Wadaduga Designs

Evergreen Cemetery

2012-01-30T22:29:00.001-07:00

I love photography and old cemeteries, so what better way to spend an afternoon than with the Colorado Springs Creative Photography group shooting at Evergreen Cemetery!

Evergreen Cemetery

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

12 Tags of Christmas–Day 12

2011-12-12T21:41:00.001-07:00

Thus ends another year of 12 Tags of Christmas. Here is my submission. I deviated quit a bit because I didn’t have anything close to several of the embellishments, but individual interpretation is the name of the game, right??

12 Tags of Christmas–Day 11

2011-12-11T11:18:00.001-07:00

Almost done! Here is my Day 11 submission for 12 Tags of Christmas! This one was really cool to do. The effects on the glossy cardstock were different than normal cardstock and the shrink plastic in UTEE was brilliant…although, I will admit that I had to dip mine twice because I did not follow directions well and inked them on the wrong side. Mental note: rubbing alcohol will remove alcohol ink…and leave the UTEE all dull! I did add a little fluff of netting held with a sliver of craft metal because I did not like the unfinished look of my holly sprig.

12 Tags of Christmas–Day 10

2011-12-10T16:50:00.001-07:00

Here is today’s submission for 12 Tags of Christmas. I followed this one pretty closely. I used Grungeboard letters instead of the black plastic ones and my banner is hand cut. The background is printed paper not a stamp. I love using the Fragments like this.

12 Tags of Christmas–Day 9

2011-12-09T17:50:00.001-07:00

Here is today’s tag for 12 Tags of Christmas. I used a poinsettia stamp for the background technique…which is pretty cool. I drew and cut out the candle stick on Grungeboard and used a different die for the foliage than Tim used. The letters were some 3d stickers with a color that went with the background, so I didn’t paint them. The little curl at the end was just some left over cuttings from something on the Cricut.

12 Tags of Christmas–Day 8

2011-12-08T21:16:00.001-07:00

Here is today’s tag for 12 Tags of Christmas. I really deviated a lot on this one…same general layout as Tim’s tag, but I replaced the sprockets and vintage dudes with a wreath and snowmen…and I didn’t do the tickets. I used the left over Glassine from yesterday’s tag to make some green, leafy fluff for the bottom of the tag and used a vintage miniature ornament as an embellishment with ribbon.

12 Tags of Christmas–Day 7

2011-12-07T21:45:00.001-07:00

Today’s tag for the 12 Tags of Christmas. The real difference I did on this one was using Distress ink for the background instead of stain. I cut my greenery with Spellbinders. I used some Grungeboard swirls instead of branches and my top embellishment is an old vintage earring.

12 Tags of Christmas–Day 6

2011-12-06T20:58:00.001-07:00

Here is today’s version of the 12 Tags. I used a recycle lid from a pre-made lasagna and embossed it with Script and Snowflake Cuttlebug folders. I painted it with red and green acrylic paints and sanded once the paint was dry. I covered the whole thing with Distressed Crackle paint in Rock Candy…which you really can’t see in the picture. I use a toy train ornament as my embellishment and tied it on with a piece of red, green and gold string.

12 Tags of Christmas–Day 5

2011-12-05T22:07:00.001-07:00

Here is today’s version of Tim’s 12 Tags of Christmas. I ended up having to emboss the lettering on with white embossing powder…the ink dabbing technique just wasn’t working for me…I think my ink was too dry. I cut the wreath on the Cricut from the Celebrate with Flourish cartridge and glued on a string of small pearls instead of the larger ones.

12 Tags of Christmas–Day 4

2011-12-04T16:59:00.001-07:00

My tag for the 12 Tags of Christmas. For this one, I had to improve for a bunch of stuff. I cut the snowman and snowflake out of Grungeboard and painted it with white paint, the 25 is stamped with Stazon instead of cut out. The background was done with Distress Ink instead of Distress Stains. I colored the buttons with alcohol ink and used some yard instead tulle and I chose to not hang a medallion on it.

Here are some more Shaped Bokeh shots:

Shaped Bokeh

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

12 Tags of Christmas–Day 3

2011-12-03T23:47:00.001-07:00

Here is today’s tag. I used a bunch of different stamps for the background as I didn’t have the foam or ink refills to do a custom stamp pad. I spritzed the tag with Copper Glimmer Mist instead of gold Perfect Pearls. I also used holly leaves that I embossed for a Cuttlebug folder, cut out and inked. I also used a swirly piece of Grundgeboard that I painted with Juniper and Copper Paint Dabbers. Oh, and a classic bell instead of a jingle bell.

I also took a photography class in Shaped Bokeh (the blurry shapes in out of focus lights). Here are some shots from that class.

Shaped Bokeh

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

12 Tags of Christmas–Day 2

2011-12-03T10:05:00.001-07:00

Here is my tag for Day 2 of the 12 Tags of Christmas by Tim Holtz. I don’t have Tim’s dyes, so I stamped the deer onto Grungeboard and cut it out. I free cut the embellishment at the bottom too. My background was musical note paper and I stamped the holly on.

12 Tags of Christmas–Day 1

2011-12-01T22:49:00.001-07:00

It’s that time of year again when Tim Holtz does his 12 Tags of Christmas. Here is my version of the tag for Day 1. I didn’t have all of Tim’s neat dies and fades, so I cut out the saying with a Cricut and the leave with a Cuttlebug. I used some small real pinecones and a bunch of jewels from old jewelry.

Another Craft Day

2011-11-26T17:12:00.001-07:00

We got together again to make some more Christmas cards and ended up throwing pottery too!!

November Craft Day

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

Christmas Card Party

2011-11-20T20:06:00.001-07:00

We had a craft day today to start making our Christmas cards…a little late, I know. Had a great time, and so far 15 lucky people will get cards this year.

Snowman Cards

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

These 3 styles were all made with white card bases. The stamps are from the Just Rite Groovy Snowmen and Vintage Christmas sets. They are stamped in Stazon Azure and Black inks and colored with Prismacolor watercolor pencils. They were stamped onto shapes cut from the Cricut Accent Essentials cartridge. The sentiment is from the Inkadinkadoo Warm Holiday Wishes collection.

The card used a cream card base with a snowflake pattern paper as the background. The image is the Christmas Singing Duo from House Mouse and the sentiment is from DOTS. They were both stamped in Timber Brown Stazon ink, and the image was colored with Prismacolor watercolor pencils. They were adhered to a coordinating brown background and attached to the card.

The card is a red card base. A piece of kraft cardstock was embossed with the snowflake Cuttlebug folder and adhered as the background. The same kraft cardstock was layered on red cardstock and used as addition layers on the card. Green raffia was tied around the horizontal piece and a tree stamp from Studio G was stamped on the main piece in Evergreen ink by Marcella.

This card was the easiest. Both the stamped sentiment section and the ivy section were found in a lots purchased from a flea market. I adhered them to a white card base and voila…Christmas card!

Focus on Photography

2011-10-15T16:10:00.001-06:00

I’ve been focusing more on my photography lately. I received an Honorable Mention at the Zonta Artful Women exhibit on 7 Oct 11.

Here are some of the photos I have taken lately.

Focus on Photography

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

Finished Pottery

2011-09-24T10:05:00.001-06:00

Here are some of the pieces from the latest batch of stoneware.

Stoneware Pottery

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

Pottery

2011-09-07T11:47:00.001-06:00

The latest load of pottery has been bisque fired…now time for the glazing!

Alaska Trip

2011-09-05T21:20:00.001-06:00

I took a last minute trip to Alaska last week with a friend. Here are some of the photos from the first day there.

Alaska Trip

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

Dog and Fall Cards

2011-08-17T11:32:00.001-06:00

OK…so I bought some really cool border punches that I just had to try out!

This dog-themed card is made using a grey card base. I took equal size strips of a frosty brown and natural cardstock and punched the paw print border on each and adhered them to the card base. I ran a strip of light blue ribbon down the middle to hide the seem. The dog is from the Penny Black Critter Party set and the sentiment is from The Paper Studio Pet Stamp Dial a Phrase. I stamped these in black Archival ink onto blue cardstock and colored the dog with Sharpey markers.

The fall card is on a grey card base. I used the leaf border punch on yellow cardstock cut to size. I then stamped the fall tree from the Stampin’ Up Tree for all Seasons set and colored with Prismacolor colored pencils. I cut a piece of fall plaid ribbon and used it to separate the sections and stamped the sentiment in Vintage Photo Distress ink. I then took the leaves created by the border stamp and placed them ‘falling’ down the card.

Chains of Love Necklace

2011-08-15T18:14:00.001-06:00

This necklace is made with hand-made pottery pendant and beads…and chains, of course.

All of the beads were made and fired by me. They are wired with copper wire and looped on both ends. Three strands of different chain are attached via jump rings and twisted before being attached at the opposite ends. Two small glass beads (not made by me) finish of f the lengths before clasping with a small copper snap clasp. The necklace is 20” long, which is a bit longer than what I normally create, but it just seemed to want the length as I was creating it.

Pottery Jewelry

2011-08-04T11:22:00.001-06:00

I’ve recently completed a few pottery jewelry pieces for my Etsy shop.

Peace is made from hand-stamped pottery that is attached with a ice pick bail to two black hemp strands with beads secured with E-6000 at intervals going up the strands.

Strength is made from hand-stamped pottery that is attached to a string of black hemp and burgundy ribbon. A bronze bird in flight and burgundy beads are attached to the bottom.

This fabric cuff has three hand-stamped pottery tiles attached with coordinating embroidery floss. The cuff secures with a strand of natural hemp around two coordinating buttons.

Fiber Art Piece of Belle Starr

2011-08-04T07:28:00.001-06:00

This piece is dedicated to Belle Starr, an old West outlaw woman…or so they say.

Annie Oakley Fiber Art

2011-08-01T17:14:00.001-06:00

This fiber art piece is created with fabric scraps that I bought at the flea market. I printed the photo and quote onto iron-on transfer paper (making sure to put the words backwards) and ironed them onto muslin fabric. From there it was a matter of laying out pieces of fabric and embellishments and picking the combinations I liked best.

I’ll be posting this piece to Etsy later today.

Pottery and More Pottery

2011-07-29T20:32:00.001-06:00

The latest load of earthenware is done and most of it has been posted to my Etsy store already!

I'M ON ETSY!!

2011-07-27T21:37:00.004-06:00

I finally opened an Etsy store to start parting with some of my creations. I've just opened it and still have much to upload, but check it out and keep coming back for more!!

Wadaduga Designs

Fiber Art Memorial

2011-07-23T19:00:00.001-06:00

I created this fiber art memorial for my neighbors who lost their daughter, Frankie Sue, at the age of 44. It is not finished as I’ve left room for them to add their own mementos of her.

Dog Bandanas and Pottery Necklace

2011-07-13T16:08:00.001-06:00

I sewed these bandanas for the neighbor’s poodle, Copper. It’s just a simple straight stitch and they are held on with velco…I actually sized them on my cat, Ozcar!

I finally completed a necklace using a pottery pendant I fired in the last load. I strung lavender and green seed beads onto jewelry wire and wrapped the strand in green ribbon and crimped both in gold endcaps. The pendant is attached with gold wire that was wrapped to create a double jump ring.

Birthday Card

2011-07-13T12:50:00.001-06:00

This is a card I made for my brother-in-law. The card base is dark blue cardstock cut to 7”x10” for a 5”x7” card. I cut green cardstock to size and used decorative scissors on one side then punch small holes with a 1/16” hole punch. The image and sentiment are from the Stampin’ Up Ruff Day set. The image was colored with Distress Inks used like watercolor paint. I adhered the image to a square of craft cardstock and attached a piece of ribbon with the Tiny Attacher.

Pottery Pendant Necklaces

2011-07-04T09:05:00.001-06:00

I’ve been really hitting the pottery lately. These are the completed Circle of Friends necklaces.

Circle of Friends necklaces

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

Pottery

2011-07-01T09:24:00.001-06:00

These are from my latest glaze firing.

Pottery

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

Fiber Art for Aunt Bessie

2011-06-30T09:25:00.001-06:00

My Aunt Bessie recently passed away, so I created a fiber art memorial to her.

She was a quilter and even had a huge quilting machine in her basement. She liked roses and could grow anything. I added just a touch of shiny sequined ribbon because I think she would get a kick out of that. The wooden spoon represents the fact that she used every spoon in the kitchen when she cooked…not just some…all of them!

Garden Marker

2011-06-27T08:00:00.001-06:00

I got a great deal on sheets of craft metal at the flea market. My first project with it is this metal garden marker.

I cut a piece of metal 1”x4” and stamped “Lavender” with my Making Memories punch set. I rolled the ends on a small stick and painted the letters…well, lavender. The post is 18 gauge steel wire that I rolled at one end, added a purple bead and then bent into a hook shape…done.

Thank You Card

2011-06-26T14:48:00.001-06:00

Some friends of our had a BBQ this weekend. I immediately noticed the BBQ-themed napkins and knew I had to make a thank you card for them using the napkin (Chris is a crafter, so I knew she would get it )

This was a simple project as I wanted to make sure the napkin was featured…and obvious! I covered a plain card base (this would work to recycle old cards too) with the napkin and adhered it using Mod Podge. I wanted it to be a more subtle background, so I covered the napkin with white Gesso and dabbed it off with a paper towel. Once dry, I edged the card with Fired Brick Distress Ink and stamped ‘Thank You’ and ‘for the’ in black Archival ink. The grill, ‘kiss the cook’ and ‘BBQ’ were cut from the napkin and adhered using Mod Podge. I added a ribbon and beaded flower for embellishments and attached the ribbon using the Tiny Attacher…mostly because I love that thing! That’s it…easy.

Birthday Cards

2011-06-23T11:30:00.001-06:00

I made this card from my sister’s birthday. The card is a 6x6 card base with a black and white patterned paper for a background. The image is by 100 Proof Press and is stamped in black Archival ink and watercolored. I cut the image piece to size, rounded the corners and edged it with Black Soot Distress Ink. It’s adhered to a piece of pink polka-dotted paper that is cut to size and torn at one end. The torn end is edged with Black Soot Distress Ink. I wrapped a piece of black and white polka- dotted ribbon around the pink piece and attached a cameo using –6000. The sentiment is from the Just Rite Just A Note set. The round border is stamped onto a matching pink paper. The sentiment is stamped onto white cardstock and highlighted using Spun Sugar Distress Ink. You can’t see it in the photo, but I accented the butterflies and the lady with a Clear Star gel pen.

BTW, the lady stamp is one I kept looking at and really like, but just couldn’t think of what I would do with it…my DH went back and bought it for me…smart fella!

This card is for my brothers, who likes boats. The image and sentiment are from the Stampin’ Up Summer By The Sea set. I stamped them in black Archival ink and watercolored both. They were cut to size, the corners on the image rounded and attached to matching blue cardstock. I torn the edges on the blue and brown cardstock backgrounds and edged them the Black Soot Distress Ink. A coordinating blue ribbon was attached to the image piece and attached to a yellow background cardstock which was then adhered to a tan card base. The sentiment is mounted with foam squares…although it doesn’t look it in this photo.

New Dog Basket

2011-06-10T13:43:00.001-06:00

Our neighbors just adopted a 4 yr old poodle named Whiskers. He was in a puppy mill and lived in a cage his entire life until now!! I made them a card, dog bed and neck scarf and bought some treats and toys for a Puppy Basket.

The card was made with a peach card base. I cut out some light blue paper and spritzed it with Moonlight Glimmer Mist then stamped some dog paws in Tumbled Glass Distress ink. The sentiment is from the Just Rite All Occasion Sentiments set. I embossed a can tab with dark blue embossing powder and used it as a ‘buckle’ for the dark blue lace ribbon. The dog is from the Penny Black Critter Party set and is stamped in black Archival ink and colored with Prismacolor colored pencils. I cut off the corners of the image and dark blue background with a corner punch. The dark blue background is stamped in Stampin Up Night of Navy ink with a See D’s Background ! (50218) stamp. The W brad is colored with Denim Adirondack alcohol ink.

I made the pillow with some plush red fabric that I’ve had forever and secured the middle with a felt covered white button. The blue rope bandana neck scarf is made with a velcro closure…since I couldn’t go measure Whiskers as it’s all a surprise.

Wax Seal Card

2011-06-06T16:40:00.001-06:00

Talk about super simple…this card is it. To make the wax seal, use red sealing wax or a bit of red glue stick and melt. Have your seal or stamp ready by inking it with silver or gold or (in my case) bright yellow ink. Once the wax is melted, stamp into it with the seal and let sit for a couple seconds. Remove the seal/stamp and let the wax seal cool. In the meantime, take a white card blank and cut a piece of red ribbon long enough to wrap completely around the card. Glue the seal to the front over the ribbon and tie the card shut with a bow. Voila! You could stamp a sentiment or whatever…I’ll figure out what to do once I have an occasion to use it.

A Mouse Card and Winston

2011-06-04T22:01:00.001-06:00

I found the instructions for this card in the book, Ultimate Cardmaking by Sarah Beaman, and it is super easy to make. Take a white card base and cut 1” off the front side. I used Adirondack Ginger ink to make the mouse bodies with my finger. I don’t have all my shelves up in the new studio yet and couldn’t find a light pink paint, so I mixed Folk Art Cherokee Rose with Anita’s white acrylic paints in a 1:2 ratio. I used a small ink dauber to dab on the little ears. Next, I took the needle tool and made a hole for each of the little tails. The pink yarn is on a yarn needle, tied into a knot on one end, pulled thru the hole and cut to length for each. Done! Once I have a reason to send it, I’ll stamp a sentiment on the upper half of the card.

I finally got my Nikon D300 back from cleaning…this is Winston not too happy about posing for me…

Cards and a Bookmark

2011-06-02T21:09:00.001-06:00

I was confined to my studio watching over my puppy, Winston, who had his neutering surgery today, so I made a couple simple cards and a bookmark.

This card is made using a cream card base with a green card cut to fit inside. 1/4” of the front of the cream card was cut off to allow the green to show on the edge. I used a double hole punch to put the holes in the cream card and 2 sizes of flower punches for the little flowers that are adhered to the green card. A dab of Glossy Accents was put in each flower and dusted with Pearl Perfect Pearls. To finish it off, a ribbon is tied around the binding.

This card is made from a watercolor paper card base. Simply wet the paper where you want the color and slather on some blue watercolor paint. I used a heat gun to move the paint around a bit and dry it. Then emboss the snowflakes with Winter Wonderland embossing powder. The sentiment is from an Inkadinkadoo set and is stamped in Faded Jeans Distress ink.

The bookmark is made by covering a tag with silver metal tape and sanding it a bit. The images are from Tim Holtz and Stampin’ Up and are stamped with Stazon ink in Timber and Saddle Brown with a bit of Archival ink in Cobalt around the edges and in bits of the images. A silver and gold ribbon complete the bookmark.

Birthday Card and a Bookmark

2011-05-29T22:53:00.001-06:00

I created this birthday card for a friend. I used the Cloisonné Frame stamp by Michael Strong, embossed it, and cut it to make doors. The inside image by Stampabilities is Party Ribbons from the House Mouse collection and is stamped and colored with Prismacolor colored pencils. I used a flower stamp from the Stampin’ Up Looks Like Spring set to add the flowers to the blue background paper. Once all was adhered, I used 2 flower brads, some twine and a bead as a closure.

2011-05-15T07:41:00.001-06:00

We drove from Colorado Springs to Page, AZ. Lot’s of sights to see…

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

Studio Lighting Workshop

2011-05-08T16:10:00.001-06:00

I joined a really good photography Meet up group here. Yesterday, we did a studio lighting workshop followed by a Photoshop Tips and Tricks class…from which I got some tips to do finishing touches on the models I shot at the workshop! Here are some of my shots:

Studio Lighting Workshop

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

GTO 2011 Card

2011-05-02T12:55:00.001-06:00

If you’ve read my previous posts, you know that my DH is getting a 1970 GTO Judge…for no real reason… I made this card to hide in his suitcase when he leaves to go pick it up in Chicago. He’s calling the trip GTO 2011…a spoof on our Girl’s Trip (GT) 2011 in 13 days!

The background paper is from La Paperie by Jen Wilson. The license plate paper is from the Tim Holtz Lost and Found collection. The car is by Tim Holtz and is stamped in Walnut Stain Distress ink and imbossed with a texture fade. The sentiment is also by Tim Holtz. I printed off a small picture of the GTO and attached it to a Fragment with Glossy Accents and attached to the attached folding card. Inside the card, I sewed a lined journaling piece and wrote a little note, then tied the card shut with blue jute, sealed it with silver wax and an anchor stamp and added some ribbon to the top. Finally, I tied some brown fiber around the license plate background and attached it all to the card base.

Luv Ya Tag

2011-05-01T18:04:00.001-06:00

I’ve been working on the new studio for days and wanted to make something…anything real quick. So, I made this tag for my DH, who has been helping me. He can stick it to his ‘70 GTO Judge when he picks it up on Thursday!!

I used various scraps papers and a little Cuttlebug embossing folder for the sentiment. The heart stamp is from a Close to My Heart set that I bought at the flea market, so I don’t know what it’s called…it has little stamps for various holidays.

New Studio Progress!

2011-05-01T07:46:00.001-06:00

We spent ALL day clearing out the space and moving all the antique radios and stored memorabilia out to make room for my studio. I haven’t decided if I’m going to keep the big bar or not…it would make excellent storage and separate the pottery throwing area from the rest of the space…ponderous.

New Studio

2011-04-27T21:05:00.001-06:00

I finally convinced my DH to let me convert the basement rec room into an art/photography studio. My current studio (which is beautiful) is way too small for me now…and under his garage with no heat, water and up the stairs and thru the 4-car garage for the bathrooms. He’s going to turn that into a game room…someday. These are before photos of the future space.

Crocheted Water Bottle Holder

2011-04-26T22:14:00.001-06:00

I crocheted this water bottle holder to match my market bag…must remain hydrated while shopping! The Nalgene bottle is one my brother accidently left here on his last visit. I consider that ‘gear adrift’, so now it’s mine!

The pattern for this little bag is on FaveCrafts.com.

Crocheted Bag and Bookmarks

2011-04-24T21:45:00.001-06:00

I finished the crocheted bag I’ve working on for the last week. This is the largest crochet project I’ve done so far. I found the pattern at FaveCrafts.com.

I also made the bookmarks using scrap papers to collage the backgrounds.

Mother’s Day Card

2011-04-23T17:15:00.001-06:00

I decided to get a jump on the holiday and make my Mother’s Day card today…and I was in a crafty mood and needed something to make. I used a cream card base and inked it with Walnut Stain Distress ink. Then I took a script paper and inked the entire thing with Vintage Photo Distress ink and edged it with Walnut Stain. I adhered it using the Xyron at an angle and trimmed. I cut out a chicken with script on it, inked it with Vintage photo and adhered it to the card. I cut out a strip of red, corrugated paper, tied it with twin and attached it to the card with the Tiny Attacher. The post card was pre-printed from a set I bought at Target. I stamped the sentiment in black ink and highlighted it with a Gem pen. I added an embellished paperclip…vendor unknown…and adhered it to the card. The flowers are punched on patterned paper with a Stampin’ Up punch and attached with small, round brads. I printed out tiny newborn pictures of me and my brothers and adhered the film strip by Tim Holtz over them with Glossy Accents. The measurements for the photos are .5”x.7” per photo. In Photoshop, I cropped each photo and added them as layers to a blank document. Lined the layers up and printed onto plain paper.

A Birthday Card for Blaze

2011-04-17T22:29:00.001-06:00

I made this birthday card for my nephew, Blaze. I used a picture of him I took where he was holding the flash. The technique on the frame and Wanted sentiment is the Rusted Enamel from the Compendium of Curiosities book by Tim Holtz. The Wanted stamp is from the Stampin’ Up Wanted set and is stamped in black Staz on ink. The metal B embellishment and letter stickers all by Tim Holtz. The B is attached with a small, square brad. Wanted and the letter stickers are embellished with the Tiny Attacher, but actually attached to the card with double-sided tape.

Crocheted Necklace–Ponte Vecchio

2011-04-14T08:20:00.001-06:00

I really liked the look of this necklace and decided to try it. I only had white in the size yarn needed, but otherwise, after a few trials and errors, here is what I came up with…all in all, it took me about 3 hours to do…again, my crochet skills are not that great, so someone good at it could do something like this in a hour or so. I do plan to get some black and make another one.

Crocheted Beaded Earrings

2011-04-12T19:37:00.001-06:00

I made these earrings to match the bracelet I made yesterday…which was made to go with a necklace I made a few years ago. This was a simple pattern, but let me tell you, crocheting with a #8 hook is not easy!! This pattern involved double crocheting and I thought I was going to go crazy pulling the thread thru on the first pull!! You can find the pattern here.

Another Crocheted Beaded Bracelet

2011-04-11T20:49:00.001-06:00

These are so easy to make that I’ll probably do several. This one was made to match a crocheted necklace I made a couple years ago.

Crocheted Beaded Bracelet

2011-04-10T21:38:00.001-06:00

I have been in a mood to crochet for the last couple weeks. I finally took the time to look up a pattern for a bracelet I liked. I crocheted this today…it took me all day (between a hike and grocery shopping) because I haven’t crocheted in a couple years and started out with a project using beads and crochet thread was probably not my best idea. You can find the pattern here.

A Friend’s Birthday Card

2011-04-01T21:16:00.001-06:00

My friend, Jill’s, birthday is the 3rd, so I made her this card and envelope. The envelope is cut from a template in cardstock and I used a strip of green ribbon, a smaller strip of patterned paper and buttons to embellish it. The card is cut to fit with patterned paper as the background and hummingbirds stamped, colored, cut out and adhered with foam squares. The larger hummingbird is by Micheal Strong. The smaller is unknown. The sentiment (also unknown) was stamped on green cardstock, cut out and adhered with foam squares. Finally, I used a little piece of green ribbon and the buttons to embellish the upper corner.

Any Occasion Card

2011-03-21T19:42:00.001-06:00

It was a nice day, but really windy, so I decided to enjoy the sun from my studio. I opened my Tim Holtz Compendium of Curiosities book and picked a Perfect Pearls technique for this card. I inked the background in Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress inks and splattered it with large drops of water from my hand. The images (by Inkadinkadoo and Stampin’ Up) were inked with Chipped Sapphire Distress ink and covered with gold Perfect Pearls then spritzed with water. I added the ribbon and buttons as embellishments.

The Year’s First Pottery!!

2011-03-20T17:52:00.001-06:00

It is finally warm enough to throw without freezing!! I threw 2 coffee cups, a dog bowl and a double bowl cat dish. They still need to dry, bisque fire and glaze fire, but I’m just happy to throw again!

Soap and a Card

2011-03-06T18:59:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, we had an impromptu craft day at Kay’s. Kay makes homemade soap, so she led us thru making a batch of lavender/goat milk soap. Now, we just need to wait 6-weeks to use it so the lye doesn’t burn our skin off!!

Homemade Soap

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

Today, I wanted to spend some time in the studio, so I made this little card. I used the end of some round foam pieces that were made for a draft block for a door!

Batik Bookmark

2011-02-27T11:39:00.001-07:00

I decided to try the Blended Batik technique from the Compendium of Curiosities book. This is the bookmark I created. The technique was pretty fun.

Birthday Card for Dad

2011-02-26T17:45:00.001-07:00

Dad thought I was crazy when I ran around the barn yard taking pictures of old rusty stuff. He said, “What kind of crazy person takes pictures of old junk?!” Well, one of the “Rusty Junk” pictures I took at his house won 3rd place in a photo exhibit in Canon City, CO. So…as a sorta joke, I’ve made dad’s birthday card with the winning photo. The frame is cream cardstock made for photo cards. I colored it with Weathered Wood Distress ink, covered that in clear embossing powder, making sure to really tap and blow off the excess powder so there would be uncovered areas. After the embossing cooled, I inked it with Rusty Hinge Distress ink to get that old rusty look. . The sentiment is stamped in Rusty Hinge and Weathered Wood Distress ink and embossed. Then I did the same technique as the frame and attached it with foam squares.

Focused on Photography

2011-02-25T19:51:00.001-07:00

I haven’t created much lately in the way of paper crafts, jewelry or anything else, as I have been focusing more on my photography. Here are some of my recent shots:

11 Mile Canyon, Colorado

Life is a Journey Tag

2011-02-12T17:10:00.001-07:00

I’m a big fan of Tim Holtz and one of my favorite things to photograph is rusty junk. For Christmas I received the Compendium of Curiosities book. I decided to try the Rusted Enamel technique. I used Weathered Wood and Vintage Photo Distress inks, Stazon Timber Brown ink, as well as Tim’s Visual Artistry The Journey and Inkadinkadoo’s The Great Outdoors stamp sets.

Valentine’s Projects

2011-02-11T16:59:00.001-07:00

I made a card for my DH using a black card base. I stamped the Michael Strong hearts using Aged Mahogany Distress ink on the large one and Worn Lipstick Distress ink on the small heart. The ‘arrow’ and sentiment paper were scraps. The sentiment stamp is by an unknown vendor and stamped in Black Soot Distress ink. The distressing is care of Winston. Yes, I let the puppy chew on the large heart and sentiment paper for a minute. I then inked the edges with Vintage Photo Distress ink. I wrapped the small heart with red crochet string and adhered it all down. I used the Tiny Attacher on the sentiment paper and wrapped the card in red crochet string to finish.

I also made this Valentine’s themed bookmark using the water stamping technique from A Compendium of Curiosities by Tim Holtz. I used inked the tag with Fired Brick Distress ink and stamped the large heart using water and drying with a heat tool. I then stamped the small heart with Aged Mahogany Distress ink (mine’s getting a little dry). I stamped the sentiment with a charcoal ink and the lips with Fired Brick. I finished by distressing the edges (without the puppy), inking the edges with Aged Mahogany Distress ink and adding ribbon.

Painted Petals Class

2011-02-07T20:49:00.001-07:00

I took the Painted Petals class at Archiver’s tonight. It would have been much more fun with Jill and/or Chris, but I had a good time making the cards.

Dog-themed Bookmark

2011-02-06T16:53:00.001-07:00

I’ve been gone for a bit…busy with the new puppy and traveling for work…plus, my studio has been freezing since the temps have been so low (it’s below the garage and heated with electric space heaters). Today, I cranked up the heat and spent some time down there cleaning up and working on some hiking and puppy scrapbooks. I also made this dog-themed bookmark for a book I just bought on…dogs.

The tag is a white base that I covered with Vintage Photo Distress ink. I embossed the images with clear embossing powder and went over the tag in Broken China and Faded Jeans Distress inks. I ‘painted’ the dog and added the brown detail with Walnut Stain Distress ink. I painted the bones with white Enamel Accents by Ranger, and the dogs nose and eyes with black Enamel Accents. I added some buttons and ribbon to finish.

This is who is keeping me from crafting! Winston is a 10-week old bundle of energy that learned to rip the stuffing out of all his toys from his older sister, Delilah!

Winston’s Puppy Bag

2011-01-20T19:42:00.001-07:00

I added some embellishments to Winston’s puppy bag today. I’ll probably add more at some point, but this is it so .

Winston and His New Puppy Bag

2011-01-19T17:11:00.001-07:00

We got a new puppy on Sunday, 16 Jan 11. His name is Winston Howard Mullis. He’s a Border Collie/Cattle Dog mix and will be 8-weeks old tomorrow. He and his 4 brothers and 1 sister were born on Thanksgiving Day at a pound in Denver and slotted to be put down the next day. Fortunately, Highland Springs Rescue and Rehab retrieved them and have already placed all but 2 brothers, including their mother. I’m taking Winston to see his ‘grandma’ this weekend, and it occurred to me that I needed something in which to carry all his little puppy supplies. So, I’ve started this little tote bag. I’ll definitely be adding more to it, but this is a start:

This is Winston:

A Birthday Photo Card and Another Lighting Test

2011-01-15T15:18:00.001-07:00

I made this card for my friend, Terry. He grew up on a farm in Kansas, so this just reminded me of him. It’s a photo I took of an old tractor at my dad’s house. I put it in a black photo card. I stamped the sentiment on white cardstock with Stazon black ink and misted it with Graphite Glimmer Mist and cut it out. I attached it to white cardstock that had been blended with Tea Dye Distress ink and edged with Black Soot Distress ink then cut to match the sentiment.

I spent some time doing a lighting test today with some of my lighting gear. Bo helped me understand the lighting some last night, but I promised not to post any of his picture. On thing I did learn was that I should comb my hair before doing this and iron the backdrop.

Homework!

2011-01-09T16:12:00.001-07:00

My CFF, Jill, gave me some craft homework. I had to use at least 3 of the paper butterflies she provided in an envelope. Here is what I created.