by Donna Salazar. I really like it because it actually has a bud i n the center. You die cut all your layers which have a hole in the center. You secure them all together with a brad and then start shaping. Glitter and Glimmer Mist help make them something special. This video is also on You Tube.

A morning spent among the flowers.....

2011-08-08T12:59:00.004-04:00

This is a new flower technique for me. I found it on You Tube under tea bag folded flowers. You use a scalloped circle for the petals. I used four. Each circle gives you two petals. All in how you fold it. Used it to make a quick sympathy card with some older SU paper and Nestabilites and SU oval scalloped punch.

My Sunday Afternoon.....

2011-08-08T10:19:00.003-04:00

It was kind of a stinky hot muggy day with lots of cloud cover and finally some much needed rain. I spent the afternoon working on this card using the MS Punch Around the Page punch along with MS punches for the flower spray (told you this wouldn't be the last Kitty C. card!) and a prima flower in the center. I used my old favorite Flourishes strawberry stamp and popped the large strawberry up on dimensionals. Colored with Copics and the sentiment is an SU set called Whimsical Words. I'm working on some new paper flowers, roses to be exact, and hopefully will have them to show in a few days. Enjoy your week everyone!

Tribute to Kitty!

2011-08-04T20:14:00.002-04:00

I am a big fan of Kitty Caracciolo's work and she has developed a beautiful style with paper florals. This card is my first effort at her style and it won't be the last. Looks sort of Christmas-y but wasn't really. I just love red and green! The sentiment is from ODB. The flower is another of the ones from the EK Success flower punch I showed you below. Foliage and tiny flowers are MS punches as is the punch around the page edge. Thanks Kitty for the inspiration!

SOLVED!!!

2011-08-02T16:17:00.001-04:00

I was in a major funk when I found out the MTC software was not available to me yesterday. But my wonderful son figured a work around. He took a version of the software on the internet and was able to extract the Plug In for it from the old computer hard drive. Problem solved! I am elated!

I'm In Shock..........

2011-08-01T22:05:00.003-04:00

While finishing up some remaining programs to be installed on my computer, we realized that my papercrafting software called Make the Cut was no longer on my computer. When I purchased this software for approx. $70 about two years ago it was an internet download and I was told all I needed in case my computer crashed in the future was the registration code which I have. I had no disc. I have loved using this software. So I wrote to them and because of legal action they had with Provocraft the maker of the Cricut they can no longer allow me to download the older version I had of this software. I am left with nothing. Not only that but I have hundreds of file, both free ones and many I purchased which are no good to me because the Cricut Design Studio Software does not work with these files. Only the Make the Cut software did.

Sooooooo, I am appealing to anyone out there who might have had the last version of Make The Cut before the recent update (which doesn't work with Cricut). I wondered if someone could copy their disc for me and mail me a copy. I am willing to pay for it because otherwise I'm up a creek without a paddle so to speak. I'm disappointed in MTC as well as Provocraft that they have left their customers high and dry. Provocraft even will tell you that use of Make the Cut software invalidates your Cricut warranty. This is big business at its worst my friends! So if you have the disc or you could ask among your crafting friends if they have it, I would be eternally grateful.

I'm Baaaack......

2011-08-01T13:09:00.007-04:00

I apologize for being gone so long. The whole computer update thing has taken longer than anticipated. My wonderful son is my resident geek. He built my new computer from scratch with a new motherboard and processor and I also got a new keyboard and mouse. Typing is so quiet and things are much faster. As I said in the last post, I wanted to share a few things with you. The first is this: The punch you see is a new EK Success punch purchased at JoAnn's. Looks like a normal border punch but what it makes are these beautiful flowers. You simply cut two 12" pieces, glue them together, off setting one strip slightly from the other and then roll around a pencil or quilling tool or whatever and glue the end. Add a little gem or center ornament and you're done. The punch is one of several EK Success has come out with and JA's has them. What fun! (NOTE: Unfortunately I can never get Blogger to place my pictures where I want them in the text. GRRRHHH!)

The next thing I wanted to share with you is the current craze for Kanzashi. What you ask?!?!

Kanzashi are Japanese flowers made from fabric. They're so fast and easy, bet you can't make just one! I'm just showing a few styles. There are several and endless variations. Clover has some templates out for making them without doing the traditional folding but I haven't tried those yet and there is a book available from your local library called Kanzashi in Bloom. Joggles.com has all the supplies, books, templates etc as well as videos on the how tos of making them. It's simple folding and you really don't even need an iron, unless you want to use one. They're great for scrapbook pages, altered projects, clothing, on tote bags, hair barrettes, jewelry, etc. Endless possibilities. Also if you google Kanzashi you'll see lots of info and examples. Great summer fun and girls of a certain age really love them for hair accessories! Give it a try.

I am here........

2011-07-27T20:35:00.002-04:00

Just stopping in quickly to let you know I have been off line for about 5 days due to my son building me a new computer!!. I'm not back completely yet but hopefully in another day or two. I have several really cool things to share with you so check back in again in a few days.

Sewing Machine Mini Book

2011-07-14T18:37:00.021-04:00

OK! I've been working on this for the last 2 or 3 days and I swear it took as long to get the pictures taken, organized and uploaded in the correct order. You are seeing them beginning with the front cover, the inside front cover, the first page, back of the first page, etc. DON"T FORGET YOU CAN CLICK ON THE PICS TO MAKE THEM LARGER. The major details are: I used the Graphic 45 Le' Romantique paper and sanded and distressed all the pages with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink. All the elements were also distressed with the same ink. I used lots of flowers, both Prima, Recollections and home made. I also used hand made pearl bling as well as Recollections bling. Many of the little images are from Crafty Secrets and several are from my personal collection of antique vintage sewing trading cards. The page with the doilies has paper doilies as well as one made on my embroidery machine. The button cards are vintage. I also used many Tim Holtz metal findings, Dusty Attic laser cut chipboard, coin envelopes, several pieces of an old tape measure, charms, vintage mother of pearl buttons, etc. If you have any questions about a particular embellishment or about anything I did, just ask. I also spritzed the front and back cover with silver Glimmer Mist. I punched all the holes with my Big Bite (so easy peasy) and added a ribbon blossom made from a tutorial on SCS around the ring which holds the pages together. Whew! Hope I covered the important stuff. The naked chipboard book I think I got at Michaels in the dollar bin but it's been a long time. I hope you enjoy this project and especially all you sewers and needlewomen out there! Have a wonderful evening.

A few more........

2011-07-09T13:00:00.003-04:00

Here's a pic of a few more I did but haven't gotten the rings for yet. This time I used the Swiss Dot embossing folder on the vellum layer and I like the effect. And I tried a Sizzix pumpkin with the MS punch and cat face bling. These are addictive!

Cute Little Project for the Weekend!

2011-07-08T19:08:00.004-04:00

I've seen these on several blogs including Becky Roberts at Inking Idaho. Must be a thing going around now so I jumped on the bandwagon. These are Butterfly Post It Notes. You could also use a flower die. You take a Post It that is 3 x 3. I understand the generic brand of post its fit the butterfly better than the 3M brand which I used. One tip of the wing is short on the name brand. You separate the post it pad into four sections and run each one through the machine with the die. Yes, it wil cut!!! Then I cut a similar or contrasting top and bottom cover from cardstock. On the purple butterfly I also used a vellum layer on top. Then cut a smaller butterfly in the same die. You can emboss the cs butterfly for more pizzaz. I like it embossed. Perhaps if you click on the picture you can see that. Then punch a hole in the wing. I used my Big Bite to do that and then insert the four layers through a small ring. Dress with a little bling or a sticker, you could even use a tag on it. I found the little "bling" butterflies in Michaels $1 bins. LOVE those $1 bins. These make quick and very inexpensive gift for the people in your life. Give it a try!

A Card......at last

2011-07-05T19:57:00.003-04:00

You don't see anything from me in weeks and then 3 posts in one day! I can't take credit for this idea. The lovely Becca Feeken at Amazing Paper Grace inspired me to CASE a card of hers. This uses the MS Floral Tile Punch Anywhere Punch. Literally you can punch anywhere on a page. Becca has a wonderful tutorial on her blog about tips on using these great punches. This first try isn't perfectly lined up but it was good enough to show you. I used Cricut paper, would you believe, a pad I got with my machine. The sentiment is from PTI's set Sending You. I finished it off with some SU ribbon and a Recollections flower. Also added some pearl bling in the centers of the punched area. Give these punches a try. They're very versatile. You can do all over designs like this one, single punches, borders, random punches etc. And if you use a fifty per cent coupon to buy it at Mike's like I did, it makes the hefty price easier to bear! That's it for today, really.

A new front door piece.....

2011-07-05T10:27:00.003-04:00

Just thought I'd share with you this new creation on my front door. It's a pattern! You can purchase it from Old Road Primitives. She has several patterns done on metal barn stars. It was very simple. You can do it!

A Fabulous Give Away!

2011-07-05T09:52:00.002-04:00

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th. Ours was quiet until dark when the neighborhood exploded with fireworks. The dog nearly had a heart attack! I just wanted to let you all in on a fantastic give away at the following blog: http://gabriellepollacco.blogspot.com/. She is a marvelously creative person and is giving away a wonderful lot of goodies. See the picture and enlarge it to get a good look at everything. Her blog gives all the details. Good luck!

Happy Fourth of July Weekend!

2011-07-01T11:27:00.003-04:00

Hope you are enjoying the long weekend with family and friends and celebrating our country! Hope to be back soon with SOMETHING creative to share.

Garden Peek

2011-06-21T18:43:00.003-04:00

Sorry I've been away so long. Family things have just been crazy lately. Here's my little Sampson peeking out the studio window looking for squirrels or chipmunks. My hydrangeas are just knocking themselves out this year. Have you ever seen a lace cap hydrangea. They have tiny tiny little flowers in the center of the head surrounded my large flowers and this year the total bush is a lovely blue/lavender. Soooo beautiful. While Sampson looks out, you can have a peek at that! Hopefully, I'll get to something creative later in the week.

Father's Day Tribute

2011-06-12T18:56:00.005-04:00

With Father's Day coming up I thought I'd like to pay tribute to the Dads in our armed forces, serving both here and abroad. I purchased this file and fiddled with it on the Cricut all week. There was no file for the Air Force (sorry you guys in the air). So here, left to right we have Army, Navy and Marines. The Navy card was the first one I did and I thought it was a little short for an A2 envelope so I enlarged the other two but they all fit perfectly in that size. All paper, no buttons or any other embellishment. Even the little Marine insignia. Semper Fi! Anyway, I hope you are enjoying your summer. Stinking hot here, but supposedly storms and a cooler front coming through. Enjoy!

Scrapping and Sewing

2011-06-06T11:40:00.004-04:00

Did you have a nice weekend? The weather here was gorgeous both days, sunny breezy and relatively cool. But this week is supposed to be HOT. Yuck! I worked outside all yesterday afternoon getting a lot of shrubs trimmed. What a job!

Anyway, about this scrapbook page. This paper is gorgeous. The dressform is all glittered and the color of dark rusty tin. I'd been wanting to do a sewing related page for a long time. I used handmade and purchased flowoers, Recollections bling with the lace and the button frame is one I purchased just because I loved it, way back when I first started paper work. The little vintage sewing card inside the frame shows a Mother giving her young daughter her First Lesson. The tape measure was given to me with a lot of other sewing detritus from the estate of a neighbor who died at 96. This was such a fun page to do. Hope you like it!

Garden Trellis Punch and PTI Garden Variety

2011-06-03T09:39:00.003-04:00

I have Becca Feeken to thanks for the technique on this card. Using the MS Garden Trellis Deep Punch I made the background for the seed packet. It's very EASY. Thank you Becca! The butterfly is a large MS punch and the rose is my version of the Tim Holtz rose which is floating around everywhere on the internet. Foliage is a Spellbinders die. Have a great weekend everyone!

Stamp Garden is Blooming!

2011-06-02T13:21:00.003-04:00

Still playing with PTI's new Garden Variety and Year of Flowers stamp sets. These images are so much fun and with the coordinating dies, so easy too!

Stamp Garden Heaven

2011-06-01T08:43:00.003-04:00

I think I am in love with the new PTI set Garden Variety. I love their stamps but this one is finding a special place in my heart. It's so versatile. This card was made with SU Mellow Moss cardstock and DP and the seed packet and sentiment medallion are made with SU Sahara Sand. I colored the flower image which is from PTI Year of Flowers in the mini size (how fun is that?) with Copic markers. The ink I used was TH Distress Forest Moss. I also purchased the dies to go with this set including the seed packet die and the frame and the Garden Variety set which has the garden gloves in it. I don't know if the picture conveys that but this is very soft and dreamy looking. I love this set and know it will get lots of use. Enjoy your day!

Steampunk Debutante

2011-05-31T15:17:00.003-04:00

Some time ago I filled this 7 Gypsies tray with the Steampunk Debutante paper from Graphics 45. Today I finally finished it up, adding a lot more embellishments. Don't forget to click on it to see a closer view of all the "stuff." Enjoy, and if your weather is like ours, stay cool!

The Magic Number!!!!!!!!

2011-05-30T10:08:00.002-04:00

Look at that number! Isn't that amazing? At exactly 10:07 this morning someone visited my blog and pushed that number to exactly 50,000. This is both an honor and a privilege that people thought enough of my blog to visit so many times. Thank you everyone!

Happy Memorial Weekend!

2011-05-28T21:50:00.003-04:00

I hope everyone is enjoying this Memorial Day weekend with family and friends. I feel like the 4th of July is really a patriotic celebration but that we should keep this holiday as a true remembrance. I am married to a veteran of the Viet Nam war and I had three brothers who were all career military. It makes me so proud to be able to say that. Think of all the families who have lost a loved one while they served our country. And think of those serving currently around the world. Each man and woman deserves our respect, support and prayers. I love the stories in the media in recent years about people who pay for a soldier's meal when they see them in a restaurant or those folks you see stop and clap as servicemen and women arrive or depart at an airport. And think of all the wonderful organizations that have sprung up at the grass roots level to send cards, goody boxes, etc to our military overseas. Some of us can do these things but not all of us. BUT we can all take one minute each day to silently thank God for those who serve, protect, and defend. It's such a small simple thing to do, but wouldn't you feel good about it if you knew your little prayer was instrumental in saving the life of a soldier? It's something we can all do. Give it a try and make it a habit. You won't regret it!

Framed Fairies

2011-05-26T13:43:00.001-04:00

Just thought I'd touch base here real quick and let you see how the fairy piece looks framed. I love the frame! It came from Michaels and I got it half price. I think it turned out very well. Just the right size. Hope you all have a very happy Memorial Day weekend and remember to pray for all those past and present who have kept this country safe.

The Bride's Shoe

2011-05-19T12:43:00.003-04:00

Did anyone see the shoes which The Dutchess of Cambridge wore for her wedding? Stilletos with a damask type fabric! They were gorgeous. This little shoe was made for my neighbor to use at the upcoming wedding shower she is giving for her niece. (You may remember the favors I made a few posts back.) It looks like something Marie Antoinette would wear! Verrrry French! The pattern for the shoe is from Ellen Hutson, the flower is a Sizzix 3D rose with leaves from a MS punch.

Fairies in Springtime

2011-05-18T10:36:00.007-04:00

Good morning to everyone! It's overcast and rainy here today but I have a wonderful project to share that I hope will brighten your day. First I have to thank Lynette Carroll of My Creative Affair for the inspiration. She recently won a spot on the Graphic 45 Design Team. Since they are one of my favorite companies I visited the blogs of all their new team members and was blown away by Lynette's style and creativity. My daughter had gifted me with the Once Upon a Springtime paper some time ago and I was motivated to try Lynette's project. I truly cannot thank her enough for her help on this. I hope you'll be inspired to try a similar project. Be sure to click on each photo to see it enlarged so you can study all the details.

You use the Spellbinders Nestabilites Large and Small Rectangles and Scalloped Rectangles for the main individual layers. Then using your chosen paper you tell a little story with each frame, cutting layer upon layer of figures and embellishments. As I said I used mainly the Once Upon A Springtime paper from G45 along with a few other minor papers. I used 3 of Kaisercraft's laser cut wood embellishments, lots of tiny pearls, mini wood spools, antique pearl pins, etc. But really it is your paper that is the main player. And I used foam mounting tape in strips (thanks Lynette!) between each layer to make it pop up and stand out. I had the most fun I've ever had doing this project and once it is framed it will hang proudly in my studio. Please give this a try......it is very rewarding and not at all hard to do. Graphic 45 makes many paper lines that would work with this technique and their newest line to come out very soon is Wizard of Oz themed. I feel another one of these coming on in that theme! If you have any questions, feel free to email me or comment. Have a great day!

Blog Candy Winner

2011-05-15T13:53:00.004-04:00

Today is the day I pick a winner for my blog candy. I put everyones name on a slip of paper, including two slips for those who signed up to be a follower, tossed them all in a little yelloware bowl, stirred them around and chose......DIANE!!! of Diane Knott's Musings. Diane please send me your complete address so I can mail off your package of goodies. I want to thank all who participated and those of you especially who became followers. I wish I could send you all a package! Enjoy your Sunday!

Blog Candy Note and a New Card

2011-05-11T08:45:00.004-04:00

First I want to address the blog candy issue. I said I would raffle the candy when I reached 50,000 hits.........which is taking entirely too long because I haven't been posting as much lately due to family issues. Soooo, I'm going to raffle the blog candy (see post below) on May 15, this Sunday. So if you haven't had a chance to comment on the POST BELOW, please do so to be sure and have a chance to win. I don't want all of you to have to wait forever for this.

Having said that, here's a new little card I did last evening. The card is very simple, just some DP on Whisper White cs with some SU ribbon. The flower, however, is the standout! There is a tutorial for how to make these on http://www.stampartic.blogspot.com/. Just click on Tutorials and click Marianne's Flowers. The leaves are from a fabulous new Spellbinders die called simply Foliage. It has quite a few styles of leaves which come in so handy. If you use flowers, you have to have leaves! The center of the flower is a little sticky spot thing from K&Co. I hope you have a wonderful day and go sign up for the blog candy.

Vintage Wedding

2011-05-06T18:43:00.003-04:00

While cleaning out my MIL's house this week I found a box with dozens of old greeting cards, including wedding ones. I cut out the center image on this card from a vintage one and gussied it up a little more with some seam binding and cream flowers and leaves from a new Spellbinder's die called Foliage. A Recollections rose in the center of the bow topped it off. There were also a gazillion baby cards. She had six children and she saved each card she received. I hope to use more in future cards. Have a great weekend everyone!

Strawberries!

2011-05-04T10:27:00.002-04:00

Our local orchard tells us they will have strawberries by Memorial Day. I can't wait. To satisfy my craving, I used this older Flourishes image and colored it with copics. I did two layers on the large berries. This is a 5" square card, my favorite size to work with. Maybe this will help keep my taste buds primed!

Blog Candy Alert!!

2011-05-03T09:48:00.002-04:00

Be sure to sign up for the blog candy pictured below to celebrate 50,000 hits to my blog!!!

What a week!

2011-05-03T08:58:00.004-04:00

I have nothing creative to show you today unfortunately. We FINALLY are cleaning out my mother in law's home and it's proving to be quite a chore. She died in Oct. 2009 and it has taken this long to have my brother in law removed from the house. He left the place trashed so to get it ready for auction we will be working our fannies off for the month of May. And getting back to what a week it's been.....the royal wedding (does anyone else think she should have worn her hair up???), dress was gorgeous, everything lovely. Then the devastation in the south from storms and finally the killing of you know who. I knew we'd get him sooner or later. They'll be another to take his place but this particular piece of sh.., er, evil won't walk the earth again. I'm taking particular solace with all of these goings on in my garden. It's so lovely right now. I'll just share a photo or two. Hope you have patience with me for a few weeks to tend to family business and we'll get back together soon. Don't forget the blog candy below.

Happy and Blessed Easter

2011-04-23T10:52:00.003-04:00

This is one of my favorite Easter images. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy lots of good food and family and friends.

Blog Candy to Celebrate!

2011-04-18T10:34:00.003-04:00

I am coming up soon on 50,000 hits to my blog. Now there are some "famous" bloggers in the papercrafting world who in the hundreds of thousands but I am just delighted to know that 50,000 times someone was interested enough to stop by. So we will celebrate with a little blog candy. Here's what's included: a pack of SU Delicate Dots paper, three new unused wood mounted stamps, 3 packs of stickers, two mini frames, two mini clipboards, a cupcake mini album and a crown mini album, a metal cd case for altering, and a roll of Martha Stewart ribbon. To enter to win, leave a comment on this post and if you are so inclined, becoming a follower will give you a second chance. Let me know in a comment that you did so. When I hit the big number, I'll select a winner randomly and post it. You have 48 hours to contact me or I'll chose another winner. Sound good? Jump right in...........

Spring Has Sprung!

2011-04-18T09:12:00.005-04:00

I sure hope the title is true because I can't remember a year where I wanted spring to come so badly. It's just been a bad year for our family and we're ready for a new outlook. To help that along, I created a pretty "springy" project yesterday. This is "Caged" by Lauren Meader and My Time Made Easy templates. It's in a soft creamy yellow and I used black and gray for accents. The roses are Prima I think and the tiny buds are from Recollections. The stems and leaves are a complimentary file from Lauren made to go with this cage. This is a very sturdy piece because you actually have a double base, the bottom of the cage and a fancy base which is a separate piece. It went together easily. For the picture I inserted a large battery operated candle and tried to get a shot of that so you could see it. You could also use a nest with an artificial bird in it, a yummy treat in a glassine bag, toiletries, etc. For added pizzaz I used a new double sided Martha Stewart punch from Michael's. Got that baby with a 50 off coupon. YAY! I hope this helps you look forward to Easter and better weather, wherever you are! Enjoy your day!

Cards again.........

2011-04-16T11:04:00.005-04:00

I hadn't made any cards in sooooo long and my stash of general occasion cards was really low. These are a few simple ones I did last evening. The background DP is from Seneca Pond printed on heavy textured cardstock. I decided to cut into them and use them up. Added a few embellishments and some stamped images from SU Herb Expressions and Define Your life. Simple. So simple that I added sentiments on the inside as well.

I also wanted to let my readers know that I'll be coming up soon to 50,000 hits on the blog. I'm getting together a nice blog candy package to celebrate. More details to come. Stay tuned! Enjoy your weekend!

Wedding Shower Favor

2011-04-08T08:47:00.004-04:00

After much discussion about cakes, boxes, purses, cone etc, my neighbor settled on this little purse for her wedding shower favor. The little purse box is a Lauren Meader template. The bride is in white, of course, and her maids are wearing a color called merlot. SU's Cherry Cobbler was a near perfect match. So the box is Whisper White. I embossed the lid with the Damask embossing folder. Used a strip of the red atop the handle and Bridal Brads from Mike's to secure the handle. An EK Success punch was used for the scallop trim and Spellbinders circles and scalloped circles for the medallion on the front which was stamped with Cherry Cobbler. The rose was made from the Sizzix 3D rose and leaves were a Fiskar's punch. I think they came out looking beautifully elegant. My friend will fill them with chocolates......all 26 of them!!! Done!

More Cake...............

2011-04-05T19:02:00.003-04:00

Here's yet another version of this Sizzix 3D Cake. This one is made from Craft A Board (available at Ellen Hutson's store). I used a MS punch for the middle and Sizzix 3D Flowers for the roses. An MS punch for the greenery. The candle, shown lit in the second picture, is one of those little battery operated ones you can buy in the craft stores. Enjoy!

More SU Stamps for Sale

2011-04-05T12:11:00.007-04:00

Based on my success, my daughter has a few SU sets she is going to sell. They are: Flannel Plaid, Birthday Whimsy , One of a Kind and Organic Grace. They are $5 a set plus shipping. She also brought some large Sizzix Dies for $3 each: Scallop Tags Combo 2, Decorative Heart ,Decorative Accents 2 ,Keys, Sparrow Bird, Round 3 D Ornament.

Retake: More Cake!

2011-04-02T09:50:00.003-04:00

Here's a souped up version of the Sizzix Scoreboard Cake Die. Each time I do one it gets faster. This was a layer of cardstock stuck to a layer of DP with the Xyron and it worked very well.

Let Them Eat Cake!

2011-04-01T17:32:00.004-04:00

I have been working up ideas for some bridal shower favors for a neighbor. I'd been wanting to try the Sizzix Scoreboard Cake Die and found it at a bargain price at JoAnn's online. A word of advice: these Scoreboard dies are meant to be used with chipboard, matboard, cereal box etc weight material and work better that way. This one is cardstock but I made another, undecorated, from a material called Craft-a-Board which cuts easily with the Sixxix and it made for a much sturdier cake. The rose on top is my version of the Tim Holtz rose using the Sizzix 3D Flower for the center. I put a little Martha Stewart punched trim around the base to hide the join seam and some Ruby Slippers Stickles on the lid petals. I have a feeling you'll be seeing more of these!

Miss Artsy Fartsy

2011-03-29T21:13:00.003-04:00

I felt I had to create something today or I was going to burst. It's been sooooo long! I'm a big fan of Wendy Vecchi and not only is she a talented lady but such a nice one as well. She has this little project on her blog in two versions. Mine is sort of a combination of the two but it's definitely CASED! I used all Ranger, Tim Holtz and Studio 490 products and stamps. I did substitute a few other things to get the look I wanted but I'm happy with how "she" came out. Be sure to click on the pictures to see all the details up close and personal, especially where I stamped the word "dreams" on her cheek upside down!!! Oh my! I just went with it anyway. I'd like her to have a cool name but all I could come up with was the title of this post. Any ideas?

More Stamps for Sale

2011-03-29T12:14:00.008-04:00

This is a list of stamps from companies other than SU. These are mostly clear with some rubber stamps, all mounted in a labeled CD case. All use an acrylic block for stamping. In many sets, only 1 or 2 stamps had been used. Price is $5 a set. If you want them all, I can do better on the price.

Seasonal Circles by Verve

Winder Wonder by Verve

Foliage Trails by Inkadinkadoo

Birds Galore by Inkadinkadoo

Winter Trails by Inkadinkadoo

Gem Stone Hearts by Inkadinkadoo

Gem Stone Birds by Inkadinkadoo

Winter Wonderland Inchies by Inkadinkado

Autumn Flourishes by Papertrey Ink

Haunted by Cosmo Cricket

Cats and Bats by Inkadinkadoo

Halloween Trails by Inkadinkadoo

Wings by Layers of Color

Trees by Inkadinkadoo

Winter Wonderland by ?

Halloween by ?

Ornamental Alphabet by Martha Stewart

Large Alphabet by Artstamp

Sorry I didn't know the companies on the last two.

My Room

2011-03-27T12:14:00.022-04:00

Short of having something creative to show, I thought I'd show where I create! I haven't figured out how to put the text under each picture so I'll have to just describe the room as we go around. This room was formerly our formal dining room and is about 11 x 13. I really could use something about 15 x 20 but I can only dream! It's very convenient to the kitchen, my laundry room, and our screened porch in nice weather. I love that The first picture is of my cutting table. My cutting and sewing tables are by Horn of America. The cutting table is the best investment I ever made. It saves my back from bending over. I not only cut fabric here but use it to cut dies on my Sizzix and paper on My Cricut. All my rulers and my paper cutter by Tonic is also on top. Below the table on the shelves I keep a basket with paper scraps, baskets of various mediums and glues, baskets of chipboard and a notebook with loose stamps. On either side are some Iris carts. On the left is all my paper that's not padded and the drawers are labeled. On the right is my wooden stamps by category and I don't know if you can see in the picture but I have two layers in each drawer by using an 8.5 x 11 clear picture frame for holding the second layer which lifts out as one. In the top drawer of the cutting table are cutting implements and all my Nestabilites in cd cases, along with the pads for the machine. Above the table is a printers tray I have filled with all sorts of little items I've collected along the way and yes, those eggs are pysanky, another art form I love to do. To the left is a small bulletin board and that little Trip Around the World quilt is about 5" square and is actually made from fabric. I found it at a yard sale! The larger black plastic cart stores ribbon, chipboard, tags, tools, embellishments, etc and my Xyron sits on top. Next come two of the three shelves I purchased years ago. SU stamps are on the top shelves, then on the left side are all my other stamps by brand in clear cd boxes which are labeled and on the right are all my Sizzix dies. On the left middle shelf is my cardstock, mostly SU organized by color. The magazine holders the paper is in came from Ikea and are turned on their side for easy paper removal. This has worked well for me. On the right are all my books relating to papercrafting, altered art, etc as well as some of my quilting book collection. Most of it is stored in an upstairs closet. The next shelf on the left holds paper pads, Copics, and my Cricut cartridges and buttons in empty Yankee Candle jars are on the right. Lastly, the bottom shelves hold embossing powders, a candy jar, Bind It All, coloring implements, etc. Standing in the corner between these shelves and my sewing table is what I call the "punch tower", another set of two Iris black carts which I stacked. All the drawers are filled with SU, Martha Stewart, Fiskar, etc. punches which I use all the time. Then comes my Horn sewing table and matching caddy. The drawer caddy on the left rolls out and holds thread, sewing tools, all my Bernina accessories, and miscellaneous things for sewing, machine embroidery, etc. My machine which is a Bernina 630 is in the up position and the module happens to be out on top as well and behind it is my printer. The machine can be dropped down below the table when I want a big surface to work on or when not in use. This tabletop is hinged and half can fold down but I always keep it up for workspace. It sits in front of a window looking out on the yard and pond and the bird feeders. The shade is down in the picture because the sun was just too bright for the camera. I have an Ott swing arm light I can use at the machine or swing around to my desk. On the desk is my tall spin around tower to hold all my stamp pads which my DH bought me years ago. It's mammoth but really holds a lot and on top of it are my Adirondack color washes, glimmer mists, Perfect Pearl mists and the new TH Distress Stains which are wonderful. Off to the left is an old sewing machine drawer which holds glue, stamp cleaner, cleaning pad, etc. Then on the right of the desk is a spin around which holds all the scissors, pens, pencils, brushes, rulers etc I use constantly. Of course there is my computer and keyboard, phone and above is a Making Memories shelf with my flowers, inkers, Perfect Pearls, and Stickles. I put most of those in small baskets as I kept knocking over the bottles when I reached for one. That works very well. I'm thinking of getting another shelf as they really hold a lot. Finally in the last corner is my third shelf which is full to the brim with my quilting fabrics. And right around the corner in the living room, is my Red Eye Singer machine in a cast iron base which I had made into a lamp. Sleeping on the edge of the sofa is our little Maggie the pug. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Don't forget you can click on the pictures to make them larger and get a better look. Have a great week!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T09:57:00.003-04:00

I am of Irish descent. There are Malloys, Kellys, Logsdons, Barretts, etc in my family tree. My Irish people settled in the mountains of western Maryland in a small town called Mt. Savage. But the fondest memories of this day in my past was how it was celebrated each year in our Catholic school in Baltimore. We were allowed to "green up" our boring everyday uniforms. There was only half a day of classes, then a big lunch, a play or stage performance then a bazaar that went on the whole rest of the day. I have so many fond memories of the fun and shenanigans that day held. It was the one day out of the year that the nuns let us get a little crazy. After 12 years of that education, I graduated, went to college, got married, raised a family and hardly every celebrated St. Pat's day with that much frivolity again. There were a few corned beef and cabbage dinners with an occasional green beer (I understand McDonalds is serving green milkshakes today!) but those St. Pat's days of my youth were the best ever. I hope you enjoy your day and manage to remember the great saint, and whether you're Irish or not, may his blessings and good luck fall softly on you today!

A Scrapbook Page to Share

2011-03-15T15:08:00.002-04:00

This page was done by my daughter, Kathy, for her little pug Maggie. She does the most beautiful pages. Mags is 13 and very deaf. We all just love her to pieces. She has always been such a good doggie! Her big trick, aside from sneaking pizza, is to do "high five." You hold up your five fingers and say high five and she slaps your hand with her paw! Such a sweetie.

Alert!

2011-03-14T16:02:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that I moved my Followers list up closer to the top of the sidebar. I was all the way at the bottom and a nice fan named Kathy Benko asked me about following on Google Reader so I moved it to the top so it was more noticeable. Hopefully this will be a help to everyone. Thanks Kathy!

More Dollar Bin Boxes

2011-03-12T14:17:00.008-05:00

Back on January 31, I posted a little altered box I made and I've had these two in the works since then but they've been sitting on my desk waiting my attention. Yesterday I finally got to them. The box is from Michael's $1 bin and they are really hard to come by. They literally fly out of the store. You paint the front, sides, and inside with paint. I used two shades, sponged one atop the other and some Treasure Gold sponged on for some glimmer. Then you cover the base and lid/back with your designer paper. I sand the edges and distress with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo. Then you get to the fun part of decorating the top with all your flowers, gems, ribbons, buttons, etc. The first one here features a dragonfly from K&Co. and a little felt bird along with Recollections flowers and gems, etc. The second one has the same color paint and DP but features a large pink rose and a bird from K&Co. Before you start these, you unscrew the little button closure on the front and the elastic closure then decorate the button as you wish and put them back on when the box is finished. I added little wood candle holders or knobs from the craft store painted to match for feet. These are so much fun to do and really make a fantastic little gift. Enjoy!

A Zentangle in the Interim

2011-03-10T18:09:00.002-05:00

It's raining cats and dogs here and my mojo is someplace around here, under all the family problems and stress (I know I saw it somewhere). However, even when that type of scenario is going on, I can always manage a Zentangle or two. This one features the familiar moon face stamp in the middle and various Zentangles surround her. I also did a bit of shading on this one. I really like the effect of the shading and got myself a nice pencil and tortillion for doing it. I hope to get back to papercrafting and altered items and cards one of these days....hopefully soon. I have so many new and fun things to try out! Say a prayer my "issues" will be resolved soon! Enjoy!

Poor Oliver......Grandmom Loves You....

2011-02-28T09:11:00.003-05:00

My daughter's Boston terrier had to go to the emergency vet last evening after a day of restlessness, vomiting and just not acting like himself. Turns out, long story short, he had a chunk of Nylabone in his stomach which was not allowing any food, even water, to pass into the intestine. He had surgery during the night and if he can keep food down today, will come home tomorrow. They tell you these bones are digestible but this is not our first problem with them and there will be no Nylabones in any of our dogs futures. Be warned! Poor Boo Boo!

Stop....Pause....Rewind....

2011-02-22T08:25:00.003-05:00

Go back and look at the title of my last post! Yikes! We went from the low 70's last Friday to the teens today. Mother Nature sure does like to have the last word!

Is it summer where you are???

2011-02-18T14:29:00.005-05:00

It truly is like summer in February here today! Just beautiful outside, but very muddy from all the melting snow. I must try to get outside a little if only to sit and bask in the sun. It's been a busy week here and I was feeling rather mojo-less so I just did a few little things. One of the projects is this kleenex box cover with a Paris theme. The printout came from Seneca Pond Crafts. Eileeen's products are so reasonably priced and easy to work with I put this together in no time. Just print, cut out and glue together then add a few little decorations. I tried to give you several views.

The other project is an all white five pointed star I made with the Sizzix Five Point Star die. I think this would be great for a shower, wedding, anniversary, graduation or in colors for almost any occasion. The center is a Tim Holtz rosette. I used a CB folder to emboss the individual sections and glued two of the completed stars together then added the rosette and a little bling. Easy peasy! Enjoy

New Sizzix Die!!!

2011-02-15T20:08:00.008-05:00

OK, Blogger is acting up tonight and this is the second time I posted this!! This is the new SU Sizzix Die called Petal Cone Die. It makes a nifty little cone shaped box and you can make it look so different by just changing how you treat the top part. My pictures are not very good tonight so be sure to click and see them up close. And these little things are rather difficult to photograph. The first one shows the petal top UP and decorated on one side. In the next photo the top is closed and a rose is on the top. In the third photo, the petal sides are folded down and a small half scallop is added underneath. This piece as well as the little banner piece is part of the die. The fourth photo shows the top folded down and the scalloped contrast piece on the top. And finally, just the plain sides folded down with no paper trim. I didn't decorate all the cones, just a few so you could get an idea. These are a fairly good size and would hold candy, nuts, small hobby items, a piece of jewelry and I'm sure you can think of more. And just for fun, Google Petal Cone Die and you will see all the things folks are doing with it. Ice cream cones, carrots for Easter, candy dishes, boxes, flat cones, cards, etc. It's a very versatile die with loads of possibilities. I think you'll like it!

The Famous Petal Card Die

2011-02-09T18:52:00.006-05:00

For those of you who don't have it or want it, I'm showing you the back of the die. It's like a square with four half circles on each side. It is very hard to find. Having said that, you could probably draft your own template and cut them individually....hint, hint. But here is my third and final project of the day (Good Lord, I have to fix dinner yet and it's 7 p.m.!) This is the heart shaped mini. I used SU paper on this one. I love the combination of teals and browns. There is a box for the mini made from just two die cuts and glued together. Then the mini book itself which has pockets for whatever your heart desires. Some of the little tags I made for the pockets are actually small books.....more opportunities for pictures! The large rose on the front of the box I made from Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die and the center is from the Sizzix 3D flower die (getting to be a favorite). The mini book cover has Recollections and Prima flowers and the leaves are a punch. I added ample bling everywhere. I didn't really make this a themed book so that whoever it goes to could do their own thing. I have decided that all today's projects are for sale. If you are interested, email me for prices. I am addicted to this die! It could be worse, right?

Two Projects in One Day? I'm Cookin'!

2011-02-09T14:35:00.010-05:00

Well I got inspired and busy and this is the result. I'm having a good time, can you tell? This box and mini book is made from the Sizzix Petal Card die. I saw this also on You Tube and went on a search for the die since I didn't own it. It is scarcer than hen's teeeth let me tell you. I finally found one, paid more for it than any die I've ever bought but don't regret it one bit since it is such a versatile die. The pictures show you first the little box which is made from two of the petal card die cuts glued together. You can decorate the outside as you wish. Then the little mini book inside the box is made again from the petal card die with the covers made of chipboard and the pages from designer paper. I think you can see on the open pages of the book how the die is folded to create pockets for tags which you can use for stickers, journaling, pictures, etc. Then it is all put together with the Bind It All, my new favorite tool. My daughter is kidding me about this because she bought it for me about 5 years ago and I am just now getting to use it. And it is VERY EASY to use! I again used the Madeline paper from K & Co with various flowers, stickers, brads etc. The little lace medallion on the box cover was one I made on my embroidery machine. Gotta love my Bernina! With this die, you can also made a square box as is shown in my last post and also a heart shaped book or box. I'm working on that next......Valentine's Day remember? Enjoy!

Transformation!!!

2011-02-09T10:28:00.007-05:00

This is what happens when you take a $1 chipwood box from Michael's and turn it into a fancy schmancy project! Not only the box but inside is a little book with tags and lots of room for pictures, journaling, and your own mementos. First off, let me say, I found this project on Butterfly Kisses channel on You Tube. I love Arlene's mini books and am a follower of her blog and when I saw this I knew I wanted to try it. The only problem was acquiring a few of the boxes. It seems everyone is "onto" this idea and is raiding the $1 bins at Mike's. I managed to snag 4 or 5 after canvassing 4 different Michael's. The box is about 3.5 x 3 x 2 and comes with the wood button knob and an elastic closure which you remove before decorating. I have one suggestion I learned while doing this. Try and match your paper (which only covers the lid and bottom) to your paint colors for the rest of the box rather closely. It doesn't look as good if there's a large contrast. Once you decorate the box with paint and paper and seal it, you can decorate to your heart's content. The little book is just 2.5" squares of chipboard covered with paper and I made pockets for little tags and pictures then bound it with the Bind It All which was very easy. It just fits inside. In fact I would make the next one slightly smaller as once I get it in, it takes some tugging to remove it! BTW, I used acrylic paints from the craft store and K & Co. Madeline paper and Graphic 45 Staples stickers for the tags inside. The top has a K & Co butterfly, Recollections flower and two mini roses made with the Sizzix 3D die plus a Tim Holtz metal tag. I can't wait to make another one! Enjoy!

More Composition Books in Disguise!

2011-01-31T20:09:00.004-05:00

These are like peanuts.....you can't eat just one! I spent the day cranking these little things out and still have one that I haven't finished. But I'm pleased with how they turned out and how easy they are. BTW, my little scissors are helping me keep the cover closed as they tend to want to pop open. Three were made from Graphic 45"s Steampunk Debutante paper and embellishments and the others were mostly scrap paper and various goodies to dress them up. Click to see up close and ENJOY!

From Ordinary to Extraordinary

2011-01-30T17:33:00.003-05:00

Can you believe the book on the left started out as the humble composition notebook on the right? These are minis , available 3 for $1 at Dollar Tree and Wal Mart. What a quick simple gift for pennies! I used a vintage image from Crafty Secrets, the little 3d bird is a K& Co. embellishment and the flowers are primas and my mini rose from the Sizzix 3D flower die. The leaves are a Martha punch called Rose Leaf. A few pearls and a spritz of Perfect Pearls Mist in Turquoise. Click on the picture to see it up close and personal.

My New and Improved Roses

2011-01-30T13:29:00.004-05:00

I've always thought that the center of the Tim Holtz rose and those like it on the internet was a little "fussy" to do. It's easier with grungepaper than cardstock but still hard to get exactly right. The answer was staring me right in the face. You need the Sizzix Flower Layers #5 die (that has six petals) and the Sizzix 3 D die to do the improved rose. You make the first three layers just like Tim's. Then for the center you make--ta da!--the small 3D rose. The picture on the left shows the old roses on the left and the new roses on the right. Then the other pic is a close up of the roses. I think there's a world of difference and it was so easy but you do need both dies. Once this dawned on me I was cranking out roses yesterday like a madwoman! One tip I have if you are going to try this is to let the 3D rose "relax" a little, in otherwords unwind some, before you glue it in the center. Don't forget to click on the pictures to see them larger. Ok, that's my big discovery of the month!

Tangles in the New Year

2011-01-29T09:27:00.007-05:00

Haven't forgotten about tangling with everything else that is going on and thought I would share a few with you. The PEACE tangle was inspired by a much better example than mine that I found on the Internet and I apologize that I did not get the name of the artist. I hope some of you will get interested in this. It's so relaxing, centering and helps bring out the artist in all of us.

Roses in the Snow

2011-01-27T18:20:00.004-05:00

We got sixteen inches of heavy wet snow overnight and what a nightmare. During the storm, the county asked no one to venture out unless it was an emergency as we had white out conditions and driving was very dangerous. And then there was the snow blowing today......or so we thought. Our snow blower bit the dust. It is 14 years old so we may be looking for a new one soon. After my aching back recovered, I came in and made these Tim Holtz roses out of cardstock. They were sprayed with various shades of Perfect Pearls mist but I think you can only see that on some of them. It's very subtle. Great way to spend a cold snowy day!

Sizzix 3D Flower Die

2011-01-25T15:45:00.003-05:00

This die is ADDICTING! They're very easy to make and some are as small as 3/4". Nice to have some on hand when you need them for projects. I used all scraps!

A Promise Kept

2011-01-24T15:22:00.005-05:00

I promised myself that THIS year I would do some scrapbook pages of vintage family photos. I couldn't think of a better one to start with than this image of my Mother as a young girl. I'm sure this was before she was married. It was a little bit tricky to work with because when I printed the photo it had a pinkish cast to it. All brown and tans were too dead and I finally hit on bringing in some rusts and peaches. I'm very happy with it, as this type of work is not my forte but I hope to get better at it. I used lots of Tim Holtz paper and charms, some bling, K&Co. embellishments and some purchased as well as handmade flowers, antique buttons, etc. Be sure to click on the pictures to see the detail up close and personal. My Mom has been gone since 1987 but I miss her more than ever.

Just One More......Honest

2011-01-20T10:13:00.002-05:00

A Little Bragging Here.........

2011-01-19T19:34:00.005-05:00

You read my blog for creative content, right? Does it matter who created it? Have to brag! This is a scrapbook page my oldest daughter did and guess who is in the picture? Little me, I'm guessing around the age of 3. We had several copies of this photo and she asked for one. I had this one in sepia tones and another that had been tinted where the dress was a pale green. But I love what she did with it! She's so exacting and has excellent taste with her pages. How flattering!

Fixated on Flowers!

2011-01-18T18:14:00.004-05:00

I must be longing for spring or something because today all I want to do is make flowers. And if you are of a like mind, I suggest you go to You Tube and enter "making paper flowers." You will get enough videos to keep you entertained for days! These beauties are made from scraps of designer paper using the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die and the Sizzix 3D paper die for the centers. You need something like an awl, a toothpick, or a quilling tool to curl the edges, some glue to put them together and then as a final step I spritzed them with Perfect Pearls Mist. I used Sunflower Sparkle on all 3. I love this stuff. I never got into Glimmer Mist in a big way but I am making up for it now. BTW, all it took was one spritz per flower to get the glimmer. Click on the picture to see up close. I think these are stunning....if I do say so myself! Give it a try!

2011-01-18T16:19:00.001-05:00

DON'T FORGET THE BOOK SALE! SEE BELOW!

Frosty Roses

2011-01-18T13:33:00.003-05:00

We had some snow covered with ice and freezing rain during the night. Shoveling was a mess as it was very heavy but after doing that chore, I came in and made frosty wintery roses. This is the basic Tim Holtz rose. These are made of SU cardstock. The darkest one started out white and I sprayed it with cranberry Adirondack Color Wash then glittered it with MS glitter. The other two were just colored cardstock with glitter. The leaf is from Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves die. Don't know where these will end up but Valentine's Day is coming, yes?

A Rose in Winter

2011-01-17T16:53:00.004-05:00

I think I was going to explode if I didn't do something creative! Don't know if you've seen all the instructions on You Tube and elsewhere for making the Camelot flowers from Prima. I started out to do that but then went off and kind of did my own thing. I used the Tim Holtz Tattered FLorals die, 3 of the large and two of the small and then for the center I used the Sizzix 3D flower rose. I spritzed first with the new Perfect Pearls Mist, Heirloom Gold and I think if you click on the picture you can see the effect. The leaves were also a Sizzix die, distressed with Forest Moss and Crushed Olive. The sentiment is from PTI's Dress Form stamp set. The paper is K&Co. Madeline. Just felt like doing a flower today!

Book Sale Note

2011-01-17T14:47:00.002-05:00

I decided to just remove the sold books as they go rather than list SOLD next to the title. Thanks everyone for your interest.