My 2013 Word for the Year! Breathe!

Hi Everyone!

Well another year! And another "Word"!

This year my word is "Breathe"...for many different reasons. I find myself  holding my breath many times through out the day. Do you ever do that?
I recently participated in a class for patients dealing with chronic pain, and the one thing they kept stressing is to "Breathe", so many of us don't!
And you don't have to be a chronic pain patient to find yourself forgetting to! ;D

So in our "Monday Nights Live with Tracy Weinzpfel" mixed media forum she issued has a creative challenge of using our "Word" on a journal page or canvas.

And this is what I came up with!

I used Faber Castell Gellato's in Blues and a purple,along with white. I was trying to keep it light and airy,....like the wind or ...air! haha..

 And this was a reminder to myself to keep repeating it! The chipboard letters are from Tim Holtz,black rhinestones from Kaiser Craft.

The heart and wings are chipboard from Maya Road.
 I painted the wings  with pearlized paint from Ranger and added the distress crackle paint from Tim Holtz to the heart, then added picket fence stickles to the heart to lighten and give a little sparkle...it is hard to see in the photo,but there is a sparkle to it, I promise! lol

The Alphabet stamp set is from Technique Tuesday,stamped with Archival Ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. The paper Roses are from Making Memories.

 

We were taught in class to breathe in deeply and slowly to the count of 5 and exhale slowly to the count of 6,pausing just a moment before the next breathe. It is amazing how that relaxes you,clears your mind and can totally change your mood and outlook on the things around you.

I guess it is a reminder to pause and look at things from a different angle. To take in all that is around you and realize how Blessed we really are! You can handle so much more in that frame of mind!

We all have our struggles in life, if we didn't we wouldn't appreciate it!

I know that I am Blessed to have found this group on Monday nights! Without a doubt!

I am Blessed by my Family and Friends!

And by the Friends that I have meet along my journey on this creative adventure!

 

Now I just have to remind myself to Breathe it all in, reflect on it and.....

"Do it Again!"

 

Thank you for stopping by, it means the world to me!

 

Blessings and Hugs,

 

Mary

An Anniversary card to Share!

Hi Everyone!

I wanted to share the Anniversary card that I did for my Husband. We celebrated our 35th Wedding Anniversary on the 14th of this month. Of course it was a Monday,and he had a horrible day at work,and then something else happened, so he wants to celebrate it properly when things settle down. Unfortunately that means he doesn't want to open his card yet! UGH!
Well I am not sure why, but I thought I should wait  to post it until he opened it, but you know he doesn't read my blog,and I would really like to send it into The Greeting Farm and maybe try for a Guest Designer spot! So I am going to share it with you all! :D

The image is from the Greeting Farm, and the sentiment from Verve. The sentiment is special since my husband and I meet in high school and I loved Winnie the Pooh! I know maybe silly,but true. ;D
"Our Song" was "House on Pooh Corner" by Loggins and Messina! LOL

Well what do you think?
Do you think they will like it at the Greeting Farm?
I hope so!

Have a great weekend!
Blessings and Hugs,
Mary

Happy New Year!!

Oh my Goodness Everyone!!

I guess I have really lost track of things! I had no idea that it had been this long since I had posted!
I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and will be posting regularly starting after tomorrow!

I wanted to stop in and wish you all the Happiest of New Years! May you all be Blessed with Happiness, Good Health and lots of Inspiration!

Although many things have been going on in my life as of late, many things need to be examined still. One of which how poorly I have been keeping up with this Blog!! lol
Health issues can be a real drag as many of you know, but it is all in the way we handle them that speaks about who we are. And that is where I need to take some action! ;D

Why I just shared that I am not sure, but maybe I feel safe in admitting it to someone other than my family! haha!

I will share the Christmas card that I did for a card swap with our group " Mixed Media Mondays" with Tracy Weinzapfel! I used stamps from Eat Cake Graphics, dies from Nestabilites and Tim Holtz Sizzix, card stock from Gina K and design papers from MME, Kaiser Craft and Echo Park.( not all on the same card! haha) I hope you like it! I know that I received some amazing cards in return! The Ladies in this group are so talented!!  And they are so supportive and nurturing both in art and in life situations. There is always someone there for you. If you would ever like to check the group out let me know and I will send you the link for the class on Monday nights on U-Stream. :D

 

 

Anyway!
Happy New Year Everyone!
And a late Merry Christmas as well!

Blessings and Hugs,
Mary

Gingham Christmas Greetings!

Hi Everyone!

First off sending my Prayers and lots of hugs to all of those affected by Sandy! My heart goes out to all of you.

Today with have another Christmas set to share with you for the {ippity} Fabulous Feature! Are you getting into the Christmas card making mode yet!?  haha!
I am starting early this year! (of course I say that every year! tehe)

I did a 4 1/4 x 4 1/4" card that could be used as either a card to mail, or makes the perfect size as a gift card as well.

 The design paper is from echo park "Christmas This n That", cardstock is Chocolate brown and Ivory pure luxury from GinaK. I used Memento inks and clear embossing powders for the images and the sentiment.

 Nestibilities for the cutting of the layers and the tag and lots of pop dots to give dimension to the layers and to the trees! ;)

 A pretty simple card to put together once you have your pieces stamped, embossed and cut out. The little holly leaf and berries is actually a button that I cut the back off of. I think I purchased it in a Christmas selection bag at Michael's last year.

And then I added the grosgrain ribbon that i had also purchased at Michael's.

 

I hope you like it!

Thank you so much for stopping by! You have no idea how much it means and how your comments lift me! :)

 

Blessings and Hugs,

Mary

Kissmass and Mistletoe!

Hi Everyone!

Today I am back with and oldie but a goodie! Especially with the Holiday's approaching! ;)

We are showcasing "Kissmass and Mistletoe", one of {ippity's} first Christmas sets. Of course since it is snowflakes and a snowman it can be used for any winter holiday!

This is a project that I did awhile back, but I thought I would re-post it since I think it is a great idea for gift giving!
I did a candle, using tissue paper to stamp on with versamark,and then embossed the images using white and turquoise embossing powder. The border of numbers at the bottom is also a Unity stamp.
I then melted the candle just slightly with my heat tool and covered the candle with the tissue,allowing it to absorb the wax. This way the candle becomes safe to burn since the fibers of the tissue paper are now filled with the wax.

 I added little adhesive gems to the centers of the snowflakes for some added sparkle.

 And then tied turquoise organza ribbon to the base with a stick pin that I added a snowflake and turquoise crystal charm to.

 

I hope you give it a try! I first saw the tutorial for this candle on stamptv.com ( I think! it has been awhile!) If you have any questions about it please e-mail me at maryscreativejourney@gmail.com and I will try to answer any questions that you may have about it!

Thank you for stopping by today!

Hugs,

 

Mary

 

 

It's the "Most Wonderful Time" of the year!

Hi Everyone!!

Back today with another Ippity Wednesday Fabulous Feature! And today we are sharing "The Most Wonderful Time"!
Hard to believe that the Christmas season is getting so close! And I think for most of us card makers and crafter's, Christmas projects have to start early, so I don't feel to bad showing you Christmas sets already! Kind of like when you go into Costco and they already have Halloween stuff up and it is only the 4th of July!! HahaHa!!

I created two different tags using this set. One just using the sentiment and the other with the image of the sleigh!

The design paper was cut to fit the tags. I used Memory Box dp on the Deer tag, and on the sleigh I used a new 6x6 design paper by GinaK designs!

 I used dies from spellbinders and Tim Holtz Sizzix.

I applied stickles to the pine cones for some sparkle, and around the edges of the tag some distress inks.

 For the sleigh I first colored it in with Copics and then applied Stickles over the top.

 The snowflakes are from petaloo that I purchased from i {heart} papers! And then I applied some little sticky back gems to the centers of the snowflakes and to the snowflakes on the design paper.

 

For the time being I have left these with out a To and From or specific occasion on them. This way if I need a Thank you or gift tag I can add that at the time.

 

 

I hope you like them!

Thank you so much for stopping by today.

If you would like to purchase this adorable set you can find it HERE! :D

 

 

Have a Great Day!

Sending each of you Blessings and Hugs,

 

Mary

 

 

 

Unity Friends with Flair Friday!!

Hi Everyone!

Are you all ready for the weekend!? ;)
I hope that you have something fun planned and hopefully a little crafting time as well!( well that is Fun, right! :D )

Today I have a card to share with you using one of our Ippity sets, it was our Fabulous Feature this week! It is called "Naughty. Nice. Not Sure!" Isn't that a great title!?
It is something just a little different and fun!

Here is my card:

 And this is the inside:

I hope that you like it! Be sure to check out all the other wonderful Friends with Flair on the Unity Blog Here!

Thank you for stopping by today! Your sweet comment mean so much to me! You have no idea!!

Blessings and Hugs,

Mary