Tim Holtz and Patti Ballard
Do you follow Tim Holtz? I do. Right now, he has a challenge happening on his website. The only requirement, is that you use his Sizzix Die, Tattered Florals. The deadline for this challenge is Friday, March 22. Five lucky participants will win a goodie bag of Tim stuff….worth $100! I’m in…how about you? If you don’t have the die, nor the money to invest at this time, several of Tim’s friends are offering a chance to win the die on their websites. Check out Tim’s blog…he’s posted their links. I’m pretty sure all you have to do is comment on their blogs to win….good luck!
Here’s what I did:
I took a large piece of wax paper and placed it on my work surface, and dribbled acrylic paint on it. I then placed a 12×12 piece of white (thick) cardstock face down on the wax paper and smeared the paint around. I used my heat gun on the cardstock to dry the paint, then dribbled another color on the wax paper, and once again smeared the cardstock through the paint, drying it afterwards. I repeated this step using several colors of acrylic paint. I stamped the cardstock using archivers ink. After the flowers were cut out, I used my black and white gel pens, outlining the edges, and added decorative circles.
acrylics and wax paper
cardstock acrylics and rubber
pretty Tattered Florals
I decided to add stems. I used floral wire, beads and tissue tape…and secured the flowers to the stems using….get this….pieces of pencil erasers. Personally, I think it was pretty clever, on my part…lol. Check it out:
cut up mechanical pencil erasers
eraser holds the flower up
Once I started, I didn’t feel like stopping 
I ran several strips of thick cardstock through my big kick and made not only a ton of Tattered Florals, I ran the Tattered Garland die through a few times too. Here are several pictures of the projects I’m using in the challenge. A small window flowerbox, and an Easter bonnet 
And last; but certainly not least…a pretty birthday card: I still have a baggie of pretty tattered florals….I’m sure that I’ll be using them on several more projects.
On another note…..
I failed to mention something in my post last night. In January, while I was in Florida, I attended Boca Fest in Boca Raton, and met an artist by the name of Patti Ballard. I knew as soon as I came upon her tent that I needed to buy something from her….lol. Check out her website….I love whimsical and I loved everything I saw displayed! I bought a canvas print…..Bunny Joined the Circus I love him. I only wish I could have purchased an original. Then, something funny happened….when I returned to my sister’s place later that day, I was looking through the 2013 Winter Issue of Somerset Studio Gallery…and her art was featured! In fact, there were two different featured projects in the same issue. I just thought I’d share this with you. If you’re anything like me, you enjoy discovering new inspiration. Go have a look…I love her website.
Sandwich Board
- bunny joined the circus
Two posts in as many days…imagine that! Until next time…….Peace
Back from Hiatus….did you miss me?
Hello!….hello!….hello!…hello!
Hello!….hello!….hello!….hello!
Ha! That’s supposed to be an echo. Did I ever tell you that I have a warped sense of humor? No? Well, I have now! You should have gotten the idea if you had stopped by in the last four or five months. I had to use the picture of the little sparrow all dressed up as a “snowbird”….hehe
What have I been up to you ask? Not much! Ahhh…the life of a retiree. You don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to! The holidays came and went without any drama….that’s always good, right? I flew to South Florida and spent the month of January with my sister at her condo in Pompano Beach. My husband was there with us for a week or so before he flew back home to the cold Northeast. Next year, I think he’s decided to spend more of the month down south with me. After my husband left, my sister and I jumped in her car and headed north to visit my brother and sister in law.
They rented a house in a town called “The Villages“. It’s about an hour or so north of the Orlando/Kissimmee area. It’s a brand new community (I say brand new….it’s about 20 years old or so), and it’s very nice. While I was there, I made it a point to stop in a scrapbook store called She Scrapbooks. I did my part for the local economy, and left a pretty penny in exchange for lots of scrappy goodness We also went to Homosassa Springs and a quaint little town called Mount Dora for lunch and a little shopping
On the way back home, we stopped in Port St. Lucie to see dear friends that moved down to Florida several years ago. Phred and I were like two peas in a pod all through high school. It’s funny….Phred and I went to high school together…and my sister and Leo graduated together. Good people…good times.
After going out to dinner, my sister and I headed back to Pompano.
Let’s see….we went shopping, ate, and I spent lots of time crafting. I’m making things for the Orange Street Cat Rescue to sell at the craft fairs they participate in. A photo montage follows:
Haul from Tuesday Morning
Bass Pro Shop in Dania
Shopping at the Festival Flea Market
Shrimp boil at Everett Arms
Before the Shrimp Boil
Santa inspired by Christy Tomlinson
Tree inspired by Christy Tomlinson
Snowman inspired by Christy Tomlinson
Christmas Journals
Christmas Journals
inside Christmas Journals
inside Christmas Journals
Oh…there are a couple more things that I can mention. We went to Butterfly World. It was beautiful!
Butterflies are not easy to photograph!
at Butterfly World
at Butterfly World
gorgeous
Haha….I’m embarrassed to admit this…but I went “dumpster diving” at my sister’s complex. An older man was tossing cutains in the trash. I ripped off some of the pom pom trim I don’t know what I want it for,,,,,I just know that I want it. I know….I think I have a problem Next….I wouldn’t let my sister toss all of the old bingo cards because the bingo committee bought new ones.
dumpster diving
Bingo!!!
Okay….I’m off to bed. It’s 2:30am here. Until next time……Peace
Alpha Stamps Giveaway!
The tradition continues……Day 4….hurry on over to Alpha Stamps and leave a comment. One lucky winner gets a very generous Halloween stash to play with. Maybe it’ll be you!
Alpha Stamps Giveaway!
As you may know, Alpha Stamps is one of my favorite sites to shop….they have stuff that you can’t find just anywhere. Well, each year, during the Christmas Holiday, they have a daily giveaway. This year is no different. Why not go on over and get yourself into today’s daily drawing! While you’re at it, check out the shop…you won’t be disappointed, I promise.
Happy Holidays!
My apologies for being a wee bit tardy….Hope your Thanksgiving Day was filled with good food, good people, and good times. We spent the holiday with my sister and our family. She always puts on a wonderful spread. I don’t know how she coordinates it all.
Christmas is almost upon us. Are you ready? I’m not! Ha. In fact, this post will be a short one, as I need to get prepared. I love this time of year. I won’t get into the religious end of it…but I love the magic of it all.
I’ve made several projects, and greeting cards since I last posted, as well as participating in a Christmas ornament swap over at the Retro Cafe Art Gallery. Here’s a group of photos for your viewing pleasure. I apparently didn’t share a few Halloween items in my last post. Hope you don’t mind if I post them here
I also donated several crafty items to a local kitty cat rescue outfit in the area called Orange Street Cats. They put out a call to crafters to make donations so that they could sell items at local craft fairs. I made several Debrina Pratt “Tea Party” tins, bottlecap necklaces, glass bead magnets and several handmade greeting cards:
As always, I appreciate you stopping by, and until next time…..Peace.
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween from our house to yours! Vanessa Valencia hosted a Halloween Party over at A Fanciful Twist. There are lots of participants with a ton of tricks and treats. If you haven’t stopped over, you really should!
