I Need Flowers

 Recently I've been wanting some flowers in my life. It being April and all.

So the other day I played with some older Sizzix flower dies I have and made myself a bright and perky little bouquet.

A little coloring, a little folding and rolling, some assorted papers, brads and embellishments were all I needed to have a lot of fun for a couple of hours.

Here's a close up of my bouquet. I used some velvet leaves I happen to have as well as a little plastic lizard. Even the  bottle vase is a recycled Prima flower jar I had laying around.

I was going green!

And I put them up on my livingroom mantel right next to my last painting.

I finished that too last week. The flowers block a little bit of it but you can get the gist of how it looks.

Bright and cheery.

And I got my flowers.

Here's some of the Sizzix dies I used:

 I also made one of the flowers using the new We Are Memory Keepers Flower Punch.

I had  a little trouble folding the flower at first, but it was pretty easy to use otherwise and also I love how you can adjust the size of your flowers. Every thing from 3 to 9 inches.

Thanks for stopping by.

Best Art Supplies for me in 2010 AND...

Another list day, maybe that's one of the fun OR obnoxious things about wrapping up a year. You get to make lists, which I LOVE to do, but it might just be boring to read if you're not me. But since I'm home in leisure mode this week, I have time to do this, and I LIKE doing thing. Anyhow...today I am listing my

 favorite art/craft items for 2010.

This list does not reflect the order I love using these items this past year, but more so just how they POP into my brain.

READY?

1- my kiln

2-my Martha Stewart and EK Success punches (especially the new chain punches that make a strip you can use anyplace on the page

3-my camera

4- getting those CHF stamps when the company was closing down (Boo-Hoo)

5- the Postmodern Design stamps I was able to get on eBay

6-discovering all the Daniel Torrente and Jill Penney stamps and the new Jo Capper-Sandon stamps by Stampotique

7-my new Big Kick I got for Christmas and the Tim Holtz rosette die-cut (along with all the other die cuts and texture fades waiting for me)

8- postal rubber stamps-LOVE THEM

9-the last few issues of Stamper's Sampler (it was just ok for awhile)

10- discovering Craft Stamper magazine from the UK

11-Paper Artsy Hot Picks rubber stamps

12-lots of the new Crafty Individuals stamps (got to get the martime ones that just came out...I LOVE the ocean)

13-rediscovering altered book making

14-American Crafts cardstock for making your own cards

15-grungy scrapbooking

16-rediscovering embossing after not doing any for quite some time, now I can't get enough of it

17-sparkley items like gemstones and Stickles

18-using 6x6 or 8x8 paper-like Basic Grey and October Afternon and 7Gypsies

19-Inka Gold metallic rub

20-those Stampendous scenery stamps from last spring and Impression Obsession backgrounders

21-Tattered Angels oversized clear stamps

22-Artistic Outposts Wizard of Oz stamps

23- Zentangle

24-Kim Hughes stamps which I discovered this year

25-my Histomatic app for my iPhone

26-Hot off the Press peel off stickers

27-oh yes, and all the Copic Markers I finally bought this year

28-Crafty Secrets stamps-especially the Artist set

29-PaperBag Studios latest unmounted sheet of stamps with all the houses

30- Martha Stewart Halloween and Christmas paper, stamps

31-Hero Arts-especially Artists Proofs and Designs in Wood stamps

32-Adirondack/Ranger demensional pearls and paints

33- Memories Ink

I think for now 33 items is enough...but I might add more. And I look forward to all the NEW things to discover in 2011. Oh Yes!
But wait!
There's more!
AND...
ROSETTES!!!!
As mentioned, I got a Sizzix for Christmas-and I LOVE the rosette cutter by im Holtz...so the other night while watching football I made some rosettes and then yesterday while cleaning the studio (its so much better but you'd look at it and say its still a mess-should have taken a photo to show you just how MESSY it was) and while working on my winter book...I finished these up. LOVE them!!! They're vintage and antiquey and kind of Valentine-ish for a few and springey for a few and Patriotic...

Mt 5 finished rosettes!

This one is made out of some vinyl kind of paper with a punched red vellum disc underneath and a punched plaid paper dic on top...a red buttom, a Prima blue flower and some Stickles dots.

Basic Grey paper, a faux metal button with the center dabbed with golden stickles. Simple!

Top left- is old newprint like vellum with a punched red vellum scalloped circle...a Jennie Bowlin button and some red Stickles dotted around. The Patriotic one is just made with blue paper...a plain white button embellished with a blue flower stamped on with Staz-on and then some red Copic dots, the button has a red Stickles dot in the middle and the button and rosette and trimmed with red stickles. Finally, the red polka dot rosette with a light yellow button in the middle (threaded first) and I used a Martha Stewart craft border punch to made the lace out of red vellum and them I attached it with red-line tape just kind of crinkling the trim as it went around but being sure to leave out the cut doiley lace part. I did punched some paper in a circle to attach to the bottom just to be sure the whole thing stayed together.

And VOILA, my cool rosettes. ready and waiting for a good craft project.

Happy Thursday (already!)