I  received an order for a "Texas style" glass block using stars, this week.  Here's my first attempt.

A Color Challenge

I've been a busy bee creating goodies to sell at craft shows this month.  I decided if I was going to have time to participate in the color challenge at www.heart2heartchallenges.blogspot.com I would just have to make it along with the items I'm doing in quantity to sell.  So was born this post-it holder!  I think I've made a 100 of these handy items, made from 5x7 acrylic frames, so it was fun to challenge myself to use colors I normally wouldn't.  The challenge colors were Indian Corn Blue, Brown Bag and Sunset.  Naturally I turned to the beautiful Olivia collection of papers from Close To My Heart as the background of my creation.  I was so lucky to find this fall colored post-it pad to coordinate.  I used Sunset ink to stamp the flower from The Present stamp set onto the notes.  I used Indian Corn Blue to stamp the sentiment from the same stamp set.  The edges of the sentiment card are sponged in Brown Bag ink.  I tied some CTMH Colonial White Waxy Flax (love this stuff! now I need to order more) around the frame and embellished with a flower from Recollections that I found in the after Halloween sale at Michaels. It needed a bit of sparkle so I added some orange gemstones.  All done in a jiffy!

Coming Soon! Veterans' Day Blog Hop!

The Land Of The Free Because Of The Brave Blog Hop

November 11, 2010 - all 24 hours of it!

20 amazing bloggers!

Patriotic RED, White and BLUE projects!

Interviews and comments from Veterans,

Active Military personnel and Military Friends and Family

Got Kleenex?  Better go buy some before Thursday!

We hope you will check out links to sites like Operation Write Home and Operation Care and Comfort. You may find a new way to help support our active and retired military.

A Blog Hop wouldn't be any fun without Blog candy!

Marlo Letterle, the developer of the marvelous Scrap'NTote, will be sending a tote to the Grand Prize Winner!

Check out her great Cricut Storage Solution.

You can find a great interview with Marlo at http://www.examiner.com/arts-crafts-in-national/scrap-n-tote-interview-with-marlo-letterle

Anne-Therese Cermola Luper, who owns Paper Patch Crafts, a terrific on-line store, is donating
a *super-secret* Grand Prize too!

Make sure you check in and see what you can win! There will be prizes and tutorials from the participating blogs.  Rumor has it there's at least one Cricut Cartridge that will go to one lucky Blog Hopper! Maybe even more!!!!

I hope you will join us in celebrating the men, women, and their families and friends who help to make and keep our great Country The Land Of The Free! It is only because they are The Brave!
See You Thursday! 

To My Hubby

I heard this for the first time today and it is now my song for my sweet husband who has danced with me in many a minefield in our 27 years of marriage!

Manly Card-Embossing Techniques

 I needed a manly card for a swap and for my DH's birthday.  Then the gals at www.heart2heartchallenges.blogspot.com issued a challenge for embossing.  So I created a card to knock all 3 out of the park (sorry, lots of baseball talk around these parts-GO RANGERS!).


"Dry/Ink" embossing: I started with a card base made from CTMH Cocoa cardstock.  I used an emery board on the edges to distress.  The next layer is a fun technique I saw Tim Holtz use this summer.  I took his woodgrain embossing folder and rubbed chocolate ink directly on the inside of the folder and then used my Cuttlebug to emboss  CTMH brown bag cardstock.  I love how it embeds the ink into the recessed areas to bring out the grain.  I then sanded the cardstock a bit and used brown bag ink to rub over the raised edges.

Emboss resist: I used Versamark ink with a stamp from the CTMH set "Live Inspired" to stamp the bird image.  Before it dried, I sprinkled clear embossing powder over it and shook the excess off.  Using my heat gun, I melted the powder.  Then I took brown bag ink and sponged over the image and cardstock (CTMH Colonial White).  I sponged more with Chocolate ink. I rubbed the excess ink off the embossed image. I tore around the embossed image and inked area and then inked the torn edges.

Gold Embossing:  I stamped the sentiment on the tag with Versamark as well but used gold embossing powder on it.  I also sponged around it with the same colors as above.

The finishing touches were a little brown waxy flax around the tag, topped with a filigree charm.  The memo pin is from Tim Holtz tied with a little bit of Colonial White waxy flax.

Thank you for stopping by.  Leave me some love with your comments!

Punkin' Glass Block

I love making these glass block lights.  The self adhesive vinyl that I get from www.expressionsvinyl.com makes it so easy.  I used black, orange, dark green and brown vinyls.  The pumpkin was cut using Stretch Your Imagination Cricut cartridge and the spiders are from Doodlecharms cartridge.  I added a little sparkle with clear rhinestones for the spiders' eyes.  BOO!

His & Hers Homecoming Mums

We do homecoming  bigger in Texas.  It wasn't enough to only bedeck our girls with mums and ribbons and doodads.  Nowadays the girls make a "garter" mum for the boys.  This is the 4th mum I've made over the years and I will probably have to make 2 next year when son #3 will be old enough to date.  Fun times!  And, no, this mum wasn't big enough to need to wear around her neck like some others I've seen but she was marching in the parade and this just was easier to wear that way.