The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge #25; Lovely Leaves... Thanksgiving Thoughts

  I'm typing this as we wait on noontime to get here so we can head out to Iowa for the first leg of our trip up to Red Wing, to visit the younger set of kids and meet our new Grandbaby, James Elliot! I'm all packed and burned the midnight oil just to get this tag done and out before the deadline on Tuesday. So if you've nothing else to do until then... head over to The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog for the guidelines and some awesome makes for inspiration! 
    I hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving Day, and that we all found at least one thing to be thankful for. We are definitely blessed that when we woke up this morning; it was as if we were given a 2nd chance- AGAIN. Pass along a smile or a kind word, and allow that to help heal the divisions among us. Let's at least agree that we can disagree on our views of the world around us, but make room in our hearts to care about the PEOPLE around us! And that's where my "Lovely Leaves" came in... those thoughts of true thankfulness come when we can be content- no matter what our circumstances. I believe there is a full world of folks out there who are still searching for 'happiness' without realizing it's not a SOMETHING to be had. Happiness is a destination. We find ourselves finally getting there long after we stopped looking for it. It's what we DO along the way - putting others first- that brings us closer to any kind of 'happy' in this worldly life. It's the simple things that become big in our life: the sweetness of a small child's hug... the giggles from an almost-8-month old baby girl... the tender moments of being able to view shared photos of a sweet sleeping newborn... knowing your kids are all making their way in this world, and they're doing a pretty darned good job of it, too! Encouraging others, and being encouraged; there's no matching that kind of 'happiness'!
          I set out to make a simple tag that showed what was left off the last Tag; a bit of color. But, without the 'grunge' effect I usually favor. This time, I wanted to go more toward grey and blue than my usual browns and tans. Instead of shading in the colors with darker lines, I decided to opt for 'white wash'... without the washing. Some sanding did the trick.
              
                                So here's a bit on how I did this Tag- without all the usual photos.

Starting with the same choice of papers used on the last project 

(Click Here if you missed it.)

And I gathered up some of the leaves that are fallen from our next door neighbor's 

Sycamore Tree. The Sycamore is Indiana's State Tree and the leaves are extremely huge.

I first set them on the 'air intake’ side of the de-humidifier.

It helped to dry the leaves out really fast during the recent wet weather.

From there, the idea of bottling these crumbled leaves as a momento from

the Summer green leaves of 2019 that changed with the season, and finally came down.

(The Leaf War was a hard fought Win-Lose-Win-and finally-LOST situation in the last weeks.)

Let's just get the snow on them and be done with it, already.

Here's what resulted:

FRONT

The worded/typographied background was made from collaging some 

TH Layered Collection ephemera cards 

(After sanding the edges and inking with Distress Oxide Iced Spruce.)

Using a few popdots helped add a bit of dimension.

The TH Baseboard Frame was edged in TH Crayon Picket Fence.

BACKSIDE

The greyish-blue textured cardstock (The Paper Studio) embossed with the TH Lumber Impresslits Folder,

sanded down and spot-hit-&-miss with a bit of Regular Distress Ink in Pumice Stone made a great-looking weathered wood.

Some Distress Crayon in Pumice Stone helped out as well.

A perspective change of view shows the layering...

... while labeling the bottle with the year...like a good wine saved for later opening and enjoying.

The thankfulness of the 3 Grandbabies added to our family within the last 

2 & 1/2 years is shown inside the TH IdeaOlogy Charm. 

I took those photos at our own lake, after using my Cricut to put the names on the pumpkins.

These were my early Christmas shopping items!!!

I had fun getting to use the new TH Alterations Planks Die here.

I hope you enjoyed this read, and 

here's a huge shoutout of 

THANKS!!

to all those who are checking in to see my latest makes!!

Thanks!!! goes out also to 

The Funkie Junkie Boutique

for picking out my last Tag for their Top 3 Picks!!!

TFJB SPONSORS a random drawing prize for a Gift Certificate

for every Challenge! So...what're YOU waiting for?!

Until next time...

Please;

Be Safe &

HAPPY BLOGGING!!

The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge #24 Fabulous Fall... A Fall Birth Day!

The first part of Fall brings the changing colors of the leaves in beautiful warm shades of red, orange, yellow, and brown. It's the second part of Fall that I don't care too much for; when the leaves all fall to the ground. Some people leave them, and others -like myself-  like to get them all picked up and either burn them, or use them as covering for plants and plots in the yard. I like to just get them up from around the house, and off the roof and out of the gutters first, and get them pushed off into the woods. It's so annoying to clean them all up in the Spring if you can't get the bulk of it done in the Fall. Each year, I call this weekly work "The Battle of the Leaves" with the entire season dubbed as "War of the Leaves". Yes; it's that much of a job. And this year, with that new mower; I was going to win the 2019 War, after coming very close to losing last year. Alas, plans were literally blown away by an earlier-than-usual snowfall and very low temperatures. Unless it melts and dries out (and, I don't end up with another RA flareup)… Spring is going to be a tough mudder. 

      While I knew there'd be some kind of 'Fall' theme going on, my first thought was less enthusiastic than most carefree yards without trees. Then I got a look at the Lead Designers' makes on TFJB Challenge Blog Page - especially Cec Wintonyk's- and it got my ArtMuse off and running. I've been thinking most days about the new Baby Larimore's arrival (he had a due date of November 18th), and of the picture in my mind of having all our Grandbabies jumping into piles of leaves here at Memaw and Papaw's. I named each as a nut...fruits from the Family Nut Tree. Since peanuts grow on the ground (and our Sawthrun Family grows 'em), the first Grandchild became "Peanut" from the first moment we saw his ultrasound photo. Then came the budding little girl- who became Princess Pistachio. So this new one is Pecan- the more 'gourmet' type since his parents love to cook that way- with that touch of Southern in him. My problem was: after I got the things together I wanted to use in this project... I couldn't figure out an easy way to make it look the way I wanted.  And then, Paula Cheny made a tag that inspired the way I'd do mine: 

Click Here to see Paula's Tag.

     By the time Wednesday, the 13th got here, my project was finished except for one thing: the backside leaves with the information of the new Baby's birth, his photo into the frame I made, and his name! And then came THE CALL!! Wednesday afternoon, Younger Nuclear Engineer Son, Brett, came home from work with Taco Bell take-out, to find English Teacher Wife, Holli, needing to go to the hospital- her water broke! He called after they got settled in to wait for the birth. Now, how is that for timing?! I was so excited, I couldn't sleeep at all. By the time I had finally laid down to try- it was nearing 6:30. From the outset of the evening, I made my guesses: the 14th at 6:00am, 8 lbs, 14 lbs, 21 1/2 inches long. I was sooooo close!!! *snaps fingers* (The details are on the backside of the project.)

        This Baby- whose name I knew from the Baby Shower in August- (accidentally!) and yes, I was able to keep the secret until they posted late Thursday evening on their FB pages. So now, it's out, and I can honestly say that James Elliot "Jamie" Larimore already has a shock of bright blonde hair on his head, and looks just like both parents with his big, adorable cheeks! I'm in love...for the 3rd time in as many years!!! It all hit me on Friday, when I stared at his photos and noticed the smile on his face (the photo of Mommy and Jamie). All the heartache of 3 years trying to have this baby: the appointments, the medicines, the shots, the ultrasounds and their ultimate disappointing results. Watching a lot of their classmates have babies, and seeing their own siblings having babies. And especially seeing adoption and how expensive ($25K up front) is in the USA. Most of the things they had to deal with, like the shots, were not covered by insurance. And seeing so many children being tossed aside by parents who have the kids but don't want to be PARENTS.  Watching my kids deal with all this only made me pray that much harder for them. In January, I finally got bold with The LORD and told Him right out-  "give my younger kids a BABY!". I've never done that in my life, but desperate times can bring a person to their knees. The younger kids called on March 16th to surprise us, and on the 18th, they finally got that "CONGRATULATIONS; you're PREGNANT!" letter from the Mayo Clinic.  I looked on Friday evening (last night- at 1 day old) to notice Baby Jamie SMILING in his Mommy's arms. And I broke down bawling in THANKS to GOD. I have now seen all three of my Grandbabies smile- at such early stages after birth, and I know that all is well.

Which brings me to the PROJECT:

I'd already had most things picked out with an idea in mind,

but I needed a way to make the tree 'do' what I wanted...show it had shed it's leaves.

I got my original thought from this stamp set of Tim's from a DeStash sale.

(Thanks, gals!!)

Then I remembered that I'd gotten the TH Branch Tree Die from the same DeStash sale.

(Thanks again, gals!!)

I'd already cut the size of the tag backgrounds I needed to have enough space for the tree.

Here's about the place where I was finally getting a plan of how to have

the leaves already fallen... onto a shelf.

It was Paula Cheny's Thankful Tag that made a bell go off in my head- how to set a shelf below

the 'tree in a picture'. Her tag shows a leaf in the corner below the frame.

Why that hit me like that...*shrug*...who knows?

Originally, I thought of a flat stamped tree that would sprinkle its fallen leaves onto the shelf.

But my 3d OCD was still going on after that "Is It Real" Challenge, 

and I chose to make the tree more popped out.

I just LOVE LOVE LOVE those TH Distress Crayons!!

I'm not a fan of having so many colors, but I found the sets that have shades I do like,

and sticking with those are fine by me. I'll probably end up needing another neutrals set, though,

at the rate I am using mine! So far, I am VERY PLEASED with how long these last!

I found some TH Substrate Sheets at Tuesday Morning, 

and thought they'd look cute with a TH Wallpaper background.

I found that if I kept a bit of good old WD40 on a paper towel,

using it on the needle now and then kept the needle from sticking and

the thread going smoother.

(Substrate Sheets have an adhesive backing.)

See the POPDOT in the middle of the photo- on the tweezers?

I really WISH someone would come up with different colors

of PopDots so we can HIDE those buggers better!

Here, I chose to color the sides of all of mine with TH Crayons.

Not as hard as it sounds. 

Sanding the leaves and choosing some shades...

...then distressing them with TH Distress Products: Crayons, Inks, and Markers with Spritzer.

Living in Indiana all my life, I can tell you that leaves are very beautiful while

they are still on the trees.

But, once they come down...they tend to all be some shade of BROWN.

Greenish BROWN, Orangeish BROWN, Yellowish BROWN,

and just plain old BROWN.

So these are pretty realistic.

While these are Birch leaves...the tree is NOT a Birch.

But, for the sake of the larger leaves (further on)

that would hold information; I am pretending the tree is BIRCH.

Birch trees are very common up in Minnesota- where the younger kids live.

Here's a Sizzix Photo Frame die that has come in handy.

I keep my eye open on a bargain for the Tim Holtz Easel Die that fits it.

Here's where I was able to add the kids' story to the photo back...

...and making the colors vibrant- as if they just fell and still have some color in them.

Deciding on where to put them took me longer than MAKING them!! Lol!

And here's the final product...

FRONTSIDE

BACKSIDE

Some perspectives and closeups...

I just KNEW Jamie would have BLONDE hair- his parents were both closer to albino blonde!

Several layers of that Paper Studio (white core) Cardstock- shown in first photo

at start of project photos- that went through the TH 3D Impresslit Lumber-

were mixed a bit instead of layering them straight on lines.

It makes the tree itself look more 3D.

The coloring and texture sure looks like what we have on our ground now.

A lotta yummy eye candy going on here with TH distressing & Letterpress!

Sewing CAN be fun!

So can LAYERING!!!

Don't ask.

I have NO idea why I chose to use the TH Honeycomb Die to make my shelf with...

but I am darned glad I did- it looks FABULOUS here!

What FUN I had this past week- with both this entry

AND the FALL BIRTH DAY of a NEW GRANDBABY!

And since this entry is early to the page at TFJB Challenge Blog;

you still have a couple of days yet till the deadline to enter!

Don't be afraid of 'not being very crafty' since everyone has to start somewhere-

why not try along with us?!

In any case, be sure to check out the winners from the previous Challenge,

 "It Looks Real"

where reality met with paper. The results were awesome!

THANKS! goes out to our Sponsor, The Funkie Junkie Boutique,

for the drawings they have at the end of each Challenge!!

Time has a way of slowing down just when we want it to go faster-

and I want to see JAMES ELLIOT and hold that baby in my arms!

Trip is just a couple weeks away from now, but still way too far ahead for THIS Memaw!

It was such a tender moment to be able to FaceTime with the younger set at the hospital,

while the other 2 Grandbabies were here with us. Cole and Chloe 

got their first look at Cousin Jamie the very day he was born.

May you enjoy the Blessings of this

Thanksgiving season.

Please be safe in your travels,

and

HAPPY BLOGGING!

The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge #23; It Looks Real!........The Book of Experiments

    November has blown in with gusty winds spreading the falling leaves faster than I can keep up with. So far, anyway; what Leaf Battles I have fought in the past few weeks, I have won. But the Leaf War is not yet over for 2019. We've succeeded in getting everything winterized and put away, except for the camper moved out to the new overhead storage. A bit of trouble getting it installed (they finally showed up last week) and they  actually set it up in the dark! Next day sunlight revealed that they really CAN do that with their eyes closed. But don't try that on your own, folks, lol! A bit of adjustments to the bottom anchor boards and then it will be ready. In the meantime; I'll be up on the roof, getting the last of the leaves blown off, and reciting "I'm king of a hill..." That children's poem always comes to my mind up there. In another few years, we plan on putting up a metal roof. I can't see walking on that in my socks the way I do this tar-shingle roofing. Unless I want to crack my back...the hard way. This house has been ours since 1987, and we have probably redone every single bit of it- at least once- to get it where it is now. I absolutely LOVE my home, and while no house is ever going to be perfect, I can honestly say that this house is perfect for us. We still have things we want to redo, like the roof, but I dare anyone to say they are satisfied with the way their house is. Because it's then you will find something that needs to be fixed. The "Dream Home" is what you make yours to be. So this one is mine!
           The theme for this Challenge on The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog put me in the mood for a mix of old and new. You see; this appears to be "The Year of Replacements" for us. You all know what that means if you own your home; things are going to wear out or break down with use, and need to be replaced. No matter how well you take care of things, it's just going to HAPPEN. And, more often than not; it comes one after the other in rapid succession. I think  it started with the little spare AC in the master bedroom. Some years back, our central air puttered out and we replaced it. But after that, we built on the large Family Room, as our boys were getting bigger and we needed a bit more common living space. We didn't plan to do things in that order, but the AC had gone out before we were ready to build on, and at the time we weren't sure we were even staying in this house... or purchase a larger home? So, unbeknownst to us then; that AC was too small and eventually wore down to non-use. We had our hands full getting both boys through very expensive High School years and then, getting them into college/out on their own. Installing two window ACs made more sense at that time, and we decided to wait until putting on a metal roof,; we'd get all the ducts rechecked/worked on all at once. We learned that re-siding a house, new windows/doors installed....can be very messy. Especially when your house is "The Neighborhood House".
   That all brings me back to the REPLACEMENTS.... after that 'small AC problem; easily fixed; boom; good to go', then it was the weed whacker. With mowing and trimming this much land, a light-duty weed whacker is a no-go here. So it was get a new heavy-duty tool. Thanks, Amazon! I'd already had a replacement mower the year before. I LOVE that little "Gumpmobile" that does look just like Forrest Gump's red mower. It mulches anything and everything in its path. And it can actually take off on you. (Happened to a few of us-including my Older Kids' other Mom- from whom it came!)
But after this second belt broke, in the middle of summer (it was no easy feat to replace the first one- 2 different belts on it) , no less...*sigh*….it was time to go ahead and get a new one. AGAIN. Yes, we have had several brand new mowers in the 32 years here. And yes, we DO mow THAT MUCH! So the ChiefHubby went shopping and got little old me a zero-turn Cub Cadet in a "very purty yellow". Mowing now takes half the time it ever did before (normal is 4 hours), and my RA thanks him so very much! Not to go to waste; the Gumpmobile, and its new belt, is already promised to a guy who needs it. We are so BLESSED to be able to afford all we have, so we always GIVE to others without cost. Okaaaaay. After that, it was several little things around the house. Small, but replacements nonetheless.
      With a lot of thoughts going this path all through this year so far...shall we knock on wood, here?.....I decided to make something that I've wanted to try for ages. It involves - just like a real home- a mixture of old and new. I also took note of a few other Designers' inspirational makes to help me blend my idea together. So here we go!

                                        Is this BOOK real?

Not really! And it was fun to make!

Yes, I doubled the paper, and coated the inside with ModPodge 

to keep the layers stuck together.

Painting the box first, then adding my makes all on top of that paint.

The paint serves as a base.

Crumple. Smooth out. Ink up. Heat. Repeat... till satisfied.

Here's where I thought I was stuck;

I wanted to put my usual coat of Distress Collage in Vintage Photo...

until I opened up the bottle to find what was left at the bottom- all dried up and useless.

Then, I had a thought: Distress Rock Candy Crackle will just ADD more tiny wrinkles!

After it dried, I gave it another coat of Vintage Photo Distress Ink, then

finally (after the binding was added) coated the entire thing with Multi-Medium Matte.

I've made faux leather before, and a book, as well, but pure & simple INSPIRATION

got me going on this choice... 

THANK YOU for the inspiration, TFJBCB Design Team Member, Jenny Marples!

Is this KEY real?

The Bookmark string is coated hemp (purchased like that).

I grunged it up by simply running it roughly through my hands- at the very last-

when I had all that grungy, messy ink all over!

Hey, that was the EASIEST distress job I've ever done!

Nope! Just some stacked TH Grungeboard with TH Distress Inks and a heat tool.

The matching "LOCK" on the front of the BOOK was made the same way.

How about the BLACK CAST IRON?

Or the WOODEN SIGN?

Or the VOLTAGE...

Is any of that REAL?

NOPE! But, creating it to LOOK real, was REAL(ly) FUN!

I also used the TH Alterations Movers & Shapers Dies: Base Tray and Mini Labels.

The TH Alterations Voltage Die is brand new and this was my first chance to use it.

I had a little help- you can see in the background- from ZOE HILLMAN's take on it.

THANK YOU, ZOE!!!

The Voltage base at the bottom was a mix of all these products!

Talk about messy FUN!!

Most of my die cuts were all thick mat boards. Then stacked up in 3 layers.

If you look closely at the finished project; you can see how '3D' it looks from this thick layering!

The WOODEN SIGN was made the same way, but with thinner cardstock,

then run through the Big Shot with TH 3D Impresslits Folder Lumber

The best way to make the 'cast iron' is to really cover the item with Black Soot Distress Paint,

then 'sift' it through PLAIN EMBOSSING POWDER.

(Tim's Distress Powders won't give a smooth look, and I like using his for rust and grungy looks.)

I added Ranger Texture Paste all around with a bit of water on my fingers, 

shaped it rounded to match the stacked walls on the outside- to smooth the sides-

then sanded it down and added the rest of the paint as a second coat.

The Professor would need water piped in to cool those gears...

I just LOVE that TH 3d Impresslits Folder: FOUNDRY!!

This was my first chance to reeeeeally make a larger thing with it.

Trash plastic becomes treasure plastic!!

Water in the Lab needs a tank:

one for holding and constantly filtering/cooling the water, and a holding tank as well.

Painting a mixture of Alcohol Ink with Glossy Accents gives a fast-drying medium

as well as coloring!

This was the first attempt at piping and trying to make it look rounded.

I cut 3 of each piece to layer them, but only one had the "WATER"

colored onto it. They were all three held together with Glossy Accents without the Alcohol Ink.

PVC piping does come in clear for laboratories! 

I tried shaping the FIRST BATCH with heat to round it out.

Nixed the above set, and made this new set the same way, but leaving it flat this time.

Making the light fixture/fan was just simple stamping with the Stamp Platform and

The Professor (CMS373) Stamp Set.

While this book was a large project, I've wanted to do this for a long time.

Not just a works on a Tag, but the whole 3D shebang!

I think it turned out pretty good, too.

THANKS!! for all the sweet comments, and for the app. 1,600 folks who peeked

in on my blog last month! WOW; I was blown away!

Thank you, The Funkie Junkie Boutique ,

for always having what someone needs, and at nice prices!

TFJB is the Sponsor for these amazingly fun Challenges,

so try one out and see what you can do, too!

Until next time, folks...

Be Safe &

HAPPY BLOGGING!