Merry Christmas to All and to All, a Good Night...

Merry Christmas to one and all! I made this little creche this year to remind me of the reason for Christmas.

Having just lost my husband 4 months ago, I have a heavy heart and wasn't up to decorating this year. So I made this little creche and put it on my dining room table with a small light. It was perfect. Just enough for me to remember why we celebrate. Christmas was my late husbands favorite time of year and so that makes this first Christmas without him all the harder.

The creche is made of 3 ATC's that I decorated on both sides and then put together as the triangle. The figures are tiny miniatures i found at Hobby Lobby. I used snow and glitter glue to glue them down. Then I covered a wood block with papers and added the whole thing to a slice of birch to make the stand.

paper leaves

I made some really pretty paper leaves for my dining room table for autumn. I love how they turned out. I first glued vintage papers onto card stock and painted them all with Azo gold acrylic paint. Then I die cut the leaves. Then I added more colors of paint to make them look ages, coppery and vintage. Then came a little diamond glitter. The end result is a pretty vintage-y looking paper leaves that really look nice against the wood table. Click on the pictures to see them up close- all the colors...

Have a blessed Thanksgiving...

Less crafting, more painting these days...

I've started oil painting. I needed a change, and oils are something I have ALWAYS wanted to try. I did paint one painting in oils when I was 10 years old. Then I did another one when I was about 45 years old. That's is. I've always been a water color painter and then last year I added soft pastels to my arsenal.  Now I've added oils. I have to say, I love them. They allow me to fiddle, which I do tend to do. Fiddling is not good in watercolors, but in oils it's ok.

If you click over on the right hand upper corner here on the pastels, that will bring you to my 'fine art' blog if you would like to see my latest work. 

have a wonderful day...

Never thought I would enjoy the color purple!

...and I am not speaking of the book or the movie. I mean purple in greeting cards. Purple is a color that I rarely use...except maybe when making paper hydrangeas or pansies. I am just not a big fan of purple...or so I thought! I decided to make a couple more purple cards since I had all the purples out for the birthday card I made for my granddaughter that i posted in my last post. 

I used papers from Heartfelt Creations. This latest paper stack I bought from them have a few purple themed pages. I made the flowers out of a lighter lavender paper that I stamped and then added lavender glitter. 

I really enjoyed making them and am pleased with the purple colors...isn't it odd how things just work out that way you least expect it? I guess that is what makes the day-to-day more interesting.

thanks for stopping by!

Pretty birthday card

Sometimes it's good to get back to basics. A card is a basic in my book and I do enjoy making them. With all my ridiculously insane amount of craft/stamp supplies, I feel like a real slug when I buy a card instead of making one. Anyone else feel that way?  

Anyway, I made this one today for my granddaughter who is turning 14 today. Much more 'grown up' then my past cards I've made for her. But she is starting high school (how the heck did THAT happen?!?) in the fall, so no more kiddie cards for her!

full card

close up

The supplies I used are a mish-mosh of items. The card stock is a retired Stampin' Up color.  I used the Tim Holtz sun ray stamp with milled lavander distress ink. Flowers are the Martha Sterwart hydrangea punch. I added tiny glass diamonds to each one. The heart is a Martha punch too. The large purple flower is a Fiskar punch. The happy birthday banner is Stampin' Up die and stamp set I just received yesterday. 

Altered Art - mini accordion book and altered box

Having fun with altered art. I made this little piece for fun...doesn't really have a use...except to put a smile on my face. :-)   The overall size is about 2" x 3", slightly smaller.  

I also made a YouTube video of it.

This is the sleeve of the box I altered. The book goes inside of it.

Photo wheels are still fun!

Tim Holtz is so creative. But you probably already know that. 

Once of his newer dies is of a photo wheel. As soon as I saw it I knew it would be lots of fun to make my own photo wheels. I am currently making one using real images for a lady who is turning 90- for a photo album I am making for her. Her daughter sent me photos to use of her and people in her life. I'll post that one after the party.

The two here are going to be used for different albums or tags. One is seaside themed and one is using the beautiful papers from Kaisercraft called Curiosity. 

I love detail...so for me, I find this type of crafting sort of a Zen experience. Others may not like the fussiness of this one. I am showing my age with this post. Those of you who remember these are most likely 'of a certain age'. I loved them when I was a kid and still do!