So what do you do with these mini pieces of art that you collect? Often people save them just like baseball cards, which is what I normally do in an ATC binder. When I make a few extras for myself, they end up in my studio and sometimes as magnets on my fridge.

We're having our annual art doll swap at the Paperartistsonline (PAO) forum. I've really wanted to try my hand at making a whimsical type doll. The problem, is that I can't draw. Well, Santa brought me some great sketching pencils and a pack of artist quality erasers in my stocking this year, so I thought I would give it a try. The sketch was made on heavy davy board and will be colored with Prismacolor pencils. She is about 12" tall.
I'm seriously thinking of taking an online class to learn to sketch faces. Have any of you done this? Do you have any feedback? Stay tuned, we'll see how she turns out. This is for fun, right?

As a hoarder of paper and just because I just love to stamp, I often challenge myself to re-create a paper that I like with stamps and ink. The stamps are from Club Scrap and Paper Bag Studios.
I added a little scoring and here is the finished product.
I love to look at blogs and see what inspires other crafters and artists. It's interesting to look through the eyes of other people, don't you think?

I'm working on an art doll, that I'll share in a few days. Have an inspired week.

So many people are keeping a daily photo journal  for a year. I've always thought that this was a major commitment, but a wonderful way to capture a year of your life. You take a photo every single day for a year. I decided I am going to try and do this, this year. We'll see how it goes. For those of you who have done this, do you print them and make an album? If so, in what type of format?

 I've been busy making cards the last week, as my stash is very low. I'm involved in a few monthly card swaps and a birthday card club, so this isn't good. I have a very difficult time doing cards assembly line style, I get bored way too easily. Lately, I've been trying to make 3 or 4 cards at a time of similar style to build my stash back up. For you cardmakers, how many do you execute at a time? I'm curious.

 A birthday card, "Here's a wish for happiness and many dreams come true, especially on your birthday, and all year through." The little girl is a stamp from Beeswax, colored with colored pencils and gamasol.

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful and warm week. It's 10 degrees here in Michigan today.

Happy New Year! It has been quite awhile since my last post. I've had house guests for two weeks and thoroughly enjoyed the holidays with family and friends. The decorations are down and the refrigerator is cleaned out. Time for 2011.

I thought we would talk about our own personal style. Do you have one? When I look around my home, I would definitely say eclectic..a mix of the things I love. Some traditional styles (tweeds and natural organic prints) mixed with antiques (shaker style, old warm wood) and just a splash of color here and there. I am not a decorator, don't pretend to be. But when people walk into my home, regardless of where it has been, they feel comfortable. Just last week a friend said, your house always feels so homey.

I find it very difficult to translate this style into my crafts. So, in 2011 I think I'm really going to try and focus in this area. I've made a couple of cards that probably most reflect my style, I hope you enjoy them.

Stamps are from Club Scrap, Hero Arts and PSX. I apologize for the photos, they were taken right on my craft mat. Can you define your personal style? Tell me about it, I'd love to hear.

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.