12 Tags of 2014 - April

Hello everyone in blogland!  Quickie post here to get my April tag up and linked to Tim's page.  I just finished it!  I changed up the colors a bit.  The tattered pinecone die and I don't get along very well as you can see by the state of my "roses"!  I'll have to practice that some more.   I also discovered that the little trellis framework pieces aren't identical so they're not that easily interchangeable.  Something to keep in mind when I use the die the next time!  I pulled the die cuts all apart and put them in a pile not realizing this!

So here's my tag...

 

 

And the best thing about waiting until the last day of the month to post the tag?!  I only have to wait one day to see the tag for May!!!

 

 

Take care and thanks for stopping by!

12 Tags of 2014 - March

Nothing like waiting until the last minute to post my tag!  I almost didn't make one when I realized yesterday that I only had one more day to get it done.  But I really wanted to keep up with the tags this year so I was able to get it finished today in between appointments!

As was the case with the last two tags there was a lot of improvising here!  I didn't have most of the products that Tim used with the exception of the Distress Ink!!!  The bird stamp is from the Stampers Anonymous Urban Tapestry set.  The feather stamp was created using a technique from Compendium of Curiosities Volume 2.  After die cutting the feather I made some extra cuts so that I could straighten in out before stamping.  The egg and Fig. stamps are from Red Lead and Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers, respectively.  I used the ink blender with the stencil for the background pattern instead of the Distress Marker Spritzer.

After I had stamped the first two images I wasn't really very happy with it.  However, I kept at it and once all of the details and layers were added it looked much better!

So there you have it...another month, another tag!

Thanks for stopping by!

RubberMoon Moonmail Club ATC Swap #2

I'm back again with another installment for the RubberMoon Moonmail Club ATC swap!  This month's club stamp was a beauty!  We've had lots of inspiring art created with the image.  As I mentioned last month, one of the participants lives in Australia.  So guess where my ATC came from this time??!!  That's right...all the way from the "Land Down Under"!  (You're welcome for the ear worm... :) !)

The artist's name is Jill and here's what she made for me...

I tried to capture the gorgeous shimmer that covers the entire card!  I hope you can see it.  I think it's just stunning!  And the handmade card that accompanied it is gorgeous too!  The multicolor centerpiece is fabric, I think it's silk, that's been embellished with pearl paint.  I love it!  Thank you Jill!

My ATC went to Dottie in Maryland.  Here's what I sent...

 

I'm still loving the watercolor pencils that I used on last month's ATC so that's what I used here.  The lettering was done by my {shaky!} hand with a Pigma Micron pen.  The envelope is the TH Sizzix Movers and Shapers Alterations Pocket Envelope with a scallop circle cut out and stamped with more RubberMoon images.  One thing I think is funny is the Jill and I both used the same crystal flower for the necklace!!!

Make sure you visit RubberMoon and take a look at all of the great images they have! They're such fun stamps!!  And while you're there join the Moonmail Club!  You'll receive an exclusive stamp each month and have access to the club Facebook group, private video tutorials and lots of extra goodies!  And you can participate in our monthly ATC swaps, too!  We'd love to have you join us!!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Pop-It Up Dies by Karen Burniston

I finally got to play with Karen Burniston's new Pop-It Up dies.  These samples were made for my local store, Whim So Doodle, located in St. Petersburg, FL.  My work, and photography (LOL!), really don't do these dies justice!  The packages come pretty much complete...you get the main die and accompanying accessory dies in various sizes.  All you'll need is paper, stamps and glue to complete some AWESOME cards! And we all have plenty of those three things, right??!!

To see some awe-inspiring work go to Karen's blog or visit her Facebook page, Karen Burniston, Designer.  She has a crack team of designers that produce jaw-dropping work!  Trust me!

Here are my samples...

These first two cards use the Circle Accordion Album die. The second card below also includes the Circle Frame Edge dies.

This next album was constructed with the Oval Accordion Frame die and the Oval Dot Frame Edge dies.  This demonstrates how you can string together as many frames as you like to create an album or use just two frames to make a card (as I did above).  I used Core-dinations paper for the background and Tim Holtz Kraft Resist paper for the dot frame edges.  The images were colored with distress markers and a water brush.  You can barely see the dimension but I cut out the stamped elements with my Sizzix Eclips machine using the Stamp2Cut feature and popped them up with foam tape.

If you're in the St. Petersburg area stop by Whim So Doodle to see these samples "up close and personal"!  And while you're there you can pick up some of these dies.  You'll love them!

Thanks for stopping by!



Oh Happy Day!

A good friend of mine got married last week.  So I spent the weekend making her a little wedding album/memory book using the new Tim Holtz Idea-ology Chronicle Worn Cover.  It's the new larger format and it worked beautifully along with the new clear page pockets!  I used paper from the new Crate Paper lines, Oh Darling and Studio Board, and a few sheets of Heidi Swapp Color Magic Resist paper for the pages.

Along with that I included anything and everything in my stash that related to love and happiness!   Inside there are photo pages, corner pockets, tabs, and tags.  I also added pockets inside the front and back covers for memorabilia.

This is probably the quickest that I've ever put anything together.  I'm normally a slow worker!  I bought the supplies on Saturday and finished the album around 10pm on Sunday.  I was really pleased with the result and so was the recipient!  I can't wait to use the worn cover to make another album!  Please forgive the quality of these photos...they were hastily taken the next morning in the office, under glaring flourescent lights, before I gave it to her.

The cover and all of the pages were distressed with Brushed Corduroy distress ink.  So many different products were used that I'll just list them here at the end.  If anyone has a specific question about a stamp or die just leave it in a comment and I'll let you know where the product came from.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Companies used: Idea-ology, Ranger, Crate Paper, Heidi Swapp, Melody Ross, Mama Elephant, Close to My Heart, Stampin' Up, Simon Says Stamp, My Favorite Things, Quickutz/Lifestyle Crafts, My Mind's Eye, Webster's Pages, K & Company, Lawn Fawn, Prima, Sizzix.

12 Tags of 2014 - February

In keeping with my resolution to make all 12 tags this year I'm sharing my take on Tim's February tag.  I almost forgot to about it...realizing just yesterday that I only had until this Friday to get it done.

 

 

I tried the chalkboard technique that Tim used on his tag and it just didn't work for me so I used a different chalkboard technique. I read his instructions again and can only figure that I'm heating the embossing powder for too long. I'll give it another try but might not have time before Friday.

This tag involved a lot of improvising. I didn't have the new stamps, or the Industrious Stickers, so I substituted there.  The stamp is from the My Favorite Things-Chalkboard Greetings stamp set.  I embossed it in white and then rubbed Ranger Adirondack Snow Cap pigment ink into the background with my finger.  I edged it with a chalk marker.  The arrow is from Tim's Sizzix Bigz Love Struck Die.  The border is from Tim's Sizzix Decorative Strip Vintage Lace die.  Both were cut from manila cardstock covered with aluminum tape and then distressed with a combination of Ranger Latte alcohol ink and Snow Cap alcohol ink mixative.  I also added the Ideaology Philosophy Tag and Wire Pin.

 

 

Another habit I'm trying to get into is making two of everything.  It usually doesn't take much more time, since all of the supplies are already out, and that way I have one to keep and one to share!

 

Have a great day!

RubberMoon Moonmail Club ATC Swap

I have always been a big fan of RubberMoon Stamps.  I have collected quite a few images over the years so I was thrilled to find out that the stamp company had recently been purchased by Kristen Powers (aka KaePea).  KaePea has created a brand new website and blog and also started a monthly stamp subscription program called Moonmail Club.  Each month we receive an exclusive stamp created by one of the RubberMoon artists.  There is also an exclusive Facebook group, private video tutorials and lots of extra goodies!

To celebrate the very first Moonmail stamp and the creation of the club we held an ATC swap.  Each person who participated received the mailing address of another participant so you only knew who you were sending an ATC to but didn't know where your's would be coming from!  My ATC came from Janet in Oklahoma and I just love it!  Since I live in Florida I think snow is magical!  And this year I really wished I could go somewhere to see some.  Albeit from inside of a nice warm house...but I would have loved it!  Here's the ATC I received from Janet...

 

 

She even went so far as to stamp the houses along the envelope border and lined it with a white pen to continue the snow theme and she sent it along with the cute handmade owl card!  Thanks Janet!  I love it all!!

 

My ATC went to Ceci in Washington state so it literally traveled from one corner of the United States to the other!  Ceci was very happy with it so I was glad.  Here's what I sent out...



 

 



It's my first ATC swap and I was very excited so I had a difficult time squashing all of the stamps I wanted to use into such a small space! You can see that I didn't do very well because my ATC is a book format. That's the only way I could fit everything in!!! I used watercolor pencils and a waterbrush to do the coloring.  And I discovered that I LOVE using watercolor pencils!

 

One swap participant lives in Australia so we still haven't seen all of the swap ATCs yet.  I had so much fun and I hope that we can have future swaps!  Make sure you visit RubberMoon and take a look at all of the great images they have!  They're such fun stamps!!