November ATC and TH Tag

Hey there bloggers, how are you?  I'm good, just been busy, busy this weekend making my ATC for the club on Monday and playing with the tag that Tim Holtz has up for November.  And watching football, of course, GO BRONCOS!!!  That Peyton Manning is good, so long as he can stay healthy, we'll see, keep your fingers crossed, lol!!!

Anyway, back to the ATC.  Our mission this month was "Fall" and the special embellishment was supposed to be stickles.  I kept mine kinda simple this month as I had some other things going on.  I used some copper embossing powder for the sentiment (CTMH Stamp set-Captured Moments/C1423) and the little leaves I just punched out of plain white copy paper and covered them with copper stickles.  After they were dry, I inked the edges with wild honey distress ink.  The acorn was cut with one of Tim's dies (Autumn Gatherings) and I applied a bit of stickles to it as well.  I used the same wild honey distress ink for stamping my tree (same stamp set as above) and while it was wet I applied some perfect pearls powder in copper.  Guess I was in a coppery mood this weekend.  After the ink dried, you just brush away the remaining powder and the rest of it stays where the ink was wet.  It was one of the techniques that Tim had in his online class that I took.  He sprayed his with water afterwards so the ink would wick but I didn't want to take it that far so I just let it dry and brushed away the extra.  I inked the edges with vintage photo and called it over.  I thought they turned out pretty cool looking.

And the tag, well, it turned every bit as pretty as his did, I think.  I have to admit, I tried it three times before I was satisfied with it but I finally achieved the look.  The first one I used some different paper to make my tag with, didn't work very well wet.  The second one I forgot to put some baby powder on first before I embossed the wheat and the embossing wasn't as crisp as I like it to be.  And the third one I tried CTMH ink  on the Thankful stamp because I didn't think the archival ink I was using was covering very well.  The CTMH ink held most of it's form but it did wick a little bit so the color was more faded.  I finally decided to go to Michael's and get a new black archival ink pad, a small one.  I have the great big one and it's hard to ink just portions of a stamp with it.  I didn't feel like I was getting enough ink on the stamp and it was coming out a little light, plus it's a few years old so it was probably time for a new one anyway.  The new one worked much better and I was able to get a good stamping out of it.  Glad I made that effort. The rest of it went pretty smoothly.  I added a little piece of black netting at the top because it fell out of somewhere and landed on the tag like it wanted to be there so there I put it.  It added a bit of punch at the top, lol!  I didn't have the token that he used but I had one that said 'thoughts' on it and it seemed to fit, thankful thoughts, ya know!  I didn't have his paper string either so I used some jute that I had in my stash.  It unraveled kinda like his paper string did and I was able to color some of it to match so.......there you have it.

It's been a great day in the neighborhood today.  Hope you all had a wonderful Veteran's Day.  God Bless our soldiers young and old for their Sacrifice.
Hugs,
~ Jody

Birthday Card

Hey there bloggers, wanted to share a birthday card I made for a friend at work.  It was for her father's 80th birthday.  She was so excited she gave me a big hug.  It's the simple things in life.  I was so pleased she liked it, hope dad likes it too!

Forgot to take a photo of the inside.  It said "Just imagine the stories his suitcase could tell"!

Hope you have a great Saturday.  I'm nursing an allergic reaction to a spider bite today.  My eye is swollen shut.  Went to the emergicare place down the road and the doc gave me some prednisone and some benedryl and told me to lay low today and it should start to subside within 24 hours. 

Won't get much crafting done today I guess.  Oh well, there's always tomorrow!  Just glad that's all it was!

Hugs,
~Jody

October Tag 2012

Oops, I almost forgot to post my tag for October.  It's exactly like the one that Tim did so no need for explains here.

I think my 'boo' could have used a bit more glitter but oh well, too late now, lol!!!

Enjoy!
Hugs,
~Jody

BIG tag

Hey bloggers,

Today I have prepared a BIG tag for a friend.  She has had some pretty bad health tribulations of late and her daughter and I thought maybe a card from an ol' friend would help to cheer her up.  I used the same technique that Tim Holtz used on his October tag.  I made this one really big, it's 5 by 8.  I'd seen some of these on blogs lately so thought I'd give it a try.  I used some blues, some oranges and reds and a bit of purple dabber.  Then blended some distress inks in and sprayed with copper mist.  Had some fish net in my stash so I colored it with weathered wood distress stain and layered it next.  Found a lighthouse (they are her favorites) photo online and printed a copy.  Placed it on an orange mat and roughed up the edges.  Wrote a little poem and typed it out on the computer.  Printed it on some beige paper and wrinkled and inked it before I applied it to the tag.  Then I made a little "courage" tag and pinned it to the top with the ribbons. Oh, and the seaweed you see in little spots is really seaweed.  I brought it back from the ocean when I was down in Miami Beach for my birthday last May.  It dried quite nicely, looks pretty cool!

I hope the tag brings a smile to her face.  Thinking of you Pat!

Halloween ATC

Mornin' Bloggers!

Just a quick post this morning to show you the ATC I've prepared for the club this month.  I will also be entering it in a couple of challenges as well.  The background is just a bassil cardstock but I used the other side as the front side had a shiny texture and my embellishments wouldn't stick well.  I inked the edges with black soot.  The tree I cut with my Cricut-Celebrate with Flourish.  The moon is just a circle punch with premium foils.  I think the orange color is so perfect.  I black embossed the spider web and the word "spooktacular" and then the "stars" are purple stickles.  The purple pumpkin is a mix of purple embossing powder and some purple glitter that I mixed together.  The moss is a cotton ball I colored with pumice stone and let dry completely.  Then I tore off a long strip with my tweezers.  It stuck to the tree pretty well all by itself, lol!  Love the effect!!  The back will be just a Happy Halloween ticket with the necessary information.

Hope you have a great day, thanks for stopping by,
Hugs,
 ~Jody

September Tag 2012

Hey there bloggers,

I guess since the month of September is almost over, I should post my Tim Holtz tag for September.  I downloaded the photos a week or so ago and then got distracted, I guess.  Anyway,  here's the tag.

It's pretty cute, if you like industrial things.  I really do like the typewriter, it turned out the cutest, in my opinion.  I think it needs to have a darker ribbon at the top.  I tried to make it kinda grayish black but I think it needs more black, to kinda balance it out.  I'll work on that.  The technique was fun and quite interesting.  I tried a couple of different "tools" that I found in my stash.  One of them was an old tracing wheel.  Remember those, you used them for marking darts in sewing class with some chalky paper.  If you click on the photo, it may open up bigger so you can see where I used it.  I don't know that I would use this technique much but it was fun to try.  Maybe on some colored foil, I'll work on that too, lol.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a super Saturday.

Hugs,
~Jody

Great Smoky Mountains, TN Sep 2012

Hey Bloggers,

Took me a little vacation this past week.  I had never seen the Great Smoky Mountains and I've always wanted to so, Yeppers, that's where I have been.  They were SO BEAUTIFUL!  The mountain streams, the low lying clouds, the majestic mountains, it was all so awesome.  I took a lot of pictures including the ones I have in my mind, AMAZING!!! 

This one shows why they call them the Smoky Mountains.  See all the "smoke".  And the drive through the four tunnels getting in to Gatlinburg was so awesome.

This is a shot of the changing colors going on in the trees.  The leaves had just started to turn and they were so pretty.  If I had gone about a month later, fall would have been in full swing and I would have seen some even better colors.  Hopefully next time.

 

I camped at Forsyth, GA  and then in Pigeon Forge, TN.  on the way there.  The first night I slept in a little cabin.

It was cute, but dark and kinda stinky from being shut up, I imagined.  The next two nights I pitched my tent and slept in the out of doors.  I, for some reason, didn't get a shot of that campsite.  It rained pretty much every day so I guess I didn't want to get the camera wet, ha!  I even watched the Bronco game on my little netbook, wrapped in plastic, under a tarp.  I'm sure the people across the way thought I was nuts but didn't bother me.

The next couple of nights I spent at a friend's house in Asheville, NC.  Her and her husband, Bob, were so hospitable.  I really enjoyed their company and we had a great time.  Oh and their dog, Darcie!

They have the cutest little condo up at the top of this big long drive in Hendersonville, NC.  It was the sweetest place.  Norma and I went antiquing the next day and had lunch in Black Mountain, NC, another quaint little place a few miles up the road.  It was an absolute perfect day. 

Oh, and if you ever get to Pigeon Forge, TN, there is a Scrapbook Superstore there and a Scrapbook Clearance Center next door that offers everything in the store for 50% off.  Had a blast in those two stores, lol!

Had a really great trip and hope to live up there someday. 
Hugs,
~Jody

Halloween..................already?

Hey there bloggers, just popping in to show you the Halloween Panorama I made after seeing the one that Jim, The Gentleman Crafter made. It was the cutest dang thang, I couldn't resist. Mine was a little bigger but only because that was the only canister I could find at Michael's. I also used Tim Holtz's new little lantern instead of a tea light because I didn't care for the yellowish hue of the tea light. The lantern gave off a brighter light and it's pretty cute too, lol, love those miniatures. Anyway, it's done and I just love how it turned out. I'm going to take it to work and put it on my desk. Don't mind my horrible picture taking. It's always been something I was going to work on, but I'd rather create cool stuff like this instead. Some day I'll make a perfect place to take my photos but for now it's the kitchen counter, sorry! The fennial (not sure how you spell that) on top was painted with orange and black paint and then I used the end of one of the paintbrushes to do the dots. It turned out so cute, don't ya think. The battery pack for the lantern is hidden underneath the purple netting (I painted it black too). I made a small trap door in the bottom of the lid so I could pull the cord through but it also held the lantern in place, once I closed it, worked like a charm!!!! And the little owl peeking out of the trees in the upper left hand corner is to die for! The fence was made with a Tim Holtz On The Edge die and then I cut the remainder of it out with an exacto knife. A little tedious but what a great effect. I had to make it two lengths long and I was a little off on my spacing, however, the skeleton head fit in there just perfectly. It's not even glued in, ha! Well, time for the showers, hope you have a Wonderful Wednesday and thanks for stopping by!! Hugs, ~Jody

It's a Rat Trap!

Good Morning Bloggers! Have to show you my latest creation. I was inspired by Kimberly's rat trap over on the Graphic45.ning.com gallery . She found this little gem on a kid's page and it turned out really cool so I had to try it. Made this one for my sister, today is her birthday. She should have gotten it in the mail either yesterday or today. Haven't heard anything yet. Anyway, I covered it with Spellbinders premium craft foil that had been embossed with Tim Holtz's postcard texture fade. I sanded it down a bit and then added a few different alcohol inks to distort the color a little. Then I just started adding embellishments. Love how it turned out. The picture of her is from a vintage photo her and I had taken years ago and the 67 is the year she was born. I had to put a little handle on mine because the 'rat holder' wasn't bent up enough to grab on to it to pull it up and put your note underneath. I meant to put a note under it before I sent it to her but got in a hurry and forgot. Think she'll know what it is? Hope you have a terrific Tuesday! Hugs, ~Jody

There's a New Mouse in the House!

LOL, and it's purple, Yeah! Check out this cute little mouse my daughter sent me. And the tiny receiver that came with it. So stinkin' cute, and did I mention, it's purple!!! A while back she got an I-pad of sorts, that's not what hers is called but I don't remember what hers is. Anyway, she gave me her older netbook which didn't work anymore because her boyfriend at the time, who was taking IT classes at USF, used it for a project at school. Something about changing the operating system on it. Well, when he went to change it back, he messed it up and it was virtually un-useable. I had my nephew look at it and a few other people and no one could figure out what he did to it. He had even removed the partition, the part that helps you recover everything if it crashes. So, I took it to our IT guy at work and paid him to restore it. He got it up and running and it works beautifully. I just love it!! The only thing I was having trouble with was that touchy little mouse/pad. I had figured out how to turn the 'touchy' part down but it was still pretty touchy. SO, she sent me an regular mouse to use with it. It's perfect, and it's purple, did I mention that part, lol!!! And the little receiver is only about an inch in length so you can put it in the USB port and leave it there. Then you just have to turn the switch off and on, on the bottom of the mouse. It's very cool. Now I can take it with me where ever I go. It makes surfing blogs so much easier especially from my easy chair in the living room. I love being spoiled. Hope you have a super Thursday. I have a little something that I have been working on to show you tomorrow so I'll see you then! Hugs, ~Jody