December 4th Weekly Post

 Hey there everyone, glad you're here!

We had a delightful Thanksgiving family get together last week.

The weather's been COLD the last few days.

And I finally made another batch of pimento cheese and it's delish.

I'm working on addressing my Christmas cards to mail.

This week at Sunday Postcard Art, the theme is Dictionary and is hosted by Anne.

I've made 2 pieces of 4X6 art because I'm going to frame them and hang them in an open spot on my breakfast room wall. 

Both have card bases covered with pages torn from a really old paperback dictionary.

And both have stenciling.

For the first one, I stenciled a brick background using Fired Brick DI and a TH layering stencil. Then I ink-edged with Prize Ribbon DI. Then I cut out the definition of bake/baker/baking/etc., highlighted it in yellow and adhered to my piece. I took a navy and a black Aquarelle pencil and edged around it. I glued on rolling pin, spatula and oven mitt die cuts I had already in my stash. I chose some small round sticker alphas to spell Baker on the rolling pin. The focal image is an Artistic Outpost stamp, The Baker, that I stamped with Bluebell Versafine Clair ink and clear heat embossed. I colored it with watercolor brush markers to finish. 

The second one is for everyone who needs a reminder to wash their hands in the kitchen plus nun humor is always good at our house. This very old Sunday International stamp had never been used before, so now was the time. I stenciled the dictionary page background with a Dylusions stencil and Fossilized Amber DI. I ink-edged with the Prize Ribbon DI. I die cut a Memory box bubble die out of white card and layered it on the card base and under the focal. I cut 2 small Spellbinders crosses out of red glitter paper and added them. The focal was stamped with Strawberry Versafine Clair ink and sponged with Mustard Seed DI, then the words on each side of the nun are filled in with red glitter gel pen to match the glitter-paper crosses.

November's Christmas card theme at Splitcoaststampers was Donuts (sledding or breakfast).

I resisted until the last minute and then broke down, using clipart from Sweetest Prints Studio Etsy (the image) and Gecko Galz Etsy (the sentiment frame) that I had in my files. For the image, I layered the donut with the bow onto the coffee and donut image in PSE before printing out. I used an old precut card blank with a decorative edge along with a mystery dotted paper scrap.

Inside it says "Christmas Calories Don't Count!"

heeheehee

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Here is my mother-in-law's card for her 96th birthday which was the day after Thanksgiving.

And the sketch I used.

The SEI Couture collection designer papers were cut with a Spellbinders Hem Stitch die and edged diagonally with a dotted paper from the collection. The stamped and die cut flowers were colored with Promarkers and the sentiment was die cut using HunkyDory dies.

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Well, that's enough for this week.

Thanks for the visit and I hope your weather, shopping and crafting are good.

Seeya next week!

XXO

November 26th American Thanksgiving Week Post

 Hey, everyone!

I'm hoping your week has gone slower than mine!

I'm getting this posted and then chillaxing with my homies for 2 days.

Daughter and son-in-law and grand dog are here.

Happy American Thanksgiving to all who celebrate.

Rein (Stamping Ricka) is hosting this week's theme of Postage Stamps at Sunday Postcard Art.

Earlier this year we had a similar theme and I could not find my postage stamp collection to save my life, that is until ten minutes after I'd finished my card using something else. Anyway, now that I remembered where they were, I got them out to use. I ran my 4x6 card base through my Xyron and began sticking stamps down to cover the card. I had a few "bald" sticky spots, so just for grins I got out some Art Institute Deep Blue Sea extra fine glitter and rubbed it in around the edge and between the stamps. Decided to keep the glitter thing going. I have a Deep Red mailbox stamp I couldn't remember using before, so I stamped it with Versafine ink and fussy cut it, then colored it with Promarkers, then glittered it using silver and blue glitter markers/brush pens. The MFT and Clear Dollar sentiments were stamped with Versafine, heat-embossed and die cut with MFT label dies, then edged with the blue glitter marker before adhering to the card.

Another angle to try to show all the glitter.

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Since it's Thanksgiving Week here and tomorrow is the big day, I wanted to share a few of my favorite past Thanksgiving creations. It just didn't work out this year to make anything new, but I am enjoying what I have made and there's always next year!

I always love pulling this one out to decorate with. Made this 4X6 art in 2020.

The background is a little desk calendar page.

I made this deco in 2021 and it became a favorite immediately.

I just love the overall look of it and I used a ton of different supplies.

Here's another deco I made in 2022.

Loved coloring the My Besties image and I enjoyed mashing up all those papers.

Every year that I pull it out, it always brings a smile to my face.

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I am more than ready to give thanks for all I have in my life, as I am incredibly grateful, especially the older I get.

There are many people who cannot be grateful or thankful because hate is in their heart.

Hate is a very destructive emotion, and all they are hurting is themselves and their health. I pray for them to realize that nothing is worth the pain of hate (or jealousy or not forgiving, for that matter).

N.O.T.H.I.N.G.

🦃

So, I thank you lovely people for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week.

And if you are into Black Friday shopping, may the markdowns be with you!

XXO

November 19th Weekly Post

 Hello again, my blogging lovelies!

I hope everyone is living their best lives this week.

Or at least trying to!

The theme at Sunday Postcard Art this week is Mona Lisa, hosted by Michele.

I was going to pass this week up, but then I remembered something.

 

The first photo is a wall in our family room with my Mona Lisa artwork that I made back in 2018. So, I was thinking, been there done that. Except that I no longer have the framed 4x6 (which I had made the last time SPA had this theme). Our son-in-love had expressed a desire for it, so I gave it to him for his office wall. So now I needed to do another one for me!

I decided this time to send a message to the art vandals from my little corner of the world: PLEASE STOP!

I liked this quote from a leading art critic of the day, and I intentionally colored my MA Vinci Reliquary Mona Lisa border stamp with my Tombows in a haphazard way both times I stamped it. I was trying to show destruction. The effect is almost like a disappearing act, which might also pertain here.

At any rate, this is what I came up with this time. Now to find a frame...

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This is a card made for a longtime girlfriend who loves the unexpected, so this was a good fit for her and she loved the card. I made this while I was using my Summer paper scraps and already printed out Gecko Galz collage sheet images. 

The sketch I used.

On a white Recollections A7 card base, I layered a cut sheet of light blue card and then a bordered mat cut with my new AALL&CREATE Skycrossed Paradise die set. You can't see it clearly but I also edged the vertical strip with the border. Then I used the die to make the little corner accent for the lefthand photo. The white heat embossed sentiments are MFT. I used a black Promarker to edge the photos and their mats. Three white iridescent enamel dots for the finish!

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Here's another card I made for a dear girlfriend using the Summer paper scraps and a Gecko Galz collage image that I had already printed out and in my stash box. Stamped sentiments are all MFT and the balloons are CTMH or D.O.T.S. Kraft card base and mat, edge and ink distressed. Metallic star sequins for the finish!

And the sketch I used.

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And one more birthday card made with the Summer paper scraps and Gecko Galz collage sheet images I had printed out in my box. I cut a shimmer blue Chatterbox card stock 12x12 sheet in two for the 6x6 card base. I also cut some 12x12 green card for mats. The blue image mats was a scrap of digital paper. The TH Sizzix "birthday" die and the QK orphan alpha die "fun" letters were previously cut with white card scrap and in my box as well. 

 

I stretched the sketch I used to a 6x6 format.

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That's all for this week.

Thanks for the visit and best wishes for enjoying some good crafty time!

XOX

November 12th Weekly Post

 Howdy-Ho, everyone!

Well, here I am posting late again. I got to feeling poorly over the weekend and finally got to feeling better yesterday. This coincided with a wonderful first of the year cold front (as opposed to cool front). It's been in the 40'sF at night! It's so hard on me but I do love the cold weather, lol.

Think I'm gonna switch to posting on Tuesdays or Wednesday through year-end.

I forget that this time of year the weather changes a lot and affects my Arthurs.

And it may turn out I can't follow a set day at all, but I'll try.

Mandy is hosting again this week at Sunday Postcard Art with a Moths theme.

I have always been fascinated by Luna moths and their unique life cycle.

Over the years I've collected a few stamps of these beauties.

This piece was started by taking a Clarity Clouds stencil set and some Distress Ink colors and stenciling a whimsical Autumn sky because in my general area of Texas, we can have 2-3 generations of Luna moths in one year, the third being at Autumn's beginning. They are still rare to sight, as their adult lifespan is but one week. In fact, they have no mouths. They exist only to procreate and lay eggs.

Wild, huh?

So then, I stamped a little ground scene and colored it with Promarkers.

Next, I stamped the moth and used watercolors to paint it, then added highlights, accents, outlines with various gel pens and glitter markers.

On each side I stenciled vines using a Crafters Companion stencil and my Faber Castell Pitt Artist Big Brush pens. Then I outlined it with a black Micron.

For the title at top, I used Stamp Magick Garden Alpha stamps and Shady Lane Versafine Clair ink to spell LUNA and outlined each letter with a darker green Micron.

I added a TH Chit Chat sticker "make today count", outlining and dotting around it with various pens.

Lastly, I scribbled along the edges of the piece with a green Big Brush and then edged with a brown one.

And done! I hope I did her justice.

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Yes, I still have 3 more Halloween cards to share.

I made them for next year while I had the supplies out.

I decided to use up some old black Bazzill shimmer card stock for my card bases, and also some black envelopes. I mean, when else am I going to use that color of envie?

I'm using only scraps and stash to make these, so it was like Hey, how can I combine these poor disparate, orphaned elements to make a halfway decent looking card?

This one uses up an already-cut piece of black felt bat border with a silver-embossed stamped Paper Artsy Dracula on some of the same Bazzill as the base, and some orange hexagons, along with stash paper scraps (some of which I die cut: the zigzag green strip and the zigzag circles and vampire frame). A tiny Art Impressions die cut bat was found and added to the scene. The striped paper was edged and ink-distressed using Black Soot DI.

 

I used this sketch, but I flipped it vertically and then rotated it. I had my elements, could see them on the sketch, and tried it every way before deciding.

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This turned out to be a big A9 half-sheet card because of the elements I had, which were a hollowed out HAPPY die cut (Avery Elle), a tiny Art Impressions black cat die cut, a large Sizzix black cat die cut, a large HALLOWEEN and spider sentiment, a couple of yellow TH Sizzix Townscape die cuts and an Art Impressions pumpkin die cut. I found the cobweb designer paper in my stash, inked it and edge-distressed it, layered it onto a slightly larger yellow card, edged and inked that, then put both onto the black tent card base. Then I added the other elements along with a strip of dots paper.

Now, the HALLOWEEN could originally barely be read, so out came my Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust pens and that remedied that. I also layered it on a scrap of yellow card before adhering.

And here is the original sketch that I stretched out to an A9 size.

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This card has a little collage over a background per this sketch:

I again used a black Bazzill card stock base (A7) and cut two layers using my Carnation Crafts Pretty Shabby nested rectangle dies, one out of cream card stock and the other out of mystery stash designer paper of ghosts (which you can't even see, lol). I edged each layer with Wilted Violet DI before layering onto the card base. Then I cut 3 long pieces out of different mystery stash dp's, rounded the bottom corners with my Cropadile and layered on per the sketch. Next, I added a top edge of dripping blood cut with purple card and a Martha Stewart punch. I arranged and adhered a little collage of the Teesha Moore collage sheet witch's face/crow hat and several Gecko Galz collage sheet images, including the sentiment. The potions tag was in my stash, as was the Art Impressions black die cut cat and the Lawn Fawn die cut witch hat.

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Well, I hope that didn't bore or scare you too much.

I'll be back to Christmas and Birthday cards and miscellaneous art.

Thanks for the visit and I hope your week is loverly!

XXO

November 5th Mid-Week Post

 Hey there, it's me on a Wednesday!

I've had a weird few days since I last posted.

So has Honey.

We decided it's the stupid time change.

While we wait for our bodies to adjust to the time/nature difference, we're just being lazy bums even more than we usually are HA! Taking a nap and getting plenty of bedtime sleep, that kind of thing. 

So, I finally finished my entry for the Autumn theme hosted by Mandy at Sunday Postcard Art.

The moment I saw the theme, my mind went to this Frantic Stamper Fall Harvest Card Panel die that I'd won a few years back and still had never used yet. It was like this voice said, figure out how to use it on a 4x6 card and do it!!! And it was either put it in the middle, the top or the bottom, lol. I also wanted to use the Crafty Individuals quote stamp (with Pinecone Versafine Clair ink). For my base, I used a 4x6 sheet of deckle-edge watercolor paper (Amazon), wet the surface with water and a mop brush, then brushed various colors left to right in an ombre fashion using my Grabie metallic watercolors. The photo doesn't pick it up but in real life the ombre is gorgeous. That would be my sky. Next, I die cut the panel out of white scrap card and colored it with Promarkers (and edged the frame with an Artistro gold acrylic paint marker). I glued the frame to the watercolored card base and stamped the quote. The panel comes with an extra small leaf die and pumpkin die, so I cut several more leaves and a few more pumpkins, colored them and added them to my scene. Then, at top, I stamped the Avery Elle Hello and the Impression Obsession Autumn words, using the Versafine Clair ink. I added some shading to the Autumn word with a lighter brown Micron pen for the finish.

Fun fact:

When I began making this, I was excited to use the panel die. I ran it through my Big Shot but there were several areas the cut did not go through, even after multiple attempts. So, then I wanted to trash it. But I hand cut them with a knife and after coloring it up, I realized it was an enjoyable experience overall and the tree alone was worth saving the die. But I came THISSSSS close to File 13ing it.

Yes, I did use my metal adapter plate with it, but not on the first pass as I would have had to have known I needed it beforehand. From now on, though, it's a definite with this die.

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This card has a Kraft card base and Kraft card mats, and the designer papers are all mystery stash scraps. The mats and papers are all edge- and ink-distressed (Vintage Photo DI).

Here's the sketch I used:

The sketch element 2 on my card is a scrap that was already cut out that way. I kept it thinking it would make a cool card topper or bottom. So, hey! Maybe it did!

😁

The cute children are very old Collage Stuff collage sheet images I had in my stash already printed out. I used QuicKutz nested hexagon dies to cut them out along with their Kraft card mats. 

The My Favorite Things die sentiment was cut once out of white card and again out of Kraft card, stacked a bit askew and added to the card for the finish.

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Do you have any vintage collaged Christmas papers, perhaps made by Paper Love? Well, I do. Too many sheets! A case, many years ago, of me not being experienced enough to realize that the 12x12 sheets were gorgeous but really hard to use! Anyway, I saw an opportunity to use a section of a sheet with this sketch (stretched to 6X6):

I used some very skinny gold German border scrap to make the V and used the Avery Elle sentiment die in place of the circle element, cut out of white card 2 times and stacked, then heat-embossed with gold powder. The base is cut from a dark reddish-brown Chatterbox card stock. The base layer is Recollections cream card cut with a Carnation Crafts die and edged with a gold metallic marker. The next layer is the Paper Love designer paper, cut with a Spellbinders Art Deco die and edged with an Artistro gold acrylic paint marker.

And done.

Here's a shot that shows the shine more. It's a really nice-looking card in real life and had I not gone with my gut I would never have used this paper. Now, to find other sections that can work like this and then throw the rest away!

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Well, that's it for me today.

Thanks for stopping by to visit me!

I hope your week is going great.

See you again on Sunday,

XXO