Little boy birthday!!

How does it happen that babies turn so quickly into little boys???    
Our second youngest grandson will be a year old very soon.  He is learning to walk and loves playing and eating!!
I made him this card with balloons and an embellished little tag house!!  I reverse embossed - debossed  - the white core card front and sanded it to give it a bit of texture and interest.  Added stitching to all the elements, added fiber to the tag house and strings to the balloons, then glued them into place!!  I love the colours and am sure he will be have a wonderful birthday!!

If you are close to your grandchildren - count your blessings!!

Therese

Fall card!!

I hosted the girls last night and it was a wonderful time as we all caught up with each other about our summers and our activities since the kids have headed back to school!!
This is the card I made as the make and take in our Shoe Box.  I made the background paper using brown paper, acrylic paints and ink!! The brown paper was given to me by my SU demonstrator - Catherine.  They receive all of their product packed with this paper so they have it around all the time.  It is strong and thin - love it!!  I started by adding large brown dots using brown acrylic paint brushed onto bubble wrap and stamped on the paper!!  COOL!!  Next, I added smaller orange dots using a smaller bubble wrap and orange acrylic paint.  Afterwards, I added leaves using a foam leaf die cut (TH Tattered Leaves die) which I painted with acrylic paint and stamped in an all over pattern.  I used a mixture of gold, copper and brown paint.  It still needed a bit of something so I added script using a stamp and Old Olive (SU) ink.  To help connect all the design elements I just used a foam brush with clear water and painted the whole surface which caused the green ink to run just a little and it did the trick - a nice cohesive collage!!  Cut it up into quarter sheets and paired it with brown or green cardstock.  The focal element is a digital stamp I downloaded from Meljens Designs and printed on white cardstock with my laser printer.  I watercoloured the images, layered them on coordinating cardstock and adhered them over the fiber I tied to the card front.  I provided a variety of different greetings but several of the girls decided not to a greeting.  They will add an appropriate one when they use the card!!
We have been enjoying the fall colours but with the rain and cooler weather last week they are duller and starting to fall!!  Still seems like a pile of treasure when I walk through them!!

Therese

Little packets of fun!

Here are the little packets I will be stuffing into the pockets in my Advent Calendar for the recipient to open each day of December until Christmas Day!!  I am keeping the contents a surprise until after Christmas!!  I will be updating my Advent Calendar posts to include that information when all the little surprises have been revealed!!
I have wrapped each one in hand decorated paper!!  Once opened the paper can be used for creating with - as background paper or in collages, etc.
I love making everything useful!!

Therese

Mixed Media advent calendar

I have been working on a Mixed Media Advent Calendar for a swap on AFTCM for the better part of a week now - off and on between cleaning up and sorting my stuff!!
I am so happy with how it worked out!!!!!!!!!!
I used heavy weight cardstock - the backs I ripped off of commercial cards before I refurbished them for donating. Check out the cards here and here.

 Check out the process I used for decorating both sides of these papers before I created the little houses.  For the backs - the glossy ones have alcohol ink backgrounds and the matte ones have collage.  All the fronts were decorated with a multiple step paper decorating process that used a handmade stamp, acrylic paint and plastic wrap.  Fun!!

To keep all the houses looking like they belonged in the same neighborhood I decided they would all have black roofs, A's down their sides, a door and windows.  Each also has a number which doubles as a house number.  After all, we need to know how many sleeps before the big day!!
So there are little houses, big houses, skinny houses and everything  in between. Even a few duplexes!!

 Some with chimneys, some with dormers, some with hedges and a wide variety of roof styles.  The scored flaps are folded to the back and tied on the sides with fiber to create a little pocket which holds the surprise of the day as we count down.  The letters on the roofs and down the sides were created with decorative packing tape I bought at Michaels last year!!

 Worked so well - added texture and a funky style to the whole lot!!  It was fun to design doors and windows for each house and hand draw the details.  They were all layered and watercoloured to give them a bit of dimension.  None of the houses are exactly the same.

 So click on the photos and check out the fun little details I added.  A little bit of something below the roof line, something above or around the door, etc.  I used brads and eyelets for the door handles.

They have numbers on the backs as well.  These were die cut from foil lids!!  The little pockets are waiting to be filled!!
It has been a super fun project.  It can be used to count down to any occasion and left up year round should the recipient be so inclined!!
A wonderful little neighborhood!!


I have a few leftover card backs which I hope to use to make another little village.  Maybe I will use different architectural guidelines for the next one!!!  What fun!!  They can stand on a shelf or mantle or maybe could be tied together to stand independantly.
Consider making yourself a fun little advent calendar that you can reuse every year to count down to Christmas and, if you make it fun enough, it will decorate your house or studio all year long!!  A new tradition!!
Would love to see what you have created!  Leave a comment and include a link!!

Therese

Paper decorating!!

I started on a new project last week and decided to use the backs torn off of old commercial cards as a base because they were good heavyweight cardstock.  I picked the largest ones because those  worked best for the final result.
Are you asking yourself what I did with the card fronts?? You can see the cards I have refurbished and donated here and here.

For my project all of these needed to be scored at 2.5" so I used my "new to me" Martha Stewart scoring tool - Thanks Carol.  That was easy!!

For my project both sides of the cardstock needed to be decorated so I decided to use alcohol inks on the glossy ones!  Worked really well!!

 For the matte ones, I decided to create small collages using decorative papers.  I just dug through my stash of papers and picked pieces that seemed to work well together and glued them down.

So that took care of all the backs of these pieces of cardstock.  Now,  on to the fronts!!

Here is my set up for doing the fronts.  I started with this cool looking piece of packaging that I found as I  was going through my "stuff".  I coated the edges of the open weave with gesso to seal it before I started using it as a stamp.  I sponged acrylic paint onto the edges with a foam brush and stamped it on the cardstock.  Repeated 3 or 4 more times until the whole surface was covered, not worrying too much about how well it stamped because it was just going to be texture in the final project.

   Once they were dry I started adding colour using watered down acrylic paints.  Just painted them on pretty willy nilly and covered them with wrinkled plastic wrap to help create interesting patterns. I waited only a few minutes before removing the plastic wrap and discovered that the stamping was resisting the washes better than I expected, so combined with the random pattern of the plastic wrap, some of the backgrounds turned out pretty cool.
I have taken digital photos of all of them so I can use them in my art later on!!

Decorating paper is so much fun!! I love the randomness of it all and it is fun passing the day just mucking with paint and paper.  In this case, it is even better because I started with cardstock that was headed to the recycling bin!!  Now, that is upcycling!!

Therese

Steampunk fat book page

I have been crafting in my new room!!!  It is wonderful.
Here is the project I was working on today - a Steam punk fat book page.  I created this for a swap on AFTCM.  I created a steam punk wind screen using items that I picked up on my walk the other day and a few add ons.  What did I pick up??  The base - a clear plastic with holes in it and the rusty washer.  I added the central piece (inside of a foam brush) from my desk, the little washers and the electronic bits were discovered during a raid of DH garage and the butterfly charm, the rhinestone and the copper piece are from my stash.  I wired all of them into place using wire which I had pulled out from ribbon a while back.  Thinking about it - most of these elements have been upcycled!!  I ended up painting the back of the clear piece after I had started wiring elements into place so I used a variety of mediums until I got the look I needed. On hindsight, it would have been better to sand and paint it beforehand but it sort of evolved so I had to make it up as I went along.  I really like the way it looks!!  Once the windscreen was finished I started looking for a fall scene, a flying machine and a pilot.  The pilot and the windmill I found at Graphics Fairy and the fall scene I downloaded off the internet.  I love how it all came together.  I had to add some details to the pilot and also created the outside of his flying machine.  The back of the page has the fall scene with some verse I wrote about the colours and flying!!  I added some coordinating fiber on the right hand side and my page was done!!

The colours of fall are so awesome here.  I grew up in the west where fall colours go from green to yellow and if we were lucky brown but more often than not, we would get a hard frost in September and all the leaves would fall regardless of what colour they were!!  Bare trees for Halloween and very often snow suits too!!

PS - If you have been waiting for more photos of my craft room - I have uploaded them into the original post - here!!

Therese

Wooden socks!!

For my desk no less!!
After crafting at my desk for a few days in a row I would end up with pain in my shoulders from bending over ever so slightly while I was creating.  So, my DH made a set of wooden socks for my desk!!!  It raised it about three inches.  Works so much better!!  He custom fit them to the legs and they simply slide on the bottom of the leg like a sock.  Pretty cool!!

Therese

More refurbished cards to donate!

 I have been busy cleaning up "stuff" from my craft room and in the process I have taken the time to make up some more refurbished cards to donate.
It has been fun to see how I can incorporate an image from a commercial card and add some handmade techniques and elements to create new cards.  I have added punched greetings, ribbon, embossing, punched borders, etc.
For some cards I used both the inside and outside to create a cards front - works perfectly because they already match and have the same look.
For some it was sufficient to trim the front and glue it to a new card front because they were beautiful as they were.  My previous batch can be seen here.

In Canada, we are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend.  I am grateful for the great weather and the time to do what needs doing.  Great walks and a bit of cleaning up in the garden that gives me some exercise and fresh air.  There was heavy frost this morning so the rest of the flower beds can be cleaned up - have a hard time pulling blooming flowers - for winter.
I have a couple of swaps to work on and will continue with the cleaning and sorting of my "stuff" into my craft room.
Check this updated post with pictures of the current state of my room!!

Therese

Cards to donate!

I have been working in my craft room refurbishing commercial cards for donating to a local organization where I have been teaching cardmaking.  It has been fun to create cards with the images from these cards and make a layout that works.  I usually try to add a bit of texture - ribbon, etc to make the cards have more of a handmade look.  I will be dropping those off today.  It is a small step in getting "stuff" out of my room!!
I have a lot of handmade cards I have received in swaps and exchanges that I will be refurbishing as well and donating later on.
I would encourage everyone to consider reusing any cards they receive - either commercial or handmade - by refurbishing them and donating them to a local organization.  Nursing homes and charities are always grateful for something they can use to cheer up the many people that they come in contact with everyday!!

Therese

New craft space!!!

My new craft room - left & right!!!  I have been away for a month - visited with my sister for her vacation, visited with my daughter and her family - lots of time with my grandchildren and got a chance to spend some time with my son as well.  While I was away my DH has been working hard creating my new craft room from scratch!!  There's a only a few things left to be done so I took some time this morning to restructure my Gracious Living storage carts so they would all be the same height.  While I was at it I nipped the stops a bit on the bottom of the large drawers so they can be easily removed which allows access to the whole drawer!!  Been meaning to do that for a long time. We moved the whole bank of carts to under the window this afternoon and zipped them together with cable ties to make the whole thing very sturdy.  We hope to get the large shelving unit in there tomorrow morning which will leave the dresser and the file cabinet for the afternoon!!
The left hand side of my room will be used for storage but that does mean that I have to start sorting and culling before anything gets brought into my new space!!
I am blessed!!  I am hoping to be creating in there by the weekend!!

UPDATED - October 8, 2012
I have been crafting in my craft room - refurbishing cards for donating!  You can see them here and here!  It is soooo nice!!!  I took this photo this morning after clearning up my desk from the last few days.  You can see my bookcase on the left which needs to be filled, my bank of plastic carts, my wooden shelving and my file cabinet lined up against the outside walls.  My desk and the dresser are in the middle of the room and create a island.  I love having everything so handy!!  I am finding it so much easier to just put tools and supplies back in their homes!!
Needless to say the other side of the room is still suffering from clutter so I will have to update that later.
Therese

Thank you cards

I made up these cards to send off to the two great places we stayed at for our vacation this summer.  I folded a 4" x 12" piece of cardstock at 4" and 8" and then folded the two ends diagonally so the folds would meet over the center section.  I added triangles of decorative paper on both front flaps, layered a ribbon over the middle and captured it with the 3D foam tape I used to attach the focal element which is only glued to the triangle on the left hand side.  I watercoloured the stamped image (Magenta) and layered it to a square of coordinating cardstock. Just a square paper insert for writing on.
We had a wonderful vacation this summer in PEI.  We stayed at a wonderful Bed and Breakfast in Edmundston, NB on our way down called the Au NIDaigle run by Norma Daigle.  Large, bright, very well appointed rooms with private baths, lots of common areas, great grounds, great food and a very friendly and helpful hostess.  Check out her website!!
In Prince Edward Island we rented a wonderful little cottage only a short drive to a GREAT beach and situated on a lot next to the owner's house at St. Peters Lake, near Lakeside, PEI.  Ferne MacEwen is the owner of this little gem and she is wonderful to deal with. The two bedroom cottage has vintage decor and is neat and clean and very quiet.  She rents by the week from June to October but we would recommend going in August when the ocean is at its warmest. We checked out LOTS of beaches on the island and the best are facing the St. Lawrence on the Atlantic side - beautiful sand in long stretches that will take you hours to explore punctuated with red rocks and cliffs which are distinctive to PEI.  Check out this link for Ferne's  contact info or check out the 2012 PEI Visitors Guide on Page 181 for more information.  In the future, you can check the current edition under The Points East Coastal Drive, Cottages, Lakeside for her listing.  Most beaches in PEI have some beach glass - beautiful little nuggets of glass that have been worn by the motion of the sea and sand  - but we found the beach at Souris to be the most prolific. Be sure to go at when the tide is going out (low tide) which leaves the shore and sand bars exposed for exploring!!
Needless to say, I would highly recommend a vacation in PEI to everyone!!  It is a special part of Canada!!

Therese

Yet more acetate cards!

These are the final three of the acetates I discovered in my stash earlier. Here and here are the other cards I created with these.   I went in a different direction this time and backed them with restructructed paper which I created a while back.  I really like the look of the random colours behind the acetates so I kept the colour scheme monochromatic.  For a textured accent I pulled out my border punch (SU) and created some lacy strips using kraft cardstock and added some stitching with black thread.  I love it!!  So many possibilities for combining this punch with thread - my head is full of ideas!!  I layered the stitched strips to a black strip that was trimmed with decorative scissors, attached that to the acetate with double sided tape and then attached the acetate to the decorative paper using double sided tape behind the strips.  I used mini brads to attach the whole element to the card front!!  I can see using the little mini brads with the lacy strips as well for creating decorative elements for cards.

More acetate cards!

 I found these printed acetates in my stash and thought they would go well with the paper napkin I used to clean up my alcohol inks when I was creating my previous acetate card.  I used Sharpies,  rubbing alcohol and a cotton swab to colour the images on the back.  I simply applied a bit of blue on the petals with the marker and moved around the colour with a  swab dampened with alcohol. In the same manner, I added yellow to the centers and green to the leaves.  The colour coordinated very nicely with my background paper.

I applied white glue to the back of the acetates - same side as the colour - and placed them on the coloured paper napkin and left them to dry.  Once dry, it was easy to trim the napkin to the edge of the acetate.  I added a white layer below the acetate to help brighten the flowers because placing them directly on the cardstock dulled the colours too much.  I added a length of seam binding between the image and the greeting, gluing the ends to the back and tied on a short piece to simulate a bow.  I attached this element to my card front with four brads.  This was a stash buster!!  The background paper napkin didn't even make it to the stash as it was still on my work surface!!
I really love the watercolour look of the background!!  Save the paper towels or wipes you use to clean up to use as backgrounds for future projects!!

Therese

Acetate and sticker card

On AFTCM, I joined a swap that requires that I create an elegant acetate card that includes a sticker.    It took a bit of time to come up with the layers for this card to insure that no glue or brad tangs were showing but it finally came all together.  I started by cutting a piece of acetate that when folded in half fit in a large envelope.  I cut another piece of acetate for my focal element, applied my sticker - a vase of beautiful sunflowers - to the front.  I used alcohol inks on the back of this layer to create a soft watercolour look.  I lifted the vase part of the sticker and added a piece of yellow vintage seam binding over the acetate and glued the ends to the back.   I layered some decorative reflective foil to the back of this acetate and attached it using some double sided tape behind the sunflowers. I added this element to the card front using four brads through all the layers.  To cover up the brad tangs I added an embellished layer of green cardstock slightly larger than the element to the inside of the card front using four large glue dots on the brad tangs and a couple piece of double sided tape in the center area.  I had punched the one side of the green cardstock using a scallop border punch (SU) and pierced the scallops using a push pin.  To the inside back of the acetate card I added an embellished layer of white cardstock using large glue dots in the corners.  I had previously border punched one of the edges and added some dots and stitching using a coordinating blue gel pen.  To cover up the sight of my glue dots on the back of the card I added four small sunflower stickers.  To finish it off, I tied a small length of seam binding to the piece on the front with a single knot and tied on a sticker embellishment which I created using two round tag shaped clear stickers with a little sunflower sticker sandwiched in between.
Really love the dimension and interest created by that reflective foil I placed behind my acetate.  It has been in my stash for YEARS!!!!!!!!  Saved this foil wrapper from a KitKat bar when Lost World was the movie to see!!
Enjoy the last of the summer before the kids head back to school!!

Therese

Single Panel Thank you cards

I made a few more of these panel cards for my daughter to use as needed for her Stella & Dot
Trunk Show hostesses.  You can see some of the other ones I have made for her here and here.
I used several graphics from the Lattice Collection  from The Graphic Fairy's blog for backgrounds called The Background Fairy as the the main elements for the cards and just added Thanks in a flourished font.  I colour printed these cards - three to an 8.5" x 11" and simply cut them apart.  They are quick and easy!!
Therese

More little fabric quilts

Had the opportunity to make a few more of these little fabric quilts in the car on the way home from vacation.  You can see the first ones I made here and you can check out the link to the tutorial as well.  I expect I will do a few more before I start sewing them together to make a Teesha Moore style journal/book cover.  These are quite different colours and fabrics from the last ones.  With the other sides all different as well it does give me a few options when it comes to creating a cover.
We had a fabulous PEI vacation!!  If you have never visited this little island I would most highly recommend it - great beaches, great food and great people!!
I will have a few more creative posts later as I unpack from vacation and get my photos downloaded.

Thanks for dropping by!!

Therese

Serendipity squares - Christmas

The second card I made was a Christmas one which features four serendipity squares layered onto gold cardstock, a bird image from Meljens Designs which I coloured in with pencil crayons and layered in red and green and a stamped greeting all layered over an embossed card front.
Had a fun afternoon!!

Therese

Serendipity squares card

I had a young friend/cardmaker over today for a play date!!  I made a couple of cards and she managed one and brought home the pieces she had picked out for her second one because we decided to spend some time at the park instead.  I love the way kids are so free to just do art!!
In the process of cleaning a shelf in my craft room I came across several pieces of serendipity collage so I trimmed them down into 1.25" squares to use as the focal points on our cards today.  I cut out some coordinating squares for layering, put out some images and greetings and a few items for embellishing like the border punched accents on this card - like a little smorg for creativity.
This is a quick and easy card.  I layered the serendipity elements on coordinating squares and framed them off with some bordered punched paper lace.  I layered a strip of coordinating card stock below the paper lace to "colour" the flowers and used a glitter gel pen to highlight the center of the flowers and the doily border.
So I encourage you plan a play date with a young card maker and have some fun!!

Therese

Christmas card - O Holy Night

I just love Splitcoast Stampers for the wonderful inspiration it provides for all card makers - me in particular!!  I have seen several cards using a wonderful nativity stamp so I challenged myself to create something similar with digital images.  I started with the Mary, Joseph and baby image from Two Heart Designs and added a stable which I drew in Corel Draw around the figures.  I drew the star and added it to the stable.  I am happy with the way it turned out!!  I layered my digital image over some digital sheet music which I downloaded from Free Vintage Digital Stamps and modified with Photoshop Elements to this earthy taupe colour.  I added O Holy Night in a bold font, colour printed four to a sheet, trimmed them apart and then tore the edges to create this wonderful rustic layer for my card.  I simply added a length of black ribbon between the two elements and tied a short piece to it using a single knot to simulate a bow!!  Voila!  A quick and easy card!!  
I hope you will be inspired to make a few Christmas cards every month from now until the end of November!!  Have fun!!


Therese

Christmas card - Joy!

This card features some really nice decorative paper!!  To let the paper shine I added a simple colour printed image over the paper and a simple cardstock layer below it.  For a bit of bling I used a glitter gel pen on the greeting.
My inspiration for this card was one of a series of cards I found on Splitcoast Stampers.  The series was developed by Gisele for creating 16 cards using one piece of 12 x12 decorative paper.  The paper she used was perfectly suited for this "One sheet Wonder" technique.  You can check out all of the cards in the series on her blog, I  SPI.  Here is another set of cards she created!!
There are so many reasons for creating Christmas cards early - one of them is to get a chance to play with all that wonderful Christmas paper we have in our stashes and come up with cards that highlight them in the best possible way!!  Enjoy!

Therese

Christmas card - snowman

I found this card on Splitcoast Stampers that featured a snowman face and thought it was so effective that I thought I would see what I could come up with.  I created a frame and some masks to get the look I was going for using this digital image from Rusty Pickle - Silly Shells Digital Creations!!  I am pretty happy with the way it turned out!!  I laser printed the image, watercoloured it, added some glitter to the hat and nose and trimmed it leaving a bit of a white border.  I layered decorative paper onto my card front, added two large embossed rick rack die cuts, added my image layered onto orange using 3D foam tape and added a layered snowflake embellishment.
I really love this decorative paper and am very close to the end of my supply!!  I used it here, here and here!

Therese

Christmas card - Believe

When I was delivering kits from my last Christmas card class I had a friend ask for a set of kits, so this week I set about making up another set of Christmas cards for her!!
I love this image with the baby Jesus and Santa!!  I downloaded it from Melonheadz Illustrations along with the greeting which I modified to suit the image.  I laser printed the image and greeting, watercoloured both of them, layered them on red, stapled on two lengths of seam binding and glued the whole piece to a green card front.  Lots of wonderful digital images over at Nikki's blog so go and check it out!!
Great time to start on your Christmas cards!!  It really is wonderful to have them all made and ready to go come the end of November!!  If you need inspiration or direction you can check out the links to the Christmas challenge blogs I have on my blog - right hand side!!  My sister is running one this year - check it out here!
Therese

Steam punk cards

I made a couple of cards using the film strip art I created last week.  I challenged myself to create a digital collage with a bit of a steam punk feel to go with it.  I used images downloaded from Dover.  I am on their email list and they regularly send links to free samples from the many excellent books they publish.  Follow the link and sign up!!
I created clear backgrounds using Photoshop Elements for the man, the train, the airship and the border.  I layered them over two different floral backgrounds and colour printed them.  I trimmed my film strip to fit across the card, double knotted a piece of black vintage seam binding on the right and tied on a little metal star embellishment.
These are considered hybrid projects because they combine digital art with some hands on paper crafting!!  I am liking combining the two!!

Therese

Film strip art

Had a couple of days of crafty fun with my friend, Linda, last week.  We had lunch and a play date with a friend and made some great film strip art!!  We cut the film strip using  the TH die and black cardstock then stamped several small images from collage type stamps to place in behind with black Staz ON.   I coloured mine with Pan Pastels, trimmed the images to fit in the openings and then glued them into place.  Once I was finished I spritzed the whole thing with a glimmer mist which sealed my pastels as well as gave the whole thing some shimmer.  We had a great afternoon and I was blessed to spend it with such talented women.
Linda is taking an online card class so some time was spent working on cards.  Check out her blog and see the cool cards she made.
She is a great cook so the food is always wonderful when I am there.  So all it all it was a great visit!!
Be sure to make some time over the summer to get together with your friends - do something fun, eat some good food and make some memories!!

Therese

Embossed metal frame

I created this metallic frame for a friend who is relocating - it will be a good place to put a photo of her artsy friends!!
I started with a square wood frame and glued textured items to it - die cut chipboard letters, corrugated cardboard flowers, twine swirls, mesh tape and punchies.  I used double sided tape to attach all the elements except the mesh tape with is self adhesive.  Next, I covered all the front and the inside and outside edges with metal foil tape.  Yes, the kind you buy at the hardware store!!  I simply cut it into pieces and just started layering it on. Check out the photo below which I took as I was in the process of applying tape.   As you can see it doesn't matter what your pieces look like because they will all be covered and you will only see their shape and texture.

Once it was all covered I used a stylus to burnish around all the elements which added definition to the metal. I trimmed the metal tape to the back edge of the frame with an exacto knife and burnished the inside and outside edges with a wooden popsicle stick.  Once everything was burnished to my satisfaction I added yet more texture by scribing swirls, squiggly lines and dots along some of the tape edges.  Then, it was time to cover it all with black acrylic paint.  I wiped some of it off to reveal the texture I had created in the tape.  On hind sight, I might have left on more black to create a bit more contrast but I am happy with how it looks. I lightly sanded the letters to make sure they stood out and added a bit of silver and gold Perfect Pearls in a few areas.  I painted the back with black acrylic paint as well and sealed it front and back with a clear spray sealer so nothing would rub off.
Here are a few tutorials I used for inspiration:
http://beyondthefringecrafts.blogspot.ca/2012/06/industrial-metal-frame.html
http://beyondthefringecrafts.blogspot.ca/2012/06/metal-foil-tape-card.html
http://www.scrapbook.com/blogs/206/view/168127.html
I can see using this technique to make decorative paper for masculine cards and other projects where you want a bit of an industrial look!!

Therese

Card of Appreciation

I created this card for DH.  One of his choir members is moving on and he wanted a nice card to give her.  I went for subtly beautiful with lots of texture and muted colour.  I love the way it turned out!  I used a large pearly white envelope and created a white card that fit inside.  I layered on a piece of shimmer paper which I embossed at the top and bottom.  In between I scored a couple of lines right next to both embossed edges with my score tool and added a piece of white lace in between then sponged the edges just a bit before I glued it to the card front.  I laser printed this blossom image I downloaded from  Beccy's blog, watercoloured it, layered it onto a border punched layer, added some half pearls and attached it to the card front using 3D foam tape.  As a final touch I watercoloured a flower confetti, added a white brad in the center and glued it to the corner of the top layer.
She has been an invaluable part of the choir and will be missed!  We wish her well in her new pursuits!!

Therese

African themed card

On AFTCM, I joined an African themed card swap.  After a bit of brainstorming I came up with a sketch from which I created this card.  I applied strips of black and gold lame fabric around the edges of my card using double sided tape.  The fabric is bold and graphic - perfect of my African theme.  Inside this frame I created an gold embossed element which highlights the poem, Dawn of Tomorrow, by Chidi A Okoye about the arrival of a new day for Africa.  I used an embossing pen to sketch the elements and gold embossed them as I went - the border, the inside frame, the zigzag border and finally the heart.  I trimmed out the center of the heart and used bleach in a pointed nib to write the poem on the card front so it would show through the open heart.  I added clear plastic and some 3D foam tape to the back of the heart, added some gold micro beads on the card front and glued my heart element down encapsulating the beads creating a shaker element.  I added a piece of gros grain ribbon tied with a little gold coloured heart charm which adds some texture and a bit more dimension to my card.  There are several different colours of gold which provides richness and symbolizes the riches of Africa.
I enjoyed creating my own element for this card and playing with lines and gold embossing powder!!
Therese

Memory Glass pendant

On AFTCM, I signed up for a 1x3 glass pendant swap which I have been working off and on for the last few days.  Having never soldered before I did a bit of research to find some instructions and information.  Discovered that jewelery should be soldered with lead free solder  - a no brainer but I had not considered that when I signed up for the swap.  So as an alternative, I started searching for the Ranger Memory glass frames which hold the slides.  Was not able to find any locally so I needed to find a different way.  Someone on the list suggested that most solder is now lead free so I did a search on the Canadian Tire website and lo and behold they do have a variety of lead free solder so off I went and bought a roll.  I am a happy camper!!  I created a collage sheet using images from Graphics Fairy for the inside of my pendant - background paper, butterfly, script, flourish and a scroll border.  I delved deep into my Photoshop Element skills and developed some new ones on my way to making all these elements suitable for my collage.  I made a yellow butterfly from the blue one, gave them all transparent backgrounds and changed the colour of several of them.  I found lots of helpful information on line for doing what needed to be done but I did have to stretch my PSE muscles and follow the instructions CAREFULLY.  What a great resource the internet really is!!!
So my pendant is finished!! The front and back are similar which means you can wear with on either side and the charms flip over from back to front.  I cut a strip off of my laser printed collage sheet and cut two 1x3 pieces for the inside.  Glued them back to back with only a LITTLE dab of glue because moisture between the two glasses combined with the heat from the soldering causes steam which could ruin the look.  I applied copper foil tape (1/4") all the way around being sure to center the glass/collage sandwich and then burnished all the copper tape with a wood burnisher ( popsicle stick).  Then, I started soldering with DH's variable temperature soldering iron (600F) following directions I found on line.  Here is a link to a video on Stampington that was useful as well. Worked out pretty well.  Adding the jump ring was a real challenge.  I ended up adding solder to the wire and then creating the jump rings which worked better.  Not a bad job of soldering for my second soldering project.  I created a prototype with the other solder just to see if I could do it.  I sanded off any little bumps and nibs, cleaned the glass and polished up the whole thing.  This morning I added a little butterfly charm and a few beads with a jump ring, tied on a length of white seam binding and added an adjustable waxed cord.
I love joining swaps and challenging myself to learn new techniques!!

Therese

Casablanca Arch swap

On AFTCM,  I joined an arch swap with the theme of Casablanca.  I did some internet research and found a poet  - Abhallah Zrika - from Casablanca who has been jailed for his prose poetry and a quote where he expresses his wonder at the power of words.  In the process, I found out a lot about the region and their culture.  Beautiful architecture and tiled buildings!  I found a blog that talked about mosaics and how to create some simple patterns so I decided to create a tiled wall for my arch using one of his simple shapes.  I added an inner arch where I

added some arabic words and a hamsa  - a protection symbol that is used to attract the magic of life and repel evil - it is a lovely hand with a heart!!  I added a cage to protect the words and symbolize this poet's struggle with freedom and two white doves to symbolize peace and the pureness of following one's bliss.  I watercoloured all the squares blue - used extensively in their buildings - and added clear dimensional paint to make them look like tiles.  Once they were dry I added a clear sealer to the rest of the wall to make it look tiled.  As a final touch I added a short piece of white seam binding tied to the cage with a single knot and some blue half pearls to the bottom edge to add a bit of texture.
On the back I used the same hamsa symbol and this quote - " Words are a precious thing; everything can live in them." by Abdallah.   I used my "new to me" score tool (Thanks, Carol) to create a cross hatch pattern inside the inner arch and added my own quote in handwriting!!
A totally fun project which I am really happy with!!  It is off to my partner in today's mail.  


Therese

Paint technique swap card

On Just Cards we were challenged to try this paint technique and create a swap card with the resulting paper.  I love creating background papers so I joined the swap!!  For the technique you use dimensional paint to create a pattern on your substrate and while it is still wet you drip on several colours of acrylic paint and drag a credit cart through it.  As you can see I created swirls with my dimensional paint and used two different greens, a yellow and gold for the other colours.  Great look!!   You end up with globs of paint on the side of your paper after dragging your credit card over the whole thing so I used that paint on three more sheets of paper applying the paint using the credit card.  Creates a really cool look and lots of texture - more background paper.  Used some of those sheets for these cards.
For my card I printed a greeting and cactus image from Arthurs Clipart onto a laser transparency and trimmed it to leave an even border all the way around on my card front.  Trimmed my decorative paper to the same size, added a length of seam binding between the image and the greeting and attached it to the card using four small black brads.  I tied a small length of caramel seam binding to the green using a single knot to simulate a bow.
Swaps are fun because they often challenge you to try something you have never tried before.  This was a fun technique I will be using again.

Therese

White Wedding swap card

Joined a swap on Just Cards with "W" as the theme and decided to create a white wedding card.  The digital image I downloaded from Graphics Fairy - love the simplicity of this silhouette image.  I laser printed it onto a quarter sheet of white cardstock, embossed it with the Scroll embossing folder, trimmed it and mounted it to a white card front.  I used a sponging template I cut for previous cards and sponged on Gleams Pearl acrylic paint to create the oval shape and then highlighted her dress, headpiece and flowers with the same paint.  It is on its way to my swap partner!!
If you have yet to visit Graphics Fairy I would highly recommend her site!!  It is a wonderful online resource for a wide variety of  craft projects!!  Click the link to her Craft Blog and see what others are creating with her images!  You will be amazed - lots of very cool items - from cakes to home decor!!  


Therese

Cards, Cards, Cards - Christmas - a bit of bling

What's the best thing about making Christmas cards??  You can add bling as often as you like!!
Here is another design inspired by Splitcoast Stampers.  I have been seeing this embossing folder used in every format and with several different techniques for the center image so I decided to see if I could find a way to use this embossing folder - Cuttlebug Flourished Frame - for a card in this class.  I perused my digital images and found that these ones had almost the perfect proportions for the frame!!  These are by Melissa Jenkins and were downloaded from her blog when she was offering free images regularly.  They were perfect!!  I laser printed them to the right size, watercoloured them and used 3D foam tape to layer them over the embossed layer which I had already glued to my card front.  Just a few rhinestones glued to the flourishes finished off these cards!!  THRIFTY TIP:  Check out this link on my sister's blog that talks about using a fine tip bottle for applying glue.  The rhinestones we used today did not have a sticky back so I brought my little fine tip glue bottle - works so well.  My bottle used to be filled with dimensional fabric paint made by Tulip, I think.  I used the paint to make decorative paper and filled the cleaned out, empty bottle with white glue.  Just a little dab will do you and it dries clear so if the glue expands a bit beyond the edge of the rhinestone it just disappears once the glue is dry.  I am willing to bet that in your stash of crafty supplies you have a bottle with a fine tip which you could use for this purpose!  If you don't, no worries, there are several glues out there made specifically for paper crafting that have fine tips so check out your local craft or scrapbooking store.

Therese

Cards, Cards, Cards - Christmas - Folk art tree

I love this little folk art tree image!!  I found it on Laura`s blog called Pop N Stick.  She has several other cool digital images you can use for card making so check out her site!!  Here is a direct link to the tree.
I layered the tree to coloured cardstock, added a border punched strip and a  rectangle of decorative Christmas paper which I glued to a coordinating card front to make up this card.  I added a bit of ribbon to the decorative paper, sponged my eyelet edge, watercoloured my image and added this little greeting on my insert - Christmas is about what`s in your heart, not what`s under the tree. Wishing you a merry little Christmas!!
Making your own cards gives you so much flexibility!!  You can add your own little twists, use your favorite colour combinations and add meaningful greetings!!

Therese

Cards, Cards, Cards - Christmas - Vintage look

Christmas cards with a bit of a vintage feel!!  These cards feature images from a font called Christmas Cheer which I downloaded from the internet last week.  You can find it here.  I used the JOY, PEACE, NOEL and the winter scene with the house for these cards.  In Corel Draw, I sized the images to fit nicely in my largest oval Nestibilities, laser printed them eight to a page and cut them out individually.  I sponged the edges of my oval, my card and my button and watercoloured my image. I added a black label frame die cut (SX) embossed with a victorian embossing folder and placed some vintage seam binding in between.  These were layered onto a card front which was stamped using my Worn background stamp (SU) in brown.   I added a button and a bow which is a new technique I picked up this week off of Nancy Ward`s blog - Paper Friendly.  You can find the tutorial on Vicki Wizniuk`s blog - Wizards Hangout.  Basically, you take a length of ribbon, cross the ends, bring the center of the loop to the cross over, insert it into a loop of twine on the back of the button, tighten and tie off with a double knot.  Check out the tutorial and you will see how easy it is!!  I used a chipboard button which I die cut from a cereal box which was just the right colour to go with this card and used black cotton crochet thread to tie off the bow.  We used glue dots to attach this embellishment to our card fronts.
It is fun to create Christmas cards in non traditional colours though this one is starting to be one of my favorite combinations.  Check out these cards and these ones we made last year.  Here`s a few more and some more made a few years ago.
Don`t be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to colour combinations and images for Christmas cards.  One of the girls at class today said she would probably use these bird images for making a few Christmas cards.  I think they would make wonderful Christmas cards!!

Therese