A Tisket, a Tasket, Another Kitchen Basket

 

Welcome to another day of crafting, and another kitchen basket shadow box! Today I created a beach scene using crushed glass for the ocean, mixed sand for the beach, and tiny seed beads mixed with white paint for the sea foam.

I have plenty of sea shells, but added some pea gravel, moss and one glass button from a floral purchase. Looked a little empty, so I added the last of my starfish stickers. I used one of the tiny bottles I had purchased online (during COVID), with a tiny, rolled up piece of paper inside (neatly tied with a strand of twine).

The final touch was found in my box o' shadow box figurines...the tiny seagull (well, it really was a dove. Use your imagination)! LOL

Challenges I am Entering:

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie - Seashells at the Beach

(Pin)spirational - July Tropical Sunset (I used the beach scene on my shadow box basket)

The Four Seasons - Summer Season July

Colorful Options - July

Welcome to the 31 Days of Halloween - DAY 15

 

For the better part of 2024, I have been anxiously trying to get to my Cloud backup, where I put ALL of my photos and digital stamps from my old laptop. We're talking pictures of family vacations, weddings, when my husband was alive; images from years of designing for teams on blogger; every scrapbook page I created on my own and at several scrap meets. I was frantic, not getting any response from the host except the message "we no longer support this version of...".

Just a month ago, I found a way to get in, and there everything was!! My most precious memories, a history of my growth as an artist, and all the images I collected and bought and received. And the first thing I did was buy a 128 GB flash drive. I am still in the process of copying EVERYTHING onto that drive. I don't think I can ever trust the cloud again...

My project today is a Design Team make for Halloween & Other Occasions All Year 'round.  I used an image from my "once lost but now found" inventory of digital images from Bugaboo Stamps. It's part of a series, and this one is called "the chosen one". I colored him with Copics and fussy-cut him out to place him into the scene, which is a cool and creepy  paper from Rucola Designs via Mischief Circus (from her Dead or Alive Series).

The paper is leftover from a DCWV stack, as well the assorted stickers. The spider web is a tiny piece of lace I cut off a larger piece. The crow is a silhouette from Google free clipart, and I printed my greeting in Algerian font.

I don't make a lot of Halloween cards as I don't send them out, but I often bring a handmade treat or gift to a neighbor during the holidays - any holidays!! LOL

Challenges I am Entering:

Shopping our Stash - Halloween

Try It on Tuesday - Halloween

 

Make My Monday - Kid-Friendly card

Two Old Bats Halloween - Halloween

24 Days of Christmas - Day 14 - Santa Wreath

 

You know I can't pass up a bargain. I bought 2 skeins of that thick fluffy yarn that seems to be the rage for 2023 during the summer. After finding the Dollar Tree metal wreath, I watched You Tube and looped my yarn through the spaces between the metal rings. I fell in love with its fluffiness!! I mean, it looks and feels like freshly-fallen snow (well, looks at least).

Then I trooped downstairs to be an over-sized ornament shaped like Santa's head and attached it with clear fishing line to hang in the center of the wreath.  I pulled miscellaneous items from my holiday crafting supplies and decided on various snowflakes, as well as a few pinecones, poinsettia flowers and a bird.

I like the white wreath against my mahogany door. It really pulls the eyes to it. I hope you like it too!!

Christmas Craft Creations - Christmas crafts (obviously)

Crafty Gals Corner - tis the season

Fab & Funky - Christmas

Sisterhood of Crafters - Christmas

The Holly & Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes

Try It in Tuesdays - Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Christmas Crafts All Year 'round - ANYTHING GOES CHRISTMAS/HOLIDAY 

Luna Girl Sponsors 12 Months of Christmas Blog

It's the 15th of the month, which means it is the midway point in the Anything Christmas Goes challenge at the 12 Months of Christmas Blog. The optional twist is to Add at least THREE brads, buttons or bows, or a combination of all three to your card, and the guest sponsor is Luna Girl.  All projects qualify for a chance to win the sponsored prize from Luna Girl.

Luna Girl has the most beautiful collection of vintage photos ever. I love cruising through their assortment and collections, especially their collage sheets. I got to play with the collage sheet called Winter Wonder to create my holiday card today. Since my sister lives with her husband in Berlin, I wanted to personalize their card, so I wrote the sentiment in German.

I didn't forget the theme of the challenge! You can see my red bow at the top of my sentiment as well as my 2 brads. I also used papers from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles' Snow Much Fun Mini Kit and the  Green Square Frame from Holiday Hoopla. If you follow the twist, you will have a chance to win the digital paper pack offered up by Decosse's Dynamite Doodles.

So let's get going on our stash of holiday cards NOW, instead of waiting until October or November!! I already have 2 cards created, with more on the way! And don't forget to link your cards up with the 12 Months of Christmas blog for your chance to win! See you there!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow at Ike's World Challenge Blog

One more week before the challenge over at Ike's World Challenge Blog ends. It's always Anything Goes with an Optional Twist. This month the Twist is Over the Rainbow. I used an image from Ike's Art called Shhh! on one of my watercolors that I printed out on glossy cardstock.
My sentiment is difficult to read. It is:

"I can only eat Glitter and Rainbows. Darn my sensitive stomach."

Her hair is colored with a mi of Copics, pencils and metallic gel pens. and yes, the bird is part of the card. LOL I snagged 4 of these cute tiny bluebirds from an antique store for a quarter each. Great deal!

You have until Sunday night to link up your project (anything goes) for your chance to win free digis from Ike's Art store. Good luck and happy crafting!!

The Nature of Christmas

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you,

because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places”

~Roald Dahl

The 12 Months of Christmas Link-Up blog would like you to remember the Nature of Christmas with their newest challenge. Show off woodland scenes, snowfall, winter animals—whatever flora or fauna brings out the natural beauty of the holiday and inspires you to create.

I created my Christmas card using a digital image called Slim from Sparkle N Sprinkle, our sponsor this month. That very pretty background paper is from Lisa of Decosse's Dynamite Doodles.

In order to have a chance to win the prize from our wonderful guest sponsor this month,make sure that your card has some sort of outdoor nature element in the design.  Examples include: scene of trees, forest, river, birds, woodland animals, etc. Whatever element you choose must be flora or fauna (i.e. botanical or animal related). If you do follow the optional theme, be sure to add FT after your name so that we include you in the draw for the prize.

Remember, you don't need to follow the theme to link up your cards and earn a free paper each month, and have your name thrown into the year end draw for some extra digital goodies.  You only need to follow the theme if you want a chance to win this month's sponsored prize of a $15 gift certificate to the Sparkle N Sprinkle store.

Sparkle N Sprinkle is a small company with a big heart owned and operated by Margaret Myers. SNS specializes in hand-mixed embossing powders and glitters. Our quality, deeply etched rubber stamps are closely cropped on Cling Mount Cushion ready for your acrylic block. Produced in our local Shoppe in Ruskin, Florida, the stamps are already indexed on a laminated color storage sheet for your convenience. SNS sells a variety of other paper crafting tools and products, including a new line of digital stamps and many other exclusive products.

• Prize being offered:  a $15 gift certificate to the Sparkle N Sprinkle store for one random winner chosen from those who participate in the optional theme.

• Additional Sponsor: Décosse's Dynamite Doodles
• Prize being offered: One free digital paper to everyone who links up a minimum of two cards to the challenge.  Cards can be anything goes for this prize, they only have to follow the theme if they want a chance at the sponsor's prize.  The mini set of six digital papers called Nature of Christmas, will also be offered up as a prize to one random winner. 

That's One Fat Bird

Last week I bought a pad of cold-pressed, heavyweight watercolor paper that was half the size of my last pad. It's the perfect size for my watercolor art journal, and at the time it was 50% off at Michael's. So of course I had to christen it with my paints.
I found a painting of a bird on Pinterest that I loved, so I set out to make one myself. I started with the beak and carried on from there. Obviously I carried on a little too much and the little bird I started out to paint became one very fat bird! Doesn't matter, I used my fave color combo on the page and had some fun.
My fat bird reminds me of a stupid joke my dad used to tell. I like to be reminded of the things he used to say and the stories he used to tel me and my sisters, since he's no longer with us to tell them.
Here's the joke:
What does a 500 pound chicken say?
C-H-E-E-P, C-H-E-E-P 
(said in a deep bass voice).
I told you it was stupid, but when we were little, we would giggle our heads off.