All About Me!

Hello fellow paper artists,
Several years ago I attended a class at one of my local scrapbook stores, and took a class on making a scrapbook, "All About Me"!  I filled an 8"X8" scrapbook with pages from the class, and when it was over we persuaded the instructor to teach another series of classes to continue with the theme. When these classes were complete, I still had several blank pages in my album, so whenever I feel like making another page for the album, I do so.

I was designing a page for a challenge at Paper Wings Productions, and using one of their stamp sets; Vintage Technology, I made the following page to submit.  My background paper was an oriental design from the "Far East" paper collection and the center bracket design was from the Paper Wishes Card Topper series. I colored the bracket design and all of the  technological parts with copic markers. I then used one of the Hot Off the Press Label Templates to make accent borders to go around each of the vintage items. I used 3M foam tape to pop up each vintage item in the label to give the page more texture and movement.  For my title strip,  I printed my saying on the computer, and then adhered it to the middle of a punched strip of card stock, using an EKSuccess border punch. I also added a few strips of coordinating ribbon to the right hand corner, and my page was done.

Scrapbooks can be lots of fun, and also helpful when trying to remember occasions and dates. My only problem was waiting 40+ years to start making the album and trying to get my brain activated enough to remember everything I wanted to remember!

I hope I have inspired you to start an album of your memories while they are still fresh in your mind, before they
get all moldy in your brain, like mine.  Have a great day!

Tags to Go!

Hello fellow paper artists and friends,
Today I want to share with you three tags that I made this week. Tags are almost as much fun to make as greeting cards, and as far as I'm concerned they are just as fun to receive.

The first tag is a beautiful butterfly that was stamped on watercolor paper, colored with copic markers, cut out, and glue dotted to the gift tag. I stamped the tag with an oval black frame, cut the inside out and the glued a piece of patterned paper behind it (pink roses).I then  stamped several daisy flower stamps, colored each, cut out, and adhesive dotted each.  I stamped the word "beauty" at top of the tag, and began to adhere the butterfly, and daisies to the tag in a pleasing manner.  I then added three tiny jewels to the word, and a lovely pink ribbon to match the coloring of the tag.

The middle tag was one done in the "Steampunk" style to some degree. I used my rusty hinge Tim Holtz Distress Ink pad to distress the edge of the tag, and then adhered a steampunk design from a Graphics 45 paper pad. I couldn't find my metal gears and sprockets, so I used unfinished buttons from Maya Road, a few stick-on pearls from Reflections, for embellishments. I tied a knot in my matching ribbon and fed it through the button at the top of the tag, and glued a small rope of sisal string that I braided together across the front of the tag.

The last tag was very simple. I cut a piece of printed paper to fit the front of the tag and adhered it in place. I then stamped the Beagle stamp from Impression Obsession on a scrap of card stock, colored it in with copic markers, and cut it out. I used several squares of 3M foam tape to adhere it and give dimension. I then stamped the word "smile" and three assorted flowers with Memento ink, cut them out, and adhered to finish off the tag. I also tied an overhand know with a matching ribbon to the top.

Tags can be used on gifts to match the theme of the celebration, or used on greeting cards to give an added touch of dimension.  Whether you use them as is, or combine them with others, tags are a fun addition to your paper arts repitior.  Until next time, "keep on stampin".

GO SPURS GO!

What can be said?  Here in San Antonio we have an NBA Team we are so proud of, and they are in the NBA Play-Offs again. Magnolia Stamps has "Tilda with Basketball" and I love to dress her in my favorite team colors.

I have a few good friends that used to live in San Antonio and follow the Spurs, so when the team makes the play-offs, some of them get a special card.  This year's "Drive for Five" championship slogan inspired me to make this card using the teams black and silver colors to make a simple card with several layers of paper and my "Tilda" stamp.

 I colored Tilda with copic markers and the small background rectangle behind her in copics also, adding layers of shading.  The dotted layer is a printed paper layered on a black card base. I stamped the letters directly on the printed paper, and accented them with a silver Spica Glitter Pen. The letters don't show the glitter in the photo, but in person it is very glittery.

San Antonians wish their Spurs Good Luck! in the play-offs, and as we say around here, GO SPURS GO!

Best Day Ever

Today has been the "best day ever"! The day started out cloudy and dreary.  I remembered that I needed to work on my artist trading cards (ATC's) for the June trade coming up in a few weeks. I figured today would be a good day to get started on them. It usually takes me several days of playing with my supplies to decide what I want to do.

I guess to start with, I should explain a little about artist trading cards for those who aren't familiar with them.  ATC's are like baseball cards that children used to trade years ago. The size is very specific:
2 1/2" X 3 1/2". ALWAYS!  Artists and crafters usually make them  to trade with other artists and crafters, sometimes in local groups, during Arts & Crafts fairs and conventions, and through the Internet.
I personally belong to a group here in San Antonio where I live, and we meet on the first Tuesday of the month at our local rubber stamp store.

The groups you trade with usually assign topics or themes for the cards you will trade. Cards traded at craft fairs and conventions can usually be any theme you wish,which makes them lots of fun because you can whip up a few while trying out new products, new stamps, and  new inks. Whatever your media of choice! Some people even use their trading cards as business cards, to advertise what types of art or crafts they do.  Anyway, my topics for this upcoming trade are;Zentangle/Doodling or "One Stamp". Our group decided to use the "Umbrella Man" stamp from Tim Holtz designs. While playing and trying to decide which media and type of materials I wanted to use on my cards, I put together this card using some scraps of card stock and ribbons that were left from a greeting card I made yesterday. I have an envelope where I keep images that I have stamped and colored (like the butterfly above) and then I can use them on ATC's whenever I need a focal point.

So, my day turned out to be a great one, because I decided on the cards I will make for the up coming trade, I got a few "scrappy" ones made using scraps from my stamping table, and the sun came out from behind the clouds and it turned out to be the best day ever!  Hope you had a good one, too!

Layers and Layers of Papers

Happy Wednesday everyone,
Today has been a bright and sunny day, so I decided to create a card with a beautiful sunflower on it. As you may notice, I love Magnolia Stamps and the little girl, Tilda. This company creates a line of rubber stamps that centers around Tilda and Edwin, their pets, their adventures and their surroundings.  I would have all of their stamps if I could afford them, but the ones I do have really make me happy. Especially since I use them quite often to practice coloring and blending colors with my Copic Markers.

For this card, Tilda with Sunflower, I started with a pre-embossed base card and layered five different prints and solids of scrapbook and art papers. I stamped the Magnolia stamp of Tilda and her flower on watercolor paper. If you have ever used Copic markers before, you know that they are an alcohol based art marker that will bleed through many papers.  The watercolor paper is a bit thicker than regular card stock and the alcohol ink does not bleed through quite as much. When you are blending the copic colors, the watercolor paper absorbs quite a bit of ink, but it gives quite a crisp detail to the image. I also stamped a great saying stamp by Amuse Art stamps.

I then started building layers of papers, solids and prints alike, to fill in the front of the card. I love going to http://magnolia-licious.blogspot.com to see what other fans of these cutie-pie stamps have done with them. Other Magnolia fans decorate their cards with all sorts of flowers and ribbons and many, many embellishments which make very beautiful cards. Mine are just a little simpler.

Get out and enjoy the sunshine if you can, and remember my wish for you; "may your days be filled with sparkles and sunshine"!

Hello . . . . is anyone out there?

Hello,
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  I was busy making a very good friend of mine a special gift to send to her. I know many people are no longer in need of what we used to call in the "olden days", a pocket telephone book.  She recently lost her cell phone, along with all her "numbers." She was in a tizzy rushing around trying to find telephone numbers for all of the people she had in her phone. "If I hadn't tossed out my old phone book, I could just get them from there!" she said.

I took card stock and made two covers about 3"X5" and added some ribbon pieces for decoration. Then using a clear stamp set from Paper Wings Productions called "Vintage Technology" stamped the "old timey" telephone on a scrap of white card stock. Using my Tim Holtz Distress Markers, I colored in the phone with an olive green and old paper color combination, and used a 3M foam dot to adhere it to the front. In the same stamp set was the word "hello", so I used it to stamp the words all around the card.  I made a title strip with handwritten words "Number Please" and pop dotted it to the top of the book.

For the inside, I copied some generic lined paper on my computer, trimmed it to size, and adhered it to the inside so that names and numbers and other information could be entered into the book.

New technology is wonderful, but sometimes the "old timey things" are handy to have. Even when we think we are "techno savvy!" Until next time, call a friend you haven't seen in awhile, and let them know how much you miss them.  It will make you both feel so good!

Happy Mother's Day to Mothers everywhere!

Here is a card I submitted to a challenge on the Paper Wings Productions blog.paper-wings-productions.blogspot.com/ It was for their Flight Plan Challenge 002.

Using large chipboard letters, I traced around the letters; M-O-M and then using my x-acto knife cut out the excess paper to leave just the letters as the front flap of the card. I then inked around each letter with an Old Paper Distressed Ink Pad and blending tool from Tim Holtz. Then using one of Post Script Press' framer stamp sets from Paper Wings, I stamped out several frames from card stock and cut each one out. 

 The interior of the card, I covered in a scrap of printed scrapbook paper and added several strips of decorative ribbon, knowing it would show through between the letters. I then picked out photos to go behind the frames, and labeled the frames with "me", "you", and "us", "2012".  The small word stamps are included in the sets with the frame. I situated the frames on the outside of the card, covering my "Happy Mother's Day" message inside. To top it off I tied a simple bow on the top of the first "M".

When you make this card for other occasions, you have to concentrate completely when tracing your letters on the reverse side of the front flap. You have to remember to mirror image your letters in reverse order or your word may not come out correctly. "Mom" is easy because it is spelled correctly front-to back, and back-to-front. Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there!

Fiesta Party Girl

This is a fun card I made for Fiesta this year using one of the awesome Magnolia stamps, "Tilda Running" I believe.I stamped her out on white cardstock and colored her with Copic markers. I then took a piece of printed scrapbook paper and added it to the front of my quarter-fold card. I off-set the fold and punched the top flap of the card with the Martha Stewart Swirl edge punch so it would show the word dots placed on the inside edge of the back of the card. I then stamped the letters, F I E S T A on the colored dots to show when the card was closed. I then colored the headwreath to match the colors of the pattered paper, and tied tiny ribbons to the edges, and stamped the word "Celebrate!" below her feet in the open space.

I have several friends that have lived in San Antonio for many years, but now live elsewhere in the United States, and they love being reminded of the great times had at Fiesta in San Antonio.

This would also make a wonderful birthday card or even a "cheer Up" I'm thinking of you card.