holiday cards 2015

2015 was a very interesting and challenging year in my personal life and I'm not sorry to see it all end.  Have I been able to learn from the challenges?  Mostly, yes.  I think I've changed a great deal this year; mainly for the better.

I haven't really given 2016 a lot of thought yet, however, I do have some exciting new projects coming up in the first part of the year that I will share and I have decided that crafting needs to be more of  a marathon than a sprint.  Crafting in 2015 came and went in huge bursts of energy and frenzy.  I'm still a member of the stamping club and creating for 40-something members had been a bit of an endeavor with long bouts of rest and breaks from crafting in between.  It has been just like a swimmer coming to the end of the race, for which she was unprepared, and gulping for air until the next race.

Here are the card templates for the 2015 holiday season.  There are two versions of the light garlands; one without any additions and a second with stickles and glossy accents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year fellow blogospere friends.  I wish you and your families and your friends all the very best in 2016.  And have a very crafty new year.

tea and friends: bestest things in the world

I decided to enter this little gorjuss teacup and warm wishes holiday card in The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #19: Silver and Gold challenge and the Sweet Stampin Food and Drink Challenge.

Isn't staying warm with a ginormous pot of tea and enjoying time with someone special the absolute bestest?

make new friends, but keep the old; those are silver, these are gold - joseph parry

This snowfall and village card was one of the many card templates I crafted for the 2015 holiday season.  I am posting this one separately because I have entered it in The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #19: Silver and Gold.

The snowfall background is an indigoblu stamp (snowflake lace) embossed with stampendous aged embossing enamel. 

winter is a season of recovery and preparation - paul theroux

I designed and crafted this birthday card for my amazing aunt who is very much enamoured with everything winter.  I have to admit, I don't really get it.  Sure snow is pretty when you're inside and you're not expected to travel anywhere and you're in the mountains, however, winter when you're heading out to work and it's minus a bazillion and there's ice and the mush covers the back of the work pants you just washed and ironed is pretty darn crappy.

Regardless, this little gorjuss foxgirl and her adorable companions make my winter-grinch heart warm and happy.

a twinkie and mirror paper birthday

I crafted this card for a little guy who turned six this year.  Thought Twinkie had the right amount of enthusiasm.

 

 

I have taken to colouring on mirror paper lately and I strongly recommend you give it a go.  It's quick, simple and the results are spectacular.  Add a little glossy accents and the final product has tremendous wow factor.

it is not the strongest or the most intelligent of the species that survives, it is the one that is most adaptable to change - charles darwin

I created this steampunk mixed media card for a friend who is very much obsessed with everything steampunk.

 

 

 

This was definitely a fun card to build: so much mess! (Yes, short text means I'm pushing through to get all the 2015 projects posted before the year ends)

a little holiday cheer: santa and his caribou

I know. I know. It's been a long time.  Six months?  Reason for MIA: nothing exciting.  I took a mini break from crafting which turned into a much longer break from blogging.  But the bug is back and I have a whole bunch of crafts to share with you before the end of the year (can it be done? I'll try my bestest).

I created the Santa and Caribou card for the current holiday season (there's a Halloween tag in the cue).  Distress ink background, garland die cut out of silver foil coloured in with permanent ink markers and Santa and his caribou stamped, coloured and cut out.

 

 

I'm entering this card in a few challenges:

 

1.  DL.ART December Linky Challenge: Anything Goes

2.  Sweet Stampin' Christmas Challenge

 

 



thank you for helping me grow

Last year Alex and I borrowed a fellow blogosphere friend's idea for teacher gifts and because we're at an entirely new school this year I decided to go with the same idea (Alex helped decorate the flower pots and he made the tie-dye t-shirt).

 

It's a fun easy and inexpensive project.  Before painting I like to apply a layer of gesso even though the acrylic paint has pretty good coverage.  The gesso just makes the application of paint easier and apply more evenly.

 

I taped off the bottom to allow for nice clean lines.  And then with permanent marker, Alex decorated the flower pots and chose begonias for planting.

 

 

I inked the base of the manila tags with distress inks (twisted citron, cracked pistachio, peacock feathers, abandoned coral, worn lipstick and victorian velvet)and added bokeh circles with white permanent ink.  I then layered on tim holtz tissue wrap (mélange), added the dina wakley silhouetted women stamp, banner and thank you sentiment (tim holtz thinlit dies celebration: script).

I found the adorable music box at Chapters.  Alex's music teacher had taught the class the words to what a wonderful world this year.  It was a perfect find, and addition, to our thank you gift.

 



 

 

This is definitely a quick and easy little gift to say thank you to someone special in your life or for no other reason than to bring a bit of colour and happiness to their day xx

 

remembering a mixed media collage with finnabair; dreams do come true

Last summer I participated in a Finnabair class.  I have always loved her style and craft elegance.  After the class I can honestly say she is one of the most talented, incredible and lovely people you can hope to meet.  Her teaching ability is as great as her talent.

The class focused on building layers using an image as a focal point, gesso, sprays, little treasures you find around your home and odds and ends from other craft projects. 

I'm participating in another Finnabair class this July.  This time we'll be working with paper instead of canvas and although I didn't think I could top last year's excitement, I am simply over the moon with anticipation.

subway graffiti

I made this masculine birthday card for a friend a little while ago using prima julie nutting aidan, my trusty and well loved brick stencil and pumice modeling paste.  I sprayed the pumice bricks with dylusion sprays (squeezed orange and cherry pie) and primary elements artist black emerald.  I absolutely adore finnabair's primary element artist pigments.  Such incredibly beautiful colours.  Have you seen dragonfly wings?  Stunning.  Simply.  Stunning.

Aidan was coloured with distress inks (pumice stone, vintage photo, black soot, weathered wood) and markers.

I'm currently working on a whole bunch of new projects using a whole bunch of new product.  I think my favs (memory box, tim holtz, mft, finnabair,gorjuss, elizabeth craft designs) have outdone themselves this season(don't worry mr.everythingshetouches I have shown some restraint).

I also have some very fun class crafts to post.  Two dragon bits (an eye and an egg) and a finnabair project canvas.

What has been your favourite new product that you purchased this season?