Quilling, Art and Expression

Simply Sunday Shadow Shot 1/22

2012-01-22T08:46:00.000-05:00

Brrr... we had snow this weekend and it was quite the chiller outside :-)

We had a wonderful day sledding Saturday, even though the brisk wind made it a little cold for us moms - lol..... all that matters is that the kids had fun, right?

Sunday looks to be more of the same, but funny enough, Monday is supposed to go back up to 50 - how can that be, this is winter, isn't it? I won't complain because I am not a huge fan of the cold so I am grateful for the mild winter so far!

Make a wish! This wishing well is just waiting to deliver - lol... this is a picture from 2001, why? Dunno... I find that each week for Shadow Shot Sunday I roll the dice in a manner of speaking. I pick a year and then go to a month and start looking at pictures, when I find one I like, I go with it.

I chose a quote from Goethe, this is on the Shadow Shot Sunday blog, and I liked it :-)

Where there is much light, the shadow is deep - Goethe (1749-1832)

I am very sad, did you hear? Picnik is closing :-(
I really loved their super intuitive interface and the large selection of effects and borders - all free!!! Apparently there is something called Creative Kit from Google+ that we can use, and I went over to check it out, but they want me to add personal information to my account and I hate to share that kind of information... So, I will sulk and continue to use Picnik until it is closed completely in April and then figure out what I'll do next.

As always, I am happy to share my tutorials and freebies / printables with you, I only ask that you do the following:

Please leave a comment if you download a freebie / printable / digi, because I would love to hear from you
If you enjoy the things I share with you, please become a follower so that you will see all the new stuff when it is posted (no pressure, join only if you want)
Please do not share any of my digital images, printables, or tutorials directly with others, but please do send them on over to me so that they can peruse and collect the images themselves.
I would be thrilled and honored if you would send me links to any images or posts that you've done using something that I have shared with you. If you say it is ok, I will even feature your work here!
If you want to recolor the images, feel free!
If you have a special request, please let me know and I will see what I can do.

Most importantly be Fantastically Creative You!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Simply Sunday Shadow Shot 1/15

2012-01-15T09:53:00.000-05:00

Welcome to another glorious day! The sun is shining so brightly you'd never know that it was really cold outside :-)

Remember last week I talked about taking pictures while walking through New York City, well the picture you see is one I took of a tree that I had passed a few times. This tree was damaged during the unexpected snowstorm we had in October, and every time I pass this tree on my way to visit my dad I am drawn to it. The only problem is that this is on a road with no shoulder and there always appears to be someone behind me when I drive by... I started unpacking my little camera before I left the house just in case I had an opportunity to catch a shot (didn't always remember, but I really tried). So I tried for quite a while and even sometimes resorted to holding the camera and snapping shots as I drove by.... Finally, I had the perfect day... it was sunny and there was no one behind me, so I briefly stopped and snapped some shots... and this picture was born!

While I was preparing my picture I decided to play (thank you Picnik!!!), so here are some of the fun things I tried....

This week there was no quote posted this week so I selected one of mine from Abraham Lincoln (he is my favorite President - I know, he is the favorite of so many)...

Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. - Abraham Lincoln

Thought it worked with the picture I had selected...

Here are the quotes for you to play with this week.... may Lincoln inspire you!

As always, I am happy to share my tutorials and freebies / printables with you, I only ask that you do the following:

Please leave a comment if you download a freebie / printable / digi, because I would love to hear from you
If you enjoy the things I share with you, please become a follower so that you will see all the new stuff when it is posted (no pressure, join only if you want)
Please do not share any of my digital images, printables, or tutorials directly with others, but please do send them on over to me so that they can peruse and collect the images themselves.
I would be thrilled and honored if you would send me links to any images or posts that you've done using something that I have shared with you. If you say it is ok, I will even feature your work here!
If you want to recolor the images, feel free!
If you have a special request, please let me know and I will see what I can do.

Most importantly be Fantastically Creative You!

Enjoy! for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Punches and Dies and Glitter Oh My!

2012-01-14T09:20:00.000-05:00

Here it is, my January calendar page! I wanted something that used snowflakes and represented winter, because in my neck of the globe, it is winter :-) My plan is to create a calendar page for each month of the year and since I hope to post February next week, I figured I should start the year off right with January - lol.

I have a theme for this year, and if you recall I shared a link from My Owl Barn last year.... you remember, she lets you design your own 2012 calendar using owl art from various artists... So, I started with one of the owl images (this is the hardest part because they are all so great), added my own January calendar page (not because I am a glutton for punishment, well maybe I am, but because hers didn't quite fit... and January was started.

If you are wondering how I got the texture on the owl image, I printed it out on art paper - acrylic painters paper... I prefer it over watercolor paper because I like that it makes my printed image look like the artist painted it just for me :-) Oh, speaking of which, the artist who created this beauty is Kelly Ann, you can see some of her other paintings by clicking here.

The paper is DCWV, the pink has been run through my Cuttlebug, using one of my friend Lucy's embossing folders, I also used one of Martha's snowflake border punches, and don't forget the glitter.

On the inside, I used the quote from one of the printables I've created (click here to get the quote) and added my Memory Box Frosty Border die (yeah, this is a fun one!)... I cut the die apart and framed the quote... and glitter here too!

Have a happy day! It is a cold one here, guess I shouldn't complain, it is winter :-)

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Simply Sunday Shadow Shot January 8

2012-01-07T17:00:00.000-05:00

Have you heard that there is a new location for Shadow Shot Sunday? Tracey from "Hey Harriet" hung up her shadows but luckily there were some awesome people who stepped up to be the new hosts and share the responsibility.... THANK YOU!!!

This picture is one that I took recently during our trip to New York City. I love snapping photos, but I find that my family is not very tolerant if I do it too often, so I have gotten good at taking pictures as we are walking... As you can imagine, some come out better than others... I love how the barren trees look against the buildings and the speckled shadows against the buildings! This was my first time using Picnik, and I will definitely use this free service again!!! I mean, look at how I was able to create this fabulous frame around my picture - love it!

I have decided that since the new hosts could volunteer to give of their time and host SSS each week that I would give something back also... They have these wonderful quotes on the main post and well, you know how much I love quotes, so I've decided to post free digi-s each week with the wonderful quote they have selected... So, here goes, my first Shadow Shot Sunday of 2012 and the quote this week is:

“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think.

When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”
Gautama Siddhartha, 563-483 B.C.

Here they are, in many colors / combinations for you to choose from:

I am happy to share my tutorials and freebies / printables with you, I only ask that you do the following:

Please leave a comment if you download a freebie / printable / digi, because I would love to hear from you
If you enjoy the things I share with you, please become a follower so that you will see all the new stuff when it is posted (no pressure, join only if you want)
Please do not share any of my digital images, printables, or tutorials directly with others, but please do send them on over to me so that they can peruse and collect the images themselves.
I would be thrilled and honored if you would send me links to any images or posts that you've done using something that I have shared with you. If you say it is ok, I will even feature your work here!
If you want to recolor the images, feel free!
If you have a special request, please let me know and I will see what I can do.
Most importantly be Fantastically Creative You!

Shadow Shot Sunday

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Fabulous Filigree Quilled Blue Bird Ornament

2012-01-07T09:15:00.000-05:00

Hello and Welcome!

I have a new ~~addiction~~ passion... I am in love with my new cutting dies... I now have a small collection of Spellbinders Nestabilities dies and these incredibly detailed Memory Box dies....

I have to share what I have done with them over the holidays... I made these super cute ornaments! It is always a bonus when the fun products you have purchased actually make your handmade gifts even more beautiful and special.

So my plan is to share some of the ornaments that I have made and also embark on my 2012 calendar project, so each month I will show you a new calendar page, I can see where this is taking me already, I cannot decide which images, so I may have more than one calendar - at least this is something useful that I can ~~force my friends to take~~ give to friends! lol

It is a new year, so I have lots of ideas and energy... now if I could just win the lottery so I could do all of them :-)

These dies are so much fun to use! I am really having fun cutting them out of different paper and seeing how they look, what I like best.... Oh, the possibilities - now only if I could get my imagination to catch up to those possibilities!

For this lovely Blue Bird Ornament I used the Nestabilities Lacy Ovals -I picked those specifically because I knew I was going to make ornaments and I wanted to be able to have something so they would hang nicely, and this lovely die did the trick! I also absolutely had to use some of my new Memory Box dies, and this lovely Frosty Border is what I chose.

Well, maybe I should take a step back and tell you how the process works... You see the ornaments are for my son's teachers, so on those years that I think I will be able to make handcrafted ornaments he gets to decide what his teachers get... So, his music teacher needed an ornament with birds and music notes... So with that information in mind, I get to ~~pull my hair out~~ figure out how and what exactly to make... This year he was very specific that they had to be blue birds :-)

Ok, so now that I have birds and music notes, I really did need something for them to be resting on, and did I tell you I absolutely love my Memory Box dies? So you see I had to find a way to include them, I really did! And this lovely "Frosty Border" die arrived and the idea was born.

Now, for my blue lovelies, I could have chosen quilling strips that were blue, but as I was placing my order for Christmas colored quilling strips, I happened upon this lovely paper called "Touch of Blue Gilded on Edge" and I thought, now that will make a statement! Isn't it pretty? The base paper is white, and on the top edge is this beautiful shimmery blue!

To make the birds I followed the same process, I just used a little bit more paper for the larger bird!

I started with the tail feathers - I really did, and you'll find out why in a sec... So, for the tail feathers...
2 - 2 inch (5 cm) strips of paper, fold them in half, and curl the ends.
Now, I rolled the teardrop for the body of the bird
1 full strip of my Touch of Blue quilling paper, rolled and shaped into a Teardrop
Don't glue it just yet... but hold on tight to the pinched end, because this is where the tail feathers go :-)
Where you would normally glue your teardrop, you will take those tail feathers and glue them to the bird before you glue that outside strip to hold everything in place.
Squeeze tightly to get a nice set of tail feathers

Beak, Feet, and Wing

For these remaining pieces, I took small scrap pieces and added them to the cuties
I can't give measurements, because I literally cut small pieces (and didn't measure, just figured what I thought would be proportional)
A small piece cut and bent for the beak and glued to the nice rounded end of the teardrop
A small piece bent in half, and then bent again for their feet
Finally 2 small pieces bent and rolled for the "wing"

I am entering this in the Sentimental Sundays "Snow, Blue, and/or Glitter" and my project has all 3 Yeah :-)

Make It Monday - Anything Goes!

I used the following products on this ornament:

Spellbinders Nestabilities Lacy Ovals and Classic Ovals

Memory Box Frosty Border from Ellen Hutson

Quilling Paper from Whimsiquills (thanks Pat)

Enjoy the ride!! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Auld Lang Syne - Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T21:31:00.000-05:00

New Year's Eve is one of those love-it-or-hate-it holidays. But no matter how you feel about celebrating, odds are you're going to hear "Auld Lang Syne" at least 500 times. There is really no escaping it... but the question is do you know the words to this song? Do you make them up? Probably. Don't worry, you aren't alone - lol.

I admit it, I don't know the words either, so I naturally turned to google and did a web search... and I found some really fun articles and information about this song that I wanted to share with you :-) So, before you head on out for the evening and are required to sing the song that "no-one really knows," you should be armed with this "fun, but relatively useless" information....

According to the good people at TLC, the song is an "extremely old Scottish song that was first written down in the 1700s." The poet Robert Burns often gets credit for the words. Or at least some of them.

Apparently I am not alone, and people often hum or belt out their own lyrics, an article published recently says that "74% of people make up the words" (click here for article).

A site dedicated to the poet Robert Burns explains, "In spite of the popularity of 'Auld Lang Syne,' it has aptly been described as 'the song that nobody knows.' As for the the music, it's more of a traditional folk song."

So, what do the words actually mean? Basically, the words "auld lang syne" roughly translates into "times gone by," "for days past," "days gone by," "for the sake of old times," you get the drift... appears that everyone has a derivation of these....

But no matter what the literal translation is, the sentiment is the same. It's a song that aims to honor the good old days on a night that's all about remembering the past while ringing in the new. So this year when you sing the song, try not to cry as you look forward to a new beginning that will hopefully be everything you imagined.

So, I've done my research and searched and searched, so let incorrect lyrics be forgot... print these and take them with you (pass them around for your friends too) and now you will be able to sing all the words this year (even if you can't pronounce all of them)

If you have trouble reading the lyrics, you can click on the image below and it will open up larger in a new window (and will be easier to print)

Happy New Year!

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Happy New Year - Good Bye 2011, Hello 2012!!!

2011-12-31T08:59:00.000-05:00

WOW!!! Can you believe that today is the last day of 2011? I know it is true, but am aware of all that has happened this year and hoping that 2012 will be a fantastic year!

I thought it would be fitting to take a look at some of my favorite projects from 2011...

A Year in Review if you will... It was difficult to settle on just these ten, but I had to put some parameters around what I would share, or I would still be writing this - lol. I have linked each picture to the original post that will show the technique, digi, printable, and/or tutorial.

I have included some quilled items... yeah, well, most of them are quilled projects... what can I say? I love to look at the quilling. It actually makes me realize that I haven't done as much quilling as I would have liked, but something that hopefully I can make up for in 2012 :-)

I've also included some of the printables from the year, I am working on my tabs across the top to make things like the printables easier to find... look for some blog updates in 2012 :-)

And then I had to share the winter snowstorm before Halloween - I am still cold remembering that one!

I hope that each of you has a SAFE and HAPPY New Year!!!

	Ahh, my Blue Quilled Snowman. I absolutely love his scrolls, and the open quilling! Don't you?		Birthday Cake Card. I had lots of fun making this card and trying a new technique too! I even got to play with a cuttlebug, neat.
	Spirit ATC This is my all time favorite ATC, probably because I love horses.		Christmas Angel Who can resist this sweet little angel ornament?
	A Hug Card This is one of my favorite style of cards... and works so well with those gift cards.		Our Halloween snowfall and a week with no power - Brrrrr...
	Father's Day printable I had lots of fun with making printables this year.		Folk Art Bird I love folk art and this was inspired by that tradition.
	A Cross Ornament I find that I make a lot of spreuer designs, and this is no different!		Flag printable Thought this was a nice way to end my year in review with a patriotic printable!

May 2012 bring you lots of inspiration and joy!

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Filigree Friday Cross Ornament

2011-12-02T04:39:00.001-05:00

Happy Filigree Friday Everyone!!

I hope that you are enjoying your day! It is too early to know for certain, but I am hopeful today will be nice and sunny (a bit on the colder side, but the sun will definitely go a long way to making it a beautiful day!)

Wow! The holidays are here!!! I cannot believe it, last week was Thanksgiving (for those of you who live in the states) and ourselves with lots of food and goodies... I personally love the goodies - lol! And now we are almost a week into Advent! Christmas is just around the corner for us!!

I am way, way, way behind in my Christmas ornaments... I am definitely starting to feel worried, because every time I think that I have set aside time to work on them something comes up!! I actually took off yesterday and today (now I didn't have the whole day planned to work on them, but you would think I would have found at least an hour yesterday - nope, didn't happen!) Between running to do something in the morning with my stepdaughter (that was supposed to be 3 hours and ended up being 5 hours - travel time included) and then regular afters school stuff and dinner and yeah, let's not forget the long phone conversation with a friend who moved to Florida, I kinda didn't get anything done... but today will be different... Positive Thinking!!! and for extra motivation, my friend Lucy will continue to provide the necessary positive reinforcement as she continues to design her awesome Christmas cards this year!!

So, because I have been so bad, I decided I'd share an ornament I made a few years ago. This is a cross ornament with a sweet dove in the center, the ornament is hanging from an easel card so it could be easily removed or the card itself could be where the ornament was displayed.

Here are some links to similar projects that have more details about the techniques used, if you want specific instructions for this cross, please let me know and I will post them....
Easel Cards and Spreuer Crosses (click on the pictures to go to those posts)

Easel Card - Graduation

Easel Card - Snowman

Quilled Spreuer Cross - Christmas

Spreuer Cross - Communion

Have a wonderful day and may it be super productive!!!

Hey, I've linked up to this wonderful 26 Day Christmas Craft Marathon Linky Party - http://lisascraftblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/christmas-craft-marathon-linky-party.html

and The Winter Holiday Craft Party - http://www.craftsunleashed.com/index.php/seasonal/holidays/winter-holiday-linky-party/

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T11:11:00.001-05:00

A quick note to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! If you are not in the states, I wish you a day of comfort and family!

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays where the focus is on family and giving thanks for all that we have! I hope that everyone out there can find both today!

From our home to yours - have a Wonderful Day!

If you are interested, the poem from yesterday in a printable format!

As always.... I am happy to share my tutorials and freebies / printables with you, I only ask that you do the following:

Please leave a comment if you download one of my freebies / printables, I would love to hear from you and get to know what everyone likes
If you enjoy the things I share with you, please become a follower so that you will see all the new stuff when it is posted (no pressure, join only if you want)
Please do not share any of my digital images, printables, or tutorials directly with others, but please do send them on over to me so that they can peruse and collect the images themselves.
I would be thrilled and honored if you would send me links to any images or posts that you've done using something that I have shared with you. If you say it is ok, I will even feature your work here!
If you want to recolor an images, feel free!
If you have a special request, please let me know and I will see what I can do.
Most importantly - HAVE FUN!!

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Be Thankful

2011-11-23T11:09:00.000-05:00

I received this poem from a friend in email and thought it was perfect for Thanksgiving and so I am sharing it here with you!

BE THANKFUL

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire. If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something, for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations, because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge, because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary, because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they can become your blessings.

~~Author Unknown.~~

Isn't that a beautiful poem? Such an awesome thought and something that I hope to impart on my children!

So, as you prepare to sit down to your Thanksgiving feasts tomorrow, be thankful!

Have a Blessedly Thankful Day!

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Simply Sunday Snowy Pictures

2011-11-20T06:50:00.001-05:00

Happy Sunday!

I thought I would share with you these snowy pictures... You might think that these are from last year? Nope, they are from Halloween! That's right. Some of you may be wondering why that is such a surprise, well, Halloween for us is in the Fall. Most years the weather is temperate, but this year we had a Nor'easter come through and it was a biggie. The trees were full of leaves as most had not begun to fall yet, so there were broken limbs and power lines that came with them.

We lost power early on Saturday and didn't have power returned until late Thursday (we were already asleep). There were others who had it much worse than we did and made me realize how nice it is to have power - lights, heat things we really take for granted today.

We were going to do trick or treating in our neighborhood because my son's friends wanted to come here, but we ended up going to another friend's house whose neighborhood had power. Too funny to see the kids trick or treating and there are snowmen! LOL!!

The border on these pictures is not part of the picture.

I am sharing these pictures on Shadow Shot Sunday #183!

P.S. The weather today is a beautiful fall day :-) I hope you are enjoying a fantastic day where you are too!

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Filigree Friday Birthday Card

2011-11-19T05:57:00.001-05:00

I know, not your traditional birthday card, but then again, isn't that part of the fun???

If only there were more time :-) I would love to have more time to create, but for the moment I am trying to be content with the time that I have to create!

This is a birthday card with a distinctly fall theme, oh yeah, and I also *had* to play (I mean use) the Spellbinders dies that my friend Lucy let me borrow. Oh, and I have to tell you they are addicting! I tried several of the dies that Lucy had (and bless her she has so many of them, and she let me borrow her entire collection and her cuttlebug for almost 2 weeks!! and another addiction was born)

So, for this card I was inspired during one of my blog walks (that is what I call it when I start out reviewing the posts on my blog roll and then end up following one link after another and end up someplace new... Unfortunately, I didn't save the picture, but made a sketch and then this card was born :-)

The following are general guidelines I used when I made the card, I just ran with the idea and didn't really measure anything (yes, I really just picked the paper and started cutting - of course this was after I took a post-it and made a little sketch - lol)... So...

I cut a 12x12 sheet of scrapbook paper in half (I chose one with no design because I knew I would be decorating it, but a nice decorative scrapbook paper would look great!)

I folded the paper into thirds at 4" and 8"

Next I lightly drew lines for the cake layers at approximately 2.5" and 4" and cut the layers of the cake - Yum!

The next part was pure fun, I used my Martha border punches and fun paper and created the cake decorations. I folded them around the layers so they would be visible when the card was open or closed. The "Happy Birthday" is also a Martha punch.

The circle scallops are Spellbinders dies, I used various sizes and added lots of bling.

On the tallest panel, I added a scallop flower. I cut 3 different scallop circles and then made several cuts, like I would for fringed flowers, and layered them.

The quilled element uses multiple quilling strips, I don't know that this has a name. I grabbed a bunch of quilling strips in autumn colors and glued them in the center. To create this look, I then started at one end and gently pulled the strips to create the bowed shape. When it was something I was happy with, I glued that end and then curled the ends.

I placed the scallop, fringed flower in the center and added mini flowers on the curled ends (these are the cast offs from the flower border punch I used). I also added the pine branch punch (this is a newly acquired punch and will definitely be making an appearance in my Christmas designs - too fun!).

I took these pictures at home and missed the final version of this card... just as we were ready to leave, I took a final look and added a rhinestone to the scallop, fringed flower and off we went.

I hope that you enjoyed this card and would love to see your creations!

Update 11/19:
Linking up to these parties

BFF Open House Link Party #29 and Carmex Healing Lotion Giveaway

Whipperberry Friday Flair Link Party

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Filigree Friday Spooky Card

2011-10-28T20:16:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe that Halloween is only a few days away!! We are expecting snow, if you can believe it?!?

What happened to those beautiful autumn days? Brrrr.... snow, snow, go away

Ok, enough complaining - lol

Hopefully it is warmer where you are :-) I will send warm wishes your way!

I have been having a lot of trouble lately finding time to craft. Do you ever have that problem? This is the worst it has been, between work, kids, homework, volunteer work, and life in general, there isn't much time for me :-(

But it hasn't been all boo-hoo (lol)... This is a calendar for October (yeah, I know, it is the end of October, but better late than never, right?!?!)

I used up some of my left over alphabet stack letters - c'mon, fess up, you have some too don't you? And I created a simple 3 x 3 grid with scrapbook paper and spelled out the word "Spooky" - yeah, perfect word for October, isn't it? I think the best part about the Halloween theme is that I don't have to worry about making everything straight and picture perfect... I may have gone a little overboard, you'll have to let me know, because everything is a little off center.

I even quilled a quick little ghost... For this guy, I used one strip of white quilling paper (if you wanted him to be bigger, go ahead and grab 2 or 3 strips. So, I took my white quilling paper and rolled a loose coil. Then I put a dab of glue on the end and pinched the paper where the glue was applied. I then pinched 2 more times and squeezed the ends to create that zig-zag bottom. Finally, I punched little eyes and a mouth. Isn't he cute?

I quickly created the calendar on my word processor and added it to the other side of the card. I don't know what I was thinking, but I didn't take a picture of how I set it up. This is not a traditional card and there is a triangle created that has "spooky" on one side and the calendar on the other. Unfortunately, I gave this away (yes, at the beginning of October - lol)...

I hope you can tell how much fun I had making this... don't you love the spiders climbing around and those "wiggle eyes"??

Hope you are having fun!

Quick Update - Check out this awesome tool that let's you create your own 2012 owl calendar!!! Many artists contributed their personal owl artwork and you get to decide which one you want for each month of the year. After you pick the artwork for each month, it will generate a PDF file for you that you can print! You have to check it out!!! Incredible!!! Thank you to Ann (All Things Paper) for the heads up and to Shivani for this wonderful calendar!

One More Update: What a cool idea - A Blog Hop to increase your blog presence! Hop On Board!!

FYI: All of my punches on this project are Martha's (you know, Martha Stewart). I don't know about you, but I really like her punches?

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Wondrous Wednesday Teacher Printable Sept 8

2011-09-08T06:07:00.002-05:00

Hope you are having a wonderful day! Our "W" word of the day is:

wallfish meaning snail

I know that you are probably all Back-to-Schooled out, but here is one more... Subway printables are all the rage these days, so this is my take for your favorite teacher :-) These are in PDF format and are sized to 4x6 so it can be put in a frame or added to a card.... They are all blue, if you have a color preference or you'd like me to add a specific teacher name, let me know. The following collage shows what is in the file:

Antonella's Teacher Printable

As always.... I am happy to share my tutorials and freebies / printables with you, I only ask that you do the following:

Please leave a comment if you download one of my freebies / printables, I would love to hear from you and get to know what everyone likes
If you enjoy the things I share with you, please become a follower so that you will see all the new stuff when it is posted (no pressure, join only if you want)
Please do not share any of my digital images, printables, or tutorials directly with others, but please do send them on over to me so that they can peruse and collect the images themselves.
I would be thrilled and honored if you would send me links to any images or posts that you've done using something that I have shared with you. If you say it is ok, I will even feature your work here!
If you want to recolor an images, feel free!
If you have a special request, please let me know and I will see what I can do.
Most importantly - HAVE FUN!!

I was inspired by this Father's Day idea from "Today's Fabulous Finds"...

I am linking up to:

Make It Monday - Anything Goes all the time! I love it!!

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Simply Sunday - Printables and So Glad to be BACK!!

2011-09-04T06:10:00.002-05:00

Hello Everyone!!

I have been MIA for a while and I apologize!!! Things have been a bit challenging this summer and I didn't have access to my personal computer for quite a while.... I cannot say that everything is "back to normal" but I am going to do my best to keep up...

Since today is "Simply Sunday" I wanted to share a picture with you... Many moons ago, my husband and I took a trip to Connecticut and while there we stopped at a little farm stand and while we sought out some fresh items I snapped this shot of some apples that they were offering. I always wanted to turn this into a black and white photo, and finally decided to do it...

As you can see, I also decided to create a few digis or printables with some fun quotes for you... I am sharing the following quotes with you this week (couldn't help myself!)...

"The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book."

"Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why." -- Bernard M. Baruch

"Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed." -- Robert H. Schuller

I think they would be perfect for that back to school teacher gift - easy enough to print out and put on the front of a card... I hope you like these quotes as much as I do, I started out thinking school (you know, give an apple to the teacher kind of thing - lol) and then just thought about "apple" themed quotes... here they are (Oh yeah, Click on the image and it will open up in a new window, then right-click the image and save to your hard drive):

As always.... I am happy to share my tutorials and freebies / printables with you, I only ask that you do the following:

Please leave a comment if you download one of my freebies / printables, I would love to hear from you and get to know what everyone likes
If you enjoy the things I share with you, please become a follower so that you will see all the new stuff when it is posted (no pressure, join only if you want)
Please do not share any of my digital images, printables, or tutorials directly with others, but please do send them on over to me so that they can peruse and collect the images themselves.
I would be thrilled and honored if you would send me links to any images or posts that you've done using something that I have shared with you. If you say it is ok, I will even feature your work here!
If you want to recolor an images, feel free!
If you have a special request, please let me know and I will see what I can do.
Most importantly - HAVE FUN!!

I am linking this up with the following:

Shadow Shot Sunday - I love the way all the colors and shadows dance along the apples
I Heart Nap Time Link To Party {Sundae Scoop} - Lots of fun DIY stuff from around the globe
Strut Your Stuff Sunday (J&Ms Eye Candy) - A cool place to hang out

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Giveaway Winner!!!

2011-07-01T05:28:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday Everyone!!

Can you believe it is July 1st today? Boy, more than half the year is gone... I was tickled and honored by all the entries and so happy to see how many people are followers and some of you who became new followers. THANK YOU!!!

I am pleased, so very pleased to announce the winner of my 5 Year boGIVErsary Giveaway....

... drum roll please .... Comment #29 --> as selected by Random.org

It is Kathy from Not Just Emroidery, she is a new follower (awe thanks)!
I visited her blog and pulled this from her profile:
I'm originally from California. Met my hubby on the internet and moved to Arizona. After 15 years in Arizona, we just moved to Wisconsin. Talk about a change! We didn't even own winter clothes!

I've left some love for Kathy on her blog with the good news - and I've also sent her an email directly as she provided a way to get her email! Have you noticed this too? I have seen a disturbing trend these days, when you enter giveaways people don't contact the winners directly. I don't get that... I know that I am super busy and don't always get a chance to visit everyone I follow every day, so a quick email letting me know I've won is always appreciated!

Please visit Kathy as I'm sure she'd love to hear from you!

Thank you to everyone! I only wish I could have given everyone something.

What do you guys think about doing some kind of swap? You know, like we did in the "old days" where everyone who wants to participate makes 5 of the same thing and then everyone gets one of each item? We used to to it where the number of items matched the number of people participating up to some magic maximum number... thoughts?

Have a Great Day Everyone!

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Wondrous Wednesday Thinking of You

2011-06-29T06:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Wondrous Wednesday!

Hope you are having a wonderful day! Our "W" word of the day is:

walleteer meaning one who carries a wallet

I know, how did I miss that one for FATHER's DAY?!?!?

I guess it wasn't meant to be :-)

better late than never!

Do you love to use the photos that you take and add them to your cards? I know that I do. Sometimes you capture that moment that is just perfect (or at least in your own mind anyway - lol)... This is one of those cards... This is a picture that goes back several years, my dad, son, and I were going for a walk and he kept trying to grab the flowers that I was trying to photograph... I happened to catch this picture and just loved it (ok, it is probably because every time I see it I think of that day and just being able to spend some time with my dad and my son - he will never be that young again and those moments are so fleeting)

I have made this card many times and have also used different sentiments, unfortunately I don't always take pictures of my creations and this was the only one I could find (you see, I don't have my pictures organized and cross linked by subject - only by date - lol)

This is a very simple card (yeah, I know... just forget for a moment the background I actually used, and use the photos as a reference only)

Print the photo to a full 4x6
Crop it so that the hand is the focal point
Mat and mount on the card
I then took one of the scraps from the cropping and used that on the card where I then attached the sentiment
In this case it was "Thinking Of You"

As I said, I've used it for Sympathy, Get Well, and Thank You cards as well.

Why not give this a try? If you would like to use the photo I have used, let me know and I will update this post with a link to the pic :-)

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Filigree Friday Free Quilled Dress

2011-06-25T09:48:00.004-05:00

Time for another Fabulous Filigree Friday!
Update: I've linked to Top Tip Tuesday, and my T's are Twirled Paper, Two arms, and Two legs - TOO Fun!

This little girl is crafted in the school colors from my niece's school.

Bodice:

1 - 6 inch (15.2 cm) White plus 6 inch (15.2 cm) Navy Blue coil them together and make a Coil Heart shape
1 - 6 inch (15.2 cm) Flattened V-Scroll
Tip: I love using a heart as the bodice of my dresses, I started doing this many years ago and adding the V-scroll as the sleeves also helps finish the neckline. I refer to it as flattened because it will only follow the shape of your heart. The deeper the top "V" of your heart, the deeper the v-scroll.
See the photos

Skirt:

2 - White 6 inch (15.2 cm) Marquise
1 - Navy Blue 6 inch (15.2 cm) Marquise
I made both of these very loose so that they would be longer
Glue at tip, place Blue in the center
I then created a top layer for dimension to the skirt
2 - 4 inch (10.2 cm) Marquise
Take a piece of they Navy Blue quilling paper and go around the white
Glue these on top of the larger Marquise made previously

Face: a 4 inch (10.2 cm) Loose Coil in White
Arms/Hands: 2 - 2 inch (5.1 cm) strip, coil only one end 3 - 4 times to make the hands
Legs/Feet: 2 - 2 inch (5.1 cm) strip, attach a small Navy Blue coil for her shoes :-can use )
Use Photo for placement

This is similar to my "Flower Power Girl" these are a lot of fun to make and perfect for a little girl, young woman, mom, sister, best friend. The possibilities are endless as are the color combinations and styles.

UPDATE: WINNER Announced... Giveaway closed - check out who won!!

Please check out my sidebar for the Link Parties that I link up to! :-)

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Wondrous Wednesday Patriotic Printable

2011-06-22T18:05:00.003-05:00

Welcome back! I know, it used to be called Wacky Wednesday, but I kept thinking I should change it, so here we are with Wondrous Wednesday! My inspiration was the word I selected last week... speaking of which, let's see what our "w" word of the week is....

wahoo

A North American burning bush or A large predatory tropical marine fish

(go figure, I was thinking along the lines of celebratory)

I hope you are having a great day! The weather is threatening to storm outside. I wish it would, but only if it will take the oppressive humidity with it. You know one of those days where you can feel the humidity grab your lungs when you walk out the door? lol!

Today I have a fun printable for you. The picture is one that I took of our flag that hangs outside our home. As you can see, I took the picture at night. I did some playing with the picture, I am no expert by any means, but I wanted the night sky to be darker. Then I took the photograph and added the words to the "Pledge of Allegiance" the original version :-) With the 4th of July around the corner, I wanted to share something patriotic with you.

I am happy to share my tutorials and freebies / printables with you, I only ask that you do the following:

Please leave a comment if you download one of my freebies / printables, I would love to hear from you
If you enjoy the things I share with you, please become a follower so that you will see all the new stuff when it is posted (no pressure, join only if you want)
Please do not share any of my digital images, printables, or tutorials directly with others, but please do send them on over to me so that they can peruse and collect the images themselves.
I would be thrilled and honored if you would send me links to any images or posts that you've done using something that I have shared with you. If you say it is ok, I will even feature your work here!
If you want to recolor an images, feel free!
If you have a special request, please let me know and I will see what I can do.
Most importantly - HAVE FUN!!

UPDATE: WINNER Announced... Giveaway closed - check out who won!!

Updated - I've linked to:
Please check out my sidebar links to see the places I link up to!
Marvelously Messy Link Party - http://marvelouslymessy.blogspot.com/
The Answer is Chocolate - BFF Link Party - http://answerischocolate.blogspot.com/2011/06/bff-link-party-8-and-this-weeks-bff.html
Whipperberry's Friday Flair - http://www.whipperberry.com/

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Filigree Friday Summer Flowers Tutorial

2011-06-17T09:00:00.006-05:00

Fabulous Filigree Friday!

UPDATE: WINNER Announced... Giveaway closed - check out who won!!

It is raining here today, hopefully these will add a splash of color to brighten your day!

These are very simple daisies... If you have ever done quilling you have made a few daisies... If you have never tried quilling, this is your chance... They are super easy and sturdy!

In keeping with my bright, upbeat feel, I have pinks, greens, yellows, and blues... for that added "pop" everything is on a black background.

I don't go far without some sparkle and bling, so the centers are rhinestones and there is just a light covering of paper glaze (next time I will add more - it gives the quilling that glass-like look)

As I said, this is really easy, each of the flowers is the same pattern:

5 - 6 inch (15.24 cm) Teardrops
Place all teardrops with the points touching in the center and glue
lightly coat with Alene's Paper Glaze, let dry
Top it off with a rhinestone in the center

For the paper squares I added what you can think of as marker stiching... the "stitching" is a pattern of "dot dash dot dash dot" (. _ . _ . _ . _) with my marker - because you see, I cannot sew, this is about as close I get really... it is fun and I thin adds a finishing touch to the card.

All of these photos use the same type of flowers and squares, they are only different in their composition.

P.S. I hope this posts, I used the schedule feature :-)

Update, I've linked to:
Make it Monday (link on my sidebar)

Enjoy!

Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

My BloGIVErsary!!!

2011-06-15T22:20:00.004-05:00

UPDATE: Thank you for your participation! This giveaway is now closed!
Hello there everyone and welcome to a new Wacky Wednesday! Today will be a little different... This is my 5 year BloGIVErsary and as a thank you I am offering this blog candy to one lucky winner! So, without further ado, our word this week is:

wondrous - meaning to be marveled at

(corny, I know)

Let's take a step back in time to 5 years ago... This birdhouse was the first picture I ever posted, it is also one of my favorite quilled pieces. I made this house warming card for friends of ours. They had just moved back into the area after having lived in Florida for a few years, after having moved to many different local towns. As you spin the spinner all of the places (towns and states) that they had lived would be displayed. For the picture I left it on the smiley face! I look at it and have to chuckle a little as I apparently put a collection of just about every flower imaginable on the front of the card - lol. The little blue bird hanging out on the brad is a cutey! Sigh... memories! Which reminds me, I need to make some more of these cards, I remember how much fun they were to make, and you know my affinity to birdhouses... :-)

The candy is made up of a variety of paper crafting items - the book Twirled Paper which comes with a slotted quilling tool and quilling strips! A Fiskars corner punch, Stampendous alphabet stamps, a 4x6 stack of colored vellum, pretty skeleton leaves, and a few more items that I will add in. I thought it would be nice to share the comment wealth to be entered for a chance to win. The first place I saw this done was over at Becca's Amazing Paper Grace, what you do is go to one of my older posts and pick a comment and leave a message on the blog of the person who commented - make sure you tell them that "Antonella Quilling Art and Expression sent you". Then come back here and let me know who you commented on. I know that messages make my day, so this is a sweet way to share.

So, to win the candy you can do the following:

Find a comment from one of my earlier posts, and leave a comment on the commenter's blog and tell them that "Antonella from Quilling Art and Expression sent you". Then come back to this post and leave me a comment to let me know who you commented on. This is referred to as Sharing the Comment Wealth!
Optionally, you can get another chance by leaving me a separate comment telling me that you blogged about this giveaway and have sent your readers a link back to this post. Grab the badge at the bottom of this post and let me know where you blogged or otherwise posted about this giveaway!
Optionally, you can get another chance by leaving a separate comment if you are already a follower, or enjoy what you see here and become a new follower, leave another comment letting me know you are a follower.

That's it, you can enter up to 3 chances to win this candy. Since this is my first blog-candy giveaway, I will probably add more goodies, because this is way too fun... so stay tuned :-)

I will be selecting one winner on Friday, July 1st using random.org and will announce the winner on this blog!

Good Luck everyone and have a Wondrous Day!

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Simply Sunday

2011-06-11T23:34:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it is Sunday already... how quickly the weekend passes :-)

I wanted to share this cute picture for the following Shadow Shot Sunday and Camera Critters . Isn't he a sweetie? He looks like he wants to say something doesn't he? My blog-friend Ann would know exactly what he wants to say :-)

I hope you are enjoying a wonderful weekend!

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Free Fathers Day Digital Images

2011-06-11T07:26:00.003-05:00

As promised!!!! More Free Father's Day Badges... A rainbow of colors you might say.... :-)
Here is a link to my previous post with the Quilled Sailboat Tutorial for Father's Day

I am happy to share my tutorials and freebies / printables with you, I only ask that you do the following:

Please leave a comment if you download one of my freebies / printables, I would love to hear from you
If you enjoy the things I share with you, please become a follower so that you will see all the new stuff when it is posted (no pressure, join only if you want)
Please do not share any of my digital images, printables, or tutorials directly with others, but please do send them on over to me so that they can peruse and collect the images themselves.
I would be thrilled and honored if you would send me links to any images or posts that you've done using something that I have shared with you. If you say it is ok, I will even feature your work here!
If you want to recolor the images, feel free! If you have a special request, please let me know and I will see what I can do.

Ok, just as I promised.... this is the Father's Day badge I posted (on my "Friday" post - lol). I simply took the same image and re-colored it to get the various colors. For those of you who are not comfortable working with digital images, click here to get the PDF printable that you are welcome to use as well!

Remember... I used it here on my Father's Day project last year (see the picture above). I think you can find lots of ways to use this badge for that special guy. The outside of the badge has the saying below (author unknown):

* Our family is a circle of strength and love * With every birth and every union, the circle grows * Every joy shared adds more love * Every crisis together makes the circle stronger *

Click on the image and it will open up in a new window, then right-click the image and save to your hard drive.

Blue Father's Day Badge

Green Father's Day Badge

Purple Father's Day Badge

Red Father's Day Badge

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Filigree Friday Free Father's Day Badges

2011-06-11T06:58:00.002-05:00

Fabulous Filigree Friday!

As you can see, I have been thinking about Father's Day! It is about a week away, so I had better get moving... In the process of trying to figure out what to do this year, I started looking back at other things I've done because let's face it those masculine cards are tough!!

I happened across this Thank You card I did for someone at work who was into sailing and thought that sailboats definitely fall into that masculine category (you know, like ties, shirts, anchors, golf - c'mon, fess up, we've all done them - lol).

The picture on this card is one that I took. Are you drawn to the water? So am I, so when these sailboats happened by I couldn't resist. I made this card and the magnet below a few years ago, and as I look at it now I realize I should have cropped the photo so that the sailboats are less centered and more to the right. Well, I know that I am going to use this picture again, so I uploaded the photo and cropped it before I sent it to print - I'll let you know how it turned out!

This sailboat uses very basic quilled shapes:

1 strip of white quilling paper, make a D-shape. How you might ask? Start with a Teardrop and then pinch the opposite end which will cause the center to bulge - wala - a D-shape
Half strip of white quilling paper, make a smaller D-shape
The boat shape is also a D-shape
For the mast take a strip of quilling paper and make a spiral shape
Can't forget the little flag at the top - take a 6 inch strip and make a Triangle shape (take your D-shape and pinch the other side)
I decided some birds would look perfect and created a few simple flying V's (you know, like we used to draw in school - well, I actually still draw them)

Arrange as shown

I also am including a picture of a magnet I made using the same image - I had made them to give to co-workers as part of a thank you for work on a difficult project. You can see that I used the same colors as above, and it was basically the same, but I modified the Larger sail and it is a triangle shape.

I hope you like this project.

Free Father's Day Badge... read on and find it at the bottom of this post, first....

I am happy to share my tutorials and freebies / printables with you, I only ask that you do the following:

Please leave a comment if you download one of my freebies / printables, I would love to hear from you
If you enjoy the things I share with you, please become a follower so that you will see all the new stuff when it is posted (no pressure, join only if you want)
Please do not share any of my digital images, printables, or tutorials directly with others, but please do send them on over to me so that they can peruse and collect the images themselves.
I would be thrilled and honored if you would send me links to any images or posts that you've done using something that I have shared with you. If you say it is ok, I will even feature your work here!
If you want to recolor the images, feel free! If you have a special request, please let me know and I will see what I can do.

Without further ado... Here is a Father's Day Badge that I created.... you may recognize it from my Father's Day project last year. We have this in our family room and I still love it - of course, it has pictures of the kids, so how couldn't I? Yeah, what a sap :-)

Update: I had some technical difficulties and then there was a terrible thunder storm and a little one interrupted so this post got in a little late - so, let's just pretend it is still Friday.... Ok, to make up for the fact that I posted way late I will be creating a second post with these badges in several colors - click here to grab the other badges.

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco

Wacky Wednesday Spirit ATC Tutorial

2011-06-08T19:12:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Wacky Wednesday and a quilled ATC tutorial!

Ok, I have to admit, as corny as it sounds, I am having fun finding odd and interesting words that start with "W" our word today is:

wadmal - meaning thick coarse wool

ok, not very useful, but still fun - lol

Boy, am I grateful that there are 24 hours in a day because I need every minute to get some of my posts in...

Today I wanted to share with you my absolute favorite ATC of all time! Last week I posted instructions for my Quilled Sun ATC on an acrylic background and today it is "SPIRIT" this is an ATC I made as part of a SWAP. I just love the black and white simplicity and I hope you do too!

I started with a white cardstock and printed the words directly onto the full sheet - I played around with placement a bit until I found a font and layout that I liked. I selected the words:

Spirit

Inspiration

Dream

Once I printed the words onto the cardstock, I cut the cards to ATC size 2.5 in x 3.5 in (6.4 cm x 8.9 cm)

For the horse silhouette, I did a google search (and guess what, I found a site that has the image: http://karenswhimsy.com/horse-silhouette.shtm)

I printed the silhouette on white printer paper using an inkjet printer and cut it out
I decoupaged the horse onto the ATC
This is where a happy thing happened - the black ink ran a little and created the neatest background effect
I added a few glue layers to get a nice shiny look
You have to let the glue dry completely before you can add the quilling (if it starts to curl, place it under a heavy object)

For the quilled elements:

8 - 6 in (15.2 cm) Fringed Strips White 1/8 in ( cm) wide paper
Create 8 fringed flowers by rolling the paper into a tight roll and then gently pressing on the fringes to make the flowers as shown.
10 - 4 in (10.2 cm) White Teardrops for flower petals
Arrange 5 teardrops, glued at the tip (pointed end) to make flower
You will make 2 of these
Add a Crystal in the center for added sparkle

Arrange the flowers as shown

I have so many ideas floating around my head about how I might re-do this ATC... Maybe creating an outline of a horse instead of using a silhouette image - perhaps creating a flowing mane and tale instead of the fringed flowers... so many possibilities :-)

Enjoy! Copyright for Personal Use Antonella DeFalco