Days of Whimsy 2 - 5

I spent the entire day crafting yesterday... it was heaven!  I wanted to catch up with Nancy Maxwell James' 12 Days of Whimsy, featuring the beautiful collage images of Paper Whimsy.  You can get all of the instructions on Nancy's blog, Sugar Lump Studios.  The banner above is the 2nd Day of Whimsy.  I've used Lost and Found Christmas papers for them all, and I am totally addicted to this vintage color scheme! (Just went and bought two more 6x6 tablets of the stuff.  Yes!).  All of these images are from Paper Whimsy.  Here they are individually:

"Merry" is cut from a vintage Little Women book, as is "Christmas" below.  I cut the banners using a Papertrey Ink die.

For the "Wishes", I stamped a Christmas sentiment on a border of the text from the book, so that it would have the same patina.  I finished these off with some Stickles (my favorite color - Platinum), some poinsettia flowers, bling, and vintage mother of pearl buttons.

Next up, Day 3 and an adorable natural batting mitten.  I loved this project, since it gave me a very good excuse to cut into a stash of delicate vintage lace.

The image (from Godrun Loennecken) was printed on sticky-back canvas and stitched in place.  I added a little plastic "thingy" LOL - the little white filigree flower is from some sort of broken necklace I found at a flea market.  Very fun to be able to use that, too!

Next, Day 4 (bet you didn't see that coming, LOL!) and a snowy tag.  This is once again a Paper Whimsy image, vintage lace, glittery snowflakes, mother of pearl... oh how I love these projects!

Finally, Day 5 - glittery snowflakes that I opted to create ornaments with, but you can also attach them to cards, as in the project shown on Nancy's blog.

These came together in a snap.  For the snowflake, I used an image printed on canvas, and some crepe paper that I had edged in platinum Stickles and gathered.  For the star, it's just an image printed on cardstock.  Soooo easy, so quick, such a great way to adorn a package. (P.S. I had found these ornaments on clearance last year at Michaels - 50 cents for a pack of 6 - they might be there again this year, I haven't checked.)

That's my catch-up post!  Today's project involves a decorated tin ornament.... don't know if I have a tin, so I'll have to get scrounging or get creative.  Will hopefully have that tomorrow. :)

Playing Along with 12 Days of Whimsy

I finally carved out some time, very late last night, to craft.  I have been dying to play along with Nancy Maxwell James and the 12 Days of Whimsy.  These are my projects for the First Day of Whimsy, Button Faeries - I love them!  My first two ornaments feature images from Paper Whimsy (you can find them Here and Here.) 

Then I thought, wouldn't it be fun to use vintage (or vintage-looking) family photos?  So here are two more Button Faeries, these featuring a vintage photo of my Aunt Betty, and a not-so-vintage photo of my daughter as a baby.  I took a color picture of her and played around in my photo editing software until I got her looking sufficiently vintage.  She didn't even recognize that it was her at first, LOL!

Nancy has provided gorgeous photos and wonderful instructions on her blog, Sugar Lump Studios.  I am off to make another project - these are right up my street, so to speak! :)

Blue Gluebook Pages

I've been gluebooking in the car again, using up some scraps - hence the spring theme, so far from the holiday images I should be using, LOL!  I don't yet have many Christmas scraps accumulated, so I'm still using my leftovers from the summer.  The digital image of the girl on the right is from Lisa's Altered Art; the stamp on the left is from Artistic Outpost.  (Sorry for the unconventional "holder" - I just couldn't get the thing to lie flat.)

I'm hoping to play along with Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas, but it won't be for a few days.... we've got band concerts and Christmas piano recitals to attend to first.  Hope you're finding time for some holiday crafting. :)

Rogue Redhead + Technique Junkies Blog Hop!

Welcome to Stop #5 on the joint Rogue Redhead and Technique Junkies Blog Hop! We are all having loads of fun with the new Technique Junkies' 3D and Fun Folds CD! If you have been following along already you should have come from Beverly G.  If you are only starting here, please head back to the Technique Junkie Newsletter Blog and go from there.

If you have just discovered the blog hop, let me give you some background....
The Technique Junkies team has joined us to showcase the numerous great techniques on this new CD. As you may know, the Technique Junkies Newsletter has been publishing rubber stamping technique tutorials since 2002. The 3D and Fun Folds CD contains 70 step-by-step technique tutorials in PDF format – perfect dimensions, perfect directions and great pictures for every step. Visit www.techniquejunkies.com for more details about the CD and the Technique Junkie Newsletter.

A fantastic group of design team members from both Rogue Redhead Designs and the Technique Junkie Newsletter have helped put together this fabulous Blog Hop to kick off the 3D and Fun Folds CD. Not only are the talented Technique Junkies team hopping with the Rogue Crew today, they started hopping yesterday with Classy Cards N' Such and will be hopping again all the way through Friday one day each with PaperTemptress, Mark's Finest Papers, and Sweet n' Sassy Stamps. Check the The Technique Junkie Newsletter Blog for more details.

After visiting me, you can head off to see Holly Brown at Glitter, Stamps and Ink (Oh My) for your next stop.

For my first project, I couldn't resist making an adorable Technique Junkies "Goodie Purse."  This is the perfect little "handbag" for a gift card!  I used some double-sided Christmas papers, decorative brads, and a stylish Rogue Redhead Designs Milliner Misses gal and sentiment for the gift tag.

Here's a photo of a gift card perfectly nestled inside.  I will give this little Goodie Purse to my daughter with a gift card to one of her favorite mall haunts (Delia's, perhaps!).

Next up, a pretty Scallop Flower Box, decorated with a cute snow couple from Rogue Redhead's Candy Kisses plate.

The instructions for this project include the how-to's for this fabulous little scalloped flower embellishment.

I can see making these to adorn lots of small gifts.  And the box is the perfect size for stocking stuffers... perhaps filled with some Candy Kisses or other sweet treats. :)

I had tons of fun making these Technique Junkies projects, and just in time for the holidays.  I hope you have fun hopping along to the rest of the design team blogs.

If you get lost along the way, here's the whole list of hop stops for your convenience.

1. The Technique Junkie Newsletter Blog

2. Rogue Redhead Designs Blog

3. Jackie Kalchert

4. Beverly G., Rogue Crew

5. Jean Franks Beck, Rogue Crew - that's me!

6. Holly Brown

7. Jane Bosi

8. Laura Liddell, Rogue Crew

9. Joanne Wardle, Rogue Crew

10. Chris Dickinson

11. Stephanie Severin, Rogue Crew

12. Sharon Briss, Chief Rogue

13. Pat Huntoon

Thanks for stopping by!  And one last, very important, thing.....

On Saturday, December 3, Pat from the Technique Junkie Newsletter will announce the winners from each company. Be sure to hop along on each day! There will be FIVE WINNERS! On Monday, December 5th, Pat will announce ONE LUCKY WINNER with a GRAND PRIZE with a bundle of prizes from all of the participating businesses.

You won't want to miss any stops along the way – in order to win you will need to comment on everyone’s blog AND Pat Huntoon's blog. There will be an additional chance to win by playing along in her Blog Hop!

A Masculine Christmas Card with Rogue Redhead Designs

Making some headway on my Christmas cards, this time with some Rogue Redhead Designs stamps.  You can find all of the details over at the Rogue Redhead Designs blog.  Plus, find out about some really great deals on all of their fabulous stamps over at the shop.  (Just a little enabling for your Black Friday pleasure, LOL!)  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!