Sunday Sparkle

This look simple (actually is simple), but goodness, I struggled. I made this tag four times before I got it like I wanted.

Here we go. 

I used a manilla tag base that I covered using this specialty glitter paper in gold. Simply spray the back of the paper with the spray adhesive. Adhere. and trim to fit the tag. 

I cut the Classy Deer from deep brown glitter paper. 

Then using one of my absolute favorite SweetStamps Embellishments - the velvet hydrangeas - I layered them around the deer image and into the corner.  These hydrangeas are flocked and glittered and simply wonderful to work with. 

Also, if you missed the blog hop on Friday - please click here and take a look at some beautiful projects. 

Merry Christmas!

Classy Deer SweetCuts Die

Velvet Hydrangeas Blue

All Purpose Spray Adhesive by Krylon

Oh Christmas Tree

Welcome to the SweetStamps.com Sweeties Holiday Blog Hop!!

With the Holidays right around the corner we thought it would be fun to share some lovely Holiday inspiration with you!

If you are arriving from Shelly's Place, welcome to MaggieGrace World.   If you haven't and would like to start at the beginning, please go back to the Sweet Stamps Blog. I promise there are lot's of great ideas and inspiration being shared. 

Be sure to leave comments along the way for your chance at winning!  We will randomly choose one winner from all the comments left!

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I am all about easy and fun projects and this is no different than most of mine. 

Today I'm sharing a cute little Christmas Tree Ornament. (it will hang or stand)

I can see several of these across the Mantel in assorted sizes. 

The list of materials is at the bottom of the post. 

Make yourself a cone from green cardstock. I make my cones using a half circle and simply rolling into the cone shape and gluing in place. The tree part of this is about three inches tall and I cut a 5 inch circle in half to make it. 

While that is drying, Dig through your scraps (we all have those don't we) and pick several assorted green ones. (Or use strips of green papers).

Cut several of the Fancy Leaf shapes. These do not have to be complete cuts. Be sure and cut some from both directions by turning your paper over to the "wrong" side for some of the cuts. Trim just the leaves from the cuts and discard the flourishes. 

Flex the leaves a bit to give them dimension. 

Using Glastique as an adhesive, glue the leaves around the tree. Start at the bottom and let the first row hang off a bit below the edge. Move up the tree and overlap the leave all the way to the top. 

(I placed my cone over a styrofoam cone and pinned the leaves that wanted to slide off. using tiny pins and angling them under the next row area hides the holes very effectively.) 

Let this all dry over night.

Lightly mist the entire tree with spray adhesive and sprinkle with extra fine chocolate glitter.

The "star" at the top is a glitter paper cut using the Mini Flower Die. I cut it twice and used one openwork petal piece and the two solid backer bits. A tiny Pearl from the Brown Pearls kit accents the center with a bit of extra fine chocolate glitter. 

To stand this one, I glued two vintage spools together (you can buy reproductions at most any craft store) and set the tree over the stack. I glued the top one into the cone. 

See - very easy to make.

Make several and set up your own little forest of these. 

Don't forget to comment. Every comment gets added to the drawing for goodies. Also be sure to leave your email address in the comments (Blogger may or may not let me in on that information depending on your settings) 

Thanks for stopping by.

Seems I am ending this hop, I  sure hope you gathered some inspiration along the way. 

This link takes you back to the SweetStamps Blog. 

Check out all of Sweet Stamps "sweet" goodies here!

Happy Hopping, Happy Shopping

and...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Fancy Leaf SweetCuts Die

Mini Flower SweetCuts Die

Brown Pearl & Rhinestone Collection

Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze

InLinkz.com

Christmas Spirit

There's a song in the air

There's a star in the sky

Forget all of the hustle and bustle of the season. All of my thoughts lean toward a grungy stable, with average appearing, unlikely people, and a tiny Baby. 

We have beautiful stained glass depictions of the story in our church and when I spotted the Stained Glass Nativity stamps, I knew I wanted to recreate the idea of those windows. 

I first made the mottled blue background paper using distress inks. I simply streaked a bit of the blue and a (now discontinued) whitewash color. Then dried that with a heat tool. I stamped my image with ink and embossed the image with Copper Kettle Embossing Enamel. 

Now for the fun part. I used NO Embossing adhesive and covered the entire image with Bahama Aqua Embossing Powder, then dumped that back in the jar. This leaves a wonderful shimmery patina on the blue background. Now carefully dab the Embossing Powder Adhesive all over the image (does not matter if you go over the lines), trying not to remove the shimmer. Cover with UltraThick Clear Embossing Powder. Take a toothpick and trace the Copper Embossed lines, removing a fair amount of the Clear Powder from the lines. Emboss again. This gives a texture very similar to stained glass. 

Fussy cut the "window" image and, using Super Sticky Tape, adhere it to the card base. 

Beautiful - Elegant - Understated - Christmas. 

Enamel Embossing Powder Adhesive	Enamel EP BAHAMA AQUA	3/8" Super Sticky Tape 55 yards	Distress Ink Pad SALTY OCEAN
Enamel EP VINTAGE COPPER	Stained Glass Nativity Small

InLinkz.com

The tale of a long awaited FINISH -----

Once upon a time - The Man's Mama Norvan (Grandmother) made things too. 

We have some of these pretties at our home. 

They bring very special memories to our heart and mind. 

Sadly, we lost her in 1995. 

That was a long, long time ago. 

We cleaned out her home.

Years of possessions. 

Some came to live at our home.

Some with the other children and grand-children.

I ended up with several things.

Including a Payday Candy Bar Box of stuff.

(don't judge - it was a project box and I had great intentions) 

Many years.

Many re-locations of that poor box.

I went searching in my archives and located a picture of it on the shelf in the studio.

See. 

Things are changing in my world. 

Life is Beautiful and I am staking claim to some of the serenity that comes from

cleaning - purging - finishing

(overcoming hoarding is a battle - but I will leave that for my other blog) 

and in the midst of the battle, I lay hands on a Payday Box.

I did not have to open it.

I knew.

But because you don't - here is a quick picture of the contents. 

POLYESTER FABRIC (hideous stuff really) 

Thread.

Some cut circles

Bits of Cotton

Needles

and a few finished yo-yo bits.

I have two of the creations made from this project box, so I knew what it was. 

I'm finishing things.

INTENTION - the word of the year.

And this was the perfect kind of project for clearing my mind of some things. 

Here's what I've accomplished.

I dumped it all out.

Sorted. 

Tossed. 

Traced one of the existing circles. 

Cut as many more as I could from the fabric in the box. 

Cut cotton balls into smaller bits.

(Gathered the remaining fabric bits in a baggie - told you - this is battle)

And made myself a plastic project box. 

Hours were spent alone.

Silent (or with music).

Thinking.

Praying.

Pondering.

Crying.

Healing.

Loving.

Moving forward. 

But also -

Threading her needle (with her thread)

The rhythm of hand stitching is meditative, relaxing.

Allowing room for mind wandering.

I made yo-yo after yo-yo

Hundreds of them.

Placing the finished one in a plastic bag.

Picking that bag up and smiling.

This little pile kept growing. 

My heart filling with memories of Mama Norvan

Wondering where each scrap came from?

How it came to be that she started making these?

Wondering how she decided which bits went together?

I was relaxed in this process.

Creating without pressure.

(you know putting a project on hold for -  say - 19 years takes a LOT of pressure off) 

And one night this week, I finished as many of these as I could make with the contents of the box.

and TA-DAH

Fun little scrap fabric wreath ornaments. 

I found my two and added them to the pile. (the far right one was made by her, as was the one between the two pink ones) 

Several of these have been spoken for.

All will most definitely stay in the family.

And - that is now one box that is no longer part of my HOARD. 

I also have plans for all those fabric bits in the plastic bag too. 

(overcoming hoarding is a battle - please do not judge) 

LIFE IS CRAZY BEAUTIFUL. 

thanks

Have you seen the other beautiful cards this week. The challenge for the week was THANKS and I am Thankful to be on this team of creative ladies.

For my card I again went with simple. A soft blue blank card, layered with various green hills, I stamped it using the Earthy package of stamps and the Swirly Tree Stamp along with the Framed Sentiments set,  using the larger of the two trees. I varied the stamping colors on my tree and the Sentiment.

These would be a great gift set - or even a good place marker at the seasonal gatherings.

Have a fantastic week.


Teresa 

Shades� Ink Spots EARTHY

Framed Fancy Words Clear Stamp Set

Two Swirly Trees 1032H

share a little love

Hello there. Teresa from MaggieGraceCreates here, bringing up the end of a week of the Lovely Layers challenge. 

It has suddenly turned cold in the southern USA, but until this weekend it has been a beautiful fall. This is my favorite time of the year and my card drew inspiration from the lovely fall color. 

I used the Fancy Leaf Sweetcuts Die and cut several assorted fall color pieces. To my card base I added a favorite piece of embossed paper slightly offset from the center of the card. Along the edge of the embossed paper, I started with my Leaves and simply adhered them in place with a tiny bit of Glastique just below the leaf area, leaving the leaves loose. I cut some of these in reverse so that my leaves twisted and turned both directions. After these dried, I bent and curled the layers of leaves and added a tiny little textured yarn bow.


I also used the Mossy Glen and Real Rust embossing powders to randomly layer and cover the Love Word Accent from Globecraft and Piccolo. Again I used the Glastique to adhere this to the card.

Here is a side angle shot showing how the leaves are dimensional from the card front.

Real Rust Enamel Powder

Enamel EP MOSSY GLEN

Fancy Leaf SweetCuts Die

Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze

InLinkz.com

Nesting in the fall

First of all you need to take off and go see the ABSOLUTELY STUNNING NESTS made by Miss Vicki Boster. I have one of hers and it is beautiful. I was inspired by those and decided to try to make my own version of the nests. 

Mine turned out totally different. 

I am pleased with this, but hers are still the absolute best. 

An assortment of yarns in fall colors - my favorite yarns. I gather small skeins from all over the place. Each road trip finds me looking for a yarn shop where I may buy enough for a project or just one special skein for a memory. 

My stash of ribbon - lace - buttons - and beads------ well it is wide and deep as well. 

This gave me a chance to use some very favorite things. 

Crochet a base - add loads of yarn, ribbon, lace, other bits. 

It pulls you right on into that "head space" where this bit makes this bit sing and shout. 

So much fun.

You can't tell in the photos, but this thing is a large sized nest. 

Like serving platter sized. 

Those long long tassels of yarn give it a beautiful drape.

Lots of color and texture too. 

Strings of beads and silk leaves accent the edge. 

A place for my feathered friend to perch.

I took him out into the leaves for these pictures. 

Perched him in the Ginko Tree. 

(at the local bank) 

(I know people look at me so strangely. Crazy lady standing on a box taking a picture of a pile of yarn in a tree) 

Yes friends

Today that crazy lady was me. 

I am so very happy with this - and there will be more. 

And the even greater part

All of this was already in my stash.

Have a wonderful day. 

Many thanks

Good Morning. I'm Teresa and I am new here. I am bringing you a fall colored Thanksgiving Card. 

I used several thin strips of assorted paper scraps for the background of the card. I glued them down onto a plain copy paper backing and then trimmed to fit my blank card base. Then using the Winter Village Scene Die I cut a circle from a lighter card stock (I kept the winter scene for a later time). Aligning the "frame" where I wanted it to go, I embossed an almost sheer layer of Mermaid Tears enamel to soften the background for the metallic copper leaves. The leaves are two cuts using the Fancy Leaf Die that I layered and then trimmed the "extra" from. I stamped and embossed the sentiment. The final detail was the addition of eyelets and some textured yarn. tie on a button. Now this one is ready to leave as a tiny token by everyone'e Thanksgiving plate.

Have a wonderful remainder of the weekend.

TERESA

Enamel EP MERMAID TEARS	Enamel Embossing Powder Adhesive	Framed Fancy Words Clear Stamp Set	Enamel EP COPPER KETTLE
Fancy Leaf SweetCuts Die	Winter Village Scene Circle SweetCuts Die	Ultimate Glue 4 oz.

InLinkz.com

OVER HERE ---

I am over here today.

A more personal blog post about the hoarding  keeping of stuff for sentimental reasons.

Follow on over if you like.

Have a beautiful day.

thank you - a new venture begins

This is my last post as a Design Team member for Globecraft and Piccolo. It has been a wonderful experience to work with these products and all the creative people around this product. This however, is not a sad farewell, as I have been asked to join the other designers on the SweetStamps Design Team. SweetStamps is the sister company of GlobeCraft and Piccolo so you will still be seeing lots of these products.

For my farewell design, I have made a cute little note holder. Again a very easy project.

I used the following SweetStamps and Globecraft & Piccolo Products

- Large Stemmed Rose Accent 
- Ruby Red Slippers Embossing Powder
- Mossy Glen Embossing Powder
- Enamel Powder Adhesive
- Framed Fancy Words Clear Stamps
- Micro White Embossing Powder 

Miscellaneous items
- spool
- hairclip (bobby pin)
- Glue (ultimate glue is great)
- chalkboard paint (black acrylic will work just as well)

Paint the spool with the black paint. Set aside to dry.

Emboss both sides of the Rose Shape using the Ruby Red Slippers for the flower head and the Mossy Glen for the leaves and stems.

Stamp the word "thanks" onto the spool and them emboss with the MicroWhite Powder. I left a bit of the loose powder on mine to imitate the chalkboard - just the effect I was after.

Glue the clip to the back of the Rose (I slipped a small piece of plastic into the clip to prevent gluing it closed.)

Glue the rose into the spool.

Leave a loved one a note saying thank you .


There are so many available shapes on the G&P site, you can customize these for any occasion. They would also be beautiful place card holders as well.

Thank you again for visiting me here. Please follow me on over to the SweetStamps blog. Those designers are amazing as well.

Life is Beautiful -- Teresa

happy birthday card

Good Morning Everyone- turns out that October is full of Birthdays in my family. So I sat down and made a pile of simple cards.

These are quite simple and easy ----

I had these blank cards (by the Paper Studio) - So I used these and added simple embellishments.

I used the following GlobeCraft and Piccolo products.
- Glastique (as the adhesive)
- Embossing Powder Adhesive
- Gilded Rose Gold Embossing Powder 
- ATC sized Frame from a Piccolo Set - (several sets have the frame, I simply bag all of these together as I punch out my shapes)

From SweetStamps I used
- Birthday Elegant Stamp
- Rustic Ink From the Earth Ink Spots Kit
- legless brads from the Chocolate and Marshmallow set 

- ombre toned embroidery floss

Easy. Quick. Beautiful.

Emboss the corners of the frame with the Gilded Rose Gold. Adhere floss to the back side of the frame and tightly and smoothly wrap the frame with the floss. (a dot of glastique is all you need to hold the floss in place. Glue frame to card to accent the area you like. Stamp with a sentiment. I added the Candi Legless Brads to further accent the corner.

Have a wonderful weekend.

it's a Luke Bryan song inspired box.

We all have things we want to keep. Especially memory things. This is a Memory Box. Ready for beach photos, maybe a ticket to the pavilion amusement park, even a few seashells. Every time I heard this song, I knew I wanted to use the imagery from it for a project. 

It started with a kraft paper recipe box. And this wonderful soft toned "beach- washed" wood scrapbook paper. 

To that I added the following items

From GlobeCraft and Piccolo 

- Enamel Powder Adhesive

- 3d Enamel Gel 

        Honey Mustard 

        Orange

        Coral Pearl  

        Satin Honeydew

- Embossing Enamel Powders

        Micro Gold 

        Cranberry Wine

        Mermaid Tears

        Temple Stone

        Starry Sky

        Mossy Glen

        Platinum

Glastique

Instant UV Resin 

Piccolos

        Pop Up Flower Accents

        Amusement Park Rides

        Vintage Cross Accent

        At the Beach Accents

From SweetStamps

        Java Sparkle EP

        Desert Sparkle EP

        Super Sticky Tape

        Brown Pearls

I used the Sticky Tape to adhere the paper to the box. 

The orange and green flower is glued to the top only and does not interfere with opening and closing the box at all. 

I trimmed down the "sand" below the palm trees. 

This was a really fun little memory box to complete. 

The Mossy Glen is PERFECT for those palm tree fronds. I used a tiny paintbrush and the Embossing adhesive to use the different powders in these detailed accents. 

Please. If you create a project "inspired by a song" leave me a comment so I can go take a look. 

Have a wonderful Thursday --- Teresa