Beyond Just Black and White...paper crafting projects

More Carolina Breeze

2012-01-30T11:15:00.000-08:00

It's another CASE, but I don't know the source of the original. Background layer is from the Carolina Breeze collection of Teresa Collins. The image is Hero Arts' "Starbursts," and the digi sentiment is from Raindrop Echo.
(I'll soon run out of adhesive pearls if I don't change colors!)

Carolina Breeze

2012-01-30T00:45:00.000-08:00

It's another card made of designer paper: the "Carolina Breeze" collection from Teresa Collins. The sentiment is from Printworks. The star of the show is the "Large Flower" image from Hero Arts. (This is a CASE of a card created by Joy Taylor of NSW.)

Play Date Cafe'

2012-01-27T17:16:00.000-08:00

Plum, Pear, and Moldy Cheese? That's the color palette for this week on PDCC 116.

Card Challenges

2012-01-26T08:22:00.000-08:00

It's really nice to get recognized for a creation now and then.
Here's my card for Play Date Cafe' (scroll down) last week and here's
my button for being chosen as one of the Fab 4!

My card for Play Date Cafe'

Recognition from Play Date Cafe'

French Valentine for Color Throwdown

2012-01-25T11:41:00.000-08:00

I've used an ATC-sized collage image of a French Valentine (piddix) as the focal point of this week's Color Throwdown card, and I've popped the heart on foam dots for some dimension.

Elements of Time

2012-01-24T13:08:00.000-08:00

Lisa Somerville is hosting the Bloggers Challenge with a Time theme this week. "Elements of Time" brings to mind clocks for me, so I chose Bo Bunny's Timepiece Collection for my patterned paper. The piece was then altered with Tim's Texture Fade of clocks and heat-embossed with UTEE. (This is a Technique Junkies technique called "Glassy Embossing" in the Feb/March 2010 newsletter.)

Paper and cardstock: Bo Bunny Timepiece Collection, Kraft, Bazill, Core-dinations
Ribbon: Basic Grey
Texture Fades: Pocket Watches by Tim Holtz for Sizzix
Sentiment: Timeless acrylic stamps from Hot Off The Press
Ultra Thick Embossing Powder : Suze Weinberg's Melt Art

Also linking with 52 Card Pickup

A Valentine with Beads

2012-01-22T18:01:00.001-08:00

With this post, I'm going way back in my crafting past to my first Yahoo group, Pennywise Arts. The challenge is to create a Valentine with beads....generally microbeads that were the primary product of PWA. If you visit the blog, you can see many beaded creations of PWA members. Then you can visit the website to see the products and other goodies.

I've covered contemporary heart shapes of designer paper in the new and unusual "bubble beads," pretty iridescent glass beads that are the largest of the beads sold by Suzanne of Pennywise Arts.

Taking forever.....

2012-01-19T23:55:00.000-08:00

When I'm making a card for a challenge such as this week's Play Date Cafe' Challenge, I am amazed at how long I work on it! I know that not having a layout in mind when I start is probably the biggest problem, but it's how I work. And I find myself at midnight, finally completing the post with my challenge card.
(Linking up with 52 Card Pickup, too.)

Patterned paper from Basic Grey's "Wassail" collection; textured paper from Club Scrap.

Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die; Springtime Background Texture Fade; Spellbinders Labels Twenty-three.

Sentiment from Impression Obsession

Color Throwdown

2012-01-19T09:17:00.000-08:00

I was pleased to be chosen by Random.org as last week's Featured Stamper.

Color Throwdown #175 (click to visit the latest gallery of color-themed cards)

Another Color Throwdown

2012-01-12T14:15:00.000-08:00

IT'S COLOR THROWDOWN #174 (click to visit the challenge)

Bo Bunny's Et Cetera paper line

Patterned Paper Card x Three

2012-01-11T22:13:00.000-08:00

Still working with the Webster's Pages paper pack of my previous post, I have made three additional cards. Each card features both sides of a two-sided piece and one of my MANY sentiments.

Patterned Paper is my addiction, I guess

2012-01-10T08:41:00.000-08:00

I can't stop buying designer and patterned paper! I have so much more than anyone could ever use, but each time a new line comes out, I'm tempted to add to my stash. I especially love the small packs...either 8x8 or 6x6. For awhile, I'm going to concentrate on making cards (and maybe some altered items) with this pretty paper. For this card, I chose paper from Webster's Pages' "petite papers" (Hollywood Vogue & WonderFall).

Playing in the Play Date Cafe' Again

2012-01-07T15:04:00.000-08:00

What beautiful colors to start the new year in the Play Date Cafe'!

The first Color Throwdown of 2012

2012-01-04T14:04:00.000-08:00

Black, red, gray and silver for my first Color Throwdown card of the year.

Happy Birthday, Tim Holtz

2012-01-03T09:05:00.000-08:00

Linda's Grungy Monday is celebrating the products of Tim Holtz for his birthday. I covered cardstock with "Journeyman" tissue tape (both rolls), and die cut the "Old Jalopy." "A Splendid Adventure" is a sentiment from Stampers Anonymous. The background layer is from Tim's kraft Paper Stash. (The tape has a greenish tint because I applied some Pine Needles distress ink to the edges of the car.)

A Trio of Pink and Black Cards

2012-01-02T15:24:00.000-08:00

This Christmas and New Year's holiday has been good for me in the crafting department, for some reason. Today, I finished three cards with the color theme of pink and black.

My favorite...stamped on patterned paper with a mini rose embellishment

Tissue Tape is the Key

2011-12-28T20:56:00.000-08:00

I'm back to Linda's Grungy Monday, where tissue tape and/or paper take center stage. My card features one of Tim's "Nostalgic" tapes and stamped butterflies from Tim's "Papillon" set.

Still in the rosette mood

2011-12-27T13:22:00.000-08:00

Since Sir Tim posted his tutorial for a rosette tree, I've been playing with those dies. Never mind that it's after Christmas! Before I put my Christmas stamps and papers away, I have three more examples of rosettes---this time as tree ornaments. Or they could be decorations for packages, too. As with the silver tree in the previous post, I applied the silver flashing tape to cardstock before die cutting the rosettes. (The rosette in the center is simply a 3-layer one of Christmas paper.)

Crafting while the cheesecake bakes

2011-12-24T16:08:00.000-08:00

For quite awhile, I've had difficulty getting into my crafting, but on Christmas Eve day, I've been watching football on TV, preparing plates of goodies for our neighbors, and making my first cheesecake in several years. What better time to play with some of my many crafting tools and supplies? I've been in the rosette mood, so I tried something a little different with Tim's rosette dies: Cover red cardstock with the adhesive aluminum/silver flashing tape for the rosettes. The result is a silver tree with another rosette as the base.

Gold Rosette Tree

2011-12-22T13:57:00.000-08:00

When my online friend Shelly (Stamptramp) posted her version of Tim's rosette Christmas tree, I was inspired to try one, too. I imitated Shelly by attaching my tree to a box....I don't have any wooden spools of thread. I painted a heart-shaped papier mache' box with gold spray and added some black webbing spray for a little texture. Shelly's tree is much frostier, but I made mine from Tim's kraft Paper Stash and used gold glitter. The stars used for the base and the tree topper are cheapie ornaments from Wal-Mart. I had to scrape the bottom of the base star to flatten it a little; then I glued it to one of Tim's Philosophy tags. And once again, I have filaments of hot glue everywhere!

Just in time for Christmas!

2011-12-20T14:10:00.000-08:00

I have neglected my crafting blog because of my obsession with photography this past year. Today, I completed a card for my cancer-fighting friend.

A Christmas Gift

2011-12-09T09:27:00.000-08:00

I was delighted when I opened an envelope from Lynn Stevens of Trash to Treasure Art and found this fabulous altered slide mailer ornament! It's one that was published in a former issue of Stampers' Sampler, and it was a great inspiration to me when I altered slide mailers. After becoming online friends with Lynn, I told her how much I admired the slide mailer. She remembered, and she tucked it into an envelope with one of her beautiful Christmas tags. The ornament is now on my tree. Thank you, Lynn!

More White....with Penny Black

2011-12-07T16:00:00.000-08:00

I'm in an all-white mood with crafting these days, and the Penny Black Saturday Challenge affords me another white-on-white opportunity. White lustre paper for a layer; pearl Glimmer Mist over the Penny Black holly image (special Winter Distress Inks for the color).

Santa in Neutral Colors?

2011-12-03T21:31:00.000-08:00

I'm switching back to Ellen Hutson's Classroom tags with a feminine twist. Sharon Harnist created a standard Santa in red and green, accented with a poinsettia and pretty green trim. Because I loved the white-on-white first tag, I've been thinking how I might "neutralize" the colors of Christmas just a little. White on white wouldn't work well with a Santa stamp, so I chose light-colored watercolor markers to ink Tim's Santa stamp, misting the inked stamp with Glimmer Mist Iridescent Gold. The flower isn't a poinsettia, but it continues the neutral tones. That cute little gold bell and the bow are from a cheap Christmas earring.

Switching to Tim's Tag #2

2011-12-02T21:11:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be jumping back and forth in the tag challenges, just finding the one that I feel I can complete within my comfort level. It needs to be fun for me.

I don't have the deer die, but I have the scraggly pine, so I've chosen to do a version of Tim's second tag. I'm glad he made the extra tags. (On this tag, I managed to use all three of the Christmas limited edition of Distress Inks.) The star brads are closer to the tree in color than they photograph. The jingle bells started out on an earring from WalMart...and I have the mate to it for a future project.

'Tis the Season for Tags

2011-12-02T00:43:00.000-08:00

It's December, so all sorts of tag challenges are on various blogs and sites. Ellen Hutson creates her 12 Tags of Christmas with a feminine twist. Tag No. 1 is "White on White." Mine is "White and Pearls."

That pine cone die has caused me so much trouble. I want a pine cone and I get a rose; I want a rose and I get a pine cone. I managed to make both. (The center "rose" is yellow because I scorched the embossing powder with the heat gun. They are white IRL.) Ellen has a beautiful tulle wreath with baubles, but I substituted a half-circle of lacy trim, put together with hot glue. The tag itself was embossed in a folder, rubbed with embossing ink and heat-embossed with holographic embossing powder. The leaves of the pine cone die were cut of Silk Silver Lustre from Paper Temptress. Beaded trim finishes off the bottom of the tag. (By midnight, I had strings of hot glue flying everywhere. When my husband leaves for work at 5:30 in the morning, the Big Shot, extra leaves, and hot glue gun will still be on the coffee table and end table near my computer.)

Rich Autumn Colors for PDCC

2011-11-29T10:43:00.000-08:00

It's another wonderful color palette for the Play Date Cafe' Challenge: maroon, copper and turmeric.

I've cased a card design by the talented Iwona Palamountain (Chupa) and I've painted with bleach on the Poppy Poem image from Penny Black. The copper patterned paper is from DCWV.

Embossed Metal and Alcohol Inks

2011-11-21T21:24:00.000-08:00

When Ranger challenged some talented designers to "decorate" a pumpkin, the results were as varied as one could imagine. Personally, I enjoyed each one of them! Tim Holtz used alcohol inks on embossed metal for his PUMPKIN. Linda of Grungy Monday has invited us to use that creation as the inspiration for this week. Tim's lampost die arrived in the mail today....a perfect choice for the challenge. I applied metallic flashing tape to matboard and diecut the lampost and the holly. Those pieces were then embossed in a Sizzix folder and inked with Bottle, Cranberry, and Gold Mixative. (The tag was made of paper from Simple Stories' "25 Days of Christmas" 6x6 pad.)

Thankful for time

2011-11-21T08:25:00.000-08:00

My college friend Diane has been fighting cancer since the diagnosis in March. As of last week, she had undergone 25 chemotherapy treatments. She is amazingly upbeat and positive....and so loving. Each week, I send her a card that I've made. She has told me that she's making a scrapbook of the cards. This week, I'm sending her a harvest wreath for the Thanksgiving season. I'm thankful for our 50-year friendship, although we have maintained that friendship only through letters and college alumni gatherings. I'm thankful for her resilience, faith, and love. And I'm thankful for more time.

Needing more practice

2011-11-19T09:37:00.000-08:00

I hesitated to post this card .... I probably should have blurred the image to help disguise the messy results! Inspired by Jacqueline of My Scrap Basket, who makes a specialty of "grid" cards, I CASEd one of her creations that features alcohol inks in the background and images embossed in gold.

Throwing Down Some Color

2011-11-18T20:32:00.000-08:00

Color Throwdown 168 (click to visit the challenge)

Masking and Misting with Perfect Pearls

2011-11-15T12:25:00.000-08:00

Linda's choice for Grungy Monday this week is an old tutorial of Tim Holtz's for his 12 Tags of Christmas in 2007. It involves a Perfect Pearls Mist and some masking.

I created my mist from Vintage Gold PP and Faded Jeans Distress reinker. Additional inking involved Pine Needles DI. Shelly Hickox challenged me to try out my new Tattered Pine Cone die, which was definitely a challenge for me. I made two, but one looks more like a rose. I embellished my pine cone with gold microbeads and spritzed some gold Glimmer Mist on the juniper sprays.

Simple Playing in the Play Date Cafe'

2011-11-15T11:50:00.000-08:00

It's black and white with a splash of orange at the Play Date Cafe' Challenge, which should be simple. I had lots of ideas, none of which I even tried. Then I chanced on a photo I took last spring. As the sentiment indicates, this is definitely KISS: patterned paper, one of my photos, and a digi sentiment from Raindrop Echo. (I complicated matters by first posting this to my photo blog by mistake! DELETE!)

Another Tim-Technique Tag

2011-11-08T11:52:00.000-08:00

For Grungy Monday, we're using one of Tim's Christmas tag techniques. I managed to make it difficult. ;-) When I finished, I realized that my focal image isn't very visible among all the extras. However, I did use two of the new limited edition Distress Ink colors: Festive Berries and Evergreen Bough.

One for Two

2011-11-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

It's rare for me to double up on challenges, but I've managed one: Lisa Somerville's Bloggers Challenge (I modified the sketch slightly) and Color Throwdown. Papers are Basic Grey's "Periphery" collection.

Visiting the Play Date Cafe' Again

2011-10-27T10:36:00.000-07:00

It's Challenge #105 at the Play Date Cafe'

I managed to make it difficult

2011-10-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

Grungy Monday is featuring Tim's "Perfect Distress" technique, and I've done it several times. (Video here) However, I decided I wanted to use autumn leaves (Tim's Falling Leaves set), and I wanted to make a card instead of a tag, but things just wouldn't work. That was yesterday---and this is now. Inks for the leaves: Barn Door, Rusty Hinge, Seedless Preserves, Crushed Olive. I added Mustard Seed to the background after using Vintage Gold Perfect Pearls.

Gothic Arch in Blue

2011-10-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

Oh, I was so ready for a Gothic Arch! Thanks to Kris Dickinson of Nostalgic Collage for starting the challenge (which I missed earlier!). Kris's ATCs and Gothic arches are just out of this world.

Blue is the theme....my favorite color. (Distress Inks : Faded Jeans, Stormy Sky, Tumbled Glass and Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist over a white-embossed Hero Arts' Fabulous Flourish)

10-minute Grungy Monday

2011-10-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've "grunged" anything for Linda's Grungy Monday challenge. This week it's "Tim in 10"...a creation using Tim Holtz products and completed in 10 minutes. I was inspired to use gold snowflakes and silver trees because of a tag of Suzanne Czosek's in the current Stampers' Sampler. (She did a much better job of cutting out the trees than I did; they're the most time-consuming element of my tag.)
(Tim's "Reindeer Flight" stamp set, gold and silver EP, Tumbled Glass, Wild Honey, Bundled Sage, and Walnut Stain Distress Inks.)

Only after I posted this tag did I realize it should have been a card.

Another Stickeroo Card

2011-10-17T13:21:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure I've provided this link before; it's a video by Jill Foster, demonstrating how to make cards from Penny Black's "Romance of Flowers" Stickeroos.

I didn't use ink to create the background, but used cardstock, and I added Tea Dye Distress Stickles to the centers of the flowers. This makes such a great dimensional card.

Minimal Stamping....if any

2011-10-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

In spite of the hundreds of stamps that I own, I love making a card that gets away from stamps and ink. After discovering Jill Foster's "Inspired By" blog in July, I followed her tutorial for making a set of cards out of Penny Black stickers. -- HERE This month, Jill played with the PB Stickeroos again for "Christmas at Dusk" cards. Non-traditional colors but traditional images, and I love them! (I used one stamp: "Peace")

Here are my versions of 5 of the cards; I added some gold cord, gold Stickles, and pearls to "bling" the cards up a little. I intend to make a set of 10-12 to use this year.

Authentique Halloween mini-album

2011-10-12T08:53:00.000-07:00

A recent Facebook post by the people at Authentique (great new paper line, among other things) provided a tutorial for a mini-album using their "Glowing" paper pad. The surprise element in this album is that the pages are flattened toilet paper rolls ---painted orange and black and stapled at the ends, in my case.

I was able to use some more of the Halloween embellishments sent to me by Lynn Stevens, too.

Fronts of pages

Backs of pages

In the middle of the night

2011-10-10T08:48:00.000-07:00

My stamping has bogged down horribly, and I need something to get going again. I couldn't sleep last night, so got up and made this card. It will be my weekly card for my dear friend who has undergone more than 20 chemo treatments since March.

Simple embossing folder, polka-dotted ribbon, and leaves (one inside, too) stamped in the new Distress Ink colors.

Late Entry to PDCC

2011-10-04T20:34:00.000-07:00

I'm not even sure I'm making the deadline, but I just had to get going on some card-making challenges again. PDCC is featuring the unusual "colors" of wine, smudge, leather and parchment this week.

Inspired by Inspiration Showcase

2011-10-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

About three weeks ago, I began the online course sponsored by OnlineCardClasses.com called "Inspiration Showcase," taught through videos by the talented Jennifer McGuire. The outcome of the course was a 12x12 canvas decorated with 23 2.5x2.5" hearts, each one illustrating a different stamping or inking technique. Tucked in with the basic techniques were many bonus projects.

This was my first time to use sticky back canvas, and the bonus card was one I wanted to try. It's a distress technique inked with Distress Ink Stains. I inked two white flowers with the same stains used on the card.

Those new Halloween Distress Inks

2011-09-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

The limited edition Halloween Distress Inks work beautifully together! After inking the tag with the wrinkle-free distress technique, I die-cut the Tattered Leaves and used the same inking technique before adding some stamped text and Rock Candy crackle paint.

Lynn keeps trying to convert me

2011-09-28T14:21:00.000-07:00

Lynn Stevens of Trash to Treasure Art knows I really don't care for Halloween, so she teases me with little Halloweeny treasures now and then! When I got home from the hospital last Friday after my hip replacement surgery, she sent a Get Well card just stuffed with all kinds of Halloween items. I just haven't felt much like doing anything, and my range of movement is still restricted by my walker. However, last night, I got out some Memory Box "Nightfall" and Authentique "Glowing" paper pads for a chunky ATC. It doesn't come close to the ones Lynn has on her blog, but it's definitely Halloween...and all those little goodies (except the rosette) are from Lynn. Thanks, Lynn!

Inspiration Showcase

2011-09-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

I'm one of the hundreds of fortunate stampers taking the Inspiration Showcase techniques course taught by Jennifer McGuire. This card is from Day 5 (Distress Inks) and it's called Pearlized Distress Inks. (My pearlized water has a lot of pearl in it!) Fun, fun, fun!

Button, Button for Bloggers Challenge

2011-09-16T18:06:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th Birthday, Bloggers Challenge! This week, the star is the lowly button (some of those buttons are anything but lowly, however!)....

I picked up this blue and brown polka-dotted paper in a scrapbook store today, made a cut-down rosette out of the edge and finished it off with a brown button. Underneath it is a layer embossed in a Sizzix folder and embellished with a polka-dotted ribbon.

Three colors make a perfect palette

2011-09-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

When a color palette grows larger than three, I struggle. But this wonderful trio of soft colors is just what I like! As the illustration says, it's time for Play Date Cafe' Challenge #99.
I chose to CASE a card by Shari Carroll ...somewhere on the Hero Arts blog, I think! Her card was a little more "homespun" with natural colors and embellishments. I chose a metallic designer paper from KaiserCraft for the flower and added rich pearls to finish off the card. (Click for a closer view.)

Sue's Flower on a slightly "shabby" card

2011-09-11T21:54:00.000-07:00

I like "shabby chic" in card-making, but I rarely try to create it. This particular card is at least somewhat "shabby," because the flower was inspired by Sue's (Scrumplescrunch) recent post. I needed something like making a paper flower to get me going. Thanks, Sue!

Stars for Bloggers Challenge

2011-09-11T14:09:00.000-07:00

Lisa has chosen "Stars" as the theme for the current Bloggers Challenge. When I'm lacking creative mojo, I often choose a tag as my project instead of a card. This teal-colored tag was cut from embossed cardstock; the stars are a Sizzix die that I painted with Faded Jeans Distress Stain and heat-embossed with clear EP. "Sunburnt" Opals embossing powder was added for a little copper accent on the stars, with the copper repeated on the edges of the tag with a Krylon pen. The sentiment was cut from the Spellbinders Fancy Labels.

It's an Asian Thing

2011-09-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

I've been creatively stymied for more than a week....I am up to my ears with cardstock of all colors and patterns, hundreds of rubber stamps, and anything else someone could use to make a card, but I could not create. So I took a different tack: I chose a theme to work with. I haven't worked with my Asian images for a long time, so that's what I chose. Two cards came together fairly easily, but the third one didn't. Then I read Cynnie's Galerie 46 blog post about a mini accordion book. Actually, I've made these books before, and it was enjoyable to create an Asian-themed one with black and gold specialty paper.

Left: Asian BG stamp on patterned paper, sanded edges; image stamped on patterned paper and popped with foam dots.
Right: Washi paper layered card; image stamped on patterned paper

I LOVE Blue!

2011-09-02T11:43:00.000-07:00

It's Bloggers Challenge again, and Lisa has chosen Monochromatic Blue. Blue is, hands-down, my favorite color; anyone who has been in my house can attest to that. In fact, I've been kicking myself for not choosing blue for our recent new car purchase and settling for "Graphite" instead. I knew that the choice of blue would be too obvious for my family, I guess. (Our youngest son assures me that this color is "classy" instead of "flashy.")

"Tradewinds" from DCWV has some beautiful blue patterned papers, and I chose the herringbone pattern to back my alcohol ink Hero Arts flower and the Hero Arts sentiment.

A Splash of Red

2011-09-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

Black and white and a splash of red....that's the challenge on Play Date Cafe' this week.

Harlequin paper from 7gypsies' "Paddington"
Tim Holtz's "Tattered Floral" die
Grosgrain ribbon
Making Memories brad
Hero Arts sentiment

PDCC Sherbet Colors

2011-08-29T00:35:00.000-07:00

Mint, Ivory and Coral are the "sherbet" colors of the week at PDCC, challenge #96

I'll Take the Letter A for "Alphabet"

2011-08-27T23:26:00.000-07:00

"A" is the theme for Tag Tuesday ---which was several days ago---so I finally dragged out my Cricut and cut some letters from a few of the beautiful papers in The Tradewinds stack from DCWV. Blue and gold are always a winning combination in my book. (After I first posted this tag, I realized I was supposed to have the image of something beginning with the letter "A" so I'll just use the embossed alphabet on the kraft tag.)

Live, Love, Laugh!

2011-08-22T23:49:00.000-07:00

I'm trying something new for me: A Blogger's Challenge on Lisa Somerville's blog -- a sketch challenge.
I used a fun image from American Art Stamps, "Curtain Call" paper from Graphic 45, and a Prima flower. Red pearls and gold Glimmer Mist add a little bling.

The sketch:

Back among the crafters of the world....

2011-08-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

I don't think I've ever created a single piece that works for two challenges before, but I did that today. Linda of Grungy Monday is featuring Distress Stickles this week, and Rebecca of Tag Tuesday wants tags with a vintage photo as the feature.

The Bo Bunny 'et cetera' collection just arrived in my mailbox and that's what I chose for this dual-purpose #8 tag: patterned paper, ribbon, chipboard embellishments, and brad. Old Paper and Tea Dye are the Distress Stickles of choice. (The creative mind behind most of these Ranger products, of course, is Tim Holtz.) At the center of it all is a beautiful vintage photo from Dezinaworld. (Click each photo for a closer look.)

On a brief vacation.....

2011-08-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

After a few days of travel away from home, I hope to be back in the crafting mood......

Off the Wall

2011-08-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

It took several days of thinking about the Grungy Monday challenge, and I watched Tim's video of his "plastic" Christmas tag several times. My result is most likely way off the mark, but I have dimensional grungepaper "Tattered Floral" shapes coated with acrylic paints and I've embossed a piece of plastic from something IdeaOlogy to cover the embossed and distressed tag. (The tag is one of the new kraft tags from Ranger.)

Postal JAZZ

2011-08-10T11:38:00.000-07:00

I read recently that the USPS is something like three billion in the hole and is actually considering default. I can't imagine! I still believe in mailing things and I really believe in buying pretty stamps when they are introduced. Rebekah of Tag Tuesday has made "Postage Stamp" the theme for the week. I used a piece of new Authentique paper and those Hampton Art stamps based on Graphic 45's "Curtain Call" collection to complement the USPS First Class Jazz stamp.

One of two (or more) tags for Tuesday

2011-08-10T11:27:00.000-07:00

The blog is named "Tuesday Taggers" and the theme this week is "Trees." I haven't participated in the challenge recently, but I am in a tag-making mood today. It's all Tim's "stuff."

More Playtime with PDCC

2011-08-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

Tropical colors are the palette for this week's Play Date Cafe' Challenge: watermelon, sorbet, and lime. I went to a piece of Prima's Fairy Garden paper for my card.

Technique Junkies Duo

2011-08-03T09:15:00.000-07:00

My latest issue of the "Technique Junkie Newsletter" arrived this week, and I decided to get back into some of the TJ techniques.

"Colorful Silhouettes" techniques with Hero Arts background and Penny Black tulips

"Popped Embossing" technique with Stampabilities background and Rubbernecker sentiment

Face it

2011-08-02T11:43:00.000-07:00

Tag Tuesday Blog Challenge: A Face I have many face stamps---I used to collect them. This is by far the largest one, and it's really a full face image.

Transparent ATC

2011-08-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

It's a see-through theme on Think Monday Think ATC, so transparency is the key.

The ATC has a top layer of acetate and some Idea-ology Film Strip Ribbon.

Grungy Monday #18

2011-08-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

Tim's "Twelve Tags of Christmas 2009, Day 8" is the model for this week's Grungy Monday. Linda has created a wonderful seamstress tag in cheerful colors. I had difficulty getting my vellum to "crunch" and curl; my Grungepaper flower is inked with Barn Door and Fired Brick Distress inks, with a little Wild Honey added. Weathered Wood and Peeled Paint were used on the tag.

Playing in the Play Date Cafe'

2011-07-29T23:15:00.000-07:00

It's coral, pink, and antique gold for this week's Play Date Cafe' Challenge. Colors created with Glimmer Mists and Memories Mists on watercolor paper.

Color Throwdown #152

2011-07-27T11:43:00.000-07:00

It's Color Throwdown with another wide palette.

Two projects in two days!

2011-07-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

I'm still finding it difficult to get back into my card-making (actually, crafting of any sort) because I'm enjoying my photography so much. However, the weekly challenges do keep my motivated, even if I don't always participate.

Rebecca of Tag Tuesday has challenged us with a "Ten Minute Tag." It took me half of that time to cut the lilies from the patterned paper! And I had to have a plan ahead of time, which isn't typical for me. The image is from DezinaWorld (Headgear Ladies).

Rockin' Grungy Monday #17

2011-07-26T07:31:00.000-07:00

Rock Candy is the star of this week's Grungy Monday, and I've used both Rock Candy crackle paint and the Rock Candy Stickles on the cover of my paper bag book. (See Tim's video HERE.) The two torso shapes were cut from Grungepaper and painted with Distress Stains in Fired Brick, Wild Honey, Faded Jeans, and Peeled Paint, with Walnut Stain to edge the shapes before they were painted with the crackle paint. The Prima flowers were glossed with Stickles.

Giant Butterfly

2011-07-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

Rebecca has chosen "Butterfly" as the theme for Tag Tuesday. My first idea was to stamp a large butterfly and make a tag of that, but then I remembered Tim's "Fanciful Flight" Bigz die, which I've used only once previously. Non-traditional patterned paper from Stampin' Up was my choice. This is a giant tag: 4 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches.

It's a Grungeboard Extravaganza

2011-07-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

Linda's Grungy Monday challenge is relatively wide open....as long as we use Grungeboard. (See Sir Tim's video HERE.) I began with Tim's Tattered Florals die and then embossed the flowers in a Sizzix folder and inked them with various colors of Distress Inks. To add some shine, I used the Cafe' collection of Perfect Pearls, attached the flowers with a Basic Grey brad and stamped one of Tim's sentiments on patterned paper to make my card.

Inspired by Jill again...

2011-07-16T14:05:00.000-07:00

Previously, I've posted a couple of cards that I made after seeing the technique on Jill Foster's Inspired By blog. Her recent video demonstrating how to make a set of cards from Penny Black Stickeroos motivated me today, and I actually made three cards and had stickers left over. The two-toned card at the left was colored with Distress Stains, the first time I've used them. The horizontal card to the right was also colored with Distress Stain. Distress Inks were used for the rest of the stamping and inking. (click for a closer view)

Black and Orange...but not Halloween

2011-07-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

Rebecca of Tag Tuesday has issued a color challenge: black and orange tag, but not a Halloween theme. That's just fine with me; I've never been a fan of Halloween. I've layered orange blossoms on the body of the tag and trimmed it in black cardstock.

City Skyline on a tag

2011-07-12T08:32:00.000-07:00

Tim always makes it look so easy, and the Grungy Monday challenge on Linda's blog this week is no exception. I tried at least 4 different backgrounds, following Tim's video of Day 7 of Twelve Tags of Christmas in 2007, trying to get a tag color that I liked. The city skyline is from his ROCKSTAR stamp set. (Broken China with Brushed Corduroy and some Walnut...I think my blending foam had another color on it, resulting in the green cast of the tag.)

On The Road With Gingersnap Creations

2011-07-09T09:52:00.000-07:00

"On the Road" is a current challenge on GC, and I've decided to catch a ride. Photographing this card was the most difficult part of the process! Metallic cardstock ("Black Currant" from DCWV) is pretty but it fools the camera. The old car is Tim's Bigz die and the sentiment is from Stampers Anonymous.

Perfect Pearls in a Mist

2011-07-05T00:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's Grungy Monday again, and there's another great Tim-Technique to try. The video demonstrating Perfect Pearls Resist can be found here.

I've grown to love Umbrella Man, who has been "pearlized" with Pewter PP and Broken China DI, as well as Cappuccino PP and Wild Honey DI. When I started the tag, I couldn't find my Snow Cap dabber, so I resorted to my Pearl one; it doesn't show up as well.

Hurray for Summer!

2011-07-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

It's a Summer tag for Tag Tuesday, and I'm posting it under the wire. It's a simple tag: a photo from the internet printed on photo paper and cut to fit a #8 tag. Dymo sentiment, gold Krylon edging, and a dotted ribbon. (It will be a while before sunflowers bloom here!)

Crackled Dragonflies

2011-07-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

When this card didn't turn out as I planned, I had to salvage pieces. I was NOT going to waste the dragonflies that I had colored, cut out, and painted with crackle Glossy Accents! The palette above contains the three colors for the Play Date Cafe' Challenge #88.

Inspired again...

2011-06-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

(What a relief to find Blogger working again!) Sometimes I think I've never had an original thought about card-making! I do love to find cards that I can CASE or use as great inspiration, though, and Jill Foster's Inspired By blog has once again provided that inspiration.

Stamps are all Hero Arts; markers are Stampin' Up. Decorative brads are Basic Grey.

Those fabulous...but unpredictable...alcohol inks

2011-06-29T16:21:00.000-07:00

Basic Tim Holtz this week for Linda's Grungy Monday: alcohol inks. Before he developed the Distress Inks, Tim created a lot of things with his line of alcohol inks. (Video is HERE.)

My tag is of heavy glossy cardstock, inked with my favorite "primary" trio: Wild Plum, Butterscotch, and Stream. I inked a domino with the same felt and edged both the tag and the domino with gold Krylon. Image is from Stampington and the definition ribbon is from Graphic 45.

Feminine Grungy Monday

2011-06-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

I know it's Friday, and I'm just posting my Grungy Monday entry. I find that when something doesn't work for me the first time, letting it sit for a day or two--or four--often helps. Such was the case with this particular technique of Tim's technique of April 2008. I painted three tags, but scrubbed two of them to death. I painted the "love" stick with a Pearl dabber and used a fabric harlequin ribbon instead of the Dymo. And of course, I added the rose to continue with the pink and black theme, based on a piece of Tim's Vintage Shabby paper.

Card 3 for June 22

2011-06-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

It's just 9:30 p.m. here, so I'm well inside the deadline for my three cards. In fact, I made another card today that I'm not posting; it was a sympathy card that I put in the mail this afternoon.

This card is a CASE of Jill Foster's wonderful creation in her June 7 post. Jill's "Inspired By" blog truly inspires me with the vibrant colors and striking designs.

My card is a horizontal version of Jill's card...because the sentiment and embellishments wouldn't fit on a vertical layout. The simple flower image and the sentiment are both from Hero Arts.

Card 2 for June 22

2011-06-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

I'm two-thirds of the way to my goal for the day: 3 cards

Hero Arts "reverse" image -- heat-embossed in white -- "painted" with Distress Inks on craft sheet. Hero Arts sentiment.

Getting back to crafting....

2011-06-22T11:44:00.000-07:00

I'm on a mission to return to card-making and other crafting that I love but have almost abandoned for my photography.

This card features a Stampendous image that I embossed in black and colored with watercolor markers. Then I "painted" the blossoms with Crackle Accents. I put a dab of regular Glossy Accents on the leaves.

Pretty metal flakes in a new technique

2011-06-18T14:01:00.000-07:00

I discovered this technique on the USA ArtQuest blog, and then ordered the Duo Adhesive and some of the Touche' cardstock and Studio Paper so I could try it. I couldn't get the watercolor step to work....I don't have the mica watercolors, but tried pearlescent ones and Twinks instead. So I didn't create an encaustic piece, but I think this first stage is impressive by itself. The metal flakes are variegated gold colors, and I'm down to the crumbs.

It's for the birds....or is that "bird"?

2011-06-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

A bird is the focal point of this week's Tag Tuesday on Rebecca's blog. I've chosen an image from Tim Holtz's "Urban Chic" collection, with some more birds from Artistic Outpost's "Bluebird" set. I used the same "Tim Technique" that we're using for Grungy Monday on Linda Ledbetter's blog this week. For both of these projects today, I cut my base layer/tag from a manila folder.

I changed my mind...

2011-06-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

It's Tuesday, and I just finished my Grungy Monday entry. Linda has challenged us to use one of Tim's 2008 techniques. I tried it at least four times---with a tag, without a tag, on a piece of Tim's kraft stash cardstock, on a piece of manila folder. When I completed a tag to my satisfaction, I just wasn't in the mood for the masculine look. I started over by die-cutting a manila folder and using Tim's "Urban Chic" stamps, which I won on Linda's blog early in the Compendium of Curiosities challenges. So, I have two Grungy Monday pieces this week. I much prefer the second one, but I didn't want to trash the first!

Soft Colors for Color Throwdown 145

2011-06-10T10:11:00.000-07:00

It's another Color Throwdown with some soft spring colors. (Click photo for closer view.)

Bluberries and Cream...with a little Dusty Rose

2011-06-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

The color palette for the Play Date Cafe' Challenge is especially lovely this week.

Friendship

2011-06-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

Today the sun is shining; it has been a rarity for months. I can hope that summer is actually going to arrrive. This card is for my cancer-fighting friend. It's a CASE of a card Lisa Somerville posted on her blog a while back, complete with the Stampotique image. However, I ordered the stamp after seeing Lisa's card, and her card design fit perfectly with the Spectrum Roll technique from Technique Junkies' newsletter in August of 2005.

Manly with an Umbrella

2011-06-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

We're making "manly" tags for Tag Tuesday this week. I think I have one rubber stamp of men, but I do have this new-to-me Umbrella Man die. Maybe he's not the most "manly" man, but the tag is definitely masculine.
The tag was cut from a piece of Tim's Kraft Resist Stash...a giant ledger page. The Umbrella Man was cut from a kraft patterned piece by Memory Box.

Monday, Grungy Monday

2011-06-06T19:53:00.000-07:00

I'm at a point where I spend more time on photography than on my crafting, but I haven't given up on the latter. Linda's Grungy Monday challenge this week is simply Distress Inks. I would LOVE to do some fabulous project, but it's not going to happen. When I make something now, it's generally for a practical purpose. In this case, I needed to make three thank-you cards for high school classmates who organized our recent class-reunion-for-the-ancients. The cards are a CASE of a Hero Arts guest designer's Christmas card last winter and featured on the Hero Arts blog. Distress Inks, of course, are one of those great developments of Tim Holtz.

Pumice Stone, Bundled Sage, Wild Honey, Weathered Wood, and Tumbled Glass were my choices for the colors, with Vintage Photo for the background stamping.

Pink and Brown on Theme Thursday

2011-06-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

Theme Thursday is another challenge I haven't participated in for awhile; I love this particular color combination.

Another SCS Inkling

2011-06-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

I am folding challenged, among other things. After I tried one of the Center Step Cards in the Splitcoaststampers Inkling #263, I realize that I often don't read very carefully, either. However, I finally figured things out and made this card, using metallic and other specialty papers from the DCWV Black Currant pad. Then I discovered that the card was too large for any envelope in my stash, so I made one out of a piece of coordinating paper and trimmed it with a scrap from the card. (The stamped image is from Hampton Art Stamps; a Stampers Anonymous sentiment inside says, "Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much.")
(Click each photo for a closer view.)

A Soft Pink and Green Tag

2011-05-31T10:50:00.000-07:00

Rebecca has chosen soft pink and green for Tag Tuesday's theme this week. This tag is paper from the 5th Avenue collection by Melissa Frances; the girl is from DigitalCollageImages, and the flower is from Prima. I used Martha Stewart's deep-edge punch on the dotted pink cardstock layer under the patterned paper.

Mojo Monday in a Square

2011-05-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

It's Mojo Monday with a choice of circle or square this week.

Red and Black for Grungy Monday

2011-05-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

After trying two different black cardstocks, I went back to painting a manila tag for this week's Grungy Monday challenge. It's a Shabby Chic technique that Tim used on one of his Christmas tags , but Linda's guest designers have employed the technique for beautiful 3-dimensional creations, too. (I have only 2 colors of dabbers, plus white and pearl, so I used red acrylic paint over the black paint.)