Christmas Tags in July

I am in a Christmas Tag Swap for 15 tags. It was alot of tags, but I worked on them in parts over the last few weeks. They are all packaged up and sent off. Now I will get back 15 unique to and from tags for my Christmas packages. I did this last year and it was wonderful. Gotta love a little Christmas in July.

I started with large manilla tags and then used my shimmer mist on both sides. The stocking image is by The Stamping Bug and the to & from images are Stampin Up. I used distress ink in peeled paint for all images. Then a little diamond stickles to highlight the stocking. A bit of ribbon and lace for a tie and they are finished. TFL

Color Challenges & A Prize

This is catch up week. Please feel free to complete any of the past color challenges that you missed and post a link here. I put together a little prize package that I'll be giving away at the end of the week. So, if you haven't yet participated, or if you'd like more entries now is the time. All of the past challenges are listed over to the side and here is a link to all the original posts. For each color challenge card you have completed, I'll put your name in the drawing. I already have your names in the drawing for the challenges completed to date. Here are the goodies so far:



Thanks to everyone who has been playing in my challenges. You all inspire me, and make blogging so much fun. I'm going to leave this open until Monday, August 6th. I'll draw a name that morning.

KISS ROCKS!

We took our 12 year old son to his first rock concert last night. I've never seen KISS in concert and they were everything a great rock & roll concert should be....smoke, fire, pyrotechnics, blood, leather, platform shoes, big hair, and serious rock! The drum solo was the best I've ever heard. It was loud, the people there were a show in themselves, and I loved every minute of it. Watching my son cheer and rock out made my night. Of course today, I feel like I have been sick or have a hangover, but I'm not as young as I was when I went to rock concerts. You can read the songlist and the backstory to the concert on their website along with photos. It's worth a look, just for the giggles.

Fun Art Stuff

We went to the Laguna Beach Sawdust Festival and Pageant of the Masters two weeks ago. I'm just now getting around to share what I made there and what I was inspired to make. The wire sculpture was a sort of make and take at the Sawdust Festival. For $1, we got all the copper filled wire we wanted to sculpt something. So, here is my little project that I call Feelin' Groovy. Because really at the Sawdust Festival you have to feel groovy. All the cool art, music, and a new toe ring must have had something to do with it.

Then there was this artist, Bette McIntire, who does paper art and collage work. She made all sorts of gorgeous collages and then while at the festival, she was required to make an art piece each day. Well, that's not an easy task for someone who does collage work. The booths are small and I know it takes a ton of stuff to make a collage. So, she made these little doodle art pages with newspaper clippings in them. I bought two of them to hang in my art room. I decided it might be a fun adventure to try this kind of art. I'm not a doodler, so I need the practice. It turns out to be a fun little exercise. I started in a small book, and have only done one so far. The trick of the doodling is to not lift your pen off the paper, which really keeps the rhythm going.

Color Challenge Tuesday~part 15

I'm posting a day late....pink, purple, and yellow....inspired by a groovy paper my mom gave me today. It seems like such an unlikely pairing unless you go floral. I'll be interested to see what you can do with it.

We had a fantastic vacation! My sweet hubby posted some photos of our trip on his blog. Take a peek over there if you'd like to see where we went. I have a few things to show you, but I've been busy catching up with real life stuff like laundry, bills, dmv...ugh! Fun stuff coming tomorrow.

Color Challenge Monday ~ part 14

Since I'm leaving for a week vacation in Mammoth today, I thought we'd try a natural colors challenge. Mother nature provides nearly every color in the rainbow, but I'm thinking of the main colors I'll be experiencing. Sky blue, forest green, and earth brown. Feel free to use the colors in your sky, trees, and earth. I can recall red earth in many areas of the country.

We will be condo camping this week in Mammoth Lakes, CA. We have our bikes ready to go, Kyle has a new fishing pole, and I got some good books on tape and in print. It's been a few years since we were up that way. Our trips usually include lots of hiking with picnic lunches in places such as Mono Lake, Tuolomne Meadows, Convict Lake, June Lake, and I'm sure a few other beautiful places. If you are unfamiliar with the area, it is on the eastern side of the Sierra mountains and alot of folks ski there in the winter. We prefer to go in the summer time when it's so beautiful and green. There is also alot of seismic and past volcanic activity in this area. We are nuts for rocks and all things geological, so it's a fun place for us to visit. Be sure to check out the link to my husband's blog next week for all the pics. He's the photographer around here and he's been playing with a new photo editing program that's sure to bring some great shots. I'll be off recharging my batteries for a bit...see you next week.

Do you follow trends or do you have style?

I read a post at Angie's blog that really got me to thinking today. Basically there are so many new things out there, how to keep up and not become passe. I posted a response and I keep thinking about this topic. It applies to so many areas of life.

Do you have the latest i-phone, are you wanting the newest coach purse? I can honestly say that this is rarely me. I am so very happy stopping in the thrift shop for my weekly visit. Just this week I found the most elegant, classy alligator purse for $1. It needs to have just a little bit of repair, but is overall in excellent condition. I can't imagine any new purse providing me with such joy. It's the thrill of the hunt that gets me I think. There are a few things I always purchase new....like shoes, all undergarments, and most electronics. Everything else is fair game, and is usually better if it has survived all these years.

I feel the same way with my stamps. I don't have bellas, paper trey ink, just johanna, house mouse, or any of the other rage stamps. I nearly fall out of my chair when I find a great old psx stamp. Oh, the psx botanicals are dreamy. I have nothing against all the latest stamps, but they are like most other things a passing fad. If they stand the test of time, I guess I'll pick some up used in a few years. When everyone was clamoring waiting for the new Stampin Up catalog to come out, I was standing by waiting to see what will be sold off as used that will work for me.

So, while I'm off recharging the batteries this week, leave me a little note. I'd love to hear where you are in this discussion. Are you waiting until the newly released set comes out so you can buy it, or do you sit back and wait to see which ones stand the test of time.

Tulips

This card was a little experiment. I got a bunch of free photo paper cut to 4" x 6" in with my printer cartridges. Since we don't use that size, I thought I'd try it out for cardmaking. First I tried brayering on color which was ok, but not a great result. Then I used brilliance dew drop inks on it. Just smeared them around direct to paper and use a paper towel to smush the color around. I used all the colors I got in a 4 pack of dewdrops that are sort of fall colors. Then I stamped a new to me Outlines stamp with black staz-on ink. It's matted with pink cardstock and a little Karen Foster loopy brad added on with some ribbon from my stash. I'm so crazy about ribbon, that I'm nearly drowning in it. I love those loopy brads for adding just a bit of soft ribbon to a project.

Happy Friday the 13th

Some days are like this!

Today is a big day around here. Hubby and I are off to our annual big date night. We are going to Laguna for the Sawdust Festival, Festival of the Arts, and Pageant of the Masters. So much beautiful art and no worries. Our 2 week vacation begins today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

8 is enough challenge

Over at the Caardvarks they are having 10 days of challenges. This is my third entry...just can't keep up! So the challenge is to use 2 circles (buttons), 2 printed papers (Basic Grey Color Me Silly on background, and yellow print on the pinwheel), 2 ribbons (red tied in button and yellow rickrack on tag), and 2 stamps (both are on the tag from the M's $1 stamps). Whew, what a fun challenge.

Ok, so the pinwheel is made from tags and I got the idea from Kat's blog from a tutorial link at Stampin When I Can. It was a fun and easy technique. There are lots of great links to all sorts of blogs at Stampin When I Can. Take a look over there if you haven't seen Allison's blog yet.

No Color Tag

I was playing around with my no color idea and here's what I came up with. The tag is large...3 1/4" x 5". I stamped the whole background with black versafine ink. Then I put a little 3" x 3" card on the front of it. It's cuttlebug debossed with an embossed pog on top. I used brilliance moonlight white all over the pog and heat embossed with a sparkly E.P. called bridal veil. I had the rhinestone and lace in my stash. I thought this would be a nice gift bag tag since there is room in the small card to write a note.

Ok, so about the pog. Everytime I make something with a pog I get a "what's a pog" question. A pog is a small round chipboard piece with cartoon characters printed on it. They were used for a kid's game in the late 80's. I found a gallon ziploc full at a yardsale a while back and use them alot. Mine have the Flintstones on the back side that you can't see. The white side is shiny and smooth and perfect for embossing, stamping, using alcohol inks, etc. If you find some pogs, grab them. They are fun to play with and alot cheaper than the chipboard embellies at the store.

Shimmer Mist Recipe

I've been playing around with some ideas to make my own shimmery mist like the new ones on the market. I really want to have options on colors and can't see paying upwards of $8 per bottle for something I can make. Most of the tutorials I've seen for this use reinkers for the color part. I don't have those, so I improvised. First I tried watercolor paint, which does not work...too watery, not enough color. Then I remember these great shimmery Luna Lights paints that I picked up at Auntie Amy's convention last year. So, I took the little spray bottle in the picture and filled it about 3/4 with water, added 1/4 teaspoon of perfect pearls and about 1 tablespoon of Luna Lights paint. I shook it all up and got busy!

I put a plain manilla tag inside a shoe box and sprayed the shimmer mixture liberally on it. I then, dabbed up the excess water with a paper towel. I did this to both sides of the tag. I made 18 of these tags on both sides using just about the whole bottle of the shimmer mixture. You have to shake it up from time to time to keep the pearls mixed in. Next time, I will use less water and will probably use direct to paper with distress ink in a similar color first before adding the shimmer, so I won't need as much of the mist. Thanks for that tip, Isa.

I hope you'll have some time to play around with your own shimmery mist recipes. If you have success with this or some variation of it, please let me know. It's fun to play mad scientist once in a while.

Halloween in July?

I just couldn't resist combining two challenges today. Cindi over at the stamp shack posted a color challenge today that just screams Halloween to me...lime, purple, and black. Plus, I picked up this fun stamp at the thrift shop last week and it needed to see ink again.

The caardvarks day 5 challenge is to use five embellishments on a card front. So, here you see: a safety pin, twill tape, a brad, a ghost button, and googley eyes. I love the eyes. And to top it all off, I got these challenges combined on a small card. This little cutie measures only 3 1/4" x 4 1/2".

Color Challenge Monday ~ part 13

Since it is week #13, I thought I'd do something a bit weird. This week is the no-color challenge. Can you make a card devoid of color? I think I can, and I'm willing to give it a try. Now would be a fine time to consider using items that are clear, white, and black. I hope you will give this one a shot. If you pull something together for the challenge, don't forget to link it here in the comments section. Thanks!

Yellow Shoes

Here is my version of the color challenge for this week. I'm really stretching on the orange here, but the yellow and grey are definitely there. The shoe stamp is by the stamping bug. I have no idea who makes the word background stamp since it was unmounted and used when I got it. I used papers and ribbons from my stash and versafine smokey grey ink.

This card was inspired by my mom. I can remember a grey wool dress she wore with yellow heels and yellow purse when I was a kid. I thought she looked so sophisticated in that outfit. Do you remember that outfit mom?

Botanical Fun

It finally cooled off enough for my muse to return today. I made several cards, but this is the one that really worked. I made this for a challenge over at Caardvarks. They are hosting 10 days of challenges, and today is day 4. The challenge is to make a card with four squares on the front. This card is 4" x 9", and will fit in a business sized envelope. What fun to play with such a big card. I punched out the squares after alot of math to figure out the proper spacing. Then I inked up the white paper with distress inks and stamped this Laura Ashley leaf stamp all over the front. I stamped white squares in each punch out with moonlight brilliance ink. The various leaves were stamped over that with peeled paint distress ink. The large piece of twill tape is salvaged by my mom from packaging for a stack of washcloths. The little sentiment twist tie is by I Kandee. I just love that little touch. TFL

Too Hot To Craft

Is there such a thing as too hot to craft? Well, this week it has been. I hope it's cooler where you are. Have a great weekend.

A Little Perspective

I did a little experimenting today. This is a 5" x 7" canvas that I played around with collage on. It was fun to make and will serve as a gentle reminder of the beauty that surrounds me every day. I used alot of goodies from my treasure hunts here including the song from an old Blue Birds songbook. There is a poker chip, a rock, a button, feathers, and a few charms thrown in. I'm not thrilled with the way the ink smeared on the birds and may go back to amend that part a bit.

Just as I was about to download this picture I looked out the window and saw this from the deck. Sunset is my favorite time of day!

Color Challenge Monday ~ part 12

A huge thank you to all the heavy metal rockers! I love all the great cards you made this week. I have been a bit side-tracked and haven't finished my design yet. I'm looking on the sunny side, but feeling a little blue, so here's my color challenge. Let's try yellow, orange, and grey. A little silver thrown in would be ok, too. I think the sunny warm colors balanced with a bit of grey sound just right today. Here's to happier days ahead. I hear the mercury in retrograde thing is ending soon. I sure hope so.