Thursday, July 23, 2009

I lied

Just had to show off a sweet order someone made from my etsy shop this week - she ordered this card that I already had:



And then sent me a drawing of her new house to add to it:



Isn't that just so cute?

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Back in a few...

I won't be posting for the next week or so... I'm down to the wire on a big project I've been working on for most of the last year, and I'm not sure if I'll make it or not. So I'll see you back here when I'm done - I'll have some ATCs to share!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

The Day Is Here!

In the order in which I received them:

Abbey (who mentioned that she did hers entirely with Elmer's glue, kitchen shears, and coins for templates):






Lindy (who, I think, receives the "Best Use Of Monkey" award):

One Little Monkey Jumping on the Bed:



Somewhat Asian:


Phyl (who did a great job tying her tags together as a coherent project):









Casey (who used a marker for the distressed orange parts - love that look!):



Jas (who turned my expectations on their head -I'm totally in love with the ribbon trees) :








Thank you all so much for participating! I'll have to do more of these challenges - I love seeing the creativity that comes out of them!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Tag Reveal Countdown Day 12

Once again, no actual tag for the countdown - sorry I'm a slacker this weekend. Actually, not so much a slacker as barely home. Anyway, not only is this Day 12 Countdown post a reminder that YOUR TAGS ARE DUE TODAY, it's also my 100th post! If I'd noticed before five minutes ago, I would have planned something cool.

As it is, the cool post will have to be post #101 - and you know why it's cool? It's all you. I'm hoping to see a few more entries tonight; so far I'm loving the ones I've received. I can't wait to show you!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Tag Reveal Countdown Day 11

No tag for the countdown today - worked too late, then a haircut and more work. Tomorrow's the last day of the countdown, and the day tags are due!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Tag Reveal Countdown Day 9/10



I mentioned at the outset of this challenge that you could use any media at your disposal to make your tags - today I branched out from my usual paper-only art and into digiscrapping. Both of today's tags are made with the Bubblegum and Licorice set by Summertime Designs, and the Bleeding Cowboys font (my favorite!).



I also wanted to run with my idea from the other day of book-journal tags. These have plenty of space for documenting what you're reading and what you think about it, and since they're entirely digiscrapped, then printed and cut out, they're perfectly flat and perfect for using as bookmarks.



The fun little pins that hook onto the ring are from the new Making Memories line I mentioned the other day - they're called Vintage Findings Garment Pins. I think they're perfect for my vintage style and for what I'm using them for. I was going to display these on the ring with the first book-journal tag I made the other day, but for some odd reason my editing program prints them at a smaller scale, even though I created them at 100% scale to the other tags I've made. Oh, well, they aren't too small to use, and they still look good!

I've received a couple of entries for the tag challenge, and they look GREAT! I can't wait to see everyone else's - don't forget, they're due on Saturday and I'll reveal all of the entries on Sunday the 12th.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Michaels/Making Memories

I don't know if y'all have been to Michaels lately (I'm sure none of you go there as obsessively as I do), but they've got the best endcap now of new Making Memories products. There are several new sets of "vintage" findings (buttons, pins, ribbons), and quite a few new kits. Some of the kits are for scrapbooking, but several are tag kits! I'm kind of tempted to buy one to see what-all's in it, because from the description on the back, it seems like they have a TON of different stuff to use in the one little kit. On the other hand, I figure there's probably almost nothing in there that I can't find an equivalent to in my craft room now. Something that amused my inner 12-year-old from the list of items: "stamps" in French is "tampons."

Tag Reveal Countdown Day 8



Double the fun today, with tag bookmarks! I've done several gift tags so far, so I thought I'd do some flatter tags with the idea of using them as bookmarks. I can never have too many!

This first one is incredibly simple - nothing better, though, than settling down with a hot drink and a book.



This one is kind of a fun idea that I might expand on - I always like the idea of book journals to keep track of what you've read and what you thought about it, but I always tend to forget about them when I'm actually reading or finishing a book. So how about a stash of book-journal bookmarks? Keep one in your book as you're reading it, and keep track of your thoughts on it as you go. After you're done with the book, tie it onto a ring, and voila! The ring becomes your new book journal.

Tag Reveal Countdown Day 7

A friend dropped by right when I was about to get started on my tag, so tomorrow will be a two-tag day. Stay tuned!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Tag Reveal Countdown Day 5/6



So I REALLY cheated, and didn't even do anything yesterday. Too much celebrating, I guess. I have mixed feelings about this tag - I really hate my handwriting, but I do love this paper. It's from Sassafras Lass, my favorite source for fun papers - this is the "Whale of a Tale" line (sorry for the earworm, Ab) and it has the cutest sea creatures and pirate elements. For some reason my skinny brown marker wasn't working, so I wrote with the brush end (part of why I'm not fond of the handwriting), so I covered the writing with with my glitter gel pen to at least give it a little sparkle.



In case you've been wondering what I'm doing with all these tags... so far, this is it. I have baskets mounted on the wall to store all of my glitter and glitter glues and flowers, and I've been tying them to the baskets. I love how I'm able to see what I have and keep them off the desk (where they'd just get lost in the clutter).



I keep them around for little gifts and things - the birthday ones are perfect for tying to a gift bag or ribbon on a present, and I think I'm actually going to repurpose the sheep tag as a bookmark, since it's nice and flat.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Tag Reveal Countdown Day 4



Happy Independence Day!



So tomorrow's tag may be kind of a cheat, because right when I finished photographing this one I thought of a couple of improvements, but oh well. Today's involves the stars from PTI's 2009 anniversary set, Everyday Classics, stamped in red on white, then in Versamark (watermark) ink on sparkly blue and cut out. The big star is chipboard covered with white ink, then lots of glue and glitter.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Tag Reveal Countdown Day 3



I've got a couple of submissions now for the challenge - I can't wait to see them all!

Today's tag sticks with this week's theme of "stuff I bought this weekend" - the cute antique-print flower and the patterned paper - but I finally branched out a tad and used Stampin' Up's "All About U" stamp set. This one's pretty simple - just covered with the patterned paper, distressed with my Ranger distress inks, and stamped (with the darker distress ink) before I put the flower on. I think I need to put up a rod somewhere in my study to hang all these - they're too cute to sit around on my desk!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Tag Reveal Countdown Day 2



Another sweet tag today, using the same book-lovers stamp set as yesterday. I just love the sheep's surprised and slightly annoyed expression - I think it's probably a lot like how I look when I'm interrupted in the middle of a good book.

The turquoise paper is actually part of the packaging from the canvas tags I bought this weekend - I liked the color and shape of the border, so I trimmed the white piece to match. Papers are, again, from the Basic Grey Bittersweet mini-pad.