After a long and stagnant absence

I have decided to try and resume a blogging life once again. After a lot of changes of job duties, laptops (thankfully I have one that actually operates now),and a  health scare I want to put creativity back into the life mix.
After having most of the summer off following  surgery, I put together a little list of things that happened over those couple months:
Summer 2014:
*Spent time with the family ( when they could be dragged away from their own personal inclinations/electronic devices
*One expensive van repair
*Two new car windshields
*One new dryer
*A new air conditioner
*One new permitted driver in the family
*Two children's birthdays
*1500 photos printed (they no longer reside only on my flash cards)
*Read and dumped over 6 bags of magazines
*One Broadway show:The Lion King (we could most definitely feel the love tonight with front row seats)
*One week in the Outer Banks which has become one of my favorite places to just be totally chill
*Saw three lighthouses and climbed the tallest on the East Coast
*Actually drove on the beach ( thought we would be stuck there for a minute or two)
*Saw the Corolla wild Mustangs
*One visit to the National Gallery of Art ( Degas, Cassat, Titian, Rembrandt, Picasso and a Leonardo (Davinci) not mutant turtle
*One blockbuster - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (how I do love Andy Serkis)
*Two Seasons of Game of Thrones
*Season 4 of Downton Abbey
*Readying myself to say  goodbye to True Blood....I love you Pam and Eric....how will I go on without you?
*renewed my love of scrapbooking- actually finished 20 scrapbooking pages
*and maybe the biggest accomplishment.... I didn't buy a single piece of clothing for 8 weeks ( working retail, this is a personal best.....don't even bring up the fact that I didn't go to work for 8 weeks....it STILL counts! )

I have begun many new art ventures in the last 18 months and hope to explore my new path here in the coming days.

teacher card

Here is a little holiday card for my daughter to give to her teacher this Christmas.

recipe: White cardstock embossed with Tim Holtz snowman texture fade. I used tumbled glass, stormy sky and salty ocean distress ink on the inside of the embossing folder to add the color to the background before embossing, snowflakes from Texture fades and the small metallic star is cut from Ranger metallic foil sheet using a cuttlebug snowflake#2 die, warmest wishes sentiment and tiny trees from Hero arts and I heart my teacher sentiment from Create Your classroom stamped with archival ink and heart filled in with dimensional pearls in cranberry, snowman glittered with Sparkles in Diamond.

Don't forget those teachers at holiday time. They do so much for our children all year long and they deserve a little spoiling at the holidays. Visit Wendy's site, the button on the right will take you there and you can find her fun stamps and get some great classroom ideas.  

School work file folder

Here is the latest project I did for my wonderful friend Wendy http://www.createyourclassroom.com using her first stamp release. We were challenged to think out of the box, so here is what I came up with.

recipe:I just took a regular old file folder from Staples, painted the edges with Chili powder paint dabber from Jenni Bowlin, and Espresso paint dabber from Ranger, covered the front with paper from DCWV, Heirloom pack, stamped learning is the key from Create your Classroom and die cut a key from Cricut cartridge Sentimentals. Key painted with gold metallic Adirondack paint dabber and popped up with pop dots.

Please go on over to Wendy's website and check out her wonderful stamp set!

Turning 17

Today is the birthday of #2. My only son and second eldest child is turning 17. Since springtime , I have had several moments of freaking out. Usually when I utter words like, my oldest will be turning 20 in November.... I swear my throat tightened up as those words were coming out.... This next bit sends me into another tailspin.... My son is entering his senior year and he... is... 17! Here is the card I created for him.

Recipe:paper:DCWV, Dylusions spray ink and alpha stencil,Chicken wire stamp Christy Tomlinson, Distress ink and playing cards from Tim Holtz, Dymo label maker for lucky, homemade stencil with circular design Happy birthday, #2!

March 12 tags of 2012

Squeezing in my tag on the last day of the month for Tim Holtz's 12 tags of 2012 http://www.timholtz.typepad.com/
March's tag included a pretty cool mosaic technique. I didn't have the exact supplies Tim used, so I just used what I did have to get the same kind of feel. The background was stamped with stamps by Dyan Reaveley , Ranger's newest signature designer http://www.dyan-reaveley.blogspot.com/, and my latest obsession. The mosaic pieces were sprayed with Dylusions spray inks http://rangerink.com/, glued down and remaining area embossed.
This was just a first attempt, so I think once I can play with the technique, I'll be happier with the results.

recipe: Adirondack ink pad, clover, archival ink jet black, Dylusions stamps, Tim Holtz sentiment stamp, Tim Holtz flower die, distress marker black soot around flower edge,sakura clear star pen

12 tags of 2012

New, fun monthly project from Tim Holtz http:www.timholtz.typepad.com. Discontinuing the 12 tags of Christmas (insert sad face here), but here is the birth of a brand new project ( happyface). A new tag every month.... I like this.... spreading out the fun over the course of the year . Had to spend some time and add my own tag....

Tag stamped with snow cap Adirondack paint, barn door and fired brick distress ink, tim holtz tissue paper tape, pom pom made from plain tissue paper sprayed with Dylusions spray ink, safety pin with seed beads, Tim Holtz word, and Maya Road crystal. Phrase Tim Holtz seasonal paper pack.

Happy birthday to me.....

Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! After a year of wanting, wishing and drooling, look what I received for my birthday this year. Da da da.... Tim Holtz's dream machine, the Vagabond. I fell in love with this cute suitcase, all ready for travel and ready to fulfill all my cutting and embossing needs. Let me tell you this baby is a powerhouse. I have cut out grungeboard and soda cans like running a knife through room temperature butter . Embossing with Tim's texture fades gives a gorgeous, deep, beautiful embossed image. I am in love with this machine! I am working on a special birthday card with the birdcage die, will post that when it is finished.

And, of course, because all occasions call for cake, here is a photo of my birthday cupcakes complete with butterfly rings as decorations.