Tea on Tuesday, Happy Summer Everyone!

What am I working on, asks Kim   :)

My craft room is what I've been doing this past couple of days, even put up new blinds although it is so bright you can't see them.  I can't seem to make up my mind how I want to put things.  You have to work in it to find out if it works for you.  And, being so nice out, I'm not in the mood for crafting much.  Maybe when it rains  :)

A new tea I bought yesterday.  I kind of like it  :)

Such a mess!

I want it too look nice when I come in the door!  And this isn't working  :)

Until then, I will sit and drink tea and eat my bagel--that is spread with lots of laughing cow cheese--and think about it! 

It's so good to be back blogging!!

Want to see what others are up to today?  Check out Kimmies sight for the list  http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/ 

  Feel free to join us  :)

  

   

Garage Sale Items :)

Well, things are fixed and I can now post to my blog again  :)

Thanks so much to my blogging friends especially to Kimmie for pointing me in the right direction to find the information at this site: 

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2011/03/stats-and-internet-explorer-v9.html

 and the help forum--Kimmie sent out an SOS for me!

The guys at blogger put it out there, I wasn't seeing it--how does that happen  :)

Anyway, my garage sale goodies! 

See all this lace?  Especially the stuff on the roll--I don't know how many yards are on there, fifty cents! 

The lace making kit, don't know what I'm going to do with it, but $2.00 seemed not too bad for a bunch of lacey stuff  :)   The crepe paper roll and one of the lace appliques was the exact colour of my Bo Bunny Gabrielle stash!   

This drawer is what caught my eye and full of all this seam binding, etc! $1, I was fairly dancing  :)

The two pins were ten cents each and she just gave me the spoon  :)

Not being on here for awhile I could get to fairly babbling  :)

So I'll go and see you all on Tuesday for tea  :)

Mandevilla

I won't be around this coming Tuesday for tea, so I thought I'd leave a photo, just in case anyone drops by.  And right now, as I post this, I'm enjoying a cup of double bergamont, earl grey, black tea   :)

 Mandevilla. 

It took a rest over winter and now is covered in flowers and buds.

  Drop by Kimmies at http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/  and check out the list of others.  Join us by simply making a comment at Kims, everyone is welcome---we all have a cup of something while visiting  :) 

Family Album

This is a Close To My Heart, 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" album.  I used CTMH paper on the covers and pages, plus I added a folded page.  The pages are all sponged and I've added cardstock pieces to make pockets and tags to put in them.

There's a chipboard flower and frame for a photo, a piece of grunge paper that I inked black for the spine and held that down with a scalloped piece of chipboard.  The beads along the bottom are attached to the back cover so they are out of the way when turning pages.

The back cover has a raised frame around the saying.  There is actually a little diamond in the center of the flower also--but it's lost in the folds.    

A closer look of the raised frame.

Inside front cover and first page. Pocket, tags and chipboard flowers

The little vine is a flocked sticky strip.

More chipboard pieces and frame for photo.

I love this pocket with the lace.

Another big pocket and Tim Holtz film strip--I'm so stingy with that stuff  :) 

 Rain dots on the sticky tape, pocket and tag.

Folded page I added--closed...

...and open, another pocket.

Lots of room for photos

 Chipboard, covered piece on left page.

A pocket on the inside back cover.

   

This album will hold a lot of photos and journaling!  

Good Things in Small Packages

It's nice to know that we are all keeping the postal services in all the countries working  :)  Even though the internet took away a lot of the 'old' ways of communicating--letters and such.  I think scrappers and card makers have helped to bring it all back  :)

Anyway, I was a lucky winner over on Kimmies blog, http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/  and here is the gift I recieved last Friday!  And she's right, good things DO come in small packages  :)  Aren't these handmade things beautiful and even more special is that Kim made the stamp too!  Thanks again Kim, I love them!

What I've been working on periodically over the past 3 weeks.  No it hasn't been here on the kitchen counter that long  :)   I had to pack it away and bring it out a few times. 

And I never work on one thing at a time  :)  

Anyway, it's coming along!  It will be finished soon and I will post more pics.  

Thanks for stopping by, be sure to come again  :)



Holiday Tea on Tuesday

I'm not sure what moves a person towards any particular tea.  My choice today is a packet I found in the tea cupboard--two left from last Christmas  :)

So I had to use one of my favourite bowls for my fruit and cereal too!  I chose not to put them away after the holidays and every once in a while pull one out to use, just for fun.

It rained again overnight, everything is looking very green and the buds are really coming out on the trees and shrubs.  Little shoots are popping up in the flower bed--nice to see   :)

My humble tea cupboard  :)

Thanks for stopping by, be sure to look around and have a wonderful day   :) 

Come and join others out on Tuesday at Kimmies, check my side bar for Art In Red Wagons.

  

My Page for Let's Get Shabby Challenge #23

This is the beautiful photo for the challenge over at Let's Get Shabby.

http://letsgetshabby.blogspot.com/2011/04/challenge-23.html 

Use these colours and some spots. 

This is my 12 x 12 scrap page for the challenge.  I clear embossed with a doily stamp, diamond and cheesecloth stamp, then inked over the page with cranberry crisp and cool caribbean from Stampin Up!  I also used distress embossing powder--broken china, but most of it is covered with the photo, you can see it just beside the word 'today'.  The large butterfly is one that I crochet.

Be sure to check out all the beautiful entries at Let's Get Shabby!

Thanks for stopping by and come again  :) 

Reflecting with my Tea on Tuesday

This is the reflection I see as I walk into my bedroom, makes me feel as though I'm entering from a beautiful garden---maybe in a faraway country or time---I love it, I'm such a dreamer  :) 

I'm still enjoying my morning coffee, reflecting on a wonderful Easter weekend spent with my kids  :)

Come and join the group at Kimmies http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/

  

Paper Bag Card and Other Stuff :)

I went to a cardmaking evening with Friends and we all made a paper bag card.  

I'm quite pleased at how it turned out.  There's a tag to pull out and room in the back to add a little goodie   :)   Very easy to make, just fold the bag in half, creating the front 'pocket' for the tag.    

On to new things, here is a Word book I started last Fall.  And a new book from Close To My Heart--as is the lovely paper. 

Just had to show you my Mandevilla in bloom, there are a bunch of new buds coming  :)  It just kind of 'hung out' in the living room all winter and is now coming to life.

Another metal flower, love this one too.  Put the largest petal through the cuttlebug.  

And last but not least, three of the pets (one cat still sleeping) sharing a sunny spot this morning  :)

  

Thanks for stopping by for a visit  :)

Canvas Frame and Springtime Card

A canvas....to show my flowers. I pulled ink pads over, added sparkly modge podge, lace, my own flowers and leaves, small swirls of grunge paper, butterflies (from a lovely friend), pearls, lace and sheer ribbon.  The crown (walmart) which I added crystals and pearls, is glued on with crystal effects--hope it stays put  :)    **Forgot to add that I used rub-ons for the words.

Now, I played with the colour on this so it is a wee bit dark, but after doing it, your eyes go a little wonky :) so I left it alone.

Still playing with the Once Upon A Springtime paper pack---a lot of mileage out of a 9" x 9" pad.  Everyone seems to be cutting the flowers and fairies out, so I gave it a try too  :)  fiddley, but I sure like the results.  I added an acrylic window. 

Thanks for coming by to look  :)

Metal Flowers and Fabric Flowers

The fabric flowers are the ones I made last Tuesday.  I love making these things  :)

Then, here are some that I started about a year ago.  I put pins on the back so they could be worn.  

Then....I tried making metal ones  :)  Looooove these!  I found a tutorial an Artfully Yours (lovely blog),  here  http://yoursartfully.blogspot.com/2010/11/flower-powerday-1tattered-florals.html

Very easy to make.  The metal that I used is from Stampin Up!  It has a sticky back and next time I do them, I think I'll take off the paper backing and stick them to cardstock or printed paper (thinner) because as you work with them, the backing paper comes off. 

I used the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die, then painted with black acrylic paint, swiped it off right away leaving an antique look and when dry, added alcohol inks---check out the site above for easy peasy directions and more flowers, or come back here in a few days, I'll probably have more made--addictive, lol. 

This is what it looks like after cutting out.  I used only my stylus, a pen top to make the centers and my little tool from Stampin Up! to score the large flower--being careful not to go through the metal!  

You can see the 'half' daisy that I practiced on  :)

I'd like to add that these are fairly soft so I wouldn't use them on a card or album, but they would be awesome on a canvas!  And having said that, I'm just thinking that if I back them with other paper, they may be strong enough for a card, hmmmm....



Thanks for stopping by, come again  :)

Tea on Tuesday and Making Flowers

I'm up early and getting right to it today.  The sun is shining, it's going to be a lovely day!

My tea is acai berry, I love the colour and aroma!  Goes perfectly with making flowers.

I'll have to finish my buttered-up raison cinnamon bagel first  :)

I spent a wee bit of time yesterday, cuting these out, but it took almost an hour to curl the edges over the candle--but I was talking on the phone, love multi-tasking  :)
I think I'll use pearls on most of them but I got out a bunch of brads, my bead container, Mom's old button box and needle and thread.  I'll post the results when finished.

   

There are many sites and you-tube videos on making flowers. But I saw them on Gabrielle's blog  http://gabriellepollacco.blogspot.com/   She does a tutorial for them and does a beautiful job of using them on her scrap pages!

Join us for Tea on Tuesday over at Kimmies blog  http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/

Arch Book, My Dad's Side

This is the 'other' side of the Arch book, showing four more techniques.  I followed along with Roni over at Ink Stains blog--check my sidebar for the link. 

I have already changed a couple of things on my Mom's side of the book--nothing major.  Sometimes when you look at something for a bit, you realize this or that could be added or fixed up  :)   

On the page that says 'good times' I missed a step in the technique.  I realized, too late, that I had not used the waxed paper!  Oh well, I like the way it looks  :)  There is a little pull-out picture tucked in behind the other pictures.

  

On the rounded arch, we were to use a page of definitions, but not having that, I wrote some words.  I didn't add much more than the photos so as not to cover my words describing my Dad  :)  

If I were to do this page again (which I'm not), I would put a sunburst window at the top and put words in the angles.  

 



If you would like to see my Mom's side of this book, check this post:

http://bitsbynancy.blogspot.com/2011/03/last-page-of-arch-book-for-this-side.html

Thanks for looking  :)

Tea on Tuesday

It's been a busy weekend with my Son and Grandson here for a few days.  I love it when the kids come to visit--never long enough  :)

But I did get some paper time.

The state of  my table never changes, just the projects on it.  Do you see my cup in the corner---coffee this morning   :)  
I'm working on the 'other' side of my house book and the other tea book.  I love it when you can work on a few projects at a time--glue dries....

And this morning, a wee bit of snow!  I was actually planning on raking the grass because the snow was gone!  Now it will have to dry up a bit  :)

This is one tea book done and sent to a dear friend for her birthday.

On the inside back cover is a picture I took from a site offering free pics and I will add that site when I remember which one!  I changed the colour to add a bit of pink.

***note  :)  this image came from Graphics Fairy, here:  http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/2011/03/old-photo-postcard-5-beauties-profiles.html

  
Thanks for coming by and especially to all of you who leave lovely comments--Thank You  :)
Enjoy your day and if you would like to join others for Tuesday Tea or whatever your special drink is, hop over to Kimmies for the list  http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/