Was That Text Message Important???

I recently visited a friend who was in a car accident that has totally altered her life. The other seventeen year old driver was text messaging and crossed over into their lane....crashed head-on. My friend no longer has an ankle....and you can see for yourself that her leg is now held together with stainless steel. Many surgeries are in her future.....and how she will walk is unclear.


Please don't text message and drive!!!!

Merry Christmas!

View of the Christmas tag book on my mantle. I made each tag book using the same Christmas double sided cardstock....but everything else was unique. No two pages are alike!


This is my fourth Christmas tag book! I could hardly stop once I got started.....the first one (earlier post) for the Calligraphy Guild exchange was more about letters. The second one was for my dear friend and it was a collaboration with my daughter Kimberly. This tag book was more about art and it turned out so adorable. Then I was inspired to make my daughter one (third tag book). I thought that was enough....but then I could not resist making myself one!. I think I am finished now....at least for this season!














View of the last pages of the tag book on my mantle.

Christmas Tag Book

I was inspired. My neighbor's friend Barb made her a Halloween tag book. That inspired Jan, my neighbor to make a Thanksgiving tag book. And that inspired me to make a Christmas tag book. Now that's a great chain reaction to ART!



This is the front cover. I am making my daughter and myself a Christmas tag book, however, I have stamped the domino angel with more white space....this was a trial and error process.



I used cardboard letters and painted them using Lumiere's metallic silver. When this was dry I then added Liquitex Liquigems artist color "silver Argent". Add Art Glitter #611 (fine glass) Antique Silver while the Liquitex is wet. Allow to dry a few hours before you shake loose the glitter. This really gives lots of dimension!




I added gold mesh to one of the tags. I used my Xyron for adding the adhesive but that leaves a whole lot of sticky to the open areas. My little secret is then to use clear embossing powder and emboss. It adds great highlights and the sticky mess.....gone!




I used double sided cardstock and then added decorative and handmade papers as accents.

This book is my exchange at a Christmas party.

Paper Doll Project

My fairy doll named Sahara came home to me this weekend after traveling for this past year that was a round robin project. The outfits designed for her were beyond my wildest expectations. Here are SOME of the photos....You can also click on Diva & Friends to view this complete project and others.



























The dress Sahara is wearing is made using velvet leaves and pedals. It was made by Susan of Stamp Diva.

Memories

I made an altered cigar box using a technique that I learned from Denise Lombardozzi of First Born Studio. You can read all about it in the book "The Adventurous Scrapbooker". The pages are loose with ribbon tabs so you can easily lift them out of the box. Both the front and back are decorated with photos, rubber stamps and embellishments.

This was a very cool project to complete...but it took me a long time. Not because of difficulty but because of the time taken choosing what photo to use, layout and sentiments. I did receive a note from Terri who has patiently been waiting to view this completed project. Thanks Terri....it was what I needed to keep me on task!





This is the inside of the top lid with a collage of all my brothers and sisters. I gave crowns to the girls in the family. I also included a photo of the family farm taken in the early 50's. This farm is no longer in the family....the end of an era.



This is a photo of one of my mother's great aunts. Her name remains a mystery.



She was also my mother's great aunt...don't know her name so I decided it should be "Emma".



I love these photos of my adorable husband....my favorite is the one with the missing teeth! I had to make an algebra shirt for him as he loves math!



Esther became one of the most important people in my life. Our relationship began in 1970 when she was my boss at work and grew into being a "Granny" for my daughter and definite kindred spirit for me. She loved my sisters so we all hung out together when they came for a visit. I miss her terribly! The good news is that her daughter, Debbie and I have always been dear friends! So we're bonded for life.




This was without a doubt the best family reunion I experienced with my parents. My dad was close to 80 and he had his prized tractors all ready for the grandkids to drive around the farm. The weather was perfect and all the siblings were there...... traveling from Texas, Tennesee, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Iowa. It was one of those moments in time.....




I love this photo....my mom looks like such a sweet baby with her mother and grandparents!




This is a photo of my parents when they were on a double date. Yes, the other couple were married and ended up with fourteen children! Our family sounds small with 8 children, doesn't it?!



This is a photo I use a lot in my art work....it just appeals to me so much I guess. It was taken of the first corn crop after purchase of the farm in 1956. Already there were six children and he was beginning his career as a farmer who now owned his own land!




I do like this particular photo of my mother and her siblings. She was the oldest. It was one of the studio photos where they already looked like they were on stage...which is why I added the curtain.




Can you believe how time flies? We built a tree house for our daughter when she was seven...it was a total surprise as she was in Texas visiting friends for three weeks. We're almost finished with the construction! I love adding the crown that says "Be Bold" and that definitely describes her. She has gone from a children's designer living in NYC to a practicing attorney!




I can tell that I look a lot like both my grandparents....my nose from my grandmother and my eyes look like my grandfather's. I colored her corsage using chalks. I added eleven buttons to represent the number of children they had.



Oh how I miss Len....who became my brother-in-law when I was in 6th grade! He was my personal hero. I am devastated that he died. I can not find words to describe how incredible he was or words to explain the void!



My grandmother must have had a great time with her friends. She's the one wearing the crown.




I could not believe there was a photo of me when I was nineteen. There are very few photos as my husband and I experienced a devastating flood of 6 feet of water when I was twenty-two years old. We lost everything we owned which of course included photos. (this picture along with the next one were given to me)



How YOUNG we look! This was Bill's first visit to meet my parents before we married. The photo was taken in February in Iowa....and that year there was about 8 feet of snow on the ground. Bill never saw anything like it!



This is what the box looks like with the contents. It's perfect for the coffee table and if anyone wants to take time to view the pages....well....it certainly brings lots of conversation!

Art Exchange Project

Our art group recently completed a round robin exchange with the theme of paper dolls. One of the participants living in England chose Marie A. as her theme. She detailed a writing at the end of her book about "the 1782 gazette des atours" which was essentially a wardrobe book. I used this bit of information as my inspiration for her project.








I raided my stash of ribbons, antique lace, braids and buttons. My dear friend Leslie, translated my English to French for my tags! I need to learn French!



I attached the paper MA doll to the last page....I used rubber stamps from Character Constructions for the clothing.