I have used this stamp from Inkadinkadoo, a few different ways and think he is always beautiful. This is a Technique Junkie technique, Over and Under, I believe. Rudolph was embossed with Bridal Tinsel embossing powder, which you can't really see in the picture. After playing around with this embossing powder the effect you get of actually over heating it, is awesome. The background is monostamped and spritzed with perfect pearls for a little glow.

Do you believe in the magic of Christmas? I have a 3 year old grand daughter that certainly does.

A few more Christmas cards I finished and am getting ready to put in the mail. All easy and postage friendly. The stamps are from Pink Paislee and Club Scrap along with a Club Scrap stencil. I usually make about 50 cards to mail, so keeping the designs simple are a must, plus to be honest, I tend to get a little bored.

I have done the Tim Holtz 12 days of Christmas tags for the past couple of years and still had many squirreled away. If you look at my previous post, you will see how I was inspired to use some of these tags to turn them into small hangers for gifts.

The tags themselves were not all that wonderful, a practice of technique I would say. But rather than letting them collect dust, I thought it would be nice to make quick gifts. The bases are 3.75" x 6.50" and are made from bookboard.

I was inspired to make these little tag hangers from the Ranger blog. They are approximately 3.75" x 6.5" and the bases are made of book board. I used color wash spray and distress inks on the backgrounds. The trick is to scrape the bases with gesso and use the sprays while the gesso is still wet. Makes for an interesting look.

I really can't believe it is December all ready and Christmas is just around the corner. I did finish up about 50 cards this year. Most of them very simple. These cards were made using an old PSX stamp and Tombow markers on watercolor paper. I chose non-traditional Christmas colors and added a little bling.


I have a few Christmas cards and Tim Holtz tag hangers to share this year, one day at a time.

Are you finding time for a little craftiness this holiday season? It seems to come so quickly any more.

Another art journal piece I made using techniques from Dina Wakleys AJ103 class. This is a phrase my mother said to me many times when I was a child, and I found myself repeating it (to myself) the other day. It's funny, because I say these same things to my children yet.
Advice for the day...'Think Happy Thoughts'. Have a wonderful week!

Just a few of the reasons I have to give thanks.

I hope you and yours enjoy a wonderful holiday!

Happy Thanksgiving.

It was a wonderful relaxing weekend, thanks Bon. Nothing like spending some time with a friend doing what you love most...playing.

Thanks for stopping by.

I received so many kind and encouraging words in my previous post, and I just want to say thank you, kindness always helps, doesn't it? Now on to brighter days...

This is an art journal page that I created for Dina Wakley's, Art Journaling 103 Class - a study in Composition and Color.
The journaling reads 'Sometimes, you have to let them fly away.' I was trying to capture what it felt like when my children grew up and the process of letting them go.

The class has been fantastic so far. The lesson plans have been quite comprehensive, offered in PDF and a video format. I have never had any formal art/design training of any type and I felt that it would be very helpful, and  I can see that it will be. The background was created using a scraped paint technique using stencils as design elements. Dina offers several art journaling courses, you may want to go take a peek.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're looking forward to a great weekend.

If you're not a fur baby lover, you will probably just want to skip this post.

I've owned one dog in my life and he was my best friend. I had to say good bye to him on October 25th, and it has taken me this long to be able to write a post. Overcome with sadness, loss and a huge empty space in my heart and in my house, but Ben deserves to be mentioned here.
Yes, he had a wonderful life, the best actually, and this does console me. I don't think anything could ever replace the joy I've had with him in my life. His spot in my heart, was a very special place and I was lucky to have known him. My time with him was a gift, good bye my sweet boy.

My grandson is turning 12 next week and of course I needed to make him a birthday card. What do you make for a 12 year old boy? I don't have a rock guitar stamp, but I did own this Club Scrap stamp that I thought was kind of rockin'. I used a piece of plastic acetate that was recovered from the trash to stencil the oval design, did a little masking after I stamped the crown. To be honest, I raised two girls and really have no idea what pre-teen boys are into these days. Hope this works for him.

There was a challenge last month at the Gingersnap Creation site to make a paper quilt and then create art using the paper. If you go to Mccallsquilting.com there is a plethora of wonderful quilting patterns. I used the Crystals pattern to create this quilt.

The colors of fall here in Michigan can often be amazing and breath-taking. After we have had a hard frost, the trees begin their transformation, and the peak color only lasts 7-10 days. Weather and the amount of rainfall come into play to determine how much actual color we see in the fall. This has been one of those years... beautiful.
I actually waited too long to take these photos. They should have been taken a few days ago, but life gets in the way. I took a walk this afternoon, breezy, cool, with the musky scent of fall in the air. Definitely a day to remember til spring comes next year. I picked up a few leaves along the way...
...and made a card for a friend.
Do you have seasons where you live? I've always felt that the cold we have to endure during the winters are probably worth the changing of the seasons.

The background for this card was created by using a stencil and water color crayons. I had seen similar type flowers on the web somewhere and tried to recreate them from memory. I cut a circle and just started playing around with folding them. I think these are wonderful fall colors, dark teal and a reddish brown.
What are some of your favorite fall color combination's?
We've had a hard frost on the ground here in Michigan the last two mornings. It's time to go out and clean out the flower beds, they look so sad. Winter is right around the corner.

Since I've returned home, my mojo has been in hiding. I've tried on three different occasions to make a card, and haven't even been able to do that successfully. What do I do? Throw it in a pile of started but uncompleted projects and hope to be able to return to it.
 I know we all suffer from this mysterious malady now and then. So what do I do? Clean/organize my craft area, shop for more supplies, read a variety of blogs hoping to be inspired. I really needed to make a birthday card for a man, and was feeling desperate. I did finally come across a card on the Bo Bunny blog that inspired me. Thank you Irene Tan for the inspiration.
I found this card to be very stimulating visually, loved the elements and colors. Very manly, don't you think? So, I'm mulling this card around while doing mundane household chores, and then had an aha moment. I started digging through my stash, and this is what I came up with...

It was difficult the first few days to unwind, slow down and relax. But it didn't take long. This is a pic of me snorkeling.



 Local food was in abundance, very rich and delicious. A traditional Greek Salad or Moussaka?