Is it really almost 2014?

I know, I know, you all thought I fell off the face of the earth didn't you? Well, I have to admit, for a while there I wasn't sure if I was still living on planet earth either. For those of you who don't follow my posts on Facebook, I have been feeling poorly for the past several months. My energy level was gone and I had a hard enough time going to work, let alone doing anything fun. Right before Thanksgiving I was hospitalized with severe anemia. My iron level was so low, that my blood didn't even have enough hemoglobin to carry the oxygen I needed to my brain. No wonder I felt like I was walking around in a fog! Well, I'm happy to report that after a couple blood transfusions, and a straight cocktail of Iron delivered to my system, I'm feeling much better.

While I haven't been posting, I have been stamping. A little oxygen deprivation wasn't going to get in the way of me doing that! So, I have several new things to show you. I realize that most of these are Holiday related, and not really relevant to right now, but I'm hoping you don't mind seeing Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas projects in January. Let's just pretend I'm really on the ball and ready for next year :)

So, here is wishing a safe, happy, and most of all healthy New Year for us all!

Now for something a bit different.....

It's Football time! While these will probably end up on some more canvas art (I have a few ideas floating around in my head) for now they are just cute little punchies.

We are HUGE football fans, but of course, we all have different teams. While I'm a die hard Lions fan, hubby is a Patriots fan.

This year, the Lions and the Patriots aren't going to be playing each other, but we able to watch a pre-season game where my LIONS creamed the Patriots....This may never happen again, so to commemorate the event, I made these little punch guys to rub in my hubby's face.

Needless to say, he was not impressed, but I hope you like them!

Jay's Mixed Media

Of course I couldn't make canvas art for my daughter, and not make one for my son. I made the mistake of asking him what he would like on his. Of course he had to name a video game that I don't play. So, after some research online, I managed to discover that Mine Craft is a very pixilated looking game he plays on his X Box.

I pulled some images from the web, and also managed to use one of our square punches to help embellish the canvas. I also used a stencil as well as some of our ink to make the blocks that create the game's look. Once again, the ink smeared slightly, but I really like how it looked. Oh, to get the green background, I added some drops of one of my reinkers (can't remember which green it was...sorry) to gesso and used that to color the canvas.

He seems to like the way it turned out, and I have to admit, it's not bad considering I had no idea what I was making!

It's a good thing Michael's keeps having canvases on sale......This is too much fun to stop!

Katie's Mixed Media

I warned you that I was addicted to these things. This is my daughter's name mixed media project. She is a huge Michael Jackson fan (or at least she is a fan of the white Fedora!). I have no idea where she gets it from. I was well over the whole Michael Jackson thing long before she was even born! Last year for Halloween she dressed up as Michael Jackson, and my hubby posed her for the smooth criminal picture. I have loved it ever since, but had no idea what to do with it, so when I discovered canvas art, it seemed like a great way to showcase it. While some of the element's are not Stampin' Up! the great thing about mixed media is you can use everything!

About time I showed you something I've done!

Ok, I'm all for gathering ideas and inspiration from Convention, but at some point in time, you have to stop looking and start doing! Believe it or not, I have been doing.....After the presentation by Carrie Cudney on living a creative life (you can read all about it here), I have been addicted to multi-media canvas art. I know......just what I needed something else to get hooked on.

So, this was my very first ever attempt. I'm not sure why I chose Halloween except that was what Carrie had demonstrated. I figured it was a good place to start.

I really love the way it turned out. I did learn something pretty important though, if you use regular SU ink on the project, and then seal it with Modge Podge, it will pick up some of the ink colors no matter how long it has been "dry" and spread it around the rest of the picture. For the Halloween look, having a bit of the brown on the page didn't make a lot of difference, but I figured I had better warn you.

I also thought the tree was pretty awesome (if I do say so myself). It was made by crumpling layers of tissue paper and using modgepodge to stick them down. My daughter especially thought the knot in the tree was the best part (maybe because it was her idea!).

So, I hate to say it, but this was just the tip of the Ice Berg! I have several more to show you over the next few days...and of course I have several ideas floating around in my head. Figures.....leave it to me to find another craft project I can get overly immersed in :)!

My Favorite Swap.....Punch Art

Last time I went to convention, I participated in a punch art swap. I loved how many great ideas and instructions I recieved, and honestly, I'm still using those ideas. So, this year, when I had the opportunity to sign up for another one, of course I did! As with anything else, I thought it only fair to share what I learned with all of you, so here are the punch art instructions I received as part of the swap. Can you guess which one I did?

Convention Boards- Final Post!!!

So Believe it or not, I think you have seen every possible board that was up at convention. See, and you got to do it from the comfort of your own home!

I thought it would be fun to show you what convention really looked like. Without John's picture taking abilities and ninja like sneaking, none of us would have these pictures to fuel our creative genius.

Please, if you get a chance, let Dawn or her hubby know how much you appreciate the wonderful pictures.

So, just for laughs, this is what the convention boards looked like from my perspective.

See why John deserves a big heartfelt thank you!

Ok, the only things left from Convention that I have to show you are the swaps I received, and believe me, there are definitely some in there you don't want to miss. Stop by on Monday to get another jolt of creativity!

Convention Boards- Day 11