Taking a Small Break

Hi everyone :) I'm taking a break from my blog, as you may have noticed I haven't posted for a bit.
I am having some work done in my home which makes it a bit difficult to work on things! I hope to be back in September....maybe even a bit before that :)
I'll try to continue making the rounds of my blogging friends and leave some comments.
Hope you are all enjoying your summer.

Graphicat Challenge Card

I'm entering this card in the Graphicat Sketch Challenge. This is one of the cute little images that I won in a give-away...Thanks Tanya :)

I've used all SU! paper and sentiments, pencil crayons to colour plus Sakura pens, Stickles, Smooch paint, Happy Birthday embossing folder, and some crinkle ribbon. The off-set paper behind the Dragon has the masking tape technique---cover a piece of cardstock with small bits of masking tape, sponge on ink, coat with clear embossing powder, and heat. The tutorial is on SplitCoast Stampers under Faux Leather Technique.

Here's a view from the side to show there is a bit of dimension :)

And here is the Sketch for you.

Be sure to check out the Challenge blog for lots of great ideas and of course you can go to Cheri's store from there too :)

My Canvas and A Bit of This and That

I'm finished the 16" x 20" canvas. It hangs on my bedroom wall which still needs to be painted, but I didn't want to wait. It's a 'flat' canvas and I think I like the thicker ones better, but hey, it's done and I do like it :) If you like, you can check on my sidebar under Canvas Picture, to see the earlier makings of this one.

I picked a couple of roses from my garden. Some slugs are feasting on their leaves I'll have to get something to get rid of them before they ruin my plants. So far nothing else is touched!

A nice little reflection of my patio door and a sunny day :)

I babysat over the weekend.

My poochies didn't think much of that! But, we managed and all was good in the end.

I made some soup, even in this heat! And darn good it was too :) I found it on Pinterest, the recipe is from The Greens Cook Book, called Mexican Vegetable Soup with Lime and Avocvado. You can find the recipe here
I didn't have the hominy or chipolte chilies, so I added half a can of stewed Italian tomatoes with herbs (it called for fresh), big spoonful of salsa and a few dashes of Louisiana hot sauce. I didn't have green beans so I added some frozen peas. Instead of chicken stock, I used a package of Lipton Chicken Noodle soup and took out half the noodles.
To make it stretch even further, I threw in a large can of Italian Wedding soup. So what's left of the original recipe, lol, the carrots, onion and spices--I love adapting a recipe.

Dish up a bowl and add chopped avocado. I added the lime, squeezed over top, with a spoonful of sour cream. Wonderful flavour!

Also, I made this little mug cover I saw on Pinterest, you can find the pattern here. It's cute, but I can't drink out of the cup with that yarn right there :) however, it could work on a taller mug.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit, hope you are all enjoying the beautiful summer weather we've been having :)

Need a Lift?

My card for the Crafts and Me Challenge this week.

I've had this image coloured for a while and finally get to use it :) She's a Hannah Lynn digi that you can find over at the Crafts and Me online shop.

I've used X-Press It blender paper with Copics for the image, Stampin Up! cardstock and ink for sponging around the distressed star edges and the sentiments. The printed paper is from Hot Off The Press, I pierced and did faux stitching around it. Stars, diamonds and rose are from my stash. I cut out my own star shape which is about 6 1/2" tip to tip. The inside says 'You can count on me'.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the links above to see the Crafts and Me Challenge blog, the online store or their blog :)

Tissue Tape Card

The 'Way to Use it Thursday' over at SplitCoast, was to use tissue on a card. Well I just did a faux silk card the other day and decided to try making my own tissue tape.

I put some Sookwang tape onto my music tissue paper cut along the edge of the tape and voila! homemade tissue tape :)

I used SU! cardstock, pearls, and gold cord, and a Spellbinder die. I'm not sure whose stamp this is, but I coloured the image with Copics.

Thanks for coming by to visit :)

Challenge Card, Paper Roses and More

There is a new challenge over at the Graphicat Sketch's blog. Here is my entry for that, thanks to Barb (I believe)for the stamp and embossing powder. I used distress ink pads and Brushsticks to colour :)

Here is a close-up to show the colour in the faux silk technique that I used. The background piece with the music sheet tissue paper is sprayed with two Glimmer Mists, the gold really puts a shine on it.

And....here is the sketch.

Also, I tried making a couple of roses from the Stampin Up! ornament punch. You punch out about 25 or so, ink them up, curl the edges, and glue them down. There are quite a few youtube videos on making these.

Lots to show you today, here's a watercolour poppy--Stampin Up! stamp and watercolour crayons....

...and my Silly Bird (Stamps Happen)--coloured with Copics--birthday card for a friend...

I have the start of a book here...

Thanks for coming to look :) The family is moved into their new house, so I'm going to try getting this book finished before the end of the month when more family comes to visit :) I love summer!

Copic Grid Card

I found this technique by Julia Stainton. It's called Colour-Bleed Grid, using Copic pens and Copic blending solution. I used SU! cardstock, a piece of printed CM paper, and X-Press-It blending paper. The stamp is SU!, Serene Silhouettes.

But then, I thought I'd try blending in a different way and just did streaks with the Copic pens, then dribbled Copic blending solution down the paper. The horse stamp is PSX, the sentiment is SU!, the whole verse is on the inside. I think this one looks a little more like water colouring. Both cards are 4 1/4" square. The grid squares on the first card are 1 1/4" each.

Over-all, I like the technique--gives a little different look :)

Thanks for coming to look. I have family staying for a bit and we are pretty busy. Hope you are all enjoying the beginning of school break and maybe some nice weather :)

By The Sea, Craft a Scene Challenge

This challenge, over at Craft a Scene blog was a new one for me to enter, but I just happen to have some Scenescape stamps, so I dragged out a couple and dusted them off :)

I've used glossy cardstock for the main image and SU! cardstock for the rest of the card, a SU! stamp on the right edge, a fiskars punch for the fancy edge, some beachy embellishments, and some twine. I took my SU! and Vivid! ink pads and just swiped them across the glossy card stock to get the sea and sky background.



The sand along the bottom of the driftwood and the stones is sand all the way from Scotland--very special :)



It was hard to get a good view of the Gelly Roll, Clear star, pen I put on the waves without getting a glare off the glossy paper, but you can kind of see it here.



Thanks for stopping by, please check out the Craft a Scene blog :)

Tea Tuesday and Grad cards

Good Morning Everyone :)

Today I'm off to town but first I'm enjoying a nice cup of English Breakfast tea. I've had this lovely tin for quite some time and don't remember where it came from, but the tea has a nice aroma and taste :)



I finished two grad cards. One is a 'spring' card and the directions can be found on SplitCoast Stampers. The taller style, that has a place to put money, I saw on Debbies Designs blog--she has a little tutorial with the measurements, just scroll down the page about three posts--I can't get the right post to work.



Thanks for stopping by, we have a nice rainy Tuesday this week :)

Check out other tea bloggers by starting at Kims blog.

Canvas in Progress

Well, here is the canvas as it is right now :) it's been sitting on my kitchen counter for a couple of weeks now...in the center of a mess of paints, etc! Check back a couple of posts to see how it started. Almost every day, sometimes a few times a day, I add something or take it away. I covered up the flowers a little more today then wiped them off...I really like the flowers, why cover them...



In this second photo you can see that some places that look dark on the first photo, are actually painted with metallic paint so it really isn't as dark as it appears.



And here is a close up of the chain I put around the tower to bring it some more dimension. It looks a bit silver here, but really, it isn't.



So it goes :) every day it changes a bit. One day it will hang on my bedroom wall!

Thanks for stopping by, hope your weekend is going well :)

June Tag for Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2012

I did my June tag today, unfortunately, I couldn't make it to Williams Lake to do it---probably would have been more fun :)

However, here it is....I printed out a photo of my Grandmother, I believe it is about 1935-40, not sure. I also believe it was taken in Victoria, B.C.



I didn't have all the things that Tim put on his tag, but I do like it anyway :)

Check out all the tags and great tutorials on Tims blog

Thanks for stopping by today :)

Tea on Tuesday and Two Projects

I made it for tea this week :) so here I am at my computer--rather rainy weather but, I can always find something to do inside. I'm always changing my desktop photo and this time, it's an older photo of the Grand kids :)



The first project to share is my Heart Journal page for April, you can find the instructions for all the pages to date right here. This one involves using Gesso and Baking Soda, along with acrylic paints, etc. I love the texture and the dimension. After mixing the gesso and baking soda, you heat with a heat gun and stamp into the large bubble it makes--check the link and scroll down for Aprils page. The stamps I used were a star, feather, words and dragonfly. I'm a bit behind but I'll get there :)



My other project is a 16" x 20" canvas. I took this photo yesterday, there's already more paint and the scrolls are more muted. I've cut up a gift bag with the Eiffel tower and some flowers for on it. I'll be sure to post a picture of the finished project...hopefully in a few days!



Thanks for coming to visit, check out the tea bloggers list on Kims' site.

My Coat of Many Colours

Join in the fun at Creative Accents Challenge Blog. This month it's buttons and twine!

Here is my card for the challenge. I used SU cardstock for the card base and the other paper is Creative Memories. The twine and little buttons are from my stash---I believe I've had those little buttons for a few years (such a hoarder!). That beautiful little girl image is a digi from Becky's Place. She's available with or without the patchwork design and is called 'My Mothers Coat'. Be sure to check out the June Challenge at Beckys blog too :)



And a peek at the inside.



I know, I haven't put any words on the outside OR inside :) I'm not sure yet, but it's going to be a 'I'm here for you' card.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the challenge and join us :)

February and March TH 2012 Tags

Finally I have finished the other two tags :) I don't have the honeycomb paper for the February one so I tried to make my own, well....messed that one up, lol. I didn't have the patience to do it over and it uses a million little glue dots :)

The March one, I used some of the wood sheets from SU! and glued it to the tag--made it a bit shorter, ran it through the cuttlebug with the wood grain folder and put some stain on it. The embossing powder on the butterflies is called Melded Metallics Liquid Glass.

I didn't have all the goodies that Tim used, but improvising is good :)

Thanks for stopping in for a visit.

May Tag for the Tim Holtz 2012 Tags

Hi Everyone :) it's been a super beautiful, hot, day in the Cariboo!

I went to Creative Accents in Williams Lake to make this tag. It was a great chance to get inky, try out the melting pot (which I just had to get one) and just generally have a good time :)

Just so you know, Creative Accents is starting their online store tomorrow! Be sure to check them out. Congratulations Julie and Tara!

Thanks for stopping by, hope your weekend is going great :)

Baby Bib Cards

Happy Friday Everyone :)

I made a couple of little bib cards yesterday. They are just the cutest! I got the idea from Debbie at Thinking Inking. I'm sure many of you have heard of her or seen her gorgeous work and if not, please take a look.

Anyway, these are just little cards, approximately 4" x 3 3/4". They would be great for hanging from a gift basket! You could make them whatever size, depending on your Nesties :) I used a Sakura white Gelly Roll pen and a Sakura rust colour Glaze pen--you can feel the 'raised' stitches.

The white card stock and polka dot paper is SU! and the flower paper is Oh Baby! Girl, Basic Grey. The OH BABY! GIRL tag is from the label that comes on the paper pad (nothing goes to waste) and edged with distress ink--Wild Honey. It looks crooked, but it's not :) The buttons are from my stash and I believe the ribbon is Basic Grey.

This one below has flowers from EK Success. The one thing that I found when making them is that I had to trim the very bottom scallop in the center, so that the cards will stand alone.

Thanks for stopping by :) please check Debbies link above to find the tutorial on how to make these cute little bibs :)

Acrylic Painting and Fairy Door

I've had company here for a few days :) and that usually involves some crafting with Grandkids, my 7 year old Grandson in particular :)
Here is a painting he did on watercolour paper using acrylic paints with a spritz of water. He used the paper pad cover for inspiration, I think he did an amazing job!

And this is the inspiration--the small picture at the top right.

He also made a fairy door. Hoping to lure a few fairies to their new yard :)

Thanks for stopping by to see what he's been creating! He did them completely by himself--except for the hinges and some help with the glue gun on the fairy door :)

Exotica Tea

I'm really enjoying a beautiful cup of Exotica tea today :) I've had it before, but some days a cup of tea will just be better than other days! I love the words on my coaster too..."Make your nest as comfy as you can and share it with your friends"....so, welcome to my table :)

These are the ingredients of the tea basket--a spicy blend of lemongrass, red pepper, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, pineapple, orange peel and coconut! Now, doesn't that just take you away to an exotic beach...white sand....turquoise water....like I said, some days it works :)

I'm also taking a moment, while my company is out, to work on a mini album, this one was started when I did my class....it was my sample and I need to complete it....just so I can say that I did!

It's actually been warm, with a spattering of rain off and on all day--but I've had the patio door open and it's so fresh :)

Thanks for stopping by. I have joined the troops with Pinterest....time well wasted....there's a link on the side bar if you'd like to take a look :)