🎶What Are You Doing New Years Eve?🎶

https://youtu.be/aSq1cez_flQ

Twenty-seven years ago Chris and I had our first real date on New Years Eve. Somebody we knew had a party at the old Hotel Bentley in downtown Alexandria. Quite a few glasses of  champagne and a New Years Eve kiss and the rest is history! It's been a long time since we celebrated New Years Eve outside our cozy little house. We've done the crazy partying...I'm just fine with some home cooking, a nice glass of wine or some egg nog, and a little guitar and ukulele around the fire pit. I may even dress for the occasion, but barefoot if it's warm and comfy slippers if it's cold. You never know what this crazy Louisiana weather will do!

I don't have to decorate much for New Years Eve since I usually leave my tree up until after New Year's Day. It's festive and I can really enjoy it after the hubbub of Christmas! I did make a little conversation piece this year...



This little magical folding box was inspired by a Club Scrap®  project from 2010, The Magician's Box. I adapted it to create a mini version using the ATC sized Imagine Crafts SHEET metal, Staz On ink, and Club Scrap's After Five unmounted stamp collection.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NvG_2UytoY]

Click here to view a downloadable PDF flipbook tutorial of The ATC Magician's Box

I should set up a camera to film the curious who open it and try to tie it back together! To be continued...



Challenges entered:

Club Scrap's 12/2016 Project Use it!

Mixed Media Place December 2016 Challenge

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I Shook My Family Tree and a Bunch of Nuts Fell Out!

I had a great "crafternoon"on Friday with these crazies!



We made Christmas slime...



Shrinky dink ornaments...



[caption id="attachment_4163" align="alignnone" width="533"] Millie wanted a "good picture" of hers before we shrunk it![/caption]

(Even Steph got in on the action!)



And snowmen tealight ornaments and Christmas tags! Whew!



Ellie, Millie and Haylan  made a tutorial for the snowmen tealights! One take, these girls are pros!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS3zlx9TKm0]

They even did a little facepainting...

[gallery ids="4178,4176,4177,4174,4175" type="square" columns="2"]

Of course I had to make something too!

[caption id="attachment_4188" align="alignnone" width="533"] JFFRS Acorn stamp embossed with copper foil embossing powder and painted with Perfect Pearls mixed with water. Sentiment printed in Photoshop Elements. Club Scrap card stocks.[/caption]



They crafted for almost 7 hours, with breaks for BJ's Pizza, Shirley Temples, reindeer chow and taking turns in Uncle Chris' massage chair! It was a fun ending to a Happy Thanksgiving. Lots is good food and family. I love my people!

https://www.facebook.com/stephen.a.chapman/posts/1241929285869814

Do more of what makes you happy!



Challenges entered:

Addicted to Stamps #221 Anything Goes

Craft Your Passion Challenge # 339 Always Anything Goes

Just Add Ink #338 Inspiration

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What's Up My Witches?!

We don't usually get many trick or treaters on Halloween, but I decorated anyway. I like to see it when I come home! I really need to paint my front door, but it goes with the spooky decor.

[caption id="attachment_3300" align="alignnone" width="1893"] It took me two Halloweens to finish my witch hat, but I ♥ it! Wire mesh template I designed and covered with cheesecloth and plaster of Paris, then painted and decorated.[/caption]



I even let it overflow to the dining room...



[caption id="attachment_3547" align="alignnone" width="3264"] Check out this link for the spooky crystal balls "how to"![/caption]



Then I went to visit the Chapman Blondies and helped spread a little Halloween spirit there too!



So worth it to see this kid excited when we turned the lights on!



Since I was in Halloween mode, I saw these on Pinterest and thought I would make a t-shirt for Halloween...



I should have just ordered one and been done, but NOOOOOOO!!! I wanted to make one (rolling my eyes).  I didn't make a t-shirt, but I did make a card! I had to keep that witch theme going!

[caption id="attachment_3521" align="alignnone" width="3299"] JFFRS Bubble,  Bubble, Toil and Trouble stamp  stamped and embosses with black ink, then painted with Perfect Pearls mixed with water. Sentiment created in Photoshop Elements and printed on Club Scrap cardstock. The sentiment was highlighted with a Perfect Pearls pen and dusted with Perfect Pearls to match the stamped image.[/caption]



Jeez, it looks like Halloween threw up over here! I sure hope we get some trick or treaters on Halloween, or I will be the one to eat all the candy!



Challenges entered:

Tuesday Throwdown #317 Add a Border

The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #29



The City Crafter Challenge #335 Hallo-ween

Fab Funky Challenges Blog #324 Celebrate Halloween

That's Crafty Challenges Friday the 13th Part 2

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Les Chats Noirs!

I haven't decorated for Halloween in a few years. I always decorated when my boys were little, but when my youngest started high school and then football started...well, decorating for holidays took a back seat! I was inspired to decorate this year after I received my Just For Fun Rubber Stamps (JFFRS) in the mail. These two are my favorites...

[gallery ids="3274,3273" type="rectangular"]

A few weeks ago I made some Shrinky Dink plastic earrings for my JFF Design Team post with the Stitched Mouthed Jack-o-Lantern stamp. This week, the Candy Corn Fence was begging to be stamped!  I started tooling around Pinterest looking for Halloween scenes ideas and this popped up, Le Chat Noir!



I remembered I had an awesome full moon photo I had taken with my DSLR camera and the Tiny Black Kat stamp image from JFFRS... combine these with the candy corn fence...I love when things start falling into place! Le Chat Noir was the perfect sentiment for my card idea, but I wanted a trio of cats to sit on the fence. Somewhere in the recesses of my hazy memory of elementary school French, I knew that I need the plural version but couldn't grasp it. I sent a text to my aunt (a French teacher) and waited for a response, not realizing that it was almost midnight in Europe where they are on vacation! After she sent the correct phrasing, I edited my moon photo in Photoshop Elements and added the text.



In my rush to print,  I left off the "s"on noirs. Of course I didn't realize it until the next morning, AFTER I was finished. Lesson learned, don't make things when I'm tired!

The moon needed a little something, so I stamped some black embossed bats from JFFRS!



I wanted the three cats' tails to be different, so I clipped them off when I cut them out and added tiny pieces of black pipe cleaners. I painted the fence with Perfect Pearls mixed with water for a nice shimmery effect!



And here are Les Chats Noirs bathing in the moonlight!



I have a challenge for you...leave a comment on this post for a chance to be in the drawing for a Candy Corn Fence stamp of your own, then click here to join the JFFRS Halloween Challenge for a chance to win a JFFRS gift certificate. You don't have to use a JFF Stamp to be considered for the gift certificate,  but if you DO use a JFF Stamp you will receive a 2nd entry into the drawing doubling your chance to win!! Winner of the Candy Corn Fence stamp will be announced here on my blog on Saturday October 29, 2016. Go make something Fa-BOO-lous!

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Look Out World! She's 21!

21 is a HUGE milestone. It means you are an ADULT and no longer dependent on your parents, AND you can legally buy alcohol, drink it and go to the casino. Hmmmmm...turning 21 can get you in trouble!

This sweet little angel turned 21 yesterday!



She's kind, smart, funny and she's  a WONDERFUL big sister to ALL of her baby sisters (including the ones in her college sorority) and little brother!



But,  I will always think of her as this sweet Morgan...



One of these is on its way to her mailbox with a 21st birthday surprise inside!



I used this card sketch from the Club Scrap (CS) Idea Deck. It's so easy to follow, no waste and the cutting instructions are on the back



[caption id="attachment_3109" align="alignnone" width="533"] CS card stock, sentiment and stencil.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3117" align="alignnone" width="530"] CS card stock, sentiment and stencil.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3114" align="alignnone" width="533"] Ruby Red Slippers Stickles on the martini olive. Ranger copper foil and fine detail silver embossing powder.[/caption]

Cheers to 21 years!



Challenges entered:

Club Scrap 10-2016 Idea Deck Challenge

PDE Linky Party Ch#140 Anything Goes

That's Crafty Challenges ~ All of a Sparkle Challenge

LTCCB #3 Anything Goes

Paper Sweeties Inspiration #48 October 2016

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Meditating with my Gnomie!

I have a weird sense of humor. I laugh out loud at commercials. My mom said when I was little I would run from the next room, just to watch my favorites, and then go back to play. My youngest son will watch me, not the TV, waiting for me to start howling laughing on cue during my favorite parts.  This clip from Malcolm in the Middle is classic "Wendy humor". I laugh every time I watch it!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BunHeYkbjT0]

Of course this made me laugh.



And it inspired this...



I just #gotmykit (Club Scrap Garden Shed Lite) and had to make a card with my gnomie! He was from the Gnome for the Holidays kit and has inspired quite a few projects. This 2014 Holiday Blog Hop post was one of my favorites. It featured Papa and Mama Gnomie and a peek inside Santa's Workshop. I actually used Mama Gnomie to make a few alterations to help Papa Gnomie bend into lotus position. He's old and kinda stiff!



I like to use Faber Castell gelatos and Big Brush markers to color with, so I added a coat of gel medium to blend them better.



I picked complementary colors to go with the Garden Shed papers. I ♥ pistachio green!



I broke my Club Scrap glue pen, sniff... But, I found this cool little refill bottle for my  Club Scrap bookbinding glue!



A little shading with big brush markers...



This quote is from one of the cut apart sheets in the Garden Shed Lite kit. It was perfect for the theme of my card.



I used the King of ♦ card sketch  from the ALCM Idea Deck Vol. 1 to make the card base. These card sketches are awesome, no paper waste because the cutting instructions are on the back!





I added some shading with gelatos around Papa Gnome so he would look like he's levitating! He's kinda serious about garden meditation.



He needed a little sparkle in his beard, so I gave him some stickles for bling.



(Meditation chime bell)

 

Keep Calm

and

Meditate with your gnomies!

Namaste!



Challenges entered:

Club Scrap 09-16 Idea Deck Challenge

LTSCB #86 - Anything Goes!

Craft Your Passion Challenge 330 ~ Always Anything Goes

Pile It On #117 - Autumn colors/theme

 

 

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