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