Countdown to Christmas (advent box)

Hi again,

I hope you are all enjoying your Thanksgiving in the U.S.  Being thankful is a state of mind, something that we forget or neglect to be at times. My car is in the repair shop right now, and I was really upset about it, but then I thought, " well at least I managed to get from Target to the dealership without breaking down on the side of the busiest road in town." So for that, I am thankful. 

On to the project this week, my advent box that I made for my girls. They are all grown up now, but they still love opening the little boxes everyday and popping the chocolate treats.

I box itself is a Karen Foster design. I don't know if you can even get them anymore. I did the clear emboss resist technique on the paper and inked super bright colors over top. Then it was just a matter of cutting, taping, and embellishing. I think that's my favorite part. I pile a whole bunch of greenery and bling on my projects at Christmas. (You should see my house, it takes me a week to decorate LOL)

Simon Says Stamp is having a Christmas Countdown challenge this week soooo,  surf on over to the link and check out the great Christmas projects the team made.

http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/challenge-countdown-to-the-holidays/

Thanks for stopping in. Happy thoughts until next time...

How great is this plaid pointsettia?

P.s. My car cost $900 to fix  - ummm, I'm thankful that is wasn't over a thousand? Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts...

The mysterious TARDIS

http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/challenge-its-a-mystery/

Hi again Whovians, 

Did you catch the Dr. Who 50th anniversary episode this weekend? The Day of the Doctor. Loved it!

Anyway to celebrate, I made a TARDIS. You know - time and relative dimention in space. 

How can the TARDIS be so huge on the inside! It's a mystery, which is a perfect tie-in to this week's challenge over at simon says stamp Monday challenge blog.

I constructed the lantern entirely out of lightblue cardstock, inked with faded jeans and blacksoot distress inks. Cut ALL the little windows out and found a great file on pinterest for the signs.

How long did it take? Well that's another mystery. It was a labor of love because the TARDIS is cool, just like bowties and fezzes. 

Here it is with the lights beaming from within. Ooo wee ooo

A place of honor with my other lanterns. I will post another entry for the other two later.

Thanks for stopping by , i have to post this before the deadline, it's another mystery how I get anything done around here, I need to get myself a timelord, preferably the 10th doctor. 

12 Tags of 2013 - November

http://timholtz.com/12-tags-of-2013-november/

Hello friends,

I wanted to do a quick post for the 12 tags before I get into my Christmas card making frenzy.

So confession time...I shop a LOT. You can't go anywhere without seeing the chalkboard craze in stores.  I was so excited when Tim Holtz did a chalkboard technique tag in his Creative Chemistry 102 class. I have had that frosted crystal embossing powder for years. I've always found it to be quite tempermental to work with. It's so easy to overheat it and lose the effect it's supposed to give, but practice practice. I still haven't mastered it, but I'm getting there.

I have this great chalk pastel set from Lyra (again I have had it for years) so I pulled it out and added some color to the tag. Here's the end result ...

I love how the dusty blue background turned out.

Just a wee bit darker so you can see the colors better.

And here's a fun card I made while I had all the supplies out on my desk. (Die cuts are from Memory Box)

Hop on over to Tim's blog post for the great tutorial, especially the tip for using Frosted Crystal EP.

Thanks for surfing by today, until next time...

Laurie

What Santa Does in the Off Season

Hi again,

I had a lot of fun creating this piece. It started with the cabana tent. Laura Carson, over at Artfully Musing provided the carnival tent template, and I "modified" it into a cabana tent.

http://www.alphastamps.com/p14734/3D_Tents_Set_Download/product_info.html

The santas, lanterns and sleigh are from Make it Crafty colored with Shinhan and Copic markers.

http://www.makeitcrafty.com

The base measures 12 inches x 10 inches and is glued to the 12x12 back. I scraped lightweight modelling paste (tinted with a bit of "dune" pigment reinker from Clearsnap) on the base. Then sprinkled shimmer sand over certain areas.

All the images were printed on heavyweight bristol paper, colored, and cut out.

The banner is cut from Tim Holtz's die using the same paper as the tent. I had Letraset rub ons in my stash from many many years ago. Yes I do tend to hoard things, but you just never know...

The pink flamingo is from Hampton Arts for Graphic 45. Oh and can you spot the reindeer? They need a holiday too.

He's my favorite, this guy just makes me smile everytime I look at him.

Thanks for surfing by today. I hope you enjoyed my whimsical creation. I can't wait to start decorating for Christmas.