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I spent time over the last couple of days creating Teapot Challenge cards, using the Bingo one, this week's sketch with last week's Teapot Challenge. Some weeks are better than others for spending in my craft room. I think the Teapot Challenges motivated me to participate in as these cards will be mailed quickly and not left sitting in my room.
Answering your question, ideally a couple of hours most days. But it's also my computer space, so it can be longer but not necessarily creating; theres always some commenting to be done, and stuff like prepping challenges and so on. I used to have the time and energy to make a card every day, but as work has got busier, and during my dad's last couple of years, that's no longer the case. It started out as my creative therapy when my mother died and I was finding it very hard to play the piano.
DH jokes that I live upstairs and he lives downstairs, but really that's not true.
Aww! Sabrina, I am glad you are still able to get in your craft room even if it's not a card a day. Your cards are gorgeous. I have my space on the first floor so that I am right here where all the action is! When we first moved in it was a dining room, then it was a guest room, for a short time when our son was really struggling I moved the kids down here to sleep (he went to sleep quickly and soundly for the first time in his little life and I wondered why I hadn't thought of it earlier!!) and NOW it's my art space!
I spent time over the last couple of days creating Teapot Challenge cards, using the Bingo one, this week's sketch with last week's Teapot Challenge. Some weeks are better than others for spending in my craft room. I think the Teapot Challenges motivated me to participate in as these cards will be mailed quickly and not left sitting in my room.
I am so glad you have been inspired by the challenges! That is awesome!
A large flower in fall colours sounds good. I'd like a rose in rich reds and oranges. I think my biggest floral stamp is a rose, followed by sunflowers. But yesterday and today are full-on 5 hour mornings in work, and the rest of yesterday went in showing Flat Stanley the local highlights, so there are a few chores lines up for today.
How interesting that it made such a difference to your son's sleep when you moved him downstairs. Feeling less isolated?? My recurring bronchitis that took me out of school for a couple of weeks each year disappeared for about 35 years after I moved to a downstairs bedroom...it was much drier, with the kitchen range on one side and the living room fireplace on the other.
Sabrina, your large flowers sound beautiful! We will just have to imagine your card!
Yes. Poor baby. He had SO MANY issues. My DH worked nights so I was on my own and it was so exhausting. He would cry and cry. He wanted to hold my hand until he fell asleep and I just couldn't stand there all night. I was amazed at the difference when I moved him down here. I think just knowing that I was near made the difference but also Elisabeth was in the room with him. Sometimes I am in awe with all we went through, he is now a senior in college and thinking of pursuing his Masters!
Alrighty, the CAS is up and it's all about FALL so I want to know, has Fall reached you yet?
NOPE. We are about 15 degrees hotter than normal for this time of year. We have been in the high 90's for several weeks now. Gasp!
For all of you stencil lovers the TLC760 has a challenge for that! I hope to to try it!!!
Do you have a favorite stencil? Link us to a card that you have recently uploaded featuring a stencil.
I am not sure I have a favorite yet but I am enjoying using stencils! Here is my most recent upload with a stencil and I can see this one becoming a favorite. Christmas Cheer
Our leaves are turning and starting to fall, there are blackberries to pick from the hedgerows, our plum and damson trees have ripe fruit and the sloes are almost ripe enough for picking - yes, autumn is definitely in the air!
I used two of my favorite stencils today for the TLC challenge. The Tim Holtz Sun burst and my CDD cloud stencil (although you can't tell).
We've had some nice fall days and I think it's going to feel quite fall ish while I'm away. I'm flying out to St Louis right now. Where I hear it's going to be 90. Do we know anyone in St Louis?
I couldn't possibly pick a favourite stencil - and I think there's a mismatch between favourite and most-used. The TH brick wall is probably one of my most used - and I did use it today for the TLC. But my favourites are more floral, leafy and abstract swirly ones.
It's definitely autumn here - the blackberries are ripening fast, my Chinese Lanterns are a gorgeous orange, a lot of leaves are down in the recent high winds, and the mornings are a LOT colder.
Joanne, our local greengrocer had English damsons (as well as the most delicious grapes (French) that I've had since the year we were in Zakynthos in September) so I bought a couple of punnets. I've been enjoying damson sauce on my oatmeal for the last few days .
I need to find local sloes - we got a bumper harvest two years ago, but it was a two and three quarters hour drive from here - which is a bit far when you're not guaranteed to get any. I remember once getting several bags full at the Scripture Union adventure centre down in Wicklow. The following year, DH and the warden went out to the fields to check, and came back with 1, yes, ONE single sloe from the same field.
I think sloes have good and bad years Sabrina, maybe something to do with frost and/or wind at blossom time? If I’m right about the cause then saying we’ve got a good crop isn’t going to guarantee you’ll get the same since local conditions will vary.
Jen, you asked whether the stencil was the background for the octopus - yes. I did shift it (deliberately!) to get some subtle shading for a more watery effect.
Joanne, I loved the Cephalopod hugs! and I can see why you enjoy using "Desert Island Discs".
Jennifer your card was so cute! I love seeing cards made with the TH Sunburst!
Sabrina, your TLC card is fabulous!
I had to go look up what a sloe is. And now I know!
I couldn't think which stencil was my favorite but after reading the discussions I know which one I use the most and for now it's my favorite. I really liked the MFT cloud stencil but now my favorite is the Picket Fence Studios Cloud stencil. It has BIG loopy clouds and openings for long lean clouds. It creates really interesting cloud patterns.
My all time favourite bear stamp is a beautiful photo-realistic one from Darkroom Door, I don’t think I’ve uploaded a card using it to the gallery so I’ll add one here.
Do you have sloes in the US and call them something different? They grow on a hedge we call blackthorn and for an extra brownie point from Sabrina there’s an extra Irish connotation - blackthorn is the traditional wood for shillelaghs. It may be a European plant that hasn’t travelled, I guess.
Wow! That is a gorgeous! That bear does not look like a stamp! I can see why it's your favorite!
No. I have never heard of sloes before.
This is what wikipedia says: Prunus spinosa, calledblackthornorsloe, is a species offlowering plantin the rose familyRosaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa.<sup id="cite_ref-rushforth_3-0" class="reference" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap; font-size: 12.6px;">[3]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-dvf_4-0" class="reference" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap; font-size: 12.6px;">[4]</sup>It is also locallynaturalisedinNew Zealand,Tasmaniaand eastern North America.<sup id="cite_ref-dvf_4-1" class="reference" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap; font-size: 12.6px;">[4]</sup> The fruits have been used to make sloe gin in Britain, and the wood used for making walking sticks or the shillelagh by the Irish.
I was thinking the same thing Joanne, Canada and maybe a few North Eastern states. I have lived a lot of places but I haven't lived in the North East part of the US so I really don't know.
Plenty of choice there. Surprisingly for someone with a huge bird stamp collection, I didn't use any of those. Just posting this now I am thinking that even some buildings have wings...now, that would be a fun art journal page. But I'm not sure I have any solo wing stamps...
I probably have to pick up some shopping on the way home from work, and then start the naan bread for dinner but then I should have time to stamp (and die-cut), DH will be home late. I have a cute Verve pumpkin stamp with a little bear peeking out of it. I spotted a can on pumpkin in the cupboard the other day, but DH says he thinks he wouldn't like pie. I don't know that he's ever had it, but I'm not sure I can eat a whole one myself.
Mmmmm...maybe DH would try a bit and like it! My family loves it with whipped cream on top. I like a couple of bites but I wouldn't be able to eat an entire pie either.
The MIX looks like fun and the F4A makes me hungry!
I spotted a can on pumpkin in the cupboard the other day, but DH says he thinks he wouldn't like pie. I don't know that he's ever had it, but I'm not sure I can eat a whole one myself.
Do you think he might go for soup Sabrina? A lot of recipes call for a whole pumpkin but then blend it so I can’t see why starting with a can of purée wouldn’t do just as well! This recipe specifically starts with the canned stuff, adding onions and spices - sounds good to me (although the chicken stock would get subbed for vegetable boullion round here and it probably wouldn’t get the cream, either!): Easy Pumpkin Soup - The Salty Marshmallow
Mmmmm...maybe DH would try a bit and like it! My family loves it with whipped cream on top. I like a couple of bites but I wouldn't be able to eat an entire pie either.
The MIX looks like fun and the F4A makes me hungry!
He's very adventurous in some aspects of food and not in others. If he's decided he's not going to like something, it's hard to shift him. I'll tryistb things at least once, and trained myself into liking olives.
Soup's s possibility, yes, especially if I don't tell him what it is ;-).
My family doesn’t like anything pumpkin. None of it is tempting... now if it were only that way with everything!! ;)
( I like the seeds roasted with salt)
(and that's about it)
I don't have that big of a sweet tooth so, I don't actually eat Pumpkin pie but, my BIL makes a bread out of it that is really similar to zucchini bread so, that's ok as a once a year thing ( I piece not the whole loaf)
The TLC is up. I just watched the video tutorial. It looks like a lot of fun. I don't have the same tools as she does but she did say the punched slot could be made with an exacto knife. It looks like an interactive card I could do!
Also, this week's Featured Stamper is JanTink! Jan's cards are so fun and colorful. The SCS Challenges never close so it's not too late to create a card and celebrate our Featured Stamper!
Make sure to let us know if you make a Flip Flap card! I don't want to miss it!
The TLC is up. I just watched the video tutorial. It looks like a lot of fun. I don't have the same tools as she does but she did say the punched slot could be made with an exacto knife.
The slot is probably too far in for a Crop-o-Dile or similar but if you have the type of eyelet hole punch you hit with a hammer you can use it to make neat ends for a slot cut with a craft knife. Mark where your slot starts and ends, make a hole with the punch in each of those places then lay your ruler to join up the outer edges of each of those holes and cut along with the knife. You get nice rounded ends to the slot, as you would with the kind of punch she’s uses in the tutorial. Hope that makes sense, shout if not and I’ll do some demo photos in the morning!
The slot is probably too far in for a Crop-o-Dile or similar but if you have the type of eyelet hole punch you hit with a hammer you can use it to make neat ends for a slot cut with a craft knife. Mark where your slot starts and ends, make a hole with the punch in each of those places then lay your ruler to join up the outer edges of each of those holes and cut along with the knife. You get nice rounded ends to the slot, as you would with the kind of punch she’s uses in the tutorial. Hope that makes sense, shout if not and I’ll do some demo photos in the morning!
Joanne, that is a very clever idea for making slots with neat ends. I still have, occasionally use, my spring-loaded Fiskars tools. I'll definitely try this. The punch I used made an unnecessarily wide slot, though that didn't impact the mechanics in any way.
That would be perfect Kathy. I resisted buying one as I already had the tool you hit with a hammer and various size tips for it as well as the Crop-o-Dile and figured for the number of times I want to make a hole in something I couldn’t justify the cost or storage space for another tool!
