My Art - cards, cards, cards - mini collages

These cards feature mini collages from a sheet of scrapbook paper I picked up a couple of years ago at Michaels. I cut them out and trimmed their edges with my Fiskars postage stamp decorative scissors! Works so well!! Keep your eye out for paper - scrapbooking or gift wrap - that has some individual elements that can be used in your cardmaking. Great for making coordinating cards for gifts!!
These are layered onto altered drywall tape. I simply laid the drywall tape down on a piece of bond paper - it stays in place because it has adhesive on the back - and used my ink pads to add colour. Have also used acrylic paints in the past to add colour. I expect you could also used pigment ink and embossing powder to change it up quite dramatically!! You can purchase drywall tape at a hardware store in large rolls or possibly at a $$ store in a small roll. Check the garage or workshop - you may already have some in the house!!
This is layered onto cardstock that has been distressed on the edges. I use a little SU tool (page 184 of the current catalog) that does a wonderful job. It is designed like a thread cutter used for sewing or quilting. Some have mentioned that this little tool is available in sewing notions departments as a thread cutter so check it out next time you are at your local fabric store.
I gave them the option of adding greetings using SU round greeting set layered on a round punchie or just stamping a greeting with coordinating ink.
I embellished the card fronts with a bit of script in a very light colour - in some cases I stamped off once to get the ink light enough - just to add a bit of interest to these cards.
It was a totally fun morning!! One of the girls was new to cardmaking. She enjoyed adding her own spin to her cards and thinking outside the box!! That is the name of the game!!
Therese

My Art - cards, cards, cards - CB embossed

These cards feature white cardstock embossed with the Cuttle Bug D'vine swirl embossing folder!! I love that design and like to incorporate it into simply elegant cards!! The right hand one with the Always tag and ribbon is great as an anniversary or wedding card.
The left hand one has a scallop baby accent created with the SU scallop punch and a stamp from one of this past year's hostess sets. The stamps and punch work so well together to make quick and easy accents for your cards!!
The bottom one uses one of the SU circle greeting sets with the 1 1/4" punch, 1 3/8" punch and the scallop punch to create the accent. I simply added a coloured sequin with a brad!! I cut the CB embossed layer into a nice curvy line and used the cut off part on the inside bottom of the card. Trim the card front to show off the inside.
So when you are looking for simply elegant consider embossing!! The CB embossing folders make it quick and easy!!

Therese

My art - cards, cards, cards - handmade paper

These cards feature some of my handmade paper and pressed botanicals! In this particular case the handmade paper features cedar bits and pieces of pressed ferns. The others included pressed calendulas, maple leaves and queen anne's lace with clover "hearts". The three leaf clovers grow here most anywhere as weeds but I thought they would be great for St. Patrick's Day cards. When I took several of them from the phone books - great flower presses - I had a few come apart and then I notice that the individual leaves were hearts!! How cool!! So I may use some of them in male looking cards for Valentine's!!
It is really fun to recycle your paper scraps into your very own handmade paper!! Scrapbookers can also consider this option using their acid free scraps to make paper for use in their scrapbooks!!

My Art - cards, cards, cards - OSW

These cards feature a One Sheet Wonder accent. I used a half sheet (4.25"x 5.5") and stamped it with three different stamps in three coordinating colours and the cut it into 5 pieces. Works very well for this card design. One of them is a Christmas cards just to say that they had a start on their Christmas cards!! I think the green one would be very suitable as a sympathy card or a male birthday so I have not yet added a greeting.

One Sheet Wonder is great technique you can use to make cards sets for gifts. Make a few ahead and you will always have a last minute gift for almost any occasion!!

My Art - cards, cards, cards

It is raining in Ontario!! I had a great all occasions cardmaking session on Saturday morning where we made twenty cards each!! I tried to vary the colours in each group of cards and brought a variety of greeting stamps so each person could customize their cards to suit their needs.
This set of cards features a piece of Polished Stone that has been stamped with an image to create the accent for the card. I used SU Classic Dye pad reinkers and regular rubbing alcohol to create my Polished Stone pieces.
FUN!!
For some I cut my half sheet (4.25"x 5.5") into six and stamped only one image. The the others I cut the half sheet into 4, stamped the images randomly with coordinating ink and then cut them apart. I have made this design before and cut the piece into 4 even pieces. This time I thought I would change it up some and cut the piece into uneven pieces and/or used a curvy line. Some of the girls used decorative scissors to cut theirs apart and it that was very effective.
I really love the watercolour effect of Polished Stone and with deeper colours it can be very dramatic. I would recommend having a session of creating some pieces of PS and keeping a few on hand for when you need a quick card!! I wish I had brought my camera to record all the different cards that were created!!

Therese

My Art - grad card

This is a simple grad card idea I cased from Splitcoast Stampers!! I used an explosion insert for the card which I printed with inspiring words for the three neices and nephews we have graduating in our extended family this year. I also made one of these for my card exchange at with my cardmaking group as several of them have kids graduating this year!! It was a hit so I have been asked to send along instructions for the explosion insert. Here is a site that has good instructions.
http://us.geocities.com/mladys/exp.html

That is the last I have ready for today!! There is more art to create so there is more on the way and will likely be up by end of next week!! Have a great weekend!!

Therese

My Art - cardmaking - skeleton leaf

This card features a wonderful skeleton leaf!! The handmade paper is some I made myself with recyclable paper and natural additions like leaves and weeds. I really like the texture and interest of this handmade paper!! It is layered onto brown cardstock. I stamped the greeting - round greeting set by StampinUP in light green ink, punched it out with a 1" punch and layered it onto a brown ribbon slide (Cuttle Bug). I layered my green 1/4" ribbon over top of an ivory cardstock strip that just fit into the ribbon slide - approximately 3/8". I cut a slit on the spine to accomodate the ribbon and glued it to the inside. Folded the other end over the front of the card and glued it to the inside. This is another one that would be very suitable for Father's Day in any colour your Dad really likes!!

It was fun to shift the focus and concentrate on male themes and colours.

Therese

My Art - cardmaking - tree

My best option for a Father's Day card was this one!! I used green glossy cardstock which I altered a little to suit my tastes before I stamped the tree in black StazOn. To alter the green glossy I used scrunched up plastic wrap as a stamp with my Creole Spice Kaleidacolour stamp pad. I just stamped all over the sheet and found that the edges were just a bit too hard so I squirted water all over it and stamped with the plastic wrap some more. This softened the colour and the edges. Perfect! I layered the tree on corrugated card with hot glue which ensured that the image was in good contact with the corrugations. I ran out of kraft colour so painted the white sheets with walnut ink and some brown colour washes. Worked out well!! The bow is paper twist! Who doesn't have some of that tucked in a box for a crafty day!! It was the right colour so I cut it to length and then about 1" wide. It is tied in the middle with cotton crochet thread in ivory. The button is tied to the paper twist with the same thread. This embellishment is hot glued below the tree image on the corrugated paper. This whole unit is glued to the green card front!! A greeting tag could be added to the button or the crochet thread tie.

Therese

My Art - cardmaking - birdie!

I love this little bird! There are quite a few on the market as of late. I really like this one because he is so open and you can mix and match the colouring to make it look like any bird or just any bird!! The edge of the bird image is distressed using scissors but the SU distressing tool makes light work of it and is less likely to give you a gash on your finger!! I added a small piece of ribbon to the corner which I stapled on! He is layered on a piece of gift wrap and then onto the card front.

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking - Buckle card

Got the inspiration for this card from Splitcoast Stampers. The paisley Cuttle Bug embossing folder I borrowed from my neighbor a while back. I have placed an order for some new CB embossing folders which are hard to find most anywhere and Pauline has them for me!! I will be picking up my order at Stamp Fest in July!!
I trimmed the embossed layer to the edge of the embossing and trimmed off 1.25". I glued the larger piece to the front of the card and trimmed the card front so it would be even all the way around. I glued the 1.25" to the back inside of the card! The folded buckle (1/2" or so) is glued between this little layer and the card. I was sure to stamp my greeting to the right so my buckle would tuck into my card front. I used the SU window punch to cut a hole in the card front to tuck the buckle into. If you don't have the punch you can punch two holes and cut out the space in between or just cut a slit. The flower is from a recently acquired SU set which I watercoloured to coordinate with the card.
These were supposed to be more male looking cards but I was having a really hard time finding any other image that would go with my paisleys!! It is not always inappropriate to have flowers on a guy card!!
Therese

My Art - Cardmaking - paint chip

Another successful cardmaking session last night!! So much fun to share that joy with others!!
Here I used large paint chips - Home Hardware, I think - and cut off the edges where there was writing and stamped images and greetings appropriate to the colour and theme of the chip. I punched little squares from the scraps to create some 3D embellishements which were just the right colour!! I mounted them with 3D foam tape to add dimension. The front panel goes beyond the front of the card and is even with the back so the card stands nicely! Another card created for the #8 envelopes.
It is great to use paint chips for colour inspiration in your card making! Often times there are colours used together that we would not even think of combining! So go along on the next trip to the hardware store and pick up a few paint chips to use as inspiration in your creative work!!

Therese

MM - Coasters

Love making these marble tile coasters!! I used some different stamps and created a bit of variety to add to my current inventory for Merchants Mill. I stamped with StazOn ink and embellished them with colour washes. Great as one of a kind for anyone's desk or mix and match to create a set for a house warming gift for anyone!!

Therese

MM - Mother's Day cards

The week before Mother's Day I had just enough time between naps (my grand daughter's) to make up a few cards for Mother's Day!! You will recognize the daisy tissue paper from a few post ago!! Love that paper!! I added a torn strip of cardstock and a tag!! Not sure how many sold on opening weekend but I will be able to refurbish these into ones for other occasions by cutting off the the tag and stamping on strip to simply adding another tag.
I need to be giving some thought to cards for Father's Day next! Just had my cardmaking session last night and featured male looking cards so maybe I can adapt one of those designs for Merchants Mill.

Therese

MM - Seed paper cards!

Merchants Mill is a unique gift shop in a little town near where I live. The owner has invited me to return again this year to sell my handmade items there. I have added these seed paper cards to my inventory this year!! The small handmade paper sheet contains wild flower seeds and will grow flowers if planted in soil and kept moist. You can truly send flowers by mail!! I have greeting/note cards, handmade paper, wire angels, photo holders, coasters, pins, papermaking kits and so on there. She has a wide variety of wonderful gift items as well as chocolates and ice cream so it is a great little place to visit for something unique for every occasion as well to treat yourself to a little something sweet!!

Therese

My Art - Wooden frame

My gift to this special friend!! I primed and painted white the wooden frame I bought at Michaels. I used Modge Podge to glue my papers down and hot glue to situate the ribbon where they overlap. "FRIENDS" letters are cut with my Sizzix Alpha Block dies and my Cuttlebug machine. I used a pointy glue stick to attach them to the front of the frame. I gave it a spray of clear acrylic before I put on the embellishment. The flower accent is multilayered with flowers I have in my collection of silks and held together with a large brad. I hot glued the large flower to the frame!!

Very happy with how this turned out and it made a fitting gift for my friend!!

Therese

My Art - accordion card

Here is the accordion card with all the tags! Each person from the group made a tag (I gave them the dimensions in advance) and they brought it along and placed it in the accordion card!! It looked so great and I am sure she will enjoy seeing it in her craft room!!
I used a piece of 18" cardstock and divided evenly into 8 sections so we could each have a little pocket for our tags. I colour printed the letters, punched them out, layered onto pink and then onto a white scallop shape. Once all glued together I attached them to the front of the card with a white eyelet set with my Crop a dile.
She has promised to come and visit once she has settled in. It is only 1.5 hours down the road so maybe we will even just pop in to see her!! We are blessed with angels in our lives!!

Therese

My Art - card for a friend who is moving

One of my cardmaking friends is moving!! It is a good move for her - closer to her guy, more crafting space and a different job to challenge her!! I made her a card that folds out like an accordion which she can put in her craft room to remind her of all the good times with the bunch here!! I tied it all together with a ribbon and used a small piece of mosaic glass and some aluminum duct tape to make a charm for it!! The card was long enough so we all could add a tag with our wishes for her as she moves ahead with her life!! Mine was a reminder to be still!! To always remember what is important in her life and to make time for it!!
Therese

My Art - cardmaking - dragonfly

This is one of my most recent SU sets! I like the long horizontal format and because all the elements are independant they can all be cut apart as well if you want to use them individually! Great when our stamps are versatile!! I used a small crafty sewing machine without the thread to make the stitching on the green layer. Very quick and easy. The image is watercoloured and then all the pieces are simply layered onto the card front. Some of the girls are preferring pencil crayons to watercolour lately. Consider trying something new for adding colour! Chalk is something I have not used in quite a while which also gives a look similar to watercolour. We have the supplies so we should rotate them and stretch our creative muscles by trying something new!!
I just took care of my grand daughter for over a week and I know that her Mom rotates her toys so she doesn't get bored with them. We should do the same with our art supplies!! Put away the old standbys and bring out the ones we bought last year and still have tried!! Go for it!!

Therese

My Art - cardmaking - swervy

A card with swerve!! I borrowed this Floral Fantasy Cuttle Bug embossing folder from a friend and really like the look!! I trimmed to the edge of the embossing and then drew a nice swervy line from top to bottom on the back. If you have trouble with swervy lines make yourself a template from cardboard to trace. You are going to use both pieces so you need one nice cut. I glued the left hand piece to the left hand side on the card front and then cut the front even with the edge of the embossed piece. You could try cutting it different for a unique look. The right hand side of the embossed piece is glued to the inside of the card so it shows at on the front. Punched three holes on the top of the swerve and tied in three ribbons!! Easily can be changed up for any occasion by changing the colours and the embossing! Would be great as a baby or wedding card. Dangle a round tag with a message or greeting!!

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking - Daisies

Ever find a piece of gorgeous paper you just have to have?? This daisy embossed tissue paper was one of those!! I just love the texture and the watercolour impression of it!! The paper featured a variety of loose rectangles with a daisy in each! For these cards, I just cut the rectangles with a wavy edge and glued them to the front of the card. I applied the glue to the card front so I would not lose any of the embossed texture on the paper. Just a little overall pressure keeps the tissue in contact with the cardstock long enough to be well attached without it getting too wet and losing its texture!

So I definitely recommend buying a piece of paper if it is screaming to have you take it home!! I know it is hard to actually cut it up later but everything has its time and eventually it is time to create with it and let it back out into the world to brighten someone's else's day!!

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking - Vellum

For this card I used colour vellum! I stamped a background stamp on the back with chalk ink and embossed an image on the front with metallic embossing powder. I really like how the vellum worked out!! To attach the vellum to the card front I punched some tabs using the SU Window punch and folded them over the edge of the card . They are attached with brads. I made some in yellow with candles and these blue ones with this flower stamp.

I would definitely recommend experimenting with vellum and stamping! Regular pigment ink will not dry so it has to been embossed but any of the hybrid inks or permanent inks work well. Helps you to create vellum that will exactly coordinate with your card design.

My Art - Cardmaking - blossom card

I worked on using the #8 envelopes for my April cardmaking session! Here I used decorative paper I made - just layers of colour wash until it looks good - which I stamped with brown using this SU blossom stamp! Love the collagy look of this one! Layered this onto brown then onto the pink card front. Embossed another piece of brown and layered it onto the inside of the card back. I used the corner rounder on all the right hand corners. A very simple and easy card where you can add a greeting if you wish!
Therese

My Art - handpainted silk card

It has been a long time since I posted!! I have been teaching, creating, sick and had my grand daugther here for two weeks!! I am still playing catch up so I have a LOT to post to my blog in the next little while. Thanks for checking in!

Here is the card I made for last month's card club exchange! We made some hand painted silk at one of our members home's last month and were challenged to make a card with it for the exchange. I stamped on the silk with brown Memories ink I used my circle cutter to cut a hole in the card front and then created a layer in brown that was just a little smaller. I used glue stick to attach my silk and stretched it nicely in the opening. I added a layer to the inside front to cover up the silk and make a neat finish.
Layered a SU scallop punchie in ivory, 1 1/8" punchie in brown, a rust flower punchie and combined them with an ivory eyelet which I set with my Cropadile. Punched the SU slot punch on the right hand side of the card and ran brown ribbon from the inside through to a slot on the spine. Added my embellishment and stamped Thank you in brown. The card front was stamped very lightly in caramel using my SU Harlequin background stamp.
Over all a wonderful effect and I was very happy with the results of this effort. I have a few more pieces of silk I will play with in my card making!!

Therese

My Art - Yalpha for April

It is time for spring!! My Yalpha mingle page for April features the letter F for flowers and friendship!! Loved this rose image - a used commercial greeting card - so decided to use it for my page this month. I sanded the edges just a little for a distressed effect. Added a hand drawn F on vellum which is overlaid by torn vellum with a Friendship quote. The quote is stamped in pink and embossed in clear EP. I used eyelets to attach my vellums to the page and aligned the top eyelet to also attach my flower to the back of the page!! Lots of fun and a bit of different look than I usually put out! Very happy with it!!

Our snow is almost all gone!!!!


Therese
Mixed Media Market http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/

My Art - Journal page

I created this October journal spread as an extra because there are only 7 of us participating in the swap so I offered to do an extra set as did a few more so she will have a full set of months when we are done.

I used a catch sheet from an alcohol ink session on these pages. I doctored it up with a bit of watercolour to make it more consistent and even. Added the Sizzix letters for "October" on one side and colour printed "give" on the other side and used the insides of the Sizzix letters on that side. I also used my sewing machine to make stitching holes on both pieces and then a marker to simulate thread. Added some vintage photos with descriptions to remind us to give thanks for the qualities of our BEING as well as the many materials blessings we receive. A very fun layout that worked out just as I had envisioned it would.

My Art - September journal page

A layout for a journal swap I am involved in! Her theme was vintage children and she is doing a calendar as well. I had fun choosing images to put on this page and creating the background to look like a writing practice booklet. I used an outline alphabet to stamp white on the black board and the header. I used the same stamps to create "September" on the bottom of the page with black Memories ink and then watercoloured it. The set of stamps is used and was missing the "s" so I made one today from fun foam and it has worked reasonably well in this layout! I used a white gel pen to hand write the saying on the black board. I have been using my eyelets!! Worked out quite well on the blackboard!! It was a fun challenge!!

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking with fabric

Another #8 card!! The fabric - large napkin - I bought quite a while back because I loved the colours! Worked perfectly for this card!! It is a heavy twill. Ironed easily and the pieces really keep their shape. I glued the fabric to the card front and layered on the colour printed greeting. I glued the greeting down but added a brad to the corner to

be sure the greeting would stay in place. The circular colour printed accent is layered onto green and attached to the card with a "screw" brad!! The right hand side of the back inside of the card (duplex cardstock) is stamped with texture. Perfect for an invitation to a backyard BBQ or your next Fiesta night!! Change up the fabric and the cardstock to suit any occasion!!

The texture is a wheel from Stampin UP. I have removed the rubber from the wheel and use it with my acrylic mounts. Consider checking out the wheels - some have very nice images that can be cut apart once removed from the wheel and used as unmounted stamps. EZmount works like a dream for mounting UMs to your acrylic blocks!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Easter to those who celebrate!!

Therese
Mixed Media Market

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/

My Art - Cardmaking with Alcohol inks

The large accent on this card was created using foil, cardstock, alcohol inks and embossing (CuttleBug -D'vine Swirl). I glued the foil - regular out of the kitchen drawer - to a sheet of cardstock. I cut it apart and embossed the pieces. Applied alcohol inks to the foil. Fun!!!! On hindsight I found that the inks seeped through the foil which was stressed by the embossing and into the cardstock. Next time I will apply the alcohol inks to the foil and emboss after they are dry. This makes a very sparkly, rich looking accent. Layered the accent and then glued to the front of the card leaving the bottom edge hanging over the front of the card. (3.5"x 11" folded at 6 1/4"). Added a circle (1 1/8") and a flower to the rectangular ribbon slide with a brad to create an embellishment for the card. Would be great for a special occasion - wedding or anniversary!!


Therese

My Art - Cardmaking with OSW

One Sheet Wonder accent for this card!! I used flower, leaves and stipple stamps (SU) for my OSW. Layered the accent onto the front of the card, glued yellow cardstock to the bottom front of the card and added the stitches with a marker. Once it was trimmed even to the back I stamped my greeting (SU). This was a quick and easy card - another #8!

One Sheet Wonder indicates a sheet of decorative paper that you create to make coordinating cards. Great to make card sets for gifts - the cards coordinate but are not all the same.

Take a sheet of cardstock and stamp the flowers in red all over in a random pattern. I like to start with a diagonal line and then add to that. Not too close together. Make sure you have some falling off the edges as well. Then add your leaves in green in between. I added yellow to the flower centers using my finger as a stamp. The stipple stamping was done in brown and yellow in between the flowers. To create coordinating cards just mark off the back of your sheet and cut apart. Add coordinating cardstock - in this case ruby, avocado and yellow - and make up your cards. Lots of different cutting templates are available but you can easily make your own. If you would like a template just Google - One Sheet Wonder Template or head on over to Split Coast Stampers and search there!!

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking with screening

For texture and interest I added screening to this card! Yes, regular fiberglass screening!! We always have pieces leftover when we make up our moulds and deckles for papermaking. The laser printed greeting is layered over the screening and attached to the card with the brads. The accent is layered punched shapes - scallop (SU), 1 3/8" (SU), 1 1/4" (SU), 1 1/8" (?) with a little white silk flower ($1 Store) and a silver brad. I added the black dots to the scallop and it was just what it needed to add a little pop to the card. The white embossed layer (CB -Floral Motif) is attached to the inside back of the card. Another #8 card! I challenged myself to make cards that would fit in these #8 envelopes and was surprised to find that it was not as difficult as I thought it would be. There are a few more to come!!
This card could be made up in any colour!! Consider using drywall tape instead of the screening. The fiberglass drywall tape can be coloured very easily with stamp pads or acylic paint to coordinate with your cardstock.
Therese

My Art - Cardmaking Hydrangeas

Cardmaking!! This was my spring/Mother's Day/Easter card!! The purple mesh I have had for quite a long time and it finally made it into my cardmaking!! It is very loosely woven so can easily be altered by just pulling it in one direction or another. I attached it to the card front by gluing the strip down with hot glue. The image (SU) is watercoloured and glued in place with 3D foam tape which also anchors the mesh to the card front. Added the layered flowers with a brad. I brought stamps so a greeting could be added to the card for those who wanted Mother's Day cards. I like that you can fray the edges a little for some interest and the mesh certainly adds some texture to the card!!

Therese

My Art - Antique collage card

My card for the card exchange with my stamping group! We explored antiquing techniques last month so I used a piece of sheet music which was antiqued with walnut ink. I stamped the music image (SU) with chocolate chalk ink and cut the image out closely. Layered them on the top of the card. I used my Cuttlebug and my new ribbon slide dies to cut the oval ribbon slide! These work great!! Layered a brown circle and heart onto it. The heart was silver so I stipplied it with chalk ink until it worked with the colour scheme. I attached it to the slide with a brad. The ribbon slides accomodate 3/8" ribbon the best so I dug out a short piece in a chocolate colour. Used the deckle scissors (Fiskars) on the bottom of the front flap and stamped the composers (SU) on the back inside of the card. This card fits in the #8 envelopes I purchased for the monogram cards.

Antiquing can be done with a variety of mediums - brown ink pads, brown reinkers, brown acrylic paint (burnt umber is my favorite), distress inks, lemon juice and heat, walnut ink, coffee, tea, etc. They all give a subtly different look and it is fun to experiment. Certainly you can use blank paper or cardstock but I like using printed paper - either something I have printed myself or pages from a book or sheet music. Try crumpling the page before you apply your medium. One of the girls used a page from an old magazine and walnut wood stain!! Worked wonderfully!! Keep an eye out for interesting copy when you are putting paper in your recycle bin! Free art supplies means you can spend more on rubber!!

Therese

Countdown to more images!!

Here is another countdown to St. Patrick's Day image countdown! These are also linkware - provide a link on a site before you down load!

http://artist-how-to.com/Countdown.htm

I am hoping to be able to create with some of these later today!!

Enjoy!

Therese

Countdown!

Hey! Lisa is having another countdown for St. Patrick's Day and Easter! You can check out her linkware images on her site:

http://countdown.tentwostudios.com/

Celebrate St.Patrick's Day tomorrow by creating some green art!! Lots to choose from!!

Therese

My Art - Photo holder

These little photo holders were the last project I made with my students the last week before March break. It was a fun little project and for their versions I allotted them a piece of shrink plastic to make an embelishment or a tag for their holders. Shrink plastic was very popular!! I also brought in some recyclable plastic which acts very much like shrink plastic so they had a ball!!
I used large binder clips (2") as a base for these photo holders. The cardstock cover is tied on at the top to keep the two arms tight to each other which allows the photo to be held in place when inserted between the two. I got the basic idea of using a binder clip to make a photo holder from SCS but modified the design to suit my needs. This version allows more space to decorate and to personalize the holder. I provided the students with a variety of collage materials and some 3D elements to decorate their holders. They are so open to just going for it and created some very nice holders!!
I used a piece of cardstock about 3" x 8.5" which I scored at 3.5" and 4.5". I punched the holes to tie where the binder clip handles narrow which keeps the whole cover very nicely in place.
A quick and easy gift idea that can be changed up or down to be suitable for a kindergarten class or the next gathering of your craft group!! Great little idea for Mother's Day!!

Enjoy! Be creative!

My Art - Lots of monogram cards

Here are all the monogram cards I made for myself. It was very interesting because the students added watercolour washes to the backgrounds of some of theirs for a very interesting look.

Check them out here:
http://www.tmalakrsc.blogspot.com/

It was a very fun project and helped them to appreciate hand lettering in the very short period of time they had to learn it!!

Therese

My Art - Monogram cards

Here is what one of my monogram cards looked like. I watercoloured the letter. Very happy with my new version of T. Monogram cards are great for sending little notes of thanks or appreciation. When you have used your own lettering they are much more unique.

Therese

My Art - Kersal Monogram

This is a Kersal letter!! I taught my class of students to make a Kersal letter so they could create their own monogram cards!! A very versatile lettering style!! They each created an original which I scanned and laser printed so they would have monogram cards of their best work. I borrowed this lettering form from one of the artists on the ByHand group. Thanks, Yogi!!

We used pencils for our practice sheets and then a Sharpie Ultra Fine on coated paper to make our good copies. They made as many as they wanted and in the end picked one to be their best one!!

Therese

My Art - Yalphamingle - A

Our fat book page mingle has morphed into the Yalpha mingle!! I am so glad it is continuing on!! This year we will be featuring letters on our pages!! I started with A but it could have been any letter!! Though my letter looks black it is actually covered with silver foil paper! I got a new Cropadile at my SU party and really like it! It sets eyelets better than anything else I have used in the past - still not always perfectly but pretty close!! And in a breeze of time and with no banging!! A win - win in my books!! It sets several different sizes of eyelets along with other embellishments like snaps, etc. So I played with it for this page. Added black eyelets to attach my letter and three silver ones to the right hand edge. I added fiber to those!! The Cropadile is not as versatile as the Memories setter in that it cannot set them in the middle of a page so I will likely not liquidate the Memories setter just yet. My friend, Linda, used her Cropadile to punch a hole in a thick plastic game piece when we were making danglies at her house! Cut it like butter!! The Cropadile punches two sizes of holes and because of the design easily punches them through metal and any sort of chipboard, etc!! A versalile piece of kit!!
I laser printed ALWAYS and the list on a laser transparency! Very fun to make your own transparencies!! Printed off some keys and some large letters for future Yalpha mingle pages while I was at it to fill an 8.5"x11" page!! I have more art to scan and put up so maybe later this week.

Thanks for checking out my blog and get creative this week!

Therese

My Art - "Faux Silk" Thank you cards

These are the Thank you cards I made for the gang that came over for my Stampin Up party a few weeks ago. I have a wonderful SU demo who does a great job of presenting SU and always has great Make and Take cards!! We had a great time as usual!!

I bought a box of 500 envelopes (#8 - 3 5/8" x 6 1/4") because they were perfect for the monogram cards I was doing with a class of students a few weeks ago. So now I am experimenting with them for regular cards!! For these cards I cut 8.5" x 11" down to 3.5" x 11" and added a white layer on the front to make up the few inches I was short. Worked out quite well. The panel is made with the "faux silk" technique.
Take a piece of tissue paper and stamp and colour the images. Cut cardstock smaller than the size of the tissue paper - 1/2" -1" smaller on all sides. Crunch the tissue up into a ball and carefully unball leaving the wrinkles in. Cover the cardstock all over with glue and gently place the tissue paper on it leaving some hanging over on all edges. Gently press the tissue paper into the glue all over. You want a nice all over textured look. Then turn over the cardstock and glue down the overlapping edges of tissue to the back.
Makes a very nice feature element for your projects - cards as well as scrapbooks and altered art! The greeting is colour printed and layered with the SU circle punches!!
I would encourage you to experiment with different envelopes! It helps you think outside the box!!

Therese
where spring is trying really hard to melt the snow!!

My Art - cardmaking - flowers

Another very versatile card which can be changed up very easily to accomodate different occasions and themes!! Decorative paper has been added at the bottom and top of the card, a watercoloured image has been layered on the left and a greeting stamped on the right. Quick and easy if you are creating a variety of cards for different occasions - just change the image and the greeting!

Enjoy being creative!!


Therese
Mixed Media Market
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/

My Art - cardmaking - Blue asian

The bookplate on this card looks like silver metal but it is not! I used a Sizzix book plate die in my Cuttlebug machine to cut these out of scrap silver coated cardboard!! Worked so perfectly!! I am always saving interesting packaging and recyclables for use in my crafting!!
The background paper is some I printed with my cyan and magenta ink when my colour printer ran out of yellow ink. I downloaded a wide variety of backgrounds from the internet and tiled them in a layout program to create decorative paper!! Worked out so well. I have printed them on coated colour laser paper which nicely absorbs the inks and keeps the colour vibrant!!
The decorative paper is trimmed just smaller than the card, a coordinating strip of cardstock is added to the bottom of the card, a greeting glued to the back of the bookplate, a ribbon inserted to span the width of the card and glued in place. Added the layered silk flowers with a silver brad.

Therese

My Art - cardmaking - fabric pansies

I used fabric on this card!! There is so much wonderful fabric avaible that can so nicely be incorporated into cardmaking. Consider using scraps from your quilting or sewing. Easily create coordinating cards for gifts you may be giving. A large amount of Christmas cards can also be made in very short order using fabric!! Just keep an eye out for a pattern that is easily cut out!!

I used Heat and Bond on the back of the fabric and it just needed to be ironed to the front of the card. There are other products (stitch witchery) out there that can be used as well. Ask at your local fabric or craft store. I bought mine at Michaels years ago.

Added a metal embossed butterfly with 3D foam tape and a flight path in black marker. The stitched border in gold gel pen mimicks the gold in the fabric. A greeting could easily be added as well.

So consider what supplies you might already have on hand for making a quick sets of fabric cards!!

Therese

My Art - cardmaking yellow flower

The embellishment on this card is a button with some fiber!! I used the SU scallop punch (love it!!) for the bottom layer of the flower with brown cardstock!! Layered onto that rust and peachy circles (1.25" and 1"). Tied the bright yellow fiber onto the button and hot glued it into place. For the stem I cut a piece of green cardstock to which I tied similar coloured ribbon. I stamped the little wish greeting (SU) in olive green. The left hand side is adorned with a floral border by Magenta trimmed to the scalloped edge. Once I glued the border into place I added the stem and then glued the flower into place with hot glue. A little card that heralds the hope that is spring!!

Therese

My Art - cardmaking - Ribbon slide buckle in brown

Just found these on my desk!! This month at cardmaking I was featuring cards with embellishments!! I had bought a few packages of these buckles a while back and thought they would fit into this classe nicely. A fairly simple card which can be changed up to any season and occasion by just changing your supplies. I used decorative scrapbook paper which I stamped over to give it a bit more interest. I like doing that!! Added a colour printed greeting that is tucked nicely under the ribbon. The buckle is a ribbon slide which works best with 3/8" ribbon. In this case, I used brown which I purchased last year some time. I added some 3D foam tape under the buckle to keep it secure as it is relatively heavy compared to the card. I nice masculine card!!\
Therese

RSC - on hold!!

Just a note that Rubber Stamp Club is on hold until the fall! Michaels is revamping their classes and coming up with a completely new format!! Wilton's will be staying on and I expect we can expect to see a similar format for future classes!! This will take effect on March 11th and new classes should start to appear by some time in September!! I am looking forward to seeing what is coming and how the new classes will be structured. You should start seeing this take place in your local Michaels very soon!!

Therese

My Art - coaster calendar

Decided to let the art students have a bit of collage fun so we created coaster calendars last week. I provided each with some coasters and a little baggie of colour coordinated paper, images and bits of this and that!! The coasters were first covered with paste paper and then collaged with a variety of images. It is always fun to have time to play!! We added some 3D elements - one being a shrink plastic charm with the quote "Art washes away from the soul the dust of every day life". Shrink plastic was a hit!! We added the calendar on the right hand side in a little plastic pocket which, come the end of the year, can be refilled or can hold a photo!! I really like making these!!

Therese

My Art - Journal

I have been keeping just ahead of a cold - lots of Vitamin C, echinacea and green tea and as much rest as my schedule will allow so it has meant less creative time. Here is the journal I created with my art students. The base is watercolour paper folded and glued together with double sided tape and fabric tape. I hope they will consider added more decorative elements as the mood strikes them. The journal has a stack of pages incorporated into it with a little metal holder. Not sure what they are called - two prongs with backer and metal strip with two holes for the front with two slides that hold the prongs in place. This will allow them to remove pages or replace the whole stack and reuse the journal. We each created our own decorative element for the front and added it with brads. The folded flap incorporates an elastic which keeps it closed. I also created journal prompts for them and a little holder that will easily fit in their journal.
I talked a bit about journaling and how important it is as a self discovery tool. Many of us expect everyone else to pay attention to us and listen to what we have to say without giving ourselves the same opportunity. What comes out of us DOES say something about US and in the process of writing it down we may start to see patterns and be surprised by what we have in there that needs unleashing. Very often, if we let out what we have inside, it completes the process and we can let it go!! So it was a creative project on several levels. We are always called upon to witness our experiences!!
Therese

My Art - Handmade Paper Cards

Handmade paper cards!! These are a project I am doing with a school in the area where the students get exposed to a variety of art and crafts! In the first 45 minute session we made the blue paper sheets and laminated the images to a sheet of white handmade paper. The second day we made the cards with the blue paper - just folded them in half, ripped apart the images on the white one and watercoloured them. The images were hot glued to the front of the blue handmade paper cards. Inserts were glued inside and they made envelopes for them using a quick and easy template by Green Sneakers that utilizes a square of paper.

The blue handmade paper is recycled white bond paper - used and printed. I added some blue construction paper for colour. The last blender full I only blended slightly so there would be some larger bits that would show up as accents in the paper. I also added some herbal tea (used) and some blue flower botanicals that were slightly blended as well.

The white handmade paper is also from used bond paper. I rip off any white areas in my sheets when I am setting paper aside for papermaking in a separate box so I have the ability to make plain white paper with no black bits. I also save all of my white paper and cardstock scraps in the same box.

The images are stamped on tissue paper with waterproof Memories ink and laminated to the wet sheet! They look like part of the paper. Some of the edges lifted a bit while we were watercolouring them so we just applied a bit of glue behind the tissue paper image laid them back down. Good as new. The dragonfly and leaf are silver embossed. The effect was not quite what I had envisioned. The embossing powder was too shiny and reflects too much light which is not enough contrast for the watercolour. Live and learn. I have in the past also laminated embossed greetings into my handmade paper cards which works very well. In this case we used white tissue paper on white handmade paper.

It was great to get my hands in paper again and the students enjoyed the process and the results.

Happy Valentine's Day!! I am celebrating on the weekend with a great meals cooked at home with my DH!

Therese

My Art - Exchange cards

Just had to use my Sizzix die one more time!! Decided to make some white and gold hearts from the leftover Serendipity piece I made for my litte house blessing!! These are for a monthly card exchange I participate in. I layered the heart on gold and trimmed by hand. Makes you appreciate a die cut!! Tried several different backgrounds with very little luck so went with a standby - the Cuttlebug D'vine swirl! I used my to SU oval punches to create a frame from my handwritten "love". Worked out really well. I coloured the edges of the gold frame with watercolour to make it blend with the gold front and it helped a lot to make it look more like a metal frame. I applied all of the elements to a textured premade card!!

I have been staying ahead of the snow today!! I shoveled 4 times and it will need it again in the morning!

Have a great weekend!!

Therese

Stamp Club - New classes

I am going to be teaching classes at Michaels!! I have scheduled three classes - "Pressing out the details", Rubber Stamping THE BASICS, and Waterfall cards. The first in February and the other two in March!!

You can check out more info and see more samples here:

http://tmalakrsc.blogspot.com/

Thanks for checking it out!!

Therese

My Art - House Blessing

This project is a year old.
I made several of these for my children last year for Christmas. I was short of the white and gold serendipity collage so mine has been sitting on my desk since last year. Tonight I decided to finish it. The white and gold serendipity was quick and easy. The frame was purchased at $1 store and painted white. I trimmed the white and gold serendipity to fit in the back of the frame and used 3D foam tape to attach the heart leaving it curved a little to create a little pocket for my blessing.
It will sit by the front door to bless all those who come and go from our house!!

It is nice to have a piece of my art on display in my house. I hope there will be more pieces that will show up over the course of the year!!

Therese

My Art - 31 hearts for January

Art everyday!!

Here is my collection of 31 hearts for January!! I have to admit that I did not make one every day. It was more more a case of making a few once a week or so. It has been fun and I hope to find a project to incorporate them in. I have created quite a few more this month which have already been included in several of my projects.

I am tempted to hoard them - they are all kind of cool and seem to be the begin of a collection!! I expect it will be wiser to let them go when they need to!!

Therese