Giddy Up Cowgirl

What a great theme this week on Theme Thursday. Go check out all of the creative entries. I started with an image from the New York Public Library online. It is a great site for vintage photos and advertisements. The background consists of distressed ink and a new stamp from Michaels. I added a small tag with a copper star. I used stickers for the lettering. Lastly I added a little ribbon and scratched up the cowgirl image with sandpaper. Creating this challenge was a nice get away from the winter weather happening outside. My area in Northern Indiana is expected to get 4 or more inches of snow tonight and tomorrow. Time to break out the snow boots or maybe the Christmas decoration.

Oh Christmas Tags!

Christmas time is just around the corner. I can't believe it is already past the middle of November. All of the retail stores are decked out for Christmas. I am ready to put away the fall decor and dig out my Christmas decorations. This year has flown by. The Christmas tags are doing double duty this week. Both Tag You're It & Mixed Media Monday have a Christmas theme. These tags could be used as ornaments to hang on your tree or as gift tags. I have finally got back in the groove of blogging and hope I can keep it up. Thanks to all who stop by. Enjoy!

Third Day Concert, South Bend, Indiana

Coffee Time

Finally, I have had a little time to creat and blog. Funny enough the them for Tag Your'e It, is "Time". Something I seem to be running out of lately. I used coffee & clock stamps to create this tag. Brown, copper & black inks are used. It is hard for me to create without using Tim Holtz's distressed inks, love them. Thanks for looking & comments are always welcome.

Rusted Abstraction

I took some time out today to enjoy the beautiful weather. I went to the New York Central Railroad Musuem in Elkhart, Indiana to take some photographs. Every day on my way home I can see these rusted out old railcars. They look beautiful to me and I have been wanting to take pictures of them for some time. My photographic style is up close and abstract. I like details, old stuff, color and rust. I love rust...not sure why, just think its beautiful. Thank you to Susan who inspired me to get out and take some photographs today. Her and I had a conversation at church today about not taking time to create art. Being an art/photography teacher I often get caught up in teaching and don't take time to create what I love. Go to my flickr to see some of the images I posted today. I took 95 pics, but only posted 25.

Altered Book Pages

It has been kind of a crazy week. Lots going on with family and keeping super busy with school and church. Not much time to blog or spend time on Etsy. This weeks Mixed Media Monday challenge is to share something you love to do. I chose to show a few pages from an altered book. I don't consider the pages finished, but still in progress. I love to create layers upon layers when I collage/alter books. The pages here really just have backgrounds completed and still need another layer or two added. I hope to have time to complete them sometime in the near future.

Peace on Earth

Finally I have made time to post a couple of Christmas/Holiday tags on my Etsy. This weekend it rained and rained every day. It was the perfect chance to stay inside and get some things done. I was able to get all of my chores done, as well as having time to get crafty. Tag Your'e It had a monochromatic challenge this week. These tags are shades of brown/copper and have a distressed look. I am addicted to Tim Holtz distressed inks. I use them on 98% of my projects. They are incredible. Have a great week and try to stay dry.

Coffee Queen Trumps All

All hail the COFFEE QUEEN. Oh this was so much fun to create. This altered playing card is for this weeks Theme Thursday Challenge. I started by sanding the card and rubbing some ink on it to give it a distressed feel. I stamped the border with "Coffee Queen". Last I added the vintage photo with the coffee cup. I have given this woman the name "Beverly", she made her debut on this earlier post. http://papercafegirl.blogspot.com/2008/08/silly-tag.html

Buttons

I must confess I am not a seamstress. I took me 30 mins just to find a needle and thread. I ended up finally finding a binder's needle and linen thread. But it worked just the same. This button tag is for the "Tag your'e it" weekly challenge. The challenge was to use a needle and thread. I started with an silver oval tag with scalloped edges. I stamped a damask design and then chose a few buttons to sew onto the tag. I think it has a classy look to it and I like the combination of pink, black and silver.

Coffee & Camera's...my 1st Treasury!

I can't believe I have finally landed a Treasury on Etsy. I chose a sampling of two of my favorite things. Coffee & Camera's! Take a minute and go check it out. Click Here.

Autumn Harvest

Click on the image to see all of the details.
This weeks challenge for Theme Thursday is Autumn or Halloween. After the last few warm and muggy days, I am really ready for the crisp, cool fall weather. I created this collage on a 5 1/2 X 12 inch canvas. The canvas is about 2 inches deep, so it can stand on its own. I first painted the canvas with Golden acrylics. The background is a mix of different papers, which I tore & inked to give an aged look. The top layer consists of some frilly yarn, a pumpkin stamp, chipboard letters and a mini tag that says "Give Thanks". Now I am just waiting for the pumpkin patch to open.

Fun Fall Tags!

I can't believe it is the first of September. School is well underway and fall is just around the corner. I created these tags and listed them today on my Etsy shop. Fall is my favorite season. I love the changing trees, visting the pumkin patch, and I especially love gourds. Mixed Media Monday's theme is Nature, so I am also posting these tags for this weeks challenge. Enjoy!

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I have been searching for some new Christmas rubber stamps. Finally I found one I like. And it was half price today. My goal this weekend is to get some Christmas tags listed in my Etsy shop. These are my first attempts with my new Santa stamp. Many rubber stamps are too "cutesy" for my style, so I have a hard time finding what I like. My style is more shabby, vintage, rustic.

So glad it's Friday and ready for the long weekend. We are traveling to Illinois this weekend. I am going to a wedding shower for my cousin Daniel's fiance and then to a going away party for my cousin Jeremy who is leaving for Afghanistan soon. It will be a busy weekend with family. Also hoping to make time to go to the Arthur, Illinois "Cheese Festival". Happy long weekend to everyone!

Never Enough...

Oh goodness. Do you ever get stuck in a rut where there is " Never Enough" ___________ (fill in the blank). With school starting I am feeling like I never have enough time for creating my own art. Therefore my blog and Etsy have been neglected. It's weird like that when you are a teacher, You spend so much time preparing and teaching that you don't have enough time or energy to create. That's how I have been feeling this week. So please excuse my whining. Hoping to have some time to enter some blog challenges soon.

Birthday Party!

This weekend my family celebrated my nephews birthday and mine too. He just turned 12 on Saturday. My birthday is a week from today...I will be ummm, well never mind. I live about 4 1/2 hours from most of my family. It is always good to go visit. We had the party at the local Chinese Buffet (my nephews favorite place). That is Brandon with the Buddah statue at the restaurant. It must be good luck because he won his first football game 20-6 later that day. Our cake was a combination of Hello Kitty and Skateboards. What a nice way to spend my last weekend of the summer. Back to school tomorrow.

Frosty Christmas

I start back to school tomorrow, but I am thinking about Christmas today. Tag you're it is trying to get us motivated for the Christmas season with this weeks challenge. I decided to create a tag with more of a winter theme, but using Christmas colors. Enjoy!

Good Bye Summer

Oh goodness, good bye summer. School starts on Monday. I am enjoying my last few days of summer break. My husband is taking the day off work tomorrow, so we can have a long weekend together. We are traveling to Illinois for my nephews birthday. And will celebrate my upcoming birthday too. Since I won't see my family on my actual birthday. (Aug. 24th)

I have been trying to get my classroom in order. The camera above is one of the many old cameras I have in my classroom. I currently teach high school photography. We still use manual 35mm cameras. We develop and print photos in a darkroom. It is a pretty nice set up. But I am wondering how much longer film cameras will be around. hmm, it's quickly becoming a lost art.

Looking forward to my last weekend of summer and hoping for a great new school year.....
CHS, Go Minutemen!

Vintage Glam 1942

I discovered this great photo at a antique/junk shop a couple of years ago. I purchased a box full of photos and even some negatives. I scanned the original photo, dated November 1942, and printed it on vellum to create this collage. The collage is for Mixed Media Monday's "Fashion" challenge. I also used scrapbooking paper that I tore & pasted to create a border. I rubbed the paper doily with ink to keep the piece monochromatic. The tag was inked & stamped, with the word "Glam" added. I hope you enjoy this piece....thanks for stopping by. Comments are always welcomed & loved.

Full Sunshine

It's a beautiful Saturday morning. I decided to post this collage I created. The quote on it says "I am in full sunshine now". Perfect for this lovely day. This will be my last full week of summer break. I am a school teacher and head back to school on August 18th. Kind of bittersweet, I hate to see the summer end, but excited for a new school year to begin.

I am feeling the Etsy/Blogging love this week. Some of my work is featured on Friday Findings at Star-of-the-East blog. Their Friday Findings include all things coffee related. I am so happy to have my Coffee Break Notecards feature. Go check out the rest of their findings, you won't want to miss it.

Treasury

Oh, for the love of Coffee! If you have ever read my blog, you know I am a Coffee Lover. I got an email yesterday saying my coffee tags were selected for a Treasury on etsy. This is a pretty big deal, because it really helps bring people to your etsy shop. To check out this Treasury click here. It will only be up for a couple of days, so don't miss it. Thank you to PeanutandTommy for creating this fun Treasury.

It's Friday and I feel like I have been out of the loop this week. I traveled at the beginning of the week and worked in the Cafe all day yesterday. I haven't spent much time on-line. And I haven't entered any challenges this week :(. Hope to get back into the groove of blogging.

Also you still have a couple of days to check out this weeks Handmade Network newsletter. There is an article about me and my Etsy shop. The Handmade Network is a group of Etsians working together for support and networking. Check out the blog and newsletter.

Silly Tag

CLICK on the Photo to see it up close
Kind of a silly tag. I couldn't decide what to do for this weeks challenge on Tag You're It. I had been wanting to use the tranparency I had made of an old photograph. The text came from the pages that were cut out while making an altered book. When I started reading the text it just became silly and I thought it was fun. I hope no one is offended.

Today is a lazy Sunday. I will be traveling the next couple of days to visit friends in Illinois. I probably won't blog again until Wednesday. Oh I almost forgot. I opened the Sunday paper and the headline was "Obama will Speak at Concord High" That is where I teach. Would be interesting to see him, not sure if I will go. Have a great week & enjoy my silly tag.

Coffee Tags

Theme Thursday is all about Tags this week. Perfect challenge for me. I love tags.....maybe to the point of obsession. My tags for this challenge combine 3 things I love....coffee, tags & rubber stamping. I can't wait to see what others do with this challenge. This set of tags, along with the library pocket are available at my Etsy shop. Other tag sets too. I am heading out to shop today. I am hoping to find some new rubbertamps to add to my ever growing collection. Enjoy the tags!

Hope

I hope you have been enjoying my blog. I have met many new people through blogging. I am a school teacher, home for the summer. I just hope I can keep this up when school starts. It is a great creative outlet. I created this blue "Hope" collage for the Arty Girlz Challenge. This is my first time entering their challenge. Take a minute and go check out their blog. Thanks to all who stop by my little blog, please leave a comment. I love you hear what you have to say.

Coffee Lovers

Calling all Coffee Lovers (& friends). In case you haven't noticed, I Love Coffee! and anything coffee related. I am actually part owner of a coffee bar/cafe in Watseka, Illinois. Promises (120 W. Walnut) if you are ever in the neighborhood. I got married and moved to Indiana, leaving my coffee dream behind. In order to keep my love for coffee brewing, I create tags & cards with a coffee theme. I am currently selling them on Etsy. I just listed a set of coffee cup notecards this morning. My new notecards are based on the design from my last post. Put down your coffee cup & go check them out. Coffee Cup Cards You will love these & so will any of your coffee loving friends.

Coffee Break

Thanks for stopping by....I am enjoying my morning coffee and so happy its Friday. I just created this Coffee Break tag for this weeks challenge at Tag Your'e It. I love coffee and all things coffee/espresso related. So this was fun to create. My husband & I are headed to Ohio this weekend. It is my mother in law's 60th Birthday. Look at yesterdays post to see what I made for her.

Birthday Can Collage

Happy Birthday! This is the coolest idea I have seen in a long time. 1st I must give credit to"Obsessed with Cupcakes" that is where the idea come from. Go check out their blog. They have great how-to pictures. I started with a can of pineapple and ended up with a great birthday gift. I used scrapbooking papers, stickers, glitter, ribbon & a tag. It is filled with hersheys kisses and ribbon. This is a gift/card for my mother in law's 60th Birthday. The can opener is from Pampered Chef, it unseals the can...so then it can be resealed. The recepient will still be able to open it with the pull tab (after you have resealed it with hot glue). It was a fun way to make a unique gift. Let me know what you think. I would love to hear your comments.

Rusty Tags

These rusty yet simple tags were a delight to create. I love trying to make my work look worn and distressed. This rust challenge at Mixed Media Monday was perfect for me. I have spent the last few days working on the business side of my Etsy site and haven't taken time to get creative. It felt good to get the creative juices flowing again.

I have added these tags to my Etsy store. So these rusty tags could be yours. Go check them out here.

YES!

Yes! I have joined the Handmade Network. This blog showcases a team of artists that all have Etsy stores and are interested in Networking. Go check it out. I am fairly new on Etsy and thought this would be a great way to get to know others on Etsy. I hope you will join us, or atleast check it out.

Hearts & Congrats!

I decided to take the challenge and create a card for my friend Sarah at the same time. Sarah just got engaged. With "Hearts" being the theme it worked out perfectly. I stamped the hearts and the "Congrats" and embossed them with a holographic/glittery embossing powder. The background is a wedding stamp. I embellished with the engagement ring. Check out the challenge on "Theme Thursday"

Artful Networking

I wanted to create an artsy business card. So I have spent my Sunday afternoon working on the tags shown above. I used Ranger Distress Ink to add the distressed look. I created the file in publisher, using the same banner that I use on etsy and blogspot. Then sent them through my printer and presto! It turned out better than I had imagined. I took a detour for awhile browsing the Ranger website and the blog/website of Tim Holtz. If you have never looked at his work, go do it now. Incredible! I have used his Distress Ink for at least 3 years and I absolutely love it. I discovered his stamps today, they are amazing. I plan to buy some ASAP. His designs work well with my style. I can't wait to get my hands on some.

I also wanted to include one of my first collages on today's post. I used a portion of this collage to create my banner. Enjoy!