Halloween tags!

Once again the the creative spook sought me out and I just couldn't help but create a couple more Halloween tags.  I didn't do anything special just had some fun!  The paper is a very vanilla #5 tag sprayed with orange, yellow, purple, and red spray inks.  I stamped some Halloween designs from Inkado on the dry tag.   The raised lettering is coarse texture paste and a Tim Holtz Stencil!  Next I added some Halloween washi tape to the left side of the tag and orange tinsel and spooky lace ribbon to the hole punch.  The embellishment of the tags were a bit different. 

Same tag with a little twist...a snake goblet instead of a sentiment!  I also thought the pumpkin was a bit twitchy so I stuck a witch hat and cauldron on to the pumpkin! 

All the products used on the tags came out of my stash so I don't know who made the tape, the stickers etc...hence fun stuff!
I am trying to make something at least 4-5 times a week and I have found tags and cards to be a lot of fun again!  I think sometimes we get caught up in big projects and sweat bullets over how they should or shouldn't look/be and it takes all the fun out of it.  I am in this for the fun not the profit so I will have a large project working and not sweat the "getting it done" aspect and have fun with the tags and cards! 

6x6 Butterfly Journal Pages

 I spent several days this past week working on these 6"x6" art journal pages for a swap on ATT a Yahoo group I am part of.  The deal was to create 12 of these bad boys and get 12 back...should be a piece of cake I told myself...right!  A big piece of cake to bite off!  I don't know what other people did that made a different one for each page because just getting them done doing one was a lot of work. 

I love the Tim Holtz Ancestors Found cards!  I think I am going to have to break down and buy a couple more stacks of these things. 

I used paper from the Tim Holtz paper stash "Wallflower" to make these pages.  Each page was cut 6"x6" then I sewed a piece of netting on the front of each one.  Next I glued a doily down, the ancestor found card and embellished with the canvas butterfly banner.

Each butterfly was stamped with a word stamp from Stampers Anonymous.  Next came the flowers and the tag spike.  The sentiment is from a Tim Holtz stamp set. 

Aren't all these pictures of these children so awesome!  I was laughing making some of the pages because they just either seemed to be so happy or so ticked off at getting their pictures taken!
























The backs of the pages were only in two designs.  The butterfly paper was the only difference in materials.  Flowers varied in color and card ink varied some what from card to card.





















The backs of the pages were a separate 6"x6" page that I sewed to the other page.  The card stock was first sprayed with Dylusions inks and allowed to dry then ran through the Big Shot in an 8x8 embossing folder.  Then I distressed each page with Vintage Photo.  The butterflies and the top note sentiment tag are from Stampin' Up!  Sentiment stamp is from Tim Holtz.  I used flowers and the bling I bought at Micheal's.  The leaves were cut from Stampin'Up! card stock with a SU punch.  Finishing touch was  a muse token.

I had a lot of fun making these 6x6 pages and look forward to making more in the future!

WOYWW #278 and Halloween Post Card swap

It seems like forever since I last posted to WOYWW.  First off I am doing fine and haven't been majorly ill just a little flare up and that was because I went over board and did a bit more then what I should have done.  We have had company from Spain the past 17 days and I was enjoying visiting and running around a bit with him and my husband. 

What's WOYWW you ask?  What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday to be exact and it is a group of artists/crafters that get together from around the world to share their work and desks!  Go visit Julia at Stamping Ground and click on the little link at the top of her page to find out the details on how to join us hopping around the world. 

First off a picture of my desk today...

 

Not a lot going on.  Just finishing up working on another swap for another Yahoo group called Altered Tattered and Timeworn.  It is a bunch of artists/crafters that create awesome works of art that has a natural tattered and timeworn look.   This swap was for a post card using only Tim Holtz dies and stamps which I did.   

 I created the front of the card using Tim Holtz Rickety House, Branch Tree, and On the Fence dies.  The house was stenciled with a large brick stencil and the windows were cut from alternate papers.  I then glued it all down to a 4"x6" piece of card stock that I had distressed with Faded Denim Distress ink and glued a 1 3/4" yellow moon on.  The windows and doors are glazed with Crackle Accents glaze and then distressed with Vintage Photo Distress ink.  The ticket tag was made using a stamp from the Odds and Ends Tim Holtz stamp set.  Bat, kettle, witches hat, cat and bird are from Michael's Recollection line of Halloween stickers.  All cardstock is Stampin'Up!

Back of the card is stamped and inked with Vintage Photo Distress ink.  Post Card stamp from the stamp set by the same name!

I am posting another post today with the craft room changes so check out what I have done with the craftroom switch over that I promised would get done this year.  It needs some fine tuning and paring down but it is on the end run for sure.

Have a great week.  

My Craftroom/art studio

It is difficult sometimes to decide what to call my room and usually just say I am going to my room!  Some people who are purists say my style of art isn't art at all but a craft.  I do crafts and I do arts so on any given day it is a craft studio...my room.  

I promised in a post earlier in 2013 that I was going to get my room moved into a larger bedroom after showing my space off in a post in 2012 that showed I had no room to spare!  Today I have several photos to share of my room! 

 Standing at the door and looking in the first think you see is this wall.  It is overwhelming to me at times and I might have to rearrange a bit but I don't know what I would change!  There are 15 cubes that hold all sorts of fun and wonderful stuff I play with!  There is a bookshelf to the left that holds 6x6, 8x8 and other card stock, all my art journals, water color papers etc.

 To the right is a set of IKEA Alex drawers stacked on top of another set.  It contains some a lot of grunge board, pre cut pieces, book pieces etc.  A clip it spinner on the top. 

The Big Shot pro cutter.  I love this thing but it takes up a lot of space of the 12x12" cutting bed.  My new ribbon storage.  I actually don't like this as well as my old ribbon storage but it has easier access and it keeps me from having too much out to confuse me! The cutter sits on an IKEA Expedit 2x4 that I have turned on its side and topped with a 2x2 Expedit.  Looking back I wish I had bought the 5x5 and a 2x2 cause I could have used the extra room. 

 Paper storage under the cutter the valise contain my Tim Holtz specific papers and card stock. 

 my boxes of steel dies and the thin dies.  I have a total of 6 spaces filled with dies and the purple/canvas things are my embossing folders.  6 dies + 6 paper fill up the Expedit...see why I wish I had bought the larger one! 

 Yarn sits above the cutting boxes. 

A view down the wall.  The plastic box tower is all my Graphic 45 and some holiday papers.  Cramped up in the corner is my knitting baskets and some boxes that contain swap goodies like cards, tags, etc etc etc.

I can't seem to get a good shot of the north wall because it is a dumping place right now.  In the photo above you see the G45 paper boxes and right next to it is this big file cabinet.  It is a 40" lateral file cabinet that holds my stamps in two drawers in DVD cases, and the bottom drawer is the computer paper, tags, cards etc. and the big packages of adhesives for my Xyrons.  Behind all the crap in front is a shelf with my boxes of bling and boxes of Graphic 45 stamps.  Next to it is a 4 ft desk.

My computer and work desk bump in to one another.  I actually have 3 work desks in this room.   Beats the small desk I had in the old room.  I have plenty of room to stage, detail and finish stuff up in this room. Stormy has to help me with just about everything I do at this desk.  Usually there is another cat laid up on the desk to the left...wonder what's up in cat world there isn't one there right now! 

I took the doors off the closet so I could have space!  I have a lot of canvas and a lot of raw materials (chipboard books, boxes, cans, recycling/up cycling)in this closet behind the rolling bins that I am not for sure I am going to use or even keep around but for right now they are parked in front but easy to move out of the way when I need something.  On the floor to the left is my fall and Halloween goodies.

 To the right of the closet is the door out and hanging on the door is a shoe rack with all my holiday punches.  I used to have 3 of these things full of punches but I now have this one and 4 drawers in the Alex that house everyday punches. 

Everyday Punches.

 The wall to the left of the doorway.  We have come full circle here.  This makes the wall look short but it is actually about 12 feet long.  I love Kelly Rae Roberts and have several of her pieces as you can tell.  Wire bird cage has a lot of the tags I made last year pinned on it.  Three peg racks for my thread.  I found another one in the move but don't need it right now so will have to find a space for it.  Boxes and tins filled with bling, ribbon and fun stuff.  More paper over in the far right.

My desk in the center of the floor.  I used to work on this desk alone...I don't know how I did it!  files contain card stock...two black file cabinets, and personal papers in the beige one.

Okay that was all around the walls and in the center.  Now I will show you fun stuff...all of it is pretty self explanatory!

Button and bling chest.  All metal...a find at Hobby Lobby.

My paint supply cart...contains most of the needed supplies.

Stampers Anonymous stamps

an old sewing machine I bought at auction for about $20 that works awesome!

 The cabinet on this old machine isn't the best but I think it has possibilities!  I might try doing something artsy fartsy with the top!   I really didn't care if it ran or if the cabinet was in good shape I was interested in the machine...it could always be fixed!  I can remember one of these old machines from my childhood and it brought back good memories.  It only sews backwards and forwards and that is perfect for crafts and cards!  I have my new machine on the floor under the cabinet that I can use to sew clothing etc.

My cutting cart!  My mothers old rolling cart that she kept all the cooking appliances on.  I use my Vagabond most so it is on top, the small Big Shot is in the doctors bag you can see around the corner (a few pictures up) and then the Cricut is on the second shelf.  Luckily I had brains enough to plug heavy duty extension cords in before I moved the furniture in!  The carts can move about to make room for a couple of card tables for friends to come craft. 

Okay that's it for the new craft room.  I will post as I make changes now and keep you up to date on the crafty-crap room as my son in law calls it.   He still has the Crafty Crap program available to beta test if you are interested.  Lots of space to document all the awesome goodness you have in your craft room! 

Halloween Tag

 I participated in a Halloween tag swap on Creativeblock-StampersAnonymous a Yahoo group that I belong to.  I love Stampers Anonymous stamps and the fun images they have.  I used a stamp set that came out last year from Tim Holtz that has dies and stamps to match called Retro Halloween then bits and pieces from other stamp sets in his line.  I first used a sheet of card stock that was orange with orange shellaced dots and cut it to tag size before I embossed it with the spiderweb folder and distressed around it with various distress inks.  I next cut a tree using the branch tree die to put behind the skeleton and stamped spiders around on the card.  Most all the embellishments came from my stash and are Recollections from Micheal's including the crochet edging at the bottom of the tag.  the black lace is SU and the tinsel is Tim Holtz.  I made the sentiment using the Stampin'Up! punch and Tim Holtz sentiment. 

Some tags I stamped the sentiment in black and purple and others just in black.  I made the dangle fob from stuff in my stash and used an eyelet in the hole punched to support the weight. 

Halloween is beginning to be a lot of fun for me this year.  Check back and see what else I will be making this year.  I made the coaster box here and the last post was about the book box if you want to see more fun stuff I have already made! 

Fall has arrived!

It is an interesting and exciting time of the year for me!  I love the cooler more crisp nights and warm days we are having right now.  So many fun things to do outside and it is tolerable heat and weatherwise!  I love the rest of the seasons but fall holds the number one spot in my opinion.  I think it is the smells, the colors, and all the tastes that are so interesting and intriguing at this time of year.

I have started creating fun things for fall and for Halloween the past couple weeks.  Thought that I would share the Tim Holtz Book Box I decorated with Graphic 45 Steampunk Spells and some spooky Halloween stuff I had in my stash!  I spent the better part of a week trying to decide what to do with this thing and I think it really worked out well!

This is the front of the book box. 

When you open the 'book' up it stands by itself leaning up against the fireplace!  I don't remember where I got some of the stickers and ephemera but I know some came from Halloween card candy swaps I engaged in in the past.  I used to go ape nuts over card candy back 5-6 years ago and still have a lot in my stash.  If you recognize something you made for a swap please leave a comment!  

 A little bigger view of the different compartments in the box.  Click on them to enlarge the photo to get a view of spooky goodness! 

Bones and skulls...not a treat!

necessary items to be a witch with!

A witches best friend!

a wise old owl!

Spooky!

More witchy stuff!

My bottle brush Halloween tree and finest crystal for the party!  Fun times!