Grandpa's Garden

For Father's Day, I decided I WOULDN'T make a homemade card for my Dad this year...

Instead, I made him a memory book!

Since he and my Mom recently moved from their home of 60 years, I thought he might like a keepsake of the beautiful garden he spent so many hours patiently tending. So after they moved but before the new owners took possession, I snapped a whole bunch of photos and snipped a few flowers and leaves to press.

At first, I made a book in the style similar to my Steampunk Journal, again following dear Anne (at Anne's Paper Creations) in her awesome instructional videos.

But when I started to add the photos, I realized it was much too small - I didn't want to drastically crop the images, so I set it aside for a future project and instead made a binder-style album with wider and taller pages.

Some photos were kept whole, some I fussy cut. I used Multi-Matte on the pressed flowers and leaves to preserve them. Tags and other embellishments were also added here and there in pockets and on flaps.

The beautiful iris on the cover is a fussy cut close up photo...

I also incorporated a few dimensional stickers and Tim Holtz die cuts. Graphic 45 papers from Botanical Tea and Secret Garden sets were perfect for backgrounds and beautiful tags / booklets.

I also used Tim's Remnant Rubs directly on the photos and tags - what a great (and easy!) way to accent the pages!

It took a few days to create; but I completed it with just hours to spare before gifting it Sunday afternoon (these are some - not all - of the pages inside).

It was so much fun to make.

My sister and I brought home a few plants from their garden to our our yards...

...and now Mom and Dad also have a piece of it too - and a book to remember it by as well!

It's Like Wild Kingdom Out There

I have to share a non-artsy/craftsy subject with you today.

Our bedroom windows face a very large back yard where we planted a forest of trees 30 years ago. Other than mowing a few times a year, we leave it pretty much natural. Because of this, we seem to be the place to hang out for all sorts of wildlife (which I love).

I've written about a few of these encounters (here and on previous blogs linked below).

Most notably, we've had visits from

A huge Snapping Turtle we helped find its way back to the river

A Cormorant we transported to the
Wildlife Rescue Centre for medical attention

A Merlin Falcon perched just outside my window

Our resident bunnies who live under our deck
(and dine on my marigolds)

Red squirrels that entertain

A Fledgling Robin that thought I was it's mother...

Various geese, ducks, deer and even a slow muskrat have also wandered through.

Last week I observed yet another member of the Wild Kingdom had arrived for a short stay.

A Red Fox! I had to run for my camera.

Just like an episode of Wild Kingdom, it didn't take long for the action to begin. After a few minutes of sitting peacefully, the Fox spied a rabbit scurrying from it's hiding spot nearby.

The chase was on. The bunny darted left and right with the fox in full pursuit, matching each zig and zag until they both arrived at our deck, under which the bunny found safety. The Fox padded to and fro on our patio, mere feet away from me inside, ears pricked up by the sound of my clicking camera.

But the hunt wasn't over. Probably scared from the first bunny's abrupt arrival, the Fox spotted another rabbit dart out from under the other side of the deck. A few leaps and bounds later and it was all over. The Red Fox had dinner.

I felt awful for the poor bunny... but then I looked closely at the Fox. It was so terribly thin and matted; the result of the long, hard winter. I realized it must have been so hungry and desperate to venture this far from it's usual hunting grounds to find sustenance in a city suburb.

So as the Fox lopped away carrying it's precious treasure, I felt privileged to have witnessed the true Circle Of Life.

Right there in my own backyard.

A Special Card

Each year, I strive to make an extra-special card for my daughter's birthday. I can't believe she turned 23 last week!

This year I came across a video showing how to make a Cascading Card. It was great, but I changed it up a bit and made it 6" tall (larger than the sample card) and strengthened the folds with tape so it wouldn't slide apart.

Daughter's favorite colour is turquoise, so the paper choice was easy; I used "Birds of a Feather" from Graphic 45's new line "Botanical Tea" set. I also used three matching chipboard cutouts and fussy cut a few bird images from the leftover paper.

When folded out, it stands on its own as a 3D card. I used Tim Holtz' "Weathered Wood" Distress Ink on all the edges of the paper (back and front) before assembly. The ribbon is from my stash and the front is decorated with a Wild Orchid Craft rose, stamens and some gauze.

I added a second layer of paper to the back for support, and that is where I wrote the sentiment and signed the card.

She loved it! And much to my surprise, it fit perfectly inside the gift box we placed her present inside too... totally unplanned.

I hope you enjoy seeing the video I used as inspiration and try this out for yourself! It was a lot of fun and so easy to create.

Tim Holtz Tags of 2014 - May

Time again to do my monthly tag for Tim Holtz' 12 Tags of 2014!  This month Tim challenged us to get out some of those embellishments we have collected in a “creative composition” assignment. So I pulled together a bunch of supplies to chose from - some I used, some I didn't... and a couple were new goodies I got online just for this project. One of those is Tim's new ShadowPress Debossing Folder ("Authentic"). This set of six folders has a variety of sentiments that will be great to use on cards! I also finally got a proper set of Ink Blending Tools - the new round shape makes it so easy to apply inks; I got a set of 20 refills so I have a pad for each ink colour in my collection.

I started out by cutting out two tags using the Tag and Bookplates Bigz die (I make a duplicate tag each month for my local scrapbook store). Since they tend to warp after being wet, I glue them to chipboard that has also been cut with the same die.

I added both the Antique Linen and Barn Door Distress Paints to my craftsheet, added a spritz of water with the Mini Mister and ran the tags through it to marble the paper. Water was also shaken over the top for more "water stain" effect.

After drying, I inked the edges with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress Ink and added reinforcements to the tag holes (also from the same die set). I used a Vintage Photo Distress Marker for the inside edge of the hole.

I ran some chipboard with the "Beautiful" folder through my Cuttlebug, cut it to size and inked the edges and lightly swiped the ink over the top, making the debossed word stand out more.

After choosing the elements to add, I cut out chipboard mats for each one and arranged them on the tag. Then I glued background paper from Tim's Crowded Attic pad, sanding and inking each one as Tim instructed.

The bird is from the Bird and Branch die, the oval and arrow are Industrious Stickers (Borders and Frames & Trims sets), Wishbone, Philosophy Tag and Tag Labels (the pen nib) were all added with Glossy Accents.

The final step was adding a strip of Red and Cream Trimmings ribbon through the tag hole.

I really love how the layers look; especially the ruler image - looks like a real vintage ruler piece!

Lots of fun as usual, to play along with Tim's artistic challenges. Can't wait to see what he has in store for us in June!

Yikes!

It's been nearly a MONTH since I last posted!!!

April and May have historically been busy months for us with numerous birthdays and celebrations, but this year was exceptionally crazy nuts tiring "active". After 60 years in the same home, my Mom and Dad decided it was time to move to a retirement home. So we have all been occupied "de-stashing", moving and cleaning. It's sad to see my childhood home going up for sale, but I am so pleased they found a beautiful place that they deserve.

I wasn't totally craft-deprived during the past few weeks though. I did get a few projects done.

I knitted my very first pair of socks!

I made a cowl from super-chunky yarn:

A few cat blankets to keep my company comfy in the Studio:

Just today I completed my first triangular kerchief:

And I made a few cards (daughter's birthday card will be shown in my next post):

So.... what's new with you? Oh yeah... I need to do some blog visiting! That's next on my "To Do" list!