Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2014 - January - Leave Ordinary Behind

My husband loves his pocket watches.  He has three:  one his parents gave him when he graduated college, one he bought himself and the one I gave him when we got married. So, tonight I had an extra good time creating my monthly Tim Holtz Tag as it featured such a watch.  Tim used his large die, but I had his mini die and so I decided to give it a go using that one.  For this tag, I used only Tim Holtz and/or Ranger products.  That is not always the case, but this time I was able to find all I needed in my stash.

Lots of stains, inks and embossing were used on this tag.  I got to use a sentiment from a new stamp set by Tim on this tag.  I don't know many people who strive to be ordinary, why not try to be unique!

If you haven't tried making a tag of your own, I would suggest you visit  Tim's blog and he will show you how to make one, and give it your own spin!  Looking forward to seeing what the February tag will be and what new things I can learn and share.

Saying Happy Birthday With a Handmade iPhone Card

How many of us LOVE our iPhone (or other smart phones)?  I know I do!  I was a holdout and decided to get one recently and find I use it a lot!  Surfing, emailing, podcasts and tweeting are at my fingertips. So, when I won the Hashtag stamp set last week, I thought it would be fun to make an iPhone card and stamp the greetings on it.

Here is my handmade iPhone card.  I used glossy black card stock as the base and cut it down and rounded the corners to help it resemble my phone.  I used white and blue card stock to decorate it.  A white gel pen was used to do the doodling along the top.

How fun is this?  I plan to give it to a special person whose birthday is coming up soon. She never seems to put her phone down!  The possibilities are endless with the sentiments in that stamp set!  The black glossy card stock has a white back so it is perfect to be able to write a personal message to the recipient.

Off to get my fingers inky! Hope you find time to do something you love!

Tea Time Tuesday - Crafty Friend Valentine

I thought I would share a Valentine that I made for a blogger friend of mine to give to her friend Ada. Ada is a crafter and loves to create, so I used my Paper Smooches set for the focal point and used some brush stroke hearts by Hero Arts for the background.

Because it is Tuesday, I am sharing a fun teapot with you.  It is from Teavana and has a removable filter inside.  Funny story about this teapot.  This is actually my THIRD one as I have broken the first two of them! But my husband was not deterred and picked up a third one for me.  One of the broken ones now houses teabags on my table as only the filter and top were unusable.  Since these are delicate, I am very careful now.   I love the way tea looks when served in this pot as you can see the beautiful colors of the various teas.  My father-in-law got me a pair of tea cups and saucers for Christmas that look great with them.  I am not sure who made them, but I think they go perfect together.

Earl Grey is my favorite tea flavor.  What is yours? I would love to know!

Hashtag Love

Many of us have had days where you are feeling rather blue, or just plain blah.  Well, the other day I was having one of those days and it turned into a fun, happy day by a generous act.  Mario Rossi came up with a great idea for a stamp set for Stampers Anonymous called Hashtags! It was perfect for him as he is a great Twitter and Facebook user.  If you aren't following him, I highly recommend you do, as he is so much fun!  When I saw he was giving away some of these stamp sets on Facebook just by leaving a comment I did.  When I saw I was one of the winners I was so happy and excited!   After a long day of working and commuting in below zero weather on Friday, I came home to find it in the mail!

Last night I used the stamp set to decorate packaging and make a tag for my girlfriend Amy, who we are celebrating with this afternoon at a brunch.  The gift bag was a plain inexpensive bag, but by using my various Stampers Anonymous stamps to decorate it, it made it personalized to my friend (one of my Jane Austen group ladies).  The fun hashtags look great scattered throughout.

I am looking forward to making more fun things with this set.  Thank you to Mario Rossi and Tim Holtz for your generosity of spirit.

Just remember as you go through your day, a kind word or action can really mean a lot to those you encounter along the way.  No act is too small to make a BIG difference!

Milk and Cookie Valentine

Do you like chocolate cookies as much as I do?  I'm craving hot cookies just out of the oven and a pot of tea after making this Valentine's Day card.  My friend Ruth asked me to make a special card for her husband Joe, and after giving it some thought I decided to do a milk and cookie card.  Joe is a GREAT cookie baker (I have eaten many of his yummy creations!).

Supplies:
Stamps: Sweet 'N Sassy, Stampin' Up, Simon Says Stamp
Paper: Desert Storm, Card Kit Papers
Ink: Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink, Black Archival
Misc. Glossy Accents, Ribbon

For this card I used three various stamp company's stamps.  I love when I can mix and match my stamps to create something new.  I remembered I had a great chocolate chip stamp from an old Stampin' Up stamp set that I used for the background.  To make it more Valentine's Day in feel, I added some hearts from my January Simon Says Stamp card kit.  The papers I used for this card are from Simon's Says Stamp card kits as well.  In order to give the glass of milk a fun look, I applied Glossy Accents to it. I love how it turned it into a "glass."

Do you have a favorite cookie?  I love anything with chocolate, but I think Snickerdoodles have to be my all-time favorite.  There is something about cinnamon sugar that I can't resist.  Would love to hear your favorite!

WOYWW #242 - Up To My Elbows in Valentine's Day Card Preparations

Wednesday is here again and I am sharing what is on my work desk with you.  We are currently experiencing blizzard conditions, so there is no place I would rather be than inside and warm!

My desk is full of supplies that I am sorting through to make Valentine's Day cards.  I have a drawer filled with Valentine's Day stamps, and some in my Stampers Anonymous Binders as well.  You will see a bunch of various papers and a jar filled with ribbons printed with hearts and other patterns.

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays to make cards for.  I am not sure if it is the sharing of cards, or the abundance of lovely reds and pinks.  Sharing how much you love or care for someone is a fabulous thing, and I wish we did it more throughout the year.

Thanks to Julia for all the desk-hopping fun!  I hope to visit with you today and see what you are working on!

Hoping to work on some of the cards today and will share them with you soon!

Welcome to Tea Time Tuesday!

I am known for my love of card making and very inky fingers.  Some of you may know that one of my other great "loves" is tea.  I collect teapots, tea cups and different tea accessories.  My collection is varied and pieces range from the elegant to the downright whimsical.  My stamp room also houses many stamps that are tea-themed - two drawers full, to be exact!  Today I am sharing a card I made for a dear friend who is part of the Jane Austen group I belong to.  A lot of tea drinking happens with these ladies.

Supplies:
Stamps: Unity Stamps
Ink: Versamark, Tattered Rose Distress Ink
Paper: Desert Storm, Gina K Designs
Misc.: Tattered Rose Distress Embossing Powder, Ribbon, Novel Tea Tag 


My friend Asia gave me a box of tea one year for my birthday from a company called Novel Teas. Each of the tags has a great quote relating to literature and tea.  I loved them so much that I pulled all the strings off before using and kept them to use in my crafting.  I thought this quote by C.S. Lewis would be perfect for Amy, who is an avid reader.

How about I share a picture of a teapot and tea cup with you today?  What I like about this one is the lovely shape it has.  The tea cup is Wedgwood (St. Moritz).

Did you know that tea actually tastes better when drunk from a china cup as the rim is thinner than, say, a mug?  It allows the tea to enter your mouth at the right angle to best appreciate the flavor.

I am hoping to share more of my tea collection on Tuesdays, as well as more tea-themed cards.  Do you drink tea?  I would love to hear back from you!

WOYWW #241 - The Aftermath

I was up late crafting on Monday evening. I posted yesterday the cards that I completed. Since today is Wednesday, I am sharing what is on my desk with you, but I have to warn you - it isn't pretty!

You will notice that I am not the neatest painter around! I must say the use of alcohol wipes are making my life a lot easier as I use them to clean off my stencils and craft mat.

Thank you to Julia for the desk hopping fun! Hope to visit with a lot of you today and see what you are working on. Off to clean this desk off so I can have some inky fun tomorrow!

Valentine's Day Cards Using Acrylic Paint and Stencils

Tonight after work, I decided to start working on some Valentine's Day cards.  I decided to use some of the papers and supplies from my January card kit from Simon Says Stamp and to incorporate my Dina Wakley stencils and acrylic paints by Claudine Hellmuth.  I was up late on Sunday night watching Dina demo (from CHA on You Tube) how to make fun backgrounds with paints and stencils and so I knew I had to give it a try.

I really enjoyed just letting go and having fun with the paints and by the end of the session I was covered in paint, ink and gesso.

Both of these cards are not my usual style, but I really enjoyed the experience and all the fun texture I was able to get on them with the paints.

Dina will be putting out her own line of paints and brushes through Ranger, and I cannot wait to get my hands on them to continue exploring the world of mixed media.

WOYWW #240 - Happy Birthday Card for My Husband

Today is my husband's 56th birthday.  It is also Wednesday, so I am sharing what is on my work desk with you!  As you can see I have been working on making his birthday card. I went with a fun word search stamp that I had for many years by Stampin' Up.  I used a pencil eraser to stamp the ink on it.

Last month I was a lucky winner at Jennifer McGuire's blog and won a dozen Hero Arts Shadow Inks. I was so very excited when I learned I would be getting them and have been enjoying them ever since. A dozen ink pads to a stamper is such a treat! These inky fingers are extremely happy!

Also on my desk is a new stamp set and matching die set I received from my good friend Asia for Christmas.  I am planning to use them next to make a birthday card for a very special friend.

Thank you to Julia for the desk hopping fun!  I look forward to catching up with you today!

Starting The Year Off Right

How did you spend the first day of 2014? My husband and I spent it very leisurely around the house.  I started the morning with a lovely breakfast and made mimosas with the leftover champagne from our New Year's Eve toast.  A leisurely breakfast is something so special to the two of us as we don't get to eat breakfast together during the week and only take time on Sunday to indulge.

When my husband and I were first married, he was surprised to see that I like to mail order some special foods.  I order my bacon online, as well as my croissants.  He thought me weird I am sure, but now is happy that I try food from all over.  I was surprised to learn that he never had Irish bacon before we were married, but now it is his favorite.

We watched the Tournament of Roses Parade together (something I haven't done in decades!).  It is so amazing to see the beautiful floats that these talented people made using flowers and so many other natural materials.  As a crafter, the idea of gluing beans onto a form one at a time freaks me out! 

My husband loves pigs in a blanket, so I made them for a snack.  With all these treats,  I made fish for dinner!

Later in the evening I was able to pack away a lot of my Christmas crafting mess that was on my desk after all the Christmas card making I did.  Finally, I was able to sit down and make something not holiday related.  A good friend asked me to make a princess card for his mom to give a neighbor girl who is a "princess in waiting."  Since Abbi is blonde, I decided it was fitting to make her a Cinderella card and used a stamp from my EK Success/Disney set.

This was really the perfect way to start the new year.  It is the most relaxed I have been in ages, and one of my New Year's goals is to keep this in mind and strive to relax more and take time to enjoy more.