Altered Books - A new obsession

I mentioned on Sunday that I had found a new passion - First let me say that altered books were introduced to me at the Stampin'Up! convention this summer.  I thought - cool, I could do that!  I finally went out and found a little book at the beginning of October and replaced the end pages at the front of the book.  Then life got busy and I set it aside.

This past weekend, I had a table set up at the Fine Arts Conference in Edmonton.  Two tables away from me there was a woman set up with a number of her personal altered journals and some books her daughter had bound using "found papers".  What talented women.  The light bulb went on in my head and I finally understood the whole concept and the magnitude of directions I could go in.

I will be sharing the pages I create on this blog because I'm intending to use Stampin'Up products as much as possible in my altering of the pages.  I've used sponge daubers with our inks for these first three pages and incorporated the Faux Layer Tearing technique on the "Inspired" page (which has actually evolved a bit further than what you see here.

Emily also introduced me to the mandalas, and I'm hooked on creating them.  They take the doodling I've done in the past to a whole other level!

That's it for today - I have a whole whack of classes coming up in November - so there's a lot of prep involved.

Hope you have things keeping you busy and out of trouble.

Thanks for visiting.

Joan

Sunday Stamps...and Me

Howdy, Howdy, Howdy - it's a colour challenge day  at Sunday Stamps and Monica has a great combination for us.  

I had a display table at the Fine Arts Conference this week, so was busy getting ready for that - so I opted for a project done on My Digital Studio.  I hadn't used these medallions yet - I love how you can recolour them to match your project.  I'm not sure what the title for this page will be - don't usually use myself as a subject matter!

I had fun working with these colours though - so give them a try and be sure to let us see what you've created.

ALSO.....

Starting this Sunday 10/28 - 12/1 anyone who enters a project into the weekly challenges will be entered to win a GC! You will get one entry for each project you enter! Play every challenge and you'll get more entries...

Each project must be new (no back linking) and created for that week's challenge. Please link directly to your Blog post and put a link back to our site in your post! The winner will be announced on Sat. Dec 1st with the Top Pick.

Woo Hoo - looking forward to seeing what you come up!

I'm busy with a card stack this afternoon - and tomorrow I'll be posting what may become a new obsession.

Ta Ta for now!  Thanks for stopping by.

Joan 

Sunday Stamps Spider

Woooo Booooooo - it's a sketch challenge at Sunday Stamps this week and Holly has a super easy one for us to work with.  

I decided to create a Halloween card using some of the things I have left over from the Ghoulish Googlies Kit: the tag and the googlie eyes.  Silver Sparkle Dazzling Details was used on the spokes of the embossed spider web, the thread the "fussy cut" spider is hanging from and on the "o's" of BOOOO.

Give this sketch a try  - check out what the rest of the Design Team has come up with this week at the Sunday Stamps blog.  Also, when your creation is finished link it to the Sunday Stamps blog so we can see your project.  

It's hard to believe that Halloween is creeping on us quickly and then we'll be in full fledged holiday mode, report card mode and concert mode.  No rest for the weary!  Hope you are having a fantastic day - thanks for stopping by.

Joan

Sunday Stamps Tea

Good Sunday Stamps Day!  Haley has an awesome colour combination for us today - I enjoyed getting away from the fall and Christmas colours for a bit.  Also, I used this last weeks sketch from Mojo Monday.

I hadn't used my Tea Shoppe set for a while, so pulled it out for this challenge.  I inked up the large tea cup and took a blender pen to remove some of the ink from the little flowers.

Make sure you check out the Sunday Stamps Challenge Blog to see what the design team has come up with for this colour challenge.  Also - link your project to the blog so that we can see what you've created.

Next week - another sketch challenge....

Hope you have a marvelous day!  Thanks for stopping by.

Joan

Playing with Crayons

I finally got around to creating a crayon picture using our Stampin'Up! fabrics and ribbons.

I've been eyeing all those fabulous crayon creations on Pinterest and this weekend I took a deep breath and tried it out.  I learned some lessons and have got ideas for other pictures now.

I delved into my can of uncovered crayons that I had left over from my classroom - therefore I didn't know what the brands of all the crayons were - and believe me, some brands react differently than others to the heat gun!  So - I'm not completely happy with this first attempt - but the little white flowers  amongst the gobs of solid wax help it out.

I used spray starch to moisten and help me "distress" the fabric a bit - it hasn't made it too stiff - it just helped wrinkle it a bit.  We all know I have an aversion to flat paper - apparently, for artistic purposes, the same holds true for fabric.

Take the plunge - try something new today.

Thanks for stopping by.

Joan

Gold Greetings

I haven't done a challenge for a while so decided to play along with the Merry Monday crew.  Their sketch was easy to use this week  and since I was working with quite a bitt of glimmer paper this weekend, I decided to keep up the trend.

Hope you had a great Tuesday - Thanks for dropping by!

Joan

Framed BELIEVE & REJOICE kits

Ready to Assemble as a

Perfect Gift for the Holiday Season

Back by popular demand 

The Framed BELIEVE Kit and NEW Framed REJOICE Kit

These kits come pre-cut, pre-punched, pre-embossed, pre-diecut and ready for you to assemble.  All you need is your own adhesive, an 11X14 frame (available at Walmart or Costco) and about an hour to put it together.  I will send out an e-mail of the instructions along with a photo to help with your assembly.

Cost for the FIRST kit of each style - $35.00

Additional kits of the SAME STYLE - $25.00

If you would like to have the kits mailed to you anywhere in Canada

Cost including MAILING the FIRST Kit of each style - $40.00

Cost including MAILING each additional kit - $30.00

ORDER KITS HERE

I will contact you by e-mail to let you know when your kits are ready to be picked up; or to let you know when I have put them in the mail.

At that point I will also e-mail the instructions so you an put your project together as soon as you get it.

Happy Holiday Crafting

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians!

Lisa has a great sketch for us today at Sunday Stamps.  I love cards that use a strip through the card - and this shows how that particular layout can be expanded.  

I've used Ornament Keepsakes along with the matching Framelit die.  For my strip along the middle, I brayered Rich Razzleberry and Elegant Eggplant onto the Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder before placing the paper in and putting it through the Big Shot.

Our Design Team members have some great creations with this sketch, so be sure to check out the Challenge blog for that.  Then, once you've finished your project, please link it to Sunday Stamps so we can see what you've come up with.  You may be chosen as a Guest Designer.

Grant is all excited about having everyone to their place for Thanksgiving dinner today.  Should be lots of fun.

I haven't shared any photos of Elliot for a while - he's growing!  I can't believe he's 9 months tomorrow!

Hope you have a fantastic day!  Thanks for stopping by.

Joan

New Stampin'Up! Single Stamps

Have you ever wanted just one or two stamps out of a larger set?  Stampin'Up! is giving something a try - Until January 2, 2013,  you can purchase single pieces from three different select Stampin'Up! sets:  Perfectly Penned, Word Play and Seasonal Sayings.

Flyers:
Perfectly Penned
Word Play
Seasonal Sayings

Details

• You can find the single stamp item numbers on the flyers.
• Important:  These single stamps won't be sent to you in the Stampin' Up! typical cases or packaging; they'll be packaged in cello bags. If you'd like a case for your stamp, you can buy our Clear-Mount Stamp Cases that come in packs of four (item 119105).
• This offer is available for clear-mount stamps only.
• The stamps won't come with a Clear-Mount Block, and you'll need to buy a block separately if you don't already have one. The recommended block sizes can be found on the flyers. 
• There's no limit on how many pieces you can buy.
• Remember that this is a pilot program, so take advantage of it while you can!

Have a fantastic day!

Joan

Sunday Stamps Affection Collection

I'm so sorry this posting is late - I was in an area that was not computer friendly this weekend and then forgot about things what with Sunday Family dinner last night.  So I apologize!

This weeks' Sunday Stamps are my  choice of colours this week - Gumball Green, Marina Mist and Soft Suede.  When I picked them for the challenge I was thinking fall - but then my card turned into a card for my husband.  I'll be giving it to him next week for our anniversary.

I used the Affection Collection set for my creation - using the Stamp-a-ma-jig to get all the "Love" lined up on the Soft Suede piece.  I also enjoy that linen ribbon for stamping on!

Give these colours a whirl - the girls on the Design Team have some fabulous creations to inspire you! Don't forget to link your creation to the Sunday Stamps Challenge blog so we can take a peak at it.  You may be selected as a Guest Designer.

I can't believe it's October now, and with the things I've written down on the calendar I can tell this month is going to fly by!  Thanks for stopping by!

Joan