Summer in the city.

Evening all: The challenges over at the CC3C (lindaledbetter.com/cc3cchallenge) are almost over; only a few more to go. I have enjoyed these challenges!! I have learned so much from these talented ladies over at the CC3C!!! This current challenge is on page 47 of A Compendium of Curiosities Volume III and is generously sponsored by Inspiration Emporium!! I hadn't tried this technique before and it was fun and easy. Hope you like it. .

butterfly over plaid

Hi Everyone: Each month to make sure I get to the craft table I pick the challenges I want to enter. I have my favorites. Tim Holtz, CC3C (which is almost over :-( ), and Simon Says Monday Challenge. This tag I made is for Tim Holtz 12 tags of 2015. I love these challenges because it allows me to see things from a different perspective. All of us are drawn to certain colors. Just look at your clothing. I love pinks. The first June tag I made had pinks and yellows. So my challenge this week for myself was to stay away from pink. Last week we were in Colorado and My daughter Kasey and I had lunch at this beautiful restaurant called Willow Creek restaurant,in Evergreen. The food was awesome, the scenery beautiful, and inside up on the walls were these gorgeous painting!!! One captured my eye. The artist painted a moose head in yellow, dark blue, and rust. I loved it!! So that is my inspiration behind this tag. . To recreate the colors I used chipped sapphire, fossilized amber and rusty hinge. I used the stripes stencil by stampers anonymous to make my plaid. And the layered butterfly die and matching texture fade. Hope you like it.

Pasted not cut

Hi All: I of course at the very last minute decided to make a tag for this weeks Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge (simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/ ) This weeks challenge is to not cut but use paste on your project I made a tag using both ranger embossing paste and Bo Bunny Blueberry glitter paste. I used 2 of Tim Holtz stencils flourish and Lace. Also Peacock Feathers and Picked Raspberry distress inks. And last but not least 2 distress sprays Twisted Citron and fossilized Ambers. Hope you like it.

handmade flowers

Evening Everyone: On Facebook I belong to an awesome group of crafters called the Craft Hole. This is an active group that spans many different jondra of craft. This weekends challenge was to make homemade flowers. Lucky for me I was at the Mon Ami Gabby booth at the Arlington Scrapbook Expo. I picked up some Tips from Marina and bought some Pull ribbon. Here are my flowers. Hope you like them

Box

Hi all : Yep last minute again. I made this box for the 29th CC3C. I used the Eroded Metal Technique. Kinda hard actually. When I finally figured it out though it's awesome!!For all of these challenges we use A Compendium of Curiosities Volume 3. There are a few more left so you all should join in. This challenge is sponsored by Tim & Mario and Inspiration Emporium http://www.inspirationemporium.com/. I have a lot of cigar boxes so I tried the technique one. Hope you like from the front

XYZ- Y for yellow

Afternoon All: Like a lot of the U.S. we've been getting rain, lots and lots of rain. Kinda of a bummer because outdoor activities are out. So I've been cleaning, laundry, dishes ( which are never ending) etc... I decided to straighten out my craft room a little and I ran across my art journal. Yep you guessed it the cleaning stopped. So with a bright color theme to remind me summers on its way I started spraying my distress and delusions inks. Made a few Mon Ami Gabby ribbon flowers, stamped, doodled. Over at Simon Says Stamps Monday Challenge (simonsaysstamp.com/mondaychallenge/) the theme is xyz so I used a couple Tim Holtz stencils with paste and added some letters. Hope you like it!!. I have the letters xyz and the page is primarily yellow (y) I thought this worked.

Princess card

Hi Everyone: I guess it's either feast or famine with me. This weeks Simon Says Stamp blog- Monday challenge ( simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge) The challenge is to use a Simon Says Stamp brand product. I used the Princess stamp set by Simon Says Stamp. It's just adorable and perfect for layering. I hope you like it.

Smile

Hey Everyone: On and off for the last couple of weeks I've been working on a tag for the Tim Holtz 12 tags of 2015. I know what else is new? I really haven't had time at my craft desk so its been just a few minutes at a time. The tag for this month was really fun to work on!! It has so many textures. I loved making the flowers and using the quilling tool. It is kinda soothing. I used the kraft core paper to make my flowers and realized you have to decide what you want to see because one flower I did backwards and the craft side was dominant. I liked so it stayed on the tag. I'm requesting that idea-ology make a larger pack of the textured surfaces because they are awesome. Seriously 12 x 12's would be great. Just sayin, Another lesson I learned is don't just empty you epherma packs into a large box, it took me forever to go through!! The question I'm asking myself now is do I want to separate it? I really love the color combo of aged mahogany, abandoned coral, antiqued linen and the burlap. I hope you like it.

Ombre Technique

Hi All: This house is busy, busy, busy. The college daughter has finals. We have a trailer we are remodeling. That was supposed to be a piece of cake and only take a couple of days. We are now going on 2 months!!Plus There are projects in the wood shop that my husband volunteered (wink wink)me to work on. I know nice right!! So today I finally got to play at my craft desk. It's # 28 in the CC3C challenge and this one is sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique (www.thefunkiejunkie.com). I purchased this chipboard stencil holder so I could have some place to store my stencils and it needed to be decorated!! So one side I kinda gave a 70's feel; I used speciality stamping paper ( by ranger) with Bottle alcohol ink. On the other one I gessoed the whole thing and used Mermaid. I will tell you using the paper was simple and I loved the effect. Using it with gesso was different. Even though the gesso was dry I had to work fast because the gesso would become gooey. I hope you like them . I almost forgot. I used stamps sets from Stampers Anonymous Runway and Bird Crazy. Love both sets!!!

Kit pages

Hi Everyone: A couple of years ago my husband and I met our oldest daughter Kasey and her boyfriend Andy in Denver,Colorado for the USA Pro Challenge. We had brunch at Tamayo's on Larimer square. From where we were sitting you could look down and see the race. I snapped this picture with my little blue camera and loved it instantly. A couple of weeks ago I found this kit at The Scrapbook Diaries (thescrapbookdiaries.com) by one of my favorite designers; Gabrielle Pollacco. I knew the colors and chipboard would work perfect for this picture. Gabrielle totally inspired this piece; but I don't believe in making exact replica's of other artist work so I used the items as I saw them. I've had these little bicycles for awhile now and I love the whimsey they give to the bottom of the page. I found this ribbon ( top left corner)called pull bow ribbon and you can make a flower in about 2 seconds. I thought this would be the perfect place to test it. It takes ink really well. The items I used are all from different companies. I sure Simon Says carries some of these products. I used: paper- prima, marion smith, bo bunny. Chipboard- blue fern studios, scrap fx. Embelishments- maya road, and Mon Ami Gabby. And for Ink/pens- Tim Holtz distress. I'm going to enter this page in the Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge (simonsaystampblog.com/monday/challenge/) The Theme this week is " Anything Goes". Would love your opinion!!

Sewing is not my thing!!!!

Hi again: I just finished the April tag for Tim Holtz's 12 tags of 2015. This tag was a challenge for me because I don't sew. At all!! I tried, but I destroyed 2 tags so it was pretty much an epic fail!! Take a look I was kinda bummed because I really liked the tags. I have this hand held craft sewing machine. I couldn't go in a straight line. I'm going to have to practice. So I decided on the next tag I'd doodled the sewing marks instead. As usual I would love anyones opinion.

Folio by Anita

Hi Everyone!! : Last weekend I was spoiled- I got to take another class by Anita Houston !! We made the amazing folio she shared with everyone at CC3C #23 (lindaledbetter.com) back on February 28th of this year. The class kit was so well organized and the directions were detailed. The class was a challenge and so much fun. The class was held at The Beautiful Crafty Scrapper in Waxahachie, Texas. (Thecraftyscrapper.com) I should have taken pictures!! This store is a crafter/scrapbooker/ vintage shoppers dream!!! The owner Carolyn Ross carries everything Die cuts, designer paper, inks, stamps, gelli plates,tons of ribbon, and more. She also has an eclectic assortment of antiques,jewelry,and home goods. The best part for me is the customer service. If i can't find something I need around where I live I just call her and if she has it she'll ship it right out to me. Great weekend!!

An Artsy Long Skinny Canvas

Hi - Tonight I tried something new. A long skinny canvas. I just watched a video by A favorite blogger of mine Gabrielle Pollacco, and she made an amazing canvas. So I gave it a shot. It's more Artsy then my usual style. I really liked playing with new ideas. I bought a couple more to play with. It falls into the A is for- by Simon Says Stamps Monday challenge (simonsaystampblog.com/mondaychallenge). Hope you like it.

Pen/Pencil Holder

Hi All: Time for another Compendium of Curiosities 3 Challenge (lindaledbetter.com/challenge) this one on page 64. It's the 25th Challenge!!! I can't believe there has been that many. For this one we get to play with the framework dies. So I needed a pen/pencil holder; mostly to hold several white gel pens I've seem to have collected. Isn't it amazing when you clean out drawers and realize just how many of one item you've bought. I have 5 bone folders; Seriously?? Who needs 5. More then likely I forgot to bring one to a class or placed it somewhere I couldn't find it and bought another. Ok time to work- I pulled out watercolor paper, some distress ink sprays. I coated both sides of the paper. I the cut up some plastic die packaging into 1 inch strips and scored them down the middle and applied tape. I then used my Vagabond with my Trellis die. I cut a 2.5 inch square of the same watercolor paper to use for the bottom of my holder and started putting my puzzle together. I switched around my trellis die cuts and frames so the trellis die cut and the frame didn't blend. . You can purchase all these awesome tools/ products I used for this challenges from our awesome sponsor Inspiration Emporium.com (inspirationemporium.com ). Here my finished holder holding my stuff . Thanks so much for looking!! :-) Ink Spray- Distress Mermaid Lagoon, Cracked Pistacho, and Mustard Seed. paper- Water color paper Idea-ology- Foundations metal box feet, Film Tape, My stash- flat pearl Michaels dollar bin adhesives- Score tape and Mon Ami Gabby adhesive line Die- Trellis 659431 Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations

Bo Bunny Box

Happy Easter Everyone: Busy day at the house with our Awesome neighbors the Coulthard!! I Almost forgot to play in the Simon Says Monday Challenge- simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge . This is a fun challenge- every week there is a new theme to challenge your crafting style. I love, love, love this paper by Bo Bunny called Madeleine. The gorgeous pastel colors worked beautiful with this challenge "Pastels" so I opted to make alter a cigar box. Hope you like it.

Awesome Class!!!

Hi All: Well yesterday was so fun!!! I took 2 classes at Stamp Asylum in Plano from the Phenomenal Anita Houston!!! First was the Encaustic Wax class- by using tools, techniques,and Anita's wonderful teaching skills we all able to make some really fun and beautiful pictures. Playing with the wax is really fun and relaxing. You kinda don't want to stop. Seriously; I'm not kidding! Here's one of my attempts. I know it's not wonderful but totally fun. If you go to Anita's website The Artful Maven (theartfulmaven.blogspot.com) you'll find amazing pictures she's done using Encaustic Wax. As for me its practice, practice, practice. The second class- Let's get Artsy Tags- This was a mixed media class. We used several different products-ink sprays, distress paint, embossing paste, and stamps. Anita showed us how to combine these items to make some really colorful, interesting, and fun pieces. Here's one of mine.

colorful owl

Hi Everyone: At the end of last month I took a card class at Stamp Asylum in Plano Texas. The instructor was the Awesome Melody Winston. We each got to make 4 cards using fun techniques and stamps by Just for Fun. Of course I had to have them all but, settled for just a couple. One of the stamps is this gorgeous owl stamp. I love it. Every Monday Simon Says stamp has a challenge. (simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge) The name of the Challenge for this week is Lions & Lambs, oh my. So I used my new stamp to play along. As usual I hope you like it!!

journey -CC3C #24

Morning All- Yep I'm participating a challenge again. This time I'm using these blank books I found in Target's dollar section. I wish now I had grabbed more because they are now all gone. . To check out this challenge just go to lindaledbetter.com and click the CC3C tab .To find the techniques we use a book by Tim Holtz- Compendium of Curiosities volume III. You can go to his website timholtz.com. Go to search and type Compendium of Curiosities III. And you be able to purchase an autographed copy like I did. This particular challenge is sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique (thefunkiejunkie.com) . And don't forget that Tim and Mario donated amazing prizes! Now onto the cover. First I stamped and inked this cute little bird, and nest. used the technique and then put some glue n seal to protect my colors. The I inked the cover of the books with several colors of distress ink. I then applied a ripped portion of a tag that I used a wood texture fade and inked with distress ink. Then from my stash a few leaves and cheese cloth. Supplies : Remnant Rubs- elements & Botanical Stamp sets- Bird Feather(cms180) and Bird Crazy (cms312) Distress Ink- Pink Raspberry, Broken China, Stormy Sky, Squeezed Lemonade and Cracked Pistachio. Die cut- Sizzix Alteratons - Garden greens

Believe

Hi All: I'm feeling a little whimsey today. My hubby and I have been going to the gym and I have way too much energy for this icy evening!! Since the Simon Says Stamp monday challenge (simonsaysstamp.com/mondaychallenge/) this week is just a hint of clover and I wish it was greener, warmer,and calmer here, i made this whimsical fairy tag. Hope you like it.

Observations

Hi all: March is here and it is time for a new Tim Holtz tag (12 tags of 2015)!! It took me 2 days to find where I stored the mask sheets. I'm weird! I can't start a new project until I have everything I need. I love learning new techniques; mainly because they move me out of my comfort zone. I seriously never thought of using embossing powder with the paste. Now that I have I will definately use this technique again. I hope you like what I created.

Skiing scrapbook page

Hi All: Since there's snow on the ground here in Texas I decided to go old school and scrapbook today. I have several boxes of pictures that have been sitting around for years!! I started digging through and realized my neglected photos have become unorganized. I had them all in envelopes with dates, events, holidays, etc.... You get the picture. I know my youngest has gotten into them, as well as her older sister. The fact is I will have to reorganize them. For today though I went looking for winter themed pictures. I ran across a set where my 2 oldest and their friend went skiing. Now to find the right paper. I decided to use a couple pages of Bo Bunny's Altitude. I made 3 photo mat's using Tim Holtz's Alterations die postage stamp die. I also used a couple stickers for the Altitude sticker sheet, and a adorable snowflake made by Jodi Norris. And Since the challenge on Simon Says stamp Monday Challenge Blog (simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge) is No Rule I'm entering this page. Actually I think I bought this paper there!! Hope you like it!!

CC3C#22

Hi Everyone: I'm still in my creative mode. This time I was inspired by a picture on Pinterest. I'm pretty sure most of us have a Pinterest account. I originally used mine to post my challenge projects. Since then it's become a source of inspiration. I'm constantly looking for color pairings, Interesting pictures of objects with textures (doors,windows,gates), and of course any pin by The (goes in front of each name)-Jan, Anita, Paula, Richele, Emma, Gabrielle, and of course Mr. Holtz. I keep adding to these names every day. Last week I ran across a picture of rust/lichen the colors are amazing in this picture. Seriously when I looked at it I pictured Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean, Cracked Pistachio & Seedless Preserves. So I took this color palette and started inking. The texture in the picture is varied; there is eroded, smooth, bumpy, shiny. When I created my version of this picture I used Verdigris embossing powder, Vintage Photo Distress powder, and Glossy Accents. For this challenge @ Linda Ledbetters CC3C requires a Dimensional Cutting Pad by Sizzix. I used it to cut the butterfly and then used to cut a mini flourish. Then I used the Tim Holtz rust technique on the flourish with the vintage photo stain and Distress powder. I of course had to use my now favorite Tim Holtz Flourish stencil with the Ditress embossing ink and then the Verdigris embossing powder (Ranger). to complete my tag I used an industrial frame, word band, and pearl and altered the color with Teakwood Alcohol Ink. All these items can be purchased at The Funkie Junkie Boutique (www.funkiejunkie.com). I hope you like it. . As per requested I'm putting a picture of the products I used.

Pink w/ heart and feathers

Hi all- I'm in a creative mode this weekend. As my husband and I were walking this trail with our puppies I saw a heart carved in a tree. You know you just have to smile. I really couldn't tell how old it was. You know the kind- a simple heart with initials carved in the middle. Boom the creative mood sparked so I started playing with ink and paper when we got home. If you don't have any of Tim Holtz new stencils this one is a must!! It's called Flourish (THS032) LOVE IT!!!! I will probably over use it. I pulled out the tried and true heart wings die. First I stained my tag with Picked Raspberry Distress stain. Next I used Festive Berries distress stain on the heart, then used the Wendy Vechi embossing paste with the flourish stencil on both. Seriously I loved this background!!! I didn't want to cover it up. Then I pulled out the foil tape my husband gave me. I applied it to card stock and used my new favorite die- Feathered duo die from Tim Holtz Alterations. This die comes with an embossing folder. Yep I will probably over use this also. So I cut the feathers out and embossed then painted them with Picked Fence Distress paint. Used one of the little stamps from the beautiful Botanical Sketch stamp set (Stampers Anonymous). I also pulled a few items from my stash. I think the love is from blue fern studios. All this stuff you can get at Simon Says Stamp. (simonsaysstamp.com ) And since you know I love craft challenges-over at Simon Monday Challenge Blog (simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge) they are having a Red + Pink Challenge.I just have to join in. As usual I hope you like my creation.

Butterfly CC3C # 21

Hi all: This is the 21 challenge for the CC3C. I'm so grateful to blog owners, and Artist that issue these challenges!!! They keep me inspired to try my hand at different techniques, products, and tools. This challenge is by Linda Ledbetter (lindaledbetter.com); she's using a book called A Compendium of Curiosity volume III by Tim Holtz. These Challenges often have sponsors, for instance this one is sponsored by Inspiration Emporium (www.inspirationemporium.com) You must have the book and follow the challenge guidelines. Each technique is given to you in the book. The one for this challenge is fun and easy. The products I used were Distress Stain-Mustard seed. Distress Ink- Salty Ocean and Gathered Twigs. Distress Pen- Mowed Lawn. I also used Distress rock candy glitter, and distressing tool. Hope you like my tag.

February 12 tag of 2015

Hi All: My February tag for Tim Holtz's 12 tags of 2015 is done using tim's patchwork technique. This technique is totally fun. I made several tags and I am going to have to buy more ephemera. I hope you like this tag!!