Giving thanks

Today I'm giving thanks for all that I have.  I am not a Black Friday shopper, not even from my computer.  We don't exchange gifts so that helps.  But there's nothing I really need or want so sales haven't even tempted me.  Boy, is my husband surprised!  But pleased!

I still am struggling with cheaters (cheap reading glasses) so it took several days to make this adorable little milk carton that showcases Tim's efforts with Sizzix that embrace fall and Ranger's awesome coloring mediums.  Thank you!!!!

The unadorned milk carton is about 1 1/2" square and 3 1/2" tall.

 Sizzix (Tim Holtz) dies: Tattered Leaves mini movers & shapers, Autumn Gatherings decorative strip die, Typeset decorative strip die

Sizzix Milk Carton Box thinlits die

Stampers Anonymous (Tim Holtz) Mini Blueprints 5 (Wheat)

Ranger:  distress inks, distress stains, distress markers, Jet Black Archival Innk

Miscellaneous:  watercolor paper, Bazzill card stock, raffia

My eye exam is next Friday.  I can't wait to hear what my new vision is in the terms of numbers.  And I hope he can prescribe reading glasses that will be better for me than using discount store plastic lenses.  These are okay for quick reads, but not a long term solution.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Supplies:  Tim Holtz/Sizzix Alterations (Framelits 659373), Tim Holtz/Sizzix Texture Fades (Thankful background); Ranger (Paprika Stickles), Gathered Twigs Distress Ink, Jet Black Archival Ink, red, orange & yellow alcohol inks; leftover very thin clear packaging; olive green baby rickrack trim; Candlelight Bazzill cardstock

May your stuffing be tasty,

May your turkey be plump.

May your potatoes and gravy 

Have never a lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize.

May your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!

Happy Chanukah!

I can't believe how early Chanukah is this year!  There aren't a lot of Jewish stamps out there...so many are so similar.  It gets harder and harder to use them so they don't look the same year after year.  But this time I took a unique approach.  When I saw this Triangle Swirl Tile set (SCO28003) on the Rubber Stamp Tapestry site it screamed Star of David to me.

After some fiddling around with the layout I finally got a satisfactory image...that I had to recreate 10 more times.  So I took the easy way out and used vellum so I could place the original underneath and stamp over it.  I found that archival inks bled too much but distress inks were perfect.

Underneath the white vellum is a layer of gold vellum.  These are layered onto Avalanche Bazzill cardstock.  On the right hand side I smudged more distress ink through Tim Holtz' Stripes stencil for a random look.  I didn't want true stripes, just a suggestion of a faded striped ribbon.  On top of this I stamped the phrase (also RST) in distress ink.

I wish all my Jewish family and friends 

a season of light and warmth 

with peace and joy 

for you and your family.

Bazzill: Avalanche cardstock
Rubber Stamp Tapestry:  Triangle Swirl Tile SCO28003, Menorah mini SPO20070M, Happy Hanukkah mini WOR38224M
Ranger:  Faded Jeans, Wild Honey distress inks
Tim Holtz: Stripes stencil
Misc:  white, gold vellum, vellum tape

Yum, pumpkin pie!

It's November....time for Tim's 11th tag of 2013.  While I have the framelits/stamp set he used, I opted to not use it so I could be more creative with another idea I had in mind.

I took a 4"x8" tag and dipped it in various distress inks and stains to make it look very autumnal.  It was so pretty I really hated to cover it up.  On the 'net I found a recipe for Classic Pumpkin Pie that I copied and shrank to fit on the tag.  I tore the edges and using brown and black distress inks made them look burnt.  A bit of wadding up and a spritz of water helped age the recipe.

Using the chalk art technique Tim shared, I chose the pumpkin from Halloween Blueprints 2 and the label and text from Simple Sayings.  The pumpkin was attached with Tim's tiny staples; the label was elevated with foam tape.

From black cardstock I die cut some ivy using an old Sizzix die.  I pounced distress paint on the die cuts in a haphazard manner.  They were tucked around the various elements.  A word stick finishes off the piece; a bit of distress paint was worked into the letters.  Scraps of silk ribbon were stained, misted, wadded and dried.

Yes, indeed...life is good when it's time for pumpkin pie!

First artistic attempt

Not sure how this looks to everyone else but considering my vision is still skewed, I'm pretty pleased with my interpretation of the sketch.  I'll be entering this card in the October challenge over on the Die-Namites Dies blog.  Your entry should feature at least one Die-Namites die and the dare is to include a tag somewhere somehow.  A random winner will be chosen to win a $25 gift certificate to the Die-Namites store. 

The base card is Avalanche Bazzill cardstock folded to an A2 card.  I don't remember where the green layer came from as it has been in my stash for quite some time.  The edges were run along the blades of my scissors to distress them.  The top white layer was run through a texture fade that Tim Holtz and Sizzix have  called 'Candy Stripes'.  I lightly rubbed brown distress ink over the stripes to show them off.

On this card I am using the Die-namites Pine Wreath die (DN-1059) that I cut from watercolor paper.  It took several passes and next time I would use lighter weight watercolor paper.  The die cut was colored using distress markers (too many to name) and a water brush.  Once dry I put a bit of Glossy Accents on the red berries then sprinkled on Clear Rock Candy Distress Glitter.  I did the same on parts of the pines but used CRCDG that had been colored with Meadow alcohol ink.  Glitter just does not photo well.

I turned a scrap of cardstock into a tag, tore the bottom and smeared distress inks on it.  A few splatters of water and the colors melded together.  More brown distress ink around the edges makes it pop.  I stamped the sentiment (from Tim's 'Winter Sketchbook' CMS094) in Jet Black Archival Ink.  A snippet of ribbon finishes the tag.

For the next few days I'll be too occupied with my folks to create any more art but these eyes need a rest so the timing is perfect. 

First cataract surgery

The procedure went well; first post-op and the doctor was pleased.  2nd post-op appointment will be 10/31 and the next surgery will be 11/7.  I definitely will be needing reading and/or computer glasses.  Larger fonts aren't bad but small stuff and close up work is actually worse than before my eye was corrected.  But they couldn't do both and I'd much rather wear glasses when I need to, not 24/7.  I'm one that has to have glasses to find my glasses and not having them on for even a short period of time gives me eye strain that makes my stomach queasy.  I can't focus for too long on any one thing; television watching seems to be the easiest yet it's my least favorite activity.  At least I can watch football okay.  Even if I am wearing dark glasses because bright lights bother my eyes. 

I'm quite surprised at how much I remember of the procedure.  I shared my experience with a patient who's surgery immediately followed mine.  She saw marshmallows; I saw flashing saber lasers.  Go figure.  As long as the procedure works, I don't care what I saw!  lol

I was extremely sick after the procedure due to the anesthesia.  I've already ready requested medication to alleviate or halt that for next time.  Once the left lens was popped out of my glasses the signals my eyes were sending to my brain weren't so muddled.  The frames still give me a sense of limited peripheral vision.  I'm so happy to be able to see the alarm clock during the night WITHOUT my specs!!!

With my propensity towards vertigo with the slightest bending over movements I really wish both eyes could have been done at the same time.  I also would advise that if you are having toric lenses implanted because of your astigmatisms that you have the lens removed from your glasses just prior to surgery so you're not fighting looking out of your 'new' eye through old lenses.  Certainly caused a lot of imbalance issues for me.

My step-father is having major surgery Halloween so don't expect to hear much from me until I am post-operative after 11/7.  Art is probably out of the question but I am going to attempt to do some die cutting this afternoon just to try it. 

Thank you all for your positive thoughts and well wishes!  They are most appreciated and very welcomed. 

Mixed Media Tag Art Journal

Saturday I took the most amazing class taught by Wendy Vecchi up at The Scrapbooking Studio in Bloomington, IL.  Using Wendy's new archival ink colors, distress paints, distress inks, distress stains, distress markers, Clearly For Art, art parts, Blossom Bucket pieces, Idea-ology, Studio 490 stamps and stencils we created these luscious tags.  I learned a number of new techniques that I'm anxious to apply to cards and tags in the future.

Front cover - exterior

Front cover - interior

Back cover - interior

Back cover - exterior

It was a long day (9-6) with an hour's drive each way but well worth it.  Over the lunch break I did a bit of retail therapy and did my part to stimulate the economy.  There are still some things on my wish list...the first night of Chanukah is November 27....aka Thanksgiving eve.  Eight nights of gift giving should complete my list.  Or maybe not.  lol

Thursday afternoon is my first cataract surgery.  Hopefully Friday afternoon I'll be able to post after my first post-op appointment without too much difficulty.  But if you don't see me posting right away, don't worry.  It might take a few days to see clearly.