Last minute gifts

Two last minute gifts you can make for those people on your list that have everything!!
Monogram cards for their notes of congratulations or thanks! Everyone can use these! I colour printed an initial on a panel card that fit into a set of envelopes I had handy. Consider stamping and embossing instead or hand lettering them and then adding colour - lots of possibilities!!
I also did up some address labels!! Used some of the photos I took last year, added names & addresses and printed on labels! Quick and easy and everyone can use them! Always nice to have some special ones for those special cards!!

Have a wonderful Christmas season! I expect I am pretty close to having my prep done so I can enjoy the season. My cards and newsletters will go out tomorrow, bought my baking at the bake sale last weekend, gifts are bought and only need a bit of wrapping! Have been listening to the Christmas music too!! Do enjoy your holiday activities and take a bit of quiet time in the new year to set a few goals, think of areas that need work and make a plan, do what is important and plan so that things don't get too urgent. We all struggle with something and a "one step in front of another" approach is best if you are going in the right direction!!
Therese

Winter Solstice Fat book page

Another Fat book page for our T&T mingle!! Doing research on this day I started to realize that we need to build traditions that help us reconnect us to our lives. The Winter Solstice - the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere is overlaps so many holidays celebrated at this time of the year. Many entwined their event with the festivals already celebrated for the Winter Solstice. Very early on, people lived close to nature and on the land. They observed that the days changed in length and with diligent records ascertained on which day the earth started back towards the sun!! It was a reason to celebrate, a time to pray for spring's arrival, good crops and fair weather.
The celebrations of this time of the year regardless of their origins encourage us to join with family and friends, to eat and make merry, to give gifts, to support those in need, to make peace, spread our love and be grateful for the blessings of the year. This year I encourage you to SEE with new eyes the celebrations that are familiar to you. Change up what no longer works but do take the time to celebrate as our ancestors did long before these traditions overcame those of the Winter Solstice!!

Therese

Another card that features gift wrap!! Do not recall exactly where I acquired this paper but it was too beautiful to be left!! This paper is quite thin so it was best to apply the glue to the cardstock and then lay the paper over the cardstock! I cut the paper just a little oversized and then trimmed to the edge of the card with scissors. I tied the two ends of the ribbon in a double knot and then cut it!! Estimated where I wanted the knot on the card before I cut the ribbon. I stamped the greeting in navy on the right hand bottom of the card!!

I expect this paper would be great used in collages and serendipity pieces as well. Love the watercolour look!!


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

I CASEd this idea from somewhere on Splitcoast. The original had been trimmed to the edge of the Cuttlebug design. Instead I layered a white embossed layer over a white card! Happy with how that turned out. Created a colour printed tag to go with the ribbon. I cut a piece of ribbon that would overlap both sides of the card (6"-6.5") and glued the ends to the inside of the card on both the top and bottom. Tied a shorter piece (3"-4") to the first with an overhand knot. This technique saves ribbon and looks just as elegant if you provide an insert in the card. I trapped the tag's gold cord in the knot. You can glue the tag in place if you want or leave it dangling.

I always include inserts in my cards to allow them to be reused by simply removing the old inset that has been written on and replace it with a new one. I think it would be cool to see how many times a card could be reused!! Handmade cards are so beautiful that I think they should have more than one life. Besides it is a very green and environmentally friendly thing to do. I refurbish all the handmade (sometimes some of the commercial ones as well) cards I receive and donate them to a local non profit organization!! They really appreciate the cards!! You could donate the refurbished cards to seniors homes or retirement residences, any non profit, or package them up and donate as prizes for a fundraiser. Be creative!! It goes without saying that it is inappropriate to refurbish a card and then to present it as your idea and creative work!! Whenever possible I retain the creator's credits on the cards I refurbish. It works out perfectly when they have added an insert to their card!!
Therese

This card features duplex cardstock. This one is navy on one side and white on the other!! I stamped the frame, added the greeting and then embossed the whole thing in glittery embossing powder.
I made my own mixture with clear embossing powder, some fine prisma glitter and a little Iridescent Ice (SU) embossing powder as well. I find that the glittery embossing powders have a lot of glitter in them and I prefer a higher percentage of embossing powder to glitter. I usually mix right on my catch sheet - 1/2 teaspoon or so depending on how much embossing I have to do. It does require that you find another container to put your mixture in if you have leftovers so you don't contaminate your original embossing powder. I sometimes mix my leftovers together and end up with some very interesting combinations. For some of the cards I mixed copper and gold with some gold tinsel embossing powder with great results!! So have some fun and mix yourself a few to see what you get!!
Back to the card. I layered the image onto a coordinating layer and then to accentuate the duplex paper I cut off half of the front to allow the inside colour to show. Glued my accent piece to the left hand piece on the front of the card. Another fast and easy card you can make with duplex cardstock!!
Therese

This card features some holiday gift wrap I bought on sale last year after the holidays!! It is a very subtle pewter with shiny gold leaves. Very nice! I layered this onto a dark pewter cardstock and added a greeting I laser printed on oatmeal cardstock. Added some stitching with a black marker and two gold eyelets. The heart is a fun foam stamp! I made it myself by cutting out the shape out of fun foam and mounting it to a small clear acrylic mount with double sided tape. As you can see it stamps very nicely and the cost was almost nothing!! I also cut a fun foam stamp for one of my snowflake stamps for my OSW class. Stamped the snowflake on fun foam and then cut out the part I wanted to stamp in a solid colour! Worked wonderfully!! So save yourself a few dollars by making your own solid stamps! You will have the advantage of being able to make coordinating solid stamps for some of your other stamps - lady bug, flower, star, etc. More money for rubber!!

I have been checking out the gift wrap in the stores I visit! There are some very nice pearly ones at Michaels as well as some very elegant and funky ones that would be great for cardmaking all year round!! A gorgeous red and silver swirl that would be great for Valentine's! Consider getting together with a group and buying a few rolls to share!! There are, of course, a lot of wonderful Christmas papers that would be great for your Christmas cards next year and will be deeply discounted on Boxing day!! I am always on the look out for getting supplies for cardmaking at a discount. I am hoping to find a nice snowflake paper for next years cards!!

Therese

Always like to have my Thank you cards ready before the rush of Christmas so my December cardmaking session featured Thank you cards. Here a quick and easy featuring my Baroque Motif swirl (SU)!! I added two flower punchies with a gold brad over the swirl which was stamped with Chalk Memories in chocolate brown on a tan speckled cardstock. The greeting (SU) was stamped with coordinating ink. I love this swirl!!!

I would highly encourage everyone to acknowledge the gifts they receive this holiday season. Acknowledgement is a very strong relationship building tool and in comparison to the time invested it reaps large rewards. So start your New Year off well, by investing some time in your relationships with friends and family by acknowledging the blessings they are in your life!!

Therese

Marble coasters make a wonderful gift! I made a set of four of these for a gift exchange. I stamped the central image (SU) first with black StazOn. Created a paper mask and then stamped the French Script around it in the same ink. I then "watercoloured" the image with watered down acrylic paint so that it would be permanent when dry. Did give the tiles a bit of a spray of matte acrylic once everything was dry. Added little cork feet, tied with a nice ribbon and I was done!! If you are needing some inspiration there are LOTS of coasters in the gallery on Splitcoast Stampers!
Great as last minute gifts. The marble tiles are available at Home Depot here and maybe other home improvement stores in your area. Definitely recommend Staz ON ink for crisp and clean lines if you are going to stamp and colour your images. I have used Memories Inks for images I wanted to be a certain colour like green leaves, etc. I would definitely recommend a permanent ink so the colours don't run into each other when you spray on your clear finish (Krylon Matte Acrylic spray). I bought the cork feet at Stockade Craft Supplies but you could use rubber, felt or clear plastic ones instead. Or consider covering the whole bottom with self adhesive cork or felt. Quick and easy.
Therese

Added this card to the repertoire for this morning's class. This is one of my favorites that incorporates handmade paper in it's design. I really love the texture and simplicity of it!! I layered brown naturals handmade paper onto a ruby red card with hot glue. The pressed cedar sprig and the red raffia bow are also added with hot glue. Regular glue stick could be used as long as you put the card under pressure to dry to keep all the elements in contact with each other until the glue has dried!!
One branch of cedar and a few hours to press them will yield enough sprigs for your Christmas cards for the year!! Consider doing this in the spring or fall when you are trimming your cedars anyway. If you have no cedars talk to your neighbours who do! They would be most happy to let a few branches go to a good cause!!

Have a great weekend!!


Therese

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

Another ornament idea from Splitcoast! Used circles and a punch for the middle hole! Consider using gingerbread men, stars, oval or diamonds!! Lots of room for creativity in these ones. You need four circles. Fold each one in half then use a punch to create the inner shape in each of them. Glue the flaps to each other until you have have only one set to glue. Insert the hanger (doubled over string with a knot at the end) and glue the final set of flaps. I added beads to the sample I made which takes a bit more time but adds a little glitter and sparkle to them. There is so much wonderful paper out there that these could be made in a rainbow of colours!! Can be folded flat to store!! If you use only two circles instead of four it makes a flat ornament and does not require folding. Have fun!!

Therese

My Art - ornaments

Cute little ornaments that are really fast to make!! Had a class this morning for a teacher looking for some ideas that she can adapt for her kids. I found these on Splitcoast. Really like the ones made of vellum. I stamped the inside of the one with the aqua ribbon with aqua snowflakes. I found that double sided paper worked very nicely to give a bit of a hint of something inside. Of course, they could be embellished with charms and/or beads as well!! If you are looking for a quick and easy craft to make with your kids over the holidays this would be great. Consider using scraps because all you need is 7 pieces of 3/4" x 4.25" paper. Punch a hole at each end and thread a knotted ribbon through both ends and "squish" to be the right shape and tie another over hand knot. Then just spread the strips apart until they form a ball. Could even be used as gift embellishments!! Enjoy!!

Therese

This little Santa card is so cute!! It was a perfect use for the red 3.5" circles I cut from the front of one of my previous cards! I completely cased this one from a Papercrafts magazine from 2005. The designer is Caroline Lau! It uses a white slide mount (cut from Bristol board with my Sizzix die) as the main element for the face. The mustache is two heart shapes glued to the back of the nose (1/2" circle). I used a black marker to create the eyes and red ink stippled through a hole (1/4") punched in a mask to create the blushed cheeks!! Caroline had used black stitched ribbon for the hat and the belt - I substituted black cardstock. The greeting on the bottom is embossed with white embossing powder!!

I am starting to have a little pile of Christmas cards here to send out. Though as the pile grows I am thinking of more and more people who I would like to send cards to. So in the I imagine it will all work out!!

Enjoy!!

Therese

These gift tags are for an exchange I am having with a group of friends! You will notice that these little snowmen are very similar to the ones I used on one of my cards!! They are from the same piece of fiber basket wrap I bought at Liquidation World. These are the smaller ones. I used the green 3.5" circles that cut out of the cards as the backers for the tags!! Very happy with how these worked out!! I still have quite a few snowmen so they may show up yet in another project!!

Therese

A fat page for my mingle! This is late but I did get it done today and mailed off!! Pretty happy with it!! I created a little spinning wheel that features four different countries. Put a slot in the back where you can see how to say "Hello" in the language of that country. I created flags on my spinner and added postage stamps to indicate the country. The spinner is just visible on the right hand side of the front. Added fiber to each corner in the colour of the flags!! I think I will consider adding one of these spinners to a card! It was less difficult than I had expected it would be. I added an acetate layer between the spinner and the front because there are so many pieces glued to the spinner which I did not want to get caught anywhere as the spinner was used. Lots of fun! It was a good change of pace to be making a fat book page!! Til later,

Therese

Queen Anne's Lace! Just love these natural snowflakes!! Here I used the large ones I had pressed. I layered it onto some of my own handmade paper using the back so that the texture would be subtle. Layered a nice olive and gold ribbon onto some twill tape to keep with the natural theme. Added an off white snowflake punchie with a soft gold brad.
I used a glue stick to add the pressed botanical. Applied glue to the handmade paper in a star pattern then placed the Queen Anne's Lace over it. Apply a little pressure to make sure the pieces are in contact with the glue and leave to dry. The glue will dry clear and will be invisible.

I hope you have found some inspiration for Christmas cards here!! There are many of you who are already finished and are ready to get yours into the mail sometime next week. I will continue to aspire to that goal and take inspiration from you!!

Have a great day and a wonderful weekend!! Find some way to be creative in your everyday!! We will continue to inspire each other!!

Therese

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

A simple card with gold elegance!! I embossed the gold foil cardstock with a special blend of gold embossing powder!! I mixed regular gold embossing powder with one that had gold glitter in it. I found the glittery one too chunky used on its own but mixed about 1/3 to 2/3 of regular gold it gave a little extra sparkle without any chunkiness to the images. That slick surface was a little tricky when using pigment ink - Gold Encore Metallic! REALLY easy for the stamp to slide!!
I also gold embossed the poinsettia image. I could have coloured the image but liked it more simple so left it as it was. I layered onto ivory and then onto a very light taupe colour for just a little contrast!
Happy with the look and gold was a good change of pace for me!!

Therese

Another card that uses a piece of One Sheet Wonder. In this case I cut all of my half sheets into five strips just a little less than 1.75". Layered onto a coordinating colour and added a ribbon. I just tied the three pieces of sparkly fiber to the ribbon!! Layered that onto the trimmed CB Snowflake background!! The snowflake is a retired SU punch cut with the 1.25" punch layered onto a 1 3/8" punchie!! I really like creating my own little tags for my cards with these two punches!! This cardstock is the light blue in the Michaels pastel packs which is very close in colour to the new In Colour from SU called Soft Sky!!
I am seeing that snowflakes have been an underlying theme to my Christmas card designs this year!! Fun!!
Therese

A snow angel!! Really love this image but have only used it sporadically in the time I have owned it. This year it seemed to speak to me and this card came together pretty easily!! On navy I layered a rectangle of silver gift wrap which I tore on the right hand edge. The right hand part of the card was stamped with silver Encore Metallic ink with a script stamp. I stamped the angel with Memories Midnight blue on white and trimmed it close to the greetings. Added to the lower right hand corner a snowflake accent. I used a silver brad to layer a small white fiber snowflake over a nicely detailed blue confetti snowflake. Gave the card just a little 3D element and worked perfectly with the other colours. I bought the confetti at Michaels and the white fiber snowflakes at $1 store. I was lucky to be in on the day they hit the shelves because I have not seen them there since!! Quick and easy!!

Therese

Another Christmas card class!! Bought this "fabric" at Liquidation World last week for less than $2 a roll. The rolls are sold as basket wrap and resemble printed organza!! Very nice. These little guys are flocked with white, printed with red and green and highlighted with silver sparkle!! Of the wide selection available at the time I thought it had the most potential for making cards!!
I decided to sandwich the snowmen image between two layers of cardstock so I cut a hole in the front of my card big enough for the image. Cut the snowman images just about 1/4" larger all the way around. I layered white in behind because it seemed to provide the best look for the snowmen. Highlighted the edge of the circle with a gel marker - white for the red card and silver for the green. The greeting is embossed and the snowflake a punchie I just glued into place. I have all sorts of scraps of smaller snowmen that maybe will show up in tags later on!!
So I encourage you to challenge yourself to use a variety of supplies for your card making!! These cards turned out cute!!
Therese

Another U&ME class!! We created calendars for the new year!! The pocket calendar I bought retail and simply changed the inside cover to coordinate with the others. It is very easy to do and you can do your cheque book cover the same way! You will look at it all year and it will cheer you to see your own art work there! So be creative!! A coordinating set is also nice to give as a gift for someone who likes to be organized or wants to be!! The set also includes a coaster calendar with a magnet on the back and a perpetual birthday calendar to keep track of all those special days of the year!! I used a small bull clip to keep it togeher and added a rare earth magnet for anyone who will be putting it on the fridge or filing cabinet!! For the kids I created a small calendar on a key chain which was very popular!! Sorry, there is no scan or photo - it is hanging on a belt loop as we speak!!

Therese

One Sheet Wonder - Christmas cards #2

Like I was saying in the last post you can just change it up a little for a new look. Here I changed the stamps and used the same colours. Consider changing the colours instead of the stamps!! I think I will use this technique for some quick and easy gift tags for the holiday season as well!!

Therese

Christmas cards - One Sheet wonder!

Here is a set of cards I made with a One Sheet Wonder I stamped!! This a great little technique if you want to make some coordinating card sets or to make some cards in short order!! I decorated a half sheet of cardstock with some stamps - one large, one medium and one small and one for filler in coordinating colours!! I really liked the way this one turned out. I cut the half sheet into pieces to create these cards. It was fun to pick cardstocks, ribbon and fiber to work with.

You can use other hand decorated papers for this technique or any sort of decorative paper like scrapbook paper, etc. This would be a great techique for making card sets for gift giving this holiday season. Great for Christmas card if you don't like making them all the same. Change up only the colours and you can have a totally different look. You can also consider cutting your OSW piece into lots of only one shape and to make the process go faster. All kinds of options!!

Have fun!!

Therese

Iris folding!! Had never tried this before though have been hearing about it for quite a while. One of my friends brought over supplies for our little group to give it a try!! It is not very complicated once you have the template for the hole and the diagram for laying out the folded pieces. This GREAT for using up little scraps of paper!! It is best to use light weight papers as each piece is folded. Consider scrapbooking paper, gift wrap, tissue paper, ribbon, junk mail, printed envelopes, etc. The creativity is in choosing the colours and patterns for each layout. I was very happy with my first attempt!! Lots of great resources on line - just google - Iris folding templates!!

Have some fun!!

Therese

I have developed a new set of classes called U&ME designed for an adult and a child to spend some quality creative time together!! What fun!! Kids are so creative and uninhibited - they just start!! This was the first class I taught. The brag book and bag tag on the right were created by the Mom. The tag on the right was created my me. Unfortunately, the digital photos of the others were too out of focus to use!! I do enjoy teaching because it is great to share the creative experience with others!! I am sure the time spent will be remembered well beyond the items that were made. Consider spending some creative and quality time with a child in your life!!

Therese

Cardmakers at my class really liked this one!! I pressed a LOT of Queen Anne's Lace this summer in hopes that I would be able to use them for some sort of craft this fall. They grow wild here so I just took some time on the way home from the gym one morning and picked a large arm load!! Pressed the heads upside down in phone books! Worked really well. Used the medium sized ones on these cards!! Used scallop scissors and a push pin to create the lacy edge. I created a special little greeting for this card. Passed it by my daughter who is a whiz with words and grammar to make sure it was correct. I colour printed the first two lines on the front of the card and the rest on the inside with another little snowflake to accent the words. Worked out really nice!!!! I really like including botanicals in my cards. I will be pressing more for next year and will have to dream up another design!!

I have been remiss in keeping up with my art work on my blog. I am still creating and scanning! Have taught a few classes as well. Had a visit from my daughter and new grand daughter!! Made time to spend with them and it was a fabulour visit and ten days goes by so quickly!! Have much more art to upload and will keep at it. Only one more class to go for this year!!

Happy Thanksgiving to those south of the border!! Count your many blessings!! Have a great weekend all!!

Therese


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

I know that this one is along the same theme of several I have created this year! Was very happy to find this wonderful olive coloured ribbon in the Holiday Collection at Michaels!! With the stripe of gold it was just what this card needed. Used the D'vine Swirl Cuttlebug folder on the bottom part of the card and used these velvetty red hydrangeas layered with a small red flower and some leaves for the accent. Used gold Encore ink to stamp some script on the top portion though it is barely showing on the scan. Says Christmas to me!!

Therese

Don't you just love the look of the Snowflake embossing folder from Cuttlebug!! I do! Unfortunately, I have yet to own one!! Thanks to Catherine for lending me hers so I could prep for this class!! Another quick and easy card!! I designed and colour printed the tag, layered it on one larger and attached it with a snowflake brad!! The fiber is one that I bought in a ball combined with another more shiny turquoise fiber. I split off this one because it was sparkly and just the right colour!! I will be watching for sparkly fiber over the next year in different colours to use on future Christmas cards!!

Therese

A quick and easy card for Christmas!! I bought the decorative paper at Chapters last year in clearance. It is a very heavyweight gift wrap with wonderful colours and gold!! Keep an eye open for gift wrap on clearance this coming season for creating your Christmas cards for next year. I always check for solids and metallics which are good for any time of the year! The candle (Hampton Arts @ Michaels) is gold embossed, layered on gold gift wrap and then over the torn decorative paper and layered onto coloured cardstock. I used cardstock in the colours features in the paper!! The candle could certainly be accented with chalk, watercolour, stippling to highlight the body and the flame. Maybe next year!!

Therese

I taught a Christmas card class this past weekend and these are the cards we made. I really like this snowflake from Class Act Stamps. I used several different colours with a differenet embossing powder and metallic layer! Here you can see the red which featured gold embossing powder and gold gift wrap as the accenting layer. Keep your eyes peeled for any interesting gift wrap offered for deep discounts just after Christmas!! You can get a LOT of decorative paper for your cardmaking for a very reasonable price!! I featured silver embossing powder with navy, green with gold embossing powder and this pearlescent snowflake with the light blue cardstock. I had to emboss the snowflake twice to get this look. I first embossed it in white and while it was still hot I coated it with a pearl embossing powder! Gave me just the look I wanted!! I layered these snowflakes with a white Bazzill Bling paper!! Just the look I needed for that layer!! The greetings are colour printed with interesting fonts!!

Therese

Love the way this one turned out! I struggled to get enough colours of cardstock to coordinate with this scrapbook paper!! Certainly one of the benefits of buying paper and cardstock from one maker is that the coordinating is already done for you!! Love this word stamp which I stamped in chocolate brown. Layered onto antique rose. This slider worked perfectly with the 3/8" ribbon! It is cut with a Sizzix die!

It was a very fun class and I enjoy the challenge of incorporating different elements into my cards!! I hope you will be encouraged to try a few die cuts into your cardmaking!!

Therese

Created the look of a ribbon with paper!!. Nice to have this option when you just cannot find ribbon to match your cardstock!! This one I created from some hand decorated paper scraps I had on my desk. First, I laid one strip down all the way across. Took a shorter piece - 3.5" or so and folded both ends to the back middle and secured them with double sided tape to create the "bow". Used a 1" piece to create the "knot" on the bow. The little flowers is another Magenta stamp as is the border below the paper ribbon!! I watercoloured the flowers!

Therese

Have always loved this Magenta stamp - looks so elegant when it is gold embossed and watercoloured!! Double layered the images and added a tag and fiber to the right hand side. The little tag is cut with a Sizzix die and the accent is punched with a 1.25" (SU) punch!! My sister came up with this design for the colour printed tag and we have created a great variety of them for various cards. We are creating our graphics in Corel Draw. I punched a slot and wound the fiber in and out so that it would not accidently fall off the card. Very happy with how this card turned out!!

Therese

I was featuring tags and die cuts as embellishments in this session. The tag was die cut for me by my sister, Sylvia, with her Sizzix machine! She used some wonderful decorative carstock which made great tags for these cards! I added a colourful stamped image to the tag with a paperclip. Have been wanting to find a way to incorporate paperclips to my cardmaking!! Try it!! The small strip is embossed with the Cuttlebug D'vine swirl folder and I used the SU swirl background stamp below that. The little bit of fiber I added to the large brad (Dollarama) adds some texture to the card and finishes it off nicely! There is room on the lower right hand side to add a greeting to customize this card.

Therese

Criss Cross card

These cards are from my October cardmaking session!! I found this idea - the Criss Cross card - on the Splitcoaststampers.com site - a wonderful resource for cardmaking and stamping in general!! I really like the way this card presents and allows you to tuck a few little things inside - gift cards, gift certificates or a little treat like tea or chocolate!! I modified the original design so it can be made with 8.5 x 11 cardstock. I cut 4.25"x11" and then folded it in half. I cut a triangle diagonally off the front and glued it to the back. In the picture, the fold is on the left and the triangle I glued in place is on right. You have to be careful not to glue too deeply on the right hand and bottom side so the pocket will accomodate the insert. This design is very versatile and can be made up for any season or occasion by varying the decorative paper and the accents!!

Therese

My first ABC challenge: to create hidden tags! Can you guess where the tags are hidden? The tags actually are connected to the letters and are hidden behind the page. I used the fall theme (a challenge on the NG list) for this spread. I started with thick pasty white acrylic paint as the bottom layer on both pages. Layered on some ink in several colours, stamped leaf images, added yet more colour and finally stippled on dark brown ink around the edges to help highlight the real maple leaf I pressed last year. I added more stamped images around the edges of the pages. At this point the acrylic paint is mostly covered up but gives some texture and luminesence to the pages.

I layered several pages on the right hand side so I could cut the slots for the tags and there would be some substance to support the tag. I created the tags, added dark brown letters to the ends then tied on some fiber. Once the slots were cut I applied double sided tape to the other side of the page to create pockets for the tags and glued this page to the next one. Worked very nicely!! I punched some circles from fall images from an old calendar and cut them in half to highlight the slot for each tag. Added some "stitching" with a marker around the edges. I did some journaling on the tags themselves - details about the techniques I used and some thought about the theme and process of creating the two page spread. Thanks to Linda for the challenge!!

Therese

It has been a while since I uploaded any art here. I started this book for the challenges on the Altered Book Canada list I am on. It was just the perfect size - pretty close to 5x7! I thought the colour was perfect for the kind of book it was going to end up being once it was altered. I used my Doodle Block Alphabet dies to cut the letters and just let the yellow of the cover show through. Added black Sharpie to the spine to cover up the title, the edges of the cover and between the spine and the covers - just a little interesting doodling. I will consider adding more doodling to the cover as go along but for now that seemed to be enough. I am looking forward to doing the challenges and filling this book with art. I will add the scans of my first challenge next!

Therese

This is my BH mingle page for October! I chose Gandhi as my theme. What a fascinating person! I really love the research aspect of this mingle. Helps to stretch the mind and become aware of more of the world. The background is actually a letter written by Ghandi which I got off the internet. The photos of him I also downloaded off the internet. A very prolific writer so there was a LOT to choose from to feature on this page. One of his acts of non violence and empowerment for his people was to encourage them to spin and weave their own clothing instead of supporting the British by buying textiles imported from Britian. It gave the poor suitable and affordable clothing, gave them pride in having made it themselves, for some, a means of supporting themselves and their families and a distinctive look all their own in the market place!! It reminded me that we vote every time we choose to spend our time and money on acquiring goods. We truly need to be more aware of what that product has cost - quite possibly sweat and tears and suffering - to be available to us here in this country at a low cost. Awareness and then a willingness to do something is what is required!! It is hard to challenge my addiction to the dollar stores!!!

Therese

Created this fall fat book page a couple weeks ago but only just sent it out as a RAK last week!! Created with a few elements that were sitting on my desk from my cardmaking in October!
I used a foamy coaster as a tool for applying ink. It gives a really interesting pattern. I can see cutting out shapes from this material - foamy coasters and placemats made of this material are generally sold for use on outdoor patio tables in bright colours. Could easily be cut and applied to an acrylic mount to cover the whole front of a card!! Was also thinking that the shelf protector you can buy in a roll would work very much the same way and would have a different pattern. Very inexpensive background stamps. From several lists of my lists I see that people are using their die cutting machines to create shapes out of fun foam for stamping bold shapes. There are certainly some much more ornate dies showing up lately that would make fabulous fun foam stamps!! I am always interested in making more of the tools I already own!!
Back to the page - several layers of decorative paper and an acetate overlay with a leaf stamped on it attached with a brad!! Added some fiber to the front edge to add some interest - especially once the page in bound into a book!!
I am presently working on getting my White on White fat book pages bound. It will be a while yet as they week is already full and I have two Christmas Card classes coming up at the end of the month. It can wait.
I have also worked on a giftie swap and will only be posting photos once the swap is over - after December 25th. There will be 12 gifties for each person for the last 12 days of December. No fun to ruin the surprise for everyone!! My sister and I worked on them for a whole day and they turned out very well.

Therese

I cased this card design from somewhere on the internet! I had downloaded it into my quick and easy folder!! It sure is a quick and easy card. White 4.25"x4.25" card, a layer of scrapbook paper from a Slab a while back which I just ripped along a metal ruler - fast and easy, a double layer of silk flowers, a punchie and a brad!! Though it is a square card I still use an A2 envelope so it can be mailed with a single first class postage stamp!! Thanks to the originator! It is always nice to have a few quick and easy designs for when we are crunched for time and still want to send a handmade card!! Almost any other scrapbook paper woud have worked just as well.

Therese

I am very happy with my little pumpkin!! After searching the internet for one I could trace and cut out without any luck I just decided to try to create my own!! I drew it in Corel Draw and printed it on the orange cardstock!! Drew the stem and printed it on green cardstock!! Each person cut out their pumpkin and stem and then embellished them with watercolours or pencil crayon! They all turned out so well!! I watercoloured this one! Colour printed "Happy" and "Fall" and added watercolour to the tags as well. Stamped the beige card with brown ink and my French Script stamp, glued on the pumpkin, strung the tags on green fiber and glued them behind the stem!!

Sometimes when you cannot find what you need for your art consider just creating it!! I was surprised how quickly I was able to create this pumpkin and how good it looked on the card!!

Therese

A bit of a change in colours for this one!! Created the flower and printed it on the back of the decorative paper so each person could cut out their own. The center is a 1" punched shape. The front flap of the white card had a pencil line (plate) on it to be cut out as well. I added a coordinating layer of cardstock to the inside which only covered 3/4 of the inside and had shapes punched out of it. I used a corner rounder on the bottom to keep with the circular theme. Used the Slot punch to make a slot at the bottom so the front could be tucked in and added a little flower punchie!! I was happy with how the flowers turned out considering they were printed on the back and I did not have a really good idea of what the flowers were really going to look like once they were cut out. Some very pleasant surprises once they were all cut out and added to the cards!!

Therese

This card features a handmade panel of decorative paper!! I made several sheets then cut them up - sort of a stamping serendipity collage!! On ivory cardstock I started with Caramel Chalk Memories which I clear embossed. Added more leaves in various fall colours with pigment ink and clear embossed. Did the scrolly leaf last and clear embossed it as well. Then I just watercoloured the page with fall colours until I was happy with the overall look! Once dry, I wiped off the watercolour off the clear embossing. Laid the whole sheet over a white piece of 20lb bond and heated with an iron from the back. This melted the embossing powder from the cardstock into the bond paper!! I got this step from the Pressing out the Details technique that was showcased a few years ago. Really love the look. Once they were all cut up into long rectangles it was just a matter of finding coordinating layers and cardstock. Added an ivory ribbon with a small gold maple leaf charm attached with a brad!! Really like creating my own decorative paper. Usually try to remeber to scan the pages before I cut them up so I can use them in my digital collages but I think I forgot to scan these before they were all cut up! Next time!!

Therese

Hey! It has been too long since I posted any of my art here, though I have still been making some!! My sister was visiting so we were occupied with other activities!! Here are the cards from my October card class!!

A real maple leaf!! Just love living here and having nature's most wonderful watercolours just simply falling out of the sky!! I pressed these last year. I mounted the leaf to my own handmade paper ( made from recycled bread bags from the bakery) which I stamped with a script stamp - French Script from SU!! Very happy with that one!! Made up my own transparency with "Autumn" and "Every leaf a miracle" on it and attached all the layers to a dark card with four brads! I really like the look of pressed botanicals with handmade paper!!

Therese

I see that I have been using silk flowers quite a bit lately!! It was not a conscious thing!! Added leaves to this one and really like the look!! The little butterfly is a plastic embellishment that I just glued on. Was the perfect colour to go with the cardstock and the flowers.

I bought some red hydrangeas on Thursday to include in my Christmas cards. They were all on sale for 50% off at Michaels!! The only time to really buy them!!

Have a wonderful weekend!! I will be posting to my MMM later today!!


Therese in Trenton
Mixed Media Market
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/
My art blog:
http://www.tmalakart.blogspot.com/