Checking In...

I've been doing a lot of family stuff in the past week or so and haven't had any time to play. I'm still here, and hopefully will have some new stuff to share soon.

On a side note, a couple weeks ago there was on a posting on our local freecycle group for Somerset magazines and artist supplies. You know I was all over that one! I got a box full of wonderful goodies, and I've been browsing the magazines for ideas. One of the issues showcased Calvin Nicholls, and his work literally left me with my jaw hanging open. I am absolutely amazed by what he can create from paper - take some time to peruse his work here.

Anyway, hopefully I can actually use some of those art supplies, along with the new rubber that's lying on my table just begging for ink... Back soon!

New Winner

I still have not heard from "momsnack" so time to choose a new winner for the Favorite Things giveaway. The new winner is #30, Rosella. Please email me at tah_dah(at)lycos.com with your mailing address and I'll get your package out to you. Congratulations!

Christmas Jar

A friend of mine brought me this wonderful jar yesterday, and I just had to share. I love all the little details! The cool layered tag, the greeting stamped on twill, touches of crystal effects, and the embellished lid... plus chocolate!

This would be a wonderful gift for just about anyone on your list!

Gift Tag

Our family attended a birthday party this past weekend, and rather than making a card for the birthday boy I opted for a tag. Why? Well, his Mommy is a scrapper and I figured this would be a good page embellishment. Thankfully she loved it! And he loved his gift :)

I started with some scraps of blue paper, and laid out the basic design. Next, I die cut "Aaron" and 3 from thin sheet metal using the Sizzix boxed brush alpha die set. I stamped "Happy Birthday" (smARTworks, "Time To") onto caramel paper with navy versamagic ink. I made the hole reinforcer with a couple punches, and then tied on some great American Crafts ribbon. Nothing too fancy, but I thought simple was better in this case.

Paging momsnack, Paging momsnack

I haven't heard from the winner of the Favorite Things giveaway yet - if I don't hear from her by Monday, then I'll be drawing another name.

The Reason for the Season

I am so excited about this piece I'm sharing today! I'd been wanting to make something for our home; I had a whole lot of different ideas, but when I actually sat down to create nothing was coming together. Well, the previous Salt challenge was the theme "Light." The words to the song "Here I am to Worship" by Chris Tomlin immediately came to mind, and I started thinking about how I could use that to create something for Christmas. Never actually got beyond printing out the words, though. And then the latest challenge was "Jesus, the true meaning of Christmas." I just had to actually finish up my project. It all came together when I stumbled onto the amazing paper and gold stickers (seen here)
I started by masking off some areas around the star and spraying with gold glimmer mist. Next I roughly laid out where I wanted the words to go. I scanned Luke 2 from my Bible, and printed out verses 1-7 onto watercolor paper. I stamped the names of Jesus (Biblical Impressions) in the corner, and added several gold stickers. I love how the shepherds really do look like they're worshipping, and the small cross under the manger serves as a reminder of what that tiny baby came to do. Humbly you came to the earth you created, all for love's sake became poor.

This is definitely not my "normal" style, but I am thrilled with the final result. It's now hanging on the wall in our living room, and I'll definitely be making more in the future.

Just in case you've never heard this powerful song, check it out here.

Monochromatic Let it Snow

I have another simple card to share. Yesterday's challenge on splitcoast was to do a monochromatic design. I pulled out my Winter Days set, a Fabriano notecard, my sepia versafine ink, and went to town. Super simple layout, but I think it lets the beauty of the image really come through. I did accent the snow with some fabulous glass glitter (also available through smARTworks). The final touch was tying on some brown twistel. It's paper ribon made by Making Memories; I've had it in my stash forever, and I'm not even sure whether they make it anymore.

I'm also working on a very cool project for the Salt challenge. A little different from my normal style, but I'm really enjoying the process. Hopefully it will be ready to share by Monday!

We have a winner!!

"momsnack" - who is wild about her alcohol inks - please email me at tah_dah(at)lycos.com.

Thanks for playing, everyone!

Peaceful Trees

I made another card with the Playful Christmas set (Kitchen Sink) and even added a few of those great little Dew Drops. It's a super simple card - the trees were stamped with versamagic (aloe & perfect plumeria), then I added the sentiment and adhered the dew drops with glossy accents (Ranger). Sometimes simple really is best!

And just a reminder that I'll be drawing a winner tomorrow for some of my favorite things, so scroll down to Monday's post if you haven't entered yet!

Thumbprint Reindeer

I think our kids like to make cards nearly as much as I do - so they were pretty excited on Monday when I told them they were going to help me make cards. I got the idea for these from a card I saw last year; I believe it was in PaperCrafts (and I think it was the entire family's row of thumbprints!) I opted for a more simple approach and we made these for the moppets workers - the wonderful ladies who watch over the kiddos during our MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) meetings. I started with a stack of notecards (Fabriano, of course!) and had the kids add their thumbprint. Then I drew in the details, including some glitter on the nose. (See why I prefer to stamp instead of drawing?!?) The final touch was the greeting (retired SU - Holiday Wishes). A simple thank you from the "little dears" :)

A Few of My Favorite Things...

My birthday is coming up, and I thought I'd celebrate by giving away some of my favorite goodies! It was hard to narrow it down to just a few things, but here's what one lucky person will receive:

• BasicGrey Perhaps 6x6 pad
• smARTworks "One Smile" stamp set (UM rubber)
• Mono Multi liquid glue
• 5 yards white dotted Mary Arts ribbon
• mini gold brads

So how can you win this great stuff? Please leave a comment sharing one of your favorite things, and I'll draw a name on Friday morning (12/14). Everyone is free to enter (but be sure to check back to see if you've won!) Good luck!

Merry & BRIGHT!!

I won some great Blog Candy from Becky last week - a set of Kitchen Sink stamps (Playful Christmas), dew drop embellishments, and four acrylic blocks for coasters/tiles. They arrived yesterday, and I immediately was thinking of stamping a single tree on a tilted square. When I saw this week's Sketch Challenge I knew it was a sign :) I also decided I wanted to use some more of that thin metal, so I now envisioning a seriously garish Christmas card. Why not?! I ran the metal through my Big Shot with the cuttlebug embossing folder, then adhered it to the card base. For the tree, I first stamped it with chalk ink, then overstamped with brilliance silver. Lastly, I matted it with some turquoise just to break up the pink a teensy bit. How's that for non-traditional colors? I computer generated the inside sentiment to read, "May your days be Merry and BRIGHT!"

Tea & Cookies

Yep, it's time for another tea party with the smART Cookies! Today's sketch was provided by Susan and we're all doing the wave. It's currently snowing here, but I felt like creating some floral magic. I started with the focal panel, stamping the flowers (Grow) with versamagic inks. (BTW, my main panel also happens to be the size of a standard ATC - this is a great way to transform one of those babies into a full card!) I layered the different papers onto the base (papers are all BasicGrey Perhaps), then mounted the panel and added some green rickrack with a metal charm.

Would love to have you create something with this sketch, too!

See what everyone else has created: In the Works, Mama Dini's Stamperia, Dee's Studio, Sweet Somethings, and Susiestampalot.

All lovey dovey

Needed to make an anniversary card - I'm not feeling so hot (first cold of the season!) so I pulled out the BasicGrey Blush card kit. No stamping here - just adhering a few shapes, tying on some ribbon, and adding a small charm. (I'll be hand delivering this, so bulk wasn't an issue...)

...And a partridge in a pear tree!!

Each smART Cookie received the "Pear Tree" set in October. It's a lovely set, but for some reason I had a hard time with this one. The rather elegant style of the drawing seemed to call out for a semi-formal design, so I gold embossed it, colored with twinkling H2Os, matted, then added velvet ribbon and lace. I had another idea for a funky collage type card (with the music as a background) but I just couldn't make it work. Be sure to check out what the other cookies made here!

And how about winning a set of your very own? Susan is giving one away, so head to her blog before Thursday morning to join in the fun!