More Thanks

More thanks for you this day! I am still busily making thank you notes to send from the holidays. Today's note is a very simple note, yet I jazzed it up a bit by using some light molding paste and a plastic stencil from My Favorite Things (square tiles), along with some copper and teal Perfect Pearls to color it with on my patterned paper. It was then adhered to my card base with double sided tape.  I stamped the Pure Innocence Cowgirl image on white card stock and colored her with my Copic markers then fussy cut out the image. The "Thanks" stamp was from Studio G (Hampton Arts) from the dollar bin at Michael's, and it too was stamped on white stock with Danube Blue ink from Memento.  I backed the sentiment with a mottled blue card stock, edged with a Spellbinders Ornate Squares die, and then added acrylic stones from Want2Scrap for some sparkle.he sentiment and Cowgirl were mounted on the front of the card with foam tape, to add dimension. That's it,  I left the inside clean, so that I could write my own message before sending. 

Thank you all for visiting with me today, I hope you have a great day, and a Happy 2014!  Happy New Year Friends!

Taking Time for Thank You's

Happy Saturday Everyone! Christmas festivities are past, and the New Year 2014 is just around the corner, so it is time to send Thank You's to those who thought of me this year.

I have a list of notes to send, and of course each must have their own "special" note, so off I stamp!

Today's card is stamped on a white card stock base using the starburst dot background stamp from Paper Wings Productions. I stamped it in Versamark embossing ink and then sprinkled on Geranium Coral Blush two-toned embossing powder from Lindy's Stamp Gang, and then heat embossed.  Next, I took red striped washi tape and mapped out a grid on my card base.  I then stamped the image from Pure Innocence Crafty Friends clear set and colored with my copic markers. The flowers were

 stamped from the Hero Arts Printed Flower clear set. I then fussy cut out the oval and flowers and adhered them to the front of the card with dimensional foam tape.  

The inside sentiment was stamped with a wood mounted red rubber stamp from Club Scrap, Inc. and accented with another strip of the washi tape.

I also took one of the "thank you" stamped images and highlighted it with a few die cut corners and adhered it to the front of the card.  To complete the card, I added some twinkle to the girl's blouse with my pink Wink of Stella glitter pen, and some acrylic stones to the centers of the flowers.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and take the time to send out a few "Thank You's" of your own today.  See you again soon,
Mindy

Merry Christmas - Santa's Elves

Merry Christmas to one and All!

Today's card is a heartfelt wish for a Merry Christmas to one and all! It is stamped on a natural card stock base in black Memento ink, using the Christmas Elves stamp set from Art Impressions Stamps. It is colored in with Copic markers, and each elf is a separate stamp, so you can place them anywhere you please. The set also comes with the large greeting, "Merry Christmas", and also a festive poem along with the various elves.  I used a sheet of Graphics 45 printed card stock from the 12 Days of Christmas paper pack inside the card to cover the bleed through of the copic markers. I also stamped the little poem and another of the elves inside. To complete the card, I added a strip of Santa washi tape along the bottom of the inside, and used my Wink of Stella glitter pens to add some sparkle to the entire card.

The little poem inside says it all: "Lots of busy going on, Fruitcakes all are baked & gone. Just one more task still left to do, Send a Merry Christmas wish to you!" Best wishes to you all.
Mindy

Wishing You the Happiest. . . .Merry Christmas

Happy Monday before Christmas!  The big day is only hours away, and I want to take this opportunity to wish you the happiest Christmas ever!

This last minute card uses a family photo and a special memento to decorate it's cover.  The background paper is from the Graphics 45 -12 Days of Christmas paper pack, and is centered on an A2 size red card stock base. The scanned photo is matted with a large tag from the Prima Co. then highlighted around the edges with Wild Honey Distress Ink from Tim Holtz and Ranger.  After mounting the photo onto the background, I cut a thin slit in the fold of the card and ran a 3/8" sheer organza ribbon around the front of the card, and tied it in a lovely bow.  To complete the card, I added an embellishment of a Toys for Tots medal from the United States Marine Corps, backed with a punched scalloped circle. The greeting, "wishing you the happiest. . . " is from a My Favorite Things clear stamp set, along with the "Merry Christmas" stamp used inside.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!

Seasons Greetings Snowman

 Here is one more Christmas themed card to wish you all Season's Greetings this Christmas.

This cute little snowman is from My Favorite Things Stamps, and is from the Pure Innocence Collection: Trim the Branches Snowman. I stamped it on Neenah white card stock and then through the Cuttlebug Die Cut machine with the Romantic Rectangles Die set.  It is then backed in a beautiful plaid print from the Graphics 45 "12 Days of Christmas" paper pad.  I then mounted it onto a rectangle of Wild Cherry MFT stock, trimmed it, and mounted onto a white card stock base card.

The image is colored and shaded with Copic markers, and twinkle added with Wink of Stella Glitter markers. (clear on the snow covered ground, and silver on the brim of his hat)


The "Season's Greetings" is a die from Elizabeth Crafts, and the verse on the inside of the card is from Paper Wings Productions.  I also added another piece of the plaid stock inside the front cover to spice the inside up a bit.

Today has been a dreary cold day, so has been a wonderful day for crafting and card making.  I have enjoyed so many cups of hot tea, coffee, and hot chocolate I think I swish when I walk. They have done the trick in keeping me warm, so I guess it is all for the best.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend full of last minute shopping and preparing for the Christmas feast.  Until I check in again,

Merry, Merry, and Ho Ho Ho!

Mindy

Sending Christmas Cheer

Happy Holidays to One and All!  I am sending Christmas cheer this year, that you and your families have a happy and blessed Christmas.

I have feverishly been working on making these my personal greetings this year. I only had to make a few, so since these are a little fancier than I normally send, I decided to spend the extra time making for my "special friends."

The main stamped image is the "Holiday Shopper" from the Deep Red Clingstamps company, and I got these through Simon Says Stamp. I used my Distressed Markers from Tim Holtz to color in the images, and then used my Wink of Stella glitter pens to add a little sparkle. The die cuts I used are from the Spellbinders Resplendent Rectangles and Decorative Labels Eight sets.  The printed stock behind the stamped image is a page from the 12 Days of Christmas paper pad from Graphic 45. The rectangles are about the size of an ATC card, and let just enough of the beautiful prints show around the shopper.  The saying is  from a Christmas Greetings set from My Favorite Things.  Inside the red card base, I adhered a 3" wide strip of  Christmas patterned paper that I could write my greeting on.

They are now done and on their way across the USA, so I can now play a little with some of my other Christmas stamps for cards that I will attach to gifts or hand deliver to friends here in town.
I hope you all have a wonderful week full of baking and shopping and getting together with family and friends. Enjoy!

Do What Makes You Happy

Today's post is another card made with the same "recipe" as yesterday's post.  Again using the video from YouTube, I cut the card base from heavy weight card.  This stamp is another cling stamp set by Art Gone Wild, titled "Makes You Happy!"

Both of these stamp sets are multi-sectional red rubber stamps that make an awesome grouping.  Of course, with my base card being only 4 1/4", I had to cut away several of the squares to fit on the front of the card.  After stamping on white card, and coloring with my Distressed Markers, I trimmed away two squares, and added them to the design inside the card.

Again, I die cut a border, this time from the Venetian Accents die from Spellbinders and adhered it to the inside of the card base. When the card is opened, you can prop the top flap behind the border, and it forms your easel card.  I also added a band of white card inside so that I could write a message.

Thank you for visiting, I really enjoy reading your comments about my cards. Have a great week, and stay warm if it is cold where you are. See you again soon.   Mindy

A Special Gift

Your friendship is a Special Gift!  Hello Friends! Today's card is an easel card whose design aspect was found on the Splitcoast Stampers tutorial blog from YouTube.

I just received this wonderful stamp collage from Art Gone Wild Stamps, and the title is "Your Friendship." I stamped out the entire image on white cardstock with Tuxedo black Memento ink, and then colored it in with my Tim Holts Distressed Markers. The entire image consists of 5 squares, 4 flower images and the one sentiment word rectangle. Since the card measures 4 1/2"X 4 1/2", I trimmed off 2 floral squares, and adhered them to the inside of the card.  I matted the image for the front of the card with an irridescent sparkly silver paper, and then another layer of white stock.  For the snowflakes, I cut two from white stock and two from the sparkly silver stock. I then added a clear rhinestone in the center for bling.

Inside, I cut a band of the silver stock and placed it on the base, and then added the Asian Accent Border from Spellbinders cut in avocado green as the stop guage for the front of the easel card.

You tuck the front of the card, as you open it, under the edge of the loopy border and that holds the card open to set on your table or desk. I'm sorry I cannot show the card in dimension, but my digital camera is hiding from me at the moment, and I haven't had time to go "seek" it.   To see the card in 3-D, please search YouTube for video on Easel Cards or the Splitcoast Stampers tutorials to get more ideas on these cards.

Have a wonderful week, and stay safe in your travels for the holidays.

Seasons Greetings

Seasons Greetings to one and All!  This past week has been a rather trying one for me. I have been so cold, with the weather dipping down to record low temperatures, it has been hard working on cards to post on the blog.   When my fingers are frozen, it is hard to hold the tiny pieces necessary to complete the delicate designs on the cards.  I have been working indoors while the weather is chilly, including trying out designs for my personal Christmas cards I am needing to mail out.

This is one of the small 4" detailed cut cards from my Spellbinders dies I recently ordered.  It is all about the layers, including the Angel punch design and Seasons Greetings saying.  The design dies used for the card are from the Spellbinders Decorative Label Twenty Seven set. The angel is from a hand held punch, and the greeting is from the Elizabeth Crafts die, "Seasons Greetings."  The card is assembled with double stick tape and foam tape for dimension between the layers.

The weather is to warm slightly this next week, and I may be able to create a few more cards for inspiration. Stay tuned for more creative cards from my South Texas studio. Have a nice week, and stay warm.
Mindy

JOY Today

The day after Thanksgiving, "Black Friday", the biggest shopping day of the year for Christmas gift giving!  For those of you in the USA, Black Friday is a day of Joy, and happiness, because 73% of the population will be cramming the malls and shops, pushing, shoving,  and grabbing everything in stock, trying to get the greatest bargains of the century!  After 27 years in retail, I don't go anywhere near a store on the day after Thanksgiving. NO MATTER WHAT!

Instead, I stay home and work on my arts and crafts, and sit down with a warm cup of tea to watch one of my favorite performers of all time, Garth Brooks, who is doing a concert on TV tonight "Live from Las Vegas".  Just Garth and his guitar, alone on stage, recreating the music that HE grew up with. I am in heaven!

I did get a few cards made today. One is the Joy Today card pictured above.  For this card, I die cut the white background card from the largest label die from the Spellbinders Twenty Six set, and then cut another label die from a Christmas Stripe print paper.  I then cut a black label from the Ornate Squares Spellbinders Set, and attached it to the stripe background paper. I stamped the Cameo Brooch Stamp from Deep Red Clingstamps in Memento Tuxedo black ink on white card stock. I used my Copic markers to color in the Cameo Brooch, fussy cut the brooch, and then used foam tape to pop it up on top of the black label. Using a small red pre-cut label, I used my white Posca marker to write the word "Joy" on it, then attached it to the card front along with a few white half pearls and two burgandy tiny brads attaching the black label to the card front. 

I am having so much fun making these 4" square gift cards, and will probably package a bunch of them together and send them to a friend for Christmas. Well, I guess I will close for now. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and maybe even get a little time to create something beautiful.  I also hope you will take a moment, and drop me a line leaving your comments. I really enjoy hearing from you, and your comments, and would love to come and check out your blogs if you have one.  See you again soon!

Happy Thelma Holidays!

Happy Thelma Holidays Everyone!

I am playing with many of my New stamps I received this past month. This is the "Leaning Thelma" stamp, and the Texas Santa Hat stamp by Deadbeat Designs Stamps. 

I started out by using my Spellbinders Labels Twenty Six die and cutting out a white card stock card, and then attaching a smaller size sheet of green print scrapbook paper to the background.  I also cut a wreath shape from darker green stock from the Spellbinders Asian Accents die set and used foam tape to pop it up on the background.

I then stamped the Texas shape with the Santa hat on white card stock, and used my stamp positioner to stamp the Leaning Thelma stamp next to it, to make it look as if she was leaning on it.  I then colored in the stamping with my Copic markers and fussy cut around the design leaving an 1/8" border all around. It was attached to the card with a square of foam tape behind the state.  I then tied a small bow with satin ribbon and attached to the punched wreath to complete the card.

It finally feels like winter in most areas of the United States, so I decided to start my Christmas posts.  It is so hard to start thinking about Christmas when it is 90+ degrees outside, but now that it is in the 30's and 40's, it is much easier to think about snowmen and icicles, mittens and muffs. Have a great week, celebrating Thanksgiving with your family and friends, and I will check in with you very soon with more great holiday cards and ideas. See you soon!
Mindy

Sunny Thoughts

Hello Friends! I am sending Sunny thoughts your way today, because according to the weather, it may be getting cold and nasty again real soon!

I have also been playing with my newest Spellbinders Dies, making some of these layered lacy cards that I love so.  My friend, Lisa, at A Mermaid's Crafts, has gotten me hooked on these layered cards using the Spellbinders Dies. Hers are so beautiful, and I wanted to learn to make them for my personal use. So, I am playing with some older card stock, learning how to adapt the style of die to the various die layers, therefore creating a beautiful card.

This card is approximately 4" square and is made using the Marvelous Squares Die Set from Spellbinders. I also used a sheet of peach with white flourishes scrapbook paper to add a little color and depth to the card.

These are so much fun to make, and look so elegant to me. I think I may try to make a few as place cards for my Thanksgiving table this year. Since I have a very small gathering, I enjoy decorating the table to the hilt, and these will add to the formality and elegance of the decor.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and that you and your families are blessed on this wonderful holiday. Stay warm and safe, and I will see you again soon.

Mindy

A Few More Thelma Tags

I finished a few more tags with the "Thelma" stamp my friend Mark Jetton at Deadbeat Design Stamps sent me.  He also promoted my blog on his post yesterday, so I thought if someone came looking for his link I would have more than the one little tag I posted yesterday.  Thelma is so much fun to stamp, color, and even paper piece! 

I have been adding scraps of scrapbook paper to tags for backgrounds for several weeks now.  If you viewed my blog last year before Christmas, you saw the tags I made to decorate a Christmas tree for our church group.  This year I am doing something different with the church group, but we haven't quite decided yet what it will be.  I do, however, like to have some tags prepared for decorating, "just in case I need them!"  Since many of Mark's stamps are Texas themed, I thought I would use another themed set by Paper Wings Productions (also Texas based) for the Texas sayings. These were from the Texas Quotes set.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend, preparing for Thanksgiving which is not too far away. These tags also make  wonderful place cards for your Thanksgiving table. So why not make up a batch to decorate your table, "and let your creative juices flow!"  See you soon.
Mindy

Crafty Friends

Hello Friends!

Today's quick post is a "Thank You" for a friend, Mark Jetton from Deadbeat Designs Stamps.  He sent me two of his newest wood mounted stamps, Thelma, and Small funky glasses.

I love these new designs, but hadn't had a chance to order them yet. Thelma is so cute, and there are several styles of her that Mark designed. There is also a full length version, called Thelma leaning, that is so creative and fun to work with in your card making.  The Funky Glasses also come in two sizes, and just add that special touch to your backgrounds and other images. You can view Mark's Gallery at his above mentioned web site, just click on the link and it will take you there.

To make this tag, I first took the Thelma stamp (in the square) and stamped it in the middle of the tag.  I then stamped a mask on a sticky note, fussy cut around it, and then placed it on top of the tag image.  I then inked the small glasses stamp with Tuxedo black Memento ink and stamped it around the masked image.  I then removed the mask, and colored in the image with my Copic markers.  To add some interest and texture to the background, I swiped the Old Paper Distress Stain from Tim Holtz around and then lightly spritzed the entire tag with Lindy's Stamp Gang's Desert Moon Purple Sage Glitz Spritz.  For bling, I added tiny pearls to the glasses frames, and a shiny ribbon to the top of the tag.  I then stamped the "Crafty Friends" sentiment from My Favorite Things, PI Crafty Things Stamp Set.

This saying is so true, one of my favorites: "Crafty Friends are the Best Friends!"  See you all soon! Keep on Craftin'.

Mindy

Spread Your Wings

Hello friends! Today's card was inspired by my good friend, Lisa, from A Mermaids Crafts. She does these beautiful layered cards using Spellbinders Dies in various shapes and sizes for cards that are awesome and unique!

I started by making my card base, a 4" square note/gift card, by punching the Nestabilities Leafy Squares die from white card stock with my Cuttlebug machine. I then cut another, with 1/2" folded under, before placing the die right on the edge of the folded card stock.  After cutting this piece, I removed it from the die and glued the little 1/2" flap to the top of the plain square piece, aligning the designs on both pieces.  This makes the card base with the fold on the top.

I then cut two printed paper squares 1/4" smaller than the solid square area, and adhered them to the card base.  Using my Faerie's Clear Stamp Set from Paper Wings Productions, I then stamped the fairy in the circle on white card stock, and colored her in with my Copic Markers. Using my Twinkle Gel Pens and Spica Glitter Pens, I added sparkle and shine to the Copic colored image.  I then used foam tape to adhere the circle to the card front, raising it up to give the card some dimension.  I also stamped the phrase included in the Faerie Stamp Set to the outside of the card, and remainder of the saying is stamped inside the card.

Of course, Lisa's cards are much more ornate than mine, but this was my first attempt at such a beautiful design, and I think it turned out pretty.  I will keep practicing this technique because I really love the way these cards look. Again, I want to thank Lisa for her inspiration. I hope you will check out her blog mentioned above to see more of her wonderful cards and creations. 

Have a great week, and I will visit with you again soon.

Peace Grows . . . . . .

Hello  fellow card makers! Today's card is a stamp from Flourishes, called Garden Delight.  The saying in this stamp set, "Peace grows in the beauty of a garden" is one of my favorites. I started with a green grid background paper edged in burnt sienna ColorBox Chalk inkpad. I then die cut the Spellbinders Lattice die in pale pink card stock and then layered with foam tape to give dimension to the card.  I then stamped out the Flourishes stamp of the orchid with book on white card stock with Memento Rich Cocoa ink and the saying in the same.

I colored the orchid image with Copic markers and glued it on top of the lattice work with liquid adhesive. After adding metallic green ribbon and ecru lace below the image, I adhered the saying to the card to the left of the image, using foam tape and adhesive to layer it on top of the image and ribbons.  A single loop bow made from the lace was then adhered to the top of the lattice work frame, and entire section adhered to the front of an A2 card front.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and have time to create something beautiful from your artistic endeavors.  See you again soon.

Humming Along

This is another of the wonderful stamp sets I recently purchased from Flourishes stamp company. Humming Along features two hummingbirds along with the Trumpet Vine and several leaf sprays. The sentiments range from Hello's to Thank You's, to "The tiniest thing" stamp I used on this card.

The background used here, was a piece of watercolor paper that I colored using the Tattered Angels Naturally Aged Rusty Metal Paint System.  After spritzing the colors on the watercolor paper, and letting it air-dry, I ran it through my Cuttlebug embosser and the Sea Beauty Embossing Folder from Spellbinders. I then stamped the Trumpet Vine on Neenah white card stock, along with the large hummingbird, and colored them with my Copic markers. I colored the vine as I remembered a vine my neighbor's yard, back when I was younger. It had bright orange trumpet shaped flowers that the hummingbirds used to love getting nectar from. I was always amazed at how those tiny little birds could move their wings so fast, darting in and out of the flowers on the vine.  I didn't remember too much about the coloring of the hummingbird, since they moved so fast, it was hard to see their coloring. But after looking at images on the Internet, I colored the "hummer" to blend with the background.

After fussy cutting the images, I adhered them to the background and card front using double sided tape. I also added a small banner with the sentiment, and outlined it with a Warm Violet ColorBox Chalk ink along with the embossed background. To add a bit of sparkle to the entire card, I dotted the background with some Apple Green acrylic paint, and sprinkled it with a fine sprinkling of two-toned embossing powder. I also added a bit of my Wink of Stella Glitter markers to some of the flowers and the hummingbird. The banner and "Hummer" were attached with foam tape to give the card some dimension.

Have a Great week, and enjoy your Halloween festivities. Don't eat too much candy, and have a spooky good time

Savor the Flavors of Life

Hello everyone! Hope you had a wonderful weekend. and savored the flavors of life.  I have really enjoyed this new stamp set I ordered from Flourishes titled, "Italian Garden".  The set has 11 pieces in it, and I have only used four, so far.  I love the Italian lifestyle, foods, scenery, and I hope to visit Italy one day.  Several of my friends are in Italy right now on a Tim Holtz cruise, and as they send back photos to their Facebook pages, I fall more and more in love with the country and it's surroundings. Here is how I created this card!

First of all, I stamped the ingredients cluster stamp which consisted of the olive oil, tomatoes, garlic and parmesan.  I then added the pot of oregano, along with the saying, and the word "Enjoy!"  Using my Cuttlebug and Romantic Rectangles Die, I diecut the border from a piece of yellow printed paper.  Then using the die itself as a border, I traced inside the design around my stamping, and cut along the pencil line for the "label look". I highlighted the edge of the label with my gold PanPastel chalk to blend with the yellow patterned paper. Before mounting the label, I colored the image with my Copic markers, shading and highlighting where indicated by the stamp.

I attached the background die to the card front with double stick adhesive, and then used foam tape to attach the image label on top of the die. To add even more dimension, I added a small cat die from Impression Obsession, highlighted with Brushed Corduroy Distressed ink, and used another layer of foam tape to give the card depth.  To finish off the card, I used my clear Wink of Stella marker to add clear sparkle to the oregano pot and the glass of water with the basil sprig in it.

This card reminded me so of the laid back and relaxed lifestyle of Italy. I hope you had a relaxing and comfortable weekend, and are ready for a kooky, spooky, week filled with Halloween cheer. Stay safe and have a great week!
Mindy

Don't Forget the Garlic

This Halloween season, "Don't forget the garlic" you may hear these House Mouse critters say!  You need the garlic to keep the vampires away!  Don't these little guys just make you smile?  I love the House Mouse line of stamps, and have many for different times of the year. I also purchased a new one for Christmas this year, which will be my Christmas card that I will be mailing out. I will share the Christmas Mouse soon.

The coloring of this card is very soft and soothing for this time of the year. I used a very soft palette of the traditional Halloween colors, green, orange, purple, black and white, to color the mice with Copic markers, and patterned papers.  I started with a background paper from the Memory Box, and edged it with a bracket edged paper from the DCWV Ledger line. Along this edge, I also added a length of black sparkly rick-rack.  I then colored my House Mouse stamp, stamped with Memento black ink, with copic markers and then fussy cut them out leaving a tiny white border around the image.  This helps the colored image to stand out from the printed paper. I also used some foam tape to pop it up from the card base.

The using a tiny clear Halloween stamp set, I stamped a label with Trick or Treat, a bat, and then bordered it with a piece of pearlized card stock I had in my scrap bin.  I also used the rest of the printed strip inside my card for decoration. Then to finish off the front of the card, I stamped a tiny black spider with a single line web, dropping over the front edge of the card, as if to say, "Hi there!"  I just added a bit of sparkle to the stamped images with my Wink of Stella markers.

This card is for a special friend, and I must rush to get it in the mail so it will get to her before the holiday. I hope you are ready for a fun-filled weekend.  Have a good one, and enjoy stamping if you will. See you again soon.

Mindy

Happy Harvest to One and All

Happy Harvest to one and all!  I love this new Happy Harvest stamp from My Favorite Things!

I stamped the Doodle Garden Girl on Neenah white card stock, and then colored in the image with my Copic markers. I then tried to center the image within my Romantic Rectangles Die from Spellbinders.  As you can see, I didn't get it exactly in the center, so I added a row of tiny flowers from the recent Prima Mixed-Media Border Stamp Set on each side.  It helps to disguise the off-centered image.

I then mounted the image on the front of a royal blue card with double stick adhesive. A banner was cut from a strip of printed card stock, and I stamped Happy Harvest from the set, and added it to the front of the card.  I also added a sheet of the lined card stock to the inside of the dark card, so I would have a lighter colored surface to write my message on.

My allergies have cleared for the moment, so I have been coloring images with my Copic markers.  Another cool front is promised for tomorrow, at which time my allergies usually go haywire when the new pollen is brought in "on the wind"!  Enjoy your week, and see you again soon.

Mindy

Stopping By to Say Hello . . . .and Thank You!

Today's post is a combo of cards that I have been working on. They have been decorated with papers/tags that I colored with the Tattered Angels Paint Systems that I purchased recently.  The first card, Stopping by to say Hello, uses a strip of watercolor paper colored with the Naturally Aged Paint System, Precious Stone; Turquoise, and then embossed with the Sea Beauty Embossing Folder from Spellbinders.


I adhered a strip of the watercolor paper down the left side of the A2 card, and trimmed with a row of cream iridescent double loop braid from Michaels' Dollar bin. I then added a cream colored fabric flower from Prima along with some pearl bling also from Prima. The Angel stamp is from American Art Stamp, and is stamped on Ranger glossy paper with Rich Cocoa Memento Ink and colored with copic markers.  I attached the angel with foam tape to pop it up, along with the sentiment stamped on a manila tag.

Card #2 has a manila tag colored with the same Turquoise Paint System, attached on top of a card base with a scrap of patterned paper as the background.

The angel is from the same American Art Stamp set, stamped and colored with the same ink and markers.  Using several leaf metal dies, I punched out some leaves from various green papers and attached a cluster to the card front and tied with a bow of Limeade lawn trimmings from Lawn Fawn.  I adhered a strip of wide Huckleberry rick-rack trim from Li'l Davis Designs and then stamped  Thank You on a die cut banner. The angel was again attached with foam tape to give it dimension on the card.

I hope you have enjoyed these cards as much as I enjoyed making them.  I love layering papers and tags, ribbons and embellishments.  I find it hard at times to stop, before making the card too thick, as to require more postage at the post office to mail them.  I know the poor Postal Service is going broke due to the drop in postal business, but I just can't see spending that much to mail an envelope. I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. Until next week, Joy to all and enjoy yourself!
Mindy

Trick or Treat . . . . . . . . .

Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat! Why do I always hear this song in my head when I see someone in costume?  Halloween is just around the corner, and although I no longer dress in costume, I remember the days when I dressed in costume for work. I worked retail, and on Halloween we always dressed in costume to entertain the customers.  By the time I got home from work, and being on my feet in my costume all day, I usually changed into my jammies and went to bed, without handing out much candy. It seems the neighborhood I grew up in, grew up with me. So, in the later years there wasn't much action, except for the house across the street.  As the kids in that house grew up, the parents started putting up a large tent, and would be the waiting spot for parents while their kids were in the neighborhood trick-or-treating. They would serve coffee, hot chocolate, and cookies to the kids and parents, and would have music playing during the festivities.  Years later when the carloads of  kids would appear in our neighborhoods, their house was always the gathering place for frivolity and fun! If I had purchased candy to hand out, and no one visited our door, I would end up delivering it to "the tent" to add to their cauldron of goodies.

Now, the neighborhood I live in  has no children. I may buy a bag of candy that I like, "just in case someone stops by!" I usually don't open my door after dark anyway, you never know who is out there anymore.  So, Halloween is not that big a deal.  I do love the art of the holiday though!

In this card, I started with a Prima large tag, and stenciled black chevron stripes on it. I then added two cat die cuts, and an image from a vintage postcard.  The tag was trimmed to fit the A2 orange card base, and I then stamped "Trick or Treat" and a tiny star down the open side of the card.

I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween, and a spooky, kooky good time!

Dia de los Muertos Skull & Halloween on the Way!

Hello fellow artists and cardmakers! It has been two weeks since my last post, and many thought I have dropped off the face of the earth.  Sorry, the first front of fall brought in all sorts of pollen, and I have just been down with a case of the allergies, and I really couldn't get my thoughts together to post! 

I have been working on projects during this time, and have 6 - 10 of them in various stages of completion.  The above Muertos Skull is on a piece of cardboard, and was traced on it with the help of a 12"X 12" template from the Crafter's Workshop.  Most of the coloring done was with my Copic Markers, and when I got the colors in, I highlighted some of them with my Wink of Stella Glitter Markers. I don't know if you can see the glimmer, but in person, the colors are awesome.

I haven't decided whether I will display this in a frame, or mount it on a canvas board and collage with other mixed-media products. I still have a week to finish my Dia De Los Muertos items, before putting up my shrine, so I need to make my decision soon.

I have also continued playing with my Tattered Angels Paint System Kits, and have lots of samples to use on cards and tags. I hope to share some of those with you tomorrow or the day after. I have also been working with the awesome kit from Paper Wings Productions, October Nesting Components Kit, which is full of pumpkin and fall clip art (2 pages), lots of fall and Halloween postcards, painted wooden charms, and ribbons.

I just wanted to check in with you all, and let you know I am still alive and kickin', and hope you are having a full and creative week. See you again soon!
Mindy

Sugar Skull Template

Happy October friends!  It is the first of October, the beginning of a season of holidays, cool weather, and lots of falling leaves.

I found this awesome Sugar Skull 6 X6 Template, and added it to my New Mini Art Journal from Ranger. I have been having so much fun painting, printing, and technique testing in my larger Ranger journal, that when the smaller size ones came out, I knew I had to have one of those to carry with me when attending classes, and spending the day relaxing and refreshing outdoors. 

The Crafters Workshop carries this stencil in both the 6 X 6 and the 12 X 12" sizes. I have always wanted to build a shrine to loved ones gone before me, for Dias de Los Muertos celebrated the first of November.  I have a month to experiment on what I want to include in my shrine, so stay tuned here, to see what I come up with.  I like things that are different, and unique, and if they are made-by-hand, that is even better. My family always appreciated hand made arts and crafts, so I'm sure my shrine will contain mainly hand made items in it.

I have many projects planned for the coming month, so check back with me, and be sure to leave me comments on the projects I will be sharing. I really appreciate your comments, and hope to keep in touch with you. Enjoy Fall,  and create something yourself. Hand-made is always better!

Mindy

Tag Shaped Birthday Card

Welcome friends, to my blog today. I have a few birthday's coming up in the next week or so, am I am eagerly trying out some of my new products, before using them for Christmas projects.

I purchased one more of the Prima Doll Stamps, one that I didn't have before, so I stamped her out and colored her with my PanPastel Artist Chalks. I also used a piece of clip art from my Paper Wings Productions September Nesting Components Kit, and used the packaging tape transfer technique to add it to the front of my card with a frame.  The clip art images from Paper Wings are laser printed on a heavy weight paper. You cover the front of the image with clear packaging tape, and trim around the edges. Burnish well, so that there are no air bubbles in the tape.  Soak the image in a shallow bowl of water, until the paper backing is well moistened.  Remove the image from the water, and on a paper towel, rub the paper backing off with your fingers.  The ink will adhere to the packaging tape, and you will be able to apply it to another background with a print or with a different color. I stamped one of Donna Salazar's frames on the front of my tag with Distress inks, and then cut out the interior of the frame.  I then mounted my transfer on a piece of double sided scrapbook paper, and attached it to the inside of my card.  I then stamped Happy Birthday, Best Wishes, and Just for you on the front panel under the frame.  I had several swatches of watercolor paper on my desk where I tried out many of my Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists. I punched out 5/8" squares that matched the colors in the framed image and my Prima Doll's dress, and pop dotted them to the bottom of the card.  This front flap is one of the printed tags from Prima, so it has a faint design of hand writing on the background.

The back flap of the card is one of the #8 manilla tags from Tim Holtz, gessoed on the interior. This made it easier for me to write my birthday greeting on, because it gave the card some tooth.  This makes a very different style of card that fits into a #10 business style envelope.  I have many of these envelopes that I hardly ever use, so since I designed this style of card to fit these envelopes.

I hope you have gotten some ideas that you can try for some fall type cards for this coming season.  I hope the weather in your part of the world is favorable now, here where I live it is fall, yet the high temperature is still 98 degrees today! Have a great Wednesday, and I will visit with you again soon.

Mindy

Birds of a Feather Journal Pages

Greetings, fellow artista's! Thank you for joining me today for this double page art journal entry, where I used two of my Paint System palettes from Tattered Angels. I have been working on backgrounds lately, and ordered these Paint System sets to learn more about mixing colors and mediums successfully. The first system I used today was the Soiree Paint Collection that coordinates with the Soiree Paper craft collection from PinkPaislee. (I love these happy colors!)

The Soiree System consists of:  1.  Glimmer Mist- Marigold, a watercolor mist with a touch of glimmer.  2.  Glimmer Mist- Party Pink, a watercolor mist with a touch of glimmer.  3.  Glimmer Glam- Chandelier, a paint with a fine glimmer, plus glitter.  4.  Glimmer Glaze- Waterfall, a paint with a fine glimmery sparkle.   I first sprayed the bird stencil/template with a coating of Deep Denim Glimmer Mist from the Daily Junque System. (this color is very dark) I then turned it over on to the page and gently pressed the template down onto the page and left in place for a few moments while the glimmer mist soaked in. With the template still in place, I applied the Waterfall blue glimmer glaze and Chandelier Glimmer Glam onto the image over the bird and on the background.  I then  removed the template  of the bird, and sprayed on the Party Pink Glimmer Mist.

Let the entire page dry.  When dry I stamped a Damask Background stamp across the top of the page with a permanent Archival Black ink.  I also highlighted around the edge of the page with Victorian Velvet Distress Stain from Tim Holtz.

On the right side/ facing page I used the same bird template from Tattered Angels, the Daily Junque Paint Collection that coordinates with the Daily Junque Paper collection, also from PinkPaislee. The Daily Junque Paint System consists of the following Mists/Mediums:

1.  Glimmer Mist- Aquamarine, a watercolor mist with a touch of glimmer.  2.  Glimmer Mist-  Dark Denim, a watercolor mist with a touch of glimmer.  3.  Glimmer Glam-  Organic Garden, a paint with a fine glimmer, plus glitter.  4.  Glimmer Glaze- Pewter, a paint with a fine glimmery sparkle.

I again sprayed the bird template with Dark Denim Glimmer Mist and turned it over onto the blank page, paint side down. (Remember to flip your template before spraying so you get the reverse image.)  Again, press down on template so paint will begin to soak into the paper.  Apply the Organic Green Glimmer Glam over the template and across the page, leaving white space in the background. Let set for a few moments, then remove the template and apply Aquamarine spritz over the entire page.  Let entire page dry completely.

I again stamped a row of the damask background stamp across the top of the page with black Archival Ink,  and highlighted the entire page with Old Paper Distress Stain from Tim Holtz.


I then added my saying, "Birds of a Feather flock Together. . ." using my black Posca paint marker, and then highlighted the black marker with the white marker.  To add a little more interest to the pages, I adhered a row of fuzzy ribbon down the center of the page.  This also covered where the two pages (and paint) overlapped.  I also had to fill in some of the Dark Denim glimmer mist with a paintbrush on the birds, where the mist didn't print. I highlighted the openings of the template with the white Posca paint marker and dots, to add more texture.

I hope you have decided to pick up one or two of these wonderful paint systems.  They have helped me learn about combining colors immeasurably, over the last few weeks.  I have a few more color systems
 to play with over the weekend. Hopefully I will have a sampling to show you next week. Take care, and have a wonderful  Fall weekend!
Mindy

Maiden of the Sea

Today's tag background is created using the Lagoon Color Paint System from Tattered Angels. It coordinates with many of the Prima Marketing products. I love the colors included in this set, especially since my go-to colors have been turquoise and aquas lately.  The products included in this Paint System Kit are: 

 1.  Glimmer Mist:  Apricot Nectar- adds a chalk-matte finish with a fine glimmer;  2.  Glimmer Mist:  Bahama Blue- a watercolor mist with a touch of glimmer;  3.  Glimmer Glam:  Golden Goddess- a paint with a fine glimmer, plus glitter; and 4.  Glimmer Glaze:  Pewter- a paint with a fine glimmery sparkle.                                                I used this Paint System to spray one of the large Prima printed tags, and then left it to air dry.  When the tag was dry, I cut out three of the elements from the Paper Wings Productions August Nesting Components Kit and layered them with some of the lace included in the August Kit. I gathered the lace gently and adhered it to the back of the photo, and then adhered it to the top of the flourish print, overlapping it slightly.  After adhering it to the tag, I used foam tape to adhere the clock face to the top right corner of the tag.  I found some beaded trim in my stash that had small metal coins attached, and thought that it would coordinate with the water colors of the background.  I used red line double stick adhesive to attach it to the bottom of the tag, and then used more embellishments from the August Nesting Components Kit to complete my tag.  The pearls and ribbon just added a bit of bling to the composition.

Since I covered most of the tag with embellishment, I decided to take a picture of the tag after I sprayed the layers of color from the Lagoon Paint System package. You can see from the picture how wonderfully the colors blend and compliment each other, so that if you are new to spray coloring or have trouble coordinating your colors, like I do, these pre-packaged Paint Systems are just what you need to help you get started.  After a while, you will learn which colors go well together, so you can make your own color combinations to use on your art projects.

                       I hope you have enjoyed this project with me, and that you will join me next time for two projects using the Daily Junque and Soiree Paint Systems from Tattered Angels. Until then, have a great weekend.

Mindy

                                                                                                                                                                  

Be Wise, Kind, and True Fall Tag

Happy Friday, friends. Today's post is another tag using the Witch's Brew Paint System from Tattered Angels.

I started out by using one of the Prima Tags as my background, and I stamped the Owl Panel Clear Stamp from Paper Wings Productions on the tag with Rich Cocoa Memento ink. I also stamped the single flying owl and word stamp from the same set.  I then spritzed the entire tag with Pumpkin Spice Glimmer Mist, and let it dry.  When dry, I colored the image with my Wink of Stella Glitter markers from Kuretake and let them dry also.

To add a little shadow, I drew around the entire tag edges with my Licorice Black Gelato from Faber-Castell. If you are not familiar with Gelatos, they are a chap-stick like crayon coloring tool that can be used with a sponge or even your finger to blend color on your project.  I used my finger to blend the dark color around the edges and around the words, "Be Wise, Be Kind, Be True!"

I also punched a small black cat from black card stock and the Cats Galore die from Impression Obsession. I used flowers and leaves from Prima Marketing and the September Nesting Components Kit from Paper Wings Productions, matching the color scheme used to color the stamp, also included in the September Kit.

Paper Wings Productions creates these Nesting Component Kits on a monthly basis, and sells them in their online store. Click HERE to visit their web store and check out the wonderful stamps, kits, and supplies that they carry there!

I have really enjoyed bringing you these tags using the Witch's Brew Paint System.  The next post will be using the Lagoon Colors Paint System that coordinates with several Prima Marketing products. See you then!

Tattered Angels Sprays - Witches Brew

Hello Everyone! This is the first post of my Paint System Spray Tutorials from Tattered Angels. The featured spray pack today is "Witches Brew"!

The Paint System Sets contain four distinctive mediums that perfectly compliment each other. I have used a large Manila tag as the base for this project.

Witch's Brew consists of:

1.  Glimmer Mist Chalkboard Spray- Grape Ape

      (a chalk-matte finish with a fine glimmer)

2.  Glimmer Mist Spray - Pumpkin Spice

      (a watercolor mist with a touch of glimmer)

3.  Glimmer Glam - Stiletto

      ( a brush-on paint with a fine glimmer, plus glitter)

4.  Glimmer Glaze- Wicked

       (a brush-on paint with a fine glimmery sparkle)

To start, I applied a layer of Glimmer Glaze - Wicked around the edges of the tag. The glaze is shiny/glossy when dry and acts as a resist for the other sprays. When dry, I then sprayed on some of the Chalkboard Spray and some of the Glimmer Mist, to add the bright pumpkin and grape colors to the tag. Let the colors blend together, so don't be afraid to add lots of spray.  If needed, you can blot a little of the spray with a paper towel in places. Again, let the sprays dry before preceding to the stamping. I then stamped my Impression Obsession stamp "Skulls About Town" with tuxedo black Memento Ink twice on the tag. Using some of the  NEW Wink of Stella Brush Sparkle Pens in Yellow, Lt. Green, Dark Pink, Orange and Brown, I colored in the skull staffs. These new paint pens by Kuretake are very sparkly and add lots of shimmer with no mess!  I then took a fan brush, and added some of the Stiletto Glimmer Glam paint to the top and bottom of my tag in streaks that look like old moss hanging on the walls of a cave.  To add dimension, I stamped two bats from my Martha Stewart Halloween Icon Stamp Set and colored them in with the Wink of Stella dk, pink and clear glimmer pens to add sparkle. I used foam squares to adhere them to the tag.  I also added a Prima Doll stamped on a Prima Tag,  dressed in her "Batty Costume"to the bottom of the tag.  To complete the tag, I added a swatch of twinkly red tulle ribbon tied in a bow at the top!

  I hope you enjoyed the process of decorating this tag. The combination of colors with the Paint System were so helpful when decorating the background for this tag. Periodically I have problems deciding which colors to use together, so with this system I can learn more about combining complimentary colors. I hope you will try some also, if you  have regrets of colors you choose.  If you have any questions about the products I have used, feel free to write me, and I will try to help in any way possible.

Thanks for joining me today.

New Template for Fall

We are just a few weeks away from Fall, so I decided to change the view of my blog for the Fall and Winter seasons.  I was working on a few new Fall projects in my art journal, and on some tags and cards, so in between drying layers of paint, gesso, and molding paste, I decided to go through the Templates on Blogger, and pick out a new background theme for my blog.  I have been all cute and pink since I started this blog over a year ago, so I decided to go a different direction and use some of my favorite colors, turquoise, purple, burgundy and aqua, to give my blog a little lift and new look!

I'm not exactly sure how I like it yet, it's like a new haircut; I have to look at it for awhile before I get used to it. At least I know it isn't permanent, and can be changed if need be.

I also got a goodie box from Simon Says Stamp this weekend. I went crazy and ordered several of the Paint Systems Sets from Tattered Angels. They are coordinated sets of spritz's and sprays including their Glimmer Mist Chalkboard Spray, regular Glimmer Mist's, Glimmer Glam ( their paint with glimmer and glitter) and Glimmer Glaze ( a shiny paint with a fine glimmery sparkle). The sets consist of  four distinctive mediums that perfectly compliment each other. The sets I ordered are:

Witches Brew - Halloween-ie type colors

Noel: Christmas-y festive colors

The Daily Junque Collection:  Colors that coordinate with the Daily Junque Paper Collection from Pink Paislee

Soiree Collection:  Colors that coordinate with the Soiree Paper Collection from Pink Paislee, and

Bold Brights Collection:  With colors that are Awesome, Bold and Bright, also corresponds with various paper collections from Pink Paislee.

I added these to two other Paint Systems previously ordered from Paper Wings Productions; Lagoon and Hummingbird which coordinate with Prima Marketing Products. I will be presenting these Paint Systems to you with projects in the coming weeks, so stay tuned to this blog for more wonderful color combinations and projects.  If you have trouble coordinating colors in your projects (like I do), you may want to check out these kits.  They make the combining easier when working on a specific project and soon you will feel more comfortable when combining colors on your projects.

So until tomorrow, stay safe and enjoy your week!  See you soon.
Mindy

Journal Page Tribute to Our Prima Doll Stamp Blog Hop

I completed a page in my Art Journal today, paying tribute to my participation in my first ever Blog Hop. The Prima Doll Stamp Blog Hop was during the month of August, 2013. Each week, 5 other artists and myself presented projects on our blogs featuring the Prima Doll Stamps from Julie Nutting, celebrating the Four Seasons of our year; Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.

I saw this technique, Creating a Patchwork Background, on a YouTube video with Dyan Reaveley for RangerInk.com.  Using her creative Art Journal, I started by doodling on a page with my Pigma Micron black permanent marker.  You can then fill in the sections with solid colors, or filling in with Zentangle doodles in each section. Ever since Zentangle became popular, I have been engrossed in it. I love drawing patterns inside outlines to make cards or just intricate designs.

The next step is to add color to your designs. Dyan used her Dylusions Inks in water brushes in her video, but I used Marvy and Prismacolor markers to color mine in.

You can then use any stencil or template to make a design guide. I took two of my Prima Doll Stamps, "Riley" & "Olive" and traced them out on clear packaging plastic with a Sharpie marker.  You could also use StazOn Ink to stamp on the plastic, because StazOn is the only ink that will stamp on non-porous surfaces.  Then cut out your design with scissors.  The next step is to place them on your page where you want them and using Tim Holtz Black Acrylic Paint Dauber, or any black acrylic paint and sponge dab the paint around your figures and over part of the page. You can then take a paper towel or baby wipe to soften the edge of the paint where it meets your doodling. I used a matte black Patio Paint by DecoArt, and it made the dark background look like a chalkboard. Using black makes the colors of your designs more dramatic. 

When the acrylic paint is dry, outline your shapes with your black marker, and then outline the design with your White Gel Pen.  I then took my white Posca bullet tip paint marker and did a little journaling around the edge of the page. For details in the middle of the page, I used the white gel pen to journal about the other artists and their Blog Sites.

I had so much fun with this Blog Hop I wanted to remember the details by journaling about it in my Art Journal. So there is another use for the Doll Stamps, as stencils in an art project.  I hope you have enjoyed today's post as much as I enjoyed doing it.  Have a great weekend, and I will share with you again soon.

Mindy

Celebrate Collage Card

Happy Labor Day, to one and All!  I want to thank everyone who visited this blog during our recent month long Prima Doll Blog Hop. It was a great success, and we met and shared out projects with many stampers out there. Now it's time to get back to our everyday postings of cards, canvases, and journals.  Today's post is a Collage card celebrating a dear friend's birthday. Let's check it out!


I started out with a beautiful wood=grain look embossed card stock in green.  I had a piece of clip art from the  August Nesting Components Vintage Kit from Paper Wings Productions. The photo was of four ladies with their trophies, which coordinated with my saying of "today is all about you" from the  Shenanigans Clear Stamp Set from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps.  I had stamped out the word Celebrate on a piece of watercolor paper colored with several greens, blues, and gold inks from Tattered Angels.  The technique I used to stamp the image on the tag didn't work out like I thought it should, so I cut off the word "celebrate" and decided to use it on this card.  I also used a sheet of 6X6 paper from Pink Paislee's Hope Chest pad, along with an index tab that coordinated with it.

To finish off the inside, I stamped Happy Birthday with the Shenanigans Stamp Set, and added three more pieces of the Hope Chest printed paper to finish the inside collage.

Have a pleasant week, now that the kiddoes are back in school. Maybe have some time of your own to get some card making done. See you soon!

Mindy

Prima Doll Blog Hop Winner. . . . .

Thank you to all who visited my blog and left such kind comments during the month of August.  I am so thankful for your insight and input, and I hope to visit with each of you all again soon.

Without further ado . . . . .  the WINNER of my prize package is . . . . . . . Luzita anon. Congratulations, and please email me with your full address & zip, so I can get your prize out to you this week!

Thanks again to all my "NEW" friends, you are all winners in my book!  Happy Stamping!

Mindy

PRIMA DOLL BLOG HOP- Week #4- Winter project

Welcome friends, get out the tissues because we have come to the final week and projects of our Prima Doll Blog Hop.(Boo Hoo)  This is Week #4, and we are celebrating the Winter Season of  projects.

I hope you have enjoyed all of our projects using the  Mixed Media Doll Stamps from Prima and artist, Julie Nutting.  We have had so much fun playing with our stamps, and if you  haven't had a chance to check out all our posts and comment on them, do so now!  The rules for our Hop are very simple!

We asked that throughout the month of August you check out our posts every Tuesday, to see the projects we shared, and leave a comment on each of our Seasonal posts. Be sure and leave an email address with your comment, because on August 30th, each participant will be drawing from it's list of comments, and one lucky person will receive a prize package.  Yes, each of us will be drawing a winner from our blog posts.

THAT MEANS SIX WINNERS, AND SIX PRIZES ARE AVAILABLE! You can check on each blog to see what each participant will be giving away!

Remember. . . . You will  need to have commented on each Tuesday's posting  to be eligible to win that artists  prize package. And. . . . . if you shared the hop information on your Facebook page, or Twitter account, or became a follower or subscriber to our blogs, you will get additional entries in each giveaway!


So, what do you say?  Are you ready to continue with the fun?  Here are our participants and their final Blog Hop postings!  They are waiting for your visit!

DAR'S CRAFTY CREATIONS

PRIMITIVE SEASONS

A MERMAIDS CRAFTS

NELLIES NEST

PAPER & INK WITH MULBERRY MINDY (you are Here!)

SCRAP FOR JOY

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

With Winter being one of my favorite seasons, I decided to use one of my Doll Stamps to make an Angel Tree Topper for one of my many Christmas Trees.  I usually decorate 4 or 5 various size trees each Christmas, with each tree celebrating a different theme depending on which room they are displayed in.  For example, one of my tree's in my guest bedroom is decorated with handmade beaded and jeweled ornaments that my Mother made and handed down to me. Another bedroom has a tree decorated in "Bird ornaments".(My Mother loved birds of all kinds.) My entryway has a tree decorated in all "TEXAS" ornaments that I have collected over the years.  I have an "Angel Tree" decorated in all handmade Angel ornaments, and my craft studio has a tree decorated in handmade "Paper crafted ornaments". Everything from paper ornaments, paper chains, paper stars, and recycled Christmas cards.

This topper is going to be used on my handmade "Angel Ornament Tree". Most of the ornaments on this tree are in various shades of pink, ivory, and white, with metallic silver accents. Although, when I photographed it, the silver accents and ribbon look golden. (sorry)  I started with Prima Doll Stamp #11- Lorena.  She has a wonderful full skirt, and also looks fabulous as a bride.

I began by stamping Lorena twice, on Neenah white card stock. I then fussy cut out one full doll and one skirt only. Using my Copic Markers, I colored in her dress using two lovely shades of pink to accent my Christmas Tree.  Using a ball-tipped stylus, I scored the various fold lines in both skirts to give them some dimension. The next step consisted of applying the embellishments, pearls and rhinestones,(pink of course) from Prima Marketing, "Say it in Crystals." Starting at her waist, I applied the self adhesive pearls and stones down the front panel of her skirt and added a few stones around the hemline.  I then gathered some silver mesh ribbon and attached it to the bottom of the skirt for another ruffle.  I applied a few small stones to her headband and a circle of silver rope cording as her halo.

I then stamped two of the mixed media Wings stamps on watercolor paper, and used a pale pink watercolor pencil to shade each wing before attaching to her back.  Using red line double stick tape adhesive, I cut small strips and taped the two skirt sections together to form a cone shape. To complete the angel topper, I folded a ribbon rosebud from the silver mesh ribbon and attached several strands of thin silver ribbon behind it, and glued this bouquet into her hand.

I think she turned out gorgeous, and would also look terrific with smaller, single layer doll ornaments also decorating the tree. One of my fellow Prima Doll hoppers, suggested using the doll stamps on shrink plastic, and I thought this would be a great idea for my tree ornaments. But needless to say, I could only find my black opaque shrink plastic to try them out. I will have to make a trip to my LSS to see if I can find some of the clear or white opaque shrink plastic before the ornaments are made.

I hope you have all enjoyed this Blog Hop, as much as we have enjoyed bringing it to you. My fellow blogsters have given me so many wonderful ideas on projects to try, I may never get any more housework done! 

DON'T FORGET TO HOP ON OVER TO SCRAP FOR JOY , to see what Joyce has for you today!

If you need to catch up on previous posts during our hop, or comment on one you missed, click on one of these links to take you to that Seasons postings. Thanks again for visiting, and Good Luck on the Prize Drawing!

Week #1- SPRING

Week #2- SUMMER

Week # 3 - FALL

Week #4 - WINTER (you are HERE)