CHEER'S to a New Year!

Well, this is the last post of 2012, a year that to some has been a wonderful year, and to others not so wonderful.

For the next few days we will be hearing of all the spectacular events that have made news over the last year. Most of it will be the bad things, but I want to remember the good, and look forward to a happy and healthy year in 2013. What is done, is done! I don't like dwelling in the past, instead dreaming of what wonderful things will happen in the future. As this quote I found in this sentiment set from My Favorite Things states, "Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right!  Oprah Winfrey

I love this quote, and am using it to remind myself to look forward in the new year. I may have done some things in previous years that didn't work out quite right, but there is no use dwelling on past mistakes. Just try to get it right this time!

This card was stamped on watercolor paper with the Hydrangea Flower stamp from JudiKins, I believe, with Archival Ink and then colored with watercolor pencils. The verse was stamped with VersaFine black ink and attached with pop dots to the card stock.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and Safe New Year's Eve and New Year's Day and I will see you again next year, in 2013!  Happy Stamping!

Sketch & Stitch & Sew

Greetings fellow stampers!

Just stopping by to show off part of my Christmas present to myself. Parts of this card were from items I got from My Favorite Things. The little girl in her coat and hat were from the Warm Wishes stamp set, and the lace edging, a die cut titled "Dainty Lace Edge." The flower is from Memory Box Stamps, and all colored items were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copic Markers.

The quilt square was a pre-printed scrapbook paper image that I cut out and adhered to the card, and the antique sewing machine was a Dazzles sticker from Hot off the Press.  My dark purple ribbon and coloring on the little girl's coat and hat look almost black, but they were colored with a very dark purple copic marker that looked much better in person than on film.
The wording on the card, "Sketch & Stitch & Sew"are from a clear stamp set that I purchased years ago when I first started stamping. The packaging has since deteriorated, so I'm not sure exactly which company made them, but you could very easily have hand written those small words.

I believe I have finally completed my card-making for 2012, so I am off to do a little organizing in my studio before the new year begins.  Then I will begin making cards for birthdays and such for 2013, and the process begins again. Take care and have a wonderful "last week of the year!"

Thank YOU!

A BIG thank you goes out to all the well wishers on this beautiful Christmas morning!

The weather is predicted to be a nasty and cold afternoon, after the cold front blows through, but right now it is simply beautiful! It is a little windy, but the sun is shining, so enjoy it while you can!

Today's card is my fashionista stamp, colored with copic markers, with the background stamped in the Hero Arts background stamp "Chevrons." I covered half of the card base in retro dot scrapbook paper, before attaching the fashionista and her dog with foam tape to pop out the figure. I then attached the "thanks" banner with a button, tied with Caribbean blue twine which matches the background.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful happy day, spending quality time with your family. Enjoy this time, and do a little crafting if you can. It's one of those moments you will treasure for a lifetime!  See you again soon.

Twas the Night Before Christmas Eve . . . . .

Merry, Merry, stampin' friends!  It's Christmas Eve eve, and this will probably be the last Christmas card post of the year 2012.  I just wanted to take the opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday from my house to yours!

Little Miss Tilda is sitting on the Christmas Word Collage from Cricut, I purchased for myself for the holidays. The Cricut cartridge is titled "Word Collage" and has many groupings of related words you can cut out and use.  I am just getting around to figuring out all of the many ways to manipulate the items you can cut from the Cricut, I'm like a kid with a New toy.  I have had my Cricut for years, but  never really had the time or patience to sit down and actually play with it.

The paper at the top is from The Nutcracker Suite paper pad by Graphic 45, and of course the Vintage Tilda Stamp is from Magnolia Stamps.  To all my family and friends out there across the World Wide Web, may you have the merriest of Christmas' and the happiest New Year! And until we visit each other again, "To all a Good Night!"

Finally Finished: My Cards that is. . . . . .

Seasons Greetings fellow stampers! I finally finished my Christmas cards, now into the mail, and off they go. Hopefully they will get to their appointed locations before Christmas.

Luckily, I didn't have too many to make, and all the paper  piecing didn't take too long to assemble and to dry. The card was made from a template I got from the Stampington.com website. They have many templates there that have been used in previous issues of their magazines.  I got out my assortment of 8" X 8" Christmas paper pads and tore out several sheets that seemed to go together.  Then I started cutting out pieces of paper that would fit the various parts of the birdhouse template. I used a kraft colored base card trimmed to fit the template, and then glued the decorative papers to the base card. Then using an 11/2" hole punch, punched the hole in the house for the opening. I then punched a replacement hole using a dark colored stock to glue into the opening. Using Lawn Fawn's Christmas wreath stamp, I stamped out the wreath and colored it with my Copic markers, and then cut it out and glued it over the punched out replacement piece. That then held the punched out piece in.  I then die cut the small Memory Box bird out of brown felt and glued it to the front of the house and accented it with a half pearl eye. Inside I stamped "Merry Christmas" using the Christmas Greeting clear stamp set from Hot Off the Press.

I made each birdhouse different, using all the scraps from the few pages of paper I originally tore out.  Of course, they look really cute together in a group, but no one but you will see them this way once they get mailed out.

Here's hoping you all have a wonderful Christmas, and a Happy New Year!  Seasons Greetings and  Best Wishes for a Happy and Healthy 2013. Thank you for visiting, see you again soon.

Need a Little Pick-up?

Greetings Friends,
Christmas is just a little less than two weeks away, and who doesn't "need a little pick-up" at this time?  As I was rummaging through some of my stamps, I found this pick-up truck from Deadbeat Designs, and thought wouldn't that make a great card during all this Christmas frenzy.

I want to mention first of all, that this card is not finished!  It is still a work in progress.  I started out by making a trifold card from a sheet of heavy printed scrapbook paper. I stamped out the truck on white card stock, colored it with my copic markers and glitter pen, then fussy cut it out to adhere it to the front of the card, right on the edge. You can see the edge going down through the windshield. I left a little tab at the bottom for the phrase, also from Deadbeat Designs.
When you open the front flap of the card, you see the second page, where I have placed a Hero Arts  house, stamped on watercolor paper with StazOn ink and colored with my Inktense watercolor pencils. I then cut it out, and glued it to the far left of the card so it wouldn't show from the front. I also punched a cute little butterfly to put in the "sky" area.

Then as you open the last flap of the card, I added an area where I can stamp a sentiment, or hand write a personal message. Below this area, I added a flower and leaf cluster that I had in my copic coloring "goody box".  One of those items I was practicing coloring on, and when finished just stuck it in the envelope and never wrote down the stamp name or who it was from.   I need to add a little more detail to the front and second page of the card, maybe some trees or mountains, or maybe a cactus or two since I am in Texas.  If you have any suggestions, comment on this post and let me know what you think it needs.  I sit down and piddle with it while I am watching TV in the evenings, between Christmas chores and decorating.

I have also been working on my Christmas cards, and almost have them completed. I hope to complete them this weekend, so I can get them into the mail, and post the finished product on this blog.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and that you enjoy all of the happenings of the season. See you again, soon.

Coloring Stamped Images with Inktense Pencils

Fellow Stampers,
Today I am coloring stamped images with the Inktense colored pencils from Derwent.

In the previous post, I mentioned using them to color the snowman on kraft colored card stock. These are stamped on white tags, and the color is even more intense. Using water to blend the colors, seems easier to me than blending with just regular colored pencils. Of course, I like coloring some images with my Prismacolor pencils because of their creamy smooth texture, but these just seem easier to blend, plus you get the intense color without building the many, many layers of color.

I have tried several different brands of watercolor pencils in my day, and I really believe these Inktense style, by Derwent, are the fastest and easiest to use when coloring stamped images. They are also said to give vivid color on fabric surfaces, but I haven't tried this medium yet. I have a canvas envelope  that I plan on stamping today, so I may have a sample using them on fabric for you tomorrow.

Just like Copic markers are faster and easier to blend then other brands of markers, Inktense pencils are easier than other colored pencils. Of course, this is my opinion, try them out for yourself and see what you think before purchasing.  Many small Mom & Pop owned art stores will let you try many products before you buy, whereas the larger chain stores will not. Even attending a class or a crop will expose you to new products that you can "try, before you buy." So while out shopping this holiday season, try "Shopping Small" with local merchants. You will learn more than you thought humanly possible, and even get a great deal to boot!  You may even make a good friend in the process. Help support small business!

Christmas Possibilities!

Hello fellow stampers! I have been working on samples for my Christmas cards, putting bits and pieces together to try and finally find an arrangement I like for my holiday cards.

This one takes awhile to make, so if I don't hurry along and decide soon, I won't get any cards done at all. I stamped the image of the Jolly Snowman from Stampabilities on kraft card stock with StazOn black ink. I am using watercolor pencils to color the image, so I didn't want the outline ink to bleed. I used the new Inktense colored pencils from Derwent, and they are a watercolor like pencil, but has very intense colored pigment.  You can see how intense the color is on kraft stock, so you can imagine how bold it is on white stock.  You can color the image with the pencils directly, and then use a brush with water applied over it to blend the colors together. Or, you can use a water brush (paintbrush that holds water in it) to just drag over the point of the pencil to pick up color, and then paint directly on the paper.  It doesn't take a lot of water to blend out the colors of these Inktense pencils, so you can use them on any type of papers, watercolor to cardstock. It says they can even be used on canvas and fabric!  I haven't tried it on those surfaces yet.

After coloring the image, I matted it on polka dot printed paper, and wrapped some Peppermint colored twine around and knotted it. Then I mounted it on the gray snowflake paper, and then the kraft colored card base.  The sentiment and peppermint twine are from Lawn Fawn, the sentiment from the Bows & Holly set. For the final step, I inked around the entire card with navy blue chalk ink to distress it a bit.

Well, off to try my hand at a few more designs. Stick around and see what I come up with, I will share them as I go.  Have a wonderful day, and Happy Holidays!

Thank You's are Important, Too

Thank you's are important, too!

During the holidays, there are two little words that mean so much, and are sometimes forgotten. "Thank You!" Thank you for the lovely dinner, thank you for inviting me, thank you for the wonderful gift, thank you for thinking of me. Sometimes we get so tied up in the moment, we forget to say these words out loud. That is when a beautiful card can really come in handy.  So while you are creating beautiful handmade cards to send to family and friends, be sure to also make several thank you cards, to keep on hand for the thank you's that are frequently forgotten.

The card I made today is an A2 size card that is very simple, yet beautiful. I started with the background pool colored layering paper from Hero Arts and added a printed scrap across the bottom, about halfway across. I then adheared a ribbon across and glued it to the back. I then shadow stamped a leaf design on the solid top with a gray Marvy marker inked directly onto the stamp. This technique is so vibrant on glossy surfaces, yet a soft matte finish on non-glossy papers. I also used this technique to stamp a thank you stamp on a precut chipboard label. It's finish was fairly glossy, so it turned out vibrant and strong. I just take the Marvy marker (light blue for example) and mark directly on the word thank on my rubber stamp.(Always use the lighter color first) Then with my grape colored purple marker, I rubbed it on the word "you" and across the bottom of the word "thank". It automatically blended the two colors where they overlapped. You can then "huff" or breathe heavily on your stamp and stamp it onto the smooth surface.  Your breath will re-moisten the inks just enough so they will stamp easily. Use foam dots to pop the label on the front of your card, and then adhear the front panel to the card front, and you are done!

Here are the last four tags from the Holiday Tag project I completed. This project was one of the most rewarding projects I have seen to fruition, so I guess that is why it means so much to me.  I hope you all enjoyed seeing the tags as much as I enjoyed making them. Several of you left me comments on the post, and I really appreciate your responses.

I hope you consider making a few tags this year for attaching to special gifts, or even attaching to the front of a greeting card.  They are fun and can be quick to make and they will be treasured by those receiving them. Have a grand week, and I will see you again soon.

Thankful for Tags on Tuesday!

Thank Goodness it's Tuesday! No more Black Friday, or Cyber Monday, just regular everyday Tuesday; just in time for more Tags!
Only one more post of Holiday Tag Project after this one. After making 25 for the Church Christmas tree, I was sure I was going to have nightmares of tags, but you know what, they were really fun.  My kind of project, simple, easy to make, doesn't take much time or supplies, and can have different designs and themes.

After they were all on the tree, I really kind of missed them. So much in fact that I came home and made some again for my personal gift giving. They are great for using up bits and pieces of papers, ribbons, punchings, odds and ends of ephemera, and practice coloring pieces of stamps and print images. As I was digging through my bits and left overs, I kept finding more and more colored images to put in my "scrap" book. It's not a typical scrapbook, with full page layouts with pictures and journaling. It's an actual scrappy little book, made from envelopes bound together in book form. Each envelope contains images of a theme, such as animals, flowers, words, people, art, and so on. It was pretty overstuffed before this tag project came along, I used a lot of the images.  But as I said, found more images as I dug through my boxes of scraps.

Looking through many blogs this weekend, I found where several artists were making their own advent calendars using decorated tags. This would be lots of fun with tags like these, and I may try one next year for a friend that still has small children. I guess it would even be fun for a "Luv Calendar" for your spouse or partner for Valentines Day or before an anniversary. You could put little love notes on each one, to remind them how special they are!  Hmmmmm! Valentine idea swirlling around in my head!  Let's write that one down!  

Enjoy your week, and come visit with me again soon.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Happy Thanksgiving, to one and All!  Today is the day we congregate with family and friends to be thankful for everything we have been blessed with. Some celebrate with BIG meals, others watching the parades and sporting games.  Some even celebrate by shopping and fighting the unruly crowds at many an ungodly time! This year I am sleeping late, watching a little of the parade, and grabbing a "turkey snack". In the afternoon, instead of watching the games, I may visit some friends, then come home and work on my Christmas cards.

Since today is Thursday, here is another installment of the "Hope for the Holidays" tags I made.
Wednesday I delivered the tags I made, and we stuffed the gift cards inside them all, and hung them on the tree. Tomorrow the families will get to choose their tag after the meal.  I hope everyone involved in the project felt as blessed as I did, seeing all the tags together, they were so beautiful!

Happy Holidays to ALL!  Stay safe and celebrate responsibly this year!

More Tags for Tuesday!

Hello fellow paper artists!
More tags for Tuesday to be given away with a gift card for the church project I am working on.
For the past week, I have been telling you and showing you tags that I am making to decorate a Holiday Tree.

Here are three more, with 15 down and 10 more to go! Actually I have finished all the ones I was making and will deliver them Wednesday afternoon to church. I will show the rest in 3 tag increments for the next three Tuesday/Thursday bog posts. (since the word tag goes with Tuesday and Thursday)

I really had to push myself to complete them, between participating in the Clearsnap Handmade Holiday Blog Hop and finishing the tags. I hopped through and visited over 60 different web sites and blogs during that 3 day period, and got some wonderful ideas for gifts and projects for the holidays.  Of course, I had to leave a comment on each web site and blog to be eligible for the free merchandise drawings each one will have at the end of the month. If you are still interested in checking some of them out, there is still time. The drawings won't be held until November 27, 2012 at midnight.
You can start with the Clearsnap web site, click Here then click on top right corner= "check out our blog."
You can still leave comments and be eligible for the drawings.

I even got  a few ideas for Christmas cards that I will be starting probably Thursday.  Here's wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving, and Black Friday shopping day. Here in Texas, our theme is "Shop Small" this weekend. Shop and support the small businesses in your community this holiday season. Without your support, we wouldn't be here.  Happy Shopping!

Holiday Fun!

Are you in the Holiday spirit yet? If not, come join me in hopping along the holiday trail at the Clearsnap 2nd Annual Handmade for the Holidays Blog Hop, all weekend long, November 16- 18, 2012.

Start at the Clearsnap Blog: http://clearsnap.blogspot.com/ and you can hop around to various blogs where artists like us have showcased lots of holiday ideas for decorations and gifts.

I have gotten so many gift ideas, and things I want to make for myself, that my head is about to explode!

When you comment on each blog, you will be elligible to win prizes from the companies sponsoring the HOP, including Hampton Arts Stamps, Graphic 45 Papers, Fiskars Tools, Tombow Markers, and several other paper and stamp art companies. I have left so many comments on so many blogs, I hope I am blessed to win SOMETHING!  Just a little something would be fine with me. I know the idea of it all isn't only to win free stuff, but it doesn't hurt to try, especially with the economy the way it is.

So, have fun, and good luck to all!  Happy Blog Hopping, and Happy Thanksgiving to All!

More Tags on Thursday!

Hello everyone!
It must look like I am posting the same things over and over every day.  But I'm not! Here are three more tags for the Holiday Tree that I am helping to decorate.

I finally started playing
with my Christmas stamps, and hope to find a theme to use as my Christmas cards this year. Every year I play around with my stamps, weeks in advance, trying out different stamps and designs in effort to find something I can live with for the holidays on my cards.

I see so many different designs online from all the blogs I frequent, that I get so confused I don't know which ones I like the most.  This year since I will be making these tags in advance of the holidays, maybe I will find one grouping that I will love to send out as cards to my relatives and friends for the holidays. I have completed half of the tags needed from me, and hope I will be able to really buckle down this weekend to get the rest done, so I can deliver them early next week.

While looking through my millions of stamps today, I found many Christmas stamps I haven't stamped in ages, if ever!  You know they always say, ". . . the one with the most toys, wins!"  When it comes to stamps, "I WIN!"

Have a great day doing whatever your heart desires, and take time to stop and smell the Roses!

Tags on Tuesday!

Hello friends,
Three more tags for the Holiday Tree we are decorating.  I really am enjoying making these tags. I can try new techniques, and use a lot of my copic colored images that I have stamped out and colored. I have a whole booklet of images I have stamped and colored while learning to use the copic markers. I save them, and then when I need a small image to use in one of my art pieces, I can just add it in without a problem. Many of the images I color in different color schemes, that way I have a variety to choose from in my booklet.  As you can probably see, I love coloring roses of all shapes and sizes.
I love to practice the shading on the petals, and trying color combinations that might occur in real life gardens. The rose stamp on the first tag on the left, is my favorite rose stamp, and I don't know how many times I have stamped it out to color.

This is a great project to use my sample snippets on, I can combine several on a tag. I don't have too many Christmas samples in my book, but guess I will have to start stamping out a few so some of my tags will have a Christmas holiday theme.
There is not too much technique in putting together these tags, but if you have any questions, feel free to comment on this post, and I will get back to you as soon as possible with the answers.

Have a good week, and keep on stamping!

Holiday Tags

Hello fellow stampers,
It's already November, and I am trying to start a holiday decorating project with a friend.
We are decorating a holiday tree for a group of needy families in our area, and are using decorative hand-stamped tags as gift card holders to decorate the tree.

I wanted to share some of the tags with you that I have made. They are a small fun project that can be used for ornaments, place cards for Thanksgiving, tags for hand-delivered gifts, or regular old gift tags with presents.

I used 21/2" X 5" manila tags for these, and cut a heavy piece of scrapbook paper into 5" X 5" squares and scored them down the middle to make a gift card. Then when my tag was complete, I adhered it to the gift card to make it more sturdy. I will try to show several each day, I have 25 to make before Thanksgiving.

I hope you will all be able to try and design some tags of your own during this holiday season. They are just as much fun to make as cards are for me, and can be used for many different purposes.  Have a nice Veterans Day weekend, and thank a soldier for their service, it's the nicest thing you can do!

Dia de los Muertos

Hello friends,
Yesterday I finally had time to get out my NEW stamps from Paper Wings Productions, that I had ordered and play with them. This set is titled "Dia de los Muertos Hombre "clear stamp set. Click here to see more of their New stamps that are available now!
I especially liked this set because of the papel picados and rose garland spray stamps that were in the set with the "hombre".

I have never celebrated Dia de los Muertos, (Spanish for Day of the Dead) which is a Mexican holiday celebrated in Mexico and around the world in many other cultures. It is celebrated on November 1 & 2 and focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember those who have died. I have enjoyed hearing and reading the history of the holidays, and always thought it was a good idea to celebrate and honor family members and friends who have passed on before us.

Traditions include building altars and decorating with pictures of the deceased, sugar skulls, marigold flowers, and favorite foods and beverages of the departed. Celebrations should take on happy tones, remembering fun events and anecdotes about the departed.

This card made me happy while making it, because it reminded me of the great times I spent with my Mother and Dad before they passed away. I first stamped the hombre on white card stock with Memento black ink, and colored his hat, shoes, and facial decorations with my copic markers. Then I stamped the rose garland twice, and colored the roses in pink, which was my Mother's favorite color rose. The shrine stamp is from Stampers Anonymous, and was colored with my Distressed markers. The pieces were fussy cut and then mounted on some printed scrapbook paper to give it a little pop! A length of matching ribbon was knotted in the center and adhered to the unit before attaching it to the card front, which I shaded along the edges with chalk ink.  I then attached the banner and my card was complete.

I don't know for sure if I will send out this card or not. I may just keep it for myself, happily remembering my friends and relatives that have gone on before. Take time to remember someone you love.

Busy Week; Now back to Cards

Hey everybody,
It has been a really busy week for me, which means I didn't get to post here OR make any more cards. Well, thankfully my obligation was fulfilled, and now I can get back to my card making and lallygagging!

The last post mentioned that I was looking forward to my friend, Jane's Halloween Card
Making class. It was a blast, and we had so much fun making 4 really awesome cards using the House Mouse line of stamps, and even one Grumpies stamp. If  you like these, and think you might like to take one of Jane's classes, here in S.A. click here, and click again on her class information tab to see classes that are upcoming.

I am so blessed to have such a talented friend that enjoys teaching and sharing her ideas with others in her classes.  I love using my Copic Markers, and that is what this class was all about.  Learning how to blend the colors on their fur, both bears and mice, so they look so realistic.  Jane is a certified Copic Marker instructor, and she really knows her stuff.

I keep looking at the 4 cards, trying to pick my favorite. But after a week, I still cannot pick out just one!  I love how they ALL turned out. 

Well, I am back in the crafting mood now, so I'd better get busy with my cards and projects. Have a good weekend, and enjoy life!  I'll visit with you again soon.

Let Your Dreams FLY!

Happy Friday Everyone!
Today's card is the last in the series of Melange Women that I made on World Card Making Day last weekend. This is Cassandra.

Cassandra is one of four Melange Women cling mounted rubber stamps from Paper Wings Productions. To check out these and other wonderful stamps, click here.

I started the background for this card as a 4" X6" piece of watercolor paper. I then edged the paper with grape and peach Gelato pigment sticks from Faber Castell. These Gelatos are so much fun to work with, they are like an oil pastel stick in a chap-stick tube, that are water-based instead of oil-based. You just draw with them like a crayon and then either blend them with your fingers, a baby wipe, or a water brush like watercolors. I just scribbled through the middle of the watercolor paper, and then blended it together somewhat. When it was dry, I used purple Smooch ink to swirl over the top and make more swirls and squiggles. I then put the background aside to completely dry before moving on.

Next I stamped Cassandra in Wild Honey Distressed Ink and colored her with my Copic markers. I had a saying in my computer about "catching a star that lets your dreams fly" so I printed it out and trimmed around its edges. Before putting the card together, I assembled a felt flower with three layers and adhered a pearl embellishment in it's center.

I trimmed the background to fit an A2 size card blank and adhered all the layers to the card front. Cassandra was adhered with foam tape to give the card dimension. The felt flower is very soft, so it will smash down when mailing the card.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I am attending a Halloween Card Making class, given by a friend of mine, and we will be using stamps from the House Mouse line of stamps. I think they are one of my favorite categories of stamps.  So, have a stampin' good time this weekend, I know I will be.

Hello Friend!

Hello Friends,
Today's card is using the 3rd Melange Woman stamp from Paper Wings Productions, and her name is Diana.

The background of this card was made from a piece of eggshell card stock run through a Sizzix embossing folder on my Cuttlebug. After removing it from the folder, I took an older chestnut roan chalk ink pad and ran it lightly over the embossed image.  Be very careful if you use a new chalk ink pad, because they are very juicy when new. I then stamped out Diana on the same eggshell stock and colored her with my Copic markers. Most of the shading is on the stamp itself, so is very easy to make the image look so real. Then using a flourish die from Die-namics and "Hello Friend" from a Sizzix plate, I ran a bronze sheet of stock through the Cuttlebug for the embellishments.  All the pieces were then adhered to a kraft colored card base.

A very easy card with just a little time needed to complete it. Tomorrow I will show and explain the last card in the series of  Melange Women group. Again, if you would like to have a set of these wonderful images or purchase them singly, click here.  See you tomorrow!

Hats Off to You! Paper Wings Productions

Hats Off to You! fellow stampers,
Here is card #2 of my Melange Women cards made on World Card Making Day this past weekend.

As I mentioned yesterday, I love this set of cling mounted rubber stamps from Paper Wings Productions, click here to see all of their wonderful stamps. This beautiful woman is Claudette.

I started with a piece of antique lace I got in a goody bag at an antique store years ago. (I'm sorry it is so hard to see in this photo.) It was a shaped applique of a flower, and I thought it would look lovely as a hat. I covered my card base with a sheet of A Ladies Diary paper from Graphic 45 and made a rectangular accent square with other bits from this same line. I adhered them to the front of the card, and then using a thin layer of tacky glue adhered the lace applique in the top right corner. I then stamped the focal image, face and body with Tuxedo black memento ink, and colored in with my Copic markers. I wanted the head to really stand out, so I adhered a 1" button between the lace and the cardstock head. To the button I attached some looped ribbon, the cut-out, more small bits of lace and some sparkly gemstones.

Then using my Cuttlebug I die cut 2 fancy flourishes from Die-Namics. I accented the paper strip on the side with a piece of ribbon and glued the two flourishes down, one on each side of the figure.  I then stamped the banner from Bannerific by Lawn Fawn stamps and the phrase "hats off to you!"

I had been dreaming about this card for quite awhile, picturing how I would put it together in my mind. I finally found the stamp I wanted to use, and practiced coloring the image many times before I finally got it like I wanted it to look. I am so glad I could finally share it with you, and say "hats off to you" my friends.

Happy Birthday Card with Paper Wings Productions Stamps

Hello friends,
Happy Tuesday!  By the time you read this it may be Wednesday though. I want to share with you the rest of the cards I made on World Card Making Day this year.

I used a set of cling mounted rubber stamps from Paper Wings Productions.
www.paperwingsproductions.com
called Melange Women. I have just found out that they are also selling the individual women stamps,  and this is Heather.

First I stamped Heather on white card stock with potter's clay Memento ink. I then colored her with Copic Markers or you could use colored pencils if you don't have the markers. I then cut out around the image and put aside. I had a small piece of scrapbook paper that had fruit on it in soft colors. Apples, peaches, and pears, along with some flowers and leaves and three flourish squares. I fussy cut all of the images and matted the squares. I cut a piece of printed cardstock for the background of the card and positioned the face and fruit around it before I glued it all down. I tried to adhere it in different layers so it would have some depth in it. For my ribbon embellishment I took the three matted squares and attached them to a double length of ribbon using my Tiny Attacher from Tim Holtz. Then I used foam tape to adhere the sections to the card front.

The Birthday medallion was punched from a 3" scalloped oval, and 2 1/2" solid oval, then stamped with a birthday greeting from Hot Off the Press.

I Love this Melange of Women and made a card with each stamp. I will show the other three women this week, so stay tuned.  "Same Bat Channel" as they say on ME TV! See you soon.

Two More Halloween Cards

Greetings, Cardmakers!
I have two more Halloween cards for you today, that I made yesterday for World Cardmaking Day, using Graphic 45 papers.

They are both collaged, using bits and pieces from the 8" X 8" Halloween paper pad from Graphic 45, plus foam tape, and adhesive gemstones along with a few flower petals and buttons.  I didn't do any stamping for these cards, just cut out the bits, arranged them on the blank cards, them glued and taped down the layers to give them some interest.  I also added a little bling here and there to give a little sparkle, and the cards were done.

I also didn't participate in a group card making for World Cardmaking Day, just worked on them at home, while staying in touch with a couple of groups that were holding hops and card making sessions on their blogs. I got about 5 cards done, these three Halloween and two birthday cards that I will feature tomorrow!

The weather here was so nice today. Our first "breath of fall" or what little fall we get here in south Texas.   It was down in the fifties this morning, and mid-sixties this afternoon, just right for opening the doors and windows to let a little fresh air in.  I hope you all had a great day, until tomorrow!

Steampunk Luc at Halloween!

Hello friends,

Halloween is about a month away, and I love decorating and dressing up for the holiday. I have been lucky, the 30+ years I have been working, the other employees and I have always worn costumes for Halloween. I have worked retail sales, and every Halloween we would dress in costume, and customers would come in just to see our costumes.  Of course, by the time I got off work and headed home, I was ready to rip off the costume and wipe off the make-up. After my bath it was into my jammies and off to read or watch TV.  Especially in my later years, there were no trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood to hand out candy to.

This card was made with papers from the Graphic 45 Halloween collection, bits and pieces of ribbon, and the Luc stamp from Paper Wings Productions.  I also found a breastplate "costume" for Luc in the Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutant paper collection that fit him just fine.   I also stamped three pumpkins on a tag, colored them in with Copics, and made one to look like a carved Halloween pumpkin.  Then the embellishments were just adhered to the card in different layers with foam tape, some popped up, and others not, so it wouldn't be so flat. Then glitter and gemstones made it sparkly and blingy to boot!  I have a few more Halloween type cards started, and will post in a few days if I get them done this weekend.

The weather is predicted to "cool off" this weekend, with a cold front on Sunday.  I wish it would cool off some, I am ready for me some winter!  Not slushy, snowy winter, just temperatures a lot cooler than 90 degrees!  See you again soon.

To Say Thank You!

I want to say Thank You to everyone who visits my blog. I really appreciate your visits and comments. From now through October 30, 2012, anyone who leaves a comment on any of my blog posts, will be entered to win a  drawing for a Christmas Greetings clear stamp set from Hot Off the Press. Remember: The more comments you leave, the better your chances of winning.

There are 27 acrylic stamps in this set, perfect for adding to your holiday cards, scrapbook pages, or home decorations.  Some of the greetings are even suitable for inside and outside of your holiday cards, both sentiments in one set.

I have used one of the greetings from this set on my card sample of the day. I stamped the greeting and holly design in Memento ink, and used my Copic markers to fill in the letters.

Next, I tied a bow from red sheer ribbon and adhered a green sheer ribbon band around the white base. Adhere the white base to the red card and adhere the red bow to the center of the green band.

Punch 7 holly leaves from green card stock with a Martha Stewart punch, and break down the sizing in the card stock and dry emboss vein lines on the leaves with a ball stylus. I then accented the vein lines with a green ink pen. Glue 4 of the leaves around and among the red sheer bow and 3 leaves clustered in the top right corner of the  card. I then stamped tiny snowflakes from the stamp set above the wreath in Baby Blue Memento ink.  Embellish holly leaves with red gemstones for berries, and use Stickles on the stamped berries and snowflakes to finish your card and give it some sparkle.




Now is the time to start working on your holiday cards.  Don't be like me and wait until the last minute to do your cards, or everyone on your list will be getting theirs for New Years!  Ho Ho Ho!

A Button Mermaid Angel

Something a little different for you today, a Button Mermaid Angel, inspired by a project seen in the Winter 2009 issue of Somerset Studios Gallery Magazine.

One of my other passions in the crafting world is Jewelry making, and I just love making vintage style jewelry from old broken pieces, buttons, old lace and the such.

Of course, in this piece I used a rubber stamp of the mermaid's body, and then added the strung together buttons as her fish tail. I started out by stamping the body on light pink card stock and then used prismacolor pencils to color in the hair, the swimsuit bodice, and the bubbles. I then used some Dazzles by Hot off the Press for the wings. They are an airy type of sticker that you can adhere to vellum and then cut around the entire wing unit and glue to the shoulders of the rubber stamped image.

Next, I began the button fish tail by tying gold cord through each of the button's eyes. I then glued each button to card stock to give it some stability and beginning at the bottom strung the beads and then the buttons on to a heavy gauge wire, with the buttons getting larger as I worked towards the top. When the body section matched the size of the button, I then taped the stamped piece with wings attached to the wire, and made a finished loop at the top of the head to hang it from.  Finally, give the entire tail section a soft curve of the wire for motion, and your piece is finished. This can be used as a suncatcher in a window, a charm hanging from a ceiling fan chain, or as an embellishment for a necklace. However you want to display it, it is a delicate and aquatic symbol to add to your collection.

Have a wonderful day, and try something different. You may find an art field you really enjoy! 

Two Projects to Share

 Hello friends,
I have two projects to share with you today. The first is an Artist Trading Card that I made for a special friend. She is always been one for adventure, and she is about to embark on another great one. So I made this tiny 21/2" X 31/2"  decorated pocket with card to send her, and she can even take it with her if she likes.
I started out with a 3" X 7" piece of printed scrap book paper, and folded it to within 1" of the top and stapled it with my tiny attacher by Tim Holtz.  I punched the top corners with a corner decorative punch, and stamped a beautiful butterfly stamp on a scrap of stock, colored it with copic markers, cut it out, used Stickles glitter to glam it up, then let it dry and cut it out!  I then attached the butterfly to the pocket with foam tape to make it pop out just a bit.

To make the card, I spritzed the background  (21/2" X 31/2") with Dylusions spray from Ranger, in several colors to really make it colorful. Then I attached the card which is a print itself from the Travel Travelogue paper collection from Graphic 45 papers.  It just slips in the little pocket for a greeting-to-go! You can also write a special message on the pocket front, or on the back of the ATC card like I did.  Janice, have a nice Trip!

The second project for today is a greeting card made from a deco arts mannequin stamp that I just love. I stamped it out on white card stock with black memento ink. The base stand of the mannequin was too large for the front of the card, so I just cut it off and stamped out a flat daisy to use as the base. All of the coloring was done with Copic markers and I accented the center of the flower and the star on her chest with Sepia crystal accents, just to give it a little texture. I found a lovely tiny rose print scrap book paper for the background, and stamped the cancellation stamp from the Tropical Travelogue Stamp Set from Graphic 45 in the empty space. It needed just a touch more to complete the card, so I added a ribbon with knot lengthwise around the card.

I love the phrase on her skirt that says; "Nothing is more important than this day!" So go out there and make it a good one.  See you again soon.

Indian Paintbrush- Texas wildflower card

Happy Tuesday everyone!
Today's post is about color. Not so much content, as the color you are feeling.

This "Thinking of You" card started out in my mind when I came across this Indian paintbrush stamp in my stash. The flower isn't blooming this time of the year, but I knew I wanted something bold and bright to stand out on the front of this card.

The Indian paintbrush flower is one of Texas' wildflowers that grows and blooms in the spring here in Texas. The flower itself comes in all different shades of red, and depending on how much rain or sun or heat it is growing in, deepens the red bracts of the flower.  I stamped the flower stamp; one of Joyce Meyer's Texas wildflower stamps; on white stock with black Memento Ink, and then colored it in with my copic markers.  I then picked out a solid red shimmery A2 base card to put it on. I went through my stash of scraps trimmed from other projects that I keep, and found some strips of border print from a scrapbook page I made several years ago. The red and gold color of the strips blended well with my background card, so I paper pieced the strips down in a pleasing design, and then using foam tape, adhered the flower panel. Luckily, there was a space left to the right of my flower, where I could stamp my greeting.

 So there you have it, an easy card put together using up some scraps that were lying around, to make a wonderful card to send to a friend who you are "thinking of ".  I wish you all a wonderful, creative week and until next time, "stamp your heart out!"  Have Fun!

CROWN JEWELS theme ATC's for September

The second theme for the September ATC trade was Crown Jewels. Since there was so much in the press about Prince Harry's escapades while he was in Las Vegas recently, I decided to do a spoof of the headline on my Artist Trading Card.

On the front, I printed off the headline on a piece of white stock, and  inked the edges with black soot chalk. This was an outer pocket. Then on the inner pocket that slides out, I stamped the English flag stamp on white stock, inking the stamp with the fired brick and faded denim Distress Markers by Tim Holtz.

On the inner most card I printed a sticker that read, "personally I don't see what all the fuss is about!" and stamped an image of a large crown and embellished it with stick-on gemstones and lots of stickles to make it really sparkly!

It really caused a chuckle at the trading card meeting. Everyone broke out in laughter, and I was so surprised, it really made my day!

I guess they were expecting something else????????????

Have a wonderful day, and a great weekend. This only goes to show you that a little thing like this card can cause  laughter, which in many ways is considered the best medicine.

           



PAPER DOLL themed Artist Trading Card for September

Hello friends,
The September trade of Artist Trading Cards or ATC's was lots of fun! My first card theme was Paper Doll. I made a bi-fold card with the map that says "Summer is for lots of fun" on the cover, and when you open it, the school house with "but now the school bell has rung" on the inside of the cover. Opposite the school house is the Papier Family of stamps from Paper Wings Productions, Marcel, Louise, and Luc in their summer wear. On the back of the card is a mini manila envelope that holds the paper doll's school clothes, shown on them in the bottom picture.

This card was so much fun to make. I had to stamp out the figures, trim off their clothes, and add their shorts, shirts, and bathing suit. I then printed these out to use for the summer theme of the card. I then took the clothes I trimmed off, and copied them on my printer and adjusted the clothes to fit their new shapes, so I could print them out and color them.  Of course, I had to add the little tabs to fold around the doll, and then had to adhere the dolls to the background, popped up on foam tape so the clothes could be taken off and put back on. That section was the hardest of all to produce.

The front of the card was a printed piece of scrapbook paper that I colored with my copic markers and adhered the little label saying "summer is for lots of fun". The school house stamp from Stampabilities was stamped on white cardstock, colored with copics, cut out and adhered to the light blue stock, and the label with "but now the school bell has rung" stuck beneath it. The family and their clothes were colored with my copic markers, and the background behind them was sprayed with the Dylusions Sprays from Ranger.

The second theme for this month's trade was "Crown Jewels." I did a take off of an occurrence in the news two weeks ago with  Prince Harry, and will show my card in a couple of days. I hope you enjoyed this card, and will check back to see the "crown jewels" card. See you soon!

Butterflies are Free!

Hi friends,
Today's post is about the difference colors make when adding color to an image. I have printed out an image of a butterfly that I liked, and mounted it on two different card stock bases, one pink, the other red.

I took my Copic Markers and started coloring in the first one with blues, greens, and pinks, all in cool shades of the colors.  With the second butterfly image, I took the warm colors of  yellow, orange. and red and colored in the image. You can see the difference in the feel of the cards, just because of the colors I used to tint them.

Many artists use a color wheel when being creative, to help them with their color selections and providing them with color suggestions of what colors go well with other colors. I usually just use my "gut feelings" when coloring an image, and sometimes it looks good and other times it doesn't.  That is why I am trying to learn more about color, and how to use the color wheel when blending colors on a work of art.

Some people say they cannot do art because they don't know what colors to put together, and don't know how to draw and consider perspective. I am here to tell you there are many tools out there, and even here on the web, to help you learn more about these techniques.  So don't use that as an excuse, just get a few basic supplies together and "jump in", or do a little research on the web so you will feel more comfortable when trying a new form of Art. Art is proven to lessen stress, and will make you feel a whole lot better!  See you again soon!

SWEETNESS

Hello friends,
Sweetness is what I feel when I see this lovely fawn napping in the grass. This is the first time I have used this stamp, and I really like the way it stamped out.

The weather here in South Texas has been cooler the past week, and all the creatures have been coming out at sundown to enjoy the cooler temperatures. There is a private church school down the street from my home, where in the evening right before sunset, you can see a family of deer strolling through the school grounds into the wooded area beyond.  They stop and frolic in the well manicured lawn of the school, sometimes laying in the cool, freshly watered grass before they scamper off into the wooded area behind the school. I love to watch them graze and frolic, and wonder if they feel safe living in such a populated area as San Antonio. They inspired me to make this card and add it to my collection.

The entire picture area is the stamp, and I stamped it on watercolor paper with Versafine Sepia ink. Then I gently colored it with my Distressed Ink markers. I stippled on the blue background and them matted the picture in a light beige card stock, before mounting it on an animal printed card base. I believe I purchased the box of animal print cards at JoAnn's Crafts. I thought they were so unique, and would add an element of texture to my animal themed cards.

Take time to enjoy the nature in and around your home. Sometimes you too, will be inspired to use this nature in creating ideas for cards and art projects that you do. Take care, and visit again soon.

Pretty as a Peacock

Hi there stampers! Today's card is a peacock stamp I forgot I had. Several months ago when I was out shopping, I found this wonderful peacock feather ribbon. Of course I didn't know what I was going to use it for, but it was just so pretty, I knew I had to have it.  After months of looking for a peacock rubber stamp, I found this one in one of my stamp binders. It is by Inkadinkado, cling mounted, and it fit perfectly along the feather ribbon.

It was a little too tall for an A2 (quarter fold) card, so I checked my stash and found this 6" square card. I glued down the feather ribbon first, and then the strip of patterned paper across the bottom. Next, I stamped the peacock on white card stock and colored in the feathers on the bird with my Distressed markers. I added the branch stamped directly on the card base, two one inch circles of dark blue card stock and the title phrase before cutting out and adhearing the peacock. After the bird was glued on with foam tape, I used some Stickles and glitter pen to add a little bling to the peacock.

I think this made a really nice friendship card and I intend to send it to a dear friend that loves peacocks. Have a great weekend, and stay cool where ever you are.





With Love & Caring . . . . . to You!

Hello Everyone! Happy Friday! It's the start of another hot and steamy weekend here in South Texas. I am attending a card making class midday on Saturday, so I am sitting here on Friday planning what I need to accomplish between now and the beginning of the new week.

The temps are suppose to feel like 104 Saturday and Sunday, so I think I will just stay in the cool house and work on some greeting cards, and possibly try some background inking techniques for my Artist Trading Cards next month.

I am showing a card I made to send to a good friend who is having health problems right now. She is a very loving and caring person, and I want her to know exactly how I feel. This card is made with a Daisy filled tea cup stamp from Inky Antics, a little Mouser stamp from Impression Obsession, and a piece of patterned paper. The stamps were stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink, and then colored with copic markers. I then cut them out and adhered them to the printed scrapbook paper before attaching it to the card base. I used a foam square to pop up the little mouse for accent.

The card itself was very easy to make, and I wanted to share it with you, so you could see how even the simplest of cards can let someone know how much you care for them, and that you took the time to make it with your own two hands.

Have a wonderful weekend, and take a few moments to let someone you love know how special they are. See you soon!

August Birthday's have begun!

August Birthday's have begun, and the first one this month is for a young man I have known all his life.

I always have trouble making masculine cards for men, and I really don't know why.  I have plenty masculine stamps and papers, it's just when I start to put them together, I stumble and hesitate.

On these cards I used the same motorcycle stamp from a set called Route 66 by Artistic Outpost. On the top card I stamped a background from Hero Arts and put a strip of washi tape down the right side. Then I stamped the motorcycle on a piece of printed scrapbook paper that had maps and keys and words collaged on it.  The phrase "get your kicks..... " is below the bike and the finish to the phrase is "on route 66" so I stamped the route sign on a small piece of card stock and stuck it on with a pop dot below the phrase. Another embellishment I added was a winged clock from Paper Wings Productions whose wings matched the washi tape, to tie the colors together.

On the bottom card, I just stamped the motorcycle and phrase on a solid white card, then added a block of torn printed paper at the top and a strip of it at the bottom. You could also add a strip of ribbon (no bow) on top or bottom or   maybe even a piece of leather to embellish in a masculine form. I may add something else at a later time.

Motorcycles are not strictly masculine images, in fact, my Mother told me in her later years that she always wanted to ride a motorcycle, and it is on my Bucket List as well.  I wish everyone a wonderful week, stay cool, and I will see you again soon.

Leaf Background

Hello fellow stampers,
Today I am showing a leaf background I recently did for a card. Stamping on a piece of heavy watercolor paper, I stamped the Hero Arts Maple Leaf stamp in four colors of Memento Ink. I started with the Grape, then Potters Clay, Pear Tart, and finally London Fog. I tried to stamp the images in a random pattern, with the darker colors near the center and the lighter colors near the outside edge. When the card was filled with the maple leaf stamp, I took my stipple brush and the Potters Clay Memento Ink.

The stipple brush is a round shaped brush with all of its bristles flat that will touch the surface of the paper. To "stipple" take the brush in your hand like a pen, and tap the bristles into the stamp pad gently. The more times you tap, the more ink you will pick up on the brush.  Then gently tap in the vacant areas between the leaf stampings to get the "stippled effect."  Of course, you may do many layers of stippling to increase the color intensity if needed, but I usually go by the rule, "less is more!"

To finish this background, I used a colored Spica glitter pen matching each color of leaf, and put just a hint of sparkle on each leaf. You can then add a sentiment to your background if using it to make a card.
Stay cool, and have a happy day. Keep Stampin'!

Tribute to the 2012 Olympics

Well, the summer Olympic Games have begun in London, England. Here is my tribute card to the Summer Games.

This card was stamped with stamps from Paper Wings Productions, with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. First off, I stamped the background with the Writings Background stamp that is the postcard, twice on my piece of coral cardstock. Next, I stamped the Tower and the word "London" from the London Clear Set. Then on a separate sheet of white stock I stamped the Papier Family and dressed them in their USA colors (even the funny beannie hat). Lastly, I punched out the five rings for the Olympic Rings and colored them with my copic markers. I then added a little USA banner on a toothpick and matted the whole thing on a black cardstock, before mounting it on a base red card.

I stayed up way too late last night watching the opening ceremonies, but luckily while watching I finished my card. I wish the best of luck to all the athletes participating in the games, at least we will have something different to watch on TV for the next week!  Keep Creating!