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

My Art - cardmaking - swervy

A card with swerve!! I borrowed this Floral Fantasy Cuttle Bug embossing folder from a friend and really like the look!! I trimmed to the edge of the embossing and then drew a nice swervy line from top to bottom on the back. If you have trouble with swervy lines make yourself a template from cardboard to trace. You are going to use both pieces so you need one nice cut. I glued the left hand piece to the left hand side on the card front and then cut the front even with the edge of the embossed piece. You could try cutting it different for a unique look. The right hand side of the embossed piece is glued to the inside of the card so it shows at on the front. Punched three holes on the top of the swerve and tied in three ribbons!! Easily can be changed up for any occasion by changing the colours and the embossing! Would be great as a baby or wedding card. Dangle a round tag with a message or greeting!!

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking - Daisies

Ever find a piece of gorgeous paper you just have to have?? This daisy embossed tissue paper was one of those!! I just love the texture and the watercolour impression of it!! The paper featured a variety of loose rectangles with a daisy in each! For these cards, I just cut the rectangles with a wavy edge and glued them to the front of the card. I applied the glue to the card front so I would not lose any of the embossed texture on the paper. Just a little overall pressure keeps the tissue in contact with the cardstock long enough to be well attached without it getting too wet and losing its texture!

So I definitely recommend buying a piece of paper if it is screaming to have you take it home!! I know it is hard to actually cut it up later but everything has its time and eventually it is time to create with it and let it back out into the world to brighten someone's else's day!!

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking - Vellum

For this card I used colour vellum! I stamped a background stamp on the back with chalk ink and embossed an image on the front with metallic embossing powder. I really like how the vellum worked out!! To attach the vellum to the card front I punched some tabs using the SU Window punch and folded them over the edge of the card . They are attached with brads. I made some in yellow with candles and these blue ones with this flower stamp.

I would definitely recommend experimenting with vellum and stamping! Regular pigment ink will not dry so it has to been embossed but any of the hybrid inks or permanent inks work well. Helps you to create vellum that will exactly coordinate with your card design.

My Art - Cardmaking - blossom card

I worked on using the #8 envelopes for my April cardmaking session! Here I used decorative paper I made - just layers of colour wash until it looks good - which I stamped with brown using this SU blossom stamp! Love the collagy look of this one! Layered this onto brown then onto the pink card front. Embossed another piece of brown and layered it onto the inside of the card back. I used the corner rounder on all the right hand corners. A very simple and easy card where you can add a greeting if you wish!
Therese

My Art - handpainted silk card

It has been a long time since I posted!! I have been teaching, creating, sick and had my grand daugther here for two weeks!! I am still playing catch up so I have a LOT to post to my blog in the next little while. Thanks for checking in!

Here is the card I made for last month's card club exchange! We made some hand painted silk at one of our members home's last month and were challenged to make a card with it for the exchange. I stamped on the silk with brown Memories ink I used my circle cutter to cut a hole in the card front and then created a layer in brown that was just a little smaller. I used glue stick to attach my silk and stretched it nicely in the opening. I added a layer to the inside front to cover up the silk and make a neat finish.
Layered a SU scallop punchie in ivory, 1 1/8" punchie in brown, a rust flower punchie and combined them with an ivory eyelet which I set with my Cropadile. Punched the SU slot punch on the right hand side of the card and ran brown ribbon from the inside through to a slot on the spine. Added my embellishment and stamped Thank you in brown. The card front was stamped very lightly in caramel using my SU Harlequin background stamp.
Over all a wonderful effect and I was very happy with the results of this effort. I have a few more pieces of silk I will play with in my card making!!

Therese

My Art - Yalpha for April

It is time for spring!! My Yalpha mingle page for April features the letter F for flowers and friendship!! Loved this rose image - a used commercial greeting card - so decided to use it for my page this month. I sanded the edges just a little for a distressed effect. Added a hand drawn F on vellum which is overlaid by torn vellum with a Friendship quote. The quote is stamped in pink and embossed in clear EP. I used eyelets to attach my vellums to the page and aligned the top eyelet to also attach my flower to the back of the page!! Lots of fun and a bit of different look than I usually put out! Very happy with it!!

Our snow is almost all gone!!!!


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

My Art - Journal page

I created this October journal spread as an extra because there are only 7 of us participating in the swap so I offered to do an extra set as did a few more so she will have a full set of months when we are done.

I used a catch sheet from an alcohol ink session on these pages. I doctored it up with a bit of watercolour to make it more consistent and even. Added the Sizzix letters for "October" on one side and colour printed "give" on the other side and used the insides of the Sizzix letters on that side. I also used my sewing machine to make stitching holes on both pieces and then a marker to simulate thread. Added some vintage photos with descriptions to remind us to give thanks for the qualities of our BEING as well as the many materials blessings we receive. A very fun layout that worked out just as I had envisioned it would.

My Art - September journal page

A layout for a journal swap I am involved in! Her theme was vintage children and she is doing a calendar as well. I had fun choosing images to put on this page and creating the background to look like a writing practice booklet. I used an outline alphabet to stamp white on the black board and the header. I used the same stamps to create "September" on the bottom of the page with black Memories ink and then watercoloured it. The set of stamps is used and was missing the "s" so I made one today from fun foam and it has worked reasonably well in this layout! I used a white gel pen to hand write the saying on the black board. I have been using my eyelets!! Worked out quite well on the blackboard!! It was a fun challenge!!

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking with fabric

Another #8 card!! The fabric - large napkin - I bought quite a while back because I loved the colours! Worked perfectly for this card!! It is a heavy twill. Ironed easily and the pieces really keep their shape. I glued the fabric to the card front and layered on the colour printed greeting. I glued the greeting down but added a brad to the corner to

be sure the greeting would stay in place. The circular colour printed accent is layered onto green and attached to the card with a "screw" brad!! The right hand side of the back inside of the card (duplex cardstock) is stamped with texture. Perfect for an invitation to a backyard BBQ or your next Fiesta night!! Change up the fabric and the cardstock to suit any occasion!!

The texture is a wheel from Stampin UP. I have removed the rubber from the wheel and use it with my acrylic mounts. Consider checking out the wheels - some have very nice images that can be cut apart once removed from the wheel and used as unmounted stamps. EZmount works like a dream for mounting UMs to your acrylic blocks!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Easter to those who celebrate!!

Therese
Mixed Media Market

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/

My Art - Cardmaking with Alcohol inks

The large accent on this card was created using foil, cardstock, alcohol inks and embossing (CuttleBug -D'vine Swirl). I glued the foil - regular out of the kitchen drawer - to a sheet of cardstock. I cut it apart and embossed the pieces. Applied alcohol inks to the foil. Fun!!!! On hindsight I found that the inks seeped through the foil which was stressed by the embossing and into the cardstock. Next time I will apply the alcohol inks to the foil and emboss after they are dry. This makes a very sparkly, rich looking accent. Layered the accent and then glued to the front of the card leaving the bottom edge hanging over the front of the card. (3.5"x 11" folded at 6 1/4"). Added a circle (1 1/8") and a flower to the rectangular ribbon slide with a brad to create an embellishment for the card. Would be great for a special occasion - wedding or anniversary!!


Therese

My Art - Cardmaking with OSW

One Sheet Wonder accent for this card!! I used flower, leaves and stipple stamps (SU) for my OSW. Layered the accent onto the front of the card, glued yellow cardstock to the bottom front of the card and added the stitches with a marker. Once it was trimmed even to the back I stamped my greeting (SU). This was a quick and easy card - another #8!

One Sheet Wonder indicates a sheet of decorative paper that you create to make coordinating cards. Great to make card sets for gifts - the cards coordinate but are not all the same.

Take a sheet of cardstock and stamp the flowers in red all over in a random pattern. I like to start with a diagonal line and then add to that. Not too close together. Make sure you have some falling off the edges as well. Then add your leaves in green in between. I added yellow to the flower centers using my finger as a stamp. The stipple stamping was done in brown and yellow in between the flowers. To create coordinating cards just mark off the back of your sheet and cut apart. Add coordinating cardstock - in this case ruby, avocado and yellow - and make up your cards. Lots of different cutting templates are available but you can easily make your own. If you would like a template just Google - One Sheet Wonder Template or head on over to Split Coast Stampers and search there!!

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking with screening

For texture and interest I added screening to this card! Yes, regular fiberglass screening!! We always have pieces leftover when we make up our moulds and deckles for papermaking. The laser printed greeting is layered over the screening and attached to the card with the brads. The accent is layered punched shapes - scallop (SU), 1 3/8" (SU), 1 1/4" (SU), 1 1/8" (?) with a little white silk flower ($1 Store) and a silver brad. I added the black dots to the scallop and it was just what it needed to add a little pop to the card. The white embossed layer (CB -Floral Motif) is attached to the inside back of the card. Another #8 card! I challenged myself to make cards that would fit in these #8 envelopes and was surprised to find that it was not as difficult as I thought it would be. There are a few more to come!!
This card could be made up in any colour!! Consider using drywall tape instead of the screening. The fiberglass drywall tape can be coloured very easily with stamp pads or acylic paint to coordinate with your cardstock.
Therese

My Art - Cardmaking Hydrangeas

Cardmaking!! This was my spring/Mother's Day/Easter card!! The purple mesh I have had for quite a long time and it finally made it into my cardmaking!! It is very loosely woven so can easily be altered by just pulling it in one direction or another. I attached it to the card front by gluing the strip down with hot glue. The image (SU) is watercoloured and glued in place with 3D foam tape which also anchors the mesh to the card front. Added the layered flowers with a brad. I brought stamps so a greeting could be added to the card for those who wanted Mother's Day cards. I like that you can fray the edges a little for some interest and the mesh certainly adds some texture to the card!!

Therese

My Art - Antique collage card

My card for the card exchange with my stamping group! We explored antiquing techniques last month so I used a piece of sheet music which was antiqued with walnut ink. I stamped the music image (SU) with chocolate chalk ink and cut the image out closely. Layered them on the top of the card. I used my Cuttlebug and my new ribbon slide dies to cut the oval ribbon slide! These work great!! Layered a brown circle and heart onto it. The heart was silver so I stipplied it with chalk ink until it worked with the colour scheme. I attached it to the slide with a brad. The ribbon slides accomodate 3/8" ribbon the best so I dug out a short piece in a chocolate colour. Used the deckle scissors (Fiskars) on the bottom of the front flap and stamped the composers (SU) on the back inside of the card. This card fits in the #8 envelopes I purchased for the monogram cards.

Antiquing can be done with a variety of mediums - brown ink pads, brown reinkers, brown acrylic paint (burnt umber is my favorite), distress inks, lemon juice and heat, walnut ink, coffee, tea, etc. They all give a subtly different look and it is fun to experiment. Certainly you can use blank paper or cardstock but I like using printed paper - either something I have printed myself or pages from a book or sheet music. Try crumpling the page before you apply your medium. One of the girls used a page from an old magazine and walnut wood stain!! Worked wonderfully!! Keep an eye out for interesting copy when you are putting paper in your recycle bin! Free art supplies means you can spend more on rubber!!

Therese

Countdown to more images!!

Here is another countdown to St. Patrick's Day image countdown! These are also linkware - provide a link on a site before you down load!

http://artist-how-to.com/Countdown.htm

I am hoping to be able to create with some of these later today!!

Enjoy!

Therese

Countdown!

Hey! Lisa is having another countdown for St. Patrick's Day and Easter! You can check out her linkware images on her site:

http://countdown.tentwostudios.com/

Celebrate St.Patrick's Day tomorrow by creating some green art!! Lots to choose from!!

Therese

My Art - Photo holder

These little photo holders were the last project I made with my students the last week before March break. It was a fun little project and for their versions I allotted them a piece of shrink plastic to make an embelishment or a tag for their holders. Shrink plastic was very popular!! I also brought in some recyclable plastic which acts very much like shrink plastic so they had a ball!!
I used large binder clips (2") as a base for these photo holders. The cardstock cover is tied on at the top to keep the two arms tight to each other which allows the photo to be held in place when inserted between the two. I got the basic idea of using a binder clip to make a photo holder from SCS but modified the design to suit my needs. This version allows more space to decorate and to personalize the holder. I provided the students with a variety of collage materials and some 3D elements to decorate their holders. They are so open to just going for it and created some very nice holders!!
I used a piece of cardstock about 3" x 8.5" which I scored at 3.5" and 4.5". I punched the holes to tie where the binder clip handles narrow which keeps the whole cover very nicely in place.
A quick and easy gift idea that can be changed up or down to be suitable for a kindergarten class or the next gathering of your craft group!! Great little idea for Mother's Day!!

Enjoy! Be creative!

My Art - Lots of monogram cards

Here are all the monogram cards I made for myself. It was very interesting because the students added watercolour washes to the backgrounds of some of theirs for a very interesting look.

Check them out here:
http://www.tmalakrsc.blogspot.com/

It was a very fun project and helped them to appreciate hand lettering in the very short period of time they had to learn it!!

Therese

My Art - Monogram cards

Here is what one of my monogram cards looked like. I watercoloured the letter. Very happy with my new version of T. Monogram cards are great for sending little notes of thanks or appreciation. When you have used your own lettering they are much more unique.

Therese

My Art - Kersal Monogram

This is a Kersal letter!! I taught my class of students to make a Kersal letter so they could create their own monogram cards!! A very versatile lettering style!! They each created an original which I scanned and laser printed so they would have monogram cards of their best work. I borrowed this lettering form from one of the artists on the ByHand group. Thanks, Yogi!!

We used pencils for our practice sheets and then a Sharpie Ultra Fine on coated paper to make our good copies. They made as many as they wanted and in the end picked one to be their best one!!

Therese

My Art - Yalphamingle - A

Our fat book page mingle has morphed into the Yalpha mingle!! I am so glad it is continuing on!! This year we will be featuring letters on our pages!! I started with A but it could have been any letter!! Though my letter looks black it is actually covered with silver foil paper! I got a new Cropadile at my SU party and really like it! It sets eyelets better than anything else I have used in the past - still not always perfectly but pretty close!! And in a breeze of time and with no banging!! A win - win in my books!! It sets several different sizes of eyelets along with other embellishments like snaps, etc. So I played with it for this page. Added black eyelets to attach my letter and three silver ones to the right hand edge. I added fiber to those!! The Cropadile is not as versatile as the Memories setter in that it cannot set them in the middle of a page so I will likely not liquidate the Memories setter just yet. My friend, Linda, used her Cropadile to punch a hole in a thick plastic game piece when we were making danglies at her house! Cut it like butter!! The Cropadile punches two sizes of holes and because of the design easily punches them through metal and any sort of chipboard, etc!! A versalile piece of kit!!
I laser printed ALWAYS and the list on a laser transparency! Very fun to make your own transparencies!! Printed off some keys and some large letters for future Yalpha mingle pages while I was at it to fill an 8.5"x11" page!! I have more art to scan and put up so maybe later this week.

Thanks for checking out my blog and get creative this week!

Therese

My Art - "Faux Silk" Thank you cards

These are the Thank you cards I made for the gang that came over for my Stampin Up party a few weeks ago. I have a wonderful SU demo who does a great job of presenting SU and always has great Make and Take cards!! We had a great time as usual!!

I bought a box of 500 envelopes (#8 - 3 5/8" x 6 1/4") because they were perfect for the monogram cards I was doing with a class of students a few weeks ago. So now I am experimenting with them for regular cards!! For these cards I cut 8.5" x 11" down to 3.5" x 11" and added a white layer on the front to make up the few inches I was short. Worked out quite well. The panel is made with the "faux silk" technique.
Take a piece of tissue paper and stamp and colour the images. Cut cardstock smaller than the size of the tissue paper - 1/2" -1" smaller on all sides. Crunch the tissue up into a ball and carefully unball leaving the wrinkles in. Cover the cardstock all over with glue and gently place the tissue paper on it leaving some hanging over on all edges. Gently press the tissue paper into the glue all over. You want a nice all over textured look. Then turn over the cardstock and glue down the overlapping edges of tissue to the back.
Makes a very nice feature element for your projects - cards as well as scrapbooks and altered art! The greeting is colour printed and layered with the SU circle punches!!
I would encourage you to experiment with different envelopes! It helps you think outside the box!!

Therese
where spring is trying really hard to melt the snow!!

My Art - cardmaking - flowers

Another very versatile card which can be changed up very easily to accomodate different occasions and themes!! Decorative paper has been added at the bottom and top of the card, a watercoloured image has been layered on the left and a greeting stamped on the right. Quick and easy if you are creating a variety of cards for different occasions - just change the image and the greeting!

Enjoy being creative!!


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

My Art - cardmaking - Blue asian

The bookplate on this card looks like silver metal but it is not! I used a Sizzix book plate die in my Cuttlebug machine to cut these out of scrap silver coated cardboard!! Worked so perfectly!! I am always saving interesting packaging and recyclables for use in my crafting!!
The background paper is some I printed with my cyan and magenta ink when my colour printer ran out of yellow ink. I downloaded a wide variety of backgrounds from the internet and tiled them in a layout program to create decorative paper!! Worked out so well. I have printed them on coated colour laser paper which nicely absorbs the inks and keeps the colour vibrant!!
The decorative paper is trimmed just smaller than the card, a coordinating strip of cardstock is added to the bottom of the card, a greeting glued to the back of the bookplate, a ribbon inserted to span the width of the card and glued in place. Added the layered silk flowers with a silver brad.

Therese

My Art - cardmaking - fabric pansies

I used fabric on this card!! There is so much wonderful fabric avaible that can so nicely be incorporated into cardmaking. Consider using scraps from your quilting or sewing. Easily create coordinating cards for gifts you may be giving. A large amount of Christmas cards can also be made in very short order using fabric!! Just keep an eye out for a pattern that is easily cut out!!

I used Heat and Bond on the back of the fabric and it just needed to be ironed to the front of the card. There are other products (stitch witchery) out there that can be used as well. Ask at your local fabric or craft store. I bought mine at Michaels years ago.

Added a metal embossed butterfly with 3D foam tape and a flight path in black marker. The stitched border in gold gel pen mimicks the gold in the fabric. A greeting could easily be added as well.

So consider what supplies you might already have on hand for making a quick sets of fabric cards!!

Therese

My Art - cardmaking yellow flower

The embellishment on this card is a button with some fiber!! I used the SU scallop punch (love it!!) for the bottom layer of the flower with brown cardstock!! Layered onto that rust and peachy circles (1.25" and 1"). Tied the bright yellow fiber onto the button and hot glued it into place. For the stem I cut a piece of green cardstock to which I tied similar coloured ribbon. I stamped the little wish greeting (SU) in olive green. The left hand side is adorned with a floral border by Magenta trimmed to the scalloped edge. Once I glued the border into place I added the stem and then glued the flower into place with hot glue. A little card that heralds the hope that is spring!!

Therese

My Art - cardmaking - Ribbon slide buckle in brown

Just found these on my desk!! This month at cardmaking I was featuring cards with embellishments!! I had bought a few packages of these buckles a while back and thought they would fit into this classe nicely. A fairly simple card which can be changed up to any season and occasion by just changing your supplies. I used decorative scrapbook paper which I stamped over to give it a bit more interest. I like doing that!! Added a colour printed greeting that is tucked nicely under the ribbon. The buckle is a ribbon slide which works best with 3/8" ribbon. In this case, I used brown which I purchased last year some time. I added some 3D foam tape under the buckle to keep it secure as it is relatively heavy compared to the card. I nice masculine card!!\
Therese

RSC - on hold!!

Just a note that Rubber Stamp Club is on hold until the fall! Michaels is revamping their classes and coming up with a completely new format!! Wilton's will be staying on and I expect we can expect to see a similar format for future classes!! This will take effect on March 11th and new classes should start to appear by some time in September!! I am looking forward to seeing what is coming and how the new classes will be structured. You should start seeing this take place in your local Michaels very soon!!

Therese

My Art - coaster calendar

Decided to let the art students have a bit of collage fun so we created coaster calendars last week. I provided each with some coasters and a little baggie of colour coordinated paper, images and bits of this and that!! The coasters were first covered with paste paper and then collaged with a variety of images. It is always fun to have time to play!! We added some 3D elements - one being a shrink plastic charm with the quote "Art washes away from the soul the dust of every day life". Shrink plastic was a hit!! We added the calendar on the right hand side in a little plastic pocket which, come the end of the year, can be refilled or can hold a photo!! I really like making these!!

Therese

My Art - Journal

I have been keeping just ahead of a cold - lots of Vitamin C, echinacea and green tea and as much rest as my schedule will allow so it has meant less creative time. Here is the journal I created with my art students. The base is watercolour paper folded and glued together with double sided tape and fabric tape. I hope they will consider added more decorative elements as the mood strikes them. The journal has a stack of pages incorporated into it with a little metal holder. Not sure what they are called - two prongs with backer and metal strip with two holes for the front with two slides that hold the prongs in place. This will allow them to remove pages or replace the whole stack and reuse the journal. We each created our own decorative element for the front and added it with brads. The folded flap incorporates an elastic which keeps it closed. I also created journal prompts for them and a little holder that will easily fit in their journal.
I talked a bit about journaling and how important it is as a self discovery tool. Many of us expect everyone else to pay attention to us and listen to what we have to say without giving ourselves the same opportunity. What comes out of us DOES say something about US and in the process of writing it down we may start to see patterns and be surprised by what we have in there that needs unleashing. Very often, if we let out what we have inside, it completes the process and we can let it go!! So it was a creative project on several levels. We are always called upon to witness our experiences!!
Therese

My Art - Handmade Paper Cards

Handmade paper cards!! These are a project I am doing with a school in the area where the students get exposed to a variety of art and crafts! In the first 45 minute session we made the blue paper sheets and laminated the images to a sheet of white handmade paper. The second day we made the cards with the blue paper - just folded them in half, ripped apart the images on the white one and watercoloured them. The images were hot glued to the front of the blue handmade paper cards. Inserts were glued inside and they made envelopes for them using a quick and easy template by Green Sneakers that utilizes a square of paper.

The blue handmade paper is recycled white bond paper - used and printed. I added some blue construction paper for colour. The last blender full I only blended slightly so there would be some larger bits that would show up as accents in the paper. I also added some herbal tea (used) and some blue flower botanicals that were slightly blended as well.

The white handmade paper is also from used bond paper. I rip off any white areas in my sheets when I am setting paper aside for papermaking in a separate box so I have the ability to make plain white paper with no black bits. I also save all of my white paper and cardstock scraps in the same box.

The images are stamped on tissue paper with waterproof Memories ink and laminated to the wet sheet! They look like part of the paper. Some of the edges lifted a bit while we were watercolouring them so we just applied a bit of glue behind the tissue paper image laid them back down. Good as new. The dragonfly and leaf are silver embossed. The effect was not quite what I had envisioned. The embossing powder was too shiny and reflects too much light which is not enough contrast for the watercolour. Live and learn. I have in the past also laminated embossed greetings into my handmade paper cards which works very well. In this case we used white tissue paper on white handmade paper.

It was great to get my hands in paper again and the students enjoyed the process and the results.

Happy Valentine's Day!! I am celebrating on the weekend with a great meals cooked at home with my DH!

Therese

My Art - Exchange cards

Just had to use my Sizzix die one more time!! Decided to make some white and gold hearts from the leftover Serendipity piece I made for my litte house blessing!! These are for a monthly card exchange I participate in. I layered the heart on gold and trimmed by hand. Makes you appreciate a die cut!! Tried several different backgrounds with very little luck so went with a standby - the Cuttlebug D'vine swirl! I used my to SU oval punches to create a frame from my handwritten "love". Worked out really well. I coloured the edges of the gold frame with watercolour to make it blend with the gold front and it helped a lot to make it look more like a metal frame. I applied all of the elements to a textured premade card!!

I have been staying ahead of the snow today!! I shoveled 4 times and it will need it again in the morning!

Have a great weekend!!

Therese

Stamp Club - New classes

I am going to be teaching classes at Michaels!! I have scheduled three classes - "Pressing out the details", Rubber Stamping THE BASICS, and Waterfall cards. The first in February and the other two in March!!

You can check out more info and see more samples here:

http://tmalakrsc.blogspot.com/

Thanks for checking it out!!

Therese

My Art - House Blessing

This project is a year old.
I made several of these for my children last year for Christmas. I was short of the white and gold serendipity collage so mine has been sitting on my desk since last year. Tonight I decided to finish it. The white and gold serendipity was quick and easy. The frame was purchased at $1 store and painted white. I trimmed the white and gold serendipity to fit in the back of the frame and used 3D foam tape to attach the heart leaving it curved a little to create a little pocket for my blessing.
It will sit by the front door to bless all those who come and go from our house!!

It is nice to have a piece of my art on display in my house. I hope there will be more pieces that will show up over the course of the year!!

Therese

My Art - 31 hearts for January

Art everyday!!

Here is my collection of 31 hearts for January!! I have to admit that I did not make one every day. It was more more a case of making a few once a week or so. It has been fun and I hope to find a project to incorporate them in. I have created quite a few more this month which have already been included in several of my projects.

I am tempted to hoard them - they are all kind of cool and seem to be the begin of a collection!! I expect it will be wiser to let them go when they need to!!

Therese

My Art - Valentine's card

A Valentine's card for my special guy!! Used more pieces from that heart sticker pack I used earlier this week to create this one!! The tag in the vellum envelope features one of the round sticker tags which I layered onto a white one which is stamped on the bottom with a phrase from SU. This set was a hostess set last catalog and I managed to snag it at the open house my SU demo had on the weekend!! I am getting to a place where I need more time not more stamps!!! The sidebar is also a sticker. I stamped the background with the collage love stamp from my latest SeeD set!!

The vellum envelope is created from a square of vellum and sealed with a punchie!! Very quick and easy way to make an envelope - just fold three points to the middle - and they can be created any size!! I like to use this one on cards because of how quick and easy it is!!

Make sure you take some time to let that special person know how much you love and appreciate them!!

Therese

My Art - Journal tip ins

Created this layout with the theme of vintage children for the journal group. It was totally fun to do!! I used my Sizzix Alphablock dies to cut out the header letters. Added a strip of white scalloped cardstock between the "bulletin board" and the header. I use my scallop scissors and then a push pin to poke holes in each scallop to create a lace effect. Try using thick fun foam or a foamy mouse pad under your cardstock to get even holes. I created the diamond pattern with cardstock strips over the scrapbook paper. I glued the edges and used thread and white pearl seed beads on the inner junctions so it would be like a real bulletin board and the images could be just tucked in. The images are laser printed to which I have added, in Dymo font, a characteristic of children - wise, loyal, curious, etc. This is for February and I am way ahead of the game!! So new for me!!

Therese

My Art - guy cards

A couple more guy cards. On the first I layered a watercoloured
baseball image onto a piece of "caught in a crystal" background paper!! Added a bit of a ribbon and a tag. I used the horizontal slot punch (SU) to cut a very slight slot on the spine so I could pass my ribbon through. I like to use a punch to make a slot or hole on the spine for ribbon or fiber because it cuts so cleanly.

To do this just hold your punch upside down so you can see the paper through the punch hole. Line up the spine edge so the punch just barely catches the edge. Will nicely cut a slot for your ribbon. If needing a hole for fiber I usually use a round hole punch the appropriate size. Again, hold the punch upside down so you can see how much of the spine you are punching. Usually, about 1/4-1/2 of the hole is sufficient for passing your fibers through.

On the second I used several elements and combined them in an interesting layout. I added some track in front of the train with a black marker, watercoloured the image and then cut out. The lake scene I watercoloured, trimmed and layered onto black. I layered the black colour printed greeting on black and then created an interactive layout with them. It was fun to play and rearrange until it "worked"!! Just glued all the elements to a testured white card.

Try using your images in a way you have not done before. Cutting them out, stamping in a different colour, using only part of a image, etc. It makes for more versatility with the stamps you already have and a different look to your layouts. It is good to step outside the box - our own or someone else's - to see what is possible. If something really doesn't work out put them in your serendipity or collage box for addition to some later work of art!!

Therese

My Art - Guy cards

Guy cards can be a challenge for some so I am sharing the few I made this afternoon. I happened upon this wonderful gift wrap a while back and thought the colours were great and it would be good for guy cards, driving & auto projects or layouts. I have used the paper as a background and featured old automobiles. These stamped images were received several years ago in a "male images" swap and it has been great to use them for cards!! I watercoloured the images and then cut them out to layer them. To the first I added sticker letters for "birthday" and stamped "happy" with rubber. On the second one I handwrote the greeting in black beneath the car. On the third I used a small greeting (SU) and stamped directly on the image.

I have missed watercolouring in the last few months. I have used other techniques but I still really like the look of watercoloured images.

Therese

My Art - T&T Fat Book Mingle page

Created this fat book page for the This & That Fat book page mingle. I chose do a page on Valentine's this time around. The background paper I used is actually gift wrap which started out being ivory with tan writing. I colour washed it with acrylic paint to better suit my colour scheme. Worked out very well!! It is always better to colour wash your paper before you cut it to size because sometimes the paper shrinks a little. The top of the image is the back and the bottom is the front. I created a shaker to add to my page using acetate and a frame from the same sticker sheet I used for my coaster calendar. I had hoped the words underneath would be more legible - just a few too many red and gold confettis in it!! The words are repeated on the back so that works. I added some paper lace from a doily, some ribbon, a bit of the border sticker and some handwritten love quotes. I am a bit early with this one - not my usual MO - but I have classes to teach in February which will be taking a lot of my time so I am planning ahead with some of my other projects.

Therese

My Art - Valentine's Mingle

This Valentine's mingle has been going on for a few years and it is always fun to participate!! I decided to step it up a notch for myself this year and created a double coaster calendar!! It was so fun to make!! I covered both sides of my chipboard coasters with my own hand decorated paper. The inside piece had to be colour washed a bit with yellow to bring it up to the same warmth as the stickers I wanted to use. No problem - worked very well. The strips are stickers from a $1 store pack. I created a little acetate pocket for my calendar pages (printed using PrintMaster). It can be filled with another small calendar for the next year or a photo, postage stamps, or whatever!! I attached it with double sided tape. Added ribbon on both coasters for accent and interest. Added a gold embossed heart on the left hand side along with "CREATE"!!
Created a little binding with gold thread so the coasters would stand and not be wobbly with each other. Added gold hearts to the outsides to cover the holes I punched for the ribbon. The front also has an interesting angel transparency on the front. A totally fun project and will make a great addition to someone's studio!!

Therese

My Art - Journal Tip ins

I am part of a new group that was spawned off of one of my regular groups to experiment with altered journals. The eight of us have each chosen a theme and indicated the size of pages we need to tip into our journals. Here is the spread I created for Bettiann's journal whose theme is nature and quotes. I started with light weight cardstock and glued in place two pieces of scrapbook paper which I colour washed with umber to tone them down a bit. I added butterfly borders from a sticker pack. Added a strip of flourishes on transparency and attached it with eyelets in the center of flower punchies. A few of the flowers "burst" with the application of the hammer to the eyelets. They have a more organic look. Real pressed flowers - a pansy and a yellow daisy. A few more stickers, a colour printed quote and some quotes written in by hand. Added a cinquain I wrote several years ago for an exchnage which worked well with the theme. I attached it with corner stickers and leaf eyelets in the top corners to create a pocket. Inside the pocket I added a tag with my info and a photo. I was careful not to add too much bulk to the spine area. Very happy with the way this layout turned out!! We will all have wonderful journals by the end of the year.
I would certainly encourage you to modify any preprinted paper to suit your needs. Amazingly, a very light colour wash can bring a paper that is just "off" in colour right up to where you need it to be. I also use my stipple brush and inkpads to modify the colour of items which are not quite what I need them to be. Works really great with silk flowers!!

Therese

My Art - January Cardmaking

Just a little card!! Has a pocket to slip things into - a gift card, cash, some coupons, love notes, a poem or even a little bling for someone special!! I included a card inside for a greeting or message. This card is 4.25" x 4.25" and is created using a 4.25" x 11" piece of cardstock. Score and fold at 4.25" and 8.5". The last little piece is folded up and creates the pocket!! I used 1/4" double sided tape on the sides of the pocket to keep it in place.

Have a wonderful day and be a little creative!!


Therese

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

My Art - January Cardmaking

These square cards can be made into frames by the recipents!! Adds a little fun to recieving a card from a friend!! The card front has a hole cut into it which in this case is in the middle and is also a square. I cut this one by hand but it certainly could be cut with a die instead. There are LOTS of other possibilities!! I simply attach the greeting (colour printed) to the inside front of the card with invisible tape so it can easily be removed. It is then just a matter of removing the insert and applying some glue to the right hand and bottom inside of the card and folding over the front to create a pocket in which a picture can be added. For display, add a magnet to the back, a ribbon hanger or feature on an easel.

A gift in a card and a little project for your friends to be creative with!! Great as a baby card to display the latest picture and to finally be added to a scrapbook.

Therese

My Art - January Cardmaking

This card features a piece of seed paper which I made myself. I incorporated seeds into a small sheet of handmade paper!! I used a wildflower seed mix available from T&T seeds but if you are wanting to make your own any seeds that are not too bulky can be used. I wanted the seed paper to be easily removeable so I created a tab in the lower right hand corner to tuck it into and then added a flower accent put on with a brad. I included instructions for planting the seed paper so everyone could include them with the card. It is a really fun way to "send flowers by mail"!!!
I created the tab using my SU slot punch. First I used my corner rounder on the corner of the card then put the slot punch over the corner and punched it equidistant from each side. Worked very nicely!! I had tried using the slot punch without first using the corner rounder and it did not punch quite far enough for the seed paper sheet to be centered on the card front. When assembling the flower accent it was best to glue all the elements to each other before putting in the large brad. It is frustrating to have all the elements lined up and have them move in the process of adding the brad. Another card that gives a little more and just the thing for spring birthdays for the gardeners on your list.

Speaking of lists - if you want to stay ahead of the cards you need for family and friends a birthday calendar is the perfect thing. It has a page for each month and a list of each day. You simply add the names and occassion by each day as appropriate. For example on February 14 - Valentine's Day card for DH. It stays the same year after year and you can keep adding to it as the years go by. If you add the year as well, you can also stay aware of the special occasions like a fortieth birthday or a fiftieth anniversary. My birthday calendar is actually a word processing document which I print up at the beginning of the year that lists months and day along with the names and occasions and dates if I know them. As the year goes by I highlight the names as I send the cards and add, by hand, the new ones I want to add. At a moment's notice I can see the cards I will be needing in the next month. At the end of the year I update my electronic file with the additions and print off a new one for the new year. In the end, it is important to use the tools that work best for you. I find it helpful when others share how they manage their lives because it sometimes provides inspiration for me to update or complete revamp what I am doing. It is good to have a process for managing what is important in your life.

My Art - January Cardmaking

Have always wanted to teach a shaker card to my cardmaking group but the challenge was always how to create the shakers in class - sticky tape, beads and confetti - had potential for not going so well!! Yesterday, I decided to create shakers ahead of time which made the whole process so easy!! Here is how I created the shakers:

- Stamped the frame image on a piece of paper
- Laid over a piece of acetate - over head transparency cut to size
- Taped the corners to keep it in place
- Added double sided foam tape so it would be hidden by the frame
making sure that there were NO gaps where items could escape
- Added about 1/2 teaspoon of "shaker" - glass beads & confetti - how much depends on the thickness of your foam tape - double up if you need more space
- Removed the protective paper from the foam tape
- Placed another piece of acetate over top
- Press to seal nicely

These worked so well. We used double sided tape to attach the trimmed frame to the trimmed shaker and then to attach it to the next layer. I stamped a greeting on this layer so it would be visible through the shaker!! So cool and I think a little shaker action makes a card really fun for kids of all ages!! So give shaker cards a try!! They do add a little pizzazz to your cardmaking. Consider interesting "shaker" items - seed beads, glass beads, confetti, punched shapes, seeds, grains, sequins, etc. Make them large or small. Change up your frame to suit the recipient and the occasion - a bag, a box, a gift, a heart, a snow globe, etc.
Therese

My Art - January Cardmaking

My January Cardmaking session was last night!! Had a good crowd and we had fun making cards!!
I wanted to present cards that give a little more than the usual. This one features a heart magnet!! I removed the covering from several "advertising" sheet magnets I have collected over the years and glued paper over them. I used my Cuttlebug heart dies - the largest in the set of four - to cut out the magnets using my little SideKick. Could have used my Cuttlebug but the available space on my desk was VERY limited so the SideKick fit much better. I hot glued a 5/8" metal disk - bought at a thrift store years ago - to the cardstock and added the magnet. You could use any ferrous metal - tin can or flashing to do the same. Just cut a small square with tin snips. The other hearts I cut out of decorative paper - mostly papers that I have decorated myself. The green ones are polished stone and the bottom ones are from a page from a travel magazine. The photo was of a woman in a cave and featured some very wonderful yellows, reds and browns!! I glued the page to cardstock and then cut out the hearts!! Made very "arty" looking hearts for my cards!! Just what I wanted.
Whoever receives this card will be able to put the little heart on the fridge and be reminded of you often!! Just a little some extra!!
Therese

My Art - Card exchange

Made this little card for my Card Club card exchange the other night. I was thick into my prep for my cardmaking session and was inspired by one of my designs to create this one. The white on the front is clear cellophane printed with white. The cello is covered with a collage of images included hearts, flowers and script!! Bought the roll for a $1 at Dollarama last fall sometime. It has so much potential for collages and other pieces. I freehand cut this image from the sheet along with a few others. I have layered it onto silver which in the scan looks black. I traced the heart from the front to make an impression on the silver and free hand cut out the heart out of the silver so the red cardstock would show through. I love the transparency of the cello and it worked out just as I had intended. I attached the cello and silver layer to the card with four silver brads. I made a little pocket on the inside and included a few images for playing!!

Could be a quick and easy Valentine's or anninversary card!!

Therese

My Art - Card

Another early January birthday card!! I stamped leaves on the navy stripof cardstock with embossing ink and used several different embossing powders over them - clear, gold, silver and copper!! I stamped one on white, gold embossed & watercoloured it then cut it out to use as an accent over the mutlicolour fiber I tied around the strip. Added a navy greeting on the bottom.
I truly love making cards and most enjoy being creative with my tools and papers!!

I have added a header to my blog. This is digital art I created several years ago for my Christmas letter. It was fun to play in the paint program and see what I could make with the different tools available. I will be changing it up every so often.

Therese

My art - Card

My first card of the year!! I have always tried to get my January cards made and out for the end of December so that those with early January birthdays will receive their cards before their birthdays!! It has always been a challenge to make it happen and this year I was late getting them out though I did manage last year!!
I made this card for my brother who is an artist and handyman. I used a piece of polished stone cardstock and layered it with gold gift wrap onto a black card. Added a slidemount with an architectural building transparency I printed a while back along with some old postage and an interesting punch out with a date on it. I just arranged the elements until I was happy with them and then glued them into place. I added the stamped greeting afterwards. Added a bit of a "signature" on the black card with a gold gel pen.
I have a file where I file anything printed materials that I have leftover after any project. I like going through the file when I am looking for collage elements or that "just something" to finish off a piece or card.
I have one personal resolution this year and that is to listen more! I expect it will enrich my life and hopefully will be a benefit to the others that share my life as well. I have also made one art resolution too - to make art everyday! I am making hearts. At this point I do not know what I will do with the hearts but it is a manageable goal so I will see how it goes. I have managed to make 17 hearts but necessarily one each day but I continue to embrace the spirit of the resolution!!

Therese