A Halloween Orb....

That's Bill in the turquoise jacket. The cave where many people died is along the river in Southern Illinois.

I took 2 pictures of this cool balcony. In one...there's no orb. In the 2nd, there's an orb. This is in Savannah, GA on our Ghost Tour Walk. Many, many people have died in Savannah from slaves, to Indians, to soldiers and thousands from disease. The tour went through the square where the movie Forrest Gump was filmed.

This is the 2nd shot. A little something else showed up here.

And now after uploadin my recent pics onto my larger screen computer, I found an orb floating around in Minnesota. This picture was taken looking toward the fish house. No orbs showed up in any other of the tons of pictures I took.

My husband has been very sceptical. But, after I mentioned it, he asked me to show it to him. He thinks it's the ghost of a large Walleye!!! Ha!

I think it's of some old fisherman that just loved to come here and fish. They say they're seen around burial sites.

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We had lots of them show up in the cave we were in down in Southern Illinois. (the first picture here. ) It's said to be a pirate cave where they lured riverboat men in with men dressed as women. Then they killed the men and stole their cargo. It was also used first by Indians and many died there in the harsh winter.

This is a much more peaceful place....so maybe it IS the Orb of a Walleye. Who knows?????? You be the judge!

Linda

There's no place like home....

I'm a couple of days behind with blogging. The WiFi was soooooooooo slow I could not justify wasting any more time messing with it up there. So, here is how the we spent the last day at the Island View Resort....watching the boats come in and noticing how things had changed in just a week with the trees.

This is a sunset picture after the winds had died down and it was calm on the lake. There had been white caps earlier....not a day to fish for us.

This was the final throes of the sunset. There's nothing prettier to me than a sunset. Except a sleeping child....and well....other things too, but for the moment, this was beautiful.

This is the fishhouse. It's probably been there since the war. Seriously. The stone walls are decades old, and so cool. This is the 3rd family to own this place. We've been coming here for 25 years.

Across the lake you can see the bridge going to the mainland. The sun was really pretty on the trees. The lake is up several feet as you can tell by the waterline. We were north of the flooding, but they had lots of rain all over Minnesota.

We read out on the picnic table and drank coffee. Bill doesn't like to have his picture taken....so I got this on the sly.

The sun is just starting to go down in this shot. Love the leaves.

Two ducks were looking for dinner as the sunset added color to them.

Maple leaves that had been green when we arrived were turning every night.

I must show you the picture of Erin as the stand in for "Bruno" the child in the show "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas." She was outstanding, and so brave to jump in there. We were all extremely proud of her.

A thrift shop visit for shoes, a shirt, some shorts and a cap, just a couple of hours before the show, and she was ready to go. No one was prouder of her than her Dad. Great job, Erin. Now the highschooler that plays the part is well and back in the show.

And the last shot is of Bill and a small Northern he caught. He said he looked like a sissy using the towel to take him off, but I couldn't find the gloves quick enough and that thing has TEETH! I knew he'd throw him back if I didn't get the shot fast.....hence the towel.

We spent 11 hours traveling home in the rain, mostly downpours, until we got to Peoria. It must have followed us all the way. It was a miserable day. We saw 5 vehicles in the ditch. I was just glad to get home without an incident.

There really is NO place like HOME!

Be Well....and I won't bore you any more with vacation pictures....

Until the next time!!!

~Linda

Know what this is???????

It's a dive-bombing Witch on a Broomstick! Just messing around today.

Yep, it's Ten Seconds Studio metal and Tim's Alterations dies. The Bewitching Hour and Gingerbread dies are used with a sandwich of Grungepaper and WonderTape.

The Rick Rack green piece is run through the Texture Plate-Dot Matrix to add a bit of dimension.

Then of course I used my Funky Flames stamp with Black Archival Ink and some hand painted flames with Lettuce Alcohol ink in your Fillable Pen. Just added a little more color where it still needed something.

~So here you go. Get out your metal and stamp something cool on it. Or run some through the little machine and emboss the heck out of them....sand them off and add some Alcohol inks with your own personal designs.

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The internet connection here has been very low and at some times non-existent, so Uploading pictures is something that takes great patience. However, today it's better since most people have left the resort. It started to get REALLY windy last night at midnight. Today it's not raining, but the wind is bad.

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Minnesota has been hit hard with training rainstorms. We've been lucky here, but one of the highways we use is closed at some point. A friend is going home now and will call to let us know how the roads are.

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So, it could be a day to read again....the book is really good!!!!! And maybe

Create ART!

Go Create Something.....have some fun!

A Beautiful Day on Horseshoe Lake

It was a gorgeous day!!!! And we slept like logs. Didn't have to get up at 4 AM today...YAY!!!!

I think tomorrow might not be quite so nice, so it might be a SHOPPING DAY....I mean what else can you do????

Crafts Direct is calling my name!!!!!

This was a pretty shot of one of the docks. That's not our boat, I just liked the overhanging branch that had changing leaves.

This is the big stinking catfish Bill caught. He got off the hook when he brought him in and was flopping around all over the boat. Another catch and release for him!!!!


We caught enough Blue Gills for dinner tomorrow. But the rest went back into the lake. I got to lay in the sun and read my book...the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo when they weren't biting. A lovely lazy day.

Pizza and beer for dinner, and then coffee and sugar cookies from the bakery on the deck afterwards. All in all a fun day.

Hoping you're all well.....and I'm going to play with some ink and paper! I brought a few things to play with up in my dormer room overlooking the lake.

Well, here I am, as promised...

....back up in the North woods, I suspect. Another Tim Holtz Hoodie Sighting. I'm kind of like Flat Stanley and taking pictures where I go with my hoodie. Only I'm not flat, and my name's not Stanley. Imagine that...

Headed for the store to get supplies. Milk and eggs, cookies from the bakery. We usually eat at the local Diner at least once a day. But sometimes we're too tired to move after a long day of relaxing on the lake. Ha! All that good clean fresh air! My guy is a happy camper.

Even if it rains, we're covered. The boat has a canvas, so no worries. It's a pontoon boat, so if you want, you can stretch out and read your book, or take a nap.

Caught some fish. Threw most if them back. Bill caught a big walleye, ugly, threw him back, too. I'm too tired to load pictures of that.

Life if good.

Relaxing and Ready to Go!

We're packing (which takes DAYS) and getting things ready to go up North to the cabin in Minnesota. We go the same week every time. We've seen snowflakes come across the lake, and we've been out there in shorts, sweltering!

You never know from one year to the next!!!


This year it will probably be a bit chilly!!! That's fine with us.

This is the cabin, and a picture of the moon was from last year. The pixels are VERY small as I was uploading from my notebook, and I really didn't have any idea what I was doing. Hopefully I've learned a bit since then.

We celebrated Em's Birthday early. She gets so much, we like to spread it around. She got a little too close smelling the blue frosting here...it's on the tip of her nose.

Getting a kiss from Daddy always makes her day!!!

Here's Erin. She's a 2nd generation Morton Blaze Goalie. They had a tournament in Springfield last weekend and had a good day.

I don't know if you all saw Tim yesterday on the HSN, but it was terrific! He stayed right on message and was great fun to watch. Hope you had your DVR's set like me. It was FANTASTIC!!!!!

Another note. If you follow "Jack and Cat" in Phoenix and their fantastic classes, they now have KITS to SELL!!!!! WOW!!!! Congrats on a wonderful idea. Check them out here!!!!

Have a great day and CREATE ART!!!

Experiment Results

Earlier I told you I was experimenting with Texture Fades, Metal, and Alcohol Inks. It's really fun what you can do.

This is a canvas board that I added Shabby Shutters Crackle paint all over edges.

Then smushed some Distress Inks in when it was dry. Interestingly, I had put Distress Inks around the edges months ago and left it. Then, when I added Crackle this time, it picked up the brown DI color and added a cool affect to the Crackle. Leeched the color right up!

The Texture Fade Pumpkin Patch from Tim on Spiced Rum Ten Seconds Studio metal was good. The background is Rock Star Black, and Halloween Words. I cut out pieces from the Halloween Paper in the Seasonal Paper Stash. But what to add for more fun?????

Try painting with Alcohol Inks! I used Lettuce here to add the cornstalks. Just practice a bit to know how the ink will react and you're good to go. Sorry about the shadow at the bottom.

Here is a different angle. Sand off the Appletini Green metal and ADD the color to the silver areas. Blend in different colors of Alcohol Inks for shaded results.

Here's our busy class yesterday. All the containers were painted and we were well on our way to cutting and gluing!

Big thanks to Terri and the Fabulous Staff at Prairie ART Stamps. They think of everything, and it was smooth as glass!!!!!

Good times and everyone was happy! Love the time spent there, and speaking of spent!!!! They did some great shopping, too! They have all kinds of "hard to find" Art Products there. Just ask all the girls who left with big sacks of "Happy Stuff."

Be Well!

Let me just start......

........by congratulating my dear friend and DT colleague, Lin Brown, from LB Crafts in the UK for scoring BIG by getting "the master" (as he's known around here) to come and teach at her store!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!! You guys will have soooooooooooo much fun. Keep oxygen close at hand for Linda.


I used to stand for hours (literally) and watch him demo at CHA. I felt somewhat like a stalker. Why would you spend your valuable time at CHA watching other things, when you could watch the person that really did what "rocked your boat" the very best....so the grasshopper watched the master.
(I am the grasshopper.)


I still am always amazed at what he comes up with, and what he does to utilize the products he has asked to be created for a certain purpose.



So, it was kinda fun to know that I was working on a pin, that's inspired by my friend Lin, to wear to class tomorrow. This is what I came up with. If you want a great tutorial on how they put theirs together OVER there. Check out her site above.


This is with a Touch of Tim:
Texture Fades - Cracked, Collage and Dot Matrix
BigZ Die - Gingerbread, Tattered Florals
Idea-ology - Grungeboard, Grungepaper and Foliage

Other Ranger Products:
Alcohol Inks and Wonder Tape

Metal by - Ten Seconds Studio- Barn Red, Bronze Gold
The clock face is from Small Studio Productions

Here's another shot from a different angle. The Bronze Gold is MUCH prettier in person. It looks flat here, but it's not. Metal is very difficult to photograph well.

Looking at the post now, I probably should have taken the shot on black paper, instead of the clock face paper....live and learn.

AND, here is a really wonderful new product from Gary Strunk! He creates these gorgeous pieces cut from real wood and a marbled acrylic. Now he's working on a pen that you can alter yourself. Won't that be fun? Stay tuned for more on this subject.



That's it for tonight. Tomorrow we have a FULL HOUSE at Prairie Art Stamps and we are gonna ROCK! Door Prizes and Fun!

Have a Great weekend...

A Tim Holtz DT Project for September!

This project took place over several days....like most....but it changed many times. The hardest part of all was photographing it and getting the darks and lights to show up. Hence, the 2 shots on different papers. It's amazing the change it makes when you have a different background under the same circumstances.

I doubt I could make a tutorial for all of this. It would have you asleep half way through! But I'll hit the high spots and hope you make it to the end.

This is a paper-mache ornament on gold thread. I started with direct to paper Adirondack Earthtones STREAM and EGGPLANT on the edge, and blended them with a cloth. When dry, I added SAPPHIRE Distress Stickles. Trace, cut and glue the flowered paper from the LOST AND FOUND paper stack to the piece.


The metal CANVAS CORNERS are something I've had forever. I trimmed with Tim's Tonic Scissors, punched holes with the 2 Hole Screw Punch at the sides, and put brads in the holes. Then punch 2 holes in the bottom for the BAUBLES. TISSUE TAPE is layered over the corner and cut with the CRAFT KNIFE. Whew! Still with me?

The large flower was cut with the TATTERED FLORALS dye using the plastic packaging from any of the Idea-ology pieces. Aqua Acrylic Paint DABBER was added, then I stamped with Black Archival Ink and a Tim Stamp, added Sapphire DISTRESS INK, and hit it with the HEAT TOOL. While it's still very warm, mold it however you want. Then add Sunflower Sparkle PERFECT PEARLS MIST for contrast.

The BAUBLES were added to a large JUMP RING and threaded through the 2 holes. Tricky, but it can be done. I used a GRUNGEBOARD Flourish with SAPPHIRE and CONCORD Distress Inks, then added SAPPHIRE Distress Stickles. (This is putting ME to sleep........)

The smaller flower is dye cut with the TATTERED FLORALS dye that has TISSUE TAPE on the chipboard. Add VICTORIAN VELVET Distress Stickles and pen marks to the edges of both flowers. Glue the button from the FANCIFUL Accoutrements set to the center.


The RIBBON is from the new LAVISH TRIMMINGS set that has been sprayed with 3 different Perfect Pearls/Re-Inkers/Water mixtures in the Mini Misters. I can only tell you they were a Red, a Blue and a dash of a Green....sorry. I've slept many times since I mixed those babies !!!!!


The Vintage Girl is from a Cabinet Card I own of a Wedding picture. I think she's gorgeous. She's added with Glossy Accents to a new FACET FRAGMENT. Assemble as shown.

Add some black pen dots. Tie the bow and you're done. And so am I! The last is a picture on black that shows the gorgeous BAUBLES that were so hard to see in the other pics.

Everything in RED is from Tim. I've added some links for you throughout. Any questions, please, just ask. But remember to leave an email address as not all of you come through with an address. Hope you all had a safe and happy Holiday. We enjoyed the wonderful weather on the patio.

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Be Well and Be Good to each other.

~

Linda

Halloween in Wonderland Printer's Tray

Like my friend Deb said, "kinda like making a doll house." I absolutely LOVE these papers....from the moment I saw them. The colors are always a treat with Graphic 45, and the fine detail, but these were above and beyond.

What a treat to work with them!!!!!

So when I got my 8x8 tablet the first thing I wanted to do was start cutting them apart....It only seems right. But always save the 2nd copy of the page if you can. Just in case you like to look at it again. It's a sickness.


I used the 7Gypsies Printer's Tray that is so wonderful because it needs nothing to get started! It's already painted black AND distressed! What more could I ask for? I paint most everything black anyway.

This is a closeup of the detail in the top row. It's my favorite. The Rabbit collage is 4 layers of papers. I like to use pop dots to bring dimension to everything, and let the larger pieces go "out of the box."

I made some elements brighter or toned them down with Distress Inks (of course). And it's very hard to see, but I used Glossy Accents on several pieces, like the Candy Corn, the Cheshire Cat on the bottom, and the Pocket Watch top corner for more dimension.

I've had the little gold charms forever. Don't know who made them or where I got them, but they were perfect since they were from Alice in Wonderland. If someone knows the info, let me know and I'll give credit. They had to be from a convention somewhere.

So, that's it for today. Don't forget to check out the Ranger Blog for Suze's Video and more tutorials!

Have a good one!

Good Morning Bloggers! A Tutorial!

Remember I told you there was something a "little" exciting coming up? Well, it's big for me, but here's a little fun for you guys!.

Ranger has asked me to write a few tutorials on the Manila Tags I made for CHA to post on their Ranger Ink Blog. Everyone can go and see exactly how they were made and what products were used!!!! Sound like FUN?????

Here's the first one that you saw earlier on my blog. So, jump on over to the new and exciting RANGER BLOG and start CREATING ART!

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Have a great day!

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Your Friend and Enabler....in ART!

~

Linda