Friday, May 21, 2010

Packing Up. . . and. . . We have a winner!

We leave for North Carolina on Saturday afternoon so I need to start packing up today.  Here are a couple of my last projects done this week. 

First, a little altered journal.  I am lost without my little book of passwords for my computer and I have been carrying it back and forth every year to NC.  This year I decided I needed one in each location.  I had a journal I had never used (I'm really not into journalling - I wish I was!) and decided I'd make it pretty for my passwords.  Now all I have to do is enter everything and remember to update both books!


This is an ATC I made for the Smokey Mountain ATC group I'm in.  The theme for June is "wings" so I decided to use some neat bee stamps I purchased last summer from Invoke Arts.  They have some of the most unusual, beautiful stamps I've seen, esp. the nature ones.  Thanks to my friend Bonnie Brock for introducing me to that company!  I used watercolor paper and then used watercolor crayons on the card after I stamped the bee skep.  Then I took my waterbrush and wet it and blotted it.  Added the charm (there is a little bee image underneath it), stamped "Queen Bee" and put a little glitter on the text.  I almost always use glitter, I can't help it!


And now we have a winner!  Thanks to my faithful little group (esp. my sister!) for looking at this simple little blog occasionally and leaving comments.  Sue has won the free collage sheet from Altered Pages!  Have fun with it, Sue!  I'll try to offer another giveaway once I get settled up in NC!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Another Giveaway!

If you missed out on my last blog giveaway from Altered Pages, here's another chance!  Just leave a comment on this blog entry and you could be a winner of a free collage sheet from Jackie!  I'll choose a winner randomly on Friday!

These ATC's were created using the collage sheet Dogs Are People Too from Altered Pages, of course!  There are lots of different dog playing cards, advertisements and such that are perfectly sized for ATC's.  Jackie also has lots of other dog and cat sheets as well as lots of other animals.  Remember to leave a comment!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Glimmer Mist Watercolor Technique

I joined a swap on the Technique Junkies Yahoo group in which you had to make a card using a technique from the Technique Junkies newsletters or CDs for one partner.  I chose the Glimmer Mist Watercolor Technique from the April/May 2010 issue.  It is sooooo easy and I think it made a beautiful background.  Choose 3 or 4 colors of Glimmer Mist and a sheet of matte cardstock.  Spray the Glimmer Mist very close to the paper so there are pools of color.  Cover the whole sheet with the Glimmer Mist colors.  Then take a paper towel and, starting from the middle and working outward, blot the cardstock to soak up all the excess moisture.  Then use your heat gun to dry it and bring out the shimmer.  It really does look like watercolors and the shimmer adds a lot to the look.  I did two sheets of cardstock so I had more to play with!

I cut a 4 x 4 sheet of the Glimmer Mist background and used a Stampin' Up wheel, So Swirly, to add the flourishes.  Then I used one of the stamps from the Stampin' Up Oval All set and punched it out using the large oval punch and the scalloped oval punch for the bottom layer, and added the sweet dotted-swiss ribbon.  Easy peasy, as they say over at Red Lead!  I hope my partner likes it!

I had to take a picture of my gardenia trees which are blooming like crazy!  I wasn't sure how they would fare this spring with the freezing weather we had over the winter, but they obviously are fine!  I cut new flowers every day and bring them inside and the whole house smells like gardenias - beautiful! 


Saturday, May 8, 2010

And the winner is. . .

Candy!  I randomly chose (eenie-meenie-miney-moe!) Candy out of the three comments that were left on my blog this past week.  Jackie will be emailing Candy her free Altered Pages collage sheet!  And by the way, Altered Pages is having a great sale, 30% off all digital collage sheets!  She has so many, it's hard to choose!  Just sign up for the Altered Pages newsletters to get notified of all the great sales and new items. 

Here's a Mother's Day card I made yesterday for Jay's mom:

Friday, May 7, 2010

Pretty Paper Dolls

So here's a photo of some of the paper dolls I've made.  They are fun to do but we, the gals I've been trading with, have decided to take a hiatus from them for awhile.  The mirror in my embossing room (bathroom!) is covered with them!


Today I'm working on a Mother's Day card for Jay's mom.  I'll post a picture of it tomorrow!  AND pick a winner for the free collage sheet from Altered Pages!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Paper Dolls!

 I used to love playing with paper dolls when I was a girl.  I can see some of them in my mind even today and sometimes I go to internet sites that sell retro paper dolls so I can revisit some of them!  I've made quite a few to trade in the last year or so - one is posted here and I'm going to post more in the days to come.  Isn't she cute?  I purchased a paper doll rubber stamp from Dianne at The Art Room in Franklin, NC and it's a perfect size for these little dolls.


Just a reminder to leave a comment on Tuesday's post and you could win a free collage sheet from Altered Pages.  I'll be picking a winner on Saturday!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Blog Giveaway!

Here's a chance for a free collage sheet from Altered Pages!  Jackie Garbarino has a great site with digital collage sheets, kits, ephemera and all kinds of stuff for altered books, ATC's, and whatever else you like to create!  I've made this tag with some images from the Altered Pages Serendipity collage sheet.  I'm giving away a free Altered Pages collage sheet - just post a comment on my blog and I'll pick a winner - randomly, of course!    Take a look at all the great collage sheets here:   www.alteredpages.com

Monday, May 3, 2010

For my Mom!

I had an extra chipboard house when I finished the Red Lead Fly Away Home altered house project so I decided to make something for my mom for Mother's Day.  When we were kids my mother made all our clothes (there are 4 girls!) - even our coats!  I remember so many holiday dresses for Christmas and Easter. . . I wish I had saved them!  Of course, when I became a teenager I wanted nothing more than to have my own money so I could buy proper store-bought clothes like all of my friends had!  Unfortunately I did not inherit my mom's talent for sewing and I still ask her to do many jobs that involve a needle and thread.  Yes, that is my mom and me in the picture, I think I'm about 4 - 1954!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Happy Anniversary to us!

Jay and I were married at Selby Gardens 28 years ago today.  I can't believe it!  It actually doesn't seem like 28 years.  We've had lots of ups and downs (mainly ups!) and raised two great young men.  Early on I called him my "knight in shining armor" because I felt he "rescued" me from a previous unhealthy relationship and showed me how wonderful it could be to have a man in my life who loved me for who I really am.  I could not have asked for a more wonderful, kinder, more loving man to be by my side for the last 28 years.  Thank you Jay!  (not that he ever reads my blog. . . lol)