Autumn Blessings

 Autumn - the most beautiful season in my opinion. Therefore, the current challenge at Try it on Tuesday, "Autumn Blessings" was perfect for me.

I have a box labelled "Fall" that contains all of my autumn themed stamps and embellishments. I haven't bought any new stamps or embellishments or papers for ages and was just digging through my old stuff. No new images or add-ons, all of these cards are made with whatever was available. Oldies but goldies.

"Autumn is a second spring"

I cut the file folder card with my Coluzzle out of patterned cardstock (Scenic Route), attached the stamped pumpkin (Stampendous) and embellished with brown ribbon, a pumpkin brad and a trianlge shaped paper clip. I don't know who made the stamp with the beautiful quote by Albert Camus.

"Autumn Pears"

Again I used the same Coluzzle template to cut a different file folder shape out of Bazzill cardstock.  I still have some glossy paper that I made with alcohol inks years ago that I cut and attached to metallic cardstock. The pears (A Stamp in the Hand) were stamped with green Stazon ink. Maple leaves were punched out of metallic paper and the tiny paper clip added as a final touch.

"Bountiful"

Yellow, olive green and ochre cardstock were matted on top of each other (with the yellow as the card base). Another alcohol ink paper piece was stamped with a cornucopia and a text stamp (Hero Arts). Two maple leaves, punched out of the alcohol ink paper, were added as well as the word "bountiful" (Hero Arts).

"Turning Leaves"

A super simple card! Different pieces of patterned (Scenic Route) and solid cardstock were mounted on top of each other, the top one with the autumn tree (Inkadinkado) stamped with Kaleidacolor. I cut two circles from leftover bits of cardstock and stamped the top one with "turning leaves" (Hero Arts). Finally, a maple leaf brad - done.

"Autumn"

The base of the card is Bazzill cardstock, topped with scrapbook paper that I randomly stamped with the leafy twig (Magenta). The oval was stamped with autumn themed words (Hero Arts), I punched two holes to pull the ribbon through and added an oak leaf die-cut.

"Autumn Greetings" - my favorite.

This card is based on olive green Bazzill cardstock. I cut out squares from an old dictionary and "painted" them with stamp pads. Using bubble wrap I stamped dots with orange acrylic paint and stamped a row of colorful leaves on the bottom. This bare tree is one of my favorite stamps (PSX), I use it all the time. "Autumn Greetings" (Northwoods Rubber Stamps) appear on the left.

If you're still here - thanks for your patience and looking at my cards. There are so many creative works with this theme that you can see here.

Anything Halloweeny

Spooky Skulls greeting card

Inspiration Avenue's challenge is right down my alley - anything Halloween, oh how I love it. I remember when we moved here I didn't know much about Halloween since we didn't celebrate it in Germany at that time (I've heard that it has become more popular over the past few years). However, it very quickly became one of my favorite holidays and, what's more, the holiday I love to create for the most.

The card on top is my favorite one because I like its (harmless) spookiness and the funny expression of the skulls that always makes me laugh.

Cat with Hat mini notecards

This little cat is part of a stamp set by Rusty Pickle, a company that unfortunately no longer exists. In their seven years of existence they offered great scrapbook paper and fun stamps. I have seldom used a Halloween stamp as often as this little cat. These are little notecards that can be used as lunckbox notes, thank you notes, little gift tags, Halloween treats etc.

Ghosts in Tree

Ghosts in a tree - another favorite. The ghosts are actually punched - I found this gorgeous punch years ago when I was still working in a scrapbook store, before the economy forced us to close shop. The wonderful tree stamp is by PSX, another company that does not exist anymore. Sigh...

Little Halloween Cat - sold!

Back to Rusty Pickle - do you recognize this little cat? Yes, they also had it on a scrapbook paper - doesn't it look super cute? Just in case you haven't noticed, I really like this little cat.

Ghoulish Greetings

This cute ghost stamp is by Savvy Stamps - and it seems that this company still exists! For this card I used the soot technique. You take a piece of glossy paper and move it closely over the flame of a candle, so that the flame just touches the surface of the paper (you have to be careful not to set the paper on fire as I did several times!). Thus the soot settles on the paper. Then you impress the dry stamp into the soot (clean the stamp immediately afterwards) and use a fixative so that the image doesn't smear. It's a fun technique and perfect for these ghoulish greetings.

Halloween Vintage Tags - sold!

You certainly have seen the fun vintage Halloween images. Well, I used them to create Halloween tags with them. Each tag looks different, and that is what I like about them the most. I'm also a real fan of these vintage images, they're cute and some of them downright adorable (like the cats).

If you want to see more photos of these cards and tags, just click on the link beneath them to see more detailed shots. 

Christmas in July

Rosehips in winter Christmas card set

It's only July, the middle of the year, but at Etsy we're already thinking of Christmas and therefore have a Christmas in July sale. My shop is participating and I want to show you a few of the items I'm offering in this sale. About half of my items are 15% off through July 31, 2012.

There are handmade Christmas cards, of course, both made of paper (below) and photo cards like the one on top.

Glitter trees Christmas card set

I love to make journals from regular composition books that you can buy in the office supply stores or at Target. They're fun to alter and make something "new" out of them. A journal always makes a good gift for people who enjoy writing.

Sanddollar journal

My mixed media paintings are also included in the sale. This one, "The Mermaid's Dream" is on a 8x10 canvas and one of my earlier works.

The Mermaid's Dream

Handmade all occasion cards always come in handy, and it's good to have some cards on hand when you need them. This is a all year round set that includes birthday cards, thank you cards and greetings for Mother's Day and much much more. This is a set of ten handmade cards.

All occasion cards

Last but not least, ornaments - for your Christmas tree or to decorate the house.  Angels and birds are available right now. They come in sets of three or six and are all paper made. The little angel below is like the angels I made for my daughter throughout the years - she got a new one every advent season and could hang them in her window. She has quite a collection by now.

Angel Christmas ornament

I'm listing new items all the time - I am really busy at the moment making Halloween and Christmas items, mainly cards and tags. Quite glad that the creative juices are flowing!

I'd be happy if you stopped by my store and checked it out. Perhaps you can let me know what you think. And tell your friends!!

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Short Update on my Shop

I just want to tell you about three new items in my Etsy shop that I just listed a few days ago.

Many of you probably remember the Great Horned Owls, and I also told you here that I created a photo book about this wonderful experience. Well, the photo book is now available in my shop.

But wait, there is more about those owls. I also made a wall calendar for 2012 with photos of the owls:

And for those who prefer the coast and photos of beautiful landscapes I made a 2012 wall calendar about the coastal Pacific Northwest: 

You can see all the pictures of the calendars and a peek in the book in my Etsy shop - where I also offer mixed media paintings, mini journals, photo greeting cards and handmade cards. I'd love to see you there and of course I always appreciate your feedback!

Just Plain Tired

Do you have those days too? When you feel heavy, your legs are like lead and it's just exhausting to go through the day? I have a day like this today, and it drives me nuts. It reminds me very much of the time before my surgery, and I really don't want to go there again. I'm just plain tired, and I think I will give in and hang out in the hammock for 30 minutes. Hopefully, my energy will come back then. Not very exciting things on the horizon though - have to pick up Kaefer from school and then it's straight to the dentist for her appointment. Which for me means waiting... What do you usually do when you have to wait somewhere? I read a lot, and I hope I can do that this afternoon.

I want to share a Halloween card with you that I recently listed in my Etsy shop:

Usually I'm not a big fan of skulls and skeletons, but when I saw some scrapbook paper covered with these goofy looking skulls I couldn't resist. Making the card was mega-easy, and I don't know why exactly I like this one so very much. Perhaps because the skulls look so goofy and funny, not a bit scary. I was glad that I had this small wooden coffin and the skeletal hand to use as photo props - I enjoy putting some "spice" into my pictures like this. Taking photos of my items for Etsy is a completely new thing for me, and I enjoy learning about how to take pictures of my items to get people wanting to look at them. Thrift stores and yard sales are perfect places for finding photo props.

Okay, I'm going to the hammock now, hoping that Geeda hangs out there already and keeps me company.