Mid-December Crafting

I made some cards a few weeks ago and thought I would share them here. 

Photo above: 

I was so excited to receive my Sizzix Die and Embossing folder set.  It cuts the shape and you can then emboss it with the look of a comfortable overstuffed chair. I inked the raised up part to help define the chair. Wouldn't you just love to sink into this chair next to a roaring fire with a good wintertime book? Of course....when I went to find the really special paper I bought this summer in anticipation of one day owning this die and folder, it was no where to be found! I know I will find it. The question is when? It looks like plush velvet, but it is paper!

Because I am posting from my smart phone, I dare not try to move things around to look better. I can't really be at my desk just yet, where I can maneuver around the computer screen, because I am recuperating from surgery.  Since I will need to spend several months in the recovery mode, winter in Western New York will be a good time for that...as long as I can stay inside and watch it snow from inside my cozy house!

I have been bitten by the hexi bug. I will do a little show and tell in my next post.  They are easy to make. I am grabbing all different fabrics from my stash and I don't even know yet what I will make with them! 

Photos below:

Gatefold Christmas Card

Birthday Card Front and Interior

Gatefold Card with a Belly Band to keep it closed

That is it for now...I will try to post weekly because I plan to be very productive during my recuperation and get lots of unfinished projects done! Stay tuned . . .   :-)

I am grateful for the good weather we had for my trip to and from the hospital. Here in WNY, we can get lots of snow overnight.  In fact, on the day after my surgery,  there was a foot of new-fallen snow on the ground! Luckily it melted before I was discharged 7 days later, so I got a ride back home in our Mustang...which was easy for me to get in and out of. My husband has been a gem attending to my every need and is my number one cheerleader. Your prayers, cards and good wishes have meant a lot. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. ♡

And until we meet again,  may the Lord hold you in the hollow of His hand. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

Happy Birthday Divas!

 

Just a quick post today! I am in an online group called Craft That Divas on Facebook. The group just celebrated it's first year and we were given a challenge to make a Diva-worthy cake. Below is a photo of the cake I made. I used DCWV The French Country Stack to make the cake slices, which are actually little boxes. I also made the flowers from the same paper.

There is a little story that I need to tell you about the flowers. I have never made paper roses before and I never intended to make them for this project; but when I went to my local Michaels store to buy some ready-made flowers, there were none to be found! I asked where they had been moved to and I was told they were taken off the shelves to make room for the Christmas merchandise! It was my only chance to get them, so I had to come up with a plan . . . and that was to make them. I started with the 10 large ones, and it just needed more . . . so I then made 20 small roses to fill in and make it look better. It still needed more! I ended up making 30 small roses in addition to the 10 large ones. I certainly know how to make paper roses now!

I made a video which you can see on my YouTube Channel.

Click on the link below if you would like to watch the video.

http://youtu.be/IA-8ZR8K9DY



 I used my grandmother's cake plate for display. I never make real cakes, so I am happy that I can put this paper cake on it!

Thanks for stopping by . . . and until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Emmy

December Greetings!

I am feeling more productive than I have in the past few months. I know that  my time is limited for making things because I have been ill this past summer and fall. So, that means when I have a good day or some extra time in the day, I head into my studio. Even if it is just for a few minutes, I try to pick it up and put things away and work on a project. I think it is keeping me sane, too, which I am sure makes my husband happy!

I actually managed to take all the fall décor down AND packed it away, so now we can begin decorating for Christmas! Our biggest wreath (a fake green one) has had the same ornaments and floral spikes on it for a few years now. I am going to cut that all off. I put it on with floral wire and I think it could withstand a tornado! I admit, I tend to overdo it sometimes when I am constructing something! :-) I want to put it over our living room mantle this year, so I need to coordinate the trims with our tree. Not hard to do because I seem to have an abundance of Christmas decorations. It is a weakness of mine and when we travel, especially after the holidays, we stop at some of our favorite stores along the way and find the after-Christmas sales. I have scored some lovely ornaments on those trips and cherish each and every one. When I take the tree down every year, I wrap the ornaments carefully and try to put them in the boxes they came in. I label them so I know where and when I got them, so when I unwrap them the following year, it is like I am getting a gift! It is one of the quirky things about myself that I like!!! (There are several other quirks that I have that probably nobody likes!)

I am planning to make some Christmas gifts in the coming weeks, so I may not post any photos until after the holidays...except cards! In the meanwhile, below are some of the cards I made this past week.





 

  

  

Now that Advent is here, it is my hope that you and yours enjoy the season of peace and joy that Jesus' birth brought to the world.

And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.

Emmy 

After the Snovember storm . . .

After the snowstorm that hit our area, we are dug out and back to a bit of normalcy. We had several feet of snow fall in a very short time. There were travel bans and that was A-OK with me because I was not going to venture out anyway! Most of the snow has melted and the creek behind our house will overflow its' banks in a day or so; but fortunately we are at a high enough elevation that it never rises up to our house. My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones during the storm, as well as those people who had structural damage to their homes, businesses and farm buildings.

The bright snow lights our rooms up and so it was great for doing my paper crafts and sewing during the storm. We never lost power, thank God! It probably would have been as great for house cleaning, but I opted to only do the basics . . . with the exception of polishing the banister and wood paneling BEFORE we put up any Christmas decorations! Every year we say that we will decorate early. I think it will happen this year! We will stay home for Thanksgiving and then haul out the decorations so we can have it all done in a few days. We shall see!

Below are photos of the projects I worked on during the storm.

This is a 5x7 paper crafted corset that I made as a birthday gift for my friend Tiffany. She has a lot that were sent to her from her YouTube subbies and she is going to hang them on a ribbon spanning one of the walls in her studio. I can't wait to see the photos!

I made this little card to try out a new-to-me style of card. It is called an aperture card. This is only 4"x4" and would make a sweet note card. This was part of a challenge in the Facebook group that I am in, "Craft That Divas".

After I re-read the instructions for the challenge, I saw that it was supposed to be a Christmas card! So, I made this one too! It kind of looks like Santa Claus's belt buckle! 

I eagerly awaited the arrival of my new window die, but it was delayed by the storm. Luckily the UPS driver arrived when my husband was shoveling snow and he handed it to him over the snow banks! This is the first card I made with it that same night. I am in love with this die and all the possibilities it presents! 

 I decided to make another window card that was a bit more whimsical. I tried several different ways to make snow at the bottom of the card and gave up on all of them. Then it occured to me that one of my eyelet punches might work. After all, this is fun and fantasy . . . not realism! It did the trick! I am obsessed with making these cards!

On our first outing after the storm, we did some necessary errands (which of course included a stop at Michaels and JoAnns), we took a ride out in the country. This photo was taken on one of my favorite roads that we travel home on. When I see the fish scale clouds, I always think of my father. He taught me what the various clouds formations were called and what they meant, as far as predicting the weather. He was a farmer, so this was important to him. He would call this a mackerel sky and said it meant rain was coming.

Across the road, there were mare's tails in the sky, (the three wispy clouds in the middle of the picture), which mean there is wind up there blowing the clouds apart.

We drove east and found there was very little snow past Stafford. This photo was taken where they have been picking field corn. This field is part of the farm I grew up on. The farm equipment my father used was half this size and probably a quarter of the cost.  

Looking east down Britt Road, you can see the little barn and house where I grew up. My husband grew up in the city and he is amazed at all the open space I had to roam as a child. You HAD to roam if you wanted to see civilization! :-) I love memories of my childhood, especially fall.  

During the storm, I worked on a black and white quilt block that has a gazillion pieces. To make the 8-inch block on the left, you need to make 4 4-inch block components . . . each with 16 small pieces. It is paper pieced, and that is something I enjoy . . . even if it takes  f o r e v e r ! 

I am working on a very special paper crafting project and I wanted to use some of the roses that are sold in the $2 bin at Michaels. However, when I went there, they had taken them off the shelves in order to put up their Christmas displays. Groan. I came home and watched some YouTube videos on how to make paper roses and these are what I have made so far.  I only need to have 10 of the large ones and 30 of the small ones. Talk about labor intensive! However, I am liking the results.  I came up with the little circle cut into a star for the bottom of the flower and think it is pretty clever, if I do say so myself. Necessity IS the mother of invention!

I think that is about it for what has been happening here. I have some work to do (real estate . . . you know, . . . the $ that allows me to buy all my stash) . . . and then some crafting! 

I am very grateful that we got through the storm with out any ill effects. I did not sleep for two nights as I listened for our 168 year old house to groan under the weight of the snow. No sleep, but no creaks, cracks or groans, either!

And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.

Emmy

It is the middle of November already!

November Greetings!
Since my last post ...several months ago on August 22nd,  I have been out of the loop due to illness. As my health allows, I will be here as often as possible to share what I have been up to. Being homebound has had its advantages because it allowed me the uninterrupted time in my studio to work on papercrafting and sewing projects. I may end up finishing some of my UFOs (unfinished objects)! I was able to complete three of my quilts in time for the quilt show that my guild held in October. I should have several more quilts ready for the next show in two years!
Last Friday night the facebook group that I am a member of, Craft That Divas, got together in cyberspace to make explosion boxes. Here are some photos of the one I made. I used some double-sided MME papers that I had in my stash: "Grateful" & "Cherish" & "Adore" The box has tags to write on, 4 little cards to journal on and 5 places where photos can be inserted in photo corners.

We are going to have our first snow storm of the season. This is how it looks out my upstairs window. We have many days that we are under the lake effect clouds. It looks like we live in a black and white world! :-) This is one of the reasons I love to use my pretty fabric and papers in the winter. It brightens my days! ByThursday morning, it may be sunny and beautiful and provide some wonderful photo ops!

 

This is why I like to bring the potted geraniums inside in the winter! These are in my studio window and brighten the room!

It seems that every time I do a blog post, something has changed in the format.  I have made some edits here and there and tried to tweak this post. :-)

Mostly I want to say I am happy to be back. I am grateful for my husband who loves me and supports me in my creative efforts. and happy to have good medical care.

And . . . until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.

Emmy 

 

Late Summer . . . and how I spent some of my summer vacation . . .



Late summer sights and sounds are all around us.

This is a corn field on a road near our house.

I love to see it in all seasons.

  

I had company when I was having

my morning coffee on the porch a few days ago.

We said our prayers together. :-)

Pretty clouds to the east . . .from our deck. 

I made a paper stars wreath in a Friday Night Mini Challenge

in an online craft group that I used to be in.  My crafty friend Tiffany and I 

hosted the event on Friday nights and had fun coming up with ideas like this. 

This is the first in series of my Pretty Lady ATC's (Artist Trading Cards).

Artists swap these with each other!

I sent this to another artist in a swap that we did in an online group. 

A card that I made to thank a client for an order she placed with me. 

Some pretty packaging for a swap I coordinated in an online group.

These are chipboard diecuts that crafters use for cards, mini albums, tags and so forth.

It was fun sending them and getting different ones in return.

 

These are some sample tags I made to show to the client who made a special order.

They can be used on gifts, in mini albums, or embellished and hung on the wall,

a door knob, or on a Christmas tree. :-)

This is a little skinny mini. . . made from one 12 x 12 sheet of scrapbooking paper,

folded to create an accordion-style binding. The pages are embellished and it is tied

with a ribbon. I love this little corset and the wings made from metal leaves!  

These make nice little gifts and you can tuck special notes, coupons, or gift cards inside. :-) 

This was one of the Friday Night Mini Challenge projects I coordinated for the 

on line group that I used to be in. 

I made a little video tutorial for the group to follow as they made theirs.

With the strip cut off of the 12x12 sheet, we made mini mini albums!

Now, these are just the right size for a gift card!

You can see the video tutorial that I made here:

http://youtu.be/GKLcYzBYLpY

And the video of the project that I made can be seen here:

http://youtu.be/pPbWaQ_UWQc

Card I made for someone  . . . just because . . .  

I have been making this style of card for my real estate clients when they close on their new home.

I put their house number in the little frame and use little brass brads to attach it to the card front. 

I made this tag during a Friday Night Mini Challenge that my friend Tiffany and I coordinated.

The challenge was to take 3 uglies from your stash: 

Ugly paper (The big floral), Ugly Embellishment (The "E"), and Ugly Trim (The strippy little whateveritis trim that I had in my stash),  and make something beautiful!

I guess I was channeling my Woodstock girl (altho I didn't go to Woodstock!) . . and I tried to make this look like a blouse in crazy fabric with trim, tucked into a pair of hip-rider jeans. . . . a long necklace and a belt with a big buckle. . . . I actually liked it when I finished it!

Another Friday Night Mini Challenge that my friend Tiffany came up

with is this little "purse" and "shoes". I made mine out of chipboard. It was a lot of fun. I gave the shoes to a friend who has a daughter who turned 21 and is an absolute shoe lover. (Who isn't?) :-)

Oh, here is another ATC . . . "Forever Young".

I made this one for my friend Tiffany.

I made some stick pins for my friend Tiffany.

I saved some acrylic packaging from something and used it to package them up.

The backing is scrapbook paper and the edging is washi tape.  

  

Hmmm . . . I guess that is it for now! I have some other things I am working on, but they can't be shown just yet, because they are gifts that have not yet been given!

I got this done way before I expected to . . . my plan was for Monday, but here it is . . . on Friday . . . three days ahead of my own deadline! :-)

I am grateful for the time I have to pursue my art and the support I get from my husband . . . who is my biggest fan and my constant "show and tell" victim. The only TV show I know I cannot interrupt for an opinion is Buffalo Bills football . . . .other than that, he welcomes me (maybe!) when I rush in to show him something I just made!

Here is to a great weekend!

And until we meet again, may God hold  you in the hollow of His hand.

GREETING CARDS !!!

It has been a long time . . . yet again . . . since I posted here on my blog! For some reason, I just get busy and think . . . oh, I will do that later . . . and as we all know, sometimes later does not come!  So, my new plan, and one I think I can accomplish with ease, is to work on my blog on a daily basis and upload it weekly. I realize I do more in a week than I realize and when I finally sit down to write a post, it covers way tooooooo long a period of time! So, from here on out, it will be more current!

I have been making cards. I am enjoying it and below are some of the cards I made this past couple of weeks. :-)

This card is special to me because I made it for my sister's birthday.

My friend Tiffany is from the south and she suggested that I add a wreath to the door.

 She said it is a custom to put a wreath on the door in all seasons.

I took her suggestion, and I really like how it came out!

Thanks Tiffany . . . and Happy Birthday, Louise!

This is the first card I attempted with a screen door.

I was very lucky to find the paper I used for it in a six-inch paper stack that I had on hand.  

This is how the front of the card looks when the screen door swings open! 

The greeting is on the inside of the card. 

This card has a swinging screen door, too.

I think it needs a wreath, for sure!

 

I switched gears a bit and made some baby cards.

I love shaker cards . . . and I love sequins. . . so this is a perfect match for my card.

Look closely. I found some really cute shapes to put inside  . . . a baby carriage, a teddy bear,

a rattle, little feet, a baby bottle, . . .and a few other cute little things.

I cut the letters out with one of my dies.

Another shaker card.

I punched some butterfly shapes with one of my little punches and added the sequins.

I cut the letters out with one of my dies and I glittered them up!

Lovers always need cards to send to their sweetheart.

I cut some star shapes with one of my punches and added sequins. 

We all know someone who just can't have enough shoes!

This card says it all!  

I added glitter to the shoe but it does not show up well in the photo!

I embossed the background paper and I dyed the letters with some of my alcohol pens

 to get the right shade of blue to go with the paper.

Back to some more baby cards!

I used a stamp to get the banner shape.

 I glittered it up and layered it and added little stars at the

ends that I punched with one of my little punches.

I cut the letters out with one of my dies. 

I kept this one a bit more simple and added just the pretty silver and teal sequins to the window. 

 Another baby card . . . and this one has some little sparkles of tiny glitter added to the window.

USA!  USA!  USA!

A card that would be nice to send to someone in the service. 

I am continuing to make cards every day. I like to get into my studio in the morning to work on them and then again in the evening. In between making cards, I am working diligently on my quilts that I have entered in the Museum Quilt Guild quilt show that will be held in October. I attended our August meeting yesterday and enjoyed seeing many of my quilting friends and the enthusiasm for the show and for each other's work was contagious. I came home with a feeling of exhilaration! I have A LOT of finishing work to do on my entries . . . all SEVEN of them! You may see a glimpse of them here from time to time.

In the meanwhile, mark your calendars for the show.

Find details here:

http://www.museumquiltguild.blogspot.com/

That is it for now . . . It is a lovely day here in Western New York and we are heading out to enjoy a ride in the country. It is hard to believe that August is more than half over! The days and nights are getting cooler and we are already seeing some fall colors in the foliage.

Until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Emmy