Thanksgiving Pilgrims & Turkey

Created with The Angel Company Rubber Stamps:

Family, Food & Friends
Running Stitches

This card was created for the November Art Challenge at Paperwings. Here are some links for you to see all of the other craft projects and cards created for this challenge:

Stacy

Seleise

Melisa

Bridgett

Laurie
Jany

Taking Nothing for Granted

My mom died of ovarian cancer many years ago. Last year my sister and I both discovered we had ovarian cysts. We decided to have hysterectomies and prayed that we wouldn't get the dreaded "Big C" diagnosis. We were fortunate that our cysts were benign, but I'll never forget what it felt like like when I thought my life could be cut short. My mind was racing for days wondering what my fate would be and what would happen to my family after I left them. It was a reminder to me of what is truly important in my life -- my family.

This photograph was taken before we went in for surgery. I remember wanting to get a picture of us together before we got any bad news. The sentiment from the More Abundance stamp set seemed fitting for this photograph!

Created with The Angel Company Products:

Natalee Accordian Album Kit
Angelee Cardstock
Angelee & Natalee Ribbon
More Abundance

Three Wise Snowmen

Here is a CASE'd card from Kendra's gallery at SCS for the Featured Stamper Challenge - FS93. I really like how well the snow shows up with these colors.

Created with The Angel Company Products:

Snowman Nativity
Snowflakes
Noir Black Palette Ink
Icicle Stickles Glitter
Chalk Pencils
Staz-On White Opaque Ink
Prismacolor Pencils

Winter Tags Sculpey Clay Ornament

This Winter Tags Ornament was created by stamping the image onto Sculpey Clay with Noir Palette ink. I baked it, let it cool and then colored the image with Copic Markers. I embellished the ornament with Icicle Stickles Glitter glue for some sparkle.

Created with The Angel Company Rubber Stamps:

Winter Tags

Snowman Nativity Ornament/Pin

This Snowman Nativity Pin/Ornament was created by stamping Noir Palette Black ink onto Sculpey Clay. I baked it, let it cool and then colored the image with Copic Markers. I embellished the ornament with Icicle Stickles Glitter glue to give it a bit of sparkle.

Snowflake Pin/Ornament

This snowflake pin/ornament was created by pressing the rubber stamp into Sculpey Clay to make an impression. After I baked it (and let it cool), I filled in the cracks using Perfect Pearls and embellished with Stickles Glitter Glue for sparkle. (OK...I could've done a better job trimming the snowflake....lol) I think I may have also run it across my silver pigment ink pad and rubbed some of it off too. Just use your imagination and have fun with it!

Created with The Angel Company Rubber Stamp:

Snowflakes

Winter/Christmas Ornament & Pins

As I mentioned, here are some Sculpey Clay pins/ornaments with a Christmas/Winter theme. I used Sculpey Clay and ran it through a clay machine (looks like a pasta maker) to get the clay flat. I used Noir Black Palette Ink and stamped my images onto the clay. For the snowflake, I just used a stamp without ink and pressed it into the clay. I used my small scissors and and a craft knife to trim them and put them onto a cookie sheet. I baked the clay in the oven as directed at 275° for 15 minutes. I let the clay cool and then decorated them.

Each pin/ornament has a separate post with details:
Snowflake Pin/Ornament
Snowman Nativity Pin/Ornament
Winter Tags Ornament

I made a cute little penguin as well. You can see him here:

Fall/Thanksgiving Sculpey Clay Pins & Embellishments

I made a few things with my Sculpey Clay Sunday night so you will be seeing several posts of ornaments, pins, and embellishments over the next few days! I'm going to add pin backs to the turkey and pilgrims and use them on name cards for Thanksgiving (either that or I'll use them as embellishments for napkin rings). I'm making the kitty into a pin and giving it to my "baby" who is turning 5 on Friday! I'm not sure what I'll do with the leaves. Maybe I'll add them to the autumn frame that I made the other day.

Created with The Angel Company Stamps:

Charcoal Leaves
Family, Food & Friends
Playful Kitties

I should mention that I stamped the clay before baking. After the clay was cooled, I colored the images. On the smaller pins, I just lightly stamped with black ink. On the leaves, I actually pressed my stamp into the clay a bit harder with a brown color to make an impression. Now...sealing the pins was another story! The only thing that I have found that doesn't smear the Copic ink is Modge Podge. It's not a shiny gloss that I would've liked, but it does the job! If anyone knows what I can spray on Copic ink for a glossy varnish, I'd love to hear from you.

Faux Cloissone' Technique - Mother's Day Card

OK...so I know it's November and you're probably not even thinking about Mother's Day, but when I tried the Faux Cloisonne Technique the card just morphed into a Mother's Day card...I really had no control over it. The technique is super easy. Just get out a magazine and stamp an image onto one of the glossy pages with your VersaMark inkpad and heat emboss with Gold Embossing powder. This happened to be a picture of a baby's quilt, but you'd never know it now! Grab some of your old magazines and a stamp...preferably one with bold lines and not too much detail and give it a try. You can even try adding some Crystal Lacquer over the top to give it some shine (I've got one drying now that looks pretty good.)

Created with The Angel Company Stamps:

Butterfly Swirls
Trendy Greetings

Autumn Swirls Altered Frame

I picked up a plain frame at my local dollar store a while ago and figured it was time to see what I could do with it. I stamped the frame using Burnt Sienna ink and colored in the leaves with my Copic Markers. After I did that I wanted to add the "Fantastic Fall" sentiment to the frame, but it didn't show up very well because of the design. I decided to stamp the sentiment onto clear acetate and then I very carefully heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I trimmed around the sentiment and then stuck it on top of my "mistake." It's a bit crooked, but it's there to stay...lol. I did use a bit of metallic rub on to the frame, but you can't really see it in the photo.

Yes, that is a photo of my children taken a couple of years ago in 2006. I remember it like it was yesterday (sigh).


Created with The Angel Company Products:

Autumn Swirls
Penelope & Sydney Ribbon
Burnt Sienna Palette Ink Pad
Clear Embossing Powder
Clear Acetate

Decorative Circle Medallion

When I saw the TLC193 Decorative Circle Medallion Technique Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers it reminded me of how I used to make snowflakes by cutting into a folded circle shape. I didn't have any corner punches so I just used a tulip punch that I had hanging around. The card was kind of boring so I used stickles to jazz it up. I'll have to try some other punches to see if I can get a more interesting pattern.

Created with The Angel Company products:

Ornamental Snowflakes
Trendy Greetings
Scallop Circle Punch
Stickles

I used a tulip punch that I had in my punch drawer, but you can try any hand punch for a decorative effect. Visit Splitcoast Stampers to view the Decorative Circle Medallion Technique.