Mrs. Claus' Boots

I am loving Tim Holtz's new Alterations Ice Skating Die and I haven't even used it to make ice skates yet-though that is coming.  Today I used to make Mrs. Claus' boots.  Originally, I wanted to make Santa's boots but upon seeing the finished product I realized they are NOT manly enough to be Santa's boots but are perfect for the wife. 

This photo is form the packaging of the die itself.

I turned them into Witches' boots last month.  

 I love them as Mrs. Claus' boots.  I die cut the skates from Grungeboard.  To embellish them I first cut the blades off and painted the entire boot with Black Soot Crackle Paint.  

When the paint was dry, I added Glossy Accents to the main portion of the boot- avoiding the area around the laces and the heel-and covered it with Black Soot Distress Glitter.  Tim likes to say it looks like glass glitter, but...not so much.  While making the boots, I was also making a pair of skates (for later) using real glass glitter on the blades.   The two sat next to each to dry and I'm sorry to say that the Distress Glitter looks nothing like glass glitter.  However, it is gorgeous and very, very sparkly and I am finding the colors, while at first I thought them a little weird, are perfect and really do add to my projects.  So, I am no longer ONLY addicted to Martha's fine glitters.  Distress Glitter doesn't fly away or static-stick to everything, two huge bonuses. 

When the glitter was all dry I added small back crystals to the area where the laces would go to mimic buttons.  

 I shot another photo-in better lighting- as my husband was packing the car to head to my sister's for Thanksgiving dinner.  You can see the effect of the Crackle Paint on the heel and around the buttons.  

The fun fur trim is actually a mini marabou (from Hobby Lobby) that I simply hot glued into place. 

I hope everyone in America had a terrific Thanksgiving with good food and great company.  I sure did.

November 12 Tags of 2013: Joining Chalkboard Craze

Ok...maybe it is because I haven't touched a craft supply in a month or maybe it was stamp choice or maybe it is because ONLY Tim Holtz can make this technique really work...I have no idea really but my attempt at Tim's Chalkboard Technique was mostly a fail.

Tim made this:

It looks easy enough.  The "trick" (or so he claims) is using Antiquities Frosted Crystal Embossing Powder.  

I have that powder. 

I used that powder.  

I got a hot mess.  

First, I tried it on Black Chalkboard paper. What you are seeing is in fact 3 pine trees and snowflakes ...maybe if you squint?  No?  Try moving the screen back a little?  No?  Hmmm...Ok, so let's try a different stamp.  Maybe it wasn't a good design choice.  Maybe a nice simple line stamp?

Nope!  This is even worse.  The dress all but disappeared (this is also the chalkboard cardstock).  On the other hand, I LOVE the snowflakes (more later).

Third times a charm?  Maybe....this is better at least.  I gave up on the chalkboard cardstock and switched to Ranger's back tags.  This design uses several stamps from Rhonna Farrer's Christmas release from last year.

It is the bird on a complicated swirly nesty thingy, the words "Joyneux Noel" and some random stars.  Can you see that?  I love the images and by adding the crystals...

...I think it looks ok.

My final installment was made using a big bold stamp Tim's that has images of vintage Christmas advertisements called Holiday Past.

I looked better with the chalk, but it made a very boring card.  So I added the sentiment and jewel.  Now you can hardly see the chalk.  What can I say...I cannot leave it undone!

I lay here trying to figure out if I should try again-I threw a few others away without even photographing them- or give up.  I decided to see what other people were doing by checking the Linky on Tim's blog post.  What I found was that the tags either looked worse then mine or looked awesome. Upon further investigation, I found that probably 95% of the "awesome" tags were made using white embossing powder and in fact no chalk was used in the making of the product.  Well, I could have done that!

What I did love about this was the pretty sparkly snowflakes from this tag fail.

I think it is the black cardstock-something that I am not used to using for Christmas designs- with the silver glitter that had me at hello.  I used Ranger's Sticky Embossing Powder and Martha Stewart Fine Glitter in Silver.  After I got disgusted with the chalk technique I played with the glitter and made this...

The camera never picks up all the sparkle.  Maybe I should make a Vine for you.  In any event you can be sure you will see more of this before Christmas is over.  I guess something good came out of my chalk nightmare.  

I hope you day is filled with Sunshine and GLITTER.  Mine will be!

I'm Back...

So...I have been gone awhile.

FIRST, I didn't feel well...AT ALL.

THEN I sliced my finger and had to get 4 stitches.  I can laugh about it now but that night...Ugh.  I was home alone with my 8-year-old, Rick was due to get home in 5 hours but the house was still a mess, dishes not done...you know all those things I intended to get that done right before he gets home.   With no other adult in the house, I had to call my neighbor, Heather, to come take me to the ER and her daughter, Kristen, to please come watch Chase.  Thankfully, Heather is that kind of neighbor and they came right over.  Ryann was at a movie with the boyfriend on her first "date".  Kristen texted Ryann "I'm watching your brother while your mom is at the ER".  You know where this is headed... I get a panicked TEXT from Ryann.  Jeez, you would think the situation would warrant a phone call-her entire generation hates speaking on the phone!

THEN I went to my sister's and saw the amazing P!NK Truth About Love Tour for the second time. The first time we saw her last spring we bought tickets the day of the show and literally sat at the very top of the venue.  Literally, in a folding chair on the edge of the top level.  This time

we saw the show FROM THE FRONT ROW...OMG I cannot even put into words what that experience was like.  She is such an amazing performer but seeing it up close, seeing every facial expression, every dance move...was just perfection.  Karma worked in my favor.... from the last row to the front row.  

The woman has some RIPPED abs.  Why?  Because she does this while she sings

We were so close I actually couldn't get a good photo.  Through the entire show she is LIVE singing while performing circus tricks.  It is insane and yet she sounds AMAZING.

Part of her opening number.

THEN my daughter, Ryann, had her first winter formal and I was busy with shopping for dresses, getting nails done, and thanks to my friend Brandin and the wedding-for-free-hair deal, Ryann had GORGEOUS hair for the dance.

THEN our power went out for 5 days this last week.  Hard to craft when it is 50 degrees in the house and no lights.  After freezing the first night and next afternoon, I packed up the kids and we ended up staying at a hotel for 3 nights.  Rick was...conveniently...flying a FedEx jet all over the country so he missed the fun.

I came home Thursday to power and had to immediately empty the fridge and freezer right into trash bags...

...the only positive that can be had after a power outage...a clean freezer.

Whew... you are all caught up.  Oh, one more thing.  This text is from my 8-year-old Chase.  It still cracks me up.  The picture is Ryann and her boyfriend. It was his first visit to the house and my sister wanted a picture so I told Chase to sneak down and get it.  He grabbed his iPad Mini and snapped this...she never knew.  A month plater he send me this text....

The kid cracks me up.  

Hope your day is filled with Sunshine and GLITTER.

Come back tomorrow for my 12 Tags of 2013 November Edition.