Jingle Belles - Banner Inspired Holiday

December is creeping up on us and there is just enough time for me to get in my card(s) for the last official Jingle Belles challenge of 2023 - using their blog banner for inspiration

Would you believe that I have been thinking about this since February?  Yes, it's true.  I was shopping in $Tree back in February and saw that they had rolls of what I call velour ribbon in two shades of pink and also in white and it immediately reminded me of the Jingle Belles banner.  I must have been working on a challenge before I went there to have it so fresh in my mind.  But the wheels started turning......I'm sure if thought bubbles were real, you might have seen them flying around my head.  How could I use those ribbons to make trees?  Could I cut them out of the ribbon?  Probably.  Could I maybe use a tree die?  More likely.  Do I have a tree die?  Seriously(!)  Surely I must.  Those ribbon rolls were so enthusiastic they jumped right into my cart.  And then were stashed away until November at which time it was necessary to start producing some more of those thought bubbles.  

I found a tree die set that I thought I could use and started playing around with it.  The first thing that I knew I had to do was to add sticky paper on the back of the ribbon because the tree limbs were very delicate and plentiful and it could become messy using bottled glue.  Then I proceded to die cut them with the die on top of the fuzzy side.  I ran it through the Big Shot several times to hopefully get through the ribbon and the paper backing but it didn't seem to get through enough for me not to have to also use a scissor to cut it.  Then a lightbulb joined the thought bubbles and illuminated the solution for me...........it's a tree.....it doesn't have a right or wrong side...........cut through the paper and see if that works.......so what if it's a little smushed.  Well, lo and behold, I should have turned that light on sooner because it sure did enlighten me.  The only thing that I regret is that I tend to be so frugal with my supplies and tried to fit as many trees as I could on a piece of the ribbon that I did not take into consideration that the ribbon had a nap to it and cut my trees out in both directions.  So you may or may not notice on the card that those of the same color look different if they were cut out in opposite directions.

I sorted through my stash of paper to try to find something suitable for the background and came up with two possibilities.  The top card has the large chenille-like snowflakes already as part of the paper pattern but I flipped the trees and sentiment.   The one below has a little darker background with some preprinted white snowflakes already there.  Both have the Jingle Bells sentiment cut from pink glitter paper and added to a white word frame.  See how the dark pink becomes even darker just because the nap is the other direction.  You can see it too with the white trees on the bottom card.  

Whilst I was working on those I had another thought bubble escape.........there's always a late comer.  I had been seeing some artists on IG using things like cookie cutters, jar lids, and TP tubes to print the shape onto watercolor paper by first dipping or painting on the edges of the shape and stamping that onto the paper.  Then they take a wet paint brush and pull in the paint to the center of the shape giving it that watercolory effect.  Hmmmmmm, could I do that with a die?  It was worth a try.  So I set myself up to paint the raised edges of the die and press it down onto the paper.  The results were eh.  There wasn't much paint that transferred but I still used the paint brush to catch what I could and make the shape look like a tree.  I recently had brought home my old heat gun from the condo and used that to dry each tree before going onto the next one so they all didn't puddle together.  Tree shapes are very forgiving because they are all different and sometimes wonky.  I chose a different background altogether for this going with the pink vibe and added a swatch of tri-colored washi tape near the bottom of the trees. 

Then I listened to some more bubbles and found some small snowflake dies and added them on top of the washi tape.  And as if that wasn't enough, I die cut "peace" from the pink glitter paper and added that on top of the snowflakes.  White gel pen and a silver marker added snowflakes and stars. It's one of those cards that is better appreciated IRL.  

Well, there you have it.  The last of the Jingle Belle challenge cards for this year.  I do so appreciate having this challenge throughout the year to keep me somewhat ahead of what I need to have prepared for the holidays.  It makes it so much more doable and a lot less frustrating.  There were a number of challenges I didn't get to this summer because of one reason or the other, but I always try to keep that goal in the spotlight and will continue to do that again next year.  Hopefully, our Jingle Belle hostesses will be back in January with some fun challenges for the new year, and it's a leap year so we'll even have an extra day!  Thank you to Lauren and Steph for all their time and effort to make our Christmas cardmaking more fun!  

First Half of November....... (with a little more forgotten October)

(Some of this post was in a draft I overlooked at the end of last month.  I'll save that for the end.) 

We pass this tree on Princeton Pike when we go to the condo.  On this particular day it was nearing sunset and at the light just before we reached this point, I got my phone ready and rolled down the window.  HWNSNBP took as long as he reasonably could when the light turned green so that I could snap some shots as we passed.  He even noted that the car that was on our right seemed to notice that I was taking pictures and slowed so they wouldn't photobomb it.  This is a black oak and it has a title - Champion Brearly Oak - because it is the largest tree of this type in New Jersey.  It looks a little sparse here because of the time of year, but I can assure you that when it's in it's full glory it is majestic.  I typically nod off when HWNSNBP is driving us to the condo (about a 2 hr. drive) but try to stay alert long enough to get a glimpse of this beauty.  You can see the limbs are so long and powerful - some of the lower ones rest on the ground.  There are two lightning rods attached to this tree to keep it safe in case of a lightning strike.  And despite the commercial growth of the area surrounding it, they keep this fence around it.  You can read a little more about it here.

We got to spend time (separately) with two of the grandsons recently.  GS2 came and spent a couple of nights at our "other house" in Branchburg.  (He calls the condo our "tall house" because of all the stairs to get in.)  We have boxes of cars and trucks that were once our son's that he loves to play with.  And he is a little fascinated with the little fairy garden planter that I have that is full of little characters.  He does ask if he can play with them and I don't mind as long as he's careful and doesn't bang them on the table or throw them around.  If something does break, it breaks, as long as he doesn't get hurt I tell him. 

He surrounded the little glass dish of glass piggies so they could be protected he told me.

He and Papa drove their tractors up and down the hill until the little one's battery ran out.  (Papa wasn't going to try to keep up on foot!)

He wasn't interested in any painting this time, or any Grandma projects, but he got a lot of outside time here and at the park with Papa.  Trucks, cars, and blocks kept him busy inside.  

Meanwhile, this little guy got some daddy time while his mommy spent some time with friends.

We visited with GS1 at his house and got some time to play some games.  Papa played Battleship and I played Sorry and GS1 won both!  Battleship has come a long way since I learned to play as a child.  My father would draw the grids on a piece of paper for us, that's how old I am.  Our kids had a folding case with plastic inserts, and this one is even more streamlined.

We ate at a new place in Barnegat called the Waterview Cafe.  It's fairly new to the area and has an art gallery of sorts set up inside.  It was a rainy Friday afternoon when we stopped in, the only one's there for lunch which turned out to be very good.  We had a lovely chat with the owner/hostess after our meal.  They are and will be doing painting/artistic events and I've read a lot of good reports on them.

Some tangles that I've done recently using some YouTube videos.  This is by Eva Wu - a variation of the tangle Tangnie.

This one by Tangle Yogi - Hurry Flower she calls it.  I haven't gotten to shading or adding color to it yet.

And this one might be the inspiration for a couple of Christmas cards if I do it in color.  It's called Wyfore Tree by @yukoxzen.  The scroll-like segments of the tree are the tangle Wyfore filled in with other tangles leaving it great opportunity for personal preferences.  

And what I had forgotten to get to posting in October.........

I know Halloween has come and gone but I wanted to post the pictures of some of the decorations I did manage to put out.  These little things fit nicely in the clear jars that I have on the pie safe.  They'll get filled with Christmas items soon.

When you have a box marked "Pumpkins" and don't find any pumpkins in it you can't help but shake your head.  Thankfully, with some detective work, the pumpkins were located and arranged in front of the tv where they'll stay until Thanksgiving weekend.  I will, however, remove the Halloween birds that I did manage to find at $Tree after looking for them in at least 8 different stores.  I also added some mushrooms that I found at $Tree to this display.

This will stay out a little longer also.  I found the pumpkin (that lights up) at a $Tree Plus when we were looking for the $Tree Halloween birds.  The gnome came from Target and the bird (with the candy corn beak) came from a local nursery that has a large gift store.  The charger it's on is one that I got at $Tree when I was looking for ideas for wedding centerpieces.  (Oh dear, I still haven't posted the wedding pics!!!)

I started physical therapy for my back a couple of weeks ago and it's going well, but it's just a precursor to surgery I'm pretty sure.  The PT is only going to add strength, it will not eliminate the stenosis that I have that is causing my spinal canal to narrow and put pressure on the nerves.  And I better get going now for my session today. 

Jingle Belles - Hard Candy Christmas

Time for some sweetness on those Christmas cards say the Jingle Belles.  Our cards are to feature a favorite candy, cookie, or any sweet treat that we like during the holidays.

It's always a treat for me to go for tea at the holidays but this year my favorite tea house is temporarily closed.  That didn't stop me from putting together this gingerbread teapot for my sweet contribution though.  I even added a couple of sugar plum jellies (and used some very ancient glass beads on them).  The sentiment comes from a Neat and Tangled stamp set called Holiday Baking.

And I did manage to squeeze two of these in.

I also started down another rabbit hole the other day with some Christmas cupcake wrappers that I picked up at $Tree.  They make a cool honeycomb ornament with a little folding and some glue.  

You've got to flatten them first.

Then fold them in half.  (Note - I refolded them the opposite way after I decided that I wanted more of the pattern to show as opposed to the inside.)

Refolding in process.

I've omitted the step where you run a line of glue down the center in the same direction you see these two lines.  I made a "jig" with register marks on a scrap piece of paper to know where to run the other lines of glue.

You glue all the pieces on top of each other until you get.....

You need to add a length of ribbon or twine in the center for a hanger before you glue the sides together to get the ball.  I'm still working on that step.

I think left open they would make a nice package decoration and the mini liners might make ornaments that were smaller to hang on a tree.  These make a 4 1/2" ball.  

We're nearing the end of November and that also means that the Jingle Belles challenges will be coming to a close for this year soon.  The goal has always been to have all your Christmas cards made before December so you don't have to fill your time with making them and instead enjoy December.  I haven't done all of the challenges again this year, but I did plan ahead a little and made duplicates of some of the cards as the year progressed.  Still, I am short of what I need so I'll be doing a little catch-up but will be sure to post as I go along with them also.  

Time to check out all the other sweetness that has been shared for this challenge at the Jingle Belles blog.  You can too by clicking here.

Inktober 2023 Complete

 

I added an additional tangle to fill in the stem and, not sure you can tell, used green and brown pastel chalk on that section.  The rest is done only in white and orange.  And I added a little spider on one of the sections - the only kind I'm comfortable with.  The back of this has the list of tangles and the key to where they're found on the pumpkin.  The ladies at 7F5R provided a document with links to the step outs for doing each of the tangles but you can usually find them on Tangle Patterns .

Birdtober - Day 22 to the End

Happy to say that these are all done and I do think that I'll be doing it again next year except I may use colored pencils and a larger format, but time will tell.

Day 22 - Bohemian Waxing

(for bird info click here)

Day 23 - Black Headed Gull

(for bird info click here)

Day 24 - Ornate Hawk Eagle

(for bird info click here)

Day 25 - Mandarin Duck

(for bird info click here)

Special thanks to Sabrina at My Miscellany for the inspiring photo on this post from her blog.

Day 26 - Emu

(for bird info click here)

Day 27 - Blue Penguin (Little Penguin)

(for bird info click here)

Day 28 - Galah

(for bird info click here)

Day 29 - Artist's Choice

I chose the Southern Red Bishop because it looks like it's dressed up for Halloween.

(for bird info click here)

Day 30 - Allen's Hummingbird

(for bird info click here)

Day 31 - Spotted Owl

(for bird info click here)

Of all these last 10 I think it's most likely that I've seen a black-headed gull IRL.  I believe that the galah is a parrot a little larger than a cockatiel and hails from Australia also.  They, like the cockatiels can become nuisance birds when they flock together.  If I were younger, I might want one, but we're too advanced in age to care for a parrot now only because the parrot is likely to outlive us.  I've heard that if you buy a parrot now, some breeders make you provide information on who will take care of the parrot when you're no longer here.  When my sister passed away, we rehomed 3 cockatiels fairly quickly, but it took a little longer to find a home for her African grey (which I would have kept, but we had a few cockatiels of our own at the time and no room for a bigger parrot).

We've (I've) been hearing an owl nearby at night both when I'm going to sleep and early in the morning.  It's not a spotted owl.  I believe it's an eastern screech owl.  I tried to use my Merlin app on my phone to identify it by sound but it wasn't picking up inside the house and I didn't feel like going outside, so I did some googling to listen to owl sounds of New Jersey and narrowed it down that way.

The moderator of this challenge Andrea Holmes has offered a sticker and postcard to anyone who completed the whole challenge so I did add my info.  She said it may take a while to get them all out because of all the participation.  But I don't mind one way or the other.  She also is asking for ideas for birds for next year and I'll have to give that some thought.  I don't know what's been done in the past so I may investigate that a little first.  But there sure are enough to choose from! 

Jingle Belles - Not A Creature Was Stirring

Traditionally, the end of October has meant the Jingle Belles would like to see cards with "creatures" on them.  I certainly have enough Christmas creatures to choose from but this time I went for something that I found on my work table recently - these little fish dies.  And I just happened to have a stamp set from Polka Doodles that had the perfect image and sentiment to go along with it.

Yes, that's a gnome fishing with his friendly creature friend the penguin.  And they've caught so many fish that they could decorate the tree with them.  Those fish are individual die cuts and I used silver cardstock for them.  I arranged them in a Christmas tree shape trying to keep it compact enough to fit on a card.  When I got them in order, I laid a piece of Press and Seal over them to keep them in place.  I then cut a piece of the dotted dsp and flipped it over to the back so I could lay the fish down sticky side up letting me then draw a tree around them.  I fussy cut the tree, turned the tree over and laid the fish on it sticky side down.  I peeled back the fish and the Press and Seal a few at a time so I could add glue to the back of the fish and pressed them onto the tree.  I did that a few times until all the fish were glued and then I removed the Press and Seal altogether.  

The gnome and penguin image was colored with General's Watercolor pencils with some shading with a light gray alcohol marker.  I fussy cut around that and added that over the strip of white ice on the bottom of the card.  Just because those jewels happened to be on my work desk, I decided to use a few on the sentiment piece.  

I have another set of fishes to make another tree and I'm just now thinking that I should have traced that tree before I added it to this card to save that step. 

I'll be heading over to the Jingle Belles to see all the other lovely creatures that showed up for the party this week.  You can join me by clicking here.

Two Minute Rant and Two Cards

A few days ago a TV host lamented that he was tired of all the made up holidays (they happen to announce in the opening segment of their show).  To him I say - THEN DON'T CELEBRATE THEM!  Of all the things going on in the world today, certainly celebrating an obscure holiday should be the least of your worries if it brings someone joy.  And to make that comment on national tv after your show recently celebrated TV Talk Show Host Day on the 23rd is just dumb.  (And I generally like the show.)

Most times it's just a matter of doing a little something extra for that day.  You don't have to go all out and decorate like you do for Christmas or Halloween.  You don't have to buy anything unless you want to.  There are no rules or obligatios to send gifts or cards or anything like that.  Just mentioning it to someone could bring them a smile.  Like mentioning your son or daughter on Son or Daughter Day.  Or sending a text to your friends to have a beer on National Beer Day.  Wear those crazy socks on Crazy Sock Day.  Share a knock knock joke on Knock Knock Joke Day.  

Meeting friends to share a pizza on Pizza Day, or pierogies on Pierogi Day (as we recently did) made that day even more special.  Today is Calzone Day and I know that we'll be having a calzone for dinner (meaning I don't have to cook today!).  It's also Cinnamon Day - I would say have a cinnamon roll, a slice of cinnamon bread, add some to your hot chocolate or coffee, maybe make an apple dessert with cinnamon.  Burn a cinnamon candle.  It doesn't take that much effort to find a way to enjoy it.  

Good for you if your day is so full and busy that you don't need to find a little extra happiness in it.  Or maybe bad for you that you don't take the time to.  In any case, don't yuck my yum.  

Well, that took less than 2 minutes so here are two cards that I had in my stash that I used for birthday cards in October.

And see how those tomatoes ripened.