My Art - journal tip in

This is my tip in pages for a journal project I am involved in on another group. The theme was nursery rhymes and fairy tales so I decided to do The Ugly Duckling. I downloaded the images off the internet. The one on the right is colour printed and the one on the left was laser printed and I watercoloured it.
The background is watercolour paper with liquid watercolour randomly applied with a foam brush. It was an offcut from my Christmas card project I did a couple of years ago. I sewed four pockets into each page to hold tags. The tags have letters on the ends and spell " IT'S" "ONLY" "SKIN" "DEEP". You can only see the two middle words on the front. The tags have quotes on them such as " Is different, ugly?", "This too shall pass", "Is it true? Can you be really sure it is true?", etc. The quotes I made up in reference to the story of the duckling coming to see himself as he really is!! Don't we all need to ask ourselves such questions to come to recognize the beauty of our true selves! Added some fibers to the edges of the pages where the sewing ends. Really like that this piece works on several different levels.
I have last months pages to upload yet! Still on the camera! My time flies!!

Therese

STAMP FEST

Hey! If you are a stamper in central Ontario I would like to recommend that you check out Stampfest!! It is a little stamping event that is hosted by Verna Wallace in Bancroft, ON! This year it is on July 12th! Coming up fast!! There are some great vendors and some make and takes through out the day! Several trade ATCs and there is also a card contest! I have ordered some new Cuttle Bug embossing folders and will be picking them up at Stamp Fest!!

So check out the site!!

Therese

My Art - cards, cards, cards - mini collages

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

My Art - cards, cards, cards - CB embossed

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

Therese

My art - cards, cards, cards - handmade paper

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

My Art - cards, cards, cards - OSW

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

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

My Art - cards, cards, cards

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

Therese

My Art - grad card

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

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

Therese

My Art - cardmaking - skeleton leaf

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

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

Therese

My Art - cardmaking - tree

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

Therese

My Art - cardmaking - birdie!

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

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking - Buckle card

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

My Art - Cardmaking - paint chip

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

Therese

MM - Coasters

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

Therese

MM - Mother's Day cards

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

Therese

MM - Seed paper cards!

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

Therese

My Art - Wooden frame

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

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

Therese

My Art - accordion card

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

Therese

My Art - card for a friend who is moving

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

My Art - cardmaking - dragonfly

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

Therese