52 Week Project - December Photos

Well...I did it!! I started this journey 52 weeks ago and I managed to see it all the way through. Granted some photos were taken a little late, a couple of photos are stuck on my cell phone, some I rushed through, and others I put a little more time and thought into, but I stuck with it and ended up with some pretty cool self portraits. Here' s the last of the bunch:

Week 48/52 taken 12.5.11 Shades of grey with a pop of color

Week 49/52 taken 12.10.11 A wise woman once said...

Week 50/52 taken 12.18.11 Decorating my Christmas tree in my pajamas and head scarf.

Week 51/52 taken 12.21.11 Last day of Autumn

Week 52/52 taken 12.31.11 I started started this 52 week journey with this photo captioned "feeling quite blah", but I'm finishing it with this photo of me with a big ole smile on my face because through it all, the good times and bad, I am still standing and feeling stronger than ever. I have a feeling that 2012 is going to be a great year!!

See ya next year!!

A "Peace"ful Birdhouse

There is something about the Christmas holiday that brings out the altered artist in me. I love making new little trinkets and ornaments, and for the past few years, houses to add to my Christmas decor. I think it has a lot to do with all of the handmade treasures that we made for my mom as kids, that she still enjoys to this day.

I made this project for the Basically Bare blog. Cute, isn’t it? I think I have a place for this right next to the “JOY” frame set that I made last year.


When I spotted this weighted paper mache house on the clearance rack at Michael’s for .29, I knew I had to get it although I didn’t know what I was going to do with it…that is until now! I covered it with papers and die cuts from Creative Imaginations and added a couple of Stack-a-Bellies Birds to create my own little Christmas birdhouse.

I started with Basically Bare acrylic and chipboard birds and wings.

I ran the set through my Cuttlebug using the Script folder. I love the romantic look that this folder lends to the birds.

NOTE: I left the protective seal on the acrylic pieces when I embossed and then removed it afterwards. This is what the birds look like after they come out of the folder. If you ask me, they are beautiful enough to use on any project as is, but I had to take it a step further.

Using a sponge brush, I gently swiped white acrylic paint across the embossing and then painted the edges of one of the birds and one of the wings.


I used silver embossing powder to cover the second bird/wing set. Notice how the dry embossing holds its shape under the heat embossing. I love this technique!

After the birds were dried, I layered them on the bottom of the house.

Then added die cut foliage until I was satisfied.

Here's a close-up of the rooftop. I layered border cut strips to form the "shingles".


Hope you've enjoyed this post. Have a great week!!

Tanisha

8 Days To Go!

Only 8 more days until Christmas...can you believe it? I certainly can't! I swear, I'm getting worse at getting my decorations up in a timely fashion every year. I bought my Christmas Tree a couple of days ago and it still sits...undecorated! I'm going to do it tomorrow, though...I promise. The good thing is I'm just about finished with Christmas shopping. I have a few gift cards to pick up and then I'll spend a few days next week wrapping everything up. I'm excited to see the looks on my boys faces when they wake up on Christmas morning.

Part of the reason that I'm so behind is the fact that I've been tied to my scrap desk...and boy what a messy desk it is. I'm busy creating CHA products to get ready to ship to CA, keeping up with my DT assignments and creating some stuff...just because.

I created this project quite a while ago, but never posted it here. I love making these little gift bags from dies. I put a lot of work into this one, creating a shaker box on the front for added visual interest. All of the dies are from Cheery Lynn Designs, the flowers are from Petaloo and the papers are from Pink Paislee's Queen Bee line. I used my Purple Cow Laminator to laminate the lattice die cut to make the shaker box.

This bag can be easily adapted to create a gift bag for any occassion. Here's another one that I created for Christmas along with step by step directions.

I know it's December and most people have their minds on the upcoming holidays, but I couldn't help creating a layout featuring some of my favorite pictures of Donovan from Halloween. This was the first time that he chose a scary costume and he really got into the acts. Check out his Zombie stance!

I used Pink Paislee Hocus Pocus collection, which suited my pics perfectly. I took apart one of the DooDads and used it to mat one of the small circle photos. I never thought I'd ever use a fly rub-on, but I found a home for them here...I mean what self respecting Zombie doesn't have flies buzzing about?


Well, that's all I have for now, but I'll be back later this week with an adorable altered project.

Have a fantastic week!!

What To Do With All Of These Christmas Cards?

I've been on a Christmas card making frenzy! I mean between submitting for publication and creating for design teams and just plain making Christmas cards because they are my favorites, I have amassed quite a collection. So...what to do with them all? I mean, yes, I always think that I am going to mail them out, but the amount of postage that it'll take makes me think twice. Maybe one of these days, I'll set up an etsy shop or something. In the meantime, I'll just keep creating them.

Here are my latest Christmas card creations. They were all created with Jillibean Soup Christmas Eve Chowder collection. I just adore a cute Christmas line, don't you?

The first card was made for the Petaloo blog. We joined up with Jillibean for a joint blog hop. Tons of ideas were shared...check them all out here.

I made this card just because I couldn't help myself. Once I saw those adorable penguins, I knew I had to use them on a project. Each penguin on this card represents a member of my family (me, my hubby, and our 2 boys). Cute right?

Here's a close-up of our sparkling attire.

And last, but not least is a card that I created for the Basically Bare blog. I put up step by step instructions for creating the glittery embossed ornament. So check it out!



As always, I thank you for stopping by and leaving such sweet comments!! Until next post...

Getting Back on Track

Well would you look at that...2 blog posts in one day!

I haven't posted here in a bit, but I think I have a good excuse. The events of past 2 weeks have been incredibly emotional! It started with the sudden death of someone that I admired, the coordinator for the OEM (Office of Emergency Management) team that I volunteer with. He was just days away from his 50th birthday and had a massive heart attach while driving to a fire. He was also the Captain of the fire department in my town. The following day my (non-biological) grandmother died. She was 88 years old and lead a pretty full life until she fell ill a couple of months ago. They had both touched so many lives and will be greatly missed by everyone who knew them.

So my Thanksgiving holiday was sandwiched between 2 funerals. I did get to spend the holiday with my family and I met my 3 month old niece for the first time, too. She's so beautiful...oh and did I mention that she's named after me? My brother gave her a "T" name, like his 3 sisters, and her middle name is Renee like mine. The events of the past 2 weeks have reminded me of how amazingly precious life is. I am definitely grateful for every moment of every day and for having the opportunity to come in contact with wonderful people.

I'm also grateful that I get to share my passion, right here, with you.

I whipped up this really simple, but elegant Christmas card using one of the foil papers from Creative Imaginations' Night Divine line.


This layout, featuring my adorable little monsters, was recently published in the Winter 2011 issue of Scrapbooking & Beyond magazine. I used and older line from Bo Bunny that I love so much, 'Tis the Season, along with some die from Cheery Lynn Designs and Spellbinders. Check out the Gadget Girls section of the issue or SB&Beyond website for your chance to win the featured tool, Spellbinders Presto Punch. It was really fun and easy to work with!


Thanks so much for stopping by today!! Have a wonderful week!

52 Week Project - November Photos

One more month to go with the 52 Week Project. I didn't get that creative this month, but I've been a bit busy.

Week 45/52 taken 11.12.11 - The kids are in bed and now it's MY turn to hold the remote!



Week 46/52 taken 11.20.11 - I took my boys to see Phineas & Ferb's live show and captured this joyful look on my little one's face. The 3 of us loved every moment of the show!



Week 47/52 taken 11.28.11 Sooo not in the mood for photos, today!




5 more weeks to go!! Thanks for taking a peek!!