STAR LIGHT STAR BRIGHT ...

Happy Monday everybody!  I hope everyone (where appropriate) had a Happy Thanksgiving.  I truly am blessed and hope to be more mindful of the little blessings that come my way every day.

Have you checked out the new challenge for this week on SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW?  Simon Says Show "STARS".  Hop on over to the blog and check out what the "STARS" of the Design Team have made for you this week!  They are jaw dropping examples of what you can do with STARS!

I'm really in the Christmas spirit and wanted a new "vintage" tree topper for a vintage tree I am creating.  So, I made a vintage "Christmas Star" tree topper featuring a beautiful Santa that I found online and sized to fit my large glittery snowflake aka my "Christmas Star".

I love texture and dimensional pieces.  Even though this image of Santa is one of my all time favorites, I wanted him to appear even more lifelike.  So, I lightly tinted some white Fun Flock to diminish the stark white and make it appear to be aged flocking.  After all, this is a VINTAGE piece!  Then, using my finger, I spread a little glue everywhere I wanted to attach the flocking; the brim of Santa's hat and on his beard, mustache and eyebrows.  I sprinkled the flocking over the glued area, lightly patted it in place and shook off the excess.  Next I pinched some Art Glitter Crystal Ultra Fine Glitter in my fingers and sprinkled it on Santa's flocked beard and hat brim.  I love it when Santa has a magical sparkle about him!  I also added some Rock Candy Stickles to his red hat.  They dry clear but leave a really neat vintage chunky crystal glittery effect.

I stickled around the perimeter of my Santa with Platinum Stickles for an even more vintage look and to better define him. 

When I was little, I remember that crepe paper or something that looked like crepe paper was oftentimes a part of Christmas ornaments.  I took some white crepe paper and sprayed it with my own concoction of Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress Ink Refills mixed with water in a Mini Mister.  That instantly aged the white crepe paper.  Then, using a needle and thread, I gathered the crepe paper into a ruffle that would encircle Santa's head.  I cut another of Santa's head out, only a bit smaller than the one I'd just flocked and stickled.  Using 1/4" Wonder Tape, I attached the crepe paper ruffle to that smaller cut out.  Then I added a piece of vintage red and silver tinsel garland that would also encircle Santa's head.  

 (Here you can see all of the layers behind Santa's head, including the Angel Hair Halo.)

When dry, I popped my Santa head on top of the layers of the big glittery snowflake, the gathered crepe paper, the tinsel garland and the angel hair halo.  Speaking of Angel Hair.... 

 It was also used a lot on vintage Christmas ornaments and tree toppers so I decided to incorporate a little of it onto my vintage tree topper.  I wanted the Angel Hair to represent a halo or a beautiful aura behind Santa's head.  I lightly twisted some Angel Hair onto a thin wire and glued the two ends underneath where my Santa head would go, giving a halo effect.  Above Santa's head, I added 5 gold stars I punched out of a thin piece of gold sheet metal.  Then I stickled them with Platinum Stickles to better match the other metallic embellishments.  I glued them into place on the Angel Hair halo using Glossy Accents. 

I wired the jingle bells onto the exterior limbs of the snowflake.  I love it when they jingle!  And I love the way they accented the ends of the snowflake.  

I used the hard cardboard roll that my thin sheet of metal was stored on as the "sleeve" for my new Christmas Star Tree Topper.  (The top of my tree can just slide down into the hard cardboard roll for it's placement at the top of my tree.)  I covered it with a scrap of Graphic 45 candy cane striped paper and distressed it with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink (from Tim Holtz' Limited Fall Collection).  Then I hot glued my Christmas Star Tree Topper to one side of the roll.  On the back side of the roll, I hot glued another plain large snowflake in the opposite direction of the one on top.  That way, I got a much more interesting snowflake pattern to accent my Christmas Star Tree Topper.

Now all I have to do is slide my new Vintage Christmas Star Tree Topper in place and hopefully it will grace our little vintage Christmas tree for years to come.



Now it's YOUR turn to create something wonderfully vintage or Tim Holtz-ish using STARS.  Then enter it in our Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge.  YOU could be the lucky winner of our generous sponsor's 

 $50.00 CREDIT VOUCHER!!!!  And...if your entry is voted on as one of the TOP THREE entries for the week, you will be recognized for your wonderful art with our coveted TOP THREE BLINKIE to proudly display on your blog.


So, get the stars out of your eyes and into an art project!  I can't wait to see what you've created!
 



 

QUIRKY TURKEYS

If you haven't done so yet, you have GOT to check out Tim Holtz' blog!!!  He's made the cutest "Quirky Turkeys" out of his rosettes.  He's blogged a tutorial and included a pattern for the turkey bodies!!! 

Here is a picture of his "Quirky Turkeys". 

Here is the link to TIM'S BLOG to check it out...
These are so stinkin' cute!!!

SIMON SAYS SHOW TICKETS

Simon Says "Show Tickets!"   Hmm...what to do??  With the holidays fast approaching, I wanted to make something Christmas-y.  But TICKETS ... CHRISTMAS .... how can those two go together?  I'll show you my creation in a minute.  But first ... 

I hope you'll take the time to stop by SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW'S BLOG to see what wonderful creations my Design Team buddies have conjured up for you this week!  It's all about "TICKETS" and their ideas are AMAZING! 

Then, create your own vintage or Tim Holtz-ish style design using tickets and enter them in our challenge!  You could be the lucky winner of our sponsor's most generous gift of a .....

... AND if your entry is chosen as one of the TOP THREE, you will receive special recognition for this honor with a TOP THREE BLINKIE you can post on your blog.


Here is my "TICKET" design.  This big ticket could easily be used as a package decoration or as an ornament on a Christmas tree.

This started out as a plain extra large manila tag (8 1/2" x 4").  I used my Martha Stewart Score Board (I LOVE THAT THING!) and scored 1/4" inside the tag on all sides.  Then used a 1" round punch to clip off the edges...making my extra large tag look like a ticket.  

I used a combination of Gathered Twigs, Stormy Sky, Black Soot, and Tumbled Glass Distress Inks to colorize and distress my big ticket's background.  I then used a combination of the larger and smaller snowflake stamps from Tim Holtz' Mini Holidays 2 and Winterwonder Stamp Sets.  I heat embossed the snowflakes using a mixture of Rangers' Queens Gold and Copper Embossing Powders.  

Finally, I stamped a Ranger Distress Embossing Ink Pad over the entire ticket and covered it with Clear UTEE.  Then, I melted the powdered UTEE; sealing my ticket and leaving a lightly pitted enamel effect.  In the picture below, you can see some of the scoring, the embossed snowflakes and the pitted enamel background.

 I found a wonderful vintage Santa image, sized it to fit my ticket and cut it out.  I used my Tonic Craft Knife Tool to slice the edge of Santa's glove so that I could add more tickets underneath.  Then I glued the Santa in place, leaving under his glove unglued. 
 

I have been anxious to try some of my new Tim Holtz' Christmas die cuts!  I chose to use the Tattered Pine Cone and the Vintage Noel die cuts.  I cut the pine cones out of cream cardstock that I had distressed with Gathered Twig and Walnut Stain Distress Inks.  I cut the pine needles out of a dark green cardstock.  I glued the pine needles in place and then stickled them with three different greens:  Firefly, Eucalyptus and Patina.  I followed the instructions included with the die cut to make the pine cones and set them to the side.  I also added some Eucalyptus and Patina Stickles to the holly leaves on Santa's hat.

I used a red cardstock as the base for the NOEL die cut.  Then I brushed over the letters with Matte Multi Medium and sprinkled NOEL with Siren Art Glitter Dazzlers.  It is like a chunky vintage glitter.  I love the look I achieved with it.

I then added some festive narrow gold ribbon and the Tattered Pine Cones.  Hmmm...it still needed a little something to "lighten" things up a bit.  So, I decided to add some Mini Snowflakes cut from Plain Grungeboard and painted with a Snow Cap Paint Dabber.  When that dried, I covered the snowflakes with Star Dust Stickles to give them that glisten of freshly fallen snow and glued them in place.

Finally, I added the tickets that Santa is holding in his hand.  They were fashioned out of manila tag board that was colored with Fired Brick, Picket Fence and Barn Door Distress Stains.  Then I lightly spritzed over it with Biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist for that subtle shimmer.  Using Tim Holtz' Odds and Ends stamp set, I stamped two plain tickets onto the vintage red background and wrote "NAUGHTY" on one and "NICE" on the other.  Then I glued them underneath Santa's glove.

So, there's my "ticket" for this week's challenge ... an extra large ticket with Santa holding tickets!  If Santa asked you to choose a ticket to describe how you'd been this year...which one would you choose..."NAUGHTY" or "NICE"?

Have a great week and take time to PLAY!!!

WE'RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD...

This week Simon Says Show something for WOMEN ONLY.

I decided to take a trip to Oz and I'm taking my suitcase with me!  I actually started this project a while back and recently completed it.  When I saw this week's challenge, I decided this Wizard of Oz Suitcase was definitely for women.  After all, I think probably more women than men LOVE the Wizard of Oz.  And... let's face it...three of the main characters were female: Dorothy, Glinda the Good Witch and The Wicked Witch.  And...oh, the lessons we can learn from these three gals!  (smile)

I started off with a plain wooden suitcase, just like the one I created with the Butterfly Suitcase a few months ago.  I covered the exterior of the suitcase with those fabulous Magic of Oz papers from Graphic 45.  I also used some of the coordinating Chipboard Tags from sets 1 and 2 for luggage tags and some of the embellishments on the interior.

The front of the suitcase features the main characters from the movie.  Each is holding a little trinket that is so much a part of their characters.  If you're familiar with the story, you know that the Cowardly Lion found his "courage" while on the road to Oz.  Here, he is wearing his little Courage Medal given to him by the Wizard.  It was made from a small cross that I purchased at a local craft store.  I went online, found the actual medal from the movie, sized it and glued it on top of the cross using Glossy Accents.  Then I added the little red and white ribbon to look like the medal in the movie.

The Tin Man received a "heart" from the Wizard...a ticking clock in the shape of a heart.  I found a plain little red heart charm, added the chain and the clock face that I sized on my computer to fit the heart.  Then I went around the edges with Platinum Stickles.  

The Wicked Witch is holding a crystal ball charm that I found at a local craft store.  Remember her big crystal ball in her scary room in the castle?  More about that later ....

The Scarecrow was hoping that the Wizard of Oz could give him "a brain".  Upon his meeting the Wizard, he was given a diploma.  Here I have made my own diploma on my computer.  I distressed it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and went around the edges with Platinum Stickles.  

Dorothy is wearing a little bracelet, showing off her feisty terrier, Toto and her ruby slippers are accented with Xmas Red Stickles.  You will see those ruby red slippers again on the interior of the suitcase!

All of the characters on the front are cut from one piece of Graphic 45 Paper.  Aren't they great?

The back side of the suitcase features more of these amazing graphics from the Magic of Oz papers.  The pocket itself features the theme for the whole suitcase..."The Magic of Oz" with the Scarecrow and the Tin Man looking on.  I went all around the exterior of this with Platinum Stickles...a great accent tool when working with vintage. 

I have created a pocket to hold a Song Book; complete with all of the song lyrics from the Wizard Of Oz Movie.  I created the pages of the book on my computer and printed them out on newsprint; so they would look and feel older.  The cover of the book is taken from two 6x6 squares from the Magic Of Oz papers.  There are so many wonderful graphics on these 12x12 sheets!

The luggage tags on the exterior are taken from the coordinating Chipboard sets and backed with some of the blue and white gingham paper from the paper stack.  I distressed them with Vintage Photo and attached them to the handle with some blue and white fiber-ish cording.

All of the hardware on this suitcase was originally shiny silver.  I altered its appearance by using Metallic Mixative Gold and then Ginger Alcohol Inks.  I also used this same combination on the little hinges.  It coordinated perfectly with the beautiful rich vintage tones in the papers.

The interior of the suitcase is very intricate and tells the story of the Wizard of Oz.  The back paper is taken from a different paper stack and features the Emerald City.  Popped in front are all of the main characters on the yellow brick road, making their way to Oz.  Up in the sky, the Wicked Witch is flying by on her broom, writing her ominous words "SURRENDER DOROTHY" in Gunmetal Stickles. 

Along the way, they encounter a poppy field.  The paper background on the fold down is another of the Graphic 45 papers covered with poppies; distressed with Vintage Photo and sprayed with Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls Mist.  The poppies in THIS field are actually taken from a white silk hydrangea plant.  I sprayed the flowers with (appropriately enough) Oriental Poppy Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.  I sprayed the corsage leaves with Sunflower Sparkle Mist and hot glued them in place.  I loved the large image of the Scarecrow on the left and made my own gate fold mini book to show all of the characters in the movie.

 All of the characters in this book are from one sheet of the paper in this collection!  I cut them out, mounted them onto a piece of 2.5 x 3.75 sheet of black cardstock.  I put them in the order that they appeared in the movie.  I accented all of the pictures with Platinum Stickles.  The little closure on the front of the book is made with pieces from Tim Holtz' Ideaology line:  Hitch Fasteners, a Charm Clip, a piece of Lace Chain and a Chain Tassle.  The tickets across the bottom are also from the Chipboard Tags that match the Magic Of Oz papers; mounted on black cardstock and Platinum Stickles run around the edge.  I also ran just a hint of Antique Gold Rub N' Buff around the edge of the black cardstock.  The little book is then mounted on a piece of green paper with Tim Holtz' Metal Corners used as accent pieces on the four corners.

Lift up the pull down and you will be making your way down the yellow brick road.  "There's No Place Like Home" is another of piece of the Chipboard Tags.  I altered it just a bit by adding some Platinum Stickles around the edge, two red brads that have been topped with Christmas Red Stickles and a piece of red sequins put into place using 1/8" Wonder Tape.

 As you know, when Dorothy's house fell into Oz, it fell on the Wicked Witch's sister.  The House is Tim Holtz' Rickety House die cut that has been painted with a cream acrylic paint.  I used pieces of Mica (torn from a thin sheet) in the windows to represent broken glass.  The house is outlined with Platinum Stickles and distressed with Vintage Photo, Black Soot and Walnut Stain Distress Inks.  The witch's legs are taken from yet another of the wonderful graphics from the paper stack and glued as if the house has just landed on the Wicked Witch!

Making her entrance in her floating bubble, Glinda sweeps across the fields onto the yellow brick road.  Glinda is yet another of the graphics found among these papers.  She is highlighted with Fruit Punch, Cotton Candy Pink and Stardust Stickles.  She is mounted on a piece of glittery paper and then adhered to half of a plastic Christmas ornament ball that I bought at a local craft store.  Then I glued her into place using Glossy Accents and went around the perimeter of the bubble with Stardust and Waterfall Stickles.  I love how she really looks like she's floating in a bubble!

Now for my favorite part of this suitcase....the compartments in the bottom!

I covered the inside of the suitcase with Dorothy's signature blue and white gingham pattern from her dress.  I loved this paper and knew the second I saw it that it would be the lining of my suitcase.  Remember the picket fence that was all around Dorothy's farm house?  Well, these compartments were formed by cutting chipboard into strips and topping them off using Tim Holtz' On The Fence die cut.  I painted each strip with Picket Fence Distress Crackle Paint and let it dry.  Then I lightly distressed each one with Weathered Wood Distress Ink.  Next, I love the heart paper from the paper stack and used it on each compartment.  The edge is done with Tim Holtz' Mini Scallop On The Edge die cut.  They are lightly distressed with Black Soot Distress Ink and glued onto the "fence" compartments.

Each compartment is filled with special pieces from the movie:

Dorothy's Ruby Slippers - little silver doll ballet slippers that I covered with Christmas Red Stickles.

The Scarecrow's Diploma - a larger version of the diploma that the Scarecrow is holding on the front cover.

The Tin Man's heart.  This is a clear plastic heart ornament that I painted with a Christmas Red acrylic paint on the INSIDE of the heart; so that the exterior would be smooth and shiny.  It took a couple of coats for good coverage.  Then I sized a larger clock face to glue onto the heart with Glossy Accents.  I also went over the clock face with the Glossy Accents so that it would give the face some dimension.  When dry, I went around the perimeter of the clock face with Silver Stickles.  The heart has a thick silver chain on it and it is attached to the wall of the suitcase with a brass 7 Gypsies hook.

Glinda's magic wand was made from a dowel rod, painted silver and wrapped in tulle with Silver Stickles added for that extra "magical sparkle".  The star on the top is a mini Christmas ornament I bought at a local craft store and hot glued to the top of the dowel rod.  "There's No Place Like Home" is a piece of ribbon that I had and I think it fits perfectly!  

The Hour Glass is one that I purchased online.  I have done nothing to it.  It looks so much like the Wicked Witch's Hour Glass that I didn't think it needed any further embellishing (smile).   

Finally, my favorite piece....the Wicked Witch's Crystal Ball.  Remember when she had Dorothy locked up inside her tower?  She turned over the hour glass and told Dorothy that she would be alive as long as the sand was running through the hour glass.  Dorothy was crying over the crystal ball when all of a sudden, Auntie Em's image began to appear.  Dorothy called out to Auntie Em, trying to reach her and then the image began to fade.....

only to be replaced by the haunting image of the Wicked Witch, laughing that screeching, sinister laugh.  The crystal ball is a clear plastic ornament that splits in half.  I found an image of Auntie Em and of the Wicked Witch online and sized them to fit the ornament.  I glued them back to back and then glued them into the ornament.  The base of the crystal ball is a wooden wheel that fit perfectly for the base.  I painted it with a Gold Paint Dabber and then mounted the crystal ball on top of it.  I embellished the base with another strand of the red sequins and a little pair of ruby slippers taken from The Magic of Oz papers.

So, there you have it...my Wizard of Oz suitcase.  My daughter has already told me that I better will it to her (smile) because she loves the Wizard of Oz as much as I do!!

My amazing Design Teammates at SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW have created some really extraordinary "WOMEN ONLY" pieces for you to see!  Hop on over to our blog and check them out.  Then create your WOMEN ONLY piece and enter it into our challenge.  You could be the lucky winner of our sponsor's amazing ...

$50.00 credit voucher!!!  How cool is THAT?  And...if your creation is deemed as one of the TOP THREE entries, you will receive out coveted Top 3 Blinkie Award to be displayed on your blog.

Okay everyone....time to make something for WOMEN ONLY!!!

I WON!!!!

I am so excited that I'm doing a Snoopy Dance!!!  

Karen Hall aka "Kaz" of THE LITTLE SHABBY SHED notified me this morning that I have won the prize in her giveaway.  It's a "Doolally Dorris" Stamp Set by that wonderful artist, designer and NEWLY ANNOUNCED SENIOR DESIGNER FOR RANGER INDUSTRIES..... (drum roll..... ta-dah.....) DYAN REAVELEY of Art and Soul.  Here is a link to her online store ART FROM THE HEART.

I have really been intrigued by Dyan's art.  It's so unique and fun.  When my friend, Kaz became a part of Dyan's design team, I became even more interested in Dyan's work.  Her journal work and her products are incredibly cool.  Check her out!!

Here is the stamp set I've won...

I have recently purchased some of her other stamps...I'm waiting on them to arrive so I can play play play!!!

Thank you, Kaz for this wonderful giveaway!  I never win anything so when you notified me this morning that I had won, I about wet my pants!!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day...I know I am!!!

SIMON SAYS RECYCLE

It's another Monday and you know what that means....another SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW CHALLENGE!  This week, Simon Says "RECYCLE!"

I chose to recycle a couple of things; a plain wooden frame, a Christmas napkin and some Tim Holtz packaging from his Muse Tokens.  Combining all of those things, I came up with this cute little "glitzy" vintage/retro Christmas decoration.  As a child, I remember lots of shiny tinsel and sparkly things at Christmastime.  So, I tried to incorporate some of my childhood recollections into this piece.

I started with a plain wooden frame that measures 8 1/2" x 6".  The opening in the center is suitable for a 4" x 6" picture or, in this case, my own little recycled packaging collage of retro Santa faces.

I began with just the wooden frame, a Christmas napkin and some Ranger Natural Melt Art Beeswax.  Instead of using my craft sheet underneath this piece, I used a piece of wax paper on top of newspaper.  If you get beeswax on your craft sheet, it's a dedicated beeswax craft sheet from them on!  So, when working with beeswax, use wax paper underneath your work.  I heated the beeswax in my Ranger Melting Pot and then brushed two or three light coats onto the front and sides of the plain wooden frame.   (When you do this, use an old craft brush because once it comes in contact with the beeswax, it will be a dedicated beeswax brush!)   
Then I gently used my heat tool to smooth out the beeswax. 

Next I laid the Christmas napkin on top of the beeswax and positioned it how I wanted the design to appear on the frame.  Then I took my Hot Wax Art Stylus (similar to a little quilter's seam iron) and pressed it onto the napkin until the wax began to seep through.  I repeated this all over the front and sides of the frame until the napkin was soaked into the beeswax.  Then I turned the frame over and adhered the napkin to the back of the frame using the same technique.

To give the frame some extra "umph", I lightly brushed Perfect Pearls over portions of the frame with the larger Perfect Pearls brush.  First Sunflower Sparkle followed by Forever Red on some of the poinsettias.  Finally, I added a little Kiwi and then some Forever Green to some of the leaves.  I wish you could see the shimmer and iridescence that the Perfect Pearls add!

I added a snowflake in the lower corner of the frame by adding a little more beeswax in that area and then pressing a rubber stamp snowflake into the hot beeswax.  Let it cool and then pull up the rubber stamp.  I then smoothed out the remaining beeswax around it with the hot wax stylus and added some Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls to the snowflake.  It's a subtle but neat way to add detail to beeswax pieces.

To further add some "glitz", I added some sparkly accents to the frame with Patina and Platinum Stickles.   (If you wanted to just make the Christmas frames, you could stop here, stick a 4x6 picture in it and have inexpensive but lovely Christmas frames to keep for yourself or give as gifts.)

Now that the basic frame was finished, I began to alter the The Muse Token packaging to fit in my open space.  It has twelve 1" round bump ups that accommodate the Muse Tokens.  So, I chose to take advantage of those little bump ups to showcase Retro Santa faces.  I went through my files of Vintage and Retro Santas and found several that I liked.  These Santas are so familiar to me!  When I was a child, these were the Santa faces I remember.  

I cropped them into circles and sized them like inchies ....1".  Then I printed them out on a sheet of quality paper and punched them out using a 1" Round Punch.  I inked the edges with a Chestnut Roan Cats Eye Ink Pad.  

Next I laid them one at a time underneath where the bump up would be and glued them into place.  When I had all my Santas in place, I made or found little knick knacks to put inside of each bump up that is reminiscent of Christmas.  A couple of the Santas are completely covered...but they are there.  Some have little candy canes, little sleigh bells, little Christmas bulbs.  There is a little present, a poinsettia, a little pine cone, a sprig of holly and even snow and a snowflake.  

To keep the items in place, I ran a piece of 1/8" Wonder Tape between the rows of bump ups.  Then I laid the packaging over the Santa faces and pressed it into place.  You could see the Wonder Tape through the clear packaging so I decided to put more 1/8" Wonder Tape on top of the packaging; between the rows of bump ups (just as I had done underneath the packaging).  Then I pressed some sparkly gold and silver Christmas ribbon on top of the Wonder Tape.  I love the result.  The sparkly ribbon better defines the bump ups and adds more sparkle and glitz to my piece!  Gotta love the glitz when you're doing Retro Christmas!

I slipped my new glitzy Retro Santas into the frame but it still needed something to complete my vintage retro look.  I found some gold tinsel pipe cleaners that I rolled up into a sort of flourish design and hot glued them to the upper portion of the frame.  Then I tied three little gold bells to some shiny gold cording and staggered them down the left side of the frame. 

Finally, I took 5 corsage leaves and wired them together.  I sprayed them with my own color mist of Broken China Reinker and water in a Mini Mister to make them match the leaves in the napkin.  Then I lightly brushed over the leaves with Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls and barely touched the edges of the leaves with Antique Gold Rub On.  Finally I hot glued a Prima Poinsettia on top of the leaves and my vintage/retro Christmas decoration was complete!  Every time I look at it, I am taken back to my childhood Christmases with the old fashioned light bulbs on our Christmas tree, dripping with long silver tinsel.  I can almost hear Bing Crosby singing "Jingle Bells".  I have to admit, when I was working on this piece, I wasn't sure where it was going or if I would like it all that much. But, when it all came together ... I love it!

Isn't it amazing what you can do with packaging?  I blogged a few months ago that Tim says never throw packaging away...because it really is useful in projects.  This is a perfect example of that!!  Now, go look at your Tim stuff and see if you don't start to see all of that packaging in a whole new light!!  (smile) 

Here is a piece I made last year using Tim Holtz' Ideaology Time Piece packaging, a 5x7 canvas, Ten Seconds Metal that I dry embossed and sanded, a scrap of Tim Holtz' Seasonal Paper Stash, some green tinsel garland beneath some little die cut flowers (I think they were the smallest of Tim Holtz' Tattered Florals) that I alcohol inked.  The pictures in the round bump ups are very special ones.  They are family pictures starting with myself and my brother when we were very young, sitting on Santa's lap; then of my children sitting on Santa's lap and then of my three grandsons' first Christmases on Santa's lap.  Like I said, it's amazing what you can do with some packaging!

Now, let's see what YOU can recycle into something wonderful! If you need more inspiration, stop by SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW!  My Design Team buddies are so creative!  You will be amazed at what they have recycled!!!  Then enter your creation in our challenge.  You could be the lucky winner of our most generous sponsor's weekly random drawing for a .......

and....you could be selected as one of our TOP 3 creations for the week!  So...get that creative thinking cap on and GO FOR IT!!!  Recycle!