Are you hoarding flowers???

Craft Hoarders Anonymous challenge... .wow.. I love these challenges... BUT now you have gone a little too far...

I don't mind using things... but my FLOWERS...  no one hassles me about my FLOWERS... LOL..  I love them all... and never have too many... and I confess... I am a FLOWER HOARDER... so there... I am also very proud of it too... 

I think that flowers are very special... it is the beauty that nature gives us all the time.  Year round...  with much love and gusto...  so I have drawers upon drawer of flowers that I make...  I teach a class where we make a box... (15 minutes worth of the class...  which is generally about a three hour class... and the rest of the time.. .I get them addicted to making flowers.... yes I do... 1000%..  by the time they leave the class, I am proud to say that they are so excited to make MORE FLOWERS... so I know I have succeeded in making them FLOWER ADDICTS too...  love it ... 

One of my favorite ways to make a flower is with a BABY WIPE...  I love them... as it is using something that normally would go to the land fill... and they are so very pretty... you have to know when to stop using a baby wipe, so that it can be used for a flower... you only use one or maybe two colors per baby wipe... and that will turn that baby wipe into a lovely posie...  100's upon 100's of them... how many baby wipes do you use for a project... I generally use a couple...  and they are always usable... love these flowers...

So with that in mind... here is my card...

 

Blues and tans are the call for this card... and I love the envelopes I make also... I have a student/friend that gets all these GREAT used wall paper sample books... and so she tells me to take as many as I need... so I always have tons of envelopes ready to be used... they are lined and they are acceptable thru the mail systems... they are sturdy and great... as they are FREE...  a little glue and you have a free envelope... 

 

My card... I used a piece of paper I made a long time ago... I am also addicted to making papers... I love it and it is a great way to play with inks, paints and you name it... and not really have a need for that right now pile... I will always go thru that pile and use a paper from there... vs. making one... as long as I can find what I need...  So since I had picked out this pretty blue baby wipe flower, I decided to use the blue flower paper... which was made with a stencil... and tons of inks and paints... I can feel the paints... LOL.. other wise I would have been guessing... 

 

 

 

Here is the paper prior to being put onto the card...  and since I did a double layered paper, it smoothed it out wonderfully...

 

I added some other things that were on my work table... and called it done...   the little bow, was just an 8 inch piece of ribbon... how perfect for a bow...  the little metal oval, I painted and put the word DANCE on it... a favorite song was playing and my hubby and I danced around the studio for a few minutes... actually seconds... but it was wonderful... 

 

The baby wipe flower...  in all its glory... I use the Tim Holtz die cut tattered floral.. and it makes a lovely flower as you see it... 

 

Hope you have a wonderful day today... and all week long...  thanks so very much for stopping by here for  a visit and I want to thank you for all the lovely comments you leave behind... I cherish each and every one of them... 

 

Also please check out this challenge site... as the Design team there has a really nice selection of WONDERFUL creations this week... they usually do... but they really went all out this week... 

Kathy Clement even has a poem she wrote.. how special is that...  way beyond the call of duty...  and all are so very well done... thanks for checking them out...  leave some sugar behind too...  they will love it too..

 

Have a fun time... and create something special for your home and family or for a dear friend... 

 

Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie 

Summer Time Card

I really didn't know what to do... I had miss read this challenge... had the finished project in my hands... and thought oh no... I thought it was for any type of creation.. and then I see it is for a CARD...  oh duh??? 

So back to the drawing board as they say... LOL... 

So here is what I created... 

 

The theme for Mixed Media CARD challenge  is SUMMER and you can use burlap as an option... which I chose not to use...

 

I love making envelopes... among a few million other things...LOL.. .but I really love to make unique envelopes... this green one is made from wall paper... from an old book and I tore it up and made over 30 envelopes... fully lined ones... LOVE them.. the post master doesn't... but hey... he still mails them... 

 

I also love to make smaller ones... like the pink one above... it measures about 4.5 X 6 inches... and I totally decorate it... as it goes into the larger envelope to get mailed or given to the person. 

 

 

As you can see, I totally embellish them... this one is made from paper that I have made using tim's method of putting ink onto my work sheet and then spritzing with water and then running the paper thru it... LOVE doing that... 

 

Then cutting out the envelope and decorating it...  I used a double rosette on this one... again with paper that I made with inks...  same as above.. 

 

A little bit closer... as I really love how delicate it looks... with the butterfly doily behind it... (spellbinders die) 

Do you ever try to make something and it doesn't come out right... well this piece of paper ended up into my pile of papers to use at 'sometime or other'

and so I pulled it out to use for this card... I really liked it... just that it wasn't right for the project I was doing it for the 1st time... LOL..

 

So I folded it in half...  and cut out this cute little fairy scene with the snail... so cute... love this little one..  

 

This is the back of the paper... and it was made with a stencil(? ) and some distress inks... much more than that... I can't remember right now... one of the bad things about making paper a while ago...

When you open the card this is what you see...  I will take you slowly thru this whole area... 

 

The center of the card is done with some Tea Bag folds...  and put together in a certain way, so that it folds each time... back the way it was...  as you can see... you can see under it... 

 

It is loaded with fairies... this little one is riding on the back of a blue bird... 

 

And this little one is talking to a frog (Graphic 45) 

 

Pink butterflies are flying all over the card... and stenciling is all over it too... when I am playing you never know what is going to happen... 

 

 

 

Each little area has a little saying... and meant with much love...

 

it is a whole visual scene when this card is opened...

 

this card... goes into the envelope that goes into the larger envelope to get mailed... wow... did you get all that??? You are good...

 

Thanks for stopping by today... and I do hope you enjoyed this fun project... I know that I did... and it is going out to a friend that needs a lot of love right now...

 

Hope you have a super good day...

 

Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie 

Anything but a CARD

Anything but a CARD... this week the theme is IT'S A SMALL WORLD... so bottle caps, ATC's, Rolos, inchies... etc... 

So I love to work small at times... and so I took advantage of this today... as I had limited time available...  company for dinner and I wanted to make a nice dinner... but also FRESH LOCAL ORGANIC PEACHES... so shortcake was in order... YIKES... so very good.. is your mouth watering...??? Mine is... and we had it, and I could eat more...  not really.. I am good until next year..  but it was good...  also gluten free biscuits that I made and they were warm when I served the desert... OMG... delicious...  stop this right now... okay... I will ...

So with this challenge... it was super fun... I use to trade with over 75 gals a month when I use to do ATC's... and when I gave it up I was relieved... too much.. but I do miss doing them... so today I had an especially nice time creating them... 

Here is what I did... even thought these might look large... believe me they are what I am telling you... 

 

This is a 3.5 X 2.5 inch ATC... love it... I made the papers with Distress inks... and then edged the edge with gold pen... and mounted onto the 3.5 x 2.5 backing...  the birds are a Remnant Rub by Tim Holtz...  and the nest one of his stamps...   

 

This is 3X5... and I stamped the fall leaf from a stamp that has to be about 12 years old... and then tore a hole in the paper for the eye to look thru... (tim holtz eye   LOL)  the letters I added as I need to use some of these odd letters... and this was good...  Fall... seeing the fall... or Looking for FALL to arrive... cooler weather... anything but this humidity...  anyway.. they I backed this piece with another distress ink paper... (p.s.  if you don't know me yet that well.. I love to make this paper... and almost everything I do is made using it...  keeps me happy...  ) 

 

Okay... so I also have become a huge fan of plaster... or texture pastes...  love them... so I used it on this orange paper... and the leaf I made using a die cut of Tim;s and also a piece of up cycled plastic from a die... LOL... nothing like using it all right... we have to save our land fills and the earth.. .so we have to try and use as much as possible in our arts...  Anyway... the orange is a little pocket for the ATC to go into...  the ATC... my favorite ice cream use to be Mint chip... and they always made it GREEN??? anyway... put that on three layers of distress ink papers... one embossed... and the bottom one is water color paper... 

 

The Butterfly...  is escaping from within... and it was made with another die cut of tims and then I used texture paste to create it... and then distress inks to paint it... do you think I like distress inks... you are 100% correct...don't honestly know how I lived prior to them.. .and I have been doing this for YEARS...  way to many...  LOL.. .

 

 

Another pocket... this time it is a little larger... it is 3X5... and it holds a narrow Rolo...  which I used Tim's pumpkin, butterfly and Trellis dies on...  the leaves are also his die ... 

 

I love to upcycle or recycle... how or what ever words you like to use... and so I made this envelope to put both of these into to mail to a friend...  happy Fall... 

 

So that is my IT'S A SMALL WORLD....

 

I had fun doing these... and thanks in advance for all your lovely comments...  tomorrow I am making sauerkraut, kim chi, and also dill garlic pickles... Green beans will be ready again on Tuesday... so I will have to make some Dilly beans and also can the rest of them... so very much from our gardens this year...

We are getting another rain storm now... and so I had better get off here... thanks for stopping by for a visit... and please stop by ANYTHING BUT A CARD to see all the pretties...

 

Have a GREAT DAY... 

Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie     

Sunday Stamper GREETINGS!

Happy Sunday!!! 
Well enough of all these holidays... back to playing, right..???
In the USA everyone seems to be taking a holiday for the 4th of July celebration...  and tomorrow is MONDAY...  back to work... or play as the case may be... (that's what I do... along with a lot of other things... have to can beans this week...  bought 30 quarts... hope it is enough for this harvest of Green Beans... LOVE THEM) 

Okay...so on SUNDAY STAMPER   Hels ask us to do ANYTHING with a greeting... so since I have been working on these sets I  thought I would get one more done and also do a challenge at the same time... 

You know how things sort of explode at times... well Sheila (a student of mine...)  has a friend that can get all these delicious wall paper books when they ready to go into the garbage... so instead of them going into the 'landfill'  Sheila went to this friends and picked them up... and it just so happened that she also on her way here to a class...  SOOOOO..... Sheila asked if I would like some of them...  I HAD to help her, didn't I???  So I took 2 of the 15 plus she got...  and I started to create with them... but my favorite thing to do is to make beautiful envelopes from them... and that is what started todays card off... 

I made about 30 envelopes...  maybe more but I am not telling you any more at this point...  obsessions are nothing to brag about.. ... so 30 it is...  LOL...  and then I pick out some papers that I have made and some pictures that I love, stamps to use etc... etc...  and this is one of them that I made today... 

 

I have to warn you... there is not a lot of stamping going on here... but you will see it...  I will point it out to you... LOL.. the butterfly is stamped and is watercolored using Tim Holtz's Watercolor method in his newest book volume three of Compendium of Curiosities...  it is a wonderful technique and I actually like it better than with other methods... I had more control with this...  try it... 

 

I also used some of Tim's papers from Wallflower...  love that paper too.. My greeting is the little tag... Sending Happy thoughts...  as I hope this will go to someone that needs to be cheered up... 

 

In the back of the card, is the envelope.. you will see more of it later..    

 

I made a gate card for this envelope... as the paper was something I really loved... and wanted to use that on the inside of the card...  so this was the back of the piece of paper... and it was a mess... oh well... a little distress ink and it was all better... and then some paper to cover up all the ink messes... LOL... I personally love them... but know that not everyone does... I also totally covered up the back too...  Love that little bird at the bottom.. 

 

Close up of the butterfly that I water colored.. 

 

Okay... when you open the card... this is what you see... a little pocket... left over from the piece on the back of the card... and I put a little bow in it... just to dress it up a little bit...    In side the pocket is a Graphic 45 card to write a message on... and on the left is a piece of paper I made... with STAMPS and distress inks... 

 

The Spackling paste and a stencil made a nice home for this honey bee... speaking of honey bees... please help protect these delicate little ones... don't use chemicals or things on the plants at all... it just kills them... theory is that when all the bees are gone in the world... people will then only have about 2 years to live... so lets keep our eyes on these little friends... besides... I love to eat and they do pollinate our plants for eating... 

 

I did use distress glitter on this little guys wings...

 

This is a piece of paper that I have been wanting to use for a LONG time...  Last fall my husband, Glenn brought me in this really fun plant... he thought I could use it in my art... so I put it on a piece of card stock and sprayed it ... I think I only did it three times... wish I had done it more.. .I love these ...  anyway.. that is the wash of this plant...  isn't it pretty.??? 

 

The card and the envelope...

As you can see the envelope gets lined also with the Wall paper... 

Thanks again Sheila...  I love these envelopes... 

 

How pretty is that... I would love to receive that in the mail...  and it is saving our landfills... so if you can... find a store that sells wallpaper and see if you can get a book to use for envelopes... save our landfills in this world of clutter... 

On the front of the envelope, I made a tag to write the address on... and use a return address thingy for my address... how neat is that...??? 

 

So thanks Hels for the challenge... and also hope that you have been able to get back into your schedule after a lovely vacation... what a trip that must have been ...

 

I do hope you all have had a wonderful week-end and that if you are traveling that you do it safely... 

Thanks for stopping by for a visit...  and please return.. I have a lot of fun things to share with you this week...

 

Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie 

Making Medallions

I wanted to share a few more cards with you...  soooooo  here they are...

 

Since I happen to love tea bag folding I decided to create a whole edge with folded tiles...  there are double around this oval shaped card stock...  and then I found the most perfect rose and butterfly to coordinate with it..  LOVE IT... 

Most of the time with tea bag folding you try and make the card as simple as possible... to draw the attention to the medallion.. and also to just enjoy the simplicity of the card...  I also love to make many layers on each card... a little conflicting at times... but I always seem to win!!!  I love this type of card, as I can do both... easy and also many layers...  this is the simple one... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**********************

 

And this one is a little more complicated... as it has a medallion in the center section too... 

 

 

 

 

Very easy card fold... just make a normal card and then fold the front back to the center again...  easy and then you have three areas you can decorate.. love areas... 

 

A really pretty card in so many ways... of course what hand made card isn't pretty???  I personally haven't seen too many that I don't think are really special...  just because someone has taken their time... part of their life to create something to give to someone else... that is a gift in itself...  enjoy handmade gifts of all kinds.. 

 

 

The pictures of this card came out very dark... ??? not really sure why... but the background on this card is wall paper... YES Sheila, I used some of the wall paper that you so graciously shared with me... I love it all... hope you know that... 

 

 

 

This medallion is also a relative new medallion to me... and I have to say that I do love it..  looks like layers upon layers... love it ... 

 

Well another day.. another medallion... another Card... another creation... what are you up to today??? 

 

Thanks for stopping by for a visit and hope to see you  again soon... Love, Light and Peace... Bonnie