Candice Windham Design Studio

Welcome to the Thanksgiving edition of the Sizzix Triple Play Blog Hop! Today, I am thankful for my friends and family, my freedom, especially my freedom to worship God as I please, and the talented designers, Eileen Hull, Brenda Pinnick and Karen Burniston, and the people at Sizzix who made this blog hop possible. This week's die is the Frame Die, designed by Eileen Hull. This die has so many great components that I took several days just to decide what I wanted to do with it. I ended up with not one, but three projects with only one cut from this die (except the additional backing sheet for the book): a candy box with see-through top, a recipe book with a framed cover and a tiny little frame to hold a picture of one of my all-time favorite guys. Be sure to click on the Sizzix icon to the left to continue through the blog hop to see what other designers have done with this die. Candy Box Supplies Square Box Sizzix Bigz Die, Frame (Scallop Frame and Heart) Krylon Red Spray Paint St...

Welcome to week #3 of the Sizzix Triple Play Blog Hop! This week we are using Brenda Pinnick's Beauty Bloom Flower die. This versatile die has large flowers, small flowers and some in between. You can cut them from paper, fabric, cork or whatever you like. I have to confess, I looked at these long and hard trying to decide what I wanted to use them for. My first thought was to decorate a frame or shadowbox, then a recipe card box, then little ducks. That's right. Little ducks. The selection of diecuts I received had several yellow felt flowers that looked just like...you guessed it...duck feet. If I could felt like Debra Quartermain (also participating in this blog hop), you'd be viewing a collection of fuzzy little yellow ducks with big flower petal feet. I had to visit the physical therapist office Monday, and while I waited for my tri-weekly dose of pain, I thumbed through a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. There was an ad that had a mask in it, and it hit me: I just...

Actually, it started looking like Christmas in September, at least in our local discount stores. Today is the second round of the Sizzix Triple Play Blog Hop, featuring Sizzix dies by Eileen Hull, Karen Burniston and Brenda Pinnick. Each Thursday for the next few weeks, you can start here at my blog and click on the Triple Play Blog Hop button on the left to see more than 50 projects using the same die each week. Today's die is by Karen Burniston and is designed to be a pop-up box inside a card. This clever design folds flat and pops up when the card is opened, so your card will be remembered way past Christmas. I chose to make my diecut into an ornament, rather than a pop-up. All designers were sent the diecut in black cardstock. I toyed with the idea of covering the black in a patterned paper, but then remembered the cool new Marvy Uchida snowflake punch in my punch stash. This punch gives you a large (approx. 1 1/2") snowflake as well as a tiny one (approx. 1/2"). Her...

It's time for another round of the Sizzix Blog Hop with a little twist. There will be a different die each Thursday for several weeks, each by one of three different designers, and there will be more than 60 designs each week using the same die, so you'll get a huge variety of possibilities. Just click on the Sizzix button on my blog and you'll be on your way! Since I went to see Wicked Halloween night, you know what mode I have been in all week. I had actually started my design, which would have been just a simple little house using patterned papers and some lace to create a charming cottage. Well, THAT didn't happen. I started ripping the thing apart bright and early Monday morning and this is what I came up with: a perfectly wicked little house, deserving of Elphaba, who you can see peeping out the upper window. Supplies Sizzix Scoreboard Pro house die by Eileen Hull(Product #656836) Mat board, 6" x 13" Patterned paper, two coordinating sheets Smooch Spri...

I can't believe I haven't posted anything on this blog for more than a month. Of course, that's better than when I began blogging and updated once a year, whether I needed to or not! My friend Karen Gaulke and her hubby recently had a precious baby girl, Katherine Marie Gaulke. There are several designers who contribute to the Memory Makers blog and we all wanted to send Karen gifts, but since we are scattered all over the country, getting together all at once was a little bit of a problem. Our solution was to have a surprise online shower for Karen. Today at 11 a.m. EST, Karen, who is on maternity leave, will be notified that there is a problem with the website and asked to log on to see if she can solve it. That's when she will see a post from the participating designers with the handmade gifts that will be coming her way. My gift is a decorated one gallon paint can, designed to hold memories from Baby Katherine's first year which will not fit in a scrapbook, such...

I returned from the Craft and Hobby Convention and Tradeshow Sunday after a week of getting my art fix with people who understand my way of thinking. You know the one: when you see a box or bottle or some unusual packing materials in the trash, you immediately see all the possibilities of an artistic creation, and the desire to take it home overcomes the embarrassment of diving head-first into a trash can that you would never touch when in your right mind. My friends Laurie and Barbara went with me, and we had a blast checking out new products, taking classes and eating yummy Chicago food. This time, I saw a lot of new products. Maybe they aren't new, but are at least new to me. Check out my CHA report at www.memorykeepingcollection.com/blog_candicewindham No, go hug someone you love, but not too long because it's hot. The heat index in Memphis was 121° yesterday with more expected today. I think I'll make sweet tea and chill.

I have been posting on a new blog site for a month or so, and just realized that I should have let everyone know. There are several designers posting projects, tips and general info on the site, so even if you don't like my tutorials, you might be interested in those of someone else. This doesn't mean that I won't be posting on this site, so don't forget about me here. Check it out the new blog at www.memorykeepingcollection.com/blog_candicewindham I will be posting several times a week, so come back often. Today's post (see photo) is about using up your old blurry or unwanted photos rather than chunking them in the landfill, which reminds me of a saying I heard this week: Crafters were the original recyclers." And that reminds me of another: "Adam was the original rough draft." This thought train is going nowhere. Guess I'd better get out of here before I say something really stupid. Go hug someone you love!