From Our Home to Yours.......

the Merriest of Christmases!

Vintage Stocking Swap

I recently participated in the Joli Paquet Vintage Stocking Swap . This is what I made for my partner






.....hope she likes it! I anxiously await my Vintage Stocking from her. Please Santa, can it come before Christmas?!

Happy Creating!

Christmas (in a ) Box

I love cigar boxes. And....I really love Christmas time. It's my favorite time of the year, in fact. So, I decided to do a project that encompassed both of these things.




If you'd like to try creating something like this for yourself (or as a gift), more photos and a complete tutorial can be found on the Purple Cows blog .

May your holidays be Merry and Joyful.

A Tutorial and Artz de Scrap Inspirational Scrapper

Happy Holidays everyone! Here's a couple of chunky Christmas blocks I made. I used my Purple Cows 2 in 1 trimmer and Cosmo Cricket and Gecko Galz papers and ephemera to create these. If you'd like to make one, you can see the tutorial on the Artz de Scrap Blog Hop on over and check it out. They're super easy and fun to make.....the best part? You can get the kids involved too.

While you're over at Artz de Scrap check out the December 2010 Inspirational Scrapper .....me! I'm honored to be part of the Artz de Scrap family.

Happy Creating!

Food for Thought....

New Artz de Scrap Challenge!!

Join us at Artz de Scrap this month for the altered Wood Challenge!

Here's my interpretation of "alter something wooden". I salvaged a beat up jewelry box from the local thrift store and created this:



Come on and play along!!! You could win a RAK!!!

Fall Flowers

With the leaves turning and falling at an ever increasing pace here in Central Texas....I miss the flowers of spring and summer. So to add some color to the home decor I created a paper flower bouquet.



If you would like to make one too. Check out the instructions at The Purple Cows site

Happy Thanksgiving!

May the beauty of Fall and the joy of family and friends be yours this Thanksgiving.

Wow! I'm Really Behind.....

aren't I? Sorry for the long absence from blogland y'all. We relocated over the summer and life has gotten very hectic. It'll take me a little while to catch up.

First I promised pictures of my completed explosion box back in July. They are here:





The new November Challenge is up at Artz De Scrap . We are heading into the holiday season, so it's a bag tag challenge. Here is my interpretation:



Hope you'll join us for the challenge!!!

Explosion Box Tutorial

Check out Felicia's Explosion Box Tutorial at Artz de Scrap! It's fun!!

Here's a little sneeky peeky of the one I created! I'll let you see the whole thing soon!!!

Some New Creations

Here are a few new creations I've completed using Gecko Galz papers, ephemera, digital stamps, buttons and ultra thick embossing powder!! Hope you enjoy them.

Happy Creating!

One Door Closes......

and another opens. That's what my Mom used to always tell me. I've discovered, that it is usually true.

Recently Prima made the decision to discontinue it's Prima Endorsed Artist Educator Program. I was very excited, and lucky, to be part of this great program. Prima has always been one of my favorite manufacturers. But, all good things must come to an end. And, this has.

But.....my friend Felicia emailed me and asked me to be part of the Artz de Scrap Design Team...I was thrilled!! I love altering things and this blog is all about altering!

Right now Art de Scrap is hosting the Altered Lunchbox Challenge Here!! Here is my altered lunchbox! I used Gecko Galz papers; ephemera and buttons with Ranger alcohol inks in various colors.



Hope you'll join us for this challenge! Happy creating~!

Scrap It Forward Blog Hop Winner!!

I want to thank everyone who stopped by during the Scrap It Forward blog hop!!! My winner is number 18, Susan!!!.

Susan said...
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE your altered art! I am lucky to have found your blog through this hop!
June 26, 2010 9:01 PM

Please email me with your address Susan so I can get your canvas out in the mail!!!

Happy Creating!!!

Creative Souls Art Contest-Please Vote For Me!

I know this is a shameless plea, but I'd really like your vote! My entry is this:





You go here and vote!!

Poll: Creative Souls Art Contest~ Please click on images 4 larger view

Thanks everyone and Happy Creating!!

The Scrap It Forward Blog Hop

I have had the incredible good fortune of working with some wonderful ladies for the Scrap It Forward Challenge Blog since March. But, like all good things, it too must come to an end......well, my Guest DT spot, I mean!

So, if you've landed here today, you've landed in the midst of our Farwell Guest DT Blog Hop: Welcome!!! And, if you are already a hopper (blog, that is) from Julie's Blog : Welcome!!

We Scrap It Forward ladies got together for this hop and decided to celebrate the fun, creative time we had together with a giveaway! We each decorated a mini canvas and we're going to give it away to one lucky blog hopper! Here's mine....




So, leave a comment here to win my little creation and then hop on over to Cher's blog and see how she decorated her canvas! (and comment there too for a chance to win!) Then go and leave a comment on the Scrap It Forward Challenge Blog for another chance at a prize.

Our little hop is open until June 30th. So, you have until then to leave a comment....I'll pick a random winner on July 1st!

Good Luck! Happy Hopping! and, as always: Happy Creating!!

Puppy Princesses

Our Miniature Pinschers are little tiny, adorable, lovey, personality packed puppies. In fact, they're not even really puppies. But it's hard to think of anything under five pounds being an adult dog....so, they'll always be puppies to us. I created a canvas using Gecko Galz images. I printed out one on transparency paper called coronets and crowns. Then I cut out the crowns for my two princesses. Added some detail with Art Glitter too (love this stuff).

Enjoy and happy creating!!!

Projects, publications and plans

My deepest apologies for being very absent on my blog lately. We're in the midst of relocating and all of that wonderful stuff has me very busy at the moment. You remember all the fun stuff involved in that don't you? Looking, driving, investigating, inspecting, financing, cleaning, organizing, packing, going insane... (well, the lat one is just me). I'm a nester at heart and I hate to be disturbed or have to move ANY of my stuff.

I have created a few items that are featured in Scrapbook News and Review this month. Here are sneak peeks:




I also have a piece featured in the July/August issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors! My first pub with them, I'm very excited!!

Finally, here's a shadowbox I created using Gecko Galz digital images and ephemera. It's a tribute to my dear husband's grandfather, a true cowboy and the name sake of our boy...Troy.

The Welcome!! New Baby Zutter Blog Hop!

The Zutter Zisters are having a blog hop to celebrate the arrival of Sage Adrianne Lawrence, born on May 31st to our Zutter Zister DT member Down Under, Sophie Sim-Lawrence and her husband! Congrats Sophie and hubby on your new bundle of joy!

Help the Zutter Zisters celebrate her arrival by participating in the Bind It All Baby Blog Hop!!

Happy creating!

Clipboard Fun!

Check out this cool wall hanging I did as a house warming gift! It's on the Bind It All Blog!!

While you are visiting the Bind It All Blog, check and see if you are one of the lucky giveaway winners Here!

Summer Time!

I just adore summer! The warm days (and nights!), BBQs, picnics, swimming, you name it! Our family really loves to spend lots of time outdoors. Often that means meal times too. Nothing beats dining under the stars, to the light of summer lanterns.




Want to make you own lanterns? Easy, peasy! Check out the how-to on the Purple Cow Blog!!

Happy Creating!!!!!

New From Zutter!!

Get your Dose of Zutter "Ds" at Summer CHA - Sneak Peek

It's not a vitamin....but Zutter "D's" are the newest little hardware that will be available for wholesale order at Summer CHA and available at retail real soon.




Zutter D's work alongside Hang-it-Alls - or can be used alone - to add yet another enhancement to custom projects, particularly for home decor and multi-dimensional projects. Insert the Zutter D around the loops of the owire in your project and hang from a Hang-it-All, or other hook to display your album, home decor project or anything at all!

Zutter D's won't interfere with the function of the owire, so don't worry about your binding creation. Who knew something so little could be so DDDDDDang cute!

We're very excited about this little addition to the hardware line at Zutter. We want to give something away, but since we don't have the Zutter D's yet, we will give away some "sister" items. How about a pack of each color of Hang-it-Alls to FIVE lucky posters. If you haven't seen these little gems yet, check out the video from Winter CHA Here! Join the giveaway by leaving a comment Here! and we will draw random winners on June 16.

Happy creating!!!

Hooray for Dad!

It's that time of year again, when we take a moment to remember and appreciate those special Dads in our lives. Scrap It Forward is hosting a challenge honoring dear ole Dad Here!

This is the layout I created for the challenge, honoring my dear Dad!



Happy creating!

Getting Creative with Lamination

Hi y'all! My apologies for being so absent from blogging these days. A lot going on in the home front.

I did want to share some fun summertime bookmarks with you! You can get the kids to help (and then, hopefully, use them when doing some summer reading!!)




You can check out the directions on the Purple Cows blog!!

Happy creating!

What Does Being A Mom Mean To You?

Being a Mom is a wonderful, life changing experience to me. I never realized when I got pregnant with my son just what I was getting myself in for. I've had a lot of jobs in my life, but none more difficult and rewarding than this Motherhood thing....

I did a layout about what I think of being a Mom.


What does being a Mom mean to you? We at Scrap It Forward would LOVE to know! Hop over to the Scrap It Forward Challenge Blog and join us in out latest challenge!

Playing Catch Up

Sorry dear followers for the long absence away. John Lennon said it best when he stated: Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. Got a BIG dose of life recently, still recovering.....

I'm back now. Thanks to those of you who checked in to see what was up, since I was MIA! It's so wonderful to have friends, isn't it? Let me see if I can catch back up.

First, here's a project I did for Scrap It Forward , the Yo Teach..We Love Ya challenge. The instructions for creating this are located on the Bind It All Blog .


The Yo Teach...We Love Ya Challenge winner is posted here! Congrats to the winners and thanks to everyone who entered.

Second, here's a picture frame I created as a Mother's Day gift for Purple Cows. You can see the tutorial here!


Hope everyone is well.....now I have to get back to dealing with "life"! Happy creating!

Celebrating Spring!

I'll show you how with this cool wind sock! See the details on the Purple Cows blog!

Instructions

Here are the instructions for my Upcycled Prima Flower Tin! Participate in the challenge with us, post about it here (and provide me a link) and you could win this tin!!






Upcycled Prima Flower Tin

I don’t know about you, but I have a weakness for Prima flowers, especially the ones that come in those cute little tins. Problem is, what to do with the empty tin after the flowers are all gone? How about a little upcycling?

Tools:
Purple Cows 1040 2in1 Trimmer
Purple Cows #2806 Decorative Blade
Creative Memories Circle Punch
Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch
Tim Holtz Scissors
Paint brush
Tim Holtz Inker

Supplies:
Used Prima flower tin
Book pages
Vintage buttons
Vintage wallpaper
Vintage sheet music
Helmar PCV adhesive
Mod Podge
Ranger Crackle Accents
Ranger Distress Ink: Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain
Prima Say It With Pearls

1. Remove plastic insert in tin top. Mod Podge vintage sheet music to one side. Set aside to dry.
2. Paint tin and top with crackle accents. Let dry. Ink in both colors, working lightest to darkest. Let dry. Spray with sealer. Let dry.
3. Glue plastic insert into tin top.
4. With circle punch and scissors, create flowers. Glue together and add button center.
5. Trim wallpaper into strip. Glue to tin bottom.
6. Decorate tin with flowers and butterfly.

You have until April 30th to upcycle something and post about it! I will draw a random winner from all who enter the challenge here and at Scrap It Forward! !!

The Artistic Mother's Group

I'm sure many of you have heard about Shona Cole's book, The Artistic Mother. I follow her blog and recently started reading her book. I found this wonderful group hosted by Trudy Callan called The Artisitic Mother's Art Group .

We are reading and creating with Shona's book and giving ourselves and one another encouragement. I have been following along, but I am behind in keeping up with my creations. That silly thing called "life" tends to get in the way at times.


I love to create, but sometimes I have trouble juggling everything, household responsibilities, kids, pets, spouse, work, art.......Shona's book is helping me to learn to balance things better and appreciate even very small windows of opportunity to create. If you find it hard to balance your "life" and responsibilities and still create, you might want to grab Shona's book and join us! We're a large group and growing!

So, I created something small the other day. I was playing with my Purple Cows laminator and decided to make some bookmarks. I wanted to see what I could run through the laminator. I mixed alcohol inks, bits of crayons and stamped images for some interesting effects....

Going Green at Scrap It Forward

Our new challenge is up at Scrap It Forward .

Earth day is around the corner you know, and we are paper crafters with a conscience! We reuse, recycle and upcycle whenever we can and so should you! Don't just throw your old scrap supplies away, donate them to children's hospitals. There are plenty of kids who would love to use them and make a big mess while doing so. Just imagine the difference that you could make in someone's day.

Now for the not so obvious...your daily household items that you recycle or items that you think are old and you want to just throw away... may just be something you could upcycle. What is Upcycle you ask? It is to to transform discarded or second-hand resources into a new or altered object.

So that is what the design team did this time around in honor of our upcoming Earth day. We hope to inspire you as well. Here is what I came up with!



Now hope over here! to see what the rest of the DT came up with. then create something of your own!

Happy Creating!

Some Great News!

I have recieved the incredible honor of being a Guest Designer for Scrap It Forward Challenge Blog! Check out more here! Meet all the designers here!

Blog Candy!

Hey got your attention didn't I? I have a cyberbuddy who is having a giveaway and she's trying to get 100 followers on her blog. Won't you help her out? Visit Linda to help her out!!

A Birthday Card

There's a cool challenge going on over at Stamp, Scrap and Doodle Saturdays. There's a wonderful Glitz Design prize package involved too!

I made a birthday card for this challenge.



Come join the fun and Happy Creating!!!

PS here's a few more challenges you might like to enter YOUR creation into!
Meljen's Designs Challenge #2 - girly colors
For Fun Challenges - April Showers Bring May Flowers
Simple Doodles - SD Challenge #15 Inspire Others
Crafty Creations Challenge #61 Anything Goes

New Challenge at Scrapperie

There's a new Freestyle Challenge up at Scrapperie .

Here is my interpretation!


Go check out the site and join the challenge!

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner!!

Okay....I know y'all thought I forgot about my RAK drawing today. But, I didn't!! Randomizer (DS Troy) drew THIS one:

Nikki Love said...
what a perfect spring pic!!!! Happy Spring, Vicki!!

April 6, 2010 10:42 PM

Whoo hoo! Congrats Nikki! Email me your snail mail and I'll get your RAK out next week! Happy Creating y'all!!!

Have you heard??

about a new and exciting place on the net? It's called The Color Room . Stop by and check it out!