Welcoming in 2012

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and the new year is coming in happy for you all!  I have many plans, hopes and goals for the new year one of which is adjusting to a new position I started at the end of December.  I don't make New Year's resolutions, I set goals for myself, which can be considered pretty much the same but these are ongoing goals leftover from the previous year, things I have been working towards for a period of time and new goals I have set for myself.  Rather than stress about reaching goals, I just want to set a pace that fits my life and work towards what I want.  I want to blog more, craft more and relax more.  I also want to declutter my charming little home a bit (emphasis on "little") and have joined the UIU pledge.  I have plenty of supplies I have been "treasuring" and can't wait to use up what I have instead of buying and stockpiling.  To find out more about the UIU pledge check out Fran's blog http://ladyoflosttimescrafts.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-uiu.html or click the pledge button on my blog to read more details and snag a button for yourself.

I want to take and post more pictures,share more, learn new things, visit more places and spend more time with my family in the new year.  All very reasonable and easy to attain goals I think.  What do you want for you this year???

Constuct-A-Junk Journal Challenge

Challenge time! The details for this challenge were given on my last stream and posted to Coffee and Art Flickr group, just a fun challenge to use up the junk you have lying around you would not usually use for arting, crafting, journaling, etc.

Shop in your junk drawers, linen closets, recycling bin, junk mail pile, used envelopes...the list is endless and so are the possibilities.  Not alot of rules, nothing that was bought from craft, art, or scrapbook store can be used, nothing bought in those sections of other types of stores and nothing you have to go out and get new. Scraps from crafty supplies are also not allowed.  You can bind your journal any way you like, glue, binder rings, sewn, etc.  Use stuff like junk mail inserts and tags off clothing and other products for interesting pull outs and tags, use little bits and bobs for embellishments. Use old jeans and shirts for some fabric texture, packing foam, sandpaper.  Try to include a min 3 different textured materials, for example, fabric, paper, cardboard.  Try to also include a few different sizes of pages, inserts, pull outs etc.

You can use your paint, inks etc to decorate your journal later, I mean after all it's your journal and it's meant to be used once it's constructed.  Take a before and after picture of the journal, before or while putting it together then afte it's fully constructed.

The challenge ends October 4rth, 2011 and photos can be posted on Coffee and Art Flickr group by or before that date http://www.flickr.com/groups/coffee_and_art/ or you can post the photo on your blog and tweet it and the link also, you can stream your creation as well and just tweet a link when it's all done.  If you are unable to post to any of these, please let me know and you can email me the photos and I can post them for you.  When the challenge is over, I will use Random.org to choose a RAK winner from all those who participated.

I hope you all enjoy this challenge, I know I am having a blast putting together all the found junk I got lol  It's amazing what you can do with ordinary things you would normally not give a second thought to once you have it in your mind to use it.  Have fun and I can not wait to see what you all come up with!!
Below is a photo of the junk pile I got so far

Vintage,metallic tags

On Tuesday during my Ustream show we started a set of four vintage, metallic tags with a holder.  I love the effects of metallic embossing powder over embossed heavy paper!  Colourwashes, inks, rubons and plenty other supplies were used and I think it turned out quite nicely!

Canada Day Winner and Thanks

The winner of the Canada Day mini kit is skrappykat13 (Katie)!! Congratulations Katie!!  Please let me know how you would like to send me your information in the comments on this blog, I am on twitter as well.  Thanks to everyone who participated and left all the lovely comments about Canada, I enjoyed reading why you all love Canada!

Canada Day Mini Giveaway!

You heard right! To celebrate Canada Day I will be giving away an adorable shabby little mini kit!  All you have to do is leave a comment here at The Sugared Elephant telling me how much you love Canada or what you love most about Canada, it's that easy.  I will be giving a sneak peek of the mini kit on my Ustream channel this morning and comments can be left starting after the show @ 11:30 am CST, the deadline will be midnight July 1rst/2011 and a winner will be randomly selected and announced on Twitter and this blog. Here is quick pic of the mini kit :)

Sneak Peek Mini Kit Giveaway on Ustream

It's Canada Day this week, Friday, July 1rst and I will be kicking it off with a little giveaway.  I will post the details on my blog before Friday and will announce it on Twitter when it's up but......tomorrow morning I will be showing a sneak peek of the mini kit and the details of the giveaway on my Ustream channel @ 9:30 am CST!  So if you would like to have a peek at the shabby, frilly bundle, come join us for some product show and tell, a quick project and the giveaway sneak peek.  It's easy and free to sign up.  Hope to see you there!! http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-sugared-elephant

Something New, Something Blue

These two latest projects were so much fun to create and I was quite happy with how they turned out.  I completed the mixed media postcard as a gift live on Ustream, my first ever recorded stream! I had a great time sharing this with the many wonderful ladies who attended, chatted,and inquired about the process! Here is the link if you want to drop by and check my channel out. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-sugared-elephant