Coming Soon....

The Bella Creations Reveal for April 1st.  Four consecutive days of blog posts to reveal the three challenges and amazing prizes and the fourth day to reveal my new Oh La La group challenge.  Stay tuned....

Yikes!  My first tutorial on the Gingersnap Creations blog:  Rubber Band Stencils
I gave misting a go, using several different types of sprays.  I stuck to the World of Work theme for the month which led to using rubber bands because they're commonly found in several lines of work.  We also tried Zentangle this month, so I did my best to lay out a simple tangle with my rubber bands!
The finished product is a card I made for a dear friend.

More tutorial details over at Gingersnaps.

Gingersnapper Spirit Blog Hop

We're combining our third annual Gingersnap Creations ginger/copper/rust challenge with a spirited blog hop.
Each year,Gingersnap Creations goes back to our roots otherwise known as our very first challenge. You have until April 24 to play along by linking your color creation to GC96.  (Clicking on GC96 also takes you to the other Gingers' work for this challenge.)
And we're showing off our Gingersnapper Spirit with a Color Blog Hop from our Yahoo Group members. To hop along, you'll find the list of participants at Gingersnap Creations.
Since I'm both a Ginger Design Team member and a Ginger Yahoo Group member, there was no stopping my gingersnap spirit for this blog hop.

My little birdie is going to soar out of its cage and fly off to everyone's blog today.

Materials/Method
thin copper metallic sheet (sanded after embossing)
Tim Holtz Sissex birdcage die
Cuttlebug Divine Swirl embossing folder
Perfect Pearls Blue Patina
Kaiser copper gems
Tim Holtz and misc. copper hardware
Tim Holtz Adage ticket
Ranger Distress Inks in Antique Linen and Black Soot
USArt Quest Copper Mica Flakes
Graphic 45 Le Cirque Collection Extravaganza to line cage
Old scrap of patterned paper (unidentifiable)for bird

A Shabby Tea Party

The Shabby Tea Room is celebrating its first birthday with a party.  We're to create something to celebrate the occasion, and there are lots of prizes from the Tea Room sponsors.

The Shabby Tea Room has some new features including a feature list of Shabby Girlfriends.  I discovered I'm one of them because last fall I was chosen as one of Tea Time Terrific Top Three for a challenge I entered. So of course I had to celebrate!

For the party I created my own Shabby Tea Pot!  It's a shaped card with an unmounted tea bag tag (I merely positioned it for the photo). You can reverse the tag and write or stamp on it come for tea, thinking of you,  let's celebrate or happy birthday.  Then after the event, the tag can be reversed as shown.

I enlarged and printed the Shabby Tea Room logo tea pot,  traced it onto cardboard and cut it out.  I covered it with one of the My Mind's Eye Pretty Please Spring Papers.  It's almost identical to the Shabby Tea Pot in color and design.  I ran the paper through the Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots embossing folder, just to give the pot a little extra pizzazz.  Then I outlined the pot with Adirondack Metallic Pearl Paint Dabber. The My Mind's Eye paper pad also included some paper embellishments so I cut out the oval and the tag.  I added Pink Paislee Enchanting alphas, and decorated them with a white Signo pen.  You can't have a party without tea in the teapot, so I'm brewing up some Shabby Girlfriend Celebration tea, as stated on the teabag tag.  A genuine vintage button adorns the teapot lid.  I've decorated the teapot with lace and Prima flowers.  I love how the squiggles look like steam coming from the spout.


Debbie's challenge over at The Shabby Tea Room Week #53 Party Time  
Update:  I'm one of the 12 Honorable Mentions from the 162 entries! And I won Melissa's Shabby Pocket!

Spring papers, spring flowers, I think this also qualifies for: 
Vicki's challenge over at her blog The Cheerful  Stamp Pad:  Challenge #13 Is It Spring Yet?
because I'd ask you to sit a spell on my deck to watch the birds nesting and see the flowers blooming as we sip a spot of tea!

As Luck Would Have It

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I have two posts for you today.
Please be sure to scroll down to see my second card.

This leprechaun from Magic Moonlight  is having a tough time catching that gold coin to put in his pot.  The lucky Irish lass from Marie's Freebies has her hands out ready to snag it for herself!

I made this card for Bella Creations DT Starr's Cartes Classiques group March challenge. There's still time to create something for her challenge. And that's no blarney! Look for the blinkie in my sidebar which will magically take you to Bella Creations.

Claddagh Card

The Challenge that gave me this image:  

was found at Bella Creations Voila, Ink! Group, hosted by DT Bella Micupoftea. The crown stands for loyalty (fidelity), the hands for friendship and the heart for love. Women wear a claddagh ring with the heart pointing toward their nails if they are single, and toward their hearts if they are spoken for~ Mothers pass the rings down to their daughters. Many claddaghs include a heart shaped birthstone. The word is pronounced  "kla-də"

About my card:
The Archival Sepia ink stamped hand is from Wendy Vecchi's Studio 490 stamp set:  Art Fit For A Queen
Punched some holes and connected them with a black glaze pen to simulate stitches.


Micupoftea is having a membership drive for her Voila, Ink! group.  Here's what Micupofotea has to say:

If you invite somebody to join Voila, Ink! AND that person joins, you will get your name AND your invitee's name put into a pot for a RAK
RULES~ Starts March 5. Ends~ when we reach 75 actual members
YOUR name AND your invitee's name will be put into the hat once they JOIN!
Won't you join in all the fun of stamping, inking, and discussing techniques?
And if you'd like to see the amazing work of Micupoftea, please join us at Bella Creations and visit her personal blog: Poetry In A Pot of Tea

Type Cast

The World of Work continues this month at Gingersnap Creations with this week's Random Redhead challenge: GC95 Typewriters.  Please visit the Gingers and Guests to see what they've created around this theme: GC95

I immediately reached for my Graphic45 papers, thinking I'd be using the Communique typewriter. But instead I used the alphas that look like typewriter keys (with pop dots behind them) and the text type along with their On the Boardwalk paper and image. I completed the tag with some fiber netting and a few of my Florida seashells.  A little distress ink and some Maya Road ribbon and wa la !!!

What type of typewriter project do you have in mind?  You have until April 17 to link your creation to GC95.  You may be the next GC homepage artist or one of the Ginger Gems!

Mardi Gras

When I mix it up with Wendy, Tim, Simon, and Ginger, this is what I get:

EWV Yahoo Group:  Making Art Challenge #5 from Book #1 p. 18:  scroll and chipboard letters
CCC Final Challenge #35 Compendium of Curiosities p. 67: design details
Simon Says Stamp and Show Me some metal
Gingersnap Creations: Mardi Gras 
Since 1872, the official colors of Mardi Gras have been purple to represent justice, green to represent faith and gold to symbolize power.
Materials:
Maya Road scallop chipboard and mini alphas
Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 stamps: scroll from part of flower stamp in Art of Making It Merry set; face from Art Fit For A Queen set; sentiment from Never Forget the Power of You set; and polka dots stamped on letters from leaf stamp in the Dream of Art set
Inks and Paints: Maya Road Purple Maya Mist; Ranger Perfect Pearls Sunflower Sparkle Mist; Adirondack Paint Dabbers in Lettuce and Gold; Vintage Photo Distress Stickles, Black Glaze pen; Archival Ink in Black and Sepia; Ancient Page Amethyst
Misc:  metal brads hit with Tim Holtz texture hammer and purple gems placed inside the indentations; ribbon and feathers from stash; Tim Holtz grungeboard crown; black cord for stitches
Books: Make Art, Studio 490 Style, vol. 1 by Wendy Vecchi; A Compendium of Curiosities by Tim Holtz

Women's Work

Gingersnap Creations continues its World of Work month with this week's Spicy Supply Challenge: Office Supplies.  The Gingers were very creative this week as they incorporated so many supplies into their art.  Please do pay them a visit:  GC94.   

I chose to make a bookmark for my planner, using an oversized paper clip and some G45 papers.  The final effect includes a couple of scallop punches, lots of pop dotted layers, and some raised dots made with a black glaze pen.

What office supply can you transform into some incredible art?  You have a generous amount of time to post your project to GC94.  Artwork is due April 10.  You may be the next home page artist or Ginger Gem at Gingersnap Creations!

Domestic Goddess took on a new meaning when American women stepped up (and out of their homes) to work in war related jobs in the factories, shipyards, and munitions plants during the 1940's as their men went to war. The evolution of Rosie the Riveter is a fascinating story in its own right.  She continues to be a symbol for the working woman.  I was pleased to see that Graphic45 would include her in their Domestic Goddess paper collection.

Digital Layering

There's a long story here. I'm taking Mary Green's on-line Green Paper Collage class. Today she emailed us the lesson on creating our own digital collage paper. Oh my! I own PSE7 and never read the directions. Mary's were for another software package that usually comes with one's computer.

While mulling all of this over, my printer quit--I think the rollers need some coaxing to feed the paper through. Halted in my attempts to get some images printed, I turned to Mary's blog GREEN PAPER to see what she posted for the March collage challenge (separate from any classes she offers).

Wanting to really enter for my chance at a free image sheet from her, I decided to bite the bullet and try making a digital collage of sorts in order to incorporate all three required images. First thing I learned, quite by accident, was that I could separate the images with a click of a button. (You got it, still not reading directions!) Next I figured out how to layer, resize, and add effects. Wa La! A crude but nevertheless successful first attempt....

Thanks Mary for that little nudge to learn something new!  (Maybe I need to thank my printer, too? )

Egg-cited About Sandi's Challenge

I made this egg for Design Team Bella Sandi McLean's challenge in the Impressionists group at Bella Creations. This group works on collage type items, and this month we're to decorate an egg shape.  I found some paper doilies in the shape of eggs at the local dollar store.  I backed one with glittery card stock.  The center of the doily had a solid rectangle so I covered that with a scrap of pp I found from a previous project.  The bunny is a diecut from a card making kit.  Then I had fun rummaging around my craft table, adding bits and bobs (as Sandi says).

I'd also like to give you a link to Sandi's personal blog, Maximum Embellishment.  Sandi does amazing work and generously posts freebies from her personal ephemera collection.  Do pay her a visit!

Clowning Around

Gecko Galz is our generous sponsor for my Oh La La group at Bella Creations.  This month we're working on ATCs and have three activities and one swap going on.  It's a regular March madness of ATCs.

This is the ATC I made with the background and image given to us by Gecko Galz.  We get a free image every month--a great way to build up your library of free images to use in your art.  In addition to the images, I added some Tim Holtz tissue tape and used the Stampin' Up tab punch to create a little stool.  I  edged the ATC with Adirondack metallic pearl Paint Dabber.

The prize, to one lucky winner chosen at random, is a Gecko Galz ephemera sheet of images (winner's choice) to download for future art projects.   The challenge goes to the end of the month, so I hope to see you in my group, Oh La La, over at Bella Creations !

Tres Chic Tag

Our third main challenge at Bella Creations is called Tres Chic.  Each month we focus on a different style.  This month we went vintage.  Additional requirements included a color combo and use of specific embellishments.  I chose to make a tag as my design team contribution.  Since the color combo is navy, khaki and white, I made a navy vine with my Sissex die and sanded some core'dinations paper. I added a s.e.i. petticoat trim to the bottom.  Other items on the tag are the required embellishments. I edged with Adirondack metallic pearl paint dabber. 

Here's the amazing prize for the winner of this challenge, chosen at random. It's a yummy Scraps of Darkness kit. Scraps of Darkness is sponsoring this challenge.  Please click on their link to see their amazing products and Design Team work.

Hope to see your entry at Bella Creations!

Think Spring !

This has been a long, bleak winter.  I'm anxious for spring to show its pretty pastel colors.  I attempted to interpret these thoughts when I made this card using the spotlighting technique.  Spotlighting (for stampers) or selective colorization (for scrappers using a black and white photo) is the Bella Unique challenge this month at Bella Creations.

Bella Unique is a new monthly challenge being introduced in March.  Each month we'll focus on a different technique.  Our sponsor is the Flying Unicorn.  
This is the incredible prize the Flying Unicorn is giving to the winner of the Bella Unique March Challenge! The winner is by random draw. 

Alda Stevens, owner/creator of the Flying Unicorn, has an amazing blog which you won't want to miss viewing this month.

 
and a wonderful on-line store and etsy shop.  Enjoy your time visiting Alda's sites!

Tomorrow I'm posting the third main March challenge from Bella Creations.

You Rang?

March means a new monthly theme at Gingersnap Creations.  We're exploring the world of work.  This week it's the Chestnut theme challenge:  GC93 Get to Work.  I decided to go with the challenging job of customer service representative.   Yes, more of my quirky sense of humor.

Be sure to visit Gingersnap Creations to see all of the art from the Official Gingers and our special guests.  This month our muse is Jingle.  And our three visiting artists are Amy, Beverly G, and Gerri Herbst.  Links to all the personal blogs are on the Gingersnap Creations home page. 

Want to play along?  You have until April 3 to link your Chestnut Theme Challenge: Get to Work creation to GC93.  You just may be the next home page artist or one of the Ginger Gems!

Materials:
graphic:  e-vint.com
papers:  Graphic45 Communique Collection
copy of a partial phone book page from my personal ephemera

A March Muse

There are some absolutely fantastic challenges being revealed today at Bella Creations.  For starters, we have three main site challenges, all with sponsors who are giving away amazing prizes.  You can see the prizes and links to the sponsors' sites on my sidebar.

I will feature one challenge each day along with a large photo of the prize.  Each challenge prize is awarded by random draw, so come on over!

In addition, we have several groups with their own challenges and prizes.  More about that as the month goes on and you see what I post as I join in the fun. 

Today I'm featuring my Design Team Bella contribution for the Bella Muse Challenge.  Each month, we have a wonderful free image to download and use in a project.  This time around, I used the image as a focal point for a couple more pages in my cookbook.

As you can see, I'm using a combination of Graphic 45 and Websters Pages to create my book.

And here is the wonderful prize from Gecko Galz, given to one lucky challenge entrant who uses the image of the gal with the cherries. Please join us at Bella Creations to learn more about the challenge and see what the rest of the Design Team Bellas created for this Bella Muse challenge.

A little bit about Gecko Galz:  Lee Anne offers wonderful products such as these ephemera sheets, stamps, and paper packs in her on-line store.  In addition, she's always offering free images to download.  She also has a yahoo group where members get a free ephemera sheet each  month to download.  That reminds me, it's time to see what images she's giving away this month! 

Gecko Galz also sponsors my Oh La La group at Bella Creations.  Lee Anne provides an ephemera sheet of choice to the winner of the group's monthly challenge.  More about that later this week......

I'll be back Thursday and Friday to showcase the other two Bella Creations challenges.  But see you here tomorrow for a post on a different topic.