Free Giveaway Friday!

TGIF!

Hi
Everyone,

Head
over
to
the
Scrappy
Tree
for
Free
Giveaway
Friday!
Loads
of
grab
bags
to
be
had.
See
you
there!

Kx

Hi all,

I finished a few gold inspired ATC's for my WCP Challenge and played with some new toys/techniques while I was at it.

Soar ATC

Supplies used

The first was darker than the sample gold I introduced to you all but that was because I used a great new paint I found (new to me, not the market) It's a liquid acrylic (liquitex and FW make great colors). They come in a bottle with a dropper. What makes them great is they are dilluted so they are much thinner to work with. For the first card I covered the whole card in a layer of Acrylic Kaiser- yellow, FolkArt metallic inca gold and Golden Transparent yellow iron oxide, then used an iridescent rich bronze liquid acrylic by liquitex. I started small by dabbing a few drops and ran the color up and down the card, then went the other direction. That's when it turned darker than I wanted but hey it was fun to play. While the bronze was still wet, I took some small hole screening and laid it over the card to create some small circle patterns in the paint. It worked perfect! I then used a quickie glue pen in some of the holes on the screen and added some 24kgold sparkly fluff by craft lounge. The sprakly fluff was another toy I bought awhile ago but hadn't tried out yet. I love the look of it but it was like flocking powder, a bit brighter in the bottle than on the project but it added some shine and texture. I then added some doodling, metal findings, from who knows where (probably from Dime store emporium, my fav Etsy store), a few pieces of baker twine, rhinestones, tape border and lastly inked the edges. No wonder this one is not my fav, it just sounds busy :)

Mediterranean Ceramic ATC

Some supplies used

This one was much easier :) The ceramics of the Mediterranean inspired this one and the color base ended up much closer to the Gold I chose as the color. I applied it with the pink paint roller seen in the other picture above and the same yellow acrylic by Kaiser. They was a bit of Inca gold added. I then added a few rub-on's by studio 112 and the bottom border is Basic Grey as well as the star. Then I ran fired brick over the whole thing to warm it up, inked the side of a blank ATC card and added the green ink border lines, then a bit of doodling and a few rhinestones.

Crazy Bird ATC

My last and perhaps my favorite. I started with the same yellow base which quickly disappeared when I added the cute birdie and the crazy jungle looking rub-on flowers around him. They are all Basic Grey and the bright colors reminded me of the original gold that had inspired the challenge. I added some broken china Distress crackle paint in the corners and sanded them a bit and added a few rhinestones just because :)

The whole group of ATC's and supplies.

(Not pictured; Basic Grey and Studio 112 Rub-on's)

Visit; dimestoreemporium.com for the metal findings.

I really had fun with these, just getting dirty and playing with some new toys and techniques, I hope they inspire you too!

Have a great Sunday, Go Packers!

Kxx

Hi all,

Another week almost done...yippee!

I am looking forward to a heart free weekend in my re-inspired studio. I can't say re-organized, cause I really only moved a handful of things and then added a few pieces into the crazy, so it's still a work in progress. Of course my husband's response was, were are you going to add anything more...silly silly man, there is always more room for artsy stuff :) The goal was to kinda free up some space for more books but also to clean up some messy flat surfaces and add a few Christmas gifts into the room. I finished all but my main storage shelf (which is where the books will go) and even tackled my closet. Now beware, I say I actually finished but it's still really cluttered, I have a lot of stuff!! Also note, this is the only room in the house that is this crazy, I promise!



These are corner shelves I put up to store some of my nicer beads because they were taking up a bunch of counter space on my main storage unit. They are shiny and pretty and are nice to look at. Then above, I added a few knick knacks to go with the travel theme in the room. I love this elephant, it's from the Aladdin show premiere we did at Disneyland, I think it was a center piece, now it's just an elephant holding a glass candle holder :) As far as the oriental inspired mug and the feathers, they just seemed to fit.


These shelves are constantly bugging me, I have way too much krap on them and they always look messy, so I bought some of the bare wood organizing boxes and sorted my journaling tags, my T!m Holtz stuff and my metal findings. That helped a little, then I added the piece of dowel to the shelf hinge and was able to use a few large stamps, that don't really fit in a drawer anyway, to decorate a bit with. I think the twinkling lights from my friend Andi are the best feature :)


This was a lantern I got for Christmas and we hung it from the ceiling to free up some counter space. It's kinda fun and lights up the whole ceiling when lit.


My Husband hit a home run with this one, I had pointed it out during a shopping trip and he actually took notes and went back and got it. The dress form barely fits without touching the ceiling but I love it!

I will post a picture of the main storage when complete. For any Michaels fans out there, they have some really fun Paris and garden/spring themed items in the store right now, that is what sparked this whole project, check it out!

I also wanted to share my WCP Wednesday challenge from the Scrappy Tree with you, I changed it a bit and hope you feel inspired to play along. This month were are creating ATC's and using the colors below as inspiration. Check out more details on TST blog or at our Scrappy Community.




Don't forget to check out the charity auction on eBay! We have some things closing soon!
http://myworld.ebay.com/tst-scrappytree/

Have a wonderful Friday!

Kxx

A quickie!

Just dropping in with a quick post to mention our Charity Auction- to support Save the Children- Haiti Relief is up on eBay,

http://myworld.ebay.com/tst-scrappytree/

I hope you have time to visit or help us by telling a few friends. There are some really amazing things up already and more coming! We also are accepting donations if you have a heart themed project you created but don't know what to do with. If so, email us at thescrappytree@hotmail.com.

I have one more project for the auction that I forgot to share;


Heart photo frame and calendar
I used another of the pine wood heart frames, painted it, added some pattern paper, ribbon, stamped up a little birdie and some photo corners to hold and switch out each months calendar. The calendars themselves are printed from my new printer (totally cool feature on it btw) and I added some pictures I took when visiting a local park, all floral themed. I may need to bid on this myself, I need a 2011 calendar :)


A little hand made envelope to hold them all when not in use.



I am working on a re-organizing project on my craft room today, mainly because it's so full of hearts and messiness I could barely walk in it, wish me luck!

I hope to have some time tomorrow to visit all my crafty friends blogs and catch up on all the CHA going ons...

Have a wonderful Saturday!

K xx

Have you...

ever laid in bed all day and done nothing, I haven't, but I'd like to!

I have started the year as a bad blogger or rather a swamped one. What I love about December is what I am equally not fond of in January. Toward the end of November (here in the states at least) all the way through the first few days of January, everything slows down, shuts down and relaxes a bit. Maybe because we are all full of Christmas cookies and happy to be spending time with family and not at work. But then comes the second week of January and the opposite occurs! Everyone is trying desperately to play catch up on what they missed, cranky from their new diets and exercise regimes, and trying hard to not fail at their New years resolutions within the second week of the year. It's enough to make me want to design a time machine or plan all of my future vacations for the month of January so I can keep that blissful, oblivious smile on my face a little longer :)

With that said, busy equals needing to be focused, so I have actually knocked out quite a few projects recently. Unfortunately, nearly every single one of them are focused around hearts but hey hearts equal love so that's okay :) Over at The Scrappy Tree, we are running a challenge for charity, supporting Save the Child and their efforts in Haiti. Below are a few projects I have been working on to support that. Some will be auctioned off for the charity and others will be give aways on TST blog, so check it out in the next few days, we will be posting our " Create a Heart" Challenge soon, you can already reserve a "Paper Heart for Hope- Candy Gram" for your Valentine on Etsy and as we move closer to Valentines day, we will be listing all of our auction items on eBay.


A 12 x 12 canvas


A pine wood frame

A 7 inch punched wooden wall hanging

A 5 inch embellished wooden heart. I love this paper from My Minds Eye, it has to be my favorite of the season! I guess that's why I used it on a few projects :)




Another embellished pine wood frame




And another...




Some Heart charm bracelets

Another one for good measure :)


That's about all I can share so far, but remember to stop by The Scrappy Tree for the fun challenge and awesome giveaways. The folks at Graphic 45 were very generous in offering a lovely inventory of their products as the giveaway prize to the challenge and we have some other things up our sleeve to share.




My goal this week...to make it to February :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Kxx

My Fuzzy Friends!

Hello Everyone!

I am up to my eye balls in hearts, which I hope to share soon, until then, please see the post below, copied from our Fuzzy Friends challenge we are running over at The Scrappy Tree!

Have a relaxing Saturday!

Fuzzy Friends Challenge

Hi Everyone,

I am pleased to announce our first charity challenge of the year! Today we are starting our Fuzzy Friends challenge to bring awareness to the SPCA and all the AMAZING work they do to keep animals from suffering everyday, year after year.

To learn more about their mission and how you can help in your local area, check our their website HERE.The SPCA supports so many animal programs it's hard to share them all now but their support of local shelters alone is phenomenal and what really has touched me personally.

I got my own very first dog, from a shelter and will never forget their kindness to her, their attention to all of the animals in their care and how someday I would like to volunteer and help too. So as a New Years resolution, I vowed to spend 1 weekend a month at our local shelter, to help bath and groom the animals there. My first weekend is the last Sat & Sun of Jan., so I hope to show you some of the friends I meet when the time comes. In the meantime, I will be brushing up on my bathing and wrestling skills :)

My dog was a 5 week old mutt, abandoned on the street and taken in by a local shelter. She was the best friend anyone could ever hope for. Her name was Indiana. What can I say, I was working for Disney at the time and we were opening the Indiana Jones ride, little did I know, George Lucas named Indiana Jones after his dog Indy, funny huh!

This was her, last year, around this time. She was 16 when this picture was taken but didn't look a day over 10 :) She loved running at the dog beach, chasing water and tennis balls and sun bathing outside on her blanket. We since have lost her but we will always be thankful for the time we had with her and the joy she brought to our house.

We since, have adopted our daughters Pit bull, since she moved into an apartment and can't have her there. I know what you are thinking, but please know, she is the nicest dog we have EVER had, give them a chance, please!

Meet Layla, the gentle giant :) She is 85 pounds and it's all in her legs and hips. This is her baby, Baby, a foot long black and white cow with 12 squeakies in it. When she picks it up, she actually trips on it as she tries to run :) She likes sleeping, hanging out with her baby and talking to the cat through the screen door.

Next up Knock Knock, named for his ability to do just that, on our front door, usually when he wants to talk to Layla :) He showed up at our house after a rain storm, I made the mistake of feeding him and he has been here ever since. We toyed with bringing him to a shelter, my Husband is severely allergic and I have a mild allergy but we know the shelters are packed and he will most likely be put down, so here he stays. My husband built him a house on our porch, he likes playing with balls of tin foil, sneaking into the garage and talking to Layla through the front screen door.



Okay, you've met my Fuzzy Friends, now on with the challenge!!!

We want you to introduce your animals to us and help the SPCA in the process.

Create a Layout, ATC collection, journal page or whatever you can think of and introduce us to your family of Fuzzy Friends. The winner will take home some awesome animal themed scrappy supplies, some healthy treats for your Fuzzy Friends and TST will donate $30 to SPCA international, in your name.

The challenge will run through the month of January, ending on January 29th. Please upload a link to your blog or online gallery below or upload your picture to our online Scrappy Community HERE.

We hope you join in on the fun and join us in making a difference in our animal friends lives today.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Kxx

Happy New Year!

I am a little late but Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful time bringing in the New Year and that you all feel as refreshed as I do. Although I have started off the year with the Flu and my body feels awful,my mind is organized and ready to go!

I wasn't going to make resolutions this year because I never keep them but then my friend Gayle, a fellow Scrappy Treeer, came up with a great prompt to ring in the new year, check it out here, it's never too late to be inspired! I know I had fun with it!

I am hoping to blog more often this year, so yes, I am already four days behind...better get started...sorry this may be a lengthy post!


First up, I wanted to share my year in pictures from 2010

Next up, I finished a few albums just in time to give them as Christmas gifts. The first was for my MIL. She always hosts Easter and it is a long running family tradition. We play games, color eggs, look through scrapbooks, watch old movies (yes silent 8MM ones), play croquet, and EAT way too much! Each year, her yard gets more and more flowers and we take a tour around the yard to enjoy them all :) For me the best part is that is where my husband grew up, so I get to see his old toys, pictures, they tell stories of when he was a boy and had a band and if we are nice, he gives us a tour of his old play house, but only if you know the secret code to enter (HINT, the geese fly low)







Next up, our Grand doggy Layla, who we recently adopted from my daughter, so I made her this book so she didn't miss her cute little face too much :)





Next up, probably the best idea I've ever had! I was really bummed last year to miss a bunch of birthdays, even if it was just a card and note saying hi, so...this year, I vowed to make all of the months cards I need at the same time! At the beginning of each month, I will knock them out, and even though they may end up being similar because I have the same paper and embellies out, all of my friends and family will get a home made card this year :) Here are some of January's:





Last thing to share today is another project I decided to do to organize myself for the year. I am going to call it my Week by Week journal. It will include everything from planning my week, to sparking creativity by noting music lyrics that may inspire me, photos I am in love with, words and quotes that help me focus or make me smile, there will be a space for sketching, writing out Layout and template ideas. Lastly keeping my mind, body and soul in check with a place to organize, simplify, and make and track goals, to track my diet and exercise, and to list my gratitude and Karma for the week. You are more than welcome to join along if you'd like, join the Scrappy Tree community (while you're there, check out all of our new groups!) and find the docs HERE. Below are a few sneak peeks of my journal and the first few pages.

Each week you will be invited to download the current weeks blank document or the Inspired document that will have some of my prompts included. I will focus on a different area each week to hopefully help inspire, organize and encourage creativity and us!



Okay all caught up, thanks for reading:)

See you soon!

Kxx