Out with the Old/ Bubbles

Byhand Artists, a group sponsored by Suzanne Cannon who is also our challenge mom just finished the 12 days of Christmas mingle. There were 3 groups of up to 13 artists, who each made 12 gifts to send to twelve other artists, so everyone had a present to open for 12 days starting Dec 13. The hostess- shout out and Thank you M-B, makes the gift you open on your own day. The only rule is that it should be able to fit in a first class envelope to keep postage low- most people ignored that rule!
So i started the 12 days each morning opening up-the wrapping as creative as the gift-a hand made present-made just for me- from someone i have never met.
this gives me hope for the world.
i need the 12 days of January! and maybe February too!
Lots of heart, maybe not so much art in this card. Heat embossed the quote, used the foam applicator to make the rainbow background, sstamped the inside flourished heart in silver-and stardust pen, and used some gold acrylic paint for the stars.
Send out those smiles-check out the byhand Artist RAK list-
Oops-forgot the bubbles!
Please leave a comment.

Ho Ho Ho

Happy Birthday to the Prince of Peace.
I heat embossed this beautiful flourished holly and the Peace word. the background is distress fired brick and pine needles, smoosched around with a foam applicator.
I over stamped with gold with the flourished star and another flourish stamp. You can rub excess ink off of the heat embossed places.
I wanted to put on stickle berries and my inner glitter said enough! so i gently brushed on some iridescent pastel to bring it all together.
Please post an entry- i know y'all are busy making your cards, so why not share one with us here.
If you need help posting leave me a comment or send me an email and we'll bring you into the created byhand digital community-a tribe of friendly welcoming folks.
I'm actually not sure which is the top of the ATC and I kind of like that. anyway you look at it it says peace.
May you be happy, peaceful, safe , well and free.

Oh come, Desire of nations bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
O bid our sad divisions cease,
And be for us our King of peace.

Om, Shanti, Shalom, Pax, Maluhi, Paix, Paz

Challenged

Layering and the more the better seems to be the current fashion in cards.
It's not the real me. I like simple. If I have a quote I want to share I want that to be what you see.
Suzanne's calligraphy quotes are enough to stand alone on a card with a beautiful background to enhance their meaning.
Take a look at the slide show on the Quietfire Creations site, to see the wonders created by the DT.(i'm just the shepherdess of the challenge) .
i thought I can do that.
Well, here is my challenge to myself. I did a few more that went straight into the circular file, and I have a nice pile of nestie diecuts to use for something else.
Blessed is the season just fits into the second largest of the spellbinders ornament die, and you can layer up one size. Shout out to my BSIL Diana for the foil. the corners are an older photo corners die, that I think is retired. I heat embossed the outer edges of a card with gold, then layered with a cuttlebug embossed red layer that I highlighted with silver.




Then i did some cards i like. i got these Tim Holtz Texture Fade embossing folders and I love them. The embossing is deep and crisp and i love the way there is room on the page to enter your text and other stuff.

The backgrounds are the insert paper from the texture fades. I embossed, then heat embossed the quotes, then colored with the cut and dry nibs- I love them for coloring with distress inks.

The here and there card I layered to the best of my ability with 2 deckled mats.
I really like the open space in this card.


The risk card was hard to leave alone. the edges are done with just the branches of a tree punch.
what are your personal art challenges?
leave me a comment.

Meditations

This weeks Created byhand Challenge- meditations and shades of blue. i did this background awhile ago. i taped the card to my scor-buddy and held an index card at 1/4" intervals and swiped with the foam blending tool using tea dye and broken china distress ink. then I scored on the lines and ran the blue ink over the score lines. heat embossed the quote- clear over a multi blue pad, I think, and heat embossed the flourished heart, and overstamped all the flourishes- I though the flourishes looked like breaths.
I meditate on peace and breath a lot.
Please post your own entry and leave a comment-share a meditation.

Mini knitting

maybe the cold weather shrunk my brain
maybe elf energy

the socks- shout out to Lorri-I copied -are inchies, I broke my 000 needles and the smallest I could get the sweater was 1 1/4inches.

the bigger sweater -some old handspun -was huge at 2 1/2 inches.

I formed the hangers out of what I call telephone wire. Make friends with those repair guys(gals?)

maybe I'll get down the mountain by Wednesday and you can come see them in the Black Mountain Yarn Shop

Thank you Sue

Shout out to my new friend Sue, who loaned me this new Tim Holtz texture fade embossing folder before she even used it! Sue introduced me to the good folks and stamp club at my LLS , A Stamp Artist Place , and never lets the conversation lag.
These folders emboss so deep you have to pop out the paper. even with heavy stock and chip board there is no need for paper glide. This makes it easy to ink up the top layer.
I brayered on perfect medium and heat embossed with clear, on white card stock. Then using the foam blending tool I used tumbled glass and stormy sky distress ink, and rubbed the excess off of the flakes. I glazed with metallic water colors for a shimmery look you can't see. I put perfect medium on the edge of a white card and embossed with silver and layered the flakes over that to get a metallic edge( I must have cropped off the left edge of the card in the photo, in real life the edges are symmetrical).I heat embossed the Let it Snow in black and distressed over that and inked the edge in silver.
Friends will get you through times of no embossing folders better than embossing folders will get you through times of no friends!
Thanks Sue.

Betty's BookClub Bookmarks

I made a set of these bookmarks for Betty,who graciously shares her Montreat home with me. Betty and her husband Dick are kind generous people I am blessed to know and I am grateful she asked me to create these for her book club. Betty has a Queens College Alumni gathering each summer and the ladies allowed me to be a 'Queen for a Day' at their book club gathering. The conversation was educational, intellectual and fun! I'm still working on that book reading list.
thank you Betty.
The top punch is a MS around the page corner punch. I heat embossed the quote and the rose. the Background is distress ink shmooshed around with a foam applicator. Then I overstamped with a backgound leaf stamp. the little books are Spellbinders Labels 7- they look like books to me- and the bottom punch is an old Fiscars- on it's way out.
I'm pretty sure there is some stardust pen on there somewhere
I couldn't decide what ribbon to use on the top, so i used two different ones. Each bookmark is personalized by name so they can't fight over them!
This set of bookmarks and the 12 days of Christmas Mingle have led me to believe I am a one of a kind girl- or maybe a related series -and not a production artist. When you get something from me, you can be sure it is one of a kind, for better or for worse.
Leave me a comment with your current reading list.

We are all worthy

December 6 is the National(Canada) day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. November 25 was the International Day for awareness of violence against women.
I want every woman to know that she is worthy of love, respect and safety. No women, no being on this earth needs to stay in an abusive or violent relationship because they don't deserve better. No woman deserves abuse or violence, no matter what any one tells you.
You are worthy. You are worthy.
It takes courage to leave a violent and abusive situation and you can do it.
Courage is fear that has said it's prayers. If you need help, if you can't pray for yourself contact me.
If you need help and don't know where to turn, leave me a comment , or email me and I will get you to the nearest support and help group in your area.
I pray with all my heart that the art in this weeks Created Byhand challenge with the theme
Fearless/White(the color of abuse and violence awareness) will lift up the importance of stopping acceptance of violence and abuse against women.
the quote speaks for itself. I stamped and heat embossed. I used some gesso on the background of the card to add texture.
Yes, life is a balancing act and times can be rough-
and you are not alone and you are worthy.
Please post your own entry and leave a comment.