An Oldie but a Goodie.....

We all have a few of those stamps bought eons ago for that one special project, then carelessly tossed aside left to gather dust & glitter at the back of a drawer, box or closet. 

Don't deny it...you know you do.

While in the middle of moving & packing up my craft room in Calgary earlier this summer I found a few of those stamps. A cartoon-like seashell? What the.....WHY?! I can't even tell you why I have that, but I do. Did I get rid of it? Of course not, because you just never know.

Then a week ago I had the opportunity to go through some (try 3 milk crates full!) old stamps that Kim Evans, from Emerald Creek Crafts Supplies had in storage. I'm not exactly sure how old these designs are but my guess is Tim Holtz was in diapers when some of these were made. Which makes them vintage and vintage is so in right now.

That's a lot of stamps!

I went through every single stamp and picked out about 50 I thought I could try.

My first project was a birthday card for my hubby who is turning 51 next week - I used 2 different tree stamps and 3 different background block stamps. Pretty simple & straightforward.

Old Stamps.New Techniques.

My next project was a tag and I wanted to combine and old stamp with a new release stamp.

I thought this Three Owls stamp would compliment the Bird Crazy Owl perfectly!

Speaking of old stamps - see that alphabet set in the top right corner?

I bought that at Crafts Canada about a bajillion years ago. I can't remember what I ate for breakfast but I remember where I bought that stamp set. 

Here is the finished tag and I think the quote from Dr. Seuss is perfect.

 Thanks for visiting my blog today! 

~~stay crafty~~

julia

Submitted to:

Emerald Creek Dares - Fall 2015 DT Call

Celebration Calendars....not just for Advent anymore

We all remember the chocolate-filled advent calendars we got on

 December 1 when we were kids, don't we?

The excitement of 25 days of opening the tiny doors and

chowing down on low-grade chocolate. The joy!

Well, fast forward to 2015 and the age of Pinterest and now we have 25 days of Beer calendars, and 25 days of Wine calendars. Isn't it great to be an adult? 

I had an idea a couple of years ago and it all started with my sister.

My sister is a winter baby, born on December 28 and for years I have heard that she feels 'ripped off' at her birthday because it is so soon after Christmas. 

In the Spring of 2013 I decided to make her a birthday celebration calendar - 25 days plus 3 extra wrapped presents. One for each day of December leading up to her actual birthday.

It sounds ambitious but hear me out - each box was filled with a little gift that I picked up in local stores or while away on trips. A pair of earrings from a market on Cape Cod; handwritten notes from my kids & my husband & I about why she is so awesome;  a bag of Mystic Tea from Mystic, Connecticut; chocolate truffles from Papa Chocolate; lip balm, hand lotion, a scented candle; a necklace all the way down to kitschy gifts from the dollar store. 

I have to say it was a lot of fun to look for tiny gifts that would fit into a 2"x 2" box

 and it was even more fun surprising her with it!

She loved it!

So the idea of the Celebration Calendar was born!

I found the mass produced advent calendars available to buy a little restrictive because of the box sizes and only having 25 boxes. This is where having a creative carpenter for a dad really comes in handy. Any size wood box for any number of boxes. It's awesome and so much fun!

My most recent custom box was made for my very good friend and Halloween queen, Nicole Wright.

She wanted a 31 day calendar for Halloween because who wouldn't want 31 days of spooky & creepy fun every day of October?!?

So with graph paper, pencil and Eileen Hull's XL ScoreBoard Box & Cubes dies I was ready to start designing a 31 day Halloween Calendar.

 I can't wait to see what Nicole does with the blank canvas ~~~ I know its going to be amazing!

I have to give a huge thanks to my Dad for his time & patience. I am always so amazed that he can take my ideas and bring to life in 3D!

Check out his Facebook page to see his custom made furniture & home decor...

Shuttleworth's Carpentry & Custom Furniture

Thanks for checking out my blog today!

~~~stay crafty~~~

julia

Elegant Edna.....my August Tim Tag

Is it August 21st already? My goodness, where does the time go?

I have to get my butt in gear before Tim blogs the September Tag!

I love the Friendship Words Block & Script Die sets - it took me a little time to get them positioned the way I wanted them and a little washi tape to hold everything in place. It seemed like a waste of washi but it was the only tape I had in the house. Desperate times call for for desperate measures!

 Meet Edna - an elegant lady from the Found Relatives collection.

I named her Edna after my very own great gram ~ a lady who could rock a stylish hat 

with the best of them.

 This tag is going to make a great gift tag for a friends upcoming birthday!

Be sure to check out Tim's Tag for August

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Leave a comment so that I know that you were here. 

I love 'meeting' new crafty people that will inspire me!

~~ stay crafty ~~

julia

Submitted to challenge: 

Tim Holtz : August Tag