Yearly tag swap!

I belong to a group on Yahoo groups called CreativeBlock-Stampers Anonymous!  We make all sorts of fun tags and stuff for group swaps.  I love all the tags and cards I have received in swaps over the years!  The moderator gives us a prompt each month to make whatever and we send them to her and she swaps them out and mails them back.  The only requirement is that you use Stamper Anonymous stamps on your items but sometimes I forget.  Every so often Stampers Anonymous sends Sandy some of their stamps to give out to the group.  I have received several wood block Tim Holtz stamps from the swap.

I just made up some tags to swap and not only did I forget I had to make 12 tags but I also I forgot I was suppose to use SA stamps!!!  I don't know how many years I have participated in the calendar tag  swap and that was a first!  I am going to blame it on my really poor memory caused by the anoxic injury from the surgery!!!

Be Thankful!

I thought I should share a group photo too!  They are all so pretty grouped together!

I don't remember the name of the technique but I took a piece of Cut-n-Dry stamp pad felt from Inkssentials and stamped the mandala on it in archival black ink.  To get the variegated ink I used a combination of Tim Holtz Distress inks and Stampin' Up! inks and dripped them around the stamped image making a variegated stamp pad I can use again and again.

Products Used

Stampin'Up!:
Day of Gratitude stamp set
Petal Palette stamp set die
ink refills in various 'fall' colors

Inkssentials Cut-n-Dry

Ranger Ink:
Distress Ink in various 'fall' colors

Out of my stash:
fall leaves
bling
gold pumpkins
fall wash tape

OMG!

I find it amazing that time flies by like it does.  I have been so busy and gone so much since my last post I wasn't really aware how fast it has flown by.

I have been busy crafting and doing fun things.  I took and online class with Stephanie Barnes from The Stamps of Life the beginning of the month called Under the Sea.  WOW! Lots of fun and I could do it at my own pace.  I have yet to finish my cards because of some video issues but should be getting them done soon.

I also attended a class with Dyan Reavely of Dylusions and Ranger Ink at the scrapbook store called Paper Arts in Edmond, Oklahoma July 21 and 22. I learned so much and had so much fun learning different techniques that I was so juiced up to start doing all sorts of art journaling but...  Life intervened and it was put on the back burner!

This group of women were a lot of fun to take a class with but Dyan was awesome.

 I love her honesty about her mental issues and her life.  I hate thinking I am the only one with issues!

I left on July 24 and flew to Phoenix AZ for the Origami Owl conference! What an awesome event!  I had so much fun interacting with other designers from around the states that I am already making plans on going back!

SO much fun!  Everyone was up dancing in the aisles while these people walked across stage for an award.  Heather, my daughter got a couple awards.  I really surprised her cause she got #1 in the whole USA!

Heather got to get up on stage to receive her award with all the company founders and executives.  

 Don't I look like and angel in this photo?  The Swarovski crystal people had a photo booth where they had these wings that were covered with all sizes of crystals and talk about AWESOME!  They were!

I love this picture of Heather and I even if it is a little dark!

On the 29th July Heather and I flew out of Phoenix to Pittsburgh, PA for Pennsic Wars...good thing too cause I was really starting to feel the heat.  Most days it was 112-116 degrees and figuring in the concrete and tall buildings it was miserable there!

I didn't take a lot of photos of Pennsic this year.  We got there a few days late and got settled in the tent when Heather got sick and we ended up going to a hotel for the next 3 days and Heather ended up in Urgent care for a particularly virulent case of sinuses.  

What a horrible Mom I am taking a photo of her at the Urgent care.   Thought I would share a few photos of friends from the war that I hadn't seen in a couple years!

Bethany and a faithful friend who picked us up at the airport and took us to site.  Bethany's husband was just recently transferred from the OKC, OK area to Italy!  I am really going to miss her being around!

The ladies of the Lanai!  Our last night in camp!

Getting ready for the bardic and chocolate fest!  Every year our camp hosts a campfire bardic get together with hot chocolate and boxes and boxes of chocolates from around the world!

The tent with the light on and flaps open behind Elaine is our tent.

Friend chatting with Heather.  She has had a lot of medical problems and couldn't come to Pennsic except this one day!

Heather and I sharing fried rice for lunch!  That thing was a huge serving!

I made it back home around the 12th August.  Heather drove me home then drove herself from here to San Jose!  Michael had so many meetings that he couldn't drive with her all the way but caught a plane out of St. Louis to home.

I think this is enough for now.  I will post again soon some of the cards, tags, and stuff I have made soon.