Last post of 2007!

I hope that everyone has had a wonderful holiday season - Merry Christmas, Happy Haunnakah, Happy Kwaanza, Happy Winter Solstice, and Merry Every-Other-Holiday-I-Might-Have-Forgotten, lol! I wanted to end the year by thanking everyone for joining me for my random creative excursions and hope you'll join me again in 2008! I'm honored that you have all stopped by and amazed at all the different visitors I've had from all over the US and different spots all over the world!


I've spent the past week doing a lot more organizing than actual creating (I actually found my tabletop in my craft room!) and what creating I've done has mostly still been Christmas and I've promised to stop subjecting you to Christmas projects for a while, lol, so I don't have much new to share for the moment. I DID want to share this quick and easy project though! There was a post on 2Peas linking to this clock with some ideas to make one. Well, I went the super quick and easy route so it's definitely not the same project, but was still a lot of fun - I hung it up in my son's room so we'll see what he thinks when he comes home later this afternon. This is a $3 clock from Walgreens (they had them in a huge dump bin at one point and still have them occasionally in little endcap displays). And ONE set of foam Thickers from American Crafts. I'm really glad I used the foam instead of the chipboard because it "gives" enough to really tweak the placement. In hindsight, I wish I'd used a less "curvy" font. I think it would look better with a more defined font. But still, it's a 15 minute project - can't beat that!




And also, for this last post of 2007, I'll leave you with MY favorite layout (I admit, there really haven't been as many as I'd hoped to accomplish!) of the year. Paper from My Mind's Eye, everything else from the Making Memories Noteworthy line. It's a picture I love and a story that just makes me happy!



I wish you all happiness and creativity in 2008!!!

Bead Trends January/February 08 Issue

I'm so excited! I just got mine yesterday and they have made some really great changes from the first issue. Rather than just the one great picture of each project, they have added some closeups of details - I LOVE the way this issue looks! I have projects on pages 17, 36 and 151 and am soooo proud to be in this publication!!! Just wanted to share!

New website discovery! Craftcritique.com

See, Sitemeter can give you fascinating information! When browsing my referrals today I saw one from a site I'd never heard of (or maybe just wasn't paying enough attention - Hi Colleen and Julie!) so I went to check it out. Remember my post from a few days ago with my favorite holiday projects? Want more? Craft Critique is finishing up a 3-day carnival in which they have linked tons and tons of great projects! :) Thank you so much for including a couple of mine! I'm heading back over to check out all the links, but wanted to run back here and share my find first! Seriously - just looking over the site, I'm thinking I could spend a couple of days in here checking out all the products and blogs and companies and everything they have reviewed (not just the Christmas carnival, lol)! Good stuff!!!

More Christmas goodies!

I made a bunch of these wooden gift bags for teachers/bus driver, etc. and just hapened to finish these two up last night and actually remembered to get pics, lol! Both are super quick (the only thing that took a while was drying the Scribbles, which I left overnight but was able to at least tie the ribbons after about a half hour). Papers and metal charms from Flair. Ribbon from Stampin Up. Mod Podge from Plaid. I used tons of Scribbles glitter paint on these too. On the left one, every star has clear glitter Scribbles in the center. On the one on the right, I used tons more and in matching colors - red, green, gold, and clear - to embellish all the ornaments. If you click on the picture you'll get a gigantic version in which you can see some of the detail. They are filled with peanut butter cup bells and hot cocoa kisses (yummy!!!)

I DO occasionally make other stuff!

I know, I've kept this blog pretty consistently focused on altered items, but I really do other things as well, lol! I make a lot of jewelry, some of which I'm so honored has been (and will be) featured in Bead Trends magazine, and SOMEDAY I will force myself to part with and sell on my lonely, empty Etsy shop. I scrapbook sporatically (and I probably just butchered the spelling on that) even though I mean to do more! I can knit a scarf (anything beyond that is out of my league). I dabble in clay (I can make beautiful things...I just ruin them when attempting to bake them!). I stamp. I make cards. I help my son with neverending Perler bead projects. I love crafting!



So, as I frantically finish up the ever-growing number of projects I have invading my house at the moment, I thought I'd post a mini-book I just finished up the other day, and some bracelets that are way out of my style (experimenting with different products) just to have something a little different. I have a pile of altered things to photograph so hopefully I'll get to those here in the next few days too!

This is the chipboard stadium book from Zsiage. I haven't photographed the inside pages yet, but used the Vintered line of paper throughout. The cover is inked randomly with Distress inks from Ranger, and also the swirls are inked over the negatives from Zsiage film shapes. The numbers and letters are also film from Zsiage - the numbers painted with paint daubers from ranger then outlined with a Ranger marker and the letters are dabbed with Distress ink. I went a little ribbon-happy, but just loved this ribbon!

These two bracelets are really simple, using these cute little crochet-covered beads from Plaid. As I said, totally not my style, but fun!

RAK Winner!

So my handy-dandy number picker decided that #5 would be our winner and that is Jennifer H! Jennifer, I checked your blog and didn't see a way to email, so if you'd please email me here (I hope I did that right!) with your mailing address, I'll get your Christmas RAK out (hopefully in time for Christmas!). Thanks to those who played along - found yet more ideas for projects...would it be weird if I just decided to keep making Christmas projects all year long if I promise not to subject you to them all until next fall? LOL!

Hibernating

Ok, so we got an ungodly amount of snow the past 24 hours! It took me over an hour this morning to dig my car out and a path out of the driveway, but I don't intend to use it anytime soon! I just want to do the bear thing and curl up in my nice, warm house until spring! And hey, I have enough crafting supplies to last me that long...and if not, that's what UPS/FedEx are for! Anyways, I actually did a non-Christmas project today! Not that I don't still have Christmas projects hanging about unfinished, but I think I'm done subjecting you to them, lol! So here's a little wall hanging with hooks I intend to use for my keys and purse. It's from Walnut Hollow and I used paper from Daisy D's. I really loved this piece of paper and hated to cover it with anything (plus, I would feel dorky putting "keys" or something on this...like I'd forget?). So, instead I decided to play with the design of the paper itself and completely work just with that. However (and the picture totally does not show this well - click on it to get the bigger version and it's a little easier to see the details), everything that is not white on this paper got some kind of treatment. I pulled out Glossy Accents and Crackle Accents from Ranger and Scribbles from Duncan and just kept painting it all on! There are also clear gems (from Tulip/Duncan) over all the circles. I love that I was able to keep the gorgeous paper intact, yet add my own touch of texture to it! Now to hunt down a level so I can hang it up!


Also, don't forget to scroll down and leave a comment on my post from the other day to get in the running for an RAK (which I just now remembered I still haven't photographed, lol, now that it's getting dark!).

Linking you to my inspiration and RAK

I'm not finished with Christmas projects! Want to know why? Because there are tons and tons of gorgeous projects out there that have inspired me to do even more! I wanted to share some of my favorites with you today - some are on blogs, some on message board galleries, all are total eye-candy! They are in no particular order, I just kept adding, lol! Also please note I've tried to link just to the project I'm in love with for this post, but these are some seriously creative ladies (and a gentleman!) - poke around their blogs and galleries - you won't be disappointed! Enjoy!!

Chipboard trees by Shari Carroll for Hero Arts

Box Wreaths by Leah Fung

Wooden Holiday Houses by Chris Rhys for Say it With Letters

3D Star Cards on the Scrapperlicious blog - I have no idea what her name is, but I LOVE her work!!! Definitely a blog to peruse!

12 Christmas Tags by Tim Holtz - go see all 12!

Christmas Countdown Clipboard and Paper Houses by Linda Albrecht

Acrylic Christmas Village Albums by Camille McClelland - there simply are not words for how beautiful these are! Definitely click the link to go look at the detailed pics on Ebay...and for those looking for a Christmas gift for me, lol...

The rest are all on 2Peas - my Christmas bookmark folder there is seriously PAGES long, lol! But here are my absolute favorites:

Paper Wreath

Christmas Planner (ok, so I guess I can make one for 2008, right?)

Wall Hanging

Card Holder

Now that I've shared MY favorites, I'd love to see some of YOURS! Leave a comment linking me to your favorite Christmas projects (yours or someone else's but please give credit!) - I can't wait to see what I have missed! On Tuesday, December 18 I'll use my super-sophisticated method of selecting a random winner (i.e. call a friend and ask for a number between 1 and ?, lol) and send out a little Christmas RAK that I'm busy putting together right now - I'll put up a pic later!

Deck the Halls

I love Christmas - have I mentioned that? I love decorating for it. I love making and buying presents for the people I love. And I LOVE making Christmas crafts! In fact, I've been so busy making Christmas crafts this year, that for once my house doesn't yet look like an elf threw up all over it! Yet, lol! The tree is up, but very little else has been unboxed yet and if I keep making new stuff I won't have room!

But yes, I made yet another wooden gift bag anyways! I'm in love with this one too. This would be why I've had an Etsy shop for months now and have never put a single thing in it yet - I make these things then can't bear to part with them! This one comes with a few little tips and tricks I'd like to share...and my signature not-so-great photography! I used more paper from the Romantic Collection from Prima - I know this line is supposed to be geared towards romance, but every time I look at it I just see Christmas! I edged everything with a gold marker from Sakura - it's a very subtle detail but adds a nice touch to transition to the interior. I painted the interior with a metallic green from DecoArt (they really do some fantastic shades of metallics!). The holly leaves and berry brads are from Making Memories. The original red just didn't work for me, so I used gold glitter Scribbles over them.

Scribbles vs. Stickles. I have been using these like crazy lately! Both kinds. Stickles are from Ranger, and once dry, have complete glitter coverage. Scribbles are from Duncan and are actually meant for fabrics. They come in dimensional regular colors, neons, glitters, metallics and pearls. And are less than half the cost of Stickles! The Scribbles glitter gives a random glitter pattern with plenty of the color showing through from underneath (which is why I used them for this application). Both definitely have their very distinct uses though so I keep lots of both on hand!

The rubons are from American Crafts, from the Christmas Book Two MiniMarks. What I want to focus on is the design below the words. I used two scrolly rubons. I also made a mistake and wanted to let you know how I fixed it! As I was twirling them around trying to get the placement the way I wanted it, I wasn't paying that great of attention to which side was up (ahem, here's my plug for using a good natural light such as an Ott Light or Daylight lamp - I have several and just didn't have one on, which would have saved me this step...). I put the first one down and began to rub and it was upside down. So part of the design was gone. I used a needle tool to remove the rest of the section to a joint where it would make sense then repeated the process on that exact same section out of the matching rubon. Obviously this won't work on words, but then again, who's going to get a word upside down anyways?

Another Christmas Frame!

I've been noticing a trend in my sitemeter tracking. I am completely addicted to it! My readership just keeps going up and I just marvel then want to know where on earth you're all coming from, lol! Well in recent weeks I've found the #1 search that leads people to my blog is for Christmas frames. Eek! Of course, I had to pull down my Christmas frame picture because it's in an online magazine! So, this morning I decided to remedy that and do up another one really quick. Yes! These REALLY are quick projects and the perfect beginner project as well. These $1 frames from Michael's are my favorite way to get a quick altering "fix". They're great for last minute gifts as well! If you don't add a coat of Mod Podge on the top, you can literally give someone one of these in an hour. Another half hour and you can add the top coat, just warn the recipient to keep it from touching anything overnight to be sure it cures completely! It's all nice, straight lines (with a little curve around the corners for practice!). There simply is no easier altering project.

For this frame, I began by adding two thin coats of white Apple Barrel paint (if you keep them thin, they'll dry really fast!) to the back and sides (don't forget the inside edge!). Then I added Merry & Bright paper from Scrapworks' Season of Joy line. When everything was dry, I simply added a few matching chipboard embellishments from Scrapworks. I really love their glittered chipboard - the glitter stays put -no brushing sparkles out of your hair days later! I had originally planned on adding more, but after looking at it at this point, decided I liked it just the way it was.

Altering is a wonderful way to use up extra embellishments (especially bulky ones!), but it's also a great way to keep the focus on papers!

Really not a fan of snow!

I just got done shoveling. Again. And watching the weather it looks like we're due to have snow/icy rain/sleet for the next six days straight. I'm so no looking forward to this! Guess I'll just have to stay cozy indoors and do some more crafting (gee, darn...)!


I wanted to share a little frame I stickled to death the other night. I took a super inexpensive wooden frame (the tiny, lightweight, inexpensive kind) and first aged it a bit with two shades of Clearsnap chalk ink. Just use a direct-to-wood technique and keep dabbing them on until you like the colors. I then used a stamp from Sugarloaf (now Inque Boutique) and stamped it all over the frame using Staz On. I was kind of bored with the look so I grabbed some red Stickles (from Ranger) and some crystal Scribbles (same as Stickles but from Duncan) and plopped down in front of the TV to watch Dirty Sexy Money (my new must watch show, lol) and started adding some sparkle. I did all of the berries in red then covered EVERYTHING else that was stamped in the crystal. It brightened up the green once everything dried (overnight). Even with all the sparkle it had a nice vintage look to it so I decided to use a nice red twine for the bow, then stickled some film letters from Zsiage (1.5" Monica font). I was originally going to frame a black and white picture, but now I'm thinking I might hunt down an old vintage postcard to finish this off. After I go stock back up on Stickles and Scribbles, that is! They're addictive!



Has everyone been keeping up with the 12 days of creative tags going on over on Tim Holtz's blog? If you haven't, go there immediately! He's been sharing a new tag a day with complete instructions and tons of great techniques! I'm wondering how all these techniques will translate to wood...

A few published pieces

I wanted to post these since they are able to be shared again. Both were in the October/November issue of Ready Set Create E-Zine.

This clock was a wedding gift for a co-worker. The papers are from Bo Bunny. Flowers from Prima. Plaque and clockworks are from Walnut Hollow. The rubons for the name and date are from EK Success. The beads are blackstone from Cousins. I used the pearly glaze from Making Memories over an off-white paint from Plaid. The Mod Podge is also from Plaid.



For this candle holder I started with an inespensive glass vase from Hobby Lobby. Using Mod Podge, I covered it with paper from Zsiage's Confuscious Say What? line. The Peace cutout is from another piece of paper from that line. The flowers are from Prima. The coin is from Tsukineko.

Brrrr! Got our first snow!

Luckily there wasn't much snow, but it still makes me want to curl up inside and do nothing but craft all day! I still have a bunch of projects I keep meaning to post but haven't gotten around to photographing and with this dark, dreary day I don't think today will be the day either, lol! But I do have a frame I wanted to share that I made up a few weeks ago.

As seen in the February/March issue of Ready Set Create E-zine.

I really love this paper from Zsiage - it's from an earlier line called Flouristics and the paper is called Tantalizing Tulip. I've used it on several altered items - it has such rich colors (that brick red just makes me feel warm!) and a really lovely design to it. The flowers are from Prima. The gem brads and gem stickers around the inside corners are from Making Memories. The chipboard sticker is from MAMBI. The film letters are from Zsiage - I painted them with the same paint I used for the sides of the frame and found it matched TOO closely to the paper so I edged them with a silver marker from Sakura, which played nicely against the gray in the paper design. I used glossy Mod Podge as I wanted to keep an elegant feel to this.



I hope everyone is staying warm!