A Gift from Barbara Stewart...plus Gift Tags from a Recent Crop!

I wanted to share a gorgeous piece of artwork that Barbara Stewart gave to me at the Circle Mania crop.  It is one of her multi-media canvases.

I love the hanging hearts and dimensional flowers!  The blue sky and stylized sun have a folk art feeling that juxtaposes with the painterly surfaces perfectly.  I love the letter tiles... and the message!  It makes my heart sing!

Barbara uses Decou-page and magic to make these.  I love the lacy ruffle on the sun!  The layers of paint and pattern mystify me.  I love it and it is a beautiful piece of art that I love having in my home!  Thank you so much, Barbara, for this beautiful canvas!  (And I loved that you signed the back!)

Barbara made tags for everyone!  They were all different and perfect.  This is the one I received:

I know at least one crafter who was there who was so inspired that she worked on her own tags after getting one from Barbara.  They are truly inspiring.  I LOVE this look and it is a mystery to me how she does this!

Circle Mania was so much fun!  I thought I would share with you a few silly tags and gift wraps for Circle Mania gifties that I took....with cut info.

For the mini lunch boxes, I cut the text from vinyl using Cricut Everyday at 2-1/2".  Under the text is a Circle logo, also from Cricut Everyday, cut at 3-1/2" from vinyl.  The pink tags were cut from Artiste at 1-3/4".  I backed them in black.

This is a tag I made to go on a gift for the hostess with the mostest that weekend.  The base was cut from Wrap It Up (page 56) at 6" (tag blackout).  I cut part of a cloud from Serenade so I could use the negative space of the cloud.  Then I cut the tag again in white and backed the blue tag with it and popped it up.  The bird on the branch was cut from Live Simply at 2-1/2" and inked.  I added details by hand.  The white cloud on top was cut from Serenade at 1-3/4".  The hearts were cut from a punch.  The letters were cut from Hannah Montana at 1/2".

This tag was made for a traveler from far away who I knew would not be headed through Kentucky so I brought a bit of Kentucky to her and wanted a tag to match.  The base is from Mickey Font (page 134) cut at 5".  I cut the center from a map that I misted with Glimmer Mist and embossed with a chevron embossing folder.  Kentucky was cut cut from 50 States (page 29) at 7".  (I cut one from red and one from blue and attached them with pop dots after using a heart punch on the blue layer).  I hand-cut the banner after running the paper through my printer to add text.  The scattered hearts were cut with a punch.

The base of this tag is from Artiste (page 32), cut at 4".  The bug head was cut from Cricut Everyday at 3.5".  The body and outfit were cut from Teddy Bear Parade at 4".  The sign was something I printed from my computer.

The base of this tag is from Artiste (page 32), cut at 4".  The bug head was cut from Cricut Everyday at 3.5".  The body and outfit were cut from Teddy Bear Parade at 4". Because I think the Bug Guy is a guy, I didn't cut the shell bra, rather, I made the shell something to hold.  The base and fish body were embossed on the Cuttlebug.

These tags were cut from Everyday Cricut at 3".

These were simple picture frames that I packaged to look 'Cricut-y'.  I used Greeting Cards Inside and Out, printing and cutting on the Imagine at 9.7".  I added a little message on the back that I printed from my computer.

It was a really fun event!  So thankful that I was able to go and meet, in-person, so many of my friends that I talk to daily on the message boards.  I think this was the fourth Circle event I have traveled to.  These friendships that I have made are a blessing to me-- such an unexpected joy!  What a  fantastic group of ladies!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!  You can see many of my previous projects by visiting My Project Gallery.  My next blog post will be Sunday and I will be showcasing a Boxed Card with a tutorial.

Cartridge Winner & My Gift from Barbara Stewart

So much to share!  I received a gorgeous mixed media book today from Barbara Stewart... but before I share photos of that, my Master of Ceremonies has graciously agreed to draw the winner of The Good Old Days Imagine cartridge!

I want to thank you all for your kind comments on that post.  Heck, you would have been in the drawing even if you typed, "Sign me up, Chick-o," but instead, I received many unexpectedly sweet messages! 

OK- here's the thing:  we are old-fashioned here at the Glittering Eyes blog.  We don't do random.org, we instead find a child who will work for Reese's Cups and ask her to draw a name from a hat.  Yep, it's a little bit Mayberry, but that's just how we like it.  (Mostly, I have just convinced Piper that she is the star of the blog when she helps me and that is enough to tip random.org out of the boat.)

Well, Ms. Impatient is ready to get going with this!So... without further ado....the lovely Master of Ceremonies takes her bow....

Reaches deep into the hat... makes a comment about Lidsville.....tells me she is glad she didn't have to wear the paper hat like I wanted her to do....mixes up the entries....

....and pulls out.....

Congrats Noreen!  I will email you shortly for your mailing address!  

And now.... I want to share a very special gift that Barbara Stewart (barbarastewart1 on the Cricut Circle message board) sent to me! 

Barbara has posted some of her incredible Smashbook mixed media creations on the Good Morning thread and I have drooled over them.  For this book, Barbara was inspired by the Ryan Gosling "Hey Girl" posts that we laughed about on the message board.  What I love about this is that Barbara's personality, sense of humor, paper crafting skills, energy, and style all shine through!   This book is characterized by shaped, heavy board-like pages layered with multiple papers, textures, and embellishments.  She has found a way to magically keep the mood and palette continuous throughout while using dozens of different elements.  The way she has put this together is pure magic to me and has touched my heart!  I wanted to share with you some pictures.  

I love the weight and organic shape of the pages, the tactile quality of the project, and the spirit and humor that is all Barbara!  Thank you, Barbara, for sending me such a fabulous gift!  I just love it! It is pure treasure!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!  This was fun!  If you are lost on what this "Hey Girl" and Ryan Gosling stuff is all about, click here to check it out.  (I promise it will make you laugh!).  I am still working feverishly on challenge projects from the past weekend on the Cricut Circle Blog, hoping to have one to post soon!