Christmas Elegance

Hello, everyone!  I know you're all very busy right now, so I really appreciate you stopping by to see my next project in the Twelve Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style.  Hosted by Linda Coughlin and sponsored by her wonderful shop The Funkie Junkie Boutique, you can find all the details of the challenge here.

Linda's tag for the 9th week of the challenge was so beautiful and elegant.  I loved the black and gold combination.  I'm a real traditionalist with most things, and especially the holidays, but I do like to shake things up a bit within a traditional style.  Here is what I took as inspiration from Linda's tag.

 

 

 

 

 

I started with my usual 5x7" watercolor paper and painted it with Black Soot DP.  Once it dried I used a Prima stencil and embossing ink to make the corner decoration.  I embossed it with gold embossing powder.  I then used another piece of watercolor paper and stamped the sentiment in embossing ink and used the same embossing powder.  I fussy cut it and used foam tape to apply it to the page. The edges of the page were embossed also.  The white poinsettia was in my stash.   Here are some details.

 

 





 

 

 

 

I think this is such an elegant combination.  I was so thrilled when I saw Linda's tag because a few days before I had thought about doing a black and gold tag!!  As I mentioned to Linda in an email, sometime serendipity can be found everywhere! 

 

 

Thank you so much for visiting with me.  We're almost at the end of this challenge even though I'm behind in my posting.  I hope all your holiday plans are moving along smoothly.  Have a wonderful day and enjoy the season!



Ice Skates

Hello, everyone!  It's so nice to have you visit at this busy time of year!  I hope your holiday preparations are going well and you're enjoying the season!

Today I want to share my 8th entry in Linda Coughlin's 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style.  You can find all the details here.  Linda's tag for week 8 had a wonderfully warm homespun feel to it with a Christmas stocking featured.  I saw the stocking and for some reason thought about the ice skate die and how I would love to use that in place of a stocking.  So, that's what I did!  Here is my version of Linda's tag.

I wouldn't call it homespun but I do love those ice skates!  I started out by spraying the background with Brushed Pewter Distress Spray through a Memory Box snowflake stencil.  I cut the ice skates out of grunge board and painted them with Picket Fence Distress Paint.  I used Brushed Pewter on the runners and Black Soot for the heal.    After the paint was dry I sprinkled the shoes lightly with Rock Candy Dry Glitter so they would glisten.  That doesn't really show in the picture, but it's a cool effect.  I "laced" them with bakers twin. The label is from the new TH set of label dies cut from silver card stock.  I embossed the edge with crystal embossing powder and stamped it with a Penny Black stamp.    The snowflakes were a gift from Linda that she tucked into an order (thanks once again, Linda).   I sprayed them with Perfect Pearls Pearl.

Here are some details.

 

 

It's a very simple page for my future book but I thought simplicity was my answer to Linda's homespun! 

 

 

It's hard to believe that we are so close to the finish.  I actually have page 9 and 10 finished.  I just haven't had time to post about them.  Linda is up to 11 and that is really amazing!  Next week will be the end of the challenge, which, by the way, is sponsored by Linda's wonderful shop.  Stop by and take a look around.  The prices are great and the service is even better!

 

 

Well, I'm off to continue checking things off my to-do list.  I hope you have a wonderful day.  Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to visit with me.  I really appreciate it!



Christmas Ornament

Hello, everyone!  I'm in the spirit of the season and busy, busy, busy, as I'm sure all of you are.  But, since I love the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, I'm enjoying myself!  My favorite thing is to decorate my house.  I love getting out all my things, some that I've had for many years.  Some are from childhood, some from my first years of marriage, and some that I add every year.  My favorite thing to do is make ornaments for the tree.  Our tree is a history of our family.  I've made a majority of the ornaments and they reflect my passion for needlework, beading, and now, paper art.  Other ornaments have been collected on travels or given to us by dear friends.  The tree is truly my favorite decoration in the house!  Which is why when I saw the tag Linda Coughlin made for week 7 of her Twelve Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style I was thrilled!  It featured a Christmas tree ornament!  What could be better?!

Here is what I did with that inspiration.

I started by cutting an ornament using a Tim Holtz die out of manila cardstock.  I used heavy body gesso and a Prima stencil to emboss it.  When the gesso was dry I sprayed it with Lindy's Stamp Gang Poinsettia Red Gold Starburst spray.  The beauty of the spray doesn't show up well in the picture but there golden highlights mixed in with the red.  The gesso is lighter in color and I highlighted it with some gold Guilders' Paste.  For the hanger I used gold paint and some Ranger Ancient Gold Enchanted Gold embossing powder.

Next I sprayed my paper with Sea Mist Green Starburst spray and let it dry.  I used the heavy bodied gesso again with a Prima stencil and embossed the card.  Once it was dry I used Lindy's Magicals and a water brush to paint the embossing.  Using a TH stamp I stamped pine branches around the top and side of the paper using Frosty Forest Green and Ponderosa Pine Olive Magicals.   I then used the same colors to color some manila card and cut it out with the TH new greenery die.  I attached those pieces with glue and then popped up the ornament making some of the foliage come through the hanger.  Here are some close up photos.

 

 

 

 I'm really pleased with the way this turned out.   I had a lot of fun working on it.  Linda is such an inspiration every week!  If you want the details of how to participate in the challenge you can check it out here.   The challenge is sponsored by Linda's wonderful shop, The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  You really should check it out because she has a wonderful selection of products at great prices.

 

 

That's it for me for now.  I have more decorating to do (almost finished).  Thank you so much for taking the time to visit with me.  I really appreciate it and I hope you have a wonderful day!  

Golden Sepia

Hi, all!  I hope all of you in the U.S. had a fantastic Thanksgiving!  We did, sharing it with family and friends, enjoying good food and companionship for which we are ever grateful!  It's on to Christmas and all the hustle and bustle that comes along  with it.  But, I love the holidays, all of them, and so I embrace the season with joy. 

I want to share the latest entry of mine into The Twelve Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style, hosted by Linda  Coughlin at The Funkie Junkie Boutique, her wonderful shop!  As you all know by now, I'm creating pages for a future book I'll put together after the holidays.  My page for this week was inspired by the golden sepia tones Linda used for her Tag #6.  You can see the rules for the challenge here and the tag that I was inspired by here.

I love sepia tones and I think they are especially elegant for Christmas design.  The sepia Linda used was very golden in tone and I loved it.  So, using that as a jumping off point here is what my page looks like, and I apologize in advance for the photos.  I used my phone in a not very good light but I was short on time!



I have been starting with a 5x7" piece of watercolor paper.  Here I sprayed the paper with Tarnished Brass Distress Spray.  When that dried I used Glimmer Mist in Copper for another layer of color.  When the paper was completely dry I edged it with Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals in Golden Sleigh Bells. Magicals are actually dry paint that I use with a water pen.  They are beautiful and fun to use. I stamped the background with a script stamp from one of TH Christmas sets in Sepia Archival ink. 
I then used the Pine Tree stamp from another of TH Christmas sets to stamp a "forest" of trees along the bottom. I used different ink colors and embossed some of them with Ranger Ancient Gold/ Enchanted Gold embossing powder.  I had a chip board tree in my stash that was sepia colored and I rubbed some Guilders' Paste in Inca Gold on it.  The reindeer was a chip board piece that Linda kindly sent in an order I had placed with her.  I painted it with gold paint and when that dried I brushed some Deco Art Interference Gold paint on it.  Then I rubbed some Guilders' Paste on top.  Using a Spellbinders die I cut a label from gold paper and embossed the edge with a Stampendous embossing powder that is a vintage ivory color with flecks of old gold in it.  It's one of my favorite embossing powders!  I attached a sticker to the label and sprayed the whole thing with Tarnished Brass DS.  I attached it with foam tape placing more chip board under it.  Here are some details.

The shadow isn't really there.  That was compliments of the light! 

 

 

 

 

 

So, there is my Page 6.  I'm caught up with the pages but I haven't had time to post them.  So, you'll be seeing more very soon!  I'm just thrilled that I was finally able to catch up with Linda (she's up to 9)!

 

 

I hope you have a wonderful day and thank you so much for visiting!

 



An Art Deco Christmas

Hi, everyone!  Welcome to my next installment in Linda Coughlin's The Twelve Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style.  If you click on the link it will take you to the explanation of this great challenge and all the rules.  It's sponsored by Linda's wonderful boutique, The Funkie Junkie, which you should really check out if you haven't already! 

Okay, so on to my project for this go round.  I'm up to week 5 and I was thrilled when I saw Linda's tag for this week.  (She's up to week 8, by the way)!  It was very Art Deco. Anyone who knows me or has followed the blog knows that I LOVE anything Art Deco.  When Tim Holtz came out with his Deco Christmas stamp set last year I was thrilled!!  I've used those stamps so many times in creating Christmas tags and paper art.  Well, once again, I put them to good use.  Here is what I came up with.

 

 

I used Linda's design liberally in this page.  I loved the star border with the sun rays stencil.  It really looks very Deco.  So, I cut the stars with a silver glitter card stock and glued it on top of the sun rays which I had stenciled with Wendy Vecchi's silver embossing paste.  The background was done with Distress Stain and some Perfect Pearls spray.  I stamped the Merry Christmas with a stamp from the Deco Christmas stamp set with black archival ink and ran the silver DS around the edge of the page. 

 

I don't have the deco gentleman die that Linda used.  So, I found a lovely flapper dressed in red and ready to go to a holiday party in the Graphic 45 Couture collection of papers.  I fussy cut her and applied her to the page with foam tape.  Here are some details.

 

 

 



 

Isn't she lovely?!

 

 

 

 

I love my Art Deco page!  It was so much fun to plan and when I found the flapper in her red costume I was  thrilled! 

 

 

I hope everyone in the U. S. is staying warm.  I think things are going to warm up a little by the beginning of Thanksgiving week!  And, I wish all my U. S. readers a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving!  I'm thankful for you and all the lovely comments you leave here.  Have a wonderful day!

 

And, finally some beadwork!

Hi, everyone!  It's been a while and even longer since I posted any beadwork.  As I keep saying, the time goes so quickly and this year is quicker than most for some reason.  I haven't been in the studio much and beading has been very slow.  But, I finally finished a project I started at the beginning of September.  It's another geometric beadwork bracelet.  I can't seem to get enough of working from Kate McKinnon's and Jean Power's books.  Both artists came out with second volumes of geometric beadwork recently and I'm just captivated by what they and other artists are coming up with.

Here is what has taken me so long to finish.

The components are called Warped Squares in Kate's books, but the bracelet design comes from Jean Power.  And, while I keep saying it took a long time to complete because I haven't been beading much, it's not a quick project!!  All those beaded squares are connected by 6 rows of circular peyote, and there are a lot of squares even for my small wrist!  But, I love it and I loved working on it!  From the colors you can see why I wanted to finish it before Fall was over.   I used my favorite bronze Delicas for a repeating color and then was inspired by the changing leaves for the other Delica colors. 

As I said, each square is connected to the previous one by circular peyote worked at the center of the square that you just finished.  You work your way back to the center and peyote a short connector and then start the next square. It's finished with a magnetic closure.   Not quick beadwork, but I think it's worth it!  I've worn it already and I love it! 

Here are some close ups! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was so happy that my friend Kathy had some antique copper magnetic clasps in the store.  It really becomes invisible when I'm wearing the bracelet.  Since I have so much trouble sizing bangles that fit me well I'm always delighted when I can make a bracelet look like a bangle!  I adore bangle bracelets but can rarely find one or make one that fits!

 

 

Well, now I can start on a beaded Christmas gift for the librarian I work with.  And, then start on my next geometric project!! I'm addicted!

 

Now it's on to Thanksgiving (already?!) and then the hustle of the Christmas season!  I hope you are enjoying this beautiful season and getting  a lot inspiration from it.  Have a wonderful day and if you live in most of the U. S., stay warm!  Thank you so much for visiting with me.    I'll be back soon with my next entry into The Twelve Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style! 





My Favorite So Far!

Hello to everyone!  Thank you for joining me today.  I have another entry into the Twelve Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style to share with you today.  And, as the title of this post says, it's my favorite so far. 

If you're not familiar with this challenge you can find out all about it here.  Linda really inspires everyone with her tags every year and it's so much fun to play along.  Once you've checked out the challenge rules hop over to The Funkie Junkie Boutique, Linda's wonderful shop.  She has great products and fantastic service and prices.

Now on to this week's project.  You can check out Linda's tag for the fourth week here.  If you've read the challenge rules you know that you have to be inspired by something from Linda's tag.  What immediately inspired me was the homespun, vintage charm of this tag.  I also loved the colors she used.  So, I used both of those things in making my page.  By the way, for those of you who haven't been following along with my projects, I'm using 5"x7" pieces of watercolor paper in place of tags.  I'll eventually gather them into a book.  Anyway,  on to the project.  This is what the finished page looks like.

 

 

 

 

I started by using a Wendy Vecchi stencil and Evergreen Bough DI to create the striped border top and bottom.  Then I used Festive Berries for the polka dot background.  I then stamped the vintage catalog page from Tim Holtz on a piece of white card stock and inked it with Vintage Photo DI.  I distressed the edges and used more Vintage Photo to darken them.  After going though my stash of Christmas things I found several of the items that are featured in the catalog page!  Tinsel, a star, ribbons and little Christmas lights are among the things that I had and so I decided to glue them down along the side.  A little sticker that says "celebrate" seemed appropriate and the color was perfect so I attached that to the top of the page.  Here are some details.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really love this page.  I love that catalog stamp and I was thrilled to be able to feature it.  And, I was really excited to find the star and the little lights among my stash.  I thought the end result was simple and homespun, just like Christmas should be!

 

 

 

I want to thank you for visiting me today.  I've been so busy with all the Fall activities that I haven't done much in the studio.  But, I enjoy making these projects every week and sharing them with you .  Have a wonderful day and I hope you get to find some time to create!