Song lyric's that inspire

Happy Holidays Everyone:

Over at Creative Carte Blanche this months theme is "Be you- Song lyrics inspiration"

I had to think on this for a while because like some of you I listen to different music depending what I'm doing!!  Cleaning is usually Van Halen ( yes I just aged myself) , Laundry and mending is more soothing like movie theme music Harry Potter , When i need to get myself out of a funk or just motivated my go to is Masterpiece by Jesse J.  This page I've had done for awhile.  One problem no matter what I did I couldn't get one of the lyrics ( the one on the bottom) in focus.  I tried everything so I'm just going to type it.  " You haven't seen the best of me I'm still working on my masterpiece"

I love this song!!  I blare it to my daughters dismay.  I although call it payback for all the times she's gives me a early wake- up call .  hope you like it.

Journey Christmas tag

Happy Holidays Everyone:
I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!!

This months tag for the  Tim Holtz's 12 tags of 2016 became a journey of cleaning out my craft room to find my shadow press station.  So now with my room cleaner and my tools organized I got to work.  I didn't have any Christmas shadow press.  So I used Journey.  Because at this time of year are we all not on some kind of journey?  The hunt for the perfect gift, the adventure trying to find it at a good price,  and the stress of getting it all done in time.  All I can say is thank you  Amazon prime.  I got out my die cutting machine out ( vagabond)  and cut two tags one for a base and the other out tim's textile surfaces ( burlap).  got my holiday knit stencil and applied candied apple distress ink on the burlap.  Now to crafting I then dug around and found several packs of Tim Holtz paper with Christmas themes to make my tiles with.  I used bottle alcohol ink on and idea-ology star, applied some jute string and arrow from- yep idea-ology.  I used a wreath and bells from my stash and more jute on the top.  I wanted the journey to stand out more so I used red stickies to sparkle it up a little.

I hope you like it:

Peace/ dragonfly

Evening all:  I finally got to play at my craft desk.  So I played all day trying to come up with a tag or card I like for my November entry to the  Tim Holtz 12 tags of 2016 .  I love this dragonfly stamp  .  It's an old one but a favorite.  For this tag we were supposed to use the spray stain, I have a hard time keeping control of where I spray so inside a shoebox my tag goes; otherwise I end up spraying everything.  After adding my remnant rubs I applied my distress spray ( stormy sky, crack pistachio, faded jeans, and spun sugar).  I added water to make the colors blend and drip.  I used my distress crayons on my dragonfly and fussy cut it out.  I wanted a little sparkle so I added wink of stella.  I cut my peace from the Christmas thinnest set.  attached the cork peace to some corrugated  cardboard and then to my tag with tiny brads.   Hope you like it.

Halloween Clipboard

Hi all:  Yep almost late again.  This time I cut it way close. Here is my Tim Holtz remix October 2016   tag ( clipboard)  I love how creative making the collage background allows you to be.  I cut my pieces and took apart my clipboard got out my collage medium (vintage) and put a good layer down and  added my pieces.

 I outlined my pieces with the black soot  crayon. Ran my candle light die cut and used the spider.  Heres my finished product.  Hope you like it!!

Halloween Clipboard

Hi all:  Yep almost late again.  This time I cut it way close. Here is my Tim Holtz remix October 2016   tag ( clipboard)  I love how creative making the collage background allows you to be.  I cut my pieces and took apart my clipboard got out my collage medium (vintage) and put a good layer down and  added my pieces.

 I outlined my pieces with the black soot  crayon. Ran my candle light die cut and used the spider.  Heres my finished product.  Hope you like it!!

Witchy Woman

Happy October All:  I was looking through Pinterest a few months back and discovered Lavinia Stamps; and I'm hooked.  These stamps speak to the whimsey in me.  I know dorky.   So back in June I ordered a few.  The stamp company is in the U.K. so shipping takes awhile.  So bummer my order hadn't arrived my the middle of August so I emailed the company.  Worked with both Jane and Tracy and they sent me a new order.  I finally got them last weekend.  And I must tell you I fell in love with this witch stamp.

  She is just fun.!!  Creative Card Blanche's October challenge is -
Witchy Woman-  Well this stamp is perfect.  so my pulled out my inks, canvas, water color paper, paints, plastic, stickies, perfect pearls and stamps and got to work.  I made a few color combos to see what screamed Halloween to me.  I made a couple of messes and in the trash they went.  I sometime have trouble inking the stamps that aren't rubber.  So I went through a few pieces of scratch and water color paper.



Once I got the scene the way I wanted it.  This is what I came up with.  Hope you like it.

Everyday Butterfly

Happy Fall everyone!
Just uploading my Tim Holtz- September tag for the 12 tags of 2016 remix.  i must have watched the video at least 50 times.  this was not a simple or easy effect to pull off.  my first one too light.  The next one I pressed too hard and didn't  make sure to use a clean area to wipe. Big mistake!!   I kinda liked the car though.

The third time was the charm.  I really liked the effect of the 2 tone swiggle background.  I put the alcohol ink (Indigo and Teakwood) in 2 long stripes each on my applicator and wiggled as I placed it on the Yupo.  I got these thick lines of color.  Then I inked my butterfly stamp from the Perspective cms213 set from Stampers anonymous with Ranger Archival ink Potting soil  stamped my image and gently wiped using the clean area of my felt.  This is what I came up with.

Summer colors

Hi :  It's been a really long time I know.  I been traveling, working, and basically just running around getting stuff done.  I'm seriously ready to take a breather.  I just realized it was only a couple of days till the end of the month and I hadn't even looked at what the Tim Holtz August tag for 2016.  So over the weekend I got to work.  The techniques were fun to experiment with.  Brayered stained was challenging, because I want to color it all.  So instead I went sideways instead of up and down.  I used distressed ink - wild honey, fossilized amber and picked raspberry.  I also used fossilized amber distress paint on my framework pieces.   The frameworks part was much easier for me.  I love these dies, they are like little puzzles.  I hope you all like it.

Horizontal NYC tag

Afternoon :  Today I needed to do something creative.  You know those days where you need something happy; making things makes me happy.  So I decided to a make my  July tag for the Tim Holtz's 12 of 2016.  I know a shocker but, for this one my idea came fast.  I love those cityscape stamps by Stampers Anonymous & Tim Holtz, so I dug them out and just started playing.  I am usually inspired by colors before anything else, how about you guys/gals?   So I looked online to see the colors of the city.  Cracked Pistachio is the perfect distress color for the Statue of Liberty and the top of 40 Wall Street.  From there I continued water coloring with different Distress pens and then used a gel glitter pen to add a little sparkle. When I was done painting I dried the picture. Which for once I did on the smooth side of the watercolor paper.  I added Distress Glaze and rubbed off the extra with a paper towel.  Next thinlet time where I cutout my words on a craft tag and  used a craft knife to make a belly band to slide my watercolor picture in.  Next add a few Ideology items and twine.  This was a fun tag to make.   I'm going to  laminate this  and use it on my luggage.

Hope you like it!!

Journal page 2

Hey-  I'm still experimenting with my journal.  This time I used distress ink, stencils with paste and different texture gels.  I forgot how much fun a journal is!!  The hardest part is waiting for your different mediums to dry so you can try something else.  Simon Says Stamp also has a Wednesday challenge that I decided to enter my journal page in.  Hope you like it!!

Summer journal post

Hi All:  I've decided when I'm cleaning the studio I need someone to tell me to put stuff down.  My goal today was to clean out my studio.  I have trash bags, kids crafting tubs,  and give away piles.  I was doing good until I ran across my Dyan Reaveley journal.  You know the one with the craft cover. I started looking at it, and then I found a stash bag from H.L.  and there were clearance stamps I bought and never put away.  I put the journal and stamps on my desk.  Organized a few more shelves and then I was bored.  Yep I started playing in the journal.  As I always do I looked online at Simon Says  blog to see what the Simon Says Monday Challenge was.  This week its Tic Tac Toe-  This is my attempt at Tic-Tac- Toe . I used one of the stamps in the bag ( the tricycle) and another stamp that says summer to me, some washi tapend twine.  Embossed, then sprayed with distress spray and inked with distress ink.  Hope you like it.

Summer Butterfly

Hi All:  Yep it's the last day of the month and I'm just not finishing my Tim Holtz's  technique remix tag for June's  12 tags of 2016.    I  do this all the time!!!  And I shouldn't have because this tag ran the gambit.  New surfaces- substrate sheets and textile surfaces.  Stamped on tissue wrap , die cut,   vintage collage medium, and  even got out the sewing machine.   I'm getting a little better at the sewing thing.  So here is my tag.  Hope you like it.

Fork and Roses

Afternoon All:  We finally have a little sunshine.  Not for long though I hear :-(  .  Where I live in North Texas it's either feast or famine with rain.  Anyway enough of that.  A couple of my friends and I were talking about blogs.  Two of us have them and Beth who doesn't said she wished people would sometimes post their oops projects just so people who don't have blogs would know they aren't the only ones who make mistakes.  Well from that comment we launched into a bunch of different discussions which is why hanging out with friends is so fun.  By the end of the conversation both Teressa and I promised to post something that wasn't perfect; of which I have a ton.  Anyone else??
I took a couple of totally fun classes @ the Crafty Scrapper in Waxahachie Texas a couple of weeks ago.  One is a monthly Tim Holtz tag class  where she sets the stuff out and  you make it your way ,and the other was to learn how to use Wendy Vecchi products. Tim Holtz 12 tags of 2016

 Loved it!!!  here's my tag .  Now as I promised Beth my oops.  I got to mad at myself.  I was loving how my cover was turning out then I looked at my piece---- Really I couldn't have noticed it earlier. do ya see what I did.  The backward lefty strikes again.   thanks of looking!!

Pink Box

Hi All:  Lately I've been into altering cigar boxes.   I so love the Royal Menagerie paper line from Prima!!  Maybe because I love pretty and pink.  This time I had a piece that screamed cigar box.  The paper is called Helena , probably my favorite in the whole collection.  I started by changing the color of the cigar boxes clasps, hinges and Idea-ology legs to silver with silver alcohol ink. Then Distress Black Soot paint to outline the box.  Next I attached the paper and legs. Last I attached my embellishments.   I app Simon Says Monday Challenge- Home Decor.  Thanks for looking

Butterfly Box

Hi:  I'm working on a butterfly box for Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.  I used Sanctuary by Blue Fern Studios  called Botanical Gardens,  Hope you like it!!

Spring flowers

Hey again:  When it rains I play in my craft room.  Actually I do dishes, pick up, sweep, cook (well some meals) and then I craft.  Which is normally late at night.  I made this card for 2 Simon Says Challenges.  There is the Simon Says Monday Challenge which is-April showers bring may flowers ; and for Simon says Wednesday Challenge- Lets do polka dots.  Hope you like it.

Just a couple boxes

 Hey again:

 Last weekend I spent several hours altering a couple cigar boxes for my friend Rayann so she could take them home to Canada.   It was one of those races against the clock craft days, because there was packing to do and a plane to catch.  One is for an auction for breast cancer and the other is a gift.  Since over at Creative Card Blanche the April Adventure is an Altered cigar box I thought I'd share these 2 - First one is called the Hope Box.  The second one is called the The Dancer.

Mosaic Luminary

Hey Everyone:
                          Have you ever had an art tool that you had to have but, you don't use it?  I had to have the luminary 3-D the second the die was released.  I got it home unpackaged it, put it on the shelf with my other Alterations dies.  There it has sat for a couple of years now.  My neighbors have this really cute lantern on their outside table and when this months Tim Holtz 12 tags of 2016 included  Mosaic I knew just what I wanted to do.  Yep I finally pulled out my Luminary die dusted it off and used it.  I messed a few up of course.  Once i figured the top was a u-fold things went pretty smoothly.  If I do another mosaic with this die I'm going to do one panel at a time with the grout.  My card stock got a little soggy.
 I made a couple of  different roofs.   Hope you like it.

 

Butterfly mixed media

Hi All:  I was walking through Michaels the other day and came across some canvas for 60% off.  It kinda got my attention since thats what I went for.  I went back to the isle I got the not on sale canvas and put it back.  I'm not a fan of creating extra work for someone else.  went back and bought several instead of just 1; and paid less.  A lot less.  I went home and started to play.  While the gesso was drying I went on the internet looked at several sites.  Over at Simon Says Wednesday Challenge they're theme is "Anything goes" and I also discovered Creative  Carte Blanche.  It's a new blog started by some of my favorite crafters.  You really need to check it out if you love challenges.  I missed creative adventure #1 and almost #2.  So #2 is called "Triple trouble"  and you have to use lace, corrugated paper, and metal on an art project.  After the gesso dried I used Picked Raspberry and Cracked Pistachio distress paint in random places over the gesso.  I decided the picked raspberry  was a little bright so I mixed some gesso with it and mellowed it out a little.  I then used some Art Anthology spray (Ink Spot).  This is a new product that I found at a craft show here in Texas.  This spray dries so fast.  I decided the canvas needed a little texture, to do this I used some Liquitex glass beads multi medium.  I had a corrugated flower I at one point attached a burlap flower too (Tattered floral die) I had made awhile back and a scrap piece in my stash so I included those and applied the same  paint and spray on those to tie the brushes in.  I also the queen of forgetting and I'm always leaving my brushes in product and not cleaning them.  Instead of throwing them away I painted them with the same colors and glued the to the canvas back and added some tulle and a bead spray from Mon Ami Gabby   On the other side I die cut some butterflies from Tm Holtz.  2 are from the new butterfly thinlets and the one on the bottom is on of his mover and shapers.  To get my metal in the piece I used pen nibs for 2 of the butterfly bodies and a corner piece from Idea-ology.  As for my lace piece I just used a base stitch on some 2 inch lace ribbon and created a flower.  the added 2 pre made flowers from my stash to complete.   So here is mine mixed media piece I hope you like it.  And thanks for looking!!

 

Thanks for looking

A little Ice Cream

Hey All:  Happy Easter!!   I'm Between holiday activities so I thought I'd  share a simple  birthday card I made.  I sometimes get into these moods where I think I have to use every item in the craft room  I have on all projects I make.  It's as if I don't know when to stop.  My wise friend Melody told me , " walk away from your project, when you come back you'll look at it differently".  Of course she was right !!    So this week the Simon Says Monday challenge theme is Food and/ or drink so I tried my new mind set ; let me know what you think.

Thanks for looking

The Butterfly Escape

Happy Monday Everyone:  Its time to post my March Tim Holtz tag.  This tag was a challenge to photograph.  I couldn't get the words in the banner to show up.  Also this is a major!  I manged to damage a die and a plate.  My sandwich was too thick for my Vagabond and I forced it through.  Huge mistake.  If I had just looked and slowed down all could have been avoided.  I just grabbed without looking and ruined a black plate used for  embossing not cutting.  I also managed to get my die stuck into it and pulled it up from the base.  The black embossing plate was warped and gouged so into the trash it went; fortunately my husband was able to fix my tag and bookplate die ( one I use all the time).  Live and Learn right!  I do like how my tag turned out though.  Thanks for looking

Baby Girl

Happy Friday all:  I've got that Spring cleaning bug.  You know the one where you go room to room and go through everything.  I'm always surprised at how much stuff there is to go through.  I'm cleaning, and organizing, and then I found pictures.  So the whole cleaning thing stops.... I found this picture of my youngest Colie and I knew I had to  make a page.  I just left everything  I was organizing where it was and started playing.  I probably won't get any more cleaning done today but I'll have another scrapbook page.  I love challenges I'm entering this in the Tim Holtz 12 tags of 2016, and Simon Says Monday challenge: Inspired by a song - Isn't she lovely by Stevie Wonder.  Hope you like it.

Scrapbook Expo

HeyAll:  Yesterday my friend Melody and I went to Scrapbook Expo.  This event is fun, educational and not to mention a one stop shop!!!  Unlike CHA this events had both Manufacturers and Vendors.  My main reason for going is the classes. You learn from industry professionals/owners of the companies.  I took 2 classes yesterday, one from Art Anthology and one from Pinecone Press.  I love to make mini albums the process is calming for me.  In my class yesterday from Pinecone press I learned different ways to make flaps, and layering.  This was good because I tend to never layer my base pages.  This company sells pre-made  kits where the with everything you need to create a album. (except the pictures)   My class from Art Anthology was awesome!! If you have a chance  to take classes from Art Anthology grab it!  I would take classes from Stayce a every week if I could.  We learned how to use some of her products.  There is dimensional paints with different textures (velvet, sorbet, metallic, stone effect and vibrant gemstone), coloration sprays, and fairy dust spray,  texture paste, etc...  I'm really hesitant to use mediums I know nothing about.  These were easy to use with stencils and on their own.   This class was fun, informative, messy, and hands on.  I bought a beginners kit to play with.

 and here's a picture of  my friend Melody Winston with Stacy Dewid of Art Anthology.

Thanks for looking.

Mini Album Mode

Hows it going?  Sorry it has been awhile since I've posted !  I'm in mini album mode.  Every once in awhile I'll fall in love with a paper line; this time the paper is junque gypsy by Marion Smith.  It just screamed mini album.  I'm looking online at tutorials, (my sisters scrapper and scrapbook maven)
 trying different ideas for flaps, etc...   Here's a few pictures.   Also tomorrow is Scrapbook Expo here in Texas.  I hope I get a ton of ideas. Thanks for looking

The Red tag

Hey All:   Last summer my husband and I stayed in Morro Bay and explored the city for a day.  As we were checking out the shops on their main street I ran across this shop called Lina G's and all the trimmings.  My husband couldn't get me out of there fast enough!!  There was every kind of ribbon,  lace, and embellishment you could imagine.  I met the owner Lina, she was making a headdress,  the kind worn by Las Vegas showgirls.  The details were amazing!!!  If you in the area don't miss this place.  Of course I shopped and came home with a bag full of goodies.  Vintage lace, new lace, buttons, and embelishments.  So I loaded up as much as the hubby would let me.   The crafting hoarder in me wouldn't let me use any of my items from there, til tonight.  I'm making a tag for the Simon Says Monday Challenge.  This weeks challenge was to use Red.  I finally cracked the plastic my latest color from Tim Holtz and Ranger, Candied Apple.  The items I used  from Lina G. are the tartan pinwheels.  I'm going to have to call her and see if she can send me more.  This is my result.

Thanks for Looking!!

!

Yep I'm a lefty

Hi Everyone:  Being left-handed sometimes can be a pain.  Most things are made for righties.  This is completely understandable considering 90% of our population is right-handed.   Those of us who are dominantly left-handed tend to frustrate the righties in our life.  For instance a couple of my friends who've come to my house and helped in the kitchen have told me I set my kitchen up backwards.  When my husband sees things in a different light then myself his response is "it must be a left-handed thing".   My mother loved to sew.  When I was small she made all my clothes.  It came time for her to teach me and I just stressed her out.  When I got to middle school and took Home Ec,  they actually had 2 left-handed sewing machines I could use but this just confused me.  The hardest thing we made was a wrap-around skirt and a p.e. bag.  So lets just say the cooking part was my favorite in that class.  Last year there was a challenge where you needed to sew around a paper tag.  I had this hand held sewing machine and thought it would work.  I was very wrong.  Very, very wrong.   For that challenge I drew the lines. So my sweet hubby went out and got me a basic sewing machine and I watched a couple of Youtube videos, read some blogs, you know the drill.   It took me about a week and a dozen  or so trashed tags but I made one that I deemed not to bad.  Yesterday an awesome friend of mine named Rayann (who's quilts are amazing) helped me sew 3 items.  Now mind you they are nowhere near the awesome  Rayann,  Richele Christensen, or Tammy Tutterow but, It's a step in learning how to work my machine and not fear it!!  Here is the results.  2 pillow covers and a cafe curtain.  Of course I used some of Tim Holtz's fabrics From Electric Elements one of my favorite patterns Top Shelf and from the Wallflower collection I used Rose Parcel.  Thanks for looking