Sunday, October 31, 2010

Thanksgiving On Halloween



Very quiet Halloween here so I worked on some Thanksgiving treats. More altered candles ( did I mention that I found out you can order things from Dollar Tree's website and they'll have them delivered to your nearest store for a slight charge?)
The process is the same as the "Paris Collection" and "Lumiere".
  • Plain Novena Candle
  • Mod Podge
  • Assorted Papers and Embellishments
  • Go wild

Downloaded Oak Leaf Image From The Graphics Fairy, Changed Color and Added Text
 I had some copper tags in my stash so I got out my metal stamps and stamped "Give Thanks" on them, then fired them up with my pencil torch:

Added copper eyelets and mounted to cream cardstock.
I had some "Lion Brand" ribbon yarn left over from a previous project which I tied around the rim over the beaded thread. Embellished with buttons and adhesive rhinestones.

Hope everyone is enjoying their favorite chocolate goodie today!

Linking Up At:


Fine Craft Guild
Visit thecsiproject.com
 All Thingz Related

Friday, October 29, 2010

Thanksgiving Banner With Turkey Tails (Update About Letters)

 UndertheTableandDreaming

OK maybe they won't look like turkey tails to you, but they look like turkey tails to me! I know...Halloween's still a couple of days away and I'm already moving on to Thanksgiving decorations. Yup. Once you start making banners, there's no turning back so I can't wait until next week to change out my Halloween banner on my mantle for my Thanksgiving one. Now what does any of this have to do with turkey tails? I kind of had a rough idea of what I wanted to do (which didn't involve turkey tails) It did involve coffee filters but I wasn't sure how until I sat down with them. First I folded like this:
Then I folded it in quarters but got the idea to fold it in thirds. You can fold your half in half to make a line so you know where you will want your points ( which I'm about to show you) to line up. Fold like you're making a paper airplane:
Fold left and right sides into the middle, staple
I made one of these for each of the letters I was going to use. Computer generate letters; trim. I liked these "fan" side up and "point" side down and that's when it struck me they look like turkey tails! Adhere one letter to each "tail":
But wait! We're not done. I sound like an infomercial. "If you call now..."

I cheated on K&CO because I fell in LOVE with DCWV's ( Die Cuts With a View) "The Natural Stack" pad when Jo-Jo's ( JoAnn's) had all of their paper pads 40 or 50% off. OK when don't they? Anyway...it's got a mix of matte and metallics with lots of copper...perfect for this time of year! Pulled out some coordinating sheets and cut them in approx 6" banner shapes and matted those on black. Then put my "turkey tails" on top and :
My mantle is otherwise occupied so my wall had to do for now
My camera ( OK my photography skills) doesn't capture the brilliance of the colors or the metallics but this paper is almost as yummy as chocolate.

UPDATE: 
I've had a few inquiries about how I did the letters so I'm posting here since not everyone has their email enabled. I did mine in the graphics program I use the most which is Broderbund's Printshop Deluxe. I'm sure other graphics programs have similar functionality....this has an "initial cap" option which is what I used and chose a circle graphic but would think you could just do large capital letters. The font I used is called Almeria and I did a drop shadow option. Hope that helps!!
UPDATE 2:
I created a PDF file with the letters so if you would like, just email me through my profile and I'll send.
Linking Up At: 
Paper Issues Blog Design


Visit thecsiproject.com
 UndertheTableandDreaming 








Photobucket

 

Giving Thanks

I know Thanksgiving is next month, but it's certainly not the only time when we should express our gratitude. Without making myself sound like some sort of saint ( cause I "ain't") I do try to have an attitude of gratitude always. Lately, I have been really honored to have had some lovely things happen and come my way and I wanted to say thanks to some wonderful bloggers who are responsible for that.

Today, Tracy at Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures has featured my blog as her blog of the week. Tracy started this series as a way to "pay it forward" and recognize and promote a new blog each week. One thing I absolutely love about blogging is the way that bloggers look out for each other. Stay tuned for my own "pay it forward" series starting next week. In the meantime, please go visit Tracy's wonderful blog. She never ceases to amaze me with her creations and talent.  Like her painted fall color:

Thank you Tracy!

Last week, the hysterically funny and talented Suzy, of Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom with ever present green room guest Tom Selleck, made me her guest of the week. Suzy is both witty and crafty. For example: 
Suzy has a tute on how she made this beautiful quilled monogram. Go visit!
Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom

I've been really fortunate to win a couple of things lately. I get absolutely giddy when that happens don't you? Jacqueline at Purple Chocolat Home recently had a drawing for a CSN gift card and I was the lucky winner! A new Cuisinart 9 Speed Hand Mixer is on it's way to help me make lots of chocolate concoctions for the holidays. Jacqueline has some amazing projects that are so elegant and beautiful beyond words. I mean look at her island for Halloween entertaining:
Swoon!

And I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Elmer's XACTO giveaway I was doing a happy dance when I learned I'd won from Craft eNVy.  Nicholette and Vanessa ( see how creative they are to use their initials in their blog name!)  have got all kinds of crafty goodness at their place and of course the weekly "Saturday Spotlight" link party they host. Go visit for some inspiration and tutorials.

I'm also grateful ( and amazed) to those who have featured my projects and for the continued support of my followers. This has been such a great experience and little did I ever think that almost 400 people would follow my kookiness but I'm getting close to that.

So stay tuned for a new feature starting next Friday and for another giveaway when I hit 400! In the meantime, thanks everyone and wishing everyone a happy, fun, and safe Halloween!




Thursday, October 28, 2010

I Knew I Bought That Orange Frame For A Reason

While he loves to tease me about my trips to Michaels, JoAnn's etc., Mr. Chocolate also knows that I know when and where the sales are. As I was heading out one day in the Summer, he asked if I would frame something for him which gave me the perfect excuse reason to go to Aaron Brothers Art & Frame who just happened to be having their semi-annual  $.01 sale. We all have to make sacrifices right, so I made an additional stop.

Got there, found a frame for him which was a brushed metallic red .  Perfect for what he needed. But I wasn't going to pass up the chance to buy another "of equal or lesser value" for a PENNY was I? You know the answer. The same frame I bought him in red also came in a cool orange. I am not normally an orange person but there was something about that orange and did I mention it would cost me a PENNY?

You would think I'd have used it in my Halloween decorating. Temporary amnesia. Cured of that, and getting ready for Thanksgiving decorating, it all came together when Jessica at Craftily Ever After read my mind and made up a Thanksgiving themed printable!!! (Which she's sharing on her site...be nice and follow if you download it ). This is a horrible pic because I'm not ready to put it on my mantle yet and took it at a weird angle to avoid the glare :

I printed it on cream cardstock. I like the cream and brown with the white mat and the orange. And did I mention the metallic organza tulle ribbon I found at Joann's yesterday? No? There's an orange that matches the frame along with a copper, and a deep brown and yes, I got all the colors.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

The Paris Collection

Welcome to those stopping in from:
No, I'm not auditioning for Project Runway. When I did the first candle in my "Lumiere" post, little did I know how addicting these would be! So I did another one which I added to that post. And , um....I've since done two more so I decided 4 was a collection and since they're all Paris themed..."The Paris Collection". Here are the two newest:

And here are the four together: 
Now, try explaining to the Safeway checker what you're doing with all these candles. Eyes. Glazed. Over.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Lumiere

The first storm of the season blew in this weekend and we got prepared for the time of year when the power goes out. We're well equipped w/ flashlights, but playing 6 degrees of crafting separation with me ( where you can relate anything back to something within about 6 steps) storm===>lights out===>candles===>craft idea! See, only 4 degrees of separation between a storm and a craft.

I see these all the time at the grocery store:
Being raised Catholic, I know these as Novena candles but you often see them with images on the glass. Not being willing to let any surface go un-embellished though, I slapped on some Mod Podge, covered with scrapbook paper, downloaded a graphic from The Graphics Fairy, added some text, beaded some thread, added a ribbon and buttons and :
I knew I'd picked up a package of "Paris" themed charms on clearance at Michaels for a reason! Look what was included:

Houston, we may have a problem. I made another one tonight: 
This is a cluster of star shaped rhinestones that comes in a strip
Linking Up At: 


 All Thingz Related