Hormel Chili Christmas

Hi, guys! Today I was home under the weather and am catching up on some rest.  I had plenty of tea and soup and started my gift wrapping for Christmas.  This has been a long week as I had to work overtime a few nights and had a couple of Christmas get-togethers with my girlfriends.  All this holiday fun had me doing a lot of reminiscing.

This past weekend we observed the 7th anniversary of my late husband's passing.  It brought to mind a funny memory of when we were dating.  I used to live in the city and lived next door to a Mobil gas station.  Since I was living alone I would often run there and pick up some snacks and a can of Hormel chili for dinner when I was being lazy.  I recall Charlie calling and asking what I was having for dinner and the answer was "Hormel" a few nights a week.  One Christmas he came over to my apartment where my family was assembled and gave me a giant gift box.  Everyone wondered what he gave me.  Inside were a dozen cans of Hormel chili in all the possible varieties.  So funny to remember these little things. I can't remember the last time I have eaten that now.  Charlie would send me bacon in the mail, or leave me a pork chop on my doorknob on his way to work.  Some guys say it with flowers, he said it with food.

Today's cards are a pair of Christmas cards I made for friends. This first one was plain and simple but I loved really showcasing a piece of paper as the focal image.  The bingo chip is by Tim Holtz.

This next one I made using a Lawn Fawn set stamped on watercolor paper and colored with Distress Markers and water. The sentiment is by Memory Box.

Thanks for the visit today, and for coming along with me while I remembered a Christmas past!

Until next time!

Another Round of Christmas Cards

Hi, guys! I have been busy in my stamp studio making a bunch of Christmas cards.  I thought I would share a few with you today.

This first one was fun to make as I am very big on puns.  Gina K Designs had this adorable sheep set that I feel in love with so I knew I had to use it.  The set has a bunch of different sheep to use and I thought the santa hat one was adorable for this and stamped it 3 times.

My husband has been paying attention to me and my crafty ways.  We took a cake to his aunt's the other day and he rescued the baker's twine from being tossed away. When we got home he handed it to me and so I had to use it on a card today.

The next one I used a present stamp from Stampers Anonymous and decided to make the background look like a present as well.

Here is a shot of the inside.  I used a stamp from the December Simon Says Stamp Card kit.  To make the battery look like a "copper top" one, I used metallic Distress Paint.

Thanks for visiting with me today! It always makes my day to hear from you.  Until next time!

Christmas Card Making Underway

Hi, guys! Today I will begin sharing some of the Christmas cards I have been working on lately.  This weekend I completed a dozen Christmas cards for my friend and co-worker to give.

First up is this adorable gnome card.  I was lucky enough to win this set last year after the holiday season, so it was great to use it this holiday.

Supplies:
Stamps: Simon Says Stamp
Paper: Paper from December Simon Says Stamp Card kit.
Ink: Memento Black, Stampin' Up
Misc.: Wink of Stella

This next card was the first card I made using the stamps and papers from the Simon Says Stamp December Card kit.  The sentiment is bold and I white heat embossed it to make it even more dramatic.

Supplies:
Stamps: Simon Says Stamp
Paper: Simon Says Stamp December Card kit
Ink: Versamark
Misc.: Martha Stewart Snowflake punch, Pearls, White Embossing Powder

These were a fun way to kick off my holiday card making.  I hope to share some more with you soon!

Until next time!

November 2013 - Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2013

Hi, guys! Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!  I have been so focused on Thanksgiving, and decorating for the holiday, that the date on the calendar saying it was the last day of November came as a bit of a surprise to me.  So today, I am sharing my November tag for the Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2013. This month he focused on using the Chalkboard Technique using the Ranger Embossing Antiquities Frosted Crystal powder and real chalk. This was so much fun that not only did I make a tag, but I also made a card using a Giant Tag by Ranger (#12 size).

Tim made Fall themed tags this month, but I decided that since Christmas is very close that I would make holiday ones.  For the tag, I used Tim's iceskate stamp from his blueprint series.  The skate was stamped a few times and foam squares were added to give it a 3D look.  I also decided to add pom-poms to the skates as that brought back fun memories from my youth.  The tinsel was then colored with Mushroom Alcohol Ink to give it an aged look.

The Christmas Card was made with the Giant #12 Black Tag by Ranger as I mentioned above.  It was scored and I used a punch to create the tie on the side.  Seam Binding was used to close the card.

If you want to make a tag or a card using this technique, I would suggest you head over to Tim Holtz's blog as he takes you step by step in the process.  Once you try Frosted Crystal powder, you will fall in love with it.

Wishing you all a fabulous rest of the weekend!  Until next time!

My Homework For The Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 102 Class (Lots of Inky Fun!)

Hi, guys! Hope all is well! Tonight I am going to share with you some more "homework" from the Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 102 online class.  It was a fun-filled week!  Lots of great videos and techniques.  I started out just doing tags as I normally do, but decided to add a couple of Christmas Cards and a pair of gift tags into the mix as well.  I normally use my PDFs and directions to refer back to instead of the tags, so I figured this way I will have a jump on the holidays, too!

The first pair up are examples of embossing using Distress Glitter.  Let me tell you, I have a ton of glitter in my collection, but nothing is as nice as this glitter! On this first card I used alcohol inks to color the gems on the snowflakes, as well as to add color onto the Kraft Glassine paper panel. The glitter I used for the snowflakes was Clear Rock Candy Distress Glitter.

Another fun technique we learned was how to create an ombre look using Alcohol Inks.  For this, I decided to make a Christmas card.  The picture was taken at an angle to show the use of the tissue tape along the inside of the card as well. I colored the tiny attachers with alcohol inks as well as the film strip tape!

The next Christmas card is a fun example of using both colored Distress Glitter and Rock Candy Glitter with Distress Inks:

This tag was fun to make as it used Distress Embossing Powder and Distress Inks.  I wish you could feel this tag as the gears feel very textured, like a light grain sandpaper.  The background was stamped and embossed using the same powders so it is also textured.

This next tag was made using the chalkboard technique.  It was fun and I plan to use this on a Christmas gift.  I decided to use this fun old vintage-looking Santa from Stampers Anonymous along with the sentiment from the set.

The next few things are not paper crafted.  I used the faux patina techniques that Tim shared on a couple of metal embellishments of his.  They really look great, and I can't wait to incorporate them onto some of my holiday crafts this year.

We learned how to faux crackle glass items as well.  For my bottle I crackled it and then added a mixture of oats and glitters to make "Magic Reindeer Food." I always bring some to my sister's house each year and we toss it on the lawn for Rudolph and company.  I thought this was a fun way for me to present it. (Took a few shots as I wasn't sure which would show off the crackle better.)

Thank you to Tim Holtz for such a great class and all the hard work.  I want to thank Mario Rossi for all the fun BTS and all his kindhearted Facebook fun.  All those behind the scenes at Online Card Classes deserve a great big thank you as well.  I sure hope there is a Creative Chemistry 103 class next year!  If there is, I will be there!

A BIG thank you if you made it through this long post!  Until next time, my friends!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Hi, guys!  I have been spending some time making Christmas cards for family and friends these past few days.  I thought I would share a few with you now.

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' Up
Ink: Distress Ink, Stampin' Up
Paper: Cosmo Cricket, Gina K Designs, Core-dinations
Misc.: Impresssion Obsession Ornament Die

Here is another take on using this ornament die.

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' Up
Ink: Distress Ink, Picket Fence Distress Stain, Stampin' Up 
Paper: Cosmo Cricket, Gina K Designs, Core-dinations
Misc.: Impression Obsession Ornament Die, Oval Stampin' Up Punch, Gems, Ribbon, Snowflake Cuttlebug Folder

Had a lot of fun making these cards.  I enjoyed embossing the ornament in the first one and sanding it to reveal the pattern, and for the second one I used the same technique but used it for the snowflake background.

Hope you are enjoying your holiday preparations!

Until next time!

Christmas Cards With Matching Tags

Hi, guys!  For today I thought I would share some tags and cards I made for my blogging friend Molly Jo for a raffle that she held.  I had not blogged them until now as I wanted to wait until after she had her contest.

When making these, I tried to make cards and tags that anyone could use.  I enjoyed using non- traditional colors and my "pun"ny stamps as well.

I sure hope the winner Ann will enjoy these cards and tags this holiday season.

Until next time, my friends!