January Birthdays and Clouds

Both my daughter and her husband have birthdays in January.  His is early in the month, hers is later.

Masculine cards are always a challenge for me.  I found the painted dots circle that I had previously stamped in my stash and cobbled some other bits in the same color family to come up with this card for him.  

The card for my daughter was inspired by a card by Michelle at Amusing Michelle that I saw on Pinterest using the AlteNew Hennah Elements stamp set.  It reminds me of a tattoo she has.

I've been working on some cards for the February birthdays coming up.  Trying to use some cheerful colors for these wintry days.  

But on these wintry days we still can see some spectacles in the sky.  Awhile back I looked up through the skylight over our kitchen sink and saw this in the sky.........

I went outside to get a bigger picture.  Besides the X do you see a word there?  Truth be told, until I was going to post this I didn't notice it, but now I'm seeing either PIPE or RIPE.  What do you see?

And more recently there was the most gorgeous horsetail cloud......... (click on the pictures to enbiggen)

I sure looked like a horsetail to me - or a very large feather.  

Jingle Belles - Think Big But Go Small

Inchies and twinchies are on the menu for the Jingle Belles challenge this fortnight.  I've used both on my cards.  I chose a little bit of an unconventional color palette for a Christmas card - blue and gray - and a cute little stamp set from Pinkfresh.  

I just might try this again with green and red - we shall see.  

Time to go and check out all the other inchies and twinchies at the Jingle Belles blog.  You can join me by clicking here.  

Dar's World, A Creative Community

Last week I was invited by a former co-worker - our retired school art teacher - to join a creative facebook group she was also joining facilitated by Dar James, an artist and illustrator that she knows.  I've been following Dar on FB for a few years and tune in to her live FB sessions when I get a chance (or remember).  With the constraints of the pandemic, she has had to curtail her in studio classes - something that my friend had also wanted me to be part of and I was looking forward to - so this makes for a good starting point, I think.  She's going to give us a prompt each week and encourages us to make ATC's - Artist Trading Cards - as our "homework".  If you're not familiar, the size is 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches for an ATC.  

The first week prompt was "Thick and Thin" - to use thick and thin lines in our creation.  I had made a similar card to this several years ago which was hanging on our refrigerator, but it the ink I used was fading so I decided to give it a try with gouache this time.  The thick and thin lines at the bottom represent the thick ending in thin grass stalks.

The second one I did for this prompt was to "illustrate" my word of the year.  You can see the thick and thin strokes in the lettering.  

The second week of prompts was based on the new Pantone colors of Gray and Yellow, and taking inspiration from this Tarot card she provided.  With this one, she encouraged us to use the colors red, yellow, and blue (in shades of our choice) to create gray.  There was a FB session that went along with that.  What do you think of this year's colors?  I remember as a young mother in the 80's one of my favorite everyday outfits was a pair of soft gray corduroy pants, a yellow turtleneck sweater, with a hand crocheted gray vest.  I think I still have the vest.  I also remember that I made pillows in shades of gray and yellow for Rachel's bedroom in her condo after she graduated UD in the 2000's.  And most recently, well about four years ago, they finally found some money to let us "paint" the school office and we chose yellow to go with the light gray counter tops and door trim.  I also remember that the opinions on the office were quite polarized.

So I think you will be able to see the clouds and snake in this first one.

And that center symbol in this one.  

This one I did because the day I did it was actually National Polka Dot Day and I wanted to give some time to the polka dots.  I added a die cut flower ring over one of those dots.  

And yes, all my grays were made by mixing magenta, yellow, and turquoise.

I'm looking forward to doing more of these.  If you're interested in joining this group let me know and I'll send you an invite.  

Magpie Memory Heart

I have been following the work of Amanda Evanston on Instagram and actually signed up for her Insiders Studio late last fall after seeing some of the projects that she was facilitating on her website/facebook group.  There is a monthly fee and the classes are live on a regular schedule.  You can work along with her or work at your own pace and you can post what you have finished to the group if you choose to.  Once and a while she will have a pop-up course that she does on short notice.  That was the case of this one that she did on New Year's Eve at around 7 p.m. - just when our company was arriving.  But I did not despair as I was looking forward to spending that time with our Bubble from Table 7.  So I was pleasantly surprised to see that she left the video up for about 24 hours and I was able to watch it on New Year's Day.  

I am sharing what I did here but want to make sure it is understood that this is not my original idea and I take no credit for it.  And if anyone does do this, please make sure to give credit to the originator - Amanda Evanston.  BTW - she will be opening up enrollment to the Insider's Studio in February if you want to become part of it.  Check her out on Facebook or Instagram.

What is a magpie?  A magpie is a bird but the word magpie is also used to refer to a person who collects things of relatively little use or value.  I do believe that I fit into that category as would be evidenced by the plethora of "stuff" that I have been collecting over the years and recently going through.  So this project was, in effect, calling my name.  

You begin with a heart shape or shape of your choice cut or torn from some pretty stiff cardboard.  And then add some "slots" around the edges.  

Here's where your scraps of bits and bobs come into play.  You take some paper strips and use them to write your intentions - could be your resolutions for the new year, events that happened over the past year, people or things that you want to remember, etc.  And you fold them up.  Then you take some ribbon, string, or yarn scraps and tie them around the heart.  Oh, and you can, of course decorate the base of the heart first if you choose - I just wrote the date 2020.  I was fairly certain that I could cover the whole shape with what I had gathered.

You start tucking in those folded papers, and scraps of whatever you have in your stash. Then you can wrap more string or ribbon around that and continue in that fashion.  Then you embellish it. I used some plastic netting, some snippets of tulle and lace, some blingy yellow ribbon, some sequins, and the little blue bits are the punch outs that I saved from the hard plastic visitor's badges we used to have at school.  Those little things were glued down and I just took a toothpick and stuffed some glue behind some of the paper bits that weren't staying snuggly behind the wrappings.  You can add glitter or glitter paint, sequins - whatever bling you want to. You can even add some elements that dangle off of the heart, but I haven't done that here.  

The goal would be to put this heart in a shadow box frame if you want to display it.  I have not done that yet either.  I think that this would be a nice project to do with friends or family and had I seen it before our company came, I would have liked to share it with them.  Maybe another time.

So, if I can get my act together and finally get my workspace organized enough to begin some of the painting projects from this group you might see some of that in the future.  Let me be off to get some creativity flowing on this Sunday afternoon.

Sharing Their Creativity

I love sending handmade cards and I also love receiving them.  This Christmas I was blessed with these beauties.

From Sabrina in Ireland - I love how she layered that diecut piece giving it such a presence.

And she made this sweet little domino ornament using a Dutch stamp as the background.  (Giving me more ideas for next year too!)

She also made this tote bag which is the perfect size for a book, or journal and pencils. (Or my Zentangle kit.)  The fabric is so soft and I love the little sheep pattern.

This card cane from Sunshine in New Zealand - I love that little gnome peaking out there!

This fun bookmark also came from Sunshine.  A snowman with a rainbow is such fun don't you think!

Lauren of the Jingle Belles sent me this hand-painted beauty.  Her talents never cease to amaze me.

Our other Jingle Belle hostess, Stephanie sent this one to me - it's actually a thank you for the card that I sent her, but just the same, it was created by her.  I wish I could have captured the sparkle of those hearts better.

This wasn't sent to me but rather something that I sent to my grandsons.  I had three of these wooden postcards that I had watercolored last winter and set aside.  It was preprinted on paper that was adhered to a piece of wood made to be colored and mailed.  I didn't do anything with them at that time because I was hesitant to send them through the mail unprotected and did some research into how to protect the surface for mailing.  I found that MicroGlaze by JudiKins was recommended for waterproofing calligraphied envelopes and gave that a try.  It is made from paraffin oils and waxes and is rubbed on and then buffed.  I did this twice leaving a few days in between layers.  There was very little smeering and I think that they held up pretty well in the mailing.

I believe that it cost $.70 to mail (HWNSNBP does the PO trips).  I will have to remember to get stamps of that value because the PO worker didn't use a stamp but rather printed a strip which went over the edge of the postcard.  Our postal service is very erratic this past month.  Two of these were mailed on the same day from the same post office and one of them got there within a couple of days, the other took over three weeks to get there.  Which makes me wonder who else hasn't received our Christmas cards yet?

Rachel had a little arts & crafts session with Maverick and had him put his handprint in this salt dough for a tree ornament.  He loves Playdough too.  He does wind up throwing it - as he does with most things - but he rolls it and pinches.  Just don't make a pancake out of any of the balls he's made - that will cause a meltdown - ask me how I know!

My cousin Barbara dipped into her button stash and made a forest of button tree ornaments and I was a lucky recipient of one of them.  I apologize for the blurry picture.  It it so cute.  I think she told me that she has a treasure trove of buttons so I can't wait to see what else she makes with them.

Once again I have been blessed by the creativity of my friends and family. Thank you so much - all of you!

Jingle Belles - Something Old and Something New and Some Things That I Won Too

Ho, ho, ho - here we go with another year of Jingle Belle challenges.  This fortnight the challenge was to use something old and something new (or unused).  Well, I was pretty lucky late last year to be the winner of one of the Jingle Belle giveaways which gave me my new items and I'll share another giveaway I won also at the end of this post.

Here was the prize from the JB's - Stamps, Paper, and Embellishments that were perfect for this first challenge of the year.

I actually made two cards using some of these items, but only the first one qualifies for the challenge because it has something old on it - the red seam binding ribbon was salvaged from a box of straw Christmas decorations purchased at IKEA several years ago that resurfaced in our recent purge.  And the tag is actually the backside of the tag that came with the package.

I love the color combination of the patterned papers in this pack.  I can predict that it will be used many times over the course of the year.  

Thank you ladies for such a fun giveaway prize!

I did say that I was lucky enough to win something else, this happening to be something handmade.  It was on Instagram that I saw the work of Wendy Kirwood, a textile and mixed media artist.  I was fascinated by the project that she had featured on her feed this summer where she sewed 100 glass beads to a felt round each day for 10 days.  I totally enjoyed seeing her daily updates.  She made that piece into a giveaway which I entered but did not win.  So I was happy to see that she repeated this project and giveaway at the end of November/beginning of December.  I had a really good feeling about this one, and was pleasantly shocked when I saw that my name had been chosen by her son.  

The beads are sew on a 7" gray felt framed circle. 

The stitching on the beads is wonderful, but just look at the preciseness of the stitching around the frame, and her initial logo in silver thread blew me away.  

My pictures don't do it justice.  It really sparkles in the light.

What was also remarkable was that it only took 5 days for the package to arrive here from the UK in mid-December.  The mail has been pretty unpredictable during the holidays.

Now I will mosey on over the Jingle Belles blog to see all the lovely creations for these first couple of weeks in January.  You can join me by clicking here.  

What's Blooming on My Hysterversary

When I checked my e-mail this morning I was reminded by Hystersisters that today is my  12th Hysterversary.  They send an annual check-up notice as well as a monthly newsletter about women's health.  It's a little gray now as I'm writing, but the day started out pretty sunny and so I decided to document what was blooming inside.

The first worth noting is this epidendrum orchid that has bloomed for the first time since we got it in 2019 at an orchid show.  

And these two little phalaenopsis orchids are just starting to open up.

These two have been blooming for months now.

And their are two white phalaenopsis orchids growing near this anthurium which was gift.

We have three oxalis plants and they routinely bloom through the winter indoors.

This little begonia - one of a couple we bring in for the winter - is showing some color.

In the kitchen there is the new primrose that HWNSNBP recently purchased alongside the upside-down cyclamen we got at Trader Joe's.

This is one of two amaryllis' that we have potted.  This is the third stalk of blooms on this one.  The other is just about finished with the third stalk and we noticed today that there will be yet another flower stalk on that one.  We have had huge success with these two bulbs that we purchase at the Great Swamp Nursery this year.  They were a little pricy, but they have been well worth it in the display department.

And of course, here's what's left of our yearly poinsettia plant.

More Christmas Doors - From the Lost and Found, er draft not posted file

Holey, moley.  Well, what a surprise was this that I found unpublished.  Six of the 25 Doors of Christmas that were in draft status.  I know I managed to get them on Instagram, but forgot to write them up here.  Oh well.  Better late than never.

I have all the fixings to make that snowman wreath but didn't get to it..... yet.  Snowmen can stick around for the most of the cold months, not just December, right?

I think I would love to drive through a little town like this.

The little gnome is waiting for an invitation into the owl house for the Christmas party.

I will be on the lookout for an old clock with a door to make a little scene like this one.

This was the precursor to the dancing gingerbread.

This seems like fantasy, but I actually got the idea from a real "goat shed" I saw on Pinterest.  Figured the reindeer would be a little more appropriate for this time of year.

All but one of the door drawings was done in a circle.  I was thinking that a few of them might be done as ornaments in felt, or little paintings.  One more thing to add to my To Do list for 2021.