Tuesday, February 28, 2012

WOYWW #143

I have had a couple of questions regarding the blog candy and confusion when it will close so....I am shutting down the blog candy at midnight, PST, March 1st and announce the winners the next day. This is only a day later than I had first said and I am sorry if there was some confusion and don't want anyone to feel left out so it is open another 24 hours so you can get your name in the pot. I have had a remarkable turnout on the comments and followers so thought that I would add an additional prize that is open to WOYWW members only. So what is WOYWW? It is a group of snoopy artists/crafters that blog hop on Wednesday all over the world to see what everyone is doing! Visit Stamping Ground the home of Julia the founder of WOYWW and check it out!

Now to my desk...still nothing to show...mojo is still gone walkabout and I have been unblocking stamps, cleaning out drawers, reordering the cabinets and hopefully will come across something that stimulates my creativity again. I have never had this problem since I got into paper arts and alterations so it is a concern.




This is a picture of the drawers on the left side of my desk. I was reorganizing the stickles, liquid pearls, stains etc into color groups. Decided since I was reorganizing to have a go at the desk drawers also...sad huh!



Guess that is it for me. Not very creative with my blogging either! Good luck on the drawing tomorrow!

Friday, February 24, 2012

WOYWW #142

Well Wednesday came and went and I sat here happily unaware that I was missing the day! I have not had much Mojo recently and haven't been doing much in the craft room and I guess it shows since I missed Wednesday...what is it about Wednesday that has me sobbing in my beer? WOYWW! I love What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday and to miss it has been sad...so...I am doing WOYWW on Friday! Find out what WOYWW is by going to Julia's blog Stamping Ground and checking out WOYWW!

This is a picture of my desk today...sad huh! I am not a neat nick and to see my desk like this means I must not be doing anything...told you Mojo has taken a hike!
Just to be there in case it wandered back I spent some time organizing things and took some stamps off the wood blocks but that didn't help.

The only thing that I have made...and it isn't finished...is a chipboard book I am making for my sister for her birthday. I need to put ribbons on the rings and find pictures to print off to go in the book and I will give it to her on March 10...her 54th birthday!

My daughter, Heather, took me out for the day on Tuesday and she got my hands and feet done. Here is a new looking I am sporting on my fingers...I love it! It covers the paint underneath the nails and looks oh so spiffy cause being a gel polish the paint slides off when I wash my hands. Sweet! I would imagine though some folks that see me here in Oklahoma wonder what kind of second childhood I am going through with my spikey hair and funky nails at 60 years of age! They should see my toenails...they are sparkly/glittery St. Pat's green...Oh well you only go around once and I plan to have fun!

SO guess this is all I will go on about today. I think I will head over to WOYWW and check out some of the other blogs and maybe get some ideas to stimulate the old Mojo back into being! Don't forget the blog candy drawing will take place next week and winners announced on Wednesday. Make a comment and become a follower for a chance! Take care and have a great week.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

WOYWW #141

Wednesday again! Oh my! I look forward to WOYWW but wish we could slow time down just a little bit! I have been busy in my room but I am going to stop a while and pick up and put away it is so messy and crowded up right now! I looked around and realized even the cats were having issues as to where they could lay their poor tired heads today! WOYWW is a group of people from around the world that share a little bit of their world every Wednesday. Visit Julia's blog Stamping Ground and check it out!

This is my messy desk today. I am currently sorting stamps and putting them back on the right rings and in the right boxes. IF I had done that all along I would be showing you the mess of paints I have to find some way to store for easier access. They are scattered on the floor at my feet and I almost squished one open earlier tonight so... I have bottles and bottles in a rack but recently had to purchase a higher quality/pigmented paint for a class I am taking online. Any suggestions on how to store 4-8oz tubes rather then the 2 oz bottles in my old paint rack?

I just finished this 6"x6" Winter Themed wall hanging for a swap on OWSE and will be mailing it off tomorrow to its rightful owner. I enjoy swapping and exchanging tags, bags, cards, ATC's etc cause I always learn something with every swap I get involved in.

Okay that's it for me today because I want to get out and look around the other blogs and see what I can snoop into. I didn't make it to half the bloggers last week but hopefully I will get to more this week. It has grown to so many participants(AwEsOmE!!) that it is almost impossible to see everyone in a day or two and my dear rear gets tired just sitting on the computer!

Don't forget the blog candy I have out there for grabs! Once again every comment on every post counts as a chance in the drawing and it is open to only followers so please make sure you are a follower so your comment will count towards the drawing. This is really fun so far for me and I am enjoying reading everyones posts each week. I am up to 3 gifts so far and everyone is eligible cause I will ship overseas too!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentines Day!

Thought that I would share the finished Valentines box/bucket that I made for a Valentines party last Saturday. I had a lot of fun going to Leslies and cropping with a bunch of old friends and a few new ones. I worked on a chipboard book to give my sister for her birthday next month(its okay to talk about it cause I don't think she even knows I have a blog...shes not a computer type) and just visited and had a good time.

Here is an upclose picture of the finished bucket that I made. I think it turned out really nice and fit the occasion well. I bought a metal bucket that had a clear plastic top at Hobby Lobby and inked it with red pepper alcohol ink and used last years Martha Stewart Valentines paper pad for the flowers and the cutouts on the side. The heart borders were part of a couple of years ago Valentines papers.



I used the tattered florals and tattered leaves Tim Holtz/Sizzix dies to cut out the flowers and then used a crimper and a stylus to get them to go into the shapes that I wanted them to go. I used big brads for the centers.

The rectangles (looked like rectangular stamps)and circles (1" Stampin UP circle punch)are cut out of a couple different sheets of the Martha Stewart papers and Mod Podged them to the sides of the bucket. The decorative edge strip had an adhesive on it but I also used the Mod Podge to make sure it stayed where I put it. I used different widths and types of ribbon on the bucket bail to finish of the project.

Here is a picture of me with my bucket at the Valentines Party. I had fun making it and the Valentines I shared!
UPDATE: I decided to enter this into Sarah's Mojo Monday Challenge which luckily was about hearts and heart strings. Go check out her blog it is awesome!
I hope everyone has a great day and a fun time with the Valentine in their life!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

WOYWW #140 and a blog candy reminder

Happy Wednesday!!! Welcome to WOYWW #140! Let me say that this week went faster then the weeks in the past and I haven't idea why it feels like it has flown. I managed to make it around to all the desks last week by Friday night and I have enjoyed reading all the comments made on my blog posts! WOYWW had a lot of new faces last week and it was fun to visit with old and new friends. Are you wondering what all this talk about "visiting" is all about? The you need to check out Stamping Ground the home of Julia...Queen of Blog Hopping!

Okay my desk this week...is a colorful mess. I am using Mod Podge on both projects and thought I would just do them together to keep the glue mess at a minimum. I promise I try to keep the glue in the bottle or on the project but I woke up this morning with a blob stuck in my hair and had to soak it out!

The bucket is my Valentine 'box' for the party next Sunday. I posted the see my Valentines I made a couple weeks ago on WOYWW #138 but if you missed them our would like to see them again...they are so awesome... you can click on the link and it will take you there.

The second project is my Inspiration Jar that I am making. I am using the Stained Glass technique and Mod Podging tissue paper cut out with the Tattered Florals die to a tall glass jar with a lid. I am going to print up a bunch of positive and inspirational bits of paper and stuff the jar with them so that I can pull one out when I am in need of a little bit of inspiration! I borrowed this idea from blog that made a stained glass candle holder that was absolutely gorgeous when lit. The tore the tissue in to various bits but I like the floral die cut idea! I may try it out as a candle holder too!
After I get them finished I will upload a picture so you can see them finished.


Wanted to remind everyone about the blog candy again this week and to say thank you for such an awesome response. I have had such a favorable response that I have decided to increase the number of possible winners of prizes. I think I will have one Grand Prize and a couple lessor prizes that I will be giving away. Once again it is open to only followers so please make sure you are a follower so your comment will count towards the drawing. If you comment on every blog post I make you will get an additional ticket thrown in the hat for every comment. It is going to be a fun! Everyone is eligible cause I will ship overseas too!

Okay I am done for today. I have a cup of hot tea...herbal cause it is 12:46 am here and I will be going to bed soon after reading a few early posts. Have a great week.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Graphic 45 Tropical Travelogue Chunky ATC

When I made the chunky ATC for the class at WLS this month I couldn't find reference anywhere as to what the official size was for a chunky atc so I made it small and it pretty much is 3"x2"x4" where a regular cardstock ATC is 2 1/2"x 3 1/2". Close cause I was using a 2"x4" to make it with. The first chunky ATC I made was 6"x2"x4" and I really liked that size better but I didn't want to overwhelm the people attending the class so I cut down the size a bit. This chunky ATC is made with the Graphic 45 papers from the Tropical Travelogue group that I have used before. See the post for the Tim Holtz Vintage Valise minibook I made last month.

The wood block was first painted with a turquoise blue color and then I used papers from Graphic 45 to cover each side of the block and embellishing when I it all covered. Here on the first side I covered the block with a piece from the Paradise Postage page and then cut out the Island Jewel face from the Tropical Travelogue page and glued it to a piece of cardstock and then again cut around the relief and finished by popping it up on dimensional foam dots to give it some 3D aspect! Her hair adornment is a pop cap that I cut a 1" circle out of the Garden Isle paper and glued in the crimped cap. I glittered the flower with Stickles and let dry then I filled the cavity in with Glossy Accents and let it dry. The banner at the bottom is cut out of Very Vanilla card stock using the Tim Holtz decorative strip tattered banner die. I then too the words off the page where I cut the girl out.






Side 2: This narrow side is covered with a strip of Island Jewel paper and then a single piece of flourishing cut from brown cardstock using the Tim Holtz Movers and Shapers Mini flourish die then individual stamps from the Paradise Postage sheet were popped up on the side.









Side 3: This wide side was covered in the small leaf pattern of the Rainforest paper and then I cut out the picture of the girl and the journal page from the Seaside Holiday Paper. I glued the girl directly on some card stock to mat it then to the Rainforest paper. The journal sheet I cut the wording on the top off and matted it to cardstock and popped it up over the other piece that I had glued to the block. Embellishment is writing ports of call on the paper and then gluing a pen nib from Ideology to the page! I also made a bottle cap embellishment like on side 1 to adorn this side also.







Side 4: This side is covered with a strip of Garden Isle and then pieces were cut from the Exotic Destinations page and positioned on this side. I embellished it with a flourish like above and a Paradise Postage Stamp. I used a sprocket and spinner from the Tim Holtz Ideology line to act as a compass on this side. The little note in a bottle is hanging from the drawer pull on the top of the block. I drilled a hole in the top for the drawer pull and tied some died seam binding and eyelash yarn to the knob for emphasis. I glued 'feet' made of wooden bits to the bottom of the block to dress it up. The ball chain and muse token are part of the Tim Holtz line and the ship and key were just something I had lying around in my stash!




I really enjoyed making this ATC and I can guarantee I will be making another one sometime in the near future. Hope you like it! Don't forget to comment and become a follower for a chance at winning the blog candy this month. I will take comments from all posts and toss them in a hat at the end of the month and if you are a follower you might just win!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

WOYWW#139 and Blog Candy Giveaway

UPDATE: I must of been half asleep when I posted this last night! I repeated the paragraph below in its draft form and got rid of the opening paragraph. Oh well old and tired minds are not reliable! I have corrected this now and won't worry about it any longer...What was the original opening paragraph? Haven't a clue!


I just went over 100 followers on the Okienurse blog so I have decided to offer some blog candy up to all my followers! To be part of the drawing you have to be a follower and leave comments. I will put everyone's name who leaves a blog comment each week in a hat and draw. So if you comment every week you will have 4 chances to win in the drawing. I don't like jumping through hoops so I am not going to make you do so either! If you aren't a follower and want to be please join us but don't do so just so you can get the candy! OH! What is the candy?...not for sure yet. Might be a product of some sort or might be something I have made...might be both. I will be posting that soon. Drawing ends on February 28 and I will announce a winner on February 29. How cool is that...leap year! I will ship overseas so everyone can have a chance to win! Good luck!

Hmmm....lets see! What's on my workdesk today? As you can see it is a mess! I have had a very busy weekend. I made a couple chunky ATC's and a tag for a challenge on the creativeblock-stampersanonymous a Yahoo group. I think I am going to use that tag and these two for a class next week at Whole Lotta Scrap.







I decided to get a little girly and made this tag using the Sewing Room dies and the Stampers Anonymous stamp set Haberdashery. I thought it looked a little girly anyway!













I didn't stamp a sentiment on this tag because it could be used for male or female, birthday or any other occasion. I will take a box of sentiments and let everyone choose what they would like to use. I need to get a light box and learn how to photoshop pictures because this tag is black and white but you wouldn't know it from this photo!!!







This is the tag from two posts ago that I am planning on using in the class. It has stamps from 3 different stamp sets and lots of fun things! I really think it turned out well.

Anyway these are the 3 tags for the next class on February 9! Come join in the fun!

If you are interested in visiting desks all over the world to see what is on them then go over to Julia's blog and learn about how you two can snoop around desks legally!