Now that all the excitement of OnStage has come and gone, I’m trying to get back into the swing of things. I haven’t forgotten my OnStage recap and I promise it is still coming. That post just got pushed back a little bit due to the Blog Hop last week. Oh my goodness, that Blog Hop was so much fun (it was my first). What did you think? All I can say is that there is some amazingly talented people out there and I was thrilled to be invited to participate in the Hop.
In the States, last weekend was a long weekend for us to celebrate Thanksgiving. Hubby was home for the weekend, so I took full advantage and put him to work. In two days, he put up all the Christmas lights on the house, I put up the Christmas tree and did all the Christmas decor throughout the house, including my studio area. And all the boxes managed to get put away too. Here is a picture of our porch decorated for the Season. 
Yes, I might be just a wee bit fanatical in my Holiday decorating. This is a view of my front porch. My daughter says it looks like something out of a magazine. You can’t see all the little details in this shot, but you can get the overall impression. Every year, I find just the right thing to add to my Holiday vignette. Last year was the antique metal Coca-cola cooler. This year is the antique sled. The sled was a huge score. They are not cheap but a neighbor was getting ready to toss it out. Can you believe that? I was more than willing to take it off their hands, especially since it was free. I’ll have to get some close up shots of the porch itself and share those later.
Now that the entire house is ready for the Holidays, I’m finally back in in my studio working on some new goodies. First up is Make & Takes for this weekend. I will be at the Just Crop Retreat again tomorrow. I can’t wait to see all the ladies again this month. It’s so much fun seeing them.
My first Make & Take is a wine bottle tag. I thought this would be a great project for them since the gift giving season is right around the corner. These are perfect for those gatherings when you plan to give the host a bottle of wine. This is made using the Half Full stamp set, which is versatile for both Holiday and non-Holiday occasions.
To make the bottle tag, I cut my card stock to 8.5 x 3.5″. Then scored it from the top at 2.75″. I used a circle punch to punch the hole in the tag. And then I used it to round both of the corners of the bottle tag. To round the corners, just slip the corner into the backside of the circle punch as far as it will go. It will trim just that corner.
The wine bottles are stamped in Versamark Ink. The tag is watercolored with our ink pads and an aqua painter and glued down using Dimensionals over the top of the ribbon. These bottle tags are quick to make and I love that this stamp set can be used all year long.
Stampin Blends markers are now available to purchase! These are alcohol based markers and they help you create beautiful coloring with shading. With a little bit of practice, you’ll have these markers mastered in no time.
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