Creative - not papercrafting

Here is the other thing I have been doing this week - valances for the windows!! It is a job I have been putting off and I finally decided on Monday morning to just get at it. I did some on line research and chose to make them very clean and simple!! This is the one above the kitchen sink which had to be made differently because it had to be mounted with a tension rod. The other six will be mounted to wood planks (1x4 for the smaller windows & 1x6 for the patio doors) and attached above the windows with L brackets. The boards have been cut and trimmed with nice round corners on the front and will be primed and painted before the valances are attached.
It is nice to have them done!! Looking forward to seeing how much difference there will be to the look of the rooms once they are all up!! I should take before and after pictures!! I have enjoyed sewing again.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Therese

Refurbished cards for donation

WOW!! I just counted the cards I have refurbished in the last week and it is almost 100!!! The job of refurbishing cards is really easy when there is an insert in the card. I just remove the old one and insert a new one, add a new envelope and the card is ready for donation. This method also preserves the person's artwork and credits!! So if you are making cards I would like to recommend that you start adding inserts - makes adding your message really easy because the insert is a light neutral colour (I use white or ivory) and it makes reusing the card very easy!!
The majority of these are A2 sized handmade cards I have recieved in exchanges or swaps. The others are commercial cards I received from a fellow cardmaker which I have refurbished. I have envelopes donated by another fellow cardmaker which makes refurbishing these cards easier too. The commercial ones are usually large and the larger envelopes make it much easier to make them ready to be used again!! I like the commercial ones especially for sympathy cards because they have such wonderful images!! These will be going tomy local family resource center to use as they see fit - to cheer someone who needs it, for special occasions among the volunteers, for thanking those who contribute time, goods and money for all the worthwhile programs they run, and for the families who have suffered the loss of a loved one!!

So remember, add inserts to your cards!!! It is the green thing to do!!

Therese

My Art - Birdie cards

Used my new birdie stamp to create these cards as a gift for the stepdaughter of a friend of mine who will be getting married this summer!! I immediately loved this little swirly bird and thought he would be a great accent on the thankyou cards I wanted to create! I stamped him in a peachy pigment ink and embossed him with pearl embossing powder which just softens the image so nicely. I layered him onto a rectangle of peach cardstock - I distressed both of their edges. Used this 1/2" pink lace as ribbon and just tied it around the card front with a double knot! Love the look!! The decorative paper is scrapbook paper which is layered onto the white card.

I really got the soft wedding look I was wanting for these cards!!

I usually give cards as gifts for newlyweds or new mothers because I know it is a hectic time and with the cards ready to go it is one less thing they have to worry about.

A simple sketch that can be used for a wide variety of occasions by just changing up the components - scrapbook paper, ribbon and an image!!

If the summer is your time to catch up and get more creative time, make up a few cards for the year ahead so when the time comes for those special occasions you will have cards ready at hand.

Happy summer to you all!!

Therese

My Art - altered book page with bird ATC

I worked on my altered book page today and am happy to say that it is finished and I am happy with it. The bird ATC is one I received in a swap. Part two of the swap is to incorporate it into an altered book page. I enjoy the challenge of making art with a jumping off point!! The quote on the ATC - "Birds of a feather gather together. Robert Brown" spoke to me of the comfort of like minded people and I wanted to show through this page that there is a blessing of more vibrancy and sometimes some colourful chaos when we spread our wings and explore the world outside of our comfort zone.
I started with even rectangles on the left and slowly made them with more uneven edges and different sizes until I had four torn edges. Then I just created a serendipity collage with the colours and added a few punchy colours as well. I hand wrote my words with Sharpie markers - first in yellow and then in brown. Different papers affected how much bleed there was to the writing which I think adds some "chaos" to the words as well. I added some stippled swirls as well just for fun!!
We need to be willing to go to unfamiliar places in our lives so we can come to know ourselves better and have a better appreciation of our strengths and weaknesses!! Art is a great place to step out of our comfort zones and try something new!! A new tool, new technique, new paper, different colour, etc!!

Therese

MM - scrabble necklace

Love Scrabble and have bought a few games so I can create with the tiles!! Love them!!

I created these necklaces to bring to the Merchants Mill where I have quite a few items for sale. It is a wonderful little shop with a wide variety of handmade items made by local craftspeople and artists.

Made them as affirmation/reminders of what is important in our lives!! This one is a reminder that BE ing is more important than doing!! I have one of these I wear quite often just to help me stay in the moment and respond to life as positively as I can.

Some of the others are reminders to never give up, to do your best, to choose wisely your thoughts, words and actions because you are in the process of creating your life with them, etc!!


I hope they will find individuals who will appreciate them and take them home!!

We are having a wonderfully breezy totally sunny summer's day!! The best kind in my books!!

Therese

MM - Enclosure cards

I created a variety of encloure cards for sale at Merchants Mill .

It was fun to create a bunch of little cards!! I was often able to find just the right piece of paper or cardstock in my scrap bucket!! I made 36 of them featuring embossed paper (CB - embossing folders), ribbons, lace daisies, stickers, embossed foil, confetti, etc.



Therese

My Art - Bird ATC

I am so happy with my little birdie ATCs!! They worked out better than I had envisioned. I need one ATC for a swap on one of my groups but while I was at it I created these four!!

I downloaded the bird template from Pixels and IceCream. It is a ways down if you are looking for it (2009-02-17). I printed it on the back of the blue cardstock and then cut him out. I added a black brad for the eye, cut out a wing from blue paper and applied it with 3D foam tape, added a swirly tail in silver wire similar to what he had before I cut it off and a little triangle beak!! I highlighted his edges in blue ink.
I created the backgrounds using a few layers of altered paper - stamped, sanded, distressed, ripped, etc, the layers until they looked good with each other. I also created the flowers using punchies (1.25", 1", 3/4" for the bigger ones, 1", 3/4" and 1/2" (handcut) for the smaller ones. I inked them, distressed the edges and then mashed them up before I layered them with a brad. Hand cut some leaves which I also inked up to add depth and glued them to the back of the flowers. Mounted this embellishment to the ATC with 3D foam tape. I was reminded by the roses on Andrea Walford's blog (july1, 2009) that I had seen recently somewhere in my travels an altered flower which was done in a similar fashion. Could not remember the details so just went with it and I am happy with the way they turned out.
I mounted the bird onto the ATC and then added legs using a black fine line Sharpie marker! I like him better with long legs.
So one of these little guys is headed out to my swap partner in today's mail. I have a few more birds in pieces on my desk which I should build while I can still find them all and maybe they will show up in my art down the road a bit!!

We had a great Canada Day!! Started with breakfast in the park (thanks to the LIONS) and ended with fireworks!! We are very fortunate to have a very decent display of fireworks (15 minutes!!) considering we live in a very small city!! We are also fortunate to be able to watch them from home from our second story window!! A bit of rain in between but we need the moisture to keep everything growing!! Celebrate all that is good each and every day!!

Therese

My Art - Baby cards

It is always a special time when a baby is welcomed into the world!! Our neighbor had a baby girl last week so I made her some cards that she can use for sending thankyou notes for gifts, etc. It is always a busy time when there is a new baby in the house and having the cards on hand expedits the process of getting the notes on their way!!
The giraffe is a SU image from the Little Hello's set. I used the Swiss Dots embossing folder on the white layer and the SU border punch on the upper edge of it.

Therese