HAPPY NeW YeAr!

In celebration of the New Year I thought a look back at some of my favorite projects of the past would be fun. If you like what you see, please be sure to click on the left column to follow and visit me again in 2012!

Enveloboxes!

Forgive me mother for it has been many days since my last post! Christmas came and went and we are on the horizon of a NEW YEAR so I thought I post this fun tidbit as one of my last posts of the year. If you hurry over to Tracy's blog, she is giving a lucky winner 25 of these wonderful creations on January 2nd.

Wowza! You have to run check them out:

A Winterthur Christmas

Joy of joys!!!! There is no place like Winterthur for stepping back in time at Christmas. Last week, my pal Bonnie and I did just that...we had a fun morning touring this wonderful mansion which was home to the Henry Francis duPont family. The mansion and grounds are located in Greenville, Delaware which is truly the most beautiful place one would have ever been blessed enough to call home. I certainly did my share of dreaming that morning when Bonnie & I toured the mansion that had been decked in Christmas finery, we toured with just two other visitors. It was a real treat to have such a small intimate group with our knowledgeable docent, Ginny.

Here is the first thing I saw that caught my paper-crafting eye...

©Bonnie L. Campbell photos, Images in Time

Layers of creamy white paper cones, embellished with pearl dots along the edges make beautiful Christmas trees!

Here is the family's living room...ahhhh, and note the hand-painted Chinese wallpaper. Mr. duPont bull-nosed the ceiling edges to accommodate the wallpaper which arrived a little too long to fit the walls. It is an amazing result! Thank goodness for benefactors like this who have preserved our history. This place is worth a vacation to this area alone but write me if you do and I'll share more jewels you'll want to see when you come.

©Bonnie L. Campbell photos, Images in Time

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas

I happened across Tim Holtz wonderful blog of Christmas tags this morning and wanted to share a link so everyone can visit and marvel at his talent! Check out the blog by clicking HERE.

Here's a peek at my favorite tag by Tim...


Be sure to check out the video and complete tutorial on the blog too! I love all the "layers" of technique but am especially drawn to the crackling on the snowman. You'll love it!!

Sepia Tone Copic Tutorial

I happened across a most worthwhile post by a fellow Maggie lover and blogger, Penni. She has a wonderful video tutorial for coloring sepia tones with Copic markers that's worth a gander. Check out her video at http://lazycatscards.blogspot.com/2011/11/card-and-video.html or by clicking her name above. Then, send me a photo of your sepia-tone Maggie and I'll post it on my blog.
Keep eyes posted here to see my version soon...not sure I have all the E-Copics needed for her method but we'll see what I can do.

OWH Veterans Day Blog Hop and Hero Arts

The nice folks at Hero Arts are asking cardmakers to submit cards for OWH. As an incentive they are giving away an awesome prize of new stamps made in collaboration with OWH! If you'd like to join the fun check links in the post below or visitHero Arts blog or upload photos at Hero Arts Flickr Group by November 14th.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Operation Write Home! Whenever I feel like I need to energize my creative batteries I sit down and make a few cards for them. I feel like it's my little way of giving back to those who sacrifice so much for us. Thank you, veterans everywhere...especially my uncles, friends, and father who passed away in 1987. Bless you all!!

Here's my card...

OWH Veterans Day Blog Hop 11-11-11

OWH is having a blog hop in honor of our veterans. Be sure to check it out this Friday! The hop features 11 of the biggies in papercrafting: Ranger, Prima, Basic Grey, Tombow, Tonic, Studio Calico, Hero Arts, Copic, Sizzix, SRM Stickers and May Arts. Sounds like lots of fun so go ahead and hop on over to the Stars and Stamps blog to begin.

Check out the fun and prizes!

Lots of Good News

Our beautiful new little grandson arrived October 19th. Such a lucky little boy to have two wonderful parents. Congrats kids!

His artwork was finished just in time too. Daddy and I hung it while Mommy directed and baby looked on. It worked out perfectly with the beautiful mural in the room.
Take a peek...


My cool ghoul Edwin made top honors at ABC Design Team's Challenge. Check it out and stop back for the new Christmas challenge that begins November 6th.

Hero Arts Holiday Card Challenge

This fun was a simple card to make but looks so elegant! I'm looking forward to making more of these for this year's batch of special handmade Christmas cards.

Hero Arts challenged us to make a holiday card with a non-holiday stamp. I chose my Blossom Art set of clear stamps and used only the leaf to create this wonderful poinsettia flower. I stamped and heat embossed 7 petals in silver on white vellum and fussy cut. I found it easiest to glue the petals to a punched green Bazzill CS star with Glossy Accents. A punched hole made quick work of assembling the poinsettia with a yellow crystal brad center.

The background is layers of: recycled corrugated cardboard; cream cardstock which was stamped using MS sentiments in aqua & clear heat embossed, 2 faux crystals separate words; 4.125" green Bazzill cs; 4" Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden dp were pop-dotted for some fun dimension; and finished with a tie of aqua netting.

Be sure to check out the fun, upcoming Hero Arts Challenges and Hero Arts Flickr group.

New Snippet of Willabee's Art Project...

We're counting down the days now. Little Mr. A is due to make his debut on 10/22 but you know how those things go. Here's more of his triptych I created...this is part of the center panel. It's my own creation made of sewn layers of felt, fabric bonded to cardstock, with cardstock eyes, that have pupils on layers of chipboard that were coated with Glossy Accents. The feel were done the same.

At the 11'th hour I repainted the tree to make it match his room a little better. It is now more caramel and less red.

The ground of each panel is canvas sheets painted with acrylics. I hope he likes it!

Here's the completed middle panel...

The photo was taken under the glass so forgive the glare!

Edwin's Halloween Treat Challenges

Hi fellow crafters and Tilda fans! Today, I'm posting a treat bag/box made of painted and distressed wood. I hope you enjoy.

You can barely see the moon-colored cardstock, black & corrugated layers under all that goodness!

Glossy Accents were added to button & eyes.

Bats on curled wire are on chipboard base with a coat of black Stickles and Glossy Accents.

I used the masking technique on the jack-o-lantern!

Check out that weathered wood treatment!

I began with a wood handled shopping bag purchased from the craft store for $1 (I love bargains) which I painted with 2 coats pumpkiny caramel brown (sand lightly between coats), a fairly thick coat of Decoarts Weathered Wood crackling compound, then finally black acrylic paint and a spray coat of clear matte. I love the affect and almost didn't want to cover over it!

I used a handpunched round of glittery cardstock for the moon backdrop to my little Edwin vampire. I only have 2 Edwins and they are both Halloween stamps...my personal favs! The sentiment is a Stampendous cling stamp.

I used lots of Copic markers coloring Edwin in spite of his fairly simple coloration. The clothes, shoes, and hair used: C1, C3, C5, N7. For his deadly pallor I used: E000, E50, V000, RV000, RV02, V02. The jack-o-lantern used: Y04, Y07, YR21, G20, Y17, G82 and that's about it!
I'd like to enter my box in the following challenges:

Magnolia Down Under #117 Halloween, ends 10/14
ABC DT - Pumpkin Challenge (10/22)
(10/22)
Magnolia Stamp Lovers Fall Challenge (10/22)
Hooked on Crafts Anything But A Card (10/15)

7 Kids Kollege Fund Halloween (10/25)

Simon Says Halloween Challenge (10/18)

Another Sneak Peak...

With all the Tilda Christmas stamp hubbub, I've forgotten to post snippets of the tryptic I've been making for my new grandson who will be arriving any day now.

Here's a better close up of the leaves...thank you Cricut and Design Studio for the outer leaf. I used the Accent Essentials cartridge but made the leaf wider using Design Studio. The inner portion is fabric I cut to fit inside the leaf and backed with Stitch Witchery backed card stock. I lost count at 70+ leaves.

Here's the completed first 16" x 20" mixed media, canvas panel...

Magnolia Tilda Sweet Christmas Dreams Collection for 2011

I visited a few stores tonight that are taking preorders for the new Tilda Sweet Christmas Dreams collection. If you have a chance be sure to check out all the new stamps. Here are a few online stores in the USA that began taking preorders today:
Stamping and Scrapping

Stamp and Create (shipping now so I ordered Tucked Tilda in a stocking and Halo Tilda Angel)

Tilda's Town (free shipping - preorders)

Have fun and drop me a comment with what you'll be buying...it might help me decide what to get!

Magnolia Sweet Christmas Dreams Collection for 2011

I found it at last! I've looked for days and am thrilled to finally be able to post this. It turned up on a Facebook group.

This photo seems to be missing some of the stamps in the club kit like the angel and all the sentiments, mini, and santa hats. Maybe the photo is not the complete issue or those missing items are exclusive to the club kit. I'm really not sure, sorry!

Don't you love the ice skater and the Tilda in a stocking?? I've slowed up buying these because they've gotten so pricey but might have to break down and buy just one!

Bitz-N-Pieces

I was enjoying a little a.m. time at the Magnolia Facebook page and came across a scrumptious card. Soon I plan to put this cake and candles card tutorial to good use and make one of these for my granddaughter's fifth birthday.

Here's another sneak peak at the mixed-media artwork for my grandson-2-be's (also affectionately known as "Willabee") nursery...

I'm in overdrive...the little fellow will be here very soon! This is my 2nd go-round on making leaves. The first batch were too small so the Cricut and I spent all day yesterday cutting leaves in fabric, Wonder Under, white cardstock and colored Bazzill cardstock. I hated to do them all over again since it took over 70 to complete but am soooo happy with the end result!

Check back for more snippets and a baby pic someday too!

Magnolia Tilda Sweet Christmas Dreams Collection for 2011

The stamping world is buzzing over the release of Magnolia's Sweet Dreams Christmas Collection for 2011! Two days ago I happened across a black and white of the collection and failed to copy a link so I could get back. Since then, I have spent hours scouring the internet to no avail! If you come across it, please send me an email with the link or a copy at rba0422@gmail.com

Luck was on my side when I came across a blog post with a photo of the club collection, which just started arriving in mailboxes across the USA.

As always, the club collection has fewer stamps than the main release so we still have great anticipation! The stamp in my color photo above and the little ice skater didn't show up in the club collection which should give you an idea of what is to come soon. I'm really looking forward to seeing the full release!

In my search I found some great links to share:
Tina's Blog of amazing Tilda cards...and how the heck did she get the collection so quick?

This gal's blog has one of the cutest stamps I've happened across from the new collection. Check out this sweet ice skater! I found the blogs listed on her margins to be amazing also. Inquiring minds want to know where this lucky person got this image!

Guess you'll also want to visit Shop Bron's website too.

Halloween Treat Box - Bella BLVD Style!!

Well, it is officially Fall in the USA and nothing makes me feel it more than thinking HALLOWEEN! Check out one of my first project of the season...

I made this for my great niece's birthday gift this past weekend. I tucked a spot of cash, a bunch of Halloween pencils and a treat inside for this sweet little first grader. Wish I could be there when she goes shopping with her loot!

This cool pencil box was a gift from the kind folks at Bella BLVD. (I commented on their Facebook page during the last CHA and was the lucky winner of their giveaway.) Don't you just love this cute collection by Bella BLVD...it's called "Too Cute To Spook"?!! The cute little vampire came from the $1 bin of rubberstamps at my local Michaels store. I intended to give him a nice little Hero Arts haunted house but it ended up looking best punched and added to a spot of scalloped corrugated cardstock over some fun layers of black eyelash yarn and Cuttlebug stars and gems.

The kit I was sent was pre-cut so it took some doing to make this into my own version but I rather like the way it worked out. I colored the corners of the white cigar box with Memento tuxedo black with a little help from a black Copic marker. All the parts were antiqued with black too, black cardstock bottoms were added inside and out. I used the piece intended for the bottom on the back side (flip side with orange skulls & stripes showing) and beneath the "open at your own risk stamp. It was a challenge to make my own unique treasure with pre-cut pieces but I love the way it turned out!

Well, I'm running off to leave some love for Bella BLVD and enter my fun project in The Lily Pad's bling challenge. They say the challenge is for cards but since their DT made tags, I thought I'd give my box a go and see what happens!

Back to Reality...

Sorry about the unexplained hiatus! We've been on vacation in this household and tying up some loose ends from the end of another summer rental season as well as beginning some exciting new projects.

We had a wonderful stay at the Wyndham in the Smoky Mountain town of Sevierville! My DH, sister and 7 aunts and uncles from Ohio met for a week-long stay enjoying a great visit. Save for the long drive from Delaware everything was perfect including the weather...nothing like Fall in the mountains. We only had one day of rain and it was still warm enough to swim and enjoy the hot tub. Our resort was terrific and even had a putt-putt range. The family surprised us with a wonderful grandparent version of a baby shower...the surprise was even grander when were able to Skype the event with the expectant parents...our son, Justin and his wife, Michelle. What a terrific family we have!!

My next-door neighbor for the week was a well-equipped cardmaker judging from the bag of rubber I spied sitting on the windowsill! I had to refrain from knocking on the door to ask to join the fun :) So...if you were the party occupying room 1533...send me a hello!

Getting back home meant fullfilling a promise to my darling DIL who is expecting our first grandson next month! I have three 16" x 20" canvasses to make into a mixed media triptych of art for above the baby's crib. I'll post snippets from time to time over the next week so you can see it take shape. I hope the kids like it! I love the color scheme Michelle chose and had fun finding a few fabrics that match the baby's comforter to incorporate into my masterpiece. HA!

Have a great Sunday and stop by again soon...

Zippered Card Tutorial

Okay, so this isn't my card just yet but I thought it was such a cute idea. I just had to share a photo and a link!

The directions for this card can be found at Market Street Stamps and it looks like so much fun! I'd love to try this for a few special cards I tuck in to my never-ending box destined for OWH. It would also make a perfect Christmas money holder or giftcard holder too! I hope you'll give it a try soon.

Woohoo...Top 5 Badge at All That Scraps

I goofed on the end date for the Hot, Hot Days of Summer Challenge over at All That Scraps then along came an earthquake and a hurricane named Irene and I almost forgot to stop back entirely. So...imagine my surprise when I stopped over just now and see my cute little Pirate Tilda stairstep card sitting beneath top winner (and uber talented) Debbie Dolphin! In case I forget here it is again:

Stop back again soon to see what's new!

Call for Submissions

When it rains, it pours...eh, not such a good analogy as we are awaiting the arrival of hurricane Irene here on the East Coast but appropriate since this is my second post this week about magazine submissions!

Well, Paper Crafts magazine has a call out for submissions based on a couple sketches for the March & April 2012 issues. The list of requirements is long so I'm sending you to their blog for all the deets. Just keep in mind the first date you need to submit your item is September 12th. Here's one of their amazing sketches:

Naughty or Nice?????

I finally finished my 5"x7" card for the Cosmos Cricket and Cards Magazine challenge from the cool sketch in my August 21st post. I loved Debbie Olson's card (seen in my post below too) and was inspired by her scalloped crescent because it looked so much like an envelope flap so I incorporated it on my card. My "peppermints" were made using Fire Brick Distress Ink pad and Glossy Accents with a retired Sassafrass Lass clear stamp. The peppermints looked too new for my card so I antiqued them a bit with brown Stazon Ink. The vintage-feel papers are from an 8x8 Cosmos Cricket pad called Wonderland from a few years back. For fun the faerie wings were treated with a dab of diamond Stickles and coated with Glossy Accents. Be sure to click on the photo for a better look.

I made my own "naughty or nice" list which was antiqued and punched with an EK Success punch. My favorite May Arts ribbon was tied around the middle. A pair of cute little friends were colored with Copics and pop-dotted to the front. This wonderful stamp is a digi called "The Larakins" from the Emerald Faerie Garden.



I used these Copics for the stamp:

Hurry over and enter your card...this challenge ends on August 27th with a winner announced on September 3rd.

Cosmos Cricket and Cards Magazine...

...are having a challenge AND the winner will be published in "Cards" Magazine! Check out the fun sketch here. You gotta love this amazing Cosmos Cricket sample card by Debbie Olson... She used lots of yummy CC paper and PTI stamps. I best run see if I can come up with a card myself while the inspiration is fresh.

Hope to see you soon, with my card!