WOYWW #765 - Bittersweet - A Re-binding

 Hello, Crafty Creatives

How did Wednesday get here so quickly, again?  I missed the WOYWW challenge last week and I am determined not to miss it this week.  I am just a little bit late!  The first month of 2024 made me think of a song we used to sing in church many many years ago, "I'm Coming Up On The Rough Side Of The Mountain."  Thank G-d, all of my news so far this year has been great!

The photo above shows what my desk looked like at 2:30am!  I was on a mission to complete this project in time to have a complete post, but that did not happen. Needless to say, I slept in this morning!

Bittersweet - A Re-binding

The project on which I am currently working has great sentimental meaning for me.  Bittersweet is a collection of stories and poems that were written by high school students from the 1920s through the 1950s. These creative writings were all winners in the Scholastic Magazine's Creative Writing Competition.  

In 1967, my English teacher submitted one of my poems and one of my short stories to the competition.  My entries were not winners, but I did get a certificate and we all received copies of "Bittersweet."   I don't know if SAS Books has published a collection since that time, but "Bittersweet" has traveled with me from high school to college.  From the military to marriage, the birth of my children, back to college, and now in my craftroom.

The cover of the book fell off and the pages are beginning to fall apart as well.  I probably should have re-covered it years ago.  I put the front cover aside, but could not find it anywhere.  I only have one page of the three table of content pages.

I kept the original spine.  Even though it is covered it is nice to have at least one part of the original book included.

I chose papers in the pallet of the original and also school-themed.  I was going to use some writing-themed paper but the colors were not vintage.

So this is what my desk looks like this morning!  There is still much left to do but at least I won't lose any more pages.

One of my favorite poems from this collection is "Spartan Parents."  It is too long to reproduce here, so I thought I would share another of my favorites.  "Seventeen."

Seventeen

by Eugenia M. Paul  (1933)

Age speaks wisdom, and age speaks truth,

And the seasoned tongues are keen,

But give me the honeyed lies of youth

And keep my wisdom green.

Fire may burn, and the burning teach

The moth what candles are,

But let me clutch what is out of reach

And die en route to a star.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugz,

Chana Malkah

Shopping Our Stash #514 - Winter Wonderland

Hello, Creatives!

Welcome to the fortnight challenge at Shopping Our Stash! 

The theme for this challenge is "Winter Wonderland."  

Create a  "Winter Landscape" or Create "An All White Card"

I have been looking for a project that would allow me to use my new fairy house stamps.  My original idea was to create an entire village, but my first attempt at that was a major fail.  I decided to settle on a few houses scattered along a hillside.

Snowy Village

The little house stamps are new.  Everything else is from my stash!

I found a wonderful process video by Heidi_The Yorkshire Crafter on YouTube.  Her environment was exactly what I wanted for my village.  I would have loved to add at least one more house but the scene would have been too crowded.   Next time I think I will try creating an 8" x 8" card!

Once again, I created my own masks/stencils for this project using "Banltre" Milky Mylar Sheets.  The one fun change for me when creating this project was using black cardstock for my base.  It worked better than I imagined. 

Best compliment ever, The Hubster said that he liked my hilly path to the mountain.  I should have made my edges a little darker, but I can live with this.

I plan to continue building scenes until I feel comfortable with my ability to create good perspectives.  I have gotten better and there are tons of videos on YouTube that are super helpful!  On this project, I had another opportunity to combine Pan Pastels with Distress Oxides, Metallic Colored Pencils, and Pastel Pencils.  I am slowly working my way back to using my Gelli Plate.

Thanks for stopping by!  I look forward to seeing your Winter Wonderland creation!

Hugz,

Chana Malkah

Magical Woodland - January Lavinia Stamp Challenge

 Hi, Crafty Mates!

I am jumping off a big cliff today.  I wanted to enter one of my cards into the Lavinia Stamps Monthly Challenge.  Most of the entries are just dazzling, so I don't know how my little creation will stack up to all that wonderful creativity, but this is my year to enter more challenges and do new things!  Unfortunately, two of my images are not Lavinia Stamps so this project is not eligible.  Still, I had a blast creating this project.

I stamped one of my trees with Memento Rich Cocoa and Ranger Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I wanted my palette to be a mixture of the browns, blues, and greens that happen in nature.

I am so pleased with my moon!  The moon is such an important element in many of these fantasy creations.  I try to put one in all of my projects just to get more practice.  I used Lost Shadow, Hickory Smoke, Squeezed Lemonade, and Stormy Sky to create my moon.

I try to keep my interior templates simple.  I think I may give this card to my hubby.  He has been so protective since my diagnosis and doesn't really like to go into public spaces.  We met and got married while we were in the military.  In the beginning, we didn't have a lot of money.  He was always coming up with creative and imaginative ways for us to enjoy our "date nights!"  I think I will recreate one of those "adventures."

WOYWW #763 - Two Projects and A Big Mess!

 Hello, Fellow Creatives!

This week flew past!  The great thing about the WOYWW challenge is that when you get busy, there is always something on your work desk, even if it is just a mess.  Join us and share your creative undertaking!

This is the project I was working on last week, but could not post before the challenge started.  We were to be inspired by a fairy tale.  I chose a Serbian fairy tale.  Click here to see the story summary.

The Prince and The Dragon

The Prince and The Dragon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gift Bag For YaYa

Gift for the Receptionist at my Primary Care Office

She is a planner, so I gave her a weekly planner, some stickers, and fancy paper clips.  I also included medical-themed items: a lanyard, pad, ink pen, reusable straw, and a straw cover.

I love her name and her joyful spirit!

I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to pull this off.  I needed to create white snow on a brown bag.  I figured I would do it with Pan Pastels and then realized I did not have a matte fixative.  So, I decided to use Ranger Picket Fence Distress Ink as my base and I layered the Pan Pastels Titanium White on top of it. 

I think it worked well!

~~~~~~~~~

Magical Woodland

I am creating this project for the challenge over at Lavinia Stamps.  I am not sure it is eligible because some of the stamps are from Card-io!  I will submit it and see what happens.  They will delete it if it is not eligible.  I couldn't find the rules.

I start with an almost clean desk!

I still have to decide on a sentiment and add my central image.  I should be able to finish after I return my my doctor's appointment.  I schedule it for 8:30 am.  Now I am learning that the temperature will be 16 degrees when we leave home!

I think I am going to use Kraft card for this.  Not sure.  I may just layer it onto the white card!

I am excited to make the rounds to see what the other WOYWW players have created.  I always find wonderful Inspiration!

Thanks for dropping by!

Hugz,

Chana Malkah

Shopping Our Stash #513 - Once Upon A Time: The Prince And The Dragon

Hello, Fellow Creatives!

The Fortnight Challenge Theme at

Shopping Our Stash is "Once Upon A Time."
Fairy tale-inspired - dragons, knights, princesses,  
 Tell us what fairy tale inspired you.

~~~~~~~

The Prince and The Dragon
A Serbian Fairy Tale

I chose this rather dark fairy tale because I wanted to use my silhouette fantasy stamps.  The story is very graphic and would give most children nightmares.  I can only assume this story was intended as an adult fantasy!

I had such fun creating this scene.  The primary item I shopped from my stash was the Prima Flowers Stencil I used to make my walkway.  I have had this stencil since 2015, and this was only the second time I used it.  Most of the stamps used are also more than a year old.

 "The Dragon and The Prince" from The Crimson Fairy Book

Tale Summary

Once upon a time, there were three princes, sons of the emperor, who all loved hunting.  In quick succession, the first and then the second son both tried to hunt a hare that lured them to a mill, where it turned into a dragon and ate them both.  The third and youngest son then searched for his brothers.  He resisted hunting the hare and asked an old woman in chains at the mill to help him discover the dragon's weakness.  She tricks the dragon into revealing that it lives in a lake in a faraway kingdom and that its power lay inside of the dragon's body, which also contained that of a boar, a hare, a pigeon, and a sparrow.  The prince traveled to the kingdom, became the emperor's shepherd, and took the flock to graze by the lake without allowing the dragon to eat the sheep, as had happened before.  After two encounters with the dragon, the prince fought the dragon for a third time, and after the princess kissed him on the forehead, he tossed the dragon into the sky.  Falling to the ground, the dragon smashed into pieces, becoming different animals.  The prince first used his dogs to catch the boar and the hare inside the boar and then used his hawk to catch the pigeon.  Inside the pigeon, he found the sparrow.  He spared the sparrow's life in exchange for information on where he could find his brothers.  He marries the emperor's daughter and frees a village's people, including his brothers, from the dragon's cellar in the mill.

I found the dragon image online!  I had to downsize and fussy cut, but he is perfect for this environment!  Since I didn't have an image of a prince and could not find one that fit the story, I decided to focus on the Dragon and the Hare.  I included the birds to represent the Sparrow.

I kept the inside simple!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugz,

Chana Malkah

Stuff I Used:

BANLTRE 12"x12" Mylar Sheets

Feitake Alcohol Marker Paper

Qoisey's Arch Dies

Pan Pastels 30115 Cockburn Flower Coloring #1

Memento Tuxedo Black Dye Ink

Memento London Fog Dye Ink

DISTRESS OXIDE INKS 

Stormy Sky

Hickory Smoke

Lost Shadow

Bira Crafts Easy Stamp Platform

Silicon Ink Pad Holders

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday #762 - Aftermath!

 Hello, Crafty Mates!

AFTERMATH OF A CHALLENGE PROJECT
 

There's nothing much on the desk today!  I just finished a project for an upcoming challenge.  Can't show the project before the challenge date.

I can report that my doctor loved his gifts and the bag!  He called and sent a nice note!

My task for today is to assemble the new chair I got for my studio!  I am replacing the stool I was using at one of my workstations.  Since I don't use my standing desk anymore, the stool is too high to be practical.  Fortunately, Amazon had a great chair for review in the Vine Program so I requested it.  Free stuff is always better.

I have everything all set up and ready to go!  Wish me luck!

The Hubster is sitting in the corner with this little "smirk" on his face! 

 I will do this and wipe that smirk off with grace!

20  MINUTES LATER!!

TA-DA!

Guess who just won $50.00 crafting money!!

What's On Your Workdesk?

WOYWW is a great place to share!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugz,

Chana Malkah

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday #761- Two Projects and A Mess!

 Hello, Crafty Peeps!

One of my first crafting promises to myself for 2024 was to enter more challenges (I rarely do) and the first challenge I wanted to participate in was WOYWW! I really enjoyed this challenge but had to stop for health reasons. The challenge is self-explanatory, but you can go HERE to get a better explanation!

It is fun to visit the blogs of these creatives!  All the blessed messes, the squeaky cleans, and the awesome inspiration are great ways to get over the "hump."

I have two projects to share this week!  

Gift Bag

This is the result of "extreme" procrastination.  I ordered the gift for my Rheumatologist three months ago.  My appointment is today at 8:20 am.  So, in the middle of my original mess (see below) I had to stop and start on this project.  I wanted to recreate a design I saw on a greeting card over at Lavinia Stamps.  I added my own elements.  I think it turned out okay!   My doctor loves fun socks, so I got "doc socks" as a fun gift and a beautiful "aerospace engineer" ink pen as a real gift!

The Final Product!

MESS #2

A Gatefold Card

This month on my challenge blog A Place to Start, our theme is "Create A Gatefold!"  I was following a tutorial and wanted to create a scenic gatefold.  I made a video for my YouTube Channel, but due to my procrastination, I won't be able to finish editing that until I come back from my treatment today.  Which means it won't get done until tomorrow.  I always have chills after the treatments and generally spend the next day or two in bed.  Hopefully, I will be able to add the video to this post tomorrow night.  This is, after all, a New Year!

The Finished Card

Thanks to everyone who visits!  I will make my visits as soon as I get home!  It is 1:00 am here and I have to be up at 5:00 am.

Scenic Gatefold Card

Decorated Gift Bag!

Thanks for dropping by!

Hugz,

Chana Malkah

A PLACE TO START - JANUARY 2024 - CREATE A GATEFOLD CARD / ANYTHING GOES

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Crafty Makers!
~~~~~

Our Team at A Place to Start is starting off the year with a return to a very basic card! The Gatefold! This was the first fold I learned years ago as a novice cardmaker. There are numerous styles of gatefold design these days, so I decided to create a "Pop-Up" Gatefold.  Normally, this type of gatefold card would have a bellyband, but I opted for the medallions close instead!

I couldn't find my pawprint DSP, so I used the paw stamps from the You Make Me Wag My Tail Stamp Set to create my left panel.

 

I just love this Cute Dog Stamp Set   I stamped the image, trimmed it down, and then cut it in half.  I think it makes the perfect border for my sentiment.  I Like the fun fold on this pop-up card!  The bottom is a built-in stand for the panel.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Chana Malkah

Stuff I used:

You Make Me Wag My Tail

Cute Dogs