ARTFUL BAG ATC SWAP

This month at Artful Bag Challenge, it was ATC swapping time, and I was soooooo excited to get to trade with Julie Forest (from Juls Art Niche)... I am such an admirer of her work !!! The ATC, of course, had to feature a bag, purse, clutch, satchel, whatever you may call it. Julie's Atc was "Bold" and beautiful. (I can totally see me rockin a purse just like this...hahaha), and then Julie being so clever, added a special little treat. When opened, the purse exclaims "Walk on the Wild Side"... love it Julie... thank you! The colors are vibrant, and just pop!!!! My Atc I sent Julie had to do with Mary Poppins... I have ALWAYS loved her big carpet bag, and so I tried to copy that by making a purse using G45 Fashionista and paper transferred it to sticky back canvas. Spray painted a little umbrella and "SPIT SPOT SPIC AND SPAN, Practically Perfect" (well not sure about that) but Julie did say she enjoyed the ATC... very fun challenge. Great time meeting new friends from across the globe. Pop over to Julies blog for some awesome inspiration.

BLISSFUL ATC SWAP "Steampunk"

(FROM EASTCOAST TO WESTCOAST) The theme for the month of April at Blissful ATC Swap was "Steampunk" and I had the pleasure of swapping with my crafty buddy from NY, Tina. She so creatively put together this wonderful steampunk ATC and sent in on it's way to me here in California. New to the whole world of Steampunk was Tina, and I think she captured the essence perfectly. Thank you for all the special little details you included. She even chose a favorite color palette of mine Red & Black, and if that wasn't enough she sent me a package of special goodies, which included a boxful of handmade flowers... yipee !!!!!

(FROM WESTCOAST TO EASTCOAST) Then off in the mail my atc went to Tina... a bit late due to a minor back injury and laid up for awhile.

Mine is titled "Wishing you many good hair days". I so enjoy meeting new friends that share the same passion for art as I do. What a blessing to be able to ispire and encourage each other on our artful journey. Thank you once again Tina for the special delivery!!! xoxo Toni

Our Vintage Affair "Pearl Layout"

Hi bloggers and happy April 20th. It's time for April Layout @ Our Vintage Affair and the theme this month is "Pearls". The base paper for my layout was from our wonderful sponsor this month and the winner of this challenge will win their gorgeous collection of papers

The top layer of paper is a Prima Paintable in which I painted the roses and leaves dipping my brushes into Tattered Angels Glimmermists. The pearls were from my old stash of goodies and adhered to the layout. The flowers were also Prima "Craftables" and painted with the following colors: Coral Reef, Tiger Lily, Key Lime Pie, Olive Vine, Crushed Shells & Old Lace

Congrats to our Designer of the Month Jolanda... one very talented and creative lady. Take a jaunt over to her blog for some wonderful inspiration. And don't forget all the other challenges that are still open for participation this month: April Tag Challenge "Easter", April Altered Object "Easter Decoration" and also our 9 Candies that we are giving out to some lucky blog followers . So much crafting to do, so little time, so what are you waiting for go get messy ....xoxo Toni

Blog Candy over at Our Vintage Affair

Everyone I know loves candy, but this is some special candy.... sugarfree, fat free, carb free & money free. Each designer at Our Vintage Affair as well as OVA put together a lovely bag of candy for 9 lucky winners... that's right "sweets for our sweet followers". How exciting... Here's some of the candy that is awaiting to be mailed off to some lucky followers:

To participate in this yummy giveaway jump over to Our Vintage Affair blog for the requirements and also to get our Blog Candy Badge to place on your blog. This is open til May 31st, and winners will be announced on June 5th. Happy Blogging !!!! xoxo Toni

Have a Hippity Hoppy Easter

It's that beautiful time of year, when everything is coming into bloom and we have the gorgeous sunshine. It's time for our April Tag Challenge over at Our Vintage Affair and the theme is.... yep you guessed it "Easter".

Only a couple rules, must be a tag and must include the following image. Our sponsor this month is and the winner of this challenge wins their newest collection of paper goodies On my tag, I ran my bunnies through my Xyron machine and then Diamond Dust was applied for an old vintage crystal effect. Flower Soft was used on the fence for the grass and I Am Roses flowers were sprayed with Tattered Angels Glimmermist "Watermelon".

There is still time to participate in the following challenges we have open which are:

March Altered Item "Kitchen" (open til April 20th)

April Altered Challenge "Easter Decoration" (open til May 1st).

Take a moment and hippity hop over to Our Vintage Affair to view all the other DT creations for inspiration and enjoy making your Easter tag. xoxo Toni

Your That Missing Piece of Puzzle

Tanya Tucker sings this song called "Your That Missing Piece of Puzzle" and it fits how I feel about my daughter. I really don't think my life would be complete without her and everyday I thank God for his gift to me. Theme Thursday challenge this week is "game puzzle piece" so I thought I would just make my entire project a puzzle. Took a photo of my daughter and myself and applied it to a lightweight piece of chipboard. Sprayed photo with Lindy's Stamp Gang Moonshadow Spray in Treasure Island Aqua. Used a puzzle template I found on Google and traced it on my photo then cut out the puzzle pieces. Attached the pieces to black card stock with Goldens Matt Medium and coated the top with beeswax. The edging of the black card stock was embossed with Lindy's Stamp Gang 2 Tone Embossing Powder in "Fiddlehead Fern Green Blue". Thank you for dropping by... smiles and hugs Toni

Altered Easter Decorations

Happy April everyone, and it's time for our Altered Project over at Our Vintage Affair. This month our sponsor is and the prize for the winner this month is this beautiful collection of paper and embellishments The theme is "Easter Decoration" and I got a bit carried away. Had so much fun I made three.

I purchased this little tin bird house at Michaels Craft Store for $ 1 and aged it using Tim Holtz's "chipped enamel" technique then rubbed Gold Metallic Alcohol Ink wherever I chipped the paint off. Added vintage tinsel for the nest. Added flowers from "I Am Roses", ribbon from my stash and this wonderful aged magnetic bird. Next, I purchased a package of paper mache eggs from Michaels Crafts I believe they were $3 for 6 eggs. The technique I used here is the "glue crackle" technique. Added ribbon, some little dry flowers (not sure where I got them), vintage stamens, and flowers from "I Am Roses". Last but not least is my my other egg that I blinged up with several different colors of German Glass Glitter. I think this will look real pretty once it starts to tarnish. I hope you enjoyed and wishing everyone a Blessed Easter. xoxo Toni