NEW LISTINGS ON ETSY AND I HAVE BEEN WORKING HARD (for a change)

If you saw my right side bar, you know what I have been doing.  I have spent the last 3 weeks reading, experimenting, deleting, adding, re-arranging, clipping, enlarging everything it seems like.  I have been playing with my PRINTMASTER program. It's not new, I have had it for a couple of years, my original copy I bought when I got my FIRST computer (back in the dark ages of 2003 and Windows XP.  I never did much with the original except make business cards and labels for my crafted items and a few other odds and ends.  Three weeks ago I decided that I had to figure out how to make the beautiful tags I keep seeing on ETSY and other sites and I started exploring my PRINTMASTER program. I know I haven't scratched the surface of this program, but I have managed to do some neat things.  I wish I had the money for PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS, but I don't and I will have to sell a lot of stuff to get it.  PRINTMASTER has some neat stuff on it, if you can figure out how to access it. It is cheap enough at $10 at STAPLES.  So here goes. These are some of the things I have managed to put together:

The program will auto crop these shapes (I wish it had more shapes that I want like scalloped shapes, hearts, squares etc) But I will deal with what I have for now. These are the simple tags. I have printed out elements and cut them out, created some background sheets, and collected ribbons, stickers, yarns, lace and such to use on more elaborate designs to post later. I have spent hours and hours and several ink cartridges getting this together. I will be posting tags on ETSY every day for a while (that takes almost as much time as creating does, and we won't even start on photographing everything!!!!). Anyway, as the old radio announcers used to say~ Ya'll stay tuned, the best is yet to come!!

Blessings to all~

Smiles and hugs~

Mary

TAG TUESDAY ~ RECYCLE THE TRASH!!

OK guys!!  Look at your calender ~ today is Wednesday and I am posting to Tag Tuesday !!! Will wonders never cease.
Rebecca came up with a challenge that is right up my alley.
Recycle the trash.  I save stuff. I come from a long line on both sides of my family that save stuff.  Why buy new if you already have old that works!!! My moto. My grandmother Nelson saved all her Christmas cards and cut out the designs and glued them to white tissue paper for fancy wrapping paper before my mother was born.  That was over 90 years ago.  And then she would save those she used and recycle them again. I know. I found a box of them. Some of them were almost 3D from all the old tissue and glue on the back of them. So I have a long and distingushed history to continue.
Now a bit of confession.  Last week (I missed) the theme was flower pots. I swear on a Bible that this was the tag I had planned! I just never got past collecting all the bits and pieces together. Such seems to be my life these days.  So luckily and by the grace of God, Rebecca decided it was time for a recycle tag. BINGO !!!!!!  I am ready! This morning I finished my tag (even if it SHOULD have been finished a week ago).  I got a reprieve.  Thank you Lord.

  Now I am going to give you something else to go with this..
Here is a pic of the stuff I used BEFORE I did my magic thing to all the bits and pieces.

In this picture you see: 1 old church bulletin, 1 end of a Nutty bar box (compliments of my darling Don), blue wrapping paper that I rescued from the trash at my bridal shower 2 1/2 years ago (even though I told them 100+ times to save EVERY SCRAP), a small piece of foam board (left over from cutting templates), and the selvege trimmed from a rather pretty piece of SUSAN WINGATE fabric from at least 20 yrs ago. Not bad huh!! 100 % recycled (except for the glue stick I used to hold it all together!). I haven't figured out how to recycle glue sticks yet (but I am working on it). Oh I forgot the paint I used to paint the flower pot.  It wasn't real new, it was old (several years) but not recycled.

I think some one should start an altered art challenge of 90 to 100% art from recyled supplies.  If they have already, I just haven't found it yet.  If you know of one please let me know.

Ok here is the link to Rebecca's challenge. You have lots of time to show you stuff and join us !!

Here you go ~ http://bellesouth-blogchallengegarden.blogspot.com/2011/09/recycle-trash-tag.html

I hope you join us over a Rebecca's and I hope you have a blessed week. 

Mary

TAG TUESDAY

Well it is Monday again and I am just under the wire for Tag Tuesday. Again. Things have been quiet on the home front. The weather has been great, cool and dry.
It feels like fall. At last. Thank you Lord. Of course it will warm up some more, back into the low 90's, but I can stand that, just not anymore 100's. Til next year.

OK here is my entry in Tag Tuesday this week.
http://bellesouth-blogchallengegarden.blogspot.com/2011/09/tag-tuesday-moon-and-question-for.html

The subject was 'moon'. The background image came from a Sunday bulliten at my church a while back.  I save all of them.  They have such pretty pics on them and words I can cut out to save ink.
Like I said above I am in fall state of mind. 
Hope you go and check the other ladies art work.  They are all talented ladies. 
Mary

TAG TUESDAY ENTRY AND ANOTHER GIVEAWAY TO CHECK OUT

Well another Monday finds me entering a tag for Tag Tuesday  http://bellesouth-blogchallengegarden.blogspot.com/  just under the wire one more time.  I have had it on my work table for 4 days to glue together and just didn't get it done. Been getting ready for our tropical storm Lee to bring us some much MUCH needed rain. He has and I am happy.  Back to the challenge, there are more entries this time than before which is great, the more the merrier.  So check it out for some great art work from some really talented folks. 

I was in a pink sorta mood.  Still am.  I am having trouble glueing ribbons and lace to both painted and non painted card stock. I punched to holes behind the bow, run a thread thru the back of the flower and thru the holes and tied it on, and then added some more glue to make sure the knot wouldn't come undone.  What kind of glue do you all use to glue lace, fabric and ribbon on card stock (painted with acrylic paints or plain)????  Tacky glue and glue sticks don't work!!.  Thanks for any help.
Now for a new giveaway!!  This one ends Sept 9th so once again not much time!!!  http://kylieskraftroom.blogspot.com/2011/08/2nd-blogaversary-candy.html

Wow!! she has bunches of stamps and flowers etc 8 dies, bunches and bunches of great stuff.  She is celebrating her 2nd aniversary of her blog.  Lots of great art to look at on her blog too!!  Bunch of folks have entered so you KNOW the prize is huge.  Come on over, I always like company and she doesn't have a huge bunch of hoops to jump thru to enter. Here is pic of the prize and there is a detailed list on the blog. 
So here is several things to do on a quiet holiday afternoon. Hope you all have a great Labor Day and God Bless all of you.
Mary

MORE CHALLENGES & MY VERY FIRST TAG!!

I am really getting into this 'challenge' thing.  I found another one that does a weekly challenge making 'tags'.  Now I have seen all kinds of tags on ETSY and other blogs.  Lots are very elaborate and lots are very simple.  Some use lots of paper, ribbons, yarn, pics, and sometimes lots of lace and beads.  I have looked at lots of tags and decided I wanted to try to make some.  Well, here is my first tag. The challenge over at  http://bellesouth-blogchallengegarden.blogspot.com/ uses a focus word for the theme and you can do anything you like.  Now that is not hard at all. Luck would have it, that I had already been thinking about birds for a 'swap' on another blog (more about that later this week) and had printed some copies of vintage post cards to start playing with.  So this afternoon I got out my box of tags, a bottle of glue, some lace and trims, and started putting my working sketch together.  When I finished the parts I had sketched I decided it need a little bit more and pulled a couple of feathers from an old boa on the shelf.  So here is my entry for Rebecca's challenge at 'Blog challenge Garden' Tag Tuesday. I call it "Bird in a Gilded cage". I used white Ceramcoat 'Pearls' paint for the background,  Aileens 'Twice as Tacky' glue, some gold trim, gold ribbon, a paper bird from a vintage Christmas card, a pink ribbon flower I made, a sharpy pen to draw limbs for the bird to sit on, some old lace, ribbons and of course the recycled feathers. Come and join the fun and create your own tags.
 Please go and check out Rebecca's challenge blog (and check out the past challenge entries) to see some beautiful art work from a bunch of very talented folks.  http://bellesouth-blogchallengegarden.blogspot.com/

Here is my entry:

I WON A GIVEAWAY !!!

I won a giveaway!!  Imagine my surprise. It has been years and years and years since I won anything. I am one of those people that if there were 3 people in a drawing,I would be the last one drawn. Always !! When we were doing craft shows and they were giving away door prizes Mother would win all kinds of things. She truely had the luck of the Irish even though she was mostly Scottish. I have entered all kinds of giveaways on the blogs.  I never come close.  I was floored to see a comment on my blog entry telling me I had won Lorena's giveaway over at Rose Chic Friends (http://rosechicfriends.blogspot.com/ ).  My prize arrived Thursday and it is beautiful. The pics do not do it justice. She painted the beautiful roses on a paper doily and added rhinestone hearts.

And as pretty as the heart pocket is, it is the little fan that I adore.  I am a hot natured person living in the South, where it is hot 3/4 of the time.  I carry a little fan with me all the time.  Now I have a beautiful fan to take to church with me.  It will fit right in my small handbags that I like to carry on Sundays.  I am going to give my friend Rheba one of the tags.  She loves cottage chic as much as I do. 

I have this $1.00 bullentin board hanging over my computer. One of my favorite finds at the thrift store because it is so big and fits right in that space over my monitor. Now I am going to have to decorate my board to go with my pocket.  Trust me, that beautiful pocket will hang there way past Valentine's Day.  Thank you Lorena so very much for drawing my name.  You have boosted my flaging spirits so high during these dreary winter days.
May God Bless you and your loved ones.
Mary