Saturday, December 21, 2013

Holiday Break

Ho, Ho, Ho!  I am taking a little break from my blog over the Holidays.  I am working on things behind the scenes though, just not publishing for a few more days.  You see, Unlike Santa I don't have any elves to back me up, this is a one woman organization!   I have been busy with several new ventures and I am working on others.  Like the Terminator though: " I'll be back".  In the mean time, here are some pictures of some of my latest projects.  Happy Holidays to all and thanks for following me.







Sunday, December 15, 2013

A Sweet Blog Hop


Welcome to the Sweet & Sparkly Blog Hop brought to you by the All that Stickles design team!


The holidays are just around the corner, and the ATS design team has put together some fabulous, sparkly projects to help get in the holiday spirit!

If you're looking to start at the beginning of the hop, please visit All that Stickles. If you've come from Karen S.'s blog, you're in the right place. 



Sweets Hop and Mixed Media Monday all wrapped up into one!
That's right folks, I am taking the easy way this week I am posting one project for both features.  I am a busy little elf these days and that is all the time I have.  

I had intended of going a different route for these projects but when I saw this cute candy themed tub at the store I just had to buy it and share it with all of you.  It is a gift box intended to put a christmas gift inside.  I think it could be used at any time of year though.  It is a very sturdy container and would make for great decorative storage also.  I glammed up this box with my Stickles in Christmas Red, Green, Star Dust, and Rock Candy (how convenient).  By the way in the back ground you see last week's project, I just thought it was fitting. :)





I also made this gift tag with my tag punch from Creative Memories, a scrap of white card stock (Staples), a wooden rubber stamp (Walmart) and Green Galore Craft ink from Stampin' Up!.  I used a piece of red and white twine (Stash) to attach it to the handle of the tub.  I also decorated the tag with Stickles by Ranger in Christmas Red, and Green.


It is very difficult to show off the glittery glamour of stickles on camera so I took several pictures with closeups to show you (as best as I could) what I did.


I used Rock Candy on the white parts, Star Dust on the dots, Christmas Red on the spots of the candies, and Green on some of the green candies.


Thanks for stopping by and Happy Holidays!


We have blog candy for those who are a follower of All that Stickles and leave a comment on every stop of the hop! Winners will be announced Wednesday December 18th at All that Stickles.

$25 Gift Certificate
$15 Gift Certificate


10 Digital Stamps of Winner's Choice


$15 Gift Certificate

Your next stop is Cathie's blog. 

Here's the complete lineup:

Thanks for hopping! :) Don't forget to check out our Happy Holidays Linky Party!






Monday, December 9, 2013

Happy Holidays pennant.


Hi,  I have a pennant project to show you today.  The All That Stickles Blog( I am on the Design Team there)  is having a new challenge and the theme is "Happy Holidays".  As I am quite busy these days (who isn't?)   I opted to show you something quick and easy, and looks   more complex than it actually is.  I played with my new Silhouette Electric die cutting machine to make this and that is the main reason this was such an easy project.  I downloaded an SVG file from the Silhouette store, this one being in their Holidays pennants section.






To make this I used some green card stock from staples, white paper from Dollarama, ribbon (Michaels), two jingle bells (My stash), Stickles in: Christmas Red, Green, Gold, and Rock Candy.  Due to the fact that I used a die cut this was a very quick and easy project to make.  It would even be nice to make more pennants and make a longer banner for decorating a wall.

Thanks for stopping by.


Wednesday, December 4, 2013

A little birdie...



Hi, today I have this card to share with you that I designed for the Get Inky Stamps Design Team.  There is a challenge(Upward, Onward, and Skyward) going on  with as usual some lovely prizes and a chance for online publication  I used water colours to paint a background on this card and also to colour the bird.  I made the bird from chipboard collaged with a vintage music sheet and more water colours and some ink.  The sentiment is one of the Get Inky polymer clear stamps from the "Love Bugs" collection.  I also used a Tim Holtz (Ranger) steel die cut for the bird.    The card base is white card stock from staples.

Thank you for stopping by and go have fun Getting Inky with stamps!

Monday, December 2, 2013

Holiday Home Decor and a Cardinal


Hello, today I am showing you a small Mixed Media Piece I did as inspiration for the Challenge at the All That Stickles blog.  I made this and have it up for sale in my booth (#10) "The Two Crazy Crafters"in the Alfred Indoor Flea Market at 4822 County Road 17, Alfred, Ontario, Canada.




Ok so I am now known as one of the TWO Crazy Crafters locally, and I am also a frugal crafter/artist.  I had picked up this small balsa wood sign at Value Village a while back and I was saving it for a painting.  I used it for the current challenge at the ATS blog for Holiday Home Decor.  It started as plain wood, which I covered with a cotton paper from Dollarama.  I then stamped on Musical Notes from Stampin'Up! with Archival Sepia Ink from Ranger.  I drew the bird and branch with pine cones in pencil.  Using Derwent Inktense Colouring pencils I coloured the image.  I also used Micron Pigment ink pens in brown and black for some of the details.  To make the snow I used a Snow Writer from Deco Art.  The bling was made from Stickles by Ranger in: Christmas Red, Black Diamond and Gold.

I hope you enjoyed your visit today and please go to the ATS blog and participate in the challenge.  Thanks for stopping by.



Monday, November 25, 2013

Holiday Home Decor with Stickles.

Mixed Media is perfect for home decor and this is a great season to be inspired and to find materials in all the stores for our projects.  Personally, I love collecting vintage looking santas in all forms of media. I fell in love with an oil painting in a local gallery of an amazing Santa, however it was out of reach for my wallet!  So I decided to make a much smaller and less expensive version with some Christmas wrapping supplies from the Dollar store, and Stickles!



This is actually a gift box that I merely embellished with some Christmas Red and Gold Stickles.  I in ten to prop this on an easel and display it on my buffet in my entry way when we get up our decorations next weekend.  It was a super easy and cheap project, but I love the look so I had to share this with all of you this week as my Mixed Media Monday piece and as inspiration for the blog "All That Stickles".  I was going to add some white flower soft or flocking to the white fur on this Santa, but I thought the Stickles were enough.

I hope that you are inspired to make some Holiday Home Decor with Stickles and inexpensive supplies.
Thanks for stopping by.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Being Thankful Card

Hi, I made this card for the Get Inky! Stamps challenge blog a few weeks ago as inspiration for that challenge and the upcoming ThanksGiving season in the U.S.A.  We celebrated already here in Canada with too much good food!  So here is the card I made:




To make this card I scored and folded some orange card stock from Staples.  I die cut two labels with my Sizzix and Stampin' Up! die, one in orange and one in white.  I trimmed the edges of the white card so as to be able to matt it onto the orange.  I also used some scraps of printed paper on the front panels.  I used the Get Inky! Holidays 2013 stamps to stamp the cute pumpkin and the sentiment.  I used Memnto Black ink, orange Gelatos by Faber Castell and colouring pencils by Prismacolor.

I hope that you enjoyed this quick project.  Thank you for stopping by.


Wednesday, November 20, 2013

WOYWW, Nov. 20, 2013

Time to shed some light on my craftiness of late.  My entire basement and part of the main floor of my house have piles, bags, and boxes of on going projects.  I very very recently partnered up with a fellow crafter and friend in a new business and it is keeping me busy busy busy.  We just opened up our own booth of crafty and artsy goodness at a new and local indoor year round flea market.  It is so new that business is very slow as word is getting around at a snail's pace.  However, nothing ventured, nothing gained.  So here is a picture of one of my work tables in my studio, WARNING it is a mess!

By the way I am sharing this with you courtesy of Julia, thanks again. :)


Sorry if I have been inconsistent in my weekly postings, I have been busy with this new project which involved painting, moving, and setting up a space outside my home while creating an inventory and going about regular daily life!  I have also not been very good at following up on the other WOYWWs, sorry I will try to catch up over the next few days and whenever I have a free moment while in my new little shop, we have wi-fi there! :)

Thank you for stopping by.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Let's Talk Turkey, Mixed Media Monday 2

Hi, if you are looking for the Blog Hop please click here.


Hi, and welcome to Monday!  I made a scrapbook (12" x 12") with photos from my family's Thanksgiving this year:


That is not a typo they were thankful and FULL of food!  By the way, just in case some of you may be wondering if I got my date right, I did, we had Thanksgiving already a couple weeks ago.

The pictures are of my boys and some of the food we prepared and ate.  I used scrapbook papers from my stash, American Crafts card stock in orange and yellow, sticker letters and numbers by Creative Memories, the background page is also from C.M., and Stickles by Ranger.

I fussy cut some of the funny little turkeys saying :Gobble Gobble" and decorated them with Paprika and Lime Green coloured Stickles.

Scrapbooks are great for playing with Mixed Media and Stickles, give it a try!

Thanks for stopping by. :)

Please visit the All That Stickles Blog for more inspiration.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Black Diamond Deals Blog Hop


Welcome to the Black Diamond Deals Blog Hop brought to you by the All that Stickles design team!


The biggest shopping day of the year is just around the corner, and the ATS design team has put together some fun, sparkly shopping projects to help inspire those shopping lists! (And maybe the shine from all the glitter will help wake you up in the middle of the night to hit the stores!)

 If you've come from Chas's blog, you're in the right place! If you've just come across the hop, please visit All that Stickles.




I made this in my art journal while I was sitting in my own booth hoping to have paying customers!  I have had this stamp set from Rusty Pickle for quite a while and I thought this one was perfect for our hop's theme.  It reminds me of hanging out with my girl friends and shopping! Even though, on Black Friday I usually shop alone as I mean business, hey if I am getting up that early I need coffee and no attitudes!!..  Here in this region of Canada the shopping  on Black Friday, has usually been quite civil. People are generally polite and courteous, unlike the visions we see on the television news.

This page started out with a base of watercolour paint and splatters.  I then stamped with Ranger's Archival Black ink, went over the lighter lines with a black Bic Permanent ink marker.  The rosettes are made from recycled cash register receipts (how appropriate for this theme) and the Tim Holtz/ Sizzix Rosette Die Cut.  I added some Rock Candy, Black Diamond, and Pink Stickles for the bling.  On the stamped handbags and shopping bags of the girls I used the same stickles.  I used black gelatos for the girls' shadows (Faber Castell),  and the trims and ribbon are from my stash.
Now if we could all have such sparkly shopping bags when we shop I think retail sales would be higher!  Ha Ha Ha.  So, I apologize if I am encouraging you to spend this upcoming Holiday Season, but remember the people who work in stores also need the pay.
I hope that you liked your stop here today.  Have a fun and safe shopping spree.  Thanks for stopping by.


We have blog candy for those who are a follower of All that Stickles and leave a comment on every stop of the hop! Winners will be announced Wednesday November 20th at All that Stickles.

$15 Gift Certificate
7 Digital Stamps of Winner's Choice

3 Digital Stamps of Winner's Choice
(If you email TSC letting them know you're hopping with us, you'll receive a free image!)

2 Digital Stamps of Winner's Choice

Your next stop is Cathie's's blog! 

Here's the complete lineup:
Thanks for hopping! :) Don't forget to check out our Let's Talk Turkey Linky Party!

Monday, November 11, 2013

Gobble Gobble Mixed Media Monday



Hi, today's Mixed Media is a small and quick project that  made for the current theme over at the All That Stickles blog where I am a member of the design team.  I made these turkey cupcake picks for the "Let's Talk Turkey" Linky Party.



Originally I had intended to bake the cupcakes and therefore post the recipe which would have made this a real mixed media piece.  However, I had to buy some cupcakes instead.  So, I cheated a bit this week on my project.  I cut out some turkeys with their Gobble Gobble saying and glued them to toothpicks backed with card stock.  I used Paprika Stickles to decorate them.  It is a good way to use up scrapbook paper scraps or to use funky all over printed papers. 

I hope that you enjoyed.  Thanks for stopping by.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Tree Blueprint Mixed Media Monday









I am having fun with these new Stamp and Die sets from Sizzix and Ranger in my Mixed Media projects.  I love to use layers and I usually do  lot of fussy cutting in my works, and with this set I save some time!
ok, so maybe you are here and you just want to know how I put this together?  Well, here goes...

I used a very strong piece of corrugated cardboard from an old box that I gessoed and covered with some wrinkled recycled tissue paper.  I adhered the tissue with a coat of Modge Podge, then spritzed on some inks and dyes from Ranger and Tattered Angels.  Once dry I used light modeling paste by Liquitex through an old piece of punchinella.  The center of the project is made out of a piece of American Crafts card stock and some scraps of scrapbook paper I had.  I used the stamps and Dies from the Sizzix and Tim Holtz Alterations line "Tree Blueprint".    I stamped with Memento Black ink, coloured with Distress inks: Fired Brick, Broken China, and Lemon Yellow.  I decorated with Distress Stickles by Ranger in: Scattered Straw, Fired Brick, Broken China and some Yellow. The edges of the pieces were inked with Ranger's Distress Tea Dyte ink.   everything was adhered with foam adhesive and Aleene's Tacky glue.  The bow was made from vintage red satin ribbon from my stash and glued on with hot glue.

I made this piece as inspiration for the ongoing challenge: "Anything Goes and Distress Stickles" over at the All That Stickles blog.  I hope that you participate.  I also hope that you enjoyed your visit today. Thanks for stopping by.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

3-D Snowflake

Hi, today I am sharing with you a  three dimensional paper snowflake ornament that I created for the Get Inky! Stamps By Blue Moon Creation and the blog.  It can also be used as a bow on a gift.




All you need to make these are 12 strips of paper measuring 6 inches by half an inch, cut from a 6 inch square piece of double sided printed paper.  My twist on this is that I chose to use a single sided printed paper (with little snowmen) and I stamped on the white side.  I used the stamps from the Holidays 2013 stamp set from Get Inky! , red and green stamping ink (Stampin' Up!) to make it a double sided paper.
I love this project because it looks a lot more complicated to make then it actually is.  It is a great way to make something pretty with just a few supplies.  The process involves some weaving of the paper strips and little dabs of glue  where connections are made.  I got the idea from another blogger "The Frugal Crafter" where she has a whole video tutorial on how to weave the paper and form the bows/snowflakes.  I just added the stamping.
These are fun to make while watching television and once you get the hang of it they can be addictive.  I warned you!

Have fun and go Get Inky!  Thanks for viewing.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

WOYWW Oct. 30, 2013






The day before halloween and my desk is scary looking!  I have actually seen worse, but let's not go there today.  The mess you see will probably have to stay there until I get the Halloween preparations done for tomorrow.  Essentially bag the candy!  It is less tempting to everyone else in the family if mom makes treat bags for the trick or treaters.

So thanks to Julia here we go on another tour of other "scary "desks in the crafty world...




I was playing with my newly acquired Tim Holtz Alterations combo Stamps and Sizzix kit.  This is the Framelits one.  I have to work on making accurate die cuts, post stamping, unless I use a piece of tape they cut off skew.  I clean off the excess ink in my art journal on the side, it makes for fun back grounds.  I might use these die cuts on a new mini book/album I thought of making, will have to wait and see.

Ok, that is it for today.  I have to go fill some bags with candy!  Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great WOYWW.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Mixed Media Art Journal Rock'n Girl



  If you haven't guessed it by now.... it is another Monday and another installment of Mixed Media Monday.  I think it is an excellent way to start the week.  I know it helps me to get going on with the rest of the tasks of the week.  So here is a page in my art journal:





The theme from now until November 8 at our  All That Stickles Linky Party is "Anything Goes with Distress Stickles."  Those are my favourite lines in the stickles family as they coordinate so well with the other Distress Products by Tim Holtz for Ranger.  Mind you, all their products coordinate perfectly, these just happen to be my weakness!  For this page, I had the privilege of working with digital from our sponsor: the Stamping Chef.  This is the "Rock My World" image.  I used mostly colouring pencils (Prismacolor Premier) and a blender to colour this image.  I used Distress Stickles in Fired Brick, Picket Fence, Barn Door Red, Scattered Straw, and of course, my all-around favourite = Rock Candy.

I use the Dyan Ravelry "Dyelusions" mixed media art journal, and a crazy combination of leftover acrylic paints, inks, and sprays (all Ranger) from various projects as my background base. I collaged bits of vintage and distressed plus inked music sheets, scraps of scrapbook paper in multiple weights, vintage London bus tickets, and some raffle ticket remnants.  Besides, I used some sponged on gesso and Thickers sparkly stickers for the title.

Playing in my journal is fun and therapeutic, I do love this job!  I hope that you get to play in a journal too.  Thanks for stopping by, please play along with our Linky Party, and have a great week.


Monday, October 21, 2013

Halloween Mixed Media Screen

If you are here looking for my post for the All That stickles blog hop it is right here.http://allthatstickles.blogspot.ca/2013/10/button-bonanza-blog-hop.html




Monday, Monday, Monday....  it's good to start a whole new week in what has been a glorious fall here.  Over the weekend I was busy , busy, busy making this Halloween project for all of you (All that Stickles fans) and boy did I use LOTS of stickles!  I even managed to swallow some!  No joke.  I was snipping off stray ends of fibers that had glitter and stickles and one tiny piece must have flown into my tea cup.  I forgot to take it out and remembered when I finally took a gulp.  Good news, I m fine!


Here is my table top Halloween themed Screen:







Close up of the left side and part of the centre.





Close up of the right side and part of the centre.


The base of this project is cardboard recycled from cereal boxes, joined together with masking tape, gessoed, painted and collaged with vintage tea stained dictionary pages.  There is a coat of modge podge mixed with some walnut ink and water.  More paint (Craft Deco), Distress Dye Inks by Ranger,  embossing ink and Distress Embossing powder also from Ranger.  To make the background I used velvety spider webs on a mesh ribbon.  The picture frames are made of black card stock (American Crafts) die cut with a Spellbinders steel die (Frames Nestabilities).  The images are from older Halloween themed scrap book paper scraps I had in my stash. The ghost is a chipboard die cut from Little Yellow Bicycle. I made the picket fence, the pumpkin border and the toothy banner with Creative Memories papers from long ago and the C.M. border maker with the Rickety Fence, Pumpkin, and Banner cartridges.  I used white chalk ink by Color Box to distress the black papers.  The Dye inks I used were:  Black Soot, Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo, Old Paper, Pumice Stone, and Walnut Stain.  The Stickles I chose are:  Spiced Marmalade, Paprika, Black Diamond, Walnut Stain and Rock Candy.   I also used a lot of the Rusty Hinge Distress Glitter by Ranger and some Diamond Dust glitter. The embossing powder I used is Black Soot.  The sentiments are stamped with the Get Inky! By Blue Moon Creation "Halloween 2013"  stamps, onto some scraps of grey Card Stock with Ranger's Archival black ink.  To give the project dimension I used lots of black fun foam and my nifty Xyron sticker maker.  The little spiders were punched with a Creative Memories mini Halloween punch.

I hope that I have inspired you to go make some of your Halloween Mixed Media and Decorations.

Thanks for stopping by!

Challenges:
Anyone for Anya - 2W SIR - (1st Week) Vintage.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Buttons, and Blog Hop




Welcome to the Button Bonanza Blog Hop brought to you by the All that Stickles design team!


Buttons are fabulous embellishments to all types of craft projects, and what better than to spruce them up with some Stickles?!

 If you have just come across the hop and are looking to start at the beginning, please visit All that Stickles! If you've come from Karen's blog, you're in the right place. 





I made this Mixed Media canvas (8" x 8") with collage, acrylic paints (Claudine Helmuth), Alcohol inks and dye inks (Ranger), stamps, washi tape, Stickles in Lime Green, Emerald Green, Christmas Red, and Black Diamond (Ranger).  The buttons came from my very very BIG collection of vintage and recycled buttons.  The eyes of the Kitty are actually heart shaped buttons and the green ball is also a button. I decorated the buttons with stickles and her collar.  My inspiration came from our cat, this is what she looks like with her red collar and green eyes.  By the way, she loves to play in my button collection too!  
We have blog candy for those who are a follower of All that Stickles and leave a comment on every stop of the hop! Winners will be announced Wednesday October 23rd at All that Stickles.

$15 Gift Certificate
$15 Gift Certificate

$25 Gift Certificate

2 Digital Stamps of Winner's Choice

Your next stop is Cathy's blog. 

Here's the complete lineup:
Thanks for hopping! :) Don't forget to check out our Halloween Linky Party!