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 BLOG CANDY ~ AMY @PAPER TRAILS LEAVER

I just happened across a blog with a giveaway of such great candy (stamps ~ paper ~ embellishments) that I couldn't resist entering one more giveaway.  This one ends Sept 4 and the drawing is Sept 5, so you don't have much time to enter, but oh it would be worth it if you (or I ) win. Amy @ Paper Trails Leavings is have a really really great giveaway.  You just have today and tomorrow to enter so don't even think about it twice.  This is the kind of giveaway that even if you have a lot of 'stuff' already this blog candy would make a great addition. So here is the link  and the picture. Go see her.  http://papertrailsleaver.blogspot.com/2011/08/eeek-500-posts-giveaway.html

  She has beautiful art to look at and be inspired.  
While I have just about every SEWING plaything known to man (except an embroidery machine) I have very (very very ) little in the way of die cuts, stamps, ink, embossers, charms, stickers (and on and on ) that helps to make all these beautiful altered art, mixed media, scrapbook, and cards I keep seeing in blog land.  So I keep entering the candy giveaways. I have won one which has only poured gasoline to my papercrafts fire.  Not only did it have lots of goodies to MAKE papercrafts it also had tags, a journal, and lots of other already made pieces in it.  That  ready make pieces were great because I could touch and study each piece to see how it was put together.  That has helped tremendously because I don't have the money to take classes (which I would give anything to do) and to buy things, especially things I might not really need. So now you guys will understand why I enter so many give aways. Somebody is going to win each one of them and maybe I will win a couple with stamps and ink and diecuts I could really use.
Now you know the rest of my story.  I am really picky.
Wish me luck and pray it really does rain in my neck of the Alabama woods this next week. 
God's Blessings on all of you.
Mary

THINK MONDAY ~ THINK ATC ENTRY

Well, sometimes I go weeks without a post (think computer meltdowns etc) and then I do two in one day.  As ole Pinkie Lee used to say "strange things are happening" and if you are not over 55, you have no clue who I'm talking about! Anyway I made my very first ATC (artist trade card to the unknowing). I don't know what happened to the focus. It may be my eyes. I honestly think I may be losing my eyesight. I think it is time to go see my favorite eye surgeon. 
Anyhoo ~  here is my entry, such as it is.

I colored the keyhole ~ I think I am going to have to take kindergarden coloring 101 over again at 63 LOL. Well, they say everyone goes thru a second childhood in old age. I guess it is my turn.
Here is a link to see some how real artists treated the subject.  http://tmta.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/schlussel-schlusselloch-key-keyhole/
I hope everyone has a great week.
 Now where did I put that practice coloring book?????
Mary

BRAG MONDAY AND TAG TUESDAY

Well I finally finished one project.  I have made a tag for http://bellesouth-blogchallengegarden.blogspot.com/2011/08/tag-tuesday-letter.html  one day before the challenge ended.  Better late than never!!  That should go on my tombstone.  I used an angel that came from Dover books on clip art.  The letter I found on Google images and hand painted it,  and the background is from the Graphic Fairy.  That image I trimmed and turned upside down to suit my purposes.  I love angel images and this past week Tag Tuesday's challenge was the letter "A". So far I think we have all used a different word for the letter A.  That's good, it shows kindred minds with different ideas.  Here is the link to the Brag Monday at the Graphic Fairy.  If you have never been the see the Graphic Fairy, I believe she has the largest collection of FREE images especially in vintage images.  http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/2011/08/brag-monday-antique-chair-candy-bag.html Be sure and go see the entries at Tag Tuesday too, these folks have such varied styles of art from all over the world.  Both are worth the time and effort to check them out.
 I am losing my grip on reality. I almost forgot to post my entry.  Oh well.

The glitter on the wings doesn't show up so well.  I was trying to keep it simple.  Hope ya'll have a great day and week. God's Blessings to each of you.

Mary

1000 SHEETS OF PAPER GIVEAWAY AND 'I'M BACK!!!

First things first.  I am back, finally.  I still haven't recovered much from my computer's meltdown, but I am slowly finding my favorite blogs and sites and some new ones along the way. I truely would not wish a meltdown with no good backup on ANYONE !!  Later on I am going to post some pics from some sites I had collected and can't remember whose work it is. There are 2 such pics of some things I really liked and would like to watch her progress, but lost her blog site in my meltdown and crash.  That's for later.
Now I am going to tell you about one of the largest 'giveaways' I have ever seen for folks that like to work with paper.  Amy at http://athousandsheetsofpaper.blogspot.com  is a blog giveaway in which she will give one lucky person in this whole wide world 1000 sheets of 6x6 inch decorative, scrapbooking, altered art type papers.  But that is not all!!  She is giving away  several second prizes of 200 6x6 sheets and a stamp.  To be truthful while I would be set for life if I won the big prize of a 1000 sheets, I probably, no would be just as happy with one of the second prizes.  I am very stamp poor and don't have hardly any money to buy stamps with, so winning a free stamp (all of them are beautiful!!) would be great for me even if it didn't have 200 sheets of paper.  I have really gotten into the card, tag, journal and scrapbooking thing lately. It's fun, quick, and I like being part of a challenge. You get to meet folks from all over the world and it really doesn't cost so much to have fun.  You get to create something new in a hurry and then see what everyone else did with the same prompt you had.  Fun!! So now you should hop on over to Amy's site and check it out and leave a comment and an entry on your blog if you want a chance at all that paper.  The last day to enter is Sept 23 and the drawing will be on Sept 24,2011. Here is your link http://athousandsheetsofpaper.blogspot.com/2011/08/1000-sheets-for-thousand-sheets-again.html Come on a join the fun ~ the more, the merrier!!!

JULY 16, 2011 THRU SEPT 23,2011

HELP ARRIVED AND I AM BACK ON LINE ~ SORTA

The Dell man came and went in 20 minutes. That's how long it took to put a new hard drive in.  20 minutes. Part of that was paper work !!  Of course it took me two hours to figure out how to 'pin a Favorites tool' on my toolbar.  It still doesn't act like it used to (the toolbar). I guess I am getting too old, I hate change.  I want my old toolbars back, and my favorites list like I had it. I am tired. But I do have a computer back and I am reloading all my software. I am just tired. I don't know enough about computers and I am scared to touch ANYTHING.  I guess that is all for now.  If I live thru getting everything back like I want it I will talk to ya'll in a day or 2.
God please bless ALL of us.
Mary

BACK IN THE SADDLE ~ MAYBE ??

Three weeks ago my computer crashed while shutting down. I messed with it, trying to keep from losing all my clipart and documents. Nothing else mattered. Because we had had attacks on both our computers I had started down loading on cd's my clip art but ran out of discs, I didn't get it finished before it crashed. Was someone up above trying to warn me maybe?? Anyway, I fooled around worrying with the van (transmission is gone in it), finally got my husband's computer up again, and lots of other problems that just would no let go. I finally gave up and called Dell and for once in my life got lucky.  A really nice guy named Deepak tryed to help me.  We could not get him logged on to my computer and nothing we tried with him walking me thru the steps from my end worked.  He asked me how much I valued my documents and clip art. He said if I could lose them I could get my computer a new hard drive for free because it was still under warranty. I hate losing all that but I just don't have the money to pay for saving it.  I can let go. I don't know which is worse losing my favorites lists or my pics I had collected. I am now writing down ANYTHING I add to a favorites list.  There are web sites I like that I may never find again. I am going to make hard copies of my favorite images for my art so I do not have to rely on anything electronic or mechanical. I have a thingy to plug in and back up my computer, but I only used it once and I think I am not going to use it to restore any thing.  I will start from scratch again.  I have learned some lessons, and I am going to put the knowledge to use.  The main thing being hard copy masters of my documents, favorite pics, and favorites list.  I had tried to be scientific about having folders listing my blog followers, the blogs I follow, favorite tutorials, etc., etc., I really tried but there are some sites I may never find again.  I am lucky that I had printed off a lot of clipart to use for new things I am creating to list on ETSY. I can make copies of those to save (some of them from Mind Wide Open, the first challenge I ever entered). That blog is gone now and Gail doesn't have those images available for sale (atleast I haven't found them). I guess I just have to let go of some things.  Over the last 7-8 years I have had to let go of a LOT of things.  I have to remember that I really am lucky because I still have my home, and am still alive and able to function. I have to remember the folks that lost EVERYTHING including family members just a few miles from me in the tornadoes in April. 
Thank you LORD for what I do have and help me handle what I don't have.
The repairman will be here in a few minutes.
Mary