White Negative

OK last post for today!
I have a friend who had a birthday this month and I promised myself I would make her a card this year. I learned this technique at a workshop at Archiver's a couple of weeks ago and then found that it is also a TJ technique this issue! I made the focal piece in both pink and purple, just to practice and decided I would send the other one to my TJ "one-0n-0ne" partner for this month. I LOOOVVE this technique! It could not be easier. Just use a negative-style stamp and heat-emboss in white, then color/paint it in! You pretty much CAN'T color ourside the lines! Purple for Linny and pink for my TJ partner.

Pen, Ink and Watercolor

OK -first I have to apologize. I just realized that I posted the Asian girl ATC twice -OOPS! Oh well, I really like her!

Anyway, on to the next. I joined this swap to get mayself into one of my "uncomfortable" places...Hand drawing! (SCA-A-ARY!) I sort-of cheated. I read a few years ago about someone who did line-drawn animals quilted onto pillows and such. You could have her make them of YOUR pet and one of the ways she did this was to use tracing paper over a picture to dreate her lines. Well, I tried it with some of my digital photos and it works great!! In this case, I used a picture of V enjoying the sun coming in the window one day. I just pull up the pic on my computer, tape a piece of paper on and use the most prominent lines in the picture to create my drawing. I then scanned my drawing and reduced the size so it would fit on an ATC, then used a lightbox to make each ATC essentially the same. (They are not all EXACTLY the same, though). It worked really well. The biggest problem I had was just the bumpiness of drawing on watercolor paper -I've never done that before. Anyway, I was pretty pleased with the result!

Watercolored using re-inker and waterbrushes.

I Dare You to Call Me Cute!

I also made a single card for an ATC Friend that is sending me a gorgeous Geisha card. I asked her what she would like and she said anything except cute-n-cuddly, so I promised her I'd make something "un-cuddly". I was going thru my stashes of stuff and came across a set of glossy stickers that are made for your Punk teenage girls and one said "I Dare You to Call Me Cute!" and Inspiration struck! Its hard to see in the pic, but the skull is done with pink, glittery embossing powder. I put the title sticker on the back as it was a pretty big sticker and wouldn't have left much room for anything else! I hope it tickles her funny bone!! I brushed off the embossing powder where this stamp has a Jack-O'Lantern on it and put the cherry there instead. Black Sharpie scribbled on gives the background more texture (and covers a small OOPS! that really still shows if you're looking :( )

Busy in my studio!!

I have several pics of some new ATC's to add I may do them in separate posts (just easier!)

First I'll show you a couple that I made for the girls who won the "Winner Takes All" swap for Feb. One said that one of her favorite themes is Asian and I made this card for her.

The other one had "House Mouse" as one of the things that she likes and I have 3 House Mouse stamps so I made this one for her.

The 3 stamps I have all are bought because they spoke to me about my own life. This one shouted out about a teddy bear that Veronica has and when she was younger she just about wore his fur off! His name is Travis and he hashas the little pellets in his butt, feet and hands. His feet got a little worn out and his "beans" started to fall out, so I did a little "surgery" on Travis. We kept saying that he was spilling his beans, so this one is titled "Travis Spilled the Beans". My almost 21-yr old still feels the little baby mouse's anxiety over if her friend will get better! She likes this stamp as much as I do!

A few ATC's to share

I think I will try to go chronologically here... I few weeks ago I had just joined the ATC World Yahoo group, and I decided to jump right in to a swap with the theme of "winter clothes". What is your favorite warm item of clothing in the winter? I have always been one to have bare feet as my feet usually get hot and I even have to stick them out of the covers frequently. But this year I have had such COLD FEET! I have actually been wearing warm, fuzzy socks to bed (which would have driven me completely crazy in the past). Anyway, I wanted to make the card about my fuzzy socks. The colors aren't the same as the real ones, but I used flocking on the socks, which just drew lightly with a pencil then used glue and flocking. I love a day when it's snowing outside to curl up in my big chair with a book and a blanket, so I added those elements as well. I thought it was cute.

I also participated recently in a "Winner Takes All" exchange, where everyone signs up, 2 winners are chosen and everyone has to send those two people a card. I didn't win :( The winners can let everyone know what kinds of themes or techniques they particularly like also. One of the winners had Asian as one of the themes that she likes and this is the card I made to send her. It's a little hard to see, but there is some subtle shimmer on her fabric and on the lantern. I need to make another one for myself. (do you who swap cards - of any kind - make one for yourself? I like to.)

Last, but not least, I am also involved in a "Steampunk" themed swap and this is what I ended up with. I felt like, to really be in the Steampunk spirit it would be cool if the card was a little machine in itself. It should DO something. The collaged piece is shaped like a gear and sandwiched beteen 2 layers with a brad in the center so it can spin - like my mind! The images in her brain are all "Steampunk-y": keys, birds, charts, a watch, gears, etc. I love this eyes stamp! And my new Tim Holtz embossing folder for the bricks at the side. I am planning to do another design for this swap and will probably use the brick in that one also. I'll post it if/when I get it done. I have several other projects to do tomorrow also. Goodnight for now!

Funny Pic

So, the other night i was relaxing watching TV and it was getting near bed-time. My daughter came home from work and I stopped her from coming up the stairs and asked her to bring me one of my sugar free ice cream bars. I had bought some ice cream for everyone and a box of SF bars for my self and had only eaten one, so far (out of 6). She says "Did you hide any?" and I said "No, why?" She says that there was only one left and she ate it last night! So I asked if she would just bring me a little bit of the regular ice cream and she's too tired, so I just said forget it. I figured I'd finish my show and go get it myself.
By the time my show is done, I decided I was too tired and would rather just skip the ice cream and go to bed. So I go into my room and THIS is what I find!.....





I sometimes have a bag of chocolates in the drawer next my bed. The red things all over the bed are my Dove Dark Promises that the DOGS ate! Along with the chocolate all over the bed too. She looks pretty satisfied with herself, doesn't she!? Little chub-monster!

Bird IS the Word!

This house is on my route to work and the very first time I noticed it was just after I had gotten my scallop punch and all I could see was the beautiful pink scallops at the top! I love the color combo, too! It still had a porch when I first noticed it. I think they are slowly trying to rehab it and I just hope they don't change the colors or the personality I feel from this house. Anyway, I was involved in a card swap in my "PaintingWithRadiance" group (which is gone now :( ) and knew exactly what I wanted to do for my card. It was using the theme of birds - I think it was close to a year ago! - and in that group, the goal was always to make it sparkly!

So this was the card I made for that swap :

So now I'm involved in a tag swap on one of my ATC groups and again the theme is birds. I still really like that house and decided I wanted to make a variation of my bird card for the tags and this is what I came up with! I liked it, but just didn't feel like it was quite "right" and couldn't quite pinpoint what the problem was. I had originally wanted to have the feather dangle from the strings at the top, but couldn't decide how to do it in a way that would STAY well. I try to make the things for swaps so that they are not going to come undone easily. I have a friend at work, Linnea, who also has an "artsy" side and I like to show her what I've done, what I've received, etc and decided I would get her opinion. She helped me decide HOW to attach the feather where I wanted it and helped me clarify what I wasn't liking about it. I didn't think the bird was easily visible -especially when the lighting was dimmer and was trying to think of a way to "pop" her out better, but didn't really want to add a background behind her and Linny just simply said "change the color" and my lightbulb suddenly went on! Duh! It doesn't HAVE to be the same color to be a variation. I switched it to the light green and it was SO much better! Then, when I got to playing with it as I made it, I added the nest of eggs inside the house. I always make one to keep for myself and I made one for Linny as a gift for healping me "tweak" it. I hope my swappers will like it because I really do!

FYI- the "siding " was done using one of my TJ techniques!

The title of this tag is "Mama's Pride"

Corrugated Cardboard

Made these last night for a "Corrugated Cardboard Valentine" ATC swap. I mostly just wanted to see if I could pull off one layer of the cardboard in a shape without ruining it. Yes, you can! I used a piece of packaging. (recycling!! -yea!) I have recently found several bits that are the usual brown on one side, but WHITE on the other -double yea!! I cut the shape with an Exacto into just the one side, then peeled off that piece. Smooshed on some Brilliance ink and let that dry. Then I used one of my new Tim Holz stamps (belive it or not, the 1st TH stamps I've bought!) with red Staz-On on some window plastic (that I also get from packaging - why buy what you've already bought with something else -you paid for it. Use it!) Stuck on with glue dots. Added a brad and mounted on my cardstock. You can't really see it in the pic, but the brad is red and shiny. I like to distress things, so the curled corner is right up my alley. My Technique Junkies group/newsletter used this in the recent issue and I know I've mentioned it before, but go to techniquejunkies.com to check it out. The newsletter is NOT free, but it is really worth it! It is the ONLY one that I pay for! (Thanks Pat! and no, I get no benefit from the plug -I just really like my newsletters!)

Zentangles!

OK, so, about a month ago, while I was doing my internet surfing and "lurking" around in all my yahoo groups, I discovered a new (to me) artform called ZenTangles. I ended up staying up all night looking at examples and sketching in my notebook. - I keep a notebook near me at almost all times, because I also love lists and am always jotting down ideas, quotes, random thoughts, etc. I have recently decided to make it a UNLINED notebook that could also be a journal. It will end up being very boring in parts (shopping or chore lists) and somewhat "stream-of-consciousness" (PLEASE
excuse my spelling. I'm pretty sure that's not right!) But I'm trying it out.
Anyway, This was drawn in my lined book and I wish that it wasn't, so I got motivated. And, to be honest, I'm currently carrying both books with me! Those, plus my ever-present camera, a few pens and a bottle of water make my purse pretty darn heavy! Who needs make-up any way, right?
Good thing I don't carry my checkbook anymore!
So, I was signed up to do a swap featuring Mermaids and I'm not really the mermaid type, generally, so I had NO stamps to use for this. Plus, I had the "ZenTangle Flu" so this was what I came up with for the mermaids:


Not REALLY a Zentagle, I don't think, but ZT-inspired!
















Then I finally got around to playing with the real Zentangles in a book WITHOUT lines! I had left my computer downstairs, so I had to go from memory of what I had seen and my own brain. I thought I did a decent job for my first try. Please feel free to leave a comment. If you're familiar with ZenTangles and have any pointers, I would greatly appreciate them!

My creativity seems to come in strange bursts. I have tried to start a couple of things since this and tried to learn some of the "Official" patterns, but, it just hasn't been as good. Or as fun. IDK. Have to think about it...

The Chicago Blizzaster of 2011

This video I took last night around 1030pm. We had swept a small path for the dogs, but it was GONE.





We have a stuffed snowman who sits in the rocker on the front porch. Now the poor guy is REALLY a snowman!








Pokey was really ready to go out in the morning, but the backyard wasn't ready for her!




NOW it's ready Pokey! ,.....Pokey...?

Oh. She gave up waiting. Poor dog!



And now for just some pretty pictures...

I have had these really pretty grates up on the fence for years now. I salvaged them from my uncle's farm when he died.

My "snowflowers". I like to leave the cutting till spring, partly because I think these look so pretty with the snow on them. I take pretty much the same picture every year, bu I like them!

Pretty shadows in the afternoon from my bedroom window. The sky actually had some blue in it!

This squirrel stopped and posed for me. There are several of them that play in this tree and they are really stripping the bark off of it this year, but they have SUCH personalities! They are well-aware that we like to watch them and they frequently tease the dogs. I swear I can hear them blowing raspberries at them sometimes!! ("Nah-na-nah-na-nah-nah. You can't catch me!")

The Studio is CLEAN!

A "before" picture first. We had tried to sell the house a couple of years ago. Literally, we put it on the market one week before the bubble burst and ended up deciding we would stay a few more years. We had packed up a LOT of stuff and had it in storage. I have picked bits out little-by-little, but this summer we took it all back to the house and I just got around to really getting re-organized. I like to look at everyone else's creative spaces and thought I would take pics and share mine with everyone also (during the 2 minutes it stayed clean!)

Viola! a few hours later and it's ready for the creative juices to flow again! I actually enjoy the process of organizing. I can't stand it when I can't find something, so I LOVE my labeler! My Mom and daughter also use the space down here sometimes and I try to make it so anybody could find what they're looking for. The box on the floor is used for spray inks like glimmer mists, so it is actually there on purpose even though it's not pretty. I would love to change the color of the walls, but we had just painted the entire basement bright white for the sale of the house and it was a pain in the butt, so I really don't want to paint again right now even though it is rather uninspiring. I also need a new office chair desperately!

This is the other side of the room. My stamp storage and larger punches and some of my embellishments/ribbons. The bookcase houses most of my magazines and books on varios crafts - beading, scrapbooking, cardmaking and general papercrafts. The shoeboxes on top are holding some of the many cards I have made and a bleder I kept for papermaking (even though I still do not have a deckle yet!) The stamp shelving is a bookcase I got for free from work when they did a little re-organizing there! Always remeber it never hurts to ask! They can only say "no"! I sold StampinUp! stamps for a few years so most of my stamps came from there and many of my embellishments and inks also. I have also slowly aquired many other company's products as well and love having the options. I felt a little obligated to use only SU! products and now feel like I have more freedom in my choices. The closed closet door is where Mom's stamping/scrapping products are as well as some of my stuff to use: cans, jars, bottle, boxes, etc to decorate and/or keep my stuff in.

A closer look at my desk area. I am the type that needs to SEE my stuff or I forget I can use it. Or even HAVE it! I have a very high concentration of stuff right within reach at my desk and the wall units I have managed to find are SO great without taking up ANY space, really. Just a few inches off the wall. The ink holder I bought off of a website from someone who makes them. The octagon thing is a shadowbox I bought years ago and just put up when I did this clean-up. It was an ugly shade of gray/black and I spray painted it silver. The main cupboard/shelf is from Making Memories and I bought it at Hobby Lobby with my 40% off coupon (NEVER pay full price for your bigger-ticket items!). I LOVE it because it holds a great variety of things right in front of my face to keep me inspired. I think the carousel was Making Memories also -got it at Archiver's with my 30% off coupon! :0) The towel bar and buckets I won at a SU! meeting but I know they came from IKEA. The presentation was on ways to organize your craft space - LOL! S-hooks hold the scissors. On the right of the desktop is a silverware tray to hold my double ended markers that need to be stored flat and on the left are my inks and embellishments from SU! The filing cabinet houses all my 8 1/2 x 11 paper and is metal so magnet clips work great for displaying ATC's and cards/etc. The desk itself was a FANTASMAGORICAL find at Jo-Anns - it is 2 bases and a desktop - which I got piece-by-piece using my 40% off coupons - and the bottom drawers hold 12x12 paper!! (("aahhhh!" -> that's the angels singing)). The nice shallow drawers -3 on each side- are great for my ATC cards and smaller pieces of paper, stamp cleaner pads, cutters, embellishments etc, etc -you know what I'm talking about!

The tiny drawers are from the tool aisles at Wal-Mart and house some of my beads. I haven't been doing much beading and really want to get back into it SOON. Hopefully now that I am re-organized...! I also have one of those great handled-suitcase travel tote thingy's by Crop-in-Style that has the rest of my beads in it. (bought at Jo-Ann's with my coupons - of course!) The cart with drawers is an old medication cart from the hospital where I worked. They used to have a "garage sale" in the summers and I bought 2 of these heavy-duty, wheeled carts for $10 each one year!! I think they are my favorite thing down here because they speak to who I am so well -a nurse, a crafter, a bargain-shopping recycler and an organizing junkie! This one houses my smaller punches in the shallow drawers and adhesives and BigShot/Cuttlebug along with the folders and dies in the deeper ones. The other cart holds all my glitters, embossing and mica powders, watercolor paints, wheeled stamps, lightbox, etc. The closet at the left (also seen above) is full of small drawers and Iris carts with yet MORE embellishments, paints, fabrics, sponges, blah, blah, blah. I keep one Iris cart on wheels that I can pull over to my work area that is just full of the paper scraps that can/should still be used. I don't keep them by color, like many people do, but buy the size of the scraps. The really big scraps (like half sheets) DO stay in the file cabinet with the full sheets. I am a big recycler and a couple of the drawers hold parts of packaging that I have kept -Many chipboard packages are very pretty -Kleenex boxes, to name one. I keep them to use for backgrounds. Maybe I'll do a post about recyling while I'm "stuck" in the house. Yes, there is a MAJOR BLIZZARD going on right now and I'm loving it right now! Ask me again when it's over and I have to dig out!!

OK, Back to work. I am participating in a tag swap with one of my Yahoo groups and this is what I was working on right after I finished cleaning. I have since changed it up a bit and will post those pics later. Hope everyone is inside, safe and warm and being creative!.

Enforced "playtime"!!

I am home from work today even though I was going to work on my day off (NEED the $$$!). My boss decided she could cover the hours because the practice needs the $$$. :0( HOWEVER, we also have a " once in a lifetime" snowstorm coming and I don't expect to work tomorrow either since it is still supposed to get WORSE, so I am planning to have lots of creative playtime!! I have actually been quite artsy lately (still getting used to calling it ART and not Craft - I have to own it and not belittle myself or what I do! I call everyone else's ART, why not my own?!?) I have joined a couple of new groups to trade ATC's with and have already joined in 3 swaps this year! I plan to make several posts over the next few days/weeks because I love to say "LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!". Even if no one cares! ;0)

I have discovered a couple of new techniques and have even gotten brave enough to do one ATC for swapping that is COMPLETELY hand-drawn! (gasp!) So get ready to be impressed! -with volume if not talent/execution! I also have finally unpacked and put (back) away everything in my studio and I took pictures -it was clean for a minute anyway. I think I'll start there even though it's not chronologically correct.

Lastly, one of my kitties is not well. She is going on 17 years old and I think we may be getting to the end. I am just trying to keep her drinking, eating a little and comfortable. She just wants to sleep and hasn't left my closet in at least 2 days - it is nice and warm in there. Please say a prayer that she gets well soon if she is going to, or goes peacfully if that is God's will for her. Thanks.