February Creative Dare "Life List"

Hi Everyone!

Today I have my February Creative Dare from Tracy Weinzapfel "Mixed Media Mondays" to share with you! You can find out all the details here on Tracy's Blog!

This month we were challenged to do a "Life/Bucket List" in a mixed media form. :D

Here is my attempt!

 I have used Deco Arts acrylic paints,Memento ink,and distress inks.

The sentiment stamps on the tag is from Rubber Arts Cafe. (One of the sponsors this month,along with DecoArts). The other stamps that I used are from Unity Stamps :)

The "Dream Big" sentiment I first stamped with modeling paste because I wanted some extra texture under it. Not sure if I like that or not!

Any way, I did emboss the "Beautiful Life" sentiment at the bottom of the page,and I think I like that better. ;)  The distress brick wall and the vines and flowers are from Unity,and I stamped those with the memento ink and distress ink. 

 I used Tim Holtz Washi tape over the top of my list. I kind of like the fact that it had the months of the year and felt that went well with the idea of the list.

 I love this sentiment by Rubber Cafe! They have some great ones that are still on my "wish" list! lol

Flowers are from May Arts (I think,..they were in my stash!)

 

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope that you enjoyed seeing my attempt. Do you have a "Life list or Bucket list"?  This Dare has given me a chance to think about some things that I would love to accomplish, and has made me refocus! It is so easy to get caught up in the everyday things that go on and to lose sight of ourselves in it.

 

Have a great week!

Blessings and Hugs,

 

Mary

What would you use Viewtainers for? LOL

Hi Everyone!

Well today I have a little different kind of post! haha!

I don't know if any of you have seen or use Veiwtainers for organizing your craft spaces or your Honey's (or yours for that matter ;)  ) garages. Or even your Children's toy area?

Well Viewtainer would like to know how you use them, or what you would use them for!
If you leave a comment on their facebook page, or post pictures of them in action in your space you could win a 3 pack of them! How nice would that be?! :D

So here are some pictures of how I use mine,...:D

 

I can sort my buttons by color. :) And these have tops that are slit so you can just squeeze the top and pour out the buttons! Easy!

 

They come in tall ones to store my Washi Tapes ;)

And my twines, by color family! :D

 

 Look at the pretty light blue and yellow! Perfect for my paint brushes! haha

AND they have sizes that are perfect for my Pitt Artist Pens and jars of india ink. As well as tall ones for jars of paint.

And if you have drafting pages or plans for a house they fit perfectly into one of the specialty sizes! haha! These are plans that my Daughter made while she was taking drafting and Architecture classes in high school and college, I couldn't part with them! LOL

These are some that I still need to sort buttons for and the raspberry color is going to have my gellatos stored in it, until I have enough of them that I can get the different colors and then store them by color coordinated cap as well. tehe!

 

Well I know this seems like a crazy post for me, but I really love these containers! They are really helping me to get organized and to stay neat while crafting....AND the biggest thing is that I can find stuff again! HaHa!!!

 

These are great for the garage as well, I plan to start ordering them, or you can find them at Home Depot, just not in as many pretty colors! I guess the guys don't want to store their nails, and bolts etc in Raspberry and pink containers! How boring! LOL

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Hugs,

 

Mary

Friends with Flair and Mixed Media Monday Collide!!

Hi Everyone!

It has been awhile since I have posted on Friends with Flair! It isn't because I am not using my Unity however! LOL

Today I thought I would share something that I had been working on for "Mixed Media Mondays with Tracy Weinzapfel"!

We did a coaster swap for Valentines day,and here are some of the ones that I created:

 I used the Unity ( {ippity} ) set  "Let your Heart Take Flight" .

 The writing background is a stamp from Verses Rubber Stamps called "How do I love thee".

I used deco arts paints, dyelusion sprays, different papers from the valentine pads from Carta Bella and Authentique.

 The lines are drawn with a copic india ink pen. Love that pen!! :D

Some of them I used plan glossy accents over the tops to seal them and some of them I used the crackle glossy accents and then rubbed black soot distress into them.

 

It was so much fun! I hope you like them! I know that the coasters that I received in return were just incrediable!! If you are intrested in joining our Ustream class on monday nights you can here on Tracy Weinzapfel Ustream Channel!

Here is her Blog with the Creative Dare for Febuary!

 

Thank you for stopping by today! Have a great weekend!

 

Blessings and Hugs,

Mary

Mr & Mrs! The Greeting Farm!

Hi Everyone!

Well this past Saturday my Daughter's best Friend got Married! She married her high school sweetheart of 8 years at her Parents home and everything was perfect!

I am so happy for them, they were just beaming the whole evening!

I wanted to share the card that I did for the New Mr and Mrs. Martinez!
I used one of my most favorite images for wedding cards from The Greeting Farm. This set is now  retired, however they have updated and changed the image so that they now face you. And it is adorable! I am going to have to purchase that set as well! :D

The image is stamped on GinaK pure luxury card stock and then colored in with copics. Still practicing the hair, but I think it is slowly improving...I hope!;)
I paper pieced the tuxedo on Ian and Anya has Dry Stickles on her dress for the sparkle and magic! I wanted to do something special to Ian's dress shirt so I used enamel glossy accents. In real life I didn't see the little errors on the collar but boy the camera sure picks them up. Anyway, the Butterfly design paper that the images are mounted on I have had in my stash and I just LOVE it, problem is I don't remember who it is by. :(

 

 The other cards stock is a shimmery plum and a light lavender that I purchased from The Paper Temptress.. Images were stamped with Memento ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder. The sentiment stamp if from Unity Stamp Co. from a KOM. I just love the font! Paper flowers are from Wild Orchid crafts and for the leaves I used GinaK pure luxury and a Fiskars punch. The stick pins I purchased at i{heart}papers.

The organza Ribbon is from The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store. Love this ribbon! :D I used a corner punch from Fiskars for the hearts on the corners,and Nestabilities for the main image and the sentiment.

Thank you for stopping by today!
Congratulations to the Happy Couple!

Blessings and Hugs,

Mary

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