Last night, Tricia, Christi, and I went to the Sunshine Theater to see Neverending Story. It was awesome to see it again. I love that movie, no matter its flaws. I still think it's a pretty good movie, for what it is anyway. Did you know that the actor who did the voices of Falkor and Gmork was also Skeletor?I just found that out. In fact... I looked up the movie on IMDB and other sites to find out more information about the actors. Bastian- Barret Oliver. He was in several things as a kid, including Cocoon and Knight Rider. He's now a photographer with a specialty in 19th Century Wet-Plate process. "But it's only a story! They can't be talking about me!?" Atreyu- Noah Hathaway. He was in a bunch of stuff as a kid, including a movie called Troll, which Christi says is awful. He plays a boy named Harry Potter Jr. The bio says he worked as a bartender for years, got lots of tatoos and studied martial arts, inlcuding muay thai. And now he teaches martial arts. Supposedly he's married to a woman but the photos I found seem suggestive of something else. Very wierd. The Childlike Empress(renamed Moonchild by Bastian, of course)- Tami Stronach. This was her one and only movie, but she also came out with a single around then. There are 2 songs, Fairy Queen and Riding on a Rainbow. She's now a dancer and choreographer. According to one website she is/was teaching yoga at New York Sports Club. She has a website...i guess if we really wanted to we could go see her dance. More pictures of the actors: Different looks for the empress http://boyzworld.org/celebs/oliver-barrett/index.htm

the magic is in the air for the most wonderful time of the year; filled with creativity and festive wonder! this…

The creepiest Halloween Carnival has come to town and you don't want to miss it.....but then again, maybe you do! The story goes like this, in a small, sleepy little hollow of a town, a Halloween carnival appeared over night. The townsfolk were drawn to the strange conglomeration of eerie booths and macabre games: Toxique Topple, Skull Smash, Spider Sweep and Tombstone Tipping were among the gruesome offerings as was the obligatory Pumpkin Carving booth. Despite the fact that the town's people were having a most dreadful experience, they found themselves compelled to remain, immersed in the morbid masquerade. This giant skull lured guests over to one of the more toxic games where they tried to toppled to bottles of toxic potions, only to win one to take home.....if they ever get to leave... Doesn't this lady just look like she is compelled to stand here playing this horrid game? The tiny jars of poison are glossy accents with alcohol ink that never dried clear. A cool mistake. They have some Remnant Rubs on the bottles and a little Distress Collage Medium to give them an old dusty look. I covered the sides and the back with the large Wooden Planks dies cut from not only Woodgrain Cardstock, but also Chipboard so they would stand up. Then I decorated them with Ephemera pieces so that it looked like an old carnival fence. In front of the Toxique Topple game is the Tombstone Tipping. If you are able to tip enough tombstones you can have your own made..... I broke a few of them so that they looked like they had been toppled one too many times. This little girl watching over the game looks just like she wants to go home but she can't for some reason...she just has to keep watching this game over and over and over.... No Halloween Carnival would be complete without the Pumpkin Carving right? Well at this carnival, even the pumpkins look like they want to go home! And these poor children are doomed to stand there, spellbound, holding their jack-o-lanterns.... The Skull Smash booth is the equivalent of the show your strength attraction at those normal carnivals, but this one is far from normal... In this game, you have to smash a skull with a femur....it just doesn't get any more bone shattering than that! And then we move on to the spiders.... The game of Spider Sweep is the challenge of sweeping away as many spiders as you can with out having any of them crawl up the broom and bite you.... There were several varieties of spiders in this game because I had some from several different releases over the years...hmmmm... I wonder which ones were the most poisonous? I think this pumpkin seeds piece of ephemera was one of my favorites...something so normal in the midst of such a nightmare.... If it was already apparent, I love, love, love Tim Holtz Ideaology products. So I tend to purchase two or three or four of each of the holiday items to be sure that I have plenty on hand. This crazy, creepy carnival was born out of my stash of product over the years, but mostly of the 2018 Halloween Ideaology and I had such a fun time going all in with it. Thanks for stopping by and I hope that after reading this that you are glad you aren't stuck in this nightmare of a carnival! Tami I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose. If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog, the time, the ideas and tutorials I post here. Your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Today I’m sharing some fun ideas for the new idea-ology Salvaged Rabbits and Tiny Eggs. Check out these cool effects to…

A pretty spring tag that carries a often needed message -- this one was fun to make using the new Spring Distress Oxide Colors on different surfaces. I first cut out several of the Large Stems from Distress Mixed Media Heavystock, using this Tim Holtz Bigz die. Then I masked off the flowers on the stems and sprayed them with Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide Sprays. Once dry I removed the masking and then masked the part of the stems closest to the flowers. Once the masking was done I sprayed the flowers with Spun Sugar and Milled Lavender Disress Oxide Sprays. I made some to be a little more on the pink side and others more on the purple, but still similar enough to be the same kind of plant. Next I needed a container for the flowers, so I cut the two pieces to make the terra cotta pot from the Potted Bigz die. I cut one set from Sizzix Mat Board and one set from Distress Mixed Media Heavystock so it would have dimension. To make this look like a mossy concrete planter, I adhered the Heavystock to the matboard, then attached the top lip to the piece. The important step is to cover the whole piece with grit paste, but not in an even manner. You want it to look like a rough, old planter. Once dry, I sprayed it all over with Pumice Stone Distress Oxide Spray and like the grit paste, I let it dry naturally. Then I ran my finger over the top of the raised areas with Distress Crayons until I achieved the look I wanted. I used the same technique to make the tag as I did for the Cherish tag that I posted earlier this year on my blog. Using a small Etcetera Tag, and some kraft cardstock, you can have a beautiful base for a project. I cut the Crochet and Intricate Lace pieces from heavy kraft paper. The Intricate Lace die doesn't have edge, so you can cut it sided by side to make a longer piece as I did here. I adhered both the double Intricate Lace piece, and the Crochet piece to the tag with collage Medium, as seen above. Once it was dry I cut the excess off the sides and top, then sanded the edges. I think it looks fabulous at this stage, but I wanted to do something else with it. I painted it with Antique Linen Distress paint. Once dry, I sanded over the top revealing some of the kraft underneath. Then I sprayed right over the Distress Oxide Spray spring colors. I hear Tim Holtz discussing in his reveal in January, that you could use Distress Oxide on surfaces with Distress Collage Medium on them. Then with a clean, dry cloth, I lightly dabbed and wiped the excess off the surface, leaving a light coating of Oxide color in the recesses. As you can see, on this project it left soft, lovely color in the depressions on the tag. I LOVE it! Here is a picture of the finished tag background. I LOVE the soft colors from the Distress Oxide Sprays. Before I put the Distress Oxide Sprays away, I cut some canvas centers out for the flowers, and colored them with Squeezed Lemonade. I colored some twine with both Pumice Stone and Iced Spruce Distress Oxide Sprays. Then I began to put all the bits together. I covered a few metal pieces from Ideaology with some white Picket Fence Distress Paint. Then I attached a couple of pieces of ephemera to click at the top. I attached the yellow canvas pieces to the flowers and attached a vintage button to the top of that. Here is that grit paste covered planter that I rubbed various Distress Crayons over the surface to make some of the higher areas to capture the uneven surface. I finished the piece of by adding a few more vintage buttons and by making a story from Ideaology Clippings Stickers that really held some nice meaning for me as I was finishing this piece. I really love this soft, spring etcetera tag. Thanks Tim, for all the beautiful spring colors in Distress Oxide Sprays, and for the inspiration to try it over Collage Medium. Thank yo for stopping by and I hope that you find loveliness yourself that whispers, "Just hold on." Tami I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose. If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog and the ideas and tutorials I post here, and your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

"Welcome to a tropical hideaway, you lucky people, you!" I’m sure many of us would love a nice tropical getaway right about now, but until that’s possible, this tropical décor piece might help to keep that dream alive. I have this little tropical vacation project over on the Sizzix blog. I used several techniques that were inspired by Tim Holtz and his Saturday morning demos. The main dies I showcase on this project are the Happy Hour, Baggage Claim and Tropical dies. There are many textures and details going on with this project, so get out your dies, papers, and mixed media products and head over to the Sizzix blog for the full tutorial. Aloha! Tami I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose. If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog, the time, the ideas and tutorials I post here. Your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Tim Holtz Christmas Idea-ology is officially released! I know it’s been available for a month now, but it’s not official until we hear all the details from the man himself and today was the day! If you missed it you can catch the replay on the Tim Holtz YouTube channel and see the makes and the links on Timholtz.com I made this festive Department Store Window clock using lots of Tim Holtz Christmas Idea-ology. I had an absolute blast making this Santa’s Post Office and trying to figuring out what might be in Santa’s Post Office. It’s really a blast to sit back and try to let your mind imagine. It was so much fun dreaming up this candy cart. I actually started this project last Christmas but didn’t get it finished. So this year with the new Candy Cane Confections, it was the perfect time. I will have blog posts and video tutorials for each of my Christmas makes, but I’ll start those in November. So thank you for your patience. ❤️❤️❤️Many, many, many thanks for all of your very kind comments during the live and on my posts. You are all truly so sweet and I’m beyond grateful for the support and encouragement. ❤️❤️❤️ Have a festively creative day, Tami I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose. If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog, the time, the ideas and tutorials I post here. Your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Remy's At-Home Newborn Photos | Family Portrait | Hunter Premo

to start things off i’m sharing the projects featured in my sizzix alterations halloween facebook live product…

In my last post I detailed how I made the urn shown above, and in this post I want to show how I made the dead funeral arrangement in it. It's really very easy and doesn't take long either, so let's get started. Gather the items you need: a broomstick, some Bouquet flower stems, Collage Medium, Distress Spray Stain in Ground Espresso and Antique Linen, Distress Sprayer with water and the thimble urn from the last post. If you missed it, I detailed how to make an urn like this one in the previous post here. Begin by pulling the handle out of the broomstick. You can discard it, but I recommend saving it and setting it aside for another Ideaology idea I'll post later involving the Owl from the Adornments pack. Spray the broom with water and make sure it gets wet through to the center. This will soften the bristles. I picked it up and swept it through the water, pressing the bristles down into the water and splaying them out. It made the bristles stick out like this. Now we are starting to get somewhere. Then I crinkled it up and rolled it in my hands like a meatball, crinkling and bending the bristles as much as I could. This is what it looked like when I was finished. I slowly started separating and pulling the bristles out and down. At this point, stick it in the urn to see how it fit. Some brooms fit fine, like this one did, and some the top of the broom is too tall and it needs to have a little trimmed off where the broomstick was attached. I kept scrunching it -- you know what I'm talking about my big-haired 80's sisters! For the rest of you, you just carefully squeeze, shape, and fluff the bristles until they stand out on their own like awesome 80's hair. See what I'm talking about? I was a scrunch queen in the 80's and I had great hair just like this dead funeral arrangement. It great as it is, but I wanted it to be a little more dead looking. It looked kind of like my big 80's hair when I used too much Sun In. That's me in the front on the left...hair all scrunched and Sun In-ed I felt like this would be great for a tumbleweed in a western vignette, but not for my cemetery. So I sprayed it with Ground Espresso Distress Spray Stain. You need to move it so you get all the sides covered. While that is drying, spray the Bouquet flowers with Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain. You want them to look like they were once white flowers that have faded and yellowed as they dried. Then spray some of the Ground Espresso Distress Spray Stain and then dilute it a little with water. Take the still damp flowers (you don't want them to dry in between spraying them with Antique Linen and this step) Tap the edges of the flower petals into the diluted Ground Espresso Stain. It will slowly wick its way into the flower and really add to the dead and dried up look. Here they are with the edges colored. Let them do the wicking on their own. The centers needed colored too, so I just used a Ground Espresso Distress Marker and colored them by hand. Now to put it all together once the stained flowers and broomstick plant are dry. You can put some Distress Collage Medium in to the bottom of the urn. You want a nice amount. But it will take awhile to dry so if you are in a bit of a hurry or feeling impatient, then do the same thing but with hot glue and it will go faster. Push the bottom of the plant into the Collage Medium or hot glue from a Glue Gun.You only have to wait a moment for the hot glue, but the collage medium needs time to dry -- several hours or overnight is preferred. I trimmed the flowers off the bouquet stems and didn't want their white stems to stand out, so I colored over each one with a Ground Espresso Distress Marker. Then apply a little bit of Collage Medium, and insert the stem in between the plant bristles. Add as few or as many flowers as you want to the arrangement The extra flowers can be used in other places on the project. In the next installment, and the last one for this piece, I will point out the product used and any details that might need to be clarified. If you have a question about anything on this piece, please contact me through the contact form at the right. My ability to reply to comments on this blog tends to come and go, and currently it is gone. I would love to be able to answer your questions, so please ask through the form and I'll address those things in the next blog post. As always, thank you again for stopping by and for your support and comments on my posts. I may not be able to comment back, but I am grateful for each of you who take the time to read my posts and comment. Tami I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose. If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog and the ideas and tutorials I post here, and your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Dreamer of Dreams is a project I made for the Ideaology Booth at Creativation 2018 last year. I just never got around to posting about it. I really love this project because it was inspired by the life of Walt Disney. When I got my box of Ideaology product last year, as I opened it slowly, looking at all the new items, bits and pieces stuck out and a story began to develop in my head. So this post isn't going to be a tutorial as much as it is about how I develop a story that permeates my art pieces. Two pieces that kick started my story were the Drawing Pins Trinket Tin and the Numeric numbers 28. Once those two items sparked a story in my mind, I went about going through the new 2018 product and my older Ideaology stash and pulling items that fit within my story representing Walt Disney's Life. 1. The hand and bird are from the Milagros Adornments. They represent Walt's favorite song, "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins. It was written by two of Disney's most famous song writers, Robert and Richard Sherman. They had offices in the same building, and on the same floor at the studio as Walt's office. On Friday afternoons Walt would summon them to his office where he had a piano and would ask Richard to play "Feed the Birds" for him. 2. The Numeric numbers 28. This is significant because 1928 is the year Walt Disney dreamed up Mickey and Minnie Mouse. They turned 90 last year. "I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse." - Walt Disney 3. The Railroad tickets from the Ephemera packs because Walt Disney loved railroads. 4. Admit One ticket ephemera representing the admission tickets to Walt's movies and his them park, Disneyland. 5. The Found Relatives photo card of the boy and dog because it reminded me of pictures I've seen of Walt as a boy and because he loved animals. Photo Credit: Ohmydisney.com 6. The Quote Chip - Dreamer of Dreams because dreaming is a huge Disney theme. 7. The Quote Token that says "your past does not determine who you are. your past prepares you for who you are to become." This quote so represents Walt's life. He has so many failures, trials, and difficulties, but he persevered and accomplished his dreams in the end. 8. The Drawing Pins Trinket Tin was perfect because I knew Walt and other animators would have used drawing pins to hold their paper in place when drawing their animations. 9. The Design Tape with the Red Cross on it represents Walt's time driving an ambulance for the American Ambulance Corps, a division of the Red Cross, in Europe as a 16+ year old in WWI. Photo Credit: Chicagoredcrossstories.wordpress.com 10. Photo Booth photo with a boy and a dog was keeping with the boyish dream/animal lover theme. 11. The postcard in the background represents Walt's time in Europe since it was from France and I'm sure he wrote home during his time there. 12. The milk cap represents Walt's boyhood home in Marcelline, Missouri. 13. The stamp with Abraham Lincoln on it was chosen because Lincoln was Walt's favorite president. As a boy, for school projects he would dress up as Lincoln with a school friend. He even made his first animatronic to be Abraham Lincoln in a show called Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln for the 1964 World's Fair. A modern version of this same show can be seen at Disneyland's Opera House. Inside the tin I added several pieces from Ephemera Expedition and Layers Collector. 14. Photo Booth - these photos reminded me of a young Walt and Lillian Disney. Walt was known for his thin pencil mustache and his signature fedora. Photo Credit: thefedoralounge.com 15. I also added a school report card several movie tickets, a piece of Film Strip Ribbon. 16. Once piece included from the Collector Layers is a bookkeeping page that is in the red. I included that because finances and bankruptcies were something Walt Disney and his brother Roy Disney had to endure and recover from many times during their lives. The Trinket Tin is sitting on a large Vignette Box and Large Vignette Panel that have been nailed to the bottom of an Etcetera Tag with the nails from the Vignette Hardware. 17. The birds on the top of the Vignette Panel go along with the Feed the Birds theme. 18. The panel and box are held together by Film Strip Ribbon that has been altered with the tiniest of the paper dolls. I wanted it to look like actual films representing all of the Disney films that have been a large part of the base that held the Disney Corporation together from the beginning. To put the paper dolls on the film, I attached them to white paper, then secured packing tape over them. I really burnished it onto the paper dolls so there were no air bubbles. Then I soaked them in warm water and rinsed them under the tap as I worked the paper off the back of the image leaving a transparent paper doll. I attached these to the back of a film ribbon with Glossy Accents. 19. I added Gears to go with the steam engine/railroad theme. 20. The Pen Nibs to go with the animator theme. I attached the film ribbon around the Vignette Box with some Ideaology Buckles, because with Disney it is all in the details. That is how I design. I have to have a story in my head to make it work. So although I don't always tell the significance of everything in my designs, there is usually a reason for the things I pick to be in a piece of art. It might be a very detailed piece like this, or it might be a simple card, but I always have a back story....which is also a Disney thing. They have a backstory for everything that most of the guest never notice, but it's there if you look. So thank you so much for taking the time and looking at the details with me today. It was really fun to get to share them with you. Tami I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose. If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog and the ideas and tutorials I post here, and your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Tim Holtz is introducing an exciting, brand new form of planking in 2018, and the best part is you never even have to break a sweat! Now that’s my kinda work out! I love so many of this year’s Sizzix Alterations dies from Tim Holtz that I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite, but if I had to, I think the Wooden Planks might be it....and not just because he gave me a shout out when he introduced them either, although that was really cool! Thanks Tim! The Planks #662705 are so versatile and you can do a lot with them, but I knew I had to use the Distress Woodgrain Cardstock with them. Definitely one of my favorite papers to use with die cuts. Such fantastic texture. For this first card I found some inspiration on Pinterest with a warm, happy, Caribbean feel. I colored pieces of Distress Woodgrain Cardstock with brightly colored Distress Oxides and just used them as a background. So simple! Then the sentiment is made using one of the new Shadow Script #3 Item #662686 dies and cutting the shadow die out of Idea-ology TEXTURED SURFACES TH93204 burlap, lightly brushed with Picket Fence Distress Paint. The word is cut out of Woodgrain Cardstock. This second card is also very simple but uses one of the new alphabets, Cut Out Upper #662707. I can never have enough alphas. Especially these large steel rule due alphas! I know they cost a bit more but it is so worth it to be able to cut so many things like chipboard and thick fabric for card or layout titles. The alphas are always on the top of my wish list. For this card, I cut one of the planks for use as a sign. The plaid frame is cut from Dapper paper using two of the largest Stacked Deckle dies. Then I cut the word Explore from the Cut Out Upper Alphabet from both Woodgrain Cardstock and chipboard for dimension. The back ground is layered over the Treeline #661604 die cut from two different colors of green paper. Although both of these are in card form for Creativation sample display purposes, these could easily be used for pocket pages, or layout title blocks for scrapbooking.

Fabulous florals with a touch of steampunk! My latest release from Stampers Anonymous features new cling rubber stamp sets,…

Last year I made a rolling cart of Mr MacGregor’s Garden, with, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail. This year I made another scene from Mr MacGregor’s Garden with Peter Rabbit sans his coat as Mr MacGregor had put it on the scarecrow. But carrots and cabbages needed to make another appearance this spring and I was so happy that I had dies to use for them this time. Let’s hop right in to the how to’s of this make with some of Tim Holtz’s Sizzix chapter 1 2021 dies. To begin with, I painted a large Vignette Frame and the inside of a large Vignette box with Speckled Egg Distress Paint. I rubbed on a layer of Distress Collage Medium and then rubbed a bit of Walnut Stain Distress Crayon over the frame so that it went down into the detail crevices. When the paint was dry, I cut some Distress Woodgrain Cardstock into 1/2” strips and trimmed the ends to look like a picket fence. Then I just adhered them with a little space between so that it gave the impression of the fence Peter had to scurry under to get into the garden. Although I think it was probably stone in the story. Peter was cut from chipboard and then some Distress Kraft Heavystock that I colored with brown Distress Inks and stamped lightly with the Linen stamp from Linen and Mesh CMS. .I adhered them together and then set him aside until I was ready to assemble the piece. The carrots were very simple. I colored a piece of Mixed Media Heavystock with Crackling Campfire and Spiced Marmalade. Then I cut several carrots from it. I also cut the tops from some MM Heavystock colored with Peeled Paint. Before putting the top of the carrots onto the base, I ran the Tonic Scorer across the Archival Ground Espresso pad and then lightly “scored” little lines into the carrots just to add a little detail. Once they were done, I lightly edged them with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and then assembled them. The cabbages were fun. I cut several bits of scraps into 2x2 squares and then colored them with Bundled Sage and Shabby Shutters Distress Ink. You can add bits of other greens until you get the cabbage color you are happy with. I wet these squares, put some Collage Medium on them and then crumpled them into a wrinkly ball. Let these dry. Color a few other pieces of MM Heavystock with the same greens, and then cut several of the large Brushstroke Flower 2 out of it. Get the flowers a little bit damp, crinkle them up, smooth them out and then add some Collage Medium in the very center. Gently shape the flower around one of the green cabbage balls, slowly shaping it so that it sticks to the ball as it dries and the petals overlap a little to look like a cabbage. This takes a little time and practice, so I recommend making several of these incase you have a few you don’t really like. It is almost time to assemble the whole piece. Apply a little bit of Brushed Corduroy to several pieces of Kraft Heavystock then run them through the Intertwined 3D Texture Fade folder. Cut them into pieces that fit the sides and back of the Vignette Box, then adhere with Distress Collage Medium. Apply a thin layer of Collage Medium over the top and smooth it out by rubbing it in with your fingers. This also allows a bit of the Distress Ink to soak into the crevices and really make the texture stand out. Now to start assembling, I adhered Mr Rabbit to a few wooden Bingo chips so he could be attached to the back of the box, but still stand out away from it. I put two of the carrots in his arms. The rest of the carrots can be trimmed so only the tops are used, as if they are growing out of the ground. To attach them, I cut them a little longer than needed and then folded the extra toward the back. That will give you something to adhere to the bottom of the box. Before you add the cabbages, attach the frame to the front of the Vignette Box with some Distress Collage Medium. Once the frame is set, put a bit of Collage Medium on the bottom of the cabbages and tuck them in the corners on the bottom left of the Vignette Box. Finish off the project by using one of the pieces of green paper used for the carrot tops and the cabbages to cut a four leaf clover from the Lucky Love Impresslit, which cuts and embosses. I tied some thin jute around the top of the box, and then punched a small hole in the top of the clover so I could put the clover and the lucky Story Stick on a Jump Ring. I tied the Jump Ring in the bow of the jute. The reason I added the Lucky part to this project is because Peter was very lucky both times he was in Mr. MacGregor's Garden, that he didn't get caught and baked in a pie by Mrs. MacGregor! Lastly I added a Curio Knob on the top the box and it was finished. Thanks for following along with this fun spring project! Tami I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose. If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog, the time, the ideas and tutorials I post here. Your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

This is just a simple watercolored card with the new Glorious Garden stamp from Tim Holtz and Stampers Anonymous. I adore the Glorious stamps and sentiments! This is the third in the Glorious set. The detail is incredible and they are all so beautiful. I stamped it is Ground Espresso Archival Ink and then watercolored with Distress Inks and Distress Markers. Thank you for visiting, Tami I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose. If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog and the ideas and tutorials I post here, and your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

I loved these Ghoulish dies so much that I was compelled to make a decor piece out of them and to give them all their own space. To do this I used a Large Vignette Tray and separated it into three "rooms" by placing two pieces of cardstock in the middle of the tray and gluing it in place. Then I covered the cardstock with the various background papers described below and covered the edges with the embossed cardstock strips. Since I was making a sample for the Halloween 2018 Sizzix Alterations release, I challenged myself to try to make almost everything from currently available Sizzix Alterations. With the exception of the Ideaology Large Vignette Box, Ideaology Mini Foundations, Mini Fasteners, a bit of Ideaology Mirror, and some mini lights, it's made of all current Sizzix Alterations dies or texture fades. In the first room, I tried to showcase Frankenstein's Monster and the bats from the Ghoulish die set. The room is framed by a piece of black cardstock cut out with the largest Stacked Deckle Die. Then I embossed some black cardstock with the Rosette Texture Fade and cut it into 1/4" strips to cover the edge of the frame. Then on each corner I cut the smallest bolt from the Industrial die for more detail. I put the Foundry 3-D Texture Fade paper on the back and side walls, and the 3-D Lumber on the floor. I cut all of the Pipeline parts and some of the gears and bolts from the Industrial die. I popped these out from the wall with layers of chipboard. To make the monster stand out, I covered him in Peeled Paint Distress Oxide and then with Distress Resist Spray. He looks really slimy. Room number two belongs to the Count. I framed his room the same way I did Frank's. The walls are covered with the Brick Texture Fade and the floor is 3-D Lumber. I colored Distress Heavystock with various Distress Inks like, of course, Fired Brick, then when I embossed it, I inked the side that had the depressions with Black Soot Archival Ink to really make it look distressed. I made two wooden beams for the back corners by cutting a 1" strip of 3-D Lumber paper, and then scored it at 1/4" three times. When I folded it on each line it made a skinny beam I could glue into the back corners of this room. The Count has a lovely wood framed mirror cut from the Stacked Archway dies. I also cut him backwards from the Ideaology Mirror Sheets and applied it to the back side in an attempt to make it seem like he didn't show in the mirror. Because vampires don't show in mirrors right? It was mildly successful. The last two details I added were the bats and the black ivy from the Garden Greens dies. This vignette of the Skeleton in the graveyard was made before knew that the Village Graveyard was going to be available again this year. So I had to get creative. The tree branches are from the Twisted Edge die. On this side of the graveyard you can see parts of the Gothic Gate in the back ground. The tombstones are made from the Gift Tags dies. I cut off the top part with the little hole for twine and used that side as the bottom of the tombstones. With the variety in this set, you can get tombstones in many shapes and sizes. The RIP tombstone is decorated with the Alphanumeric Cutout Lowercase. The weeds and grass are cut from the Funky Floral 3. On this right side, the tombstones are decorated with the bits from the Mixed Media Halloween 2 set. The roof of this piece is made from the Village Rooftops and run through the 3-D Texture Fade. To make this woodgrain I again colored some Distress Heavystock with Hickory Smoke and Pumice Stone vwith small areas of Vintage Photo and Peeled Paint Distress Inks. Then I ran the paper through the 3-D Lumber Texture Fade The sides of the piece are covered in paper with the Wooden Planks Texture Fade. I chose a different folder below for the sides of the Vignette Tray, trimmed it to fit and added it to the outside edges so they looked like old barn siding. I hope you like this piece as much as I do! It was a lot of work but it was well worth it and it makes a wonderful decor piece.

I have a quick Some Bunny Love You treat bag project today. I have lots of these treat bags handy for candy, cookies and other goodies should the need arise. They just need a quick tag and they make an easy gift for a friend or loved one. You need three #8 Distress Mixed Media Heavystock tags and the Flowery background die. Begin by coloring the tags with Distress Ink. I colored on with browns, and two with similar dry/blues, but make one darker than the other. Put some of the Sizzix Permanent Adhesive on the back of the lighter grey/blue tag. I took these of my prototype and forgot to get photos of the real deal, so just know that you will want to draw a 1/4" frame around the outside of the tag. you want a good 3/4" piece at the top. They are going to be layered like this. You will cut the Flowery background die out of the light blue/grey tag, then peel off the adhesive cover and adhere it to the darker blue/grey tag. You will inadvertently cut the top of the tag off when you cut the background. Save that top piece for later. Using Tim's Retractable Craft Knife and Ruler, I carefully trimmed around the brown tag so I would be left with a frame. The brown frame should fit something like this. Here is where the extra tag top comes in handy. I don't like gaps when I am layering, so before you put the frame on the tag, you need to fill in the gap at the top. I gently peeled odd the reinforcer off the tag before adhering the ltop ayer. Here is the completed project with Jelliebellies. I added on of the heart from the Lucky Love 3D embossing thinly. It was colored with Crackling Campfire To finish it I added Carrot Bunny and some lettering for a sentiment from the Alpohanumeric Bold letters. To make these lines on the carrots, I ran s little scoring blade through some Ground Espresso Archivel Ink then roll the line out onto the carrot. I aways have a supply of various wood grain papers around and for this tag a chose one to use for the sentiment. I hope that was easy enough to follow for a quick layered Easter Treat Bag. Tami I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose. If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog, the time, the ideas and tutorials I post here. Your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

A pretty spring tag that carries a often needed message -- this one was fun to make using the new Spring Distress Oxide Colors on different surfaces. I first cut out several of the Large Stems from Distress Mixed Media Heavystock, using this Tim Holtz Bigz die. Then I masked off the flowers on the stems and sprayed them with Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide Sprays. Once dry I removed the masking and then masked the part of the stems closest to the flowers. Once the masking was done I sprayed the flowers with Spun Sugar and Milled Lavender Disress Oxide Sprays. I made some to be a little more on the pink side and others more on the purple, but still similar enough to be the same kind of plant. Next I needed a container for the flowers, so I cut the two pieces to make the terra cotta pot from the Potted Bigz die. I cut one set from Sizzix Mat Board and one set from Distress Mixed Media Heavystock so it would have dimension. To make this look like a mossy concrete planter, I adhered the Heavystock to the matboard, then attached the top lip to the piece. The important step is to cover the whole piece with grit paste, but not in an even manner. You want it to look like a rough, old planter. Once dry, I sprayed it all over with Pumice Stone Distress Oxide Spray and like the grit paste, I let it dry naturally. Then I ran my finger over the top of the raised areas with Distress Crayons until I achieved the look I wanted. I used the same technique to make the tag as I did for the Cherish tag that I posted earlier this year on my blog. Using a small Etcetera Tag, and some kraft cardstock, you can have a beautiful base for a project. I cut the Crochet and Intricate Lace pieces from heavy kraft paper. The Intricate Lace die doesn't have edge, so you can cut it sided by side to make a longer piece as I did here. I adhered both the double Intricate Lace piece, and the Crochet piece to the tag with collage Medium, as seen above. Once it was dry I cut the excess off the sides and top, then sanded the edges. I think it looks fabulous at this stage, but I wanted to do something else with it. I painted it with Antique Linen Distress paint. Once dry, I sanded over the top revealing some of the kraft underneath. Then I sprayed right over the Distress Oxide Spray spring colors. I hear Tim Holtz discussing in his reveal in January, that you could use Distress Oxide on surfaces with Distress Collage Medium on them. Then with a clean, dry cloth, I lightly dabbed and wiped the excess off the surface, leaving a light coating of Oxide color in the recesses. As you can see, on this project it left soft, lovely color in the depressions on the tag. I LOVE it! Here is a picture of the finished tag background. I LOVE the soft colors from the Distress Oxide Sprays. Before I put the Distress Oxide Sprays away, I cut some canvas centers out for the flowers, and colored them with Squeezed Lemonade. I colored some twine with both Pumice Stone and Iced Spruce Distress Oxide Sprays. Then I began to put all the bits together. I covered a few metal pieces from Ideaology with some white Picket Fence Distress Paint. Then I attached a couple of pieces of ephemera to click at the top. I attached the yellow canvas pieces to the flowers and attached a vintage button to the top of that. Here is that grit paste covered planter that I rubbed various Distress Crayons over the surface to make some of the higher areas to capture the uneven surface. I finished the piece of by adding a few more vintage buttons and by making a story from Ideaology Clippings Stickers that really held some nice meaning for me as I was finishing this piece. I really love this soft, spring etcetera tag. Thanks Tim, for all the beautiful spring colors in Distress Oxide Sprays, and for the inspiration to try it over Collage Medium. Thank yo for stopping by and I hope that you find loveliness yourself that whispers, "Just hold on." Tami I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose. If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog and the ideas and tutorials I post here, and your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Today’s blog post features a card made with the absolutely stunning Stampers Anonymous stamp by Tim Holtz called Glorious Bouquet CMS325 with a touch of Ornate Trimmings CMS326, two of my immediate favorites!! Both of these stamp sets will be shipping THIS WEEK! Yay!! This is a very simple card, but it isn’t quick to make. I stamped a corner of the Glorious Bouquet stamp onto the corner of some Distressed Mixed Media Heavystock in Ground Espresso Archival Ink. Then I watercolored with Distress Markers in all the various greens and purples. The water coloring is what takes all the time, but it is so worth it! I added one of the sentiments from the Glorious Bouquet set, and added a couple of the Ornate Trimmings stamps along the right side in Antique Linen Distress Ink. I LOVE the Ornate Trimmings!! I have so many plans for them! They can be so versatile - lovely, lacy, and feminine or bright, bold, and masculine. Stay tuned for more cards I’m currently working on with this set. If it isn’t on your wish list it should be. :-)

This card features the Theories CMS329 stamp set and all of the new mini stencils from Tim Holtz and Stampers Anonymous. There really isn’t a technique here, but I stamped the tightrope walker and sentiment, then cut along the tightrope and inserted the stenciled Pennants (punched with the Sizzix Alterations Pennant Punch) under the top part of the card so that it looks like the pennants are hanging off the tight rope. I was hoping it would give it a festive, carnival feel.

The windows on Disneyland's Main Street have often been a source of inspiration for my makes, and that couldn't be more true about this one. Using manhy of the new products release in the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Halloween release, I decided to make a piece that represents three different windows that could be found on Main Street USA. I took some time to talk through this project and I hope you will find this short video to be helpful in your own makes. To begin with, you need to cover the inside and outside with Backdrops Halloween paper. I chose the crackle for the outside, the stripe for the top and bottom boxes, and the cool green and orange splatters for the back and center box. Then you want to drill one hole in the top back of the bottom box, drill through the top of the same box and into the bottom of the middle box. Then drill into the bottom of the top box. Your lighting will look something like this. Put 6 or seven lights in each box. In the bottom box, I wound the 6-7 lights around a thin piece of wood. I t could be a coffee stirrer, or I have a bag of these thing wood strips that i bought at a hobby store in the wood crafting area. Then thread it through to the middle box. The middle section of lights will be in the cauldron, so color the lights for that section green. I chose Lettuce Alcohol Ink. These will go inside the cauldron under the green Bubbles, colored with the same alcohol ink. Let's talk about the top box and some details. This one was based on the Candy Palace windows. I began by coloring some Bubbles orange with Ember alcohol ink. Then I colored some Distress Rock Candy Glitter the same color. Put some Glossy Accents on two fingers and then roll a Bubble in it. Once it is covered, drop it in the orange Ember glitter and roll it around until it is covered. continue until you have several colored. Then set aside to dry. Once dry, I cut up some of the cellophane from the Idea-ology packaging and wrapped it around the round Confections and the sugared Bubbles. You will pile these around the Jack-o-Lantern. The Jack-o-Lantern is sitting up in a little foam square I had ( you can use anything you have on hand) that I covered in glossy accents and then covered in the Nightfall Glitter. Adhere the confections sticks in the Jack-o-Lantern. And before you adhere him in place. Attach three of the black and white Baseboard pieces to the back wall.Also, add a glittered piece of Etcetera Trim to cover up the lights, which should be attached along the bottom of the top box to add drama. The middle window represents a Disney Villain, and they are often featured around the parks during this time, so I decided to do a window with the Evil Queen/Old Hag from Snow White. For the lights on this one you need to drill a hole in the back and front-side of the cauldron. Insert the 6-7 lights through the back of the cauldron, pull one or two out the front hole. They will all be covered by the bubbles. As you can see, the lights and wires are covered by the Bubbles. I adhered them in the the cauldron and the lights with Glossy Accents. I also added a touch of Tarnished Brass Distress Paint to the handles of the Cauldron just for detail. In the back corners of the box I added some Glossy Accents and the Midnight Mica. Also, pick a few of the tiny labels from the Snippets Ephemera to put on some Tiny Vials. Add a drop or two of various colors of Alcohol Ink in each Tiny Vial, let dry, and then cork and tie a bit of string around the neck. I popped a poison ephemera piece up on a bit of chipboard to hang ont he left back wall, and the Deco Frame has some Mirrored Sheet in it that I sprayed with Distress Resist Spray. You need to attach the Tiny Lights to the back wall with Collage Medium or Hot Glue, and then use dimensional adhesive on both sides of the back of the mirror to make a channel for the lights wire so it is hidden. To make the poison apple, I drilled a tiny hole with my Dremmel through the tiniest pumpkin and adhered a long piece of heavy black crafting thread. Then I used a detail hot glue gun to and for drops on the bottom of the pumpkin to give it an apple shape. I held it while it cooled. Then I painted it red with Distress Candied Apple Paint. Next, I carefully added more hot glue but tried to make it look like the drippy skull from the Snow White movie and ride. Once it was cool I painted it with a tiny paint brush with Peeled Paint Distress Paint. I wanted it really shiny so I sprayed in a couple of times with Distress Resist Spray. I wanted it the hang like it does when she holds it up after dipping it in the poison. So I painted a Halloween Etcetera Trim cobweb in Black Soot and then brushed Glossy Accents over it, sprinkle the Nightfall Glitter on it and let it dry. Once dry, I attached it to the middle back of the top of the box. Then tied the apple through the spider web so it coiuld hang over the cauldron, The last box is based on a window I see every Halloween. It has pumpkins, books, candles, etc. Begin by adhering the piece of wood with the lights to the top back of the box. Adhere the Theatrical Powder Baseboard to the back of the section. Color some Mummy cloth with Black Soot Distress Stains. Add these to the ends of a set of Bracket Etcetera Trims that have been sprayed with Crooked Broomstick Mica Stain. I painted an Urn, two Candle Stands, on Deco Frame and the Bracket Etcetera Trims in Black Soot. Then Lightly spray with Crooked Broomstick, and splatter bits of Flickering Candle and Jack-o-lantern on all three. Dry with a heat tool and wipe off any excess that doesn't dry. It is really cool to see how much just this little bit makes to the metals. When I attached the Drippy Candles to the Candle Stands, I used the Detail Glue Gun I had out, so I attached the candles. But for this window it needed more, so I added some drips along the bottom of the candles, painted them and distressed them with Distress crayons. I attached three pumpkins and added them to the urn with a tiny bit of moss. The masks on the book are froman older dies set called Masquerade. I cut them from Black Kraftstock, then glittered them and added a tiny bit of black crafters thread for ties. These go in a book that is made from some bits of old book pages I cut up and a piece of ephemera that had handwriting on it I apologize if I missed a detail you were looking for. Please feel free to contact me through the form in the right hand column and I will do my best to help. Have a creative day!Tami I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose. If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog, the time, the ideas and tutorials I post here. Your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you

The summertime memories version of the Mini File Folder Drawer project was a fun one to make. I got bogged down with it though and didn't finish it until the Sizzix Chapter 3 dies were released. They were just the inspiration I needed to pair with the Idea-ology elements to get this project over the finished line. As with the Christmas version, I have a video walk through, but I also have lots of tutorial elements in this video. Below are all the photos of each file folder and the details for reference. Before I start the folder photos, I thought I would post the die cutting elements that I posted on Instagram. Using various dies from the Sizzix Chapter 3 release of Postale, Specimen and Collector, I cut tags, postage stamps, arrows, envelopes, and more from Backdrops papers and Pocket Cards. I also used the Labels Snippets and cut some of the words from Specimen to make labels for each folder, and I applied lots of the Eccentric Remnant Rubs to the folders, and all of the tags, stamps, labels and such that I cut out. If you are careful you can cut out specific words or images to make cool embellishments. The back of this Pocket Card was just blue text, but it still makes for great elements. The florals on this Pocket Card made such pretty stamps! Here they are! Tags, tickets, stamps, arrows, reinforcers, and other embellishments with Remnant Rubs all inked and ready to embellish the Mini File Folders I cut several of this tiny vertical and horizontal file folders by using a retangle die from Postal and cutting so that the folded side of the paper wasn't cut. Then I added the little file tab. This allowed me to keep some of the cool Backdrops elements and showcase them inside the folders. t The following are all of the folders in the order that I showed them in the video. t t t t t t Well, that is going to do it for this project. As always, if you have any questions or need anything clarified, please contact me through the link in the column at the right. Thanks you so very much for stopping by and for taking an interest in this project. I hope you found something that sparked some inspiration. Have a crafty day! Tami I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose. If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog, the time, the ideas and tutorials I post here. Your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

it’s time for tricks & treats!!! from invitations and party favors to home decor, my new chapter 3 release with…

it’s the most wonderful time of the year filled with festive wonderment and creative magic! this idea-ology collection…

This beautiful cardinal die by Tim Holtz Sizzix can be yours FREE from Simon Says Stamp, with any Tim Holtz product purchase this month, while supplies last. It's it darling? This is an exclusive die to Simon Says Stamp so you can't purchase it anywhere and when it is gone, it is gone. so if you want it, don't delay. I have links below to Simon Says Stamp for the products I used in this product today. For the back of this piece, I cut two of the Cathedral Window dies from Woodgrain Cardstock colored with various brown Distress Stains, and two from chipboard. I adhered the woodgrain to the chipboard. Then I attached one window to a large sheet of Mica. I wanted it to be kind of frosted looking, so I brushed Distress Collage Medium on it, then I attached the second window to the back so the mica was sandwiched between. I colored some Distress Watercolor Cardstock with the new Distress Rustic Wilderness Distress Stain, then cut greenery out with the Large Funky Festive dies. Once I had them in place, I added some Distress Collage Medium to hold the Mica Flakes and Distress Rock Candy Glitter. The pinecones were made after watching Tim Holtz's Holiday Demo Part 3. His demo is much better than one I could do here and well worth watching if you havent. To make the light up drippy candles, you will need to follow a different demo than the one I posted on here. Mine don't light up. Tim Holtz took the idea to a whole new level! You can see the light up drippy candle demo here. To make these, I used white heavy stock, and painted them with Distress Picket Fence paint, then sprayed them with Distress Resist Spray and Distress Rock Candy Glitter. The base of the piece is a Curio Box made from Chipboard and Distress Kraft Heavystock. I cut two covers and embossed the second one. I highlighted the detail from the Engraved 3D Texture Fade with some Walnut Stain Distress Paint. Then cut it apart, inked it, and glued it onto the outside of the curio box once it was built. I then drilled a hole in the top and back of the box to thread the Tiny lights through and into the drippy candles. Before I adhered them to the top of the box, I hand cut a piece of white heavystock and adhered it to the top to look like snow. Then attached the lights, put some Translucent Grit Paste onto the heavystock and sprayed it with Distress Glitter. I made sure to flick the entire piece with tiny drops of Distress Picket Fence Paint. I made sure to attach the battery pack for the Tiny Lights onto the back of the box. Lastly, I attached more of the greenery then the delightful cardinals, and propped them up with a few more pinecones. To make the front cardinal look like it was sitting, I cut off the legs and part of the tail. I adhered the Cathedral Window, Cardinals, and three more pinecones, all with a glue gun. A quick spray of Distress Glitter before the glue dries, helps to cover it and makes it look like snow. Just a reminder that this cardinal die is FREE from Simon Says Stamp with the purchase of any Tim Holtz products, while supplies last. Once it is gone it is gone, so don't wait. You can use any of my affiliate links below for any of Tim's products to make your own little vignette like the one above. Merry Die-cember to you all! Tami I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp, so the links below send you to their store. If you wish to purchase something from them and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog, the time, the ideas and tutorials I post here. Your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

1. Spooky Halloween Ideaology Panel 2. Memento Mori Ideaology Journal 3. Yorick's Skull 4. Tiny Ghoulish Graveyard 5. Memento Mori - Remember Death 6. Ghoulish Monsters Decor 7. Halloween Bookmarks - These bookmarks may look simple but they took forever because I made all of the paper by inking and stamping Distress Mixed Media Heavystock with Distress Oxides. Then I used all of my Tim Holtz Sizzix Alphas to cut out all the letters for each one...they took so long that I had to add them to this line up. 8. Tomb Sweet Tomb - This was a kit I made and sold years ago on my Etsy site. The coffin was an Ideaology Vignette Coffin and the urn was one of the Ideaology Trophy Cups that I cut the handles of and made a funeral arrangement in it. You can tell it was one of my first kits because there was zero staging done for the promotion. LOL 9. A Swinging Wake - This was a kit I made a few years ago from some Dollar store frames and coffins. I wanted it to mimic the wake in the hallway of the Haunted Mansion, so I have a raven Ghost Host on the end of the Coffin (he's on a perch in the mansion hallway) and the photo spot I wanted to mimic the windows behind the coffin and then I added another funeral arrangement and funeral wreath symbolizing the many dead floral arrangements surrounding the coffin in the hallway. Yes, that coffin does light up just like the one in the mansion! And one little tidbit here -- the voice you hear as you pass saying "Hey! Let me out! Lemme Outta here!" is that of mansion Imagineer and Disney Legend, X Atencio. 10. Trick or Treat - another kit I made one year. I had come into possession of a bunch of Ideaology Charm Tags, so I put them to use making fun kits and this was one of my favorites. The adorable vintage trick or treater was not part of the kit. 11. When Hinges Creak - I made a ton of these Haunted Mansion themed cards in 2017 after X Atencio died. He is the one who penned this quote and the one who wrote the script and theme song for the mansion, so I made over 20 of these for a Disney card swap using several Tim Holtz stamps. 12. MonsTEArous Brew - my first Sizzix sample for Tim and I had a ball making this card. It will forever be a favorite. 13. All Hallows Eve - Creepy Masquerade

I loved these Ghoulish dies so much that I was compelled to make a decor piece out of them and to give them all their own space. To do this I used a Large Vignette Tray and separated it into three "rooms" by placing two pieces of cardstock in the middle of the tray and gluing it in place. Then I covered the cardstock with the various background papers described below and covered the edges with the embossed cardstock strips. Since I was making a sample for the Halloween 2018 Sizzix Alterations release, I challenged myself to try to make almost everything from currently available Sizzix Alterations. With the exception of the Ideaology Large Vignette Box, Ideaology Mini Foundations, Mini Fasteners, a bit of Ideaology Mirror, and some mini lights, it's made of all current Sizzix Alterations dies or texture fades. In the first room, I tried to showcase Frankenstein's Monster and the bats from the Ghoulish die set. The room is framed by a piece of black cardstock cut out with the largest Stacked Deckle Die. Then I embossed some black cardstock with the Rosette Texture Fade and cut it into 1/4" strips to cover the edge of the frame. Then on each corner I cut the smallest bolt from the Industrial die for more detail. I put the Foundry 3-D Texture Fade paper on the back and side walls, and the 3-D Lumber on the floor. I cut all of the Pipeline parts and some of the gears and bolts from the Industrial die. I popped these out from the wall with layers of chipboard. To make the monster stand out, I covered him in Peeled Paint Distress Oxide and then with Distress Resist Spray. He looks really slimy. Room number two belongs to the Count. I framed his room the same way I did Frank's. The walls are covered with the Brick Texture Fade and the floor is 3-D Lumber. I colored Distress Heavystock with various Distress Inks like, of course, Fired Brick, then when I embossed it, I inked the side that had the depressions with Black Soot Archival Ink to really make it look distressed. I made two wooden beams for the back corners by cutting a 1" strip of 3-D Lumber paper, and then scored it at 1/4" three times. When I folded it on each line it made a skinny beam I could glue into the back corners of this room. The Count has a lovely wood framed mirror cut from the Stacked Archway dies. I also cut him backwards from the Ideaology Mirror Sheets and applied it to the back side in an attempt to make it seem like he didn't show in the mirror. Because vampires don't show in mirrors right? It was mildly successful. The last two details I added were the bats and the black ivy from the Garden Greens dies. This vignette of the Skeleton in the graveyard was made before knew that the Village Graveyard was going to be available again this year. So I had to get creative. The tree branches are from the Twisted Edge die. On this side of the graveyard you can see parts of the Gothic Gate in the back ground. The tombstones are made from the Gift Tags dies. I cut off the top part with the little hole for twine and used that side as the bottom of the tombstones. With the variety in this set, you can get tombstones in many shapes and sizes. The RIP tombstone is decorated with the Alphanumeric Cutout Lowercase. The weeds and grass are cut from the Funky Floral 3. On this right side, the tombstones are decorated with the bits from the Mixed Media Halloween 2 set. The roof of this piece is made from the Village Rooftops and run through the 3-D Texture Fade. To make this woodgrain I again colored some Distress Heavystock with Hickory Smoke and Pumice Stone vwith small areas of Vintage Photo and Peeled Paint Distress Inks. Then I ran the paper through the 3-D Lumber Texture Fade The sides of the piece are covered in paper with the Wooden Planks Texture Fade. I chose a different folder below for the sides of the Vignette Tray, trimmed it to fit and added it to the outside edges so they looked like old barn siding. I hope you like this piece as much as I do! It was a lot of work but it was well worth it and it makes a wonderful decor piece.

I don't make too many cards featuring the jolly old elf, himself, but these stamps just called for it. I used the Yuletide CMS356 set and paired it with the Inventor 6 CMS360 stamps to make the mat. The background mat was made using the Mint Stripe Shifter Stencil THS112 with Fired Brick and Black Soot Distress Inks and a Blending Brushes. The frame I made by cutting the center out of the mat piece with one of the smaller Stacked Label dies. Once that was finished I stamped both of the stamps from the Inventor 6 in Hickory Smoke Distress Ink, making sure that the images were visable along the sides of the mat. I added another very thin Fired Brick mat just slightly larger than the Inventor Mat that I adhered when I assembled the card at the end. The focal image was this fabulous vintage Santa from the Yultide set. I stamped him on a piece of Distress Mixed Media Heavystock in Black Soot Archival Ink and then watercolored him with Distress Markers. I finished the card with a silver embossed sentiment from Yultide and then I tied a bow with a piece of Crafter's Thread in red. I also added additional metallic touches by cutting the largest mat from Ideaology silver metallic kraftstock and added two silver Long Fasteners to the sentiment.

My new 2021 chapter 1 release with sizzix is filled with designs that include new alphanumeric fonts, innovative colorize®,…

For the 2019 Ideaology Christmas release from Tim Holtz, I made a Main Street scene that was inspired by Disney and Hallmark Christmas Movies. It is a very detailed piece, so I am again breaking it down into segments that will hopefully help inspire you to use bits and pieces of this project rather than to recreate the whole thing. So for today's segment I am only focusing on how I made all the candies inspired by one of my favorite shops in Disneyland, the Candy Palace. Begin with some gum drops and color them with a drop of alcohol ink. Once they are dry, grab some cellophane packaging. I just used the packaging that some of my Ideaology came in. Cut it into little rectangles. Wrap one gumdrop in each piece of cellophane. Twist the ends closed. Once the gumdrop was wrapped, I trimmed the ends. Cut some of the striped paper from the Christmas Paper Stash. I used toothpicks for this step but you can make them just as easily without them by just rolling the paper in on itself. You need to cut the paper on an angle. Then roll it up. You can see several attempts here and see how the ones that are on more of an angle than the ones that are horizontal, look much more like a candy cane. Then I cut them into little sticks and wrapped each one in cellophane before putting them in one of the larger of the Corked Vials. I pulled one of the Peppermint labels from the Snippets packet to put on the front of the jar. I'll talk about the cork stopper in a minute. From the side you can see the jar full of pepperminty goodness! Yum! The last candy is made using one of my most favorite of holiday items, the Beaded Berries. I cut them off the wire and colored them with a tiny bit of Alcohol Ink. I didn't wrap them. I just put them in a small Corked Vial. The front has a small label and I cut one of the stamps from the set of 4 and put it in the center. I have no idea what kind of candy I was making here but I love how yummy it looks. The lids of the vials were made by adhereing a Metallic Drop on the small one and a gumdrop on the other. When dry I painted them with Brushed Pewter Distress Paint and aged them with a little Black Soot Distress Crayon. And there you have some fun little candy jars and pieces to put in a store window. Here is how I arranged my candy in the window. You can see that I added three candy canes from the Ephemera and Snippets packets. I covered just the candy cane part with glossy accents. Then I adhered them into a thimble with a little bit of fluffy batting. I put some of the peppermint sticks and some gumdrops tucked in among the thimble and bottles. I had an absolute ball making this candy store window. As always I hope you found something inspiring that sparked an idea for you. Please tag me in any candy you make so I can see your creations. I just love to see how others can take an idea and run with it. Thank you for stopping by! Tami I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose. If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog, the time, the ideas and tutorials I post here. Your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Last year I made a rolling cart of Mr MacGregor’s Garden, with, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail. This year I made another scene from Mr MacGregor’s Garden with Peter Rabbit sans his coat as Mr MacGregor had put it on the scarecrow. But carrots and cabbages needed to make another appearance this spring and I was so happy that I had dies to use for them this time. Let’s hop right in to the how to’s of this make with some of Tim Holtz’s Sizzix chapter 1 2021 dies. To begin with, I painted a large Vignette Frame and the inside of a large Vignette box with Speckled Egg Distress Paint. I rubbed on a layer of Distress Collage Medium and then rubbed a bit of Walnut Stain Distress Crayon over the frame so that it went down into the detail crevices. When the paint was dry, I cut some Distress Woodgrain Cardstock into 1/2” strips and trimmed the ends to look like a picket fence. Then I just adhered them with a little space between so that it gave the impression of the fence Peter had to scurry under to get into the garden. Although I think it was probably stone in the story. Peter was cut from chipboard and then some Distress Kraft Heavystock that I colored with brown Distress Inks and stamped lightly with the Linen stamp from Linen and Mesh CMS. .I adhered them together and then set him aside until I was ready to assemble the piece. The carrots were very simple. I colored a piece of Mixed Media Heavystock with Crackling Campfire and Spiced Marmalade. Then I cut several carrots from it. I also cut the tops from some MM Heavystock colored with Peeled Paint. Before putting the top of the carrots onto the base, I ran the Tonic Scorer across the Archival Ground Espresso pad and then lightly “scored” little lines into the carrots just to add a little detail. Once they were done, I lightly edged them with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and then assembled them. The cabbages were fun. I cut several bits of scraps into 2x2 squares and then colored them with Bundled Sage and Shabby Shutters Distress Ink. You can add bits of other greens until you get the cabbage color you are happy with. I wet these squares, put some Collage Medium on them and then crumpled them into a wrinkly ball. Let these dry. Color a few other pieces of MM Heavystock with the same greens, and then cut several of the large Brushstroke Flower 2 out of it. Get the flowers a little bit damp, crinkle them up, smooth them out and then add some Collage Medium in the very center. Gently shape the flower around one of the green cabbage balls, slowly shaping it so that it sticks to the ball as it dries and the petals overlap a little to look like a cabbage. This takes a little time and practice, so I recommend making several of these incase you have a few you don’t really like. It is almost time to assemble the whole piece. Apply a little bit of Brushed Corduroy to several pieces of Kraft Heavystock then run them through the Intertwined 3D Texture Fade folder. Cut them into pieces that fit the sides and back of the Vignette Box, then adhere with Distress Collage Medium. Apply a thin layer of Collage Medium over the top and smooth it out by rubbing it in with your fingers. This also allows a bit of the Distress Ink to soak into the crevices and really make the texture stand out. Now to start assembling, I adhered Mr Rabbit to a few wooden Bingo chips so he could be attached to the back of the box, but still stand out away from it. I put two of the carrots in his arms. The rest of the carrots can be trimmed so only the tops are used, as if they are growing out of the ground. To attach them, I cut them a little longer than needed and then folded the extra toward the back. That will give you something to adhere to the bottom of the box. Before you add the cabbages, attach the frame to the front of the Vignette Box with some Distress Collage Medium. Once the frame is set, put a bit of Collage Medium on the bottom of the cabbages and tuck them in the corners on the bottom left of the Vignette Box. Finish off the project by using one of the pieces of green paper used for the carrot tops and the cabbages to cut a four leaf clover from the Lucky Love Impresslit, which cuts and embosses. I tied some thin jute around the top of the box, and then punched a small hole in the top of the clover so I could put the clover and the lucky Story Stick on a Jump Ring. I tied the Jump Ring in the bow of the jute. The reason I added the Lucky part to this project is because Peter was very lucky both times he was in Mr. MacGregor's Garden, that he didn't get caught and baked in a pie by Mrs. MacGregor! Lastly I added a Curio Knob on the top the box and it was finished. Thanks for following along with this fun spring project! Tami I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose. If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog, the time, the ideas and tutorials I post here. Your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

The little Ideaology Christmas Trinket Tins are so little and sweet and allow for tiny miniature scenes to play out. So I present to you two little snowy scenes First, I opened the tin and set it on it's side so it is wide horizontally. to keep it open I attached some dimensional adhesive under the lid so it would sit flat on top of the tin and not flip closed. Then I spread some Distress Grit Paste on the top and adhere a Quote Chip. Once it was secure I adhered two Snowflake Adornments and then added more Grit Paste to the top of the Quote Chip and on the snowflakes. I took one of the Icicles and trimmed the corners to fit the shape of the tin. Then I spread some Glossy Accents on it and dusted it with Distress Rock Candy Glitter. Once that was Dry I adhered it to the tin with Glossy Accents and held it there until it dried. The first little scene is a snowball fight in the making. I covered the inside of the tin with the Red Snowflake paper from the Christmas Paper Stash. Then went around the inside of the tin with the Ideaology Black polka dot Christmas Design Tape. The back area has a tree, a snow poster, and a 25 ticket all from the Christmas Snippets. I spread more Grit Paste along the bottom of the lid and dusted it with Distress Glitter. Cut one of the Wood Slices in half and attach that at the bottom of the tree and add more Grit Paste. I rolled some Baubles in Distress Collage Medium and then Rock Candy Distress Glitter to make snowballs. The next step was to color some of the tiniest of the Christmas Paper Dolls and attach them around in the snow. I mostly just put a little Collage Medium on their feet and stuck them in the snow. The one little kid on the wood slice is attached to the long icicle. For the second scene I covered the back and sides of the box with the black greenery paper. I covered the front edge of the tin with the red plaid Christmas Design Tape. Again I spread Grit paste over the bottom and dusted it with glitter. The I added a few piece of the smaller Icicle that I had glittered previously. I put two small pieces on each corner and a tiny bit of the left over in the center. Then to cover the parts without icicles, I attached the red Icicles for decorating strio with Collage Medium. I used the Birch die cut and cut it out of Distress Watercolor Paper so it was a nice, this white paper. I stamped over it with the Birch background stamp from Stampers Anonymous in Ground Espresso Archival. I did cut the piece to fin in the tin, but then cut it in half and attached on piece barely popped up from the back. The piece on the right is popped up quite a bit to add some dimension. I sprayed one small and two mini Woodland Trees with Peeled Paint Distress Spray, and then added Collage Medium and dusted then with glitter. Then attached them to each side of the tin. I added two more of the smallest Christmas Paper Doll kiddos, and one tiny Salvaged Deer. Now all that is left is to make a base to display it on. I started with the large Vignette Base, rubbed some Picket Fence Distress Paint on it and then wiped any excess off. Then I used one of my new favorite wintery dies, the Ice Flake Bigz die. I cut two out of the Ideaology Mirror Sheets and Sizzix White Mat Board. I adhered them to the board and then attached them to the base. In order to be able to see the two flakes, I attached a wood slice to the top of the Vignette Base. Then attached an Ice Flake. Then I attached another wood slice and the second Ice Flake. Once it was dry, I sprayed it with Distress Resist Spray and dusted it with Glitter. Lastly I attached the Trinket Box to the top Ice Flake and added a little more Grit Paste and glitter so you couldn't see the edge of the box too prominently. The last touch was the bit of Seam Binding ribbon lightly colored with Brushed Pewter Distress Spray. In honor of the white, fluffy snow in this piece, I posted my grandmother's Divinity candy recipe on my recipe blog. It's a tough candy to make, but it has a special place in my childhood memories. I hope you take a look. Tami I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose. If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog, the time, the ideas and tutorials I post here. Your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

I wanted to make a home decor piece as a housewarming gift for a friend who is Irish. She is also a twin, so I had to take the picture of the piece with my Bobbsey Twins books in the background. :-) This may look like a basic Etcetera Tag, but there is a lot of prep work to each of the elements before you get to putting it together. So let's get started. The background weathered wood technique is something I used on multiple projects recently so I made a video detailing how to do it. For this background, I added a bit of Forest Moss Distress Paint so it looked not only weathered, but as if it has some algae or moss growing on it. You can learn how to do this technique here: Once I made the wood planks, I decided to apply them to an Etcetera Tag. Before adhering them I needed to prep the tag. I used Ground Espresso Distress Ink Stain and applied it to the entire tag. Once that was done, then I could attach all the planks using Distress Collage Medium. I arranged them on the tag and then adhered them. You will need to trim bits here and there, then rough that area and ink it. I used the Tonic Snips to cut the hole in the tag. Also, don't forget to use one of the left over planks to apply to the reinforcer. Rough up the edges and then trim out the center and adhere it over the hole at the top of the tag. I used the Watermark Resist technique that I have been using recently to make several pieces of paper from which I could cut the Fragmented Hearts to make the shamrock. You need these supplies to do this. Stamping Platform, Distress Mixed Media Heavystock, Fragments CMS368, Watermark Resist Ink, Water Sprayer, Peeled Paint Distress Oxide Spray, Peeled Paint Distress Spray Stain and Shabby Shutters Distress Spray Stain. Arrange the stamps so that they cover the piece of Heavystock. Stamp three pieces of Heavystock with Watermark Resist Ink and dry. Spray the pieces with Peeled Paint Oxide Spray -- don't forget to wipe the nozzle when you are done. The spray with Peeled Paint Distress Spray Stain. Then with Shabby Shutters Spray Stain. Spray all three with water. This really lets it soak in and softens the coverage so the Watermark stamping shows through. You can see even before it dries that the stamped portions are soaking in the ink. As it dries you will see the stamped images even more as they soak in the ink. This is what the finished product looked like. Then I cut the large and small faceted hearts out of each piece. You need three to form a shamrock, You will need four if you want a lucky four-leaf clover. I assembled the three hearts and arranged them on the planks. Then free-hand cut a stem from a left-over piece of the green paper. I adhered the stem first and then the three hearts. You may also notice that I poked holes in the ends and center of each of the planks to mimic old nail holes. I feel like I have to do this on almost all of the planks I make. Now on to the wording. I used one of my favorite new products from Tim Holtz and Ranger, the Black Cardstock in the Alcohol Ink line. It is so cool and feels like suede. When I was experimenting with it this winter, I tried stamping on it with Distress Oxides and I LOVED the outcome. Place a piece of the black heavystock on a stamping platform. Then choose a stamp you want to show on your letters. This is how the Tiles and Mosaic CMS259 background stamp looks stamped in Hickory Smoke Distress Oxide. And how it looks stamped in the Black Soot Distress Oxide. I dried them thoroughly and the chalky oxide finish does lightly wipe off onto the suede finish of the cardstock. I love the effect. I then ran the paper and some black cardstock through the newest Bigz alpha released from Tim Holtz, called Society. It's a lovely blocky font. The smaller letters are a new Alphanumeric alphabet from Tim Holtz called Label. It is a really tiny little alphabet. I love it! I cut the letters from white cardstock on my Sidekick, and adhered them to 1/2" strips of the black cardstock that had been stamped with the Hickory Smoke Oxide. The word Friend is cut from the Tall 1" Alphanumeric thinlits from Tim Holtz. I also cut the letters out of black Sidekick foam so that these letters had dimension. I'm pleased to say that my friend loved this tag and is going to leave it out all year round. I enjoyed all of the steps to this tag and found it to be a labor of love for someone special. Thank you for following along this far! That was a lot of information for what looks like a simple tag. I hope you will come back to check out the vignette tray I made for my own home decor. Tami I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose. If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog and the ideas and tutorials I post here, and your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!