I finally had time to sit down and work on my pages for this month's Tip-In page partner. Linda's theme was Asian. i had a good time with this theme. I used some designer paper and blended some reds and oranges in Distress inks onto it, then embossed the Asian stamp images onto them. I stamped onto shrink plastic and punched holes in it for an embellishment and stamped on some bamboo dominoes for another. i cut some Oriental beads from my stash in half and after adding the gold threads, glued them down with glossy accents. Mounted it all onto red Bazzill cardstock and added the fibers. I hope she likes it and it goes well with her other pages.

Happy Birthday AJ

My grandson AJ, is celebrating his golden birthday with a party here tomorrow.. He turned 8 on the 8th so I wanted to get him something extra special. It gets harder all the time with kids and they have so much stuff already that I didn't want to get him small stuff, so I made sure he would be OK with getting something REALLY cool that he REALLY wants and it would be for Christmas too. He said as long as it's big! Well, ever since I got his sister a Kindle-Fire he always wants to play with it or take mine, so I got him his own along with a charger, a protective skin for the screen, and a leather case/stand. He will be over the moon. I wrapped it inside a box, inside a big box, so it is BIG. On the outside box I used birthday paper and Christmas on the inside two. He only asked for Lego's so I made his card with that in mind. I hope it looks like Lego's to him. Can't wait to see his expression!!! I charged it up last night and downloaded some of his favorite app's onto it.

Twelve tags of 2012- October

Believe it or not, I made my October tag already! Yup, that's right. I have it done. Of course I tried to use regular glitter and I have a cup of sticky mess, so used Black Diamond Stickles in the end. i really liked the paint dabbers on the wrinkled tissue p

aper and then misting with the Perfect Pearls. Will be doing this again!

Sympathy cards

Our wonderful next door neighbors who are close friends of ours just lost their Aunt who they had to place in the nursing home a while back. They went to see her faithfully and even used to take our dog along. He loved it and the folks there all loved to see him and pass him around to love up. He would come home exhausted every time! My dear friend and co-worker and crafting friend Nancy just lost her father-in-law Saturday, and now I got a call that my "bestie", Earlene lost her grandma who was 99 yrs. and 9 months old. So, once again, I had to make them all the same. Continued on with my fall theme and colors I made these up.

Get well cards

Suddenly I was in need of four get-well cards at once! My hair-dresser, who is a good friend, had breast cancer surgery, my friend Jan's daughter-in-law fell and broke her arm and needed surgeries to repair the damage, my best friend, Earlene, had shoulder surgery, and right after she got out, her daughter, Kathy Jo had knee surgery as she broke her kneecap! Wow, I guess when it rains, it pours around here!!! No time to waste, I made them all the same except in blues and greens. I really like monochromatic, so went with that here. They are all on the mend now.

More cards

Here's the card I made for my grandson, Phillip's 4th birthday party. I used many scraps to make this. Made it in blues for him but would be cute in pinks for a girl as well.

I haven't post in forever! Been so chaotic around here but I think we have the house back to ourselves. Had my oldest daughter and her two kids move in for about 6 weeks. was happy to have them here, but it turns your world upside down! Hoping that all goes well for them now, but if not, they can come back again. Anyway, here are the tip-in pages I made today. My partner this time was Christine and her theme was Nature. Well, the gorgeous colors of fall were calling to me when I created her two-sided page, so I had to make myself a two-page spread for my book as well. I used some old textured brown fabric for the leaves and the red ones are the nogahyde I redid my dining room chairs in when we remodeled the kitchen a couple years ago. Of course I saved all the scraps and this was a great place to use a little of it. I used the wrinkle-free distress tech. for the background and several distress inks for the leaves. Stamped the verse in Black archival and then misted with gold perfect pearls mist. Can't see that in the picture but it's shimmery goodness in real life. I hope she likes it!

COC2-#19

Right in under the wire, I am adding my whitl at this week's COC2 challenge,Kraft Resist, from page 41 in Tims second book. I followed his instructions there to create it. I wanted to do something to alter the cover for the book I am adding my tip-in pages to, so decided to cover it with Tim's resist paper and follow his techniques in the book and then overstamp on it with some words so that I can also enter it in the SSSS challenge this week "read all about it." I used the new Salty Ocean for my inking, then picket fence stain over that to tone it down a bit. Then a little misting with Perfect Pearls. Yum! Archival ink in black for the quotes.

SSSS- Summer Distress Colors

this week's challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Show, was to use the new Summer Distress Ink colors on a project. Well, the grand-kids and I have started making canvases this past week so I used the three colors on one planning to make a scene, with the blue as the sky, the raspberry as the sunset, and the Green as the grass, so after gesso-ing it, I smeared them on directly from the pad in the appropriate areas. Ooooh, it was so bright and not liking it much at all, so decided to just add a few background stamped in various archival colors and stamp some images onto white tissue paper and adhere them and call it good. I had it sitting on my desk along with the stamped images on the tissue paper, when I clumsily spilled my entire 16 oz. glass of iced tea on my desk, covering everything!!! I grabbed a couple of old towels and wiped up what I could and then cleaned it all up. Well, after dabbing the canvas, I looked and the colors had bled and blended into a gorgeous purplish area. The images were drying over on the other desk and I added them amyway. I now know the true meaning of the term "tea-dyed" LOL. Glad I continued on, as it turned out pretty well! My 7 year old grandson asked if he can keep it.

August Tag- Tags of 2012

Getting in just under the wire, I have finally had time to play along and make my tag. My order has shipped that contains my stamps for this tag, but time is running out, so improvise I did! My granddaughter also made one along with me. Hers is the one with the lavender rose on it. I love the simplicity of this tag and have always had a soft-spot for silhouettes. i used Prima flowers and punched my leaves to make it quick. Sunflower Sprkle for my Perfect Pearls mist.

Tip-In Pages

On the end of my second week off now and just finished up my tip-in pages for my partner finally. I also made myself a spread for my book. Fran's is the large one with the green patterned paper and mine is the smaller one with the tan. Her theme is Christmas and mine is Vintage/shabby chic. I try to always make myself a page or spread also when I have everything out and making theirs. Doesn't seem to take any longer and it's all out anyway. i used LaBlanche stamps on Ranger's new specialty stamping paper for the images and then used the new distress markers to color the images. Picket Fence for Santa's beard and hair. Then used a blending tool to color the edges in red and some browns after that. Distressed the edges of the patterned paper and inked in browns also. Die-cut the Noel and 25 in glitter paper and then the snow-flakes with the movers and shapers dies. I had the snowflake tree trimmings on the left in my stash and added a piece to the image on the left for some dimension.

Clean Studio, At Last

Well, I finally have a clean and organized studio; well, almost. Still have lots of drawers and cupboards to go through and completely sort and gre tid of lots of stamps and such that are no longer loved and just not my style any more. So before it gets any messier, here are a few pics. Victoria's desk, the guest table, my desk, the cutting station, die storage and stacking turn-tables storage, Tim's die storage, embossing folders, etc., my wireless printer and Tim cupboard. There is also a loarge closet in the room; no, you are not seeing that baby! And a large bathroom with shower. It is really the master bedroom in the basement.It used to be Savanna's room when she was in high school but when she left the nest, I claimed it. Then, when she came back after a year, I made her take the guest bedroom upstairs at the end of our hall.

Making Canvases with the Grands

Today was a relaxing play-day in the new, clean studio with two of my grandkids, Victoria, 11, and AJ, 7. We decided to try our hand at making canvases. They are 5" x 7" in size. First we gessoed them, then after drying, added Distress stains and then sprayed the top with water and let them run down. AJ definately had the coolest background! Then after some more drying, we stamped a few background stamps of Tim's and Dyan's in several Archival Ink colors. They had a lot of fun with that. Next we stamped our images of Tim's for AJ's, Dyan's for Victoria's, and Wendy's for mine onto white tissue paper and then adhered it to the canvas with Mod Podge. Dawned on me afterwards, to add some distress ink on a blending tool for some depth so AJ's got that but not mine. LOL, So I added it after the mod podge dried. Then we added some tissue tape and the word tickets on pop-dot foams. They were very pleased with their art and I will be entering mine on the challenge on the Everything Wendy Vecchi group this time where we had to use some canvas and at least one of Wendy's stamps. Still don't have my swaps done but we sure had a fun time making these! There's always tomorrow.......

Birthday Cards for tomorrow-Done

Tomorrow is my oldest daughter, Angela's 30th birthday and also my hubby, Jay's 53rd birthday. (He catches up to me again) I spent the afternoon making cards for them and an extra one so I can remember what I did. now to change clothes, pick up AJ, my grandson(7), and head to Eau Claire to see their semi-pro team, The Express, play a good game of baseball. Jay was the pitcher in school and AJ started plying Rookie ball this year and is quite smitten with baseball, so I am surprising him and taking him with us. Will get a meal first and then head to the field. Take me out to the ball-game..... Here's the three cards I got made:

Rolodex Swap- Gears

This month our theme for the Rolodex card swap is gears. I used black cardstock and embossed it after cutting it first. I used my telephone card die and ran it part way through to get the notches and backed it out. I then put the gears on the edge die in and lined it up to the size I wanted and rean it through. I just used my Tim scissors to trim it up after that. On the first three I made, I used my good old Metallic Rub-ons. Remember these, ladies! I swear I am going to start using some of this stuff I have hoarded!!! Then I decided,to try some of my Lumierre paints, again, hoarded. Had to add water to most of them and one of them couldn't be saved even with it. *Note to self- STOP BUYING, START USING*, Right! Anyway, I just kept painting colors on randomly until they were covered. Then I got out the Specialty stamping paper by Ranger and stamped my images and die cut them with a Nesties set. (Dozens of these sets, again hoarded) Why don't I use these! So cool! Added some distress ink to the edges and die-cut the shape again on black a little larger. Then used the movers and shapers gears die and cut gears from scraps of black; embossed with silver detail but left a few patchy areas in some places to grunge them up a bit. Layered it all onto the card, used glossy accents to add the gears. The backs are plain except for my info sticker and I ran an Opalite pad across the black embossed area for some gorgeous colorful shimmer. I thought the Lumiere ones were over the top, with too much color, but once all the elements were added, I really liked them.

COC2- #16/ SSSS, What Do You Say, tip-in page swap

Oh my God! I am posting again! LOL, I have been so swamped and stressed out lately, I haven't created anything or posted in forever! Well, I finally took the time to get my tip-in page done for my partner this month, Michelle, and her theme is Vintage. I am also using one side of the page for my challenge over at Studio L3, for COC2- #16, misted pearls,on page 54, where I chose Tim's option #3 on my page. Yum! Love these things. Hard to tell in the picture, but the doily has been inked and sprayed.I love Tim's books, packed full of inspiration and instructions to make so many wonderful projects. Great investment! I am using the other side of the page for the challenge over at Simon Says Stamp and Show, where this week's challenge is, "What do you say?".

I used a quote about music for mine, since the image I stamped is playing the piano. I used some of my hoarded specialty stamping paper by Ranger.OMG, I LOVE this stuff!!! I need to stock up on this stuff. Don't ever see it in the stores.It was so nice to get inky yesterday and todaym, that In am working on my Rolodex swap pages also. Have several steps done, so there's hope yet.

Happy Retirement Helen

My wonderful next door neighbor, Helen, just retired after working 42 years with the school district. She was the favorite of every child through all of those years. They all call her "Mrs. J" so they don't have to remember her last name. They are the best neighbors a person could ever wish for; they have literally shovelled our snow, raked our lawn, planted plants for me when my sciatica was acting up and my shipment arrived, they take our dog on walks and trips to visit the residents at the local nursing home, etc. They let him outside with them while we are at work if he is in the window. LOL He has them very trained, to say the least! Anyway, she walked over with the newspaper clippings of her retirement party at school and wanted to know if I could spruce them up a little since I have that craft room. LOL I decided to see who took the photos and get some made and use originals so they don't yellow and fade, etc. Here is what I ceated for her yesterday and put them in white scrapbook frames but took them out for the picture to get rid of the glare.

Tip-in pages/ Spritz, spray, stencil challenge

This week the theme at Simon Says Stamp and Show, is Spritz, spray, and stencil. Well, I just happened to do all of those on my newest tip-in pages so am entering them here for this challenge. I am LOVING Dyan's sprays!!!! So gorgeous and vivid! Also love Jenni Bowlin's paint dabbers with the stencils! Fun, fun.

Tags of 2012- July

Hey, how about this bloggers! I already got mine done for this month! Still haven't gotten around to June's, but will soon I hope. I made mine onto a rolodex card as I am using them for my swap this month.

Depth of Distress

I am going to a wedding tomorrow for one of my youngest daughter's best friends. The theme is Rustic and they are using a lot of burlap and lace. We made burlap placemats and silverware holders and gift bags and I got to thinking I would make them a bulletin board as well. I scoured the flea market and found some old beat-up prints in frames. I discarded the prints and kept the frames. They needed a bit of gluing but I left all the scuff marks and chips in them as that's the look I wanted. I bought some board from my local hardwae store that you can push pins into and measured and had them cut it to size from the 4' x 8' sheet I bought. I covered that with burlap and stapled it to the backs while stretching it. I pounced Mod-Podge onto some lengths of burlap and let dry to stiffen it; then die cut flower layer #5 and made burlap roses. Did another set in dark brown and lace with Tim's tattered florals and just punched a circle of cardstock and hot-glued lace that I gathered around the edge as I went to mount onto. I also cut a length of burlap and just rolled it into a rose and hot glued it togeher. The leaves were cut from shelf liner as I didn't buy any green burlap. (Getting some today, though)I swiped the roses with Frayed burlp Distress Inks and also the leaves. i am soooo glad I thought ahead and bought stuff to make myself one too!!! I ordered prints last night I swiped from her facebook page and am picking them up this morning to tack on so that they know it's a bulletin board and to finish the look when they open it. They live in San Diego, so I am guessing it will have to be shipped from Wisconsin when they head back, but I just had to go the homemade route with their theme. These kids got married quick a couple of years ago because he was deployed and heading to Iraq(he's an officer in the marines), so they didn't get to have the fairy-tale wedding she dreamed of, so now, they are getting their big day! It is perfect for this week's theme over at Simon Says Stamp and Show, Layered distress, so am entering it there. I put a couple close-ups of the roses so you can see how cool they turned out. I need a little practice on the rolled type though. I am so left-handed!

Creative block-Stampersanonymous Swap

I have not signed up for these monthly waps before but we are doing 3, 6x6" pages in an assigned color monthly to create a nice chunky book for ourselves. June's colors are Red and Blue. I have put a few pieces together the last few days a little at a time and gotten them done in time to play, so will mail them off tomorrow to Sandy. Can't wait to see what I get back. I used chipboard as my base and added cardstock, then corrugated cardboard pieces that I used paint dabber on to highlight the texture. Made smaller tags using wrinkle-free technique and dyed my own seam binding with Distress stains. Die cut the star and used bronze patina embossing powder on them. I like how they turned out.

COC2- #10

Linda had us turn our books to page #37 this week for the challenge on her blog, Studio L3 , where we are working our way through Tim Holtz's Commpendium of Curiosities Volume Two. What fun these challenges are. I am also using this tag at OWSE for a collage challenge, as well as Simon Says Stamps for the Show Us a Bit of Brown challenge. i also used a memo clip to attach one of my tickets I made for a couple of swaps, one at the AllThingsTim yahoo group and the other at the InkyRangers group. These are so fun to do and a cute little embellishment to add to tags, cards, pages, etc. We also have a chance to win a prize donated at the Funkie Junkie. Check out her gorgeous stuff here.

Challenges

i finished up my challenge for the Everything Wendy Vecchi group, MAC #44 today. The challenge was to use bright colors. I am also using it for a journal spread challenge at OWSE where this time, we had to use something that we seldom use from our stash. My seldom used medium was Fun Foam. I have so much of it and don't think about it. I die-cut Tim's flowers with it and then stamped in Archival with Wendy's background stamp. I also stamped her heart and leaves onto the foam after heating it and then cut around them. if you stamp into the foam while it's hot, you embed the ink and texture onto the foam. It's a cool effect that I don't think the picture will pick up.