2009 September »

The Boo Box!

Altered Art, Gift Boxes, Grunge Paper/Board, Halloween, Holidays, More Than A Card, Spellbinders, Stampin' UP!, Techniques 20 Responses »

Sep 302009

WOW . . . it’s ! Where is this week going? Okay so maybe I don’t remember what I did during the first few days of the week . . .

Before I get started on my project for today, let me answer a few questions about the products I use. I get my May Arts Ribbon from Sharon Johnson’s store, Stamp Simply Ribbon. She told me last night if she doesn’t stock what you are looking for, she will special order! All the Ranger product I use, including both T!m and Wendy’s stamps, can be found at eclectic Paperie. Joy and Daisy are fabulous and so very helpful. Everything is stocked and they have a quick turn around time.

Now I have a question for you! Paper? What do you use? I have both SU and Prism and know that I won’t be purchasing any more SU. That leaves the Prism which I find matches BasicGrey DP fabulously, but it is rather flimsy for a card base. If you use Prism, where do you purchase it? I’m seriously thinking of switching over to Papertrey. If you use the paper from Papertrey what do you think about it?

Now that all that is over with, questions answered and if I forgot any that you’ve asked, please let me know. I try to answer each individual email you send, but sometimes it’s not always possible to get to them as quickly as I would like and then I forget to answer.

Now! How many of you love the movie Hook? It’s one of my favorites! You know how there are certain scenes in movies that you always think of. Like in the Color Purple, I will sit and watch the entire movie just to see Shug Avery walk her stuff down the road to the church, singing God’s Trying to Tell you Something. I LOVE that scene! In Hook, it’s the boo box! When Glenn Close is placed in the boo box and the look on her face . . . well it just slays me every time! So, since it’s that time of the year for Halloween (which is one of my faves to decorate for), I’ve made a Boo Box!

I bought a candle not too long ago that was in this fabulously sturdy box and the lid slides down inside. I kept the box thinking it would come in handy at some time or another. While I was making Halloween cards, and thinking about the girls, I decided that treat boxes might be in order. It will be so easy to slide some the girls fave chocolate in this box!

I had one sheet of Lollipop Lizzy DP and used that covered the box. All the edges were sponged with Black Soot Distress Ink. I circled the box with a purple band and tied some ribbon. I love watching ribbon melt, and used my candle lighter to melt the ribbon to give it a spookier look. The boo label was die cut/embossed using Spellbinders oval nestabilities. Since the paper had little skulls on it, I found a small grunge board skull, painted it white and then covered it with Rock Candy stickles. Way too much fun!

Stamps: Just Between Fiends
Paper: Hallowhimsy – Lollipop Lizzy from imaginisce; White and Black
Ink: Ranger Archival Jet Black and Black Soot Distress
Accessories: Ranger White Paint Dabber; Spellbinders S4-141 Petite Scalloped Ovals – Small, and S4-138 Petite Ovals – Large; Tsukineko Sponge Daubers; Tim Holtz idea-ology Elements Grunge Board; May Arts Ribbon and twine; Scalloped Border Punch; Buttons; Candle Lighter; Foam Tape

Oh my gosh, I’m done and it’s time to start my day! It’s not like I didn’t get up at 4:30 this morning. I’ve already folded one load of laundry, put in another, written this post, and took the photos. Anyhoo, have a fantastic day and thanks for stopping in!

Handmade Embellishments!

Christmas, Crafty Secrets, Holidays, Sewing/Stitching, Spellbinders, Techniques, Tombow Marker 14 Responses »

Sep 292009

Happy Tuesday! I hope y’all had a good weekend. I’m actually a little confused on my days and wished one of my friends a happy birthday when her birthday isn’t for a few days. Oh well, it’s a little early is all! I’ve also had to pull my capris out of the closet . . . It’s just a tad too chilly for shorts. I refuse to put jeans on because I know I’ll be back in my shorts next week (it only needs to be about 68° and I’m good). My phone just said it was 58° here.

I have a couple of projects setting on my desk waiting for me to decide exactly what I’m going to do with them. One of them is a cigar box that I’ve decided to keep store-bought cards in. Sometimes when out and I see a card that literally tickles my funny bone, I go ahead and purchase it to have for future reference. I’m still working on trying to fill in the engraving and I also need to decide on paper. I’m in trouble because a 12” piece of designer paper is about 2” too small. I might need to break into the wallpaper books I picked up at that yard sale.

The card that I was working on and couldn’t decide what to do with is my project for today. There’s a challenge in the Crafty Secrets’ Forum on Splitcoaststampers, to use a handmade embellishment. This is exactly what this card needed and I just had to finish it and take part in the challenge!

The image was water colored with Tombow Markers and matted on Spellbinders Classic and Scalloped Circles. I had already sewn the lace to the card, and decided to use the same lace for my embellishment. I basted along the length of the lace, pulled the thread tight and then tied it off in a circle. The button was threaded down through the back of the card and tied tight to keep it down. All the paper was sponged with Old Paper Distress Ink.

Stamps: Vintage Christmas from Crafty Secrets
Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Prism Island Mist Light and Medium; Memory Box Dewfrost
Ink: Ranger Archival Jet Black and Old Paper Distress
Accessories: Spellbinders S4-224 Snowflake Borderabilities – Petite, S4-121 Scalloped Circles – Large, S4-116 Classic Circles – Small, and S4-114 Classic Circles – Large; Papertrey Rustic Cream Button Twine, Vintage Cream Satin Ribbon and Vintage Buttons; Ranger Matte Accents; Foam Tape; Tsukineko Sponge Daubers; Sewing Machine; Lace

I hope y’all have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

The Mountain Witch!

Digital, Halloween, Holidays 16 Responses »

Sep 262009

Hey y’all! How’s your weekend going? Like I had hoped, I’ve been in the studio all day but I haven’t gotten much done! I have all these ideas and I’ve basically tried to organize myself to get them done. You know, finding the right image, papers, etc. I’m on my way after this morning. I was looking for a picture of a fairy this morning and I thought I had remembered one in a book that I have. Well, much to my dismay I didn’t find the fairy in that book, but I did find the image on today’s card. I’ve always loved this image and since I’m in a Halloween mode, well I just couldn’t help myself.

The background paper is from 7 Gypsies Savannah that was stamped with flourishes. All the edges of the papers were sponged with Papertrey Vintage Cream. At first I had stamped a sentiment for the inside, then upon realizing that I misspelled hallows, I computer generated the sentiment, Have a Be-Witching Halloween!

Stamps/Images: The Mountain by Brian Froud from Once Upon a Time – Some Contemporary Illustrators of Fantasy, A Peacock Press/Bantam Book, Edited by David Larkin; Priceless and Best Fiends
Paper: 7 Gypsies Savannah and Gypsy Market; Black and Vanilla
Ink: Papertrey Vintage Cream and Ranger Archival Jet Black
Accessories: Scalloped Lace Punch; Ribbon; Vintage Button; Oval Punch; Foam Tape; Computer; Sponge Dauber

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend and thanks for stopping by today!

The Black Cat!

Grunge Paper/Board, Halloween, Holidays, Stampers Anonymous, Tag Art, Techniques, Wrinkle-Free Distress 16 Responses »

Sep 252009

I can’t believe it’s Friday already! I don’t have any big plans for the weekend and if the weather is still blechy here I’m hoping to be in the studio! So far it looks pretty promising . . . but I am a little tired of the rain.

Yesterday when I was writing my post I told you I got a little sidetracked. I found the most awesome site for Edgar Allan Poe . . . PoeStories.com. If you are a fan like I am, this is the site for you. I’ve been able to re-read stories I read as a child and refresh my memory on a lot of his works.

The reason I was searching yesterday was because I wanted a copy of The Black Cat. Of course, I needed it for a card . . .

I printed it off after I changed up some fonts and then distressed it with Old Paper Distress Ink. The tag was made with the Wrinkle Free Distress Technique using Weathered Wood, Vintage Photo and Spiced Marmalade. The grunge board flourishes were covered with Spiced Marmalade Distress Stickles and the numbers with Rock Candy. The cat was embossed with Black Soot Distress embossing powder.

Stamps: Tim Holtz Collection – Spooky Stuff and Nature’s Discovery from Stampers Anonymous
Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; River Rock and Basic Black; Mini Manila Tag; Memory Box Twilight
Ink: Ranger Archival Jet Black and Vintage Photo, Spiced Marmalade, Weathered Wood, Old Paper, Black Soot Distress
Accessories: Ranger Non-Stick Craft Sheet, Mini Mister, Matte Accents, Spiced Marmalade and Rock Candy Distress Stickles, Black Soot Distress Embossing Powder; Tim Holtz idea-ology Swirls/Elements Grunge Board; May Arts Ribbon; Foam Tape; Sponge Dauber; Computer; Candle Lighter; Vintage Button; Scalloped Border Punch

That’s it for today! I hope you have a good one and thanks for stopping by!

When Goblins are Found!

Chipboard/Illustration Board, Crafty Secrets, Halloween, Holidays, Sewing/Stitching, Spellbinders, Techniques 7 Responses »

Sep 242009

Happy Thursday! I hope everyone is having a good week so far. It’s been rainy here and on days like this, you don’t want to get out at all. Actually, I’ve been putting the shihtz’ on their leashes and I’m standing in the garage . . . . I don’t see any reason why we should all get wet.

I’m still in Halloween mode and have more ideas than I’ll ever get down on paper. Just now I had another and got doing a Google search . . . I know, I know . . . . BAD!

Anyhoo, I’ve been working on this card for a week or so and decided I needed to finish it up. It’s just not like me to have more than one project going at a time (well in the past), but these days it seems to happen more and more. In all honesty, I was talking to Linda Duke yesterday, and she challenged me to finish this one up. So, I did!

The main image is from the Heartwarming Vintage Collection Calendar that I picked up at CHA. I cut the pumpkin out and then covered it with Ranger Crackle Accents. Once it dried, I applied some Vintage Photo Distress Ink over the cracks and then wiped off the extra. Look at how cool it is!

I distressed some background papers, die cut/embossed a few Nestabilities and kept layering it all together until I was satisfied the result. The sentiment was found in a book and then printed off with the computer. Inside is the greeting . . . Happy Halloween.

Paper: Heartwarming Vintage Collection – Calendar from Crafty Secrets; imaginisce Hallowhimsy – Wicked Whimsy; Making Memories Halloween; Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Soft Suede and Rich Razzleberry; Illustration Board
Ink: Ranger Vintage Photo Distress
Accessories: Ranger Crackle and Matte Accents; Spellbinders S4-140 Petite Ovals – Small, S4-141 Petite Scalloped Ovals – Small, S4-128 Classic Squares – Large, S4-196 Classic Inverted Scalloped Squares – Large, and S4-190 Labels Four; Computer; Sewing Machine; Foam Tape; Sponge Dauber; Vintage Button from Papertrey; May Arts Ribbon; 7 Gypsies Paper Fasteners; Black Hemp Twine