Christmas Cards

Wow, I can't believe I have not updated this blog since July! Here are three of the designs I used for my Christmas cards this year. THe first 2 cards use stamps from the TAC set Christmas Fun(T1253) and the last one uses a set from the fall suplement called Homespun Holliday(T2976). If you want to know how I made them, shoot me an email.

Serendipity

Last week I was making a card using Heiroglyph Horses and wanted to see how the Jumbo Java color would look embossed on the light green textured paper. So I practiced on a smaller piece not intended for my card that I was making(see post from July 17). Anyways, that practice piece was laying out on my work table and today I decided to incorporate it into a birthday card I needed to make. I planned to have the green sheet matted squarely by the brown sheet, but when I dropped them both, they landed at angles to each other-I liked the look and decided to stay with it.

that's serendipity!

Simple Sketches

This card was created from a Paperwings sketch challenge yesterday. I have never made a card from a sketch, believe it or not, and I now think this a great way to go when you can't think of a design layout. This is different, too, from "casing" a card-that is, making one to look just like, or very similar, to another because you start with only a sketch or drawing. You still have to decide on color, images, embellishments etc.

I used the heiroglyph horses and linear sentiments stamp sets as well as Sands of Time paper. The horse and dots were stamped with Jumbo Java VersaMagic ink and embossed with clear powder. If you read this and are inspired, I would love to see a card you make with this same design.

I am back from Rhode Island.

My angel friend Sandy invited me to her home for her catalog debut today. She had Penelope and Angelee papers cut out for 2 make and takes. The card on the right I made using Angelee paper and the Build a Floewer set. The other is a 6x6 scrapbook page using the Penelope paper and the More Abundance stamp set. I plan to put a picture of my grand daughter on it using the punched flowers as corners.

travelling tags

I am going to visit my sisters in RI soon and I had an idea to make this luggage tag tonight. I bought these adhesive lamination tags a long time ago, so I was glad I remembered where they were in my stash! The stamp set is the retired Oopsie Daisy. The letter stickers are from the Sands of Time paper. I used Palette inks, watercolor pencils, and a Dove blender to add the color.

Feeling challenged lately...

What I mean is, I have been going online at PaperWings and getting inspired greatly lately. I was on a late night chat last week and the challenge was to make a card with paper piecing. This is what I came up with-fastest I have ever made a card. It was really neat chatting, then working, then chatting some more. The "chat crop" started at 10 PM and ended at 2 AM.

The next challenge that night was to make a birthday box. I had never made a box before, but I love playing with my scor-pal, so I came up with this.

The next day I added a ribbon handle to the sides on which I had stamped "happy birthday to you," put 5 birthday cards and envelopes inside and gave it to my friend at her b-day party. I did all this very last minute, so I wasn't able to scan the finished cards and box before I had to leave.

Today I was looking through Cardmaker magazine and saw a triangle card, using scor-pal again. I have seen quite a few of these on the PaperWings gallery, but never had directions before. I made this card this afternoon. I don't know what made me pick orange and blue, but I really like the way it came out. Here's the inside:
If you want directions or know which supplies I used, just let me know.

Christmas in June

I made 6 Christmas cards today. I am hoping to make at least 6 a month-that way I'll have them ready to go in December instead of trying to find inspiration and energy to make them the week before Christmas!

I used the TAC set "Christmas Fun" and paper from my scrap box. The sentiment is actually on grosgrain ribbon that I bought last year.

Circle cards

I was playing around with my newest tools this weekend. They all involve circles.

For making the card on the left, I used circle punches sizes 1, 1 1/4, and 1 1/2 inch to make the nested circles for the sentiment tag. I also used the stamp set Tag Tidbits, a piece from the Genvieve paper collection, matching ribbon, 3 shades of green cardstock, and green vellum. The ribbon doesn't show the color well, because the color matches perfectly the pink in the flower on the card.

The other card was made using the Coluzzle circle template to cut out the half-circle of background paper and the daisy flower. I also used a plastic needlepoint circle and Gelly Roll Glaze pens to make the dots around the circles. I colored the butterfly with the pens as well. These dots "stand up" on the paper for an added effect. The Gerbera Daisy was colored with Tombow markers and colored pencils.

Belated Birthday/ Mothers' Day cards

These are the cards that I made this week for mothers' day and a belated birthday.

This first card doesn't show it well, but I punched a 1 & 1/2 inch circle of acetate and glued it with Crystal Laquer onto the colored flower.
I used pop dots under the Happy Mother's Day piece and between the flower petals.

Scrapbooking-baby steps!

After spending lots of time at Paperwings(http://www.paperwingsonline.com/) and at various angels' blog sites, I was inspired to make my 2nd scrapbook ever: a little meandering maze mini album that Julie (http://paperjewels.blogspot.com/2008/02/meandermaze-book-with-tutorial.html) had the tutorial for on her blog.I wanted to give something special to my MIL for Mothers' Day and this didn't seem too overwhelming. I used the Sands of Time cardstock and tags.

Many years ago my MIL had given us all her old pictures of my husband: a photo album with the black photo corners that didn't hold the pictures well and a shoebox filled with loose photos. The pictures go back to 1951 and were in rough shape. Anyways, I found 15 pictures that spanned the first 5 years, scanned them into the computer and printed them as wallets. Then I trimmed them to fit in the 3 inch square album. I added a few tags and stamped some pages, and left pockets on 6 pages. In these I put tags on which I had written quotes about mothers and attached ribbons, of course. I wrote on the white side of the tags, then sponged ink around the edges. I will tell her to add any memories she has from the pictures on the other side. Many of the photos had no details with them when I got them.

I wrote this on the inside cover: He'll love you forever, he'll love you for always, as long as he's living, your baby he'll be. (inspired by my favorite children's book: Love You Forever) My husband is her oldest child and only son. He thinks his sisters will be jealous-I told him I didn't have any of their photos to put in.My only regret-didn't take pictures of it before sending it to her!

BTW, the only other scrapbook I have ever done was a 6X6 of my granddaughter that I gave my MIL 3 years ago. I am slowly turning the corner...looks like TAC s going that way big time so I better get in practice!

photo cards

Last year my husband, Tim, walked the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. He took pictures of early spring flowers that I thought would like nice on some cards. I ran across some extra copies I had made of these posies while cleaning my stamp room and a friend had recently given me these window cards, so this is what I came up with.

New Cards

I have finally cleared enough space in my stamping room to be able to work on some cards that needed to be done. Here are some that I completed and scanned before sending them off. The "Thanks for thinking of me" card with the Flower Collage was made after seeing a card in the newest CardMaker magazine I received this week. The smaller picture is the inside. The Gerbera Daisy card and the Thinking of you card came about after my sister and I were messing around with Pearl Ex. I applied with a water brush on black paper on one and on top of tissue paper and glue on the other. Then I stamped the daisy with stazon on acetate and used sharpies to color the back. The Thinking of you was stamped on acetate with opaque white.

Waterfall Card

I was surfing the www the other day and found a turorial for a waterfall card. I hadn't made one of those in a few years, but now that I have my ScorPal, I thought it would be fun do do some. I needed a card to send my granddaughter who is 4 and this is what I came up with.

I used the HipHop cardstock (V850), the Lily Pad Pond(T2560) stamp set, and some stickles. The sentiments are the Wishing You(T1205) set, which I inked with marker,leaving out the a in "happy" and writing in an o to make it "hoppy day" and the funtime(T2652) set.

I used the Versamark on the stamped and cut out frog and embossed with clear Utee for the inside. I also attached it on a strip of accordian folded paper so he sort of hops. This card is a half-fold one (5 1/2 x 8 1/2).

at home on medical leave

On Feb. 27th I entered the hospital unexpectedly after a CT scan that morning showed a perforation in my small intestine near my stomach and an absess nearby. After a week in the hospital, during which time I was on IV antibiotics and a drain was "installed" to drain off the absess, I was sent home with a pic line for TPN, which means all my food goes directly into my veins and I don't eat or drink anything in my mouth. This is because I am otherwise healthy and the doctor hopes the hole will close on its own. Next week I will see my surgeon to see if I continue this treatment or need to schedule surgery. Because I underwent radiation treatment just a few months ago, he was hesitant to do the surgery and was hoping this might work. So I am tethered to a book bag that holds my "feedbag" and the pump, and I have a drainage bag attached to me as well...hoping I am not grossing out anyone here. I will try to get some cards made and posted here soon.

Sympathy card

It has been a long time since I have written here. I have made cards since December, but sent them off to the recipients before remembering to scan them for this blog. Here is one I worked on today. I chose a gatefold card made by DCWV Matchmakers, which matched the colors in the TAC Mulberry Meadow cardstock. I have had the eggplant cardstock for years so it probably came from Stampin'Up. The sentiment is from the retired set Rose Sentiments and the flower is from fanciful flowers(T2283). I stamped the flower with Briliance Moonlight White and embossed with clear powder, which made the white invisible, but I still liked it. I used the brads and ribbon that match the mulberry paper. I made the bow separate and shrunk it some with my heat gun, then attached it with a mini pop dot. Thn I stamped the flower on the outside of the card with eggplant and green ink.