Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Hoooooraaayyyy!

I am honored to be chosen for the Top 3 in the Simon Says Stamp Vintage Challenge. This means my log can wear Top 3 Blinkie with Pride. There were so many wonderfully grungy pieces of craft, I am so happy and honored that the design team chose my frame to be in the Top 3.  Thank you!!
Below is the frame (again) and the blinkie is over on the right side of my blog.

WOYWW WEEK 69

Last night I was making some card sets for my Etsy shop using some Hero Arts stamps, distress inks and the Basic Grey Basics paper pad. I will finish up tonight, not sure if these will make the cut or not. Messy as always - the desk is only clean for a brief time every week. I think I thrive in the chaos, as many others do to.


Thanks for looking at my mess. 

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Frame Full of Grungy Goodness

Here is my entry for the Simon Says Stamp Vintage Challange - Grunge. I took a dollar store frame and covered it in distress inked grungepaper and then glued on fragments covered in grungy Lost and Found paper. I decorated piece of grungepaper with various grungeboard elements and distress embossing powder. For a final touch I added some tattered florals cut from the Lost and Found paper.
Thanks for looking!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Unity Stamps Friends with Flair Blog Hop

I signed up to be part of this blog hop on Splitcoaststampers, there are 50 of us I believe. You can follow the trail at Unity Stamp Co. blog. I love Unity for their whimsical stamps and I love this new little stamp set Whats Shakin?...so freakin cute - I picked it up at Archivers during Scrapfest! I paired it up with some Cosmo Cricket Early Bird and Garden Variety papers - perfect!!!   So thanks for looking!





Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Scrapfest Videos and Review



I have been wanting to take a class from Tim Holtz since I started following him - maybe 2 years ago....but he had not come close enough to Des Moines, except for Scrapfest and last year I was recovering from surgery. So when it was announced he would again be teaching at the MOA, I was on it. I set my alarm for a half hour before registration, set my laptop next to my bed and tried to sleep - dreaming repeatedly of NOT being able to get into one of his classes. Luckily that was not the case and I was set for class at 10:00 AM on Friday Sept. 17.  WOOOOHOOOOOO.
     I headed up to Minnesota around 12:30 and checked into my hotel (See Post Why I Love the Microtel) around 4, then headed over to Scrapfest around 5:30. The registration line was fairly long but you could look at all the make and takes offered and the 7 Gypsies Tray Contest Entries while waiting - plus most of the other crafters were pretty chatty. After I got my Scrapfest badge I strolled through the bargain area, they had allot of 1.99 items -much of the same stuff they have in their stores - stamps, glitter, brad packages, small ink queues, stickers etc and lots and lots of Halloween  items. They also had quite a really nice few paper pads ranging from 4.99 to 24.99, some were some great My Minds Eye and Fancy Pants value packs.  I did not buy too much here, I find when I buy random dollar spot items I end up not using them. I am not a huge scrapbooker(though I should be!) and I tend to buy with a specific project or idea in mind so I do not buy much just because its a good deal and I did not come home with any of the pretty paper packs. Next I headed up to Archivers to shop, I will be honest - very disappointed that there were not any NEW stamps from Tim Holtz in stock. Absolutely nothing from summer CHA, I think considering that Tim is a headliner - they should be sure they have his stuff in stock! They also did not have any of the new Tattered Angels Glitz or Glam in stock. I even heard someone from TA expressing their disappointment in this. They did have ALOT of the new paper lines available which was awesome! While I had no trouble spending a good deal of muula - I would have spent significantly more had the new stamps or new TA been in stock. When checking out the Archivers clerk said it was a good thing to shop on Thursday because they were already getting low on alot of hot items and by Sunday the pickings may be slim. After Archivers I did a little shopping for my daughter picking her up a couple pairs of earrings, a necklace and a feather headband from For Love 21 - all for under $15! Then I was wiped so I went back to the hotel, drank a couple of beers and crashed.
    I arrived at the mall around 9 am Friday morning, went to get in line for a make -n-take for Tombow - then realized I left my badge in the van. When I cam back the shortest line was for Cosmo Cricket so I made a cute tag, Lindsey and Julie were working the line so that was fun - plus I had been featured in their facebook a couple of days earlier so we chatted about that for a minute. Then it was time for THE CLASS. AMAZING, WONDERFUL, TOO SHORT, LEFT ME WANTING MORE. We made an adorable little book, which I show in my video. From class we took home a couple of distress ink pads, an ink applicator, a mini glossy accents and a gold paint dabber - then when we left - WOW WOW we received  a package of elements grungeboard and a brand new not yet available package of Texture Fades - the snowman and the snowflakes no less....the one I was going to buy FIRST!  I had my picture taken and had him sign a couple of things and then off I went to the land of make and takes. First I got in the Tattered Angels line - super long but a great make and take and Heidi Swapp was working the line - cool beans. Then I did the make n takes for Unity Stamps, We r Memory Keepers and I thought someone else but I can't remember. Then I ate some lunch, walked around a bit but the lines were super long and I was tired so I went back to Archivers and shopped a bit more then headed home.
     I would say Scrapfest was exactly what I expected, no big surprises. I was pretty disappointed that they would not ensure they had the newest and most popular items in stock, and I heard this time and time again while waiting in line. Maybe next year they will do a better job or maybe postpone a week or two to make sure they get the product.I have an Archivers 5 minutes away and since there were not fantastic deals on the kinds of products I use, next year  my money would be better spent  taking some classes. I wiill also plan to spend two nights next year, the lines for the make-n-takes were long and there were a couple others I would have liked to do, plus I would have liked to have had some more time shopping at the mall and around Bloomington.
Please watch my videos showing all my goodies I bought, the project from Tim's class and  the make and takes.
Thanks!!!!

Scrapfest Haul Part 1



Scrapfest Haul Part 2



 

Monday, September 20, 2010

Compendium of Curiosities Week 15




This weeks Compendium of Curiosities Challenge on the blog Studio L3  is Alcohol Ink Agate on Grunge. I decided to use my new Texture Fades that I received for taking Tim Holt's Scrapfest class. He gave all participants the snowman and snowflakes Texture Fades and a pack of elements grungeboard.
The background of my project is grungepaper embossed with the snowflakes, then inked with denim, pool, sailboat blue, pearl and silver alcohol ink, then swiped with a white pigment pad  to pop the snowflakes. The snowman is grungepaper cut with Tim's die, embossed with the snowman Texture Fade then inked with white pigment and Tumbled Glass and stamped with Chipped Sapphire using the snowman stamp. I also sprayed everything with perfect pearl water. The snowflakes on the frame are from the Seasonal Grungeboard package and inked the same as the background. The fragment is also inked the same as the background and stamped with Archival Ink.




Thanks for looking!

Pretty Pretty Name Banner for my Crafting Buddy

During CHA I won a  received a VERY generous package  from KI Memories and Two Peas in a Bucket containing the complete Posh and Enchanted lines - papers and every embellishment that went with.


My crafting buddy - my niece is quite the little crafter and whenever she comes to visit she loves to sit with me in my craft space and play with all my stuff. I LOVE IT!!  This last visit while we were downstairs making cards I called her my crafting buddy and I guess she was so please that several weeks later her mom was reading to her at bedtime and she told her mom how I called her my crafting buddy.....so sweet. Last year I took her to the One of a Kind Stamp and Scrap Show in Madison and a few of the vendors were amazed at how well she could color in images and make cards. She had the best time looking at all the products and projects, she had brought along some money and bought herself some Shimmerz Bling and some stickers. We will be going again this November.
The Enchanted line from KI Memories matches her room very closely so I made her a name banner and I will be making her a Auntie's Craft Buddy sign. Below is the name Banner. I cut the banner pieces from canvas and sprayed them with glimmer mist and homemade re-inker perfect pearls mist in greens, pinks and blues. The rest of the items are all from the KI Memories Enchanted line.

Thanks so much for looking - check back soon as I will have my Scrapfest Review and Videos posted soon.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Tim

Off to see Tim and make the tiniest project ever....lol. I will be sure to post a picture.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Why I love the Microtel

I am in my hotel room in Bloomington, Mn waiting for rush hour to end so I can zoom over to the mall and check in for Scrapfest. I am in the Microtel Inn - I stay here every time I come to the Minneapolis area - maybe once or twice a year. Actually I stay in a Microtel Inn everytime I travel if possible- I love the Microtel.
Why?
1. They are always spotless - I have stayed in maybe 5 or 6 different ones and never once have I seen a stray hair or even dust for that matter.
2. They are SUPER cheap.
3. See No. 1
4. The beds are very very comfy
5. The pillows are not too fluffy - I like flat pillows - I hate pillows in fancy hotels - they are too fluffy - I have to bring my own pillow when I stay in a fancy hotel.
6. See No. 1.
7. Very few children running the halls, or jumping on the bed in the room above me or babies crying - why you ask? - NO POOL!!!  don't get me wrong, I like kids - just not loud ones when I am trying to sleep. My kid is 18 and would now much rather have $40 more bucks to spend on clothes or whatever than a pool at the hotel. YEAH!!
8. Free Continental breakfast - nothing fancy - but free if I am up early enough.
9. You can get a Suite type room with 2 queens , a pullout, fridge and microwave for about $70-80 bucks a night. hard to beat.
10. See No. 1.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

WOYWW

What's on your work desk Wednesday? Well last night I was playing around with masking for L3's Compendium of Curiosities Challenge and my stuff is still there and no project is completed...lol.
Check out the other crafter's work desks at  Stamping Grounds.



I am off to Scrapfest tomorrow. I hope to have lots to share on the blog when I return. This is my first Scrapfest and I am not sure if what I am expecting is what happens ;-) I will write up my experience and do a sort of trip review of expectations vs. reality. More importantly -  I am taking my first class with Tim Holtz,  I am so excited I doubt I will sleep at all Thursday night!

Thanks for reading!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

My First Video!!

I filmed a haul video, it covers a couple of trips to Michaels and Archivers and one trip my wonderful LSS Memory Bound Scrapbooking. I do not have editing software, so all my mistakes and uhms and pauses are there for the world to see. I plan to to another haul video when I get back from Scrapfest.




Thanks for watching!

Paint Brush Holder

I altered an oatmeal box to hold my paintbrushes, The paper is from October afternoon, letters are Maya Road and flowers are grungepaper and Olive Vine and Coffee Shop glimmer mist.  This is my entry for L3's Compendium of Curiosities challenge.



Thanks for looking!!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Alice In Wonderland Halloween Door Hanging

Here is a door hanging I made with Graphic 45's Hallowe'en in Wonderland paper. There are 5 chipboard panels, which are from one of the $1 bind at Michaels. The first 4 each represent a specific character and the 5th has cards of some other characters. I used some Tim Holtz Holiday grungeboard, stickles and distress inks to embellish the pieces. The pieces are held together with a black satin ribbon.  I really love this project, it is my current favorite but my daughter had called dibs to have this hang from her door - she is a big Alice fan..  I am entering this in Simon Says Stamp's  "STAMP"tember Hop Challenge so be sure and check out all the wonderful projects on this Hop.
My camera is a very cheap on so it was hard to get a good picture of the whole project, so I will post some close ups also.

Alice small and tall

Grungeboard keyhole inked with brass distress crackle paint, walnut stain distress ink and then glossy accents over the top. 


Mad Hatter

I used black and shabby shutters distress stickles on his hat and pants. 



The White Rabbit


I used the Tim Holtz clock mask on the background paper with silver glimmer mist. You can kind of see that in this close up.





The Red Queen


Grungboard castle inked with Barndoor distress ink - one window is Alice, one is the queen the other is a heart. The wihte rose painted red is from Michaels wedding area the white rose with red center is made from Tim Holtz Tattered floral die, the red center is from Michaels wedding area also. The small flower has a white center from Michaels wedding area and the red part is made from Petaloo Color Me Crazy flowers.



Other Characters



Thanks for looking. If you have any questions about the project I will be happy to answer them.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Bingo Tag

Here is an oversize tag I made for L3's Compendium of Curiosities Chipped Enamel Challenge and Simon Says Stamp Vintage Challenge -Layers. I went to the antique store and found a bag of vintage wooden bingo chips and cards for about $7. There are about 100 chips and maybe 40 cards. I made this tag before that trip so the bingo card is not an antique one, but I added the old chips after my trip.  Thanks for looking!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Winner and Thank You

First I just want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone for all your wonderful comments and for following my blog. I truly have been overwhelmed and surprised by the number of comments and followers I have in and just the couple of weeks that the blog has been online. I never expected this level of response, my family has been encouraging me to get my work out there and show people and share, but truthfully there are so many amazing crafters and artists online I was every intimidated. I finally got up courage and started not only the blog but an Etsy store also(my first sale within a week and too someone who is not a friend or relative!!!).  So thank you thank you thank you for all your support, it really does mean so much!


So the winner is...Kathy Eddy
Loving both of these projects! Great job on them.

Thank you Kathy - please contact me with your mailing info and I will send you some goodies. 

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Whats on Your Workdesk Wednesday

It's a messy day at my workdesk - almost always is, except on Sunday nights then I try to clean up and organize myself for the following weeks creations. This mess is what's left after making a couple of tags that combine L3's Compendium of Curiosities Challenge and the SSS Vintage Challenge, which I will post when I am completely satisfied with the projects.  For many of my projects (unless I am rushing to meet a challenge deadline -not unusual!!) I "finish it" then let them sit a day or so and then more often than not, add something else to them. Do other people do this too?
I would say this a messier than usual.






Thanks for looking at my messy desk.