WOW 2 posts in less than a week!!!

Yep here I am chronicling my playtime once again.  I got a chance to play with some of the techniques from the latest Technique Junkies newsletter.  Because I only sent out 1, count 'em, 1 Christmas card, I decided to create "winter" cards.  The first technique I tried was the online extra called Nip and Tuck.  I love the technique but had some trouble creating it (as you can see in the photo) but I really love the design of the card. 

 

Boy, the colors look really washed out but irl it is very sparkly.  For the sentiment, I used Rangers sticky embossing powder and glitter and the buttons are also sparkly.

 

My next card uses the Inked Shadows technique.  I love this technique!!!  Though you can't tell in the photo, the snowflakes are actually the negative images of dies I arranged and then cut out of my card front.  I really love how it turned out.

Ok, because this is my family's week before Christmas, I have some homemade presents to complete.  I have been a sewing fool!!!

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Fast Trip from Halloween Through Christmas!!!

It's not that I haven't been creating, more like I haven't been posting.  Aha, but wait til you see what I've been up to.  I joined a swap and for the first time on this group, Character Constructions, and it definitely was a challenge.  It was a holiday doll swap.  We made paperdolls to swap with one another.  Mine is made from paper except for the hair, lace and ribbon and honestly, it was soooo out of my comfort zone having never done anything like this before...but... I LOVED MAKING HER!!!  And without further ado here is my sweet holiday paperdoll and no, I didn't name her because she really wasn't mine and I thought the person who would adopt her should name her...

 

So, before I began I hunted Dollar Tree for items I thought would work in making her.  LOL... I did not use one thing I bought.  Instead, I used this blond doll hair I have been hanging on to literally for years (I can no longer even remember why I had it).  The lace (her capes and another kind on her collar and cuffs) were things I had in my craft room and her top and skirt are papers I have had for years!!!  The newest thing on her was the Tim Holtz tinsel and the kraft cardstock LOL...  So now, I am sure in 5 years I will be wondering why the heck I ever bought white rose petals, kid's white opera gloves, and a silly little green tutu... rofl, but hold on to them I will.  Anyone need some blond doll hair???  I still have enough to create a runway of paperdolls.

 

Ok, so I have been following this you tube channel.  This woman is insanely creative or perhaps just insane (LOL) she creates constantly, in all kinds of categories from crafts to crochet to recipes and who knows what else, but I just love watching her videos that catch my eye and one in particular just had to be tried.  Here is my personally made snow globe using a clear plastic cup rofl sounds silly huh?  Oh by the way, I did use something I bought at Dollar Tree, the garland around the base of the snow globe...  so, here is the cute little centerpiece I made for my daughter's dining room table.

 

Is that not just too darn cute????  Check out Hectanooga1   Be prepared if you subscribe to her channel you could get as many as 3 or more videos in a day, LOL.  She is certainly very prolific and extremely creative!!!  I also love her "papier mache" crafts and plan on trying them soon!!!! 

And finally, I wish you all joy, creativity and above all peace for the next year and all those to follow... 

Thanks for visiting!!!  I'll end with a card I made for an online friend whose creativity inspires me so much!!!

Still Loving Halloween

I have been having so much fun with Halloween this year.  For my 8 year old grandson, Lance Junior, I made a coffin filled with candy and a surprise skeleton.  The skeleton lies in the bottom of the coffin with Hershey Kisses covering him BUT... when LJ lifts the lid, the kisses go flying and the "hanging" skeleton pops out (hanging from the coffin lid)... such fun.  I found the coffin template on Martha Stewart and the skelton came as part of a skeleton garland from Dollar Tree.  I love it:

Now I am making tootsie pop broom sticks to send along and give out locally.  Will post some photos once I've finished them...

I Just Fell in Love

 Yes I have fallen in love...as a kid I loved Halloween and when my kids and grandkids were young I continued to love Halloween but... as I got older and they stopped dressing up, I just kind of fell out of love with Halloween.  However, I just took this incredible class at my local scrapbook store, For Keeps Sake, and I fell in  love with Halloween all over again.  So, of course I have to share what brought back the spark...here it is:

So if you can't figure out what this altered art started as here are some close ups:

 

Have you figured it out???  YEP...it's a rat trap...LOL...who wouldn't love to alter a rat trap...hahahaha!!!  It was such fun (Thanks for a great time, Nancy!!)  and I absolutely love how each of our traps turned out.   I am especially fond of mine!  LOL  I hope you enjoy my little creation...it is going to be a gift to a dear friend who HATES rats and all rodents.  I thought it would be the perfect little gift.  Well maybe not the last page of the note pad at the bottom.  I just had to provide a little trick with this great big treat, right??? So the very last page has an image of a rat with Boo! stamped on it!  I think she'll scream...now that's my idea of fun!!!  Sick aren't I??!!!  Hope you like it...

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!!!

Don't ya just love deadlines?  They can be such motivators... LOL.  I had 3 cards due by 10/15... remind me not to sign up for 3 swaps due at about the same time ever again... They are all for this great yahoo group I belong to called Stamping Queens.  Lot's of swap choices throughout the month. 

My first card is for the "card of the month" swap, and there was no theme.  I found this cool folding technique on Club Scrap and thought I'd give it a try.  There is definitely a learning curve or maybe it's harder if you're dyslexic...LOL  Here are 2 pics, 1 closed and 1 open...

 

The color is much brighter IRL... but I think its cute.  My next swap is a technique swap, and we were to do the faux patina technique and here is my card for that swap...

 

 

My final card was such fun thinking about and making... We signed up for an image challenge not knowing what the image would be.  I was thinking we would get a copy of a photo or a picture from a magazine or something similar.  Imagine my surprise when what I got were stamped images of bingo cards, bingo pieces, several different words and misc. images...  Here's what I came up with:

 









I just had so much fun!!  Those are not real dollar bills (but as I think about it, I could have used real ones)  instead I made copies of the front and back of 1 bill and then glued them together and worked them a bit to make them "softer".  I love the idea of shoving them into a container to save enough to go play bingo...I guess that's my lucky bingo card sticking out... LOL  All in all a wonderful couple of days!!!  Now lets see what else I can sign up for... stay tuned.

I finished this sympathy card for a person I work with online who just suddenly lost her husband.  How sad...  I'm a little late but my prayer is it will let her know I care about her and her family...  I  scanned the card so the quality is not that good...

My Fall Door Wreath

Well, I just think the ready-made wreaths you find in stores are just too expensive for my pocketbook... so, I decided to make my own and I made it for under $10.  Not bad...  I love how it turned out... and here it is:

As I look at this photo, I realize it is much prettier in real life... oh well.

My Neglected Blog

I don't really know why I haven't posted to my blog.  I have been making cards.  I even joined a really fun yahoo group called Stamping Queens and have been making at least several cards a month.... so who knows but I just finished a piece I just LOVE and as I was getting ready to post it to the SQ photos I realized I should really post it to my blog.  So I am.  The challenge/swap was called "Anything but a card"  so I made a little Halloween banner to hang somewhere...  it took me much longer than usual as I was determined to go slowly and thoughtfully, LOL, something that normally is not in my vocabulary...I think it really paid off... if you happen to come across my blog, let me know what you think...

I'm Cuttin' Up Once Again

 I do not know what motivated me but I am now back to papercrafting... LOL.. Oh I know, I made a birthday card using a Splitcoast Stamper tutorial and it just got the paper juices flowing.  I never made a copy of that card but here are 2 others I did this week.  I'm a little out of practice but they turned out pretty good.  Both use techniques from Technique Junkies (yep I am still a member!)  For anyone who takes a look, Thank you very much!

Another Piece

I love this newest piece I made.  The original pattern is by a member of our Seedbeadersters Yahoo group and I just tweaked it a little.  It was part of my birthday present to my friend Carole.  I definitely need to make one for myself, as I just love it!!! 

This last photo is a Russian spiral bracelet I made.   Hope y'all enjoyed my latest passion!!!

Finally Some Photos!

Thanks to my girlfriend Carole, who along with my granddaughters is most often the recipient of the jewelry I make, I have pictures (nice ones at that) of 2 pieces of my work, the first being a very early piece and the second my absolute latest, her birthday present, completed and given to her yesterday.  Enjoy...

SURE HAS BEEN A WHILE

I have not been on my blog in so long I thought it was gone... LOL.  I have not been working in paper for so long that I have had nothing to share with my paper loving friends.  For the past year or more I have been cuttin' only wire and/or beading thread and have not been photographing my work before giving it away.  Though my goal for this year is to begin to sell my jewelry, I am also thinking about getting somewhat into papercrafting again.  Tim's online class is very tempting... Anyway, was just checking to be sure my old blog was still around. 

I did purchase a photography studio to photograph my jewelry but haven't every used it.  Plan to soon practice and then start posting my jewelry hopefully!!  Take care anyone who happens to read this and know I am still alive and well and crafting!!!