ahhhh . . .

tim holtz 12 tags of christmas are SUCH great eye candy I just HAD to share them with you! Here is the 9th tag he's come up with & feel free to check out his blog and leave a comment as he is doing a RAK giveaway at the end. Also, you can follow his directions & re-create the tags he's made on your own (although some of his products are hard to find and quite pricey!). if nothing else, i'm sure you'll get a little (no, probably A LOT!) of seasonal inspiration over there!

http://timholtz.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Tim's Day 9 tag:

SUPER cool, eh!?

CHA . . . too much candy for the naked eye!

my first CHA show definitely lived up to my expectations!! despite being totally floored when i walked in simply because the sheer SIZE of the show, i managed to pick myself up off the ground and get to all the booths i HAD to see! here are some of my favorites! Certainly, I also loved SO many more, but since I've already previewed sneak peeks from others, I decided to give some other pics their day in the sun! BUT, you NEED to check out the new stuff from Prima, Little Yellow Bicycle, Maya Road, Tattered Angels, Teresa Collins, Crate Paper, 7 gypsies, and Pink Paislee, just to name a few!!!!!!!!! incredible!!!

American Crafts showcased gorgeous bright, bold colors in all of their lines. Check out this gorgeous sample LO from one of their designers here:

Ok, and who doesn't LOVE Tim Holtz!?? Well, here's ONE MORE reason to love him and his creative genius!! grungePAPER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wooooooooooooooooooooohoooooo! Look at these GORGEOUS flowers stamped, then alcohol inked, and shaped . . . all on a thinner, even MORE pliable form of grungeboard, called grungepaper . . . can't wait to play with this stuff and come up with a FUN class to teach!!!

Graphic 45 had a gorgeous booth, with too much to photo, but here's a little peek. Their papers were just LOVELY.

and, here is the ever-sweet Claudine Hellmuth showing us yet one more GREAT idea for her bright, cheery paints, and sticky back canvas: a too cute t-shirt!

and, YES, the paints and canvas DO withstand washing in the washing machine!

so, that's it for now, but go create, and link me when you've made something pretty so we can all share that creative mojo!!

oh, and check back soon so I can share my cropaddict.com layouts and project with that gorgeous Feb kit featuring Little Yellow Bicycle and Prima!

stay warm!!

holidays

i LOVE the holidays. we celebrate christmas, and this year, probably like everyone else, money is tight. so, i haven't spent NEARLY as much as i do on the kids, and i've felt more of the *christmas spirit* this year than any other. i can't quite put my finger on what it is i'm feeling, but i think spending less on things that don't matter, and spending more time crafting gifts by hand and journaling this special time has imprinted the spirit of giving much more than merely going out and buying a silly little gadget or toy (that will be lost or broken by next christmas, knowing my kids!). so, here's my challenge, go into your craft room/studio tonight and grab some great product like you see in this LO made with pink paislee, hambly, ranger/tim holtz, making memories, and creative cafe, to name a few, and journal something you love about this holiday season. in this LO, i just tried to capture the innocence of a child's spirit during these special times . . . the innocence that lies in all of us when we believe in something greater than ourselves.