Wednesday, May 21, 2014

holy crap

i did not realize that i had NOT posted the last blog entry!!!!!  
I saw it had 'draft' next to it. MAJOR MISTAKE

makin cards again...

Oh, it has been a while since I have visited my own blog, my own Etsy store or my colored pencils.
Again, we have had some life changes around here and it's all for the positive this time! Jan-March of 2014 had me getting crafty for my daughters wedding shower & the main event at the end of March. I have been planning the takeover of her room, for about a year and the day finally arrived. {happy dance} I purchased a new/old round table for my craft room and it sat in our living room until I got the bedroom finished. {by finished I mean, painted walls, new carpet} While the table was in the living room, I did sit and color a small stack of images, putting the table to use.
I now have my creating area set up with a sewing machine right across from me. No more sewing machine sitting next to my feet, I just need to switch chairs. {happy dance #2}

Now before you get excited about that small stack of images I have colored up...they are not cards, yet.
I decided that I needed to make a few cards using the NEW 'A Beautiful Day' set by Stacey Yacula & found over at Purple Onion Designs! I can't resist Stacey's artwork. 
Here are two of the cards I have created...
'Jackson & his bubbles', possibly a girl card, but I tend to think of him as a boy card. {a small amount of glitter and no pretty bow} I just love the soft green shade that I colored him in, not the expected brown, is it. I tried to capture the iridescence of bubbles and they have a few layers of clear Glaze pen on top. 
Then, we have this sweet little mouse. {would I ever call a mouse sweet, if it was running around my house? yes, if it had a cute clothes on.} 'Wishing' is a one piece stamp and also from 'A Beautiful Day' set. I really wanted a pale purple dress and my paper stash has hardly any purple in it. {used it for shower  decorations} I picked out a couple pieces of Memory Box paper and went from there. Soft pastels and a plump pink bow. {thank gosh I made a decent bow...it seems like forever}

Both cards will eventually be available at my Etsy store. Time to get that stocked up again!

If you like what you're seeing, then head over to Purple Onion Designs for the release and a sale on the entire 'A Beautiful Day' collection

robin & ruby...

Hey there! 
I decided I could look at my lazy bum blogging as...
1. I just don't fire up the ol' apple when I get home and sit and tell you about my latest project.
{this is the truth}
or
2. I like to think that no one wants to see their email littered with my nonsense every few days! 
{the reason I think is funniest??}

In May, Jim and I took a joint week off from work, so we could build a new shed. Resin, like a big Little Tykes playhouse. We started our stay'cation' by taking a long weekend up to Emily's in Toronto.
The Stamping Bella store is now a memory, but the Stamping Bella stamps & website are still a hit!
We had not been up to visit Emily, Ryan, Tyler, Jayden, Edward, Jasper & Frankie...in almost 2 years. {just before we found out about Jim's cancer}
It's nice to know that nothing's changed and we shopped for art supplies, {with the twinsies} and sat at the kitchen table making art. Ok, Emily making art and me trying to copy hers. lol

Emily was working on a mixed media class with Danielle Donaldson and I fell in LOVE with these Houses on Stilts, that Emily painted. Watercolor, drawing & some white acrylic washes. Yes, I am now obsessed with Ms. Donaldson's techniques. {instagram, facebook}
So I came home to try my hand and play with houses, birdhouses and a butterfly.

Poor cards, I keep making them and still not posting. Lets fix that tonight! Here are two more cards from the Purple Onion collection, A Beautiful Day.
I used 'Robin' the flying bird & the balloons. This little guy is delivering a pretty big bouquet for a small bird! I was silly and colored the balloons some pink/coral shades, wayyyyy before I found the paper. I have to make a mental note to not do this any more. I didn't have much selection to pick from, in my still-to-large paper stash. 
I pulled out the nestibilities and my Vagabond cutter, after I blew the dust off of them. I am still not an oval person, but I keep trying.
I loved how 'Robin' looked, carrying the balloons so I had stamped out another feathered fella...
How cute is 'Ruby', carrying some blue & green balloons. I didn't add a bow to this card, but he got a little glitter. I pulled out my Tim Holtz distress inks, also dusty and in hiding. 
It's funny how I have this room again and now I need to get used to using my supplies again.

I went to a scrapbook show before my week at home was over and watched someone use Tombow's and I wanna get mine out. What's that saying "so much to do and so little time to do it".

I am off to work on a few more Purple Onion cards!
Back soon!



Wednesday, December 4, 2013

mrs. blue bird on my shoulder...

Hey there!
This week is speeding by, can you feel it too?  I had to come home from my parents and get the tree decorated, then get the outside lights up, while it was pretty mild out. Cue the missing green extension cord then a strand of lights that didn't wanna work. I played, checked the bulbs, switched out fuses and then hit Target today for a couple more strands. Guess what. I am still short a strand and then it started raining.

Well, I guess it's time to sit safely in front of the laptop and write a post. Other than loss of power, this should all work out alright tonight. haha

The SALE over at Purple Onion Designs is still going on. You have until Dec. 10th to nab 25% off of all the stamps. Here is a card that I made, using the wreath from last years Stacey Yacula set, called 'The Sweetest Season' and the little bird is from this years holiday set, called 'Winter Wishes'.


I am in love with this card! I stamped out the wreath, colored it up with my colored pencils. I colored up the bird and cut  it out. I stamped the sentiment, made it a banner and it should look like the bird is holding it in her beak. Least I hope so! I trimmed my wreath into a square shape but was careful near the bow, so it actually hangs outside the square. 
When I colored the berries, I smudged them around a little with my gamsol dipped stump. and added lots of glitter. 
Simple!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are keeping crafty for the holidays. I told you I would share with you, more painting that I did up at my mom & dads. I took my Annie Sloan chalk paint and a small table. I managed to paint a second table that was down in my parents basement. I had to resist bringing them back. 
This table was the one in the basement and I painted it in the color 'Florence', same color I painted the inside of the dresser drawers I was working on, few posts back. This table got clear wax and dark wax..it changed the color a little and i LOVED the new shade.
This table I bought for $10.00 and painted in the 'Florence' color and only used clear wax on it. It's gorgeous bright color. 
Both tables got sanding,which doesn't show up really good in these pics. I need more colors!!
Then, I took my niece to the two thrift stores in town and I found something I have been on the lookout for, for sometime now. I could not be happier!!

First of all, the Samsonite cosmetics case. My grandma had one almost identical in color, but without the linen texture. {gonna house art supplies!!!}  Then, my newest collection obsession is for vintage Pyrex refrigerator storage. This is my 4th piece and I got both of these baby's for 1/2 off on Black Friday. ahhhhhh, I love a good find.   :)

See you soon! Thanks for coming in to visit!

Friday, November 29, 2013

winter sale at purple onion designs...

Black Friday sales aren't just for the big stores!
Michele, over at Purple Onion Designs, is having a SALE of her own. You can get 25% of all her stamps until December 10th. That means after all the running around the mall and shops, you can relax in your pj's and browse some rubber, for yourself!

Here is another snowman, 'Berry' from last years collection 'The Sweetest Season' by Stacey Yacula. Berry is hold a lantern from this years winter collection called 'Winter Wishes'. {yeah, these sets can easily be used together...the ideas keep flowing}


Coloring snowmen doesn't take lots of time because you only need to add a little shadowing on them. I usually grab a light, cool grey and this time I also added some yellow for the light reflection. Just remember, if you want to use red, save it for the very last minute. You don't want to ruin your snowman or surrounding area with pink smears.

Get yourself into the holiday mood, save some $$, make some homemade cards and put a smile on a friend or family members face. Don't forget the stamp SALE runs until Dec. 10th.

This Thanksgiving I am up at my parents house, in the thumb of Michigan's mitten shape. Story and I are crafting, painting furniture, shopping and he is shoving his nose in the snow outside. There is just a little bit here, but he loves it! 
I will share painted furniture pics in my next post. See ya soon!!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

litte (digi) elf finn...

Happy (almost) Thanksgiving!
I know I may not get to my computer on Thanksgiving, I'll be up north at my parents. Story and I are taking off tomorrow as soon as I get outta work and pick him up. What does that mean for tonight, while I am writing this post. I am washing clothes, packing and trying to make sure I don't forget anything. Dinner and dishes are finished and I warned those not going with me, I had better come home to messy kitchen!
My plan was to share another Purple Onion Designs card, but that has to wait until Friday...*wink, wink*

Instead I can share one of my cards that are from my latest Mo Manning, Digital Pencil Too shopping spree. (and I gotta say, I see a few more images I still want!) Here is 'Little Elf Finn'...


I have a thing for these Elves and I can not resist them, their faces, outfits, swinging from a big round ornament. Finn, I am not sure if he is supposed to be a boy or girl, or that it matters. I try to keep the outfit colors simple and I always add a ton of glitter to the white furry trim.
I told you that mostly my cards are 'white' based this year, mostly because my holiday papers have white bases, but I really love the look. I am torn...rustic & homey or crisp & bright. 
I added a coat of my clear glaze pen to the ornament and there is no sentiment on the front or inside (that might change).

So tonight I have one non Christmasy card to finish up and then my coloring has come to an end for this year. Can you believe December is almost here?

Thanks for dropping in to see another card and I will see ya back here on (Black) Friday!!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

more winter wishes and some chalk paint...

It's ELF season and tonight I just finished watching it and got in the holiday mood. The dusting of snow that we got on{ yesterday}monday is still frozen on the grass and my deck...Thanksgiving is still not here yet!
I have been coloring and coloring and keeping busy at my kitchen table. I have plenty of Purple Onion Designs to share and soon, some Mo Manning too. You know what had me sitting in that coloring chair for so long...watching the series 'Orange is the NEW Black', 3 seasons of 'Downton Abbey' and now starting season 2 of 'Game of Thrones'. Yep, kinda like the old days holed up in my craft room. lol

Tonight I am going to share 2 more of my Purple Onion/Stacey Yacula cards. This is Stacey's second winter collection called "Winter Wishes', over at Purple Onion Designs. Here is what I did with my 'Snowy Trio'...
I have noticed that my Christmas cards this year have got LOTS of white in them. I used a little kraft colored paper for card bases, but mostly white. I guess it's mainly because my small holiday paper stash has a white base. But, this isn't an issue...I am lovin' what I've come up with.
My singing trio is colored with my pencils, blended with gamsol and plenty of glitter splashed about.
With these guys I think the snowy hills makes the colors POP. To make the white snowmen different from the snowy hills, I added more pale grey and some soft yellows {where the sun would hit the fellas}.  I kept my brightest blue up at the top, near the trees.
For this years cards, I also pulled out my 'Stamp-a-ma-Jig' to line up the sentiment right on the card. It can be a little scary, you wanna use a gentle, even touch. If ya make a mistake, just make sure that it's thought out and you can add a tag. I have had to use this 'save', plenty of times myself. 
Then, here my one layer card that is alllllmost my favorite! The white just makes the colors come to life.
It's about as simple as you can get and I am in love with this owl, 'Snowy'. I will warn you now...he is the lead in LOTS of this years cards.  *wink*
Make the card base and stamp off the 'Winter Bough' branch randomly...use your favorite green to color in the branches and lots of bright colors for the berries and voila! Christmas lights. Snowy cuts out really easy and I glued him on separately. Use a stamp-a-ma-jig to add your favorite sentiment.
You could make these up pretty quickly.

Ok, I said that next time I showed up, I would tell you what else I have been doing. Painting furniture.
I found some refinishing site on Pinterest and 'pinned' them. I collected some small pieces to play with, while on the Worlds Longest Yard Sale in Aug. Then I had a few small tables gathered this summer, waiting to be made over.  Then I get a dresser from a guy at work, he was gonna sell it at a garage sale for $5.00. I told him to take some pics and I picked one of the two he had. After working some saturdays, I finally decided the time was here and I would start the sanding process. This dresser was a really dark walnut color, alligator skin crackled varnish. I spend a saturday afternoon sanding this dresser and then very early sunday morning, I open up my Pinterest board to look at my refinishing pins. You will never guess that I sanded for NOTHING. I went to this blog, called Hueology and the only paint she uses is by someone called Annie Sloan chalk paint. More 5 a.m. research turned up that there are 4 places in Michigan that sell this paint. Long story short, I had one store close to me and I drove there as soon as they opened. I am now in LOVE with Annie Sloan chalk paint and here is my dresser.
I painted the outside a pale grey, called Paris Grey and the inside is called Florence. 
I lightened up the top photo and this one is a non-flash photo. I antiqued this dresser with waxes that you put on over the paint. A soft clear wax and then a dark wax. You have the control over how much or how little you want the piece to be antiqued. I did not antique the inside of the drawers, those got only the soft clear wax. The paint and brushes are not cheap, but I knew this was something I needed to try out and I am SO happy I did. I have plans to redo my kitchen island and my bathroom cabinet. 
But first, we gotta finish up the Christmas cards!!
There are more to come. thanks for dropping by!!