Two Days of Work

This is the piece I worked on for the last 2 days. Thanks to DH who feeds me! How many Vintaj pieces can you spot? And this is just a sneak peek of one corner!!!! FUN, FUN, FUN!!!!

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And of course that is Avery in the picture from Paper Imagery. And here she has wings!! Fit right in with the Graphic 45 papers don't you think? And lots of chipboard from Collections.

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Just took a break from sitting on my %@#&* reading a book to post (I am from Illinois, you know.)

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Good Night!

Vintaj and Grungeboard

Always keep things that are only half done around the studio. Sometimes they are just the background you need for a project.

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Here's some Vintaj pieces added to the large Fragment with the Alcohol Ink technique from Tim. It's a 5x5 canvas that has paper background of Perfect Pearls and Re-Inkers. I'm really liking the bit of glitz that adds to a papers. Add a bit of Grungeboard and that's it!

Very easy......Very fun!

And last, but not in the very least, here's my crew!!!! Warts and all....love them to pieces.

Go Create....it's too nasty here to do anything else!

Merry Christmas

Are you going to CHA-W....I'm not, but here's a project of mine that is going....and they don't care if you see it first! That's different, huh?

It's Maya Road chipboard, Tim Holtz Grungeboard, Idea-ology and stamps. The 2 pieces from Vintaj are at the top and on the Prima flowers.

Very fun piece! Oh, and the background is Perfect Pearls with Re-Inkers in the mini-misters. Too cool!

Kids are off to the other Grandparents.....time to CREATE something!

My Christmas Card to You!

Thanks to everyone who comes to visit, and especially those who take the time to leave a comment. They are like gold to bloggers! This is a Christmas card I sent to my friend Wendy....see her stamp at the top and bottom?

But before I mailed it off, I hung it on my tree for a pretty nice picture of my tree. So this is my card to all my bloggers friends.

Be well, be good to each other.....and for my wintry friends ....stay warm!

Your Friend in ART,

Linda

Tim Holtz's New Stamps!!

Thanks Mel for getting my order out! I got my Tim Holtz stamps from Paper Imagery and had to play! This is his new set Reindeer Flight! I LOVE trees!!!! And these are too cute!!! Of course the key is his, too. Grundgeboard is so fun to work with.

The background is Perfect Pearls in the Mini-Mister with Re-inkers. Go try some creating.....it's better than cooking!!

Stay Warm
Linda

Let me introduce you to Avery in the terrific collection from Paper Imagery Designs. Pretty cute, huh? The background paper was made with some of the Perfect Pearls from yesterday and a reverse use of Tim's mask. Get that....used the piece from the background of the mask....fun!

Then I added some Maya Road metal blossoms, another round metal piece, and a brad. Lots of pen stitches and some Swiss Dots with the Cuttlebug.

There's a contest here on the PID blog. Take a look!

Linda

Working with the Master's Tutorial-Tim Holtz's Blog

We've been busy around here! Had the GKs for 2 days as mom and dad had to go out of town. They were great, but you can't CREATE in the studio with a 4 yr old's lightning fast hands going after EVERYTHING! Trust me....

I finally got to get out Tim's masks, and the Perfect Pearls, Grungeboard, the Heidi Swapp snowflakes, and of course the Cuttlebug!!! That thing is addictive. But so are the PP in the mini-misters! Geez! And just a tip....always make sure the sprayer is aimed in the correct direction! Yes....but not in the face....across the table onto my supplies! PP don't photograph well....alas. But they're there.

Plus just a peek of a Studio 490 stamp at the top.

The snowflakes are clear, but I used white Staz-On ink. Tim's masks are soooooo cool!!! You gotta love 'em!!! That's one on the right.

A big THANK YOU to Maya Road!! The box of goodies came for my prize after I'd done most of the project! Yeah!! HUGE box of supplies to go crazy with. So I used the MR button in the middle of the flower from Creative Impressions. Just what it needed!

Got to get busy on my Paper Imagery things. The new vintage images are wonderful!!!! Great job there, girls. Go take a peak.

Have a great day!

WHAT A CLASS!!!!!

Well I did it again, I take the camera and forget to take pictures! We had such a GREAT time. LOTS and LOTS of hard work here!!!!!

Donna had the greatest roof. But you can't see it in my picture. It was done on the opposite side of the metal, and turned out fabulous! She planned it exactly that way!!! HA! This isn't finished yet....just working on it.

Then the dynamic duo up there, what a hoot!!! They had more stuff all over, of course we all did. But I had to tease them. What great friends come here to work on their projects together.










Anyway, by the time I remembered to take pictures, most of the class was gone. Sorry guys! Here's Sheila and Susan still working hard to finish the tags....I tell you they just do not give up!!! Shiela don't forget to tell Mom "hi!"

Carol and Kelly won the notecards door prize and Susan the "package of stuff."

So I think everyone left happy, with a bit left to do but.....onward and upward!

Thanks girls, and Jim and Margaret, too. Jim manned the counter, so Margaret could make this for a Secret Pal. Great job, Margaret!!!!

I'm exhausted.....going to the easy chair!

Erin in the Spotlight!!!

Last night was Erin's turn to shine. And they did, literally. The Christmas program was a delight. There's nothing quite like the enthusiasm of little kids at Christmas. This is Erin and her teacher. Erin is getting so big. And she's so talented in the music field with her piano! WOW!

And of course, not to be outdone....Miss Emma had to make sure her bow was on straight, and she was absolutely stunning as well!

Onward and upward. Another year and soon it will be Emma's turn to stand on the Christmas stage and sing. (Being in the audience doesn't stop her now from singing along.)

NANA

Emma can Glitter!!!

Thanks to Lisa Pace, I can say I have passed the art of GLITTER onto the next generation....or even further! This is Emma, the youngest GD. And we made Lisa's snowman today.

It's not as elaborate as Lisa's, but a 4 year old only has the attention-span of a gnat. And she was into that jar a glitter with lightning speed....it just made me shutter to think if she had gotten the lid off before I stopped her!!!!!

Mr. Snowman went home to be in her house for Christmas. I am left to clean up the glitter and glue. But it was a great time. And this time we got PICTURES before our "aut pwodject" left the building! (art project)

That's Emma speak....we swear she lived in Brooklyn in a previous life...

Linda aka NANA

I've been playing with Photoshop and the Encaustic painting I did in class Tuesday. This is Tim's stamp on Grungeboard that was added to the painting along with a piece of ephemera and some scribbles in photoshop. The colors are really this bright. Not my usual choice, but fun.

I was of course trying to figure out how to "vintage " them down! It was a fun night. None of the Artist's there had heard of Grungeboard, of course, but they did love the man.

How could you not love "the man in the rain" stamp?

Design Team Member

WHOO!!! HOOO!!! Well, after careful consideration and a big leap of faith, Lori and Melissa have decided to give me a shot at being a Design Team Member for their great group Paper Imagery Designs!!!!

They have WONDERFUL things in their shop that will be sooooooo much fun to work with!!!! They have Tim Holtz's NEW stuff!!!! WOW! That's an accomplishment in itself. Hard to get things, right now!

Go take a look!!!!!

Thanks girls, and I can't wait to get to know all the others here....I think Wanda and I have bonded already! Midwest girls that we are!!!

Go create something!

Linda

Making Presents!

Turn on the music, get out the glue, find all the glitter, and the time just seems to fly!!! There's nothing like it when the MUSE hits you and you have the peace and quiet, and the time, to do what you love!!
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Life doesn't get much better than this!!
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I'm sooooo easily amused. Just one of the things I got to put together today. The green glitter is so much sparklier in person. Glitter is not my friend when it comes to taking pictures.
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Making my list and checking it twice......who's been naughty and who's been nice.....
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Linda

The other sides of the tags!

Sorry, I forgot, I had promised to upload the other side of the tags. Kinda got caught up in hanging the outside lights today!

Hope everyone had a good holiday!

Linda

Christmas Glitter

It's so hard to get a good shot of glitter.......but we had fun!

Sorry I haven't been a very good blogger lately! I like to get all my Christmas shopping done early, or at least when the weather is still good, so I can spend the cold, snowy, ugly days closer to Christmas in my studio making art and presents!!!!

But Erin and I have had a few moments to make some decorations and Stickle things up! So here are a couple more to add to our chain we're going to hang somewhere.

I did get the tree up....all the groceries for Thanksgiving dinner bought...and now the fun part of cleaning the house. My theory usually is "wait till they leave....THEN clean the house" when you have grandkids. Because the floor always needs cleaning when they leave! We'll see.......

Good night and have a great Thanksgiving!

Linda

Terrific Announcement!

I guess since they said your entry could have been published or seen before on something, it's OK to post pictures of my house for the Maya Road Home for the Holidays contest.

I was so humbled to hear I won 1st runner up! The entries were amazing. You MUST go see the newsletter for the other winners. Click on link above!

I'll get some better photos together and post the backsides of some of the tags later. Off to shop and chiro appointment.

Have a wonderful day!!!

Linda

More Glitter and Christmas

Like I said before, the Glitter Bug has bitten me!!! Forgive the poor photos, but glitter is very hard to photograph for me. Here are a couple of ornaments that I've put together in between watching the "little ones" this weekend and Christmas shopping before it snows.

These are Basic Grey pieces enhanced with stamps, Distress Ink, chipboard pieces, and of course, Stickles of all sorts! Go try some!!!

Linda

Stamper's Sampler

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According to the little card I got in the mail, I have something in the new Stamper's Sampler issue Dec/Jan.

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And my new blog friend Wanda emailed this morning to say it was true!!! She has her new copy, and it's in there. This is my picture. I like the reflection on the coffee table from the stamped diamonds.

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This was a great way to start the day!!!

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Thanks Wanda.....go visit her blog for some eye candy!

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Linda

Christmas Tag

Boy has this glitter gotten into my blood!!! Thank you Lisa Pace!!
The wings from Maya Road have vintage glass glitter on them from Art Glitter.

Here I used a Maya Road tag and a couple of blossoms as a base. Then Distress Ink and embossing folders on them. Last I used a bit of gold embossing powder. This Cuttlebug is sooooo much fun!!!!

The vintage image is from Paper Whimsy. She steals your heart. Top it off with a key from Tim's Idea-ology and some ribbons.

I can hardly wait to hang these little ladies on the tree, and it's not even Thanksgiving yet!!!

Be Well.

A Milestone Birthday

This Sunday is a milestone birthday for my dear husband, Bill. Men never really care, they say, about their age, so I won't dwell on that. But it was a great time to get out all the Cuttlebug embossing folders and go to work!

I LOVE numbers!!!! So this background one is great for this bday card. The right number has to be in there somewhere, right?

The Birds and Swirls worked out great for the phrase background and of course, you must somehow work in Swiss Dots on most everything! Distress Inks are rubbed ever so lightly across the embossing. Is this fun, or what?????

The stamp is perfect for a man's card from Endless Creations. The days of the week is from Collections and of course the Idea-ology stuff is from Tim!

My Fairy Identity Unveiled!

My new Friend in ART is Marsha Jorgensen! She is the Queen of Butterfly wings and Fairy Images!!!! This is what she can do......remarkable! Her blog is Tumble Fish Studio. This picture was taken during a class with my apron on! and I LOVE the lavender tinted glasses....really set them off!!!!

You must visit her blog and see all the wonderful projects she has created. Take the time and leave her a comment!!!! They really do mean a lot!

Linda

Christmas Stars

I love stars!!! Here is one that can hang on the tree, or use to decorate a special gift.

I embossed metal from Ten Seconds Studio on a chipboard star using the Cuttlebug, added a Maya Road frame colored with Distress Inks, and a Fragment over a vintage photo one one side.

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Then I embossed paper with the Cuttlebug, used glitter pen accents, and a great piece of Idea-ology on the other side. How simple is that???

I've already voted!!! Have you?

Linda

VOTE!!!!

OK!!! Don't forget to vote tomorrow.....just do it!
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Enough of that..........here's some more Maya Road tags....they are soooooo fun. Santa is my all time favorite Tim stamp. You can see the corner from Cuttlebug embossing folders on the top of the other tag. I LOVE THE FOLDERS??????
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Papers are from Basic Grey Figgy Pudding.
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The glitter doesn't show up well, but it's there in a subtle sort of way. And gold dots!!! Just a little bit of bling does a girl good!
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Be well.....

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Linda

Halloween Party!

Today was the Halloween Party at school these are the ghouls and the prize glasses that came home! Fun....

The Sweetest Little Thing

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Doesn't she pull at your heartstrings??? Look at those eyes. This beautiful child is from Paper Whimsy and Gale is 2nd to none in her wonderful images.

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Wings, flowers, and tag are from Maya Road. Paint dabbers were used to add a bit of interest to the chipboard. The Alcohol Inks are used again in the metal flowers. I'm soooo into the glitter thanks to Lisa Pace!She makes you want to break out the little bottles and get your studio all glitzed up a bit.

Maya Road Blog

Hey!

Katie Watson at the Maya Road Design Team blog has featured a few of my projects today!!! She is so sweet!
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Go take a look at all the wonderful ideas those talented gals have posted. Some terrific works from a great group!
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Make ART!
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Linda

That Time of the Year!

It's the time of year when you break out the jars of glitter and the gold embossing powder and snowflake stamps! Lisa Pace from Maya Road is the the "Queen of Glitter" and really inspired me to get it going on some little tags.

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There's a Tim Holtz stamp in there and just a peak of a Studio 490 one. Love those stamps!!!! Paper by Basic Grey...they are so wonderful with coordination of papers!!!! So get out your glitter and glam and get creative!!! I've really gotten a collection of rhinestones to add a touch of "bling" to a few pieces, too!

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We're working on a Ten Seconds Studio metal class in January at Scrapbook Friend'z!!! What do you think? FUN STUFF!!!! And so easy to do!!! The molds are so great to work with!!!! Give us your thoughts!

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Linda

Embossing Paper and Metal

Here is some paper run through the Cuttlebug. Then using Snow Cap pigment ink over the raised portion, it adds just a bit more dimension! This thing is sooooo cool!

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Chipboard, Rub-ons, and flowers from Maya Road, with glitter, paint pens and Alcohol Inks added to everything.

The possibilities are endless!

Christmas Workshop Class!

Class was really fun today! And they were soooo into their work you could hear a pin drop at times!!!

Here we had 2 girls with their books NEAR done. And it was somebodies birthday, too. Guess who.


The Tim Holtz alcohol inks on Fragments technique was a hit, I think. Everyone's turned out different, and each one a work of art. I only wish I had remembered the camera before they all started to migrate out the door. 13 people to make great gifts for Christmas. Make sure you're nice.

We had a mother and daughter team of Jean and Sheila. Jean was just in the process of putting on the ribbons.....and Sheila was on her way to shop. They were a great group and happy they got a chance to learn to use the Bind-It-All again. Thanks, Ladies!

Next they want a Ten Seconds Studio metal class!!!

Crafting Day

Last night was sleep-over night. So today was craft day. We had to make a bookmark with some of the cool Cloud9 papers, stickers and rubons!

Erin stamped a bit, too. Did some Distress Inking on the edges to complete. She loved it, and it will help keep her place in her reading.....till Emma pulls it out!

Be good to each other.....every day!

Mini Collage

This was fun! Anybody who says small is easier...hasn't tried it!!!! Graphic 45 paper background, Collections pieces, a transparency from PaperWhimsy, a rub on from American Crafts, and of course the Ranger products from Tim Holtz's terrific Idea-ology line!!!!

Busy Week!!!

A lot of water has gone under the bridge since I last posted.....and into my son's basement, through the grandson's Eagle Scout project, and out a leaking pipe in a ceiling. The Morton Marching Festival, run by my son, was INSIDE, due to a rain storm. Imagine 22 marching bands rolling through a high school from a tent area, to a community center, and into the gym....and it worked! WOW!
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My daughter came for a 3 day visit! We had a pet crisis with an aging dog (daughter's) and a late night trip to take her home....her husband, was working overtime on his job, telephone man. We all worked in the telco field, so I know how that is.
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Emma turned 4!!! Going on at least 16. And Erin won the grand prize at her school for highest magazine sales! Got to "roll in the dough" and ride in a HUMMER limo!!
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Soooooo, now that things have settled down. I have been playing.
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Here is a Maya Road tag, wings and blossom flower with a Paper Whimsy vintage photo and Ten Seconds Studio metal for a background. A piece of Grungeboard and an Idea-ology piece adorn the top. I used Perfect Pearls on the wings. Paint Dabbers added color on the hinge and a touch on the edges of the wings. The paper is from Graphic 45....I love that stuff!

I posted this and decided it needed something...I added dots to define the wings and make the colors pop in other areas...much better!

Be good to each other!
Linda

Tim Holtz Stamps

Took some time today to get some of my new Tim Holtz stamps inky. He is so right about Black Soot being a pure black ink. See how well it stamps here. All of these are his stamps, his Distress Inks and my ribbon! HA! Just a bit of fun on a piece of Graphic 45 paper background.

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Everybody hang in there....the going has been tough!

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Linda

Alcohol Inks and Fragments

This is the technique we will learn at Scrapbook Friend'z on Oct. 12th in Bloomington. Come join the fun and learn to use your Bind-It-All or practice with it some more!!!

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Nancy took such a sweet picture of this for their site, I decided it should go up here for all of you to see.

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This is the results of just 3 colors of Alcohol Inks and some Fragments. Not too shabby!!!! Although I have many more colors, this was done with Eggplant, Cranberry and Lettuce. I MAY have thrown a little bit of Rust in on the center one.....I've slept a lot since then!

The box is covered with handmade papers and tied with ribbon. The class book is on Aug 22nd blog entry....take a look!

Enjoy!

Back to Doing What I Like Best!!!

This is what I love to do....Vintage Collage. I had this wonderful gal in my metal class in St. Louis, Jane, who came up with this terrific idea of using the long Fragment piece like a window with people in it. So here I used a frame as a mold with the Chocolate Brown metal from Ten Seconds Studio, and the children are from Collections. The word and strip at the bottom are also from Collections.

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I just drool over the papers from Graphic 45. EVERYTHING she has is to die for.This is Garden Suite from the Botanicabella Collection. The base is a Maya Road chipboard tag. Then I added a word tag and arrow from Tim's stuff, a couple of buttons, some rick-rack and ribbons, and of course white pen marks. TA DA!

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Go create something you love!

Linda

Guest Artist - Linda Brown

It's all about Friends in ART! And here is a new friend I met at CHA after corresponding for a bit. IS SHE TALENTED OR WHAT!!!!!!! This unbelievably beautiful gift arrived at my home from Linda Brown of LB Crafts in England. She is a lover of Ten Seconds Studio metal and tools as am I.

This is how she described the process of the creation to me:

"For the little bit of copper embedded in the UTEE, it has black paint dabber on it. Then the rest is painted with those paints and wax from Terra Bella. Basically, I use their white peasant acrylic paint as a carrier, then add a drop of their pure pigments to custom mix my own colours. When it’s dry add some wax and.....hey presto!"

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Her skillful talent is shown here in the wonderful detail. Remember what I told you girls in St. Louis....."it just takes a bit of practice!" And this shows in Linda's work.

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STUNNING!!!! Don't you think???

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Thanks so much for the gift and the permission to post it.

Linda

The Gals of St. Louis at For Keeps Sake!!!!!

We live to tell about it!!!! HA!

Forty-seven students in 2 classes. And to me, they were all worth their weight in gold! I loved them all, but my new personal hero...or heroine... is Delores. She has more tenacity in her hands and heart than I can only EVER hope to have. She made me really see things in a whole new light, and for that I will always think of her when I feel I can't do something. I gave her the "smarter than the teacher award" after she kindly brought to my attention that I wanted her to do something backwards. Yeah, I was trying to help her!

But they all take care of each other, and help one another, so that everyone can have a great time. AND WE DID!!!! We gave away all kinds of door prizes and 2 grand prizes were drawn from the many who signed up for ALL 4 CLASSES!
WOW!!!

These are a couple pictures of Wendy teaching. She took pics of completed books.....by Sunday at 5 we were so wiped out, I didn't get pictures of the books from my class. But most proudly wore their necklaces from the Saturday class and they were ALL fabulous!!! They outdid themselves with creativity, and that's what it's all about. Thinking "out of the limits" of the instructions, and just going your own way.

They were the Best!

Thanks so much,

Linda

Did Someone Say DOOR PRIZE????

Do you think we should have this as a door prize for one of the classes this weekend at For Keeps Sakes???? These Hero Arts flower jewels were just the right color and size to add to this slider tin necklace. There are only a couple of spots left in the jewelry class.....and this is a technique you will be learning!!!!!

VERY FUN!!!!

Can't wait to see you there!!!

Linda