Three hearts on a chain

Who doesn't love jewelry? Necklaces are an easy way to dress up an everyday outfit or a night out on the town. We will be entering the holiday season soon and what a better way to show someone you care than by giving that special someone jewelry. 

This weeks Blog theme is "Chains". I found this 10K heart pendant at Sirocco's Curious. Each heart is made of a different gold alloy. One is yellow gold, one is white gold and one is rose gold. The chain is 17 inches long. What a perfect gift! 



Birthdays around the Holidays

Warm Witchy Wishes

As we approach the holiday season, we will start to see lots of Holiday Cards and Decorations springing up in the stores and on line. But lets not forget the birthday's that fall in these months. As a card creator, I need to remember that too. So I created this theme'd card that can be used anytime during the month of October. I typically will stamp "Happy Halloween" or "Trick or Treat" inside, but that will limit the use of the card, so I intentionally left this one blank. It still has the fun look of a Halloween theme, but does not mention anything about Halloween. My Mother's birthday is in October and I have never given her a theme'd card, maybe this year I will. 

I entered my Warm Witchy Wishes card in the following challenges:

 


I used:


  • Black Card Stock for base of card
  • Recollections Card stock for Crows paper 
  • Quick Kutz die for cauldron die 
  • Embellishments: Leaves, button, cord, ribbon

Doll Collecting at any age

  It has been a busy two weeks, but not with card making. I have been traveling     back and forth to Pittsburgh for my job, coming home for a quick break on the     weekends. I have not made any cards in two weeks. I feel like I am going through withdraws. I missed the blog theme last week due to travels, but thought I would try to participate this week. The theme is "Native American". I found this very beautiful doll  from Tiger Creek Gifts and just had to share.
Native American Indian Doll
 She is 12" tall and is wearing beaded clothing, a beaded necklace and feather headdress. This would be a great collectors item or great doll for a special little girl's collection. If you have a moment, you should check out this shop, there is something for everyone.

Where has the time gone?

Do you remember what you were doing 21 years ago? These days it seems like I can't remember what I was doing yesterday, but I do remember 21 years ago. I think back to those times and wonder where the time has gone. My path has taken me from California, to Maryland and finally settling in Arizona. I remember the day my son was born, and his first words "bubbles". I think about all the jobs I have had and how difficult it was when I had to be away from my family for business trips. I have been in Pittsburgh the last 2 weeks and will be in Ohio next week, but it is just part of "the job". Don't get me wrong, I certainly do miss my family, but my son is now 16 and doing his own thing, and rarely needs "mommy" anymore and my husband and I are secure enough that we can deal with the time apart. But it is days like today, that it is tough to be a "road warrior" as we are called. I would love to be home and wish my husband a "Happy Anniversary" in person, but this year, on this day, we will celebrate it apart, but the way I see it, I celebrate life with him every day, and am thankful for the blessings in my life!

Fun Card Folds

One of the best things about making your own cards is the ability to have unique folds. I love the tri- fold cards, it enables you to add more fun embellishments to add to the uniqueness of your card. I cut the second tri-fold in half to have a layered look. The pumpkin is matted by the scarecrow when folded, but still shows as part of the front card design. The matching envelope finishes off the card.



I entered my Fall Scarecrow card in the following challenges:



I used:


  • Tan Card Stock for base of card
  • Scarecrow stamp 
  • G C D Card Stock for inside and outside layers
  • Embellishments: Leaves, button, raffia, pumpkin die cut

You don't have to go broke to fund your card making hobby

If you have been scrapbooking or card making for a while, you know that it is not an inexpensive hobby. Many people, including myself will designate an entire room for our "craft room". I have converted my closet so that it has shelving to hold all of my card stock, stickers, stamps, ink pads, ribbon, brads....the list goes on and on. I am fortunate enough that I live in a big city. I am near a Michaels, Hobby Lobby and a JoAnn's fabric. We have weekly coupons typically of 40% off. But these stores are limited, and even at 40% off, supplies can get expensive. But did you know that there are other outlets to find reasonably priced craft items. In Phoenix, there is a used bookstore called bookmans that has used rubber stamps. They accept trade-ins for credit and I have used my credits to buy several used stamps. I also recently found out that thrift stores carry used rubber stamps, buttons, raffia and lace. I bought a bag of 10 rubber stamps for $4.99. I only found 4 that I wanted, but I was able to trade the others at bookmans to get stamps that I did want. What is fun about these used stamps, is that they are typically older stamps that you cannot find anymore and some of them are very cute!  I also shop on line on Ebay, Etsy and Ecrater. I have purchased Tim Holt's products on line for more than 80% off of retail prices. The trick is to find someone that has many items that you want so you can combine shipping. I love those $0.99 deals. Craigs list is another place that I routinely check to find people looking to downsize as well. Many times these people are selling items for $1 - $2 that can typically sell for $15 - $20. I recently went to a garage sell and spent $25 and took home over $200 in supplies.  One other retail store that I check weekly is Tuesday Morning. These are typically stores that get overstock and can sell crafting items sometimes at 80% off retail prices. My hotel in Pittsburgh has a Tuesday Morning right across the street. Well, you guessed it, I checked it out and found severeral more "new" stamping items I will be able to use for my Christmas cards. If the product is one I know will be in demand, I will buy several, list on Ebay for retail, and use my profit to purchase other items on line at discounted prices. I have been able to stock up on so many items to support my hobby, and it really has not cost me a fortune. I wanted to share with you one of the cards I made with a stamp I got at Bookmans on a trade. I have made several card kits from this stamp on Grandparent's Day cards, which is Septermber 8th, by the way.



Black and White Cards

Black and White Card Challenge

I just love Black and white cards. I stumbled across this challenge for Black and White cards and I just had to share. I usually do not post more than one time a day, but I figured when I am on the road, I may not be able to post at all.




I entered "Live in the Sunshine"  in the following challenges:


Creative Time-- Designer Challenge


I used:


  • Black Card Stock for base of card
  • Tree stamp from Rubber Stampede
  • Bench and sentiment from Stampin UP!
  • Clear embossing powder


Very simple card, but I just love it. Hope you do too!

Tim Holtz 12 tags of 2013 - August

Well...I took the plunge. After several years of following Tim's blog and all his wonderful work, I finally decided to participate in his monthly tag themes, along with a couple others I found. I am finally starting to build up my supplies and I was able to pull enough items together to create these two tags. The theme this month was travel. He demonstrated some layered masking techniques on the tags he created which inspired me to create these:
Live the LIFE you've imagined
Enjoy the Journey
You can see his demo here

I entered "Live the Life you've imagined" in the following challenges:


Tim Holtz -- Tags of 2013 - August
Callenges 4 Everybody -- Anything Goes
The Pink Elephant -- Texture
Two Sisters - Anything Goes

I will be traveling next week, so these tags are a good way to start my journey. I hope you enjoy them!

Halloween Grunge Tags

I love Tim Holtz, and I know I am not alone. I have been following his blog and his creations since I started making cards. But I could never seem to get my tags to look as good as his, or even close. Well, I have been practicing, with some of the purchases I have made recently. I have been stocking up on stamps, ink pads, embellishments and tools to help me in my card making obsession. I watched several of his videos for inspiration and took the leap. Here is what I came up with:

I used tea die Distressing Ink on both of my tags to make the tags look aged. I used 3 stamps and a quick kutz die for the pumpkin:
Vintage Scarecrow

  • Black diamond stamp is from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous
  • Inkadinkado for background words
  • Scarecrow stamp - Not sure where I got that, have had it for a while.
I used heavy duty card stock for the Tag as well as the pumpkin. Distressed the tag with tea dye Distressing Ink. The pumpkin I glued together with tacky glue and then sprayed it with acrylic spray. This hardens the embellishment and gives it a glossy look. Then I sprayed the finished tag with 2 layers of acrylic spray. I don't think many people do that, but I like how it shines and how the finished product feels. I finished the tag off with raffia.

Vintage Pumpkin
I used Tea dye and Fired brick distressing ink on this tag to make an orange vintage look. I used several stamps on this tag:

  • Ticket boarder and Bingo numbers are from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous
  • Bats, spiders and pumpkins are from Inkadinkado
I sprayed the middle pumpkin and purple ticket with acrylic spray attached them as embellishments and completed it with an acrylic spray finish and raffia.

I am very proud of these and it just goes to show, you never know what you can do until you try.

Is it too early to start thinking about Christmas?

Holidays have been on my mind. I know that seems crazy, but if you are a crafter and creator of handmade gifts, then it probably doesn't sound too crazy to you. I have been busy working on Halloween cards, but Christmas cards are not too far off. The weekly blog topic in my scavenger hunt group is "Light". As the holidays get closer, we will start to see lots of lights going up inside and outside of houses. I found this pretty Angel at Le Petit Marche that will light up any Christmas Tree top. What a great addition this would be to a Christmas tree. Her store has a category called "Christmas Things"  that you should check out. You may find exactly what you have been looking for.

Vintage inspired greeting cards

Vintage style Halloween Cards
We have been sending Holiday cards for as long as we can remember, but holiday cards did not become a popular tradition until the late 1800's. In the 18th Century, children created handmade gifts and cards for family and friends decorated with flowers, buttons, lace and things found around the house. Those were slower times, when holidays were not about shopping, gift cards or going on line to order gifts. I think that is why so many people like the vintage inspired holiday cards. They remind us of happy "traditional" times. The colors on the cards' illustrations seem to be a lot warmer and softer, bringing back memories of Holiday's past. I love the vintage style cards. You can find images to use for almost all the holidays. I have been working on Halloween cards and have found some great images for these cards.

When witches abound..
I embellish with lace, raffia and buttons to add to the nostalgic look.
You can find more vintage style cards on my Ecrater and Etsy site. I would love for you to stop by and take a look. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

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Challeng Winners - February & March 2023

   Hello everyone. As you may have noticed, I have been MIA for the last couple of months. Life has been very busy and it has been difficult...