Tuesday 1 January 2013

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all my blogland friends!  Let's make 2013 the year we want it to be!

I have had a lovely Christmas with family and even managed to squeeze in a few hour's crafting.  I made the most of the opportunity, finishing a frame that I had covered with gesso back in October and then hadn't time to do anything with.  I love creating little garden and wildflower scenes so I was in my element with this.  My new stamp sets that I treated myself to with my first pay check have been sitting there lonely and uninked, so this was always intended to be pure inky self-indulgence!


I started by painting my PoundLand frame with gesso and sanding it down.  (The leaving for 3 months part is optional.)  I stamped the leaves from Summer Silhouettes in VersaMark and then embossed in a shimmery type of embossing powder that I've had for some time.  I measured out some Whisper White card, but as the frame measures 15" I was always going to have a line to deal with.  I inked the bottom of the card with a combination of Pear Pizzaz (retired, but I love it), Old Olive and Summer Starfruit.  The top of the card was inked in Bashful Blue and Baja Breeze. I do find my sponge daubers very easy to use for inking.  

I started stamping with the beautiful bloom on the left from Elements of Style and then stamped randomly along the rest of the card.  I used the top of the fir tree from Lovely As A Tree, the dandelion heads from Serene Silhouettes, the leaves from Papaya Collage and the flowers from Summer Silhouettes.  The inks used were Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, Rose Red, Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Pear Pizzaz and Gumball Green.  I added some insects from Nature Walk and the beautiful butterfly from Papillon Potpourri, stamped twice, once directly onto the card, once onto some scrap. Both were coloured, and then the scrap was punched out with the coordinating punch and mounted on top of the other.


The chipboard tree looked a little stark against the vibrant summer flowers so I stuck leaves onto it, punched out with my Bird Builder Punch and the stems trimmed off.  I added paper roses and gardenia to the edges, with some die cut leaves positioned behind.  The final touch was a rub on quotation.


Supplies
Stamps: Summer Silhouettes, Papaya Collage, Elements of Style, Lovely As A Tree, Papillon Potpourri, Serene Silhouettes, Nature Walk (edit: definitely not retired, clearly I am confused from lack of crafting)
Ink: Basic Black, Early Espresso, Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Summer Starfruit, Gumball Green, Pear Pizazz (retired), Rose Red, Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petals, Baja Breeze, Daffodil Delight, Bashful Blue, More Mustard, Pretty in Pink, VersaMark
Card: Whisper White
Other: aquapainter, sponge dauber, Elegant Butterfly Punch, Bird Builder Punch, heat gun
Non-SU supplies: paper roses and gardenia, rub on, chipboard tree, copper shimmer embossing powder

Now, on a serious note, Socks felt that he should give you all some advice as you contemplate a new year.  Firstly, set realistic and achievable resolutions:


Always see the best in yourself:


Reorganise your clutter:


Spend time on your hobbies, or even learn a new one:


Make sure you spend time with your family and those you love:



Wishing you all the happiest of New Years!

18 comments:

  1. Wahoo!! Hi there Victoria - I've just been working on a card wiv a Puddy Tat on and you were in my thoughts 'cos it's some time ago since you disappeared a bit like the Cheshire Cat leaving a little gap in the Playground and Blogland :)

    Love, love the picture - it's beeeautiful. Snort, and the images are soo funny.

    Happy New Year to you and yours, hugs, Di xx

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  2. Hi Victoria, your garden picture is stunning, absolutely beautiful! And thank you for all the cat pictures, gave me a giggle. Happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to you and all your family. Sue x

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  3. Genius cat pictures - thank you, and what a beautiful spring card... the frame is gorgeous! Happy New Year to you!
    Alison x

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  4. Happy New Year to you & Socks! This picture is just amazing! I love all the detail you put into it & it looks so beautiful I wish I could see that same scene outside my window now instead of all the white snow! You did a fantastic job on it! Love the cat pictures too! I'm still laughing at them! Blessings for the new year!

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  5. Hi Victoria what a gorgeous scene you've created, warm and colourful, unlike our weather at the moment! Something to look forward to:) Lovely to see you back in blogland, Happy New Year
    Val x

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  6. Happy new year to you! Love the artwork and the cat pics are hilarious!!
    LLJ xxxx

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  7. Victoria,this is really a WOW masterpiece that you created. It was well worth waiting for. You put a lot of thought & work into this art and it really shows. I really liked the way you combined all the diff stamp sets to create such a warm scene. Absolutely lovely, and tell Socks thanks for all the good wisdom. He is one smart kitty. Looking forward to seeing the lovely creations you share in 2013, and Happy New Year as well! Hugs

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  8. Happy New Year Victoria, what a start to the Year with such a stunning and gorgeous picture. It's brilliant.
    luv
    irene
    xxxx

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  9. This is stunning! Happy New Year to you, don't disappear like that again! The cat pics are fab, as always. I look forward to following along in 2013.

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  10. I have just thr right space on my wall for this little beauty.....you did make it with me in mind, right? Beautifully done, Victoria.....truly a work of art!
    Socks's friends are a hoot....I've missed 'em.....HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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  11. Gorgeous project Victoria and I'm sure you appreciate it all the more having been so long in creation! I'm sure Anne-Marie is mistaken........it's for my new craft room isn't it??? Happy New Year.......keep up the wonderful cat pics - they bring a smile every time...

    Karen x

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  12. A Gorgeous creation, Victoria! I can see there is going to be a fight over who's wall it graces first, lol! Happy New Year, and thanks for the Cats lols - love 'em!

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  13. It's good to see you Victoria. I love your fabulous picture, it's nice to just indulge ourselves sometimes. You have created a lovely scene and your quotation is beautiful.
    Love the advice from Socks, he is certainly a wise cat.
    Happy New Year.
    Pauline
    x

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  14. You certainly know how to wow us Victoria! This project is absolutely stunning - what a wonderful scene you've made! You threw me for a minute by saying that Nature Walk is retired but I expect you're tired from partying in your craft room - Nature Walk is very much still available!!! I'm still giggling at the cat funnies... Happy new year! Vicky x

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    Replies
    1. I am clearly suffering from not-enough-crafting syndrome! Thanks for letting me know!

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  15. Oh, my little friend, what a nice new year treat it was to find you in my inbox!! You have created such beautiful framed and stamped art to grace your wall. You will have to share a picture of it hanging in place. It was well-thought and well-executed!

    I'm glad you've had a lovely holiday and I wish you every happiness in the new year!! Hugs, Darnell

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  16. Happy New Year to you and yours Honey.
    Love this frame and I cannot believe you left it for three months between starting and finishing it! I NEVER do that kinda thing with my crafty projects!
    xx

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  17. Your framed project is gorgeous - very pretty. Now where in the world do you find all these fabulous cat ideas --- great stuff!
    Sandy

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