What do you REALLY do with those beautiful tags you make???

So, do you Froggers (Friends that are Bloggers) remember this?

...that was turned into this?

Well, of course I couldn't give it to my friend like that, so I had to add some embellishments. Here's what I came up with...

Tag 1:

Tag 2:

Tag 3:

This tag includes my own key design that you can find here under Creations by Tami.



Tag 4:

This also contains my bird cage design, which you can find here as well.

Put all of these tags together, and this is what you get:

I was tickled to pieces because while I love to make tags, I never really know what to do with them. Since they are pieces of art in and of themselves, you can always just frame them as well. This gives me great ideas for Christmas! I SO can't wait!

I gave this piece to my friend, Kate, who owns the Cozy Crop House in Lancaster County, PA. If you've never been there, and you want a WONDERFUL weekend away with your Scrappin' Peeps, this is a great place! Kate makes sure you have a FAB experience. It's close to lots of Lancaster County attractions, and is very close to AC Moore, Michael's, and several local scrapbook stores. She also has some supplies on site in case you run out of necessaries, and she recently became a Ranger retailer. Woot, woot!
And, when you come for a weekend, you can see the above piece in all of its glory. Hey, Froggers! That, in and of itself, would be a great reason to come for a weekend!
So, if you decide to take some time out for yourself, book a weekend and let Kate know I sent you. Believe me, I don't get any kickbacks- just the satisfaction in knowing that I've helped out a good friend who runs an upright and wonderful business that blesses the socks off of women who need to get away for a while.

And, last but not least, here is some cuteness to brighten your day:

Stay tuned for some furniture re-dos. Believe me, I'm just as excited as you all!
Fondly, Tami

Hiatus

Hi Froggers!!! I'm so sorry I haven't posted in a long while. I've had absolutely NO time to craft. Boo, hoo!!! We have been busy moving my in-laws and getting our rental property ready for sale. Whew! All of my labor is done, and now we just need to trust in God to provide a buyer. Youngest is going to India tomorrow night for 10 days (lots of prayers would be appreciated), and then you know what that means? CRAFT TIME (all the while, praying for Youngest and the entourage accompanying her). 
In the meantime, I thought I'd leave you with a few images from some post cards found in the midst of my Grandma's things.

Enjoy, and if you make something with them, PLEASE share it with me!
Fondly, Tami

Another Chalk Paint Project

My friend at the Cozy Crop House and I were chatting the other day (we're really good at that), and I noticed a very ugly piece in her crop room that looked like this:

I looked at her, trying not to appear rude, and stated, "WHAT is that?" I mean, the Cozy Crop House is a wonderful retreat home for women who want to get away from the mayhem, pack up burgeoning rolling totes and canvas bags of scrapbooking supplies, rushing away from the demands of kids, husbands, jobs, neighbors, family members, people that they wish weren't family members...you get the idea. So, why was this piece of C-R-A-_ here is this great business? She told me that she bought it at a local yard sale for a buck (thank goodness she didn't pay any more than that!). It apparently belonged to a little girl who was obviously given the privilege of painting this item without the benefit of basic painting technique instruction. My friend, Kate, said that she bought it to put tea bags inside, but hadn't gotten around to doing anything with it.
After having told her that I have recently had some time to do some decorative painting, she jokingly said, "Here, do you want to paint this?"
So, I took it home, not thinking I'd get to it for a while, but HubbyDoc is on vacation this week. We didn't have any concrete plans, so I've been having fun. Here's what it looks like now:

It's inspired by Miss Mustard Seed. Here's one of the sides:

I used Louis Blue Chalk Paint as a base, dry brushed Paris Grey Chalk Paint on top, dry brushed the Old White Chalk Paint, and then finished with a coat of oak Briwax and clear Briwax. I also distressed it a little, but not too much for fear of bringing back the lovely multi-colored striations.
Here are 2 more views:

I can't wait to give it back to her. I really want to create some lovely altered paper craft rectangles to put in the openings, so if I do, I'll take some pics and show you the final project. Now, on to the cook book shelf for the kitchen. I'm loving this Chalk Paint!
So about chalk paint. There are some distinct advantages:
1. You don't need a primer.
2. Often, only one coat is needed.
3. Clean-up is a breeze. It washes very easily.
4. It's very distressible.
5. It paints on virtually anything. I painted on a piece of ceramic and the coverage was great.
However, there are some downfalls:
1. It is quite expensive- about $36 per quart. However, since it covers so well, you don't need much for a project, and you don't have to prime, so you save lots of time.
2. If you're painting a piece that's going to get a lot of wear, you will need to wax the piece to give it a more durable finish, so if you don't like waxing, stick with your semi-gloss paint.
3. It's very powdery when you sand it, so there may be a little more clean-up than normal.

So, there are the goods and bads of it. However, I'm LOVING my chalk paint and have several projects lined up, including my bedroom furniture. Can't wait for that!

Thanks for looking!
Fondly, Tami

Coffee, Crafts, and a Graduation Cap

So, I've been busy graduating my homeschooled daughter. This ends the era of 13 years of homeschooling for me. It's been a very rewarding time- teaching a learning at the same time (I'm WICKED good at African geography, BTW). I've worked hard to provide a well-rounded education for her (along with HubbyDoc's help). She is a delightful young lady who is headed to college for speech pathology and audiology. I couldn't be more proud (in a good kind of way).

Here she is (quite the cutie, if I do say so myself):

And, here is the moment where we got to hand her the diploma:

It was one of my "magical" times. Yipee.

Well, Froggers, now that I'm not homeschooling anymore, you might hear me saying, "LET THE CRAFTING BEGIN!!!" Yes, I'm excited.
Here are a few things I've been working on:

 This is a piece of subway art that I hope to sell locally.

Here it is, in all its finished glory. It's a wooden board, about 13x14 inches.

And, in keeping with the subway art theme:

This is my first try with the venerable Chalk Paint. I do like working with it, but I need to get used to its nuances.

It's so much fun pulling up the letters to reveal the base coat.

No, those aren't my fingers in the pic. My oldest daughter wanted to help. I'm currently sporting a beautiful blue-chalk-paint-and-wax covered French manicure.

And, this is the finished project. It's a wooden plate, about 12x12. And, hey, if you're interested, send an e-mail my way and I can sell you a custom piece, depending on the wood that I have at the time.
Gotta go dream about all the extra time I'm gonna have.
Fondly, Tami
I'm linking to:
Stacey @ Embracing Change

P.S. And, BTW, if you like Chalk Paint, there's a generous offer over at http://mollysusanstrong.blogspot.com
Check it out!

And the winner is....

Penny Duncan!!! Congrats, Penny!!! Fondly, Tami

Freebies and new stuff!

So, I have been quite busy creating but not blogging. Sorry, Froggers. I hope to be more "regular" (and I don't mean that how it sounds) in the future.

I have been making several items from my SVG designs. I'm now selling designs on www.diecutdesigner.com
(Oops- this site is no longer in existence. Sorry!)

My files are either Creations by Tami or Tami's Creations. It takes me a while to figure these things out since I'm not really creative, folks!
Here's my key file:

And here are 2 of my creations:

The key is SO dainty, and it cuts well on the Cricut. I embossed it with Tim Holtz distress embossing powder in Vintage Photo, which gives it a real rusty look. I LOVE that look.

And this tag is one of my faves! The rose is Penny Duncan's design, and I think she is SO FAB with her designing skills. The key is covered in distress embossing powder again.

OK, so Swirls R Us. I LOVE swirly designs!

Here's the swirly square on a card, although it could be easily re-sized for a 12 by 12 layout. It's stamped using a Tim Holtz (do you see a pattern here?) dabber in pearl. Then I inked over that in a stampin' up purple.

Here's a card that I made with my swirly border:
To add bling, I used distress stickles for a little punch and pizazz.

Here's the swirly border up close. The more intricate, the prettier, IMHO.

And, I think Kousa dogwoods are so pretty. Remember my wreath from a few posts ago? Well, I decided to design a blossom, inspired by Penny Duncan.

This was a really fun card because I designed a swirl in Inkscape, then I "cut" it using the rhinestone feature. Where the "dots" were on the paper, I put rhinestones. It was so easy, and took the guesswork out of the whole placement process.

And here's the dogwood on a card with the leaf.

For the dogwood center, I had a blast figuring this out. I wanted it to look realistic. I was determined not to go to the store to buy anything, so I used what I had, which was some micro-beads. However, they were silver, so I put some in a container, sprinkled some green alcohol ink, stirred them up, and let them dry. Afterwards, they were somewhat clumpy, but they broke up easily with some gentle stirring. Then, I used some glossy accents and made little mounds. I sprinkled the beads on top of the mounds on the inside part of a lid of a plastic container. That way, the sprinkles fell into the grooves and the mounds didn't stick to the plastic. I could then just pour the beads back into the container. Once hardened, I glued the centers onto the dogwood.

 Aren't they cute??? I had way too much fun with this silly little craft because I came up with it -as my 2 yr. old daughter would say- by self.

Anyway, I'm offering three dogwood blossoms with leaves for free to one lucky person. Just leave a comment on this post and I'll choose someone at random on Fri., May 13th. Thanks!
Fondly, Tami

The Old Lucketts Store Blog: Gift Card Giveaway!

So, I read Miss Mustard Seed's blog and I'm convinced that I want to go to Luckett's one day. If you want to know what that is, check out this chance to win some money! The Old Lucketts Store Blog: Gift Card Giveaway! More blogging later. I have to go craft for my new design store at www.diecutdesigner.com. Check out my SVG designs! Fondly, Tami