Mystery Solved

Or maybe I should say, a couple of mysteries solved!

I've been MIA from my blog.  First on a road trip, now because of family home for Thanksgiving--a week long reunion here.  I'll do my best to catch up on some art and visiting my cyberfriends' blogs when there's a little down time around here.  

A while back I was in a Red Lead Sisters Swap for Halloween Postcard Tags.  It was a long time coming, but my swapped out tags mysteriously showed up today.  How appropriate for Thanksgiving week, as I'm very thankful this wonderful art wasn't lost.  First I'll show you what I made for the swap.  This one I saved for this post:

I used the same Red Lead stamp set for all three tags.  For this one, I also used some G45 Alice papers and Maya Road ribbon.

These are the two that I previously posted:

And today here's what I received from my swap sisters:

Isn't their work amazing? Now you know why I was anxious to get these delivered in the mail! Thanks Carolyn, Dottee, and Jackie!

For participating in the swap, we also got from Chris and Sharon a set of post mark stamps, including a St. Louis Red Lead one. What fun!

The Joy of a Good Book

Thanks so much to the Tuesday Taggers group for asking me to be the guest artist on their site today !!!!!!!
They like to call me Helena over there.  But you know it's me, 2amscrapper.

This also is my first project using the debut stamp plate, Relish Reading, just issued by Rogue Redhead Designs, LLC. I dusted off my Copic markers to color the image and coupled it with some of the BasicGray papers in the Eskimo Kisses Paper Pad.   After cutting the image in order to turn the chair into a rocker, I used dimensional foam dots to place it on top of my wood floor created with  Spellbinders scalloped oval Nestabilities.

My little scene fulfills Tuesday Taggers' theme for a project featuring the word joy. There's nothing like the joy of curling up with a good book, in a comfy chair, on a cold winter's day!  Won't you join in the challenge? You have until midnight next Monday to link your project here: Tuesday Taggers.

I'm also entering this project in the Lots To Do challenge to create anything with the theme friends/friendship.
A good book is the best of friends.  ---English Proverb
You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.  ---Paul Sweeney

This also qualifies for Simon Says Stamp and Show because this week we're showing whatever makes us happy. What makes me happy is getting to play with a brand new rubber stamp that I just had to have!!!

Card entered in the Card Challenge offered by DT Marie at Pages In Time.  Challenge runs Nov. 15-Dec. 15 so join us at PIT!!!!!

Veterans Day

I was inspired to make this layout after dh and I attended the special Veterans' Day observance at our local War Memorial.

My hubby, a Navy veteran, touring the Battleship Wisconsin during our recent road trip out East.
I used the Nov. 11 Pages In Time Thursday sketch turned sideways.

The base is Tim Holtz pp covered with Karen Foster Navy paper cut for a pocket to hold the brochures. The BB64 is Tim Holtz grungeboard alphas unadorned in battleship gray. Found a large chipboard W which I distressed with Pearl Adirondack Paint Dabber, fired brick and mustard seed Ranger distress inks, and stamped stars on top with weathered wood Ranger distress ink. Some Jenni Bowlin products: BINGO card, tickets, and top right corner: the Wisconsin earned six battle stars.


My hubby's parents during WWII.
(all Jenni Bowlin products)

Sewing Notions for Two Challenges

Here's my Ginger Design Team sample for this Wednesday's Gingersnap Creations Spicy Supply Challenge.  In keeping with November's fashionable theme, today is all about SEWING NOTIONS.  I hope you have a notion to enter the challenge.  More details here: GC78

She's Amazing:
I'm also entering this layout in Sandy's Challenge #1  She posted some domestic diva frames that are similar to my banner that I made a while back.  I love this vintage style and it's perfect for this layout.  All four frames inspired me but I have to state which one specifically.  The blue and red colors are from Domestic Bliss but I went with Home Girl's sentiment, She made it look easy, because my babcia made sewing garments look so easy!

Another challenge to enter: November Creative Spirit Challenge.  I really can't think of anything more creative than my grandma's sewing abilities.  

I chose this photo of my mom with her mom which I printed on cloth paper.  My grandma (babcia) was a seamstress.  The button on the top left corner is from her fragile collection (lots of shards on the bottom of the bag because the buttons are disintegrating).  My mom told me that she and her sisters would take their mom to a clothing store and show her a dress in the window that they liked.  My grandma would return home and sew it from scratch.

Years later, babcia would sew pleated wool skirts for my sister and me.  I have a small photo of us wearing those skirts under the fragment distressed with alcohol inks.  (I attempted Tim Holtz's tinted vision fragment technique.)  The photo wasn't very good, so I altered it in PSE7 using the canvas filter.  It's tucked under the flower so here's a close-up:

Some of the other materials I used:
patterned papers:
Crate Paper Restoration Collection: slipcover;
Fancy Pants Designs: Patterns: Simplicity by nancie rowe-janitz
g.c.d. studios MeLODY RoSS Homespun Chic Collection: Vintage Jane (both sides; plus vintage models fussy cut from a second sheet and layered on top)

antique button card purchased at auction: LuckyDay
Dress It Up: A Stitch In Time (sewing embellishments)
Anna Griffin Elegant Embellishments: Dorothy Rub On Art (title: She's Amazing)
antique red seam binding
Tim Holtz idea-ology fragment and snaps
Dolgencorp Perfect Harvest decorative garland: red flower

Pages In Time Swaps

As a Design Team member at Pages In Time, I moderate a group, Tags and Things.  We're a very active group with lots of swaps.  In the group, we talk about our art, share techniques, and give each other feedback about our projects.

Our vintage bookmark mingle just closed.  We each made two bookmarks to exchange.  Here's the bookmark I made:

Here are the two beautiful bookmarks I received in return:

I also hosted a Fall Fantasy ATC Swap for the Tags and Things group. Members had a choice of making 3 ATCs using one of these themes: Halloween, Fairies, or Twilight (the books/movies).   I chose to make 3 Halloween ATCs:

The members really got into making ATCs.  Several of them made more than one set of 3, some making a set for each of the categories.  There were nine participants.  My dining room table was loaded down with ATCs which I swapped out and returned in the mail.  Here are the 3 Halloween ATCs I kept. (I also put in the card I got from Sandi when she sent her ATCs.)  I really wanted to keep them all and agonized over what to keep and what to send back.  But since I'm hosting some more swaps, I should eventually end up with one piece of art from each Tags and Things group member.

We just closed the sign-up list for the swap of 5 holiday ATCs. The members are busy working on those. But sign-ups are still open until the end of this week for a holiday tag swap. If you like these kinds of art exchanges, please come on over to Pages In Time and join our Tags and Things group.

For further PIT inspiration here is this Thursday's sketch, hot off the presses.  Karen is giving a weekly prize to one of the layouts submitted to the PIT Thursday Sketch Group. 

GC77: Haute Couture

For the month of November, the Gingers are working with a Style and Fashion theme.  This week's GC77 Theme challenge is Haute Couture. 
Bring fashion to the forefront with an amazing creation for Gingersnap Creations own Project Runway assignment.  When the challenge closes on November 28, 2010, GC will pick 7 Ginger Gems.  For additional details and to link up your creation, click here:  Gingersnap Creations GC77 Haute Couture.

This is my Ginger Design Team example for the challenge.

I created a new cover for a composition notebook: Style Statements.  My G45 Fashionista Vintage circle tag is sandwiched between a stylish image found on the internet and my dressmaker mannequin adorned with various ribbon trim and bling.  Martha Stewart daisy fan punch, Bo Bunny patterned paper, Paper Bliss Accents (acrylic letters), Pink Paislee Enchanting alphas.

Happy November First!

The Halloween trick or treaters are snug in their beds, and it's hard to believe Thanksgiving is around the corner.  At Pages In Time, our Design Team has posted new challenges for the month of November.  At Gingersnap Creations, we Gingers are gearing up for a new crafting theme this month. At home, I'm getting ready for the family reunion later this month.  My blog has a new look for the month of November, too, thanks to Itkupilli at Cute 'n' Cool Blog Stuff.  (She takes the work out of creating a blog background.)

Design Team work and setting up my new blog look took up my time today, so no new crafting to show you.  Instead, I'll post something old just to get the Harvest Time/Thanksgiving month started.  I made this card last fall with Queen Kat Designs stamps when I was on her Design Team.