Lessons

Hi and good morning.

I have writer's block.  

I'm sitting here trying to think of something clever or witty or interesting to say, and nothing is coming to mind.  Good grief, I've only had this blog since September 23, just 16 days, and I'm already out of things to say?

HA!  I think not!  I'm just drawing a blank at the moment.  A temporary setback.  I'm never far from lengthy conversation, even if it's with only myself.  As my teachers used to tell me in school as I was growing up, "Nice girl, talks too much."  Oh WELL.  People get nervous when I'm too quiet.  Past bosses, family members, friends...

But today, the chatter is on hold.  So I'll tell you about my card and leave it at that.  But just you wait, tomorrow will be a whole 'nother story.

So without further ado, here 'tis.  I made it for a couple of challenges over at SCS plus a couple on other sites (all challenges will be listed below).

One of the challenges was to use Midnight Muse, More Mustard and Rich Razzleberry, a rather difficult combination in my opinion.  It was DH's idea to combine the purple and gold in a sort of sunset appearance, so I brayered the two together on the background and put that on the dark blue layer.  After that, things came a little easier, especially since another challenge was to use humor and stitching.  I love humor.  I wasn't elected Class Clown in my senior year of high school for nothing.  (Part of the reason why people think something's wrong when I'm quiet, more than likely.)   Don't tell anyone, but I accidentally put the brayered layer on 90 degrees the wrong way.  Instead of the two colors being side to side, they were supposed to be top to bottom.  *sigh*  At least it was easy to fix.  I just flipped the sketch.  So that was Lesson #1 - pay attention at all times. 

I embossed the slipper in Ultra Thick Embossing Powder so as to imitate the appearance of glass.  I love that stuff - it always give me a charge to emboss, and the UTEE is just double, or even triple, the fun.  And I learned Lesson #2 - do NOT emboss before using a die punch.  Glass slippers break, even on paper.  (I had to redo it.)  

Since my craft room is too small to make cards and set up my sewing machine at the same time, I had to put faux stitching around the outside edge by hand using a Micron pen.  I also "stitched" around the image panel.  You guessed it, Lesson #3 - do hand stitching AFTER applying the panel.  Sheesh.

To finish things off, I popped up the image panel after adhering a knotted piece of seam binding between the layers, then I added three glittered Candis as the final touch.  I love these things, especially the "blanks" as pictured here.  You can color them, glitter them, shine them up, embellish them any number of ways which allows you to customize the look instead of buying them in every color of the rainbow.  And then trying to find storage for them all.  I colored mine with More Mustard marker and then applied glitter, using Aleene's Paper Glaze as the adhering agent.

And that is my card.  I sure hope I have more to say tomorrow.  Until then...

Happy Crafting!!

Challenges entered:

SCS - Color Challenge
SCS - Hope You Can Cling To
Charisma Cardz Challenge #39 - Badda Bing!
Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #169

Frosty Morn

Hello and good NON-frosty morning.

Actually we were pretty darn close to having a light frost the last couple of mornings and we had wonderfully cold, damp, dreary days where the inside lamps stayed on  and I wore a sweater and socks and long warm house pants all day.  Not very glamorous, but I LOVED it.  When the summers get as hot as they do here, we relish the first few days of fall-like weather.  But tomorrow we'll be back in the 80's for a few days, and that's ok too.  Beats temps in the triple digits....

Today's card is wishful thinking for me, and that is, I wish for snow every year.  No, not the light dusting or couple of inches we get most years but snow - REAL snow.  The kind that weighs down the branches of trees and piles up on the side of the road when the snowplows rumble by.  The kind that turns the world into a marshmallow-coated wonderland.  I lived high in the Colorado mountains for a few years back in the mid-90's and experienced winters like I'd never imagined.  The 10-ft. drifts re-landscaped the supermarket parking lot for the entire winter, turning the mundane task of parking into an all-out obstacle course.  Snowplows were as common as the sparrows in my yard, and leaves didn't attempt to peek out until June.  April was "mud month," and the first snows started flying on Halloween.  Those were long winters, but there was nothing like that blue light at night when snow covered everything, and that wonderful hush in the air as the snow absorbed sound.  I loved winter then, and I love it now.  Which brings me to my card...

OK, I don't recall ever seeing a sunrise quite so....yellow as this one, but I wanted to play with the technique.  Plus, one of the challenges for which I made this card was over at Alota Rubber Stamps in which the theme was to "brighten up your life."  (All challenges will be listed below.)  So I figured the sun ray technique qualified.  It would brighten up MY life if I saw it this way.  I ran across this technique here and I must say I will use this one a LOT.  It's so dramatic.  

BTW, the tree stamps are from Alota Rubber Stamps, too.  They come individually in four sizes and are so very useful.

I wanted to use some frosty paper but had none in my stash, so I made my own.  I used the emboss resist method and embossed the snowflakes on Whisper White using clear embossing powder then sponged over them with Tempting Turquoise, Marina Mist and Night of Navy.  The base card is Night of Navy, the first mat is Pacific Point, the next mat is Basic Black, on top of which I added my embossed layer.  The small pale blue layer is Annalee (Prima).  The main image is on Whisper White with Dazzling Diamonds accents here and there, both on the snow drifts and the tree in the foreground.  To get the appearance of depth, I used two sizes of tree stamps and stamped off once or twice for the more distant trees.  Of course, not all trees are straight.  I guess one was blown askew by the wind.  Hmmm...

The two Dienamics doily die cuts are Night of Navy and Whisper White.  I added Dazzling Diamonds to the tips of the navy doily and coated the white one in white (Pearl) Perfect Pearls for a frosty/metallic look.  The snowflakes are Whisper White, die cut with Dienamics snowflake dies, with Dazzling Diamonds and rhinestones added.  The greeting was stamped in Night of Navy then punched with Word Window and applied to a Modern Labels background, and like almost everything else, popped up on dimensionals.  SCS's challenge was to add dimension, after all.  And after all that, the result is wishful thinking on paper!  Bring on the snow!!

Hey. . . do you think there's enough sparkle and shine? 

This card is entered in the following challenges:

SCS - Add Dimension - TLC398
Alota Rubber Stamps - Brighten Up Your Life - ALOTA92
Charisma Cardz Challenges - Challenge #39
The Sweet Stop - SSS179

  

Well, that's it for today.  Thanks for looking and here's to snowy winters!

Happy Crafting!!

Hope You Can Cling To

Hello!!

Today's card is another one that I've made for the SCS HYCCT (Hope You Can Cling To) month-long card challenge. 

 

Today's challenge was to incorporate pink and music into the card.  That was easy - I LOVE pink and music. The card itself, though, took well over 4 hours to make.  It always takes me a while to put papers together, dies and all that, but this time I incorporated several new (to me) techniques as well.  Take the flowers.  These were the first ones I made using my new Spellbinders Rose Creations die. 

 I painted them before assembly using two colors of Creative Inspirations paints for each rose.  (All roses started out dark cream.)  I added Dazzling Diamonds when they were finished.  LOVE DD!!  I also painted the green leaf flourishes with two shades of green CI paints.  (They started out as Old Olive.)   I applied Perfect Pearls Gold in a somewhat haphazard fashion to the edges of the brown doily diecut as I wanted it to look somewhat "tarnished."  I distressed the edges of the base layer after first stamping the musical background image with Versamark and embossing it with a blend of brown, metallic gold, and Iridescent Ice embossing powders.  You can see it shimmer in the picture if the light hits it just right.

The bottom doily diecut is gold glitter paper, and the heart, which is chipboard in response to another challenge (all challenges will be listed below), was punched from a cereal box, painted with several layers and colors of CI paint, then embossed with two layers of UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Powder).  It gives it a nice glossy shine and looks like a little charm.  

I like how the sentiment ("golden thread") tied in with the gold doily and the heart charm.

I used last week's Mojo Monday sketch.

 

This card was entered in the following challenges:

Hope You Can Cling To #1207
TTSTV#18
CCEE Stampers
Mojo Monday

Thank you for looking, and Happy Crafting!!!
 

Sparkle and Shine

Hello!

Today I have pictures of the project I finished during my craft day with my DD on Friday.  I had mentioned that I was working on a vintage lady's hand mirror, the kind that all ladies I knew had back in the 60's.  OK, I only knew my mother and grandmother and the neighbors on either side of us, but they all had these types of mirrors.  As I have since discovered when buying this mirror, some were beveled, some not.  Some had decorations on their backs, some didn't.  But ALL were a symbol (along with their matching comb and brush sets) of female adulthood, and I loved primping in front of the mirror with that of my grandmother.  (I know my mother had one, I just don't remember playing with it.)  Sadly, by the time I reached my own coming of age, these were considered passé.

I would love to say that is a family heirloom, but if it were, then I'd probably be too afraid of "ruining" it.  As it is, I bought this one off of eBay for just a few dollars.  (I bought one for my DD, too, who has already mosaiced hers and taken it home.)  It was a quick project, much quicker than my previous pieces, and I absolutely LOVE it.  It now resides on my dressing table.  Will I use it?  I don't know.  But it sure looks nice there.  

Here 'tis.

It is brass and quite heavy.

This was a tarnished metal piece that I couldn't remove.  I think it was a bunch of grapes.  So I covered it with a blend of copper, gold and pink glitters.  Glitter fixes everything.

 

 
Some of the jewelry is true vintage, some is only vintage-looking.  Some pieces are left whole, others are taken apart, of which only pieces are used.  There are glass pieces, colored mirror, pearls, shells, but most of all, there is sparkle and shine.  Because that is what makes me happy.

And last but not least, there is a card to share.

 It is one of my few CAS cards and is my first time to make rosettes (this was my third attempt).  There is a Dienamics doily diecut under the rosette, a glittery (of course) brad in the middle, and some dry embossing to make those white spaces a little less bare.  Sponged a little Soft Suede around the edges, and it was done.  Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla formed the base and top layer respectively. 

This card was entered into the following challenges:

HYCCT1205
SC405
F4A137 
The Craft's Meow WCMD 2012


Have a lovely day and happy crafting!!

Fall color

Today is Oct. 6, and it is finally beginning to feel like the seasons are changing.  Everything is still lovely and green, but the temps made it down to the low 50's (maybe even upper 40's?) which means the leaves are going to finally start changing color.  But for now, here is an example of fall color in my little corner of the world.

And...








Forgive the odd light, it was late at night and I had several lights turned on the subject.  My DD picked these flowers yesterday morning.  The hot pink roses (Maggie) are sooo fragrant.  So while much of the country is enjoying cooler weather, we are still having blooms and fragrance in our gardens.  At least the weather has turned considerably cooler for us, too.  Fall is the second best season for roses, with spring being the first.  They are too tired and hot to do much in the summer, but they come back nicely in the fall.







  And now on to my card for today.

I made this card for a few challenges:  "Strip, Please" HYCCT1204 challenge, which was to use strips of whatever, i.e. fabric, ribbon, paper, anything. I used a MS punch for the bottom pink CS strip and two kinds of ribbon for the other two strips. This is also for MFT's sketch challenge and Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge, which was to Think Pink (and color with Copics, if possible, which I did). I stamped the bottom layer of pink CS (Prima) with Stampendous Faded Text Background in Soft Suede, stamping off once for a lighter effect. The angel background was chalked in blue, plus I added gold glitter to her horn and hem.

This card was also entered in the CopicsOz challenge , "Think Pink!," which you should go check out.  They're offering a fab prize and lots of inspiration for making cards for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  For EVERY card entered, $5 will go to the McGrath Foundation who do such amazing work supporting those affected by Breast Cancer, generously donated by X-Press Graph-X!

Here is the MFT sketch.  I love these kinds of sketches with lots of layers and shapes.

  

 Tomorrow  I will share the results of yesterday's crafting day with my DD.  I finished my project and will post pictures.  Until then, have a great day and happy crafting!!

It's Craft Day!

Hello to another beautiful day. 

It's beautiful because I get to spend the entire day with my DD who is coming over to craft with me on her day off (from school and work).  All.  Day.  Long.  These days fly by and we are always sorry at the end of the day because we have so much fun sitting at the breakfast table just crafting away.  During the winter she made cards with me in my craft room upstairs where it was nice and warm, but during the spring and summer we've been mosaicing with various items, mostly vintage, or vintage-looking rhinestone jewelry, but also beads, small pieces of colored mirror, game pieces, pearls, etc.  We usually have tea in the afternoons with the full English tea layout (teapot, china cups, silver tea strainer, the works), but sometimes we just have it in mugs with teabags.  She stays for dinner, after which we watch a couple of tv shows, and then she leaves.  It's always fun, and we're always sorry the day has to end.  The good news is she'll be back a week later, sometimes sooner!

This is the craft table (and visiting artist) in the middle of the day.  It's quick work to clean up, though it doesn't appear to be so.  Someday I hope to have a craft room where I can leave everything out...

Right now I'm working on a vintage ladies hand mirror, visible in the foreground, and DD's working on a wooden cigar box.  I will post pictures of finished pieces when they're...well, finished.  :)

In the meantime, here is today's card. 

I made it for a couple of challenges, CC395 over at SCS and TTSTV#17 over at MFP, a Heinrich Co. 

I was to use the colors Perfect Plum, Tangerine Tango, Summer Starfruit and for dessert, Pool Party.  The Tutorial was how to make a flap card.  It was much easier than I expected.  I used velcro dots as the closure and SU Floral District DSP.  I colored the butterfly with watercolor pencils, using the SU Blender Pen.  Embossed the TT layer with the Swiss dots embossing folder, layered the centerpiece onto a Dienamics doily diecut and popped it up on dimensionals.   Added a little glitter to the body and there you have it - a fun, flap card!

Thanks for looking and I hope you have as wonderful a day as I'm going to have!

Happy Crafting!! 

Hi and good morning.

I made today's card a couple of days ago in response to a couple of challenges over on MFP: 

Simple Salutations #12 

Sketch with a Twist #13

The SS challenge was to use a transportation vehicle and include a greeting on the card front, and the sketch challenge was as follows:

 

 

It's a simple little card.  Measurements are 51/2 x 51/2 and the base layer is Soft Suede.  I used Crumb Cake SU DSP Stack Neutrals for the first layer and stamped it with the flourish from the Creative Elements stamp set.  The hubcaps are heat embossed with SU silver ep; however, they aren't reflecting light in the photo.  (I guess I need to improve the light source.)  The clouds were sponged with Bashful Blue, using a scalloped punch as the mask.  I colored the truck image with various SU inks and watercolor brushes.  Double punched the side border with a MS punch and finished things off with crochet trim, jute twine, a vintage button from a local thrift shop and a Tiny Trinket.

 

That's all I have for today.  I'm a little behind on my cards and will be spending the day in the craft room.  

Have a lovely day and happy crafting!!

Challenges

I'm a little late posting today because I wanted to finish today's featured card which I started last night.  The title of my post is "Challenges," and part of the reason for that is because this card ambitiously fulfills FOUR of them (see below), but also because starting a card at night is a challenge which I don't think I'll be repeating for a while.  I do my best work during the day but I got behind yesterday and just HAD to make a card.  Or so I thought.  I can't tell you how much poor CS I butchered.  Things went wrong, I cut some more.  This didn't look right, I redid it.  It was like sinking in quicksand - the more I struggled, the deeper I sank.  So I finally left it alone to finish up this morning.  Of course things went wrong again and I redid them, but there you have it.  Sometimes the simplest things prove to be the biggest challenges.  I won't share the things I could have done to make this card better - they are always so clear when everything's permanently attached and can't be redone.  :)  So without further ado, here is my "challenging" card for the day:

As mentioned above, this card fulfills four challenges (the most I've ever attempted at one time):

SCS TLC397 Try a New Technique (woven background)
SCS HYCCT1201A "Show Me What You're Made Of"
SSS178 (Sweet 'N' Sassy Stamps Sketch)
FOSTV Challenge #40 (use chipboard)

The new technique is the woven background.  I left that as the main focus rather than a background because it is so pretty I just didn't want to cover it up.  The chipboard tag was made from a cereal box (why buy when I have plenty of it in my pantry) and painted with several layers of Creative Inspirations paint.  The papers used are all from Basic Grey's Sugar Rush 6x6 paper pad.  The sketch speaks for itself, and the "Show Me" challenge over at SCS was to make a card which displayed one's personality in papercrafting.  Mine is that I love color, I love bows and flowers, and I LOVE lots of stuff on my cards.  No CAS for this girl!

The last challenge is part of a month-long card drive over at Splitcoaststampers who has teamed up with the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center to benefit those affected by breast cancer. So please go over and check this forum out - it's for a wonderful cause.

I'm off for the day.  My mother is coming for a couple of days, my house is a mess, and I've spent my morning in my craft room being challenged.   Ha!

Have a wonderful day, and happy crafting!  

And so it begins...

... the approach of the holiday season.  I always find that from Oct. 1 on, the weeks pick up speed until suddenly it's Christmas, and where in the world did Autumn go?  Just yesterday I noticed that the sun is not in my eyes anymore as it edges over the horizon out my office window as I sit here at the computer, whereas I usually have to close the blinds a bit so I can see the screen.  Fall is here.

Today is Oct. 1 and I had fully intended to decorate the house for Autumn/Halloween yesterday, but somehow I managed to spend most of the day on the computer learning (always learning) about paper crafting and blogging and/or watching our beloved Texas Rangers lose, then win, in a nail-biting double header.  We are one game away from making the playoffs and are so excited we can hardly stand it.

Today's card is Autumn-themed (again).  It seems that most of the blog challenges out there right now have Autumn and leaves/harvest as their themes, and I'm discovering that I quite love the colors associated with this time of year.  I used to be an all pink/purple kind of gal, but that's been changing for a while and I'm really enjoying putting together fall-themed cards.  (However, come Spring, I will be back to loving pink and purple.  :) ) 

This one was made for last week's SCS Free for All Friday Challenge as well as TCM's September Sketch Challenge. I used the thumping technique and misted the SU Gently Falling stamp with water before stamping to give it a more watercolored look.  I stamped SU River Rock DSP Stack with Everything Eleanor (flourish), in Soft Suede, stamping off once each time to give it a softer effect.  Added the sentiment on a Word Window piece on top of a Grommet Tag diecut and finished it off with a couple of Candi's, a couple of Antique Trinkets (SU) and a dash of seam binding.  

And now I think I am ready for the holiday season to officially begin.  Maybe saying it out loud will make it so.

Welcome, Fall.

Have a wonderful day out there and happy crafting!!