January Birthdays

I have a few family birthdays in the month of January. The card I sent out started with this image Suzee Que shared on Flickr.
The background patterned paper in this card is so old I have no idea which company it comes from...the edges were rubbed with an aqua color ink pad...
a flourish stamp in black was used on 2 corners.
7 Gypsies made the aqua patterned paper behind the image. The edges were highlighted with "Black Soot" distress ink. I cut around the image of the princess...and embellished her with the magic pen...princess's need a lot of bling!

The card is embellished with 3 flowers...two Prima flowers layered...highlighted with magic pen and a 7 Gypsies brad in the center. I gathered butterscotch color lace with a thread and needle to create a flower...the center is a "Pearl" from Kaiser Scrapbook. The bottom flower is cut from lace. So Happy Birthday to all those January birthdays out there.

Let's see...Valentines Day is 2 weeks away...so you know what kind of cards I will be making next!

Winter Garden

Even in the central desert of Arizona gardens tend to freeze in the winter. Some plants will make it through with no problem...but if you want a winter vegetable garden...you have to protect it from the frost. This winter my DH put together a "green house".
He selected an area of the backyard that would get the most direct sun during the day. DH fashioned a frame made out of PVC pipe, taped together (not glued, this way it can be taken apart) 2 large pieces of heavy gage plastic are clamped in place.

When the sun is out, and it is nice and warm...we open the green house to let the sunshine, rain and the bees into the garden...hey bees are a good thing...how do you think all the vegetables and flowers get pollinated?!? On the nights the weather forecast is close to freezing...we pull the plastic back over the greenhouse and clamp it down.

The whole project worked out great! This was our first attempt at broccoli... it taste wonderful!

There is no comparison to the tomatoes you get at the grocery store and the ones you grown in a garden...these are full of flavor!

This little guy zipps around the back year "beeping" at us...he sat still long enough for me to get a picture.

Another Oh By the Way...

If you are looking for some excitement this Friday the 29th of January, I will be teaching my Heritage Scrapbook Workshop 4:30 to 6:30 at Mystic Paper...give them a call to sign up!

#3...Ooooo CHOCOLATE!

After covering the 8 tags of LOVE with the K&Company embossed paper...Cut and Paste Chocolate Lovers...I had the decadent chocolate desserts remaining. What was I going to do with those? Now if it had been the actual desserts there would be no question...I firmly believe life is short...eat dessert first! But when they are about one inch square, and made of paper...I had to come up with another idea...a card...how about a collage...yea, that's the ticket...a chocolate collage card! I started with the Pink Pasilee "Love Potion" tiny white hearts patterned paper...then added a layer of the reverse side, red with the lacy print. The edges were distressed with "Tattered Rose" ink. I played around with the placement of the chocolate images until I found the right "look"...the dessert dishes were embellished with the MAGIC PEN. I used one of the Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage Cut...Pink Pasilee green glitter brad...the red flower is cut from Mystic Paper lace.

That's my 3 design team projects...now for the big question...which is your favorite...dark chocolate OR milk chocolate?

The 8 tags of LOVE

Tim Holtz has his 12 Tags of Christmas...I have my 8 tags of LOVE!
For my second Mystic Paper Design Team Project I covered shipping tags with the K andCompany "Cut and Paste Chocolate Lovers" paper. The pattern on this paper has kind of a Shabby Chic vintage look to it...

all the tags were distressed with Ranger "Tattered Rose" ink and then spritz with "Vintage Pink" Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist...

each tag has a Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage Cut...embellished with a "Clear Star" Sakura Jelly Roll pen...better know as the MAGIC PEN.

wooden hearts are covered in "Fruit Punch" Stickels...the ribbons, lace and braid come from Mystic...

A 12x12 piece of mat board was covered with the Pink Pasilee "Bow and Arrow" blue with tiny white hearts patterned paper...sanded a bit around the edges...distressed with ink...springy green lace was added to the top and bottom of the paper... pink lace flowers...with Kaiser Scrapbook blue rhinestones in the center.

The 8 LOVE shipping tags were mounted to the background.

When I turned the project in, I was awarded with a "stinkin' cute" by Jennifer!

Two projects down...one more to show...

The first of three...

This time I made three projects with my Mystic Paper Design Team kit...
This card is made from the reverse side of the tiny off white hearts Pink Paislee Love Potion patterned paper. When we picked this paper out for the kit I really didn't pay much attention to the opposite side...this red with the "lacey" print screamed Valentines Day. I cut a heart shape out of the MF "Paige" patterned paper...and outlined it with Stickels...lace was gathered and adhered on back the heart. The pink flowers are made from pink lace found off the "ribbon wall" at Mystic Paper and a red glittery brads are from Pink Paislee's Bella Brads...all topped off with a Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage Cuts.
I have two other projects to share with you...
while you are waiting...click on over to Sheri, Jenna and Holly's blogs and check out the fun projects they created.

For the Birds

Karen over at Graphics Fairy shares wonderful ephemera. Every night she adds another treasure. I love the graphic of the birds in a nest on this vintage second grade reader page.
I used the reader page along with the red bird on this advertising card for an insurance company, also from Karen...

that I combined with patterned paper, a stamp with distress ink, some ribbon, and a couple of flowers sprayed with a bit of glimmer mist ...

to create this card that I sent out as a birthday card...

thanks Karen for sharing!

LOVE

The Mystic Paper design team had the month of December off. With the next big holiday in mind...Valentines Day...Jennifer and I put together the January design team kits with the theme of "LOVE".
I got Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage Cuts...with a Victorian look. Two sheets of Pink Paislee patterned paper ..."Bow and Arrow", blue with tiny white hearts and "Love Potion", distressed white with tiny white hearts. A sheet of Melissa Frances patterned paper..."Paige", pink on pink dots. Also in the kit is a fun sheet of K&Company embossed paper..."Cut and Paste Chocolate Lover".
A "springy green" lace and a couple of small wooden hearts.

Hearts, lace, chocolate and vintage looking Victorian images...looks like Valentines to me! Now what to do with all these fun treasures?

Oh By The Way...

Jennifer has had some requests for me to teach my

Heritage Scrapbook class again. This is the beginning class to get you organized, how to copying old photos, what to do with ephemera and the answers to many more questions you may have. You will receive a note book full of information to get you started on your family history.

This class is the 15th of January 4:30 to 6:30. You can call

Mystic Paper to sign up.