Stocking card

Good morning bloggy friends,

Christmas is fast approaching, I hope you all have your shopping done,

and are getting to enjoy some time with your families!

This year I am lucky enough to have my parents staying with me for 7 weeks,

which includes Christmas and New Years.

Mom and I have been making ornaments, and planning our

baking list!

Today I want to share with you a little card I made. 

I have been so fortunate to be a part of the design team at Just For Fun Stamps,

and this fun stocking stamp.

I colored it up using my watercolor pencils,

and attached it to some leftover pieces of Christmas paper. 

I am loving the sewn crazy quilted look of the paper with zentangle of the stocking!

Merry Christmas to you all! 

Have a wonderful time with friends and family! 

December Daily

Sooooo on November 30th my friend Angie and I decided that we were going to do some "quick" December Daily's. 

Is there such a thing??

Well we did our best, and spent the next two days putting together 

our "quickie" books.

Here are some looks into the blank pages.

Hope you are somehow documenting your December, and your life in general.

Most of my papers were not double sided, so I cut the same paper for front and back and then I 

used my sewing machine to sew them together.

On one of the days I added a place to slip a tag between the sewing.

There is a lot of yummy good pages and papers. 

I love the uniqueness of each page, and am having fun documenting my time with my parents. 

Joy

It's December!

It's December!

Did you hear me?? It's December!

And there are only three weeks until Christmas!

Have you found your joy this season?

I know I'm loving this amazing joy stamp from Just for fun stamps.

It's a big stamp, and it leaves a great impression.

If you have some last minute cards to make, get to steppin! 

Fall tag

It's pretty hard to believe that it's already Thanksgiving week.

I have been a working fool, and have not had much time to share any creations or artwork.

However, I did teach my monthly 12 tags of 2015 class, and this was my take on Tim's tag!

I used an assortment of distress products to create the background, and do the stamping.

For the leaf I used my watercolor pencils to color it's a bright autumn orange. 

A quick addition of some vintage buttons and the die cut "Discover"

to finish off this fun and beautiful tag.  

I hope you all are having a wonderful fall, and have an amazing Thanksgiving.

I will be working, and then having dinner with my hubby.

I may do a tiny bit of shopping after that. 

Linking up with: 

Tim Holtz: 12 tags of 2015

Fall leaves

Zentangles!

Who loves them like I love them??

Let me see your hands raised up high!

Do you love to color them, and even draw them?

Well maybe not draw them so much as color them!

Then these stamps from just for fun stamps are for you! 

See all those fabulous nooks and crannies?

See all the places to put different colors and goodness?

Yep, me too,

and plus since we don't really get falling fall leaves here in southern Arizona,

I have to sometimes live vicariously through my art!

I see falling leaves in my card, and that makes me happy!

How about you, are you getting falling leaves? 

Or have you moved on to winter and snow?

Happy Fall and Thanksgiving to you all out there! 

Windows into my art journal

I had the distinct pleasure of getting to attend another of Dina Wakley's a few month ago.

I just love her style, 

and every class has been fun and different. 

For this class we created these pages with little windows to look thru to the opposing page.

And the opposite side!

And here is the page wide open

And here are the flowers close up! 

What an amazing idea! to put the windows on the pages,

I think I'd like to try this again and do "Window's to my Soul"

Perhaps in the future you will see this from me! 

Have a blessed week!

Harvest

Good morning all!

Today I have a quick post sharing this fun card I made using my new 

Just For Fun Stamps. 

I repeated the image three times on this stamp,

I just love the golds and browns, it just screams fall and harvest to me!

I love that these new stamps lend themselves so well to repetitive stamping.

And these cattails remind me so very much of my childhood.

 We had a creek that ran by our house (mason creek) and there were always cattails growing along it's banks in the spring, summer and fall.  In the winter of course there wasn't much growing because of the cold and snow.  

I do hope that you are having a wonderful fall, and as that turns into winter that you all are staying safe and warm! 

HALLOWEEN TAG

Hello all!

I have a Halloween tag to share with you all today.

I have been creating a tag every month for this whole year.

This months tag is a bit spooky (well not really spooky!)

I used the Tim Holtz Haunted House die, and made the paper for the house and the windows. 

Then I added a quick metal band word to the bottom, 

stamped the background with some bat stamps,

and voila, a fun little halloween house tag. 

I'm linking up with Tim Holtz 12 tags of 2015. 

Witch Parking Only

Good morning bloggy friends!

I had one day off from work this week, and I got my crafty on!

Yep, Two days ago I shared this canvas, 

and today I have a fun Halloween Card to share with you using Just For Fun Stamps. 

I have to be honest with you, I'm not a huge Halloween fan. 

I love fall (not that we get much of it here in Arizona,)

but Halloween has never been a big deal to me. 

However for this fun card I used two stamps, the witch parking only sentiment stamp,

and the witch broom stamp.

Both of these stamps give a really clear and clean line, and stamp fabulously!

If you're looking for any Halloween stamps hop on over to Just For Fun Stamps, they have a really really good selection of stamps, and they are a great quality (and a value for their money as well!)

Beachy canvas

This morning I got up early.

I wrote out a list of all the projects I wanted to work on.

This beachhead canvas was at the top of my list!

I've been watching YouTube tutorial videos for the last 5 days, 

and today I finally have the time to create! 

First and foremost I knew I wanted to use my Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays, and play along with the current challenge found here and this graphic:

So here's what I created!

Most all the background is Lindys sprays. I used:   pop rock purple, merry go round green, raspberry lemonade, time travel teal,  also used magical powders freaky franken-lime and witch potion purple, which are both part of the haunted Halloween pigment powder set. 

I started with layering on sprays and powders to make the background. 

I sprayed, and heat set, and sprayed and heat set until I had a background I loved!

I then layered some stencils and using distress inks added a bit more color and texture. 

Next I painted the chipboard pieces with gesso, and then sprayed them with the Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays and the magical powders. 

You can see I didn't use some of the pieces here, there are some great chipboard pieces in the set! 

Finally I started assembling the embellishments and picture on the canvas. 

Don't you just love that lighthouse??

I layered some dictionary paper, twine, an old doily, buttons and pearls to complete the photo area. 

I could use these sand dollars on hundreds of projects!  And all colored up with golden sleigh bells from the jingle bells spray set!

I love how I mixed and matched sprays from a number of different sets and they all look amazing together! 

Thanks for stopping by today.

Entering into: 

Lindy's Stamp Gang: October Color Challenge

Jff skeleton

Good morning!

My month of craziness has hopefully come to an end. 

To celebrate the coming of Halloween, I've created this fun skull tag! 

This was the beginning version, and it was finished about a week ago.

Then as I sat and looked at it more and more I thought that it needed something more.

So I added the bat stamps to the background. 

I think they give a finished look, and are that much more "Spooky"

If you are looking for some amazing stamps, go check them all out here. 

Thanks for dropping by!

Linking up with: 

Paper issues: Spooky Halloween

Just for Fun with alcohol inks

Good morning friends and fellow bloggers.

If you've come to my blog by way of Just for Fun Stamps

then welcome, and I'm so happy you hopped on over. 

I have a fun card and a mini-tutorial to share with you all today.

But first I am so happy to share with you all that I have been asked to join the design team at Just for Fun Stamps, and today is my first posting. 

I got a HUGE package of the most amazing stamps,

and after sorting through them all, I knew I'd be using this amazing and large peacock feather first! 

Wow right?? 

I love the crisp image that is produced, especially over my alcohol ink background.

Speaking of that background, here is a little mini-tutorial on how I made that background.

First I dropped a little bit of each color onto my glass work surface.

You could also use your craft mat,

but it wouldn't work on just paper because it will absorb into the paper.

Add some blending solution on top of these inks.

Then you swipe your gloss paper through the inks. 

Keep on swiping until you get the coverage you want. 

If your inks start to dry out add more of the blending solution and keep on picking up the ink onto your paper. 

Mmmmmm isn't that a beautiful background?

I then dropped (gently) some blending solution to the background to make some more detail.

Wanna know the best part of working with this product??

It dries so fast you won't believe it, and you can stamp it up immediately!

I used my archival ink to stamp the peacock feather onto the back ground. 

I hope you found my mini-tutorial helpful, and are inspired to maybe break out those alcohol inks you've had stashed in the back of your closet. 

Remember how fun and beautiful they are.  

Butterfly tag

Good morning friends!

I suppose I have been a bad blogger of late! 

I've been very busy in the other side of my life,

Or I have been making presents that couldn't be shared here until they were given!

However today I am sharing my tag for September....

Wow hard to believe it's September, and halfway through at that!

There was a major overhaul of the craft room that sent me into a bit of a spin this morning when I went looking for my alcohol inks!

Whew I found them! 

So this months tag is butterfly goodness. 

The background is alcohol inks, then stamped butter flies,

Then clear embossing through a stencil, then stamping and fussy cutting the butterflies from vellum (another hide and seek to find that in the craft room as well!)

But here is the end result, and I'm adoring it! 

Just such lovely colors and textures!

I'll of course be entering this into the 12 tags of 2015 that Tim holtz has on his blog. 

If you're getting your craft on, come join along here.

I'll be teaching this class as part of my 12 tags series tonight, and can't wait for the girls to get inky! 

Celebrate with anything but a card

Today's post is bittersweet.

This is our last challenge at anything but a card challenge 

We have decided to go out with a bang, and a CELEBRATION

So, that's our challenge, to share something that you celebrate. 

I made this art journal page.  

This background started it's life as a catch all for my left over bits and pieces.

Eventually I added some dictionary papers, and the flowers, 

and then the saying that I pulled off of pinterest.  

I think it's a great saying,

"When life is Sweet, say thank you and celebrate. And when life is Bitter say thank you and Grow."

Shouldn't we all live by this?

On this side of the page I stamped some Dylusions flowers, then 

painted them with watered down dina wakley paints, then stamped over them with the alphabet letters, then hand cut them all out. 

I have to say that I am going to miss these fun "anything but a card" challenges. 

This was my first design team, and 50 challenges later I am happy I have been a part of the whole run!

All the design team members have been wonderful, and I have so enjoyed seeing 

all the amazing creations from all of you out there! 

I hope that I will see many of you in the future on other sites, or challenges.

Be a rainbow art journal page

I don't get stressed out very easily.

 But sometimes life throws you curves that are hard. 

The last few days that's been me!

Our car has bee making a sort of grinding sound, so my husband brought it into

The dealership. 

Let's just say we weren't really prepared for the outcome. 

Mostly not financially prepared! 

This morning as I "worried" about what to do I created this page.
I used my ranger art journal to create this page, and dictionary pages for the houses. 

At first it was just the background and the houses along the bottom.
Then as I searched through pinterest for the perfect quote I found
"Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud."
Wow this summed up how I was feeling.
This page is dedicated to my parents, they are my rainbow today!

This rainbow reminds me of monsoon season, the beginning of summer here in Arizona
When we all pray for rain so it's not so hot,
And then curse the humidity!
Somehow we have the most amazing rainbows!

As always I hope you are getting some creative time in!

Linking up with:
Mixed media monthly: summer days
Simon Says stamp Monday challenge: Specialty paper

House mouse atc

Last week on my estate sale adventures I found a half a deck of cards, 

I'm probably the only person at that sale that saw them as a steal at .15!

But I know they are ATC sized, and just a little work transforms them! 

I gessoed, and then added some gelatos for the orange background.

And since I used my house mouse stamp last week I had them out and just love this little image.

Some flowers along the edges,

And I stitched in some grass for a quick and easy project! 

Linking up with: 

House mouse challenge: house mouse and a friend (my mouse sure seems to have made friends with this fan!)

Wicked Wednesday ATC: stitching

New mail art envelope

Since I got back from vacation I've been wanting to get back in the studio.

Time and work have not been on my side...

Until yesterday.

Hubby was working, and I got to play a little bit!

I started with two pieces of scrap paper ,

added a messy layer of gesso,

then dabbed some distress paint on my craft sheet,

sprayed with a bit of water and pressed the paper into the colors. 

I added some white gesso spatter, and I got to work embellishing.

Stamps, and bits pieces of die cuts I had laying around the table. 

For the front I did the same as the back,

but I tried to keep a bit of a blank space where I will put the addresses and the stamp. 

I then ran some tape runner around the three corners and taped them together,

Finally I finished off by sewing around the three edges for a fun finish. 

I'm excited to be getting back to crafting,

and even more excited to getting back to Teaching!

I'll be teaching this class to my art group at the end of the month. 

I hope you've enjoyed my envelope, and if you're in the phoenix area and are interested in the class you can find us on facebook under West Side Scrappy Diva's.  

Linking up with: 

Simon Says stamp Monday challenge: anything Goes

Vintage Journey: Destination