An Exciting Historical Moment

Took a little nap mid-game, but woke up to watch the last 2 innings.

CONGRATS RED SOX!!!!!

Not only winning the World Series

but the first 

World Series win 

at good old 

Fenway Park 

since 1918.

Red Sox Nation has been around a very long time,

since the early days of the baseball sport,

and growing up in Massachusetts

still living in New England-

you gotta love these Sox.

Glad I got to see it.!

Happy Halloween!!

Let me celebrate this day of dark and spookiness by showing you some more of my Halloween altered book.

Never quite finished all my pages but after taking those 2 journaling classes with Dyan Reavely I've been in blissful journal play zone with spray inks and stencils. Kind of got away from working on this.

That's ok though-

Got my spooky play on and I will just tuck this book away until next time I want to play Halloween-

even if it next year!

Like my cookie clown? I just loved these guys  on the box of some Trader Joe's cookies. So I cut up the box and got my images.

Made the big skull using the Scan and Cut.

Cut the letters for the word haunt with it too.

I cut the skull with the scan and cut too.  Was about to make an enlargement of a smaller image.

 And finally I used the scraps from a die cut to make this negative image by gluing it down onto white paper and then adding this great moon. The stamp I used for this is ancient- do n't even know who made it.  All I know is I found the stamp on a mark down table and it has become one of my most used stamps.
Probably because a big moon image is really useful-
ok, so I'm a werewolf or a vampire of something.

That's what I have for today.

I appreciate you taking a few minutes and checking it out.

Are you doing anything spooky and fun for the holiday?

Start to Finish

It started with me cleaning off stencils and an inky stamp. Not too exciting but had a lot of potential.

Some spray inking and some border stamping too.

Then I added the journaling within the border along with some free hand doodling with my latest passion, a white pen. I stamped the naked ladies (Ken Brown), added a piece of clear acrylic words and some white painted circles. I added a hand written sort of title, and I drew out the leaves and used my Scan and Cut to cut them.  Not that I couldn't do it by hand, but now I can make multiple cuts and copies.  Actually on this page I used 2 copies. I sprayed the leaves green, stamped a Paris city map on them and then added the white doodling.

A voila!

What a change from my first view.

I love seeing how a page becomes what it finally is.

Kind of like kids.

You have them and then watch them develop into what they'll be.

Happy Birthday to my baby today.

She's turning 22.

Yahoo.

Happy Humpday to the rest of you.

Look Who's Having Birthdays!

Woohoo!

Time to celebrate!

Today is the hubby's big day

and tomorrow my baby turns 22.

22?

Not possible.

Here they are on our family vacation last summer.

And I made them both a card,

of course no store bought beauties for them.

No siree

Only my best home creative efforts here!

For my 22 year old. I used white cardstock and some Dylusions spray inks and Crafter's workshop stencils.

And then I picked up a birthday die from Taylored Expressions. You can see the little eat cake-right off the Big Kick. But I also used the same die to make the mega cupcake. I die cut the image from the same Taylored Expression die set and then ran it through the Scan and Cut. I was able to save it and then enlarge it and then even get it cut out for me. I added the Viva paint pen color and some sparkles and then a die cut candle once I glued it down on the card..

I do find that the Scan and Cut doesn't cut everything- simpler pattern work better-cutting out the image on black paper and then cutting helps too. Or stamp in black on white paper, but no too complex of an image. I really like to draw my own images and then Scan to save and then cut copies of them. My biggest complaint- the sticky sheets aren't so sticky. I usually have to add a dab of glue stick to hold my paper down. Then I wipe everything down with a baby wipe. So far, that helps. And use a brayer to roll everything down so it really sticks. I didn't think the user learning curve was bad at all but there has been a learning curve.

Ok, since I have gotten off track

here's the birthday card I made by hubby man.

Truck is an older set from Cornish Heritage Farms.

The tire tracks and the sign shape with the one way words is from an older clear set. Not sure who made them- my brain just can't think of who it is when I am trying to write and the hubby is chatting with me and the tv is on-

drives me nuts when the brain won't pull up a name-

maybe Gel-a-tins?

I do the words are from Darkroom Door Co.

Old car set with words.

Love them.

Good for a guy who is in his early fifties and can take a good tease.

Enough said here.

By the way, if you don't listen to NPR-The World, there's this great story which talks about the habits of highly creative people.

http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-10-28/6-highly-effective-habits-creative-genius

Thanks for stopping by and

make it great day on your end.

White Pen Sunday

So this past weekend was another cleaning weekend here in New Hampshire.

Besides the fact that the house needed to be cleaned, Dave and I did some more seasonal change over.

 Closing the screen porch, switching over clothes, putting the jet ski away...

not only is giving up the summery weather a sad thing but it is 

SO MUCH WORK!
But yesterday I spent HOURS in the studio, having a good play.
Meant to make a bunch of cards to send to Katie at college,
and did manage to make a couple
but was having such a grand time painting
stenciling
coloring
cutting out pictures
using a white pen.
Lots of white pen.
It was white pen Sunday!!!
Anyhow,
you can probably tell that I didn't make anywhere near as many cards I wanted to.
Sometimes it just goes like that-
and having fun trumps the chores!
Yeehaw for having fun!!!!

This is how I first had the finished page.

But it didn't speak to me.

Just didn't like it.

Love the background,

the very bottom background, but the tag holder didn't thrill me.

 So I die cut a cool Sizzix die, traced it and painted around it.

That's more like it!

 I bought some of these Moroccan shaped dies off of the Sizzix website recently as they had them on sale. I really like these basic shapes. Kind of exotic, but pretty shapes. I had been looking for the dies but never found them anyplace, which was just as well since I got them marked down.
Love a good bargain, don't you?
The page still needed something though.

I die cut the lizard (Sizzix) 3 times since I kept changing things. Finally I added some photos I cut out of a Rick Steve's brochure. Some words too. And I made a tag to slide into the big holder.

And look at all the white pen I used!!!!

Love it now.

Here's the tag to put in the tag holder.

Not a very exciting tag but it doesn't have to be.

I still like how it does look like shattered glass-

I used Tim's new tag with some purple paint over it which I wiped off with a baby wipe.

But its what I wanted to say.

What would you have said?

Thanks for visiting today.

PS with the series tied up 2-2-Go Red Sox!!!!

Take the lead tonight!

Craving Chocolate

Yesterday was a sad day for me.

Closing up the screen porch for another season. Moving all the lawn furniture into it and then putting up plastic.

Closing it all away until April or May.

That's a LONG LONG time.

Means the beautiful outdoor weather is really wrapping up.

And must be the sadness that is causing me to CRAVE chocolate.

http://trialx.org/2012/10/18/learn-to-cook-chocolate-doughnuts/

Something like this.

Or this:

http://pixelatedcrumb.com/2011/09/19/three-layer-chocolate-cake-with-marshmallow-frosting/

Or even this.

http://www.themerrymartini.com/blog/2010/03/chocolate-martini-recipes.html

I don't want anything fancy or formal.

I just want delicious gooey chocolate.

Substantial chocolate, not just a nibble.

The warm days of reading on my screen porch seem like a long time off with our crisp late October weather.

But chocolate and these cooler temperatures seem to go together.

Maybe today I'll have to whip something up.

What are you doing today?

Quick and Simple Cards-Halloween Style

1.

How about a bunch of quick and simple Halloween cards?

I'm also adding one of these on this week's Blogger's Challenge.

I know, last week was Halloween but this week is black and white with a splash of color.

Work for Halloween- right?

I don't see myself as a card making queen-

but I go for basic and simple.

They go off to the college daughter-

I send several each week.

Its great to get mail when you're in school,

I remember eons ago loving something in my mailbox-

hey wait-

I still love something in my mailbox.

And its great for me since my daughter Katie keeps all my cards

Since freshman year-

and now she's a senior!

That's a HUGE complement.

So card 1-up above-

This is just a Sizzix embossing folder which I inked directly on the folder to get the black background. 

Then I added a die cut voice bubble that I stamped.

2.

Too bad this photo isn't so great.

I embossed the spiders (Sizzix) and embossed the black strip (Anna Griffin) and I sprayed the strip with Perfect pearls to make it a bit glossy.

Then I used 2 Hero Arts stamps- the ghose and underneath a cat which I embossed in orange.

I wanted the figure to be like our cat in a ghost costume.

Then I added the word bubble which was stamped-like on the other card.

3.

I die cut the black arch and added it to the card.I outlined it in white to looked like stitches (ok, messy stitches but stitches are stitches.) The cute little goblin (Stampotique) was stamped twice-once on the card and once on paper. On the card it was a white image and on paper, black. Then I cut out everything except the arms and legs and popped it up on the card.

The moon is a circle die cut, sprayed yellow,  a little black paint added to look like clouds, and then I added the Impression Obsession witch die cut out. Saying is Stamp Francisco.

4. Super simple stenciled background, die cut gravestone-a bit sprayed and then stamped (IMpression Obessession) and a bit of added tape.

5. And below here-

Layered cardstockwith a bit of spray, stamped skull (Inkadinkado), stamped and cut spider web cut into 2 pieces to make the banner, die cut tombstones (Sizzix/Tim Holtz) and 2 plastic spiders and a wood tombstone.

6.

For this card I started by layering some gelli printed deli wrap (say that 5 times fast-ha-ha). Then I stamped, colored and cut out this fun spooky cat (Hero Arts), and die cut the words (Tim Holtz/Sizzix). Over the words I put some black Viva paintPen and then outlined them in white.

7. I used a Sizzix Framelit die to make the base of this card, and added a Spellbinder's cut witches cauldron.

The ghost is a cut I made with my new Scan and Cut.

Silly ghost trying to scare someone.

Ha!

And I've posted these before, but just in case you missed them.

8. Love this card. I used my scan and cut to cut the web which I designed.

and

9.

and finally, making it a nice even 10

And finally, this fun batty lady from Oxford Impressions.

I am so excited it is the weekend. Didn't realize how exhausting last week was until I got home last night and collapsed. Things to deal with with National Honor Society (my extra-curricular advisoring job at school), 8th grade open house, kids needing help, grading, prepping, getting exams ready...all part of the job but sometimes, man, it is a lot.

So hope you enjoyed all these cards. Probably kind of late for any Halloween inspiration but always fun to see what other people were thinking and created right when you're feeling the most full of holiday cheer-or should I say chills and spookiness.

Thanks for visiting.

Your Soul is Speaking to You

Hey, it is Friday!

I am excited. Hard to get up on these cold mornings-just want to stay in my warm bed and snooze.

Can do that tomorrow.

And I will.

Have a Halloween party tomorrow night too-

I think at least.

We've been invited but not sure if we're going to stop in or see the baby at college-she has a big engineering

licensing exam tomorrow morning and the hubby promised we'd take her out for an after exam dinner-

that is if she isn't going out with friends celebrating the end of the exam.

We'll see.

So today I have the story of an art journal page.

Partial story at least.

Cleaned off some stencils and added this skull die cut that was laying around on my work table mess.

I wanted to keep the eyes and mouth whiter than my background so I added some clear glue and I let that dry.

Then I added some background by spraying and using some paint and stencils to add a little more details.

I outlined part of the skull, added some clear words and added a die cut that was also laying around on my table.

But it needed to be a little dark and spooky and Halloweenish by this point.

I don't add journaling to my pages all that often, but this page just needed it. I added the stamped mushrooms and some stamped zig-sag journaling lines and decorations. I also added some black paint measuring tape images using Tim Holtz's new stencils.

Plus a little more color, and you have my journal page.

So that's what my soul is saying to me-

(of course you can't read my journaling- my soul speaking-

because what your soul says is a real private thing.)

You don't have to tell me,

but have you listened to your soul lately?

Happy Friday.

Hope to see you again soon.

Trick or Treat

Been playing in my Halloween journal.

Been feeling like Halloween, leaves are falling down. more and more bare spindly trees, cold temperatures.

BRRRRR.

Been spooky and silly and down right freaking myself out sometimes when I work on this.

Some pages are done, some aren't quite yet but well on their way.

Eeeeeeeek. Halloween Horrors!

Love altering a book when I can do whatever I want to do. Stamp, collage, paint, using gelli prints and doodling.

Anything I want .

Isn't that what playing is suppose to be about?

Laughing and Having Fun!

This is one of my favorite apps for my iPhone lately.

The best 99 cents I've recently spent.

Its called PocketBooth.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pocketbooth/id385145330

I showed you this one the other day.

Talk about having a lot of laughs!

You can save the photos into your camera roll and then import them. Or you can print them.

I heard about this app from someone.

Might have been a blog or maybe someone told me.

Brainless me-can't remember who it was.

But if you want to have some fun, and you have an iPhone,

Check this out.

5 star fun!

Oh yeah and I need to add before I forget

Go Sox! We want World Series Champs back in Boston!

Gelli Printing

The other day I was gelli printing.

Just playing.

I cut some bells using my Scan and Cut and on this plate I used the negatives of the cut outs to make this image.

I also made the stencil using the dots with the Scan and Cut.

Lots of browns and blues, with dashes of black.

Thinking of some things to make once I get past Halloween.

Can you believe its only like 1 week away?

October is FLYING! by like crazy.

And getting ready for some holiday projects.

These prints aren't too exciting by themselves but they'll do great for some backgrounds.

I love playing with holiday projects.

Halloween is great.

Christmas is great.

No wonder I am so creative in the fall.

What fun things have you been playing with?

Great Weekend

My weekend:

This was Friday!

and this.

- at my mom's house.

We went to have a little birthday celebration since Mom turned 84.

My cousin Gavin who I haven't seen in probably 20 years stopped by with his family.

He lives way down south in Tennessee.

Was up here in New England for a little visit during his kids fall school break.

Katie and I  went shopping before we headed home.

This was dangerous!!!!!!!

Especially for 2 chickies with a passion for Vera Bradley.

Good thing this was an outlet-or maybe that's not so good since most things were 50% off (everything not 60%  was 50% off) and that's off the outlet price.

Holy cow!

Like I said- last time we went there everything was 40% off and I thought that was good.

So much fun to shop!

And this was Saturday-

I took 2 classes with Dyan Reavely down in Massachusetts.

 They were so good. I wasn't sure what to expect and how well I'd like them- but I wish I had signed up for yesterday too which was an all day journaling extravaganza. Because I had such a good day Saturday. And the classes were small Saturday- the writing class in the morning was only 12 of us and that was fantastic. The stamping afternoon class was 21- still not bad.

But I really needed a down day, and I really didn't need to spend more cash, but I was wishing yesterday I had gone back.

Wishing a lot.

But Saturday was super.

Used a bunch of ink and got my fingers all dirty!!!

 And here's some unfinished class pages. Will show you the finished ones another day-

once I finish them all!

 Oh well I tell myself, if I hadn't spent money at the Vera Bradley outlet Friday.

It was still good to spend the day with my family yesterday.

Next time Dyan Reavely comes back this way.

Don't I hate saying that.

Make this a great Monday-

I am going to try to even though I am back to work and

WISH in the biggest way I was home to play all day in my studio like last week when I had Monday off.

I have the art bug pretty bad right now.

Think that excuse would work if I called in sick for a few days?

Ha-Ha.