Ready to Haunt

This week's theme on Sunday Postcard Art is LEAVES.

I took this opportunity to get started on a Halloween greeting.  

The spooky tree is a stencil, the bats and small leaves are paper punched, the rest of the images are die cut.

This postcard will have to travel in a clear sleeve, so I haven't yet decided how I want to do the back address side.

Happy Haunting Soon!

xxx

Annie

Walk Your Pets

This week the theme for Sunday Postcard Art is WHEELS.

I actually started this postcard for last week's theme of PETS.  Needless to say, it didn't get done.  I struggled with the background.  When I finally gave up, I checked what the next theme would be.  Wheels.  My pet walking cart has wheels!  I still had a chance to finish this postcard.  But I was still struggling with the background.  

I worked on the background, but I didn't like it.  Not one little bit.  I finally decided to cut out the images and use my favorite background technique of finding a scrapbook paper that would do the job.  It came with sunshine.  I added Wink of Stella to the fish for his glistening scales look, but the camera doesn't pick it up well.  The tiny silver dots is the very fine Stella glitter.

 

The correspondence side...

Happy Mail Day!

xxx

Annie

Summertime

This fabric sailboat postcard sailed the high seas to The Netherlands and arrived quite safely.

A birthday card (that I basically copied from a Pinterest card).

A scrapbook spread from one of my bicycle rides last summer in Wisconsin.

I always wish summertime would last forever.  Just not the 100+ degree days!

Happy Days!

xxx

Annie

A Birthday and Ms. Skellie

A big three O birthday came around this year and I had a fun time making a birthday card.  Those Tim Holtz 3" number rubber stamps don't keep anything a secret.  Aren't those candles clever?  I wish I could claim their design, but I saw them on a store card.  

I swapped Ms. Skellie mail art with a couple of like-minded rubber stamping artists.  These are the envelopes I sent out.

Those new Planets postage stamps came out just at the right time for my envelopes.

I'm not accomplishing much on my to do list since purchasing a Kindle Fire and joining Bookbub.  I wish I'd done that hundreds of book dollars ago!  

So many enjoyable pastimes, so little time!

Happy Mail Day!

xxx

Annie

Sunday Postcard Art - Picnic

This week I get to host at the Sunday Postcard Art with my choice of theme, which is PICNIC.  I chose this theme because I wanted to stitch this ant.  I was worried how his little legs might end up looking. I was surprised to be so pleased.  And ants go so well with picnics.  This little guy is on his way to a picnic right now.

My postcard backside...

I'm anxious to see the variety of picnic art that my fellow postcard artists will create.

Happy summertime!

xxx

Annie

Scrapbooking Pages

You might not know this, but yes, I scrapbook too.  Yes, too many crafty irons in the fire.

I've never shared my Scrapbooking pages before, but here are a sampling of a few.  My style is greatly different than most I have seen.  I want the pages to be more about the photos than about how many doodads I can glue to the page.  I absolutely love those doodad-loaded pages that I see others making, but I feel like the photo gets so lost.

Dies for cutting out letters with my BigShot has been a real life saver.  Before that I cut them with the Cricut (which was fine except when the paper would tear) and before that I traced letters from stencils and cut them out with an Xacto knife.  Quite painstakingly too, I might add.  

My scrapbooks are the 8.5" X 11" size.  To me the 12" X 12" pages are SO big!  Although sometimes I long for a larger page.  I do have pages that are a double page spread for one event.

This was a year ago and we're about to attend this rally again the first of July.

My very good friend from "home".  Processing the photo like this took away lots of aging and wrinkles. Why can't we do that in real life?

Being away from home, I hadn't done much Scrapbooking.  I loved getting back into it.  I'm looking forward to lots more time with my daughter like this in the future.

These tennies were just barely before the wild colored ones we see today.  I'm sure by now she has a wildly brightly colored pair of tennies.  Some people will scrapbook anything, eh?

I thought when I started in again with Scrapbooking and started right from the current day, that I'd be able to keep up AND work backwards to catch up.  I'm already 10 months behind that "current day".  So I see that it is a loosing battle and I just have to plug along as best I can.  

Keeping that calendar journal is a great big help in remembering the sequence of events and the dates.  I have looked back as a reference countless times already.  

Keeping memories alive for the future.

xxx

Annie

May 2016 Calendar Journal and a Snack

And May 2016 went like this:

The 13th and 14th are very personal feelings days, so I'm keeping them private.

There is only June left in this calendar/planner.  It's about time I went back and finished the cover.

Here is a tasty little snack for you.

CROCK POT RANCH OYSTER CRACKERS

To get the ingredients to my liking, I increased the amount of Ranch Dressing Mix as well as the amount of garlic.  I also added the Worcestershire sauce.  

xxx

Annie

Wisconsin Vacation Altered Postcard

The Sunday Postcard Art challenge this week is to alter a postcard.  

I've had this little postcard for such a long time.  It's a strange size ...not even quite 3.5 X 5.  So I cut a postcard size kraft paper and added my vacationers and a bird to the scene.

I forgot to take a picture of the postcard in it's original state, but I think it's pretty clear that it was just some cows in a pasture.  I haven't played with these two people characters in a long time.  This was a fun filled challenge this week.

And of course we need the card back to tell the rest of the story.

It was tough to decide between this phrase and something about getting a new travel agent.

In reality, Wisconsin is a beautiful state and I love it.

Happy Mail Day!

xxx

Annie

New Recipe Cards

Yummy Favorites

I'm trying only to make recipe cards for favorite dishes and desserts that I make time and again.  And I seldom follow an original recipe exactly as I find it.  There's usually a little too much of this or I don't like that, I'll leave it out, etc.  I think most every cook does that.

This one is so delicious that it's hard for me to want to cook asparagus any other way.  There's never any leftovers with this side dish.

Sometimes I don't pay much attention to the cooking times.  Like on this one, I don't know how long I sauté the asparagus.  I just keep poking it with a fork until I feel it's ready for the next step.  I suppose the times must be pretty close though.

This dessert is so yummy, and it's most yummiest is the next day.  So I make it a day ahead of time.

Look at the fun idea I thought of for making this card work.  I can't believe I even thought of doing it this way.  I'll be making more like this rather than the pieces that just swing out of the way and turn upside down.

The recipe box itself has finally gotten some scrapbook paper on it to cover the craft paper mache color.  Then some Washi Tape on the edges.  What to do on it next hasn't come to me yet.

The cards inside.

Nope, not the easiest filing system for recipes, but since they will only be favorite ones, I don't expect that they will become so many that I won't be able to locate what I want.

I have a little more time than I used to, to do the cooking.  I'm scaring the crap out of myself, but I'm almost starting to like it ...on some days.

I've made stuffed mushrooms twice now looking for a really good ingredient combination.  So far I'm not very impressed.  Have you got one you love?

Happy Cooking!

(Did I really say that?!)

xxx

Annie

Mail Art

I'm hopelessly addicted to creating fun mail!

My daughter's boyfriend put together a very fun mail package for me.  I built a thank you card with an assortment of the items along with other supplies I already own.  He called it The Clocks and Gears package.  The silver foil stuff is something I found that is a 4" roll.  I spray glued it to cardstock then embossed it with a gears embossing folder.  The heart is mounted with foam mounting dots.

The envelope...

I figured out how to do some of that fun calligraphy using double ended ZIG Writers.

Next is a postcard made with Ms. Skellie and highlighted with a white galaxy marker.  

This postcard was a thank you for a gift.  The hearts are die cuts and the butterfly is a punch.

This postcard was awfully fun to make.  I've lately been scouring through some very pretty used postage stamps that my friend sent to me.

This fabric postcard also was terribly fun to make.  Carla waited a good long time for her fabric postcard.  I'm pretty sure she probably gave up on getting one.  I waited purposely so she'd be surprised.  Not really.  It was a while before I had an inspiration for her postcard.

And lastly, I had a new motorcycle stamp to play with so a postcard was made for a couple that we get to ride with now and again to go on great little weekend jaunts.

Happy Mail Day!

from your mail art obsessed friend,

Annie

xxx

Recipe Cards

Every once in a while I manage to talk myself into getting some recipe cards made.  After I finally tweak a recipe to my liking, it's like a week-long convincing to pull the typewriter out and get to it.  The recipes are beginning to stack up.

I always enjoy making them, it's just getting the typing done that gets in the way.  I don't know why.

I've already done most of the recipes that only have a few ingredients.  Now for the recipes that require more than the 4" X 6" space of the card.

Brads seemed like a good idea to keep everything together but to be able to move sections out of the way for prep and cooking.  They are working out very well.

Yes, now I have a new supply of fun brads.  It's always something else we need on hand,  isn't it.  And it MUST be an assortment...not just any old brad will do.  You know what I mean.

AND, you know me, the backs can't be boring!

Sometimes the back is where the food photo ends up too.  I really like the food photo on the front with the rest of the recipe, but if I've made the dish enough, I guess I'm ok with the photo on the back.

These cards are so much better than the mess my recipes are in while they wait their turn to become artsy looking as well as delicious.

I don't like wasting my life with cooking.  But I don't like eating bad food either.  Any opportunity to make the chore "seem" more enjoyable, I'm all for it.  And artsy recipe cards at least make the start of this chore more fun.  I truly wish I enjoyed cooking because I'm actually pretty good at it.

Happy Eating!

xxx

Annie

April 2016 Calendar Journal

April is my birthday month.

I tried to give the month a party feel because that's how I was feeling all month.

I like that my birthday is at the very end.  So much more fun to celebrate the whole entire month.

xxx

Annie

Alphabet Challenge Postcard

Our challenge theme this week for the Sunday Postcard Art challenge blog is ALPHABET.

The first thing that came to mind, of course, is "Now I know my ABCs".  That includes children and learning.  Then I came across a die cut fence I had, then added a couple of die cut flora.

Look at her.....she's so pleased with her own knowledge.  They say she's smart as a whip.

She'll find her way through the postal system by way of this correspondence side.

As always,

Happy Mail Day!

xxx

Annie

The Fortune Teller

Every once in a great while, an eligible bachelor will come along just passing through the tiny town of Nowhere.  This sends the Spinster Sisters into a whirlwind competition for his affections.

After too many years of being unsuccessful in capturing a husband, the sisters finally went to visit the local Fortune Teller to learn exactly when they would find their men.

They now have it in writing.....

"There are no men in your futures."

The theme this week for Sunday Postcard Art is FORTUNE TELLER.  My postcards are all hands on made.  For the last couple of themes I haven't had supplies or ideas to fit the themes to make cards.  This week I'm attempting to come in by way of a backdoor.  This may not qualify.  And that would be ok.  I have a postcard to mail out now.  That's what matters most to me.

Here is the address side of this postcard.

Happy Mail Day!

xxx

Annie

Altered Dictionary - S

At The Craft Barn challenge blog, we illustrate for the letter S this fortnight.

I chose sailboat.  I just recently drew a sailboat for a postcard.  Why not give my simple little pattern, that takes no drawing skills, a little extra life.  So here it lives in my altered dictionary forever more.

It's all made of tracing paper.  We had a twist this time that our illustration has to include a shell.  I had a better plan than what you see, but I couldn't find a shell that would fit the plan.  

Happy sailing!

xxx

Annie

Altered Dictionary - D

The letter this fortnight at The Craft Barn is the letter D.

Oh, so many delightful words to illustrate that begin with the letter D.  But for me, the word to illustrate has to be DELIVERY.  I watch for this guy every single delivery day of the week!...to bring in and to take out.

There is a twist to the challenge this time, and that is to use pink.  The twists always scare me that they might not work into my style.  But, so far, so good.

Now I must go and make more mail.

xxx

Annie

March 2016 Calendar Journal

And March went along like so...

I'm almost completely happy with this calendar journaling style.  I've only one struggle left to overcome.  I can't use markers or gel pens of any kind, as they can be seen through the paper to the previous or next month.  I have been searching for colored ink pens that write well and have tossed quite a bit of money into the trash can.  The pens come home with me, they either don't write nicely or the ink blobs up at the tip, so off to the trash they go.  Any suggestions?

Now on to my birthday month.  I've already spent some enjoyable time purchasing a few new toys for myself.  I love me an Amazon rewards gift card!

Happy Spring!

xxx

Annie