Draw A Bird, December 2022

Hi Friends! Recently, my husband and I were at a restaurant that used paper coasters beneath our beverages, but the coasters were plain white rather than printed with the restaurant’s logo and inspired me to create ornaments!

Ornaments, Snowman and Star & Partridge in a Pear Tree, Viv’s December art challenge

Because watercolor doesn’t work well on plain paper, I painted the coasters with watercolor grounds, which coat the paper so that water won’t sink in, and the paint flows easier. My watercolor friend, Viv, hosted a December challenge, which I painted on the coasters rather than in a sketchbook or on the usual watercolor paper (and the challenge included a Partridge in a Pear Tree and Two Turtle Doves). I was really happy with the results and decided to paint on both sides of the coasters since Christmas tree ornaments tend to hang wonky and spin around to the back. A few embellishments on the top hid the ribbon hole, and some Tim Holtz Distress Glaze sealed the paintings. These were delightful subjects to make even though I generally don’t paint so small with so much detail.

Deer and Two Turtle Doves on reverse side

Hope you are enjoying your holiday preparations for Christmas, Hannukah, or whatever holiday you celebrate, and please stay well. ❤

Bow

Here is a festive red bow to brighten your day.

Bow

Feliz Navidad!

Presents

Everything is wrapped and under the tree, awaiting our celebrations in a few days.

Presents

We are busy all day on Christmas day, but it is a lot of fun to visit with everyone and just enjoy being together. Today is also the beginning of Hanukkah, so Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends!

Candy Jar

The prompt today is candy, which reminded me of this candy jar my mom put out every year when I was young. The snowman head and hat were Styrofoam, and the hat was festively glittered. We would carefully pop the head off the glass jar to reach in for a sweet treat. The scarf was a simple red ribbon glued together.

Snowman candy holder

We also had a Santa version, and both were from the 1950s. Maybe Mom will comment below with a little more info about these cute jars. I love how these prompts bring back so many great memories. Does this invoke a good Christmas memory for you? If so, I hope you share it here!

White on White Cards

Today I am sharing three cards that are white on white. After playing with watercolors for many weeks I got back to card making and wanted to start with a clean look. What could be cleaner than white on white?

White on White-Best Wishes

Embossing folders add texture and only a few ribbons or inky words are needed.  The card above features the Stampin Up Bird punch layered on an embossed heart.

White on White – Swirls

White on White – Hearts

The edge punches add to the lacy, crisp, and elegant feel of these cards, which are so versatile and can be used for a multitude of occasions.

Happy New Year (Plus 5 Days)!

Hi Friends!  Wow, I can’t believe it has been a whole month since I have posted, but what a whirlwind of a month it was.  Christmas is always a busy time, but starting the week before Thanksgiving until the day after Christmas we had construction going on at our house.  The end results are beautiful and definitely worth the hassle, and I love our two new upstairs bathrooms.  We also got new interior doors throughout the house which meant each closet had to be emptied out in order to remove the old doors and doorjambs, and then once the new doors were in place I cleaned the shelves of all the dust and errant wood particles before putting everything away. Well, not quite everything was put away because I made a vow to get rid of half the stuff from each closet and then put away only what I really wanted to keep.  Many things were given to St. Vincent DePaul or recycled.  I tried to keep the trash to a very minimum with the paring-down process and think I succeeded overall.  All of this was going on while trying to work, Christmas shop, gift wrap, plan, etc., but I have learned to listen to myself as far as limits go so I opted not to put up our regular tree and decorations.  Carrie was a little bummed but I did get a teeny, tiny tree and a small Nativity set to put on our TV stand; Christmas is not about the tree anyhow and while I did miss the beautiful sparkle and glow of our regular tree, I knew it would have been filled with dust by the time the construction as over.  Anyhow, Christmas was a lovely as always with spending time with family and friends, and that is what counts the most!

When time is short, this card is easy to make and has an excellent layout to use when larger quantities are needed, yet the outcome is simple and elegant.  I checked my stock of organza ribbons and matched the colors to my cardstock and inks.  A top layer of white was dry embossed with Devine Swirls, Birds and Swirls, or Perfect Paisley, and then the bottom edges were punched with a variety of Martha Stewart edgers.  The sentiments are from Stampin Up’s Short and Sweet set.

Black Organza Ribbon Card

Happy New Year Plus 5 Days!  I hope 2014 is an extra-special year for you filled with love, health, family, and friends!

Cards of a Feather Flock Together

Happy Monday! I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Mother’s Day!

Warm Fuzzies, Green Flocked Paper

I have had some interesting flocked scrapbook paper that I bought at Target almost 5 years ago. It came in 12×12 size, six papers to a pack, and they were on clearance for $2.00. I couldn’t pass that up, could I? The green paper has various fuzzy, flocked vines, leaves, and flowers, and the red has dark red flowers flocked throughout. I used the papers after I got them and made a few cards. When I think about those cards and how rudimentary they were, I’m thankful that people were sweet enough to accept them from me and use them. You all encouraged me in my card making and since that point I have learned a lot! Naturally, as any crafter does, I accumulated more and more papers over the years, and the unique flocked paper got pushed to the bottom of the pile.

Warm Fuzzies, Red Flocked Paper

Then I bought a new set of polymer stamps by Hero Arts called “Everyday Sayings.” I loved that it had stamps to pertain to many events in our lives, but when I saw the one that said “Sending Warm Fuzzies,” I knew exactly which paper to use with this stamp. I think it worked out rather well since the flocking is fuzzy and so is the saying. I love when two separate items work so well together. To add a little interest I backed the flocked paper on coordinating colored cardstock with one edge punched, and I cut triangles out of the ends the sentiment rectangle to create points. The tiny flower at the beginning of the sentiment was also included in the Everyday Sayings stamps.  

The third example uses a beautiful iridescent red ribbon to add some flair, but sometimes these cards can be bulky and difficult to mail, so that is why I opted for a flatter front on the first two cards shown.  I think “Sending Warm Fuzzies” is a bit more personal and special than a generic “Thinking of You.”  Hope your week is full of warm fuzzies!