Jingle Belles 2014 - Weeks 1 & 2 - Something Old, Something New

I'm sneaking this in just under the wire (I hope).  I want to take December 2014 back and work on my Christmas cards throughout the year.  So, I hope to participate in the Jingle Belles challenges once again beginning with this first one of 2014.  Marrying the old and new.  We are to use something from our stash and something new.  I'm stretching this a bit as most of these ingredients are new, but some of them I've had for some time and haven't used them, so I'm counting them as oldest of the new.

Well, I didn't make it under the wire to post it on the Jingle Belles blog and it's probably just as well.  I kind of threw this together after work today and the picture isn't even that good.  The bottom of the card is the same color red as the top and I really wanted to find some smaller red jewels so I could add a group of three.  This size is just too big for that.  

My challenge will be to improve the design of this card and make sure that I have two of them since we are in the second week of the year.  Or maybe it will be just one of a kind.  We'll see.

Oh, and let me say these are all dies - the Happy Holidays and the Jingle Bells are Memory Box dies.  The fir fronds and pine cones are Impression Obsession and because I rushed I broke my Big Shot plate embossing those pine cones.  That'll teach me to rush!  Luckily I have a spare set.

Handmade Gifts For Me

I've posted all the handmade cards that I received for the holidays and I almost forgot to post these wonderful handmade gifts.  The ornament above, the notebook and little easel below all came from my blogging friend Sabrina.  The bird in the ornament is one of the photos she took of her little robin in Ireland.   If I were to turn the ornament around you would see the robin again on that side.  She cleverly added glitter to make it look like he's standing in the snow.  I love it.  It was a great addition to our tree this year. 

I put this little notebook to use almost immediately so I almost forgot to post it.  Sabrina used some mixed media to create this beautiful seaside scene. 

The cute little creation below is actually done on a little framed canvas.  It's found a place on my desk at work.  Sabrina is always trying new techniques and she participates in many of the creative challenges at Splitcoast.  I am always inspired by what she posts there and on her blog.

Another little gift that I got from my friend J was this cute little handmade button ring that she found for me.  Isn't it sweet?  I'm just looking at that old hand though.  And of course the camera strap that fell into the frame of the picture.  But I wanted to share it nonetheless.  I thought it was such a cute idea to stack those buttons into something so pretty.  

I spent much of the weekend working on a project for friend that I hope to post later this week.  I haven't been able to start my Zentangle book yet and hope to get to that this week also.  Whew!  It's only been 14 days into the new year and already I feel that I'm falling behind on what I want to get accomplished.  I don't know why we think that magically we can change our habits just because the calendar says the new year has begun.    I know how to budget my finances and have learned through the years how to cut corners and how to live within our means, but I haven't been able to learn how to efficiently budget my time.  I always seem to have much more to do than I realistically have time for.  

Maybe I should have chosen the word "prioritize" as my word of the year?  Well, I'll work on that some more.  

Zentangles - November and December

Here are the last two months of my 2013 Zentangle project.  As you can see, there is little if no additional content for these two months.  Things just got a little too busy.

I did learn some things as I progressed through this endeavor. 

At the start I had filled the string days (Saturdays) with 3 strings and attempted to tangle them.

I tried three different combinations and also tried three of the same.

Then I decided to cut it back to one string and tangle that.  In the empty space I added some words and their definitions.  They didn't relate to the tangles, they were just words that I had collected.  

I began to feel that the strings were too small to work with and that the pen tip that I was using was also too big.  Eventually I stopped filling in the strings altogether.  

I really like the way this one turned out though it seems more like a drawing than a tangle so I guess you might call it a ZIA - Zentangle Inspired Art

Another thing that I realized while doing this project, and rather early on, was that I was able to do follow the steps to the tangles but not having the steps visible in this book meant that I would have to look up the tangles steps in order to duplicate it again.  

Below you see the only addition of color aside for the couple of days which I mistakenly used a sepia pen instead of a black one.

I used a red Sharpie and I'm glad I didn't color any more because you'll see that it did bleed through a little.  

I have to credit all my sources of the tangles.  I know it's a little blurry in the photos, but the creators of the tangles are listed along with the tangle name in each block.  Where there is no name it is either an official tangle or it was one of mine that I didn't name (yet).  How did I find these tangles?  There are several websites that I frequent:

TanglePatterns.com  - Linda Farmer, CZT - several posts a week including Saturday Strings and Refreshers and an alphabetical index of tangles

Life Imitates Doodles - Sandra Strait - with links to tangles and tutorials and much more original art

Enthusiastic Artist - Margaret Bremner - tangles and original art

Tangle Harmony - Genevieve Crabe - weekly Zentangle round-ups

Blog Zentangle - Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas - the originators of Zentangle

My thanks to them all for their willingness to share their time and creativity with the on-line community.

I mentioned earlier that there were no step-outs in my 2013 journal, well I have found a new journal for 2014 that may help to remedy that. Stay tuned for what's coming in January.

Sharing Their Creativity - Christmas 2013

So where do you think you could find a snowman in a hula skirt and bikini top?  Well, it would have to be south of the equator at this time of the year.  New Zealand actually.  From my blogging friend Sunshine.  Warm wishes are just what we need now.  Temps are dropping way below freezing here! Isn't it the cutest snowman, er snowwoman you've seen!

My friend Dawn in North Carolina sent me this beautifully colored one-layer card.  This really reminds me of the black-capped chickadees that we have visiting the feeders.

My SU Upline Debbie sent me this swing card.  We had the same color scheme going this year it looks like (that card is Bermuda Bay IRL).  Don't you just love the glitter paper highlighting the ornament!

This beauty and the tag below came all the way from Ireland.  My blogging friend Sabrina and I share many interests, one of them being birds.  The detail on both the card and tag just take my breath away.

I am so fortunate to have such creative friends near and far.

And speaking of creativity - these clay projects below, though not for me, were created by our art teacher and our PE teacher at school.  Our art teacher made this and several other beautiful ornaments.  I am in awe of her talent and what she gets her students to do.  I often wish that I had had such gifted art teachers as we have in our school district.  

Our PE teacher comes in early to work in the art room each year creating a gift that he gives his wife for Christmas.  This gingerbread man is awesome, and to put it in perspective, it's about 12" tall.  One of the students even told him that it was "pretty good for a gym teacher!".  And they were so right!

Our Spanish teacher was also working on some secret project in the art room but I didn't get to see them before she took them home.  She had done some small paintings last year that were so pretty.

I'm thinking I might have to start getting up early to go in to school to work on something myself!  Hmmmm, where to start?

Zentangles - September and October

No quotes and no words, and a few unfinished strings.

I found, a few months earlier, that I had to put together a list in excel of all the tangles to make sure that I wasn't duplicating any.  Even with that I did manage to double-up on a few.  

As always, click on the photos to see them larger.  November and December will be coming soon.

Happy New Year 2014

Happy 2014!  

I'll be wrapping up 2013 over the next few days so let me start by sharing the little penguin appetizers that I made for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.  Found them on Pinterest and they're simply made with colossal and small pitted black olives, cream cheese, carrots and a toothpick.  Most people agreed that they were cute but I guess not many people care for black olives because I had quite a few left over.  I thought they were tasty!

I simplified decorating this year leaving a lot of things in boxes and grouping some things differently. 

I grouped together these glittered trees with the ceramic snowman and wire deer on a side table.

And put my little handpainted nativity on one of the plant shelves.

My little gumdrop ornaments found a home inside this candy dish that I put a glass dome over.

The other candy dish held two felted birds under another dome.  (The candy dishes had been gifted to me by my godmother several years ago and the domes were a rummage sale find for 25 cents each.)

I've got another project to post but it's a gift I have yet to deliver so that will have to wait and I also want to wrap up my Zentangle book for the year.  I finished it!   Well, there are some strings that I didn't get to, but I have tangles done for all the other days right up to December 31.  

As far as New Year's resolutions go, I just want to be happy more and that means spending more time doing the things that I like to do and also with family and friends.  I could say that I resolve to lose weight and get in shape, but that's a constant and I should work on that perpetually.   I have a new Zentangle book that will be a little different for this year, but I enjoyed doing that even though I played catch-up most of the last month or so.  I have a new toy, a Silhouette Cameo, that I will be learning how to use and hope to share my creations.  And we really have to finish up what we started here with our house projects which means sanding and painting the stairs, and purging, purging, purging.  

It will be a busy year!

Wishing you the best!

Feeling Elfish

On the last day or so from Christmas break, the Christmas Elf usually shows up at school.  This year the elf came on Friday even though we had a half day of school on Monday.  The elf just didn't want to take the chance of there being a snow day or getting sick or something on that order.  

So, for the secretaries the workshop first appeared to look like this...........

Looks pretty colorful doesn't it?  What was to become of all that?  

Snowmen in hats and scarves.

And tucked inside..... a little bit of candy.

Thanks to Laura Haffke's post found here, I simplified her snowman by using paper for the scarf and drawing the eyes.  I also used my petal punch to create those "carrot" noses, just trimming one end of the petal to be a little more rounded.  I also added real blush for the cheeks.  Inside each one was a Lindor Truffle - one of the white varieties.  These little guys were delivered via our interoffice mail to all the secretaries and clerks in the district.  

I, er, um, the elf also toyed with the idea of making these for the staff at our school, but the elf never seems to leave herself much time to do these things so another plan was hatched.

What can you do for 70 people at a very little expense?  Not that the elf is cheap, mind you.  She's just not rich, so she's always on the lookout for something cute, clever, and inexpensive.  And in this case, practical.  

The elf had her helper pick up two cases of water from Costco because there were 35 bottles in each case for $4.99.  And this is what she created to put on them..........

  

A little work with Print Shop and a paper cutter and tape and into the staff mailboxes they went.  She toyed with the idea of putting lemonade in one of them, but decided against it not wanting to single anybody out.  (Note:  I only added my name to the picture in case this gets pinned anywhere.)

It was much easier to sneak back into the school office after everyone left and put these labels on while there than taking them out of their shrink wrap and bagging them at home, er, in the workshop.  

It's fun to see the reactions of the staff as they find their little "gift" in their mailbox.  Most of them assume it's from me, but I'll only admit to it being the work of the Christmas Elf.

Merry Christmas 2013

Wishing all a very Merry Christmas!

My two main cards for this year.  The color is a little off on the bottom one.  It's more green than turquoise.  The snowflake made it a card suitable for all faiths.  

I'm definitely going to be doing the Jingle Bell challenge next year.  I did not keep up past the first month in 2013 and was rushed to get my cards done and even though I am pleased with them, doing them little by little does alleviate the pressure of getting them all done at once.  

Merry Christmas!