The Nutcracker featuring Art Impressions Girlfriends!

November was my month to select an image for our card swap.  I chose the ever-so-fun and silly Art Impressions “Girlfriend’s” that are workin’~ it in both tutus and on bouncy balls! Our challenge was to use both or one of these images with a humorous theme.

T
is’ the season~I thought I would tie both of them in together performing “The Nutcracker” as Sugar Plum Fairies and at Bounce Class!  I really had some crazy fun with this once I found the right papers and theme. I think my new favorite colors are; purple, cherry red, cream, touch of green and gold!

Stamps: Art Impressions “Girlfriends”

Ink: Copic & Tim Holtz Distressed

Card stock: Bazzill

Decorative Papers: Graphic 45, Echo Park

Sentiments: Word “Opera Font”

 Goggled: Dance Quotes

Retro “Dunkies” Thermos

 So I am minding my own business one night and my sweet daughter Kala and her good friend Ashley storm down the stairs into my basement with a “Surprise” for me!  Excitedly, Ashley is holding something behind her back while Kala is looking onward to witness my reaction.  Ashley reveals my gift and exclaims “Look what we found for you!!!”  They had just arrived home from shopping a few second hand stores for articles of clothing and props for Halloween costumes and the play that Ashley is in.  They paid almost nothing for it-but could not resist since ‘I gotta have my Dunkies iced coffee every day!’

A very large Dunkin’ Donuts Thermos in perfect condition!  We had a good laugh and I suggested how I am going to hold onto this “artifact” because somewhere in time it will be worth a fortune! We laughed together!

I can see it now, my kids-- kids-- kids (all the way down the genealogy line of future generations to come) will find it boxed up in the back stacks of storage in the remains of this house and bring it to a traveling “Antiques Road Show” event. There, it will be broadcast on PBS as a one hit wonder and crowds will surround their colorful and gigantic pristine tubular find!  They’ll wonder what it was used for and why anyone would NEED that much coffee in one day.  Did people use it to bring it to their jobs or on a week’s vacation to a place that sold no coffee?  Did they carry it as an accessory just in case they needed a little lift throughout their day?  How long would the coffee stay hot in this tubular form and is there a microwave chip gadget inside to keep it hot? What, no buttons or wires to plug this thing into a wall—it’s not WIFI’d?  Why can you not see the bottom of the mirrored inside capsule of this thing they called a “thermos”? And, if it keeps something hot, does it also have the ability to keep something cold for a long period of time?

The experts at Antiques Road Show will list a price below its picture as;

Dunkin Donuts Thermos: $10,000 - $20,000

(The standard size coffee mug was used as a size –scale comparison in this photo.)

White on White Winter Scene

I am teaching a card class this November and one of my challenges for this class is to create a card that does not involved a lot of fussing around.  This card is as no fuss as picking up a handful of snow to make a snow ball!

1) White card stock (5.5 x 5.5 card base size)

2) Accent color mat card stock (blue)

3) Dotted Embossing folder (snow)

4) Memory Box dies (background scene & decorative swirly tree)

5) White ribbon (dotted pattern)

6) Bling! (One card with blue to coordinate with blue accent mat and one card with clear/silver bling)

This card took about ten minutes to create. Your only challenge is to make sure you are using the same white card stock-because as we all know—all “whites” are not the same!

Quilled Sunflower Patch!

It all started with the recent autumn air cooling things down at night.  I usually peruse the craft store aisles for the new yarns to start a lil’ somethin’ on one of my knitting looms and like everyone else, I turn my attention to sunflowers and fall colors.  I always seem to run out of these colors in my Quilling box before the first frost!

Tomorrow, I am teaching a card design class and thought since I made some sunflowers I would doll ‘em up and put them in a vase to give to each of my attendees as a thank you gift.  I needed just the right size vase bottle in order to house just one quilled sunflower—not too big-not to small.  I started to look for vases at the craft stores to no avail.  Then, while grocery shopping I came across the cutest lil’ wine bottles…sure enough the perfect size and with slightly tinted green glass—Perfect! And, not to forget to mention my darling husband and I shared a toast in order for me to get this project on the move!  Win-Win!

Supplies: 

Hand Quilled Flowers

Cricut Leaves /Home Décor Cartridge

Sizzix Frame Back Ornate#3 & Banner

Cuddlebug Paisley Embossing Folder

Halloween theme buttons

Bassill Cardstock

October Afternoon Homemaker

Rickrack and twine

“Happy Autumn”-word document

Lili of the Valley Stamps & Spellbinders Lacey Oval Dies

Lili of the Valley Stamps & Spellbinders Lacey Ovals Dies

Stamps: Best Dress, Milly Just For You, Rosie Posy, Emma Presents & Swing Time

 I received these stamps as gifts and have to say…they are not only adorable but very versatile.  Just for kicks, I  designed a cameo of each of these stamps—adorable as they are without any applications.  But, by using the Spellbinders Lacey Ovals dies-I created an altered variation of a stamp.  I love to do this with my Spellbinders dies which is to create the appearance that the image is running off the die.  If you are not careful, you can end up with a hole in the head of one of your cutie stamped images, and if that happens…’tis only paper—do over!

So, I stamped, embossed, colored (with Copics) and cut out each image leaving no original white background paper.  Then, I glued the images to a clean piece of  cream colored card stock. {No special glue needed very just a few zips of permanent tape runner.) I fit the image into the best size Lacey Oval-taped it with removable tape, ran it through my Grand Calibur (once to cut and once to emboss) and Pop!—this is a new variation of the same image.  It may seem like extra work, but if you stamp and color on basic white card stock—this gives you another alternative to apply the image on any background color you wish! Plus, with it going through the Grand Calibur process, it adheres the image without any loose ends.

www.liliofthevalley.co.uk

www.spellbinderspaperarts.com

My Inner Nerd...

We all have our inner-nerd and today I got to put a lil' on a card!  QueenieJO, one of my long distance "sister's" from our  SCS swap chose this digi- image"Genius" from Tiddly-Inks, and out of  nowhere came my monster buttons, eyelet outlet big glasses brads and I was off to find some funky nerdy books and some Smartfood to c/p from Google!  Of course, before I started this task--I had to make a quick stop at Absolutely Everything for some fun papers from Echo Park and Carta Bella! {Yes, I make excuses to go to this store!!!}

So, welcome to my blog Genius...you made the cut! :)

Tree Pose

My dear friend Patti from SCS suggested we each make a 6x6 scrap page of ourselves and share one with everyone in the group that wanted to participate in this project.  Twelve of us participated and now I have a mini photo album which includes some really terrific women which have all become important friends to me.  Our project was to include a photo and a few of our favorite things in life!

I was as wits end about having my picture taken, but my SIL was kind enough to offer her time, expertise and the tree in her front yard in order for me to strike a pose!

I used the tree as the main  theme for my page which worked perfectly with my Spellbinders vine, MemoryBox flourish and leave dies. I love it when Word graphics works in my favor as I had fun setting up the font to compliment the theme.  My name tag was made out of a chunky Sizzlix die x 3 cuts to give the black shadow to coordinate with my shirt and my border.  How would it be possible to have a tree theme w/o a bird?  Martha Stewart’s dove with heart punch is perched on top of the background vine.

The wooden clips serve a purpose as a photo of my kids is on the back of my photo—hubby and Muddy didn’t make the cut! (Next time guy’s!)  The back of my project consisted of a homemade crossword puzzle-it’s not perfect but I think it gets my point across!

Thanks Patti—this was fun!