ARTIST TRADING BLOCK, BD GIFT FOR MY SWEET SIS MARTHA.

Hello my Lovelies, first I must apologize for not visiting, when I do get a bit of time, I have been at my desk, escaping the real world, it's the therapy I need right now, so thanks for stopping by to visit me.

The wonderful Miss Alison at Words and Pictures  made a block using beer mats, I was so excited, I have been wanting to make one for a long time so now I could with no die cuts.. Thanks Miss Alison.. 

 I started out by gessoing all the beer mats, stamping on them, I didn't like how that looked so these became the inside and I started again. Miss Lynne at Adorn made a gorgeous triptych with meadow flowers and corrugated, so I cut up some cardboard peeled it them went lightly over it gesso. I stamped the meadow flowers on canvas and added that on top. The lid I used some gessoed dictionary pages I had used for stamping the stamps a second time, not wanting to waste the ink.

 I used a glass bead with the letter M for my DS Martha and a piece of rusted material for the tab to lift the lid..

 I made a flower out of crocheted tea dyed pieces and a button for the middle and made a butterfly with lace, a bead for the head and a string of diamonds for the body, added a stick pin to it. I used Tim's tea dye to color the edge of the wings.

 I stamped up some card with gathered twigs to join it and on the inside of the lid

 I added a tea stained roses, I cut up some gorgeous ribbon my friend Tonniece gave me to add the dangly bits and some beads

 I added some of the stamped card to join the lid to the box.

 I used some tiny thread spools for the legs...

Thanks again for stopping by..
Update on Deb, the first round of chemo didn't take so they are starting her on another round this week, not sure when I will get around to visit, but know your in my thoughts and heart.
I wish you all a wonderful week,  ((( BIG HUGS )))..

                                         NAMASTE!!!

SOME LOVE ALL THE WAY FROM ITALY..

Hello my Lovelies, I got some love mail in the post from Miss Gio the Queen of recycling Here she is a designer for the Craft barn and makes gorgeous projects from recycled material and a lot of other wonderful creations and she inspires me greatly, thanks my dear friend for the big hug from Italy..

She sent me a gorgeous framed creation, a beautiful card, some fantastic  Italian dictionary pages which I can't wait to use, some dress makers pattern in Italian a beautiful domino piece, I've have a set of them waiting to be done, just need some alcohol ink..

Look at all the texture and colors fabulous work, she is a wiz at fussy cutting....

The gorgeous card....

The fabulous domino decorated on both side, isn't it beautiful..

Those lovely dictionary pages...

Thanks so much for stopping by my nest so I could share the love I got in the mail.. I'm working on a couple of gifts for BD in May and will post them soon..
Our Deb is doing okay, she has to get worse before she gets better.
Thanks you all for your support, it means the world to me, I'll visit when I get any extra time, your in my thoughts and heart...
                                       ((( BIG HUGS )))

                                            NAMASTE !!!

A FEW QUICK CARDS

Hello my Lovelies, I haven't been at my desk since last weekend,

when I made up a few quick and easy cards all from scraps.

Last week one of the sweet Ladies from water fit gave me a whole bag full of crafting goodies, ribbons, netting, threads for card embroidery, with a book full of samples, a parchment embossing set, blank card and envelope to make your own cards. She was so generous, I thought I would thank her by making some  all occasion cards with one of the packages. When I had time on the weekend I sat at my desk going through my 2 boxes full of scraps and made 15 cards, I didn't even need to use card sketches on google images :), first time just made them....

There would have been too many photos if I posted them individually.

I used paper scraps and  Tim's inks to match the scrap pieces, stamped the sentiments, embellishments, easy peasy...

I haven't had any inspiration all week to even get to my desk, so I'm flying around today to visit, been missing those :( ... I know I'll be full of inspiration after visiting you wonderful creative Ladies , you always do ^-^...

Our Deb is doing as well as can be expected, she has gotten an infection while in the hospital so she in in ICU now, thanks for all your support it fill my heart with love..... I'm flying off to visit, wishing you a wonderful  Easter weekend full of love,laughs, with your family and friends... ((( BIG HUGS))) .....

                                          NAMASTE!!!

DREAMING WITH THE DRAGONS.....

Hello My lovelies, I've been at my desk doing therapy, chilling, dreaming with the dragons, the challenge Miss May choose blue and the letter S, Like my Magpie Cuz, Miss Julie Ann, I immediately thought of water, must be a Bird thing:) and the beautiful Sirens...  

The ocean is a beautiful combinations of blues with hints of green, that's how I created the background, I stenciled a frame on the top with golden's paste inked blue and green and Inca gold  to accent it, I created some bubbles with watered down white paint, stamped the letters in them.

Glued the letter S under a green bead, don't have any blue ones, I trimed

I stamped the beautiful Siren on tissue, even got out my copic's and colored her, used blue and gold stickles and a white sharpie for the pearls, edged the tag with a gold ink pen..

I used seaweed ( fancy wool ) to hang it....

Creating for me relieves my stress, this is just what the doc ordered, I enjoyed dreaming with the Dragons, here, have a look to see what all the wonderful designers made, it is sure to inspire you, hope you can dream too...
Thanks so much for visiting my nest.. Hope to get a bit of time to visit over the weekend, your in my thoughts and heart....
                                    ((( BIG HUGS )))

APRIL'S TAG

Hello My Lovelies, thanks for all your loving you've left me, it does this old heart gooooood..

I went to dinner yesterday with my DS Martha's daughter BD, her daughter arrange it all where she works and took care of the whole thing her treat, it was a wonderful get together, Martha is the oldest and the sweetest of the bunch of us of 7 sisters...

It was Aprils BD tag, so it'n not Tim's April tag :), so I used one of my tag and holder I have to make it, Aprils living room is a gorgeous orange, so I went with the gorgeous paper I have, which I don't use often,  by Recollections, Steampunk Botanica,, I love the red an oranges together.. I have 4 sides to show so there are a lot of photo's..I made this with some big love, making a keepsake for her..

 I cut the paper to fit the tag holder on both side, you can see the difference on a larger setting, I sanded all the edges, and across the page lightly. I used  Tim's broken twigs on the edge and rusty hinge inside, I ripped out April from a calender edges it with broken twig,

 I stamped the verse from my new stamp set, on some paper I painted years ago, it's home made paper from a journal I took apart.
I just found it and will be using it a lot, it has a lovely texture and some of the pages are painted... the chip board vine I just got my last shopping spree, I used a gold leaf pen to go around the sides of the tags and embellishments..

 I cut out her name from my slang dictionary used a green glass bead to accent it, thanks Miss Alison, I finally got to use one...

                                   The back side, I made a little tag to go with is, I forgot to take any close up of them, lucky for you....
The one side is a tag I had sitting around, colors and stamps matched, kool, the other side is that same journal paper, painted, I stamped the verse on it then cut it to fit the back of the tag..

 I stamped another verse from my new set, on the same paper, added some tea dyed lace. The 2 chip board dragon flags came with the vine set, it's a Mom and daughter :). I glued some lace on their wings, and gold leaf pen, some tea dyed trim.

 I cover both sides of the tag with paper from, Recollections Floral Foligie, cover them with watered down gesso, stamped a beautiful  verse from my new set, love the set, thanks PaperArtsy, stamped  a leaf  and butterflies,edged it in broken twig and gold leaf pen, I used some orange gauze, 2 different twine, a strip of my rusted material, to tie it up, I used some of my new deep red, From the heart ribbon to tie the small tag, to it..

 This is the special side. After gessoing it stamped memories in rusty hinge all over the tag,I got 3 old  photo of her Mom, sweet Martha, tore them around then edged them in Tim's Tea dye glued them down then stamped love beside each one, edged it with broken twig and gold leaf pen

 This is Martha when she was around a year, I think that is my Dads shadow, kool.. Martha  was such a doll, my youngest sister Sandy looked exactly like her, amazing..

 Martha on her Confirmation, we were raised Catholic, love her outfit...                                    

This is Martha and my sister Jean the second oldest, they were raised in Northern Ont, they went to my Grandmother cottage all summer, caught a lot of fish for dinner, I ripped out my uncle holding the rest of the fish on the line, they lived on what they caught in the French River, life was very different then...

Creating this brought back so many memories back, how important family is, and with what happening, that has been brought home too clearly, I hope April treasures it as much as I had making it...

                         April and her Mom and Dad, I asked Martha to smile, nice look :O)..

 April , her daughter, Kayla and her gorgeous grandson Ezekhi ( Ezasky), four generations, he kept us entertained the whole time what a sweety..

Thanks so much for visiting my nest and letting my share with you, not sure when I'll be back, until then I'll be seeing all your FANTASTIC  creations in my mail and will pop in to visit when I can..
                                    ((( BIG HUGS)))..
                                             
                                          NAMASTE!!!
                                         

WREATH....

I write this post with a heavy heart,  one of my special sisters Deb, a strong beautiful woman has been diagnosed with leukemia. I will be MIA most of the time, she is having therapy  for the next month, the hospital is only a few blocks away so I'll be able to visit,when she feels up to it......

My wreath is finished, photos aren't great, I had no where to hang it in the sunshine,it's hanging on my bathroom wall....

I asked my friend what her house looked like, Brick, 2 tone red and brown, brown trim, a white door, after I striped it down to the straw ring, I cut up a white tyevek, (overalls) into long stripes and wrapped it all around, I folded and wrapped some gold and dark purple plastic netting, it comes in a big roll.

 I always start by adding some long things :), I have picked these on some drives in the country side to get them, bull rushes, burrs, long grasses, they are plastic.

 I shaped the netting into a tube like shape. anise seed pods, love their shape, like tiny flowers, big poppy pod, ah then the gorgeous cockscomb, a friend gave me, I used gesso to add accents on the seed, pods, and pine cones..

A large dried mushroom, dried leaf, curly bits, you can buy big bags of these with different scents, make the wreath smell good for a while..

When I was in England my DS and I went to a Botanical Garden in Cambridge, on the ground these huge pine cones had fallen off the tree, I had never seen cones this big, so I picked some beautiful huge pine cones to take home, I cut a big  pine cone down to look like a flower, a deep dark red seed pod

 A couple of small dried apples, tried to make them look like a flower, the huge pine leafs, only one milk pod, I've picked a few bags of those, they make beautiful wings for fairies,

I absolutely loooooved making this wreath, it's the kind of wreath I would hang on my doors if I had a house and a door to hang it on :O). I feel happier sharing my creation with you, which gave me lots of joy to create, thanks for stopping by my nest.. I making a tag for my Niece, her daughter is having the family for dinner at a restaurant, it will be wonderful to see my other sisters, it seems we don't do it often enough for me.. I'll be around when I can and hope to chill out a bit at my desk, I'll need to do that, it soothes my soul...
                                  ((( BIG HUGS )))

                                       NAMASTE !!!

WOYWW? WEEK 252..

Hello my Lovelies, Wednesday  again, my favorite day, grab a cuppa and join us at Miss Julia, the hostess with the mostess for buckets full of inspiration here.. 

                                    My desk is all full up...

 I took a few piece of mixed media paper, cut them into tags, I applied gesso to two of them and stuck them together, then peeled them apart, Miss Alison from Words and Pictures did this and got some gorgeous patterns on it.

 I just started to ink these ones with Tim's inks..

 The one on the right is just inks, the other was first swirled in Tim's paints then inked on top, then I dropped water all over them..

I then went lightly over it with Inca Gold..

 My new stamps I won from Paper Arts for my mask I entered, there are so many beautiful stamp sets to pick from I thought I would get the most use of this set, for background and lots of great sentiments, I can't wait to use them...

This is my the project I'm working on, a friend asked me to revamp her wreath. I've taking it right to the bare ring and will start again, all those pine cones were stuck in there with strong, long wire, yikes my hands were killing me by the time I pulled them off, I could only save a few, I washed them, they closed back up, so I put them in the oven at 250 degrees, sprinkled some cinnamon on them to make them smell nice.I left them in for about an hour they are all open and smell great... Sorry so much for short and sweet post, not an easy thing for this chatty magpie to do :O) ....
Thanks so much for stopping by my nest, I'll be snooping around later today, and will gladly visit anyone who stops by..
Have a wonderful day.... ((( BIG HUGS)))...

                                           NAMASTE !!!