Have a Blessed Christmas

As Christmas quickly approaches our hearts turn to the "Reason for the Season" our Savior Jesus Christ. I would like to share this little video with all my friends here. It is a beautiful reminder of what Christmas really means. Enjoy.

The 6th Annual Original Printables Holiday Countdown

The GIVEAWAY over at Lisa Volrath's TenTwoStudio starts today!  You can download some darling Christmas images for FREE!  Go check it out.

I survived Digital Scrapbooking Day!

Even though it snowed...can it really be winter already?...and I spent most of the day being quite ill with a stomach bug, I still managed to make two scrapbook pages this weekend.  Here it the latest one.

The other one is down a couple of posts.

What is SVGcuts?

Have you wondered what SVGcuts is...and why I love them?  This little video will show you some of their awesomeness.

MM Speed Scrap

Tonight I did my first speed scrap with My Memories Scrapbooking Software.  Here is the page I came up with.

Grandkids playing on the Wall Drug dinosaur.  It has been there a long time - I remember climbing on this when I was a kid.

Spiders Hate Orange!

Update:  Whoo Hoo...This little witch just won the Trader Treasure Award!  What a fun surprise. Thanks!

Spiders Hate Orange!

Here is my submission for this week's challenge on the PaperTraders Art Blog.  It was fun to do, and although it is a Halloween theme, note there is no orange, because ...Spiders do not like orange!  ...or so Cathy says.  lol

Digital Scrapbooking

Tonight I made a scrapbook page featuring my youngest brother Ronnie who has passed away.  He would have been 61 in November.  I have just been thinking about him and missing him so I thought this would be a good day to make a page for him.  I hope you like it.  It features two of my favorite pictures of Ronnie...one with Hal and I...and the one with him holding a puppy.  What a sweet little kid he was.  And he grew up to be a sweet man too!

A Little Art

I have been planning to post this for a while but have just been busy.  First is a spread I did in my friend Karen's Traveling Art Journal.  She wanted black, white, and a little color and since she is giving it to her teenage granddaughter she wanted it to be kind of an advice book for her.  I love President Gordon B. Hinckley's Bs so I chose that for my theme.  I think I might have to get a new copy of his book to send along for her granddaughter when the swap is over.  The large bee is from SVGs by Bee .  The small bees are from SVGshop.com .  I made the word cutting files myself.  You can't see it very well in the scan but the pages, words, and the bee wings have lots of gold glittery goodness on them.  I used "Gleams" acrylic paints for that.  Love that stuff!  

My pages for Karen's Journal
(Click pictures for a larger view)

Second are the pages I made for Amy's Traveling Journal.  Her theme was things with wings.  I made a torn paper background from old book pages and sprayed it with walnut ink, then wiped it off and when dry sanded it to make it old looking.  Then I collaged a lot of different elements onto the pages to illustrate the theme. A lot of the pictures came from a couple of children's books I got at a garage sale for practically nothing because the covers and some pages are missing and others are torn. I rescued them the trash and have enjoyed using the illustrations in artwork.  I really like how these pages turned out.

For Amy's Wings Journal

Pat's Little Journal's theme was to use a Photo.  I made a page using one of my favorite pictures of my folks.  It was taken just a couple of months before Mom passed away  -  and Dad had just smooched her in public and made her blush.  After 62 years of marriage I think that is just about the sweetest thing ever.

Pat's Photo Journal

Next we have two of the little houses I made for Cathy's Door Swap.  The screen doors open and there is a retro (50s) scene inside with the women saying clever (albeit possibly rude) things.  I didn't scan the doors open as I didn't want the ladies who were to receive them to know what was coming.  But the swap is over now so I can tell.  In the first one the mother says, " That's right, Sweetheart,  goals and dreams are Satan's way of distracting you from making dinner."

Two of the houses I made for Cathy's Open Door Swap

In the second the housewife is cooking and it says "Another day in Paradise".  I just thought they were so cute.  I made four for the swap but only scanned the two as the outside was the same on all of them.  It is hard to see in the scan but the house is embossed (bricks) and it and the doors are sanded to make it look old.  The screen doors, trees and awnings were cut with my Silhouette....I made the awning and door files myself....and the screen is sandwiched between two cutouts so they look real when opened too.

I hope you enjoy seeing some of the things I have been doing.
~Connie

God Bless America

This is a repost of a friend's Facebook entry for today.  (Thanks Ernest) 
"A thought.  9/11 took place 8 months after this man took office, after more than a decade of many attacks, many warnings...but this man just shouldered the burden. Not one word of blame passed his lips. And when the machinery he set in motion brought down the figurehead after he was gone, he never asked for credit. Read his stirring words."

Lest We Forget...

by "Can We Just Say It?" The Daniel Crocker Free Page on Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 7:36a

...that a speech has a purpose, and that is to speak to and for us all; and should be delivered not to exalt the speaker, but those who hear it.

President George W. Bush at the National Cathedral, Washington, DC, September 14, 2001

We are here in the middle hour of our grief. So many have suffered so great a loss, and today we express our nation's sorrow.

We come before God to pray for the missing and the dead, and for those who loved them.

On Tuesday, our country was attacked with deliberate and massive cruelty. We have seen the images of fire and ashes and bent steel.

Now come the names, the list of casualties we are only beginning. They are the names of men and women who began their day at a desk or in an airport, busy with life. They are the names of people who faced death and in their last moments called home to say, be brave and I love you.

They are the names of passengers who defied their murderers and prevented the murder of others on the ground. They are the names of men and women who wore the uniform of the United States and died at their posts.

They are the names of rescuers -- the ones whom death found running up the stairs and into the fires to help others. We will read all these names. We will linger over them and learn their stories, and many Americans will weep.

To the children and parents and spouses and families and friends of the lost, we offer the deepest sympathy of the nation. And I assure you, you are not alone.

Just three days removed from these events, Americans do not yet have the distance of history, but our responsibility to history is already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil.

War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder.

This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others; it will end in a way and at an hour of our choosing.

Our purpose as a nation is firm, yet our wounds as a people are recent and unhealed and lead us to pray. In many of our prayers this week, there's a searching and an honesty. At St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, on Tuesday, a woman said, "I pray to God to give us a sign that he's still here."

Others have prayed for the same, searching hospital to hospital, carrying pictures of those still missing.

God's signs are not always the ones we look for. We learn in tragedy that his purposes are not always our own, yet the prayers of private suffering, whether in our homes or in this great cathedral are known and heard and understood.

There are prayers that help us last through the day or endure the night. There are prayers of friends and strangers that give us strength for the journey, and there are prayers that yield our will to a will greater than our own.

This world He created is of moral design. Grief and tragedy and hatred are only for a time. Goodness, remembrance and love have no end, and the Lord of life holds all who die and all who mourn.

It is said that adversity introduces us to ourselves.
This is true of a nation as well. In this trial, we have been reminded and the world has seen that our fellow Americans are generous and kind, resourceful and brave.

We see our national character in rescuers working past exhaustion, in long lines of blood donors, in thousands of citizens who have asked to work and serve in any way possible. And we have seen our national character in eloquent acts of sacrifice. Inside the World Trade Center, one man who could have saved himself stayed until the end and at the side of his quadriplegic friend. A beloved priest died giving the last rites to a firefighter. Two office workers, finding a disabled stranger, carried her down 68 floors to safety.

A group of men drove through the night from Dallas to Washington to bring skin grafts for burned victims. In these acts and many others, Americans showed a deep commitment to one another and in an abiding love for our country.

Today, we feel what Franklin Roosevelt called, "the warm courage of national unity." This is a unity of every faith and every background. This has joined together political parties and both houses of Congress. It is evident in services of prayer and candlelight vigils and American flags, which are displayed in pride and waved in defiance. Our unity is a kinship of grief and a steadfast resolve to prevail against our enemies. And this unity against terror is now extending across the world.

America is a nation full of good fortune, with so much to be grateful for, but we are not spared from suffering. In every generation, the world has produced enemies of human freedom. They have attacked America because we are freedom's home and defender, and the commitment of our fathers is now the calling of our time.

On this national day of prayer and remembrance, we ask almighty God to watch over our nation and grant us patience and resolve in all that is to come. We pray that He will comfort and console those who now walk in sorrow. We thank Him for each life we now must mourn, and the promise of a life to come.

As we've been assured, neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities, nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth can separate us from God's love.

May He bless the souls of the departed. May He comfort our own. And may He always guide our country.

God bless America.

..."The time has passed when we can passively enjoy the freedoms and bounties that America has provided. 9/11 was a punctuated tragedy to bring home the message that good is under attack. From both without and within our gates. God gave us these freedoms and blessings, whether we maintain them or not is determined by if we remember Him and honor His will."  ~EB

Have You Forgotten?

9-1-1
Lest we Forget...
Ten years ago our beloved America was attacked as never before.  As we think back to that day, of where we were, of how we felt, of the shock and pain we felt for our country and for those who lost their lives we are reminded that we must never forget.  We must be strong for one another and to protect our country from without and within.  I remember the words of our President George W. Bush as he addressed the citizens of this great nation.  His remarks moved me then, and they still move me today.   Whatever your political persuasion, how can you not be moved by the compassion and conviction in his words:

Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment. Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom -- the great achievement of our time, and the great hope of every time -- now depends on us. Our nation, this generation will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage.

We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail...

Peace and freedom will prevail.

....I will not forget this wound to our country or those who inflicted it. I will not yield; I will not rest; I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people. The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.

~George W. Bush September 2001

Halloween Giveaway

Win $100 worth of supplies from TheTwinery to make your own Halloween Treat Bags! 
http://www.thetwineryblog.com/2011/09/halloween-treat-bags-giveaway.html

They are in Halloween mode over at the Twinery!  Check out these adorable Halloween treat bags that they created using their awesome twine, muslin bags and Martha Stewart Craft Paints.  You'll love them and they are easy to make.  AND.... they are having a giveaway where you can WIN everything you need to make them!!

My First Scrapbook Layout

My 6 year old granddaughter helped me make this page. It is my first digital scrapbook page.

 Our princess picked all the paper and elements for it. I did the lettering and photo sizing. We did pretty good don't you think?

I WON!

SVG Attic
My little Winter Lantern below won the Anything 3-D contest at SVG Attic!  I am so excited to be chosen as I never win these kinds of things!  This little lantern is so cute and fun to make.  You can find the file in the SVG Attic store. Thanks for choosing me.  It is so fun to win!

More Die Cutting

I have been having fun with my Silhouette electronic cutter and made this wedding card this week.

Click on photo for larger view.

I used several files from SVGcuts - the step card from the Edisto Island set, flowers from Lunch with Mom, and freebies for the I do, doves, banner and flourishes. I created the chapel by combining the Edisto Island house and the church in the Christian Elements collection. The embossing on the chapel was done with my Cuttlebug before assembling.  I love the depth created by layering and the addition of clear glitter.  I hope you enjoy it.

Christmas in July

Playing with my Silhouette Electronic Cutter

I just had to take this outside and photograph it in the spruce tree.
I should have added some fake snow to make it more real! :-)

I have been playing with my cutter this week. I had a ball making this little Christmas Cottage Lantern from the Summer Lantern file from SVG ATTIC.

 This winter version was my take on it. The snowflakes and icicles were created from some free clipart I found online. I just had to add lots of bling with glimmer mist, art glitter, and Rock Candy Distress Stickles to make it even more frosty. I only wish the camera could show all the sparkly goodness.

Photo taken indoors without flash

 It has snowflake vellum in the window and glittery snowflakes on each side.  A battery operated tea light makes the windows glow.

Photo taken in a darkened room with no flash.

Wouldn't these be fun centerpieces for a winter wedding or Christmas party?

Love this song!

Thank you, Dear Book Fairy!

To my surprise and delight I received a most wonderful book in the mail.  I don't know who sent it but it came from Amazon.com.  The book is Drawing Birds with Colored Pencils by Kaaren Poole.  

It is a beautiful volume with lovely pictures of birds by the author.  But more than that, it is very straightforward and informative in teaching  you how to use your colored pencils to render lovely artworks of birds.  Since birds are a favorite theme in my art, I am thrilled to receive this lovely book...and can hardly wait to get started drawing.

I don't know who sent this to me as there was no card included.  I wish I knew so I could properly thank whomever it was.  Since I do not, I decided that this might be the best way.  Hopefully that special "book fairy" will see this post and know that I am so grateful and pleased with such a lovely gift.

THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!

UPDATE: I received another book on drawing birds...this one "Drawing and Painting Birds" is even better than the first. Both of these books are really awesome. I am so grateful for having received them.

ANOTHER UPDATE: The book fairy has revealed herself. It is my dear friend Keron!! Apparently Amazon forgot to put the gift card in the order! Thank you, Keron, so very much. I am really enjoying the books and hopefully they will help me become a better artist! :-)

In the Garden - Brad Paisley

This was one of my Grandma's favorite hymns. Tonight as I am thinking about my dear friends who just lost their son this song is bringing some comfort. I hope you enjoy it too.

Encaustic Beeswax

I recently spent a wonderful day with my favorite arting pal, Quincy.  We worked on our ATCs for an upcoming Paper Traders' Encaustic Beeswax swap.  It was a fun day and we were pleased with our results.  Below are mine.  And you can see Quincy's at Quincy's Place.  While you are there be sure to take a peek at her lovely Fashionistas too.

Fashionistas

These are from a Paper Traders' Swap hosted by Beckie.  I used a scrapbook paper for the background - sanding then overstamping it and adding some stitches and glittery accents.  The silhouette ladies were cut on my Silhouette SD die cutter then embellished with tissue and vintage papers to create their clothing.

 

 

OWOH Thank You Gift

Here is a little Thank You offering for making this event so successful.  It is a altered image that you can use in your art.   

I have to thank my friend Marion for this angel picture. It was actually on a piece of old film she sent in packet of ephemera. It had turned orange  and brittle with age and was scratched and pitted.  I held it up to the light and could see that there was were images on it.  

 

So I scanned it and began to play with it digitally.  The more I played the better it got, and this beautiful angel emerged.  Then, because it was not perfect - had lots of dings and scratches - I decided that I would give it a grungy border. 

I think it turned out quite well and hope you will enjoy using it to make something pretty.  I would love to see what you do with it if you will send me a link.  

Thanks again for joining me in the OWOH event.

OWOH Winners!

Comments are now closed for the One World One Heart giveaway. Thank you every one for visiting my blog and for the lovely comments. I have enjoyed this adventure and was able to visit each one of your blogs as well. It was a wonderful journey. 

And now...drum roll please....

We have a winner...well, actually TWO!

First is #49  Toni of 3AM Designs

and 

Secondly is #94  Barbara of Blossom's Bloomers

Thanks everyone for joining the fun!  I have bookmarked a ton of blogs to revisit for a more in depth look.  I hope you participate again next year when Lisa rolls out the new event!

Middle Ages Tech Support

I saw this video on a friend's blog and just had to share it. Any of you that have ever had problems grasping new technologies will enjoy this peek back in time.

One World One Heart 2011

Hello! Welcome to my little blog.  
I hope you are enjoying your journey on the worldwide One World One Heart event.  First, I want to thank Lisa Swifka, the organizer and hostess of this amazing event which brings bloggers together all across the world. 

Now let me introduce myself.  I am Stampgram (Connie in real life!) from the Wild & Wonderful state of Wyoming!  I am a wife, mother, and doting grandmother of six.  I am an active member of my church where I work in the Family History Center helping people trace their ancestors.  

As a mixed media artist I am a lover of all things crafty.  I am also a co-moderator for a Yahoo group of mixed media artists called Paper Traders.  Much of the art found here is from my submissions for Paper Traders' Projects.  I have participated in One World One Heart in the past and have had so much fun with this event, meeting so many wonderful people  and finding some truly lovely blogs as well.

I hope you will take a moment to browse around my little blog while you are here.  Please don't forget to leave a comment with a link to your blog and way to contact you if you want to enter my giveaway.  Thanks, Connie

This drawing is open to all active bloggers worldwide!  I am offering the following two books for the event.  They will go to two different winners. First we have Wreaths 'round the year by Dawn Cusick and Rob Pulleyn.  This is a lovely book that has dozens of designs for making your own wreaths for just about any season or occasion.

Next we have In the Kitchen with Rosie, Oprah's Favorite Recipes.  This recipe book is chock full of good foods to prepare for those you love from the soup clear to the dessert.

If you have a preference please indicate that in your entry.  When I draw the names for the winners on February 17th the first person will get their preference.  Thanks for entering my drawing, and be sure to include a link to your blog and a way for me to contact you. 

And when you are done here hop over to the Paper Traders Art Blog and register for an awesome  giveaway there too!

An Award - For Me?

I was nominated for this award!

I was nominated by Quincy at Quincy's Art for the Stylish Blogger Award. This is so exciting, especially since she is my lovely granddaughter. 

Thanks for the honor, Quincy!

As part of being nominated, there are some conditions involved:

1. That you thank and link back to the blog that nominated you.
2. Share seven things about yourself.
3. Award other recently discovered bloggers
4. Contact said bloggers and tell them about the award!

So, now, seven things about me.

1. I am a doting grandmother.  I love my kids but grandkids are the best!

2. I love paperarts and all things crafty.

3. My favorite movies are Ladyhawke, the Princess Bride, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Calendar Girls.

4. My favorite books are mysteries.  Crime solver stories are my faves.

5. I love to go on vacation by myself to my daughter Beckie's because I can just sleep, read, and play with art....so relaxing.

6. I lost my mother 7 years ago and there is hardly a day that goes by that I don't miss her.

7. I love to play games, especially Catan, even though I never win.

Now on to the awards. Here are some blogs that I love:

1. Number one goes to Keron at The Colourguru because she inspires me and lifts me and makes me want to stretch myself.

2. Number two goes to my daughter Beckie at ArtBeckons. Who is an inspired artist in her own right and because she knows that I am human, flawed, and imperfect - but she loves me anyway.

3. Number three goes to Hermine at Hermine's Place Because she is an awesome artist and such a giving caring person.

4. And number four goes to Colette at Tea Rose whose art is poignant and expressive and "speaks" to me.

One World One Heart 2011

One World One Heart is a worldwide event for bloggers only.  It gives all those who blog a chance to meet and mingle and form connections with those they may not have otherwise met from all over the world.  In the past 4 years this event has grown to over 1,000 participants with lasting friendships formed along the way.  It's like a gigantic open house allowing you to travel without ever leaving your home… going from blog to blog (in various countries), seeing the wonder each one has created, and meeting all the fabulous people behind those blogs.  As a bonus, each blogger participant will offer up a door prize just for dropping by, saying hello, and seeing their world.  It’s really that easy.  The fifth (and final) One World One Heart will begin on January 30 and will run until February 17, 2011.  If you're interested in participating, click HERE for all the information.
 I encourage you to join in the fun!

Paper Traders Now Has A Blog!

http://papertraders-art.blogspot.com/search/label/Home

If you have visited me here for a while you know that I belong to Paper Traders - an online artists' community.  Our group has been in existance for over five years and I have been a member from the beginning. 

About three years ago, Keron Lee (a dear friend and talented artist from Australia), my daughter Beckie Holso, and I became the moderators for this group.  Even though it is a lot of work, the rewards of making friends and sharing art with so many talented people have more than made up for it.  In the fall Keron found that life was requiring more of her time than usual and decided it was time to give up the moderator position. We were thrilled when Cathy Calamas graciously accepted to take her place at the helm with us. 

For some time we have been wanting to have a more public face for our group.  Recently we created a group blog here on blogspot to provide a place to show others what our Paper Traders group is all about, and to inspire them along the way.  Our group blog will feature galleries of member's artwork, helps and tutorials, and from time to time free downloads for you to use in your own artwork.

So, now that it up and running, I hope you will stop by the Paper Traders Art Blog for a look - and a little inspiration too.