Try It On Tuesday Guestie!

I am so excited to be a Guestie over at Try It On Tuesday!!!  And look at this badge!  Woo-hoo!

I won my little spot with THIS tag...

This fortnight's challenge is to use stitching--real or faux...

I did both!  Check out my little stitched desk decor for back to school:

The paper "string quilt" in raw form!

Sweet flowers made by folding strips at an angle then sewing them.

Behind the scenes: I looped the wire like a long U to pop it through the flower I chose to raise, then I twisted the wire back around itself and fluted out to the reverse using E-6000 and covered with masking tape.

This picture shows how neat the old paper took up the Color Bursts like a tiny mosaic.

I'm hoping you guys wanted to see another pic of the stitching! You did, right?!

Supplies:

• Old index card divider base.  I chose K for "kids."
• Paper "string quilt" sewn from various old papers, including a French dictionary and sheet music, both over a century old
• Color Bursts used for coloring the sky and ground, each masked with a ripped piece of scrap paper
• Schoolhouse "built" from old papers
• Flowers created using some of the leftover strips from the quilting 
• Text from my clippings tin-- I could not choose which ones I wanted to use, so I added them all with Distress Collage Medium in Vintage
• The piece needed a frame, so I got out Andrea's/Snapping Monsters' wonky stitches stamp and inked it with Ranger Archival in Jet Black
• These kids are Tim's paper dolls-- they do not look so happy for school... they look like my kids... anyway, I popped them up with some 3M foam tape.

Now, Try It On Tuesday has a fabulous Design Team and a hugely talented following... so look no further than their site for crafty inspiration!  See you over there.

I would also like to share this with the following Back-To-School-ish challenges:

• Simon Says Stamp on Monday
• Simon Says Stamp on Wednesday

SOS: Fave Season!

Is it Tuesday again???  YES!  Time for another week of stash-shopping fun and inspiration!

This week, us girls at Shopping Our Stash are looking for projects showcasing your favorite season while using supplies that are possibly neglected, unused, or just hoarded while you wait for that perfect day... well, here it is!  Use those items!  (... it just makes room for more!)

Here's my project, which is a little fall wall-hanging decor:

Close.

Closer.

EXTREME CLOSE-UP.

Supplies (I used so many neglected, old, or hoarded items on this!  Yay!):

• Base is an old math book cover, of which I have many just stashed away as project bases
• The base was coated with matte Mod Podge and covered with an old French dictionary page
• Next, Liquitex white gesso was roughly painted onto the surface, leaving some of the text showing through
• Then I tried laying some of Tim's Tattered Leaves diecuts onto the board and spraying with various orange and brown Dylusions sprays... did not come out as well as I had hoped... so more gesso was added...
• I used an old oak leaf stamp by Good Stamps, I believe... one of my very first stamps, and inked it with Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso ink from Tim's MM palette
• I painted the quote with black Liquitex gesso and accented it with Stickles in Mercury Glass (my fave)
• After all of that, I dabbed some Distress Paint in Spiced Marmalade to areas to add some color-- it was pretty neutral.  I also added quite a bit of Walnut Stain Distress Paint to the edges to frame it better.
• My old Crop-a-dile Big Bite used for grommets in corners... Talk about stash!  This is one tool that is unmatched in its punching ability, but I rarely use it for the cool grommets and gromlets!  Subtle effect here, but worth it.
• Threads and strings and fibers all from my stash, just hot-glued to the reverse

Join us!  Winter, spring, summer, or fall???  I will be checking out your answer at Shopping Our Stash!  

(For the record, fall has always been my fave, and I still love it, but now living where the winters are intense, I find myself CRAVING summer heat... I just love the dry warmth of fall and the fresh, crispt mornings... plus the fall food is definitely #1... pumpkin everything, and busting the crockpot out...)

I'd also like to share this with Inkspirational, since the oak leaf stamp was literally one of my first big-girl stamps!  I bought it while I was in junior college, and it must have been around 2001/2002.

ATC with the works!

This was fun:

Supplies:

• ATC base cut from a library card, then I snipped the corners off
• Base coated with Teresa Collins modeling paste through a Tim Holtz stencil
• Base then painted with Distress Paint in Broken China then smeared with white fluid watercolor paint... I thought it was acrylic before I squirted it onto the project...
• Gold thread was sitting on my desk, so I ran around my project with it, affixing it on the back with washi.
• Beautiful nun an image from Lunagirl.  I finished her a long time ago-- she was coated with glossy Mod Podge then accented with various Ranger Liquid Pearls and Stickles.  She was affixed with 3M foam tape.
• Edge of ATC loosely run with Elmers craft glue and coated with Distress Glitter in Antique Linen
• Those two little scallops of gold lace were a snippet remaining from about 1'... I cut the two scallops in half and added them to top and bottom with Glossy Accents on reverse.
• Flowers from my stash
• Quotes from my book-clippings tin, affixed and coated with Distress Collage Medium in Vintage.

I'll share this at Simon Says Stamp on Monday, where they want us to create ATCs... I hope they haven't placed sleeve restrictions on the ATCs because I generally prefer to load up my ATCs!  I love the format.

Cheers.

Bride To Be

Made this for a bridal shower:

Supplies and notes:

• Tim Holtz Day of the Dead couple inked with Ranger Archival in Jet Black on Canson watercolor paper
• Edges daubed with Gathered Twigs DI
• Prima crackle stamp inked with Tim's MM Palette in Vintage Photo and then dabbed with a baby wipe prior to stamping around edges
• Ranger Liquid Pearls dotted around edges (which pulled up some of the brown ink and yielded a really nice aged look)
• Red accents added by inking my craft mat with Fired Brick DOx and Aged Mahogany DI, spraying with water, and brushing on to the image
• Flowers from Tim's Idea-ology
• Vintage seam binding (which matches the wedding... FYI... bonus points...)
• This panel was adhered to a piece of Tim's DP with edges inked with Gathered Twigs to reduce the pale cuts
• Sentiment frame at top by Tim Holtz; sentiment written with a Faber Castell Pitt; panel inked with Gathered Twigs DI then coated with Distress Collage Medium in Crazing; popped up with 3M dimensional adhesive 

That's it!

I'll share this with The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers whose current challenge is...

... and what a gorgeous bride...

SOS: Wood Is Good

This week I am hosting the challenge at Shopping Our Stash, and I chose the theme Wood Is Good!

If there's one thing that I love as much as birds, it's the sight of wood!  Trees, wood, wood-grain, logs, loggers... LOL... I just love wood.  So this week, I'd like to see your woody-stash: wood-grain paper, wood veneer pieces... I am not going to be hard to please in this department!

Here's my simple project having both wood pieces and wood-grain, and wood tape...

You can see the shiny background here above.

Supplies:

• Woodgrain paper from DCWV Gilded Paper Stack, edged with Gathered Twigs DI.
• Arc Crafts wood tape-- this is actually cherry veneer tape
• "Blessed" is wood-cut from Michaels from approximately two years ago in a Thanksgiving seasonal pack
• Gold thread from my stash
• Gold studs by Hampton Art
• Paper Dolls from Tim Holtz.  I inked these guys with Gathered Twigs DI.

That's it!  I made this for my hubby.  He also is a wood-lover.  We are both foresters and met in the woods!  (Regarding my comment earlier about living loggers, hubby was also a logger...)

I look forward to seeing your creations this week... it should yield a wide range of projects from you crafty people, as wood is so versatile.  See you over at Shopping Our Stash!

"I love the ocean!"

Here's a very-nautical tag:

Gotta show that this is hung on my mermaid chick...

Supplies and notes:

• Library card base accented with Pebeo sand and Liquitex gel with glass beads
• Shell from a K and Company die cut pack from a couple years ago coated with Distress Collage Medium in Crazing.  Once dry, edges were scribbled with Frayed Burlap Distress crayon and rubbed into cracks.
• Tim's MM dies cut from his own paper then sort of fussy cut for the background
• Quote from an old Nancy Drew book, coated with Distress Collage Medium in Vintage
• Twine from my stash
• Lastly, I added Distress Paint in Picket Fence lightly to the glass beads.

How do you like it?  Did you notice the book that the card went to?  

I'll share this at Simon Says Stamp on Monday for their current Nautical challenge.

SOS: Chillaxin' & Relaxin'

Hello, and happy National Relaxation Day!

August 15 is National Relaxation Day, and Chris at Shopping Our Stash would like so see something depicting something that is relaxing to you!

So... crafting is my go-to chillax-activity, but much of my life has been spent relaxing by watching birds, both seriously and casually... and it is always relaxing to me.  I used to walk the marsh as a college student prior to exams, and I still take time to study birds.  It's magical.

Here's my card:

Supplies:

• Library cards used as the base.  I scored the reverse card... 
• Front library card inked with DOx in Vintage Photo, Spiced Marmalade, and Fossilized Amber
• Black masking tape by 7 Gypsies.  I think this is my second roll of the stuff, but I have had this product in my stash for at least 5 years... maybe 7?
• Quote from an old book, snipped well before I used it, adhered with Vintage Distress Collage Medium
• The robin image was fussy-cut a long time ago from a piece of DP... wish I knew the make but I'm gonna guess October Afternoon... just a guess...
• Black pearls by Viva in Anthracite 
• Ric-rac from my stash... I mean, who doesn't have this stiff in their stash???

Looking forward to seeing how you guys relax!  Hop on over to SOS for some inspiration!

Shiny greetings

Crafting for my sanity... been a crazy summer, both good and bad, and I'm taking this morning for some craft therapy-- I don't even have the time to spare, but I truly need a few cards, so I can justify it!  I know you know what I mean! (I wrote that yesterday-- finally trying to post some stuff!)

This will go to a friend who needs some uplifting:

This image shows the ooh-ahh factor of the Magicals... 

Supplies:

• Glitter base from DCWV Serenity stack
• Metallic watercolor paper by DCWV colored with Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals
• Strathmore watercolor paper cut with my Cricut Explore Air 2 from a design I drew on my screen
• Sentiment written with a medium Jane Davenport brush pen using DOx in Broken China and Cracked Pistachio
• Gold sticker sentiments generic from the dollar store... Score!  I love these!

I'll share this with:

• JUGs: 
  
• CASual Fridays:
  
• HLS AG with Dies, August:
  
• Country View: Blues and Greens

#SQUAD

Here's a quicky:

This will go to a relatively new friend who will always be in my squad...

Supplies:

• Pre-cut card from Michaels' dollar bin
• Drink stamp from a Downton Abbey stamp set
• "#SQUAD" by Stampabilities
• I added DIs in Faded Lilac, Broken China, and Spun Sugar then brushed them with a Jane Davenport waterbrush

I plan to share this at the following challenges:

• Addicted To Stamps: 
  
• CASual Fridays: 
  
• Color Throwdown:
  

Cheers, my friend

Here's a birthday card for one of my closest friends:

This image shows the color saturation better in the sunlight...

... and this image shows how it looks more IRL-- much softer than the image above, which was taken in full sunlight.

I was out of town for her birthday, and, shame on me: I failed to leave a card for her!  So I'll bring this to her birthday BBQ tonight.

Supplies:

• Sentiment stamp by Stampabilities inked with Dina Wakley Media MM Palette: Ocean
• Drink by STAMPlorations, inked with Distress Embossing Ink and heat embossed with Recollections in Snow
• Panel colored with various DIs 
• Stickles used to accent the drink
• Background triangles inked through something cut with my Cricut Explore Air 2 when I was first experimenting with it... wait, who am I kidding-- I am still experimenting!
• Triangles accented with white Signo
• Cherry and dots are Viva Perlen Pen in Red

I'll share this with:

• Simon Says Stamp on Monday: Happy Birthday
• STAMPlorations Ongoing AG (I'm # 1772!)
  
• JUGs: 
  

SOS: Spice up your life!

...I'll tell ya what I want, what I really really want...

I want you to play with us at Shopping Our Stash this week!  We are making projects inspired by the Spice Girls...

Obviously, my tag was inspired by Ginger Spice!

Supplies:

• Ranger Tag
• DOx in Spiced Marmalade and Vintage Photo monoprinted using the Holiday Knits stencil by Tim
• Gingerbread stamp and sentiment inked with Ranger Archival in Jet Black and embossed with Recollections EP
• Gingerbread colored with Distress Stain in Vintage Photo and accented with Liquid Pearls
• Twine from an old ornament

That's it!  See you at SOS! 

Mimi as a Snarky Guestie!

Oh, my... I always feel like I achieved something great when The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers invites me to be their guest!

I made them laugh, I guess, with THIS card, which caused them to have me over for Edna's latest alpha-challenge: M is for Mink!  Basically, we just need to use some fur... or, like, an animal with fur...

How's this?

This actually even makes me a taddy-bit uncomfortable... my family actually talks about bear maulings (or the possibility of it) often-- my husband frequently encounters bears at work and this tag kind of pokes fun at something we generally take seriously (bears killing humans...)

But it's a pretty funny quote, right?!

Supplies:

• Ranger tag stamped with a Hero Arts background and embossed with Stampendous EP
• Old foam bear stamp found at the elementary school; embossed with black Recollections EP and painted with Distress Stain in Vintage Photo
• Viva Paper Pearls in Cream
• Vintage seam binding from my neighbor
• Quote brushed onto spare watercolor paper with Black Soot DI and Tim's small water brush.

That's pretty much it!  See you over at The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers!

SOS: Christmas in July

(...I mean AUGUST!!!)

Welcome to my post for the latest Shopping Our Stash challenge...
Countdown to Christmas!
Yep!  Donna is challenging us to make a Christmas card!
Even though I do share a handful of handmade Christmas greetings, I use a ton of handmade tags on gifts, so that's where I typically focus my holiday mojo:

Supplies:

• Vintage bingo card coated lightly with white Liquitex gesso and dried.
• STAMPlorations poinsettia stamp  inked with Distress Embossing Ink and embossed with Recollections EP in black-- the stamp is new since last December, so be ready to see a lot of it from me this coming winter-- I love it!
• Initally, the card and flower were painted using diluted Dylusions sprays, but as they dry, they sometimes oxidize in a funky way, so I went over the flower with Ranger Alcohol Ink in Red Pepper.
• Parts of a Fiskars text stamp was inked with Ranger Archival ink in Jet Black
• "Good cheer!" brushed on with a waterbrush dipped in DOx in Black Soot, the accented with a Signo white pen. 
• The flower was outlined with Glossy Accents and Martha Stewart clear glitter was added-- the best!
• Vintage tinsel trim added to the bottom; vintage seam binding added to the top.
• I was just about done when I decided that something was missing... I spotted my bells and quickly sewed three on... so glad!  This upped the festive factor by 3, at least!

I have to admit: I did NOT have any holiday mojo... I pulled down my Christmas tub, and though I love a lot of my holiday supplies, I am "not there" at all right now, so once I just admitted that to myself (after like 5 failed starts... really), I just went with a more fun and colorful, less traditional project, and I am pleased-- I hope you like it as well.

Whether you are feeling the holiday spirit or not, go ahead and join us at SOS-- I know I am more behind this year than I have been in years past... have some catching up to do.

Cheers!