Thanksgiving Therapy

 Hello, hope you are all well. I've got a 7.5-inch square collage for you today that I made as a sort of art therapy talisman for Honey and me to remember, celebrate and honor our Thanksgiving family gatherings, since on Thursday in the USA it's Thanksgiving Day.

I think it finally hit me that we won't be all together with family at the holidays. My emotional mind had been in denial. I know from reading other blogs I'm not alone in this by a long shot -- we must do what we must to stay safe. I was going to make another Turkey Day card but ended up caving to my feelings. And it's been helping. I expect I'll be needing to look at it this week a lot. Honey likes it very much, too.

  

So my materials for this project began in my stash, for just about everything I've used. I've had a set of repositionable Thanksgiving stickers (what was I thinking buying repositionable stickers?????) and a colorful turkey I had saved from junk mail in my theme box forever, so I pulled those out. I added an unused piece of gold vellum that I had dry-embossed for my last project (here it reminds me of those old vintage embossed ceiling tiles!), and some vintage 70's decorative fabric seam binding from my mom's ribbon inheritance. For my base I pulled two of my Graphics 45 paper pad chipboard backings, cut them to size and glued them together so that the pretty paper patterns would show on both sides. But they are glossy so I gave each a quick workout with my sanding block, leaving delicious worn streaks and faded areas. I guess that's a form of distressing, eh? 

Since I wanted to participate in TFJB's current challenge Bright Colours (see challenges below), I chose to use the little vintage collage sheet image at lower left, which was a freebie TJFB sent me with one of my orders. While it doesn't portray an entire family, it reminds me very much of our dear daughter in years past at the table with her cousins, and the colors are a good match, too! 

This was pretty straightforward as to process. The most time spent was on all those words. Because the word stickers are repositionable, I used a gluestick to adhere to the yellow paper strips and then ran a Promarker around each word strip. I made the 4 long outer perimeter strips first and then cut apart the rest of the words. I added some little leaves at the turkey's feet that were alcohol-inked on glossy paper and punched out, leftover from a previous project.

I added some stash sequins and then filled each center with Viva Decor Pearl Pens in various colors.

After fussy-cutting this turkey, I ran a black chisel tip Promarker around it. Then, I got out my Carbon Desk Fountain Pen and outlined all of the interior lines on him to help him stand out properly. My final step was running the Promarker chisel tip around the entire piece.

But wait! There's more, lol. As I often do, I decorated the back as well! I was just going to add the outside lines, but then it looked like it needed something in the middle and of course I had a few leftover word strips from the front.

   

I used 2 different washi tapes around the perimeter: a wide graph-paper design and then some really cool cooking utensil washi bought exactly for this kind of project so I had to use it. 

The center oval element was cut with a Spellbinders Hem Stitch Oval Chantilly Paper Lace die. I used a Burnt Orange Promarker on the outside edge, a Pumpkin Promarker to color the pumpkin and a light Peachy Saffron Promarker to color-fill the interior. I should have colored first, then stamped and heat-embossed. Instead I did the opposite and a little black ink smeared in places from the marker, even after I heat-embossed! Oh well, every piece of art's got a near-death tale to tell, right? Still using it! haha

Love this Neat and Tangled sentiment stamp! And the distressed sanded base peeking out. 

And a final view of the front. I can truly say this was indeed Thanksgiving Therapy. Our dear daughter and son-in-love&law messaged us yesterday to thank us for their Thanksgiving card we mailed them and I sent them a pic of this. We had a wonderful time reminiscing about favorite foods, movies, and fun we've had on this holiday over the years. And we will do it again on Thursday! We are indeed blessed!

Thanks for dropping by and letting me share with you. I hope you have a good week, good holidays if you celebrate, and are staying safe and warm and well!

MY CHALLENGE PLAYLIST:

1.   TFJB Challenge 11/11-11/24: Celebrate! -- (10 challenges max) I am celebrating, remembering, honoring our tradition of Thanksgiving family gatherings and have used bright colors.

2.   Art Journal Journey Nov: Birds -- Joining in Wendy K's challenge theme with the most famous November bird of all LOL ;-)

3.   The Three Muses Challenge: Birds

5.   Country View Challenge Nov: Anything But a Card

6.   Outlawz Twisted Thursdays 11/19-25: AG + Opt. Twist: Create Your Own -- Option played - my twist is sequins

7.   The Crafter's Cafe #255: Embossing, Wet or Dry -- Dry (gold diamond-shaped vellum layer) (Entry#3/5 and 11 Challenges Max)

8.   ModSquad Challenge: Thanksgiving Turkey

9.   613 Avenue Create November: AG + Opt. Twist Cute Critters -- Option played! I think my turkey is pretty cute!

10. The Paper Girls #212: Thankful/Grateful

We Give THANKS

 Happy Thursday, everyone. Hope you are well. 

Another Thanksgiving card to share today. A 5.5-inch square card made flat to mail to my cousin. 

PAPERS: SU card stocks, vellum, misc. paper scraps

IMAGES / STAMPS: premade scrapbooking tags, EKS

INKS: Versafine Clair

DIES: Avery Elle, Lawn Fawn, W Plus 9

OTHER / STASH: Crafters Companion 6x6 Geometric Motif embossing folder, brads, Tim Holtz Seasonal Chit Chat stickers

I used Split Coast Stampers sketch SC608, which was already a square shape, so I made no PSE tweaks. I did not keep the 1-3 elements straight and symmetrical, instead choosing to give them a little loose movement, as if more casually tossed on there, lol.

I've mentioned my themed card bits boxes before. I had saved the 3 tags (plus one more still to be used) leftover from a very old scrapbooking kit that had premade elements. They are very, very dated to our eyes that stay up on the trends and styles, but my card recipient won't see them that way at all and only in a positive light. So, no real reason not to use them. I like their vintage collage-ness. 

The base mat is a sheet of gold vellum I dry-embossed using a 6x6 folder. I fussy-cut trimmed the outside perimeter to lose the straight edges, then I used my trusty Fiskars finger knife to cut the centers of some of the geometric interconnecting rings (some may know this as the wedding quilt pattern). 

Going back to my box, I found the large THANKS die cut. I matted it with a bit of scrap card stock that I also used to cut the bottom banner strip. I cut an orange strip leftover from the card base with an XOXOX die and adhered it on top of the horizontal banner strip that's underneath the THANKS.

I attached leaf brads to the top of each tag and added the words We and Give from Tim's Seasonal Chit Chat sticker book, then matted with more card stock scrap before adhering to the leaf tag.

Inside, I used the same inner sentiment as I used in my last card. I printed out a few because well, I like the quote and this year is unusual since we are not gathering as a family.

For the back, I collaged together a few scraps of papers from the theme box, and stamped the siggie directly on top.

A final view. I will have one more Thanksgiving art share. Thanks for dropping by! XOX

MY CHALLENGE PLAYLIST:

1.   Split Coast Stampers sketch SC608

2.   Scrapping 4 Fun #179: Give Thanks/Thanksgiving/Gratitude -- Entry #3/4  

3.   Crafty Gals Corner #213: Thankful -- Entry #3/3

4.   Die Cut Divas Nov: Thanks/Thanksgiving -- Entry #3/4 -- I've used an embossing folder and 3 dies.

5.   Outlawz Saturday Paper A la Mode 11/7-11/20: Give Thanks Entry #3/No limits

6.   Use Your Stuff #410: Tic Tac Toe  - I chose diagonal row Any Sketch (see above)/Favorite Color (right now, it's the Fall oranges/browns)/Button ( 3 on the center tag) Entry #1/no limits

7.   Paper Funday #23: AG + Opt. Give Thanks/Thankful/Grateful -- Option played! Entry #3/4

8.   Crazy 4 Challenges #C4C560: Give Thanks

9.   Double Trouble #71: All the Trimmings Partnering with Paper Funday -- Thing 1 Trouble Maker: This time I chose diagonal Embossing/Free Space/Dies. Thing 3 Twisted Sister: Sentiment-al I have "We Give THANKS" on front. Thing 2 Double Dare: I have shared with PF, see Challenge #7 above.  

10.  Sisterhood of Crafters: Embossing (Wet or Dry) -- I dry-embossed the vellum base mat.

11.  The Crafters Cafe #255: Embossing, Wet or Dry -- I dry-embossed the vellum base mat. Entry #3/5 + 11 challenges max.

Grateful (Thanksgiving)

 Hello. Hope you are all well. I've a few friends now down with the Covid and it's just wild how some people get it and some don't, no rhyme or reason at least in my little world. I took a long weekend to sleep because I needed it I suppose, and to do some necessary craft organizing I'd been putting off. I made a few cards too, so I will have these to share if I can just focus enough to write the blog posts.

Sharing a Thanksgiving card today. So many Thanksgiving challenges right now and I've got quite a collection of card elements in my Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving box so time to use some up.

PAPER: Springhill and SU card stock, photo paper, DCWV theme paper stack, 

IMAGES/STAMPS: Gecko Galz collage image from Oct. 2017 newsletter subscriber sheet, W Plus 9, Impression Obsession, Papertrey

INKS: Versafine Clair, printer, Promarkers, Memento, VersaMagic

DIES: Sizzix Pumpkin Vine border, Spellbinders Birds on a Wire and A2 Distressed Edges

OTHER/STASH: circle punch, dark brown card stock tag, red rhinestone, Darice Fall Leaf Background embossing folder

   

I used Split Coast Stampers Sketch #68 from 2006. I resized it to A2 in PSE. Instead of the ribbon elements, I used a pumpkin vine die cut. I will add here at this point I began designing the card with my two Tic-Tac-Toe challenges in mind (they are listed below)

   

Thought I'd also show you a bit how my mind works: on the left is my dry mock-up, before I begin coloring. I don't look at the actual mock-up, I always look at the PHOTO of it because you can see what's wrong and what's right much better that way. Here I noticed two things: the orange vertical card needed something on it to tone it down and it needed texture, so I dry-embossed the orange card and ink-swiped it with a muted green ink; and I also did not like the way the vines went up and just ended, so I thought to add the birds across in a dark silhouette to obfuscate that somewhat. (I have no idea why the embossed part doesn't show up orange once I did that - may be the preset filter I run my photos through.)

On the inside, I used a die to cut out a computer-printed sentiment using a Proust quote and my additional words. I ink-distressed the edges.

On the back I just grabbed some leftover paper scraps and combined them. The center strip is a Graphics45 scrap, the bottom is DCWV and the top is ??? I hand-stamped my siggie and used a circle punch on it, then direct-inked it and ink-distressed the edge.

The front sentiment was hand-stamped directly on the collage sheet image. I love that font!

And I have to show a close-up of this lovely, lovely image. She is gorgeous, isn't she? I ink-distressed the edge all around with chalk ink after cutting her down to fit the tag, but I left her flowers to lay off the edge. That Sizzix pumpkin vine die is extremely old -- it's a border for 12x12 scrapbooking, but hey, it works great here so why not use it? You can also see the embossing where the large leaf curves along with the vine on top of it. That was just lucky serendipity, as was being able to curl the top of the tag vine around the bird wire.

Final view: I do very much like how this turned out. Maybe the dry mock-up confirms that about my natural tendencies. If you know me, you know I love to layer stuff on when I can. Not all the time, but I can't go long without it. So maybe this "style" whatever it is, is right up my alley, lol. And it's going to someone who will love that about it. You know, we worry so much about our style and products and the latest cardmaking fads. I think we often place way too much importance on those and not nearly enough on what the recipients of our cards care about...and what they could care less about. Just my two cents, but the latter is a lot less pressure on us! I thank you for dropping by and letting me share today. Hope your week's going well. XOX

MY CHALLENGE PLAYLIST:

1.  Split Coast Stampers Sketch 68

2.  Gecko Galz Facebook November Challenge : ATG for the Holidays  -- Thanksgiving holiday

3.   Time Out Challenge #174: Festivals -- celebrating Thanksgiving  

4.   #TTTC090 Featured Designer Ashwini --  I chose bottom left to top right diagonal: Critter (birds) / Holiday (Thanksgiving) / Gemstone (red rhinstone on tag top)

5.   Scrapping4Fun #179:  Thanksgiving / Thank You / Gratitude

6.   Double Trouble #71: All the Trimmings Partnering with Paper Funday -- Thing 1 Trouble Maker: If I can count my brown tag as a frame for my image, then I have done every square, so take your pick, I tic-tac-toe 100%. Thing 3 Twisted Sister: Sentiment-al I have Grateful on front. Thing 2 Double Dare: I have shared with PF, see below.

7.   Paper Funday #23: AG + Opt. Give Thanks / Thankful / Grateful -- Option played with Grateful sentiment and also fulfills Double Trouble Thing 2 (see Challenge 6)

8.   Colour Crazy Craft Challenge Week 44: AG with Colouring -- I coloured the pumpkin vine with Promarkers.

9.   Crafty Gals Corner #213: Thankful

10. Die Cut Divas November: Thanks / Thanksgiving -- Die cuts used: pumpkin vine, birds, inside mat

11. The Crafters Cafe #255: Embossing -- dry embossed panel underneath pumpkin vine

Thanksgiving Poppies

 I'm sharing my 4x6" art today for this week's Sunday Postcard Art theme of "Poppies" and combining it with Thanksgiving, as I have enough Veterans Day decorations for my art corner. So, I'm giving poppies another chance to shine.

This is my finished card that I am currently displaying on the table in our front door foyer. 

Paper: Springhill white card stock, recycled chipboard

Images: Flavia calendar page

Ink: Promarkers

Dies: IO and MFT grass, Lawn Fawn grass and clouds, Memory Box poppy, Spellbinders Classic Scalloped ovals, Little B large scalloped circle

Other: N/A

I used 7 dies on this card, most of them already die cut and in my leftovers pile from previous projects. 3 kinds of grass, scalloped ovals and clouds, all cut out of white card stock and ready to color with my Promarkers.

I added freshly die cut poppies to the mix and got started coloring. The focal point of this piece is a very old page I kept from a Flavia calendar I once had. Each page had one of her quotes. I wanted all the poppies red so I simply colored them. ;-)

So here is everything I used all colored up and ready to collage. The base of the card, by the way, is the thin chipboard backing that USPS puts into the cellophane package with each sheet of stamps sold online. HUGE waste of paper and plastic on their part but great source of card bases for me! I simply cut to the size I need.

I popped the two top stitched clouds up with foam tape. There are two layers of different grass die cuts along the bottom, with a third layer of grass clumps on the top of that, colored in contrasting shades of green. 

The poppy die cuts are tucked between the card and the grass layers. Glue dots on the flowers hold them in place adding a tiny bit of dimension. 

Makes me think of days from my childhood, laying on the grass on my stomach, looking out through the grass at a glorious visage of nature, with a canopy of clouds hovering over me. Not that I ever lay in a poppy field, lol, but this would be what it would look like. Quite peaceful. No wonder Dorothy took a nap, haha.

And a final view. One more home decoration for my art corner and beyond. Poor Honey, every time he turns around, a new little nook or cranny has been redesignated for my art. I am so blessed he's so supportive, always grabbing his cheaters to lovingly admire my latest make.

Thanks for dropping by and I hope your weekend is everything you've planned. Stay well and safe, XOX

MY CHALLENGE PLAYLIST:

1.  Sunday Postcard Art: Poppies

2.  Creative Fingers #196: AAG (entry #3/3)

3.  Creatalicious Challenge #198: AG -- Option not played this time (entry #3/3)

4.  Scrapping4Fun #179: Give Thanks/Thanksgiving/Gratitude  

5.   Crafty Gals Corner #213: Thankful  

6.   TTCRD for Week 11/10: AAG -- (entry #1/2)

7.   Die Cut Divas Nov.: Thanks/Thanksgiviing -- used Poppy, clouds, scalloped ovals and grass dies (entry #1/4)

8.   Crazy 4 Challenges C4C560: Thanks/Thanksgiving

9.   Outlawz Paper Saturdays 11/7-11/20: Give Thanks

10. Paper Funday #23: AG + Opt. Give Thanks/Thankful/Grateful

11. The Crafters Cafe' #254: AG -- (maximum of 11 challenges; entry #2/5)