Read all About It! Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge and Blog Candy

Today, on this beautiful and action packed Labor Day, I was able to sneak in a card for this week's Simon Says Stamp And Show Challenge which is 'Read all About it'. And, in honor of Stamptember, their month long celebration, I used a couple of stamps from the Hero Arts/Studio Calico set 'I Love Books'.


But, before you look at my entry, you HAVE TO go to the challenge and read about the Blog Hop and GREAT giveaways to be had, as well as the GRAND PRIZE for entering the challenge!!!!   SWOON!  So many great things happening this month with Stamptember.  Lots of artists, new stamps, techniques.  I was sure regretting having to say goodbye to summer, but now?  Bliss!


OK, here is my card:

Card Recipe:
Layers:  Cardstock (Kraft card base from Archivers), altered text patterned paper (Simple Stories 'Summer Fresh' line),  Yellow dotted patterned paper (MME - Lost & Found Two), and.. a bookplate that I have been hoarding for many years (Antioch Publishing).
What I did to the text pp:  1. Stamped with the 'every book is an adventure stamp' in Ranger embossing ink, and embossed with clear embossing powder.  Applied Heat. 2. Applied Ranger Distress Vintage Photo ink with an applicator across the surface, then rubbed ink off embossed text with baby wipe.  Applied Distress Black Soot to the edges. 
What I added to the bookplate:  Stamped 'I Love Books' on the panel with Stazon Jet Black ink. 
Embellishments: Orange twine, black button, and yellow thread.  All from my stash of goods.

I love this theme!  I am an avid reader and snatched the Hero Arts/Studio Calico 'I Love Books' set the moment it came out.  The bookplates also tugged at my heart with the promise of adventure, the sweet boy escaping in a tree and the moon in the background (I have a thing for the full moon)! 

Speaking of which:  Would you like to have one of these bookplates sent to you for your own project?  Just leave me a comment on this post, and five lucky people will get one (along with some other goodies) in their mail!   I will do a drawing a week from today, on September 10th.

Thanks for visiting! 

My 12 Tags of Christmas - Tim Holtz Challenge!

Tim's 12 2009 Tags of Christmas
Did you follow Tim's Blog, like I did?
Did you have a great time and follow along???
To see Tim's Tags, go to his blog
Or, click on the Graphic, link on my sidebar, on the left!

My Tags - 1 Thru 4
(Click to Enlarge)
** I did not have all the supplies so I improvised where I could **

Here are a few highlights of how my tags were different!

Tag #1. My Snowman stamp is from Inkadinkadoo and the snow flakes are Hero Arts.
I did cut stamp my snowman on Grungeboard and cut him out.

Tag #2: My metal rose is made from a big metal flower that I chopped and folded!
The stamps are all Hero Arts.

Tag #3: I loved the Alcohol Ink Plaids! I made several!
My snowflakes and deer are all Stampin' Up stamps.
Metal is Making Memories

Tag #4: My stamps are all Cornish Heritage Farms
Various fun metal pieces
And the entire ornament can be hung on a tree.

My Tags: 5 thru 8
(Click on image to enlarge)

Tag 5: Stamps are Cornish Heritage Farms and Hero Arts
Rubon is Stampin' Up
My ornament 'metal tops' are good ol' kitchen aluminum foil!

Tag #6: Stamps are Kim Hughes, for Cornish Heritage Farms
I made my fluffy stuff from tissue paper, and added glue and glitter!
Background paper is My Minds Eye
'25' is from Making Memories

Tag 7: Skater & big snowflake are Stampin' Up
Background stamp and little snowflakes are Cornish Heritage Farms
Sentiment is Hero Arts
(The skaters turned out 'cookie cutter' due to too much interior white space)
I loved the 'mask on acetate' idea! Gonna use that one again!!

Tag #8: My light pole and holly are grungeboard diecuts, not a stamp.
The key is also grungeboard.
Music background stamp is Cornish Heritage Farms
Background flourish stamp is Hero Arts
Metal: unknown!

My Tags: 9 thru 12
(click on image to enlarge)
Tag #9: My favorite!
Those photos are of my sisters, nephew and I!
I am the girl in the bigger picture.. oh, about 25 years ago!

I actually made my filmstrip in PSE.
I found a template online and had a blast trying to figure it out
(don't ask me what I did... it somehow worked!)
Stamps: Stampin Up and Hero Arts
I love the postmark and didn't want to cover it up!
Metal: unknown

Tag #10: My secret? Aluminum foil again for my metal!
And I colored the foil with copics.. Yep.. Copics!
I made this one more of a Valentine's theme..

Tag #11: I did not make my own brads, but used some K&CO fabric ones.
I love the rock candy on the flowers!!!!
My flowers are from Making Memories.
My stag stamp is from Stampin' Up, I stamped it on grungeboard and cut it out,
and over stamped with a Hero Arts Flourish Stamp, the same one that is my background.
Rubon: Stampin' Up

Tag #12: I do not have grungepaper, so made this baby out of watercolor paper!
(My first flower was made out of grungeboard - oh so blocky!!!)
Gems are Hero Arts.
Adore Tag is Teresa Collins
Music Sheet is Cornish Heritage Farms stamped on vellumn
Other background stamps are Hero Arts
Metal clip Stampin' Up

I love my paper rose!

Here are all of My 12 Tags
In One PSE File -That I sent to Tim!!!

Friends!

It is with great delight, excitement, and a big ol' "I Did It!!!!" that I present to you my 12 Tags of Christmas! Oh it was a long long journey to get these babies done, but I did it! There were early mornings, before everyone woke, and a sneak here and there to get parts done... I was working three jobs up until Dec. 23rd, so time was very very sparce! But I did it!

The deadline is tonight, midnight, and I am early!!!! I sent the file to Tim before lunch! Yippee!

It feels so good to get these done. I have loved watching Tim's demo's and tutorials each of the three past years, and I usually make 3 or 4 tags.. This year I promised myself I would get them done!

Why? Because of Tim. He puts so much time into making his tags, and photographing them, and giving us all the details, and then each and every day, he gives away a ton of goodies!

I wanted to do this, to Thank him for what he gives us. I wanted to share the whole experience.

And let me tell you.. I have such a greater appreciation for what he did! These little tags take a long time to make! Details! Details! Details!

But oh so Fun!

Thank You Tim!

And thank you to any of you that are sharing this project with me!


Happy New Year's Eve!!!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! Tim's Tags

Hello crafty friends!

Tim Holtz just announced he is doing his 12 Tags of Christmas again! Yippee!!

This is one of my most favorite things to do to get ready for the holidays!!!

Please go visit his blog to you can 'get ready' and join me!

There are prizes.

Tutorials.

Christmas celebrations to be had!

Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas!!! Starting Tomorrow!

Goody Goody Gumdrops!

Yes! The Christmas season is starting! Woot Woot Woot! I do love this time of year. Just the 'magic ' of it all - sweetness everywhere - kindness, love, creating, giving, playing!! All for the celebration of Christ's birth... What a party!

So many fun things going on right now... lots of great creative playtime in so many places!!!

My favorite is Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas!! And, it starts tomorrow! Be sure to click on the link to see what's up. Tim has a link to last year's event, the first, and he also has answers to lots of questions...

Please join me and all of the other crazy Tim fanatic's as we learn new techniques, see fun stuff and watch our favorite guy 'doing his thing'! What I love about this is we can actually be working on our projects for this Christmas! Last year I made a few tags that did make their way onto gifts. My Auntie Alice (she will always be my Auntie, even if I am 46!) sent me a note last year that they hung my tag on her tree! Oh what an honor!!!! (Hi Auntie Alice!).

Tim also gives away daily goodies.. supplies that he uses to make the art and he also gives away his art! Oh my... Swoon!!!!!!

Love that guy... for so many reasons. He has a big heart, loves Disneyland, and go's all out when it comes to teaching us!

Join me!

Distress Inks, Distress Stickles, Grungeboard and Resist!

Technique Tag
(Click to Enlarge)
Distress Inks, Distressed Edges, Stamp Resist
Grunge board, and Distress Stickles

A Closer Look
(Click to Enlarge)

I've been playing with some of my new Ranger and Tim Holtz goodies!!!! The Hero Arts Blog is all about techniques this week so I am having a blast!

Now, if you all recall, I won the RAK of the century when Mr. T!m Holtz gave away an entire set of Distress Stickles! Well, this last weekend I finally got to the Big City and made a side trip and purchased some Tim Hotz Idea-ology Grungeboard as well (seems like the perfect marriage)! I have had my eye on the Seasonal Plain set, and let me tell you...

Grungeboard is HOT! It bends, it's thin and it doesn't make you want to pull your hair out when you use it (I have chipboard issues...we go way back!).... Oh.. and all those darn rumors about stinky grungeboard? I could not smell a thing! (This stuff actually reminds you of suede... )

And, the Distress Stickles? Wonderful! Take a look at that adorable little grungeboard tree on the tag! See how shiny and sparkly and vintage the 'green and yellow' are? Distress Stickles my friends... in Peeled Paint & Scattered Straw! I am in love... sigh.... Thanks Tim!


What I did:

The Grungeboard Tree

1. I inked the tree with Ranger Distress Ink Shabby Shutters, then applied a layer of Peeled Paint Distress Stickles... To even it out I used a paintbrush and my fingers! Note: Leave it to dry...
2. I then added the Scattered Straw Distress Stickles around the tree edge.. Let dry again.. Overnight!
   
3. Then added the Hero Arts gems on the tips of each branch...
   

The Tag:

1. First, I stamped my pine bough with versamark, then applied Clear Embossing Powder and set with my Heat Tool.
2. Started working in from the tag edge with inking tool and inks... just alternating colors until I got the look I wanted.
   
3. Distressed tag edges.
   
4. Applied Black Soot with the inking tool around the edges.
5. overstamped with little holly stamp in Black Soot
6. Added Twill
7. Added ribbons, bow, hemp
8. Added tree (I used my Tombo Adhesive)...

Recipe:
Distress Inks: Shabby Shutters, Black Soot, Fired Brick
Tag: Office Supply Store - Manilla
Hero Arts Supplies:
Sparkle Clear CL244 Holiday Messages (the little holly stamp), Clear Design CL236 Joys of the Season (the pine bough); Orange Gemstones
Versamark; Clear EP; Basic Grey ribbon (loop) & button, SU Ribbon; Hemp. Favorite Things twill - unknown!

Little Tree is from Tim Holtz' Seasonal Plain Chipboard (my first time using it!)
Distress Stickles in Peeled Paint and Scattered Straw!

Thank you for looking! I have more to share on the 'Marriage of Distress Stickles and Grungeboard!'.. Let's just say I am experimenting and finding out some real fun stuff!!!

Thanks for looking!

Why I Just Had to Play the Lottery Today!

A Card I made for Ann,

and entered into the SOF Beautiful Women Challenge

(2 Birds With One Stone)
The little cards I made

for nine talented 2peas girls that won the Challenge I hosted at 2peas
and I entered into last week's 'Three Things' Hero Arts Challenge!

What's this? A necklace I won??????
Get Out! Thank you Deborah!

Hero Arts Stamps I won
from The Super Talented Kelly Goree of Basic Grey!

OK.. For some crazy reason, I have been on a winning streak in my little scrapbook stamping world! This is scary stuff... I mean, what the heck is going on?

It all started with Jacqueline... remember that beautiful box of goodies that came all the way from France? She sent it in June and we worried for months that it got lost? Well, we must have prayed far too hard for 'the prize to arrive' - because prizes just keep coming!!!! Seriously! Jacqueline!

Here's the rundown:

1. First, Jacqueline's Box of goodness. Stuffed full of papers, stamps, embellishments and cool France goodies!

2. Then, Hero Arts went and ran a week of paper related inspiring posts and give-aways with some very cool manufacturers! Like Basic Grey! Hot Dog! Well, I won something from Kelly Goree's blog! Kelly is on the Design Team for Basic Grey..I love her blog. And I won some stamps! Yep! Some Hero Arts Stamps! So darn lucky...

3. Well, as my lucky streak would have it.. then I won one of the challenges over at 2peas during World Card Making Day and Stamptoberfest! Deborah hosted a challenge, and had us all make a card for a special woman in our lives... Remember my friend Ann that I spoke to you all about? My friend that battled breast cancer over the summer??? I made her a card.. It's posted above.. anyway, I won the challenge and Deborah is sending Ann a pair of beautiful earings - made by Deborah! And, she is sending me a necklace and earings that match Anns! I can't wait to see Ann at our book club next week! I won't be able to wear mascara ... Tears will be flowing...

4. I'm not done! Roni over at Ink Stains hosts several challenges and swaps. You remember Roni - she was our hostess for the Fat Book Swap I was in for 4 months! And, she is a designer for Ranger??? As in RANGER? The folks that make so many cool products? Anyway, Roni is always sharing fun techniques and products and does giveaways! Well, shoot dang! I won one of the giveaways for some Paper Artsy Stamps! HOT! Love those stamps! Well, technically, I was 2nd choice! The real winner did not claim her prize so Roni drew another name! LOL! Thanks Roni!

5. And, then...GASP! You know that super cool altered artist T!M who also has a connection to Ranger? LOL! Well, Mr. T!m also shares some real cool tutorials and tips and tricks regarding his products on his blog...Remember last year when I did my 'Tim style tags' from his 12 Tags of Christmas???? .. Well, one day, Mr. T!m was giving away 3 sets of the new Ranger Distress Stickles! This happened on the weekend I was supposed to be gone for 4 days on a scrapbook retreat! But no, I was home, licking my wounds, and being grumpy because of all the bad stuff that happened (I have a post wating in draft form!)... Anyway, I left a comment... and I won!!! ACK!!! And the best part? The super sweet email message I got from T!m!!!! Love that guy... Go read his blog... He just got back from Disneyland! I think that should be his next RAK! A trip with Tim to Mouseland! Tee Hee!!!

6. OK.. About now I started getting freaked about all these winnings... I have had several friends email me and tell me to go play the lotto! So today I did... And darn it! Two other things happened today! First... Cornish Heritage Farms started a new blog.. yep.. another one to add to my list of faves... I follow several of the DT members - Kim Hughes, Becky Olsen, Jennifer Roach, to name a few! Well low and behold.. I was one of 10 peeps that will be getting a new stamp!!! Thank you CHF!!! PS... The owner Liz lives on a farm... I love reading her adventures on her blog! Cracks me up! You know, misery loves company!!!

And the last news to share ...

7. Hold onto your hats ladies and gentlemen.... I entered another Hero Arts Blog Challenge and I WON 2nd Place!!!! Crazy!!!!!!!! Last weekend, again, while I was licking my wounds about not getting to go on my4 day scrappy retreat, I held my very own virtual retreat at home... I had 1 day - after all the misshaps subsided!!!! So, instead of catching up on Scrapbook pages, I made some cards for the gals that won the challenge that I hosted over at 2peas during World Card Making Day and Stamptoberfest.. My very own Fat Book Page Challenge! Anyway, I did one of my multitasking challenges... you know.. catch up on some needed to do work and enter a challenge at the same time! Woah! My little babies won 2nd place! There's a photo of them up above ....

So, I am now officially on cloud 9...... I mean, when it rains it pours!

And yes I did play the Lotto...today...

If I win.. oh my...after I faint... Disneyland peeps.. Disneyland...

Thanks for listening to my news! Crazyness, isn't it?