12 tags of 2013 - April Edition!

I found a bit of free time in the last few days and decided to create something just for me!  In years past I really enjoyed playing along with Tim (Holtz) when he did the 12 tags of Christmas each year even though it added to the hectic activities of the season.   I've had fun using the tags to decorate my office in December!  

 Last year (2012) he changed the format a bit to do 1 tag a month.  Sounds like it would be easy to play along, right?  It wasn't for me.  Something always seemed to get in the way.   I had a plan to make the 12 tags with a Christmas twist. Although I started a couple different ones, I don't think I ever finished one. . .so they are sitting in one of my "to be completed" piles.   

Now it's 2013.  April 2013 in fact.  This year I am DETERMINED to get the 12 Tags of 2013 made by December 15.  When I saw April's tag featured distress paints, I just HAD to play! So I made a quick trip to Stampers' Corner and picked up some paints. 

Then I played!

I ended up making backgrounds on 10 #8 tags and a few small tags!  I had lots of fun.  The 9 tags below are ones I didn't use. . . .yet. 

As happens many times when I create, the plan I start with in my head is NOT what the final product looks like.  I had plans of snowflakes and snowmen and maybe even a deer or two.  As you can see about the only things from my original plan are the snowflakes.

For the details of making the background and to see Tim's tag, please visit his blog. He will be coming out with a new tag in a couple of days.  I am looking forward to seeing it! 

Since I have a daytime job that keeps me from playing as much as I want, I probably won't have January, February and March 2013 tags completed before the May tag comes out, but I will get them all done. . . someday!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a fabulous week!

Linda

Products used:

• Ranger's Distress Paints: Antiqued Bronze, Brushed Pewter, Broken China,  Forest Moss, Peeled Paint, Tarnished Brass, Salty Ocean
• Ranger's Distress Ink: Forest Moss, Peeled Paint, Pine Needle
• Ranger's Stickles: Red (not sure the exact name. . .this came from one of their AWESOME wearhouse sales and there is not a label on the bottle)
• Ranger's Adrondack Paint Dabbers: Snowcapped
• Idea-ology: Christmas Adornments, Alpha Parts Ransom
• Stampers Anonymous: Mini Holiday 2
• Sizzix: Tree Line On-the-edge die
• Elizabeth Craft's: sentiment
• From my stash: #8 manilla tag, 2 small snowflakes, "believe" ring and ribbon

A job. . .

I accepted a job to make a wedding card. . . I was asked a month or two ago by a co-worker to make a card she could give to her friend. . . The only requirements were I had to have it done and delivered by Thursday (April 18) and it had to have blue as the main color as that is the bride's favorite color.  I am happy to say, the card was delivered to a very happy customer on Thursday morning!

The true test will come when the bride (and groom) receives it on Sunday!

Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Linda

The products used are

• Spellbinder Rose Creations Shapeabilities die
• Heartfelt Creations' Delicate Asters Die
• Distress Ink - Broken China, Milled Lavender, Shaded Lilac, Tattered Rose, Tumbled Glass, Vintage Photo
• Want2Scrap pearls
• Ideaology - Tim Holtz Ornate Plates
• Ideaology - Tim Holtz Adage Tickets
• Elizabeth Crafts "congratulations" die
• Studio 490 stamps (bubbles and corrogated cardboard)
• Hero Arts script stamps

My parents wedding photo

I was playing around the other day and created this layout using my parents wedding photo.  I am very pleased with how it turned out!  The hard part will be deciding who gets it - one of my kids or one of my siblings.  Have a fabulous week!

Products used:

• Tim's Shabby Vintage Paper Stash
• Various colors of  Distress Ink
• Want2Scrap pearls
• Heartfelt Creations' Botanical Floral 1 and 2 Pre-Cuts stamps
• Spellbinder Rose Creations Shapeabilities die
• Decorative Chateau Gate die
• Tulle
• Miscellaneous light tan, white, black and green cardstock

Tim's Tattered Floral Challenge

A month ago Tim posted his Tattered Floral Challenge.  With just over 3 hours left, I am posting my "project".  It's really not a project, but more of an experiment.  I have a wedding card or two to make so I've been experimenting with different flowers.

I used the large and medium flowers from the tattered floral die to make it.  What do you think?

Have a fabulous weekend.

Linda

Back in November. . .

when the Scrapbook Expo was in Sacramento, I discovered and fell in love with a new to me company - Heartfelt Creations.  I spent a lot of time in their booth trying to decide which stamps and dies I wanted. It was very, very hard to decide.  But to the great joy of my friends, I did finally decide (although I think they were having as much fun as I was! lol)

I made a couple of cards around Thanksgiving . . .

. . . then during the first week of December I got sick . . for over a week, it was NOT fun.    My kids started coming home just past mid-December and continued arriving through the end of December (There are 4 of them plus 2 significant others and 2 grandkids).  The new year started with an unwelcomed guest . . . the flu . . .5 of the 6 still at home plus 1 who had already went back to her home were hit by it.  That was REALLY NOT fun.    

After I was feeling a bit more human I had a Scrapping Sunday.  Class was using some of my mostly unused Heartfelt Creation stamps and dies.  Usually I have samples made so they can see what they are making.  It didn't work out that way in January.  I had a picture (see above) of the poinsetta card, but I wanted a different background.  I did have a sample of the background. . . because one of my daughters had made it when she was visiting and then didn't use it.

For the "door" card, they had to imagine what it looked like finished because all I had was what was in my head and a few loose pieces to show them and explain my idea.  I had started a sample but didn't get it finished until a couple weeks after class because I got the flu AGAIN.  (I am happy to say I am HEALTHY now and I have paid my dues for the next 10 years, so all is good!)

SJ

SJ



Kate



Kate

 

Stephanie

I think they did a fabulous job with their cards!    The others escaped without me getting a picture of their cards.  


Here is the card I finished just in time to give to my husband for Valentines Day:

Hope you are having a fabulous week!

Linda

Playing along with a couple of challenges

My poor blog has been neglected for awhile.  I started doing a little spring cleaning!  As I was cleaning I realized some of the challenge sites were not active but some were still being used.  After I removed the inactive sites and I checked out the challenges and decided tocreate a card that I use for two of the challenges!

First challenge is the House Mouse and Friend Challenge HMFMC139 which is "wings".  While I adore House Mouse stamps, sadly I don't own any.   I do have 2 Gruffies stamps (bears, imagine that)!  But neither have any "wings".   I decided to use "Hammock Hibernation" and add the wings!

The second challenge is Simon Says by the numbers challenge. 1 bear, 2 flowers, and 3 butterflies!

There is still time to join both challenges and both are offering prizes, so go make something and enter!
To create this card I:

• stamped the image twice with Memento Tuxedo Black ink
• used Copics markers (YR02, Y11, Y13, Y18, G12, G14, G17, G46, G82, B21,E40, E42, E44, E47, and colorless blending solution) to color the first image completely and just the sunflowers (including stems and leaves) on the second image
• fussy cut the sunflowers on the second image
• attached the lower part of the stems directly to the complete image and popped the upper leaves and sunflowers with some foam tape
• printed the sentiment with MS Word using Calbri font
• mounted sentiment & image on dark blue mat
• stamped inside of card using a stamp from Tim Holtz' "Words for Thoughts" set
• added a butterfly inside
• mounted image/mat on white card
• added butterflies (folded the butterfly on the nose in the attempt to make it look like it is just taking off, lol)

Thanks for stopping by!  Oh, if you have a favorite challenge site, please leave a link to it in the comment section!  Thanks!  Have a great day!

.

What do you do?

What do you do when you are stamping something and ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh *%&($%( *$(%&(  (*$% (**&**.  You know you get ink where you don't want it?

The ink came from the acrylic block I used to stamp the ornament hook.  If I had not already colored the snowman I probably would have started over but I really like how the snowman turned out.   So I just kept going and got creative!

This is my version of the Christmas card from Scrappin Sunday (click the link to see the others' cards).  In case you are wondering,  we make at least one Christmas card every month.

Scrappin' Sunday

Wait!  Shouldn't that be Scrappin' Saturday????  It was, but when puppy school was changed from Sunday to Saturday, Scrappin' Saturday changed to Scrappin' Sunday!  Obviously, by the picture below, Boomer (puppy) still NEEDS to go to school more to learn he can't eat socks.  Artemis (the cat) is just rolling her eyes at him.

Sunday the 23rd was the day to create.  Earlier in the month I decided my scrap bin was getting too full, so all the cards I have been making are from scrap paper.  Even some of the cards themselves are from the scrap bin!   I designed these two cards for the event!

Tim Holtz Stamp on the front and Hero Arts on the inside

Elizabeth Craft's Design "Happy Birthday" Die and outline stickers.  Inside sentiment Great Impressions stamp

And Sharon-Jane created this one to share. (Acutally, this the one she made yesterday because I didn't take a picture of the sample she made for class.)

Inky Antics stamps and honeycomb paper

Here are Stephanie cards:

And Debbie's

And Sharon-Jane's

And Tersita escaped without me getting pictures of her cards.

I am working on the snowman, I will add it when it is completed. 

And in case you are wondering, my scrap bin is till too full.  The card from the previous post (the one for the Ranger contest) was also created with paper in the scrap bin.  Well, the card base was created from a new 12 x 12 piece of paper.  So I added more to the scrap bin.  And I am working on several other cards too using scraps so maybe some day it will all the folders will fit nicely in the bin!   One can hope, right?

Unitl next time, have a fabulous time doing what you love!

Linda

Guess what today is?

Nope, it's not my birthday or anniversary.  It's the last day to enter Ranger Ink's February Color Palette Contest!  And I have a project to enter! 

Tim Holtz also has a challenge going on until March 22, 2013, using the Tattered Floral die.  This is my back-up plan for that challenge.  I have another idea I want to try first though.. . . . .   Have a fabulous day!

Even though

Even though I haven't been posting, some creativeness happened!  I thought I'd share some photos.  If you want details of anything in particular, let me know and I will supply them!

And 2 Gingerbread House and Train Building Days this year!

And even managed to create a shadow box in between bouts with the flu!