A Lil' Love

For Valentine's Day I made this lil' book of love for my boyfriend. I used the tutorial from Tim Holtz on his blog at timholtz.com. It's made from one double sided piece of 12" x 12" scrapbook paper. I used a paper from the Je t'adore collection by Making Memories.

This big, black flower is actually left-over from the boutinairres, corsages, and bouquets that I made for my daughter's recent marriage. The tag is made using a Tim Holtz coupon stamp.

The text is a Dream definition stamp. In the pocket is a coupon (another Tim Holtz stamp) good for an atomic clock. He's been wanting a new clock for awhile. The coupon reads, "Tick-Tock...You get a new clock!"

This tab is from a set of tabs from Basic Grey. I distressed it with Brushed Courdroy Distress Ink. The date is stamped using a date stamp I purchased from Office Depot.

These are inchies spelling L-O-V-E. They are attached using pop-dots for a bit of dimension.
This pocket had a coupon for dinner at his favorite mexican seafood restuarant.

More Tim tags and left-over embellishment from the wedding.

And this last pocket held a photo of us taken at my daughter's wedding. We're all dressed in our Sunday best!

Try a book for yourself. They're quite addicting!

Have fun!

denise :D

Friendship Quilt

Along with my dear friends Karen (BriarsideLane), Therese, Mary, and Lori, I am making a Sylvia's Bridal Quilt. Ours is more a Friendship Quilt as we get together to work on our blocks. We have given ourselves the goal of having our quilts finished by December 2011. Kind of like a Christmas gift to ourselves. :)

Sylvia's Bridal Quilt is inspired by the book "The Master Quilter". It is the sixth novel in the Elm Creek Quilts series by Jennifer Chiaverini. There are currently numerous online groups as well as in-person groups that meet to create their own versions of this beautiful quilt.

I have been collecting Thimbleberries Fabrics for several years now. I decided to make my quilt using these rich colors. They remind me of the Civil War era when women gathered around and stitched together while their men were at war. Their love and support for their men (brothers, fathers, husbands, and sons) as well as for one another as women is a guiding example for us all.

I'd like to share with you the first of my 140 blocks. (Please excuse the rough edges and dangling threads. None of the blocks have been squared-up yet.)

This is Block One: Mosiac #3.

Block 2 is Shoofly.

Block 3 is called Bright Hopes.

This is Block 5: Amethyst. I skipped Block 4, because it has applique and Karen is going to help me learn her technique of hand-applique. She does gorgeous work. :)

Will keep you posted as we stitch along on our quilts.

Tell me about what you're working on.

May God's hand touch you and your art. xoxo

Charmed, I'm Sure!

I am currently participating in a Charm Swap with the All Things Tim Yahoo Group at AllThingsTim@yahoogroups.com. This group is for artists of all kinds who love Tim Holtz and his style of creating. Last week I sent my "For The Birds" Charms to Deb, the Swap Hostess. After she receives everyone else's handmade charms, she will swap them out and send us all a set of each other's charms. Charming - don't you think?

I used the Tim Holtz Fragments for the base. I then stamped bird images on paper by KC Company. I attached the stamped image to the fragment using Glossy Accents by Ranger. I then added a charm from the 'Petals a Plenty' Collection by Plaid. All was then attached to a lobster clasp (required) that can be added to a necklace or a bracelet.

"Come fly with me," said the birdie to the butterfly.

"Pretty flowers make me smile," chirped the birdie.

"Let me tell you about the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees - and this thing called love," sang the baby bird.

"Thrive each day," she sings to me and thee.

"Nice beads and baubles," my friend.

Birds make me happy. Their sweet little faces and happy little hops.

Birdie Blessings to you, my friends.

Chirp - Chirp. xoxo

Holy Matrimony

Come join me in the celebration of the wedding of Rebekah Larae Daniel (my youngest daughter) to John Michael Mulquin, Jr. on Saturday, February 5, 2011.

Bekah and Quinn with the Chaplain who maried them, Major Diddle.

My beautiful Bekah and me. I made her dress and birdcage veil. The wedding theme was circa 1940's vintage. I also made the bouquets, corsages, and boutinairres.

Bekah and her proud daddy walking down the aisle.

The ceremony and exchanging of the wedding rings.

The lighting of the unity candle - and the two shall become one.

Taking of holy communion - the bread and the wine.

The kiss of the newlyweds - so in love. :D

Mr. and Mrs. John Mulquin - husband and wife.

The sabre squad - "Welcome to the family."

The happy couple, Bekah and Quinn,...

...outside the chapel on Ft. Bliss, Texas.

The first dance as husband and wife.

The Daddy-Daughter Dance - with lots of tears.

The toast - to a happy future together always!

The wedding cake - made by Bekah's friend, owner of Chasing Butterflies Pastries. I also made the cake topper with the cute lil' love birds.

The cutting of the cake. Yum!

The happy couple. I love you both. Blessings to you always, baby girl. :D

Mi Familia Bonita - My Pretty Family

Bekah and her fiance, Quinn, with Belle and Roxy opening their Christmas gifts. (Must be a great guy...the pups love him!)

Bekah and Quinn making and mailing the invitations to their upcoming marriage. Two cuties so in love!

Chris and Jenn with my dad and me for Thanksgiving dinner last month.

The Lord has blessed us all. I love these guys! :D

T!m Holtz Inspired Chunky Book

Finally!...I've been able to make some of the tags from the 12 Tags of Christmas by the absolutely amazing Tim Holtz.

Instead of the tag version, I am making just some of the tags into a grungeboard chunky book.

This is my spin on Tag #1. Tim's Tag #1 can be seen here. On the right hand side of his blog are the 2010 tags. He also made a series of 12 Tags of Christmas in 2007, 2008, and 2009.

Here's my second book page. It's kind of a combination of two of the pages - the tag with the deer and the one with the bird on the branch. Check out Tim's entire 12 Tags of Christmas for techniques galore and abundant inspiration.

I'm working on another tag/page now. Hope to have it posted in the next day or so.

One of my New Year's resolutions will be to Create Art Every Day...and another one is to be better about blogging!

Merry Christmas to all - and to all a good night. Sweet dreams! :D

Merry Christmas, Puppies!

My precious puppies got new yummy Christmas chuppies today...and boy, were they in heaven. Just have a look at these contented baby girls...

Roxy is loving her present from Mama Santa! Mmmm!

Belle says, "Thanks, Mom. We love Santa...and our Mama!"

Happy babies...butt-to-butt. Is this doggy-spooning? These precious girls helped make my Christmas an oh-so-happy day.

Love these girls! :D

Zany Zentangles

Just wanted to share some of the zentangles I have created. It is a very therapeutic art - calming and soothing. This is the first one I made...

This is the second zentangle I created...

In my third zentangle, the quilter in me came out! This is designed like a quilter's 9-patch block...

Liked the idea of creating an initial zentangle that I had seen on several people's blogs...

Another 9-patch zentangle in progress..

I like the idea of using zentangles in my journaling...

For more information about the art of zentangles and its history, check out http://zentangle.com/

God's gifts to us are ours to share with others.

denise :D

Trust

Trust...such a simple word. Yet such a difficult task. As humans we are born with trust, because we have never known untrust. It is only after trust is broken or lost that we become fearful and do not trust...others or ourselves. But our 4-legged friends are just the opposite. They are born untrusting...they must learn to trust. These beautiful deer have learned to trust with caution. Oh, if we as human could do the same...

...to run to something or someone - instead of away...

...to feel the warmth of another's touch...

...to eat out of the hands of another without fear.

Trust with all your heart, my friends. :D

Blessings to all, denise