DREAMING OF PARIS

     "My Steamer Trunk", the current Frilly and Funkie Challenge  opens up many paths and I decided to focus on a dream trip to Paris for my card.  The elegant Victorian woman on my card has her steamer trunk packed and is ready to embark on her great adventure. 
     I decided to basically go with a monochromatic color theme and used two stamps from the Tim Holtz "Paris to London" set to add images to a piece of French Industrial Paper for the card background which I mounted on a piece of black cardstock.  Next, I added a vintage looking postcard image which I distressed.  A die cut black flourish was added along with a beautiful purchased silk flower embellished with a stick pin.  Finally, I "popped" the elegant Victorian woman, which I tinted with Zig Brushables and fussy cut.  I am entering my card in the Frilly and Funkie Challenge at
http://frillyandfunkie.blogspot.com/2013/08/my-steamer-trunk.html                                      

     Once again, thank you for stopping by and I hope everyone enjoys their visit.  Comments are also greatly appreciated. 
        

CARNIVAL OR CIRCUS?  BOTH ARE FUN!

     Labor Day will soon be here and once again the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will be appearing in our area over the long Labor Day weekend.  The best part is that we are going!  The theme this year is "Dragons", so there should be some wonderful costumes as well as performances.  When I saw that the theme for the Simon Says Monday Challenge was "Carnival" I decided to do a "Circus" tag, as I think they both have a lot in common and I remembered that I had a beautiful piece of 9" x 9" circus paper by Tim Holtz from 2005 in my stash. 
     I selected a #10 kraft tag for my base and decided to stencil the background with a Wendy Vecchi diamond shape stencil using black Memento Ink.  Next, I cut apart the circus paper, selecting different images to tape to my tag.  Finally, I used the Tim Holtz/Sizzix die to cut a rosette from black Kraft-Core paper.  After assembling the rosette, I attached it to the tag for a nice finishing touch!  This was a really fast and fun tag to make. 
     I am entering this tag in the "Carnival" Challenge and I hope you enjoy it.  Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comments.
     http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/

"BY THE SEASIDE"

     Finally, I'm back to playing with some of my favorite things and have created an entry for the current Frilly and Funkie Challenge, "By the Seaside".  While I don't live by the sea, I do live just a couple of miles from the mighty Mississippi River and in fact, was out on the river last week for a ride on the Channel Cat Water Taxi, with my husband and a few other people who decided to enjoy the beautiful summer day by cruising the river.  The ride touches the shores of both Iowa and Illinois and provides great views as well as the opportunity to board and depart at four different places.  Now, on to my project!
     To begin with, I cut a piece of watercolor paper approx. 5" x 7" and colored it with Tim Holtz Distress Inks using pieces of artist sponge.  The sky is colored with Stormy Sky, Weathered Wood, and Milled Lavender; the sea is Bundled Sage and Stormy Sky; the cliff is Pumice Stone and Black Soot; the sand is Frayed Burlap which I then covered with Embossing ink and embossed using a mixture of Vintage Photo and Old Paper Distress Embossing Powder to give it the look and feel of actual sand.  I used two of my new Tim Holtz stencils, Burlap and Splatter to give some texture to the sea and the cliff.
     I fussy cut the image of the boy from a copy of a vintage post card I found at the Graphics Fairy and "popped" him with one foot behind an added layer of sand to give the appearance of dimension.  Lastly, I added an assortment of small seashells and a one inch bottle with a message in it.
      I have entered this project in the  Frilly and Funky Challenge.
          http://frillyandfunkie.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/by-seaside.html

Thanks for stopping by -- your comments are always appreciated.

                                                                                                

CREATIVITY ON HIATUS . . .

     I think my creativity went out the door along with my 35 yr. old harvest gold refrigerator and range, as I haven't created anything since then.  The refrigerator died July 27 (something we didn't realize until the next morning) and since it had lived for double it's normal life expectancy, it was time to replace it.  Since the range was just as old and the microwave part hadn't worked for years, I decided we should replace it too.  Well, as I already knew, they don't make them like they used to and since we needed next day delivery, I made some fast decisions.  I went "modern" with a glass top range and we now have a much bigger refrigerator with a "bottom" freezer which doesn't hold as much as our older top freezer.  And they are now "white".  After reading all of the instructions for using the glass top range, I found that some of my favorite pans (glass) were not to be used.  Now I also have beautiful new Circulon pans, including a new roasting pan!  I guess we're never too old to start over!  
     There are a couple of Challenges I want to enter and I have some new Tim Holtz stencils I can't wait to use, so I guess I'd better pack up my old pots and pans and get them to the Salvation Army.  Maybe then my creativity will return!