My art - fat book mingle page

A fat book mingle page! This is the final installment for this mingle! I created two similar looking pages - one in red and one in pink! I will be sending both of them out to the recipients tomorrow!!
I used vintage clipart (The Lady's Closet) I dowloaded from the internet and laser printed. The backgrounds I created using modge podge and tissue papers!! I filled my large L with a lacy background texture which did not show up quite as much as I thought it would. I added a sticker to the front to finish it off. I used a sanded (on the back) transparency of a rose on the other side which I applied with modge podge just to see how it would work. Very reasonably!! I added colour to the back - the sanded side - of the transparency with Memories ink and I like how it turned out!! Added a stitched line to the edge of the transparency with Sharpie marker.
I have really enjoyed being part of this monthly mingle and am looking forward to other monthly projects to keep me making art.

Therese

My Art - Postage book

My postage box with a new book for storing my correspondence items like stamps, return address labels, etc.

Since forever my items for correspondence have been living in a ziploc bag on my desk. Not attractive but close enough to be handy. A few weeks ago I was planning on making mini books with my stamping friends so I decided that a book to hold my stamps, etc would my project. When I dumped the ziploc I also found a glue stick and whiteout in there and thought that was a necessary part of my correspondence items but they would not fit in a book. Then, I remembered that I had bought this gorgeous box about a year ago that would probably be the perfect container for all of these items. Yeah! It was perfect!! I tailored the size and colours of my book to the box allowing room for the glue stick and white out to fit beside it. Worked wonderfully!! I have pages with pockets in my book that hold all the things that I need. To close it up, I just tuck the back flap under the scallop and it keeps everything where it needs to be.

I am very happy with my new little book and its new home - this great box! It looks much nicer on my desk than the ziploc used to and everything is handy. I did rid myself of quite a bit of "stuff" that had accumulated in the bag and really just needed to be thrown out. Because the box will only hold a slight bit of extra "stuff" there will be much less temptation to store unneeded items.

One of the very first projects I made for me!

Therese

Cardmaking - January - Old car

A card suitable for any guy and for almost any occasion!! The decorative paper is gift wrap I bought a few years ago. I will be sad when it is all gone because it makes really nice guy cards!! Will have to keep my eyes open for something similar in my travels! In the past, I have used stamped images of old cars with this paper. I was cruising several font sites the other day and came across this font called - OLD CARS! Downloaded it and printed a few of them onto transparencies for this card. Worked like a darn!! I used a circle of colourful cardstock to highlight the car and make it pop from the background. They are attached using double sided tape behind the brown strip!! The greeting could easily have been added to the brown strip but I decided on a tag instead! I stippled it with brown ink and added colour to the edges to make it pop a bit!!

It would seem that I have a bit of a theme of "use what you have" and "make it yourself" in my cards this month which was not intentional. It is a good practice to make use of the "stuff" you already have!!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Therese

Cardmaking - January - A forest

Had a totally blasty time creating backgrounds for this card!! I hauled out my stamp pad reinkers, rubbing alcohol, felts & wooden block that I use for "polished stone" technique. I used coated copy paper instead of glossy cardstock! I cut the paper into quarter sheets and did individual little pieces of art. The reinkers I used are the really OLD ones for office stamp pads!! The rubbing alcohol worked really well for dispersing the inks and I made a whole bunch of cool backgrounds.

I overstamped them all with this image of a forest from Applalachian Arts Stamps which I have had for many years and just finally inked!! Because they were all different colours I used several different colours to overstamp the image. Amazingly, once stamped the backgrounds looked so great and appropriate!! I punched the card front with my corner slot punch on the the two bottom corners and trimmed my image to fit inside the slots. The greeting is printed on transparency and just placed between the slots and the image. I added a strip of cardstock behind the greeting to highlight it.

Take some time to create a bunch of backgrounds with the supplies you already have!! When you create your own background paper your cards and creations have a bit more of your touch in them!!

Therese

Cardmaking - January - Hearts

I cased this idea from someone on Splitcoast. I printed the black circles/dots right on the cardstock and created the b&w designer paper in a layout program (Corel Draw). I created long skinny rectangles filled with black, white & grays and printed it on my laser!! Too easy!! The hearts are cut from a Sizzix die I got for Christmas from one of my sisters! Yeah for getting crafty stuff for Christmas!! I cut two different red cardstock hearts sets and then mixed them up!! I like the little play on texture with two different red colours.
This was my effort for those who might be needing a Valentine's card for next month!! Would also be good for a wedding or anniversary! I created some with pink hearts as well which would be also appropriate for girl friends!!

I challenge you to create some of your own art supplies! My sister has created several different designer papers to suit her projects and colour printed them!! You are capable!!

Therese

Cardmaking - January - calendar flower

January cardmaking was last night!! It was a great night and we had fun making cards with a few new people!!

This card uses a calendar page!! We have all started replacing our 2008 calendars and are often loathe to recycle them because the photos are so nice. Consider reusing them in your art!! You can use them as backgrounds or the base for any background technique or collage, cut them up and use as design elements in your art, rip them up and use them as layers in your collage work, etc.

In this case, I stamped the petal image on calendar pages of landscapes and then embossed them with black embossing powder!! These photographs had sky, mountains, water, tree lines, meadows that were similarly coloured and worked well for this technique. I used any yellow and green to create the centers and the stems. We cut out the petals and created flowers which we layered onto the Cuttlebug embossed backgrounds. This was layered onto a coordinating cardstock. The greetings were either stamped & embossed on vellum or laser printed vellum. We attached them to the card fronts with black diamond brads.
Consider stamping any sort of image onto any glossy page - calendar, magazine, junk mail, etc. You will find that there are a lot of free supplies that you can use in your art just around your house!! Challenge yourself to some GREEN ART today!!

Therese

My Art - Thank you cards!

My Thank you cards for the holidays!! I used the finger painting art I made over the holidays with my grand daughter for the main element. Added a complimentary cardstock below and sewed on an embossed colour printed vellum greeting! They needed just a bit of something else so I added some silk flowers with a brad!! Really like the way they turned out!!

I am so looking forward to sharing my love of creating with my grand daughter - all of my grandchildren actually. We have another on the way!! My other daughter is expecting for the end of February!! Yeah!! I just know that there are a few more yet to come!!
I hope you are back to the routine of your life and feeling grateful for all that you received over the holiday season. Be sure to express your gratitude to those who have blessed your life in any way!! I know there have been struggles as well but as a human being with free will you have the choice to focus on that which you choose. Even in the sea of a struggle you can choose to keep your eye on the beacon of light on shore! Remember, this too shall pass!!

Therese

Shared Art - finger painting!!

Finger painting with my granddaughter - 1.5 yrs!!

My daughter brought along paper and finger paints for us to share over Christmas - she is a great Mom!! My grand daughter was not too sure about just what to do with all this colour - she enjoyed squeezing the tubes and getting the colour on the paper - not quite as keen about getting her hands into it. We were using the tiled kitchen floor of the suite as our format. Maybe not the best choice for her! I noticed that the next morning at breakfast that she had the technique down pat with her juice on the table so next time we will have the luxury of being at home and using the table instead of the floor and I expect she will be much more interested in participating with her cute little hands.
So with LOTS of paint on the paper I decided it was worth taking a few minutes to create art!! This is what it looked like once I was done! I brought the artwork home with me and used it to create my holiday Thank you cards which you will see in the next post!!
Take time to create everyday - make background paper, do a little stamping, colour stamped images, take a photo or two, create a card, ATC, inchies, etc, do some scrapbooking, read a few magazines, etc. Whatever is your fun activity - quilting, felting, painting, drawing, cooking, etc - Just do it!!

Therese

My art - 2009 calendar!!

Happy New Year!! Many you all be blessed in 2009 with all that is good!!

I created a 2009 calendar for my kids as Christmas gifts!! Each page has a photo I have taken with a calendar page below. I created it 8.5x11 (double sided) because that is the format of the calendar program (Print Master) I was using. The pages were colour laser printed and then bound with my Zutter Bind it all!! The first binding was a little wonky but the others were much better!!

It was very fun to create the calendar but getting it to print was a bit more of a challenge. I am hoping to create another one next year so have already started thinking about what sort of photos I will need for it. Winter photos for December need to be taken now!! I do not have photos of all the pages! Needless to say, I was in a time crunch just before Christmas!!

A calendar is a really fun gift that can be personalized for each person! You can use all sorts of your art - cards, scrapbook pages, 3D and mixed media items, quilts, etc - whatever you are creating!! I think I will be seeking out another calendar program that has more options for sizes, etc.

Therese

My Art - mingle page

A mingle page to finish off the year!! I created this snow themed page using a piece of alcohol ink background in blues onto which I stamped the trees from Lovely as a Tree (SU). I layered several white ripped pieces over that and sewed them together. I added a stencil that I altered with ink and stamping which I attached with eyelets. I tied on the snowflake embellishment and then glued this layer to the back layer with the saying and the snowflakes!! As you can see there are two of these so someone will be getting a RAK in their mailbox!!

I bought myself a small craft sewing machine a few weeks ago and was really wanting to try it out. Works very well!!

Wishing all of you peace this Christmas season and may you be blessed with all that is good in the new year!!

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking #4

I love the look of navy and red!! Really worked well in this card. I had several images for this card set - a dragonfly by Magenta, a butterfly collage by SU and this saying. Love it! This was a going away gift from the girls at my last stampin group!!

The images were stamped in navy blue Memories, cut closely and layered onto navy cardstock. The scrapbook paper was layered above the embossed distressed stripes (CB). I attached the ribbon to the inside of the card again with double sided tape. Used 3D foam tape to attach both the heart punchie and the layered greeting.

So I hope you are inspired a little to get your thank you cards made early so they can be sent soon after the holidays before life gets back to normal and they get lost in the shuffle of everyday life.

When we express our gratitude for our blessings we focus on what we have which blesses us with yet more!

So I wish you a wonderful holiday season with good times and good food shared with your family and friends. Choose peace and love!!

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking # 3

This card worked out so well but it is a bit involved in that there are several components some of which are layered. The background is some really nice gift wrap I bought years ago. I still love the look of it with the gold highlights! I cut the piece larger than I needed and just trimmed to the card's edge with scissors. That ensures that it covers the card front perfectly without having to cut it perfectly and then try to line them up perfectly.
I stamped the green with the Baroque swirl (SU) and used a round dish to draw a line to cut on. I was sure to cut on the inside of the line so there would be no pencil on my half circle. The floral motif is stamped and cut out to the edge of the design and then layered onto a black circle.
I backed the ribbon with double sided tape and applied just the very edge of the lace to the back of it and then glued it to the red piece. Once the components were ready I first glued on the red piece, then the green half circle and the floral motif over that! I did stamp "thank you" on after I was finished!! If left off it gives you a card that is suitable for other occasions!! I was happy with the mildly vintage feel of this card created by the floral motif and the lace.
Therese

My Art - Cardmaking #2

Another relatively quick and easy card. The green layer is gift wrap - I bought a roll of it because I just love this colour! Layered on the twice stamped rectangle and then the ribbon which is tucked to the inside on both sided and kept in place with double sided tape. The embellishment consists of - pink scallop punchie, 1 3/8" green punchie, stamped in pink greeting punchie and a pink flower punchie. I used a push pin on a thick mousepad to make the holes in each scallop. I did add a bit of green stippling to the right hand side of the card to reduce the starkness of the white.

Just a note about punching thin paper. Sometimes it is difficult to punch thin papers so to help the process along do several layers at a time and place a regular bond paper scaps on both sides and the papers in between will punch perfectly!! Good for paper napkins, tissue and thin gift wrap.

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking #1

Had my December cardmaking session this week. It is early but in December it is always wise to schedule events early to avoid the Christmas parties and concerts, etc that are part of many people's lives. I try to get Thank you cards done so that they are ready to go when you feel you need to send a note of thanks to those who have been generous to you over the holidays!

Easy and quick card! Stamped the harlequin background (SU) in caramel, layered on a ripped green layer, added a punchie flower embellishment (SU) and a greeting.

My brain was still in Christmas mode when I came up with this design. It got more out of it as I worked on the other kits.

Therese

My Art - more Christmas cards!

More Christmas cards!! I had a cardmaking session on Wednesday morning and we made these two cards. Some were experienced card makers but most were newbies. Everyone did very well and were pleased with the cards they made. I made an effort to have cards that did not require too many tools or extras being as the group was quite large.
The snowflake card has an embossed snowflake layered onto coordinating cardstock along with a layered oval greeting. These are layered onto a snowflake embossed layer then onto a coordinating cardstock. I added a clear rhinestone brad in the middle for a little bling and it was just enough to make it sparkle just a little!!
The angel card has a few more layers but was mostly just gluing layers into place. I created the music background paper using a scanned sheet of music that I reduced in colour and added "Gloria - angels on high" in a very elaborate font. Once they were laser printed I colourwashed the sheets with walnut ink. I also very lightly colour washed the white cardstock that I stamped the angels on so it would all coordinate. I layered a strip of brown and then a ribbon onto the music background paper. The paper and brown cardstock are trimmed to the edge of the card and the ribbon is tucked around both sides and secure on the inside with double sided tape. I mounted the angel image (SU) on 3D foam tape to give the card a bit more dimension. The greeting was stamped in black right on the front of the card.

That is the end of Christmas cards for classes! I do have a few leftover from each class that I will use for sending out to friends and family!! I still need to write my newsletter so it can be included with my cards for this year.

Therese

My Art - Tag exchange

This is the tag I created for our Tag Exchange with the girls that meet here! The scallop design (SU) is stamped and embossed with a rainbow embossing powder that I bought years ago. It was much nicer than I remembered!! I added a scalloped layer below that which I cut with my Nestabilities in my Cuttlebug. Layered that onto a rectangle which was embossed with the D'vine Swirl embossing folders (CB) and dabbed a bit around the edges with the same ink that I stamped the image with. I corner rounded the corners before I embossed it. I added a brad to the center to hold all of these layers together. I added a knotted ribbon which I tucked to the back and then added this to a plain white layer. Added a silver eyelet and silver/white cord for tying on! We each made enough tags so everyone could have a full set. Kate made hers out of clay and fired them with a glaze! Super wonderful. I will be putting my angel "tag" on my tree!!

So we have some wonderful tags for putting on gifts this year though it is tempting not to use them because they are so nice!

Therese

MM - Sticky note book

Sticky note books!! This is a new spin on this classic little book that holds a pad of stick notes. My sister and I came up wtih this one while she was here on holidays few months ago. It holds a 2009 calendar as well and the pad of sticky notes and has a magnetic closure!! We used some glittery cardstock we bought locally and they turned out wonderfully!! You can find a good selection of these at the Merchants Mill in Consecon!!

Hoping to make a few more of these for Christmas!!

Therese

MM - Glass Ornament

Glass ornaments with my own little flair!! I used my own backgrounds that I had created with alcohol inks for the backgroud of these ornaments.

I would highly recommend that you scan any and all your art for future use and sometimes even scan all of the steps so you can use them later on.

I used a layout program to add white words and simple images to the backgrounds and then colour printed them onto vellum. I clear embossed the colour printing thinking it would not dry onthe vellum but several areas had already dried enough to not be wet enough to have the embossing powder stick to it. In the end, it did not affect the look of the image at all. I printed an 8.5 x 11 with six circles, embossed and then cut them out with my circle cutter!! I inserted them into the pancake glass ornaments by rolling them up and putting them through the top.

They turned our really nice and I am happy to see my own work featured prominently in these!! They were delivered to the Merchants Mill last week!

Therese

My Art - Masculine cards

I am looking forward to the new year already because I have a hard time getting those early new year cards out in time!! I need several masculine cards so I decided to make a few while I was at it. I had stamped these trees with Pearl Ex a few months back and had them sitting on my desk. Decided to see what I could combine them with for the cards I needed. They worked out very well!! I like the colour combinations and the different hues in the Pearl Ex that I could draw from for cardstock colours. Have not played with Pearl Ex very much but did buy a few colours from my local SU demo - SU has retired them - so am looking forward to more playing in the future!! You might need to click on the image to see the cards in better detail so you can see the Pearl Ex trees!

Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

Had a card for an exchange to make so used up the very last of the leftovers from that black and gold paper!! This one features NOEL printed on a laser transparency backed with gold gift wrap and mounted with double side adhesive and 3D foam tape. The gold paper was stamped with a script stamp (SU) in black and layered under the other!! Pretty simple but quite effective!! These are off in the mail and I hope they arrive before the end of the month!!

Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

A quick and easy design!! Had someone at my last class that is a beginner card maker who was wanting a few extra kits. She wanted them to be simple and easy to put together without too many tools and steps. The background was created with the Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder. I added a layered snowflake embellishment (SU punches) and a glittery blue fiber for texture. It needed just a little something so I added a colour printed greeting that I punched out with the window punch (SU) and glued in place with double sided adhesive!!
It has been totally fun to create so many Christmas cards this year. Have two more to come up with for another class in just over a week. Will post them when they have been created!! I hope you will glean some inspiration from these cards for getting your own made in time for sending along to family and friends.

Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

Just love this black and gold combination for Christmas. I just had to buy this roll of paper when I saw it!! The ribbon matches perfectly and was a $1 store find - it is awesome high quality doublesided ribbon!! I cut the oval ribbon slide with my Cuttlebug and added a snowflake punchie (MS) with a black brad. Used a ribbon saving tip to maximize my ribbon and had JUST enough for all my card kits. The trick is to tie both ends of the ribbon to each other and then cut it to fit the front of the card. We used double side adhesive to attach the ends to the inside of the card. The greeting is gold embossed on the bottom edge of the black card.
Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

A glittery snowflake!! This is a Sizzix snowflake die being sold by SU. Perfect size for the front of a card!! My sister owns the die and brought it with her when she was here on holidays. We cut a bunch with my Cuttlebug. I used speckly navy cardstock that looks like a snow storm. I applied double sided adhesive behind the points of the snowflake, covered them in prisma glitter and then removed the carrier to mount the snowflake to the front of the card. I added a silver brad to the center!! I used the same double sided adhesive to add glitter to both sides of the colour printed greeting! Had not planned to add glitter to this card but after playing with glitter on the little Christmas tree in the last class I decided to give it a try. Work out very well!!

Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

A Queen Anne's Lace snowflake!! I picked more QAL this summer and pressed them for making Christmas cards. I just love creating with this soft green colour. I cut the layered scalloped circles with my Nestabilities and my Cuttlebug machine. There is a double layer of acetate that protects the QAL which is attached to the back layer with a tiny piece of double sided tape. There is an ivory layer that I cut at the same time as the front on the inside that hides all the layers and acetate. The outside of the card is stamped with a multi snowflake stamp(Michaels $1.50) in soft green ink. The scalloped circle that I cut out of the front ivory layer I stamped with a large snowflake in the same green ink and glued to the inside of the card so when the card is closed you can see it through the window. I used Bowtique ribbon (last year's supply) of the ribbon and layered my stamped greeting onto a darker green oval and applied it with 3D foam tape.

Love the natural feel of this card and it is really different as a Christmas card!!

Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

I created this card for my regular Cardmaking class for November - Christmas cards!! I do love playing with my Christmas stamps and seeing what I can create. For this one I created an alcohol ink background on glossy paper with a painters tape mask on the bottom to create a snow bank of sorts. The ink did leak a bit behind the tape but still gave enough of a masking to create the snow effect I was looking for! I used SU reinkers - Night of Navy and Brocade Blue. Really like the watercolour effect of this technique! Embossed the trees from Lovely as a Tree set over the background!! Love it!! Added a silver embossed greeting on the navy card and a snowflake brad to bridge the two!! Though it is not very visible I did layer the trees onto silver foil paper as well. Matches with the embossed image and greeting very well. This was a quick card and would work very well for a production card. You could vary the colours of the sky, the cardstock and the greeting for different seasons as well. Very versatile design.

Therese

My Art - Mingle fat book page

This is my Yalpha mingle page for November! I had it started early enough but they were late going out because I got all caught in getting my Christmas card kits ready. I printed a laser transparency with the large S which is a decorative font I downloaded from the internet. I glittered the back - white glue and glitter - so it required a day of drying before it could be assembled. I could have planned the positions of my snowflakes (MS) better so as not to interfere with my words but it is not too bad!! I am liking the posibilities of this glittering technique!! I think the next time I would print my letter in reverse and glitter the printed side which would make the outside less vulnerable to wear and tear!! Someone special will be getting RAKed with one of these!! It would seem that I have been on a transparency kick with these mingle pages lately. Will have to challenge myself with some thing new for the next one!!

Therese

My art - card for exchange

This card was made for my Card Club exchange! We challenged ourselves last month to work with vellum and one of the girls brought her extensive collection of embossing powders! It doesn't really show up well on this scan but the butterflies are wonderfully glittery!!! I had made several sheets of glittery vellum so used a piece on this card!! It was fun to find matching cardstocks and really highlight the fun colour in the butterflies. I mounted the image with 3D foam tape to add a bit of dimension!

I have been working so much on Christmas cards lately that it was good to change it up a bit and think of other options and colours!!

Therese

My Art - Hugs in a Mug

Here is my version of a hot chocolate treat for Christmas morning!! I have altered a tea tin (Tetley) with decorative paper, a belly band with instructions and a scallop with my "Hugs in a Mug" name!! I searched the internet for some hot chocolate poems and ended up modify one to fit my needs. The can contains hot chocolate mix, Hershey kisses and marshmallows!! These have been delivered to the Merchant's Mill. My sister has also made up a few of these for her sales this year and sold several yesterday so I am hoping they will be popular!! These would be great as gifts for hostesses, teachers, etc.

Therese

My Art - Christmas Cards

Peace on Earth! What we all want for Christmas!!

This is a large card that fits in a #10 business size envelope. I wanted the poinsettias to really show and found that the A2 size really didn't show them off the way I wanted it to. Love the colours - almond, warm red, sage green and silver!! This is also gift wrap I bought last year at Michaels. I just knew that I had cardstock to match the red. In the end, because of the size of the class I did not have enough red so I used almond as a base card and cut strips of the red to line the top and bottom edges so it would LOOK like it was on warm red. Works for me!! Gold embossed the greeting on vellum and ripped the edges. Discreetly added double sided tape - two little pieces behind the words and ensured that I caught the vellum with the brads in the snowflakes (Martha Stewart) to secure it in place. A card that came together very well and has some weight to it!! Very happy with the end product on this one!!



This is the last of the five in the large Christmas card class!!



Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

This is a quick and easy card!! The bottom layer is gift wrap I bought two years ago at Michaels. Well worth checking out the gift wrap as you shop during this season. Buy a roll or two to make Christmas cards for next year!! I stamped the harlequin (SU) on the top section and then added the decorative paper. I colour printed the words and then ripped both sides before I glued it over the

top edge of the paper. The star is plastic and was part of a garland I bought last year - not sure where $1 or Canadian Tire. I just cut them all apart and used a glue dot to attach it to the card front. Everyone really liked this card!!

Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

Glitter just makes every thing sparkle and is always appropriate for Christmas!! On this card we glittered our little tree on the back side of the acetate so to keep the stray glitter at bay!! I stamped the little tree on the front of the acetate with black Staz On and we coloured the star and trunk with Sharpie markers on the back. We also applied white glue with a very fine tip to the tree then sprinkled on ultra fine green glitter ($1 Store). It takes a while for the glue to dry clear but we assembled the cards anyway and by the end of the class some of them were already dry - clear - so you could see the glitter!! A really fun card!! I cut the aperture in the blue layer with my rectangle Nestabities and my Cuttlebug machine!! Sure does a nice job and so much quicker than an exacto and a ruler!! I added a snow bank of white cardstock so the tree would have a place to stand and stamped a greeting on the outside!! The background is coloured printed on the card front. A few layers but worth the time!!

Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

A cute little gingerbread man to spice up the holidays!! This little guy is cut with a Sizzix die! My sister has one and cut these for me!! We added "frosting" with a white gel pen. SU sells a nice white opaque one that works very well. We added red cardstock behind the hearts and black behind the eyes. Some of the girls who took the class went all out with the frosting - gave him cheeks and a big smile, doubled up his hearts, etc. The gingerbread man is mounted over handmade paper which is paper I have made myself so it has texture and flecks of naturals in it. I tied a twine cord around the spine which worked with the textural quality of the handmade paper and the colour scheme over all. The greeting is preprinted twill tape that I bought at Michaels in the Bowtique ribbon section. It was the perfect length for this card!! Gotta love it when all the elements come together and work well together!!
Card number two from the large Christmas card class!

Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

White on white for Christmas!! I used the D'vine swirl CB embossing folder for the background which is layered onto white cardstock. The strip across is also smooth white cardstock. The greeting is actually colour printed onto vellum in blue (font called Embossed) and then embossed with Iridescent Ice (SU) embossing powder. Be sure to not have your embossing powder too close to your printer because they are really not compatible. The sequin snowflakes were iridescent on one side and plain white on the other. I used silver brads to attach them through all the layers and onto the front of the card. I love the winter blowing snow feel of the D'vine swirl background!!
This is one of the cards we made in my large Christmas card class - 20 cards!! 4 of 5 designs!!

Therese

MM - Countdown Calendars

Countdown Calendars for Christmas!! Who doesn't need one of those to keep us on track and doing what is important rather than what is urgent!! I made these for the Merchants Mill but my girlfriend bought two before I could get them delivered!! They are going to adults that she thinks would be willing to countdown with their kids. Each page has a number from 24-1 to indicate how many days there is left OR the day of December - works either way. Each page also has a pocket which holds an activity to be done that day. I made some of my own and then did a few internet searches to find more so in the end they are a composite of what I thought was appropriate. Because the activities are just tucked in a pocket they can be moved around from year to year to fit your schedule. The activities are flexible enough for all kinds of families - little kids, older kids, no kids, grand kids, etc. I bound the pages with my NEW Zutter!! Works so nicely and give a really nice look to the calendars!!
I hope you are getting ready to countdown to Christmas with your family no matter what it looks like. Take the time to spend time with each other as the season comes on. You will all treasure the family time you created for an hour or so every day and it will make it a Christmas to remember for all of you!!

Therese

My Art - Mingle page

I created this mingle page a while back and am just getting to post it now!! I used the altering technique I described earlier for the transparency. Sanded the backs of them so they could be coloured and altered to suit my layout. I used stamp pads to alter these ones. The quote is handwritten and I used my double sided tape on these transparencies as well. I am very happy with this new tape. I used packaging as the base of this page and it worked out very well.
Be on the look out for items you can use in your art that are readily available in your home - decorative cardboard, clear plastic, printed images, colourful backgrounds, etc. I usually evaluate whatever is being routed to the recycle bind for art potential!!

Therese

My Art - Card exchange

For the card exchange with my stamping group I decided to try a new Pearl Ex technique from the Technique Junkies Newsletter!! It took a few tries to get it to work out as I wanted it to but I am very happy with how they turned out. I applied the Perfect Pearls to still warm clear embossing powder. Because my image was so large I had to do it a piece at the time so I applied several different colours of mica powders. I heated the EP again so that the mica powder would incorporate and become permanent. Really love the look of it!! Not wanting to cover up too much of the image I added some copper decorative paper (gift wrap), some copper brads and some mesh which had been embossed with copper embossing powder!! The copper metal embellishment was just the perfect thing to finish off the card which I applied with a bit of hot glue to hold the mesh and 3D foam tape for a bit of pop!! Really happy with the way this one turned out so I made two more for my other card exchange!!

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking - Altered

We played with some altering techniques for this card. Stamped harlequin background (SU) onto the card front as well as onto an old book page with walnut ink. Trimmed the page to fit on the front of the card. I created a torn edge on the right hand side. Over this I layered a transparency which I printed with my laser printer and some images from the internet. This leaf one is from Trish Bayley. I also used a light house, a woman with a child, the Eiffel tower (Brenda Braun) and a scene with an old automobile!! To allow the transparency to be altered I sanded the back side so it would also accept walnut ink. Everyone enjoyed the process of adding walnut ink to their pieces!! You could use acrylic paints or pads and/or reinkers instead of walnut ink. Certainly using a different colour would give the card a totally different look. I used some new double sided tape on the back in the dark areas and it did not show at all on the front side. To secure it on the bottom corner I overlayered a book plate with greeting and attached it with brads. Added another brad to the other corner to have it well attached. It is fun to alter items and add them to your cards. The bookplate was cut from silver foil which I sanded and painted with burnt umber acrylic paint. I sealed the paint with clear acrylic finish to make it more permanent. Try your hand at altering some of your regular supplies to get a more antique look.

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking - roses

Love this card!! I used a NEW CB embossing folder with leaves which I bought at Stamplicity in Port Colburne when I we were in Niagara Falls with my sister!! Really like this embossing folder!! The rose images are stickers which I have had for while now and they worked out so well on this card!! The pink/script layer is torn to meet the embossed leaves. I added a ribbon and a colour printed greeting with 3D foam tape.

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking - die cut flower

I added texture to this card with "mesh" which is adhesive drywall tape!! You can usually buy small rolls at a Dollar store if you don't have some hanging around the garage like we have at our house!! The card front was stippled with a stipple stamp (SU) in coordinating ink and the mesh applied. We used pencil crayons on it to add colour and some depth. It worked so well. The flower die cut is embellished with a punch shape and a collaged handmade paper button which I created using a 1 1/4" punch and 1/8" punch. They looked really cool!! I tied some coordinating fibers into the button and just layered all the die cuts to each other and glued the embellishment to the card front with hot glue so it would attach well over the mesh. Brought several greetings so participants could choose what worked best for them.

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking - embossed

Cardmaking for October has come and gone!! This was a fun card to prepare - no kits were the same!! I embossed backgrounds using several different Cuttlebug embossing folders and stamped images on decorated glossy cardstock in Memories ink or embossed them with metallic embossing powder. The image was layered on the card front and the insert glued to the inside before I tied on the bundle of fibers!! These cards were a lot of fun and it was fun to see how all the different images and colour combinations came together!!

Therese

My Art - Baby cards

Have been making baby cards!! My neighbour had a baby boy in early October and my friend's neice had a baby girl a few days later so I made up some cards to give as gifts!!

For the blue cards I made up some decorative paper with acrylic paint and added some pearly paint to give it some sheen. Cut it to fit on the top of an #8 card and added some white embossed cardstock (CB swiss dots) below that. Added a ribbon in blue with a piece of white tied in. Saw that recently on card and thought it was cool!! Added a rectangle which I cornered rounded and folded over the edge of the card embellished with a button and some pearly thread.

The pink cards are made up from some duplex colour printed cardstock I made up a while back. Added some embossed cardstock (CB swiss dot) below that with a strip of cardstock between the two. The embellishment is a punched scallop (SU) with the scallops pierced with a push pin. Added a layer of pink (1 3/8"), a stamped circle of dots punched with the 1 1/4" punch (SU) and a pink button tied with pearly thread in the middle of that!

My sister has been visiting and this was one of our crafty projects for a day!!

We also spent an evening refurbishing Christmas cards for our soldiers in Afghanistan. One of the girls here is collecting cards to send over so they can send them home to their families. We made them all appropriate for kids knowing that those might be in short supply!!

Therese

Technique - resizing large envlelopes

I have some large commercial card envelopes that I have acquired over the years that are often too large for the cards I am making. I finally decided to work out a way to use them for my A2 invitation sized cards.
I start out with a 8.25" x 5.75" envelope and cut out the middle section to fit my A2 card, cut off both ends from the scraps and glue them back on each side. You end up with a nice slim envelope with a nice triangular flap. Adding the two side pieces covers up your card and keeps the card from being damaged in transit.
If you have a stash of large envelopes consider modifying them so you can use them for your smaller cards.

I hope the info on the right is useful.

If you have a card shop close to you inquire about getting the envelopes when they change up their card displays. The envelopes are not returned to the company and you can often get them for free. I use them for my personal cards and for the cards I refurbish. I think it would be inappropriate for them to be used for cards made for sale.

Therese

My Art - Masculine card

Have a few male birthdays coming up so made a couple of these cards this weekend. My skeleton leaves were not quite the right colour so I just applied ink from my green Memories pad until they were the right colour. The background paper is one I received in a swap somewhere along the way as is the suede paper. Have never used suede paper before - wonderful texture. I stitched the leaf to the suede paper with embroidery floss and then glued that layer to the card. Worked out very well.

I am slowly learning to make more than one card at a time. Very little extra time but more cards to put in my stash!!

Therese

My Art - card for caregivers

A special card for a special person! I made this card for a special woman in our family who cares for another who is in the first stages of Alzheimers. Carolyn King is having a contest on her blog to encourage everyone to send cards to a caregiver of someone with Alzheimers. There are so many whose lives have been touched by this illness and the caregivers surely need support to continue day after day. There is an address on her blog where you can send a card if you have no person to send a card to.

This large card features watercoloured roses, scrapbooking paper, a hand embellished strip with ribbon and a stamped greeting.

It will wing its way in tomorrow's mail!!

I encourage you to check out Carolyn's blog and send a card!!

Therese

My Art - Tart tags

We are having a fundraiser garage/bake sale tomorrow at our church to raise funds for an orphanage in Mexico. I made a LOT of tarts - raspberry, almond, butter and chocolate!! Decided to spiff them up so packaged them nicely and added these cool little tags!! Punched scallop circles with the SU scallop punch, added a 1 3/8" coordinating layer and then the details which I printed on my computer and punched with the 1 1/4" punch. Stampin UP now makes a 1 3/4" punch which would add another layer! Have that one on my Wish list!!

I have begun to change up the way I eat so I will not be having any of the wonderful tarts I made. I am avoiding high glycemic foods because they cause an insulin response in the body and cause fat to be stored. Who knew!!! If you can keep your blood sugars low and avoid having an insulin response you can force your body to get the fuel it needs from your fat stores!! Excellent!! It does require that I do not combine carbohydrates (rice, bread, pasta) and proteins in the same meal but on average that has not been too difficult to manage. You can eat as many low glycemic vegetables as you want!! If you want more information check out Suzanne Sommer's books on the subject of low glycemic index foods and food combining for weight loss. I have taken several books out of the library that addresses this issue. I have lost a few pounds and feel much better. I would highly recommend this approach to eating to anyone who really wants to take off the extra weight without lots of rules and counting of calories.

Therese

My Art - September Cardmaking #4

Another card that fits into my stash of #8 envelopes!! The stash is slowly dwindling and I am trying to decide if I will get another box of them when I run out! It has been fun to challenge myself to create in a different format.
To fit the #8 envelope I cut my cardstock to 3.5 "x 11" and folded at 1" and 7.25". Used a piece of decorative cardstock - double sided colour printed - to bridge the gap between the two edges. Added a punch with an eyelet. Found instructions online somewhere on how to set eyelets and am finding the process more consistent. I am using the Making Memories eyelet setter and a little hammer. When setting the eyelet just hammer the setter on the back of the eyelet until it starts to spread and then use the hammer directly on the back of the eyelet to firmly set it. Works much better than continuing to use the setter which I found often distorted the eyelet. Punched a slot (SU slot punch) and added a bit of a cord to wrap around the circle to keep the card closed.
The greeting is stamped in Memories Black which is permanent and allows it to be watercoloured. Layered it onto coordinating cardstock and then to the left of the card. Added a bit of overstamping on the brown one to add a bit of depth to the cardstock.
Therese

My Art - exchange card

Have been playing with my new embossing folders for the Cuttlebug! Love the Swiss Dot one which I used on the top of this card! It is my new favorite one after the D'vine Swirl. I do really like the bird one I used on the bottom of this card as well. I added a bit of colour with my pigment stamp pads but I expect you could use chalk, pastels and even watercolour instead. I cut the bookplate with my Sizzix die using my Cuttlebug and layered my greeting under it. Added a strip to cover the joint between the embossed layers, a ribbon and a flower accent. Really love the softness of this card!!
Stampin Up has a Big Shot in their new catalog!! I think I can use all of them in my Cuttlebug but would need to buy the long cutting plates to use the big dies for the little basket and the star!! I was over at my SU demo's open house and she was doing demonstrations!! It is a very cool machine and if I did not already have one I would be buying the Big Shot. My daughter has a Big Kick and so I did some comparing online and can find no huge difference between the Big Kick and the Big Shot.

Therese

My Art - Card making #1

With the fall comes the back to our regular life so I am back to my cardmaking sessions!! It has been fun to prepare for this class and it was great to be back to this great group of people!! I have added a morning class to the schedule so I had one person come on Wednesday morning!! It is so much fun to help people stretch their creative muscles.
I stamped the background of this card with my SU stipple stamp and some bleach. I made a stamp pad with a foam tray, a paper towel and a bit of bleach. Works great! Be sure to clean your stamps right after using them. We stippled a bit more colour on it at class using the large kids paint brushes you can buy at the dollar stores and a coordinating stamp pad. I also added a bit of colour to my silk flower with the stipple brush and my stamp pad. I buy light coloured silks so they are easily modified in this way. Trimmed the strip by tearing the edges (options - deco scissors), stippled the edges and stamped my greeting. Glued this to the card. Layered the skeleton leaf with a very light layer of glue on the back and attached the flower accent over the bottom of the leaf stem to permanently attach it to the card front. Quick and easy!!!
Therese

My Art - September Cardmaking #3

I challenged myself to come up with a card that used handmade paper!! For the fall I usually combine pressed leaves and handmade paper but decided I needed to change it up this year.
I used the Swiss Dot embossing folder for the background in white or ivory. Stamped the SU Always greeting and punched it out with the large SU oval punch. Layered it on coordinating cardstock and cut them out with decorative scissors. Added some fiber to the embossed layer then added the greeting with 3D foam tape which adds some dimesion to the card. The 3D foam tape also is very effective on the embossed paper and ensures the fiber will stay in place as well. I created the flower using incrementally larger pieces of coordinating handmade paper. Just ripped the first little round shape and then used it as a guideline as I ripped the other just a bit larger. I did add stippling to the third layer because the colours were pretty close to the same and they needed to contrast a little more. Love the texture of the handmade paper!! Ripped out a couple of leaves, glued the layers to each other and used hot glue to mount the flower to my card!!
I would highly recommend learning to make paper so you can use up your scraps!! It is easy and fun!!

Therese

My Art - September Cardmaking #2

Inspired by my exchange card I decided to play with fall colours and made up a few of these with the hydrangeas leftover from the bunches I bought for last year's Christmas card class. These had some orange in them so worked very well with the fall colours. The bookplates are gold on these ones which I die cut from some matte gold cardstock I bought on my last trip to Cleveland.
I did some of them up with more of a male theme using the distress lines and paisley embossing folders!! I like playing with different materials using the same card map. You could easily substitute decorative paper - your own or scrapbooking paper - instead of the embossed layers for a totally different look. Consider creating a different flower accent with punchies instead. So many possibilities!!
Therese