The Last Card Project of 2010

I decided to mail Happy New Year cards this year instead of Happy Holidays. This way, I'll be the last card people receive and hopefully the card will stay out little longer into the new year!

The project was fairly straight forward for me. My Janome sewing machine did get a few hours of work as I whipped up these last 50 cards for 2010. I opted to sew the main image to card stock, but it looked a little plain, so the addition of a little bit of gold webbing made it much more festive.

This was a point at which a coffee break was needed.
I was wondering why I didn't just mail out Christmas cards like everyone else....its not like I don't have a couple of hundred in inventory.....

But soon, the main card was done and the insert and label were in place.

My last step was to sew on these tiny brass number 1 charms.
So many of my jewelery supplies end up on art cards!
Happy New Years Everyone!

2011 Mibo Studio Calendar Project

Look at these fantastic graphic images!
This entire calendar is a digital file that you can buy online. It is only $3.95 US and I found it on Mibo's fun website in the UK. I printed it on some glossy 8 1/2 x 11 paper and then cut each page in half.

I finally had a reason to pull out my Zutter! This was a wonderful gift from my friend Doveen, and I had hoped to use it more often this past year. It binds books and journals in a snap.

I punched holes through the top of each calendar page. Zutter does all the work for you.

Then I added a binding coil to the tool and bound the calendar.

Here is my calendar in the kitchen. I think it is better than a piece of art! I can't wait to have the month of May on display!

The Mibo Studio planner is available as a free download. Isn't that generous! I am leaving this graphic on my computer. The download is linked here.

Paris Imagery

I imagine if you were born and lived in Paris, you might not be so interested in decorating your home with Paris imagery. Those of us in North American who love Paris have posters and postcards on display and more than a few Eiffel Towers scattered about our homes. So what might a Parisian love? Here is a very cool couch I spotted in a window. Skyline, Chicago.
If it was for me, I would want to have the Paris as the backdrop!

Martha Stewart Punches - A Small Review

I swore I would not buy any more Martha punches. The two that I bought when she originally launched her craft line punched horribly. In fact, they hardly punched at all, especially the one inch circle which always tore the edge of every punched paper circle.

But like most companies, things change, manufacturers might get replaced and then I noticed this new grouping of punches. Corners and the edging all in one set.

They were on sale so I bought them and tested them on a few different types of paper last night.

I was so surprised that they worked. I have learned that you need to work with even sized papers to get a good clean edge all the way around. So 5 x 5 and 4 x 4 inches worked the best as starting papers.

In layers they are very pretty lace edges.

I opted to add a little decoupage girl to one card.

I used glitter and a card stock image on the second. I wanted you to see the top paper (light green) on this card. The punch overlapped and created these odd edges, but I was okay with it. That's when I realized it was harder to work with papers that were not an even measurement to start.

For very special cards I will use these again. I don't think I could use them in my production work though. They are still a little finicky and thicker card stock definitely gets stuck in the punches.

2011 Pantone Colour of the Year!

A Color for All Seasons
Courageous. Confident. Vital. A brave new color, for a brave new world. Let the bold spirit of Honeysuckle infuse you, lift you and carry you through the year. It’s a color for every day – with nothing “everyday” about it.

I love this colour!

The Paris Barbie

Have you ever seen a better collection of Barbies? Look at those vintage outfits. 60's style.

There they were. Amidst the junk and collectibles.
Just an everyday table at an outdoor market in Paris.

The Year End Wrap Up

2010 was the year of the Sweet Pea for me.
I only discovered this plant in 2009 when I saw a whole fence covered with the most beautiful flowers. Last winter I read about the plant and bought seeds on line from both the USA and England.

In the spring I planted my first sweet pea pots. I didn't get a whole fence line of flowers but I did learn a lot about these seedlings. I was just hoping to grow some of the different coloured flowers for an idea I have. This winter I'll be working with the many photographs I took throughout the summer.

I completely forgot that I had placed some of the flowers in this press. Since I was photographing tiny bouquets I wanted to keep those cuttings. Pressing them was the perfect way to reuse them.

I opened the press yesterday and have some gorgeous pressed flowers to use in my projects.

These beautiful flowers bloomed right into the fall.
I'll be creating another Sweet Pea experiment next year!


If you have some time today, here are some crafty blogging links to enjoy!

About Family Crafts
Check out the current make-it-over craft challenge! Do you have a snowman craft to share?

Aileen’s Musings
New Project Announcement–Every Inchie Monday A “small” personal challenge….an inch a week is all we ask!

Carmi’s Art/Life World
Carmi sews up an elephant using a vintage cigarette card pattern.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
This week at Craftside there are a whole bunch of Holiday Goodness Giveaways that include a Boye Electric Ball Winder, Deluxe Rotary Cutter and Embosser, Deluxe SideWinder, The Crochet Dude tools, and of course wonderful and inspiring craft and design books; pop over to leave a comment in all the posts to get yourself in the running!

Cross Stitch at About.com
Print your Free 2011 Cross Stitch Calendar - use it to track stitching events, appointments and more. Keep track of how many days you stitch this year too.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
“Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night”. Read Eileen’s tale of her first magical Christmas birthday in Mexico.

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi shares the steps as she begins to assemble a small quilt using her own hand painted fabrics.

Time To Play With New Toys!

Happy Boxing Day!

As we don't need a darn thing, today is a real day off. No trips to the mall, no invitations to lunch, no outings at all! Magnus has a new toy and so do I. Santa brought me an Ipad, so I have lots to learn! I'll be enjoying all my beading links through my new tablet.

About.com Jewelry Making
Tammy looks at least year's resolutions and thinks about 2011. Share your resolutions or lack of them.

Art Bead Scene
Come make a sleigh bell bracelet with ABS for the 6th Day of the annual 12 Days of free projects!

Beading Arts
Come enjoy some insider information on the fabulous fiber and bead artist, Joan Babcock!

Beading & Books
Michelle shares a handmade polymer clay ornament by Diva Designs and her favorite chocolate candy recipe. (You'll need to keep up your strength if you're going to bead over the holidays!)

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi starts to work with resin cubes she made earlier in the year.

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva
Cindy shares the key to her designs.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie gets in the Christmas spirit with a holiday song to inspire three fun projects.

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Come on over and get the shopping list for the next Blog Reader Challenge!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean makes some holiday themed jewelry for Rings & Things! The time flew by as she made these pretty creations!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Sue Kennedy of SueBeads offers up a really beautiful assortment of goodies in this week's Thursday Giveaway! Find out how you can win them!

Merry Christmas Friends!

Merry Christmas

I hope you all have a wonderful December 25th!

Crafty Christmas

Time to play is all I want for Christmas. And that is what I seemed to have received! A few happy days to just watch movies, play in the studio and enjoy many sweet treats.

From my "time permitting box" I pulled out this wonderful stamp I ordered from Britain this fall. Like a whole bunch of other stampers, I just love cute bird images.

I have not rubber stamped in ages! This long and lean stamp fit perfectly on one of my Rock a Blocks...so I got perfect stamp from the get go.

Next, I pulled out some watercolor crayons for some colour.

I made some buttons too...and once I pulled out some fantastic paper I knew my card was done.

Cute Wire Dolls in The Paris Window

One wants happiness!

Odds and Ends

I am slowly but surely getting through my back logged "to-do" list.

I made these beautiful resin pendants some time ago. I love dried flowers and wanted to create something that would capture the fall in my garden.

Of all the chores I have, sanding and polishing is what I dislike the most. These little cubes needed some tweaking and I finally got one sorted last night.

All I had to do was attach a bail and it looks fantastic on a necklace.
15 more pendant to sand.

Free Tag Art Download

One of my favorite blogs is One Pretty Thing. I've had a link to it for several years. Rachel, the blog's writer always seeks out the best of the best craft projects and creates interesting themed links. This week she had a link to a free digital download to make these tags.

"Design, wash, rinse, repeat" designed these tags and offered them as a freebie download. Thank you! I love this angel! I opted to enlarge and then print the set on kraft paper which is why they appear a little dark. I added some extra papers and glitter. My final task was to choose some ribbon which I sewed into place. Now I have two more pretty tags to attach to gifts.

Christmas Colours

Another peak through a Paris shop window.
I took this picture in 2008. I am still on the hunt for big square red beads.

Gorjuss Cards

This is the time of the year where I can make things that are just for fun.
I love these "Gorjuss" decoupage die cut sets. I made these cards with them and I know I won't be able to give them away!

This style of die cut assembly is known as pyramag. Each layer tilts slightly until you get to the last layer.

These little characters are so pretty.

Since the main artwork was done I spent more time layering paper to the card body.

The polar bear really captured my attention.

It could not be sweeter.

I added a teeny bit of glitter.


I bought these decoupage die cut sheets online a few months ago. I went online for a link last night and noticed that the company representing Gorjuss also made up some bags...but the one I want is sold out so I'll have to wait until they restock next year.

The artist who created Gorjuss has not had a good year. She has a major spinal cord injury and when I went to her blog, I read a very heartfelt message from her husband updating her fans about her health status. So today I am sending my own positive wishes for some relief to be sent her way. To have mobility would truly be a wonderful miracle for her in 2011.