Great Mail Day!!!

Friday I received a wonderful package and I am just getting time to post a pic!  It was from Hoffman Fabrics and contained my Fabric prize - 10 yards of beautiful designer (McKenna Ryan) fabrics - and my colors too!  Can't wait to start using them.  AWESOME!!!!  Thanks sooo much Hoffman fabrics and Julie Breidt, the curator.

Winding Down

After Day With Dolls, I started to clean up my studio and found these sheets of holes left from punching out letters using my Cuttlebug http://www.provocraft.com/products/detail.php?cl=cuttlebug&scl=&cat=&item=20-00252 I decided I had to do something with them so I did!  I took some of the letters and re-embossed them with different patterns.  So out came the Journal.  I had a couple pages I had gessoed and decided to use them and create backgrounds so here are the befores and after

Colored with DI pastel colors then I drew on the background with a black Perfect Pearls pen and went over the whole thing with various colors of Perfect Pearls.  Wasn't really that happy with it, but when I added the overlay, it looked really good.  The overlay was white and I rubbed it with Black Soot DI.  Love how it turned out.  I left the background of the inserts white and used the bright colors of the Distress inks to highlight the  embossing.  Left some of the background exposed.

This page I used almost all the browns/tans of the DIs to color the background.  Then I stamped with Staz-on Timber brown then embossed with clear.  Should have dried the DI's first as the whole page embossed and not just the stamping, but still looks very cool.  The cream overlay was colored with Copper Pearl-ex and Corduroy DI.  The cream inserts were embossed with a Cuttlebug snowflakes folder to look like suns/flowers then some were embossed with Gold, Copper, some Glitter embossing powders all by Ranger.  I colored some with Guilder's paste, and the Gold Paint Dabber.  Went back on both and added Glossy accents on some of the circles.



Been Busy

I took some time between family obligations and projects for Day With Doll to make a new purse.  I had this fabric set aside - upolstery samples.  I modified the pattern I created for the fish purse and narrowed the sides and added a front flap.  I also made the strap as wide as the side but it decreases in width torward the center.  I was just going to add a small medallion in beads on the flap but got carried away.  Can't wait to use it.

I also took some time to experiment with the jewelry dies by Sizzix (purchased these online from Absolutely Everything and they are having a sale on Sizzix!!).  The image is from a Graphics 45 paper stack Steampunk Debutante that I purchased from Frantic Stamper (another great on-line vendor).  The image is under a Fragment by Tim Holtz.  I cut the piece from matte board, painted it gold with a Ranger Gold paint dabber, embossed it with Ranger Gold EP then added some Distress Ink along the edges.

This pin is also cut from matte board, this time black core, grey top.  I inked it with distress inks, added the graphic again from Steampunk Debutante and a Tim Holtz Fragment.  The leaves were cut from the Sizzix die used in the brooch above then enameled with Ranger Verdigris EP.  I added the silver highlights with Silver Guilders paste.

This one was the most fun to make!  I covered matte board with aluminum tape and cut out Gears from the Tim Holtz dies.  I ran them through the texture folder by Tim also (put the folder only on the top of the gears then ran it through so the back remains flat).  Added Distress inks and embossing powders.  The images were again from Graphic 45 and covered with Ranger Glossy Accents.  This pin is a little larger than the others.  Would make a good clasp on a purse mounted on a piece of distressed leather. 

Hoffman Challenge

Found out last night my doll, "It's the Economy's Fault!" won Curator's Choice.  I am soo excited!  The prize is a fabric package and I love Hoffman Batiks!  Deanna Hogan's beautiful Doll won Second and Dallas Sill's won for Most Humorous.  No pics or more info on the Hoffman site yet.  Should be updated with pics of all the winners in all categories tomorrow.  Congratulations to all the winners whoever you may be!.  If you would like to see some of the dolls entered, visit Deanna's site http://www.blueherondolls.com/2011HoffmanChallenge.htm

I must admit I am surprised.  I had dreams of her head coming off in shipping to Colorado!  I packaged her a little differently than I usually do because of her big hair (she is a Jersey girl after all!).  And the pics of the dolls I have seen so far are just AWESOME!

Just checked the Hoffman Challenge site and they have published the list of traveling dolls.  I learned my doll will be in trunk C.  Dont know if it will be traveling close to home or not as the schedule isn't filled in yet.  Here are the list of winning dolls:
1st place:  Nancy Hall, "Blossoms"
2nd Place:  Deanna Hogan, "Eolande"
3rd Place:  Vicki Crossland, "Reluctant Princess"
Honorable Mention:  Karen McGregor, "Oriental Blossoms"
Curator's Choice:  ME!
Most Humorous:  Dallas Sills, "Fern"
Best First Time Entry: Trudy Watkins, "Underwater Friends"
Best Incorporation of Theme: Joyce Jurczak, "Paradise"

Congratulations again to all who entered and to all the winners.  Well Done!!!
Third Place, Best Use of Sulky: Liz Waechter, "Fairy Dreams"

New Beaded Fish

I made a purse awhile ago using a 1/2 yd of fabric I had purchased years ago on sale.  Once I received it I didn't know why I purchased it!  I liked it, a flamingo border print.  I recently used it for a purse and LOVE it!  It needed a little bling so I added a fish I had beaded but decided it blended in too much so I beaded a new on pictured on the left.  I took the design from a piece of fish fabric, traced the outline and colored it with colored pencils then beaded the colors I wanted.  The original fish was almost all black with yellow stripes.  Here is the purse before and after and the semi-unbeaded fish sketch.

New Experiment - Paper Jewelry

Hard to believe this is made with paper and aluminum Duct tape!  I received some of the new Sizzix dies ordered from Absolutely Everything (GREAT Service!).  I used a combination of Frame leaves and flower and the center flowers from another Sizzix die, Cottage Trio Layered flower. I cut the frame from black matte board with a layer of duct tape (this stuff is on a roll and is sticky backed.  I sprayed it with gold metallic paint first).  The leaves and flowers were from the Duct tape with black cardstock in the center (tape, cardstock, tape).  I then opened up a texture folder and put the frame through my Big Kick so it would be embossed only on the metal side. 

After I embossed the frame, I used Black Soot distress ink
on the top and Ranger Adirondack Black ink pen to ink the
edges.  Should have used Black Core Matte Board.

Using my Perfect Medium Pen, I added Pine Needles
Distress embossing powder to the whole thing then
added highlights to the leaves with Ranger Verdigris
EP.  LOVE this stuff!

I use Distress EP Concord Grape and Adirondack
Eggplant on the flowers.  I edged the smaller one
With Ranger Princess Gold.



I inked the back aroound the edges and slid the pin
through then glued it to the front.  Finished touch was
a crystal in the flower center.  I also bent the flower
center to add a little shape.

I cut out another frame for the back and inked
the edges.  I added holes to slide the pin back through
and then carved out a channel so it is flush with
the matte board. 



"It's the Economy's Fault!" Hoffman doll finished!

She is actually in Colorado and arrived in one piece!  I had visions of her head coming off in transit though I sewed it around three times.   Here are some pics of her.  Her skirt is three tiers with scalloped edges and various flowers that were fussy cut, cut with my sizzix,  or made from Sulky thread.