Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to take this opportunity to say how grateful I am to each of you for being a very special part of my life.  I know many of you, and some are "background" friends who read my posts, but I am not acquainted with you yet, though I hope to be someday.   This creative experience is a very important part of my life, and it brings me great joy.  I hope I am able to inspire you in some small way from time to time.

As many of you know, we have had our challenges of late, but I am very grateful for the blessings we have received that see us through even the toughest times.  They help us focus on what is important, and make us stronger along the way. 

What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?

This candle is a project that I created last year, but it remains one of my favorites.  It is stamped on tissue paper in beautiful fall colors, wrapped with a piece of waxed paper, and then heated with a heat gun.  The heat melts the wax from the paper, adhering the tissue transparently to the wax on the candle. It is burnable with care.

Here is my fall centerpiece, complete with a vinyl sentiment from the Thanksgiving Solutions cartridge.  I made the leaf gold, so it matches the gold charger plate, and adds a final touch to the arrangement.

May you and yours be blessed this Thanksgiving, and may you have the opportunity to find quiet moments of reflection to count your blessings, and give thanks!

Then gobble til you wobble!!!

I'll be back soon with some new projects!   (PS and thanks to those who came to my UStream class last night!  We had so much fun with projects for Santa Head to Toe!!!  If you are interested, you can see the recording of the class anytime.  Click on the link at the top of the page....)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Finger Puppets from Digital Images!

Have you ever wondered if you can print digital images on fabric?  Well, you can!!!

These are the finger puppets I did from DIGITAL DELIGHTS Thanksgiving and other collections to create PORTER'S PLAYHOUSE PUPPET THEATER!

Studies have shown that any experience where a kid uses his imagination is one of the best growth tools, and puppets are the very best at opening their little creative minds.

These were very easy to make, and I've even used a picture frame to make the theater.

Wendy is having a SALE at Digital Delights, so you can create LOTS of wonderful images!

Here's how:

Happy creating ~

Happy Thanksgiving, and more.....

Wishing you the very best holiday! I am grateful to have this time to count my blessings today, and be at home with family and friends. This past week has been a health challenge for me, and I have been greatly blessed to have the worst things they were looking for be ruled out. I have good hospitals, doctors, medicine, a supportive family, friends, and most of all, the Lord who knows and loves me. I have great faith that all will be well soon, and that's all that I need.

Thank you for your kind prayers and concerns! You are the best!!

These place card/napkin holders are from BettyBee's Buzz this past week, and they have been such fun to make! Rosemary gave the pattern on the blog, and I had so much fun creating different styles to match my china patterns!! They are a simple triangle design, and can be adapted for any occasion.

Next up is a Girly Girl card for, Whoopsi Daisy which was a delight to create for a special niece who just had a sweet baby girl. Linnie's digital images are precious, and a delight to color.

I'll be back soon with a vinyl project, and more fun!

Happy creating ~

BettyBee

Three New Things ... WOW!

Well, happy Wednesday, and time for a HoneyBee Showcase piece! I've done a candle facelift as part of our first ever Motivational Monday at BettyBee's Buzz! Rosemary gave a great tutorial, and this is my take! I used a darker candle, and it smells SO good! Check out the link to find out how to create one of your own!

Next we have brand new images at Digital Delights by LoubyLoo, and they are so cute for the holiday season! My image is Candy Cane Ginger, and I printed her out double...one in reverse, so I could have ginger bread twins! I colored them with Copics, glittery gel pens, and water color pencils. The paper is Core'dinations and Me & My Big Ideas. The ribbon is Offray and the flowers are Wild Orchid.

Last, but not least, is a color inspired centerpiece for Passionately Artistic. This pumpkin is an artificial one that came from a hobby store, and was easy to cut. The flowers arranged in it are traditional fall bushes with touches of rich, deep red ~ to match the accents of my living room. The new Thanksgiving cartridge for the Cricut has beautiful scrolled sentiments, and "Give Thanks" was just perfect to accent the front of the pumpkin. The leaf was heat embossed in russet, orange and gold. The cat tails are real!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are having a beautiful fall, and I wish you lots of creative mojo!

Come see us at BettyBee's Buzz!

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you all a wonderful day of reflection about the blessings in your lives. I feel especially grateful to be going to have Thanksgiving dinner with my Mom today. It's not a perfect family day for us, because my hubby has to work, my SIL is sick, so my brother won't be there, my DIL is out west with her family, and our daughters are living out of state with their families now, BUT...there are phones, computers, blogs, and modern miracles that let us all be in touch, even if we aren't right together. Our family is quite traditional, and I know that there will be fordhook lima beans on tables all over today. What will your family do to keep the heartstrings tied?

This card features a favorite stamp set by Close To My Heart, colored by Copics, layered, and then accented with Liquid Glass. The edging is my new Martha Stewart Deep Cut punch. Those gorgeous leaves at the bottom are from JoAnn's dollar bin ~ aren't they great!!

Published!!
Santa is from Cricut Christmas Noel Solutions cartridge, and is colored with Copics. The background is wrapping paper on cardstock, and embossed with the new Countdown to Christmas Cuttlebug embossing folder.

I've been waiting for a month to share this one with you, as it was published in Scrapstreet Magazine this month, and I had to wait for it to come out before I could blog it!!

This Sizzix die cut box is also a published project from Scrapstreet Magazine! I covered the box with photos of the family, then trimmed it with cardstock edging for stability, and Mod Podged the whole thing, so there were no loose edges. It is for my baby grandson to carry around, especially when we talk with him on the phone, so he can see our faces, and make the connection between "Nana" and my voice. He loves it!! I must say, that "Grama" (my Mom) is his favorite! (Such a smart boy!!)

Again, I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving, even if you don't celebrate the holiday in your country, take time to be Thankful, and enjoy your day! I'm so thankful for all of you!

Happy crafting ~

Fab Friday TV

It's been a while since I've posted a video here. Last week we were pre-empted with the sudden arrival of the new Cuttlebug Folders (which was so much fun!) and we have been re-doing some things on the Cuttlebug Challenge blog, so here we are! This was a fun project. I just wish I could get them under 10 minutes! LOL

Aren't these Annie Lang images the cutest? Thanks to my friend, Wanda, for bringing them to me. I used my Copics to color them, and used a Sakura clear glaze pen to make the veggies shine.

Speaking of Copics, have you heard about Cuttlebug Challenge University??? The very first class is going on right now, and Cindy Royal is teaching basic Copics! I will be doing two weeks of intermediate Copics on Tues., Nov. 17 and 24. If you complete all four weeks of "homework" you get a "Graduation Certificate" from CBC University! Be sure to check it out!

Okay, on to the video....I hope you enjoy the techniques, and will make some for yourself, and perhaps as fun, festive gifts for any occasion.

Happy Crafting ~

Cuttlebug Camp Challenges!!

It's Wednesday, and time to post the rest of the Cuttlebug Camp Challenges that I've finished. What a fun program this has been! Thanks to Trudi and the other designers for great tutorials and motivation to get some neat things done. Here are my napkin rings for Tablescape Part 2!
I used Swiss Dots, and Fiskars edge punch for the main part, then Cricut Stretch Your Imagination for the Leaves. They look really pretty with my basket from Day 1!



This little guy is my funny little snowman from "Pumpkins, Part 3"! I did the circles, glues them together, and then dressed them in snowy style! I do think the ovals would have worked better for the bottom section! The snowflake cuttlebug folder worked really well for this! Don't you love the goofy smile!


These tags are fun and easy! They are 2"x 2 1/2" and decorate up so cute! I love putting the cut out image on the inside! Thanks for the ideas :-)




This is my version of Kim's Tutorial Challenge on the Beaded Embossing. I tried everywhere in my area to find Sticky Powder, and haven't had any luck, so I hand glued mine in the reverse. I still love the results! I used one of the corner plates for this design, and backed it with silver paper, and there are "diamonds" in the centers of the flowers....great compliments to each other. Thanks, Kim, for the tutorial, and when I get the Sticky Powder, I will do it in the reverse. (I tried "inking" my cuttlebug folder with the glue pad, and it didn't work).

Tom Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving! This little fellow is a paper pieced design made from scallops from Accent Essentials #31, (3", 2 1/2", 2") then the penguin from Christmas Cheer, with a couple of modifications, and the hat from the Pilgrim boy in Paper Dolls. Cut off three "bumps" of each scallop circle to make the tail feathers, then pinch fold them to make the dimensions. A little stitching around the edges makes it just right. Fix up our little fellow with water color pencils and micron pens. Put him together with pop dots. The punched strip is done with a Fiskars leaf border punch, and the Happy Thanksgiving is from a new Studio G stamp. I hope you are able to make one of these little fellows for yourself. Happy Thanksgiving!

I am Thankful....

....for many things, especially being able to make cards for my friends and family. This one is my first Thanksgiving card for this year. The image is colored with Watercolor pencils and Baby Oil Gel, then glazed with Liquid Glass. The inside says "Happy Thanksgiving". I love fall!