Peppers And Papers

Grunge calendar hanging

2011-04-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

I painted the chipboard using basic acrylic paint, and then used mica powder and glimmer mist to add a subtle sheen and variation in base color.

The flowers were made over the course of a year as I tested new ways to mangle paper. There are various links to flower tutorials for similar projects listed at the right. A few vintage finds were added for fun. This was a “use what you have” type project inspired by a sample I saw at CKU from Crafty Secrets.

Vintage images from Crafty Secrets
Chipboard pages from Michaels in the dollar section
Rosettes hand made by me
Calendar designed by me
Ranger Distress inks
Glimmer Mist (on everything!)
Die Cuts: Sizzix and Tim Holtz Alterations dies
Fabri-Tac adhesive. Zip dry would also work perfectly on this type of project.

RELAX and create!

2011-03-19T20:42:00.000-07:00

I bought these wooden letters at Jo-Ann's, painted them with black acrylic paint and let dry. Using my old BoBunny from my "save for later" stash, I had just enough to trace out the letters by hand, then cut them to fit. YES glue worked to tack them down then sanded the edges with an industrial size sanding block. A power sander would have been a better use of time! The trims are hand dyed with Ranger inks and the butterfly stickers of a recent K&Co theme. The rosette I made using ribbon I bought from Michaels and used Fabri-Tac to glue it down with pearl strings.

The bird cage is a bit more complicated. I covered a piece of chipboard with foil tape, embossed it with the flourish deep embossing folder by Tim Holtz, then used black alcohol ink to color it. I put a second cage under the top to make it look like the back side. It was tricky because I had to trim the outside bars creatively so it looked natural. I took some moss from my back yard and glued it inside he cage where I then slipped a bird with a great big eye. The big eye is all thanks to Jan :-) In honor of her love of tear bears with the ever cute eyes. Yep, this is what we got for all of the tear bear hype. A bird with a big eye. I then used Fabri-Tac to glue on the cage (holding till dry) and jewels to cover the holes in the cage. The bird was made with the same technique but I used the lined emboss folder and used a red alcohol ink to accent the black.

The entire project cost me less than $20 using new and old supplies.

Ribbon Roses and Dyed Trim

2011-01-26T16:20:00.000-08:00

Bloom

2011-01-26T16:09:00.000-08:00

Distressed Layout

2011-01-26T16:05:00.000-08:00

An old photo out of my great aunt Ruth's album. I went to all the trouble to restore the black and white photo then crumpled it up and stained and sanded it.

I colored all of these elements except the feather. I found these numbers at a flea market and bought a ton then colored them with alcohol ink.

I cut this out with my Sizzix. I crumpled up foil tape, stuck it to chipboard, put it thru a deep texture embossing folder then cut it out with the bird cage die, colored it with alcohol ink, glued jewels and branch punches out. The bird is minus the foil tape and I colored him with peeled paint distress ink. Key is part of the set.

Sizzix dies cut the leaves with various paper, some are dyed and others are glimmer misted or shaded with distress inks.

Ribbon & Lace Rosettes

2011-01-26T15:52:00.000-08:00

I have tubs of ribbon and lace and a little time on my hands to use it up. I'm making ribbon and lace rosetes for my heritage pages. These are Prima inspired with a touch of whatever I have on hand.

Harvest

2011-01-26T15:30:00.000-08:00

My huckleberry berry bush in the back yard. I made the loggers keep clear of them and they still thrive 3 years later! The berries are a bit tart but I always wanted my own huckleberry bush. It grows out of a really old stump. There are actually 2 out there but this one is big.

Just a bit pleased with myself. I designed that little clock in PS and printed a few on transparency sheets then cut them out with my sidekick. I have extra for those of you who care ;-) My mom made the flower center years ago. Most everything else is from the Sizzix. My favorite tool :-)

A few projects:

2010-07-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

This is mostly a combination of Tim Holtz goodies.

This is a band aid canister I recycled into a business card holder.

I keep my personal treasures in here.

This sign really says it all!

By far, my favorite project.

Thanks for looking!

Rainbow Valley

2009-10-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

Some of this photo was taken in Sedro Woolley, WACredits: all me!

The pass of deception

2009-10-14T14:52:00.000-07:00

Of all the places I have ever been, my heart feels most whole when I am here. The lighthouse is from Fort Casey, but there is a light house at the pass as well.

Dancing on the Railroad

2009-10-02T01:33:00.000-07:00

No idea what inspired me to rip out my camera while we stopped for this train car to pass. It was moving slow because the men were throwing rail ties over the side along the tracks. Having already taken so many pictures, I kept snapping through the windshield not noticing that one of the men was dancing and posing! Then I saw this big Egyptian like pose and started laughing so hard! He was fun and really made my day. So when I see these pictures I can remember a fun loving man of the moment. I need all the happy I can get these days. Credits: all me!

2009-09-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

Adria took these pictures last fall during one of our power scraps. I only had Zak for a little while. He was...IS a bit clingy, but that's what I love about him! Credits: all me!

Milestone

2009-09-30T15:56:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Renee treated me to my very first (and last!) pedicure! It was a huge first for me, I never understood the charm of painted toes. Well, I get it now! Again, all mine!

Just BE

2009-09-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

I'm having fun adhering to no creative boundaries, and find that I am getting so much more accomplished! I have completely stopped thinking about what would be pleasing to someone else and doing whatever I feel like doing from one moment to the next. I usually make things for other people so I get a little distracted with the notion of pleasing others. Now that I don't care about the "other's" I am whizzing right along! I made this layout of my oldest and dearest friend, Tom Oakes. He hates this picture, but his eye movement speaks to me. I was taking a picture of the poster behind him for future inspiration. It's all mine, I owe no credit to anyone else :-)

The background is my new art phase. I created it to turn it into backgrounds, which I did, but now I want to make more of this kind of art! If you look around, this art is very popular. If I were a true artist, I would know what style it is! Someone tell me! I owe big thanks to Tom for buying me the paint and canvas! Thanks dreamy eyed Tom!

Birds of Prey

2009-09-28T01:01:00.000-07:00

Hunting my cats in my back yard...? We admire that which is not killing off our beloved pets. I lost two cats in a months time. Five days after losing Tasha I noticed this very large bird scoping my entire back yard, which is just over an acre. I was fortunate to capture it with my camera at a 12x optical zoom. I have seen eagles hunting over the property behind us, though I have never seen one intently examining my back yard.

I am especially pleased to have quickly created a layout using all things I made with my own two hands and my tired old computer. Photoshop helped! Tom has been buying me magazines and advanced tutorials that I can't exactly keep up with, but they force me to up my game with design. I have been into rainbows and bright skies lately. I admire so many artists that sell and share freebies, I decided to make my own versions of my favorites. I considered uploading and selling my own kits and designs to online stores or create my own, but I'm just not there yet. Designing is expensive!

Garlic, Friends, and Fussing

2009-09-04T19:27:00.000-07:00

I signed up for 4 shifts at the Garlic Festival last week at the County Fairgrounds. It was fun, I didn't think I would have any fun since I have been tired for 3 months now. I was in charge of counting the people as they came through. Friday was a bit slow, Saturday was really busy. Obviously Saturday was my day for fun. I grabbed the stamp pad and clicked and stamped and pointed and shouted things. I made up duties as I went along. It was great because they didn't hate that I did that. Refreshing! I use Raspberry Roads design elements mostly.

Last night I went to an Egg Day meeting. It struck me as a bit hostile and reminds me why I don't like to go to the meetings. There are people that come and go, then suddenly show up out of the blue to protest some new great idea. All in all I usually don't like the energy of the room. I get there early to discuss business that pertains to me. I was really angry when someone suggested I put the Lions logo on MY blog that I keep for the Coronation. As if I would ever do that. I would sooner delete it and call it a day. Then there are those of them that think I should do this and that to the Egg Day Events Guide. I should tattoo it on my freaking face that I don't get paid and there is absolutely no reward for doing all that work and it's not as if they could or would do better themselves. For all the input that is. I do get angry about it. There was an upside to the end of the meeting. There is a new guy in town, people don't know what to make of him, I think he's fine. Frankly, I like him. And his wife. But I like people that just want to get it done.

Nikolai, who is 6 years old now, hurt himself on the stairs. He got stuck on the stairs and couldn't move. We took him to Rolling Hills Veterinary in town here and she thinks he has a herniated disc. Like I had over the winter, that nearly killed me dead. We are switching meds and adding pain meds and we need to kennel him to keep him still so he can replace his spinal fluid. Zak has a huge growth on his foot, but we think it's a festering infection. We will be treating that with some medication too. The best part of this month is that my inlaws are coming for a couple days. My week is packed, I didn't do spring cleaning cause of my disc problem, and I have to do fall cleaning to get ready for winter. Hate a dirty house during the winter. Hate that.

Just seems like nothing is going to go right any time soon. Did I mention my house is possessed? Well it is. How can anyone have so much consistent hardships? How is that possible? Tums are my only friend. And Tom and Adria. Thank God for friends.