Chrissy's Creations

Laura's 60th Birthday Book

2011-11-27T13:50:00.011-06:00

And now it is Laura's turn!!! I've been making special birthday books as each of my friends in this particular group turns 60. In Feb, Laura will be 60. It's only November, but I needed to get some projects finished early because of other commitments I have coming up. The hardest part about doing these books is selecting the pictures and getting an idea of how to organize them. Maybe it was a good thing that so many of us turned 60 within a year of each other because once I got on a roll with these books it seemed to get easier.

I really like the saying on the stamp I used for this first page. I've used it several times now and think it is very appropriate here also.
I had a great time making this book for Laura.

This book is a great keepsake for Laura. It contains only a few of the pictures that tell our story. I didn't always remember to bring my camera along, but I'm glad someone did. I collected pictures from our group of friends and scanned them.. knowing that someday they would come in handy. They sure have been 'handy' as I've been creating these birthday books as each of our group turns 60.

In our early years we'd travel to the WI State Bowling tournaments. We didn't really care that much about the bowling part... we just had a good time.
And then we were able to organize a weekend to Door County during the Pumpkin Patch festival. We'd like to do that again, but it is really difficult to coordinate.

One thing is for sure... our group knew how to have fun!!!
Many years ago we spent the weekend at a local hotel that had a pool... those are the pictures on the left page.
And then there were special birthday celebrations... like Susie's surprise party and the tailgate birthday party - I think that was for Cara and Kathy.

These 2 pages have pictures from several of the birthday celebrations for Laura. The most recent is on the far left when the Milwaukee groups took a limo up to Green Bay to surprise Laura.. and was she ever surprised!!!

Years ago we had a few Halloween parties and luckily I had a couple of pictures of Laura in her costume.
And there were always special events. The 2 pictures on the right are from my wedding. Laura is wearing one of the table centerpieces on her head!!

Our summer get together has been spent at our house on the lake for quite a while now... I don't know how many years?? We've been very fortunate that the weather has been good most of the time. We have a great time. And for this event we even invite husbands/boyfriends and kids.

As with a few of the other birthday books I've been making... the pictures from our annual "cookie bake" need to be included. Not all of us made it to each year's event, but that's the way it is. Years ago we had actually made Christmas cookies at Cara's house and that is why it is called the "cookie bake", but we haven't made any cookies in years. Usually the day is spent visiting various craft fairs and then either going out to eat or eating delicious food at Cara's house.

The End??? No, it's just the beginning of more fun and adventure for this group of friends. I hope Laura enjoys her book. But, she'll have to wait.. it is not even December as I'm posting these images and her birthday is 2 months away!

Happy Birthday Maggi!

2011-11-14T13:55:00.005-06:00

I found this box a few years ago.. I think at Michael's. I thought it would be fun to alter and I had the perfect person in mind... Maggi loves birds!!! Her birthday is later this week and I am seeing her tonight at our monthly shoebox meeting so I think it is safe to post this without her seeing this on my blog before I give it to her.
This is a look at the outside of the box; it looks like a book, but it isn't. I am going to transform it into a great birthday gift for Maggi. Here goes....

This is a look at the inside of the box before I started. Lucky for me I had a good idea of what I planned for the box before I started the project. I had all the 'stuff' I wanted to embellish it with and once I started it took very little time to finish the project. Good thing, too.... I had lots of other projects on my 'to do' list.

I started by attaching paper to the inside of the box. In the cover I attached a piece of decorative scrapbook paper that I've had for a couple of years (well, maybe even longer). It seemed a perfect piece of paper as it is a poem by Burns... and Maggi is into literature.
On the right side I attached 2 pieces of the water color paper that I worked on during our Creative Art Camp. The water color paper was sprayed with glimmer mist and the pieces I chose matched well with the scrapbook paper on the left side.

And here is the finished project! I set the box on an easel and opened the front cover.
The flourish in the upper right corner (behind the bird), the wings on the bird cage, and the word 'fly' are all grungeboard or chipboard pieces that I painted and then glued down. The birdcage is cut out of gold card stock using a Tim Holtz die (one that Maggi gave me!). You can't see it in this shot, but there is a small decorative button that I attached to the top of the birdcage.
I used a glue gun when attaching the nest, the eggs, and the bird. The nest and bird stick out from the inside and the box cannot fully close, but I didn't think Maggi would display it closed... after all, the good stuff is on the inside. Happy Birthday Maggi!!!

Creative Art Camp 2011 - Day 6, Sun Oct 30

2011-10-31T14:06:00.003-06:00

The party's over!!! They say all good things must come to an end... BUT WHY!!! Who ever said that and why should that be true???
It's Sunday morning and almost time to go to the airport, but first breakfast cooked by my wonderful hubby... with a little Asti!
It was great fun and I'm sure we'll all need a little rest from our art camp. We talked about doing it again... maybe another location next year and then maybe back to my house after that! I sure hope so .. we had too much fun not to do this again!!

Creative Art Camp - Day 5, Sat Oct 29

2011-10-31T13:46:00.006-06:00

Some people just need to take a little nap. Well, it was the last day of creating and we had been working our fingers to the bone. On this day we had to make a choice... and we all chose the same project... domino collage. Maggi found this project on line http://creativepointe.blogspot.com/2011/08/sharing-challenge-entry.html
Since this artist sells her work there weren't instructions on how to do this and what supplies were used, but we looked at the end result and came up with our method, but we do thank her for the inspiration.

It took me a while to determine how to use the self timer on my camera, but ... after running over to the computer and looking up the owner's manual on line I did it. We are all holding our domino collage.. and we are proud of them!!!
I think we're all happy we chose this project to do instead of another one.

This is Margaret's collage. Oops, I just noticed I forgot to turn the photo and have the picture on its side!!! I love the alcohol ink color combos that each of us choose. I don't have close ups of everyone's collage.. just 3 of them.
You wouldn't need to confine yourself to 6 dominoes. You could go with more, or with less.

Here is my domino collage. I did string wire and beads at the bottom and do intend to string them along both sides and then add some charms or bling to the front of the project.
I was thinking that you wouldn't have to attach a cord for hanging; instead, you could leave the cord off and display on a small easel.
When doing mine some of the letters on my words weren't dark enough so I used a black fine point sharpie to darken them. Also, be sure that your stazon ink pad is juicy and not dry.

Here is Carol's finished domino collage... isn't it wonderful??? She used a piece of flashing tape on the lower right, and see the bird on the lower left... that is a white gel/paint pen she used to highlight the wings.
We learned lots of things doing this project and we all loved our finished projects. I for one will do this again. I just hope I remember all that I learned of what to do and what not to do!!

Creative Art Camp 2011 - Day 4, Fri Oct 28

2011-10-31T13:29:00.006-06:00

We started our day by working with the glimmer mist pages we had created the previous day. We tore them in half and then punched them and the covers using the bind it all. Some of us stamped or embellished some of the pages and then I bound them with the coils.
Some of us, like me, didn't bind it yet because I am going to use it to create a birthday book for a very special friend of mine.

Everyone is intent on selecting pictures or stamps to use on their fragment charms. We used the Tim Holtz fragments that already have a predrilled hole. They come in lots of shapes and sizes. Mary had decided to apply a little alcohol ink to her fragment before attaching the image; I don't have a picture, but it turned out fantastic. The images are attached to the fragment using glossy accents. Then, we ran flashing tape through the cuttlebug with an embossing folder, colored it with alcohol inks, sanded it, and then attached it to the back also.
There were times of quiet contemplation and times filled with talk and laughter.. a very good combination. This was a fun project and I think we all found it enjoyable and relaxing at times. Maggi had seen this project I believe on a Tim Holtz video and Margaret had received some of these charms on a recent Tim Holtz cruise as part of a charm swap.

Here are Margaret's creations...
She attached lobster claws to all of her fragment charms and then strung them onto a chain necklace. Think of the possibilities?? You only need one chain and you could switch out charms based upon color or theme.
I sure wish I would have taken pictures of everyone's charms that day to see all the varieties.

Creative Art Camp - Day 3, Thurs, Oct 27

2011-10-31T13:09:00.006-06:00

These are fabric beads. Carol brought fabric and beads so that we could make these and use them as embellishments on our glimmer mist book or other items. We actually did the glimmer mist technique on water color paper first and then while waiting for that to dry we worked on beads. All you do is spread glue onto strips of fabric and then wind it tightly around a straw. You can use decorative fabric or paint, or stamp on fabric before spreading the glue. Then after the beads have dried for a while you can wrap and tie with fibers and wire. You can attach beads onto the wire or just glue them onto the beads.
Well, I was really asleep at the job today... I didn't take any pictures of us creating.. our projects. This is the day we worked with water color paper, mat board, and glimmer mists. This is a picture of Margaret's journal all bound with the front cover complete. But, I wish I would have had a picture of all the sheets of water color paper that we sprayed with glimmer mists.. they were stunning. Margaret brought the idea and her supplies; I know we completely used some of her colors.

It wasn't enough that we worked all day on projects.. now, I was making them work for their supper. We were having pizza on the grill and each of us needed to roll out pizza dough for their individual pizza. Luckily we were able to clean off part of our craft area so that we could get out the flour and roll the dough!

What's a little flour between friends? Bev got a little crazy and a some of the flour went flying... right onto Margaret!!
It was totally unexpected and I wish I would have had my camera ready when Bev did it because the look on Margaret's face was priceless!!

Bev and Carol are working on their pizza dough. I should have taken pictures of the finished products... after all, they were one of our creations for the day. The pizza was delicious!!!

Creative Art Camp - Day 2, Wed, Oct 26

2011-10-31T12:47:00.009-06:00

We arrived at Jan's around 10AM... and what is the first thing we did... well, shop of course silly!! There were items displayed in her living room area and more in her back room studio. And since we were taking a class from Jan we received a discount on all of our purchases that day. We all left with some great buys as well as our wonderful Vintage Valise.

Class has begun... and here is Jan showing us the valise and explaining how it all goes together before we dig into the project. We highly recommend taking a class with Jan Hoefler if you ever have the opportunity; she is a great lady. Check her out at www.redrubberpaperandink.com She also sells lots of the Tim Holtz products and many other 'must have' craft items. She'll only sell what she feels is a good product.

I was at the foot of the table so I had a good view of everyone. I should have been taking pictures of each step as we created the valise and then of each page we created for the inside of the valise, but... there just wasn't time. I was falling behind as it was some of the time. Here's Margaret, Bev, and Mary working hard.

Sometimes during the class you just needed to stop and take it all in ... or think it through before pushing on. Here's Maggi and Carol giving it their full attention. We didn't even finish all the pages that day so Carol took pictures of the 3 remaining pages and one night 4 of us finished them at my house. I still have some tweaking to do to my pages as I write this.

We're hard at work in Jan's dining room. There were so many things to learn and do. This is a class filled to the limit with all sorts of techniques and materials. We were her 'firsts' to take this class. She had tons of patience with us and she learned from it too. It went way beyond what any of us imagined... and we all love what we took away from the class.

And here is the finished product... well, this is just the outside of the vintage valise. It is filled with pages, each showcasing a different technique or product.
We were 'brain dead' by the time we were finished. What we thought would be about 4 1/2 hours ended up being 7 hours. We were going to go to Hobby Lobby for shopping after, but forget that!!! We stopped for something to eat on the way home and crashed.
Jan is a terrific teacher!!! We'd all take another class at any time.

Creative Art Camp 2011 - Day 1, Oct 25

2011-10-31T12:42:00.002-06:00

After months of planning... the day finally arrived. Margaret, Bev, and Carol flew into Milwaukee and drove out to my house. It was late afternoon, too late to start a project, so we took advantage of the dry weather and went for a pontoon boat ride. Maggi drove over to welcome the group too. So off we went with cocktails in our hands to enjoy the last of the colorful fall. It was a little chilly, but we didn't want to wait for another day in case rain would sneak it's way into the day.

Gift box with matching card

2011-10-19T18:58:00.003-05:00

Would you believe this used to be a box of Carnation Instant Breakfast?? A friend of mine shared this idea of reusing the box and covering with paper to create a gift box. The decorative paper I used was bright and cheery and offered me many options for choosing a color card stock that would coordinate with it. I chose blue and purple to add interest to the gift box. I used my spots and dots cuttlebug embossing folder on the strip of blue paper and then used an EK Success punch on the purple paper. I've placed some blue and purple tissue paper in the box for the recipient to use.. that is, if I give this as a gift to someone else.
Then, on to the matching card...
I couldn't believe I had a roll of multi-colored rick rack that matched the decorative card stock perfectly!!!
I used the spots and dots cuttlebug embossing folder on the purple card stock. I liked the look of purple mounted onto the blue card. To match the gift box I cut a piece of the decorative card stock on a diagonal and mounted it onto the purple layer.
The sentiment was stamped and then cut with a spellbinders label die. I used broken china distress ink to add color to the white card and then cut a larger label die from the blue card stock to mount the sentiment.

Gift Card Holders

2011-10-19T18:20:00.009-05:00

Take a look at this cute Christmas themed gift card holder. I made this at our recent monthly 'shoebox' meeting... thanks Maggi for sharing.
The base is kraft paper that measures 4 1/4 x 10" and is then scored at 3", 4", 5", and 8". The decorative paper is cut to fit each flap, inside and out. You'll need the following:
Inside pieces: 2 each of 4 x 2 3/4"
2 each of 4 x 3/4"
1 each of 4 x 1 3/4"
Outside pieces: 2 each of 4 x 2 3/4"
1 each of 4 x 1 3/4"
Belly Band: You can use card stock or ribbon cut to about 12" (mine were card stock cut to about 10 or 11". And then you choose or create an embellishment to attach to the belly band.
Here is a look at the inside of the gift card holder and the 'belly band' over on the left side. The inside is decorated with the same paper used on the outside. I did that for all of the gift cards holders shown in this posting.
If you look at the short flap protruding toward the bottom of the inside... that is where the gift card is placed.
These are so easy and fun to make!
Thanks so much Maggi for bringing this project to our 'shoebox' meeting.

Wouldn't this gift card holder be great to give someone a gas gift card??? I used a card stock that has a map printed on it to decorate the kraft base. I used a corner rounder on the front flap for this holder and the rest shown below. The 'belly band' of kraft paper was run through the 'clockworks' cuttlebug embossing folder. Even though 'clockworks' is clock related, I think that it also looks like a bunch of gears.. and who can tell if they are from a clock or a car engine?? The car stamp is from Tim Holtz. I stamped it and cut it out to mount it onto the 'belly band'.

This gift card holder was created using kraft for the base and then pieces of basic grey card stock. I used a crimper to create the pleating on the 'belly band' and then used 3 different spellbinders dies and 3 different types of paper to create the medallion attached to the band. It needed just a little more so I added the faux gem.
This gift card holder will be usable for any occasion.

This Christmas themed gift card holder should spread some joy!! I still have some decorative Christmas card stock and I'm trying to use it before buying any new stuff. I used a boysenberry colored card stock for the base of this card.
For the 'belly band' I used a cuttlebug embossing border of snowflakes on a dark green strip of card. I mounted that onto a slightly wider piece of boysenberry card stock. The cute little bear is taken from a Christmas card a friend of mine created years ago. It isn't a stamp; it is a piece of fabric glued to card stock.

This Christmas themed card holder uses the same decorative card stock as the previous one, but I used a dark green card stock for the base. A few years ago I had ordered some Christmas embellishments from Oriental Trading Company and still have some left... like this metal Christmas tree. It looks perfect attached to the 'belly band' on this card holder.
Christmas is just around the corner you know!!! I really need to work on my Christmas cards!!

Here is another Christmas themed gift card holder. I used the paper that was left over from the large sheet Maggi gave to each of us at our monthly 'shoebox' night. Instead of using kraft paper as the base I had a green card stock that matched the stripes perfectly. I also had some felt mittens I had purchased several years ago, so I attached one of them to the 'belly band' on this card holder.
I had used a clear stardust gel pen to add sparkle to the snowflakes across the 'belly band', but it is not showing up in this picture.
I think I may be making more of these soon!

Mini Pizza boxes.. with chocolates

2011-10-14T14:33:00.011-05:00

Back in Sept, a friend of mine (Bonnie) showed me and a few others how to make a mini pizza box. You can see that box on her blog, along with a video from Split Coast Stampers where Bonnie first saw this project.
http://craftiblog.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/2011-09-17-mini-pizza-nugget-box/
Bonnie altered the original size of the box so that it would accommodate the candies we were using to fill the box. So the size of paper used to create the box is 5 1/2 x 8".
I love this paper! I can't remember where I purchased it, but I did buy about 4 - 12x12" sheets of it. It is so bright and cheery.
For the 'belly band' on the left I used a strip of the same paper used for the box and attached that to a wider strip of red paper. I stamped a flower stamp (a $1 stamp) onto pink and red paper twice then cut them out. The image was such that I could cut out an inner flower and outer flower, so I did one of each and then mounted them so I had both pink and red on each flower.
On the right 'belly band' I attached a quilled flower. No, I didn't make it. A friend of mine had bought a bunch of them and gave me some to use.

I found this cute multi-colored polka dot paper at my LSS (Polka Dots). The brown background reminded me of chocolate which was going to be the prize inside these candy boxes... so, perfect! The 'belly bands' for each is slightly different; one used the same paper as used for the box while on the other I used a blue that matched the dotted paper.

I used a small pinking circle spellbinders die and a slightly larger inverted scallop circle spellbinders die to stamp the sentiments on.
I had these sentiment stamps as part of a set that I had purchased from Stampin Up a long time ago. I sort of forgot I had them, but glad I remembered as they came in handy for these candy boxes.

The paper for both these boxes was from a 12x12" specialty pack made by Cloud 9 Design. For the 'belly bands' I cut a narrow strip of the same paper used for making the box and then glued that to a slightly larger strip of coordinating solid paper. I used a couple of spellbinders label dies to mount the sentiment on.

I love my new little bird stamp. I picked it up at Hobby Lobby... on sale, of course. I didn't have a whimsical type bird. I stamped the birds on blue paper, cut them out, and then stamped just the wing on patterned paper, cut it out and glued it to the bird.

It was fun and a challenge to find stamps and embellishments that I already had on hand to adorn these candy boxes.
My spellbinders dies were a big help.
I had seen a stamp with the sentiment 'sweet tweets' at the LSS, but I didn't want to pay $7 for it so I tried my own hand at writing it on some of the labels. I did okay, not great.
The paper for both of these boxes was from a 12x12" specialty pack made by Cloud 9 Design.
On the left I created the 'belly belt' with a piece of white card stock that was embossed with a cuttlebug folder called 'musical flourish'.

Oh yum!!! I'd better start giving these boxes away or I may find myself raiding them for the chocolate in a weak moment!
These small hershey treasures are the perfect fit for the boxes. That is what my friend Bonnie had in mind when she reconfigured the size of the box and changed it from its original size.

On the left I used paper from a K&Co designer paper pack called 'Sea Glass'. I think my dollar stamp sentiment says it all.... 'simply enjoy it all'! On the right I used paper from my Basic Grey paper pack. It is time I start using up paper instead of hoarding it.
For both boxes I used a spellbinders fancy tag when mounting the sentiment on the box.
I'm now in search of stamps and sentiments that will be perfect adornments on these candy boxes.

Chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate!!! You could fill these boxes with other things, but who doesn't like a little chocolate? Well, I do have one friend who is allergic so I guess I won't be giving one of these to him.
I'm guessing I'll be making more of these little boxes as time goes on.

Accordion fold gift box with cards

2011-10-13T13:31:00.024-05:00

In September a friend of mine shared this project with me and a few others... an accordion gift box with matching cards. You can see her creation along with instructions and a video from Split Coast Stampers on her blog...
http://craftiblog.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/2011-10-10-acordion-fold-gift-box-wcards-2/
Since making my first project I've adjusted the size of the gift box slightly since I typically use 6 1/2 x 4 3/4" envelopes rather than the A2 size. So rather than use a 6 x 12" piece of paper for the body of the box, I use a 7 1/2 x 12" paper. And rather than use a 4 x 6" piece of paper for the flap of the box, I use a 4 x 7 1/2" piece. That also means that my scoring for the body of the box is different also. I score at 5", 6 3/4", and 11 1/2".
I've been busy making 6 more of these gift boxes each with 5 matching cards. For the gift box shown here I used a sheet of 12x12" paper from a packet of K&Co designer paper called Sea Glass. All 36 sheets included in this pack are nautical themed and double sided. I used the basket weave patterned paper to create the gift box. The reverse side of this paper, seen on the flap and sides of the box is made up of many nautical and travel related words and phrases. When making the 5 cards for this gift box I used other sheets found in this designer pack.
On the left the lighthouse image (Our Daily Bread) was stamped and cut out with a spellbinders oval and mounted to a lacy oval. A sentiment cut from the K&Co paper pack was mounted to a spellbinders fancy tag and then mounted to a layer of striped paper attached to a blue card.
The blues and greens of the card in the center are more subtle. The sailboat was stamped and cut out with a spellbinders oval die and then mounted onto a spellbinders lacy oval die. The sailboat patterned paper was torn on a diagonal with the sailboats shown on one half of the card and the reverse of that paper (stripes) shown on the other half of the card. A small strip of the stripes was cut and crimped and attached across the top of the card.
In searching my stamps for other nautical themed stamps I found the pelican used on the card on the right. After stamping him I cut him with a spellbinders diamond shape die and mounted it onto a larger diamond die. It was then layered onto one of the patterned papers in the K&Co pack and a piece of tan card stock before being attached to the green card. A sheer brown ribbon was used to embellish the bottom of the card.
The beautifully coordinated papers in this paper pack made it possible for me to clip various words and sentiments that worked well with these images.
The nautilus stamp (Stamp Zia) used on the left was mounted on a spellbinders lacy circle die while the words in the lower right of the card were mounted on a spellbinders fancy tag die. I used some blue card stock that coordinated well with the printed paper from the K&Co pack.
On the right I stamped the lighthouse (Our Daily Bread) and then cut with a spellbinders oval die and mounted onto a larger spellbinders deckle edge oval die. The printed paper used on the bottom portion of the card is from the K&Co pack while the background paper is Basic Grey. I attached a single piece of fiber down the right side of the card.

This accordion gift box and matching cards were made from a sheet of 12x12" decorative double sided paper from a specialty pack made by Cloud 9 Design. I used a silver and black cord for the handle and an EK Success border punch on the flap of the box.

Stars and stripes on the left with decorative fabric stars attached vertically on the side next to a small strip of striped paper, and the rays embossing folder (Tim Holtz) used on silver paper covering the right side of this card.
Retro circles embossing folder (Tim Holtz) was used on white paper for the top portion of the middle card. Stormy sky distress ink was lightly applied across the embossed circles to add some color. Spellbinders circle dies were used for the sentiment attached in the center of the card.
On the right, the swiss dots embossing folder (cuttlebug) was used on the top portion of the blue card while the striped paper was attached to the bottom half. Silver rick rack helps to define the card and a spellbinders fancy tag die used for the sentiment.

Buttons and decorative ribbon provide interest for the card on the left. The striped side of the paper was used as well as the solid blue (reverse side) with spellbinders oval shaped dies placed in the center for the sentiment.
On the right fleur de lis was the theme using the cuttlebug embossing folder and spellbinders dies for the sentiment as well as corner embellishments. A narrow strip of the stripped paper was crimped and attached across the center of the card.

This accordion gift box is bold and bright. I found this paper at my LSS (Polka Dots). Stripes on one side and floral on the other. I happened to have a piece of ribbon in my stash that was almost, but not quite, a perfect color match for this box. The border punch I used on the front flap is made by EK Success. I wasn't sure how these patterns or bright colors would work on this project, but I really like it! Now, I need to pick the right person to give this to.

These cards would brighten anyone's day! The cards on the right and left use both sides of the decorative paper mixing the floral with the stripes and adding floral embellishments created with cuttlebug and sizzix dies.
The card in the middle has a stars and stripes theme. A stars embossing folder (cuttlebug) and red star brads provide the stars that work so well with the striped paper.

These 2 cards go from mild to wild because I used the floral side of the paper for one of the cards and the bold stripes for the other.
On the left I used the stylized flowers embossing folder (cuttlebug) to coordinate with the patterned paper. I used an EK Success border punch to punch both a brown layer of card stock and the patterned paper. A sheer ribbon was attached to the left edge with red brads to help finish off the card.
On the right I went with a fleur de lis embossing folder (cuttlebug) and continued with that theme using spellbinders dies that also showcase the fleur de lis pattern. Using a deep blue card really made this a bold card.

The 12x12" paper used for this gift box and cards came from a specialty pack made by Cloud 9 Design. The blues and browns gave me plenty of options for choosing coordinating paper and embellishments.
The front flap was punched with an EK Success border punch and a light blue satin ribbon was used as a handle for the gift box.

I really like the retro circles embossing folder (Tim Holtz) and I used it on the two cards on the left. The card on the right uses the polka dots embossing folder (quick cuts) which leaves a much less defined impression in the paper. Spellbinders dies were used for all 3 of these cards for the sentiments . Ribbon, buttons, and brads were used as embellishments. I have plenty of embellishments to choose from!

It's a good thing I have multiple embossing folders with spots or dots or circles so I could give each of these cards a different look.
On the left I used my spots and dots embossing folder (cuttlebug) on brown card stock. I had the perfect blue and brown striped ribbon, and a brown button to use for embellishments.
On the right the swiss dots embossing folder (cuttlebug) was used on white card stock. A strip of blue card stock, the reverse side of the dotted paper, was cut and crimped to create a border across the middle of the card.
Spellbinders dies were used on both cards for the sentiments.

For this gift box I used 2 sheets of double sided 12x12"paper that were in a pack of specialty paper by Cloud 9 Design. One sheet was light blue dotted nested circles on a black background with the reverse side being light blue, and the other sheet was dark blue dotted nested circles on a light blue background.
On the front flap of the gift box I used an EK success border punch that seemed appropriate for the circle theme. The handle is light blue satin ribbon... I love it when I can use things that I already have on hand. I have sooooo much stuff on hand!

I used the blue circles on black background paper to cover about half of each card. I used embossing folders for the 2 cards on the left: retro circles (Tim Holtz) and spots and dots (cuttlebug). For the card on the right I used the reverse side of the patterned paper. I had ribbon that worked well with the 2 cards shown on each end. And once again spellbinders dies came in handy to mount and layer the focal image of each card.

For these cards I used paper with the same dotted nesting circles, but the color scheme was dark blue circles on light blue background. On the left I went with the circle theme. I cut out 3 different size circles from the coordinating blue on black paper, mounted them on spellbinder inverted scallop circle dies cut from silver mirror card stock. I used a clear stardust gel pen to highlight the many light blue dots on the dark circles.
On the right I also used some of the coordinating blue on black paper, but just a strip, that I ran through the paper crimper before attaching to the center of the card. I used the swiss dots cuttlebug embossing folder on the white/top portion of the card and a spellbinders die as a background for the sentiment.

I loved working with this piece of paper.. love the theme and the colors. I found it at my LSS (Polka Dots) and I've already gone back for more of it. I have a friend who is crazy about clocks and I know when she sees this... she will want it!!
The ribbon I used for the handle was in my stash and worked great with the colors in the paper. The front flap of the purse was punched with an EK Success border punch... I don't know what the name of it is.

I used various spellbinders labels and tags for the sentiments on the front of each card. The embossing folders used, from left to right, are: distressed stripes (cuttlebug), number collage (cuttlebug), and retro circles (Tim Holtz). I used decorative ribbons to spice up the 2 cards on the right, and a great little clock embellishment from Sky Blue Pink for the card in the middle... perfect!

I used cuttlebug embossing folders on both of these cards... 'clockworks' on the left and 'script' on the right. I also used spellbinders labels on each for the text that is on the front of the cards, and a buckle die for the card on the left.

My embossing folders and spellbinders dies got a workout making the 30 cards that go with these 6 accordion gift boxes. It took a lot of time, but was fun. I can't wait to give some of these as gifts.. much nicer than giving a packet of cards tied together with a ribbon!

Mini purses

2011-10-13T13:02:00.005-05:00

Back in September a friend shared this great project with me and a few others. Well, I went crazy with it.. I bought a tablet of 6x6" double sided paper (24 sheets) and made a mini purse with each sheet. If you'd like the directions and specifics about this mini purse go to my friend Bonnie's blog and read all about it. She has even included the video tutorial from where she found this great project...
http://craftiblog.wordpress.com/2011/09/28/2011-09-28-september-shoebox-gathering-bonnie/
Other than the tablet of paper all I needed was some coordinating solid card stock for the top, handles, and front closure of the purse. I even found some great pieces that matched in my folder of scraps. The other things you'll need are brads to hold the handles on the purse and velcro which is attached to the purse and under the front oval closure.
Here are 6 more...
The strap that is used to create the front closure is a spellbinder tag die. One of the decorative edges of each tag is snipped off since it would be hidden under the oval (also a spellbinders die) of the front closure. On some purses I glued the snipped end onto the oval closure, and on others I glued it to the bottom left corner of the purse. I stole that idea from a friend who said it would then make the purse look like some designer type purse with a mini logo!!! Thanks Maggi!

And here are 7 more mini purses. Phew!!! I did make 2 more than what I'm showing here, but I had already given them as gifts before I had the chance to take a photo. I think I'm done making these for a while... that is, unless, my friends snap all of them up.
Oh yeah, and in each of the purses is a small Twix candy bar and a mini bag of M&M's. Now, who doesn't like chocolate??
A great thing about these mini purses is that you can use them over and over. Not only are they perfect for candy treats, but they also fit a gift card in them perfectly.
I had fun rummaging through my many embellishments finding just the right item to adorn the front closure. And I still have plenty of embellishments left. I just need to buy another tablet of 6 x 6" paper and more candy!!!

Calendar project - April

2011-09-20T14:44:00.004-05:00

My monthly stamping group is putting together a calendar. We've divided up the months so that each of us is responsible for 2 months of the year. We need to create 12- 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" pages for each of the 2 months. When we meet in November we will use a bind-it-all to bind the pages so that each of us gets 2 full calendars.
Here is my page for the month of April; I've already completed my pages for the month of August.
I started with a light green heavy weight card stock. After cutting the pages to size I stamped the flower stems in meadow, the clouds in london fog, and the rain drops in stormy sky. Next I cut a strip of decorative scrapbook paper for the bottom, trimming the top edge with decorative scissors, and then attached that to the bottom of the page. I mounted the April calendar onto green card stock and attached to the upper right corner.
I took a little 'cocktail' umbrella, opened it up, flattened it somewhat, and then taped it down to the page.... after all, it is April showers.
I used gel pens to color buds onto the flower stems. I used glossy accents to add a little dimension and sparkle to the rain drops. And, I used diamond glaze under the umbrella to help adhere the stick to the page.
I like the result and I hope everyone else in our monthly stamp group will like the month of April also.

Monthly card keeper

2011-09-20T14:28:00.005-05:00

This is a card keeper. A very crafty friend of mine brought this project for us to make when a small group of us got together recently. The booklet is created using 8 sheets of 12 x 12" double sided scrapbook paper. Six of the sheets are scored and folded into pocket pages representing the 12 months of the year, and the other 2 pages are cut and scored to create the front and back covers of the book. We did add a piece of cardboard to the inside fold of the covers to give them more substance. Once all the pages are folded and the covers created the book is bound together using a bind it all.
The selection of papers she brought for us to use were fabulous.
Here are the pages for February and March. Each page represents one of the 12 months and a sheet for that particular month is attached to the bottom of the pocket. Our friend typed and printed the months for us on white copy paper. All we had to do was cut them out and attach them to the pocket pages.
I plan to give this away as a gift... who will the lucky person be?

Here's a look at 2 other pages - June and July. You get the idea. Each page has a pocket to keep the cards that pertain to the special events for a particular month. The sheet for each month has the dates listed and a blank line so that you can identify which days correspond to a particular event and person that you would send a card.

Candy box

2011-09-20T14:10:00.005-05:00

I recently spent some time with my 'crafty' friends and one of them brought this great little candy box idea.
The box and sleeve are pictured below, but what you are looking at here is what the recipient would first see. The sleeve is created to keep the box closed and is just a strip of white card stock that you fit around the box so that it can slide easily onto the box. The white sleeve is then decorated however you choose. We layered the sleeve with red and then a patterned paper. On top of that we attached an apple image that we stamped and cut from white card stock, and an apple core that we punched from red and white card stock using a tab punch.
Yummy!!!! When the box is opened there are 9 pieces of hershey's chocolate inside! Who wouldn't want that?
The box itself is made from one piece of double sided decorative paper cut to 5 1/2 x 8". It is scored, folded, cut at the corners, and taped together to create the cut little box.
When I created my box, I folded it so that the solid red was on the outside and the multi-colored scallops were on the inside. There was some of the decorative card stock left so I cut strips of the scallops and taped them to the sides of the outside of the box.
These will make great little gifts.

Accordion card holder and cards

2011-09-20T13:37:00.005-05:00

I recently spent some time creating with friends. Each of us brought a project to share. This accordion card box and matching cards was the idea of one of my crafty friends. We started with 2 - 12 x 12" sheets of double sided scrapbook paper. I chose a blue paper that had diagonal stripes on one side and green dotted circles on the other. One side of the paper was used for the top and sides, while the other side was used for the front and back. Magnetic pieces are adhered to the inside of the flap and at the top of the front so that the flap stays closed. It is difficult to see, but there is a ribbon handle on the top; it is slipped through slits cut in the top and then the ribbon is taped to the inside and covered with some of the paper to hide the ends. Creating the card holder does not use one entire piece of the 12 x 12" paper so you use the remaining piece along with the second piece of 12 x 12 to create the cards that will go inside the holder.
Here are 3 of the cards I made with the same 2 sided decorative scrapbook paper and white card stock. Some of the layouts I copied from the cards my friend had made and some are original designs. We had a multitude of tools to work with: nestability dies, punches, ribbons, stamps, gel pens, inks, etc.
It was so much fun to see what each of us came up with and to learn and work off each other's creativity. It really is beneficial to be able to work along side each other.
Here are the last 2 of the 5 cards I made. I could make more... I still have some of the decorative scrapbook paper left! But, this will be a perfect birthday gift for a friend who is coming over on Saturday! It turned out so great it is difficult to part with it, but I'll be making more soon. These will be great to give to family members. I always give a packet of cards to them for their birthdays. Usually the cards are just tied together with ribbon and placed in a gift bag. They'll be surprised when their cards come in a coordinating accordion card box.

Gift box with card

2011-09-20T13:27:00.002-05:00

I recently spent some time creating with friends. This wonderful gift box and matching card was a project shown to us by one of my crafting friends. Would you believe we used a box from health bars or instant breakfast drinks to make this box?? You break the box down, cut off the top flaps, and reassemble inside out. Then using one sheet of 12 x 12" decorative paper and some pieces of coordinating solid card stock cover the box and create a matching card. I also used a paper crimper and decorative edge punch on some of the solid pieces of card stock. The flowers on the box and card are fabric flowers and buttons.
You punch two holes on each side of the box at the top and string ribbon or twine through them to create handles for the gift box. Get some coordinating tissue and you have a great gift box that is reusable!! I'm definitely making more of these. Thanks to my friend for a great idea.

Desk Calendar

2011-09-12T14:05:00.003-05:00

Each year I've been creating some desk calendars and giving them to friends and family members. I ordered 50 small calendars so I have quite a few to create. I created 20 easel style calendars like the one pictured here. I did create 2 each with the same colored background, but the rest of the calendar is the same as the one shown.
I ran a piece of card stock through the cuttlebug with the 'numbers' embossing folder for the background. I edged the piece with a gold krylon pen before attaching to the easel.
I used a nestabilities clock die to cut out the clock and before removing the piece from the die I used a sponge with black ink to color the roman numerals on the face of the clock. I shaded the outer edge of the clock with distress ink and then attached clock hands with a brad. The wings were stamped on a gold card stock, cut out, and attached to the back of the clock. I used dimensional tape when attaching the clock to the background. Before attaching the calendar, I first cut a piece of black card stock a little larger so that the calendar would stand out from the background paper.

Calendar project - August

2011-09-12T13:55:00.003-05:00

My monthly stamping group is putting together a calendar. We've divided up the months so that each of us is responsible for 2 months of the year. We need to create 12- 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" pages for each of the 2 months. When we meet in November we will use a bind-it-all to bind the pages so that each of us gets 2 full calendars.
Here is my page for the month of August.
I used a piece of specialty paper I purchased from The Paper Cut. It appears to have waves so it is perfect for coloring blue and pretending it is the ocean! I cut a strip of brown paper with decorative scissors for the sand and attached small shells with diamond glaze. The palm tree is stamped and then colored with markers. The duck in the inner tube was stamped on a separate piece of card stock, colored with markers, cut out, and run through a xyron sticker maker. Before attaching him to the page I applied diamond glaze on the inner tube for dimension. The fish jumping out of the ocean is a sticker and the little splash image is a stamp from the same 'Close to my Heart' set that the duck is from. I hope everyone likes their August page.

Card to celebrate braces being removed

2011-09-12T13:37:00.003-05:00

My friend, Sharon, commissioned me to create a card that she could give to her 13 year old granddaughter who is having her braces removed. Well, I don't have any stamps with braces, but I have a great set of phrases that pertain to smiling and they came in very handy when I created this card.
Sharon liked the card so much I'm off to create another for her to give to someone else having their braces removed.
Isn't it simply amazing what types of images you can find when you search the internet???
These are hysterical! I don't know if any of these are real or if they are all 'photo shopped'.
What makes this so cool is that both the sender and the recipient of this card have a golden retriever as a pet. In fact, the picture looks just like my friends' dog, Augie... who happens to be sitting right next to me as I type this as we are 'dog-sitting' for a couple of days.
But a goat or a frog with braces???... Come on!!!

Happy 60th Nancy!!!

2011-09-12T13:04:00.009-05:00

Nancy, the newest member of our crazy group, is turning 60 at the end of December this year. I needed to get a jump on creating this book for her 60th since I'll be gone for all of December and much of January. I don't know when our group will gather to celebrate Nancy's birthday, but many of the years in the past we've gotten together in November before the big Holiday season begins.
The picture of Nancy popping out the the limo's sun roof was taken last February when the group rented a limo to drive up to Green Bay to visit Laura.
Nancy may not be the type for wearing a dress very often, but I love the philosophy of the words used on this stamp. It so fits many of the ladies in our group of friends.
I didn't have many pictures of Nancy so when I first began organizing for this booklet I was a bit concerned. But everything fell into place and I like the result... I just hope Nancy likes it too.

Nancy is into various outdoor activities that the rest of our crazy group isn't. She fishes and hunts with other friends. The book wouldn't be complete without some pages dedicated to those activities. The internet is a wonderful tool for finding pictures when you don't have any personal pictures to use. And you can usually find scrapbook paper and stickers to go along with whatever theme you are trying to achieve.

Nancy hunts too.. and more than just deer! Since I didn't have any pics of her hunting I resorted to the internet and the sticker section of Michael's.
On the right is a picture of some of our group at Bert's condo when they first moved in. I don't know who is taking the picture???
We get together for no particular reason and for any reason we can think of.

We are a crazy group of ladies. Some of us have been together longer than others. Nancy has known Bert and Mary since early childhood, but she is really the "newest" member of our crazy group.
I love the picture on the right. I don't remember where or when it was taken, but I love how the snowflakes have melted on the camera lens. I'm pretty sure it is a pic of Nancy, Mary, Bert, and me.

Sometime in November or December we try to get together to celebrate the winter birthdays. On the left Nancy and I are celebrating our birthday and on the right we are capturing our group in front of Cara's christmas tree. We always have fun ... we talk, we laugh, we eat, we laugh, we have a couple of drinks, we laugh... you get the picture!

I was thrilled that I already had various scrapbook papers in my stash that worked so well for this book.
The picture on the left is of Nancy, Bert, and myself as we celebrated all 3 of our birthdays together at Cara's house. On the right is a picture of some of the gang that was able to travel up to Laura's in Green Bay last February. Would you believe they rented a limo... and had a blast! It was a surprise for Laura as her birthday is in February. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make that get together.

Here is the last page... well, almost the last. I still need to sign the back inside cover and write a little note to Nancy.. but I have until November to do that!
I've been able to use a bunch of things that I've had for some time. The embossed paper I used for the background I've had since there were 'Paper Adventures' warehouse sales in Milw. I don't know how long I've had that cute birthday ribbon with the yellow and green candles!
But the stamp I used with that wonderful verse is rather new. I hope Nancy enjoys her book.

A Book for Paige

2011-08-27T09:18:00.024-05:00

My niece, Paige, is 16 years old this year!!! WOW, what a shock! I wish she was here so I could personally hand her this book I made, but she recently moved to Fargo, ND to live with her Dad.
I had made her 2 younger sisters small booklets last year and decided that Paige needed one too. When she was born I wasn't into stamping or crafts, but I am now.. so here goes!
I had such fun looking through pictures I had taken of her over the years. It was difficult trying to narrow down the choices for this booklet.

I am so glad I saved this... it is perfect for the first page of Paige's book!! When Paige was born her Mom and Dad ordered candy bar wrappers... they are so clever. They slip over a hersheys candy bar. Instead of 'Hershey' it says 'here she is'. The net weight printed on the bottom left is her weight at birth.
I don't know if Paige ever saw this so this may be a terrific surprise for her when she receives this book in the mail.

Family pictures...
On the left is Paige with her Dad, Charlie, and her Mom, Tracie. Below the picture is the back half of the candy bar wrapper from the previous page. It lists the specifics about Paige's birth: date, time, height, and weight.
On the right is Grandma Sandie, Uncle Dave, and me with a 'not so happy' Paige. Oh well, babies do have bad days too!

Oh Baby is right!!! Look at this cutie! This picture is blackmail material for sure. In some ways it seems like only yesterday that Paige was a baby, and yet it was 16 years ago!!! Where did the time go?
She was a charmer! Just look to the right and see how cute her smile is!! She always took great pictures.

Whenever we were together I tried to remember to get a picture of Paige with her cousins. In this one Paige is sitting with Leah, Cara, and Uncle Dave.
On the right Paige is sitting in her recliner. I think she received this as a Christmas gift one year. It really does recline!!! All she needs is a crown because she looks like royalty sitting there.

These pictures were taken at our house.. a day at the lake.
Paige is floating in a rubber boat with her Mom and then later that day we took a pontoon boat ride around the lake. Bob always has the kids take a turn driving the boat. It's a pretty boring job since we're going very slow and you don't need to turn the wheel much... but, Paige always liked it.
On the right Paige is wearing party hats on her ears. Yes, I probably made her do it. I either had done the same thing myself and she was copying me, or I put them on her ears for her. You gotta have a little fun!

For many years we'd have our Christmas celebration at Sandie and Roy's house and that is where this picture on the left was taken. Paige is sitting with her cousin Leah and Uncle Dave.
On the right Paige is enjoying the attention of her 2 brothers Andy and Nick.

I have lots of birthday pictures and here is another on the left. The years just kept flying by and we didn't even realize that she was growing up so fast!!
Another cute pose on the right!!! It appears that Paige was a little bit of a ham when it came to taking pictures.

Doesn't the picture on the left make you giggle?? This is one of my favorite pictures of Paige. It was taken at our house. She is laying inside the blow up floating raft that is stored standing on its side in our shed at the lake.
On the right is a picture of Paige opening her birthday gifts with the help of her brother, Andy, and with Mom looking on. This party was at Sandie and Roy's on the deck.

I love the pose and the cute 'almost angelic' face of Paige's picture on the left. It was difficult to choose pictures for this book; I had many cute ones.
On the right... Do we have another musician in the family?? I don't think her drum phase lasted very long, but it looks like she is having a good time here.

Both of these pictures are taken at our house.
Paige loved going into the hot tub!! On this particular day she must have been the only one who wanted to go in. Her cousin Leah is looking on.
On the right Paige is blowing out candles on her birthday cake. Look closely at the side of the cake and you can see where Paige ran her finger through the frosting to sneak a taste. She LOVED sugary food!!!

These 2 pages show Paige with her 2 cousins Leah and Cara... she idolized them.
On the left Paige is riding on a 4-wheeler with Leah at one of the birthday celebrations at Rita's house.
On the right Paige is sitting with Cara and Leah. I think this picture was taken at Sandie and Roy's during Christmas.

On the left is one of Paige's grade school pictures. I think I have one from most of her years in grade school. I wish I would have written the grade or her age on the back of them because I don't remember how old she is in this picture.
On the right is a really cute picture of Paige and her sister, Alexa, dressed as ballerinas. This is before Alivia came along.

On the left is a picture of Paige with her 2 younger, much younger, sisters. Her 'little' sisters adore her. One teenager and 2 babies... I don't know how my niece does it!
And on the right is a picture of Paige when she belonged to the cheer squad.

This is a picture of Paige when she went to Homecoming... I think. The dress and shoes are really cute and look great on her. The quality of the picture isn't so great. I think the picture was taken with a cell phone. Those types of images are smaller than pictures taken from a camera and when I attempt to enlarge them with my photo program they get blurry.
I wish I could have seen her in person and taken a picture with a camera.

I used another picture of Paige in her party dress for the back cover and stamped a verse that I thought would be appropriate for a person her age. I think it is rough going to be tough to be a teenager these days and I wouldn't want to repeat that part of life again. She can use all the support we can give her.
The book is on it's way to Fargo, ND where Paige lives with her Dad. I packed it well and I hope it makes it to her without being damaged.
Happy 16th Birthday Paige!!!
I love you.... Aunt Chrissy

Phantom Lake Art Camp 2011

2011-07-16T09:38:00.008-05:00

This was our 2nd annual Phantom Lake Art Camp... once again hosted by Rita. She is so generous to open her home to us. We spent Thursday afternoon creating the beautiful canvas creations you are about to see. We break for food and wine that all participants bring to the gathering and then we work on another craft project. This year I brought one card for the group to create. I assumed we'd be 'brain dead' from our first project, and maybe a little too relaxed from the wine!!
Here are 4 canvases that Rita created prior to our Art Camp. They were great examples for us to see as we began our creative journey.
Rita is holding one of several canvases she had created prior to our art camp. Rita is an amazingly talented and creative person. We found out that she used to teach art classes... we hadn't known that about her.
Carol's canvas will be displayed in her newly remodeled bathroom. The colors match the gorgeous tiles in that room. The bird on her canvas is actually 3 dimensional and made of wire.

Sandi brought a pillow from her home along to match colors on her canvas. The end result was a perfect match.
Jan chose a music theme using some letter stickers to spell 'music' and 'bach'.
Joanne did a fantastic job of drawing and then painting a floral image onto her canvas.
You just never know how talented you are until you challenge yourself with projects like this!!

Mary H came with an idea and has the 'perfect' place to display her canvas in her home. Mary W chose and oriental theme... of course! Kathy chose one of the wild animal themes and used tissue paper on her canvas instead of painting the animal prints.
All the canvases were beautiful.. and all so unique. It was fun to see how every one's canvas was different from one another and how amazing the end result was.

And here are the final 3. Carol is holding Joan's canvas since Joan had to leave to attend her grandson's baseball game. Joan chose a mexican theme to match some items in her house. Charlene chose the wild animal theme much like one that Rita had created for her home. Jeanne chose a theme of grapes using some stencils to paint the leaves. She plans to display hers outside in a sheltered area of her home in Pewaukee.
All the canvases are wonderful and everyone was pleased with the results. But then, having a terrific instructor like Rita makes all the difference in the world.

Here is the canvas I created. Luckily I had a picture of this in my head before I attended the art camp. My plan is to give this to my niece Paige. Her birthday is in August. I think she'll like it. I may have to mail it to her since she may be moving to MN soon.

The Art Camp didn't end after our day of creating. Some of us stayed overnight at Rita's. The next day after having a light breakfast, which is provided by some of the participants, we took a little road trip to Delavan for some shopping and lunch. We finish our 2 day Art Camp with a fish fry at a local golf course.
During our shopping trip we spotted something that just might be our art project for the 2012 Art Camp!!!

Shoebox homework

2011-06-23T18:12:00.003-05:00

At June's shoebox get together Bonnie gave us some things to take home and make something with!!! I chose 3 flowers, 3 buttons, and a small pink tag. I should have taken a picture of the pieces before I started on my 'homework', but I forgot!!!
I used a word stamp on the flowers, colored the buttons with a copper krylon pen, and stamped a get well sentiment on the pink tag. the rest of the items used to make this card were in my craft stash.
I'm anxious to see what the other 'shoebox' ladies create with the items they took home!

Vintage Christmas cards

2011-06-22T17:54:00.005-05:00

I recently joined an online crafting group and decided to join a swap that required creating 6 vintage Christmas cards. Once the swap closes in July I'll find out who to send these to.
For all of these cards I used some decorative Christmas themed card stock that I've had for 2 or 3 years. I'm trying to use what is in my 'stash' before I go buy any more. And, for each of these cards I used vintage Christmas images that I found on the internet and then printed on matte photo paper.
For both of these 2 cards I used spellbinders nestabilities to cut the circular images and then cut a frame for each. I also used the fancy buckle nestabilities and cut some gold buckles to use with the ribbon.

I used spellbinders nestabilities to cut each of the images and then to create frames for each.
On the left I used a felt decorative mitten as an embellishment. I can't remember where I had purchased it, but it was a couple years ago and I bought green mittens, as well as some other christmas shapes.
On the right I used some decorative printed ribbon that a friend of mine found for me.

On these 2 cards I used snowflakes that were created using a sizlets die. The die contains 2 sizes of snowflake. I cut some using white sparkly paper and then cut the smaller snowflake using green and gold decorative cardstock to match each of the cards. I also used some of my spellbinders nestabilities to cut out the images and to create a frame around each.

Recycled christmas

2011-06-13T14:09:00.004-05:00

I've been saving bits and pieces of Christmas cards we've received. This last weekend I rummaged through the box and pulled out images that I could use to create christmas cards. It is never too early to start... is it?? These 3 are created using images that were on hand made cards and I'm hoping that the friend or family member that created the original card is not offended that I reused part of their card. If someone were to do that to a card I had created I would be flattered.... It means that I loved the image so much that I wanted to share it with others. I didn't reuse the pieces because I was lazy!!! Honest!!!
These 3 cards were also made using pieces of hand made cards we had received. They are just too pretty to keep hidden in a box and definitely too precious to end up in the trash. I hope that the friends or family members that receive these in 2011 will enjoy them as much as we did.

Here are cards I've created using pieces of 'store bought' christmas cards. Again, these are taken from cards that we received from family or friends. I loved the images and knew they would be great additions to hand made cards.

Welcome Charlie

2011-06-11T17:05:00.005-05:00

Just last week my friend, Cara, sent me an email saying she was a 'grandma'. I was about to fall off my chair when I read the rest of the email which explained that her daughter and her friend had gotten a bulldog puppy!!! Well, I said "send me some pictures". I love making up cards using pictures of dogs.
Now the funny thing is that Cara has never been a 'dog person', but she tells me she is in love with this little girl; her name is Charlie. I'm hoping to get these to Cara in the next couple of days since it is Brandon's (her daughter's friend) birthday soon.
Here are 4 more cards. I have such a wide selection of decorative card stock that is dog-themed that I was able to use a different paper for each of the 10 cards I made. These pictures were taken on Memorial Day weekend when Courtney and her friend, Brandon, brought Charlie over to meet her 'grandparents'!
Even though Charlie is just a pup, she looks pretty big in these pictures.
Here are the last 2. I had fun making these cards; although, at times I felt a little sad too since we don't have our Molly anymore. I still have more dog themed paper and embellishments so I'm ready to make more. I know my friend will enjoy these cards.

Christmas in June

2011-06-11T16:54:00.004-05:00

Am I crazy??? Making Christmas cards in June!! Well, I bought a new stamp a couple of weeks ago at a stamp convention in Milwaukee and had to try it. The image is made by Heartfelt Creations. I stamped and colored with watercolor pencils; then later I added the glitter. I used a cuttlebug border along the bottom of the card and then highlighted the snowflakes with a glitter gel pen. I'm working at using up 'stuff' I already have so I was able to use some decorative christmas themed paper and some ribbon.

Feminine cards

2011-04-23T12:55:00.003-05:00

This is the card I've created to take to our May shoebox gathering. I needed to get this done early because I know I won't have much time before we meet in May.
An oval nestabilities was used to cut a pink oval which I embossed and then shaded with raisin adorondack ink. I then stamped the dress image once onto the pink oval and then onto a piece of patterned vellum paper. I cut the dress out of the vellum paper, ran it through my xyron sticker maker and attached to the image on the pink oval. A wine colored layer was cut (5 5/16 x 4 1/16") and then punched with a decorative corner punch. That layer was attached to the pink card. A piece of pink patterned decorative scrapbook paper was cut (5 x 3 3/4") and then a different corner punch used. I used a nestabilities scalloped oval to cut an opening in the decorative piece slightly higher than center. Before attaching that layer I placed it on top of the wine layer, positioning it in the appropriate place so that I could glue the pink oval in place onto the wine colored card stock first. Once that was done I attached foam mounting tape to the decorative frame and then attached to the card so that the frame is raised adding dimension to the card. The pink bow was created with my bow-easy and attached to the bottom using glue dots.

I created this card a couple of weeks ago. It is one of several different styles of feminine cards I created when a friend asked if I would make a 'Sweet 16' birthday card for her to give to her granddaughter. I combined some of the elements of this card and the one that my friend chose for her granddaughter to create the style I'll take along for our May shoebox night.
In this card none of the layers are raised even though the picture may make it appear that they are. I think the various die cuts, paper colors, ink shading, and embellishments make it appear more dimensional than it is. This may be the card I sent to my great niece when she turns 16 later this year! Or is she going to be 15???

Gatefold with a twist

2011-04-23T12:34:00.006-05:00

I found this card design on Stamp TV. Here is a link..
http://stamptv.ning.com/video/gatefold-card-with-a-twist
I used my scor buddy to create these cards... that makes it so easy! I used a stamp I hadn't used yet... it is actually one stamp with three bird images. I stamped the image onto glossy card that contained an alcohol ink background I had made months ago. Then I cut the 3 bird images apart and mounted onto black card stock. I used some decorative card stock as the background on the right and left panel of the gatefold. I had found some square metal embellishments for $1 at Michael's and thought they'd look good on this card. It needed something to perk it up a little since the paper I used to cover the panels seemed a little dull to me.
Here's another look at that card so that you can see how the card opens up. The top and bottom bird images are attached only to the left hand panel and the middle bird image is attached only to the right hand panel.

Here's another gatefold card using the same stamp, but different card stock on the panels.

Here's another look at the card so that you can see how the images are attached to the panels of the card.
I like the background paper I used on this 2nd card better than the 1st card. I think it makes the bird images stand out more.

Distressed Newsprint

2011-04-23T12:19:00.004-05:00

I was searching for some techniques to try and found this one on Stamp TV. It is called distressed newsprint.
Cut a piece of newsprint the size you need; this one is 5 1/4 x 4". Using 3 colors of distress inks, first apply tattered rose in a direct to paper fashion. You do not need to cover the entire piece of newsprint. Next, using a foam sponge applicator, apply tea dye pouncing the applicator over the piece of newsprint. Again, you do not need to cover the entire piece. Now, crumple up the newsprint tightly and then smooth out on a flat surface. Take the 3rd distress ink, vintage photo, and gently apply over the top of the newsprint with the sponge applicator. What you are doing is applying the color to the raised areas of the crumpled paper. Here is a link to the technique as shown on Stamp TV...
http://stamptv.ning.com/video/distressed-newsprint
I used nestabilities dies to cut the 2 layers. For the blue piece I also embossed so that I could apply ink to the inside edge of the label.

I know golf is not just a 'man's sport', but it still makes a nice masculine card. I used a couple of oval nestabilities to cut the layers for the golf club image. A little brown ink was used to shade the inside edge of the smaller oval. I like how that color makes the image and the layering pop off the card.
I will definitely used the distressed newsprint technique again!

Special Thank You's

2011-04-18T17:23:00.003-05:00

On April 9th our local Rotary with assistance from our local Lions Club held a fund raiser for an organization called 'Seniors on the go'. 'Seniors on the Go' provides a taxi service for local residents when they need transportation for various reasons (doctor visits, grocery shopping, etc). The fund raiser consisted of live music and dancing, as well as, raffle prizes and a silent auction.
I thought it would be a great idea to send Thank You cards to the various individuals and businesses that donated items for the raffle and silent auction. Here is a look at the card I created. I made a copy of a portion of our local area map to use on the cards. And I thought it was a cute idea to add a sign on the side of the car indicating the organization that benefited from this very successful event.

Folded ATC's

2011-04-03T16:13:00.008-05:00

This first panel of my folded ATC is purple vellum. I stamped a moon image in the top. I had hoped the vellum would look more transparent so that the scenery image stamped on the second panel would be more apparent. AT this point I'm not sure I like this ATC.

Here is a look at the folded ATC with the first panel opened. I had stamped one of my stampscapes images onto this panel and then colored with watercolor pencils.

Here is the ATC fully opened. My wolf stamp was stamped onto a piece of alcohol ink background and then mounted in the center of the folded ATC. I also stamped the 2 word stamps onto the back of the panel on the left.

I wasn't happy with the result so I waited a day or 2 and then worked on another folded ATC.

Here is my second attempt at a folded ATC. I stamped monarch butterfly wings onto purple vellum and used embossing powder on them. I cut the wings out leaving a small tab that I could tape under the center piece. I also punched 2 small butterflies out of a scrap piece of vellum that had also been embossed.
On the center piece I stamped a new hero arts stamp I had recently purchased onto a piece of card stock that I had sponged distress inks onto. I taped the butterfly wings behind the center piece and then mounted that onto the purple card stock.

Here is the ATC with the butterfly wings opened. I like this second attempt much more than my first attempt and will mail this ATC to my partner. I'm not sure what I'll do with the first attempt... I'm thinking it is going into the bin!

A labor of love

2011-04-03T16:00:00.002-05:00

This collage of pictures of our dog, Molly, was a labor of love for me and helped me to deal with her unexpected death. Molly died a month ago on March 3 of a heart attack. On March 14 Molly would have been 8 years old. We miss her so very much; she was such a big part of our lives. We took her on every trip we possibly could. My friend, Bert, said she was envious of all the places that Molly was able to travel. That gave me the idea for this collage which is now hanging on our wall. Within a couple of days of her passing I began searching for at least one picture of her on each of the trips we took together. I also added some pictures of her at home on the lake and in the yard doing her agility tricks. And if you look at the bottom picture of the blond and red retriever puppies, the little red head is Molly's sister, Augie.

March Shoebox card

2011-03-15T15:38:00.002-06:00

Our March shoebox night is only a week away.. and I didn't have an idea yet. There are times when it seems to take me forever to come up with an idea... and then... it sometimes takes a long time before I can create the idea that I see in my mind.
Well, I finally came up with something for this month... a shaker card. I used 2 stamps that were part of a $1 set of stamps. The shell stamp I used on the medallion is a match to the shell on the decorative scrapbook paper I used for the front panel. I didn't want to put too many beads in the shaker pouch, but it looks like I should have added a few more.
The yellow strip across the bottom was created using a cuttlebug border, and inking the raised image before inserting the card stock and embossing

Shaker Cards

2011-02-22T17:00:00.010-06:00

Last week I decided to make some shaker cards using some shaker pouches, made by Impression Obsession, that I had purchased in July 2010 at a Paper Cut Warehouse Sale. I had also purchased pre-cut card stock panels that were die cut to fit the pouches perfectly. I had round pouches and square pouches. And I had lots of mini beads to fill the pouches... you don't need many beads in the pouch.
I also wanted to make some 'specialty' cards for certain people. I decided to start with scuba diving themed cards for Terri.
After making all the cards seen in this post I found that the round shaker pouches were easier to work with than the square pouches. I love how these turned out! I know Terri will love them too!

The swirls embossing folder I used on the front panel of this card is a good match for the underwater theme.
On all of the underwater themed cards, except one, I created a background called faux bleach. There are two faux bleach techniques and I used both of them on these cards. I have two background stamps that are wonderful for creating the illusion of underwater. One of the faux bleach methods is done by stamping with versa mark, drying with a heat gun, and then sponging on dye inks. The versa mark resists the ink resulting in a bleached look. The other method is done by stamping with versa mark or embossing ink, applying clear embossing powder, and heating the powder to melt. Then alcohol inks are applied and using a hot iron and a sheet of copy paper, the piece is ironed so that the embossing powder melts into the copy paper.

The ribbon I used on this card and one of the others is one of my favorites. I think I saved it from a gift I had once received.. and I used the last of it on these cards. Oh well, I have been trying to use many of the items I have in my stash rather than hang on to them.
The background under the shaker pouch on this card is different from the other underwater themed cards. I just sponged on some ink in blues and greens.

I really love bright colors and this card is definitely bright!! Like the others I used the same underwater and scuba diving stamps. I really like the cuttlebug embossing folder I used; it is called bubbles. I think it really goes well with the underwater theme.
The multicolored rick rack is a fun addition. I had several types of underwater themed charms I was able to use with this set of cards.

I had fun with these underwater themed shaker cards using various color card stock, ribbons, charms, and embossing folders. Each of the cards is a little different.
I can't wait to give some, or all, of these cards to Terri as part of her birthday gift in July. Each year I give her a packet of hand made cards. She is a diving fanatic and has many friends that also enjoy the sport. I just wish I could find a few more rubber stamps that are relevant to scuba diving.

I also bought some of the square shaped shaker pouches. Along with the pouches I bought a packet of pre-cut card panels that fit the shaker pouch exactly, but are set on a diagonal.
I love making dog cards!! I ran the dark brown panel through the cuttlebug with a Tim Holtz embossing folder. I used spellbinders nestabilities (rectangle and label) to create the label across the bottom of the card.
I placed tiny beads, some larger beads, and a bone shaped embellishment into the pouch. If I make another dog card I'll leave out the larger beads as they are a little too big for the pouch and don't shake as freely as I'd like.

I had a chance to use some of the stamps from a set I just purchased... all coffee and tea themed stamps. I used my twinkling H2O's to color the coffee cup; they've been so neglected!
I'm not a coffee drinker, but many people are so it won't be difficult to find someone who will enjoy this card.
I even used coffee grounds in the shaker pouch rather than beads!

This card will be great for someone who likes to golf... and I know quite a few of them.
I used a cuttlebug embossing folder on the kraft colored top layer after stamping the golf bag in the lower left corner. The card looked too plain without the texture that resulted from using the embossing folder.

I've had a Stampin' Up set including this cute frog for a long time... and it has been a long time since I've used any of the stamps from that set. I was happy to see that this little guy fit well inside the square shaker.
It was fun to make these and I think they'll be fun to receive. I have more of the shake it pouches so I'll be making more of these types of cards. I'm curious to see how well they stand up going through the US Mail.

Kathy's 60th birthday book

2011-02-04T15:05:00.008-06:00

I have a group of very close girlfriends that are very special. We are all close in age.. a couple have turned 60, and 5 of us will be turning 60 within the next year. I started making birthday booklets for each as she turns 60. Since I have so many to make for this year I thought I'd get going on the projects. This book is for Kathy. I started with a book that my friend Maggi had given me. The pages were all blank sheets of basic grey papers. A couple of years ago I asked my group of girlfriends to give me photos they had taken of our group over the many years. I had scanned all of them and used some of them in Kathy's book.
Most of this group knew each other because they all worked at Bucyrus-Erie in South Milwaukee. I was a friend of Bert's and when they decided to join a bowling league they needed another player and Bert knew that I bowled. My life was never the same after that... it became much more fun and richer because of the friends I made.
I am so fortunate to have such a great group of girlfriends. It doesn't matter that we may not see each other as often as we like; we just pick up where we left off.
There isn't a better group of friends in the world.
Our group has evolved just a little over the many years we've been together. Joyce and Donna were with us in the early years... especially during our bowling years. And several years ago Nancy has joined our crazy bunch.
We had great times going to WI state bowling tournaments... never a dull moment. We didn't really care how we bowled; we just went to have fun!

One of the activities that became an annual tradition with our group of friends is a "christmas time gathering". I think we started by just getting together at some one's house, then we moved on to making and exchanging cookies, and now we either visit local craft fairs or just get together to eat, drink, talk, and most importantly laugh.
With every one's busy schedule, not all can make it each year so we just pick a date that most are free. By the end of this get together we're usually exhausted from laughing so much.

Kathy and her husband Ken didn't have a 'wedding', therefore she really never had a shower. I think around her 20th wedding anniversary we decided to throw her a wedding shower. What a hoot!!! Some of us dressed in previously used bridesmaids dresses we still had hanging in our closets... just goes to show, you never know when you'll need them again! We had a decorated cake; I think that Mary made that. And we had shower gifts, of course. It was a blast... one of the most memorable things we did.

Here is the last page I'll post; there are too many to include all in this blog posting. There are 44 pages!!
I did a great job incorporating things I've had in my stash for years.... scraps of paper, stickers, vellum words, and pieces from a book of sayings and phrases.
This is another picture of our annual Christmas get together. It usually occurs in early Dec and almost always at Cara's house in Rochester.
I know Kathy will love this book... and so will the rest of our gang.
I'm way ahead of myself, since Kathy's birthday isn't until August!!! Now, I need to start thinking about Nancy, Bert, and Laura!!! Then I get a year off before I need to think about a book for Mary, the 'baby' of the group.

"Old Guys Rule"

2011-01-29T12:23:00.009-06:00

One day last week Maggi and I went to check out a new scrapbook store in Milwaukee. We found some 12 x 12" scrapbook paper with the "Old Guys Rule" theme. The two beer label type images you see in this card and the one shown below appear repeatedly across the paper.
I thought it would be great paper to create some comical masculine cards. I made 11 cards from the one sheet of paper that I bought.
I have a couple of 'old guy' themed stamps that I did use on a few of the cards. Won't this card, and the one shown below, be great for a golfer!

This card if very much like the one shown above. The only difference is that the image is mounted on an additional layer, and the color scheme is different.

On this card I simply added a ribbon and a punched border on the 'outdoorsy olive' colored layer.

On the two cards shown at the right I used one of my punches. For the first card shown I punched all the way across the top and bottom of the dark navy layer so that the decorative edge was completely separated from the larger piece of paper.
On the second card I used the same punch, but did not punch all the way across the bottom of the 'outdoorsy olive' colored layer.

I was having fun with the various color combinations that worked well with this scrapbook paper. And I had various cuttlebug embossing folders that lent themselves well to the theme of the cards also.
For these 2 cards I cut out 1 of each of the 2 images that appeared repeatedly across the 12 x 12" scrapbook paper.
I also had some very thin brown ribbon that looked great as an embellishment on several of the cards I made.

Although different color combinations, both of these cards incorporate the same basic design. Another difference is the cuttlebug embossing folder used for each. One of them is using the 'happy birthday' folder and the other uses the 'numbers' folder.

On these 2 cards I used my nestabilities dies to create a raised frame on the cards.
I used another one of my comical 'old guy' stamps for the card on the top.
For the card on the bottom I used a cuttlebug embossing folder - 'happy birthday'.

Playing with a new stamp

2011-01-19T15:16:00.004-06:00

There was a rummage sale at the local stamp store this weekend. I took lots of things that I don't use and don't want anymore. But of course, I came home with a few things that other stampers didn't want anymore!!!
I thought this stamp was so funny .. and it was only $2.00!!
I wanted to see how the image looked so I stamped it 4 times on plain white card stock using 4 different colors and types of ink. As long as I did that, I thought why not make up some cards?? I got out some Tim Holtz paper, distress inks, my sponge applicator, and various embellishments. Here are the results!!
I really like how using the distress inks and sponge applicator work to soften, and in this case age, the image so that it looks good on the background papers I chose.

Here are 2 more cards using my new/used stamp...
I'm really proud of myself for a couple of reasons..
- I used the stamp I bought right away instead of putting it away with my other lonely stamps that haven't been used yet
- I used some of the Tim Holtz paper I bought months ago that has been sitting in the closet
- I used some embellishments that have also been left neglected in my enormous stamping supply stash

Now I need to get in my stash and use some of the other things that have been there for years!!!

Faux bleach technique

2011-01-19T15:02:00.005-06:00

I was searching for ideas one day and ran across the faux bleach technique on Carol Sweeney's blog. I love it!! There are a couple of faux bleach techniques. For this one, you stamp with versa mark or embossing ink onto white glossy paper, dry with a heat gun, apply dye inks to color the background, buff with a paper towel, and then stamp over with a different image/stamp using a darker colored ink.
On the left I stamped a word stamp using the versamark and then sponged on various adirondack dye inks. I then stamped another word stamp using black ink over the background. On the right I stamped a music type stamp in versamark ink, sponged on various colors of distress inks, and then stamped a word stamp over the background.
For the card on the left I used one of my fairy stamps from Sweetpea Stamps. After stamping it, I used some of my adirondack dye inks. The image is somewhat detailed and I didn't know if I'd like how it worked using this technique. I do like it; I just don't like the rest of the card!!
For the card on the right I used a latticed background type stamp and then applied distress inks. It resulted in a very pastel looking background. I do like how this card turned out.

Thanks Carol for your continued inspiration!!!

"F" is for "_____" Swap

2011-01-19T14:42:00.007-06:00

I recently ran a swap titled "F" is for "____". In this swap the participants are to create something that is somehow associated with the letter F. I just closed the swap and am getting ready to package my swap items up to give to Maggi.
To start with I have a faux leather purse that is just the right size to hold several greeting cards. The funny thing is, Maggi is the one who found the website that demonstrated how to create this faux leather purse!!
The cards I am including in the purse are all somehow related to the letter F. Here they are....

The oriental theme is one of Maggi's favorite. She may even recognize the ginkgo patterned paper I used on this card since she was with me when I bought it at a Paper Adventures warehouse sale several years ago. The silver fan charm is the key to this card fitting into the 'F' theme of this swap.

Faux foil... I learned this technique on the stamp tv site where Gina K demonstrates many wonderful techniques. I ran heavy duty aluminum foil through the cuttlebug and then after attaching the foil to a piece of black card stock I used metallic rub-ons to create the look of tin. I think my numbers embossing folder works great for birthday cards.

'F' is for fish on this card. I created a raised frame for the fish using a nestabilities oval die and some decorative card stock. I also used a decorative punch along the right side... bubbles seemed an appropriate punch to use with the fish theme.

Following along with the 'f' theme.. this card was made with a fall motiff. The leaves are stamped with black india ink over a background I created on white glossy paper using alcohol inks. I know Maggi loves the fall colors so I'm sure she'll enjoy this card.

The background under the stamped image is called 'faux bleach'. I found this technique demonstrated on Carol Sweeney's blog; she has wonderful postings and fabulous artwork!!
I stamped a word stamp onto glossy white card stock using versamark. After drying with a heat gun I sponged on various colors of dye ink. Then I stamped over the background using black india ink with the dandelion stamp shown.
I hope Maggi likes her F swap package!!

A book for Alivia

2011-01-03T15:59:00.011-06:00

This booklet is for my great niece, Alivia. When I was visiting with them on Christmas day her Mom, my niece Tracie, told me how Alivia loved to look at a small picture booklet I had made for Alivia's older sister, Alexa. Alexa is now 5, and back when she was about 1 1/2 years old I made a cute little booklet. I had forgotten about it otherwise I would have made one for Alivia when she was the same age. Well, better late than never... so here it is!!! I can't wait to see her face when I give it to her.
Tracie was able to provide most of the pictures I used for Alivia's booklet. I'm glad about that. It would have taken me longer to put this together, and I'm not sure how extensive my collection of pictures of Alivia was. Now that the booklet is finished I can give it to Alivia this weekend as they are having a birthday party for her (she was 4 in December).

Don't you love the pics of the 2 little ones all snuggly and happy??? How long will that last? I hope forever, especially for their Mom's sake!

The embellishments I had on hand worked perfectly on some of these pages. The picture of the 2 girls with their Grammy, my sister, happened to be of them on the train at the zoo! And I had the train sticker in my stash!

How would you like to be the Mom for these 3 girls???? They are 4, 5, and 15!!!! Yikes!!! I don't know how my niece, Tracie does it!

Can you tell yet that there is a 'pink' theme going on here??

I love the picture of the 3 kids. They are so close in age and have a good time when they are together... which only happens about 3 times a year.

Since this book only takes us up to about age 3 for Alivia, I'll have to plan on a part 2, and part 3, and so on as she grows older.

The End.
Now Alivia has her own book and hopefully she enjoys looking at it as much as she enjoyed looking at her sister's book.

Christmas gifts - glass blocks

2011-01-03T15:42:00.009-06:00

For Christmas this year Bob and I decided to make some gifts for our daughters. We got this idea last year while visiting a friend's house at Christmas time. You start with a glass block; we bought 4 of them, intending to keep one for ourselves. Each of the blocks had a different pattern embedded in the glass. Bob drilled a hole through the glass block and then fished clear christmas lights through the hole and into the block. If I remember correctly there are about 70 lights in each of the blocks. We had purchased lights that contained 35 lights on a string, but found that one string in each block wasn't bright enough. Bob was able to splice 2 strings together for each of the blocks. The pictures below show 2 of the 4 blocks with the lights plugged in.

Here are 3 of the 4 finished projects. I forgot to take a picture of the first one that we completed. We took it with us on a trip to Florida in November so that we could give it to our oldest daughter who lives in south Florida. I certainly wasn't going to package it up and ship it to her. I don't know if it would have arrived in one piece and have no idea how much it would have cost to ship.
I wrapped ribbon around the block and then created bows to make the glass blocks look like Christmas gifts. Then I added some decorative curly sticks and fancy wires behind the bow. They look great when plugged in and lit. We gave these 3 to our other 2 daughters and to the oldest granddaughter.
We decided to give all of them away. If we want one for ourselves, we'll just make another one!

Purses... to hold cards

2010-09-26T16:05:00.005-05:00

I have to thank my friend Maggi for finding this purse idea; it is on another person's blog.
I used the pattern provided there and followed her instructions. I cut out the pieces for 6 purses and applied clear tar gel to all the card stock, letting it dry overnight before proceeding. I ran the colored card stock for the purse bodies and the straps through the cuttlebug to get the texture you see in the pictures. I cut a piece of black 12 x 12 card stock in the pattern of the purse for each of these to act as a liner that the colored card stock was glued onto. It was necessary to do this since the piece for the top and back of the purse had to be cut into sections so that it would fit through the cuttlebug. Here is the blog I got the information from http://theresasgottahaveblingblog.blogspot.com her Aug 29, 2010 posting.
On the left the body of the purse is a very light brown and the straps are dark brown. On the right the body of the purse is a medium brown and the straps are light brown.

Here are two more of the purses...
On the left I used rust colored card for the body of the purse and brown for the straps.
On the right I used a beige colored card for the body and dark brown for the straps.
My camera has been acting up... we are in the process of looking for a new one. Besides the camera 'freezing up' on us it also does not show the true colors of the items. When I look at these 2 purses with my eyes the colors seem different that what I am seeing in this picture. They look better in real life!!
And here are the final two purses...
On the right I used a red brick colored card stock for the purse and black for the straps.
On the left I used light grey card stock for the purse and stamped a snake skin over the entire piece with black ink before applying the clear tar gel. The straps were made using black card stock.
I really like how these turned out and am looking forward to filling them with about 5 or 6 handmade cards to give as gifts.
Next time I'm going to make the purse 2 inches wider and I'm going to experiment with something other than clear tar gel.

Completed the August challenge

2010-09-26T15:39:00.008-05:00

Here is the collection of items that Bonnie gave us at our August 'shoebox' night. Now, our challenge, or should I call it homework, is to use these items to make something. Jane also brought something for all of us, but it isn't pictured here. It was a small slim gold colored box. You'll see it further on in this post.
I finally got inspired to use these items and create some 'stuff'. Well, I used all of it except for that piece of red and silver foil!!
The red corrugated paper in the upper left is perforated across the middle in a wave pattern.
Look at the background of this card and you'll see the diamond pattern piece that Bonnie provided us with. I layered that on top of a piece of black card stock that is slightly smaller than the grey card I started with. The 2 silver glitzy pieces were taken off another card that a friend of mine received and then saved for me to recycle. I added the black and white diamond pattern ribbon at the top of the card to coordinated with the background piece and add some interest.

It may be a little difficult to see, but this is the blue card with the diamond pattern. I attached a piece of blue vellum on top of the card before also attaching the sizzix architectural corners and the nestability flowers. I stamped the saying onto the blue vellum with india black ink. And I attached a pearl to the center of each flower.

The red corrugated paper that Bonnie gave us reminded me of waves... therefore, I thought of fish!! I embossed the fish with some embossing glitter and after applying the red corrugated paper to the top and bottom of the card I found this blue rick rack ribbon to add. I added some glossy accents in the bubbles above each of the fish.

This is the slim gold box that Jane brought to our August stamp night. The box is very slim and could be used to hold a gift card, cash, or maybe some stamping embellishments for a stamping buddy!!
The rhinestone applique was an item that Jane also gave us at Maggi's Stampin' Up party in September. The label is cut from a nestability die and I taped it onto the box before adhering the rhinestone flower.
I'm glad to finally complete all my challenges from our August stamp night. I'm sure Bonnie or someone will have more for us when we meet in October.

Christmas Cards for 2011

2010-09-15T20:17:00.007-05:00

My goal is to finish my Christmas cards before the end of October... because I won't have time in November to work on them. It took a while to get my brain into the spirit of Christmas cards. I remembered a 'reverse nestabilities' technique that my friend Maggi showed me. Maggi found the technique on Stamp TV by Gina K. I went to that website and watched the video and was hooked. All but one of my cards shown in this post use that technique. My photos don't show off the dimension of these cards. The top 2 layers are attached to the card front using a foam adhesive to give the look of a shadow box.
In this card I used my 'newest' christmas stamp... and some decorative christmas card stock that I bought last year, but didn't use up. Another goal of mine is to "use" a lot of the "stuff" that I've been hoarding over the years that I've been involved in this crazy hobby of card making and mixed media.
The stamp I used for this card is actually larger than what you see through the layers, but it worked well for this reverse nestability card. I did use some watercolor pencils on the tree and the holly in the lower left corner to add just a touch more color. I used deckle edge nestabilities to cut both layers and the inside layer was edged with a gold krylon pen. A decorative corner punch was used on the outside layer. A piece of printed vellum on the bottom seemed a good addition to spice up the card.
In this card I used the same stamp used above. And, I used the same types of card stock, but I reversed the colors; in this one the card base is green and the inside layer is red. Also, I used a classic rectangle nestability on the inside layer rather than the deckle edge rectangle.

Here is that stamp again with different card stock than used in the previous cards I made. I still have more Christmas papers in my stash!!! I guess I'll be using them for my next years cards too.

This card is another using the 'reverse nestability' technique. I really like the look of this technique... can you tell.. I've made lots of Christmas cards using it! And once again I focused on using some things I've had in my stash for some time now..... the white snowmen trim at the bottom of the card and the snowman in the center of the circle. That snowman in the center is ribbon!!! It is a wide ribbon with about 3 different types of snow men printed on the ribbon separated by red and white checks. So I just cut off one of the squares, one snowman, for each card I made. The red card front was run through the cuttlebug with the snowflake embossing folder. After I did that I used my glitter gel pen to outline the snowflakes; it gave the card just the glitz it needed. I used the scalloped circle nestability for the red and black card stock.
I have quite a few nestability "left overs"... like the black scalloped circles I used on this card. But first, I ran my red card front through the cuttlebug with the snowflakes embossing folder and then I ran a strip of clear vellum through with a snowflake border. I used a glitter gel pen to outline the snowflakes on the red card and to apply dots in the scallops of the black circles. The cute snowmen faces were stamped with black ink and colored with markers before running them through the cuttlebug with the nestabilities scalloped circle.. just one size smaller than I used on the black card stock.

PHEW!!!! Done with 2011 calendars

2010-09-03T20:13:00.001-05:00

Yup, MORE calendars, but now I'm done... I think!!
These are in the style of easel cards. I really liked the calendars I had made earlier using the cuttlebug embossing folder - numbers... so, I came up with another design idea so that I could use it again. The numbers adhered to the front panel of the calendar were cut from a cuttlebug alphabet die set. The saying on the base of the card was typed and then cut out using a nestabilities die. I found those large fancy jeweled brads at the Oriental Trading Company website.

2011 calendars AGAIN!

2010-09-03T20:10:00.002-05:00

Here is another design in which I used the easel card style. This idea for a calendar came to me by way of the saying...'Take time to smell the flowers'. I remembered having this sparkly flowery paper and that's all it took to come up with this design. The flowers were cut from nestabilities dies and the butterflies from a cuttlebug die and embossing folders.

More 2011 calendars

2010-09-03T20:07:00.003-05:00

I made a couple of calendars like this one. I have lots of decorative paper in various sizes.... it's about time I start using it and not worry about 'using it up'. The letters were created using a cuttlebug alphabet die set and then I ran them through a xyron sticker maker to apply the adhesive.

More calendars for 2011

2010-09-03T16:47:00.025-05:00

I made several flip calendars where I created a page for each month of the year and then bound the 12 pages together using my Bind-It-All. I had purchased a pack of scrapbook paper that contained one 12 x 12" sheet for each month. I also purchased a set of ribbons that were printed with the various months. Using that paper, the ribbon, some cuttlebug embossing folders, and other embellishments I may have had laying around, I managed to make 8 different calendars. Here are pages representing each of the months.

Calendars for 2011

2010-08-25T18:50:00.008-05:00

It is only August, but some things have to be completed ... like these calendar easel cards... and Christmas cards (oh boy, I need to start on those!).
I've made a bunch of calendars so far with various designs. I have more to make, but here is a look at the easel card design with a theme of 'time'.

Here is what this easel calendar looks like when opened. I made 4 calendars with this design and the front panels are the same, but the base for each of the 4 are different. This base contains a piece I cut using a nestabilities die.

My Stampers Anonymous 'T' stamp seemed so appropriate for calendars so I used it again with a different design. I also have the cuttlebug embossing folder 'numbers' so I used that together with the stamp to create these easel card calendars.

Here's one of the previously shown easel calendars opened and standing up. Each of the calendars contains a different quote. I typed the quotes and printed them from the computer. The quote was layered onto the piece of scrapbook paper that I attached to the base of the card. I attached a piece of ribbon across the base so that the front of the easel card could be propped up against it.

August stamp get together

2010-08-25T18:26:00.006-05:00

Our August get together was held at my house. Unfortunately, 2 of the ladies were unable to attend. Liz, Bonnie's friend, had another commitment, and Ashley had to take her dog to the vet for an ear infection. We missed them, but it took us all night to do the 3 cards you see here. We would have done 4 cards, but when Maggi opened up her bag she found that her stamp scrubber had leaked and ruined the papers for her shoe box card!!!
This is my card. There were several options available with regard to the images. In the largest square you could stamp the canoe seen here, or a pontoon boat, or a kayaker. Instead of the tree, you could stamp an eagle. Rather than the loon you could stamp 2 people in a canoe. And instead of the pine cone you could have stamped a man fishing in a boat.
This is Jane's shoe box card... isn't it Great!! This is the second time I've used the Martha Steward punch we used on this card and I think I am going to buy it soon. We used double sided scrapbook paper - flowers on one side and stripes on the other.

This is Bonnie's shoe box card...
She had 2 versions: a night time version and a day time version; I chose the night time version. There were two interesting things we learned with this card. The blue background, behind the stamped trees, was created by swiping 2 colors of distress inks across the paper. We just applied the ink directly from the ink pads. The second thing we learned was how to make the decorative pin. Love the card!
This is a collection of items that Bonnie brought for each of us... it is for our monthly challenge. Her friend, Sally, sent her the items and now it is up to us to see what we can create with them. Maybe I should leave this out on the table and stare at it for a while to see if I come up with any ideas.

And Jane brought a bunch of these small boxes, so each of us took a few. These would make great gift card holders. I'll work on my challenge first and then see what I can do with these.
Next month we are meeting at Maggi's for a Stampin Up party.... so we don't need to make a shoe box card for the group.

The Paper Cut..... card classes

2010-08-01T09:26:00.007-05:00

On a Friday afternoon in early July, my friend, Mary, and I took a trip to Appleton, WI. We had signed up for 2 card classes that coincided with a warehouse sale at The Paper Cut. Our first class was 'shaker cards'. The classes were given by Sarah and what a fantastic job she did. All the elements and pieces needed for each card were provided in individual envelopes with other supplies, such as stamps, ink, ribbon, etc located on the tables. She instructed us in the basics of how to use the 'shake it' pouches, an Impression Obsession product, and away we went. Mary and I ran out of time and didn't finish the 9th card for this class. It was like a stamping marathon, but we are so happy with the results. Of course we had to buy some of the shake it pouches and window cards at the warehouse sale that started after our second stamp class. The Paper Cut is known for their precut cards and card panels that work perfectly with these shake it pouches.
And here are the other 4 cards we finished in class. These are so cool!!!! And they are so much easier to create using the 'shake-it' inserts.
One of the other tools we used for many of these cards was also an Impression Obsession product ... cover-a-card stamps and the mega mount. These are large background type cling stamps that attach to an acrylic curved mount with a handle. After inking the stamp, you apply the ink to the card by 'rocking' the mega mount across the card front. All 4 of these cards have backgrounds created using these tools. Here's a link to view the stamps and the mount.
http://impression-obsession.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?
The second class that Mary and I took that day was "Making cards using acetate". We were given 10 cards to create with all the pieces for each of the cards provided in individual envelopes. Before we started Sarah explained, and handed out typed instructions, on how to print pictures onto acetate using your computer and printer. For this class she had provided the pieces of printed acetate so that we could concentrate on creating the cards. We had just enough time in the class to finish the cards we were given.
Here are 5 of the 10 cards. The pictures on the acetate may look a bit fuzzy and that is because when I laid the cards on the table the front panel of the card didn't remain flat against the back of the card resulting in a slight distortion of the image that is printed onto the acetate.

Here are 4 more of the acetate cards. There was a 10th card, but I had already mailed it to our neighbors in celebration of the birth of their baby girl.
Mary and I had a great time, but were exhausted from the 2 classes we took. After this second class it was time for the warehouse sale... and what a sale it was!!! The deals were fabulous! We hope to go again next year.
Check out The Paper Cut, and if you live near Appleton, WI you just have to attend next year's classes and warehouse sale.
http://www.thepapercut.com/

Artiscape 2010 - A Background Menagerie

2010-04-23T15:41:00.019-05:00

Sunday (April 17) was my last class at Artiscape. It was called A Background Menagerie and was taught by Kari McKnight-Holbrook. She is a sweet person and a great instructor. She had set up work stations for the various backgrounds (27 plus). She provided written instructions on an index card and samples of each background at the work stations. I did not finish them all; I didn't even get all of them written down, but here are most of those that I did complete.
Plastic Wrap (shown above)
- Paint entire page with one color of acrylic paint and let dry
- Use a second color of acrylic paint, either lighter or darker, and cover the entire page again
- Quickly cover the page with a piece of plastic wrap and crinkle it up throughout the page
- Let dry and then remove the plastic wrap
I really like the outcome and would do this technique again.
Inky Marbles
- Secure the page to the bottom of a container using small pieces of tape in the 4 corners. In class we used a tupperware container with a lid. Depending on how wild you get when you roll the marbles you could use an uncovered container.
- Place several, we used about 8 to 10, marbles in the container. Place a couple of drops of 1 or 2 colors of alcohol ink onto the marbles.
- Close the lid of the container and shake the container so the marbles roll across the paper.
- Open the container and place 1 to 2 drops of alcohol (or blending solution) onto the marbles.
- Close the lid and shake the container again.

Inky Marbles
This inky marbles was created the same as described above except that before I performed the inky marbles technique I painted the page with acrylic paint.
This was one of my favorite techniques also and I can see myself doing this again.
If you are doing multiple pages you want to make sure that the inside of the container is dry before you start on your next page. You can wipe it out with a paper towel.

Spinner
For this technique we used a spinner. It can be found in the children's art section. We found it at a Hobby Lobby under the manufacturer's name of Creative Kids and the cost was $15.
- Affix page onto the spin plate using small pieces of masking tape in the corners. Make sure it sticks or the page will fly off.
- Mix paint and water to a consistency that is a watery drip so that you can use an eye dropper.
- Turn on spinner and using the eye dropper, drip the paint onto the paper.
You can drop the paint anywhere on the paper; it does not have to be placed in the center of the page. Use multiple colors and work from light to dark. Everyone enjoyed this technique... I may have to buy a spinner!!!
Alcohol Ink Spatter
- Place a couple of drops of alcohol ink onto glossy paper. It is best to work with one color at a time.
- Immediately spray the ink using a can of compressed air. The product we used was called 'dust off'.
- Add additional colors as desired.

This is a fun technique. It was my first time using a can of air and I learned that you should not shake it and only spray holding the can upright or the can will freeze up and not work until it warms up again.
Coffee Filter
- Using an ordinary coffee filter, fold it up into whatever shape or size you wish
- Apply paint to various areas of the coffee filter. In this example I dipped the coffee filter into a cup of water that was used to clean brushes and then I applied a darker green in a stripped pattern.
- Let the coffee filter dry and then adhere to card using gel medium. The excess filter that hangs over the edge of the page can be cut off or folded over to cover the back of the page.
Flu Tape
- Place a piece of flu tape (also called metal tape) shiny side down on a texture plate
- Rub with a popsicle stick or stylus
- Peel off back of tape and position onto card. Once placed down this tape is permanent.

I found this tape at a local hardware store near the plumbing supplies; it comes in a fairly large roll. I would think you could run this through embossing machines, like a cuttlebug. Just remember to leave the backing on the tape until you are ready to adhere to the page. You can now paint the tape or use alcohol inks on it.
Windows
- Hold 2 pages together making sure the pages are lined up and punch through both. I used a square punch.
- Insert magazine photo, graphic, colored paper, or transparency between pages using pieces of scotch tape to hold in place. We used printed transparencies.
- Adhere pages together using tape, gel medium, or whatever method you wish

Foil
- Start with a page that contains texture/raised areas. We created raised areas by applying gesso more heavily in some areas and manipulating with our paint brush handle.
- Apply gel medium over entire page and let dry
- Place foil shiny side up on part or all of page
- Press onto foil with a heating iron
- Pull off foil
I like this technique, but I think I need more practice.
Magazine Pages and Rubbing Compound
- Select a colorful magazine page, adhere to card with gel medium, let dry
- Take labels (I used round ones) and rub them on your clothing so that they are less sticky
- Place labels on colorful areas of page
- Take a small piece (cottonball size) of Neverdull and rub on and around the labels or anywhere else on the page
- Pull off labels

Portfolio Oil Pastels
- Color card heavily with Portfolio Oil Pastels
- Using a brush and moving from light to dark, apply future floor wax

I think this works best if you apply the floor wax very sparingly on the paper otherwise it puddles up. In class it also became a problem since everyone was using the same brush causing the colors to muddy.
Bleach Pens
- Use dark card stock
- You can rough up the edges of the card stock with an emery board if you wish
- Write/draw onto the card stock with the bleach pen
- Set aside to dry

I'm not sure I care for this one. After this dried some of the white that you see was crumbling off the paper. I don't know if I applied to much of the bleach from the pen or if this is how it should be.
Scotch Tape Doubles
- Choose a magazine page with interest on both sides of the page
- Apply gel medium to magazine page and smooth it onto the card making sure to have focal image facing up
- Place strips of scotch tape across parts of image you want to preserve
- Let gel medium dry and then rub off pulp using wet fingers; spritz the page with water if needed

I think that clear packing tape would be better as it is wider. I like how the print from the other side of this magazine page stays on the card after rubbing off the pulp.
Masking Tape
- Apply strips of masking tape over the page
- Gesso over the tape
- When dry, apply glaze over the page
- Rub and buff over glazed page

I think I should have used more masking tape to create more texture.... and I think I forgot to rub and buff over the page once it dried. The class was getting a little hectic at that point.

Woven Text
- Take a page with text and cut or tear into strips
- Apply gel medium over the entire page
- Lay the strips of text down making sure to weave them
- Touch up with gel medium where necessary to adhere the text pieces to the page
* Once dry I painted over the entire page with a tinted glaze
I think this would look better if I had ripped the text paper instead of cutting it, and I think that a darker paint would also be better.

Artiscape 2010 - Mediums Make Your Art Go Round

2010-04-23T15:07:00.005-05:00

On Saturday afternoon (April 17) I took a class called Mediums Make Your Art Go Round taught by Cody Goodin. Cody has a studio of his own and works at an artist supply store in Cincinnati near the University. The only supplies I needed for this class were a palette knife and a couple of small brushes; Cody supplied all the rest. He started us out with 4 faces that he created with molds and mounted onto a gesso'd ATC sized piece of mat board. All the faces were different. On the right are 2 of my faces shown after I already had stared applying some of the mediums we were playing with.
This is what my 4 faces looked like after I applied the various 'textures'. I can identify some of the mediums I used, but I think I've already forgotten what some of them are. We also used tissue paper and a fibrous paper and adhered it with gel medium to add interest. In the upper left face there are some gold mica flakes. The lower left face has pumice gel (the 'concrete-looking' stuff) and garnet gel (the pink areas). The black on the face to the lower right is lava gel. Many of the mediums we used were Golden products, but some, like the lava gel aren't made by Golden.
Here's a look at my 4 faces after I painted them. This was a great class to experiment... so that is exactly what I did when I painted them. I really didn't think much about the colors I was using or what I would do with these faces once I finished. The instructor supplied all the paint so I just tried using different color combinations on each of the 4 faces.
Once again I enjoyed this class as it gave me the opportunity to use various mediums and see if I liked them before I spend any money on them. But, I must confess.... I already had some of these mediums in my possession and haven't used them yet. Now I know what they look like and will be more likely to use them on some project. I just have to remember that I have them!!! That is the problem with having so many art supplies... you sometimes forget that you have something.

Artiscape 2010 - Artistic Soldering for Beginners

2010-04-22T19:32:00.004-05:00

On Saturday morning (April 17) I took Artistic Soldering for Beginners taught by Paula Hardesty. The only things we needed for this class were round nose pliers, wire cutter, and flat pliers. We could bring our own 1 x 3" images if we wished. All other items were supplied... even a soldering iron which we kept.
I used the images Paula supplied. We cut the images to fit within the glass microscope slide 'sandwich', cutting an image for the front as well as the back. We cleaned the glass with alcohol; it is the only thing that will erase any finger prints. Once we put the 'sandwich' together we wrapped it with copper foil tape. Paula suggested, and provided, a heavy duty tape that is likely found in stores that supply stained glass tools and supplies. Paula would demonstrate each step of the process we were following and then walk around to answer any questions and assure we were understanding her instructions. I found soldering to be very easy and lots of fun!!! After the slides were soldered around the edges and on both sides we learned how to shape the wire used as an embellishment. Then Paula taught us how to create texture..... the droplets of solder seen on the front of my slides.

After we finished with our pieces we cleaned the glass with windex and then polished both the front and backs using a cream that Paula had supplied. There were some black spots on the solder that disappeared once we polished the slides.
This is the back of the slides. I didn't add any wire wrapping or textured solder. At this point I don't know what I will do with these 2 pieces. BUT, what I do know is that I will do more soldering on my own.
Since the solder we used in class contains lead, the instructor told us not to wear these so that they are resting on bare skin. I would like to learn how to do silver soldering next, I think!!!

Artiscape - Layers upon Layers

2010-04-22T17:58:00.007-05:00

On Friday afternoon (April 16) I took a class called Layers Upon Layers taught by Jacqueline Sullivan. I wanted to learn about various art mediums and this was the perfect class to take. All we needed to supply was an 11 x 14" stretched canvas, a 1" acrylic brush, and images copied on a laser copier. This class was FANTASTIC!!!
First we applied some aluminum foil, cheese cloth, and tissue paper using various mediums to our canvas. In doing so we learned what medium to use for the various weights of texture.
Before painting the background (canvas) we added texture using various methods. I used a sewing tracing wheel and ran it across the aluminum foil. I also used various tools to create circular impressions in the foil. Then I used molding paste and a brass stencil (fern) to create texture in several areas of the background.
The canvas had to dry before painting so at this point we moved on to the layers that would be placed on top of the canvas.
Jacqueline supplied various sized pieces of mat board that we were to use for our laser copied images. The images were to be of high contrast; mine were okay, but not the best. The images were attached to the mat board using gel medium. We applied the gel medium under the image and on top of the image.
Placement of the images onto the larger canvas was important. Jacqueline explained how to place them such that the person looking at the canvas would be drawn to look inward rather than away from the canvas.
Here are the 'layers', before painting, that I created for my canvas. The largest piece is a different image than the one I originally planned. Since I hadn't waited for the gel medium to dry before applying molding paste, when I picked up the stencil it stuck to the image and ripped part of it off the mat board. So I improvised and attached one of the other images I had brought with me.
I applied some molding paste to all of the pieces using either a stencil or punchinella.
This is my 11 x 14" canvas after all the painting was complete. I did have an issue with it... my colors seemed too distinct and disjointed. I took the piece to the instructor and she brought it back to my workspace applying a light wash of burnt umber over the entire piece. That simple step blended the entire piece. I intentionally had stepped out of my comfort zone with this mix of colors and I'm glad I did. The instructor stressed that we needed light, medium, and dark somewhere on the canvas. I'm still learning and to me it looks medium and dark only, but I know that I'm wrong.
I can't believe I made this!!!! Everyone in the class finished the project, and all were worthy of hanging on a wall. I think that it is amazing that everyone was able to finish this large project. There were so many lessons learned... it was well worth the money. I know I'll use what I learned in this class for other projects I've been wanting to tackle.
I'm not sure what I'll do with this piece. I may frame it, or attach some decorative edging around the entire piece and then display it in my craft room, which is also our spare bedroom.

Artiscape 2010 - Jacquard Toolbox

2010-04-21T20:10:00.013-05:00

We arrived for our first class on Friday morning. The class was called Jacquard Toolbox and was taught by Amy Flowers. This was one of the few classes that was not being held at the Holiday Inn where we were staying. The class was held in Amy's studio... which looked more like a garage since we entered through this overhead door. Lucky for us it was a mild and sunny day and the door remained open throughout the class. It was a great environment to work in.

Everywhere you looked in Amy's studio/garage there was some form of art... or art supplies! This collage piece is a sample of one of the many classes that Amy teaches both here in Ohio, and in Mexico.

Look! There's Amy Flowers.... She is walking off to the right... behind Mary's head.
Barbara, Maggi, Mary, and I took this class. It was great fun!!! We loved Amy's personality.

Amy provided these tins so that we could keep our Jacquard samples in it. The tin was white to begin with and we painted them by mixing pearl ex and pearl ex varnish. They take a while to dry. We did stamp on them at the end of the class using stazon ink, but I found that the stazon removed some of the paint.

This is a very cool technique. Stamp an image with versa mark and use clear embossing powder. Heat partially and while still warm sprinkle, or apply (with your finger) pearl ex powder. Heat again, but not too long. When the powder is cool buff with a paper towel.
Another way to do this is to mix the clear embossing powder and pearl ex, sprinkle that onto the versa marked' card and heat.

We mixed pearl ex powders with pearl ex varnish to create a paint like texture. The mixture was applied to the acetate and the black glossy card stock was placed on top of the acetate. Give the two pieces a little twist and pull them apart. You don't want to leave them together very long, like I did, as some of the black glossy card will stick to the acetate! Oh well, I just got a little extra texture on my pieces!

On this piece I applied drops of Dynaflow. It comes in small bottles with a drip top. The colors are nice, but I don't see myself purchasing this product.

We applied acrylic paint to this piece of card stock and then interference paint on top of that. Before drying I used the end of the paint brush to draw through the interference.

This is a piece of deli wrap. I should have been taking better notes during the class, but things started to move pretty quickly. I don't recall what type of Jacquard product we applied to the paper. I do recall that after applying the color we folded the piece and rubbed so that the color would transfer to other areas of the sheet.

This is a piece of acetate that we applied pinata alcohol inks to. Amy told us that pinata inks are her favorite because she believes the color is more true and that they work better than the ranger brand on all applications except for plastic. Amy also indicated that she uses regular alcohol rather than buying the blending solutions that are sold specifically for pinata or ranger alcohol ink products.

I think that we applied pearl ex watercolors to this piece and I think I used every color on the palette for this piece. The pearl ex watercolors are similar to Twinkling H2O's. In Amy's opinion she prefers the Twinkling H2O's and I have to agree... I think they give more shine and better color.
It was a good class and we had a great time playing with the various Jacquard products.

Art Buddies at Artiscape 2010

2010-04-20T20:10:00.013-05:00

It was the first time that Bev, Margaret, Mary, and I went to Artiscape in Ohio. Maggi and Barbara had attended this art retreat 2 other times. It has always been in April and always in Ohio. The retreat is organized by European Papers and this year it was held in Columbus, Ohio.
We didn't want to eat in the restaurant that was housed in the Holiday Inn where we were staying so we walked to Donato's, a pizza and sandwich place, that was about 7 blocks from the hotel. It was a little chilly that day, but it felt good to be out and about.
At this point Bev, Mary, and Maggi are in the lead.

It is our first day of class!!! Most classes were held somewhere in the hotel, but there were 2 off site locations. One of them was this art studio belonging to Amy Flowers. It is more like a garage that was converted to her studio. Everywhere you looked there was art... or art supplies. What a great place to have a class!!

Look closely to see Amy Flowers, our instructor. She is to the right, just beyond Mary's head, walking out of my view as I snap the picture. Four of us were together in this class: Barbara, Maggi, Mary, and I. We loved Amy's personality. It was a wonderful class... little did we know that classes would just keep getting better.

I had my camera with me the whole weekend, so why is it I kept forgetting to take pictures of us??? Here we are in the bar of the Holiday Inn. It is Sunday night, we are 'brain dead' from all of our classes and too tired to venture out for dinner.

So we sat in the bar, had drinks, and ordered appetizers. It was the best plan!!! Most people had left and we were able to talk and laugh, and drink!!!
It was a GREAT retreat, except for two things:
1) We missed Pea and Carol Sweeney and kept wishing they were with us!!
2) The Holiday Inn was VERY poorly managed... not enough staff to properly deal with the art retreat and poorly managed food service.

Bev says.... It is time we 'Wisconsinites' travel to California!

The retreat was over and it was our last day together.... Monday, April19. Barbara, Maggi, Mary, and I were flying out at 4:30. Both Bev and Margaret had rental cars and weren't flying out until Tuesday so we spent the day together. After checking out of the hotel we drove to Dick Blick Art supplies. We didn't buy much since we didn't know how close our luggage was to the 50 lb limit!!!!. This shopping area was fabulous!!! Not only was there a Dick Blick, but also a Hobby Lobby, Jo Ann's, Michael's, and more!!! We only went to Dick Blick and Hobby Lobby and then took a break for lunch at Panera's. After Panera's we stopped at a Big Lots and then it was off to the airport. It was sad to say goodbye to our California friends.

50th Wedding Anniversary book

2010-04-20T19:30:00.006-05:00

Our friends Walt and Rita are celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary.. and we're invited to the party!!!
I had to make something for them. I had made one of these wine bottle shaped books for another couple when it was their 50th... just last year. I had cut the covers from mat board and painted with acrylic paints. I used my bind-it-all to punch and bind the book once it was completed.
On the cover I used a copy of the picture that was on the invitation for Walt and Rita's party. I layered the picture onto a piece of gold card stock that was die cut and embossed with a spellbinders die. I had several embellishments that worked perfectly for this project. A gold label that says "Celebrate", a couple of gold leaves, and metal numbers that I colored with a gold krylon pen. Below the picture I attached a label that I created with a P-touch label maker.
All of the pages for the book were cut from orchid card stock.
For the inside cover I used a spellbinders die cut to create the gold background and smaller white piece. I found a great saying that was appropriate for a 50th wedding anniversary. On the opposite page I attached a picture of Walt and Rita that I mounted onto orchid vellum. I had found another phrase that I typed onto white card stock, cut with decorative edge scissors, edged with a purple marker, and attached below the picture.

I didn't have a lot of pictures to fill the book so I used the internet to research what the cost of living was in 1960, the year Walt and Rita were married. I also created a list of U.S. Events; as well as, World Events. I typed that information onto purple and white colored card stock and attached to the pages.

Here's a look at two of the pages. Walt and Rita's daughter sent me a great sampling of pictures to use in the book. The picture on the right is my favorite of all the pictures. It is Walt and Rita with their daughter and grandchildren. All of them are sticking out their tongues after having eaten popsicles... so some tongues are pink while others are blue!!! I'm sure they'll be surprised and wonder how I was able to pull it off.
I used the various pictures to describe how Walt and Rita's 50 years resulted in a lasting marriage.

On the back of the wine book I die cut a gold scalloped oval as the background and a smaller scalloped oval in white card stock that had been typed prior to cutting.
I had the wine glass embellishment in my stash, but it was silver. So to continue with the gold theme, I colored the piece with a gold krylon pen.
The anniversary party is going to be this Saturday and we're so thrilled to be invited. Walt and Rita did not want any gifts, but I think they'll enjoy this little book!!! I know I would.

'C' is for cuttlebug'd copper sheet/notebook

2010-03-20T13:47:00.002-06:00

We're on to the letter 'C' in our alphabet swap over at CCSwaps. I've had some copper sheets for a few years so I got that out along with my Cuttlebug machine and a Quick Cuts embossing folder. I saw the idea for this simple notebook when I visited a great stamp store (The Mark-It Place) in Sayner, WI. The notebook is simply created using a front and back cover, inside pages, a wooden skewer, and an elastic cord. Two holes are punched at the top and the elastic cord is strung through so that it wraps around the skewer in the front and ties in the back. Once all the pages of this notebook are used up, the owner can simply cut and punch more pages and reassemble the notebook.
I cut 2 pieces of black card stock for the front and back covers. The black card stock had been sprayed with gold webbing spray. I also used a gold krylon pen around all edges of the black card stock. I ran the piece of copper sheet through the cuttlebug, applied double sided tape to the back and then attached to the front cover of the notebook. Then I applied a piece of red line tape around all 4 edges of the copper sheet so that I could adhere the copper micro beads that you see.

Leanna's 2009 Cross Country Medals

2010-03-16T12:55:00.003-06:00

Our granddaughter, Leanna, completed her 2nd year running cross country for Muskego Middle School. She had a fabulous year... a medal in every race!!! While I had been putting together the shadow box with her 2008 awards I had the idea for the layout I used for her 2009 awards. I painted a cross country trail on mat board and then attached the medals along the trail. I created a label for each of the races that provides date, location, and place that Leanna took at that race. The small blue and yellow flags represent the flags that are used at the races to inform the runners whether to turn right or left. I found some cute sayings with regard to cross country so I used them along with some pictures I took at the races to embellish the shadow box. I found this shadow box at Michael's and love it!!! You can create 4 layers inside the box. The upper left and lower right corners were positioned at the 2nd layer and the display of medals is positioned at the 4th or furthest layer from glass. It allows you to create dimension to the display.

Pin Swap

2010-03-10T14:21:00.002-06:00

CCSwaps is having a pin swap, so I thought I'd give it a try. At first I grabbed some memory glass and a frame, but then I saw a lot of stampboard in my supplies so I decided to use that instead.
I colored the oval piece of stampboard with 3 colors of distress ink, overlapping the colors. I then edged the stampboard piece with a purple Marvy Metallic Marker. The marker was bleeding a little onto the front of the stampboard, but I decided I liked the look so I intentionally added more marker to get more on the front of the pin. I stamped the 'vixen' stamp with india black ink and punched a small hole at the bottom of the oval stampboard so that I could twist some wire through and add beads. To finish the pin off I placed 6 dots of silver glitter glue along the right side of the pin. I hope the recipient likes the pin.

A is for.... Acrylic (book covers and inks)

2010-02-07T11:43:00.002-06:00

This 3 x 3" book has acrylic pieces for the book covers. The back cover is exactly like the front and the book is filled with some blank white card stock that the recipient will be able to do with as she wishes. The acrylic pieces came with 3 small holes punched in them, but I needed to make the holes a bit larger to fit the black rings. I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch in the existing holes and was disappointed when the acrylic cracked a little around the holes. I was almost ready to give up and try something else, but luckily I kept going with the project. Once the backing is on the covers the cracks in the acrylic are not as visible.
I stamped the image (Stamp Zia) with black stazon ink onto the inside of each cover and then zapped with a heat gun to make sure they were dry. I wasn't happy that the acrylic pieces warped slightly from the heat! Then I painted the image with various colors of acrylic paints, again on the inside of the covers. I let the acrylic paint dry overnight; I didn't want to use more heat on these covers and ruin them completely. The next step was to apply embossing ink to the entire inside of each cover, sprinkle with embossing powder (I used kaleidoscope, a transparent powder), and heat. I was careful with the heat gun, but needed to make sure that all the powder melted. After that cooled I cut 2 pieces of shimmery blue card stock to fit the covers and adhered them with diamond glaze.
I cut pieces of white card stock for the pages and punched holes to match those on the covers. The black rings you see are made of rubber; I found them at the local Home Depot store. They are located by the paint swatches and are to be used for gathering all your paint swatches together. They pop open and closed easily so it will be easy for the recipient of this book to take it apart when she wants to decorate the inner pages of the book.

Gift Card Holder

2010-02-06T15:43:00.002-06:00

Gift cards are a popular choice for gift giving ideas. I wanted to create a gift card holder that would be as fun to receive as the gift card itself!
I used the Come Softly image from the Ching-Chou Kuik collection that is available on Sweet Pea Stamps Plate #25.
Before stamping the image I colored the entire gift card using a combination of distress inks and homemade pearl-ex watercolor sprays. I rubbed several distress ink pads onto a craft sheet, sprayed with water, and pressed the card holder into the mixture. After drying this application with a heat gun, I sprayed the card holder with the pearl-ex watercolor sprays. I still wasn't quite happy with the coloring so I sponged china blue distress ink around all the edges of the gift card holder. Okay, now I was happy! Once the paper was dry I stamped the Come Softly image using India Ink black. I wasn't crazy about how the coloring looked on the image so then I painted some areas using twinkling H2O's and added highlights with a glitter pen.
I used a Cuttlebug border embossing folder on the bottom edge of the front flap.
Here the top flap is opened, but the bottom flap still closed. On that bottom flap I stamped one of the sentiments that is available on plate #25. I also stamped some stars in coordinating colors.

On the inside of the top flap I attached an embossed piece. I used a piece of Core 'Dinations paper, ran it through the Cuttlebug with an embossing folder, trimmed the piece to fit on the flap, and sanded it to reveal the purple color that is on the reverse side of the paper.
With the bottom flap of the gift card holder opened you can see the center section where the gift card is placed.

Altered star box

2010-02-06T12:43:00.004-06:00

Back in November, I and 3 friends got together for a play day. My friend Mary, who hosted the event, has a lot of paper mache boxes and wood beads. This star-shaped box was already the white and gold color that you see here. I did paint the sides of the top a solid gold, but that was all I did with regard to the box. I also used a large round bead for the head and 5 disc-shaped beads for the feet; all beads were painted with gold acrylic paint. I didn't finish the box while at Mary's house that day; in fact, I just finished it a couple of days ago!
The angel wings are from Tim Holtz's grunge board shapes. I placed a few angelina fibers between a couple of pieces of fantasy film and heated, then I cut them the shape of the wings and glued them onto both sides of the wings.
The angel's face was stamped onto a piece of white card stock, colored, cut out, and glued to the bead. I used a couple of small nails to attach the wings to the head, and in the process cracked the wood bead, but it is not easily visible (thank goodness; I didn't want to start over). Before gluing the head to the box top I formed a piece of gold wire into a halo, punched the end through the top of the box and secured on the inside of the box top. After the glue used to secure the head was dry I wrapped one small piece of ribbon around the head to hide the puddle of glue, and I took another piece of ribbon that I tied into a bow and attached it in front of the head.
Here's a better look at the wood beads I used for the feet. After painting them with gold acrylic paint I glued one to each of the points of the star. I liked the unusual shape of these beads. My friend was happy to get rid of the beads; she has many of them in her stash. You know how that goes...

So, now it is February and I finally finished the box. Getting it done had nothing to do with the amount of work I put into this project or the difficulty of doing any of it. It all had to do with fitting it in between the other things I was working on for the months of Dec and Jan!
It feels good to finish it. I don't like to leave craft projects unfinished... although, you'd never guess that if you saw the number of items that are still 'in progress'!!!

Sweet Pea Stamps Blog Hop - Tuesday, Jan 26th

2010-01-26T05:00:00.003-06:00

Welcome to the first day of the Sweet Pea Stamps Blog Hop... and welcome to my blog!!! The Sweet Pea Design Team Members have some beautiful art to show you on this hop. I am the 3rd stop along the hop for today; hopefully, you've already visited Mag's blog and Connie's blog. If you haven't, be sure to go back and check them out... there is a prize to be won here!!!! A gift certificate to spend at Sweet Pea Stamps!!! You don't want to miss a chance to win that! In order to win you must visit all of the blogs on the hop and post a comment at each blog. And I'm not the last blog on this hop for today. I'll direct you to the next Design Team Member's Blog at the end of this posting.
A winner will be selected from those of you hopping along with us on Tuesday, and another winner will be selected if you hop along with us on Thursday and post a comment to all of the participating blogs on that day too!!! Two chances to win!!! What more can you ask for?? For more info about this blog hop visit the Sweet Pea Design Team Blog.
And be sure to check out this enchanting image at the Sweet Pea Stamp website. She is the Haiti Relief Image and will be available Jan 29th. 50% of stamp sales of this image will go to Doctors' Without Borders.

And now ... let's get on with the Blog Hop...

It is my pleasure to work with 'Black Rose Fairy'. She is one of the images from the Ching-Chou Kuik Fantasy Art Collection on sheet #7, and is available on Sweet Pea Plate #29. I couldn't stop at just one card, so I've made 5. Each of the images was painted with Twinkling H2O's and after the paint was dry I added some highlights with a sakura glitter pen.
For this card I cut the image out using a nestabilities die and my Cuttlebug machine. I used the next size larger in the same nestabilities dies to cut and emboss a piece of gold card stock, mounting the image onto it. I looked through my tons of decorative card stock packs and found the multi-colored paisley and the gold embossed green pieces. I cut and ripped each on a diagonal and then attached to the rust-colored card. Once all the pieces were attached to the card it looked 'unfinished', so I got out my fabric flowers and chose 3 coordinating colors attaching them to the card with a large gold brad. I think this may be my favorite of the 5 cards I made for this blog hop. Check out the rest and let me know which is your favorite....

I trimmed the upper half of the image for this card, but left the vines that are part of the bottom of the image.
I cut a piece of core 'dinations card stock slightly smaller than the light blue card. Core 'dinations card stock is a type of card stock that has a color core, rather than white. You can tear or sand this card stock to achieve some unique results. I ran the piece through the cuttlebug with an embossing folder and then sanded the raised areas to get the tone on tone look shown. Before attaching the embossed piece to the blue card I punched 2 rectangular holes in the left side and slipped a silver ribbon through to simulate a bow. Then using a thin silver thread I attached a silver charm to the center of the bow. I ran my image through a xyron and attached her to the lower right of the card. The card still looked bare to me, so after rummaging through my stash I found a large silver leaf and attached it across the top of the card.
There are many ways to work with this image. For this card I used a nestabilities die to cut and emboss the image in my Cuttlebug. I then mounted it onto a piece of background paper that a friend had given me. That piece was also embossed with a cuttlebug folder. I edged the layer with a silver krylon pen before attaching to a piece of decorative card stock that was also edged with the silver krylon pen. The purple card was punched with decorative photo corners and the matted image slipped into the corners. She didn't seem quite finished so I took a silver star bead, ran some purple wire through it and strung some small seed beads to the ends of the wire, curling the wire on each end so the beads would not fall off.

Here is an easy card to make with the Black Rose Fairy, or any of the fairies that are available at Sweet Pea Stamps.
I trimmed the image, leaving none of the background. Starting with a piece of lavendar card stock slightly smaller than the dark blue card, I ran the piece through the cuttlebug with the script embossing folder. But before I did that I rubbed my adirondack denim dye ink pad onto the embossing folder so that the 'unraised' areas of the piece would look shaded. I used a 'ticket' style corner punch on the piece and then attached a wine colored ribbon down the center of the card vertically. After attaching that piece to the dark blue card I attached the image in the center and added some silver peel offs in the corners and edges of the card. That was just the little extra that the card needed!

Here's another very simple card made with this wonderful image...
After trimming the image I mounted her onto a piece of decorative card stock that had been cut and embossed with a nestabilities oval die in my cuttlebug. I cut a piece of purple card stock slightly smaller than the orchid card and ran it through the cuttlebug with one of my cuttlebug embossing folders. Then I used a decorative corner punch on the piece. Before putting all the layers together and attaching to the card, I edged the 2 layers with a turquoise marvy metallic marker. I also used the sakura glitter pen to add highlights to the embossed areas of the purple card stock. After attaching all to the card I punched a couple of rectangular holes in the center near the bottom and slipped a purple multi-colored ribbon through to simulate a bow. Can you tell I'm drawn to purples and blues??

Be sure to leave a comment on my blog so you are eligible for the gift certificate drawing that will be held at Sweet Pea Stamps. And now it is time for you to move on to our next Design Team Member, Jennifer.... so hop on over to Jennifer's blog.
Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to visit the Sweet Pea Stamps Blog on Thursday, Jan 28 for the 2nd day of the blog hop.

Joy Fold cards

2010-01-17T10:29:00.003-06:00

I am enjoying making and giving these 'Joy Fold' Cards. To get more info on the specifics of what size the pieces are and how to put them together google "Joy Fold Cards".
I used the central image and the sentiments found inside this card that are found on Sweetpea Plate #2. Both the base and center panel of this card were cut from a wine-colored card stock. I used some handmade background papers that I had laying around on the various panels of this card. I stamped the central image onto the background paper using india black ink and then trimmed before attaching to the front of the center panel.
I've partially opened the card in this photo. The butterfly closure was created with a Cuttlebug die and then embossed with another cuttlebug embossing folder. Before embossing the butterfly I rubbed a metallic brilliance ink pad on the folder so that the crevices of the butterfly would be metallic. I then applied clear embossing powder and heated. I attached the butterfly to the left panel using raised foam squares so that the corner of the center panel would easily fit under the wing of the butterfly and remain closed.
With this card fully opened you can see the handmade background papers I used to cover both the left and center of the base piece of the card. On the left side I cut a piece of wine-colored card stock (the same used for the base and center panel), punched decorative photo corners, and inserted a mauve-colored piece of card stock that was stamped with one of the sentiments available on this Sweetpea plate. The simple 'Happy Birthday' sentiment was stamped inside the center panel leaving space for the person sending this card to write a personal message.

For this Joy Fold Card I used an image from the Ching-Chou Kuik Fantasy collection; it can be found on Sweetpea Plate #21. Also, instead of creating the card in the landscape orientation, I decided to switch it up and orient the card in a portrait mode.
The base piece was cut from a rust colored card stock. I used various pieces of coordinated patterned card stock on the base and center panels of this card. On the closure for this card I cut one of the funky flowers from the patterned card stock and used raised foam adhesive squares to position the flower.

I'm holding the card partially open in this pic. I've opened the small bottom panel of the base and left the center panel closed at this point. It is easy to see the central image. I stamped her onto white card stock with india black ink and then painted her with Twinkling H2O's. I trimmed the image into a rectangle and then used a decorative corner punch. I then matted the image onto the same rust card stock that I used for the base piece of the card and used the same corner punch on that layer. Finally, I mounted the layered piece onto the front of the green center panel piece of the card.
You can also see the coordinating patterned card stock that I used on the inside of the base piece.

On the inside of the center panel of this card I stamped one of the sentiments from Plate# 21.... " Have a Magical Day". It may be a little difficult to read since I stamped it over the patterned card stock piece that I attached to the green panel. I purposely left the other side of the center panel blank so that the sender of this card could write a note to the lucky recipient.
These cards are fun to create and a breeze to make using some of the coordinating packages of card stock and scrapbook papers that are on the market now.

Belated Christmas gifts

2010-01-15T15:50:00.015-06:00

This all started because of these great pictures I took of my great nieces and great nephew when they visited us at Christmas time. The pictures were so cute I had to do something with them. I cut the pictures into ovals by first running them through my Cuttlebug with a nestibilities die, and then I trimmed them down a bit more so that they would fit onto the matting that you'll see further on in this posting.

I had these ornament shaped chipboard pieces in my stash. I had gotten them at Michael's in the $1 section; there were 5 in the package... what a bargain!
I ran a gold krylon pen around both edges of each of the 4 chipboard ornaments. I assumed that even after tracing and cutting the gold, red, and green papers I was using that I wouldn't have a perfect fit and I didn't want any of the ugly brown chipboard to show through.

Here is 1 of the 4 gold pieces after I ran it through the Cuttlebug with the snowflake embossing folder. I used the chipboard piece to trace the shape onto the back side of the gold, green, and red card stock. After trimming them and checking to make sure they fit onto the chipboard I ran them all through the Cuttlebug. The gold pieces were attached to the front sides of each chipboard ornament with double sided tape.

Here is the 1 red piece after I ran it through the Cuttlebug with the snowflake embossing folder. These colored pieces (the red and the 3 green pieces) were attached to the back sides of each of the chipboard ornaments.

This is one of the 3 green pieces after I ran it through the Cuttlebug.

I cut mattings for the 4 pictures and for framing the 4 sentiments using my Cuttlebug and a nestability die. There were 4 gold pieces, to be used for the sentiments, and 3 green and 1 red piece, to be used for the pictures.

I typed the sentiment and printed it onto a silver and gold flecked vellum sheet. I had gotten the idea for the sentiment from a Christmas card we had received from my DH's Aunt. Each year she sends us a card created with family photos. This year her card was a picture of her with all her grandchildren and this sentiment.

For the backs of each ornament I cut the sentiments from the vellum using the same nestabilities die I had used to cut the pictures with. Then I also cut a piece from the gold paper using both the largest and then next size smaller. I wanted to frame the sentiment with the gold piece.

Here's a picture of the front of one of the green ornaments. I made 3 ornaments with this same picture. These are my 2 youngest great nieces and my great nephew. From left to right they are: Alivia (3), Adrian (4), and Alexa (4). The girls were posing like ballerinas in their new Holiday dresses and Adrian was taking it all in. One ornament will go to my niece Tracie, who is Alivia and Alexa's Mom, the second will go to my niece Leah, who is Adrian's Mom, and the third will go to Adrian's Grandma.
Once the cuttlebug'd pieces were taped onto the chipboard, I edged it once again with the gold krylon pen on both sides and then attached the matted pictures and sentiments onto the appropriate sides of the ornaments. It wasn't hard finding a decorative ribbon to use... I have a ton of ribbons.

This is what the back side of the green ornament looks like. The same paper that was used on the front to make the matting for the picture was used on the back.

Here is the ornament I made using red paper. The matting behind the picture is the same paper that is used on the back side. I'm going to let my two nieces decide whether they want a red or a green ornament. I hope they both don't want the red since there is only one red one!!

And here is the back side of this ornament. As a final step to both sides of all the ornaments, I added some glitter onto the raised snowflakes using a glitter gel pen. I don't know if it shows up very well in any of these pictures.
I may just decide to add some type of little dangly bead, or something, to the bottom of these. I'm just now sure about it yet.

Here is the 4th ornament. It has a different picture than the other 3. It is a picture of my 3 great nieces; they are sisters; Alivia, Alexa, and Paige (14). This ornament is going to my sister, their Grandma. The other side of this ornament is green, just like the matting behind the picture. And it has the same sentiment on the other side as the other 3 ornaments have.
I hope my sister likes it. She'll be visiting us in Feb and March. That is when I plan to give all the ornaments away.

A journey to Paris

2010-01-12T16:14:00.004-06:00

A friend of mine, Carol Sweeney, sent me the wonderful eiffel tower embellishment that is in the center of this card. It is made of air dry clay and has metallic ribbons in it also. Isn't it gorgeous!!! Rather than hoard this beautiful embellishment and pack it away with the rest of my stash, inspiration struck as I knew I had the perfect Sweetpea stamp to accompany this embellishment. Besides, there was the perfect opportunity to use this embellishment for a swap entitled 'Use it or Lose it' on CCSwaps.
The eiffel tower image, seen in the upper right and lower left corners of this card, is on Sweetpea plate #6. I stamped the image onto white card stock using lightening black brilliance ink and then I embossed with clear detail powder. I double mounted the image on a metallic gold piece of card stock and then a black piece of card stock. I cut a piece of white card stock to 4 x 5 1/4" and sponged on some gold ink, but not enough to cover the card. After the ink dried I ran the piece through my cuttlebug using the script embossing folder. I swiped a black ink pad and then the lightening black brilliance ink pad across the embossed card to highlight the script. I edged the piece using a gold krylon pen and before attaching to a black card I attached a piece of printed twill ribbon with a gold star shaped brad to the left top corner. I then attached the embellishment and 2 stamped images to the front of the card. I love it when inspiration strikes and all the pieces of a card work together so well!!!

Altered Tin

2010-01-10T20:31:00.003-06:00

We have an "altered container" swap going on over at CCSwaps. I started with this tin that measures 4 1/4 x 3", and 3/4" deep. Using alcohol inks and a felt applicator I applied color to the top, sides, and bottom of the tin. I actually did this twice as sometimes the first application doesn't result in the textured look I was trying to achieve. There is no need to wait between applications since alcohol inks dry so fast. By the time I was finished with the first application I was able to start on the second application. I used sail boat blue, twilight purple, and silver inks.

To decorate the top of the tin I used one of the Ching-chou Kuik images found on Sweetpea plate #21. I stamped the image using india black ink onto a piece of glossy card stock that I had colored with various alcohol inks. After trimming the image I used a corner rounder and then edged it with blueMarvy Metallic Markers. I attached the image to the center of the top of the tin with double sided tape. I used silver glitter glue and glossy accents to embellish several areas of the image.

I attached some decorative metallic trim all around the edge of the top cover. I used red line tape to attach the trim so that it would hold up to someone opening and closing the tin.

Before finishing off the inside of the tin I applied alcohol ink to the sides of the top and bottom using a piece of felt. I just wanted to cover the silver with a little color.
I had some white glossy card stock that I colored with alcohol inks using the 'polished stone' technique. I traced the top of the tin on the glossy card stock, cut it out slightly smaller than the tracing marks, and taped it to the inside top. I have a bunch of vellum booklets that contain pre-printed sayings and words, so I chose this saying, tore it out of the booklet and attached to the inside top using vellum tape. I placed a dragonfly button embellishment inside the top using a couple of glue dots.
For the inside of the bottom of the tin, I cut a piece of background paper I had created using white glossy card stock, alcohol inks, andversamark ink. I had stamped onto the white glossy card stock using versamark , let dry or dry with a heat gun, and then apply alcohol inks with a felt applicator. To get the piece of card stock to fit the bottom of the tin I just placed the tin on top of the paper and traced around it. Then I cut it out slightly smaller than the tracing. I attached the piece with double sided tape. I tore the vellum piece that waspre-printed with "Dream" and taped that down using vellum tape.
And now it is ready to give away!!! Fill it with a few pieces of chocolate and it makes a great gift to give and a great gift to receive!

Recycled holiday cards

2010-01-06T16:24:00.005-06:00

CCSwaps is having a "Recycle the Holidays" swap. So I looked through the many wonderful Christmas cards we received and chose a few of them to work with.
One of our cards had this wonderful central image of a silver glittery snowflake on a blue square. I trimmed the square and snowflake from the card and made it the central image of another card. I ran a piece of light blue card stock through the cuttlebug with a snowflake embossing folder and attached the 'recycled' snowflake to it. Before attaching that piece to the dark blue card I placed 2 silver snowflake brads in the center of 2 of the embossed snowflakes. Then, I used silver glitter on some of the embossed snowflakes. This is the card that will go to my partner in the swap.

I didn't have to do much to create this bright holiday card. The 4 pieces of the Christmas tree were part of a card that we received. I just took them off that card and placed them onto a piece of bright blue card stock that I ran through the cuttlebug with a snowflake embossing folder. I attached a silver fabric star to the top of the tree and mounted the piece onto a lime green card.
Then I used silver glitter to spice up some of the embossed snowflakes.
This isn't your typical red and green Christmas card, but I like the bright colors it adds to the already festive holiday.

Who says that when you recycle holiday cards that you need to create another holiday card??? Not me!
The aqua colored star with the rhinestone center that is in the lower right corner of this card is from a Christmas card I received in 2009. I have a cuttlebug star embossing folder and some silver fabric stars...so...
I cut a piece of silver metallic card stock in a triangular shape so that it would fit onto the right side of the shimmery green scrapbook paper I had cut to 4 x 5 1/4". I taped the silver onto the other before running it through the cuttlebug so that the stars landing on the diagonal line where the 2 pieces joined would be in sync. Before attaching to a light gray card I inserted the alpha brads that spell "wish". I attached 3 silver fabric stars in various places and attached the 'recycled' aqua star. This card could be given for a variety of occasions.

Joy Fold Card

2010-01-03T13:18:00.003-06:00

This style of card is called a 'layered card' or 'joy fold card'. I used Ching-Chou Kuik's image found on Sweetpea plate #21 to adorn this card. I stamped the image on white card stock with india black ink and painted with Twinkling H2O's.
Now I'll attempt to explain how the card was put together!!
The card is made of 2 pieces of card stock:
- the base (olive green) is 8 1/2 x 4 1/4" and is scored and folded 3" from the left side
- the front panel (pink) is 8 x 3" and is scored and folded in half.
I cut a piece of decorative scrapbook paper and attached to the front panel, and on top of that I attached the image. The front panel piece will open from left to right (hope that makes sense). And when the card is closed flat it lays on top of the left side (panel) of the base piece. You'll see this better in a picture I have posted further on.

I attached a piece of decorative card stock to the right panel of the base. On top of that and centered I attached the left side of the 8 x 3" piece of card stock - for this card it is the pink piece. This is where you would stamp or write the sentiment/message.

I attached pieces of decorative scrapbook paper to the inside of the front panel and to the outside of the left panel. (The flower that you see on the left panel is added later on.)

At this point you want to fold the card flat in order to determine where to place the item that will secure the front panel. For my card I used my cuttlebug with spellbinders die to cut and emboss 2 flowers. I punched a hole in the center for the brad and then determined where to place the flowers so that just the edge would fit over the corner of the front panel.

The last step for my card was placing some decorative scrapbook paper on the inside of the left flap. I needed to do this in order to cover up the back of the brad I had used on the front of the left flap to hold the flower petals.
I used my cuttlebug dies and embossing folders to create a butterfly, and a spellbinders die to create a flower that I attached to the inside left panel.
There are so many variations with regard to decorating and embellishing a layered card. I love that fact that this card provides the creator and the lucky recipient with multiple layers of surprises.
If you google 'joy fold card' you'll find more ideas and pictures that will help you to see how this card is put together.

Diagonal Tri-Fold Card

2009-12-21T19:59:00.003-06:00

I used 2 images and one of the sentiments from Sweetpea Plate #17 when creating this diagonal tri-fold card.
The basics of this card design are:
- a 3 1/2 x 10 1/2" piece for the base. This piece is scored at 3 1/2 and 7" with both ends folded to the middle
- then score each end of the base piece on a diagonal, with both scores performed in the same direction. At each end of the base these are folded to the front of the card. This is confusing and may be better understood by looking at some of the following pictures.
- cut a piece of decorative card stock to 3 1/4 x 3 1/4". This will be used on the front panel. Then cut this piece in half on the diagonal and adhere to the 2 triangles that are the front panel of the card.

The angel image I used on the front panel was stamped with india black ink onto a piece of card stock that I had sprayed with homemade color mists I created using water and pearl ex.
The angel image attached to the front panel is only attached to the upper left triangle of the card front. To open this card untie the ribbon and then flip the left side open.
When I created this card I taped the ribbon onto the card behind the image used on the card front. You wouldn't need to permanently attach the ribbon.

Now, flip open the right side and you can see how the card looks opened. I used another image and a sentiment from the same plate (#17). The angel image is a duplicate of the image used on the front panel... just in miniature form. And the sentiment is perfect for this card and for someone special... "We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another."
The miniature angel images were stamped with black india ink onto an alcohol ink created background. I stamped the sentiment with denim adirondack dye ink.
Here's another look at the open card so that you can see how the folds work to create this card. I think that if you google 'diagonal tri-fold card' you may find other examples of this design.
You can find these stamps at Sweetpea Stamps.

Easel Card

2009-12-16T19:57:00.003-06:00

I'll bet you create cards pretty enough to display!!! Then here's just the card design for you... an easel card. I used one of the Ching-Chou Kuik images and a sentiment on Sweetpea plate# 20. After stamping the image on white card stock with black india ink, I painted it with Twinkling H2O's, and then trimmed around the image. I attached the image to a piece of decorative card stock that was cut to 3 3/4 x 4" . At this point I inserted a white snowflake eyelet in each of the corners. I threaded decorative fiber through the eyelets and tied in the back to secure. Then I attached this to a piece of pale pink card stock that was cut to 4 x 4 1/4". This is the front of the card and is attached to the base of the card as described below next to the picture showing a side view of this easel card.
On the inside of this card I used the sentiment "Do you believe...." which is also on plate# 20.
I stamped the sentiment on a small piece of the pale pink card stock with Raisin Adirondack dye ink and trimmed with decorative edge scissors. I layered that onto a piece of the same decorative card stock used for the front and trimmed with the same scissors. I placed a white snowflake brad just above the sentiment making sure to leave a little space between the brad and the paper. You don't want to attach the brad flat to the card since it needs to support the front of the card when you display as an easel as shown in this picture.
Here's a side view of the easel card to help you see how this card is put together and how it works.
This card happens to be 4" (across) x 4 1/4", but you could alter the size based on the size of the image you place on the front of the card.
There are basically 2 pieces to the card:
- 8 1/2 x 4"... this piece is scored and folded in half and then the top half is scored and folded in half again. This is the base of the card
- 4 1/2 x 4"... this piece is the front of the card. The bottom half of this piece is what is attached to the top 2 1/8 x 4" section of the base of the card.
A brad is placed anywhere from 1 to 2" up from the bottom of the base (mine is the white snowflake brad). Where you place the brad will depend on how large the sentiment or stamped image or decoration is that you place at the bottom of the card (in my case it is the saying "do you believe...").
To set the card up as an easel... when you open the card, flip/turn the front of the card so that the front bottom edge is resting up against the brad.
I hope this helps, but if it isn't clear just google easel cards and you'll find other samples that may help you to design this type of card.
Special thanks to my friend Maggi.... I received her Christmas card today... It was an easel card!!! So I copied the design.

Fantasy and Fibers with Sweetpea stamps

2009-12-16T15:23:00.003-06:00

This image is from Sweetpea plate #21. This is one of the many Ching-Chou Kuik designs available.
I created the background for the stamped image using thin glossy paper and alcohol inks. I used 3 of the alcohol inks applying them next to each other on my felt applicator tool. I applied them diagonally across the glossy paper to create the subdued stripes. I then stamped the image onto the glossy paper using blackindia ink, trimmed the corners with a corner rounder, and applied a green marvy metallic marker around the edges.
I found some decorative card stock that worked well with the blues and greens in the background, cut it just shy of the size of the green card, applied the greenmarvy metallic marker to the edges, and punched a fiskars border punch on the bottom edge. The decorative card stock had an embossed corner that I had positioned in the upper left of the card. I used anexacto knife to cut around the middle two loops of the corner and then slid the glossy paper under it. After putting all the pieces together on the green card I wrapped the fuzzy fiber twice around the spine of the card and tied in a knot at the top.

Here is another image from Sweetpea plate #21. This wonderful plate contains 4 captivating images and 2 wonderful verses that can be used with these images or with any of the other wonderfulSweetpea images.
After stamping the image with black india ink I painted her with Twinkling H2O's and then trimmed around the image. I used a corner/photo punch in the lower left corner of the deep wine colored card. I cut a piece of lavender cardstock straight along the left and bottom edge, then tore a jagged edge diagonally, and punched the bottom left corner with the same corner/photo punch. I had some coordinating decorative scrapbook paper that looked great with this color combination. I cut a piece to fit into the lavender piece and again tore a jagged edge on the diagonal. It is difficult to see in this photo, but I ran a purple marvy marker around the 4 edges of the card and across the torn edges of the decorative scrapbook paper. I happened to have just a scrap left of the decorative paper so I slipped it behind the image before putting all the pieces together on the card front. I had the perfect fibers to add to this fantasy card, so I wrapped them once around the spine of the card and tied with a knot.

A Journal for Isabella

2009-12-07T19:42:00.008-06:00

My good friend Sharon asked if I would create a journal for her granddaughter, Isabella. Lucky Isabella is going on a trip to Costa Rica with her family in January.... What Fun!!!
The size of the journal is 5 1/2 x 4 1/4". I cut the covers from mat board and painted them with various colors of blue (Isabella's favorite color) and silver paints. After they dried I used a set of acrylic stamps that appear to be various textures of snake skin. I stamped each side of the front and back covers using silver ink and then embossed with a sparkly type of embossing powder. I outlined the edges of each of the covers with Marvy Metallic Markers.... in blue, of course! Since I have loads of stuff on hand... I didn't have to look far for various embellishments to adorn the front cover. I bought the monkey a while ago... just because it was a good deal. And now, I had the perfect project to use it with. The metal letters for Isabella's name were silver, but I wanted them to stand out from the cover of the book so I colored them with alcohol inks. The letters used for 'Costa Rica' are brads; I cut the prongs off and used foam tape to attach them to the cover. The dragonfly and the keyhole are also brads that I cut the prongs off and then used glossy accents to attach.
After stamping and embossing the inside front cover I painted a grunge flourish and glued it to the inside. Then I found some metallic words that would work well for this journal. I colored them with the same acrylic paint I had used on the grunge flourish and glued them inside the front cover also.
I typed the information about when and where Isabella would be while in Costa Rica, and that the journal was a gift from Grandma and Grandpa, and then printed it on yellow paper. I attached it to the first page of the journal along with the "Costa Rica" logo I found on the internet. I cut pages from bright blue cardstock to use for the first several pages of the journal.

I was fortunate to find a map for both areas in Costa Rica that Isabella will be exploring. What a great opportunity for her to visit this interesting country. After printing the maps, I mounted them on the bright blue cardstock in the front of the journal.

As I was researching the areas that Isabella would be visiting I happened upon some pictures of this volcano; it will be very near one of the resorts that she'll be staying at.
One of the metallic words I had laying around was "fantastic"; I thought it was a good choice for this page.

The inside back cover was also stamped with a texture stamp and embossed. These snake skin textures were fun to work with and seemed appropriate since Isabella is going to be vacationing in a rain forest.
Another grunge flourish was painted and glued to the cover as was a metallic word, "fun".
The pages of the book were cut from watercolor paper. Isabella will be able to journal her thoughts or draw pictures of her adventures.

And here is the back cover... nothing special here. The same acrylic colors were used to paint the back cover and once that was dry I stamped another one of my texture stamps and embossed.
The journal is now in 'Grandma's hands and will be given to Isabella just a few days before Christmas.. for her birthday.
I hope she enjoys it and is able to fill the pages with loads of fabulous experiences from her trip to Costa Rica.