Peace on Earth - Holiday Tag Swap

Mini Album Swaps on Facebook posted a tag swap and I decided to join. The challenge was to send 5 tags that included either circles or triangles to my partner. Sounds easy enough since ornaments are generally round and trees are triangular. So why did I stress over it! Well, my partner and I decided that we would go for a more vintage theme. I made two samples that included trees but to me the triangle shape was making my tags look too modern. They didn't even pass for 50's vintage style! Of course thanks to procrastination and a deadline I finally came up with a design that appealed to me. I hope my partner, Theresa, feels the same!

First, I decided to make my trees with paper that looked like old sheet music.

Distressing the edges with Walnut Stain added to the vintage look.

Then, I needed a tag base. I used wooden tags so they could also be used as an ornament.

I used Miracle Tape because wet glue would cause the wood to warp.

Of course, there should be snow under the tree! 

This glitter reminds me of the snow on the vintage cardboard houses.

Deciding on a message was easy. Pat and I always say we 

want Peace for our Christmas gifts.

I added some holly from my supply stash. Perfect!

Using the Distress Ink on the edges of the leaves added dimension.

The finished tag! Happy Holidays!

Gardens

While walking in the yard, I realized that no matter where I lived, I have always had a garden. My gardens have ranged from plants on a window sill to a 3/4 acre plot with several flower beds. My best garden was a vegetable garden I had a few years back that gave us tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and squash all summer long. My worst was when I attempted to plant a couple flower pots for my city yard. I couldn't understand why the plants kept dying until I realized that what I though were pebbles to put at the bottom of the pot for drainage were actually pebbles of rock salt!

This year, I am grateful to have several flower gardens. My favorite is the little bed just outside my studio door.

My gardens are arranged with items and flowers that hopefully give the viewer an opportunity to experience a pleasant memory or emotion. This garden is rather whimsical!

Let's Start at the Beginning!

Welcome to my blog! My name is Joanna and I will be sharing pictures, videos and tutorials of my crafts. At this time, I am addicted to all things paper such as mini photo albums, scrapbooking pages, cards and journals. 

This spring, I married my best friend Patrick. Of course, I created as many things as I could from paper for the wedding. Above is a picture of our wedding invitation. I will show you more items in future posts. 

For now, I want to welcome you to my new journey of marriage, crafting and blogging.