I love card-making!!!

...and as much as I have loved every day in the Creative Chemistry Class, I really had been missing making cards and was very excited to find some new challenges today, so I could get back to working on some fun new cards.

    As most of you know I really LOVE to take part in challenges and today my first plan to to visit my favorite groups and figure out what new challenge I could join in.  I had also been missing the interaction I share with the groups and it's nice to be back.
 
   My first stop today was at the Hero Arts Flickr group and I was excited to hear about the new Scramble that is taking place tomorrow, unfortunately, it's a night challenge and based on the time differences, it will be starting at 8PM, which is a bummer and must to late for me.  I'm a terrible night person and simply unable to create at night or really do much of anything other than rest.   I know I'll miss out, but it was fun to see some of new projects in the Gallery and I'm also very excited about the brand new Hero Arts Challenge Blog - A Blog Named Hero, which opened earlier this week and is hosting their very first challenge tomorrow!  The blog opened earlier this month and is open to all, and perfect for those who LOVE creating with Hero Products.    I'm excited to have joined the group and will look forward to being there often.  

  Stop on over and check out all the fabulous cards that have been shared by a wonderful group of Guest Designers.   The first challenge starts tomorrow, which I just realized is also April 1st.  WOW!!  What happened to March??

  My next visit was to The Outlawz, which is like my home group and the group I love to visit every day, as they host a new challenge daily.  It's also a group that I've been a part of since Day One and many of the original members and Design Team Members are friends I known from creating with them online for the past few years.  I'm extra excited to finally be meeting a bunch of the gals when I head down to Baltimore in May for the first Outlawz Rodeo a fun-filled Getaway Weekend that we've been planning for the post couple of months.  I can't wait to be there and I'm also very much looking forward to taking a class that weekend with Marti Wills and Suzanne Dean, two wonderful designers, who I am also thrilled to finally meet!   If you love to craft and love to getaway, please think about joining us.  You can find all the details over on the main site - HERE!!

   Today's challenge is the Paper a La Mode Challenge which is new every Saturday and I knew right away that I wanted to join the fun.  The challenge this week is to create a project, using shapes - no square and no rectangles - you can find ALL the details in that group HERE!!

   I knew for me that the best way to start my project would be to create a fun and unique shaped card and for that I wanted to use my Silhouette Cameo.   Perfect timing, as I'm also started a new class on Monday that's all about Getting to Know and Use my Silhouette, more to follow on that!!

   I started by heading to the Silhouette store and finding something new and different to use as my card.  I have a month subscription and can buy several new shapes each month, ($150 value) all for $15.99, which is a great deal.  I bought into the subscription when I first bought my machine and it's a great value to this price.  Plus any funds left over at the end of each month are then carried over and as of this morning I have over $200 in credits to shop with!!!   I ended up picking out several new card images, lots of fun new flourish and shapes and even some Spring flowers.   Just in case any of you want to find this card in the store, I am sharing a link and a preview image below.  You can find it in the store HERE!   

  Next, it was time for me to cut my card and then put it all together.  I chose a very detailed and delicate design and then edited the design to make it a bit easier for the cut and then cut the design four different time on a variety of papers.   Next, it picked out different parts form each of the papers and actually ended up making two new cards.   This is the card that was created for the this challenge and it also features my papers from my favorite new set - Viola by Memory Box.

  

  As you can see I added a computer generated sentiment to the center and made this one into a Mother's Day card, but you would easily change it around and make it a card for every day use, which is exactly what I did for my next card, which I am submitting to the new Die Cut Challenge over at Crafting By Designs, another of my favorite online challenge groups.

   After having cut the same design four times in a variety of papers, I was able to selection different colors and piece to make two  of the same card, but in different designs and colors and this card was designed to be a Friendship card !  I hope you'll like it.

    In the end, I think I like the Friendship Card the best, probably because of the bling.  I also used different pieces and this one was actually easier to put together.   It's a lot more than simply cutting out the card, and it's NOT as easy as I thought it would be, but I do LOVE my Cameo and all the fun new things I can create with it.  

     Before I sign off, I wanted to tell you all to keep an eye on your Credit and Debit Card Statements.  I received a Visa bill today and there were two charges on it that I had never made.  Both were charges that came through from Experian (yes, the Credit Agency) and both were under two names I had never heard of, but they have some how and some way managed to get my Visa number and both people were from out of state?     They ordered their Credit Report with my number.....imagine that?   I was NOT happy to find this out and had to close my VISA and place a fraud alert on my Credit Report.  Of all places to try and use it, they picked Experian?  One bought a credit report and the other person subscribed to Credit Monitoring, which I find to be very odd.   The good news is that I caught it and the charges have now been removed and the account is now closed?   But, even so I can't image how this happens, especially since I had not used that card in ages?    I did hear something about a major credit breach on the news last night, so I am guessing that may have some connection.   Please be careful and keep an eye on your cards and charges.   

   See you all tomorrow and Happy Crafting!!

Tags, tags and more tags....

     I want to first let you all know how much I have totally enjoyed the Creative Chemistry Class that I've been posting about for the past two week.  It's been awesome and one of the best classes I have ever taken.   I loved every day and like all the other classes I've taken, it's always very hard when you get down to the end.
     Today, was our last actual class day and teaching day, but we do have one more final day on Monday and that day will be a final review and will include Tim sharing 25 great card ideas with us, all made from the technique tags we've created in class.  We had a fun class today, all about Sparkle and Shine!  Stickles, Ice Stickles, Adhesives, Glossy Accents and so much more!   We also ended with one final tag (25 in total), which incorporated a fun and correct way to use the wonderful line of Distress Stickles!
     This is my final tag from this this class, but you can bet I'll be making more and also using lots of these new technique in my cardmaking!!

  And he are a few pictures that show each and every tag I have created since the class begin.   I just loved every minute and am so excited to share them with you all today!!

       I also want to say THANK YOU to Tim and Mario for all the work they did to put together the fantastic videos and files for use each day.   On top of that my thanks to Jennifer and Kristina for inviting Tim to share his class with us on their wonderful website.  I have been a part of every class, since they opened the site last Summer and I have LOVED everyone!!    I'm also very happy and excited to already be signed for up the next class "A Cut Above" which starts on April 16th!!   Woohoo!   It sounds like it's going to be another hit and I am thrilled to be one of the lucky students who can pre-register now!   Stay tuned for more details - if you love die cuts - this class will be one you'll love too!   More details will follow when the class is open to all for Registration!

Hello???

....Anybody home out there in blog land??   I've had such a crazy week and today is my day to try my very best to sit back, let things go...and spend my day being creative.   I want to totally relax and nothing relaxes me more than coloring at sitting back at my craft desk working on a new project.

   I have lots of new tags to share and that's my other goal today, to catch up with my blog and all the fun new tags we've continued to create a part of the Creative Chemistry 101 Class.  I can hardly believe that the class is almost over and I knew, like with all my other classes, that I will miss it, once it's over, but this time, I'm moving along to another online class, which starts Monday!   More on that to come soon, but for now I'm ready to share my latest technique tags.

   This first set were all tags inspired by Day 8 and class and our focus yesterday was working with Paints!    Dabber Paints, Crackle Paints, Studio Paints and basically any kind of paints that you would like to use on your projects.   This is one area, where I do not have a lot of products to work with.  I had a few of the very old style Dauber paints from Ranger, but many of mine were so old and outdated that they just don't work.  Ranger has also totally changed their dabber containers and the new dabbers are so much nicer and easier to use.   I ended tossing out my old and outdated paints and will now plan to add a few new bright colors to my collection.

  If you are like me and still have some of the original dabbers (very hard plastic and pretty much impossible to squeeze), I suggest you also toss them and pick up some of these new style, which are fabulous.  I don't own any of the Studio paints and I the only color Crackle Paint I have is Rock Candy.  As for my Dabber Paints I have a couple and my favorite is Snow Cap, which is  gorgeous pearly white and the one that I used one the second piece below!!   Both of these are done on Sticky Back Canvas and we used the Paints to stamp with!!  A very cool technique that when combined with Distress sprays/inks acts like a Resist.

  

  Both of these were really fun to make, although I did made a BIG Oops on the first piece.  After shaking up my paint, instead of just removing the plastic top, I removed the entire bottle top and paint when flying all over the place (you can see it in the middle of my canvas.  I'm sharing it in hopes of saving you from making the same mistake.  Shake you paints well, but be careful when removing the top.  You only want to remove the clear plastic, not the whole bottle cover!   Silly Me!!!

   After that little mess, I moved on to working with Crackle Paints, which I only own in "Rock Candy" which is basically clear, or like the actual Candy!  Even so, once I dies and you ink or paint over it, it shows a fun effect....kind of like cracked glass.   My favorite is the chipboard flower, which was super easy and fun to make and could be done in variety of colors and styles!!

    Moving on to today's class, which is now Day 9 - and the day we worked with Perfect Pearls, which is one of my favorite mediums.  Every time I do use it or take a class where we use Perfect Pearls, I remember how much I love the look and it reminds me that I should be using them more and more when working on cards.   My first tag today is a favorite, as I LOVE the look of how these amazing pearlescent  powders look when you paint with them on a black surface.   Gorgeous!!!

    The shimmer and sparkle is amazing and in person, this looks so much brighter!   We also learned how to create our own little bottle of Distress Ink/Perfect Pearls mist and luckily I had a selection of mini misters to use to create some of my own new custom colors.   I've also love Perfect Pearls Mist, but typically use only the pearl -- but now I have a new selection of colors!   Fun fun fun!!

    The next couple of tags were created by using a combination of Distress Inks, Ink Sprays, Perfect Pearls, Water and Perfect Pearls mist, all on manila tags!

 

   As you can see I had a lot of fun with these and really LOVE the Shimmer!!!  I'm off now to make a few more before I clean off my desk and be all ready for our very last full class tomorrow.   It's going to be Day 10 and we'll be working with Stickles and Liquid Pearls, two more mediums I LOVE!!   

   We'll have a final wrap-up day on Monday and then the class will be over, as far as the LIVE (Interactive) version.   I have life-time access to the classroom and all the videos, content and PDF files, and that's awesome and one thing I have LOVED about every class I've taken in Jennifer and Kristina's Classroom.   I  hope we'll also find out what the next class with be and I'll be looking forward to it

    I'm also starting a brand new class on Monday over at Jessica Spragues' Classroom and it's a five part online class called -- Silhouette:  Getting to Know You, being taught by Kerri Bradford!   I found out about this class, after Jennifer McGuire posted about it on her blog, a few weeks ago.  I'm all signed up and think it will be a great way for me to learn more ways to use my wonderful Cameo!   I had been looking for an affordable class like this and with a sale price of only $19, I thought it sounded perfect!      

 
     Hope you are enjoying your day!   I am very much looking forward to some sunshine and warmer days.  This week has been very cold and much more like winter, making it a great time for class!   But, I prefer that fabulous Summer weather we had last week, and hope it comes back SOON!!   I've been cold and sore all week and can hardly for Spring to come back!!

Brrrr......Winter is back...!!

....And I do not like it, not one bit.   It was sooooo cold and windy overnight, much more like a mid-winter night, then an early Spring night.  It's hard to believe that a week ago, we had temps up in the 70's and now it's back in the 30's and 40's!!   YUK!!!

    I'm also not feeling very good today and have a lot of on my mind.  I can tell it's just not one of my best days, so I'm keeping this post short and sweet.  I think I may even go lay down and have a nap and then hope to wake up to a better afternoon?

    In today's class we focused on Embossing and Embossing powders and I have three new tags to share.  Each was created using a different technique and each one was actually fun and easy to create.   This first tag was featured embossing deep colors with clear embossing powder and all the inks I used on this tag are Distress Inks.

   My next tag was one that is very easy to create, but makes a cool impact.   This is a technique I have done before in classes at my LSS, I had forgotten just how much I love the end result.   After trying it again today, I'm thinking this would be very cool do use for punched or die cut shapes and that you could make some very unique elements!  My thought was make these in a few colors and then punching or die-cutting pieces to create some very cool, dimensional flowers!!

  And this is the 3rd tag and technique we learned today.  I have a feeling I did NOT fully emboss mine tag, as I did not get the same final result that Tim did on his.   It's another easy and fun technique, and I will definitely be trying this one again!

 

 

     Hope you are having a nice day!   See you all again tomorrow.....

Happy Crafting!!

Loving my Distress Markers!!!

    It's another day back in the Creative Chemistry Classroom and today has been one of my favorites.   This is also the day I have been looking forward to, as we are working with two of the newest products lines - the new Ranger Speciality Stamping Paper and also the very popular and much anticipated  Distress Markers.    As soon as I first saw the markers introduced by Tim at CHA, I knew I would want them, especially for Stamping.  I was also really impressed by a new Stamping Paper he was using, that's called Specialty Stamping Paper, now being sold by Ranger.

        One of the main reasons I am fortunate enough to have my set, is because I pre-ordered them as soon as they first were put up for Pre-Order at Simon Says Stamp, back on February 3rd!!  I knew they were going to be very popular, and that started me on a search to find them listed in any of my favorite stores.   The very first day they were put up for Pre-order, was the day I ordered mine and I was thrilled to receive one of the first sets.  Although, I did have a problem and my first set ended up being defective?  Several of the markers were dry and it almost appeared that they had opened ?   With the assistance of SSS, I took pictures and the information was forwarded to Ranger.   Two days after I sent off everything, a brand new set was delivered directly to my home.  I was thrilled and very pleased with Ranger's excellent service in handling this.   I've since learned that they are very proficient about handing replacing any defective products, which is always good to hear.

      In the interim, while I was waiting to hear, my LSS (Absolutely Everything) received their first shipment of the markers and I bought six while there for a class, just to be sure I would have some on hand for this class.  I picked six of my favorite colors, which I'm now keeping as back-ups and I really have been very happy with them.

   If you love Distress Products, then you will very likely LOVE these new Distress Markers and I do feel they are worth the wait, just keep in mind that you can try some of the techniques we learned in class today with other 'water-based' markers, if you so desire.  Plus, you'll have life-time access to today's videos, which will be perfect when your markers arrive.   I have had a lot of fun with them and really enjoyed today's class.  Below are several pictures I took today while following the videos and trying them out, as Tim had shared!

    

My Workspace!

Stamping with Distress Markers

on the Specialty Stamping Paper!

   

Both sets of Butterflies (below) were stamped on Watercolor Paper and then

Colored with the Distress Markers and the WaterBrushes!!

All three sets were done by coloring directly onto the stamp

and then Stamping onto the Speciality Paper.  The 3rd Generation

was completed by slightly misting the already colored stamp!!

VERY COOL!!!

I took the far left set (first generation) and cut it down to tag size.

I then used some more fun techniques to make the tag below!   

  I am totally impressed with this awesome new Specialty Stamping Paper and how super crisp and clear the images come out.  It's expensive, but worth it for very very special projects.  It's a nice weight cardstock and has a gorgeous super smooth, Matte Finish.  I've never used anything like it, it's like magic!!   If you are in the class you'll learn some awesome new techniques you can do with this paper, but the y will ONLY work with this Specialty paper.   I think it's well-worth giving it a try, but also think it's pricey!!   The retail price seems to run about $7.99 per package, which is 10 sheets of 8 1/2 X 11" Cardstock.  It also comes in ATC size, which is a pack of 20 sheets, but I don't know that price!   I do hope they'll eventually have it in A2 Size, and come down on the price.  For now, because it's on the high side, I'll use it ONLY for very very special projects!!  

   That's it for now, but before I go I have to very special friends who both share a birthday today!   Happy Happy Birthday to Colleen and Patty!  I hope you both have a wonderful day, filled with all things happy and lots of fun and LOVE!!

Happy Sunday!!!

    Not a great day here in New England, but in some ways it's a nice day to stay inside and work on some projects I wanted to get done.    I'm still in the process of my craft room re-organization and was very happy to donate another box of craft goodies to a fellow crafter who lost everything in a recent fire.  After I first read Angie's story over at Kelly's blog, I knew I wanted to put together a box to goodies to send off to her and that's exactly what I spent most of my morning working on.   Fires are so scary and although I was very happy to hear that Angie and her family are fine, it's still heartbreaking to think about losing everything you own.   And since I have so much more than I need, I was more than happy to donate to this wonderful cause.   I have donated several supplies over the past couple of years, as I tend to over shop and have so much more than I need.  It such a nice feeling to share and to know that these goodies will be put to good use.   I think it's also amazing at how kind and caring the craft community is.   I was very happy to do my little part and my box will be shipping out tomorrow morning.

  My next project today was to work on some cards to add to my Operation Write Home package and I have two new cards to share that were created today, based on this week's new sketch.   OWH is currently spononoring a new challenge called The Muscle Card Challenge and I encourage all my card-maker friends to join this wonderful cause.

   

     Both of my cards today will be donated to The Muscle Card Challenge and I hope to get quite a few more done and off to my shipper by the April 30th deadline.  If you would like to help, please go to the site HERE and/or contact me for more details.

    Every Sunday is new Sketch Challenge is posted over at the Stars and Stamps Blog and this week we are working with Sketch # 114, which I have copied over to my blog to share.    It's also the inspiration sketch I used on both my cards today.

   Hugs is my favorite sentiment and one that I think works well for Operation Write Home cards!!  I especially used it today so that these my cards will not only work for Father's Day, but can be used year round.

    Tomorrow, I'll be back to "school", with Professor Tim Holtz, in the Creative Chemistry 101 Class!  This class has been awesome and I have enjoyed every minute and can't wait to start week two.   I'm extra excited about tomorrow's class as we will be working with the new Distress Markers and I can't wait to find out all the awesome things I can do with my new set.   

   Hope you are having a great weekend and hope that you have time to CREATE!

Birthday Fun!!

    I already miss our warm Summer weather and wish it had lasted through the weekend for all those who have to work all day.  I remember those days far to well and still wish the we had more weekends with the really nice weather, so that everyone could enjoy it.  Today, it's already overcast and feels cold.  I'm already feeling a bit sore and can tell that rain and damp weather is moving in.   I know we need the rains, but I sure wish it did not have to make me hurt, that's never fun.    It's amazing just how quickly the temps dropped overnight.   We went to sleep with the windows open and I had to get up about 6 am and close them.  Bummer!!   This week's weather doesn't look nearly as nice as last week, but I guess it will be okay with me, as I'll be in school again all week and will be very busy!!

    Today is not a school day, (at Creative Chemistry 101), but is a nice day for me to catch up on some cards I need for Birthdays and one that I created especially with a challenge in mind.  It's the first time I have made a card in days, and it was fun to put my inks aside for a day and play more with paper again.

    My main goal today was to make a card for my friend Patty, as we will be going out to dinner with tonight, in celebration of her Birthday!!   I do have plenty of cards (pre-made) that I could have used, but I really like to make everyone a card that is new and is in a style or colors that they will enjoy.  I'm also looking forward to our dinner, but plan to be good and try to eat well.   I've now lost 8 pounds, out of the 15 I had wanted to lose and I don't want to any of it back one.   I'm going to have seafood, probably scallops or haddock and try and skip any of the fried items, which is a challenge, since this restaurant has the delicious onion rings and we always order them as an app.   Yummy!!

     I knew I wanted to make her card in something that was spring-like, so I picked out a stack of 6X6 Paper pad, put them on my desk, closed my eyes and decided I would use the first one I touched.  I ended up picking out a Memory Box set, called Minuet.   This is a lovely set for Spring and all the papers are in pretty shades of blue, white, green and yellow.  Once I had my papers picked out, I simply picked out a blue card base and this was the very first card I created.

  As you can see, it's a very simply design.  I picked out one of my favorite papers and cut to down to fit the card.  I then picked out a contrasting piece and made a border which I added on top.    Next, I punched out a Happy Birthday Sentiment from a sheet I had pre-desinged and printed, all of various digital Happy Birthday Sentiments.  I then cut a circle, with a Nestie die, one size larger from Blue Swiss Dot Cardstock, that I used as the mat for my Sentiment.  I added that on top and finished it up with some matching bling.

   With everything still one my desk, I decide to make a few more cards, all with the same set and quickly had put together two more birthday cards.  Each one is a bit different (I'm one who never makes the same card twice), but they are all made with the sames papers and some even have the same Sentiment, simply in another size or color.

    The next card is the one I designed to submit to this week's Paper a la Mode Challenge over at The Outlawz and their challenge today is to use a Bow on your project - the Bigger the Bitter!!   I created mine with some white ribbon and my wonderful new bow-maker, which I bought after seeing this video on YouTube.   Out of all the styles of bow-makers I have used or bought, this is by far the best and I LOVE it.  The one I have from Sarah, is actually an updated version and it comes with two sets of dowels (pegs) in two sizes, so that you can also make some tiny bows.  This is a picture of mine!  It's also super easy to use and I love that she had the video online for me to follow the first couple of times I tried it!!

  And this is my card that features a white bow I created with my awesome little bow-maker!!  

   I even had time to make one more card, also still using more of the same Minuet papers.  This one is a very simply Spring style card and for this one, I did not add any Sentiment, and will be sending this one off in my new package to Operation Write Home.   The yellow flower was actually created with some rosette trim I had bought on Etsy.   I simply cut off the bottom lacy part and then added the button and twine.   This was a fun little technique I learned at a recent card class I took at my LSS!!   It makes a fun little flower and is super easy.

 And that's it for now!   I am heading back to my desk to clean up and I'm going to review some of the Videos from the CC101 Class, so that I can work on more tags.  I really am having a great time in this class and so happy I took it!!  I also had fun today making some cards for a change!  My next goal is to take a lot of the techniques I have learned and use them to create new card background!!

  See you all later and hope you are having a fun day!  I know I am and I'm always loving any day, where I have some time to create!!

A Fun-Filled Fabulous Friday!!!

....It's another gorgeous day here, a bit cooler than our record-breaking 80's yesterday, but still much like a Summer Day.  I'm wearing one of my favorite Summer sun-dresses and flip-flops, which is how I Love to dress!!  So casual, comfy and I've also started to 'self tan' to get the nice Summer Glow.  Oh, how I LOVE Summer and wish this weather was here to stay.  Unfortunately, Spring and more seasonable temps are coming back soon, but this week has truly been wonderful!!

   I'm totally enjoying Day 5 - of Creative Chemistry and today I have some new tags to share.   These are some of my favorites and I totally enjoyed what Tim shared with us today.  One of my all time favorite new products are the Dylusion Sprays and I feel in love after seeing Dyan's demo in a video I had admired on Your Tube.  I'm especially excited because she will be coming to my LSS (Absolutely Everything) in July to teach for a full weekend and I can't wit to sing up for her class.  Oh and for those of you who LOVE Tim and love this class, he is also coming to AE to teach a weekend of classes the Weekend of May 19-20th!!  You can sign up for the AE Newsletter to keep up with the workshop plans and that way you'll know when you can call or visit the store to sign up for the classes.  Go HERE for to subscribe!!   I will be away that weekend attending another awesome craft event, so that's kind of a bummer, but I'm really thrilled that I have had this class and also took a class with Tim when he was here the last time!!

  Today in class we working with variety of Distress Stains, Spray Mists (Dylusions/Color Wash) and also with Kraft Resist cardstock, all products I know and love.  The best part is that I was able to create my own takes on each of the techniques we learned and I'm here to share my tags with you know.  As I mentioned previously, I am sharing only my projects as all the classroom PDF's, Projects, Galleries, Student Discounts and Videos are copyright protected and are for use by those who take the class only!!   I totally respect all artists and would NEVER share and protected data, stamps or images etc.

   These first two tags were very fun and super easy to color.  I simply broke out my new Dylusion Sprays and misted the manila tags until I have them all colored in a these awesome Vibrant color.  One of the thing I love most about these is how gorgeous and bright the colors are!   I have to admit, that I bought the entire set, when they first came in at AE.  I knew they would be a huge hit and I wanted to be sure I got them all!  If you LOVE bright colors, you'll LOVE these!   NOTE:   I also combined in some Perfect Pearls mist and basically used that as my bottom layer to get the tag really wet and add the extra bit of shimmer!!

   My next tag was created by using a variety of Distress Inks and Stains along with Kraft Resist cardstock, which is a product that Ranger makes, if you have never heard of it.

 And the next tag is one of my favorites and this was created with Distress Stains on a Kraft Colored Tag.   I really love this technique and it's one I have learned before from taking technique classes at AE.  This time I used totally different colors and Stamps that I had not used in ages, many are from Fancy Pants.

   And last is this fun tag which features another really cool technique again using Distress Stains, this time adding in a lot of the White Picket Fence, for it's own unique look.   The stamps I used on this card are also from Fancy Pants.  I added on some buttons, a flower, butterfly and some baker's twine to make this more of a embellished tag.  I really had fun with this one!!

   This is one last photo of the three tags I put together today and each of them were inspired by things we learned in today's class!

  And now I am off to work on more Wedding plans and very happy to think I have my Rehearsal Dinner Restaurant picked out and the basic details are very close to being completed.   The restaurant I've been talking with most, has been really great to deal with and they are very willing to work with whatever we all want and to make it a special night for all!  Right now, I'm 99% sure, I'll be hosting it with them and it looks like we'll have 30 people at the Dinner!!  I think it'll be a fun night and I'm very excited!!    My next task with be to start to look for my dress and I'm sure that will take me awhile and I'm not even sure of what color I want to look for.  Luckily, Meghan will be getting together shortly with her bridesmaids and hopefully make their color choice, and I do hope to try and tie in with them and Colleen, Meg's Mom!!

  Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!  I know I will and I'm also looking forward to working on more projects with all the inspiration from this awesome class!!   Yippee!!

I love Summer....

...and I love it even more so when it starts in March!!  Too bad that this is just another one of our weather flukes, as I could get very used to this and be very happy to have this wonderful weather hang around longer.  But, like all good things, nothing is forever and it looks like today will be the last of our record breaking weather days, with more seasonal weather back tomorrow!!    Fifty degrees is going to feel very chilly after having the past two days!!

    Another love I have is for online classes, and I could not to express just how much I am loving the latest class that Tim Holtz is teaching at the Online Classroom.  It's been a fabulous week and he has taught us so many new things along with lots of great tips and hints.   As much as I thought I really knew a lot about various inks and many of the Ranger products...I've again learned something new, each and every day.   I also want to THANK Tim for being such a fabulous teacher for for formatting each day based on the class feedback and many of the numerous questions that have been posted for him each day.   He truly has a lot of patience and has devoted countless hours to make these classes fabulous in every way.

   I'm stopping by to share my three latest tags, which were all basically created using some of the new tips and techniques we learned today.   These are kind of my own variation on some of the things we also learned earlier this week too.  I did not have all the products he shared in today's videos, but I still enjoyed it very much and did my own thing with what I had on hand.

   This is the first tag and this is a form of Water-coloring that is done using re-inkers -- very cool!!    A really awesome way to color.   I used my brand new Water Brushes and really liked them, especially this new flat brush that Tim helped design for Ranger.   It's awesome!!   My stamped image is from Hero Arts and one I've had for a long time.  It's called Flourish Lily and is a wooden stamp.

  My second tag was inspired by another technique that Tim taught us today.    It's all about Misting and how you can create your own misting sprays!!   Another great less with some wonderful hints and tips!!   I also used one of my new craft stencils on this tag and it's a Brocade type pattern and is a stencil I bought at my LSS.  It's from a collection by Crafters Workshop and is really easy and fun to use.

  My third tag is one I did on my own, as I did not have the materials on hand to create my own custom stamp pad, but I sure will be buying those the next time I head to my store, so that I can try the technique.  For my third tag today, I stamped with my new Distress Markers, which I'm quickly growing to love.  I simply colored directly on my stamps, (Hero Arts - Newspaper Tulips), and then huffed it one time and stamped directly to some of the new Specialty Paper that Ranger is now selling for stampers.   It's awesome and a super smooth finish and takes ink amazing well.   I have bought a set of these to try out for class, and it's one of the nicest papers I've ever used and has a gorgeous Matte finish.   This is a paper I will use again!!  

   Well that's it for today!!  I am going back over to the classroom now to catch on on reading the posts in the forum.  I'm totally amazed at the amount of questions that are being posted and think Tim is an angel for keeping up with answering them all!    Special thanks to Jennifer and Kristina for running the Online Card Classroom and for inviting Tim to teach there.  I do HOPE he'll consider coming back again and hope that everyone is enjoying all the classes, as much as I am!!    There is still another class tomorrow and a full week next week, and you can still sign up now and be part of the Live Classes!!   Hurry on over and join the FUN!!  I'm sure you won't be disappointed!!