Going Away

Hey Guys! I am going up to St. Louis in the a.m. to Six Flags and then to see some stuff in the city until Sunday. I have a bunch of great posts scheduled, but sometimes that doesn't work for me, so I hope they go through!

I will 'leave' you with this sweet little card I made. I stamped the owl on patterned paper with versamark, heat embossed him, cut him out, punched out the eyes, and added him to white cardstock over top of the same image, I cut that out and popped it off a craft card. The flourish on the left was stamped with clear embossing powder and the letters are Foam Thickers.

Christmas in July '09

I LOVE to make Christmas cards. It is one of my favorite things about being a paper crafter! Recently, I was cleaning out my card stash and I found this fabulous design using non-traditional colors. This card was created by my cousin Stormi a few years ago! I love it!!

I signed up for a card swap and I decided to use her card as my inspiration.

I used paper from Perfect Day. I used a stamp set called Magical season. I stamped the tree and star with blush ink, versamark and silver pearl embossing powder. I used a corner rounder, scalloped edge punch, and some bulk ribbon to create 12 of these 4X4 cards.


I am REALLY struggling with my 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 cards that I am also swaping. I have them started, but I can't decide where to go from here...I thought I was going to use a big star from Shining star, but it just isn't looking good....I dunno, off to surf for ideas! Thanks for reading!!

Swap Club Thursday!!

Its time for the swap club this Thursday! I am excited about my card this week. The theme was to use your favorite stamp or paper to create a card. I decided to use a wonderful owl stamp set to create my own background on a craft card base. Then I attached a glittery floral strip from K&Co. along with a sweet sentiment and another owl using pop dots. I love this little card! The stitching around the edges was created with a white gel pen. I can never make every card exactly the same...so all the cards have different colors and different owls.



Here are some cards from the last swap club. I think they are terrific! The theme was to 'create' your own embellishments.

Next month the theme is 'wedding or baby congratulations.' I haven't decided if I am going to make a few of each.....or all baby...or all wedding...


One of my favorite things about the swap club is teaching everyone something new...or allowing them to practice something they haven't done in a while. I don't send them home with extra cards, but we make a couple of little tags for this technique 'mini-book'


This week I am focusing on patterned paper once again. I get to use up scraps of paper left over from various workshops and projects. I can offer this little swap 'class' for free because we are making cheap little tags and not big cards with bases and embellishments and foam adhesive.

First, I will show everyone one of my least favorite patterned papers. I will explain that I can jazz it up by using an embossing pen and clear embossing powder. Then I will show them how to stamp an owl on to watercolor paper using Juniper and then Cocoa slightly off-set so it will look a bit like an authentic bock print.

Second, I will show them how to stamp on the back of patterned paper and then cut around their image and use only the patterned paper and the shape of the stamp, not the actual texture or color of the image. We will also do some crinkling, sanding, and inking for a distressed look.



Did you notice? All of my cards have an owl this week! Yay!! I haven't featured an owl on any of my workshop cards so I thought it would be fun to go owl crazy this week. I am also letting everyone practice adding eyelets if they want to. The Crop-A-Dile is new to me...and I love it!

Only 7 more days of summer school!! I am soooo ready for some time off! Expect daily posts!! Thanks for reading!

Fun Notebook!

Hey guys!!

For summer school this year, I am teaching 4-6 grade. Our pod theme is CSI...hmmm...It was my idea, but as the art teacher, I had to be really creative in coming up with art projects for the week. I decided to have the students make their own detective notebook using craft paper, typing paper and some embroidery floss. I have tons of embroidery floss donated by a parent. Another teacher gave me large needles to use that are not too sharp. Students get to sew the binding and then stamp on the front and I emboss it for them. The students really enjoyed the process of sewing--even the boys! They fold the paper in half, poke 8 holes with a tack (using a piece of scrap cardboard underneath to protect the table), and then they sew, it is very easy!


I knew I would need a really wet ink for the embossing powder to stick so I looked around for something that would do the trick. I found a multi-color package of Colorbox Chalk Ink in Sax, an arts and crafts catalog.
Colorbox Chalk ink from Sax is an 18 color-set for around $40.

I thought it was a great deal and the ink is so beautiful on the craft paper. I ordered some animal tracks/paw print stamps to use on the cover because they were the most 'clue-like.'




This is a fun little project that takes less than an hour, it would be a fun craft if you have kids (even boys!) at home this summer and you are looking for something to do with them. You could use patterned paper on the front, they could stamp some of the pages and then they would have a little note book to use for drawings and notes...perfect for pretending! The students have been walking around the room pretending to be interviewing each other and writing down clues, it is so cute!

We are also solving some mysteries and using the characters, stolen items and getaway cars as subject matter for a glow-in-the-dark/neon-black light reactive paintings!

So much to share, so little time...here is a small taste of all the goody goodness.....

Oh, mygoodness......Summer school is exhausting! The first day, I taught how to make a little notebook (with hand-sewn stitching and embossing on the cover...I promise, pictures soon!) for my little 3rd and 4th grade detectives to use during our week-long session. My class was so cute today, they took their notebooks around with them to the various stations led by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, taking notes and writing down observations. After only two days....I am pooped.... Tonight I did a bit of shopping and I have been hard at work creating examples and product supply packets for my workshop next Monday. I will post pictures of those later....

My camping trip was awesome!! I didn't make anything for 4 days....by the time I got home I was having major withdrawls....(I did take a sketchbook. I wrote several goodies and did a few drawings....I might post some snipits of that later). Worst part about being gone for so long: I haven't even uploaded the pictures from my camera yet! Usually I do that every SINGLE day!!

I have lots of wonderful pictures and experiences to share...but right now my brain is a bit fried so I will keep this simple. Here is my father's day card. I will probably end up making 2 cards...because I will need one for the FIL of course. This one is for my dad because he is a fisherman. He taught me a lot about fishing as a kid, and I still use that knowledge now. When I showed this card to my husband...he really liked it! He said it is one of my best cards, it is different from other things that I normally make! YAY!! Enjoy!!


(In case you can't tell from the picture, the canoe has silver embossing)

Color Me Monday...the last one for May!!

This week's color combination is a tough one for me. I don't have all the ink colors or all the paper colors so I had to improvise!

I focused on clear embossing for the background and texture paper on petal card stock. Then I stamped the 'vine' on white daisy. I made the vine using a flourish and a leaf from 2 different stamp sets.

A simple card, thanks for reading!!

Celebrate with a robot

Well, I am waiting on cookies to bake so I thought I would make a quick post and then I can take them out of the oven and go to bed.

I usually only pull out the silver embossing around Christmas time, but it was perfect for this 'boy' robot birthday card. I love this stamp set, Little Boys...it has been around for a while, but it is new to me. I used the sports paper pack...I have a ton of it left after a workshop. One of the best parts about this card: silver gel pen. SOOO Simple and it gives it that 'just' something that it needs to finish it off.

Hope you are having a great week! I am looking forward to the weekend!!


On a side note...my blog is nearing 10,000 hits...I will be posting some blog candy soon!!

Spring Thank you Card

I got a new stamp set last week and I was excited to use it over the weekend while trying out some new techniques I learned.

The first one is from scrapbook.com. In the video, I watched someone used the reverse side of a clear stamp. Hmmm....cool. First, I used Versamark, sweet leaf ink and clear embossing powder for the green stems and leaves. Then I stamped the reverse side of flower with 2nd generation blush ink and then the normal side, I used full ink. I added tulip ink for the smaller flower in the center. I wiped off the embossed green areas because they resisted the ink, keeping the green and pink from mixing.



The second one is from the Cosmo Cricket blog. I learned how to wrap embroidery thread around a 'snot dot' to make the middle of a flower. I also added a button, but I covered it with the little butterfly in the middle. I used a punch for the flower, and curled the petals up with my fingernail. I 'grounded' the flowers by using a blending pen in some brown ink. I also used a 1" circle punch on the edge of the colonial white cardstock to add some visual interest.

The paper, stamps and ink are Close to My heart. The butterfly punch is Martha Stewart.

50 is rounding a big corner....

For Tuesday's 365 card Challenge: I'm Rounding a Corner I decided to make a card for my boss. She is 50 this week and she is also retiring this year!!

This card features some stamping in the background. I tried to put use words that would encourage her to relax and lighten up as she looks forward to retirement. She is so young!!

The stamps are from Close to My Heart and the ink color is Tulip. (One of my new faves.) I also stamped some swirls in the background with Versamark and rubbed chalk over the entire area so that the stamped images would be a little darker than the softer pink of the cardstock. This is a really fun technique that I taught at a crop this weekend.

For the '50' I did some embossing on vellum. I used my coluzzle to cut out the circle and then paper pierced the edge. The crocheted ribbon, ric rac and velvet are from Making Memories. I love, love adding a hat pin to my cards. I also added a fancy silver brad from CTMH.



One really cool feature of this card is the clear embellishment. I used a heat tool to soften the plastic so that I could bend the petals and make them stick up. This was soo fun!! Other details include a button, a punched flower and corner rounded edges...since this is supposed to be part of the challenge...lol....

Enjoy!

I stamp alot.

Hey everyone!!
Wow, I have some new 'followers.' Thank you to everyone who visits my blog. I appreciate all of the sweet comments. Your support keeps me motivated to make better artwork and post my creations.

It is Sunday night...
I just got all the laundry caught up and I am watching some t.v. I thought I would post a couple of cards that I have made over the last few weeks. I got a lot done this weekend at a crop. I don't have any pictures of that stuff yet though... The crop this weekend was a fund raiser. I put a bunch of my cards in a basket and sold them. I donated all of the money to the Chidlren's Haven. It felt really good that my work was for a good cause.

Some of these cards were sold, a couple of them I still have because they will be used as examples at some upcoming workshops. All of the papers and stamps are Close to My Heart. There are a few buttons that are just from my stash. If you want any details from any of the cards, just ask. I admitted recently that I am addicted to 365 cards, but it feels good to post some cards that I designed without any help from a challenge...lol. Enjoy!!

More 365 Cards

Okay, I am addicted to 365 cards....last night I spent hours thinking about each card on my list...yeah, thats right, I made a to-do list and 4 of this week's 365 cards were at the top.....The only one not on my list was the Sketchy Sunday...I am not really all that into sketch challenges. If you aren't feeling any mojo, go on over to 365 cards and check out all of the other great entries, I am sure something will spark your creative bug!! Here are a few that idid last night.

The first one is inspired by this add.

I chose to do some background stamping, I sort of wish I would've done some white embossing, but the clear embossing gives it a bit of a sheen. This is a non-traditional size for me so that is good. Also, I rarely make cards that would be appropriate for a sympathy card and I think this one will fit the bill perfectly.



This card came with a printable 'I Love You' crossword. I decided to make it for a boy, like a brother or male cousin. I subdued the 'I Love You' under vellum and part of a Hambly transparency. I added a chipboard shape covered in orange ink, liquid glass and rhinestone eyes. For the right edge, I lined up some stick-on brads and I stamped rockstar for the sentiment. This isn't one of my favorite cards, but it will be nice to have a BOY card on hand!!


This card was made for the Touchy Feely Friday. Different textures include the metal o n the brads, the ribbon and pearl combo, and the silver pearl embossing on the vellum and chipboard. The lace even adds a bit of its own texture. I really like this card!!

Anything but that.....

Over at 365 cards, the challenge is to use a color that we don't like using. I generally shy away from the gray/yellow/white combination. I made this card last night and it was torturous. The yellow is embossed on vellum with another version of the image under the raised up die cut so it looks a little like a hollogram. The word 'friend' is stamped in gray. Everything on this card is Close to My Heart. I actually really, really like how this card turned out.

Color Inspiration Challenge #46

Yahoo!! I was so excited to see that this week's color inspiration challenge had a really light blue. I have been playing around with embossing on vellum. I got a new silver pearl embossing powder so I put Versamark on the stamp and then Crystal blue ink, then I sprinkle with the powder and it gives me this great pearly blue, perfect for butterfly wings. Anyway, this card is for Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration challenge #46.

Don't ya just love that foundry bookplate. I decided to leave off black and use this dark metal as a substitute. At the bottom, I did some paper piercing and faux stitching with a white jell pen. I also use a Martha Stewart lace punch for the patterned paper. The ribbon is some that I had in my stash and the pearl pin is a corsage pin, quickly becoming one of my favorite things to use on a card!! Enjoy!!

Color Inspiration Challenge #43

For this week's Color Inspiration Challenge I have decided to get out a butterfly stamp from last year. This stamp set is from Close to My Heart. I love it!! I have used it a lot. I decided to get a jump on birthday and Mother's Day Cards for my mom since she loves butterflies, I will be giving these to her. The first card is for the color challenge and the second card is for fun. I tried to match the colors as closely as I could....I don't have any orange ink so I had to be creative, I mixed holiday red and honey to get the orangy color....I don't think it is pumpkin pie, but it is close enough. Also, I used a garden green instead of old olive.


I stamped the images in regular ink, then went over each stamp with a Versamark and then used clear embossing powder, then I hand cut each butterfly out and attached it with a glue dot. These were really fun to make, I plan to make more! I think I will get a shadow box for my mom...she used to have a butterfly collection, I will be making her something for her birthday that resembles a shadow box....sort of like this card. She will love it!