Thursday, April 29, 2010
Dogwoods Mean Home
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
My Happy 101 Blog Award from Kristina
I've only been involved in the world of blogging since February, but I have been blessed with meeting some incredible ladies that I can now call friends. The encouragement and support they have given me has meant the world to me and I try my best to pay it forward (or maybe it's backward in this case LOL).
One of these new friends is Kristina. You just click with some people. You'll find that most of the people I have become friends with have wonderful senses of humor. I love a good chuckle and I like to try to make other people happy too. She's not only funny but she's an incredibly talented artist. Mini's, tags, cards, or painting {had to throw that one in too K :)}, she does it all very well. If you haven't checked out her blog you should give it a try. She'll make you smile. She made me smile today by giving me another blog award.
Thank you my friend. This means so much to me. Who wouldn't be happy when someone gives them a cupcake. LOL Seriously, the sentiment says it all.
As a recipient of this award I am to pass it along to five fellow bloggers and list ten things that make me happy.
Of course I would pass it back to Kristina. I wonder if that's allowed? :) Until I know otherwise though, I'll pass it on to the following ladies. I know Kristina already picked the first two ladies but we're all kind of in a little group of common friends so I'm picking them too.
- Steph at Sweet Craf-Tea Chick BLOGGie Blog
- Jan at chai tea 'n me
- Sarah at The Handmade Card Blog
- Ira at Ira's Crea Corner
- Silvia at CraftySil
I had to list ten things that make me happy for the other award Kristina gave me so I'll try to give some different things this time(the others still apply).
1. Shopping! Let me clarify. CRAFT shopping. I love to spend hours in Michaels cruising the aisles. They know me and they know that I know where everything in that store is better than they do. That's bad . . . but true.
2. Fishing. Hubby and I don't get to do this much anymore. But I love to go out in the Gulf and catch a nice mess of white trout. YUM! Freshwater bream will do too.
3. People enjoying the food I've cooked. We southerners love to cook AND eat.
4. The fresh smell in the air after a thunderstorm. I have many wonderful memories of being lazy on an old couch on my grandparents screened in front porch watching and smelling the rain.
5. Movies like Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility. I'm a hopeless romantic! It has to have a happy ending though.
6. The old homeplace. My family has owned the 100+ acres I live on for almost a hundred years. I know and love every inch of it. I'll be talking a little more about this when I post my card for The Shabby Tea Room challenge. (My pondering paid off Jan)
7. Learning something new and being able to share it with my friends.
8. Visiting new places. We don't get to travel a lot but I've been below sea level, above 12000 feet, on a couple of islands, and everything in between.
9. The cheese dip at El Saltillos Mexican Restaurant. Nuff said.
10. Chatting with my online friends. This should probably be way up at the top. I love talking to you guys.
Got a couple of projects in progress so I should have something posted soon, probably my card for the challenge first. Enjoy your awards ladies you all deserve them my friends.
Monday, April 26, 2010
An Honorable Mention Surprise
I've got so many projects in my head that I want to do . Can't tell you exactly what will be next, but I hope to share something new with you soon.
Have a fantastic day!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Hydrangeas and the Color Purple
Friday, April 23, 2010
Roses and Stained Glass
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Kiss Me I'm Irish
The card base is a piece of watercolor paper cut the standard 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" size. I used Frayed Burlap Distress Ink to color it and then added a little bit of Shabby Shutters in the center. I then stamped the card using Walnut Stain Distress Ink with a Stampabilities wooden stamp called Ornate Textured Background.
For the clover I used some of my handmade stems and the leaves were made using a Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch. I just cut the little flowers in half. The clover petals were made using a technique I learned on Splitcoast Stampers (I think?). I took a piece of cardstock and repeatedly rubbed it over the edge of my counter top until the layers of the cardstock began to separate. Once the whole piece is softened you can peel the two layers apart. What you're left with is a texture very much like suede. I then sprayed the petals with Olive Vine Glimmer Mist.
The little blue flowers are ribbon flowers just like the ones I made the hyacinth with on my Birthday Mini video. You can find a fantastic tutorial on how to make these on Gina Ortiz's YT channel--scrappinology.The sentiment was computer generated and painted with pearl Perfect Pearls mixed with water, and the whole card was edged with gold embossing powder.
It was fun to make and I can't wait to get the cards from my swap partners.
Have a great Sunday!
Tracy
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Kristina and Beth's Blog Candy
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
I Made a Card!
make cards. I've tried to in the past and they just came out terrible. I have created a new blog list on my side bar for all my friends who make cards so that I can hopefully learn from their expertise. If you haven't checked out Sarah's blog The Handmade Card Blog give her a looky. She's from Scotland and makes the cutest cards. I love the ones she's been making lately with the fibers in lines for a background. I made a comment on one of her videos and she sent me a load of encouragement in a few little sentences. Her philosophy is "simple cards = maximum impact". I gave it a shot and I was pretty happy with the results. Thanks Sarah!
I used a white notecard blank from a pack I picked up on sale at Hobby Lobby. The edges are inked with Dusty Concord Distress ink. The center panel really doesn't show up very well in the picture. I couldn't get the lighting right to see it well, but it was just a piece of white CS sprayed with Garden Fairy Glimmer Mist. The flower is stamped using a Papertrey Ink stamp. I colored it with watercolor pencils and added some glitter to the center. I cut it out, covered the whole thing in Triple Thick, and popped a bling in the middle. The sentiment was from the same stamp set. At the bottom I added a little border punched with a Martha Stewart punch and a little polka dot bow.
It's definitely simple, but I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. Maybe I can do it again. :)
Til next time.
Tracy
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Another Heritage 12 x 12 Layout
Sunday, April 11, 2010
A Little Something Different
I actually bought a package of blank cards and envelopes so I can give card making a try again. Maybe, just maybe I'll have a card worth showing you in the future.