Little Matchbox Ladies for Christmas

 

 

I'm an idea junkie.  And there are so many many great craft ideas out there.  I was flitting between a couple possibilities when Arlene at http://butterflykisseswithlove.blogspot.com/ did a quick tutorial using a Graphic 45 small matchbox and G45 papers.  I knew it was just the thing for Mom and Sis for Christmas.  I ordered the matchboxes and G45 Staples drawer pulls from eBay.  Then the stuff just sat on my work table, making me feel guilty.  

 I watched Arlene's YouTube tutorial a number of times to get myself schooled on the basics so I wouldn't mess us.  Finally, I pulled out my acrylic paints and Lindy Stamp Gang sprays and got the boxes prepped.  Then I measured, cut, measured and cut again, inked and glued down the background papers...all G45, of course.  This measuring task was not easy for me; I don't think I got a single element cut to fit the first time; after getting all pieces for the first matchbox cut to size, I used them as a template for the 2nd box; just in case I make another one, I made a template of all the pieces so I never need to measure again! 

 I chose the Cabinet of Curiosities with a raven focal point for Sis.  I thought she would identify with that tired lady with a key in her back, like a wind up doll.  Many the day I feel like that, with unending chores (to all you Mom's out there...I DO NOT KNOW HOW YOU DO IT!).  For Mom I went with the  Boardwalk  collection.  We moved to a beach community in CA when I was 5 years old; we spent lots of days at the beach. 

On both boxes I added a clip-on earring that came from my Gramma's tangle of costume jewelry.  I think Mom and Sis will appreciate that.  Merry Christmas. 

Add a Bit of Sparkle - Done

 I could not get it together enough to make individual cards for the family members we give cash to.  I suppose even giving cash shows a lack of effort.  However my ideas diverge from those on my Christmas list.  For example; my idea of a perfect gift for my 15 year old great nephew is a cool/edgy jacket.  His idea, based on the hint he texted me, is a stuffed Pokemon figure.  Cash works.  This year I rallied to buy a box of inexpensive cards from Target.  The ol' brain started pondering how to goose them up.  My family has become accustomed to my hand made cards, after all. 

 I punched out 30 stars from glitter paper and glued 2 together so each side would be sparkly.  Set aside to dry.  Note:  my favorite glue is Crafter's Pick Ultimate.  This stuff sticks and dries clear.  Recommended by Karla Nathan and my gift to you is to pass it on.  Another tip is to store it upside down in a small glass so that the glue is ready to go for your next use.  I also spritz the twist top with a bit of water and wipe clean after each session.

I needed to make 10 cards so I made stars for half and glittered some of the stockings for the other half.  I used Glossy Accents for the glue here because it has the fine tip bottle.  That silver glitter in the background is from Lee Wards, which has been out of business for maybe 20 years!! 

Back to the stars.  I punched a tiny hole in each star, threaded through a bit of string, tied it off.  (fiddly alert)  Repeat that 15 times so that each grouping of 3 stars had graduated lengths.  I affixed them to the card by wrapping the 3 strands of string around a brad punched into the card front. 

Lastly, I stamped a Christmasy image on each envelope.  Oh, yes, those are Tim's stamps.  That red chalk ink is a nice soft color and dries immediately.  Add cash and we are good to go. 

And Again

My "output" is kinda pathetic right now.  I seem to be busy making lists, a bit of deep cleaning, the usual chores and some desperation dinners.  My spirit meter is stuck in blah.  Not much time to get up to the studio, or motivation, really.  'Cause if I want to craft...nothing takes priority except the horses.  Today I remembered to take a Vit D pill, AND we had a moment of the clouds breaking open to let some sun in.  As cold as it is, I actually put on a coat, grabbed my afternoon coffee to sit in the sun for my 10 minute dose of Vitamin D.  And, coincidence?; my mood lifted.  Still in the groove for poinsettias, I made this card for Mom.  Then I stalled before I could personalize a greeting.  After moving the card and envelope between my studio and the mail stack, wanted to do better, I just mailed the darn thing.  Back to my list making... 

Poinsettias

My crafting mojo has the holiday blues.  I actually sat in my studio and just swiveled in my chair for a while...no inspiration at all.  Yet, I wanted to make a card for Ellen; I wanted to use lots of color; and I decided a couple days ago that I just MUST HAVE POINSETTIAS.  No time to order Tim's die, no faux blossoms at Pier One, none in Mom's stash...what to do?  Make the darn things myself.  I dry embossed some red paper for a little texture, using Tim's damask embossing folder.  Then just free handed the flower petals and leaves.  I used the detritus from a paper hole punch for the center thingys with a few dots of red Stickles.  The 3-fold card idea I got here http://annettescreativejourney.blogspot.com/2012/12/december-cards-more-projects.html.  I thought it was perfect for my poinsettia obsession.  And that's all I've got.  Whew, blues, indeed. 

ALTERing

I am in process of altering some G45 small matchboxes for Christmas gifts.  The hard part is cutting all of the pieces to cover the box; then inking them; then gluing them.  After that, the fun starts with the froo-frooing of the box.  I took a break from that to alter a couple of ATC's I recently made.  I pressed one into service for a greeting card, and the other as part of a tag for my 2012 weekly tag journal.  I also plan to alter two greeting cards that were given to me,.  Those are in the middle of this pic.  The vintage rose/sailboat image is so romantic and gorgeous.  The cat tucked into a fur muff is just too adorable, if you love cats.  I'm squeezing in some housecleaning chores between crafting sessions.  Ugh.  I'd rather be altering. 

Short Cut to Merry

 I'm not putting up my Christmas tree this year due to my kittens; they would be in the tree top in a nano-second.  I love my kittens, so this doesn't feel like a sacrifice.  However, it does NOT look like Christmas around here. I have taken a risk and hung wee glass balls on my table top tinsel tree.  There is a can of compressed air lurking behind should a kitten even eyeball the tree.   I added a string of battery operated lights on this tree, so it does add a bit of festivity to the kitchen. 

 On my kitchen table I grouped some of my old glassware, tucking in vintage glass balls.  So far the cats have no interest in this, I guess because nothing moves. 

I also filled up my 3 glass hurricane jars that sit on the shelf over the TV in our family room.  Most of these ornaments are old, too.  Oh, that ornament tree?  That was a purchase last year from Mrs. Bingle, who sells on eBay.  It is a wonderful piece, as are all of her trees.  So, that's it.  No wreath.  No poinsettia. Even my baking is a short cut.  With all the great recipes for holiday baking out there? HA!  Today I used 1/2 of a spice cake mix to make a 1 layer cake, with some cream cheese/apricot jam glaze. It is too homely to show to you, my friends.  For me, this year, it's all about a very quick short cut to Merry.  

Catalog Trippin'

 

The catalogs are comin' fast and furious.  Each morning I sit down with my coffee and browse through the new ones that interest me.  MacKenzie-Childs is always a pleasure to look through, and dream about someday decorating a room with their furniture and object.  Or I could decorate my barn. 

 At Christmas they pull out all the stops and create magnificent holiday decor.  With magnificent prices to match.  I am always stopped in my tracks by the prices.  The stuff is fab, but it's almost all imported and, I'm sorry, but you know that equates to cheap labor. 

 Aren't these frosty mansions gorgeous?  What a centerpiece one would make.

 Next I open the Williams-Sonoma catalog.  Oh, my.  Their products are always high quality and beautiful.  When I lived in CA there was both a Williams-Sonoma AND a MacKenzie-Childs store at the mall adjacent to Stanford University.  I would go to that mall, an hour from my home, at least once a year to window shop.  I do miss it. 

 Williams-Sonoma has such a style to their catalogs.  They make cookware look sexy.  They also sell all sorts of baked goods and treats.  These tarts captured my attention. 

 As did this tower of chocolate.  I actually think for a few minutes that purchasing the food is a good idea...I mean it looks so delicious.  Then I look at the prices, plus the overnight shipping, and add this catalog to the recycle bin. 

Ah, Restoration Hardware.  I think it and Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn are somehow related because they all have such a flair for design and marketing.  This resin antler wreath took my breath.  But, no, it won't be on my Christmas list either.  I can't help but be reminded everyday of people who are struggling to buy food, utilities, and a roof.  People close to me.  That keeps it real. 

Occasionally...

 Occasionally I have an original idea for my paper fun.  At the VERY LAST MINUTE I signed up for artjoystuff's Oh Holy Night ATC swap.  Since I was mailing my 1 = 1 ATC to her, I thought, heck, I'll just make 3 more ATC's, in an a couple hours, and mail them all.  Ha.  HaHa.  HaHaHa.  While I often am influenced by steal another artist's product, these just came together from my own foggy head. 

As luck would have it, the crackle glass Stickles didn't dry in time for the mail, but later that night I wrapped up the package so it would be all ready to go today.  Yet...I could not stop that niggling tug at my brain that the ATC's just weren't good enough to exchange with people I don't know (Ha again).  What to do?  What to do!  Immediately upon awakening (well, maybe after a few sips of cafe'), I opened the package and removed the cards.  Up to the studio we went.  I was prepared to start over but also had an idea to just add a bit of fluff.  And fluffing was enough to satisfy me.  (fluffing consisted of adding the wee flowers and holly leaves)  

While I was thus engaged, and heck the horses were fed and hubby still in bed, why not finish the ballerina tag I started yesterday.  This is not really my original design.  I've seen a couple lovely tags using this delicious Graphic 45 paper so I had those in mind while this came together.  A little some'pn some'pn for Mom. 

Midnight Serendipity

Midnight Tuesday morning (just barely Tuesday morning but awake I am); surfing some favorite blogs from my iPad. I landed on http://artjoystuff.blogspot.com/ to see Kimberley's new post for her weekly ATC exchange. Shocking to me is that I won the "lottery" to exchange an ATC with her because I was the first visitor to comment. It was that easy. I guess most of her fans were sleeping. Above is the precious ATC she was offering up as swap bait. I loved it, as I do all of her work, and was thrilled to be able to claim it as mine. Uh, but that meant I had to get my game on and create something nice for Kimberley. 

 

I hadn't made an ATC for over a year.  And I really didn't have an idea in mind.  So I just started poking around my worktable to see what was in the holding area (didn't use but really like and don't want to put back in drawer).  I guess I was still on a playing card groove because I reached for a tarot card (fox) and the vintage French card (lady and gent).  Then I shuffled around in my stash of old die cuts to select a couple of vintage silhouettes.  I also wanted to use my new dry embossing mats along with the Marianne Creatable candlestick die I got recently.  So, with a dib of this and a dab of that, I had 3 ATC's done. Now I had a choice to make.  Eeeek. 



 

Instead of me choosing, I invited Kimberley to select her preference; Mr. Fox is on the way to her. 

Yes, Ma'am!

One of the blogs I check-out is Flying Unicorn.  The other night they had a tutorial on how to make 2 cards in one hour.  They were really cute, vintage Christmas cards that inspired me to give it a go.  First thing I did was grab my iPad for viewing the tutorial as I went along, and to listen to Spotify for background music.   My kitten Rainy Day followed and assumed her spot in a corner of my worktable (upper left).  Here is Alda's blog post if you want to follow along.   http://flyingunicornllc.blogspot.com/2012/11/double-cards-tutorial.html

Whew, once I got the work table mess cleared up, I selected some papers from Graphic 45 and began to cut out the panels and center focal point image.  The instructions were very explicit to cut a round or oval shape for the center image...to not leave it square so as to provide contrast to the rest of the layers.  And I totally agree...but I couldn't bear to cut away parts of these G45 Steampunk Debutante divas. 

The tutorial was well done, even a bit bossy! which made me chuckle.  I did make 2 cards, and much of it was complete in one hour, but I took a break before adding the final embellishments.  You just can't go wrong with G45 papers. 

Start With A Deck of Cards

It all started with a deck of playing cards, and Graphic 45's blog.  One of their fab artists turned a few playing cards into a handy Christmas gift receipt organizer.   I used a playing card sandwiched between 2 sheets of Tim's Seasonal papers, just to follow along with the technique, but really the card isn't necessary.  I sized my papers a bit larger than the playing card because I just wanted more area to work with. 

 In the inspiration example, on the right side of the card, she put a little lined tag to write down gift ideas for each person on her list.  Then she used a little pocket for receipts on the left side of the organizer.  I used both pockets and belly bands to tuck receipts into.  I don't have many people to buy for, so I didn't feel the need for gift ideas. 

I used a binder ring to hold the thing together,  with hole reinforcers to give some weight to the punched holes. I didn't go extravagant with embellishment , because this is a utilitarian piece...but still I had a bit of paper, scissor, glue fun. 

A Day

My 64th Thanksgiving is come and gone.  I found myself at the point of a teary meltdown...was it before or just after we ate?...I can't recall.  I was considering the mountain of work still to be done, with so many hours of effort behind me and it just felt like I couldn't go on.  Then, I took a breath and looked around me; at my family, all engaged in conversation, happy, warm, well fed, together.  A perfect moment in a perfectly blessed day. 

Some Favorite Things

A couple days ago I came across a design that just filled my head.  I actually thought I had dreamed the design, because I could not recall where I had seen it and so I deluded myself into thinking maybe I had created it in my dreams...as unlikely as that was.  It featured the newish Tim Holtz silhouette die, and a piece of plastic for a "dome".  My version uses these elements, coupled with Tim's Floral Garland strip die and some paper from that French dictionary I just bought, mounted on a Tim diecut.  The artist who REALLY created the design that inspired me is  www.digthatcrazychick.blogspot.com.  Check her out! 

Random

 

 

Yesterday I took some time to play with new Marianne Creatable Die/Emboss patterns.  As I'm spending a goodly amount of time watching Clare Charvill's Youtube channel, I can't help but want some of the lovely embellishments she uses.   eBay to the rescue.  What I hoped to achieve was the dry emboss technique.  And so it was that yesterday in the laboratory I toiled with this, that and the other thing trying to emboss with the little steel dies.  Not.  Cutting I can do, and you will see that these leafy designs do cut nicely.  (the black swirly things above).  Last evening, after making a mess at my work table, with little to show for it, I turned off the lights and shut the door. 

During the night my thoughts kept going back to embossing; including a 2 a.m. perusal of Youtube tutorials on how to use my Big Shot for such things.  There is no workaround; I had to purchase 2 special embossing pads.  Again, thank you eBay.  Still, the itch to take scissors and glue to paper was with me this morning so I made some use of the scraps and such that were still littering my table. 

Too Good To Cut

 Do you ever see something and just have to have it?  I know...too often.  Stay with me.  Recently a food blog I follow by David Lebovitz posted pics from an old French dictionary.  This was the page that started it all.  

 The colored "plates" blew me away and the hunt was on.  I found a good selection of individual pages, plus the more rare volume, on etsy.  I think the vintage French "Dictionary" is really what we in the U.S. call an encyclopedia because there are multiple volumes to a set.  And each volume was quite expensive. 

 Letting my fingers fly over Google, etsy and eBay, I narrowed down my search to "vintage LaRousse" and ultimately "Nouveau Universel".  There was one nice 2 volume set on etsy for $100.  Still, I Googled on. 

While there are many colored plates, mostly there are thousands of pages of definitions with illustrations on every page. 

Amazon.com had 2 sellers with copies of this edition from 1949.  For $25.  I chose the seller who was closest to me, expecting a slow arrival, and expecting the volumes to be in poor repair.  Because, after all, I planned to cut up the pages to use in my paper crafting.   

Well, ahem, the books arrived in a blink, and they are in excellent condition.  Too good to cut?!  Yes, I know I could scan the pages and make photocopies, but I much prefer to use original ephemera.  So, I, gulp, think I will cut, certainly the black/white pages. 

Fall Back Extra Hour

I DO NOT LIKE losing daylight when we turn back the clocks to end day-light-savings time.  Maybe because it shortens the time my horses are turned out to their large pastures, or maybe it's just because 4 pm is too darn early for pitch black!!!  (deep breath).  OK, so last night I decided to use the extra hour I gained with the "fall back" to craft; a bonus crafting hour.  I headed up to the studio right after coffee and feeding the horses, before breakfast.  I cannot get enough of this Graphic 45 "Curtain Call" collection; I even used one of the patterns for the die-cut flowers and leaves.  I decided to make 2 more circle easel cards.  All 3 will go out in tomorrow's mail to special friends.  Even though I'm thinking seriously about launching into a Christmas theme, I think I want to make something with "BirdSong".  I waited so long for those papers to hit the store, then I've hardly used it. 

Tim's November Tag

Here is my version of Tim's November tag.  I know I'm in good company, anticipating the click over to each calendar month 'cause that means a new tag from Tim.  What would we do without him?!  As is often the case, I don't have the materials Tim uses, but I have plenty of Tim stuff that works just fine.  Here I used his papers and three of his dies; flower garland, festive greenery and the bell jar, which I just had to use again.  THANK YOU TIM.

Circle Easel Card

 I have been immobile for a couple days due to a muscle strain in my back.  Today I am up and around and fit for crafting...after some triage vacuuming.  I just found tutorials for Circle Easel Cards on YouTube; that was just the thing for today's brief craft session.  I decided to use Graphic 45's Curtain Call collection, an older pattern that I just purchased from ScrappyJack on eBay.  I traced the circles from a template and hand cut the pieces, first from brown cardstock, then from the G45 papers. 

 I needed to watch the tutorial closely to see how the easel was formed.  It is a simple concept but sometimes my brain needs extra TLC.  After bringing out some purchased flowers and leaves, I decided to cut my own using my new Tim "Floral Garland" strip die, along with flourishes from Spellbinders.  I added a bit of sparkle with Platinum Stickles and a jet rhinestone.  Everything was inked with Distress Black Soot. 

I want to comment on dies.  Tim's dies are an investment, but they work.  I wanted a flourish die and opted for this Spellbinders design because it was inexpensive.  However, I am frustrated every time I use is (fairly often); the die just does not effectively cut a clean pattern...even though I now run it through my Big Shot forewords and backwards for a double whammy.  Guess I'll be shopping for another Tim die. 

Halloween

This is the best I can do.  I'm laid up with a muscle strain in my back.  Which sounds way too wimpy for the pain that feels like a scalpel is lodged in my lower back.  This too shall pass.  Candy Corn, please.