So Sorry to Be Missing in 

Action for So Long!!

Well Hello Everyone!

Long Time Huh?

I have to Thank You for hanging in with me, and to 

all the New Followers that

have been signing on for the past few months,

Welcome!

And getting a new post done, just in time

as we are now going into the 

2015

Holiday Season

It's been a very busy year for me personally,

and not a whole lot of art has been on my

plate these past few months.

And a bit of a health issue cropped up...

(Public Service Announcement....

Get Your Shingles Vaccine!!!)

But I have managed to tuck into a project

here and there, as any creative person knows,

you cannot stay sane without having your

creative outlet, at least occasionally!

So many changes over the past year, here in 

Canada, has played majorly in much of my not posting.

With the Canadian Dollar taking a dive, and changes 

in our postal service that complicated mailing 

out of the Country, and,

political changes that influenced continuing 

the Swaps and Giveaways globally,

all had to do with my lack of posting.

Nothing sucks creativity out of you faster

than complications and problems and rules....

But, I continued on playing with the 

Digital Arts and Cut 'n' Paste

and an occasional physical piece of art,

so BIG Thanks 

to my 

Favourite

Graphic Designer Shops

Ms. Marsha at TumbleFish Studio

and of course

Ms. Nancy at Crowabout StudioB

and many others at

Mischief Circus.com!

They've kept me sane this year....GRIN

and my First Love, of Cut 'n' Paste

whenever I've been a able to grab some

creative time with some Tag Making...

as I've had a Blast playing with

many of Nancy's Crowabout StudioB Graphics

and often you come across a particular

graphic from these Fabulous Designers

that moves you, inspires...

This graphic of Nancy's inspired me after

making this tag...

I love collecting and restoring,

vintage gold frames,

so did this Cut 'n' Paste 3D version

from the tag I made using Nancy's

Crowabout StudioB Graphics.

'Feeling Grounded' 

Looks even better in person with glitter and

some extra bits added. 

And if you check out Nancy's Shop 

later on tonight, she's releasing a 

Brand New Kit

Just wait! It's a Great one!!!

And Ms. Marsha at

TumbleFish Studio

has a 

FABULOUS 

and HUGE 

Holiday Kit!

Christmas Portraits!

Which I've totally enjoyed having a play with!

And there's still time for you to grab this 

Great Kit

and get some Holiday Graphics Fun!!

So as we near the end of 2015

and usher in the New Year 2016...

I wish You All

a Safe and Happy Holiday Season!!

Enjoy!

All I did was blink.....

And before I knew it, it was almost March!

Wasn't it just Christmas? GRIN

That's ok, as I know so many of you are

chest deep in snow, and it really does seem

like this Winter has either dragged on for 

those of you with horrid weather, or,

I hate to say it, flown past so fast here, as

we've been experiencing unseasonably warm

weather, tons of rain, but no snow, no frigid temps,

and truly just seems like we went from Fall into Spring...

even the hummingbirds have stayed all Winter as 

they too think it's warm enough to do so,

but I won't say that too loudly, as we could get an

Arctic Blast at any time between now and June....grin.

So here we are, tons of changes happening with 

this New Year 2015.

Shifts in priorities, new ventures, even some endings,

but for some of us, I being one, I've just been

sitting back. plodding along doing whatever

arts and crafts suits my fancy while waiting

for the big 'idea' to hit for 2015.

So here's what I've been up too, experimenting and

keeping myself dabbling in the arts....

Stamp Carving

After receiving such a wonderful big gift bag from

my husband at Christmas, full of Fabulous

Water Soluble Crayons,

and a Huge Stack of Carving Blocks

I thought I'd take my Winter Vacation,

( before knuckling down to do taxes in March),

and do some stamp carving.

The thing I enjoy about stamp carving, is that first off,

it's so relaxing!

You have to really clear your mind to be able to draw, and

concentrate on where to cut and not cut so as not to make

mistakes...

Like with this one...grin....

I was distracted while carving and forgot that you have

to do the lettering 'backwards' so when you print

it comes out correctly...hence the word and stamp above

the hearts I had to correct and cut away to still have the stamp

to use.

But that's ok!!

It's all part of the learning curve when teaching yourself

a new medium! Luckily, the stamping blocks are

not very expensive, so real bloopers can also be a good

tool for learning!

And for experimenting with!

And with all the fun colours to use with my new crayons,

I do believe I've been channeling Spring.

And don't forget, cutting away excess gives you

even more bits and bobs to cut into shapes and

give patterns too to use!

And Ideas are Endless!!!!

Not many tools are needed to get into carving

your own stamps, so for a little investment,

you too could dive right in!

So that's what I've been up to for the 

past few weeks, and have so enjoyed 

the process!

Hoping now to be refreshed enough

to face tax time....HA!!!

So if you're thinking about trying

stamp carving....just do it!

It's fun, not expensive and another

Fabulous way to have a creative outlet!

We'll chat soon :)

Enjoy!!

Where did January go?

January may have gone by in a blink, 

but it's been a good month overall.

Imagine my surprise, when I was contacted

by a Representative of 

Stampington Publishing

I was so honoured and thrilled to have 

Birdnuts Mixed Media Blog

chosen for a 

Review of a 

Brand New Publication

for Stampington.com!!!

Artists’ Café

Best of Somerset Mixed-Media

To say I was gobsmacked,

would be an understatement!

But I have to tell you, if you're like me,

having a hard copy, top quality,

magazine in your hands 

is a delight!

But inside was nothing more than absolute treat!

Artists’ Café

Is full of a Selected Variety of some of our 

Absolute Favourite Mixed Media Artists,

taking some of the 

Over the Top Wonderful Tutorials 

from past publications

and compiled them in this Publication!

Can you imagine, 

taking Workshops, with multiple 

Fabulous Mixed Media Artists like, 

Seth Apter, and DJ Pettitt, Lisa Engelbrecht,

Pam Carriker and Karen Cole, 

just to name a few, all in one publication!

And so many more!!

Beautifully photographed and printed, 

each page will make you just want to 

touch and hold and absorb the pages!

And detailed Workshop Tutorials by

each Fabulous Artist

throughout the entire Magazine!

And again, if you're like me, keeping these 

Magazines in our own libraries is always

a must! 

For future reference of learned new techniques, 

and a Wonderful Kickstart for our Muse!

And this one is pure gold in my Library!

So head on over to 

Stampington.com

You won't want to miss out on getting a copy

of this Fabulous Magazine!

Or even getting a Subscription for it!!!

  Artists’ Café

Best of Somerset Mixed-Media

Magazine

Thanks to Stampington.Com

for the Invite, and for all the 

Inspiration!!!

Enjoy!